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fig1 is a representation of the sender &# 39 ; s part of an apparatus in accordance with one embodiment . starting from the left , the message sender creates a voice input 10 , for example by speaking into a microphone 12 . in addition , the sender may provide input of a requested priority 16 to a processor in the form of a computer 14 . the input processor is shown as a computer 14 with a separate monitor and keyboard for illustration purposes , but many types of processors may fulfill this function . this input processor may be standalone or integrated into the microphone 12 . the input processor may contain a hardware emergency switch 18 that may be activated in an emergency . for some applications , this switch 18 may be toggled and left in the “ on ” position to activate an emergency beacon . the incoming message is passed through an analog to digital converter 20 , which may be part of an existing radio system . the message and the requested priority then become inputs to software 22 in the computer 14 . the software 22 , which may be an add on to existing software , puts into the message a digital watermark containing a time stamp from system clock 24 , a source identification , and a designation of a user requested priority . the resulting voice signal containing the digital watermark is converted into an analog signal in digital to analog converter 26 and then sent out to a recipient by a transmitter 28 which emits transmitted message 30 . the particular method by which the watermarked voice signal is sent to a recipient is not critical . any method may be used including digital transmission without the digital to analog converter 26 . fig2 is a diagram of the recipient &# 39 ; s part of an apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the message 30 is received by a receiver 32 and converted to digital form by an analog to digital converter 34 . the message 30 is stored in this form on a storage device 36 , and is simultaneously input to software 38 in the storage device 36 . the software 38 assigns a priority to the message by decoding the watermark to get requested priority , time , and source id ; mission context is also considered . once priority is assigned , the message it is made available for visual display by a user interface 40 and for audible play by a speaker 42 . fig3 shows an example of a user interface for the message recipient . the user interface 40 is responsive to an onboard clock 41 to show current time . a set of recent messages is displayed . in this case , the messages are sorted based on priority , but may be sorted based on any of the columns shown . once a message is selected by the recipient , it can be played , paused , rewound , and replayed . the user interface shown in fig3 is not the only interface that is possible . more sophisticated displays and controls are possible . implementation may involve modification of existing radio voice communication systems . incoming messages may be assigned priorities based on urgency , identity of the sender , and other characteristics . these priorities may be assigned a priori by the user ( e . g ., a pilot ) or by other authority ( e . g ., air traffic management , higher headquarters ). messages may be automatically presented in order of priority . alternately , the recipient can manually select whether to hear a message immediately or to defer for later . the recipient can also pause a message as it comes in and then resume or replay it at any time . the functionality described herein can be achieved by adding elements to both the transmitter and the receiver in existing communication systems . it may be used in digitally encoded radio systems , but also applies to legacy analog systems . there are four main additions to existing systems that may provide the required functionality : ( 1 ) the transmitter inserts a digital watermark , an inaudible pattern of bits , in each message . the watermark contains a unique transmitter id and a requested message priority level . the requested priority level may be a default value that the transmitter operator can override with a special control added for this purpose . ( 2 ) the receiving system records each incoming message on digital media that allows for immediate retrieval . using the storage media , the system is capable of time shifting messages . that is , incoming messages can be delayed before being presented to the recipient , can be paused during presentation , can be restarted before the presentation has been completed , and / or can be repeated in part or in full immediately . during storage the system associates each message with the time of receipt , source transmitter id , and requested priority level . time of receipt may be obtained from the receiver system &# 39 ; s clock . the other data may be obtained from the message &# 39 ; s watermark . ( 3 ) software in the receiver system uses the source id to look up pertinent information about the sender . the software then assigns priorities to messages based on time of receipt , sender , requested priority , and mission context . for example , if the system is used onboard a military aircraft in the context of cruise flight , message priority might be assigned based on the sender &# 39 ; s rank . in the context of the takeoff and landing phase , messages from air traffic control receive highest priority . for a coast guard aircraft conducting a search , a sender - requested “ emergency ” level may increase the priority of messages from a vessel in distress . because of the wide range of possible applications , software algorithms may be user selectable to provide flexibility in the method of assigning priorities . ( 4 ) the receiver system includes a user interface display and associated controls . the system displays a list of messages with their associated time stamp , sender , priority , and other relevant information . controls allow the recipient to select messages for presentation or deferral , including pause , resume , restart , and replay features . the display and user interface may be visual , auditory , or both . control inputs may be in various forms , including touch screen , speech recognition , or traditional buttons and knobs . the system accommodates a wide range of potential applications and user preferences by offering a number of options in its operation . one option is full manual mode . in this case , the user interface lists messages in order of time received . the system functions just like current “ party line ” radio communications with three exceptions : first , the recipient has access to time shifting features such as real - time pause and instant replay ; second , stepped - on messages are recorded for later playback ; and third , the sender is identified on the recipient &# 39 ; s display . at a higher level of automation , the messages can be queued and displayed in order of priority . the highest priority message may play automatically . the recipient retains the ability to start , pause , and replay any message . the user interface indicates whether a message has been presented at least once . optionally , the system will warn the operator if any message has been neglected for an extended period of time , the length of the period depending on message priority and whether this priority or watermark includes information that a response may be time sensitive ( e . g ., a clearance from air traffic management ). another option automatically interrupts a currently playing message if a higher priority message comes in . if integrated with an airplane warning , caution , and advisory ( wca ) system , auditory warnings from the wca system ( e . g ., “ terrain , terrain ”, “ windshear ”) may automatically pause any incoming communication for the duration of the warning . another option has the recipient &# 39 ; s system automatically transmit “ wait one ” to any sender whose message was queued by automation or is being manually paused . as mentioned above , communication systems having the functionality described herein prevent messages from being stepped on . the recipient can hear and respond to all messages , even those transmitted simultaneously , by recording all messages , particularly the lower priority messages , for later playback . emergency messages may never be missed , and they receive the highest priority even when on - board auditory warnings activate . the recipient may defer communications during periods of high workload , freeing resources to attend to other tasks without adding a memory task . this can be done using the “ pause ” feature , attending to another task , and then resuming the incoming message at the point of interruption . it can also be done automatically by simply ignoring incoming transmissions . the messages will be recorded and displayed for later playback . the automatic recording feature ensures that messages may never be lost due to attention tunneling . most of the components needed to build a working version of a communication system described herein are available off the shelf today . the radio system itself may be an existing design . digital watermarking technology , quick - retrieval digital storage devices ( such as tivo devices ), and appropriate displays and controls are available from many commercial sources . there are many applications to which the principles described herein may be applied . for example , if the application were to civilian marine radios , it might be desired to add a protected switch on the transmitter to request “ emergency ” priority . the “ emergency ” watermark may then be recognized by such radios on other vessels and by the coast guard . another example is an application where one expects to communicate with legacy systems that lack the ability to watermark . priorities may then be difficult to determine , so the design might be modified to use recipient - assigned priorities or to restrict automated deferral of messages . the title , technical field , background , summary , brief description of the drawings , detailed description , and abstract are meant to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention and are not in any way intended to limit the scope of the invention . the scope of the invention is solely defined and limited by the claims set forth below . | 7 |
the present invention is directed to a compound having the formula ## str2 ## wherein r is h seq id no : 1 or oh seq id no : 2 , and to a method of producing same . when r is h , the compound is hereinafter designated compound ia . when r is oh the compound is hereinafter designated compound ib . the structure of the compounds have been determined by detailed analyses of spectral characteristics . electron impact ( ei , 70 ev ) and low resolution fast atom bombardment ( fab ; ms and ms - ms ) mass spectral data were obtained on a finnigan - mat tsq70b mass spectrometer . gc - ms analyses of the tms ( trimethylsilyl ) derivatives of total acid hydrolyzates 7ere performed on the same instrument . high resolution fab measurements were recorded on a finnigan - mat mat90 instrument . compound ia has the molecular formula c 50 h 80 n 8 o 17 [ from m + cs ]+: calcd 1064 . 5641 , found 1064 . 5585 ) by fab - ms . gc - ms analysis of the tms derivative of the total acid hydrolysate indicated approximately one equivalent each of threonine , 3 - hydroxyglutamic acid and 10 , 12 - dimethyltetradecanoic acid plus two equivalents of 4 - hydroxyproline . 1 h nmr spectrum : in cd 3 od at 400 mhz is seen in fig1 ; and 13 c nmr chemical shifts ( cd 3 od ): 11 . 6 , 19 . 7 , 20 . 2 , 20 . 7 , 27 . 0 , 28 . 1 , 30 . 3 ( 2 ×), 30 . 6 , 30 . 8 , 31 . 2 , 31 . 3 , 32 . 9 , 34 . 9 , 36 . 7 , 38 . 1 , 38 . 5 ( 2 ×), 39 . 4 , 45 . 9 , 51 . 2 , 56 . 1 , 56 . 3 , 57 . 1 , 57 . 9 , 58 . 3 , 60 . 7 , 62 . 4 , 68 . 2 , 70 . 6 , 70 . 9 , 71 . 0 , 71 . 3 , 73 . 8 , 75 . 8 , 76 . 9 , 116 . 2 ( 2 ×), 129 . 6 ( 2 ×), 133 . 0 , 158 . 5 , 169 . 2 , 172 . 5 , 172 . 9 , 173 . 4 , 174 . 5 , 174 . 6 , 175 . 7 , 177 . 3 ppm . compound ib has the molecular formula c 50 h 80 n 8 o 18 ( from [ m + cs ] + : calcd 1080 . 5590 , found 1080 . 5344 ) by fab - ms . gc - ms analysis of the tms derivative of the total acid hydrolyzate indicated approximately one equivalent each of threonine , 4 - hydroxyproline , 3 - hydroxyglutamic acid , 3 , 4 - dihydroxyproline , and 10 , 12 - dimethyltetradecanoic acid . fab - ms - ms of the [ m + h ] + ion indicates that ib contains 3 , 4 - dihydroxy - proline at the position preceeding the threonine residue . 1 h nmr spectrum in cd 3 od at 400 mhz is seen in fig2 ; and 13 c nmr chemical shifts ( cd 3 od ): 11 . 6 , 19 . 7 , 20 . 2 , 20 . 8 , 27 . 0 , 28 . 0 , 30 . 3 , 30 . 6 , 30 . 8 , 31 . 2 , 31 . 2 , 32 . 9 , 32 . 9 , 34 . 8 , 36 . 7 , 38 . 1 , 38 . 5 , 39 . 4 , 45 . 9 , 51 . 2 , 54 . 4 , 55 . 3 , 56 . 2 , 57 . 0 , 58 . 3 , 62 . 5 , 65 . 9 , 68 . 2 , 70 . 7 , 70 . 8 , 71 . 3 , 71 . 9 , 73 . 8 , 75 . 8 , 75 . 9 , 77 . 0 , 116 . 3 ( 2 c ), 129 . 7 ( 2 c ), 132 . 9 , 158 . 4 , 169 . 4 , 172 . 5 , 172 . 7 , 173 . 2 , 173 . 4 , 174 . 5 , 175 . 9 , 177 . 2 . on the basis of these and other data , compound i is believed with considerable certainty to have the structure indicated . compounds ia and ib are white solids , soluble in organic solvents such as methanol , ethanol , dimethylformamide , dimethyl sulfoxide , ethyl acetate and the like . compound i ( ia and ib ) has antifungal properties against both filamentous fungi and yeasts . it is particularly useful against organisms causing pathogenic mycotic infections such as candida albicans , candida tropicalis , candida pseudotropicalis , candida parapsilosis and the like . moreover , unlike a number of antifungal agents , such as amphotericin b , which while active against candida albicans and other fungal pathogens are limited in their ability because of the untoward and dangerous side effects , the antifungal agent of the present invention is not only a very effective but is substantially free of undesirable side reactions . red blood cell lysis , a harmful and potentially fatal side reaction is shown by many compounds at concentrations approaching the therapeutic dose and this property has limited the applicability of these compounds as drugs . the compound of the present invention would require a concentration of drug far above that required for therapeutic use before red blood cell lysis could occur . compound i also may be employed against filamentous fungi such as aspergillus species , penicillium species , fusarium species , alternaria species , neurospora species and the like . compound i also may be employed for the treatment of pneumocystis carinii , the causative agent of a pneumonia which is of particular severity to immune compromised patients such as those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( aids ). compound i is conveniently produced by cultivating a mutagenized form of zalerion arboricola produced as hereinafter described , and maintained in the merck culture collection as mf5533 . mf5533 has been deposited under the budapest treaty in the culture collection of the american type culture collection at 12301 parklawn drive , rockville , md . 20852 , and has been assigned accession number atcc 74030 . zalerion arboricola atcc 74030 is a mutagenized form of zalerion arboricola atcc 20957 which in turn is a mutagenized form of atcc 20868 . this mutant may be produced by cultivating a frozen vegetative mycelia of z . arboricola atcc 20957 with a mutagen , followed by plating , incubating and isolating as hereinafter more fully described . the major product in the cultivation of z . arboricola mf5533 is compound x seq id no : 3 represented by the formula ## str3 ## for the production of this mutant , a number of agents commonly used to produce mutants may be employed such as ultraviolet radiation , chemical mutagen , or intercalating agent . suitable chemical mutagens include n - nitroso - n - methylurethane and n - methyl - n &# 39 ;- nitro - n - nitrosoguanidine . in the present instance the z . arboricola mutant mf5533 , atcc 74030 was obtained by inoculating a frozen vegetative mycelium of z . arboricola mf5404 , atcc 20957 , disclosed and claimed in copending application ser . no . 07 / 878 , 137 , continuation application 492 , 024 , now abandoned into a seed medium , adding n - methyl - n &# 39 ;- nitro - n - nitrosoguanidine and cultivating , thereafter plating a portion of the growth on potato dextrose agar and incubating to develop colonies , and then transferring the separate colonies to slants of potato dextrose agar and incubating for 14 days at 25 ° c . to obtain cultures of mutants of z . arboricola , one of which was designated as 47 - 19 , and subsequently maintained in the merck culture collection as mf5533 . the colonial and morphological description of z . arboricola mf5533 atcc 74030 are as follows : colonies on potato - dextrose agar ( difco ) at 20 ° c . are slow - growing , attaining a diameter of 8 - 12 mm in one week . mature colonies ( 3 - 4 weeks ) on potato - dextrose agar effuse , with submerged and aerial hyphae , surface hairly , lanose , or funiculose , dull to moderately shiny , forming raised , densely compact colonies , with a substromatic texture due to dense condidia formation . colony color pale olive - brown , olive , olive - brown , finally olive - black , isabella color , sayal brown , tawny - olive , saccardo &# 39 ; s umber , sepia , brownish olive , raw umber , dark olive , olivaceous black ( capitalized color names from r . ridgway . 1912 . color standards and nomenclature , washington , d . c .). same colors in colony reverse . odor , exudates , and soluble pigments absent . hyphae ( in 3 % koh ) pale yellow - brown to olive - brown , septate , branched , often with irregular lateral or terminal lobes , 1 - 3 um wide , thin - to slightly thick - walled , with walls smooth to slightly incrusted or verrucose . aerial hyphae often adhering together in facicles . setae and hyphopodia absent . conidiogeneous cells monoblastic , scattered to dense , integrated , terminal and intercalary , arising directly from undifferentiated hyphae , at right to slightly acute angles . conidia originating as irregular chains filaments , or coils , later developing as compact , irregular masses of 6 - 25 cells . individual condial cells , 3 - 6 um in diameter , globose , subglobose , or slightly irregular to lobed , smooth to finely verruculose , yellow - brown to olive brown . compound i may be obtained by cultivating z . arboricola mf5533 in a suitable nutrient medium under conditions hereinafter described until a substantial amount of antifungal activity can be detected in the culture medium , harvesting by extracting the active components from the fermentation medium with a suitable solvent , concentrating the solution containing the desired component , then subjecting the concentrated material to chromatographic separation to isolate compound i from other metabolites also present in the cultivation medium . a suitable nutrient medium for producing compound i is one containing sources of carbon and nitrogen assimilable by the microorganism and also containing low levels of inorganic salts . the medium may be supplemented with trace metals , although if complex sources of carbon and nitrogen are employed , the trace metals are usually present in the complex sources . the sources of carbon include glycerol , sugars , sugar alcohols , starches and other carbohydrates , or carbohydrate derivatives such as dextran , cerelose , as well as complex nutrients such as oat flour , corn meal , millet , corn and the like . the exact quantity of the carbon source which is utilized in the medium will depend , in part , upon the other ingredients in the medium , but it is usually found that an amount of carbohydrate between 0 . 5 and 40 percent by weight of the medium is satisfactory . these carbon sources can be used individually or several such carbon sources may be combined in the same medium . the sources of nitrogen include amino acids such as glycine , arginine , threonine , methionine and the like , ammonium salt , and complex sources such as yeast hydrolysates , yeast autolysates , yeast cells , tomato paste , soybean meal , casein hydrolysates , yeast extracts , corn steep liquors , distillers solubles , cottonseed meal , meat extract , and the like . the various sources of nitrogen can be used alone or in combination in amounts ranging from 0 . 2 to 10 percent by weight of the medium . among the nutrient inorganic salts , which can be incorporated in the culture media are the customary salts capable of yielding sodium , potassium , magnesium , calcium , phosphate , sulfate , chloride , carbonate , and like ions . also included are trace metals such as cobalt , manganese , iron , molybdenum , zinc , cadmium , and the like . although the growth medium may be prepared in a conventional manner from the foregoing nutrients , the presence of certain nutrients and / or combination of nutrients favor the production of compound i . thus , ammonium salts are important as an immediate source of nitrogen and monobasic potassium phosphate is important for ph control . mannitol is especially useful in compositions , not only for enhancing the amount of desired product formed but also in improving the rate of production of the desired product . the cultivation medium may be either liquid or solid . representatives suitable media for production of compound i are the following : ______________________________________tg106 medium per literd - mannitol 100 gnz - amine type e * 33 gfidco 8005 yeast extract 10 g ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 2 so . sub . 4 5 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 9 gp - 2000 2 ml______________________________________ * casein hydrolysate , sheffield products , kraft , inc . sp - 5 meduim per litermannitol 80 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 9 gcerelose 10 gpharmamedia * 20 gpresterile ph 7 . 3______________________________________ * yellow flour from embryo of cottonseed containing nonhydrolyzed globular protein . traders protein , buckeye oilseed products co ., memphis tenn . ______________________________________rg2 medium rg120 medium per liter per litermannitol 44 g mannitol 91 gcorn steep liquor 4 g corn steep liquor 4 mllard water 4 g lard water 4 gpectin 10 g pectin 10 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 2 g kh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 2 gtomato paste 4 g tomato paste 4 gpeptonized milk 4 g peptonized milk 4 gglycine 2 g glycine 2 gpeanut meal 4 g peanut meal 4 gph adjusted to 7 . 0 ph adjusted to 7 . 0tg102 medium tg103 medium per liter per literd - mannitol 40 g d - mannitol 40 gbacto peptone * 33 g bacto - peptone * 33 gbacto - yeast extract 10 g bacto - yeast extract 10 g ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 2 so . sub . 4 5 g ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 2 so . sub . 4 5 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 9 g kh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 9 gno ph adjustment no ph adjustments2 medium s6 medium per liter per literd - mannitol 44 g d - mannitol 44 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 2 g kh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 2 gglycine 2 g glycine 2 gpeptonized milk 15 g peptonized milk 15 glactic acid 2 g lactic acid 2 gtrace elements 10 ml trace elements 10 ml soybean oil 10 gph 7 . 0 ph 7 . 0 ( pre - sterilization ) ( pre - sterilization ) f204 solid medium per 250 - ml flask base liquid per litermillet 15 g ardamine ph (**) 33 . 0 gbase liquid 15 ml sodium tartrate 6 . 6 g feso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 0 . 66 g monosodium glutamate 6 . 6 ml corn oil 6 . 6 ml no ph adjustment______________________________________ ** yeast autolysate , yeast products inc . clifton , new jerseyf4 - sf solid medium per 250 - ml flask base liquid per litercracked corn 15 g ardamine ph 0 . 2 gbase liquid 10 ml h . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 0 . 1 g mgso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 0 . 1 g sodium tartrate 0 . 1 g feso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 0 . 01 g znso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 0 . 01 g no ph adjustment______________________________________ production of the desired compound using one of the foregoing or similar medium , is usually initiated by first inoculating a nutrient seed medium with a frozen vegetative mycelia of z . arboricola mf 5533 , and the inoculated medium incubated for at least 3 days to produce a broth containing organisms which serves as seed in the production of the compounds of formula ( i ). instead of using all or an aliquot of the fermentation broth for production , an aliquot of the broth may be employed in a second stage production of seed medium . depending on the size of the production contemplated , several stages of seed medium production may be carried out prior to utilization of the fermentation broth as seed in the ultimate production of compound i . the seed medium is generally in the ph range of 5 to 8 . 1 , optimally 6 to 7 . 5 . ______________________________________ per / liter______________________________________corn steep liquor 5 gd - mannitol 25 gglucose monohydrate 10 gpharmamedia 20 gkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 9 gfeso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 10 mgmnso . sub . 4 . 4h . sub . 2 o 10 mgcucl . sub . 2 . 2h . sub . 2 o 0 . 25 mgcacl . sub . 2 . 2h . sub . 2 o 1 mgh . sub . 3 bo . sub . 3 0 . 56 mg ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 mo . sub . 7 o . sub . 24 . h . sub . 2 o 0 . 19 mgznso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 2 mg______________________________________ ______________________________________ per / liter______________________________________corn steep liquor 5 gtomato paste 40 goat flour 10 gglucose 10 gfeso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 10 mgmnso . sub . 4 . 4h . sub . 2 o 10 mgcucl . sub . 2 . 2h . sub . 2 o 0 . 25 mgcacl . sub . 2 . 2h . sub . 2 o 1 mgh . sub . 3 bo . sub . 3 0 . 56 mg ( nh . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 mo . sub . 7 o . sub . 24 . h . sub . 2 o 0 . 19 mgznso . sub . 4 . 7h . sub . 2 o 2 mg______________________________________ in carrying out the process , a slant section of a preserved culture of mf5533 atcc 20958 is inoculated into an appropriate seed medium and the flasks incubated with or without agitation at temperatures in the range of from about 15 ° c . to about 30 ° c . for from 2 to 30 days , preferably 20 ° to 28 ° c . for 2 to 14 days . agitation when employed is preferably in the range of from 150 to 220 rpm but may be up to 400 rpm . when growth is abundant , usually between 2 and 5 days , the growth may be used to inoculate the production medium for the production of the compounds of this invention . preferably however , a second stage fermentation and , frequently a third or fourth stage fermentation are carried out by inoculating with a portion of the culture growth and then employing similar conditions and incubation time of from about 1 to 6 days . the growth then is employed to inoculate the production medium . the fermentation production medium inoculated with the culture growth is incubated for 3 to 30 days , usually 7 to 14 days , with or without agitation . the fermentation may be conducted aerobically at temperatures ranging from about 20 ° c . to about 40 ° c . for optimum results , it is most convenient to conduct these fermentations at a temperature in the range of from about 24 ° c . to about 30 ° c . temperatures of about 24 °- 28 ° c . are most preferred . the ph of the nutrient medium suitable for producing the instant compounds can vary from about 5 . 0 to 8 . 5 with a preferred range of from about 5 . 5 to 6 . 0 . after the appropriate period for the production of the desired compound or compounds , the latter is recovered from the fermentation medium as hereinafter more fully described . after completion of the cultivation , compound i is harvested and isolated from the medium . the exact steps may vary somewhat on whether the fermentation is carried out in liquid or solid medium . when the fermentation is carried out on a solid medium , the first step may be adding an alcoholic solvent to the fermentation medium , thoroughly mixing , then filtering , recovering and concentrating the aqueous alcohol filtrate . the concentrated filtrate may be first back - extracted or washed with a lower aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent such as hexane or other alkane to remove alkane soluble impurities . when the fermentation is carried out in a liquid medium , in one method , the mycelial solids may be separated by filtration or centrifugation and recovered from the fermentation medium . alcohol is added to the mycelial cake , and the mycelial solid thoroughly mixed with a lower alkanol to extract the desired product and the mixture filtered or centrifuged , and the filtrate or supernatant collected and concentrated . in an alternative method , the whole broth can be extracted by the addition of one volume of lower alkanol , preferably methanol , and filtered or centrifuged to remove solid impurities . the lower alkanol suitable for extracting the active agent from the solid nutrient medium or the mycelial pad obtained on centrifugation or filtration include methanol , ethanol , isopropanol or higher alkanols . methanol is preferred . the alkanol extract from either separation is then placed onto a column for chromatographic separation steps . adsorbents available commercially such as styrenedivinylbenzene copolymers available commercially as &# 34 ; diaion &# 34 ; hp - 20 , hp - 30 , hp - 40 , sp - 207 ( mitsubishi chemical industries , ltd .) and &# 34 ; amberlite &# 34 ; xad - 2 , xad - 4 , xad - 16 ( rohm and haas co . ), may be employed for the initial isolations . in carrying out the separation steps , the composition of the alkanol extract is adjusted to 50 percent water and adsorbed on the hp - 20 or other selected resin and then eluted with 100 percent alkanol , preferably methanol . conventional column chromatography may be employed . when conventional chromatographic separation is employed , &# 34 ; sephadex &# 34 ; lh - 20 ( pharmacia ) or silica gel may be employed although silica gel is preferred . in the fractionation and recovery of the active component by chromatography on silica gel , ester / alcohol / water or dichloromethane / alcohol / water may be employed to provide good separations . a mixture of ethyl acetate , methanol , and water or 5 percent aqueous acetic acid has been found to be especially useful . when a dextran adsorbent such as &# 34 ; sephadex &# 34 ; lh - 20 , is employed , a chlorohydrocarbon / hydrocarbon / alcohol solvent system may be employed . a mixture of methylene chloride / hexane / methanol has been found to be especially useful . in carrying out the hplc separation , the alcohol solution containing material recovered from the conventional chromatography is concentrated and the residue dissolved in methylene chloride / methanol / water or ethyl acetate / methanol / water in the same ratio as found in the mobile phase and placed on a column packed with commercial silica gel resin and eluted at about 800 - 2000 psi which produces a flow rate of about 10 ml / min . the separation is monitored by uv at 276 nm . compound i is active against many fungi , and also against pneumocystis carinii . the antifungal properties may be illustrated with the minimum fungicidal concentration ( mfc ) determinations against certain candida organisms in a microbroth dilution assay carried out in yeast nitrogen base ( difco ) with 1 percent dextrose ( ynbd ). in carrying out the assay , compound i was solubilized in 10 percent dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ) and diluted to 2560 μ / ml . the compound was then diluted to 256 μg / ml in ynbd . 0 . 15 ml of the suspension was dispensed to the top row of a 96 - well plate ( each well containing 0 . 15 ml of yndb ) resulting in a drug concentration of 128 μg / ml . two - fold dilutions were then made from the top row to obtain final drug concentrations ranging from 128 to 0 . 06 μg / ml . the yeast cultures , maintained on sabouraud dextrose agar were transferred to ym broth ( difco ) and incubated overnight at 35 ° c . with shaking ( 250 rpm ). after incubation , each culture was diluted in sterile water to yield a final concentration of 1 - 5 × 10 6 colony forming units ( cfu )/ ml . 96 - well microplates were inoculated using a mic - 2000 ( dynatech ) which delivers 1 . 5 μl per well yielding a final inoculum per well of 1 . 5 - 7 . 5 × 10 3 cells . the microplates were incubated at 35 ° c . for 24 hours . the minimum inhibitory concentrations ( mics ) were recorded as the lowest concentrations of drug showing no visible growth . after recording the mic , the plates were shaken to resuspend the cells . thereafter , 1 . 5 μl samples from the wells in the 96 - well microplate were transferred to a single well tray containing sabouraud dextrose agar . the inoculated trays were incubated 24 hours at 28 ° c . and then read . the mfc is defined as the lowest concentration of drug showing no growth or less than 4 colonies per spot . the results ( three samples ) are seen in the following table : ______________________________________ minimum fungicidal concentration ( μg / ml ) fungi compound compoundstrain no . ia ib______________________________________candida albicansmy 1055 2 1my 1028 2 0 . 5my 1750 4 1candida tropicalismy 1012 1 0 . 12candida pseudotropicalismy 1100 4 2______________________________________ compound i is useful for inhibiting or alleviating pneumocystis carinii infections . in a representative study , the effectiveness of compound i in rats were determined . sprague - dawley rats ( weighing approximately 250 g ) were immunosuppressed with dexasone in the drinking water ( 2 mg / ml ) and maintained on a low protein diet for 5 weeks to induce the development of pneumocystis pneumonia from a latent infection . before drug treatment 2 rats were sacrificed to confirm the presence of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ( pcp ); both rats had infections . the remaining rats ( weighing approximately 150 g ) were distributed into groups of 6 and injected twice daily for four days subcutaneously with compound in 0 . 25 ml of vehicle ( 10 % dmso in water or water ). the control group of 5 rats received vehicle alone . all animals continued to receive dexasone in the drinking water and low protein diet during the drug treatment period . at the completion of treatment all animals were sacrificed , the lungs were removed and processed , and the extent of disease determined by microscopic analysis of stained slides . the results of this study are shown as the log means number of cysts per animal lung as determined by examining 20 - 1000 × microscopic fields ( as seen in the following table ) and the standard of error of the geometric mean . all groups were compared using the student t - test and results marked (*) are significant . table______________________________________ log mean # cysts reduction (± segm ) of cysts survivors______________________________________dmso control 7 . 26 ± . 12 -- 6 / 6compound ia1 . 20 mg / kg 5 . 58 ± . 11 * 97 . 9 % 5 / 60 . 60 mg / kg 5 . 68 ± . 19 * 97 . 4 % 6 / 60 . 30 mg / kg 5 . 99 ± . 18 * 94 . 6 % 5 / 60 . 15 mg / kg 6 . 32 ± . 17 * 88 . 5 % 6 / 6compound ib0 . 60 mg / kg 5 . 41 ± . 17 * 99 . 1 % 6 / 60 . 30 mg / kg 5 . 22 ± . 10 * 99 . 4 % 6 / 60 . 15 mg / kg 5 . 59 ± . 11 * 98 . 7 % 6 / 60 . 07 mg / kg 5 . 97 ± . 18 * 96 . 8 % 6 / 60 . 03 mg / kg 6 . 16 ± . 14 * 95 . 0 % 6 / 6______________________________________ the outstanding properties are most effectively utilized when the compound is formulated into novel pharmaceutical compositions with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier according to conventional pharmaceutical compounding techniques . the novel compositions contain at least a therapeutic antifungal or antipneumocystis amount of the active compound . generally , the composition contains at least 1 percent of weight of compound i . concentrate compositions suitable for dilutions prior to use may contain 90 percent or more by weight . the compositions include compositions suitable for oral , rectal , topical , parenteral ( including subcutaneous , intramuscular , and intravenous ), pulmonary ( nasal or buccal inhalation ), nasal administration , or insufflation . the compositions may be prepacked by intimately mixing compound i with the components suitable for the medium desired . when the compound is for antifungal use any method of administration may be used . for treating mycotic infection oral administration is frequently preferred . when oral administration is to be employed , it may be with a liquid composition . for liquid preparations , the therapeutic agent is formulated with liquid carriers such as water , glycols , oils , alcohols , and the like , and for solid preparations such as capsules and tablets , solid carriers such as starches , sugars , kaolin , ethyl cellulose , calcium and sodium carbonate , calcium phosphate , kaolin , talc , lactose , generally with lubricant such as calcium stearate , together with binders , disintegrating agents and the like . because of their ease in administration , tablets and capsules represent the most advantageous oral dosage form . it is especially advantageous to formulate the compositions in unit dosage form ( as hereinafter defined ) for ease of administration and uniformity of dosage . composition in unit dosage form constitutes an aspect of the present invention . the compound i also may be formulated in therapeutic compositions for intravenous or intraperitoneal injection and may be presented in unit dosage form in ampoules or in multidose containers , if necessary with an added preservative . the compositions may also take such forms as suspensions , solutions or emulsions in oily or aqueous vehicles such as 0 . 85 percent sodium chloride or 5 percent dextrose in water , and may contain formulating agents such as suspending , stabilizing and / or dispersing agents . buffering agents as well as additives such as saline or glucose may be added to make the solutions isotonic . the drug also may be solubilized in alcohol / propylene glycol or polyethyleglycol for drip intravenous administration . alternatively , the active ingredients may be in powder form for reconstituting with a suitable vehicle prior to administration . the term &# 34 ; unit dosage form &# 34 ; as used in the specification and claims refer to physically discrete units , each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active ingredient calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the pharmaceutical carrier . examples of such unit dosage forms are tablets , capsules , pills , powder packets , wafers , measured units in ampoules or in multidose containers and the like . a unit dosage of the present invention will generally contain from 100 to 200 milligrams of one of the compounds . when the compound is to be employed for control of pneumocystis infections it is desirable to directly treat lung and bronchi . for this reason , inhalation methods are preferred . for administration by inhalation , the compounds of the present invention are conveniently delivered in the form of an aerosol spray presentation from pressurized packs of nebulisers . the compounds may also be delivered as powders which may be formulated and the powder composition may be inhaled with the aid of an insufflation powder inhaler device . the preferred delivery system for inhalation is a metered dose inhalation ( mdi ) aerosol , which may be formulated as a suspension or solution of compound i in suitable propellants , such as fluorocarbons or hydrocarbons . another method of administration is insufflation , particularly in the infection has spread to the ears and other body cavities . if the application is to be topical , the drug may be formulated in conventional creams and ointments such as white petrolatum , anhydrous lanolin , cetyl alcohol , cold cream , glyceryl monostearate , rose water and the like . usually a 1 to 2 percent cream solution is prepared and applied to the area to be treated . the following examples illustrate the invention but are not to be construed as limiting . a frozen vegetative mycelium of z . arboricola mf5404 atcc 20957 was inoculated into 50 milliliters of kf seed medium contained in a 250 milliliter erlenmeyer flask and n - methyl - n &# 39 ;- nitro - n - nitrosoguanidine ( ntg ) was added to a final concentration of 7 . 5 micrograms per milliliter . the flask was shaken at 220 rpm at 25 ° c . for five days to obtain broth containing cells grown in the presence of ntg . a portion of the broth was plated on the surface of potato dextrose agar and the plates incubated for 14 days at 25 ° c . to obtain spores of the microorganism . the spores were harvested , diluted in sterile saline and plated on the surface of potato dextrose agar and incubated at 25 ° c . for 7 days for colony formation . the colonies were isolated by transferring each colony to separate slants of potato dextrose agar . the inoculated slants were incubated at 25 ° c . for 14 days and a plug from the slants separately taken and inoculated into 20 milliliters of kf medium to produce seeds , then , 2 milliliters of the seed used to inoculate 40 milliliters of sp - 5 medium which was then incubated at 25 ° c . for 14 days . the broth then was extracted with methanol and the extract tested for the production of compound x and other components by hplc . one of the slants designated culture 47 - 19 was used in the production hereinafter described . culture 47 - 19 was subsequently re - isolated and preserved in the merck culture collection as mf 5533 . seed cultures were first prepared in several stages . as an initial step , 54 milliliters of p34 - 2 medium was inoculated with a plug from a frozen vial of zalerion arboricola tentatively designated culture 47 - 19 and subsequently re - isolated and preserved in the merck culture collection as mf5533 . the inoculated medium was incubated with shaking at 220 rpm at 25 ° c . for four days . a twenty - milliliter sample of this seed medium was used to inoculate each of four 2 - liter flasks containing 500 milliliters of p34 - 2 medium and the inoculated medium incubated at 25 ° c . for four days at 220 rpm . the flask contents were then pooled and used to inoculate a 300 - liter seed fermenter containing 180 liters of p34 - 2 medium and 2 milliliters / liter of polypropylene glycol p - 2000 to reduce foaming . the fermenter was operated for six days at a temperature of 25 ° c ., an air flow of 90 liters per minutes , a pressure of 0 . 7 kg / cm 2 gauge , and an agitator speed of 200 rpm . a 25 liter sample of this seed then was used to inoculate an 800 liter seed fermenter containing 475 liters of p34 - 2 medium and 2 milliliter / liter of p - 2000 and cultivated for four days at 25 ° c ., air flow of 250 liter / minute , a pressure of 0 . 7 kg / cm 2 gauge and agitator speed of 150 rpm . 425 liters of the seed broth thus prepared was inoculated into 13 , 700 liters of tg 106 medium in a 19 , 000 liter production fermenter . fermentation of the mixture was carried out at a temperature of 25 ° c ., air flow of 6300 liters / minute , a pressure of 0 . 7 kg / cm 2 gauge and agitator speed of 80 rpm . the ph was allowed to decrease from an initial value of 6 . 0 to 5 . 5 and then maintained at 5 . 5 ± 0 . 2 using sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid . the cultivation was continued for twelve days , after which time the broth was harvested for product isolation . 3100 gallons of whole broth was first extracted with 1900 gallons of methanol . the methanol was clarified by centrifugation to obtain 4250 gallons of clarified liquid as first extract and 650 gallons of solid . the latter was re - extracted with 1500 gallons of methanol and centrifuged to obtain 1550 gallons of clarified liquid as second extract . the solids from this centrifugation were extracted with 1500 gallons of 80 percent aqueous methanol and centrifuged to obtain a third extract . the first extract was loaded on an sp - 207 ( brominated polystyrene - divinylbenzene copolymer ) adsorption column and washed with 65 % aqueous methanol . some product breakthrough was noted in the 65 percent methanol wash . the 65 percent methanol wash and selected side outs from the first sp - 207 column , amounting to 900 gallons , were combined with the second and third extracts from the whole broth and combined extracts totalling 4050 gallons were absorbed on an sp - 207 column and eluted with 100 percent methanol . the rich cut eluate from the first sp - 207 column was diluted , adsorbed and eluted with 100 percent methanol from an hp - 20 columns . the rich cut eluate from the second sp - 207 column was combined , diluted with water , adsorbed to two hp - 20 columns , and eluted with 100 percent methanol . the three hp - 20 rich cut eluates were combined , diluted with water and then adsorbed and eluted with 100 percent methanol from an sp - 207 column for concentration and dewatering . the rich cut was concentrated 4 × by distillation . to a 500 ml aliqnot of the 4 × concentrate from the foregoing columns was added 4 . 5 liters of isopropyl acetate to separate the product which precipitates from p - 2000 which remains in solution . the precipitate was then prepared for preparative hplc to be carried out on a commercial column identified as dorr - oliver peak performer equipped with a prochrom lc 150 ve 15 cm . column charged with 3 kilograms of ` matrex ` irregular silica gel ( amicon ) of 20 μm particle size , 60 å pore size . in the preparation the precipitate was first filtered , vacuum dried , and dissolved in 550 milliliters of 2 : 2 : 1 ethyl acetate / methanol / 5 % acetic acid solvent mixture . the solvent composition was then adjusted to the feed composition of 76 / 16 / 8 ethyl acetate / methanol / 5 % aqueous acetic acid and 715 milliliters of the mixture was immediately injected onto the prochram lc 150 ve column at a flow rate of 605 ml / min . using the mobile phase of 80 / 10 / 5 ethyl acetate / methanol / 5 % aqueous acetic acid and twenty - two 2 - liter fractions collected . fraction 16 was concentrated to dryness and 100 milligrams of it was reconstituted in 2 milliliters of 80 : 20 : 2 methylene chloride / methanol / water . the solution was filtered to clarify it and the clear solution injected onto a 50 centimeter × 22 . 5 millimeter whatman silica gel hplc column . the mobile phase for the chromatography was 80 : 20 : 2 methylene chloride / methanol / water and the flow rate was 10 milliliters / minute . the chromatography was monitored using uv detector at 276 nm and also by analytical hplc of the fractions . both detection methods indicated a baseline separation of compound ia , ib and x , all of which were present in the original mixture . a total of nine identical injections were performed in the manner above indicated and the factions containing compound ia were combined , concentrated to dryness and reconstituted into 100 milliliters of 50 : 50 methanol / water . this solution was adsorbed to 20 milliliters of hp - 20 , eluted with methanol and dried under vacuum to obtain 91 milligrams of compound ia . the remaining 4 × concentrate from the third sp - 207 column in example 3 was added to 10 volumes of isopropyl acetate to precipitate compound x , ia and ib . the precipitate was collected by centrifugation and the material chromatographed on four 500 ml silica gel columns eluted with 85 : 10 : 5 ethyl acetate / methanol / 5 % aqueous acetic acid . a composite sample from one of the silica columns containing 60 g of compound ib and 20 g of compound ia ( as determined by hplc ) was chromatographed on a 150 liter silica column run in a similar manner . four 50 gallon fractions were collected followed by twenty - three 15 gallon fractions . one of the 15 gallon fractions rich in compound ib (& gt ; 95 % as determined by hplc ) was concentrated to dryness , reconstituted in ethyl acetate / methanol / water ( 76 / 16 / 8 ) and further purified on a 1 liter silica column , eluted with 85 / 10 / 5 ethyl acetate / methanol / 5 % aqueous acetic acid . the rich cuts were combined , concentrated , redissolved in 50 / 50 meoh / h 2 o and desilicated on a 40 ml hp - 20 column . compound ib was eluted with 100 % meoh . the cuts rich in compound ib were combined , subjected to a rotary evaporator to vaporize the methanol and obtain an aqueous solution which was lyophilized to obtain compound ib as a white powder . the white powder had the spectral characteristics set forth previously for compound ib . in a manner similar to that described in part a of example 1 , mutant mf 5533 was obtained from mf 5404 except that the seed from the seed flasks were used to inoculate 40 milliliters of tg - 106 medium and the latter incubated at 25 ° c . with shaking at 25 ° c . for 14 days . 1000 tablets , each containing 500 milligrams of compound ia are prepared from the following formulation : ______________________________________compound grams______________________________________compound ia 500starch 750dibasic calcium phoshate hydrous 5000calcium stearate 2 . 5______________________________________ the finely powered ingredients are mixed well and granulated with 10 percent starch paste . the granulation is dried and compressed into tablets . 1000 hard gelatin capsules , each containing 500 milligrams of compound ib are prepared from the following formulation : a uniform mixture of the ingredients is prepared by blending and used to fill two - piece hard gelatin capsules . 250 milliliters of an injectable suspension are prepared by conventional procedures having the following formulation : an ointment suitable for topical application may be prepared by intimately dispersing 13 milligrams of compound ia in 1 gram of commercially available polyethylene / hydrocarbon gel . ______________________________________ per canister______________________________________compound ib 24 mglecithin nf , liquid concentration 1 . 2 mgtrichlorofluoromethane 4 . 025 gdichlorodefluoromethane 12 . 15 g______________________________________ a culture of z . arboricola atcc 20868 was grown on potato dextrose agar in petri plates at 25 ° c . for 3 weeks . ten milliliters of 0 . 3m tris buffer , ph 7 , were added to the plates and the spores scraped off the surface into the buffer with a sterile cotton swab . the suspension in the buffer was decanted off and the procedure repeated twice . the spore suspensions were combined and filtered through glass wool to remove large clusters of spores . the suspension filtrate was centrifuged at first at 600 rpm then at 700 rpm and finally at 800 rpm , each time for 3 minutes with the pellet being discarded after each centrifugation . the supernatant liquid from the third centrifugation was then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes . the pellet from this centrifugation was resuspended in 3 milliliters of 0 . 3m tris buffer and used for mutagenic treatment . this suspension contained from 10 3 to 10 4 spores per milliliter . to the spore suspension was added 100 μg / ml of n - nitroso - n - methylurethane and the resulting mixture shaken at 300 rpm for 20 minutes at room temperature . at the end of this period , the mixture was centrifuged and the supernatant liquid was removed . the pellet was washed twice with 0 . 3m tris buffer ph 7 . 0 and then resuspended in the same buffer and after appropriate dilutions plated on potato dextrose agar for forming isolated colonies . the plates were incubated at 25 ° c . for two weeks for colony formation . the colonies were isolated by separately transferring to slants of potato dextrose agar . the inoculated slants were incubated at 25 ° c . for 10 - 14 days and a plug from the slants taken and tested for the production of compounds x and other components in the fermentation by hplc assay . a plug from one of the slants initially designated as z7 - 9 , was placed in the merck culture collection as mf 5404 and deposited with the american type culture collection as atcc 20957 . __________________________________________________________________________sequence listing ( 1 ) general information :( iii ) number of sequences : 3 ( 2 ) information for seq id no : 1 :( i ) sequence characteristics :( a ) length : 6 ( b ) type : amino acid ( c ) strandedness : na ( d ) topology : circular ( xi ) sequence description : seq id no : 1 : xaathr xaaxaaxaaxaa15 ( 2 ) information for seq id no : 2 :( i ) sequence characteristics :( a ) length : 6 ( b ) type : amino acid ( c ) strandedness : na ( d ) topology : circular ( xi ) sequence description : seq id no : 1 : xaathrxaaxaaxaa xaa15 ( 2 ) information for seq id no : 3 :( i ) sequence characteristics :( a ) length : 6 ( b ) type : amino acid ( c ) strandedness : na ( d ) topology : circular ( xi ) sequence description : seq id no : 1 : xaathrxaaxaaxaaxaa 15 | 0 |
as shown in fig1 a , the digital identity server 100 communicates over a global computer network 114 ( such as would include the internet as part of the overall global network ) with a plurality of user devices . examples of user devices include a catv settop 102 , a satellite receiver 104 , a cellular phone 106 , a personal digital assistant ( pda ) 108 , personal computer 110 , video game console 112 or other client device 113 . each user device connects to the internet though another communication network . for example , a catv settop box 102 is coupled through a catv system , while a personal computer 110 is typically coupled through the public switched telephone network . the digital identity server 100 also communicates via the internet 114 with a digital identity database 118 , an external database 116 as well as a command server 120 . in operation , a user identifies himself to a user device 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 . the user device 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 requests a digital identity from the digital identity server 100 . in response , the digital identity server 100 communicates with the command server 120 to determine the nature and characteristics of the requesting user device 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 . the digital identity server 100 then retrieves the digital identity information from either the system database 118 or an external database 116 and downloads it to the requesting user device 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 . after the initial download of a digital identity to user device , the digital identity server 100 need not be involved except to download changes to update a user &# 39 ; s digital identity . in such manner , the digital identity server 100 mediates the user &# 39 ; s access to applications / services and data from a variety of user devices ranging from a digital set - top box 102 to a portable personal digital assistant 108 to a mobile / cellular phone 106 to a game console 112 to a personal computer 110 . applications include video - on - demand ( vod ), gaming applications such as multi - player games , email , instant messaging , chat and broadcast based enhanced tv applications . in video - on demand for example , a viewer may pause a movie at a given point . the pause point of the movie becomes part of the viewer &# 39 ; s digital identity . when the viewer returns to watch the rest of the movie , the viewer &# 39 ; s downloaded digital identity contains the pause point . as a result , the viewer is able to continue watch the remainder of the movie at a later time from any catv settop 102 communicating with the digital identity server 100 . additional applications include using an e - wallet ( where the e - wallet for a user is tied to his digital identity and stored in the system ) and delivering targeted advertising applications ( where the profile of the user describing his interests and past behavior is tied to his digital identity and stored in the system ). the range of data contained in the portable digital identity includes the user &# 39 ; s properties such as his preferences regarding the use of the device in question , his favorites data including the list of favorite applications and favorite internet sites . the data includes the user &# 39 ; s cookies which facilitate access to internet sites , and the set of applications / services that the user may access including the properties of the user for a specific application / service . the digital identity server 100 retrieves configuration information from the command server 120 about various types or classes of devices within the system , and applies the configuration information as a filter when returning the digital identity data back to the user device . the set of applications and the generic user properties as well as application specific user properties are tailored to take into account the processing power , network bandwidth and memory footprint capabilities of the communications device currently in use by the user . thus , when the user is on a powerful communications device , such as a personal computer 110 , the list of applications available to such user includes the full set of allowed or subscribed applications . when the user is on a less powerful device such as a set - top box 102 or a personal digital assistant 108 , the list of applications available to a user will typically include only a lesser permissible subset of applications . the digital identity of the user remains the same regardless of the device that the user is using at any point in time . having a consistent digital identity retrievable at any point by internet access , allows the user to access his applications / services and data in a seamless and transparent fashion . thus , even while “ roaming ” i . e . moving between multiple devices in his home , or to a device at a remote location such as a digital set - top box or game console at a friend &# 39 ; s home , or using a cellular phone / pager in his car , the user experiences a consistent electronic environment . associated with the notion of a portable digital identity is the notion of a general services architecture . the general services architecture defines and describes the model that allows the use of applications / services and associated data by the user from their various devices . in particular , the general services architecture includes a user account that defines the applications and services to which the user subscribes . the digital identity server 100 and a general services architecture allows the service provider / operator to dynamically define and add new services / applications into their server - side infrastructure . services are available dynamically to users based on a configurable policy that can be customized to suit the business needs of the specific network operator or service provider . furthermore , access to the service can be controlled at a very granular level all the way down to a specific device and a specific user . user a may subscribe to the video on demand ( vod ) service , but user b may not be allowed access to the service or even be allowed to subscribe to the service at all . if the user is a subscriber to a specific service he may not be able to access the vod service unless he is on a device that is actually capable of running that service as is determined by the digital identity server dynamically . the digital identity of the user as implemented by the digital identity server 100 includes a rich object oriented programming model that provides high reliability and high availability and scales to millions of users . the digital identity server 100 has easy extensibility to new client devices 113 and new server platforms and also provides for easy integration with existing stores 116 of user information being maintained by service providers and operators elsewhere on the internet . the overall digital identity system design is a four - tier architecture of clients 10 , 10 a , 12 , 12 a , adapters 18 , 14 , engine 22 with application programming interfaces 20 ( apis ) and database 24 shown in fig1 b . the digital identity server 100 provides a mechanism to provide connectors to different devices 10 , 12 ( where client software resides ) that can be hooked into the internal core digital identity engine 22 . such connectors are referred to herein as adapters 18 , 14 . a digital identity software development kit ( sdk ) 16 permits other clients 12 to write specialized adapters 14 . the specialized adapter 14 is a protocol translator written by an other client 12 using the digital identity sdk 16 that uses standardized xml protocol to communicate with a standard digital identity adapter to the digital identity engine 22 . client software may reside in devices other than user devices 10 , 12 . in particular , a catv system 11 b can be a catv client . in such case , digital identity software development kit ( sdk ) 16 a permits a specialized adapter 14 a to be written that uses standardized xml protocol to communicate with a standard digital identity adapter to the digital identity engine 22 . as another example , a web site can be a web site client 11 a communicating with the digital identity engine 22 via a standard adapters 18 . the digital identity engine 22 is the component that handles access to all of the data that adapters 10 , 10 a , 12 , 12 a ( and thus clients ) stored on the server side . the core engine 22 and its digital identity apis 20 are written in java to take advantage of java database connectivity ( jdbc ) as the primary mechanism for accessing the digital identity data . application programming interfaces ( apis ) are available as part of the tv navigator platform ( including client - side javascript and java apis ) and as part of the connect suite platform ( the server - side java based , xml based and corba based apis ) that allow applications to be authored on top of the digital identity platform . corba , an acronym for common object request broker architecture , is a type of object - oriented programming language system . the digital identity server ( 100 in fig1 ) further provides yet another interface that can be implemented by third parties in order to write specialized plug - ins ( 223 in fig2 a ) to the digital identity server 100 . specialized plug - ins are used to access ( in a transparent manner ) information residing in external systems ( 234 in fig2 a ) and including the legacy billing and sms systems of the catv operator ( or other service provider ). the portable digital identity server 18 , 20 , 22 of fig1 b is shown in further detail in fig2 a ( 210 ). the digital identity engine 230 provides an application programming interface ( api ) 228 to client adapter writers . the digital identity api is implemented as an efficient means for adapters to name , store , and control access to user data . the design relies on a relational database to provide the storage and indexing of user data . the digital identity engine 230 is what implements the api that adapters 222 , 224 , 226 use to perform operations on data . adapters are software components that communicate with clients . various adapters are developed for the various clients that digital identity server 210 supports . for example , standard adapters include a corba adapter , a digital television and cookie adapter 224 and an xml adapter 226 . additional adapters 212 may be created using the software development kit 214 . various client software 202 , 203 , 204 , 206 and 208 communicates with the digital identity server 210 via a corresponding adapter . for example , a provisioning application 202 and a digital identity control console 203 interface through a corba adapter 222 . a first generation digital television client 204 ( using a proprietary protocol ) interfaces through a digital television and cookie adapter 224 . a next generation digital television client communicates with the digital identity server 210 through an xml adapter 226 ( using a standard version of extensible markup language or xml ) as would the additional adapter 212 . corba clients use their own protocol , notably corba iiop in cobra adapter 222 , rather than xml / http in adapter 226 . similar to the operation of fig1 a , the command server 238 in fig2 a provides data on the nature and characteristics of the requesting user device . the digital identity server 210 then retrieves the digital identity information from either the system database 236 or an external database 234 and downloads it to the requesting user device . as shown in fig2 b , the digital identity engine 250 includes api implementation functions 252 responsive to the application programming interface 251 . the digital identity engine 250 further comprises a data access layer 254 responsive to the api functions 252 to perform all of the mechanisms for abstracting or accessing data out of the backend ( data storage ). the api implementation 252 communicates only with the data access layer 254 and not directly with the various back - end data access functions such as lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) 258 , 268 , java database connectivity ( jdbc ) 264 , schema mapper 266 , callout mechanism 260 and system data cache 262 . ( liberate technologies , 2 circle star way , san carlos , calif . 94070 ). the design is quite general , in the sense that adding a new mechanism for accessing data would require no changes to the api implementation functions 252 or the adapters ( 18 in fig1 b ). a data access layer 254 in the digital identity engine 230 provides the following functionality : pools connections 253 to all data sources , including group databases 272 b , system database 272 a , and lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) server ( s ) 268 ; dynamically updates and manage the relational database schema ; use of the schema mapper 256 and system data cache 262 to implement its operations and abstract from the api implementation 252 how data is accessed and where it is stored , hiding the fact that the data is distributed ; and provide the implicit mapping from the schema of the objects defined in xml to the database schema . the supported objects are given in the table below . these objects are the same as the objects defined in the xml protocol and used in the digital identity server . when a new type of collection object is introduced ( such as address book ), no new api functions are needed . only a new object , and its associated xml schema are needed . the data access layer 254 maintains objects and their mappings to physical tables automatically , so that no code has to change at the data access layer 254 when a new object is created . the same is true for new attributes of existing objects . the api implementation 252 calls only the various parts of the data access layer 254 to perform the functions it needs ; it does not call any other pieces , nor does it access any database ( 268 , 270 , 272 a , 272 b ) directly . the data access 254 layer maps each specific digital identity api 251 call into the ( more general ) data access call . for example , a createentity api function calls the generic “ create ” or “ set ” method in the data access layer 254 , after setting up all the right parameters , and the connection . similarly , a getcookies or getproperties api function , calls a generic “ get ” method , after setting up all the parameters for each type of object ( see object list above ) to get the data from the database . the schema mapper component 256 maintains the configuration of the xml schema objects , and their underlying physical tables . it also provides the data access layer 254 with a way to easily determine how to access a given piece of data . furthermore , the schema mapper 256 stores xml schema blobs in the command server 266 , allowing the customer to extend and control the schema dynamically ( through gui tools ). finally , the schema mapper 256 stores information about where attributes reside ( database , external lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ), etc ). the system data cache 262 minimizes the need to access the system database 272 a , since it is a global bottleneck . it further stores servergroup information for users / machines / accounts in a data cache 262 so that trips to the system database 272 a are eliminated whenever possible . the system data cache 262 further provides a way for the api implementation functions 252 to efficiently discover the user / machine / account relationships . finally , the system data cache 262 ensures that the in - memory cache is kept consistent with the database , given that there may be multiple digital identity servers 250 behind a load balancer , and the servers need to appear stateless . the function of providing consistent state conditions across multiple digital identity servers is accomplished by allowing communication between multiple digital identity servers for notification purposes when an entity is deleted or moved . each digital identity server 250 has the ability to connect to any datasource in the site , including all group databases 272 b , the system database 272 a , and all external customer data ( lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) 268 , sms 270 , etc ). however , each digital identity server 250 has the notion of a home server group , namely a group database 272 b to which it is “ tightly ” bound , either through physical locality , or through logical locality ( i . e . it expects to service a certain subset of users / machines / accounts in the normal case ). the digital identity server 250 optimizes its access to its own home server group 272 b as much as possible . the digital identity server 250 provides less optimized access to other server groups &# 39 ; data for administration functions ( such as moveentity ) and to external customer data . the digital identity server 250 has the option to provide access to all functions on other server groups , if the adapters / clients do not wish to connect to another digital identity server which is non - optimized . one digital identity server is able to service several adapters simultaneously . load balancing ( when possible ) is done between the clients and the adapters . in the alternative , load balancing may be done between the adapters and the digital identity engine through the network adapter the call - out component 260 retrieves data on a read - only basis from external ( operator - managed ) datastores 270 . the customer data retrieval typically occurs as part of an operation like getproperties in the api . use of the call - out 260 is dictated by the schema mapper 256 , which notes where and how individual properties can be retrieved . the call - outs are used only for primitive properties of entities , but may be generalized to apply to other data ( like services or collections ) as well . data structures are discussed in conjunction with fig3 through fig7 . as a part of any call - out , the entityid must be converted into an id that is meaningful for the external datastore . the conversion may involve a call into the system database 272 a or user database , to retrieve other properties . the conversion activity is performed either in the data access layer , or within the specific modules that perform the call - out . similarly , propertynames needs to be converted into external attribute names ; this information is generally available through the command server 266 . when the call - out returns , the returned data is merged into the result set that is returned from digital identity ( typically a sequence of propertynamevalues ), and is indistinguishable from other data . there are two call - outs shown in fig2 b : sms ( subscriber management system ) 260 uses a general function call ; lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) 258 is a special case for which higher - level support is provided . both of these call outs are examples of the external data i . e . legacy datstores ( 234 in fig2 a ). the sms callout mechanism 260 uses a function call to a customer - provided routine . typically , the sms module is called with an entityid and one or more propertynames . the sms callout resolves the id ( convert to an external id ), and then makes a function call to the external routine . in a java implementation , this routine is typically provided as a . jar file , loaded as a plugin . the argument list for external function includes at least external entity id and propertyname ( s ). the lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) call - out provides high - level support for retrieving data from a lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) repository . the data access layer calls the lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) module , supplying information such as the entityid and propertyname ( s ). the lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) call - out converts the entityid into an lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) distinguished name ( possibly using information from the system db or user db ), and converts the propertynames into lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) attribute names ( possibly using configuration parameters ). using configuration parameters , it then forms and executes a complete lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) call to retrieve the data , such as an lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) url , and processes the result set . in a java implementation , this lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) client can be implemented on java naming directory interface ( jndi ). most call - outs use the dircontext . getattributes ( ) method , to retrieve a set of lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) attribute values , which are merged into the digital identity result set . besides being easier to use than the more general call - out mechanism , the lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) module enables the data access layer 254 to pool 253 lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) connections , as it also does for java database connectivity ( jdbc ) connections . the diagram in fig2 c shows the sub - components of the software development kit ( sdk ) and network adapter 288 . the software development kit ( sdk ) 276 and network adapters 288 both convert between the digital identity api and the network protocol ( xml / http ). the sdks implement the digital identity api , hiding implementation details behind a standard interface . sdks are delivered as libraries , which are used by customers who build out - of - process ( external ) adapters . sdks must be written in the same language as the corresponding adapters , so separate sdks are required for each language in which adapters are written . sdks are required for both java and c / c ++. java adapters may be able to run natively ( in - process ), if their client - server protocol allows it . in - process adapters do not require sdks . the primary function of the sdk is to convert digital identity api calls into network - based communication with the digital identity server . a simplified process description is : 1 . call xml publisher 284 to convert api command and data into xml . 2 . call http module 280 to establish communication with server through connection pool 282 ; send xml request ; receive response . 3 . call xml parser 286 to parse response ; convert to api data structures ; return to caller . the network adapter 288 runs in the same process as the digital identity server , and services out - of - process adapters . the job of the network adapter 288 is the complement of the sdk 276 ; it converts xml / http requests back into digital identity to api function calls . in this sense , the digital identity server is using its native network protocol as a sort of rpc mechanism for the external adapters to make calls to the digital identity engine . the extensible markup language ( xml ) is actually very well suited for this purpose . similar conversions to / from xml ( shown as xml publisher 284 and xml parser 286 ) are performed in both the sdk and network adapter . these conversions share the same technology base , especially for xml parsing 286 . each adapter &# 39 ; s 274 primary function is to translate the communication that it receives from its client in its native protocol to the liberate digital identity api . clients make requests to adapters to perform certain operations such as getting and setting of data . these requests are decoded and handled by the adapter , and translated into digital identity api calls ; data returned from the api calls is encoded and sent to the client . as mentioned , adapters may run in - process or out - of - process ; the api is identical in either case . compared to in - process adapters , external ones offer advantages ( independence of programming language ; stability of external process ) and disadvantages ( potential performance penalty of extra network hop ). in general , in - process adapters should be used where possible , for performance reasons . adapters that rely on http use the same mechanism for decoding and handling the network traffic as the digital identity network adapter ( namely an http server such as apache ) 298 . a goal of the digital identity server is to use a single adapter to service all xml requests , be they from in - process or out - of - process adapters . to facilitate unification , a compatible xml format is adopted . the digital identity server does not provide native interfaces for corba or lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ). clients that use these protocols require special - purpose adapters . the adapters implement the appropriate server type ( corba or ldap ), but use digital identity protocols on the back end . the corba adapter is needed to support the user data manager , which is a corba client ( which may be implemented as a java applet ). like all corba servers , it supports an interface defined in an idl . idl has currently been defined for the digital identity engine consisting of about 40 operations , defined on 7 interfaces ( object classes ). this supports a particular object model , which may be been extended for digital identity . in order to make the new digital identity features accessible through corba , the idl is extended . the adapter translates idl calls into digital identity api calls . the corba adapter may run either in - process or out - of - process with respect to the digital identity engine . an in - process implementation links the digital identity engine into the corba server as a library , which is different from the method of running other in - process adapters , which are accessed through a web server interface . the out - of - process implementation uses the sdk and network adapter . as shown in fig3 , there are three top - level object classes : accounts 302 , users 306 and machines 304 . these three top - level object classes are collectively referred to as entities . individual entities have a unique entityid , specified when the entity is created . each user 306 is associated with exactly one account . each machine 304 is associated with exactly one account . as illustrated by the 1 to n relationship an account 302 may have a plurality of users 306 . as illustrated by the 1 to m relationship , an account 302 may have a plurality of machines 304 . for example , a household catv account 302 may include several family members as users 306 , and have more than one catv converter 304 . all entities may have primitive properties . properties are typed ; the current set of types is { string ; integer ; boolean ; binary }. besides the primitive properties , entities may have collection properties associated with them . collections are structured objects — i . e ., they have primitive properties of their own . collections may have many instances for a given entity ; each instance has a unique instanceid , which can be used to access that instance . as shown in fig5 , the account entity is associated with one or more attributes 510 , services 516 and collections 508 . an account entity 502 stores the properties of the account and billing information . similarly , fig6 illustrates the machine entity 604 being associated with one or more attributes 610 , services 616 and collections 608 . the machine entity 604 represents an interactive device . similarly , the user entity 706 is associated with one or more attributes 710 , services 716 and collections 708 . a user entity 706 represents the user of an interactive device or application . in addition , the user entity 706 is associative with one or more cookies 718 . as shown in fig4 , cookies have special collection properties , with particular semantics , such as name 406 , path 404 , domain 402 , value 410 , expiration 412 and security level 414 . besides being associated with particular entities , collection properties may have values at the global ( system ) level . customers may define additional properties for accounts , users , machines , or collection properties , and may define additional collection properties . entities have server groups , which specify where their data is located . users and machines associated with an account have the same server group as the account . fig8 is a hierarchical representation of the digital identity object model . various types of information are represented in the digital identity server to support the needs of administrators , applications , set - top boxes , and other users . the information is structured according to a particular model ( schema ), which reflects the world of accounts , machines , and users . information that is handled by the digital identity server can be accessed and manipulated in a variety of ways , including through corba , and from the settop box . the primary objects in the system are entities 802 , which correspond to accounts 806 , machines 808 , and users 810 . there are three subclasses of entities to represent the three cases listed above : accounts entities represents a billing account . an account may have multiple machine and multiple user entities associated with it . machine entities represents a single set - top box . each machine object must always have an associated account . user entities represents a user on a set - top box . each user object must always have an associated account . standard uml notation is used to represent both the digital identity object model and the associated corba idl . the boxes in fig8 represent classes ( corba interfaces ) of which there are 7 in the system . each box in fig8 is divided into three regions ; the top region shows the class name ; the middle region shows the attributes that are defined in the base schema ; the bottom region shows the operations ( methods ) that are defined in the corba idl . the lines among the boxes indicate relationships . the ones with arrowheads are generalizations ; the others are associations , with the multiplicity indicated by the numbers at either end . to improve scalability , network operators can create digital identity server groups . a deployment can have one or more digital identity server groups 902 , 904 , depending on how the network operator configures the system . each server group 902 , 904 has its own configuration settings and its own database . the use of server groups is convenient when managing a large number of subscribers . besides a database for each server group , there is a single , shared digital identity system database 906 that can be accessed by every digital identity server . the system database 906 contains basic information for all subscribers , while each server group database 902 , 904 only contains information about the subscribers in that particular group . digital identity adapters 908 , 910 communicate with the digital identity servers 902 , 904 across an api 912 that provides a single point of access to all data in all digital identity servers . this provides the following benefits : different tv navigator clients ( such as tv navigator standard and compact clients ) can all access the same digital identity server or server groups . developers can create custom provisioning applications that use the services of the digital identity corba adapter . these applications can also interface to external billing , customer service , and subscriber management systems , to interoperate with legacy systems . a simple graphical user interface is provided at the digital identity console 914 , which can access and modify persistent data stored in the digital identity servers . the digital identity console 914 is implemented as a corba client . through the provisioning plugin architecture , digital identity provides access to external back - end data stores , such as ldap servers enabling system operators to access legacy data . the digital identity architecture supports the development of new client adapters , as needed for emerging protocols . below are several examples of sample code for provisioning an account making requests and providing responses . | 7 |
the following examples will be illustrated below in detail as test examples and preparation examples , but are not construed to limit the technical scope of the present invention . glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme ( chondroitinase abc ( seikagaku corporation ) was used herein ; hereinafter sometimes referred simply to as cabc ) was subjected to the acute toxicity test . chondroitinase abc was intravenously administered once to five male and five female rats in a dose of 2 , 000 u / kg . for 14 days after the administration , the rats were observed for their general sign and survival and were weighed . after 14 days , the rats were subjected to autopsy , and their main organs were macroscopically observed . as a result , no animal died and no change was observed for general sign , the body weight , and finding in autopsy . thus , the no adverse level of chondroitinase abc by intravenous administration to rats is estimated as 2 , 000 u / kg . chondroitinase abc was administered once to the epidural space of the vertebral canal of two male and two female beagles in a dose of 40 u / animal . for 4 weeks after the administration , the dogs were observed for their general sign and survival and were weighed . after 4 weeks , the beagles were subjected to autopsy , and their main organs were macroscopically observed . as a result , no animal died and no change was observed for general sign , the body weight , and finding in autopsy . thus , the no adverse level of chondroitinase abc by administration to the epidural space of dogs is estimated as 40 u / kg . study of the effect of glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme on enhancement of disappearance of nucleus pulposus migrating in the vertebral epidural space the effect of glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme on enhancement of disappearance of nucleus pulposus migrating in the vertebral epidural space was studied using a rabbit by transplanting nucleus pulposus labeled with fluorescence into the epidural space of the rabbit , administering glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme to the vertebral epidural space , and determining the change in the amount of glycosaminoglycan in the transplanted fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus . in this experiment , a decrease in the amount of glycosaminoglycan in the transplanted fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus means enhancement of disappearance of nucleus pulposus . after preparing the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus , about 50 mg of it was transplanted into the vertebral epidural space of a rabbit . immediately thereafter , 2 ml of 25 u / ml of glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme , which was chondroitinase abc herein , was administered to the vertebral epidural space of the rabbit . on the next day , the rabbit was sacrificed and the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was collected to measure the amount of glycosaminoglycan in the collected fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus . a normal jw female rabbit weighing about 3 kg was used as an animal for collecting the nucleus pulposus referred to as nucleus pulposus - donor animal . a normal jw female rabbit weighing about 3 kg was used as an animal into which the nucleus pulposus is transplanted referred to as nucleus pulposus - recipient animal . as the test substance including glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme , a mixed solution of 0 . 5 ml of chondroitinase abc ( seikagaku corporation ; 1 , 000 u / rnl ) and 10 ml of phosphate - buffered saline was used . the group constitution used in this test is shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________ number of group test substance dose animals______________________________________control substance - pbs 2 ml / animal 5 administered group cabc - administered 47 . 6 u / ml cabc 2 ml / animal 6 group______________________________________ intervertebral discs of l6 / l7 , l5 / l6 , l4 / l5 , l3 / l4 , and l2 / l3 were taken out from nucleus pulposus donor animal ( rabbit ). nucleus pulposus was collected and pooled in a 50 - ml centrifuge tube . a 10 μl portion of a 50 mg / ml n , n - dimethylformamide ( dmf ) solution of fluorescein isothiocyanate ( fitc ) was added to the 50 - ml centrifuge tube containing nucleus pulposus and mixed . this centrifuge tube was allowed to stand at 0 ° c . for 5 days in a dark room . on day 6 , nucleus pulposus in the centrifuge tube was divided in 50 - mg portions and each portion was put into a tube containing phosphate - buffered saline . the tubes were centrifuged for washing of nucleus pulposus . the thus - obtained nucleus pulposus was referred to as &# 34 ; fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus &# 34 ;. the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was used to transplant to 5 animals in the control substance - administered group and 6 animals in the cabc - administered group . the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was transplanted into the vertebral epidural space under inhalation anesthesia with halothane ( trade name ; takeda chemical industries ). the hair - cut part on the back through the tail of the nucleus pulposus - recipient animals was disinfected with ethanol and isozin ( trade name ; meiji seika ) and then fixed . the skin on the back was cut by about 4 cm with a scalpel and dissected . spinous process and vertebral arch were removed and yellow ligament between l5 and l6 was vertically dissected . with making space using a spartale , 50 mg of the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was transplanted into th e tail side . the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was transplanted into the vertebral epidural space of l6 . after transplantation , the dissected site was sutured . in order to administer the test substance , the skin in the vicinity of l6 / l7 intervertebral disc at the tail side from the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus - transplanted site was dissected . the test substance was administered into the vertebral epidural space from l6 / l7 intervertebral disc at the tail side from the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus - transplanted site at a rate of 0 . 5 ml / min using an infusion pump . after completion of administration , the dissected site was sutured and disinfected with isozin ( trade name ; meiji seika ). on the next day , the nucleus pulposus recipient animals were sacrificed by exsanguination . the part from vertebrae lumbales l2 to cauda equina was excised and vertebral canal was exposed from the abdominal side . then , the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was recovered from the embedded part under the spinal cord . the recovered fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was lyophilized . after completion of lyophilization , the lyophilizate was weighed . the weighed samples were transferred to another tube . a 1 ml portion of a 0 . 25 % actinase solution was added thereto to effect digestion at 55 ° c . for about 3 hours and a half . after the digestion , the reaction mixture was heat - treated at 100 ° c . for 10 minutes to deactivate actinase . thus , a solution of actinase - digested fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was obtained . in order to quantify various glycosaminoglycans , namely chondroitin sulfate , keratan sulfate , and hyaluronan , in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus , the solution of actinase - digested fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was digested with the following glycosaminoglycan lyase . ( 2 - 8 - 3 - 1 ) digestion with chondroitinase a 100 μl portion of the solution of actinase - digested fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus was put into a tube . then , 20 μl of 5 u / ml chondroitinase abc ( seikagaku corporation ) was added thereto . the digestion reaction was carried out at 37 ° c . for 2 hours under slightly stirring . after completion of the digestion , 20 μl of 5 u / ml chondroitinase ac - ii ( seikagaku corporation ) and 20 μl of 1m sodium acetate buffer ( ph 6 . 0 ) were added to the reaction mixture . the digestion reaction was carried out again at 37 ° c . for 2 hours under slightly stirring to obtain chondroitinase - digested product of the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus . this digestion product was used as a sample for quantification of chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronan in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus . chondroitin sulfate in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus can be quantified by detecting δdi - 6s which represents 2 - acetamido - 2 - deoxy - 3 - o -( β - d - gluco - 4 - enopyranosyluronic acid )- 6 - o - sulfo - d - galactose , δdi - 4s which represents 2 - acetamido - 2 - deoxy - 3 - o -( β - d - gluco - 4 - enopyranosyluronic acid )- 4 - o - sulfo - d - galactose , and δd i - 0s which represents 2 - acetamido - 2 - deoxy - 3 - o -( β - d - gluco - 4 - enopyranosyluronic acid )- d - galactose , derived from chondroitin sulfate contained in this digested product , by high - performance liquid chromatography as described later . on the other hand , hyaluronan in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus can be quantified by detecting δdi - ha which represents 2 - acetamido - 2 - deoxy - 3 - o -( β - d - gluco - 4 - enopyranosyluronic acid )- d - glucose , derived from hyaluronan contained in this digested product , by high - performance liquid chromatography as described later . a 100 μl portion of the solution of the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus digested with actinase was put into a tube . then , 20 μl of 0 . 1 u / ml keratanase prepared by the method described in wo96 / 16166 and 20 μl of 1m sodium acetate buffer ( ph 6 . 0 ) were added thereto . the digestion was performed at 37 ° c . for 48 hours under slightly stirring to obtain the digestion product of the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus with keratanase . this digestion product was used as a sample for quantification of keratan sulfate in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus . keratan sulfate in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus can be quantified by detecting gal - glcnac ( 6s ) ( hereinafter sometimes referred to as l2 ) and gal ( 6s )- glcnac ( 6s ) ( hereinafter sometimes referred to as l4 ), wherein gal represents a galactose residue , glcnac represents an n - acetylglucosamine residue , ( 6s ) represents 6 - o - sulfate ester , and -- represents a glycoside bond , derived from keratan sulfate contained in the digestion product by high - performance liquid chromatography as described later . after digestion with glycosaminoglycan lyase , the whole amount of each digestion product was subjected to ultrafiltration using centrifuge ultrafiltration tube with molecular weight cutoff of 10 , 000 ( trade name : ultrafree , millipore ). a 5 to 10 μl portion of the filtrate resulted from the above ultrafiltration was applied onto the hplc column . the hplc conditions for analysis of δdi - 6s , δdi - 4s , and l4 are described below . ( 1 ) column : senshu pack n ( ch 3 ) 2 - 315 - n , φ8 mm × 15 cm ( senshu kagaku ); the hplc conditions for analysis of δdi - ha , δdi - os , and l2 are described below . ( 1 ) column : asahi pack nh2p , φ4 . 6 mm × 25 cm × 2 columns ( asahi chemical industry ); fig1 shows the content of δdi - ha , which is an index for the content of hyaluronan , δdi - cs showing the total content of δdi - 6s , δdi - 4s , and δdi - 0s , which is an index for the content of chondroitin sulfate , and di - ks showing the total content of l2 and l4 , which is an index of the content of keratan sulfate , in the fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus in the control substance - administered group and the cabc - administered group . in fig1 pbs represents for the control substance - administered group , and c - abc for the cabc - administered group . further , in fig1 ha , cs , and ks represent hyaluronan , chondroitin sulfate , and keratan sulfate , respectively . ** means that there is a significant difference with p & lt ; 0 . 05 and * means there is a significant difference with p & lt ; 0 . 1 , between the two groups as a result of the t - test . as a result , the contents of any glycosaminoglycan in the transplanted fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus in the cabc - administered group was remarkably reduced as compared with those in the control substance - administered group . particularly , there was statistically significant decrease in the contents of chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate in the transplanted fluorescence - labeled nucleus pulposus in the cabc - administered group as compared with those in the control substance - administered group . further , as a result of histological observation , infiltration of phagocyte was observed in a shorter period of time in the cabc - administered group as compared with the control substance - administered group . a number of granulocytes and macrophages also infiltrated in the cabc - administered group . phagocytosis of epidurally migrating nucleus pulposus by these phagocytes took place . it was indicated that administration of cabc also enhances phagocytosis of epidurally migrating nucleus pulposus by phagocytes . as a result of further observation , cabc did not affect spinal cord at all . this result revealed that cabc administered in the vertebral epidural space not only functions to extremely efficiently digest nucleus pulposus in the vertebral epidural space but also enhances phagocytosis of epidurally migrating nucleus pulposus by phagocytes to extremely efficiently eliminate epidurally migrating nucleus pulposus . it was also indicated that cabc digested only nucleus pulposus in the vertebral epidural space without making any influence on spinal cord . from the above results , it was found that the composition for administration to vertebral epidural space comprising a glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme and the therapeutic agent for epidurally migrating herniated intervertebral disc comprising a glycosaminoglycan degrading enzyme as an active ingredient have the effect to extremely efficiently and effectively eliminating epidurally migrating nucleus pulposus without affecting spinal cord by not only efficiently digesting nucleus pulposus of herniated intervertebral disc migrating in the vertebral epidural space but also enhancing phagocytosis of nucleus pulposus by phagocytes . 1 ) a mixture of 0 . 5 ml of chondroitinase abc ( seikagaku corporation ; 1 , 000 u / ml ) and 10 ml of phosphate - buffered saline was filter sterilized and distributed into ampules in 2 ml portions . the ampules were sealed . thus , injectable preparations for treatment of epidurally migrating herniated intervertebral disc were produced . 2 ) keratanase ii which is keratan sulfate endo - β - n - acetylglucosaminidase ( seikagaku corporation ) ( final concentration of 20 u / ml ), saccharose ( final concentration of 1 % ( w / w )), and polyethylene glycol 4000 ( final concentration of 2 % ( w / w )) were dissolved in 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ). the mixture was distributed in 0 . 5 ml portions / vial and lyophilized . the lyophilization was carried out by cooling from room temperature to - 45 ° c . for freezing , effecting first drying for 12 hours under reduced pressure at 60 mtorr , raising the temperature up to 25 ° c . with 12 hours , and effecting second drying at 25 ° c . for 10 hours . after drying , the vials were pressured with nitrogen gas and plugged . thus , the injectable lyophilized composition for administration to the vertebral epidural space were produced . | 0 |
the figure shows an audible alarm controller state machine diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention . typically , such a state machine would control a set of alarms having the same general priority level . an alarm management system would have other such state machines controlling sets of alarms of other priority levels , and logic to allow higher priority alarms to take precedence over lower priority alarms . in the preferred embodiment of the figure , the audible alarm controller state machine receives input from a plurality of alarms , referenced generally in the state diagram as alarm_ 1 through alarm_n . after system startup and before any alarm occurrences , the state machine is in state idle . when a fault condition occurs , for example the condition associated with alarm_ 1 , the state machine detects the leading edge of signal alarm_ 1 and moves to state aud_alarm_ 1 . in this state , history flag alarm_ 1 _hist is set , indicating that this fault has occurred , and the audible alarm is sounded . the state machine stays in this state , with the audible alarm continuing to sound , until the craftsperson punches a momentary contact manual shutoff button , whereupon the state machine detects the leading edge of signal manual_off , or signal alarm_ 1 returns to zero through software control . when the state machine detects the edge of signal manual_off or signal alarm_ 1 returns to zero , the state machine returns to state idle . on a subsequent occurrence of signal alarm_ 1 , the audible alarm controller state machine will remain in state idle because history flag alarm_ 1 _hist has been set . however , other first time fault occurrences will cause the state machine to move to the appropriate audible alarm state . additional reset logic not shown but typically included in the alarm management system will be readily understood by someone skilled in the art . this reset logic typically is triggered by a system reset or periodic software logic specifically directed to the alarm management system , and would , for example , reset all alarms and their associated history flags , and move the audible alarm controller state machine to state idle . as can be seen from the figure , it is possible that an alarm can be masked . for example , if signal alarm_ 2 occurs while in state aud_alarm_ 1 , then upon return to state idle following signal manual_off , transition to state aud_alarm_ 2 from state idle will not occur . it is assumed that the craftsperson , while actively working towards a diagnosis and resolution of the alarm_ 1 fault condition , will be notified , for example through the system console , that signal alarm_ 2 has occurred . although the figure and preceding description describe a preferred embodiment of the present invention , alternative embodiments are allowed . for example , if it is advantageous that certain faults trigger an audible alarm on each occurrence , the associated alarm history flags may be hard - coded as permanently not set . it will also be understood by those skilled in the art that , while an audible alarm is described , the audible alarm controller state machine can equivalently control other external indicators , such as visual indicators or output signals . for purposes of brevity in the disclosure and claims , the term audible alarm , as used herein to indicate an external audible indicator , should be taken to also include other external indicators , such as visual indicators and output signals . applicants &# 39 ; invention is typically implemented as a hardware state machine in a programmable logic device ( pld ) on a printed circuit board ( pcb ). commercially available pld programming systems may be used to aid in the programming of the pld . the invention may also be implemented using discrete components on a pcb . while the inventive system has been particularly shown and described , it is not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to the embodiment disclosed . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . | 6 |
fig1 a to 1d show different steps for producing an advantageous coupling device 1 . firstly , a punched mesh 3 is produced from a copper sheet 2 by punching out . in the present exemplary embodiment , the punched mesh 3 has a substantially square frame 4 , within which a multiplicity of square - shaped contact plates 5 and a web 6 extending over almost the entire width of the punched mesh 3 are arranged and are connected to the frame 4 by means of connecting webs 7 . the web 6 is centrally arranged , while the contact plates 5 are arranged on both sides of the web 6 , respectively running in two rows parallel to the web , wherein the row of contact plates 5 respectively lying closer to the web is generally denoted hereafter by 8 and the row of contact plates 5 respectively lying further to the outside is generally denoted hereafter by 9 . in a second step , according to fig1 b , the punched mesh 3 is re - shaped by a bending process in such a way that the outer - lying rows 9 of the contact plates 5 lie in a plane at a distance from the inner - lying rows 8 and the web 6 . in other words , in the present exemplary embodiment the punched mesh 1 is given a substantially u - shaped cross section . it is of course also conceivable in this respect to carry out the punching operation and the bending operation simultaneously or substantially simultaneously in one punching - bending step . the u shape of the punched mesh 3 expediently does not have members that are perpendicular to one another , but members that run at an angle , which run from the connecting webs 7 between the row 9 of outer - lying contact plates and the row 8 of inner - lying contact plates 5 . this angled form gives the punched mesh 3 resilient properties , wherein said connecting webs 7 between the rows 8 and 9 respectively form spring elements 10 of the punched mesh 3 . in a step which then follows , the punched mesh 3 is encapsulated in certain regions by a damping mass 11 in such a way that the damping mass 11 forms a damper element 12 . in particular , the spring elements 10 are encapsulated at least substantially completely . the damper element 12 likewise has a square contour . the contact plates 5 of the outer - lying rows 9 thereby rest on an upper side 13 of the damper element 12 , so that their respective side that is facing away from the damper element and is exposed forms a contact area 14 . there is a corresponding situation on the underside 15 of the damper element 12 , on which the web 6 and the contact plates 5 of the inner - lying rows 8 rest . advantageously , the damper element 12 or the damping mass 11 consists at least substantially of silicone . in a final step according to fig1 d , the connecting webs 7 running in the parallel planes and the frame 4 are separated and the punched mesh 3 is thereby singulated . only the connecting webs 7 forming the spring elements 10 are preserved . these later form the electrical connection 25 from an electrical / electronic structural part arranged on the upper side 13 to a substrate on which the coupling device 1 may be arranged by means of the underside 15 . the advantageous coupling device 1 , as it is represented in fig1 d , offers both an electrical connection and a spring - mass system with a damper in a simple way . the singulating of the punched mesh 3 is expediently performed by one or more punching operations . this preferably involves moving a punching tool substantially perpendicularly in relation to the upper side 13 or the underside 15 , whereby a force is respectively applied in the direction of the damping mass to the connecting webs to be separated . since the contact plates 5 , and consequently the connecting webs to be separated , are respectively arranged outside the damping mass 11 , the punching tool directly applies a force in the direction of the damping mass 11 to the connecting webs . the force and the rate of advancement of the punching tool are preferably chosen in this case in such a way that the damping mass is merely elastically deformed during the punching operation . as a result , the separated connecting webs can subsequently be removed particularly easily from the damping mass 11 or they detach themselves . it may possibly also be provided that the force and / or the rate of advancement are chosen in such a way that the connecting webs are driven into the damping mass 11 during the punching operation , so that the damping mass 11 is also plastically deformed . in the latter case , the detached connecting webs may subsequently remain in the damping mass 11 . as a result , the damping property of the coupling device as a whole can be further changed or influenced . the electrical connections 25 lying in the damping mass 11 are intended to remain , and consequently also do not have to be taken into consideration in the punching operation . advantageously , a multiplicity of punched meshes 3 are provided , forming a punched mesh matrix , and preferably held by a common frame and separated from one another by a separate punching operation or during the punching operation described above , which serves for singulating the respective punched mesh 3 , and are divided into individual punched meshes 3 , as represented by way of example in fig1 d . consequently , a multiplicity of the advantageous coupling devices 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of fig1 d can be produced in a simple way . it is particularly advantageous if production does not involve encapsulating a single punched mesh 3 with damping mass but instead simultaneously encapsulating the punched meshes of a punched mesh matrix ( also known as a punched mesh array ) with damping mass and subsequently singulating them . in order to connect or attach an electrical / electronic structural part particularly easily to the coupling device 1 , advantageously soldering paste is respectively applied to the contact areas 14 . as a result , rapid mounting of a corresponding structural part on the coupling device is ensured . fig2 a and 2b show the coupling device 1 in a side view in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the web 6 ( fig2 a ) and perpendicular thereto ( fig2 b ). an electrical / electronic structural part 16 , which is formed as a sensor 17 with movement - sensitive micromechanics , has been applied here to the coupling device 1 known from fig1 d . all that is shown here of the sensor 17 is a housing 18 , which is formed as a molded housing 19 and has on its side facing the coupling device 1 electrical contacts , which rest on the contact areas 14 of the coupling device 1 . the housing 18 is advantageously adhesively attached to the damper element 12 . the assembly 20 formed as a result , consisting of the coupling device 1 and the structural part 16 , can then be soldered for example on a substrate , such as for example on a circuit board , wherein the connection between the coupling device 1 and the housing 18 is also established in the same step by soldering with the aid of the soldering paste 21 . the advantageous connection of the structural part 16 to the circuit board by way of the coupling device 1 has the effect that the structural part 16 is decoupled in terms of vibration , so that the sensitive micromechanics of the sensor 17 are not influenced in an unwanted manner by vibrations . in addition , the functional capability is ensured to the extent that no stresses that could destroy the soldered connections occur between the sensor 17 and the circuit board , for example on account of tolerances during the mounting or due to temperature - induced material changes . fig3 shows a further embodiment of the coupling device 1 given by way of example , before the singulation of the punched mesh 3 . as a difference from the exemplary embodiment known from fig1 c , the punched mesh 3 does not have a web 6 . provided instead are a number of rows of five contact plates each , which extend over the width of the punched mesh 3 and are connected to one another by way of connecting webs 7 only in the respective row . of course , any number of different configurations of the punched mesh 3 are conceivable . fig4 shows an advantageous exemplary embodiment of a development of the assembly 20 . according to this exemplary embodiment , the coupling device 1 forms an integral constituent part of the structural part 16 or of the sensor 17 . for this purpose , in the present case two components 22 , 23 of the sensor 17 are arranged on the damper element 12 ( on the upper side 13 ) between the outer - lying rows 9 of the contact plates 5 . subsequently , the components 22 and 23 are advantageously electrically contacted or connected to the contact areas 14 of the punched mesh 3 by means of bonded connections . in the step which then follows , the coupling device 1 and the components 22 , 23 located thereupon and the contact plates 5 are housed by a molding process , whereby a molded housing 24 is formed . subsequently , the desired connecting webs 7 are removed and the punched mesh 3 is singulated and the frame 4 removed . as a result , on the one hand the components 22 , 23 and the bonded connections are protected from external influences , and on the other hand a particularly compact and easy - to - handle assembly 20 is offered . the fact that the molded housing 24 is formed directly on the coupling device 1 , by an injecting and / or molding operation , means that the coupling device 1 is integrated in the assembly 20 . the assembly 20 configured in this way must then just be attached to a substrate — not represented here —, for example by means of soldering . in a further exemplary embodiment , not represented here , the circuit board or the substrate likewise forms a constituent part of the assembly 20 , so that , by means of a circuit board , the assembly 20 can be produced and offered as a structural unit . in principle , it is also conceivable to arrange the components 22 , 23 on the underside 15 of the damper element 12 , in particular on the copper web 6 , in order to make the creation of the bonded connections easier . | 8 |
the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . as used herein , the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ), and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality . according to the present invention , surfaces of heat exchange conduits in a heat exchanger are coated with a material including teflon ® to reduce fouling . referring now to fig1 , a vehicle 10 includes an exhaust gas recirculation ( egr ) system 14 that selectively supplies re - circulated exhaust gas 16 to an engine 17 . the egr system 14 includes the egr valve 18 and a heat exchanger 19 . a control module 20 selectively opens and closes the egr valve 18 during engine operation to allow the re - circulated exhaust gas 16 into an intake manifold 24 . the egr valve 18 may be positioned between partially open and partially closed positions . exhaust gas 30 from the engine 17 flows into an exhaust manifold 32 . a recirculation exhaust conduit 34 directs some of the exhaust gas 30 into the egr system 14 . the heat exchanger 19 cools the re - circulated exhaust gas 16 . skilled artisans will appreciate that the present invention applies to various heat exchanger configurations . for example , the heat exchanger may have a tube - type , plate - type , shell - type , or any other suitable design . referring now to fig2 a and 2b , an exemplary embodiment of a tube - type heat exchanger 28 includes a plurality of tubes 50 that are located in a housing 52 . an exhaust inlet opening 53 and an exhaust outlet opening 54 are located at opposite ends of the heat exchanger 28 . the housing 52 also includes a fluid inlet opening 55 and a fluid outlet opening 56 . an inlet plate 58 and outlet plate 59 may be positioned between the exhaust inlet opening 53 and housing 52 and between the housing 52 and the exhaust outlet opening 54 , respectively . the re - circulated exhaust gas 16 enters the heat exchanger 28 through the exhaust inlet opening 53 , flows through the plurality of tubes 50 , and exits through the exhaust outlet opening 54 . the re - circulated exhaust gas 16 is cooled as it flows through the plurality of tubes 50 . for example , a fluid 60 such as coolant or air surrounds the tubes 50 . since the tubes 50 are made from a highly conductive material , the fluid 60 surrounding the tubes 50 absorbs heat as the re - circulated exhaust gas 16 flows through the tubes 50 . the fluid inlet opening 55 and fluid outlet opening 56 define a pathway through the cylindrical housing 52 for the fluid 60 . more specifically , the fluid 60 enters the fluid inlet opening 55 , flows between the tubes 50 , and exits through the fluid outlet opening 56 . the inlet and outlet plates 58 , 59 contain the fluid 60 within the housing 52 . a material 64 that includes teflon ® is applied to the inner surfaces of the tubes 50 . the material 64 may include a thermally conductive material since teflon ® impedes heat transfer . the thermally conductive material may include bronze . the material 64 , when applied to the heat exchange conduits in the heat exchanger 28 , reduces fouling . referring now to fig3 a , an alternate embodiment of the present invention is a plate - type heat exchanger 100 . the plate - type heat exchanger 100 includes a plurality of plates , shown in conjunction with fig3 b and 3 c , within a housing 102 . an exhaust inlet 104 , an exhaust outlet 106 , a fluid inlet 108 , and a fluid outlet 109 are in fluid communication with the plates within the housing 102 . referring now to fig3 b , a cross - sectional side view of the plate - type heat exchanger 100 illustrates the flow of exhaust gas 1 10 through the plate - type heat exchanger 100 . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , exhaust gas 110 enters the plate - type heat exchanger 100 through the exhaust inlet 104 , flows through a plurality of exhaust conduits 111 , and out of the exhaust outlet 106 . the plates 112 are placed in a parallel arrangement with respect to each other within the housing 102 . the plates 112 are separated from each other to create exhaust conduits 111 and fluid conduits 113 for the exhaust gas 110 and fluid 114 to flow through , respectively . the plates 112 will have one side in fluid communication with the exhaust gas 110 and the opposite side in fluid communication with the fluid 114 . a teflon ®- based material 115 is used to coat the exhaust conduits 111 , the exhaust inlet 104 , and the exhaust outlet 106 to reduce fouling . referring now to fig3 c , a cross - sectional side view of the plate - type heat exchanger 100 illustrates the flow of fluid 114 through the plate - type heat exchanger 100 . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , fluid 114 enters through the fluid inlet 108 , flows through a plurality of fluid conduits 113 located between the plates 112 , and out of the fluid outlet 109 . the plates 112 transfer heat from the exhaust gas 110 to the fluid 114 . in some implementations , the exhaust gas 110 and fluid 114 may flow in the same direction ( not shown ) and / or the plates 112 may have depressions ( not shown ) to create a more efficient heat transfer . those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms . therefore , while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof , the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings , the specification and the following claims . | 5 |
in accordance with this invention , a method is provided for diagnosing cystic fibrosis in patients and also for diagnosing asymptomatic carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene . the method comprises inserting monospecific antibody to cystic fibrosis protein into a first position on a gel - covered plate . a body fluid for diagnosis is inserted into a second position on the plate . an electric potential is imposed across the positions , with the anode being positioned adjacent to the position containing the body fluid , and the cathode is adjacent to the section containing the monospecific antibody . the presence of cystic fibrosis protein , which is the indicator of the presence of the cystic fibrosis gene , is indicated by at least one precipitation zone , with the relative position of the precipitation zone between the first and second positions or the area of the zone indicating the concentration of the cystic fibrosis protein . cystic fibrosis protein antibody from hyperimmune mouse sera produces a pair of lines of precipitation against serum of cystic fibrosis homozygotes and obligate heterzygote carriers , and only a single line against normal control sera when analyzed by known counterimmunoelectrophoresis or immunoelectrophoresis techniques . the hyperimmune mouse sera used above may be further purified of unwanted antibodies by the addition of sufficient amounts of human serum or immunoglobulin g ( igg ), free of cystic fibrosis protein , to remove the unwanted antibodies . under this circumstance of use of a substantially pure antibody a single precipitation zone is formed in the electrophoresis process between the first and second positions described above , while no precipitation zone is obtained in the presence of a control serum free of cystic fibrosis protein . in addition , the precipitation zone obtained by a counterimmunoelectrophoresis technique against the serum of obligate heterozygote carriers is usually closer to the second position on the electrophoresis plate and fainter than the line obtained against the serum of cystic fibrosis homozygotes , indicating the presence of less cystic fibrosis protein . thus , this test , which may be done rapidly and utilizes reduced amounts of antiserum compared with other tests , can be used not only to diagnose cystic fibrosis , but additionally to identify asymptomatic carriers in many cases . alternatively , laurell rocket immunoelectrophoresis may be used . the method may employ incorporating the antibody in a gel section and the cfp in slots near the anode . the applied potential causes electrophoresis of the cfp into the antibody - containing gel so that precipitation zones or &# 34 ; rockets &# 34 ; of conical shape are formed . the height of the rocket is proportional to the concentration of the cfp in the sample . the monospecific antibody cfp also allows quantification of cfp levels in serum and can be employed to diagnose cystic fibrosis and locate asymptomatic carriers in many cases . monospecific cfp antibody may be also used in other diagnostic techniques for the detection of cystic fibrosis protein including direct or indirect radioimmunoassay , enzyme - linked solid or liquid phase immunoassay or passive hemagglutinationassay with antibody - coated cells or single or double immunodiffusion techniques , for example . the body fluid for diagnosis utilized herein may be amniotic fluid for diagnosis of cfp in a fetus , blood serum , saliva , urine or a tissue culture supernatant , among others . the cystic fibrosis protein needed for the above methods may be purified in the following manner : the serum of individuals possessing the defective gene causing cystic fibrosis may be incubated with protein a from staphylococcus auereus , covalently coupled to a solid carrier , particularly sepharose and specifically sepharose cl - 4b , to specifically absorb the immunoglobulin g and materials bound thereto . it is of course considered to be an equivalent technique within the scope of this invention to pass various components of serum of individuals possessing the defective gene , or modified serum , as long as the specific step of the absorption of the immunoglobulin g to the bound protein a takes place . thereafter the protein a and carrier , with its absorbed immunoglobulin g , is placed into an aqueous solution buffered to acidic ph , preferably ph 2 . 5 - 3 . 5 such as ph 3 . 0 , to dissociate cystic fibrosis protein and immunoglobulin g from the protein a . after this , isoelectric focusing of the dissociated cystic fibrosis protein and igg may take place on a gel surface , so that the cystic fibrosis protein is largely isolated at a certain area on the gel . alternatively , the protein a - igg - cfp complexes may be placed directly on a gel near the anode to be electrofocused . specific techniques that may be utilized in the isoelectric or electrofocusing technique are as described in the following articles : wilson , arnaud and fudenberg , improved method for the detection of cystic fibrosis protein in serum using the lkb multiphor focusing apparatus , pediatric research , volume 11 , page 986 ( 1977 ); wilson , arnaud , monsher and fudenberg , detection of cystic fibrosis protein by electrofocusing , pediatric research , volume 10 , page 1001 ( 1976 ); wilson , monsher and fudenberg , additional notes on the use of analytic isoelectric focusing for the detection of cystic fibrosis protein in serum , pediatric research , volume 11 , page 139 ( 1977 ); wilson , fudenberg and jahn , studies on cystic fibrosis using isoelectric focusing . i . an assay for the detection of cystic fibrosis homozygotes and heterozygote carriers from serum , pediatric research , volume 9 , page 635 ( 1975 ). specifically , a ph gradient of about 2 . 5 to 10 or preferably 5 - 10 may be used , and a potential of at least about 1000 v up to about 1500 v , although higher or lower potentials may be used depending on the time allowed for electrofocusing . after the electrofocusing technique , fixation and staining of the gel may also be accomplished using tricholoracetic acid and sulfosalicylic acid at 4 ° c . before staining , or concurrently fixed and stained at 80 ° c . employing both of the above acids as described in the article of wilson , fudenberg , and jahn in pediatric research , volume 9 , page 635 ( 1975 ) or the article by wilson , arnaud and fudenberg in pediatric research , volume 11 , page 986 ( 1977 ). the resulting isoelectrically focused cystic fibrosis protein on the gel is a protein band with a pi between ph 8 . 4 and 8 . 5 , located in a specific position on the gel surface . fixation and staining of the gel is normally carried out using a small section of the gel to insure that proper focusing of the cfp has occurred . following this , a first portion of the focused ( unfixed and unstained ) gel which contains the purified cystic fibrosis protein is excised , and emulsified in a saline solution of physiological concentration . alternatively the cfp can be purified from igg either after the acidification of the protein a gel - igg - cfp mixture or after emulsification of the electrofused gel containing cfp , by chromatography on a gel column of for example bio - gel p - 10 ( sold by bio - rad ). the pure cfp may then be coupled covalently - to a carrier such as methylated bovine serum albumin for injection . thereafter , the emulsified saline mixture is injected into a target animal , such as goat , sheep , rabbit , horse , or mouse . preferably , the target animal is a new - born mouse which has been previously immunized at birth with a saline emulsion of a second excised portion of isoelectrically focused gel derived from the serum of a cystic fibrosis free - donor , with the second excised portion of electrofocused gel being from the gel portion that the cystic fibrosis protein would have occupied if present , and otherwise corresponding to the first excised gel portion containing cystic fibrosis protein . the effect of this is to cause the new - born mouse to become tolerant to the material found in the second excised portion of the electrofocused gel in the sense that it fails to form antibodies to such materials upon subsequent immunological challenge . the mouse is thus immunized with the emulsion of the first electrofocused gel portion containing the cystic fibrosis protein , with the result that the mouse , in an appropriate period of time , produces a monospecific antibody for cystic fibrosis protein which is uncontaminated with any antibodies for the other materials found in the first and second portions of the electrofocused gel . the antibody produced by the mouse or other target animal may be then collected and isolated by conventional techniques and used . specifically , the antibody may also be purified by reaction with normal human plasma or immunoglobulin g , to neutralize extraneous antibodies to purify the antibody for the cystic fibrosis protein . however , preferably , hybridoma clones may be prepared by fusing spleen cells from the mouse or other immune target animal with nonimmunoglobulin secreting cells , such as murine myeloma cells . the resulting fused cells ( hybrids ) are then isolated by known techniques , and may be cultured to produce preferably monospecific antibody for cystic fibrosis protein . referring to the drawings , fig1 and fig2 each are plan view of counterimmunoelectrophoresis plates , coated with gel and used for detection of cfp in accordance with this invention . specific examples of the manufacture of a test kit using counterimmunoelectrophoresis in accordance with this invention are described below . it is understood that the specific examples described below are for illustrative purposes only , and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention of this application , which is as defined in the claims below . as described in our article in the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine , volume 92 , no . 3 , pages 463 - 482 ( september , 1978 ), protein a purified from s . aureus and covalently coupled to an insoluble matrix of sepharose cl - 4b by the cyanogen bromide method was purchased from pharmacia fine chemicals , piscataway , n . j . the protein a content of the gel was reported to be 2 mg . per ml . of gel , and the binding capacity was indicated to be approximately 25 mg . of immunoglobulin g per ml . of gel . prior to use , various amounts of the dry gel were weighed out , suspended in phosphate buffered saline at ph 7 . 2 in 5 ml . of the phosphate buffered saline per 10 mg . of dry gel , and incubated at 37 ° c . for 90 minutes , to allow the gel to swell . the cell was then resuspended and washed three times in phosphate buffered saline at ph 7 . 2 maintaining a gel - to - liquid ratio of 1 : 10 by volume , to remove dextran and lactose added by the manufacturer . the gel suspension was centrifuged at 250 g . for 15 minutes after each wash to recover the solids . cell - free serum from a cystic fibrosis patient was added to the protein a - sepharose gel in a quantity sufficient to provide approximately 25 mg . of immunoglobulin g per ml . of gel . the mixture was incubated for 60 minutes at 37 ° c . with constant agitation to keep the gel in suspension . after incubation , the tubes were centrifuged at 250 g . for 15 minutes , and the protein a gel was collected . the resulting filter residue was washed with the phosphate buffered saline solution described above . thereafter , the protein a - sepharose carrier gel and absorbed immunoglobulin g was placed into an aqueous solution buffered to ph 3 . 0 , to dissociate the cystic fibrosis protein and immunoglobulin g from protein a . following centrifugation to separate the solids from the liquids , the liquid residue constituted a suspension of the cystic fibrosis protein and igg with other serum components such as kallikrein and plasmin removed by the process . these components in particular can interfere with the purification of the cystic fibrosis protein since they have isoelectric points ( pi ) close to that of cystic fibrosis protein . the cystic fibrosis protein was further purified then by electrofocusing the above suspension on a polyacrylamide gel surface by means of a technique as specifically described in the references cited above using a gradient of a range of at least 5 ph units in the range of ph 2 . 5 - 10 , including ph 8 to 9 and a potential of about 1000 volts , and 35 watts , including a current of preferably 1 to 100 milliampere . the area of the electrofocused gel surface which contained proteins having a pi of 8 . 46 ± 0 . 05 , constituting purified cystic fibrosis protein ( and small amounts of igg ) was then excised with a sharp knife and emulsified in isotonic acetate buffer at ph 3 . 5 - 5 . 5 and typically ph 4 . 7 . the acidic ph insures that the cystic fibrosis protein remains dissociated from immunoglobulin g when injected . specifically , the ph of such a solution should be less than 6 and preferably less than 5 , but as stated , the solution must be physiological , i . e ., not capable of causing injury to the recipient , since it is intended for injection into a target animal . the physiological emulsified solution was then used to immunize balb / c mice intraperitoneally weekly for three to six weeks . serum was then collected from the mice and placed on the agarose ( agar ) gel - coated electrophoresis plate of fig1 identified by reference numeral 10 , with the hyperimmune mouse sera being placed in upper wells 11 to 14 . serum from patients having cystic fibrosis was placed in lower wells 21 and 23 . serum from normal patients , free of cystic fibrosis protein , was placed in wells 20 and 22 . a 40 ma current was placed in the gel in conventional manner by normal electrodes between wells 11 through 14 and wells 20 through 23 , with the anode being adjacent wells 20 through 23 and the cathode being adjacent wells 11 through 14 . as shown in fig1 in the area between wells 11 and 20 , and 13 and 22 , representing the interaction of normal serum , a single precipitation line 26 , 28 is respectively observed . however , between wells 12 and 21 , and 14 and 23 , double precipitation lines 30 through 33 are observed , providing an indication of the presence of cystic fibrosis protein . accordingly , with a supply of purified cystic fibrosis protein antibody obtained as described herein , an easily usable test kit may be provided for screening of potential patients for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis ( neonatal diagnosis ), and also for determining carriers of cystic fibrosis gene since the method also detects cfp in their body fluids , and also prenatal diagnosis through amniocentesis . referring to fig2 the hyperimmune mouse antisera produced in the manner as described above may be mixed with human sera or immunoglobulin g which is free of cystic fibrosis protein , to remove unwanted antibodies from the hyperimmune mouse serum . the resulting hyperimmune mouse serum may be utilized in conjunction with a conventional agarose ( agar ) gel - coated electrophoresis plate 36 , with the monospecific mouse antisera placed in upper wells 44 through 46 . a human serum for test is placed in lower wells 38 through 41 . in lower well 38 , serum from a cystic fibrosis patient is placed . in lower well 39 the serum from a symptom - free obligate heterozygote carrier of cystic fibrosis is placed . normal human serum is placed in lower wells 40 and 41 . following counterimmunoelectrophoresis of conventional type ( as described in oudin and williams , precipitation analysis by diffusion in gels , found in : williams and chase , methods in immunology and immunochemistry , volume iii , pages 103 - 374 , academic press , new york and london ( 1973 )) under the priordescribed conditions , with the anode being adjacent wells 38 through 41 , a single precipitation line 50 forms between wells 44 and 38 , confirming the cystic fibrosis diagnosis of that particular plasma donor . between wells 39 and 45 , another precipitation line 52 is formed , but the line tends to be fainter , and is closer to well 39 , which indicates a reduced concentration of cystic fibrosis protein , consistent with the identification of a symptom - free carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene . with respect to wells 40 , 46 , and 41 , 47 , no precipitation line is shown , confirming the fact that these donors are free of the cystic fibrosis gene . as a further modification of this invention , hybridoma clones may be prepared by fusing spleen cells from the mice immunized as described above with non - immunoglobulin - secreting murine myeloma cells ( for example , line s194 / s - xxo bu . 1 ) employing standard techniques such as described in the article by kohler and milstein , continuous cultures of fused cells secreting antibody of predefined specificity , nature ( 1975 ), volume 256 , pages 495 - 496 ; and the article by vaughan , hansen , and stadler , parameters of polyethylene glycol - induced cell fusion and hybridization in lymphoid cell lines , somatic cell genet . ( 1976 ), volume 2 , pages 537 - 544 . the fused cells may then be utilized in conventional manner to produce monospecific antibody in quantity . to get a pure culture of the hybridoma cells , they may be grown in a special media such as hat f - 12 by littlefield , which selectively kills unfused tumor cells over a period of a few weeks , while the desired hybridoma cells survive for longer periods of time , producing monospecific antibody which may be harvested and used in the testing method described above . | 6 |
according to the embodiment ( s ) of the present invention , various views are illustrated in fig1 - 13 and like reference numerals are being used consistently throughout to refer to like and corresponding parts of the invention for all of the various views and figures of the drawing . also , please note that the first digit ( s ) of the reference number for a given item or part of the invention should correspond to the figure number in which the item or part is first identified . one embodiment of the present invention comprises a roaming solution system further comprising a roaming server and a nlr , and an 800 # rsu where the system is adapted to be communicably connected to a standard telecommunications network having a typical home provider infrastructure and a plurality of roaming provider infrastructures , and where the roaming solution system is also adapted to be communicably connected to a realtime account billing system having a market server and a rsu . the roaming solution teaches a novel system and method for providing credit limited wireless roaming services to high credit risk roaming subscribers while mitigating home provider exposure to credit risk . the roaming solution further allows the home provider to make a decision to register the high credit risk roaming subscriber with a plurality of roaming provider partners without a fear of substantial credit risk . the details of the invention and various embodiments can be better understood by referring to the figures of the drawing . referring to fig1 an overall network architecture 100 for the wireless roaming solution is shown . the network architecture is designed to provide a seamless roaming solution . communication links or paths are shown between the various components of the network . voice communication paths are indicated as such , for example , voice link 102 between the mobile station or mobile phone 104 and the roaming serving msc 106 . ss7 communication links are also shown , for example , ss7 communication link 108 between the vlr 110 and the nlr 112 . tcp / ip communication links are also shown , for example , tcp / ip communication link 114 between the nlr 112 and the roaming server 116 . a typical ss7 telecommunications network architecture comprises a roaming serving msc 106 that is coupled to a vlr by an ss7 link and that is located at the location of roaming and the network architecture further comprises a home msc 118 that is coupled to a hlr by an ss7 link and is located at the home location of the wireless roaming subscriber . the network architecture can also include a local billing system rsu 120 that is local to the home location of the wireless roaming subscriber and the local rsu acts as an adjunct switch which controls the wireless roaming call for real - time account billing . the network can also include a market server 122 where the rating engine resides for real - time account billing and where the database for the high credit risk subscribers resides . the market server and the local billing rsu can be communicably linked by a standard tcp / ip link . the rsu is further communicable with the home msc via voice links 126 and 128 . the network can be equipped with a novel roaming solution network system that comprises a roaming server 116 , an nlr 112 and an 800 # rsu 130 ( call origination rsu ). the roaming solution system is communicably linked through the roaming server 116 , to the local billing system rsu 120 by a standard tcp / ip link 132 , which provides a communicable link to the real - time call monitor and control system for real - time account billing . the components of the roaming solution are interconnected by standard tcp / ip links 114 and 134 . the 800 # rsu has a voice link 136 to the roaming provider &# 39 ; s roaming serving msc 106 . the 800 # rsu 130 is the component of the roaming solution network to which roaming wireless subscriber call originations will be processed through for control . the roaming solution network roaming server 116 acts as a gateway between the nlr 112 and the market server 122 . the market server 122 is the component of the account based billing network where the rating engine and the subscriber database reside . the nlr 112 is adapted to be communicably inserted in the ss7 link between the vlr 110 of the roaming provider and the hlr 138 of the home provider . the nlr 112 is communicably linked to vlr 110 by ss7 link 108 and is communicably linked to hlr 138 by ss7 link 140 . the nlr is adapted to perform the function of an hlr ( subscriber profile information processing ) and the function of a vlr ( registered visitor roaming processing ). therefore , the nlr is adapted to look like an hlr with respect to the vlr and look like a vlr with respect to the hlr . the nlr is communicably adapted to intercept messages from the hlr and the vlr . the network nlr 112 tracks the location information for the wireless roaming subscriber and mirrors the hlr providing the wireless roaming subscriber profile information . when the wireless mobile station or wireless mobile phone 104 of a wireless roaming subscriber enters the roaming mscs 106 area a regnot occurs . during the regnot process the nlr 110 software is utilized to provide the dn and the regnot response message to the roaming serving msc 106 . the dn is assigned to a centralized 800 # rsu 130 to which all - call originations will be processed through for control . once the mobile station 104 of the wireless roaming subscriber has completed the regnot process the nlr software can prevent all - call terminations to the wireless roaming subscriber by setting a termination restriction code and the nlr sends a regnot response message to the roaming serving msc 106 . at this point all - call originations from the wireless roaming subscriber can be supported . also , please note that during the regnot process the nlr software captures the roaming serving mscid and provides the mscid to the roaming server 116 for use in subsequent rating of call originations . during call origination from the wireless roaming subscriber the nlr software captures the calling subscribers min and the dialed digits ( i . e ., called party number ). the min and the dialed digits are provided to the roaming server for subsequent use by the centralized 800 # rsu 130 in the setting up of the call to the called party . responsive to call origination , the nlr software receives a unique dn for use by the roaming serving msc 106 to extend the originating call to the 800 # rsu . the network architecture is also adapted to support call delivery or call termination to the wireless roaming subscriber . when the wireless roaming subscriber enters the area of the roaming serving msc 106 the roaming server 116 is made aware of the wireless roaming subscriber &# 39 ; s location . therefore , when an incoming call to a wireless roaming subscriber arrives at the home msc 118 the home msc routes the call to the local account billing system rsu 120 . the local account billing system rsu then queries the account billing system market server 122 which in turn requests a tldn from the roaming server 116 . the roaming server 116 forwards the request for a tldn to the nlr 112 . subsequently , upon request from the roaming server the nlr software will obtain a tldn from the roaming serving msc 106 using a routereq message and response . once the tldn is provided , the local rsu 120 interacting with the roaming server 116 utilizes this tldn to originate a call to the roaming serving msc 106 for the wireless roaming subscriber . when the wireless roaming subscriber answers the call , the call segments from the calling party to the local rsu 120 and from the local rsu to the called wireless subscriber will be bridged to the local rsu . as noted above the nlr software is adapted to be capable of disabling call termination to a wireless roaming subscriber during the regnot process . however , when a call to the wireless roaming subscriber is received at the home msc , the nlr software is adapted to send a message to the roaming serving msc 106 to enable call termination to the wireless roaming subscriber . upon call disconnect the roaming server 116 can inform the nlr software which then can disable call terminations to the wireless roaming subscriber . it should be noted that the wireless roaming subscriber for this network is identified by its mobile identification number ( min ). the wireless roaming subscriber min is captured during the regnot process at which time the nlr software can look up within the internal subscriber lookup table to see if the roaming serving msc supports call origination by utilizing an origination trigger . if the roaming serving mscid is not found in the lookup table , the nlr software can load the origination trigger solely based on a transmission capability ( transcap ) parameter found in the regnot message . it is further noted that the nlr does not take into account when a wireless roaming subscriber has been handed off from its home msc to a serving msc ( non - roaming to roaming ) or from the roaming serving msc to its home msc ( roaming to non - roaming ) during a single call instance . the wireless roaming subscriber location is established at the time of regnot . there is no additional action taken by the nlr to account for the roaming handoff that may result in a change to a wireless roaming subscriber &# 39 ; s location when traveling between home msc areas and roaming serving msc areas during a single call instance . the handoffs are transparent to the software such that the roaming location of the wireless roaming subscriber is seamless and is only established at the time of regnot . all messages coming from the roaming serving msc 106 can be routed to the nlr 112 via an ss7 network link 108 . the nlr 112 can extract the wireless roaming subscriber &# 39 ; s location information ( i . e ., mscid , location area id and etc .) and store it in the internal database . in addition the nlr may also change some of the profile parameters in the regnot return result message to enable the wireless roaming subscriber to make and receive calls from and to the roaming serving msc . the nlr can also pass the wireless roaming subscriber location information to the roaming server 116 via a tcp / ip network link 114 . the advantages of this roaming solution network system are clear . the integration of the novel system into a standard ss7 or other standard similarly configured telecommunication network is transparent . the home msc and related hlr and the serving msc and related vlr are undisturbed and will operate normally . the call monitor and control account billing system , including the market server 122 and local account billing system rsu 120 are undisturbed and will operate as usual . incoming calls to the home provider &# 39 ; s switch can be delivered to the previously unregistered but now registered credit limited roaming subscribers . calls can be originated by these same now registered credit limited roaming subscribers without the need for roaming platforms supporting each roaming providers site . this is all provided while mitigating the risk of exposure to credit risk for the home provider . referring to fig2 a call flow diagram for a call regnot process when the wireless roaming subscriber powers on the mobile phone while in the roaming serving msc &# 39 ; s area or when the wireless roaming subscriber transitions to the roaming area . when the wireless roaming subscriber powers on 202 , the mobile phone 104 , the mobile phone transmits a min to the roaming serving msc 106 which sends a regnot message 204 via an ss7 network link to a vlr 110 . the vlr for the roaming serving msc is configured to identify the nlr point code as the hlr for the pre - reserved block of wireless roaming subscriber mins . therefore the roaming serving msc sends the regnot to the nlr . upon receiving the regnot message the nlr can look up the min in the internal database of the nlr to see if the wireless roaming subscriber is listed . if the wireless roaming subscriber is listed , the nlr can replace the roaming serving mscid with the nlr mscid and forward the regnot message 206 to the hlr using the direct point code of the hlr . if the wireless roaming subscriber is not listed then the nlr can pass through the message directly to the hlr without any modifications ( i . e ., the mscid is not replaced with the nlr id ). the hlr can then respond with a regnot return result message 208 to the nlr via the ss7 network link . the nlr can modify the regnot return result message before forwarding it to the roaming serving msc . the nlr can replace the hlr mscid with the nlr mscid . the nlr can set the origination indicator to 8 for all - call originations at the roaming serving msc . the nlr can also set the digits for destination equal to the 1 - 800 dn identification services ( dnis ) number . also the nlr can set the termination restriction code to 1 to restrict termination at the roaming serving msc . the setting of the origination indicator to 8 indicates that all - call originations should be routed to a single npa - nxx - xxxx . the hot line number ( 1 - 800 dnis number ) is configurable for each pre - reserved block of wireless roaming subscriber mins . the hot line number can be utilized to route the call originations to the centralized 800 # rsu . if the termination restriction code is set to 1 , or other appropriate code number , ( termination denied ), no incoming call will be delivered to the wireless roaming subscriber . the nlr can then send the location information for the wireless roaming subscriber 210 to the roaming server 116 over the tcp / ip link . the roaming server can then update the location information for the wireless roaming subscriber and in turn forwards the location information for the subscriber 212 to the market server 122 . the roaming server then confirms the location message to the nlr . again please note that the nlr can modify the regnot return result message before forwarding it back 214 to the roaming serving msc . the nlr can replace the hlr mscid with the nlr mscid . the nlr can also set the origination trigger &# 39 ; s field to all - call attempts which will invoke an origination request message to the nlr when the wireless roaming subscriber makes a call . the nlr can also set the termination restriction code to 1 , or other appropriate code number , to deny all termination such that no incoming calls will be delivered to the wireless roaming subscriber . once the regnot process is performed in accordance with the call flow diagram of fig2 call origination from a wireless roaming subscriber can be attempted . referring to fig3 which shows the call flow diagram for call origination by the wireless roaming subscriber . fig3 is representative of call origination in a telecommunication network where only 2 - stage dialing is supported . this is due to the version of the ss7 network or like network where origination request messages are not fully supported . the wireless roaming subscriber originates a call 302 by entering a party &# 39 ; s number and sending the requested number from the mobile station 104 . this attempted call origination by the wireless roaming subscriber is routed to the roaming serving msc 106 and the roaming serving msc routes the call attempt 304 to the centralized 800 # rsu ( call origination rsu ) 130 by out dialing the 1 - 800 dnis number ( hot line number ) received during registration . once the 800 # rsu receives the call attempt it can collect the requested party &# 39 ; s dn and the min 306 from the wireless roaming subscriber ( can be obtained by second stage dialing ) and query 306 the market server 122 for call validation . if call validation is positive 308 the market server forwards this maximum call duration to the centralized 800 # rsu 130 . the centralized 800 # rsu then connects the call 310 to the requested party &# 39 ; s destination dn . the centralized 800 # rsu can monitor the call to indicate the call has been connected and begins the timing of the call from the time the call was first routed to the 800 # rsu . the call can be torn down and disconnected when the call either disconnects at the originating msc or terminating instrument or when the maximum call duration has been reached . the call record is communicated to 312 the market server . the advantages of utilizing the market server 122 in combination with the 800 # rsu 130 as described above is that the call can be monitored and controlled by a central 800 # rsu for real - time account billing without need for roaming platforms local to the roaming provider &# 39 ; s serving msc . referring to fig4 a call flow diagram is shown for call origination after regnot has occurred in accordance with the call flow diagram shown in fig2 . call origination after call registration in accordance with a call flow diagram of fig2 does not require second stage dialing for systems that fully support the origination request message . the wireless roaming subscriber originates a call 402 to the roaming serving msc 106 and the roaming serving msc sends an origination request message 404 to the nlr 112 via the vlr 110 . the nlr sends a message 406 which contains the requested party &# 39 ; s digits and the wireless roaming subscriber min to the roaming server 116 over the tcp / ip network link . this information is in turn stored in the roaming server . a new unique 1 - 800 dnis number can be assigned by the roaming server for this call originated by the wireless roaming subscriber . the roaming server then returns the 1 - 800 number 408 to the nlr . the nlr forwards the 1 - 800 dnis 410 to the roaming serving msc in the origination request return result message . the roaming serving msc can route the call 412 to the 800 # rsu 130 via the 1 - 800 dnis . the 1 - 800 # rsu queries 414 the roaming server to validate the 1 - 800 dnis number received . the roaming server then looks up the 1 - 800 dnis in the internal database to get the requested party &# 39 ; s dialed digits and the roaming subscriber &# 39 ; s min and forwards the request 416 to the 800 # rsu to validate the call . the 800 # rsu validates the call 418 with the market server 122 . if the validation is positive the market server provides the maximum call duration to the 800 # rsu . the 800 # rsu then connects the call 422 to the requested party &# 39 ; s destination dialed digits . the 800 # rsu can then monitor the call to indicate that the call has been connected and will begin timing the call from the time that the call was first routed to the 800 # rsu . the call can be torn down and disconnected when the call either disconnects at the originating msc or terminating instrument or the maximum call duration has been reached . the call record is forwarded 424 to the market server . the advantages of utilizing the nlr 112 and the roaming server 116 to capture and channel information and to validate and route the call to the 800 # rsu are that single - stage dialing is accomplished . referring to fig5 a call flow diagram is shown for call termination or call delivery at a roaming serving msc 106 for incoming calls 502 to a wireless roaming subscriber . the call flow is initialized by the home msc 118 of the roaming subscriber receiving an incoming call intended for the roaming subscriber . the home msc 118 sends a location request message to the hlr 138 in an attempt to locate the wireless roaming subscriber and the roaming serving msc 106 for which the subscriber is being served . the hlr returns the dn in the location request return result message . the home msc 118 routes the call 504 to the local account billing system rsu 120 via the dn . the local rsu then queries 506 the market server 122 for call validation 508 and requests a tldn 510 from the roaming server . the roaming server forwards the request for a tldn 512 to the nlr 112 . the nlr then sends a qualification directive ( qualdir ) message to the roaming serving msc 106 to enable call delivery 514 . the nlr then sends a route request message to the roaming serving msc ( vlr ) via the ss7 network link requesting a tldn 514 . the roaming serving msc then responds with a routereq return result message containing the tldn 516 to the nlr . the nlr then returns the tldn 518 to the roaming server , which in turns forwards the tldn 520 to the local rsu 120 . the market server has already provided the maximum call duration to the local rsu . the local rsu then out dials the tldn 522 , which in turn routes the incoming call 524 to the roaming serving msc 106 . the roaming serving msc then terminates and completes the call 526 to the roaming subscriber . the rsu 120 monitors the call to indicate that the call has been connected and begins timing the call from the time the call was first routed to the rsu . the call can be torn down and disconnected when the incoming call is either disconnected at the originating or terminating instrument or the maximum call duration has been reached . upon call disconnection , the rsu updates 528 the roaming server which in turn forwards disconnect information 530 to the nlr . the nlr disables 532 call termination . the advantage is that during regnot the nlr was identified by the vlr as the hlr , thus the roaming serving msc registered with the nlr as if it were the hlr . the nlr is able to identify the actual hlr based on looking up the min of the roamer . the nlr can then contact the actual hlr and will identify itself ( the nlr ) as the vlr serving the roamer by providing the actual hlr with nlr mscid in lieu of the roaming serving mscid . therefore , the hlr sees the nlr as the vlr serving the roamer . the nlr also during regnot contacts the roaming server and the market server to identify the location of the roamer . the nlr is now the focal point with respect to handling roamer communication . this makes for seamless roaming as the roaming subscriber transitions from one msc to the next . referring to fig6 the interface message sequence 600 roaming registration is shown . it should be first noted prior to discussing the interface message sequence as outlined in fig6 that all messages from wireless roaming subscribers that are not listed in the nlr database are passed directly to the hlr without any modifications to the regnot message . the situation of the non - listed subscriber is not what is reflected by the interface message sequence of fig6 . fig6 reflects an interface message sequence where the wireless roaming subscriber is listed in the nlr . the first interface message in the sequence occurs when the wireless roaming subscriber powers on the phone 614 at which time the mobile station of the subscriber provides the min of the subscriber to the serving msc 602 . the serving msc 602 sends a regnot message via the ss7 network to the nlr which includes the min of the subscriber and the roaming serving mscid . upon receiving the regnot message , the nlr looks up the min in the internal database to see if the subscriber is a listed subscriber . for the listed wireless subscriber , the nlr will replace the serving mscid and point code with the nlr mscid and point code and forward the regnot message 617 to the hlr 606 . please note , that if the subscriber is not a listed wireless subscriber , the nlr will pass through the message directly to the hlr without any modifications . the hlr will then respond with a regnot return result message 618 to the nlr . the nlr will then send the location information to the ntc roaming server 608 over a tcp / ip interface in a location notification message 620 . the roaming server 608 will then return a location notification confirmation message 622 to the nlr 604 . the roaming server 608 updates the location information and forwards the location information to the market server by transmitting the mscid 624 to the rsu 610 which in turn transmits the mscid to the market server 612 . in networks where 2 - stage dialing is required , the nlr will modify the regnot return result message in the following ways before forwarding it to the serving msc . first , the nlr will replace the hlr mscid with the nlr mscid . second , the nlr will set the origination indicator to an all call origination indication . third , the nlr will set the destination digits equal to the 1 - 800 dnis number . fourth , the nlr will set the termination restriction code to an indication of termination denied . in single - stage dialing , the nlr will modify the regnot return result message as follows before forwarding it to the serving msc . again , the hlr mscid is replaced with the nlr mscid . the nlr will set the origination triggers field to all call attempts . the nlr will further set the termination restriction code to an indication that termination is denied . please note that setting the origination triggers to all call will invoke an origination request message to the nlr when the wireless roaming subscriber makes a call . the nlr shall maintain an internal provisionable table to identify mscs that can support origination triggeres . once the interface method sequence of fig6 is performed for roaming regnot , roaming call origination from the wireless roaming subscriber can be provided . referring to fig7 the interface message sequence for roaming call origination 700 requiring 2 - stage dialing is shown for calls originated after the regnot sequence of fig6 is performed . the interface messaging sequence begins when the wireless roaming subscriber originates a call 702 at the roaming serving msc 704 . the roaming serving msc will process the roaming call origination through the centralized 800 # rsu 706 via the 1 - 800 dnis 708 that was inserted during the regnot process as shown in fig6 . the centralized 800 # rsu ( call origination rsu ) 706 will provide a second dial tone 710 in order to collect the destination digits 712 for making the call connection to the called party . the 800 # rsu will then query the market server 714 with a rating request message 716 for call validation . the rating request message will provide the min of the wireless roaming subscriber and the digits of the destination number . if the market server finds that the call validation is positive , the market server will send a rating request response message 718 back to the 800 # rsu which contains the maximum call duration . then the centralized 800 # rsu connects the call 720 to the destination dn of the party being called . the 800 # rsu will monitor the call for pricing 722 . please note the connection between the nlr and the roaming server must be monitored to assure that an active connection is maintained . therefore , there is an interface protocol between the roaming server and the nlr over a tcp / ip network link that is designed to monitor the active connection between the roaming server and the nlr . the interface monitoring interface protocol is initiated by a nlr . the nlr opens the tcp / ip network link by sending an active connection status check to the roaming server . the nlr shall be responsible for sending the active connection status check message at a determined interval . in the nlr active connection status check message the nlr shall report the status of the ss7 link , the database and application to the roaming server . the roaming server shall be adapted to respond to the active connection status check message with a reply message indicating an active connection . the roaming server shall reply back with a reply message within a fixed interval . if the nlr does not see the reply message from the roaming server within that fixed interval , the nlr shall close the active connection and shall attempt to reconnect to the roaming server . if the reconnection attempt fails , the nlr shall retry at fixed intervals . the reply time interval and the retry time interval are configurable parameters set by the nlr . referring to fig8 the interface messaging sequence is shown for wireless roaming call origination 800 network environment . for roaming call origination to occur , the vlr for this wireless roaming subscriber is set to all - call for the origination trigger during the regnot procedure . call origination occurs when the wireless roaming subscriber dials the digits of the desired party and sends the call origination message 802 with the dialed digits to the roaming serving msc 804 . the roaming serving msc then transmits an origination request message 806 to the nlr 808 which includes the dialed digits of the party being called . the nlr then shall send the routing information message 810 along with the dialed digits of the party being called to the roaming server 812 . the roaming server shall then assign a temporary 1 - 800 dnis for the wireless roaming subscriber and shall store the 1 - 800 dnis together with the dialed digits of the party being called as received in the origination request message . the roaming server shall then respond to the nlr with the routing information response message 814 which contains the 1 - 800 dnis along with the dialed digits of the desired call . the nlr shall then respond to the roaming serving msc 804 with an origination request return result message 816 that includes the 1 - 800 dnis as the destination digits . the roaming serving msc 804 is then connected 818 to an 800 # rsu ( call origination rsu ) 824 via the 1 - 800 dnis as assigned by the roaming server . if the nlr does not receive the routing information response message 820 from the roaming server within a defined time interval , the nlr shall retry the routing information message again and shall put the 1 - 800 dnis in the routing digits of the origination request return result . the roaming server transmits the min , dialed digits and mscid 822 to the 800 # rsu 824 . the 800 # rsu 824 sends a rating request message 826 from the 800 # rsu to the market server 828 which includes the min of the wireless roaming subscriber and the dialed digits . the market server performs a call validation , and if the call validation is positive , the market server will respond back with a rating request response 830 , including the maximum call duration , as well as the dialed digits of the party being called . the 800 # rsu then connects 832 the calling party to the party being called . the 800 # rsu monitors the call for pricing 834 , and transmits to the market server . referring to fig9 an interface messaging sequence is shown for delivery of an incoming call at the home msc to the wireless roaming subscriber at the roaming serving msc . the call delivery interface messaging sequence 900 is initiated by an incoming call 902 at the home msc 904 . the home msc attempts to locate the wireless roaming subscriber . the hlr responds back to the home msc with a location request response message providing connection information to a local rsu . the home msc then connects 906 to the local account billing system rsu 908 via the dn and in turn the local billing rsu sends a rating request message 910 to the market server 912 which includes the min and the digits dialed for call validation . if validation is positive , the market server returns the mscid to the local rsu 908 . a routing request message 916 is sent to the roaming server 918 requesting tldn , which in turn requests the tldn 920 from the nlr with a routing request message . the nlr 922 shall send a qualdir message 924 to the roaming serving msc 926 to enable call termination for the wireless roaming subscriber . a qualdir return message 928 is transmitted back from the roaming serving msc to the nlr . the nlr shall then obtain a tldn from the roaming serving msc utilizing a routereq message 930 . upon receiving the routereq return result message 932 from the roaming serving msc , the nlr shall send a routing request response message 934 with the tldn to the roaming server . the roaming server will then send a routing request response message 936 to the rsu 908 , including a tldn , which in turn is transmitted 938 to the home msc 904 . the local rsu will then connect 940 to the wireless roaming subscriber by terminating at the roaming serving msc thereby completing the call . the call can be torn down and disconnected 942 by call disconnection at the home msc or disconnection 944 at the roaming server . the call is priced 946 by the local billing rsu . referring to fig1 , a sequence of signals 1000 are shown that occurs when the mobile station is powered off becoming inactive . a power off signal 1002 is transmitted to the serving msc 1004 . the serving msc sends a mobile station inactive signal 1006 to the nlr 1008 . the nlr then transmits a location notification signal 1010 to the roaming server 1012 . the roaming server 1012 then responds back with a location notification confirmation message 1014 . the nlr 1008 then notifies the hlr 1016 with a mobile station inactive signal 1018 . a mobile station inactive return signal 1020 is transmitted back from the hlr to the nlr and the nlr forwards the mobile station inactive return signal 1020 to the serving msc . referring to fig1 , a sequence is shown for a bulk de - registration 1100 . the bulk de - registration is initiated by the serving msc 1102 which sends a bulk de - registration signal 1104 to the nlr 1106 . the nlr responds back with a bulk de - registration return signal 1108 . the nlr then sends a location notification signal 1110 for each subscriber included in the bulk de - registration to the roaming server 1112 . the roaming server sends a location notification confirmation signal 1114 back to the nlr . the nlr then sends a mobile station inactive signal for each subscriber in the bulk de - registration 1116 back to the hlr 1118 . the hlr then transmits a mobile station inactive return signal 1120 to the nlr . referring to fig1 , the message sequence for re - registration 1200 to a new serving msc is shown . the sequence is initiated by the new serving msc 1201 which transmits a registration notification 1204 to the nlr 1202 . the nlr modifies the regnot and then forwards the registration notification message 1205 to the hlr 1206 . the hlr then transmits a registration notification return message 1208 to the nlr which then forwards the message back to the new serving msc . the nlr 1202 then transmits a location notification message 1209 to the roaming server 1210 . the roaming server then transmits a location notification confirmation message 1212 back to the nlr 1202 . the roaming server 1210 also forwards the location notification message to the market server 1214 and the market server responds back with a location notification confirmation message 1216 . the nlr then transmits a registration cancellation message 1218 to the old serving msc 1220 which in turn responds back with a registration cancellation return message 1222 . referring to fig1 , the message sequence for re - registration in the home market 1300 is shown . the message sequence is initiated by the home msc 1302 transmitting a registration notification message 1304 to the hlr 1306 . the hlr then transmits a registration cancellation message 1308 to the nlr 1310 . the registration cancellation message is then forwarded to the serving msc 1311 which in turn transmits a registration cancellation return message 1312 back to the nlr . the nlr then forwards the registration cancellation return message back to the hlr 1306 . the hlr then transmits a registration notification return message 1314 back to the home msc 1302 . the various call flow examples shown above illustrate many of the novel aspects of the roaming solution . a user of the present invention may choose any of the above call flows , or an equivalent thereof , depending upon the desired application . in this regard , it is recognized that various forms of the subject roaming solution could be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . as is evident from the foregoing description , certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein , and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications , or equivalents thereof , will occur to those skilled in the art . it is accordingly intended that the claims shall cover all such modifications and applications that do not depart from the sprit and scope of the present invention . other aspects , objects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings , the disclosure and the appended claims . | 7 |
a sauna compartment 10 has door opening 12 and door 14 adapted to close the opening 12 . a control panel 16 is mounted in the wall of compartment 10 adjacent the door as shown in fig1 . the control panel 16 has a plurality of openings 18 thereon with days of the week adjacent each opening and additionally has a plurality of windows or displays 20 for displaying digital images such as real time clock , temperature , and timer . the control panel or interface 16 additionally has a plurality of buttons 22 that control the functioning of the control panel 16 and sauna compartment 10 . as seen in fig2 - 4 the control panel or interface 16 is a complex circuit that causes the desired functioning of the control panel 16 . specifically , the control panel 16 internally has the plurality of buttons 22 that are electrically connected to a microprocessor 30 . microprocessor 30 contains a software program that controls the operation of the control panel 16 and the sauna 10 . a non - volatile memory chip is employed to save a program even when power of the control panel 16 is discontinued . furthermore , the software provides a seven day programmable timer for seven day operation of the sauna 10 having a static memory so programs are not lost when the power goes out . the software loads automatically upon being turned on . the software also causes digital outputs in the displays 20 . other features of the software includes temperature readouts in f / c , real time clock , high temperature limit cut off with manual reset , and the like . the microprocessor controls are adaptable and expandable to additional programmable functions . electrically connected and operably controlled by the microprocessor 30 are a plurality of operating systems that include the digital output of displays 20 , the lighting of the openings 18 by leds 32 ( light emitting diodes ) and backlighting 34 of the control panel 16 . the backlighting 34 consists of a plurality of leds 36 that provide backlighting so that the digital outputs of the displays 20 are seen by an observer . the software in the microprocessor 30 is programmed to backlight a logo from left to right . furthermore , the leds 32 and 36 alternatively are different colors depending upon the application . thus , when a button 22 is compressed , the button electrically communicates with the chip 30 that sends a signal to one of the displays 20 , or light emitting diodes 32 or 36 consistent with this signal . a unique feature of the control panel function is the use of time division multiplexing used to operate the led display elements . additionally control panels 16 can be serially connected together , allowing for control of the sauna from multiple locations . also electrically and operably connected to the microprocessor 30 is another control system that is a speaker system 38 that comprises a pair of operational amplifiers 40 that are connected to a speaker 42 such that the circuit allows not only audio but also a beeping noise to be made depending on the button 22 that is pressed . fig5 - 8 show the power unit 50 of the sauna 10 . the power unit 50 has its own microprocessor 52 that communicates with the microprocessor 30 of the control panel 16 . like the microprocessor 30 of the control panel 16 , the microprocessor 52 of the power unit 50 , has software that controls the functions of the items on the power unit 50 . additionally , the microprocessor 52 has a pulse width modulator or square wave output such that a pulse width modulation output is sent to the elements within the power unit 50 . operably and electrically connected to the microprocessor 52 are a plurality of optical isolated drivers 58 . the isolators 58 are comprised of a plurality of triacs 60 that are associated with ac receptacles 62 . by using a pulse width modular output , or wave function , the heat produced by the heating element ( not shown ) when attached to the receptacle 62 is intermittent and variable , and thus the heat produced by the attached heating elements is output in waves of different intensity that correspond with the pulse width modulation . thus the software of the control panel 16 controls the pulse width modulation output to drive the triacs 60 . therefore , an operator of the sauna feels a constant heat from the heating element . thus , a five level heater control with gentle balance and constant emission is achieved . connected to the isolators 58 is a heat sink 66 for dissipating heat generated by current flowing through the isolators 58 to provide maximum efficiency and increase the life span of the system and components . the power unit 50 also has a receptacle dedicated to providing power to an interior 120 vac light with an adjustable dimmer , which is activated from the control panel 16 , and receptacle for temperature probe 74 , used for keeping an accurate and consistent temperature within the sauna 10 . the temperature probe is accurate to 1 ° c . preferably the temperature probe is accurate within 1 ° c . the light switch and the temperature probe are both logically and electrically connected to the microprocessor 52 . using information from the temperature probe 74 the microprocessor 52 intelligently operates the triacs 60 to produce a desired heating output controlling each heater separately . therefore by mounting the triacs 60 on the heat sink 66 and intelligently operating the triacs 60 , hot spots on the heat sink 66 are minimized . thus five levels of intensity for precise adjustments are used for the heating elements and dimmer control for the 120 vac light . the power unit 50 has a plurality of receptacles 62 such that multiple heaters are attached to a single power unit 50 . some of the benefits of the newly designed system include the single function button switches 22 for easy operation and quick access . additionally , audio signals with a speaker system are utilized when the buttons 22 are activated giving the user an audible feedback assuring that the button function is activated . the present circuit design also allows for a plurality of functions by the control panel 16 . for example , when the control panel 16 is plugged in , the unit is in standby mode . at this time the logo backlight 34 is turned on going left from right lighting the logo . additionally , the clock display , temp display with a current temperature , and the sunday led 36 are simultaneously turned on . next , the clock is set by pressing the up or down button 22 adjacent the clock display 20 to set the current time . the display also shows a . m . and p . m . indicator leds . next , the current date is set : the scroll down button is pressed until the led 32 is activated next to the adjacent day . similarly , the temperature set and timer set buttons 22 create similar results . when the unit is in operating mode the temp display 20 shows the actual temperature inside the sauna 10 . when an operator pushes the up or down button 22 beside the temp display or the operating mode , the set temperature is displayed and is changed . then the actual temperature is displayed five seconds after the last adjustment is made . in one embodiment the software in the microprocessor 30 is programmed to control each triac 60 individually in order to incrementally control each individual heating unit . in this embodiment each heating unit has sixteen varying levels that are incrementally controlled by the power received from the triacs 60 that are controlled by the microprocessor 30 . thus , with an extremely accurate temperature probe 74 the precise level of heat each heating unit must produce in order to maintain the temperature at a constant rate is controlled by the triacs 60 . as an additional option , in one embodiment the software is able to cycle the power provided to each heater . for example only , when four heaters are present , in a first cycle the first heater remains deactivated while the second , third and fourth heaters produce heat . then a millisecond later , in a second cycle the first , third and fourth heaters produce heat while the second heater is deactivated , etc . this allows the heater to be heated by drawing less current than is previously required because at all times only three out of the four heaters is drawing power . nonetheless , because the microprocessor varies the sixteen levels at which heat is provided , the proper temperature is maintained . alternatively , additional features and functions include that only one program per day is possible . specifically , when in the program mode an led 32 is lit for each day where a program is entered . when the control panel 16 is turned on , if a program has not been set , the control panel defaults and the last program used loads automatically . to change the program for that day the set button 22 is pressed until that day is selected . pushing the set button 22 when the clock , temp , or timer displays 20 are flashing erases that days program and the day led 36 begins flashing thus , reverting back to the first step of the programming for the day . likewise , pushing the on / off button 22 when the clock , temp , or timer displays 20 are flashing erases that day &# 39 ; s program , and switches the unit into standby mode . thus the program has predetermined cycles and time settings . using the quick start method overrides a program set for that day but does not alter the program or erase it . the program only operates from the standby mode . when the unit is manually turned on using the quick start method , the programs are not active . thus , depending on which buttons 22 are pressed , different signals are sent to the microprocessor 30 of the control panel 16 causing predetermined functions and results to occur . the combination of the control panel 16 and power unit 50 allows a user to set programs for the sauna 10 including lengths of time the heat is to be produced , when the heat is produced and the temperatures desired by the user . additionally , because of the pulse width modulation output of the microprocessor 52 of the power unit 50 the heat comes in pulsations or heat waves from heating elements allowing heating and an enjoyable experience for a user . finally , the functions and controls are easily adaptable for custom applications . thus , at the very least , all of the stated objectives have been met . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without the parting from the spirit in scope of this invention . all such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby . | 8 |
reference is now made to fig1 of the drawings which illustrate a side view the multi - purpose , multi - function tool 10 of the present invention made up of a compact design and encompassing a single tool which can perform a number of various functions or purposes within the design or construction industry . for example , tool 10 acts as a protractor to measure angles instantly and accurately from 0 - 90 degrees in any quadrant ; it is capable of determining any existing roof pitch instantly and accurately ; it determines any angle instantly and accurately ; it has the capability of instantly converting pitches and rises to degrees and vice versa ; it can determine miter cuts instantly and accurately ; it is capable of performing all leveling functions from horizontal to 90 degrees in any quadrant ; it is capable of leveling countertops , furniture , appliances , etc . in three directions simultaneously ; it determines pitches or slopes of drains , duct work and site piping ; acts as a rugged saw guide and can be used for even a further and wider variety of other operations similar to the above . a key advantage of the tool 10 of the present invention is that it extremely simple to use and yet enables the user to obtain accurate readings while still being easy to handle and extremely rugged in construction . more specifically , and still referring to fig1 of the drawings , the multi - purpose , multi - functional tool 10 is made up of two major components : a main functional support structure 12 and a rotatable functional member 14 . the main support structure 12 is shaped substantially in the form of a triangle while the rotatable functional member 14 has a substantially elongated configuration in the form of a straight edge . together these components 12 and 14 pivotally mate together to also form a substantially triangular configured tool 10 . more specifically , the outer leg ( hypotenuse ) of the main support structure 12 has a straight portion 16 and angled or tapered portion 18 which matingly engages the bottom surface 20 of rotatable functional member 14 . the rotatable functional member 14 is pivotally secured adjacent one end thereof 22 to support structure 12 by a conventional pivotal connection mechanism 24 made up , for example of a pivot pin or rivet 26 . this arrangement permits the rotatable functional member 14 to easily rotate with respect to support structure 12 . as shown in fig1 rotatable member 14 has an end 23 which abuts support structure 12 in the open position adjacent edge member 56 or , in the alternative , as shown in fig3 end 23 ′ extends beyond edge member 56 . a slot 25 can be formed in edge member 56 to accept the passing therethrough of the end of rotatable member 14 . this extended end 23 ′ permits the full use of markings 60 when the outer edge of rotatable member 14 is to be utilized as a straight edge . in addition , rotatable functional member 14 has attached thereto or formed as part thereof a curved extension portion 28 whose radius of curvature r is measured about the pivotal connection mechanism 24 . the radius r is of a predetermined size such that the overall size of the tool 10 is maintained well within usable limits . this curved extension portion 28 includes a series of markings thereon denoting both rise and degrees of the outer edge of rotatable functional member with respect to the horizontal . the curved extension portion fits within a curved cut - out 29 within support structure 12 . maintaining the curved extension portion 28 in a moveable relationship with respect to the support structure 12 are curved , grooved slots 30 formed within the support structure 12 . grooved slots 30 permit the movement of the curved extension portion 28 to take place when the rotatable functional member 14 is pivoted about its pivot point 48 . this arrangement substantially eliminates any unwanted sideward movement of the rotatable , functional member 14 and curved extension 28 . in addition , detents can be incorporated with the slots to enable the movement of the rotatable member 14 to take place with positive click stops denoting degrees . a transparent reference member 32 having a reference mark 34 etched and / or painted thereon is affixed at each end thereof to the support structure 12 adjacent each side of the curved , grooved slot 30 . the reference mark 34 is utilized in conjunction with the markings on the curved extension portion 28 to denote rise or degrees . a conventional locking mechanism 36 made up of a knurled knob 38 and threaded rod 40 is utilized to lock the or fixedly secure the curved extension portion 28 with respect to the support structure 12 when the rotatable functional member is moved to a desired location with respect thereto . as an alternative to transparent reference member 32 , in the embodiment shown in fig3 - 8 , the transparent member 32 is replaced with a viewing portion made up of a cut out portion 32 ′ within support structure 12 having a reference segment for use in conjunction with the markings on the curved extension 28 to denote rise or degrees as shown in fig3 . referring once again to the support structure 12 each of the two legs a and b of the triangle - shaped support structure 12 and rotatable functional member 14 has an individual leveling device 42 and 44 and 46 , respectfully , associated therewith containing any suitable spirit oil and bubble such that tool 10 can be utilized to maintain and determine three degrees of level at any one time . in addition , as many areas as possible of support structure 12 and angle measuring 14 has a series of openings or cutouts 48 therein , including an enlargement 50 of slot 30 , in order to effect an extremely lightweight yet structurally sound and robust tool 10 . referring once again to the rotatable functional member 14 , the curved , extension portion 28 has two series of markings thereon . one such series of markings 52 denotes rise while the other series of markings 54 ( divided into markings of 0 to 90 degrees ) denote degrees with respect to the vertical or horizontal . further , the markings 52 and 54 are arranged with respect to one another to convert rise to degrees and vice versa . further description of the use of these markings 52 and 54 with respect to the reference member 32 will be set forth in greater detail below . other features of the multi - purpose , multi - functional tool 10 of the present invention include a wide , straight bottom surface edge member 56 formed on one leg or side a of the support structure 12 so as to enable the tool to be easily positioned upon a surface . more specifically as shown in fig2 the preferred width of edge member 56 is approximately 1 inch compared to a width of approximately ⅜ inch for support structure 12 and rotatable functional member 14 , although the exact dimensions of the tool 10 may vary to accommodate various operating environments . along the other leg or side b is a series of markings 58 which may be in inches or centimeters and used as a straight edge or a conjunction with the rotatable functional member 14 . a further series of like markings 60 are provided on the outerside of the rotatable functional member 14 , and these markings may also be provided in inches or centimeters , as desired . additionally , a notch 62 is provided at the intersection of legs a and b of support structure 12 in order to place a pencil point or marker therein to mark a surface or to use in conjunction with a nail or the like as a pivotal point for tool 10 . there are also a series of spaced apart notches 64 each preferably , located approximately ½ inch from another other , although the exact spacing can vary within the scope of the present invention . the notches 64 are utilized to provide an indentation for a marking instrument such as a pencil or the like to make a mark on a surface such as a stud . reference is now made to fig4 - 8 of the drawings which illustrate the multi - purpose , multi - functional tool 10 in various positions of use . these illustrations are examples of only a few of the many uses for tool 10 of the present and should , therefore , not be construed as a limitation to the actual uses for tool 10 . for example , tool 10 is shown in fig4 being utilized to determine roof pitches and angles . the tool 10 has its rotatable ( adjustable ) member 14 positioned against a slope or angle with the bubble in level 44 centered . with such an arrangement it is possible to read the angle or rise from the appropriate scale as indicated in the figure . in fig5 of the drawings , the tool 10 of the present invention is shown being utilized to mark plum cuts . this takes place by positioning tool 10 such that the base rests against a piece of lumber and with the rotatable member 14 fixed at the desired angle on the pitch or rise scale , an appropriate plum cut can be marked against the now fixed rotatable member 14 . fig6 of the drawings illustrates the use of tool 10 in performing seat cuts wherein the base 56 is placed against the plum cut or line . the tool 10 is positioned to the desired cut length , using the convenient inch scale on the tool as shown in the figure . the seat cut is then marked accordingly . reference is now made to fig7 of the drawings in which the tool 10 is utilized in a quick layout . in this manner the notches 64 , which are conveniently spaced in ¼ inch increments , are utilized for quick and easy layouts . fig8 of the drawings illustrates tool 10 being utilized in determining miter cuts . in this instance , tool 10 is placed in such a manner that the rotatable member 14 is adjusted against an angle with the bubble in level 44 being centered . the angle is then read from the degree scale and divided by two to determine a cut angle . although the invention has been described with respect to various embodiments , it should be realized this invention is also capable of a wide variety of further and other embodiments within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . for example , in still a further embodiment ( not shown ) of the invention an elongated straight edge may be attached to leg b of the support structure 12 in order to enable the tool 10 to determine level of long walls , boards or the like . | 6 |
the present invention is directed to methods for genetically transforming tissue of trees , especially acacia mangium , and regenerating whole plants via organogenesis from the transformed tissue . the present invention is further detailed in the following examples , which are offered by way of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention in any manner . standard techniques well known in the art or the techniques specifically described below are utilized . sigma concentration cat . name molecular formula ( mg / l ) no . macronutrients ammonium nitrate nh 4 no 3 1 , 650 a - 3795 potassium nitrate kno 3 1 , 900 p - 8291 calcium chloride cacl 2 . 2h 2 o 440 c - 2536 dihydrate magnesium sulfate mgso 4 . 7h 2 o 370 — 7774 heptahydrate potassium phosphate kh 2 po 4 170 p - 8416 monobasic , anhydrous ferrous sulfate feso 4 . 7h 2 o 27 . 8 f - 8263 heptahydrate ethylenediamine - c 10 h 14 n 2 o 8 na 2 . 2h 2 o 37 . 3 e - 6635 tetraacetic acid ( edta ) ( na 2 edta ) micronutrients potassium iodide ki 0 . 83 p - 8166 boric acid h 3 bo 3 6 . 2 b - 9645 manganese sulfate mnso 4 . h 2 o 16 . 9 — 7899 monohydrate zinc sulfate znso 4 . 7h 2 o 8 . 6 z - 1001 molybdic acid na 2 moo 4 . 2h 2 o 0 . 25 — 1651 ( sodium salt : dihydrate ) cupric sulfate cuso 4 . 5h 2 o 0 . 025 c - 3036 ( pentahydrate ) cobalt chloride cocl 2 . 6h 2 o 0 . 025 c - 2911 ( hexahydrate ) organic reagents myo - inositol c 6 h 12 o 6 100 i - 3011 nicotinic acid c 6 h 5 no 2 0 . 5 — 0765 glycine c 2 h 5 no 2 2 . 0 g - 6143 thiamine c 12 h 17 cln 4 os . hcl 0 . 1 t - 3902 ( vitamin b1 ) pyridoxine c 8 h 11 no 3 . hcl 0 . 5 p - 9755 ( vitamin b6 ) hydrochloride sigma cat . name molecular formula no . l - ascorbic acid ( vitamin c ) c 6 h 8 o 6 a - 2174 casein enzymatic hydrolysate ( ch ) c - 7290 l - glutamine ( gln ) c 5 h 10 n 2 o 3 g - 9273 l - asparagine monohydrate ( asn ) c 4 h 8 n 2 o 3 . h 2 o a - 4284 l - proline ( pro ) c 5 h 9 no 2 p - 4655 sucrose s - 5390 sigma cat . name no . indole - 3 - acetic acid ( iaa ) i - 2886 α - naphthaleneacetic acid ( naa ) — 0640 1 - phenyl - 3 -( 1 , 2 , 3 - thiadiazol - 5 - yl ) urea ( thidiazuron , tdz ) p - 6186 6 - benzylaminopurine ( 6 - ba ) b - 3408 kinetin ( kt ) k - 0753 gibberellic acid ( ga 3 ) g - 7645 sigma cat . name no . type m a - 4800 purified a - 7921 phytagel p - 8169 e . antibiotics timentin ( t ) beecham pharmaceuticals ( pte ) ltd kanamycin ( k ) sigma genetins ( g418 sulfate ) clontech 8056 - 2 am - 5 ms + 2 , 4 - d 2 . 0 mg / l + kt 3 . 0 mg / l am - 6 ms + 2 , 4 - d 2 . 0 mg / l + kt 0 . 5 mg / l am - 7 ms + naa 2 . 0 mg / l + kt 3 . 0 mg / l am - 8 ms + naa 2 . 0 mg / l + kt 0 . 5 mg / l am - 14 ms + 2 , 4 - d 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 15 ms + 2 , 4 - d 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 16 ms + 2 , 4 - d 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 17 ms + 2 , 4 - d 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 18 ms + 2 , 4 - d 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 19 ms + 2 , 4 - d 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 20 ms + 2 , 4 - d 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 21 ms + 2 , 4 - d 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 22 ms + 2 , 4 - d 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 27 ms + naa 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 28 ms + naa 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 29 ms + naa 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l am - 30 ms + naa 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 31 ms + naa 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 32 ms + naa 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 0 . 5 mg / l am - 33 ms + naa 0 . 5 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 34 ms + naa 1 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 35 ms + naa 2 . 0 mg / l + 6 - ba 1 . 0 mg / l am - 231 ms + 2 , 4 - d 5 . 0 mg / l + kt 0 . 5 mg / l am - 233 ms + 2 , 4 - d 0 . 5 mg / l + kt 1 . 0 mg / l am - 234 ms + 2 , 4 - d 1 . 0 mg / l + kt 1 . 0 mg / l a . am - 265 : ms basic medium with tdz 1 . 0 mg / l , iaa 0 . 25 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), sucrose 30 g / l . b . am - 261 : ms basic medium with tdz 1 . 0 mg / l , iaa 0 . 5 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l , pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclave , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), sucrose 30 g / l . c . am - 304 : ms basic medium with tdz 2 . 0 mg / l , iaa 0 . 25 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclave , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), sucrose 30 g / l . d . am - 308 : ms basic medium with tdz 1 . 0 mg / l , iaa 2 . 0 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), sucrose 30 g / l . a . am - 337 : ms basic medium with tdz 0 . 01 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), sucrose 30 g / l . b . am - 4 1 : ms basic medium supplemented with 6 - ba 2 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 275 or 0 . 30 %, or agar 0 . 8 %, sucrose 30 g / l . a . modified am - 8 : ms basic medium with naa 2 . 0 mg / l , kt 0 . 5 mg / l , ch1100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 30 %, sucrose 30 g / l . b . am - 357 : / 2 ms basic medium with naa 2 . 0 mg / l , kt 0 . 5 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 30 %, sucrose 30 g / l . c . am - 45 1 : v 2 ms basic medium with naa 2 . 0 mg / l , kt 0 . 1 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , gln 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and pro 150 mg / l , ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving , phytagel 0 . 35 %, sucrose 20 g / l . lb medium tryptone 1 . 0 % yeast extract 0 . 5 % nacl 0 . 8 % ph 7 . 0 before autoclaving ( sambrook et al ., 1989 ) yep medium ( per liter ) ( chilton et al ., 1974 ) bactopeptone 10 g yeast extract 10 g nacl 5 g ab medium 20 × phosphate buffer ( per liter ) k 2 hpo 4 60 g nah 2 po 4 20 g autoclave this solution separately 20 × salts solution ( per liter ) nh 4 cl 20 g mgso 4 . 7h 2 o 6 g kcl 3 g cacl 2 0 . 2 g feso 4 . 7h 2 o 0 . 05 g ph to 7 . 0 before autoclaving to make up the final medium , combine ( to a final volume of 1 liter ): 50 ml 20 × phosphate buffer 50 ml 20 × salts solution 900 ml sterile ddh 2 0 induction medium mes buffer , ph 6 . 0 30 mm 1 × ab medium glucose 0 . 5 % acetosyringone 100 μm ( a stock solution of acetosyringone must be made up fresh in dmso ) stain the tissue overnight at 37 ° c . in gus staining solution . gus staining solution is described by jefferson ( 1987 ). it is x - gluc — 1 mm , sodium phosphate ( ph 7 . 0 )— 100 mm , edta — 10 mm , and triton x - 100 — 0 . 1 %. gus staining showed a positive blue reaction in adventitious buds and stem and leaf ( fig8 , and 10 ). a method for performing southern blots is described in sambrook et al . ( 1989 ). the method is : 2 - 5 g fresh sample was frozen in liquid n 2 . this was ground with a mortar and pestle in liquid nitrogen to a fine powder . the powder was transferred to a centrifuge tube ( 50 ml ). 15 ml of extraction buffer was added , 2 ml 10 % sds was added and mixed thoroughly . this was incubated at 65 ° c . for 15 minutes . 5 ml 5 m kac was added and shaken vigorously . the mixture was incubated in ice for 20 minutes and then spun at 25 , 000 × g for 20 minutes . the supernatant was filtered through microcloth into a new tube . the dna was precipitated with ½ volume of isopropanol , mixed and incubated at − 20 ° c . for 30 minutes . the dna was pelleted at 25 , 000 × g for 30 minutes , the supernatant was poured off , and the tube was inverted and air dried for 30 minutes . the pellet was dissolved with 0 . 7 ml of 1 × te ( ph 8 . 0 ) and transferred to an eppendorf tube . this was spun 10 minutes . the supernatant was transferred to a new tube , 7 μl rnase ( 10 mg / ml ) was added and left at room temperature for 10 minutes , then 75 μl 3 m naac ( ph 5 . 3 ) and 500 μl of isopropanol were added . the solution was mixed and the dna was pelleted in a microcentrifuge at full speed for 5 minutes . the pellet was washed with 70 % ethanol , air dried and dissolved with 100 μl 1 × te ( ph 8 . 0 ). 100 mm tris - hcl , ph 8 50 ml 50 mm edta , ph 8 50 ml 500 mm nacl 50 ml 10 mm β - me 0 . 6 ml ddh 2 o to 500 ml reaction system i : dna sample 100 μl ( 20 μg ), 10 × hindiii buffer 40 μl , hindiii 8 μl ( 80 units ), add sterile double distilled h 2 o 252 μl to total volume 400 μl . the reaction was incubated at 37 ° c . for overnight . 40 μl of 3 m naac ( ph 5 . 3 ) and ⅔ volume of 100 % ethanol were added to the reaction system and this was incubated at − 20 ° c . for 30 minutes . this was spun at full speed at 4 ° c . for 20 minutes . the supernatant was poured off and the tube was air dried for 30 minutes then the pellet was dissolved in 30 μll sterile double distilled water . electrophoresis was performed on a 0 . 8 % agarose gel in 1 × tbe at 28v for overnight . this step was performed as described in sambrook et al . ( 1989 ). a prehybridization solution of 6 × ssc , 5 × denhardt &# 39 ; s reagent , 0 . 5 % sds , 100 μg / ml denatured , fragmented salmon sperm dna ( stratagene products ) and 50 % formamide was prepared . 50 × denhardt &# 39 ; s is : 5 g of ficoll , 5 g of polyvinylpyrrolidone , 5 . g of bovine serum albumin and ddh 2 o to 500 ml , filtered and stored at − 20 ° c . after fixing dna to the membrane , the membrane was placed into a hybridization tube containing suitable prehybridization solution using 0 . 2 ml prehybridization solution for each square centimeter of nylon membrane . the membrane was incubated at 42 ° c . for 6 hours . during the prehybridization , labeled probe was prepared using a boehringer mannheim - high primer dna labeling kit . 50 ng of nptii were added then brought to a volume of 8 μl with h 2 o . the dna was denatured in a 100 ° c . heat block for 10 minutes , chilled quickly in ice , and pulse spun . on ice the denatured dna was mixed with : 4 μl high prime reaction mixture , 3 μl of datp , dgtp , dttp mixture , and 5 μl of cc - 32 p dctp , 3000 ci / mmol ( biolab ). this was incubated at 37 ° c . for 10 minutes . the reaction was stopped by adding 20 μl of 50 mm edta ( ph 8 . 0 ). the labeled probe was purified by running through a small sephadex g50 column prepared on a small pasteur pipette . the eluent was monitored with a counter and the first peak was collected . the probe was added into the hybridization tube , then incubated at 42 ° c . for 10 - 24 hours . the hybridization solution was poured off and the membrane was submerged in 2 × ssc , 0 . 5 % sds at room temperature for 10 minutes . the membrane was transferred into 2 × ssc , 0 . 1 % sds at room temperature for 15 minutes . the solution was replaced with 0 . 5 × ssc , 0 . 1 % sds and the membrane was incubated at room temperature for 15 minutes . the solution was replaced with 0 . 1 × ssc , 0 . 1 % sds and incubation continued at 55 ° c . for 30 - 55 minutes . the membrane was transferred into 0 . 1 × ssc at room temperature for 3 - 5 minutes , then air dried on 3mm whatman paper for 30 minutes . the membrane was exposed to x - ray film ( kodak ) to obtain an autoradiographic image at − 80 ° c . for one day or more . using nptii fragment as a probe , southern blotting showed that the nptii gene had integrated in adventitious buds ( fig1 ). the results demonstrate that this protocol of acacia mangium transformation is very successful . mature seeds ( black coat ) were pre - treated with 98 % h 2 so 4 for 2 - 3 minutes and washed with tap water several times . treated seeds were sterilized with 70 % ethanol for 2 - 3 minutes and washed times with sterile ddh 2 o . seeds were then immersed in 0 . 1 % hgcl 2 for 6 minutes and washed 5 times with sterile ddh 2 o , again sterilized with bleach 30 % ( market product ) for 6 minutes , then washed 5 times with sterile ddh 2 o . sterilized seeds were soaked in sterile ddh 2 o overnight for isolating zygotes for embryo culture . ms basic medium ( murashige and skoog , 1962 ), ph 5 . 8 , sucrose 30 g / l , phytagel 0 . 25 % or agar 0 . 7 % ( sigma , a - 4800 ), with or without activated charcoal , was used to culture mature embryo . isolated mature zygotic embryos were cultured on ms using a photoperiod of 12 / 12 hours or 16 / 8 hours ( l / d ) or complete dark , at 25 - 28 ° c . germinated hypocotyls or leaves or petioles or stems were used as explants to induce callus formation . different media were used to induce callus , including medium nos . am - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 231 , 233 and 234 at 12 / 12 hours or 16 / 8 hours ( l / d ) or dark at 25 ° c . callus induced from young leaflet : am - l ; from young petiole : am - p ; from hypocotyl : am - h ; from young stem : am - s ; from bud : am - b ; from root : am - r . all above calli were used to induce adventitious buds , using a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hours , 1800 - 2000 lux , and 28 ° c . the results of callus induction on different media were different ( table . 1 ). generally callus induction was not difficult . all explants produced calli at the photoperiod of 12 / 12 hrs or 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ) ( see , e . g ., fig1 a ; fig2 a ; fig3 a ), and 25 ° c . for 20 days . calli induced from leaflet , petiole , young stem and buds were cultured on am - 261 , am - 265 , am - 304 , and am - 308 , at a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ), at 28 ° c . one month later , there were some bud recoveries from callus ( fig1 b ; fig2 b ). bud recovery from friable callus first appeared as compact and smooth bud terminal . the ratio of bud recovery reaches 15 % on am - 265 . but on these media , induced buds could not easily form pinnate leaves and elongate . bud recoveries from callus were transferred into am - 337 or am - 41 with ga 3 2 . 5 mg / l , at a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ), 1800 - 2000 lux , and 28 ° c . after culture for one month , some of them could form pinnate leaves and elongate ( fig1 c , d , e ; fig2 c ; and fig3 b ). the ratio of pinnate leaf formation and bud elongation reaches 16 . 67 %. elongated buds were cultured in am - 357 or am - 451 for root formation . 20 days later , adventitious roots began to appear from basic stem of buds ( fig3 c ). after root formation , plantlets were transferred to ms basic medium without any plant growth regulators . plantlets grow normally and fast , and the root system grew well ( fig3 d ). phytagel on plantlets was washed away and the plantlets were transferred to pot ( peat soil : white sand 3 : 1 ) and grown in a growth chamber at a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hours and 25 ° c . one month later the plantlets were transferred to a green house ( fig3 e ). the auxiliary buds of a two - year old young tree ( fig5 a ) were cultured on ms basic medium with naa 0 . 1 mg / l , 6 - ba 3 . 0 mg / l , ch1100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , pro 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and gln 150 mg / l , phytagel 0 . 275 % or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving at 121 ° c ., sucrose 30 g / l . sixty days later , some adventitious buds with phyllodes were obtained ( fig5 b ). induced adventitious buds with phyllodes were subcultured on am - 41 ( ms basic medium with 6 - ba 2 mg / l , ch 100 mg / l , vc 100 mg / l , pro 150 mg / l , asn 150 mg / l and gln 150 mg / l , phytagel 0 . 275 % or agar 0 . 8 % ( a - 4800 , sigma ), ph 5 . 8 after autoclaving at 121 ° c ., sucrose 30 g / l ). after sub - culturing adventitious buds with phyllodes twice in about two months , the rejuvenation of adventitious shoots with pinnate leaf was obtained ( fig5 c ). adventitious buds can be used as explants for transformation ( fig6 a ). agrobacterium strain lba4404 ( ooms et al ., 1981 ) harbouring binary vector plasmid pbi121 ( size of vector 13 . 0 kb , clontech , fig4 ) was used for this experiment . pb 121 was derived from pbi101 with an 800 - bp hindiii - bamhi fragment containing the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) 35s promoter cloned upstream of the gus gene . from a permanent glycerol stock stored at − 70 ° c ., agrobacterium tumefaciens pbi12i / lba4404 was streaked onto a solid lb ( ph 7 . 0 ) medium plate containing streptomycin 100 mg / l ( str 100 ) and kanamycin 50 mg / l ( k 50 ). this was incubated 2 - 3 days at 28 ° c . fresh pbi121 / lba4404 was streaked onto solid lb medium ( ph 7 . 0 ) with streptomycin 100 mg / l ( str 100 ) and kanamycin 50 mg / l ( k 50 ) for overnight or 24 hours at 28 ° c . the dark . several colonies of pbi121 / lba4404 were picked and pbi121 / lba4404 was inoculated in liquid 50 ml lb medium with streptomycin 100 mg / l ( str 100 ) and kanamycin 50 mg / l ( k 50 ), and cultured at 28 ° c . under dark , 250 rpm for 10 hours until od 600 = 0 . 70 - 1 . 10 . this was spun down at 3500 rpm for 30 minutes or 5000 rpm for 10 minutes , and resuspended in 4 - 5 volumes of yep medium ( ph 7 . 0 ) with streptomycin 100 mg / l ( str 100 ) and kanamycin 50 mg / l ( k 50 ), od 600 = 0 . 10 - 0 . 20 , incubated at 28 ° c . in the dark , 250 rpm for 8 - 10 hours , od 600 = 0 . 70 - 1 . 20 . this at 3500 rpm for 30 minutes and resuspended in the same volume of sterile nac10 . 9 %. this was spun down at 3500 rpm for 30 minutes and resuspended in 2 - 3 . 5 volumes of induction medium , od 600 = 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 , and incubated at 28 ° c . in the dark , 120 rpm for 8 - 15 hours , od 600 = 0 . 70 - 1 . 20 for infecting explants or callus or a cell suspension . stem pieces were cultured on am - 265 for 3 days using a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ), 1800 - 2000 lux , at 28 ° c . after preculture , stem pieces were soaked in 0 . 5 m mannitol for 20 - 25 minutes and then transferred to activated pbi121 / lba4404 suspension for 15 minutes . infected young stem pieces were washed once and dried on sterile whatman paper before being cultured on am - 265 with 100 μm acetosyringone at ph 5 . 2 at 22 ° c . in the dark for 3 days . after co - culturing for 3 days , stem pieces were washed with sterile ddh 2 o for 10 times and dried on sterile whatman paper . then stem pieces were cultured on am - 265 containing timentin 250 mg / l and g418 12 mg / l , phytagel 0 . 275 %, using a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ) and 28 ° c . for selecting transformed callus or transformed adventitious buds . subsequently , stem pieces were cultured on the above media with g418 12 mg / l for 25 days , g418 20 mg / l for 60 days , g418 30 mg / l for 25 days , then on g418 12 mg / l . after continuous selecting for 4 months on antibiotics , 33 . 75 % of stem pieces formed adventitious buds , and 2 . 5 mg / l to 5 mg / l ga 3 was added into the same media to promote adventitious bud elongation ( fig7 ). after selection for five months , timentin was no longer used in the medium and some adventitious buds were used for gus staining . gus staining showed positive blue colour reaction in adventitious buds ( fig8 , fig9 , and fig1 ). adventitious buds were transferred to am - 41 with ga 3 2 . 5 mg / l to promote pinnate leaf formation . transformed adventitious buds were transferred into am - 357 or am - 451 with or without g418 ( 10 mg / l ) using a photoperiod of 16 / 8 hrs ( l / d ) at 28 ° c . while the invention has been disclosed in this patent application by reference to the details of preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that the disclosure is intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense , as it is contemplated that modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art , within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims . ahmad d h ( 1991 ). “ micropropagation of acacia mangium from aseptically germinated seedlings ” journal of tropical forest science 3 ( 3 ): 204 - 208 . anwar c ( 1992 ). “ the growth of shorea seedlings on soil media of several age levels of acacia mangium stands ” buletin penelitian hutan 0 ( 544 ): 9 - 16 . awang k ( 1994 ). “ growth of three multipurpose tree species on tin tailing in malaysia ” journal of tropical forest science 7 ( 1 ): 106 - 112 . basu p k , ganguly d k , and mandal g s ( 1987 ). “ introduction of exotics in south - west bengal ( india ): acacia mangium in coastal area ( digha - midnapur )” indian forester 113 ( 10 ): 675 - 680 . bhaskan p and subbash k ( 1996 ). “ micropropagation of acacia mangium willd . through nodal bud culture ” indian journal of experimental biology 34 : 590 - 591 . chilton m d , currier t c , farrand s k , bendich a j , gordon m p and nester e w ( 1974 ). “ agrobacterium tumefaciens dna and ps8 bacteriophage dna not detected in crown gall tumors ” proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 71 : 3672 - 3676 . cole t g , yost r s , kablan r and olsen t ( 1996 ). “ growth potential of twelve acacia species on acid soils in hawaii ” forest ecology and management 80 ( 1 - 3 ): 175 - 186 . duguma b , tonye j , kanmegne j , manga t and enoch t ( 1994 ). “ growth of ten multipurpose tree species on acid soils in sangmelima , cameroon ” agroforestry systems 27 ( 2 ): 107 - 119 . duke j a ( 1984 ). “ acacia mangium willd ”, handbook of energy crops ( unpublished ). galiana a , tibok a and duhoux e ( 1991 a ). “ in vitro propagation ofthe nitrogen - fixing tree - legume acacia mangium willd ” plant and soil 135 : 151 - 159 . galiana a , tibok a and duhoux e ( 1991b ). “ nitrogen - fixing potential of micropropagated clones of acacia mangium inoculated with different bradyrhizobium spp . strains ” plant and soil 135 ( 2 ): 161 - 166 . gutteridge r c and shelton h m ( 1994 ). “ forage tree legumes ” in tropical agriculture by cab international . jefferson r a ( 1987 ). “ assaying chimeric in plants : the gus gene fusion system ” plant mol . biol . rep . 5 : 387 - 405 . khemnark c ( 1994 ). “ rehabilitation of degraded tropical forest through agroforestry practices : a case study in thailand ” journal of tropical forest science 7 ( 1 ): 128 - 135 . latif m a , das s , rahman m f and habib m a ( 1995 ). “ growth and yield tables for acacia mangium in the plantation in bangladesh ” journal of tropical forest science 7 ( 4 ): 591 - 598 . majid n m , hashim a and abdol i ( 1994 ). “ rehabilitation of ex - tin mining land by agroforestry practice ” journal of tropical forest science 7 ( 1 ): 113 - 127 . murashige t and skoog f ( 1962 ). “ a revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures ” “ physiol . plant 15 : 473 - 497 . ooms g , hooykaas p j , moolenaar g and schilperoort g a ( 1981 ). “ grown gall plant tumors of abnormal morphology , induced by agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying mutated octopine ti plasmids ; analysis of t - dna functions ” gene 14 : 33 - 50 . robinson c ( 1999 ). “ making forest biotechnology a commercial reality ” nature biotechnology 17 : 27 - 30 . sambrook j , fritsch e f and maniatis t ( 1989 ). molecular cloning — a laboratory manual ( second edition ), cold spring harbor laboratory press . simmons m h ( 1987 ). growing acacias ( edited by simmons mh ) published by kangaroo press pty ltd . tzfira t , zuker a and altman a ( 1998 ). “ forest - tree biotechnology : genetic transformation and its application to future forests ” tibtech 16 : 439 - 446 . wibowo a , suharti m and pickford s g ( 1992 ). “ fuel characteristics and fire behaviour in alang - alang under acacia mangium plantation in depok , west java ” buletin penelitian hutan 0 ( 544 ): 1 - 7 . widiarti a and alrasjid h ( 1987 ). “ introduction of fuelwood trees species on degraded lands in paseh and kadipaten areas ( indonesia )” buletin penelitian hutan 0 ( 488 ): 1 - 17 . williams e r , gunn b , reynolds d and westcott m ( 1992 ). “ germination tests for small collection of acacia seed ” seed science and technology 20 ( 2 ): 321 - 326 . wong w c , ho k s and wong c n ( 1988 ). “ acacia mangium from sabah for plywood and decorative panel manufacture : initial trials ” journal of tropical forest science 1 ( 1 ): 42 - 50 . yusoff m n m , chew l t , ali a r m and nasir n m ( 1989 ). “ the adhesive properties of bark extract of acacia mangium ” journal of tropical forest science 2 ( 2 ): 104 - 109 . | 0 |
fig1 is a side elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the invention with the nearest side wall removed to facilitate viewing the interior , in which fire safety trailer 10 includes enclosed structure 12 mounted upon conventional flat bed trailer 14 . enclosed structure 12 is constructed so that it resembles a typical residential home both inside and outside , except for the reduced scale of certain portions of structure 12 . triangular truss structures 16 are included along the top of structure 12 to strengthen structure 12 to permit the entire safety trailer to travel at highway speeds with no damage to structure 12 from the shock , vibration and wind forces generated by such travel . the triangular configuration of the trusses also permits the exterior design of structure 12 to include a conventional sloped roof configuration which adds to the representation of the structure as conventional residential housing , so that children may better relate the structure to their own homes . within structure 12 there are several rooms , arranged on two levels , 18 and 20 , which continue the association of structure 12 to a typical home . progressing from the front hitch 22 to the back of trailer 14 on lower level 18 , as seen in fig1 and in fig2 which is a schematic floor plan of lower level 18 , the rooms are kitchen 24 , living room 26 , control room 28 and storage area 30 . control room 28 , which is generally unavailable to the children being instructed within structure 12 , is constructed with a full height of at least six feet for the comfort of the operator and has a rear door 32 for use as an independent entrance . storage area 30 , which is accessible to the operator at boundary 34 , is , however , of the reduced height of slightly less than four feet . living room 26 also has the reduced height , but kitchen 24 is of full height . the reduced height of storage area 30 and living room 26 permits upper level 20 , also of reduced height , to be included on trailer 10 while maintaining the total height of trailer 10 at less than fourteen feet , thus permitting transportation of trailer 10 on highways without special permits . the interior of trailer 10 is available to both children and instructors through full size door 36 ( seen in fig2 ) which is located above steps 38 ( seen in fig1 ), which lead into kitchen 24 . kitchen 24 includes several devices which children will immediately recognize , and which can be used for instruction . stove 40 can be used to demostrate methods of extinguishing cooking fires , and sink 42 can be used to demonstrate the appropriate action , such as turning off water feed valves , for non - fire emergencies such as broken pipes . ventilator 44 is one of several ventilators 44 within trailer 10 which operate to exhaust non - toxic smoke generated for instruction purposes . the ventilators are interconnected to exhaust fan 46 by duct 48 located within the truss area above the rooms . ceiling light 50 furnishes illumination for night time instruction and adds to the realism of trailer 10 . one of themore valuable teaching aids within trailer 10 is intercom telephone 52 . telephone 52 , although interconnected only to a unit within control room 28 , is arranged to realistically be responsive when the number dialed or entered is the appropriate emergency telephone number for the minicipality within which the instruction is taking place . thus , either 911 or any other seven digit number can be used as the appropriate number to activate telephone 52 . this permits children to actually perform the necessary steps to reach emergency assistance , while the control room operator responds in the same manner as emergency personnel would . windows 54 , 56 , 58 and 60 are also valuable teaching aids . they are actually conventional house windows , except for the use of safety glass , and operate in the same manner as the windows likely to be found in children &# 39 ; s homes . windows 54 , 56 and 58 are conventional vertical opening windows and can include locks 62 , while window 60 is an awning type window operated by crank 64 . the similarity of these windows to those in typical homes permits instruction on opening household windows for escape purposes . upper level 20 , the schematic floor plan of which is shwon in fig3 may be the most valuable teaching tool within trailer 10 . upper level 20 includes two simulated bedrooms , 66 and 68 , along with operating windows 56 and 58 . balcony 70 with safety rail 72 is also on upper level 20 . stairs 74 connect upper level 20 with lower level 18 and permit valuable instruction on the proper method of going down stairs in emergency situations , including when smoke is present . smoke generator 76 , located in under - stair storage area 78 is used to create a realistic smoke situation with non - toxic smoke , and operating smoke detectors 80 further add to the realism and permit instruction on proper maintenance of such devices . recessed sprinkler heads 82 do not actually operate , but can be used for instruction in regard to their function . the safety of the children during instruction , and particularly when they are practicing escape methods while non - toxic smoke is present , is a primary concern in the construction of trailer 10 . structurally , the trailer is built so that its floors , on both levels , can hold all anticipated loads , even those from adults . also , the glass in all the windows , both exterior and interior windows , is safety glass , so that even in a poor visibility smoke situation , no glass can be broken . furthermore , because of the location of interior window 84 above stairs 74 , interior window 86 inboard of control room 28 , and the window in interior door 88 to the control room , the control room operator has a clear view of the entire interior of structure 12 at all times . the operator therefore can always render assistance to the occupants of the trailer . also , smoke detectors 80 and fire extinguisher 90 are operating units , so that they may be used , not only for instruction , but also for actual fire protection . the present invention therefore furnishes a superior teaching tool for instructing children in fire safety and home escape techniques , and also does so with ultimate safety and in a manner which is most likely to be associated with a child &# 39 ; s real world . it is to be understood that the form of this invention as shown is merely a preferred embodiment . various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of parts ; equivalent means may be substituted for those illustrated and described ; and certain features may be used independently from others without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . for instance , rooms can be rearranged or omitted , and other accessories can be included , such as alarm pull boxes for instructing children on their use when they are available . | 0 |
according to the present invention there is provided a series of polymers and oligomers , which actually use the carbonate group as the backbone of the polymer and the actual condensing group rather an activated double bond in a special monomer . accordingly , one is able to maximize the actual organic carbonate content of the polymer and maximize the conductivity of the polymer electrolyte . furthermore , it has been found that conductivities of about 0 . 5 to 2 ms can be obtained with lithium salts in these polymers and polymer gels formed by the condensation and / or polymerization of organic carbonates to form higher molecular weight molecules that maximize the primary organic carbonate content in the oligomer or polymer structure . there is a continuum of these subject oligomers and polymers with respect to structure and physical properties . these polymers and oligomers exhibit enhanced conductivity over currently available polyethylene oxide ( peo ) structures and hybrid polymer systems which although incorporating some organic carbonate structure do not maximize the — o ( c ═ o ) o —]— content of the polymer , in addition these subject polymers can also be blended with high boiling organic carbonates such as ethylene carbonate , propylene carbonate , ( b . p .& gt ; 240 ° c .) to form gels . these are high boiling solvents that maximize the conductivity . h [—( chr ) z ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ( q ) v ( chr ) n o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ( chr ) z —] x h where n is 1 , 2 , or 3 ; z is 0 to 6 , r is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl , — chr ″ o ( c ═ o ) o — m , where r ″ is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl or bridging group ; m is a cross linking bond to another part of the molecule , methyl , ethyl , or propyl group or a mix thereof , q is —( ch2och2 )—, wherein z is β , n is 2 , or 3 , and r is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl , — chr ″ o ( c ═ o ) o — m , where r ″ is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl or bridging group ; and m is a cross linking bond to another part of the molecule or a methyl or propyl or a mix of these groups . the polymers and oligomers of the present invention are prepared by a condensation method or by ester exchange in order to maximize the available carbonate content that enhance the conductivity . the polymers and oligomers of the invention can be made in various ways . a . one method involves the following reaction mechanism wherein ft is ethyl : in general , these polymers can be made using diols that contain at least three atoms usually carbon atoms between the hydroxyl groups . in the case of two carbon atoms between the carbonate groups the system will tend to form a very stable five - member ring such as in ethylene carbonate or propylene carbonate and the polymer will not readily form or is not stable when heated . a general chemical description of these polymers formed from the diols is : where n is 1 , 2 or 3 , z is 0 to 6 , and r is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl , — chr ″ o ( c ═ o ) o — m , where r ″ is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl or bridging group ; m is a cross linking bond to another part of the molecule or a methyl , ethyl , or propyl or a mix of these groups . h [—( chr ) z ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ( q ) v ( chr ) n o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ( chr ) z —] x h where n is 1 , 2 , or 3 , z is 0 to 6 , and r is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl — chr ″ o ( c ═ o ) o — m , where r ″ is hydrogen , methyl , ethyl or bridging group ; m is a cross linking bond to another part of the molecule or a methyl , ethyl , or propyl or a mix of these groups , q is —( ch 2 och 2 )—, ch 2 nrch 2 —, and v is 0 , 1 , 2 , or 3 . the basic “ monomer ” is made by reacting chloromethyl carbonate with the appropriate diol and then the resulting “ dicarbonate ” is heated to drive off the dimethyl carbonate resulting in a polymer . 2 ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) cl + hoch 2 ch 2 och 2 ch 2 oh + pyridine → 2 h cl . pyridine + ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ch 2 och 2 ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) och 3 → ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) o [— ch 2 ch 2 och 2 ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) o —] x ch 3 + x − 1 ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) och 3 polyols or polyhydric molecules containing more than two hydroxyl groups can be used to react with dialkyl carbonate or even ethylene or propylene carbonate to form oligomers and polymers containing a maximum amount of organic carbonate groups . in addition , this permits the formation of some five - membered rings such as pendant ethylene or propylene carbonate groups to be present on the polymer chain along with a certain degree of cross linking . ch 3 c ( ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) oet ) 2 o ( c ═ o ) or where r is a cross link to another ( 1 ) d . a still further method involves the use of cyclic carbonate such as ethylene carbonate and triol polyols such as glycerol , trimethylol propane , sorbitol , etc . are very high boiling even under vacuum and the equilibrium is shifted to favor reaction with these higher boiling polyols and the ethylene glycol slowly distills off forming the desired condensation polymers . these polymers can best chemically described in general as : where r and m are chr ′ o ( c ═ o ) o — r ″; chr ′ o ( c ═ o ) o — r ′ where r ′ and r ″ are alkyl groups of one to four carbons or a cross link to another molecule similar to ( 1 ) e . yet another method involves the reaction of triols ( and polyols ) and chloroalkyl carbonate : lower molecular weight oligomers and intermediates may be formed by reacting a polyol with a chloroalkyl carbonate according to the following reaction : 3 ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) cl + hoch 2 chohch 2 oh + 3 pyridine → 3phcl . pyridinet + ch 3 o ( c ═ o ) och 2 ch [ o ( c ═ o ) och 3 ] ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) och 3 → f . a still further method involves the reaction of epoxide containing compounds with alkyl carbonates : the oligomers and polymers containing high percentages of organic carbonate groups are formed by the reaction of epoxides such as glycidol with dialkyl and diaryl carbonates as follows wherein et is ethyl : → higher condensation polymers on heating which will also contain cyclic carbonates the epoxides used should have at least one other reactive functional group , which can include another epoxide , a hydroxyl , or an organic carbonate . where r is an alkyl group from 1 to 4 carbons and m is a group containing at least one ch 2 o ( c ═ o ) or and may contain up to eight carbon atoms ; r and m may be bridging groups . in the reactions described for forming the oligomers and polymers , all volatiles were removed under vacuum with heating depending on the amount of condensation desired . in some cases the reaction was quenched by adding about 1 % alkoxy triethyl silane to cap any free hydroxy groups and kill the catalyst if one is present . the polymers could be further purified by dissolving in methylene chloride , filtering , and then drying under heat and vacuum . the polymers of the invention could be infused with electrolyte salt by mixing in a solution of the desired lithium salt ( dissolved in ether , dimethyl carbonate or acetonitrile ) in the desired amount and pulling off the volatile solvent with vacuum while warming . such polymers were evaluated by infusing each at about 1 m lipf 6 and / or liclo 4 and checking the conductivity at rt , − 20 ° and 50 °. in addition with the gel and polymers , the polymers can be blended with about 10 to 60 % by weight ethylene carbonate or propylene carbonate or related high boiling cyclic carbonates to further enhance conductivity by forming lower viscosity gels . the conductivities of these various viscous liquids and gels range from 0 . 1 to 2 ms / cm . these new polymers , oligomers , and blends with cyclic carbonates and other aprotic higher boiling solvents when containing an appropriate lithium salt are useful as the electrolyte in lithium - ion and lithium batteries . the use of quaternary ammonium salts such as tetrathylammonium tetrafluoroborate dissolved in these polymers and oligomers are useful in double layer capacitors ( super capacitors ). other applications include conductivite polymeric films for sensors for detecting various phenomena such as humidity , chemical vapors , etc . 250 g of diethyl carbonate was added to 200 g 1 , 3 - propanediol under argon and then 2 ml of 1 lithium methoxide in methanol was added . the mixture was heated at 130 ° c . until all volatiles had distilled over including the ethanol and excess diethyl carbonate . the polymer was cooled and quenched with 3 ml of triethylethoxy silane to neutralize the catalyst . the resulting polymer was vacuum dried at 40 ° c . for 4 hours . ( the reaction is slower without catalyst . lithium carbonate may also be used as a catalyst and the polymer dissolved in methylene carbonate and filtered to remove the catalyst . the 0 . 5 ml of triethylethoxy silane is added and the solvent and volatiles removed ). a gel was made by combining 33 % ethylene carbonate and 67 % of the trimethylene carbonate polymer ( from example 1 ) by weight . a solution of 10 g liclo 4 in dimethyl carbonate was added to 90 g of the gel and the dimethyl carbonate removed under vacuum at 30 ° c . the resulting gel was 1 m liclo 4 in concentration . the conductivity at 25 ° c . was 1 ms / cm . the structures of these polymers which is based on the organic carbonate structure [ ro ( c ═ o ) or ′] maximizes the salvation and interaction of the polymer with respect to the lithium salt thereby increases the achievable conductivity of the lithium salt loaded polymer . this conductivity is greater than that achievable with a comparable peo polymer , which is the current technology . these organic carbonate polymers were made into three different forms : 1 ) polymeric thick liquid , 2 ) gel , and 3 ) a firmer solid with the conductivity higher in the polymeric liquid than in the gel and higher in the gel higher than the solid . 60 g . of a 20 % by weight solution of lipf 6 in dimethyl carbonate was mixed with 80 g . of the polymer of example 1 under inert atmosphere . the thick solution was coated on to sheet of aluminum and the solvent removed using vacuum and heat . the thin film of polymer containing 15 % lipf 6 had a conductivity of 0 . 9 ms . [ 0074 ] 60 g . of a 20 % by weight solution of lipf 6 in dimethyl carbonate / ethylene carbonate ( 1 : 1 ) was mixed with 60 g . of the polymer of example 1 under inert atmosphere . the thick solution was coated on to sheet of aluminum and the solvent removed using vacuum and heat . the thin gel film containing 33 % ethylene carbonate had a conductivity of 1 . 2 ms . | 8 |
the negative functional modulators of epo , described and claimed in the present invention , have surprisingly been shown to be able to induce apoptosis in cancer stem cells , to inhibit their growth and to lead to a possible induction of their differentiation . in one embodiment , said negative functional modulator is an anti - epo antibody , epo is preferably the polyclonal antibody ( h - 162 ) ( santa cruz biotechnology , inc .) developed against the epo amino acid sequence 28 - 189 of human origin ( seq . 1 ). in a further embodiment , said negative functional modulator is a purified specific monoclonal immunoglobulin , contained in the above mixture of anti - epo polyclonal antibody ( h - 162 ) ( santa cruz biotechnology , inc ), or is a peptide purified from said mixture of anti - epo polyclonal antibody ( h - 162 ) ( santa cruz biotechnology , inc ) by proteolytic cleavage of one or more of the immunoglobulins of the same mixture or a monoclonal antibody generated against an epitope contained in the amino acid sequence 28 - 189 accordingly . in a further preferred embodiment , said negative functional modulator is the polyclonal antibody epor ( m - 20 ) ( santa cruz biotechnology , inc . ), or a purified specific immunoglobulin , contained in the above mixture of polyclonal antibody anti - epor . alternatively , said negative functional modulator is given by the combination of the anti - epo antibody and the anti - epor antibody . surprisingly , negative functional modulators of epo , such as anti - epo antibodies and anti - epor antibodies , were able to induce apoptosis in human glioblastoma stem cells in vitro . it is well known that glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive tumor and that cells derived from glioblastoma are particularly resistant to toxic stimuli . in particular , the biology and the aggressiveness of glioblastoma , permits the modeling of this condition as an example of cancer in which the stem cells have a hierarchical role in modulating the growth of non - stem cancer cells , ( which make up the tumor mass ), for example through the release of s1p having paracrine / autocrine action ( see marfia g , et al . autocrine / paracrine sphingosine - 1 - phosphate fuels and proliferative sternness qualities of glioblastoma stem cells . glia . 2014 dec ; 62 ( 12 ): 1968 - 81 ) and which by their nature are resistant to common chemo - radio therapy treatments , increasing the aggressiveness of the tumor and triggering their own relapse . for the purpose of the present invention , a specific glioblastoma cell line , named sc02 has been selected . sc02 cells have mutations in the p53 gene . mutations in the p53 gene are known to confer resistance towards apoptotic stimuli , therefore it is particularly difficult to induce apoptosis in sc02 cells . the results obtained with the negative functional modulators of epo , claimed herein and reported in the examples that follow , show the surprising effectiveness of said modulators particularly because they were obtained in an in vitro model characterized by a strong resistance to apoptotic stimuli . surprisingly , exposure to an anti - epo antibody reduces the levels of sphingosine kinase 1 ( sk1 ) in stem cells of glioblastoma , sk1 being an enzyme with a predominantly antiapoptotic action involved in the phosphorylation of sphingosine in position 1 and the subsequent conversion to the active form sphingosine - 1 - phosphate ( s1p ). this results in a decreased production and decreased extracellular release of s1p , the levels of which have been surprisingly reduced by approximately 50 % following treatment with anti - epo . the same treatment with anti - epo has instead left unchanged , or in some cellular models , has led to an increase in the levels of sphingosine kinase 2 ( sk2 ), an enzyme with a predominantly pro - apoptotic role . treatment with anti - epo has also increased the levels of ceramide , whose pro - apoptotic and differentation role for stem cells is well established in the state of the art . these studies have been published in : marfia g , et al . autocrine / paracrine sphingosine - 1 - phosphate fuels and proliferative sternness qualities of glioblastoma stem cells . glia . 2014 dec ; 62 ( 12 ): 1968 - 81 . the combined treatment carried out on cancer stem cells with the anti - epo antibody and fty720 and / or temozolomide showed a superior effect in terms of induction of apoptosis and of blocking tumor growth , compared to the effect measured by anti - epo , fty720 and temozolomide tested individually . fty720 , functional agonist for the s1p receptor , is activated following phosphorylation mediated by sphingosine kinase , especially by sk2 and is used in post - transplant immunosuppressive therapy , in multiple sclerosis and also in the treatment of malignancies . since anti - epo maintains the levels of sphingosine kinase 2 ( sk2 ) unaltered , or increases the levels of sphingosine kinase 2 ( sk2 ), and reduces instead those of sphingosine kinase 1 ( sk1 ), the combination with anti - epo and fty720 is further favored , the latter being administered in the form of a prodrug and activated at the cellular level by sk2 . or the combination with anti - epo and one or more molecules selected from antagonists of s1p which include fty720 - p , sw - 2871 , vpc24191 , auy954 , sew2871 ( 5 -[ 4 - phenyl - 5 - ( trifluoromethyl )- 2 - thienyl ]- 3 -[ trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole ), vpc23153 , ds - gs - 44 , vpc01091 . within the scope of the effects on chronic inflammatory conditions and not on the autoimmune basis , studies have shown that activating microglia with lipopolysaccharide , a potent inflammatory stimulus , there is proliferation and migration of the same , as well as damage to the target cells and synthesis and release of s1p . treatment with negative modulators of epo according to the invention , in association with or without fty720 and its analogues , as shown in the examples that follow , inhibits the proliferation , migration and survival of activated microglia , as well as reducing the levels of s1p products by microglia . these effects are enhanced by the association of two principles . the cells principally involved in the maintenance and amplification of the neuroinflammatory state , through the production of pro - inflammatory molecules such as cytokines and chemokines , are those of microglia . however , prolonged and uncontrolled microglial activation is harmful for neurons and thus the inhibition of the prolonged neuroinflammatory state constitutes today a target of strategies to limit neuronal damage . to test this hypothesis , an in vitro model in which cells n9 , ( a cell line of immortalized murine microglia ), cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharide , was used as a potent inflammatory stimulus and subjected to treatment with polyclonal anti - epo ; eposirna ; anti - epo + fty720 to study the effects on the survival , migration and proliferation of activated microglia . in the context of the effects on inflammatory - like diseases such as haemophillic arthropathy , the isolation studies of endothelial cells from the synovium of patients with haemophilia , for the first time surprisingly demonstrated an increased angiogenesis with reduced stabilization and vessel maturation ( tumor - like ) at the synovial level , associated with an increased release of vegf in the culture medium especially when compared to their respective healthy controls . furthermore , the study of the sphingolipid metabolism of these cells showed a significant increase in intracellular levels of sphingosine - 1 - phosphate as the main mediator of the neo - angiogenesis and the inflammatory mechanism ( strub gm et al , adv . exp . med . biol . 2010 ). the abnormal proliferation and altered maturation of vessels associated with an inflammatory state also manifests itself in other coagulation disorders comprising hemophilia a and b , von willebrand &# 39 ; s disease and angiodysplasia associated therewith . chronic inflammation is common to this phenotype , to that of cancer stem cells / tumor tissues and other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis . in this sense , the data obtained ( inserted in the examples below ) show that treatment with “ anti - epo ” is able to block pathological synovial endothelial proliferation and reduce the synthesis of the intracellular levels of sphingosine - 1 - phosphate , increasing instead ceramide levels , having pro - apoptotic and differentiative , and also abolishing the initial inflammatory stimulus . the negative modulators of epo according to the present invention can therefore be used for direct intra - articular treatment in the form of a gel or suspension , in association or not with “ coagulation factors and their derivatives ” and fty720 if necessary and / or negative modulators of the sphingosine - 1 - phosphate pathway and / or inhibitors of vegf and receptors . alternatively , it is possible to use the negative modulators of epo for topical or systemic application , as well as in the form of microparticles , liposomes etc . alternatively , the administration may be achieved through the use of all those technologies currently related to gene therapy , or the use of vectors for the introduction of nucleic acids into cells of the patient . such administration can be effected at a systemic level , then by infusion , or at a local level , with the administration of vectors directly into the site of the lesion , tumor , synovial , cerebral etc . a further object of the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment of malignancies , in the therapy of autoimmune and non - autoimmune based chronic inflammatory diseases , in the treatment of patients undergoing an organ or tissue transplant , in the treatment of hemophilic arthropathy and in the treatment of neurological disorders in which neuroinflammation has a role in the pathogenesis , that comprises a negative functional modulator of epo according to the present invention in therapeutically effective concentrations and pharmaceutically acceptable excipients . preferably , said composition further comprises a therapeutically effective amount of one or more natural or synthetic molecules that act on the receptors of s1p , and / or on the metabolism of sit directly or indirectly , and / or anticancer cytotoxic molecules and / or antiviral and / or anti - angiogenic . even more preferably , said molecule which acts on the receptors of s1p , and / or on the metabolism of s1p directly or indirectly , is fty720 or its analogues . preferably , said anticancer cytotoxic molecule and / or antiviral and / or anti - angiogenic is selected in the group comprising : paclitaxel , taxol , cycloheximide , carboplatin , chlorambucil , cisplatin , colchicine , cyclophosphamide , daunorubicin , dactinomycin , diethylstilbestrol , doxorubicin , etoposide , 5 - fluorouracil , floxuridine , melphalan , methotrexate , mitomycin , 6 - mercaptopurine , teniposide , 6 - thioguanine , vincristine and / or vinblastine , fotemustine , carmustine , irinotecan systemically or by carmustine adsorbed biopolymer wafers for locoregional therapy , temozolomide , tamoxifen , valganciclovir , ganciclovir , acyclovir , anti - vegf , anti - vegfr , anti - her2 / neu , anti - egfr , gefitinib , bevacizumab , ranibizumab , vatalanib , cediranib , sorafenib , sunitinib , motesanib , axitinib . sc02 cells are plated in a double chamber well ( boyden chamber ) separated by a silicone septum . once the cell confluence is reached , the septum is removed , and the time it takes for the cells to invade the empty space left after the removal of the septum is measured . cells occupying this space are counted for the necessary analysis . anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody ). anti erythropoietin receptor antibody ( epor ; the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epor antibody ). control ( replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium ). it is noted that the anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) is able to reset the number of infiltrating cells . the anti - epor antibody is also capable , albeit less effectively , to reduce the migration . the analysis of cell viability shows that , at 72 hours after treatment with anti - epo , only about 2 % of the cells initially plated are still alive . evaluating the expression level of the factors involved in the apoptotic cascade , in addition to analysis by flow cytometry after staining with annexin v and propidium iodide , it was demonstrated that treatment with anti - epo antibody was able to induce cell death by activation of the apoptotic pathway . the induction of apoptosis in cells sc02 described herein , cells particularly resistant to apoptosis for the reasons described above , shows that anti - epo is surprisingly effective in activating the apoptotic pathway . anti - epo , a peptide that binds epo and / or a negative functional modulator of the expression levels of epo have proved to be effective molecules for use in the treatment of malignancies , in particular in the treatment of glioblastoma . the treatment of different cell types , tumors and non - tumors with negative functional modulators of epo led to decreased levels of sk1 expression . the levels of sk2 on the other hand , remain unchanged and , in some cases , are increased following the same treatment . the levels of intracellular and extracellular s1p were constantly decreased following treatment with functional negative modulators of epo . sc02 cells are plated in a boyden chamber separated by a insert silicone in a growth medium called scm ( stem cell medium ) selective for the growth of cancer stem cells . the formulation of the above - mentioned medium is as follows : dmem / f - 12 at a concentration of 1x , solution of antibiotics / antimycotics in the concentration ratio of 1 / 100 , apotransferrin at a concentration of 48 . 82 μg / ml , insulin at a concentration of 11 . 5 μg / ml , selenium at a concentration of 2 . 37 ng / ml , progesterone at a concentration of 2 . 88 ng / ml , putrescine at a concentration of 48 . 25 μg / ml , glucose ( 33 mm ), epidermal growth factor ( egf ) at a concentration of 10 ng / ml , basic fibroblast growth factor ( bfgf ) at a concentration of 5 ng / ml , l - glutamine at a concentration of 292 μg / ml , sodium bicarbonate ( 7 . 5 % weight / vol ) ( 60 μg / m1 ), hepes ( 4 - 2 - hydroxyethyl - 1 - piperazinyl - ethanesulfonic acid ) at a concentration of 1m , heparin at a concentration of 2 μg / ml , bovine serum albumin ( bsa ) at a concentration of 1 . 95 μg / ml and 10 incubated to 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 , 0 . 1 - 5 % o 2 . once the cell confluence has been reached , the septum is removed , and the time it takes for the cells to invade the empty space left after the removal of the septum is measured . cells occupying this space are counted for the necessary analysis . the cells are exposed to the following treatments : - anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( at time 0 , replacing the culture medium with culture medium containing 3 μg / ml of anti - epo polyclonal antibody ( h - 162 ) against aa 28 - 189 of the human epo ). anti - epor ( m - 20 ) ( at time 0 , replacing the culture medium with culture medium containing 3 pg / m1 of anti - epor , polyclonal antibody against a c - terminal cytoplasmic domain of human epor ) control ( at time 0 , replacement of the culture medium ). in fig2 a photomicrograph of the culture at time 0 is shown . fig3 to 7 show photomicrographs at successive times , from 72 to 168h , in the control sample and in the sample treated with anti - epo . the photographs show the expected migration in the control cells , while the culture treated with anti - epo not only does migration not occur , but the cell culture appears to spoil . fig8 to 12 show photomicrographs at the same times , from 72 to 168h , in the control sample and in the sample treated with anti - epor . treatment with anti - epor is not able to block the migration , the blockage is only partial and cell viability appears good in any case . the observation was quantified by counting the number of infiltrating cells at different times . the results , shown in the graph in fig1 , confirm that the non - treated culture after a time has a cell migration such as to reach confluence , while treatment with anti - epo completely blocks cell migration . exposing the same culture to anti - epor , the blockage is only partial . sc02 cells were plated in the scm medium as previously reported and exposed to the following treatments : anti - epo ( h - 162 ) ( at time 0 , replacing the culture medium with culture medium containing 3 μg / m1 of anti - epo , polyclonal antibody against aa 28 - 189 of human epo ). anti - epor ( m - 20 ) ( at time 0 , replacing the culture medium with culture medium containing 10 μg / m1 of anti - epor , polyclonal antibody against a c - terminal cytoplasmic domain of human epor ). control ( at time 0 , replacement of the culture medium ). the cells were counted with trypan blue to check cell viability every 24 hours after exposure to anti - epo . the results are reported in the graph in fig1 . from 72 hours after the treatment , the cell viability is practically zero . the effect on the cell cycle of cell culture treated with anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) was estimated by flow cytometry . sc02 cells , 24 hours after plating in scm medium show the expected profile ( fig1 ). exposure for 24 hours to anti - epo leads to the desynchronization of all phases of the cell cycle , resulting in a drastic and early reduction of cell proliferation in the following hours , causing an arrest of cell growth . ( fig1 ). in order to assess the type of cell death induced by treatment with anti - epo antibody , the expression levels of key factors of the apoptotic cascade were evaluated by western blot . the expression levels of : caspase 9 , caspase 3 , the final effector of apoptosis , bax , pro - apoptotic molecule and bc12 , and the anti - apoptotic molecule were measured in sc02 cells treated or untreated with anti - epo ( h - 162 ). the levels of beta - actin were used as a normalization factor of the amount of protein loaded . fig1 shows how , in the presence of the treatment with anti - epo , the expression levels of the active and inactive forms of caspase 9 , have increased . the quantization of the bands and their normalization shows , in fig1 , an accumulation of about 8 times the levels of active caspase 9 in the samples exposed to treatment with anti - epo compared to the untreated control . fig1 shows how , in the presence of the treatment with anti - epo , the expression levels of the active and the inactive forms of caspase 3 have increased . the quantization of the bands and their normalization , shown in fig2 , show an accumulation of about 33 times the levels of inactive caspase 3 and about 4 times the levels of active caspase 3 in the samples exposed to treatment with anti - epo compared to the untreated control . by assessing the expression levels of bax and bc12 , there is , in the presence of the treatment with anti - epo , a shift of the ratio bc12 / bax in favor of bax , that is in favor of the pro - apoptotic molecule ( fig2 , 22 ). the data reported herein demonstrate that treatment with anti - epo is able to induce cell death by apoptosis . to confirm the fact that exposure to anti - epo is able to induce an apoptotic - type of cell death , cells were assessed by flow cytometry with staining with annexin v and propidium iodide . negative v - fitc annexin cells and negative pi cells are non - apoptotic cells , positive v - fitc annexin cells and negative pi cells are cells at an early stage of apoptosis positive v - fitc annexin cells and positive pi cells are cells in a late stage of apoptosis , negative v - fitc annexin cells and positive pi cells are cells in necrosis . at 48 hours after initiation of treatment , fig2 , a number of cells in the initial phase of apoptosis are found , whereas at 96 hours from the treatment , the majority of cells ( about 75 %) are in late stage apoptosis . the proportion of cells in necrosis is always limited . this confirms that anti - epo induces apoptotic cell death . the cells were analyzed for expression of pcna protein , cellular proliferation index , as shown in fig2 . flow cytometric analysis of the expression of the pcna protein indicates that untreated glioblastoma cells ( ctr ) have a high expression of the protein , identifiable by dot plot of the cell population control . after 48 hours of treatment with anti - epo a decreased positivity of the cells expressing pcna was measured , detectable by a decrease in fluorescence intensity expressed by the dot plot . this trend is clearly greater at 72 hours of treatment . analysis of the expression levels of sphingosine kinase 1 ( sk1 ) and sphingosine kinase 2 ( sk2 ). in the sc02 cells treated or untreated with anti - epo ( h - 162 ), the expression levels of sk1 and sk2 were measured . the levels of beta - actin were used as a normalization factor of the amount of protein loaded . the analysis was conducted on protein lysate obtained after 48 hours from the treatment . for the detection , antibodies developed in rabbit anti sk1 and anti sk2 by abcam ( cambridge , uk ) were used . fig2 shows the expression levels of sk1 in glioblastoma cells treated as follows : all treatments were performed for 48 hours in culture prior to obtaining the lysate protein . the data reported show that , in the presence of the treatment with anti - epo , the expression levels of sk1 decreased significantly . fig2 shows how , in the presence of the treatment with anti - epo , the expression levels of sk2 instead remain unchanged . all treatments were performed for 48 hours in culture prior to obtaining the lysate protein . the observed inhibition of the conversion of sphingosine to sphingosine - 1 - phosphate , shifts the equilibrium toward the conversion of sphingosine to ceramide through n - acylation instead of phosphorylation . tritiated sphingosine - 1 - phosphate was added at a concentration of 200 nm for 48 hours and treated every 24 hours with stem cells of glioblastoma under two conditions : 1 ) with anti - epo treatment 2 ) without further treatment ( ctr ). levels of intracellular sphingosine - 1 - phosphate after 48 hours are reduced by 38 % when the cells were treated with anti - epo ( fig2 , intracellular , black column ) extracellular sphingosine - 1 - phosphate after 48 hours was reduced by 55 % following treatment with anti - epo compared to the control ( fig2 , extracellular , black column ). this data indicates that the glioblastoma cells are able to release sphingosine - 1 - phosphate in the extracellular environment and said extracellular release is halved in the presence of treatment with anti - epo . analysis of the effect of treatment with anti - epo and eposirna on the cell viability of a commercial line of microglia after inflammatory stimulus fig2 shows cell viability of commercial line of microglia ( line n9 ). n9 cells were cultured in iscove &# 39 ; s modified dulbecco &# 39 ; s mem , imdm containing streptomycin / 1 × penicillin and 2 mm l - glutamine , supplemented with fbs ( fetal bovine serum ) at 5 %. the cells were plated at a concentration of 1 . 5 × 10 ̂ 4 cells / cm 2 and kept in a thermostatic incubator at 37 ° c ., with 5 % co 2 , for 24 hours . the next day , the cells were exposed to different treatments for 24 and 48 hours . at the end of the treatments , cell viability was assessed by staining with trypan blue . the microglia was maintained in a basal culture medium and then activated with lipopolysaccharide ( lps ), a molecule present on the membrane of the gram - negative bacteria . furthermore , to study the role of the product “ anti - epo ” in the inhibition of neuroinflammation and then in the inhibition of the activation of microglia , the antibody according to the scheme below was administered , in association and not with lps , to activate microglia . similarly to the treatment with anti - epo , a treatment condition of activated microglia with sirna , using the technique of gene silencing by rna interference , was combined . this technique allows a reduction of up to 90 % of the expression of a protein of interest . the cell in which the silencing of a specific protein is required , is transfected with molecules of double - stranded rna containing the sequence of about 20bp called small interfering rna ( sirna ). control , ctr , ( replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium ); lps , lipopolysaccharide , at a concentration of 3 μg / ml ; anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody ); lps + anti - epo ( at time 0 the cells were plated in culture medium , activated with lps at a concentration of 3 μg / ml , and treated with anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ); lps + eposirna ( at time 0 the culture medium was replaced with fresh culture medium for transfection with eposirna ). the cells were cultured for 24 hours in a culture medium without antibiotics . the sirna ( santa cruz , catalog no . sc - 37220 ) were prepared by diluting to the final concentration directly in the culture medium and incubating at room temperature for 30 minutes . the solution was then added to cells previously washed with 1 ml of medium for the transfection . the cells were incubated for 7 hours and then 1 ml of fresh medium containing a double quantity of fbs and antibiotics was added . the cells were then treated directly in the culture medium with lps at a concentration of 3 μg / ml and incubated for the next 24 and 48 hours . it is observed , surprisingly , that treatments with anti - epo and eposirna are not toxic for cells of quiescent microglia . the n9 , in fact , after 48 hours of culture with different treatments retain a viability higher than 85 % and this percentage is higher after 24 hours of treatment . analysis of the effect of treatment with anti - epo and eposirna migration of a commercial line of microglia after inflammatory stimulus fig2 shows the ability of treatment with anti - epo and eposirna to inhibit the migration of n9 . the migration testing or “ chemotaxis assay ” was carried out to highlight the migratory capacity of n9 , a phenomenon that is observed in response to an inflammatory stimulus . for this purpose , transwell multiwell plates ( 24 - well ) were used and equipped with inserts with a polycarbonate membrane . the holes in the membrane of a diameter of 8 μm are capable of retaining the cells and the culture medium , but allow the active transmigration of cells through the membrane to reach the lower well . the normal and n9 and the n9 treated / transfected with eposirna were seeded in the top insert . in the lower compartments , lps at a concentration of 3 μg / ml in imdm medium , and / or in combination with anti - epo were added according to the scheme drawn . after 24 hours , the inserts were removed and the cells present in the lower compartment were stained with calceinaam . the visualization of the cells was made by fluorescence microscopy with a 4 × objective and the images were analyzed with imagej software . the migration testing shows how n9 cells are chemoattracted by the stimulus with lps and that this effect is significantly reduced when the medium of the lower compartment is added the anti - epo antibody and , although to a lesser extent , when the cells are transfected with eposirna . therefore , it can be concluded that the “ anti - epo ” treatment does not interfere with the quiescent microglia cells , but blocks the activation and migration of the same , as a result of a potent inflammatory stimulus . treatment with sirna has positive effects , although greater beneficial effects are observed with antibody “ anti - epo ”. therefore , as already seen in the use of the anti - epor antibody , where even in that case there were positive but partial effects with respect to those after using anti - epo polyclonal anti aa . 28 - 189 , it can be assumed that the target of this molecule is not only to seize and reduce levels of epo preventing receptor binding , but also that in the mixture , are present pharmacologically independently acting molecules or that epo modulates the functions shown in the experiments , not only through its binding to the receptor . analysis with hematoxylin and eosin staining of the effect of treatment with anti - epo and eposirna migration of a commercial line of microglia after inflammatory stimulus fig3 shows the analysis of the insert of the transwell plates used for the chemotaxis assay after staining with hematoxylin and eosin . the inserts were removed from the support , turned upside down , laid on a glass holder object and stained with hematoxylin and eosin to highlight the cells which had migrated through the insert . subsequently , 4 evos microscope images with 4x objective were acquired . the analysis of the images showed an increase in the number of cells that had passed through the insert in the presence of lps in the lower well . surprisingly , when “ anti - epo ” was added to the lower well , the number of migrating cells was significantly reduced to values comparable to the inactivated microglia control . from the qualitative analysis , the inserts processed by the ctr and “ anti - epo ” conditions have an almost identical mark . analysis of the effect of treatment with anti - epo individually and in combination with fty720 on the proliferation of a commercial line of microglia n9 microglial cells were seeded in multiwell plates at a concentration of 1 . 5 × 10 ̂ 4 for 24 hours . the following day the cells were administered the following treatments for 24 hours : n9 cells were detached with enzyme , and an aliquot of known volume was labeled with trypan blue and observed under the microscope for counting . considering that the number of cells in the culture control , without any treatment , as being 100 , the percentage of proliferation of n9 cultured in presence of lps , anti - epo antibody , combination of lps and anti - epo antibody was calculated . the data show ( fig3 ) that the stimulus lps markedly increases cell proliferation in response to inflammatory stimulus and , unlike treatment with anti - epo , is able to stop the proliferation of microglia following an inflammatory stimulus , maintaining the microglia in a state of quiescence , preventing the inflammatory cascade downstream such as release of inflammatory cytokines , nerve cell death and chronic inflammation . surprisingly it was seen that even after microglial activation with lps , the end result is an arrest of proliferation with values comparable to those of quiescent microglia . from a morphological analysis of n9 after stimulation with lps , a change of the microglia from a branched morphology , typical of a quiescence state , it takes an amoeboid morphology , indicator of a phagocytic activity . surprisingly , following treatment with “ anti - epo ” cells regain or maintain a branched morphology , as well as after having been transfected with eposirna . this result further emphasizes the effect that the anti - epo antibody has against neuroinflammation , namely that of stopping the proliferation of the microglia not when it is in a state of resting , quiescence , but more when it is activated . analysis of the effect of the treatment on the number of infiltrating cells of a commercial line of colon adenocarcinoma , caco - 2 caco - 2 cells , cells of colon adenocarcinoma , are seeded in a boyden chamber separated by a silicone septum . once cell confluence is reached , the septum is removed , and the time it takes for the cells to invade the empty space left after the removal of the septum is measured . cells occupying this space are counted for the necessary analysis . anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody ). anti - erythropoietin receptor antibody ( epor ; the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epor antibody at a concentration of 3 μ / ml ). control ( replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium ). it is observed ( fig3 ) that the anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) is able to reset the number of infiltrating cells . the anti - epor antibody is also capable , albeit less effectively , of decreasing the migration , confirming once again the superior efficacy of the antibody mixture anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) relative to the block of epo , indicating that the therapeutic action also includes different mechanisms in addition to the negative modulation of epo by blocking its receptor . analysis of the effect of treatment on the viability of a commercial line of adenocarcinoma of the colon , caco - 2 the analysis of cell viability of caco - 2 shows that at 24 hours after treatment with anti - epo , only about 40 % of the cells initially plated are still alive and this percentage decreases further at 48 hours of treatment ( fig3 ). when the caco - 2 cells are treated with the epor antibody , cell proliferation decreases compared to the control even though , in this case also , to a lesser extent compared to treatment with the anti - epo antibody . treatment with eposirna shows that at 24 hours only 60 % of the cells are still alive and this percentage decreases at 48 hours . therefore , positive results with different negative modulators of epo ( anti - epor , sirna ) are obtained , but once again , the best effects are achieved by using the polyclonal anti aa 28 - 189 anti - epo antibody . analysis of the effect of the treatment on a number of infiltrating cells of a commercial line of non - small cell lung cancer , a549 a549 cells , non - small cell lung cancer cell line , are seeded in a boyden chamber separated by a silicone septum . once the cell confluence is reached , the septum is removed , and the time it takes for the cells to invade the empty space left after the removal of the septum is measured . cells occupying this space are counted for the necessary analysis . control ( replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium ); anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody ); anti - erythropoietin receptor ( epor ; the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epor antibody ). it is observed ( fig3 ) that the anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) is able to significantly decrease the number of infiltrating cells . the anti - epor antibody is also capable , albeit less effectively , to reduce the migration . analysis of the effect of the treatment on the viability of a commercial line of non - small cell lung cancer , a549 the analysis of a549 cell viability shows that at 24 hours after treatment with anti - epo , only about 45 % of the cells initially plated are still alive and this percentage decreases further at 48 hours of treatment . when the a549 cells are treated with the anti - epor antibody , cell proliferation decreases compared to the control , albeit less when compared to treatment with the anti - epo antibody . treatment with eposirna shows that at 24 hours only 60 % of the cells are still alive and this percentage decreases at 48 hours ( fig3 ). fig3 and 37 show the analysis of the cell viability of stem cells of glioblastoma subjected to the following treatments respectively for 48 and 72 hours : control ( replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium ); administration of sphingosine - 1 - phosphate ( s1p ), 200 nm as a stimulus to the survival and proliferation ( positive control ); administration of temozolomide ( tmz ), the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing tmz at a concentration 100 μm ; anti - epo antibody ( h - 162 ) ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody at a concentration of 3 μg / m1 ); administration of fty720 . the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing fty720 at a concentration 1 μm ; combined administration of anti - epo and fty720 ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody and fty720 ); combined administration of anti - epo and temozolomide ( the culture medium is replaced at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo antibody and tmz ); co - administration of anti epo , fty720 and tmz . anti - epo , a peptide that binds epo and / or a negative functional modulator of the expression levels of epo prove to be effective molecules for use in the treatment of malignancies . the anti - epo treatment , in combination with fty720 is enhanced and synergistic , also the anti - epo treatment in combination with tmz ( alkylating agent used in the treatment of neurological tumors , to which cancer stem cells are normally resistant ) render the neoplastic stem cells sensitive to temozolomide ( stem cells from glioblastoma and other cancers are chemotherapy radio resistant , tmz alkylating agent ) again . analysis of the treatments with anti - epo individually and in combination with fty720 on endothelial cells isolated from the synovium of hemophilic patients fig3 shows the analysis of cell viability of endothelial cells isolated from synovium of haemophilia patients with moderate / severe cases of the disease . the endothelial cells were cultured in appropriate culture medium and subjected to the following treatments : control ( ctr ), replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium . administration of anti - epo , replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo at a concentration of 3 μg / m1 . administration of anti - epo in combination with fty720 , replacement of the culture medium at time 0 with fresh culture medium containing anti - epo at a concentration of 3 μg / ml and fty720 ( 1 μm ). when endothelial cells are treated with the anti - epo antibody , cell proliferation decreases significantly compared to placebo ctr , where the cells are maintained in their culture medium . in addition , the combined treatment with anti - epo and fty720 reduces further the survival of synovial endothelial cells of haemophilic patients . analysis of the treatments with anti - epo individually and in combination with fty720 on endothelial cells isolated from synovium of healthy controls and from haemophilic patients as shown in fig3 , treatment with anti - epo antibody significantly decreases the proliferation of endothelial cells of the synovium of haemophilic patients as compared to the proliferation of endothelial cells isolated from the synovium of healthy control subjects ( healthy ). it is observed that treatment with anti - epo and the combination of the latter with the inhibitor of s1p , fty720 , are effective in reducing the cell viability of endothelial cells of the pathological synovium . analysis of the intracellular levels of ceramide and sphingosine - 1 - phosphate in the endothelial cells of synovium taken from healthy controls and pathological patients our recent studies of the isolation of endothelial cells from synovium of hemophilic patients for the first time surprisingly demonstrated an increased angiogenesis with reduced stabilization and vessel maturation ( tumor - like ) at the synovial level especially when compared to their respective controls . the pathological samples also showed a marked increase in the levels of intracellular s1p , capable of promoting pathological angiogenesis and giving rise to an intrinsic inflammatory phenomenon that then involves the entire joint and that is common to both hemophilic arthropathy and rheumatoid arthritis . for the purpose of the present invention , the endothelial cells from synovial biopsies of 3 healthy subjects and 5 hemophilic patients with moderate / severe pathologies have been isolated and characterized ( fig4 - 41 ). the endothelial cells have been used to study the metabolism of sphingolipids , in particular sphingosine - 1 - phosphate and ceramide , by administering a radiolabelled precursor of s1p and ceramide . it was observed ( fig4 ) that the endothelial cells of synovium taken from pathological patients , had high intracellular levels of s1p ( high intracellular levels of sit contribute to angiogenesis and to triggering an intrinsic inflammatory process ) and lower levels of ceramide ( for pro - apoptotic action and differentiation towards a more mature cell phenotype ) ( fig4 ). treatment with anti - epo surprisingly increased levels of ceramide within the endothelial cells of the pathological synovium , which has a pro - apoptotic function . in fact , ceramide levels are increased until arriving at a value similar to that of healthy subjects , and then to a physiological state , showing intracellular levels of sit of values comparable to those of synovial endothelial cells of healthy subjects . it is possible therefore to hypothesize the use of the anti - epo antibody , such as in direct intra - articular treatment in the form of gel or suspension , in association or not with “ coagulation factors and their derivatives ” and also comprising fty720 and negative modulators of the sphingosine - 1 - phosphate pathway . analysis with enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay ( elisa ) of the levels of vegf present in the conditioned media from endothelial cells isolated from synovium of healthy controls and hemophilic patients fig4 shows the results obtained by enzyme immunoassay quantikine ® elisa for vegf ( r & amp ; d system cod . dve00 ) on the supernatants of endothelial cell cultures isolated from synovia of control subjects and haemophiliac patients . the cells were plated at the concentration of 3 × 10 ̂ 4 cells / cm 2 for 24 hours at 37 ° c . and 5 % co 2 . after incubation , the conditioned supernatants were collected , centrifuged and frozen for analysis . the results , surprisingly , exhibit an increased release in the levels of vegf by the endothelial cells of hemophilic patients of about double ( 932 ± 100 pg / ml ) with respect to the control subjects ( 545 ± 115 pg / ml ). from this it follows that in hemophilic arthropathy , together with an inflammatory component , the angiogenic process plays a crucial and relevant role in the development of the pathological condition . therefore , therapies that interfere with angiogenesis and the inherent inflammatory process that ensues , can interrupt the vicious circle of synovitis - bleeding - inflammation . | 2 |
reference is made to fig1 , which shows a basic view of a network 2 with an electronic device 6 comprising fieldbus connection module 4 . the network 2 can be , for example , a known fieldbus in the present embodiment which combines sensors and actuators to control systems in an industrial operation under a control level for setting command signals . such fieldbuses such as , for example , can - open ( controller area network ), profibus , profinet and ethercat , are known and will not be described further in the following . the individual electronic devices 6 can be constructed in the manner of a modular control system such as is known , for example , from the aforementioned german patent no . de 44 38 806 c1 . the individual electronic devices can comprise the particular connection module 4 in the framework of this construction . connection blocks 8 can be connected to the network 2 via the individual fieldbus connection modules 4 . the individual connection blocks 8 are built up from signal conductor disks 10 and supply disks ( not shown ) via which sensors 12 , actuators 14 and other field devices 16 can be controlled . furthermore , a master computer 18 can be connected to the network 2 which has a higher order above the electronic devices 6 in order to control the electronic devices 6 , for example in the framework of an automated manufacturing process and to set the previously mentioned command signals . during the operation of the network the fieldbus connection modules 4 of the electronic devices 6 as transmitter transmit data 19 such as error protocols or other information to the master computer 18 . the master computer 18 receives the transmitted data in 19 as receiver and evaluates the received data 19 . in this connection it can be necessary for the master computer 18 to derive the validity of the received data 19 . a possibility of making a measure for the validity of the data 19 available to the master computer 18 is to provide the data 19 with time stamps 20 from which , for example , the time of the creation or generation of the data 19 is unambiguously apparent . such time stamps 20 could be generated , for example , based on a real time clock directly in the fieldbus connection modules 4 of the electronic devices 6 before the transmitting of the data 19 , wherein , however , it must be ensured that an appropriate real time clock is also present on the master computer 18 as receiver that is synchronized with the real time clock of the corresponding electronic device 6 from which the master computer 18 receives the data . only then can all participants 6 , 18 in the network 2 start from the same time base for evaluating the validity of the data 19 . however , in the following the making a real time clock available in all network participants will be eliminated without having to do without the evaluation of the validity of the data 19 . an example for this would be if one of the electrical devices 6 would have to transmit exclusively data 19 . the master computer 18 could generate the time stamp 20 itself while the electronic device 6 itself does not require any time stamp . the generation of time stamp 20 for the data 19 transmitted from the electronic device 6 on the master computer 18 will be described in detail in the following . in order to generate the time stamp 19 itself , the master computer 18 requires the local time 21 of the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 , which is called the transmitter local time 21 in the following . to this end a relative transmission time generator 22 such as , for example , a counter , is used in the present embodiment in the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 . this generator emits an elapsed time duration 23 , called the transmitter time duration 23 in the following starting from a time reference basis still to be described which transmitter time duration is transmitted to the master computer 18 . if the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 transmits data 19 to the master computer 18 , then it also sends together with this data 19 the actual transmitter time duration 23 of the transmission time generator 22 . the master computer 18 adds the received transmitter time duration 23 and the reference time 24 still to be described in an adding component 25 , obtaining in this manner the above - named transmitter local time 21 . the master computer 18 can then generate the time stamp 20 in a time stamp generation device 26 from the transmitter local time 21 and generate corresponding time - stamped data 28 , for example in a mixer 27 based on the data 19 and the time stamp 20 . in order to carry out the previously described method the previously cited reference time 24 should be a time base to which the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 as well as the master computer 18 jointly refer . in this instance the reference time 24 can be formed by subtraction from a real time 30 and a receiver time duration 32 in a subtraction component 34 . the real time 30 is read out in the present embodiment from a real - time clock 36 running in the master computer 18 . the receiver time duration 32 is a time duration value analogous to the transmitter time duration 23 . it is therefore read out of a relative receiver time generator 38 which runs in the master computer 18 and which can be constructed as a counter as in the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 . therefore , the above - named common time base and with it the reference time 24 can be found with the aid of the receiver time duration 32 to which the fieldbus connection module 4 of the electronic device 6 transmitting the data 19 as well as the master computer 18 refer in the generation of their corresponding time durations 23 , 32 . in order to create such a common time base and with it a common reference time 24 the two relative time generators 22 , 38 are synchronized according to event with one another by an event 40 . such a suitable event can be , for example , the cutting in of one of the two network participants 6 , 18 . then , all relative time generators 22 , 28 can be started with the reception of the event - synchronizing event 40 . the background of the event synchronization of the two time generators 22 , 38 and the associated possibility of determining the transmitter local time 21 for generating a time stamp 20 in the master computer 18 will be illustrated in detail in the following using fig2 . the transmitter local time 21 is also clearly a time duration that is , however , to be considered from a purely illustratively represented absolute reference time 42 that is comparable to a coordinate origin in a coordinate system . from this purely illustrative , absolute reference time 42 the absolute transmitter local time 21 represents a time duration at any desired first time 44 in time and the absolute receiver local time 30 represents a time duration at any desired second time 46 in time . for the sake of clarity the absolute transmitter local time 21 is represented in fig2 by a dotted line . in contrast to the above , there is the common reference point in time 24 at which the event - synchronizing event 40 took place and at which both time generators 22 , 38 were started . if the absolute receiver local time 30 is measured with it in the master computer 18 upon receipt of the data 19 , is possible to calculate back at any time to the common reference time 24 at the time of the event 40 starting from this absolute receiver local time 30 via the receiver time duration 32 also available in the master computer 18 . starting from this common reference time 24 , the master computer 18 can then unambiguously determine the transmitter local time 21 taking into consideration the received transmitter time duration 23 in the above - cited manner . while in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made without deviating from the invention described above . | 6 |
fig1 shows an example embodiment of a device 10 for forming a circumferential groove in a pipe element . device 10 comprises a drive roller 12 rotatable about an axis 14 . in this example , drive roller 12 is rotated about axis 14 by an electric motor 16 positioned within a housing 18 on which the drive roller is mounted . drive roller 12 has an outer surface 20 which is engageable with an inner surface of a pipe element as described below . an idler roller , which , in this example embodiment , is a grooving roller 22 is also mounted on housing 18 for rotation about an axis 24 . axes 14 and 24 are substantially parallel to one another which permit them to cooperate when forming a circumferential groove . grooving roller 22 is mounted to housing 18 via a yoke 26 which permits the grooving roller to be moved toward and away from the drive roller in the direction indicated by arrow 28 while maintaining axes 14 and 24 in substantially parallel relationship . movement of the yoke 26 and hence the grooving roller 22 is effected by an actuator 30 . hydraulic actuators are advantageous because they provide a great range of high force adjustable in fine increments capable of locally yielding the pipe material to progressively form the groove . other types of actuators are of course feasible . as shown in fig2 , the device also includes a first sensor 32 for determining the degree of rotation of the grooving roller 22 about axis 24 during formation of the circumferential groove in the pipe element . in this example embodiment , the first sensor 32 comprises a rotary encoder . rotary encoders are advantageous because they have excellent reliability , repeatability , accuracy and resolution , typically allowing a revolution to be divided into 600 , 060 discrete steps for great accuracy in measuring the rotation of the grooving roller 22 . rotary encoder model lm10ic005bb20f00 supplied by rls of ljubjana , slovenia serves as a practical example appropriate for device 10 . in general , at least one revolution of the pipe element may be determined by sensing a feature on the pipe element a first and a second time while rotating the pipe element . the feature , for example , could be a naturally occurring feature , such as a unique scratch , tool marking , seam or other feature which is not placed on the pipe for any particular purpose . however , it is advantageous to position a feature on the pipe element which will be readily detectable so as to ensure reliable and accurate determination of a revolution of the pipe element . two examples are described below , it being understood that other detection methods are also feasible . with reference again to fig1 , device 10 comprises a second sensor 34 for determining the degree of rotation of the pipe element . fig3 shows an example of second sensor 34 which comprises a light projector 36 , for example , a laser , a detector 38 , which detects light from the projector as it is reflected from the pipe element 40 , and a light reflecting surface 42 which is affixed to the outer surface 40 b of the pipe element 40 . light reflecting surface 42 may be specular , diffuse , or have a different color from that of the outer surface 40 b of the pipe element 40 and thus provides a contrast with the pipe element outer surface . sensor 34 is also known as a contrast sensor because the detector 38 detects the difference between projected light reflected from the pipe outer surface 40 b and the contrasting light reflecting surface 42 . contrast sensors such as 34 are manufactured by leuze electronics of new hudson , mich ., with model number hrtl 3b / 66 - s8 being feasible for the device 10 disclosed herein . each time the light reflecting surface 42 passes beneath light from projector 36 the detector detects the reflection therefrom and generates a signal which can be used to detect and count the revolutions of the pipe element . in an alternate embodiment , shown in fig3 a , the second sensor 34 may comprise a magnetic sensor 35 . magnetic sensor 35 is also a non - contact proximity sensor which uses inductive or capacitive principles to sense the passing of a magnet 37 affixed to a surface , for example , the outer surface 40 b of the pipe element 40 . each time the magnet 37 passes the magnetic sensor 35 it generates a signal which can be used to detect and count the revolutions of the pipe element . as shown in fig1 , device 10 may also have a third sensor 46 for measuring a surface profile of at least a portion of the pipe element . as shown in fig7 , the third sensor 46 is a triangulation sensor and comprises a laser 48 adapted to produce a fan - shaped beam 50 along a portion of the outer surface 40 b of the pipe element 40 where the profile 52 is to be measured . a detector 54 is adapted to receive the reflection of the fan - shaped beam from the outer surface portion of the pipe element . the third sensor 46 also includes a calculator unit 55 which uses triangulation to convert the reflection of the fan - shaped beam into measurements representing the outer surface profile . with reference again to fig1 , device 10 also includes a control system 56 . control system 56 is in communication with the sensors 32 , 34 and 46 as well as with the electrical motor 16 and the actuator 30 . communication may be through dedicated electrical lines 58 . the control system receives signals generated by the sensors 32 , 34 and 46 and sends commands to the actuator 30 and the motor 16 to control operation of the various parts of the device 10 to form the groove in the pipe elements . sensor 32 generates signals indicative of the rotation of the grooving roller 22 ; sensor 34 generates signals indicative of the rotation of the pipe element 40 ( see also fig3 ); and sensor 46 generates signals indicative of the outer surface profile of the pipe element 40 ( see also fig7 ). these signals are transmitted to the control system . control system 56 may comprise a computer or programmable logic controller having resident software which interprets the signals from the sensors 32 , 34 and 46 and then issues commands to the actuator 30 and the motor 16 to effect the various functions associated with forming the circumferential grooves in the pipe elements . together the control system 56 , actuator 30 , motor 16 and sensors 32 , 34 and 46 operate in a feed - back loop to automatically form the grooves in an operation described below . fig1 a shows a device 10 a having a second idler roller 23 that is separate from the idler roller 22 . in this example embodiment , idler roller 22 is a grooving roller mounted on yoke 26 as described above , and second idler roller 23 is mounted on an actuator 25 which is mounted on device 10 a . actuator 25 is controlled by control system 56 and moves the idler roller 23 toward and away from the drive roller 12 to engage and disengage the idler roller 23 with the pipe element . idler roller 23 is rotatable about an axis 27 substantially parallel to axis 14 and will rotate about axis 27 when engaged with a pipe element that is mounted on and rotated by the drive roller 12 . in this embodiment , the idler roller 23 is used to determine the pipe element diameter and the groove diameter , and the idler ( grooving ) roller 22 is used to support the pipe element and form a circumferential groove . to that end , first sensor 32 is operatively associated with the idler roller 23 and used to determine the degree of rotation of the idler roller 23 about axis 27 during determination of the pipe element diameter and formation of the circumferential groove in the pipe element . in this example embodiment , the first sensor 32 may again comprise a rotary encoder as described above . the rotary encoder counts the number of revolutions and fractions thereof of the idler roller 23 and generates a signal indicative thereof which is transmitted to the control system 56 via a communication link such as hardwired lines 58 . the control system 56 uses the information transmitted in the signals to determine the diameter of the pipe element and control the machine operation during groove formation as described below . an example method of forming a circumferential groove in a pipe element using the device 10 is illustrated in fig1 - 5 and in the flow chart of fig6 . as shown in fig3 , pipe element 40 is engaged with the drive roller 12 ( see box 62 , fig6 ). in this example , the inner surface 40 a of the pipe element 40 is placed in contact with the drive roller . next , as described in box 64 of fig6 , grooving roller 22 is moved by the actuator 30 ( under the command of control system 56 ) toward the drive roller 12 until it engages the outer surface 40 b of pipe element 40 . it is advantageous to pinch pipe element 40 between the drive roller 12 and the grooving roller 22 with sufficient force to securely hold the pipe element on the device 10 . at this point , it is possible to determine the diameter of the pipe element 40 in order to either accept the pipe element and form the circumferential groove , or reject the pipe element because its diameter is outside of the accepted tolerance range and thus be incompatible with other pipe elements of the same nominal size . determining the pipe element diameter is represented by box 66 in fig6 and is effected by measuring the circumference of the pipe while rotating the pipe element 40 about its longitudinal axis 68 using drive roller 12 powered by motor 16 . drive roller 12 in turn , rotates pipe element 40 , which causes grooving roller 22 to rotate about its axis 24 . for greater accuracy of the measurement , it is advantageous if grooving roller 22 rotates in response to pipe element 40 without slipping . the diameter of pipe element 40 may then be calculated by knowing the diameter of the surface 22 a of the grooving roller 22 that is in contact with the pipe element 40 , and counting the number of revolutions of the grooving roller , including fractions of a rotation , for each revolution of the pipe element . if the diameter d of the grooving roller surface 22 a is known , then the circumference c of the pipe element 40 can be calculated from the relation c =( d × rev × π ) where “ rev ” equals the number of revolutions of the grooving roller 22 ( including fractions of a rotation ) for one revolution of the pipe element . once the circumference c of the pipe element is known , the pipe element diameter d can be calculated from the relation d = c / π . in device 10 , sensor 32 , for example , a rotary encoder , counts the number of revolutions and fractions thereof ( rev ) of the grooving roller 22 and generates a signal indicative thereof . each revolution of the pipe element 40 is detected and / or counted by the sensor 34 , which generates signals indicative thereof . for example , if sensor 34 is a contrast sensor as described above ( see fig3 ), it senses a first and a second reflection from the light reflecting surface 42 , which indicate it has detected or counted one revolution of the pipe element . if sensor 34 is a magnetic sensor ( fig3 a ), it senses a first and a second magnetic field , which indicates that it has detected or counted one revolution of the pipe element . signals from the sensor 32 and the sensor 34 are transmitted to the control system 56 , which performs the calculations to determine the diameter of the pipe element 40 . the control system may then display the pipe element diameter to an operator for acceptance or rejection , or , the control system itself may compare the pipe element diameter with a tolerance range for pipes of a known nominal size and display an “ accept ” or “ reject ” signal to the operator . note that for such automated operation the control system is programmed with dimensional tolerance data for pipe elements of various standard sizes . the operator must mount the grooving roller appropriate for the standard pipe size and groove being formed and input to the control system the particular standard pipe elements being processed . in response to these inputs the resident software within the control system will then use the proper reference data to determine if the pipe element has a diameter which falls within the acceptable tolerance range for pipe elements of the selected standard size . box 70 of fig6 and fig4 illustrate forming of a groove 72 in pipe element 40 . drive roller 12 is rotated , thereby rotating pipe element 40 about its longitudinal axis 68 , which rotates the grooving roller 22 about axis 24 . note that the axis of rotation 14 of the drive roller 12 , the axis of rotation 24 of the grooving roller 22 and the longitudinal axis 68 of the pipe element 40 are substantially parallel to one another . “ substantially parallel ” as used herein means within about 2 degrees so as to permit rotation without significant friction but also allow for tracking forces to be generated which maintain the pipe element engaged with the drive and grooving rollers during rotation . during rotation of the pipe element , the actuator 30 ( fig1 ) forces the grooving roller 22 against the pipe element 40 , thereby cold working the pipe element , displacing the pipe element material , and forming the circumferential groove 72 . note that the force exerted by the actuator 30 , as well as the feed rate of the grooving roller 22 ( i . e ., the rate at which the grooving roller moves toward the drive roller ) and the rotational speed of the pipe element may be selected based upon one or more characteristics of the pipe element 40 . such characteristics include , for example , the pipe element diameter , the wall thickness ( schedule ), and the material comprising the pipe element . selection of the operational parameters such as force , feed rate and rotational speed may be established by the operator , or , by the control system 56 in response to inputs from the operator specifying the particular pipe being processed . for example , the control system may have a database of preferred operational parameters associated with particular standard pipe elements according to diameter , schedule and material . for compatibility of the pipe element 40 with mechanical couplings , it is necessary that the final diameter 74 b ( see fig5 ) of the groove 72 be within an acceptable tolerance for the particular diameter pipe element being processed . as indicated in box 76 ( see also fig4 ), to produce an acceptable groove 72 , the instantaneous groove diameter 74 a ( i . e ., the groove diameter before it achieves its final diameter ) is determined at intervals while the pipe element 40 is rotating . the instantaneous groove diameter 74 a , as shown in fig4 , is determined using signals from the sensor 32 and the sensor 34 as described above for determining the diameter of the pipe element 40 ( fig6 , box 66 ). signals from the sensor 32 , indicative of the number of revolutions ( and fractions thereof ) of the grooving roller 22 , and signals from the sensor 34 , indicative of the number of revolutions of the pipe element constitute a measurement of the instantaneous circumference of the pipe element 40 within groove 72 . these signals are transmitted to the control system 56 which uses the information in the signals to determine ( i . e ., calculate ) the instantaneous diameter 74 a of the groove 72 ( note that the diameter of the surface 22 a of the grooving roller 22 forming the groove is known ). as shown in box 78 , the control system then compares the instantaneous diameter of the groove with the appropriate tolerance range for groove diameters for the particular pipe being processed . as shown in box 80 , if the instantaneous groove diameter is not within the appropriate tolerance range , for example , the instantaneous groove diameter is larger than the largest acceptable diameter for the particular pipe element being processed , then the control system 56 continues to form the groove 72 by rotating the pipe element 40 about its longitudinal axis 68 while forcing the grooving roller 22 against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element , determining the instantaneous diameter 74 a of the groove 72 while rotating the pipe element 40 , and comparing the instantaneous diameter of the groove with the tolerance range for the diameter of the groove until the groove diameter is within the tolerance range acceptable for the diameter of the groove . once the final groove diameter 74 b is at a predetermined target diameter the control system 56 halts the motion of the grooving roller 22 toward the drive roller 12 , but continues rotation of the pipe element for at least one full rotation to ensure a uniform grooving depth . the rotation is then halted and the grooving roller 22 is moved away from the drive roller 12 so that the pipe element 40 may be removed from the device 10 . another example method of forming a circumferential groove in a pipe element is described using the device 10 a shown in fig1 a . this embodiment has two separate idler rollers , idler roller 22 , which is a grooving roller , and idler roller 23 , which is a measuring roller . as described above , the pipe element is engaged with the drive roller 12 ( see box 62 , fig6 ). next , as described in box 64 of fig6 , grooving roller 22 is moved by the actuator 30 ( under the command of control system 56 ) toward the drive roller 12 until it engages the outer surface of the pipe element . it is advantageous to pinch pipe element between the drive roller 12 and the grooving roller 22 with sufficient force to securely hold the pipe element on the device 10 . control system 56 also commands actuator 25 to move idler roller 23 into engagement with the outer surface of the pipe element . at this point , it is possible to determine the diameter of the pipe element in order to either accept the pipe element and form the circumferential groove , or reject the pipe element because its diameter is outside of the accepted tolerance range and thus would be incompatible with other pipe elements of the same nominal size . determining the pipe element diameter is represented by box 66 in fig6 and is effected by measuring the circumference of the pipe element while rotating it about its longitudinal axis using drive roller 12 powered by motor 16 . drive roller 12 in turn , rotates the pipe element , which causes idler roller 23 to rotate about its axis 27 . for greater accuracy of the measurement , it is advantageous if idler roller 23 rotates in response to the pipe element without slipping . the diameter of the pipe element may then be calculated by knowing the diameter of the surface of the idler roller 23 that is in contact with the pipe element , and counting the number of revolutions of the idler roller 23 , including fractions of a rotation , for each revolution of the pipe element . if the diameter d of the idler roller 23 is known , then the circumference c of the pipe element can be calculated from the relation c =( d × rev × π ) where “ rev ” equals the number of revolutions of the idler roller 23 ( including fractions of a rotation ) for one revolution of the pipe element . once the circumference c of the pipe element is known , the pipe element diameter d can be calculated from the relation d = c / π . in device 10 a , sensor 32 , for example , a rotary encoder , counts the number of revolutions and fractions thereof of the idler roller 23 and generates a signal indicative thereof . each revolution of the pipe element is detected and / or counted by the sensor 34 ( for example , a contrast sensor or a magnetic sensor ), which generates signals indicative thereof . signals from the sensor 32 and the sensor 34 are transmitted to the control system 56 , which performs the calculations to determine the diameter of the pipe element . the control system may then display the pipe element diameter to an operator for acceptance or rejection , or , the control system itself may compare the pipe element diameter with a tolerance range for pipes of a known nominal size and display an “ accept ” or “ reject ” signal to the operator . box 70 of fig6 illustrates forming of a groove in pipe element . drive roller 12 is rotated , thereby rotating the pipe element about its longitudinal axis , which rotates the grooving roller 22 about its axis 24 and the idler roller 23 about its axis 27 . note that the axis of rotation 14 of the drive roller 12 , the axis of rotation 24 of the grooving roller 22 , the axis of rotation 27 of the idler roller 23 and the longitudinal axis of the pipe element are substantially parallel to one another . during rotation of the pipe element , the actuator 30 forces the grooving roller 22 against the pipe element , thereby cold working the pipe element , displacing the pipe element material , and forming the circumferential groove . also during rotation of the pipe element , the actuator 25 maintains the idler roller 23 in contact with the pipe element within the groove being formed by the grooving roller 22 . for compatibility of the pipe element with mechanical couplings , it is necessary that the final diameter of the groove be within an acceptable tolerance for the particular diameter pipe element being processed . as indicated in box 76 , to produce an acceptable groove , the instantaneous groove diameter ( i . e ., the groove diameter before it achieves its final diameter ) is determined at intervals while the pipe element is rotating . the instantaneous groove diameter is determined using signals from the sensor 32 and the sensor 34 as described above for determining the diameter of the pipe element ( fig6 , box 66 ). signals from the sensor 32 , indicative of the number of revolutions ( and fractions thereof ) of the idler roller 23 , and signals from the sensor 34 , indicative of the number of revolutions of the pipe element , constitute a measurement of the instantaneous circumference of the pipe element within the groove being formed by the grooving roller 22 . these signals are transmitted to the control system 56 which uses the information in the signals to determine ( i . e ., calculate ) the instantaneous diameter of the groove ( note that the diameter of the idler roller 23 in contact with the pipe element is known ). as shown in box 78 , the control system then compares the instantaneous diameter of the groove with the appropriate tolerance range for groove diameters for the particular pipe being processed . as shown in box 80 , if the instantaneous groove diameter is not within the appropriate tolerance range , for example , the instantaneous groove diameter is larger than the largest acceptable diameter for the particular pipe element being processed , then the control system 56 continues to form the groove by rotating the pipe element about its longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller 22 against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element , determining the instantaneous diameter of the groove ( via the idler roller 23 and its associated sensor 32 ) while rotating the pipe element , and comparing the instantaneous diameter of the groove with the tolerance range for the diameter of the groove until the groove diameter is within the tolerance range acceptable for the diameter of the groove . once the final groove diameter is at a predetermined target diameter the control system 56 halts the motion of the grooving roller 22 toward the drive roller 12 , but continues rotation of the pipe element for at least one full rotation to ensure a uniform grooving depth . the rotation is then halted and the grooving roller 22 and the idler roller 23 are moved away from the drive roller 12 so that the pipe element may be removed from the device 10 a . as shown in fig7 , the triangulation sensor 46 may also be used to measure a plurality of dimensions of the pipe element 40 proximate to the groove 72 . as shown in fig8 , dimensions such as the distance 88 from the end of pipe 40 to the groove 72 , the width 90 of the groove , the depth 92 of the groove , and the flare height 94 of the pipe element may be measured to create a profile of the pipe end . flare may occur as a result of the grooving process and flare height is the height of the end of the pipe element above the pipe diameter . this information may be transmitted to the control system for comparison with acceptable tolerances for these dimensions for a standard pipe element . as depicted in fig7 and 9 , measurement of the plurality of dimensions is effected while rotating the pipe element and comprises projecting a fan - shaped beam of light 50 along a length of the surface of the pipe element 40 which includes the circumferential groove 72 ( see fig9 , box 96 ). the reflection of the beam 50 is detected by a sensor 54 ( box 98 ). a calculator unit 55 , operatively associated with the sensor 54 uses triangulation methods to calculate the dimensions of the region of the pipe element 40 swept by the beam 50 ( box 100 ). the dimensional information is encoded into signals which are transmitted to the control system 56 ( see fig1 ), in this example over hardwired lines 58 . the dimensional information thus acquired may be displayed and / or evaluated against a database to characterize the pipe element as processed . another example method of forming a circumferential groove in a pipe element having a longitudinal axis and using a drive roller and a grooving roller is shown in fig1 . this example method comprises : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 102 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 104 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about its longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element ( box 106 ); measuring a plurality of circumferences of the groove while rotating the pipe element ( box 108 ); determining a plurality of diameters of the groove using the plurality of circumferences of the groove ( box 110 ); calculating a change in diameter of the groove per revolution of the pipe element ( box 112 ); calculating a number of revolutions of the pipe element needed to form a groove of a desired diameter using the change in diameter per revolution of the groove ( box 114 ); counting the number of revolutions of the pipe element ( box 116 ); and stopping forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element upon reaching the number of revolutions needed to form the groove of the desired diameter ( box 118 ). the method shown in fig1 is a predictive method which uses the rate of change of the diameter per revolution of the pipe element to predict when to stop forming the groove by displacing the material of the pipe element . as it is possible that the prediction might not yield as precise a groove diameter as desired , additional steps , shown below , may be advantageous : measuring the diameter of the groove ( box 120 ); comparing the diameter of the groove to the desired diameter ( box 122 ); repeating the forming , measuring , determining , calculating , counting and stopping steps ( box 124 ). fig1 shows a similar predictor - corrector method of forming the groove . however , this method is based upon the circumference of the groove , not the diameter . in a particular example the method comprises : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 126 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 128 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element ( box 130 ); measuring a plurality of circumferences of the groove while rotating the pipe element ( box 132 ); calculating a change in circumference of the groove per revolution of the pipe element ( box 134 ); calculating a number of revolutions of the pipe element needed to form a groove of a desired circumference using the change in circumference per revolution of the pipe element ( box 136 ); counting the number of revolutions of the pipe element ( box 138 ); and stopping forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element upon reaching the number of revolutions needed to form the groove of the desired circumference ( box 140 ). again , in order to account for imprecise groove formation using the prediction , the following steps may be added : measuring the circumference of the groove ( box 142 ); comparing the circumference of the groove to the desired circumference ( box 144 ); repeating the forming , measuring , calculating , counting and stopping steps ( box 146 ). the methods thus far described use substantially continuous feed of the grooving roller toward the pipe element . however , there may be advantages in efficiency and precision if the grooving roller is advanced in discrete increments as described in the method shown in fig1 and described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 148 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 149 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller a discrete distance into the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element for a revolution of the pipe element ( box 150 ); measuring a circumference of the groove while rotating the pipe element ( box 152 ); determining a diameter of said groove using said circumference of said groove ( box 154 ); comparing the diameter of the groove with a tolerance range for the diameter of the groove ( box 156 ); and until the groove diameter is within the tolerance range : repeating said forming , determining and comparing steps ( box 158 ). it may be further advantageous to vary the size of the discrete distance over which the grooving roller moves , for example by decreasing the discrete distance for each the revolution as the diameter approaches the tolerance range . this may permit more precision in groove formation and decrease the time needed to form a groove . the example method described in fig1 also uses discrete increments of the distance traveled by the grooving roller , but bases control of the grooving roller on measurements of the circumference of the groove , as described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 160 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 162 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller a discrete distance into the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element for a revolution of the pipe element ( box 164 ); measuring a circumference of the groove while rotating the pipe element ( box 166 ); comparing the circumference of the groove with a tolerance range for the circumference of the groove ( box 168 ); and until the circumference of the groove is within the tolerance range : repeating said forming , measuring and comparing steps ( box 170 ). again , it may be further advantageous to vary the size of the discrete distance over which the grooving roller moves , for example by decreasing the discrete distance for each the revolution as the diameter approaches the tolerance range . this may permit more precision in groove formation and decrease the time needed to form a groove . in the example method shown in fig1 , the predictor - corrector aspects are combined with the discrete step - wise motion of the grooving roller as described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 172 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 174 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller a discrete distance into the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element for a revolution of the pipe element ( box 176 ); calculating a number of revolutions of the pipe element needed to form a groove of a desired diameter using the discrete distance per revolution of the groove ( box 178 ); counting the number of revolutions of the pipe element ( box 180 ); and stopping forcing the grooving roller into the pipe element the discrete distance upon reaching the number of revolutions needed to form the groove of the desired diameter ( box 182 ). again , it may be advantageous to add the following steps to the method shown in fig1 : measuring the diameter of the groove ( box 184 ); comparing the diameter of the groove to the desired diameter ( box 186 ); repeating the forming , measuring , calculating , counting and stopping steps ( box 188 ). in the example method embodiment of fig1 , the groove depth 92 ( see also fig8 ) is used to control the motion of the grooving roller as described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 190 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 192 ); measuring a diameter of the pipe element while rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis ( box 194 ); calculating a desired groove depth tolerance corresponding to a desired groove diameter tolerance ( box 196 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element ( box 198 ); while rotating the pipe element , measuring the groove depth ( box 200 ); comparing the groove depth with the desired groove depth tolerance ( box 202 ); and repeating forming the groove , measuring the groove depth , and comparing the groove depth with the desired groove depth tolerance until the groove depth is within the desired groove depth tolerance ( box 204 ). fig1 shows an example method where the groove diameter is used to control the motion of the grooving roller , as described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 205 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 206 ); determining a diameter of the pipe element while rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis ( box 208 ); determining a desired groove diameter tolerance based upon the diameter of the pipe element ( box 210 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element ( box 212 ); determining the groove diameter while rotating the pipe element ( box 214 ); comparing the groove diameter with the desire groove diameter tolerance ( box 216 ); repeating the forming the groove and determining the groove diameter until the groove diameter is within the desired groove diameter tolerance ( box 218 ). fig1 illustrates an example method wherein the groove circumference is used to control the motion of the grooving roller , as described below : engaging the pipe element with the drive roller ( box 220 ); engaging the grooving roller with the pipe element ( box 224 ); measuring a circumference of the pipe element while rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis ( box 226 ); determining a desired groove circumference tolerance based upon the diameter of the pipe element ( box 228 ); forming the groove by rotating the pipe element about the longitudinal axis while forcing the grooving roller against the pipe element so as to displace material of the pipe element ( box 230 ); measuring the groove circumference while rotating the pipe element ( box 232 ); comparing the groove circumference with the desired groove circumference tolerance ( box 234 ); repeating the forming the groove , the measuring the groove circumference , and the comparing the groove circumference steps until the groove circumference is within the desired groove circumference tolerance ( box 236 ). the methods and apparatus disclosed herein provide increased efficiency in the formation of grooved pipe elements which reduce the probability of human error as well as the frequency of mal - formed grooves . | 1 |
reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiment of the invention , a power supply pump circuit for a microcontroller circuit , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments , it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments . on the contrary , the invention is intended to cover alternatives , modifications , and equivalents , which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . furthermore , in the following detailed description of the present invention , numerous specified details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well known methods , and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention . fig1 is a block diagram of system . 100 which includes power supply pump system 101 incorporated with microcontroller 180 on a single integrated circuit ( ic ). as depicted in fig1 , system 101 includes a power supply pump circuit including a ring oscillator 110 , a passive precharge circuit 120 , a drive enable 130 , a gate drive boost 140 , and a voltage sensor 150 . battery circuit 199 includes a single cell battery 196 , an inductor 195 , a capacitor 198 and a diode 190 . the components 110 - 180 are integrated “ on chip ” into a single integrated circuit . the components 190 - 198 are “ off chip ”. ring oscillator 110 generates the clock signals used by logic components of system 101 . ring oscillator 110 starts operating when v cc 197 attains some nominal initial voltage value , in this embodiment , of approximately 1 volt . it is appreciated that the ring oscillator 110 may operate during the sleep mode of microcontroller 180 . passive precharge 120 causes the single cell battery 196 to operate for a short period of time , until v cc 197 reaches an initial minimum voltage for effective gate drive ( e . g ., approximately 1 volt ). this voltage value causes interaction between all components of the power supply pump circuit 101 and the microcontroller 180 , this voltage is considered as the initial operating voltage . the initial operating voltage is achieved when passive precharge 120 shorts diode 190 causing battery 196 &# 39 ; s current to flow through inductor 195 and charging capacitor 198 . the current from battery 196 , during a short period of time , a transitory period , charges capacitor 198 to the level that it acts as a mini battery and can run ring oscillator 110 long enough to have gate drive boost 140 to start its boosting operation . passive precharge 120 takes itself out of the circuit as soon as v cc 197 is boosted to the initial operating voltage value , in this embodiment 1 volt . voltage sensor 150 is a programmable device and selects the operating voltage for the power supply pump circuit . voltage sensor 150 senses v cc 197 voltage after the transitory period and considers that voltage as the initial operating voltage . at this voltage level , voltage sensor 150 is enabled to interact with drive enable 130 . it is appreciated that v cc 197 voltage is common to all devices of system 101 and battery circuit 199 . when voltage sensor 150 senses the initial operating voltage of 1 volt , power on reset circuit ( por ), which is a circuit inside voltage sensor 150 signals the operating status of the microcontroller 180 to voltage sensor 150 . this circuit is a state dependent circuit that notifies voltage sensor 150 whether the microcontroller 180 is waking up or is being initialized . there is no interaction between voltage sensor circuit 150 and microcontroller 180 at voltages below the minimum operating voltage of microcontroller 180 . however , interaction between power supply pump circuit 150 and microcontroller 180 commences immediately after the minimum operating voltage of microcontroller 180 is reached . at this voltage level microcontroller 180 configures voltage sensor 150 of its desired parameters including its minimum operating voltage and its future voltage requirements . on the other hand , por has also notified voltage sensor circuit 150 of microcontroller 180 &# 39 ; s operating status . if microcontroller 180 is being initialized , voltage sensor 150 request an increase in initial operating voltage from drive enable 130 . drive enable 130 commands gate drive boost 140 to start the boosting operation and to continue the boosting operation until drive enable 130 sends a subsequent command to stop the boosting operation . drive enable 130 sends a command to gate drive boost circuit 140 to stop boosting operation when drive enable 130 is notified by voltage sensor 150 that the minimum operating voltage of the microcontroller 180 has been reached . microcontroller 180 starts its dynamic interaction with voltage sensor circuit 150 and configures voltage sensor 150 to its desired parameters . from this point on voltage sensor 150 notifies drive enable 130 of microprocessor 180 &# 39 ; s voltage requirements and drive enable 130 commands gate drive boost 140 to maintain the required voltage . gate drive boost 140 receives the voltage requirements from drive enable 130 and fluctuates the voltage by changing the duty cycle of transistor 160 as required . gate drive boost 140 functions by turning transistor 160 on or off . when transistor 160 is off the current flows into diode 190 and capacitor 198 . capacitor 198 integrates current into voltage and voltage starts to ramp up . the ramp rate is controlled by the duty cycle of transistor 160 , and is the ratio of transistor 160 &# 39 ; s off time to on time . for example , during a start up , passive precharge circuit 120 sets v cc 197 equal to 1 volt . v cc 197 voltage of 1 volt is common to all devices included in power supply system 101 . when the voltage reaches the minimum operating voltage of microprocessor 180 , dynamic interaction between voltage sensor 150 and microcontroller 180 begins and microcontroller 180 configures voltage sensor 150 with its voltage requirements . gate drive boost 140 receives operating voltage requirements from drive enable 130 . gate drive boost 140 increases the operating voltage by controlling transistor 160 . gate drive boost functions by turning transistor 160 on or off . when transistor 160 is off the current flows into diode 190 and capacitor 198 . capacitor 198 integrates current into voltage and voltage starts to ramp up . the ramp rate is controlled by the duty cycle of transistor 160 , and is the ratio of transistor 160 &# 39 ; s off time to on time . in one embodiment of the present invention , the minimum operating voltage of microcontroller 180 is 2 . 7 volts . drive enable 130 commands gate drive boost 140 to start boosting operation and ramps the voltage . when microcontroller 180 senses 2 . 7 volts , it initiates a dynamic interaction with voltage sensor 150 and configures voltage sensor 150 to its desired parameters . voltage sensor 150 knowing the minimum operating voltage of microcontroller 180 and sensing the voltage value sends a command to drive enable to stop boosting operation until commanded otherwise . from this point on , voltage sensor 150 directs the operating voltage according to microcontroller 180 &# 39 ; s requirements . gate drive boost 140 maintains the operating voltage at 2 . 7 level until drive enable 130 sends another command requesting change in the operating voltage . fig2 shows an exemplary incorporation of a power supply pump circuit 101 and microcontroller 180 in a single integrated circuit 210 . in this embodiment of the present invention ring oscillator 110 , drive enable 130 , gate drive boost 140 , voltage sensor 150 , and microcontroller 180 are integrated into a single chip 210 . in this embodiment of the present invention diode 190 is placed inside chip 210 , but diode 190 could be an off chip device or in other embodiments could be eliminated . incorporating power supply pump circuit 101 and microcontroller 180 into a single chip improves communication between the two devices ( e . g ., microcontroller 180 and power supply pump circuit 100 ). dynamic interaction between these devices ( e . g ., ring oscillator 110 , drive enable 130 , gate drive boost 140 , voltage sensor 150 ) is a major factor in optimizing power consumption . incorporating these two devices ( e . g ., ring oscillator 110 , drive enable 130 , gate drive boost 140 , voltage sensor 150 ) into a single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 will result in a more efficient communication . another advantage of incorporating power supply pump circuit 101 and microcontroller 180 is reduction in the footprint of single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 on the printed circuit board . the present invention provides a single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 to take the place of a separate power supply pump circuit 101 and microcontroller 180 . the present invention provides diode 190 to be integrated inside single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 , outside as depicted in fig2 or could be completely left out . leaving diode 190 outside single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 improves the performance of the circuit and is also more cost effective , because a higher quality and a less expensive diode could be used . furthermore , a single discrete power supply pump circuit 101 has to have a voltage sensor which in and itself consume a fair amount of power . integration of these devices into a single integrated circuit 210 of fig2 eliminates such an unnecessary use of power . another advantage of this embodiment of the present invention is that v cc 197 can provide power to devices on the printed circuit board external to system 100 . fig3 is a flowchart of the steps of a process 300 of initiating power supply pump operation and dynamic response to the power requirements of a microcontroller . in step 310 of fig3 , the process 300 explains generation of an initial operating voltage of a power supply pump circuit by using a passive precharge circuit for a power supply pump circuit . in step 320 of fig3 , the process 300 shows boosting the initial operating voltage to a minimum operating voltage using a voltage sensor included in the power supply pump circuit , the voltage sensor begins the boosting upon receiving the initial operating voltage . in step 330 of fig3 , the system 300 provides the minimum operating voltage of the power supply to a microcontroller . in step 340 of fig3 , this step of process 300 shows the microcontroller commanding the voltage sensor to maintain the minimum operating voltage or to increase the minimum operating voltage to a higher operating voltage . fig4 is a flowchart of the steps of a process 400 of initiating the power supply pump operation and a dynamic response to the power requirements of a microcontroller thus increasing the efficiency of the system . in step 410 of fig4 , the power supply pump circuit and the microcontroller are integrated into a single integrated circuit . in step 420 of fig3 , the power supply pump circuit dynamically interacts with the microcontroller . in step 430 of fig4 , the power supply pump circuit receives a voltage requirement of the microcontroller and efficiently provides the voltage requirements to the microcontroller . in step 440 of fig4 , the power consumption of the microcontroller is optimized when the power supply pump circuit provides voltage to the microcontroller when the microcontroller is in operation mode . fig5 is a flowchart of the steps of a process 500 of initiating a power supply pump operation and a dynamic response to the power requirements of a microcontroller , thus optimizing power consumption . in step 510 of fig5 , initial operating voltage is generated by connecting a passive precharge circuit to a battery circuit . in step 520 of fig5 , the initial operation of a drive enable circuit , a voltage sensor circuit , a ring oscillator circuit , and a gate drive boost circuit is initiated at the initial operating voltage . in step 530 of fig5 , the operating voltage is boosted to a minimum operating voltage of microcontroller . in step 540 of fig5 , system 500 shows monitoring the microcontroller &# 39 ; s minimum operating voltage using a voltage sensor device and increasing the minimum operating voltage to a voltage level demanded by the microcontroller . the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purpose of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . | 6 |
reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout . the embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures . fig1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for detecting and discriminating an impact sound , according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , an impact sound detecting apparatus may include an onset detector 11 , an event buffer 15 , and an impact sound verifier 12 . an impact sound discriminating apparatus may include the impact sound detecting apparatus and an impact sound source verifier 13 . the onset detector can further include a noise level detector 14 for onset detection , and the impact sound source verifier 13 can further include a template pool 16 . the onset detector 11 separates an input signal of a frame unit into a low frequency signal and a high frequency signal , measures the powers of the signals , and detects onsets by performing a fourier analysis and other statistical processes with respect to the signals . here , the onset , a suddenly occurring physical event signal , shows a rapid amplitude or power increase . the event , an acoustic event , has a decay pattern as general events have . the event has a duration from an onset to a time when a power falls below a predetermined level or when another impulse onset occurs . fig2 illustrates a signal having two events . the illustrated signal was generated when a wood plate was hit by a wood stick , with the duration of the signal being 0 . 27 seconds . reference numbers 11 - 1 and 11 - 2 indicate onsets of impulse events , with an interval between the onsets being about 23 ms . the event buffer 15 stores spectral data of the input signal and power data generated when the input signal is processed by the onset detector 11 . the noise level detector 14 detects a long - term noise level from the input signal . the onset detector 11 can detect onsets by subtracting the long - term noise level from the input signal and processing the subtracted signal . the impact sound verifier 12 verifies and outputs impulse event onsets ( hereinafter , impulse onset ) from the onset detected by the onset detector 11 . the impact sound verifier 12 verifies whether the onsets detected by the onset detector 11 are impulse onsets using the power data stored in the event buffer 15 . an impulse onset is verified by confirming whether an absolute value of a power level is larger than a predetermined threshold after the onset and whether there is a power decay pattern as shown in a general impact sound pattern . the impact sound source verifier 13 extracts and classifies feature vectors of the spectral data stored in the event buffer 15 and verifies whether the input signal includes a target impact sound . the template pool 16 stores a plurality of feature vectors referred to when the feature vectors from the input signal are classified . fig3 is a detailed block diagram of the onset detector 11 of fig1 , according to an embodiment of the present invention . the onset detector 11 detects onsets by processing an input signal in a frame unit using a window of a size of n samples , wherein n is an even number . referring to fig3 , the onset detector 11 includes an ac / dc separator 20 , a high frequency onset detector ( hod ) 21 , a low frequency onset detector ( lod ) 23 , and an onset determiner 24 . the ac / dc separator 20 includes a low pass filter ( lpf ) 201 and an adder 202 and separates ac / dc signals from the input signal . the dc signal is obtained by passing the input signal through the lpf 201 and extracting only a low frequency component . the ac signal is obtained by subtracting the low frequency component from the input signal . here , the input signal is processed in a frame unit . the hod 21 includes a fast fourier transformer ( fft ) 211 , a linear phase span unit ( lps ) 212 , a first weighting unit 213 , a banked power increasing ratio calculator 214 , a second weighting unit 215 , a power calculator 216 , a delta calculator 217 , an onset filter 218 , a third weighting unit 219 , a combiner 220 , and an onset trigger unit 221 and detects onsets of a high frequency component . here , the fft 211 , the lps 212 , and the banked power increasing ratio calculator 214 are signal processing blocks operated in a frequency domain ; and the power calculator 216 , the delta calculator 217 , and the onset filter 218 are signal processing blocks operated in a time domain . the fft 211 fast - fourier - transforms the ac component of the input signal . if spectral data of the input signal is x ( 0 ), x ( 1 ), . . . , x ( n − 1 ), and each half of a frame is y1 and y2 , y1 and y2 are vectors , each having n / 2 elements . y1 and y2 are represented as shown in equation 1 below . y 1 = dft ( { x ( 0 ) , x ( 1 ) , … , x ( n 2 - 1 ) } ) , y 2 = dft ( { x ( n 2 ) , x ( n 2 + 1 ) , … , x ( n ) } ) equation 1 the lps 212 unwraps phases of the spectral data and extracts linearity of the unwrapped phase spectrum φ ( n ). here , φ ( n ), a linear function , can be approximated using equation 2 below . according to equation 2 , the linearity of φ ( n ) can be approximated using square deviation of φ ( n ) as shown in equation 3 below . phase linearity = ∑ n ( φ ( n ) - φ _ ) 2 ∑ n ( φ ( n ) - φ ^ ( n ) ) 2 where , φ _ = 1 n ∑ n φ ( n ) equation 3 if equation 3 is applied to each spectral data , in order to unwrap the phases of the spectral data , the lps 212 adds 2mπ to each phase angle so that the absolute values of differences between all adjacent phase angles are not larger than π . here , m is a natural number . a linear component is represented as a linear function whose frequency n is between 0 and n / 2 and whose value is 0 when n = 0 . a slope of the linear function is a value obtained by multiplying 24 by an inner product of ( 1 , 2 , . . . , n / 2 ) and first through ( n / 2 ) th unwrapped phase angles and dividing the multiplied result by n ( n + 1 )( n + 2 ). a linear phase span is calculated from a difference between a first phase linearity value and an ( n / 2 ) th phase linearity value . fig4 a illustrates an example of a linear component of an unwrapped phase spectrum extracted from the signal of fig2 . fig4 b illustrates an example of a result of spanning the linear component of the phase spectrum of fig4 a . the first weighting unit 213 checks the latest output values following a linearly increasing pattern of the lps 212 . it is preferable that the first weighting unit 213 is a matched filter . an output of the first weighting unit 213 is calculated from a value obtained by multiplying n / 2 by an inner product of a vector including the latest n / 2 output values of the lps 212 and a desired pattern vector . here , the desired pattern vector has an ideal linear phase span , and an ideal value corresponding to a kth linear phase span is 24 ( n / 2 − k )/( n − 1_n ( n + 1 )) π . the banked power increasing ratio calculator 214 obtains powers of upper n / 2 and lower n / 2 spectral data from a current frame as indicated in equation 4 below , counts the number of frequencies having a power increase that is greater than a predetermined threshold , and outputs a result of dividing the counted number by n / 2 . power increasing ratio = 2 n ∑ n = 0 n 2 - 1 s ( log y 2 ( n ) 2 - log y 1 ( n ) 2 - th ) equation 4 where , th is a threshold larger than 0 and s ( t ) indicates a step function where t ≧ 0 . according to a calculating result of equation 4 , a high level ( nearly 1 ) is obtained near an onset time , and the duration of the high level zone depends on a length of a window . fig5 a illustrates an example of a result of calculating a power increasing ratio of the signal of fig2 . referring to fig5 a , the high level is maintained near the onset for a predetermined time period . the power calculator 216 calculates power of an ac component of a frame and scales the power with a log operator . the delta calculator 217 obtains a difference between a current input log - power and an immediately previous input log - power . the power and delta - log - power are calculated using equation 5 below . power = 1 n ∑ n = 0 n - 1 x ( n ) 2 delta - log - power = log ( ∑ n = n 2 n - 1 x ( n ) 2 / ∑ n = 0 n 2 - 1 x ( n ) 2 ) equation 5 fig5 b illustrates an example of a result of calculating powers of the signal of fig2 . referring to fig5 b , the powers dramatically increase at the onsets . fig5 c illustrates a result of scaling the powers of fig5 b logarithmically . referring to fig5 c , a reference number 216 a indicates a noise level , and a reference number 216 b indicates a threshold larger than the noise level by around 10 . 8 db . fig5 d illustrates an example of an output signal of the delta calculator 217 of fig3 . referring to fig5 d , a location where the onset occurred can be obtained more exactly . the second weighting unit 215 shift - multiplies an output of the banked power increasing ratio calculator 214 and an output of the delta calculator 217 . the shift - multiply operation will now be described in detail . if x and y indicate two vectors , s indicates a shift operation , and z indicates a result of shift - multiplying x and y , a kth element of z is obtained from a maximum value among values obtained by multiplying respective elements of x and y , each having k − s through k + s indexes . if s = 0 , the shift - multiplied result is the same as a result of a scalar multiplication of the two vectors . the onset filter 218 calculates an average in a current frame and a previous frame , respectively , of the log - powers output from the power calculator 216 and outputs a value obtained by subtracting the previous average from the current average . the two averages are calculated using a second filter formed by combining two first order linear filters , and an impulse response to the combined filter is calculated using equation 6 below . h ( n )=( 1 − e 1 / τ e ) e n / τ e )−( 1 − e 1 / τ i ) e n / τ i , n = 1 , 2 , 3 , equation 6 here , τ e and τ i indicate time constants of two first order linear filters , and τ e ≦ τ i . fig6 illustrates an example of a result of applying an onset filter to log - powers of fig5 b . the third weighting unit 219 may be an identity operator . the combiner 220 adds outputs of the first , second , and third weighting units 213 , 215 , and 219 . if a result of the addition is positive , it indicates that all outputs of the first , second , and third weighting units 213 , 215 , and 219 exceed a predetermined threshold . the onset trigger unit 221 outputs a positive or negative trigger value according to an output of the combiner 220 by using the output of the onset filter 218 as a control signal . if the control signal is smaller than an active level , the onset trigger unit 221 outputs the negative value regardless of the output of the combiner 220 , and if the control signal is equal to or larger than the active level , the onset trigger unit 221 outputs the positive value when the output of the combiner 220 is positive and the negative value when the output of the combiner 220 is negative . the lod 23 includes a filter bank unit 231 , a power calculator 232 , a delta calculator 233 , a comparator 234 , and a combiner 235 . the filter bank unit 231 includes a plurality of band pass filters ( not shown ) and subdivides the low frequency audio signal output from the lpf 201 into frequency bands . the power calculator 232 accumulates powers of the low frequency audio signals corresponding to each band . the delta calculator 233 subtracts the power of an ( i − 1 ) th band from the power of an ith band and outputs a delta log - power by taking a logarithm of the result of subtraction . the comparator 234 detects a local onset in each band by determining whether the delta log - power is larger than a predetermined threshold . the combiner 235 combines onsets detected in each band and outputs an onset determining value of the entire low frequency band . the onset determiner 24 adds outputs of the hod 21 and the lod 23 and outputs a binary signal indicating whether or not an onset occurs . if the output signal of the lod 23 is positive and the power of the entire low frequency band calculated by the power calculator 232 is larger than or equal to 20 % of the total audio signal power , or if the output signal of the hod 21 is positive and a power of the entire high frequency band calculated by the power calculator 216 is larger than or equal to 5 % of the total audio signal power , it is determined that an onset occurred . otherwise , it is determined that an onset did not occur . fig7 is a block diagram of the impact sound verifier 12 of fig1 . referring to fig7 , the impact sound verifier 12 includes an impulse onset selector 31 , an event former 32 , and an impulse event selector 33 . if an onset is detected by the onset detector 11 , the impulse onset selector 31 monitors log - powers buffered in the event buffer 15 and outputs a result of whether a power peak of the onset occurs . the power peak occurs when a logarithmically scaled power reaches a maximum value in an onset duration . the onset duration is a period during which the onset trigger unit 221 of fig2 is in an active state . the impulse onset selector 31 also searches a zone where power dramatically increases between an onset start time and a peak time . in the zone , there are consecutive data showing power increase greater than a first threshold during a shorter duration than a second threshold . if the search succeeds , the impulse onset selector 31 outputs a positive value . otherwise , it outputs a negative value . the event former 32 is triggered when the impulse onset selector 31 outputs the positive value and determines an event duration while monitoring log - powers , which are output from the event buffer 15 , from when the power peak occurs . the event duration is from an event start time to an event ending time . the event start time is defined as the time when the power peak occurs , and the event ending time is when the log - power falls below a background noise level or when the event former 32 is triggered again by the impulse onset selector 31 . the event former 32 outputs time stamps at the event start time and the event ending time to the impact sound source verifier 13 . if the event ending time is indicated by one of the above two cases , the impulse event selector 33 determines whether the peak level of the event signal attenuates in an appropriate attenuating method during the event duration . that is , the impulse event selector 33 determines whether an entire event attenuated from the onset is an impulse event . here , the appropriate attenuating method is referred to have the peak level attenuated exponentially , and the determining is achieved by selecting a power function indicating a log - power signal pattern and examining whether a parameter indicating a degree of attenuation is within an appropriate range . fig8 illustrates a typical impulse event signal . the impulse signal in fig8 includes an input signal 80 , a log - power signal 81 , a noise level 82 , a level of 10 . 8 db higher than the noise level 83 , and an onset 84 . referring to fig8 , the onset 84 dramatically increases . reference number 85 indicates an almost linearly attenuating log - power level showing a characteristic of the impulse event . the slope of the log - power shown in fig8 can be represented with an exponential function exp (●) − λ , wherein λ approximates the slope of the log - power . the impulse event selector 33 searches λ approximating to the log - power signal and determines whether λ is within a desired range . fig9 a through 9d illustrate log - power signals corresponding to input signals and approximated signals corresponding to the log - power signals . referring to fig9 a through 9d , reference numbers 90 - 1 , 90 - 2 , 90 - 3 , and 90 - 4 indicate input signals , and reference numbers 91 - 1 , 91 - 2 , 91 - 3 , and 91 - 4 indicate log - powers of the input signals , respectively . reference numbers 92 - 1 , 92 - 2 , 92 - 3 , and 92 - 4 indicate approximated log - power signals . when each log - power signal is between a noise level set for each signal and a threshold higher than the noise level , the log - power signals are approximated to 0 , and when each log - power signal attenuates from each onset to a threshold , the log - power signals are approximated to signals where λ is 0 . 520 , 0 . 959 , 1 . 435 , and 37 . 59 , respectively . fig9 b shows an ideal impulse event signal , wherein λ is nearly 1 . fig9 a and 9c show impulse event signals . fig9 d also shows a dramatically increasing power level . however , since λ & gt ;& gt ; 1 , the signal cannot be admitted as an impulse event . actually , fig9 d shows a phonetic signal not an impact sound . if the impulse event selector 33 determines the input signal to be an impulse event signal , it triggers the impact sound source verifier 13 . fig1 is a detailed block diagram of the impact sound source verifier 13 of fig1 . referring to fig1 , the impact sound source verifier 13 includes a feature vector extractor 41 and a classifier 42 . the feature vector extractor 41 includes a divider 411 , an accumulator 412 , and a discrete cosine transformer ( dct ) 413 and extracts appropriate feature vectors from spectral data of an event . the divider 411 divides spectral data input from the event buffer 15 into m segments within an interval specified by the time stamps input from the event former 32 . the accumulator 412 accumulates the spectral data per each segment and generates m vectors , each having n / 2 elements . here , the accumulated result can be normalized to compensate for a variance of the accumulated result . the dct 413 outputs feature vectors by performing a discrete - cosine - transform on the m vectors . other features can be added to the feature vectors output from the dct 413 . an example of the feature can be an attenuating slope obtained from an event duration or an approximated power function of an event . the classifier 42 determines whether a desired impact sound is detected by comparing the feature vectors output from the dct 413 and templates output from the template pool 16 . here , the template pool 16 stores statistical models of target events and a threshold for detection . the classifier 42 outputs a result of whether the input signal is a target impact sound by calculating similarities between the feature vectors and the templates and determining whether the calculated similarities are larger than the threshold for detection . a statistical classifier , such as a gaussian mixture model , an n - nearest neighbor method , and a neural network , can be used as the classifier 42 . the present invention may be embodied in a general - purpose computer by implementing computer readable code from a medium , e . g ., a computer - readable medium , including but not limited to storage media such as magnetic storage media ( roms , rams , floppy disks , magnetic tapes , etc . ), optically readable media ( cd - roms , dvds , etc . ), and carrier waves ( e . g ., transmission over the internet ). the present invention may also be embodied as a medium having a computer - readable code embodied therein for causing a number of computer systems connected via a network to effect distributed processing . and the functional programs , codes and code segments for embodying the present invention may be easily deducted by programmers in the art which the present invention belongs to . as described above , according to the present invention , a desired impact sound among impact sounds generated from the surroundings , for example , an impact sound of an object , a sound when a pane of glass is broken , a gunshot , or a footstep , can be discriminated . therefore , the present invention can be applied to a security system and used to diagnose a defect of a structure on the basis of an acoustic diagnosis . while embodiments of the present invention have been described based on the assumption that input video data was variable length coded with reference to embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that fixed length coding of the input video data may be embodied from the spirit and scope of the invention . embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . thus , although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention , the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
the present invention allows users to quickly and accurately , with real time feedback , interact with a database pertaining to properties of compositions retained in one or more tubes housed in a multi - rack array so as to be able to extract those compounds from the rack that need to be selected for further processing , testing or culling . a method and system of the present invention accomplishes such by displaying a graphical / video presentation of the rack of tubes in real time , updating the presentation automatically , and indicating visually the tubes that are to be removed . as a tube is removed from the multi - rack , the display is updated ( preferably within 4 seconds or less ) and visual confirmation is provided that the correct tube to be removed was selected and actually removed . that is , the display matrix matches the tube rack matrix . as a tube is removed the graphic tube disappears from the screen allowing for absolute accuracy in the manually assisted tube selection . in one embodiment of the invention , the tubes in an array are encoded with a 2d bar code . such bar codes are fast scanned in a continuous scan mode , to allow for graphical presentation of the rack of tubes in real time . by interfacing the bar code scanner with a data processor , such as a computer , coupled to a database storing information pertaining to the properties of one or more compositions housed within one or more tubes in the array , such as purity and weight , the display may further indicate information pertaining to which tube or tubes are to be culled or removed from the array . as the tube is removed , the display is continuously updated and visual confirmation is seen that the correct tube that was to be selected for removal was indeed removed . the continuous scan test mode of commercially - available products such as rvsi matrix may be used to effectuate the continuous scan of the tubes housed in the array , and adapted to provide the interactive apparatus for culling compounds described . culling information may be inputted automatically based on measured parameters such as sample weight or purity , or may be inputted manually by the chemist . partial arrays may be combined with the position of each tube in the combined array being determined after scanning . grades of information may be graphically displayed with respect to one or more tubes in the displayed array . for example , one color might be used to indicate that the composition in a particular tube is good purity and adequate weight , another color if the composition is of good purity but not enough weight , a third color if the tube contains a composition that is of adequate weight but not of enough purity , a fourth color if the tube contains a composition that is neither pure enough nor of enough weight , a fifth color is the purity is very low or no desired compound found , and so on . other graphical indications , such as symbols , as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art , could also be utilized . information is preferably imported from a network database but may also be from a data storage device , such as a floppy disk . more simplistic representations may be employed if the decision is simply whether a tube is to be culled or not ( for example , “ to be culled samples ” to be indicated in red , all “ good samples ” in green ). the culling decision may be made using a proprietary chemical software application or by the chemist . verification of culled tubes may be scanned individually or jointly in another rack ( e . g ., “ culled ” rack ) after removal , and prior to discard . now turning to the figures , there is shown in fig1 a block diagram overview of an embodiment of the present invention . operator 100 initially undertakes to separate the type of compounds to be housed in a tube multi - rack 115 which contains a plurality of encoded tubes . the position of each encoded tube in the multi - rack 115 is identified by a reader 120 . output from reader 120 is fed into proprietary interface software 125 , which also receives input pertaining to selection properties of compositions in one or more encoded tubes from a selection decision database 130 , and which proprietary interface software 125 will provide a means to differentiate the handling of selected encoded tubes from other encoded tubes in the array . specifically , proprietary interface software 125 outputs a graphical representation of the identity of tubes at each position of the multi - rack along with selection information onto display interface 110 for viewing by operator 100 or another . fig2 illustrates in diagram form the decision making which may be employed with respect to selection decision database 130 . sample selection for processing entails effectuation of a sample selection determiner 145 which may be based upon one or more parameters deemed necessary for further processing , such as a value for the composition within or meeting a certain weight parameter 150 ( for example , as shown in fig3 “ adequate weight ” or “ inadequate weight ” 170 ), or purity parameter 155 ( for example , as shown in fig3 “ good purity ,” “ adequate purity ,” “ inadequate purity ,” or “ poor purity ” 175 ). such sample selection determiner 145 may be used to determine whether a sample tube 140 is provided an encoding identification via sample id generation mechanism 160 or may be used to output sample selections to sample selection decision generation mechanism 165 , which inputs selection decisions into selection decision database 130 . as shown in fig4 ( a ), selection decision data base 130 may comprise any storage system known to those of ordinary skill in the art including file system storage 180 , database management system storage 185 , or network accessible storage 190 , and may include storage on or in floppy disks 200 , cd - roms 205 , sybase 210 , oracle database 215 , dbiii database 220 , ftp files 225 , or web pages 230 , for example . sample id generation mechanism 160 may encode sample tubes 140 by any number of sample identification techniques 235 as shown in fig4 ( b ), such as 2d bar code 240 , which may comprise matrix 2d bar code 245 , micronic 2d code 250 , marsh 2d code 255 , or remp 2d code 261 , other 2d codes 262 , or other techniques 260 , such as asic associated with the tube . selection of tubes from the multi - rack array may entail any number of sample operations 265 , for example as shown in fig4 ( c ), including tube picking 270 , reformatting of the tube configuration in the array 275 , and tube culling 280 . now turning to fig5 ( a ), there is shown a topical view of a 96 multi - rack array 340 . in the embodiments shown , multi - rack array 340 houses multiple encoded tubes 335 each having a 2 dimensional symbology affixed on the bottom of such encoded tubes . fig5 ( b ) a side perspective view of a 96 multi - rack array 340 of fig5 ( a ) on a scanner 350 configured to read the symbology on the bottom of each tube 335 . fig5 ( c ) is a face view of a graphical interface 355 of the present invention illustrating information pertaining to the identity of the tubes integrated with information pertaining to selection operations which are desired to be performed . fig5 ( d ) shows an exploded view 360 of a section of the graphical interface of fig5 ( c ) illustrating the integration of the identification of tube identification codes 370 with selection decisions , in this case to cull the tube whose identification code is located at position al of the rack array 365 , with respect to a number of such tubes shown . there is a one to one correlation between the physical rack and the graphical representation which allows for the user to quickly , visually confirm that the correct tube ( s ) has ( ve ) been culled . fig5 ( e ) is an elevated view of the 96 multi - rack array 340 wherein two tubes 375 a and 375 b are being removed from the array . fig5 is the view of the graphical interface 390 of fig5 ( c ) after removal of the two tubes shown in fig5 ( e ) with black squares 380 a and 380 b indicating removed tubes 375 a and 375 b . again , as noted before , there is a one to one correlation between the physical rack and the graphical representation , in real time , allowing quick , visual confirmation of correct selection . fig6 ( a )- 6 ( b ) set forth flow diagrams for representative method embodiments of the present invention . in fig6 ( a ) a sample data base 550 is shown created with analytical information contained in a rack ( s ) and with the bar codes associated with those compounds . this data base is annotated with compound tube decision information ( i . e ., to cull ) based on the analytical data , other information or chemist decision . after placing the multi - rack of tubes on the scanner reader , continuous readings of the sample id step 560 is performed . selections decisions are retrieved from a database , step 555 , regarding which tubes should be selected , culled , or removed for further processing . there is then displayed the integrated dynamic selection map , step 565 , which indicates operations to be taken with respect to the tubes in the array . as the operator actually performs the indicated operation , step 570 , the display of the integrated dynamic selection map , step 565 , is continuously updated to provide feedback ( confirming to the operator that the correct operation was performed ). this process of performing the indicated operations continues until the selection map is completed , step 575 . a simplified version of such method is shown in fig6 ( b ). identification information is received , step 585 , from a tube reader and a sample map based on the id information scanned generated , step 590 . such map is then altered to reflect information in the selection database , step 600 , and an integrated sample map generated , step 605 , which indicates not only the identify of each tube at a position in the array , but indicates the selection operations to be performed with respect one or more tubes in the array . the integrated sample map is displayed , step 610 , such as on a video screen . as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art , a computing system 645 useful in the present invention may be conventional , such as shown in fig7 . advantageously such computing system 645 comprises processor 620 , connected via bus 670 , to random access memory ( ram ) 630 , storage device 640 and main memory 650 . it is advantageous that such computing system 645 be connected to data entry device 625 , pointing device 635 and display 105 . such device may further have a communication interface 655 to allow communication with the database 660 or other commuters 665 in the network 670 . while the invention has been described with reference to the certain illustrated embodiments , the words that have been used herein are words of description , rather than words of limitation . changes may be made , within the purview of the appended claims , without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its aspects . although the invention has been described herein with reference to particular structures , acts , and materials , the invention is not to be limited to the particulars disclosed , but rather can be embodied in a wide variety of forms , some of which may be quite different from those of the disclosed embodiments , and extends to all equivalent structures , acts , and , materials , such as are within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
the figures ( fig .) and the following description relate to preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of illustration only . it should be noted that from the following discussion , alternative embodiments of the structures and methods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viable alternatives that may be employed without departing from the principles of the claimed invention . reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the present invention ( s ), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures . it is noted that wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality . the figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only . one skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein . fig1 illustrates the architecture of a room occupancy monitoring system , according to one embodiment of the present invention . the room occupancy monitoring system includes occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 each deployed in different conference rooms 102 , 104 and a server 114 running a room occupancy management application 116 . although only two conference rooms 102 , 104 are shown with two occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 , note that there can be any number of conference rooms with one or more occupancy sensor devices deployed in each conference room . the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 and the server 114 are coupled 110 , 108 , 112 to a data communication network 106 for communication with one another . the network 106 may be a lan ( local area network ) such as the ethernet , wan ( wide area network ), or the internet employing any type of wired or wireless communication protocol such as tcp / ip , wifi ( ieee 802 . 11 ), bluetooth , wimax ( ieee 802 . 16d / e ), etc . the network 106 includes any standard networking equipment such as routers for implementing the data communication network 106 . the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 detect whether the conference rooms 102 , 104 are actually occupied by detecting the motions , body heat , or pressure of the occupants , if any , and send the room occupancy information to the server 114 with the identification of the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 corresponding to the conference rooms 102 , 104 . the occupancy sensors 103 , 105 can be mounted at a location for easy detection of the motions of the occupants , for example , on the ceiling or on a wall or in a light - switch or in a chair of the conference rooms 102 , 104 . a more detailed description on the structure and functionality of the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 follows below with reference to fig2 . the server 114 receives the room occupancy information from the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 together with the identification of the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 corresponding to the conference rooms 102 , 104 . therefore , the room occupancy management application 116 running on the server 114 can recognize which occupancy sensor device 103 , 105 associated with which conference room 102 , 104 is reporting the occupancy or non - occupancy of the associated conference room 102 , 104 . the room occupancy management application 116 collects the received room occupancy information , and updates and displays the room occupancy status on a user interface , as will be described in more detail with reference to fig4 . fig2 illustrates the occupancy sensor device 103 used in the room occupancy monitoring system , according to one embodiment of the present invention . although only the occupancy sensor device 103 is described herein , other occupancy sensor devices 105 may have similar structures . the occupancy sensor device 103 includes a motion sensor module 202 , a data conversion module 204 coupled to the motion sensor module 202 , and a network interface module 206 coupled to the data conversion module 204 . the motion sensor module 202 senses the motion of people present in the conference room 102 and generates a signal indicative of the existence ( i . e ., occupied ) or non - existence ( i . e ., not occupied ) of motion in the conference room 102 . the motion sensor module 202 can be a conventional ir ( infrared ) motion sensor or an ultrasonic sensor . although a motion sensor module 202 is described herein , a heat sensor or a pressure sensor can also be used to detect whether the conference room 102 is occupied . for example , the motion sensor module 202 can be a passive ir motion sensor ( also known as a pyroelectric sensor ). in order to detect the presence of a human being in the rooms where the ir motion sensor is deployed , a passive ir motion sensor includes ir sensors that are sensitive to the temperature of a human body . humans , having a skin temperature of about 93 degrees fahrenheit , typically radiate infrared energy with a wavelength between 9 and 10 micrometers . therefore , the ir sensors are typically made to be sensitive in the range of 8 to 12 micrometers of the ir wavelength . the infrared light bumps electrons off a substrate in the ir sensor , and these electrons are detected and amplified into a signal 203 indicative of the existence ( i . e ., occupied ) or non - existence ( i . e ., not occupied ) of motion in the conference rooms 102 , 104 . for another example , the motion sensor module 202 can be an ultrasound motion sensor that senses motion by comparing the doppler shifted wave reflected by a moving object with the original wave created by the ultrasound motion sensor . any frequency change is accompanied by a continuous phase change between the two waves , which is sensed and amplified into a signal 203 indicative of the existence ( i . e ., occupied ) or non - existence ( i . e ., not occupied ) of motion in the conference rooms 102 , 104 . typically , the frequency of the emitted ultrasound wave is about 40 khz . the data conversion module 204 receives the signal 203 indicative of the existence ( i . e ., occupied ) or non - existence ( i . e ., not occupied ) of motion in the conference room 102 . the signal 203 is typically ( but not necessarily ) an analog signal . the data conversion module 204 converts the signal 203 to digital data 205 that can be transmitted via a data communication network 106 . for example , the digital data 205 may include “ 1s ” indicating that the conference room is occupied and “ 0s ” indicating that the conference room is not occupied . however , in other embodiments , the motion sensor module 202 itself is capable of generating the signal 203 in digital form and thus the data conversion module 204 would not be required in those other embodiments . the network interface module 206 receives the digital data 205 and transmits the received digital data 205 to the server 114 through the data communication network 106 . the network interface module 206 can be any type of conventional network interface complying with the communication protocol employed by the network 106 . for example , the network interface module 206 may be an ethernet interface or a wifi interface . the network interface module 206 also transmits information indicating its location or identity , such as an ip ( internet protocol ) address , to the server 114 together with the digital data 205 . the ip address is indicative of the location or identity where the network interface module 206 is deployed . for example , the network interface module 206 may transmit “ 1s ” with an ip address 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 that corresponds to conference room 102 , indicating that conference room 102 is occupied . for another example , the network interface module 206 may transmit “ 0s ” with an ip address 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 that corresponds to conference room 102 , indicating that conference room 102 is not occupied . for still another example , a different ip address , e . g ., ip address 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 , may be assigned to indicate another conference room 104 , in which case the network interface module of the occupancy sensor device 105 would transmit either “ 1s ” or “ 0s ” together with the ip address 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 to the server 114 to indicate that conference room 104 is occupied or non - occupied , respectively . the ip address of the network interface module 106 can be hard coded into the network interface module 206 , or can be dynamically assigned to the network interface module 206 by the server 114 . fig3 a illustrates a method of monitoring room occupancy and collecting the room occupancy information , according to one embodiment of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig3 a , the occupancy information is sent from the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 to the server 114 without the intervention of the server 114 . referring to fig3 a , as the process begins 302 , the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 generate 304 the sensor signals 203 indicating whether the conference rooms are occupied or not occupied , and converts 306 the sensor signal 203 to digital data 205 indicating whether the conference rooms are occupied or not occupied . the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 then transmit 308 the digital data 205 to the server 114 in real time after a change in the occupancy status is detected . the server 114 receives 310 the digital data 205 from the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 , and updates 312 the room occupancy management application 116 with the received digital data 205 to reflect the most recent occupancy status of the conference rooms that are being monitored . then the process ends 314 . fig3 b illustrates a method of monitoring room occupancy and collecting the room occupancy information , according to another embodiment of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig3 b , the occupancy information is sent from the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 to the server 114 when the server 114 pings or queries the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 to request for the occupancy information . the steps of the embodiment of fig3 b are substantially same as the steps of the embodiment of fig3 a except for steps 307 and 309 . referring to fig3 b , as the process begins 302 , the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 generate 304 the sensor signals 203 indicating whether the conference room is occupied or not occupied , and converts 306 the sensor signal 203 to digital data 205 indicating whether the conference rooms are occupied or not occupied . in response to the server 114 pinging 309 the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 to request for the occupancy data , the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 transmit 307 the digital data 205 to the server 114 . the server 114 receives 310 the digital data 205 from the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 , and updates 312 the room occupancy management application 116 with the received digital data 205 to reflect the most recent occupancy status of the conference rooms that are being monitored . then the process ends 314 . fig4 illustrates a user interface 400 for displaying room occupancy status , according to one embodiment of the present invention . the user interface 400 is generated by the room occupancy management application 116 running on the server 114 . however , the user interface 400 can be displayed on the server 114 or on any other remote computing device such as a computer , cellular phone device , smartphone , pda ( personal digital assistant ), etc . that is communicatively coupled to the server 114 through a wired or wireless network . referring to fig4 , each conference room 402 , 406 , 410 , 414 is associated with a corresponding occupancy status ( occupied or not occupied ) 404 , 408 , 412 , 416 . the occupancy status 404 , 408 , 412 , 416 can be updated in real time , because the occupancy sensor devices 103 , 105 will detect any change in the occupancy status in real time and transmit the occupancy status information to the server 114 . therefore , the users of the room occupancy management application 116 can monitor and determine whether a particular conference room 402 , 406 , 410 , 414 is actually occupied or not in real time without having to manually check the conference rooms 402 , 406 , 410 , 414 . the occupancy status of the conference rooms can be checked even from a remote computer or cellular phone device , smartphone , pda , etc . that can communicate with the room occupancy management application 116 running on the server 114 . upon reading this disclosure , those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate still additional alternative structural and functional designs for a system and a process for room occupancy monitoring through the disclosed principles of the present invention . thus , while particular embodiments and applications of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein . various modifications , changes and variations which will be apparent to those skilled in the art may be made in the arrangement , operation and details of the method and apparatus of the present invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
with reference now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 through 8 thereof , a new cargo securing system embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described . as best illustrated in fig1 through 8 , the cargo securing system 10 generally comprises a plurality of chains 11 . each of the chains 11 comprises a plurality of panels 12 and a plurality of intermediate members 14 which are linked together in an alternating manner . each of the chains 11 includes a first free end 15 and a second free end 16 . each of the panels 12 preferably includes a first end 17 , a second end 18 , a top edge 19 and a bottom edge 20 . each of the panels 12 comprises a resiliently flexible material , such as , for example , a cloth or rubber material . each of the intermediate members 14 is coupled to a pair of panels 12 such that each of the first ends 17 of the panels 12 is attached to one of the first side edges 22 of the intermediate members 14 and each of the second ends 18 of the panels 12 is attached to one of the second side edges 24 of the intermediate members 14 . each of the intermediate members 14 includes a top edge 26 and a bottom edge 28 . each of the top edges 26 of the intermediate members 14 includes a notch 29 extending from the top edge 26 toward the bottom edge 28 . the notches 29 may have a generally rectangular shape extending approximately half a length of the intermediate member 14 . each of the intermediate members 14 may comprise a relatively rigid material as compared to the material of the panels 12 , such as a plastic . the cargo securing system 10 generally includes at least one divider chain assembly 30 that includes a housing for retractably storing one of the chains 11 . the housing 31 includes a top wall 32 and a bottom wall 33 orientated substantially parallel to each other . the housing 31 also includes a peripheral wall 34 that is integrally coupled to and extends between the top wall 32 and the bottom wall 33 of the housing 31 . the top wall 32 may include a chamber 35 formed therein . the chamber has a generally circular shape with a diameter relatively smaller than a diameter of the peripheral wall 34 . the peripheral wall 34 of the housing 31 includes an elongated slot 36 extending therethrough . the elongated slot 36 extends generally between the top and bottom walls 32 and 33 . the elongated slot 36 has a width and height designed for receiving of one of the chains 11 into the housing 31 . the housing 31 may comprise a substantially rigid material such as , for example , a metal such as steel or aluminum . as illustrated in fig7 a spool 38 is rotatably mounted in the housing 31 . one of the ends 15 of the chain 11 is mounted on the spool 38 . the chain 11 is coiled about the spool 38 and is extendable from and retractable into the housing 31 . the spool 38 comprises a pair of disks 39 . a first of the disks 39 is positioned generally adjacent to the top wall 32 . a second of the disks 39 is positioned generally adjacent to the bottom wall 33 . a rod 40 extends between a central portion of the disks 39 . a first end 41 of the rod 40 extends into the chamber 35 and is rotatably mounted on the top wall 32 . a second end 42 of the rod 40 is rotatably mounted on the bottom wall 33 . the spool 38 may comprise a substantially rigid material such as , for example , steel or a plastic . as also illustrated in fig7 a biasing means 45 for biasing the chain 11 into a retracted condition is positioned in the housing 31 . the biasing means 45 is positioned in the chamber 35 between the top wall 32 and the first disk 39 . the biasing means 45 preferably comprises a spring having a first end 46 and a second end 47 . the first end 46 of the spring 45 is attached to an inner surface 48 of the chamber 35 . the second end 47 of the spring 45 is securably attached to the rod 40 . the spring 45 most preferably comprises a coil spring . in one embodiment , there is a securing means 49 for securing one of the free ends 15 and 16 of the chain 11 to the rod 40 . the securing means 49 may comprise a pin . the pin extends through the panel 12 and into the rod 40 . one of the diver chain assemblies 30 includes a pair of brackets 50 . one of the brackets 50 is coupled to the second free end 16 of the divider chains 11 . another one of the brackets 50 is coupled to the peripheral wall 34 of the housing 31 . each of the brackets 50 comprises a first plate 51 . the first plate 51 includes a front surface 52 and a back surface 53 . the first plate 51 may have a generally rectangular shape . a second plate 54 is attached to one of the free ends 15 and 16 of the chain 11 . the second plate 54 includes a first edge 55 and a second edge 56 . the first edge 55 of the second plate 54 is attached to and orientated substantially perpendicular to the front surface 52 of the first plate 51 such that the bracket 50 has a generally t - shape . the second edge 56 of the second plate 54 is attached to the second free end 16 the divider chain assembly 30 . a bottom edge 57 of the second plate 54 includes a slit 58 extending therein toward a top edge 59 of the second plate 54 giving the second plate 54 a generally inverted l - shape . the slit 59 is positioned generally adjacent to the first plate 51 . each of the brackets 50 preferably comprises a substantially rigid material such as steel or plastic . in one embodiment , at least one of the chains 11 is mountable on one of the spaced walls for forming an anchor chain assembly 60 . the anchor chain assembly 60 comprises a fastening means 61 for removably fastening the anchor chain 11 to one of the spaced walls . the fastening means 61 extends through each of the panels 12 and is removably coupled to one of the spaced walls . the fastening means 61 is spaced between a pair of intermediate members 14 . each of the fastening means 61 may comprise a screw . however , clips or hook and loop fasteners may also be used . the anchor chain assembly 60 also includes a plurality of spacing members 62 for spacing the anchor chain 11 away from one of the spaced walls . each of the spacing members 62 is positioned between one of the panels 12 and one of the spaced walls . in one embodiment , the fastening means 61 is extendable through each of the spacing members 62 . each of the spacing members 62 may comprise a substantially rigid material such as , for example , steel or a plastic . in use , the slit 58 of one of the brackets 58 on the divider chain assembly 30 may be removably engaged in the notch 29 of one of the intermediate members 14 of the anchor chain assembly 60 or the intermediate member 14 of another of the divider chain assembly 30 . the divider chain assembly 30 may be wrapped around a piece of cargo and both ends fastened to an anchor chain assembly 60 , thereby preventing the piece of cargo from moving about the cargo area . in one embodiment having a vertically deep cargo area , the anchoring chain 11 may be fastened in a vertical condition such that each end of the chain 11 is adjacent to a roof and a floor of the cargo area . in this embodiment , an anchor strap 69 is provided that extends substantially vertically . each of the anchor straps 69 of the anchor chain 11 includes a hole 70 extending therein . the hole 70 extends through each of the panels 12 and has a generally t - shape adapted for removably receiving one of the brackets 50 . one of the spacing members 62 is positioned on each side of the hole 70 . the fastening means 61 extends through the spacing members 62 and into one of the spaced walls . as to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention . | 1 |
an integrated pump cap for a container allows for precise dispensing of liquid from the container while reducing risks of spillage and contamination . a variety of liquids having a wide range of viscosities may be dispensed by the pump including adhesives , cements , colorants , coatings , detergents , epoxies , dyes , fillers ( e . g ., body filler ), nano - materials , oils , paints ( e . g ., automotive paints ), pastes , pigments , polymer additives ( which may be organic or inorganic ), sealants , stains , toners , varnishes , waxes , and the like . the liquids may be neat ( including concentrates ) or in the form of a dispersion , solution or suspension . a drive motor can be coupled to the integrated pump cap in order to dispense a specified amount of liquid . in some implementations or embodiments , a g - rotor pump is integrated into the cap of a container in order to pump the liquids , in response to the driving motor , from the container . however , many other types of pumps may be readily integrated into the cap depending on the nature of the material to be pumped and other application - specific considerations ( e . g ., cost , efficiency , accuracy , size , weight , whether moving parts can be incorporated into the cap or should be isolated away from the cap , etc .) such as a peristaltic pump , a syringe pump , or an elastomeric diaphragm pump . in some implementations , liquid colorants are dispensed into an injection molding device in order to produce colored plastic articles but other types of molding devices may be used too including blow molding , injection blow molding , extrusion molding , and rotational molding devices for example . in particular , a neutral plastic base material ( e . g ., pellets or beads of plastic resin ) can be heated by the molding device . advantageously , the plastic base material may possess its “ natural ” color ( i . e ., the inherent color of the plastic resin without the addition of dyes , pigments or other colorants ). the plastic base material may be white , beige , grey , or other neutral color and it may be transparent , translucent or opaque . a precise amount of a liquid colorant can be dosed into the neutral plastic base material so that the melted plastic base material is colored accordingly . the amount of colorant will vary depending on the nature of the plastic base material , the colorant , the desired color , etc . but an amount of about 0 . 5 %- 3 % by weight or volume is generally useful . the colored melted plastic is then delivered by injection or extrusion into a mold cavity or an extruder head having the shape or profile of the plastic article that is to be formed which could be , for example , a bottle , a film , or many other products conventionally produced by plastic molding devices . while the invention will be particularly described in the context of a dispenser for delivering liquid colorant to a molding device , this is merely to illustrate one preferred application . the invention disclosed herein may be used to dispense a variety of liquids as previously described and the dispensed liquid may be delivered to devices other than molding devices ( e . g ., a mixing or blending device or a device that fills a container ) or may be delivered for immediate end use ( e . g ., a sprayed liquid or an extruded paste ). fig1 shows an example of a dispensing system 100 . the dispensing system includes a motor base 102 and a container 104 with an integrated pump cap 106 . the motor base 102 includes a motor ( not shown separately ) for driving the pump contained in the integrated pump cap 106 . the motor can be an ac or dc electric motor ( e . g ., a stepper motor , servo motor , etc .) configured to drive a driveshaft that engages the integrated pump cap 106 . alternatively , the motor can be pneumatic , hydraulic , piezo - electric , mechanical ( e . g ., using a rack and pinion , crankshaft , cam or other similar mechanism ), or hand - driven , provided that it is configured to transfer energy to a driveshaft that engages the integrated pump cap 106 . for simplicity and ease of design , it is preferred to have the motor transfer rotational energy to the driveshaft but linear energy transfer can be used too . the motor base 102 can also include a programmable controller , either as a separate unit or as part of the motor itself , such that particular commands can be input in order to , for example , release a specified amount of liquid according to the command . the amount can be according to the weight of the liquid dispensed . for example , one command can cause the motor to operate such that one gram of liquid is dispensed . a second command can cause the motor to dispense two grams of liquid and so on . thus , a particular liquid can be dispensed in different amounts depending on the application . for example , different liquid colorant amounts can be dispensed depending on the desired color and the amount of plastic material that is to be colored . in some other implementations , motor commands may be calibrated to dispense a liquid by volume rather than by weight ( e . g . a programmed number of milliliters ). the controller can calculate motor driving time based on a specific flow rate of the pump for a given motor speed . this can depend on the particular liquid being dispensed ( e . g ., as a function of the viscosity of the liquid ). thus , the motor speed and flow rate can be used to calculate a motor run time to dispense a specified amount ( weight or volume ) of the liquid . the motor base 102 can include an interface for entering commands , e . g ., for particular liquid dispensing . for example , one or more interface controls can allow the user to specify a particular command using menus , command codes , or a combination of both ( e . g ., using buttons , touch screen interface , or other input ). alternatively , in some implementations , the motor base 102 is coupled to another device that provides a control interface , for example , a computing device . the computing device can include software for both controlling the motor base 102 and providing a user interface . the user interface can allow the user to provide commands for dispensing liquids . fig2 and 2a show a view 201 of an example liquid container 200 with an integrated pump cap 202 . the liquid container 200 includes a rigid reusable or disposable outer container 203 , and a disposable flexible liner 205 positioned within the outer container . the outer container can provide structural stability when transporting the liquid container 200 . the outer container can be removably coupled to the integrated pump cap 202 , for example , using a threaded ring 204 . the threaded ring 204 can be integral to the cap or a separate piece . the threads on ring 204 can be either male or female with the complementary mating threads formed on the outer container . the threaded ring 204 can also be used to maintain the position of the integrated pump cap 202 on the container 200 . although threaded ring 204 is illustrated in fig2 for removably coupling integrated pump cap 202 to container 200 , other coupling mechanisms may be employed such as , for example , a bayonet connector , snap tabs or snap wings , and the like , which may be useful for providing a “ quick connect ” capability . alternatively , integrated pump cap 202 may be coupled to container 200 by an interference or friction fit between these two components . the integrated pump cap 202 may be coupled to the rigid outer container 203 or the flexible liner 205 . the coupling mechanisms described above are particularly suited for joining the pump to the rigid outer container . additional stability can be obtained by , for example , forming the liner with a rim 207 at its open end that rests on the upper edge 209 of the outer container 203 . securing the integrated pump cap to the outer container by the techniques mentioned above may compress the rim of the liner between the upper edge of the outer container and the pump cap . if integrated pump cap 202 is coupled to the flexible liner this may be accomplished by a friction fit between the pump cap and the liner or by sealing pump cap 202 to the liner using , for example , sonic welding or an adhesive . as shown in fig2 a , the outer container 203 may contain an air hole 203 a that remains open or an air hole that can be opened and closed with , for example , a strip of tape or a valve . in this way , when the air hole 203 a is open , the inner liner 203 may collapse as liquid is pumped from the container thereby facilitating dispensing all of the liquid . thus , the flexible inner liner in combination with the pump cap provides a sealed liquid container that collapses as the liquid is dispensed . this ventless construction allows for an air tight dispensing that reduces the risk of contamination to the liquid . for example , some liquids can react with oxygen , e . g ., liquids that cure when exposed to air . other liquids can easily be contaminated by particulates in the air which can impair their function and also interfere with the dispensing . the flexible liner can be composed of various flexible materials , for example , low density polyethylene . although liquid container 200 is described as including an outer container and an inner liner , it may be a single component in the form of a container without a liner . the container that may be rigid or flexible and may contain a vent to equilibrate the pressure inside the container with atmospheric pressure when the vent is open . a flexible container may be composed of various flexible polymeric materials , for example , low density polyethylene or , if more strength or durability is desired , an eva ( ethylene vinyl acetate ) resin such as elvax ®. the integrated pump cap 202 includes a motor coupler 206 that , in the illustrated embodiment , rotates about a central axis in response to a corresponding rotation of a drive component in the motor base 102 shown in fig1 . as shown , the motor coupler 206 includes a number of teeth that can engage a corresponding set of teeth in the motor base 102 . thus , when the motor drives a rotational drive shaft coupled by the teeth to the motor coupler 206 , the motor coupler 206 is rotated to drive the pump so that contents of the container 200 can be dispensed through an output port 208 . the teeth can be shaped to facilitate transfer of energy from the motor to the pump . numerous variations on this approach are possible . for example , motor base 102 and motor coupler 206 may have the same number of engagement teeth or a different number of engagement teeth , or they may interact without the use of gears that mesh such as by frictional engagement or magnetic coupling . for simplicity and ease of design , it is preferred to have the motor transfer rotational energy to the driveshaft but linear energy transfer can be used too via , for example , a rack and pinion mechanism . advantageously , pump cap 202 may be readily disassembled from motor base 102 without using tools so as to facilitate cleaning and installation of a different container 200 . fig3 shows a view of an example integrated pump cap 300 in more detail . the integrated pump cap includes a housing 302 , a container coupler 304 ( as part of or separate from the housing 302 ), output port 208 , and motor coupler 206 . in the embodiment of fig3 and the other embodiments , the integrated pump cap and its constituent parts may be formed from plastic to achieve a lower manufacturing cost and to allow for easy disposability , but if the nature of the materials to be pumped or other circumstances warrant , the integrated pump cap may be formed of metal , or a combination of metal and plastic components . referring to fig3 as an example , pump cap housing 302 may be formed as a single piece or as a combination of pieces that are removably attached together or that are fixed together ( e . g ., by sonic welding ). for example , a portion of the housing 302 can be a lid configured to fit container 200 ( either the outer container or the liner ). a portion of the lid can be removed in order to form an aperture in which to couple a pump housing including the pump for dispensing fluid from the container . in some implementations , the pump housing includes a first portion positioned on one side of the lid aperture and a second portion positioned on the other side of the lid aperture , where the two portions are configured to engage in order to lock the portions together and to the lid . an o - ring or other seal or gasket can be positioned between the lid and a portion of the pump housing to prevent liquid leaks . in some alternative implementations , the pump housing is joined to the lid ( e . g ., by sonic welding or using an adhesive ) to bond the pump housing to the lid . in other implementations , the pump housing can be integrally formed with a lid for closing the container . the container coupler 304 allows the integrated pump cap 300 to attach to the container 200 ( fig2 ). in some implementations ( as shown in fig3 ), the container coupler 304 is in the form of male or female threads that join with complementary threads formed on container 200 . in other implementations , the container coupler 304 is configured to provide an interference or friction fit with the container . in still other embodiments , the container coupler 304 may be a bayonet connector , snap tabs , snap wings or the like ( with complementary engaging structure formed on the container ), which may be useful for providing a “ quick connect ” capability . alternatively , the container coupler 304 may be provided as a weld ( e . g ., a sonic weld ) or as an adhesive that joins the pump cap 300 to the container . as described above with respect to fig2 , the output port 208 is configured to output liquids from the container as driven by the pump in the pump cap 300 . the pump is driven using the motor coupler 206 . fig4 shows a cutaway view 400 of the example integrated pump cap to illustrate additional details . the cutaway view 400 shows the motor coupler 206 , output port 208 , a container 402 coupled to the integrated pump cap using thread ring 204 , and a partial view of pump 404 . in the example integrated pump cap shown in fig4 , the pump 404 is a g - rotor pump but as noted above many other types of pumps , including a peristaltic pump , a syringe pump , or an elastomeric diaphragm pump may be used instead . the pump can be formed from metal , plastic , other materials , or combinations thereof . for example , in some implementations , the pump housing is molded or otherwise fabricated from glass - filled nylon , and the gears are molded or otherwise fabricated from a polytetrafluoroethylne ( e . g ., teflon ™)- impregnated acetal . as the motor coupler 206 rotates or otherwise moves , the motion is transferred to the pump so that precise amounts of liquid from the container 402 are dispensed through output port 208 . in some implementations , the integrated pump cap is mounted to the motor such that the motor coupler 206 is coupled to the motor at a downward orientation ; that is , in its use position , the motor coupler is above the motor , as shown in fig1 . thus , the container is positioned above the pump 404 such that the liquid is gravitationally directed to an input of the pump 404 . however , other embodiments are also contemplated . for example , the integrated pump cap may be mounted so that the motor coupler 206 is coupled to the motor at an upward orientation ; that is , in its use position , the motor coupler and container are below the motor . in such embodiments , liquid may be dispensed from the container by pressurizing the container ( e . g ., pressurizing the space between an outer container and an inner liner ), or by installing a siphon tube that extends from output port 208 to the bottom of the container , or by using a bladder that expands to expel liquid from the container . the exemplary g - rotor pump is described in greater detail with respect to fig5 . fig5 shows another cutaway view 500 of the integrated pump cap . in this cutaway view 500 , the g - rotor pump 404 is exposed from the top while other portions of a housing 502 are intact . in particular , as shown in fig5 , the motor coupler 206 is coupled to a shaft 504 . the shaft 504 is further coupled to an inner or first rotor 506 . the inner rotor 506 sits off center within and engages an outer or second rotor 508 . in the embodiment of fig5 , as the motor coupler 206 is turned by the motor , the shaft 504 rotates . rotation of the shaft 504 causes the inner rotor 506 to rotate within the outer rotor 508 . the outer rotor 508 has more slots than the number of rotor lobes on the inner rotor 506 such that the inner rotor 506 rotates in an eccentric manner with the outer rotor 508 . this rotation is such that in a first position an input port is exposed allowing fluid to flow from the container into a space between the lobes of the inner rotor 506 . as the inner rotor 506 and outer rotor 508 continue to rotate , an output is exposed between the lobes and the liquid is pushed out of the pump through output port 208 . the outer rotor 508 revolves at a slower rate than the inner rotor 506 , thereby rotating and changing the volume of the chambers created by the slots . in some implementations , the pump is reversible allowing liquids to be pumped from outside the container through the output port 208 ( which in this configuration may be regarded as an input port ) and into a container . in some other implementations , the pump is non - reversible such that liquids can only be pumped out of the container . fig6 shows a cross - sectional view 600 of the exemplary integrated pump cap in more detail . the cross - sectional view 600 illustrates the motor coupler 206 , shaft 504 , g - rotor pump 404 , and housing 302 . the g - rotor pump 404 is disk shaped from the side and is intersected by the shaft 504 off - center . in particular , the outer rotor 508 ( fig5 ) is intersected off - center while the inner rotor 506 ( fig5 ) is intersected by the shaft 504 substantially in the center . this off - center drive shaft 504 allows for the eccentric rotation of the g - rotor pump components . fig7 shows a flow diagram of an example process 700 for dispensing liquids . for convenience , the process 700 will be described with respect to a dispensing system that performs the process 700 . the dispensing system receives a selected liquid container with an integrated pump ( 702 ). for example , the dispensing system can be used to dispense a number of different liquids including any of those mentioned hereinabove . as such , the liquids and their respective containers can be interchanged . for example , for liquid colorants , different colors can be used with the dispensing system in order to provide different colors . similarly paints can be dispensed for use alone or different colored paints can be dispensed and mixed together to form a blended color . receiving a selected liquid container can include coupling the liquid container with the integrated pump to a motor . the motor can include a drive shaft coupler configured to receive a motor coupler of the integrated pump . additional couplings can also be performed . for example , an output port of the integrated pump can be coupled to a destination ( e . g ., a container , machine , or other location ), for example , with a tube or other liquid pathway . the dispensing system determines an amount of liquid to dispense ( 704 ). the amount to dispense can be determined , for example , in response to a user input to an interface of the dispensing system . in particular , the user can input a specific time to dispense , amount to dispense , or a command code that corresponds to a specific programmed amount to dispense . the input command code can be specific to the liquid to be dispensed . alternatively , or additionally , the input command code can be specific to the application of the dispensed liquid ( e . g ., an amount necessary to color a particular volume of neutral colored plastic in an injection molding apparatus ). the dispensing system activates a motor to dispense liquid ( 706 ). in particular , the motor is activated in order to drive the integrated pump . the motor rotates or otherwise moves a drive shaft that causes a corresponding rotation or other movement of the integrated pump components such that precise amounts of fluid are dispensed as a function of the motor speed , pump configuration , and liquid being dispensed . the dispensing system deactivates the motor to finish dispensing liquid ( 708 ). when the specified amount of liquid has been dispensed , the motor is deactivated to stop the integrated pump . alternatively , the dispensing system can be calibrated to account for any residual liquid between the pump output and the destination ( e . g ., in a dispensing tube ) that will be released so that substantially the exact amount of liquid is dispensed once the motor is deactivated . the dispensed liquid can then be used for various applications . fig8 shows a block diagram of an example injection molding system 800 . the injection molding system 800 includes base plastic material 802 ( e . g ., beads or pellets of a resin in a hopper ) and liquid colorant 804 or other liquid ( e . g ., in a container including an integrated pump for dispensing precise amounts of liquid as described above ). the plastic material 802 and liquid colorant 804 are provided to an injection molding device 806 . the injection molding device 806 includes a heater 808 and a mold 810 . the heater 808 melts the plastic material 802 and into which the liquid colorant 804 can be added . the melted plastic material 802 can be injected into the mold 810 . the mold has a shape formed within the mold cavity corresponding to a desired output colored molded plastic 812 . other molding systems may be used and their operational principles can be understood from the block diagram of fig8 too . for example , injection molding device 806 may be a blow molding , an injection blow molding , an extrusion molding , or a rotational molding device and mold 810 may be provided by an extrusion die or head to yield a plastic component having a desired profile . fig9 shows a flow diagram of an example process 900 for dispensing colorants in an injection molding system . a colorant is identified to add to injected molded plastic in order to produce molded plastic of a particular color ( 902 ). the colorant is coupled to an injection molding device ( 904 ). for example , an output port of an integrated pump cap for a colorant container can be coupled to an input of the injection molding device . a dosing amount of colorant for each injection molding cycle is determined ( 906 ). for example , a user can input parameters to the injection molding device or to a control interface for a motor that drives the pump of the integrated pump cap . in some implementations , commands are associated with a timing cycle for the injection molding machine such that the precise amount of colorant can be dosed for each molding cycle . the injection molding cycle is initiated ( 908 ). initiating an injection molding cycle can include releasing base plastic material from a hopper into a heating portion of the injection molding device to melt the base plastic material . the determined dose of liquid colorant is added to the melting or melted base plastic material ( 910 ). melted colored plastic is then injected into a mold cavity to form a final color molded plastic ( 912 ). the colored molded plastic is then removed from the injection mold ( 914 ). as discussed in conjunction with fig8 , liquids other than colorants may be dispensed and molding systems other than injection molding systems may be used . the operational principles of these alternatives can be understood from the block diagram of fig9 too . the liquid dispenser can be used to dispense liquids for use in a variety of processes including extrusion , blow molding , film production , etc . in particular , liquid colorants can be used to color various products ( e . g ., bottles ). in some other implementations , the liquid dispenser can be used to dispense colorants for the coloring of waxes for candles and wine bottle seals , to dispense catalysts for thermoset plastics , and to dispense single and multiple component adhesives and sealants . the operations described in this specification , in particular , processing commands for a motor to drive a pump to dispense a specified amount of liquid , can be implemented as operations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer - readable storage devices or received from other sources . the term “ data processing apparatus ” encompasses all kinds of apparatus , devices , and machines for processing data , including by way of example a programmable processor , a computer , a system on a chip , or multiple ones , or combinations of the foregoing . the apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry , e . g ., an fpga ( field programmable gate array ) or an asic ( application - specific integrated circuit ). the apparatus can also include , in addition to hardware , code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question ; e . g ., code that constitutes processor firmware , a protocol stack , a database management system , an operating system , a cross - platform runtime environment , a virtual machine , or a combination of one or more of these . the apparatus and execution environment can realize various different computing model infrastructures , such as web services , distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures . a computer program ( also known as a program , software , software application , script , or code ) can be written in any form of programming language , including compiled or interpreted languages , declarative or procedural languages , and it can be deployed in any form , including as a stand - alone program or as a module , component , subroutine , object , or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment . a computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network . alternatively or in addition , the program instructions can be encoded on or can be included in a computer storage medium , a computer - readable storage device , a computer - readable storage substrate , a random or serial access memory array or device , or a combination of one or more of these . moreover , while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal , a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal . the computer storage medium can also be , or be included in , one or more separate physical components or media ( e . g ., multiple cds , disks , or other storage devices ). the processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform actions by operating on input data and generating output . the processes and logic flows can also be performed by , and apparatus can also be implemented as , special purpose logic circuitry , e . g ., an fpga ( field programmable gate array ) or an asic ( application - specific integrated circuit ). processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors , and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory or a random access memory or both . the essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data . devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , media and memory devices , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , e . g ., eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks , e . g ., internal hard disks or removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom and dvd - rom disks . to provide for interaction with a user , embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device , e . g ., a crt ( cathode ray tube ) or lcd ( liquid crystal display ) monitor , for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device , e . g ., a mouse or a trackball , by which the user can provide input to the computer . other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well ; for example , feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback , e . g ., visual feedback , auditory feedback , or tactile feedback ; and input from the user can be received in any form , including acoustic , speech , or tactile input . in addition , a computer can interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is used by the user ; for example , by sending web pages to a web browser on a user &# 39 ; s client device in response to requests received from the web browser . the invention may be represented by numerous embodiments some of which are described below . embodiment 1 . a device comprising a liquid container coupled to an integrated pump cap , the integrated pump cap including a pump coupled to an intake port to the container and an output port configured to dispense liquid from the liquid container when the pump is activated . a liquid container including an integrated pump cap ; a motor coupled to the liquid container configured to drive a pump in the integrated pump cap to dispense a specified amount of liquid ; and a device coupled to the liquid container such that the liquid dispensed from the liquid container is received by the device . embodiment 3 . a method for dispensing a specified amount of liquid comprising : receiving a command to dispense a specified amount of liquid ; initiating a motor coupled to a liquid container , the liquid container including a pump in an integrated pump cap ; and stopping the motor when the specified amount of liquid has been dispensed from the liquid container . embodiment 4 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the liquid container comprises an outer container and an inner liner . embodiment 5 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 4 wherein the outer container is rigid and the inner liner is flexible . embodiment 6 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 5 wherein the rigid outer container has an air hole and the flexible inner liner collapses as liquid is withdrawn from the liquid container . embodiment 7 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the liquid container is pressurized . embodiment 8 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the liquid container is positioned above the integrated pump cap when liquid is being dispensed from the liquid container . embodiment 9 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein liquid flows from the liquid container under the force of gravity during use . embodiment 10 . a system or method according to any one of embodiments 2 to 9 wherein the liquid container is positioned above the motor when liquid is being dispensed from the liquid container . embodiment 11 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 7 wherein the liquid container is positioned below the integrated pump cap when liquid is being dispensed from the liquid container . embodiment 12 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the integrated pump cap is removably coupled to the liquid container . embodiment 13 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the integrated pump cap is removably coupled to the liquid container by a threaded ring . embodiment 14 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 13 wherein the threaded ring engages corresponding threads on the liquid container . embodiment 15 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12 wherein the integrated pump cap is removably coupled to the liquid container by a quick connector . embodiment 16 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 12 wherein the integrated pump cap is coupled to the liquid container by a weld or an adhesive . embodiment 17 . a device , system or method according to any one of the preceding embodiments wherein the amount of liquid that is dispensed from the liquid container is based on the weight of the liquid . embodiment 18 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16 wherein the amount of liquid that is dispensed from the liquid container is based on the volume of the liquid . embodiment 19 . a device , system or method according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the pump is a g - rotor pump . embodiment 20 . a device , system or method according to any of embodiments 1 to 18 wherein the pump is a peristaltic pump . embodiment 21 . a device , system or method according to any of embodiments 1 to 18 wherein the pump is a syringe pump . embodiment 22 . a device , system or method according to any of embodiments 1 to 18 wherein the pump is an elastic diaphragm pump . embodiment 23 . a device according to embodiment 1 further comprising a motor . embodiment 24 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 2 to 23 wherein the integrated pump cap includes a motor coupler for coupling the pump to the motor . embodiment 25 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 24 wherein the motor is an electric motor . embodiment 26 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 24 wherein the motor is a pneumatic motor . embodiment 27 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 24 wherein the motor is a hydraulic motor . embodiment 28 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 24 wherein the motor is a piezo - electric motor . embodiment 29 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 24 wherein the motor is a mechanical motor . embodiment 30 . a device , system or method according to anyone of embodiments 24 to 29 wherein the motor transfers rotational energy to the motor coupler . embodiment 31 . a device , system or method according to anyone of embodiments 24 to 29 wherein the motor transfers linear energy to the motor coupler . embodiment 32 . a device , system or method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 31 wherein the integrated pump cap further includes a first rotor that is coupled to a shaft that is coupled to the motor coupler . embodiment 33 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 32 wherein the integrated pump cap further includes a second rotor that moves in response to movement of the first rotor . embodiment 34 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 33 wherein the first rotor includes at least one lobe and the second rotor includes at least one slot , the at least one lobe on the first rotor engaging the at least one slot on the second rotor to move the second rotor in response to movement of the first rotor , and wherein the number of lobes on the first rotor is different than the number of slots on the second rotor . embodiment 35 . a device , system or method according to embodiment 33 or 34 wherein the shaft intersects the first rotor substantially in the center thereof and intersects the second rotor off - center thereof . embodiment 36 . a system or method according to any one of embodiments 2 to 35 wherein the motor further includes a controller that can be programmed to control operation of the motor . embodiment 37 . a system according to any one of embodiments 2 and 4 to 36 wherein the device is a molding apparatus . embodiment 38 . a system according to embodiment 37 wherein the molding apparatus is an injection molding apparatus . embodiment 39 . a system according to embodiment 37 wherein the molding apparatus is an injection blow molding apparatus . embodiment 40 . a system according to embodiment 37 wherein the molding apparatus is a blow molding apparatus . embodiment 41 . a system according to embodiment 37 wherein the molding apparatus is an extrusion head . embodiment 42 . a system according to anyone of embodiments 37 to 41 wherein the molding apparatus further includes a heater for melting plastic resin . embodiment 43 . a system according to any preceding embodiment wherein the liquid that is dispensed by the liquid container is a colorant . embodiment 44 . a system according to embodiment 42 wherein the liquid that is dispensed by the liquid container is a colorant used to color plastic resin that is received by the molding apparatus . embodiment 45 . a system according to embodiment 44 wherein the plastic resin has a neutral color and the amount of liquid colorant that is dispensed is selected to impart a tailored color to the plastic resin . embodiment 46 . a device , system or method according to any of embodiments 1 to 36 wherein the liquid that is dispensed from the liquid container is selected from the group consisting of adhesives , cements , colorants , coatings , detergents , epoxies , dyes , fillers , nano - materials , oils , paints , pastes , pigments , polymer additives , sealants , stains , toners , varnishes , and waxes . while this specification contains many specific implementation details , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any inventions or of what may be claimed , but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions . certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination . moreover , although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination , and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination . similarly , while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order , this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order , or that all illustrated operations be performed , to achieve desirable results . in some cases , the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results . in certain circumstances , multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous . moreover , the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments , and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products . thus , particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
capacitive occupant detection systems in the automotive industry , which are used to detect the presence of an occupant in order to activate the airbag in case of a crash , typically determine the occupancy state by measuring the complex impedance / admittance seen by the sensing element ( the antenna electrode ) arranged in the seat . this sensing element can be one or more electrodes , dedicated exclusively to occupancy detection , or the seat heating element . the determination of the complex impedance / admittance can be achieved by either measuring its real and imaginary parts or by measuring the absolute value and the phase angle of the complex impedance / admittance . this can be done at one or several measurement frequencies to gain more information about the occupancy situation . referring to fig1 , which shows the basic structure of a capacitive occupancy sensing system : 1 is the capacitive occupancy sensing system ; 2 is a control unit , e . g . a microcontroller ; 3 is a signal generator ( e . g . an oscillator ) for driving one or more ac signals into the antenna electrode ( not shown ); 4 is the ac signal ( e . g . voltage at one or more frequencies ); 5 is the system - inherent complex impedance / admittance seen by signal generator 3 , e . g . a complex measurement offset ; 6 is the complex impedance / admittance seen by signal generator 3 , representing the occupancy situation on the seat ; 7 are external influencing factors having an impact on the complex impedance / admittance 6 , e . g . humidity , temperature etc . 8 is the complex useful signal ( e . g . current amplitude and phase angle or real and imaginary parts of the current ); 9 is the useful signal evaluation unit 10 are internal influencing factors having an impact on the system - inherent complex impedance / admittance 5 , e . g . temperature , aging etc . ; 11 is a communication line . the control unit 2 triggers the generation of an ac signal 4 , generated by the signal generator 3 . this ac signal is applied to the complex impedances / admittances 5 and 6 . complex impedance / admittance 6 , which is basically the complex impedance / admittance seen by the antenna electrode in the seat , represents the occupancy state of the seat . this complex impedance / admittance can vary due to the influencing factors 7 . it is required that these influencing factors shall not degrade the system &# 39 ; s ability to detect the correct occupancy situation as long as the environmental influence is part of the application profile of the system , e . g . the sensing system shall be able to detect the correct occupancy state even in wet seat condition . influencing factors 10 , like e . g . temperature , cause a variation of the system - inherent complex impedance / admittance 5 , leading to measurement errors which can degrade the systems performance . both complex impedances / admittances 5 and 6 transfer the ac signal 4 into the complex useful signal 8 , which carries the information about the occupancy situation on the passenger seat . this information can be extracted by the control unit 2 using the useful signal evaluation unit 9 by either evaluating the amplitude and / or phase angle of the complex useful signal or by determining the real part and imaginary part of the measurement signal and by any other technique to characterize a complex signal . after the occupancy state has been determined , an output signal indicating the occupancy state is transferred to the vehicle using the communication line 11 . techniques to cope with the influences 6 , means to compensate for external environmental influences like humidity in the seat , are known and described e . g . in some of the documents indicated in the background section hereinabove . nonetheless , the internal influences 10 on the system - inherent complex load 5 can cause that the measurements , which are necessary to determine the environmental condition in the seat , cannot be done be performed with sufficient accuracy , leading to a degrading of the detection performance of the system 1 . fig2 shows the capacitance seen by the sensing element in vehicle seat exemplified for different occupancy situations , humidity levels and measurement frequencies . the shown capacitance values have been determined by measuring the imaginary part of the complex admittance followed by the mathematical calculation of the capacitive value . for this calculation it has been assumed that the sensing element couples to ground via a purely resistive path and a purely capacitive path , both paths being in parallel to one another . whereas there is almost no variation in the capacitance value over frequency in dry conditions , the capacitance values measured in wet conditions ( shown for 50 ml and for 200 ml of water poured on the seat ) decrease with increasing frequency . due to the fact that the capacitance values measured with an empty seat ( curves labelled “ empty ”) and a seat occupied by a child restraint system ( curves labelled “ crs ”) increase with rising water quantity , differentiation between ‘ empty ’/‘ crs ’ ( which should lead to the seat being detected as “ not occupied ”) and ‘ 5 %- female ’ ( which should lead to the seat being detected as “ occupied ”) is difficult if only the capacitance values at low frequencies are taken into account . to get rid of this problem , in today &# 39 ; s single - frequency capacitive systems , not only the capacitance but also the real part of the complex impedance / admittance is measured at the same frequency . by means of this approach , differentiation between ‘ empty ’/‘ crs ’ and ‘ 5 %- female ’ is again possible , since the real part of e . g . the complex admittance increases with rising water quantities in the seat . fig3 shows the resulting separation between ‘ empty ’/‘ crs ’ and ‘ 5 %- female ’, based on the results of the real and imaginary part measurement at one frequency . the separation line represents the threshold capacitance , varying with the real part of the admittance , above which a measured capacitance value indicates that the seat is occupied and below which it indicates that the seat is not occupied . referring to fig4 , which shows the basic structure of a capacitive measurement system using the heating element of a seat heater as the sensing element ( the antenna electrode ): 21 is the ac voltage source of the capacitive sensing system ; 22 is a seat heating element ( e . g . a resistive wire , fibre or cable , or a film - based electrode comprising a carrier film and a resistive material printed thereon ); 23 is an ac decoupling element ; 24 is the measurement current ; 25 is the complex impedance / admittance representing the occupancy situation 26 the heating circuit ( seat heater control circuit including the source / drain of the heating current ). the ac voltage 21 is applied to the seat heating element 22 , which is decoupled from the vehicle &# 39 ; s ground ( gnd ), respectively from the seat heater control unit by the ac decoupling element 23 . the measurement current 24 flows through the complex impedance / admittance 25 . as indicated hereinabove , the amplitude and phase angle of the measurement current depends on the frequency . this may be used to determine the occupancy situation and environmental condition in the seat by performing a comparison between the measured signal and predetermined relation between measurement signals and different occupancy situations under different environmental conditions . the drawback of this approach is that the measurement system &# 39 ; s performance depends on the tolerances of its components and their susceptibility against influences like temperature , aging etc . especially , parasitic parameters , which are hard to control , and their variation can cause a degrading of performance . for example , the ac decoupling element 23 shown in fig4 is advantageously implemented as a common mode choke as shown in fig5 . referring to fig5 , 31 is the ac voltage source of the capacitive sensing system ; 32 is the seat heating element ; 33 is the measurement current ; 34 is the complex impedance / admittance representing the occupancy situation ; 35 is the heating circuit ; 36 is a common mode choke ; 37 are parasitic capacitances ; 38 are parasitic parallel resistances ; 39 are gnd coupling capacitors . the common mode choke 36 together with its parasitic capacitances 37 and parallel resistances 38 generates a parallel complex load to the complex impedance / admittance 34 that represents the occupancy situation and the environmental condition in the seat . as this complex parallel load is subject to environmental influences ( temperature , aging , . . . ), the ability of the system to determine the correct occupancy state is degraded in the presence of such components , if no countermeasures are taken . the main reason for this is that the magnetic core properties of the common mode choke 36 vary over production , temperature and other influences . whereas the parasitic capacitances 37 remain virtually constant over temperature as they depend only on temperature invariant parameters like the number of windings , winding technique used , wire diameter etc , the parallel resistances 38 vary over temperature . since they can reach very low values , they may dominate the real part of the impedance / admittance seen by the sensing electrode ( i . e . seat heating element 32 ). this would cause all known methods to fail in detecting the correct occupancy situation , especially under variable environmental influences ( humidity in the seat and varying magnetic core temperature ). as an exemplified countermeasure , an expensive calibration of the system over temperature might become necessary , together with the use of one or more temperature probes for monitoring the choke &# 39 ; s core temperature in order to compensate for the temperature influence . the complex impedance / admittance 34 is usually formed by an rc network that has a frequency dependency in its imaginary and also in its real part . this frequency dependence itself depends on the environmental condition ( humidity in the seat etc ). the environmental condition is determined by evaluating the change of either the real or imaginary part of the impedance / admittance over frequency . the parasitic capacitances 37 cannot be neglected , but they do virtually not vary under changes of the external influences . fig6 shows a clear separation between the situations ‘ empty ’/‘ crs ’ and 5 %- female . the x - axis indicates the difference between the capacitance value at a first frequency ( here : 100 khz ) and the capacitance value at a second frequency ( here : 500 khz ). the y - axis indicates the capacitive value of the complex admittance 34 at 500 khz . the separation line indicates that the occupied states can be clearly distinguished from the not occupied states . in a practical implementation of the capacitive occupancy sensing system , the separation line , which corresponds to a capacitance threshold that depends on the difference between the capacitance value at 100 khz and the capacitance value at 500 khz , is stored in the detection circuit ( comprised e . g . of control unit 2 , signal generator 3 and useful signal evaluation unit 9 , and implemented as an asic , an fpga or a microcontroller ) as one or more lookup tables . to determine the occupancy state of the seat , the detection circuit proceeds as follows : it measures ( at least ) the imaginary part of the complex admittance at 100 khz and at 500 khz ( or another suitable frequency pair ). it then calculates the corresponding capacitance values . the detection circuit looks up the difference of the capacitance values in the lookup table and retrieves the capacitance threshold . it compares the capacitance value at 500 khz with the capacitance threshold : if the capacitance value at 500 khz is greater than the capacitance threshold , the detection circuit outputs a signal indicating that the seat is occupied , and if the capacitance value at 500 khz is less than the capacitance threshold , the detection circuit outputs a signal indicating that the seat is not occupied . fig7 shows another possibility . here , the capacitance value at 500 khz is plotted against the difference between the real part of the complex admittance at 100 khz and the real part of the complex admittance at 500 khz . fig7 also shows a clear separation between the situations ‘ empty ’/‘ crs ’ and 5 %- female . the separation line corresponds to the capacitance threshold that depends on the difference between the real part of the complex admittance at 100 khz and the real part of the complex admittance at 500 khz , is again preferably stored in the detection circuit as one or more lookup tables . in this case , the detection circuit proceeds as follows : it measures the real and imaginary parts of the complex admittance at 100 khz and at 500 khz ( or another suitable frequency pair ). it then looks up the difference between the real parts in the lookup table and retrieves the capacitance threshold . it calculates the capacitance value at 500 khz based upon the imaginary part of the admittance and then compares the so - obtained capacitance value with the capacitance threshold : if the capacitance value at 500 khz is greater than the capacitance threshold , the detection circuit outputs a signal indicating that the seat is occupied , and if the capacitance value at 500 khz is less than the capacitance threshold , the detection circuit outputs a signal indicating that the seat is not occupied . as a complex admittance can be mathematically transferred into a complex impedance and vice versa ( i . e . the electrical load 34 representing the occupancy state on and the environmental condition in the seat may be described as a complex impedance instead of a complex admittance ), the detection circuit may be configured to work with the complex impedance instead of complex admittance . as those skilled in the art will appreciate , the capacitance can be calculated from the imaginary part of the admittance if the inductance of the common mode choke is known ( using the formula : im ( y )= ωc x − 1 /( ωl ), where y is the complex admittance , c x is the capacitance to be measured , l is the inductance of the common mode choke and ω is the radian frequency ( ω = 2πf ) of the measurement signal ). it may happen that the inductance of the common mode choke changes with temperature and ageing . in this case , one may use the following formula in order to obtain c x at a given frequency ω ( e . g . 2π * 100 khz or 2π * 500 khz in the above examples ): c x ( ω ) = ω 1 · i i 1 - ω 2 · i i 2 u · ( ω 1 2 - ω 2 2 ) , where ω 1 and ω 2 are two frequencies slightly offset from the frequency ω ( ω 1 = ω − δω , ω 2 = ω + δω , where δω is a small frequency offset , e . g . 5 khz ), i i1 and i i2 are the imaginary parts of the complex currents flowing into the heating element , measured at ω 1 and ω 2 , respectively , and u is the amplitude of the ac voltage applied by the signal generator at both frequencies ω 1 and ω 2 . it is worthwhile noting that the complexity of the sensing system can be reduced if only the imaginary part of the complex impedance / admittance 34 is measured , as in the example described with reference to fig6 . this may lead to cost savings . while specific embodiments have been described in detail , those with ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure . accordingly , the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention , which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof . | 1 |
the quantity of structuring agent st present in the reaction mixture intended to form the gel is advantageously such as to make the molar ratio st : al iii range from 0 . 1 to 4 , the said ratio preferably ranging from 0 . 1 to 2 . in particular , the ingredients making up the reaction mixture giving rise to the aluminosilicate gel are employed so that the said gel may have , in terms of molar ratios , the following composition : ______________________________________ advantageous preferred ranges ranges______________________________________si . sup . iv : al . sup . iii 2 to 20 4 to 10oh . sup .- : al . sup . iii 2 to 12 3 to 10st : al . sup . iii 0 . 1 to 4 0 . 1 to 2h . sub . 2 o : al . sup . iii 40 to 200 50 to 150______________________________________ examples of structuring agents corresponding to the formula given above are such as ethylene glycol methyl ether of formula ch 3 och 2 ch 2 oh , ethylene glycol dimethyl ether of formula ch 3 och 2 ch 2 och 3 , ethylene glycol of formula hoch 2 ch 2 oh , propylene glycol of formula hoch 2 ch 2 ch 2 oh , polyethylene glycol methyl ethers of formula ch 3 -- o -- ch 2 ch 2 o --] n -- h and polyethylene glycols of formula oh -- ch 2 ch 2 o --] n -- h with n &# 39 ; ranging from 2 to 9 , and especially tetraethylene glycol , pentaethylene glycol , hexaethylene glycol , heptaethylene glycol , octaethylene glycol and mixtures of such glycols , polypropylene glycols of formula ho -- ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 o --] n -- h with n &# 39 ; ranging from 2 to 9 , and especially tripropylene glycol and tetrapropylene glycol . the use of structuring agents according to the invention results in the formation of zeolites which have the faujasite cubic symmetry structure . among the sources of tetravalent silicon si iv which can be employed in the preparation of the reaction mixture intended to form the aluminosilicate gel there may be mentioned finely divided solid silicas in the form of hydrogels , aerogels or colloidal suspensions , water - soluble silicates such as alkali metal silicates like sodium silicate , and hydrolysable silicic esters such as tetraalkyl orthosilicates of formula si ( or ) 4 in which r denotes a c 1 - c 4 alkyl such as methyl and ethyl . the source of silicon is used in the form of a true aqueous solution , in the case of water - soluble silicates , or else of an aqueous suspension which may be colloidal , in the case of finely divided silicas . suitable sources of trivalent aluminium al iii are aluminium salts such as aluminium sulphate , nitrate , chloride , fluoride or acetate , aluminium oxides and hydroxyoxides , aluminates and especially alkali metal aluminates such as sodium aluminate , and aluminium esters such as aluminium trialkoxides of formula al ( or ) 3 in which r denotes a c 1 - c 4 alkyl radical such as methyl , ethyl or propyl . the source of hydroxide ions is chosen from strong inorganic bases , especially hydroxides of the alkali metals of group ia of the periodic classification of the elements and hydroxides of the alkaline - earth metals ca , sr and ba and strong organic bases , especially quaternary ammonium hydroxides , preference being given to inorganic bases and especially to sodium hydroxide naoh . the reaction mixture intended to form the aluminosilicate gel may also contain m n + cations of at least one metal m , of valency n , other than the metals whose hydroxides are strong bases , in an overall quantity such as to make the molar ratio m n + : al iii not more than 0 . 4 and preferably not more than 0 . 3 . the said m n + cations are introduced into the said reaction mixture in the form of salts such as sulphates , nitrates , chlorides or acetates , or else in the form of oxides . mixing of the ingredients constituting the reaction mixture intended to form the aluminosilicate gel may be performed in any order . the said mixing is advantageously carried out by first of all preparing , at room temperature , a basic aqueous solution containing a strong base , the structuring agent st and the cations m n + if they are employed , and then incorporating into this solution an aqueous solution of the source of trivalent aluminium and an aqueous solution or suspension , colloidal or otherwise , of the source of tetravalent silicon . the ph of the reaction mixture , whose value is higher than 10 , is preferably close to 13 . 5 . before proceeding to crystallise the gel , crystallization seeds may be added to the reaction mixture intended to form the said gel , in a quantity advantageously ranging from 0 . 1 % to 10 % by weight of the reaction mixture . the seeds may be produced either by grinding a zeolite of the faujasite type , that is to say of the same kind as the crystalline phase to be produced . in the absence of addition of seeds , it is advantageous to subject the aluminosilicate gel formed from the reaction mixture to a maturing operation in a closed vessel , at a temperature below the crystallization temperature for a period which may range from approximately 6 hours to approximately 6 days . the said maturing may be carried out in a static regime or with stirring . the crystallization of the aluminosilicate gel , with or without seed , is carried out by heating the reaction mixture to a temperature not exceeding 150 ° c . and preferably ranging from 90 ° c . to 120 ° c . and at a pressure corresponding at least to the autogenous pressure of the reaction mixture forming the gel . the heating period needed for the crystallization depends on the composition of the gel and on the crystallization temperature . it is generally between 2 hours and 30 days the crystals obtained , referred to as zeolite precursors and consisting of the zeolite trapping the structuring agent and the water of hydration of the cations in its pores and cavities , are separated from the crystallization medium by filtration and are then washed with distilled or deionised water until weakly basic wash liquors are obtained , that is to say whose ph is lower than 9 . the washed crystals are then dried in an oven at a temperature of between 50 ° c . and 100 ° c . and preferably in the region of 70 ° c . the zeolite is obtained from the crystals of the precursor - by subjecting the said crystals to a calcination at a temperature above 300 ° c . and preferably between 400 ° c . and 700 ° c . for a sufficient period to remove the structuring agent and the water of hydration of the cations present in the precursor . as indicated earlier , the zeolites prepared by the process according to the invention have si / al ratios higher than 1 and capable of exceeding 3 and have a structure of cubic symmetry of the type of that of faujasite . the characterisation of the products according to the invention , namely the precursors resulting from the crystallisation and the zeolites proper resulting from the calcination of the precursors , can be performed by employing the following techniques : in the electron microscope , the products of cubic structure are seen in forms which are compatible with cubic symmetry ( for example regular octahedra ). this diffraction pattern is obtained by means of a diffractometer using the traditional powder method with copper ka radiation . an internal standard enables the values of the angles 2θ associated with the diffraction peaks to be determined accurately . the various lattice - spacing distances ( d hk1 ) characteristic of the sample are calculated from the bragg relationship . the estimate of the error of measurement δ ( d hkl ) over d hkl is calculated , as a function of the absolute error δ ( 2θ ) associated with the measurement of 2θ , using the bragg relationship . in the presence of an internal standard , this error is reduced to a minimum and commonly taken as equal to ± 0 . 05 °. the relative intensity i / io associated with each d hkl is estimated from the height of the corresponding diffraction peak . a scale of notations is employed to characterise this relative intensity as follows : vs = very strong , s = strong , ms = medium strong , m = medium , nw = medium weak , w = weak , vw = very weak . the thermograms performed on the product samples make it possible to quantify the number of molecules of structuring agent and the number of molecules of water which are present in a unit cell of the structure . carbon 13 nmr in crossed polarisation with rotation at the magic angle performed on samples of the precursor enables the presence of the structuring agent in the cavities of the product to be confirmed . this can be carried out by resorting to one of the following techniques : the zeolites according to the invention of the faujasite type have a cubic structure exhibiting a value of the cubic cell parameter a of between 2 . 4 and 2 . 5 nm ; these cubic zeolites can be given the following formula reduced to one cell ( assembly of 192 tetrahedra ) with , in this formula , m 1 q + denoting a q - valent cation of a metal of group ia of the periodic classification of the elements ( q = 1 ) or of an alkaline - earth metal chosen from ca , sr and ba ( q = 2 ) or a monovalent cation containing nitrogen ( q = 1 ), especially ammonium or quaternary ammonium , m n + denoting a metal cation of valency n other than a cation m 1 q + , x , z , w and v being numbers such that 38 & lt ; x ≦ 96 , z ≧ 0 depending on the hydration state of the zeolite ( z = 0 for a completely anhydrous zeolite ), 0 & lt ; v ≦ x / q and 0 ≦ w ≧ x / n with qv + wn ≦ x . table i below shows the characteristic x - ray diffraction pattern of the cubic zeolites of the faujasite type after the products have been calcined for 4 hours at 500 ° c . in the d hkl column , average values of the lattice - spacing distances have been given . each of these values must be associated with the error of measurement δ ( d hkl ) of between ± 0 . 1 and ± 0 . 004 . the variations which can be observed in relation to these average values are essentially linked with the nature of the compensating cations and with the si / al ratio of the zeolite . the same remarks apply to the relative intensities i / io . table i______________________________________2θ ( degrees ) d . sub . hk1 ( 10 . sup .- 1 nm ) i / io______________________________________ 6 . 19 14 . 27 ± 0 . 2 vs10 . 13 8 . 72 ms11 . 89 7 . 43 ms15 . 64 5 . 66 ± 0 . 05 s18 . 70 4 . 74 ms20 . 36 4 . 36 ms22 . 81 3 . 89 vw23 . 68 3 . 75 s25 . 84 3 . 44 vw27 . 07 3 . 292 ± 0 . 008 ms27 . 95 3 . 189 w29 . 69 3 . 007 w30 . 77 2 . 903 mw31 . 44 2 . 843 ms______________________________________ the precursors of zeolites which are produced during the crystallization stage of the process according to the invention and whose calcination produces the zeolites whose formulae were defined above , are crystalline aluminosilicates exhibiting an si : al ratio higher than 1 and capable of exceeding 3 , which have the cubic structure of the faujasite corresponding to an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable to that given in table ii and which have cavities trapping molecules of structuring agent st , which are chosen from polyalkylene oxides whose formula has been defined above . table ii______________________________________2θ ( degrees ) d . sub . hk1 ( 10 . sup .- 1 nm ) i / io______________________________________ 6 . 24 14 . 13 ± 0 . 2 vs10 . 16 8 . 89 ms11 . 93 7 . 41 ms15 . 70 5 . 64 ± 0 . 05 s18 . 75 4 . 72 ms20 . 39 4 . 35 ms22 . 84 3 . 89 w23 . 69 3 . 75 s25 . 05 3 . 55 w25 . 94 3 . 43 w27 . 11 3 . 286 ± 0 . 008 s27 . 85 3 . 200 vw29 . 68 3 . 007 w30 . 77 2 . 903 mw______________________________________ the zeolites obtained by the process according to the invention can be employed in applications of the same type as the zeolites of similar structure and of comparable or lower si : al ratio which are prepared by closely related or different methods . thus , the zeolites obtained according to the invention are suitable as an adsorbent for performing the selective adsorption of molecules whose dimensions are below 0 . 8 nm or else , after having been subjected to exchange reactions with various cations , as catalysts or catalyst components which can be employed in catalytic conversion reactions of organic compounds and especially of hydrocarbon compounds . for example , the protonated form of the zeolite is obtained by an exchange treatment with ammonium cations followed by a calcination . this form , as well as those resulting from an exchange treatment with rare - earth cations such as lanthanum are suitable as acidic catalysts for hydrocracking petroleum feedstocks . the zeolites can also be subjected to exchange treatments with cations of metals of groups ii to viii of the periodic classification to form products which are suitable as catalysts for hydrocarbon conversion . for their application as catalysts , zeolites modified by exchange with cations endowing them with catalytic properties may be employed by themselves or in the form of composite products resulting from mixing these modified zeolites with other catalytically active products and / or with an amorphous matrix such as a silica gel or else a mixed gel of silica and of another oxide such as magnesia , alumina , titanium oxide or zirconium oxide , the said matrix being used , inter alia , to impart a better heat stability to the catalyst . composite catalysts associating one or more catalytically active zeolites with a matrix based on silica gel or a mixed gel of silica and another oxide are particularly suitable for operations in a moving bed or in a fluidised bed , because they can be easily shaped , for example by spray - drying an aqueous suspension of the ingredients of which they are composed , into particles which have the dimensions required for these operations . the following examples are given without any limitation being implied , to illustrate the invention . in these examples , the quantities and percentages are given by weight unless shown otherwise . an aluminosilicate gel was prepared first of all by operating as follows in a vessel of appropriate capacity , the contents of the said vessel being kept stirred throughout the operation . 9 parts of water followed by 0 . 58 parts of sodium hydroxide naoh were introduced into the vessel and , after the sodium hydroxide dissolved , 1 . 92 parts of structuring agent consisting of the methyl ether of a polyoxyethylene glycol with a number - average molecular mass mn equal to 350 . after all had dissolved , 1 part of sodium aluminate containing 56 % of al 2 o 3 and 37 % of na 2 o was then added to the contents of the vessel and the reaction mixture was heated slightly to dissolve the aluminate completely . after returning to room temperature , 8 . 2 parts of a colloidal suspension of silica containing 40 % of sio 2 and 60 % of water were then introduced into the vessel . an aluminosilicate gel was thus obtained , whose molar composition , reduced to one mole of al 2 o 3 , was the following : 10 sio . sub . 2 ; 1 al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ; 2 . 4 na . sub . 2 o ; 1 &# 34 ; peo . sub . 350 &# 34 ;; 140 h . sub . 2 o the abbreviation &# 34 ; peo 350 &# 34 ; denotes the structuring agent employed . the gel obtained was subjected to a maturing operation at room temperature for 48 hours in a closed vessel . the matured gel was then placed in an autoclave and kept in the latter at 110 ° c . for 20 days to form a crystalline product . the crystals formed were separated off from the reaction medium by filtration and were then washed with distilled water to a low basicity ( ph below 9 ) of wash liquors and were finally dried in an oven at approximately 60 ° c . the dried crystals were then calcined at 500 ° c . for 4 hours in order to remove the molecules of the structuring agent employed and to obtain the zeolite . before calcination , the crystalline product has an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable to that given in table ii , the said product additionally exhibiting an si : al ratio of 3 . 8 and containing water molecules and molecules of structuring agent in its micropores . the species occluded in the micropores of the zeolite ( water and structuring agent ) represent 24 . 7 % of the zeolite precursor . the zeolite formed by calcining the above crystalline product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that given in table i . the formula found for this zeolite , reduced to a cubic cell of 192 tetrahedra is written in the anhydrous state the procedure was as shown in example 1 , but with the following changes in the operating conditions gel preparation : 0 . 49 parts of sodium hydroxide and 3 . 84 parts of structuring agent ( same product as in example 1 ) before maturing , the aluminosilicate gel had the following molar composition , reduced to 1 mole of al 2 o 3 : 10 sio . sub . 2 ; 1 al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ; 2 . 2 na . sub . 2 o ; 2 &# 34 ; peo . sub . 350 &# 34 ;; 140 h . sub . 2 o before calcination , the crystalline product has an x - ray diffraction diagram comparable with that given in table ii . the said product exhibits an si : al ratio equal to 4 . 1 and contains water molecules and molecules of the structuring agent employed in its micropores . the species occluded in the micropores of the zeolite before calcination ( water and structuring agent ) represent 25 . 4 % of the zeolite precursor . the zeolite formed by calcining the crystalline precursor product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that given in table i . the formula found for this zeolite , reduced to a cubic cell of 192 tetrahedra , is written in the anhydrous state the procedure was as shown in example 1 , but with the following changes in the operating conditions gel preparation : 1 . 1 parts of structuring agent consisting of the monomethyl ether of a polyethylene glycol of molecular mass mn equal to 200 . before maturing , the aluminosilicate gel had the following molar composition , reduced to 1 mole of al 2 o 3 : 10 sio . sub . 2 ; 1 al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ; 2 . 4 na . sub . 2 o ; 1 &# 34 ; peo . sub . 200 &# 34 ;; 140 h . sub . 2 o the abbreviation &# 34 ; peo 200 &# 34 ; denotes the structuring agent employed . before calcination , the crystalline product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that given in table ii . this product additionally exhibits an si : al ratio of 3 . 6 and contains water molecules and molecules of the structuring agent employed in its micropores . the species occluded in the micropores of the zeolite ( h 2 o and structuring agent ) represent 25 . 7 % of the zeolite precursor . the zeolite formed by calcining the above precursor product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that of table i . the formula found for this zeolite , reduced to a cubic cell of 192 tetrahedra , is written in the anhydrous state : the procedure was as shown in example 1 , but with the following changes in the operating conditions gel preparation : 3 . 3 parts of structuring agent consisting of the monomethyl ether of a polyethylene glycol of molecular mass equal to 300 and 0 . 53 parts of sodium hydroxide before maturing , the aluminosilicate gel had the following molar composition , reduced to 1 mole of al 2 o 3 : 10 sio . sub . 2 ; 2 . 3 na . sub . 2 o ; 1 al . sub . 2 o3 ; 2 &# 34 ; peo . sub . 300 &# 34 ;; 140 h . sub . 2 o before calcination , the crystalline product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that in table ii . the said product additionally exhibits an si : al ratio equal to 3 . 8 and contains water molecules and molecules of the structuring agent employed in its micropores . the species occluded in the micropores of the zeolite ( h 2 o and structuring agent ) denote 24 . 5 % of the zeolite precursor ). the zeolite formed by calcining the above precursor product exhibits an x - ray diffraction pattern comparable with that of table i . the formula found for this zeolite , reduced to a cubic cell of 192 tetrahedra , is written in the anhydrous state : | 8 |
listed below are definitions of various terms used in the description of this invention . these definitions apply to the terms as they are used throughout this specification , unless otherwise limited in specific instances , either individually or as part of a larger group . the terms &# 34 ; alkyl &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; alkoxy &# 34 ; refer to both straight and branched , unsubstituted chains of carbon atoms . those chains having 1 to 5 carbon atoms are preferred . methyl and methoxy are the most preferred alkyl and alkoxy groups , respectively . the term &# 34 ; aryl &# 34 ; refers to phenyl and substituted phenyl . preferred substituted phenyl groups are those substituted with 1 , 2 or 3 halogen , hydroxyl , hydroxyalkyl , alkyl , alkoxy , carbamoyl , carboxamide , acylamino or carboxyl moieties . &# 34 ; hydroxyalkyl &# 34 ; refers to straight and branched alkyl groups including one or more hydroxy radicals such as -- ch 2 ch 2 oh , -- ch 2 ch 2 ohch 2 oh , ch ( ch 2 oh ) 2 and the like . ( see , for example , sovak , m ., editor , radiocontrast aaents , springer - verlag , 1984 , pp . 1 - 125 ). the term &# 34 ; aralkyl &# 34 ; refers to an aryl group bonded through an alkyl group . the term &# 34 ; ether &# 34 ; refers to an alkyl or aryl oxide of the general type -- r -- o -- r where each r is independently alkyl or aryl . the term &# 34 ; carbocyclic ring &# 34 ; refers to a ring system in which all the ring atoms are carbon , e . g ., phenyl or cyclohexyl . the ring may be unsubstituted or substituted by , for example , alkyl , halogen , hydroxy , alkoxy , alkanoyl , alkanoyloxy , amino , alkylamino , dialkylamino , alkanoylamino , thiol , alkylthiol , nitro , cyano , carboxy , carbamoyl , alkoxycarbonyl , alkylsulfonyl , sulfonamido and the like . the term &# 34 ; alkylamino &# 34 ; refers to the group -- nhr where r is alkyl . the term &# 34 ; dialkylamino &# 34 ; refers to the group -- nrr &# 39 ; where r and r &# 39 ; are each , independently , alkyl . the term &# 34 ; alkylthiol &# 34 ; refers to the group -- sr where r is alkyl . the term &# 34 ; carboxy &# 34 ; refers to the group -- c ( o ) oh or the group -- c ( o ) or where r is alkyl . the term &# 34 ; alkylsulfonyl &# 34 ; refers to the group alkyl - so 2 --. the term &# 34 ; sulfonamido &# 34 ; refers to the group -- so 2 nh 2 , the group -- so 2 nhr or the group -- so 2 nrr &# 39 ; where r and r &# 39 ; are each , independently , alkyl . the term &# 34 ; carbamoyl &# 34 ; refers to the group -- c ( o ) nh 2 , the group -- c ( o ) nhr or the group -- c ( o ) nrr &# 39 ; where r and r &# 39 ; are each , independently , alkyl , alkoxy or hydroxyalkyl . the term &# 34 ; carboxamide &# 34 ; refers to the group -- c ( o ) nh 2 , the group -- c ( o ) nhr or the group -- c ( o ) nrr &# 39 ; where r and r &# 39 ; are each , independently , alkyl . the term &# 34 ; acylamino &# 34 ; refers to the group -- nh -- c ( o )-- r where r is alkyl . most preferred are those compounds wherein both r 1 and r 2 and r 3 and r 4 form a fused fully saturated cyclohexyl ring , r 5 is ## str10 ## r 6 is -- h and p is zero . the compounds of formula i , and salts thereof , may be complexed with a paramagnetic metal atom and used as relaxation enhancement agents for magnetic resonance imaging . these agents , when administered to a mammalian host ( e . g ., a human ) distribute in various concentrations to different tissues , and catalyze relaxation of protons ( in the tissues ) that have been excited by the absorption of radiofrequency energy from a magnetic resonance imager . this acceleration of the rate of relaxation of the excited protons provides for an image of different contrast when the host is scanned with a magnetic resonance imager . the magnetic resonance imager is used to record images at various times , generally either before and after administration of the agents , or after administration only , and the differences in the images created by the agents &# 39 ; presence in tissues are used in diagnosis . in proton magnetic resonance imaging , paramagnetic metal atoms such as gadolinium ( iii ), and manganese ( ii ), chromium ( iii ) and iron ( iii ) ( all are paramagnetic metal atoms with favorable electronic properties ) are preferred as metals complexed by the ligands of formula i . gadolinium ( iii ) is the most preferred complexed metal due to the fact that it has the highest paramagnetism , it has low toxicity when complexed to a suitable ligand , and it has high lability of coordinated water . the metal - chelating ligands of the present invention can be complexed with a lanthanide ( atomic number 58 to 71 ) and used as chemical shift agents in magnetic resonance imaging or in magnetic resonance in vivo spectroscopy . paramagnetic metal complexes of the present invention are particularly useful as hepatobiliary agents , i . e ., for magnetic resonance imaging of the liver and bile ducts . while the above - described uses for the metal - chelating ligands of the present invention are preferred , those working in the diagnostic arts will appreciate that the ligands can also be complexed with the appropriate metals and used as contrast agents in other imaging techniques such as x - ray imaging , radionuclide imaging and ultrasound imaging , and in radiotherapy . to use the ligands of the present invention for imaging , they are first complexed with an appropriate metal . this may be accomplished by methodology known in the art . for example , the metal can be added to water in the form of an oxide or in the form of a halide or acetate and treated with an equimolar amount of a ligand of the present invention . the ligand can be added as an aqueous solution or suspension . dilute acid or base can be added ( where appropriate ) to maintain a suitable ph . heating at temperatures as high as 100 ° c . for periods of up to 24 hours or more may sometimes be employed to facilitate complexation , depending on the metal and the chelator , and their concentrations . pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the metal complexes of the ligands of this invention are also useful as imaging agents . they can be prepared by using a base ( e . g ., an alkali metal hydroxide , meglumine , arginine or lysine ) to neutralize the above - prepared metal complexes while they are still in solution . some of the metal complexes are formally uncharged and do not need cations as counterions . such neutral complexes may be preferred as intravenously administered x - ray and nmr imaging agents over charged complexes because they may provide solutions of greater physiologic tolerance due to their lower osmolality . however , for use as hepatobiliary agents , negatively charged ligands are preferred . the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising a compound of formula i , or a salt thereof , optionally complexed with a metal , and a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle or diluent . the present invention further provides a method for diagnostic imaging comprising the steps of administering to a host a compound of the formula i , or a salt thereof , which is complexed with a metal , and obtaining a diagnostic image , preferably a magnetic resonance image , of said host . sterile aqueous solutions of the chelate complexes of the present invention are preferably administered to mammals ( e . g ., humans ) orally , intrathecally and , especially , intravenously in concentrations of 0 . 003 to 1 . 0 molar . use of the metal complexes of the present invention as hepatobiliary agents is preferred . for example , for visualization of the liver , the dose is preferably 0 . 03 to 0 . 3 millimole / kilogram . while visualization of the liver and bile ducts is preferred , the metal complexes of the present invention may be employed for visualization of other sites . for example , for the visualization of brain lesions using magnetic resonance imaging , a gadolinium complex of a ligand of formula i may be administered intravenously at a dose of 0 . 05 to 0 . 5 millimoles of the complex per kilogram of body weight , preferably at a dose of 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 millimoles / kilogram . for visualization of the kidneys , the dose is preferably 0 . 05 to 0 . 20 millimoles / kilogram . for visualization of the heart , the dose is preferably 0 . 05 to 0 . 3 millimoles / kilogram . the ph of the formulation of the present metal complexes is preferably between about 6 . 0 and 8 . 0 , most preferably between about 6 . 5 and 7 . 5 . physiologically acceptable buffers ( e . g ., tris ( hydroxymethyl )- aminomethane ) and other physiologically acceptable additives ( e . g ., stabilizers such as parabens ) may also be present . it is also advantageous to employ dual scavenging excipients such as those described in copending application u . s . ser . no . 032 , 763 , filed mar . 15 , 1993 , entitled &# 34 ; dual functioning excipient for metal chelate contrast agents &# 34 ;, incorporated herein by reference . those excipients have a general formula corresponding to : wherein d and d &# 39 ; are independently ca or zn , l &# 39 ; is an organic ligand which may be different from , or the same as , the ligand employed to complex the metal , and s and t are independently 1 , 2 or 3 . the compounds of formula i can be prepared according to the following general scheme : ## str11 ## all stereoisomers of the compounds and complexes of the present invention are contemplated herein , whether alone ( that is , substantially free of other isomers ), in a mixture of certain stereoisomers ( for example , as a racemate ) or in any other mixture thereof . the invention will now be further described by the following examples . these examples are illustrative rather than limiting . sodium carbonate ( 226 g ., 2 . 13 mol .) and trans - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ( 14 . 1 ml ., 117 mmol .) were added to a solution of n , n &# 39 ;- dichloroacetylethylenediamine ( 25 g ., 117 mmol .) in dry acetonitrile ( 3 . 75 l .) under nitrogen . n , n &# 39 ;- dichloroacetylethylenediamine was prepared as reported by lin w . c ., fiqueira , j . a . d and alt , h . g . in &# 34 ; new multidentate potential inophors of ether - amide type &# 34 ;, monat . chem ., 1985 , 116 , 217 - 221 . the reaction mixture was refluxed for 20 hours . the insoluble material formed was filtered off and the volume of the filtrate was reduced to 1 l . by evaporation . crystals of the compound ( a ) slowly formed at room temperature . they were collected by filtration and the product was purified by crystallization in acetonitrile . the yield was 7 . 43 g . of a white solid . the acetonitrile solution obtained after filtration of compound ( a ) was concentrated and several fractions of crystallization were collected . the mass spectrum ( fab ) and the 1 h and 13 c nmr spectra of each fraction was recorded and the fractions containing primarily the same compound were combined . each fraction was crystallized twice from acetonitrile . the fractions obtained at the end of the crystallization process contained the dimeric octaaza and the trimeric dodecaaza monocyclic analogs of compound a . dried compound ( a ) ( 2 . 54 g ., 10 mmol .) was added under nitrogen to a 1m solution of bh 3 in tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ., 100 mmol .). the reaction mixture was refluxed overnight . after cooling , water was added dropwise until the excess of bh 3 was completely eliminated . the resulting suspension was brought to dryness in a rotary evaporator and the remaining solid was added to 140 ml . of a 6m hydrochloric acid solution . the temperature was maintained at 100 ° c . overnight . water was eliminated under vacuum and the solid residue was dissolved in a minimum amount of water . lioh . h 2 o was added to give a ph adjusted to 12 - 13 . the mixture was extracted three times with methylene chloride . the combined organic fractions were dried ( magnesium sulfate ), filtered , and evaporated to give 2 g . of compound ( b ) as a white solid . bromoacetic acid ( 11 . 9 g ., 86 mmol .) was dissolved in water ( 25 ml .). the temperature of the solution was lowered to 5 ° c . in an ice bath and the acid was neutralized with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 3 . 43 g ., 86 mmol . in 13 ml . water ). compound ( b ) ( 3 . 24 g ., 14 . 3 mmol .) was added to the solution of sodium bromoacetate and the temperature was raised to 70 °- 80 ° c . the ph was maintained between 9 and 10 by the dropwise addition of a solution of sodium hydroxide ( 3 . 43 g ., 86 mmol .) in water ( 13 ml .). at the end of the addition , the temperature was maintained at 70 °- 80 ° c . for 6 hours . the volume of the reaction mixture was then brought down to 40 ml . and the ph was acidified to 3 with 6m hydrochloric acid . an insoluble material formed rapidly . it was filtered and recrystallized in water until no trace of glycolic acid could be found by nmr . a second fraction of the title compound was obtained after further concentration of the reaction mixture . the two fractions were combined and 3 . 6 g . of the title compound as a white solid was obtained after recrystallization in water . mass spectrum ( fab ): m / e 459 ( m + h ) and 481 ( m + na ). n , n &# 39 ;- bis ( chloroacetyl )- trans - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane was prepared according to the procedure outlined by saburi , m . and yoshikawa , s ., &# 34 ; stereochemical studies of n - methyl -( s )- alaninatocobalt ( iii ) complexes with chiral tetraamines . ii . cobalt ( iii )- n - methyl ( s )- and ( r )- alaninate - n , n &# 39 ;- bis ( β - aminoethyl )- 1 ( r ), 2 ( r )- diaminocyclohexane systems ,&# 34 ; bull . chem . soc . jpn ., 1974 , 47 , 1184 - 1189 . anhydrous sodium carbonate ( 250 g ., 2 . 36 mol .) was added to a solution of 33 . 4 g . ( 125 mmol .) of n , n &# 39 ;- bis ( chloroacetyl )- trans - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane and 15 ml . ( 125 mmol .) of trans - 1 , 2diaminocyclohexane in 3750 ml . of acetonitrile . the temperature was raised to 82 ° c ., and the reaction mixture was violently agitated for 20 hours . at the end of the reaction , sodium carbonate was eliminated by filtration and the solvent was evaporated under vacuum . the solid residue was recrystallized from ethanol . up to five successive batches of the desired compound were obtained after the progressive concentration of the ethanolic solution under vacuum . the yield was 9 . 6 g . of compound ( a ) as a white powder . a 1m solution of bh 3 in tetrahydrofuran ( 265 ml .) was slowly added to 10 . 2 g . ( 33 . 1 mmol .) of compound ( a ). the solution was boiled for 24 hours . water was then added dropwise to destroy the excess bh3 and the reaction mixture was brought to dryness . the solid residue was added to 265 ml . of a 6m hydrochloric acid solution and the mixture was refluxed overnight . hydrochloric acid was eliminated under vacuum . the residue was digested in ethanol , filtered and dissolved in water . concentrated ammonia was added until the ph became strongly basic . the inorganic precipitate that formed was filtered off and the filtrate was extracted with methylene chloride yielding 6 . 3 g . of compound ( b ) as a white solid after elimination of the solvent . a suspension in 90 ml . of dried dimethylformamide was prepared by mixing 1 . 88 g . ( 6 . 7 mmol .) of compound ( b ), 3 . 72 ml . ( 33 . 5 mmol .) of br -- ch 2 cooc 2 h 5 , and 4 . 63 g . ( 33 . 5 mmol .) of potassium carbonate . the mixture was heated at 90 ° c . under nitrogen for 12 hours . the suspension was filtered and a solution of lioh . h 2 o ( 3 . 09 g ., 73 . 6 mmol .) in 90 ml . water was added to the filtrate . the mixture was refluxed for 2 hours . the solvent was eliminated under vacuum and the residue was dissolved in a minimum amount of water . the ph was adjusted to 3 - 4 with concentrated hydrochloric acid and a colorless compound crystallized out . it was easily recrystallized in boiling water . after drying under vacuum , 1 . 05 g . of the title compound as a white powder was obtained . 13 c nmr ( d 2 o , 320k , strongly acid ph , ppm vs tms ): 174 . 2 , 66 . 8 , 66 . 6 , 58 . 3 , 52 . 8 , 52 . 1 , 49 . 6 , 27 . 8 , 26 . 9 , 26 . 5 . mass spectrum ( fab ): m / e 281 ( m + h ). into a 5 l . erlenmeyer flask containing 5 l . of anhydrous acetonitrile was placed 17 . 4 g . ( 65 mmol .) of n , n &# 39 ;- bis ( chloroacetyl )- trans - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ( see example 2 ), 6 . 8 g . ( 65 mmol .) of 2 -( 2 - aminoethylamino ) ethanol and 130 g . ( 1 . 23 mmol .) of sodium carbonate . the reaction mixture was heated at 82 ° c . under nitrogen for 50 hours . after eliminating sodium carbonate by filtration , acetonitrile was eliminated under vacuum until the volume was reduced to 500 ml . a precipitate formed immediately and the reaction mixture was stirred for several hours at room temperature . the precipitate was filtered off and was washed with a few ml . of acetonitrile and dried under vacuum . 8 . 2 g . of compound ( a ) was obtained as a white solid . into a dry flask under nitrogen was placed 3 . 00 g . ( 10 mmol .) of compound ( a ) and 100 ml . of a 1m solution of bh 3 . thf in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran . the reaction mixture was refluxed for 12 hours . water was added dropwise until no reaction was taking place with the excess of bh 3 . thf . the solvent was stripped off on a rotary evaporator after addition of a few ml . of methanol to avoid excessive foaming . the solid residue was treated with about 10 ml . of a concentrated solution of liof . h 2 o until the ph reached 12 - 13 . this aqueous phase was extracted 6 times with 100 ml . of methylene chloride . the extracts were collected and dried over magnesium sulfate . the solvent was removed under vacuum to yield 2 . 62 g . of compound ( b ) as a white powder that was used in the next step without further purification . to a solution of 3 . 19 g . ( 23 mmol .) of bromoacetic acid in 10 ml . of water chilled in an ice bath was added dropwise 0 . 92 g . ( 23 mmol .) of sodium hydroxide dissolved in 5 ml . of water while maintaining the temperature below 5 ° c . this mixture was added to a solution of 1 . 38 g . ( 5 . 1 mmol .) of compound ( b ) dissolved in 5 ml . of water . the reaction mixture was heated to 70 °- 80 ° c . and a solution of 0 . 92 g . of sodium hydroxide ( 23 mmol .) in 5 ml . of water was added dropwise while maintaining the ph in the 9 - 10 range . after completing the addition of sodium hydroxide , the reaction mixture was agitated for 12 additional hours at 70 °- 80 ° c . the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and the ph was brought to 3 by addition of a 6m hydrochloric acid solution . the solution was applied to a cation exchange resin ( h + form ). after washing with water , the macrocyclic ligand was eluted with 0 . 5m aqueous ammonia . obtained after rotary evaporation was 1 . 66 g . of the title compound as the ammonium salt . the acid form was obtained by elution on an anion exchange column ( formate form ) with 0 . 5m formic acid . 13 c nmr ( d 20 , strongly acid ph , ppm vs tms ): 177 . 6 , 175 . 4 , 170 . 4 , 67 . 7 , 59 . 9 , 57 . 9 , 57 . 2 , 54 . 9 , 53 . 4 , 52 . 2 , 51 . 9 , 49 . 9 , 48 . 9 , 48 . 3 , 26 . 0 - 25 . 6 . mass spectrum ( fab ): title compound in the acid form , m / e 445 ( m + h ). trans - 2 , 3 - diamino - 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrahydronaphthalene was prepared as reported by yano , t ., kobayashi , h . and ueno , k ., &# 34 ; stereospecific syntheses and acid dissociation of 2 , 3 - diaminotetralins and 2 , 3 - diamino - trans - decalins &# 34 ;, bull . chem . soc . jpn ., 1973 46 , 985 - 990 . in a 2 l . flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer and a refluxed condenser were placed 5 . 38 g . ( 33 . 16 mmol .) of trans - 2 , 3 - diamino - 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrahydronaphthalene and 1 l . of anhydrous acetonitrile . n , n &# 39 ;- dichloroacetylethylenediamine ( 7 . 06 g ., 33 . 16 mmol .) and 64 g . ( 0 . 60 mol .) of anhydrous sodium carbonate were added to the solution . after 20 hours at 90 ° c ., the reaction mixture was filtered and the filtrate was evaporated until the volume was reduced to 500 ml . a precipitate formed slowly when the solution was allowed to stand at room temperature overnight . it was filtered off and dried under vacuum . the yield was 5 . 52 g . of a brownish powder . compound ( a ) was isolated by adding the powder to 500 ml . of water at 50 ° c . a brown viscous oil did not dissolve and was eliminated by filtration . the remaining aqueous solution was concentrated under vacuum until white crystals were formed . after letting the solution stand overnight at room temperature , 3 . 73 g . of compound ( a ) were collected by filtration . the reaction mixture left after isolation of compound ( a ) was concentrated further by evaporation of the acetonitrile but it yielded only the dimeric form , m . p . 230 °- 231 ° c . the reduction of compound ( a ) was accomplished by adding 1 . 5 g . ( 4 . 96 mmol ) under a nitrogen sparge to 50 ml . of a 1m solution of bh 3 . thf in dry tetrahydrofuran . the reaction mixture was left boiling for 12 hours . the reaction mixture was chilled in an ice bath and water was slowly added until the generation of hydrogen could no longer be observed . the solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator and the remaining solid was suspended in 50 ml . of 6m hydrochloric acid . the reaction mixture was refluxed overnight . the volatiles were removed on a rotary evaporator . the excess of hydrochloric acid was eliminated by dissolving the remaining solid in water and by evaporating the solution under reduced pressure . this procedure had to be repeated three times . the solid residue obtained after the elimination of the hydrochloric acid in excess was dissolved in 30 ml . of water , and a concentrated solution of lioh . h 2 o was added until the ph reached 12 - 13 . the solution was extracted with 200 ml . of dichloromethane . the organic phase was separated by decantation and was dried ( magnesium sulfate ), filtered and evaporated to give 1 . 06 g . of a yellowish vitreous solid . an analytically pure sample was obtained by recrystallization of the tetraamine as the hydrochloride salt . bromoacetic acid ( 7 . 14 g ., 51 . 4 mmol .) was dissolved in 20 ml . of water and was slowly neutralized by the dropwise addition of a solution of 2 . 05 g . ( 51 . 2 mmol .) of sodium hydroxide in 10 ml . of water while maintaining the temperature below 5 ° c . the reaction mixture was added to a solution of 2 . 35 g . ( 8 . 57 mmol .) of compound ( b ) in 10 ml . of water . the temperature was raised to 70 °- 80 ° c . and the ph was maintained between 9 and 10 by the dropwise addition of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 2 . 05 g ., 51 . 42 mmol . in 10 ml . of water ). the addition of sodium hydroxide was completed after 5 hours and the reaction mixture was left at 70 °- 80 ° c . overnight . after cooling , the volume of the reaction mixture was reduced to 45 ml . on a rotary evaporator and a 6m solution of hydrochloric acid was added dropwise until the ph was lowered to 3 . a beige precipitate ( 3 . 5 g .) formed immediately . it was collected by filtration , recrystallized in water ( colorless needles ) and dried under vacuum . 13 c nmr ( d 2 o , strongly basic medium , ppm vs tms ): 182 . 2 , 182 . 1 , 161 . 9 , 161 . 8 , 140 . 9 , 140 . 3 , 129 . 9 , 129 . 5 , 128 . 8 , 128 . 2 , 64 . 0 , 60 . 7 , 59 . 9 , 58 . 1 , 57 . 3 , 56 . 1 , 55 . 1 , 54 . 9 , 51 . 0 , 50 . 6 , 50 . 4 , 46 . 6 , 28 . 4 . mass spectrum ( fab ): m / e 507 ( m + h ). a solution of 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ( 100 g ., 0 . 88 mole ) in methylene chloride ( 875 ml .) was cooled to 5 ° c . in an ice bath . the reaction mixture was treated concurrently with 1 ) a solution of chloroacetyl chloride ( 298 g ., 2 . 64 mmol ) in methylene chloride ( 1050 ml . ), and 2 ) a solution of potassium carbonate ( 279 g ., 2 . 02 mol .) in water ( 280 ml . ), dropwise . after the addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred an additional 2 hours at ambient temperature . the reaction mixture was filtered . this reaction was repeated on the same scale . the solid remaining after filtration was combined with the above sample , and both were washed with 2 × 1000 ml . ice - cold water to afford 278 g . ( 60 %) of compound ( a ) as a white solid . a solution of trans - 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ( 15 ml ., 125 mmol .) and compound ( a ) ( 33 . 4 g ., 125 mmol .) in acetonitrile ( 3000 ml .) was treated with sodium carbonate ( 250 g ., 2 . 36 mmol .) and the mixture was heated to reflux under nitrogen . the progress of the reaction was monitored by hplc by noting the disappearance of starting materials along with the formation of a new peak corresponding to the desired product . the reaction was cooled to ambient temperature , and filtered to remove sodium carbonate . this solution was concentrated in vacuo to afford crude product which was recrystallized from absolute ethanol to afford 9 . 2 g . ( 24 %) of the trans - syn - trans isomer , compound ( b ), as a white solid with a melting point of 251 °- 271 ° c . a suspension of compound ( b ) ( 5 . 1 g ., 16 . 5 mmol .) in freshly distilled tetrahydrofuran ( 250 ml .) was cooled to 0 ° c . under nitrogen , and treated dropwise with a solution of diborane in tetrahydrofuran ( 1m , 132 ml ., 132 mmol .). after the addition was complete , the reaction mixture was heated to reflux under nitrogen overnight . after 24 hours , the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 ° c ., and the excess diborane was destroyed by the dropwise addition of 20 % water in tetrahydrofuran ( about 100 ml .). the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was treated with 132 ml . of 6n hydrochloric acid , and heated to reflux overnight . the mixture was concentrated to dryness in vacuo . the residue was taken up in water and adjusted to ph 12 . 5 with concentrated sodium hydroxide . this material was extracted with methylene chloride and concentrated in vacuo to afford 3 . 4 g . ( 74 %) of desired compound ( c ) as a white solid . a solution of l - benzyl lactate ( 7 . 95 g ., 44 . 1 mmol .) and pyridine ( 3 . 66 g ., 46 . 3 mmol .) in methylene chloride ( 40 ml .) at 0 ° c . under nitrogen was treated with triflic anhydride ( 12 . 44 g ., 44 . 1 mmol .) dropwise , via syringe . after 20 hours , silica gel tlc run in hexanes : methylene chloride ( 1 : 1 , v / v ) indicated formation of a single spot , as well as disappearance of the starting lactate . the pyridinium triflate was filtered , and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to afford crude product . this material was flashed on 200 g . of silica gel , eluting with hexanes : methylene chloride ( 2 : 1 , v / v ). the product - containing fractions were pooled to afford 5 . 4 g . ( 39 %) of compound ( d ) as a colorless , light oil . a solution of compound ( c ) ( 1 . 37 g ., 4 . 91 mmol .) in acetonitrile ( 25 ml .) under nitrogen was treated with powdered potassium carbonate ( 3 . 38 g ., 24 . 5 mmol .). the reaction mixture was treated with compound ( d ) ( 6 . 75 g ., 21 . 6 mmol . ), dropwise , via syringe . after 22 hours , the reaction mixture was diluted with 50 ml . of acetonitrile and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo . the residue was suspended in 100 ml . of water , and extracted with 4 × 100 ml . of methylene chloride . the organic extracts were dried ( magnesium sulfate ) and concentrated in vacuo to afford 4 . 6 g . ( 101 %) of product as a light , pale yellow oil . this material was flash chromatographed in 450 g . of silica gel , eluting with 4 liters of hexanes : ethyl acetate ( 3 : 1 , v / v ), followed by 2 liters of hexanes : ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 , v / v ). the product - containing fractions were pooled to afford 1 . 62 g . ( 35 %) of compound ( e ) as a viscous , pale yellow oil . a solution of compound ( e ) in methanol ( 6 ml .) and 2m aqueous hydrochloric acid ( 2 . 5 ml .) was treated with 10 % pd / c ( wet , degussa type ), and the reaction mixture was subjected to a steady stream of hydrogen gas at 1 atmosphere . after 22 hours , the reaction mixture was filtered through celite ®, and washed with 2m aqueous hydrochloric acid . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo and lyophilized from water to afford 870 mg . ( 73 %) of . 4 hydrochloric acid salt . this material was combined with 75 mg . of previous crude product from an identical preparation , and the resulting solid was dissolved in 100 ml . of water . this solution was adjusted to ph 7 . 5 with concentrated ammonium hydroxide . the resulting solution was applied to a 2 . 5 × 45 cm column of ag1 - x2 ( formate form ) anion exchange resin , and eluted with water to remove inorganic salts . the compound was eluted with a gradient from 2000 ml . of water to 2000 ml . of 0 . 2n formic acid . two separate fractions were collected and lyophilized : fraction 1 : 425 mg . ( 40 % of theoretical ), hplc purity ( see below )= 99 . 4 %; fraction 2 : 100 mg . ( 10 % of theoretical ), hplc purity = 94 . 8 %. hplc : retention time = 8 . 39 min ., purity = 99 . 4 %; conditions : column : prp - x - 100 5μ - 100 ° a , 250 × 4 . 6 mm i . d . ; solvent : ch 3 cn / 50 mm phosphate buffer , ph 6 . 2 ( 1 : 4 , v / v ); flow rate : 1 . 0 ml / minute ; detection : uv @ 220 nm . ir : ( kbr ) 2942 and 2866 ( ch stretching ), 1723 and 1623 ( c = o ) cm 1 . mass spectrum : ( fab ) 569 + ( m + h ) + , 523 + ( m + h - cooh )+, 497 + ( m + h - ch ( ch 3 ) cooh ) + . anal . calc &# 39 ; d . for c 28 h 48 n 4 o 8 . 2 . 56 water ( 614 . 8 ): c , 54 . 70 ; h , 8 . 71 ; n , 9 . 11 ; o , 27 . 48 . found : c , 54 . 31 ; h , 8 . 94 ; n , 8 . 91 . in an oven - dried 2 - neck , round - bottomed flask equipped with a dewar condenser and septum , a stirred solution of freshly distilled fumaryl dichloride ( 13 . 0 ml ., 110 mmol .) in dry ethyl ether ( 50 ml .) was cooled to - 50 ° c . under a dry nitrogen atmosphere . condensed butadiene ( 40 ml .) was added via cannula to the solution , and the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature . the solution was allowed to reflux spontaneously for 3 hours , after which the excess butadiene and ethyl ether were removed in vacuo . the colorless oil was dissolved in dry 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 50 ml .) and the solution was treated with azidotrimethylsilane ( 34 ml ., 250 mmol .). nitrogen evolution was initiated using an 80 -° 85 ° c . oil bath and the reaction mixture was heated at 105 ° c overnight . the solution was cooled to room temperature , diluted with acetone ( 75 ml . ), and cautiously treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 35 ml .). the hydrochloric acid salt of the diamine was collected by filtration and was washed with acetone and ethyl ether . 14 . 4 g . ( 64 . 69 %) of compound ( a ) was obtained as a white powder . a solution of 1 , 2 - diaminocyclohexane ( 50 . 0 g ., 438 mmol .) in methylene chloride ( 438 ml .) was cooled to 0 °- 5 ° c . and vigorously stirred with a mechanical stirrer . to it was concurrently added solutions of chloroacetyl chloride ( 105 ml ., 1 . 28 mmol .) in methylene chloride ( 430 ml .) and potassium carbonate ( 139 . 5 g ., 1 . 01 mol .) in water ( 279 ml .) over a period of 4 hours , and the resultant mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight . the suspension was filtered and the solid was thoroughly washed with ice - cold water to remove potassium carbonate . the layers in the filtrate were separated and the organic layer was concentrated to near dryness . the mixture was filtered and the solid was treated as before . the recovered solids were combined and dried in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . over phosphorus pentoxide . the yield of compound ( b ) was 109 . 77 g . ( 93 . 84 %) as a white solid . a suspension containg compound ( b ) ( 33 . 4 g ., 125 mmol ), compound ( a ) ( 23 . 1 g ., 125 mmol ., hydrochloride salt ) and anhydrous sodium carbonate ( 250 g . , 2 . 36 mmol . ) in acetonitrile ( 3750 ml . ) was vigorously stirred and refluxed for 26 hours . after cooling , sodium carbonate was removed by filtration and the filtrate was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure . the solid residue ( 22 . 1 g .) was recrystallized from ethanol ( 150 ml .) and afforded 7 . 95 g . of a material which contained two isomers . a single , pure isomer ( 1 . 28 g .) was obtained by a second recrystallization step . the original mother liquor furnished 1 . 97 g . more of the isomeric material . the mother liquor from the second crystallization was dried under vacuum and combined with the second crop of crystals . a portion of the material ( 3 . 22 g .) was purified by silica gel chromatography using methylene chloride : methanol ( 4 : 1 v / v ) as the eluant to afford an additional 2 . 104 ( 65 % recovery ) of the pure product . the yield was 9 . 92 g . ( 26 %) of the mixed isomer product . a mixture containing compound ( c ) ( 3 . 45 g ., 11 . 3 mmol .) and 1m l / a / h 4 ( 40ml .) in tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml .) was refluxed for 21 hours under a dry nitrogen atmosphere . the solution was cooled and the excess lah was decomposed by the careful addition of a saturated aqueous solution of rochelles &# 39 ; s salt ( 10 ml .). absolute ethanol ( 50 ml .) was added to the suspension and the mixture was refluxed overnight . after filtration , the residual product in the filter cake was extracted by treatment of the solid with hot ethanol ( 2 × 100 ml .). the filtrates were combined and evaporated to afford 4 . 0 g . of a brownish mass . crystallization from acetonitrile gave off - white crystals which dissolved in ethyl ether and hexane washes . a portion of this material ( 400 mg ., 1 . 6 mmol .) was converted to the hydrochloride salt by treatment with methanolic hydrochloric acid ( 7 ml .). a mixture containing crude compound ( d ) ( 1 . 05 g ., 3 . 77 mmol . ), anhydrous potassium carbonate ( 2 . 61 g ., 18 . 8 mmol .) and t - butyl bromoacetate ( 3 . 23 g ., 16 . 6 mmol .) was heated at 50 °- 55 ° c . overnight under a dry nitrogen atmosphere . after cooling , the reaction mixture was diluted with acetonitrile ( 10 ml . ), filtered , and the filter cake was washed with an additional 10 ml . of acetonitrile . the filtrates were combined and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was suspended in water ( 25 ml .) and was extracted with methylene chloride ( 4 × 10 ml .). the organic layer was washed with brine ( 40 ml . ), dried over magnesium sulfate , and evaporated to dryness to afford 2 . 35 g . of crude tetraester . deprotection of the crude tetraester was accomplished by overnight treatment of the ester with anisole ( 12 ml .) and tfa ( 100 ml .) under a dry nitrogen atmosphere . the tfa was removed in vacuo and the residue was repeatedly dissolved in water and concentrated under reduced pressure until the solution was free of cloudiness . the crude product ( 2 . 0 g .) was dissolved in water ( 50 ml . ), neutralized to ph 7 . 0 and purified by ag - 1 ( 1 . 5 × 30 cm , formate ) anion exchange chromatography . the column was washed with a linear gradient of formic acid ( 0 to 0 . 2n formic acid , 2 l . each ), and the product was eluted at approximately 0 . 05n formic acid . the fractions containg pure product were combined , evaporated to dryness , dissolved in water and lyophilized to afford 541 mg . ( 45 %) of the title compound as a fluffy white material . hplc : column : prpx - 100 , 5μ , 250 × 4 . 6 mm . conditions : 20 % ch 3 cn in 50 mm nah 2 po 4 ( ph 6 . 2 ); flowrate : 1 . 0 ml ./ min . ; detector : uv at 220 nm . ; t r = 7 . 31 minutes . ir ( kbr , cm - 1 ): 2940 ( ch stretching ); 1717 ( c = o stretching ); 1636 ( c = c stretching ). ms ( ppinci nh 3 / dep 100 , m / z ): 511 ( m + h ) + . anal . calc &# 39 ; d . for c 24 h 38 n 4 o 8 . 2 . 28 h 2 o : c , 52 . 26 ; h , 7 . 78 ; n , 10 . 16 ; o , 29 . 81 found : c , 52 . 27 ; h , 7 . 84 ; n , 10 . 01 ; h 2 o , 7 . 44 % ( desorption kf ). the synthesis of trans - 4 - cyclohexene - 1 , 2 - diamine has been reported by witiak et al . ( j . med . chem . 1987 , 30 , 1327 - 1336 ). trans - 4 - cyclohexene - 1 , 2 - diamine ( 9 . 25 g ., 82 . 5 mmol .) and n , n &# 39 ;- dichloroacethylenediamine ( 17 . 55 g ., 82 . 5 mmol .) were dissolved in 2700 ml . of acetonitrile . anhydrous sodium carbonate ( 158 g ., 1 . 5 mol .) was added to the solution and the mixture was refluxed for 23 hours . after cooling , the insoluble salt was filtered off and the filtrate was brought to dryness . the solid residue was recrystallized in about 20 ml , of hot ethanol . compound ( a ) ( 0 . 8 g ., 3 . 17 mmol .) was added under nitrogen to 100 ml . of diglyme that had been dried and distilled over lithium aluminum hydride . the compound solubilized when the temperature was increased . lithium aluminum hydride ( 3 . 91 g ., 0 . 1 mol .) was added to the warm solution and the temperature was brought to 100 ° c . the reaction mixture was agitated for 15 days . after cooling , excess hydride was destroyed by the careful addition of ethyl acetate and water . the insoluble material was filtered off and washed with water and ethanol . the solvents were eliminated under vacuum at 80 ° c . the residue was dissolved in hydrochloric acid 6m and the solution was brought to dryness on a rotary evaporator . the residue was added to about 20 ml . of ethanol . the suspension was refluxed for one hour and then kept overnight at 4 ° c . the precipitate was filtered and dried under vacuum . the free amine was obtained by adding the hydrochloride to trichloromethane and saturated with dry ammonia . the suspension was agitated overnight and the insoluble ammonium chloride was filtered off . the solvent was eliminated and 0 . 57 g . of a viscous liquid remained . bromoacetic acid ( 0 . 63 g ., 4 . 5 mol .) was dissolved in water and was slowly neutralized below 5 ° c . with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide ( 0 . 18 g ., 4 . 55 mmol ., in 2 ml . of water ). this solution was added to a solution of compound ( b ) ( 0 . 17 g ., 0 . 76 mmol .) in 3 ml . of water . the reaction mixture was heated at 70 °- 80 ° c . and a solution of sodium hydroxide ( 0 . 18 g ., 4 . 55 mmol ., in 2 ml . of water ) was added dropwise over 5 hours so as to maintain the ph between 9 and 10 . the agitation was continued overnight at 80 ° c . the ph was lowered to 3 with concentrated hydrochloric acid and the reaction mixture was slowly concentrated under a stream of air . the title compound easily formed crystals and was recrystallized in a small volume of water . yield : 45 %, 0 . 15 g . 13 c nmr ( in d 2 o , protonated form ): 177 . 6 , 177 . 0 , 173 . 0 , 172 . 8 , 127 . 5 , 124 . 7 , 64 . 5 , 58 . 4 , 57 . 3 , 57 . 0 , 55 . 7 , 53 . 6 , 52 . 5 , 52 . 4 , 50 . 2 , 48 . 8 , 47 . 6 , 26 . 0 , 25 . 4 mass spectrum ( sample in 3 - nitrobenzyl alcohol ): m / e 479 ( m + na ), 501 ( m - h + 2 na ). the dihydrochloride of the compound of example 7 ( 0 . 2 g ., 0 . 38 mmol .) was dissolved in 4 ml . of water and the ph was adjusted to 6 . n - bromosuccinimide ( 0 . 07 g ., 0 . 38 mmol .) was added to this solution at 10 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred at 10 ° c . for one hour until n - bromosuccinimide was totally dissolved . the clear solution was kept overnight at 4 ° c . the solvent was stripped off in a rotary evaporator and in the dark . the solid residue was dissolved in a minimum amount of methanol , and acetone was added until the solution became slightly cloudy . the compound was left to crystallize overnight at 4 ° c ., and was collected by filtration in the dark . yield : 0 . 07 g ., 45 % 13 c nmr ( in d 2 o , protonated form ): 179 . 2 , 178 . 6 , 173 . 1 , 172 . 5 , 71 . 6 , 63 . 2 , 62 . 8 , 58 . 5 , 58 . 4 , 57 . 2 , 56 . 7 , 56 . 0 , 53 . 7 , 52 . 9 , 52 . 6 , 51 . 7 , 50 . 2 , 49 . 4 , 48 . 0 , 47 . 7 , 29 . 2 , 28 . 9 , 27 . 8 , 27 . 1 mass spectrum : ( sample in 3 - nitrobenzyl alcohol ): m / e 575 and 577 ( m + na ), 597 and 599 ( m - h + 2 na ). all gadolinium ( iii ) complexes were prepared by adjusting the ph of a stoichiometric mixture of gadolinium trichloride and one of the ligands reported in examples 1 - 8 in water . the complexation reactions were started at about ph 3 and the solutions were heated to 60 ° c . for about 10 minutes before each addition of a few drops of a diluted aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide . the addition of sodium hydroxide was stopped when the ph reached 6 . 5 . the complexation reactions were completed in a minimum of 3 to 4 hours and often require one full day . each solution was concentrated and the products were purified by preparative hplc . evaporation of the appropriate fractions yielded colorless solids . | 8 |
hpv type 16 e7 protein sequence ( nc — 001526 , seq . id . no . 3 ) was found in the database of national center for biotechnology information ( ncbi ), u . s . a ., 98 amino acid were collected in total . the method disclosed in taiwan patent application number 92126644 was conducted to express hpv16 e7 protein by e . coli system in large scale . modification of the nucleotides in the present embodiment is to replace single base of wild type virus sequence with another base that expressed well in e . coli system , allowing target proteins expressed in e . coli the same as that expressed naturally . the modified sequence of hpv16 e7 nucleotide is seq . id . no . 1 . eight pairs of primers were used for the synthesis of polynucleotides in the present example . the polynucleotide are synthesized by polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ). the sequence of all primers are shown in table 1 . the sequences underlined represent as complementary fragments to a specific sequences . at first , f1 and r1 primers are used to perform polyneucleotides synthesis by pcr without dna template . there are 15 bases designed for complementary to each other at 3 ′ end of the both primers , and a double strand dna template was obtained thereby . after the first pcr , 1 μl of amplicon was used as dna template to conduct the second pcr , and 4 μl of primers of f1 , r2 , required dntps , reagent and pfu polymerase were mixed to perform the second pcr . the modified nucleotide sequence seq . id . no . 1 was synthesized after eight times of pcr as described above . signal peptides with kdel sequence are prepared in the same method illustrated above . the primer sequence is shown as k3f and k3r in table 1 . the peptide sequence of the synthesized kdel is seq . id . no . 2 . the e7 product obtained from pcr in example 1 is separated by 5 % polyacrylamide agarose gel . the target product is purified according to the molecular weight of the product . vectorvectors pet or ppe ( δiii ) are provided ( j . r . chen , c . w . liao , s , j . t . mao , and c . n . weng , vet . microbiol . 80 ( 2001 ) 347 - 357 ) and digested with restriction endonuclease as well as vector the purified e7 . another electrophoresis is conducted with 5 % polyacrylamide agarose gel for further isolating and purifying . then 0 . 3 kb of e7 sequence fragment is obtained . 7 . 84 kb plasmid pe ( δiii ) is further constructed by ligasing the e7 fragment and the vectorvector , which comprises exotoxin a ( eta ) but without enzyme toxic section . moreover , a plasmid ppe ( δiii )- e7 containing the fusion protein pe ( δiii )- e7 , and a 3 . 83 kb plasmid pe7 containing e7 fragment and pet23a are also constructed . a 3 . 78 kb pkdel3 plasmid which encodes n ′- kdelrdelkdel polypeptide fragment is obtained by digesting , purifying the amplicon ( obtained from pcr with k3 - f , and k3 - r primers ), and further inserting into the site of sall - xhol of vector pet23a . a 8 . 0 kb plasmid ppe ( diii )- e7 - k3 encoding fusion protein pe ( δiii )- e7 - k3 is obtained by digesting 1 . 47 kb kdel sequence from pkdel3 plasmid by restriction endonuclease sall and pstl , and further inserting into the spliced 6 . 5 kb , pe ( δiii )- e7 plasmid dna which is spliced by splicing by xholl and pstl . the flow chart of preparing plasmid mentioned above is as shown in fig1 . the plasmid constructed above is further transformed to e . coli and maintained in the bacteria strain jm108 . the plasmid synthesized above is further transformed into e . coli bl21 ( de3 ) plys strain . the transformed e . coli bl21 ( de3 ) plys strain is cultured in the 200 ml lb culture medium containing 200 μg / ml ampicillin until the culture concentration reach 0 . 3 under od550 spectrum . then after 1 mm iptg ( isopropylthio - β - d - galactoside , promege , usa ) is added , the e . coli bl21 ( de3 ) plys strain is cultured for 2 hours . the grown cells are collected by centrifugation . a freeze - thraw method is conducted to the target protein contained cells to loose the structure of cell membrane . 10 ml lysis buffer ( 0 . 3 mg / ml lysozyme , 1 mm pmsf and 0 . 06 mg / ml dnase i ) is added to the cultured cells , and then placed at room temperature for 20 minutes . 1 ml 10 % triton x - 100 is added , and placed at room temperature for 10 minutes . the target proteins are released and collected by centrifugation at a rate of 1200 × g for 10 minutes , resulting pallet was washed with 1m or 2m urea . at the end , the collected protein of inclusion body is dissolved in 8 ml 8m urea . the fusion proteins were then purified under the his - tag system in the denatured condition as the manufacturer &# 39 ; s manual ( novagen , usa ). the denatured samples in 8m urea were loaded into a column packed with a nta - ni2 + - bind agarose resin . the bound proteins were then eluted with different ph buffer ( from 8 . 0 , 7 . 0 , 6 . 5 , 6 . 0 , 5 , 4 , and 3 . 5 ) containing 6m urea , 0 . 3m nacl , and 20 mm tris - hcl and 20 mm phosphate buffer . after purified , protein elution fractions were analyzed for the purity and quantification by sds - page analysis as described previously . the purified protein product contained the amino acid sequence as shown in sqe : id . no . 3 . hpv16 e6 , e7 and ras oncogene were used to transform primary lung epithelial cells of c57bl / 6 mice . this tumorigenic cell line was named tc - 1 . tc - 1 cells were grown in rpmi 1640 , supplemented with 10 % ( vol / vol ) fetal bovine serum , 50 units / ml penicillin / streptomycin , 2 mm l - glutamine , 1 mm sodium pyruvate , 2 mm nonessential amino acids and 0 . 4 mg / ml g418 at 37 ° c . with 5 % co 2 . on the day of tumor challenge , tumor cells were harvested by trypsinization , washed twice with 1 × hanks buffered salt solution ( hbss ) and finally resuspended in 1 × hbss to the designated concentration for injection . the testing protein samples : e7 , pe ( δiii ), pe ( δiii )- e7 , pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 are diluted with a phosphate buffer solution in a ratio of 1 : 10 to make the concentration at 0 . 1 mg / ml . then the test samples are incubated at 37 ° c . for 2 hours . the incubated samples are mixed with 10 % isa206 ( sepec , france ) by a vortex to form 4 kinds of different vaccines . then 0 . 1 mg of each vaccine obtained is injected to the mice for vaccination . these mice were then boosted subcutaneously two weeks later with the same regimen as the first vaccination . one week after last vaccination , mice were challenged with 5 × 10 4 tc - 1 tumor cells by subcutaneous injection in the right leg . naive mice received the same amount of tc - 1 cells to assess natural tumor growth control . tumor growth was monitored by visual inspection and palpation twice weekly until 7 , 14 , 20 , 30 , and 60 days after after tumor challenge . the spleens of the sacrificed mice are also taken out for further checking . as shown in fig2 , no cancer cells are found in the mice injected with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 . in other words , the percentage of the pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 - injected mice without cancer cells is 100 %. moreover , even 60 days later , none of the pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 - injected mice has cancer . in contrary , cancer cells can be found in the mice injected with e7 , pe ( δiii ), or pe ( δiii )- e7 , or the mice of control . the longest period without cancer cells among these mice is 20 days . according to the result of the experiment , only fusion protein include the sequence of pe ( δiii ), and kdel3 , and the fragment of e7 can prevent and inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the cancer - inducing model illustrated above . mice are injected , and cancer - induced as described in example 5 . one week later , the mice are sacrificed and the spleen macrophages are taken out . before intracellular cytokine staining , 3 . 5 × 10 5 pooled splenocytes from each vaccinated group were incubated for 16 hours with either 1 μg / ml of e7 peptide ( aa 49 - 57 ) containing an mhc class i epitope for detecting e7 - specific cd8 + t cell precursors . cell surface marker staining of cd8 + or cd4 + and intracellular cytokine staining for ifn - γ , as well as facscan analysis , were performed using conditions described by cheng , et al . ( hum gene ther , 13 : 553 - 568 , 2002 ) to compare the e7 - sepcific immunological assays in mice received different regimens of vaccination . in the present example , it is confirmed that pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 has influence for e7 specific immunization , as shown in fig3 . in the mice of the group injected with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 , it is founded that the numbers of e7 - specific ifn - γ - secreting cd8 + t cell precursors in pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 group were higher than those in the other groups ( 10 . 0 ± 11 . 4 in nave group , 14 . 0 ± 2 . 1 in e7 group , 12 . 0 ± 2 . 1 in pe ( δiii ) group , 36 . 0 ± 2 . 8 in pe ( δiii )- e7 group , 564 . 0 ± 28 . 0 in pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 , avona ). according to the result above , the number of e7 - specific ifn - γ (+) cd8 (+) t cell precursors of the mice vaccinated with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein is 40 times higher than that vaccinated with e7 . mice are vaccinated with 0 . 1 mg of the e7 , pe ( δiii ), pe ( δiii )- e7 , pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 fusion proteins as described in example 5 . further boosts after one and two weeks later with the same regimen as the first vaccination are conducted . the mouse serum is collected at the 7 th day after the last immunization . briefly , a 96 - microwell plate was coated with 100 μl of bacteria - derived hpv - 16 e7 proteins ( 0 . 5 μg / ml ) and incubated at 4 ° c . overnight . the wells were then blocked with phosphate - buffered saline ( pbs ) containing 20 % feta bovine serum . sera were prepared from mice of various vaccinated groupd serially diluted in pbs , added to the elisa wells , and incubated at 37 ° c . for 2 hr . after washing with pbs containing 0 . 05 % tween 20 , the plate was incubated with a 1 : 2000 dilution of a peroxidase - conjugated rabbit anti - mouse igg antibody ( zymed , san francisco , calif .) at room temperature for 1 hr . the plate was washed , developed with 1 - step turbo tmb - elisa ( pierce , rockford , ill . ), and stopped with 1 m h 2 so4 . the elisa plate was read with a standard elisa reader at 450 nm . c57bl / 6 mice were immunized subcutaneously with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 mixed 10 % isa206 adjuvant one to three times . sera were prepared and the e7 - specific antibody titers were detected by the elisa as described earlier . in the present example , it is further confirmed that pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 is able to improve the potency of resisting e7 antibody . as shown in fig4 , mice vaccinated with the pe ( δiii )- kdel / e7 protein generate highest titers of anti - e7 ab &# 39 ; s in the sera of mice compared with those vaccinated with other fusion protein ( for 1 : 100 dilution , 0 . 629 ± 0 . 093 in naïve group , 0 . 882 ± 0 . 086 in e7 group , 0 . 690 ± 0 . 06 in pe ( δiii ) group , 0 . 930 ± 2 . 80 . 06 in pe ( δiii )- e7 group , 3 . 593 ± 0 . 54 in pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 , avona ). apparently , pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein could also enhance the titer of anti - e7 antibody . the data showed that pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 fusion protein could enhance e7 - specific immunological responses ( including the numbers of e7 - specific cd4 + and cd8 + t lymphocytes and the titers of e7 - specific antibodies ). all the obtained readings are expressed with mean value and mean ± sem . the compared data from the experiment will be processed anova analysis by statistical package for social sciences , spss 9 . 0 , spss inc , chicago , ill . ; there is a significant difference of the data if the statistical error is under 0 . 05 . in many cases , peptides or proteins are poorly immunogenic and hardly induce a response when they injected alone . hence , an adjuvant is usually injected together with peptides or proteins . examples of such adjuvants include bcg , incomplete freund &# 39 ; s adjuvant , cwellra toxin b , gm - csf , isa206 and il - 12 , wherein isa206 is used for the protein adjuvant of the present embodiment . the fusion proteins here are pe ( δiii )- e7 , and pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 . the process of mice vaccination was the same as that described above in examples 5 and 6 . samples of fusion proteins were mixed with or without 10 % isa206 adjuvant ( seppic , france ). the result is shown in fig5 , wherein the first sample group ( i . e . the blank sample group ) showed no significant immune response for e7 specific cd 8 + t lymphocytes stimulation . the same result can be found in the second sample group . in other words , no matter e7 is included in the vaccine or not , there is no significant numbers of antibody induced by the vaccine composition without adjuvants . however , the numbers of e7 specific cd 8 + t lymphocytes is about 600 , which is 500 - 600 times higher than that induced by the vaccine composition without adjuvant . as shown in fig6 , the period for preventing the proliferation of cancer in the induced mice by administrating ( through injection ) the mice with the vaccine composition having pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 and adjuvant is 60 days . in contrary , for the mice administrated with the vaccine composition of pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 without an adjuvant , the population of the mice with tumor is almost the same as that of the control group which is not vaccinated with fusion proteins of the present invention . mice immunized with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein alone ( i . e . without an adjuvant ) could not generate potent e7 - specific immunological responses and anti - tumor effects ( data not shown ). however , according to the result , vaccine compositions of pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein of the present invention comprising an adjuvant is preferred for application for capability to induce optimal immunological responses . in vivo tumor treatment experiments were performed using a lung hematogenous spread model . c57bl / 6 mice mice ( five per group ) were challenged with 5 × 10 4 cells / mouse tc - 1 tumor cells via tail vein . two days after tumor challenge , mice received 0 . 1 mg / mouse of e7 , pe ( δiii ), pe ( δiii )- e7 or pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein vaccines subcutaneously , followed by a booster with the same regimen every 7 days for 2 weeks ( a total of four times , 0 . 3 mg protein ). mice receiving no vaccination were used as a negative control . mice were sacrificed and lungs were explanted on day 30 . the pulmonary tumor nodules in each mouse were evaluated and counted by experimenters blinded to sample identity . the representative figures of pulmonary tumor nodules in various protein - vaccinated groups are shown in fig7 a and 7b . as shown in fig7 a , only the mice accepting the pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 fusion protein don &# 39 ; t have lung cancer . the mean lung weight ( 214 . 4 ± 11 . 6 ) of the mice treated with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 showed significantly lower than those of mice treated with pe ( δiii )- e7 ( 673 . 6 ± 20 . 8 ) or wild - type e7 protein ( 811 . 1 ± 45 . 6 ) ( one - way anova , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) these data indicated that mice treated with pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 could control established e7 - expressing tumors in the lungs . evaluation of the e7 - specific immunological profiles of the mice immunized with different times of pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein vaccine could reflect the anti tumor effects of the mice . as described earlier in examples 5 and 6 , mice were challenged with tc - 1 tumor cells and then received 0 . 1 mg pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel3 protein from one to three times as described earlier . mice were sacrificed on day 30 and the pulmonary tumor nodules in each mouse were evaluated and counted as described earlier . as shown in fig8 a , all of the naïve mice and mice immunized one time of pe ( δiii )- kdel3 protein vaccine grew tumors within 14 days after tumor cell tc - 1 challenged . and 60 % or 100 % of mice immunized with 2 or 3 times of pe ( δiii )- kdel3 protein vaccine were tumor - free 60 days after tumor challenge , respectively . similar phenomena were also observed in the tumor treatment experiments as described in example 9 . the pulmonary tumor nodules decreased significantly from one to three shots of pe ( δiii )- kdel3 protein vaccine ( 103 . 0 ± 3 . 8 for one time , 28 . 8 ± 6 . 1 for two times , 0 . 6 ± 0 . 4 for three times , p & lt ; 0 . 001 , anova ) our results show that increasing shots of pe ( δiii )- kdel3 protein vaccine could improve the preventive and therapeutic anti - tumor effects of e7 - expressing tumor cells . pe ( δiii )- e7 - kdel protein could enhance mhc class i presentation of e7 in cells expressing this fusion protein to enhance e7 - specific cd8 + t - cell activity in vivo . according to the examples illustrated above , the fusion protein of the present invention can enhance the stimulation of the precursor of e7 specific cd 8 + t lymphocytes and cd 4 + t lymphocytes by enhancing the presentation of the e7 antigen through mhc i and ii . the concentration of the e7 specific antibody can be increased through the mechanism illustrated above . moreover , the cancer induced by e7 can be inhibited or prevented through the administration of the fusion protein of the present invention . in addition , the mice vaccinated by the fusion protein of the present invention have longer time for inhibiting cancer . although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . | 0 |
please refer to fig1 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention . the electronic device 10 can be a laptop , mobile phone , camera , mp 3 player or any portable electronic device , where a battery 102 supplies operation power for a system circuit 100 . in detail , the battery 102 and the system circuit 100 are connected via a connector 104 . when the connector 104 and the system circuit 100 are connected correctly , a storage unit 106 discharges electricity to the system circuit 100 to provide the operation power . besides , a switch 108 is set between the storage unit 106 and the connector 104 , and controlled by a control module 110 for switching a power supply link between the storage unit 106 and the connector 104 . an operating principle of the control module 110 controlling the switch 108 is based on whether a control signal ctrl generated by a signal generating unit 112 conforms to a predefined rule . when the control signal ctrl generated by the signal generating unit 112 conforms to the predefined rule , the control module 110 turns off the switch 108 for a predetermined duration and recovers the power supply link , so as to reset the system circuit 100 . in other words , the combination of the control module 110 and the signal generating unit 112 realizes a reset control device . in short , when a user intends to reset the system circuit 100 , the user can utilize the signal generating unit 112 to generate the control signal ctrl conforming to the predefined rule , and accordingly , the control module 110 turns off the switch 108 for the predetermined duration and turns on the switch 108 at once . since the switch 108 is installed in the power supply link between the storage unit 106 and the system circuit 100 , when the switch 108 is turned off and turned on , the system circuit 100 is correspondingly turned off and turned on , i . e . a reset procedure is finished . in other words , the present invention switches power supply , to directly control power of the system circuit 100 , to achieve the purpose of reset . noticeably , fig1 is to illustrate the conception of the present invention , and all numerous modifications and alterations based on the present invention are the scope of the present invention , and are not limited hereinafter . for example , the method of the signal generating unit 112 generating the control signal ctrl is not limited , and the predefined rule mentioned in the above can be properly adjusted according to realization of the signal generating unit 112 . for example , if the signal generating unit 112 is realized by a button , the predefined rule can be a period of the button being continuously enabled exceeds a predefined value , such as 4 seconds . in such a condition , the signal generating unit 112 can be realized by an original button of the system circuit 100 , such as a power supply button . that is , when a period of the power supply button being pressed exceeds 4 seconds , the control module 110 determines the control signal ctrl generated by the signal generating unit 112 conforms to the predefined rule , so as to turn off the switch 108 and turn on the switch 108 again . in addition , the signal generating unit 112 can be realized by a plurality of buttons , and the predefined rule can be the plurality of buttons are simultaneously enabled . for example , suppose the electronic device 10 is a laptop , the signal generating unit 112 is composed of buttons f1 , f2 and f3 of the laptop , and the predefined rule is the buttons f1 , f2 and f3 are simultaneously pressed . in such a condition , when the user wants to reset the laptop , the user can achieve the reset procedure by simultaneously pressing the buttons f1 , f2 and f3 , such that the power supply link is disconnected and recovered . besides , as shown in fig1 , the battery 102 can be any type of battery , e . g . alkaline battery or rechargeable battery . on the other hand , the control module 110 is installed in the battery 102 , and may comprise more than one control unit . for example , as shown in fig2 , the control module 110 comprises a battery gas gauge chip 200 and an analog front end ( afe ) chip 202 . the battery gas gauge chip 200 can monitor a capacity of the storage unit 106 as well as determine whether the control signal ctrl conforms to the predefined rule . when a determined result generated by the battery gas gauge chip 200 indicates the control signal ctrl conforms to the predefined rule , the afe chip 202 turns off the switch 108 for the predetermined duration and turns on the switch 108 , to finish the reset procedure . operations of the control module 110 and the signal generating unit 112 can further be summarized into a reset control process 30 as shown in fig3 . the reset control process 30 comprises the following steps : step 302 : the signal generating unit 112 generates the control signal ctrl to the control module 110 . step 304 : the control module 110 disconnects the power supply link between the battery 102 and the system circuit 110 for the predetermined duration and recovers the power supply link , when the control signal ctrl conforms to the predefined rule , so as to reset the system circuit 100 . detail illustration and alteration of the reset control process 30 are referred in the above , and are not narrated hereinafter . in the prior art , although the reset button can reset the portable electronic device , there is a need to add the corresponding button onto the housing , which limits flexibility of the external design . in comparison , the present invention can determine whether to disconnect the power supply link and to recover the power supply link , i . e . reset the portable electronic device , according to the predefined rule , such as whether a button is continuously enabled or whether a plurality of buttons are simultaneously enabled . therefore , the reset button is not needed , so as to increase flexibility of the external design . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . | 6 |
a detailed description of the illustrated embodiments of the present invention is provided below . the disclosed embodiments are examples of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms . the figures are not necessarily to scale . some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components . the specific structural and functional details disclosed in this application are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to practice the invention . referring to fig1 and 2 , a front seat area 100 of a vehicle 102 is illustrated . a dashboard 106 has an end - cap 108 . a storage compartment 110 , or valuables safe , is provided in the end - cap 108 and extends into an otherwise unused area in front of the dashboard 106 . the storage compartment 110 is provided with a compartment door 112 that retains loose articles within the storage compartment 110 . the storage compartment 110 is secured by closing the front driver &# 39 ; s door of the vehicle that is not shown in the drawing of fig1 , but is described with reference to fig5 - 7 . a storage compartment 110 and door 112 may also exist on the right end - cap . referring to fig3 , an alternative storage compartment 300 is provided in a door 302 that is connected by hinges 304 to the vehicle 305 . an end - cap 306 of a dashboard 308 is provided on the vehicle 305 that secures the storage compartment 300 when the vehicle door 302 is closed . a compartment door 310 is provided for the storage compartment 300 to secure loose articles within the storage compartment 300 . referring to fig4 , a rear seat area 400 of a vehicle 402 is illustrated . a storage compartment 404 is provided in the door frame possibly near the wheel housing 406 of the vehicle 402 . the storage compartment 404 may be closed by a compartment door 408 to secure loose articles within the storage compartment 404 . alternatively , the storage compartment 404 could be provided in another area of the door frame such as in a c - pillar 410 located above the wheel housing 406 . vehicle system 500 shown in fig5 illustrates a typical double - locking ( dl ) latching system . in dl systems , the latch 512 , 522 , 532 , 542 is a purely mechanical latch that is actuated by cables or linkages between the external handle and the latch and between the internal handle and the latch . a locking motor assembly 511 , 521 , 531 , 541 controlled by door ecu 510 , 520 , 530 , 540 is used to toggle a mechanical gear in the mechanical latch between locked and unlocked states as controlled by the central body control module ( bcm ) 505 . when locked , the door cannot be opened using the external handle but may be opened using the interior handle . further , in dl systems , the locking motor assembly 511 , 521 , 531 , 541 has a second motor that toggles a different gear that disassociates the interior handle from the mechanical latch 512 , 522 , 532 , 542 such that the door will not unlatch if someone tries to open it from the interior handle . once the vehicle system 500 is placed in the double - locked state when both the door is locked and the interior handle is disassociated , the vehicle system 500 will remain locked even if power is removed . the dl latching system is a highly secure form of security system that forces thieves to attack the vehicle through the windows . vehicles with dl typically only allow the feature to be enabled via a key - blade in the driver door , or a double - push and confirmation feedback mode via a key fob 551 to mitigate entrapment risks . actuation of the dl latching system is not allowed when the vehicle is running or moving to expedite exit post - crash . entry into dl via a cell phone 561 or other long distance remote device is not normally permitted due to the lack of visibility of the cabin . in vehicle system 500 , the subject small valuables safe or storage compartment 110 , 300 , 404 , could be located on any or all doors in markets where dl is allowed and commonly used by customers . this would allow one or more passengers to have their own personal safe associated with each door . further , because the dl state is maintained regardless of the availability of vehicle battery power , there is no need to relocate the hood release lever or door locking related power fuses to the door pillar . for the subject contents safe feature , only selected doors , but not all doors , are allowed to be placed in dl mode even if the remainder of the vehicle is unlocked . this allows the valuables safe feature to be provided on some but not all of the doors in vehicles that have the dl feature . one or more but not all doors may be designated as a double locked valuables safe that remains locked even if one or more of the other vehicle doors are unlocked . a rear door that is rarely used may be provided with the storage compartment 110 , 300 , 404 . the rear door would then remain double - locked even when the other doors are unlocked to add greater security for the valuables safe when the vehicle is given to a valet or service person . depending on regulations in a given country , the door may be required to be removed from dl mode when the vehicle is running and / or in motion . in europe , child locking of the rear doors via dl is permitted . under this regulation , one or more rear doors may be provided with the valuable safe in dl mode when the vehicle is running provided they are removed from dl mode within a few seconds after a vehicle crash event . this can be accomplished by bcm 505 receiving a crash notification from the vehicle restraints control module ( rcm ) 507 . in a vehicle system 500 where not all doors are placed in dl mode , it may be preferable that the vehicle center stack display 570 or a remotely connected device such as a cell phone 561 be used as a graphic user interface ( gui ) for configuration and selection of the door to be designated to lock to form the valuables safe . communication between the configuration application gui and the vehicle could be accomplished via bluetooth between remote access device 561 and a vehicle bluetooth transceiver 572 . alternatively , a cellular connection from remote access device 561 to a service delivery network may be used to communicate with a telematics control unit ( tcu ) or transceiver 560 located in the vehicle . other access devices , such as a tablet or a personal computer ( pc ), may be interfaced with the vehicle . to balance security and convenience , this gui could allow the customer to specify vehicle operation states for the valuables safe to include one or more of the following features : specifying that the door ( s ) be placed in dl state ; instructing that if the dl state is to be maintained when other doors are locked ; instructing that the dl state is to be maintained when the vehicle is running ; defining the code for unlocking the door from a phone 561 or the gui 570 ; instructing to enter the dl valuable safe mode from the phone 561 , vehicle gui 570 , or vehicle key fob 551 ; and / or instructing the vehicle to send an alert when the door has been unlocked via the code or the door was opened while in the dl valuables safe state , and other logical configurations . on vehicles with an exterior door keypad the factory default code could be the same as the factory default keypad code and / or secondary custom codes that are allowed to be added . on vehicles without an exterior door keypad , the customer may select a code and program the valuables safe by some other secure means such as having both vehicle keys present and recognized when programming the valuables safe code . vehicle system 600 shown in fig6 illustrates a typical standard locking latching system with an overlay cinching controller 610 , 620 , 630 , 640 for the purpose of pulling the door firmly closed . a cinching apparatus can be incorporated in a door with a conventional mechanical latch or a door with an electronic latch ( i . e ., e - latch ). vehicle system 600 only addresses cinching a door closed with a mechanical latch . cinching controllers are used in vehicle applications where it is desirable to increase the firmness or durometer of the rubber grommet around the door periphery to create a better seal . a firmer door seal reduces wind noise , road noise , and improves water sealing . a firm seal also comes with the trade - off as to higher door closing effort . when all the windows , moon roof , and other doors are closed , closing the remaining door works against both the air pressure of the cabin and the seal of the door being closed . increasing the seal firmness makes it even harder to close . however , use of cinch motor and electronic cinching unit ( ecu ) controller allows the customer to gently close the door to a partially open position until the cinch controller catches the door in a “ secondary position ” where it is slightly ajar . once the ecu controller 610 , 620 , 630 , 640 recognizes the door is in the secondary position , a pawl is driven by a cinch motor that pulls the door to its primary closed and latched position . once the door has been verified by the ecu controller 610 , 620 , 630 , 640 to be fully latched , the pawl will be driven back to an open waiting position for next door closing event . during the period where the pawl is cinching the door closed and is preparing to return to an open position ( typically 2 - 3 seconds ), the door cannot be opened from either the external or internal handle for this 2 - 3 second period . if the pawl is driven to a cinch position and remains in the cinched state , it cannot be overridden by a mechanical back - up handle or removal of main battery power . there is no need to relocate the hood release lever or cinch related power fuses to the door pillar because the cinch state is maintained regardless of the availability of vehicle battery power . double - locking can be implemented by keeping the cinching pawl closed to create a valuables safe in vehicle system 600 by forcing all doors or one or more specified doors , into a state where the cinch pawl is fixed in the cinch ( or closed ) position until commanded otherwise to release . cinch based vehicle system 600 has a latch 612 , 620 , 632 , 642 that is a purely mechanical latch that is actuated by cables or linkages between the external handle and the latch , and between the internal handle and latch . a locking motor assembly 611 , 621 , 631 , 641 is controlled by bcm 505 to apply one of two voltage polarities to toggle a mechanical gear in the mechanical latch between locked and unlocked states . the central bcm 505 may be the arbitrator that establishes the locking state of the vehicle . when a door is open and pushed to the secondary latch position , the cinch controller ecu 610 , 622 , 630 , 640 closes the cinch pawl that grabs the door and pulls it to primary latched position . the cinch pawl remains in the latch position until instructed otherwise if the valuables safe feature is enabled for the door . when cinched , the subject door cannot be opened using either the external handle or interior handle regardless of the lock state of the vehicle . in vehicle system 600 , the subject small valuables safe or safes 110 , 300 , 404 , could be located on any or all doors in markets where dl is allowed and commonly used by customers . this allows one or more passengers to have their own personal safe associated with each door . further , because the cinch state can be maintained regardless of the availability of vehicle battery power , there is no need to relocate the hood release lever or door locking related power fuses to the door pillar . vehicle system 600 may prescribe that only selected doors , but not all doors , be allowed to be placed in a fixed cinch mode even if the remainder of the vehicle is unlocked . this allows the valuables safe feature to be provided on some but not all of the doors with the “ double - lock ” feature . one or more but not all of the doors may be designated as a fixed cinch valuables safe that remains locked even if one or more of the other vehicle doors are unlocked . a rear door that is rarely used may be provided with the valuable safe . the rear door would then remain in a fixed cinch state even when the other doors are unlocked to add greater security for the valuables safe when the vehicle is given to a valet or service person . depending on regulations in a given country , the door may be required to be removed from this fixed cinch ( i . e ., dl mode ) when the vehicle is running and / or in motion . in europe , child locking of the rear doors via dl is permitted . under this regulation , one or more rear doors may be provided with the valuable safe in the fixed cinch mode when the vehicle is running provided these doors are removed from the fixed cinch state mode within a few seconds after a vehicle crash event . this can be accomplished by bcm 505 receiving a crash notification from the vehicle rcm 507 . in a vehicle system 600 where not all doors are placed in the fixed cinch state mode , it may be preferable that the vehicle center stack display 570 or a remotely connected device such as a cell phone 661 be used as a gui for configuration and selection of the door to be designated to lock the valuables safe . communication between the configuration application gui and the vehicle could be accomplished via bluetooth between remote access device 661 and a vehicle bluetooth transceiver 572 . alternatively , a cellular connection from remote access device 661 to a service delivery network may be used to communicate with a telematics control unit ( tcu ) or transceiver 560 located in the vehicle . other access devices , such as a tablet or a pc , may be interfaced with the vehicle . to balance security and convenience , this gui could allow the customer to specify vehicle operation states for the valuables safe to include one or more of the following features : specifying that the door ( s ) be placed in fixed cinch state ; instructing that if the fixed cinch state is to be maintained when other doors are locked ; instructing that if the fixed cinch state is to be maintained when the vehicle is running ; defining the code for unlocking the door from a phone 661 or the gui 570 ; instructing to enter the fixed cinch valuable safe mode from the phone 661 , vehicle gui 570 , or vehicle key fob 551 ; and / or instructing the vehicle to send an alert when the door has been unlocked via the code or the door was opened while in the fixed cinch valuables safe state , and other logical configurations . on vehicles with an exterior door keypad , the factory default code could be the same as the factory default keypad code and / or secondary custom codes that are allowed to be added . on vehicles without an exterior door keypad , the customer may select a code and program the valuables safe by some other secure means such as having both vehicle keys present and recognized when programming the valuables safe code . vehicle system 700 shown in fig7 illustrates a typical electronic locking and electronic latching ( e - latch ) system without door cinching . in this system the exterior door handle 716 , 726 , 736 , 746 may include an electronic switch that is pressed when someone intends to open the door . when the external door handle switch is closed , it is read by the e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 and processed by sending a query to the vehicle bcm 505 for lock status . if the bcm 505 indicates to the e - latch controller that lock status is “ unlocked ”, the e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 drives the door latch to an unlatched state allowing the door to be opened . if vehicle is in a locked state when the bcm 505 receives the unlatch switch command signal from e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 , the bcm 505 may perform a challenge / search for a smart key to determine if the lock state can be authorized to be unlocked . once the remote keyless entry (“ rke ”) receiver 550 receives confirmation from key fob 551 , the vehicle bcm 505 transitions the vehicle to an unlocked status . if an exterior handle switch closure persists when the e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 is updated to unlock status , the e - latch controller drives the door latch to an unlatched state and allows the door to be opened . in a similar fashion , the interior door handle 715 , 725 , 735 , 745 ( or unlatch button ) may comprise a pushbutton switch or lever driven switch that is pressed to open the door . when the internal door “ handle ” switch is closed , it may also be read by the e - latch microcontroller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 and processed by sending a query to the vehicle 505 for lock status . if the bcm 505 indicates to the e - latch controller that lock status is “ unlocked ”, the e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 drives the door latch to an unlatched state allowing the door to be opened . if the vehicle is in a locked state when the bcm 505 receives the unlatch switch command signal from e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 , the bcm 505 may instruct the center stack display 570 to display information as to the vehicle lock status , may initiate a piezoelectric chirp , or may blink a locking state led that may be mounted on the door trim . the user may then manually unlock the door by pushing an unlock button that may be mounted on the interior face of the door arm rest . the user could also use the key fob to unlock the doors . alternatively , the vehicle could be configured to automatically unlock the doors when the driver shifts the transmission to park . if an interior handle switch closure persists after the e - latch controller 710 , 720 , 730 , 740 is updated to unlock status , or if the unlatch button 715 , 725 , 735 , 745 is pushed again after the transition to an unlocked state , then the e - latch controller may drive the door latch to an unlatched state allowing the door to be opened . because the door handles and latches in such a system are 100 % electrical , e - latch vehicles typically have either a back - up mechanical release cable or a handle that can open the door in the absence of power . alternatively , the latch or vehicle system may have a secondary back - up power supply to power the latching control system if main vehicle power is lost . some vehicle applications may have both a mechanical back - up release cable handle and a secondary back - up power supply . implementation of a valuables safe in this vehicle system 700 can be accomplished by simply ignoring the unlatch requests from the exterior door handle 716 , 726 , 736 , 746 or the internal unlatch button 715 , 725 , 735 , 745 when the door is placed in a valuables safe mode . however , unlike vehicle systems 500 and 600 where the door retains its latch state in the absence of power , vehicle system 700 allows an unlatch request to be processed if power is lost or if the mechanical release cable handle is pulled . in vehicle system 700 , the hood release lever and e - latch related power fuses may be relocated to the door pillar or end cap so that they are inaccessible when the door is closed to optimize security . the valuables safe may only be allowed on doors without a mechanical back - up release , such as the rear doors on some e - latch vehicles , because it may not be possible to circumvent the mechanical release cable . the valuable safe feature may not be offered for systems that require a mechanical back - up release . in vehicle system 700 , the subject small valuables safe or safes 110 , 300 , 404 , could be located on any or all doors or on dashboard end - caps in markets where dl is allowed and commonly used by customers . this would allow one or more passengers to have their own personal safe associated with each door . vehicle system 700 may prescribe that only selected doors , but not all doors , be allowed to be placed in a valuables safe mode even if the remainder of the vehicle was unlocked . this allows the valuables safe feature to be provided on some , but not all of the doors that have the “ double - lock ” feature . one or more but not all doors may be designated as a valuables safe that remains locked even if one or more of the other vehicle doors are unlocked . a rear door that is rarely used may be provided with the valuable safe . the rear door would then remain in a fixed latched state even when the other doors are unlocked to add greater security for the valuables safe when the vehicle is given to a valet or service person . depending on regulations in a given country , the door may be required to be removed from this fixed latch state ( i . e ., dl mode ) when the vehicle is running and / or in motion . in europe , child locking of the rear doors via dl is permitted . under this regulation , one or more rear doors may be provided with the valuable safe in the fixed latched mode when the vehicle is running provided these doors are removed from the fixed latched state within a few seconds after a vehicle crash event . this can be accomplished by bcm 505 receiving a crash notification from the vehicle rcm 507 . in a vehicle system 700 where not all doors are placed in the fixed latched state mode , it may be preferable that the vehicle center stack display 570 or a remotely connected device such as a cell phone 761 be used as a gui for configuration and selection of the door to be designated to be locked as the valuables safe . communication between the configuration application gui and the vehicle could be accomplished via bluetooth between remote access device 761 and a vehicle bluetooth transceiver 572 . alternatively , a cellular connection from remote access device 761 to a service delivery network may be used to communicate with a tcu or transceiver 560 located in the vehicle . other access devices such as a tablet or a pc may be interfaced with the vehicle . to balance security and convenience , this gui could allow the customer to specify vehicle operation states for the valuables safe to include one or more of the following features : specifying that the door ( s ) be placed in fixed latched / dl state ; instructing that if the fixed latched state is to be maintained when other doors are locked ; instructing that if the fixed latched state is to be maintained when the vehicle is running ; defining the code for unlocking the door from a phone 761 or the vehicle gui 570 ; instructions for entering the fixed latched valuable safe mode from the phone 761 , vehicle gui 570 , or vehicle key fob 551 ; and / or instructing the vehicle to send an alert when the door has been unlocked via the code or the door was opened while in the fixed latched valuables safe state , and other logical configurations . on vehicles with an exterior door keypad , the factory default code may be set to the same as the factory default keypad code and / or secondary custom codes that are allowed to be added . on vehicles without an exterior door keypad , the vehicle owner may select a code and program the valuables safe by some other secure means such as having both vehicle keys present and recognized when programming the valuables safe code . while exemplary embodiments are described above , it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention . rather , the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation , and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . additionally , the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention . | 8 |
referring more particularly to the drawings , the apparatus for fluid transfer of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 10 in fig1 . the apparatus can be employed in significantly varied environments and in a host of different embodiments . the environment shown in the drawings and described herein is employed for illustrative convenience and represents only one such typical operative environment . a housing , container , vessel or drum 11 has a substantially cylindrical side wall 12 having opposite end portions 13 . the drum has a bottom wall 14 and an opposite top wall 15 individually mounted on the opposite end portions of the side wall . the bottom and top walls have interior surfaces 16 and opposite exterior surfaces 17 . the bottom and top walls have peripheral edge portions 18 which are individually welded on the opposite end portions of the side wall forming a circular ridge or chime 19 . each chime has an upper edge 20 extending endwardly of its respective bottom or top wall . the drum is thus so constructed as to have a fluid tight internal chamber 21 . a bung hole or opening 22 is formed in and extends through the top wall 15 adjacent to the chime and is bounded by a peripheral edge 23 . as shown in fig1 a mounting plate 29 mounts a conventional fluid pump 30 . the fluid pump has a drive motor 31 and a discharge conduit 32 . the discharge conduit is connected by any suitable means , not shown , to any desired fluid receiving system , not shown . an intake conduit 33 is mounted on the fluid pump 30 by a coupling 34 . the intake conduit has a distal end portion 35 mounting an elbow 36 by means of a union 37 . the elbow has an externally screw threaded end portion 38 . the apparatus for fluid transfer 10 , in the preferred embodiment , has three main components . the first is a female or valve assembly 50 shown best in fig3 and 4 . the second is a male assembly or coupling 51 , also shown best in fig3 and 4 . the third is a housing removing tool 52 shown in fig1 . the female or valve assembly 50 has a mounting assembly or collar 60 consisting of an interior ring 61 which is received within the opening 22 of the drum 11 and a crimped portion 62 extending outwardly through the opening and mounted on the peripheral edge 23 bounding the opening in fluid tight relation . the mounting collar has an internally screw threaded bore 63 having internal screw threads 64 . bounding the internally screw threaded bore 63 is a shoulder surface 65 . the valve assembly 50 has a housing 70 having a frustoconical external surface 71 and a substantially flat lower end portion 72 . the housing has an upper end portion 73 having external screw threads 74 formed thereabout and a ring groove 75 housing an o - ring 76 inscribed about the upper end portion above the external screw threads . the housing 70 is screw - threadably mounted in the mounting collar 60 by screw threaded engagement of the external screw threads 74 with the internal screw threads 64 of the mounting collar . the housing is thus mounted in fluid tight relation within the mounting collar with the o - ring 76 engaging the shoulder surface 65 in fluid tight engagement . the housing 70 has an internal upper chamber 77 communicating external of the upper end portion 73 through a mouth 78 bounded by an annular end surface 79 extending about the mouth . as can best be seen upon reference to fig3 and 4 , the annular end surface which constitutes the upper most portion of the housing is recessed from the upper edge 20 of the chime 19 of the drum 11 . the housing 70 has a lower body portion 90 extending from the upper chamber 77 to the lower end portion 72 . the lower body portion has a lower surface 91 . the lower body portion has an upper surface of floor surface 92 consituting the floor surface of the upper chamber 77 . the housing 70 has a central projection or member 93 having a cylindrical outer surface 94 and a cylindrical internal surface 95 . the member has an upper end wall 96 which , in turn , has a central bore or port 97 . the port has a substantially cylindrical internal surface 98 containing an annular ring groove 99 housing an o - ring 100 . the port is bounded by an annular end surface 101 which , as can best be seen in fig3 and 4 , is substantially coplanar with the annular end surface 79 of the housing . the member 93 thus has a central passage 102 extending entirely therethrough . a contact member 110 , having an outer cylindrical surface 111 , is slidably mounted within the central port 97 of the central member 93 in fluid sealing engagement with the o - ring 100 . the contact member has a contact surface 112 and three radially extending guides 113 extending outwardly from the outer cylindrical surface and into engagement with the internal surface 95 of the central member 93 . the contact member has a lower chamber 114 facing inwardly of the central passage 102 . a tapered coil spring 115 has an upper end portion 116 and an opposite lower end portion 117 . the upper end portion is received in the lower chamber of the contact member . a valve ball 118 is received within the lower end portion of the coil spring and is not attached thereto so as to be capable of free floating movement within the bounds defined by the coil spring . the valve ball is captured on the lower side thereof by means hereinafter described . the tapered coil spring 115 , valve ball 118 and related structure operate as a check valve to prevent substances from being passed therethrough into the internal chamber 21 of the drum . other types of check valves can be employed for this purpose in substitute for the coil spring and valve ball , although it is believed they are particularly well suited to operation as herein described . referring more particularly to fig8 the contact member , and more particularly the guides 113 thereof , define fluid passages 119 about the contact member within the central passage 102 of the central member . an end plate , having an upper surface 131 and an opposite lower surface 132 , is mounted on the lower surface 91 of the lower body portion 90 . the end plate has a central protection 133 having a substantially flat upper surface 134 and a cylindrical outer surface 135 . the outer surface has a ring groove 136 extending thereabout housing an o - ring 137 . the end plate is mounted on the housing 70 with the central projection 133 received within the central passage 102 at the lower end portion 72 of the housing 70 . with the o - ring 137 engaging the internal surface 95 in fluid sealing relation . the end plate has a central bore 138 extending therethrough in coaxial relation to the central passage 102 and having a collar 139 borne by and extending from the lower surface 132 thereof . the collar has internal screw threads 140 in which is mounted an extraction conduit 141 having a lower end portion 142 adjacent to the interior surface 16 of the bottom wall 14 of the drum 11 . as shown best in fig7 two sets of three air holes 143 extend through the mounting plate in the positions shown in fig3 and 7 . the mounting plate is secured on the lower surface 91 of the lower body portion by a pair of bolts 144 extending through holes in the mounting plate and into screw threaded holes in the lower body portion 90 , not shown . thus , the lower end portion 117 of the tapered coil spring 115 engages the upper surface 134 of the central projection 133 and the valve ball 118 is captured in free floating relation within the tapered coil spring , as best shown in fig3 and 4 . a pair of air valve assemblies 150 are individually provided in the lower body portion 90 of the housing 70 in the positions best shown in fig3 and 7 . each air valve assembly includes a cylindrical bore 151 extending into the lower body portion through the lower surface 91 laterally disposed relative to the central passage 102 and individually in communication with one set of three air holes 143 . the cylindrical bore is defined by a cylindrical surface 152 and terminates at an upper end wall 153 . an upper bore 154 extends through the upper end wall to establish fluid communication between the cylindrical bore 51 and the upper chamber 77 of the housing 70 . a valve member 155 is slidably received within each cylindrical bore 151 of each air valve assembly 150 . each valve member has an upper contact pin 156 , which extends through the upper bore 154 , and a lower contact pin 157 , which extends in the direction of the air holes 143 . as can best be seen in fig9 the valve member has three guides 158 disposed in slidable engagement with the cylindrical surface 152 of the cylindrical bore and defining air passages 159 therebetween about the valve member . a tapered coil spring 160 is received about the lower contact pin and is captured between the valve member and the end plate 130 . a resilient valve seat 161 is mounted on the upper end wall 153 about the upper bore 154 and the upper contact pin 156 for fluid sealing engagement with the valve member when the valve member is disposed in the position shown in fig4 . as will hereinafter be described in greater detail , the air valve assembly 150 can also be constructed without the upper contact pins 156 for automatic operation of the air valve assemblies by the development of a vacuum within the internal chamber 21 of the drum 11 as fluid is withdrawn therefrom . referring more paricularly to fig4 and 6 , four internal lugs 170 , having arcuate surfaces 171 , are mounted on the housing within the upper chamber 77 spaced in predetermined positions from the floor surface 92 of the upper chamber , as shown in fig4 and from each other , as shown in fig . 6 . the mounting collar 60 and upper end portion 73 of the housing 70 are sealed by a sealing assembly 172 . the sealing assembly includes a plastic seal 173 , having peripheral portions 174 , which is received about and covers the collar and upper end portion 73 of the housing . the peripheral portions 174 of the plastic seal are crimped about the crimped portion 62 of the mounting collar to retain the plastic seal in position . a metal securing ring 175 is mounted on the plastic seal extending about the crimped portion 62 of the mounting collar in covering relation to the peripheral portions 174 of the plastic seal . the metal securing ring has a circular opening 176 which is defined by a peripheral edge 177 coinciding with the mouth 78 of the upper chamber 77 and thus just overlaying the annular end surface 79 which is immediately beneath the plastic seal 173 . in operatin the plastic seal is severed by an operator running a knife or other sharp instrument inwardly of the peripheral edge 177 bounding the circular opening 176 of the metal securing ring so as to sever the plastic seal forming a circular opening 178 , as will hereinafter be described in greater detail . the male assembly or coupling 51 of the apparatus for fluid transfer 10 of the present invention has a body 200 having a cylindrical outer surface 201 . the body has a lower end portion 202 and an opposite annular shoulder 203 . the body has an upper end portion 204 having a substantially cylindrical outer surface 205 . the substantially cylindrical outer surface 205 is cylindrical except for a pair of substantially parrallel wrench surfaces 206 . the upper end portion 204 has an internally screw threaded opening 207 and an annular upper surface 208 . a cylindrical bore 220 defined by a cylindrical surface 221 extends inwardly of the body 200 from a mouth 222 . the mouth is bounded by an annular lower surface 223 . the mouth is circumscribed by a pair of ring grooves 224 individually housing o - rings 225 . a spider plate 226 , best shown in fig5 is mounted within the body extending transversely of the cylindrical bore 220 substantially in alignment with the annular shoulder 203 . the spider plate has a plurality of fluid openings 227 extending therethrough and a central portion 228 having a bolt hole 229 extending therethrough concentric to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical bore 220 . a plunger or actuator 240 , having an internally screw threaded bore 241 , is mounted on the spider plate 226 by a bolt 242 extending through the spider plate and screw - threadably secured in the screw threaded bore 241 to mount the actuator concentric to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical bore 220 . the actuator has a contact surface 243 facing the mouth 222 . a sealing collar 244 , having an outer cylindrical surface 245 is slidably received in the cylindrical bore 220 with the outer cylindrical surface 245 thereof in sliding engagement with the cylindrical surface 221 of the cylindrical bore 220 . the sealing collar has an upper spring surface 246 and a central fluid apssage 247 extending therethrough . the fluid passage is defined by an internal surface 248 having a circumscribing ring groove 249 housing an o - ring 250 . the actuator has an outer sealing surface 251 disposed for fluid sealing engagement with the o - ring in the arrangement shown in fig4 . a tapered coil spring 252 , having an upper end portion 253 and an opposite lower end portion 254 exends about the actuator with the upper end portion engaging the spider plate 226 and the lower end portion engaging the sealing collar 244 so as resiliently to retain the sealing collar in the position in fluid sealing relation with the o - ring 250 , as shown in fig4 . an attachment collar 270 is slidably received about the body 200 of the coupling 51 . the attachment collar has a cylindrical body 271 having a cylindrical outer surface 272 and a lower end portion 273 . as shown in fig3 and 5 , the four attachment lugs 274 are mounted on the cylindrical outer surface 272 of the attachment collar for engagement , as will hereinafter be described , with the internal lugs 170 of the housing 70 . the cylindrical body has an internal passage 275 defined by a cylindrical internal surface 276 . the cylindrical body has an annular end surface 277 extending about the lower end portion 202 of the body 200 . the body has an upper end portion 278 having an upper opening 279 extending therethrough in communication with the internal passage 275 , but of smaller diameter so as to form an internal annular lip 280 adapted gravitationally to rest on the annular shoulder 203 of the body 200 , as shown in fig3 and 4 . a grasping flange 281 is mounted on the upper end portion 278 extending outwardly therefrom and having a shape convenient for grasping and operation thereof . a resilient , accordion type shroud 290 is received about the cylindrical body 271 of the attachment collar 270 and has pleats 291 adapted to permit the shroud to be collapsed from the uncollapsed condition shown in fig4 to the collapsed condition shown in fig3 . the shroud has an annular lower edge 292 and an opposite annular upper edge 293 . the apparatus for fluid transfer 10 includes the housing removing tool 52 shown in fig1 . the housing removing tool has a cylindrical body 300 having a lower portion 301 and an opposite upper portion 302 . the lower portion 301 . the lower portion 301 has a cylindrical outer surface 303 mounting a pair of engagement lugs 304 dimensioned for engagement with the internal lugs 170 within the upper chamber 77 of the housing 70 , as will hereinafter be described . the lower and upper portions of the body are separated by a radially extending flange 305 operble to deflect any fluid discharged by pressure within the internal chamber 21 of the drum 11 upon removal of the housing 70 using the housing removing tool . a handle 306 is mounted on the upper portion 302 . an internal passage 307 extends through the cylindrical body defined by a cylindrical surface 308 . the operation of the described embodiment of the present invention is believed to be clearly apparent and is briefly summarized at this point . the drum 11 is fitted with the valve assembly 50 in the manner heretofore described either at the time of manufacture of the drum , or can be retrofitted into existing drums or other containers in the manner decribed . where the internal chamber 21 of the drum is to be filled with a fluid for subsequent use by the user , the housing removal tool 52 shown in fig1 is employed to remove the housing 70 from the mounting collar 60 . at this time the sealing assembly 172 is not in place . the lower portion 301 of the cylindrical body 300 of the housing removing tool 52 is inserted into the upper chamber 77 of the housing 70 and disposed so that the engagement lugs 304 engage two of the internal lugs 170 within the upper chamber . the housing removing tool is preferably pressed downwardly so that the lower portion 301 engages and depresses the upper contact pins 156 of the air valve assemblies 150 to open the air valve assemblies to equalize the air pressure within the internal chamber 21 and ambient air pressure . the operator then , grasping the handle 306 , applies rotational pressure to the internal lugs 170 of the housing in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction , depending upon the type of screw threads employed , screw - threadably to remove the housing from the mounting collar 60 . the flange 305 is operable to deflect any fluid which might be propelled upwardly by the release of pressure within the internal chamber during removal of the housing . the housing 70 and extraction conduit 141 are then removed as a unit from within the drum 11 so as to open the screw threaded bore 63 . the drum is then filled using conventional means with the fluid to the prescribed level . the drum 11 is sealed by a reversal of the steps involved so as screw threadably again to mount the housing 70 within the internally screw threaded bore 63 to position the o - ring 76 in sealing engagement with the shoulder surface 65 . the sealing assembly 172 is then installed to provide a last security seal against leakage and for the purpose of identifying when the container has been subject to tampering by unauthorized persons . as can be seen upon reference to fig4 the actual physical sealing of the container is accomplished by o - ring 76 engaging the shoulder surface 65 in fluid sealing engagement ; o - ring 100 engageing outer cylindrical surface 111 of the contact member in fluid sealing relation ; and valve members 155 engaging their respective resilient valve seats 161 in fluid sealing relation . significantly , the entire housing 70 and sealing assembly 172 are recessed beneath the upper edge 20 of the chime 19 , as shown in fig4 . thus , the upper edge of the chime constitutes a protective bearer for the housing so as to prevent damage thereto . furthermore , there are no exposed portions of the valve assembly . should the drum be dropped during handling , impact with the earth is absorbed by the chime and contact with the housing 70 is prevented . this is true even in the case of drums inadvertently dropped from moving vehicles onto a hardened roadway . the drum thus constitutes a secure single unit which avoids the inadvertent release of toxic substances in the case of accident or negligent handling of the drum . similarly , since the housing is substantially flush with the top wall 15 and is of such a construction as to withstand impact , even where the apparatus is mounted on a container not having a chime the apparatus is substantially impervious to damage and leakage . furthermore , as previously noted , tampering involving the drum can immediately be detected as a result of the sealing assembly 172 . if the plastic seal 173 has been cut prior to receipt by authorized personnel , such personnel are immediately alerted that tampering has occurred . when it is desired to extract the fluid contents from the drum 11 , the coupling 51 is screw - threadably secured on the externally screw threaded end portion 38 of the elbow 36 as best shown in fig1 and 4 . using a sharp instrument , such as a knife , the operator severs the plastic seal 173 of the sealing assembly 172 about the peripheral edge 177 of the metal securing ring 175 and removes the central portion thereof forming the circular opening 178 and thereby exposing the upper chamber 77 of the housing and the central member 93 thereof . grasping the elbow 36 and grasping flange 281 , the operator presses the lower end portion 202 of the body 200 about the central member 93 so that the central member slides into the cylindrical bore 220 thereof . as such downward movement is continued , the contact surface 243 of the actuator 240 engages the contact surface 112 of the contact member 110 so as to force the contact member from the position shown in fig4 to the position shown in fig3 . at the same time , the annular end surface 101 of the central member contacts the sealing collar 244 so as to move it from the position shown in fig4 to the position shown in fig3 . this draws the o - ring 250 away from the outer sealing surface 251 of the actuator . the attachment collar 270 is then rotated to position the attachment lugs 274 beneath the internal lugs 170 of the housing so as to lock the coupling 51 in fluid transferring relation to the valve assembly 50 in the position shown in fig3 . thus , upon reference to fig3 it will be seen that a complete and open path is established for movement of the fluid from within the internal chamber 21 of the drum 11 through the extraction conduit 241 , about the valve ball 118 , through the fluid passages 119 about the contact member 110 , through the central passage 102 of the central member 93 , through the port 97 , through the central fluid passage 247 , through the tapered coil spring 252 , through the fluid openings 227 of the spider plate 226 and to the fluid pump 30 through the intake conduit 33 . the pump is , of course , operable to pump fluid received through the intake conduit 33 from the fluid pump through the discharge conduit 32 to the desired destination for use . as will be apparent , once pumping by the fluid pump 30 has begun , the valve ball 118 is lifted from rested engagement in the central bore 138 of the end plate 130 . thereafter , the valve ball is free to be retained by such fluid motion in the position shown in fig3 so that a continuous path is maintained for the fluid from the internal chamber 21 of the drum 11 to the fluid pump 30 . similarly , as cna be seen upon reference to fig3 the annular lower surface 223 of the coupling 51 depresses the upper contact pins 156 of the air valve assemblies 150 in the position heretofore described so as to move the valve members 155 thereof from sealing engagement with the resilient valve seats 161 . thus , a path of ambient air movement is established from externally of the container to the internal chamber 21 through the upper chamber 77 of the housing 70 , the upper bores 154 , the cylindrical bores 151 , and the air holes 143 . in alternate embodiment of air valve assemblies having no upper contact pins 156 heretofore described , the development of a vacuum within the internal chamber of the drum as fluid is withdrawn is applied to the valve members ultimately drawing them away from the resilient valve seats 161 . this automatically admits air to the internal chamber to reduce the vacuum and allow the fluid to be extracted at the normal rate . the shroud 290 operates to prevent any of the fluid within the drum from inadvertently escaping , particularly at the time of attachment of the collar 51 to be valve assembly 50 . however , the shroud is sufficiently loose that ambient air can gain access to the upper chamber and through the air valve assemblies 150 to the internal chamber 21 so as to prevent a vacuum from forming within the internal chamber of the drum as the fluid is extracted therefrom . when the desired quantity of fluid has been extracted from the internal chamber 21 of the drum 11 , operation of the fluid pump 30 is discontinued . after allowing sufficient time for fluid to drain back into the drum and into the fluid pump , the coupling 51 is removed from the described engagement with the valve assembly 50 shown in fig3 by a reversal of the steps heretofore described . thus , the attachment collar 270 is rotated in the opposite direction to release the attachment lugs 274 from the internal lugs 170 of the housing 70 and the coupling is pulled free from the housing . the operable portions of the housing and coupling are instantly returned to their normal sealing positions shown in fig4 avoiding leakage of fluid or fluid vapors from the valve assembly and the coupling . as can be visualized in fig4 the tapered coil spring 252 returns the sealing collar 244 to the same sealing position shown in fig4 immediately upon removal of the coupling 51 from the valve assembly 50 . thus , residual fluie within the coupling is entrapped within the coupling , elbow 36 and intake conduit 33 . the drum and the coupling and related equipment are thus immediately sealed , upon such disconnection for subsequent use without risk of inadvertent leakage of fluid or fluid vapor from either . the tapered coil spring 115 operates to retain the valve ball 118 for movement within the limited area defined thereby and the valve ball prevents foreign substances from being intentionally or inadvertently deposited within teh internal chamber 21 . once the drum 11 has been emptied of its fluid contents , it can be returned to the manufacturer or supplier for refilling in the manner described . the sealing assembly 172 again operates to indicate when tampering has taken place when the drums are received by the supplier . since the peripheral edge 177 of the metal securing ring 175 overlays the annular end surface 79 of the housing 70 , the huosing cannot be removed from the mounting collar 60 without damage to the metal securing ring . where this has occurred , authorized personnel are alerted upon receipt of the drum that the internal chamber 21 may have been filled with a substance other than that authorized by the manufacturer or supplier . at a time of use of the housing removing tool 52 , the lower portion 301 of the housing removing tool engages the upper contact pins 156 of the air valve assemblies 150 to open the air valve assemblies to permit the air pressure within the internal chamber 21 to be equalized with ambient air pressure prior to removal of the housing 70 . thus , the apparatus for fluid transfer 10 of the present invention completely eliminates the ecological problems associated with conventional devices including that of disposing of the containers and particularly those which have contained toxic materials . therefore , the apparatus for fluid transfer of the present invention is particularly well suited to the containerizing , storing , transporting transferring and using of virtually any fluid substance substantially ensuring that such substances are not inadvertently exposed to the environment or to those persons handling the substances and obviating the difficulty of disposing of the containers once emptied of their contents . although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is not to be limited to the illustrative details disclosed . | 5 |
an orthodontic appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 and 2 and is broadly designated by the numeral 20 . the appliance 20 includes a base 22 and an archwire support 24 that is connected to the base 22 . an elongated archwire slot 26 extends through the archwire support 24 for receiving an archwire . in more detail , the base 22 includes a first , tooth - facing side 28 that is illustrated in fig2 and a second side 30 that is opposite to the first side 28 . the second side 30 is shown in fig1 . in the illustrated example , the appliance 20 is adopted to be secured to a buccolabial side of a tooth . consequently , the first side 28 of the base 22 in this example can also be deemed a lingual side ( i . e ., a side facing the patient &# 39 ; s tongue ) and the second side 30 can be deemed a buccolabial side ( i . e ., a side facing the patient &# 39 ; s lips or cheeks ). as shown in fig2 , the first side 28 of the base 22 is provided with a series of cavities 32 for receiving a portion of an orthodontic adhesive that is used to affix the appliance 20 to the enamel of a patient &# 39 ; s tooth . the cavities 32 are arranged in a rectangular array and have a square configuration when viewed in a buccolabial direction . however , other arrays and shapes are also possible . for example , the cavities could be arranged in a diagonal array and / or have a circular , oval or rectangular shape when viewed in a buccolabial direction . alternatively , the cavities 32 may comprise two or more series of elongated grooves instead of the discrete small cavities 32 shown in fig2 . the grooves may be arranged in a parallel array or may be arranged in a cross - over array where some of the grooves intersect with other grooves . examples of elongated grooves arranged in a cross - over array are described in u . s . design pat . no . 331 , 975 which is expressly incorporated by reference herein . as a further option , the cavities 32 may be interconnected by pores that extend through the interior of the base 22 or by open channels that lie along the exterior surface of the first side 28 of the base 22 . additionally , the cavities 32 may be established by spaces between protrusions that extend outwardly from the first side 28 in a direction away from the second side 30 . in addition , the base 22 including the cavities 32 may include additional structure or aspects that further enhance the bond of the appliance 20 to the patient &# 39 ; s tooth surface . for example , the base 22 including the surfaces within the cavity 32 may be etched with a chemical etchant or with laser etching apparatus , or roughened with sandblasting apparatus . as an additional example , the base 22 including the cavities 32 may be coated with a primer or other composition that serves to enhance the bond between the orthodontic adhesive and the appliance 20 . preferably , the first side 28 of the base 22 has a shape that matches the configuration of the tooth surface for which the appliance 20 is intended . in the example shown in the drawings , the first side 28 has a concave , compound contour that is curved in directions adapted to mate with the convex shape of a molar tooth . one of the curves can be viewed in a reference plane parallel to the occlusal plane of the patient when the appliance 20 is mounted on a tooth , and this curve is depicted in perspective view in fig4 . the remaining curve can be viewed in a reference plane perpendicular to the occlusal plane and is depicted in perspective view in fig5 . however , in certain instances ( such as in appliances intended for anterior teeth ), the base may be curved along only one direction or alternatively have a flat configuration . the archwire support 24 in this embodiment is a rectangular “ u ”- shaped member having three sides : an occlusal side 34 , a buccolabial side 36 and a gingival side 38 . the archwire support 24 extends in a longitudinal direction across the base 22 . a lingual edge of the occlusal side 34 and a lingual edge of the gingival side 38 are integrally connected directly to the second side 30 of the base 22 . as shown , the archwire support 24 does not include a lingual side that might otherwise be located adjacent the second side 30 of the base 22 . optionally , the archwire support 24 is located laterally offset in an occlusal or gingival direction from the middle of the base 22 . the occlusal side 34 of the archwire support 24 includes an occlusal wall section ( not shown ) and the gingival side 38 includes a gingival wall section 42 that is illustrated in fig1 . the buccolabial side 36 of the archwire support 24 includes a buccolabial wall section 44 ( fig2 ). preferably , but not necessarily , the wall sections are flat and have widths that match the shape of a selected rectangular archwire to be received in the archwire slot 26 . additionally , the occlusal wall section and the gingival wall section 42 preferably are parallel to each other . the archwire slot 26 is defined by the occlusal wall section , the gingival wall section 42 , the buccolabial wall section 44 as well as a tooth - facing or lingual wall section 46 that is shown in fig1 and 3 - 5 . the lingual wall section 46 is not part of the archwire support 24 , but instead is part of the base 22 . preferably , the lingual wall section 46 is flat and extends in a reference plane that is parallel to the labial wall section 44 . alternatively , the lingual wall section 46 as well as one or more of the remaining wall sections may include one or more ridges or grooves ( not shown ) for engaging the archwire . examples of such grooves are shown in fig8 - 11 of u . s . design pat . no . 315 , 957 which is incorporated by reference herein . preferably , however , the wall sections contact the archwire in sufficient areas along the length of the archwire slot 26 so that good control between movement of the appliance 20 and movement of the archwire is afforded . as shown in fig1 , 3 , 4 and 5 , the lingual wall section 46 extends below the second side 30 of the base 22 in a lingual direction . consequently , the thickness of the base 22 in regions located lingually of the lingual wall section 46 is less than the thickness of the base 22 in remaining regions of the base 22 . the thickness of the base 22 for this purpose is determined in directions parallel to a buccolabial - lingual reference axis . optionally , the thickness of the base 22 is essentially uniform ( ignoring the cavities 32 ) except for regions of the base 22 that are located lingually of the lingual wall section 46 . in the illustrated embodiment , the second side 30 of the base 22 is convex and the thickness of the base 22 is smallest in regions next to the center of the lingual wall section 46 ( for this purpose , the center of the wall section 46 is determined in directions along a mesial - distal reference axis ). however , other constructions are also possible . for example , if the appliance 20 is intended to be placed on the tooth at a location that is offset the mesial - distal center of the tooth or if the appliance 20 is intended to provide what is known as offset rotation , the thickness of the base 22 may be smallest in regions that are located on the lingual side of the lingual wall section 46 , but adjacent the mesial or distal end of the same . in these examples , the thickness of the base 22 varies in regions located lingually of the lingual wall section 46 in accordance with the location of that region in directions along the longitudinal axis of the archwire slot 26 . additionally , the depth ( i . e . the overall depth ) of the cavities 32 in directions along a buccolabial - lingual reference axis varies in corresponding relationship to the thickness of the base 22 . in particular , the depth of the cavities 32 is the least in regions where the thickness of the base 22 is the smallest . in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings , and particularly with reference to fig4 , it can be observed that the depth of the cavities 32 that are located near the mesial - distal center of the archwire slot 26 is less than the depth of the remaining cavities 32 , including the cavities adjacent the mesial and distal ends of the lingual wall section 46 . the depth of at least some of the cavities 32 located in regions lingually of the archwire slot 26 is less than the depth of the cavities 32 that are located in regions offset from the archwire slot 26 in an occlusal or gingival direction . optionally , the depth of the cavities 32 progressively increases as the thickness of the base 22 increases . as another option , the depth of the cavities 32 may progressively increase as the occlusal edge and / or gingival edge of the appliance 20 is approached . the features of the appliance 20 described above provide a significant advantage in that the overall height of the appliance 20 in a buccolabial direction is smaller than might be otherwise possible . in particular , the lingual wall section 46 , being located below the second side 30 of the base 22 in a lingual direction , enables the archwire slot 26 to be relatively close to the first side 28 of the base 22 . the varying thickness of the base 22 as well as the varying depth of the cavities 32 also enables such advantages to be realized . importantly , control over movement of the appliance 20 , the archwire and the associated tooth need not be compromised by following the principles of the present invention . in particular , since the lingual wall section 46 is parallel with the buccolabial wall section 44 , the archwire maintains good bearing contact with the appliance 20 . as such , forces exerted by the archwire on the appliance 20 are transferred without undue tolerance or “ slop ” so that precise control over movement of the archwire or the associated teeth can be attained . a low profile orthodontic appliance 20 a according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig6 , 7 and 8 . the appliance 20 a includes a base 22 a that is essentially the same as the base 20 described above . however , the appliance 20 a has an archwire support 24 a that is somewhat different than the archwire support 24 mentioned above . in particular , the archwire support 24 a includes a mesial - occlusal tiewing 48 a , a mesial - gingival tiewing 50 a , a distal - occlusal tiewing 52 a and a distal - gingival tiewing 54 a . each of the tiewings 48 a - 54 a has a generally inverted “ l ”- shaped configuration and a lingual end section that is directly connected to a second or buccolabial side 30 a of the base 22 a . an archwire slot 26 a extends in a generally mesial - distal direction across the appliance 20 a . the archwire slot 26 a passes through the space between the tiewings 48 a , 50 a as well as through the space between the tiewings 52 a , 54 a . the archwire slot 26 a is defined by two occlusal wall sections 40 a that are located on the tiewings 48 a , 52 a respectively , and two gingival wall sections ( not shown ) that are located on the tiewings 50 a , 54 a respectively . the archwire slot 26 a is also defined by a lingual wall section 46 a that is part of the base 22 a . the appliance 20 a is a bracket and , as with many brackets , the archwire slot 26 a is open along its buccolabial side . in order to couple the archwire to the appliance 20 a , a ligature ( not shown ) is placed across the buccolabial side of the archwire once the archwire is seated in the archwire slot 26 a . the ligature is also placed around two or more of the tiewings 48 a - 54 a in order to hold the ligature in place and secure the archwire to the appliance 20 a . conventional , commonly - known ligatures useful for ligating include small elastomeric o - rings and also sections of metallic wire that are formed into a loop by the practitioner . advantageously , the tiewings 48 a - 54 a lack undercut areas or notches that are conventionally located on the lingual side of the portions of the tiewings that overhang the base . in other words , the overhanging portions do not have a recess that is located a distance further away from the buccolabial side 30 a of the base 22 a in a buccolabial direction than the distance between the outer , occlusal or gingival ends of the same tiewings from the buccolabial side 30 a of the base 22 a . instead , the lingual sides of the overhanging portions of the tiewings 48 a - 54 a are generally smooth and flat and extend along occlusal - gingival reference axes . such construction is satisfactory in part due to the recessed lingual wall section 46 a , which enables the archwire to be located closer to the first side 28 a of the base 22 a than might be otherwise possible . advantageously , the appliance 20 a lacks a body that is conventionally provided between the tiewings and the base . instead , the tiewings 48 a - 54 a are directly connected to the buccolabial side of the base 22 a . preferably , the appliance 20 a is integrally made as a unitary component by a metal injection molding process or a machining process . as an alternative , however , the tiewings 48 a - 54 a maybe manufactured separately and then connected by a welding or brazing operation directly to the base 22 a . other aspects of the appliance 20 a are similar to the appliance 20 mentioned above , including the variance in thickness of the base 22 a and the variance in the depth of cavities in the base 22 a . accordingly , the advantages realized in connection with the appliance 20 are afforded to the appliance 20 a as well . a low profile orthodontic appliance 20 b according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig9 and 10 . except as described below , the appliance 20 b is essentially the same as the appliance 20 a . the appliance 20 b has a base 22 b with one or more protrusions 56 b that extend in a direction toward an archwire slot 26 b . in the illustrated embodiment , the base 22 b includes two protrusions 56 b in the general shape of rounded , semi - spherical bumps . one of the protrusions 56 b is located adjacent a mesial end of the archwire slot 26 b , and the remaining protrusion 56 b is located adjacent the distal end of the archwire slot 26 b . however , it is also possible to provide one or more protrusions that are located adjacent only one end of the archwire slot 26 b , especially in instances where the appliance is intended to rotate the associated tooth about its long axis during the course of treatment . optionally , the protrusions 56 b are formed during a metal injection molding process that is carried out when manufacturing the appliance 20 b . as another option , the protrusions 56 b maybe formed by use of a punch process , wherein a punch tool is placed in contact with a tooth - facing side of the base 22 and urged in a buccolabial direction . although not shown in the drawings , the appliance 20 b may include an archwire slot that is defined in part by a lingual wall section which extends below the buccolabial side of the appliance base 22 in a lingual direction . for example , the lingual wall section may be similar to the lingual wall sections 46 , 46 a described above . in those instances , the protrusions 56 b may extend in a buccolabial direction from the recessed lingual wall section . as an additional option , the protrusions 56 b may be located on the mesial and / or distal side of the lingual wall section . a low profile orthodontic appliance 20 c according to another embodiment of the invention is partially shown in fig1 and 12 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of the appliance 20 c taken in the same direction as the illustration of fig1 . except as set out below , the appliance 20 c is the same as the appliance 20 b . the appliance 20 c has two protrusions 56 c that extend in a buccolabial direction from a base 22 c of the appliance 20 c . in this embodiment , however , the protrusions 56 c are in the form of a ramp of varying thickness in a buccolabial direction . in particular , the thickness decreases as the mesial - distal center of the archwire slot 26 c is approached . the buccolabial surface of each protrusion 56 c in this example lies in a flat plane . although the protrusions 56 c vary in thickness , the protrusions 56 c are located atop a convex buccolabial side 30 c of the base 22 c . the variance in thickness of the protrusions 56 c is selected in accordance with the curvature of the buccolabial side 30 c of the base 22 c so that the outermost , buccolabial surfaces of the protrusions 56 c lie in a common , flat plane . as a result , the protrusions 56 c flatly contact the lingual side of the archwire and enable the archwire to exert firm , precise control over movement of the associated tooth . as an alternative , the protrusions 56 c may be of uniform thickness in a buccolabial direction . such construction may be desirable , for example , when the buccolabial side 30 c is essentially flat instead of convex as shown in the drawings . as an additional option , the protrusions 56 c may be located on a recessed lingual wall section of the archwire slot , such as the recessed lingual wall sections 46 , 46 a described above . the low profile orthodontic appliances according to the invention , including the appliances described in detail above , maybe made of any material that is suitable for use in the oral cavity and has sufficient strength to resist the stresses normally encountered during the course of orthodontic treatment . examples of such materials include metallic materials such as alloys of stainless steel and titanium . ceramic materials may also be employed , such as translucent polycrystalline alumina . a particularly preferred low profile orthodontic appliance is made of stainless steel series no . 17 - 4ph or 316l using a metal injection molding technique . the orthodontic appliances that are described above are representative examples of the present invention and a number of other embodiments are also possible . for example , the appliances may be adapted for connection to the lingual side of the tooth instead of the labial tooth side as mentioned above . furthermore , the appliance may be provided with additional features such as auxiliary slots , hooks , alignment marks and the like . accordingly , the invention should not be deemed limited to the particular examples that are set out in detail , but instead only by a fair scope of the claims that follow along with their equivalents . | 0 |
before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments . also , the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . the image capture device housing referring now to fig1 and 2 , there is shown an image capture device 10 made in accordance with one particular embodiment of the present invention . image capture device 10 includes a front housing 12 and a rear housing 14 that matingly engage to surround the internal workings of the image capture device 10 . a compartment door 15 may engage either or both of the front and rear housings 12 and 14 to provide access to a battery compartment and / or to output connectors . such output connectors may be used to connect the image capture device 10 to an external device such as a television , a computer a printer , a cell phone , etc . front housing 12 of image capture device 10 includes a plurality of apertures formed therethrough , such as a taking lens / viewfinder window 12 a , an aperture 13 for a red eye reduction mechanism and a flash window 18 . when the lens door is open , as shown in fig1 the taking lens aperture 17 a and viewfinder aperture 17 b of the lens mask 17 are exposed . rear housing 14 additionally includes a plurality of apertures therethrough . for example , the rear housing 14 of the present particular embodiment includes openings a rotary switch 24 , nested tactile switch 26 , a rotary diopter adjustment knob 28 , an lcd display 30 a view finder rear aperture 32 and signal indicators 34 . other user interface devices , buttons and switches may be included . a battery door 15 extends across an aperture through a side face of the image capture device 15 . the image capture device 10 may include a zoom mechanism . one particular embodiment of a zoom mechanism that may be used with the image capture device 10 will now be described in connection with fig3 - 12 . housed in a zoom housing 450 are the two zoom barrels , front barrel 460 and rear barrel 470 . aligned on the optical axis through the front and rear barrels 460 , 470 is an image sensor 475 . other elements may be included in the overall lens design , such as , a shutter lens 370 , a focusing lens 455 and glass plate 476 . the distance between the front barrel 460 and the rear barrel 470 determines the magnification factor of the image between the wide angle ( fig3 and 39 ) and the telephoto positions ( fig4 and 41 ). in the present particular embodiment , a linear cam flat 480 controls the zooming of the image capture device 10 by locating the front and rear lens barrels 460 , 470 at discrete positions , each with the barrels 460 , 470 a predetermined distance apart . the cam flat 480 is directly coupled with one barrel ( in the present embodiment , the front barrel 460 ) of the zoom lens via the zoom coupling linkage 498 and is coupled to the other barrel 460 by a zoom lever 490 . the cam flat 480 is located on and guided by the zoom housing 450 . guides are realized on the zoom housing 450 by two straight ribs 452 , 454 and counter surfaces 456 , 457 , 458 on the zoom housing 450 . these ribs 452 , 454 and counter surfaces 456 , 457 , 458 define the position of the cam in two directions and permit only linear motion . for example , the ribs 452 , 454 interact with linear grooves 481 a and 481 b defined on the bottom surface of the cam flat 480 . if desired , tracks , such as tracks 482 a and 482 b , may additionally be defined on the cam flat 480 to interact with the counter surfaces 456 , 457 , 458 . due to the counter surfaces 456 , 457 , 458 contact with the surface , the zoom housing provides a 3 point guide for the cam flat 450 . three small areas near these points but in opposite directions serve the same function . this permits the cam flat 480 to operate even if there is a slight deflection or if there is variation to the tolerances during manufacture , but without a loss of performance . additionally , misalignment of the straight ribs 452 and 454 would create high friction or prevent free movement of the cam flat 480 . this is avoided by reducing the guide lengths 481 a , 481 b inside the cam flat 480 to a minimum . therefore an additional deflection of the cam flat 480 and / or misalignment of the straight ribs 452 , 454 will not deteriorate the guide quality . the non - proportional movement of the zoom lever 490 is realized by the cam profile 482 inside the cam flat 480 , which generates the relative positions of both barrels as defined by an optical calculation . as such , when the cam flat 480 advances linearly , the rear barrel 470 is advanced linearly by an amount not directly proportional to the amount of advancement of the cam flat 480 , as defined by the cam profile 482 . in contrast to this , it can be seen that the front barrel 460 , which is directly coupled to the cam flat 480 , will be moved by an amount proportional to ( if not the same as ) the amount moved by the cam flat 480 . the integral cam profile 482 followed by the lever 490 , is optimized in order to have the lever 490 , and correspondingly the lenses , follow a particular optical prescription which incorporates a non - proportional motion . a spring 495 ( chosen to be a torsion spring in the present embodiment ) is supported on the zoom housing 450 by a pin 450 a and presses a finger 471 on the rear barrel 470 against the zoom lever 490 , which in turn leans on the inner side of the cam profile 482 to make it follow the prescribed path when the cam flat 480 is moving . a second supporting spring 496 ( fig4 ), which in this particular embodiment , has also been chosen to be a torsion spring , is used to generate an additional force on the cam flat 480 . the reason for this spring 496 in this embodiment is to ensure that the cam flat 480 is biased so as to create a force in the direction of arrow z ( fig3 ) against the nut 500 ( fig3 ) of the driving device , regardless of the position or direction of travel of the cam flat 480 . the driving mechanism chosen for the present embodiment includes a stepping motor 510 with a threaded lead screw 512 that passes through the nut 500 . nut 500 includes a finger that passes through an aperture in the cam flat 480 in order to stabilize the nut 500 so that when the threaded lead screw 512 is rotated , the nut 500 does not rotate . the engagement between the cam flat 480 , the nut 500 and the threaded lead screw 512 permits the motor to advance and retract the cam flat 480 . note that in the present embodiment , the cam profile 482 is chosen to be very shallow towards the tele position ( and deeper in the wide position ) and the force vector of the pin 491 of the zoom lever 490 is nearly zero in the linear direction ( not considering friction ). the coupling zoom linkage 498 creates the direct link between the cam flat 480 and the front barrel 460 . it is stiff and acts in a push / pull linear manner for precise movement of the front barrel 460 , but is flexible for torsion and deflection to compensate for misalignment of the cam flat . the coupling zoom linkage 498 is attached to connector portions 485 a and 485 b on the side of the cam flat 480 , and is similarly attached to the frame of the front lens barrel 460 at connector portions 460 a and 460 b . as can be seen from the zoom curve profile , in operation , when the cam flat is advancing away from the motor 510 , the directly linked front lens group 460 is additionally advancing away from the motor 510 , while the rear group is moving towards the motor 510 and away from the front lens group 460 . similarly , when the cam flat 480 and front lens group 460 are moving towards the motor 510 , the rear lens group 470 is moving away from the motor 510 and towards the front lens group 460 . as such , it can be seen that during operation of the present particular embodiment , the front and rear lens barrels 460 , 470 are always moving in the opposite direction from each other . a finger 465 on the front lens barrel 460 may be used in connection with a photointerrupter ( not shown ) to inform a processor of the precise location of the lens barrel 460 . one particular method of assembling the mechanism in a simple fashion will be described . in this method , the zoom lever 490 is mounted first , then the barrels 460 , 470 , and the cam flat 480 is placed last . during assembly , the zoom lever 490 is moved beyond its operational position . at that time the cam flat 480 is slid into place on the housing 450 and the zoom lever 490 is rotated into its position through the open side 483 a of the cam profile 483 . the coupling zoom linkage 498 , is then mounted to the front lens barrel 460 and fixed onto the cam flat 480 . also at this time , the cam drive stepping motor 510 will be engaged with the cam flat 480 at the cam flat yoke 484 and with the nut 500 . it should be understood that other methods of assembling the zoom lens mechanism may be used . additionally , although in the described embodiment the front barrel 460 is linked to the cam using the cam zoom linkage 498 and the rear barrel 470 using the lever 490 , with a slight modification to the cam profile 483 , the cam zoom linkage 498 may be used to drive the rear group 470 and the lever 490 used to drive the front group 460 . referring now to fig2 - 26 , there is shown another embodiment of a cam flat 610 , that may be used in the above described system in place of cam flat 480 . the cam flat 610 engages the zoom housing 450 , as described above in connection with cam flat 480 . additionally , the bottom surface of the cam flat 610 includes the cam profiles , as described in connection with cam profile 483 . similarly , the cam flat 610 will be driven by the cam drive stepping motor 510 . as with the earlier described embodiment , cam drive stepping motor 510 includes a threaded lead screw 512 that passes through the nut 500 . the threaded lead screw 512 rests on a cam flat yoke 625 , made in the shoulder portion 620 . the nut 500 mates with the threaded lead screw 512 on the opposite side of the shoulder 620 from the stepping motor 510 . the cam flat 610 includes on the upper surface thereof , a channel defined by the walls 630 a , 630 b and the rear wall of the shoulder 620 . a finger 500 a on the nut 500 is captured in the channel , by the spring 650 . the spring 650 is captured at one end by a spur 640 that extends from the upper surface of the cam flat 610 and is fixed at the other end using a hole 622 , through the shoulder 620 . one leg of the spring clip 650 is used to provide a low force to bias the finger 500 a axially ( perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the lead screw 512 ) against the inner surface 630 c of the wall 630 a , to stabilize the nut 500 . without the spring 650 , the metal nut of the zoom drive would create a noise when the stepping motor was activated . friction between the nut 500 and the lead screw 512 , created by a relatively large axial force on the thread , creates oscillation of the nut 500 as far as mechanically permitted by the channel . the axial friction between the nut 500 the cam flat walls is not enough to prevent this oscillation . it is undesirable for the nut 500 to be too tight against the shoulder 620 because misalignment of the cam flat 610 needs to be compensated for , and additionally , there needs to be as little external forces on the cam flat 610 as possible to achieve the highest possible efficiency . the spring 650 provides a low force to keep the nut 500 pressed against the cam flat 610 at the reference surface 630 c . additionally , the spring 650 provides a tolerance for the axial displacement of the nut 500 from the cam flat 610 if the motor should overrun a mechanical stop of the cam flat 610 . when the motor 510 reverses , proper alignment is re - established , as the nut 500 is maintained in place relative to the threaded lead screw 512 by the spring 650 . additionally , as described above , the spring 650 discourages the oscillation of the nut , and reduces the amount of noise made by the drive mechanism . if desired , the cam flat 610 may be similar to the cam flat 480 in all other respects . referring now to fig2 , there is shown a spring 650 ′, which may be used in one embodiment of the present invention . the spring 650 ′ includes an engagement portion 650 a ′ for engaging a structure on the cam flat , such as the spur 640 of fig1 . additionally , an open end 650 b ′ of the spring 650 , may be used to further engage a structure on the cam flat , such the hole 622 of fig1 and 18 . to cause such engagement , the legs 650 g ′ and 650 d ′ may be pinched towards each other until the ends 650 e ′ and 650 f ′ can be inserted into the hole 622 , as with the operation of a safety pin . the spring 650 additionally includes a spring bias bent portion 650 c ′ to create a spring bias on the leg 650 d ′. please note that the use of the spring 650 ′ as the spring 650 in fig2 - 26 is not meant to be limiting . it can be seen how other forms of torsion springs and / or compression springs can be used in connection with the embodiment of fig2 - 26 to bias the finger 500 a against a portion of the cam flat 610 , to stabilize the nut and reduce noise . referring now to fig1 - 23 , there will be shown a viewfinder mechanism through which the user can view the scene at the same effective magnification chosen by zoom mechanism . a viewfinder housing 550 is located adjacent to the zoom housing 450 ( see fig5 ). all viewfinder lenses are captured in the viewfinder housing 550 . the viewfinder housing 550 additionally contains two prisms 557 , 559 , for directing the view of the user around a turn in the housing 550 . the middle lens 565 and the rear lens 560 are guided in the lower portion on pins 575 and 570 , which are cylindrical in the present particular embodiment . in the upper portion , pins 560 a and 565 a ( part of the lenses 560 and 565 , respectively ) are being guided within a slot ( not shown ) in the viewfinder cover . an extension spring 580 pushes the rear and the middle lenses 560 , 565 apart from one another ( see fig4 - 51 ) to allow a constant force on the lens levers 590 and 595 . the two lens levers 590 and 595 are captured by an adjustment plate 600 . additionally , pins on the free ends of the levers 590 , 595 are captured in grooves 486 and 487 on the cam flat 480 , respectively . the levers 590 , 595 are driven by the same cam flat 480 as the zoom mechanism , which correspondingly moves the rear and middle lenses 565 and 560 of the viewfinder due to the contact between the lens levers 590 , 595 and the lens frame tabs 575 a and 565 a . as such , as the lens levers 590 , 595 move together and apart based on the profiles of the cam grooves 486 and 487 on the cam flat 480 , the viewfinder experiences an apparent zooming view that corresponds to the effective zooming action experienced at the image sensor due to the cam flat 480 moving the front and rear zoom barrels 460 , 470 of the zoom lens mechanism . the middle lens lever 595 couples to the middle lens 565 by a connector bearing 565 a . the arrangement of the connector bearing 565 a is such that it always pulls the lenses into one sideways , direction , thus preventing an erratic sideways motion of the middle lens 565 during zooming . no additional spring is necessary for the prevention of erratic sideways movement . the rear lens lever 590 interacts with a slanted surface on the pin of the rear lens , which also prevents sideways motion . as such , the two levers 590 , 595 are driving , by means of the cam flat 480 , the two movable zoom lenses 560 , 565 according to the designated motion with the use of only one spring . the spring 580 is captured in a unique way by forcing the lenses always against the lever bearing connection . backlash is relatively eliminated and a smooth motion of the viewfinder zoom action is secured . the additional connector bearing piece prevents an erratic sideways motion of the lenses during zoom activation . referring now to fig2 - 31 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the design of a cam flat 700 including first and second viewfinder guide grooves 710 and 720 , respectively , and an alternate embodiment of a zoom lens guide groove 730 . due to the altered design of the cam grooves in the cam flat 700 , the first and second guide levers 740 and 750 , respectively , have been redesigned to work with the cam groove profiles of the cam flat 700 . as with the other embodiments , the first and second viewfinder guide levers are pivotally fixed to an adjustment plate 760 . the guide levers 740 and 750 engage the cam flat at pins 745 and 755 , respectively , and follow the viewfinder guide grooves 710 and 720 when the cam flat 700 is moved . the remaining free ends of the guide levers 740 and 750 are used to bias the viewfinder lenses , as described in connection with the above embodiments . note that in the present embodiment , unlike the previously described embodiment secures the guide lever 750 to the adjustment plate 760 using a pivot pin 770 located at the distal end of the adjustment plate 760 instead of in the middle of the guide lever , as with the pivot pin 780 of the present embodiment , or as with the embodiment of fig1 - 21 . referring now to fig2 - 23 , the rear lens lever 590 and the middle lens lever 595 are captured on an adjustment plate 600 . the adjustment plate is located on the zoom structure by a bearing rivet 605 , although other means of attachment are possible . an accentor pin 610 is riveted to the adjustment plate as well and guided between a slot of the zoom structure . by turning the accentor pin 610 clockwise or counter clockwise , the adjustment plate 600 can be rotated around the bearing rivet 605 . the rear lens lever 590 can now be moved in a rotary motion and in return , through the connection between the rear lenses , moves the rear lens forward and backwards . the rear lens can now be adjusted in the viewfinder lens system to correct any deviation between the lenses . the accentor pin 610 at the same time is being held by friction ( in the present embodiment , by the use of a washer ) against unwanted rotation . by mounting the two lens levers 590 , 595 on one rotational adjustment plate 600 and by the use of one accentor pin 610 , an easy adjustment ( using merely a screwdriver , in the present embodiment ) of the viewfinder lens system is possible . referring now to fig2 and 32 - 34 , there is shown one particular embodiment of a viewfinder diopter adjustment mechanism that may be used with an image capture device , such as image capture device 10 . the viewfinder eye lens ( diopter lens ) 32 is adjusted using a knob 28 mounted to the rear housing 14 . the eye lens 32 is mounted to the viewfinder housing 550 by means of slot 550 a , in which tab 32 a is seated . the slot includes enough clearance for the tab 32 a to move forward and back , in response to rotation of knob 28 . however , rotation of the knob 28 would be limited by the confines of the slot , such that when the tab 32 a would hit the front or back end bearing surfaces of the slot , the knob 28 could not be turned further . as will be described below , a detent spring or mechanism may be included to prevent the rotation of the knob to these extremes . the slot bearing area is closed and secured by the viewfinder housing cover ( see fig4 ). opposite the tab 32 a , an arm 325 connects the lens 32 to a bearing pin 310 . a protrusion 325 a is located on the planar face of the arm 325 , opposite the planar face supporting the bearing pin 310 . one end 310 a of the bearing pin 310 is located in a cylindrical hole in the viewfinder housing 150 . a compression spring 300 mounted coaxially around the bearing pin 310 biasing the protrusion 325 a against a rotational cam 28 a resembling , a helical ramp , which is incorporated within the diopter knob 28 . the rotational cam 28 a is located in a bearing hole of the back cover 14 of the image capture device 10 . by rotating the diopter knob 28 clockwise or counterclockwise , the cam 28 a inside the diopter knob 28 rotates , moving the diopter lens forward or backward , as the protrusion 325 a is biased against portions of the ramp having greater or lesser heights . this movement of the diopter lens enables the user to adjust the sharpness of the viewfinder zoom lens system . as can be seen more particularly in fig2 , the coil spring 300 is compressed between a bearing shoulder on the bearing pin 310 and the viewfinder housing 150 . as the knob 28 is rotated , the compression spring 300 maintains the protrusion 325 a in contact with the cam 28 a based on the force on the bearing shoulder of the bearing pin 310 compressing or decompressing the spring 300 against the viewfinder housing 150 as the cam ramp 28 a height increases or decreases , respectively . as can be seen , the change in height of the ramp 28 a results in a corresponding linear movement of the viewfinder diopter lens 32 . additionally , a detent spring 320 having a frictional spring arm 320 a is connected to the diopter knob 28 against the inner surface 14 b of the rear housing 14 . inner surface 14 b should include a number of detent notches , not shown , with which to engage the frictional spring arm 320 a when the diopter knob 28 is turned . this serves to capture the frictional spring arm 320 a to prevent unintentional movement of the diopter knob 28 . the detent spring 320 can be used as a friction position device or as a detent mechanism . the diopter knob 28 may be fastened to the rear cover by means of a heat stake or ultrasonic welding . referring now to fig3 - 46 , there is shown another embodiment of a diopter adjustment mechanism in accordance with the present invention . the image capture device includes a back shell 810 upon which is located a mechanism cover 812 for the viewfinder diopter adjustment mechanism . additionally located on the rear cover 810 , is the viewfinder ocular lens or diopter lens 814 , the position of which is adjusted by the diopter adjustment mechanism of the present invention . extending through the mechanism cover 812 is the diopter wheel 816 . diopter wheel 816 is a toothed gear rotatable by the thumb or finger of the user . referring now to fig3 - 40 , beneath the diopter mechanism cover 812 , the diopter wheel 16 is mounted on a bearing pin or post 818 extending from the back shell 810 . the teeth of the diopter wheel engage the teeth of the diopter knob gear 820 , as shown . additionally , an end position stop block 822 is molded on the back shell 810 , near the post 818 . the end positions of the diopter wheel 816 are determined by a slot 816 a configured in the rear surface of the diopter wheel 816 and by the stop block 822 on the back shell 810 . as such , the diopter wheel 816 may be adjusted clockwise / counterclockwise to the limits of the slot 816 a , until the stop block 822 contacts an end of the slot 816 a and stops the diopter wheel 816 from turning any further in that direction . as will be discussed more fully below , the diopter knob gear 820 additionally includes an alignment point referring now to fig4 - 46 , there is shown the interaction between the diopter wheel 816 , the diopter knob gear 820 and the movement of the diopter lens 814 . the reverse of the diopter knob gear 820 has a raised ramp 820 c of steadily increasing height and being disposed in a predetermined relationship to the alignment point 820 a . additionally , the reverse portion of the diopter knob gear 820 is heat staked to a detent spring 830 at heat stake portions 820 b . the detent spring 830 includes a spring arm 830 a which seats in position indentations 810 a in the back shell 810 . rotation of the diopter wheel 16 causes the diopter knob gear 820 to correspondingly rotate and to turn the detent spring 830 such that spring arm 830 a rests and locks in the discrete locations defined by the indentations 810 a , to keep the gear 820 from drifting . additionally , the viewfinder ocular lens 814 includes a cam following arm 835 extending outward therefrom . the cam following arm 835 rests against the top surface of the ramp 820 c . a bearing pin 837 including a spring 840 thereround , which continuously biases the cam following arm 835 against the ramp 820 c . when the detent knob gear 820 rotates clockwise / counter - clockwise , the cam following arm 835 follows the ramp 820 c , which converts the rotational motion of the knob gear 820 into linear motion of the ocular lens 814 . the bearing pin 837 fits into a recess 842 in the image capture device body 845 , thus ensuring that the spring 840 constantly applies pressure between the image device body and the cam following arm 835 , maintaining the arm 835 in continuous contact with the ramp 820 c . as the cam follower arm 835 follows the ramp 820 c , the ocular lens 814 of the viewfinder moves linearly along the viewfinder axis x ( fig4 ). as can be understood , the present diopter adjustment mechanism is for fine - tuning of the viewfinder ocular / diopter lens only . the viewfinder ocular lens &# 39 ; maximum amount of linear movement along the viewfinder axis x is defined by the total change in height ramp 820 c portion that the arm 835 is permitted to travel , based upon the final positions of the stop block 822 in the groove 816 a ( fig3 ). while the invention has been described with reference to certain 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 can 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 |
electrochemical cells comprise an anode , a cathode , an electrolyte in contact with the anode and the cathode , and a flow network comprising a manifold structure having at least one manifold port adapted to engage a corresponding port on the electrochemical cell such that a fluid flow pathway from the manifold port to the corresponding port of the electrochemical cell can be established . in improved embodiments described herein , the manifold port is connected to a frame of the manifold such that the manifold port can move , or float , in at least one direction when not engaged with the electrochemical cell . in some embodiments , the manifold port can comprise structure that engages with a mated structure on the manifold frame such that the manifold port can move over a limited range in at least one dimension relative to the manifold frame while being supported by the manifold frame . due to the presence of the moving or floating manifold port , the manifold structure can more easily engage and disengage with other components of the electrochemical cell . moreover , in embodiments where the manifold comprises a plurality of manifold ports , the floating ability of each port can facilitate easy engagement with a plurality of corresponding ports , and can increase the manufacturing tolerances of the manifolds . in some embodiments , each of the plurality of manifold ports can independently float or move , relative to the other manifold ports , which can facilitate coupling each of the ports to a corresponding port . in some embodiments , one or more baffles can be positioned within the fluid channels defined in the manifold ports to facilitate substantially uniform fluid flow out of manifold ports . referring to fig1 - 3 , a manifold 100 is shown comprising manifold frame 102 . manifold frame 102 can include a top face 104 and an opposed bottom face 106 . generally , manifold frame 102 can be provided with one or more openings 108 a - l , wherein each opening defines a passage though manifold frame 102 . in some embodiments as depicted in fig2 , a manifold port 110 can be positioned within each opening 108 a - l , and thus the size and shape of each opening can be guided by the corresponding size and shape of the manifold port 110 ( in the description , a manifold port is generically noted by the reference numeral 110 , although other reference numerals are used to denote manifold ports of differing design ) adapted to fit into the specific opening 108 . in some embodiments , the plurality of openings 108 a - j can have substantially the same size and shape , while in other embodiments the plurality of openings 108 a - l can have different sizes and shapes from each other . referring to fig2 , twelve openings 108 are shown with four , openings 108 b , g , j , and k , having a common size and shape and the other eight , openings 108 a , c , d - f , h , i , and l , having a common size and shape . as shown in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , manifold 100 can comprise a plurality of manifold ports 110 a , 110 b , 112 a , 112 b , 114 a , 114 b , 116 a , 116 b , 118 a , 118 b , 120 a and 120 b , each of the manifold ports 110 a , 110 b , 112 a , 112 b , 114 a , 114 b , 116 a , 116 b , 118 a , 118 b , 120 a positioned within a respective one of the openings 108 a - l in manifold frame 102 . as shown in fig2 , the openings 121 of each of the manifold ports 110 a , 110 b , 112 a , 112 b , 114 a , 114 b , 116 a , 116 b , 118 a , 118 b , 120 a can all be aligned in substantially the same direction ( the z direction in the depiction of fig2 ) to facilitate quick connection to a cell stack endplate or another electrochemical cell component . although fig1 - 3 shown an embodiment where twelve manifold ports 110 a , 110 b , 112 a , 112 b , 114 a , 114 b , 116 a , 116 b , 118 a , 118 b , 120 a are provided in manifold 100 , one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that manifolds with different numbers of manifold ports , e . g ., greater or smaller than twelve , are contemplated and are within the disclosure . additionally , the number of manifold ports in a particular manifold can be guided by the corresponding design of the electrochemical cell stack that the manifold is designed connect with . as described below , each manifold port is generally connected to one or more flow pipes 154 to facilitate moving desired fluids through the respective manifold port 110 a , 110 b , 112 a , 112 b , 114 a , 114 b , 116 a , 116 b , 118 a , 118 b , 120 a . manifold frame 102 can further comprise one or more fastening structures 122 positioned , for example , around the periphery of manifold frame 102 to facilitate connecting manifold frame 102 to another electrochemical cell structure such as , for example , a cell stack endplate , a mounting bracket or the like . upward directed threaded studs 123 are included to help facilitate connecting manifold frame 102 to another electrochemical cell structure . the manifold shown in fig1 - 3 is designed to couple to two cell stacks . one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the manifold 100 could be adapted to couple to a different number cell stacks with a corresponding change in manifold design . generally , manifold frame 102 provides support for the manifold ports , and connected flow tubes , and also provides structure that can secure the manifold to electrochemical cell components . as shown in fig5 a , in some embodiments , each of the plurality of openings 108 a - l in the manifold frame 102 can have a peripheral groove or channel 124 that extends along edges of the opening 108 a - l . for example , as shown in fig5 a , which is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of fig4 , groove 124 can be located within opening 108 f and can be adapted to engage a corresponding rim or tongue 126 on port 120 a , which permits port 120 a to move , or float , in at least one dimension ( e . g ., in the xy plane , as depicted in fig2 ) while positioned in opening 108 f . the rim 1226 outer margin 123 is spaced apart from the groove 124 inner margin 125 . the height dimension of the rim 124 may be less than the height dimension of the groove 124 such that there is spacing for float in the z direction as well . this spacing is apparent in fig5 a . thus , during engagement of manifold port 120 a with a corresponding port located on an electrochemical cell component , manifold port 120 a can move or float at least laterally in the xy directions , which can facilitate easier alignment and connection . the floating engagement of a manifold port with an opening in a manifold frame is also shown in fig5 b and 5 c . in some embodiments , each manifold port in a first component can float or move independently of the other manifold ports , which facilitates aligning a plurality of manifold ports with a plurality of corresponding ports in a second component , the second component to be mated to the first component . as noted above , in some embodiments , the manifold ports can float in the x - y axis from about ¼ of an inch to about 1 / 16 of an inch . in some embodiments , the manifold ports , such as manifold port 120 a , can float , or move , in the z - axis . such movement is typically about 1 / 32 of an inch or less . additionally , in some embodiments , the manifold ports 120 a can float in the x - y axis from about 2 to about 6 times the distance that manifold ports 120 a can float in the z - axis . however , in other embodiments , two or more manifold ports 120 a may be connected to a common flow tube 154 . in these embodiments , desired levels of independent manifold port movement can be maintained by employing of a flexible and / or elastomeric flow tube material that will permit the coupled ports to move relative to one another . referring to fig1 , a third way of generating the float noted above is depicted . in this case the manifold frame 102 of the manifold 100 has an oversized bore 170 defined therein . as noted , the bore is preferably 0 . 375 inch in diameter . the manifold port 110 has an upward directed pin 172 that is disposable in the bore 170 . as noted , the pin 152 preferably has a diameter of 0 . 250 inch . accordingly , the pin 172 is free to float in the xy plane within the oversize bore 170 . it should be noted that in this embodiment , the mating to the manifold port 110 to the frame 102 in the z direction is preferably relatively snug , as indicated by the dimension noted at 176 , wherein clearance is preferably 0 . 005 - 0 . 010 inch . it should be noted that other dimensions of the bore 170 and the pin 172 could be used as desired , depending on the application , in order to achieve the desired float in both the xy plane and in the z direction . turning to fig1 a and 16 b , a further means of generating float is depicted . in this case , a peripheral frame 400 supports a frame plate 402 . the frame 400 is disposable in the manifold 100 . an opening 404 is defined in the frame plate 402 for each manifold channel port 408 to be mated to the plate 402 . the opening 404 is surrounded by a plurality of peripheral snap fingers 410 . the snap fingers 410 are formed of a resilient material and are spreadable with the snap fingers 410 snapping back to an original disposition after a spreading influence is removed . the channel port 408 has a ridge 412 and a spaced apart outward directed lip 414 . in assembly , channel port 408 is pressed into the opening 404 from the underside . the snap fingers 410 are forcibly spread by the channel port 408 . the channel port 408 need not be perfectly aligned with the opening 404 , since the snap fingers 410 may spread varying amounts by an off center channel port 408 , thereby providing the desired amount of float . as the channel port 408 is fully inserted into the opening 404 , the distal end of the snap fingers engage the ridge 412 and the proximal portion of the snap fingers 404 is supported upon the upper surface of the lip 412 . as shown in fig3 , manifold 100 can comprise ports 121 a , 121 b and 121 c , which can be connected to , for example , an anode outlet unit or another electrochemical cell component . in some embodiments , ports 121 a , 121 b and 121 c can be floating ports , having the rim and groove structures discussed above on the port 120 a and opening to permit the ports to move in at least one dimension prior to engaging a corresponding port . in some embodiments , manifold frame 102 can have a generally rectangular cross - section , although other shapes can be used as appropriate . manifold frame 102 can be composed of any material suitable for use in electrochemical cell applications including metals , polymers and combinations thereof . suitable metals include , for example , aluminum and stainless steel . suitable polymers include , for example , poly ( vinylchloride ) ( pvc ), polyurethanes , polycarbonates , polyethylene ( pe ), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene ( uhmwpe ), poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( ptfe ), polyetheretherketone ( peek ), and blends and copolymers thereof . referring to fig6 , an alternate coupling mechanism is shown that can permit a manifold port to float or move within an opening in a manifold frame . fig6 shows a manifold port 200 coupled with a corresponding port 210 on a cell stack endplate 201 . as shown in fig6 , manifold port 200 can comprise a channel 202 adapted to engage protrusion 204 on a manifold frame , which permits manifold port 200 to move in at least one dimension when not engaged with corresponding port 210 . additionally , port 200 can comprise slot 206 which can engage a corresponding protrusion 208 located on a cell stack endplate 201 , which can roughly align port 200 with a corresponding port 210 during engagement . as shown in fig6 , manifold port 200 can be connected to a flow tube 212 to facilitate moving fluids to and from manifold port 200 . as described above , manifold 100 can comprise a plurality of manifold ports 110 , which facilitate connecting manifold 100 to another electrochemical cell component such that a plurality of fluid flow paths between manifold 100 and another cell component are established . as depicted in fig1 a - c and 14 , generally , each manifold port 110 can comprise a port body 111 and a fluid channel 113 that is defined by and that extends though the port body 111 . one end of the bore can be connected to a flow pipe , while the opposite end of the bore can form an opening adapted to engage with a corresponding port on another fuel cell component . additionally , an o - ring 115 or the like can be positioned in a groove 119 defined in the port body 111 to facilitate sealing port 110 to a corresponding opening 108 . in general , the o - ring can be composed of , for example , natural rubber , synthetic rubber , and the like and combinations thereof . referring to fig7 and 8 , a manifold port 110 shown comprising port body 111 and fluid channel 113 extending through port body 111 such that fluid channel 113 defines a fluid flow pathway through port 110 . in some embodiments , end 134 of port 129 can be adapted to engage with a fluid flow pipe , while opposed end 136 can be adapted to engage a corresponding port on another fuel cell component , such as a corresponding port on a fuel cell stack endplate . in some embodiments , one or more baffles 138 , 140 ( fig7 ), 142 , 144 ( fig8 a - c , and 14 ) can be positioned within fluid channel 113 to alter the flow of fluids though fluid channel 113 . generally , the baffles 138 , 140 , 142 , and 144 are designed to disperse fluid flow across the opening of fluid channel 113 such that a more uniform flow out of end 136 is achieved relative to corresponding flow without the baffle ( s ) 138 , 140 , 142 , and 144 by restricting flow at the center 143 of the port 100 and forcing flow toward the outer edges 145 along the length of the port 110 . see fig1 . one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the geometry and number of the baffle ( s ) employed in a particular manifold port 110 can be guided by the flow of incoming fluids and the desired flow streams for a particular electrochemical cell design . the manifold ports 110 of the present disclosure can be comprised of any material suitable for use in electrochemical cell applications . suitable materials include polymers such as , for example , polyethylene ( pe ), polypropylene ( pp ), poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( ptfe ), poly ( vinylidine diflouride ) ( pvdf ), and blends and copolymers thereof . in addition , in embodiments where the manifold 100 is designed to be used with a hydrogen fuel cell , it can be desirable to reduce potential static build up in the manifold ports 110 . in these embodiments , a conductive additive can be added to the polymer to form a composite material that can dissipate static . suitable conductive materials include , for example , carbon powders , carbon fibers , carbon nanotubes , other carbon particles and combinations thereof . in some embodiments , the conductive additive / polymer composite can have a surface resistivity from about 10 7 ohms / square to about 10 9 ohms / square . generally , the manifold ports 110 of the present invention can be connected to one or more flow tubes , which can provide fluid flow pathways to each of the manifold ports 110 . referring to fig1 - 3 , in some embodiments , flow tube 150 can be connected to manifold ports 120 a and 120 b , while flow tube 152 can be connected to manifold port 116 a . in some embodiments , flow tube 154 can be connected to manifold port 110 a , while flow tube 154 can be connected to manifold port 110 b . flow tube 156 can be connected to manifold port 116 b , while flow tube 158 can be connected to manifold ports 114 a and 114 b . flow tubes 159 a and 159 b can be connected to manifold ports 118 a and 118 b , respectively . flow tubes 160 a and 160 b can be connected to manifold ports 112 a and 112 b , respectively . one or ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the connection of specific flow tubes to specific manifold ports can be guided by the design and fluid flow requirements of a particular electrochemical cell stack . the flow tubes of the present disclosure can be formed from any material suitable for use in electrochemical cell applications . suitable materials include , for example , polymers , copolymers , block copolymers and blends and copolymers thereof . suitable polymers include , for example , polyethylene ( pe ), polypropylene ( pp ), poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( ptfe ), poly ( vinylidine diflouride ) ( pvdf ), and blends and copolymers thereof . in addition , in embodiments where the manifold 100 is designed to be used with a hydrogen fuel cell , it can be desirable to reduce potential static build up in the flow tubes . in these embodiments , a conductive additive can be added to the polymer to form a composite material that can dissipate static . suitable conductive materials include , for example , carbon powders , carbon fibers , carbon nanotubes , and combinations thereof . in some embodiments , the conductive additive / polymer composite can have a surface resistivity from about 10 7 ohms / square to about 10 9 ohms / square . in some embodiments , the flow tubes are formed by roto molding a composite comprising pvdf and carbon powder and / or carbon fibers . in these embodiments , in order to obtain a molded tube with a smooth surface , it is desirable to employ a composite material having a substantially spherical shape . in other words , roto molding a composite material comprising elongated particles can produce a molded article with undesirable surface features such as , for example , pits and / or grooves . in some embodiments , the length / diameter ratio of the composite material can be about 1 : 1 , while in other embodiments the length to diameter ratio can be from about 1 : 1 to about 2 : 1 . in some embodiments , the manifold ports can be injection molded and welded to the roto molded flow tubes to form the flow networks of the present disclosure . roto molding is generally described in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 629 , 409 , entitled “ rotational molding apparatus having robot to open , close , charge and clean mold ,” and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 599 , 459 , entitled “ method of rotational molding with moveable insert ,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in some embodiments , during use of manifold 100 , manifold ports 110 a and 110 b can be employed to supply air to the cathodes of an electrochemical cell , while manifold ports 118 a and 118 b can be employed to deliver hydrogen to the anodes . additionally , manifold ports 116 a and 116 can be used as cathode outlet ports , while manifold ports 112 a and 112 b can used as anode outlet ports . manifold ports 120 a and 120 b can be used to supply coolant to an electrochemical cell stack , while manifold ports 114 a and 114 b can be used as coolant outlet ports . the flow tubes 152 , 154 , and 156 , described above , can be used to supply appropriate fluids to the manifold ports of manifold 100 . fig9 - 11 depict a typical manifold 100 with various ports , oval and round , and other components identified by function . the oval ports 110 include the following : port 110 a cathode in stage 1 port 110 b coolant out stage 1 port 110 c coolant out stage 2 port 110 d cathode out stage 2 port 110 e coolant in stage 2 port 110 f coolant in stage 1 port 110 g cathode out stage 1 port 110 h cathode in stage 2 also included are round ports 312 , including the following : port 312 a anode out stage 1 port 312 b anode out stage 2 port 312 c anode in stage 2 port 312 d anode in stage 1 314 a cathode out stage 2 314 b coolant out stage 2 314 c cathode in stage 2 314 d cathode exhaust 314 e cathode in stage 1 314 f coolant in stage 1 314 g cathode in stage 2 314 h anode in stage 1 314 i anode in stage 2 314 j coolant in drain 314 k coolant out drain 314 l anode out bleed 314 m anode out stage 2 314 n anode out drain 316 electrical connection 318 a dp sensor port , anode in stage 2 318 b dp sensor port , anode in stage 1 referring again to fig1 , the use of overmolding for a manifold port 110 is depicted . the present invention includes in one embodiment , at least one over molded port connection 110 . the outer body 300 of the port 110 is preferably formed of a metal , preferably stainless steel . the inner portion 302 of the port , that portion in contact with the fluid being transported , is then formed of a material that is impervious to the fluid , preferably a plastic material such as pvdf . the plastic material is preferably injection molded around portions of the metallic body 300 , as depicted at the interface 304 of the outer body 300 and the inner portion 302 . all surfaces 306 that contact the fluid media are then formed of impervious plastic material , while the metallic body 300 provides the structural strength to withstand a known burst pressure ( typically , 414 kpa ). further , the metallic frame 300 may be formed with integral mounting pins 308 for effecting the mating of fuel cell components . fig1 shows a schematic diagram of an electrochemical cell system comprising a manifold 250 of the present disclosure interfacing with a cell stack 252 . as shown in fig1 , the floating ports 254 on manifold 250 can engage corresponding ports 256 on cell stack 252 . additionally , ports 254 on manifold 250 can be connected to flow tubes , such as flow tubes 152 , 154 , and 156 , such that manifold 252 can be in fluid communication with , for example , a hydrogen source 258 , an oxygen source 260 and a coolant source 262 . thus , manifold 250 can direct the flow of fluids from a plurality of fluid sources into appropriate ports 110 of cell stack 252 . manifold 250 can also direct the flow of fluids of out cell stack 252 as shown in fig1 . in some embodiments , the electrochemical cell of fig1 can form part of an automobile or other vehicle . the embodiments above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting . additional embodiments are within the claims . although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments , workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 8 |
as shown in fig2 , a driver system 200 includes first and second driver stages 202 , 204 that are cascaded to an output stage 206 . an input signal may be provided to the first driver stage 202 and a driving signal may be coupled from the output stage 206 to a laser 208 and a termination 210 . the driver system 200 also includes a dca circuit 212 . the first and second driver stages 202 , 204 , the output stage 206 and the dca circuit 212 are each disposed on a chip 214 . the dca circuit 212 receives an input from a replica output stage 220 having pull - up resistors 222 , 224 coupled to the differential outputs thereof . the arrangement of fig2 provides a differential feedback signal regardless of whether the output stage 206 is ac or direct coupled to the laser 208 and also provides an output stage 206 having an open drain or open collector output . the laser 208 may be implemented using , for example , a laser diode , a vertical cavity surface emitting lasers ( vcsel ) or a physical media dependent ( pmd ) laser . regardless of the type of the laser used , the driver system 200 is configured to provide a feedback signal to the dca circuit 212 that is an accurate representation of the duty cycle of the voltage produced by the output stage 206 . the dca circuit 212 may be implemented using any conventional mark / space circuit that compares the dc levels of two feedback signals . for example , as shown in fig2 , the dca circuit 212 compares the dc levels provided by the outputs from the replica output stage 220 . based on the dc levels of the signals from the replica output stage 220 , the dca circuit 212 outputs a duty cycle correction signal that varies the duty cycle of signals provided to the first driver stage 202 . changing the duty cycle of the signals provided to the first driver stage 202 in turn affects the duty cycle output from the first driver stage 202 , the second driver stage 204 , the output stage 206 and the replica output stage 220 , the output of which is , for duty cycle purposes , identical or nearly identical to the output from the output stage 206 . the replica output stage 220 , like the output stage 206 , receives its input from the output of the second driver stage 204 . the replica output stage 220 has identical or nearly identical duty cycle characteristics as the output stage 206 , but the replica output stage 220 consumes far less current than the output stage 206 because the replica output stage 220 is not required to have significant power driving capability . accordingly , the replica output stage 220 behaves , with respect to duty cycle properties , identically or nearly identically to the output stage 206 so that the dca circuit 212 can accurately control the duty cycle of the signals coupled from the output stage 206 , regardless of the coupling or the termination ( i . e ., the loading ) of the output stage 206 . the first and second driver stages 202 , 204 , the output stage 206 and the replica output stage 220 may be integrated onto a single substrate using semiconductor fabrication techniques . for example , the first and second driver stages 202 , 204 , the output stage 206 and the replica output stage 220 may be integrally formed on a substrate ( e . g ., silicon , gallium arsenide ( gaas ), etc .) using doping techniques . in terms of power and current handling capability , the replica output stage 220 is configured to operate using far less current than is used by the output stage 206 . for example , while the output stage 206 may be designed to source a drive current of , for example , 100 milliamperes ( ma ), the replica output stage 220 may be configured to consume 1 / 100 th of such a current and , therefore , may operate using 1 ma of current . as a further example , the output stage 206 may be designed to source a drive current of 100 ma and the replica output stage 220 may be configured to consume 1 / 10 th of such current and , therefore , may operate using 10 ma of current . in implementation , it is desirable to have the replica output stage 220 located as closely as possible to the output stage 206 to maximize the similarity between the duty cycle characteristics of the replica output stage 220 and the output stage 206 . for example , the replica output stage 220 and the output stage 206 may have identical or nearly identical switching and transient characteristics to ensure that the duty cycle behaviors of the replica output stage 220 and the output stage 206 are similar or identical . as will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art , one or more of the first and second driver stages 202 , 204 could be eliminated . for example , referring to fig2 , the first driver stage 202 could be eliminated and the signals from the dca circuit 212 could be coupled to the input of the second driver stage 204 . as a further example , both of the first and second driver stages 202 , 204 could be eliminated and the output of the dca circuit 212 could be coupled directly to the input to the output stage 206 . such an arrangement is possible due to the presence of the replica output stage 220 , which has duty cycle characteristics similar or identical to those of the output stage 206 . as shown in the example of fig3 , an output stage 306 , a replica output stage 320 ( having associated bias resistors 322 and 324 ) and a bias circuit 330 may be fabricated from transistors , such as field effect transistors ( fets ) or bi - polar junction transistors ( bjts ). if used , the fets could be junction field effect transistors ( jfets ), metal - oxide semiconductor field effect transistors ( mosfets ) ( such as p - channel or n - channel mosfets ), or any other suitable transistors . as described in detail below , the current and power consumption associated with the replica output stage 320 is significantly lower than the current and power consumption of the output stage 306 . however , the duty cycle characteristics of the replica output stage 320 are identical or nearly identical to the duty cycle characteristics of the output stage 306 . the output stage 306 includes first and second transistors 340 , 342 , having input terminals 344 , 346 that function as positive and negative input terminals , respectively . the terminals 348 and 350 of the first and second transistors 340 , 342 form negative and positive differential output terminals , respectively . the terminals 348 , 350 of the first and second transistors 340 , 342 are not terminated on - chip and , therefore , are referred to as having open drain ( if the transistors 340 , 342 are fets ) or open collector outputs ( if the transistors are bjts ). the terminals 352 , 354 of the first and second transistors 340 , 342 are coupled together and further coupled to the bias circuit 330 . the replica output stage 320 includes first and second transistors 360 , 362 having input terminals 364 , 366 that function as positive and negative input terminals , respectively , and that are connected in parallel with the positive and negative input terminals 344 and 346 of the output stage 306 ( although such connections are not shown in fig3 for the purpose of clarity ). the terminals 368 , 370 of the first and second transistors 360 , 362 are coupled to the pull up resistors 322 , 324 ( having , for example , values of 250 ohms ), respectively , which are coupled to a voltage source vdd . additionally , the terminals 368 , 370 provide signals that are coupled to a dca circuit . the terminals 372 , 374 of the first and second transistors 360 , 362 are coupled together and further coupled to the bias circuit 330 . in practice , it is desirable to locate the output stage 306 and the replica output stage 320 physically close to one another so that the duty cycle characteristics of the two are as similar as possible . the bias circuit 330 includes first , second and third transistors 380 , 382 , 384 , the source terminals of which are all coupled together at a terminal 386 . the gates of each of the first , second and third transistors 380 , 382 and 384 are coupled together , and the gate and the drain of the first transistor 380 are coupled together at a terminal 388 to which a bias current ( i bias ) is applied . the drain of the second transistor 382 is coupled to the output stage 306 and the drain of the third transistor 384 is coupled to the replica output stage 320 . commonly , the bias circuit configuration of fig3 is referred to as a current mirror . as will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art , the power and current handling capabilities of transistors are related to the widths of the channels used to implement the transistors . the narrower the width of the transistor channels , the less current the device can carry . for example , a transistor specified to have a width of five units ( e . g ., five micrometers , microns , etc .) can pass five times the amount of current that a transistor specified to have a width of one unit , under identical conditions . reference will now be made to the relationships of the widths of the transistors 340 , 342 , 360 and 362 in the output stage 306 and the replica output stage 320 . as shown in fig3 , the widths of the transistors 360 and 362 of the replica output stage 320 are one - tenth the widths of the transistors 340 , 342 of the output stage 306 . accordingly , based on the relationship of the transistors 340 , 342 and 360 , 362 , the replica output stage 320 can consume only one - tenth the current that can be consumed by the output stage 306 . with regard to the relationships between the widths of the first , second and third transistors 380 , 382 and 384 . the widths of the second and third transistors 382 , 384 are twenty and two times , respectively , the width of the first transistor 380 . accordingly , while the first transistor 380 can pass a given amount of current and is used to set the gate voltages of the second and third transistors 382 , 384 , the second transistor 382 , which provides a current path for the output stage 306 , is capable of passing twenty times the amount of current that the first transistor 380 can pass . the third transistor 384 , which has a width of two times that of the first transistor 380 , can pass one - tenth the current that can be passed by the second transistor 382 . because the third transistor 384 is coupled to the replica output stage 320 , which has a current handling capability of one - tenth of that of the output stage 306 , the output stage 306 and its associated current path ( the second transistor 382 ) can pass 10 times the current that the replica output stage 320 and its associated current path ( the third transistor 384 ) can pass . although the foregoing discloses example systems including , among other components , transistors connected to form circuits , it should be noted that such systems are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting . for example , it is contemplated that any or all of these transistors could be embodied in discrete devices connected together using a circuit board or numerous ones of the transistors could be integrated together on one or multiple portions of silicon or any other suitable substrate . accordingly , while the foregoing describes example systems , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the examples are not the only way to implement such systems . | 7 |
in a first embodiment , as illustrated in fig3 , a plurality of physical servers are coupled to a plurality of network switches while one or more of the physical servers include a network adapter logically divided . an information processing apparatus 100 , which performs main processes in the present embodiment , is coupled to each of the physical servers and each of the network switches through a local area network ( lan ) for management 200 . fig4 is a function block diagram illustrating the information processing apparatus 100 . as described above , the information processing apparatus 100 is coupled to the lan for management 200 to which the plurality of physical servers and network switches are coupled , and includes a processing unit 101 , a first data acquiring unit 102 , a second data acquiring unit 103 , a data storing unit 104 , and an output unit 105 . the first data acquiring unit 102 acquires server data from each hypervisor and causes the server data to be stored in the data storing unit 104 . the second data acquiring unit 103 acquires switch data from each network switch and causes the switch data to be stored in the data storing unit 104 . the processing unit 101 generates coupling information of the network by performing processes using the server data and the switch data stored in the data storing unit 104 , and causes the generated coupling information to be stored in the data storing unit 104 as , for example , a coupling data table . the output unit 105 outputs the coupling information of the network stored in the data storing unit 104 to , for example , a display device , a printing device , or another computer coupled through the network . for example , the coupling state illustrated in fig5 is assumed so as to facilitate the description below . that is , the physical server managed by a hypervisor hv 1 includes network adapters 1010 to 1012 . the network adapter 1010 is logically divided into four while the network adapters 1011 and 1012 are not logically divided . the physical network adapter 1010 includes logical network adapters na 1 to na 4 , which have mac addresses of “ a ”, “ b ”, “ c ”, and “ d ”, respectively . the hypervisor hv 1 may recognize na 1 to na 4 as identifiers . on the side of the hypervisor hv 1 , the physical network adapter 1011 is identified as a network adapter corresponding to an identifier na 5 , and the physical network adapter 1012 is identified as a network adapter corresponding to an identifier na 6 . the network adapters are coupled to peripheral component interconnect ( pci ) buses , and each logical device is provided with location information on the pci bus . for example , the logical network adapter na 1 is provided with location information “ 02 : 00 . 0 ”, the logical network adapter na 1 is provided with location information “ 02 : 00 . 1 ”, the logical network adapter na 3 is provided with location information “ 02 : 00 . 2 ”, the logical network adapter na 4 is provided with location information “ 02 : 00 . 3 ”, the logical network adapter na 5 is provided with location information “ 04 : 00 . 0 ”, and the logical network adapter na 6 is provided with location information “ 06 : 00 . 0 ”. in the location information , as illustrated in fig6 , xx represents a bus number , yy represents a device number , and z represents a function number . the logical network adapters na 1 to na 4 of the identical physical network adapter 1010 have an identical bus number . in the example of fig5 , all the bus numbers of the logical network adapters na 1 to na 4 indicate “ 02 ”, which is not identical with the bus numbers in the location information on the physical network adapters 1011 and 1012 different from the physical network adapter 1010 . furthermore , in this example , the physical network adapter 1010 is coupled to a port n of a network switch sw 1 , the physical network adapter 1011 is coupled to a port m of a network switch sw 2 , and the physical network adapter 1012 is coupled to a port p of a network switch sw 3 . referring now to fig7 to 14 , the operations performed by the information processing apparatus 100 are described . first , the first data acquiring unit 102 outputs a request to each of the hypervisors to acquire server data from the hypervisors , and causes the server data to be stored in the data storing unit 104 ( s 1 ). in the case illustrated in fig5 , the data illustrated in fig8 is acquired from the hypervisor hv 1 . the data in the example of fig8 includes a plurality of combinations , each of which is made up of an identifier ( id ) of a logical network adapter , a mac address , and location information , and an identifier of a hypervisor . after that , the second data acquiring unit 103 outputs a request to each of the network switches to acquire switch data from the network switches , and causes the switch data to be stored in the data storing unit 104 ( s 3 ). in the case illustrated in fig5 , the data illustrated in fig9 is acquired from the network switches . the data in the example of fig9 includes a plurality of combinations , each of which is made up of a switch id , a port number , and a coupling destination mac address . after that , the processing unit 101 identifies one unprocessed network switch in the switch data ( s 5 ). also , the processing unit 101 identifies one unprocessed port of the identified network switch in the switch data ( s 7 ). additionally , the processing unit 101 identifies one unprocessed hypervisor in the server data ( s 9 ). furthermore , the processing unit 101 identifies one unprocessed network adapter server data managed by the identified hypervisor ( s 11 ). after that , the processing unit 101 compares the coupling destination mac address of the port identified in s 7 and the mac address of the network adapter identified in s 11 ( s 13 ). after that , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through a terminal a . the process of fig1 is described now . the processing unit 101 determines whether the mac addresses compared in s 13 match ( s 15 ). when the mac addresses do not match , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through a terminal b . when the mac addresses match , the processing unit 101 causes the switch id , the port number , the hypervisor id , and the mac address of the identified network adapter to be registered in the coupling data table of the data storing unit 104 ( s 17 ). for example , when the switch id “ sw 1 ”, the port number “ n ”, the coupling destination mac address “ a ”, the hypervisor id “ hv 1 ”, the network adapter id “ na 1 ”, and the mac address “ a ” are processed , the data illustrated in fig1 is stored in the coupling data table . also , the processing unit 101 identifies the pci bus number of the network adapter identified in s 11 based on the server data ( s 19 ). in the above - described example , “ 02 ” is identified as indicated in fig8 . after that , the processing unit 101 searches for another network adapter that has a pci bus number identical with the identified bus number and is managed by the identified hypervisor in the server data ( s 21 ). in the above - described example , when another network adapter id with the pci bus number “ 02 ” is searched for except “ na 1 ” in the location information with which the hypervisor id “ hv 1 ” is correlated , “ na 1 ”, “ na 3 ”, and “ na 4 ” are obtained . after that , the processing unit 101 determines whether or not another network adapter has been extracted in s 21 ( s 23 ). for example , when processing the network adapter id “ na 5 ” or “ na 6 ”, another network adapter , which satisfies such conditions , may not be extracted . when another network adapter , which satisfies such conditions , is not extracted , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through the terminal b . when another network adapter is extracted , the processing unit 101 causes the switch id , the port number , the hypervisor id , and the mac address of the another network adapter having been extracted to be registered in the coupling data table in the data storing unit 104 ( s 25 ). then , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through the terminal b . in the above - described example , the mac address “ b ” corresponding to the network adapter “ na 2 ”, the mac address “ c ” corresponding to the network adapter “ na 3 ”, and the mac address “ d ” corresponding to the network adapter “ na 4 ” are registered . that is , the coupling data table is changed as illustrated in fig1 . fig1 illustrates that four different mac addresses are registered even when the switch ids , the port numbers , and the hypervisor ids each are identical . since the mac addresses corresponding to the network adapters “ na 1 ”, “ na 3 ”, and “ na 4 ” extracted in s 21 have already been registered in the coupling data table , the network adapters “ na 2 ”, “ na 3 ”, and “ na 4 ” may be treated as processed network adapters in s 11 . the process of fig1 is described now . the processing unit 101 determines whether an unprocessed network adapter is present in the server data ( s 27 ). when an unprocessed network adapter is present , the process returns to s 11 through a terminal c . when no unprocessed network adapter is present , the processing unit 101 determines whether an unprocessed hypervisor is present in the server data ( s 29 ). when an unprocessed hypervisor is present , the process returns to s 9 through a terminal d . when no unprocessed hypervisor is present , the processing unit 101 determines whether an unprocessed port is present in the switch data ( s 31 ). when an unprocessed port is present , the process returns to s 7 through a terminal e . when no unprocessed port is present , the processing unit 101 determines whether an unprocessed network switch is present in the switch data ( s 33 ). when an unprocessed network switch is present , the process returns to s 5 through a terminal f . when no unprocessed network switch is present , the output unit 105 outputs the coupling data table ( s 35 ) and the process ends . the coupling data table illustrated in fig1 may be obtained by performing the processes described above . since the physical network adapters 1011 and 1012 are not logically divided , addition by one record is performed for the network switches sw 2 and sw 3 . when the coupling data table described above may be obtained , the network configuration may be correctly grasped and in case of failure occurrence , for example , the failure causing portion or the range in which the failure exerts influence may be easily identified . also , since how the network is logically divided may be known , resources may be utilized advantageously by , for example , changing the virtualization environment so that the virtualization environment is suitable for the allocation of bands for the logical division . that is , the operational management of the network may be facilitated and costs desired for the operational management may be reduced . in a second embodiment , as illustrated in fig1 , one physical network card 1500 is coupled to a physical server and the physical network card 1500 is provided with two physical network adapters 1510 and 1520 , each of which is logically divided . that is , a hypervisor hv 1 grasps that logical network adapters na 11 to na 14 are provided . the mac address of the logical network adapter na 11 indicates “ a ” and the pci location information on the logical network adapter na 11 indicates “ 02 : 00 . 0 ”. the mac address of the logical network adapter na 12 indicates “ b ” and the pci location information on the logical network adapter na 12 indicates “ 02 : 00 . 1 ”. the mac address of the logical network adapter na 13 indicates “ c ” and the pci location information on the logical network adapter na 13 indicates “ 02 : 00 . 2 ”. the mac address of the logical network adapter na 14 indicates “ d ” and the pci location information on the logical network adapter na 14 indicates “ 02 : 00 . 3 ”. a port n of a network switch sw 1 is coupled to the physical network adapter 1510 , and a port m of a network switch sw 2 is coupled to the physical network adapter 1520 . in the state in which one network card is provided with a plurality of physical network adapters as described above , the pci location information indicates the identical bus numbers and this situation may not be handled in the first embodiment . however , as illustrated in fig1 , the hypervisor hv 1 grasps the relations between virtual network adapters of virtual machines and the logical network adapters of the network card . in the example of fig1 , a virtual network adapter 1 of the virtual machine is coupled to the logical network adapter na 11 through a virtual switch vsw 1 , virtual network adapters 2 and 3 of the virtual machines are coupled to the logical network adapter na 12 through a virtual switch vsw 2 . furthermore , a virtual network adapter 4 of the virtual machine is coupled to the logical network adapter na 13 through a virtual switch vsw 3 , and a virtual network adapter 5 of the virtual machine is coupled to the logical network adapter na 14 through a virtual switch vsw 4 . each of the virtual network adapters is provided with an ip address . when data on the virtual coupling relation described above may be acquired , even if the bus numbers in the pci location information are identical , it may be found that the port n of the network switch sw 1 is unable to communicate with the virtual network adapter 4 that has an ip address of “ 4 . 4 . 4 . 4 ” and the virtual network adapter 5 that has an ip address of “ 5 . 5 . 5 . 5 ”. similarly , it may be found that the port m of the network switch sw 2 is unable to communicate with the virtual network adapter 1 that has an ip address of “ 1 . 1 . 1 . 1 ”, the virtual network adapter 2 that has an ip address of “ 2 . 2 . 2 . 2 ”, and the virtual network adapter 3 that has an ip address of “ 3 . 3 . 3 . 3 ”. when data on such virtual coupling relations may also be collected as the server data , a coupling data table may be generated . thus , an information processing apparatus 100 b is configured as illustrated in fig1 . the information processing apparatus 100 b differs from the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment , which is illustrated in fig4 , in that a ping execution instructing unit 106 is provided , and that since the contents of the server data to be acquired are different , a first data acquiring unit 102 b is provided instead of the first data acquiring unit 102 , and that since the processes to be performed are partially different , a processing unit 101 b is provided instead of the processing unit 101 . additionally , another difference is that the network switch is provided with a ping executing unit 301 that executes a ping operation in accordance with an instruction from the ping execution instructing unit 106 . referring now to fig1 to 23 , the processes performed by the information processing apparatus 100 b are described . among the processes according to the first embodiment , the process performed from the terminal a to the terminal b is replaced with the processes illustrated in fig2 and 21 . the server data acquired by the first data acquiring unit 102 b in s 1 is illustrated in fig1 . the data in the example of fig1 includes a plurality of combinations , each of which is made up of a network adapter id , a mac address , location information , a virtual switch id , an ip address of a virtual network adapter , and a hypervisor id . in the example of fig1 , two virtual network adapters corresponding to two respective ip addresses are coupled to the virtual switch vsw 2 . the switch data acquired by a second data acquiring unit 103 according to the second embodiment are substantially the same in contents as the switch data acquired by the second data acquiring unit 103 according to the first embodiment , and when the coupling relations are made as illustrated in fig1 , the switch data illustrated in fig1 may be acquired . the process performed after the terminal a is described now . the processing unit 101 b determines whether the mac addresses compared in s 13 match ( s 41 ). when the mac addresses do not match , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through the terminal b . when the mac addresses match , the processing unit 101 b causes the switch id , the port number , hypervisor id , and the mac address of the identified network adapter to be registered in the coupling data table in a data storing unit 104 ( s 43 ). for example , when the switch id “ sw 1 ”, the port number “ n ”, the hypervisor id “ hv 1 ”, and the mac address “ a ” of the network adapter “ na 11 ” are processed , similar to the first embodiment , the data illustrated in fig1 is stored in the coupling data table . the processing unit 101 b identifies the pci bus number of the network adapter identified in s 11 based on the server data ( s 45 ). in the above - described example , “ 06 ” is identified as indicated in fig1 . after that , the processing unit 101 b searches for another network adapter that has a pci bus number identical with the identified bus number and is managed by the identified hypervisor in the server data ( s 47 ). in the above - described example , when another network adapter id with the pci bus number “ 06 ” is searched for except “ na 11 ” in the location information with which the hypervisor id “ hv 1 ” is correlated , “ na 12 ”, “ na 13 ”, and “ na 14 ” are obtained . after that , the processing unit 101 b determines whether or not another network adapter has been extracted in s 47 ( s 49 ). in the example of fig1 , the network adapter that does not satisfy the conditions is not present and when the network adapter that satisfies the conditions is not extracted , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through the terminal b . when another network adapter is extracted , the processing unit 101 b acquires the ip address of the virtual network adapter coupled to the another network adapter having been extracted from the server data ( s 51 ). when a plurality of virtual network adapters are correlated with the network adapter , such as “ na 12 ” in fig1 , one representative ip address may be extracted instead of extracting a plurality of ip addresses . after that , the process moves on to the process of fig2 through a terminal g . the processing unit 101 b identifies one unprocessed ip address in the acquired ip addresses ( s 53 ). then , the processing unit 101 b causes the ping execution instructing unit 106 to instruct the ping executing unit 301 to execute a ping operation for the identified ip address from the identified port of the identified network switch ( s 55 ). the ping executing unit 301 of the identified network switch replies to the ping execution instructing unit 106 regarding the presence or absence of a response , and the ping execution instructing unit 106 notifies the processing unit 101 b of the presence or absence of a response . in the above - described example , there is a response from the ip address “ 2 . 2 . 2 . 2 ” or “ 3 . 3 . 3 . 3 ” correlated with the network adapter “ na 12 ” while there is no response from the ip addresses “ 4 . 4 . 4 . 4 ” and “ 5 . 5 . 5 . 5 ” correlated with the network adapters “ na 13 ” and “ na 14 ”, respectively . the processing unit 101 b determines whether the notification indicating there is a response is received ( s 57 ). when the notification indicating there is no response is received , the process moves on to s 61 . when the notification indicating there is a response is received , the processing unit 101 b causes the switch id , the port number , the hypervisor id , and the mac address of another network adapter extracted and correlated with the ip address from which there is a response to be registered in the coupling data table if they are unregistered ( s 59 ). then , the coupling data table illustrated in fig2 may be obtained . after that , the processing unit 101 b determines whether or not an unprocessed ip address is present in the ip addresses acquired in s 51 ( s 61 ). when an unprocessed ip address is present , the process returns to s 53 . when no unprocessed ip address is present , the process moves on to the process of fig1 through the terminal b . in the end , the coupling data table illustrated in fig2 may be obtained . by performing the processes described above , the coupling data table may be obtained even when a plurality of physical network adapters exist in one network card and moreover , the physical network adapters are logically divided . the present application is not limited to the embodiments described above . the function block diagrams in fig4 and 17 are mere examples and may differ from the configurations of program modules . furthermore , in the processes described above , some processes may be performed in a different order or a plurality of steps may be performed in parallel as long as the results of the processes remain unchanged . the above - described information processing apparatuses 100 and 100 b are computer apparatuses , in which for example , as illustrated in fig2 , memory 2501 , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 2503 , a hard disk drive ( hdd ) 2505 , a display controlling unit 2507 coupled to a display device 2509 , a drive device 2513 for a removable disc 2511 , an input device 2515 , and a communication controlling unit 2517 for being coupled to a network are coupled through a bus 2519 . an operating system ( os ) and an application program for performing the processes according to the present embodiments are stored in the hdd 2505 , and when executed by the cpu 2503 , are read from the hdd 2505 to the memory 2501 . depending on the processes of the application program , the cpu 2503 controls the display controlling unit 2507 , the communication controlling unit 2517 , and the drive device 2513 , which are thus caused to perform certain operations . in - process data is stored mainly in the memory 2501 , but may also be stored in the hdd 2505 . in the embodiments of the present application , the application program for performing the above - described processes is stored in the computer - readable removable disc 2511 and distributed , and installed from the drive device 2513 into the hdd 2505 . the application program may also be installed into the hdd 2505 via a network , such as the internet , and the communication controlling unit 2517 . such a computer apparatus implements various functions as described above when the hardware , such as the cpu 2503 and the memory 2501 , and the os and a program , such as the application program , which are described above , cooperate systematically . the information processing method according to the present embodiments includes the processes of ( a ) acquiring first correlation data that includes a port identifier and a first address of a coupling destination device for each port of a communication device , ( b ) acquiring second correlation data that includes the first address and location information on a logical adapter for each logical adapter of the coupling destination device of the communication device , and ( c ) when the first correlation data and the second correlation data including the first addresses that match each other are detected , identifying another second correlation data that includes certain data identical to certain data included in the location information on the logical adapter , and generating coupling information on the coupling between the communication device and the coupling destination device based on the first correlation data and the detected second correlation data , which include the matching first addresses , and the another identified second correlation data . to use the location information as described above may bring the coupling information even when the adapter is logically divided . the above - described second correlation data may further include a second address of a virtual device correlated with the logical adapter . in this case , the above - described generation process may include ( c1 ) causing the second address of the virtual device included in the another identified second correlation data to be accessed from a port of the communication device related to the first correlation data that includes the matching first address , and being notified of the presence or absence of a response , and ( c2 ) generating the coupling information based on the presence or absence of a response . then , even when the location information only is not sufficient for the distinction , the coupling information may be obtained desirably . also , the above - described generation process may be a process of generating coupling information based on the second correlation data that includes the second address from which there is a response and the first correlation data that includes the matching first address . the above - described coupling information may further include data that correlates the identifier , the port identifier , and the first address of the communication device . additionally , the identifier of the hypervisor or the identifier of the physical device may be correlated . furthermore , the above - described certain data may be the bus number . the identical bus numbers may indicate existence on the same physical adapter or adapter card . a program for causing a computer to perform the above - described processes may be created , and the program is stored in a computer - readable recording medium or a storage device , which is for example , a flexible disc , an optical disc such as a compact disc read - only memory ( cd - rom ), a magneto - optical disc , semiconductor memory such as rom , or a hard disk . in - process data is temporarily saved in a storage device , such as random - access memory ( ram ). all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions , nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the present invention is illustrated by the following examples relating to the production of increased titers of raav using a veroc2 cell line and sadv - 13 . example 1 describes experiments in which veroc2 cells are infected with simian adenoviruses . example 2 describes the level of production of raav as measured by a dnase - resistant particle ( drp ) assay . example 3 describes a cpe assay used to determine the maximal cpe of various adenovirus helper viruses . example 4 describes the production of raav in vero cells . example 5 demonstrates the development of vero lines that could be used to produce raav by an alternative , scalable method . example 6 describes raav production using vero packaging cells and the ad / aav hybrid system with sadv - 13 helper virus . example 7 describes the cloning and sequencing of a particular sadv - 13 helper virus named sadv - 13 ( pme 12 ). example 8 describes the development of a qpcr assay to quantitate sadv - 13 . the effect of use of various simian adenovirus helper viruses on raav expression of a heterologous gene in vero cells was examined . simian adenoviruses were obtained from the american type culture collection ( atcc , manassas , va .) and propagated by infecting llc - mk2 cells ( atcc ) in dmem with 2 % supplemented calf serum ( cosmic calf serum , hyclone , logan utah ). cleared cell lysates were prepared by four rounds of freezing and thawing followed by centrifugation to remove particulates . virus samples were checked for the presence of wild type aav by a pcr assay with degenerate primers as described in chen et al ., j virol 79 : 14781 - 14792 ( 2005 ). viral samples that showed the presence of contaminating wild type aav were processed by plaque purifying virus in the presence of anti - aav1 rabbit antiserum . the pcr assay was then repeated on the new viral stocks . viruses were titered by the tcid 50 method on llc - mk2 cells as described in the adeno - x expression system 1 user manual , pages 46 - 47 ( august 2007 version , protocol pt3414 - 1 , version pr7823350 ), clontech laboratories , inc . ( mountain view , calif .). a producer aav cell line was derived from the standard vero line distributed by atcc ( cat # ccl - 81 ) by methods generally described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 658 , 785 . the producer cell line named veroc2 has three elements stably integrated in the genomic dna : ( 1 ) the rep and cap genes of aav2 ; ( 2 ) a recombinant aav genome with a green fluorescent protein ( gfp ) gene ; and ( 3 ) the neomycin resistance gene . the cell line was plated at 20 , 000 cells per well in a 24 well plate . after one day the cells were infected with a panel of monkey adenoviruses . the adenovirus was used at a multiplicity of infection ( moi ) of 10 . the cells were examined 1 - 2 days later using a fluorescent microscope that detects gfp expression as a result of recombinant genome replication and transgene expression . simian adenoviruses that were tested were sadv - 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 16 , 19 and 20 . results showed highest gfp expression in veroc2 cells infected with sadv - 13 . lower gfp expression was noted for veroc2 cells infected with sadv - 5 , - 8 , and - 19 . gfp expression was barely detectable for veroc2 cells infected with sadv - 2 , 3 , 10 , 11 , 16 and 20 . the effect of use of various simian adenovirus helper viruses on raav particle production in vero cells was also examined . the level of production of raav was measured by the dnase - resistant particle ( drp ) assay . vero c2 cells were infected at an moi of 10 with sadv - 2 , - 3 , - 5 , - 8 , - 10 , - 11 , - 13 , - 16 , - 19 , or - 20 . when infected cells showed maximal cytopathic effect ( cpe ) ( evidenced by rounding and detachment ) they were harvested and subjected to 4 freeze thaw cycles to lyse the cells and release the virus . heat treatment was used to inactivate residual ad5 ( 55 ° c . for 30 min ). the samples were then diluted 1 : 1 , 000 in 50 mm kcl , 10 mm tris ph 8 . 0 , 5 mm mgcl 2 and 50 μl of the diluted lysate was treated with dnase i for 30 min at 37 ° c . the dnase was heat inactivated at 95 ° c . for 10 minutes and 10 μg of proteinase k was added and allowed to digest the raav capsid for 1 hr at 50 ° c . and then the proteinase k was inactivated by heating at 95 ° c . for 20 minutes . the net effect of the two treatments is to first remove any dna that is not packaged into viral particles , and then to degrade the viral capsid proteins and release the encapsidated viral genomes . viral dna was quantified by real - time qpcr using “ taqman ” chemistry in a abi 7000 real time instrument ( applied biosystems ). two primer / probe sets were utilized , one set that detects the cmv promoter , and a second set that detects the egfp gene . a complete list of primer / probe sets that are used in this disclosure are shown in table 1 . the probes were labeled with 6 - fam at the 5 ′ end and tamra at the 3 ′ end . the ad5 e4 sequences used were taken from sagawa et al ., 2004 , mol . therapy 10 , 1043 . by comparing the results for unknown samples with a standard curve generated with known quantities of plasmid dna , the number of copies of a sequence in the sample were determined . the numbers were converted to the numbers of raav genomes produced per cell ( fig1 ). the overall results indicated that sadv - 13 was the best helper virus tested . importantly , using sadv - 13 as the helper levels of raav per cell were generated that were comparable to levels attainable with hela - based lines . although vector yields depend on a number of factors , the highest producing hela lines for any given construct tend to produce 10 4 - 10 5 particles per cell . the time to reach maximum cpe was examined for various viruses by infecting cells at moi 10 , then examining their morphology daily by phase contrast microscopy with an inverted microscope . the time to maximal cpe was defined as the first day at which at least 95 % of the cells show definite rounding . for simian adenoviruses 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 16 , 19 , and 20 on vero cells , the time to maximal cpe was 2 - 3 days . for huad5 on vero cells the time to maximal cpe was 3 - 4 days , while for huad5 on hela cells it was 2 days . for sadv - 13 on vero cells the time to maximal cpe was 5 days . vero cell lysates ( from vero cells infected with sadv - 5 , - 8 , - 13 , - 19 and - 20 ) were applied to hela - derived c12 cells that had simultaneously been infected with ad5 . hela c12 cells are an “ indicator ” line that contains the aav2 rep and cap genes . upon co - infection with raav and ad5 , the raav genome is massively amplified ( 10 4 - 10 5 logs ) due to the presence and activity of the rep gene . therefore , vector genome and transgene amplification are sensitive readouts for raav infection . accordingly , serial dilutions ( 10 − 1 to 10 − 8 ) of veroc2 cell lysates infected with various adenoviruses were generated and used to infect c12 cells also infected with ad5 to stimulate rep dependent raav vector genome replication . twenty hr . post - infection the wells were examined in the inverted fluorescent microscope . the total number of green cells were counted in wells with fewer than 50 , and those numbers were used to generate an infectious raav titer ( fig2 ). these data further confirm that sadv - 13 was the most effective helper to produce functional raav from the veroc2 cell line . vero lines were also developed that could be used to produce raav by an alternative , scalable method . in this system , aav rep and cap genes are integrated into the vero cellular dna , but the raav genome is delivered by an adenovirus - aav hybrid , where an raav genome is integrated into the e1 region of an adenovirus vector and packaged in the adenovirus capsid . the cells are also concurrently infected with a wild type adenovirus that provides helper functions for raav production and also allows for replication of the ad / aav hybrid by providing e1 gene products that are deleted in the ad / aav hybrid virus . control experiments ( not shown ) had demonstrated that e1 products from sadv - 13 could allow replication by an e1 deleted huad5 in vero cells . to adapt such an ad / aav hybrid packaging system to vero cells , cell lines were first selected that contained the aav rep and cap genes . all these lines were derived from the world health organization ( who ) certified stock of vero cells , which was provided by the atcc with a release from the fda . two constructs were used to make the stable cell lines . both have neomycin resistance genes for selection and the rep gene from aav2 , while one has the cap gene from aav1 ( rep2cap1neo ) and the other has the cap gene from aav2 ( rep2cap2neo ). the two constructs were transfected into who vero cells and selected for stable integration with 600 μg / ml g418 . a total of 387 rep2cap1 lines and 338 rep2cap2 lines were selected . previous experience with raav producer cell lines indicated that robust rep gene amplification was key to high - titer cell line . since this is amenable to high throughput screening , an initial screen based on this property was performed . cells were infected with sadv - 13 , then after 5 days , they were lysed by the addition of 1 / 10th volume of 4 m naoh , 50 mm edta , and 10 μg / ml herring sperm dna . the denatured cell lysate was transferred to a positively charged nylon membrane by using a “ dot blot ” filtration device . the level of rep dna amplification was determined by using a rep radiolabeled hybridization probe . the cell lines corresponding to the most highly radioactive spots were selected for further analysis . there were ten rep2cap1 and 8 rep2cap2 lines that were subjected to further characterization . these were co - infected with sadv - 13 and an ad / aav hybrid virus to determine raav vector yields using this second production platform . five rep2cap1 packaging cell lines and five rep2cap2 cell lines were co - infected with sadv - 13 and an ad / aav hybrid virus ( ad / aav β - gal ) that contained a raav genome harboring the β - galactosidase gene integrated into the e1 region of human ad5 . the test packaging cell lines were infected with sadv - 13 at a moi of 1 and 20 hr later infected with ad / aav β - gal at a moi of 3 . after 5 days , cells were lysed by 4 rounds of rapid freezing and thawing and clarified lysates generated by centrifugation and heat treatment to inactivate residual adenovirus . a drp assay was performed using a primer / probe combination that is specific to the β - galactosidase transgene ( table 1 ). the productivity for the highest producing cell lines identified in this experiment . raav production by vero rep2cap1 and rep2cap2 cell lines co - infected with sadv - 13 and ad / aav β - gal hybrid virus are shown in table 2 . an additional control experiment was done to show that there was no residual adenovirus present that could be making β - gal sequences dnase resistant . recombinant adenovirus containing the β - gal transgene should have been denatured by the 56 ° c . heating step , and to confirm this the drp assay was repeated but with a human ad5 e4 primer probe set . the numbers of copies of adenovirus present by using this qpcr primer / probe set were at least 10 - fold lower than the β - gal copies present in the lysates , indicating that the vast majority of the drp values were being contributed by raav / β - gal particles . this initial experiment provided proof of concept that the ad / aav hybrid packaging type cell line could be adapted to vero cells . the approach has been further optimized by selecting a somewhat more productive line ( r2c1 . ca . 8c4 ) for production of raav 1 . three other simian adenoviruses were additionally tested that had shown some activity with vero c2 cells ( sadv - 5 , 8 and 19 ) in example 1 . these helper viruses had sub - detectable levels of raav production in this rad / aav hybrid system . a key aspect of this packaging system as opposed to the producer cells is that one needs only a single cell line to produce multiple different raav vectors of the same serotype . this could increase efficiency and reduce cost since it would not be necessary to qualify a new cell line for each raav vector produced . an additional rad / aav hybrid virus encoding a heterologous protein smaller than β - galactosidase and more similar in size to proteins used for therapeutic purposes was used to optimize production parameters . the rad / aav hybrid virus contained the enhanced green fluorescent protein ( egfp ) transgene . this gene was contemplated to package more efficiently and yield greater levels of raav . two vero derived aav packaging cell lines were isolated following plasmid dna transfection . the r2c1 . ca . 8c3 line contains the rep gene from aav2 and the cap gene from aav1 , while the r2c2 . ca . 1d3 line contains both rep and cap from aav2 . to evaluate the packaging ability of vero - derived cells with the egfp containing rad / aav hybrid , the cell lines were co - infected with the rad / aav hybrid virus and sadv - 13 at variable timing . the rad / aav hybrid virus was used at 100 vector genomes per cell , while sadv - 13 was used at 1 tcid 50 per cell . timing of infection was varied to look at the effects on raav yield . infection with the rad / aav hybrid virus occurred at the following times relative to the sadv - 13 : 4 hours before , at the same time , or 4 - 24 hours after at 4 hour intervals . to determine yield , cells were harvested at maximal cytopathic effect ( 5 days for sadv - 13 ), lysed by 4 freeze thaw cycles and the lysates were then diluted 1 : 2000 . they were then treated sequentially with dnase and proteinase k , and assayed by real time pcr . raav present in the clarified cell lysate was achieved by qpcr to measure dnase resistant vector genomes as described previously . the levels for sadv - 13 are shown in tables 3 and 4 . table 3 depicts aav1 gfp production while table 4 depicts aav2 egfp production . the data indicates that high levels of raav productivity are possible with this system . up to 150 , 000 dnase resistant particles per cell were documented for the raav2 . egfp vector . optimal production conditions for infection varied between cell lines , with the most effective timing being rad / aav hybrid virus infection 16 - 24 hours after sadv - 13 virus infection . low molecular weight dna was isolated from sadv - 13 infected vero cells by a modified hirt dna extraction procedure [ hirt et al ., journal of molecular biology , 26 ( 2 ): 365 - 369 ( 1967 )], and then the terminal protein was removed by treatment with klenow fragment in the presence of three of the four dntps followed by s1 nuclease [ berkner et al ., nucleic acids res 11 ( 17 ): 6003 - 20 ( 1983 )]. the sadv - 13 virus genomes were then cloned into a fosmid vector ( epicentre copy control system ) and resulting clones analyzed by digestion with bamhi restriction enzyme for an identical restriction pattern as that observed for the bulk hirt dna . four clones were identified with the expected pattern ( fig3 ). clone # 3 ( sadv13 - pme12 ) was subsequently selected for high - throughput 454 deep sequencing . several clones were selected and the terminal sequences determined . sequence of the inverted terminal repeats ( itrs ) for six independent clones was obtained and shared significant homology to other published adenovirus itr sequences . two kinds of heterogeneity in the clones &# 39 ; itr sequence was observed that were otherwise identical except for orientation . the first was that there were variable numbers of nucleotides ( 4 - 18 ) missing from the terminal repeat ends . secondly , in some cases short duplications of 100 - 400 bp of sequence was appended to intact itrs . clone sadv13 - pme12 was selected for complete sequencing and possessed a 4 bp deletion at the 5 ′ end and a 12 bp deletion at the 3 ′ end . a portion of the resulting sequence matched exactly the previously reported va rna gene sequence [ kidd et al ., virology 207 ( 1 ): 32 - 45 ( 1995 )] supporting that this sequence is sadv - 13 . translation of the virus sequence resulted in the clear delineation of identity between this novel isolate and previously published adenoviral genomes . sadv - 13 is clearly related to other primate adenoviruses without being notably similar to any other previously published adenovirus genomes . phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the hexon and penton proteins is shown in fig4 and the complete virus genome sequence provided as seq id no : 16 . this sequence , along with the putative protein sequences expressed therefrom , are depicted in table 5 below . the dna sequence of the sadv - 13 ( pme - 12 ) clone enabled the development of a quantitative real - time pcr assay to detect sadv - 13 genomes . this assay is useful for the rapid , sensitive and precise measurement of the sadv - 13 and permits rapid optimization of virus infection conditions for increased raav production in this production platform . specifically , samples are quantitated by dilution of the sample 100 to 10 , 000 - fold in 50 mm kcl , 10 mm tris ph 8 . 0 , and 5 mm mgcl 2 . samples are then digested in a 50 μl volume with 175 u of dnase i at 37 ° c . for 30 minutes to remove non - encapsidated viral dna . after heating at 95 ° c . for 10 minutes to inactivate dnase i , the sample is treated with 200 μg / ml proteinase k at 50 ° c . for 1 hour to degrade the viral capsid and other cellular proteins . after treatment at 95 ° c . for 30 min to inactivate proteinase k , the viral genomes are quantitated by real time pcr with a taqman ® primer probe set as follows : quantitation is carried out by comparison with a plasmid standard curve . while the present invention has been described in terms of various embodiments and examples , it is understood that variations and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , only such limitations as appear in the claims should be placed on the invention . | 2 |
u . s . pat . no . 7 , 115 , 120 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference , discloses the use of optical methods for detecting the onset of cavitation . specifically , a photodetector detects a backscatter signal from the tissue . since tissue in which cavitation occurs is more reflective , one can use the magnitude of the backscattering signal as a basis for determining the onset of cavitation . a difficulty with known methods of detecting cavitation arises from their reliance on human intervention . the clinically observable indications of cavitation are often subtle and can vary significantly from one patient to the next . thus , the known methods are difficult to automate in part because it is difficult to identify and program any bright - line rule to reliably detect the onset of cavitation . identification of bubble formation by manual examination is insufficient for cavitation detection in a clinical setting . rather , a computer algorithm that alerts the ophthalmologist to the existence of cavitation is preferred . a method to test the local threshold in an irradiation site by using small test spots prior to application of therapeutic irradiation to a large area could also be beneficial . as shown in fig1 , a scanning system 10 for in vivo illumination of the rpe with laser light is assembled on top of an ophthalmic slit lamp 12 . by placing a continuous wave ( cw ) laser 14 and all optical and mechanical components on the slit lamp 12 , one avoids the need for fiber delivery . a mirror 16 disposed in front of the objective lenses 18 of the slit lamp 12 aligns the laser beam on a collinear path with the slit lamp &# 39 ; s optical axis . the scanner system 10 preserves all the slit lamp &# 39 ; s degrees of freedom . its focal plane is carefully aligned to coincide with the slit lamp &# 39 ; s imaging plane . as a result , the slit lamp 12 is configured to be used as a targeting device for the scanning system 10 . in response to instructions from a controller 20 , an acousto - optic modulator 22 modulates the collimated output of the laser 14 . polarization of the laser beam is rotated to 45 °, for example by a half - wave plate 24 . after passing through the half - wave plate 24 , the laser light enters a polarizing beam splitter cube 26 and a faraday rotator 28 . the faraday rotator 28 further rotates the polarization of the beam to produce a horizontal polarization state for an acousto - optic deflector 30 that scans the laser beam in response to instructions from the controller 20 . a telecentric post - scanning beam expander 32 then expands the beam by a magnification m . the beam ultimately reaches a focusing lens 35 , which focuses it onto the retina 37 . a suitable laser 14 is a 532 nm laser having an output power of 1 w and a beam diameter of 1 . 6 mm . in one embodiment , the laser 14 is a ventus laser manufactured by laser quantum of cheshire , uk , the aom 22 is a tem - 85 - 1 - 0 . 532 manufactured by brimrose of baltimore , md ., and the slit lamp 12 is an sl - 130 manufactured by carl zeiss of oberkochen , germany . in one embodiment , the acousto - optic deflector 30 is a 2ds - 100 - 35 - 0 . 352 manufactured by brimrose of baltimore , md ., and the focusing lens 35 is a 125 mm lens , such as the bfpl manufactured by cvi of albuquerque , n . mex ., which has been v - coated at 532 nm to minimize reflection . on its return path , the backscattered light of the treatment beam from the retina 37 is collected by the focusing lens 35 and relayed to the telecentric beam expander 32 , which now compresses the beam diameter of the backscattered light by a factor of 1 /( magnification m ) to 5 mm , thereby matching the active aperture of the acousto - optic deflector 30 . as a result , backscattered light can be accepted over a larger cross section of the focusing lens 35 . specifically , backscattered light can be collected with a numerical aperture m times the numerical aperture of the treatment beam . this improves photon collection efficiency , which increases in proportion to the square of the numerical aperture . in one embodiment ( shown in fig1 ), the beam diameter is expanded by a factor of m = 3 from 1 . 6 to 4 . 8 mm in diameter for the radiation light ; the corresponding irradiation numerical aperture is about 0 . 02 . because of the decompression 1 / m = 1 / 3 , backscattered light can be accepted across a 15 mm diameter . this results in a collection numerical aperture of 0 . 06 , which in turn results in is an increase in photon collection efficiency by a factor of 9 . the backscattered light is then de - scanned in the acousto - optic deflector 30 and passed again through the faraday rotator 28 . this results in a 90 ° polarization mismatch between the treatment radiation and the backscattered light in the polarizing beam splitter cube 26 . the polarizing beam splitter cube 26 then directs the backscattered light onto a confocal pinhole 34 , which leads to a photodetector 36 , such as a photodiode , an avalanche photodiode , or a photomultiplier tube . the output voltage of the photodetector 36 is amplified by an amplifier 38 and sampled by a data acquisition unit 40 for ultimate storage in a tangible form on a computer - readable medium 42 . in one embodiment , the confocal pinhole 34 is a 100 μm diameter pinhole that leads to an avalanche photodiode 36 , such as the c5460 manufactured by apd of hamamatsu , japan , the data acquisition unit 40 is a gage 1250 card manufactured by compuscope of lachine , quebec , and the controller 20 for controlling the aom and aod is an arbitrary two - channel function generator , such as the afg 320 manufactured by teletronix of beaverton , oreg . in a scanning system 10 , the amount of energy deposited on a particular location in the rpe is controlled to ensure that heat generated as a result of laser energy absorbed at a particular location does not spread significantly into adjacent locations . a suitable amount of energy to be deposited at a location is that required to cause microcavitation . as a result , the reliable detection of microcavitation is a desirable feature of the scanning system 10 . because of its transient nature , microcavitation results in a transient increase in backscattering from the rpe . however , measurement of the backscattering does not lend itself to objectivity and often requires the subjective assessment of a clinician . to avoid these disadvantages , the controller 20 implements a procedure for relying on the rate of change of backscattering with respect to time . such an algorithm depends on the time derivative of the backscatter signal , or any estimate or approximation thereof , such as a numerically determined slope of the backscatter signal . reliance on the rate of change of the backscatter signal , rather than on the signal itself , eliminates variation in signal amplitude , which depends on both the instantaneous laser power and on tissue backscattering . the latter is difficult to compensate for because it can vary not only across different patients but also across different areas within one eye . because the cavitation bubble grows rapidly ( bubble lifetime is on the order of 100 ns ) the intensity between two sequential data points changes rapidly . thus , the rate of change of backscattering provides a more prominent marker of the onset of microcavitation . a measurement of the rate of change of a backscatter signal delivers large slope values that can be compared against a threshold . theoretically , a backscattering signal without cavitation has a flat derivative ( slope value v ′= 0 v / s ) while a signal with cavitation has some maximum slope value v ′& gt ; 0 v / s . in practice , system noise causes non - cavitation signals to have a range of derivative values . nevertheless , backscattering signals associated with cavitation have a significantly larger derivative than signals associated with system noise . moreover , derivatives of cavitation - related signals are separated from derivatives of non - cavitation - related signals by a gap . thus , one can readily define a threshold slope value v ′ th that reliably distinguishes cavitation from non - cavitation signals ( fig1 ). in particular , traces with v ′& gt ; v ′ th are likely to be cavitation signals , while traces with v ′& lt ; v ′ th are dominated by system noise . with the instrument shown in fig1 a threshold slope value v ′ th of at least 1 . 2 v / 40 ns is suitable . in one practice , shown in fig2 , the system determines the correct dosage by causing the laser to deposit a selected amount of energy , referred to herein as “ test dosage ,” on each of a plurality of test spots , or locations ( step 40 ). the plurality of test locations can all be within a test region , or they can be scattered about the treatment region . in one particular practice , shown in fig3 a to 3c , there are five test locations 52 disposed on a square test region 54 in a pattern similar to that found on a playing die . the test region 54 can be adjacent to a treatment region 56 , as shown in fig3 a , or it can overlap the treatment region , as shown in fig3 b and 3c . in the latter case , the treatment region 56 can encompass the test region 54 , as shown in fig3 b , or the test region 54 can encompass the treatment region 56 as shown in fig3 c . referring back to fig2 , for each test location 52 , the controller determines whether microcavitation has occurred ( step 42 ). the determination can be carried out by using the derivative of the backscatter signal . the controller then counts how many of the test locations exhibited microcavitation ( step 44 ). if that number is below a predetermined percentage of test locations j selected to indicate a laser dose that is statistically sufficient to kill a desired percentage of targeted cells ( step 46 ), the controller increases the test dosage ( step 48 ) and repeats the procedure . on the other hand , if the number of test locations 52 that exhibited microcavitation is in excess of the predetermined percentage j , the controller 20 recognizes that the dosage is adequate for treatment . in that case , the controller 20 causes the beam to move into and treat the treatment region 56 ( step 50 ). treatment can be performed by continuously scanning the laser beam , thereby forming a picket fence of scanlines . alternatively , treatment can be performed by moving the beam into discrete locations within the treatment region , thereby forming a checkerboard pattern of locations , each of which corresponds to a pulse . in an optional step , during treatment , the controller 20 monitors the derivative of the backscatter signal to confirm that microcavitation of the treatment locations is proceeding as expected . as disclosed herein , the procedure relies in part on testing to see whether the number of test locations experiencing micro cavitation at a given dosage is in excess of a predetermined percentage . however , one can achieve the same result by other comparisons . for example , one might compare the number of test locations not experiencing micro cavitation to see if that number is less than , rather than greater than , some threshold . or one might compare reciprocals of these numbers . to encompass these various mathematical manipulations , all of which achieve essentially the same result , the term “ inequality relationship ” is used to indicate the existence of a value and a threshold , both of which indicate the existence or onset of microcavitation , and both of which are elements of an ordered set of numbers . as such , there will inherently exist an inequality relationship between the value and the threshold , and that inequality relationship can be used as a basis for detecting the onset of microcavitation . another example of a scan pattern , shown in fig4 , consists of three discretely stepped pulses followed by a continuously scanned line formed by a continuously scanning beam . shown below the scan pattern in fig4 are waveforms for controlling the acousto - optic modulator 22 and acousto - optic deflector 30 to produce the illustrated scan pattern . the velocity of the continuously scanning beam is adjusted to match the pulse duration τ p of the discretely stepped pulses , i . e . the scan velocity equals one spot diameter per τ p . this results in all locations receiving the same dosage . an effective way to measure the scan velocity is to pass the spot formed by the scanning beam over the crosshairs of a microscope scale and to detect the transmitted light with a fast photodiode . since each cross hair of the scale casts a shadow on the photodiode , the time difference between adjacent cross hairs separated by a known distance provides an accurate basis for measuring velocity . based on this measurement , the controller 20 adjusts the controlling waveform to cause the pulse duration in the test region to be equal to the scanning dwell time in the treatment region 56 . the steps described above in connection with various methods for collecting , processing , analyzing , interpreting , and displaying information can be implemented in computer programs using standard programming techniques . such programs are designed to execute on programmable computers or specifically designed integrated circuits , each comprising an electronic processor , a data storage system ( including memory and / or storage elements ), at least one input device , and at least one output device , such as , for example a display or printer . the program code is applied to input data ( e . g ., measurements of capacitive coupling , measurements of ambient light intensity , and / or measurements of reflected light intensity from objects ) to perform the functions described herein . each such computer program can be implemented in a high - level procedural or object - oriented programming language , or an assembly or machine language . furthermore , the language can be a compiled or interpreted language . each such computer program can be stored on a computer or other machine readable storage medium ( e . g ., cd rom or magnetic diskette ) that when read by a computer or other machine can cause the processor in the computer to perform the analysis and control functions described herein . experiments were performed in a total of fifteen eyes of eight dutch belted rabbits . cell damage and cavitation thresholds were measured in twelve eyes . rabbits were anesthetized with a mixture of ketamine and xylazine ( 30 - 40 mg / kg + 6 - 20 mg / kg ) by intramuscular injection in the hind legs . the pupils were dilated with tropicamide 1 %, and subsequently with phenylephrine 5 %. a 25g ½ ″ butterfly was inserted into the ear vein for injection of fluorescein . each rabbit was placed in a holder system that allowed rotation and tilt of the animal with respect to the slit lamp . an ophthalmic goldmann contact lens was placed on the rabbit &# 39 ; s eye , using methylcellulose 2 % as contact gel , and held in place by a flexible telescopic arm . the corneas of non - treatment eyes were protected by applying the ophthalmic contact gel , methylcellulose 2 %, and a contact lens . under slit lamp examination , six marker lesions , purposely coagulating the neural retina , were placed in the fundus using five adjacent lines of slow continuously scanning laser exposure (˜ 100 mw ) to allow proper orientation and field determination . the test scan patterns were then placed in columns between the marker lesions at various laser powers . each scan pattern was applied only once to each irradiation site . the pulse duration and scanning speed were adjusted such that each spot within the exposed area was irradiated for 1 , 5 , 10 , 20 , and 40 μs . one parameter was tested per eye . one eye of each rabbit was treated per day ; the other eye was treated two days later . each parameter was tested in at least two eyes of different rabbits , to account for inter - subject variability . during each irradiation , the backscattering from the retina was recorded simultaneously and analyzed in post - processing to determine whether bubble formation occurred within the rpe . the location of each applied scan pattern and the applied laser power were carefully recorded to enable correlation of backscattering signals with individual exposures . immediately after each irradiation , the fundus was examined for whitening that indicates thermal coagulation of the neural retina . test lesions that became visible immediately after exposure were noted as ophthalmoscopically visible . the test field of the fundus was imaged with a color digital camera mounted on the slit lamp , and captured on a computer . the rabbit fundus was examined 45 minutes after irradiation with reflectance imaging and fluorescein angiography using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope ( slo ; hra2 , heidelberg engineering , heidelberg , germany ). high - resolution reflectance images at 488 nm were acquired to reveal possible morphological changes in the retina that may not have been visible in slit lamp examination . fluorescein angiography ( fla ) is the current standard for detecting laser - mediated damage to the distal blood - ocular barrier , which consists of the rpe and bruch &# 39 ; s membrane and separates the retina from the vasculature of the choroid . in regions where rpe cells have been damaged by the laser exposure , the blood - occular barrier will be compromised and fluorescein can leak into the subretinal space . for fluorescein angiography , a bolus of 1 ml of 10 % fluorescein sodium ( diluted 1 : 3 in phosphate buffered saline ) was injected into the ear vein of the rabbit via the butterfly . the fluorescein leakage was recorded for evaluation and documentation . for data analysis , the scan pattern was treated as two distinct entities , i . e . the pulsed and continuously scanned portions of the scan pattern were evaluated separately . fig5 a shows the fundus in rabbits following a 20 μs exposure . retinal whitening that was visible in slit lamp examination immediately after the exposure marked the ophthalmoscopically visible endpoint . similarly , high - resolution reflectance imaging showed lesions from pulsed and scanned irradiation in fig5 b as sharp white structures . the visibility of lesions in reflectance imaging is likely due to morphological changes that may not be strictly confined to rpe cells . the visibility of a lesion in the fluorescein angiogram indicated the cell damage or angiographic endpoint ( fig5 c ). fig5 c is a fluorescein angiogram showing lesions not visible in fig5 a and 5b . these lesions , which are in the middle and left columns of fig5 c and which are visible in neither the reflectance nor slit lamp images , are the desired selective lesions . the backscattering raw traces for each individual exposure were examined for the presence of a transient voltage increase that represents the endpoint for cavitation . cavitation was correlated with cell death to identify how frequently cell death is associated with bubble formation . in addition , the raw traces were differentiated to both aid in the determination of bubble formation and to explore the possibility of automated cavitation detection . endpoints were evaluated using the probit method . in probit analysis , the lognormal fit through binary response data (“ 1 ” for success , “ 0 ” for no success ) is calculated and the cumulative density distribution of the percentage of targets that do respond to an applied dose is plotted versus the dose . thus , probit analysis was performed to determine both the probability distribution as a function of laser power and the effective dose 50 % ( ed 50 ) for each parameter and endpoint . the ed 50 describes the dose required to accomplish an endpoint with a probability of 50 % and is commonly referred to as the threshold . response data were set equal to ‘ 1 ’ for each individual cell in the pulsed portion of the scan pattern when the respective endpoint had been reached , while for evaluation of the continuous scans occurrence of the endpoint was indicated anywhere within the scan line . thus , the pulsed portion of the scan field was treated as three individual events and the continuous scan portion as one individual event . data analysis was based on a total of 1149 pulses and 383 continuous scans . the threshold radiant exposure was computed from the corresponding threshold power for each endpoint . for pulses , the radiant exposure is the incident power multiplied by the pulse duration and divided by the area of the laser spot on the retina . for the continuous scan , the radiant exposure h was determined on the scan axis as previously described by where p is the incident power , τ is the dwell time and d 0 is the spot diameter . a safety margin above the angiographic threshold can be important in selective targeting . this margin is commonly referred to as the therapeutic window and is defined as the ratio of the doses that lead to 15 % probability of ophthalmoscopically visible retinal whitening ( ed 15ophth ) and the 85 % probability of angiographically visible cell death ( ed 85fla ) ( tw = ed 15ophth / ed 85fla ). selective rpe cell damage was accomplished in vivo in experimental rabbits for most parameters . cavitation was detected routinely by monitoring the backscattering of the treatment laser beam . cells were damaged predominantly by cavitation with exposures equal or shorter than trt rpe . the number of cells killed without detected cavitation increased with exposure duration . the setup generated a scan pattern comprised of three discretely stepped pulses , spaced about 110 μm apart in air , followed by a continuously scanned line that was 200 μm long , as illustrated in fig4 . it has been shown that the use of a goldman contact lens on a rabbit eye demagnifies all distances by a factor of 0 . 66 . therefore , the spacing between pulses and the length of the scan line were calculated to be about 75 μm and 130 μm on the retina , respectively . the scan speed was measured in air to be within 10 % of the corresponding pulse duration . the use of acousto - optical devices and polarization optics resulted in a maximum power on the cornea of 400 mw . the spot diameter ( 1 / e 2 ) in air was about 21 μm with a time - diffraction - limit - factor m 2 of 1 . 3 , corresponding to a retinal beam diameter of about 14 μm . the depth of focus , defined as twice the rayleigh range ( i . e . the distance over which the beam &# 39 ; s waist radius increases by a factor of 2 1 / 2 ), was 1 . 3 mm . experimentally , the beam diameter was measured in air to increase by about 1 μm over a distance of ± 200 μm away from the focal plane , as shown in fig6 , which shows spot diameter and beam propagation around the focal plane of the scanner . as is apparent from fig6 , the 1 / e 2 spot diameter in air was 21 μm , which corresponded to a retinal spot size of 14 μm . data points and error bars represent the mean and standard deviation of 12 measurements , fitted with an m 2 of 1 . 3 . the dotted line represents a fit using m 2 = 1 for comparison . rpe cell damage was routinely accomplished with laser power on the order of 100 mw as shown in table 1 below : the probit slope values ( s = ed 85 / ed 50 ) account for the width of the probability distributions and ranged from 1 . 2 to 1 . 8 for the pulses and from 1 to 1 . 6 for the scans . intracellular cavitation was detected as a transient increase in backscattering signal . cell damage and cavitation threshold powers were about equal in 5 μs pulses and in 10 μs scans . bleeding in the retinal space that would have indicated a rupture of bruch &# 39 ; s membrane was never observed . lesions were never visible with slit lamp or reflectance examination for 1 and 5 μs exposures , regardless of the irradiation mode . whitening of the retina , indicating thermal denaturation of the retina , was only observed in continuous scans and never in individual pulses ; consequently , the ophthalmoscopic threshold and therapeutic window were only given for scanning exposures . intracellular cavitation was detected by monitoring the backscattering from the retina . as an example , for exposure times close to the rpe thermal relaxation time ( trt rpe ), fig7 b and 7c show two representative fluorescein angiography images with corresponding backscattering traces for 5 μs exposures . fig7 b and corresponding backscatter signal in fig7 a are below the cell damage threshold . as shown in fig7 b , two out of three pulses and the continuous scan line damaged rpe cells at 25 % below ed 50fla . the corresponding backscattering traces in fig7 a show transient increases in detector voltage for all three pulses and within the scan line . thus , a bubble was detected in the center pulse that was insufficient to damage the cell . fig7 c and corresponding backscatter signals in fig7 d show results of radiation at about ed 50fla . in this case , rpe cells were killed in all three pulses and in a fraction of the scan line , as shown in fig7 c . the corresponding backscattering traces show cavitation throughout the pattern , shown in fig7 d . in most 1 and 5 μs exposures , cavitation correlated with cell death . exceptions were due to cavitation being detected in surviving cells . fig8 a to 8d show an example of exposure duration much longer than trt rpe ( 40 μs ). at threshold , all three pulses and the continuous scan were able to damage rpe cells , as seen by the fluorescein leakage in the fluorescence angiogram , shown in fig8 b . however , cavitation was only detected in the first pulse , as shown in the accompanying backscatter signal in fig8 a . the three pulses and the scan line successfully damaged rpe cells at 1 . 5 ed 50fla , as shown in fig8 c . this is consistent with cavitation in all backscattering traces for this exposure , as shown in the corresponding backscatter signal in fig8 d . overall , dead cells without detected cavitation were found in exposures with duration longer than trt rpe . based on these results , the thresholds for cell damage and cavitation were computed . both threshold radiant exposures were about equal for 5 μs pulses and increased with exposure duration for both pulses ( fig9 a ) and continuous scans ( fig9 b ). in the continuous scans , the threshold for cavitation was smaller than the cell damage threshold for 1 and 5 μs exposures . beginning with 10 μs exposures , the cavitation threshold was higher than that for cell damage regardless of the irradiation mode . the thresholds further diverged with increasing exposure duration . both thresholds increased more sharply for pulsed exposure . as a result , higher radiant exposure was required to damage cells and induce cavitation in pulses as compared to scans in long exposure durations . the ratio of pulsed over scanned ed 50fla was about one for 1 and 5 μs exposures , and diverged with increasing exposure duration to 1 . 4 with 40 μs exposures . the therapeutic window , determined by slit lamp examination , was about 4 for 40 μs scans and increased with shorter dwell times ( 4 . 6 with 10 μs ). even at the highest available laser power of 400 mw , no retinal whitening was observed for either 5 or 1 μs scans or in any pulses . threshold determination alone may not be sufficient , in some embodiments , to identify how frequently cavitation correlates with cell death because both dead cells without detected bubble formation and living cells that endured cavitation contribute to the probability distribution . to identify the correlation between cavitation and cell death , the percentage of dead cells that were associated with cavitation was determined for each parameter and irradiation mode . as shown in fig1 a , cavitation was detected in all dead cells for 1 and 5 μs exposures in a range from 25 % below to 50 % above cell damage threshold . at ed 50fla , the percentage of dead cells accompanied by cavitation decreased with increasing exposure duration to about 40 % at 40 μs . similarly , the percentage of cells that survived a cavitation event was also determined . as shown in fig1 b , as many as 33 % of all surviving cells were associated with cavitation in 1 μs pulses . for longer pulses , cavitation was detected in about 5 % of live cells . in the scanning portion of the scan pattern , the percentage of cavitation in surviving cells was on the order of 20 % and no live cells were associated with cavitation for scans slower than 10 μs . in order to investigate the relationship between cavitation in pulses and cell death in continuous scans , the percentage of continuous scans that successfully damaged cells was evaluated as a function of cavitation in the pulses of the same pattern . the results are summarized in fig1 . as indicated by fig1 , if cavitation was detected in all three pulses of the pattern , the continuous scan line killed cells in more than 90 % of all trials . the percentage decreased to between 65 % and 85 % with 1 or 10 μs pulses , respectively , when bubble formation was observed in only one out of three pulses . on the basis of this data , it is reasonable to conclude that test pulses can be used to measure the local threshold in particular test location in a test site before a therapeutic , large - area scan is applied to a treatment location in a treatment site . the derivative of the backscattering signal traces aided in the determination of bubble formation . fig1 e shows the maximum derivatives of 1 , 5 and 10 us pulses at multiples of the ed 50fla . maximum derivatives of transient voltage increases due to cavitation ranged from larger than 1 . 2 v / 40 ns to up to 50 v / 40 ns ; slopes larger than 6 v / 40 ns were omitted for clarity . in backscattering traces without cavitation , the derivative was dominated by system noise and was smaller than 1 . 2 v / 40 ns . thus , cavitation and non - cavitation signals were separated by a threshold value of 1 . 2v / 40 ns . most derivatives shown in fig1 a - 12d indicate cavitation or no cavitation . less than 2 % of all evaluated derivatives fall within a region of ± 0 . 2 v / 40 ns of the threshold . fig1 a - 12d show representative backscattering traces with their corresponding derivatives close to the threshold , for 1 and 5 μs pulses , respectively . in fig1 a , a backscattering signal with a derivative of 1 . 16 v / 40 ns would be classified as displaying no cavitation . in fig1 b , a signal having a derivative of 1 . 28 v / 40 ns would be classified as a signal indicative of cavitation . both of the 5 μs traces in fig1 c and fig1 d would be classified as showing cavitation , because their derivatives are 1 . 2 and 1 . 8 v / 40 ns , respectively . the feasibility of optically detecting intracellular cavitation during selective targeting of the rabbit rpe has been investigated using the system shown in fig1 . the scan pattern generated three discretely stepped pulses followed by a continuously scanned line with clinically crucial exposure durations ranging from 1 to 40 μs . selective rpe cell damage was accomplished with moderate laser power on the order of 100 mw . the absence of visible lesions both under slit lamp examination and using high - resolution reflectance imaging with an slo suggests that 1 and 5 μs exposures are safe for selective targeting with a therapeutic window that is at least 5 . 4 regardless of the irradiation mode . intracellular cavitation was detected routinely by monitoring the backscattered light of the treatment laser beam . cell death was accompanied by cavitation with irradiation on the order of the thermal relaxation time in duration , suggesting that the cell damage mechanism is photo - mechanical for 1 and 5 μs pulses and scans . with increasing exposure time , the cell damage mechanism undergoes a gradual transition to a more photo - thermal mode as an increasing number of cells are killed without detected cavitation . this study confirms in an in vivo model that intracellular cavitation , detected by monitoring the backscattering from the target tissue , can reliably report rpe cell damage for exposure durations of at least up to 10 μs . moreover , the derivative of backscattering traces with or without cavitation are separated by a fixed threshold value for all exposure durations and for both irradiation modes . therefore , a simple computer - based comparator can automatically distinguish between cavitation and non - cavitation based on the maximum derivative of the backscattering traces . furthermore , cavitation in the pulsed portion of the scan pattern correlates with cell death in the scans . as a result , test pulses can be utilized in a scanner to measure and predict the local cell damage threshold , before a large - area therapeutic scan is applied . the foregoing techniques are applicable to the control of dosimetry for individual irradiation sites in eyes with varying optical characteristics and clarity . it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the disclosure , which is defined by the scope of the appended claims . other aspects , advantages , and modifications are within the scope of the following claims . | 0 |
subrogation identification refers to a method for recognizing if a claim file has subrogation potential or might be found to have potential after further investigation subrogation scoring refers to a method for valuing a subrogation file . the score provides a measure of the collectability of a subrogation claim . once a score of collectability is determined , a monetary value can be associated with it . this enables the subrogation rights on groups of claims to be bundled into a marketable “ security ”. these securities may then be sold to entities possessing collection capabilities , for example . in other words , the existence of a centralized collection of claims would allow subrogation claims files to be created . once the value of such files are established , a market for the sale of their subrogation rights may be established . essentially an exchange of marketable subrogation claims could be created . in a business - to - business ( b2b ) exchange , sellers , market makers and investors can transact for wholesale claims , pre - and post - accident purchase and sale of traunches of risk obligations and subrogation rights . the present system and method preferably automatically scores a claim to determine a likelihood of subrogation potential , and then , the value of the claim recovery . a checklist is provided for the recovery specialist to follow to standardize operations and maximize recoveries . the subrogation opportunity is valued by reviewing criteria such as accident description , loss state , responsible party , and other pertinent demographics . once the system and method assigns a subrogation identification rating , a score and valuation , the claims with definite subrogation potential are bundled or pooled with other claims that have some commonality to the newest claim . thereafter , the bundled set or portfolio is valued as to its sale price . as a central market for wholesale claim service and financial liquidity , the invention can utilize network economics to further reduce claim handling costs to its participating insurance companies , while building an electronic database about claims handling . referring now to fig3 , in one embodiment of the present invention subrogation opportunities are identified using claim data 70 obtained via a web site 72 during an interview or interrogation process 74 , for example . the claim data is analyzed 76 for state , type of claim , accident description , loss date , claim notes , presence of a favorable police report , existence of an insurance carrier , and other similar criteria . as subrogation opportunities are identified 78 , the claimant &# 39 ; s file is passed to the subrogation process for servicing . if no subrogation opportunity is found , the file is closed 79 . factor values are derived from an assessment of similar historical claims recoveries . using these factors , a probability of recovery is calculated . the factors and weights potentially vary by customer . the system assigns a strategy and checklist for working the account based on the score resulting from the calculated probability of recovery as well as on the type and circumstances of the claim . the scoring is then applied to a grouping of claims / accounts to determine the aggregate value of the group . the value of the group is used in a subrogation claim exchange process 86 . fig5 illustrates how the invention compiles , values and sells subrogation rights . claims files 90 stored in the data warehouse 82 are searched to identify 91 claims with subrogation rights and potential . a claim with subrogation potential is scored 92 as to the probability of its recovery , and the cost of recovering the claim is estimated 93 . the recovery score and the estimated timing and costs of recovery assessment are used to set a value 94 for the claim . once the claim is valued , it is bundled or pooled 95 into a group with other claims that have some commonality to the claim . in particular , the claims are grouped according to pre - established criteria , examples of which include but are not limited to dollar value , type of claims ( automobile , homeowners ) state or region . the bundled group or portfolio of claims is then valued 96 as to its sale price and risk potential and offered for sale 97 in an auction - like manner . the bid , ask and sale prices are then recorded 98 in the data warehouse . referring again to the subrogation scoring 92 , it predicts the potential for claim loss and deductible recoverability . insurers and subrogation collection agencies can use this score to optimize collection strategies and staffing levels , price assignments of subrogation rights and set netback : guarantee rates for example . a subrogation score can be used to set up strategies for contingent collection services , further reducing internal costs . it can be used to establish manpower needs , set goals , and measure collector efficiencies . in an environment where the subrogation rights are grouped into categories based upon multiple criteria , one of which is a valuation based upon a subrogation score , these groups or portfolios can be offered for sale . in this case the score would be integral to pricing the portfolio and evaluating risk . three types of subrogation scores that predict these recoveries , including or excluding collection expense utilized according to a preferred form of the present invention are : collection score , net back score and net liquidation score . all scores reflect predictions of subrogation recoveries for individual claims . all scores are derived from algorithms factoring in characteristics of : underlying insurance , the underlying insurance claim , legally liable party ( tortfeasor ), the tortfeasor &# 39 ; s insurance carrier , the current economic environment , and collection operations , for example . the collection score focuses on the expected ultimate loss recovery . the netback score is a composite scoring valuing recoveries net of collection expense . the net liquidation score is a more sophisticated version of the netback score . values reflect the net present value of ultimate losses recovered and costs expensed . it should be recognized that this is reflective of a future market in subrogation portfolio sales . basically , the netback score = liquidation score − expense score . the liquidation score component expands the collection score to incorporate the element of time . a set of liquidation scores is created reflecting rates of recoveries at 12 , 15 , 18 , or 24 months as well as at ultimate , for example . the expense score factors in unit cost estimates based on operational strategies . these can be generalized for common consumption or customized for specific : buyers . referring now to fig1 ., therein is illustrated a preferred form of the present invention 100 , wherein data for a claim is received through one of several methods such as extraction from a web - based interface at the point of loss entry , file transfer of batch of claims closed during a target period , or batch of claims just placed for subrogation collection 110 . a base score , or collection score , is calculated 120 , a set of external databases is queried for additional data relating to the claim , such as the legally liable party or the party &# 39 ; s insurance carriers 130 , risk factors are identified 140 and a final score , or value , indicative of the expected recovery is provided 150 . according to a preferred form , the collection score , related to the expected recovery , rate is first calculated for each claim by : ( 1 ) calculating an expected probability a legally liable party will make a payment ; ( 2 ) calculating an expected probable percentage of losses recovered through payments received from legally liable parties ; ( 3 ) adjusting resultant scores for differences due to economic conditions or operation strategies or efficiencies ; and , ( 4 ) identifying specific risk factors associated with the individual claims and adjusting the resultant score accordingly . next , the netback score is calculated for each of the claims by : ( 1 ) calculating the liquidation score at specific periods of time ; and , ( 2 ) calculating the expense score for each of the specified periods of time . next , the net liquidation score is calculated by analogously . referring now also to fig2 , therein is illustrated an alternative method equally applicable to the present invention , wherein like elements or steps to those of fig1 are designated with a &# 39 ; symbol . basically , data for a claim is received 110 ′, a base score , or collection score , is calculated 120 ′ by querying an external database for example , a risk factor is identified 140 ′ and a final score , or value , indicative of the expected recovery is provided 150 ′. if more risk factors remain to be considered , steps 140 ′ and 150 ′ are repeated 160 ′. the present invention &# 39 ; s method of subrogation collection scoring focuses on the expected ultimate loss recoverability , as well as the collection timeframe . referring now more particularly to variables considered which are used to derive these scores using appropriate algorithms , for the underlying insurance , characteristic variables used preferably include : whether the claim arises from a preferred , standard , nonstandard or affinity policy group ; whether a personal or commercial lines policy is involved ; and , whether the responsible party has insurance as well as if both first and third party insurers are members of a common alternative dispute resolution organization . variables associated with the underlying insurance claim preferably include : the number of subrogation collection agencies who have previously worked the account ; the type of underlying claim ; the size of the claim ; the length of time since loss occurrence when the present collection effort is initiated ; the negligence laws associated with the state of legal jurisdiction ; the relative degree of insured &# 39 ; s and tortfeasor &# 39 ; s negligence ; whether legal action was initiated under statute of limitation or whether there was some extension of statute of limitations ; and , whether there exists any type of legal judgments rendered . the variables used associated with the legally liable party ( tortfeasor ) preferably include : for uninsured and underinsured individuals or groups of individuals - income levels ; homeownership ; gender ; presence of children ; number of years at current residence ; age ; and , marital status . for uninsured businesses , variables used preferably include : bankruptcy ; existence of liens ; judgments ; derogatory legal information ; problems in paying suppliers ; number of employees ( size of business ); other financial strength indicators ; length of time in business ; business structure ( incorporated , “ doing business as ”, llc ); and type of business . for other uninsured parties , the variables preferably used include : whether the party is a nonprofit agency ; fraternal in nature ; or , a type of government agency . for the tortfeasor &# 39 ; s insurer , variables used preferably include : financial strength ; resistance to pay characteristics ; common membership in alternative resolution pools ; and , the type of insurance business . for the current economic environment characteristic , variables used preferably include : inflation ; interest rates and tight money conditions ; unemployment and bankruptcy levels ; financial strength of legally liable party &# 39 ; s industry and geographic region ; and generalized or unique subrogation operation expense and effectiveness assumptions . scores preferably range from 0 to 1 , 000 . the higher the score , the greater the probable recovery . a score of 1 , 000 indicates a probable full recovery , while a score of 0 is given when no recovery is expected . to develop the scores , first each subrogation claim x i is encoded to describe characteristics of : 1 . the claim , legally liable party and tortfeasor &# 39 ; s insurer i , where : x i ε { i ( ij )| attribute j = 1 , . . . , k for characteristic i = 1 , 2 , . . . 1 } y i ε { i ( ij )| risk factor m = 1 , . . . , z associated with the specific debt } 2 . the current economic environment a , a ε { a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , . . . , a n } 3 . and , the collection strategies b , b ε { b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , . . . , b n } scores are then calculated using expected values associated with the encoding in the baseline subrogation operation and in the economic environment . more specifically , for every claim x iab , the subrogation collection score ( x iab , y i )= 10 , 000 e ( p i r i n ia o ib ) iiy im , for m = 1 , . . . , z p i = probability of a legally liable party with characteristics i making any payment ; r i = probable percentage of losses recovered from parties who make any payment ; n ia = adjustment reflecting the difference in expected recoveries from base expectations under economic scenario a ; o ia = adjustment reflecting the difference in expected recoveries from base expectations under operational scenario b ; and , y im = risk factors associated with characteristics of the claim factors vary by type of claim . looking at each in turn . p 1 : the dominant general model for the probability of a legally liable party with characteristics i making any payment is in the form : φ = 1 n ( p ij ) = σ 0ij σ 1ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 2ij ( 0 , 1 )+ . . . σ kij ( 0 , 1 ) for x i ε { i ( ij )| attribute j = 1 , . . . , k for characteristic i = 1 , 2 , . . . 1 } predictive parameters are estimated based on an assessment of historic recovery patterns using : ( 1 ) a combination of parametric and nonparametric statistical techniques including but not limited to binomial estimation , binomial regression , general loglinear , and logit loglinear analysis , and ordinal regression , and , ( 2 ) heuristics . in all cases , the resultant p i ε ( 0 , 1 ] r i : the dominant form for the percentage of loss collected when payments are made is a piece - wise defined function . this is because the predominant recovery is 100 %. parameters are developed from an assessment of historic recovery patterns using : ( 1 ) a combination of parametric and nonparametric statistical techniques including but not limited to : general loglinear , and logit loglinear analysis , and ordinal regression , ( 2 ) age - to - age analysis trends , and ( 3 ) heuristics in all cases : r i ε ( 0 , 1 ] n ia economic scenarios reflect , but are not limited to , characteristics such as : ( 1 ) unemployment and bankruptcy rates , ( 2 ) interest rates and tight money conditions , ( 3 ) financial strength of legally liable party &# 39 ; s geographic area and industry , ( 4 ) inflation , and ( 5 ) leading economic indicators . the dominant form is [ 1 + e ( ν ia ] for a = 1 , . . . , n . where , ν ia is a binomial distribution ≅ n ( 0 , 1 ). factors are developed using monte carlo simulation techniques , based on heuristics and / or statistical observations of payor and liquidation patterns . o ib operational scenarios reflect , but are not limited to , characteristics such as : ( 1 ) type and amount of prior collection efforts , ( 2 ) quality of subrogation screening , investigation and documentation conducted during settlement of underlying claim , ( 3 ) thresholds for attorney involvement , filing of law suits and use of alternative dispute resolutions mechanisms , ( 4 ) settlement authority and strategies , and ( 5 ) positions on skip tracing and additional investigation efforts . the dominant form is [ 1 + e ( o ib )] for b = 1 , . . . , n . where , o ib is a binomial distribution ≅ n ( 0 , 1 ). factors are developed using monte carlo simulation techniques , based on heuristics and / or statistical observations of payor and liquidation patterns . y im = risk factors reflect , but are not limited to , characteristics such as : ( 1 ) limitations of legal process due to statutes of limitations , ( 2 ) degree of insured &# 39 ; s and tortfeasor &# 39 ; s legal culpability in specific claim , ( 3 ) reduced collection potential evidenced by failure of other collection agencies to recover on claim , and ( 5 ) limitations due to difficulty in identifying and / or locating tortfeasor . the dominant form is [ 1 + e ( ω im )] for m = 1 , . . . , z . where , ω im is a binomial distribution ≅ n ( 0 , 1 ). factors are developed using monte carlo simulation techniques , based on heuristics and / or statistical observations of payor and liquidation patterns . validation of the mathematical models is done in several steps . the first goodness - of - fit criteria to be met is a demonstrated unbiased pattern of chi - square residuals made against the original fitted data . this is followed by differing levels of stochastic - based retrospective testing as well as simulated user tests . the net back score is a composite score incorporating the cost of collection into the predictions . it reflects the estimated relative expected loss recoveries net of expense ( netback ). options are to do so at the end of 12 , 15 , 18 , or 24 months in the future or to do so at ultimate . as set forth , net back score = liquidation score — expense scores , all at time t . the liquidation and subrogation collection scores are sisters . they differ only in the predictive timeframe . when the liquidation score is calculated at ultimate , the scores are twins . the expense score reflects either unit costs for specific types of activities or general expense loads . it is based on either specific or generalized operational strategies . like the collection score , net backs scores are derived from algorithms factoring in characteristics of the underlying insurance claim , legally liable party , tortfeasor &# 39 ; s insurer and the current economic environment . costs can reflect those of a standard subrogation facility or one using customized operational strategies . in one embodiment of the present invention , scores range from − 10 , 000 to + 10 , 000 . the higher the score , the greater the probable recovery . a score of 10 , 000 indicates probable full recovery at no material expense . a score of 0 is given when collection costs are equal to recoveries . a score of − 10 , 000 reflects expected expenses at least twice exceed expected recoveries . as set forth , to develop the scores , first each subrogation claim x i is encoded to describe characteristics of the claim , legally liable party , and tortfeasor &# 39 ; s insurer i , where x i ={ i ( ij )| j refers to attribute 1 , . . . , k for each characteristic i = 1 , 2 , . . . . } y i ={ i ( i , j )| risk factor m = 1 , . . . , z associated with the specific debt }, the current economic environment a , a ={ a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , . . . , a n } collection strategies b . b ={ b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , . . . , b n } unit cost factors c , c ={ c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , . . . c n } a score set is then developed for time t , where t ={ t 1 = 12 months , t 2 = 15 months , t 3 = 18 months , t 4 = 24 months , t 5 = at ultimate }. each netback score set is calculated using expected values associated with the encoding over the range of time t . for claim . x iab , and t = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , subrogation netback score ( x iabt , y i )= liquidation score ( x iabt y i )− expense score ( x iabt ). liquidation score ( x iabt , y i )= 10 , 000 e ( p it r it n iat o ibt ) for m =, . . . , z , limited to be in [ 10 . 0000 , . . . 10 , 000 ]. calculating the liquidation score is otherwise identical to the subrogation collection score . the liquidation score is based on evaluation of recoveries over the range of time t ; the subrogation score , at ultimate . the expense score , however is unique . expense score ( x iabt )= 10 , 000 e ( u ibt o ibt ), where u ibt = unit cost of collection activity under operational scenario b through time t . q ibt = adjustment reflecting the difference in expected costs under operational scenario b , from the baseline . looking at the mathematical factors in turn , u ibt unit costs under operational scenarios b reflect but are not limited to , characteristics such as : ( 1 ) ( cost of phone calls )×( expected number of calls to be made ), ( 2 ) ( cost of letters mailed )×( expected number of letters to be sent ), ( 3 ) ( cost of additional investigation , legal documentation expense , and skip tracing )×( probability this will be necessary ), and , ( 4 ) ( costs of legal action over the spectrum of legal actions possible )×( probability this will be necessary ). the dominant form is [ 1 + e ( χ im )] for c = 1 , . . . , n , where , χ im is a binomial distribution ≅ n ( 0 , 1 ). factors are developed using monte carlo simulation techniques , based on heuristics and / or statistical observations . q ibt these factors calibrate the scores to reflect operational costs appropriate for the target claims . the dominant form is [ 1 + e ( χim )] for c = 1 , . . . , n . factors will be provided by the operational managers in the form of absolute or point estimates . the validation process is identical to that of the subrogation collection scores . the net liquidation score is a more sophisticated version of the net back score . values reflect the net present value of both the recoveries and expenses , based on prevalent interest rates . this score is useful for subrogation portfolio purchases . at an interest rate of 0 , the net liquidation score and net back score at time ultimate are identical . the mathematics differ only in application of a present value factor to all components . validation procedures are identical . table - 1 summarizes the foregoing as a chart of attributes and risk factors : to use this information , a table of base scores is established using an historic assessment of collection patterns for subrogation claims with the common attributes identified above . these represent the average recovery expectations for claims with similar attributes . this “ average ” base score is then fine tuned using the risk factors above to reflect the specific recovery expectations for each individual claim . for simplicity , an example is now discussed in which there are only these attributes : ( 1 ) type of underlying claim — automobile physical damage or workers compensation ; size of , claim —$ 500 or $ 1 , 000 ; and , type of legally liable party — person or business . the base score table then would have 8 entries , each one reflecting the average historic expectations for the type of claims . exemplary data is provided in table - 2 . supposing “ party a ” and “ party b ” each had separate car accidents with $ 500 worth of damage . according to a preferred form of the present invention , you start with a base score of 350 reflecting a 35 % chance of loss recovery . the second step according to the present invention is to adjust the base for the set of claim specific risk factors again for sake of explanation , it will be assumed there are only two : statute of limitations — too late to take legal action or plenty of time , and degree of negligence — other party either 100 % or 50 % to blame . these are independent conditions and , like all risk factors , are assessed separately . the final score becomes a product of the base score and all risk factors . for example , the final score = base score × risk factor 1 × risk factor 2 . for the exemplary case the risk factors can be summarized as indicated in table 3 . assuming party b was totally to blame , but party a &# 39 ; s insurer took too long to pursue the case , the final score for party a would be calculated as : party a base score ( 350 )× other party to blame ( 500 )× too late for action ( 0 . 0000 )= 0 . 0000 . this reflects a 0 % chance of recovering losses after the statute of limitations has passed and there is no legal recourse , which is reasonable score for this case . for a second example , assume partys a and b are equally to blame and that there is plenty of time to file legal action . party b &# 39 ; s final score can be calculated as party b base score ( 350 )× other party 50 % to blame ( 1 . 0000 )× plenty of time ( 1 . 0000 )= 350 . it should be noted there is nothing about this particular claim that would temper or override the base score . thus , the factors correctly leave the base score unchanged . this final score reflects a 35 % chance of recovering losses , average for this type of claim . collections depend on the skill of the negotiators and willingness and ability of the other party to pay . this information can be supplemented by information about the legally liable party which can be obtained through automatically generated queries of commercially available databases for example . table 5 summarizes exemplary information that can be obtained . an analytical approach is used to screen for subrogation potential . it queries the information provided , assessing whether it has sufficient information to determine subrogation potential or additional information is required . it is dynamic with a learning — feedback mechanism , that continuously identifies new vocabulary and phrases . once encountered , new phrases and related risk assessments are added to the utilized subrogation encyclopedia . statutory rule changes are also made periodically . as an option , answers may be calibrated for specific customers . more particularly , in a preferred embodiment the screening process can be summarized as follows : is this a 1st party claim which insurers typically have the right to subrogate ? yes . standard personal auto contracts typically contain contractual language giving the insurer the right to recover payments made to indemnify the insured when someone else is legally liable for all or part of the damages . are there legal prohibitions against subrogation in the particular state of legal jurisdiction ? there are none in california . is the claim closed or expected to close without payments ? no . recovery of $ 1 , 500 is being sought . have rights under the statute of limitation been preserved ? is there time to bring legal action ? the loss event occurred 65 days ago , leaving plenty of time to begin legal action within the statute of limitation . does the accident description of other information provided show someone else might be liable for all or part of the loss ? yes . we are interpreting “ iv & amp ; ov collided in x ” to mean the insured vehicle and another vehicle collided in an intersection . the assessment is that negligence is shared , probably 50 % / 50 % between the insured and the other party . does the state bar recovery based on the insured &# 39 ; s degree of negligence ? no . california is a “ pure ” comparative negligence state . insurer would be entitled to 50 % recovery based on a shared 50 % negligence . is there enough information to identify and locate the alleged legally liable party ? there appears to be . full name address and phone number were provided . using convention business logic , this analysis leads to a conclusion there is “ definite subrogation potential ” and that a “ subrogation recovery potential can be scored ” for example . a mathematical approach to calculate a score is used . this process is also dynamic , incorporating a feedback loop . actual results are compared with statistical expectations for benchmark books at various points in time . whenever a pattern develops where the scores vary beyond statistical expectations , the scores are recalibrated . in a preferred embodiment , the analytical algorithm is as follows : for every claim x iab , the collection score ( x iab , y i )= 10 , 000 e ( p i r i n ia o ib ) iiy im , where p i = probability of a legally liable party with characteristics i making any payment r i = probable percentage of losses recovered from parties who make any payment n ia = adjustment reflecting the difference in expected recoveries from base expectations under economic scenario a q ib = adjustment reflecting the difference in expected recoveries from base expectations under operational scenario b ; and , let i be the claim presented above where we are seeking recovery of $ 1 , 500 arising from a california personal auto collision claim , examined 65 days after the accident . we are subrogating against an uninsured individual for an accident described as “ iv & amp ; ov collided in x ”. the complete name and address is provided for the driver of the other vehicle . this is the 1 st agency trying to recover the money . step 1 . calculate p i , the probability of a legally liable party making a payment . p i = p ( ij ) where the “ i ” factor reflects a personal lines collision claim with an uninsured individual as legally liable party . the “ j ” factor reflects characteristics of the claim and legally liable party . for auto collision , p i takes the form of α 01 + α 11 [ e θ /( 1 + e θ )] θ = 1 n ( p ij /( 1 + p ij ))= σ 0i + σ 1ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 2ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 3ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 4ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 5ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 6ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 7ij ( 0 , 1 )+ σ 8ij ( 0 , 1 ) σ 4ij ( 0 , 1 ) refers to the age of the legally liable party . σ 8ij ( 0 , 1 ) refers to the number of years at the current address . σ 8 i ( 1 - 3 years ) ( 0 , 1 ) = . 239 * 0 + . 778 * 1 + 1 . 546 * 0 + 4 . 783 * 0 + 1 . 3736 * 0 = . 778 it should be noted there were no calibration adjustments for this claim putting the pieces together , the probability of the legally liable party for this claim making a payment , the expected value . e ( p i ) = α 0 i + α 1 i [ ⅇ θ / ( 1 + ⅇ θ ) ] = 0 + 1 ( . 76874 / ( 1 + . 76874 ) = 43 . 46 % step 2 . next , calculate r i = the probable percentage of losses recovered from parties who make any payment . i = r ( ij ). the “ i ” factor reflects a personal lines collision claim with an uninsured individual as legally liable party , the “ j ” factor reflects the size of claim ($ 1 , 001 -$ 2 , 000 ). step 3 . through n ia , factor in any adjustments needed for differences from the baseline due to changes in economic conditions . n ia = n ( i , a )= 1 + e ( v ia ). the “ i ” factor reflects a personal lines collision claim with an uninsured individual as legally liable party . the “ a ” factor reflects the economic environment of the legally liable party &# 39 ; s residence in california , plus countywide inflation factors and changes in the leading economic indications . step 4 . o ib = adjusts for differences from the baseline due to differences in operation strategies or efficiencies . o ib = o ( i , b )= 1 + e ( o ib ). the “ i ” factor reflects a personal lines collision claim with an uninsured individual as legally liable party , the “ b ” factor reflects known differences in collection strategies that would impact these types of recoveries . for this claim we have factored in no differences from our benchmark . in step 5 we can now put together the major piece of our equation . for this claim , e ( p i r i n ia o ib )= 43 . 46 %× 0 . 7485 x ( 1 . 026 )× 1 . 000 = 33 . 38 % this is the expected recovery rate for this type of claim . in step 6 , through y im specific risk factors associated with the circumstances of the claim are brought in . m i1 , modifies recovery expectations due to limitations of legal process arising from any statutes of limitations or other state prohibitions . for this claim , m i1 = 1 . 0000 . working within the statue of limitations should not present a problem and there are no state issues . m i2 , modifies recovery expectations due to state recovery limitations based on the insureds culpability . for this claim , the insured and other driver were assessed as both 50 % at fault . this is the average expectation in our baseline and no adjustments were made . here m i2 = 1 . 0000 . m i3 , modifies expectations if other agencies have attempted and failed to recover for the claim . since this is indicated to be the 1st subrogation placement , no modifications were made . m i3 = 1 . 0000 m i4 , modifies expectations due to difficulty in identifying or locating a legally liable party . since sufficient information appears to be available , no adjustments were needed . m i4 = 1 . 0000 . the collection score ( x iab , y i )= 10 , 000 e ( p i r i n ia o ib ) iiy im = 10 , 000 × 33 . 38 %× 1 . 000 = 3 , 338 the netback score is a sister of the collection score , building on its mathematical algorithms . it differs in two areas . 1 . recovery potential is quantified at the end of specific period ( s ) of time working the debt . 2 . collection expense is factored in . the calculation is illustrated using the same example , incorporating two additional pieces of information . we are interested in the score based on 18 months of collections and factor in a 20 % contingent collection fee . the analytical algorithm , for every claim x iab , can preferably be characterized as follows : subrogation netback score ( x iab , y i )= liquidation score ( x iabt , y it )− expense score ( x iabt , y it ) step 1 — liquidation score : the mathematical algorithms for the liquidation and subrogation score are identical . the difference is that parameter values selected reflect the time series points . without repeating the details , for our example : liquidation score ( x iab ( 18 months ) , y i ) = 10 , 000 e [ p i ( 18 months ) r i ( 18 months ) n ia ( 18 months ) o ib ( 18 months ) ] π y im = 10 , 000 x 29 . 8 % x 1 . 000 = 2 , 980 note , that the lower score reflects the omission of : collections made after 18 months . step 2 — expense score : the expense score factors into the equation collection costs through time frames corresponding to the companion liquidation score . expense score ( x iabt , y it )= 10 , 000 e ( u ibt o ibt ) where u ibt = cost of collection under operational scenario b through time t for our example , cost is a function of the liquidation score o ibt = is a calibration factor used to adjust the cost estimates to current . none was needed for our example and the baseline factor is 1 . 000 . expense score ( x iabt , y it ) = 10 , 000 e ( u ibt o ibt ) = 10 , 000 x u ibt x u ibt = 10 , 000 x 5 . 98 % x 1 . 000 = 596 netback score = liquidation score ( x iabt , y it ) - expense score ( x iabt , y it ) = 2 , 980 - 596 = 2 , 384 the net liquidation score is the discount value of the netback score where accounts are worked to ultimate completion . mathematically , for every claim x iab , subrogation net liquidation score ( x iab , y i ) = 10 , 000 present value [ . 0001 x liquidation score ( x iab , y i ) - . 0001 x expense score ( x iab , y i ) for our example above calculations for the liquidation score and expense score are identical to those already explained . to complete the score : although the invention has been described and pictured in a 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 combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . it is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the appended claims , whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed . | 6 |
new filter bank based translating or folding techniques will now be described . the signal under consideration is decomposed into a series of subband signals by the analysis part of the filterbank . the subband signals are then repatched , through reconnection of analysis — and synthesis subband channels , to achieve spectral translation or folding or a combination thereof . fig2 shows the basic structure of a maximally decimated filterbank analysis / synthesis system . the analysis filter bank 201 splits the input signal into several subband signals . the synthesis filter bank 202 combines the subband samples in order to recreate the original signal . implementations using maximally decimated filter banks will drastically reduce computational costs . it should be appreciated , that the invention can be implemented using several types of filter banks or transforms , including cosine or complex exponential modulated filter banks , filter bank interpretations of the wavelet transform , other non - equal bandwidth filter banks or transforms and multi - dimensional filter banks or transforms . in the illustrative , but not limiting , descriptions below it is assumed that an l - channel filter bank splits the input signal x ( n ) into l subband signals . the input signal , with sampling frequency ƒ s , is bandlimited to frequency ƒ c . the analysis filters of a maximally decimated filter bank ( fig2 ) are denoted h k ( z ) 203 , where k = 0 , 1 , . . . , l − 1 . the subband signals v k ( n ) are maximally decimated , each of sampling frequency ƒ s / l , after passing the decimators 204 , the synthesis section , with the synthesis filters denoted f k ( z ), reassembles the subband signals after interpolation 205 and filtering 206 to produce { circumflex over ( x )}( n ). in addition , the present invention performs a spectral reconstruction on { circumflex over ( x )}( n ), giving an enhanced signal y ( n ). the number of source area channels is denoted s ( 1 ≦ s ≦ m ). performing spectral reconstruction through translation on { circumflex over ( x )}( n ) according to the present invention , in combination with envelope adjustment , is accomplished by repatching the subband signals as where kε [ 0 , s − 1 ], (− 1 ) s + p = 1 , i . e . s + p is an even number , p is an integer offset ( 0 ≦ p ≦ m − s ) and e m + k ( n ) is the envelope correction . performing spectral reconstruction through folding on { circumflex over ( x )}( n ) according to the present invention , is further accomplished by repatching the subband signals as where kε [ 0 , s − 1 ], (− 1 ) s + p =− 1 , i . e . s + p is an odd integer number , p is an integer offset ( 1 − s ≦ p ≦ m − 2s + 1 ) and e m + k ( n ) is the envelope correction . the operator [*] denotes complex conjugation . usually , the repatching process is repeated until the intended amount of high frequency bandwidth is attained . it should be noted that , through the use of the subband domain based translation and folding , improved crossover accuracy between the lowband and instances of translated or folded bands is achieved , since all the signals are filtered through filterbank channels that have matched frequency responses . if the frequency ƒ c of x ( n ) is too high , or equivalently ƒ s is too low , to allow an effective spectral reconstruction , i . e . m + s & gt ; l , the number of subband channels may be increased after the analysis filtering . filtering the subband signals with a ql - channel synthesis filter bank , where only the l lowband channels are used and the upsampling factor q is chosen so that ql is an integer value , will result in an output signal with sampling frequency qƒ s . hence , the extended filter bank will act as if it is an l - channel filter bank followed by an upsampler . since , in this case , the l ( q − 1 ) highband filters are unused ( fed with zeros ), the audio bandwidth will not change — the filter bank will merely reconstruct an upsampled version of { circumflex over ( x )}( n ). if , however , the l subband signals are repatched to the highband channels , according to eq . ( 3 ) or ( 4 ), the bandwidth of { circumflex over ( x )}( n ) will be increased . using this scheme , the upsampling process is integrated in the synthesis filtering . it should be noted that any size of the synthesis filter bank may be used , resulting in different sampling rates of the output signal . referring to fig3 , consider the subband channels from a 16 - channel analysis filterbank . the input signal x ( n ) has frequency contents up to the nyqvist frequency ( ƒ c = ƒ s / 2 ). in the first iteration , the 16 subbands are extended to 23 subbands , and frequency translation according to eq . ( 3 ) is used with the following parameters : m = 16 , s = 7 and p = 1 . this operation is illustrated by the repatching of subbands from point a to b in the figure . in the next iteration , the 23 subbands are extended to 28 subbands , and eq . ( 3 ) is used with the new parameters : m = 23 , s = 5 and p = 3 . this operation is illustrated by the repatching of subbands from point b to c . the so - produced subbands may then be synthesized using a 28 - channel filterbank . this would produce a critically sampled output signal with sampling frequency 28 / 16 ƒ s = 1 . 75 ƒ s . the subband signals could also be synthesized using a 32 - channel filterbank , where the four uppermost channels are fed with zeros , illustrated by the dashed lines in the figure , producing an output signal with sampling frequency 2ƒ s . using the same analysis filterbank and an input signal with the same frequency contents , fig4 illustrates the repatching using frequency folding according to eq . ( 4 ) in two iterations . in the first iteration m = 16 , s = 8 and p =− 7 , and the 16 subbands are extended to 24 . in the second iteration m = 24 , s = 8 and p =− 7 , and the number of subbands are extended from 24 to 32 . the subbands are synthesized with a 32 - channel filterbank . in the output signal , sampled at frequency 2ƒ s , this repatching results in two reconstructed frequency bands — one band emerging from the repatching of subband signals to channels 16 to 23 , which is a folded version of the bandpass signal extracted by channels 8 to 15 , and one band emerging from the repatching to channels 24 to 31 , which is a translated version of the same bandpass signal . sensory dissonance may develop in the translation or folding process due to adjacent band interference , i . e . interference between partials in the vicinity of the crossover region between instances of translated bands and the lowband . this type of dissonance is more common in harmonic rich , multiple pitched programme material . in order to reduce dissonance , guard - bands are inserted and may preferably consist of small frequency bands with zero energy , i . e . the crossover region between the lowband signal and the replicated spectral band is filtered using a bandstop or notch filter . less perceptual degradation will be perceived if dissonance reduction using guard - bands is performed . the bandwidth of the guard - bands should preferably be around 0 . 5 bark . if less , dissonance may result and if wider , comb - filter - like sound characteristics may result . in filterbank based translation or folding , guard - bands could be inserted and may preferably consist of one or several subband channels set to zero . the use of guardbands changes eq . ( 3 ) to d is a small integer and represents the number of filterbank channels used as guardband . now p + s + d should be an even integer in eq . ( 5 ) and an odd integer in eq . ( 6 ). p takes the same values as before . fig5 shows the repatching of a 32 - channel filterbank using eq . ( 5 ). the input signal has frequency contents up to ƒ c = 5 / 16ƒ s , making m = 20 in the first iteration . the number of source channels is chosen as s = 4 and p = 2 . further , d should preferably be chosen as to make the bandwidth of the guardbands 0 . 5 bark . here , d equals 2 , making the guardbands ƒ s / 32 hz wide . in the second iteration , the parameters are chosen as m = 26 , s = 4 , d = 2 and p = 0 . in the figure , the guardbands are illustrated by the subbands with the dashed line - connections . in order to make the spectral envelope continuous , the dissonance guard - bands may be partially reconstructed using a random white noise signal , i . e . the subbands are fed with white noise instead of being zero . the preferred method uses adaptive noise - floor addition ( ana ) as described in the pct patent application [ se00 / 00159 ]. this method estimates the noise - floor of the highband of the original signal and adds synthetic noise in a well - defined way to the recreated highband in the decoder . the present invention may be implemented in various kinds of systems for storage or transmission of audio signals using arbitrary codecs . fig1 shows the decoder of an audio coding system . the demultiplexer 101 separates the envelope data and other hfr related control signals from the bitstream and feeds the relevant part to the arbitrary lowband decoder 102 . the lowband decoder produces a digital signal which is fed to the analysis filterbank 104 . the envelope data is decoded in the envelope decoder 103 , and the resulting spectral envelope information is fed together with the subband samples from the analysis filterbank to the integrated translation or folding and envelope adjusting filterbank unit 105 . this unit translates or folds the lowband signal , according to the present invention , to form a wideband signal and applies the transmitted spectral envelope . the processed subband samples are then fed to the synthesis filterbank 106 , which might be of a different size than the analysis filterbank . the digital wideband output signal is finally converted 107 to an analogue output signal . the above - described embodiments are merely illustrative for the principles of the present invention for improvement of high frequency reconstruction ( hfr ) techniques using filterbank - based frequency translation or folding . it is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and the details described herein will be apparent to others skilled in the art . it is the intent , therefore , to be limited only by the scope of the impending patent claims and not by the specific details presented by way of description and explanation of the embodiments herein . | 6 |
illustrative embodiments and exemplary applications will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to disclose the advantageous teachings of the present invention . while the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications , it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications , applications , and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the present invention would be of significant utility . fig1 is a diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the image projection system of the present invention . the system 10 includes a light source 12 . the light source 12 should be one that can uniformly illuminate the array 15 of spatial light modulators and whose output light 11 can be modulated in intensity in a known and predictable manner . hence , while in the illustrative embodiment , the light source 12 is implemented with a laser , the light source may be implemented with any other source which may be intensity modulated fast enough to perform gray scale encoding at video frame rates . the output of the laser light 11 is expanded by lenses 13 and 14 ( or an alternative optical configuration ) so as to fully and uniformly illuminate the spatial light modulator 15 . in the preferred embodiment , the spatial light modulator 15 is a digital micromirror device ® ( dmd ) or other digital light modulator such as was described in the discussion of related art above . although the following discussion assumes a dmd light valve , any light modulating device that generates gray scale by deflecting light into different directions such that it either passes through an aperture or does not pass through the aperture could be used . as described in the above - referenced article entitled , &# 34 ; electronic control of a digital micromirror device ® for projection displays ,&# 34 ; published in the 1994 edition of the ieee international solid - state circuits conference , p . 130 - 131 , by claude tew et al ., digital micromirror devices ® include a plurality of miniature mirrors suspended above the substrate of an integrated circuit chip . the tilt angle of each mirror may be controlled by an electronic signal 23 . fig2 is a schematic view of a single pixel from a dmd chip . as illustrated in fig2 ., the dmd 15 includes a mirror element 22 which is suspended above a substrate 24 . in the illustrated embodiment , each mirror element 22 is supported by two torsion hinges 28 and posts 26 . two electrodes 30 and 32 supply the electromotive forces to rotate the mirror 22 about the axis of the torsion hinges . to tilt the mirror 22 to a desired position , true and complementary data 16 , 16 &# 39 ; are supplied to the two electrodes 30 and 32 . the resultant electrostatic force tips the mirror toward the desired position . fig3 a and 3b are magnified cross - sectional schematic views of a section of the dmd 16 . fig3 a shows the dmd mirror elements in an &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; state . fig3 b shows the dmd mirror elements in an &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state . as shown in fig3 a , when the dmd elements are in an &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; state , the light energy is reflected back to the source 12 . when the mirror elements are in an &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state , as illustrated in fig3 b , the light is reflected at an angle such that the light is collected by the lens 17 of fig1 and passes through an aperture or schlieren stop 18 to be projected by the lens 19 onto the screen . typically , the dmd picture element mirrors rotate from + 10 ° to - 10 °. the optical characteristics of lenses 17 and 19 are selected to reimage the dmd mirror elements onto the screen 21 . the role of the schlieren stop in this application is analogous to the analyzer in a liquid crystal light valve ; it converts the change in light direction into a change in light intensity . as shown in fig1 a timing and control circuit 20 specifies and coordinates the changes in the intensity of the light source 12 in synchronism with the data input signals to the dmd as discussed more fully below . the timing and control circuits effect the selective activation of the dmd elements as necessary to provide the desired gray scale intensity for each pixel on the screen 21 . fig4 is a block diagram of the electrical circuit 40 of the image projection system of the present invention . the illustrated embodiment provides for an analog video signal to be de - multiplexed by a video multiplexer 50 into numerous analog to digital ( a / d ) converters 48 , e . g ., one for each column of the dmd . a video gain and offset control circuit 42 provides contrast and brightness adjustment capability . ( if the video is available in digital format , the de - multiplexing could be performed digitally and the a / d converters could be eliminated .) a frame of digital video information is then stored in an array of serial to parallel converters 48 until it is needed to drive the dmd . column drivers 46 are provided to insure adequate capacity is available to drive the electrical load represented by the dmd 15 . the row drivers 44 provide signals for sequential loading of each field of data into the dmd 15 . the modulated light source 12 as well as each of the other blocks , is controlled by the timing and control circuits 20 . the illustrated embodiment provides for an array of parallel to serial converters to store of an entire frame of video data 48 . the parallel to serial converters enable the most significant bit of each video word to be used to control the first field in the frame ; the next most significant bit of each video word to be used to control the second field in the frame , and etc . the timing and control circuit 20 , parallel to serial converters 48 , gain and offset circuits 42 , and column drivers 46 , may be implemented with microprocessors , gate arrays or with discrete digital or analog circuits in a conventional manner . the functions may be partitioned so that some can be fabricated as part of the dmd . the basic memory element controlling each mirror on the dmd can be assumed to be a simple flip - flop logic element ( not shown ). each flip - flop has an input which determines the state it will assume after the second of two clock transitions ; one clock transition loads in the new data and the next ( opposite ) clock transition changes the state of the flip - flop to correspond to the new data . each mirror in the dmd array tilts in a manner corresponding to the state of its associate flip - flop . the row driver 44 successively and sequentially places a row enable signal on each of the row electrode buses of the dmd array . all of the flip - flops ( not shown ) in any row of mirror elements ( pixels ) are loaded simultaneously with &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; instructions depending on the state of their corresponding column driver . by updating the data presented on each column electrode bus in synchronism with the row enable signal stepping down the rows of the dmd , new data can be loaded into the flip - flop associate with each picture element ( pixel ) a row at a time . by simultaneously transitioning all of the row enable buses in the opposite manner , all of the loaded data is transferred into all of the flip - flop memories on a one - to - one basis , and an electronic representation of a binary ( black or white ) image field is translated into a programmed pattern of mirror positions and corresponding bright and dark pixels . the process is repeated , one field for each video bit , until all the fields in the frame have been presented . the process is repeated each frame , but with the variation required to create the illusion of moving images . the advantages of the invention are apparent when the timing diagrams of fig5 ( a )-( f ) and 6 ( a )-( f ) are compared . fig5 ( a )-( f ) and fig7 are timing diagrams of a typical conventional dmd based image projection system . fig6 ( a )-( f ) and fig8 are timing diagrams of a display constructed and operated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . each shows the time line of a single frame , consisting of several fields . fig5 ( b ) and 6 ( b ) indicate quantitatively the time duration of each field . fig5 ( c ) and 6 ( c ) indicate the points in time in which the mirror can transition from one state to another . the fig5 ( d ) and 6 ( d ) indicate the state of the illumination modulation . the fig5 ( e ) and 6 ( e ) indicate the time available to load the new data into the dmd array , and the fig5 ( f ) and 6 ( f ) indicate the point at which the new data is transferred into the individual pixel flip - flops . in the conventional dmd image projection system , the illumination is constant , and the load times and mirror state duration are dictated by the need to accommodate the shortest field duration . fig5 ( a )-( f ) shows such a system with six ( zero through five ) fields per frame ; since the number of gray levels is ( 2 raised to the ( number of fields -- 1 )), this system would have fewer gray levels than a full 8 - bit system . however , some dmd systems are limited to six bits by the conventional addressing method , since the seventh and eighth bits require even shorter writing times . fig5 shows the time that is available to load in the new data for each field under the condition that it is set by the time available to load the data for the shortest field . fig7 indicates the time that is available to load in the new data for each field and suggests that the data rate could possibly be reduced by spreading the data load time over more than just one field . to the first approximation , providing additional memory at each picture element location so another field can be stored within the array would halve the data rate but double the complexity of the device , an undesirable trade - off this invention teaches a method for reducing the data rate without increasing the array circuit complexity . in addition , the method described herein has the added advantage that it easily accommodates 8 - bit video systems . in should be noted that in a conventionally illuminated dmd , the data rates are driven by the time available to load in the data for the shortest field , unless the data for multiple fields is stored within the array of the dmd , thus greatly increasing the complexity of the dmd . in a conventional dmd image projection system , when eight bit video data is to be presented , the shortest field is 1 / 256 × 1 / 60 second . furthermore , if the monochrome image is to have 1000 line resolution , the row enable pulse must be shorter than 1 / 256 × 1 / 60 × 1 / 1000 , or 65 nano - seconds . for the same image in field sequential color , the row enable pulse must be three times faster , a 45 mhz clock rate with a nominal 22 nanosecond pulse length . to produce a pulse whose rise and fall time is short relative to its 22 nanosecond duration requires a circuit with bandwidth of ten times the inverse of the pulse width , or roughly 450 mhz for this example . implementing circuitry with such a capability over the large area and multitude of connections usually associated with a display device would undoubtedly unfavorably impact yield and costs . reference is now made to fig6 ( a )-( f ) and fig8 which describe a frame interval as in fig5 ( a )- f and fig7 but where the illumination is modulated , and the field periods are equally spaced . in accordance with the present teachings , the only parameter that varies is the light source &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; time , as shown by fig6 ( d ) and 10 ( a ), which is reduced by one - half for each successive field in any one frame . in accordance with the present teachings , the duration of the light pulse during the first field , shown in fig6 ( d ), is the full field period ; the duration during the second field , shown in fig6 ( d ) is half of the field period ; and the duration is half again in each subsequent field until the beginning of the next frame when the process starts all over again . if the pixel is to present maximum brightness , it is on for all fields . if the pixel is to present the minimum non - zero brightness , the pixel is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; only during the field in which the light source pulse is of minimum pulse width . if the pixel is to present a 50 % gray shade , it on for the one field period when the light source is also on for the full period . all other gray scale levels can be achieved by suitable combinations of light pulse durations . note that to simplify this illustration , the sum of series : 1 / 2 , 1 / 4 , 1 / 8 , 1 / 16 , 1 / 32 , 1 / 64 , 1 / 128 , 1 / 256 was assumed to be 1 , or unity , but in fact it is actually 0 . 9960938 . thus , the brightness of a pixel that is on for all eight fields , in a eight field frame , is actually 255 times the brightness of the minimum non - zero value . the durations of the light pulses can be trimmed slightly should it be necessary for the brightness levels to have precise binary time duration relationships . as illustrated in fig8 the time available to load new data is constant and equal to 1 / n of the frame period , where &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; is the number of bits used for gray shade definition . in a system where eight bits are used for gray shade definition , the time available to load new field data is 16 times longer with the approach illustrated in fig8 than the approach illustrated in fig7 . as a result , in actual practice it may not be necessary to use the entire field period to load the new data as illustrated in fig6 ( e ). fig9 is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative implementation of a field sequential color display system utilizing the teaching of the present invention . as shown in fig9 the system 100 includes first , second and third light sources 102 , 104 , and 106 . either light - emitting diodes ( leds ) or lasers may be used . in a led - based system , the first ( red ) light source 102 may be implemented with a commercial 5 mw light emitting diode ( led ). the second ( green ) light source 104 may be implemented with a 1 milliwatt znse / zntese led in accordance with the teaching of d . b . eason et al ., in electronics letters 30 , 1178 ( 1994 ). the third ( blue ) light source may be implemented with a 2 mw incan / alcan led , as described by s . nakamura et al ., applied physics letters 64 , p . 1687 ( 1994 ). in the alternative using lasers , green light at 532 nm may be obtained from a diode pumped 1 . 06 micron nd : yag laser that is doubled into the green by a ktp crystal , as described by l . r . marshall et al . in optics letters 17 , p . 1110 ( 1992 ). blue light can be obtained by frequency - doubling either a diode pumped nd : yag laser at 946 nm or an ingaas laser at 940 nm with a knbo 3 crystal ( e . peik & amp ; h . walther , optics letters 19 , p . 192 ( 1994 ) or l . goldberg et al ., electronics letters 30 , p . 1296 ( 1994 )). red light at 633 nm can be obtained from an allnp / ingap diode laser ( r . s . geels et al ., electronics letters 28 , p . 1043 ( 1992 ) or h . hamada et al ., electronics letters 27 , p . 662 ( 1991 )). in particular watts of light can be obtained currently from these lasers , corresponding to over 2000 lumens total in a color system . light sources ( such as lasers ) should be used that can be modulated fast enough such that their transition times are short compared to the narrowest illumination pulse , approximately 22 micro - seconds for a 60 hz , 8 - bit field - sequential color system . the semiconductor light - emitting diodes ( leds ) in the first description above can be modulated up to the rc time constant , which for typically sized devices is above 100 mhz . the semiconductor light emitting diodes ( leds ) in the second description above includes a diode laser for the red with a similar upper limit . the green and blue laser sources involve frequency doubling in crystals or cavities . methods to obtain fast modulation in such cavities have been discussed by w . j . kozlovsky and w . lenth ( optics letters vol . 19 , p . 195 , 1994 ), by t . senoh et al . ( appl . phys . lett . vol . 19 , p . 1172 , 1992 ) and by l . goldberg and d . mehuys ( electronics letters , vol . 30 , p . 1296 , 1994 ). an alterative to turning the light sources &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; for periods corresponding to the different bits is to vary the intensity of the light , as shown in fig1 ( b ). thus by making the light 1 / 2 as bright for the second bit , 1 / 4 as bright for the third bit , etc ., the benefits of this invention can also be obtained . another method of varying the intensity of the illumination involves the use of a pulsating light source in which the pulse rate or the pulse count can be varied from field to field across the multiple fields required to obtain gray scale . fig1 is a diagram of a circuit for providing a variable rate pulsating light source in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . fig1 is a diagram of a circuit for providing a variable count pulsating light source in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . in this method , the control of lamp brightness is digital , with the average brightness determined by the number of pulses . the benefits of the invention can be obtained without fields of precisely the same length , eight fields per frame , the average intensity decreasing monotonically by 50 % with each successive field , or a non - zero value for the field associated with the least significant bit . however , the control circuitry is simplified for fields of equal duration and monotonic decreases in average intensity . further , decreasing the average density per field in square - root - of - two steps simplifies the brightness encoding by reducing banding when only a few bits are used to describe the gray scale . fig1 depicts a relaxation oscillator circuit 180 for providing a pulsating light source of varying rate . the gray shade control circuits 214 receive timing and synchronization signals indicating the start of each frame and the start of each field from the timing and control circuit 110 ( not shown ). the flash lamp 200 is of a type which ignites and emits light whenever its terminal voltage rises above its ignition point , and ceases to be lit when its terminal voltage drops below the sustaining point . the voltage on the storage capacitor 202 increases with time as it is charged by the voltage source 201 through the series resistor 220 . when the voltage on the capacitor 202 exceeds the ignition point of lamp 200 , the lamp 200 ignites and the capacitor 202 begins to discharge through the lamp . when the voltage on the capacitor 202 is no longer sufficient to sustain the arc , the lamp 200 extinguishes , and the cycle repeats . the rate at which the lamp 200 flashes depends upon the magnitude of the voltage source 201 , the size of the capacitor 202 , and the resistance of the series resistor 220 . the flash rate of lamp 200 can be set at any one of four rates by controlling the magnitude of the series resistor 220 through the use of the resistors 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , and 207 and the field effect transistors ( fets ) 208 , 209 , 210 , and 211 . the magnitude of the series resistor 220 is the sum of the resistance of the resistors 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 , and 207 that have not been shunted by the fets 208 , 209 , 210 , and 211 . for instance , when only fet 210 is &# 34 ; on ,&# 34 ; the resistance of the parallel combination of fet 210 and resistor 206 is small compared to the series resistance of the unshunted resistors 203 , 204 , 205 , and 207 . the gray shade control circuits 214 achieve the required flash rate by turning the appropriate fets &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; additional and finer steps can be obtained by adding additional resistors and fets . for example , the monotonically decreasing flash rate shown in fig1 ( c ) can be obtained by employing seven parallel resistor - fet circuits in circuit 180 in which each resistor has twice the resistance of the adjacent upstream resistor and the series resistance of each fet is negligible when it is &# 34 ; on .&# 34 ; in the first field of the frame , the preprogrammed gray shade control circuits 214 turn &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; all of the fets . in the second frame , one fet is turned &# 34 ; off ,&# 34 ; in the third frame , two fets are turned &# 34 ; off ,&# 34 ; and the process continues until all seven fets have been turned &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; in an eight field frame . a three - terminal flash lamp in which a separate igniter element triggers the flash , such as those commonly used in flash photography , could be substituted for the analog timing circuit shown to facilitate precision control of lamp flash rate and flash synchronization . fig1 ( c ) depicts pulse rate modulation of the illumination in accordance with the present invention . fig1 illustrates a circuit 190 for controlling the total number of light pulses per field . the simple relaxation oscillator circuit 190 , including the lamp 200 , the capacitor 202 , resistor 203 and voltage source 201 , may be used to cause the lamp 200 to flash repetitively when the fet 211 is &# 34 ; on .&# 34 ; when the number of flashes in a field counted by the counter 212 equals the allowed number of flashes established by the gray shade control circuits 214 for that field , the comparator 213 generates a signal that turns off the flit 211 and thereby extinguishes power to the lamp 200 . at the start of the next field , the counter 212 is reset by reset signal 215 , and the gray shade control circuits 214 present an updated number to the comparator 213 . because the comparison sensed by the comparator 213 is no longer equal , the fet 211 is turned back &# 34 ; on ,&# 34 ; and the process is repeated . at the end of each frame , the cycle repeats . to obtain the monotonically decreasing flash count shown in fig1 ( d ), at the start of the first frame , the gray shade control circuits 214 provide to the comparator 213 the number of pulses desired for the first field of the frame . for each subsequent field of the frame , the gray shade control circuits 214 provide to the comparator 213 a number corresponding to half of the number provided to the comparator 213 for the previous field . the process continues through the end of the frame and repeats at the start of the next frame . fig1 ( d ) depicts pulse count modulation of the illumination . returning to fig9 each of the light sources is driven by an led driver circuit 108 with timing signals provided by a timing and control circuit 110 . the timing and control circuit 110 also provides timing and control signals to an optional encryption decoder circuit ( 112 ), an optional image decompression circuit 114 , a field sequential frame storage circuit 116 , digital video drivers 118 and an image generator such as a dmd 120 . the digital video drivers 118 may be implemented as in fig4 with multiple row drivers 44 , column drivers 46 , parallel to serial converters 48 and video multiplexers 50 , so as to provide the requisite sequenced bit format . the output of the third ( blue ) light source 106 is reflected by an optional fold mirror 122 through a first dichroic beam combiner 124 to a second dichroic beam combiner 126 where it is reflected into the schlieren optics 128 . the schlieren optics may be implemented as in fig1 with a lens 14 for collimating the illumination and a lens 17 for focusing the reflected light into an aperture 18 . similarly , the output of the second ( green ) light source 104 is reflected to the second dichroic mirror 126 by the first dichroic mirror 124 . the second dichroic mirror reflects the light from the second source into the schlieren optics 128 . light from the first ( red ) light source 102 is transmitted through the second dichroic beam splitter directly to the schlieren optics 128 . the timing and control circuit 110 selectively activates each of the light sources 102 , 104 , and 106 while simultaneously coordinating and synchronizing the transfer of data into the dmd , so that a single dmd may provide gray scale and spatial modulation to the light sequentially provided by each of the three light sources . light reflected from the dmd &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; pixels , as discussed herein , is passed by the schlieren optics to the projection lens 130 for reimaging on a screen ( not shown ) in the manner discussed above . thus , the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications applications and embodiments within the scope thereof . for example , the invention is not limited to the modulation of the mirrors with input data . in the alternative , or , in addition , the modulation of the light source may be responsive to input data . it is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications , modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , | 7 |
referring to fig1 , a personalized control device having security mechanism is illustrated . as shown , the device includes a control unit 1 , a setup unit 2 allowing the user to set up the usage condition and range , and an identification unit 3 for identifying the user and operating conditions . the control device 1 provides the means for giving instructions or commands to the device to be controlled , including various home appliances such as television , computers , or other communication devices . the control device 1 includes a control box 11 that has the setup unit 2 , a timing unit and a circuit mechanism such as a control circuit having universal code ( not shown ). the control box 11 includes an input unit 12 on a surface thereof . in this embodiment , the input unit 12 includes a plurality of control keys 13 allowing user to input identification conditions and to order operation instructions . the control unit 1 can be implemented by a remote control or a power activation control device that controls the on and off state of a power source . in one embodiment , the identification unit 3 may be installed on the surface of the control unit 1 . the identification unit 3 is used to identify the characteristics of the user , including the fingerprint , voiceprint and retina . the setup unit 2 allows the user to use the input unit 12 of the control unit 1 to perform the input of using condition and user identification . the setup unit 12 can also be used in combination with the identification unit 3 , such that activation of the device to be used , the channel to be selected , the application time of the device , or the program that can be watched can be limited as desired . the setup condition can also be stored in the memory unit of the control unit 1 . the identification unit 3 is used to compare the input condition with the setup condition , so as to identify the user . only when the identification of the user matches with the condition previously set up by the setup unit 2 , the device can be activated , and the user can operate the device . in many applications , the identification unit 3 is not limited to identify characteristics of the user such as finger print . other characteristics such as voiceprint , or even password can also be input as an identification condition for determining whether the device can be activated or not . the control unit 1 , the setup unit 2 and the identification unit 3 thus construct a personalized control device that has a security mechanism to limit the access of a device , particularly an information device such as television or computer network . the operation process of the personalized control device is illustrated in fig3 and 4 , which can be divided into a setup control mode and an operation control mode . in the setup control mode , the setup unit 2 is used to set up the using limitation and the identification for the user . as shown in fig3 , the setup function of the control unit 1 is called up in step 500 . the identification of the allowed user is then input via the setup unit 2 in step 502 . when the password is used for identification , the selected password is input via the control keys 13 of the input unit 12 . the input password is then stored in the memory of the control device . when the fingerprint , voiceprint or retina of the user is input and used for identification , the fingerprint , voiceprint or retina is scanned or recorded in the memory . when the identification condition is input in the control device , the using limitation of the device is set up in step 504 . for example , the operation function , including the activation , the accessible channel , application time , program allowed to be watched , and the accessible network is set up in this step . the using limitation is also stored in the memory , such that the setup process for both identification and using limitation is complete in step 506 . when a user intends to use the device 1 , as shown in fig4 , the identification of the user has to be input first . when the password is used for identification , the user must input the password as previously set up via the control keys 13 . when the identification requires personal characteristic such as fingerprint , voiceprint or retina , the personal characteristic is scanned and input to the device in step 600 . the input identification information is then compared to the identification information stored in the memory in step 602 . when the input identification information matches that stored in the memory , the device can be activated in step 604 , otherwise , the request is denied , or re - entry of identification information is required . the using limitation allows the user in different condition such as different ages to control the device under different modes . for example , the children under a certain age is allowed to activate the device , but is only allowed to access certain channel or website . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art the various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
fig3 illustrates one embodiment of a low power pulse oximeter . the pulse oximeter 300 has a sensor interface 320 , a signal processor 340 , a sampling controller 360 and a display driver 380 . the pulse oximeter 300 also has a sensor port 302 and a display port 304 . the sensor port 302 connects to an external sensor , e . g . sensor 110 ( fig1 ). the sensor interface 320 drives the sensor port 302 , receives a corresponding input signal from the sensor port 302 , and provides a conditioned and digitized sensor signal 322 accordingly . physiological measurements 342 are input to a display driver 380 that outputs to the display port 304 . the display port 304 connects to a display device , such as a crt or lcd , which a healthcare provider typically uses for monitoring a patient &# 39 ; s oxygen saturation , pulse rate and plethysmograph . as shown in fig3 , the signal processor 340 derives the physiological measurements 342 , including oxygen saturation , pulse rate and plethysmograph , from the input signal 322 . the signal processor 340 also derives signal statistics 344 , such as signal strength , noise and motion artifact . the physiological measurements 342 and signal statistics 344 are input to the sampling controller 360 , which outputs sampling controls 362 , 364 , 366 accordingly . the sampling controls 362 , 364 , 366 regulate pulse oximeter power dissipation by causing the sensor interface 320 to vary the sampling characteristics of the sensor port 302 and by causing the signal processor 340 to vary its sample processing characteristics , as described in further detail with respect to fig4 , below . advantageously , power dissipation is responsive not only to output parameters , such as the physiological measurements 342 , but also to internal parameters , such as the signal statistics 344 . fig4 illustrates further detail regarding the sensor interface 320 , the signal processor 340 and the sampling controller 360 . the sensor interface 320 has emitter drivers 480 and a detector front - end 490 . the emitter drivers 480 are responsive to a sampling control 362 , described below , and provide emitter drive outputs 482 . the emitter drive outputs 482 activate the leds of a sensor attached to the sensor port 302 ( fig3 ). the detector front - end 490 receives an input signal 492 from a sensor attached to the sensor port 302 ( fig3 ) and provides a corresponding conditioned and digitized input signal 322 to the signal processor 340 . a sampling control 364 controls power to the detector front - end 490 , as described below . as shown in fig4 , the signal processor 340 has a pre - processor 410 and a post processor 430 . the pre - processor 410 demodulates red and ir signals from the digitized signal 322 , performs filtering , and reduces the sample rate . the pre - processor provides a demodulated output , having a red channel 412 and an ir channel 414 , which is input into the post - processor 430 . the post processor 430 calculates the physiological measurements 342 and the signal statistics 344 , which are output to a signal status calculator 450 . the physiological measurements 342 are also output to a display driver 380 ( fig3 ) as described above . a pulse oximetry signal processor is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 081 , 735 entitled “ signal processing apparatus ,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein . also shown in fig4 , the sampling controller 360 has a control engine 440 , a signal status calculator 450 and a power status calculator 460 . the control engine 440 outputs sampling controls 362 , 364 , 366 to reduce the power consumption of the pulse oximeter 300 . in one embodiment , the control engine 440 advantageously utilizes multiple sampling mechanisms to alter power consumption . one sampling mechanism is an emitter duty cycle control 362 that is an input to the emitter drivers 480 . the emitter duty cycle control 362 determines the duty cycle of the current supplied by the emitter drive outputs 482 to both red and ir sensor emitters , as described with respect to fig5 , below . another sampling mechanism is a front - end control 364 that intermittently removes power to the detector front - end 490 , as described with respected to fig6 , below . yet another sampling mechanism is a data block overlap control 366 that varies the number of data blocks processed by the post processor 430 . these various sampling mechanisms provide the flexibility to reduce power without sacrificing performance during , for example , high noise conditions or oxygen desaturation events , as described below in further detail . the sampling controls 362 , 364 , 366 modify power consumption by , in effect , increasing or decreasing the number of input samples received and processed . sampling , including acquiring input signal samples and subsequent sample processing , can be reduced during high signal quality periods and increased during low signal quality periods or when critical measurements are necessary . in this manner , the control engine 440 regulates power consumption to satisfy a predetermined power target , to minimize power consumption , or to simply reduce power consumption , as described with respect to fig8 and 10 , below . the current state of the control engine is provided as a control state output 442 to the power status calculator 460 . the control engine 440 utilizes the power status output 462 and the signal status output 452 to determine its next control state , as described with respect to fig9 and 11 , below . further shown in fig4 , the signal status calculator 450 receives physiological measurements and signal statistics from the post processor 430 and determines the occurrence of an event or a low signal quality condition . an event determination is based upon the physiological measurements output 342 and may be any physiological - related indication that justifies the processing of more sensor samples and an associated higher power consumption level , such as an oxygen desaturation , a fast or irregular pulse rate or an unusual plethysmograph waveform to name a few . a low signal quality condition is based upon the signal statistics output 344 and may be any signal - related indication that justifies the processing of more sensor samples and an associated higher power consumption level , such as a low signal level , a high noise level or motion artifact to name a few . the signal status calculator 450 provides the signal status output 452 that is input to the control engine 440 . in addition , fig4 shows that the power status calculator 460 has a control state input 442 and a power status output 462 . the control state input 442 indicates the current state of the control engine 440 . the power status calculator 460 utilizes an internal time base , such as a counter , timer or real - time clock , in conjunction with the control engine state to estimate the average power consumption of at least a portion of the pulse oximeter 300 . the power status calculator 460 also stores a predetermined power target and compares its power consumption estimate to this target . the power status calculator 460 generates the power status output 462 as an indication that the current average power estimate is above or below the power target and provides this output 462 to the control engine 440 . fig5 illustrates emitter driver output current versus time . the graph 500 depicts the combination of a red led drive current 510 and an ir drive current 560 . the solid line graph 502 illustrates drive currents having a high duty cycle . the dashed line graph 504 illustrates drive currents having a low duty cycle . in a typical pulse oximeter , the duty cycle of the drive signals is constant and provides sufficient dark bands 508 to demodulate the detector response into red and ir channels . the emitter drivers 480 ( fig4 ), however , require a significant portion of the overall pulse oximeter power budget . intermittently reducing the drive current duty cycle can advantageously reduce power dissipation without compromising signal integrity . as an example , a low power pulse oximeter implementation nominally consuming 500 mw may be able to reduce power consumption on the order of 70 mw by such drive current duty cycle reductions . in a preferred embodiment , the drive current duty cycle is varied within a range from about 25 % to about 3 . 125 %. in a more preferred embodiment , the drive current duty cycle is intermittently reduced from about 25 % to about 3 . 125 %. in conjunction with an intermittently reduced duty cycle or as an independent sampling mechanism , there may be a “ data off ” time period longer than one drive current cycle where the emitter drivers 480 ( fig4 ) are turned off . the detector front - end 490 ( fig4 ) may also be powered down during such a data off period , as described with respect to fig8 and 9 , below . fig6 is a graph 600 of a pre - processor output signal 610 over time depicting the result of intermittent sampling at the detector front - end 490 ( fig4 ). the output signal 610 is a red channel 412 ( fig4 ) or an ir channel 414 ( fig4 ) output from the pre - processor 410 ( fig4 ), which is input to the post processor 430 ( fig4 ), as described above . the output signal 610 has “ on ” periods 612 , during which time the detector front - end 490 ( fig4 ) is powered - up and “ off ” periods 614 , during which time the detector front - end 490 ( fig4 ) is powered - down . the location and duration of the on periods 612 and off periods 614 are determined by the front - end control 364 ( fig4 ). also shown in fig6 is a corresponding timeline 601 of overlapping data blocks 700 , which are “ snap - shots ” of the pre - processor output signal 610 over specific time intervals . specifically , the post processor 430 ( fig4 ) processes a sliding window of samples of the pre - processor output signal 610 , as described with respect to fig7 a - b , below . advantageously , the post processor 430 ( fig4 ) continues to function during off portions 614 , marking as invalid those data blocks 640 that incorporate off portions 614 . a freshness counter can be used to measure the time period 660 between valid data blocks 630 , which can be displayed on a pulse oximeter monitor as an indication of confidence in the current measurements . fig7 a - b illustrate data blocks 700 , which are processed by the post processor 430 ( fig4 ). each data block 700 has n samples 702 of the pre - processor output and corresponds to a time interval 704 of n / f s , where f s is the sample frequency . for example , in one embodiment n = 600 and f s = 62 . 5 hz . hence , each data block time interval 704 is nominally 9 . 6 sec . as shown in fig7 a , each data block 700 also has a relative time shift 706 from the preceding data block , where is an integral number of sample periods . that is , = m / f s , where m is an integer representing the number of samples dropped from the preceding data block and added to the succeeding data block . in the embodiment described above , m = 75 and = 1 . 2 sec , nominally . the corresponding overlap 708 of two adjacent data blocks 710 , 720 is ( n − m )/ f s . in the embodiment described above , the overlap 708 is nominally 9 . 6 sec − 1 . 2 sec = 8 . 4 sec . the greater the overlap 708 , i . e . the smaller the time shift 706 , the more data blocks there are to process in the post - processor 430 ( fig4 ), with a corresponding greater power consumption . the overlap 708 between successive data blocks 710 , 720 may vary from n − 1 samples to no samples , i . e . no overlap . also , as shown in fig7 b , there may be a sample gap 756 or negative overlap , i . e . samples between data blocks that are not processed by the post - processor , allowing further post - processor power savings . sample gaps 756 may correspond to detector front - end off periods 614 ( fig6 ). fig8 illustrates an exemplar power consumption versus time profile 800 for the pulse oximeter 300 ( fig3 ) during various control engine states . in one embodiment , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) has three states related to the sampling control outputs 362 , 364 that affect pulse oximeter power consumption accordingly . one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) may have greater or fewer states and associated power consumption levels . the profile 800 shows the three control engine states 810 and the associated power consumption levels 820 . these three states are high duty cycle 812 , low duty cycle 814 and data off 818 . in the high duty cycle state 812 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) causes the emitter drivers 480 ( fig4 ) to turn on sensor emitters for a relatively long time period , such as 25 % on time for each of the red 510 and ir 560 drive currents . in the low duty cycle state 814 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) causes the emitter drivers 480 ( fig4 ) to turn on sensor emitters for a relatively short time period , such as 3 . 125 % of the time for each of the red 510 and ir 560 drive currents . in the data off state 818 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) turns off the emitter drivers 480 ( fig4 ) and powers down the detector front - end 490 ( fig4 ). also shown is a predetermined target power consumption level 830 . the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) alters the sensor sampling of the pulse oximeter 300 ( fig3 ) so that the average power consumption matches the target level 830 , as indicated by the power status output 462 ( fig4 ), except when overridden by the signal status output 452 ( fig4 ). as shown in fig8 , power consumption changes according to the control states 810 during each of the time intervals 850 . in a first time interval 851 , the pulse oximeter is in a low duty cycle state 814 and transitions to a high duty cycle state 812 during a second time interval 852 due to an event or low quality signal . during a third time interval 853 , the pulse oximeter is able to enter the data off state 818 , during which time no sensor samples are processed . in a forth time interval 854 , sensor samples are again taken , but at a low duty cycle 814 . during the fifth and sixth time intervals 855 , 856 , sensor samples are shut off and turned on again as the pulse oximeter 300 ( fig3 ) alternates between the data off state 818 and the low duty cycle state 814 so as to maintain an average power consumption at the target level 830 . fig9 illustrates a state diagram 900 for one embodiment of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ). in this embodiment , there are three control states , high duty cycle 910 , low duty cycle 940 and data off 970 , as described with respect to fig8 , above . if the control state is data off 970 , an event triggers a data - off to high - duty - cycle transition 972 . if the control state is low duty cycle 940 , an event similarly triggers a low - duty cycle to high - duty - cycle transition 942 . in this manner , the occurrence of an event initiates high duty sensor sampling , allowing high fidelity monitoring of the event . similarly , if the control state is low duty cycle 940 , low signal quality triggers a low - duty cycle to high - duty - cycle transition 942 . in this manner , low signal quality initiates higher duty sensor sampling , providing , for example , a larger signal - to - noise ratio . also shown in fig9 , if the control state is high duty cycle 910 and either an event is occurring or signal quality is low , then a null transition 918 maintains the high duty cycle state 910 . if the pulse oximeter is not above the power target for more than a particular time interval , a null transition 948 maintains the low duty cycle state 940 , so that sampling is turned - off only when necessary to track the power target . further , if the control state is data off 970 and no time - out has occurred , a null transition 978 maintains the data off state 970 , providing a minimum power consumption . in addition , fig9 shows that when the control state is in a high duty cycle state 910 , if neither an event nor low signal quality are occurring , then a high - duty - cycle to low - duty - cycle transition 912 occurs by default . also , if the control state is low duty cycle 940 , if neither an event nor low signal quality are occurring and the power consumption is above the target level for longer than a particular time interval , a low - duty - cycle to data - off transition 944 occurs by default , allowing power consumption to come down to the target level . further , if the control state is data off 970 , if no event occurs and a timeout does occur , a data - off to low - duty - cycle transition 974 occurs by default , preventing excessively long periods of no sensor sampling . fig1 illustrates an exemplar power consumption versus time profile 1000 for the post processor 430 ( fig4 ) during various control engine states . in one embodiment , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) has three states related to the sampling control output 366 ( fig4 ) that affect post processor power consumption accordingly . one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the control engine may have greater or fewer states and associated power consumption levels . the profile 1000 shows the three control engine states 1010 and the associated post processor power consumption levels 1020 . these three states are large overlap 1012 , medium overlap 1014 and small overlap 1018 . as shown in fig1 , in the large overlap state 1012 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) causes the post processor to process data blocks that have a comparatively small time shift 706 ( fig7 a ), and the post processor exhibits relatively high power consumption under these conditions , say 300 mw . in the medium overlap state 1014 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) causes the post processor to process data blocks that have a comparatively larger time shift 706 ( fig7 a ). for example , the data blocks may be time shifted twice as much as for the large overlap state 1012 , and , as such , the post processor performs only half as many computations and consumes half the nominal power , say 150 mw . in the small overlap state 1018 , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) causes the post processor to process data blocks that have a comparatively large time shift . for example , the data blocks may be time shifted twice as much as for the medium overlap state 1014 . as such , the post processor performs only a quarter as many computations and consumes a quarter of the nominal power , say 75 mw , as for the large overlap state 1012 . in one embodiment , the control engine 440 ( fig4 ) alters the data block overlap of the post processor in conjunction with the duty cycle of the emitter drivers described with respect to fig5 , above , and the front - end sampling described with respect to fig6 , above , so that the average power consumption of the pulse oximeter matches a target level indicated by the power status output 462 ( fig4 ) or so that the power consumption is otherwise reduced or minimized . in a preferred embodiment , data blocks are time shifted by either about 0 . 4 sec or about 1 . 2 sec , depending on the overlap state of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ). in a more preferred embodiment , the data blocks are varied between about 1 . 2 sec and about 4 . 8 sec . in a most preferred embodiment , the data blocks are time shifted by either about 1 . 2 sec , about 2 . 4 sec or about 4 . 8 sec , depending on the overlap state of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ). although the post - processing of data blocks is described above with respect to only a few overlap states and a corresponding number of particular data block time shifts , there may be many overlap states and a corresponding range of data block time shifts . further shown in fig1 , power consumption 1020 changes according to the control states 1010 during each of the time intervals 1050 . in a first time interval 1052 , the post processor is in a large overlap state 1012 and transitions to a medium overlap state 1014 during a second time interval 1054 , so as to meet a power target during a high signal quality period , for example . during a third time interval 1055 , the post processor enters a small overlap state 1018 , for example to meet a power target by further reducing power consumption . in a forth time interval 1056 , the post processor transitions back to a large overlap state 1012 , such as during an event or low signal quality conditions . fig1 illustrates a state diagram 1100 for one embodiment of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ). these states may function in parallel with , or in combination with , the sampling states described with respect to fig9 , above . in the illustrated embodiment , there are three control states , large overlap 1110 , medium overlap 1140 and small overlap 1170 , as described with respect to fig1 , above . if the control state is small overlap 1170 , an event triggers a small overlap to large overlap transition 1172 . if the control state is medium overlap 1140 , an event similarly triggers a medium overlap to large - overlap transition 1142 . in this manner , the occurrence of an event initiates the processing of more data blocks , allowing more robust signal statistics and higher fidelity monitoring of the event . similarly , if the control state is medium overlap 1140 , low signal quality triggers a medium overlap to large overlap transition 1142 . in this manner , low signal quality initiates the processing of more data blocks , providing more robust signal statistics during lower signal - to - noise ratio periods . also shown in fig1 , if the control state is large overlap 1110 and either an event is occurring or signal quality is low , then a null transition 1118 maintains the large overlap state 1110 . if the pulse oximeter is not above the power target for more than a particular time interval , a null transition 1148 maintains the medium overlap state 1140 , so that reduced data processing occurs only when necessary to track the power target . further , if the control state is small overlap 1170 , a null transition 1178 maintains this power saving state until the power target is reached or an event or low signal quality condition occurs . in addition , fig1 shows that when the control state is in a large overlap state 1110 , if neither an event nor low signal quality are occurring , then a large overlap to medium overlap transition 1112 occurs by default . also , if the control state is medium overlap 1140 , if the power consumption is above the target level for longer than a particular time interval and no low signal quality condition or event is occurring , a medium overlap to small overlap transition 1174 occurs , allowing power consumption to come down to the target level . further , if the control state is small overlap 1170 , if no event occurs but the power target has been met , a small overlap to medium overlap transition 1174 occurs . a low power pulse oximeter embodiment is described above as having a power status calculator 460 ( fig4 ) and an associated power target . another embodiment of a low power pulse oximeter , however , functions without either a power status calculator or a power target , utilizing the sampling controls 362 , 364 , 366 ( fig3 ) in response to internal parameters and / or output parameters , such as signal statistics 344 ( fig3 ) and / or physiological measurements 342 ( fig3 ) to reduce power consumption except during , say , periods of low signal quality and physiological events . one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various state diagrams are possible representing control of the emitter drivers , the detector front - end and the post - processor . such state diagrams may have fewer or greater states with differing transitional characteristics and with differing relationships between sampling mechanisms than the particular embodiments described above . in relatively simple embodiments of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ), only a single sampling mechanism is used , such as the sampling mechanism used to vary the duty cycle of the emitter drivers . the single sampling mechanism may be based only upon internal parameters , such as signal quality , only upon output parameters , such as those that indicate the occurrence of physiological events , or upon a combination of internal and output parameters , with or without a power target . in relatively more complex embodiments of the control engine 440 ( fig4 ), sampling mechanisms are used in combination . these sampling mechanisms may be based only upon internal parameters , only upon output parameters , or upon a combination of internal and output parameters , with or without a power target . in a particular embodiment , the emitter duty - cycle , front - end duty - cycle and data block overlap sampling mechanisms described above are combined . a “ reduced overlap ” state relating to the post - processing of data blocks is added to the diagram of fig9 between the “ low duty cycle ” state and the “ data off ” state . that is , sampling is varied between a high duty cycle state , a low duty cycle state , a reduced overlap state and a data off state in response to signal quality and physiological events , with or without a power target . the low power pulse oximeter has been disclosed in detail in connection with various embodiments . these embodiments are disclosed by way of examples only and are not to limit the scope of the claims that follow . one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many variations and modifications . | 0 |
the plug and socket connection shown in fig1 a has a plug 10 and a socket 20 . the plug 10 comprises a fiber container 11 , in which an optical fiber 12 is secured , and a cap 13 . the cap 13 is provided with l - shaped slots 14 by means of which , in conjunction with keys 21 formed at a housing 22 of the socket 20 , the plug 10 is fittable in the socket 20 . the fiber container 11 is pushed by means of its shoulder 15 against the edge 23 of the sleeve 22 by a resilient washer 17 arranged between the shoulder 15 and a rear wall 16 of the cap 13 . for easy insertion of the fiber into end 18 of socket 20 , the lead - in opening 24 of the fiber guide 25 in the intermediate member 26 is flared . the flared lead - in opening 24 is in mating contact with the conical front end 19 of the fiber container 11 , when the plug 10 is fully inserted in the socket 20 . the fiber end 18 , introduced in the fiber guide 25 should optically connect with a light - conducting element 27 , for example a length of an optical fiber . the other side of the light - conducting element 27 is in mating contact with a light - emitting diode 28 . the diode 28 is provided with leads 29 and is secured in the sleeve 22 in a manner to be described hereinafter . a photodiode 30 is in mating contact with the light - emissive diode 28 . the diode 30 has leads 31 and a bore through which an end of the light - conducting element 27 is inserted . the bore is very accurately matched to the diameter of the light - conducting element 27 . such an arrangement has the advantage that the light emitted by the light emitting diode 28 is received by both the light - conducting element 27 and the diode 30 , the latter converting the light into a useful electric signal . the end of the element 27 , the photodiode 30 and the light emitting diode 28 form one assembly and are molded as such in the portion 32 of the sleeve 22 in , for example , polycarbonate . consequently , the socket 20 is a rapidly exchangeable component for an optical communication system . the cross - section through a socket according to the invention , shown in fig1 b , is roughly identical to the socket shown in fig1 a . the same reference numerals are therefore used for the same components . the sockets shown in the fig1 a and 1b differ because the light - conducting element 27 is missing in the socket shown in fig1 b . this has the advantage that the light emitted by the light - emitting diode 28 is directly radiated to the fiber end 18 . the elimination of the transition from the light - conducting element 27 to the fiber end 18 reduces overall losses . a socket , as shown in fig1 b , can be produced by using a temporary metal wire to block the opening the fiber guide 25 during the hardening of the synthetic resin material mass 32 . the cross - section through a plug 1 and a socket 2 , shown in fig2 a , is a cross - section through a symmetry plane of both of these components . the plug 1 comprises a fiber container 33 , a fitting cap 34 , a pressure spring 35 , a clamping device 36 and a protective cap 37 . a tenon 38 is formed at the fiber container 33 . the clamping device 36 is secured in a slot in the fiber container 33 , the bottom of the slot connecting up with one side of the tenon 38 . a groove 39 , which extends in a straight line across the side of the tenon 38 is formed in the bottom . in addition , a lead - in pipe 41 , having a flared led - in opening 42 at one side and leading into the groove 39 at the other side is formed at the fiber container 33 . an optical fiber 43 is passed into the groove 39 in the slot and into tenon 38 via the lead - in pipe . the clamping device 36 locks the fibers 43 after insertion into the fiber container 33 . to that end the clamping device 36 has a lever 44 which is rotatable around a shaft 45 . one side of the lever 44 is provided with a push - button 46 and the other side with a pressure piece 47 . a resilient washer 49 , which pushes the optical fiber 43 into groove 39 by means of the tension of a return spring 50 , is secured to the pressure piece 47 . at the location of the resilient washer 49 the groove 39 becomes a v - shaped groove 40 in which the fiber 43 is clamped by the tension of the spring 50 . the return spring 50 can be a leaf spring secured under the push - button 46 and bearing on the lead - in pipe 41 . a protective sleeve 48 is fitted to the lead - in pipe 41 for the protection of the fiber 43 . the socket 2 according to the invention , shown in the fig2 a , 2b and 2c comprises an outer can 51 and an inner member comprising a sleeve 52 and an intermediate member 53 . a bearing surface 54 , on which the sleeve 52 bears by means of a flange 55 formed thereon , is formed at the outer can 51 . three set screws 56 , by means of which the position of the sleeve 52 is adjustable with respect to the outer can 51 , are fitted in the outer can 51 . arranged between the ends of the set screws 56 , which bear on the sleeve 52 , and the flange 55 , is a ring - shaped , spring - fitted element 57 between two discs 58 by means of which the flange 55 is pushed onto the bearing surface 54 . as shown in fig2 c the bearing surface extends to outside the circumference of the outer can 51 and is provided there with threaded holes 59 by means of which the socket 2 is mountable to a support 60 , as shown in fig2 a and 2b . a light source 61 is fitted on the support 60 . the intermediate member 53 , present in the inner portion of socket 2 , is provided with a v - shaped fiber guide 62 having a semi - flared belled mouth 63 into which a fiber 43 , secured in the fiber container 33 , is inserted . to enable easy introduction of the fiber 43 into the v - shaped groove 62 , the intermediate member 53 is provided with guide walls 74 and guide pins 75 , which , in conjunction with the tenon 38 allow only one manner of introduction of the plug 1 into the socket 2 . at the light source end , the intermediate member 53 is provided with support 64 , one side of which bears an elastic cushion 65 , a light detector 66 being attached to the other side . the light detector 66 has a central hole 67 through which an end 68 of the optical fiber 43 protrudes . the most advantageous position of the light detector 66 and the fiber end 68 with respect to the light source 61 can be obtained by means of the set screws 56 . for clarity , the ratio of the hole and fiber diameters are not shown in the proper proportion . in actual practice , the hole has a diameter which is equal to 11 / 2 to 2 times the diameter of the optical fiber . the presence of cushion 65 in the socket 2 is not absolutely necessary . with a sufficiently accurate positioning of the photodiode 66 and dimensioning of the hole 67 , the fiber end 68 will easily be passed through the hole 67 from the v - shaped groove 62 . the support 60 , on which the socket 2 is secured , is here a printed circuit board against which a mounting clamp 69 for the light source 61 is clamped by means of a cooling member 70 . the cooling member 70 is secured to the support 55 of the socket by means of screws . the light source 61 is a light - emitting diode , which is in electrical contact with an electric circuit on the printed circuit board via a contact spring 71 and via the mounting clamp 69 . the contact spring 71 is provided with an aperture 76 which leaves a free area in the center of the light source 61 in order not to block the light - emitting surface thereof . the light detector 66 is connected to another electric circuit on the printed circuit board via two contacting wires 72 . sufficient space must be left between the supports 64 and the light emitting diode to allow room for the wires 72 . | 6 |
fig1 is a schematic illustrating a light emitting system 100 according to the invention . the light emitting system comprises a set of serially connected light emitting diodes 104 . when retrofitting fluorescent tubes , there are usually four base prongs 115 resent at the tube , two on each side . traditionally , the two pins on a base cap are used to power the filament . since in led tubes no filaments are required electronic components like resistors 112 which are connected to respective base prongs 115 are used to emulate for example the presence of a certain fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or fluorescent lamp impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . the capacitor 116 being located in between the two sets of base prongs 115 may be an interference suppression capacitor or might be designed to influence the impedance of the tube in the frequency range used by the driver to power the lamp . as can be seen from fig1 , the two base prongs 115 are connected to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . the fluorescent lamp driver 102 comprises means 118 for detecting for example a fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or a fluorescent lamp impedance of the light emitting system 100 . in the simplest scenario , for operation of the light emitting system 100 the light emitting system 100 emulates a certain fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or a certain fluorescent lamp impedance by means of the electronic circuit 112 to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . the detection means 118 will detect this emulated alleged fluorescent lamp characteristica and assume the presence of a standard state of the art fluorescent lamp connected to the base prongs 115 . thereupon , the fluorescent lamp driver 112 will send an electric current through the base prongs 115 to the light emitting system 100 , wherein the powering of the light emitting system 100 is performed by the fluorescent lamp driver 102 in a manner adapted to the emulated and reported fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or fluorescent lamp impedance . in other words , the electric circuit 112 presents a substitute circuit to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . fig2 presents a more highly sophisticated light emitting system 100 in which the electronic circuit 112 of fig1 has been replaced by a set of electronic circuits 200 which may comprise capacitors , coils , resistors and even active electronic components including microprocessors etc . not shown here is the fluorescent lamp driver 102 which would be again connected to the base prongs 115 . in operation , the electronic circuits 200 will again emulate a certain electronic fluorescent lamp response to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . however , since the light emitting system of fig2 is a more highly sophisticated light emitting system , the electric circuit 200 may be adapted to emulate a certain fluorescent lamp impedance in a frequency range usually used in fluorescent lamp operation procedures , and additionally emulating a second predefined impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver in a frequency range normally unused in fluorescent lamp operation procedures . in the latter case , if the fluorescent lamp driver 102 is a respectively adapted fluorescent lamp driver which is additionally able to scan a fluorescent lamp impedance responses in frequency ranges unused in fluorescent lamp operation procedures , the highly sophisticated fluorescent lamp driver 102 will detect the presence of such a very well defined impedance response in said frequency range unused in normal fluorescent lamp operation procedures . in a practical example , the electric circuit 200 may comprise a resonant circuit operating in a frequency range of 1 . 5 mhz , which is far away from typically used frequency ranges of standard fluorescent lamps in the range of 50 khz . the emulated impedance of the electric circuit 200 at 1 . 5 mhz can be detected by the fluorescent lamp driver 102 which in turn compares the measured impedance at 1 . 5 mhz with respective impedance reference values stored in a memory 122 of the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . each impedance reference value is associated a respective power scheme of the fluorescent lamp driver 102 which after having measured the respective impedance will be used to supply electric power to the light emitting system 100 . for example , if the light emitting system 100 comprises a large amount of light emitting diodes , the light emitting system 100 will emulate a respective impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver which is associated in the table comprised in the memory 122 to a power scheme of the fluorescent lamp driver which includes high currents and / or voltages which are thus sufficient to power said large amount of light emitting diodes 104 . in contrast , if only a few light emitting diodes 104 are present in the light emitting system 100 , the light emitting system 100 will emulate with the electric circuit 200 a different impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 , wherein the emulated impedance corresponds to a respective power scheme which comprises providing of only low electric currents and voltages via the base prongs 115 to the light emitting system 100 . also shown in fig2 are connection lines 204 and 206 which connect different parts of the serially interconnected light emitting diodes 104 to different electric circuits 200 . in this case , the electric circuits 200 may further comprise frequency responsive elements like for example frequency depending filters like band pass , high pass or low pass filters or active electronics like a μc or switches . in this case , for example the electric circuit 200 ′ may comprise a high pass filter which will permit the provision of electric power via the connection line 204 only above a certain cut off frequency . for example , in case the environmental ambient light detector 208 detects the presence of bright daylight , the electric circuits 200 may be tuned to an impedance which will signal an intelligent fluorescent lamp driver 102 to provide power at a certain frequency which is below the above mentioned cut off frequency , such that the electric circuit 200 will not provide electric power via the conduction line 204 to the light emitting diodes 104 . in contrast , in case the ambient light sensor 208 detects the presence of darkness , more light intensity may be requested from the light emitting system 100 . in this case , the electric circuits 200 may be tuned to emulate the presence of a different fluorescent lamp impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 , which in turn will adapt its power scheme to provide electric power via the base prongs 115 to the light emitting system 100 at a frequency above the above mentioned cut off frequency . in this case , since the electric circuit 200 ′ comprises a high pass filter electric current will be additionally supplied via the connection line 204 to the light emitting diodes 104 . the same principle holds with respect to the left electric circuit 200 which may additionally comprise filters which allow the provision of electric power via the connection line 206 to the light emitting diodes 104 . fig3 shows a further schematic illustrating a light emitting system 100 and a fluorescent lamp driver 102 . further shown in fig3 is the power supply 302 which supplies line voltage to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . the fluorescent lamp driver 102 further comprises a sensing unit 304 adapted for detection of fluorescent lamp impedances for example emulated by means of an electric circuit 306 of the light emitting system 100 and / or for receiving digital signals from the electric circuit 306 . for example , the electric circuit 306 may emulate a certain fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or fluorescent lamp impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 which is static and always remains unchanged . however , additionally the electric circuit 306 may comprise a microprocessor adapted to provide additional digital signals indicating power requirements of the light emitting system 100 to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 . the fluorescent lamp driver 102 will receive and understand the digital signals and in turn adapt its power scheme provided to the light emitting system 100 . for example , the light emitting system 100 comprises detection means for detecting the temperature of the light emitting system 100 . these detection means 300 either signals the detected parameter directly to the driver or it might also signal the actual temperature to the electric circuit 306 which in turn may send a digital signal to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 indicating to change the supplied power scheme in order for example to reduce the actual temperature of the light emitting system 100 in order to prevent damages due to overheating etc . however , it has to be pointed out here that the fluorescent lamp driver 102 does not have to necessarily change its provided power scheme upon receiving of any kinds of signals from the light emitting system 100 : for example , the light emitting system 100 may just signal the power on hours to the fluorescent lamp driver , which in turn may be queried by an external maintenance system to report the power on hours . this allows for example an operator of a large queried set of light emitting systems 100 to selectively replace light emitting systems 100 after a maximum amount of power on hours has been reached . this will allow a replacement of light emitting systems in time before a regular failure is expected . further shown in fig3 is a receiver 308 which comprises means for receiving remote control signals . for example , an operator of the light emitting system 100 may have a remote control which is adapted for sending electromagnetic signals like infrared signals or radio signals to the light emitting system for turning on or turning off the light emitting system . any other kind of operation scheme may be included to control the operation of the light emitting system 100 , which includes controlling the light flux , light temperature , spatial distribution of the light , spectral composition of the light etc . in case a remote control signal is received by the receiver 308 , for example either the impedance of the electric circuit 306 is changed accordingly or a digital signal may be provided to the fluorescent lamp driver 102 which in turn will adapt its driving power scheme . summarized in fig4 are the possibilities how power characteristica for a light emitting system can be changed . the flowchart of fig4 starts with step 400 in which a fluorescent lamp driver detects a first impedance which may be emulated by a light emitting system , the emulation being adapted to emulate for example the presence of a fluorescent lamp filament resistance and / or a fluorescent lamp impedance to the fluorescent lamp driver . additionally , digital information may be received by the fluorescent lamp driver in step 404 and / or a second impedance may be detected by the fluorescent lamp driver in step 402 . preferably , the second impedance is detected in a frequency range unused in normal fluorescent lamp operation procedures . either after any of the steps 400 , 402 or 404 , the fluorescent lamp driver sets in step 406 a certain power characteristica adapted specifically to the information obtained in any of the steps 400 - 404 . after step 406 , step 408 is carried out which is the provision of power to the light emitting system . during operation of the light emitting system in step 408 , the fluorescent lamp driver maybe additionally detect for example in step 410 an impedance change . this will call again step 406 in which power characteristica of the power provided to the light emitting system may be changed , according to the detected impedance chance . in turn in step 408 again power is provided with said changed power characteristica to the light emitting system . alternatively or additionally to step 410 , in step 412 certain lamp characteristica like the actual light flux , lamp temperature , the operation hours of the light emitting system , the actual light color etc may be received by the fluorescent lamp driver . in turn , the fluorescent lamp driver may or may not change the actual power characteristica in step 406 . receiving the lamp characteristica in step 412 will thus not necessarily change the power characteristica settings in step 406 but may also just be used by the fluorescent lamp driver in order to collect further information of the light emitting system for later on provision to an external maintenance system . additionally or alternatively to step 412 in step 414 remote control signals may be received by the fluorescent lamp driver via a receiver which is built into the light emitting system itself . again , the remote control signals received in step 414 may lead to a change of the power characteristica settings . in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , digital information may be received in step 416 which may also lead or not lead to a change of the power characteristica settings in step 406 , in accordance with the principles already discussed with respect to step 412 . it has to be pointed out , that emulating a certain filament resistance and / or impedance response to the fluorescent lamp driver is not the only possibility to provide the fluorescent lamp driver information about a requested led driving power scheme . in general , any kind of electrical response can be emulated to the fluorescent lamp driver , such as resistance , impedance , energy absorption at certain frequencies , resonances etc . | 8 |
different methods for closing or tightening shoes or boots and other flexible or semi - rigid panels have evolved over the years . conventional laces whether led through metal eyelets , webbing loops , or low friction guides , have stood the test of time and remain popular . mechanical systems using rotary dials , serrated grip surfaces and other designs may provide alternatives to knot - secured laces . hook and loop engagements as well as elastic straps may also serve well in some applications . currently available designs though present certain drawbacks . for example , conventional laces require the tying of a knot to secure the tightened adjustment , which obligates the user to untie the knot before any secondary adjustment can be made , unless or until the knot loosens of its own accord , requiring retying . conventional lace systems are also limited to the use of relatively large diameter laces that are comfortable to grip by hand , the opposite desired characteristics for low - profile , efficient and effective closure . rotary dials and other mechanical systems eliminate the knot problem and can make use of small diameter laces , but tend to be expensive to manufacture , to the point that they can represent up to 50 % of the cost of a given pair of footwear . some knotless fixation systems self - store excess lace while others require excess lace to be gathered and placed into a pocket on the boot , which is an inconvenient and inelegant solution . given the harsh environment of daily use , often in climate extremes , mechanical system latching performance may also be problematic , often when a secure closure is needed most . hook and loop and elastic systems also suffer performance loss in wet and / or freezing conditions , while being limited in the adjustment range and security of their closure . in addition to fixation issues , many lace systems suffer from excessive friction which can prevent the lace from exerting sufficient closure force in the area farthest from the point where tension is applied . this friction can have many causes including the lace material characteristic , the lace turning guides , the sliding of the lace over high friction surfaces , and also the points at which opposing laces cross over one another . in this aspect of lace function , the dilemma becomes one in which the more tension applied to tighten the closure , the more frictional force is created and the more difficult it becomes to obtain the desired closure . the present disclosure addresses these and other issues by providing a non - complex , inexpensive , non - mechanical , low - friction , knotless closure system with self - storage of excess lace . for instance , referring now collectively to fig1 - 8 , first lace fixation assembly 100 and first lace fixation system 102 are shown in accordance with the present disclosure . in general , first assembly 100 includes first plate 104 , second plate 106 , tensioning component 108 , and fastener 110 . fig1 for example illustrates these respective components of first assembly 100 in an assembled configuration . first system 102 includes first assembly 100 , guide members 112 , and tension member 114 . fig8 a for example shows these respective components of first system 102 in an assembled configuration . in the example embodiment , tension member 114 is laced through first plate 104 of first assembly 100 via arcuate slots 116 that guide ends of tension member 114 from entry apertures 118 to exit aperture 120 . fig2 for example illustrates entry apertures 118 and exit aperture 120 , and fig3 for example illustrates arcuate slots 116 . tension member 114 is further laced through guide members 112 via opposing grooves 122 so that tension member 114 does not overlap onto itself when laced thereto . both first assembly 100 , at least in part , and guide members 112 are coupled to front panel 124 of boot 126 , and tensioning end 128 of tension member 114 is coupled to tensioning component 108 at notch 130 of tensioning component 108 . fig8 a - b for example illustrate coupling of first assembly 100 and guide members 112 to boot 126 as well as tension member 114 to tensioning component 108 . in practice , tightening of boot 126 is performed or perfected by application of pulling force to tensioning component 108 , forcing first side panel 132 and second side panel 134 of boot 126 together . while maintaining pulling force , tensioning component 108 is used to wrap tension member 114 into channel or groove 136 that is formed between first plate 104 and second plate 106 . fig5 for example illustrates groove 136 formed between first plate 104 and second plate 106 . here , initial wrapping of tension member 114 into groove 136 forces tension member 114 into friction gap 138 that has surfaces along the length of which imparts force on tension member 114 when positioned thereto so that tension is generally maintained on tension member 114 when pulling force is removed , as discussed further below . further wrapping of tension member 114 into groove 136 forces portions of tension member 114 into storage gap 140 . storage gap 140 within groove 136 is therefore generally wider than friction gap 138 as storage gap 140 serves a different purpose than friction gap 138 in that it is used to store excess length of tension member 114 . tension member 114 as wrapped onto itself though within both friction gap 138 and storage gap 140 imparts force on itself when positioned thereto , so that tension is generally maintained on tension member 114 when pulling force is removed . wrapping of tension member 114 into groove 136 proceeds until length of tension member 114 protruding from exit aperture 120 is substantially wound into groove 136 . tensioning component 108 is then generally snap - coupled onto first assembly 100 at groove 136 . tensioning component 108 may be decoupled from first assembly 100 by application of leverage similar to that applied when opening a bottle having a cap , and may be used to unwind tension member 114 thereby loosening first side panel 132 and second side panel 134 of boot 126 . first side panel 132 and / or second side panel 134 may then be opened to allow exit , or tension reapplied to tension member 114 as desired . such an implementation may be beneficial or advantageous in many respects . for example , knotting of tension member 114 is not required , excess length of tension member 114 is stored to first assembly 100 without additional steps , and through the use of tensioning component 108 , there is no need for a user to physically touch tension member 114 . still other benefits and / or advantages are possible as well . referring now specifically to fig1 - 6 , first lace fixation assembly 100 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . as mentioned above , first assembly 100 includes first plate 104 , second plate 106 , tensioning component 108 , and fastener 110 . when assembled , axle - or post - like keyed portion 142 formed on protrusion 144 of first plate 104 , as shown for example in fig2 , is positioned to complementary recess 146 of second plate 106 , as shown for example in fig4 . additionally , fastener 110 is positioned to both second plate aperture 148 that is adjacent to recess 146 and first plate aperture 150 that is formed within keyed portion 142 to secure first plate 104 with second plate 106 . in the example embodiment , keyed portion 142 and recess 146 are star - shaped in cross - section . other embodiments are however possible , and shape of keyed portion 142 and recess 146 may be implementation - specific . further , as mentioned above , tensioning component 108 is generally snap - fit coupleable to groove 136 that is formed between first plate 104 and second plate 106 . rotational movement of tensioning component 108 is limited or restricted when positioned to groove 136 by interlock of bumps or ridges 152 formed on both second plate 106 and tensioning component 108 , illustrated for example at fig4 and at fig6 . friction gap 138 within groove 136 is defined by first ridged flutes 154 that extend in a spoke pattern from keyed portion 142 of first plate 104 , and second ridged flutes 156 that extend in the spoke pattern from recess 146 of second plate 106 . fig2 for example illustrates first ridged flutes 154 , and fig4 for example illustrates second ridged flutes 156 . it is contemplated that more or fewer ridged flutes may be utilized in any pattern as desired , and further number and shape of first ridged flutes 154 and second ridged flutes 156 may be implementation - specific . in the example embodiment , when first plate 104 is coupled with second plate 106 , first ridged flutes 154 and second ridged flutes 156 are rotationally offset from each other so as to form a path for tension member 114 similar to that formed by an interdigitated comb structure . in this instance , however , fingers of the comb structure are interdigitally arranged along a circle . in this manner , first ridged flutes 154 and second ridged flutes 156 are configured and arranged to impart force on tension member 114 when tension member 114 is positioned to friction gap 138 within groove 136 , so that tension is generally maintained on tension member 114 when pulling force is removed . referring now specifically to fig7 a - c , a particular one of guide members 112 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . as mentioned above , tension member 114 is laced through guide members 112 via opposing grooves 122 so that tension member 114 does not overlap onto itself . in general , grooves 122 positioned on each side of mounting aperture 158 provide a curved low - friction pathway for tension member 114 as it interfaces with panels 124 , 132 , and 134 of boot 126 , similar to arcuate slots 116 of first plate 104 that provide a low - friction pathway for tension member 114 from entry apertures 118 to exit aperture 120 . whereas a typical lacing pattern may route laces back and forth between opposing panels , with laces crossing each other at various points along the center line of a particular panel , guide members 112 eliminate lace crossing and resulting friction that which may impede closure . it is contemplated that any number of guide members 112 may be employed to realize desired closure characteristics while maintaining the lowest possible lace system friction . in the present example , with guide members 112 attached to center portion of front panel 124 , tension member 114 is guided from first side panel 132 through a particular one of guide members 112 , and back to first side panel 132 . similarly , tension member 114 is guided from second side panel 134 through a particular one of guide members 112 , and back to second side panel 134 . tension member 114 thus does not overlap onto itself and does not bind , chafe , or create excess friction . it is contemplated that body 160 of guide members 112 may be curved to generally match the shape of front panel 124 or other intermediate panel onto which they are coupled . further , profile or thickness 162 of guide members 112 may be defined such that tension member 114 is raised above a surface of an intermediate panel to further reduce friction . various methods may be employed to attach guide members 112 to front panel 124 , such as in a manner that allows guide members 112 to self - align under loads presented by tension member 114 . further , in order to facilitate injection molding with minimal tooling complexity , in one embodiment the bearing surface of the guide members 112 may be formed by alternating grooves in top and bottom surfaces . this arrangement may sufficiently capture tension member 114 , keeping tension member 114 bearing upon the desired radius surface , while not requiring any sliding elements in the injection mold . referring now to fig9 , another lace fixation system 902 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 902 is similar to first lace fixation system 102 as described above in many respects . for example , system 902 includes first lace fixation assembly 100 of at least fig1 coupled to front panel 904 of boot 906 . in the example embodiment , however , tension member 908 is laced through guide members 910 so as to overlap or cross itself . guide members 910 in fig9 are webbing or fabric strips that are sewn or otherwise coupled to panels of the article . the webbing or fabric strips 910 include loops through which the tension member 908 is inserted . the webbing or fabric strips 910 may be angled or directed to guide the tension member 908 about the article as desired . in practice though , tightening of boot 906 using first assembly 100 may be performed in a manner similar to that described above . further , fig9 demonstrates flexibility of first assembly 100 in that tensioning component 108 may be coupled to groove 136 ( e . g ., see fig5 ) that is formed between first plate 104 and second plate 106 without orientation - specific keying . in other words , tensioning component 108 may be coupled to groove 136 in any particular orientation . for example , fig8 c illustrates tensioning component 108 positioned to groove 136 so that notch 130 is orientated towards guide members 112 . in contrast , fig9 illustrates tensioning component 108 positioned to groove 136 so that notch 130 is orientated away from guide members 910 . referring now to fig1 a - 16b , second lace fixation assembly 1000 and second lace fixation system 1002 are shown in accordance with the present disclosure . in general , second assembly 1000 includes plate 1004 and tensioning component 1006 . fig1 b for example illustrates these respective components of second assembly 1000 in an assembled configuration . second system 1002 includes second assembly 1000 , guide members 1008 , and tension member 1010 . fig1 for example illustrates these respective components of second system 1002 in an assembled configuration . in the example embodiment , tension member 1010 is laced through plate 1004 of second assembly 1000 via plate apertures 1011 that guide tension member 1010 through plate 1004 , and further is laced through guide members 1008 so that tension member 1010 overlaps onto itself . fig1 c for example illustrates plate apertures 1011 , and fig1 and fig1 a for example illustrate lacing of tension member 1010 through guide members 1008 that are coupled to boot 1014 , and lacing of tension member 1010 through plate 1004 , respectively . other embodiments though are possible . for example , it is contemplated that guide members 112 as discussed above may be used in place of guide members 1008 . both second assembly 1000 , at least in part , and guide members 1008 are coupled to front panel 1012 of boot 1014 , and tensioning end 1016 of tension member 1010 is coupled to tensioning component 1006 at component apertures 1018 . fig1 a - b for example illustrate component apertures 1018 of tensioning component 1006 , and fig1 a for example illustrates tensioning end 1016 of tension member 1010 coupled to tensioning component 1006 . in the example embodiment , component apertures 1018 flare open into elongated slots on bottom side 1005 of tensioning component 1006 to gently guide tension member 1010 therethrough , and plate 1004 includes primary surface 1007 that may be curved to at least partially conform to shape of panel 1012 of boot 1014 , similar to first plate 104 of first assembly 100 shown at least in fig1 . in practice , tightening of boot 1014 is performed or perfected by application of pulling force to tensioning component 1006 , forcing first side panel 1020 and second side panel 1022 of boot 1014 together . while maintaining pulling force , tensioning component 1006 is used to wrap tension member 1010 into channel or groove 1024 formed by plate 1004 . fig1 b for example illustrates groove 1024 formed by plate 1004 . wrapping of tension member 1010 tightly onto itself within groove 1024 fixes tension member 1010 in place , so that tension is generally maintained on tension member 1010 when pulling force is removed . wrapping of tension member 1010 into groove 1024 proceeds until length of tension member 1010 protruding from component apertures 1018 is substantially wrapped into groove 1024 . tensioning component 1006 is then snap - coupled onto flange 1026 of plate 1004 so that locking surface 1028 of at least one flexible tab 1030 of tensioning component 1006 engages with locking surface 1032 of flange 1026 adjacent to groove 1024 . fig1 in a particular instance illustrates tensioning component 1006 snap - coupled onto flange 1026 of plate 1004 . in the example embodiment , tensioning component 1006 may subsequently be decoupled from plate 1004 by application of leverage to tensioning component 1006 similar to that of opening certain types of aspirin containers for example , and may be used to unwind tension member 1010 , thereby releasing force imparted on first side panel 1020 and second side panel 1022 of boot 1014 . first side panels 1020 and / or second side panel 1022 may then be opened to allow exit , or tension reapplied to tension member 1010 as desired . such an implementation may be beneficial or advantageous in many respects , including at least those discusses above in connection with first assembly 100 . further , referring now specifically to fig1 a - b , flexibility of second assembly 1000 is demonstrated in that tension member 1010 may be laced through plate 1004 of second assembly 1000 in a particular direction as desired . for example , fig1 a illustrates tension member 1010 laced through plate 1004 of second assembly 1000 in a direction extending away from front end of shoe 1014 , so that tightening of shoe 1014 is perfected by application of pulling force generally in direction a . in contrast , fig1 b illustrates tension member 1010 laced through plate 1004 of second assembly 1000 in a direction extending towards front end of boot 1014 , so that tightening of boot is perfected by application of pulling force generally in direction b . referring now specifically to fig1 - 14 , second lace fixation assembly 1000 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . fig1 a - c in particular show second assembly 1000 in varying dimension , generally increasing in size from fig1 a proceeding in order to fig1 c . as mentioned above , second assembly 1000 includes plate 1004 and tensioning component 1006 . when assembled , keyed aperture 1034 formed within flange 1026 of plate 1004 is positioned to complementary post 1036 of tensioning component 1006 . fig1 a and fig1 b for example illustrate keyed aperture 1034 formed within flange 1026 of plate 1004 , and post 1036 of tensioning component 1006 . in the example embodiment , keyed aperture 1034 and post 1036 are peripherally notched . other embodiments are however possible . tensioning component 1006 is snap - fit coupleable to keyed aperture 1034 formed within flange 1026 of plate 1004 by at least one flexible tab 1030 of tensioning component 1006 that has locking surface 1028 that engages with locking surface 1032 of flange 1026 adjacent groove 1024 . fig1 for example illustrates flexible tab 1030 of tensioning component 1006 that has locking surface 1028 that engages with locking surface 1032 of flange 1026 adjacent to groove 1024 . in the example embodiment , rotational movement of tensioning component 1006 when coupled to plate 1004 is limited or restricted because post 1036 is rigidly fixed to plate 1004 at mounting surface 1038 . referring now to fig1 , still another lace fixation system 1702 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 1702 is similar to second lace fixation system 1002 as described above in many aspects . for example , system 1702 includes second lace fixation assembly 1000 of at least fig1 coupled to panel 1704 of item 1706 . in this example , however , second assembly 1000 is not coupled to a central panel of item 1706 , and further tension member 1708 is alternately laced through guide members 1710 terminating at end 1712 . in practice though , tightening of item 1706 using second assembly 1000 may be performed in a manner similar to that described above . further , fig1 demonstrates flexibility of second assembly 1000 in that second assembly 1000 may generally be coupled to a particular item at any location as desired , such as to an eyestay of a shoe as illustrated in fig1 . termination at end 1712 as shown in fig1 may increase the tension imparted to tension member 1708 as the system is used to close item 1706 . still other lace fixation systems embodiments are possible . for example , referring now to fig1 , still another lace fixation system 1802 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 1802 is similar to second lace fixation system 1002 as described above in many aspects . for example , system 1802 includes first instance 1000 a of second lace fixation assembly 1000 of at least fig1 coupled to first panel 1804 of item 1806 . in this example , however , system 1802 further includes second instance 1000 b of second lace fixation assembly 1000 coupled to second panel 1808 of item 1804 , and tension member 1810 is coupled to fixed guide 1812 positioned to central panel 1814 of item 1806 . in some embodiments , first instance 1000 a of second assembly 1000 and second instance 1000 b of second assembly 1000 may be sized differently , for example as illustrated in fig1 . such an implementation as shown in fig1 may be an example of a zone or zonal tightening system , whereby tension imparted on first length 1816 of tension member 1808 may be controlled by first instance 1000 a of second assembly 1000 , and tension imparted on second length 1818 of tension member 1808 may be controlled by second instance 1000 b of second assembly 1000 . tension member 1810 may be fixedly coupled with fixed guide 1812 ( i . e ., the tension member 1810 may be prevented from sliding through guide 1812 ) to allow zonal tensioning of a proximal and distal portion of item 1806 . still other lace fixation system embodiments are possible . for example , referring now to fig1 a - e , still another lace fixation system 1902 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 1902 is similar to second lace fixation system 1002 as described above in many aspects . for example , system 1902 includes embodiment 1000 a of second lace fixation assembly 1000 of at least fig1 coupled to panel 1904 of item 1906 . in this example , however , system 1902 includes tension member 1908 coupled to fixed guide 1910 positioned to central panel 1912 of item 1906 . as shown in the sequence of fig1 a - e , tension member 1908 may be positioned to guide members 1914 and fixed guide 1910 so that tension member 1908 may be wrapped and coupled to embodiment 1000 a of second assembly 1000 in a manner such as described above . in particular , tension member 1908 may be initially laced to guide member 1914 a and guide member 1914 b positioned in a lower portion of the item , and then laced through fixed guide 1910 as shown in fig1 c , such as by inserting tension member 1908 through a lumen of fixed guide 1910 . tensioning component 1006 may then be pulled in direction x to apply tension to first length 1916 of tension member 1908 , thereby pulling the lower portion of side panel 1918 and side panel 1920 together . tension member 1908 may then be wrapped around a post of fixed guide 1910 to lock or maintain a tension of first length 1916 of tension member 1908 and thereby secure the lower portion in a tightened arrangement . tension member 1908 may then be laced to guide member 1914 c and guide member 1914 d in an upper portion of the item . tensioning component 1006 may then be pulled in direction y to apply tension to second length 1922 of tension member 1908 , thereby pulling the upper portion of side panel 1918 and side panel 1920 together . tension member 1908 may then be wrapped into channel or groove 1024 formed by plate 1004 to lock or maintain a tension of second length 1922 of tension member 1908 and thereby secure the upper portion in a tightened arrangement . such an implementation as shown in fig1 a - e may be an example of a zone or zonal tightening system , whereby tension imparted on first length 1916 of tension member 1908 may be controlled or maintained due to coupling of tension member 1908 to fixed guide 1910 , and tension imparted on second length 1922 of tension member 1908 may be controlled or maintained due to coupling of tension member 1908 to plate 1004 . still many other lace fixation system embodiments are possible . referring now to fig2 , still another lace fixation system 2002 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 2002 is similar to both first lace fixation system 102 and second lace fixation system 1002 as described above in many respects . for example , system 2002 includes first lace fixation assembly 100 of at least fig1 coupled to first panel 2004 of item 2006 , and also includes second lace fixation assembly 1000 of at least fig1 coupled to second panel 2008 of item 2006 . in this example , however , system 2002 includes first tension member 2010 coupled to first assembly 100 in a manner similar to that described above , and also includes second tension member 2012 coupled to second assembly 1000 in a manner similar to that described above . here , second tension member 2012 is shown partially in phantom line as a portion of second tension member 2012 is routed generally underneath outer shell 2014 of item 2006 , such as through tubing positioned under the upper of a boot . such an implementation may be another example of a zone or zonal tightening system , whereby tension imparted on first tension member 2010 may be controlled by first assembly 100 , and tension imparted on second tension member 2012 may be controlled by second assembly 1000 . in the illustrated embodiment , first tension member 2010 and first assembly 100 is used to tighten an upper portion of a boot while second tension member 2012 and second lace fixation assembly 1000 is used to tighten a lower portion of a boot . still other lace fixation system embodiments are possible . referring now to fig2 , still another lace fixation system 2102 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 2102 is similar to second lace fixation system 1002 as described above in many respects . for example , system 2102 includes second lace fixation assembly 1000 of at least fig1 coupled to panel 2104 of item 2006 . in this example , however , second assembly 1000 is not coupled to a central or offset panel of item 2106 , and instead is coupled to rear portion 2108 of item 2106 , such as heel portion of a shoe . further , tension member 2110 is laced to second assembly 1000 at a point furthest possible from guide members 2112 of item 2106 , such as by being routed through tubing coupled with and / or positioned under an upper material layer of the shoe . in practice though , tightening of item 2106 using second assembly 1000 may be performed in a manner similar to that described above . further , fig2 demonstrates flexibility of second assembly 1000 in that second assembly 1000 may generally be coupled to a particular item at any location as desired . still other lace fixation system embodiments are possible . referring now to fig2 , still another lace fixation system 2202 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . system 2202 is similar to lace fixation system 2002 of fig2 as described above in many respects . in this example , however , system 2202 exhibits an alternate embodiment of first lace fixation assembly 100 . in particular , lace fixation assembly 2204 coupled to first panel 2206 of item 2208 includes reel assembly mechanism 2210 having a knob or dial component 2212 that is rotatable in a first direction ( e . g ., clockwise ) to wind the tension member 2216 about a channel or groove of a spool ( not shown ) positioned under the knob 2212 and within a housing 2214 of the reel assembly mechanism 2210 . the tension member 2216 is laced and / or positioned around one or more guides of an upper portion of item 2208 ( i . e ., boot ). the reel assembly mechanism 2210 is used to tighten the upper portion of item 2208 by tensioning the tension member 2216 via reel assembly mechanism 2210 . in some embodiments , the reel assembly mechanism 2210 may be rotated in a second direction ( i . e ., counter - clockwise ) to loosen the tension in tension member 2216 and thereby loosen the upper portion of item 2208 . in other embodiments , the knob 2212 may be grasped and moved axially upward to disengage internal components of reel assembly mechanism 2210 and thereby release the tension on tension member 2216 . second assembly 1000 may be used to tension a lower portion of item 2208 as described in the embodiment of fig2 . still other lace fixation assembly embodiments are possible . for example , referring now to fig2 a - c , third lace fixation assembly 2300 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . in the example embodiment , tension member 2302 is laced through plate 2304 of third assembly 2300 via lumen or passage 2306 that guides tension member 2302 through plate 2304 , and tensioning end 2308 of tension member 2302 is coupled to tensioning component 2310 at component apertures 2312 . as shown in particular by the sequence of fig2 c , tensioning component 2310 may initially be pulled in direction c so that tension member 2302 in turn is pulled through passage 2306 . tensioning component 2310 may then be flipped or positioned back over plate 2304 whereby portions of tension member 2302 are engaged with ridged friction surfaces 2314 within channel 2316 of plate 2304 . the ridged friction surfaces 2314 engage with tension member 2302 to lock or otherwise maintain the tension member 2302 in a tensioned stated . fig2 a and fig2 b too for example illustrates portions of tension member 2302 engaged with ridged friction surfaces 2314 within channel 2316 of plate 2304 . tensioning component 2310 may then be pulled in direction d that is generally opposite direction c so that slack of tension member 2302 is taken up and portions of tension member 2302 are fully engaged with ridged friction surfaces 2314 within channel 2316 to lock or otherwise maintain the tension member 2302 in the tensioned stated . tensioning component 2310 may then be used to wrap tension member 2302 within second channel 2318 of plate 2304 in rotational direction e and then snap - coupled to flange 2138 of plate 2304 in a manner similar to that described above in connection with tensioning component 1006 . second channel 2318 may be separated from channel 2316 via a flange or other partition member . in the example embodiment , plate 2304 and tensioning component 2310 of at least fig2 are configured in a manner substantially similar to plate 1004 tensioning component 1006 of at least fig1 a - d , with at least the exception of ridged friction surfaces 2314 . still other lace fixation assembly embodiments are possible . referring now to fig2 a - b , fourth lace fixation assembly 2400 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . in the example embodiment , fourth assembly 2400 is substantially similar to second lace fixation assembly 1002 as described above . fourth assembly 2400 though is configured to exhibit coiler functionality . as shown in particular by the sequence of fig2 b , tensioning component 1006 may initially be pulled in direction f so that tension member 1010 in turn is pulled through plate 1004 . post 2402 of plate 1004 may then be rotated in direction g to pull and wind tension member 1010 to groove 1024 formed by plate 1004 ( e . g ., see fig1 ). tensioning component 1006 may then be snap - coupled onto flange 1026 of plate 1004 in manner as described above . in the example embodiment , post 2402 of plate 1004 may be configured and arranged as a rotary dial having a clock spring or spiral - wound torsion spring so that tension member 1010 may be automatically wound to groove 1024 formed by plate 1004 without a user having to use tensioning component 1006 to wrap tension member 1010 to groove 1024 as describe above . in this manner , the user may simply pull tensioning component 1006 in direction f and then release tensioning component 1006 or gently guide tensioning component 1006 as post 2402 automatically rotates in direction g to wind tension member 1010 about groove 1024 . in other embodiments , the user may rotate post 2402 in direction g to wind the tension member 1010 about groove 1024 . in some embodiments , post 2402 may further be configured and arranged to exhibit push - to - lock / pull - to - unlock functionality whereby when tension member 1010 is fully wrapped to groove 1024 tensioning component 1006 may be pressed to lock second assembly 1002 . a reverse operation may be performed to unlock second assembly 1002 so that tension member 1010 may be unwound from groove 1024 . still other lace fixation assembly embodiments are possible . referring now to fig2 , fifth lace fixation assembly 2500 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure . in the example embodiment , fifth lace fixation assembly 2500 is substantially similar to second lace fixation assembly 1002 as described above . fifth assembly 2500 though is configured to exhibit incremental tightening / loosening functionality . for example , as shown in particular by the sequence of fig2 , tensioning component 1006 may initially be pulled in direction h so that tension member 1010 in turn is pulled through plate 1004 . tensioning component 1006 may then be used to wrap tension member 1010 to groove 1024 and then snap - coupled onto flange 1026 of plate 1004 in manner as described above . subsequently , a fine tuning operation may be performed to increase or release tension on tension member 1010 . in particular , tensioning component 1006 may be incrementally rotated in a clockwise direction in a fixed ratcheting motion to increase tension on tension member 1010 , or incrementally rotated in a counterclockwise direction in the fixed ratcheting motion to release tension on tension member 1010 . in the example embodiment , post 2402 of plate 1004 ( e . g ., see fig2 ) may be configured and arranged as a ratcheted rotary dial so that tension on tension member 1010 may be increased or decreased as desired , without having to decouple tensioning component 1006 from plate 1004 . although the various disclosed lace fixation assemblies and systems are described in the context of a closure system for footwear or other panels desired to be closed toward one another , it will be appreciated that the designs may be optimized for a variety of other uses in which a lace or cord is desired to be removably secured at various tension levels or adjustment lengths . examples include : a ) fixation of high tensile rigging aboard ships , allowing for easy adjustment of a given line with secure fixation , b ) orthopedic bracing products , c ) garment closures , d ) equestrian accessories , e ) wakeboard boots , f ) kitesurfing line adjustments , g ) backpack and luggage closures . having described several embodiments , it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention . additionally , a number of well - known processes and elements have not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . accordingly , the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention . as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a process ” includes a plurality of such processes and reference to “ the device ” includes reference to one or more devices and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art , and so forth . also , the words “ comprise ,” “ comprising ,” “ include ,” “ including ,” and “ includes ” when used in this specification and in the following claims are intended to specify the presence of stated features , integers , components , or steps , but they do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , components , steps , acts , or groups . | 0 |
hereafter , the dimension of the input data is denoted by dim . for three dimensions , dim = 3 . in the segmentation problem that the present invention solves , a dim - dimensional data structure stored in the memory of a computer system is given as the input to the method , which usually is realized as a computer program . in medical applications , the data is typically acquired by non - intrusive methods such as computed axial tomography ( cat ) systems , by magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) systems , or by other non - intrusive mechanisms such as ultrasound , positron emission tomography ( pet ), emission computed tomography ( ect ) and multi - modality imaging ( mmi ), and stored in the memory of a computer system . the data structure will be called an “ image ” hereafter , and comprises voxels and neighborhood structure : i . each voxel has associated data , such as a number or a set of numbers ( vector ). voxels are conceptually laid out in a dim - dimensional configuration . for instance , a 3d ( dim = 3 ) image can be a simple box of size l × n × m with one voxel for each of l × n × m possible combinations of three integers ( l , n , m ) for l = 1 , . . . , l , n = 1 , . . . , n , and m = 1 , . . . , m . an image can also be a subset of such a dim - dimensional box . ii . the neighborhood structure is defined by specifying a small set of “ neighbor voxels ” for each voxel , according to the application . in other words , it is specified , among all voxels , which voxel is neighboring which other voxels . the specification can be given as a data stored in the memory of a computer system , or it can be given as an implicit assumption in the program that realizes the method of the present invention , i . e ., the program may assume a particular arrangement of voxels . the neighborhood structure is symmetric in the sense that if a voxel v is a neighbor of another voxel u , then u is also a neighbor of v . the simplest set of “ first nearest neighbors ” for a voxel includes 2 × dim nearest voxels given by increasing or decreasing one of dim coordinate entries by 1 . for instance , fig1 a conceptually shows the first nearest neighbors of a voxel 11 at coordinate ( l , n , m ) in a 3d image . neighbor voxels are 12 at ( l − 1 , n , m ), 13 at ( l + 1 , n , m ), 14 at ( l , n − 1 , m ), 15 at ( l , n + 1 , m ), 16 at ( l , n , m − 1 ), and 17 at ( l , n , m + 1 ). the “ second nearest neighbors ” are those obtained by changing two of the coordinate entries by 1 , and the 3d case is schematically shown in fig1 b . similarly , a k - th nearest neighbor of a voxel v has k coordinate entries that are different by 1 from corresponding entries of v . fig1 c shows the third nearest neighbors in the three dimensional case , and fig1 d shows the first , second , and third nearest neighbors together in the case of three dimensions . although such a k - th nearest neighborhood structure is a natural choice , the application of present invention is not limited to this class of neighborhood structures . the method partitions the voxels into two complementary subsets s and t , or , equivalently , assigns one of two labels s or t to each voxel . the image will be segmented in the sense that voxels in s , to which label s is assigned , will represent the “ interesting ” voxels for each particular application , such as voxels corresponding to arteries . it is an advantage of the method of present invention that there is no topological restriction on the resultant subsets . moreover , our method is completely automatic with no need for user intervention , although the method allows the user to intervene as desired in the process to improve or correct the results of the fully automatic system . the method , while addressed and discussed in depth for the 3d case , can be applied by those skilled in the art to higher or lower dimensions in a straightforward way . the criterion as to how the image should be segmented is given by defining a set of numbers : a ) for each voxel v , a number a ( v ). b ) for each neighboring pair of voxels v and u , a nonnegative number b ( v , u ). note that b ( v , u ) and b ( u , v ) can be different . then , the criterion is that the partition shall be given so that the sum all neighboring ( v , u ) such that v is in s and u is in t the number a ( v ) represents the likelihood of v to belong to s . if a ( v ) is positive , v is more likely to belong to s in an assignment with a minimum sum ( 1 ). if it is negative , it is more likely to be in tin an assignment with a minimum sum ( 1 ). the number b ( v , u ) expresses the likelihood of the boundary coming between v and u in such a way that v is in s and u is in t . it shall be larger if such likelihood is smaller . as an example of how these numbers may be selected , suppose that the probabilities p ( v ), of the voxel v belonging to s ; and p ( v , u ), for neighboring voxels v and u , of v belonging to s and u belonging to t ; are known . then one possible way is to set where a and b are some positive numbers . if necessary , infinity in the case of zero probability can be handled in various and well - known ways , for instance by using ( p ( v )+ h )/( 1 + h ) instead of p ( v ), where h is some small ( h & lt ;& lt ; 1 ) positive number . some examples of how these numbers may be selected in concrete examples are given in the detailed description of preferred embodiments below . fig2 illustrates the major steps in the method . the main idea of the method is to map the voxels to specially interconnected nodes in a graph . graphs are used in the art to explain certain ideas clearly ; but it is also well known in the art to implement them as a data structures stored in a computer system that can be manipulated by a program . one example of such an implementation is given later in a description of an embodiment . a directed graph with edge weights , that is , a graph where each edge has a nonnegative number called a weight associated to it , is created in step 21 . an edge from a node v to another node u is denoted hereafter by an ordered pair ( v , u ). the graph contains the following : ( a ) there is one node for each voxel . this type of node is hereafter called the voxel node corresponding to the voxel , and the voxel node corresponding to voxel v is denoted by the same letter v . ( b ) there also are two special nodes s and t that correspond to the two labels s and t , respectively . ( c ) there are edges between voxel nodes . they represent the neighborhood structure between voxels , i . e ., voxel nodes corresponding to neighboring voxels are connected by an edge . ( d ) for every voxel node v , there is an edge ( s , v ) from s to v and an edge ( v , t ) from v to t . then , in step 22 , nonnegative edge weights are assigned . for each voxel node v , the edge ( s , v ) has a nonnegative weight w ( s , v ) and the edge ( v , t ) has a nonnegative weight w ( v , t ). these weights are selected so that the following holds : each voxel node v is also connected to its neighbors . for each neighbor u of v , there are edges ( v , u ) and ( u , v ). the edge ( v , u ) is assigned a weight w ( v , u )= b ( v , u ) and the edge ( u , v ) is assigned a weight w ( u , v )= b ( u , v ). these weights are chosen so that the segmentation criterion exactly corresponds to a condition on a cut of the graph . here , a cut is a partition of the graph into two parts , one including s and another t , as well known to be often defined in the art . then , each voxel node belongs to one of the parts , either including s or t . this defines a segmentation of the image : a node that belongs to the same partition as node s is assigned the label s , and a node that belongs to the same partition as node t is assigned the label t . if an edge goes out from the part including s to the one including t , the edge is said to be “ cut .” this gives the method an ability to take neighbor interaction into account . there is one - to - one correspondence between partition of nodes and voxels . a score of the assignment ( segmentation ) is given by the sum of the edge weights that have been cut . the segmentation problem is thus mapped to a problem of finding the “ minimum cut ”, that is , a cut with the minimum score . thus in step 23 , a minimum - cut algorithm is applied to the graph . any variant of minimum - cut algorithms , which are well known in the art , are known to solve this problem in polynomial time in the number of nodes and edges in the graph . the method possesses all topological properties as described / required above and can be applied to graphs embedded in any dimension , not only 3d . finally , in step 24 , voxels are segmented according to the cut of the graph . if a voxel node belongs to the same partition as s , the voxel to which it corresponds is assigned the label s and belongs to s . otherwise , it is assigned the label t and belongs to t . because of the way that the edge weights are defined , the minimum cut corresponds to the optimal segmentation , that is , it has the minimum sum of equation ( 1 ). thus , the method partitions the voxels into two complementary subsets s and t , or , equivalently , assigns one of two labels s or t to each voxel , according to the criterion stated above . before going into the description of an embodiment , an illustration of the process of the invention by the simplest example is in order . fig3 a schematically shows the simplest example . two voxels u and v are shown as 301 and 302 . the two voxels are neighbors of each other , which is indicated by a line segment 303 between them in the figure . being neighbors means that the two voxels have some tendency to belong to the same partition upon segmentation . the corresponding graph that would be used in the method is shown in fig3 b . it has two voxel nodes 304 and 305 corresponding to the voxels 301 and 302 , denoted by the same names u and v , and two additional nodes s ( 306 ) and t ( 307 ). for each of voxel nodes 304 and 305 , there is an edge from s ( 306 ). the edge from s to u , denoted by ( s , u ), is shown as 308 . similarly , the edge ( s , v ) appears in the figure as 309 . there are also two edges from u and v to t ( 307 ), i . e ., ( u , t ) and ( v , t ), shown as 310 and 311 . there also are edges ( u , v ) ( 312 ) and ( v , u ) ( 313 ) between voxel nodes u and v ( 304 and 305 ), representing the neighborhood structure . the method finds a cut of the graph . a cut is a partition of the nodes into two groups , containing node s ( 306 ) and t ( 307 ) respectively . fig4 a through fig4 d show the four possible cut of the example graph shown in fig3 b . two groups are shown as inside ( s , containing node s ( 306 )) and outside ( t , containing node t ( 307 )) of a dashed curve . thus in fig4 a , only s ( 306 ) is inside and other three nodes are outside . in fig4 b , v ( 305 ) is also inside with s ( 306 ), and so on . given a cut of the graph , an edge going out from s to t is said to be cut . thus , in fig4 a , edges ( s , u ) and ( s , v ) ( 308 and 309 ), and only these edges , are cut . each edge has a nonnegative number called weight associated with it . the total score of a cut is the sum of weights of all cut edges . thus , in fig4 a , the score of the cut is w ( s , u )+ w ( s , v ), where w ( s , u ) denotes the weight of the edge ( s , u ). note that one of , and only one of , the edges ( s , u ) ( 308 ) and ( u , t ) ( 310 ) is always cut . in fig4 a and fig4 b , ( s , u ) ( 308 ) is cut and ( u , t ) ( 310 ) is not ; in fig4 c and fig4 d , ( s , u ) ( 308 ) is not cut and ( u , t ) ( 310 ) is . it is easy to see that ( s , u ) ( 308 ) is cut whenever u ( 304 ) belongs to t and ( u , t ) ( 310 ) is cut when it belong to s . now , since the weights of these two edges are set so that ( see equation ( 2 ) above ), the contribution of the two edges to the total score of the cut is a ( u ) more when u ( 304 ) belongs to t than when it belongs to s . similarly , the weight contribution from edges ( s , v ) ( 309 ) and ( v , t ) ( 311 ) is larger by a ( v ) when v ( 305 ) belongs to t than when it is in s . thus , compared to the state when all voxel nodes are in s , that is , the state of fig4 d , the sum of the weights of cut edges from s to voxel nodes and those from voxel nodes to t is larger by exactly ∑ all x in t a ( x ) . note that a ( x ) can be either negative or positive number , or zero , for any voxel node x , though the weights must be nonnegative . since the method finds the cut with the least score , a ( x ) should be negative if x is likely to belong to t , or positive if it is likely to belong to s , according to the local data for the voxel x . the edges ( v , u ) ( 313 ) and ( u , v ) ( 312 ) between the voxel nodes u and v ( 304 and 305 ) are not cut when the two nodes belong to the same partition , as in fig4 a and 4d . when one of the nodes u and v ( 304 and 305 ) is in s and another in t , one of the edges ( v , u ) ( 313 ) and ( u , v ) ( 312 ) is cut . in fig4 b , the edge ( v , u ) ( 313 ) is cut , that is , it goes from within s out to t , while the edge ( u , v ) ( 312 ) is not cut since it goes from outside into s . ordinarily , the weight for the two edges can be set to the same value . then , the contribution from the two edges to the total score depends only on whether the two voxel nodes belong to the same partition or not . if it is desirable , however , the two cases where u and v are separated ( u in s and v in t as in fig4 c , or u in t and v in s as in fig4 b ) can have different contributions , by letting the weights w ( u , v ) and w ( v , u ) have different values . since the method looks for a cut with smaller total score , an edge with a smaller weight tends to be cut . thus , if these weights are set relatively large , the two nodes tend to stay in the same partition . this gives the method a tendency to prefer a more smooth solution . when the method finds the minimum cut , it resolves a trade - off . the likelihood of individual voxels to belong to either partition is given by the number a ( u ) and a ( v ). if both u and v are more likely to belong to s or t , there is no conflict ; both would belong to the same partition , and result would be either like fig4 a or fig4 d . or if the voxels have no tendency to stay in the same partition , that is , if the weights w ( u , v ) and w ( v , u ) are zero , again there is no conflict and each voxel can belong to the partition to which it tends to belong . if , however , neither are the case , there is a trade - off to be resolved . although it is a trivial problem in this simplest example , it is in general a very difficult problem to solve . the method of present invention is described here in more details as may be utilized in the segmentation of arteries from mri . note that other non - intrusive imaging systems such as computed axial tomography ( cat ) systems , ultrasound , positron emission tomography ( pet ), emission computed tomography ( ect ) and multi - modality imaging ( mmi ), can also utilize the present segmentation method . a magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) system examines a tissue type of the human body by applying a gradient magnetic field of varying intensities to the human body , to thereby display the arrangement of nuclear spins of bodily tissue . that is , when a radio frequency ( rf ) pulse wave within a strong static magnetic field is applied to the human body , the nuclear spins of bodily tissue are excited and nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ) signals are generated when the gradient magnetic field appropriate for bodily tissue is applied . by tuning various parameters such as frequency , sequence and encoding of the rf pulse and magnetization angle ; and measuring properties of the nmr signals such as intensity and relaxation time ; the system gathers data that can then be processed by computer . the data is generally applied projection reconstruction techniques to give information about the type of bodily tissue at different spatial positions . fig5 is a block diagram of an mri system that may be used in the present invention . the system comprises a magnet 501 , gradient coils 502 , rf coils 503 ( the rf coils should be scaled to the anatomy of interest ), transmitter 504 , rf power amplifier 505 , gradient amplifier 506 , receiver 507 , digitizer 508 , computer 509 , display interface 510 , scan operation interface 511 , image display terminal 512 , camera 513 and data store 514 . the computer 509 is programmed to acquire and segment data in order to find anatomies of interest in accordance with the above - described methods . here , it is assumed that such a data is given in the form of a 3d data structure , stored in the memory of a computer system , that gives a set of data that characterizes the tissue - type at each voxel . although this data , which hereafter is called an mri response , is not necessarily described in simple terms , it is well known in the art how to process and generate such data . ( reference is made to [ w . orrison , j . lewine , j . sanders , and m . hartshorne . functional brain imaging , mosby - year book , st louis , 1995 .]) it is common in the art that such mri response at each voxel is reduced to a number such that a particular number or a range of numbers correspond to a specific tissue type , so that a 2d array of such numbers as gray - scale intensity representing a cross - section of bodily - tissue can be displayed on a screen to be examined by a doctor . accordingly , it is assumed here that the mri response is given as a number at each voxel . however , it may be desirable depending on application that such mri response at each voxel is given as more complex data such as a vector that , for instance , represents responses of the tissue to more than one parameter setting in the mri process . here , as the input , the data structure is given as an l × n × m array d of double precision floating - point numbers . by specifying a voxel coordinate ( l , n , m ), the mri response value d [ l , n , m ] can be accessed , where coordinate l runs from 1 to l , coordinate n runs from 1 to n , and coordinate m runs from 1 to m . here , the 3d structure of the voxels directly corresponds to the physical 3d structure . the value at each voxel is an mri response of the tissue at physical position ( l × d 1 , n × d 2 , m × d 3 ) in some cartesian physical coordinate system , where the physical distance between center of voxels to the three orthogonal directions are denoted by d 1 , d 2 , and d 3 . that is , the physical distance between “ physical ” voxel ( l , n , m ) and ( l + 1 , n , m ) is d 1 , between ( l , n , m ) and ( l , n + 1 , m ) d 2 , and between ( l , n , m ) and ( l , n , m + 1 ) d 3 . as described above , the numbers due to mri response have direct connection to the physical process of mri different tissues , such as muscle , blood , brain matter , or bone , respond differently to mri and yield different values . here , a segmentation of artery is desired and it is assumed that a range ( d min , d max ) of mri response value signifies artery . that is , it is assumed here to be known that , if the mri response value d [ l , n , m ] falls between d min and d max , the voxel at ( l , n , m ) is likely to be an artery voxel . as the output , this embodiment will produce an l × n × m array b [ l , n , m ], which signifies the result of segmentation as b [ l , n , m ]= 1 if the voxel at ( l , n , m ) is artery , and b [ l , n , m ]= 0 if the voxel is non - artery . given the array d , a graph g is constructed . here , an undirected graph , which is a special case of a directed graph , is used . it is well known in the art how to manipulate data structures on a computer to realize this end . one simple example is given below where an example minimum - cut algorithm is described . fig6 shows a conceptual schematic of the graph organization . the set of nodes v comprises two special nodes s and t , and l × n × m voxel nodes corresponding to the voxels . the voxel node that corresponds to the voxel at coordinate ( l , n , m ) is herein denoted by v [ l , n , m ]. the set e of edges comprises the following two kinds of edges : a ) each node v [ l , n , m ] is connected to both s and t . the edge connecting v [ l , n , m ] and s is denoted by e s [ l , n , m ] and the edge connecting v [ l , n , m ] to t is denoted by e t [ l , n , m ]. hence there are 2 × l × n × m edges of this kind . b ) between the voxel nodes , neighboring nodes are connected . here , in this example , the first nearest neighborhood system is used . node v [ l , n , m ] is connected to nodes v [ l − 1 , n , m ], v [ l + 1 , n , m ], v [ l , n − 1 , m ], v [ l , n + 1 , m ], v [ l , n , m − 1 ], v [ l , n , m + 1 ], except when one or more of these six neighbors do not exist because they are out of the coordinate range , in which case only existing ones are connected . for instance , v [ 1 , 2 , m ] is connected to v [ 2 , 2 , m ], v [ 1 , 1 , m ], v [ 1 , 3 , m ], and v [ 1 , 2 , m − 1 ], since v [ 0 , 2 , m ] and v [ 1 , 2 , m + 1 ] do not exist . the edge connecting v [ l , n , m ] and v [ l + 1 , n , m ] is denoted by e 1 [ l , n , m ]; the edge connecting v [ l , n , m ] and v [ l , n + 1 , m ] is denoted by e 2 [ l , n , m ]; and the edge connecting v [ l , n , m ] and v [ l , n , m + 1 ] is denoted by e 3 [ l , n , m ]. then there are 3 × l × n × m −( l × n + n × m + l × m ) edges of this kind . each edge has a nonnegative weight , that is , a double precision floating point number equal to or greater than zero . hereafter the weight for edge e is denoted by w ( e ). for instance , edge e 3 [ 2 , 3 , 4 ] that connects v [ 2 , 3 , 4 ] and v [ 2 , 3 , 5 ] has the weight w ( e 3 [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]). a ) the weights for the edges connecting voxel nodes to s and t are set as w ( e s [ l , n , m ])=( d max − d min ) 2 w ( e t [ l , n , m ])=( d min + d max − 2 × d [ l , n , m ]) 2 . the reader will note that , in ( 2 ), these weights correspond to a ( v [ l , n , m ])= w ( e s [ l , n , m ])− w ( e t [ l , n , m ])= 4 ( d max − d [ l , n , m ])−( d [ l , n , m ]− d min , which is 0 if d [ l , n , m ] equals to d min or d max , positive if d [ l , n , m ] is between d min and d max , and negative if d [ l , n , m ] is outside of the range [ d min , d max ]. thus , according to the definition , it makes it more likely that the voxel be classified as artery if the value falls between d min and d max . b ) the weight for the edges connecting neighboring nodes are set as w ( e 1 [ l , n , m ])= k / d 1 , w ( e 2 [ l , n , m ])= k / d 2 , and w ( e 3 [ l , n , m ])= k / d 3 , where k is a positive constant that governs smoothness of the segmentation . resulting sets are smoother if k is larger . these correspond to b ( v [ l , n , m ], v [ l + 1 , n , m ])= b ( v [ l + 1 , n , m ], v [ l , n , m ])= k / d 1 , b ( v [ l , n , m ], v [ l , n + 1 , m ])= b ( v [ l , n + 1 , m ], v [ l , n , m ])= k / d 2 , and b ( v [ l , n , m ], v [ l , n , m + 1 ])= b ( v [ l , n , m + 1 ], v [ l , n , m ])= k / d 3 , having set all the data needed to define a graph , a minimum - cut algorithm is applied to the graph . a minimum - cut algorithm divides the set of nodes into two parts so that s and t are separated . this division is called a cut of the graph . the algorithm moreover finds such a cut with the minimum value , where value of a cut is the sum of all the weights of edges whose ends lie in different parts according to the division . several minimum - cut algorithms are known , most of which use maximum - flow algorithm . all these algorithms give an identical results , hence which algorithm to use can be decided by reasons independent from the present invention . also , there are known some approximation algorithms , such as the one described in [ d . karger . “ a new approach to the minimum cut problem ”, journal of the acm , 43 ( 4 ) 1996 ]. these are not guaranteed to give the minimum , but some cut that is close to the minimum . these can also be used for the present invention , and herein called minimum - cut algorithms . an example of minimum cut algorithm is given below . given the result of the minimum - cut algorithm , the output values b [ l , n , m ] for all l , n , and m are set as follows : if node v [ l , n , m ] belongs to the same part as s , set b [ l , n , m ]= 1 . otherwise set b [ l , n , m ]= 0 . although these specific edge weights are defined here for the sake of concreteness , it is not necessary for the present invention to set the weights of the edges in this precise way . for instance , weight for an edge between neighboring voxel nodes can be set according to the difference of the data value d [ l , n , m ] between the two voxels so that it becomes greater if the values are closer , making it less likely for the voxels to be divided in different partitions . here , a simple minimum - cut algorithm that may be used with the present invention is described . it is described as may be used for higher dimensions , although by letting the constant dim to be 3 , it can be directly used with the preceding embodiment . although it is presented in a form similar to a pascal - like programming language for clarity and concreteness , and is easy to understand by one skilled in the art , it is meant to illustrate the algorithm , not to be used as a program as it is . the entry point is the procedure mincut , which should be called after setting the input variable size and was described below . the result would be in the output variable b when it returns . the algorithm uses push - relabel maximum - flow algorithm with global relabeling . ( reference is made to [ b . v . cherkassky and a . v . goldberg . “ on implementing push - relabel method for the maximum flow problem .” in proceedings of 4 th international programming and combinatorial optimization conference , 157 - 171 , 1995 .]) type nodecoord : an array [ 0 . . . dim − 1 ] of integer ; dim - dimensional node coordinate . type edgecoord : an array [ 0 . . . dim ] of integer ; edge coordinate . for a dim - dimensional array x , the element x [ vc [ 0 ], vc [ 1 ], . . . , vc [ dim − 1 ]] of x pointed by a nodecoord vc is abbreviated as x [ vc ]. similarly , for a ( dim + 1 )- dimensional array y , y [ ec ] is a short hand for y [ ec [ 0 ], ec [ 1 ], . . . , ec [ dim ]]. also , a pair of an integer and a nodecoord like ( 1 , vc ) denotes an edgecoord . for instance , if i is an integer and vc is a nodecoord , y [ i , vc ] means the element y [ i , vc [ 0 ], vc [ 1 ], . . . , vc [ dim − 1 ]]. in the algorithm , nodecoord vc with vc [ 0 ]=− 1 signifies the node s , and vc [ 0 ]=− 2 means the node t . a control structure for all vc do . . . is used to mean to iterate for all nodecoord in the dim - dimensional hypercube specified by size ( an input variable defined below .) for instance , in the 3d example above , this means to iterate for all l × n × m combination of coordinates . procedure enqueue ( vc : nodecoord ; var q : nodequeue );: pushes vc in the back of the queue q . function dequeue ( var q : nodequeue ): nodecoord ;: pops a nodecoord vc from the queue q and return vc . function empty ( var q : nodequeue ): bool ;: returns true if the queue q is empty . w [ 0 , vc ]: weight of edge from s to vc w [ 1 , vc ]: weight of edge from vc to t w [ 1 + d , vc ]: weight of the edge from vc to the neighbor in d - th dimension ( the node with the d - th coordinate + 1 .) in the 3d case , w [ 0 , l , n , m ]= w ( e s [ l , n , m ]), w [ 1 , l , n , m ]= w ( e t [ l , n , m ]), w [ 2 , l , n , m ]= w ( e 1 [ l , n , m ]), w [ 3 , l , n , m ]= w ( e 2 [ l , n , m ]), w [ 4 , l , n , m ]= w ( e 3 [ l , n , m ]) b : dim - dimensional array of integer . b [ vc ]= 0 if the voxel at vc belongs to the same partition as s . in addition to size , w , and b above , global variables are as follows : es , et : double precision floating point number ( double ) variables ds , dt , numnode : integer variables curedges , curedget : nodecoord variables excess : a dim - dimensional array of doubles . one entry for each voxel . dist , curedge : dim - dimensional arrays of integers . one entry for each voxel . f : a ( dim + 1 )- dimensional array of doubles . the same size as w . q : nodequeue ; s nodecoord . s [ 0 ]=− 1 . t : nodecoord . t [ 0 ]=− 2 . else if ( distance ( vc ) ≧ 0 ) and ( excess ( vc ) & gt ; 0 ) then active ← true for d ← 0 to dim − 1 do vc [ d ] ← 0 ; if (( i & lt ; dim ) and ( vc [ i ] ≧ size [ i ] − 1 )) or (( i ≧ dim ) and ( vc [ i − dim ] = 0 )) then loopout ← false ; d , dw , mdw , r : integer ; rf : double ; wc : nodecoord ; ec : edgecoord ; escape : bool r : integer ; delta , rf : double ; wc : nodecoord ; ec : edgecoord ; wactive : bool if ( active ( vc ) = true ) and ( distance ( vc ) = distance ( wc ) + 1 ) then begin for i ← 0 to dim − 1 do numnode ← numnode × size [ i ]; for i ← 1 to dim + 1 do f [ i , vc ] ← 0 ; procedure bfs ( root : nodecoord ; initdist : integer ); { breadth first search in residual graph .} d , r , dw : integer ; rf : double ; vc , wc : nodecoord ; ec : edgecoord ; q2 : nodequeue ; for all vc do if distance ( vc ) = − 1 then b ( vc ) ← true else b ( vc ) ← false ; while only certain preferred features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art . for instance , weight for an edge between neighboring voxel nodes can be set according to the difference of the data value between the two voxels so that it becomes greater if the values are closer to each other , making it less likely for the voxels to be divided in different partitions . as mentioned above , the method of present invention can use either directed or undirected graph . according to the application and the specific implementation of the data structures , either can be more convenient than the other . also , there are known ways to handle specific cases more efficiently . first , if there is any edge with a zero weight in the graph , the edge can be removed without affecting the result of the segmentation . second , if there is a pair of nodes that are very strongly connected , that is , if the nodes are connected by either ( a ) edges with very large weights in both directions in the directed case , or ( b ) by an undirected edge with a very large weight in the undirected case , these nodes will never be separated in the minimum - cut algorithm . thus , it is possible to merge these two nodes into one node to improve the efficiency . these are well known in the art as pre - processes of minimum - cut algorithms . in such a case , there may be fewer voxel nodes than input voxels . this can be seen as corresponding voxel nodes being designated to each input voxel . in the embodiment above , the designation is a simple one to one correspondence . it can be , however , such that more than one voxel have the same designated voxel node . this simply means two voxels that has the same designated corresponding voxel node cannot be separated . after the minimum cut is found , i . e ., the nodes are partitioned into groups , the segmentation of the voxels can be readily found by assigning each voxel to the segment corresponding to the group to which the voxel &# 39 ; s corresponding voxel node belongs . fig7 a shows the simplest example to illustrate this . there are three voxels , u , v , and w . each voxel is neighbor of other two . suppose the voxels u and w are known to have so strong a tendency to stay in the same segment that it can be assume they never can be separated . the undirected version of the method of present invention would usually give the graph shown in fig7 b . however , it is known that the graph shown in fig7 c would give an equivalent solution with fewer nodes and edges . here , the nodes u and w are merged to one node 71 . the edges connecting s , t , or v and u and w are also merged and their weights added together . thus , instead of edges ( s , u ) and ( s , w ) in fig7 b , there is only one edge from s to node 71 in fig7 c with a weight equal to the sum of weights of the original edges . in this example , node 71 is designated as the voxel node corresponding to both u and w . node 72 is , on the other hand , designated as the voxel node corresponding to only one voxel , which is v , as in the ordinary case . by repeating this , it is possible to merge more than one node . the weight of an edge connecting some node x and a merged node y is given by the sum of weights of all edges that connect node x and all nodes that are merged into y . in the context of the present invention , this means that the equation ( 2 ) becomes , for a voxel node v , note if as in the embodiment above , each voxel node corresponds to exactly one voxel , this equation reverts to ( 2 ). this is nothing but an obvious result of applying the merging to the present context . this process of merging is well known in the art and its addition should not be considered to bring the resultant method out of the scope of the present invention . finally , as mentioned above , there are known more than one minimum - cut algorithms . also , there are approximation algorithms that give approximate minimum cut . moreover , some approximation algorithms can give so - called multiway - cut that partitions the graph into more than two groups . such algorithms however can be easily incorporated into the scheme of the present invention by those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention . | 6 |
in describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings , specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity . however , the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected , and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose . by the surgical procedure of the present invention , the patient is first placed in the gynecological position , legs on stirrups and thighs in hyperflexion . the patient &# 39 ; s buttocks ( i ) reach the edge of the table . the operative field is cleaned with a standard antiseptic agent and draped with multiple drapes rather than a single trousers - shaped drape , with care being taken to keep the groin folds in the operative field . labia minor ( j ) are suspended by fixation to the skin with nylon suture a few centimeters above the vulvar ostium , inside the thigh folds , in order to expose the vulva , keeping the groin folds ( k ) in the operative field . a 16 fr foley catheter is inserted into the bladder . the points ( m ) where the needles will exit at the skin level are identified by tracing a horizontal line at the level of the urethral meatus ( n ). the exit points are located approximately 1 to 3 centimeters and preferably 2 centimeters above this line , and outside the thigh folds at a distance of 1 - 4 cm , and preferably 2 cm ( see fig1 and 10a ). a 2 - to 10 - mm skin incision , and preferably 5 - mm incision , is made at each exit point . the anterior vaginal wall is suspended with two allis clamps on either side of the midline , 1 cm proximally to the urethral meatus . a median sagittal incision of the vaginal wall is started at this level and is continued proximally ( towards the vaginal pouches ) over a 1 cm distance ( fig1 b ). both vaginal mucosal and sub - mucosal tissues are incised . minimal para - urethral sub - vaginal dissection is then carried out laterally , with the blade , over a few millimeters distance , on either side ( fig1 a ). one allis clamp grasps right minor and major labia while another allis clamp holds the left margin of the sub - urethral vaginal incision , to clearly expose the most posterior aspect of the right vulvar vestibulum . fine dissection scissors are introduced through the blade - initiated dissection path , and then further , with a 45 ° angle relatively to the urethral sagittal plane , towards the upper part of ischio - pubic ramus ( fig1 b and 11c ). it is important to correctly expose the vulvar vestibulum and to respect the specific direction of the dissection in order to avoid any perforation of the vaginal wall . once the upper part of the ischio - pubic ramus is reached and bone contact is perceived , the right obturator membrane is perforated with the tips of the scissors , which are then slightly opened . during the dissection , bleeding can occur but is never important and only occasionally requires a blood - aspirating device . the introducer is then pushed in the pre - formed dissection pathway until it reaches and perforates the obturator membrane . the open side of the introducer &# 39 ; s gutter must be facing the operator ( fig1 d ). the distal end of the tube is mounted onto the spiral segment of the needle and the assembled device is gently slipped along the gutter of the introducer so as to pass through the obturator foramen ( fig1 e ). the introducer and allis clamps are removed . at this step , the handle of the needle must be aligned in a parallel manner with the sagittal axis of the vulvar slit . then , thanks to a rotational movement of the passer , the pointed tip of the tube appears at the previously incised skin exit points at the level of the thigh folds ( fig1 f ). the tube is pulled from the supporting needle , which is removed by a backwards - rotational movement , until the first centimeters of the tape become externalized . the same technique is applied to the left side , with care being taken not to twist the tape . when both tubes have been extracted through the skin incisions , the ends of the tape are cut . the tape is then aligned under the junction between the mid and distal urethra and the tension of the tape is adjusted by exerting a traction on its two ends and by interposing a pair of scissors between the tape and the urethra so as to leave a space avoiding any tension of the tape . the plastic sheaths are then removed simultaneously ( fig1 a ). an alternative procedure for correctly aligning the tape under the urethra is to grasp the tape at its middle with babcock forceps so as to create a small , 5 mm - long tape loop ( fig1 b ). as described above , traction is exerted on the distal ends of the tape , which brings the babcock forceps grasps in contact with the urethra . plastic sheaths and then babcock forceps are removed and a small sub - urethral space is thus created between the tape and the ventral aspect of the mid - urethra . the tape ends are cut in the subcutaneous layer and the incisions are closed . four different specifically designed surgical needles are used to slide in the sub - urethral tape through the obturator foramens ( o ). the in - out transobturator passage of the needle 4 is shown in fig2 a - 2d . the needle 4 is rotated around the ischio - pubic ramus ( p ) from inside to outside ( in extenso , from a vaginal wound underneath the urethra towards the folds of the thighs ) by means of a simple rotational movement ( fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c ). the needle perforates the various muscular structures and membrane which fills the obturator hole ( o ), and , thanks to its spiral design , the tip 5 of the needle appears at the previously defined skin exit point lateral to the thigh fold . the tape ( t ) is then inserted either directly or indirectly depending on the type of needle used ( fig2 d ). the four instruments share a common aspect ( see fig3 a - 3d ) which is a spirally shaped needle having a defined design ( length , curvature , diameter , shape ) supported by a common handle . all these devices have been created to insert the tape from inside to outside ( in extenso from a vaginal wound underneath the urethra towards the folds of the thighs ), either indirectly (‘ string - passing ’ or ‘ tube - passing ’ needles ) or directly (‘ string - passing ’, ‘ tube - supporting ’ and ‘ needle - holder ’ needles ). the four surgical needles comprise a flat spiral section 4 , with a definite diameter , attached to a vertical section 3 by a junction 6 as shown in fig3 a . the flat spiral section 4 comprises an open circular or nearly - circular segment having a length of ½ to ¾ of a circle and an extremity 5 which is located at specific distances “ b ” and “ d ” spaced from the junction 6 between the vertical and spiral segments ( fig3 c ). the b and d distances may be varied from up to 3 . 5 cm for b and from 4 to 8 cm for d . the flat spiral section 4 may also comprise two linear segments 8 and 9 from 1 to 3 . 5 cm , as illustrated in fig4 to 7 . in the “ string - passing ” needle of fig4 a - 4c the lower segment a of the device comprises a 5 - 15 cm , and preferably a 10 - cm handle 1 secured to the upper segment of the device with a set screw 2 . the upper segment b of the device , which has a 2 - 5 mm , preferably 4 - mm diameter , comprises a 6 - 18 cm , preferably 12 . 5 cm flat spiral section 4 attached to a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 9 - cm vertical section 3 at the junction point 6 . the flat spiral section is an open , spirally shaped , nearly circular segment , with its end or tip 5 located at a distance d from point 6 . the extremity of the spiral segment includes a 3 - 15 mm , preferably 8 - mm long eyelet 7 , through which a lace , a string or a tape can be passed . the flat spiral section may comprise two 1 - 3 . 5 cm , preferably 2 - cm linear segments 8 and 9 . the distance d may be varied from 4 to 8 cm . alternatively , the upper b and lower a segments of the instrument can be built as one unique segment , without junction parts . in the ‘ tube - passing ’ needle of fig5 a - 5c , the lower segment a of the device comprises a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 10 - cm handle 1 secured to the upper segment b of the device with a set screw 2 . the upper segment b of the device , which has a 2 - 5 mm , preferably 4 - mm diameter , comprises a 6 - 18 cm , preferably 12 . 5 - cm flat spiral section 4 attached to a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 9 - cm vertical section 3 at the junction point 6 . the flat spiral section is an open , spirally shaped , nearly circular segment , whose extremity or tip 5 ′ has a 5 - 15 mm , preferably 7 - mm long , conic shape and is formed by one to five , preferably three curled segments , enabling the attachment of the tube to the spiral segment . the flat spiral section may comprise two 1 - 3 . 5 cm , preferably 2 - cm linear segments 8 and 9 . alternatively , the upper b and lower a segments of the instrument can be built as one unique segment , without junction parts . in the ‘ tube - supporting ’ needle of fig6 a - 6d , the ‘ tube - supporting ’ device enables the direct passage of the tape from inside to outside in one unique rotational movement . the instrument supports a novel element , which is an arrow - like tube whose distal end is closed and pointed . the tape is bound in the inner portion of the proximal end of the tube . the lower segment a of the device comprises a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 10 - cm handle 1 secured to the upper segment b of the device with a set screw 2 . the upper segment b of the device , which has a 2 - 5 mm , preferably 3 mm diameter , comprises a 4 . 5 - 17 . 6 cm , preferably 11 . 8 - cm flat spiral section 4 attached to a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 9 - cm vertical section 3 . the flat spiral segment of the ‘ tube - supporting ’ needle is in general 0 . 4 - 1 . 5 cm , preferably 0 . 7 cm shorter than the spiral section of the ‘ string - passing ’ or ‘ tube - passing ’ needles . the flat spiral section is an open , spirally shaped , nearly circular segment , whose distal extremity or tip 5 ″ is flat . the flat spiral section may comprise two 1 - 3 . 5 cm , preferably 2 - cm linear segments 8 and 9 . alternatively , the upper b and lower a segments of the instrument can be built as one unique segment , without junction parts . the element supported by the ‘ tube - supporting ’ needle as shown in fig6 e and 8e is an arrow - like tube c , which is commonly but not exclusively made of high density polyethylene and has a length of 10 - 25 cm , preferably 17 cm . the inner diameter of the tube is 2 . 0 - 4 . 5 mm , preferably 3 . 3 mm and its outer diameter is 3 . 0 - 5 . 5 mm , preferably 4 . 3 mm . the wall of the tube is 0 . 3 - 0 . 8 mm , preferably 0 . 5 mm thick . the distal end of the tube has a length of 3 - 40 mm , preferably 7 mm , is sharp with the pointed part having a 3 - 20 mm , preferably 5 mm length . the tube bears a lateral opening which is 5 - 20 mm , preferably 10 mm long and is located at 10 - 20 cm , preferably 12 . 5 cm from the distal end of the tube . this lateral opening enables the introduction of the spiral segment 4 of the needle into the tube as shown in fig6 d . the proximal end 20 of the tube c is bound in its inner portion to the tape 22 . it is possible that removal of the segment of the tape that passes through the adductor muscles would cause less post - operative pain . to avoid this possibility , the tape length would be reduced to approximately 12 centimeters . both ends of the tapes would be attached to a nylon suture , creating a loop at the tape &# 39 ; s ends , and ending as a single string at its distal extremity . to improve the device shown in fig6 d , two possibilities exist : a ) either include the nylon suture in the sheath over an approximate 18 cm distance ( fig6 f and 6g ), b ) or make the tube approximately 18 cms longer ( fig6 h and 6i ). the surgical procedure using the device of fig6 f - 6i would remain the same as the one described for fig6 d , and the tape would traverse only the obturator muscles and membrane . in this way , urethral support would be sufficient . in the ‘ needle - holder ’ device , as shown in fig7 a - 7f , the ‘ needle - holder ’ device comprises a unique segment with a handle 1 and a pair of needles at the ends of which the tape is attached . this device enables to slip in the tape from underneath the urethra towards the obturator foramens ( in extenso , from inside to outside ) in one single rotational movement . the lower segment a of the device comprises a 5 - 15 cm , preferably 10 - cm handle 1 secured to the upper segment 3 of the device with a set screw 2 . the upper segment b of the device is divided into two elements : the vertical section 3 and the spiral section 4 . the vertical section comprises , at its distal end 24 , a slot 26 in which the proximal end of the spiral section 4 of the needle shown in fig7 d can be inserted and then secured in place by a pin system . the spiral section 4 , an open spirally shaped , nearly circular segment , is 6 . 0 - 18 . 0 cm , preferably 12 . 5 - cm long and has a 2 - 5 mm , preferably 4 - mm diameter . its distal extremity or tip 5 is pointed . the flat spiral section may comprise two 1 - 3 . 5 cm , preferably 2 - cm distal linear segments 8 and 9 . the proximal segment 8 of the spiral section , which may also be linear , includes a small slot 28 enabling the insertion of pin 30 , as well as an eyelet 32 designed for the attachment of the tape to the spiral section . pin 30 is inserted in slot 28 by movement of a section 34 of vertical section 3 as shown in fig7 e and 7f . the at rest position of fig7 e shows pin 30 ready to engage in slot 28 when spiral section 4 is inserted into slot 26 after retraction and then extension of section 34 as shown in fig7 f . the spiral section of the ‘ needle - holder ’ needle , to which the tape is attached , can be displaced from its supporting handle once it has been passed through the obturator orifice and the skin by means of one single rotational movement from inside ( underneath the urethra ) to outside ( the groin folds ). to perform the tension - free inside - out transobturator urethal suspension one may also use a needle - holder as shown in fig7 a with the needle having an eyelet at its proximal end as shown in fig7 g having the same shape and diameter as those of the string - passing needle in fig7 d , but with a thickness of only approximately 2 mms . the needle would be simply slipped in the gutter of the guide and turned around the ischio - pubic ramus as one rotates the needle - holder . one alternate would be to pass a reverdin &# 39 ; s needle as shown in fig7 h in the introducer &# 39 ; s gutter . in both cases , the insertion can be carried out directly ( suture inserted in the eyelet before rotation of the needle ). modifications of the string - passing needle and of the tape : the last five centimeters 50 of the string - passing needle as shown in fig7 i would have a thickness reduced to approximately 2 mms . a suture would be introduced in the eyelet and an approximate 12 cm tape prolonged with the nylon suture would be pulled in the perineal track ( from inside to outside , with direct insertion ). the sheath would need to be removed at the vaginal level . in another example , as shown in fig7 j , the distal end of the spiral needle would be 5 cms shorter , and this spiral needle would include a small gutter as shown in cross section taken along line 7 - 7 in fig7 k and along line 8 - 8 in fig7 l , bearing a distal orifice , to allow the passage of a thin needle 52 . at its distal extremity , the gutter inside the spiral needle would present an angulation , so that the thin needle passed in the gutter would exit more medially in the thigh . once the pre - passage has been formed by the scissors in the obturator membrane , from underneath the urethra towards the ischio - pubic ramus , one may encounter some difficulty to slip in the needle of these newly designed devices through this pre - passage . an instrument , called the ‘ introducer ’, as shown in fig9 a - 9c , may ease the passage of the needles in the perineal region , towards the obturator membranes . this instrument , which is 9 - 15 cm , and preferably 11 cm long , comprises two segments : a proximal 2 - 7 cm , and preferably 4 cm long , 3 - 6 mm , and preferably 4 mm diameter , tubular segment 34 and a distal , semi - circular , 5 - 11 cm , and preferably 7 - cm long , 3 - 6 mm , and preferably 4 - mm diameter , gutter g . the gutter of the introducer is brought into contact with the upper part of the ischio - pubic ramus . the needles are introduced alongside the gutter , which plays the role of a shoe - horn to ease the slipping in of the needle towards the obturator foramen . when the ‘ string - passing ’ ( fig4 ) or the ‘ tube - passing ’ ( fig5 ) needles are used for the procedure , a pre - passage in the obturator membrane has to be made with the scissors prior to the passage of the needles . then , the needle is rotated around the ischio - pubic ramus ( p ). the needle perforates the various muscular structures and membrane which fill the obturator hole ( o ), and , thanks to its spiral design , the tip of the needle appears at the previously defined skin exit point lateral to the thigh fold . the same procedure is repeated at the controlateral side with an oppositely curved needle . on both sides , a string or a tube is attached to the tip of each ‘ string - passing ’ or ‘ tube - passing ’ needle , respectively . the needle , together with the string or the tube , is rotated back towards the sub - urethral vaginal opening . a synthetic ( or biological ) tape , which is commonly but not exclusively made of polypropylene , is then tightened to the string or to the tube at its urethral side . the tape is then slipped in from inside to outside , on both sides , by pulling the string or the tube from its skin end . the same technique can be applied when the ‘ tube - supporting ’ ( fig6 ) or the ‘ needle - holder ’ ( fig7 ) needles are used . in these two needle variants , the tape , which is attached directly to the tube or to the needle , can be passed directly from below the urethra to the exit points by applying a simple rotational movement on the handle which supports the needle on both sides . additionally , the end of the needle can be detached from the handle once passed through the obturator foramen ( see fig7 ). whichever needle design used , once the procedure has been completed , the tape is correctly positioned underneath the mid - urethra with care being taken not to twist or deform the tape as a cord . no tension has to be exercised on the ends of the sling so that a space remains between the tape and the posterior aspect of the urethra . the introduction of a pair of scissors in the interstice can readily control this space between the urethra and the tape . whenever the tape is wrapped in plastic sheaths , these wrappings have to be removed once the tape has been passed through on each side . the tape is cut at the level of the skin exit points without any further fixation . the vaginal and skin incisional wounds are closed with sutures . the ‘ straight tube - supporting ’ needle shown in fig8 a - 8f is a modification of the ‘ tube - supporting ’ needle described above and permits to slip in the arrow - like tube described in fig6 e and 8e , which is attached to the tape . this device has been designed to insert the tape from downside ( in extenso , underneath the urethra ) to upside ( in extenso , pre - or retro - pubic region ). the device comprises a handle a attached to a sagitally curved , 12 - 18 cm , preferably 15 cm long , 2 . 5 - 3 . 5 mm , preferably 3 mm thick upper segment b , which supports the tube attached to the tape c . the “ straight tube - supporting ” needle , like all other needles herein described , can be built as one unique , disposable segment . a total of 107 patients were consecutively operated on using the above - detailed surgical procedure . surgery was carried out under spinal , general , and local anesthesia in 82 , 24 , and 1 cases , respectively . mean age of the patients was 62 ± 12 . 6 years ( median = 62 years ; range = 29 - 88 ) and mean parity was 2 . 54 ± 1 . 7 ( median = 2 . 5 ; range = 0 - 9 ). seventeen patients ( 15 . 9 %) had been operated previously for incontinence and / or vaginal prolapse . most patients ( n = 74 ; 69 . 2 %) suffered from typical symptoms of sui , documented by detailed history , physical examination , endoscopic assessment and urodynamic testing . ulmsten &# 39 ; s test was positive in every case . the other patients ( n = 33 ; 30 . 8 %) had associated pelvic organ prolapse . in this group , 45 . 4 % of the patients had genuine sui and 54 . 6 % had potential sui . all patients had a follow - up visit at one month after surgery , with detailed interview , clinical examination , urine analysis , and postvoid residual determination . the procedure was carried out in all 107 consecutive case subjects , independently of the patient &# 39 ; s size and weight . each of the 214 needles was passed through the obturator foramens and exited at the skin level exactly where it had been marked and incised . mean operative time was 14 min ( median = 13 ; range = 7 - 20 ) in case of isolated sui treatment . patients with tvt operations only were hospitalized for a mean of 1 . 8 days ( range 0 . 5 - 8 days ). no major peri - or post - operative complication was encountered . no injury to the urethra , bladder , nerves or bowel was noted . significant (& gt ; 100 ml ) intra - operative bleeding did not occur . in none of the cases was the vaginal wall perforated during the operation . no ecchymose or hematoma was noticed after the procedure . only few and minor complications were observed . postoperative minor vaginal erosion was noted in one patient . three patients ( 2 . 8 %) had complete retention ; two of them had undergone associated prolapse surgical treatment . in these patients , a tape release procedure was carried out in the immediate postoperative period with local anesthetic injection and intravenous sedation as needed . no tape required to be sectioned . none of the patients who underwent a tape release procedure developed incontinence or fistula . seventeen patients ( 15 . 9 %) complained directly after the procedure that they had moderate pain or discomfort in the thigh folds . this symptom usually abated within 2 days and was in all cases controlled by non - opioid antalgics . in 2 patients ( 1 . 9 %), more severe pain persisted for one week and was associated with hip arthralgia , probably as a result of the gynecological position during the procedure . superficial vein thrombosis occurred in one patient developed at day 8 after surgery , with secondary development of an abscess that required drainage . evolution of this patient was favorable . since the occurrence of this adverse event , care was taken to prophylactically administer powerful antibiotics in all patients undergoing the surgical treatment . this analysis mainly focuses on the reproducibility and early complication rates associated with the newly developed surgical procedure and tools of the present invention . at one month after the procedure , the postoperative evaluation showed that 95 of the 107 patients ( 88 . 8 %) were cured of sui . another 8 patients ( 7 . 5 %) were improved and there were 4 failures ( 3 . 7 %). patients not cured by the procedure were incontinent directly after the procedure . a few patients ( n = 9 ; 8 . 4 %) exhibited de novo urgency at 1 month after the intervention . at the opposite , some patients ( n = 33 ; 30 . 8 %) who had urgency before the operation noted a reduction in the importance of this symptom after the procedure . the foregoing description should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and , accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention . | 0 |
in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth such as specific word or byte lengths , etc . to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details . in other instances , well - known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail . for the most part , details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention and are within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art . refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views . one prior art method for allocating power within a blade center chassis is illustrated in fig1 and 2 . a subset of blade servers can be allocated power sufficient to meet their maximum power consumption . this may result in underutilization of resources , as previously mentioned , where 80 % of the time only x amount of resources are utilized in a system providing 2 × amount of resources . dimensioning a blade server according to the maximum power the blade server may satisfy the worst case operational scenario . however , the worst case scenario is also the infrequent case . maximum utilization of hardware resources is commensurate with accrual of maximum benefit from ownership of the hardware . if a few of the systems in a blade center are operating at 20 % utilization and the rest are turned off because of insufficient available power , clearly the customer is not deriving the maximum benefit of the hardware . in fig2 , a static power allocation method , without managing resource utilization and availability , is shown for an exemplary blade center chassis with six blade servers installed . the power available in the chassis is evenly distributed according to the maximum power consumption of the blade servers present . in fig2 , each blade server is rated at 300 w maximum power , and the power available in the chassis is 1400 w . therefore blade servers 1 - 4 may be powered on under this allocation scheme consuming 1200 w of power , but blade servers 5 - 6 can not be powered on , even though 200 w of power remains available . in fig1 , the inefficiency of this method is further illustrated in view of the percentage of available resources used by applications running on blade servers 1 - 4 , which operate at low utilization most of the time . fig3 illustrates an alternative prior art method for allocating power within the same blade center chassis as referred to in fig1 and 2 . this approach , where all of the systems operate unconstrained , introduces the possibility of spontaneously exceeding the power available to the systems . this may cause the power supplies to fail and all dependent systems to turn off immediately . a subset of the blade servers are allocated power for them to run at a lower percentage of their maximum power consumption , for example as illustrated in fig3 , either at 200 w or 250 w per blade server , for a total of about 1350 w allocated power . since the power allocation is unenforceable , any blade server may consume a maximum of 300 w anytime during operation . any spike in utilization by applications may result in an increase in aggregate power consumption to over 1400 w , which exceeds what the common power supply can provide , potentially causing all servers in the chassis to catastrophically fail or to be shutdown . thus the prior art power allocation method of fig3 introduces both data reliability problems as well as the general problem of having inoperable systems with periods where the work allocated to them cannot be performed . fig4 illustrates enforced resource availability and utilization in a blade center in an embodiment of the present invention . for purposes of illustration , the same blade center chassis configuration as in the previous cases , fig1 - 3 , is referred to . however , in this case , the chassis 100 ( see fig1 ) is equipped with an enforceable power allocation system of the present invention , which conforms to the architecture embodied in fig1 and 12 . in fig4 , each blade server 130 has a unique percentage of hardware resources , cpu 138 cycles and dimms 139 , enabled and powered on for use by the operating system 136 and applications 133 . in the steady state example illustrated in fig4 , the average utilization of applications 133 running on a blade server 130 is kept balanced at 80 % sst of the of resources made available to them by a enforceable power allocation process of the present invention , such as shown in one case by the process steps 1110 upon booting the operating system 136 . through arbitration and brokering , as in the process 1250 , the percentage of available resources may be increased to maintain an 80 % sst . in the case of work requests that result from a spike in application 133 resources , the hardware resources ( cpu 138 , memory 139 ) presented to the operating system are constrained such that a utilization spike cannot cause the blade server 130 to exceed the power allocated to it . if utilization remains critically high , a given application may fail in a fashion that is particular to it . for example , determinate work requests may not be servicable during periods where utilization remains critically high . fig5 illustrates power utilization in a blade center in an embodiment of the present invention . for purposes of illustration , the same blade center chassis configuration ( see fig1 ) and enforceable power allocation scheme is referred to as in fig4 . in fig5 , the absolute values for power utilization are illustrated for each blade server 130 . note that the average power utilization is kept just below the maximum power utilization at the enabled capacity on each blade server 130 . this illustrates the steady state performance of the method to regulate the enabled capacity of the present invention . in fig5 , the aggregate power allocated is about 1200 w , comparable to the situation in fig1 - 3 . however , the present invention effectively mitigates the aforementioned risks of the prior art allocations methods in fig1 - 3 . fig6 illustrates a timeline of power allocation for one blade server 130 in an embodiment of the present invention . for purposes of illustration , the same blade center chassis configuration and enforceable power allocation scheme is referred to as in fig4 and 5 . however , fig6 shows how transitions in power allocation over time are managed by the present invention . before the time t 5 , the utilization remains below tut for a power allocation of 200 w . at time t 5 , the utilization begins to rise and exceeds tut for 200 w , such that arbitration for additional power occurs by a process 1250 , resulting in an additional 50 w of power allocated to the blade server 130 from the common pool . thus from time t 5 to time t 12 , the power allocated to the blade server 130 is 250 w . at time t 12 , the utilization falls below tdt for a power allocation of 250 w , such that the blade server 130 frees up 50 w of power by a process 1210 which are brokered back into the common pool . after time t 12 , the power allocated is again 200 w and the utilization remains below tut for 200 w . this example is illustrative for one blade server 130 undergoing two transitions to increase power 1250 then reduce power 1210 . in other embodiments of the present invention , the order and number of transitions may vary on each blade server 130 in each individual chassis 100 . the system components and architecture for controlling power in a blade center chassis are illustrated in fig1 . a blade center chassis 100 contains the following components relevant for controlling power : blade servers 130 which reside in the chassis slots 120 ; management modules ( mm ) 110 which may contain their own mm processor 117 ; a common power supply 140 and ventilators 150 ; and communication interfaces between these components 125 , 141 , 151 . in a blade center used to practice the present invention , the service processor ( sp ) 135 on a blade server 130 communicates , via the bidirectional interface 125 , with the mm processor 117 on the mm 110 . the mm 110 interfaces with the common power supply 140 via bus 141 and the ventilator 150 via a fan bus 151 . the bidirectional interface 125 between the mm processor 117 and the sp 135 , may be a multi - drop rs - 485 interface . other interface protocols for 125 may be implemented . the control buses 141 , 151 may be i 2 c interfaces . on the blade server 130 , the sp 135 communicates with a bios 137 ( basic input / output system ) via system management interface smi 131 for controlling the cycle frequency of the cpu 138 or power to the individual banks of dimms 139 . the bios 137 , which may be embodied by firmware stored on a flash memory device , may control the cpu 138 and dimms 139 via interface 132 , which may be smi or another interface mechanism for controlling power consumption of cpu 138 and dimms 139 practiced within the scope of the present invention . a hardware resource monitoring agent software 134 communicates with the bios 137 and monitors the current state of cpu 138 cycles and dimms 139 . the resource monitoring agent 134 communicates with the sp 135 via interface 129 , which may be a kernel - mode driver in the operating system 136 or other communications interface . the operating system 136 and applications 133 comprise the computing load executed on the blade server 130 . the operating system 136 also executes the resource monitoring agent 134 and is responsible for providing any necessary kernel - mode driver routines or hardware interface management services . fig1 is a flow - chart of the power on portion 1110 of a power cycle process in one embodiment of the present invention . a mm 110 present in a blade center chassis 100 will be responsible for allocating and brokering power resources from a common power supply 140 among the blade servers 130 installed in the slots 120 in the chassis 100 . there are multiple blade servers 130 , each of which contain an sp 135 and a bios 137 , running an operating system 136 . at system initialization 1101 , the mm 110 determines the amount of power available in the chassis 100 by reading 1111 the vital product data ( vpd ) of the power supplies 140 in the chassis 100 , resulting in a maximum available power ( map ). for each blade server 130 , the sp 135 communicates with the bios 137 via smi or other interface 131 to determine 1112 power consumption of each dimm , capacity of each dimm , cpu stepping levels , and cpu power consumption at each stepping level . assuming that n blade servers 130 are present in the blade center chassis 100 , the mm 110 then allocates 1113 a fixed amount of power , in one example a value equivalent to map / n , to each blade server 130 . alternate methods for determining how much power to provide 1113 each individual blade server 130 may be policy based , historical for the chassis 100 ( maintained by the mm 110 ), historical for the blade server 130 ( maintained by the blade server 130 ), determined by an external authority , or otherwise rule based in various other embodiments of the present invention . the difference between the map and the aggregate power allocated to each blade server 130 is the amount of power initially available in the common pool . the allocation of power 1113 by the mm 110 is executed by communicating a message from the mm processor 117 via interface 125 to the sp 135 . based on the power consumption values determined in 1112 of memory dimms and the cpu at different stepping levels , the sp 135 informs the bios 137 via smi or other interface 131 of the initial configuration that should be made available to the operating system 136 . this configuration comprises the number of dimms 139 to enable ( and which specific modules thereof ), and the throttling step level that the cpu 138 should be set to . the bios 137 then sets the appropriate configuration 1114 via interface 132 , and subsequently allows the operating system 136 to boot 1115 . after the blade server 130 is booted , the power allocation portion 1250 , 1210 of the power cycle begins 1201 , and repeats until the blade server 130 is shut down 1202 . fig1 is a flow - chart of the power allocation portion 1250 , 1210 of a power cycle process in one embodiment of the present invention . the power allocation events include transferring power from the common pool to a blade server 130 requiring a higher power allocation 1250 and transferring power from a blade server 130 utilizing a lower amount of power than currently allocated back to the common pool 1210 . the power cycle process ends 1202 after the blade server 130 is powered down 1216 . when power allocation to blade server 130 is increased 1250 , an initial determination 1251 by the resource monitoring agent software 134 , which monitors cpu 138 and memory 139 utilization values sst and tut , has been made that more resources are required . this determination 1251 may be result of a trend analysis , as illustrated in fig6 , policy driven by an external entity , such as an administrator , rule - based , or derived from any combination of systematic criteria applied in individual embodiments of the present invention . in one case , the determination 1251 may result from considerations which balance the responsiveness of the system versus minimizing overall power consumption , such as the implementation of a control algorithm . in another case , a trend analysis across several power cycle processes 1110 , 1250 , 1210 may yield recorded historical threshold values for proactively triggering the determination 1251 . in yet another case , the determination 1251 may be schedule driven , where an adminstrator has recognized that spikes in application utilization will occur at a particular time and date , or where a regular pattern of utilization , such as normal business hours , require schedule - dependent resource management . when the resource monitoring software agent 134 has determined 1251 that more resources are required , the agent 134 issues a service request to the sp 135 to enable the additional hardware resources , cpu 138 cycles and / or dimms 139 . the sp 135 then calculates 1252 the additional power required to enable the requested hardware resources . the sp 135 then issues a request 1253 to the mm 110 which is responsible for brokering the power in the common pool for the additional amount of power . if the mm 110 , acting in its capacity as the resource broker under consideration of all applicable rules and policies , determines 1254 that more power should be made available to the requesting blade server 130 , the mm 110 will send a confirmation response 1255 back to the sp 135 indicating the actual amount of additional power that is allocated to the blade server 130 from the common pool . note that the amount of power confirmed by the mm 110 may differ from , i . e . may be lower than , the amount requested by the sp 135 . the sp 135 will then confirm the directives of the mm 110 to the bios 137 via smi 131 by requesting that the cpu 138 speed be stepped up , or additional memory dimms 139 be enabled as is appropriate . note that the cpu step increase and number of additional dimms enabled may differ from the original request to the sp 135 by the bios 137 . the bios 137 then sets the hardware resources 1256 in compliance with the request by the sp 135 . note that the mm 110 remains the governing authority for all increases in power allocated in the chassis 100 during brokering 1250 and must approve all requests for additional power from the blade servers 130 . the blade servers 130 must conform to the directives of the mm 110 and must be enabled to conform to the architecture requirements . when power allocation to blade server 130 is decreased 1210 , a initial determination 1211 by the resource monitoring agent software 134 , which monitors cpu 138 and memory 139 utilization values sst and tdt , has been made that resources may be freed . this determination 1211 may be result of a trend analysis , as illustrated in fig6 , policy driven by an external entity , such as an administrator , rule - based , or derived from any combination of systematic criteria applied in individual embodiments of the present invention . in one case , the determination 1211 may result from considerations which balance the responsiveness of the system versus minimizing overall power consumption , such as the implementation of a control algorithm . in another case , a trend analysis across several power cycle processes 1110 , 1250 , 1210 may yield recorded historical threshold values for proactively triggering the determination 1211 . in yet another case , the determination 1211 may be schedule driven , where an adminstrator has recognized that troughs in application utilization will occur at a particular time and date , or where a regular pattern of utilization , such as normal business hours , require schedule - dependent resource management . when the resource monitoring software agent 134 has determined 1211 that fewer resources are required , the agent 134 issues a service request to the sp 135 to disable some of the enabled hardware resources , cpu 138 cycles and / or dimms 139 . the sp 135 then calculates 1212 the additional power that can be made availabe to the common pool by disabling the requested hardware resources . the sp 135 then issues a request 1213 to the bios 137 via smi 131 by requesting that the cpu 138 speed be stepped down , or additional memory dimms 139 be disabled as is appropriate . after the power consumption of the blade server 130 has been reduced 1213 by the bios , the sp 135 notifies 1214 the mm 110 that additional power has been made available to the common pool . the mm 110 , acting in its capacity as the resource broker under consideration of all applicable rules and policies , de - allocates the power for the blade server 130 and sends a confirmation response 1216 back to the sp 135 indicating the actual amount of additional power that has been allocated to the common pool from the blade server 130 . note that the blade server 130 is required to relinquish power in a timely manner back to the common pool 1210 for the mm 110 to be able to broker future requests for more power 1250 from other blade servers 130 in the chassis 100 . fig7 is a schematic diagram of a blade center chassis management subsystem , showing engineering details of the individual management modules mm 1 - mm 4 , previously represented schematically by mm 110 , and showing engineering details of the individual components contained in previous schematic representations of blade center chassis 100 . referring to this figure , each management module has a separate ethernet link to each one of the switch modules smi through sm 4 . thus , management module mm 1 is linked to switch modules smi through sm 4 via ethernet links mm 1 - enet 1 through mm 1 - enet 4 , and management module mm 2 is linked to the switch modules via ethernet links mm 2 - enet 1 through mm 2 - enet 4 . in addition , the management modules are also coupled to the switch modules via two well known serial i 2 c buses sm - i 2 c - busa and sm - i2c - busb , which provide for “ out - of - band ” communication between the management modules and the switch modules . similarly , the management modules are also coupled to the power modules ( previously represented schematically by 140 ) pm 1 through pm 4 via two serial i 2 c buses ( corresponding to interface 141 ) pm - i 2 c - busa and pm - i 2 c - busb . two more i 2 c buses panel - i 2 c - busa and panel - i 2 c - busb are coupled to media tray mt and the rear panel . blowers bl 1 and bl 2 ( previously represented schematically by 150 ) are controlled over separate serial buses fan 1 and fan 2 ( corresponding to interface 151 ). two well known rs 485 serial buses rs 485 - a and rs 485 - b are coupled to server blades pb 1 through pb 14 for “ out - of - band ” communication between the management modules and the server blades . fig8 illustrates a front , top and right side exploded perspective view of a blade server system , showing engineering details of the individual components contained in previous schematic representations of blade center chassis 100 . referring to this figure , main chassis ch 1 houses all the components of the blade server system . up to 14 processor blades pb 1 through pb 14 ( or other blades , such as storage blades ) are hot pluggable into the 14 slots in the front of chassis ch 1 . the term “ server blade ”, “ blade server ”, “ processor blade ”, or simply “ blade ” is used throughout the specification and claims , but it should be understood that these terms are not limited to blades that only perform “ processor ” or “ server ” functions , but also include blades that perform other functions , such as storage blades , which typically include hard disk drives and whose primary function is data storage . processor blades provide the processor , memory , hard disk storage and firmware of an industry standard server . in addition , they include keyboard , video and mouse ( kvm ) selection via a control panel , an onboard service processor , and access to the floppy and cd - rom drives in the media tray . a daughter card may be connected via an onboard pci - x interface and is used to provide additional high - speed links to various modules . each processor blade also has a front panel with 5 led &# 39 ; s to indicate current status , plus four push - button switches for power on / off , selection of processor blade , reset , and nmi for core dumps for local control . blades may be “ hot swapped ”, meaning removed or installed in the power on state , without affecting the operation of other blades in the system . a blade server is typically implemented as a single slot card ( 394 mm × 227 mm ); however , in some cases a single processor blade may require two or more slots . a processor blade can use any microprocessor technology as long as it is compliant with the mechanical and electrical interfaces , and the power and cooling requirements of the blade server system . for redundancy , processor blades have two signal and power connectors ; one connected to the upper connector of the corresponding slot of midplane mp ( described below ), and the other connected to the corresponding lower connector of the midplane . processor blades interface with other components in the blade server system via the following midplane interfaces : 1 . gigabit ethernet ( 2 per blade ; required ); 2 . fiber channel ( 2 per blade ; optional ); 3 . management module serial link ; 4 . vga analog video link ; 4 . keyboard / mouse usb link ; 5 . cd - rom and floppy disk drive ( fdd ) usb link ; 6 . 12 vdc power ; and 7 . miscellaneous control signals . these interfaces provide the ability to communicate with other components in the blade server system such as management modules , switch modules , the cd - rom and the fdd . these interfaces are duplicated on the midplane to provide redundancy . a processor blade typically supports booting from the media tray cdrom or fdd , the network ( fiber channel or ethernet ), or its local hard disk drive . a media tray mt includes a floppy disk drive and a cd - rom drive that can be coupled to any one of the 14 blades . the media tray also houses an interface board on which is mounted interface led &# 39 ; s , a thermistor for measuring inlet air temperature , and a 4 - port usb controller hub . system level interface controls consist of power , location , over temperature , information , and general fault led &# 39 ; s and a usb port . midplane circuit board mp is positioned approximately in the middle of chassis ch 1 and includes two rows of connectors ; the top row including connectors mpc - s 1 - r 1 through mpc - s 14 - r 1 , and the bottom row including connectors mpc - s 1 - r 2 through mpc - s 14 - r 2 . thus , each one of the 14 slots includes one pair of midplane connectors located one above the other ( e . g ., connectors mpc - s 1 - r 1 and mpc - s 1 - r 2 ) and each pair of midplane connectors mates to a pair of connectors at the rear edge of each processor blade ( not visible in fig8 ). fig9 is a rear , top and left side perspective view of the rear portion of the blade server system . referring to fig8 and 9 , a chassis ch 2 houses various hot pluggable components for cooling , power , control and switching . chassis ch 2 slides and latches into the rear of main chassis ch 1 . two hot pluggable blowers bl 1 and bl 2 ( previously represented schematically by 150 ) include backward - curved impeller blowers and provide redundant cooling to the blade server system components . airflow is from the front to the rear of chassis ch 1 . each of the processor blades pb 1 through pb 14 includes a front grille to admit air , and low - profile vapor chamber based heat sinks are used to cool the processors within the blades . total airflow through the system chassis is about 300 cfm at 0 . 7 inches h 2 o static pressure drop . in the event of blower failure or removal , the speed of the remaining blower automatically increases to maintain the required air flow until the replacement unit is installed . blower speed control is also controlled via a thermistor that constantly monitors inlet air temperature . the temperature of the blade server system components are also monitored and blower speed will increase automatically in response to rising temperature levels as reported by the various temperature sensors . four hot pluggable power modules pm 1 through pm 4 ( previously represented schematically by 140 ) provide dc operating voltages for the processor blades and other components . one pair of power modules provides power to all the management modules and switch modules , plus any blades that are plugged into slots 1 - 6 . the other pair of power modules provides power to any blades in slots 7 - 14 . within each pair of power modules , one power module acts as a backup for the other in the event the first power module fails or is removed . thus , a minimum of two active power modules are required to power a fully featured and configured chassis loaded with 14 processor blades , 4 switch modules , 2 blowers , and 2 management modules . however , four power modules are needed to provide full redundancy and backup capability . the power modules are designed for operation between an ac input voltage range of 200 vac to 240 vac at 50 / 60 hz and use an iec320 c14 male appliance coupler . the power modules provide + 12 vdc output to the midplane from which all blade server system components get their power . two + 12 vdc midplane power buses are used for redundancy and active current sharing of the output load between redundant power modules is performed . management modules mm 1 through mm 4 ( previously represented schematically by 110 ) are hot - pluggable components that provide basic management functions such as controlling , monitoring , alerting , restarting and diagnostics . management modules also provide other functions required to manage shared resources , such as the ability to switch the common keyboard , video , and mouse signals among processor blades . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig2 a typical electro - optical system 10 especially for use as a guidance assist mechanism in a device such as an aircraft or missile , for example , normally includes a plurality of optical elements and may include at least one movable image reflector optical element 12 for scanning the field of view with the line - of - sight of a conventional tv camera 14 . a mirror is used as the reflective element 12 for the purposes of describing the preferred embodiment , but it is understood that a prism or other image reflector element may also be used to perform the same function without deviating from the principles of the invention . in general , a typical gimballed mechanism 16 is used to pivot the mirror reflector 12 about at least one axis 18 which is normal to both the incident image rays from a predetermined target shown simply by dotted line 20 and the reflected image rays also shown simply by dotted line 22 . the reflected image rays 22 are projected onto the picture receiving area 24 of the tv camera 14 . the gimballed mechanism 16 may employ a 2 : 1 mechanical coupling mechanism as is well known to those skilled in the pertinent art . this 2 : 1 coupling mechanism allows the mirror 12 to be rotated about the axis 18 over only 1 / 2 of the scan angle of the line - of - sight of the tv camera 14 . in one simple form , the tv camera 14 may include an image intensifier portion 26 and an electron gun portion 28 . the image intensifier section 26 further includes a photocathode 30 which conventionally converts the light image denoted by 22 to an electron image 32 which is accelerated by a high potential in the approximate range of 2 - 10 kv and focused on an integrating and electron multiplying target 36 . the high voltage potential is supplied by a conventional voltage source 34 . in the electron gun portion 28 of the tv camera 14 , the electron image of the target 36 may be &# 34 ; read out &# 34 ; in a well - known manner by means of an electron gun shown simply at 38 and transmitted preferably to a guidance assist mechanism ( not shown ) over signal line 40 . in a typical operation , the reflector element 12 is controlled by the gimballed system 16 about the at least one axis 18 to guide the image light rays 20 from a predetermined target over the reflected path 22 to the picture receiving area 24 of the tv camera 14 . the light image 22 is converted to an intensified electron image 32 and projected onto the target electrode 36 which may be comprised of a secondary emission type material such as kcl or induced conduction material such as silicon , for example . the target electrode 36 may store the picture image until the electron gun mechanism 38 &# 34 ; reads out &# 34 ; the electron image which is usually scanned serially one line at a time . each target electrode &# 34 ; read out &# 34 ; is considered a tv picture frame and the serially read out charge information constituting a picture frame is normally transmitted over signal line 40 at approximately 30 frames per second . the gimballed mechanism 16 of the preferred embodiment is designed and constructed in a well - known manner to stabilize the reflector 12 for the purposes of maintaining the predetermined target within the field of view of the receiving area 24 of the tv camera 14 . for the operation of video tracking , as applied to an aircraft for example , the maximum rate at which the reflector 12 may be expected to scan is on the order of 1 to 2 hz and this is well within the performance expectations of the state - of - the - art gimballed mechanisms 16 which may respond as rapidly as 10 to 15 hz , in some cases . however , the combination of structural members ( not shown ) which are conventionally used to couple the mirror 12 to the gimballed mechanism 16 to achieve this expected rapid scan response render the mirror reflector 12 susceptible to various resonance frequency modes because of their finite stiffness properties . since the gimballed mechanism 16 is usually coupled to the aircraft frame , it is vulnerable to mechanical aircraft disturbances such as airstream vibration and engine hum , for example , which will have origins in terms of g &# 39 ; s as a measure of vibration frequency bandwidths . under some conditions , these undesirable aircraft - type , high - frequency disturbances are coupled through the mirror - gimbal supporting structural members to the mirror reflector 12 and cause the mirror reflector 12 to vibrate at the resonant frequency modes which may fall within the frequency bandwidth of 100 &# 39 ; s of hertz as set up by its structural members . as a result of these unwanted vibratory disturbances shown simply by the angle α in fig2 which denotes an angular rotation of the mirror 12 about the axis 18 , the reflected image denoted by the dotted line 22 moves through an angle , which may be 2α if a 2 : 1 coupling mechanism is employed , to a new position as shown by dotted line 22 &# 39 ;. as the mirror 12 vibrates back and forth through the rotational angle α , the reflected image 22 ( 22 &# 39 ;) will concurrently be oscillatorially deflected through a corresponding angle , say 2α , for example . in some cases , these vibrations of the mirror 12 angularly about the axis 18 may be comprised of frequencies into the 100 &# 39 ; s of hertz causing the reflected image 22 - 22 &# 39 ; to move concurrently therewith . consequently , all of the image deflection frequencies above say 15 - 20 hz projected onto the receiving area 24 of the tv camera 14 may cause blurred and fuzzy images in the pictorial representation of the tv camera 14 . an electronic image motion compensator has been included as part of the electro - optical system 10 to electronically compensate for these unwanted image deflections . at least two accelerometers 50 and 52 may be disposed on the mirror 12 , preferably at the ends thereof about the axis 18 , to sense the angular motion of the mirror 12 with respect to the rigid body motion of the other elements of the electro - optical system 10 like the tv camera 14 , for example . these accelerometers 50 and 52 are preferably matched for motion sensing purposes and may have dimensions on the order of 0 . 375 inches wide (˜ 1 cm ) and 0 . 125 inches thick (˜ 1 / 3 cm ) possibly looking like a teardrop in shape . the accelerometers 50 and 52 may have a response range as high as 1000 hz and beyond . signals 54 and 56 , representative of the sensed motion of the mirror 12 and generated by the accelerometers 50 and 52 , respectively , are coupled to an electronic processing unit 57 which conditions and scales them in accordance with the design of the particular electro - optical system 10 and the type and application of the device in which it is incorporated . a plurality of conventional deflection coils shown simply at 58 and 60 are disposed within the image intensifier portion 26 of the tv camera 14 in a manner well known to those skilled in the pertinent art ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 641 , 261 , referenced supra ). currents are passed through the deflection coils 58 and 60 from signal line 62 and 64 , respectively , to deflect the electron image 32 being projected on the target electrode 36 to compensate for the undesirable vibratory motion of the mirror 12 and reflected image denoted by lines 22 - 22 &# 39 ;. the currents over signal lines 62 and 64 are generated by the electronic unit 57 as a function of the processed angular motion of the mirror 12 derived from the accelerometer signals 54 and 56 . the electronic unit 57 additionally monitors the high voltage source 34 of the image intensifier 26 over signal line 66 and compensates the currents to the deflection coils 58 and 60 in accordance therewith . most tv cameras , like the one shown at 14 , include an automatic light control feature ( not shown ) which alters the high voltage 34 across the image intensifier 26 to maintain a constant image intensity under the conditions of changing light intensity in the field of view of the tv camera 14 . thus , to be fully effective , the electronic processing unit 57 accommodates for this change in voltage 34 by altering the currents passing through the coils 58 and 60 as a function of the measured high voltage 34 supplied thereto over signal line 66 . in summary , a plurality of deflection coils 58 and 60 are disposed within the image intensifier section 26 and are electrically driven with currents supplied over signal lines 62 and 64 , respectively , from the electronic processing unit 57 to compensate for unwanted movement in the electron image 32 . by sensing the motion of the mirror 12 by the accelerometers 50 and 52 , the electronic unit 57 may supply the appropriate current to the deflection coils 58 and 60 according to the undesirable motion of the mirror 12 so that the electron image 32 projected onto the target electrode 36 may be held stationary ( i . e . substantially free from blurry and fuzzy images ). the electronic unit 57 will be described in greater detail herebelow . referring to fig3 the two signals 54 and 56 generated from the at least two accelerometers 50 and 52 , respectively , are representative of both translational and rotational motion of the mirror 12 with respect to the axis 18 . translational motion of the mirror 12 is not considered critical to reflected image distortion and is eliminated from the accelerometer signals 54 and 56 in the electronic unit 57 by initially processing them with a summing amplifier function 70 , for example . one signal 54 may be coupled to the positive input of the amplifier 70 and the other signal 56 may be coupled to the negative input . by subtracting these two signals 54 and 56 and scaling their difference appropriately in the amplifier 70 , the resulting signal 72 is representative of only the rotational or angular motion of the sensed reflector 12 . it is understood that signal 72 is representative of the angular acceleration of the mirror 12 and comprises substantially all of the frequency components of both desirable and undesirable reflector angular movement . consequently , a high pass filter 74 is cascaded with the summing amplifier 70 to electronically block a range of low frequency acceleration components from the sensed angular acceleration signal 72 , thus ensuring that the electronic processing unit 57 is unresponsive to and will not falsely correct for desired reflector mirror motions necessary for low - frequency , rigid - body , line - of - sight stabilization as rendered primarily by the gimballed mechanism 16 ( see fig2 ). the filter break point may be selectively adjusted to pass over signal line 76 only those sensed acceleration frequencies of the reflector element 12 which are considered undesirable resulting primarily from resonating vibration and jitter of the supporting structure of the mirror 12 . thus , false corrections of the electron image 32 as a result of necessary motion of the mirror reflector 12 are prevented by the high pass filter 74 which may be conventionally implemented by an active circuit arrangement of operational amplifiers generally well known to those skilled in the art . a conventional two - pole filter arrangement having a common adjustable breakpoint may be considered suitable for the purposes of this embodiment . the signal 76 is next coupled to two cascaded integrators 78 and 80 which may be of a typical operational amplifier configuration . these integrators 78 and 80 provide for double integration of the signal 76 with respect to time to yield a signal 82 which is substantially proportional to the undesirable line - of - sight displacement caused by the resonating reflector element 12 such as that shown by the angle 2α in fig2 . the integrators 78 and 80 may be scaled appropriately to yield a displacement signal 82 within the effective working range of the tv camera 14 . the signal 82 is coupled to one input of a typical analog multiplier 84 . the signal 34 representative of the high voltage potential which accelerates the electron image 32 to the target electrode 36 is provided to a conventional square root circuit 86 , the output signal 88 of which is coupled to the other input of the analog multiplier 84 . the multiplier 84 is used to correct the signal 82 , which is representative of the undesirable displacement of the reflected images 22 - 22 &# 39 ;, for changes in the high voltage 34 generally resulting from the automatic light control feature of the tv camera 14 . an electronic amplifier 90 amplifies the output signal of the analog multiplier 84 to provide the current signals 62 and 64 to drive the deflection coils 58 and 60 , respectively . the currents passing through the deflection coils 58 and 60 set up magnetic fields suitably disposed within the image intensifier section 26 of the tv camera 14 which deflect the electron image 32 in a well - known manner to compensate for the undesirable reflected image movement 22 - 22 &# 39 ; resulting from the unwanted vibrations or jitter of the reflector optical element 12 . in this preferred embodiment , the primary limitation to the frequency response of the image motion compensator comes from the amplifier - deflection coil response and may be on the order of 2000 hz under proper conditions . while the preferred embodiment has been described in connection with a movable reflector optical element like the rotatable mirror 12 shown in fig2 it is understood that the principles of the invention may similarly be applied to any of the optical elements in the line - of - sight guide path of an electro - optical system which may distort the image projected onto the receiving area of a tv camera as a result of unwanted vibrations or mechanical jitter . | 7 |
fig1 shows a schematic diagram of a drilling system 10 having a drilling assembly 90 shown conveyed in a borehole 26 for drilling the wellbore . the drilling system 10 includes a conventional derrick 11 erected on a floor 12 which supports a rotary table 14 that is rotated by a prime mover such as an electric motor ( not shown ) at a desired rotational speed . the drill string 20 includes a drill pipe 22 extending downward from the rotary table 14 into the borehole 26 . a drill bit 50 , attached to the drill string end , disintegrates the geological formations when it is rotated to drill the borehole 26 . the drill string 20 is coupled to a drawworks 30 via a kelly joint 21 , swivel 28 and line 29 through a pulley 23 . during the drilling operation the drawworks 30 is operated to control the weight on bit , which is an important parameter that affects the rate of penetration . the operation of the drawworks 30 is well known in the art and is thus not described in detail herein . during drilling operations a suitable drilling fluid 31 from a mud pit ( source ) 32 is circulated under pressure through the drill string 20 by a mud pump 34 . the drilling fluid 31 passes from the mud pump 34 into the drill string 20 via a desurger 36 , fluid line 38 and the kelly joint 21 . the drilling fluid 31 is discharged at the borehole bottom 51 through an opening in the drill bit 50 . the drilling fluid 31 circulates uphole through the annular space 27 between the drill string 20 and the borehole 26 and returns to the mud pit 32 via a return line 35 . a sensor s 1 in the line 38 provides information about the fluid flow rate . a surface torque sensor s 2 and a sensor s 3 associated with the drill string 20 respectively provide information about the torque and the rotational speed of the drill string . additionally , a sensor ( not shown ) associated with line 29 is used to provide the hook load of the drill string 20 . in some applications the drill bit 50 is rotated by only rotating the drill pipe 22 . however , in many other applications , a downhole motor 55 ( mud motor ) is disposed in the drilling assembly 90 to rotate the drill bit 50 and the drill pipe 22 is rotated usually to supplement the rotational power , if required , and to effect changes in the drilling direction . in either case , the rate of penetration ( rop ) of the drill bit 50 into the borehole 26 for a given formation and a drilling assembly largely depends upon the weight on bit and the drill bit rotational speed . in one embodiment of fig1 , the mud motor 55 is coupled to the drill bit 50 via a drive shaft ( not shown ) disposed in a bearing assembly 57 . the mud motor 55 rotates the drill bit 50 when the drilling fluid 31 passes through the mud motor 55 under pressure . the bearing assembly 57 supports the radial and axial forces of the drill bit 50 , the downthrust of the drill motor and the reactive upward loading from the applied weight on bit . a stabilizer 58 coupled to the bearing assembly 57 acts as a centralizer for the lowermost portion of the mud motor assembly . a surface control unit 40 receives signals from the downhole sensors and devices via a sensor 43 placed in the fluid line 38 and signals from sensors s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , hook load sensor and any other sensors used in the system and processes such signals according to programmed instructions provided to the surface control unit 40 . the surface control unit 40 displays desired drilling parameters and other information on a display / monitor 42 and is utilized by an operator to control the drilling operations . the surface control unit 40 contains a computer , memory for storing data , recorder for recording data and other peripherals . the surface control unit 40 also includes a simulation model and processes data according to programmed instructions and responds to user commands entered through a suitable device , such as a keyboard . the control unit 40 is adapted to activate alarms 44 when certain unsafe or undesirable operating conditions occur . the use of the simulation model is described in detail later . in one embodiment of the drilling assembly 90 , the bha contains a ddm device 59 in the form of a module or detachable subassembly placed near the drill bit 50 . the ddm device 59 contains sensors , circuitry and processing software and algorithms for providing information about desired dynamic drilling parameters relating to the bha . such parameters may include bit bounce , stick - slip of the bha , backward rotation , torque , shocks , bha whirl , bha buckling , borehole and annulus pressure anomalies and excessive acceleration or stress , and may include other parameters such as bha and drill bit side forces , and drill motor and drill bit conditions and efficiencies . the ddm device 59 processes the sensor signals to determine the relative value or severity of each such parameter and transmits such information to the surface control unit 40 via a suitable telemetry system 72 . the processing of signals and data generated by the sensors in the module 59 is described later in reference to fig5 . drill bit 50 may contain sensors 50 a for determining drill bit condition and wear . referring back to fig1 , the bha may also contain sensors and devices in addition to the above - described sensors . such devices include a device for measuring the formation resistivity near and / or in front of the drill bit , a gamma ray device for measuring the formation gamma ray intensity and devices for determining the inclination and azimuth of the drill string . the formation resistivity measuring device 64 is coupled above the lower kick - off subassembly 62 that provides signals from which resistivity of the formation near or in front of the drill bit 50 is determined . one resistivity measuring device is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 001 , 675 , which is assigned to the assignee hereof and is incorporated herein by reference . this patent describes a dual propagation resistivity device (“ dpr ”) having one or more pairs of transmitting antennae 66 a and 66 b spaced from one or more pairs of receiving antennae 68 a and 68 b . magnetic dipoles are employed which operate in the medium frequency and lower high frequency spectrum . in operation , the transmitted electromagnetic waves are perturbed as they propagate through the formation surrounding the resistivity device 64 . the receiving antennas 68 a and 68 b detect the perturbed waves . formation resistivity is derived from the phase and amplitude of the detected signals . the detected signals are processed by a downhole circuit that is placed in a housing 70 above the mud motor 55 and transmitted to the surface control unit 40 using a suitable telemetry system 72 . the inclinometer 74 and gamma ray device 76 are suitably placed along the resistivity measuring device 64 for respectively determining the inclination of the portion of the drill string near the drill bit 50 and the formation gamma ray intensity . any suitable inclinometer and gamma ray device , however , may be utilized for the purposes of this invention . in addition , an azimuth device ( not shown ), such as a magnetometer or a gyroscopic device , may be utilized to determine the drill string azimuth . such devices are known in the art and therefore are not described in detail herein . in the above - described configuration , the mud motor 55 transfers power to the drill bit 50 via one or more hollow shafts that run through the resistivity measuring device 64 . the hollow shaft enables the drilling fluid to pass from the mud motor 55 to the drill bit 50 . in an alternate embodiment of the drill string 20 , the mud motor 55 may be coupled below resistivity measuring device 64 or at any other suitable place . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 325 , 714 , assigned to the assignee hereof , which is incorporated herein by reference , discloses placement of a resistivity device between the drill bit 50 and the mud motor 55 . the above described resistivity device , gamma ray device and the inclinometer may be placed in a common housing that may be coupled to the motor in the manner described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 325 , 714 . additionally , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 456 , 106 , assigned to the assignee hereof , which is incorporated herein by reference , discloses a modular system wherein the drill string contains modular assemblies including a modular sensor assembly , motor assembly and kick - off subs . the modular sensor assembly is disposed between the drill bit and the mud motor as described herein above . in one embodiment , the present invention utilizes the modular system as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 456 , 106 . still referring to fig1 , logging - while - drilling devices , such as devices for measuring formation porosity , permeability and density , may be placed above the mud motor 64 in the housing 78 for providing information useful for evaluating and testing subsurface formations along borehole 26 . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 134 , 285 , which is assigned to the assignee hereof , which is incorporated herein by reference , discloses a formation density device that employs a gamma ray source and a detector . in use , gamma rays emitted from the source enter the formation where they interact with the formation and attenuate . the attenuation of the gamma rays is measured by a suitable detector from which density of the formation is determined . the present system utilizes a formation porosity measurement device , such as that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 144 , 126 which is assigned to the assignee hereof and which is incorporated herein by reference , which employs a neutron emission source and a detector for measuring the resulting gamma rays . in use , high energy neutrons are emitted into the surrounding formation . a suitable detector measures the neutron energy delay due to interaction with hydrogen atoms present in the formation . other examples of nuclear logging devices are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 126 , 564 and 5 , 083 , 124 . the above - noted devices transmit data to the downhole telemetry system 72 , which in turn transmits the received data uphole to the surface control unit 40 . the downhole telemetry system 72 also receives signals and data from the uphole control unit 40 and transmits such received signals and data to the appropriate downhole devices . the present invention utilizes a mud pulse telemetry technique to communicate data from downhole sensors and devices during drilling operations . a transducer 43 placed in the mud supply line 38 detects the mud pulses responsive to the data transmitted by the downhole telemetry 72 . transducer 43 generates electrical signals in response to the mud pressure variations and transmits such signals via a conductor 45 to the surface control unit 40 . other telemetry techniques , such as electromagnetic and acoustic techniques or any other suitable technique , may be utilized for the purposes of this invention . the drilling system described thus far relates to those drilling systems that utilize a drill pipe to conveying the drilling assembly 90 into the borehole 26 , wherein the weight on bit , one of the important drilling parameters , is controlled from the surface , typically by controlling the operation of the drawworks . however , a large number of the current drilling systems , especially for drilling highly deviated and horizontal wellbores , utilize coiled - tubing for conveying the drilling assembly downhole . in such application a thruster is sometimes deployed in the drill string to provide the required to force on the drill bit . for the purpose of this invention , the term weight on bit is used to denote the force on the bit applied to the drill bit during drilling operation , whether applied by adjusting the weight of the drill string or by thrusters or by any other method . also , when coiled - tubing is utilized the tubing is not rotated by a rotary table , instead it is injected into the wellbore by a suitable injector while the downhole motor , such as mud motor 55 , rotates the drill bit 50 . a number of sensors are also placed in the various individual devices in the drilling assembly . for example , a variety of sensors are placed in the mud motor , bearing assembly , drill shaft , tubing and drill bit to determine the condition of such elements during drilling and the borehole parameters . one manner of deploying certain sensors in the various drill string elements will now be described . one method of mounting various sensors for determining the motor assembly parameters and the method for controlling the drilling operations in response to such parameters will now be described in detail while referring to fig2 a - 4 . fig2 a - 2 b show a cross - sectional elevation view of a positive displacement mud motor power section 100 coupled to a mud - lubricated bearing assembly 140 for use in the drilling system 10 . the power section 100 contains an elongated housing 110 having therein a hollow elastomeric stator 112 which has a helically - lobed inner surface 114 . a metal rotor 116 , that may be made from steel , having a helically - lobed outer surface 118 is rotatably disposed inside the stator 112 . the rotor 116 may have a non - through bore 115 that terminates at a point 122 a below the upper end of the rotor as shown in fig2 a . the bore 115 remains in fluid communication with the fluid below the rotor via a port 122 b . both the rotor and stator lobe profiles are similar , with the rotor having one less lobe than the stator . the rotor and stator lobes and their helix angles are such that rotor and stator seal at discrete intervals resulting in the creation of axial fluid chambers or cavities which are filled by the pressurized drilling fluid . the action of the pressurized circulating fluid flowing from the top to bottom of the motor , as shown by arrows 124 , causes the rotor 116 to rotate within the stator 112 . modification of lobe numbers and geometry provides for variation of motor input and output characteristics to accommodate different drilling operations requirements . still referring to fig2 a - 2 b , a differential pressure sensor 150 disposed in line 115 senses at its one end pressure of the fluid 124 before it passes through the mud motor via a fluid line 150 a and at its other end the pressure in the line 115 , which is the same as the pressure of the drilling fluid after it has passed around the rotor 116 . the differential pressure sensor thus provides signals representative of the pressure differential across the rotor 116 . alternatively , a pair of pressure sensors p 1 and p 2 may be disposed a fixed distance apart , one near the bottom of the rotor at a suitable point 120 a and the other near the top of the rotor at a suitable point 120 b . another differential pressure sensor 122 ( or a pair of pressure sensors ) may be placed in an opening 123 made in the housing 110 to determine the pressure differential between the fluid 124 flowing through the motor 110 and the fluid flowing through the annulus 27 ( see fig1 ) between the drill string and the borehole . to measure the rotational speed of the rotor downhole and thus the drill bit 50 , a suitable sensor 126 a is coupled to the power section 100 . a vibration sensor , magnetic sensor , hall - effect sensor or any other suitable sensor may be utilized for determining the motor speed . alternatively , a sensor 126 b may be placed in the bearing assembly 140 for monitoring the rotational speed of the motor ( see fig2 b ). a sensor 128 for measuring the rotor torque is placed at the rotor bottom . in addition , one or more temperature sensors may be suitably disposed in the power section 100 to continually monitor the temperature of the stator 112 . high temperatures may result due to the presence of high friction of the moving parts . high stator temperature can deteriorate the elastomeric stator and thus reduce the operating life of the mud motor . in fig2 a three spaced temperature sensors 134 a - c are shown disposed in the stator 112 for monitoring the stator temperature . each of the above - described sensors generates signals representative of its corresponding mud motor parameter , which signals are transmitted to the downhole control circuit placed in section 70 of the drill string 20 via hard wires coupled between the sensors and the control circuit or by magnetic or acoustic coupling devices known in the art or by any other desirable manner for further processing of such signals and the transmission of the processed signals and data uphole via the downhole telemetry . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 160 , 925 , assigned to the assignee hereof , which is incorporated herein by reference , discloses a modular communication link placed in the drill string for receiving data from the various sensors and devices and transmitting such data upstream . the system of the present invention may also utilize such a communication link for transmitting sensor data to the control circuit or the surface control system . the mud motor &# 39 ; s rotary force is transferred to the bearing assembly 140 via a rotating shaft 132 coupled to the rotor 116 . the shaft 132 disposed in a housing 130 eliminates all rotor eccentric motions and the effects of fixed or bent adjustable housings while transmitting torque and downthrust to the drive sub 142 of the bearing assembly 140 . the type of the bearing assembly used depends upon the particular application . however , two types of bearing assemblies are most commonly used in the industry : a mud - lubricated bearing assembly such as the bearing assembly 140 shown in fig2 a , and a sealed bearing assembly , such as bearing assembly 170 shown in fig2 c . referring back to fig2 b , a mud - lubricated bearing assembly typically contains a rotating drive shaft 142 disposed within an outer housing 145 . the drive shaft 142 terminates with a bit box 143 at the lower end that accommodates the drill bit 50 ( see fig1 ) and is coupled to the shaft 132 at the upper end 144 by a suitable joint 144 ′. the drilling fluid from the power section 100 flows to the bit box 143 via a through hole 142 ′ in the drive shaft 142 . the radial movement of the drive shaft 142 is restricted by a suitable lower radial bearing 142 a placed at the interior of the housing 145 near its bottom end and an upper radial bearing 142 b placed at the interior of the housing near its upper end . narrow gaps or clearances 146 a and 146 b are respectively provided between the housing 145 and the vicinity of the lower radial bearing 142 a and the upper radial bearing 142 b and the interior of the housing 145 . the radial clearance between the drive shaft and the housing interior varies approximately between 0 . 150 mm to 0 . 300 mm depending upon the design choice . during the drilling operations , the radial bearings , such as shown in fig2 b , start to wear down causing the clearance to vary . depending upon the design requirement , the radial bearing wear can cause the drive shaft to wobble , making it difficult for the drill string to remain on the desired course and in some cases can cause the various parts of the bearing assembly to become dislodged . since the lower radial bearing 142 a is near the drill bit , even a relatively small increase in the clearance at the lower end can reduce the drilling efficiency . to continually measure the clearance between the drive shaft 142 and the housing interior , displacement sensors 148 a and 148 b are respectively placed at suitable locations on the housing interior . the sensors are positioned to measure the movement of the drive shaft 142 relative to the inside of the housing 145 . signals from the displacement sensors 148 a and 148 b may be transmitted to the downhole control circuit by conductors placed along the housing interior ( not shown ) or by any other manner described above in reference to fig2 a . still referring to fig2 b , a thrust bearing section 160 is provided between the upper and lower radial bearings to control the axial movement of the drive shaft 142 . the thrust bearings 160 support the downthrust of the rotor 116 , downthrust due to fluid pressure drop across the bearing assembly 140 and the reactive upward loading from the applied weight on bit . the drive shaft 142 transfers both the axial and torsional loading to the drill bit coupled to the bit box 143 . if the clearance between the housing and the drive shaft has an inclining gap , such as shown by numeral 149 , then the same displacement sensor 149 a may be used to determine both the radial and axial movements of the drive shaft 142 . alternatively , a displacement sensor may be placed at any other suitable place to measure the axial movement of the drive shaft 142 . high precision displacement sensors suitable for use in borehole drilling are commercially available and , thus , their operation is not described in detail . from the discussion thus far , it should be obvious that weight on bit is an important control parameter for drilling boreholes . a load sensor 152 , such as a strain gauge , is placed at a suitable place in the bearing assembly 142 ( downstream of the thrust bearings 160 ) to continuously measure the weight on bit . alternatively , a sensor 152 ′ may be placed in the bearing assembly housing 145 ( upstream of the thrust bearings 160 ) or in the stator housing 110 ( see fig2 a ) to monitor the weight on bit . sealed bearing assemblies are typically utilized for precision drilling and have much tighter tolerances compared to the mud - lubricated bearing assemblies . fig2 c shows a sealed bearing assembly 170 , which contains a drive shaft 172 disposed in a housing 173 . the drive shaft is coupled to the motor shaft via a suitable universal joint 175 at the upper end and has a bit box 168 at the bottom end for accommodating a drill bit . lower and upper radial bearings 176 a and 176 b provide radial support to the drive shaft 172 while a thrust bearing 177 provides axial support . one or more suitably placed displacement sensors may be utilized to measure the radial and axial displacements of the drive shaft 172 . for simplicity and not as a limitation , in fig2 c only one displacement sensor 178 is shown to measure the drive shaft radial displacement by measuring the amount of clearance 178 a . as noted above , sealed - bearing - type drive subs have much tighter tolerances ( as low as 0 . 001 ″ radial clearance between the drive shaft and the outer housing ) and the radial and thrust bearings are continuously lubricated by a suitable working oil 179 placed in a cylinder 180 . lower and upper seals 184 a and 184 b are provided to prevent leakage of the oil during the drilling operations . however , due to the hostile downhole conditions and the wearing of various components , the oil frequently leaks , thus depleting the reservoir 180 , thereby causing bearing failures . to monitor the oil level , a differential pressure sensor 186 is placed in a line 187 coupled between an oil line 188 and the drilling fluid 189 to provide the difference in the pressure between the oil pressure and the drilling fluid pressure . since the differential pressure for a new bearing assembly is known , reduction in the differential pressure during the drilling operation may be used to determine the amount of the oil remaining in the reservoir 180 . additionally , temperature sensors 190 a - c may be placed in the bearing assembly sub 170 to respectively determine the temperatures of the lower and upper radial bearings 176 a - b and thrust bearings 177 . also , a pressure sensor 192 is placed in the fluid line in the drive shaft 172 for determining the weight on bit . signals from the differential pressure sensor 186 , temperature sensors 190 a - c , pressure sensor 192 and displacement sensor 178 are transmitted to the downhole control circuit in the manner described earlier in relation to fig2 a . fig3 shows a schematic diagram of a rotary drilling assembly 255 conveyable downhole by a drill pipe ( not shown ) that includes a device for changing drilling direction without stopping the drilling operations for use in the drilling system 10 shown in fig1 . the drilling assembly 255 has an outer housing 256 with an upper joint 257 a for connection to the drill pipe ( not shown ) and a lower joint 257 b for accommodating a drill bit 55 . during drilling operations the housing , and thus the drill bit 55 , rotate when the drill pipe is rotated by the rotary table at the surface . the lower end 258 of the housing 256 has reduced outer dimensions 258 and a bore 259 therethrough . the reduced - dimensioned end 258 has a shaft 260 that is connected to the lower end 257 b and a passage 261 for allowing the drilling fluid to pass to the drill bit 55 . a non - rotating sleeve 262 is disposed on the outside of the reduced dimensioned end 258 , in that when the housing 256 is rotated to rotate the drill bit 55 , the non - rotating sleeve 262 remains in its position . a plurality of independently adjustable or expandable stabilizers 264 are disposed on the outside of the non - rotating sleeve 262 . each stabilizer 264 is hydraulically operated by a control unit in the drilling assembly 255 . by selectively extending or retracting the individual stabilizers 264 during the drilling operations , the drilling direction can be substantially continuously and relatively accurately controlled . an inclination device 266 , such as one or more magnetometers and gyroscopes , are disposed on the non - rotating sleeve 262 for determining the inclination of the sleeve 262 . a gamma ray device 270 and any other device may be utilized to determine the drill bit position during drilling , for example in the x , y , and z axis of the drill bit 55 . an alternator and oil pump 272 may be disposed uphole of the sleeve 262 for providing hydraulic power and electrical power to the various downhole components , including the stabilizers 264 . batteries 274 for storing and providing electric power downhole are disposed at one or more suitable places in the drilling assembly 255 . the drilling assembly 255 , like the drilling assembly 90 shown in fig1 , may include any number of devices and sensors to perform other functions and provide the required data about the various types of parameters relating to the drilling system described herein . the drilling assembly 255 includes a resistivity device for determining the resistivity of the formations surrounding the drilling assembly , other formation evaluation devices , such as porosity and density devices ( not shown ), a directional sensor 271 near the upper end 257 a and sensors for determining the temperature , pressure , fluid flow rate , weight on bit , rotational speed of the drill bit , radial and axial vibrations , shock , and whirl . the drilling assembly may also include position sensitive sensors for determining the drill string position relative to the borehole walls . such sensors may be selected from a group comprising acoustic stand off sensors , calipers , electromagnetic , and nuclear sensors . the drilling assembly 255 includes a number of non - magnetic stabilizers 276 near the upper end 257 a for providing lateral or radial stability to the drill string during drilling operations . a flexible joint 278 is disposed between the section 280 containing the various above - noted formation evaluation devices and the non - rotating sleeve 262 . the drilling assembly 256 which includes a control unit or circuits having one or more processors , generally designated herein by numeral 284 , processes the signals and data from the various downhole sensors . typically , the formation evaluation devices include dedicated electronics and processors as the data processing need during the drilling can be relatively extensive for each such device . other desired electronic circuits are also included in the section 280 . the processing of signals is performed generally in the manner described below in reference to fig4 . a telemetry device , in the form of an electromagnetic device , an acoustic device , a mud - pulse device or any other suitable device , generally designated herein by numeral 286 is disposed in the drilling assembly 255 at a suitable place . fig4 shows a block circuit diagram of a portion of an exemplary circuit that may be utilized to perform signal processing , data analysis and communication operations relating to the motor sensor and other drill string sensor signals . the differential pressure sensors 125 and 150 , sensor pair p 1 and p 2 , rpm sensor 126 b , torque sensor 128 , temperature sensors 134 a - c and 154 a - c , drill bit sensors 50 a , wob sensor 152 or 152 ′ and other sensors utilized in the drill string 20 , provide analog signals representative of the parameter measured by such sensors . the analog signals from each such sensor are amplified and passed to an associated analog - to - digital ( a / d ) converter which provides a digital output corresponding to its respective input signal . the digitized sensor data is passed to a data bus 210 . a micro - controller 220 coupled to the data bus 210 processes the sensor data downhole according to programmed instruction stored in a read only memory ( rom ) 224 coupled to the data bus 210 . a random access memory ( ram ) 222 coupled to the data bus 210 is utilized by the micro - controller 220 for downhole storage of the processed data . the micro - controller 220 communicates with other downhole circuits via an input / output ( i / o ) circuit 226 ( telemetry ). the processed data is sent to the surface control unit 40 ( see fig1 ) via the downhole telemetry 72 . for example , the micro - controller can analyze motor operation downhole , including stall , underspeed and overspeed conditions as may occur in two - phase underbalance drilling and communicate such conditions to the surface unit via the telemetry system . the micro - controller 220 may be programmed to ( a ) record the sensor data in the memory 222 and facilitate communication of the data uphole , ( b ) perform analyses of the sensor data to compute answers and detect adverse conditions , ( c ) actuate downhole devices to take corrective actions , ( d ) communicate information to the surface , ( f ) transmit command and / or alarm signals uphole to cause the surface control unit 40 to take certain actions , ( g ) provide to the drilling operator information for the operator to take appropriate actions to control the drilling operations . fig5 shows a block circuit diagram for processing signals from the various sensors in the ddm device 59 ( fig1 ) and for telemetering the severity or the relative level of the associated drilling parameters computed according to programmed instructions stored downhole . as shown in fig2 , the analog signals relating to the wob from the wob sensor 402 ( such as a strain gauge ) and the torque - on - bit sensor 404 ( such as a strain gauge ) are amplified by their associated strain gauge amplifiers 402 a and 404 a and fed to a digitally - controlled amplifier 405 which digitizes the amplified analog signals and feeds the digitized signals to a multiplexer 430 of a cpu circuit 450 . similarly , signals from strain gauges 406 and 408 respectively relating to orthogonal bending moment components bmy and bmx are processed by their associated signal conditioners 406 a and 408 a , digitized by the digitally - controlled amplifier 405 and then fed to the multiplexer 430 . while described herein as resistance strain gauges , any other type of suitable strain sensor may be used , such as optical strain sensors . additionally , signals from borehole annulus pressure sensor 410 and drill string bore pressure sensor 412 are processed by an associated signal conditioner 410 a and then fed to the multiplexer 430 . radial and axial accelerometer sensors 414 , 416 and 418 provide signals relating to the bha vibrations , which are processed by the signals conditioner 414 a and fed to the multiplexer 430 . additionally , signals from magnetometer 420 , temperature sensor 422 and other desired sensors 424 , such as a sensor for measuring the differential pressure across the mud motor , are processed by their respective signal conditioner circuits 420 a - 420 c and passed to the multiplexer 430 . the multiplexer 430 passes the various received signals in a predetermined order to an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 432 , which converts the received analog signals to digital signals and passes the digitized signals to a common data bus 434 . the digitized sensor signals are temporarily stored in a suitable memory 436 . a second memory 438 , for example an erasable programmable read only memory ( eprom ) stores algorithms and executable instructions for use by a central processing unit ( cpu ) 440 . a digital signal processing circuit 460 ( dsp circuit ) coupled to the common data bus 434 performs majority of the mathematical calculations associated with the processing of the data associated with the sensors described in reference to fig2 . the dsp circuit includes a microprocessor for processing data , a memory 464 , for example in the form of an eprom , for storing instructions ( program ) for use by the microprocessor 462 , and memory 466 for storing data for use by the microprocessor 462 . the cpu 440 cooperates with the dsp circuit via the common bus 434 , retrieves the stored data from the memory 436 , processes such according to the programmed instructions in the memory 438 and transmits the processed signals to the surface control unit 40 via a communication driver 442 and the downhole telemetry 72 ( fig1 ). in one embodiment , measurement of the bending moment in bha 90 ( see fig1 ) may be made at one or more positions along bha 90 , for example by inserting a sensor sub at each position in bha 90 where such measurements are desired . at each position two independent measurements are performed in two perpendicular directions bmx and bmy where bmx and bmy are perpendicular to the bha longitudinal axis . fig6 depicts the tool coordinate system . typically , a full strain gage measurement bridge ( wheatstone ), such as that associated with bending measurements 406 and 408 in fig5 , is used with two gauges at opposite sides of the bha for each individual axis . each analog bending signal is converted independently from analog to digital for further processing . additionally , measurements of gravity field ( gx , gy ) and magnetic field ( mx , my ) are made with two perpendicular accelerometer sensors and two perpendicular magnetometer sensors with the sensor axes for bending , gravity and magnetic substantially aligned by design or by coordinate transformation to the same x - y coordinate system . both bending moment amplitude and orientation in a rotating sensor sub may be calculated either as amplitude and angle with respect to high side ( polar coordinates ) or as vertical and azimuthal bending ( cartesian coordinates ) from the bmx and bmy signals and the orientation sensors . offset drift errors may be compensated for by rotating the tool at a fixed location such that each axis will see the same bending amplitude in both a positive and a negative signal in one rotation of the tool . if the signal amplitudes are not balanced about a zero value , the measurement channel may be exhibiting drift that may be compensated . in one example of such a measurement , 1 . ( bx , by ), ( gx , gy ) are parallel to ( mx , my ). in other words the bending , gravity and magnetic measurement coordinate systems have substantially parallel axes . 2 . n is the number of measurement bins per rotation of the tool . the angle measured by each bin is given by 360 / n , and each bin extends from [ n * 360 / n − 180 / n , n * 360 / n + 180 / n ), where n = 0 , . . . , n − 1 . 3 . the resulting image will be visually displayed using a gray scale over 2 m levels . for a default m = 8 , so a 0 to 255 gray scale image is generated . ( a ) calculate bending moment amplitude and phase at sample , k ( b ) calculate magnetic phase angle at sample , k . this phase angle is with reference to the far - field magnetic vector . ( c ) calculate difference between magnetic and bending phases at sample , k . this then is the bending phase with respect to the far - field magnetic vector ( call this bm phase ). ( d ) sum the calculated bending amplitude into the bin given by the bm phase ( e ) calculate the cross - products required for the phase angle between gravity and magnetic tool faces ( 1 ) gray scale the sums { normalize data , scale over 2 m levels }, save mean and standard deviation into 2 × 4 - byte floats , thereby compressing 4 * n bytes to n *( m / 8 )+ 8 bytes . this is the dynamic row image , but the static image can be recovered using the normalization parameters . ( 2 ) calculate the angle between the magnetic and gravity tool faces ( 3 ) rotate the row of the in the n bins by an amount equal to the angle between the gravity and tool faces . the image is now oriented with respect to gravity high side . ( 4 ) output bending moment amplitude and orientation for each bending moment measurement point in bha 90 ( rotating or non - rotating ) both the amplitude and the orientation of the bending moment are available for further processing downhole and , after transmission , at the surface . a mathematical model ( either a closed form analytical model or a numerical finite - element - model ) may be used to determine hole curvature ( indicated as dogleg severity ) from the measured bending moment . it should be noted that the curvature is in three dimensional space and may be indicated as a magnitude and direction . with known orientation of the bending moment , both build - rate ( deviation in the vertical plane ) and walk - rate ( deviation in the horizontal plane ) can be calculated . the following describes this procedure . bending moment measurement from downhole data can be easily converted into units of hole / tool dogleg severities ( dls ) at the measurement location on the bha as follows : m i = e r = σ y ( 1 ) where m represents the combined bending moment , i the moment of inertia of the bha , r the radius of curvature , e the young &# 39 ; s modulus , y is the distance of the sensor from a neutral axis of the tool and σ the stress at the bending sensors . therefore from equation ( 1 ) 1 r = m ei and ( 2 ) 1 r = σ ey = ɛ y ( 3 ) where ε represents the strain at the sensors . the term ei in equation 2 is called “ bending stiffness .” using equation 2 : consider a bottom hole assembly drilling in a curved borehole . therefore , any changes in the inclination and azimuth , caused by changes in wob , rpm , formation etc , while drilling , results in a change in the borehole curvature . as a result of curvature change a corresponding change in collar bending moment occurs , which can be detected by the bending sensors mounted on the collar . also since the curvature changes in the collar , occur as a result of inclination and azimuth changes , these changes can be detected by accelerometers and magnetometers in the collar , previously described , from which inclination and azimuth of the collar can be determined . therefore , assuming that the collar in the bha containing the sensor bends with a radius of curvature of r . the change in angle δ over a collar length of 100 feet is therefore given by : δ = 100 m ei ( 5 ) where , the change in angle δ , defined above in radians / 100 ft , is known as the ‘ dog leg severity ’ and is commonly given in the units of deg / 100 feet ( or deg / 30 meter ) when multiplied by the conversion factor the moment of inertia i and bending moment m in equation ( 4 ) are given by i = π 64 ( d o 4 - d i 4 ) and ( 6 ) m = m x 2 + m y 2 ( 7 ) where m x and m y represent the x & amp ; y bending moments and d o and d i represent the collar outside and inside diameters . alternatively , it may be assumed that strain e is measured at a depth of y feet from the neutral axis of the tool . then δ = 100 r = 100 ɛ y ( 8 ) a plot of δ with time ( or depth ) from equation ( 5 ) will look similar to the bending moment curve but will be in units of dogleg severity ( degrees / 100 ft ), which is more practical in terms of the tool health . different tool sizes are accounted for in the mi calculations . ( ii ) azimuth change using known inclination data from directional measurements and the bending moment data from bending measurements : if β represent the overall change in angle in the well bore between two survey stations , located at ( i − 1 ) and i locations , where , β is a function of inclination and azimuth change , then β can then be expressed in terms of dogleg severity δ ( in degrees / 100 ft ) or bending moment ( m ) by the relations : β = cos − 1 ( cos δε sin α i sin α i − 1 + cos α i cos α i − 1 ) ( 9 ) β is related to dogleg severity δ ( in degrees / 100 ft ) by the following relationship δ = β · 100 ( l i - l i - 1 ) therefore , ( 10 ) β = m ( l i - l i - 1 ) ei ( 11 ) l i , l i − 1 and α i , α i − 1 represent the depths and inclination at the i and i − 1 locations . since β can be computed from bending moment data using equation ( 11 ), the change in azimuth δε can be estimated from equation ( 9 ): δ ɛ = cos - 1 ( cos β - cos α i cos α i - 1 sin α i sin α i - 1 ) ( 12 ) thus knowing azimuth at the initial location ( i = 0 ), the azimuth at successive locations can be easily determined using equation ( 12 ). the walk rate w r of the bha ( in degrees / 100 ft ) is therefore given by w r = δ ɛ · 100 l i - l i - 1 ( 13 ) it may be noted that in equation 12 , the expression inside the brackets must have values between − 1 and + 1 . it is possible that in case of errors in measurement of m , for example due to sudden impacts , the absolute value of δε may be slightly greater than 1 and as such it cannot be evaluated at those locations , unless the value is made equal to 1 . the tool face angle γ can be calculated using the formula γ = cos - 1 ( cos α i - 1 cos β - cos α i sin α i - 1 sin β ) ( 14 ) as examples , real - time bending moment ( bm ) measurements from field data from multiple locations were post processed using the methods described herein . fig7 shows the instantaneous 601 and averaged 602 dls calculated from bm measurements as compared to the calculated 603 dls using survey data . fig8 shows the instantaneous 701 and averaged 702 build rate using inclination data . fig9 shows the instantaneous and averaged walk rate using equation 12 compared to the calculated walk rate from survey data fig1 shows the instantaneous 901 and averaged 902 dls calculated from bm measurements as compared to the calculated 903 dls using survey data . as indicated by fig7 - 10 , the downhole bending moment data in conjunction with an appropriate bending model of the bha , provide substantially higher resolution wellbore curvature information than that provided by the common standard curvature method that assumes a constant dogleg severity between successive survey stations . the method described provides an earlier feedback on directional changes than the driller would get from survey data at the end of each stand . the measured bending moment data depends on the deformation of the bottom hole assembly under the influence of gravity , weight on bit , steering forces and other side forces due to wall contacts and dynamic effects . as a result of this deformation , a directional sensor in the bha typically centered on and parallel to the bha axis will experience a misalignment to the borehole axis . in a 3d well profile this misalignment can happen both in the vertical plane ( sag ) as well as in the horizontal plane . these misalignment errors would result in an error in the placement of the well . using bending moment data to compensate for misalignment error , a mathematical model can be used to describe the elastic deformation of the bha and the direction of the already drilled hole ( survey data and caliper if available ). in this calculation the available bending moment measurements are extremely useful to limit the uncertainty involved in these mathematical models . the downhole information about both bending moment amplitude and orientation with respect to either gravitational high side or magnetic north in combination with the mathematical model , either downhole or at the surface , can provide continuous information about azimuth and inclination while drilling . the combination of measured bending moment data and a mathematical bha model provide information about the curvature ( build rate and walk rate ) of the wellbore . in combination with devices to change well path direction such as steerable motors or adjustable stabilizers , as discussed previously , the bending moment data can be used to control the hole curvature by changing the settings of the steerable devices . this can either be done in a surface loop involving personnel or computers at the surface or downhole in a controller in a closed control loop . as a practical example , both amplitude and direction of the steering force in a self - controlled directional system could be adjusted in order to reach and maintain target values for the bending moment in both amplitude and orientation . as one skilled in the art will appreciate , directional sensors including magnetometers are commonly housed in a non - magnetic section of the bha , such as a non - magnetic drill collar . due to the requirements for spacing within a non - magnetic section of the bha , the directional sensors providing the azimuth of a wellbore are typically located a certain distance above the bit . as such , each directional measurement does not provide the direction of the hole being drilled at the bit but the direction of the borehole at the sensor location . the measurement of the bending moment amplitude and orientation with respect to high side ( either gravity or magnetic ) at one or more positions between the directional measurement point and the bit can be used to infer the wellpath direction from the point of the directional measurement to the bit position . again a mathematical model is required to take the elastic deformation of the bha into account . information about steering history and hole caliper data can further increase the accuracy of the prediction . such a model may be incorporated in a downhole closed loop system or , alternatively , the data may be transmitted to the surface for processing in a surface computer . while the foregoing disclosure is directed to the preferred embodiments of the invention , various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is intended that all variations of the appended claims be embraced by the foregoing disclosure . | 4 |
the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description . fig1 is an isometric view of a roller bearing assembly 100 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment . the roller bearing assembly 100 generally includes an annular outer ring 110 and an annular inner ring 120 arranged concentrically within the outer ring 110 . a number of rolling elements 130 are arranged between the outer ring 110 and the inner ring 120 such that the outer ring 110 is rotatably coupled to the inner ring 120 . in general , the inner ring 120 is mounted to a first member such as a shaft and the outer ring 110 is coupled to a second member such as a housing to enable relative rotational movement between the first and second members . in one exemplary embodiment , roller bearing assembly 100 may form part of a pneumatically actuated aircraft engine valve , and provides an enhanced load carrying capability in a relatively small possible package . of course , other applications may also be provided . as noted below , in some exemplary embodiments , the roller bearing assembly 100 does not require spacers to maintain separation between the rolling elements 130 and / or a cage to retain the rolling elements within the outer and / or inner rings 110 , 120 . the rolling elements 130 include a number of elements , which in one embodiment , is a full complement of rolling elements . that is , as many rolling elements as possible are respectively arranged between the outer and inner circumferences of the outer and inner rings 110 , 120 . the rolling elements 130 are generally cylindrical . in further embodiments , the rolling elements 130 can be ball bearings and / or needle bearings . in general , the outer and inner rings 110 , 120 share a first axis 140 , and the rolling elements 130 each have an axis ( e . g ., axis 142 ) that is parallel to the first axis 140 . as such , the roller bearing assembly 100 has non - tapered rolling elements 130 . in one exemplary embodiment , each rolling element has a width of 6 mm and a diameter of 6 mm , although other dimensions may be used . in one exemplary embodiment , the roller bearing assembly 100 can be manufactured with steel . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the roller bearing assembly 100 of fig1 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment . as best shown by fig2 , the outer ring 110 has two outer ring shoulders , which in this embodiment are guide shoulders 212 , 214 on either side of a base portion 216 . the guide shoulders 212 , 214 and base portion 216 define a raceway 218 in the outer ring 110 . the raceway 218 receives the rolling elements 130 and the guide shoulders 212 , 214 guide the rolling elements 130 around the raceway 218 in the outer ring 110 . the guide shoulders 212 , 214 additionally function to retain the rolling elements 130 within the outer ring 110 of the roller bearing assembly 100 . as shown in fig2 , the outer ring 110 has an outer diameter of 250 and an inner diameter of 252 . moreover , the outer ring 110 and rolling elements 130 together have an inner diameter of 254 . the inner ring 120 has two inner ring shoulders , which in this embodiment are snap shoulders 222 , 224 on either side of a base portion 226 . the snap shoulders 222 , 224 and base portion 226 define a raceway 228 in the inner ring 120 . the raceway 228 receives the rolling elements 130 such that the rolling elements 130 rotate around the inner ring 120 . the snap shoulders 222 , 224 additionally function to retain the rolling elements 130 within the outer ring 110 of the roller bearing assembly 100 , if necessary , during installation and operation . as also shown in fig2 , the inner ring has an outer diameter of 256 and an inner diameter of 258 . fig3 is a close - up elevation view of a portion of the cross - sectional view of the roller bearing assembly 100 of fig1 and 2 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment . in particular , fig3 illustrates the guide shoulders 212 , 214 of the outer ring 110 and the snap shoulders 222 , 224 of the inner ring 120 . in one exemplary embodiment , the guide shoulders 212 , 214 are integral with base portion 216 . that is , the guide shoulders 212 , 214 are formed in one piece with the outer ring 210 . the guide shoulders 212 , 214 have a width 310 that is approximately equal to the width 330 of each rolling element 130 such that the guide shoulders 212 , 214 function to guide the rolling elements 130 around the outer ring 110 . in one exemplary embodiment , the height 312 of the guide shoulders 212 , 214 are approximately 28 % of the roller diameter , although other dimensions are possible . in one exemplary embodiment , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 are integral with base portion 226 . that is , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 are formed in one piece with the inner ring 120 . the snap shoulders 222 , 224 have a width 320 that is larger than the width 330 of each rolling element 130 . in one exemplary embodiment , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 have a width 320 that is approximately 144 % of the width 330 of the roller element 130 , although other dimensions are possible . as such , in one exemplary embodiment , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 do not contact the rolling elements 130 during operation . if necessary , however , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 retain the rolling elements 130 in an axial direction . accordingly , the raceway 228 of the inner ring 120 is wider than the raceway 218 of the outer ring 110 . as discussed in further detail below , in general , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 have a height 322 sufficient to clear the rolling elements 130 during assembly and to maintain the rotatable coupling with the outer ring 110 after assembly . in general , this height 322 is less than a height 312 of the guide shoulders 212 , 214 . in one exemplary embodiment , the height 312 of the snap shoulders 222 , 224 are approximately about 0 . 5 % of the diameter of the rolling element 130 . in other exemplary embodiments , the height 312 may be larger or smaller relative to the rolling element 130 , depending on the application and manufacturing requirements . fig4 is a method 400 of assembling a roller bearing assembly , such as the roller bearing assembly 100 discussed above . as such , reference is additionally made to fig1 - 3 . in a first step 405 , the rolling elements 130 are assembled within the raceway 218 of the outer ring 110 . the full complement of rolling elements 130 are installed within the raceway 218 . at this stage , the bearing elements 130 may be held within the raceway 218 with a tool that enables retention of the bearing elements during some of the subsequent steps . in a second step 410 , the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 are heated so as to expand the inner diameter 254 of the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 . as will be discussed below , the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 are heated such that the inner diameter 254 of the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 is greater than the outer diameter 258 of the inner ring 120 . in one exemplary embodiment , the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 are heated to a temperature of approximately 300 °, although other temperatures can be used . in a third step 415 , the inner ring 120 is assembled concentrically within the outer ring 110 . particularly , as noted above , the inner diameter 254 of the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 after the heating and expansion is greater than the outer diameter 258 of the inner ring 120 at room temperature . as such , the inner ring 120 may be inserted into the outer ring 110 and rolling elements 130 to form the roller bearing assembly 100 . as noted above , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 of the inner ring 120 have a height to facilitate this insertion . the height should be sufficient to retain the rolling elements 130 at room temperature , but relatively to small to enable assembly with the outer ring 110 and rolling elements 130 . even if the inner diameter 254 of the rolling elements 130 and outer ring 110 after the heating and expansion is not greater than the outer diameter 258 of the inner ring 120 at room temperature , the snap shoulders 222 , 224 may be forced or “ snapped ” over the rolling elements 130 to complete the roller bearing assembly 100 . in a fourth step 420 , the roller bearing assembly 100 , particularly the outer ring 110 and rolling elements 130 , is allowed to cool and contract . after contraction , the rolling elements 130 are arranged at least partially within the raceway 228 of the inner ring 120 . alternatively , the roller bearing assembly 100 can be cooled , for example , by other mechanisms , such as liquid nitrogen . when the roller bearing assembly 100 is cooled , it provides a non - separable , full complement roller bearing assembly . in one exemplary embodiment , the roller bearing assembly 100 does not require additional retention components , such as separate retaining rings that can pop out or separate inner ring shoulders . while at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention , it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist . it should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability , or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention . it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 5 |
fig1 and 2 depict prior art heat pump systems . fig1 illustrates a heat pump water heater 110 having a chassis 112 constructed from multiple vertical 114 and horizontal 116 supports forming a box - like structure for housing the components of the heat pump system 110 . walls 118 are typically supported on the supports 114 and 116 to enclose the components and protect them from the exterior environment . however , the walls 118 are also considered vertical and horizontal supports and together define an outer shape . one of the walls 118 supports a fan 154 for moving air through the chassis to ensure desired operation of an evaporator located within . maximizing the air flow through the evaporator enables desired heat pump performance during extreme operating conditions . as can be seen in fig1 , the prior art gas cooler 124 extends a considerable depth into the cavity of the chassis 112 such that it obstructs a significant amount of air flow inhibiting the desired operation of the evaporator . the gas cooler 124 is shown supported on the floor and is only proximate to a small portion of one of the vertical supports 114 and a portion of one of the horizontal support 116 . the prior art gas cooler 124 is adjacent to significantly less than half of the area defined between the vertical 114 and horizontal 116 support on one side of the chassis 112 . moreover , the width , height and depth of the gas cooler 124 are approximately equal providing a cube or box - like structure . fig2 illustrates an example prior art vapor compression system 120 that includes a compressor 122 , a heat rejecting heat exchanger ( a gas cooler in transcritical cycles ) 124 , an expansion device 126 , and a heat accepting heat exchanger ( an evaporator ) 128 . refrigerant circulates through the closed circuit system 120 . the refrigerant exits the compressor 122 at a high pressure and a high enthalpy . the refrigerant then flows through the gas cooler 124 at a high pressure . a fluid medium 130 , such as water or air , flows through a heat sink 132 of the gas cooler 124 and exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the gas cooler 124 . in the gas cooler 124 , the refrigerant rejects heat into the fluid medium 130 , and the refrigerant exits the gas cooler 124 at a low enthalpy and a high pressure . a water pump 134 pumps the fluid medium through the heat sink 132 . the cooled fluid medium 130 enters the heat sink 132 at the heat sink inlet or return 136 and flows in a direction opposite to the direction of the flow of the refrigerant . after exchanging heat with the refrigerant , the heated water 138 exits the heat sink 130 at the heat sink outlet or supply 140 . the heated water can be stored in a water tank 164 . in one example , the water tank 164 is sized to meet expected peak demand at all times . the refrigerant then passes through the expansion valve 126 , which expands and reduces the pressure of the refrigerant . the expansion device 126 can be an electronic expansion valve or other known type of expansion device . after expansion , the refrigerant flows through the passages 180 of the evaporator 128 and exits at a high enthalpy and a low pressure . in the evaporator 128 , the refrigerant absorbs heat from the outdoor air 144 , heating the refrigerant . the outdoor air 144 flows through a heat sink 146 and exchanges heat with the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 128 in a known manner . the outdoor air 144 enters the heat sink 146 through the heat sink inlet or return 148 and flows in a direction opposite to or cross to the direction of flow of the refrigerant . after exchanging heat with the refrigerant , the cooled outdoor air 150 exits the heat sink 146 through the heat sink outlet or supply 152 . the temperature difference between the outdoor air 144 and the refrigerant in the evaporator 128 drives the thermal energy transfer from the outdoor air 144 to the refrigerant as the refrigerant flows through the evaporator 128 . a fan 154 moves the outdoor air 144 across the evaporator 128 , maintaining the temperature difference and evaporating the refrigerant . the refrigerant then reenters the compressor 122 , completing the cycle . the system 120 transfers heat from the low temperature energy reservoir ( ambient air ) to the high temperature energy sink ( heated hot water ). the transfer of energy is also achieved with the aid of electrical energy input at the compressor 122 , fan 154 and pump 134 . the system 120 can also include an accumulator 156 . the accumulator 156 stores excess refrigerant from the system 120 to control the high pressure of the system 120 , and therefore the coefficient of performance . referring to fig3 , the inventive thin - profiled gas cooler 24 is shown mounted to the chassis 12 . the depth d of the gas cooler 24 is significantly less than the height h 2 and width w 2 of the gas cooler . moreover , the height h 2 and width w 2 are approximately equal to the height h 1 and width w 1 defined by the vertical 14 and horizontal 16 supports of the chassis 12 . that is , it is preferable that the dimensions of the gas cooler 24 are sized such that the sides of the gas cooler 24 extend to the vertical 14 and horizontal 16 supports to the greatest extent possible . in this manner , the depth d is reduced to the smallest dimension to minimize any obstruction the gas cooler creates from extending into the cavity chassis 12 , which inhibits the airflow through the evaporator 28 located within the chassis 12 . furthermore , as depicted in fig3 , the gas cooler 24 provides the exterior side or wall 18 thereby eliminating the need of a separate chassis wall . it should also be understood that the gas cooler may provide just a portion of the exterior wall 18 . a sheet of material is connected to the gas cooler 24 in such a configuration to complete the exterior wall 18 . although the gas cooler 24 is shown in fig3 as providing a side wall , the gas cooler 24 may also provide the top or bottom wall of the chassis 12 . the inventive features of the gas cooler 24 and its relationship relative to the chassis 12 may be expressed in any number of ways . referring to fig4 , for example , the area a 2 of the outer side of the gas cooler 24 is adjacent to a substantial portion of the area a 1 of the chassis which , in the example shown , is defined by an area bounded by the vertical 14 and horizontal 16 supports on one side of the chassis , preferably next to the wall 18 . the gas cooler 24 is shown removed from the chassis . in one example , the area a 2 is at least 50 percent of the area a 1 . in the example shown in fig4 , the area a 2 is approximately equal to the area a 1 . expressed in another way , the width w 2 and / or height h 2 are substantially greater than the depth d of the gas cooler 24 , for example , twice the length . while the inventive gas cooler 24 is shown arranged near a side wall , one of ordinary skill will appreciate that it may also be arranged at the top or bottom of the chassis 12 . referring to another feature of fig4 , the inventive gas cooler 24 is removably installed into the chassis 12 at one side adjacent to a wall 18 . in the example shown , the gas cooler 24 is top loaded into the chassis 12 , but it may also be side - or bottom - loaded . one or more guides 70 are used to locate the gas cooler 24 in a desired location during installation of the gas cooler 24 into the chassis 12 . in the example shown , opposing sides of the gas cooler 24 are retained by opposing vertical members 14 and opposing vertical guides 70 . it should also be understood that the removable gas cooler configuration shown in fig4 may also provide the exterior wall 18 in a similar manner to that shown in fig3 . the inventive gas cooler 24 reduces the blockage of air to the evaporator coil so that the negative impact on the evaporator and subsequently the water heat performance is minimized . in addition , the configuration of the gas cooler 24 within the chassis 12 provides user access to the components within the chassis , in particular , the arrangement shown in fig4 . the invention has been described in an illustrative manner , and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is , therefore , to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . | 5 |
the airbag 10 of a restraint system for motor vehicles shown in the inflated state in fig1 is connected with its mouthpiece 12 to the housing 14 of a gas generator 16 . the airbag 10 shown here consists of a middle fabric part 18 and of two side fabric parts 20 , 22 , which together form the wall 24 . however , other cuts can also be used . in the embodiment shown here , the surface 26 of the fabric part 18 facing the gas volume flowing out of the gas generator 16 into the airbag has been treated in a plasma on the inside of the airbag in order to increase its heat resistance . moreover , the surfaces of the side fabric parts 20 and 22 facing the inside of the airbag can also be plasma - treated . it is also possible to treat only those areas of the fabric parts 18 , 20 and 22 in the plasma that are very exposed to the hot gases flowing out of the gas generator 16 . in general , these will be the areas of the airbag fabric that are adjacent to the mouthpiece 12 as well as the fabric parts opposite from the mouthpiece 12 in the flow direction of the hot gases . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the plasma treatment is a metallization so that a metal layer 28 is formed on the surface 26 which has a thickness between 40 nm and 10 μm . in another embodiment of the invention , the surface 26 is fluorinated . in order to manufacture the airbag according to the invention , fabric widths are prepared from suitable polyamide or polyester fabrics with a preset air permeability . these fabric widths are first treated in a plasma generated by a microwave reactor or by a high - frequency reactor . the plasma treatment is preferably carried out by means of the already known roll - to - roll method which , as a continuous process , allows fast and cost - effective production . the plasma is generated in the microwave reactor at , for example , 2 . 4 to 2 . 6 ghz under the controlled feed of up to three gases so as to set the type and thickness of the coating . the coating in the high - frequency reactor can be carried out with the generation of a low - pressure plasma at 13 to 14 mhz under vacuum by means of microwave sputtering or electron beam vapor - deposition . preferably , the plasma treatment serves to apply a metallic protective layer onto the surfaces of the widths of fabric . the layer thickness preferably lies in the range from 40 nm to 10 μm . the metallic protective layer offers an effective protection against the effect of hot gases . thus , with a polyamide fabric of the type 470 / f72dtex . it was found that , depending on the coating thickness , the fabric , which was metallized by the plasma treatment , had a heat - resistance that was two to ten times higher than untreated fabric of the same type . for the experiment set - up , a defined surface of each fabric was exposed to a metal ball weighing 33 grams and heated to 850 ° c . [ 1562 ° f .] with a diameter of 20 mm , and the time was measured until the fabric melted through . another advantage of the metallized protective layer on the airbag fabric generated by the plasma treatment lies in the shielding effect against high - frequency electromagnetic fields . as a result , the airbag , which is folded over the gas generator , can additionally shield the sensitive ignition mechanism of the gas generator and the vehicle electronics situated underneath . thus , for example , attenuation levels of about 70 db between 300 and 1000 mhz can be achieved at a coating thickness of about 400 nm . airbag fabrics that are exclusively supposed to have improved heat resistance can also be fluorinated by means of a plasma treatment . in this case , a brief treatment is carried out in the above - described reactor using a c 2 f 6 / ar plasma . the conditions of the plasma treatment , in particular pressure , temperature , time and composition of the plasma , that are suitable for achieving the desired degree of fluorination or the desired coating thickness can be ascertained in appropriate preliminary experiments . the fabric parts treated with the process described above are then cut in the usual manner and joined together to form the airbag according to the invention . the airbag manufactured in this manner has an improved resistance to hot gases . due to the thinness of the coating , however , the increase in weight of the airbag fabric is only insignificant . consequently , the essential advantages of uncoated airbags , especially the small space requirement in the folded state , are retained . the crease - resistance of the airbags made of the plasma - treated fabric sections is sufficient over a period of time corresponding to the service life of the vehicle . since the coating of the fabric parts can be carried out in a continuous process , particularly heat - resistant airbags can be manufactured cost - effectively . | 1 |
table i reports several compositions , recorded in terms of parts by weight on the oxide bases as calculated from the batch , illustrating the parameters of the invention . because the sum of the individual components totals or approximately totals 100 , for all practical purposes the tabulated values may be deemed to reflect weight percent . the actual batch ingredients may comprise either the oxides or other compounds , which , when melted together , will be converted into the desired oxides in the proper proportions . in the succeeding exemplary compositions , the batch materials consisted of highly pure mgo , al 2 o 3 , sio 2 , tio 2 , and as 2 o 3 . the latter ingredient performed its customary function of a fining agent . the batch ingredients were compounded , dry ballmilled together to assist in achieving a homogeneous melt , and then placed into platinum crucibles . after covering , the crucibles were introduced into a furnace operating at about 1600 ° c . and the batches were melted for about six hours with stirring . thereafter , the melts were cast into steel molds to form slabs having dimensions of about 6 &# 34 ;× 6 &# 34 ;× 1 / 2 &# 34 ; and those slabs transferred immediately to an annealer operating at about 750 ° c . table i______________________________________1 2 3 4 5______________________________________mgo 15 . 8 16 . 0 16 . 9 17 . 8 13 . 3al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 23 . 2 21 . 3 22 . 2 22 . 2 28 . 5sio . sub . 2 49 . 9 51 . 6 49 . 8 48 . 9 47 . 1tio . sub . 2 10 . 7 10 . 7 10 . 7 10 . 7 10 . 7as . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 . 4 0 . 4 0 . 4 0 . 4 0 . 4______________________________________ the slabs were introduced into an electrically - heated furnace , the temperature therein raised at 200 ° c ./ hour to 820 ° c ., that temperature held for about two hours to induce nucleation , the temperature again raised at 200 ° c ./ hour to about 1260 ° c ., that temperature maintained for about eight hours to grow crystals on the nuclei , and the electric current to the furnace cut off and the slabs allowed to cool to room temperature retained within the furnace . this latter practice has been termed &# 34 ; cooling at furnace rate &# 34 ; and averages about 3 °- 5 ° c ./ minute . samples were cut from the glass - ceramic slabs for measurement in the conventional manner of coefficient of thermal expansion , dielectric constant , and loss tangent . other samples having dimensions useful in conducting modulus of rupture measurements were cut from the slabs and subjected to six cycles of the above - described base - acid fortification treatment . thus , the samples were first immersed into boiling aqueous 5 % naoh solution and held therein for 25 minutes . after rinsing in cold tap water , the samples were immersed into an aqueous 5 % h 2 so 4 solution at room temperature , retained therein for 10 minutes , and then rinsed in cold tap water . that sequence of steps was repeated six times . microscopic examination of a cross section cut through the samples indicates a porous surface layer having a depth of about 0 . 010 &# 34 ;- 0 . 015 &# 34 ;. modulus of rupture measurements were conducted on the fortified samples in the conventional manner . table ii lists the measured results for coefficient of thermal expansion ( coef . exp .) over the range of 25 °- 300 ° c . expressed in terms of × 10 - 7 /° c ., the dielectric constant ( d . c .) at 25 ° c . and 8 . 6 × 10 9 hz , the loss tangent ( l . t .) at 25 ° c . and 8 . 6 × 10 9 hz , and the modulus of rupture ( mor ) of the fortified samples in terms of psi . table ii______________________________________1 2 3 4 5______________________________________coef . exp . 40 . 4 35 . 7 40 . 4 30 . 2 23d . c . 5 . 64 5 . 66 6 . 15l . t . 0 . 00029 0 . 00032 0 . 0003mor 32 , 130 30 , 030 31 , 200 34 , 600 18 , 690______________________________________ the criticality of composition is apparent from an examination of tables i and ii . hence , example 5 , having a composition just slightly outside the inventive ranges , is not sufficiently mechanically strong to serve as a radome . x - ray diffraction analysis of example 5 indicated the essential absence of cristobalite therefrom , whereas like analyses of example 1 - 4 demonstrated the presence of cristobalite crystallization therein . in all of the examples , cordierite comprised by far the predominant crystal phase accompanied with minor amounts of magnesium - aluminum titanate and rutile . yet , examples 1 - 4 evidence high mechanical strengths coupled with the necessary electrical properties for radome use and a coefficient of thermal expansion considerably below that of corning 9606 . because it represents the best overall combination of melting and forming properties , crystallization capabilities , along with the desired mechanical , electrical , and thermal characteristics , example 1 is deemed to constitute the most preferred embodiment of the inventive compositions . | 2 |
in describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure , as illustrated in fig1 a - 6 , specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity . the present disclosure , however , is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected , and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish similar functions . embodiments of the claims may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed to be limited to the embodiments set forth herein . the examples set forth herein are non - limiting examples , and are merely examples among other possible examples . referring now to fig1 a - 3b , by way of example , and not limitation , therein is illustrated an example embodiment storm shelter 100 , wherein storm shelter 100 preferably comprises conical top 200 , base 500 , enclosed area 150 , one or more bolts 241 , one or more nuts 242 and one or more stakes preferably comprising duplex spike 244 , wherein each duplex spike 244 comprises stake diameter 246 . conical top 200 comprises bottom 201 , inside wall 205 , outside wall 210 , chamber 215 , upper terminus 220 , skirt 240 , door 290 , window 295 , second door 340 , hinge 300 , door frame 305 , conical diameter 315 ( best shown in fig2 a ), lightning rod 225 , wire 230 , flush surface 320 and grounding stake 235 . skirt 240 comprises skirt bolt holes 243 dimensioned to receive bolts 241 and skirt stake holes 245 , wherein skirt stake holes 245 comprises stake hole diameter 247 . inside wall 205 comprises interior surface 206 , and wherein outside wall 210 comprises exterior surface 211 . chamber 215 comprises first sub - chamber 260 , second sub - chamber 265 , third sub - chamber 270 and fourth sub - chamber 275 ( best shown in fig3 a ). first sub - chamber 260 comprises first sub - chamber fill cap 262 and first sub - chamber drain cap 263 , second sub - chamber 265 comprises second sub - chamber fill cap 267 and second sub - chamber drain cap 268 , third sub - chamber 270 comprises third sub - chamber fill cap 272 and third sub - chamber drain cap 273 , and fourth sub - chamber 275 comprises fourth sub - chamber fill cap 277 and fourth sub - chamber drain cap 278 . referring now more particularly to fig1 a and 1b , door 290 comprises window frame 310 , window hinge 312 , door edges 291 , door exterior 292 , door interior peripheral edge 293 and door exterior peripheral edge 294 . door frame 305 comprises door frame edges 306 , and window frame 310 comprises window frame edges 311 . window 295 comprises window edges 296 , window interior peripheral edge 297 and window exterior peripheral edge 298 . similarly , second door 340 comprises second door edges 341 , second door interior peripheral edge 342 and second door exterior peripheral edge 343 . turning now more particularly to fig1 a 2 b , 3 b , base 500 comprises a truncated cone having base bottom 501 , upper surface 510 , platform 515 , bottom surface 520 , angled wall 525 , at least one interior cell 535 , base bottom diameter 530 , and fringe 505 , wherein fringe 505 comprises at least one fringe bolt hole 506 and at least one fringe stake hole 507 , and wherein interior cell 535 preferably comprises first cell 540 , second cell 545 , third cell 550 and fourth cell 555 ( best shown in fig2 b ). first cell 540 comprises first section fill cap 541 and first section drain cap 542 , second cell 545 comprises second section fill cap 546 and second section drain cap 547 , third cell 550 comprises third section fill cap 551 and third section drain cap 552 , and fourth cell 555 comprises fourth section fill cap 556 and fourth section drain cap 557 . returning now to fig1 a , inside wall 205 is disposed within outside wall 210 , and chamber 215 is disposed between inside wall 205 and outside wall 210 . exterior surface 211 is disposed on outside wall 210 opposite from chamber 215 , and interior surface 206 is disposed on inside wall 205 opposite from chamber 215 . enclosed area 150 is disposed within inside wall 205 of conical top 200 . wire 230 is electrically insulated and is in electrical communication with lightning rod 225 and grounding stake 235 , wherein lightning rod 225 , wire 230 and grounding stake 235 transfer electricity from a lightning strike to ground g . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that wire 230 may be disposed in any position that will allow electricity to be safely conducted from lightning rod 225 to grounding stake 235 , and ultimately to ground g . skirt 240 is disposed at bottom 201 of conical top 200 , wherein skirt 240 extends radially outward from outside wall 210 . in a preferred embodiment , twelve skirt bolt holes 243 are located around skirt 240 equidistant from each other and twelve skirt stake holes 245 are located around skirt 240 equidistant from each other , wherein fifteen degrees of arc separate each skirt bolt hole 243 from nearest skirt stake holes 245 . alternately , there may be any number of skirt bolt holes 243 and skirt stake holes 245 , wherein skirt bolt holes 243 and skirt stake holes 245 are disposed around skirt 240 . conical top 200 and base 500 preferably comprise a polymeric material , such as , for exemplary purposes only , polyethylene . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that conical top 200 and base 500 may comprise any material of sufficient strength that is not porous to water . in a preferred embodiment , upper terminus 220 is approximately eight feet above bottom surface 520 of base 500 , duplex spikes 244 are approximately three feet in length , inside wall 205 is disposed approximately six inches from outside wall 210 , conical diameter 315 and base bottom diameter 530 are approximately eight feet long , platform 515 of base 500 is approximately three feet above bottom surface 520 of base 500 , skirt 240 extends approximately three inches radially outward from bottom 201 of conical top 200 , and fringe 505 extends approximately nine inches radially outward from base bottom 501 of base 500 . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the dimensions referenced herein may be adjusted as required . turning now more particularly to fig1 a and 3a , in a preferred embodiment first sub - chamber 260 of conical top 200 comprises ninety degrees of arc . similarly , second sub - chamber 265 , third sub - chamber 270 and fourth sub - chamber 275 preferably also comprise ninety degrees of arc . first sub - chamber 260 is disposed between inside wall 205 and outside wall 210 . first sub - chamber fill cap 262 is in fluid communication with first sub - chamber 260 , wherein first sub - chamber fill cap 262 is disposed on exterior surface 211 proximate to upper terminus 220 . first sub - chamber drain cap 263 is in fluid communication with first sub - chamber 260 , wherein first sub - chamber drain cap 263 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to skirt 240 . second sub - chamber 265 is disposed between inside wall 205 and outside wall 210 . second sub - chamber fill cap 267 is in fluid communication with second sub - chamber 265 , wherein second sub - chamber fill cap 267 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to upper terminus 220 . second sub - chamber drain cap 268 is in fluid communication with second sub - chamber 265 , wherein second sub - chamber drain cap 268 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to skirt 240 . third sub - chamber 270 is disposed between inside wall 205 and outside wall 210 . third sub - chamber fill cap 272 is in fluid communication with third sub - chamber 270 , wherein third sub - chamber fill cap 272 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to upper terminus 220 . third sub - chamber drain cap 273 is in fluid communication with third sub - chamber 270 , wherein third sub - chamber drain cap 273 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to skirt 240 . fourth sub - chamber 275 is disposed between inside wall 205 and outside wall 210 . fourth sub - chamber fill cap 277 is in fluid communication with fourth sub - chamber 275 , wherein fourth sub - chamber fill cap 277 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to upper terminus 220 . fourth sub - chamber drain cap 278 is in fluid communication with fourth sub - chamber 275 , wherein fourth sub - chamber drain cap 278 is disposed on outer surface 211 proximate to skirt 240 . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that first sub - chamber drain cap 263 , second sub - chamber drain cap 268 , third sub - chamber drain cap 273 and fourth sub - chamber drain cap 278 may alternatively be disposed on any accessible portion of interior surface 206 proximate to skirt 240 . similarly , first sub - chamber fill cap 262 , second sub - chamber fill cap 267 , third sub - chamber fill cap 272 and fourth sub - chamber fill cap 277 may alternatively be disposed anywhere on conical top 200 proximate to upper terminus 220 . it will further be recognized by those skilled in the art that conical top 200 may comprise any number of chambers 215 other than the four chambers 215 described herein , wherein chambers 215 comprise degrees of arc other than ninety degrees . turning to fig1 a and 1b , in a preferred embodiment door 290 is disposed in conical top 200 , wherein door 290 is hingedly secured to inside wall 205 via hinge 300 , and wherein door edges 291 peripherally surround door 290 . door exterior 292 is disposed on door 290 opposite from enclosed area 150 . when door 290 is closed , door exterior 292 and exterior surface 211 comprise smooth , flush surface 320 . in a preferred embodiment , door interior peripheral edge 293 is dimensioned larger than door exterior peripheral edge 294 , thereby preventing door 290 from opening outwardly from enclosed area 150 . window 295 is preferably hingedly secured to door 290 via window hinge 312 , wherein window 295 is disposed within door 290 , and wherein window edges 296 peripherally surround window 295 , and wherein window 295 is disposed within window frame edges 311 of window frame 310 . in a preferred embodiment , window interior peripheral edge 297 is dimensioned larger than window exterior peripheral edge 298 , thereby preventing window 295 from opening outwardly from enclosed area 150 . second door 340 is preferably hingedly secured to inside wall 205 , wherein second door edges 341 peripherally surround second door 340 . in a preferred embodiment , second door interior peripheral edge 342 is dimensioned larger than second door exterior peripheral edge 343 , thereby preventing second door 340 from opening away from enclosed area 150 . similar to door 290 , second door 340 could comprise a window . moreover , any number of doors and windows , whether openable or not , could be disposed on exterior surface 211 of conical top 200 . turning now to fig2 b , fringe 505 extends radially outward from base bottom 501 base 500 . angled wall 525 extends between bottom surface 520 and platform 515 . in a preferred embodiment , twelve fringe bolt holes 506 are located around fringe 505 equidistant from each other and twelve fringe stake holes 507 are located around fringe 505 equidistant from each other , wherein approximately fifteen degrees of arc separate each fringe bolt hole 506 from nearby fringe stake holes 507 . alternately , there may be any number of fringe bolt holes 506 and fringe stake holes 507 , wherein fringe bolt holes 506 and fringe stake holes 507 are arranged around fringe 505 . in a preferred embodiment , first cell 540 of base 500 comprises approximately ninety degrees of arc . similarly , second cell 545 , third cell 550 and fourth cell 555 also each comprise approximately ninety degrees of arc . it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that base 500 could comprise any number of interior cells 535 other than the four described , and interior cells 535 could comprise degrees of arc other than ninety degrees . first section fill cap 541 is in fluid communication with first cell 540 , wherein first section fill cap 541 is disposed on upper surface 510 . alternatively , first section fill cap 541 could be disposed on angled wall 525 . first section drain cap 542 is in fluid communication with first cell 540 , wherein first section drain cap 542 is disposed on angled wall 525 proximate to fringe 505 . second section fill cap 546 is in fluid communication with second cell 545 , wherein second section fill cap 546 is disposed on upper surface 510 . alternatively , second section fill cap 546 could be disposed on angled wall 525 . second section drain cap 547 is in fluid communication with second cell 545 , wherein second section drain cap 547 is disposed on angled wall 525 proximate to fringe 505 . third section fill cap 551 is in fluid communication with third cell 550 , wherein third section fill cap 551 is disposed on upper surface 510 . alternatively , third section fill cap 551 could be disposed on angled wall 525 . third section drain cap 552 is in fluid communication with third cell 550 , wherein third section drain cap 552 is disposed on angled wall 525 proximate to fringe 505 . fourth section fill cap 556 is in fluid communication with fourth cell 555 , wherein fourth section fill cap 556 is disposed on upper surface 510 . alternatively , fourth section fill cap 556 could be disposed on angled wall 525 . fourth section drain cap 557 is in fluid communication with fourth cell 555 , wherein fourth section drain cap 557 is disposed on angled wall 525 proximate to fringe 505 . in use , referring to fig1 a , 2 a and 2 b , base 500 is placed on ground g or another surface . occupant p fills first cell 540 via first section fill cap 541 , second cell 545 via second section fill cap 546 , third cell 550 via third section fill cap 551 and fourth cell 555 via fourth section fill cap 556 . first cell 540 , second cell 545 , third cell 550 and fourth cell 555 are preferably filled with liquid l such as , for exemplary purposes only , water , wherein liquid l may include chemicals , such as , for exemplary purposes only , calcium chloride or other chemicals as are known in the art to decrease the freezing temperature of water . conical top 200 is subsequently placed over base 500 , wherein inside wall 205 of conical top 200 is disposed proximate to angled wall 525 of base 500 . in a preferred embodiment , base bottom diameter 530 ( including wall thickness ) of base 500 is dimensioned slightly less than , but close to , conical diameter 315 of conical top 200 . alternately , base bottom diameter 530 of base 500 is dimensioned proximate to conical diameter 315 of conical top 200 . after conical top 200 is placed over base 500 , conical top 200 is adjusted so that skirt bolt holes 243 align with fringe bolt holes 506 and skirt stake holes 245 align with fringe stake holes 507 . conical top 200 is preferably selectively secured to base 500 via inserting bolts 241 through skirt bolt holes 243 and fringe bolt holes 506 , wherein nuts 242 are subsequently secured to bolts 241 . preferably , occupant p drills holes h into ground g , wherein stake diameter 246 is dimensioned slightly greater than the diameter of holes h . storm shelter 100 is preferably selectively secured to the ground via placing duplex spikes 244 through skirt stake holes 245 and fringe stake holes 507 , wherein duplex spikes 244 preferably are secured into holes h . occupant p fills first sub - chamber 260 via first sub - chamber fill cap 262 , second sub - chamber 265 via second sub - chamber fill cap 267 , third sub - chamber 270 via third sub - chamber fill cap 272 and fourth sub - chamber 275 via fourth sub - chamber fill cap 277 . first sub - chamber 260 , second sub - chamber 265 , third sub - chamber 270 and fourth sub - chamber 275 are preferably filled with liquid l , such as , for exemplary purposes , water . occupant p opens door 290 to enter enclosed area 150 of storm shelter 100 , wherein subsequent to entering enclosed area 150 , occupant p stands or sits on platform 515 of base 500 before closing door 290 ( best shown fig1 a ). occupant p secures door 290 and can view the conditions outside via window 295 or second door 340 from the safety of enclosed area 150 . door 290 , window 295 and second door 340 are securable , for exemplary purposes only , via a latch or other securing mechanisms as are known in the art . after bad weather has passed , occupant p opens door 290 to exit storm shelter 100 . to disassemble storm shelter 100 , occupant p opens first sub - chamber drain cap 263 , second sub - chamber drain cap 268 , third sub - chamber drain cap 273 and fourth sub - chamber drain cap 278 , thereby allowing liquid l to drain from first sub - chamber 260 , second sub - chamber 265 , third sub - chamber 270 and fourth sub - chamber 275 , respectively . occupant p removes duplex spikes 244 and bolts 241 from storm shelter 100 . occupant p removes conical top 200 from base 500 , and then opens first section drain cap 542 , second section drain cap 547 , third section drain cap 552 and fourth section drain cap 557 , thereby allowing liquid l to drain from first cell 540 , second cell 545 , third cell 550 and fourth cell 555 , respectively . in an alternate embodiment , storm shelter 100 is substantially equivalent in form and function to that of the preferred embodiment detailed above except as hereinafter specifically referenced . specifically , skirt 240 of conical top 200 does not comprise skirt bolt holes 243 , and fringe 505 of base 500 does not comprise fringe bolt holes 507 . in use , conical top 200 and base 500 are selectively secured together via duplex spikes 244 , wherein duplex spikes 244 also secure storm shelter 100 to ground g . in another alternate embodiment , storm shelter 100 is substantially equivalent in form and function to that of the preferred embodiment detailed above except as hereinafter specifically referenced . specifically , skirt 240 of conical top 200 does not comprise skirt stake holes 245 , and fringe 505 of base 500 does not comprise fringe stake holes 507 . in use , conical top 200 and base 500 are secured together via bolts 241 and nuts 242 , relying upon the weight of liquid l and storm shelter 100 to secure storm shelter 100 to ground g . in still another alternate embodiment , storm shelter 100 is substantially equivalent in form and function to that of the preferred embodiment detailed above except as hereinafter specifically referenced . specifically , storm shelter 100 does not comprise base 500 . in use , conical top 200 is selectively secured to the ground via duplex spikes 244 or without duplex spikes 244 ; in the latter case relying upon the weight of liquid l and storm shelter 100 to secure storm shelter 100 to ground g . turning now to fig4 - 6 , in yet another embodiment , storm shelter 100 comprises dome top 600 , footing 700 , and flange 800 . dome top 600 is dome - shaped and comprises dome skirt 640 , wherein dome skirt 640 comprises skirt holes 645 and skirt opening 648 . footing 700 comprises footing holes 708 , footing interior cell 735 , and footing notch 760 . dome top 600 and footing 700 preferably comprise a weighted filler substance , such as , for exemplary purposes only and without limitation , foam , wood , and / or metal . flange 800 comprises flange holes 810 . turning more particularly to fig6 , in use , dome top 600 is placed onto footing 700 , wherein skirt holes 645 are aligned with footing holes 708 , and wherein footing notch 760 is disposed within skirt opening 648 . flange 800 is placed on dome skirt 640 , wherein flange holes 810 are aligned with skirt holes 645 . bolts 241 and nuts 242 ( not shown but similar to bolts and nuts shown in fig1 a ) are affixed through flange holes 810 , skirt holes 645 , and footing holes 708 . alternatively , stakes 244 ( not shown but similar to stakes shown in fig1 a ) are affixed through flange holes 810 , skirt holes 645 , and footing holes 708 . it will be recognized that various components described above may be mixed and matched . for exemplary purposes only and without limitation , conical top 200 could be paired with footing 700 , dome top 600 could be paired with base 500 , and stakes 244 could be used in place of bolt 241 and nut 242 . further , flange 800 could be enlarged to comprise more flange holes 810 than shown in fig6 , or flange 600 could be reduced in size to comprise less flange holes 810 . footing interior cell 735 comprises a foam material that is preferably sufficiently strong to support a person , and sufficiently heavy to hold storm shelter 100 in place , but yet sufficiently light to allow footing 700 to be moved . it will be recognized that footing interior cell 735 may comprise any material that preferably exhibits one of the above - discussed qualities . the foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure . having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure , it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only , and that various other alternatives , adaptations , and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure . merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method . many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . although specific terms may be employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . accordingly , the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein , but is limited only by the following claims . | 8 |
transfer device 1 comprises feeders 2 and conveyor 3 . conveyor 3 forms outgoing flight 4 , wherein pockets 11 are prepared to receive a product from stack 6 . singulator 47 feeds one product 7 to gripper 48 which carries it around feed wheel 8 . drive sheave 10 , through drive belt 49 , rotates feed wheel 8 . jacket 7 , as shown in the left feeder 2 of fig1 is then dropped into one of pockets 11 . as can be seen particularly in fig2 hinges 19 approach each other very closely as the conveyor travels around pairs of sprocket wheels at the extremities of the path . in order to permit this , enlarged diameter section 12 is provided at these points . this enables hinges 9 to clear one another during this portion of the travel and still allow flights 4 and 5 to be relatively close to each other . it provides an added advantage whereby flight 4 can be located at a convenient height for the operator ( s ). the idler end of conveyor 3 may comprise sprocket wheels analogous to those shown in fig2 . however , it has been found advantageous to use the construction of fig1 . as can be seen therein , enlarged diameter section 12 is shown within frame 73 . idler cams 74 are provided and rollers 37 roll thereover . this eliminates the necessity for a second pair of sprocket wheels . the construction of pocket 11 is best shown in fig3 . it comprises fixed wall 13 having upper edge 17 and lower edge 18 . movable wall 14 includes far edge 15 and near edge 16 . fixed wall 13 and movable wall 14 are connected at hinge 19 adjacent near edge 16 and lower edge 18 . fixed wall 13 has upper portion 21 which is at an angle to lower portion 22 . on outer surface 23 is mounted compression spring 25 extending between fixed end 24 and movable end 26 . actuated arm 27 connects movable end 26 with pivot 28 . on the other side of pivot 28 is receiving arm 29 which engages actuator bar 30 . exterior surface 20 of movable wall 14 carries bracket 31 in which bar 30 is slidable . referring to fig3 and 13 , the pockets are shown in open and closed position , respectively . actuator bar 30 is loosely mounted in bracket 31 , thus forming gap 79 . the loose fit permits movable wall 14 to assume positions which are not parallel to fixed wall 13 when in the closed position . thus , if inserts into jacket 7 are introduced unequally , thick end 56 can be accommodated without risk of damaging movable wall 14 or allowing the inserts to slip out . in operation , the pressure of spring 25 on movable end 26 urges actuated arm 27 in the downward direction as shown in fig3 . this force is transmitted through pivot 28 to receiving arm 29 and causes bar 30 to move upwardly in bracket 31 , thereby bringing movable wall 14 to its closed position . as shown in fig1 , movable wall 13 is provided with leaf springs 83 which urge the paper toward the fixed wall . springs 83 are short so that they do not interfere with the opening of the paper for receipt of inserts . referring more specifically to fig4 and 5 , the formation of linked plurality 32 of pockets 11 is shown . center pocket 11 has following bushings 33 which engage following pocket 36 ; similarly , preceding bushings 34 engage preceding pocket 35 . rollers 37 and 38 support plurality 32 and the pockets . for use in connection with vacuum , vacuum inlets 39 are provided in upper portion 21 of the pockets . linked plurality 32 of pockets 11 is shown in perspective in fig1 . it is a feature of one embodiment of the present invention that fixed wall 13 is provided with chamfers 80 . as jacket 7 is inserted into pocket 11 , the force of movement in the downstream direction of arrow 77 , together with the configuration of the device , ( especially chamfers 80 ), causes jacket 7 to bow at 76 in the upstream direction . this curved shape tends to stiffen jacket 7 and prevent upper end 78 , which extends beyond upper portion 21 of pocket 11 , from folding over the outer surface of upper portion 21 . the manner of formation of the bow at 76 is not critical . providing fixed wall 13 with chamfers 80 is one way of accomplishing this . alternatively , downstream wall 13 and / or upstream wall 14 may be arcuate in shape , bowing upstream in the direction opposite to arrow 77 . thus , when paper 7 rests thereon , it assumes the desired shape . in another modification , chamfers 80 can be a v - shape , which would achieve substantially the same result . even protuberances extending downstream from the downstream face of fixed wall 13 will provide the bowing effect . while fig1 shows the elements for causing bowing at 76 on fixed wall 13 , this is not essential . movable wall 14 can carry similar devices to accomplish the same result . in the latter case , however , it is more advantageous if there is a space between movable wall 14 of one pocket 11 and fixed wall 13 of the immediately upstream pocket 11 when the pocket is in its open position . in order to be certain that the pockets are empty of any residual papers or inserts at the end of the insertion cycle , the sprocket is provided with a particular mechanism for doing so . as shown in fig1 and 11 , sprocket 50 carries notches 52 into which support rollers 37 and 38 of pockets 11 fit . as sprocket 50 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in fig1 , cam followers 53 bear against opening cams 51 . locking support roller 37 enters notch 52 ; thereafter , trailing support roller 38 enters the next notch 52 . this causes cam follower 53 to bear against cam 51 , thus opening the pocket , the rotation of sprocket 50 inverts the open pocket . as a result , pockets 11 are emptied by a combination of centrifugal force and gravity . in order to prevent pockets 11 from snapping shut violently , and hence risking damage thereto , stationary cam 54 bears against cam followers 53 and guides them so that closure of pockets 11 is accomplished slowly . a modification of the foregoing is useful when the missed insert repair system is being used . when this system senses that an insert has been missed , it disables the gripper opening cam so that the paper will go through a second cycle to pick up the missing insert . in the most preferred form of the device , all of the inserting stations subsequent to the one which was missed are also disabled . thereafter , when the paper is returned to the original missed station , all of the subsequent stations are enabled . in this situation , the specific pocket to be recycled must not be opened and emptied when traveling around sprocket 50 . this is accomplished by moving the selected opening cam 51 which corresponds to the missed insert pocket in a direction perpendicular to the plane of sprocket 50 . opening cam 51 becomes inoperative cam 55 as shown in dotted lines in fig1 . in this position , the cam does not contact cam follower 53 and the specific pocket is not opened . the vacuum system is shown in fig6 , 8 , and 9 . plenum 41 is located within the path of vacuum belt 42 . upper portions 21 are equipped with suction inlets 43 which are in communication with vacuum inlets 39 . on belt 42 are vacuum holes 72 . idlers 46 permit belt 42 to be driven by pockets 11 . in operation , teeth 45 mounted on pockets 11 engage notches 70 on belt 42 . as pockets 11 are driven , belt 42 is carried along therewith . since plenum 41 is under vacuum , this vacuum is communicated through vacuum holes 72 , vacuum cups 44 , suction inlets 43 , and vacuum tubes 71 to vacuum inlets 39 . plenum 41 is proportioned with regard to the cycle of pockets 11 so that vacuum is applied thereto only when required . in operating apparatus of this kind , it is desirable to be able to adjust the point between the pocket walls at which the jacket is divided for introduction of the inserts while the apparatus is running . to accomplish this , as shown in fig1 , each pocket 11 carries side opener 57 which is attached thereto by brackets 59 . rod 58 is slidably mounted therein for movement in either direction as indicated by arrow 60 . divider 61 is adapted for movement in the directions indicated by arrow 62 . as the pocket carrying side opener 57 moves past actuating cam 67 , actuating cam follower 68 is urged inwardly ( toward the upper left ), carrying with it divider 61 . rod 58 is spring biased outwardly , so that actuating cam follower 68 will bear against actuating cam 67 as the pocket passes thereby . thus , the paper is separated thereby into two portions , between which the inserts are to be introduced . to adjust the dividing point , adjustment cam 66 is provided . adjustment cam follower 65 is connected to link 64 through pin 63 . as adjustment cam follower 65 is urged inward , link 64 , and divider 61 , are moved toward the lower left . when adjustment cam follower 65 moves outwardly , link 64 and divider 61 move toward the upper right . since adjustment cam follower 65 is spring biased outwardly , and adjustment cam 66 can be set at various positions in the directions of arrow 69 , the precise point at which divider 61 will enter the paper can easily be set . moreover , since the setting is only of stationary cam 66 , this can be accomplished without stopping the operation of the machine . although only a limited number of specific embodiments of the present invention have been expressly disclosed , it is , nonetheless , to be broadly construed and not to be limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto . | 1 |
2 - bromo - 1 - mercaptonaphthalene is synthesized by a method shown in fig1 . this synthesis method is described in roczniki chemii ( 1965 ), 39 ( 3 ), 391 - 403 . firstly , a commercial 2 - amino - 1 - naphthalenesulfonic acid ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 50 g ) ( s 1 in fig1 ) is dissolved in 2 . 5 % aqueous sodium hydroxide , cooled to 0 ° c ., added to sodium nitrite ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 15 . 4 g ) dissolved in 50 ml of the purified water , added to concentrated hydrochloric acid ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 112 ml ), agitated for thirty minutes , and then filtered . then , the precipitate is washed with 250 ml of the purified water . then , the filtrate is added to 48 % hydrobromic acid ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 100 ml ) in which copper bromide ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 50 g ) is suspended , heated to 95 ° c ., and filtered . then , the filtrate is added to potassium chloride ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 50 g ), and the precipitate is filtered , dissolved in 65 ml of boiling water , and neutralized and recrystallized in 50 % potassium hydroxide solution . thus , 25 g of 2 - bromo - 1 - naphthalenesulfonic acid potassium salt ( s 2 in fig1 ) is obtained . then , phosphorus pentachloride ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 30 g ) is added to s 2 , heated to 100 ° c ., agitated for thirty minutes , cooled to a room temperature , and agitated for four hours . then , the reactant is exposed to ice to stop reaction and recrystallized . thus , 20 g of 2 - bromo - 1 - naphthalenesulfonyl chloride ( s 3 in fig1 ) is obtained . then , s 3 is added to acetic acid ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 420 ml ) in which stannous chloride dihydrate ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 120 g ) is dissolved , and agitated for five hours under a room temperature . the reacted solution is added to concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 420 ml ), left for two hours , extracted , and recrystallized . thus , 2 - bromo - 1 - mercaptonaphthalene ( s 4 in fig1 ) is obtained . dinaphthothienothiophene ( organic semiconductor material ) is synthesized by a method shown in fig2 using the synthesized 2 - bromo - 1 - mercaptonaphthalene ( s 4 in fig1 ). 9 . 6 g of s 4 is dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 1000 ml ) in an ar atmosphere , cooled to − 78 ° c ., added to 16 % pentane solution of t - butyllithium ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 60 ml ), agitated for one hour , added to dibromomethane ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 3 . 6 g ), heated to 50 ° c ., agitated for five hours , and refined . thus , 6 g of s 5 in fig2 is obtained . next , s 5 is dissolved in diethyl ether ( made by wako pure chemical industries , ltd , 500 ml ), cooled to − 78 ° c ., added to 16 % pentane solution of t - butyllithium ( 36 ml ), agitated for one hour , added to methyl n , n - dimethylcarbamate ( 1 . 5 g , prepared by a method disclosed in jp - a - 2010 - 53057 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference ), heated to − 40 ° c ., agitated for four hours , and refined . thus , 3 g of s 6 in fig2 is obtained . finally , s 6 is dissolved in a mixture of diethyl ether ( 400 ml ) and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ( made by tokyo chemical industry co ., ltd , 100 ml ), cooled to − 78 ° c ., added to 16 % pentane solution of t - butyllithium ( 5 . 6 ml ), agitated , heated to a room temperature gradually , agitated for two hours , added to purified water at 0 ° c ., heated to 150 ° c . after removal of diethyl ether under reduced pressure , agitated for one hour , and refined . thus , 1 g of dinaphthothienothiophene ( s 7 in fig2 ) is obtained . a thin - film transistor ( organic semiconductor device ) is manufactured by the following processes 1 - 4 using the synthesized dinaphthothienothiophene . an n - type silicon ( si ) wafer is used as a substrate 1 . a surface of the substrate 1 is thermally oxidized to form a silicon oxide ( sio 2 ) layer ( gate insulation layer 2 ) having a thickness of 200 nm and then is cleaned . next , a titanium ( ti ) layer having a thickness of 5 nm and a gold ( au ) layer having a thickness of 50 nm are successively formed on the gate insulation layer 2 by a resistance - heating vacuum evaporation method . a novolak resin - based photoresist is applied to the surface formed in the process 1 . then , the photoresist is patterned into a predetermined pattern by exposure and development using a photo mask . then , the gold ( au ) layer is etched by using a special etchant containing potassium iodide and iodine , and the titanium ( ti ) layer is etched by using hydrofluoric acid ( 200 - fold dilution ). then , the resist layer is removed by using special resist stripping solution . thus , a source electrode 3 a and a drain electrode 3 b , which are made from a stacked layer of the titanium ( ti ) layer and the gold ( au ) layer , are formed . fig3 a is a diagram illustrating a cross - section view of the substrate 1 in this condition , taken along the line iiia - iiia in fig3 b . fig3 b is a diagram illustrating a top view of the substrate 1 . fig3 a and 3b illustrates the substrate 1 in a simple manner . therefore , details such as a thickness ratio may not be accurate . the surface of the substrate 1 is cleaned by using an ozonation apparatus . then , phenethyl self - assembled monolayer is formed on the surface of the gate insulation layer 2 by immersing the substrate 1 in solution in which phenethylsilane compound ( β - phen : c 6 h 5 ( ch 2 ) 2 sicl 3 ) is dispersed in toluene . as shown in fig4 a and 4b , a layer ( organic semiconductor layer 4 ) made of dinaphthothienothiophene is formed on the surface of the substrate 1 to straddle between the source region 3 a and the drain electrode 3 b . thus , the thin - film transistor is manufactured . the organic semiconductor layer 4 is formed by a resistance - heating method performed by using a shadow mask under vacuum pressure of 3 × 10e - 4 pa . the organic semiconductor layer 4 is deposited to a thickness of 50 nm at a rate of 0 . 05 nm / s . a mobility , a threshold voltage , and an on / off ratio of the thin - film transistor ( hereinafter called the “ embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor ”) manufactured in the above manner is measured by operating the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor as a p - type transistor . a gate electrode is e n - type silicon ( si ) wafer ( substrate 1 ), and an active layer is the organic semiconductor layer 4 . further , the same measurement is conducted by using the same embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor after the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is stored for about one month at room temperature in the atmosphere . further , the same measurement is conducted by using another embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor ( another sample ) immediately after the other embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is manufactured and after the other embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is stored for about one month at a temperature of 100 ° c . in the atmosphere . results of these are shown in fig5 and fig6 . as a comparison example , a thin - film transistor ( hereinafter called the “ comparison example &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor ”) is manufactured by using pentacene instead of dinaphthothienothiophene in the process 4 . the same measurement as conducted for the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is conducted for the example &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor . results of these are shown in fig5 and fig6 . as is clear from fig5 and fig6 , characteristics ( mobility , threshold voltage , and on / off ratio ) of the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor are not much degraded , after the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is stored for about one month at room temperature in the atmosphere or stored for about one month at a temperature of 100 ° c . in the atmosphere . in contrast , characteristics of the comparison example &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor are much degraded , after the comparison example &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor is stored for about one month at room temperature in the atmosphere and stored for about one month at a temperature of 100 ° c . in the atmosphere . it is noted that each of the embodiment &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor and the comparison example &# 39 ; s thin - film transistor has a channel width of 1800 μm and a channel length of 10 μm . a carrier mobility is estimated from a relational expression ( mathematical expression 1 ) between a gate voltage and a drain current in the saturation region . in the above ( mathematical expression 1 ), i d represents the drain current , w represents the channel width , l represents the channel length , ε i represents a permittivity of the gate insulation layer 2 , ε 0 represents a vacuum permittivity , v g represents the gate voltage , and v th represents the threshold voltage . | 2 |
in general , the present disclosure discusses a power distribution module for use in a vehicle . the power distribution module tile is capable of being made water - resistant and opens and closes using a one - handed operation , and includes other desirable properties . fig1 depicts an atv 100 with a steering mechanism 102 that controls the orientation of a set of front wheels 106 via a steering shaft 104 . the steering shaft 104 couples the steering mechanism 102 with the front wheels 106 via tie rods ( not shown ) that connect the steering shaft 104 to the suspension system ( not shown ) of the front wheels 106 . the details regarding the coupling of the steering shaft 104 and the suspension system for the wheels 106 vary from atv to atv and are known and are not the focus of the present invention . therefore , they are not discussed further . as the steering mechanism 102 is turned , the front wheels 106 also turn , thereby controlling the direction in which the atv 100 moves . an engine 108 is mounted toward the front of the chassis of the atv 100 . the engine provides power to the drive train ( not shown ) of the atv 100 . the details of the drive train vary from atv to atv , but according to the present invention , the atv will have a power distribution module 110 to control the flow of power and electrical signals . the power distribution module will typically be located on a portion of the frame of the atv near the engine compartment . however , the location can vary depending on the atv . similarly , the power distribution module of the present disclosure can be used on a snowmobile , and its use and placement are dictated by considerations similar to those in using the power distribution in an atv . referring generally to fig2 - 10 , an example of an embodiment of a power distribution module 210 of the present invention is shown . power distribution module 210 is adapted for housing and securing electrical components to protect them from inclement operating conditions . power distribution module 210 includes a housing 220 , the housing 220 defining an interior , and a distribution harness 260 . the housing 220 includes a component attachment portion 230 adapted to receive and hold electrical components ( not shown ). electrical components are held in place in receptacle openings 232 in a wall 231 of the housing 220 . the receptacle openings 232 are spaced apart and adapted to receive and secure electrical components within the housing , as will be discussed further . in the example embodiment shown , the housing 220 includes a component attachment portion 230 and a removable cover 250 . preferably , when the cover 250 is removably secured to the component attachment portion 230 of the housing 220 , a waterproof seal is formed , keeping the electrical components protected in the interior of the housing 220 free from condensation or other aqueous materials , such as oil or mud , that can cause the electrical components to have a shortened life or fail . one of skill in the art will recognize that many modifications could be made to make the housing waterproof , such as a lip and a gasket . a latch 252 on the cover 250 may engage with a catch 240 on the component attachment portion 230 to removably secure the cover 250 in place . an advantage of the example embodiment shown is that a user can remove the cover 250 from the component attachment portion 230 using only one hand , as will be discussed further below , by disengaging each latch 252 from its catch 240 . this is especially helpful when accessing the power distribution module 210 , which may not be easily accessible . this allows for easy access to the electrical components in the event that one needs to be replaced , since the power distribution module 210 is typically located in a small and cluttered space . the cover 250 also can be seated in place by engaging one or more stops 238 protruding from an outer surface 237 of the component attachment portion 230 . when the cover 250 is secured to the component attachment portion 230 , the electrical components in the interior are protected from the elements . optionally , one or more mounting brackets 244 can be included on the housing 220 for connecting to a complementary mating portion ( not shown ) located on the atv frame to releasably secure the power distribution module 210 . referring to fig1 - 13 , shown is an exemplary embodiment of a latch 252 and catch 240 arrangement that allows for one - handed removal and placement of the cover 250 on the component attachment portion 230 , such as that shown in fig1 - 2 . catch 240 includes a distal end 281 and a proximal end 282 . proximal end 282 of catch 240 is attached to the cover 250 . proximal end 282 includes an arcuate section 283 that forms a pocket 284 between depending section 285 of catch 240 and the cover 250 . pocket 284 holds a sealing member 285 , for example , a gasket or o - ring . distal end 281 of catch 240 includes an engagement member 286 . catch 240 also includes a resilient portion 287 that allows the distal end 281 of catch 240 to move towards and away from the cover 250 . the resilient portion 287 biases the catch 240 into an engagement position away from the cover 250 when there is no force applied to catch 240 . catch 240 also includes a finger engagement portion 288 . force f 1 applied to the finger engagement portion 288 moved the distal end 281 of the catch 240 towards the cover 250 . catch 240 includes a flange member 290 extending from the wall of the component attachment portion 230 . the flange member 290 includes a distal portion 291 located away from the component attachment portion 230 . a protruding shoulder 292 projects from the distal end 291 of the flange member 290 , forming a catch receiving area 293 there between . latch 252 also includes an arcuate section 294 for receiving into the pocket 284 of catch 240 . fig1 shows the cover 250 and component attachment portion 230 with the cover 250 disengaged . fig1 shows the cover 250 engaged with the component attachment portion 230 , whereby a watertight seal is formed . beginning from the disengaged position , cover 250 is engaged with the component attachment portion 230 by inserting the distal end 281 of the catch 240 into the catch receiving area 293 of the latch 252 . as the catch 240 moves into the engagement position with the latch 252 , a ramp 289 engages the upper end 296 of the shoulder 292 , creating an inward force f 1 that moves the distal end 281 of the catch 240 towards the cover 250 . the catch 240 is moved into the catch receiving area 293 until the engagement member 286 of the catch 240 clears the lower end 295 of the shoulder 292 , removing the inward force f 1 from the distal end 281 of the catch 240 . upon removal of the force , the resilient portion 287 of the catch 240 returns the catch 240 to the unbiased position and the engagement member 286 of the catch 240 engages the lower end 295 of the shoulder 292 , securing the cover 250 onto the component attachment portion 230 . a watertight seal is formed by the sealing member 285 being compressed into the pocket 284 by the arcuate section 294 of the latch 252 . preferably , the pocket 284 runs around the entire periphery of the cover 250 , and the sealing member 285 is made from one piece of material , minimizing the chance that leak points exist . compression of the sealing member 285 also creates a compressive force that holds the engagement member 286 against the lower end 295 of the shoulder 292 , creating an interference fit that keeps the cover 250 secured . referring to fig1 - 2 & amp ; 12 - 13 , to remove the cover 250 from the component attachment portion 230 via a one - handed operation , a force f 2 is applied to the finger engagement portion 288 of each catch 240 , moving each catch 240 towards the cover 250 until the engagement member 286 clears the shoulder 292 . the compressive force stored in the sealing member 285 then moves the cover 250 slightly away from the component attachment portion 230 and the cover 250 can be completely removed from the component attachment portion 230 , allowing access to the components . referring generally to fig2 - 10 , the power distribution module 210 may be mounted to a distribution harness 260 . the distribution harness 260 includes a plurality of electrical conductors 262 , which optionally can be housed within a sheath 269 to keep the conductors 262 in a bundle . each electrical conductor 262 optionally may include an insulating covering ( not shown ). each electrical conductor 262 goes into an associated receptacle opening 232 , and is in electrical communication with an electrical component secured into receptacle openings 232 inside the housing . one or more electrical components are secured into the receptacle openings 232 in the housing 220 . the electrical components can be of any type typically used in power distribution systems , such as resistors , capacitors , diodes and fuses . referring to fig2 and 3 , the distribution harness 260 preferably is secured to the housing 220 to keep the conductors 262 in an orderly bundle . in the example embodiment shown , a first cable tie 264 secures a first section 265 of the distribution harness 260 to a first cable tie down 234 on the component attachment portion 230 of the housing 220 , and a second cable tie 266 secures a second section 267 of the distribution harness 260 to a second cable tie down 236 on the component attachment portion 230 of the housing 220 . optionally , a third cable tie 268 can secure conductors in the bundle at a third section 269 between the first and second sections 265 , 267 of the distribution harness 260 . the third cable tie 268 also secures conductors or other elements in the distribution harness 260 that do not contain termination points into the receptacle openings 232 . referring to fig9 , in the example embodiment shown , the receptacle openings 232 are arranged in an array 242 of rows and columns having a regular spacing . the spacing can be selected so that the array 242 is adapted to receive and secure standardized electrical components . an advantage of having the array 242 of receptacle openings 232 with a regular spacing pattern is standardized electrical components can be located and installed easily in the power distribution module . preferably , the array 242 spacings are identical in the transverse t and lateral l directions . more preferably , the spacing is such that the receptacle openings 232 are arranged to receive ato ™ or atc ™ specification electrical components . referring to fig1 , a component arrangement guide 300 is shown . preferably , component arrangement guide 300 is a decal . a decal allows for easy identification and location of electrical components across product and model lines by placing the decal over the receptacle opening ( 232 as seen in fig3 and 9 ). the electrical components can then be easily located and installed . in the example embodiment shown , component arrangement guide includes a schematic for placing fuses 302 , diodes 304 , and a relay 306 in the receptacle openings of a power distribution module . the use of the decal allows each component to be easily located and installed into its proper receptacle opening , and also allows for easy identification of a specific component location if it needs to be replaced during maintenance . an advantage of the power distribution module of the present invention is that it can be used across a variety of models of personal recreational vehicle by using a standardized housing common to the models . a method of producing a plurality of personal recreational vehicle models is accomplished using the standardized power distribution module , thereby saving time and increasing product quality by allowing a reduction in inventory of parts specific to each model and also allowing for accurate placement of the electrical components during assembly . the power distribution module includes a plurality of receptacle openings passing from an interior to an exterior of the housing and is assembled into the personal recreational vehicle . by placing a component arrangement guide adjacent the receptacle openings on the interior side of the housing , the electrical components can be quickly and accurately installed . the component arrangement guide includes a schematic indicating placement of electrical components . preferably , the component arrangement guide is a decal , which can be pre - printed with electrical components arranged for later installation . when the component arrangement guide is used , the plurality of electrical components are installed into the housing into a position in the receptacle openings as indicated by the component arrangement guide . the electrical components can be installed before or after the power distribution module is placed into the personal recreational vehicle . when the electrical components and conductors are installed into the receptacle openings , each electrical component is electrically connected to an associated electrical conductor . each electrical component can be connected to its respective electrical conductor through its respective receptacle opening by a variety of techniques known in the art . the preferred method of connecting is to strip any insulation off the end of the conductor to be inserted into a receptacle opening . the stripped end is inserted into its respective receptacle opening . retention of the stripped end in the receptacle opening can be enhanced by shaping the stripped end to form fingers that will snap into one or more recesses in a sidewall of the receptacle opening , thereby locking the stripped end into the receptacle opening . if necessary , removal of the stripped end from its receptacle opening is accomplished by using an extraction tool that is inserted into the receptacle opening opposite the electrical conductor side to push the conductor out of the receptacle opening . preferably , the electrical conductors are installed before the electrical components . after each electrical conductor is inserted into its respective receptacle opening , each electrical component is inserted into its appropriate location in the power distribution module , as indicated by the component arrangement guide . preferably , each electrical component will have male - blade terminals that are inserted into their respective receptacle openings and the terminals are held into the receptacle openings using a friction or interference fit so that the electrical components will not fall out during operation . by using a friction fit , an operator can remove a defective electrical component using only fingers and no special tool is needed . it will be clear that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein . while presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure , various changes and modifications may be made which are well within the scope of the present invention . for example , power distribution module can include receptacle openings in more than one wall of the housing . numerous other changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims . | 1 |
generally , techniques herein describe methods and devices for the automated classification of a heart rhythm , across a spectrum from normal rhythm , called sinus rhythm , to cardiac arrhythmia , such as atrial fibrillation ( af ). the techniques encompass measuring a metric of heart performance that is chosen to assess heart rhythm performance over a functional operation range . that metric is correlated to heart rhythm conditions in that different values are predetermined to indicate different rhythm conditions , from sinus rhythm to af . more specifically , in various embodiments discussed below , the techniques involve determining a metric called the spectral frequency dispersion metric ( sfdm ), which is the sum of the spectrally distributed energy relative to the maximal energy over a set of specified frequencies and bands obtained from electrical recordings from the heart . the sfdm is , therefore , a metric related to the distribution of a heart performance metric ( in this case a measured energy ) across a specified functional operation range ( in this case discrete or continuous frequency bands ). the performance metric ( s ) once determined ( i . e . sfdm ), is correlated to heart rhythm state for use in diagnostic classification . for example , a baselining procedure is performed to determine the optimal segmentation of clusters generated by the sfdm or transformations of the sfdm ( i . e . mean , standard deviations , etc ), each corresponding to a different heart rhythm state . in an example implementation , sfdm values within a first region are correlated as identifying sinus rhythm . sfdm values in a second region , exceeding predetermined critical values ( i . e ., the energy is widely distributed ), are correlated to af . while sfdm values in a third region , between the two , are correlated to an atrial flutter ( afl ) condition . multiple additional sfdm value ranges may be used to further parse the heart rhythm spectrum to identify cardiac arrhythmia states . at the point of care or wherever patient assessment may be desired , the techniques may be implemented in a device having a form factor that is simple enough for patient use , allowing for user friendly operation , within or outside of a care facility . the techniques may be implemented in a single device or across multiple devices in a distributed fashion , and either way performing both sfdm measurement and heart rhythm classification , for easy identification by a patient or heath care professional . in some implementations , the device is a portable , stand - alone device that records electrical activity from the heart and then determines the presence of af in patients , such as those that have already been diagnosed as being at a risk of developing intermittent episodes of arrhythmia . the device may be compact in size , e . g ., hand - held , and with easy - to - apply electrodes to establish contact with the patient . through these electrodes , electrical activity ( and its vector ) may be recorded from the patient , filtered , amplified and processed using unique embedded algorithms to detect the rhythm status . the device may be designed to display both the measured electrical activity in real - time similar to an ecg monitor and the rhythm status , either to a separate monitor or to a display on the device itself . the simplest realization of the device may only employ indicator lights , or an audio / vibratory alert . the rhythm status may be displayable in both a common language manner ( e . g ., using phrases like “ normal ”, “ alarm ”, “ abnormal ”, “ atrial fibrillation ”, “ af ”), color - coded to alert the patient of the rhythm status or with the use of intuitive icons , or a combination thereof . in some examples , the techniques are implemented in a networked environment by which data measured from the device , whether displayed at the device or not , may be displayed at a remote system , such as at a healthcare facility ( hospital , nurses station , doctors terminal , prescription system , hospital administration system ). the device receiving real - time data may store that data in a structured , indexed , database for later retrieval by the device and for transmission to a central monitoring facility or other station , as mentioned herein , for example through a remote wireless network connection . the device may further include voice / sound feedback and / or tactile / vibratory feedback . the present techniques may also allow for controlling operation of af determination and assessment . for example , the device or other computer device networked therewith may provide a medical practitioner with an user input interface through which the practitioner may adjust operation of the device , including the sensitivity and specificity of af assessments . in yet other examples , the present techniques may be used to store historic patient af assessment data ( e . g ., ecg data ) and perform data mining on that data , e . g ., in an informatics - based manner to identify hard - to - notice , hidden , correlations of different time , frequency of phase patterns , for af assessment and treatment protocol determination . the techniques are able to offer numerous advantages and may be vitally important to determine the rhythm status in patients diagnosed with af . the techniques will allow patients to know if they are in a normal sinus rhythm condition or in af condition particularly during or after specific therapy applications , which may include pharmacological therapy with drugs or catheter or surgical based ablation therapies . during some therapy applications , patients are most at risk for stroke when they are experiencing af . in such examples , an anticoagulant may be greatly helpful in reducing the risk of strokes due to blood clots . however , in other conditions , anticoagulants may increase the risk of bleeding particularly intracranial bleeding , which can cause serious consequences . therefore , the present techniques provide a measured way for a patient to know if they are experiencing sinus rhythm or af , so that the patient can know , on their own , whether or not to take an anticoagulant . even outside of the therapeutic context , and more generally , patients may be experiencing af and not be aware of it . if af is untreated and is associated with rapid heart rates , this subsequently may impair the contractile function of the heart and may lead to a cardiomyopathy . with the present techniques , patients have a simplified method of identifying an af condition . fig1 provides a schematic illustration of an atrial fibrillation classification system 100 having an electrode assembly 102 forming at least part of an input stage for the system 100 . in the illustrated configuration , the electrode assembly 102 includes two sensing electrodes 104 that are to be mounted near a patient &# 39 ; s heart , for example using a medical mounting tape . the electrodes 104 may be standard ecg electrodes , for example , capable of positioning at any desired location and reusable . the two electrode configuration , as shown , allows for using two input pre - amplification , amplification , and noise shaping circuitry , as desired . in another configuration , additional numbers of electrodes may be used for example as in a normal ecg measurement . the electrode assembly 102 is coupled directly to the electrodes 104 in the illustrated embodiment and may include a signal amplifier , low pass filter , buffer , and / or other front end circuitry . in a wireless communication mode the electrode assembly 102 further includes an antenna and wireless transceiver stage coupled thereto . in an example , that wireless transceiver may be a bluetooth transceiver stage for wireless communication with a handheld atrial fibrillation classification unit 106 , also having an antenna and a bluetooth transceiver stage . in some examples , the electrode assembly 102 is connected to the atrial fibrillation classification unit 106 through a direct , wired connection . the atrial fibrillation classification unit 106 , discussed further and illustrated in an example in fig3 , receive electrical signals from the unit 102 and performs an analysis on those electrical singles , including determining a spectral frequency dispersion metric ( sfdm ) value over a predetermined range of frequencies and then performing a heart rhythm classification based on that total normalized power values . the classification data may be stored at the unit 106 and / or transmitted to a remote computer 108 through a wired or wireless connection ( wlan ) 110 . examples of wired interfaces include serial , universal serial bus ( usb ), or ethernet . a wlan compatible transceiver stage ( not shown ) within the device 106 may be a transceiver compliant with any one of the various ieee 802 . xx wireless standards , such as 802 . 15 ( bluetooth ) or 802 . 11a , b , g , and / or n wireless lan standards . additionally , longer range wireless communications , such as cellular modems , wimax ( 802 . 16 ) or mobile broadband wireless access ( 802 . 20 ) may be used for longer ranges or direct communication with the hospital or any monitoring station / service . the remote computer 108 may be any of a hospital , nurse &# 39 ; s station , doctor &# 39 ; s terminal , prescription system , or hospital administration system . and while a single such remote computer 108 is shown , a plurality of remote computes may be connected to the device . the remote computer 108 is coupled to medical records database 112 for storing historical atrial classification data for the patient and / or other atrial classification data , such as baseline data used for baselining . a display 114 is coupled to the remote computer 108 , as well as output device 116 such as a peripheral printer , such as a bar code printer , line printer , image printer , etc . other output devices may include an external database or other computer . fig2 a illustrates electrocardiogram signals , taken over a sampling period , for a patient under normal sinus rhythm . the signals are in the time domain , while fig2 b is a plot of the frequency domain representation of these electrocardiogram signals . fig2 c illustrates electrocardiogram signals , taken over a sampling period , for a patient experiencing atrial fibrillation . the signals in fig2 c are in the time domain , while fig2 d is a plot of the frequency domain representation of these electrocardiogram signals . as shown in fig2 e , the determined spectral frequency dispersion metric ( sfdm ) from each of these two different frequency domain signals varies dramatically for each of 5 different patients examined under trial , with each of the upper sfdm values corresponding to the patient when the patient is experiencing atrial fibrillation and each lower sfdm value corresponding to when the patient is not experiencing atrial fibrillation . from the illustration it is apparent that atrial fibrillation correlates to a higher sfdm compared to sinus rhythm . also it is apparent that the difference between atrial fibrillation sfdm values and sinus rhythm sfdm values can vary greatly from patient to patient . it can also be seen that in many cases the sfdm variability is greater for atrial fibrillation than sinus rhythm states . fig3 is a block diagram of an example atrial fibrillation classification system 300 in accordance with an example and that may be used at a point of care . a battery 302 , including conditioning circuitry , powers the device 300 , which includes a microcontroller 304 , a non - volatile storage memory 306 , such as a flash memory , sd card , universal serial bus ( usb ) drive , etc . and a local display 308 , such as an light emitting diode ( led ) or liquid crystal display ( lcd ) device . a wireless interface 310 is also provided and includes a wireless transceiver for connecting to remote display , remote computer , and / or remote database for transmitting and receiving data and / or programming instructions . the wireless interface 310 may be compatible with any of the ieee 802 . 11a , b , g , and / or n , 802 . 15 , or other wireless standards . in the illustrated example , a wired interface 312 is also provided for connecting to a remote display , remote computer , and / or remote database , using a wired connection such as usb connection , ethernet connection , or serial connection . the microcontroller 304 is coupled to patient electrodes through an interface 314 , which is a wired interface in the illustrated example . in the illustrated example , therefore , no separate electrode assembly 102 is used . instead , electrodes are coupled directly to the atrial fibrillation classification device 300 . in a configuration like that of fig1 , no wired interface 314 would be used , but instead the wireless interface 310 would be used to receive electrical signals from the patient electrodes via a wireless electrode assembly . received signals from the interface 314 are coupled to signal conditioning circuit 316 , with integrated switch capacitor network . example conditioning circuits include ecg signal conditioning circuits , although any conditioning circuit may be used to amplify the received electrical signal , pass the signal through a low pass filter for noise reduction , and perform any shaping on the signal to reduce flutter , jitter , and / or other noise . the conditioned electrocardiogram signal from the interface 316 is coupled to a 12 bit analog - to - digital converter 318 coupled to the microcontroller 304 . in this configuration , the blocks 314 , 316 , and 318 form an input stage 319 receiving an electrocardiogram signal from patient electrodes . this input stage 319 is coupled to the microcontroller 304 through a dynamic reconfiguration interface 320 to allow dynamic adjustment of the signal processing in the input stage . this dynamic adjustment includes signal amplification , dc offset removal , bandwidth adjustment of notch and bandpass filters to optimize the acquired signal . the microcontroller 304 includes an analysis stage that receives the amplified electrocardiogram signal from the input stage , and performs various functions such as buffering the received data , performing a fourier transform on the received data to convert the data into a fourier domain signal . the microcontroller 304 then determines a sfdm for the fourier domain signal , where the energy is determined over a predetermined set of frequencies and is divided by the maximum energy level . the set of frequencies may be contiguous , but need not be . specifically selected frequencies may be used in some examples . the device used sufficient samples to perform an n point fft , after which the additional data could be used to calculate other statistical metrics , such as means and standard deviations . from the sfdm , the microcontroller 304 performs a heart rhythm classification , identifying whether the sfdm indicates that the patient is experiencing sinus rhythm , atrial fibrillation , atrial flutter or ventricular fibrillation , which indication may be stored on the storage 306 , displayed at the display 308 , and transmitted continuously , periodically , or in response to poling , to a remote system through either the interface 310 or 312 . the fourier domain signal is a frequency domain signal . in other examples , the microcontroller operates in the time domain or phase domain , from which stdm and spdm values are determined . fig4 illustrates a more detailed functional block diagram 400 illustrating various operations as performed by the microcontroller 304 , in an example . the conditioning circuit 316 coupled to the interface 314 has an input impedance input of r in = 10 mω , and may be impedance matched to the interface 314 . initially , an input stage includes a high pass filter stage 402 ( operating at 0 . 2 hz ) is used to remove a dc component from the received patient electrode signal . a first gain stage 404 ( 32 db ) is applied , then a second gain stage 406 ( 28 db ) is applied ( each at or below 100 × gain , in some examples ) before the amplified signal is applied to an anti - alias low - pass filter stage 408 . the filtered signal is passed to an adc stage 410 that is coupled to the microcontroller 304 , as shown . the received signal is passed to a 60 hz finite impulse response ( fir ) filter 412 having a 6 hz bandwidth that is part of an analysis stage of the controller 304 . a buffering stage includes an averaging filter 414 that down samples the input signal to 200 hz . the adc stage 410 may sample at about 10 khz , which is then averaged over 50 samples to reduce noise , resulting in a 200 hz down - sampled signal . a functional block 416 removes a dc offset value from the averaged signal before the signal is passed through a windowing function 418 , which applies a symmetrical function , increasing from zero to a peak and decaying back to zero to optimize the spectral estimate of the signal . in the illustrated example , a blackman - harris window is used , but any number of window functions may be used . a domain transform is performed on the averaged signal , in the illustrated example by a fast fourier transform ( fft ) function 420 , in this case a 1024 point fft , as part of a transformation stage . the frequency set used for analysis is selected through a logical conjunction of the frequency domain signal and frequency bin selector mask function 422 . for example , the selector function 422 may identify a frequency range of between 0 - 100 hz , and more particularly between , 0 - 40 hz , and even more particularly between 3 - 20 hz . the bin selector 422 is coupled to a spectrum summation function 424 that determines energy values across the frequency domain signal and sums the energy values to produce a total energy value . the frequency bin selector may focus on a weighted group of frequencies in the frequency domain , weighted group of phase - delays in the phase domain , or weighted group of times in the time domain . the frequency bin selector 422 , or any of the blocks of the evaluation stage 429 , may employ a search algorithm to automatically determine from the electrocardiogram signal optimal sets of frequencies to use in distinguishing between sinus rhythm , atrial fibrillation , atrial flutter and / or ventricular fibrillation . the frequency bin selector function 422 is also coupled to a max spectrum determination function 426 that determines the maximum energy across the frequency domain signal . the sfdm ( or stdm or spdm ) is determined at a block 428 , in the illustrated example , by dividing the summed energy from the block 424 by the maximum energy from the block 426 . the blocks 422 , 424 , 426 , and 428 , therefore may form part of an evaluation stage 429 , along with blocks 432 , 434 , and 436 discussed below , in the illustrated example . it will be appreciated that these stage indicators are provided by way of example , and that any number of the blocks may be combined in different combinations into different stages and that the descriptions herein are for convenience and explanation purposes only . in some examples , the sfdm from the block 428 is coupled directly to a classification stage 430 , while in other examples , the sfdm from the block 428 is coupled to an averaging stage 432 that determines the mean sfdm over a number of measurement cycles . the classification stage 430 may include a predetermined set of ranges for sfdm values corresponding to normal sinus rhythm , atrial flutter , atrial fibrillation , and ventricular fibrillation . for example , ventricular fibrillation may be characterized by a very sharp decrease in power at around 1 - 2 hz relative to sinus rhythm . atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter may be characterized by different alterations in the mean , standard deviation , skewness and / or kurtosis of the energy profile ( power spectrum ) of each cycle relative to sinus rhythm . the classification stage thus compares the received tnp value to these ranges and creates a heart rhythm classification , which signal may be displayed on the display 308 , stored on the memory 306 , and / or transmitted to a remote station through interfaces 310 and / or 312 . the classification block 430 may deploy any suitable algorithm , of which a genetic algorithm is an example . this classification occurs automatically as described , and may be part of a learning system in which classification assessment is optimizable , either manually through operator adjustment , in a semi - automated manner , or a fully - automated manner . in some examples , additional analysis of the sfdm data is used to strengthen the classification determination , in particular where more than three different classifications are used . for example , additional statistical metrics may be used to extract time - domain statistics of the sfdm metric . the data can be used to provide a more robust prediction by improving accuracy though the evaluation of other features of the signal . for example , the sfdm data from block 428 may be provided to a sfdm standard deviation function 434 which provides the sfdm data to the classification stage 430 . in another example , the sfdm block 428 is coupled to another statistical metric block 436 that performs a skew , kurtosis , or other statistical operation on the data designed to further reduce extraneous signal components before the sfdm data are sent to the classification stage . while the illustrated example uses a fft , other implementations may be achieved . for example , one could use an field programmable gate array ( fpga ) with a parallel arrangement of digital band pass filters to allow real - time parallel computation of the classification result . another example would be to design an integrated circuit with a parallel array of analog band pass filters , feeding into an analog summing stage and comparator , to provide a completely analog implementation thereof . these are examples of how multiple feature extractions may be performed over time to produce statistics metrics for the sfdm , stdm and / or spdm prior to classification at a classification stage . in some examples , those multiple feature extractions may be performed on frequency , time , or phase domain representations ( i . e ., on converted spectral dispersion of the frequency , time , or phase , respectively ) to produce statistics metrics prior to determination of the sfdm , stdm , and / or spdm , and thus prior to classification at the classification stage . in some examples , the classification stage 430 receives a single feature or vector such as the sfdm . in the case of a single feature ( e . g ., sfdm ) the classification may be achieved by a threshold function . however , in other examples , more features may be supplied to the classification stage 430 . in such examples , the received vector may be applied to a system of equations implemented using a suitable means ( i . e . regression , neural network , linguistic expression , etc .) to produce either / or both a binary classification output and continuous measure of the severity or probability the patient is in af . an example of this may be if both the sfdm and the kurtosis of the sfdm over time are used as inputs to the classification stage 430 . if these features were not combined ( i . e ., using a regression function ) into a single metric again , a 2d classification surface would result . if sfdm values for distinct cardiac states were displayed as a scatter plot , ideally , discrete clusters would be seen . a classification function ( i . e . linear , spline , circle , etc .) could be used to describe these regions allowing the device to report the current cardiac state a patient was in , given their ecg . therefore , the classification stage 430 may comprise an additional 2 sub - stages , 1 ) additional transformation , for example through a regression function , and 2 ) multi - dimensional segmentation of the clusters describing various cardiac states . fig5 illustrates a process 500 as may be implemented by the classification device 300 . initially , at a block 502 , input signals , such as electrocardiogram signals , are received from electrodes , as may be received by the electrodes interface 314 , and any signal conditioning is performed , where such signal conditioning may be performed in a separate dedicated circuit device , within a single or multi - processor device or utilizing some form of logic device , either in analog or digital form . because the electrocardiogram signals are collected and analyzed in real time , detection and analysis may be performed in real time . for implementations into lower - power devices , the data can be captured and the analysis and classification performed at sub - real time speed . to facilitate signal analysis at cycle times needed for energy summation and classification , the collected real - time data is buffered at a block 504 and then re - sampled at a lower sampling rate . the re - sampled signals are transformed to a power conversation domain by a block 506 . for example , at the block 506 , the classification device 300 may perform a fourier transform on the re - sampled electrical signals , collected in a time domain , into frequency domain signals . in fig3 , a fast fourier transform ( fft ) is performed by the element 420 , for example . transformation is performed to isolate the electrocardiogram signals into signal components for energy measurement . as such , the block 506 may perform a transformation into any suitable domain , which may include the phase domain using the fft . other example transformations include the continuous wavelet transform , which is able to construct a time - frequency representation of a signal with improvements in time and frequency localization compared to standard ffts . another technique is time - frequency reassignment , which can be used to overcome the tradeoff between the time and frequency resolution associated with the short - time fft . this technique refocuses the time - frequency data by mapping the data to time - frequency coordinates that are nearer to the true region of support of the analyzed signal . in the illustrated example , the spectral conversion domain signals are passed to a block 508 , which determines the bandwidth of the domain signals and whether a desired sub - band range exists . the block 508 , for example , may be executed by the frequency bin selector 422 containing a predetermined frequency range over which power values are to be totaled . at a block 510 , the device 300 , e . g ., the elements 426 , 424 , and 428 , determines the power spectrum over the domain signals and more specifically summed energy across the predetermined domain range . this range may be normalized by the highest energy level , for example as discussed above in regards to element 428 , or classification may be performed over un - normalized data . it has been determined by the present inventors that summed energy over a particular range of frequency components correlates with different states of heart rhythm , in particular with different cardiac arrhythmia conditions . instead of conventional techniques that determine a dominant frequency among the domain signals , the present technique may avoid determining dominant frequencies and instead determine total energy over a range of frequencies . that summed energy may be absolute summed energy . while in other examples , the domain signals are passed through a threshold process , e . g ., at block 510 , that identifies only those frequencies having a summed energy above a threshold , which are then summed to determine total energy . because summed energy is used , problems with low signal - to - noise in conventional systems are avoided , allowing for more accurate determinations of atrial fibrillation . issues with the drive circuitry pulsing altering sensed electrocardiogram signals is reduced or eliminated , as is operator subjectivity , which can affect measurements in conventional systems . also , because energy ( power ) is determined over a minimal set of data ( e . g . 0 - 20 hz ) the ultimate classification is more robust because it focuses on a known , previously analyzed classification spectrum region . the summed energy technique also does not require altering the electrocardiogram signals , by the subtraction of the ventricular activity ( i . e ., the qrs and t complexes of the ecg ); although , such subtraction may still be performed . further still , the sampling of summed energy is typically performed at a lower sampling interval , e . g ., every 3 - 5 seconds , reducing the computational demand , compared to more real - time systems . this also allows for the implementation entirely in hardware and / or software . furthermore , the present techniques have low latency times between summed energy measurements . latency times below 1 s have been shown in some examples . furthermore , electrical lead placement is not critical for the summed energy determination , as electrocardiogram signals may be recorded by any lead configuration whether leads are placed precordially or on the limbs . optionally , a block 512 may buffer summed energy data over a period of time and perform additional analysis on that data , including determining standard deviation of the summed energy values ( with or without normalization ) and then performing skew or kurtosis shaping to isolate the buffered data further . at a block 514 , the sfdm data is analyzed to determine which classification of heart rhythm the data corresponds , thereby indicating whether the patient is experiencing sinus rhythm , atrial flutter , atrial fibrillation , and ventricular fibrillation . the sfdm may be determined from electrocardiogram signals collected from a single location , as discussed above , or from multiple locations . for example , the multiple electrode pairs may be placed simultaneously in the precordial region and on one or more limbs , from which a classification device is able to determine sfdm over a range of regions . in such examples , scaling of summed energy values in different regions may be used to account for inherently different energy levels . determinations based on stdm and spdm would follow accordingly . in other examples , classification devices are able to isolate summed energy measurements at different locations that are each , individually calibrated to heart rhythm classification . in such examples , certain summed energy values measured at the precordial regions may indicate a first heart rhythm condition , while those same normative summed energy values at a limb may not indicate the first heart rhythm condition , but another . fig4 illustrates an af classification system capable of detecting an arrhythmia condition in a patient and assessing the type of corresponding arrhythmia , e . g ., atrial fibrillation , ventricular fibrillation , atrial flutter , or another arrhythmia . in various examples , the af classification devices herein provide patient - specific customization , health condition specific customization , and / or health care provide specific customization . in some examples , the devices provide for optimization in af assessment , either through a fully manual adjustment by an operator or healthcare professional or through semi - automated or fully - automated adjustments . in these ways , the devices herein may be tailored to individualized operation , for example , as part of a learning system . fig6 illustrates an example learning atrial fibrillation system 600 composed of an af engine 602 , for example , operating in accordance with the af system 400 in fig4 , that receives ecg signals data for the heart . the ecg data is provided to the af engine 602 , like ecg data would be provided to the r in input line of the signal conditioning circuit of fig4 , from which an af determination and classification is made in a similar manner to that of the classification engine 430 . in the system 600 , af classification data is provided to a display 604 having an input device ( touch screen , stylus , keyboard , mouse , keypad , etc .) allowing for user interaction . in some examples , the display 604 may provide a visual indication of the classified af condition , ecg data , sfdm , stdm or spdm data , and / or total normalized energy values plotted in real time or over time . the display 604 presents the data to the user , who is able to respond by manually optimizing operation of the af engine 620 , through a user input 606 . for example , the display 604 may present the user with the af data and an interface , in response to which the user , at the block 606 , determines a suggested change in the specificity and / or sensitivity of the af engine 602 . if the user determines that a change in specificity and / or sensitivity is desired then a control signal is sent to a sensitivity and specificity engine 608 that sends a control signal to the af engine 602 modifying operation thereof . in this way , the system 600 may analyze the characteristics of diagnostic metrics utilized to discriminate the arrhythmias for each patient . based on the distribution of measured metrics from the ecg , for example , the thresholds or other metric criteria used to classify different rhythms as normal , sinus rhythm , atrial fibrillation , ventricular fibrillation , flutter may be adjusted to optimize the diagnostic accuracy of the system for each patient individually . this may be accomplished with a user input interface , e . g ., where the display 604 provides an operator / physician a scattergram of the distribution of the metrics from the engine 602 . in manual operation , the operator / physician may manually adjust thresholds or other metric criteria based on the scattergram data . in a semi - automated manner , the sensitivity and specificity engine 608 may determine , from the af data of af engine 602 , a suggested threshold or other metric criteria that matches an initial desired sensitivity and specificity range . this suggested value or suggested operating range is then provided back to the af engine 602 and overlayed ( or otherwise displayed ) to the user along with the af data on the display 604 . the user may then , at block 606 , accept the suggested value ( s ) ( thresholds or other metric criteria ) or make manual adjustments thereto , to thereby alter the sensitivity / specificity of the af engine 602 . in a fully automated operation , the engine 608 may , not only , automatically determine the suggested threshold or other metric criteria for making the af assessments , but then automatically adjust the af engine 602 to operate in accordance with those conditions , i . e ., without user input . applying these techniques to that of fig4 , for example , the engine 608 may adjust any of the metrics used by blocks 422 - 430 to optimize or otherwise customize operation of the classification at block 430 . for the semi - automated or fully - automated modes , a learning engine 610 is provided to receive the output af data from the engine 602 and any other patient related dated , whether real - time data , historical data , or otherwise . that learning engine 610 may automatically provide control signals for adjusting the sensitivity and specificity at the engine 608 , or it may do so under control of the user via input 606 . thus , the system 600 is able to optimize sensitivity and specificity of the determination of any rhythm to account for possible false positives and false negative results according to the clinical condition and requirement set forth by a clinician &# 39 ; s discretion . for example , when a patient has a stroke risk higher than bleeding risk , then the detection of af and use of anti - coagulants could be determined with a higher priority on sensitivity over specificity ( 100 % sensitivity guaranteed ). if on the other hand , a patient &# 39 ; s highest risk is of bleeding , then the priority is specificity over sensitivity ( 100 % specificity guaranteed ). such adjustments can be made through manually , semi - automated , or fully automated adjustments . fig7 a - 7c illustrate sensitivity - specificity analyses ( receiver operating characteristic , roc , curves ) for a binary detection of af based on scattergram plots ( an example of a scattergram of frequency domain analysis , sfdm , is presented in fig2 e ) in three different metrics or databases , each having a full range of metric discriminating thresholds for assessing the presence of af with different accuracy . the roc curve illustrates the fraction of true positives ( sensitivity ) versus the fraction of the false positives ( 1 - specificity ) for sample ecg events for a group of patients . in fig7 a and 7b , the data from a miss - classified patient is included in the database , reducing the overall accuracy of either sfdm ( fig7 a ) or rr - interval variance ( fig7 b ) metrics and requiring adjustment of threshold to maximize sensitivity or specificity alternatively . when the total power threshold is adjusted to exclude this miss - classified person ( e . g ., using the system 600 ), the roc curve changes to that of fig7 c , demonstrating the ability of sfdm metric to achieve a 100 % sensitivity and specificity simultaneously ; the ideal condition for af detection and classification . the plots of fig7 a - 7c may be provided to the user on the display 604 along with an user input interface for adjusting thresholds or other metrics that result in changes in the scattergram . it will be understood that the plots are provided by way of example and that while adjusting a single threshold is discussed in the illustrated example , any number of metrics may be adjusted by the user as desired . similar types of optimization of af data sets would be performed on single patient data as well . the ecg data and af data collected for patients may be used for individualized patient or group data mining . patient data , whether collected from an handheld af classification device , electrocardiographic recording system , or otherwise , is stored in a database . a data mining engine may analyze the database , e . g ., in an “ ecg - informatics ” manner deploying a genetic algorithm , to identify hard - to - notice , hidden , correlations of temporal , spectral and phase patterns , within the patient data . this data mining could include identifying metrics calculated in those domains , such as total energy over specified domain ranges . the patient data would be collected across episodes of cardiac electrical activity of various rhythms and properties . those episodes could be episodes belonging to the same patient at different times , frequencies and / or phases , or those belonging to different patients as part of a population study . in some examples , the data mining engine may search for patterns across ecg data to identify ‘ hidden ’ occurrences , e . g ., in the converted frequency , time , or phase domain of that ecg data , that correlate to different af classifications . such occurrences thus may determine indicators that are more nuanced or more complex than the threshold and other metrics discussed herein , or that are more multivariate than would be the case for initial af classification algorithms . such data mining thereby may be used along with the adapting algorithms described herein , e . g ., the genetic algorithms that may be implemented by the af classification block 430 , to provide historical data - based optimization and customization of af assessment . one of the advantages of using historical data in this manner is that additional patient data , including data external to the af classification systems described herein and otherwise believed irrelevant to af classification may also be provided and considered by the system . examples of such data include patient demographic data ( e . g ., age , gender , ethnicity , etc . ), physiological data ( e . g ., weight , heart size , blood pressure , etc . ), and time course of cardiac function ( e . g ., ecg time - series , ecg intervals , heart rate , incidences of extrasystoles , af , heart rate variability ( hrv ) parameters , heart rate turbulence , etc .)”. fig8 illustrates an example process 700 to perform data mining on patient collected data , in accordance with an example and as may be implemented on a computer system . the process 700 may be executed on an analysis machine , such as any classification machine described herein , e . g ., that of fig3 and 4 . although , the analysis machine may be used in the diagnosis of any number of conditions , arrhythmias and non - arrhythmia conditions . a block 702 receives initial patient data , such as raw data like a target ecg data stored in a database 701 , and / or other patient data , as described herein . a block 704 identifies target patient data 703 within the broad data from block 702 . for example , the block 704 may include instructions to target a specific patient or patient group , based on any number of desired patient traits , including demographic traits , physiological data , historical data , or otherwise . the block 704 would in some examples include predetermined instructions for identifying a target group , while in other examples the block 704 may require input from a physician or other healthcare professional to provide characteristics of target patient data to be examined . a block 706 may perform processing on the targeted ecg data corresponding to the target patient data , producing processed ecg data at a block 708 , desired diagnostic features in the processed target ecg data are identified and stored in a diagnostic features data set 707 . the block 708 may execute adapting algorithms to mine the ecg data ( and other patient data ) for features corresponding to a potential diagnosis . features for diagnosing arrhythmias are described hereinabove , but the block 708 is not limited to diagnosing arrhythmias . instead , the block 708 may identify any number of features corresponding to any number of diagnosable conditions . preferably , the diagnostic features may be frequency , time or phase domain features , summed energy values determined over range of frequencies , time intervals or phases for these domain features , sfdm , stdm , and / or spdm , for example . the identified diagnostic features set 707 may be multi - variant , meaning that the features may include a plurality of features . for example , the block 708 may identify a feature in the target ecg data for certain patients that corresponds to a physiological feature of those same patients , like weight , heart size , blood pressure , ecg time - series , ecg intervals , heart rate , incidences of extrasystoles , af , heart rate variability ( hrv ) parameters , heart rate turbulence , etc . the block 708 may execute an adapting algorithm that recursively mines through the data provided thereto for correlations in the patient , patterns ( as shown as 707 ) in the patient data , that are then stored as the diagnostic features data set . at a block 710 , a diagnostic assessment is made from the diagnostic features data set from block 708 . when mined for assessing arrhythmia , the block 710 may identify an arrhythmia classification from the data mining , thereby offering the potential to classify arrhythmias based on heretofore un - known patterns across patient data ( ecg data , physiological data , demographic data , etc .). the block 710 , also capable of executing an adapting algorithm , may thus provide hard - to - notice , hidden , correlations of temporal , spectral and phase patterns , including metrics calculated in those domains , between episodes of cardiac electrical activity of various rhythms and properties . such diagnoses can be stored as a derived data set 709 , constructed from targeted ecg data and other patient data . as a data mining system , whether adaptive or not , the blocks 706 - 710 may be executed by the computer system in a recursive manner , as indicated by the dashed lines , allowing for iterative - based identification and diagnoses . the present techniques may be used in standalone classification devices , as described , as well as in integrated atrial fibrillation mapping systems . conventional mapping systems determine dominant frequencies and locations of dominant frequencies for mapping the heart tissue to identify arrhythmia source sites . the dominant frequency data , in such systems , is used as domain data from which , separately frequency selection is performed , to identify frequency ranges of interest , and then summed energy values are determined . these configurations include catheter based mapping systems as well as 3 dimensional electrode arrays which may be used endocardially or epicardially . the present techniques may also be used with atrial fibrillation treatment assemblies , such as ablation devices , serving as a real - time assessment of treatment effectiveness by measuring electrocardiogram signals and determining summed energy and classifications during or after treatment . the techniques may be used before treatment as well , of course . the techniques may be implemented in devices external to the patient , using externally mounted ecg leads . while in other examples , the devices may be implantable , for example , adjacent the heart . the devices may be included in an implantable cardiac defibrillator device , for example , for detection of af conditions ( e . g ., ventricular fibrillation ) and used in the controlled delivery of fibrillation therapy . the devices may be contained within an automated internal or external defibrillator for detection of af conditions ( e . g ., ventricular fibrillation ) and to control delivery of fibrillation therapy . the various blocks , operations , and techniques described above may be implemented in hardware , firmware , software , or any combination of hardware , firmware , and / or software . when implemented in hardware , some or all of the blocks , operations , techniques , etc . may be implemented in , for example , a custom integrated circuit ( ic ), an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a field programmable logic array ( fpga ), a programmable logic array ( pla ), etc . when implemented in software , the software may be stored in any computer readable memory such as on a magnetic disk , an optical disk , or other storage medium , in a ram or rom or flash memory of a computer , processor , hard disk drive , optical disk drive , tape drive , etc . likewise , the software may be delivered to a user or a system via any known or desired delivery method including , for example , on a computer readable disk or other transportable computer storage mechanism or via communication media . communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism . the term “ modulated data signal ” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal . by way of example , and not limitation , communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct - wired connection , and wireless media such as acoustic , radio frequency , infrared and other wireless media . thus , the software may be delivered to a user or a system via a communication channel such as a telephone line , a dsl line , a cable television line , a wireless communication channel , the internet , etc . ( which are viewed as being the same as or interchangeable with providing such software via a transportable storage medium ). moreover , while the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples , which are intended to be illustrative only and not to be limiting of the invention , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes , additions and / or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
fig1 a illustrates a cross - section view of a superconducting magnet assembly 2 and a block diagram of an associated electronic system 4 for operating magnet 2 and developing an analysis ( pictoral or spectral ) of a test object ( not shown ) placed therein . fig1 b illustrates a perspective view of magnet 2 with a cut - out to show its superconducting magnetic field windings . superconducting magnet 2 includes a cylindrical housing 6 and end plates 8 having a hole in the center thereof for allowing the test object to be placed in a cylindrical bore 10 of magnet 2 . a cylindrical vessel 12 within housing 6 includes a base ( main ) magnetic field winding 14 for developing a base magnetic field h o which is axially aligned within bore 10 . for providing a high magnetic field , i . e ., in the order of 1 - 10 tesla , winding 14 is supercooled by submersion in liquid helium contained within the walls of vessel 12 . although not shown in detail , vessel 12 typically includes a metallic chamber containing liquid nitrogen , which surrounds an additional metallic chamber containing liquid helium . furthermore , at least one set of radiation shields is typically included within chamber 12 for providing insulation between the liquified gases and reduction of their evaporation rate due to thermal radiation . as shown in fig1 b , a gradient coil former 16 serves as a mounting for gradient coil assembly 18 having x , y and z gradient coils and a radio frequency ( rf ) coil 20 . the gradient coil assembly with rf coil is then positioned inside bore 10 of magnet 2 . electronic system 4 includes a primary power supply 22 for supplying current ( at least initially ) to primary winding 14 , a gradient / shim power supply 24 for supplying currents to gradient winding assembly 18 ( and shim coils , not shown ) and a transmit and receive ( t / r ) module 26 which transmits rf energy to rf coil 20 and receives magnetic resonance signals picked up by coil 20 which result from the precessing of the protons in the test object . a host computer 28 controls the application of gradient signals to gradient coil assembly 18 and , via its connection to t / r module 26 , controls the processing of transmission and reception signals to and from rf coil 20 . t / r module 26 and host computer 28 processes the received signals in a well known manner using one or two - dimensional fourier transformation techniques for developing an image signal ( or a spectral analysis ) of the test object which is then used to display and / or record the information via display / record unit 30 . the above - described apparatus is constructed and operates as a conventional mr device of the type well known to those skilled in the art and commercially available from a variety of manufacturers . in operation , gradient coils 18 generate substantially constant magnetic field gradients g x , g y and g z in the same direction as the main magnetic field , wherein the gradients are directed in mutually orthogonal x -, y -, and z - axis directions of a cartesian coordinate system . that is , if the magnetic field generated by main magnet 14 is directed in the z direction and is termed b o and the total magnetic field in the z direction is referred to as b z , then g x = δb z / δx , g y = δb z / δy and g z = b z / δz , and the z - component of the magnetic field at any point ( x , y , z ) is given by b ( x , y , z ,)= b o + g x x + g y y + g z z . the g x gradient has no effect on the plane x = 0 located at the center point of the x - axis . similarly , g y and g z have no effect on the planes y = 0 and z = 0 , located at the center points of the y - and z - axes , respectively . the point ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) is referred to as the &# 34 ; isocenter &# 34 ; and is that point in space where none of the gradients have any effect . the isocenter is normally situated substantially at the center of the static magnetic field volume . as well known , the gradient magnetic fields are utilized in combination with rf pulses supplied from t / r module 26 to encode spatial information into the mr signals emminating from the region of the test object being studied . in operation rf coil 20 selectively excites certain protons within the test object , and thereafter receives mr signals from the excited protons as they return ( precess ) to an equilibrium position established by the base main and gradient magnetic fields . unfortunately , the composite magnetic field ( main field plus gradient field ) affecting the test object is perturbed by magnetic field effects from eddy currents induced in one or more of the conducting media surrounding the gradient coils , such as the metallic walls of the closest radiation shields of chamber 12 ( commonly referred to as cold or radiation shields ). the eddy currents induced into one or more of the cold shields by the pulses applied to the gradient coils each produce their own magnetic field which opposes the desired applied gradient field and which decay with a time constant which is characteristic of that particular cold shield . the perturbation caused by the eddy currents distorts the phase and amplitude of the mr signals , thereby reducing the image quality / spectroscopic analysis accuracy in imagers / spectrometers , respectively . in accordance with an aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the eddy currents are substantially confined to a single conducting media . if there are several conducting media , one of them must be made dominant , typically the one closest to the gradient coil . this can be achieved by designed the first conductive cylinder ( radiation shield ) inside the magnet to be of very low resistance . complete confinement can be achieved if the wall thickness of the cylinder is much larger than the skin depth of the lowest frequency component of a particular gradient switching sequence . referring now to fig2 there is shown a gradient amplifier 40 ( included in gradient / shim power supply 24 shown in fig1 ) for energizing gradient coil 18x to produce the g x gradient . under ideal operating conditions , a rectangular current pulse 42 applied to amplifier 40 would be amplified , as indicated by wave shape 44 , and when used to energize the gradient coil , would result in a substantially rectangular gradient magnetic field pulse 46 being produced . however , as described earlier , because of the coupling to lossy structures ( e . g ., radiation shields ) and spurious components due to induction of eddy currents , in practice , the resulting magnetic field gradient has a finite rise and fall time as indicated at 48 and 50 , respectively . as noted earlier , such gradient distortions can lead to loss of signal and unintended phase dispersions of the nuclear spin vectors . in one embodiment of the invention , the gradient distortions are reduced by application of a current pulse 42 , as shown in fig3 to a pre - emphasis filter which has amplitude and time constant coefficients set in accordance with the invention to pre - distort the current pulse , as indicated by waveshape 54 . the amplified current pulse 56 is then applied to the gradient coil to produce the desired rectangular gradient pulse 46 . since in typical mr applications , gradient pulses are applied in at least each of the axes of the cartesian coordinate system , an mr system for practicing the invention would normally have means functionally similar to that shown in fig3 to achieve correction along all three axes . however , for simplicity , the following discussion will refer to correction along only one of the axes and would be repeated , if correction along other axes were required . in order to determine how current pulse 42 in fig3 should be pre - distorted ( and therefore the amplitude and time constant coefficients for pre - emphasis filter 52 needed to achieve the desired pre - distortion ) the characteristics of the gradient distortion to be eliminated must first be measured and analyzed . the manner in which this is accomplished , in accordance with the invention , will be described next . fig4 illustrates the flow chart of the invention . the flow chart will be briefly described and then followed with a more detailed description . in step 60 , the electrical isocenter of the gradient coil is found . when this is completed , in step 62 , an mr active sample is displaced a distance x from the isocenter , which distance is still within the linear range of the gradient coil and which allows an mr signal of significant amplitude to be developed , e . g ., 4 cm . next , in step 64 , the local gradient field strength is determined in order that it can be used in a later step for calculating the correction coefficients for compensating the eddy currents . next , in step 66 , the gradient field attenuation due to eddy currents is determined by recording and analyzing the frequency shift characteristics of the fid mr signals obtained in the presence of the uncompensated gradient field . thereafter , in step 68 , the frequency shift data gathered from step 66 is used for calculating the coupling and time constant coefficients needed for compensating the effects of the eddy currents . if one of the radiation shields has not been made fully dominant , multi - exponentially decaying eddy currents will exist and the eddy current effect having the longest time constant is characterized in this step . next , in step 70 , the coefficients calculated in step 68 are translated into compensation circuit values for pre - emphasis filter 52 . thereafter , in step 72 , if it is known that there is only one radiation shield causing the eddy current effect , this would be the end of the compensation procedure ( for the x - axis ). if however , the eddy current effect is multi - exponential , steps 66 through 70 are repeated , once for each of slowest decaying ( longest time constant ) eddy current effect remaining after the prior compensation . although the above - described procedure applies the calculated coupling and time constant coefficients to set the time constant characteristics of a pre - emphasis filter , in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the coupling and time constant coefficients can be utilized in other filter implementations , such as an active filter , or may be utilized by the computer system of the mr device in order to initially generate current pulse 42 in order that it has the proper predistortion . a detailed description of the flow chart of fig4 follows . for step 60 , although an inductive pick - up coil can be used to sense the magnetic field gradients inside gradient coil assembly 18 , for simplicity , it is preferable to use only the components which are standard in mr devices for accomplishing the present invention . therefore , for finding the isocenter of the gradient coil , a small sample composed of an mr active substance , conveniently a small bottle containing approximately 1 cc of water , is placed at a position ( x , y , z ) in gradient coil assembly 18 , which position is intended to be a best estimate of the isocenter ( 0 , 0 , 0 ). as shown by waveforms 80 - 86 of fig5 a magnetic field . gradient pulse 80 of long duration is applied , followed by a time delay t d . a short 90 ° rf pulse 82 is then applied . the resulting free induction decay ( fid ) signal 84 is sampled , digitized , fourier transformed and analyzed . the angular resonant frequency following the leading edge of a gradient pulse can be generally expressed by : ## equ1 ## where : ωx ( t )= time dependent angular resonance frequency at position x after the delay period t d , all time - dependent eddy current effects have decayed and equation 1 becomes furthermore , at displacement x = 0 , ω x = γb o . consequently , the fid signal sensed when the gradient pulse is applied will have no frequency shift , when analyzed in the frequency domain , as compared to the fid signal which is sensed when there is no gradient pulse applied . therefore , the mr active sample can be iteratively repositioned and the fid &# 39 ; s analyzed until the above condition ( ω x = γb o ) is reached . alternatively , since b o can be calculated , ω x is measured at two points with a known distance therebetween , and analyzed to calculate at which displacement ω x would equal the calculated value for γb o . for step 62 , the mr sample can be placed at any position along the coordinate axis under investigation except the origin of the gradient field . a typical displacement which offers both high signal sensitivity and is well within the linear range of a typical gradient coil is 4 cm . fig6 illustrates positioning of an mr active sample 90 a distance &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; from the isocenter of gradient coil 18 . sample 90 will serve as the source of the mr signals used to study the gradient distortion caused by eddy currents . for step 64 , as previously noted , the measurement of local gradient strength is a pre - requisite for the calculation of the coupling constants between the gradient coil and the radiation shield . using the sequence of fig5 for the measurement of the local gradient strength , with the mr sample located off - center and after a delay period sufficiently long to allow for the decay of all eddy current effects , the angular resonant frequency ω x of the fid signal is determined in accordance with equation 2 . since γb o is the angular resonant frequency in the absence of a gradient field , the frequency shift ω g due to the local gradient can be calculated as thus , γb o is measured as φ g in the absence of a gradient field , ω x is determined as noted above and equation 3 is then solved for ω g . fig7 illustrates the pulse sequence employed for the measurement of the gradient field attenuation due to eddy currents ( corresponding to step 66 of fig4 ). as shown therein , a gradient pulse 92 of long duration t g , typically 1000 ms is applied , followed by a time delay t d and a short , non - selective selective 90 ° rf pulse 94 having a duration typically of 10 μs . the free induction decay signal 96 , which is frequency modulated by the decaying eddy currents ( their effect upon the gradient pulse indicated by dashed lines 98 ), is then acquired during the a / d acquisition interval 100 . the above procedure is repeated , with a plurality ( n ) of long duration gradient pulses followed by rf pulses having variable t d delays between the end of the gradient pulse and the application of the 90 ° rf pulse . the acquired plurality of fid signals are then fourier transformed into the frequency domain , as illustrated in fig8 . in the procedure illustrated in fig8 t d varies from 0 . 001 seconds through 5 seconds in n = 15 steps and is plotted vertically on a logarithmic scale . the horizontal axis represents the frequency shift of the fid signals ( i . e ., normalized with respect to the local gradient strength ω g ). analysis of the shifting of the peak frequencies of the fourier transformed fid signals yields the desired measurement of the eddy currents as a function of time delay t d . for calculation of the coupling and time constant correction coefficients ( step 68 ), an mr device comprising a superconductive magnet with a set of radiation shields concentric with respect to the gradient coil is modeled as a system of mutually coupled lumped inductors and resistors . fig9 depicts the magnetic equivalent model of such an mr device having n radiation shields , which model is used for calculation of the time constant and coupling correction coefficients , wherein each shield is modeled as a loop circuit having a resistor ( r ), inductor ( l ), mutual coupling coefficient ( m ) and current ( i ), with the gradient coil being driven by a constant current source . the effects of eddy currents produced in the radiation shields are perfectly compensated for if the total magnetic flux φ ( t ) is constant during the application of a gradient pulse and zero after the gradient pulse . in accordance with an aspect of the invention ( and the preferred embodiment of the mr device wherein one radiation shield is made dominant ), the generalized model of fig9 is greatly simplified , and therefore made practically useful , by only considering one radiation shield at a time . the inventor has found that due to the structural nature of mr devices , although there can be several exponential decays related to the eddy currents , each decaying with a different time constant , a simplification is possible where only one time constant , the longest , is considered at a time . thus , referring to fig9 for a single radiation shield , applying kirchhoff &# 39 ; s voltage law to shield 1 and the gradient coil yields : for ease of calculation , equation 4 is transformed into the s - domain : the magnet can be considered a linear device where the magnetic flux ( ω ) is proportional to the current ( i ), we can write in the s - domain according to lenz &# 39 ; s law , the total flux φt = φ1 - φ2 ( φ1 = the flux produced by the gradient coil and φ2 = the flux produced by shield 1 ). therefore , using equation 7 , after substitution of the time constant for shield 1 as t2 = l2 / r2 , the magnet transfer function h ( s )= φt ( s )/ φ1 ( s ) becomes : to compensate for eddy currents following a normalized current step ilu ( t ), the condition has to be satisfied . solving for φ1 ( s ), which is proportional to il ( s ), and substitution with equation 9 , yields : ## equ2 ## the inverse laplace transform l - 1 ( φ1 ( s ) yields the desired time domain function of φ1 ( t ), which is proportional to il ( t ), and which is the necessary time domain function for compensating the normalized current pulse noted above , and is shown below : thus , the amplitude correction coefficient is equal to m12 /( 1 - m12 ) and the time constant correction coefficient is equal to t2 ( 1 - m12 ). the values for m12 and t2 can be extracted from the measurement of the uncompensated eddy currents by referring to the effect of the eddy currents upon the fid signals , shown in fig8 using an exponential fit , wherein : ## equ3 ## where ωe ( n ) is the frequency shift due to eddy currents at the time delay td of index n ( n varying from 1 to 15 ) and g is the frequency shift due to the local gradient ( previously calculated ). the proper correction coefficients , i . e ., time constant ( tc ) and amplitude ( amp ), are calculated by applying equations 13 and 14 to the measurement data of fig8 . as previously noted , if there is no dominant radiation shield , it is an aspect of the invention to begin compensation calculation by considering the longest time constant component of the decaying eddy currents first . thus , the measurement data is analyzed beginning at the longest of the time delays . at index ( n )= 15 , representing a 5 second delay between the end of the gradient pulse and the 90 ° rf pulse , the frequency shift is seen to be zero . at index ( n )= 14 , tc and amp coefficients are indeterminent due to the zero frequency shift data from index 15 . however , for the remainder of the indexes , tc and amp coefficients are calculated using equations 13 and 14 and the results of such calculation are shown in tabular form in table i below . table i______________________________________index delay freq tc amp______________________________________15 5 . 000 0 014 3 . 000 2 xxx xxx13 1 . 000 12 - 1 . 243 2712 0 . 700 29 - 0 . 343 22611 0 . 500 59 - 0 . 289 33210 0 . 300 125 - 0 . 265 3869 0 . 100 305 - 0 . 223 4788 0 . 070 359 - 0 . 185 5247 0 . 050 403 - 0 . 173 5386 0 . 030 459 - 0 . 153 5585 0 . 010 550 - 0 . 111 6014 0 . 007 562 - 0 . 136 5913 0 . 005 576 - 0 . 078 6152 0 . 003 596 - 0 . 060 6271 0 . 001 611 - 0 . 082 618______________________________________ referring to table i , it is seen that the tc and amp data describe well behaved functions starting at index 12 . this is so because the data at indexes 15 and 14 are to small to be reliable , and thereby introduce errors into the calculation of tc and amp for indexes 14 and 13 . therefore , from table i , index 12 , the time constant of - 0 . 343 seconds and the coupling coefficient of 226 hz describes the longest exponentially decaying eddy current component . these values are applied to equation 12 , wherein t2 =- 0 . 343 and m12 = 226 , yielding the calculated correction coefficients of tc =- 0 . 336 seconds and amp = 1 % ( i . e ., 1 % of the local gradient strength of 18 , 733 hz = 187 hz ). these calculated values are then used to adjust pre - emphasis filter 52 of fig3 . an exemplary embodiment of a pre - emphasis filter is illustrated in circuit schematic form in fig1 . the filter includes an operational amplifier 110 and filter networks 112 , 114 and 116 . although not shown , isolation amplifiers would also be included to isolate networks 112 - 116 from each other . the pre - distorted output is applied to the gradient amplifier ( e . g ., 40 of fig3 ) for energizing the gradient coil . at its input , operational amplifier 110 is energized by a current pulse 42 through an input resistor r o and one or more parallel - connected rc networks 112 - 116 . the number of rc networks depends upon the success of the mr device designer making only one of the radiation shields dominant . dashed lines 118a and 118b suggest that additional rc networks may be added as needed . each rc network is comprised at its input of a capacitor ( e . g ., c1 ) connected in series with an output variable resistor ( e . g ., r1 ). the common point between the capacitor and variable resistor is coupled to ground through a second variable resistor ( e . g ., r2 ). the circuit shown in fig1 provides three exponential corrections since there are three rc networks . preferably , only one rc network would be required . thus , c1 , r1 and r2 are adjusted in any of several well known manners to provide a tc of - 0 . 343 seconds and an amp of 1 %. in the present embodiment , the inventor adjusted the rc network , using an oscilloscope , until the output pulse had a leading edge which had a 1 % over shoot ( i . e ., 101 % of its uncompensated amplitude ) and a decay time constant of - 0 . 343 seconds . this completes the compensation for the longest decaying component of the eddy current magnetic field . next , if one of the radiation shields were not dominant , the above procedure can be repeated to compensate for the new longest remaining time constant of the decaying eddy currents . fig1 illustrates the fid signals acquired in a manner similar to that shown in fig8 after the above - noted compensation . note that the frequency shift doesn &# 39 ; t become appreciable until about index ( n )= 10 , indicating the improvement due to the above - described compensation . while referring to fig1 and applying equations 13 and 14 in a manner similar to that previously described with respect to fig8 a table ii , shown below , is developed , which is a measure of the now partially compensated gradient field . table ii______________________________________index delay freq tc amp______________________________________15 5 . 000 0 014 3 . 000 0 xxx xxx13 1 . 000 - 5 xxx xxx12 0 . 700 - 5 xxx xxx11 0 . 500 - 2 xxx xxx10 0 . 300 27 xxx xxx9 0 . 100 137 - 0 . 123 3098 0 . 070 178 - 0 . 113 3317 0 . 050 215 - 0 . 107 3436 0 . 030 264 - 0 . 098 3595 0 . 010 332 - 0 . 087 3734 0 . 007 349 - 0 . 060 3933 0 . 005 362 - 0 . 058 3942 0 . 003 376 - 0 . 050 3991 0 . 001 391 - 0 . 052 398______________________________________ referring to table ii it is seen that the tc and amp data become well behaved at index 8 and therefore , for correction of the next exponential component of the decaying eddy currents , a tc of - 0 . 113 seconds and an amp of 331 hz is used . applying these values to equation 12 , the calculated correction coefficients are tc =- 0 . 111 seconds and amp = 2 %. thus , the resistor settings of filter section 114 of fig1 are adjusted to establish these values for pre - emphasis filter 52 . next , the above procedure is repeated a third time , with fig1 indicating the fourier transformed fid signals and table iii indicating the calculated tc and amp values . table iii______________________________________index delay freq tc amp______________________________________15 5 . 000 0 014 3 . 000 0 xxx xxx13 1 . 000 - 5 xxx xxx12 0 . 700 - 7 xxx xxx11 0 . 500 - 5 xxx xxx10 0 . 300 2 xxx xxx9 0 . 100 15 - 0 . 112 368 0 . 070 15 xxx xxx7 0 . 050 15 xxx xxx6 0 . 030 17 - 0 . 130 225 0 . 010 34 - 0 . 029 484 0 . 007 42 - 0 . 016 653 0 . 005 46 - 0 . 018 612 0 . 003 56 - 0 . 011 751 0 . 001 66 - 0 . 013 71______________________________________ referring to table iii it is seen that there is still some uncompensated eddy current left . the data at index 4 is the longest delay where the tc and amp values become well behaved . therefore , for the next correction procedure , a tc of - 0 . 016 and amp of 65 hz is used . applying these values to equation 12 results in a tc of - 0 . 016 and amp of 0 %, which is then used to adjust the component values in network 116 of the pre - emphasis filter shown in fig1 . alternatively , since the tc and amp values of table iii are so close for indexes 1 - 4 , an average of these values can be used . finally , fig1 and table iv show that the gradient pulse has now been substantially compensated for with respect to the decaying eddy currents , since the fourier transformed fid signals no longer show any discernable frequency shift as a function of time delay t d . table iv______________________________________index delay freq tc amp______________________________________15 5 . 000 0 . 00014 3 . 000 - 2 . 443 x . xxx xx . x13 1 . 000 - 4 . 885 x . xxx xx . x12 0 . 700 - 4 . 885 x . xxx xx . x11 0 . 500 - 2 . 443 x . xxx xx . x10 0 . 300 2 . 443 x . xxx xx . x9 0 . 100 9 . 770 - 0 . 144 19 . 58 0 . 070 9 . 770 x . xxx xx . x7 0 . 050 12 . 213 - 0 . 090 21 . 36 0 . 030 9 . 770 0 . 090 7 . 05 0 . 010 4 . 885 0 . 029 3 . 54 0 . 007 4 . 885 x . xxx xx . x3 0 . 005 2 . 443 0 . 003 0 . 42 0 . 003 2 . 443 x . xxx xx . x1 0 . 001 2 . 443 x . xxx xx . x______________________________________ this concludes the compensation technique for the x - axis , and can be repeated for compensation of the y and z axes , if while the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments and examples , other modifications and variations will occur to those skilled in the art in view of the above teachings . it is noted that although the calculation of the transfer function h ( s ) was based on one radiation shield at a time , equation 10 holds true in every case , and all coefficients describing il ( t ) can be calculated simultaneously if h ( s ) were derived for multiple radiation shields . all such changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , fig1 a - 1j illustrate steps in the fabrication of an n - channel insulated - gate fet that utilizes sidewall spacers made in acordance with the invention . conventional cleaning and photoresist masking techniques are employed in the fabrication process . references to cleaning steps , to the steps involved in making photoresist masks , and to other such steps that are well known in the semiconductor art are omitted from the following description to simplify the discussion . the starting point is a ( 100 ) monocrystalline silicon semiconductor body having a lightly doped major p - type region 10 as shown in fig1 a . a recessed electrically insulating layer 12 of silicon dioxide underlaid by a p - type channel - stop region 14 is formed according to conventional oxide - isolation techniques along the upper surface of p - region 10 . oxide layer 12 laterally separates a group of active semiconductor islands from one another along the upper surface of region 10 . one such island 16 appears in fig1 a . a thin dielectric layer 18 ( destined to become the fet gate dielectric ) is formed along the upper surface of island 16 in p - region 10 to a thickness of 100 - 500 angstroms . see fig1 b . dielectric layer 18 preferably consists of thermally grown silicon dioxide . however , layer 18 may be formed with other dielectric materials such as silicon nitride or a combination of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride . a layer of polysilicon having a thickness of 0 . 25 - 0 . 35 micron is deposited according to conventional low - pressure chemical vapor deposition ( lpcvd ) techniques on dielectric layer 18 and is then doped either by diffusion or ion implantation to produce an electrically conductive polysilicon layer 20 ( destined to become the fet gate electrode ). see fig1 b again . the dopant in layer 20 may be p - type ( boron ) or n - type ( arsenic or phosphorus ). fig1 b illustrates the n - type case . a thin electrically insulating layer 22 of silicon dioxide is thermally grown along , or deposited on , the upper surface of doped polysilicon layer 20 . oxide layer 22 has a thickness of 300 - 500 angstroms . a relatively thin layer 24 of silicon nitride is now deposited according to conventional lpcvd techniques on oxide layer 22 . nitride layer 24 has a thickness of 600 - 1 , 000 angstroms . this completes the structure illustrated in fig1 b . a photoresist mask 26 is formed on nitride layer 24 at the general location for the gate electrode and gate dielectric . using one or more conventional anisotropic dry etchants , the exposed portions of layers 24 , 22 , 20 , and 18 are removed in sequence . fig1 c shows the resulting structure in which patterned layers 18a , 20a , 22a , and 24a are the respective remainders of layers 18 - 24 . oxide layer 18 could also be left intact . after removing mask 26 , ions 28 of a suitable n - type dopant are implanted into p - region 10 at a low dosage and a low energy to produce lightly doped n - type s / d regions 30 for an ldd architecture . see fig1 d . the ldd dopant is preferably phosphorus implanted at a dose of 1 × 10 13 ions / cm 2 and an energy of 50 kev . arsenic could also be used as the dopant . layers 18a - 24a act as a shield that substantially blocks ions of the ldd dopant from being implanted into the part of region 10 underlying layers 20a - 24a . a further layer 32 of silicon dioxide is conformally deposited according to a conventional lpcvd technique on the upper surface of the structure as depicted in fig1 e . the deposition temperature is typically 420 ° c . oxide layer 32 has a thickness approximately equal to the total thickness of layers 18a - 24a . for example , the thickness of layer 32 is approximately 0 . 3 micron . an anisotropic etch is performed to remove largely all of oxide layer 32 except for small spacer portions 34 that adjoin the sidewalls of layers 18a - 24a . see fig1 f . the etch is typically done according to reactive ion etch ( rie ) techniques using a combination of chf 3 , co 2 , and he as the etchant . due to the nature of the etch and the original shape of oxide layer 32 , the spacer thickness -- i . e ., the lateral spacer dimension in the drawings -- gradually increases in going from top to bottom . the spacer thickness is typically 0 . 25 micron at the upper surface of island 16 . portions of the polysilicon that forms the sidewalls of doped layer 20a are thermally oxidized to increase the thickness of oxide spacers 34 . this is done by performing a heat treatment on the structure in an oxidizing environment at a temperature no greater than 850 ° c . the oxidation temperature is at least 700 ° c . the heat treatment is preferably done for 2 hours in dry oxygen at 800 ° c . nitride layer 24a functions as a thermal oxidation shield during the heat treatment to block the oxygen above layer 24a from reaching polysilicon layer 20a . layer 24a thereby substantially protects the underlying polysilicon , except for the polysilicon along the sidewalls of layer 20a , from being oxidized . fig1 g shows the resulting structure in which the remainder 36 of layer 20a forms the gate electrode for the fet . the portion 38 of oxide layer 18a underlying gate electrode 36 is the gate dielectric for the fet . due to both the relatively low oxidation temperature and the shielding effect provided by the lower parts of spacers 34 , very little polysilicon along the bottom of electrode 36 is oxidized during the heat treatment . the thickness of gate dielectric 38 remains largely constant across its area , as indicated in fig1 g . that is , there is little gate dielectric encroachment . the amount of additional spacer thickness achieved during the heat treatment is greater at the top of each spacer 34 than at the bottom due to the oxidation mechanism and the initial spacer shape . compare fig1 f and 1g . the thickness of spacers 34 therefore becomes more uniform across their height . this is a highly beneficial result because the spacer thickness at the top corners of electrode 36 is now great enough to avoid electrical shorts that might otherwise occur between electrode 36 and the s / d metalization ( described below ) during subsequent processing . the minimum spacer thickness at the end of the heat treatment is typically 0 . 2 micron . a small thickness of the silicon nitride along the top of layer 24a is converted into a very thin layer 40 of silicon dioxide ( typically 20 angstroms in thickness ) during the heat treatment . the remainder of nitride layer 24a is labeled as layer 42 in fig1 g . the portion of oxide layer 22a above electrode 36 is labeled as layer 44 . also , a small thickness of the exposed silicon along the tops of n - regions 30 is converted into layers 46 of silicon dioxide . the thickness of oxide layers 46 is typically 400 angstroms . ions 48 of a suitable n - type dopant are implanted into p - region 16 at a high dosage and a high energy to produce main s / d regions 50 . see fig1 h . the main s / d dopant is preferably arsenic implanted at 6 × 10 15 ions / cm 2 and 80 kev . antimony could also be used . spacers 34 and layers 36 - 44 act as a shield that substantially blocks ions of the main dopant from being implanted into the part of region 10 below elements 34 - 44 . oxide layers 46 ( along with oxide layer 40 and a small thickness of spacers 34 ) could be removed before the main s / d implantation . the structure is now annealed to repair lattice damage and activate the implanted n - type dopants . the anneal is preferably done for 1 hour at 920 ° c . in nitrogen with 10 % oxygen . the implanted n - type dopants diffuse outward . each pair of n - type regions 30 and 50 becomes a composite n - type s / d region 52 having a heavily doped main portion and a lightly doped extension ( demarcated by a dotted line ) as indicated in fig1 i . polysilicon electrode 36 slightly overlaps the n - extensions in the vertical direction but does not overlap the main n + portions . this ldd configuration prevents undesired hot carrier generation . a layer 54 of an electrically insulating material such as phosphosilicate glass , boron - doped phosphosilicate glass , or plasma silicon nitride is typically deposited on the upper surface of the structure at this point . to provide more protection for electrode 36 , a thin layer of lpcvd silicon nitride could be formed on the top of the structure before depositing insulation layer 54 . in either case , a photoresist mask 56 is formed on layer 54 . mask 56 has apertures generally above , but substantially larger than , oxide layers 46 that overlie the n + portions of s / d regions 52 . self - aligned contact openings to the n + portions of s / d regions 52 are created by etching the structure with a suitable oxide etchant to remove oxide layers 46 . see fig1 i . slight thicknesses of the other oxide portions are also removed during this etch . layer 40a is , for example , the remainder of oxide layer 40 . the etch is typically performed with the above - mentioned rie etchant . spacers 34 and the exposed parts of nitride layer 42 ( in combination with mask 56 ) function as an etch barrier to prevent any portion of electrode 36 from being exposed during the etch . mask 56 is subsequently removed . insulation layer 54 may not be needed in some applications . in such a case , self - aligned contact openings can be etched down to n + regions 52 in the manner described above except that a photoresist mask need not be used . the structure is provided with a metalization pattern 58 that contacts s / d regions 52 through the contact openings as depicted in fig1 j . metalization 58 is typically created by depositing a layer of a suitable metal such as aluminum with 1 % silicon and 1 % copper and then removing the undesired metal . prior to metal deposition , the upper surface of the exposed silicon may be supplied with a thin layer of a self - aligned metal silicide ( such as titanium silicide ) or a thin layer of selectively deposited tungsten . the fet occupies a small area because the metal contacts to regions 52 are self - aligned . the order for performing the main s / d implantation and the oxidizing ( or first ) heat treatment to increase the spacer thickness may be reversed from that described above . this alternative is illustrated in fig2 a and 2b . as indicated in fig2 a , spacers 34a and patterned layers 18a - 24a then act as an implantation mask for the main dopant . because the spacer thickness has not yet been increased , main s / d regions 50 in fig2 a are slightly closer than in fig1 h . the oxidizing heat treatment causes the implanted n - type dopants to diffuse slightly . see fig2 b . aside from these differences , the structure in fig2 b is the same as in fig1 h . while the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments , this description is solely for the purpose of illustration and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention claimed below . for example , the above process could be employed to make a p - channel insulated - gate fet by reversing the conductivities for all of the regions except possibly the conductivity for the gate electrode . the p - channel fet would typically not have an ldd extension . both types of fet &# 39 ; s could be made in the same semiconductor device using the process of the invention . rather than starting directly with polysilicon , the gate electrode could be formed by initially depositing another form of non - monocrystalline semiconductor material such as amorphous silicon . during the subsequent high - temperature steps , the amorphous silicon is converted into polysilicon . thus , various modifications , changes , and applications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 8 |
in the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention , reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary 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 , and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical , mechanical , electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims . the detailed description is divided into multiple sections . a first section describes a simple representation of a computer system and the operation of multiple computer systems on a network which implement different aspect of the current invention . this is followed by a description of the invention and how it is implemented . an exemplary system for implementing the invention includes a computing device , such as computing device 100 in fig1 . in its most basic configuration , computing device 100 typically includes at least one processing unit 102 and memory 104 . depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device , memory 104 may be volatile ( such as ram ), non - volatile ( such as rom , flash memory , etc .) or some combination of the two . this most basic configuration is illustrated in fig1 by broken line 106 . device 100 may also include additional features / functionality . for example , device 100 may include additional storage ( removable and / or non - removable ) including , but not limited to , magnetic or optical disks or tape . such additional storage is illustrated in fig1 by removable storage 108 and non - removable storage 110 . computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method of technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data . memory 104 , removable storage 108 and non - removable storage 110 are all examples of computer storage media . computer storage media includes , but is not limited to ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical storage , magnetic based storage or any other medium which can be used to store desired information and which can be accessed by device 100 . any such computer storage media may be part of device 100 . device 100 may also contain communications connection ( s ) 112 that allow the device to communicate with other devices . communications connection ( s ) 112 is an example of communication media . communications media typically embodies 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 includes any information delivery media . the term “ modulated data signal ” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set of changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal . by way of example , and not limitation , communication media includes wired media such as wired network or direct - wired connection , and wireless media such as acoustic , rf , infrared and other wireless media . the term computer readable media as used herein includes both storage media and communications media . device 100 may also have input device ( s ) 114 such as keyboard , mouse , pen , voice input device , touch input device , etc . output device ( s ) 116 such as display , speakers , printers , etc may also be included . all these devices are well known in the art . this invention may be described in the context of computer - executable instructions , such as program modules , executed by one or more computer or other devices such as device 110 . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , etc . that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . typically the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network environment in which the present invention is utilized . a client computer system 200 is coupled to a network 202 . in this example , network 202 is the internet ( or the world - wide web ). however , the teachings of the present invention can be applied to any data communication network that implements a stateless protocol similar to hypertext transfer protocol , http . multiple affiliate servers 204 , 206 , and 208 are coupled to network 202 , thereby allowing client computer system 200 to access web servers 204 , 206 , and 208 via the network . affiliate servers 204 , 206 , and 208 are also referred to as “ web servers ”, “ network servers ” and “ sites ” hosting content such as text and images for access by other computers on the network 202 . an authentication server 210 is also coupled to network 202 , facilitating communication between the authentication server and client computer system 200 and authentication servers 204 , 206 , and 208 . although referred to as an “ authentication server ”, authentication server 210 is also a web server capable of interacting with web browsers and other web servers . in this example , data is communicated between the authentication server 210 , client computer system 200 , and web servers using http , a protocol commonly used on the internet to exchange information . an http specification is published by the internet engineering task force . an authentication database 212 is coupled to authentication server 210 . the authentication database 212 contains information necessary to authenticate users and also identifies which elements of user profile information should be provided to a particular affiliate server when the user accesses the affiliate server . although the authentication database 212 is shown separately from the authentication server 210 , in other embodiments of the invention , the authentication database is contained within the authentication server . an authentication process authenticates a user of client computer 200 seeking access to an affiliate server 204 , 206 , or 208 . the authentication server 210 authenticates the user of client computer 200 by requesting authenticating information , such as the user &# 39 ; s login id and password . if the user is successfully authenticated , then authentication server 210 generates an encrypted authentication ticket and communicates the ticket to the appropriate affiliate server . the authentication ticket indicates that the user is authenticated . each affiliate server requires a key in order to decrypt the ticket and allow access by the user . the authentication ticket contains two time stamps . the first time stamp indicates the last time that the user &# 39 ; s login id and password were physically typed by the user . the second time stamp indicates the last time that the user &# 39 ; s login information was refreshed by the authentication server . this “ refresh ” of the user &# 39 ; s login information can be performed “ silently ” or by manual entry of the login information ( i . e ., login id and password ) by the user . the refreshing of the user &# 39 ; s login information is performed by the authentication server . once completed , a new authentication ticket is issued to the affiliate server indicating the new time stamp values . the term “ affiliate server ” is defined herein as a web server that has “ registered ” or established a relationship or affiliation with the authentication server 210 . each affiliate server 204 , 206 , and 208 includes a code sequence that allows the affiliate server to communicate with the authentication server 210 when a user ( who is also registered with the authentication server ) requests access to the affiliate server . prior to executing the authentication process , both the user of client computer system 200 and the operator of affiliate server 204 “ register ” with the authentication server 210 . this registration is a one - time process which provides necessary information to the authentication server . the user of client computer system 200 registers by providing information such as the user &# 39 ; s email address , password information , and various other information about the user or the client computer system if desired . as part of the user registration process , the user is assigned ( or selects ) a login id , which is a common login id used to access any affiliate server . the login id may also be referred to herein as a “ user name ” or “ login name ”. additionally , the user selects a password associated with the login id which is used for authentication purposes . after registering and logging into the authentication server , the user can visit any affiliate server ( i . e ., affiliate servers that are also registered with the same authentication server ) without requiring any additional authentication and without re - entering user information that is already contained in the associated user profile . the operator of affiliate server 204 registers with the authentication server 210 by providing information about the affiliate server ( e . g ., server name and internet address ). additionally , the affiliate server provides information regarding its authentication requirements . the authentication requirements can be specified as the maximum time allowed since the last login and entry of authentication information by the user as well as the maximum time allowed since the last “ refresh ” of the authentication information by the user . refreshing the authentication information refers to the process of having the user re - enter the password to be certain that the appropriate user is still operating the client computer system . this periodic refreshing of authentication information is useful if the user leaves their computer system without logging out of the authentication server , thereby allowing another individual to access affiliate servers using the login id of the previous user . if a user requests access to the affiliate server after the maximum time allowed , then the user is re - authenticated ( i . e ., refreshed ) by the authentication server by issuing a new authentication ticket either silently or with required reentry of password as described above . thus , although there is a central authentication server , each individual affiliate server can establish its own authentication requirements which are enforced by the authentication server . after registering with the authentication server , the affiliate server can use the authentication server to authenticate any user that has also registered with the authentication server . a block diagram showing the general operation of key generation and distribution for decrypting tickets is provided in fig3 . the authentication server has several servers associated with it . a nexus server 310 manages a configuration file , which contains information regarding partner sites in the form of a partner . xml , information about keys in a keys . xml , and information about the network server in a networkserver . xml in the configuration file . these xml files are each a component configuration document ( ccd ). further associated servers include a login server , which provide login services , a register server , and a logout server . each of these servers may be integrated into a single server , or comprise multiple servers themselves . a key generator 345 is also associated with the authentication server . it has an administrative interface 350 that allows selection of new keys by a user , and provides keys in the form of an executable piece of code referred to as key . exe via a network 360 ( shown in two places for convenience ) such as the internet , to one or more affiliate servers such as a partner site 370 . partner site 370 may have several servers operating as indicated in fig3 , all servicing the same network domain . the key generator also provides the keys . xml information to the nexus , where it is stored in the configuration file . when a new partner site is registered by use of the register server 330 , a key is generated for the site and provided by s - mime secure encrypted email , using standard certification , or physically mailed to operators of the site for installation . the key is delivered as an exe with key data embedded within it . an object , such as a com object handles installation and encryption of the keys . the first key has a version number , such as “ 1 ”, and is stored by the site in encrypted form in a registry using a piece of information that is specific to the physical machine , such as the mac address of the first network card . the key . exe is used for decrypting tickets while the authentication server is still running . the administrative interface 350 is used to cause generation of a new siteid for the new partner site , and generation of the key for that site with a one digit hex version tag or number of “ 1 ”. other lengths of version numbers may used as desired . interface 350 updates the nexus server 310 with information about the partner , such as site id , keys . xml and current version number . since there may be multiple trusted servers , i . e . : login servers , each is then triggered to refresh configuration information from the nexus server 310 , including the new keys . xml file with the new site &# 39 ; s key version “ 1 ” included . the keys are distributed as a distinct private secure ccd in clear text over a highly secure ( 128 - bit ssl ) channel that is both client and server authenticated . each time the ccd is retrieved by a trusted server , all the keys are immediately encrypted and stored in a registry , and then the ccd is completely thrown away . when a new key is to be updated , telephone or email is used to initiate the generation of a new key . such generation could also be automated if desired . the key may be updated on a regular schedule or variable schedule when initiated on the authentication server side , or may be initiated in accordance with various security protocols on either the authentication server side or partner site side . the partner site administrators may request a new key when an employee leaves , or any time desired . a new key is then generated at 345 and is updated on the nexus server 310 to add the new key to a list of keys for the partner &# 39 ; s siteid in the configuration file . the version number is incremented . when it reaches “ f ”, it loops back to one and resumes incrementing over time . key generator 345 also generates a key . exe file that can be installed on the partner site servers . the new key . exe file is sent securely to the partner and received . the key . exe file is then run against all servers on the partner site with an “/ addkey ” parameter that installs the new key onto the server while still running . it is added as an additional key with no expiration date . next , the partner site runs the key . exe file against all servers with a “/ makecurrent ” parameter to make the new key the current key by switching a registry key referred to as keycurrent to the new key version . the registry may also take the form of a config file , or any file in other systems . it also sets an expiration date on the previous current key equal to the current time plus a registry key value referred to as timewindow . time window may be set equal to the reauthorization time , or any other desired time . it may also be set to zero to immediately begin exclusive use of the new current key to access the partner site . if no time window has been set , old keys are flushed every 24 hours or so if desired . key . exe may also be run against all servers using an “/ expire ” parameter prior to receiving a new key to cause a service interruption until new keys are installed . this ensures that no new tickets using an old compromised key are accepted , and the old key can be immediately deleted from all servers . the manager at each site 370 uses several registry keys to keep track of encryption keys . a siteid is the partner site &# 39 ; s id and is used in all calls to the authentication server . a timewindow is essentially the site &# 39 ; s default preference for how “ fresh ” a user &# 39 ; s ticket must be before they are redirected back to the login server for a new key . keydata contains the actual keys , encrypted in the hmac of the machine . each encryption key is stored as a value of this registry key , with the version stamp as the value &# 39 ; s name , and the encrypted key data as the value &# 39 ; s data . these values map one to one with values under keytimes . keytimes specifies the expiration dates of all the keys referenced in keydata . for each encryption key , this registry key will contain a value whose name is the encryption key &# 39 ; s version stamp , and whose data is the date and time at which this key is no longer valid . the value “− 1 ” signifies that the key never expires . typically , keys are set to never expire until it is time to update the key . currentkey is the version stamp of the current key . the version stamp is referenced in all requests to authentication servers . it indicates which key this server expects to get new tickets in . when there is a new key , users that are currently logged on will be able to continue their session using the old key . when keytimes expires , they must use the new key to reauthorize their session . when this happens , or when a new user attempts to log in with an older version ticket after key . exe has been run with makecurrent , the partner site receives an attempt to log in by the user using the old ticket . when parsing a ticket with an expired key , it is rejected , the user gets redirected to the login server url with parameters “ id = xxx & amp ; kv = 2 ” used to specify the new encryption key . the user is redirected by this url to the login server . this redirection causes the login server to update the configuration file to indicate that the new key is now the current key . a new ticket is generated using the new key . as each new user or reauthorization request is received for that site , the new current key will be used to generate the ticket . in its unencrypted form , the ticket sent by the user comprises authentication time stamps and user information . when encrypted , it takes the form of : “ keyversion #, string ”, where the string is an encrypted form of the timestamps and user information . the key generation and distribution process provides a safe , reliable way of distributing keys to partner sites that requires minimal human intervention , little if any user disruption , and minimal operational disruption . while parts of the process have been described in terms of human operations , these operations may be easily automated . in the same manner , automated operations may also be performed by human actions . the process allows two keys to be operative for a desired amount of time . | 7 |
hereinafter , some preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described . the first embodiment of the present invention , wherein the invention is applied to algaas / gaas 2deg - fet , will be described with reference to fig3 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ). a 500 nm - thick undoped gaas layer 11 , a 50 nm - thick al x ga 1 - x as ( 0 . 1 ≦×≦ 0 . 4 ) layer 12 containing about 1 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si and a 20 to 160 nm - thick n + gaas layer 13 containing about 2 × 10 18 cm - 3 are formed by mbe ( molecular beam epitaxy ) on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 10 , and zn ions 15 in the dose of 1 × 10 13 cm - 2 is implanted at an acceleration voltage of 120 kev into the source - drain regions using a photoresist 30 as the mask ( fig3 ( a )). after the photoresist 30 is removed , 200 nm - thick sin is formed on the entire surface and annealed at 600 ° to 800 ° c . for 20 minutes by lamp annealing . then , gate 22 and source - drain electrodes 20 , 21 are formed through ordinary steps ( fig3 ( b )). in order to cause the disorder of the al composition without breaking the heterojunction below the gate electrode portion and without increasing the carrier concentration of the n - type algaas layer 12 and gaas layer 13 of the source - drain region , however , heat - treatment is necessary after ion implantation whichever atoms are implanted . in such a case , measures must be taken lest defect occurs at the schottky junction of the gate electrode with respect to the a ( gaas layer 12 due to heat - treatment . fig3 ( c ) represents that zn 15 or the like that causes the disorder of al can be implanted by use of a high refractory metal 22 &# 39 ; as the masking material . zn behaves as the p - type impurity after annealing but the n - type region can be kept as an n - type region without causing its inversion to that of a p - type by keeping the si concentration of the n - type gaas layer 13 and the n - type algaas layer 12 high enough ( to the level of up to 2 × 10 18 cm - 3 ). the undoped gaas layer 11 portion changes to a weak p - type by ion implantation of zn and subsequent heat - treatment , and this is effective for limiting the so - called short channel effect . this is the remarkable effect by implanting such an impurity which changes to the p - type after annealing . in other words , if si is implanted in an ordinary manner , the ohmic contact can be improved , it is true , but an n + region is formed slantingly below the 2deg layer so that the short channel effect occurs . the short channel effect means the phenomenon wherein a threshold voltage v th shifts to the negative side during the process in which the gate length l g becomes short from 1 μm to 0 . 3 μm , for example . in order to cause the disorder of the a ( composition without greatly decreasing the carrier concentration of the n + gaas layer 13 , p - type impurities such as be and ge and those impurities which turn to neutral after heating , such as f , ar , ne , xe and proton , may be used besides zn atoms . in the case of ar , for example , the al composition gets disordered when ar ++ is implanted in the dose of 4 × 10 13 cm - 3 at an acceleration voltage of 150 kev and heat - treatment is made at 680 ° c . for 20 minutes . the improving effect can be obtained in the dose of a 1 × 10 12 cm - 2 level , if the disorder is at such a level which is directed to ohmic contact . if n + gaas 13 is used in order to reduce the source - gate resistance r sg in this embodiment , its thickness must be great such as 160 nm , for example . it is possible to use n + ge containing about 10 20 cm - 3 of as in place of n + gaas 13 . in this case , the disorder of the heterojunction occurs primarily between the algaas layer 12 and the gaas layer 11 . the second embodiment of the present invention , wherein the invention is applied to 2deg - hbt using the two - dimensional electron gas for the base layer , is shown in fig4 ( a ) and 4 ( b ). a 500 nm - thick p + gaas layer 16 containing 1 × 10 19 cm - 3 of be , a 300 nm - thick undoped gaas layer 11 , a 40 nm - thick n - type algaas layer 12 containing 2 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si , a 50 nm - thick p + algaas layer 17 containing 2 × 10 19 cm - 3 of be and a 200 nm - thick p + gaas layer 18 of the same doping level are formed on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 10 by mbe . subsequently , zn is implanted in the dose of 3 × 10 13 cm - 2 at an acceleration voltage of 250 kev into the base region portion using sin 30 &# 34 ; as the mask ( fig4 ( a )). after this sin 30 &# 34 ; is removed , sio 2 ( which is 200 nm thick ) is deposited by cvd and then annealing is carried out at 650 ° c . for 30 minutes in h 2 atmosphere . next , the emitter electrode 25 , the base electrode 23 and the collector electrode 24 are formed through ordinary steps ( fig4 ( b )). in this embodiment , it is possible to use f , ge , be , as , ar , proton or the like besides zn as the ions to be implanted . though the foregoing embodiments represent in detail the case where the n channel is used , si , se or the like is effective in place of zn as the ions to be implanted when the p channel ( two - dimensional positive hole gas ) is used . as to the semiconductor material , the present invention is effective for the other heterojunction systems such as inp / ingaasp , inalas / inasp , and so forth . another ion seed for causing the disorder of the heterojunction is fluorine atom f . in this case , the heterojunction can be disordered by heating at a relatively low temperature of from 650 ° to 700 ° c . for about two hours without activation of f in gaas and the f atoms diffuses and get out from gaas . an example which causes the disorder of the heterojunction by use of the f atoms will be explained . 2deg - fet of the type wherein the superlattice exists below the gate electrode will be explained with reference to fig5 . after a 1 μm - thick undoped gaas layer 11 is formed on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 10 by mbe , a 3 nm - thick undoped al x ga 1 - x as ( approximately , 0 . 3 ≦×≦ 1 . 0 ) layer 40 and a 3 nm - thick n + gaas layer 41 containing 5 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si are alternately laminated in eight periods to form the superlattic 42 . then , a 160 nm - thick n + gaas layer 13 containing 5 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si is formed . thereafter , the n + gaas layer 13 at which the gate portion is formed is selectively recessed by use of a photoresist as the mask and a 10 nm - thick sin layer 44 is formed by optical cvd and sin 44 is left only on the sidewall portion of n + gaas by anisotropic dry etching . then , 10 nm - thick lab 6 22 &# 34 ; is deposited as the gate metal and the gate electrode is formed by lift - off . subsequently , the f atoms are implanted in the dose of 10 14 cm - 2 at an acceleration voltage of 100 kev and after deposition of 200 nm - thick sio 2 film , annealing is carried out at 650 ° c . for 2 hours in order to cause the disorder of the heterojunction and to form the source - drain regions . dotted region represented by reference numeral 50 represents the disordered region . subsequently , the source - drain electrodes 20 , 21 are formed by depositing auge / ni / au and alloying them . in this embodiment , the f atoms are annealed at 650 ° c . in this case , the superlattice is extremely fragile and the heterojunction can be disordered by effecting annealing at 400 ° c . for 2 hours . the disordered region is represented by dotted line 50 . still another embodiment of the present invention , wherein the invention is applied to heterojunction mesfet , is shown in fig6 . a 0 . 3 μm - thick undoped gaas layer 11 , a 0 . 2 μm - thick undoped al x ga 1 - x as ( x ˜ 0 . 3 ) layer 48 , a 10 nm - thick n + gaas layer 13 &# 34 ; containing 3 × 10 18 nm - 3 of si , a 20 nm - thick undoped al x ga 1 - x as ( x ˜ 0 . 3 ) layer 49 and a 160 nm - thick n + gaas layer 13 containing 3 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si are formed by mbe on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 10 . subsequently , a 300 nm - thick sio 2 layer is deposited by cvd and the sio 2 layer 48 and the n + gaas layer 13 at the gate electrode portion are removed selectively by use of a photoresist . thereafter , a 150 nm - thick sin layer 44 is formed by optical cvd and is then dry - etched anisotropically to remove the photoresist . furthermore , 300 nm - thick wsi 22 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is deposited on the entire surface and the gate electrode is etched by use of the photoresist . thereafter , f ions are implanted in the dose of 1 × 10 15 cm - 2 at an acceleration voltage of 100 kev and annealing is then effected at 650 ° c . for 2 hours using a cvd sio 2 cap in order to disorder the heterojunction and to form the source - drain regions . dotted region represented by reference numeral 50 is the disordered region . next , the source - drain electrodes 20 , 21 are formed . though embodiments nos . 3 and 4 illustrate the examples wherein the disorder is established by use of the f ions , the acceleration voltage , the dose and the annealing condition are generally from 30 to 200 kev , from 10 12 to 10 15 cm - 2 and from 400 ° to 700 ° c ., respectively . cl , br , i , at , and the like , are also effective besides the f atoms . in accordance with the present invention , it is possible to obtain a semiconductor device having an extremely small source - drain parasitic resistance r sg in the case of 2deg - fet and having an extremely small parasitic base resistance in the case of 2deg - hbt by making broad the sharp heterojunction except for the two - dimensional carrier storage portion by , for example , causing the disorder of the gaas / algaas heterojunction . the fifth embodiment of the present invention , wherein the invention is applied to 2deg - fet , will be described . though this embodiment deals with the case of a gaas / algaas system heterojunction crystal , the present invention can also be applied to other semiconductor materials such as inp , ingaas , inalas , ingaasp , and the like . fig7 ( a ) to ( c ) show the fabrication steps of this embodiment . in fig7 ( a ), a 0 . 5 μm - thick undoped gaas layer 52 , a 60 å - thick undoped algaas layer 53 , a 300 å - thick n - type algaas layer 54 and a 200 å - thick n - type gaas layer 55 are laminated on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 51 by molecular beam epitaxy or metal organic vapor phase epitaxy . referring then to fig7 ( b ), an sio 2 layer or an sin layer 56 is deposited on the entire surface of the substrate by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy , sputtering or plasma - induced chemical vapor phase growing method next , the insulating layer 56 is removed selectively by reactive ion etching and is left only in the ohmic region of the transistor . heat - treatment is then carried out at 900 ° c . for 30 seconds in the atmosphere of an ash . sub . 3 + h 2 mixed gas . at this time , only the heterojunction below the insulating layer gets disordered selectively and the heterojunction at the portions not covered with the insulating layer 56 remains as such . the process then shifts to fig7 ( c ). after the insulating layer 56 is removed , an sio 2 film 64 is deposited on the entire surface and the sio 2 film 64 of the disordered region is removed . the source - drain electrode 58 is formed by lift - off of an auge alloy . similarly , a ( is formed by lift - off in the region where the heterojunction is kept to obtain the gate electrode 59 . there is thus completed a modulated doped field effect transistor . according to this embodiment , the heterojunction interface can be disordered selectively without ion implantation and the transistor which can reduce the parasitic resistance of the ohmic region and moreover , is free from the short channel effect can be fabricated . the sixth embodiment of the present invention , which is applied to 2deg - fet , will be explained with reference to fig9 . a 1 μm - thick undoped gaas layer 112 , a 300 å - thick n - type algaas layer 114 into which 2 ˜ 3 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si is doped and a 2 , 000 å - thick n + gaas contact layer 115 into which 8 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si is doped are formed sequentially on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 111 of the ( 100 ) plane by mbe . thereafter , a recess structure of a gate forming portion and a lattice structure on the surface of an n + gaas contact layer 115 are formed by electron beam direct lithography technique . the trench of the lattice structure extends in the & lt ; 011 & gt ; direction , and a 600 å - deep trench is formed by wet etching by using a photoresist as the mask . next , the gate electrode 118 and the source - drain electrodes 116 , 117 are formed by lift - off of al and auge / ni / au , respectively . a satisfactory heterojunction interface can be obtained and a high speed operation can be accomplished by an undoped algaas spacer layer , which is some dozens of angstorm thick , between the algaas layer 114 as the electron donor layer and the undoped gaas layer 112 . a great effect can be obtained by disposing the lattice structure of the contact layer described above only in the source electrode contact layer or at a part of the contact layer . higher performance of the semiconductor device capable of controlling the current paths can be accomplished by controlling partially the periods of the lattice structure and the width and depth of the trench . though the embodiment described above represents the field effect transistor utilizing the two - dimensional electron gas stored in one set of heterojunction interface , the semiconductor layer structures below the contact layer may have any structure and other compound semiconductors can of course be used as the semiconductor materials for each layer including the contact layer . according to this embodiment , the contact resistance between the source electrode and the contact layer and the parasitic resistance between the gate and source electrodes can be reduced remarkably , and transconductance can be improved by 30 to 40 % in comparison with the prior devices . the seventh embodiment of the present invention , wherein hbt and gaas mefet are formed on the same substrate , will be described with reference to fig1 . a 400 nm - thick n + gaas layer 211 containing 3 × 10 18 cm - 3 of si , a 300 nm - thick n - gaas layer 212 containing 1 × 10 15 cm - 3 of si , a 100 nm - thick p + gaas layer 213 containing 5 × 10 18 cm - 3 of be , a 100 nm - thick undoped ( p - :˜ 10 15 cm - 3 level ) al x ga 1 - x as ( x ˜ 0 . 3 ) layer 214 and a 200 nm - thick undoped gaas layer 215 are formed on a semi - insulating gaas substrate 210 by mbe ( molecular beam epitaxy ; fig1 ( a )). next , after a 500 nm - thick sio 2 layer 240 is formed on the entire surface by thermal cvd , a window for taking out the base region is bored by lithography and mg ions are then implanted in the dose of 10 14 cm - 2 at an acceleration voltage of 250 kev using the sio 2 layer as the mask . then , sio 2 is deposited in the thickness of 200 nm on the entire surface , and the mg ions are activated by lamp annealing to form the base extension region 221 ( fig1 ( b )). subsequently , a photoresist 241 and sin 242 inside the photoresist are deposited by optical cvd and si ions are implanted in the dose of 3 × 10 13 cm - 2 at an acceleration voltage of 175 kev . the emitter region 220 is formed selectively by ordinary heat - treatment ( fig1 ( c )). thereafter , the emitter electrode , the base electrode and the collector electrode of the fet portion are formed as shown in fig1 ( b ). though this embodiment represents npn hbt , the present invention can also be applied in the same way to pnp hbt . as described above , this embodiment uses epitaxial technique such as mbe only for the base layer for which controllability is most required , and forms the emitter or collector region by ion implantation so that fet , resistance sbd ( schottky barrier diode ), and the like , can be formed easily inside the same substrate as hbt . for example , since gaas mesfet can be formed extremely easily in the undoped layer formed at the upper part of the base layer , a plurality each of hbt and fet can be formed easily inside the same substrate . furthermore , since the emitter region is formed by ion implantation , the emitter - base parasitic capacitance can be reduced remarkably . although the present invention has thus been described with reference to some preferred embodiments thereof , it could be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . | 7 |
[ 0020 ] fig1 is a block diagram showing a hybrid network device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the hybrid network device 100 includes a virtual private network ( vpn ) module 102 , a wireless local area network ( wlan ) module 104 , a host interface module 105 and local buses 112 and 114 . the hybrid network device 100 may be embodied in an integrated chip or a system . because there are several interfaces in the host interface module 105 , the host interface module 105 has a plurality of host interfaces 106 , 108 and 110 . it is to be understood that the host interface module 105 should have at least one host interface . the host interface module 105 is connected to the vpn module 102 and the wlan module 104 through the two local buses 112 and 114 , and routes a data packet transmitted from a host 200 ( shown in fig2 ) via a host bus 116 to the vpn module 102 or the wlan module 104 according addresses of the data packet . for this , the vpn module 102 and wlan module 104 are classified into different address regions . the host interface module 105 includes a device interrupt register ( not shown ) capable of causing an interrupt if there is data to be transmitted from the vpn module 102 or the wlan module 104 to the host 200 . the device interrupt register may provide a plurality of interrupt sources but a host interrupt register ( not shown ) of the host 200 receives only one register interrupt . therefore , if there is one or more interrupts in the device interrupt register , the host interrupt register is set and the host 200 reads the device interrupt register to find the interrupt source . the vpn module 102 also serves as a vpn hardware accelerator for processing portions of the vpn algorithm that deal with , for example , encryption , which can degrade the system &# 39 ; s ( e . g ., the vpn or the wlan ) performance resulting from excessive acquisition requests for resources . the vpn module 102 stores the data packets transmitted from the host 200 in an input buffer ( not shown ) of the vpn module 102 . then , the data packets stored in the input buffer are processed by the vpn algorithm , and transmitted to the host 200 through an output buffer ( not shown ) of the vpn module . in addition , the vpn module 102 stores the packet information needed for vpn operation in a specific register ( not shown ). the wlan module 104 includes hardware such as a media access controller ( mac ) for performing a wlan algorithm , a based - band processor ( bbp ) and a radio frequency ( rf ) system . in addition , the wlan module 104 stores data packets transmitted from the host 200 in an input buffer ( not shown ) to perform the wlan algorithm , and then transmits the data packets to the host 200 through an output buffer ( not shown ) in the wlan module 104 in the same or similar way as the vpn module 102 . [ 0025 ] fig2 is a block diagram of the hybrid network device 100 of fig1 and the host 200 showing a method for performing an algorithm of a vpn or an algorithm of a wlan . the operation of fig1 and 2 will now be discussed with reference to fig3 - 7 . [ 0026 ] fig3 is a flow diagram showing an operation of the hybrid network device 100 and the host 200 of fig2 . referring to fig3 it is first determined whether or not a vpn is applied to a data packet , then the data packet is transmitted to a device driver 202 ( of fig2 ) ( step s 300 ). the device driver 202 transmits the data packet to the hybrid network device 100 , and the hybrid network device 100 performs a vpn algorithm or a wlan algorithm depending on whether there is vpn packet information in the packet ( step s 310 ). the data packets processed by the vpn algorithm or the wlan algorithm are read from the device driver 202 ( step s 320 ) and then transmitted to a vpn processing module 208 ( of fig2 ) or an internet protocol ( ip ) stack 204 ( of fig2 ) depending on whether or not there is vpn packet information ( step s 330 ). [ 0027 ] fig4 is a flow diagram showing step s 300 of fig3 . first , data packets that are transmitted between the host 200 and the hybrid network device 100 pass through a packet filter 206 ( of fig2 ) in the ip stack 204 of the host 200 . the packet filter 206 may be in the ip stack 204 or connected to a front end or a back end of the ip stack 204 . the packet filter 206 then identifies the data packets transmitted to the hybrid network device 100 from the host 200 to determine whether the data needs to be applied to the vpn ( step s 302 ). if the data needs to be applied to the vpn , the vpn data packet information is added thereto ( step s 303 ), and then the data is transmitted to the device driver 202 of the host 200 ( step s 304 ). if the data does not need to be applied to the vpn , the data is transmitted to the device driver 202 ( as is ) without adding the vpn packet information ( step 304 ). it is to be understood that the vpn packet information includes information on how to process the data packet received from the vpn module 102 . [ 0029 ] fig5 is a flow diagram showing step s 310 of fig3 . as shown in fig5 the device driver 202 identifies whether the received data packet includes the vpn packet information ( step s 312 ). if the data packet includes the vpn packet information , the device driver 202 transmits the data packet to the vpn module 102 . the vpn module 102 performs the vpn algorithm and stores the result in an output buffer in the vpn module ( step s 313 ). however , if the data packet does not include vpn packet information , the device driver 202 transmits the data packet to the wlan module 104 . the wlan module 104 carries out the wlan algorithm and stores the result in an output buffer in the wlan module 104 ( step s 314 ). meanwhile , if the vpn module 102 or the wlan module 104 completes the performance of their algorithms , the host interface module 105 generates an interrupt ( step s 315 ) and stores it in the device interrupt register in the host interface module 105 . [ 0030 ] fig6 is a flow diagram showing step s 320 of fig3 . as shown in fig6 when there is an interrupt , the device driver 202 determines whether the interrupt is caused by the vpn module 102 or the wlan module 104 ( step s 322 ). if the interrupt is caused by the vpn module 102 , the device driver 202 reads the data packet and the packet information from the output buffer of the vpn module 102 and a register converts the packet information into the vpn packet information ( step s 323 ). if the interrupt is caused by the wlan module 104 , the device driver 202 reads the data packet from the output buffer in the wlan module 104 ( step s 324 ). if the interrupt is caused by the vpn module 102 and the wlan module 104 , the device driver 202 gives priority to the module 102 or 104 that read the data first . [ 0031 ] fig7 is a flow diagram showing step s 330 of fig3 . as shown in fig7 a packet filter 206 identifies the data packets read from the vpn module 102 or the wlan module 104 by the device driver 202 ( step s 332 ). if the added vpn packet information is included in the data packets , the data packets are sent to the vpn processing module 208 to be applied with a signal process for the vpn ( step s 333 ). when the signal process for the vpn is applied , the data packet is transmitted to the ip stack 204 ( step s 334 ) and is applied with the signal process that is applied to general data packets . if there is no added vpn packet information in the data packets , the data packets are transmitted directly to the ip stack 204 without interacting with the vpn processing module 208 ( step s 334 ). in other words , the data packets of the wlan are not transmitted to the vpn processing module 208 , but directly to the ip stack 204 . according to the present invention , a vpn module serving as a vpn hardware accelerator is employed in a wlan module thereby providing a security to function to wlan devices without sacrificing system performance . in addition , a hybrid network device is capable of performing in a wlan and a vpn . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . | 7 |
fig1 is a block diagram showing the basic components of an electrophotographic printer in accordance with one aspect of the present invention . such printers typically include a photoconductive member which , in the illustrative embodiment , is a belt 110 . the latter is rotated clockwise , by means of rollers 111 and 112 . located along the right side of the belt , as viewed in fig1 are a cleaning unit 100 , erase lamps 114 , a main charger 113 , and an optical print head 115 . on the left side of the belt is the developer unit 116 . this unit contains a toner cartridge 118 for convenient handling . located at the top of the belt path , is a transfer unit 119 , which unit creates an electric field to attract toner from the photoconductive belt 110 onto the underside of sheets of paper passing through the image transfer region 125 . the copy material , e . g ., paper , is derived from either of two convenient paper handling cassettes 120 or 121 . the paper is directed along either of two paper paths 122 - 1 or 122 - 2 to the image transfer region 125 located between the upper roller 111 and the transfer unit 119 . from the image transfer region 125 , the paper is then transported to a fuser unit 123 by means of a vacuum transport unit 124 , and finally ejected into an output tray assembly 125 . the operation of this printer involves only a single rotation of belt 110 per copy produced . during this rotation , the belt is uniformly charged as it passes main charger 113 . a latent image is generated by means of optical print head 115 , which can be either a laser or an led array . the optical print head serves to discharge selected portions of the uniformly charged photoconductive belt 110 as it moves past the optical print head . the latent image thus formed is then developed by the deposition of toner particles from the developer unit 116 . illustratively , the toner is deposited only on the discharged portions of the photoconductive belt 110 . the belt then enters the transfer region 125 wherein the developed image is transferred to the underside of the paper or other copy material . in the transfer region 125 the transfer unit 19 serves to form an electric field which attracts the toner from the photoconductive belt to the underside of the paper . having transferred the developed image to the underside of the paper or other sheet material , the photoconductive belt must then be readied for the next copy . the photoconductive belt 110 continuing in the same revolution is cleaned by means of cleaning unit 100 . the erase lamps 114 are activated to uniformly discharge the photoconductive belt . thus , as the belt rotates following image transfer , the excess toner is removed by the cleaning unit 100 and the belt is discharged by erase lamps 114 . the belt is thereby readied to be charged again by main charger 113 for production of the next copy . as noted hereinabove , it is a feature of the present invention that the copy is formed along the underside of the paper . this is accomplished by locating the photoconductive belt 110 below the paper path . thus , in the illustrative embodiment of fig1 the transfer region is located above roller 111 and the paper enters the region with its lower surface in contact with belt 110 . to avoid smudging the copy following image transfer , the printed paper is transported to the conventional fuser unit 123 by means of a vacuum transfer unit 124 whose only contact is with the upper , unprinted , side of the paper . the fuser unit 123 serves to fuse the toner to the paper by way of applying heat to the paper . after leaving the fuser unit 123 , the printed copy enters the output tray 125 with its printed side down . an advantage of this arrangement is that the printed copies are automatically collated . an additional advantage of placing the photoconductive belt 110 below the paper path is that the paper path is then readily accessible , thus making it possible to clear paper jams more easily . as can be seen in fig1 the paper path extends along the top of the printer and is accessible simply by lifting lid 130 of the machine . the cleaning unit 100 may comprise any of a number of conventional devices which have been used to remove residual toner particles from photoconductive members . cleaning unit 100 may comprise , for example , a cleaning brush or a scraper blade . preferably , cleaning unit 100 comprises an electrostatically charged cleaning device . such devices are maintained at a suitable biasing voltage as a result of which they are able to attract toner particles from the photoconductive member . most preferably , cleaning unit 100 comprises one of the electrostatic cleaning devices described in applications entitled &# 34 ; device for removing residual developer particles from a photoconductive member &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; toner cleaning unit &# 34 ; both of which are being filed concurrently herewith . these applications are assigned to the common assignee of the present application and are incorporated herein by reference . these applications are directed to cleaning units which can be suitably mounted on a photoconductive belt assembly such as that illustrated herein . as a result of the use of a separate and independent cleaning unit , the electrographic printer / copier described in application ser . no . 700 , 813 , can be converted from a &# 34 ; two pass &# 34 ; machine to a &# 34 ; one pass &# 34 ; machine , i . e ., one copy is produced per revolution of the photoconductive belt . thus , the output of the machine is effectively doubled from about twelve pages per minute to about twenty - four pages per minute . suitable adaptations may be made in the above apparatus in order to provide a printing apparatus with duplexing abilities . by means of these adaptations , first one side of the copier material passes by the photoconductive belt and then the other side of the copier material passes by the photoconductive belt so that powder images are transferred to both sides of the copier material . with the use of a separate and independent cleaning device only one revolution of the photoconductive belt is required per imprinted side of copier material . thus , the machine with duplexing is capable of producing 24 sides per minute . cleaning unit 100 is enclosed within a housing of its own . desirably , it is mounted on the photoconductive belt assembly as illustrated . cleaning unit 100 can be replaced as a separate unit in the event it malfunctions . however , this may require realignment of the parts . in the normal course of events , it is expected that it will be disposed of along with the remainder of the disposable cassette . while the invention has been described by reference to a specific embodiment , this was for purposes of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the spirit or the scope of the invention . | 6 |
the following example embodiments are provided to illustrate but not to limit the present invention . the inventive computer system of the present invention is based on a hetero - processor system that delivers green computing — deep green computing . a low - power mastering “ hypervisor ” processor is added to the mainstream standard x86 architecture via a bridging logic circuitry to make a heterogeneous computer system that &# 39 ; s both powerful and energy conserving for green performance computing . the inventive heterogeneous computer system achieves to reduce as much possible power consumption in x86 computing so that ( 1 ) the entire x86 - dominated mainstream computing can contribute carbon reduction of significance ; and ( 2 ) the vast x86 software base can become truly practically accessible to mobile users for our mobile needs . the inventive heterogeneous computer system also achieves cross - os computing to allow for simultaneous , integrated and seamless access to software applications from different os &# 39 ; s . in other words , the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention seeks to address these issues and achieve at least two main goals . first , the inventive computer system provides a solution to a portable smart device , a new breed of smart phone to be specific , that has access to the vast existing x86 application software base while is also sufficiently power - conserving so as to sustain at least one full workday on battery . such one mobile device will replace the cumbersome smart phone and laptop pair for many business travelers . secondly , and more importantly , the inventive computer system can realize deep green computing in mainstream computers including desktop , workstation and server computers . the idea is that any power conservation contributed by each computer out there adds up to a huge global reduction in computer power consumption . meanwhile , while fulfilling these objectives , the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention also achieves to allow the simultaneous , integrated and seamless access to software applications of different os &# 39 ; s using the same hardware . note that the term “ x86 applications ” in this invention refers to the broader sense of all x86 software applications that can be executed under various os available to the x86 hardware architecture . thus the term means all software applications written for os &# 39 ; s such as windows , linux , mac os , solaris etc ., all those currently supported by the x86 architecture . also , “ hypervisor ” in computing normally means virtual machine monitor — vmm , more of a software technique than hardware . however , the terms is also used herein to refer to the master processor , the low - power arm , in the asymmetric hetero - processor system of this invention that supervises the x86 processor , the performance but power - consuming element of the system that is essentially the slave processor under the master arm . this terminology is selected also because the master processor does in fact monitor and control the virtual machines necessarily embedded in the software system of the present invention . it is so named because the arm master processor is conceptually one level higher than the x86 processor that supervises the x86 hardware , the main hardware of a heterogeneous computer system of the present invention — meaning that the master arm “ hypervises ” its slave x86 , which supervises the main x86 hardware . also , the term performance processor is used to mean the main x86 processor in the standard x86 architecture . it is thus named to reflect the fact that the x86 processor in the inventive heterogeneous computer system is responsible for the serious number crunching jobs . to find a solution for computers to minimize power consumption without sacrificing computing power is of course a known technical issue with known practices . in mobile computing ( laptop , touch - screen computers and smart phones , etc . ), power management must be addressed brilliantly to sustain operation for as long as possible — with a life of at least one work day out on the road . in mainstream desktop computing , power management is important because of the huge global installation base — a global environmental issue comparable to mpg performance in passenger cars . but the conventional power management would not be able to reach the goal of having an x86 architecture work sufficiently power - conserving for practical road applications . this is the limitation of the present - day x86 , it is simply not designed so . the solution lies in the hetero - processor concept . for such a heterogeneous computer system to be commercially successful , the computer system must be compatible to the existing industry standards to a degree as high as possible . it is simply impractical to think of changing the wintel with so huge a momentum . the heterogeneous computer system solution must fit the existing , not the other way around . and this means the adjustment must be as slight as possible both in hardware and software . from the perspective of system hardware architecture , a heterogeneous computer system of the present invention has a “ hypervising ” processor that resides on the local ( front side ) bus of the standard x86 architecture . see fig1 - 4 . this is fundamentally different from the cupps et al . electronic device described above which connects its system processor to the north bridge of the x86 architecture via the system bus . fig1 schematically outlines the block diagram of an implementation of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention that has a hypervisor processor added to standard x86 architecture via a bridge circuit chip . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the heterogeneous computer system 100 has a standard x86 architecture 160 , which , by itself , constitutes a complete x86 computer with its x86 cpu 120 and the supporting x86 chipset 162 . the hypervisor processor 110 is added to the standard x86 architecture 160 via a bridge chip 140 that contains the digital electronic circuitry for the hypervisor processor 110 , an arm , or a low - power x86 processor ( such as 386 or even 286 ), to be inserted into the x86 architecture 160 via the front - side bus ( fsb ) 134 of the x86 cpu . fig7 schematically illustrates this concept of the bridge used for the construction of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention . “ bridge logic ” means it is a bridging device ( logic ) that allows , for example in the system of fig1 , the connection ( attachment ) of the hypervising arm processor 110 to an existing x86 - based computer system 160 . within the context of the present invention , such a bridge device 407 as outlined in fig7 functions as a three - way data switch 408 . in other words , data switch 408 here refers to a multiple - way switch , a 3 - way t or y switching device that allows data passage from either of the three to any one of the remaining two . details of how this bridge logic works to insert the hypervisor processor into an x86 architecture will be described below . fig2 schematically outlines the block diagram of another implementation of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention that has a hypervisor processor core and its necessary bridge logic built on the same semiconductor chip for addition to standard x86 architecture . in this embodiment of the present invention the heterogeneous computer system 200 has a standard x86 architecture 260 , which , by itself , constitutes a complete x86 computer with its x86 cpu 220 and the supporting x86 chipset 262 . the hypervisor processor 210 in the form of an arm or an x86 core is added to the standard x86 architecture 260 via a bridge logic 240 that contains the digital electronic circuitry for the hypervisor processor 210 to be inserted into the x86 architecture 260 via the front - side bus ( fsb ) 234 of the x86 cpu . in this example , the hypervisor processor 210 and the necessary bridge logic 240 are made on the same integrated chip , the hypervisor chip 242 . fig3 schematically outlines the block diagram of yet another implementation of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention . it has a hypervisor processor core and its necessary bridge logic built on the same semiconductor of a multi - core x86 processor for direct drop - in in the cpu socket of a standard x86 computer board . in this embodiment the heterogeneous computer system 300 is itself a standard x86 architecture , which , by itself , constitutes a complete x86 computer with its x86 cpu 344 and the supporting x86 chipset 362 . the x86 cpu 344 is a variant to its conventional counterpart . it consists essentially on the same semiconductor die of an x86 performance processor , for example the latest multi - core x86 320 , a hypervising arm or low - end x86 core 310 , and the bridge logic 340 to bridge the hypervisor to the performance core via the front - side bus 334 . fig4 schematically outlines the block diagram of another implementation of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention that has a reduced - power x86 core serving as the hypervisor processor on the same semiconductor of a multi - core x86 processor for direct drop - in in the cpu socket of a standard x86 computer board . in this embodiment the heterogeneous computer system 400 is itself a standard x86 architecture that constitutes a complete x86 computer with its x86 cpu 446 and the supporting x86 chipset 462 . the x86 cpu 446 is another variant to the conventional counterpart . it consists essentially on the same semiconductor die of x86 performance processor cores 421 and 422 , and a hypervising reduced - power x86 core 410 . no bridge logic is necessary as the hypervisor core 410 implements a reduced instruction set of the performance cores 421 and 422 and shares the same internal bus . the hypervisor - equipped performance processor 446 is connected to the x86 chipset 462 in the same manner as standard x86 computer boards via the normal fsb 434 . literally , as shown in fig1 - 4 , the concept of constructing a heterogeneous computer system of the present invention is to add a power - sipping master , most likely an arm at present , to an x86 computer . the idea is to have the low - power hypervisor processor awake all the time to hypervise the power - hungry workhorse x86 . under this concept , the x86 is a pure slave under the arm hypervisor processor and can be put to deep rest to conserve energy and only called into action when the relatively low - performance can not , or is insufficient to , handle the task assigned to the system . depending on the main purpose of use of an inventive heterogeneous computer system , its x86 system can be the latest intel 2 nd generation core ™ technology processor - based performance system for , cad / cam workstations , for example . or , the selected x86 can be an atom ™- based low - power system for a mobile device that is intended to replace the smart phone - laptop pair for frequent business travelers . using existing x86 architectures , such heterogeneous computer system hardware can be constructed with ease . for commercial applications , the following solutions in fig1 - 4 are suitable for different computer hardware manufacturers along the computer industry supply chain . the computer system architectures of fig1 and 2 constitute business to current computer motherboard and system makers . they can procure the arm processor and the bridge chip to manufacture their products . the architecture of fig3 , however , is dependent on whether or not any of the current x86 and compatible processor makers adopts this technology and make adjustments to their processor semiconductor to produce their versions of the heterogeneous computer system concept cpus . this is possible from the business perspective . for any of the current cpu makers , this concept involves relatively little semiconductor changes to their existing multi - core products but with so large potential impacts on the performance of computers made out of these new concept cpus — green computing . fig4 illustrates a vision of such an architecture that is most suitable for mainstream desktop / workstation computing . fig5 and 6 schematically outline the block diagram of another embodiment of the computer system of the present invention as an x86 - based smart mobile device . such an x86 smart device has the functionalities of both a cell phone and an x86 - based computer and can be used to replace the indispensable pair of mobile phone and laptop computer for business travelers . in this example , similar as in the example of fig1 , the smart phone - plus - laptop version of the heterogeneous computer system 500 has an x86 architecture 560 , which , by itself , constitutes a complete x86 computer with its x86 cpu 520 and the supporting x86 chipset 562 . to provide the cell phone functionality , a cellular communications unit 570 can be implemented as part of the x86 architecture . the hypervisor processor 510 is connected to the x86 architecture 560 via a bridge chip 540 that contains the digital electronic circuitry for the hypervisor processor 510 , an arm , to be inserted into the x86 architecture 560 via the front - side bus ( fsb ) 534 of the x86 cpu . as is outlined by the enclosing phantom - line in fig5 , when the x86 smart mobile device 500 works its cell phone functionality , the entire x86 core 560 including the x86 cpu 520 and the main x86 chipset 562 can be put to rest , with the exception of the cellular communications unit 570 , which is operated under the hypervising arm processor 510 . on the other hand , when the device 500 operates its portable computer to run , for example , windows applications as illustrated in fig6 , all components of the device 500 except the cellular communications unit 570 is activated . for example , a net banking application can be executed by the x86 system under the supervision of arm . the low - power arm provides hypervision all the time to determine when the x86 section of the device can be put to rest for the conservation of the battery energy . in order to implement green computing so that the desktop implementation of the inventive heterogeneous computer system described in fig1 - 4 can conserve energy , so that the x86 smart mobile device such as described in fig5 and 6 can sip its battery energy in order to sustain an entire workday out on the road , and so that both can have simultaneous , integrated and seamless mix - os software applications , the hardware described needs to have a corresponding system software to implement all that described . such a software system will be described in detail below . fig8 schematically illustrates the connection — by the bridge logic 6400 — of the hypervisor processor 610 and the main x86 processor 620 onto the front - side bus of the x86 chipset 662 in the inventive heterogeneous computer system . underlying concept of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention is the introduction of a supervising microprocessor — the hypervisor processor — to a powerful computer that already has its own capable microprocessor — the x86 processor . the concept is to have the hypervisor processor consume as little power as possible to stay active all the time when the heterogeneous computer system is powered up and manages the computational works of the performance x86 subsystem of the inventive apparatus . in such a heterogeneous computer system , the performance x86 subsystem is only brought out of rest to work whenever the hypervisor processor determines that an assigned computing task is beyond the capacity of the low - power hypervisor processor . to do so , as described in the embodiments of fig1 - 4 and as is illustrated in more detail in fig8 , the bridge logic circuit 6400 sits between the x86 performance processor 620 and the x86 chipset 662 of the standard x86 computer on the front - side bus . literally the direct connection of an x86 processor to the north bridge of the x86 chipset via the front - side bus in a normal x86 computer is interrupted by the introduction of the bridge logic 6400 . the original fsb connection between the x86 processor 620 and the north bridge 6624 is still in place but broken down into two sections — fsb 6452 at the x86 processor side and fsb 634 at the chipset side — under control of the bridge logic 6400 . meanwhile , the bridge logic 6400 sits similarly between the added hypervisor processor 610 and the fsb 634 connected to the north bridge 6624 of the x86 chipset 662 . the bridge logic 6400 includes a hypervisor operation logic 6410 , a processor instruction set / computer command translator logic or , grossly , the processor language translator logic , 6430 , and a high - speed bus switch 6407 . the bus switch 6407 has a switching rate compatible to the x86 processor fsb . as described in fig7 , this bus switch 6407 is , preferably , a three - way switch , of which one port ( a in the illustration ) is directly connected to the fsb 6452 of the x86 processor 620 . a second port ( b ) of the switch 6407 is connected to the processor bus 6454 of the hypervisor processor 610 via the processor language translator logic 6430 . the third port ( c ) of switch 6407 is connected directly to the fsb 634 of the north bridge of the chipset 662 . such a connection by the high - speed bus switch 6407 allows both the x86 performance processor 620 and the low - power hypervisor processor 610 to have access to the north bridge 6624 of the x86 architecture via fsb 634 . whenever the switch 6407 is set to connect its ports a and c , the performance x86 processor 620 can have direct connection to the north bridge much like in a normal x86 computer . on the other hand , when the switch 6407 is set to connect its ports b and c , the low - power hypervisor processor 610 can have access to the x86 chipset 662 . in case that the hypervisor processor 610 is another low - power x86 processor that operates the same — or a subset of — x86 processor instruction set as the performance x86 , the processor language translator logic 6430 needs only provide a simple conversion between different levels of x86 instruction sets . however , if the low - power hypervisor processor 610 is one that operates an entirely different instruction set — such as in the case of an arm or a mips , the hypervisor processor 610 needs to mimic , or emulate , the performance x86 processor using the processor language translator logic 6430 . in this case , the translator logic 6430 translates , or converts , the hypervisor processor 610 native commands into the equivalent command of the performance x86 processor 620 using the native instructions of the performance processor 620 . essentially , the language translator logic 6430 translates between x86 and hypervisor ( arm for example ) processor languages ( instructions ) so that the hypervisor 610 understands and fully monitors x86 activities in the computer system and that x86 processor 620 may take orders from hypervisor 610 . the translator logic 6430 also synchronizes exchanges of data between the high - speed x86 fsb 634 and the typically lower bus speed of the low - power hypervisor processor 610 , for example , the amba ( advanced microcontroller bus architecture ) bus normally adopted by arm devices . in other words , to facilitate the normally lower - performance hypervisor processor &# 39 ; s access to the high - performance x86 architecture , the bridge logic 6400 must be equipped to do the translation of ( 1 ) the processor “ language ” and ( 2 ) bus communication electrical signal . bus wrapper 6414 such as found in the examples of fig9 and 10 is responsible for this bus protocol conversion and implements conversion between data bus width , address bus lengths , and bus signal electrical levels , timing etc . in a preferred embodiment as described in fig8 , all such conversion can be implemented together with the hypervisor operation logic 6410 , which monitors the entire x86 activities under x86 processor to maintain an off - x86 copy of system status so that the x86 processor can pick - up operation seamlessly after being awaken . hypervisor operation logic 6410 may also be able to translate arm commands into x86 when the x86 processor 620 is put to rest and arm runs x86 code through technologies such as virtual machine and on - the - fly command / instruction translation . note that the bridge logic 6400 can either be a passive digital logic run by the low - power hypervisor processor ( arm ) or it may itself be a microprocessor - based active logic . also , the performance x86 processor can be an intel , an amd , or a cyrix processor and the low - power hypervisor processor can be an arm , a mips or a reduced x86 core . in all , bridge logic components switch 6407 , logic 6410 and logic 6430 work together to provide a bridging function so that the x86 processor 620 has direct access to the x86 architecture 662 under control of the hypervisor processor 610 for the implementation of performance tasks assigned to the heterogeneous computer system . and , on the other hand , the hypervisor processor 610 may have indirect access to the x86 architecture 662 when the x86 processor 620 is not needed . also note that the term “ instruction set ” as in the “ microprocessor instruction set ” of either the hypervisor or the performance processor of the inventive heterogeneous computer system described herein means the part of the computer architecture that is related to programming and includes the native data types , instructions , registers , addressing modes , memory architecture , interrupt and exception handling , and external i / o . further , the term “ commands ” as in “ computer commands ” of either the hypervisor or the performance processor of the inventive heterogeneous computer system described herein means the artificial language that expresses computations that can be performed by a computer system . fig9 schematically outlines the basic functional elements in the bridge logic in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . functionality of the processor instruction set translator logic 6430 in the bridge logic 6400 is provided by the peripheral status maintainer 6436 , the peripheral status table 6432 , and the peripheral irq controller 6434 . this keeps a constant record of the status of the peripherals attached to the heterogeneous computer system . meanwhile , functionality of the hypervisor operation logic 6410 of the bridge logic 6400 is provided by the fsb command handler 6412 and the bus wrapper 6414 . essentially the fsb command handler 6412 monitors the computer commands performed by the performance processor 620 so that the set of peripheral status can be maintained as described above to keep track of the peripherals in the heterogeneous computer system ( normally attached to the south bridge of the x86 chipset 662 ) so that when the performance x86 is put to rest , it can pick up the right status after awaken . on the other hand , when the performance x86 processor 620 is at rest , and the hypervisor processor 610 relies on the fsb command handler 6412 and the bus wrapper 6414 to translate its commands into x86 so that the x86 chipset can be accessed . essentially the bus wrapper 6414 plays the role of a translating speaker for the non - x86 hypervisor processor 610 to “ speak ” the native x86 command language . this allows for the hypervisor processor 610 to have direct access to the x86 architecture resources regardless of either the performance processor 620 is at rest . fig1 schematically illustrates the circuit block diagram of the inventive heterogeneous computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . in this example the bridge logic 7400 has a slightly different logic circuit arrangement . the bus switch 7407 is a four - way switch that still provides both the hypervisor 710 and the performance x86 processor &# 39 ; s direct access to the x86 architecture . however , the command handler 7412 for the command translator logic and the peripheral status mapper 7438 for the hypervisor operation logic are on the fourth port of the bus switch 7407 . in this example , the command handler 7412 is responsible for the following tasks : the peripheral status mapper 7438 is responsible for the following tasks : 1 , bridges between the high - speed fsb ( of intel , amd , via - cyrix performance processors ) and the lower - speed am ba bus ( of arm ). 2 , bridging for x86 direct or indirect access to the x86 architecture . also , the performance x86 processor may have its own working ram 724 , and the hypervisor processor 710 is an embedded processor 712 , which may also have its own working ram 714 and an on - board boot loader 716 . fig1 schematically illustrates the logic circuit elements in the bridge logic in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the bridge logic 7400 is illustrated to be in cooperation with the x86 chipset and the two processors of the system . bridge logic 7400 includes the same command handler 7412 as in fig1 , which serves to translate the x86 codes into that of the low - power arm hypervisor &# 39 ; s and vice versa . the command handler 7412 can either be a dumb logic under arm control or it can also be a processor - based command handler . the peripheral status maintainer 7436 of the implementation of fig1 is slightly different from the peripheral status mapper 7438 of fig1 . with its own memory and / or registers , the psm 7436 is a synchronizer that allows for the arm hypervisor to have full grasp of exact status of the x86 main system . the status maintenance is so that ( 1 ) arm can pick up x86 &# 39 ; s task ( via , for example , the virtual computing technology ) anytime with the correct system status , and ( 2 ) the x86 processor can pick up arm &# 39 ; s task ( when , for example , arm is under - powered for certain tasks ) when brought back from rest ( standby / sleep / hibernation ) with the right status . again , the psm 7436 can either be a dumb logic operating under arm control or it can also be a processor - based maintainer . fig1 schematically illustrates another example of the logic circuit elements of the bridge logic of fig9 in more detail . all embodiments of the inventive heterogeneous computer system described above in fig8 - 12 operate in one of three modes illustrated in fig1 - 15 . this first mode illustrated in fig1 is much like what a conventional desktop computer is doing . the performance x86 processor 620 may be assigned a complex processing power - demanding cad , or high - fidelity gaming job , in which the x86 processor 620 is working full load . meanwhile , the hypervisor processor 610 is also active , monitoring and maintaining the computer system status so as to be ready for the performance x86 to be put to rest any time . in the drawing , the double - head arrow pointing toward the processor 620 and the x86 chipset 662 along the fsb indicates that the processor 620 has its normal access to the x86 system . meanwhile , the phantom - lined double - head arrow pointing toward the hypervisor processor 610 and the x86 chipset 662 along the fsb indicates that the hypervisor 610 is maintaining its monitoring of the entire system . heterogeneous computer system operation mode 2 illustrated in fig1 signifies a scenario of , for example , an x86 - based smart mobile device capable of cellular application made possible by the on - board hypervisor arm processor . when such a smart device makes a cell call using its arm , the performance x86 processor can be put to rest , as signified by the phantom processor 620 . heterogeneous computer system operation mode 3 illustrated in fig1 signifies a scenario of , for example again , an x86 - based smart mobile device that is simultaneously making a cell call using its arm and making an active - x - required remote banking windows application out on the road . in this case the hypervisor processor 610 is active and performing its light communications task while simultaneously monitoring and maintaining system status . on the other hand , the performance x86 processor 620 is also active to perform its assigned remote banking task . both arm and x86 applications respectively under android ( for example ) and windows os are performed at the same time , on the same heterogeneous computer system display screen , and can even exchange data to each other — a mixed - os software application scenario performed seamlessly and simultaneously integrated on the same hardware as will be described below . fig1 - 19 respectively illustrate the control algorithms for bringing up the heterogeneous computer system . four routes are possible to bring up the inventive computer system from the status of power down : mode a : only the low - power hypervisor processor system is booted up active . mode b : performance x86 processor boots up after hypervisor processor system is active . mode c : only the performance x86 processor system is booted up active . mode d : hypervisor processor system boots up after the performance x86 system is active . the sequence to boot up only the hypervisor processor is described in fig1 . 1b : next , the peripheral list and mapping table are updated based on system bios information . 1c : then , the low - power hypervisor boots , initiates peripherals on internal bus , and starts peripheral interrupt service . 3a : low - power hypervisor processor initiates all peripherals connected to the system . the sequence that performance x86 processor boots up after hypervisor processor system is active is described in fig1 . 1a : low - power hypervisor sends power up signal to fsb command handler . 2a : fsb command handler requests necessary system information from psm ( psm presents itself as bios the x86 processor ) 2b : fsb command handler provides necessary information to performance x86 processor during bootstrap of performance x86 . 3 - 1b : low power hypervisor processor plays the role of a proxy , and executes high - speed x86 indirect access commands . the sequence to boot up only the performance x86 processor is described in fig1 . this can be a default mode of power up if the hetero computer system powers up the performance x86 only , can be implemented in pure hardware , without any firmware control . 1a : high - speed data switch resets mode to act as a bypass hybrid bridge sub system . ( this is the default mode if the hetero powers up the performance x86 , first , and only , can be implemented in pure hardware , without any firmware control .) the sequence that hypervisor processor system boots up after the performance x86 system is active is described in fig1 . 2a : low - power hypervisor boots up , initiates peripherals connected to internal bus , and initiates interrupt services . 4a : low - power hypervisor notifies and requests the bridge logic to take over system services . from the software perspective , an implementation of the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention runs the original version of both x86 ( such as windows or linux ) and arm ( such as android ) os &# 39 ; s over a heterogeneous hypervisor layer in its software system . function of this heterogeneous hypervisor layer is to make coexistence of two active os &# 39 ; s on the hardware of the inventive computer system possible and further to allow for seamless communication between the two os &# 39 ; s for simultaneous applications of both worlds . to achieve this , experimental versions of the hetero hypervisor layer software for the popular os &# 39 ; s to work on the x86 - arm hetero have been created and tested successfully . presently versions of the layer covering windows for x86 and android for arm have been tested . a revised version of these test heterogeneous hypervisor layer software , literally a super os , can be running the arm and x86 processors on the entire heterogeneous computer system hardware in parallel and cross - supports software applications of the two different os &# 39 ; s . thus , on a heterogeneous computer system of the present invention two different os &# 39 ; s can boot up and run simultaneously , each supporting its own applications . applications of one os can even be run within the other os , and two applications of different os can talk to each other directly and seamlessly . fig2 schematically illustrates this super os for the heterogeneous computer system of the present invention . such an inventive super os places conventional os , such as windows , linux , solaris , android for smart mobile devices etc . under itself as “ sub - os &# 39 ; s .” these conventional os &# 39 ; s need not be altered when operating under the super os . to these os &# 39 ; s , the heterogeneous computer system hardware that they each run on appears to be no different than the conventional x86 hardware they normally run . once the super os boots up on the heterogeneous computer system , two different os &# 39 ; s can be alive on the same hardware simultaneously , supporting seamless multiple software applications of both os at the same time and allows interchange of data in between . for the construction of the super os , a heterogeneous hypervisor layer is created that is inserted between the os and the hardware layers and spans across the two . with this software architecture of the inventive heterogeneous computer system technology , seamless cross - os software application is possible . for example , a windows word can run directly within its windows os on the x86 hardware , or , the arm processor can run word via virtual computing across the heterogeneous hypervisor layer . to achieve this , full advantage of existing software technologies such as the open source virtual computing technology are taken . fig2 - 24 respective illustrate the operating modes of the inventive heterogeneous computer system described in fig8 - 12 to support seamless cross - os software application . four modes the super os of fig2 boots and deploys itself include : mode a : only the low - power hypervisor processor system is booted up active . mode b : performance x86 processor boots up after hypervisor processor system is active . mode c : only the performance x86 processor system is booted up active . mode d : hypervisor processor system boots up after the performance x86 system is active . the sequence to boot up only the hypervisor processor os is described in fig2 . this mode operates the software applications for the hypervisor processor only . the boot up procedure readies the inventive heterogeneous computer system so that software applications , for example , android or linux can be executed . the booting sequence involves : 2 . bridge initializes all peripherals connected directly to itself such as working ram ( to be distinguished from computer peripherals normally attached to the south bridge of the x86 chipset . the sequence to boot up the performance x86 processor os after the hypervisor processor os is up is described in fig2 . this mode operates the software applications for the hypervisor and performance x86 processor os &# 39 ; s . the boot up procedure readies the inventive heterogeneous computer system so that simultaneous and seamless cross - os software applications are possible . the booting sequence involves : the sequence to boot up only the performance x86 processor os is described in fig2 . the booting sequence involves : the sequence to boot up the hypervisor processor os after the performance x86 processor os is up is described in fig2 . this mode operates the software applications for the hypervisor and performance x86 processor os &# 39 ; s . the boot up procedure readies the inventive heterogeneous computer system so that simultaneous and seamless cross - os software applications are possible . the booting sequence involves : 6 . bridge ( psm ) synchronizes with bios and initiates all peripherals connected to itself except x86 chipset . while the above is a full description of the specific embodiments , various modifications , alternative constructions and equivalents may be used . for example , the invention has been described using examples with the hypervisor and the performance processor ( s ) on the same physical hardware of the inventive heterogeneous computer system . however , it is easily comprehensible that the processors can be physically separated at two or more locations such as when implemented in a cloud computing application . in such a scenario , parts and a and b respectively for the performance and hypervisor processors of the heterogeneous hypervisor software layer for the super os can be linked via communications means — internet in cloud computing . therefore , the above description and illustrations should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 a transmitter 20 is provided to send a security code to a receiver 40 which enables a function such as unlocking a door or disabling an alarm . the one - way signal 30 transmitted by transmitter 20 can be a radio frequency or infrared transmission , for example , using known apparatus for transmitting digital information . when the user wants a function to be activated , the security code is activated causing the security code to be activated . transmitter 20 has a transmission counter 22 which stores and updates the number of transmissions ( i . e . button activations ) made by transmitter 20 . transmission counter 22 stores the value in volatile memory which is cleared if the transmitter battery ( not shown ) is removed . transmitter 20 also has an identification code memory 24 which stores a fixed identification code assigned to the transmitter and receiver . the identification code is held in nonvolatile memory ( e . g . rom ) so it is not erased if power to transmitter 20 is interrupted . transmitter 20 also has a rolling code generator 26 which calculates a non - repetitive rolling code based on the transmission count value . the calculation preferably employs a linear congruential method of generating random numbers , such as is described in &# 34 ; the art of computer programming , vol . 2 , semi - numerical algorithms &# 34 ; by donald e . knuth . the rolling code is calculated in response to activation of push button 21 . a preferred formula used for calculating the rolling code is as follows : if &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; is a power of 2 , pick &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; so that ( a mod 8 )= 5 if &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; is a power of 10 , choose &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; so that ( a mod 200 )= 21 , &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; is larger than &# 34 ; sqrtm &# 34 ;, preferably larger m / 100 but , smaller than ( m - sqrt m ). &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; can be any number chosen which at least conforms to the following : &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is an odd number when &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; is a power of two . &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is not a multiple of 5 when &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; is a power of 10 . &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; should be selected such that it is the largest value possible so that the computer word length is not exceeded . the rolling code is preferably calculated exactly with no round - off error . the security code is a combination of the values in transmission counter 22 , identification code memory 24 and rolling code generator 26 . the security code is formed and transmitted by an encoder 28 . receiver 40 has a decoder 42 which receives the security code generated by transmitter 20 and separates it back into the three distinct portions . receiver 40 has an identification code memory 41 with the same value as transmitter 20 stored in nonvolatile memory . receiver 40 also has a last transmission count memory 48 which stores the last transmission count previously sent by transmitter 20 . the value in last transmission count memory 48 is not updated until a valid code is sent and the function of the system is enabled . when decoder 42 receives the security code , the rolling code generator 50 , using the same formula as transmitter 20 , calculates the rolling code based on the received transmission count . if the values received from transmitter 20 correspond to the values generated in receiver 40 in the following manner then comparator 44 generates a signal to enable the designated function : 1 ) the value in identification code memory 41 must be equal to the identification code received ; 2 ) the value calculated by rolling code generator 50 must be equal to the rolling code value received ; and 3 ) the transmission count value received must be greater than the value in last transmission count memory 48 . because the transmission count value received from the transmitter need only be greater than the value in last transmission count memory 48 , synchronization is not lost if the value in the transmitter counter 22 is incremented while outside the range of receiver 40 . referring now to fig2 a flowchart is shown for the sequence of steps to be executed in the receiver as a preferred method of operating the invention . the operation sequence is started at step 60 where the receiver waits until a transmission is detected . when a transmission is received , the security code is broken down into its three segments . the system has three separate checks before enabling a function . step 62 checks to see if the transmitted identification code portion ( tic ) is equal to the value stored in the identification code memory of the receiver . if the identification codes are not equal , step 64 is executed which ignores the transmission as invalid and returns to the beginning of the sequence . if the identification codes are equal , step 66 is executed which checks if the expected rolling code ( erc ) calculated by the receiver using the received transmission count value is the same as the received rolling code ( rrc ) calculated in the transmitter using the same mathematical function operating on the transmission count value . if the rolling codes do not match , step 64 is executed where the transmission is ignored as invalid and the sequence starts over again at step 60 . if the rolling codes are equal , step 68 is executed which checks whether the received transmission counter ( rtc ) value is greater than the last received transmission counter value ( lrtc ) stored in the memory of the receiver . this step is not an equivalence as in the prior art because the transmitter may have been activated outside the range of the receiver and the transmission counter of the transmitter would be higher than that of the receiver . this eliminates the need for exact synchronization of the transmitter and receiver . if the received transmission counter value is greater than the last transmitter value stored in the memory of the transmitter , the transmitted signal is identified as valid and step 70 is executed which performs a function such as opening a door or turning off an alarm system . after a function is enabled in step 70 , the received transmission counter value ( rtc ) is placed in the last received transmission counter ( lrtc ) value memory of the receiver in step 72 . in the event that the battery in the transmitter is changed , the transmitter memory will be lost and the transmission count value reset to zero . returning back to step 68 , if the received transmission counter value was less than or equal to the last transmission counter value stored in the memory of the receiver , step 74 is executed . step 74 checks whether the received transmission counter value is less than a predetermined number , such as 50 . if the value is 50 or greater , step 64 is executed which ignores the transmission as invalid . if the value is less than 50 , step 72 is executed where the received transmission counter value is then placed in the last received transmission counter memory of the receiver . after a battery change , the transmitter can be activated twice in the presence of the receiver in order to reset the receiver transmission count value and then enable the desired function . the number 50 allows for some inadvertent activations after the battery change until the first activation within the range of the receiver . | 6 |
a magneto - optical recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings . in the following description , the magneto - optical recording apparatus according to the present invention will be compared with the prior art when necessary . also , in fig5 a , 5b through fig9 like parts corresponding to those of fig1 to 4 are marked with the same references and therefore need not be described in detail . fig5 a , 5b schematically show an arrangement of the mechanical system of the magneto - optical recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig5 a , 5b , the magneto - optical recording apparatus according to the present invention drives the mini disc and includes a spindle motor 21 which rotates the magneto - optical disk 1 accommodated within a disk cartridge 18 at a constant linear velocity ( clv ). the magneto - optical disk 1 is the same as the magneto - optical disk 1 shown in fig1 in structure and therefore need not be described in detail herein . as shown in fig5 a , when a magnetic head 22 is lowered , the magnetic head 22 is spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the protecting layer 7 of the magneto - optical disk 1 and disposed distant from the recording layer 4 by a predetermined spacing z q . the magnetic head 22 is attached to one end portion of a head arm 23 which is substantially crank - shaped in cross section . the other end portion of the head arm 23 is fixed to a bracket 24 by means of a screw 25 . the head arm 23 is constantly biased in the direction shown by an arrow f in fig5 a , i . e ., in the direction in which the magnetic head 22 is moved toward the magneto - optical disk 1 under spring force of a torsion spring 27 unitarily secured to the bracket 24 . the bracket 24 has a lever rotating shaft 26 pivotally fixed thereto . the lever rotating shaft 26 has a lever 28 of a substantially u - letter configuration in cross section fixed thereto . one end of the lever 28 is abutted against a head spacing adjustment screw 29 provided on the side wall of the bracket 24 . into the other end of the lever 28 is fitted a spacing adjustment screw 30 which is used when the magnetic head 22 is elevated . when the magnetic head 22 is elevated as shown in fig5 b , the magnetic head 22 is prevented from coming in contact with an inside upper surface of a casing ( not shown ) of the magneto - optical recording and reproducing apparatus under adjustment of the spacing adjustment screw 30 which abuts against an upper surface 31a of a disk holder 31 . in this state , when the side wall of the disk cartridge 18 is urged against an inner side wall of the head holder 31 by pushing the disk cartridge 18 in the direction shown by an arrow g in fig5 b , the disk cartridge 18 is automatically lowered in the direction shown by an arrow h in fig5 b in unison with the disk holder 31 , whereby the magnetic head 22 is lowered as shown in fig5 a . when the magnetic head 22 is in its lowered state shown in fig5 a , a shaft 21a of the spindle motor 21 is chucked to a clamper 32 of the magneto - optical disk 1 . also , when the magnetic head 22 is in its lowered state shown in fig5 a , the head spacing adjustment screw 29 abuts against one end portion of the lever 28 . in this state , if the head spacing adjustment screw 29 is turned so as to proceed in the direction shown by an arrow i in fig5 a , then the magnetic head 22 is translated in the arrow j direction ( upper direction ). therefore , the tip end portion of the magnetic head 22 can be placed at the position spaced apart by the predetermined distance z q from the recording layer 4 of the magneto - optical disk 1 by adjusting the head spacing adjustment screw 29 . under the condition that the magnetic head 22 is in its lowered state shown in fig5 a , the magneto - optical disk 1 is recorded and reproduced by the magnetic head 22 . because the bracket 24 is translated by a feeding motor ( not shown ) in the direction perpendicular to the sheet of drawing forming fig5 a , 5b , the magnetic head 22 is translated in the radial direction of the magneto - optical disk 1 so that the magnetic head 22 can access the whole surface of the recording and reproducing surface of the magneto - optical disk 1 . with the arrangement shown in fig5 a , 5b , it is possible to construct the mechanical system of the magneto - optical recording apparatus of the non - contact type in which the magnetic head 22 is spaced apart by the distance z q from the recording layer 4 of the magneto - optical disk 1 upon recording . an arrangement of the magnetic head 22 will be described below . fig6 a is a cross - sectional view of the magnetic head 22 , and fig6 b is a diagram used to explain operation of the magnetic head 22 . fig7 a through 7c are respectively perspective views showing the arrangement of the magnetic head 22 in an exploded fashion . specifically , fig7 a shows a pin bobbin 35 , fig7 b shows a winding assembly 36 in which the pin bobbin 35 has a winding 34 , and fig7 c shows a pot core 33 . as shown in fig6 a , 6b and fig7 a through 7c , the magnetic head 22 includes the pot core 33 made of ferrite and the winding assembly 36 ( pin bobbin 35 having the winding 34 ). as shown in fig7 c , the pot core 33 comprises a cylindrical portion 33a serving as a side wall portion , a bottom wall portion 33b and a center pillar 33c upwardly extended from the bottom portion 33b along the axial direction . the pot core 33 includes two recesses 33d , 33d defined from the side wall of the cylindrical portion 33a to the bottom portion 33b at an angular spacing of 180 degrees . the cylindrical portion 33a is about 3 mm in height , about 6 mm in outer diameter and is about 5 mm in inner diameter . the center pillar 33c is about 1 mm in diameter . the pin bobbin 35 is properly shaped so as to be accommodated in the inside hollow portion of the pot core 33 . as shown in fig7 a , the pin bobbin 35 comprises a cylindrical body 35a and upper and lower flanges 35b , 35c . the lower flange 35c includes on its peripheral edge portion attached pins 37 , 37 serving as input terminals which are opposed at an angular extent of 180 degrees . the cylindrical body 35a includes the winding 34 which has about 60 turns of conductors , each having a diameter of 80 μm . a winding starting portion and a winding ending portion of the winding 34 are connected and fixed to the pins 37 , 37 , respectively . the winding assembly 36 thus arranged is accommodated within the inside hollow portion of the pot core 33 such that the pins 37 , 37 are projected from the recesses 33d , 33d of the bottom portion 33b of the pot core 33 , and then fixed therein by some suitable means , such as an adhesive or the like , thereby the magnetic head 22 being formed as shown in fig6 a . the surface in which the magnetic head 22 is opposed to the magneto - optical disk 1 is the upper surface of the pot core 33 as shown in fig7 c . there is then the risk that lead wires projected over the upper surface excessively will come in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 . the recesses 33d , 33d are therefore provided to downwardly introduce the pins 37 , 37 functioning as lead wires therethrough . the magnetic head 22 can be assembled in a short period of time by using the pin bobbin 35 . even when the pin bobbin 35 is not used , if the lead wires are led out of the recesses 33d , 33d , then the lead wires can be prevented from being projected over a center ( center of the upper surface of the center pillar 33c of the pot core 33 ) uc of the magnetic head 22 . although the magnetic head 22 becomes slightly heavier than the conventional magnetic head 8 using the e - type core 11 shown in fig2 intensity of a magnetic field generated from the magnetic head 22 becomes strong about 1 . 5 times . the possibility that the magnetic head 22 using the pot core 33 can be used as the non - contact type magnetic head in actual practice will be examined below . fig6 a , 6b show a relationship among the magnetic head 22 , the recording layer 4 and the laser spot l focused on the recording layer 4 ( center 4c of the recording layer 4 ) through the objective lens 9 . more specifically , a positional displacement between the center uc of the upper surface of the magnetic head 22 and the laser spot l is expressed by a two - dimensional coordinate of x and y axes , and the spacing between the center uc of the upper surface and the center 4c of the recording layer 4 is expressed by a z - axis coordinate . fig8 corresponds to fig3 and shows a relationship between a spacing z in the z - axis direction and a c / n obtained when the center uc of the upper surface of the magnetic head 22 is placed at an origin o of the x and y axes . in fig8 a characteristic shown by a dashed curve e is the same as the characteristic ( fig3 ) of the conventional magnetic head 8 . a characteristic shown by a solid curve p represents a characteristic of the magnetic head 22 according to the embodiment of the present invention . in fig8 reference symbol zm depicts a maximum value of the disk surface fluctuation m ( see fig4 ) caused by the uneven thickness and the inclination of the magneto - optical disk 1 when the magneto - optical disk 1 is rotated . in fig8 reference symbol zn depicts a spacing between points at which the c / n value tl necessary for obtaining a satisfactory error rate and the characteristic p cross each other . study of fig8 reveals that the conventional magnetic head 8 using the e - type core 11 produces a c / n which is less than the value tl at the point zm . therefore , it is impossible to place the magneto - optical disk 1 and the magnetic head 8 in a non - contact relationship . however , as will be clear from fig8 according to the magnetic head 22 using the pot core 33 of this embodiment , if the spacing z between the center uc of the upper surface of the magnetic head 22 and the center 4c of the recording layer 4 is selected between the points zm and zn , then a c / n can be set to be higher than the c / n value tl for obtaining a satisfactory error rate even when the magnetic head 22 is not in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 . in this sense , the predetermined spacing z q between the points zm and zn can be regarded as an adjustable range of the magnetic head 22 in the z direction . therefore , if the spacing between the center 4c of the recording layer 4 and the magnetic head 22 is adjusted to equal to the spacing z q by turning the head spacing adjustment screw 29 shown in fig5 a , then even the non - contact magnetic head 22 can obtain a c / n higher than the value tl . fig9 shows characteristics in which c / n is deteriorated in accordance with an increase of shift amounts x and y when the center uc of the upper surface of the magnetic head 22 is shifted from the laser spot l on the x and y coordinates . in fig9 a solid curve p nc indicates a characteristic obtained when the magnetic head 22 is not in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 . a dashed curve p c indicates a characteristic obtained when the magnetic head 22 is brought in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 . study of fig9 reveals that , even when the magnetic head 22 is not in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 , the c / n can be set to be higher than the c / n value tl which can obtain a satisfactory error rate up to shift amounts ± xn . in that sense , the interval of the shift amounts ± xn including the origin o can be regarded as an adjustment range of the magnetic head 22 in the x and y directions . as described above , according to the embodiment of the present invention , since the magnetic head 22 using the pot core 33 is used , a magnetic efficiency can be enhanced as compared with that of the conventional magnetic head 8 using the e - type core . therefore , since intensity of the magnetic field can be increased comparatively , satisfactory intensity of magnetic field can be supplied to the magneto - optical disk 1 even when the magnetic head 22 is not in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 . since the magnetic head 22 is not in contact with the magneto - optical disk 1 , the magnetic head 22 can perfectly be prevented from being worn and the magnetic head 22 can be extended in life . therefore , the magneto - optical recording apparatus according to the present invention can become more reliable . further , the load on the spindle motor 21 can be reduced and therefore a power consumption of the magneto - optical recording apparatus can be reduced . furthermore , since the power consumption is reduced , a transformer or the like in a power supply circuit of the magneto - optical recording apparatus can be reduced in weight and therefore the magneto - optical recording apparatus can be made small , light and thin on the whole . as set forth , according to the present invention , since the magnetic field modulation overwrite head using the pot core is used as the magnetic head , a magnetic efficiency can be enhanced and intensity of a magnetic field can be increased as compared with the conventional magnetic field modulation overwrite head using the e - type core . therefore , a satisfactory magnetic power can be supplied to the magneto - optical recording medium even when the magnetic head is not in contact with the magneto - optical recording medium . further , according to the present invention , since the magnetic field modulation overwrite head is not in contact with the magneto - optical recording medium , a load on the spindle motor can be reduced and therefore the power consumption of the magneto - optical recording apparatus can be reduced . also , the magneto - optical recording apparatus according to the present invention can be improved in reliability under dusty circumstances . furthermore , according to the present invention , since the power consumption of the magneto - optical recording apparatus can be reduced , the power supply circuit , such as a power supply transformer or the like , can be simplified in arrangement with the result that the magneto - optical recording apparatus itself can be made small , light and thin . having described a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications could be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
referring particularly to fig1 and 4 , a cap - finishing machine is shown which has a stand , base or pedestal part a that defines an air - heating and supplying chamber . also shown , are a side - positioned , ambient air pick - up and blowing plenum chamber - defining housing b for supplying air to base part a , an upright heating , fluid - receiving - mixing and dispensing chamber c that is positioned above the base part a to receive hot air therefrom , a cap - receiving positioning , expanding and stretching pair of parts of an overhead forming means of assembly d , an upright steam heat and steam - supplying tubular assembly e that is positioned between the part a and the assembly d , and a non - permeable mixing chamber defining fabric - like , sealing - off bag f that is adapted to enclose spacing between an upper portion of the base part a and the frame of the overhead assembly d . ambient air is drawn into the blower chamber of the housing b by motor - driven blower 10 through open grillwork 11 and is then introduced as a positive flow , as indicated by arrows a , into an air heating chamber of the base or pedestal part a through a connecting passageway therebetween , see arrow a of fig4 . the ambient air , as thus positively introduced into the part a , passes upwardly as heated air from open or through - extending vertical passageways defined by the fins and tubing of a heat exchanger 12 , and upwardly out of an open upper end of the base part a , as defined by a surmounting flange or rim part 26 , into the mixing chamber c ( see arrows a and b ). the non - permeable bag f , at its lower end , is provided with suitable means for tightly fitting it within an outer groove or channel of circular , surmounting flange or ring part 26 , as by means of a flexible or drawstring portion 50 ( see fig4 ). the upright , chamber - defining bag f has an upper selvage edge portion which is adapted to fit - over an upper support frame or table 30 and to seal - off the upper reaches of the table 30 by providing a close fit about a pair of right and left - hand , cap - receiving , perforated , forming parts 40 , 41 . one portion 51 of the upper edge of the bag f is adapted , as being flexible , to follow outwardly expanding and inwardly contracting movement of one part 41 of the pair parts of the assembly d . as shown in fig3 and 5 , the forming parts 40 and 41 may be of perforated metal construction of somewhat rounded or cylindrical , hollow shape to directly receive the inside of a cap to rest on their perforated top and side wall portions . the part 41 is constructed for longitudinal sliding movement on a horizontal plane with respect to the part 40 to expand the relationship therebetween and stretch a cap that is positioned thereon for refinishing . hot treating fluid ( air and / or steam ) flows upwardly from the chamber c ( see arrows d of fig4 ) into open lower ends of the pair of forming parts 40 and 41 and out through orifices in their walls ( see the arrows e ) to the inside of a cap positioned thereon . referring particularly to fig4 and 5 , the stationary forming part 40 is shown provided with a fluid or air motor 43 that is positioned therein and whose piston rod 44 extends forwardly therefrom and is secured at its end to the cooperating , opposite , adjustable forming part 41 . the adjustable part 41 , as shown particularly in fig5 has a pair of side sleeves or ears 42 which are adapted to slidably ride on a spaced - apart pair of guide rods 38 that extend along the right - hand part of the supporting frame or table 30 . an intermediately positioned , cross - extending , spacer and stop block 45 projects upwardly from the frame or table 30 to limit the maximum inward movement of the part 41 on the guide rods 38 , and a transversely extending , outer end piece 46 serves as a stop for limiting the maximum outward expanding movement of the part 41 . to conserve and concentrate the hot fluid , the frame 30 has a closing - off top plate or wall portion 35 extending about the fixed forming part 40 , and a pair of side - extending , end - positioned , closing - off plate portions 36 that extend along and above the rods 38 to define a centrally open area 37 along the extent of the adjustable movement of the adjustable part 41 . as a result , and due to the flexible coverage of the upper edge portion 51 of the sealing - off bag f , the open portion 37 will be substantially closed - off from the ambient atmosphere along the outer sides of the part 41 , and its innermost portion will be open to the spacing between the parts 40 and 41 and thus , to the inside of a cap that is positioned in a stretched relation thereon . the fluid motor 43 is connected at its opposite ends to a pair of flexible air tubings or lines 47a and 47b ( see fig3 to 5 ), which alternately or selectively serve as positive pressure flow lines for motor - operating fluid or air supplied from a conventional motor - driven air compressor unit ( not shown ), as controlled by a three - way electric solenoid - operated valve 48 . the valve 48 may be electrically controlled by a three - position foot pedestal switch 49 . when a cap is first positioned on the pair of forming parts 40 and 41 , they are in a closed or inner position with respect to each other ( see fig4 ). after a cap is received on the pair of forming parts 40 , 41 , the valve 48 is then actuated by depressing the foot pedal switch 49 to supply a positive flow of air under pressure to the left end of the motor through line 47a and provide a return or exhaust flow through the line 47b to stretch the cap between the parts 40 and 41 . then , the switch 49 may again be actuated to close - off flow of air and retain the expanded relation while the cap is being finished . thereafter , the switch 49 may be moved to move the valve 48 to its sequential third position to reverse the direction of flow through the lines 47a and 47b and thereby move the piston rod 44 inwardly to move the part 41 towards the part 40 and release the finished cap . the frame 30 is carried by a central column or post 25 which extends in an upright manner and , at its lower end , is mounted within a hub or collar 26b of the rim part 26 ( see particularly in fig6 and 7 ). the hub or collar 26b is supported centrally of the rim or flange part 26 by cross - extending spokes 26b . a rivet pin or set screw 28 may be employed for fixing the shaft 25 in position within the hub 26b . the upper end of the shaft 25 fits within a pair of stepped mounting collars or hub portions 31 and 32 by means of pins or set screws 28 . the collars 31 and 32 form an integral central support for the frame 30 . with reference to fig4 it will be noted that the column 25 may be braced by a diagonally extending member 27 which , at its upper end is secured as by rivets , to the post 25 and at its lower end is secured to the rim 26 . with particular reference to fig2 a and 3 , the steam pipe or tubular assembly e is carried on the post 25 to extend upwardly therealong in a central relation within the chamber c . this assembly is shown provided with a group of four , series or continuously connected , inner pipe or tubing members 20 , 20 &# 39 ;, 20 &# 34 ;, and 20 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; which constitute a set ( represented as 20 ) through which a continuous flow of heat - supplying steam may be attained , to not only heat the chamber c but also the chambers defined along spacing between outer sides of the members of the 20 set and inner sides of a second set 21 that has a cooperating series or group of outer pipe or tubing members represented as 21 , 21 &# 39 ;, 21 &# 34 ; and 21 &# 34 ;&# 39 ;. lower quality , less - dry , heat - supplying steam is supplied from a source , as indicated by the arrow of fig3 through an input line 15 and a separator g to the inner pipe set 20 from a lower or wet area of the separator through piping 15a . steam that has given - up heat during its series movement through pipes of the set 20 is then exhausted or fed into a return flow line 17 which is connected to an inlet end of heat exchanger 12 . as shown , the heat exchanger 12 is mounted centrally and in an upwardly spaced position within the base part a to heat a pressurized flow of air , as indicated by the arrows a and b before it is passed upwardly into the mixing chamber c . steam leaves the heat exchanger 12 through outlet 18 ( see fig2 and 3 ) and may then be returned to a suitable steam source , such as a boiler ( not shown ) for reheating and re - use . the second or outer set 21 of pipe or tubing members extends in a spaced , paired relation along the inner pipe or tubing members of the set 20 to define a heating chamber therebetween and provide a dry steam receiving chamber from which steam may be periodically directly supplied to the mixing chamber c as bursts . as shown in fig1 and 3 , dry steam from the upper portion of the separator g flows through control valve 16 and line 15b into direct , supplying piping system represented by the set of pipe or tubing members 21 . since the steam thus supplied is applied substantially uniformly in a circular area within the chamber c , it mixes with the heated air that is rising from the base a , and is then introduced to the inside of a cap that is being finished , primarily through the bottom open ends of the cap - receiving pair of forming parts 40 and 41 and out through the perforations or holes in their top and side wall portions . fig1 of the bailey u . s . pat . no . 3 , 883 , 051 shows a suitable inside - mounted electric motor and air blower assembly ( represented as 10 in my fig4 ) that may be mounted in the chamber of the housing b . | 0 |
the present invention provides 1α - hydroxy - 20 - methyl - 2 - methylene - 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 - pentanorvitamin d 3 ( 20dcm ) in crystalline form , a pharmacologically important compound , characterized by the formula i shown below : the present invention also provides a valuable method of purification of 20dcm . the purification technique involves obtaining the 20dcm product in crystalline form by utilizing a crystallization procedure wherein the 20dcm material to be purified is dissolved using as the solvent either ethyl formate as the sole solvent , or a mixture comprised of ethyl formate and hexane . preferably the mixture comprises about 75 % ethyl formate and about 25 % hexane ( by volume ). thereafter , the solvent can be removed by evaporation , with or without vacuum , or other means as is well known , or the resultant crystals may be filtered from the mother liquor . the technique can be used to purify a wide range of final products containing 20dcm obtained from any known synthesis thereof , and in varying concentrations , i . e . from microgram amounts to kilogram amounts . as is well known to those skilled in this art , the amount of solvent utilized should be minimized and / or adjusted according to the amount of 20dcm to be purified . the usefulness and advantages of the present crystallization procedure is shown in the following specific examples 1 , 2 and 3 . after crystallization , the precipitated material was observed under a microscope to confirm its crystalline form . yields of crystals were relatively high and the obtained crystals showed a relatively sharp melting point of 140 - 145 ° c . the described crystallization process of the synthetic 20dcm product represents a valuable purification method , which can remove most side products derived from the synthetic path . such impurity is the result of the contamination of starting raw materials . the crystallization process occurred easily and efficiently ; and the precipitated crystals were sufficiently large to assure their recovery by filtration , or other means . 1α - hydroxy - 20 - methyl - 2 - methylene - 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 - pentanorvitamin d 3 , 20dcm ( 15 mg ), was dissolved in boiling ethyl formate ( 0 . 35 ml ) and left at room temperature for about 1 hour , then it was kept in a refrigerator for about 18 hours . the precipitated crystals were filtered off , washed with a small volume of a cold ( 0 ° c .) ethyl formate and dried to give 9 mg ( 60 %) of crystalline material . 1α - hydroxy - 20 - methyl - 2 - methylene - 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 - pentanorvitamin d 3 , 20dcm ( 15 mg ), was dissolved in boiling ethyl formate ( 0 . 30 ml ) and hexane ( 0 . 10 ml ) was added . it was left at room temperature for about 1 hour , then it was kept in a refrigerator for about 18 hours . the precipitated crystals were filtered off , washed with a small volume of a cold ( 0 ° c .) ethyl formate / hexane ( 3 : 1 ) mixture and dried to give 10 mg ( 67 %) of crystalline material . all crystal measurements were performed on a km4ccd κ - axis diffractometer with graphite - monochromated mok α radiation . the crystal was positioned at 62 mm from the ccd camera . 2186 frames were measured at 0 . 5 ° intervals with a counting time of 12 sec . the data were corrected for lorentz and polarization effects . empirical correction for absorption was applied [ 1 ] data reduction and analysis were carried out with the oxford diffraction programs . [ 2 ] the structure was solved by direct methods [ 3 ] and refined using shelxl . [ 4 ] the refinement was based on f 2 for all reflections except those with very negative f 2 . weighted r factors wr and all goodness - of - fit s values are based on f 2 . conventional r factors are based on f with f set to zero for negative f 2 . the f o 2 & gt ; 2σ ( f o 2 ) criterion was used only for calculating r factors and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for the refinement . the r factors based on f 2 are about twice as large as those based on f . all hydrogen atoms were located geometrically and their position and temperature factors were not refined . scattering factors were taken from tables 6 . 1 . 1 . 4 and 4 . 2 . 4 . 2 in reference 5 . the three dimensional structure of 20dcm as defined by the following physical data and atomic positional parameters described and calculated herein is illustrated in fig1 . the preparation of 20dcm having the basic structure i can be accomplished by a common general method , i . e . the condensation of a bicyclic windaus - grundmann type ketone ii with the allylic phosphine oxide iii to the corresponding 2 - methylene - 19 - nor - vitamin d analog iv followed by deprotection at c - 1 and c - 3 in the latter compound iv to obtain compound i , i . e . 20dcm . in phosphine oxide iii , y 1 and y 2 are preferably hydroxy - protecting groups such as silyl protecting groups . the t - butyldimethylsilyl ( tmdms ) group is an example of a particularly useful hydroxy - protecting group . the process described above represents an application of the convergent synthesis concept , which has been applied effectively to the preparation of numerous vitamin d compounds ( see lythgoe et al ., j . chem . soc . perkin trans . i , 590 ( 1978 ); lythgoe , chem . soc . rev . 9 , 449 ( 1983 ); toh et al ., j . org . chem . 48 , 1414 ( 1983 ); baggiolini et al ., j . org . chem . 51 , 3098 ( 1986 ); sardina et al ., j . org . chem . 51 , 1264 ( 1986 ); j . org . chem . 51 , 1269 ( 1986 ); deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 086 , 191 ; deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 536 , 713 ; and deluca et al , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 843 , 928 all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and for all purposes as if fully set forth herein . phosphine oxide iii is a convenient reagent that can be used to prepare a large number of 19 - nor - vitamin d compounds and is prepared according to the procedures described by sicinski et al ., j . med . chem ., 41 , 4662 ( 1998 ), deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 843 , 928 ; perlman et al ., tetrahedron lett . 32 , 7663 ( 1991 ); and deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 086 , 191 which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein . the overall process of the synthesis of compound i is illustrated and described more completely in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 843 , 928 entitled “ 2 - alkylidene - 19 - nor - vitamin d compounds ” and in application ser . no . 12 / 343 , 602 filed dec . 24 , 2008 , entitled “ 2 - methylene - 20 - methyl - 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 - pentanor - vitamin d analogs ” published as u . s . publication no . us 2009 / 0170822 the specifications of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference . | 2 |
in a housing 1 of a fuel injection pump , a pump piston 3 supported in a pump cylinder 2 encloses a pump work chamber 4 at the face end of this pump cylinder 2 . the pump piston is set into reciprocating and simultaneously rotary motion by a cam drive 6 , which comprises a cam plate 7 that rolls off on a rotatable roller ring 8 with rollers 9 . to transmit the rotary motion , the cam plate 7 is coupled to a drive shaft 11 guided through the housing and at the other end is coupled via a pin 12 to the pump piston , which is retained by two springs 13 on the cam plate 7 , which in turn is retained on the rollers 9 . the pump piston , as it rotates , simultaneously acts as a distributor , by directing fuel that it has positively displaced from the work chamber 4 to one of a plurality of fuel injection lines 17 , via a longitudinal bore 14 , which is adjoined by a distributor opening 15 opening toward the pump piston jacket face . the fuel injection lines 17 lead away from the pump cylinder in a radial plane and are distributed about the pump cylinder in accordance with the number of pumping strokes of the pump piston per revolution , or with the number of fuel injection locations to be supplied . the injection lines lead to injection nozzles , not shown in detail , on the engine . the pump piston is provided with fill grooves 18 , which are disposed on the pump piston in the form of longitudinal grooves beginning at its end toward the pump work chamber and which , during the intake stroke extend into the pump work chamber and come to communicate in alternation with a fill opening 19 discharging into the pump cylinder . the fill opening 19 communicates via a suction conduit 21 with the interior of the pump housing , where a fuel - filled suction chamber 22 is provided . this chamber is supplied with fuel from a fuel supply container 24 by a fuel feed pump 23 , and is kept below a controlled pressure with the aid of a pressure valve 25 that controls the outflow from the suction chamber to the fuel supply chamber , or to the intake side of the feed pump 30 . also communicating with the pump work chamber 4 is a relief conduit 27 , which also leads to the suction chamber 22 but contains an electrically controlled valve 29 , which is controlled by a control unit 30 . the control is effected such that by means of a valve closing member 31 of the electrically controlled valve 29 , the relief conduit 27 is closed whenever fuel , brought up to high pressure , is supposed to attain injection . in this way , the onset of fuel injection during the pump piston pumping stroke can be defined with the closure of the electrically controlled valve , and the end of fuel injection and hence the quantity of fuel to be injected can be defined with the opening of the valve . the injection phase is thus determined in a manner known per se by varying the control times of the magnetic valve ; these times can be varied within a wide range , as long as the cam provided for driving the pump piston permits this variation by allowing a suitable stroke length . in distributor injection pumps of this type , intended for supplying a low number of injection locations , such as a three - or four - cylinder distributor injection pump , a relatively long cam flank is available on the cams provided on the cam plate 7 . however , if the number of injection locations to be supplied per revolution increases , then the available cam height decreases , because for the sake of strength as well as dynamic behavior the cam flanks cannot be embodied arbitrarily steeply . this also reduces the number of options for accomplishing the injection onset shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; that is necessary in dynamic engine behavior . besides the above option for varying the injection onset , a second option for this purpose is also available in the exemplary embodiment provided . to this end , an actuating arm 32 radially engages the roller ring 8 , being coupled at its other end to an adjusting piston 34 of an injection adjusting device 35 . the adjusting piston is supported in a guide cylinder 36 , where with one face end it encloses a spring chamber 37 , in which a restoring spring 38 supported between the adjusting piston and the guide cylinder is disposed . this chamber is relieved of pressure . on the other side of the adjusting piston , a tang 39 protrudes from the face end , extending axially to the outside through the end wall of the guide cylinder 36 , where it has a stop plate 40 against which a cam 42 comes to rest . this cam 42 is pivotable about a shaft 43 offset from the center by a lever 44 , which via a coupling device 45 is coupled to a gas pedal 46 , with which a driver of the vehicle driven with the engine supplied by the fuel injection pump expresses the desired torque , that is , the attainable rpm or vehicle speed . also coupled to the lever 44 is a travel transducer 48 , the output signal of which is supplied to the control unit 30 and which is advantageously embodied as a potentiometer coupled to the gas pedal which changes the output signal as the gas pedal is adjusted by the operator . with the injection adjusting device , the rotational position of the roller ring 8 can be varied , thus varying the rotational angle of the drive shaft 11 , cam plate 7 or pump piston 3 at which a cam of the cam plate 7 begins to run up against one of the rollers . for uniform distribution of the load , a plurality of rollers 9 are provided , which cooperate with a similar number of cam lobes . the adjustment of the roller ring is effected as a function of the load , in accordance with the actuation of the gas pedal 46 . the device is designed such that at the idling position of the gas pedal , the onset of the pumping stroke of the pump piston occurs at an early rotational angle , while with increasing load it is shifted to a later rotational angle . this relationship is expressed in the diagram of fig2 . there , two cam lobe curves are plotted over the rotational angle α ; the left - hand curve defines an operating state of the engine or of the fuel injection pump in which only a small quantity of fuel attains injection . this corresponds to idling . this adjustment enables the earliest - possible injection onset . the control unit 30 now triggers the electrically controlled valve 29 in accordance with the invention , such that the pump piston pumps the fuel to be pumped until it attains its top dead center position . the valve correspondingly closes the valve 29 at top dead center ( to in the drawing ), or shortly thereafter . the quantity of fuel that attains injection in this operating range is now fed under control in such a way that it is shifted to before top dead center . at a pumping stroke h l necessary for this purpose , the electrically controlled valve must be closed at a point sb1 ( standing for injection onset 1 ). to inject this idling quantity in accordance with h l , the fuel injection pump requires a rotational angle of α 1 , that is , from sb 1 to to . if the same quantity were to attain injection over a lesser cam stroke , then , as can readily be seen from the diagram , a substantially smaller rotational angle would be necessary . the advantage of the triggering selected here during idling operation is that the fuel injection quantities attaining injection do so over a larger rotational angle , which in the final analysis then means a very low fuel injection rate . if the engine is to be started without actuation of the gas pedal , then the idling quantity must be increased by the excess starting quantity q s t , or the stroke h s t . in that case , the electrically controlled valve 29 closes at an even earlier instant , st . this further shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; is very much in tune with what is needed , because when an engine is still cold , a longer injection delay must be expected . shifts toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; are typically done when starting a cold engine , so that the introduced fuel will attain ignition in timely fashion prior to top dead center . upon an increase in load from idling , more fuel has to be injected . here , a shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;, which would take place if the cam lobe curve on the left prevailed unchanged , would not be desirable . with the shift in injection onset toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ; according to the invention , occurring with increasing load upon gas pedal actuation , the left - hand curve shifts to the right . in the diagram , the full - load position of the cam lobe curve is shown as the curve on the right . to the extent of the shift of the cam lobe curve to &# 34 ; late &# 34 ;, the location of the injection phase can be shifted downward on the cam , in the steeper portion of the cam . in the right - hand curve n vl , the full - load stroke h vl is shown as an example . the end of injection se 2 is located prior to top dead center ot . the injection onset sb 2 is located in the middle range of the cam flank , and relatively late . this corresponds to the location of injection at full load and low rpm . if the rpm increases , then the injection onset can be shifted to the bottom of the cam lobe curve . the injection onset sb 3 plotted there indicates the injection onset for the full - load fuel injection quantity h vl at high rpm . the injection onset for full - load operation thus varies in the range between sb 2 and sb 3 . if an excess starting quantity is to be furnished , which is to be fed in with the pedal position defined by full load , then here the starting quantity through the range from sb 2 to ot can be appended , in accordance with the low rpm . up to the earliest possible injection onset , a quantity of fuel also can be shifted to before time sb 2 . with this embodiment , in which the injection onset adjusting device is rigidly coupled to the gas pedal and the control unit 30 is provided with both feedback and detection of all the parameters necessary for the injection quantity and injection onset , a low fuel injection rate can be made available for idling operation without great additional mechanical expense . the cam length , or the cam stroke of the drive cam , can be fully exploited for the actual injection process , without losing the effective pumping stroke used for the pumping of the bypass fuel quantity . a variant for coupling the injection adjusting device is represented by the injection adjusting device 35 &# 39 ; of fig3 . here the tang 39 &# 39 ; is actuated not by a cam via a connecting rod from the gas pedal 46 , but by a control motor 48 , which transmits the motion of the gas pedal 46 to the tang 39 &# 39 ; via a travel transducer 49 which detects this motion and directs an output signal to the motor . a gear motor or a worm drive may be provided . a variant of the above embodiments is shown in fig4 . there , the pressure in the suction chamber 22 is controlled in accordance with rpm and carried via a throttle opening 51 in the adjusting piston 34 &# 39 ; into a work chamber 52 , which chamber is defined by the face end of the adjusting piston 34 &# 39 ; and the guide cylinder 36 &# 39 ;, remote from the spring chamber 37 . with increasing rpm or increasing pressure in the suction chamber 22 , the adjusting piston 34 &# 39 ; is then displaced counter to the force of the restoring spring 38 , which corresponds to a shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;. additionally , the spring chamber 37 communicates with the suction chamber 22 , likewise via a throttle 53 . the relief line 54 leading away from the spring chamber 37 to the fuel supply container 24 includes a magnetic valve 55 , which is triggered by the control unit 30 . with this valve , which may be triggered in clocked or in analog fashion , the pressure in the spring chamber 37 can be increased , so that a relative shift toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ; is superimposed on the above - described shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;. the advantageous result is a shift toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ; by means of an angular shift in the cam lobe curve , and the stroke of the cams can be optimally exploited for the fuel injection . in addition , the injection phase in the idling range can be shifted to the uppermost end of the cam lobe curve , as was described above . all that is necessary is to trigger a magnetic valve . this kind of pressure control , with the aid of a magnetic valve , can also be used , with suitable adaptation , for controlling the pressure in the work chamber 52 , instead of in the spring chamber . alternatively , however , instead of adding a magnetic valve 55 and the throttle 53 , the spring chamber 37 can be relieved entirely , as in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 and 3 . for the shift to &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; in the idling range , an adjusting member 57 can be introduced into the work chamber 52 at the face end , through the guide cylinder 36 &# 39 ;, as shown in dashed lines in fig4 and there can shift the adjusting piston 34 &# 39 ; toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;, counter to the force of the spring 38 , for idling operation . this shift is rescinded as the load increases , and independently of it , a shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; takes place because of the rpm - dependent pressure operative in the work chamber 52 . the drive provided for the tangs 39 and 39 &# 39 ; in the embodiment of fig1 and 3 may be used to drive the adjusting member here . in a fourth embodiment , shown in fig5 the injection adjustment can also be accomplished with a follower piston arrangement ( such as that known from german offenlegungsschrift 35 32 719 ). in the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ;, a coaxial guide cylinder 60 opening toward the spring chamber 37 is provided , in which a control piston 61 is displaceable and which with its inner end face encloses a work chamber 62 that communicates with the pump suction chamber 22 via a throttle 63 , a radial recess 64 , via which the actuating arm 32 protrudes into the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ; for coupling , and via a connecting opening 65 through which the actuating arm passes through the wall of the pump housing to engage the roller ring 8 . on the other end , the control piston is acted upon by a control spring 66 , which is supported on the housing of the injection adjusting device 35 &# 34 ;. two annular grooves on the control piston define a middle collar 67 , which depending upon its position connects a pressure conduit 68 , extending radially from the guide cylinder 60 and leading toward the work chamber 52 &# 39 ; of the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ;, either with the pressure - relieved spring chamber via an annular groove , or with the recess 64 or suction chamber 22 via the other annular groove and a check valve 69 . since the pressure in the work chamber 62 varies as a function of rpm , the control piston 61 is disposed increasingly far counter to the control spring 66 as the rpm increases . if such a displacement takes place out of the position of equilibrium shown in fig5 then via the conduit 68 fuel is introduced into the work chamber 52 &# 39 ;, until such time as the pressure conduit 68 is once again closed by the collar 67 , because of the resultant shift of the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ; counter to its restoring spring 38 . conversely , if the pressure in the work chamber 52 &# 39 ; drops , then the control piston shifts to the right under the influence of the control spring 66 ; the work chamber 52 &# 39 ; is relieved in favor of the spring chamber 37 , with the result that the pressure chamber closes in cooperation with the collar 67 , via the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ; which is shifting once again . in this sense , a follower piston arrangement is thus achieved , which is initially controlled by the rpm - dependent pressure in the work chamber 62 . this pressure can now be modified by the decoupling throttle 63 , in combination with a relief conduit 70 of the work chamber 62 , analogously to , the embodiment of fig4 . a magnetic valve 71 that is correspondingly triggered by the device 60 is disposed in the relief conduit 70 . once again , an rpm - dependent shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; is attained , and at the same time a shift toward later injection from an earlier injection is attainable as the load increases . fig6 shows an alternative embodiment . a control slide 61 &# 39 ; is provided , which can be loaded with an additional force brought to bear by an electric final control element , control motor or stepping motor 71 from the direction of the control spring 66 . the force ratio that acts upon the control slide 61 &# 39 ; is thus varied , and a superposition of an rpm - dependent shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; and a load - dependent shift toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ; is attainable . instead of being loaded by control pressure , the control slide 61 &# 39 ; can finally also be rigidly coupled to an electric adjusting device ; in that case , the control spring 66 is dispensed with , as is the connection of the work chamber 62 with the suction chamber 22 . the work chamber 62 is then relieved . upon actuation of the control piston , the adjusting piston is moved in followup fashion in a known manner . the fuel injection pump equipped with the above embodiments makes it possible to supply a large number of cylinders with fuel per revolution of the pump piston . in particular , this arrangement makes possible optimal utilization of the cam stroke , yet an injection up to top dead center of the cam can still be achieved for idling . with the rpm - dependent shift toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ; by shifting of the cam , no cam stroke needs to be made available for varying the injection onset . thus , the injection can already take place at the beginning of the cam lobe , and can be shifted as far as the steep range of the cam lobe curve . in fig7 two cam lobe curves for full - load operation are shown : the curve on the right , n vlu , and the curve all the way to the left , n vlo . the curve on the right stands for the cam position for a lower rpm range , that is , corresponding to a late injection onset , and the curve all the way to the left stands for a high rpm range , that is , an early injection onset . a cam position for the idling range is also shown : the curve n l . while in full - load operation , as noted above , the injection onset sb u or sb o is located at the beginning of the cam lobe curve , and the end of injection se u or se o is located in the middle region of the cam lobe . in the case of the cam curve n l , analogously to fig2 the end of injection se l is located at the point ot , and the injection onset sb l is located in the upper portion of the cam lobe curve . at the same time , the cam curve n l is shifted to &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;, so that analogously to fig2 the early injection onset that is required can be obtained , and to compensate for the shift toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ;, that is , toward top dead center . from this position of the cam curve in idling , if there is a load increase and a corresponding rpm increase the location of the cam lobe curve required for injection is set by the control unit 30 with respect to the drive rotational angle α . to this end , a feedback of the actual injection onset by known transducers can also be performed . fig8 is a special , known injection adjuster of the kind disclosed in german offenlegungsschrift 30 10 312 . a support piston 73 is provided here , which is displaceable in a cylinder 74 and thus on one end encloses a spring chamber 75 , in which a restoring spring 76 is supported between the support piston 73 and the cylinder 74 . on its other face end , the support piston encloses a work chamber 77 , which communicates , via a pressure line 78 and a valve 79 included in the pressure line , with a pressure source . at the same time , the work chamber communicates with a relief chamber via a relief line 80 , in which a throttle 81 may optionally be disposed . with the aid of the valve 79 , a control pressure is established in the work chamber 77 ; this pressure is shifted more or less far counter to the force of the restoring spring 76 , depending upon the position of the support piston 73 . the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is displaceably disposed in the support piston , and as in the exemplary embodiment of fig4 is acted upon on one end by a restoring spring 38 &# 39 ; supported on the support piston , while on the other end it is loaded by a hydraulic control pressure , which is introduced via a throttle 83 from the suction chamber 22 into the work chamber 84 enclosed on the face end between the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ; &# 39 ; and the support piston 73 . the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; is thus displaced rpm - dependently in a known manner counter to the force of the restoring spring 38 &# 39 ;, in the course of which it shifts relative to the support piston 73 . in a known manner , a shift toward &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; is thus brought about , which once again is transmitted to the roller ring via the actuating arm 32 . a shift of the support piston 73 itself can now be superimposed on this shift to &# 34 ; early &# 34 ;. this shift of the support piston may be such , in accordance with the above specification , that with increasing load , it shifts toward &# 34 ; late &# 34 ;, beginning at an initial &# 34 ; early &# 34 ; position . this embodiment has the advantage of retaining not only the original adjusting characteristic of the rpm - dependent shift but the entire operating range of the adjusting piston 34 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; as well . a prior art modification of the exemplary embodiment of fig8 is provided in the embodiment of fig9 in which the shift of the support piston 73 &# 39 ; is accomplished mechanically rather than hydraulically . to this end , a cam 85 is provided on the end of the support piston remote from the spring chamber 78 , and upon actuation , this cam 85 shifts the support piston 78 . the cam may then be actuated by an electric control motor , for example , controlled by the control unit 30 . once again , the position of the support body 73 &# 39 ; can be fed back as in the above embodiment of fig8 instead of or in addition to detecting the injection onset directly . the foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention , it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention , the latter being defined by the appended claims . | 5 |
the invention as shown in fig1 and 3 is based on the observation thata well defined spot of light attracts attention , is easily discerned against a dim background and can be used for precise alignment of physicalobjects with one another . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 a focussed light spot 1 appears between the type bar guides 4 and 5 and falls on any sheet of paper inserted in typing position against the cylindrical platen 2 . the spot of light originates from the emitting head 3 which is shown in cross section in fig2 . within the emitting head is alight source 16 which can be a miniature incandescent bulb of the conventional or halide type , a light emitting diode or a laser emitting diode . the light passes through a design - carrying slide 7 and is focussed by the lens 17 onto the paper in the typewriter . the lever 6 attached to the lens mounting is moveable in the helical slot 21 and can be used to move the lens axially in the emitting head 3 . a supporting member 22 is rigidly attached to the end of the emitting head and is rotatable and slidable in the tube 10 as shown in fig1 . by the use of this arrangementmotion of a circuit interrupter or emitting head in the directions a -- a &# 39 ; and b -- b &# 39 ; can be obtained . when the light spot is accurately set between the guides 4 and 5 , the position is fixed by means of the set screw 12 . tube 10 is rigidly joined to the bracket 11 which is mounted to the inside of the typewriter . the light source 16 is energized by a power supply at 15 through the switch 9 . the switches 13 and 19 ( fig2 ) are in parallel and connect the flasher 14 in series with the light source 16 . switch 19 can be a leaf operated microswitch mounted on the right edge of the typewriter and triggered by lever 20 which is adjustabley positioned on the carriage . when the carriage approaches the margin , the flasher 14 is activated and the typist &# 39 ; s attention is attracted by the pusling light spot . this reinforcesthe bell signal . in its use as an aid in paper alignment , the emitting head of the inventionis positioned so that the light spot 1 coincides with the exact strike spotof any key on the platen . this requires a focus adjustment by use of the lever 6 and a final tightening of the set screw 12 . once made this adjustment will be sufficient for a relatively long time unless the typewriter is severely jarred or the light source 16 needs to be replaced . when a sheet with typing requires alignment , switch 9 is first turned on toproduce light spot 1 . the paper release mechanism is actuated to permit thepaper to be moved until a typed character near the point of correction is exactly under the light spot . the release levers are then returned to their off positions . the normal carriage rotation and space bar can then be used to position the paper to the exact area for the first new keystroke . switch 9 is now turned off . to make use of the margin signal , the lever 20 is adjusted for the desired right hand margin . the actuation of switch 19 at the end of each line willproduce a bright , flashing of the light spot 1 which will attract the attention of the typist . a second switch 13 may be actuated by a geared roller device which would close the circuit after the platen had made the number of revolutions equivalent to an 11 or 14 inch sheet of paper . the flashing light would then constitute an end - of - page signal . in a second embodiment of the invention shown in fig3 the emitting head 3 is directly connected by bracket 11 to the inside of the typewriter . thelight from source 16 is transmitted to the paper by means of the rigid fiber optic rod 18 . adjustment in the a -- a &# 39 ; and b -- b &# 39 ; directions is made in the same way as in the first embodiment and locked by the set screw 12 . patterns for the light spot on slide 7 are shown at 8 . the invention is effective on both the moving platen style of machine as described above and on the moving typeface arrangements such as the ball font and the daisy wheel . in the latter cases the light emitting head would be mounted on the moving type - face structure . | 1 |
one aspect of the present invention contemplates a method for modulating hormone signalling in an animal , said method comprising up - regulating or down - regulating expression of a genetic sequence encoding a socs protein or its derivative or homologue or increasing or decreasing the activity of a socs protein or its derivative or homologue in said animal . reference herein to “ socs ” encompasses any or all members of the socs family . specific socs molecules may be defined numerically such as , for example , socs - 1 , socs - 2 and socs - 3 . the species from which the socs has been obtained may be indicated by a preface of single letter abbreviation where “ h ” is human , “ m ” is murine and “ r ” is rat . accordingly , “ msocs - 2 ”, for example , is a specific socs from a murine animal . reference herein to “ socs ” is not to imply that the protein solely suppresses cytokine - mediated signal transduction , as the molecule may modulate other effector - mediated signal transductions such as by hormones or other endogenous or exogenous molecules , antigen , microbes and microbial products , viruses or components thereof , ions , hormones and parasites . the term “ modulates ” encompass up - regulation , down - regulation as well as maintenance of particular levels . reference herein to a “ hormone ” includes protein hormones and cytokines as well as non - proteinaceous hormones . one particularly useful hormone is growth hormone . another useful hormones are insulin - like growth factor i ( igf - i ) and prolactin . an “ animal ” is preferably a mammal such as but not limited to a human , primate , livestock animal ( e . g . sheep , cow , pig , horse , donkey ), laboratory test animal ( e . g . rabbit , mouse , rat , guinea pig ), companion animal ( e . g . cat , dog ) or captive wild animal . the animal may be in the form of an animal model . useful animals for this purpose are laboratory test animals . genetically modifying livestock animals is useful in assisting in food production . the preferred animal is a human , primate animal or laboratory test animal . the most preferred animal is a human . reference herein to “ socs ” includes a protein comprising a socs box in its c - terminal region comprising the amino acid sequence : x 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 10 x 11 x 12 x 13 x 14 x 15 x 16 [ x i ] n x 17 x 18 x 19 x 20 x 21 x 22 x 23 [ x j ] n x 24 x 25 x 26 x 27 x 28 x 1 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 2 is any amino acid residue ; x 3 is p , t or s ; x 4 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 5 is any amino acid ; x 6 is any amino acid ; x 7 is l , i , v , m , a , f , y or w ; x 8 is c , t or s ; x 9 is r , k or h ; x 10 is any amino acid ; x 11 is any amino acid ; x 12 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 13 is any amino acid ; x 14 is any amino acid ; x 15 is any amino acid ; x 16 is l , i , v , m , a , p , g , c , t or s ; [ x i ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 1 to 50 amino acids and wherein the sequence x i may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 17 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 18 is any amino acid ; x 19 is any amino acid ; x 20 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 21 is p ; x 22 is l , i , v , m , a , p or g ; x 23 is p or n ; [ x j ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 0 to 50 amino acids and wherein the x j may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 24 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 25 is any amino acid ; x 26 is any amino acid ; x 27 is y or f ; x 28 is l , i , v , m , a or p . the socs protein also comprises a protein : molecule interacting region such as but not limited to one or more of an sh2 domain , wd40 repeats and / or ankyrin repeats , n - terminal of the socs box . modulating hormone signalling includes modulating growth control mechanisms . in addition , modulating growth hormone signalling has applications in increasing strength in elderly people , obesity control treatment of catabolic diseases , treatment of chronic inflammatory disease , treatment and / or prophylaxis of osteoporosis , treatment of cardiomyopathy and in the treatment of complicated fracture . another aspect of the present invention provides a method of modulating hormone signalling in an animal and in particular a human , said method comprising up - regulating or down - regulating expression of a genetic sequence encoding a socs protein or increasing or decreasing the activity of a socs protein in said animal and wherein said socs protein comprises a protein : molecule interacting region such as but not limited to an sh2 domain , wd40 repeats and / or ankyrin repeats , n terminal of a socs box , wherein said socs box comprises the amino acid sequence : x 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 10 x 11 x 12 x 13 x 14 x 15 x 16 [ x i ] n x 17 x 18 x 19 x 20 x 21 x 22 x 23 [ x j ] n x 24 x 25 x 26 x 27 x 28 x 1 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 2 is any amino acid residue ; x 3 is p , t or s ; x 4 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 5 is any amino acid ; x 6 is any amino acid ; x 7 is l , i , v , m , a , f , y or w ; x 8 is c , t or s ; x 9 is r , k or h ; x 10 is any amino acid ; x 11 is any amino acid ; x 12 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 13 is any amino acid ; x 14 is any amino acid ; x 15 is any amino acid ; x 16 is l , i , v , m , a , p , g , c , t or s ; [ x i ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 1 to 50 amino acids and wherein the sequence x i may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 17 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 18 is any amino acid ; x 19 is any amino acid ; x 20 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 21 is p ; x 22 is l , i , v , m , a , p or g ; x 23 is p or n ; [ x j ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 0 to 50 amino acids and wherein the x j may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 24 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 25 is any amino acid ; x 26 is any amino acid ; x 27 is y or f ; x 28 is l , i , v , m , a or p . the present invention extends to any socs molecule such as those disclosed in international patent application no . pct / au99 / 00729 [ wo 98 / 20023 ] which is herein incorporated by reference . however , in a particularly preferred embodiment , the present invention is directed to manipulating levels of socs - 2 , which murine form comprises the nucleotide and corresponding amino acid sequence as set forth in seq id no : 1 and seq id no : 2 , respectively . the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to murine socs - 2 ( msocs - 2 ), however , this is done with the understanding that the present invention encompasses the manipulation of levels of any socs molecule , such as but not limited to human socs - 2 ( hsocs - 2 ). the nucleotide sequence of hsocs - 2 and its corresponding amino acid sequence can be found at gen bank accession number af037989 ( see also reference 19 ). reference herein to a “ socs ” molecule such as socs - 2 includes any mutants thereof such as functional mutants . an example of a mutant is a single or multiple amino acid substitution , addition and / or deletion or truncation to the socs molecule or its corresponding dna or rna . another useful socs molecule is socs - 3 and manipulating levels of socs - 3 is encompassed by the present invention . the present invention is predicated in part on the determination that knock out mice for a socs gene exhibit altered hormone signalling . in particular , mice which substantially do not produce socs - 2 exhibit disrupted growth hormone signalling and , as a result , have a growth advantage over their littermates . this provides the basis for developing therapeutic protocols for subjects which either require more or require less growth hormone signalling . it also has important implications in the veterinary industry for manipulating animals to provide same with a growth advantage . this may be important for food production . alternatively , where a reduction in the size of an animal is desired , facilitating expression of a socs gene or facilitating socs protein activity will result in greater growth hormone signalling . although the present invention is specifically exemplified in relation to growth hormone , the instant invention extends to any hormone signalling such as facilitated by protein hormones ( i . e . cytokines ) and non - protenaceous hormones . accordingly , another aspect of the present invention contemplates a method for controlling hormone signalling such as growth hormone signalling in an animal such as a human or livestock animal , said method comprising modulating expression of a genetic sequence encoding a socs protein comprising a socs box and a protein : molecule interacting region n - terminal of said socs box wherein said socs box comprises the amino acid sequence : x 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 10 x 11 x 12 x 13 x 14 x 15 x 16 [ x i ] n x 17 x 18 x 19 x 20 x 21 x 22 x 23 [ x j ] n x 24 x 25 x 26 x 27 x 28 x 1 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 2 is any amino acid residue ; x 3 is p , t or s ; x 4 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 5 is any amino acid ; x 6 is any amino acid ; x 7 is l , i , v , m , a , f , y or w ; x 8 is c , t or s ; x 9 is r , k or h ; x 10 is any amino acid ; x 11 is any amino acid ; x 12 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 13 is any amino acid ; x 14 is any amino acid ; x 15 is any amino acid ; x 16 is l , i , v , m , a , p , g , c , t or s ; [ x i ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 1 to 50 amino acids and wherein the sequence x i may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 17 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 18 is any amino acid ; x 19 is any amino acid ; x 20 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 21 is p ; x 22 is l , i , v , m , a , p or g ; x 23 is p or n ; [ x j ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 0 to 50 amino acids and wherein the x j may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 24 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 25 is any amino acid ; x 26 is any amino acid ; x 27 is y or f ; x 28 is l , i , v , m , a or p . preferably , the socs protein - encoding genetic sequence comprises a nucleotide sequence substantially as set forth in seq id no : 1 or a nucleotide sequence having at least 60 % similarity thereto or a nucleotide sequence capable of hybridizing to seq id no : 1 or its complementary form under low stringency conditions at 42 ° c . even more preferably , the socs protein in a human homologue of the nucleotide sequence set forth in seq id no : 1 . the term “ similarity ” as used herein includes exact identity between compared sequences at the nucleotide or amino acid level . where there is non - identity at the nucleotide level , “ similarity ” includes differences between sequences which result in different amino acids that are nevertheless related to each other at the structural , functional , biochemical and / or conformational levels . where there is non - identity at the amino acid level , “ similarity ” includes amino acids that are nevertheless related to each other at the structural , functional , biochemical and / or conformational levels . in a particularly preferred embodiment , nucleotide and sequence comparisons are made at the level of identity rather than similarity . terms used to describe sequence relationships between two or more polynucleotides or polypeptides include “ reference sequence ”, “ comparison window ”, “ sequence similarity ”, “ sequence identity ”, “ percentage of sequence similarity ”, “ percentage of sequence identity ”, “ substantially similar ” and “ substantial identity ”. a “ reference sequence ” is at least 12 but frequently 15 to 18 and often at least 25 or above , such as 30 monomer units , inclusive of nucleotides and amino acid residues , in length . because two polynucleotides may each comprise ( 1 ) a sequence ( i . e . only a portion of the complete polynucleotide sequence ) that is similar between the two polynucleotides , and ( 2 ) a sequence that is divergent between the two polynucleotides , sequence comparisons between two ( or more ) polynucleotides are typically performed by comparing sequences of the two polynucleotides over a “ comparison window ” to identify and compare local regions of sequence similarity . a “ comparison window ” refers to a conceptual segment of typically 12 contiguous residues that is compared to a reference sequence . the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions ( i . e . gaps ) of about 20 % or less as compared to the reference sequence ( which does not comprise additions or deletions ) for optimal alignment of the two sequences . optimal alignment of sequences for aligning a comparison window may be conducted by computerised implementations of algorithms ( gap , bestfit , fasta , and tfasta in the wisconsin genetics software package release 7 . 0 , genetics computer group , 575 science drive madison , wis ., usa ) or by inspection and the best alignment ( i . e . resulting in the highest percentage homology over the comparison window ) generated by any of the various methods selected . reference also may be made to the blast family of programs as , for example , disclosed by altschul et al . ( 16 ). a detailed discussion of sequence analysis can be found in unit 19 . 3 of ausubel et al . ( 17 ). the terms “ sequence similarity ” and “ sequence identity ” as used herein refers to the extent that sequences are identical or functionally or structurally similar on a nucleotide - by - nucleotide basis or an amino acid - by - amino acid basis over a window of comparison . thus , a “ percentage of sequence identity ”, for example , is calculated by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over the window of comparison , determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base ( e . g . a , t , c , g , i ) or the identical amino acid residue ( e . g . ala , pro , ser , thr , gly , val , leu , ile , phe , tyr , trp , lys , arg , his , asp , glu , asn , gln , cys and met ) occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions , dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison ( i . e ., the window size ), and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity . for the purposes of the present invention , “ sequence identity ” will be understood to mean the “ match percentage ” calculated by the dnasis computer program ( version 2 . 5 for windows ; available from hitachi software engineering co ., ltd ., south san francisco , calif ., usa ) using standard defaults as used in the reference manual accompanying the software . similar comments apply in relation to sequence similarity . reference herein to a low stringency includes and encompasses from at least about 0 to at least about 15 % v / v formamide and from at least about 1 m to at least about 2 m salt for hybridization , and at least about 1 m to at least about 2 m salt for washing conditions . generally , low stringency is at from about 25 - 30 ° c . to about 42 ° c . the temperature may be altered and higher temperatures used to replace formamide and / or to give alternative stringency conditions . alternative stringency conditions may be applied where necessary , such as medium stringency , which includes and encompasses from at least about 16 % v / v to at least about 30 % v / v formamide and from at least about 0 . 5 m to at least about 0 . 9 m salt for hybridization , and at least about 0 . 5 m to at least about 0 . 9 m salt for washing conditions , or high stringency , which includes and encompasses from at least about 31 % v / v to at least about 50 % v / v formamide and from at least about 0 . 01 m to at least about 0 . 15 m salt for hybridization , and at least about 0 . 01 m to at least about 0 . 15 m salt for washing conditions . in general , washing is carried out t m = 69 . 3 + 0 . 41 ( g + c )% ( 18 ). however , the t m of a duplex dna decreases by 1 ° c . with every increase of 1 % in the number of mismatch base pairs ( 19 ). formamide is optional in these hybridization conditions . accordingly , particularly preferred levels of stringency are defined as follows : low stringency is 6 × ssc buffer , 0 . 1 % w / v sds at 25 - 42 ° c . ; a moderate stringency is 2 × ssc buffer , 0 . 1 % w / v sds at a temperature in the range 20 ° c . to 65 ° c . ; high stringency is 0 . 1 × ssc buffer , 0 . 1 % w / v sds at a temperature of at least 65 ° c . in an alternative embodiment , the modulation of growth hormone signalling is accomplished at the protein level using either a socs antagonist or agonist or using a composition comprising socs such as socs - 2 or its derivative , homologue or analogue . accordingly , another aspect of the present invention contemplates a method for controlling growth hormone signalling in an animal such as human or livestock animal , said method comprising administering to said animal a control - effective amount of a socs protein or functional part or homologue or analogue thereof or an antagonist or agonist of a socs protein for a time and under conditions sufficient to modulate growth hormone signalling . preferably , the socs protein is socs - 2 . where a socs protein is administered , it may be an isolated form of the naturally occurring socs protein or it may be a derivative , homologue or analogue thereof . a further aspect contemplates genetically modified animals such as livestock animals . such animals , having altered hormone signalling , are useful inter alia for food production . a “ derivative ” includes a part , portion or fragment thereof such as a molecule comprising a single or multiple amino acid substitution , deletion and / or addition . a “ homologue ” includes a functionally similar molecule from either the same species or another species . analogues contemplated herein include , but are not limited to , modification to side chains , incorporating of unnatural amino acids and / or their derivatives during peptide , polypeptide or protein synthesis and the use of crosslinkers and other methods which impose conformational constraints on the proteinaceous molecule or their analogues . examples of side chain modifications contemplated by the present invention include modifications of amino groups such as by reductive alkylation by reaction with an aldehyde followed by reduction with nabh 4 ; amidination with methylacetimidate ; acylation with acetic anhydride ; carbamoylation of amino groups with cyanate ; trinitrobenzylation of amino groups with 2 , 4 , 6 - trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid ( tnbs ); acylation of amino groups with succinic anhydride and tetrahydrophthalic anhydride ; and pyridoxylation of lysine with pyridoxal - 5 - phosphate followed by reduction with nabh 4 . the guanidine group of arginine residues may be modified by the formation of heterocyclic condensation products with reagents such as 2 , 3 - butanedione , phenylglyoxal and glyoxal . the carboxyl group may be modified by carbodiimide activation via o - acylisourea formation followed by subsequent derivitization , for example , to a corresponding amide . sulphydryl groups may be modified by methods such as carboxymethylation with iodoacetic acid or iodoacetamide ; performic acid oxidation to cysteic acid ; formation of a mixed disulphides with other thiol compounds ; reaction with maleimide , maleic anhydride or other substituted maleimide ; formation of mercurial derivatives using 4 - chloromercuribenzoate , 4 - chloromercuriphenylsulphonic acid , phenylmercury chloride , 2 - chloromercuri - 4 - nitrophenol and other mercurials ; carbamoylation with cyanate at alkaline ph . tryptophan residues may be modified by , for example , oxidation with n - bromosuccinimide or alkylation of the indole ring with 2 - hydroxy - 5 - nitrobenzyl bromide or sulphenyl halides . tyrosine residues on the other hand , may be altered by nitration with tetranitromethane to form a 3 - nitrotyrosine derivative . modification of the imidazole ring of a histidine residue may be accomplished by alkylation with iodoacetic acid derivatives or n - carbethoxylation with diethylpyrocarbonate . examples of incorporating unnatural amino acids and derivatives during peptide synthesis include , but are not limited to , use of norleucine , 4 - amino butyric acid , 4 - amino - 3 - hydroxy - 5 - phenylpentanoic acid , 6 - aminohexanoic acid , t - butylglycine , norvaline , phenylglycine , ornithine , sarcosine , 4 - amino - 3 - hydroxy - 6 - methylheptanoic acid , 2 - thienyl alanine and / or d - isomers of amino acids . a list of unnatural amino acid , contemplated herein is shown in table 1 . crosslinkers can be used , for example , to stabilize 3d conformations , using homo - bifunctional crosslinkers such as the bifunctional imido esters having ( ch 2 ) n spacer groups with n = 1 to n = 6 , glutaraldehyde , n - hydroxysuccinimide esters and hetero - bifunctional reagents which usually contain an amino - reactive moiety such as n - hydroxysuccinimide and another group specific - reactive moiety such as maleimido or dithio moiety ( sh ) or carbodiimide ( cooh ). in addition , peptides can be conformationally constrained by , for example , incorporation of c α and n α - methylamino acids , introduction of double bonds between c α and c β atoms of amino acids and the formation of cyclic peptides or analogues by introducing covalent bonds such as forming an amide bond between the n and c termini , between two side chains or between a side chain and the n or c terminus . the present invention further contemplates chemical analogues of socs molecules capable of acting as antagonists or agonists of a socs or which can act as functional analogues of socs . chemical analogues may not necessarily be derived from socs but may share certain conformational similarities . alternatively , chemical analogues may be specifically designed to mimic certain physiochemical properties of socs . chemical analogues may be chemically synthesized or may be detected following , for example , natural product screening . other derivatives contemplated by the present invention include a range of glycosylation variants from a completely unglycosylated molecule to a modified glycosylated molecule . altered glycosylation patterns may result from expression of recombinant molecules in different host cells . the present invention extends to compositions such as pharmaceutical compositions comprising one or more of a socs protein , a derivative , homologue or analogue thereof and / or an antagonist or agonist of a socs protein and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and / or diluents . such compositions are useful for modulating growth hormone signalling in an animal such as a human or livestock animal . preferably , the composition comprises socs - 2 or a derivative , homologue or analogue thereof . in order to facilitate passage of the socs protein through various membranes , the molecule may be fused to or co - expressed with tat , ( from hiv ) or penetratin . alternatively , the socs protein may be administered following laser treatment . the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions is well known in the art and is described , for example , in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , eaton publishing , pennsylvania usa or in international patent publication no . pct / au99 / 00729 [ wo 98 / 20023 ]. the present invention also provides for the genetic control of socs levels in animals . for example , compositions comprising antisense rna or dna , ribozymes or sense molecules ( for co - suppression ) may be administered either locally or systemically to manipulate expression of socs genes or translation of socs mrna . another aspect of the present invention provides a genetically modified animal exhibiting altered hormone and in particular growth hormone signalling . more particularly , the present invention is directed to a genetically modified animal exhibiting increased or decreased levels of a socs protein or a derivative or homologue thereof wherein the socs protein , in a generally unaltered animal , comprises a protein : molecule interacting portion , n - terminal of a socs box , which socs box comprises the amino acid sequence : x 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 10 x 11 x 12 x 13 x 14 x 15 x 16 [ x i ] n x 17 x 18 x 19 x 20 x 21 x 22 x 23 [ x j ] n x 24 x 25 x 26 x 27 x 28 x 1 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 2 is any amino acid residue ; x 3 is p , t or s ; x 4 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 5 is any amino acid ; x 6 is any amino acid ; x 7 is l , i , v , m , a , f , y or w ; x 8 is c , t or s ; x 9 is r , k or h ; x 10 is any amino acid ; x 11 is any amino acid ; x 12 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 13 is any amino acid ; x 14 is any amino acid ; x 15 is any amino acid ; x 16 is l , i , v , m , a , p , g , c , t or s ; [ x i ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 1 to 50 amino acids and wherein the sequence x i may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 17 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 18 is any amino acid ; x 19 is any amino acid ; x 20 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 21 is p ; x 22 is l , i , v , m , a , p or g ; x 23 is p or n ; [ x j ] n is a sequence of n amino acids wherein n is from 0 to 50 amino acids and wherein the x j may comprise the same or different amino acids selected from any amino acid residue ; x 24 is l , i , v , m , a or p ; x 25 is any amino acid ; x 26 is any amino acid ; x 27 is y or f ; x 28 is l , i , v , m , a or p . preferably , the socs protein is socs - 2 or its derivative or homologue and comprises the amino acid sequence substantially as set forth in seq id no : 2 or an amino acid sequence having at least about 60 % similarity thereto . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the present invention provides a genetically modified animal wherein the animal , before genetic modification , comprises a genetic sequence which comprises a sequence of nucleotides substantially corresponding to the nucleotide sequence set forth in seq id no : 1 or its complementary form or is able to hybridize under low stringency conditions at 42 ° c . to seq id no : 1 or its complementary form and wherein said genetic modification either results in a deletion of one or more nucleotides from said genetic sequence from said animal or substantially prevents , reduces or down - regulates expression of said genetic sequence . the term “ expression ” includes transcription and / or translation of a genetic sequence . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the present invention provides a genetically modified animal comprising a substantial deletion in a genetic sequence comprising a nucleotide sequence substantially corresponding to seq id no : 1 or capable of hybridizing to seq id no : 1 under low stringency conditions at 42 ° c . and wherein said animal exhibits altered hormone regulation such as growth hormone regulation . genetically modified animals contemplated by the present invention include mice , rats , guinea pigs , rabbits and livestock animals ( e . g . pigs , cows , sheep , donkeys , horses ). genetically modified livestock animals are particularly useful in food production . the genetically modified animals of the present invention are also useful animal models for screening for therapeutic agents capable of modulating growth hormone signalling . the present invention further extends to agents identified using the animal model of this aspect of the present invention . the present invention is further described by the following non - limiting examples . a genomic socs - 2 fragment extending approximately 2 . 0 kb from the protein initiation atg was generated by pcr . this fragment was fused to the atg of β - galactosidase via the bamhi site in the plasmid vector pβgalpaloxneo ( 24 ). the 3 ′ arm , an ecori fragment extending 3 . 7 kb downstream from the termination codon was blunted and ligated into the xhoi ( blunted ) site of pβgalpaloxneo that already contained the 5 ′ arm . this targetting vector was linearized with noti and electroporated into c57bl / 6 embryonic stem cells . transfected cells were selected in g418 and resistant clones picked and expanded . clones in which the targeting vector had recombined with the endogenous socs - 2 gene were identified by hybridizing ecorv - digested genomic dna with a 0 . 8 kb bamhi - nhei fragment situated in 5 ′ socs - 2 genomic sequence just outside the targeting vector ( fig1 ). this probe distinguished between the endogenous ( 16 kb ) and targeted ( 9 kb ) socs - 2 alleles . a targeted es cell clone was injected into balb / c blastocysts to generate chimaeric mice . male chimaeras were mated with c57bl / 6 females to yield socs - 2 heterozygotes which were interbred to produce wild - type ( socs - 2 +/+ ), heterozygous ( socs - 2 +/− ) and mutant ( socs - 2 −/− ) mice on a pure c57bl / 6 genetic background . the genotypes of offspring were determined by southern blot analysis of genomic dna extracted from tail biopsies as described above . the deletion of socs - 2 coding sequence and subsequent inability to produce socs - 2 mrna in mutant mice was confirmed in nucleic acid blots which were performed as previously described ( 25 ). northern blots were probed with a full - length socs - 2 coding region probe and then with a 1 . 2 kb psti chicken glyceraldehyde - 3 - phosphate dehydrogenase ( gapdh ) fragment . peripheral blood white cell and platelet counts were determined manually using haemocytometers . single cell suspensions from femoral bone marrow , spleen and liver were prepared and differential counts of peripheral blood , bone marrow and spleen were performed from stained smears and cytocentrifuge preparations . clonal cultures of 2 . 5 × 10 4 adult bone marrow cells were performed in 0 . 3 % agar as previously described ( 26 ). cultures were stimulated with recombinant purified gm - csf , g - csf , m - csf , il - 3 ( each at 10 ng / ml ), scf ( 100 ng / ml ), il - 6 ( 100 ng / ml ) or flk - ligand ( 500 ng / ml ) plus lif ( 10 3 u / ml ). agar cultures were fixed , sequentially stained for acetylcholinesterase , luxol fast blue and hematoxylin , and the cellular composition of each colony determined microscopically . tissue sections were prepared by standard techniques , stained with haematoxylin and eosin and examined by light microscopy . to analyze mup levels , 6 - 7 week old mice were made to urinate before samples were collected 3 and 5 . 5 hours later . samples were pooled and centrifuged ( 13 , 000 rpm × 3 min ) before 0 . 5 μl of supernatant was electorphoresed in 12 % sds - polyacrylamide gels and stained with coomassie blue . cohorts of mice were weighed at weekly intervals for 12 weeks from birth . after sacrifice , animals were pinned down through the oral cavity and lightly stretched by the tail for nose - anus ( body length ) and anus - tail ( tail length ) measurements . to measure skeletal dimensions , limbs were subsequently removed and oriented in a consistent manner for x - ray photography and bone length measurement . serum igf - i levels in serum from orbital bleeds were determined using an eia kit ( rat igf dsl - 10 - 2900 diagnostic systems laboratories , webster , tx ) according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . igf - i rna expression was determined in rnase protections assays as previously described ( 23 ) using β - actin as an internal standard . to construct the socs - 2 targeting vector , a 5 ′ arm extending approximately 2 . 0 kb from the protein initiation atg was generated by pcr using specific socs - 2 oligonucleotides and genomic clone pgmsocs - 2 57 - 60 - 1 - 45 as template . this fragment was fused to the atg of β - galactosidase via the bamhi site in the plasmid vector pβgalpaloxneo . the 3 ′ arm , a 3 . 7 kb ecori fragment from pgmsocs - 2 57 - 60 - 145 was blunted and ligated into the xhoi ( blunted ) site of pβgalphaloxneo that already contained the 5 ′ arm . this targeting vector was linearized with noti and electroporated into c57bl / 6 embryonic stem cells . transfected cells were selected in g418 and resistant clones picked and expanded . clones in which the targeting vector has recombined with the endogenous socs - 2 gene were identified by hybridising ecorv - digested genomic dna with a 1 . 8 kb ecori - ecorv fragment from pgmsocs - 2 57 - 60 - 1 - 45 . this probe ( probe a , fig1 ), which is located 3 ′ to the socs - 2 sequences in the targeting vector , distinguished between the endogenous ( greater than 14 kb ) and targeted ( 7 . 5 kb ) socs - 2 loci ( fig1 ). several targeted es cells clones were identified , one of which was injected into balb / c blastocysts to generate chimeric mice . germline chimeras were mated with c57 / bl / 6 mice to produce socs - 2 +/− mice which were interbred to yield socs - 2 - deficient animals . southern blot analysis at weaning revealed that offspring of heterozygous parents included mice of each of the three expected genotypes in approximately mendelian proportions ( 22 : 51 : 22 for socs - 2 +/+ : socs - 2 +/− : socs - 2 −/− ). northern blots of rna extracted from a range of organs confirmed that socs - 2 transcripts were absent in homozygous mutant mice . this result is consistent with the findings that the socs - 2 gene had been functionally deleted . socs - 2 −/− mice appeared outwardly normal , however , male mice and perhaps to a lesser extend female mice developed to a significantly larger body weight than their normal littermates ( fig2 ; males at 3 months of age : socs - 2 −/− 41 . 2 ± 4 . 8 , wild - type 29 . 3 ± 1 . 8 ; females : socs - 2 −/− 25 . 3 ± 2 . 2 , wild - type 21 . 9 ± 2 . 2 grams ). in male mice the increased body weight was parallelled by increased size of several organs , in particular the pancreas , liver , lungs and heart ( fig3 ). upon removal of all organs the resulting means carcass weight also highlighted the increased size of socs - 2 −/− mice ( 21 . 5 ± 1 . 5 g ), compared to wild - type controls ( 13 . 1 ± 1 . 9 g ). an extensive analysis has suggested that mice socs - 2 −/− organs were histologically normal , with the exception of a marked thickening of the skin which develops as a result of increase collagen deposition . both male and female socs - 2 −/− have been found to be fertile . adult socs - 2 +/− males exhibited an intermediate body weight (−/−: 36 . 6 ± 1 . 0 g ; +/−: 30 . 8 ± 1 . 3 g ; +/+: 27 . 1 ± 1 . 6 g , at 12 weeks of age , n = 5 - 20 mice per group ). increased growth was also significant but less dramatic in female socs - 2 −/− mice . adult socs - 2 −/− females typically attained weights of wild - type male mice , but heterozygous socs - 2 females were not significantly heavier that sex - matched wild - type littermates (−/−: 26 . 2 ± 1 . 5 g ; +/−: 21 . 8 ± 0 . 7 g ; +/+: 20 . 5 ± 1 . 4 g , at 12 weeks of age , n = 7 - 20 mice per group ). consistent with this interpretation , the femur , tibia , radius and humerus in socs - 2 −/− mice were all significantly longer than in wild - type controls ( table 2 ). body length in male socs - 2 - deficient mice was also greater , although tail length was normal ( table 2 ). the mean frequency of hepatic nuclei per 10 high power fields in socs - 2 −/− liver sections was no greater than that in wild type mice ( 27 . 3 ± 4 . 4 , n = 4 versus 27 . 7 ± 2 . 6 , n = 4 ) and striated muscle cell width was normal in the thighs of socs - 2 - deficient animals . thus , increased organ weights in these mice appear to have resulted from elevated cell numbers rather than increased cell size . a similar , but less pronounced trend was also observed when organ and carcass weights and body , tail and bone lengths were assessed in female socs - 2 −/− mice ( table 2 ). a thorough hematological survey has not identified any hematological abnormalities in socs - 2 −/− mice ( table 3 ). the increased growth of mice is considered to be due to disruption in the pulsatile nature of growth hormone signalling in animals and in particular male animals . to further analyze this , the phenomenon is studied and compared in animals homozygous and heterozygous for animals homozygous and heterozygous for the socs - 2 gene . in these animals , levels of growth hormone and growth hormone controlled factors such as igf - 1 is determined . the activation status of stat5a and in particular stat5b , which are major mediators of growth hormone and prolactin signalling , is determined in the heterozygous and homozygous mice . in addition , growth hormone , pulse - regulated , sexually dimorphic gene expression of genes such as mup and cyp is also determined . furthermore , the sensitivity of knock out mice to growth hormone signalling is further analyzed . to more directly examine the effects of socs - 2 on the growth hormone system , the inventors initiated crosses of the socs - 2 −/− mice with stat5b −/− and little mice . stat5b is required for the sexually dimorphic effects of growth hormone . consequently , male mice lacking socs - 5b grow no larger than female mice , which are themselves normal size . a range of outcomes to this experiment is envisaged . if socs - 2 is required to regulate growth hormone ( gh ) signalling , mice lacking both socs - 2 and stat5b are expected to reproduce a stat - 5b - deficient phenotype as gh signalling would not properly operate in the absence of this key signalling molecule making the presence or absence of socs - 2 irrelevant . if socs - 2 acts independently of gh signalling , an intermediate phenotype might ensue . conversely , given that little mice are not entirely gh - deficient , if socs - 2 acts to regulate gh signalling , a little mouse that is also deficient in socs - 2 might exhibit amelioration of dwarfism . if socs - 2 acts on the gh or igf - i signalling pathways , a strong prediction would be that the socs - 2 - deficient cells or the socs - 2 −/− mice themselves would be significantly more sensitive than their wild - type counterparts to the effects of these cytokines . the deregulating of gh signalling might result in heightened activation of stat5b , the key stat involved in sexually dimorphic growth in mice . this is investigated in the livers of unmanipulated male socs - 2 −/− mice , together with those from unmanipulated wild - type mice and wild - type mice after injection with a maximally stimulating dose of gh . the levels of expression of downstream markers of pulse - regulated gh signalling , including mup , and cytochrome p450 - catalysed testosterone hydroxylase , are determined in northern blot analysis of liver rna and / or western blot analysis of protein extracts . differences in gh sensitivity is also investigated by comparing the cytokine concentration required to stimulate phosphorylation of stat5b in socs - 2 −/− and normal mice in dose response studies using preparations of primary hepatocytes and / or fibroblasts . the size parameters of socs - 2 / stat5b are shown in table 4 . the data in the table show that male socs - 2 −/− stat5b −/− mice have a growth phenotype intermediate to the large socs - 2 −/− stat5b +/+ and small socs - 2 +/+ stat5b −/− mice . in female mice , socs - 2 −/− stat5b −/− also appear to be intermediate in this regard compared with mice lacking socs - 2 or stat5b singly . this result implies that the excessive growth in socs - 2 −/− mice is dependent , at least in part , on stat5b . also , although not proof , this is further evidence consistent with abnormal growth hormone signalling in socs - 2 −/− mice . the possibility that socs - 2 acts directly in the igf - i signalling cascade is also being investigated . to achieve this , the phosphorylation status of the igf - i receptor and key downstream signalling molecules in cells or tissues of socs - 2 −/− mice is investigated . primary embryo fibroblast cultures are established from socs - 2 −/− and normal control mice . initially , the extent and duration of phosphorylation of the igf - i receptor , as well as the downstream effectors irs and shc is measured following stimulation of these cells , or in primary hepatocyte preparations , with a maximally - stimulating dose of igf - i . differences in igf - i sensitivity are also investigated by comparing the minimal cytokine concentration required to stimulate receptor and substrate phosphorylation in socs - 2 −/− and normal fibroblasts in dose response studies . transgenic mice are generated which constitutively express socs - 2 ubiquitously . the murine cdna encoding socs - 2 is linked to human ubiquitin c promoter , which drives high - level transgene expression in most mouse tissues . if the transgenic mice are small , and show evidence of resistance to gh or igf - i , this provides strong evidence consistent with the hypothesis that socs - 2 acts within the gh / igf - i axis . socs - 2 regulation of major urinary protein ( mup ) and insulin - like growth factor ( igf - 1 ) the inventors suspected that asspects of gh and / or igf - i signalling might be deregulated in socs - 2 −/− mice . to directly examine the gh / igf - i pathway , the inventors first investigated levels of major urinary protein ( mup ), a gh pulse - dependent product that is down - regulated in gh - overexpressing transgenic mice , where the usual pulsatile pattern of gh signalling is disrupted ( 21 ). to analyze mup levels , 6 - 7 week old mice were made to urinate before samples were collected 3 and 5 . 5 hours later . samples were pooled and centrifuged ( 13 , 000 rpm × 3 min ) before 0 . 5 μl of supernatant was electorphoresed in 12 % w / v sds - polyacrylamide gels and stained with coomassie blue . consistent with deregulated gh signalling , less mup was observed in samples of urine from each of 6 male and 5 female socs - 2 −/− mice compared with a similar number of sex - matched wild - type samples ( fig4 a ). production of igf - i is also stimulated by gh and , consistent with deregulated gh action , rnase protection assays revealed increased igf - i production in several organs including the heart , lungs and spleen of socs - 2 −/− mice ( fig4 b , c ). serum igf - i levels in serum from orbital bleeds were determined using an eia kit ( rat igf dsl - 10 - 2900 diagnostic systems laboratories , webster , tx ) according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . igf - i rna expression was determined in rnase protections assays as previously described ( 23 ) using β - actin as an internal standard . however , excess production was not evident in the liver , bone , fat or muscle . no increase in serum igf - i concentration was observed in socs - 2 −/− mice ( male −/−: 278 ± 74 ng / ml ; +/+: 282 ± 45 ; female −/−: 310 ± 62 ; +/+: 298 ± 76 ; n = 6 mice per group ), consistent with normal production in the liver , which is the major source of circulating igf - i ( 22 , 23 ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described . it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications . the invention also includes all of the steps , features , compositions and compounds referred to or indicated in this specification , individually or collectively , and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features . 1 . nicola , n . a . guidebook to cytokine and their receptors . oxford university press : oxford , 1994 . 3 . sprang et al , curr . opin . structural biol . 3 : 815 - 827 , 1993 . 4 . hilton , d . j . guidebook to cytokines and their receptors , 8 - 16 : 1994 . 5 . murakami et al , proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 88 : 11349 - 11353 , 1991 . 8 . ihle et al , annual review of immunology 13 : 369 - 398 , 1995 . 10 . culter et al , journal of biological chemistry 268 : 21463 - 21465 , 1993 . 11 . david et al , journal of biological chemistry 271 : 9185 - 9188 , 1996 . 17 . ausubel et al . [ ] current protocols in molecular biology [ ] john wiley & amp ; sons inc , 1994 - 1998 , chapter 15 . 18 . marmur and doty , j . mol . biol . 5 : 109 , 1962 19 . bonner and laskey , eur . j . biochem . 46 : 83 , 1974 22 . yakar et al , proc natl acad sci usa 96 : 7324 - 7329 , 1999 23 . sjogren et al , proc natl acad sci usa 96 : 7088 - 7092 , 1999 24 . starr et al , proc natl acad sci usa 95 : 14395 - 14399 , 1998 | 0 |
the following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to use a method to efficiently produce superior reconstructed images using , for example , planar imaging or single photon emission computed tomography ( spect ). various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . in the following description , numerous details are set forth for the purpose of explanation . however , one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the invention might be practiced without the use of these specific details . in order to more efficiently illustrate and describe embodiments of the invention , identical reference numerals are used in the specification and drawings to identify parts that are essentially the same in different stages , versions or instantiations of such parts shown in the drawings . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein . fig1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a patient 13 on a patient bed 15 inside a nuclear imaging apparatus 10 . two collimators , 12 and 14 , are located around the patient 13 . the collimators 12 and 14 collimate radiation from the patient to be imaged . the collimated radiation is detected using a crystal ( not shown ) which scintillates in response to incident gamma radiation . the collimators 12 and 14 may rotate around the patient as shown by arrow 23 . the collimators 12 and 14 may also shift or swivel . in addition , the patient bed 15 may be capable of moving by rotating , shifting , or swiveling . the motion of the patient bed 15 and / or the collimators 12 and 14 facilitates taking images of the patient 13 from different angles and orientations . in accordance with the present invention , a non - parallel hole ( e . g ., multifocal ) collimator is used to acquire image data of a patient at multiple orientations . fig3 depicts examples of possible detector movements . each of the three diagrams illustrates the motion of one detector with respect to the center of the gantry . the top example , labeled a , depicts the collimator / detector rotating around a gantry center . the center example , labeled b , depicts the collimator / detector swiveling around its central axis in addition to rotation about the gantry center . finally , the bottom example , labeled c , depicts the collimator / detector shifting or translating the detector center with respect to the gantry center , in addition to rotation about the gantry center and swiveling about the detector central axis . the motions may occur independently or concurrently . a first image of a subject within the gantry may be taken with the multi - focal collimator in a first position with respect to the subject , and a second image may be taken with the collimator in a second position . the images may be combined to form difference images . for example , the imaging subject may lie at a distance z 0 from the surface of the collimator and a point ( x 0 , y 0 , z 0 ). next , the subject can be moved along one axis while keeping the subject at the same position along the other two axes by moving the subject to a point ( x 0 , y 1 , z 0 ). the combination of the images taken at the two points reveals a difference image . due to the unique characteristics of the psf at the distance z 0 from the surface of the collimator , the difference image may then be examined to determine the distance of the subject from the collimator surface using , for example , a chi - squared fit algorithm . an embodiment of the present invention is based on the fact that in a multi - focal collimator , the psf is dependent on the location of a gamma event with respect to the collimator surface ( in the axial and trans - axial directions ). thus , depth information is available and is encoded in a difference image at different angular views of a target object . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , difference images obtained as the object moves through the mfc fov at z 0 are uniquely different from difference images obtained as the object moves through the mfc fov at z 1 ≠ z 0 . thus , tomographic information can be extracted from the projection data as the projection views are being accumulated , and a tomographic image can be formed before the full detector orbit scan around the patient has been completed . a chi - squared fit algorithm may be used to compare an expected difference image at a certain distance with the actual obtained image . however , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of algorithms can be used without departing from the scope of the invention . the expected image may be calculated because the psf at each distance from the collimator surface is known and is unique with respect to different distances from the surface of the collimator due to the non - parallel orientation of the collimator holes . because the psf is unique at different distances from the surface of the collimator , the expected difference between images of the subject at the two points ( x 0 , y 0 , z n ) and ( x 0 , y 1 , z n ) can be determined for different distances from the surface of the collimator ( i . e ., at different z n ). using this information , the difference between two images of the subject at different positions may be predicted at different distances from the collimator surface . thus , the depth of an roi may be estimated within 1 cm and thus eliminate trial - and - error , and also enable applications that require planar images with a mfc . the chi squared fit algorithm enables an iterative process of estimating the distance of the subject from the collimator surface until one iteration of the algorithm results in a best fit . in other words , a best fit can mean the expected difference between the images is approximately equal to the actual recorded difference . when a best fit is found , in the case of spect imaging , the distance of the roi to the collimator surface may be used as an input into a reconstruction algorithm to produce a more precisely reconstructed image of the subject . this process may occur iteratively in the case of spect imaging because many pictures are taken to render a three dimensional reconstruction . therefore , the distance calculation may be made several times in order to determine a more precise distance . fig4 is an example of images of a subject at the same distance from the surface of a collimator , but at two different locations , and difference images . the subject is a cylindrical object , with open side pointing right , at two different distances from a collimator surface . each of the six images contains a composite of fifteen images of the object at different locations . the left column depicts the object at 20 cm from the collimator surface and the right column depicts the object at 30 cm from the collimator surface . as can clearly be seen , the difference between the images in the same location but shifted up or down ( e . g ., left column versus right column ) significantly changes the appearance of the object and is unique to the distance from the collimator surface . the top images depict the object in fifteen different locations but in the same plane parallel to the collimator surface . the second row depicts the same object , but shifted horizontally 4 . 8 mm . it is only important that the object is shifted ; it is not important how much it is shifted . the third row depicts difference images generated by combining images from the top two rows in the same column . the difference images in the bottom row of fig4 may be used in the iterative chi - squared fit algorithm discussed above to determine the distance of the cylindrical object from the collimator surface . the distances may then be used as an input into a reconstruction algorithm to efficiently produce a more accurately reconstructed image . many reconstruction algorithms exist in the art and are well known , and therefore will not be further described here . many of these reconstruction algorithms use the distance between the subject and the collimator surface as an input . thus , the method described above to yield an accurate distance measurement may be used in these algorithms to reconstruct a more precise image . to further illustrate the process used in one embodiment , fig5 describes obtaining two images of the reconstruction area using a multi - focal collimator ( mfc ). the roi in the reconstruction area is determined and a difference image is obtained . the difference image is then used to determine the distance of the rio from the surface of the collimator and used in a reconstruction algorithm . the process may occur iteratively , for example in a spect imaging process , until all necessary images are taken and the process can stop . more specifically , the process 500 is initiated at step 501 where during bed - in movement , mfc stationary projection data is acquired . at steps 502 and 503 , a roi is determined in one image frame following the shape of the target organ . the process identifies the shape of the target based on the initial roi . the process is repeated at steps at steps 504 , 505 and 506 . the process creates a new shape based roi based on the projected target organ in that frame , which is slightly distorted . this can be performed via a segmentation method . at step 507 , the difference between rois is compared . at step 508 , an improved determination of likely depth d is provided . the gradual shape deformation of subsequent translated projection images is used to compute the most likely depth given the known mfc characteristics , consistent with all shapes . this can be performed by some iterative scheme where some appropriate objective function , for instance the l2 measure of the difference images is minimized . the process proceeds to step 509 where a determination is made whether to repeat the process . if not repeated , the process is terminated at step 510 . referring now to fig6 , according to an embodiment of the present invention , a computer system 601 for implementing the present invention can comprise , inter alia , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 602 , a memory 603 and an input / output ( i / o ) interface 604 . the computer system 301 is generally coupled through the i / o interface 604 to a display 605 and various input devices 606 such as a mouse and a keyboard . the support circuits can include circuits such as cache , power supplies , clock circuits , and a communication bus . the memory 603 can include random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), disk drive , tape drive , etc ., or a combinations thereof . the present invention can be implemented as a routine 607 that is stored in memory 603 and executed by the cpu 602 to process the signal from the signal source 608 . as such , the computer system 601 is a general purpose computer system that becomes a specific purpose computer system when executing the routine 607 of the present invention . the computer system 601 also includes an operating system and micro instruction code . the various processes and functions described herein can either be part of the micro instruction code or part of the application program ( or combination thereof ) which is executed via the operating system . in addition , various other peripheral devices can be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage device and a printing device . it is to be further understood that , because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures can be implemented in software , the actual connections between the systems components ( or the process steps ) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed . given the teachings of the present invention provided herein , one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention . the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only , as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein . furthermore , no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown , other than as described in the claims below . those of ordinary skill may vary the data collection apparatus and methods for recording and processing the images without varying from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
with further reference to fig1 a clog 10 includes an arcuately shaped upper 12 , a sole 14 and a heel 16 . an insole member 18 , more particularly shown in fig2 is mounted on the sole 14 in facing relationship with the upper 12 . clog 10 further includes an arch support member 20 described in more detail below . the upper 12 , sole 14 and heel 16 are molded as a unitary article from a moldable rubber or plastic composition . a molded , seamless connection 22 is thus formed between upper 12 and sole 14 . heel 16 includes a tread 24 molded on its underside and sole 14 includes a tread 26 molded on its underside . with more particular reference to fig2 insole member 18 has a sole supporting surface 28 , an opposed bottom surface 29 , and an elongated cavity 30 extending inwardly from the sole supporting surface 28 . cavity 30 includes a cavity floor 34 , spaced above bottom surface 29 , and a cavity wall 36 extending upwardly from floor 34 to the sole supporting surface 28 . cavity wall 36 includes a u - shaped heel wall 38 merging with opposed side walls 40 , which diminish in height to a narrow front wall 42 . a plurality of parallel spaced apart channels or grooves 32 of semi - circular cross - section extend across cavity floor 34 . the grooves 32 communicate with individual passages 33 extending through the cavity wall 36 , particularly side walls 40 ; and the passages 33 generate orifices 35 in the molded , seamless connection 22 . projections or stabilizing members 46 extend upwardly from cavity floor 34 . arch support member 20 has a plantar support surface 48 and an opposed base surface 50 . recesses 52 complementary in shape with stabilizing members 46 are formed inwardly of base surface 50 and terminate beneath plantar support surface 48 . a plurality of tubular passages 54 extend from plantar support surface 48 to base surface 50 and terminate in upper and lower surface openings 49 and 51 respectively . arch support member 20 has a u - shaped heel wall 56 , side walls 58 and a narrow front wall 60 . the insole member 18 is conveniently permanently secured , for example , by adhesion of bottom surface 29 to sole 14 . arch support member 20 is removably , matingly received in elongated cavity 30 . stabilizing members 46 are received in recesses 52 of arch support member 20 to locate it firmly and securely in cavity 30 . the tubular passages 54 are located so as to be in air flow communication through lower surface openings 51 with the channels 32 . u - shaped heel wall 56 , side walls 58 and front wall 60 mate with the corresponding walls 38 , 40 and 42 of the cavity 30 . plantar support surface 48 forms a smooth continuous surface with sole supporting surface 28 to provide comfort for the wearer . the arch support member 20 can be readily removed from clog 10 and replaced by an arch support member of different structure such as member 70 shown in fig3 . with further reference to fig3 an arch support member 70 is generally of similar structure to member 20 of fig1 and includes a plantar support surface 74 and a base surface 76 . a plurality of pockets 72 extend inwardly from surface 74 towards surface 76 and terminate in pocket floors 78 spaced above base surface 76 . passages 80 extend from pocket floors 78 to channels 32 , and terminate in upper and lower surface openings 79 and 81 in floors 78 and base surface 76 respectively . recesses 73 complementary in shape with stabilizing members 46 of insole member 18 of fig2 are formed inwardly of base surface 76 . the pockets 72 reduce the amount of material employed in arch support 70 as well as the weight , and also serve to provide pockets of air which provide a cushioning or shock absorbing effect . the resultant member 70 is also less rigid and more bendable or flexible to suit the particular needs of the wearer . with further reference to fig4 there there is shown the outer molded body 8 of clog 10 including the arcuately shaped upper 12 , sole 14 , heel 16 and molded seamless connection 22 . body 8 has an inner floor 31 which in use mates with bottom surface 29 of insole member 18 of fig2 . the clog 10 is formed with upper 12 , sole 14 and heel 16 molded as an integral unit form a moldable composition . suitable the moldable composition is injection molded , preferably employing high pressure injection molding at pressures of the order of 6 , 000 psi . this results in a clog 10 having a molded surface of high gloss . the basic clog structure can be molded from a variety of moldable compositions , for example , ethylene vinylacetate , polyvinyl chloride , thermoplastic rubber or polyurethane . as molded , the upper 12 is typically in the form of a thin arcuate skin or shell having a thickness of about 60 to 80 thousandths of an inch . the insole member 18 is separately molded to fit snugly on the sole 14 to which it is suitably secured with adhesive . the insole member 18 can be manufactured from the same moldable compositions as the basic clog structure . in this way , a clog 10 can be formed which has a sole which is as hard as conventional wooden soles yet is 40 % lighter than wood . the arch support member 20 can be of standard shape having a standard plantar support surface 48 , or it can be specially designed to meet the particular needs of the wearer . thus it may be shaped and fabricated of a material solely to provide comfort for the wearer , or it may be formed with a shape and hardness to provide needed support for the foot . the channels 32 which communicate through passages 33 with orifices 35 , and which also communicate with tubular passages 54 through lower surface openings 51 , which passages 54 extend through plantar support surface 48 at upper surface openings 49 provide for circulation of air through the arch support member 20 to provide a shock absorbing function and a &# 34 ; walking on air &# 34 ; feeling . orifices may optionally be formed through upper 12 in a forward region to allow air circulation in the toe region of the clog . likewise the upper 12 can optionally be perforated to provide air circulation in the instep area . the arch support member 20 or 70 can be molded from the same class of moldable compositions employed in the manufacture of the basic clog structure or from other moldable materials . it is not necessary that the arch support member 20 or 70 be molded from the same moldable composition as the clog structure , and the choice of material can be selected according to the properties such as hardness , softness , resilience or flexibility desired . the arch support member 20 can also be provided with a cover of a soft fabric , for example , cotton , terry cloth , felt or vinyl , for added comfort ; in such case the fabric would suitably be adhered to plantar support surface 48 . the arch support member 20 may also be fabricated from a non - moldable material , for example , lightweight materials such as cork . the standard arch support member 20 will suitably be molded from thermoplastic rubber with a slightly contoured heel region defining a heel cup , a slight rise in the arch zone and a moderate rise in the metatorsal zone . the moldable compositions enable a washable , light , long wearing and inexpensive clog to be readily and inexpensively produced , which provides comfort for the wearer and can be modified in the plantar support region to meet the particular needs of the wearer . the arch support member 20 may be manufactured with a general structure as taught in canadian pat . no . 823 , 869 , alzner , issued sept . 30 , 1969 , or a general structure such as that shown in canadian patent application , filed june 28 , 1985 , of f . sydor and p . glogowski , entitled &# 34 ; arch support &# 34 ;. | 0 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same , fig1 shows a representative model of a device , in this embodiment an electrical energy storage device , or battery , which has been constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the exemplary battery 10 is preferably mathematically modeled to include a voltage source and an impedance source . the voltage source includes an open circuit voltage , v o , 20 and a hysteresis voltage , v h 22 . the impedance source includes internal impedance , represented by a resistance value , r ct , 24 , in ohms , and a capacitive discharge value , c d 26 , measured in units of farads . there is a resistance , r , 28 , in ohms , comprising resistance in the conducting cables of the electrical circuit , and a ground return line 30 . a measured output voltage , v meas , and output current , i meas , comprise parameters by which the battery 10 is evaluated by a controller ( not shown ). the battery 10 is preferably monitored and controlled by an electronic controller containing machine - executable code operable to sense one or more operating parameters , in this instance the measured output voltage , v meas , and output current , i meas , and , battery temperature , each discretely and synchronously sampled . output data is provided in one or more formats to communicate a state of charge of the device , in this case the battery . the controller is preferably a general - purpose digital computer generally comprising a microprocessor or central processing unit , read only memory ( rom ), random access memory ( ram ), electrically programmable read only memory ( eprom ), high speed clock , analog to digital ( a / d ) and digital to analog ( d / a ) circuitry , and input / output circuitry and devices ( i / o ) and appropriate signal conditioning and buffer circuitry . the controller may include a plurality of output drivers for controlling a corresponding plurality of output devices , each operable to control the system in which the battery 10 is employed , such as a hybrid - electric vehicle . the controller is attached to sensing devices and output devices via wiring harnesses , to monitor and control operation of other elements of the system . the controller includes software code comprising resident program instructions embedded in rom , including control algorithms and logic . the control algorithms preferably use predetermined calibrations stored in rom , and other stored values derived during execution of the algorithms , to provide the functions described hereinafter . the controller is operable to recursively execute algorithms during preset loop cycles , for example each 3 , 6 , 15 , 25 and 100 milliseconds of machine operation . other algorithms may be executed in response to some form of interrupt signal sent to the controller . use of the controller to monitor and control operation of a system is well known to one skilled in the art . in this embodiment , the controller is operable to execute algorithms to recursively estimate a state of electrical charge of the battery device . an executable multivariate mathematical model of the battery operable to estimate the state of charge is constructed for implementation as an algorithm in the controller . the mathematical model comprises an equation consisting of a sum of a plurality of sensed data signals , wherein each sensed data signal is multiplied , or factored , by a corresponding weighting factor , and further multiplied , or factored , by an individual parameter . the data signals are sensed at a time - certain , typically corresponding to one of the predetermined controller loop cycles . each of the parameters is updated each loop cycle in which the mathematical model operable to estimate the state of charge is executed . this comprises creating a weighted recursive least squares equation to calculate each parameter , based upon the executable multivariate mathematical model of the device . the weighted recursive least squares equation is executed to calculate each of the parameters . executing the weighted recursive least squares equation to calculate an individual corresponding parameter for a specific time - certain , i . e . for the specific loop - cycle , comprises executing the equation using the sensed data signals sensed during that loop - cycle the time - certain and the weighting factors . the equation is further executed by holding the remaining non - corresponding parameters unchanged from those parameters determined at a preceding time - certain , i . e . determined during the previous loop - cycle . executing the weighted recursive least squares equation with these values , a specific parameter is thus updated . the controller repeatedly executes the weighted recursive least squares equation algorithm to calculate and update new values for each of the parameters . the final step of the algorithm execution each loop cycle comprises estimating the state of battery charge by executing the algorithm comprising the multivariate mathematical model of the device , using the updated plurality of parameters , the sensed data signals at the time - certain , and the weighting factors . this is described in detail hereinbelow . a parameter regression method is described , with the instantaneous error ε ( often referred to as the loss term ), ε ( t )=[ y −( m 1 x 1 + m 2 x 2 + . . . + m l x l + b )], wherein y represents the experimentally obtained dependent variable at time t ( i . e ., y = v measured , the measured voltage for the exemplary energy storage system ) and the values x 1 , x 2 , . . . , x l represent the measured quantities on which the l parameters m 1 , m 2 , . . . , m l multiply , respectively , to complete the linear model once the parameter b ( resulting from a regressed open - circuit potential in the case of energy storage devices ) is included . an iterative scheme is formulated that does not require matrix inversion , thus b is folded into the parameter vector , m =[ m 1 , m 2 , . . . , m l ] t , recognizing that the corresponding value of x associated with b is unity , as will be made clear hereinbelow , with reference to eq . 14 . the error term summed over n data points can be expressed as follows , using eq . 1 : ɛ = ∑ j = 1 , n γ j λ n - j [ y j - ( m 1 x 1 , j + m 2 x 2 , j + … + m l , j x l , j ) ] 2 . [ 1 ] for a system wherein only one of the l parameters changes with time , designated as m l , and all others correspond to fixed values , the error associated with the single parameter l is shown in eq . 2 , below : ɛ l = ∑ j = 1 , n γ l , j λ l n - j [ y j - m l x l , j - ∑ k = 1 , k ≠ l k = l m k x k , j ] 2 . [ 2 ] two clarifications must be provided for eqs . 1 and 2 . first , there are instances when some data is given more or less weighting on a basis other than time . for example , the equivalent circuit model employed to correlate battery behavior does not address gassing reactions on charge , and a larger weighting value may be chosen for discharge data relative to charge data . for this reason , the composite weight factor corresponds to γλ , with the factor γ provided so as to selectively weight various data , whereas λ corresponds to the standard exponential forgetting factor for time - weighting data ; larger , composite weight factors give rise to larger effects on the error ε and thus more influence with regard to evaluating the parameters m l . as noted previously , all of the l parameters may vary with time . the preferred approach is to allow only one parameter ( denoted by subscript l ) to change relative to its previously calculated value , and the remaining , non - corresponding l − 1 parameters are fixed at their values obtained from the previous time step , i . e ., at their regressed values corresponding to time t − δt and the integer time index , j = n − 1 for the data point n . thus eq . 2 specifies that the exponential forgetting factor λ is to be associated with a parameter l . consistent with eqs . 1 and 2 , the total error , ε , may be written as the sum of the l individual errors , as shown in eq . 3 : ɛ = ∑ l = 1 , l ɛ l = ∑ l = 1 , l ∑ j = 1 , n γ l , j λ l n - j [ y j ( t ) - m l ( t ) - ∑ k = 1 k ≠ l , l m k ( t - δ t ) x k , j ( t ) ] 2 . [ 3 ] by minimizing the error ε with respect to m l at time step n , employing eq . 3 to determine ∂ ε /∂ m l ( t )= 0 , to obtain an equation for the l &# 39 ; th parameter m l , shown in eq . 4 : m l , n = 1 ∑ j = 1 , n γ l , j λ l n - j x l , j 2 ( ∑ j = 1 , n γ l , j λ l n - j y j x l , j - ∑ k = 1 , l k ≠ l m k , n - 1 ∑ j = 1 , n γ l , j λ l n - j x k , j x l , j ) . [ 4 ] this relation is used to regress individually each of the l parameters at time step n , and provide an expression reflecting a weight factor λ 1 for each of the l parameters m 1 . eq . 4 is implemented l times at each time step , with the value of l ranging from 1 to l . thus there are no matrix equations to solve in this approach , and the method can be viewed as iterative . a mathematical model to estimate a state of charge of the battery device is now described , applying the aforementioned calculation of error , ε , as follows . the state of charge is taken as a weighted average ( weight factor w soc ) of values extracted by coulomb integration and voltage - based modeling , using eq . 5 : coulomb - based state of charge , soc c , is determined as follows , using eq . 6 : soc c ( t ) = soc ( t - δ t ) + ∫ t - δ t t [ 100 η i i ah nominal - s d ] dt 3600 . [ 6 ] voltage - based state of charge , soc v , is be determined by inverting a voltage expression for the cell derived from the equivalent circuit depicted in fig1 , so as to extract the open - circuit potential , as shown in eq . 7 , below : v = v oc + ir - a ∫ ζ = t ζ = 0 i ( ζ ) exp [ - b ( t - ζ ) ] ⅆ ζ . [ 7 ] eqs . 6 and 7 are recast in recursive forms as follows in eq . 8 : soc c ( t ) = soc t - δ t + [ 100 ah nominal { ( η i i ) t - δ t + ( η i i ) t 2 } - s d ] δ t 3600 [ 8 ] v t = ( v oc + ir ) t + ( i t - δ t + i t 2 ) a d r δ t + exp ( - b δ t ) ( v - v oc - ir ) t - δ t . [ 9 ] time is represented by t and i denotes current ; discharge currents are taken as negative . nominal capacity , ah nominal , corresponds to the ampere - hours of capacity the battery delivers when discharged from 100 % soc to 0 % soc at low rates of discharge . self - discharge rate , s d , and current efficiency , η i , typically vary with both temperature and soc . the factor 3600 has units of seconds per hour , and the factor 100 is employed to keep a consistent percent basis . parameters a and b correspond to a = 1 / c d and b = 1 /( r ct c d )= 1 / τ , wherein τ is viewed as a time constant . a d is the inverse of the capacitance on discharge , and r is the ratio of a for charge to that of discharge ; represented as : r ( t , soc )= a c / a d = c d , discharge / c d , charge . open - circuit potential v oc is a function of temperature , soc v , and a hysteresis function , as shown in eq . 10 , below : a look - up table can be used to determine the soc v once the value of v o is obtained . for the hysteresis contribution , the following first - order differential equation is constructed to calculate hysteresis voltage v h , using eqs . 11 and 12 : ∂ v h ∂ t = β ( η i i - s d ) [ v h , max - sign ( i ) v h ] , and , [ 11 ] ( v h ) t ≈ ( v h ) t - δ t + βδ t { ( η l i - s d ) [ v h , max - sign ( i ) v h ] } t - δ t . [ 12 ] for prolonged charge currents , or short but very large charge currents , the hysteresis voltage tends to about v h , max . the exact opposite holds for discharge currents , in which case the hysteresis voltage tends to − v h , max . note that when the current remains at zero for a long time , the hysteresis voltage tends to the charge - decreasing condition through self - discharge . the parameters in this equation ( including v h , max ) may be temperature - and soc - dependent . while hysteresis plays a critical role in nickel - metal hydride batteries , it is far less important in lead acid and lithium ion systems . by combining the hysteresis and cell voltage expressions , eq . 13 is obtained : v t = v o + ( v h ) t - δ t + βδ t ( ( η i i - s d ) [ v h , max - sign ( i ) v h ] ) t - δ t + i t r + ( i t - δ t + i t 2 ) a d r δ t + e ( v - v oc - ir ) t - δ t , [ 13 ] where e = exp (− δt / τ ). eq . 13 is the basis for assignments provided with reference to eq . 14 , below . x 2 = ( v measured - v oc - ir ) t - δ t x 3 = ( i t - δ t + i t 2 ) [ r ( i t + i t - δ t ) / 2 ] δ t x 4 = w h δ t { ( η i i - s d ) [ v h , max - sign ( i ) v h ] } t - δ t m 2 = exp ( - b δ t ) = ⅇ - δ t / τ = e m 5 = v o + ( v h ) t - δ t . [ 14 ] power - projection capability is now constructed . first , note that the maximum discharge power is expressed as : that is , when the battery voltage obtains its lowest acceptable value , the maximum discharge power results . ohmic battery power capability is preferably referred to as p max , discharge , shown in eq . 15 : p max , discharge = iv min = ( v min - v oc ) r = v min , [ 15 ] consistent with v = v oc + ir for an ohmic battery . similarly , the maximum charge power , p max , charge , of the ohmic battery is given with reference to eq . 16 : p max , charge = iv max = ( v max - v oc ) r = v max . [ 16 ] for the maximum ohmic resistance , obtained at long times ( low frequency ), r is replaced by r + r ct , wherein r ct , is different for charge and discharge . the ohmic battery does not address transient effects such as those correlated by the superposition integral . to improve the estimate , eq . 13 , above , is used to calculate the power for maximum charge , p max , charge and discharge p max , discharge available for the time interval δt , as shown in eq . 17 , below : i | t = - ( v oc - v ) t + ( ai t - δ t δ t / 2 ) + exp ( - b δ t ) [ v - ( v oc + ir ) ] t - δ t r + ( a d r δ t / 2 ) p max , discharge ( δ t ) = iv min = [ - ( v oc - v min ) t + ( a d i t - δ t δ t / 2 ) + exp ( - b δ t ) [ v - ( v oc + ir ) ] t - δ t r + ( a d ri t - δ t δ t / 2 ) ] v min p max , charge ( δ t ) = iv max = [ - ( v oc - v max ) t + ( a c i t - δ t δ t / 2 ) + exp ( - b δ t ) [ v - ( v oc + ir ) ] t - δ t r + ( a d ri t - δ t δ t / 2 ) ] v max [ 17 ] wherein it is recognized that r = 1 on discharge . to implement these equations , the respective powers are calculated immediately after the algorithm has been employed to finish the soc determination at time t . in this case , quantities calculated or measured at time t are stored in the variables listed in the respective power expressions at time t − δt . the duration corresponding to the desired estimate for power must be stated . for example , to determine the power estimates three seconds from “ now ”, the measured and extracted values are placed in the t − δt quantities , δt is set to three seconds , and the right sides of the above equations yield the desired power estimates . referring now to an embodiment of the invention , exemplary data was gathered for this analysis , and the independently measured parameter values , at room temperature , are provided in table form in fig9 . in fig9 , the cell parameters comprise : the ratio r is fixed , and the uppermost five rows correspond to nominal values ( independently measured ) for the adapted parameters in the weighted recursive least squares (‘ wrls ’) algorithm . the middle five rows ( c d , dis to r ) correspond to electrochemical parameters of interest that are extracted from the above parameters . for all plots shown in this work , the charge current efficiencies were taken to be unity , skew_cat = 10 and γ = 1 . in this exemplary embodiment , the open - circuit potential v o for the exemplary lithium ion battery is shown with reference to fig2 . the hysteresis parameter , β , is bounded between 0 . 5 and 2 times the nominal value listed in fig9 . the high - frequency resistance r varies over a range between 0 . 05 and 20 times the nominal value listed in fig9 , and the parameter e varies over a range between 0 . 5 and 0 . 95 . the parameter a d varies over a range between 0 . 8 and 3 times the nominal value listed in fig9 . it is understood that these parametric values and ranges are exemplary and may be different for other battery systems , while still being within the scope of the invention . referring now to fig3 , a state of charge and measured voltage ( v ), equilibrium voltage ( v o ) and hysteresis voltage ( v h ) as a function of time , are shown in fig3 . fig3 a shows state of charge and measured voltage ( v ), equilibrium voltage ( v o ) and hysteresis voltage ( v h ) for a fixed forgetting factor of 0 . 9847 . fig3 b shows state of charge and measured voltage ( v ), equilibrium voltage ( v o ) and hysteresis voltage ( v h ) for optimized , variable forgetting factors . discharge of the battery at the completion of the indicated experiment yielded a capacity that was within ± 2 . 5 percent of the final soc ( about 50 percent at the end of the experiment described herein with reference to fig3 ). for the case of fixed and variable forgetting factors , the error for the entire data set ( 10 , 000 seconds in the case of fig3 , with the time per data point being 0 . 5 seconds and n = 20 , 000 ) was minimized to find the optimal values . the error is defined to be minimized as shown in eq . 18 , below : ɛ opt = ∑ j = 1 , n [ v j measured - v j model ] 2 = ∑ j = 1 , n [ v j measured - ∑ k = 1 , l m k , j x k , j ] 2 [ 18 ] newton &# 39 ; s method , known to a skilled practitioner , is employed to optimize the forgetting factors , as shown in eq . 19 , below : λ ( n + 1 ) = λ ( n ) - ɛ opt ( n ) ɛ opt ′ ( n ) , [ 19 ] wherein ε ′ opt ( λ ) is a jacobian matrix of the error term minimized by determining the optimal values of the forgetting factor vector λ for the entire data set ; the superscript ( n ) refers to the step in the newton iteration . for this work , convergence ( λ l ( n + 1 ) / λ l ( n ) & lt ; 10 − 6 ) was obtained in about 6 iterations . for a fixed exponential forgetting factor ( shown in fig5 a and 5b ), the optimal value of λ was determined to be 0 . 9847 . ( for the case of a constant forgetting factor , λ = λ , comprising a single - valued scalar quantity .) the optimal values for the individual forgetting factors employed in the lower plot were close to values shown in the inset table of fig6 a , which is discussed below . it is noted that the equilibrium potential v o in fig3 b shows more oscillation with time and follows the variation in the current source . in experimenting with the variable forgetting factors , it was learned that while a larger forgetting factor is appropriate for some parameters , the forgetting factor for v o must be smaller in order to capture soc variations with current . hybrid electric vehicles with relatively small batteries relative to the energy content of the on - board fuel tank ( e . g ., gasoline ) are run in a charge - sustaining mode , versus a vehicle that can charge off the electrical grid , often termed a plug - in hybrid . charge - sustaining hybrids are more common , as the costs of the battery as well as that of the electric motors and power electronics are reduced relative to plug - in hybrids . to maintain charge - sustaining operation , the battery is cycled about a set point soc , generally near 50 % soc ; which comprises the focus of the analysis hereinbelow . analogous to the data in fig3 b , the state of charge and measured , equilibrium and hysteresis voltages are shown with reference to fig4 ; the algorithm was started at 4500 seconds , facilitating the analysis of algorithm operation about 50 % soc . the forgetting factors were optimized , as shown as discussed with reference to fig5 . only the results for the case of variable forgetting factors are shown with reference to fig4 , as the results for the analogous , optimized , fixed forgetting factor was similar in appearance as plotted . referring again to fig5 , the influence of the forgetting factor on the error ε opt ( eq . 18 ), is now shown . the ordinate values correspond to the error ε opt normalized by that which is obtained for the optimal fixed forgetting factor ( 0 . 9847 for fig5 a and 0 . 9827 for fig5 b ). the curve shown in fig5 a corresponds to the analyses of fig3 , and the curve shown in fig5 b corresponds to the analyses of fig4 . the error is increased by 18 % ( fig5 a ) and 53 % ( fig5 b ) in going to a fixed forgetting factor , relative to variable forgetting factors . hence , employing a variable forgetting factor for a charge - sustaining hybrid utilizing a lithium - ion battery can be expected to increase the accuracy of the algorithm by about 50 %. in support of the optimal fixed forgetting factors of 0 . 9847 and 0 . 9827 depicted in fig5 , a single ( fixed ) value of 0 . 99 was used in the prior art for lead acid , nickel - metal hydride (‘ nimh ’) , and lithium - ion cells . the optimization process employed in this work provides a quantitative basis for why a value near 0 . 99 worked well . the optimized values for the variable forgetting factors and the associated parameter values m l are shown in fig6 a for the analysis shown in fig4 . four of the extracted parameters are displayed in fig6 b , and the fifth ( v o ) is shown in fig4 . the high - frequency resistance r is seen to be quite stable , and a large forgetting factor , reflecting time averaging over a longer duration , results from the optimization . conversely , more rapid changes in the open - circuit potential are required for the high - power cycling regime , consistent with the discussion related to fig3 , resulting in a smaller forgetting factor for v o . lithium - ion and nimh batteries are both insertion systems wherein the average concentration of ions in the entire electrolyte phase does not change on charge and discharge . for lithium - ion batteries on discharge , lithium ions are ejected from the carbon anode and inserted into the metal oxide cathode , and there is no net change in the number of ions within the electrolyte phase . the same conclusion holds for charge , wherein lithium ions are discharged from the metal oxide cathode and inserted into the carbon anode . while it is known in the art that local concentration gradients will influence the cell potential to a first approximation , high - frequency resistance r is expected to be effectively constant over a drive profile , consistent with the secondary current distribution for the cell and a constant number of charge carriers in the electrolyte phase . the same arguments hold for protons for nimh batteries . the fact that the algorithm yields a stable value for r is important in the context of soh . the definition for state of health , is described in eq . 20 , below : the soh equation described above provides a means to quantify the term ‘ state of health ’. in this relation , the nominal resistance for a new battery is r nominal , which can be a tabulated calibrated quantity within the controller as a function of temperature and soc . as will be seen below , the high - frequency resistance r plays a central role in determining the power capability ; hence the defined soh is a meaningful quantity , as the power capability of the battery is critically important to hev operation . when battery electrodes degrade with time , r increases . for both lithium ion and nimh batteries , the increase in r is often due to loss of particle - particle contact within the electrodes , the growth of ohmic layers over the particle surfaces , or the loss of solvent over time . by the definition provided with reference to eq . 20 , new batteries are expected to have an soh value near unity , and the soh declines as the battery ages . alternatively , a short - circuit within a cell leads to an abnormally high value of soh , significantly greater than unity , implying failure of the system . the remainder of the discussion is concerned with power projections provided by the algorithm . eqs . 15 through 17 , above , provide the necessary relations . plots of the power projections provided by the algorithm along with the actual measured power are provided with reference to fig7 and 8 . the skewness of the current source , depicted in fig7 b , is based on the relation , in eq . 21 , below : skewness = 1 n σ 3 ∑ j = 1 j = n ( x j - x _ ) 3 , [ 21 ] wherein { overscore ( x )} is the average of the x - values and σ 2 is a variance . in eq . 21 , x refers to the current excitation source . large skewness in data can occur when the excitation source is substantially constant for a prolonged duration and then abruptly transitions to a new value of very different magnitude . the equation is made fully recursive without approximation . the power , current - excitation skewness ( eq . 21 ), and percent error in voltage corresponding to the data in fig4 are depicted in fig7 a and 7b . the local maxima in skewness ( shown at 5157 seconds ) correspond to larger errors ε opt in the voltage modeling , with the maximum error magnitudes slightly greater than 0 . 3 %. the maximum charge and discharge power tests and projections are boxed in fig7 a . the power projections depicted correspond to the high - frequency ( eqs . 15 and 16 ) and 2 - second power capability ( eq . 17 ), with the latter comprehending the capacitive behavior of the system . an expanded view of power projections is displayed with reference to fig8 . in addition to the traces shown with reference to fig7 a and 7b , the low - frequency discharge - power capability , calculable using eqs . 15 and 16 with the resistance corresponding to r + r ct , is included , and the 0 . 5 - second power projection ( large circles , δt = 0 . 5 seconds for the implementation of eq . 17 ) is shown to accurately predict the measured power ; that is , using past information and the voltage set point taken to be that which is 0 . 5 seconds into the future , the algorithm predicts the measured power with high accuracy . due to charging and discharging of the capacitor 26 circuit element ( shown with reference to fig1 ) the 0 . 5 - second power - projection magnitudes may exceed those of the high - frequency projection . therefore , conservative battery operation is accomplished by employing the 2 - second maximum power projection as the system &# 39 ; s maximum power capability for the next 0 . 5 seconds ; i . e ., the risk of the voltage exceeding or dropping below the maximum or minimum voltage , respectively , is very low when the 2 - second maximum power projection is employed to represent battery &# 39 ; s maximum power capability for the next 0 . 5 seconds . the maximum error in the 0 . 5 - second power projection is shown in fig7 a at 5157 seconds , and is addressed in the skewness analysis of fig7 b . the invention has been described with specific reference to an embodiment comprising estimating a state of electrical charge for a battery storage device , and modifications thereto . it is understood that the scope of the invention encompasses all methods and systems for control and monitoring using a state estimator having individually variable forgetting factors , as described hereinabove . the invention is therefore applicable to determining state of power or state of health of the battery , as referred to hereinabove . further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification . it is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the invention . | 7 |
the microcapsules of this invention , i . e . double walled microcapsules , also designated here as bicomponent microcapsules , have a thermoplastic outer wall . the outer wall is made up of a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene , polypropylene , polyamide , polyester , polystyrene , polyacrylate , polymethylmethacrylate , polyurethanes , polycarbonates or any other thermoplastic polymer , or copolymers of these polymers . the aforesaid outer walls of the microcapsules are melted into the textile fibres , manufactured as a yarn , fabric or non - woven , heating up to the softening temperature or up to the melting temperature of the thermoplastic wall . pressure can also be applied to help the fusion of the microcapsules together with the fibres . the previously mentioned microcapsules can be applied to the fibres by heating the fibrous structure containing the microcapsules , in a stenter or a calender with heated rollers , at a temperature which should be above the softening temperature of the thermoplastic outer walls of the microcapsules or / and the fibres . the temperature and the pressure applied to the microcapsules can vary , depending on the polymer that makes up the outer wall of the fibre or the microcapsules . thermoplastic materials generally have a transition temperature at which the material changes from a vitreous ( glass ) state to one which is visco - elastic , in which the material behaves more like a viscous fluid . this temperature (“ glass transition temperature ”) depends on a number of factors such as the polymer structure , its molecular weight and the presence of additives such as plasticizers . fibres can also be bicomponent , with a softer outer wall and the core , which would be a polymer of a higher melting temperature than the outside wall and above the processing temperature used for the fusion of the walls of the microcapsules with the outer wall of the fibres . an example of bicomponent fibres is those used in non - woven webs of fibres , bound together by a process called “ thermobonding ”. another example are thermoplastic continuous filaments used in “ spun - bonded ” non - wovens . the textile substrate ( fibrous assembly ) made up of fibres and microcapsules connected together only by the points of contact of their walls , does not need a binder to bind microcapsules and fibres . this has several advantages relating to materials on which binders are present , namely that binders are thermally conductive and lower the thermal resistivity of the fibrous assembly , whereas if more air is trapped between the fibres , like in the case of microcapsules fused to the fibres , the resistivity of the fibrous assembly remains much the same as without microcapsules . the binders used to fix the fibres in non - woven webs have a higher thermal conductivity than the air between the fibres , which is counterproductive to the objective of such fabrics , which is providing thermal insulation . this is why fibrous assemblies in which the fibres are fused together ( thermobonded ) are a better alternative , as claimed by u . s . pat . no . 5 , 437 , 909 . in the case of binders for non - wovens with microcapsules of pcm , phase change materials , excess binder is necessary to fix the microcapsules to the fibres . phase change materials are used in non - woven webs for regulating the temperature of the body in articles such as winter coats , sports coats for mountaineering and ski , thus it is advisable that the thermal static insulation properties of the non - woven webs be kept unchanged . phase change materials , or pcm , are materials that change the phase from solid to liquid and from liquid to solid , with the particularity of absorbing large quantities of energy when changing from solid to liquid , releasing this energy when changing back from liquid to solid . their capacity for retaining energy between the phase changes can also be used as a temperature control , within pre - defined limits , in winter clothes and footwear , by keeping the temperatures between 26 and 29 ° c ., which are the limit temperatures of comfort for the human body . pcm should be contained in recipients or capsules , so as to avoid pcm spreading on the fabric . when applied on flexible materials such as textiles or leather , pcm should be applied in the form of microcapsules , microcapsules of pcm , so as to disperse through all the material in a homogeneous form and with maximum coverage , as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 366 , 801 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 207 , 738 . another alternative is to introduce the microcapsules of pcm in the fibres during their production as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 756 , 958 and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 885 , 475 or to introduce the pcm into hollow fibres as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 871 , 615 . given that the application of microcapsules of pcm on fabrics is not very effective , since it is difficult to fix enough microcapsules to the fabric , the excess of microcapsules being easily rubbed off during washing and wear , the microcapsules of pcm are usually applied on foam , usually made of polyurethane , or on non - wovens where they are fixed to the fibres by binders , as described in u . s . pat . no . 581 , 338 . these materials containing microcapsules are then incorporated in winter sport clothes or sports footwear . they can also be incorporated in composite materials such as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 004 , 662 . patent wo 0 226 911 describes an agglomeration of microcapsules of pcm in macrocapsules of cross - linked gel . these capsules have a minimum size of 1000 microns and are not considered microcapsules , being categorised as macrocapsules . they are fixed onto the fibres with binders . on patent wo 0 224 789 a method of incorporation of microcapsules in polymers is described , which are then made into fibres or spheres . microcapsules of pcm are at the moment made of polymers of urea , or derivatives of urea and formaldehyde , or are made of melamine - formaldehyde polymers . one disadvantage of the walls made of these polymers , especially in melamine - formaldehyde polymer , is that they are porous and hygroscopic , which can be a problem when dispersing them in aqueous binders or in foam , such as the polyurethane foam . this does not happen with the microcapsules of this invention , which have a thermoplastic second wall , making them especially suitable for direct mixing in polymeric coatings or foams . another problem associated with porosity is that , inside , pcm can evaporate through the pores when the microcapsules are heated above the boiling point of pcm , or they can be extorted by the action of solvents . this does not happen with the microcapsules of the present invention , which have a thermoplastic second wall . one disadvantage of the polymer being made of formaldehyde is that free formaldehyde can be released under humid conditions into the atmosphere or onto the skin . binders are usually acrylic or polyurethane binders , but they might have a small quantity of formaldehyde for cross - linking purposes . formaldehyde causes skin irritation and inflammation of the nose and eyes and , in high quantities or with repeated exposure , it is toxic and a suspected carcinogen . it is therefore subjected to very strict limits . with the second wall proposed in this patent , the formaldehyde is contained inside this second wall . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 080 , 418 , describes microcapsules coated with adhesive for application to plants and trees by spraying . it does not mention their application to fibres and they are not applied by thermal fusion of the wall with the substrate . in this invention , the microcapsules of pcm have an outer wall made up of polyethylene , polypropylene , polyamide , polyester , polystyrene , polyacrylate , polymethylmethacrylate , polyurethanes or any other thermoplastic polymer , or copolymers of these polymers . for higher resistance of the microcapsules , they should have an inner wall of a non - thermoplastic material or a material of a much higher tg , glass transition temperature , and melting point than the temperature used to soften or melt the outer wall . for the inside wall , urea - formaldehyde or melamine - formaldehyde type polymers can be used and for the outside wall a thermoplastic polymer can be used . the process of microencapsulation of solid particles in this case is usually referred to as coating , as in fact the layer resulting from such process is . the polymer used for coating the urea - formaldehyde or melamine - formaldehyde type microcapsules is a thermoplastic polymer . one of the methods of microencapsulation is a phase separation technique . for water - soluble or miscible core material , the phase separation process generally involves the technique of dispersing the solid core material of the desired particle size or an aqueous solution or suspension in a polymeric coating material dissolved in an organic solvent . the polymeric material is then deposited on the core material by gradual precipitation of the polymer . this is achieved either by the use of precipitants , by changes in the temperature , or by removal of the solvent by dilution or distillation . an example of this process is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 166 , 800 to fong . in this patent , the polymer is precipitated by a phase separation agent , a non - solvent for the polymer . the coating can be formed by polymerisation of a prepolymer around the solid core as mentioned in patent ep 1 088 584 , which describes the polymerisation of a melamine - formaldehyde prepolymer on a solid particle . the prepolymer can in this case be made up of the monomers that constitute the aforesaid thermoplastic polymers . these monomers undergo polymerisation round the microcapsules of urea - formaldehyde or melamine - formaldehyde , forming in this way a thermoplastic second wall . the binding thermoplastic polymer between microcapsules and fibres should be resistant to washing in water or to dry - cleaning , in order to last longer during the lifetime of the textile article . the most appropriate articles for the application of microcapsules with thermoplastic outer walls are non - woven webs used in winter or sports coats and eiderdowns . in eiderdowns the fibres should preferably be made up of bicomponent thermobonded fibres . they can also be applied , for example , on a less voluminous spun - bonded non - woven which can be used together with the web as an alternative to the direct application of microcapsules of pcm to the web . the spun - bonded non - woven would be on the nearest side to the body , so that the microcapsules of pcm would be nearer the body . spun - bonded non - wovens can be used on their own in several layers , in articles where volume is neither important nor desirable . the outer wall can be also fused with a foam or a coating made up of thermoplastic material , making it easier to apply a “ hot - melt ” process . as can be seen on the drawings enclosed herewith , fig1 represents non - thermoplastic fibres or continuous filaments ( 1 ), with bicomponent microcapsules ( 2 ) with exterior thermoplastic outside wall ( 3 ). fig2 represents bicomponent fibres or continuous filaments ( 4 ) with exterior thermoplastic wall ( 5 ), with bicomponent thermoplastic capsules ( 6 ) with exterior thermoplastic wall ( 7 ). 1 kg of microcapsules of phase change materials with a melamine - formaldehyde wall was dispersed in 10 litres of water and 5 kg of styrene were added together with 100 g of benzoyl peroxide . the mixture was heated up to a temperature between 50 ° c . and 100 ° c . and left to react for a period between 20 minutes to 2 hours . it was then filtered and left to dry at a temperature of 60 ° c . | 3 |
devices and methods of use thereof are provided . devices include one or more microwells which contain one or more active agents , in one or more different dosages . the reservoir locally delivers a microdose amount of an active to a target tissue located proximally to the microwell . “ microwell ,” as used herein , refers to a chamber , void , or depression formed within or on the support structure . “ support structure ,” as used herein , refers to the body of the device to which one or more microwells are attached or within which one or more microwells are formed . “ guidewire ,” as used herein , refers to a wire - like structure attached to the device which is intended to assist in the implantation of the device at a site of medical interest and / or its subsequent removal from the site of implantation . “ active agent ,” as used herein , refers to a physiologically or pharmacologically active agent that can act locally and / or systemically in the body . the term “ active agent ” includes agents that can be administered to a subject for the treatment ( e . g ., therapeutic agent ), prevention ( e . g ., prophylactic agent ), or diagnosis ( e . g ., diagnostic agent ) of a disease or disorder . “ anti - neoplastic agent ”, as used herein , refers to an active agent that either inhibits the growth and multiplication of neoplastic cells , such as by interfering with the cell &# 39 ; s ability to replicate dna , and / or is cytotoxic to neoplastic cells . “ effective amount ” or “ therapeutically effective amount ”, as used herein , refers to an amount of one or more therapeutic agents which is effective to decrease the size of a solid tumor or to inhibit the growth of a solid tumor . “ biocompatible ” and “ biologically compatible ”, as used herein , generally refer to materials that are , along with any metabolites or degradation products thereof , generally non - toxic to the recipient , and do not cause any significant adverse effects to the recipient . generally speaking , biocompatible materials are materials which do not elicit a significant inflammatory or immune response when administered to a patient . “ biodegradable polymer ” and “ bioerodible polymer ” are used herein interchangeably , and generally refers to a polymer that will degrade or erode by enzymatic action or hydrolysis under physiologic conditions to smaller units or chemical species that are capable of being metabolized , eliminated , or excreted by the subject . the degradation time is a function of polymer composition , morphology , such as porosity , particle dimensions , and environment . suitable degradation times are from hours to weeks , more preferable from days to weeks . “ tumor ,” as used herein , refers to an abnormal mass of tissue that results from the proliferation of cells . typically , solid tumors do not contain cysts or liquid areas within the tissue mass . solid tumors can arise in any part of the body , and may be benign ( not cancerous ) or malignant ( cancerous ). most types of cancer other than leukemias can form solid tumors . solid tumors include , for example , adenocarcinomas , carcinomas , hemangiomas , liposarcomas , lymphomas , melanomas and sarcomas . “ tissue ,” as used herein , refers to groups of cells that perform a particular function , as well as organs , which are aggregates of tissues . “ local delivery ” and “ local administration ,” as generally used herein , refer to the administration of an active agent to a target tissue location from a source that is at the target tissue location , or adjacent to or in close proximity to the target tissue location . “ microdose ,” as used herein , refers to an amount of an active agent that is locally administered to a tissue to determine one or more clinical parameters , such as efficacy of active agent , the metabolism of the active agent , or a combination thereof . devices generally include one or more microwells formed on or within a support structure . the support structure forms the body of the device . the support structure can be fabricated to form devices having a variety of shapes . for example , the device can be cuboid , cubic , or cylindrical in shape . in the preferred embodiment , the device is cylindrical . the support structure may also be configured to have one or more areas of separation . for example , depending on such factors as the material used and number of microwells , the areas of separation may include perforations , a material of enhanced flexibility or lower durometer , hinges , joints , etc ., which allow portions of the support structure to be separated or flex . preferably , the dimensions of the device are suitable to allow for implantation using an 18 gauge biopsy needle , stylet , cannula or catheter . in certain embodiments , the cylindrical device has a diameter of between about 0 . 5 mm and about 2 mm , more preferably between about 0 . 5 mm and about 1 . 5 mm , most preferably between about 0 . 5 mm and about 1 . 0 mm . in a particular embodiment , the cylindrical device has a diameter of approximately 0 . 9 mm . in certain embodiments , the cylindrical device has a length of less than about 5 mm , more preferably less than about 4 mm , most preferably less than about 3 mm . in a particular embodiment , the cylindrical device has a length of approximately 2 . 5 mm . the surface of the device includes one or more microwells , each of which typically includes a solid bottom proximal to the support structure , one or more solid side walls , and an opening located on the surface of the device distal to the support structure . alternatively , the microwells can be in the form of a hemispherical bowl . devices can contain any number of microwells . in the device shown in the attached figures , wells are provided in five rows of eight wells . representative numbers of microwells range from four to about 100 . the microwells may have any shape ( e . g ., circular or rectangular ) and dimensions ( e . g ., length / width , diameter , and / or depth ) suitable for a particular application . in some embodiments , all of the microwells in a device have the same shape and dimensions . in these cases , all of the microwells in the device have substantially the same volume . in other embodiments , the array contains microwells with multiple shapes , dimensions , or combinations thereof . in these cases , microwells with a variety of volumes may be incorporated into a single device . the microwells can have any suitable shape . for example , the microwells can be circular , ovoid , quadrilateral , rectangular , square , triangular , pentagonal , hexagonal , heptagonal , or octagonal . in some embodiments , the microwells are rectangular in shape . in these instances , the shape of the microwells can be defined in terms of the length of the four side walls forming the perimeter of the rectangular microwell . in certain instances , the rectangular microwells have side walls ranging from about 50 microns to about 500 microns in length , more preferably from about 100 microns to about 400 microns in length . in particular embodiments , the four side walls forming the perimeter of the rectangular microwell are of substantially equivalent length ( i . e ., the microwell has a square shape ). preferred sizes are 100 × 100 , 200 × 200 , and 400 × 400 microns , with depths of 100 to 300 microns . in some embodiments , the microwells are spherical in shape . in certain instances , the spherical microwells have diameters ranging from about 50 microns to about 500 microns , more preferably from about 100 microns to about 400 microns . the depth of the microwells , governed by the height of the solid side walls forming the microwells , can vary to provide microwells having the desired volume and / or volume - to - surface - area ratio for particular applications . in certain instances , the depth of the microwells ranges from about 50 microns to about 500 microns , more preferably from about 75 microns to about 400 microns , most preferably from about 100 to about 300 microns . the microwells may have any volume suitable for a particular application . in certain instances , the volume of the microwells ranges from about 1 . 25 × 10 5 cubic microns to about 1 . 25 × 10 8 cubic microns , more preferably from about 1 . 00 × 10 5 cubic microns to about 6 . 40 × 10 7 cubic microns , most preferably from about 1 . 00 × 10 5 cubic microns to about 4 . 80 × 10 7 cubic microns . the microwells may be arranged on or within the support structure in a variety of geometries depending upon the overall device shape . for example , in some embodiments , the microwells are arranged on or within the support structure with the axes of the microwells relatively parallel and the distal openings in a relatively single plane . in this configuration the microwells can be arranged in rectangular or circular arrays . alternatively , the microwells may be arranged in a three - dimensional pattern where the distal ends of the microwells lie in multiple planes . in this three - dimensional pattern the axes of the microwells may be relatively parallel or be skewed relative to one another , depending on the overall shape of the device . the microwells may be equally spaced from one another or irregularly spaced . in preferred embodiments , the edges of neighboring microwells are separated by at least about 50 microns , more preferably at least about 75 microns , most preferably at least about 100 microns . in certain embodiments , the edges of neighboring microwells are separated by at least about 100 microns , about 200 microns , about 300 microns , or about 400 microns . devices may be fabricated from any biocompatible material or combination of materials that do not interfere with delivery of one or more active agents , assays performed , or data collection , if employed . in certain embodiments , the device is radiopaque to facilitate imaging during implantation , residence , and / or removal . in some cases , one or more portions of the device are fabricated from a material , such as stainless steel , which is radiopaque . in some cases , one or more contrast agents are incorporated into the device to improve radiopacity or imaging of the device in vivo . the microwells and support structure are generally fabricated from biocompatible materials that provide the device with suitable integrity to permit device implantation and removal , and to provide the desired residence time within the target tissue . in instances where the microwells , support structure , or both are fabricated from a non - biocompatible material , the non - biocompatible material is generally coated with another material to render the microwells and support structure biocompatible . in some embodiments , the microwells and support structure are formed from a single material . in other embodiments , the microwells and support structure are formed from multiple materials that are combined so as to form an integral structure . examples of materials that can be used to form the microwells and / or support structure include polymers , silicones , glasses , metals , ceramics , inorganic materials , and combinations thereof . in certain embodiments , the microwells and support structure are formed from composite materials , such as , for example , a composite of a polymer and a semiconductor material , such as silicon . in some embodiments , the microwells , support structure , or combination thereof , are formed from or include a polymer . examples of suitable polymers include polyacrylates , polymethacrylates , polycarbonates , polystyrenes , polyethylenes , polypropylenes , polyvinylchlorides , polytetrafluoroethylenes , fluorinated polymers , silicones such as polydimethylsiloxane ( pdms ), polyvinylidene chloride , bis - benzocyclobutene ( bcb ), polyimides , fluorinated derivatives of polyimides , polyurethanes , poly ( ethylene vinyl acetate ), poly ( alkylene oxides ) such as poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg ), or copolymers or blend thereof . although not preferred , in certain embodiments , microwells , support structure , or combination thereof , are fabricated from or include one or more biodegradable polymers . examples of suitable biodegradable polymers include polyhydroxyacids , such as poly ( lactic acid ), poly ( glycolic acid ), and poly ( lactic acid - co - glycolic acids ); polyhydroxyalkanoates such as poly3 - hydroxybutyrate or poly4 - hydroxybutyrate ; poly ( caprolactones ); poly ( orthoesters ); poly ( phosphazenes ); polyesteramides ; polyanhydrides ; poly ( dioxanones ); poly ( alkylene alkylates ); poly ( hydroxyacid )/ poly ( alkylene oxide ) copolymers ; poly ( caprolactone )/ poly ( alkylene oxide ) copolymers ; biodegradable polyurethanes ; poly ( amino acids ); polyetheresters ; polyacetals ; polycyanoacrylates ; poly ( oxyethylene )/ poly ( oxypropylene ) copolymers , or a blend or copolymer thereof , may be used . biodegradable shape memory polymers , such as those described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 189 , 110 or u . s . pat . no . 5 , 139 , 832 , may also be employed . in some embodiments , the microwells , support structure , or combination thereof , formed from or include a metal . examples of suitable metals include , but are not limited to , cobalt , chromium , nickel , platinum , gold , silver , silicon , stainless steel , titanium , tantalum , and any of their alloys ( e . g ., nickel - titanium alloys ), and combinations thereof . biodegradable metals such as magnesium - based metals may also be used . in particular embodiments , the microwells , support structure , or combination thereof are fabricated from or include silicon or a ceramic such as hydroxyapatite . in particular embodiments , the microwells , support structure , or combination thereof are fabricated from or include a polymer formed from su - 8 , the structure of which is shown below . in some embodiments , the device includes an agent that prevents or reduces biofilm formation or inflammation or other foreign body reaction to the device once implanted . such an agent may be incorporated within one or more of the component materials of the device , or coated on a surface the device , or portions thereof . in certain embodiments , one or more portions of the device is coated with a polymer coating to prevents or reduces biofilm formation or inflammation or other foreign body reaction to the device . in preferred embodiments , the device is cylindrical in shape to facilitate implantation and minimize tissue damage . a representative example of a cylindrical device is illustrated in fig1 . the device ( 10 ) contains a support structure ( 16 ), forming the body of the device . the device has a proximal end ( 14 ) and a proximal end ( 12 ), from which a guidewire ( 20 ) extends , and a plurality of microwells ( 18 ) formed within the support structure . one or more of the microwells contain an active agent or agents ( 22 ), which can be released independently or in combination . in the preferred embodiment , the device is formed of silicon , which has the advantages of being biocompatible , resistant to fracturing , easily manufactured with high resolution ) or su8 polyethylene , which has the advantage of being very biocompatible , and softer thereby allowing microtome sectioning . in some embodiments , the device also includes a guidewire designed to assist in the implantation of the device at a site of medical interest and / or its subsequent removal from the site of implantation . the guidewire may be attached to or extend from any portion of the device . in certain embodiments , the guidewire extends from the proximal end of the device . the guidewire can be any wire - like structure dimension and length which is suitable to assist in the implantation of the device at a site of medical interest and / or its subsequent removal from the site of implantation . in certain embodiments , the guidewire has a diameter of between about 0 . 010 inches and about 0 . 065 inches . the length of the guidewire typically ranges from about 30 cm to about 300 cm ( or more ) in length ; however , the guidewire is typically long enough to extend from the site of device implantation to a point outside of the patient &# 39 ; s body , such that the guidewire remains externally accessible after implantation of the device . guidewires can be fabricated from any material or combination of materials , such as polymers , metals , and polymer - metal composites . examples of suitable materials include metals , such stainless steel ( e . g ., 304 stainless steel ), nickel and nickel alloys ( e . g ., nitinol ® or mp - 35n ), and cobalt alloys , polymers , such as polyurethanes , elastomeric polyamides , block polyamide - ethers , and silicones . radiopaque alloys , such as platinum and titanium alloys , may also be used to fabricate , in whole or in part , the guidewire . in certain embodiments , the guidewire is coated or treated with various polymers or other compounds in order to reduce foreign body reaction provide or to provide desired handling or performance characteristics such as to increase lubricity . in certain embodiments , the guidewire is coated with polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) or a hydrophilic polymer coating , such as poly ( caprolactone ), to enhance lubricity and impart desirable handling characteristics to the guidewire . in some embodiments , the device also includes a fiber optic bundle , or other interrogatable or addressible means extending from a portion of the microassay device . the length of the fiber optic bundle typically ranges from about 30 cm to about 300 cm ( or more ) in length ; however , the fiber optic bundle is typically long enough to extend from the site of device implantation to a point outside of the patient &# 39 ; s body , such that the fiber optic bundle remains externally accessible after implantation of the device . in these embodiments , individual fiber optic elements within the fiber optic bundle may by internally wired to one or more of the microwells in the miroassay device . the fiber optic elements can be interfaced with external signal processing means to analyze the contents of the microwells , the nature of tissue proximal to the microwells , and combinations thereof . the fiber optic elements can also be interfaces with an external energy source to trigger the release of a drug or to provide photodynamic therapy . the interrogatable means may be connected to sensors adjacent to or within the microwells . these may also have means for remote accessing , such as a wifi connection . fig2 illustrates a cylindrical device containing integrated fiber optic components . in this embodiment , the device ( 30 ) contains a support structure ( 36 ), forming the body of the device . the device has a distal end ( 34 ) and a proximal end ( 32 ), from which a fiber optic bundle ( 40 ) extends , and a plurality of microwells ( 38 ) formed within the support structure . individual fiber optic elements within the fiber optic bundle are internally wired to the microwells in the miroassay device . in some embodiments , the device also contains a feature , such as an overhang or lip , to facilitate the removal of a tissue sample immediately surrounding the device upon device removal . the device may also include retainers that are recessed into the device until implantation or removal . these are then expanded outwardly into the tissue where they can serve to stabilize or maintain the spatial arrangement of the tissue relative to the device and / or decrease any overlap in drug diffusion between wells . the device can also contain a fastening means , such as a snap - lock fastener , or a magnet at the proximal end of the device to facilitate device removal . one or more active agents are incorporated in one or more of the microwells in the devices . in some devices , all of the microwells contain one or more active agents , in one or more dosages . in other devices , not all of the microwells contain an active agent . in these embodiments , empty microwells may serve as a control , or increase distance between released drug to decrease overlap in diffused drug . in some embodiments , each microwell which contains an active agent contains a different active agent or different combination of active agents . in some embodiments , a plurality of microwells each contains an active agent or combination of active agents in differing amounts of active agents , differing ratios of active agents , or different excipients / formulations of active agents . this allows variation not only of the drug , but also the dosage , release pharmacokinetics , and testing of various combinations at the same . the devices deliver a microdose amount of a substance to a target tissue . a microdose amount may be from about 0 . 001 μg ( or less ) to about 1 , 000 μg , or about 10 , 000 μg ( or more ) of the substance . those of skill will readily appreciate that microdose levels may vary as a function of the specific substance employed , the target tissue , and / or the medical condition being treated . appropriate doses may be determined as described in example 1 . the substance may be delivered in a controlled release , sustained release , delayed release , or pulsatile fashion . delivery may also occur over any time period . for example , it may occur over a period of minutes to hours , or days to weeks . in the preferred embodiment , release is complete within 48 hours , with substantially all drug being released within 12 , 24 , 36 , or 48 hours . the drug may be applied as a powder , particulate , or in a solution or suspension , with the solvent removed by drying , evaporation , lyophilization or suction . a membrane or film may be applied to the well after the drug is incorporated to isolate the drug until the time of use . alternatively , a porous membrane may be used to cover the microwells to control rate of release after implantation . the drug may be held within a matrix formed of a biodegradable material or a material which releases the incorporated substance by diffusion out of or degradation of the matrix , or by dissolution of the substance into surrounding interstitial fluid . when provided in a matrix , the substance may be homogeneously or heterogeneously distributed within the matrix . selection of the matrix may be dependent on the desired rate of release of the substance . both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable matrices ( release systems ) can be used for delivery of the substances . suitable release systems include , without limitation , polymers and polymeric matrices , non - polymeric matrices , or inorganic and organic excipients and diluents such as , but not limited to , calcium carbonate and sugar . the release systems may be natural or synthetic . in some variations , the release system may be selected based on the period over which release is desired . drugs from wells can be released not only with distinct drugs and concentrations , but also at different kinetics , depending on ( potentially ) a different material coating in each well ( such as platinum or gold or polymer ). in preferred embodiments , the active agent is an anti - neoplastic agent . representative anti - neoplastic agents include , but are not limited to , alkylating agents ( such as cisplatin , carboplatin , oxaliplatin , mechlorethamine , cyclophosphamide , chlorambucil , dacarbazine , lomustine , carmustine , procarbazine , chlorambucil and ifosfamide ), antimetabolites ( such as fluorouracil ( 5 - fu ), gemcitabine , methotrexate , cytosine arabinoside , fludarabine , and floxuridine ), antimitotics ( including taxanes such as paclitaxel and decetaxel and vinca alkaloids such as vincristine , vinblastine , vinorelbine , and vindesine ), anthracyclines ( including doxorubicin , daunorubicin , valrubicin , idarubicin , and epirubicin , as well as actinomycins such as actinomycin d ), cytotoxic antibiotics ( including mitomycin , plicamycin , and bleomycin ), and topoisomerase inhibitors ( including camptothecins such as camptothecin , irinotecan , and topotecan as well as derivatives of epipodophyllotoxins such as amsacrine , etoposide , etoposide phosphate , and teniposide ). other drugs may be anti - infectives such as antivirals , antibiotics , or antifungals , immunomodulators , either immunoenhancers , vaccines , or immunosuppressants , or hormones or analogues , agonists or antagonists thereof . active agents may be small molecule active agents or larger molecules ( e . g ., macromolecules ) such as proteins , peptides , carbohydrates and nucleic acids . a preferred class of protein is antibodies and fusion proteins . “ small molecule ”, as used herein , refers to a molecule , such as an organic or organometallic compound , with a molecular weight of less than 2 , 000 daltons , more preferably less than 1 , 500 daltons , most preferably less than 1 , 000 daltons . the small molecule can be a hydrophilic , hydrophobic , or amphiphilic compound . devices can be fabricated using methods known in the art , such as patterning , photolithography and etching . suitable methods for the manufacture of devices can be selected in view of a variety of factors , including the design of the device ( e . g ., the size of the device , the relative arrangement of device features , etc .) and the component materials used to form the device . examples of suitable techniques that can be used , alone or in combination , for the fabrication of devices include liga ( lithographic galvanoforming abforming ) techniques using x - ray lithography , high - aspect - ratio photolithography using a photoresist , such as an epoxy - based negative photoresist such as epon ™ su - 8 ( also referred to as epikote ™ 157 ), microelectro - discharge machining ( μedm ), high - aspect - ratio machining by deep reactive ion etching ( drie ), hot embossing , 3 - dimensional printing , stereolithography , laser machining , ion beam machining , and mechanical micro - cutting using micro - tools made of hard materials such as diamond . detailed methods for microfabrication are described in , for example , “ microreactors , epoch - making technology for synthesis ” ( edited by jun - ichi yoshida and published by cmc publishing co ., ltd ., 2003 ) and “ fine processing technology , application volume — application to photonics , electronics and mechatronics —” ( edited by the meeting committee of the society of polymer science , japan , and published by nts inc ., 2003 . the device is implanted directly into a tumor or other tissue to be treated . the tissue will typically be transformed , i . e . cancerous tissue , but may also be infected with bacteria , fungus or virus , in need of immunomodulation ( i . e ., immunosuppression or immunoenhancement ), or in need of hormonal adjustment . in some cases the hormone may be useful for treating a cancer . the device is particularly useful in treating refractory disorders and in testing combination of drugs that may be more effective in combination . the device releases an array of drug micro doses locally , and uses state of the art detection methods to identify the drugs or combinations inducing a response . by using micro doses of drugs , the device is capable of testing each patient for response to large range of regimens , without inducing systemic toxicities . these data can be used along with genomic data to accurately predict systemic drug response . in some variations , a microdose amount is used in early human studies , e . g ., before a phase i clinical trial , to evaluate the effect of the substance on a target tissue , or to obtain pharmacokinetic or metabolic data . in other variations , a microdose amount is used to locally treat a medical condition , e . g ., a cancer or tumor . in yet other variations , a microdose amount is used to locally deliver a contrast agent for a structural or functional imaging procedure . in view of this , a microdose amount can be tailored to the specific indication of the substance delivery . the assay may be used to detect one or more of : a degree of agent permeation through the target tissue ; detect a physiochemical effect of the agent on the target tissue ; and detect a pharmacological effect of the agent on the tissue . in further variations , the devices may include a sensor for sensing one or more parameters of the target tissue after delivery of the substance . an agent may be delivered as a result of the response parameter or in response to the data obtained by the assay and / or sensor . the assay may be configured to provide various data such as data related to efficacy such as chemotherapeutic efficacy ; activity such as tumor cell invasiveness ; toxicity such as toxicity due to one or more agents being delivered or toxicity due to cell death ; and combinations of these . the target tissue may be located anywhere in the patient &# 39 ; s body such as locations including : liver , lung , kidney , prostate , ovary , spleen , lymph node , thyroid , pancreas , heart , skeletal muscle , intestine , larynx , esophagus and stomach . in a preferred embodiment , the target tissue is tumor tissue including but not limited to : adenoma , adenocarcinoma , squamous cell carcinoma , basal cell carcinoma , small cell carcinoma , large cell undifferentiated carcinoma , chondrosarcoma , fibrosarcoma , and combinations thereof . the target tissue may also be a tissue which is infected , for example , with a virus , bacteria , fungus or parasite , or which is characterized by inflammation or is in need of immunostimulation . devices may be implanted via percutaneous , minimally invasive , or open procedures into the tissue of a patient . for example , devices may be delivered via an open surgical procedure , or by a minimally invasive procedure such as laparoscopy , endoscopy , arthroscopy , and catheter - based procedures . the devices may also be delivered percutaneously , for example using a needle , such as a 19 to 24 gauge biopsy needle . retrieval of the devices may occur via the same processes , typically also using a biopsy needle with but with a larger diameter , such as a 16 to 18 gauge needle . the inserting needle is a cutting needle that has a smaller diameter than the retrieval needle , which is a larger diameter coring needle . an image of the target tissue , such as a tumor , may be performed prior to implantation , during implantation , during implant residence , during implant removal , after implant retrieval , and combinations thereof . in certain embodiments , the microassay device is implanted in the patient with image guidance . in most cases , the device is implanted into a tumor using a biopsy - type needle , cannula , catheter or stylet . the device can also be placed in a lumen , such as a bile duct , alveoli or bronchi or kidney tubule . alternatively , the device can be placed during a procedure such as a biopsy or excision of tumor . in the preferred embodiment , the device is placed using a cutting biopsy needle with sharp stuffer tip . the stuffer needles are then retracted while keeping the needle in place . the device is delivered through the needle , then the need is retracted . a guidewire may be attached prior to or at the time of implantation . the advantage of this method is that there is better tissue penetration into the wells , and less tissue injury . the device is retrieved in conjunction with the adjacent tissue . the goal is to analyze the tissue in the spatial orientation relevant to the device , to allow assessment of efficacy , dose dependency , and type of response ( i . e ., apoptosis , necrosis , inflammation , subclinical response ). in a preferred embodiment , the device is retrieved by excising the device and associated tissue at one time , for example , by cutting out the device with a uniform amount of tissue around the device . in the case of a cylindrical device , one excises the device using a cutting needle or catheter that is of a greater diameter than the device . the guidewire may be used to insure that the tissue remains placed in the same proximity to the device . stabilizers or retainers may be used in either the cutting removal device or the implanted device to help maintain spatial relationship with the device and treated tissue . following retrieval , usually less than 7 days from implantation , the treated tissue samples are analyzed , for example , by microscopic examination , by enzyme assays , and other histology and immunohistochemistry techniques used to assess cancer or infected cells . fig3 illustrates an in vivo method for analyzing the sensitivity of solid tumor a patient to one or more active agents . an 18 g cutting biopsy needle 51 with stylet 52 is inserted into a solid tumor 50 . the stylet 52 is retracted , leaving the needle 51 in place . the stylet 52 is used to push the device 53 into the tumor 50 . the device 53 remains in the tumor 50 except for a retrieving device 54 . a larger 14 gauge coring needle 55 is inserted into the tumor 50 around the device 53 . the needle 55 is retracted , taking the device 53 and surrounding tissue 56 . the device 53 is then embedded in acrylic 57 , sectioned and histology preformed . fig4 a - d are schematics showing the arrangement of drugs in wells in the device ( fig4 a ), implantation ( fig4 b ), dosing where drug is released from the wells ( fig4 c ), and the different results obtained ( fig4 d ). kits may contain one or more of the devices described above . any number and type of deployment tools , retrieval tools , and imaging devices may also be included . the kits may also contain additional in vitro assays for evaluating samples , such as a matrix for fixing tissue samples for future histological analysis . the kits may also include instructions for using the devices , tools , and / or assays contained therein . as shown in fig5 , a mouse model for a human cancer cell line is prepared by injection of human cancer cells such as mda mb - 231 into the mammary fat pad of an immunodeficient mouse . tumors are allowed to implant and proliferate to approximately 150 - 170 mm 3 . individual drugs are administered systemically by injection to the mice to establish local pharmacokinetics for the drugs . for breast cancer cells , representative drugs to be tested include docetaxel , doxorubicin , irinotecan , transtuzumab , and bevacizumab . the device can be loaded with the same drugs based on the results of the systemic testing . each drug is loaded separately and in more than one concentration , as well as in combination . after 12 , 24 , 36 and 48 hours , devices are removed and histology conducted to look at the effect on the tumor cells adjacent to each well . analysis for apoptosis , necrosis , mitotic cell death , and proliferation can also be conducted . the local microdose response is then determined and can be used to define an appropriate therapeutic regime for the cancer . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which the disclosed invention belongs . publications cited herein and the materials for which they are cited are specifically incorporated by reference . those skilled in the art will recognize , or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation , many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein . such equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 1 |
turning now to fig1 there is shown generally at 10 a synthetic turf having a sloped sub - surface base 2 layer . the subsurface base 2 is pre - existing ; no excavation need be performed unless a proper grade ( to a tolerance of about ½ ″ per 10 feet ) must be established . preferably the slope of the sub - surface base 2 is 0 . 5 % to about 1 % from the field centerline in order to facilitate drainage , and the sub - base is compacted to the maximum practical density of the existing soils to form a firm and stable surface . conventionally , the sub - surface layer had to be excavated and made permeable by the introduction of gravel or the like , which required materials and labor . the present invention obviates this need . positioned over the sub - base layer 10 is a dynamic drainage blanket 12 . the drainage blanket 12 is composed of a stiff , non - degradable , non - obstructive ( to the flow of water ) material . the blanket should be capable of evacuating at least 2 inches per hour of rainfall from the entire playing area of the turf , even with the minimum gradient ( slope ) of 0 . 5 %. one preferred material is enkadrain ®, such as enkadrain ® 9812 , commercially available from colbond , inc ., which is a high density polyethylene core of fused , entangled filaments and a geotextile fabric bonded to two sides . the tangled filaments are molded into an elliptical pattern while maintaining a flexible design . the thickness of the material is about 0 . 4 inches . the blanket 12 should be supplied in minimum two hundred foot lengths or such length as necessary to allow the blanket widths to be installed across the full width of the playing field , from one side to the other , in the direction of slope , with no seams or breaks to inhibit the flow of water . the widths of the drainage blankets 12 are then bonded together by any suitable means , preferably using a weather - proof cold adhesive , by heat - welding , or with a hot - melt adhesive . preferably the blanket 12 is sandwiched between two permeable geosynthetic or non - woven materials , which allows some of the rainfall to percolate into the sub - soil . the commercially available enkadrain ® material includes the geotextile fabric sandwich layers . the sandwiching layers are preferably made of a needle punched polypropylene , and are permeable to water . each layer is about { fraction ( 1 / 16 )}″ thick and surrounds a core that is about 0 . 4 ″ thick , although these dimensions are not critical . other commercially available products include hydraway wd - 100 manufactured by monsanto . this product incorporates a rigid interior core composed of round plastic studs sandwiched between two permeable geosynthetic fabrics . the drainage blanket 12 should be used in the widest widths possible to reduce the number of seams . it is attached to the top perimeter anchor installed for the synthetic grass and is extended beyond , into an abutting or near - by trench drain 30 with a direct or an indirect connection through the drainage stone 32 to an outflow pipe 35 . more specifically , a trench is formed at the edge of the field and filled with concrete 14 . although fig1 shows formed concrete , the particular configuration of the trench need not be so formed , as long as sufficient concrete is poured to properly function as an anchor . a length of material , preferably pressure treated ( p . t .) wood , is coupled to the concrete by any suitable means , such as by nailing . the drainage blanket 12 is then secured to the pressure treated wood , and extends beyond the same . a second , preferably deeper trench is formed at or near the concrete anchor , and a perforated drainage outflow pipe 35 is positioned in the trench . preferably the perforations in pipe 35 are at or near the bottom of the pipe as the pipe lies in the trench . the drainage blanket 12 is positioned in the trench to direct the flow of water towards the pipe 35 . the drainage blanket 12 can be in direct communication with the pipe 35 , but this is not absolutely necessary . the trench is then filled with drainage stone 32 or the like to allow water to permeate towards the drainage pipe 35 . water accumulating in the drainage pipe 35 flows out of the ( sloped ) pipe and into a further drainage facility as is conventional in the art . one embodiment of the playing surface 1 includes a pile fabric 9 of individual tufted yarn or yarn - like filaments . the material used for the yarn filaments is not particularly limited , and can include polypropylene or polyethylene , or a polyethylene / polypropylene blend yarn , or other suitable yarn material . a 100 % polyethylene yarn is preferred due to its low abrasiveness and its grass - like appearance . tufting through the backing at a yarn density of about 10 to 60 oz / yd 2 , preferably about 35 - 45 oz / yd 2 , so that the yarn is upstanding and substantially uniform in height , can be carried out to provide a higher weight playing surface . conventional artificial turfs have used partially non - woven backings . however , the characteristics of the non - woven layer are such that in the tufting and coating process , the non - woven layer tends to stretch as it is being pulled by the rollers and / or tenner chain . while the material usually returns to its original dimensions , this distortion during the manufacturing process renders the process more difficult and costly to control . in addition , the physical structure of the non - woven material makes it difficult to penetrate with sewing needles , both during the tufting process and also during the seaming process at the job site installation . this difficulty in penetrating the non - woven material also limits the weight of the non - woven material that may be used , which in turn limits the functional ability of the non - woven layer to impart the desired dimensional stability and weight to the primary backing of the artificial turf . in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , this problem is overcome by using a three - layer sandwich construction for the backing that incorporates only woven fabrics . the outside layers of the sandwich are a woven polyolefin with a scarified or fibrillated (“ fuzzy ”) side , commonly referred to in the industry as “ flw ”. the fibrillated side is oriented to the outside of both of the outside layers . the interior layer of the sandwich is an open weave , isotropic , polymeric material with excellent dimensional stability ( less than 0 . 2 % in any direction ), as manufactured by amaco fabrics and fibers co . having the dimensional stable layer sandwiched bewteen equal fabric layers , with identical coefficients of expansion , balances the stresses produced between the stable and unstable layers , eliminating the tendency for the backing to bend during temperature change as it does when the stabilizing layer is asymmetrically situated . it is also important to orient the scarifed , fibrillated side of the outside layers ( flw ) to the outside of the sandwich , i . e ., so that the fuzzy sides oppose one another . by constructing the sandwich so that both sides expose the “ fuzzy ” material is a significant aid in the field installation of the synthetic turf . the fibrillated surfaces provide a superior substrate for the application and bonding of adhesives used in the seaming process , especially in the incorporation of permanent “ inlaid ” lines and markings . the extended fibers provide much greater bonding surface area and minimize or prevent the adhesives from leaking through the backing material . because the fibrillated fabric is on both sides of the backing , the adhesive can bond one fibrillated side to another in the installation process . this produces a bond strength that is more than twice that attainable with prior backing constructions . the top - coating or infill layer 6 is preferably devoid of sand and its concomitant abrasiveness . it is preferably composed entirely of resilient material , preferably rubber , including natural rubber , synthetic rubber such as styrene butadiene ( ground tire rubber ), butyl rubber , neoprene , urethane rubber , nitrile rubber , etc . preferably a blend of ground tire rubber and high density rubber is used , with the preferred amount of high density rubber being about 0 - 25 % of the mix . the incorporation of round , coated , hydrophobic non - resilient particles , constituting about 2 to 5 % by weight of the total infill mix , also can benefit the turf in several ways . they can reduce the resilience of the infill to a small degree but enough to “ deaden ” the feel of the turf . this produces a feel under the foot that is more like natural grass and less “ spongy ”. the feel can be specifically adjusted for individual taste by varying the non - resilient component . in addition , the incorporation of these particles inhibits the development of static electricity in the infill matrix , which is a common problem with a 100 % ground rubber infill . because these particles are round , coated and hydrophobic , they cannot compact ( like sand ) and therefore do not inhibit water drainage or reduce the g - max performance of the system over time . the depth of the infill should be substantially uniform and between about 0 . 5 inches and 1 . 75 inches , and is preferably about 1 . 25 inches in the case where the pile height is 2 ″. typically the infill should be between ¾ ″ and 1 ″ below the full pile height . other conventional infills , including sand and a combination of sand and resilient material , also can be used . to install synthetic turf in accordance with the present invention , the vegetative layer ( grass and loam ), if any , is removed , and the existing base materials are contoured , graded and compacted . a minimum 0 . 5 % gradient on the sub - base materials is necessary , with a slope up to 2 % being acceptable . once the sub - base materials are fine graded , the dynamic drainage blanket is placed over the entire area . preferably the dynamic drainage blanket is placed in the widest widths possible ( most preferably widths of at least six feet ) to reduce the number of seams . the widths of drainage blanket are then bonded together with an adhesive , such as a weather - proof cold adhesive , by heat - welding or with a hot - melt adhesive . the dynamic drainage blanket extends beyond the playing field to overlap an abutting trench filled with drainage stone leading to an outflow pipe or conduit . it is secured to the top of a perimeter anchor installed for the synthetic grass . where natural or exiting drainage conditions and contours allow , the dynamic drainage blanket may be allowed to outflow freely onto adjacent ground . the infilled vertically draining synthetic grass is then placed over the blanket and installed in its usual manner . the dynamic drainage blanket has the substantial advantage of enhancing the system with additional shock attenuation , thus reducing g - max readings , while not affecting the natural feel of the turf . expensive dynamic bases (“ e - layers ”) are not necessary to enhance g - max . the particular enkadrain product chosen is preferred because it maximizes the g - max capabilities of the surface without significantly changing the natural “ feel ” and playability of the surface . there are three different methods that have been used to incorporate game lines into an infilled artificial turf surface . the first involves actually tufting the line directly in the surface using a different color yarn during the manufacturing ( tufting ) process . a second method involves installation of the lines by cutting and removing the turf from the area that the line will occupy and then inserting the line material and bonding it to the abutting turf . the third method is to simply paint the lines . the present invention utilizes a new method for in situ installation of game lines . common line material consists simply of the same backing material as used for the turf proper , tufted with the same yarn color as the desired line , where this roll of turf is then cut into strips of line material of the desired width . in accordance with the present invention , the backing of the turf is tufted in specific width lines ( usually four inches ) with intervals of untufted backing ( usually a minimum of 12 inches between the lines . after the roll is tufted and coated , it is then cut in the untufted portion midway between each sewn line segment . this yields line material with a tufted line having a left and right untufted flange of at backing material , with each flange having a width of at least 6 inches each . adhesive is then applied to the top of the flange of the line material and the bottom of the abutting turf of the playing field , and the flanges are inserted under the abutting turf . the tuft and line are then pressed together by application of weight such as with a roller . less time and less adhesive are required than with conventional methods , and the level of skill and precision necessary to successfully carry out the seaming process is reduced . preferably the line material backing is an flw backing layer with the fleeced side facing up , which results in more surface area for bonding to the turf . | 4 |
the present disclosure , which provides a method of forming multiple threshold voltage devices on a same semiconductor chip , will now be described in greater detail by referring to the following discussion and drawings that accompany the present application . it is noted that the drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to scale . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth , such as particular structures , components , materials , dimensions , processing steps and techniques , in order to illustrate the present disclosure . however , it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that various embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these , or with other , specific details . in other instances , well - known structures or processing steps have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the various embodiments of the present disclosure . it will be understood that when an element as a layer , region or substrate is referred to as being “ on ” or “ over ” another element , it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being “ directly on ” or “ directly over ” another element , there are no intervening elements present . it will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “ connected ” or “ coupled ” to another element , it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being “ directly connected ” or “ directly coupled ” to another element , there are no intervening elements present . reference is now made to fig1 a , 1 b and 2 - 11 which illustrate an embodiment of the present application . although the embodiment of the present application illustrates the opening and processing of the pmos device region prior to the opening and processing of the nmos device region , the present disclosure also contemplates opening and processing the nmos device region first , followed by the opening and processing of the pmos device region . when the nmos device region is opened and processed prior to that of the pmos device region , the nfet threshold adjusting material layer is used in the first material stack and then the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer is used in the second material stack . reference is first made to fig1 a which illustrates an initial structure 10 that can be employed in one embodiment of the present disclosure . the initial structure 10 shown in fig1 a includes a semiconductor substrate 12 having an nmos device region 16 , a pmos device region 18 and an optional mid gap nmos / pmos device region 20 . each of the various device regions present in the semiconductor substrate 12 are separated by an isolation region 22 . the initial structure 10 shown in fig1 a further includes an optional chemox layer 24 located atop , or within , the semiconductor substrate 12 in each device region and a high k gate dielectric layer 26 either atop the optional chemox layer 24 , if present , or atop the semiconductor substrate 12 , if the optional chemox layer 24 is not present . the initial structure 10 shown in fig1 a is made utilizing processes that are well known in the art and the various elements referenced therein are comprised of materials that are also well known to those skilled in the art . when an soi substrate ( not specifically shown ) is employed as semiconductor substrate 12 , the soi substrate includes a handle substrate , a buried insulating layer located on an upper surface of the handle substrate , and a semiconductor layer located on an upper surface of the buried insulating layer . the handle substrate and the semiconductor layer of the soi substrate may comprise the same , or different , semiconductor material . the term “ semiconductor ” as used herein in connection with the semiconductor material of the handle substrate and the semiconductor layer denotes any semiconducting material including , for example , si , ge , sige , sic , sigec , inas , gaas , inp or other like iii / v compound semiconductors . multilayers of these semiconductor materials can also be used as the semiconductor material of the handle substrate and the semiconductor layer . in one embodiment , the handle substrate and the semiconductor layer are both comprised of si . in another embodiment , hybrid soi substrates are employed which have different surface regions of different crystallographic orientations . the handle substrate and the semiconductor layer may have the same or different crystal orientation . for example , the crystal orientation of the handle substrate and / or the semiconductor layer may be { 100 }, { 110 }, or { 111 }. other crystallographic orientations besides those specifically mentioned can also be used in the present disclosure . the handle substrate and / or the semiconductor layer of the soi substrate may be a single crystalline semiconductor material , a polycrystalline material , or an amorphous material . typically , at least the semiconductor layer is a single crystalline semiconductor material . the buried insulating layer of the soi substrate may be a crystalline or non - crystalline oxide or nitride . in one embodiment , the buried insulating layer is an oxide . the buried insulating layer may be continuous or it may be discontinuous . when a discontinuous buried insulating region is present , the insulating region exists as an isolated island that is surrounded by semiconductor material . the soi substrate may be formed utilizing standard processes including for example , simox ( separation by ion implantation of oxygen ) or layer transfer . when a layer transfer process is employed , an optional thinning step may follow the bonding of two semiconductor wafers together . the optional thinning step reduces the thickness of the semiconductor layer to a layer having a thickness that is more desirable . the thickness of the semiconductor layer of the soi substrate is typically from 100 å to 1000 å , with a thickness from 500 å to 700 å being more typical . in some embodiments , and when an etsoi substrate is employed , the semiconductor layer of the soi has a thickness of less than 100 å . if the thickness of the semiconductor layer is not within one of the above mentioned ranges , a thinning step such as , for example , planarization or etching can be used to reduce the thickness of the semiconductor layer to a value within one of the ranges mentioned above . the buried insulating layer of the soi substrate typically has a thickness from 10 å to 2000 å , with a thickness from 1000 å to 1500 å being more typical . the thickness of the handle substrate of the soi substrate is inconsequential to the present disclosure . in some embodiments of the present disclosure , the semiconductor substrate 12 is a bulk semiconductor substrate . when a bulk semiconductor substrate is employed as semiconductor substrate 12 , the bulk semiconductor substrate is comprised of any semiconductor material including , but not limited to , si , ge , sige , sic , sigec , inas , gaas , inp or other like iii / v compound semiconductors . multilayers of these semiconductor materials can also be used as the semiconductor material of the bulk semiconductor . in one embodiment , the bulk semiconductor substrate is comprised of si . the semiconductor substrate 12 may be doped , undoped or contain doped and undoped regions therein . for clarity , the doped regions are not specifically shown in the drawings of the present application . each doped region within the semiconductor substrate 12 may have the same , or they may have different conductivities and / or doping concentrations . the doped regions that are present in the semiconductor substrate 12 are typically referred to as well regions and they are formed utilizing a conventional ion implantation process or gas phase doping . at least one isolation region 22 is optionally formed into the semiconductor substrate 12 ; the at least one isolation region is typically used when planar semiconductor devices , such as planar fets , are to be formed . the at least one isolation region 22 may be a trench isolation region or a field oxide isolation region . the at least one trench isolation region is formed utilizing a conventional trench isolation process well known to those skilled in the art . for example , a trench isolation region can be formed by lithography , etching , and filling a trench with a trench dielectric . optionally , a liner may be formed in the trench prior to trench fill , a densification process may be performed after the trench fill and a planarization process may follow the trench fill . field oxide regions may be formed utilizing a so - called local oxidation of silicon process . note that the at least one isolation region provides isolation between neighboring semiconductor devices , typically required when the neighboring semiconductor devices have different conductivities . if present , the optional chemox layer 24 can be formed on , or within , the semiconductor substrate 12 in each device region prior to forming the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . the optional chemox layer 24 is formed utilizing a conventional growing technique that is well known to those skilled in the art including , for example , oxidation or oxynitridation . in some embodiments , the optional chemox layer 24 is formed by a wet chemical oxidation process . when the semiconductor substrate 12 is a si - containing semiconductor , the optional chemox layer 24 is comprised of silicon oxide , silicon oxynitride or a nitrided silicon oxide . when the semiconductor substrate 12 is other than a si - containing semiconductor , the optional chemox layer 24 may comprise a semiconducting oxide , a semiconducting oxynitride or a nitrided semiconducting oxide . the thickness of the optional chemox layer 24 is typically from 0 . 5 nm to 1 . 5 nm , with a thickness from 0 . 8 nm to 1 nm being more typical . the thickness , however , may be different after processing at higher temperatures , which are usually required during fet or cmos fabrication . the high k gate dielectric layer 26 is comprised of an insulating material having a dielectric constant of greater than silicon oxide , i . e ., 4 . 0 or greater . all dielectric constants mentioned herein are relative to a vacuum unless otherwise noted . specifically , the high k gate dielectric layer 26 that can be employed includes , but is not limited to , an oxide , nitride , oxynitride and / or silicate including metal silicates and nitrided metal silicates . in one embodiment , the high k gate dielectric layer 26 can be comprised of an oxide such as , for example , hfo 2 , zro 2 , la 2 o 3 , al 2 o 3 , tio 2 , srtio 3 , laalo 3 , y 2 o 3 , hfo x n y , zro x n y , la 2 o x n y , al 2 o x n y , tio x n y , srtio x n y , laalo x n y , y 2 o x n y , a silicate thereof , and an alloy thereof . multilayered stacks of these high k materials can also be employed as the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . each value of x is independently from 0 . 5 to 3 and each value of y is independently from 0 to 2 . in some embodiments , hfo 2 , hafnium silicate and hafnium silicon oxynitride are employed as the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . the physical thickness of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 may vary , but typically , the high k gate dielectric layer 26 has a thickness from 0 . 5 nm to 10 nm , with a thickness from 0 . 5 nm to about 3 nm being more typical . the high k gate dielectric layer 26 can be formed by a deposition process such as , for example , chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), plasma - assisted cvd , metalorganic chemical vapor deposition ( mocvd ), atomic layer deposition ( ald ), evaporation , reactive sputtering , chemical solution deposition and other like deposition processes . the high k gate dielectric layer 26 may also be formed utilizing any combination of the above processes . in some embodiments , the gate dielectric material within each of the various device regions is different . different gate dielectric materials can be formed by utilizing block mask technology . referring now to fig1 b , there is illustrated another initial structure 10 ′ that can be employed in the present application . the another initial structure 10 ′ includes each of the elements mentioned above in regard to the initial structure 10 shown in fig1 a plus a semiconductor material layer 15 having a lattice constant that is different from the lattice constant of the semiconductor substrate 12 . the semiconductor material layer 15 is present only within the pmos device region 18 as is shown in fig1 b . when an soi substrate is employed , the semiconductor material layer 15 has a different lattice constant as compared with the lattice constant of the upper most semiconductor layer of the soi substrate . the semiconductor layer 15 is typically composed of a semiconductor material that is different than that of the upper most semiconductor layer of semiconductor substrate 12 . in one embodiment , the semiconductor layer 15 has a larger lattice constant than that of the upper most semiconductor layer of the semiconductor substrate 12 in the pmos device region 18 . in another embodiment , the semiconductor layer 15 has a smaller lattice constant than that of the upper most semiconductor layer of the semiconductor substrate 12 in the pmos device region 18 . in one example , and when the upper most semiconductor layer of the semiconductor substrate 12 is comprised of si , the semiconductor layer 15 can be comprised of sige . the semiconductor layer 15 can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process such as , for example , epitaxial growth . a block mask can be present on the other device regions , i . e ., the nmos device region 16 and the optional mid gap nmos / pmos device region 20 . the thickness of the semiconductor layer 15 can vary depending on the type of semiconductor material employed , as well as the method that is used in forming the same . typically , the semiconductor layer 15 has a thickness from 0 . 5 nm to 20 nm , with a thickness from 5 nm to 10 nm being more typical . it is observed that the initial structure 10 ′ shown in fig1 b can be used for integrating different threshold devices in pdsoi and bulk semiconductor substrates . in some embodiments , not shown , the initial structure includes a plurality of parallel oriented semiconductor fins located on a substrate . when a fin containing initial structure is employed , a hard mask can be present on an uppermost surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 shown in fig1 a or 1 b . the hard mask can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process such as , for example , chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ), chemical solution deposition , evaporation or other like deposition processes . alternatively , the hard mask can be formed by a thermal process such as , for example , oxidation or nitridation . any combination of the above mentioned processes can also be used in forming the hard mask . the hard mask can comprise an oxide , nitride , oxynitride or any combination thereof including multilayers . in one embodiment , the hard mask is an oxide including , for example , silicon oxide or silicon nitride . the thickness of the hard mask may vary depending on the technique used in forming the same , the material of the hard mask itself , and the number of layers within the hard mask layer . typically , the hard mask has a thickness from 200 å to 800 å , with a thickness from 400 å to 600 å being more typical . at least one parallel oriented semiconducting body is then formed in each of the device regions . each of the semiconductor bodies that are formed extends from a surface of the semiconductor substrate 12 . it is noted that each of the parallel oriented semiconducting bodies thus formed has a narrow width on the order of 20 nm or less and , a vertical thickness of less than 100 å for an estsoi substrate or a vertical thickness from 100 å to 1000 å for other types of substrates . it is further noted that other widths and vertical thickness can also be employed in the present disclosure . as such , the semiconducting bodies that are formed are referred hereinafter as semiconductor fins . the plurality of semiconductor fins may be used as semiconductor bodies for nfinfet devices and pfinfet devices . each of the semiconductor fins can be formed by lithography and etching . the lithographic step includes applying a photoresist ( not shown ) atop the hard mask , exposing the photoresist to a desired pattern of radiation , and developing the exposed resist utilizing a conventional resist developer . the etching process comprises drying etching and / or wet chemical etching . illustrative examples of suitable dry etching processes that can be used in the present disclosure include reactive ion etching , ion beam etching , plasma etching or laser ablation . typically , a reactive ion etching process or an ion beam etching process is used . the etching process first transfers the pattern from the patterned photoresist to the hard mask and thereafter to the underlying semiconductor layer . the patterned photoresist is typically , but not necessarily always , removed after the pattern has been transferred to the hard mask . a conventional resist stripping process is used to remove the patterned photoresist from the structure . alternatively , the semiconductor fins can also be formed utilizing a conventional sidewall image transfer ( sit ) process . in a typical sit process , a spacer is formed on a dummy mandrel . the dummy mandrel is removed and the remaining spacer is used as a hard mask to etch the semiconductor fins . the spacer is then removed after the semiconductor fins have been formed . in some embodiments , the hard mask that remains atop the semiconductor fins can be removed . this particular embodiment allows for fabrication of a tri - gated fully depleted non - planar semiconductor device since the high k dielectric to be subsequently formed would be present on the sidewalls and top surface of each of the semiconductor fins . the removal of the hard mask can be achieved by performing a selective etching process or by utilizing a planarization process such as chemical mechanical planarization . although the initial structure 10 ′ shown in fig1 b or an initial structure including a plurality of fins can be employed , the following description and drawings assume that the initial structure 10 shown in fig1 a is employed . in embodiments in which the initial structure 10 ′ or the fin containing initial structure is employed the following processing steps are applicable for those initial structures as well , unless otherwise stated . referring now to fig2 , there is shown the initial structure 10 of fig1 a after forming a disposable mask 32 including a first barrier layer 34 and a first barrier coating layer 36 atop the high k gate dielectric 26 in each of the device regions . the first barrier layer 34 can be comprised of a metal nitride such as , for example , tin , tan , wn , run , rutan and irtan . in one embodiment , the first barrier layer 34 is comprised of tin . the first barrier layer 34 can be formed utilizing a deposition including , for example , chemical vapor deposition , plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , physical vapor deposition , and sputtering . the thickness of the first barrier layer 34 can vary depending on the type of material employed as the first barrier layer 34 as well as the method of depositing the same . typically , the first barrier layer 34 has a thickness from 1 nm to 20 nm , with a thickness from 2 nm to 7 nm being more typical . the barrier coating layer 36 ( which represents a first barrier coating layer ) can comprise a metal such as , for example ti or al , silicon oxide , a silicon based material such as alpha silicon , or a carbon based material such as , for example , alpha carbon or graphene . multilayers of such materials can also be used as the barrier coating layer 36 . in one embodiment , ti is employed as the barrier coating layer 36 . in another embodiment , al is employed as the barrier coating layer 36 . in a further embodiment , alpha silicon is employed as the barrier coating layer 36 . it is emphasized that the type of barrier coating layer 36 employed is selected such that it is compatible with the overlying resist material and optional antireflective coating to be subsequent formed . alternatively , and when finfet devices are being formed , the type of barrier coating layer 36 employed must have a minimal thickness ( typically on the order of 3 nm or less ). the barrier coating layer 36 can be formed utilizing any conventional deposition process including , but not limited to , chemical vapor deposition , plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , chemical solution deposition , sputtering , electroplating , electroless plating , atomic layer deposition and evaporation . the thickness of the barrier coating layer 36 that is formed may vary depending on the type of barrier coating layer 36 employed as well as the type of device that is formed . for example , when finfets are being formed the thickness of the barrier coating layer 36 that is formed at this point of the process is typically within a range from 0 . 2 nm to 3 nm , while when planar devices are being formed , the thickness of the barrier coating layer 36 is typically within a range from 0 . 5 nm to 5 nm . referring now to fig3 , there is shown the structure of fig2 after forming a first patterned mask 38 protecting the material layers within the nmos device region 16 and the optional mid gap nmos / pmos device region 20 , while leaving the material layers in the pmos device region 18 unprotected . the first patterned mask 38 can include an optional patterned bottom antireflective coating 40 and an overlying patterned photoresist 42 . the first patterned mask 38 can be formed by applying an optional antireflective coating material and / or a photoresist material atop the barrier coating material 36 . the optional antireflective coating material includes any conventional antireflective coating material that is well known to those skilled in the art including organic antireflective coating materials and inorganic antireflective coating materials . when present , the optional antireflective coating material can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process including , but not limited to , spin - on coating , evaporation , chemical solution deposition , and chemical vapor deposition . the photoresist material that can be employed includes any conventional photoresist material that is well known to those skilled in the art including organic photoresist materials and inorganic photoresist materials . the photoresist material is typically a chemically amplified positive - tone or negative - tone polymer , copolymer or a blend of polymers and / or copolymers . the photoresist material can be formed utilizing any conventional deposition process including , for example , spin - on coating , evaporation , chemical solution deposition , chemical vapor deposition and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition . after applying the photoresist material , lithography is used in patterning the photoresist material into patterned photoresist 42 . the lithography step includes exposing the photoresist material to a predetermined pattern of radiation and developing the exposed resist utilizing a conventional resist developer . the pattern within the photoresist material is then transferred into underlying portions of the antireflective coating material , if present , by etching . the etching used to transfer the pattern for the patterned photoresist 42 into the underlying portion of the antireflective coating material includes dry etching or wet etching . referring now to fig4 , there is shown the structure of fig3 after removing the exposed portion of the disposable mask 32 within the pmos device region 18 and the subsequent removal of the first patterned mask 38 . the removing the exposed portion of the disposable mask 32 within the pmos device region 18 is performed utilizing an etching process that is selective in removing the exposed portion of the disposable mask 32 relative to the first patterned mask 38 , while stopping on an upper surface of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . in one embodiment , the exposed portion of the disposable mask 32 in the pmos device region 18 that is not protected by the first patterned mask 28 is removed by an ammonia peroxide mixture ( apm ). the patterned mask 38 can be removed utilizing a conventional resist stripping process such as , for example , ashing . referring to fig5 , there is shown the structure of fig4 after forming a material stack 44 including , from bottom to top , a pfet threshold adjusting material layer 46 , a second barrier layer 48 and a second barrier coating layer 50 within each of the device regions , wherein in the pmos device region 18 the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 is in direct contact with a portion of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 includes a material that moves the threshold voltage of a gate stack towards the pfet band edge . examples of pfet threshold voltage adjusting materials that can be used as layer 46 include al ( and its compounds that are non - conductive such as , for example al 2 o 3 ), ge ( and its compounds that are non - conductive such as , for example geo 2 ), and non - conductive compounds of ti and ta such as , tio 2 and ta 2 o 5 respectively . the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 can be formed utilizing conventional deposition processes well known to those skilled in the art including , but not limited to , chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ), chemical solution deposition , atomic layer deposition ( ald ), physical vapor deposition ( pvd ), ionized pvd , sputtering and plating . the thickness of the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 may vary depending on the type of pfet threshold voltage adjusting material employed as well as the technique that was used in forming the same . typically , the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 has a thickness from 0 . 1 nm to 5 . 0 nm , with a thickness from 1 . 0 nm to 3 . 0 nm being more typical . the second barrier layer 48 can be composed of the same or different metal nitride as the first barrier layer 34 . in one embodiment , the first and second barrier layers ( 34 and 48 , respectively ) are both comprised of tin . the second barrier layer 48 can be formed as described above for the first barrier layer 34 and the thickness of the second barrier layer 48 can be within the same thickness regime as that of the first barrier layer 34 . the second barrier coating layer 50 may comprise the same or different material as the first barrier coating layer 36 described above . in one embodiment , the first and second barrier layers ( 36 and 50 , respectively ) are comprised of ti . the second barrier coating layer 50 can be formed utilizing one of the techniques mentioned above for forming the first barrier coating layer 36 and the thickness of the second barrier coating layer 50 is within the thickness regime mentioned above for the first barrier coating layer 36 . referring to fig6 , there is shown the structure of fig5 after forming a second patterned mask 52 which protects the material layers within the pmos device region 18 and the optional mid gap nmos / pmos device region 20 , while leaving the material layers within the nmos device region 16 unprotected . the second patterned mask 52 can include an optional second patterned bottom antireflective coating 54 and a second patterned photoresist 56 . the materials of the optional second patterned antireflective coating 54 and the second patterned photoresist 56 can include one of the materials mentioned above for the optional patterned bottom antireflective coating 40 and the overlying patterned photoresist 42 . the second patterned mask 52 can also be formed using the processing mentioned above in forming first patterned mask 38 . referring to fig7 , there is shown the structure of fig6 after removing the exposed material layers located above the high k gate dielectric layer 26 in the nmos device region 16 that are not protected by second patterned mask 52 and subsequent removal of the second patterned mask 52 . the removing the exposed portion of the material layers within the nmos device region 16 is performed utilizing an etching process that is selective in removing the exposed portion of the materials layers within the nmos device region 16 relative to the second patterned mask 52 , while stopping on an upper surface of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . in one embodiment , the exposed portion of the material layers within the nmos device region 16 that is not protected by the second patterned mask 52 is removed by an ammonia peroxide mixture ( apm ). the second patterned mask 52 can be removed utilizing a conventional resist stripping process such as , for example , ashing . referring to fig8 , there is shown the structure of fig7 after forming a material stack 58 including , for bottom to top , an nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 60 , a third barrier layer 62 , and a si - containing layer 64 in each of the device regions , wherein in the nmos device region 16 the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 60 is in direct contact with a portion of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 . the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 60 includes a material that moves the threshold voltage of a gate stack towards the nfet band edge . one example of an nfet threshold voltage adjusting material that can be used as layer 60 is a rare earth metal - containing material that comprises an oxide or nitride of at least one element from group iiib of the periodic table of elements ( cas version ) including , for example , la , ce , pr , nd , pm , sm , eu , ga , tb , dy , ho , er , tm , yb , lu or mixtures thereof . preferably , the rare earth metal - containing material comprises an oxide of la , ce , y , sm , er and / or tb , with la 2 o 3 being more preferred . the rare earth metal - containing material can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process including , for example , evaporation , molecular beam deposition , metal - organic chemical vapor deposition ( mocvd ), atomic layer deposition ( ald ), physical vapor deposition ( pvd ), ionized pvd and other like deposition processes . in one embodiment of the present disclosure , the rare earth metal - containing material can be formed by placing the structure including the high k gate dielectric into the load - lock of a molecular beam deposition chamber , followed by pumping this chamber down to the range of 10 − 5 torr to 10 − 8 torr . after these steps , the structure is inserted , without breaking vacuum into the growth chamber where the rare earth metal - containing material such as la oxide is deposited by directing atomic / molecular beams of the rare earth metal and oxygen or nitrogen onto the structure &# 39 ; s surface . specifically , because of the low pressure of the chamber , the released atomic / molecular species are beamlike and are not scattered prior to arriving at the structure . a substrate temperature of about 300 ° c . is used . in the case of la 2 o 3 deposition , the la evaporation cell is held in the temperature range of 1400 ° c . to 1700 ° c ., and a flow rate of 1 sccm to 3 sccm of molecular oxygen is used . alternatively , atomic or excited oxygen may be used as well , and this can be created by passing the oxygen through a radio frequency source excited in the range of 50 watts to 600 watts . during the deposition , the pressure within the chamber can be in the range from 1 × 10 − 5 torr to 8 × 10 − 5 torr , and the la oxide growth rate can be in the range from 0 . 1 nm per minute to 2 nm per minute , with a range from 0 . 5 nm per minute to 1 . 5 nm per minute being more typical . another example of an nfet threshold voltage adjusting material that can be employed as layer 60 is an alkaline earth metal - containing material that comprises a compound having the formula ma x wherein m is an alkaline earth metal ( be , mg , ca , sr , and / or ba ), a is one of o , s and a halide , and x is 1 or 2 . alkaline earth metal - containing compounds that include a mixture of alkaline earth metals and / or a mixture of anions , such as an oxychloride can also be used as an nfet threshold voltage adjusting material . examples of alkaline earth metal - containing compounds that can be used include , but are not limited to mgo , mgs , mgf 2 , mgcl 2 , mgbr 2 , mgi 2 , cao , cas , caf 2 , cacl 2 , cabr 2 , cai 2 , sro , srs , srf 2 , srcl 2 , srbr 2 , sri 2 , bao , bas , baf 2 , bacl 2 , babr 2 , and bai 2 . in one preferred embodiment of the present disclosure , the alkaline earth metal - containing compound includes mg . mgo is a highly preferred alkaline earth metal - containing material employed in one embodiment of the present disclosure . the alkaline earth metal - containing material can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process including , for example , sputtering from a target , reactive sputtering of an alkaline earth metal under oxygen plasma conditions , electroplating , evaporation , molecular beam deposition , mocvd , ald , pvd , ionized pvd and other like deposition processes . the thickness of the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 60 may vary depending on the type of nfet threshold voltage adjusting material employed as well as the technique that was used in forming the same . typically , the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 50 has a thickness from 0 . 1 nm to 5 . 0 nm , with a thickness from 1 . 0 nm to 3 . 0 nm being more typical . the third barrier layer 62 can comprise one of the metal nitrides mentioned above for the first barrier layer 34 . in one embodiment , the third barrier layer 62 can be comprised of tin . the third barrier layer 62 can be formed using one of the techniques mentioned above for the first barrier layer 34 and the thickness of the third barrier layer 62 is within the thickness regime mentioned above for the first barrier layer 34 . the si - containing layer 64 can be any material layer that includes silicon including , for example , amorphous silicon . the si - containing layer 64 can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process such as , for example , chemical vapor deposition and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition . the thickness of the si - containing layer 64 may vary depending on the type of silicon material employed as well as the process that was employed in forming the same . typically , the si - containing layer 64 has a thickness from 5 nm to 100 nm , with a thickness from 20 nm to 60 nm being more typical . referring to fig9 , there is shown the structure of fig8 after performing a drive in anneal and removing the various layers atop the high k gate dielectric layer 26 in the various device regions . the drive in anneal causes diffusion of the dopants , e . g ., rare earth metal , or alkaline earth metal , from the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 60 and dopants , e . g ., al , ge , ti and ta , from the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 into the underlying portions of the high k gate dielectric layer 26 and , if present , the chemox layer 24 . in fig9 , reference numeral 70 denotes portions of the high k gate dielectric layer and the optional chemox layer in the nmos device region 16 that include dopants from the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer diffused therein , while reference numeral 72 denotes a portion of the high k gate dielectric layer and the optional chemox layer in the pmos device region 18 that include dopants from the pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer 46 diffused therein . it is observed that regions 70 and 72 are gate dielectric - containing threshold voltage adjusted regions of the structure of the present disclosure . the diffusion of the dopants from the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer and pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer into the high k gate dielectric layer and , if present , the optional chemox layer , is performed utilizing an annealing step . it should be noted that in some instances the lower portion of the chemox layer that is adjacent to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate may not include dopants from the nfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer or pfet threshold voltage adjusting material layer . the anneal that can be performed to provide the threshold voltage adjusted structure shown in fig9 is conducted at a temperature from 800 ° c . to 1200 ° c ., with a temperature from 900 ° c . to 1000 ° c . being more typical . the anneal can be performed in an inert ambient such as , for example , he , ar , and / or xe . the anneal used in this step of the present disclosure may be a furnace anneal , a rapid thermal anneal , a laser anneal or a microwave anneal . the duration of the anneal varies depending on the type of anneal employed . after the diffusion anneal , the various material layers within each device region that lay atop the high k gate dielectric 26 as well as atop the threshold voltage adjusted regions 70 and 72 are removed utilizing one or more etching process including dry etch and / or wet chemical etching . it is noted that the structure shown in fig9 is a threshold voltage adjusted structure . by “ threshold voltage adjusted structure ” it is meant , localized regions of the structure have been tuned to retain the pre - determined threshold shifting materials there by to provide the suitable shift in those localized regions with the use of a common metal electrode . referring to fig1 , there is shown the structure of fig9 after forming a conductive material 75 atop the threshold voltage adjusted structure in each of the device regions . the conductive material 75 that is employed may comprise any conductive material including , but not limited to , polycrystalline silicon , polycrystalline silicon germanium , an elemental metal , ( e . g ., tungsten , titanium , tantalum , aluminum , nickel , ruthenium , palladium and platinum ), an alloy of at least one elemental metal , an elemental metal nitride ( e . g ., tungsten nitride , aluminum nitride , and titanium nitride ), an elemental metal silicide ( e . g ., tungsten silicide , nickel silicide , and titanium silicide ) and multilayers thereof . in one embodiment , the conductive material 75 is comprised of tin . in some instances , a single layer of conductive material 75 is formed . in another instances , a first layer of conductive material and a second layer of conductive material are formed . in one embodiment , conductive material 75 may include a stack , from bottom to top , of a conductive metal layer and an upper conductive si - containing material layer ; the conductive metal layer has a higher conductivity than the conductive si - containing material layer . the conductive material 75 can be formed utilizing a conventional deposition process including , for example , chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ), evaporation , physical vapor deposition ( pvd ), sputtering , chemical solution deposition , atomic layer deposition ( ald ) and other liked deposition processes . when si - containing materials are used as the conductive material 75 , the si - containing materials can be doped within an appropriate impurity by utilizing either an in - situ doping deposition process or by utilizing deposition , followed by a step such as ion implantation in which the appropriate impurity is introduced into the si - containing material . when a metal silicide is formed , a conventional silicidation process is employed . the as deposited conductive material 75 typically has a thickness from 5 nm to 200 nm , with a thickness from 20 nm to 100 nm being more typical . in some embodiments , an optional hard mask material ( not shown ) can be formed atop the conductive material 75 . the optional hard mask material includes an oxide , a nitride , an oxynitride or any combination thereof including multilayered stacks . when present , the optional hard mask material is formed utilizing a conventional deposition process well known to those skilled in the art including , for example , cvd and pecvd . alternatively , the optional hard mask material is formed by a thermal process such as , for example , oxidation and / or nitridation . the thickness of the optional hard mask material may vary depending on the exact hard mask material employed as well as the process that is used in forming the same . typically , the hard mask material has a thickness from 5 nm to 200 nm , with a thickness from 10 nm to 50 nm being more typical . the hard mask material is typically employed when the conductive material is a si - containing material such as polysilicon or sige . next , at least the conductive material 75 within each of the device regions can be patterned by lithography and etching providing patterned gate stacks in each of the device regions . such a structure is shown for example , in fig1 . in fig1 , reference numeral 100 denotes the patterned gate stack comprised of at least threshold voltage adjusted portion 70 and a portion of conductive material 75 within the nmos device region 16 , reference numeral 102 denotes the patterned gate stack comprised of at least threshold voltage adjusted region 72 and a portion of conductive material 75 within the pmos device region 18 , and reference numeral 104 denotes the patterned gate stack comprised of at least a portion of high k gate dielectric layer 26 and a portion of conductive material 75 within the mid gap nmos / pmos device region 20 . after providing the structure shown in fig1 further cmos device processing steps ( not specifically shown ) can be performed . the further cmos device processing steps can include extension region formation , spacer formation , source / drain region formation , and formation of metal semiconductor alloy contacts atop at least each of the source / drain regions . in some embodiments , the patterned hard mask atop each of the patterned gate stacks can be removed prior to forming the contacts such that a metal semiconductor alloy contact can be formed atop the patterned conductive material . the extension regions are formed utilizing any known extension ion implantation process . after the extension ion implantation , an anneal can be used to activate the implanted extension ions . the spacer is formed utilizing any known process including deposition of a spacer material , followed by etching . typical spacer materials include an oxide and / or a nitride . after formation of the spacer , source / drain regions are formed into an upper exposed surface of the substrate at the footprint of each of the patterned gate stacks . the source / drain regions are formed utilizing a source / drain ion implantation process followed by annealing . the metal semiconductor alloy contacts are formed utilizing any process that is capable of forming a metal semiconductor alloy atop a semiconductor material . in one embodiment , the metal semiconductor alloy contacts can be formed utilizing a silicide process . the silicide process can be self - aligned to the outer edge of the spacer . the silicide process includes forming a metal capable of forming a metal semiconductor alloy when reacted with a semiconductor material . the metal used in forming the metal semiconductor alloy contact can include , but is not limited to , tantalum , titanium , tungsten , ruthenium , cobalt , nickel , or any suitable combination of those materials . a diffusion barrier such as titanium nitride or tantalum nitride can be formed atop the metal . an anneal is performed that causes reaction between the metal and the underlying semiconductor material forming metal semiconductor alloy regions . typically , the anneal is performed at a temperature of at least 250 ° c . or above . a single anneal step or multiple anneal steps can be used . any non - reacted metal and the optional diffusion barrier are removed after the anneal has been performed . in some embodiments , a metal semiconductor alloy contact can be formed directly atop the patterned conductive material , when no optional patterned hard mask is present and the conductive material is composed of a si - containing material . while the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with respect to various embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in forms and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure . it is therefore intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated , but fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 - 5 , a wall - avoiding mount is generally depicted with reference numeral 100 . mount 100 can be used to mount flat panel display 101 to wall 102 . generally , mount 100 includes support structure 103 , tilt head 104 , and display interface structure 106 . mount may also include in - wall box 108 . support structure 103 generally includes extendable arm assembly 110 , support column assembly 112 , and swing limit cam 114 . extendable arm assembly 110 generally includes wall interface 116 and arms 118 , pivotally coupled together at pivots 120 . lateral spacers 122 may be provided at pivots 120 to provide lateral spacing between adjacent arms 118 in order to avoid pinch points and shearing action as extendable arm assembly 110 is extended and retracted . as depicted in fig1 - 15 , extendable arm assembly 110 enables display 101 to be selectively positioned at any desired distance outward from wall surface 124 . it will be readily appreciated that extendable arm assembly 110 may include virtually any desired number of arms 118 so as to enable a desired range of movement outward from wall surface 124 . further , consistent with other aspects of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein , support structure 103 may include or consist of any other structure providing support for tilt head 104 , such as swing arm arrangements or fixed mounting brackets . moreover , support structure 103 may be attached directly to wall surface 124 , or may be advantageously used with in - wall attachment arrangements such as disclosed for example in the u . s . provisional application no . 60 / 883 , 652 centering in - wall mount filed by the owners of the present invention on jan . 5 , 2007 , the complete disclosure of which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference . support column assembly 112 generally includes tubular vertical column 126 , upper pivot bushing 128 , lower pivot bushing 130 and lift adjuster assembly 132 . upper pivot bushing 128 , as depicted in fig1 - 21 , generally includes body portion 134 defining central bore 136 . tab 138 extends from body portion 134 and defines pivot aperture 140 . body portion 134 is generally cylindrical with front edge 142 having a smaller radius than rear edge 144 , defining a pair of shoulders 146 , 148 . similarly , lower pivot bushing 130 , as depicted in fig1 - 18 , generally includes body portion 150 defining central bore 152 . tab 154 extends from body portion 150 and defines pivot aperture 156 . body portion 150 is generally cylindrical with front edge 158 having a smaller radius than rear edge 160 , defining a pair of shoulders 162 , 164 . upper and lower pivot bushings 128 , 130 , are vertically and rotationally slidably disposed on column 126 , with column 126 extending through central bores 136 , 152 , respectively . separate arms 118 of extendable arm assembly 110 are pivotally attached to tabs 138 , 154 , of each of upper and lower pivot bushings 128 , 130 , with pivots 166 extending into pivot apertures 140 , 156 . lift adjuster assembly 132 as depicted in fig2 generally includes body 168 , attaching fastener 170 , and lift screw 172 . body 168 is attached proximate upper end 174 of column 126 with attaching fastener 170 . lift screw 172 is threadedly received in body 168 and includes bearing plate 176 at lower end 178 . thumb knob 180 may be provided on upper end 182 to enable lift screw 172 to be easily threaded in and out of body 168 with the fingers . in use , bearing plate 176 slidably bears on upper surface 184 of upper pivot bushing 128 , thereby vertically locating upper pivot bushing 128 on column 126 . the relative vertical position of upper pivot bushing 128 is selectively adjustable by threading lift screw 172 in or out of body 168 , thereby lowering or raising upper pivot bushing 128 relative to column 126 . as extendable arm assembly 110 is extended and retracted , upper pivot bushing 128 remains in position while lower pivot bushing 130 slides vertically on column 126 . swing limit cam 114 , as depicted in fig2 - 25 , generally includes elongate body 186 presenting lower end 188 and upper end 190 . lower end 188 has width dimension w that is generally wider than width dimension w 1 of upper end 190 . intermediate portion 192 is tapered , presenting upwardly sloping opposing flanks 194 . front side 196 is concave , conforming to the radius of front edge 158 of lower pivot bushing 130 . swing limit cam 114 is affixed to the inner side 198 of tilt head 104 as depicted in fig1 , with front edge 158 of lower pivot bushing 130 in registry with front side 196 as depicted in fig2 . column 126 is positioned along concave front side 196 of swing limit cam 114 and is fixed in rotational and vertical position relative thereto . in use , with display 101 positioned proximate wall surface 124 as depicted in fig1 , lower pivot bushing 130 is relatively closer to bottom end 200 of column 126 . in this position , shoulders 162 , 164 , of lower pivot bushing 130 engage sides 202 of lower end 188 of swing limit cam 114 , limiting side - to - side swinging motion of display 101 to a relatively greater degree as depicted in fig1 , so as to prevent contact of display 101 with wall surface 124 . as extendable arm assembly 110 is extended outward and display 101 is positioned further away from wall surface 124 , lower pivot bushing 130 slides upward on column 126 and upward relative to swing limit cam 114 , which is vertically fixed in position on tilt head 104 . once lower pivot bushing 130 reaches intermediate portion 192 , the greater distance between each of shoulders 162 , 164 , and sloping flanks 194 enables a steadily increasing range of side - to - side swinging motion for display 101 . when lower pivot bushing 130 reaches upper end 190 of swing limit cam 114 , a full range of side - to - side swinging motion for display 101 is enabled , as depicted in fig1 . it will be appreciated that the vertical position of swing limit cam 114 may be adjusted on tilt head 104 to alter the relative distance from wall surface 124 at which lower pivot bushing 130 begins to encounter intermediate portion 192 and upper end 190 . moreover , it will be appreciated that the geometry of swing limit cam 114 may be altered as desired to produce desired swing limiting characteristics . for example , swing limit cam 114 may be made relatively longer with more gently sloping flanks 194 to enable a more gradual limiting of swing motion relative to distance . in another example , opposing flanks 194 may a provided with differing slopes so as to enable a greater range of swing motion in one direction relative to the opposing direction . tilt head 104 is generally attached intermediate support structure 103 and display interface structure 106 . in a first example embodiment , tilt head 104 generally includes inner yoke 204 , pitch cams 206 , and pitch member 208 , as depicted in fig8 - 11 . in a second example embodiment , tilt head 104 generally includes body portion 210 , a pair of inner pitch arms 212 , a pair of outer pitch arms 214 , and a display interface assembly 216 , as depicted in fig2 - 32 . referring to the first example embodiment of tilt head 104 depicted in fig8 - 11 , inner yoke 204 generally includes back plane 218 defining laterally oriented opening 220 , and having parallel projecting flanges 222 , 224 . each of flanges 222 , 224 , define upright guide structure 226 , first oblong aperture 228 , and second oblong aperture 230 , in lateral registry across tilt head 104 . each pitch cam 206 defines a guide structure 232 , which may be in the form of an elongate slot , and a pair of apertures 234 , 236 . pitch cams 206 are secured on the outer surface 238 of each of flanges 222 , 224 , with aperture 234 in registry with oblong aperture 228 and aperture 236 in registry with oblong aperture 230 . travelers ( not depicted ) extend through each of the registered aperture pairs 228 , 234 and 230 , 236 . the travelers are slidable in oblong apertures 228 , 230 such that pitch cams 206 are selectively positionable relative to inner yoke 204 as depicted in fig1 . pitch member 208 generally includes back plane 239 having parallel projecting flanges 240 , 242 . each of flanges 240 , 242 , define apertures 244 , 246 , in lateral registry across tilt head 104 . inner yoke 204 and pitch cams 206 are disposed between flanges 240 , 242 , with apertures 244 in registry with guide structures 232 , and apertures 246 in registry with guide structures 226 . followers 248 extend through apertures 244 and slidably engage in each guide structure 232 , and followers 250 extend through apertures 246 and slidably engage in each guide structure 226 . display interface structure 106 as depicted in fig1 , generally includes vertical uprights 252 , 254 , horizontal braces 256 , 258 , central reinforcing plate 260 , and gusset plates 262 , 264 . vertical uprights 252 , 254 , are secured to back side 266 of display 101 with fasteners 268 . horizontal braces 256 , 258 , are secured to vertical uprights 252 , 254 , and are coupled with gusset plates 262 , 264 . central reinforcing plate 260 extends between and is secured to horizontal braces 256 , 258 . pitch member 208 engages and is secured to horizontal braces 256 , 258 . in use , as depicted in fig1 , display 101 is tiltable about a generally horizontal tilt axis by grasping the top edge 270 of the display 101 and pulling outward . as display 101 tilts , followers 248 slide in guide structures 232 , and followers 250 slide in guide structures 226 to guide and define the tilting path of travel for display 101 . notably , as display 101 tilts forward , bottom edge 272 maintains substantially the same distance from wall surface 124 . hence , even when extendable arm assembly 110 is retracted so that display 101 is positioned immediately proximate wall surface 124 , display 101 will not contact wall surface 124 at any point in the tilting motion . another desirable feature of tilt head 104 as also depicted in fig1 is that guide structures 226 and guide structures 232 may be oriented so as to define a path of travel about a tilt axis located generally below and forward of display 101 , such that center of gravity 274 translates along a substantially horizontal axis 198 , and the display 101 is substantially “ self - balancing .” that is , display 101 will maintain a desired tilt position without being held by a secondary friction source . it will be appreciated that the position of pitch cams 206 may be adjusted so as to alter the position of the tilt axis for display 101 and also the path along which the center of gravity will translate upon tilting . further , it will be appreciated that the shape of guide structures 226 , 232 , may be altered so as to give a desired effect to the tilt motion of display 101 . for example , guide structures 226 , 232 , may be substantially straight as depicted , or either or both may be curved , angular , or any other desired shape . guide structures 226 , 232 themselves , although depicted as slots , may be any other suitable structure capable of guiding a follower , such as channels , grooves , cam surfaces , and the like . referring to the second example embodiment of tilt head 104 depicted in fig2 - 32 , body portion 210 generally includes yoke portion 276 with a pair of projecting uprights 278 , 280 . yoke portion 276 defines central bore 282 , of which a portion proximate bottom end 284 may be threaded to receive threaded coupler 286 . each of uprights 278 , 280 , defines guide track 288 facing laterally outward . a slide block 290 is slidably disposed in each guide track 288 as depicted in fig4 . slide block 290 defines aperture 292 . each upright 278 , 280 , defines aperture 294 therethrough proximate top end 296 . inner pitch arm 212 is elongate , presents opposing ends 298 , 300 , and defines apertures 302 , 304 proximate ends 298 , 300 , respectively . inner pitch arm 212 further defines aperture 306 intermediate ends 298 , 300 . outer pitch arm 214 is also elongate , presents opposing ends 308 , 310 , and defines apertures 312 , 314 proximate ends 308 , 310 , respectively . clearance notch 316 is defined in lateral margin 318 proximate aperture 320 . display interface assembly 216 generally includes interface plate 322 , first mounting plate 324 , and second mounting plate 326 . interface plate 322 includes display attachment portion 328 and projecting parallel flanges 330 , 332 . display attachment portion 328 defines apertures 334 and elongate apertures 336 for attaching first and second mounting plates 324 , 326 and display 101 with fasteners ( not depicted ). each flange 330 , 332 defines elongate guide slot 338 and pivot apertures 340 . each inner pitch arm 212 is pivotally coupled to one of uprights 278 , 280 , with a pivot pin 342 extending through aperture 294 . the other end of each inner pitch arm 212 is coupled with interface plate 322 with pivot 344 slidable in elongate guide slot 338 . each outer pitch arm 214 is pivotally coupled to slide block 290 with pivot 346 extending through aperture 292 . the other end of each outer pitch arm 214 is pivotally coupled to interface plate 322 with pivot pin 348 extending through apertures 312 , 314 , 340 . notch 316 enables outer pitch arm 214 to clear pivot 344 when mount 100 is positioned in an upright position , as depicted in fig2 . in use , display 101 may be first disposed in a generally vertical upright position , as depicted in fig2 . lower corner 350 is disposed a distance d from upright column 352 of extendable arm assembly 110 , upon which yoke portion 276 is received . center of gravity c . g . of display 101 is disposed along generally horizontal axis a - a , which is a distance x above bottom end 284 of yoke portion 276 . a user may selectively tilt display 101 forward as depicted in fig2 by grasping and pulling top edge 270 of display 101 . as the user pulls , each inner pitch arm 212 pivots about pivots 344 , 346 , and pivot 344 slides in elongate guide slot 338 . simultaneously , each outer pitch arm 214 pivots about pivots 346 , with each slide block 290 sliding upward in guide tracks 288 . advantageously , center of gravity c . g . of display 101 translates substantially along axis a - a , which is maintained at distance x above the bottom end 284 of yoke portion 276 , while lower corner 350 remains substantially at the same distance d from upright column 352 . the effect is for display 101 to be essentially self - balancing , able to maintain any desired tilt position between the upright position depicted in fig2 and the fully tilted position depicted in fig2 without the addition of significant additional friction between any of the components of mount 100 . further , the lower corner 350 of display 101 maintains an essentially constant distance from wall assembly 354 as display 101 is tilted , thereby eliminating the problem of display 101 striking wall assembly 354 , even when mount 100 is fully retracted as depicted in fig4 . in the embodiment depicted in fig3 - 31 , mount 100 additionally includes friction element 356 , which may include a bolt 358 extending through an aperture defined in inner pitch arm 212 and guide slot 360 defined in outer pitch arm 214 . friction washer 362 abuts outer surface 364 of outer pitch arm 214 and is held in place with nut 366 . notch 368 is defined in each of parallel flanges 330 , 332 to clear friction element 356 . in use , friction can be selectively added if needed to maintain a desired tilt position by tightening nut 366 . conversely , friction can be removed to enable freer positioning of mount 100 by loosening nut 366 . the embodiments above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting . additional embodiments are encompassed within the scope of the claims . although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for purposes of interpreting the claims for the present invention , it is expressly intended that the provisions of section 112 , sixth paragraph of 35 u . s . c . are not to be invoked unless the specific terms “ means for ” or “ step for ” are recited in a claim . | 5 |
fig1 through 4 , discussed below , and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any suitably arranged data processor . fig1 illustrates exemplary data processor 100 in which variable speed floating point unit 120 according to the principles of the present invention is implemented . data processor 100 comprises integer unit ( iu ) 110 , floating point unit ( fpu ) 120 , and memory unit ( mu ) 130 . integer unit 110 comprises instruction fetch unit 111 , instruction decode unit 112 , address translation unit 113 , integer execution pipeline 114 , and writeback unit 115 . floating point unit ( fpu ) 120 comprises instruction buffer 121 , issue unit 122 , dispatch unit 123 , and floating point unit ( fpu ) execution pipeline 124 . memory unit 130 comprises instruction cache 131 , data cache 132 , instruction memory controller 133 , data memory controller 134 , and bus controller 135 . instruction memory controller 133 fetches instructions from instruction cache ( i - cache ) 131 . in case of a miss in instruction cache 131 , instruction memory controller 133 retrieves the missed instruction from main memory ( not shown ) via bus controller 125 and the processor bus ( not shown ). instruction memory controller 133 then stores the retrieved instruction in instruction cache 131 . similarly , data memory controller 134 fetches data operands ( data in ) from data cache ( d - cache ) 132 . in case of a miss in data cache 132 , data memory controller 134 retrieves the missed data operand from main memory ( not shown ) via bus controller 125 and the processor bus ( not shown ). data memory controller 134 then stores the retrieved data in data cache 132 . during routine operation , instruction memory controller 133 fetches instructions from instruction cache 131 and loads the instructions ( i . e ., opcodes ) into fetch unit 111 in integer unit 110 . fetch unit 111 forwards the fetched opcodes to instruction decode unit 112 for decoding . decoding unit 112 forwards decoded integer instruction opcodes to address translation unit 113 in integer unit 110 . address translation unit 113 calculates the correct address of the data operand and retrieves the required operand from data cache 132 via data memory controller 134 . address translation unit 113 then forwards the integer instruction opcodes and the data operands to integer execution pipeline 114 . after execution of the integer instruction by integer execution pipeline 114 , writeback unit 115 writes the result to an internal register array ( not shown ) of integer unit 110 , or to data cache 132 ( via data memory controller 134 ), or to both . decoding unit 112 forwards decoded floating point unit instructions ( i . e ., fpu opcodes ) to instruction buffer 121 in floating point unit 120 . issue unit 122 reads the decoded fpu opcodes from instruction buffer 121 and retrieves the required operand from data cache 132 via data memory controller 134 . issue unit 122 then forwards the fpu instruction opcodes and the data operands to dispatch unit 123 . dispatch unit 123 stores the opcodes and operands in a plurality of reservation stations ( not shown ) and subsequently transfers opcodes and operands to fpu execution pipeline 124 at appropriate times . after execution of the fpu opcodes by fpu execution pipeline 124 , a writeback unit ( not shown ) in fpu execution pipeline 124 writes the result to an internal register array ( not shown ) of floating point unit 120 or to data cache 132 ( via data memory controller 134 ). the architecture of data processor 100 illustrated and described above with respect to fig1 is well known to those skilled in the art . it should be noted that this conventional architecture is merely illustrative of one type of data processor in which a variable speed fpu according to the principles of the present invention may be embodied . those skilled in the art will readily understand that a variable speed fpu according to the principles of the present invention may easily be implemented in many other types of data processor architectures . therefore , the descriptions of the variable speed fpu contained herein should not be construed so as to limit the scope of the present invention . fig2 illustrates variable speed floating point unit 120 in greater detail according to one embodiment of the present invention . circuit block 210 generally designates components of floating point unit 120 that operate at the full speed of the input clock signal . these components include instruction buffer 121 , issue unit 122 , dispatch unit 123 , load / store unit 211 , and register array 212 . however , the clock speed of floating point unit ( fpu ) execution pipeline 124 is variable and is controlled by execution pipeline clock controller 205 . the output clock signal from execution pipeline clock controller 205 is a variable percentage ( up to 100 %) of the input clock signal . fpu execution pipeline 124 comprises operand stage 221 , which retrieves operands from register array 212 and receives fpu opcodes and operands from dispatch unit 123 . fpu execution pipeline 124 further comprises exponent align stage 222 , multiply stage 223 , add stage 224 , normalize stage 225 , and round stage 226 . finally , fpu execution pipeline 124 comprises writeback stage 227 , which writes results back to register array 212 or to data cache 132 . the architecture of fpu execution pipeline 124 illustrated and described above with respect to fig2 is well known to those skilled in the art and need not be discussed in greater detail . this conventional architecture is merely illustrative of one exemplary type of fpu execution pipeline which may be clocked at variable speeds according to the principles of the present invention . the descriptions herein of variable speed fpu execution pipeline 124 should not be construed so as to limit the scope of the present invention . the present invention decouples the clock speed of integer unit 110 and fpu 120 using command and data queues ( or reservation stations ) in dispatch unit 123 and control logic in execution pipeline clock controller 205 . execution pipeline clock controller 205 set the clock speed of fpu execution pipeline 124 as a function of the number and type of commands in the reservation stations in dispatch unit 123 . this information is determined from reservation station full levels status signals received from dispatch unit 123 and an integer pipe stall instruction signal received from issue unit 122 . execution pipeline clock controller 205 sets the speed of the output clock signal to a high rate ( fast mode ) if the reservation stations are filling up , if integer unit 110 is stalled waiting for a result from fpu 120 , or if the commands in the reservation stations require multiple cycles to execute . however , if the reservation stations are relatively low , then execution pipeline clock controller 205 sets the speed of the output clock signal to a slower clock speed ( slow mode ) or to one of a plurality of slower clock speeds ( variable rate ) in order to save power . if the reservation stations and execution pipeline 124 are empty , then execution pipeline clock controller 205 may stop the output clock signal completely ( sleep mode ) to save additional power . fig3 illustrates dispatch unit 123 of variable speed floating point unit ( fpr ) 120 according to one embodiment of the present invention . dispatch unit 123 comprises a plurality of command and data queues that transfer opcodes and operands into fpu execution pipeline 124 via multiplexer ( mux ) 340 . these command and data queues include exemplary store reservation station 310 , execute reservation station 320 , and try - again reservation station 330 , among others . execution pipeline clock controller 205 determines the levels of opcodes and operands in store reservation station 310 , execute reservation station 320 , and try - again reservation station 330 and increases the clock speed to prevent stalls if the levels rise close to full levels . execution pipeline clock controller 205 also increases clock speed if any opcode indicates that integer unit 110 is waiting for a result from fpu 120 . fig4 depicts flow chart 400 , which illustrates the operation of variable speed floating point unit 120 according to one embodiment of the present invention . initially , execution pipeline clock controller 205 sets the output clock signal to a minimum clock speed threshold level in order to minimize power consumption ( process step 405 ). during operation , opcodes and operands accumulate in the reservation stations in dispatch stage 123 ( process step 410 ). execution pipeline clock controller 205 continually determines the types of opcodes in the reservation stations in dispatch stage 123 and also determines the level of each reservation station ( process step 415 ). execution pipeline clock controller 205 increases the output clock signal speed as the level rises in each reservation station or if an opcode indicates that integer unit 110 is waiting for a result from fpu 120 ( process step 420 ). execution pipeline clock controller 205 also decreases the output clock signal speed as the level drops in each reservation station and if no queued opcode indicates that integer unit 110 is waiting for a result from fpu 120 ( process step 425 ). although the present invention has been described with several embodiments , various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art . it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
the smoke detector 2 shown in fig1 includes an outer housing 4 which encloses the working components of the smoke detector . the smoke detector includes a circuit board 6 , an led light source 8 , a photo detector 10 secured to the circuit board 6 and a smoke chamber 12 . the smoke chamber has a number of angled walls to allow smoke to enter the smoke chamber and to keep light out of the smoke chamber . an insect screen 16 is provided on the exterior of the smoke chamber to keep insects and large particles out of the smoke chamber . the led 8 in a clean atmosphere , would produce light which would generally follow the beam light pattern 20 . the photo detector 10 is on the lower surface of the circuit board and is located to one side of the illumination beam and looks across the beam . the approximate line of sight of the photo detector is shown by the region 24 . the crossover of the two beams defines a highly reactive zone 26 . this is the desired measuring zone where smoke particles , if present , will cause light to be reflected and some of this reflected light will strike the photo detector 10 . any light which strikes the smoke chamber walls is mostly dissipated or reflected in a manner not to contribute to the light received by the photo detector . the above is typical of many smoke detectors and this structure is shown in our earlier u . s . pat . no . 5 , 719 , 557 . a smoke detector at the time of manufacture is calibrated to provide consistent response . as can be appreciated the photo detector produces an electrical signal which preferably is converted to a digital signal . this digital signal is a measure of the amount of light received by the photo detector and is representative of smoke particles present in the atmosphere of the smoke chamber . unfortunately , the light output of the led has a large tolerance variation and the tolerance variation can be as much at 67 percent . there are other leds where the tolerance variation is less , however , given that there is a tolerance variation associated with the led , and further tolerances associated with the photo detector , the circuit for converting the signal of the photo detector , as well as the smoke chamber itself , it is necessary to calibrate the unit . calibration is accomplished based on actual responses of the unit . preferrably , an atmosphere which represents a certain known percentage of obscuration is provided to the smoke chamber . the response or the output from the circuit which is a measure of the signal provided by the photo detector is then recorded . a second atmosphere is then introduced to the smoke chamber to provide a second assessment point . preferrably these atmospheres correspond to a relatively high smoke concentration , for example , 2 . 5 percent obscuration per foot , and a relatively low atmosphere , either a clean atmosphere or a level of less than 0 . 5 percent per foot of obscuration . based on these values , it can be determined whether the intensity of the led should be increased or decreased to change the sensitivity to a predetermined value . fig2 shows a graph of sensor output in volts versus smoke density measured as a percentage obscuration per foot . the middle line 40 shows a desired sensitivity measured by the slope of line 40 which is to be achieved . the upper line 42 represents the upper variation that is likely , if all the tolerances are in one direction , and line 44 shows the effect for the opposite tolerance variation . as can be appreciated , the actual sensitivity of the unit prior to calibration , could be represented by a line somewhere between lines 44 and 42 . the method of calibration after determining two points such as point 46 and point 48 associated with line 44 , allows calculation of the slope of line 44 and the need to increase the light intensity . the light intensity can be increased or decreased , based on prior experience to attempt to achieve the slope of line 40 . the corrected line 44 is basically adjusted to achieve the same slope as line 40 , however , the “ y ” intercept of the graph will typically be different than the “ y ” intercept of line 40 . by providing the same slope , the smoke detector over the range of 0 . 5 to 2 . 5 percent per foot obscuration will respond in a similar manner and has the same sensitivity . the smoke detectors will have different offset values corresponding to the respective “ y ” intercepts . the adjusted sensitivity of the smoke detector can again be tested at the two atmosphere concentrations and determining the slope . once it is known that the desired slope has been achieved , then a determination of the “ y ” intercept or offset value can be made . this offset value is the signal that is present in a clean atmosphere and this offset value is recorded by the smoke detector . the recorded value is used by the smoke detector for determining different alarm points . given that the slope is the same for all units , or essentially the same for all smoke detectors , a fixed value can be added to the recorded offset value to determine the alarm point . in some cases , several alarm points are calculated and can be used . for example , fig3 shows the alarm points which correspond to 1 percent , 1 . 5 percent , 2 . 5 percent , 3 percent and 3 . 5 percent obscuration . unless instructed otherwise , the smoke detector typically has a default alarm level corresponding to 2 . 5 percent . fig3 shows the desired line 40 and adjusted sensitivity lines 42 a and 44 a . all of these lines have the same slope , and as such , each of the smoke detectors has the same sensitivity . line 44 a has an offset value of approximately 0 . 4 , line 40 has an offset value of 0 . 5 , and line 42 a has an offset value of 0 . 6 . each of these values is recorded by the respective smoke detector . the wide tolerance variation of the uncalibrated smoke detectors of fig2 are shown in fig3 . each of the smoke detectors represented by the three different sensitivity lines have the same sensitivity over the indicated alarm points between 1 and 3 . 5 . each of these detectors would have recorded their offset value and use this value in combination with a predetermined value to determine the alarm level . for example , at the default alarm level 2 . 5 , the smoke detector represented by line 40 has its alarm level indicated by 52 which has a value of 1 . 75 . as can be seen , the smoke detector has an offset value of 0 . 5 and as such , the predetermined amount of 1 . 25 has been added to the offset value of 0 . 5 and thus , results in the alarm 52 of 1 . 75 . in this example , the smoke detector represented by sensitivity line 44 a , has an offset value of 0 . 4 , and as such , would have an alarm point indicated by 54 having a value of 1 . 65 . similarly , the smoke detector represented by sensitivity line 42 a will have an alarm point indicated as 56 with a value of 1 . 85 . the predetermined values for 1 , 1 . 5 , 2 , 3 and 3 . 5 , are also constant and based on the predetermined desired sensitivity indicated by the slope of the lines . the offset value is assessed once the desired slope has been obtained . as can be appreciated , adjustment of the output of the led will vary the slope of the line and if necessary , the calibration can go through a series of steps until the desired slope is obtained . one of the advantages of the calibration of the smoke detector is the ease with which a control or alarm panel can communicate with the smoke detector and change the alarm points . as stated , the smoke detectors are calibrated such that they have a generally equal sensitivity . each smoke detector records a clean air value which is used for determining the alarm threshold based on adding to this value a predetermined amount based on the percentage obscuration which is to be measured . for example , the control panel can merely instruct all the smoke detectors to add to their intercept value , the appropriate value for an alarm condition at 2 . 5 . it would also be possible for the control panel to instruct certain of the smoke detectors to use an alarm level of 1 . 5 and other detectors to operate at an alarm level of 2 . 5 as far as the control panel is concerned , the smoke detector merely takes the value provided or the instruction provided by the control panel and performs the appropriate calculation to determine the alarm point . it has also been found that by achieving a consistent sensitivity , the response of all smoke detectors is more uniform and the effect of aging components and / or the accumulation of some dust in the smoke detectors is more consistent and causes less difficulty . as can be appreciated , there can be a small drop in the sensitivity due to aging of the components which results in the slope of the line marginally decreasing , and the line shifting slightly , downwardly . this would correspond to a reduction in the output of the led for example . this possible condition can be compensated for by using a number of different techniques . one technique is to maintain a history of readings of the smoke detector over a long period of time and this assumption assumes that on average , the atmosphere which is presented to the smoke detector should be consistent . if there is a reduction in the output of the photo detector , then this reduction is due to aging of the components and based on the amount of reduction , suitable compensation can be made as will be explained relative to fig5 . as the age of the smoke detector increases , it is also possible that there can be an accumulation of dust particles in the chamber and this causes the signal to increase . again , based on an historical average or suitable testing procedure , this can be tracked over time and suitable adjustments can be made . fig4 has a center response line 80 which is the calibrated response at the time of manufacture . lines 82 and 84 represent a higher response due to two different dust accumulation levels . this type of condition generally maintains the slope but shifts the response line up . in contrast , lines 86 and 88 are of decreasing slope and represent field conditions due to age , such as reduced led output . a higher signal due to dust can have a fixed adjustment value based on measured signals . aging of components requires a different approach . fig5 shows the normal calibrated response line 100 and top line 101 where a constant value is added to all alarm values . unfortunately , as shown in fig4 , a constant or fixed adjustment value does not fully correct for the reduction in slope . in fig5 it can be seen that there are a series of lines 102 which include transition points in advance of various set obscuration points , namely ; at 1 percent , 2 percent , 3 percent and 4 percent . the historical value of the smoke detector is compared with its stored value and if this has dropped somewhat , then appropriate compensation can be determined as a function of the alarm level . the compensation lines indicated at n 1 through n 6 show six compensation examples . the straight line approximation for compensation for reduced response over the entire obscuration operating range has not proven entirely satisfactory and it is desirable to provide a series of steps shortly before the alarm points . as shown in fig5 , a straight line approximation is used in stages with one stage being for values between alarm point 1 and 1 . 5 based on a corrected historical value . for example , it may have been determined that the sensitivity was decreased from the original response line 100 to drop down two lines to the line indicated as 102 . based on this historical assessment , the alarm points can then be corrected depending upon what particular alarm point has been set by the control panel or the smoke detector . thus , the correction line 102 which is made up of a series of step segments to change the amount of correction as the senses signal increases . the straight line segments of line 102 make the calculation relatively simple for each stage and the series of straight line segments adjusts for the changing slope . the amount of correction in this case is the difference between line 100 and line 102 . in this case , the alarm level is reduced by this difference which varies in stages as the sensed obscuration increases . a fixed corrective amount is known based on historical values and this corrective value is increased in stages as the sensed level of obscuration increases . in this way , the correct compensation is calculated as a function of the assessed normal value and the sensed response level . basically line 102 shows the corrected value although there are various ways to perform this adjustment in the smoke detector . although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
a production example of the thin - film laminate according to one aspect of the present invention is described below . the production example is described below taking an evaluation sample of example 1 described later as an example . a polyimide insulating film (“ ct4112 ” manufactured by kyocera chemical corporation ) was applied to a cleaned glass substrate by spin coating , and baked at 190 ° c . for one hour in air . the sample was then introduced into a vacuum deposition device . after adjusting the degree of vacuum to about 3 × 10 − 6 torr , pentacene ( deposition rate : 0 . 3 { acute over ( å )}/ s ) ( resistive heating method ) and al 2 o 3 ( deposition rate : 0 . 1 { acute over ( å )}/ s ) ( electron - beam deposition method ) were alternately stacked at a substrate temperature of 70 ° c . to obtain a [ pentacene ( bilayer )/ al 2 o 3 ( 5 { acute over ( å )})]× 13 / pentacene ( bilayer ) structure . in the examples , a pair of a pentacene layer and an inorganic layer was stacked 13 times in order to obtain a given total thickness . the number of layers may be determined corresponding to the application . a pentacene bilayer and an al 2 o 3 film ( thickness : about 5 { acute over ( å )}) were alternately deposited 13 times , and a pentacene bilayer was stacked on the laminate according to the above production method . fig1 shows an afm image ( atomic force micrograph ) of the thin - film laminate . the surface roughness ( mr ) was very small ( 2 nm ). a thin - film laminate with excellent flatness was obtained . a pentacene bilayer and an al 2 o 3 film ( thickness : about 10 { acute over ( å )}) were alternately deposited 13 times , and a pentacene bilayer was stacked on the laminate . fig2 shows an afm image of the thin - film laminate . when the al 2 o 3 film had a thickness of 10 { acute over ( å )} the surface roughness was 19 . 6 nm . specifically , the effect of the thickness of the al 2 o 3 film on the surface roughness was observed . fig3 shows an afm image of a thin - film laminate obtained by depositing an sio x film ( thickness : about 5 { acute over ( å )}) instead of the al 2 o 3 film . in this case , the surface roughness was 15 . 8 nm . specifically , the effect of the inorganic material on the surface roughness was observed . fig4 shows an afm image of a thin - film laminate obtained by depositing a pentacene film ( thickness : about 100 { acute over ( å )}) and an al 2 o 3 film ( thickness : about 10 { acute over ( å )}) three times , and forming a pentacene film ( thickness : 100 { acute over ( å )}) on the resulting laminate . fig5 shows an afm image of a sample obtained by depositing only pentacene to a thickness of 400 { acute over ( å )}. the sample had a surface roughness of 6 . 7 nm , and had a dendritic structure . example 1 is compared with comparative example 1 . the sample of comparative example 1 obtained by depositing only pentacene to a thickness of 400 { acute over ( å )} had a dendritic film structure . in the laminate of example 1 obtained by stacking pentacene and the al 2 o 3 layer ( 5 { acute over ( å )}) the pentacene thin film had a uniform superlattice structure . moreover , the laminate had a surface roughness of 2 nm ( i . e . very flat ). it is important that the surface roughness be 5 nm or less when applying the laminate structure according to one aspect of the invention to the organic semiconductor substrate of the organic transistor according to another aspect of the invention . the pentacene thin film was prevented from having a three - dimensional structure by merely reducing the thickness of the pentacene thin film to 100 { acute over ( å )} or less ( see example 4 ). the thickness of the pentacene thin film may be reduced to 50 { acute over ( å )} or less corresponding to the application , for example . since the superlattice structure and the surface roughness value are affected by the thickness of the inorganic insulating thin film , the thickness of one layer may be reduced to 5 { acute over ( å )} or less when flatness is desired . since the thin - film laminate according to one aspect of the present invention is a semiconductor film formed of an organic material that has an amorphous structure , but has a uniform superlattice structure , the thin - film laminate is expected to have various effects such as a reduction in resistance , a change in activation energy , resonant tunneling , an increase in mobility of a transistor , or an increase in photoluminescence intensity . the organic transistor according to another aspect of the invention was produced using the laminate structure according to one aspect of the invention , and evaluated . a top contact structure shown in fig7 was used as the structure of the organic transistor . a [ pentacene ( bilayer ( 2ml ))/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})]× n ( n = 0 to 4 )/ pentacene ( 2ml ) structure was formed on a ta gate electrode / polyimide insulating film ( 1600 { acute over ( å )}, “ ct4112 ” manufactured by kyocera chemical corporation ), and an au electrode was formed as a source / drain to obtain a top contact osltft . the channel length was 0 . 5 to 2 mm , and the channel width was 2 mm . a device ( organic transistor ) including a pentacene film having a thickness of 40 nm was produced as a comparative example . a device 1 had a bilayer ( 2ml ) pentacene structure , a device 2 had a pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml ) structure , a device 3 had a pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml ) structure , a device 4 had a pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )}) structure and a device 5 had a pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml )/ α - npd ( 31 { acute over ( å )})/ pentacene ( 2ml ) structure . these devices were evaluated . fig8 to 12 show the characteristics of the resulting transistors . fig8 shows the transistor characteristics when using the pentacene film having a thickness of 40 nm ( comparative example ). the device 1 did not operate . fig9 shows the transistor characteristics of the device 2 . fig1 shows the transistor characteristics of the device 3 . fig1 shows the transistor characteristics of the device 4 , fig1 shows the transistor characteristics of the device 5 . fig1 summarizes the characteristic values obtained from the transistor characteristics . the transistor of the device 1 did not operate . the devices 2 and 3 had a mobility of 1 . 35 cm 2 / vs and 1 . 25 cm 2 / vs , a threshold voltage of − 14 . 5 v and − 10 . 0 v , an on / off ratio of 4 . 6 × 10 4 and 10 6 , and an on - resistance of 1 . 35 mω and 0 . 56 mω , respectively . a high mobility that exceeds a normal pentacene transistor ( comparative example ) was obtained by the devices 2 and 3 . the device 3 had the highest on / off ratio . the threshold value of the organic transistor changed by changing the number of layers . specifically , the threshold value could thus be controlled . the thin - film laminate according to one aspect of the present invention can be utilized for flexible organic display panels . rfid drivers , optical sensor and optical scanner drivers , composite integrated circuits , and the like . | 7 |
the fuel cell assembly 1 in the appended drawing accordingly includes a fuel cell 2 and an actuating element 3 , e . g ., a purge valve , for venting residual gas from an anode - side fuel flow , which element , to that end , is actuated as a function of certain operating parameters by a control unit 4 that is equipped with an open - loop and / or closed - loop control system 4 . 1 . the operating parameters may preferably be the concentration values for pure fuel , or the further residual gas components , such as nitrogen or water vapor . for supplying the fuel cell 2 with fuel , a fuel reservoir 5 , for instance , is connected via a valve 6 and , downstream in the supply direction , a pressure regulator 7 and a fuel metering unit 8 to a fuel supply line 9 . through the inlet 10 , the thus - delivered fuel gas , preferably hydrogen or a gas mixture containing hydrogen , such as reformate gas , enters the anode side of the fuel cell 2 in the form of a volumetric flow that is at an appropriate pressure . in operation of the fuel cell , only some of the hydrogen is used for generating electrical energy . the unused amount of delivered gas leaves again through the anode - side outlet 11 of the fuel cell 2 . to avoid high hydrogen losses , this residual gas is fed back into the supply line 9 by means of a recirculation device 13 , via a recirculation path 12 , at a feedback point 14 . for coupling the control unit 4 to the various units of the fuel cell assembly , as well as for supplying energy and optionally outputting further signals to other open - and / or closed - loop control units , the input vector 15 and the output vector 16 are shown symbolically in the drawing . in particular , these two vectors include forwarding signals from detection units 17 , 18 , 19 to the control unit 4 , and from the control unit 4 to the actuating element 3 . a first detection unit is represented for instance by the fuel concentration sensor 17 , which is connected to the recirculation path 12 at the outlet 11 . preferably , in this exemplary embodiment , it is a hydrogen sensor with high sensitivity in the range of high hydrogen concentrations , so that as high - resolution and precise a signal as possible for the operating situation then occurs predominantly can be made available to the control unit 4 . if a predeterminable minimum concentration value of pure fuel in the residual gas is undershot , the control unit 4 forwards a signal , via the output vector 16 , for actuating the actuating element 3 in order to vent a certain quantity of residual gas from the fuel flow , via this so - called “ purge device ”. as a result , a comparatively highly concentrated fuel then flows into the anode region of the fuel cell , since now , the fuel cell is supplied essentially only via the fuel metering unit supplied from the fuel reservoir 5 . with this increased partial pressure of the fuel , the electrical voltage induced by the fuel cell increases in turn at the electrical terminal elements , not shown , of the fuel cell 2 . the dynamics of the fuel cell are markedly improved as well , particularly at high fuel gas consumption . a second possible way of signaling a decreasing fuel concentration in the fuel flow is attained by the disposition of a nitrogen concentration sensor 18 , which is likewise connected to the control unit 4 via the input vector 15 . if a certain nitrogen concentration is exceeded , which can occur for instance from diffusion from the cathode side of the fuel cell 2 to the anode side , then the purge valve 3 as described above can be actuated again by the control unit 4 . a further possible way of actuating this purge valve 3 because of impermissible conditions in the fuel flow can be brought about by signalling an overly high water vapor concentration by means of a suitable concentration sensor 19 . for the sake of simplicity , this water vapor concentration sensor 19 is simultaneously shown as a nitrogen concentration sensor 18 . however , for implementation , selectively only one of these sensors , or two of them in separate versions , will be provided . however , a combined embodiment of this kind with both sensors , or with the fuel concentration sensor 17 , is also conceivable . however , all three can be combined as well . a further possible way of actuating the purge valve 3 is proposed by the detection of a relevant variable of the power consumption of the fuel recirculation device 13 . in a preferred embodiment , a detection means of this kind is an electrical or electronic component that detects current , voltage or power and that is preferably accommodated in the control unit 4 , so that no additional signal lines are necessary . however , it is understood that a separate embodiment of these components is also possible . still another possibility for triggering or regulating the purge valve , depending on the embodiment of the valve and of the control unit 4 , is possible by detecting the rpm of a rotating element of the recirculation device 13 , for instance by means of an rpm meter 21 . the signal made available to the control unit 4 by a suitable conversion of the rpm can for instance act as an input vector of a computation algorithm , which when linked with a reserved set of parameters serves to actuate the purge valve 3 . particularly by the reservation of fuel concentrations associated with various rotary speeds of the rpm meter and / or concentrations of unwanted other gas ingredients in the residual gas , an exact determination of the composition of the residual gas is possible . the triggering and regulation of the purge valve 3 by the control unit 4 can become variously complex . in a simple embodiment , if a critical value of a residual gas proportion is undershot or exceeded for a defined length of time , a purge valve embodied as a simple switching valve can be triggered and then closed again by retraction of this signal . for more - sophisticated or finer metering , a regulating system can be provided in which the control unit 4 switches a suitably embodied valve 3 either in various steps , or optionally regulates it in graduated or continuously variable fashion . by means of such an embodiment , the duration of the purging operation can be adapted optimally to the applicable operating state of the fuel cell . the foregoing relates to the preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention , it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention , the latter being defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 - 3 , a first embodiment a of a gasket of the present invention is shown . the gasket a is a cylinder head gasket and is provided with a plurality of cylinder holes hc , water holes hw , oil holes ho , bolt holes hb and push rod holes hp . areas around the water holes hw and oil holes ho are sealed in accordance with the present invention . however , if required , the bolt holes hb and push rod holes hp may be sealed as in the present invention . in regard to the cylinder holes hc , since high temperature and high pressure are applied , it is preferable to seal around the cylinder holes hc by other sealing mechanisms . however , in case high temperature and high pressure are not applied to the gasket , it is possible to seal around the cylinder hole hc in accordance with the present invention . the present invention may be used as a secondary seal around the cylinder hole hc . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the gasket a comprises a plate a10 extending the entire area of the gasket . the plate a10 is formed of a gasket material , such as a combination of rubber and organic or inorganic fibers . the plate a10 may be a ductile metal or steel plate . as shown in fig2 hard coatings all are formed on upper and lower surfaces of the plate a10 to surround the water hole hw . the hard coating all has low permanent distortion against compression , and shows low creep relaxation . namely , the hard coating all are not substantially crushed when the gasket a is compressed at high temperature . as a result , when the gasket a is actually used , the hard coating all can provide surface pressure around the water hole hw without creep relaxation . the hard coating all is formed around the water hole hw by screen printing . the hard coating all may be formed of epoxy resin , silicone resin , fluorine resin and so on . hardness of the hard coating all is harder than h in pencil hardness , i . e . h - 8h . the thickness of the hard coating is 2 - 100 micra . soft coatings a12 are formed over the entire upper and lower surfaces of the plate a10 and the hard coatings all . the soft coating a12 is excellent in resiliency and sealing ability . further , the soft coating a12 can fill in small scratches or grooves formed on the cylinder head due to cutter tracings . namely , the surface of the cylinder head abutting against the gasket is smoothed by the soft coating a12 , so that the cylinder head can smoothly slide or expand over the gasket when heated . the soft coatings a12 are formed over the plate a10 and the hard coatings all by screen printing . the soft coating a12 may be nbr gum , fluorine gum , silicone gum and so on . the hardness of the soft coating is softer than f in pencil hardness , i . e . f - 8b . the thickness of the soft coatings a12 is 5 - 100 micra , preferably 5 - 30 micra . in case the water hole hw and oil hole ho are arranged adjacent to each other , the hard coatings need not be separately formed . as shown in fig1 and 3 , the hard coatings all &# 39 ; may be combined together to surround the two holes . in the gasket a , the hard coatings all , all &# 39 ; are formed around the water holes hw and oil holes ho , and the soft coatings a12 are formed over the hard coatings and the rest of the plate a10 . therefore , when the gasket a is tightened , the hard coatings all , all &# 39 ; provide high surface pressure around the water holes hw and oil holes ho to securely seal therearound . the soft coatings a12 fill in small scratches or grooves on the cylinder head ( not shown ) and improve sealing ability . therefore , the gasket can securely seal around the water holes hw and oil holes ho . since the hard coatings all , all &# 39 ; and soft coatings a12 are formed by screen printing , it is easy to form the hard and soft coatings on the plate a10 . further , the surface pressure can be easily changed by changing the thickness of the hard coatings . further , since the hard coatings all , all &# 39 ; are formed to provide surface pressure around the holes , it is possible to use the minimum amount or thickness of the soft coating . as a result , creep relaxation of the soft coating can be minimized . fig4 shows a second embodiment b of a gasket of the present invention . the gasket b is a steel laminate gasket and is formed of upper , middle and lower plates b15 , b16 , b17 . the upper plate b15 is provided with a hard coating b11 around the water hole hw , and a soft coating b12 above the entire area of the upper plate b15 . the hard and soft coatings b11 , b12 are the same as the hard and soft coatings a11 , a12 . the middle plate b16 is situated under the upper plate b15 , and is provided with soft coatings b18 on both surfaces thereof . the soft coating b18 is the same as the soft coating b12 and prevents fluid from entering between the plates . the lower plate b17 is provided with the hard coating b11 around the water hole hw , and the soft coating b12 as in the upper plates , which are formed on a lower surface of the lower plate b17 . when the gasket b is situated between the cylinder head and cylinder block ( both not shown ) and is tightened , the hard coatings b11 are not crashed and provide surface pressure around the water hole hw . the soft coatings b12 , b18 securely seal around the water hole hw . the gasket b operates substantially the same as the gasket a . fig5 shows a third embodiment c of a gasket of the present invention . the gasket c is a steel laminate gasket and comprises upper , middle and lower plates c15 , c16 , c17 . the upper and lower plates c15 , c17 includes soft coatings c18 on outer surfaces thereof . the middle plate c16 is similar to the gasket a , and is provided with hard coatings c11 around the water hole hw , and soft coatings c12 . the hard coatings c11 and soft coatings c12 , c18 are the same as the hard coatings all and soft coating a12 in the gasket a . in the gasket c , since the hard coatings c11 are formed on the middle plate c16 , when the gasket c is tightened , strong sealing pressure is especially formed between the plates . in the gasket c , sealing between the plates is especially excellent . the gasket c operates as in the gasket b . in the present invention , areas around the fluid holes can be easily and securely sealed . further , there is no significant decrease of surface pressure around the fluid hole in long usage . while the invention has been explained with reference to the specific embodiments of the invention , the explanation is illustrative and the invention is limited only by the appended claims . | 5 |
first , a mathematical structure of a fault - resistant system ( frs ) is disclosed . a model of frs is concisely explained and a formal mathematical description is subsequently discussed as follows . in most public key cryptosystems , though they can perform a modular multiplication operation only , their structure is actually a ring ( z n ,+,·), called a ring of an integer modulo n , which is a commutative ring with identity . in an rsa system , n is a composite , while in other public - key cryptosystems , n may be a large prime . the error detecting / correcting ability of a common error detecting / correcting code is designed for errors which have occurred during a message transmission only . since there is no operation between codewords in the error detecting / correcting code , there is no need for any operation structure in codeword spaces . the error detecting ability of the frs is designed to detect the errors which have occurred within the modular multiplication operation in ring ( z n ,+,·). to provide an ability for error detection , the distance between message words should be enlarged while they are being encoded into codewords . that is , a message space , a ring ( z n ,+,·) and an original structure of the public - key cryptosystem are mapped into a sufficiently large encoding space , ring ( z m ,+,·) with m & gt ; n , and a multiplication modulo n is converted into a multiplication modulo m . for saving results of the multiplication operation , the mathematical structure of the codeword space , 0that is , an image of the ring ( z n ,+,·) contained therein , must be isomorphic to the original message space ( z n ,+,·) to ensure the final result is correct . thus , an frs system should embed the original message space ( z n ,+,·) into an extended ring ( z m ,+,·) and then operate on the extended ring instead . a problem exists in what an encoding space ( z m ,+,·) is and how to find a suitable one . a complete description of z m and an algorithm for implementing the frs system will be given sequentially as follows . here , terminologies of algebra such as semigroup , group , ring , field , commutative semigroup , commutative ring , etc . are assumed to be known to those who are skilled in the art . an element i in a ring ( r ,+,·.) is said to be idempotent , if i · i = i . for both x and y εs , is said to be a homomorphism of s into s &# 39 ;. moreover , f is called an isomorphism of s if f is injective , that is , if f ( x )= f ( y ) implies x = y . a mapping between two rings is called a homomorphism if it is a homomorphism to both operations of rings respectively . a homomorphism is called an isomorphism if it is injective . a semigroup ( ring ) s is said to be isomorphic to a semigroup ( ring ) s &# 39 ;, denoted symbolically by s ≅ s &# 39 ;, if there exists an isomorphism from s onto s &# 39 ;. a ring r is said to be embedded into a ring r &# 39 ; if there exists a subring s &# 39 ; of r &# 39 ; such that r ≅ s &# 39 ; and the isomorphism from r onto s &# 39 ; is called an embedded mapping and r &# 39 ; is an extended ring of r . an element a in a group g having a power of n is equal to an identity e where n & gt ; 0 , that is , a n = e . no other positive integer power of a is smaller than n and n is called an order of a which is denoted by o ( a ). the order of a finite group is the number of elements in the group . it should be noted that a group homomorphism maps the identity of one group into the identity of another group and a ring homomorphism maps the zero of one ring into the zero of another ring . however , the ring homomorphism does not always map the identity of one ring r with identity into the identity of another ring r &# 39 ;. in fact , if f is an embedded mapping from z n into z m , then an image f ( z n ) is an ideal of z m . an ideal of a ring with identity contains no invertible element of the ring and consequently contains no invertible element of z m , that is , the identity 1 &# 39 ; of z m is not contained in f ( z n ) at all . on the other hand , the f ( z n ), being isomorphic to z n , itself is a ring with identity and must possess multiplicative identity of its own , which is not the same as the identity of the whole ring z m . the image f ( a ) of an invertible element a of z n possesses an inverse in f ( z n ) during a multiplication operation of z m while f ( a ) may be not invertible in z m . two questions arise , which are : what is the identity of f ( z n ) and how can it be mapped . the following sets out a description to z m . theorem 1 : let n , m be two positive integers with m & gt ; n . if f is a nontrivial isomorphism from a ring z n into a ring z m , then ( 2 ). f ( 1 )= 1 &# 39 ;, where 1 and 1 &# 39 ; are identities of z n and z m respectively . ( 3 ). f ( 1 )= i , where i is an idempotent element of order n . theorem 2 : z n can be embedded into z m if and only if ( 2 ). there exists an idempotent element of order n in z m . lemma 3 : let a & lt ; m , and let g = gcd ( a , m ) with a = ga &# 39 ;, m = gm &# 39 ; and gcd ( a &# 39 ;, m &# 39 ;)= 1 . then a is n - preserved in z m if and only if n ≦ m &# 39 ;. corollary 4 : let a & lt ; m , and let g , a &# 39 ;, m &# 39 ; be the same as defined in lemma 3 . then a in z m is an element of order n if and only if n = m &# 39 ;. theorem 5 : if gcd ( r , n )= 1 and r · r *= 1 ( mod n ), then i = r · r * is an idempotent element of order n both in z nr and z nr *. according to theorem 2 and theorem 5 , it is clear that a mapping defined by f ( a )= arr * ( mod nr ) from z n into z nr is an embedding and an implementation of frs should embed the rsa space z n into a larger space z nr to provide the ability for detecting errors . next , an implementation of the frs is described . in the frs , a ring z n is embedded into an extended ring z nr and then operated thereon . except the difference in a bit length , the fault - resistant addition and multiplication operations in z nr are the same as those in z n . therefore , no special adder or multiplier is required in the frs . in the frs , since message space z n is embedded into z nr and then operated therein , an encoder is needed to map a message x in z n into a codeword x in z nr by using x = xi ( mod nr ), where i is defined as in theorem 5 . first , a message x of the frs is sent to an input terminal of the encoder where the message x is encoded into a codeword x , and then , an output of the encoder , which is the codeword x , is checked to ensure there is no error in an encoding process by examining whether x = x ( mod n ) is hold or not . after the original message x has been encoded into the codeword x successfully , the codeword x is stored into a memory or executed a further computational operation immediately . an error - checking operation should be performed to detect any possible computational errors whenever after one fundamental calculation ( an addition or a multiplication operation ) in the frs is done . such an operation is performed to check whether this result is still a codeword in z nr , that is , whether this result can be divisible by r or not . all computational operations in the frs are performed in z nr . a final result of a desired encryption / decryption should be extracted from z nr . accordingly , a decoder is required to inversely map the final result z in z nr to a z in z n by using z = z ( mod n ). fig1 shows a fault - resistant multiplier . an input x of a first encoder 10 is in a ring z n and an output thereof is in a ring z nr . similarly , another input y of a second encoder 20 is also in the ring z n and another output y thereof is in the ring z nr . an encoding process is made by performing an encoding operation by using a mapping equation x = xr · r * ( mod nr ) and y = yr · r * in the encoders 10 , 20 , respectively . to make sure that no error has occurred during the encoding process , the output x of the first encoder 10 is sent to a first error - checking device 30 to check whether x = x ( mod n ) is held or not . in a similar way , the output y of the second encoder 20 is sent to a second error - checking device 40 to check whether y = y ( mod n ) is held or not . if the conditions are held , that is , there is no error found in the error - detecting devices 30 and 40 , x and y are inputted to a modular multiplier 50 after the original messages x and y are respectively encoded into codewords x and y , but the encoding process is stopped if there is an error found . the modular multiplier 50 performs operations in z nr . an output z of the modular multiplier 50 is sent to a third error - checking device 60 to check whether z = xy ( mod nr ) is satisfied . z will be decoded to z = z ( mod n )= xy ( mod n ) by a decoder 70 if the error - checking operation is successfully performed , and an alarm is generated otherwise . to an ordinary chinese remainder theory ( crt ), a fast crt algorithm for an rsa system has been carried out . a fault - resistant crt computation is discussed as follows . suppose p and q are integers with gcd ( p , q )= 1 , and p & lt ; q , then x can be figured out to satisfy the condition of 0 ≦ x & lt ; p * q , such that x = a ( mod p ) and x = b ( mod q ). and if the crt computation is required in the frs , since z p and z q are mapped to z pr and z qr and gcd ( pr , qr )= r = 1 , the fast crt algorithm described above must be modified to a general form as follows . suppose p , q and r are pairwise coprime integers with p & lt ; q , x can be figured out to satisfy the condition of 0 ≦ x & lt ; p * q * r , such that x = a ( mod pr ), x = b ( mod qr ) with r |( a - b ). then x = crt ( pqr , pr , qr , a , b ), that is where uq = 1 ( mod p ). here , ((( a -( b mod pr ))· u ) mod p ) in case 1 is computed in ring z pr as stated in section 4 and an error checking operation is made thereafter , whereafter the result is then mapped back to ring z p so as to preserve the error detecting ability . the last portion of a multiplication by qr and an addition to b in case 1 is made in z rn . the computation in case 2 is similar to that in case 1 . in a fault - resistant exponential computation , an exponent is not encoded and the exponential computation is done by multiplying a multiplier itself iteratedly , and thus the exponent is assumed to be error - free . all the operations in the exponential computation are the same as those in an ordinary exponential computation except the difference in the length of an operand and an error checking operation which is performed after each multiplication operation is done . therefore , the most famous method such as a square - and - multiply or sliding - windows can be applied thereto . an integer is referred to as square - free if all of its prime divisors are not repeated . a square - free integer s has a characteristic of s | p if and only if s | p 2 and p can be any integer . therefore , if the parameter s is square - free , then the number of times of executing the error checking operation can be reduced when applying the square - and - multiply or sliding - windows method shown in the following algorithm . a preferable choice of the parameter s is 2 32 - 1 which will be discussed in the next section . in fact , the probability of a large integer being square - free is about 0 . 61 and thus most integers are all square - free . an efficient algorithm called algorithm frsexp for a modular exponential computation using the square - and - multiply method is described as follows . algorithm using the sliding - windows method can be done in a similar way . the algorithm frsexp ensures the probability of failing to detect errors is 1 / r when an error is generated during the computation . let a binary representation of a secret key be d - d l - 1 d l - 2 . . . d 1 d 0 and d l - 1 = 1 . a signature c = m d ( mod nr ) with d from the most significant bit ( msb ) to the least significant bit ( lsb ) can be calculated by the aforementioned algorithm . a final result of the exponential computation can be extracted from c by c = c ( mod n ), if necessary . this algorithm can be easily modified to calculate the signature . note that the algorithm can also be readily modified to compute the signature more efficiently if other fast algorithms for the exponential computation such as m - ary method and its variants are applied thereto . the modular exponential computation is shown below . ______________________________________function frsexp ( m , d , n , r )// input m , d , n , r // output c = m . sup . d ( mod nr ) i := rr *; s = im ( mod nr ); p = s ; for j = 1 - 2 down to 0 do { p = p . sup . 2 ( mod nr ); if d . sub . j = 1 then do { if rp then output &# 34 ; erroneous computation &# 34 ; and stop . else p = ps ( mod nr );}}; if rp then output &# 34 ; erroneous computation &# 34 ; and stop . else c = p ( mod nr );} ______________________________________ a fault - resistant crt - based exponential computation by the case of rsa is shown below . let r p *, r q *, r p - 1 and r q - 1 , satisfy rr p *= 1 ( mod p ), rr q *= 1 ( mod q ), r p - 1 r p *= 1 ( mod pr ) and r q - 1 r q *= 1 ( mod qr ), respectively . let d p = d ( mod p ) and d q = d ( mod q ). ______________________________________function frscrt - rsa ( m , d , n , p , q , r )// input m , d , n , p , q , r // output c = m . sup . d ( mod nr ) d . sub . p = d ( mod p ); d . sub . q = d ( mod q ); x . sub . 1 = frsexp ( m , d . sub . p , p , r ); // x . sub . 1 = ( rr . sub . p * m ). sup . dp ( modpr ) y . sub . 1 = x . sub . 1 · r . sub . p . sup .- 1 ( mod pr ); x . sub . 2 = frsexp ( m , d . sub . q , q , r ); // x . sub . 2 = ( rr . sub . q * m ). sup . d ( modqr ); y . sub . 2 = x . sub . 2 · r . sub . q . sup .- 1 ( mod qr ); p = crt ( pqr , pr , qr , y . sub . 1 , y . sub . 2 ); if rp then output &# 34 ; erroneous computation &# 34 ; and stop . else c = p ( mod nr );} ______________________________________ the crt and exponential computations required in the above algorithm have been discussed in sections 5 and 6 . now ; a fault - detecting ability of frs is described as follows . the fault - detecting ability of frs can be divided into a memory fault - detecting ability and a computational fault - detecting ability . let x be the secret key to be stored in a memory . at first , x is encoded to x and then stored in the memory . assuming that memory faults exist in the memory and a fetched secret key is x &# 39 ;= x + e , where e denotes the memory faults . in a decoding process , if rx &# 39 ;, that is , x &# 39 ; is not divisible by r , then the memory faults can be detected . however , if x &# 39 ; is divisible by r , then the memory faults cannot be detected . obviously , if x &# 39 ; can be viewed as a random integer in z nr , then the probability that the memory faults cannot be detected is 1 / r . however , a detecting ability of a code is defined as a minimum hamming distance of the code according to a coding theory . that is , if the detecting ability of the code is k , then every memory fault e whose weight w ( e ) is less than k can be detected . thus , how to choose a parameter r in the frs such that the detecting ability is maximized when a range of r is given is introduced . here , the following shows that if r is selected to be r = 2 k - 1 for some k , then the error detecting ability of the disclosed frs would be k - 1 bits . let i be a set of all positive integers and let a , b , s be positive integers of n bits , and w ( a ) is denoted to be the hamming weight of a . the binary representations of a , b and s are a =( a n - 1 , a n - 2 , . . . , a 1 , a 0 ), b =( b n - 1 , b n - 2 , . . . , b 1 , b 0 ) and s =( s n - 1 , s n - 2 , . . . , s 1 , s 0 ), respectively . let c - 1 = 0 and let c i , i = 0 , 1 , . . . , n - 1 , be carries of the ith bit for the addition of a + b . #( a + b ) is defined to be the total number of the carries which equal to 1 in s = a + b . that is #( a + b )=#{ c i = 1 | c i =( a i ⊕ b i ) c i - 1 ( a 1 b i ), i = 0 , 1 , . . . , n - 1 } where ⊕, , , are bitwise operations of xor , and and or , respectively . a carry - chain of length l is a sequence of l + 1 carries & lt ; c i c 1 + 1 , . . . , c i + l & gt ; such that c i - 1 = c i + 1 = 0 and c i = c i + 1 = . . . = c i + l - 1 = 1 . the c i , c i + 1 are referred to as the chain - head and chain - rear respectively , while c j , i & lt ; j & lt ; i + l - 1 , are the chain - body . a carry c i is referred to as in - chain , if c i is in some carry - chain , otherwise it is referred to as unchained . corollary 9 : let e = e t 2 kt + e t - 1 2 k ( t - 1 ) + . . . + e 1 2 k + e 0 for some k ε i , t ε i ∪ { 0 }, and e i ε i with 0 ≦ e i & lt ; 2 k , i = 0 , 1 , . . . , t . then ## equ1 ## theorem 10 : let e be a positive integer and r = 2 k - 1 , for some k ε n . theorem 11 : if r is chosen to be 2 k - 1 , then the detecting ability for the memory fault in the disclosed frs is k - 1 . in other words , the minimum hamming distance in the disclosed frs is k if r is chosen to be 2 k - 1 . since z = xy ( mod nr )= xyrr * ( mod nr ), z will be divisible by r if no error has occurred . assuming that computational faults have occurred , let the faulty result be z &# 39 ;= z + e . if w ( e )& lt ; k , then rz &# 39 ; and the faults will also be detected . hence , the system can also resist the computational fault - based attacks . the probability that an error detection has failed is 1 / r . finally , the system will output z = z ( mod n )= xy ( mod n ) if the error checking condition is satisfied ; otherwise , the system outputs nothing but an alarm . in the last section , the performance of the frs and the optimal value of r are shown below . the disclosed frs has a low computational overhead , where the computational overhead is defined as : ## equ2 ## the o disc and o org denote the computational complexity in bit operations of the disclosed frs and the original scheme without the checking ability respectively . supposing that n and r are l and k bits in length respectively , then o org for the modular multiplication is l 2 , while o disc is ( l + k ) 2 , hence the computational overhead for the modular multiplication is ( 2kl + k 2 )/ l 2 . note that the computational overhead for the modular exponentiation required in rsa ( as well as in other cryptosystems ) is the same as that for the modular multiplication since the length of an exponent is the same for the disclosed frs and the original scheme . if l = 1024 and k = 32 , which are reasonable assumptions since l = 1024 satisfies a general security consideration and the detecting ability can be accepted , then the computational overhead is 6 . 3 %. therefore , the modular exponentiation can be computed correctly and efficiently through the frs . for the selection of the optimal value of r , the frs can detect up to k - 1 bits of errors in e . thus , the performance of the detecting ability will be enhanced with a large w ( r ). in this case , r = 2 k - 1 is a good choice for a fixed length of r . another advantage for r = 2 k - 1 is that the modular computations can be speeded up in this special case . let a = a t - 1 2 . sup . ( t - 1 ) k + a t - 2 2 . sup . ( t - 2 ) k + . . . + a 1 2 k + a 0 , where 1 ≦ a i & lt ; 2 k for 0 ≦ i ≦ t - 1 , and t =. left brkt - top . l / k . right brkt - top ., . left brkt - top . . right brkt - top . denotes a ceiling function . then the modular computations such as s = a ( mod r ) will be speeded up by ## equ3 ## ( mod r ). by repeatedly performing these processes , he modular exponential operation can be executed more quickly . with respect to the error - detecting probability , since the probability is 1 / r for an error detection failure , the performance will be enhanced for a large r . however , in this situation , the computational complexity will be increased . therefore , the value of r is a trade - off between the error - detecting ability and the computational complexity , but it is essential to choose a special form such as r = 2 k - 1 . a value of r = 2 32 - 1 is recommended for a bit length of 1024 bits of n . while the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification . therefore , it is to be understood that the invention disclosed herein is intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference first to fig1 , numeral 10 refers to portions of a general purpose semiconductor fabrication processing chamber shown as a partial sectional schematic . pedestal 20 has an embedded electrode 21 and provides a support surface 5 for wafer 8 during processing thereof . wafer 8 is shown in phantom for clarity from the remaining portions of fig1 . electrode 21 is charge conductive and provides , in conjunction with application of voltage from power supply 25 , electrostatic retention forces upon wafer 8 . while an electrostatic chuck is illustrated in fig1 , other chucking mechanizations and implementations may be utilized without departing from the present invention . lift pin mechanism 13 includes base 15 which carries a plurality of lift pins 18 a , 18 b , and 8 c . at least , and preferably , three such lift pins 18 are provided though more may be implemented in accordance with the present invention . each lift pin 18 breaches the pedestal 20 unimpeded . lift pin mechanism 13 is controlled between lift and lower positions and modes . in lift mode the lift pin mechanism 13 is controlled to an extended position wherein the lift pins 18 extend above the surface 5 of pedestal 20 . in the retracted mode the lift pin mechanism 13 is controlled to a retracted position wherein the lift pins 18 are recessed below the surface 5 of pedestal 20 . lift pin mechanism 13 is extended and retracted such as by pneumatic means 17 or any wide range of equivalent means including motors , servos , hydraulics , etc . in conventional operation , a water is transferred into the chamber through a slot valve ( not shown ) in the sidewall of the chamber by way of a fork or blade of a robotic transfer . cantilevered wafer transfer mechanisms , vacuum transfer mechanisms and other mechanisms not mentioned may be utilized in the transfer of wafers to the processing chamber . the wafer is placed upon the set of extended lift pins 18 . the lift mechanism is then retracted and the wafer placed in proximity to and supported at its backside by surface 5 of pedestal 20 . computer 29 may take the form of any properly configured general purpose computer , fabrication enterprise controller , or other programmable controller designed or capable of being adapted for implementing the control and sensing functions to be described . it is shown in the present exemplary embodiment being interfaced with power supply 25 and pneumatic means 17 for monitoring and controlling the operation of each of these systems . computer 29 may include such conventional elements as a central processing unit ( cpu ), read only memory ( rom ) ( including removable media drive and mass storage drives such as a hard drive ), random access memory ( ram ), clock , input / output ( i / o ) circuitry including buffering and conditioning circuitry including a / d and d / a converters . in addition to the previously describe conventional components , sensors 19 a , 19 b , 19 c comprising individual load cells are associated with the apparatus . while only one of the sensors is actually illustrated as interfaced with the computer 29 , each sensor is interfaced with computer 29 such that the sensors &# 39 ; outputs may be monitored and possibly controlled or conditioned as required . the load cells 19 are configured to sense and respond to load or force that is along the major axis of the lift pins . each sensor 19 is located preferably between the base 15 and each respective lift pin 18 . an exemplary embodiment of a sensor , base and lift pin configuration is described later with respect to fig3 . with additional reference to fig2 , the exemplary apparatus as shown in fig1 is shown , in part , in plan view . if one could see through the wafer 8 , the preferred arrangement of the three lift pins 18 would appear in the location of the solid large dots . each of the pins 18 is distributed to a different apex of an equilateral triangle 30 . the center of wafer 8 is designated by the solid crosshair (+) 27 and designates not only the geometric center but also the center of gravity of the wafer 8 . wafer 8 is shown in a properly oriented position or place t wherein the wafer 8 is placed central or symmetrical to the lift in layout . an out of position or mispositioned wafer is illustrated in phantom and labeled 8 ′. similar center marking is designated by the dashed crosshair (+) 27 ′. overlayed for illustration are the x and y axes of cartesian coordinate system shown as bold arrowed lines but not otherwise separately labeled other than by the adjacent x and y designations . the origin ( 0 , 0 ) of the coordinate system is selected to coincide with one of the lift pins 18 . furthermore , the x axis is arranged to be collinear with one leg of the equilateral triangle 30 . that is to say the x axis is coincident with one of the lift pins at the origin and with another of the lift pins being coincident with the x axis away from the origin . a wafer that is positioned upon a set of lift pins will exert a force upon each of the lift pins that it is in contact with . on a triangular patterned layout of lift pins , each of the lift pins will support a portion of the entire mass of the wafer . if the wafers are substantially uniform in their effective density or mass distribution then the mass distribution upon the lift pins of a regularly and repeatably placed wafer is similarly regular and repeatable and it is expected that such an arrangement would yield predictable mass , force or load measurements if so measured , such as by the exemplary sensors . in the present preferred arrangement , the lift pins are distributed in an equilateral triangle pattern . each of the lift pins is therefore an equivalent distance t from the other two lift pins , i . e . the distance t between 18 a and 18 b is equivalent to the distance t between 18 a and 18 c , and is equivalent to the distance t between 18 b and 18 c . a properly placed wafer is one that is centrally located upon the lift pins so arranged . the geometric center of the round wafer is aligned with the geometric center of the three lift pins . the geometric center of the round wafer also corresponds to the center of gravity thereto . in such a preferred arrangement it is expect that the load seen by the sensors will be equivalent . deviation from equivalency suggests reliably that the wafer is mispositioned . the precise position of the wafer can be determined from the known lay of the lift pins and the known center of gravity of the wafer . using the preferred layout of lift pins as described with respect to an equilateral triangle , the following mathematical expressions derived from the geometry of the equilateral triangle layout of the lift pins with a cartesian coordinate system as set forth in the description of fig2 may be utilized to simply and predictably determine the wafer position with respect to the location of its center of gravity relative to the coordinate system . other coordinate systems , for example a polar coordinate system , may be equally adaptable for the present invention . x = m 1 × 0 . 5 t + m 3 × t m 1 + m 2 + m 3 y = ( 3 / 2 ) × t × m 1 m 1 + m 2 + m 3 where t = an equivalent distance from one of the plurality of lift pins ( 18 a , 28 b , or 18 c ) to the other two lift pins , i . e . the distance t from pin 18 a to pin 18 b is equivalent to the distance from pin 18 a to pin 18 c , and is equivalent to the distance from 18 b to 18 c , m 1 = load at lift pin 18 b , m 2 = load at lift pin 18 a , and m 3 = load at lift pin 18 c . fig3 . illustrates an exemplary arrangement for a lift pin mechanism suitable to carry out the load sensing aspects of the present invention . lift pin 18 ′ is coupled at the end proximate to the base 15 ′ to load sensor 19 ′ and sensor 19 ′ is coupled to the base 15 ′ such that sensor is located between the lift pin 18 ′ and base 15 ′. load sensor 19 ′ is of a known variety of miniature or sub - miniature ring style load cells having an hermetic package 31 of stainless steel or similar material which houses a piezoelectric crystal . mounting studs 32 are located on opposite sides of the package and serve to attach the package to the lift pin 18 ′ and base 15 ′. the studs 32 also allow for the preloading of the sensor package as is known to be desirable . output 33 from package 31 may be conditioned or unconditioned . preferably , the output 33 is a conditioned output which requires internal microcircuit conventionally used to convert the charge generated by the piezoelectric element into a low impedance voltage signal , provide amplification or attenuation , and filtering as required . such sensors are typically referred to as voltage mode sensors whereas sensors without such conditioning are referred to as charge mode sensors . voltage mode sensors are preferred for many reasons , among which are relative immunity to such influences as cable movement , electromagnetic and radio frequency interference , and compatibility with conventional i / o interfaces . in a preferred implementation and practice , computer 29 ( fig1 ) executes certain instruction sets related to process control , sensor measurements , and calculations . preferably , the instruction sets to be described with respect to the present invention are part of a much larger set of instructions executed as part of the general process controls . fig4 generally sets forth steps related to a variety of functions corresponding to wafer loading prior to processing whereas fig5 generally sets forth steps related to a variety of functions corresponding to wafer removal subsequent to processing . first with reference to step 401 of fig4 , a wafer is robotically loaded into the processing chamber through a slit valve in the sidewall thereof . the wafer is transferred onto the lift pins from the robot blade . the load sensors are monitored or read at step 402 . a determination is next made at step 403 whether the wafer is broken . no load being sensed at the lift pins would indicate this . a broken wafer would set an alarm and preferably suspend operation as indicated by step 410 . the routine would terminate at that point with appropriate flags set to prevent continued execution of any routine to which the present routine would return . alternatively , an intact wafer would pass to step 404 whereat determination is made as to wafer position such as by the mathematical expressions previously described . an unacceptable position would be detected by step 405 and a negative response thereat . remedial action may then be taken as shown in step 409 whereat the wafer position would be adjusted , preferably in automated fashion by provision of the relevant position data to the robotic transfer mechanism . step 408 may optionally be implemented to cause the recalibration of the robotic transfer mechanism . such may be desirable in the event that analysis of multiple wafer transfers indicates that the wafer transfers statistically indicate a need for adjustment . such adjustments may be accomplished through software adjustments or trimming in many cases until appropriate mechanical adjustments can be made such as at scheduled maintenance intervals . this process is repeated beginning at step 402 until an acceptable position is achieved . an acceptable position on the other hand passes control to step 406 which indicates the general execution of the present substantive process control to take place in the chamber including retraction of the lift pins and chucking of the wafer to the pedestal . step 407 next represents steps to remove the wafer subsequent to processing as detailed in fig5 . with reference to fig5 the set of exemplary steps for wafer removal subsequent to processing is illustrated . at step 501 a chuck release is commanded . next at step 502 the lift pins are commanded to rise to separate the wafer from the pedestal . lift pin loads are monitored at step 503 . at step 504 if the lift pins are not completely extended then the lift is determined to be incomplete and lift pin loads can next be checked at step 505 . step 505 determines from the monitored loads and predetermine limits whether the loads are excessive . excessive loads indicate an incomplete dechucking and potential for wafer damage if continued increases of lift pin force is encountered . step 506 represents remedial process action in the event of lift pin loads being excessive . incomplete dechucking may merely require a wait state as indicated for charge to dissipate from the chuck and retention force to follow similarly . other remedial steps may be taken including recommending a dechucking , lowering or relaxing of the lift pin positions or operator interventions . for the present example it is assumed that a wait will rectify the incomplete dechucking and control subsequent to the wait is passed back to step 502 . where pin loads are indicated as not being too high at step 505 , control is looped back to step 503 . lift pin completion as indicated by an affirmative response at step 504 causes execution of a determination of whether the wafer is broken . as previous described , a broken wafer would be indicated by no load being sensed at the lift pins . a broken wafer would set an alarm and preferably suspend operation as indicated by step 509 . the routine would terminate at that point with appropriate flags set to prevent continued execution of any routine to which the present routine would return . alternatively , an intact wafer would pass to step 50 whereat wafer position is determined . a mispositioned wafer at this step may indicate that the release was too harsh and the wafer popped off of the pedestal or was not released smoothly . an acceptable position of the wafer as determined at step 510 would result in control being passed to step 511 whereat wafer removal steps including robotic transfer is controlled . an unacceptable position of the wafer as determined at step 510 would result in control being passed to step 512 whereat the positional information is communicated to the robotic transfer mechanism such that adjustments in the blade positioning can be made to account for the mispositioning . control would then pass to step 511 whereat wafer removal steps including robotic transfer are controlled . the invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments to be taken by way of example and not by way of limitation . certain alternative implementations and modifications may be apparent to one exercising ordinary skill in the art . therefore , the scope of invention as disclosed herein is to be limited only with respect to the appended claims . | 8 |
fig1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part handling device having a gripper mechanism turret according to the present invention installed thereon . fig2 is an enlarged perspective view of the gripper mechanism turret shown in fig1 with fragmentary adjacent portions of the part handling device . fig3 is a further enlarged perspective fragmentary view of the gripper mechanism turret shown in fig1 and 2 showing one of the gripper mechanisms ( without the gripper fingers ) shifted to a retracted position . fig4 is the same as fig3 but with the gripper mechanism shifted to the axially aligned , extended position . fig5 is a side elevational view of portions of the gripper mechanism turret , with only a single gripper mechanism shown shifted to the retracted position , and shown in phantom shifted to the extended position . fig6 is a transverse sectional view of the gripper mechanism itself . fig1 illustrates a part handling device comprised of a robot 10 , of a type widely available commercially . the robot 10 includes a main support pillar 12 rotably supporting an articulated horizontal arm assembly 14 , which may be actuated , to be swung above a work area 16 into which workpieces such as pc boards 18 are transported to enable electrical components 20 to be assembled into the pc board . the robot 10 further includes a vertical member 22 mounted in the free end of the horizontal articulated are assembly 14 , which vertical member is mounted for rotation about its own axis and for up and down movement by rotation of a power screw 24 . inasmuch as such robots are well known , the details thereof are not here set out . fixed to the lower end of the vertical member 22 is a gripper turret 26 , rotating with the member 22 . the turret 26 carries a plurality of gripper mechanisms 28 arranged circumferentially spaced about an axia &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;. fig2 shows further details of the gripper turret 26 with a cover 30 removed . the turret 26 includes a disc shaped main support plate 32 fixed to the member 22 and on which is mounted each of a plurality of gripper mechanisms 28 , either four or eight in number , here shown as four in number , that are arrayed 90 ° apart from each other . each gripper mechanism 28 includes a pair of opposing fingers 34 movable toward and away from each other , in the manner to be described , to enable grasping of a part ( not shown ) to be handled . a series of solenoid operated valves 36 control communication of air pressure ( and / or vacuum ) to an actuator 38 operating a positioning arrangement for each of the gripper mechanisms 28 as well as actuators 40 for the gripper mechanism itself . a pc board 42 is also mounted to the member 22 comprising a multiplexing - demultiplexing circuit for transmitting control signals to each actuator 38 , 40 from a central control system ( not shown ) via cables 46 , as well as signals from sensors , such as proximity sensors 44 . such multiplexing - demultiplexing circuit is disclosed in detail in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 07 / 249 , 032 filed on sept . 23 , 1988 , and reduces the number of electrical lines 46 necessary for processing control and sensor signals for a plurality of gripper mechanisms 28 . inasmuch as this aspect of the gripper turret 26 does not comprise the present invention , further details are not set out herein . fig3 illustrates further details of each gripper mechanism 28 , which are carried out on a respective positioning mechanism 29 which enables independent shifting movement of the associated gripper mechanism 28 in a convergent direction towards said axis of rotation a . each of the positioning devices 29 includes a mounting plate 48 fixed beneath the main support plate 32 . a gripper finger actuator housing block 50 ( shown without the gripper fingers 34 ) is supported on the mounting plate 48 by pairs of swing links 52 , 54 , each pivoted at one end to a respective clevis 56 , 58 integral with the underside of the mounting plate 48 . the opposite ends of the swing link pairs 52 , 54 are pinned to a support plate 60 welded or otherwise fixed to the top of the gripper actuator housing block 50 , to establish a swinging support of the gripper mechanism on the holder plate 32 . the actuators 38 , comprised of a pair of double acting pneumatic power cylinders supplied with air pressure via lines 62 from the solenoid valves 36 , each pivotally mounted to the plate 48 straddling the swing link pairs 52 , 54 . each actuator includes an output rod 64 fixed to a pivot rod 66 received in a cross bore formed in a clevis block 68 fixed to the housing block 50 . also included is a stop bracket 70 fixed to the underside of plate 48 , having a lower projecting lip 72 presenting an abutment face 74 to the end face 76 of clevis block 68 with the actuators 38 retracted , the housing 50 is drawn up and out to bring the clevis surface 76 against surface 74 . a cushioning resilient button 78 is compressed to generate a spring force tending to shift the housing block 50 away from the retracted position . fig4 shows the housing block 50 shifted to the axially aligned , extended position by the positioning mechanism 29 , swung downwardly and inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the turret to bring the gripper mechanism 28 into alignment with the axis . a locating feature is provided comprised of a ball 80 fixed to a detector mounting plate 82 aligned with the axis &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; of rotation of the gripper turret 26 . the ball 80 is received into a mating seat 84 formed into block 60 when the positioning mechanism 29 shifts the gripper mechanism 28 to the extended position to provide precision locating of the gripper mechanism 28 on center with the &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; axis . it is noted that the gripper mechanisms 28 moves upwardly on link pairs 52 , 54 in completing movement to the extended position , enabling the seat 84 to move onto the ball 80 . a first set of proximity detectors 86 are mounted in plate 82 to provide a sensor signal whenever a given gripper mechanism 28 is shifted to the extended position . a second set of proximity detectors comprising a proximity detectors 88 are mounted into each mounting plate 48 provide a sensor signal whenever the associated gripper mechanism 28 is in the retracted position . fig5 further illustrates the shifting movement of the gripper mechanism 28 from a radially outward retracted position , to the extended position aligned with the axis a . fig6 shows the internal workings of each gripper mechanism 28 , which includes the opposed gripper fingers 34a , 34b , each attached to a respective piston rod 90 , 92 , in turn fastened to one of opposed pistons 94 , 96 . pistons 94 , 96 are received in a bore 98 formed in the housing 50 . rod seals 100 , 102 are also retained therein with snap retainers 104 , 106 and prevent the escape of air pressure from bore 98 . guide pins 108 and 110 , and 112 , and 114 are received in linear bearings 116 , 118 , 120 , 122 carried within bearing sleeves 124 , 126 , 128 , 130 , all disposed within housing 50 . actuation pressure is introduced into a region of bore 98 so as to cause the pistons 94 , 96 to move towards each other , carrying the fingers 34a , 36b towards each other to enable grasping of a part ( not shown ). piston rod 92 is made larger than piston rod 90 , decreasing the area of piston 96 subjected to actuation pressure . this makes piston 94 the reference piston by insuring dominant movement of piston 94 . | 1 |
the present invention is directed to the roasting of foodstuff and , in particular , to a coffee bean roasting method and apparatus having an internal air cleaning system that eliminates the need for exhausting roasting air to the exterior of buildings as well as for an afterburner to clean the roasting air before it is exhausted , that discharges clean air at or near room temperature that can be vented interiorly , and that assures consistent and uniform bean flavor , aroma and quality without the need for an attending roastmaster . as a result , roasting machines made in accordance with this invention can be placed inside stores and can be operated to provide daily roasted coffee beans that have consistent and uniform flavor . all this is achieved at a cost that is typically less than the cost of centrally roasting beans and distributing the roasted beans to retailers as is presently done . although this application makes reference primarily to the roasting of coffee beans , the invention can be applied to roasting other foodstuffs such as other types of beans , seeds , nuts , kernels , and the like . one aspect of the present invention is an automated method of roasting by computer monitoring and control without the need for subjective judgment . applicants have determined that the darkness or color of roasted beans is a reliable indicator of the development of the beans during roasting and the finish of coffee when brewed with such beans . a reflectometer ( or spectrometer ) is used to monitor the change in darkness ( or color ) of the beans during roasting . when the beans have reached a predetermined darkness , the reflectometer sends a signal to the computer to terminate the roasting . to enhance the quality and consistency of the roasted beans , other parameters that affect the ultimate finish can and should also be monitored and input into the computer to control roasting . for instance , the roasting speed , or the time over which the beans are roasted , the color or darkness development during the prescribed roasting time , the prevailing pressure in the roasting chamber , the roasting temperature , and the like can be monitored and used to determine when roasting should cease and / or what roasting parameters , such as heat , air flow or pressure , need to be adjusted . fig1 schematically illustrates a centrally controlled multi - station coffee roasting system 10 constructed and operated in accordance with the invention . it has a central control station 11 that includes a computer or master control server 12 and a plurality of , typically many , geographically dispersed individual roasting machines 14 networked with computer 12 . each of the individual roasting machines 14 includes an on - board computer with programmable logic controllers ( plcs ) and / or a central processing unit ( cpu ) with on - board memory that is networked ( telephonically or by wireless techniques ) with the control server . the control station includes a sample roasting machine 11 a that is constructed substantially identical to the individual roasting machines 14 and with which a roastmaster performs sample roasts of different types of coffee beans to establish for each bean type one or more desired coffee roast profiles and finishes . recordable parameters of relevant characteristics , primarily the darkness of the beans being sample - roasted and , secondarily , the roasting time , roasting pressure , roasting temperature , and the like , are monitored and recorded . when the roastmaster has attained a specific darkness that he or she wish to replicate with the roasting machines 14 installed at the retail establishments , the corresponding roasting parameters 11 b are stored in the memory of master control server 12 . the roastmaster will normally select a number of , say twelve , fifteen , or the like , different types of beans for which the needed roasting parameters are established and stored in the memory of the central processor . all parameters , or at least those for beans that are to be roasted on one or more of the individual roasting machines that form part of the system , are then downloaded to a memory that forms part of the computer contained in each of the individual roasting machines . the stored parameters are then available to control and terminate bean roasting on each individual machine , as is described in more detail below . alternatively , as already mentioned above , each individual roasting machine can be directly controlled with a mainframe computer at the central control station , thereby eliminating the need for on - board computers on the individual roasting machines . in addition to controlling the roasting of the beans by the individual roasting machines , master control server 12 can advantageously be used to monitor and assist in the management of the individual machines . for example , the inventory of green beans at the individual machines may be monitored , and fresh beans can then be automatically reordered from a suitable supplier to assure that sufficient beans are always available when a low - inventory signal is received to assure an adequate bean supply at each individual machine . in addition , the machines , computers and the central computer can be used to monitor and record machine usage ( for example on the basis of processed bean weight , roasting time , or the like ) as well as for billing , establishing profiles of bean types and / or aroma selection systemwide and at each individual roasting machine , and the like . along the same lines , the machines &# 39 ; computers and the central control server can be used for diagnostic purposes , for example to determine malfunctions or needed adjustments and the like for each individual machine , by providing access to the various roasting process monitors and sensors that form part of the roasting machines . a major advantage of the centralized system 10 is that consistent , uniform , high quality bean roasts are assured . further , since each roasting machine is on - site and can be activated whenever needed , the retailer can limit each roast so that no more than one - day &# 39 ; s requirements for the beans are roasted , thereby assuring freshness and the best possible product for the consumer . referring to fig2 , 4 and 6 , an individual roasting machine 14 made according to this invention has a rotary storage hopper 22 for storing and dispensing the foodstuff ( e . g . the beans ) to be roasted . the hopper is on top of and supported by a housing 24 , and a roasting drum 44 is located inside of the housing . a bean handling system directs a selected bean type from hopper 22 into the drum and , after roasting , discharges the roasted beans onto a cooling tray 26 that protrudes horizontally from the housing . also disposed on the inside of housing 24 is an air supply system that heats intake air to the desired roasting temperature , directs the heated air into the roasting drum , and from the drum directs the used or exhaust air through air cooling and air cleaning systems for the subsequent discharge of the used air at about room temperature into the atmosphere immediately surrounding the roasting machine . thus , when installed in a supermarket , for example , the used air will be discharged into the interior of the surrounding building . to be acceptable for complete indoor installation and operation , the used air cleaning system removes all pollutants , such as white plume smoke , oily smoke , particulate matter , including chaff , volatiles , hydrocarbons , and the like , that are generated during roasting before the air is discharged from the machine . referring to fig2 and 3 , rotary hopper 22 has a cylindrical exterior , comprises , for example , sixteen sector - shaped , upright compartments 30 arranged about the center of the hopper , and is rotatable about an upright shaft 30 . a drive ( not separately shown ) incrementally advances the hopper about the upright shaft for indexing a bean discharge opening 36 at the bottom of each compartment with a green bean scale 42 of the roasting machine . a gate 116 keeps the compartment discharge openings 36 normally closed . when the opening of a given compartment is aligned with the scale and beans are to be transferred to the roasting drum , an actuator 117 under the control of the on - board computer of the roasting machine opens the gate so that the beans gravitationally flow onto the scale . when the desired quantity of beans has been transferred to the scale , the compartment gate is closed again . in one preferred embodiment of the invention , appropriate electronics 42 a of the scale generate a weight - responsive electrical signal that is used to close the compartment gate when the preselected quantity of beans has been received on the scale . the hopper 22 includes a removable lid or cover 34 ( fig2 ) to protect the beans and provide access to the hopper compartment , for example for replenishing the beans in the compartments . referring to fig5 , 5 a and 5 b , the roasting of the beans takes place in a roasting drum 44 formed by concentric inner and outer drums 82 , 84 . the outer drum is cylindrical , stationary , sealed and has an upright front plate that is fixed , e . g . bolted to the frame . the outer drum forms a horizontal tubular chamber that extends rearwardly and , at the aft end of the outer drum , mounts an aft end plate 102 that defines a downwardly extending exhaust air outlet 90 . in a presently preferred embodiment , the aft end of the outer drum and the forward end of the aft plate 102 form mating flanges that are held together with a conventional , schematically illustrated flange clamp 103 that permits quick removal of the clamp and disassembly of the drum . the inner drum is perforated and has a rear wall 83 and a spider 85 with preferably three equally - spaced , radial legs that project inwardly from the inner drum , or two spiders 85 ( the second being substituted for the rear wall 83 ). at the axial center of the drum , the rear wall and spider ( s ) are fixed to a drum shaft 87 that is rotatable in shaft bearings 87 a and 87 b of front plate 104 and aft plate 103 of the outer drum . a pulley 89 driven by a motor ( not separately shown ) via a belt 89 a rotates shaft 87 and therewith the inner drum in a given , say clockwise , direction ( as viewed in fig5 a ). the inner drum further includes a plurality of elongated , generally longitudinally extending vanes 94 that project perpendicular to the inner drum wall and extend along a thread - like or helical line over the length of the inner drum . in the presently preferred embodiment , four such vanes are equally spaced about the inside of the inner drum , and the vanes extend through the sector - shaped openings formed by the radial legs of the spiders 85 . to remove beans that may become trapped in the annular space between the inner and outer drums , a spiral bean removal brush 91 can optionally be provided . it is made of heat - resistant material , e . g . stainless steel , extends helically over the length of the inner drum , and projects from the periphery thereof into the annular space to a point close to but slightly spaced from the inner surface of the outer drum 84 . when the drum rotates , beans in the annular space between the drums are moved rearwardly by brush 91 and are ultimately discharged into the downwardly extending exhaust air outlet 90 ( or into a bean collection receptacle or a separately provided bean removal conduit ( not shown )). front plate 104 of roasting drum 44 has a tubular bean intake conduit 86 the open end of which is positioned immediately below a scale discharge opening 43 so that a fresh batch of green beans that has been weighed on the scale flows gravitationally into the drum for roasting by opening gate 43 a following the weighing of the beans by the scale . roasted beans are removed from drum 44 via a bean outlet 88 in front plate 104 and via a discharge chute 110 onto cooling tray 26 by opening a drum discharge gate 122 . during roasting , the pressure inside the roasting drum exceeds atmospheric pressure , in a presently preferred embodiment by about 1 . 5 psi . to prevent the escape of the hot roasting air , a gate — in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention , a butterfly disc 86 a — is placed in the tubular conduit 86 between scale 42 and the interior of the drum . the butterfly disc includes a heat - resistant seal ( not separately shown ) that prevents the hot , pressurized air in the drum from escaping through the bean intake conduit . the butterfly disc remains closed at all times except when a fresh batch of green beans is to be gravitationally transferred from the scale to the drum interior . it is operated by a suitable drive ( not separately shown ) that is under the control of the computer of the roasting machine and is preferably synchronized with the activator ( not shown ) for scale gate 43 a . similarly , bean discharge gate 122 is provided with a seal formed by a high temperature seal ring ( not separately shown ) that prevents the escape of hot , pressurized air from the interior of the drum when the gate is in its closed position . in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention , discharge gate 122 is hinged to the front plate 104 along its upper edge and a linear drive ( not separately shown ) is provided for opening and closing the discharge gate . the drive for the discharge gate is also under the control of the computer of the roasting machine . as is described in more detail below , the roasting of the beans is monitored with a reflectometer 108 ( or a spectrometer for monitoring color ) suitably mounted adjacent to front plate 104 with a holder 108 a . the reflectometer directs a laser beam 109 through a window 98 in the front plate into the interior of the roasting drum . finally , rear plate 104 includes a hot roasting air inlet 92 that receives hot roasting air from an air intake conduit 92 a . turning now to the manner in which fresh or green coffee beans are roasted in accordance with the invention , different types of green beans are placed into the hopper compartment 30 and an appropriate command is entered into an on - board computer 40 of the roasting machine which of the bean types is to be roasted . its computer selects the appropriate hopper compartment and activates the hopper drive ( not shown in the drawings ) to rotationally advance the hopper until the discharge opening 36 of the selected compartment is immediately above scale 42 . actuator 117 opens hopper gate 116 and green beans gravitationally drop onto the scale where they are weighed . when the desired weight of beans that is to be roasted has been received on the scale , the actuator , preferably via a signal from scale electronics 42 a , closes the hopper gate and therewith terminates the transfer of beans . the computer next activates the drive for bean inlet closure disc 86 a to open it and also opens gate 43 a in scale discharge opening 43 , thereby permitting the beans to gravitationally flow from the scale via bean inlet 86 into the interior of inner drum 82 . thereafter intake disc gate 86 a , as well as bean discharge gate 122 , are closed , or maintained closed , to form a seal and prevent the escape of pressurized air from the interior of the drum through the bean intake or outlet . the drum drive ( not separately shown ) is energized , to rotate in a drum 82 via pulley 89 , and the air circulation system is activated to flow hot roasting air through hot air inlet 92 and the interior of the drum for discharge through exhaust or used air outlet 90 , thereby bringing the beans to the roasting temperature . the green beans introduced into the drum at the beginning of roasting initially rest at the bottom of the inner drum 82 . when rotation commences , the radially inwardly extending vanes 94 pick up quantities of beans in a pocket defined by each vane and the portion of the inner drum adjoining the vane . as rotation of the drum continues , the beans in the pocket are lifted upwardly until the vane rises above the axis of shaft 87 , at which point the side of the vane facing the pocket becomes downwardly inclined and the beans roll off the vane under the influence of gravity . the vanes are helically curved so that the sides thereof that form the pocket slope downwardly towards front plate 104 of the roasting drum . as a result , as the inner drum rotates , the beans in the pocket are also urged towards the front plate . thus , a stream of beans 95 from the elevated vane is intermittently formed in the vicinity of window 98 each time one of the vanes ( with beans in the pocket ) rises above the shaft centerline . in the process , the beans become heated to the roasting temperature and as roasting time continues they undergo a gradual color change and darkening , which , for coffee beans , progresses from an initial gray - green color of the green beans to a light color giving the beans a bleached appearance and then to increasingly dark shades of brown . the laser ( not separately shown ) of the reflectometer 108 is continuously or intermittently activated to direct laser light onto the stream of beans 95 on the inside of the drum . laser light impinging on the beans is reflected and the reflected light is sensed and analyzed by the reflectometer , for example by determining its wavelength . the desired darkness of the finished roasted beans ( which was previously downloaded from the computer at the central control station ) is stored in the memory of the on - board computer 40 of the roasting machine and compared with an output signal generated by the reflectometer that indicates the darkness of the beans in real time . when the signal from the reflectometer matches the stored signal in the on - board computer , roasting is terminated . in a preferred embodiment , roasting is terminated by initially ceasing the heating of the roasting air flowing into the drum while continuing to rotate the inner drum ( with bean outlet gate 122 closed ) for about 30 to 45 seconds in a gradually cooling environment that enhances the finish that can be obtained with many types of beans . in addition , while full heat roasting of the beans continues , the light / dark development of the beans inside the drum is monitored by reflectometer 108 , which generates corresponding signals that are fed to the on - board computer . in a preferred embodiment , the memory of the on - board computer includes light / dark level data that was generated during sample roasting at the central control station , typically as a function of roasting time and / or roasting temperature . whenever the darkness level of the beans being roasted deviates from the corresponding stored darkness level data , operating parameters , such as the roasting air temperature and / or roasting air flow rate , are adjusted to bring the darkness level of the beans being roasted in compliance with the stored darkness information in the memory of the on - board computer . in this manner , the test roast , which was performed to establish optimal roasting parameters for a given type of bean and / or roasting profile , is precisely replicated at each and every roasting operation on any and all of the individual roasting machines that are networked with the central computer at the central computer 12 at control station 11 . once the beans are ready for discharge , the on - board computer activates the drive ( not shown ) for bean discharge gate 122 by moving it into its open position shown in fig6 . the continued rotation of inner drum 83 , coupled with the helical shape of vanes 94 therein , gradually moves the beans in the direction of bean discharge opening 88 , from where the roasted beans gravitationally drop onto cooling tray 26 . the cooling tray is preferably circular in shape ( see fig2 ) and includes one or more wiper arms 27 that slowly rotate with upright shaft 27 a protruding from the tray . the arms gradually move the beans over the tray to facilitate their cooling , and , upon completion of the cooling , push the beans through a finish roasted bean discharge opening 124 to a suitable collection point or into a canister ( not shown ). the discharge opening is preferably located adjacent the periphery of the cooling tray , and the wiper arms are shaped so that they slowly direct the beans towards the periphery of the tray . the discharge opening is normally closed by a gate 125 that is opened via a suitable actuator ( not shown ) that is manually or automatically ( by the on - board computer ) opened after the beans have been sufficiently cooled . the cooling tray preferably includes perforations 26 a ( not shown and of a sufficiently small size to prevent beans from dropping through or becoming lodged in them ) so that cooling air can be flowed over the beans on the tray to accelerate their cooling and , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , to use the heat of the cooling beans for preheating fresh air before it is heated for roasting a new batch of green beans that was placed into the drum . referring to fig4 and 7 - 10 , each individual roasting machine 14 includes an air supply or circulation system that comprises a blower 48 for generating an air flow through roasting drum 44 for the eventual discharge of the air from the machine . in a presently preferred embodiment of the roasting machine in which 6 - lb . batches of green beans are roasted in about twelve minutes , the blower has a 2½ hp motor , generates a pressure rise of about 1 . 5 psi at about 50 cfm through the air circulation system , and heats the air , as a result of the compression of the air , by about 30 ° f .- 50 ° f . ( about 17 ° c .- 28 ° c .). as is best seen in fig8 , the air circulation system preferably receives fresh intake air that was preheated by flowing it over just - roasted , still - hot beans on cooling tray 26 and through perforations 26 a therein to thereby reduce the overall energy consumption of the machine . since the intake air may pick up particulates and white plume smoke as it passes over the roasted beans on the cooling tray , a prefilter 50 is provided to remove such smoke and debris before the air enters fan 48 . filter 50 preferably comprises a 0 . 3 - micron hepa filter with a relatively low pressure drop so that it can remove the white plume smoke and smoke particulates from the intake air . fan 48 is coupled to a heat exchanger 54 , which preheats the air from the fan . the structure and operation of the heat exchanger is discussed in more detail below . the preheated air flows from the heat exchanger 54 to a heater 56 for heating it to the desired roasting temperature . the heater 56 is preferably a flow - through electric duct ( tubular ) heater 56 capable of heating the incoming air from about 120 ° f . ( about 49 ° c .) and at 50 cfm to the roasting temperature , e . g . about 500 ° f . ( about 260 ° c .). from the heater the roasting air flows via a conduit 92 a and past roasting air inlet 92 into and through the roasting drum from which it exits via used air exit 90 . in the drum , the green beans give off particulates , including chaff , as well as white plume smoke , oily smoke , volatiles , hydrocarbons , and the like , which are carried out of the roasting drum by the air . to enable the discharge of the air into the indoor environment surrounding each individual roasting machine 14 , the used roasting air must be cleaned and cooled before it can be discharged . chaff , an onionskin - like husk byproduct that is flaked off the beans in the roasting drum , is removed in a chaff collector 60 located downstream of and coupled to roasting drum 44 . the chaff collector 60 comprises a vortex particulate separator ( not shown ) that captures the chaff and lets the air through . the chaff collecting tray is periodically removed and cleaned as needed . a primary filter 64 is coupled to the chaff collector 60 via a conduit ( not shown ) for the removal of tars and chaff fines . in one embodiment , the primary filter 64 is made of superfine steel wool media . in another embodiment , a prefilter 62 made from superfine 30 micron media is positioned upstream of the primary filter to remove fines from the air flow and prevent a premature plugging of the filter by the fines . from the primary filter 64 , the used air flows to heat exchanger 54 for cooling . in the presently preferred embodiment , the heat exchanger is formed of a plurality of heat pipes ( not shown ) coupled to cooling fins . the relatively cool intake air flows in one direction over one end of the heat pipe array and the relatively hot exhaust air , separated from the cool air by a wall , is conveyed in the opposite direction over the other end of the heat pipe array . heat from the hot exhaust air is transferred via the heat pipe array to the cool intake air flowing from the blower 48 to preheat it before it enters heater 56 and thereby improve the energy efficiency of the roasting machine . the heat exchanger is about 80 % efficient and typically cools the air exhaust air from about 350 ° ( about 177 ° c .) to 100 ° f . ( about 38 ° c .). alternatively , the heat exchanger can also be formed of double concentric counterflow hoses or pipes . in that case , an outer tube 66 conveys the relatively cool intake air in one direction and an inner tube 68 conveys the relatively hot exhaust air in the opposite direction , or vice versa . heat from the exhaust air is transferred via inner tube 68 to the cool intake air flowing towards fan 48 to thereby preheat it before it enters heater 56 to thereby improve the energy efficiency of the roasting machine . the air is then cooled to about 100 ° f . ( about 38 ° c .) in an aftercooler 72 disposed downstream of and receiving the air from the heat exchanger 54 . it typically cools the air from about 350 ° f . ( about 177 ° c . ), the exit temperature at the main heat exchanger , to about 100 ° f . ( 38 ° c .). in the illustrated alternative embodiment , aftercooler 72 employs a finned - tube heat sink of a serpentine configuration with sufficient length to achieve the desired temperature drop . a high efficiency particulate accumulator (“ hepa ”) filter 74 is coupled to the heat exchanger and a carbon filter 76 is coupled to the hepa filter 74 . the hepa filter 74 is preferably a 0 . 3 - micron media that captures white plume smoke and particles as small as ½ micron with a 99 +% efficiency . the carbon filter 76 employs activated carbon that filters vocs and hydrocarbons ( so 2 , no 2 , etc .) in the used air stream before it is discharged from the machine . the carbon filter 76 can be used to control the amount of vocs , and therewith the coffee aroma that emanates from the roasting machine . thus , and as is illustrated in fig8 , the intake air enters the prefilter 50 , which filters out smoke and / or debris in the air . the fan 48 produces a flow of the air that traverses the entire roasting machine in no more than about 1 second and , preferably , in as little as about ¼ second while the air is heated from ambient at intake to about 500 ° f . ( about 260 ° c .) for roasting and is then cooled again to about room temperature ( approximately 100 ° f ., 38 ° c .) at discharge . the hot air therefore flows through the roasting drum 44 in a continuous , high temperature flow to thereby effectively roast the beans . referring to fig9 , sensors are employed throughout each individual roasting machine 14 for monitoring and controlling the roasting of the beans . for example , a temperature gauge or thermometer 132 and a pressure gauge 134 are disposed at the inlet of the prefilter 50 to measure the inlet air temperature and pressure . a pressure gauge 136 measures the inlet pressure of the fan 48 and another pressure gauge 138 measures the outlet pressure of the fan . the temperature of the air at the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger 54 is measured with temperature gauges 142 and 144 . a further temperature gauge 146 at the outlet of the heater 56 measures the roasting temperature of the air . a thermometer 150 and a pressure gauge 152 can be provided to measure the temperature and pressure in the roasting chamber 44 . a pair of pressure gauges 154 , 156 at the inlet and outlet of the smoke filter 64 measure the pressure drop across it . the exhaust air temperature drop across the heat exchanger 54 is measured with a pair of thermometers 158 , 162 disposed at the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger . another thermometer 164 provided at the outlet of the aftercooler 72 measures the temperature drop caused by it . a pressure gauge 168 at the inlet of the hepa filter 74 measures the inlet pressure . a pressure gauge 170 at the outlet of the hepa filter 74 measures the outlet pressure of the hepa filter 74 and the inlet pressure of the carbon filter 76 . a pressure gauge 172 at the outlet of the carbon filter 76 measures the outlet pressure . if desired , flow rates at various points of the system may be measured with appropriate flow gauges . as discussed above , while it is preferred to use a reflectometer to monitor the darkness of the beans during roasting , spectrometers can be used instead for measuring the color of the beans . spectrometers or calorimeters capable of detecting colors that can be used with the present invention are known . for example , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 684 , 582 issued nov . 4 , 1997 to eastman et al . and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 504 , 575 issued apr . 2 , 1996 to stafford , which are incorporated by reference herein , disclose useable spectrometers . the patent to stafford specifically discusses the use of a spectrometer to monitor the color of food products to ensure a uniform color for the consumer . on - board roasting computer software of the roasting machine 14 serves , among others , the following functions : 1 . receiving in - store operator roasting requests and initiating roasting sequence , including preheating system check , upon request . 2 . rotating the rotary hopper to the desired green beans position and releasing a correct quantity of the beans into the scale funnel 42 . 3 . releasing the beans from the scale funnel 42 into a the roasting chamber 44 . 4 . roasting the beans to the appropriate recipe established at central control station 11 and , if desired , modifying the recipe with real - time barometric input . 5 . guiding roasting development and final roast degree ( darkness ) by real - time input from the laser reflectometer 108 . 6 . starting the cooling tray sweep arm and discharging the roasted beans from the roasting chamber 44 to the cooling tray 26 when the spectrometer 108 determines that roasting is complete . 7 . stirring / cooling the finished beans on the cooling tray 26 and discharging them into the discharge container when ready . 8 . starting loading / roasting the next batch upon discharge of the previous batch to the cooling tray 26 . the block diagram in fig1 illustrates a roasting system that comprises the combined configuration of the bean handling system of fig7 and the internal air control system of fig8 . the arrows illustrate the bean flow and the air flow . the point of intersection between the two flows is located at the roasting chamber 44 , in which the heated air is used to roast the beans . in this embodiment , the intake air comes from and the exhaust air is released into the surrounding environment at a temperature that is close to room temperature . by circulating air taken from outside surroundings of the roasting apparatus 20 and releasing it back into the surroundings , the internal air control system is an open - loop system . an alternative is a closed - loop air circulation system that comprises substantially the same components as the open - loop system . the primary difference is that only a small proportion , e . g . 20 % of the used air , is discharged to the atmosphere , while the remainder , after thorough cleaning , is recirculated through the roasting machine . the earlier discussed hepa and charcoal filters 74 , 76 are effective only at relatively low temperatures of about 100 ° f . ( about 38 ° c .). to prevent the need for cooling the used air to such low temperatures in a closed - loop air circulation system while still removing white plume smoke , vocs , hydrocarbons , and the like , a catalytic converter ( not shown ) may be used instead of such filters . with a catalytic converter the cleaned air can be recirculated to the fan of the machine at significantly higher temperatures , which , in turn , reduces the energy consumption of the machine . water removed from the green beans during roasting and entrained in the recirculating used roasting air is discharged from the system with the earlier mentioned release of a small , e . g . 20 %, proportion of the used air . | 0 |
the invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the acocmpanying drawings , in which : fig1 is a simplified side view in elevation of an embodiment of the invention ; fig2 is a simplified plan view of the embodiment of fig1 ; fig3 is an enlarged section , taken at the line iii -- iii of fig1 ; fig4 is another enlarged section , taken at the line iv -- iv of fig1 ; and fig5 and 6 are schematic diagrams to illustrate further embodiments of the invention . the drawings show mechanism for sorting out incomplete fascicles from a sequence of fascicles h , continuously advanced in the right - to - left direction of fig1 . the fascicles h comprise two or more folded sheets , nested one above the other and astride a transport rail 1 , here shown as straight and horizontal . rail 1 is developed as a hollow profiled rail , and at the location where the incomplete fascicles are to be removed , rail 1 has an opening 2 in its upper side , i . e ., in the side which forms the saddle for the fascicles . as shown in fig3 drivers 3 ride , as do the fascicles , along the transport rail 1 and have laterally protruding stops 4 which engage the rear end of the fascicle at or near its back , thereby reliably advancing the fascicle . in the form shown , reliable driving engagement with the fascicles is assured by the development of stops 4 as large - area tabs . the drivers 3 are elements of an endless conveyor chain 5 , for example , a so - called gathering chain , of which only the upper course is shown diagrammatically in fig1 . this chain will be understood to be driven by known drive means ( not shown ) which runs synchronously with those conveyor devices which transfer the fascicles to the transport rail 1 and which remove them from it . in the transport rail 1 , at the location of opening 2 on its upper side , a switch tongue 6 is pivotally mounted via a horizontal pivot pin 7 which extends normal to the longitudinal axis of transport rail 1 . this switch tongue is developed as a swing lever and is , in the form shown , a flat elongate bar standing on edge . the pivot pin 7 mounts bar 6 in the vicinity of that end which is first encountered by fascicles conveyed along transport rail 1 . the fascicles move therefore in the direction from the articulated end to the free end of switch tongue 6 . the actuating rod of an electromagnet 8 has articulated connection to the switch tongue 6 , at a location offset from pin 7 . electromagnet 8 is arranged in the transport rail 1 beneath the switch tongue , but it could also be located elsewhere . when electromagnet 8 is not excited , the switch tongue 6 extends in the lengthwise direction of the transport rail 1 and does not protrude thereabove . on the other hand , when electromagnet 8 is excited , then it holds switch tongue 6 in the position shown in fig1 i . e ., with tongue 6 protruding upward out of the transport rail 1 and at an acute angle thereto , thereby forming an ascending fascicle ramp , in the transport direction . upon arrival at the switch tongue 6 , a fascicle to be ejected is shoved up the ramp by the driver 3 which is advancing the particular fascicle . the switch tongue 6 forms , together with the armature of electromagnet 8 , the movable part of an ejector for incomplete fascicles h . in addition to this movable part , the ejector has only a stationary guide rail 9 which , in the form shown , is a round bar , although it could also be a bar having a different cross - section , or else a plate which makes possible a straddle accommodation of fascicles to be ejected . the starting end of guide rail 9 is at such vertical offset above transport rail 1 that complete fascicles can be unimpeded in their continuous movement along the transport rail 1 beneath the starting end of rail 9 . the length of the switch tongue 6 and the inclined slope ( when in its upwardly projected state ) are so selected ( a ) that , between the free end of the switch tongue 6 and the starting end of the guide rail 9 , there is only a small gap , and ( b ) that the upper edge of the free end of switch tongue 6 is at least at the elevation of the upper side of the starting end of guide rail 9 , or slightly higher , thus assuring smooth and undisturbed transfer of fascicles to be ejected from switch tongue 6 onto guide rail 9 . for the same reason , the starting end of guide rail 9 is preferably a wedge - shaped knife edge , as shown in fig2 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , guide rail 9 extends from its starting end obliquely upward and obliquely to the side ; more specifically , rail 9 is shown inclined at an angle of approximately 15 ° upward and , for a short distance , laterally to one side , at a substantially equal angle ; this lateral angle then increases to an angle of approximately 30 °. these two lateral directions of rail 9 are without interruption of the substantially continuous ramp slope which commences along the top edge of tongue 6 , when in projected position . the slope of rail 9 reaches a peak bend , beyond which rail 9 slopes downwardly at lateral offset from the transport rail 1 . the peak bend of guide rail 9 is at sufficiently close offset from the transport rail 1 to insure that a fascicle which has been driven onto the guide rail 9 will follow the guide rail 9 upon further driven displacement , even when parts of the edges of the fascicle are still resting against the transport rail 1 . in selecting the location of this bend , which forms the highest point of guide rail 9 , it should be further taken into consideration that the drivers 3 are able to transport the fascicle to be ejected along the guide rail 9 until the center of gravity of the fascicle has passed beyond the bend ; i . e ., the center of gravity should pass this bend before the fascicle leaves the region of thrusting effectiveness of the drivers . in the device shown , the bend at the highest point of guide rail 9 is approximately 150 mm to the side of and about 90 mm above the transport rail 1 . the section of the guide rail 9 which follows the bend is shown to extend parallel to the transport rail 1 , but it could alternatively have any other direction with respect to the transport rail 1 . it is important that this section have a downward slope which is sufficient for fascicles to slide gravitationally , on their own , to the free end of the guide rail 9 or beyond , in order that no conveying members be required for transport of ejected fascicles , once they have left the thrust - effective region of the drivers 3 . the guide rail 9 shown therefore has a down slope , following the bend , at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the horizontal . supports 10 or the like hold guide rail 9 in the described position . if it is desired to have an ordered deposit of ejected fascicles , for example a stacking , a slide path can be provided alongside guide rail 9 , preferably adjacent to the down - slope section ; such a slide path is suggested at 11 and may be defined by one or more plates or even by a single rail . this slide path 11 has a twist ; at its starting end ( shown in fig2 on the right ) against which one of the outer sides of an ejected fascicle rests , the slide path 11 is approximately in a vertical plane -- its inclination , transverse to the direction of movement of ejected fascicles h , and also transverse to the longitudinal extension of the guide rail 9 , is therefore in the order of 90 ° to the horizontal . toward the end of the twist , this transverse inclination of slide path 11 decreases continuously until it reaches , for example , a value of zero . this means that each fascicle , in the course of its movement along guide rail 9 , is deflected in partial rotation about its lengthwise axis , effecting fascicle displacement from vertical to horizontal orientation . since ejected fascicles leave the guide rail 9 in a horizontal orientation , they can be deposited on a stack . it will be understood that the described conveyor line with switch tongue 6 lends itself to automated rejection of an incomplete fascicle without interruption of the continuous fascicle - advancing movement of conveyor chain 5 and its fascicle - driving stops 4 . fig5 and 6 are illustrative of components and functions to achieve such automated operation . in fig5 the spaced stops 4 on chain 5 will be recognized , leading to switch tongue 6 and its actuating solenoid 8 , rail 1 being omitted from fig5 for simplified showing . four single - sheet fascicle - loading stations a &# 39 ;- b &# 39 ;- c &# 39 ;- d &# 39 ; are shown at the instant of time when a first fascicle sheet a has already been loaded on the conveyor and is about to be loaded ( at station b &# 39 ;) with a second fascicle sheet b ; at the same time , and just ahead of the next - downstream stop 4 , a third fascicle sheet c is about to be loaded ( at station c &# 39 ;) onto the a - plus - b sheet combination ; and also at the same time , and just ahead of the next further downstream stop 4 , a fourth fascicle sheet d is about to be loaded ( at station d &# 39 ;) onto the a - plus - b - plus - c combination . an optical monitoring element , such as a light - beam and photo - cell barrier 12 , is symbolized by heavy dot at each of the loading stations and will be understood to produce an output pulse ( a binary output ) in its output line ( 13a , 13b , 13c , or 13d ) to signal the fact of correctly loading each sheet at its proper station , by light - beam interruption , once per unit fascicle - advance cycle . a microcomputer 18 is supplied by the respective output lines 13a , 13b , 13c , 13d , and if a light beam fails to be interrupted when it should be , the microcomputer remembers the fascicle which is to be thereupon signalled as incomplete ; and , in the correct cycle of arrival of the incomplete fascicle at the ejection point , a further light - beam or barrier device 14 is operative to identify the correct instant of time for actuation of the eject / solenoid 8 . as shown , an and - gate 15 assured that solenoid 8 will only be operative if the next fascicle to arrive at the ejection station 6 has been identified as &# 34 ; incomplete &# 34 ; by the microcomputer 18 ( via an output lead 33 ). the ensemble of binary outputs from the optical monitoring elements 12 during each sheet - dispensing interval are supplied to microcomputer 18 . in overview , microcomputer 18 stores the multi - bit digital word characterizing sheet - delivery performance for each fascicle - feeding cycle . if each feeder station ( a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, c &# 39 ;, d &# 39 ;) performed correctly , the light path for each optical sensor 12 is interrupted ( an assumed binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;), thereby supplying a digital word characterized by all binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; values to the microcomputer 18 . correspondingly , if any sheet - feeding station malfunctioned , the corresponding optical sensor 12 does not have its light path interrupted , thereby supplying a boolean &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the appropriate digit position to the microcomputer 18 . continuing in overview , as the fascicle ( collection of sheets ) reaches the accept / reject station 6 , the microcomputer 18 supplies a digital control signal ( processing variable out discussed below ) via lead 33 which causes the fascicles to be accepted ( binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; on lead 33 ) or rejected ( binary &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;). the microcomputer performs its quality - assurance function by examining each internally stored digital word developed as the subject sheet collection which is to be next acted upon by the accept / reject station passes under the several sheet - feeding stations . it will be apparent , assuming n feeder stations , that n stored binary words must be examined utilizing from each word only one digit corresponding to a diagonal bit array . if that diagonal bit array includes only binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 39 ; s &# 34 ;, indicating correct performance when the fascicle - sheet collection was being developed , the feeding system performed correctly , and microcomputer 18 issues a favorable binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level for the . 0 . ut control signal on lead 33 . correspondingly , if a binary &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; appears anywhere in the diagonal of the stored data corresponding to the subject document correction , a binary &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; . 0 . ut signal is furnished to lead 33 , causing the page collection to be rejected . the microcomputer 18 for effecting the above mode of operation may illustratively include a digital microprocessor 22 of any form coupled in a common bus mode to data and address buses 20 . also connected to the buses 20 are a program - containing read only memory ( e . g . rom ) 30 , a scratch - pad ( e . g . ram ) memory 25 for storing the data developed by the optical sensors 12 ( deemed data for processing purposes below discussed ), and a manual entry device ( e . g ., a keyboard , or thumb - wheel switches ) 32 for entering the number of feeder stations . under control of the program stored in rom 30 , successive process / characterizing digital words ( data ) are stored in the ram 25 during successive sheet - feeding operations . the appropriate stored data is extracted from ram 25 to determine whether the feeder process was performed correctly , and a suitable binary value is supplied via output lead 33 to accept or reject the documents next arriving at the accept / reject station . many modes of operation and programs for the microcomputer 18 will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . to illustrate one mode of operation , and with additional reference to fig6 during each feeding operation , the outputs of the sensors 12 ( data ) are read into the microprocessor ( functional step 40 ) and stored in the scratch - pad memory 25 ( step 42 ). for accept / reject decision purposes , the microprocessor 22 forms ( in a location in memory 25 ) a control word ( c . 0 . ntl ) which characterizes the performance of the feeding stations at each station along the conveyor track ( rail 1 ) for the fascicle to next reach the accept / reject station . again , many techniques are known to those skilled in the art for developing such a control word . for example , the most significant bit of the control word ( c . 0 . ntl ) may be formed via a logical and function between a mask having a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in the most significant bit and a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; elsewhere , and the data word stored in ram 25 may be developed when a sheet a is observed by means 12 to have been correctly loaded on rail 1 at the rightmost feeder station a &# 39 ; shown in fig5 . correspondingly , the next most significant bit is formed by logically anding a mask having a binary &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; only in the second most significant digit location with the data word formed when the conveyed sheet a was observed to receive the second sheet b at the feeder station b &# 39 ; in the second most - right position , and so forth . this control ( c . 0 . ntl ) word formed during step 45 is next tested ( operation 47 ) to determine whether the word is formed of all boolean &# 34 ; 1 &# 39 ; s &# 34 ;. if it is ( yes output of test 47 ), the output signal (. 0 . ut ) is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( step 55 ) causing lead 33 to furnish an acceptance signal . correspondingly , if a boolean &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; appears anywhere in the c . 0 . ntl word , the resulting &# 34 ; n . 0 .&# 34 ; output of test 47 causes a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level out signal on lead 33 ( step 49 ), causing the particular incomplete fascicle to be reached and ejected . program control then returns to operation 40 to accept data for the next following cycle of operation . | 1 |
the present invention is characterized by obtaining osteoblasts from differentiated somatic cells by using a differentiated somatic cell medium in the presence of at least one low - molecular - weight compound selected from the group consisting of ( 1 ) statin compounds , ( 2 ) casein kinase inhibitors , ( 3 ) camp inducers , and ( 4 ) histone methyltransferase inhibitors . the differentiated somatic cells to be directly reprogrammed into osteoblasts in the method of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as osteoblasts are excluded . examples include fibroblasts , keratinocytes , oral mucosal epithelial cells , respiratory mucosal epithelial cells , gastric mucosal epithelial cells , intestinal mucosal epithelial cells , vascular endothelial cells , smooth muscle cells , adipocytes , gingival cells ( gingival fibroblasts and gingival epithelial cells ), leukocytes , lymphocytes , muscle cells , conjunctival epithelial cells , and osteoclasts , with fibroblasts , keratinocytes , oral mucosal epithelial cells , gingival cells , leukocytes , lymphocytes , osteoclasts , adipocytes , and the like being preferable . in the method of the present invention , other compounds may further be used in combination to promote direct reprogramming into osteoblasts . examples of such compounds include ( i ) low - molecular - weight compounds that promote ips cell induction or cell reprogramming , ( ii ) compounds that induce oct4 , and ( iii ) epigenetic modifiers such as methyltransferase inhibitor , histone demethylase inhibitor , and histone deacetylase inhibitor . the statin compounds widely encompass hmg - coa reducing enzyme inhibitors . examples include , but are not particularly limited to , simvastatin , atorvastatin , lovastatin , fluvastatin , pravastatin , cerivastatin , pitavastatin , rosuvastatin , dihydrocompactin , compactin , bervastatin , carbastatin , crilvastatin , dalvastatin , glenvastatin , fluindostatin , velostatin , mevastatin , rivastatin , cirivastatin , ci - 981 , and the like . statin compounds to be developed in the future are all encompassed by the statin compounds of the present invention . while not a limitation of the present invention , the statin compounds are believed to promote direct reprogramming into osteoblasts , in particular , through , for example , an increase in the expression level of runx2 gene . the statin compounds are also believed to contribute to the promotion of calcium deposition . the casein kinase inhibitors widely encompass inhibitors against casein kinases with subtypes , such as casein kinase 1 and casein kinase 2 . in a preferable embodiment , a casein kinase 1 inhibitor may be used , from the viewpoint of high effect on the induction of osteoblasts . preferable examples of the casein kinase 1 inhibitors include d4476 , ic261 , ck1 - 7 , a3 , sb - 431542 , drb , hymenialdisine , matairesinol , 5 - iodotubercidin , meridianin , sb - 203580 , and other compounds ( including compounds that specifically inhibit casein kinase 1 ). examples also include other compounds that inhibit casein kinase 1 , such as fasudil , hydroxyfasudil , fenretinide , pkz - ζ peptide pseudosubstrate , dimethyl sphingosine , cvs - 3989 , ag1024 , 648450 , k252a , c3 transferase , 553502 , ly333531 , ruboxistaurin , go - 6976 , iwr - 1 - endo ( iwr1e ), and iwp - 2 . as the casein kinase 1 inhibitor , derivatives of the above compounds may also be used in place of the above compounds . it is not always necessary for the derivatives to have activities to inhibit casein kinases . for example , a derivative of d4476 represented by the following formula ( i ) disclosed in wo 00 / 61576 may be used , in place of d4476 ( 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1 , 4 - benzodioxin - 6 - yl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridinyl ) 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ]- benzamide ), which is a casein kinase 1 inhibitor . in the formula , r 1 is naphthyl , anthracenyl , or phenyl , each having at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of halogen , c 1 - 6 alkoxy (— o — c 1 - 6 alkyl ), c 1 - 6 alkylthio (— s — c 1 - 6 alkyl ), c 1 - 6 alkyl , — o —( ch 2 ) n - ph , — s —( ch 2 ) n - ph , cyano , phenyl ( ph ), and co 2 r ( wherein r is hydrogen or c 1 - 6 alkyl , and n is 0 , 1 , 2 , or 3 ); or r 1 is phenyl fused with a 5 - to 7 - membered aromatic or non - aromatic ring optionally containing up to two heteroatoms independently selected from n , o , and s ; r 2 is h , nh ( ch 2 ) n - ph , or nh — c 1 - 6 alkyl ( wherein n is 0 , 1 , 2 , or 3 ); r 3 is co 2 h , conh 2 , cn , no 2 , c 1 - 6 alkylthio , — so 2 — c 1 - 6 alkyl , c 1 - 6 alkoxy , sonh 2 , conhoh , nh 2 , cho , ch 2 oh , ch 2 nh 2 , or co 2 r ( wherein r is hydrogen or c 1 - 6 alkyl ); one of x 1 and x 2 is n or cr ′, and the other is nr ′ or chr ′ ( wherein r ′ is hydrogen , oh , c 1 - 6 alkyl , or c 3 - 7 cycloalkyl ) or ; when one of x 1 and x 2 is n or cr ′, the other may be s or o . examples of c 1 - 6 alkyl include straight or branched chain c 1 - 6 alkyl , such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl , tert - butyl , n - pentyl , isopentyl , n - hexyl , and isohexyl . examples of c 3 - 7 cycloalkyl include c 3 - 7 cyclopropyl , such as cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , and cycloheptyl . when r 1 is phenyl fused with a 5 - to 7 - membered aromatic or non - aromatic ring optionally containing up to two heteroatoms independently selected from n , o , and s , specific examples include benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxolyl , 2 , 3 - dihydrobenzo [ 1 , 4 ] dioxynyl , benzoxazolyl , benzothiazolyl , benzo [ 1 , 2 , 5 ] oxadiazolyl , benzo [ 1 , 2 , 5 ] thiadiazolyl , and dihydrobenzofuranyl . 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1 - hydroxy - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzoic acid ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] methyl benzoate ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] ethyl benzoate ; 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 1 - hydroxy - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzonitrile ; 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzonitrile ; 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzoic acid ; 2 -[ 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 2 -( 4 - nitrophenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 5 - yl ] pyridine ; 3 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) phenylamine ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 2 -( 4 - nitrophenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 5 - yl ] pyridine ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl phenylamine ; 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) phenyl ] methanol ; 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzamide ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzo [ 1 , 4 ] dioxin - 6 - yl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ]- benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzofuran - 5 - yl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzamide ; 3 -[ 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzofuran - 6 - yl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzofuran - 6 - yl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzamide ; 3 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzoic acid ; 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 5 -( 2 - pyridyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzonitrile ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 2 - difluoro - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl )- 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzamide ; 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzo [ 1 , 4 ] dioxin - 6 - yl )- 1 - methyl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzamide ; 4 -[ 5 -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - benzo [ 1 , 4 ] dioxin - 6 - yl )- 1 - methyl - 4 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ] benzamide ; 4 -( 5 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 4 - pyridin - 2 - yl - oxazol - 2 - yl ) benzonitrile ; 4 -( 5 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 4 - pyridin - 2 - yl - oxazol - 2 - yl ) benzamide ; and 4 -( 4 - benzo [ 1 , 3 ] dioxol - 5 - yl - 5 - pyridin - 2 - yl - 1h - pyrrol - 2 - yl ) benzamide . while not a limitation of the present invention , the casein kinase 1 inhibitors are believed to promote direct reprogramming into osteoblasts , in particular , through , for example , an increase in the expression level of alp ( alkaline phosphatase ) and promotion of calcium deposition . the camp inducers ( may also be referred to as adenylate cyclase activating agents ) widely encompass compounds that increase the intracellular camp ( cyclic amp ) level with the activation of adenylate cyclase . examples include forskolin ( frk ), isoproterenol , and the like . while not a limitation of the present invention , the camp inducers are believed to promote direct reprogramming into osteoblasts , in particular , through , for example , an increase in the expression level of runx2 gene . the camp inducers are also believed to contribute to promotion of calcium deposition . examples of the histone methyltransferase inhibitors include dznep ( 3 - deazaneplanocin a ), bix - 01294 , and the like . while not a limitation of the present invention , the camp inducers are believed to promote direct reprogramming into osteoblasts , in particular , through , for example , the promotion of calcium deposition . the concentration of the statin compound in the medium is not particularly limited as long as induction of osteoblasts is possible , and is , for example , about 100 pm to 10 μm , preferably about 500 pm to 5 μm , more preferably about 1 nm to 1 μm , and still more preferably about 10 to 100 nm . the concentration of the casein kinase 1 inhibitor in the medium is not particularly limited as long as induction of osteoblasts is possible , and is , for example , about 0 . 01 to 100 μm , preferably about 0 . 1 to 50 μm , and more preferably about 1 to 10 μm . the concentration of the camp inducer in the medium is not particularly limited as long as induction of osteoblasts is possible , and is , for example , about 0 . 01 to 100 μm , preferably about 0 . 1 to 50 μm , and more preferably about 1 to 10 μm . the concentration of the histone methyltransferase inhibitor in the medium is not particularly limited as long as induction of osteoblasts is possible , and is , for example , about 100 pm to 50 μm , preferably about 1 nm to 10 μm , more preferably about 5 nm to 1 μm , and still more preferably about 10 to 100 nm . the low - molecular - weight compounds incorporated in the medium may be used alone , or in a combination of two or more . the combination is not particularly limited when two or more different low - molecular - weight compounds are used in combination . from the viewpoint of high effect on the induction of osteoblasts , a combination of , for example , a statin compound and a casein kinase 1 inhibitor is preferable . it is certainly possible to further combine a camp inducer and / or a histone methyltransferase inhibitor with the statin compound and casein kinase 1 inhibitor combination . when two or more different low - molecular - weight compounds are used in combination , the two or more low - molecular - weight compounds may be used together during the culture , or a different low - molecular - weight compound ( or compounds ) may be used per each part of the culture . it is also possible to mix cells cultured with the addition of one or more low - molecular - weight compounds with cells cultured with the addition of other one or more low - molecular - weight compounds . the medium for inducing osteoblasts is not particularly limited , and is preferably an induction medium . examples of the induction medium include general - purpose liquid media ( e . g ., dmem ( dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ) and emem ( eagle &# 39 ; s minimal essential medium )) to which ascorbic acid ; β - glycerophosphate ; at least one member selected from the group consisting of glucocorticoids , such as dexamethasone and hydrocortisone ; serum components ( e . g ., fetal bovine serum ( fbs ) and human serum ( hs )); antibiotics , such as streptomycin ; and the like are added . more specific examples include general - purpose media , such as dmem , to which 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , 100 nm dexamethasone ( all of the concentrations are final concentrations ), and 10 % fbs or 5 % hs , and optionally 1 % antibiotic and 1 % neaa ( non - essential amino acids ) are added . the culture temperature is about 37 ° c . the culture period is about 1 to 6 weeks , preferably 2 to 5 weeks , and more preferably 3 to 4 weeks . for the medium , a solvent , such as dmso , may also be used . the kit of the present invention comprises an osteoblast medium and a statin compound , and optionally a casein kinase inhibitor , a histone methyltransferase inhibitor , and the like . the present invention enables the preparation of preosteoblasts , immature osteoblasts , mature osteoblasts , bone cells , and the like . in this specification , for expediency , all of these cells are referred to as “ osteoblasts .” examples of diseases to be treated with osteoblasts ( transplantation material ) obtained by the present invention include bone defects due to bone tumors , trauma , osteomyelitis , and the like , bone defects after curettage of bone tumors and the like , bone fracture , osteoporosis , periodontal disease , alveolar bone resorption , rheumatoid arthritis , idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head , arthrosis deformans , lumbar spondylosis deformans , spinal canal stenosis , disc herniation , spondylolysis , spondylolytic spondylolisthesis , scoliosis , cervical spondylotic myelopathy , ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament , spinal cord injury , coxarthrosis , gonarthrosis , capital femoral epiphysis , osteomalacia , reconstruction at a bone fracture site destroyed by complex fracture , such as lower jaw reconstruction , repair of bone after surgery ( repair of breast bone after cardiac surgery ), repair of a defect site associated with artificial ankle joint surgery , osteomyelitis , osteonecrosis , and the like . further , when the osteoblasts are transplanted in combination with transplantation of bone , transplantation of artificial bone , and use of artificial joint , or implant , therapeutic effects may be enhanced . additionally , when bone tissues prepared in vitro by culturing osteoblasts using a three - dimensional scaffold or the like so as to have various shapes are transplanted , the above - mentioned diseases can be treated . in addition to the diseases , various diseases involved in loss , lack , or decreased function of osteoblasts are targeted . in this specification , unless otherwise specified , the term “ treatment ” refers to treatment for a patient suffering from a specific disease or disorder , and means to ameliorate the severity of the disease or disorder , ameliorate one or more symptoms thereof , or delay or reduce the speed of progress of the disease or disorder . in this specification , the “ treatment ” includes “ prevention .” the osteoblasts obtained in the present invention may be used not only for treatment of a disease , but also for beauty . for example , when the osteoblasts or bone tissue formed of the osteoblasts are transplanted to a defect site associated with an accident , surgery , or the like , the cells can produce a bone matrix to repair the defect site and to obscure the defect site by three - dimensional repair . in such a case , for expediency , treatment for humans is also referred to as treatment in this specification . the term “ patient ” may be replaced by the term “ healthy subject ” or “ human ,” and the term “ disease ” may be replaced by the term “ beauty .” the present invention can also be used not only for treatment for diseases of humans , but also for treatment for diseases of mammals including pets , such as dogs and cats ; and livestock , such as cattle , horses , swine , sheep , and chickens . in such a case , the term “ patient ” may be replaced by the term “ livestock ” or “ mammal .” the transplantation material refers to an osteoblast - containing material to be introduced into a living body for repair and reconstruction of bone tissue . the transplantation material includes a material that partially or completely regenerates bone tissue in vitro , and is transplanted to the same or another individual . the osteoblasts obtained in the present invention can be used for preparation of the transplantation material . the osteoblasts themselves may also be used as the transplantation material . accordingly , the osteoblasts may be transplanted to a patient as a cell preparation ; transplanted together with a base ( scaffold ) formed of an artificial material , such as hydroxyapatite or bioabsorbable ceramic ; or cultured with a scaffold and then transplanted . in such case , the scaffold may form various three - dimensional shapes depending on the purpose of transplantation . the somatic cells may be derived from mammals . when osteoblasts are transplanted to a living body , somatic cells ( autologous cells ) derived from a test subject who undergoes transplantation are preferably used to reduce risks of infection , rejection responses , and the like . however , instead of the autologous cells , osteoblasts prepared beforehand from somatic cells of another person or another animal may be used for , for example , transplantation for sudden bone fracture or the like . alternatively , osteoblasts may be prepared from somatic cells of another person or another animal prepared beforehand , and used for transplantation . that is , an osteoblast bank or an osteoblast precursor cell bank may be prepared beforehand and used for transplantation . in such a case , in order to reduce risks , such as rejection responses , mhc typing may be carried out beforehand . further , characteristics and tumorigenicity of osteoblasts may be confirmed beforehand . in this specification , examples of the mammal include mice , rats , hamsters , humans , dogs , cats , monkeys , rabbits , cattle , horses , and swine , and particularly humans . the present invention can also be used for , for example , various studies and development of technologies using osteoblasts . for example , the present invention is useful for basic studies such as analysis of osteogenesis , bone aging , morphogenesis , mechanisms of remodeling , mechanical stress against the factors , and influences of nutrients , immunity , nerves , and hormones . the present invention is also useful for , for example , analysis of the influence of internal exposure to a radioactive substance , such as strontium - 90 , on bone , and development of a technology for removing strontium - 90 from bone . the use of the present invention allows osteoblasts to be established from humans or animals having various diseases or genetic backgrounds in a simple , rapid , and inexpensive manner . accordingly , abnormalities in osteoblasts related to the diseases or genetic backgrounds can be analyzed by , for example , a biochemical , molecular biological , or immunological technique . this can contribute to studies on clarification of pathogenic mechanisms of diseases and the like , or development of diagnostic methods . development of drugs , toxicity tests of drugs , and the like using such osteoblasts can contribute to the development of novel treatment methods for various diseases . whether osteoblasts were obtained can be confirmed by , for example , the measurement of mrna of alp ( alkaline phosphatase ), osteocalcin ( oc ), osteopontin , or runx2 using real - time pcr , or by alizarin red s staining ( production of calcified bone matrix ). runx2 is an essential transcription factor in bone formation . runx2 plays an indispensable role in in vivo differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts . enforced expression of runx2 in mesenchymal stem cells increase osteoblast - specific genes , such as oc ( osteocalcin ), bsp ( bone sialo - protein ), alp ( alkaline phosphatase ), and col1a1 . in runx2 knockout mice , intramembranous ossification or endochondral ossification never occurs due to the loss of mature osteoblasts ; however , mesenchymal stem cells of this mouse are capable of being induced into adipocytes and chondrocytes . alp ( alkaline phosphatase ) is an early - to mid - stage osteoblast differentiation marker . alp is contained in a large amount in the membrane surface of osteoblasts and in matrix vesicles secreted from osteoblasts , and is involved in the initiation of calcified matrix production . osteocalcin ( oc ) is specifically expressed in osteoblasts , and is believed to contribute to the promotion of bone formation . alizarin red s staining and von kossa staining can detect the production of calcified bone matrix , i . e ., calcium deposition , which is one of the important elements for bone formation . examples are shown below . however , the present invention is not limited to only these examples . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 35 - mm culture dish at a concentration of 5 × 10 4 cells / well , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ), or 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ) and 1 μm dznep had been added . the composition of the induction medium is as follows : 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , 100 nm dexamethasone ( all of the concentrations are final concentrations ), 10 % fbs , 1 % antibiotic , 1 % neaa , and α - mem . the standard conditions refer to 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 , and 95 % humidified air . the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 28 days . the culture medium was removed by aspiration from the culture dish , and the cells were washed twice with distilled water , followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added thereto , followed by still standing at room temperature for 20 minutes . the cells were washed with sterile distilled water , and then observed with the naked eye and under a microscope . fig1 shows the results . calcified bone matrix is shown as red staining . this indicates that the addition of ss or the addition of ss and dznep converted fibroblasts into osteoblasts , which produce a large amount of calcified bone matrix . 1 - 2 : alizarin red s staining ( fig2 and 3 ) a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ), hydroxycortisone at various concentrations , and β - glycerophosphate at various concentrations had been added ( in the table , “ o ” indicates each concentration of the compound added ). the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 28 days . the culture medium was removed by aspiration from the plate , and the cells were washed twice with distilled water , followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added thereto , and then left to stand at room temperature . after 20 minutes , the staining reaction solution was collected . thereafter , the cells were washed with sterile distilled water , and then observed with the naked eye and under a microscope . fig2 shows the results . further , the absorbance ( 550 nm ) of the staining reaction solution collected from each well was measured using a microplate reader . fig3 shows the results . it is clarified that 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ) in the presence of hydroxycortisone and β - glycerophosphate converts fibroblasts into osteoblasts , and that at this time , hydroxycortisone is preferably at a concentration of 125 to 4000 nm , and β - glycerophosphate is preferably at a concentration of 10 to 20 μm . 1 - 3 : alizarin red s staining ( fig4 and 5 ) a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 μm simvastatin ( ss ), dexamethasone ( dex ) at various concentrations , and β - glycerophosphate at various concentrations had been added ( in the table , “ o ” indicates each concentration of the compound added ). the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 28 days . the culture medium was removed by aspiration from the plate , and the cells were washed twice with distilled water , followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added thereto , and then left to stand at room temperature . after 20 minutes , the staining reaction solution was collected . thereafter , the cells were washed with sterile distilled water , and then observed with the naked eye and under a microscope . fig4 shows the results . further , the absorbance ( 550 nm ) of the staining reaction solution collected from each well was measured using a microplate reader . fig5 shows the results . it is clarified that 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ) in the presence of dexamethasone and β - glycerophosphate induces fibroblasts into osteoblasts , and that at this time , dexamethasone is preferably at a concentration of 25 to 800 nm , and β - glycerophosphate is preferably at a concentration of 10 to 20 μm . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which simvastatin ( ss ) at various concentrations had been added . the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 28 days . the culture medium was removed by aspiration from the plate , and the cells were washed twice with distilled water , followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added thereto , and then left to stand at room temperature . twenty minutes later , the staining reaction solution was collected . thereafter , the cells were washed with sterile distilled water , and then observed with the naked eye and under a microscope . further , the absorbance ( 550 nm ) of the collected staining reaction solution was measured using a microplate reader . fig6 shows the results . it is clarified that the simvastatin concentration desirable for induction of osteoblasts is 10 to 100 nm . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which simvastatin ( ss ) and d4476 ( casein kinase inhibitor ) had been added at various concentrations . the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 28 days . thereafter , the culture medium was removed by aspiration from the plate , and the cells were washed twice with distilled water , followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added thereto , and then left to stand at room temperature . twenty minutes later , the staining reaction solution was collected . thereafter , the cells were washed with sterile distilled water , and then observed with the naked eye and under a microscope . further , the absorbance ( 550 nm ) of the collected staining reaction solution was measured using a microplate reader . fig7 shows the results . it is clarified that 100 nm simvastatin in combination with 2 to 5 μm d4476 increases induction efficiency into osteoblasts . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 12 - well plate , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ) and d4476 ( casein kinase inhibitor ) at various concentrations had been added ( the numerical numbers in parentheses are expressed in μm ). the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 21 days . then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii , and cdna was synthesized using revertra ace qpcr rt master mix . real - time pcr master mix , taqman probes , specific primers , and cdna were mixed , and real - time rt - pcr was performed using an ab7300 real - time pcr system to quantify the mrna of runx2 , osteocalcin ( oc ), and alkaline phosphatase ( alp ) genes . to use as a control , rna was harvested from fibroblasts cultured without adding simvastatin , and the same analysis was performed . further , rna was harvested from human osteoblasts , and the same analysis was performed . fig8 shows the results . the vertical axis shows relative values of mrna of each gene , the values being obtained on the assumption that the mrna level of the cells ( control ) is 1 . it is clarified that osteoblasts induced from fibroblasts with the use of 100 nm simvastatin express runx2 , osteocalcin ( oc ), and alkaline phosphatase ( alp ), and that a combined use of 2 to 5 μm d4476 achieves comparable or greater expression thereof . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 60 - mm culture dish , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ), or 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ) and 2 μm d4476 ( ss + d4 ) had been added . the medium was replaced about once every four days , and culture was performed for 21 days . then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii . similarly , total rna was collected from human dermal fibroblasts ( hdfs ) and human osteoblasts ( obs ). the mrna expression pattern of each cell was analyzed genome - wide using a dna chip of affymetrix , inc . fig9 shows the results . both “ ss ” and “ ss + d4 ” showed global gene expression patterns similar to that of osteoblasts , rather than that of fibroblasts , and “ ss + d4 ” showed a global gene expression pattern more similar to that of osteoblasts , compared to “ ss .” a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate at a concentration of 5 × 10 3 cells / well ( day 0 ). on the next day , the culture medium was removed from each well and replaced with fresh medium ( 500 μl / well ). the induction medium was obtained by adding 10 % fetal bovine serum ( fbs ) to dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ), 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , and 100 nm dexamethasone . further , the small molecular compounds were added as shown in the figure . “ as ” represents atorvastatin , “ ls ” represents lovastatin , “ rs ” represents rosuvastatin , “ pis ” represents pitavastatin , “ ss ” represents simvastatin , “ prs ” represents pravastatin , and “ fsk ” represents forskolin . “ as ” was purchased from lkt laboratories ( st paul , usa ), “ ls ” was from cayman chemical ( ann arbor , usa ), “ rs ” was from cayman chemical ( ann arbor , usa ), “ pis ” was from cayman chemical ( ann arbor , usa ), “ ss ” was from sigma ( st louis , usa ), “ prs ” was from cayman chemical ( ann arbor , usa ), and “ fsk ” was from sigma ( st louis , usa ). the culture medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was aspirated from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−), followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed 3 times with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red - s staining solution was added , followed by incubation at room temperature for 15 minutes . the liquid was collected from each well , and transferred to a 96 - well plate . then , the absorbance ( od 550 - 650 nm ) was measured using an absorption spectrometer . fig1 shows the results . it is clarified that culture with the addition of as , ls , rs , ss , prs , fsk , or d4476 induced the ability to produce calcified matrix in fibroblasts . additionally , the culture with the addition of 10 nm pis also achieved similar results to those of other statin compounds . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate at a concentration of 5 × 10 3 cells / well ( day 0 ). on the next day , the culture medium was removed from each well , and replaced with fresh medium ( 500 μl / well ). the induction medium was obtained by adding 10 % fbs to dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ), 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , and 100 nm dexamethasone . further , the small molecular compound as shown in the figure was added . the culture medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was aspirated from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−), followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed 3 times with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added , followed by incubation at room temperature for 15 minutes . the liquid was collected from each well , and transferred to a 96 - well plate . then , the absorbance ( od 550 - 650 nm ) was measured using an absorption spectrometer . the wells after staining were washed with sterile distilled water , and then photographed . fig1 shows the results . calcified bone matrix is shown as red staining . it is clarified that culture with the addition of d4476 induced the ability to produce calcified matrix in fibroblasts . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate at a concentration of 5 × 10 3 cells / well ( day 0 ). on the next day , the culture medium was removed from each well , and replaced with fresh medium ( 500 μl / well ). the induction medium was obtained by adding 5 % human serum to dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ), 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , and 100 nm dexamethasone . further , the small molecular compound as shown in the figure was added . the culture medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was aspirated from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−), followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed 3 times with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added , followed by incubation at room temperature for 15 minutes . the liquid was collected from each well and transferred to a 96 - well plate . then , the absorbance ( od 550 - 650 nm ) was measured using an absorption spectrometer . the wells after staining were washed with sterile distilled water , and then photographed . fig1 shows the results . calcified bone matrix is shown as red staining . it is clarified that culture with the addition of d4476 induced a higher ability to produce calcified matrix in fibroblasts . the culture was performed as in “ 2 - 1 ” above by adding the stated compounds . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was removed from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−). then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii , and cdna was synthesized using revertra ace qpcr rt master mix . real - time pcr master mix , and a taqman probe and primers specific to a human alkaline phosphatase ( alp ) gene were added , and real - time rt - pcr was performed using an ab7300 real - time pcr system . furthermore , total rna was extracted from osteoblasts from normal human bone , and analysis was performed in a similar manner . fig1 shows the results with relative values that were calculated on the assumption that the value of normal human fibroblasts was 1 . it is clarified that culture with the addition of as , ls , rs , ss , prs , or d4476 induced the mrna expression of alp gene . the culture was performed as in “ 2 - 1 ” above by adding the stated compounds . twenty - eight days after the culture , the mrna expression of alp gene in the cells in each well was analyzed by real - time rt - pcr , as in example 3 . furthermore , total rna was extracted from osteoblasts from normal human bone , and analysis was performed in a similar manner . fig1 shows the results with relative values that were calculated on the assumption that the value of normal human fibroblasts was 1 . it is clarified that the addition of ss or prs in combination with d4476 more strongly induced alp expression , compared with when d4476 was added alone . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 24 - well plate at a concentration of 5 × 10 3 cells / well ( day 0 ). on the next day , the culture medium was removed from each well , and replaced with fresh medium ( 500 μl / well ). the induction medium was obtained by adding 5 % human serum to dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ), 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , and 100 nm dexamethasone . further , the small molecular compounds as shown in the figure were added . the culture medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed . twenty - eight days after the culture , the mrna expression of alp gene in the cells in each well was analyzed by real - time rt - pcr , as in “ 2 - 3 ” above . furthermore , total rna was extracted from osteoblasts from normal human bone , and analysis was performed in a similar manner . fig1 shows the results with relative values that were calculated on the assumption that the value of normal human fibroblasts was 1 . the addition of rs in combination with d4476 more strongly induced the alp expression , compared with when d4476 was added alone . the culture was performed as in “ 2 - 6 ” above by adding the stated compounds . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was removed from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−). then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii , and cdna was synthesized using revertra ace qpcr rt master mix . real - time pcr master mix , and a taqman probe and primers specific to human osteocalcin ( oc ) were added , and real - time rt - pcr was performed using an ab7300 real - time pcr system . fig1 shows the results . it is clarified that culture with the addition of either rs or prs induced the mrna expression of osteocalcin . the culture was performed as in “ 1 ” above by adding the stated compounds . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was removed from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−). then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii , and cdna was synthesized using revertra ace qpcr rt master mix . real - time pcr master mix , and a taqman probe and primers specific to human runx2 gene were added , and real - time rt - pcr was performed using an ab7300 real - time pcr system . fig1 shows the results . it is clarified that culture with the addition of as , ls , rs , ss , prs , or fsk induced the mrna expression of runx2 gene . the culture was performed as in “ 2 - 1 ” above by adding the stated compounds . twenty - eight days after the culture , the culture medium was removed from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−). then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii , and cdna was synthesized using revertra ace qpcr rt master mix . real - time pcr master mix , and a taqman probe and primers specific to human osterix gene were added , and real - time rt - pcr was performed using an ab7300 real - time pcr system . fig1 shows the results . it is clarified that culture with the addition of fsk induced the mrna expression of osterix gene . the culture was performed as in example 1 by adding the stated compounds . dznep was purchased from cayman chemical ( ann arbor , usa ), and cx - 4945 was purchased from biovision ( zurich , switzerland ). twenty - eight days after the culture , as in example 2 , alizarin red s staining was performed , and the measurement of the absorbance ( od 550 - 650 nm ) and photographing were performed . fig1 shows the results . it is clarified that culture with the addition of d4476 , fsk , or dznep induced the ability to produce calcified matrix in fibroblasts . cx - 4945 had no effect . a normal human dermal fibroblast ( hdf ) strain was seeded in a 60 - mm culture dish , and cultured under standard conditions in an induction medium to which 100 nm simvastatin ( ss ), or 100 nm simvastatin and 2 μm d4476 ( ss + d4 ) had been added . the medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed for 21 days . then , total rna was collected from the cells using isogen ii . similarly , total rna was collected from human dermal fibroblasts ( hdfs ) and human osteoblasts ( obs ). the mrna expression pattern of each cell was analyzed genome - wide using a dna chip of affymetrix , inc . fig2 shows the results . both of the cells cultured with the addition of ss and cells cultured with the addition of ss + d4 showed global gene expression patterns similar to that of osteoblasts , rather than that of fibroblasts , and the latter showed a global gene expression pattern more similar to that of osteoblasts , compared with the former . animal experiments were carried out with the approval of kyoto prefectural university of medicine . eight - week - old male nod / scid mice ( charles river ) were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection with pentobarbital . a segmental bone defect having a diameter of about 4 mm was formed at the left femoral diaphysis using a dental drill while pouring water . cells obtained by culturing hdfs in the presence of simvastatin and d4476 for 21 days as in example 11 were suspended in a 1 : 1 liquid mixture of 50 μl of medium and 50 μl of matrigel ( bd biosciences , san jose , calif . ), and transplanted to the bone defect site and the bone surface around the defect site at a concentration of 5 × 10 3 cells / mouse . mice in which a bone defect was formed and fibroblasts were then transplanted were also prepared . twenty - one days later , the mice were euthanized , the thigh was excised and fixed with neutral formalin , and then microcomputed tomography ( μct ) was conducted using an x - ray ct device ( scan xmate - l090 , com scan techno , yokohama , japan ). fig2 shows three - dimensionally constructed μct images . the black arrows show that bone has been regenerated to repair a defect at the site in which an artificial bone defect was formed and transplantation was performed . the white arrows show that bone has been regenerated at the site around the defect , at which transplantation was performed . the arrowheads show the bone defect remaining at the site in which the artificial bone defect was formed and transplantation was performed . it was clarified that the cells cultured with the addition of simvastatin ( ss ) plus d4476 ( d ) have the ability of bone formation in vivo . animal experiments were carried out with the approval of the kyoto prefectural university of medicine . a transplantation experiment was performed as in “ 2 - 12 ” above , and mice to which fibroblasts were transplanted were also prepared . twenty - one days later , the mice were euthanized , and the thigh was excised and fixed with neutral formalin as in example 11 . then , the bone tissue was embedded in scem compound ( leica microsystems ) and frozen rapidly . the tissue was sliced into 6 - μm sections , and then the serial sections were stained with hematoxylin eosin ( h & amp ; e ) ( left ) and alizarin red s ( right ). fig2 shows the results . it was clarified that the cells cultured with the addition of ss + d4476 have the ability of bone formation in vivo . 2 - 14 : induction from normal human white preadipocytes ( fig2 ) normal human white preadipocytes ( hwps ) were seeded in a 35 - mm dish at a concentration of 5 × 10 4 cells / dish ( day 0 ). on the next day , the culture medium was removed from each well and replaced with fresh medium ( 2 ml / well ) ( a general - purpose medium or an induction medium that contains the small molecular compound as shown in the figure ). the general - purpose medium was obtained by adding 10 % fbs to dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ), and the induction medium was obtained by adding 50 μg / ml ascorbic acid , 10 mm β - glycerophosphate , 100 nm dexamethasone , and 10 % fbs to dmem . the culture medium was replaced once every 3 to 4 days , and culture was performed . twenty - one days after the culture , the culture medium was aspirated from each well , and the cells were washed with pbs (−), followed by fixation with 10 % formalin . after washing was performed 3 times with sterile distilled water , an alizarin red s staining solution was added , followed by incubation at room temperature for 15 minutes . the wells after staining were washed with sterile distilled water , and then photographed . fig2 shows the results . calcified bone matrix is shown as red staining . it is clarified that the culture with the addition of d4476 strongly induced the ability to produce calcified matrix in hwps . | 2 |
fig1 a to 1c show one embodiment of a stress relief device designed to be removably attached to the rear of a connector in a so called &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; configuration . in this configuration the device 1 is at least partly symmetrical about an axis δ of revolution . according to one important feature of the invention the front part 100 of the clamp 10 , differing in this regard from the prior art devices , is not in the form of a continuous ring but rather in the form of an open part which is substantially the shape of the letter &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;. this &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; ring 100 has an increased thickness periphery 1000 forming a partial flange and , in the front part , in a preferred embodiment , teeth 101 . there is a distance &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; between the two lips of the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shape part . the body of the clamp 10 is extended towards the rear by a converging &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shape part 102 ending at a narrow neck 103 . finally , the clamp 10 terminates at the rear in an increased thickness part forming a partial flange 104 , advantageously circular in shape and inscribed within a circle whose diameter is greater than the outside diameter of the neck 103 . the ring 11 is provided with a rear flange 110 complementary in shape to the increased thickness periphery 1000 . it also has an internal screwthread 111 . when the ring 11 is screwed onto the screwthreaded rear part of a connector , as explained below , the flange 110 locks the clamp 10 against said connector , because of the increased thickness periphery 1000 . finally , the median part 102 of the clamp 10 is preferably provided with at least one peg 105 ( usually two pegs ) whose function is also explained below . the material of the clamp 10 is a composite material with elastic properties . the ring 11 can be made from the same material . fig2 a , 2b , and 2c show a second embodiment of a device of the invention , namely an angled configuration of the latter . parts common to both embodiments with the same or at least similar functions are identified by the same reference number and are described again only as and where necessary . the only notable difference results from the fact that the intermediate part of the clamp body , identified by the reference number 10 &# 39 ; in these figures , is angled . in the example shown it comprises two separate parts 102 &# 39 ; and 102 &# 34 ; extending in directions parallel to the axis δ in the case of the intermediate part 102 &# 39 ; at the front and to an axis δ &# 39 ; in the case of the intermediate part 102 &# 34 ; at the rear . in the example shown the axes δ and δ &# 39 ; are at angle α to each other equal to 90 ° ( fig2 a ). it must be clearly understood that in no way is this value limiting on the scope of the invention , however . in the example shown the surfaces of the two parts 102 &# 39 ; and 102 &# 34 ; merge at a sharp corner edge . again , this is merely one possible technological choice available to the person skilled in the art , enabling simple manufacture of the body of the clamp 10 &# 39 ;, for example by moulding . the steps of mounting or demounting a device 1 or 1 &# 39 ; of the invention on a connector 2 will now be described with reference to fig3 a through 4b . parts common to the devices shown in fig1 a through 2c having the same or at least similar functions are identified by the same reference number and are described again only as and where necessary . it is assumed that the overall shape of the connector 2 is a solid of revolution ( or revolute structure ) about an axis δ . in the example shown the device is one with the so called &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; configuration . it is assumed that , during a preliminary step , the terminations 30 of the cable harness 3 have been connected to the contacts ( not shown ) at the rear of a connector 2 , for example screw terminal type contacts . the connector 2 conventionally comprises a mobile front member 20 in the form of a ring with an internal screwthread ( not shown ) so that it can be screwed onto a complementary type connector ( also not shown ). the ring 20 advantageously has grooves 200 or similar members offering a better grip to the hand or to a tool . when this preliminary operation has been done , the cable harness 3 extends in a direction substantially parallel to the axis δ . the ring 11 is threaded over the cable harness 3 first , of course . in the state shown in fig3 a the clamp 10 &# 39 ; is close to the rear 21 of the connector 2 . the clamp 10 &# 39 ; is positioned so that the rear part 102 &# 34 ; of the median part of its body is parallel to an axis δ in a predetermined direction . the angle e between the axes δ and δ &# 39 ; is substantially 90 ° in the example shown . as shown in fig3 b the cable harness is bent to press it against the inside of the clamp , in particular against the inside of the rear part of the intermediate area 102 &# 34 ;. the harness 3 then extends parallel to the direction defined by the axis δ &# 39 ;. the ring has been moved back to the position 11 &# 39 ; ( shown in dashed outline ) so that it is sufficiently far away from the clamp 10 &# 39 ; not to impede the above bending operation . said ring is then threaded ( full line position 11 ) over the rear part of the clamp 10 &# 39 ;. the relative dimensions of the inside diameter of the ring 11 and the components of the clamp 10 &# 39 ; are naturally determined so that they enable this insertion . the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shape front part 100 of the clamp 10 &# 39 ; is then compressed so that the lips 1001 and 1002 move towards each other . this can usually be done by hand , if the dimensions of the connector allow it . it is possible because the material of the clamp has elastic properties , as previously mentioned . the distance &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; ( see fig2 a or 2b ) is determined to allow sufficient movement of the lips 1001 and 1002 towards each other to allow insertion of the peg 105 inside the flange 110 . when the compression force is removed , the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; part resumes its original size . the peg 105 then prevents removal of the ring 11 from the clamp . this position is shown in fig1 c . the rear 21 of the connector 2 has pegs or teeth 201 on its exterior whose profile is complementary to that of the teeth 101 of the clamp 10 , or at least adapted to engage in the latter . a single peg 202 is needed , but advantageously a plurality of pegs is provided , as shown , equi - angularly distributed over the periphery . this arrangement prevents rotation of the clamp 10 &# 39 ; relative to the connector 2 when completely fitted to the connector by screwing it onto the rear thread of the latter , as shown in fig3 d . the distance &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; between the pegs and the rear 21 of the connector 2 must be greater than the thickness of the ring 11 , when fully screwed on , to enable interengagement of the teeth 101 and the pegs 201 . the final stage is to fasten the cable harness 3 to the open inside of the clamp 10 &# 39 ;. this is simple to achieve in the conventional way by means of a cable tie 4 wrapped around the cable harness 3 and the groove 103 of the clamp 10 &# 39 ;. the so called &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; configuration of the clamp 10 &# 39 ; has been chosen to illustrate the fitting of a device of the invention . it must be understood that this is an arbitrary choice , however . the stages of fitting a device with the so called &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; configuration are entirely similar apart from the stage in which the cable harness 3 is bent . the stages of demounting a clamp of the invention from a connector 2 will now be described with reference to figures 4a through 4b . the so called &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; configuration has been chosen for the clamp 10 this time , again entirely arbitrarily . the stages of demounting a clamp 10 &# 39 ; with the so called &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; configuration would be entirely similar . it is assumed first of all that the cable tie 4 ( not shown ) has been removed beforehand . it can be a plastics material tie which is cut off with wire cutters , for example . this operation is entirely standard and there is no need to describe it further . in the position with the clamp 10 mounted , the cable harness 3 extends parallel to the axis of symmetry δ of the connector 2 . in the stage shown in fig4 a the ring 11 is first unscrewed from the rear screwthread 201 on the connector 2 . the rear part 102 of the clamp 10 is compressed to move the lips 1001 and 1002 of the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shape front part 100 towards each other . the pegs 105 then enter the ring 11 , passing under the flange 110 . it is therefore possible to unscrew the ring 11 even though the clamp 10 and the connector 2 are inter - engaged with each other by virtue of the conjugate action of the teeth 101 and the pegs 202 . once fully unscrewed , the ring 11 can slide along the cable harness 3 . it then suffices to apply a traction force in a direction orthogonal to the axis δ to the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; shape front part 100 for the lips 1001 and 1002 to move apart slightly and allow the clamp 10 to leave its housing . at this stage it is a simple matter to replace the &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; configuration clamp 10 with a &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; configuration clamp 10 &# 39 ;, by working through the mounting stages explained with reference to fig3 a to 3b . this operation does not require any disconnection of the terminations 30 of the cable 3 , unlike a prior art device . it must be understood that the ring 11 used for a &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; clamp 10 is in every regard identical to that used for an &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; clamp 10 &# 39 ; ( for the same design of connector 2 , of course ). it is also important to note that in the case of the &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; type clamp , it is possible to change the exit orientation of the cable harness 3 ( the direction of the axis δ &# 39 ;), also without disconnecting the terminations 30 . it is sufficient to demount the clamp 10 &# 39 ; as described in detail for the clamp 10 &# 39 ; with reference to fig4 a and 4b , to rotate the harness 3 about the axis δ and to replace the clamp 10 &# 39 ; in the new position ( fig3 b to 3d ). incidentally , it is not necessary to release the ring 11 completely ( position 11 &# 39 ; in fig3 b or position 11 in fig3 a ). the above description shows clearly that the invention achieves the stated objects . it enables easy mounting and demounting without requiring disconnection of the cable terminations . among other things , it enables replacement of a &# 34 ; straight &# 34 ; type clamp by an &# 34 ; angled &# 34 ; clamp and changing the orientation of the cable harness 3 at the rear exit from the connector 2 without requiring any disconnection . the composite material can be pbt , such as the material sold by general electric under the tradename ultem , for example . the invention finds particular applications in the fields of automobiles and aviation , which are fields in which cable harnesses comprise large numbers of connections . however , although particularly well suited to these fields , the invention is not restricted to applications of these types . it must also be made clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiments specifically described with reference to fig1 through 4b . the connector to which the clamp is fixed can be of various configurations . in particular , it is not necessary for it to be of the type with a screw coupling at the front . it can be either a plug or a socket . the material mentioned , although particularly well suited to the invention , is not the only material that can be used . any appropriate material having appropriate mechanical strength and elasticity properties can be used to manufacture the clamp of the invention . the final choice of a specific material from among those which can be used will depend on technological considerations ( mechanical strength , temperature resistance , etc .) and considerations of ease of manufacture and cost , all within the competence of the person skilled in the art . the material of the ring can be the same as or different from that of the clamp , and can even be a metal . | 7 |
fig2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a projection system 150 . projection system 150 includes an illumination attenuation subsystem 200 optically coupled to a light modulation subsystem 250 . projection system 150 may also include a controller module 270 coupled to the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 and light modulation subsystem 250 . the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 is located in the light path of projection display system 150 ahead of a light modulation subsystem 250 . the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 is operable to attenuate the light 205 from the light source 202 according to image characteristics . the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 includes an attenuation control input in communication with an image controller in controller module 270 . the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 also includes a liquid crystal panel in illumination attenuation module 240 that may modulate light in the light path . the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 may further include a liquid crystal panel controller connected to the liquid crystal panel and the attenuation control input , or alternatively , the liquid crystal panel controller may be located in controller module 270 . the light modulation subsystem 250 of the projection control system communicates with an image controller in controller module 270 that provides the images to be displayed by the projection system 150 . generally , in operation , illumination attenuation subsystem 200 provides a light source 202 that provides illumination light over a light path 205 to illumination attenuation module 240 . illumination attenuation module 240 may generally polarize light from light source 202 , and use a liquid crystal ( lc ) attenuation panel to modulate the light , with a polarization device to analyze the modulated light , thereby preventing a fraction of the illumination from passing , and controlling the output illumination of light over light path 242 as appropriate . a modulation optics module 252 receives the light and may modify and process the light from the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 for output to a projection surface 260 via projector lens 254 . the modulation optics module 252 generally may modulate the light 242 to impart image information using a light valve , an lcos panel , an lcd panel , or other techniques known in the art . additionally , controller module 270 may control the operation of the illumination attenuation subsystem 200 and / or the light modulation subsystem 240 . it will be appreciated that controller module 270 may comprise circuitry and / or a combination of hardware and software to control illumination attenuation subsystem 200 and light modulation subsystem 250 . an exemplary process that controller module 270 may employ is described below with reference to fig1 . it will be further appreciated that illumination attenuation subsystem 200 may be used in various projection devices to provide a desired sequential contrast , for example , in projection - based displays in front - projection mode , where the viewer and projector are on the same side of the projection surface 260 , and rear - projection mode , where the viewer and projector are on opposite sides of projection surface 260 . additionally , the concepts described herein may be utilized in controlling illumination to instrument displays , such as direct - view displays , and head - up displays , where ambient light conditions are continuously variable . fig3 illustrates a first embodiment of the illumination attenuation system 200 for a projector that uses a lc attenuation panel 230 to attenuate the illumination . the illumination attenuation system 200 includes a light source 202 , a lens array 210 , a polarization conversion system ( pcs ) 212 , a lc attenuation panel 230 , a combining lens 214 , a telecentric field lens 218 , and an entrance polarizer 220 . the light source 202 , includes ultra - high - pressure ( uhp ) lamp 204 , located inside a parabolic or elliptical reflector 206 . brightness of a uhp lamp 204 is determined by input electrical power and arc gap . light from the light source 202 is typically collected by a parabolic or elliptical reflectors 206 , for use with the lens array 210 . the lens array 210 is used to create a uniform - and efficient illuminator in the projection system . lens array 210 is exemplary of the type of lens device that can be used , but other lens configurations can be used , such as arrays of cylindrical lenses , diffractive lens , prismatic lenses or focusing lenses based on total internal reflection . other structures having the functionality of lens array 210 could be used , such as arrays of tapered light guides having focusing functionality based on total internal reflection . pcs 212 provides light exiting with substantially the same polarization . thus , pcs 212 may include a linear array of polarizing beam splitters ( pbss ), or another polarization device such as a wire grid polarizer . in an embodiment that uses a pbs , the pcs 212 separates the light beams from the lens array 210 into different orthogonal polarizations ( e . g ., s - polarized light and p - polarized light ). this can be accomplished with a polarization separating surface for each polarization converter element that reflects one light polarization and transmits the other . the reflected state is then reflected again along the optical axis and transmitted through a half - wavelength retardation plate , typically affixed to the exit surface of the array of pcs 212 . this results in nearly all the light exiting each polarization converter element with the same polarization . in operation , achromatic light is generated by uhp light 204 and reflects from parabolic reflector 206 through the lens array 210 onto polarization conversion system ( pcs ) 212 . an array of images is created by the lens array 210 which is incident on pcs 212 . a combining lens 214 after the pcs 212 directs the polarized light on a light path toward telecentric field lens 218 , which directs light through entrance polarizer 220 . in some embodiments , lc attenuation panel 230 may be placed between pcs 212 and combining lens 214 . placing the lc panel 230 closely sandwiched between pcs 212 and lens 214 is preferable with such spatial attenuation techniques because it minimizes non - uniformities resulting from angular dependent component performance . in other embodiments , however , lc attenuation panel 230 may be located elsewhere on the light path between pcs 212 and polarizer 220 , for example , at an aperture stop position between combining lens 214 and telecentric lens 218 . to enforce telecentricity , a field lens 218 is located at a focal length from combining lens 214 . as used here , telecentricity is the condition where the principal ray from any point in the object is parallel to the optic axis . this requirement is necessary in most lc projection systems as it avoids any non - uniformity resulting from angular dependent component performance . entrance polarizer 220 follows telecentric field lens 218 in order to analyze the polarized light . in this described embodiment , the lc attenuation panel 230 comprises concentric circles defining annuli regions about a common center , that may be sequentially switched between white and black . fig3 a and 3b show some exemplary configurations of lc attenuation panel 230 . fig3 a shows ‘ black ’ attenuation portion 232 represented by a shaded area and a ‘ white ’ non - attenuation portion 234 which is not shaded . in comparison to fig3 a , fig3 b shows a larger ‘ black ’ attenuation portion 232 and a smaller ‘ white ’ non - attenuation portion 234 . thus , the configuration of attenuation portions in fig3 a serve to allow more light through the illumination system than the configuration shown in fig3 b . fig9 a to 9 c illustrate some exemplary panel designs which may be used in place of the concentric circle design . the black regions of the lc attenuation panel are more strictly regions where the polarization state of the light is modulated from one that is primarily linearly polarized , courtesy of the pcs 212 , to its near orthogonal state , whereas the polarization of the light passing through the white regions is substantially unmodulated . the light in the orthogonal state that has passed through the black region of the lc attenuation panel 230 , is removed from the system 200 at the entrance polarizer 220 following the telecentric field lens 218 . the extent to which the light passing through the black region of the lc attenuation panel 230 depends on the extent to which the polarization out of the pcs 212 is polarized . for example , pcs 212 seldom achieves greater than 90 % polarization purity , implying that the attenuation will only be down to a 10 % level . this should be sufficient in most cases , but a further input polarizer device could be inserted , as appropriate , to improve the polarization purity thereby improving attenuation . an additional polarizer device ( in addition to entrance polarizer 220 ) would allow the lc attenuation panel 230 to operate in un - polarized systems such as those employing a dmd - based projector modulator . in this latter case , though , a 50 % insertion loss would be automatic even with ideally operating polarizers and lc devices . if the lc attenuation panel 230 is placed at an aperture stop position of the illumination attenuation system 200 or the aperture stop of a projector , it may be particularly exposed to high intensity illumination . to avoid degradation of the organic lc and its alignment layers , an inorganic alignment method such as evaporated sio x may be used , which has become common in vertically aligned nematic ( van ) mode lcos panels . in this exemplary embodiment , a vertically aligned mode is favored , with a 90 ° twist being used to avoid residual retardance and leakage in its off - state . dislocations associated with vertically aligned twisted nematic ( vatn ) liquid crystal modes are minimal since coarse patterning is employed and reverse twisting caused though in - plane electric fields is sparse . some attractive advantages of using the solid - state lc attenuation panel 230 include the absence of mechanical parts , increasing reliability and speed in switching between attenuation modes . quick response allows near complete shut off of the light when the video signal is removed . this is particularly attractive in projection systems that have a non - uniform colored dark state , since it prevents the viewer witnessing an unexpected , seemingly poor image quality , which in effect does not significantly degrade video imagery . additionally , in contradistinction to mechanical auto - irises , the lc attenuation panel 230 is silent in operation , has no vibration , has a lower power consumption , and is relatively inexpensive to produce . not all of the elements illustrated in fig3 would necessarily be included in all implementations . some implementations would include additional elements not illustrated . for example , in an alternative embodiment , a second lens array ( not shown ) may be positioned in the light path between the first lens array 210 , and the pcs 212 , providing two identical arrays of lenses , matched in aperture ratio , which are located one focal distance apart . thus , an array of images is created by the first lens array 210 in the plane of the second lens array . each source image is incident on a single element of the second lens array . pcs 212 may be incorporated immediately before or immediately after the second lens array . a combining lens 214 , placed directly after the second lens array ( or pcs 212 ), acts to map the light onto telecentric field lens 218 , which directs light through entrance polarizer 220 . lc attenuation panel 230 is located on the light path between pcs 212 and entrance polarizer 320 , at one of several possible locations ( e . g ., sandwiched between pcs 212 and lens 214 , or after lens 214 , etc .). to enforce telecentricity , a field lens 218 is located at a focal length from combining lens 214 . entrance polarizer 220 follows telecentric field lens 218 in order to analyze the polarized light . fig4 shows a second embodiment of an illumination attenuation system 300 , in which an lc attenuation panel 330 has a pattern that acts to attenuate gradually from the corners . in this second embodiment , the elements comprising the illumination attenuation system 300 and their configuration share similarities , except that a cross - patterned lc panel 330 is used instead of a concentric circle panel 230 . accordingly , in this second embodiment , light source 302 is similar to light source 202 of fig3 , lens array 310 is similar to lens array 210 , and so on . likewise , lc attenuation panel 330 may be located at various positions between pcs 312 and polarizer 320 . in this exemplary embodiment , lc attenuation panel 330 is located between pcs 312 and combining lens 314 . as shown in more detail with reference to fig4 a , the lc attenuation panel 330 may have patterned attenuation portions , including a central cross region , with concentric l - shaped regions extending outward from the center . the exemplary configuration shown in fig4 a has attenuation portions which are configured in a non - attenuation state , as shown by the non - attenuation portion 334 . in comparison , the exemplary configuration shown in fig4 b includes some attenuation portions configured with an attenuation state shown by shaded regions 332 , and other portions configured with a non - attenuation state , shown by the non - shaded region 334 . many optical devices are sensitive to skew rays that reduce contrast in the projection system due to geometrical rotation of the polarizing axis . thus , this exemplary embodiment provides an illumination attenuation system 300 that minimizes skew rays in the 135 °/ 45 ° azimuthal planes , thereby preventing leakage . in this embodiment , the patterned lc attenuation panel 330 can reduce such skew rays by clipping out the corners of a normally circular pupil . this has the benefit of greater contrast at any given attenuation setting when compared to the embodiment of fig3 , since skew rays in the 135 °/ 45 ° azimuthal planes are those that cause most leakage . preferably , light from an integer number of lens elements of lens array 310 is incident on each patterned attenuation portion of the lc attenuation panel 330 . in other words , each source image from lens array 310 is entirely incident on a patterned attenuation portion of lc attenuation panel 330 . this embodiment has an additional advantage that the electrical connections for applying electrical power to the various regions of the lc panel may be situated along the edges of the panel , simplifying connections to controlling circuitry since it does not require routing of electrical conductors between portions of liquid crystal . it will be appreciated that in another embodiment ( not shown ), the illumination light can be narrowed more in one axis than another axis for applications such as hdtv , where there is a 16 : 9 aspect ratio , or even conventional displays having an aspect ratio of 4 : 3 . this can be achieved by modifying the pattern with a different vertical attenuation ratio from the horizontal attenuation ratio e . g ., providing f /# 2 . 5 vertically , and f /# 4 . 0 horizontally . fig5 shows a third embodiment of an illumination attenuation system 400 , which utilizes an analog lc attenuation panel 430 . in this third embodiment , the elements comprising the illumination attenuation system 400 share some similarities with the illumination attenuation system 200 of fig3 , except that analog lc attenuation panel 430 is used in place of concentric circle panel 230 . accordingly , in this third embodiment , light source 402 is similar to light source 202 of fig3 , lens array 410 is similar to lens array 210 , etc . it should be appreciated that the analog lc panel 430 may be placed in the light path just before or after the telecentric field lens 418 , and before the polarizer 420 . unlike the binary - addressed patterned set of embodiments shown with reference to fig3 and 4 , that spatially attenuate light from light source 402 , the analog lc attenuation panel 430 controls the level of transmission in a light path by attenuating all rays nearly equivalently , therefore providing a uniform attenuation of the light source 402 . accordingly analog lc attenuation panel 430 is less dependent on angular performance , and therefore may be positioned closer to telecentric lens 418 without significantly affecting attenuation performance . positioning panel 430 close to lens 418 allows a reduction in the analog lc panel &# 39 ; s 430 size and cost , as well as the amount of space required by this illumination attenuation system 400 . analog lc panel 430 may also be placed in other locations , such as between pcs 412 and combining lens 414 , though doing so will require a larger , more expensive lc panel 430 . analog lc attenuation panel 430 may be a binary lc device with an on and an off state , or the analog lc attenuation panel 430 may provide analog modulation with a plurality of optical states of the device . this analog operation allows control of the illumination and color as a function of modulation . analog lc attenuation panel 430 may also correct the light source to remove characteristic spikes of color , such as the 580 nm yellow spike . the analog lc attenuation panel 430 may be optimized for fast response times , providing a very high frame rate operation including fast refresh rates ( e . g ., 20 khz ). since this device attenuates all of the incident rays substantially equally , rather than some of the rays ( i . e ., as with the spatial attenuation devices described above in fig3 & amp ; 4 ), the analog performance provides the advantage of hiding temporal transition artifacts as seen by the viewer . at lower intensity settings , however , the lc attenuation panel 430 may introduce chromaticity thereby requiring correction of chromatic levels through modulation in additional lc panels , e . g ., lcos panels following the illumination attenuation system 400 . such unacceptable chromatic transmission effects may be offset by controller module 270 of fig2 using rgb panel modulation techniques , using offset values stored in look - up tables , or using corrective dsp techniques that are known in the art . fig6 illustrates a fourth embodiment of an illumination attenuation system 500 , which uses an analog lc attenuation panel 532 with corrective polymer - based polarization filters 530 . in this fourth embodiment , the elements comprising the illumination attenuation system 500 share some similarities with the illumination attenuation system 200 of fig3 , except that analog lc attenuation panel 532 is used in place of concentric circle panel 230 . accordingly , in this third embodiment , light source 502 is similar to light source 202 of fig3 , lens array 510 is similar to lens array 210 , etc . to reduce the analog lc panel &# 39 ; s 532 size and cost , as well as the amount of space required by this illumination attenuation system 500 , analog lc attenuation panel 532 may be placed in the light path just before or after the telecentric field lens 518 , and before the polarizer 520 . as mentioned above with reference to analog lc attenuation panel 430 of fig5 , at lower intensity settings , analog lc attenuation panel 532 may introduce chromaticity , thereby requiring correction of chromatic levels . such correction may be achieved by introducing additional components such as retarder - based polarization manipulation elements such as corrective polymer - based polarization filters 530 , and in some embodiments , another lc cell ( not shown ) to provide additional achromatic analog attenuation . again , the lc component size could be minimized by placing it closer to the panel . fig7 illustrates a fifth embodiment of an illumination attenuation system 600 , which combines an analog attenuation approach with a spatial attenuation approach . in this fifth embodiment , the elements comprising the illumination attenuation system 600 share some similarities with the illumination attenuation system 200 of fig3 , except that liquid crystal ( lc ) matrix attenuation panel 630 is used in place of concentric circle panel 230 . accordingly , in this fifth embodiment , light source 602 is similar to light source 202 of fig3 , lens array 610 is similar to lens array 210 , etc . since lc matrix attenuation panel 630 may be used as a spatial attenuator , it is preferably placed sandwiched between pcs 612 and combining lens 614 ( not shown in this configuration ). alternatively , lc matrix attenuation panel 630 may be placed at an aperture stop position on the light path between combining lens 614 and field lens 618 , however , it will be appreciated that the lc panel 630 may be placed elsewhere on the light path , with some trade - offs being made according to design needs . lc matrix attenuation panel 630 includes a matrix of coarse pixels that are individually addressable with analog values , providing independent modulating regions . lc attenuation panel 630 can be operated as a user - defined spatial attenuator — the more general extension of the first two embodiments . it can , however , also provide analog achromatic attenuation . by individual analog addressing of coarse pixels , the chromatic behavior of a single shutter can be averaged out , especially if retarder - based polarization corrector films ( not shown ) are used in conjunction . although active - matrix addressing could be considered , the high - brightness illumination requirement and the device &# 39 ; s overall cost would favor passive addressing . since the pixel count would be significantly lower than that of a display panel , passive addressing schemes as those used in stn ( super twist nematic ) lc displays could be employed without requiring the stn &# 39 ; s sharp switching characteristic . fig8 shows a spectrum of an exemplary uhp lamp ( e . g ., lamp 204 , 304 , 404 , etc .) through a uv filter . as shown by the spectrum , the light from a uhp lamp is essentially white , the output is somewhat red deficient and green rich . the peaked nature of this spectrum requires precise color management particularly since the yellow 580 nm spike must be almost entirely removed . although the various embodiments of illumination attenuation systems have so far been described with respect to controlling the illumination output of a single uhp light source , the teachings disclosed herein may be used to control the relative intensities of various color components for a plurality of light sources . for example , color polarization filters may be used with the lc attenuation panels to provide a plurality of color - modifying apertures to separately control primary color components , each of which may control the relative intensities of the primary color component light paths . such a system is also useful for white - point correction purposes . these primary color component light paths may then be input to a color combiner to provide illumination light . an example of such a color component aperture stop system is provided in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 877 , 865 . as one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize , the system in the &# 39 ; 865 patent teaches the use of a mechanical aperture , rather than an lc - based attenuation panel , thus an lc - based attenuation panel may be substituted for the mechanical aperture , along with the appropriate polarization optics disclosed herein . fig9 a to 9 c are alternative lc attenuation panels that may be used will an illumination attenuation system ( e . g ., 200 of fig3 ) showing concentric shapes , where each concentric shape is defined by an area between an outer polygon and an inner polygon . the outer and inner polygons have a common center . fig9 a shows exemplary concentric shapes in the form of concentric stars . similar to the concentric circles of the lc attenuation panel 230 of fig3 , the outer portions of the panel may be addressed in sequence from the outside to the inside , to provide a variable aperture . fig9 b shows an example lc attenuation panel profile design having concentric squares , which spatially attenuate light equally in the horizontal and vertical direction when portions are configured in the ‘ black ’ state . although not shown , a variation on fig9 b may include concentric rectangles , which may spatially attenuate light in the horizontal and vertical directions proportionately to the desired projection design , e . g ., for a 16 : 9 widescreen projection . additionally , portions may be selectively attenuated to switch between , for example , 16 : 9 and 4 : 3 aspect ratio projection modes to optimize an illumination attenuation system to a selected projection mode . likewise , a variation on the lc attenuation panel 230 of fig3 may include a set of concentric ellipses that are optimized for one or more aspect ratio projection modes . fig9 c illustrates an exemplary attenuation panel design with concentric diamond shapes . as a person of ordinary skill should appreciate , there are many variations of profile designs that may be used with the lc attenuation panel , as well as being incorporated with other optical components in various configurations to result in an illumination attenuation system with similar functionality . accordingly , the examples of the various embodiments of the lc attenuation panels shown in fig3 to 9 c are not exclusive or limiting , and are merely disclosed as illustrations of the principle that a lc panel can be used to achromatically attenuate light in an illumination system . fig1 illustrates an exemplary method of attenuating light in an illumination system . light is received at a first polarizer at step 1002 . next , the received light is polarized using the first polarizer ( e . g ., a polarization beam splitter ) to generate polarized light , at step 1004 . attenuation portions of a lc attenuation panel are biased , wherein the panel may be positioned at the aperture position , at step 1008 . the state of polarization of light passing through the biased attenuation portions may be orthogonally transformed at step 1010 . the light from the lc attenuation panel is then analyzed with a second polarizer to prevent the orthogonally polarized light from passing , at step 1014 . accordingly , polarized light that passes through the unbiased portions of the lc attenuation panel is allowed to pass . fig1 illustrates an exemplary method of controlling the output of an illumination system . generally , the method includes receiving picture information at step 1102 . in some embodiments , output illumination of the illumination attenuation system may be measured at step 1104 . at step 1106 a determination is made whether the light source requires attenuation , taking into account , for example , the contrast and brightness requirements of the picture information , and , as another example , the output illumination measurement . if the light source requires attenuation , then step 1108 includes calculating an amount of attenuation required . further , if the light source requires attenuation , step 1110 includes providing a control signal to an lc attenuation panel . such a control signal controls the modulation function of the lc attenuation panel . if the determination at step 1106 does not require attenuation , then the lc attenuation panel may not be modulated . having described several embodiments , it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the disclosed embodiments . accordingly , the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description , and all changes that come within the meaning and ranges of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced therein . for example , as used here , illumination attenuation and light attenuation are terms that are used interchangeably . additionally , the section headings herein are provided for consistency with the suggestions under 37 c . f . r . § 1 . 77 or otherwise to provide organizational cues . these headings shall not limit or characterize the invention ( s ) set out in any claims that may issue from this disclosure . specifically and by way of example , although the headings refer to a “ technical field ,” the claims should not be limited by the language chosen under this heading to describe the so - called technical field . further , a description of a technology in the “ background of the invention ” is not to be construed as an admission that technology is prior art to any invention ( s ) in this disclosure . neither is the “ brief summary of the invention ” to be considered as a characterization of the invention ( s ) set forth in the claims found herein . furthermore , any reference in this disclosure to “ invention ” in the singular should not be used to argue that there is only a single point of novelty claimed in this disclosure . multiple inventions may be set forth according to the limitations of the multiple claims associated with this disclosure , and the claims accordingly define the invention ( s ), and their equivalents , that are protected thereby . in all instances , the scope of the claims shall be considered on their own merits in light of the specification , but should not be constrained by the headings set forth herein . | 6 |
fig1 shows an example of a prior art lighting devices for microwave ovens . the device is a typically small , tungsten filament appliance light bulb ( about 25 watts ) which radiates about 200 lumens . the life expectancy of such light bulbs are normally around 200 hours . however , these light bulbs are vulnerable to microwaves because microwave energy is capable of heating the tungsten filament to destructive levels . for example , in a typical 25 watt light bulb operating on 120 volts ac , it will draw about 0 . 2 amperes . but when the light bulb &# 39 ; s filament is exposed to microwaves , additional current may be induced , which can push the total current flowing through the filament to exceed its rated value , causing the filament to quickly burn out . this problem is made worse if the bulb is used in one of the newer combination microwave / convection ovens in which the temperature within the oven can rise to as high as 400 ° f . at this temperature , the heating effects of the microwave in addition to the heating effects of the ac current supply can quickly raise the filament temperature above its rated value . as illustrated in fig1 , to address this problem prior art microwaves hide the appliance light bulb in a small cavity formed in one of the walls of the cooking chamber and cover it with a screen to prevent microwave energy from reaching the bulb filament . unfortunately , such a placement of the bulb causes a severe reduction in the amount of illumination reaching the cooking chamber . for example , only a small fraction of the generated light from the bulb will actually reach the screen . the protective shield will further cut the amount of transmitted light to about half of the light that falls on the screen . as a result , only about four percent of the light generated from the light bulb actually reaches the oven cavity . much of this remaining light is lost in the cavity via absorption by the oven walls and oven contents so that the result is a very dimly lit cavity . to make the matter worse , viewing windows provided on the access doors for microwave ovens also are equipped with microwave - impervious screens , which further reduce the amount of the light that can pass through the window for viewing . the end result is that in a typical prior art oven employing a 25 watt light bulb , only less than 0 . 3 foot - candles of light will actually exit the oven through the oven window . this level of light is far below the minimum required for a user to accurately discern forms and colors . to achieve good color rendition , a light source should produce a spectral continuum with visual intensities of about 10 candle power . although high temperature incandescent light bulbs are capable of producing this level under normal conditions , when light intensity is low , true colors cannot be detected by human eyes . in particular , when the light intensity is below 10 foot - candles of light , human vision becomes unable to detect true colors . at about 0 . 5 foot - candles , human vision is essentially color blind . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 712 , 468 issued to ace ( 1998 ) discloses a system that uses quartz halogen lamps located at the front of the oven or near the top instead of in a separate chamber . it also proposes using lamps with shorter and thicker filaments that can withstand exposure to microwave or filament - less lamps such as point - source gas discharge or arc lamps . however , halogen lamps must operate at higher temperatures which makes their quartz envelope vulnerable to oils and other contaminants . for example , oil from human fingertips or food can create a hot spot on the bulb surface when the bulb is turned on . the localized hot spot will cause the quartz to change from its vitreous form into a weaker crystalline form that leaks gas . to avoid contamination , additional protected shields must be used , which in turn reduces the efficacy of the lamps &# 39 ; illuminating power , rendering the device more complex and expensive to manufacture . moreover , in order to achieve adequate lighting , the power required to drive the halogen lamp and the associated transformer are substantial , which reduces the amount of power available for cooking the known microwave oven lighting devices are not capable of providing sufficient light because of protective yet intrusive structures for the light bulbs , as well as their low lighting efficiency . as noted above , it remained for the present invention to recognize the need to make microwave oven lighting devices more powerful without the increasing expense of extra electricity usage and whose manufacture provides numerous benefits , as detailed hereinabove . indeed , the incandescent light bulb in fig1 consumes 20 watts and radiates only 200 lumens and of that amount , only a remnant ( 4 %) reaches the oven cavity . fig2 depicts an exemplary lighting assembly , or “ focalizer ,” 24 . fig7 illustrates the usage of said focalizer , embodying the principles of the present invention that provide a light source of high - illumination and low energy - consumption , and a high - efficiency light - delivering system for conveying the light into the microwave oven cavity via an aperture on the wall . our assembly brings much more light into the oven cavity compare to those of prior art lighting assemblies and is easy to manufacture . it essentially prevents the lamp from being exposed to microwaves and obviates the need for a protective metal mesh . as shown in fig2 , the focalizer 24 comprises an led 22 , a light - collecting lens ( or collector lens ) 21 , and a light - distributing lens ( or condenser lens ) 23 . the collector lens 21 and the condenser lens 23 form a lamp - front assembly . the focalizer 24 has a generally streamlined shape like a fish where the led 22 is the mouth , the collector lens 21 the rest of the head , and the condenser lens 23 the body . the three parts are connected in tandem closely . in this embodiment , the led 22 is a lamp with 100 lumens output and operational at 3 . 2 - 3 . 6v , 350 ma , 1w . most of the led 22 body is enveloped by the collector lens 21 for maximal light collection but the basal part of the led 22 is exposed outside for heat dissipation . the collector lens 21 is a bowl - shaped lens and has a base 27 and a distant end 29 with bigger diameter . the distant end 29 has a round flat surface . the collector lens base 27 is a light - receiving end , configured to accommodate and attach the led 22 . the led 22 is simply clipped onto the base 27 without the need for extra materials . the bulb of the led 22 is entirely enveloped by the collector lens 21 . in this way the light leakage from the assembly is minimized . viewed from outside , only the rear end of the led 22 is exposed for heat dissipation , as shown in fig3 a . the surrounding side surface of the collector lens 21 has a property of total internal reflection ( tir ), and the collector lens 21 is a total internal reflection ( tir ) lens . the collector lens 21 can reduce light from escaping and direct the received light with an efficiency of over 96 %. one of skill in the art would recognize that a tir lens may be constructed using the techniques currently used in optics design . the condenser lens 23 is a cone - shaped lens but the tip of the cone is cut . the condenser lens 23 comprises a base 31 and a discharging end 25 . the base 31 has a round flat surface with the same area with the distal end 29 of the collection lens 21 , which enables the base 31 to exactly match with the distal end 29 of the collection lens 21 . in this way the condenser lens 23 is seamlessly coupled ( or integrated ) with the distal end 29 of the collection lens 21 . the discharging end 25 is a light - exiting end for distributing the light into the microwave oven cavity . to protect the led 22 from microwaves , the discharging end 25 has a substantially small surface ( only one quarter of the plane area of the base 31 ), as shown in fig3 b . the small surface of the discharging end 25 greatly decreases the microwave leakage . additionally , the surface of the discharging end 25 is a round concave surface , in order for the light to be fanned out maximally . in this embodiment , the collector lens 21 and the condenser lens 23 are made of poly ( methyl methacrylate ) ( pmma ), a transparent thermoplastic . the lenses are single - piece constructions molded , cast , or machined from pmma . with the disclosure , one of skill in the art would construct the lenses using the techniques currently used in the art . the three parts of the focalizer 24 , e . g . the led 22 , the collector lens 21 and the condenser lens 23 , are bonded together tightly . since the collector lens base 27 is configured to attach to the led 22 , the led 22 simply clips on to the collector lens 21 . the collector lens distant end 29 and the condenser lens base 31 can be permanently glued together . there is nothing substantial in the interface of the two lenses 21 and 23 . fig4 shows the light path of the focalizer 24 in this embodiment . as the light rays emanate from the led 22 and enter the collector lens 21 through the base 27 , the surrounding side surface of collector lens 21 takes advantage of its tir properties to collect the light rays . after that , the light rays are reflected towards the distant end 29 and enter the condenser lens 23 through the base 31 . the light rays are condensed to some degree in the distribution lens 23 before passing through the discharging end 25 . lastly the light rays enter the microwave cavity and are distributed at an approximate angle of 90 °. in a second exemplary embodiment of the lighting assembly , the focalizer has one integral lens in order to minimize any loss during the light relaying process , as well as to make simpler the manufacture of the lighting assembly . fig5 shows a schematics illustration of a focalizer 100 according to the second embodiment of the lighting assembly . the focalizer 100 differs from the focalizer 24 in the first embodiment in that the lens is molded in one piece and functions as a combination of the collector lens 21 and the condenser lens 23 of the first preferred embodiment . specifically , the focalizer 100 comprises a led 122 and a lens 133 . the led 122 is a lamp with 100 lumens output and operational at 3 . 2 - 3 . 6v , 350 ma , 1w . most of the body of led 122 is enveloped by the lens 133 for maximal light collection but the basal part of the led 122 is exposed for heat dissipation the lens 133 is a stand - alone lamp - front assembly and spindle - shaped . it has a base 127 and a discharging end 125 , with a bulging section 135 in the middle . the portion from the base 127 to the bulging section 135 is gradually bulging out for collecting the light , identical to the collector lens 21 in the focalizer 24 . the portion from the bulging section 135 to the discharging end 125 is tapering for condensing and distributing the light , identical to the condenser lens 23 in the focalizer 24 . identical to the base 27 in the focalizer 24 , the base 127 is a light - receiving end , configured to accommodate and attach the led 122 so that the bulb of the led 122 is entirely enveloped by the lens 133 . the led 122 is simply clipped onto the base 127 without the need for extra materials . in this way the light leakage from the assembly is minimized . viewed from the outside , only the rear end of the led 122 is exposed for heat dissipation . for the part from the base 127 to the bulging section 135 , the surrounding side surface has a property of total internal reflection ( tir ), identical to the collector lens 21 . one of skill in the art would recognize that such a feature as tir may be constructed into the lens using the techniques currently used in the art . for the part from the bulging section 135 to the discharging end 125 , the lens is tapered , i . e . gradually becoming narrower . identical to the discharging end 25 in the focalizer 24 , the discharging end 125 is a light - exiting end for distributing the light into the microwave oven cavity , and has a relatively small surface area ( approximately one quarter of the plane area of the bulging section 135 ). the small surface area of the discharging end 25 advantageously decreases the microwave leakage around it . identical to the discharging end 25 in the focalizer 24 , the surface of the discharging end 125 is a round concave surface , in order for the light to be maximally fanned out . identical to the collector lens 21 and the condenser lens 23 in the focalizer 24 , the lens 133 is made of pmma . the lens can be molded , cast , or machined from a single - piece construction of pmma . with the disclosure , one of skill in the art would construct the lenses using the techniques currently used in the art . the light path of the focalizer 100 ( omitted in the drawings ) is identical to that of the focalizer 24 . as the light rays emanate from the led 122 and enter the lens 121 through the base 127 , the surrounding side surface of collector lens 121 acts with tir properties and is able to collect the light rays . after that , the light rays are reflected towards the discharging end 125 . the light rays are condensed to some degree in the lens 133 as the lens 133 gradually tapers before passing through the discharging end 125 . lastly the light rays enter the microwave cavity and are distributed at an approximate angle of 90 °. the positioning configuration and the illumination pattern of conventional incandescent bulbs in the microwave oven cavity are shown in fig1 . the conventional incandescent bulb used in the microwave oven is placed inside the side walls , covering by a metal mesh , so the illuminating angle is limited and the brightness is largely reduced . due to the position of the light bulb , the illuminated area is limited in area and typically does not cover the whole oven . a cooking chamber ( or microwave oven cavity ) typically has a top wall , a bottom wall , three side walls and a door . in preferred embodiments , the focalizer is connected with electrical wires ( omitted in the drawings ), put behind the side wall of the microwave oven , and shoots light beams into the cooking chamber through a small hole ( or an aperture ) in the oven . fig6 - 8 show one embodiment of the invention , which has two focalizers 24 , located within a microwave oven 26 . the microwave oven 26 has a door 28 , a top wall 37 , and a bottom wall 39 . the top wall 37 has an aperture 40 , behind which the focalizer 24 is installed . for this particular embodiment , the discharging end of the focalizer 24 is in the cooking chamber ; the led is behind the aperture 40 ; the body is fixed to the aperture 40 with permanent glue . the focalizers 24 are close to and overhead of the microwave door 28 , directing the light towards the center of the bottom wall ( or the oven cavity floor ) 39 . as shown in fig6 - 8 , the light can be directed from the focalizers 24 into the microwave oven cavity in any desired angles without structural hindrance . the illumination pattern of this embodiment is shown in fig9 . the lightened area of the microwave cavity walls are roughly divided into three partitions : a first bright area 36 a , a second bright area 36 b , and an enhanced bright area 38 . the light rays emitted from two focalizers 24 are illuminating the target walls , each of them bringing brightness to the first bright area 36 a or to the second bright area 36 b . in the middle part of the oven cavity , however , the light rays overlap and then produce the enhanced bright area 38 , resulting in higher brightness . the light angle of this invention can be adjusted according to the size of the oven , thereby solving the problem of the single angle and small emitting angle of lighting systems in conventional microwave ovens . there are two main benefits of this design . first , it is easy to control illumination angles and light paths so that more light can reach desired areas , which results in high light energy utilization and an even illuminating effect , second , light transmission is completed effectively in this way . therefore , preferred embodiments can provide a method to illuminate regions where adequate lighting is difficult to achieve with conventional incandescent lamps due to constraints of the intended environment . a microwave with conventional incandescent bulbs as in fig1 may also be retrofitted with the lighting assemblies of this invention , positioning them at the two top corners near the access door . the two lights are placed in a crossfire pattern , emitting light to the center of the cavity floor ( or the bottom wall ). in one or more embodiments according to the invention , other led lamps are used , which have different output and are operational at certain voltages . also used are other kinds of lamps or combination of other lamps , such as tungsten halogen lamps , xenon short arc lamps , metal halide lamps and derivatives of these technologies . these other lamp types can be used because the lighting devices of the present invention more efficiently provide light to the microwave oven cavity . additionally , in one or more embodiments the base around the lamp ( such as the bases 27 or 127 in the preferred embodiments ) is enlarged and a plurality of lamps can be attached to the light - collecting lens . in one or more embodiments according to the invention , the focalizer has three or more lenses . the lenses are seamlessly attached with each other ( or integrated ) and work collectively for initial light - collecting and then light - condensing before casting the light into the microwave oven cavity . the lenses are bonded together with glue or using some means for physical binding . in one or more embodiments according to the invention , metallic reflectors are used for light - collecting and light - condensing , or in combination with the tir or the condenser lenses in the preferred embodiments . in other embodiments in accordance with the invention , the material of the lenses is glass , polycarbonate , polystyrene , or some other kind of acrylic . the material should have high transmittance characteristics . the lenses are molded , cast , or machined in any desired way . in other particular embodiments in accordance of the invention , the surface of the discharging end ( such as the discharging ends 25 or 125 in the preferred embodiments ) is formed so that the light rays enter the microwave cavity and are distributed at an angle of any desired degree . in one or more embodiments according to the invention , other focalizers are used , such as the focalizer 100 . in one or more embodiments according to the invention , two focalizers are installed behind the walls as in the embodiment shown in fig7 but installed on the opposite positions of each other with the center of the oven cavity in the middle . the two focalizers are facing each other and the center of the cavity is the common focus of them so that the food placed on the cavity floor can be brightly illuminated and the shadows are eliminated . in one or more embodiments according to the invention , only one focalizer is used to illuminate the microwave oven cavity . the focalizer is placed in the middle of the space right above the cavity door . in other embodiments , more than two focalizers are used to illuminate the oven cavity . they are installed behind the surrounding walls and illuminate the cavity from multiple angles . the installation pattern can be modern and stylish . each of these details provides particular advantages and can be implemented independently of the others . the description above makes evident a number of main advantages of our high - efficiency low - energy - consumption lighting device for illuminating the microwave oven cavity : ( a ) the use of single - piece lenses makes the structure simple , the illuminating efficiency high , and the lighting pattern design adjustable , all of which can better light the microwave oven cavity and reduce the cost of the microwave oven manufacture . ( b ) the use of the led as the light source in the preferred embodiments , provides high and even brightness of light and various lighting angles ; high light energy efficiency , and effective energy saving ; easy installation ; compact size , simple structure , applicable to lighting the microwave oven of different sizes ; the embodiments not only enable the microwave oven to have a better lighting distribution , but also decreases the complexity of the lighting subsystem . although the present invention has been described in terms of specific exemplary embodiments and examples , it will be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only and various modifications and alterations might be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims | 7 |
methods are provided for increasing the specificity of restriction endonucleases that naturally cleave a specific recognition sequence preferably a sequence containing a cytosine without discriminating between a cytosine that is modified and one that is not . the method relies on identifying mutants of the restriction endonuclease that preferentially cleave a recognition site that contains the modified nucleotide ( such as modified cytosine ). the product of the methods provided herein may be used in epigenetic analyses . the term “ modified ” is intended to include methylated and hydroxymethylated nucleotides . “ stringent hybridization ” is exemplified by the following : 0 . 75m naci , 0 . 15m tris , 10 mm edta , 0 . 1 % sodium pyrophosphate , 0 . 1 % sls , 0 . 03 % bsa , 0 . 03 % ficoll 400 , 0 . 03 % pvp and 100 μg / ml boiled calf thymus dna at 50 ° c . for about 12 hours and washing 3 times for 30 minutes with 0 . 1 × set , 0 . 1 % sds , 0 . 1 % sodium pyrophosphate and 0 . 1m phosphate buffer at 37 ° c .- 55 ° c . examples of restriction endonucleases that when mutated according to the methods described herein could have preferential cleavage for modified nucleotides at the recognition site in dna as compared with cleavage of unmodified nucleotides at the same site include restriction endonuclease families represented by bamhi , bcgi , bstyi , bglii , pvui , asisi , bpmi , bseyi , bsgi , bspcni , bsri , bstni , btsi , ecop15i , hpyl88i , hpych4iii , phoi , sfii aiei , bbvci , bfuai , bsawi , bsobi , bsrbi , bspei , bsssi , draiii , eari , ecori , mboi , mspi , ncii , nmeaiii , phoi , sfani , styd4i , taqi , tlii , xhoi , xmai , bssai , asuii ; and isochizomers and neoschizomers thereof ; ecorii related endonucleases including ajni , bsebi , bstoi , bst2ui , bstni , mvai , psp61 and pspgi , some of which are neoschizomers ( see rebase ®, new england biolabs , inc . ( neb ), ipswich , mass .). in one embodiment , the dna encoding a restriction endonuclease to be modified is mutated so as to specifically alter one or more amino acids in the expressed protein to a different amino acid such as an alanine . this can be done systematically for example by starting at one end of the amino acid sequence of the protein and progressing through to the other end . each mutant is assayed for cleavage activity using dna that contains recognition sequences with and without a modified nucleotide such as two different oligonucleotide substrates or plasmids — one having an unmodified recognition sequence , the other containing a modified recognition sequence . when a particular mutant is identified as causing the restriction endonuclease to have greater specificity for modified sites than the wild type enzyme , this mutant is cloned . the increase in specificity may be at least 2 - fold for example at least 5 - fold or at least 10 - fold or at least 50 - fold or at least 100 - fold or at least 500 - fold or at least 1000 - fold preference for modified versus unmodified cytosine in the dna substrate . the mutated amino acid ( s ) identified above within the protein are then subjected to additional targeted mutations which substitute the mutated amino acid ( s ) for each of the remaining 18 possible amino acids to obtain the optimum mutation at a particular location for cleavage of methylated amino acids . the activity of different mutants can be readily ascertained using the method described in example 1 for bstni . to determine the effect of a mutation in a restriction endonuclease variant on methylated versus unmethylated substrates , the minimal concentration of enzyme required for complete digestion of unmethylated or methylated substrate was determined . the enzyme can be rapidly obtained for example by lysing transformed cells , spinning down cell debris and utilizing supernatant which can then be serially diluted and tested on a fixed amount of a dna substrate at a standard temperature and for a standard time . the product of the digestions can then be compared using gel electrophoresis . if the minimal concentration of the mutant enzyme required for complete digestion of a modified substrate is 10 - fold less than that for unmethylated substrate , this variant is recorded as favoring methylated substrate over unmethylated substrate by 10 - fold . in one embodiment of the invention , mutations from different clones are combined to enhance the activity of the endonuclease and its preference for modified nucleotides in the recognition sequence . in an embodiment of the invention , restriction endonucleases are used to analyze methylation patterns in genomic dna where the analysis relies on specific recognition sequences . a plurality of endonucleases may be used in an analysis wherein the following circumstances arise : ( a ) at least one endonuclease is specific for a recognition sequence containing at least one modified nucleotide ; ( b ) optionally one or more restriction endonucleases cleave in recognition sequences that may or may not contain the modified nucleotide ; and ( c ) optionally one or more endonucleases only cleave at recognition sequences that do not contain a modified nucleotide . for example , similar dnas may be digested with bstni r200c ( see below ) in parallel with pspgi . the separate cleavage patterns of these enzyme digests may be correlated for epigenetic analyses . in one embodiment of the invention , wild - type bstni , which is a type iip restriction endonuclease from bacillus stearothermophilus and recognizes and cuts cc / wgg at both cc / wgg and c 5m c / wgg ( see fig9 ) is mutated to preferentially cleave c 5m c / wgg . for example , the mutated bstni may include a mutation at r200 for example r200c . details provided in the following examples are not intended to be limiting . all references cited herein , including u . s . provisional application ser . no . 61 / 158 , 466 filed mar . 9 , 2009 , are hereby incorporated by reference . cloning bstni restriction endonuclease which was previously only available as an isolate from the native host genome sequencing of the native strain of bacillus stearothermophilus using shotgun cloning and 454 sequence technology ( 454 life sciences , branford , conn .) revealed a sequence which was similar to m . pspgi ( genbank # af067805 ) and m . mvai ( genbank # x16985 ), both type iip restriction endonucleases which recognize ccwgg . it was assumed that this sequence was m . bstni which methylates the inner cytosine to form c 4 cwgg . immediately adjacent to the bstnim gene was an 1224 bp open reading frame . it was hypothesized that this open reading frame encoded bstni . the following primers were used for pcr to amplify the bstni methylase gene : the pcr was performed at 94 ° c . for 5 min , then 30 cycles of 94 ° c . at 30 sec , 55 ° c . at 30 sec , 72 ° c . at 1 min 30 sec , followed by a 1 min 30 sec extension . the pcr product was column - purified and digested with bamhi and sphi , column - purified again , ligated to vector pacyc184 , and digested with bamhi , sphi and calf intestinal phosphatase ( cip ). the ligated product was then transformed into er2833 , and plated on luria - bertani ( lb ) plate with 33 μg / ml chloramphenicol ( cam ), and incubated at 37 ° c . overnight . six colonies were then picked and grown in lb with 33 μg / ml cam . plasmids were then extracted and digested with bamhi , sphi and bstni , separately . plasmids from colonies # 1 , 2 , 5 and 6 had inserts of the expected size and were resistant to bstni digestion ( fig4 ). the cells with plasmids resistant to bstni were re - grown and made chemically competent . the following primers were used for pcr to amplify bstni endonuclease : the pcr was performed at 94 ° c . for 5 min , then 30 cycles of 94 ° c . 30 sec , 55 ° c . 30 sec , 72 ° c . 1 min 30 sec , followed by a 1 min 30 sec extension . the pcr product was then column - purified and digested with psti and acc65i , column - purified again and ligated to vector placzz1 ( a puc19 derivative with a multiple - cloning site ). the ptaczz1 and petzz1 vectors which are ptac and pet vectors with multiple cloning sites were digested with sbfi , acc65i and cip . the ligated product was then transformed into er2833 with the pacyc184 - bstnim , and plated on lb plates with 100 μg / ml ampicillin ( amp ) and 33 μg / ml cam , and incubated at 37 ° c . overnight . six colonies from each vector were picked and grown in 3 ml lb with 100 μg / ml amp and 33 μg / ml cam at 37 ° c . 0 . 5 mm iptg was added to the final concentration for the induction and the cells were grown for another 16 hours at 37 ° c . after induction . the cells were then sonicated and activities were tested on the lambda dna at 60 ° c . for 1 hour . one colony (# 4 ) showed partial activity on lambda dna ( fig5 ). the 1224 bp putative bstni gene was cloned into placzz1 for transforming a m . bstni - protected e . coli strain . several colonies resulting from the transformation were picked in order to screen for bstni activity . no restriction endonuclease activity was detected . sequencing these plasmids revealed that the cloned dna contained a variety of mutations in the bstni gene sequence when compared with the open reading frame in the genomic sequence . surprisingly , one clone , which contained an arginine to cysteine mutation , retained its expected recognitionof ccwgg but predominantly cleaved c 5m cwgg in contrast with bstni obtained from a wild type host which recognized and cleaved both methylated and unmethylated ccwgg to a similar extent . the mutated amino acid was identified at position 371 in the protein sequence . the putative bstni was then cloned into a more tightly controlled petzzi vector to avoid potential toxicity of the enzyme . protein expression was induced by iptg . after cloning and transformation , again no detectable activity was obtained . sequencing of the vectors revealed that the dna encoding the putative bstni contained a variety of mutations . because of difficulties in cloning the active wild type bstni endonuclease , a different approach was taken . it was decided to investigate whether the genomic open reading frame was wrongly designated and the gene in fact was initiated by an internal atg start codon . consequently , a purified preparation of bstni from the native strain was sequenced at the n - terminal and this was compared with the amino acid sequence encoded by the 1224 bp open reading frame . the n - terminal amino acid sequence was found to be mmdxxktfikkleeikakgyixtl ( seq id no : 9 ). when this amino acid sequence was aligned with the putative bstni , it was found that translation actually started from an rna transcribed from the middle of the putative 1224 bstni gene . it was concluded that the bstni gene was actually 711 bp and the bstni protein contained 236 amino acids ( see fig3 , seq id nos : 3 and 4 , respectively ). it was further surmised that toxicity of the restriction endonuclease may have resulted in the absence of detectable endonuclease activity and the appearance of a range of mutations . consequently , a cloning vector was selected with tight control . the 711 bp bstni gene was cloned into the pbad241 vector , which is a pbad024 derivative that is tightly controlled by arac activator and can be induced by arabinose ( guzman et al . j . bacteriol . 177 ( 14 ): 4121 - 4130 ( 1995 )). after cloning , transformation and sequencing , a plasmid containing a single nucleotide deletion ( cytosine “ c ” at position 24 ) in the bstni gene was isolated . inverse pcr mutagenesis was used to add the missing cytosine back into the gene . ( this can be done for example using commercially available kits such as quikchange ® provided by stratagene inc ., now agilent technologies , la jolla , calif .). the dpni - digested pcr products were transformed into a pre - modified e . coli strain ( er2833 ) containing pacyc - bstnim . colonies were picked and grown in lb media with 100 μg / ml amp and 33 μg / ml cam . 1 ml out of each 3 ml overnight culture was pelleted and the supernatant was removed . the pellet was resuspended in 50 μl h 2 o containing 10 μg / ml rnasea . this bacterial suspension was sonicated for 6 seconds and incubated in 55 ° c . for 30 minutes . the remaining cellular debris was pelleted for 10 min at 12 , 000 rpm . the supernatant was diluted to 1 / 10 , 1 / 100 and 1 / 1000 with h 2 o . 3 μl of either original or diluted supernatant containing bstni variants were added to the following 30 μl digestion reaction system : 3 μl 10 × neb4 buffer ( neb , ipswich , mass . ), 0 . 6 μg pbc4 ( dcm + ) or pbc4 ( dcm − ) and supplementary h 2 o . the reaction was incubated at 60 ° c . for 1 hour . the reaction products were resolved in an agarose gel . to determine the effect of a mutation on bstni with respect to methylated versus unmethylated pbc4 substrate cleavage activity , the minimal concentration of enzyme required for complete digestion of unmethylated or methylated pbc4 was determined . if the minimal concentration of the bstni variant required for complete digestion of methylated pbc4 was 10 - fold less than that for unmethylated pbc4 , it was concluded that this variant favored methylated substrate over unmethylated substrate by 10 - fold . after mutagenesis and transformation of e . coli host cells , a clone was isolated with cleavage activity . upon sequencing this plasmid , two additional alterations to the protein sequence were detected . these were : 1 ) the distance between the shine delgarno ribosomal binding site sequence and the start of translation ( atg ) was 53 nt long instead of the designed 16 nt long ; and 2 ) the atg coding the first methionine was missing . to add back the first methionine , inverse pcr mutagenesis was again used to correct the bstni gene . after transformation and sequencing , the correct bstni gene was confirmed in pbad241 vector . the cells containing the 711 bp fragment were able to produce an active wild type bstni which characteristically cleaved both methylated and unmethylated dna ( fig8 b ). obtaining and characterizing an bstni mutant with increased specificity for a recognition sequence containing methylated cytosine the plasmid extracted from # 4 in example 1 was retransformed to er2833 ( pacyc - bstnim ). 3 colonies were picked and regrown as in the above procedure . the cells were sonicated and tested on lambda dna and a plasmid pbc4 ( dam − and dcm − ). the cell extracts showed partial cleavage activity of lambda dna and low cleavage activity of pbc4 ( fig6 a and 6b ). the dpni - digested pcr products were transformed into a pre - modified e . coli strain ( er2833 ) containing pacyc - bstnim . colonies were picked and grown in lb media with 100 μg / ml amp and 33 μg / ml cam . 1 ml out of each 3 ml overnight culture was pelleted and the supernatant was removed . the pellet was resuspended in 50 μl h 2 o containing 10 μg / ml rnasea . this bacterial suspension was sonicated for 6 seconds and incubated in 55 ° c . for 30 minutes . the remaining cellular debris was pelleted for 10 min at 12 , 000 rpm . the supernatant was diluted to 1 / 10 , 1 / 100 and 1 / 1000 with h 2 o . 3 μl of either original or diluted supernatant containing bstni variants were added to the following 30 μl digestion reaction system : 3 μl 10 × neb4 buffer ( neb , ipswich , mass . ), 0 . 6 μg pbc4 ( dcm + ) or pbc4 ( dcm − ) and supplementary h 2 o . the reaction was incubated at 60 ° c . for 1 hour . the reaction products were resolved in an agarose gel . to determine the effect of mutation of bstni on methylated versus unmethylated pbc4 , the minimal concentration of enzyme required for complete digestion of unmethylated or methylated pbc4 was determined . if the minimal concentration of the bstni variant required for complete digestion of methylated pbc4 was 10 - fold less than that for unmethylated pbc4 , it was concluded that this variant favored the methylated substrate 10 - fold over the unmethylated substrate . after mutagenesis and transformation of e . coli host cells , a clone was isolated with activity ( see fig8 a ). however , when tested on pbr322 ( dcm + ) and pbc4 ( dcm − ) in parallel , the cell extracts showed much higher activity on pbr322 than pbc4 ( fig7 a and 7b ). while the cell extract produced a clear banding pattern on the pbr322 observable at 32 - fold dilution , there was no clear banding pattern from digestion of the pbc4 , confirming the above . hence , it was concluded that the cell extract containing the mutant bstni digested only the c 5m cwgg and not the unmethylated ccwgg . the plasmid was sequenced and the bstni expressed from the 711 bp gene was found to contain a mutation at r200 which was preferentially converted to a cysteine . bstni r200c displayed a substantially higher ratio of cleavage of methylated / unmethylated substrate than the unmutated bstni . dcm − pbc4 was transformed into a cicm + strain er2984 , and cicm + pbc4 was extracted from this er2984 . a detailed comparison of r200c bstni and wild - type . bstni on dcm − and cicm + pbc4 in 4 different neb buffers was performed ( fig8 a and 8b ). the results were summarized in table 1 . the r200 position in bstni was further mutated in order to determine whether further improved activity might be achieved by substituting any of the other 18 amino acids at that position . the r200c mutant was identified as optimal . | 2 |
the automatic pocket opening sewing machine in which the invention is incorporated is a two - needle sewing machine 20 of traditional type mounted on a frame 22 . it has a vertically moving cutting knife arranged between the sewing needles 35 . there is a known horizontally displaceable sewn material clamp 23 . the sewn material clamp 23 displaces the sewn material parts 25 from an insertion position located in front or upstream of the sewing area 1 at the needles into a cutting position located behind or downsteam of the sewing area 1 . there is also a cutting device 24 which is arranged below the sewn material resting surface 21 and thus below a surface of the sewn parts . the cutting device 24 includes a wedge knife 2 which is mounted on a stationary support pedestal 17 and which is vertically displaceable in height when a respective cylinder 18 has been acted on by pressure fluid . the device 24 also includes a wedge knife 3 , which is mounted on a horizontally displaceable support pedestal 5 and which is also vertically displaceble in height when a respective cylinder 19 has been acted on by pressure fluid . the vertical displacement of the wedge knives 2 , 3 , is usually simultaneous . the support pedestal 5 is mounted on two horizontal bars 6 which are fixed fast to the frame . ordinary ball - bearing bushings enable substantially frictionfree displaceability of the pedestal along the bars 6 . the furthest position of the support pedestal 5 from the sewing area 1 is defined by an adjustable stop 8 against which the support pedestal 5 is pressed by the action of two compression springs 7 around the shafts 6 . displacement of the stop 8 is caused by a cylinder 15 which can be actuated by pressure fluid or which may be actuated by an electromagnet . when the piston rod in cylinder 15 is acted on by the pressure fluid , or when the armature of the electromagnet carries out a stroke , this moves the support pedestal 5 into a defined position that is displaced toward the sewing area 1 , and the movement is against the biasing action of the springs 7 . on the frame 22 , below the sewn material resting surface 21 , there is a known positioning drive 26 . through suitable belt and pulley means , the drive 26 drives the sewing machine 20 , the sewn material clamp 23 and the support pedestal 5 which carries the wedge knife 3 . for this purpose , the positioning drive 26 , through a v - belt 28 , drives an intermediate shaft 27 that is mounted below the sewn material resting place 21 . from the shaft 27 , an arm shaft 37 of the sewing machine 20 is driven via a clutch 30 and another v - belt 29 . beyond belt 29 , the intermediate shaft 27 extends into a stepdown transmission 31 . a pulley 44 is firmly attached to an output shaft 34 of the step - down transmission 31 . a toothed belt 38 drivingly connects pulley 44 on shaft 34 with a pulley 45 that is located on and drives a shaft 39 which is supported fixed in place on the frame . the pulleys 45 and 40 are firmly attached to the shaft 39 . there is also firmly attached to the shaft 39 a known pulse transmitter 47 which provides a microcomputer control 16 with the data necessary for the displacement paths of the sewn material clamp 23 and for the automatic temporary clamping of a clamp 9 onto a belt 4 . another pulley 41 is carried by the pin 46 which is mounted fast on the frame . around the pulleys 40 , 41 there is wrapped a sewn material displacement means , in the form of a toothed belt 42 , which is driven by the positioning drive 26 , as described above . a clamp 43 , which can be actuated by a pressure fluid or electromagnetically , is firmly connected to the sewn material clamp 23 . after the clamp 43 has been acted on by the pressure fluid or after the connection of its electromagnet , the clamp 43 is displaced by the belt 42 and this displaces the sewn material clamp 23 and the clamped sewn material in the advancing direction . a pulley 32 is rigidly attached to the output shaft 34 of the step - down transmission 31 . a pulley 33 is carried on a journal pin 36 which is fastened to the frame space from the shaft 34 . a pulling means 4 for displacing the displaceable knife 3 , which means 4 is preferably a toothed belt , moves around the pulleys 32 and 33 . a clamp 9 is fastened on the horizontally displaceable support pedestal 5 . it comprises a fixed jaw 11 and a displaceable jaw 10 . the pulling means 4 moves through the space between the jaws 10 , 11 without touching them , and such motion is intermittent . after the cylinder 12 has been acted on by pressure fluid or after its electromagnet has been connected , the pulling means 4 is gripped on both sides by the jaws 10 , 11 . as a result , the pulling means 4 instantaneously displaces the support pedestal 5 and the supported knife 3 in the direction toward the place of sewing 1 and the stationary knife 2 , and against the action of the springs 7 . when that position of the support pedestal 5 which corresponds to the size of the pocket entrance to be produced has been reached , the movment of the pulling means 4 is stopped abruptly by the positioning drive 26 . the wedge knife 3 thereafter remains in its shifted position . the microcomputer 16 controls the main functions of the automatic pocket opening sewing machine . the data required for the production of pocket openings of different length are calculated using , inter alia , a sensor arranged at a given distance in front or upstream of the sewing needles 35 . the sensor is preferably a light barrier 13 , and at least one switch 14 is used for establishing the length of the seam . the manner of operation of the automatic pocket opening sewing machine makes possible the manufacture of pocket openings both with and without a flap . before the manufacture of a pocket opening with a flap , the light barrier 13 upstream of the sewing needles senses the leading and trailing ends of the flap which is to be sewn on . this starts a length measurement , which is to be effected incrementally . on the basis of the measurement , the pocket entrance is sewn . the sewn material clamp 23 displaces the sewn material parts 25 along the path of advance in accordance with the length determined . upon the sewing of a pocket entrance without a flap , the advance of the sewn material clamp 23 depends upon the seam length that was previously entered in the switch 14 . after termination of the sewing of the pocket opening seam , the sewn material clamp 23 displaces the sewn material parts 25 over the distance &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; in fig2 in the direction marked &# 34 ; nv &# 34 ;. during this advance of the sewn material clamp 23 , and at a defined time which corresponds to the initially determined length of seam of the pocket opening seam , either the cylinder 12 is acted on , preferably by compressed air , or an electromagnet is connected . as a result , the jaws 10 , 11 of the clamp 9 close , and the support pedestal 5 is moved , against the action of the spring 7 , into a position closer to the sewing area 1 . this closer position is characterized by the wedge knives 2 and 3 being precisely at the distance measured or set . in order to exclude errors in distance , the clamp 9 must clamp only when a well - defined speed of the pulling means 4 is present . this means that the closing of the clamp 9 must not take place during acceleration or deceleration of the positioning drive 26 . for this purpose , reference is had to an empirically ascertained constant correction factor which is stored in the microcomputer . that factor takes into account a delay between the giving of the signal and the clamping of the jaws 10 , 11 . the automatic closing of the clamp 9 will be further explained by the following numerical example . if , for instance , the distance y in fig2 from the center of the needle to the rear edge of the fixed wedge knife 2 has a value of 130 mm and the maximum distance × between wedge knife 2 and wedge knife 3 amounts to 190 mm and if , finally , the length of the flap ( equal to the size of the pocket opening ) is 150 mm , then at the proper moment the wedge knife 3 must be pushed in the direction toward the sewing area 1 by a distance of 190 mm minus 150 mm , or 40 mm , in order that the wedge knives 2 and 3 be at a distance apart of 150 mm prior to the making of the notching cut . the clamp 9 must close precisely at the moment when the sewn material parts 25 present on the path into the cutting position have reached the place at which the end of the pocket opening seam is 40 mm from the wedge knife 2 . both the sewn parts and the movable wedge knife 3 are moving at the same speeds , but in opposite directions . the clamping by clamp 9 at the aforesaid moment causes both the sewn parts and the wedge knife 3 to move 40 mm in their respective directions . this assures that the distance from wedge knife 2 to wedge knife 3 is precisely 150 m when the end of the pocket opening seam coincides with the wedge knife 2 . if , in a subsequent sewn part , for instance , a pocket opening of 60 mm ( equal to pocket opening seam ) is to be made , the wedge knife 3 must now be displaced in the direction toward the sewing area 1 by a distance of 130 mm ( equal to 190 mm minus 60 mm ). in order that this displacement be terminated when the end of the pocket opening seam coincides with the wedge knife 2 , the clamp 9 would , in this case , have to close at the moment when the end of pocket opening seam is 130 mm in front of the wedge knife 2 . at that moment , the sewing of the pocket opening seam has just been completed , i . e . the above - described prerequisite , and closing of the clamp 9 only with a well - defined speed of the pulling means 4 , must be satisfied . in order to produce a smaller pocket opening , for instance one of a length of 60 mm , in a proper manner on the automatic sewing machine of the invention , if a specified limit value for the length of seam of the pocket opening seam is gone below , for instance 65 mm , then the stop 8 is pushed by a predetermined amount , for instance 30 mm , in the direction toward the sewing area 1 . this is accomplished by the cylinder 15 which is acted on preferably by compressed air , or an electromagnet is operated . since this displacement is derived from the initially measured or set length of the seam , it takes place automatically and without any action on the part of the operator . after that displacement of the stop 8 , the distance x between the wedge knives 2 and 3 is now 160 mm . the clamp 9 must now close at the moment when the end of the pocket opening seam is 160 mm minus 60 mm , namely 100 mm , in front of the wedge knife 2 . at this moment , the above - mentioned prerequisite for the proper closing of the clamp 9 is again present . this closing of the clamp 9 assures that the distance between the wedge knives 2 and 3 is precisely 60 mm when the end of the pocket opening seam coincides with the wedge knife 2 . for the next following sewn part , if a seam length is again determined which is greated than the above - mentioned limit value of 65 mm , then the cylinder 15 is automatically vented or the electromagnet is disconnected . due to the relation , i . e . expansion , of the springs 7 , the stop 8 again assumes the position furthest away from the sewing area 1 . the above - described automatic displacement of the stop 8 can be dispensed with if the lower pulling means or belt 4 travels with a higher speed than the upper pulling means or belt 42 . this can be achieved simply by making the pulleys 32 , 33 of larger diameter than the pulleys 40 , 41 , 44 , 45 . however , having the pulling means 4 and 42 travel with the same speed provides a manufacturing advantage since because , in that case , the pulleys 32 , 33 , 44 , 45 , 40 and 41 have the same dimensions . after the support pedestal 5 with the wedge knife 3 has assumed the above - described position corresponding to the desired pocket opening , the cylinders 18 , 19 are acted on , preferably by compressed air . as a result , the wedge knives 2 , 3 move upward and pass through openings present in the sewn material resting surface 21 , and this makes the production of the two notch cuts possible in known manner . the cylinders 18 , 19 are then vented which returns the wedge knives 2 , 3 to their initial positions . when those initial positions have been reached , the cylinder 12 is vented . this frees the support pedestal 5 to return , under the influence of the relaxing springs 7 , into its starting position furthest away from the sewing area 1 . the sewn material clamp 23 is then lifted slightly off the sewn material resting surface 21 . the completely sewn part is removed by a known removal device from the region of the sewn material clamp 23 , and the clamp then moves into the insertion position present in front of the sewing area 1 . in order to carry out this movement within a shorter period of time , it is advisable to disconnect the sewn material clamp 23 from the pulling means 42 by opening the clamp 43 before the start of the return movement and to temporarilty subject the clamp 23 to the influence of a longstroke cylinder acted on by pressure fluid . in this way , a rapid return is obtained with relatively simple means . after insertion of sewn material parts which have not yet been provided with pocket openings , the above - described sewing process can be started again . above - described cylinders 12 and 15 and clamp 43 are preferably compressed air cylinders that are activated by being charged with compressed air . in alternate embodiments , any one of these might be replaced by electromagnets that perform their respective above - described functions . although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof , many variations and modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is preferred , therefore , that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein , but only by the appended claims . | 3 |
the present invention provides for an improved jounce bumper having new geometry which allows lower and more consistent entry stiffness . the specific geometry , ratios , and relationships of the improved jounce bumper as compared to the prior art dramatically improves the entry stiffness performance . accordingly , the improved jounce bumper provides for a consistent and soft entry curve thereby improving ride and handling to the user . the improved jounce bumper includes an undercut in the inner diameter ( hereinafter referred to as id ). fig3 illustrates an exemplary assembly 10 having an upper mount 12 connected to a piston rod 14 . a jounce bumper 20 ( described in more detail herein ) is provided around the piston rod . a cylinder 16 is provided also extending around the piston rod 14 . a spring 15 may also be provided extending around the assembly including the piston rod 14 and the jounce bumper 20 . now with reference to fig4 and 5 , the present embodiment provides for a jounce bumper 20 having a generally spherical nose 21 . the nose 21 includes an outer surface 22 and a corresponding inner surface 24 . a bore 23 extends through the center portion of the nose 21 thereby forming the inner surface 24 . the bore 21 is configured to accept the piston rod of a suspension system . the inner surface 24 includes an undercut 26 incorporated into the inner surface 24 . the inner surface 24 is also referred to in the art as the inner diameter . the undercut 24 includes radiused portions 28 contributing to the overall geometry . the spherical nose 21 having the undercut 24 has a varying thickness t 1 which does not remain constant as illustrated by t 2 ( also true for all embodiments here ). the varying thickness is contrary to the prior are which provides for a jounce bumper of consistent thickness ( if viewed at a cross section ). since the jounce bumpers of the present application have an inner surface which effectively mirrors the piston rod . in this embodiment , and all other embodiments described herein , t 2 is smaller than t 1 . in other embodiments , t 2 is smaller than t 1 . in all embodiments , t 2 t 1 . the undercut 26 , in the present embodiment , is generally rectangular in cross section but extending around the entire id of the jounce bumper . the undercut 26 does not create a uniform thickness between the id and the od , such as in the present invention . the undercut includes a generally planar surface 24 extending along the entire id of the bumper . two side walls 25 , 28 extend away from the surface 24 and a generally perpendicular angle . in other embodiments , the side walls 25 , 28 may extend at different angles away from the surface 24 . the undercut 26 includes a height h 1 . the nose 21 further includes a height h 2 . in the preferred embodiment , the height h 2 is greater than the height h 1 . this configuration provides for the most desirable results in the stiffness curve . similarily , in all embodiments , the jounce bumpers includes a first radius r 1 and a second radius r 2 . the first radius r 1 is measured from a center portion of the undercut whereas the second radius r 2 is measured from the center of the bore . on the spherical shaped noses , r 2 remains generally constant . on the elliptical shaped noses , r 2 may vary more . further , all of the jounce bumpers having the undercuts include a depth d 1 which can vary in dimension from 1 mm - 35 mm depending on the size of the nose of the jounce bumper . by way of example , in one embodiment , d 1 is 4 . 2 mm , h 1 is 29 . 8 mm , h 2 is 36 mm and t 1 is 11 . 5 mm . in this embodiment , r 1 mm and the radiused portion is 4 . 2 . in other embodiments , a jounce bumper having a more elliptical configuration is provided , such as in fig6 . the jounce bumper of fig6 depicts a nose 41 having a generally elliptical shape . a bore 43 extends through the center portion of the nose 41 thereby & amp ; timing the inner surface 44 . the bore 41 is configured to accept the piston rod of a suspension system . the elliptical nose 41 includes an outer surface 42 and a corresponding inner surface 44 . the inner surface 44 includes an undercut 46 having a height h 1 . the nose further includes a height h 2 where in the preferred embodiment the height h 2 is greater than the height h 1 . the undercut 46 , in the present embodiment , is generally rectangular in cross section but extending around the entire id of the jounce bumper . the undercut creates an varying thickness between the id and the od . the undercut includes a generally planar surface 44 extending along the entire id of the bumper . two side walls 45 , 48 extend away from the surface 44 and a generally perpendicular angle . in other embodiments , the side walls 45 , 48 may extend at different angles away from the surface 44 . fig7 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the jounce bumper 50 having the nose 51 . the undercut 56 is shown incorporated into the jounce bumper . the jounce bumper as illustrated in fig7 produces the flat entry stiffness curve . the present embodiment provides for a jounce bumper 50 having a generally spherical nose 51 . the nose 51 includes an outer surface 52 and a corresponding inner surface 54 . the inner surface 54 includes an undercut 56 incorporated into the inner surface 54 . the inner surface 54 is also referred to in the art as the inner diameter . the undercut 54 includes radiused portions 55 contributing to the overall geometry . a bore 53 extends through the center portion of the nose 51 thereby forming the inner surface 54 . the bore 51 is configured to accept the piston rod of a suspension system . the spherical nose 51 having the undercut 54 has a varying thickness t 1 which does not remain constant , in sharp contrast to the prior art . the thickness of all embodiments of the present application varies dramatically because of the undercuts . the varying thickness provides for a smooth curve and thus improved handling to the user . the undercut 56 , in the present embodiment , is generally rectangular in cross section but extending around the entire id of the jounce bumper . the undercut 56 does not create a uniform thickness between the id and the od , such as in the present invention . the undercut includes a generally planar surface 54 extending along the entire id of the bumper . two side walls extend away from the surface 54 and a generally perpendicular angle . in other embodiments , the side walls may extend at different angles away from the surface 54 . the undercut 56 includes a height h 1 . the nose 51 further includes a height h 2 . in the preferred embodiment , the height h 2 is greater than the height h 1 . this configuration provides for the most desirable results in the stiffness curve . now with reference to fig8 , a jounce bumper 60 having an alternative elliptical configuration is provided . the jounce bumper of fig8 depicts a nose 61 having a generally elliptical shape . the elliptical nose 61 includes an outer surface 62 and a corresponding inner surface 64 . the inner surface 64 includes an undercut 66 having a height h 1 . a bore 63 extends through the center portion of the nose 61 thereby forming the inner surface 64 . the bore 63 is configured to accept the piston rod of a suspension system . the nose further includes a height h 2 where in the preferred embodiment the height h 2 is greater than the height h 1 . the undercut 66 , in the present embodiment , is generally rectangular in cross section but extending around the entire id of the jounce bumper . the undercut creates an varying thickness between the id and the od . the undercut includes a generally planar surface 64 extending along the entire id of the bumper . two side walls 65 , 68 extend away from the surface 64 and a generally perpendicular angle . in other embodiments , the side walls 65 , 68 may extend at different angles away from the surface 64 . the curve as illustrated in fig9 demonstrates the spring rate of the jounce bumper as the jounce bumper is compressed or deflected a corresponding amount of millimeters . during the initial compression of the jounce bumper as shown in the circle illustrated by reference numeral 80 , the spring rate remains generally constant during the initial deflection and compression of the jounce bumper . the jounce bumpers described herein maintain a generally even spring rate during the first ¼ to ½ of deflection of the jounce bumper . accordingly , the jounce bumpers of the present invention improve handling and reduce harshness felt by the user . in the present embodiment , the jounce bumper is used in connection with a strut and corresponding coil in the suspension system . other uses may be known such as using the jounce bumper in connection with a metal insert having an axle , specifically mounted to a frame or an axle . the jounce bumper may also be used with air spring suspension system or any other system using a jounce bumper . in the present invention , the jounce bumper is made from a microcellular urethane ( hereinafter referred to as mcu ). however , the jounce bumper may be made from any elastomer such as rubber , rubber - like , plastic , plastic - like , polymer , or polymer - like material performing to the same specifications . it is noted that the terms “ substantially ” and “ about ” may be utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison , value , measurement , or other representation . these terms are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue . while particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein , it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter . moreover , although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein , such aspects need not be utilized in combination . it is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter . | 5 |
in the following discussion , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details . in other instances , well - known elements have been illustrated in schematic or block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail . additionally , for the most part , details concerning network communications , electromagnetic signaling techniques , and the like , have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not considered necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention , and are considered to be within the understanding of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art . it is further noted that , unless indicated otherwise , all functions described herein may be performed in either hardware or software , or some combination thereof . in one embodiment , however , the functions can be performed by a processor , such as a computer or an electronic data processor , in accordance with code , such as computer program code , software , and / or integrated circuits that are coded to perform such functions , unless indicated otherwise . in the present specification , the same reference characters are used to refer to terminals , signal lines , and their corresponding signals . referring to fig1 a and 1b of the drawings , the reference numeral 100 generally designates a block diagram depicting a circuit containing a thin oxide leaky capacitor . also , the reference numeral 150 generally designates is a graph depicting an ideal voltage across a capacitor relative to a current pulse . the circuit 100 comprises a current source 102 , a capacitor 104 , a first leakage current source 106 , and ground 108 . the circuit 100 is utilized in a variety of applications , such as plls . however , as a result of the thin film dielectric in the capacitor 104 , leakage current across the capacitor 104 can substantially affect the behavior of the capacitor . the intention in the circuit 100 is to generate a voltage v c of fig1 b across the capacitor 104 of fig1 a that is proportional to the width of a current pulse δt of fig1 b . if a high impedance path ( not shown ) is provided at the first node 110 between the current source 102 and the capacitor 104 , then for hold states when the impedance is high , the voltage v c of fig1 b across the capacitor 104 of fig1 a decreases due to leakage . in other words , when the current source 104 is effectively “ shut off ,” the v c of fig1 b across the capacitor 104 of fig1 a decreases at a rate higher than the normal rate of capacitive discharge . thus , the voltage v c of fig1 b across the capacitor 104 of fig1 a is as follows : vc = 1 c ∫ iup · ⅆ t - 1 c ∫ ileak · ⅆ t + vc ( 0 ) ( 1 ) v c is the output voltage across the capacitor . c is the electrical capacitance in farads . i leak is the leakage current in amperes . i up is the height of the rise of current during the leading edge of a clock signal , and dt is the change in time ( also known as d ( delta time ). the circuit 100 operates by driving a current across a capacitor 104 . a current source or charge pump 102 provides a current to a first node 110 . also , the current source 102 can be either a negative charge source or a positive charge source . a capacitor 104 is coupled to the first node 110 and to ground 108 at a second node 112 . the charge leakage is represented by the first leakage current source 106 . the first leakage current source 106 is coupled at first end to the first node 110 and at a second end to the second node 112 . referring to fig2 of the drawings , the reference numeral 200 generally designates a timing diagram of pll filter capacitor voltage affected by a leakage current resulting in a static phase error . in general , thin oxide capacitors do not have ideal electrical characteristics due to tunneling leakage . although the tunneling leakage is exponentially related to the voltage v c2 across a capacitor ( not shown ), fig2 is shown as a lineal representation . also , i up and i pump are the height of the rise of current during the leading edge of a clock signal and a supply current , respectively . since the capacitor voltage decreases due to leakage during the hold period of t minus t spe , a phase error t spe develops which the phase lock loop tries to correct at the next reference clock cycle , according to the following formula : ∫ 0 tspe iup · ⅆ t = ∫ tspe t ileak · ⅆ t ( 2 ) this static phase error ( spe ) results in a continuous phase error between the reference clock and the pll feedback clock , causing tracking and cycle - cycle jitter , a potentially unstable loop and system failure . currently , several different methods are available to attempt to moderate or reduce the impact of spe on a circuit . one method involves reducing leakage current across a capacitor ( not shown ) by reducing the capacitor area . however , this method can degrade loop performance since other loop parameters must be increased to compensate for a reduction in capacitance . thicker oxides can be used , though these can introduce additional costs of manufacturing . increasing a supply current i pump may also result in difficulties maintaining optimal pll characteristics . lastly , adjustments to the reference clock frequency , though these suffer from an effective minimum in present systems of t ≧˜ 2 nanoseconds . referring to fig3 of the drawings , the reference numeral 300 generally designates a block diagram depicting a leakage correction circuit coupled to a thin oxide leaky capacitor . the circuit 300 comprises a charge pump ( cp ) circuit 350 and a correction circuit 352 . the cp 350 further comprises a current source 302 , a first capacitor 304 , ground 308 , and a first leakage current source 306 . the correction circuit 352 further comprises ground 308 , a second capacitor 316 , a second leakage current source 344 , a first positive - channel field effect transistor ( pfet ) 312 , a second pfet 314 , a first negative - channel field effect transistor ( nfet ) 318 , a second nfet 320 , a third nfet 338 , and a fourth nfet 322 . the cp 350 operates by driving a current across a capacitor 304 . a current source or charge pump 302 provides a current to a first node 310 . also , the current source 302 can be either a negative charge source or a positive charge source . a capacitor 304 is coupled to the first node 310 and to ground 308 at a second node 334 . the charge leakage is represented by the first leakage current source 306 . the first leakage current source 306 is coupled at first end to the first node 310 and at a second end to the second node 334 . in comparison , the correction circuit 352 is more complicated than the cp 350 . the correction circuit 352 is coupled to the cp 350 at the first node 310 . the drain of the first pfet 312 , a first end of the second leakage current source 344 , and a first end of the second capacitor are coupled to the first node 310 . a second end of the second capacitor 316 and a second end of the second current leakage source 344 are coupled at a third node 332 to the drain of the first nfet 318 . also , the gate of the first nfet 318 is coupled to the body of the first nfet 318 is coupled to the fourth node 330 . the body of the second nfet 320 is also coupled to the fourth node 330 . also , the sources of the first nfet 318 and the second nfet 320 are coupled to ground 308 . in addition to the aforementioned connections , there are a variety of other connections that should be made for the current mirror 352 to operate . the drain of the second nfet 320 , the source of the third nfet 338 , and the source of the fourth nfet 322 are coupled to a fifth node 336 . the drain of the third nfet 338 , the source of the first pfet 312 , and the source of the second pfet 314 are coupled to a voltage source 346 . the drain of the fourth nfet 322 , the drain of the second pfet 314 , and the gate of the second pfet are coupled to a sixth node 328 . the gate of the second pfet 314 is also coupled to the gate of the first pfet 312 through a seventh node 324 . the gates of the third nfet 338 and the fourth nfet 322 are then coupled to the cp 350 ( not shown ). the voltages input into the gate of the fourth nfet 322 at an eighth node 342 and into the gate of the third nfet 338 at a ninth node 340 vary depending on the state of the current source 302 . if the current source is at a high impedance state , as described in fig1 , then an active high signal is input into the gate of the fourth nfet 322 at the eighth node 342 . if the current source is not at a high impedance state , as described in fig1 , then an active high signal is input into the gate of the third nfet 338 at a ninth node 340 . the circuit 300 further maintains the voltage on the first capacitor 304 of the cp 350 by using the characteristics of the correction circuit 352 . the first capacitor 304 has a first area ( a ) and a first capacitance ( c ) associated with it . the second capacitor 316 is a replica of the first capacitor 304 with a second area ( a / n ) and a second capacitance ( c / n ), where n is a scaling factor . the width ( w ) and length ( l ) of the current mirror 350 is varied such that the voltage across the second capacitor 316 is substantially equal to the voltage across the first capacitor 304 . therefore , since the voltage across the second capacitor 316 is substantially equal to the voltage across the first capacitor 304 and since the area of the second capacitor 316 is decreased by a factor of n , then the charge leakage represented by the second leakage current source 316 is also decreased by a factor of n ( i leak / n ). the reduced current can then be multiplied by n + 1 by using n + 1 identical mirror devices in parallel . the identical mirrors comprise the second nfet 320 , the third nfet 338 , the fourth nfet 322 , and the second pfet 314 . also , a device with a width (( n + 1 ) w ) to develop a tail current equal to a second reduced current (( n + 1 ) i leak / n ) for a the first pfet 312 . the first pfet 312 is configured such that a first reduced current (( n + 1 ) i leak / n ) is injected into first node 310 using additional current mirrors to exactly compensate the leakage of the first capacitors 304 and the second capacitor 316 during the hold state . in this manner the effective leakage current is reduced to zero . additional area required by the circuit is negligible since n can be large and the mirror devices can be small . it will further be understood from the foregoing description that various modifications and changes may be made in the preferred embodiment of the present invention without departing from its true spirit . this description is intended for purposes of illustration only and should not be construed in a limiting sense . the scope of this invention should be limited only by the language of the following claims . | 7 |
hereinafter , one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings . orientations such as front , back , right , and left described in the following are identical to those with respect to the traveling direction of a vehicle , unless otherwise specified . in the drawings , arrow fr , arrow lh , and arrow up indicate , respectively , the front side of the vehicle , left side of the vehicle , and upper side of the vehicle . a saddle - ride type vehicle 1 of the present embodiment is a so - called atv , whose front and rear wheels 2 and 3 are equipped with low - pressure balloon tires having a large diameter , assuring a large minimum road clearance to enhance the operation through performance mainly on the uneven road . an engine 5 arranged in a vertical layout is mounted on nearly the center of the vehicle frame 4 , and power is outputted to each propeller shaft 8 , 9 , respectively , for the front wheel and the rear wheel , via a change gear that is not illustrated . the propeller shafts 8 , 9 transmit power respectively to the front and rear wheels 2 , 3 , via power distribution mechanisms 11 , 12 . it is to be noted that in the present embodiment , a crankcase 6 constituting the lower part of the engine 5 also serves as a change gear case which accommodates the change gear . the vehicle body frame 4 includes upper pipes 41 and lower pipes 42 which extend approximately along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body , and which are provided on the right and the left sides thereof . pipe linkages are made by linking both pipes 41 , 42 on both sides of the vehicle body that are combined by multiple cross pipes 75 , 75 a ( see fig2 ), thereby constituting almost a box - like structure . an engine 5 is mounted nearly at the center position on the bottom side of the vehicle frame 4 , and the cylinder head 7 part of the engine 5 is placed at a position slightly lower than the upper pipes 41 . at a position on the vehicle rear side of the engine 5 , the vehicle body frame 4 is provided with an air cleaner 18 of an engine inlet system . this air cleaner 18 is connected to the inlet part on the rear side of the cylinder head 7 via a throttle body 17 . at a position that is offset in the vehicle width direction from the throttle body 17 on the front side of the air cleaner 18 , there is provided a snorkel 54 which extends obliquely in an upwardly and forward direction . outside air is introduced from the opening on the front end of the snorkel 54 . an injector 17 a which is a fuel introducing part is integrally assembled with the throttle body 17 . fuel that is supplied from the fuel pump 51 described below is controlled by the controller ( not illustrated ), and injected into the inlet path . on the other hand , the front part of the cylinder head 7 is connected to the base end part of an exhaust pipe 19 . the exhaust pipe 19 extends once to the front side and then is bent rearwardly , so that it is connected to the silencer 21 on the vehicle rear side . a fuel tank 22 , made of resin , is placed on the upper side of the engine 5 . on the rear side of the fuel tank 22 , there is provided an openable and closable saddle - ride type seat 23 , in such a manner that the upper side of the throttle body 17 , the snorkel 54 , the air cleaner 18 , and the like are covered with this seat . handlebar stem parts 43 are provided on the front side position of the engine in the vehicle body frame 4 . the handlebar stem parts 43 support a steering shaft 25 . this steering shaft 25 is equipped with a handlebar 24 on the upper end thereof , having a shape of a bar , and a front wheel steering mechanism , not illustrated , is coupled with the lower end of the steering shaft 25 . the front part of the fuel tank 22 curves in almost a u - shape , in such a manner to go around both sides of the steering shaft 25 , thereby ensuring sufficient capacity . then , on the lower side of the fuel tank 22 , a fuel pump 51 is placed in such a manner as to be positioned on the front side of the engine 5 . a communication pipe 52 extends downwardly from the fuel tank 22 and is connected to the inlet port of the fuel pump 51 . a fuel supply pipe 53 , for supplying discharged fuel to the injector 17 a , is connected to the outlet port of the fuel pump 51 . on the other hand , a heat shield plate 46 is mounted immediately below the position where almost a rear half part of the fuel tank 22 to the front part of the seat 23 is located . the heat shield plate is placed across the left and right upper pipes 41 , 41 of the vehicle frame 4 . the heat shield plate 46 partitions the engine 5 , and the fuel tank 22 and the seat 23 on the upper side thereof , thereby serving as a shield to interrupt the spread of high heat from the engine towards the fuel tank 22 and the seat 23 . the fuel supply pipe 53 , one end of which is connected to the fuel pump 51 , is drawn upwardly from the front - end part of the heat shield plate 46 , and installed along the upper surface of heat shield plate 46 . as shown in fig2 , the fuel supply pipe 53 is bent in a shape of a crank from the top view , on the upper surface side of the heat shield plate 46 , so as to go around the snorkel 54 and the like which extend from the air cleaner 18 towards an upper side of the heat shield plate 46 . a portion of the bent part of the fuel supply pipe 53 is locked on a set position on the heat shield plate 46 via the clamp 55 as a part that is fixed in position . the snorkel 54 is coupled and supported by the near center of the rear end part of the heat shield plate 46 and is joined with a bolt or the like . on a position of the snorkel 54 , a little tilted to the vehicle rear side rather than in conjunction with the heat shield plate 46 , there is provided a resonator 71 ( vehicle body component ) which is branching off towards the left side direction of the vehicle body . as shown in fig3 , this resonator 71 projects in approximately a trapezoidal shape , towards the vehicle rear side from the connection pipe part . under the condition that the seat 23 is raised upwardly , the air cleaner 18 , snorkel 54 , and the like which are located below the seat 23 are exposed to the outside of the vehicle together with the upper pipes 41 and the like of the vehicle body frame 4 . however , the upper side of the throttle body 17 is provided with a protect cover 80 made of resin , and the protect cover 80 covers this throttle body 17 so as to prevent the upper surface thereof from directly being exposed to the outside of the vehicle . as for the protect cover 80 , support arms 82 a , 82 b , and 82 c provided to extend on the peripheral border of the cover base 81 which is curved upwardly . one support arm 82 a is fixed by a clip 90 on a gusset plate 83 that is provided in such a manner as going across the joint between the cross pipe 75 a and the upper pipes 41 . another support arm 82 b is located on the diagonal position of the support arm 82 a is fixed by the clip 91 on a flange , not illustrated , which is provided on the snorkel 54 in an extended manner . the remaining support arm 82 c is a supplemental arm , having a curl part 82 d provided on the tip thereof , which is locked in such a manner as to wind around the near center of the cross pipe 75 a . therefore , the protect cover 80 is supported by the vehicle body frame 4 having the cross pipe 75 a as a principal element and the snorkel 54 . on the vehicle body left side of the cover base 81 , a guide wall 84 includes a circular arc shaped cross section which covers the upper side of the fuel supply pipe 53 . on the upper wall on the vehicle front side of the cover base 81 , a projecting part 85 that projects upwardly is formed . inside the projecting part 85 , a component protecting space 93 is allocated to arrange the injector 17 a , a coupler 94 connected to the injector 17 a , a connector 95 , wiring 96 , and the like . in fig1 and 2 , a vehicle body cover 31 is made of resin which covers the vehicle front part including the fuel tank . a front fender 32 and a rear fender 35 are provided that are made of resin for , respectively , covering the front wheels and the rear wheels . as illustrated in fig1 , a front protector 33 and a front carrier 34 are provided together with a rear carrier 36 . as shown in fig1 , in the present embodiment , quick connectors 60 both have nearly the same structure and are connected between the communication pipe 52 and the fuel pump 51 , and between the fuel supply pipe 53 and the fuel pump 51 . as shown in fig3 and 4 , a quick connector 70 having a different structure connects between the fuel supply pipe 53 and the injector 17 a . in fig5 and 6 , the quick connector 60 is provided with a male connector member 61 , a female connector member 62 into which the male connector member 61 is inserted , a retaining member 63 for fixing the male connector member 61 so that it may not come off from the female connector member 62 and sealing members 64 , 65 for providing a seal between the male connector member 61 and the female connector member 62 . as for the male connector member 61 , its base ( positioning part ) 61 a has a curved shape , and integrally continues to the cover member 51 a of the fuel pump 51 . at nearly the center thereof , being apart from the tip 61 b for a predetermined distance , projecting portions 61 c are provided that project in the centrifugal direction . the male connector member as a whole forms a stick - like member having a nearly pipe shape . the tip 61 b of the male connector member 61 is subjected to a drawing process so as to take the radius on the outer circumferential surface for facilitating insertion into the female connector member 62 . it is to be noted that the male connector member 61 forms a shape for rotational symmetry about the axis line . the female connector member 62 is a nearly tubular shaped member produced from a single piece item that is , for example , made of a glass fiber reinforced nylon resin . the female connector member 62 includes a base 62 a , an intermediate part 62 b and a tip part 62 c . the communication pipe 52 ( or the fuel supply pipe 53 ) is connected to the outer periphery of the tip part 62 c via an o - ring 66 . on the periphery wall of the base end 62 a , a pair of window holes 62 d is formed in an opposed manner , each having a large opening , nearly rectangular shaped , with a size also available for checking assembly . on the inner wall of the intermediate part 62 b , a contact surface 62 e comes into contact with the outer surface of the ring - shaped sealing member 64 and an o - ring 65 is formed . in addition , a receiving surface 62 f is formed for receiving the tip 61 b of the male connector member 61 . the retaining member 63 is a one - piece member made of polyamide resin , which is capable of being elastically deformed so that most of the retaining member 63 is inserted into the base 62 a of the female connector member 62 . as shown in fig7 , the retaining member 63 is provided with a main body part 63 a having a cross section of almost a c shape , whose diameter can be expanded or reduced by the elastic deformation . the outside wall of the main body part 63 a is provided with a pair of locking parts 63 b for engaging with the end faces of the window holes 62 d , a pair of operational arm parts 63 c that is used for removing the quick connector , and a pair of locking hole parts 63 d for locking the projecting parts 61 c of the male connector member 61 . as shown in fig5 and 6 , on the base 61 a of the male connector member 61 , there is arranged an elastically deformable locking ring 10 , which is made of rubber , polyamide resin , or the like . as shown in fig7 and 8 a to 8 d , the locking ring 10 is provided with a ring - shaped locking ring body 10 a . the locking ring body 10 a is provided with a first fitting part 10 b for abutting against the inner periphery surface 63 e of the retaining member 63 and which is capable of fitting between the inner periphery surface 63 e of the retaining member 63 and the outer periphery surface of the male connector member 61 . a pair of second fitting parts 10 c extend in almost a fan - like manner from each other in the periphery direction and is allowed to fit between the inner periphery surface of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery part of the male connector member 61 , and a pair of operational pieces 10 d which project from the locking ring body 10 a and extend in the direction intersecting the connector center line . the second fitting parts 10 c are integrally formed on both sides of the locking ring body 10 a , and even when the locking ring 10 is mounted mixing up the front and the back side thereof , the second fitting parts 10 c on either surface fit between the inner periphery part of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . when a pair of the operational pieces 10 d is pressed and bent in such a manner as pressing against the cover body 51 a of the fuel pump 51 , the operational pieces undergo displacement from the position as shown in fig8 c to the position as shown in fig8 d , for example . according to this displacement , the width dimension of the second fitting part 10 c is reduced in diameter from the dimension w 1 to the dimension w 2 . this operation for diameter reduction is carried out when the quick connector is removed as described below . in fig8 c , the projecting amount of the second fitting parts 10 c from the locking ring body 10 a is set to t 1 , and when a pair of the operational pieces 10 d is displaced , the second fitting parts 10 c go backward for the dimension t 2 beyond the projecting amount t 1 as shown in fig8 d . this dimension t 2 is assumed as a so - called stroke amount at the time of operating the locking ring 10 . with this configuration , the stroke amount t 2 is set to be larger than the projecting amount t 1 . in the configuration as described above , when a pair of the operational pieces 10 d is displaced , the width of the second fitting parts 10 c is reduced from w 1 to w 2 , and the second fitting parts 10 c go backward to the depth t 2 . therefore , the second fitting parts 10 c can easily escape from the place between the inner periphery of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . with reference to fig9 and 10 , for establishing a connection by the quick connector , first , the elastically deformable locking ring 10 is made to fit to the base 61 a of the male connector member 61 . next , as shown in fig9 , the o - ring 65 and the sealing member 64 sequentially in this order are made to fit into the intermediate part 62 b of the female connector member 62 . furthermore , the retaining member 63 is inserted into the base 62 a . then , the locking parts 63 b of this retaining member 63 are made to lock onto the end faces of the window holes 62 d of the female connector member 62 , and the retaining member 63 is held within the base 62 a of the female connector member 62 . in other words , in the present procedure , the window holes 62 d of the female connector member 62 and the locking parts 63 b of the retaining member 63 are aligned in the circumferential direction , and this retaining member 63 is inserted into the base 62 a of the female connector member 62 . since the retaining member 63 has a c - shape , it is inserted while the diameter is reduced . when the retaining member 63 arrives at a predetermined insertion depth , the locking parts 63 b of the retaining member 63 are urged towards the direction expanding the diameter by elasticity , and displaced towards the outside . then , the locking parts 63 b are engaged with the window holes 62 d of the female connector member 62 . as a result , the retaining member 63 is held in the base 62 a of the female connector member 62 without coming off therefrom in the axial direction . here , the operational ends of the operational arm parts 63 c of the retaining member 63 are kept to be projecting from the insertion open end of the female connector member 62 . thereafter , the open end of the female connector member 62 and that of the retaining member 63 are positioned to the tip of the male connector member 61 , and the male connecter member 61 is inserted therein , to have nearly the same axis line . in this case , the locking ring 10 is made to rotate in the circumferential direction , and the positional relationship between the locking ring 10 and the retaining member 63 is maintained as the positional relationship shown in fig7 . accordingly , the shaft of the male connector member 61 penetrates into the retaining member 63 , the sealing member 64 , and the o - ring 65 , sequentially in this order , and the tip 61 b of the shaft is accommodated in the receiving surface 62 f of the intermediate part 62 b of the female connector member 62 . in this condition , the projecting parts 61 c of the male connector member 61 enter while pushing the retaining member 63 aside , and fits into the locking hole parts 63 d of the retaining member 63 . further the first fitting part 10 b of the locking ring 10 fits between the inner periphery surface 63 e of the retaining member 63 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . then , the second fitting parts 10 c fit between the inner periphery of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . in the present configuration , the tip 61 b of the male connector member 61 is held on the receiving surface 62 f of the female connector member 62 , and the first fitting part 10 b of the locking ring 10 fits between the inner periphery surface 63 e of the retaining member 63 and outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . further , the second fitting parts 10 c fit between the inner periphery of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . therefore , this male connector member 61 is held at two points , that is , on the receiving surface 62 f and at the first fitting part 10 b ( second fitting parts 10 c ), thereby stabilizing the posture of the male connector member 61 against the female connector member 62 . accordingly , wobbling between the male connector member 61 and the female connector member 62 is avoided , and further wobbling due to vibrations of each component can be suppressed , whereby the connection by the quick connector can be stable . since the sealing member 64 and the o - ring 65 are held between the outer periphery surface of the male connector member 61 and the intermediate part 62 b of the female connector member 62 , high water tightness and air tightness can be obtained between the male connector member 61 and the female connector member 62 . in removing and disassembling the quick connector , firstly by operating the operational pieces 10 d of the locking ring 10 , the locking ring 10 is removed . in this case , the operational pieces 10 d are gripped and displaced from the position as shown in fig8 c to the position as shown in fig8 d . with this displacement , the second fitting parts 10 c are reduced in diameter to the width w 2 , and allowed to go backwardly to the depth t 2 . when this operation is carried out , the second fitting parts 10 c easily escape from between the inner periphery of the female connector member 62 and the outer periphery of the male connector member 61 . it is to be noted that in some cases , the locking ring 10 can be torn off for removal . in this state , simultaneously , the operational arm parts 63 c of the retaining member 63 are pressed to be shrunk by a fingertip or the like . then , the locking parts 63 b of the retaining member 63 can be detached from the window holes 62 d of the female connector member 62 . therefore , just by pulling out the male connector member 61 , the male connector member 61 and the retaining member 63 can be removed from the female connector member 62 . in the aforementioned case , since the direction into which a pair of the operational pieces 10 d extends is orthogonal to the direction to which the operational arm parts 63 c extend , it is possible to improve the operability in performing the operation of the operational pieces 10 d and the operation of the operational arm parts 63 c simultaneously . as shown in fig5 , in the quick connector 60 , the base 61 a of the male connector member 61 has a curved shape . since this curved part prevents the locking link body 10 a of the locking link 10 from moving towards the back . therefore , the curved part decides the position of the locking ring 10 . on the other hand , the quick connector 70 having a different structure as describe above ( see fig3 and 4 ) that connects between the fuel supply pipe 53 and the injector 17 a , does not have a curve - shaped base 61 a of the male connector member 61 , the illustration of which is omitted . in the case above , the base 61 a does not decide the position of the locking ring 10 . in such a case , it is desirable to establish a projection - shaped stopper 71 at the position corresponding to the base 61 a , for example , as shown in fig4 . as described so far , the present invention has been explained based on one embodiment , but the present invention is not limited to this example . for example , in the configuration above , the quick connector is applied to the pipe arrangement for the fuel system , but it is not limited to this example . this connector may also be applied to the pipe connection for water , oil , air , or the like . in addition , in the above embodiment , the present invention is applied to an atv vehicle , but it is not limited to this example . the present invention may be applied to a two - wheeled vehicle , three - wheeled vehicle , or the like . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 5 |
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