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the additive for drilling mud of the present invention contains cellulose fibers having a number - average fiber diameter of from 2 to 500 nm and a fiber aspect ratio of 50 or more and having a cellulose i - type crystal structure . the number - average fiber diameter of the cellulose fibers is from 2 to 500 nm . from the viewpoint of the dispersion stability thereof , it is preferably from 2 to 150 nm , more preferably from 2 to 100 nm , particularly preferably from 3 to 80 nm . when the number - average fiber diameter is too small , then the fibers substantially dissolve in a dispersion medium ; while when the number - average fiber diameter is too large , the cellulose fibers flocculate and therefore could not express the functionality of incorporation of the cellulose fibers . the maximum fiber diameter of the cellulose fibers is preferably 1000 nm or less , more preferably 500 nm or less . when the maximum fiber diameter of the cellulose fibers is too large , then the cellulose fibers may flocculate and the expression of the functionality of the cellulose fibers may tend to lower . the number - average fiber diameter and the maximum fiber diameter of the cellulose fibers may be measured , for example , as follows . namely , an aqueous dispersion of fine cellulose having a solid content fraction of from 0 . 05 to 0 . 1 % by weight is prepared , and the dispersion is cast onto a hydrophilization - treated carbon film - coated grid to be a sample for observation with a transmission electron microscope ( tem ). in a case of containing fibers having a large fiber diameter , the scanning electron microscopic ( sem ) image of the surface thereof cast on glass may be observed . depending on the size of the constitutive fibers , an observation is conducted with the electron microscope images at any magnifications of 5000 times , 10000 times or 50000 times . on this occasion , an axis of the image width in any of the lengthwise direction and the crosswise direction is simulated on the obtained image , and the sample and the observation conditions ( magnification , etc .) are adjusted in such a manner that 20 or more fibers could cross that axis . with that , after the observation images satisfying the requirement are obtained , random two axes in the lengthwise direction and in the crosswise direction per every one image are drawn on the images , and the fiber diameter of the fibers intersecting with the axes is read visually . in that manner , at least three images of non - overlapping surface parts are photographed through an electron microscope , and the value of the fiber diameter of the fibers intersecting with the two axes is read . ( consequently , there is obtained information of fiber diameters of at least 20 fibers × 2 × 3 = 120 fibers .) based on the thus - obtained fiber diameter data , the maximum fiber diameter and the number - average fiber diameter are calculated . the aspect ratio of the cellulose fibers is 50 or more , and is preferably 100 or more , more preferably 200 or more . when the aspect ratio is less than 50 , then a sufficient pseudoplastic flowability as an additive for drilling mud might not be obtained . the aspect ratio of the cellulose fibers can be measured , for example , according to the following method . namely , cellulose fibers are cast onto a hydrophilization - treated carbon film - coated grid and negatively stained with 2 % uranyl acetate . on the tem image ( magnifications : 10000 times ) thereof , the number - average fiber diameter and the fiber length of the cellulose fibers are observed . namely , according to the above - mentioned method , the number - average fiber diameter and the fiber length are calculated , and by using these values , the aspect ratio is calculated according to the following formula ( 1 ). the cellulose fibers are fibers obtained by pulverizing a naturally - derived cellulose solid material having a i - type crystal structure . specifically , in a process of biosynthesis of natural cellulose , nanofibers called microfibrils are first formed almost with no exception , and these are bundled to constitute a high - order solid structure . here , the cellulose constituting the cellulose fibers has a i - type crystal structure , and this may be identified , for example , from a diffraction profile in wide - angle x - ray diffraction image , in which there appear typical peaks at two positions near 2θ = 14 to 17 ° and 2θ = 22 to 23 °. the cellulose fibers may be produced according to a known method , specifically as mentioned below . for example , it can be obtained by suspending natural cellulose in water , and pulverizing this through treatment with a high - pressure homogenizer , a grinder or the like . the natural cellulose is not specifically defined as long as it is vegetable , animal or microbe - derived cellulose . examples thereof include softwood or hardwood - derived kraft pulp or dissolving pulp , cotton linter , lignocellulose having a low cellulose purity , wood powder , herbaceous cellulose , bacterial cellulose , etc . as the cellulose fibers , bacterial cellulose produced by bacteria can be used . the bacteria include those of genus acetobacter , more specifically acetobacter aceti , acetobacter subsp ., acetobacter xylinum , etc . by culturing these bacteria , cellulose is obtained by the bacteria . the obtained product contains the bacteria and the cellulose fibers ( bacterial cellulose ) which are produced by the bacteria and bound to the bacteria . therefore , the product is taken out of the culture medium , washed with water or processed with alkali to remove the bacteria , by which water - containing bacterial cellulose which does not contain bacteria can be obtained . preferably , in the cellulose fibers , the hydroxyl group on the cellulose fiber surface is chemically modified . specifically , the chemically - modified cellulose includes oxidized cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , polycarboxymethyl cellulose , long - chain carboxy cellulose , primary aminocellulose , cationized cellulose , secondary aminocellulose , methyl cellulose , and long - chain alkyl cellulose . of those , oxidized cellulose is preferable since the selectivity to the hydroxyl group in the fiber surface is excellent and since the reaction condition is mild . of the chemically - modified cellulose fibers , those dispersed in water in the form of a salt thereof , when formed as a salt with a polyvalent ion , may have a rigid network structure formed through crosslinking , and thereby an improvement in watertight performance in use as an additive for drilling mud can be expected . oxidized cellulose can also be obtained according to a production method which includes an oxidation reaction step of preparing a natural cellulose as a starting material and oxidizing the natural cellulose through reaction with a co - oxidizing agent in the presence of an n - oxyl compound as an oxidation catalyst in water to give a reaction product of fibers ; a purifying step of removing impurities to give a water - infiltrated reaction product of fibers ; and a dispersing step of dispersing the water - infiltrated reaction product of fibers in a solvent . preferably , in the cellulose fibers , the c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in each glucose unit in the cellulose molecule is selectively modified through oxidation into any of an aldehyde group , a ketone group and a carboxyl group . preferably , the content of the carboxyl group ( carboxyl group content ) falls within a range of from 1 . 2 to 2 . 5 mmol / g , more preferably within a range of from 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 mmol / g . when the carboxyl group content is too small , then the cellulose fibers may flocculate or aggregate ; while when the carboxyl group content is too large , then the solubility in water may increase too much . the measurement of the carboxyl group content in the cellulose fibers is , for example , as follows . from a cellulose sample , of which the dry weight is measured accurately , 60 ml of a 0 . 5 to 1 wt . % slurry is prepared , and the ph thereof is made to be about 2 . 5 with an aqueous 0 . 1 m hydrochloric acid solution , followed by dropwise adding aqueous 0 . 05 m sodium hydroxide solution thereto for electroconductivity measurement . the measurement is continued until the ph could reach about 11 . from the amount of sodium hydroxide ( v ) having been consumed during the neutralization step with a weak acid to provide gentle change in electroconductivity , the carboxyl group content can be calculated according to the following formula ( 2 ). the carboxyl group content may be controlled , as described below , by controlling the added amount of the co - oxidizing agent to be used in the oxidation step for cellulose fibers and the reaction time therein . preferably , the cellulose fibers are reduced with a reducing agent after the modification through oxidation . as a result , a part or all of the aldehyde group and the ketone group may be reduced back to a hydroxyl group . however , the carboxyl group is not reduced . accordingly , by the reduction , it is preferable that the total content of the aldehyde group and the ketone group in the cellulose fibers , in measurement according to a semicarbazide method , is 0 . 3 mmol / g or less , particularly preferably within a range of from 0 to 0 . 1 mmol / g , and most preferably , it is substantially 0 mmol / g . consequently , the dispersion stability increases more in comparison with one which have been modified through mere oxidation , and in particular , excellent dispersion stability can be expressed for a long period of time without influenced by ambient temperature , etc . preferably , the cellulose fibers are oxidized with a co - oxidizing agent in the presence of an n - oxyl compound such as 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidine ( tempo ) or the like , in which the aldehyde group and the ketone group formed through the oxidation reaction are reduced with a reducing agent , since the cellulose fibers excellent in preservation stability can be obtained easily . when the reduction with the reducing agent is conducted by sodium borohydride ( nabh 4 ), it is more preferable because of easiness to handle and also from a viewpoint of economy . the total content of the aldehyde group and the ketone group can be measured according to a semicarbazide method , for example , as follows . namely , accurately 50 ml of an aqueous 3 g / l semicarbazide hydrochloride solution adjusted to have ph = 5 with a phosphate buffer is added to a dried sample and sealed up , followed by shaking for 2 days . next , 10 ml of the solution is accurately put into a 100 - ml beaker and 25 ml of 5 n sulfuric acid and 5 ml of an aqueous 0 . 05 n potassium iodate solution are added thereto , followed by stirring for 10 minutes . subsequently , 10 ml of an aqueous 5 % potassium iodide solution is added thereto , and immediately , with using an automatic titrator , titration with a 0 . 1 n sodium thiosulfate solution is carried out . from the titration amount etc ., the carbonyl group content ( total content of aldehyde group and ketone group ) in the sample can be calculated according to the following formula ( 3 ). since semicarbazide reacts with an aldehyde group and a ketone group to form a schiff base ( imine ), but does not react with a carboxyl group , it is considered that only the aldehyde group and the ketone group can be quantified according to the above - mentioned measurement . d : sample titer ( ml ) b : blank test titer ( ml ) f : factor of 0 . 1 n sodium thiosulfate solution (-) w : sample amount ( g ) in the cellulose fibers , only the c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in each glucose unit in the cellulose molecule on the fiber surface is preferably selectively modified through oxidation into any of an aldehyde group , a ketone group and a carboxyl group . whether only the c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in the glucose unit on the cellulose fiber surface has been selectively oxidized or not can be confirmed , for example , by the 13 c - nmr chart . specifically , the peak at 62 ppm corresponding to the c6 - position of the primary hydroxyl group in the glucose unit , which can be confirmed on the 13 c - nmr chart of cellulose before oxidation , disappears after oxidation reaction , and in place of it , a peak assigned to a carboxyl group or the like ( the peak at 178 ppm is assigned to a carboxyl group ) appears . in that manner , it can be confirmed that only the c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in the glucose unit has been oxidized into a carboxyl group or the like . the aldehyde group in the cellulose fibers can also be detected , for example , with a fehling &# 39 ; s reagent . namely , for example , a fehling &# 39 ; s reagent ( mixed solution of sodium potassium tartrate and sodium hydroxide , and aqueous solution of copper sulfate pentahydrate ) is added to a dried sample , followed by heating at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . it is judged that , in the samples in which the supernatant is blue and the cellulose fiber fraction is dark blue , no aldehyde group is detected , while that , in the samples in which the supernatant is yellow and the cellulose fiber fraction is red , an aldehyde group is detected . preferably , the cellulose fibers are produced in a process including ( 1 ) an oxidation step , ( 2 ) a reduction step , ( 3 ) a purification step , ( 4 ) a dispersion step ( pulverization step ), etc . specifically , it is desirable that the fibers are produced according to the following steps . a natural cellulose and an n - oxyl compound are dispersed in water ( dispersion medium ), and then a co - oxidizing agent is added thereto to start the reaction . during the reaction , ph is kept from 10 to 11 by dropwise adding thereto an aqueous 0 . 5 m sodium hydroxide solution , and at the time at which no ph change is detected , the reaction is considered to be terminated . here , the co - oxidizing agent is not a substance to directly oxidize the cellulose hydroxyl group but is a substance to oxidize the n - oxyl compound used as an oxidation catalyst . the natural cellulose means a purified cellulose isolated from a cellulose biosynthesis system of plants , animals , bacteria - producing gels or the like . more specifically , there are mentioned softwood pulp , hardwood pulp , cotton pulp such as cotton linter , cotton lint or the like , non - wood pulp such as wheat straw pulp , bagasse pulp or the like , bacterial cellulose ( bc ), cellulose isolated from sea squirt , cellulose isolated from marine algae , etc . these may be used either singly or in combination of two or more kinds . of those , softwood pulp , hardwood pulp , cotton pulp such as cotton linter , cotton lint or the like , non - wood pulp such as wheat straw pulp , bagasse pulp or the like are preferable . preferably , the natural cellulose is subjected to a process for increasing the surface area such as beating , since the reaction efficiency thereof can be increased and the productivity can be thereby increased . as the natural cellulose , when those stored without being dried after isolation and purification ( never - dried products ) are used , the microfibril bundles thereof are in a state easy to swell . therefore , it is preferable since the reaction efficiency can be increased and the number - average fiber diameter after pulverization treatment can be reduced . the dispersion medium for the natural cellulose in the above - mentioned reaction is water . the natural cellulose concentration in the aqueous reaction solution may be any desired concentration so far as the reagent ( natural cellulose ) can be dispersed enough therein . in general , it is about 5 % or less relative to the weight of the aqueous reaction solution . however , by using an apparatus having a strong mechanical stirring power , the reaction concentration can be increased . as the n - oxyl compound , for example , nitroxy radical - having compounds which are generally used as an oxidation catalyst are mentioned . as the n - oxyl compound , a water - soluble compound is preferable ; piperidine nitroxy - oxyradical is more preferable ; and 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpiperidinoxy radical ( tempo ) or 4 - acetamide - tempo is especially preferable . a catalytic amount of the n - oxyl compound is enough to be added . preferably , the compound is added to the aqueous reaction solution in an amount falling within a range of from 0 . 1 to 4 mmol / l , and more preferably from 0 . 2 to 2 mmol / l . as the co - oxidizing agent , for example , hypohalous acids or their salts , halogenous acids or their salts , perhalic acids or their salts , hydrogen peroxide , perorganic acids , etc . are mentioned . these may be used either singly or in combination of two or more kinds . above all , alkali metal hypohalites such as sodium hypochlorite , sodium hypobromite , etc . are preferable . in case where sodium hypochlorite is used , preferably , the reaction is carried out in the presence of an alkali metal bromide such as sodium bromide or the like , from the viewpoint of the reaction speed . the amount of the alkali metal bromide added is about from 1 to 40 times of molar amount and preferably about from 10 to 20 times of molar amount , in respect to the n - oxyl compound . preferably , the ph of the aqueous reaction solution is kept within a range of about from 8 to 11 . the temperature of the aqueous solution may be any desired one , which is about 4 to 40 ° c . however , the reaction can be carried out at room temperature ( 25 ° c . ), and the temperature control is not specifically needed . for obtaining the desired carboxyl group content and others , the oxidation degree is controlled by the amount of the co - oxidizing agent to be added and the reaction time . in general , the reaction time may be about from 5 to 120 minutes , and it is finished within at most 240 minutes . preferably , the cellulose fibers are subjected to a reduction reaction after the oxidation reaction . specifically , the fine oxidized cellulose after the oxidation reaction is dispersed in pure water ; the ph of the aqueous dispersion is controlled at about 10 ; and then a reduction reaction is carried out with various reducing agents . the reducing agents which can be used in the present invention may be any ordinary ones . libh 4 , nabh 3 cn , nabh 4 , etc . are preferable . above all , nabh 4 is preferable from the viewpoint of the cost and the usability thereof . the amount of the reducing agent is preferably within a range of from 0 . 1 to 4 % by weight , based on the fine oxidized cellulose , more preferably within a range of from 1 to 3 % by weight . the reaction is carried out at room temperature or at a temperature slightly higher than room temperature , generally for from 10 minutes to 10 hours , preferably for from 30 minutes to 2 hours . after the termination of the reaction , the ph of the reaction mixture is controlled to be about 2 with various acids , and then while pure water is sprinkled thereover , the mixture is processed for solid - liquid separation with a centrifuge , thereby giving a cake - like fine oxidized cellulose . the solid - liquid separation is continued until the electroconductivity of the filtrate could reach 5 ms / m or less . next , for removing the unreacted co - oxidizing agent ( hypochlorous acid , etc . ), various side - products and others , purification is conducted . in this stage , since the reaction product fibers are not always dispersed , in general , discretely to nanofiber units , the product is formed into an aqueous dispersion of the reaction product fibers in a high purity ( 99 % by weight or more ) and water , according to an ordinary purification method , namely , according to a process of repeated washing with water and filtration . in the purification method of the purification step , any apparatus can be used as long as it is apparatus capable of attaining the above - mentioned object , as in a method of utilizing centrifugal dewatering ( for example , using a continuous decanter ). the aqueous dispersion of reaction product fibers thus obtained may have a solid ( cellulose ) concentration falling within a range of about from 10 % by weight to 50 % by weight in a squeezed state thereof . in consideration of the subsequent dispersion step , a high solid concentration of more than 50 % by weight is unfavorable , since extremely high - level energy would be required for dispersion . the water - infiltrated reaction product fibers ( the aqueous dispersion ) obtained in the above - mentioned purification step is dispersed in a dispersion medium by a dispersion treatment . with the treatment , the viscosity increases , and a dispersion of pulverization - treated cellulose fibers can be obtained . subsequently , the cellulose fibers may be dried , if desired . as the drying method for the dispersion of cellulose fibers , for example , when the dispersion medium is water , a spray drying , a freeze drying method , a vacuum drying method , etc . can be used . when the dispersion medium is a mixed solution of water and an organic solvent , a drying method with a drum drier , a spray drying method with a spray drier , etc . can be used . without being dried , the dispersion of cellulose fibers may be used as it is in the form of dispersion . as the dispersing machine for use in the dispersion step , apparatus such as homomixers used in high - revolution , high - pressure homogenizers , ultra - high - pressure homogenizers , ultrasonic dispersers , beaters , disc refiners , conical refiners , double - disc refiners , grinders and the like that are powerful and have a beating ability are preferable , since they enable more efficient and high - level down - sizing and economically advantageously give the dispersion of pulverization - treated cellulose fibers , when they are used . as the dispersing machine , for example , screw mixers , paddle mixers , disperser mixers , turbine mixers , dispersers , propeller mixers , kneaders , blenders , homogenizers , ultrasonic homogenizers , colloid mills , pebble mills , bead mill grinders , etc . may be used . two or more types of dispersing machines may also be used here as combined . the composition for drilling mud that uses the additive for drilling mud of the present invention is an aqueous solution prepared by dispersing the above - mentioned cellulose fibers and other additives in water . the content of the cellulose fibers in the composition for drilling mud of the present invention is not specifically limited and is preferably 0 . 01 % by mass or more and 10 . 0 % by mass or less , and more preferably 0 . 1 % by mass or more and 2 % by mass or less . when the content of the cellulose fibers is 0 . 01 % by mass or more and 10 . 0 % by mass or less , the composition for drilling mud can express good pseudoplastic flowability . in addition to the cellulose fibers , any of bentonite , clay , dispersing agent , preservative , ph regulator and the like may be added to the composition for drilling mud of the present invention . the dispersing agent includes , for example , poly ( meth ) acrylates , humic acid derivatives , lignin sulfonates , hexametaphosphates , tripolyphosphates , etc . the preservative includes , for example , as inorganic compounds , bleaching powder , sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite ; and as organic compounds , halogen derivatives , dialcohol derivatives , aliphatic compounds such as sulfone derivatives , cyan derivatives and thiocarbamide derivatives , and aromatic compounds such as diamine derivatives , imidazole derivatives and isothiazole derivatives . the ph regulator includes , for example , sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , sodium bicarbonate , etc . next , examples along with comparative examples are described . however , the present invention is not restricted to these examples . unless otherwise specifically indicated , “%” in examples means that on a mass basis . in 4950 g of water , 50 g of bleached softwood kraft pulp ( nbkp ) was dispersed to prepare a dispersion solution having a pulp concentration of 1 % by mass . the dispersion solution was processed 30 times with cerendipiter mkca6 - 3 ( manufactured by masuko sangyo co ., ltd .) to give cellulose fibers a1 . to 2 g of softwood pulp , 150 ml of water , 0 . 25 g of sodium bromide and 0 . 025 g of tempo were added , fully stirred and dispersed , and then an aqueous 13 wt % sodium hypochlorite solution ( co - oxidizing agent ) was added thereto so that the amount of sodium hypochlorite could be 5 . 2 mmol / g relative to 1 . 0 g of pulp to start the reaction . since the ph lowered with the progression of reaction , an aqueous 0 . 5 n sodium hydroxide solution was dropwise added so as to keep the ph at from 10 to 11 . the reaction was continued until no ph change was detected ( reaction time : 120 minutes ). after the reaction , 0 . 1 n hydrochloric acid was added for neutralization , which was then purified by repeating filtration and washing with water to give cellulose fibers oxidized on the surface thereof . next , pure water was added to the cellulose fibers to dilute them to 1 %, followed by processing once with a high - pressure homogenizer ( manufactured by sanwa engineering , h11 ) under a pressure of 100 mpa to produce cellulose fibers a2 . cellulose fibers a3 were produced in the same manner as the production for cellulose fibers a2 , except that the added amount of the aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution was changed to 6 . 5 mmol / g per 1 . 0 g of the pulp . cellulose fibers a4 were produced in the same manner as the production for cellulose fibers a2 , except that the added amount of the aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution was changed to 12 . 0 mmol / g per 1 . 0 g of the pulp . softwood pulp was oxidized according to the same method as the production for cellulose fibers a2 and then processed for solid - liquid separation with a centrifuge , and pure water was added thereto to control the solid concentration to be 4 %. subsequently , the slurry was controlled to have a ph of 10 with an aqueous 24 % naoh solution . the slurry temperature was made to be 30 ° c ., and sodium borohydride was added thereto in an amount of 0 . 2 mmol / g relative to the cellulose fibers , followed by conducting a reaction for 2 hours for reducing treatment . after the reaction , 0 . 1 n hydrochloric acid was added for neutralization , then filtration and washing with water was repeated for purification to obtain cellulose fibers . next , pure water was added to the cellulose fibers to dilute them to 1 %, followed by processing once with a high - pressure homogenizer ( manufactured by sanwa engineering , h11 ) under a pressure of 100 mpa to give cellulose fibers a5 . softwood pulp was oxidized according to the same method as the production for cellulose fibers a3 , and then reduced and purified according to the same method as the production for cellulose fibers a4 . next , pure water was added to the cellulose fibers to dilute them to 1 %, followed by processing once with a high - pressure homogenizer ( manufactured by sanwa engineering , h11 ) under a pressure of 100 mpa to give cellulose fibers a6 . softwood pulp was oxidized according to the same method as the production for cellulose fibers a4 , and then reduced and purified according to the same method as the production for cellulose fibers a4 . next , pure water was added to the cellulose fibers to dilute them to 1 %, followed by processing once with a high - pressure homogenizer ( manufactured by sanwa engineering , h11 ) under a pressure of 100 mpa to give cellulose fibers a7 . in 4950 g of water , 50 g of bleached softwood kraft pulp ( nbkp ) was dispersed to prepare a dispersion solution having a pulp concentration of 1 % by mass . the dispersion solution was treated 10 times with cerendipiter mkca6 - 3 ( manufactured by masuko sangyo co ., ltd .) to give cellulose fibers a ′ 1 . cellulose fibers a ′ 2 were produced in the same manner as the production for cellulose fibers a2 except that regenerated cellulose was used in place of the starting material softwood pulp and that the added amount of the aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution was changed to 27 . 0 mmol / g relative to 1 . 0 g of the regenerated cellulose . the cellulose fibers produced in the manner as above were evaluated for the properties thereof according to the criteria mentioned below . the results are also shown in the following table 1 . by using an x - ray diffractometer ( manufactured by rigaku , rint - ultima 3 ), the cellulose fibers were analyzed for the diffraction profile thereof . when typical peaks at two positions near 2θ = 14 to 17 ° and near 2θ = 22 to 23 ° were detected , a crystal structure ( i - type crystal structure ) was evaluated as “ present ”; while when the peaks were not detected , a crystal structure was evaluated as “ absent ”. the number - average fiber diameter and the fiber length of the cellulose fibers were observed with a transmission electron microscope ( tem ) ( manufactured by jeol , jem - 1400 ). namely , the cellulose fibers were cast on a hydrophilization - treated carbon film - coated grid and negatively stained with 2 % uranyl acetate . on the tem image ( magnifications : 10000 times ) thereof , the number - average fiber diameter and the fiber length were calculated according to the method mentioned above . with using these values , the aspect ratio was calculated according to the following formula ( 1 ). to prepare 60 ml of an aqueous cellulose dispersion , 0 . 25 g of cellulose fibers were dispersed in water and its ph was made to be about 2 . 5 with an aqueous 0 . 1 m hydrochloric acid solution . then an aqueous 0 . 05 m sodium hydroxide solution was dropwise added thereto for electroconductivity measurement . the measurement was continued until the ph could reach 11 . from the amount of sodium hydroxide ( v ) having been consumed during the neutralization step with a weak acid to provide gentle change in electroconductivity , the carboxyl group content was calculated according to the following formula ( 2 ). about 0 . 2 g of the cellulose fibers were accurately weighed , and accurately 50 ml of an aqueous 3 g / l semicarbazide hydrochloride solution regulated to have ph = 5 with a phosphate buffer was added thereto and sealed up , followed by shaking for 2 days . next , 10 ml of the solution was accurately put into a 100 - ml beaker and 25 ml of 5 n sulfuric acid and 5 ml of an aqueous 0 . 05 n potassium iodate solution were added thereto , followed by stirring for 10 minutes . subsequently , 10 ml of an aqueous 5 % potassium iodide solution was added thereto , and immediately , with using an automatic titrator , titration was carried out with a 0 . 1 n sodium thiosulfate solution . from the titration amount , the carbonyl group content ( total content of aldehyde group and ketone group ) in the sample was calculated according to the following formula ( 3 ). d : sample titer ( ml ) b : blank test titer ( ml ) f : factor of 0 . 1 n sodium thiosulfate solution (-) w : sample amount ( g ) 0 . 4 g of the cellulose fibers were accurately weighed , then a fehling &# 39 ; s reagent ( 5 ml of a mixed solution of sodium potassium tartrate and sodium hydroxide and 5 ml of aqueous copper sulfate pentahydrate solution ) which was prepared according to japanese pharmacopeia was added thereto , followed by heating at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . in the samples in which the supernatant was blue and the cellulose fiber fraction was dark blue , it was judged that no aldehyde group was detected , and they were evaluated as “ not detected ”. in the samples in which the supernatant was yellow and the cellulose fiber fraction was red , it was judged that an aldehyde group was detected , and they were evaluated as “ detected ”. from the results in the above table 1 , the cellulose fibers a1 to a7 for examples all had a number - average fiber diameter falling within a range of from 2 to 500 nm and had a cellulose i - type crystal structure . further , in the cellulose fibers a2 to a7 , the carboxyl group content fell within a range of from 1 . 2 to 2 . 5 mmol / g . as opposed to these , the cellulose fibers a ′ 1 for comparative examples had a number - average fiber diameter larger than the upper limit , and the carboxyl group content therein was less than the lower limit . the number - average fiber diameter of the cellulose fibers a ′ 2 was too small and was unmeasurable ( not more than 1 nm ), and the carboxyl group content therein was more than the upper limit . in the cellulose fibers a2 and a7 , as to whether or not only the c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in the glucose unit on the cellulose fiber surface had been selectively oxidized into a carboxyl group or the like was confirmed by the 13 c - nmr chart . as a result , the peak at 62 ppm corresponding to the c6 - position of the primary hydroxyl group in the glucose unit , which can be confirmed on the 13 c - nmr chart of the cellulose before oxidation , disappeared after oxidation reaction , and in place of it , a peak assigned to a carboxyl group appeared at 178 ppm . this confirmed that in all the cellulose fibers a2 to a7 , only c6 - positioned hydroxyl group in the glucose unit was oxidized into a carboxyl group or the like . test liquids of the above - mentioned cellulose fibers and other comparative samples were prepared according to the process mentioned below . pure water and bentonite ( superclay , manufactured by hojun ) were added to the cellulose fibers al obtained in the above , and by using a homomixer mark ii 2 . 5 model ( manufactured by primix ), stirring was carried out at 3 , 000 rpm for 60 minutes to prepare 1 , 000 g of a test liquid having a cellulose fiber concentration of 0 . 1 % and a bentonite concentration of 2 %. test liquids were prepared according to the same method as that for the test liquid 1 except that the cellulose fibers a1 were changed to any of cellulose fibers a2 to a7 , a ′ 1 and a ′ 2 . pure water and bentonite were added to a commercially - available polyacrylamide ( telcoat dp , manufactured by telnite ), and by using a homomixer mark ii 2 . 5 model ( manufactured by primix ), stirring was carried out at 3 , 000 rpm for 60 minutes to prepare 1 , 000 g of a test liquid having a polyacrylamide concentration of 0 . 1 % and a bentonite concentration of 2 %. pure water and bentonite were added to a commercially - available xanthan gum ( k - ob , manufactured by dainippon sumitomo pharma ), and by using a homomixer mark ii 2 . 5 model ( manufactured by primix ), stirring was carried out at 3 , 000 rpm for 60 minutes to prepare 1 , 000 g of a test liquid having a xanthan gum concentration of 0 . 1 % and a bentonite concentration of 2 %. by using the obtained test liquids , measurement of ti and evaluation of viscosity degradation and watertight performance were performed according to the evaluation methods mentioned below . the evaluation results are shown in table 2 below . at 25 ° c . for 1 day , 250 g of the obtained test liquid was statically kept , and then , by using a b - type viscometer ( manufactured by brookfield , rotor no . 4 , 6 rpm , 3 minutes , 25 ° c . ), the viscosity thereof was measured . subsequently , the viscosity was measured under the same condition except that the rotation number was changed to 60 rpm . from the viscosity obtained , ti was calculated according to the following formula ( 4 ). ti = viscosity ( mpa · s ) at a rotation number of 6 rpm / viscosity ( mpa · s ) at a rotation number of 60 rpm ( 4 ) oo : 6 or more o : 4 or more and less than 6 δ : 3 or more and less than 4 x : less than 3 at 25 ° c . for 1 day , 500 g of the obtained test liquid was statically left , and then , by using a b - type viscometer ( manufactured by brookfield , rotor no . 4 , 6 rpm , 3 minutes , 25 ° c . ), the viscosity thereof was measured . subsequently , by using a water bath , the test liquid was heated up to 60 ° c ., and while the temperature thereof was kept at 60 ° c ., it was stirred at 12 , 000 rpm for 60 minutes with a homomixer mark ii 2 . 5 model ( manufactured by primix ). subsequently , the processed liquid was further statically left at 25 ° c . for 1 day , and the viscosity thereof was measured with a b - type viscometer ( manufactured by brookfield rotor no . 4 , 6 rpm , 3 minutes , 25 ° c .). from the viscosity before and after shear treatment , the viscosity retention rate (%) was calculated according to the following formula ( 5 ), and the degree of viscosity degradation was thereby evaluated . oo : 85 % or more o : 70 % or more and less than 85 % δ : 55 % or more and less than 70 % x : less than 55 % by using a filtration tester according to the api standard , the amount of leaked water was measured in pressurization of 0 . 3 mpa at room temperature for 30 minutes . samples giving a smaller amount of leaked water are said to be better in watertight performance . oo : 15 ml or less o : more than 15 ml and 20 ml or less δ : more than 20 ml and 25 ml or less x : more than 25 ml from table 2 , it is known that , in comparison with the cellulose fibers a ′ 1 having a small fiber aspect ratio , the cellulose fibers a1 to a7 as the products of the present invention have a high viscosity and a high ti value at a predetermined concentration ( comparative example 1 ). it is also known that , in comparison with the cellulose fibers a ′ 2 which do not have an i - type crystal structure , the products of the present invention have a high viscosity and a high ti value at a predetermined concentration and are excellent in relation to viscosity deterioration ( comparative example 2 ). accordingly , it has been clarified that , in comparison with a ′ 1 and a ′ 2 , the products of the present invention are excellent in watertight performance , flowability in discharging , and durability under high - temperature and high - shear condition . in addition , it is also known that the products of the present invention are excellent in relation to viscosity deterioration , in comparison with polyacrylamide ( comparative example 3 ) and xanthan gum ( comparative example 4 ) that have heretofore been used as an additive for drilling mud . it has become obvious that when the products of the present invention are used in a composition for drilling mud , they are excellent in durability under high - temperature and high - shear condition . the additive for drilling mud of the present invention can be used in drilling for petroleum , natural gas , civil engineering , mines , etc .	2
the two major components of the method and apparatus of the present invention are : a . the manner in which slot behaviors are specified to the system . b . the manner in which slot behaviors are attached and inherited to frames in the system . slot - control behaviors are specified by creating slot - control frames . these frames are very similar to other frames in the semantic network , differing only in their special declaration as slot - control frames . there are two major types of slot - control frames . a base slot - control frame has the same name as the slot and defines the global characteristics for the slot and any other default behavior for the slot . frames which define more local behavior for the slot are referred to as specializations of the base slot - control frame . slot specialization makes it possible to associate specialized behavior with a slot without changing the name or global characteristics of the slot . each slot in the knowledge base has an associated base slot - control frame and at least one specialization slot - control frame . the specialization slot - control frames are linked via the &# 34 ; specialization of &# 34 ; relation to form a slot - control hierarchy . fig4 illustrates the slot - control hierarchy for the slot named &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; generally referred to by 310 ; as previously mentioned , the base slot - control frame for a slot has the same name as the slot whose behaviors the slot - control frame defines . as illustrated by fig5 the base slot - control frame for a slot named &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; generally referred to by 410 is also named &# 34 ; foo .&# 34 ; the behaviors that may be associated are : for any kind of slot , the names of any of a number of types of demons that may be attached to a slot ( e . g . slot &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; has demon a ) generally referred to by 412 . if only a base slot - control frame is defined for a slot , the slot behaviors of that slot are global . a specialization of a base slot - control frame can be used to modify the behavior specified by the base slot . the name of a specialization slot - control frame must be different from the slot name . specialization allows the same slot name to be used in different parts of an application with different behavior . fig5 illustrates the definition of the specialization slot - control frame named &# 34 ; foo 1 &# 34 ;, generally referred to by 414 which specializes slot &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; by defining demon b generally referred to by 416 . when a slot - control frame is defined , all special behaviors are compiled into a compact internal format and stored in a reserved space in the slot - control frame structure . this compact internal representation makes subsequent accesses of the information much faster . a slot - control frame may be explicitly attached to an occurrence of the slot in a frame in the knowledge base . fig6 illustrates syntax for the attachment of specialization &# 34 ; foo 1 &# 34 ; generally referred to by 510 to the slot &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; generally referred to by 512 in frame generally referred to by 514 . when a slot is added to a frame , either when the frame is defined or when the slot is inherited , the system must decide what slot behavior to associate with the slot . the following algorithm is used : if either the base slot - control frame or one of the specialization slot - control frames for the slot is explicitly named when a frame is defined , the behaviors associated with that slot - control frame are associated with the occurrence of the slot . if the slot can be inherited to the frame , then the behaviors associated with the inherited slot are associated with the local occurrence of the slot . if neither of the above is true , the behaviors of the base slot - control frame for the slot are associated with the local occurrence of the slot . each occurrence of a slot in the knowledge base contains a pointer to an intermediate data structure which connects the occurrence of the slot to the governing slot - control frame . this pointer is determined when the slot is first declared - in or inherited to the frame . the pointer is changed only if a different slot - control frame is explicitly attached to that occurrence of the slot . thus , the overhead for retrieving the slot - behavior for a slot is constant , independent of the number of specializations . finally , the slot - control frame itself can be modified ( e . g . by the addition or removal of a demon ); these modifications are visible to all occurrences of the slot governed by that slot - control frame . fig7 illustrates how this intermediate data structure generally referred to by 610 is shared by all occurrences of the slot &# 34 ; foo &# 34 ; governed y a specific slot - control frame . the power of the method and apparatus of the present invention is demonstrated by the following examples , in which the behavior of a slot is specialized at some point in the knowledge base : a demon is attached and detached from a slot in a particular frame . for example , consider a banking system which monitors account balances which have been overdrawn . the monitoring function might be attached as a demon on a &# 34 ; balance &# 34 ; slot on those instances of account which have sub - zero balances . at some future point , when an account instance no longer needs to be monitored , the demon is removed from the &# 34 ; balance &# 34 ; slot . this can be accomplished by defining a specialization of the &# 34 ; balance &# 34 ; slot - control frame which specifies the desired demon behavior . the occurrence of the &# 34 ; balance &# 34 ; slot in instances which must be monitored can be associated with the specialization slot - control frame which defines the demon . to detach the demon when the balance becomes positive , the base slot - control frame ( balance ) is reattached to the occurrence of the slot in the instance . this situation is common in large systems where several people are developing the knowledge base . the same slot name may be used with different demons , for example , in different hierarchies of the application &# 39 ; s knowledge base . while slot specialization does not allow multiple definitions of the slot &# 39 ; s global features , such as the value - type of attribute slots , it does allow different demons and / or different inheritance specifications to be attached to the slot in different places in the knowledge base without conflict . this may be accomplished by defining slot specializations for each of the different behaviors and attaching those specializations to the occurrence of the slot at the highest point where it is used in each of the subhierarchies . descendant frames which inherit the slot would then inherit the appropriate behaviors for that subhierarchy . the inheritance of a user - defined relation is specialized for a particular frame . specializing inheritance behaviors is especially useful for general relations like partof , which are , perhaps , too general to allow any sort of global , default inheritance . when used within particular frames , however , the behavior is more well - defined , and particular inheritance characteristics may be specified . the behavior of a slot is modified in some frame and the developer desires the modification to be visible to any other frames which have already inherited that slot from that frame . a common example is a demon which , when attached to an occurrence of a slot in a class frame , is visible to all instances of that class , whether or not they had previously inherited the slot . the method and apparatus of the invention guarantees that any instances inheriting a slot after a new slot specialization is attached to the occurrence of the slot in a class frame will inherit the specialized behavior . instances which had inherited and cached the slot locally before the specialization was attached , however , normally would not see the new behaviors . there is , however , an easy way to ensure that the new behaviors will be visible , which involves using specialization in a slightly different manner . the method and apparatus guarantee that when the behavior specified by an existing slot - control frame is changed , the new behavior is visible to all frames that have slots which are controlled by that slot - control frame , whether the slot was inherited before or after the modifications to the slot - control frame . a specialization slot - control frame is associated with the occurrence of the slot in the class frame . initially , this specialization may not define any new behavior . instances of the class , when they inherit the slot , will inherit the behavior defined by this specialization . when it becomes necessary , for example , to add a demon at the class level , this is done by directly modifying the existing slot - control specialization frame associated with the slot in the class ( rather than by attaching some new slot - control frame to that slot ). when a slot - control schema is modified ( by , for example , adding demons ), the new behavior is visible to all schemata which already have inherited , or will inherit , a slot with which this slot - control frame is associated . a similar effect results when the base slot - control frame is modified directly . the new behaviors are visible to all slots associated with the base slot - control frame . the new behaviors are visible to all occurrences of the slot in the application knowledge base when no specializations for that slot are defined . while the best mode for carrying out the invention has been described in detail , those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the following claims .	6
the drawings referenced herein illustrate a preferred version of a fish tape reel assembly 20 . referring to fig1 - 5 , the reel assembly 20 includes a reel housing 24 having two annular housing parts 26 and 27 made of a rigid plastic , such as nylon or polypropylene , using any suitable molding technique , such as injection molding . the housing parts 26 and 27 each have a convex annular wall 28 that tapers from an inner peripheral wall 30 , configured as discussed in detail below , to a circular outer peripheral wall 32 . the housing parts 26 and 27 are concentric about a center axis 34 passing through the middle of a center opening 36 defined by the inner peripheral wall 30 . when the housing parts 26 and 27 are joined , the inner peripheral walls 30 define an inner periphery 35 with three convex hand stops 37 spaced equally about the center axis 34 and interposed between three equally spaced convex inner hand grips 39 of a larger radius than the stops 37 . preferably , the inner periphery 35 is overmolded with a tactile rubber or elastomer material for improved grip and comfort . the interior of each housing part 26 and 27 is also formed with two interior circular walls 38 and 40 . the interior walls 38 and 40 divide the interior of the housing 24 ( when the housing parts 26 and 27 are joined ) into an annular cavity 42 between the interior walls 38 and 40 and an annular groove 44 between interior wall 40 and the outer peripheral wall 32 . rib structures 46 extend between the inner peripheral wall 30 and interior wall 38 to support these walls with less material than if this area was solid . each annular wall 28 has three oblong openings or windows 48 , spaced equally about the center axis 34 , that allow visual inspection inside the annular cavity 42 where three threaded fasteners 50 extend to join the housing parts 26 and 27 together . referring to fig7 , the annular cavity 42 contains a coil of fish tape 52 . the fish tape 52 is preferably an elongated flat metal or fiberglass tape wrapped about the interior wall 38 . although a flat tape is preferred , any shaped tape , such as a round tape , may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention . as shown in fig7 and 9 , an anchor end 51 of the fish tape 52 is bent backward in a “ u ” or hairpin shape and looped around one of the fasteners 50 to anchor the fish tape 52 to the housing 24 . the fish tape 52 is preferably assembled and anchored to the housing 24 after the two housing parts 26 and 27 are bolted together . the windows 48 allow the assembler a clear view of the fasteners 50 to facilitate in anchoring the fish tape 52 . a free end 54 of the fish tape 52 extends from between the two housing parts 26 and 27 to the outside of the reel housing 24 . the free end 54 is preferably bent back , as shown , or mounts an enlarged end piece ( not shown ) to prevent the free end 54 from entering the interior of the housing 24 . referring now to fig1 , 3 and 6 - 8 , the reel housing 24 is held by a specially designed reel handle 60 that allows the reel housing 24 to be rotated about the center axis 34 . the reel handle 60 has a shoe 62 , that is generally a split ring or arcuate band slidably captured between the housing parts 26 and 27 within the annular groove 44 so as to be isolated from the fish tape 52 within the annular cavity 42 . preferably , the shoe 62 forms a continuous band which significantly improves its overall strength , and particularly its drop strength , so that the shoe is less likely to be damaged by impact to the reel housing 24 or reel handle 60 . depending inwardly from the shoe 62 is a small keel feature 64 ( shown best in fig8 ), which spaces apart the housing parts 26 and 27 when bolted together to provide a gap for the fish tape 52 to pass through from the annular cavity 42 . the keel 64 may be partially worn down ( so as not to extend into the annular cavity 42 ) by friction from contact with the fish tape 52 during initial assembly in which an automated high speed winder ( as known in the art ) is used to coil the fish tape 52 inside the annular cavity 42 . the reel handle 60 has an exterior section 66 at the top of the reel assembly 20 that defines an exit aperture 68 and a hanger 70 and from which extends a pistol grip 72 . the exit aperture 68 is an opening or passageway that extends generally tangentially from the annular cavity 42 to guide the fish tape 52 along the intended feed direction , which is essentially perpendicular to a vertical center line 74 passing vertically through the middle of the hanger 70 . the exit aperture 68 is located toward a forward side ( left in fig7 ) of the center line 74 . the hanger 70 simply forms a bounded opening 76 sized for a nail or conventional peg board hook so that the reel assembly 20 can be suspended from a wall or a display rack . the pistol grip 72 is located at a rear or aft side of the center line 74 , opposite that of the exit aperture 68 . the pistol grip 72 leans forward from its base and extends generally tangentially , at an angle less than 90 degrees , from the housing 24 to a free end 78 , which preferably remains behind the center line 74 ( as shown in fig4 ). the pistol grip 72 is generally oblong in cross - section and forms a convex palm rest 80 and a convex finger grip 82 . raised lateral ribs 84 are formed in these areas to improve the grip . a head 86 at the free end 72 of the pistol grip 72 hooks over the user &# 39 ; s index finger which is cupped in a concave surface 88 adjacent to the finger grip 82 . the length of the pistol grip 72 is preferably sufficient to allow it to be grasped comfortably between all four fingers and the palm . this distance is generally about 4 - 5 inches and preferably at least about 3 inches . for added strength , the pistol grip 72 may be molded about a steel plate 90 ( see fig7 ), and for added comfort and tactility , the pistol grip 72 may be overmolded with a rubber or elastomer . the contour , length and location on the housing 24 all contribute to making the pistol grip 72 ergonomic and comfortable to hold when using the reel assembly 20 . the rearward location of the pistol grip 72 allows the reel assembly 20 to be oriented as shown in fig4 when held by the pistol grip 72 . in this orientation , the user grasping the pistol grip 72 with one hand can support the reel assembly 20 with a straight wrist and forearm , generally parallel to the horizon and to the generally horizontal feed direction of the fish tape 52 . this reduces strain on the wrist and hand because in this orientation the reel assembly 20 does not tend to bend back the user &# 39 ; s wrist . in fact , the pistol grip 72 is oriented so that the weight of the reel assembly is balanced such that a user grasping the pistol grip 72 will have his wrist essentially straightened and horizontal in a neutral balanced position of the pistol grip 72 , as shown in fig4 . moreover , the fish tape 52 is wound into the reel housing 24 ( in a clockwise direction in fig4 ) such that the force required to wind the fish tape 52 will tend to seat the palm rest 80 of the pistol grip 72 straight back against the user &# 39 ; s palm , which helps the user to maintain a firm grip without undue strain . also , guiding the fish tape 52 along a feed direction substantially perpendicular to the center line and parallel to the ground and the user &# 39 ; s forearm reduces twisting and strain on the user &# 39 ; s hand and wrist . the reel assembly 20 is operated , preferably by grasping the pistol grip 72 and holding the reel assembly 20 generally stationary with the wrist held straight and the forearm parallel to the ground , for example with a right hand . and , with the other hand , the free end of the fish tape 52 is pulled along the feed direction away from the reel housing 24 and guided along the desired path . the fish tape 52 is wound back into the annular cavity 42 of the reel housing 24 by putting the free hand within the center opening 36 and grasping one of the hand grips 39 . holding onto one of the grips 39 and moving the housing 24 in a circular clockwise path ( as shown in fig4 ) about the center axis 34 winds the fish tape 52 . preferably , the hand grip 39 near the top middle of the reel housing 24 would be grasped and rotated downward and toward the user &# 39 ; s body preferably in the range of 90 to 150 degrees , and more preferably about 120 degrees , about the center axis 34 . then , after that stroke is completed , the user would grasp another grip at the top middle of the reel housing 24 and rotate it again , repeating this as necessary until the fish tape 52 is wound completely , or as far as desired , within the reel housing 24 . note that the user need not grasp the hand grips 39 with much force since the stops 37 at the inner periphery 35 will abut the bottom side of the user &# 39 ; s hand ( from which the user &# 39 ; s little finger extends ) and thereby assist in engaging the user &# 39 ; s hand and the reel housing 24 . the overmold and the convex contour of the reel housing 24 also improve the comfort and ergonomics at the inner grips 39 . moreover , the convex shape of the annular walls 28 of the housing increase the capacity ( around 25 - 30 percent over straight walled reel housings ) of the annular cavity 42 , which can hold 50 , 100 or 200 feet of fish tape 52 depending on the overall diameter of the reel housing 24 , without making the grips 39 too wide to be comfortable . the reel assembly 20 can be used with a manual winder mechanism 22 as an alternative to winding the fish tape by grasping the inner grips 39 . the winder mechanism 22 is described in detail in co - pending application entitled “ fish tape winder ” co - owned by the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein . the winder mechanism 22 will now be described only briefly now . referring now to fig1 - 13 , the winder mechanism 22 includes a plastic hub 124 , a plastic winder handle 126 , a steel shaft 128 and a roller clutch ( not shown ). all of these components are assembled so as to be disposed along and / or concentric the center axis 34 , shown in fig3 . as shown , the winder 22 fits into the center opening 36 of the reel assembly 22 from one side so that the hub 124 is disposed inside the inner periphery 35 of the reel assembly 20 such that concave sprocket sections 138 cup the convex stops 37 and concave spanning sections 140 cup the inner grips 39 . a peripheral flange 152 of the hub 124 will abut the side of housing part 27 and spring tabs 148 will “ snap ” over and dip onto an edge of the inner periphery 35 at the opposite housing part 26 to retain the winder 22 to the reel assembly 20 . the fish tape reel and winder assembly is preferably used by manually pulling the free end of the fish tape 52 away from the reel assembly 20 to unwind the desired length of fish tape 52 , which is guided along the desired path . the fish tape 52 is wound back within the reel assembly 20 by grasping the pistol grip 72 and holding the reel assembly 20 generally stationary with the wrist held straight and the forearm parallel to the ground . then , the user pulls back on the winder handle 126 with the other hand , moving it in a circular path toward the user &# 39 ; s body at the top of the stroke , counterclockwise in the drawings , so as to rotate the housing 24 this direction . since the fish tape 52 is anchored to the housing 24 this action winds the fish tape 52 inside the annular cavity 42 ( see fig9 ) of the reel assembly 20 . the stroke travel of the winder handle 126 is preferably about 120 degrees and then ratcheted back in the opposite rotational direction , which disengages the roller clutch ( not shown ) so it does not rotate the reel assembly housing 24 with respect to the reel handle 60 . fig1 shows an alternate embodiment of the winder mechanism 22 a including the same components as described above except that the hub 124 a has a different configuration designed to provide openings 200 allowing the user to grasp hand grips 39 a of the reel assembly 22 a without removing the winder 22 a from the reel assembly 20 a . it should be appreciated that merely a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above . however , many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art , which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , the invention should not be limited to the described embodiment . to ascertain the full scope of the invention , the following claims should be referenced .	7
when referred to hereafter , the terminology “ wireless transmit / receive unit ( wtru )” includes but is not limited to a user equipment ( ue ), a mobile station , a fixed or mobile subscriber unit , a pager , a cellular telephone , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a computer , or any other type of user device capable of operating in a wireless environment . when referred to hereafter , the terminology “ base station ” includes but is not limited to a node - b , a site controller , an access point ( ap ), or any other type of interfacing device capable of operating in a wireless environment . the features of the present invention may be incorporated into an integrated circuit ( ic ) or be configured in a circuit comprising a multitude of interconnecting components . in accordance with the present invention , the mobility in gprs , ( 3 g or beyond ), systems is facilitated by anchoring the ip session at the home ggsn and allowing for multi - level mobility , and by supporting existing mm protocols for non - ip traffic / services provided by the sgsn . fig2 b shows a single user - plane tunnel approach in accordance with the present invention . a single user plane tunnel 230 is used to reduce the delay and processing power of an sgsn 210 ′. in the two - tunnel approach shown in fig2 a , the sgsn 210 terminates both the gtp tunnel 220 and a user plane tunnel 225 to the rnc 215 , which means that the sgsn 210 decodes the packets traveling in both directions and translates them into the different protocol formats of the two tunnels 220 and 225 . in a single tunnel approach shown in fig2 b , the sgsn 210 ′ only establishes a tunnel between the ggsn 205 ′ and the rnc 215 ′ via two separate interfaces / protocols , ( ranap - c and gtp - c ). in the single tunnel approach , the sgsn 210 ′ is no longer involved in the user plane traffic . thus , the user traffic passes through the sgsn 210 ′ unchanged , ( i . e ., unaltered ), in both directions . the sgsn 210 ′ is no longer involved in the user plane processing . only the rnc 215 ′ and the ggsn 205 ′ are allowed to perform / act on the user plane traffic . the sgsn 210 ′ only manages the control traffic , including mm , rau , and the like , associated with the user and its ip based traffic . the sgsn 210 ′ connects an rnc 215 ′ and a ggsn 205 ′ using a gtp control plane to communicate with the ggsn 205 ′ and a ranap control plane to communicate with the rnc 215 ′. when a handoff occurs between rncs , the sgsn 210 ′ is responsible for providing the ggsn 205 ′ with the new rnc teid information and the establishment of the single tunnel 230 . fig3 shows a prior art tunnel protocol stack according to existing gprs protocol . a gtp - u tunnel transfers , ( i . e ., tunnels ), user data between a utran ( which includes rans , bsss and rncs ) and a 3g - sgsn , and between the 3g - sgsn and a 3g - ggsn . fig4 shows a user plane in the single tunnel protocol stack in accordance with the present invention , in which the user plane tunnel from the utran does not terminate at the 3g - sgsn . instead , the utran terminates at the 3g - ggsn . the ip tunnel shown in utran and ggsn can be gtp based or any generic ip - tunnel . in a preferred embodiment , the gtp - u tunnel is used as an ip tunnel . fig5 is a signaling diagram of a process for single tunnel establishment in accordance with the present invention . the single tunnel functionality reduces the delay and processing power at the sgsn by reducing the need for protocol translation between the rnc and ggsn interfaces , and by enabling direct user plane tunnel between the ran / rnc and the ggsn within the packet switched ( ps ) domain . however , the single tunnel approach will not eliminate the need for the sgsn to manage control traffic for ip based traffic . the sgsn is still needed for the control plane signalling , mm and call / session management , and makes a decision when to establish a single tunnel rather than establishing dual tunnels . in the case of a single tunnel , the sgsn should connect the ran / rnc teid and the ggsn teid for user plane by informing each end point of the tunnel of the corresponding teid of the other end point , ( i . e ., informing the ggsn of the rnc teid and informing the rnc of the ggsn teid ). in the case of a handoff between rncs , the sgsn is responsible for updating and providing the ggsn with new rnc teid information and the establishment of the single tunnel . fig5 shows a single tunnel establishment procedure , ( packet data protocol ( pdp ) context activation ), which is implemented in a wireless communication system including a wtru 505 , a radio access network ( ran )/ radio network controller ( rnc ) 510 , an sgsn 515 and a ggsn 520 in accordance with the present invention . the wtru 505 sends an activate pdp context request to the sgsn 515 that includes pdp type , pdp address , apn , quality of service ( qos ) data and the like ), ( step 525 ). the sgsn 515 validates the activate pdp context request , selects an apn ), and maps the apn to the ggsn 520 ( step 530 ). the sgsn 515 determines if a single tunnel is supported and / or requested , and notes the existence of an rnc teid ( step 530 ). the sgsn 515 creates a pdp context request that includes pdp type , pdp address , apn , a single tunnel request , an rnc teid , qos and the like ), ( step 535 ). the ggsn 520 creates a pdp context response that includes pdp type , pdp address , apn , an indicator that the single tunnel is granted , ggsn teid , qos and the like ( step 540 ). the wtru 505 and the ran / rnc 510 establish a radio access bearer ( rab ) ( step 545 ). in step 550 , the sgsn 515 and the ran / rnc 510 exchange tunnel setup signaling that includes a mobile station international subscriber directory number ( msisdn ), a pdp address and a ggsn teid , and the sgsn 515 sends tunnel establishment information to the ran / rnc 510 after receiving an indication of acceptance from the ggsn to establish the tunnel . the sgsn 515 sends an update pdp context request to the ggsn 520 ( step 560 ) to establish the new tunnel by informing the ggsn 520 of the rnc teid associated with the request , and the ggsn 520 sends an update pdp context response to the sgsn 515 ( step 565 ) confirming / rejecting the establishment of the tunnel and the associated attributes , ( rnc teid , pdp type , pdp address , user id , and the like ). the sgsn 515 inserts the ggsn address in its pdp context , sends the pdp address received from the ggsn ( step 570 ) and prepares for the response to be sent down to the wtru 505 . thus , if necessary , the sgsn 515 updates the pdp context in the ggsn 520 to reflect any changes in the qos attributes resulting from the rab establishment of step 545 . tunnel establishing signaling is exchanged between the ran / rnc 510 and the ggsn 520 including the msisdn , pdp address , rnc teid and ggsn teid ( step 575 ). the sgsn 515 sends an activate pdp context accept signal to the wtru 505 that indicates the presence of a single tunnel ( step 580 ). fig6 shows a single tunnel intra - sgsn inter - rnc routing area update procedure , which is implemented in a wireless communication system including a wtru 605 , an old base station system ( bss )/ rnc 610 , a new bss / rnc 615 , an sgsn 620 , a ggsn 625 and a home location register ( hlr ) 630 in accordance with the present invention . still referring to fig6 , an old tunnel is established between the old bss / rnc 610 and the ggsn 625 ( step 635 ). the wtru 605 sends a routing area update ( rau ) request , which may include a packet temporary mobile subscriber identity ( p - tmsi ), old routing area identification ( rai ), old p - tmsi signature , an update type and the like , to the new bss / rnc 610 and the sgsn 620 ( step 640 ). the update type indicates whether or not the routing area update is periodic . security functions are then established between the wtru 605 , the sgsn 620 and the hlr 630 ( step 650 ). the sgsn 620 sends an update pdp context request to the ggsn 625 ( step 655 ). the ggsn 625 then sends an update pdp context response to the sgsn 620 ( step 660 ). the sgsn 620 sends a tunnel establishment request to the new bss / rnc 615 ( step 665 ). in step 655 , the sgsn 620 establishes the new tunnel between the ggsn 625 and the new bss / rnc 615 by sending the teid of the new bss / rnc 615 to the ggsn 625 in the update pdp context request of step 660 . if the request is granted , the ggsn 625 confirms the request back to the sgsn 620 in step 660 . in step 665 , the sgsn 620 establishes the other end of the tunnel to the new bss / rnc 615 by sending the teid of the ggsn 625 to the new bss / rnc 615 via the tunnel establishment message . in step 670 , the bss / rnc 615 acknowledges the request and indicates the operation success to the sgsn 620 . now , a new tunnel is established in step 675 . optionally , there may be additional update pdp context requests depending on the final set of qos attributes . the new bss / rnc 615 then sends a tunnel establishment response to the sgsn 620 ( step 670 ). a new tunnel between the new bss / rnc 615 and the ggsn 625 is then established ( step 675 ). upon the successful establishment of the new tunnel , the sgsn 620 releases the old tunnel by sending a release request to the old bss / rnc 610 in step 680 . a release response is sent from the old bss / rnc 610 to the sgsn 620 ( step 685 ). a routing area update accept is sent from the sgsn 620 to the new bss / rnc 615 and the wtru 605 ( step 690 ). a routing area update complete message is then sent from the wtru 605 to the new bss / rnc 615 and the sgsn 620 ( step 695 ). fig7 a and 7b , taken together , show a single tunnel intre - sgsn routing area update procedure , which is implemented in a wireless communication system including a wtru 705 , an old bss / rnc 710 , a new bss / rnc 715 , a new sgsn 720 , an old sgsn 725 , a ggsn 728 and an hlr 730 in accordance with the present invention . referring to fig7 a , an old tunnel is established between the old bss / rnc 710 and the ggsn 728 ( step 732 ). the wtru 705 sends a routing area update request , which may include a p - tmsi , old rai , old p - tmsi signature , an update type and the like , to the new bss / rnc 734 and the new sgsn 720 ( step 734 ). the update type indicates whether or not the routing area update is periodic . the new sgsn 720 sends an sgsn context request to the old sgsn 725 ( step 736 ). the old sgsn 725 sends an sgsn context response to the new sgsn 720 ( step 738 ). security functions are then established between the wtru 705 , the new sgsn 720 and the hlr 730 ( step 740 ). the new sgsn 620 sends an sgsn context acknowledge message to the old sgsn 725 ( step 742 ) and sends an update pdp context request to the ggsn 728 ( step 655 ) which indicates a single tunnel and the teid of the new bss / rnc 715 . the ggsn 728 then sends an update pdp context response to the new sgsn 720 ( step 746 ). the new sgsn 720 sends a tunnel setup message to the new bss / rnc 715 which indicates the msisdn , pdp address and the ggsn teid ( step 748 ). the new bss / rnc 715 then sends a tunnel setup acknowledgement message to the new sgsn ( step 750 ). a new tunnel between the new bss / rnc 715 and the ggsn 728 is then established ( step 752 ). in the case of pending traffic in the system using the old tunnel , the traffic is forwarded from the old bss / rnc 610 to the new bss / rnc 615 for service continuity . referring to fig7 b , after the new tunnel is established , forward packets are sent from the new sgsn 720 to the old sgsn 725 ( step 754 ). in step 754 , forward packets are sent from the new sgsn 720 to the old sgsn 725 . in step 756 , forward packets are sent from the old sgsn 725 to the old bss / rnc 710 . in step 758 , packets are forwarded from the old bss / rnc 710 to the new bss / rnc 715 . in step 760 , the old bss / rnc 710 sends a forward packets acknowledgement message to the old sgsn 725 . in step 762 , the old sgsn 725 sends a forward packets acknowledgement message to the new sgsn 720 . in step 764 , the new sgsn sends update location message to the hlr 730 . in step 766 , the hlr 730 sends a cancel location message to the old sgsn 725 . in step 768 , release signaling , ( e . g ., a release request message and a release response message ), is exchanged between the old bss / rnc 710 and the old sgsn 725 . in step 770 , a cancel location acknowledgement message is sent from the old sgsn 725 and the hlr 730 . in step 772 , insert subscriber data is sent from the hlr 730 to the new sgsn 720 . in step 774 , the new sgsn 720 sends an insert subscriber data acknowledgement message to the hlr 730 . in step 776 , the hlr 730 sends an update location acknowledgement message to the new sgsn 720 . in step 778 , the new sgsn 720 sends a routing area update accept message to the new bss / rnc 715 and the wtru 705 . in step 780 , the wtru 705 sends a routing area update complete message to the new bss / rnc and the new sgsn 720 . although the features and elements of the present invention are described in the preferred embodiments in particular combinations , each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements of the preferred embodiments or in various combinations with or without other features and elements of the present invention . the methods or flow charts provided in the present invention may be implemented in a computer program , software , or firmware tangibly embodied in a computer - readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor . examples of computer - readable storage mediums include a read only memory ( rom ), a random access memory ( ram ), a register , cache memory , semiconductor memory devices , magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks , magneto - optical media , and optical media such as cd - rom disks , and digital versatile disks ( dvds ). suitable processors include , by way of example , a general purpose processor , a special purpose processor , a conventional processor , a digital signal processor ( dsp ), a plurality of microprocessors , one or more microprocessors in association with a dsp core , a controller , a microcontroller , application specific integrated circuits ( asics ), field programmable gate arrays ( fpgas ) circuits , any other type of integrated circuit ( ic ), and / or a state machine . a processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit receive unit ( wtru ), user equipment ( ue ), terminal , base station , radio network controller ( rnc ), or any host computer . the wtru may be used in conjunction with modules , implemented in hardware and / or software , such as a camera , a video camera module , a videophone , a speakerphone , a vibration device , a speaker , a microphone , a television transceiver , a hands free headset , a keyboard , a bluetooth ® module , a frequency modulated ( fm ) radio unit , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) display unit , an organic light - emitting diode ( oled ) display unit , a digital music player , a media player , a video game player module , an internet browser , and / or any wireless local area network ( wlan ) module .	7
now , embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings . fig4 shows a plan view of a lateral p - n - p transistor which is one embodiment of the present invention . fig5 shows a structural sectional view along iv -- iv &# 39 ; in fig4 while fig6 shows a structural sectional view along v -- v &# 39 ; in fig4 . in order to clearly elucidate the present invention , the same symbols as those used in fig1 and 2 on the prior - art examples stated before shall indicate identical or equivalent portions unless otherwise specified . in the present structure , emitter and collector diffused regions 12 and 13 are formed by the diffusion of a p - type impurity into single crystal silicon 15 from polycrystalline silicon 21 containing the p - type impurity at a high concentration . the entrance of the p - type impurity into the single crystal layer is limited to only the openings of silicon oxide films 61 , and the length l of the openings determines the base length of the lateral p - n - p transistor . of course , the base length becomes larger than the opening length l . this is attributed to the diffusion . the silicon oxide films 61 are formed by thermal oxidation or the like after the formation of the single crystal region 15 , and they are selectively etched with a good controllability . thereafter , the polycrystalline silicon layer 21 is formed . fig7 a - 7r show one example of a manufacturing process for realizing the semiconductor device of the present invention , and illustrate the situations before the structure of fig4 - 6 is formed . hereunder , the producing steps will be explained in accordance with the figures . fig7 a : a p - type semiconductor substrate 11 is prepared . although an n - type substrate may be employed , impurities to be mentioned below must have the opposite conductivity types in that case . unlike the substrate used as an electric conductor , a substrate in a broad sense in the form in which a conductor is placed on an insulator may well be employed . it is represented by soi ( silicon on insulator ), sos ( silicon on sapphire ) or the like . the inventors selected as the substrate , one containing an impurity of the p - type and having an impurity concentration of 5 × 10 14 cm - 3 . the substrate is thermally oxidized to form a thin silicon oxide film 71 on the surface thereof . the inventors obtained the silicon oxide film 71 of 600 nm by performing a heat treatment at 1000 ° c . for 150 minutes . next , an opening for forming an n + - type buried layer 14 is provided in the silicon oxide film 71 by employing photolithography as in the prior art . using a process such as diffusion or ion implantation , the n + - type buried layer 14 having a desired concentration is provided through the opening . fig7 b : the silicon oxide film 71 is subsequently removed to expose the substrate surface , whereupon an n - type single crystal layer 15 is formed by the epitaxial growth . the epitaxial layer 15 can be formed to a desired thickness , depending upon a period of time , a temperature etc . for or during the growth . the inventors obtained the epitaxial grown layer 15 of 1 μm . next , a thermal oxide film 72 is formed on the whole surface . the oxide film 72 may well be formed by deposition . next , a silicon nitride film 73 is formed by deposition . further , a silicon oxide film 74 is formed by deposition . the inventors formed the three - layer film consisting of the oxide film 72 , nitride film 73 and oxide film 74 which were 50 nm , 120 nm and 900 nm thick respectively . fig7 c : the whole surface is coated with a photoresist which is then patterned , and parts of the three - layer film 72 , 73 , 74 are removed using the photoresist as a mask . thereafter , the photoresist is removed . fig7 d : subsequently , using the three - layer film as a mask , the epitaxial grown layer is etched to form convex regions . since anisotropic dry etching is used for the formation , side etching scarcely arises . fig7 e : a thermal oxide film 75 is formed again . it may well be formed by deposition . in this case , however , the shape is somewhat different . further , a silicon nitride film 76 is formed thereon by deposition . the inventors formed the silicon oxide film and the silicon nitride film which were 50 nm and 120 nm thick respectively . fig7 f : subsequently , the resultant structure is etched by anisotropic dry etching so as to leave the silicon nitride film 76 on only the side surfaces of the convex regions . since the anisotropic dry etching is used , this step does not require any photo - mask for the etching . fig7 g : subsequently , using the silicon nitride film 76 as a mask , thermal oxidation is performed to form a thick oxide film 22 . the inventors formed the oxide film of 700 nm . fig7 h : subsequently , the silicon nitride film 76 is removed , and further , the silicon oxide film 75 is removed . in removing the silicon oxide film , it is covered with a resist as a photo - mask in order that the oxide films may be left at the parts 61 of the side surfaces of the convex region as shown in fig4 . therefore , the silicon oxide films 61 at the covered parts are not removed . fig7 i : polycrystalline silicon 21 is deposited on the whole surface , and further , a silicon oxide film 761 is formed by deposition . the inventors deposited the polycrystalline silicon in two operations , in each of which it was deposited by 350 nm , to a total thickness of 700 nm , and formed the silicon oxide film by 200 nm . fig7 j : the whole surface is coated with a resist 77 , and that part of the resist which is somewhat larger than the convex regions is removed by a photo - mask step . the inventors removed the resist in the part which was 1 μm outside one side of each convex region . fig7 k : a photoresist 78 separate from the photoresist 77 is applied to the whole area , and its surface is flattened . fig7 l : sputter etching is performed in an o 2 atmosphere , to uniformly remove the photoresist 78 until the oxide film 76 is exposed . fig7 m : the exposed oxide film is removed by wet etching , and the exposed parts of the polycrystalline silicon layer are removed by dry etching . fig7 n : the photoresist layers 77 , 78 and the oxide film 761 are removed . fig7 o : a silicon oxide film 79 is formed on the surface of the polycrystalline silicon 21 by thermal oxidation , and a silicon nitride film 80 is deposited on the whole surface . thereafter , parts of the silicon nitride film and the silicon oxide film are selectively removed by photo - mask steps . further , the polycrystalline silicon layer 21 is etched by dry etching so as to reduce its thickness . this step is performed in order to flatten the surface of the element later , but it may well be omitted . fig7 p : using the silicon nitride film 80 as a mask , the polycrystalline silicon is selectively oxidized to form an oxide film 51 . thereafter , the silicon nitride film 80 is removed , and the polycrystalline silicon is doped with boron by ion implantation . fig7 q : the silicon oxide films 74 and 79 are removed . fig7 r : using the silicon nitride film 73 as a mask , the surface of the polycrystalline silicon layer is oxidized to form a silicon oxide film 81 . during this thermal step , the boron having been implanted by the step of fig7 p diffuses into the polycrystalline layer 15 , so that the p - type regions 12 and 13 are formed . at this time , the diffusion windows of the p - type regions are determined by the selective etching of the side wall oxide films 75 having been performed in fig7 h . a metal such as aluminum ( a1 ) is deposited , and is photo - etched into a desired pattern . it forms an emitter electrode 17e , a collector electrode 17c and a base electrode 17b . examples of the metal other than the aforementioned aluminum are tungsten ( w ), titanium ( ti ) and their compounds with silicon ( silicides ). in this way , the device of the structure shown in fig4 - 6 is produced . electrical characteristics attained by the semiconductor device of the present invention are illustrated in fig8 and 9 . fig8 shows the base length - dependence of a collector saturation current , and fig9 that of a base saturation current . here , the base length l is equal to the etching width of the side wall oxide films shown in fig4 . the currents flowing through the device are substantially proportional to l as illustrated in fig8 and 9 , and it is understood that the operation is performed stably and precisely . furthermore , when viewed in a plan pattern , the device of the present invention becomes smaller to about 1 / 3 as compared with the prior - art semiconductor device in fig1 and to about 1 / 5 as compared with the semiconductor device in fig2 and it has the structure suited to microminiaturization . now , a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail . fig1 is a sectional structural view showing the second embodiment of the semiconductor device of the present invention . in the figure , the same symbols as in the foregoing shall indicate identical or equivalent portions . the bipolar transistor of the present invention indicated by the embodiment has an n + - type layer 105 on the surface of an n - type convex region 15 ( including regions 12 and 13 ) and is provided with a base electrode 17b on the surface of the n + - type layer . therefore , a buried layer does not exist between the real base region and the base electrode . this brings forth the effect that the device is not affected by the state of the buried layer , so the dispersion of a collector current is avoided . thus , according to the second embodiment , the dispersion of the voltage between the base and the emitter of the transistor is minimized , and the element having stable characteristics can be provided . more specifically , the dispersion of the collector current of a transistor is determined by the dispersion of a voltage applied to the transistor . a voltage v b to be applied to the real base of the lateral p - n - p transistor is obtained in such a way that a voltage drop δv b in the buried layer extending from the base electrode to the real base region is subtracted from the voltage v b &# 39 ; applied to the base electrode . δv b is expressed by δv b = i b r where r denotes the resistance ( 10 2 - 10 3 ω ) of the buried layer , and i b the current flowing through the buried layer . here , since r differs depending upon individual transistors , the dispersion of δv b arises . accordingly , to the end of suppressing the dispersion of the voltage to be applied to the real base , the dispersion of δv b may be minimized . according to the present invention , a base electrode is disposed directly over a real base region , whereby a voltage to be applied to the base electrode is equalized . that is , since a base current flows to the electrode portion directly without passing a buried layer , a voltage drop across the buried layer forming the cause of a dispersion is not involved . fig1 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention . in an iil circuit according to the present invention shown here , the first embodiment is employed for a lateral transistor portion , while a vertical transistor portion has a p + - type region 101 lying in direct contact with p - type regions 43 and is connected with the lateral transistor by a polycrystalline silicon layer 21c . here , an injector is led out by an electrode 17i through a polycrystalline silicon layer 21c , and a base by an electrode 17b through the polycrystalline silicon layer 21c . in addition , the ground is led out by an electrode 17g , and a collector by an electrode 17c . the ground terminal 17g of the i 2 l circuit exists on the surface of the active region of the lateral transistor . therefore , even when the i 2 l circuit of fig1 is applied to a large - scale integrated circuit , the dispersion of the injector currents of the individual i 2 l circuits is minimized , along with the effect of microminiaturization . according to the present invention , no buried layer intervenes between the base electrode and the real base of a lateral p - n - p transistor portion , so that the dispersion of a base - emitter voltage v be is avoided . concretely , the dispersion of v be having heretofore been approximately 8 % with respect to the center value becomes 1 % or less . this embodiment is obtained by combining embodiment 1 with embodiment 2 or 3 described before . the base length is precisely controlled by the insulator film 61 . besides , since the base lead - out electrode is disposed directly over the base region , the voltage drop attributed to the resistance of the buried layer is not involved . therefore , the base potential can be rendered constant without being influenced by the length of the buried layer .	7
as required , detailed illustrative embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein . the embodiments merely exemplify the invention which may , of course , be constructed in various other forms , some of which may be quite different from the disclosed illustrative embodiments . however , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative and in that regard provide a basis for the claims herein which define the scope of the present invention . fig1 illustrates an asynchronous pipeline processor constructed in accordance with the present invention . a control unit c ( top ) is operatively coupled to a data unit d ( bottom ), each showing a few representative stages . the data unit d is composed of a series of processing cells ps ( four ) and the control unit c is composed of a series of control elements ce ( four ). essentially , signal - represented data moves stage by stage through the processing unit p under control of signals from the control unit c . each control element ce in the control unit c has two binary states , and a relatively simple philosophy of operation implements state changes in each of the elements . specifically , in implementing total control , each control element ce follows a specific operating rule : if the preceding element is in a binary state different from the succeeding element , assume the state of the preceding element , otherwise remain as set . the control states generated by that philosophy of operation function to control the processing cells ps in the processing unit p to selectively perform processing operations or define flip - flops ( binary associations ) to register data as a result of retrograde data paths . note that each processing cell ps is dynamic , including amplifier capability but containing no storage . however , the individual processing cells ps may be associatively paired by retrograde data paths to create flip - flops when required for data storage . as illustrated , the processing unit p contains four processing cells ps , specifically designated as cells 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 . longer strings of cells are of course possible and likely for many implementations as explained below . each cell is interconnected for two - way data communication with both its predecessor and successor cells . for example , cells 12 and 14 are interconnected for bidirectional data signal flow as illustrated by the arrowed lines 20a and 20b , each line comprising several signals . similarly , lines 22a and 22b ( each of which may comprise several signals ) along with similar lines 24a and 24b respectively interconnect the cells 14 to 16 and 16 to 18 . it is to be understood that means may be used other than a pair of wires as represented by each of the lines to interconnect the processing cells . a system using complex voltage and current signalling on a single wire or frequency multiplexed signals in an optical fiber represent a few of the several alternatives . also , other than electrical or light signal structures could be employed . as indicated above and explained in detail below , the bidirectional communication between individual processing cells ps in the data processing unit p enables the cells ps to combine and provide binary storage . flip - flops can be provided between adjacent pairs of cells ps . as illustrated in fig1 by dashed - line circles 26 , 28 and 30 ( designated with symbols ff ) each pair of adjacent processing cells ps may cooperate to function as a flip - flop and store a bit of data . in a flip - flop configuration , pairs of cells cooperate so that each receives and reflects the data it shares with its neighbor . note that while possible flip - flops 26 , 28 and 30 are represented , each is only a possibility . in that regard , a data unit may define flip - flops with either its predecessor or its successor , or both at the same time . in operation , such flip - flops may either hold or pass data depending on the contents of the processor . the absence of established flip - flops indicates the processing unit p is clear and a digit placed in the processor will be processed to completion through the last processing cell ready to exit . the movement of data signals through the individual processing cells 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 ( independent of any clock timing ) is specified by the control unit c . that is , data is received by the processing unit p through input lines 51a and 51b to pass through the processing cells ps from left to right under control of the control unit c . in that regard , the control unit c has a &# 34 ; request &# 34 ; signalling input line 62a and an &# 34 ; acknowledge &# 34 ; signalling line 62b . at the output end of the control unit an output &# 34 ; request &# 34 ; signalling line 64a cooperates with an output signal &# 34 ; acknowledge &# 34 ; line 64b . various detailed structures illustrating exemplary processing cells are disclosed in detail below . however at this stage it is important to recognize that the data cells are somewhat similar , each embodying switching apparatus , retrograde amplification apparatus and usually a processing apparatus as for performing arithmetic or logical processing functions . the switching apparatus within each processing cell ps is controlled by the cell &# 39 ; s associated control element ce . as a basis for understanding the movement of data in the processing unit p , the operation of the control unit c will now be explained . as indicated above , each of the individual control elements ce operate on the basis of a simple rule : if the predecessor and successor elements of an individual control element differ in state , then it is to copy the state of the predecessor control element ; otherwise it is to remain in its present state . recapitulating to some extent , both the control elements ce and the processing cells ps are essentially binary . specifically , the elements ce are 2 - state devices which provide signals to establish the processing cells ps in either of two switched configurations . in one switched configuration the processing cells ps individually act on data flowing through the pipeline . in the alternate switched configuration , the processing cells ps may associate in pairs to provide data storage flip - flops . such flip - flops occur when adjacent control elements ce enduringly retain opposed binary states . the details of such control are set out at length in the copending parent case . however , for an understanding of the operation of the control unit c reference will first be made to fig2 showing an illustrative structure for the control elements ce . fig2 is a schematic diagram of a control element known as a muller c element well known in the art and suitable for use in the control unit , as the elements ce . more complex control elements might be designed . for example , a control element with three states might be connected to three data elements so as to make them operate cyclically . a variety of other arrangements may prove useful and economical . the muller c element of fig2 is formed of inverters 21 and 23 ( top ), well known logic elements operating in combination with nand gates 25 , 27 , 29 , and 31 also well known logic elements . the gates 29 and 31 are cross coupled with second inputs from the gates 25 and 27 to provide outputs ca and cb in accordance with the rule of essential operation as stated above , e . g . p ≠ s , copy p ; p = s , stay as set . the states of the preceding ( p ) and subsequent ( s ) elements ce are manifest respectively on the lines pl2 and sl2 . the state of this control element , manifest as output ca is delivered to the preceding and subsequent control elements respectively on the lines pl1 and sl1 . implementing the stated rule of operation , consider now an assumed practical sequence of operation as illustrated in fig3 . the drawing shows a series of state diagrams which illustrate the activity of the control system c . however the illustrated system contains ten control elements ce ( rather than four as shown in fig2 ). the lines in the fig3 state diagrams are labelled fig3 a through fig3 n and depict the states of a series of control elements in a control unit c . the dots on each line in fig3 represent in sequence the current states of ten supposed control elements ce in a row . thus , each line with high or low dots manifests all states in the control unit c ( binary ) at a particular instant of time . the data unit d is controlled accordingly . the extreme left dot on each line in fig3 indicates the state of the first control element by being either raised or lowered the extreme right dot on each line indicates the state of the last control element . the vertical position of dots along the lines represent the binary state of the corresponding control elements in the sequence of their arrangement in the represented control unit . to depict a control element in a high state , the dots and lines in fig3 are elevated . if a control element is in a low state , the correspondingly positioned dot in the sequence is depressed . thus diagonal segments of the line in fig3 ( see fig3 b ) represent situations where the states of two adjacent control elements differ . finally with regard to the representation format , arrows , as shown under the lines in fig3 b , 3d and 3f indicate unstable or transitory conditions . in fig3 a , the state of the control unit is depicted for an empty pipeline processor . with the system empty ( no registered digits ), a binary bit received by the processing unit p would be processed stage - by - stage moving without any imposed delay through to the last processing cell ps in the unit . fig3 b shows a dynamic condition in the control unit indicating that a data element has been received and is being advanced through the processing unit p . accordingly , an edge 104 ( state difference ) as illustrated above an arrow 102 depicts a dynamic condition in which the state difference is moving through the control unit c indicating a similar movement of a data bit through the processing unit p . to the extent that data or bits are accumulated in a processing unit because the output apparatus is not ready , bits will collect in the final cells of the processing unit somewhat in the form of a lineup or a queue of people . to explain the manner in which the states of a control unit develop to accord such a situation , consider the three control elements represented by dots b1 , b2 , and b3 in fig3 b . at the instant depicted , the control element b2 will soon change to the elevated state , because the state of its predecessor element b1 and that of its successor element b3 differ . on the other hand , element b1 is stable , because although its predecessor ( not labelled ) and its successor b2 differ in state , element b1 has already reached the same state as its predecessor as indicated by the horizontally extending line to its left . thus , the diagonal edge 104 ( fig3 b ) will step and continue stepping to the right , in the direction in which information is to be passed through the processing unit p . as a general rule , any isolated diagonal edge in the representations of fig3 will move to the right in an action analogous to people closing up a line . on the other hand , sections of horizontal lines in fig3 indicate clear stable conditions . as indicated above , the final control element ce in a control unit ( right end of lines in fig3 ) is held , that is it is not permitted to change state until the receiving apparatus coupled to the processor indicates it is ready . consequently , when the diagnal edge 104 , fig3 b reaches the output end ( right ) of the control unit , it will remain there as the edge 106 illustrated in fig3 c , awaiting the time when the output from the processing unit can be accepted . in that regard , assume a situation in which a number of data bits are received before output can be accepted . that occurrence is treated below with continuing reference to the drawings of fig3 . a second wave of control activity , which accompanies the second datum , is indicated at the input end of the control unit as illustrated in fig3 d . as fast as the circuits of the system can operate , the wave will come to rest against the first wave as illustrated in fig3 e . consequently , the states of the final control elements represented by dots e1 , e2 and e3 are as shown in fig3 e . the element of dot e1 is stable because although its predecessor ( not labeled ) and its successor ( element e2 ) differ in state , the element e1 already has taken the same state as its predecessor . the element e2 is stable because its predecessor element e1 and its successor , element e3 have the same state ( opposed to that of element e2 ). the element e3 is stable because it is prevented from changing by an imposed condition for the final stage of the control unit c ( hold data ). as additional waves of control activity ( accompanying additonal input ) arrive at the input of the control unit , they will initiate activity to close or stack up in a line at the output end of the unit as illustrated by fig3 g and 3h . again , it is important to appreciate that these operations are not clocked , rather their activity is synchronous . also , control element states as manifest by the edges indicate existing data preparatory to departing the processing unit p ( fig1 ) as it may be accepted from the output . recapitulating to some extent , controlled by the control unit , the movement of datum in the processing unit d is somewhat analogous to the movement of people in an orderly line . the first arrival immediately moves through the processing cells ps to the head of the line as the sequence of process operations is performed . each subsequent arrival similarly moves through the processing steps and takes a place , being stored at the end of the line . additional aspects of the line analogy are also important . specifically , as each opening occurs at the head of the line ( output ) the line immediately closes . also , new arrivals immediately move to occupy the last position in the closed line . the analogy is deemed helpful in appreciating the asynchronous operation of the system , independent of timing constraints . as in a line of people , data immediately moves to close up at the front of the line to subsequently exit on call , in order regardless of the space behind them . the operations attendant the departure of data from the system are depicted in fig3 h through 3n . in fig3 h , there are three humps , each including two edges interconnecting dots representative of control elements . the edges of these humps indicate that the last seven control elements ( dots ) in the control unit are in states that differ alternately . note that this is a stable condition because each control element is either in the same state as its predecessor or is preceded and followed by control elements that are in the same state . if the last control element is permitted to change state , as it would when a data bit is accepted from the processing unit p , the states shown in fig3 k will occur . however , that state is not stable as is indicated by the arrow 110 . consequently , further change promptly follows . consider the three control elements as represented by the dots labeled k1 , k2 , and k3 in fig3 k in view of the stated operating rule . the control element k1 is stable because its predecessor ( not labeled ) and successor element k2 are in the same state . the control element k3 is stable because it is in the same state as element k2 . the control element k2 , however , is not stable because its predecessor element k1 and successor element k3 are in different states . consequently , the control element k2 changes state to create the situation illustrated in fig3 l . that state also is unstable , as indicated by the arrow 112 , and will rapidly change to the state illustrated in fig3 m . note that the short flat section of the line 124 ( right of fig3 k ) moved to the left in fig4 l and further to the left in fig3 m . the line 124 continues to move to the left until the stable condition shown in fig3 n is attained . the short flat line 124 represents a pair of ajacent control elements that are in the same state . as the adjacent common state pair of control elements ( represented by the line 124 ) propagates to the left , it permits data stored in the processing unit to move forward ( right ) by one cell . consider now the manner in which control elements ce ( fig1 ), with the various states represented in fig3 function in relation to the processing cells ps . as indicated above , the processing cells ps each include amplifier structures , a processing apparatus and switching apparatus . the individual cells are similar except for the processing apparatus which may take a wide variety of different forms . referring to fig4 three processing cells ps1 , ps2 and ps3 are represented . as depicted the cells are structurally similar , consequently the description of cell ps1 in detail also applies to the cells ps2 and ps3 . the line pair enters the cell ps1 as a pair of separate conductors 51a and 51aa terminating at the stationary contacts of a double - throw , single - pole switch 101 . for purposes of illustration a mechanical representation is illustrated ; however , it is to be understood that the electronic format of such structure will normally be used in commercial systems . the switch 101 is controlled by the associated control element ce , i . e . by the signal ca , see fig2 . depending on the state of the associated control elements ce , the switch 101 is either commanded by a signal ca to be in the raised position or by a signal cb to be in the lowered position . the movable contact of the switch 101 is connected to an inverting amplifier 103 which is in turn connected to a processor p1 . as indicated above , the processor p1 may take a wide variety of different forms , and in a related manner the amplifier 103 may also vary , for example , taking a non - inverting form . the processor p1 provides an output to the stationary contacts of a pair of switches 105 and 107 , both being of a double - throw single - pole form and controlled oppositely to the switch 101 by the associated control element ce providing signals ca and cb . again , for simplicity the electromechanical representation is used . the movable contacts of the switches 105 and 107 are connected respectively to inverting amplifiers 109 and 111 . the output from the amplifiers 109 and 111 provide signals to the successor cell ps2 . retrograde data paths 113 and 115 from the cell ps2 are provided returning to the external stationary contacts of the switches 105 and 107 . note that these signals are provided from the inverting amplifier 203 in the cell ps2 . in the configuration as represented in fig5 the pairs of amplifiers , e . g ., amplifiers 109 and 111 are arranged with a pair of switches , e . g . 105 and 107 . the amplifier 109 takes as input either the output of the processor p1 as illustrated , or the retrograde signal from the amplifier 203 . of course , selection depends upon the state of the control signals ca and cb from the associated control element . somewhat similarly , the amplifier 111 receives either the retrograde signal from the amplifier 203 or the output of the processor p1 , again depending upon the state of the control signal . the states of the processing cells ps1 , ps2 and ps3 are shown as they would exist under control of the control unit c in a state as depicted in fig3 e . essentially , the processing cells ps1 and ps3 are in the state of the signal ca being high , while the processing cell ps2 is in the state associated with the control signal cb being high . initially , assume a situation in which all of the cells ps1 , ps2 and ps3 are in the same configuration . specifically , assume the switches of the cells ps1 and ps3 to be as depicted and the switches of cell ps2 to be opposite to the illustrated positions . such a configuaration is commanded if all of the control signals are identical , for example , in the state represented in fig3 a . in the assumed state , signals entering the cell ps1 on conductor 51a pass through the switch 101 then through the amplifier 103 for processing by the processing unit p1 . the output signals from the processing unit p1 pass through the switch 105 , the amplifier 109 and the switch 201 ( assumed in a position different than illustrated ) then through the amplifier 203 to the processor p2 . the output from the processor p2 is supplied through the switch 205 ( positioned differently than illustrated ) through amplifier 209 , then through the switch 301 , and the amplifier 303 to the processing unit p3 . from the processing unit p3 , the output is passed through the switch 305 and the amplifier 309 to continue in the pipeline . accordingly , a wave of activity moves through the entire system . it is noteworthy that when the system is in this state , there are no existing active storage elements . in that state , the asynchronous pipeline processor is empty and it behaves like a conventional combinatorial circuit without storage . a multiplier built in this way can function as a simple array multiplier when it is empty . of course , the analogy would apply for any of a wide variety of other processing systems . continuing now to refer to fig4 note that whenever signals are presented to a processing unit , e . g ., processor p2 , such signals are also presented to the predecessor cell along retrograde data paths . specifically , note that the signals presented to the processor p2 ( processor cell ps2 ) also are presented back to the processor cell ps1 through retrograde data paths 113 and 115 . alternatively , one of the switches 105 or 107 will connect one of the paths 113 or 115 to one of the amplifiers 109 or 111 . in the configuration as illustrated in fig4 the signal applied to the processing unit p2 is also supplied through the retrograde data path 115 and the switch 107 for application to the amplifier 111 . accordingly , the signal on the conductor 117 will be an inverted copy of the signal in the data path 115 . accordingly , if two adjacent processing cells , e . g ., cells ps1 and ps2 are set in opposed states by their received control signals , a storage capacity is established between the two cells . specifically , such a storage capacity or flip - flop 119 is illustrated in fig4 by a dashed loop line . thus , when the two diagonal lines are represented as in fig3 e flip - flop storage is provided . see flip - flops 119 and 219 . when the asynchronous pipeline processor is filled with data , the states of the control elements will alternate and there will be as many elements of data stored in the asynchronous pipeline processor as there are stages in the processor . as indicated above , the individual processing units p1 , p2 , p3 and so on , may take a wide variety of different forms . essentially , the processing unit p , might provide substantially any combinatorial logic function that is free of storage . the very simplest function would perform , performs no logical operations simply passing input along to output . as another alternative , the processing unit p might perform an addition or a subtraction or perform a table look up function . a processing unit that performs such a function is merely one stage in a first - in - first - out register set as described in the parent case hereto . such processing cells are nevertheless useful in asynchronous pipeline processors for transporting some section of input information forward towards the output unchanged while other sections of the information are being processed . such units also are useful for buffering information at the input and output of an asynchronous pipeline processor so as to obtain higher power levels for driving physically larger circuits or higher burst data rates as may be required . further consideration with regard to fig4 involves the couplings and switch capacities of the processing cells ps . each of the processing cells ps is connected to another processing cell ps by four wires or data paths . alternatively , depending on the amount of data that is being delivered to another neighboring cell , a plurality of wires for data paths might be employed . for example , a processing unit p dealing with eight - bit words would utilize a line 51a , for example , incorporating eight individual wires . thus , particular designs of specific asynchronous pipeline processors will have different numbers of data bits being processed and will , accordingly , involve different numbers of wires employed between and in association with different processing cells ps . different processing cells in an asynchronous pipeline processor may also differ in the amount of data received from adjacent or neighboring cells . for example , if the processing cell 16 ( fig1 ) were intended to perform the addition of two - eight bit numbers to produce a nine - bit sum , the input signalling apparatus , e . g . line 22a , would provide wires for sixteen bits of data . the output capability of the cell 16 , i . e . line 24 , would possess the capacility of signaling a single nine - bit number , e . g . carry nine individual wires . just as the number of bits in the inter - connection signaling apparatus may be different in different parts of a single processor or in different processors , so the input or output switches in different data cells may control different numbers of bits . in general , the number of bits in each of the four inter - cell data paths as path 113 ( fig4 ) involve the same number of bits . the same number of bits would be delivered to the processing logic p2 inside the processing cell ps2 . the processing cell ps2 may deliver a different number of bits to the output amplifiers 205 and 207 . accordingly , the output amplifiers 205 and 207 must accommodate an appropriate number of bits in all four of the represented signaling means at the output side of the cell ps2 to accommodate the same number of bits . thus , any processing cell ps might be constructed to change the number of bits being passed down the asynchronous pipeline processor . exemplary of the multiple input and multiple output data paths as discussed above , fig5 illustrates the input and output to an adder . specifically , an adder 123 additively combines three binary bits of data to produce two binary bits . the three - input adder 123 receives inputs on three wires 125 , 127 and 129 each of which is analogous to a single amplifier input to the processing units p in the processing cells of fig1 . the wire 125 ( fig5 ) is connected to a junction point 130 which is at the output of an inverting amplifier 132 that is part of a switching structure si1 . the lines 134 and 136 , connected from the junction point 130 , constitute retrograde data paths . the input to the amplifier 132 is from the movable contact of a switch 138 . the stationary contacts of the switch ( single - pole double - throw ) constitute the forward data paths to the processing cell as represented . the input switching structure si2 and si3 are similar to the above - described switching structure si1 . in that regard , the switching input si2 includes a switch 144 and an inverting amplifier 146 while the switching structure si3 includes a switch 148 and an inverting amplifier 150 . because there are three input bits , the three switching inputs si1 , si2 and si3 , are provided to comprise : multiplicand , partial product , and carry . the output switch structures so1 and so2 need accommodate only two bits . the outputs ( from the adder 122 designated p and m ) are connected by wires 152 and 154 to the stationary terminals of a pair of single - pole double - throw switches . specifically , the conductor 152 is connected to a stationary contact of switches 156 and 158 while the conductor 154 is connected to the stationary contact of switches 160 and 162 . the alternate stationary contacts of each of the switches 156 , 158 , 160 and 162 are connected to retrograde data lines or wires 166 , 168 , 170 and 172 . the moveable contacts of the switches 156 , 158 , 160 and 162 are connected respectively to inverting amplifiers 176 , 178 , 180 and 182 which are in turn connected to the forward output data paths . all of the switches as represented in fig5 are controlled by the common control signals ca and cb for the stage as explained with respect to the control unit c ( fig1 ). generally , the switches at the input , e . g . switch 138 , are in an alternate configuration from the switches at the output e . g . switch 156 . specifically , the switch 138 is in a lower position when the switch 156 is in a raised position . accordingly , the individual switches each function precisely as explained above with respect to the structure of fig4 . the adder 123 may take various forms as well known in the prior art to generate parity ( p ) and majority ( m ) digits . specifically , the adder may perform the logic operations : ______________________________________input output______________________________________a b c m p0 0 0 0 00 0 1 0 10 1 0 0 10 1 1 1 01 0 0 0 11 0 1 1 01 1 0 1 01 1 1 1 1______________________________________ for example , a primitive logic implementation might simply involve gates or executing the logic : in one structural form , the adder 123 may be implemented as a cmos circuit as illustrated in fig6 . the cmos circuit is presented in a logic format which will render the operation apparent to one skilled in the art . it operates because the parity and majority function of three variables are symmetric . that is , if an odd number of input signals , e . g . a b and c are in a high state , an even number will be low . similarly , if a majority of the three input signals a , b and c are high , the minority will be low . as indicated , the processor of the present invention may take many different forms . considering another implementation of the asynchronous pipeline processor , fig8 shows a processor implemented to function as a read - only memory . the two - stage system is controlled by the control unit c as previously described with respect to fig1 utilizing request and acknowledgment signals applied at conductors 62a , 62b , 64c and 64d . in the embodiment of fig8 a line 41 controls a processing unit 221 while a line 43 controls a processing unit 225 . the two units cooperate to process data . input data , say eight bits , is received from the left and applied through the switching and amplifier structure 222 to the code unit 223 . essentially , the unit 223 decodes the eight bit binary code into a numeral , one of a two hundred fifty - six bit code , as required for looking up its value in the next unit . thus , the input structure 222 constitutes eight bits in width but the output switch structure 224 is two hundred fifty - six bits wide . the second processing cell 225 is responsible for looking up a value , as for example to provide an answer of fourteen bits length . thus , the input structure 226 will be two hundred fifty - six bits wide while the output structure 228 will simply be fourteen bits wide . if the read - only memory pipeline of fig8 is empty , new addresses presented to the input structure 222 will produce output values delivered at the output switch 228 . however , the control unit c may be activated by a change in the state of the input request line 62a so as to trap a partly processed data value in the pipeline . if this occurs , the control states passing on the lines 41 and 43 will differ and changes in the output data to the structure 222 will pass through the address decode stage processor 223 only and will not pass through the output structure 224 to the second processing cell 225 . the data cell 225 will receive input data from the previously processed data trapped between the cells 221 and 225 . the device that accepts the output data from the structure 228 also can force that data to remain in place for as long as desired by retaining a signal on the input acknowledge control wire 64b . when the output device is ready for a new output value , it will change the state of the output acknowledge wire 64b which will in turn cause the state of the control unit to change and thus change the state of the control line 43 . when the control line 43 changes state to coincide with that on control line 41 , the second processing cell 225 will process the output data of processing cell 221 rather than the older data that was trapped between the data cells . thus , the new output value will become available after a delay established only by the properties of the processing cell 225 and independent of the properties of the cell 221 , which previously had been able to complete the processing step . the input and output protocol for the asynchronous pipeline as described herein is similar to protocols known in the prior art . fig7 is a timing diagram that illustrates this protocol . time is illustrated moving from left to right . the state of various control and data signals changing with time is illustrated by the various lines shown in the figure , each manifesting a binary signal . the line representation of fig7 a depicts the state of the control input wire 62a in fig2 showing edges 201 and 204 . the line representation of fig7 b depicts the state of the control output wire 62b in fig2 showing edges 202 and 205 . the two line representations of fig7 c represent the state of the data input wires 51a in fig1 . the line representations of fig7 c are split to illustrate that the value of the data bits carried on wires 51a does not matter ; what does matter is that the points in time at which that value can change either from &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; or from &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; in a binary format , as illustrated at cross - over locations 200 , 203 , and 206 . fig7 d , 7e , and 7f represent the actions at the three output wires 59a , 64a , and 64b , respectively . the protocol used at the input and output is accordingly evident . from the above examples and explanations , it can been seen that embodiments of the system can be variously utilized to effectively process data . the system has several particularly advantageous applications , others will become apparent with acceptance . accordingly , the scope hereof is submitted to be properly defined by the following claims .	6
the following description of the preferred embodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the precise form disclosed , but instead is intended to be illustrative of the principles of the invention so that others may follow its teachings . referring now to the drawings , a sensor circuit 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention includes a detector circuit 12 coupled to a charging circuit 14 . a processing system 16 is coupled to both the detector circuit 12 and the charging circuit 14 . a load circuit 18 includes an electronic component 20 , and also includes one or more potential points of open circuit 21 , 23 . the electronic component is preferably a sensor 22 . the sensor 22 may include one or more sensors , which sensors may include any active , passive or resistive load . the sensor is powered from a conventional power supply , such as a power supply 34 , as would be known to those skilled in the art . the detector circuit 12 includes an energy storage device 24 , which is preferably a capacitor 26 . the detector circuit 12 also includes a resistive network 28 , which in the preferred embodiment comprises a first resistor 30 and a second resistor 32 arranged in series . the resistive network 28 is in parallel with the energy storage device 24 . it will be noted that the resistance of the resistors 30 , 32 is preferably about four ( 4 ) times greater than the equivalent resistance of the electronic component 20 . the charging circuit 14 includes the power supply 34 , and further includes a switch 36 . the processing system 16 , which is preferably a microcontroller , includes a voltage feedback pin 38 at node b which is connected to the detector circuit 12 , preferably between the resistors 30 , 32 . the processing system 16 is arranged to generate a control signal 40 , such as the pulsed waveform shown in fig3 and to communicate the control signal 40 to the switch 36 . as shown in fig3 the control signal 40 closes the switch 36 for the duration of the time interval t 0 - t 1 , enabling the charging circuit 14 to charge the energy storage component 24 as will be explained in greater detail below . the processing system 16 is further arranged to generate an output signal 42 which is indicative of the load drawn by the electronic component 20 . in operation , the voltage at node a is the sensor supply voltage , which is initially zero volts ( 0 volts ). thus , the energy storage device 24 should be fully discharged . this condition should be verified by a reading of zero ( 0 ) at the voltage feedback pin 38 . the processing system 16 generates the pulsed signal 40 shown in fig3 which in turn enables the switch 36 for the duration of the t 0 - t 1 time interval , which time interval is sufficient to fully charge the energy storage device 24 . when the control signal 40 passes through t 1 , the switch 36 is turned off , thus removing the power supply 34 and deactivating the charging circuit 14 . at this point , the energy storage device 24 begins to discharge . referring now to fig2 and 5 , with a normal load on the electronic component 20 , the energy storage device 24 will have a nominal discharge time constant which is dependent on the current draw of the sensor 20 . if the load is not present , such as due to an open circuit at either or both of points 21 and 23 , then the discharge time constant for the energy storage device 24 will be dependent solely on the resistors 30 , 32 . because the resistance of the resistors 30 , 32 are greater than the resistance or equivalent current draw of the electronic component 20 , if the load of the electronic component 20 is not present , then the discharge time for such an open circuit condition will be vastly different . the processing system 16 determines the presence or absence of the load based on the difference in the discharge times ( i . e ., a relatively fast discharge time indicates the presence of the load offered by the electronic component 20 , while a relatively slow discharge time indicates the absence of the load offered by the electronic component 20 ). the load condition is assessed by monitoring the voltage at node a . it will be understood that the voltage at node b is proportional to the voltage at node a . because this proportion is known , the sensor supply voltage can be inferred from the voltage at node b . thus , the load condition can be assessed in at least two ways . as shown in fig4 the load condition may be determined by assessing the amount of time the voltage at node b stays above a reference voltage v r ( i . e ., by monitoring the amount of time it takes for the energy storage device 24 to discharge to a predetermined reference voltage ). in other words , if the energy storage device discharges from an initial voltage v 1 ; to the reference voltage v r within the time interval t 2 to t 3 , then the load is normal . similarly , if the discharge to v r does not occur until t 4 or later , then there is an open load . if the voltage in the energy storage device 24 discharges to v r between t 1 and t 2 , there is a short circuit to ground or a marginally indeterminate shorted sensor . further , a time to discharge between t 3 and t 4 is indicative of an abnormal condition . the processing system 16 then determines the fault status of the sensor and , if required by the specific application , may generate an appropriate output signal 42 . alternatively , as shown in fig5 the load condition may be determined by assessing the amount of voltage at node b at a sample time t sample ( i . e ., by monitoring the amount of voltage discharged by the energy storage device 24 by the time a predetermined time interval has been reached ). in other words , if the voltage discharged by the energy storage device 24 at t sample falls between v 3 and v 4 , then the load is normal . if the voltage discharged by the energy storage device 24 at t sample falls between v 1 , and v 2 , then the circuit is open . if the voltage discharged by the energy storage device 24 at t sample falls between v 2 and v 3 , then there is an abnormal condition . if the voltage at t sample has fallen below v 4 , then this would be indicative of a sensor shorted to ground and / or a marginally indeterminate shorted sensor . the processing system 16 then generates the appropriate output signal 42 . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , using the above methodology it would be possible to discriminate open , normal , abnormal and short to ground occurrences on one or more sensors / loads connected to a single supply . once the processing system determines the fault status of the sensor , the appropriate response would be determined by the specific application . it will be noted that a sensor circuit 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention allows the sensor to be monitored non - intrusively so that the act of monitoring does not impinge on normal circuit performance . those skilled in the art will appreciate that , although the teachings of the invention have been illustrated in connection with a certain embodiment , there is no intent to limit the invention to such an embodiment . on the contrary , the intention of this application is to cover all modifications and embodiments fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents .	8
terms used in the general schemes herein , in the examples , and throughout the specification , include the following abbreviations , together with their meaning , unless defined otherwise at the point of their use hereinafter : me ( methyl ); bu ( butyl ); t - bu ( tertiary butyl ); et ( ethyl ); ac ( acetyl ); t - boc or t - boc ( f - butoxycarbonyl ); dmf ( dimethylformamide ); thf ( tetrahydrofuran ); dipea ( diisopropylethylamine ); mtbe ( methyltertiarybutyl ether ); rt ( room temperature , generally 25 ° c . ); tfa ( trifluoroacetic acid ); tea ( triethyl amine ). as used herein , the following terms , unless otherwise indicated , are understood to have the following meanings : the term “ substituted ” means that one or more hydrogens on the designated atom or group of atoms in a structure is replaced with a selection from the indicated group , provided that the designated atom &# 39 ; s normal valency under the existing circumstances is not exceeded , and that the substitution results in a stable compound . combinations of substituents and / or variables are indicated when such combinations result in stable compounds . by “ stable compound ” or “ stable structure ” is meant a compound that is sufficiently robust to survive isolation to a useful degree of purity from a reaction mixture , and formulation into an efficacious therapeutic agent . the term “ optionally substituted ” means optional substitution with the specified groups , radicals or moieties . “ alkyl ” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may be linear straight or branched and comprising about 1 to about 10 carbon atoms in the chain . branched means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl or propyl , are attached to a linear alkyl chain . non - limiting examples of suitable alkyl groups include methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , t - butyl and n - pentyl . “ alkenyl ” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group containing at least one carbon - carbon double bond and which may be straight or branched and comprising about 2 to about 10 carbon atoms in the chain . branched means that one or more lower alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl or propyl , are attached to a linear alkenyl chain . non - limiting examples of suitable alkenyl groups include ethenyl , propenyl , n - butenyl , 3 - methylbut - 2 - enyl and n - pentenyl . “ alkylene ” means a difunctional group obtained by removal of an additional hydrogen atom from an alkyl group , as “ alkyl ” is defined above . non - limiting examples of alkylene include methylene ( i . e ., — ch 2 —), ethylene ( i . e ., — ch 2 — ch 2 —) and branched chains , for example , — ch ( ch 3 )— ch 2 —. “ aryl ” means an aromatic monocyclic or multicyclic ring system comprising about 6 to about 14 carbon atoms , preferably about 6 to about 10 carbon atoms . the aryl group can be optionally substituted with one or more “ ring system substituents ” which may be the same or different , and are as defined herein . non - limiting examples of suitable aryl groups include phenyl and naphthyl . “ cycloalkyl ” means a non - aromatic mono - or multicyclic ring system comprising about 3 to about 10 carbon atoms , preferably about 3 to about 6 carbon atoms . non - limiting examples of suitable monocyclic cycloalkyls include cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl and the like . non - limiting examples of multicyclic cycloalkyls include , but are not limited to 1 - decalin , norbornyl and cognitors , adamantyl and cognitors . “ halo ” means a halogen selected from fluoro , chloro , bromo , or iodo groups . “ aminoalkyl ” means an alkyl as defined above having at least one hydrogen atom on the alkyl moiety replaced by an amino functional ( i . e ., — nh 2 ) group . alkylamino means an amino functional group having one or both hydrogens replaced by an alkyl functional group , as “ alkyl ” is defined above . with reference to the number of moieties ( e . g ., substituents , groups or rings ) in a compound , unless otherwise defined , the phrases “ one or more ” and “ at least one ” mean that there can be as many moieties as chemically permitted , and the determination of the maximum number of such moieties is well within the knowledge of those skilled in the art . a wavy line appearing on a structure and joining a functional group to the structure in the position of a bond generally indicates a mixture of , or either of , the possible isomers , e . g ., containing ( r )- and ( s )- stereochemistry . for example . a wavy line which terminates a bond indicates that tie portion of the structure depicted is attached to a larger structure at the indicated bond , for example , implies that the nitrogen of the substituted piperidyl group depicted is bonded to an undepicted structure on which it is a substituent . lines drawn into ring systems , for example the substituted aryl group ; indicates that a substituent ( r 1 ) may replace a hydrogen atom of any of the ring carbons otherwise bonded to a hydrogen atom . thus , as illustrated , r 1 can be bonded to any of carbon atoms 2 , 4 , 5 , or 6 , but not 3 , which is bonded to a methyl substituent , or 1 , through which the substituted aryl group is bonded . as well known in the art , a bond draw from a particular atom wherein no moiety is depicts at the terminal end of the bond indicates a methyl group bound through that bond to the atom , unless stated otherwise . for example : however , sometimes in the examples herein , the ch 3 moiety is explicitly included in a structure . as used herein , the use of either convention for depicting methyl groups is meant to be equivalent and the conventions are used herein interchangeably for convenience without intending to alter the meaning conventionally understood for either depiction thereby . the term “ isolated ” or “ in isolated form ” for a compound refers to the physical state of said compound after being isolated from a process . the term “ purified ” or “ in purified form ” for a compound refers to the physical state of said compound after being obtained from a purification process or processes described herein or well known to the skilled artisan , in sufficient purity to be characterizable by standard analytical techniques described herein or well known to the skilled artisan . when any variable ( e . g ., aryl , heterocycle , r 2 , etc .) occurs more than one time in any constituent or in a formula , its definition on each occurrence is independent of its definition at every other occurrence . as mentioned above , a process for preparing the compound of formula i from the compound of formula mia via intermediate compound of formula iii is described in the &# 39 ; 320 patent . preparation of the compound of formula iiia from commercially available ( s )- α - phenylglycine is described by m . j . o &# 39 ; donnel ; z . fang ; x . ma ; and j . c . huffman in “ new methodology for the synthesis of α , α - dialkylamino acids using the ‘ self - regeneration of stereocenters ’ method : α - ethyl - α - phenylglycine ”. heterocycles , vol 46 , 1997 , pp 617 to 630 , ( see pages 618 through 619 therein ), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in the process described in the &# 39 ; 320 patent for the preparation of the compound of formula i . the compound of formula iii is converted to the compound of formula iiib ( in two steps by oxidation of a corresponding alcohol intermediate ). compound iiib is then converted in one step to the compound of formula 20 shown in scheme i above . accordingly , the &# 39 ; 320 patent describes preparation of the compound of formula i from the compound of formula iii in 13 individual process steps . the inventors have surprisingly found that the compound of formula i can be prepared , as shown in scheme ii , below , from the compound of formula iii in 4 process steps . accordingly , the process of the present invention eliminates at least half of the number of steps employed in previous preparation processes . moreover , as will be described below , various of the steps of the present invention process provide improved yield of intermediate compounds for an overall increase in the amount of the compound of formula i provided from a given amount of the compound of formula iii initially employed in the process . as shown in scheme ii , the compound of formula iii utilizes benzyl carbamate as a protecting group for the enamine nitrogen . it will be appreciated that other protecting groups may alternatively be employed and still be within the scope of the present invention . optionally , after step “ d ”, the compound of formula i can be precipitated from the reaction mixture as a salt by treatment of the reaction mixture workup with an acid . accordingly , in some embodiments it is preferred to react the free - base compound of formula i present in the reaction workup with an acid , for example , hcl , to precipitate a salt form of the compound of formula i , for example , a hydrochloride salt form . next , each step of the process of scheme ii will be described in greater detail . step “ a ” of the process of the present invention , provision of the nitro - substituted intermediate compound of formula iv from the corresponding enamine compound of formula iii , can be carried out in accordance with scheme iia , wherein the substrate is first nitrated and then the double bond of the six - membered ring is reduced . in general , nitration is carried out in a non - protic , low polarity solvent , for example thf and dme using a nitrating reagent , for example nitronium tetrafluoroborate ( nitronium - tfb ), optionally in the presence of potassium phosphate tribasic . in some embodiments it is preferred to run the reaction without k 3 po 4 in the reaction mixture and thereby minimize impurities which may otherwise be formed when k 3 po 4 is present in the reaction mixture . in some embodiments it is preferred to carry out the nitration using nitronium - tfb in dme ( in which nitronium - tfb has acceptable solubility ). nitration of the compound of formula iii using nitronium - tfb in thf solvent is described in published international application no . wo05 / 100358 ( the &# 39 ; 358 publication ), albeit not in the course of synthesizing the compound of formula i ( see the &# 39 ; 358 publication , page 66 , step “ a ” of preparative example 5 ). the &# 39 ; 358 publication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . once the nitrated intermediate compound has been prepared , it may be used as prepared in the reaction workup directly in subsequent steps , or optionally , isolated from the reaction workup prior to using in subsequent steps . following nitration , the nitrated compound is treated with a hydride reducing agent , for example lithium borohydride and sodium borohydride , to reduce the protected enamine double bond of the nitrated intermediate to yield the compound of formula iv . in some embodiments using dme as the solvent in which the compound of formula iii is nitrated , it is preferred to strip off the reaction solvent by distillation and replace it with thf prior to carrying out the reduction step . this provides the nitrated intermediate in a solvent suitable for carrying out the reduction with a metal hydride without the need to isolate the nitrated intermediate . in some embodiments , it is preferred to carry out the reduction using lithium borohydride in thf . although it is preferred to use the above - described method for the preparation of the compound of formula iv , it will be appreciated that other means may be selected to prepare the compound of formula iv for use in the process of scheme ii and be within the scope of the present invention . step “ b ” of the present invention process , deprotection of the piperidine nitrogen in the compound of formula iv to yield the compound of formula v , can be carried out using metal - catalyzed hydrogenation or by treating the intermediate of formula iv under acid conditions . examples of suitable acid deprotection conditions include , but are not limited to triftuoroacetic acid ( tfa ) and a mixture of hbr / acetic acid . it will be appreciated that other deprotection schemes may also be employed , for example , iodotrimethylsilane ( tms - iodide ) and deprotection using thiols . the inventors have surprisingly found that when tms - iodide is employed , the byproduct benzyliodide can be efficiently trapped with triphenylphoshine to suppress benzylamine formation with the piperidine nitrogen of the deprotected product . in some embodiments it is preferred to use hydrogen and a hydrogenation catalyst , for example , a palladium metal catalyst , to mediate the deprotection reaction in step “ b ”, more preferably the catalyst employed is pd supported on carbon black . in some embodiments it is preferred to carry out deprotection in an alcohol solvent , for example , methanol . in some embodiments , it is preferred to work up the previous reduction step by adding methanol and distilling off the reaction solvent until suitably concentrated , and using the crude concentrated methanol solution directly in the subsequent deprotection reaction . after the deprotection step “ b ”, the piperidine of formula v is coupled to an acrylate under base - catalyzed michael addition conditions . in some embodiments it is preferred to carry out the michael addition in a solvent selected from n - hexane , mtbe , cyclohexane , toluene , methanol , dimethyl formamide ( dmf ), and thf . in some embodiments it is preferred for the solvent to be n - hexane . in some embodiments , the reaction mixture from the deprotection step “ b ” is worked up by successive additions of toluene , followed by azeotropic distillation , and then successive additions of n - hexane , followed by distillation maintaining the still pot between 30 ° c . and 60 ° c . until distillation ceases , thus , the residual mixture will have the lowest possible volume at this still temperature . in some embodiments it is preferred to employ the resulting concentrate directly in the michael addition step which follows . step “ c ”. in some embodiments it is preferred to select a michael acceptor from compounds having the structure of formula 28a : wherein “ r 1 ” is selected from alkyl , cycloalkyl ( including multicyclicalkyls ), and aryl , more preferably “ r 1 ” is selected from methyl , t - butyl , phenyl , 2 - methoxy - ethyl , 2 -( dimethylamino ) ethyl , ( l )- menthyl , ( d )- menthyl , dimethylamide , ( r )- benzyl - oxazolidinonamide , ( s )- benzyl - oxazolidinonamide , isobornyl , cis - pinan - 2 - yl , isopinocampheyl , adamantylmethyl , 2 - adamantyl , 1 - adamantyl , and (-)- 8 - phenylmenthyl , more preferably r is selected from methyl , (-)- 8 - phenylmenthyl , isobornyl , 1 - adamantanyl , 2 - adamantanyl , adamantane methanyl , and (+)- isopinocampheyl , more preferably r 1 is methyl . in some embodiments it is preferred to carry out the michael addition reaction in the presence of a base . in some embodiments the base is selected from : an organic base , for example , a homogeneous base , for example triethylamine , and a heterogeneous base , for example , basic polymer resin having amine functionality , for example amberlyst a - 21 ® from rohm and haas ; and a heterogeneous , inorganic base , for example an aluminum oxide ( neutral or basic ), a metal alkoxide ( for example . mg ( oet ) 2 , and magnesium oxide . in some embodiments it is preferred to employ a basic aluminum oxide to catalyze the michael addition reaction , more preferably , basic aluminum oxide having a brockman activity of i , ii , iii , or iv , available as an article of commerce , more preferably a basic aluminum oxide having a brockman activity of iv having a 5 wt . % to 10 wt . % water content . several metal oxides have been found useful for catalyzing the michael addition reaction , for example , magnesium oxide ( mgo ) and aluminum oxide ( alumina ). it will be appreciated that the michael addition reaction can result in two different isomers being produced , shown in the reaction scheme c - iia as the compounds of structures 27a ( s - isomer , desired isomer ) and 27b ( r - isomer . an undesired isomer ). although the ratio of the isomers produced in the michael addition reaction can be varied by altering the reaction solvent , the steric demand of the michael acceptor , and other reaction conditions , the inventors have surprisingly found that the choice of base can greatly influence the ratio of s - isomer to r - isomer produced in the addition reaction . the inventors have surprisingly found that magnesium oxide base produces proportionately more of the r - isomer than the desired s - isomer . additionally , the inventors have surprisingly found that the use of basic alumina as a base in the michael addition reaction selectively produces more of the desired s - isomer over the r - isomer . moreover , the inventors have surprisingly found that selecting bockman activity level iv basic alumina as the base in the michael reaction produces substantially more of the s - isomer than r - isomer , for example , using basic alumina of activity level iv , the inventive process can produce a reaction product with a ratio of s - isomer to r - isomer that exceeds 3 : 1 ( 75 % s - isomer ) even when it is used in reactions employing a sterically undemanding michael acceptor , for example , methyl acrylate . moreover , the inventors have found that the inventive michael addition reaction , when run with both a base providing maximum yield of the desired isomer , and employing a sterically demanding michael acceptor , provides a reaction product comprising in some embodiments from about 84 % to about 86 % of the s - isomer , and in some embodiments up to about 90 % s - isomer . suitable sterically demanding michael acceptors are , for example , compounds containing a bornyl structure and compounds containing an adamantly structure . additional examples of suitable sterically demanding michael acceptors include , but are not limited to , with reference to the structure of compound 28a ( above ), compounds wherein the “ r 1 ” group is selected from : which are isobornyl , cis - pinan - 2 - yl , (+)- isopinocampheyl , adamantly - methyl , 2 - adamantyl , 1 - adamantyl , and (-)- 8 phenylmenthyl substituents , respectively . in some embodiments , to maximize the amount of desirable “ s - isomer ” produced in the michael addition reaction it is preferred to use n - hexane for the reaction solvent , select aluminum oxide ( basic ) having brockman activity level iv as the base catalyst , and use isobornylacrylate as a michael acceptor ( thus “ r 1 ” is isobornyl -). the inventive michael addition reaction can be carried out using the compound of formula iv ( the protected precursor to the compound of formula v , see for example , deprotection step b , above ) to provide an acylated product which , upon deprotection of that product in accordance with deprotection step “ b ”, yields the compounds of formula 27a and formula 27b . accordingly , the compound of formula i can be produced by reversing the order of deprotection step b and alkylation step c . however , the inventors have surprisingly found that when used in the alkylation step “ c ”, the protected compound of formula iv yields a greater proportion of the undesirable r - isomer compound of formula 27b relative to the amount of desired s - isomer compound of formula 27a formed in the inventive michael addition reaction under substantially the same reaction conditions as were used for carrying out the inventive michael addition using the compound of formula v ( deprotected compound ). accordingly , to maximize the amount of the desired s - isomer compound of formula 27a provided by the inventive michael addition in the alkylation step , it is preferred to deprotect the compound of formula iv first to form the compound of formula v and then carry out the alkylation step rather than carry out the alkylation step on the compound of formula iv and deprotect the product to provide the compound of formula 27a . in some embodiments , the product of the michael addition is preferably isolated as a solution of the product by filtering the reaction mixture to remove solids and concentrating the solution under vacuum . in some embodiments , preferably the concentrated solution is then reacted directly with a sulfonic acid of the formula r 5 — so 3 h or oxalic acid , where r 5 is selected from methyl , benzyl , and p - toluyl groups , to provide the ester compound of formula 27a as a crystalline precipitated sulfonate salt of formula 27a - sulfonate , see scheme c - iib ( where r 5 is a methyl group , thus , the methylsulfonate salt is precipitated ). it will be appreciated that other salts , including other sulfonate salts , may be precipitated without departing from the scope of the invention . although some amount of the unwanted “ r ” isomer is coprecipitated with the desired isomers of formula 27a ( 27b - sulfonate ), the precipitation in accordance with scheme c - iib provides a solid comprising substantially the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate . in some embodiments precipitation using scheme c - iib provides a precipitated material containing more than about 96 % the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate ( s - isomer ) with less than 4 % of the undesirable compound of formula 27b - sulfonate ( unwanted r - isomer ) precipitated . with reference to scheme c - iib , in some embodiments it is preferred to precipitate the methane sulfonate salt of the free - base compound as a crystalline material from the reaction mixture prepared above by treating the reaction mixture in a suitable solvent ( for example , mtbe , or a mixed solvent , for example , toluene and isopropanol ) with an excess of methanesulfonic acid , and crystallizing the resulting methansulfonate salt from the mixture , either by cooling , seeding the mixture , or a combination of the two . in some embodiments it is preferred to avoid using an alcohol solvent to suppress ester exchange reactions in the product which could lead to the formation of unwanted impurities . the precipitate is preferably isolated by vacuum filtration for use in the subsequent lactam formation step “ d ”. formation of the lactam of formula i from the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate is carried out by treating the sulfonate salt formed in alkylation step “ c ”( containing substantially only the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate ) with suitable reagents to effect reduction of the nitro - group with simultaneous , contemporaneous , or sequential cyclization to form the lactam of formula i . without wanting to be bound by theory , it is believed that the reaction conditions provided by employing zinc metal and acetic acid results in reduction of the nitro - group of the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate to the corresponding amine ( however transiently ) with formation of the lactam of formula i by intermolecular acylation ( using the ester group present ) of the newly formed amine , thereby cyclizing the substituents to form the lactam of formula i . in some embodiments it is preferred to carry out the lactam forming step “ d ” by reacting the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate with zinc metal in the presence of acetic acid . in some embodiments it is preferred to dissolve the sulfonate salt from step “ c ” in concentrated acetic acid and combine that solution with a suspension of zinc powder in concentrated acetic acid to carry out the lactam - forming reaction . after formation of the compound of formula i , optionally , the compound of formula i is extracted from the reaction mixture into toluene , and the toluene solution is treated with hydrochloric acid to precipitate the hydrochloride salt of the compound of formula i . in some embodiments it is preferred to recrystallize the hydrochloride salt thus precipitated from mixed ethanol / isopropanol solvent . in some embodiments , step d is carried out under conditions in which a substantial portion of the compound of formula ia1 is formed . when reactor conditions favor slow reduction of the nitro group , for example , when low intensity agitation is used in the reactor , the intermediate formed during reduction of the nitro group has sufficient lifespan to participate in the ring closing reaction in accordance with scheme iiia . accordingly , the formation of the compound of formula ia1 is increased when closing proceeds faster than reduction during the nitro - reduction / lactam formation step d of the process . the inventors have surprisingly found that once formed , the compound of formula ia1 can be converted in good yields to the compound of formula i using raney nickel as a hydrogenation catalyst to reduce the compound , in accordance with scheme iiib shown below . accordingly , when preparation of the compound of formula ia1 is not desired , the product can be converted to the compound of formula i in good yields by reducing the compound of formula ia1 using hydrogen and raney nickel as a hydrogenation catalyst . when such a reaction is desired , preferably the reaction is carried out at a temperature of about 50 ° c . unless otherwise specified , all reagents are articles of commerce , laboratory grade , and used as received . the following solvents and reagents may be referred to by their abbreviations in parenthesis : following are general and specific methods for the preparation of compounds having formula i , iii , iiib , iv , v , 27a and 27b described above . there follows non - limiting examples illustrative of the present invention but not limiting the present invention . into a vessel equipped with a stirring apparatus was placed 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane ( dme , 200 liters ) at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . compound iii ( 20 . 0 kg , 34 . 5 moles ) was dissolved in the dme . the solution was then cooled and maintained at a temperature of − 50 ° c . to − 55 ° c . nitronium tetrafluoroborate ( 5 . 52 kg , 41 . 6 moles ) was slowly added to the cold solution in aliquots sized to maintain the batch temperature between − 55 ° c . and − 48 ° c . the reaction mixture was maintained at − 50 to − 55 ° c . until hplc analysis of the reaction mixture indicated that less than 2 % of the amount of the compound of formula iii initially used remained in the reaction mixture . at the end of the reaction , sodium carbonate solution ( 12 kg na 2 co 3 dissolved in 50 l water ) was added while allowing the temperature of the reaction mixture to rise . the reaction mixture temperature was maintained at between − 20 ° c . and 0 ° c . during the addition of the sodium carbonate solution . after approximately 50 l of sodium carbonate solution had been added , the ph of the mixture was evaluated using ph paper and found to be ph 5 . 5 . solid sodium carbonate was added until the mixture had a ph of greater than ph 7 . 0 but not exceeding ph 10 . during the addition of sodium carbonate , the temperature of the mixture was maintained between − 20 ° c . and 0 ° c . when the the ph had been adjusted to a value between ph 7 . 0 and ph 10 , it was warmed to ambient temperature ( between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c .). after warming , the reaction mixture was filtered and the filter cake washed with dme , which was combined with the filtrate . the filtrate was concentrated by distilling off the volatiles under vacuum 80 mbar to 150 mbar ) to the lowest possible volume while maintaining the filtrate at a temperature between 30 ° c . and 50 ° c . two aliquots of mtbe ( 20 l each ) were added to the concentrate in sequence . after each addition of mtbe to the concentrate , the mixture was again concentrated by distilling under vacuum ( from sufficient vacuum to induce boiling up to 520 mbar ) to the lowest possible volume while maintaining the filtrate at a temperature between 30 ° c . and 50 ° c . after the second distillation , mtbe ( 60 l ) was added to the residue . the mixture was agitated , and permitted to settle , the layers of the mixture were split . the organic layer was washed with water ( 3 aliquots of 20 l each ) and concentrated under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 200 mbar ), to the lowest possible volume while maintaining the organic layer at a temperature between 30 ° c . and 50 ° c . thf was added to the concentrate ( 20 l ), and distilled off under vacuum ( 80 mbarr to 150 mbar ) to achieve the lowest possible volume while maintaining the mixture at a temperature between 30 ° c . and 50 ° c . a second aliquot of thf was added to the concentrate ( 60 l ) and the water content was determined by karl fischer titration to be less than 0 . 2 %. the solution thus obtained was analyzed by hplc , and the yield of the compound of formula iiib was determined to be 90 %. to the reaction mixture comprising the compound iiib solution ( 152 . 34 kg , 53 . 3 kg active , 87 . 6 moles ) produced in example 1 was added tetrahydrofuran ( 295 liters ), and the mixture was cooled and maintained at a temperature between − 22 ° c . to − 18 ° c . a solution of lithium borohydride ( 7 . 92 kg , 10 % in thf , 35 . 6 moles ) was added to the mixture at a rate permitting the mixture to be maintained at a temperature between − 22 ° c . and − 18 ° c . the reaction was maintained at − 22 to − 18 ° c . until hplc analysis indicated that the reaction was complete . at the completion of the reaction water ( 104 l ) was added at a rate that maintained the temperature of the reaction mixture below 20 ° c . concentrated hydrochloric add was added to the mixture until the ph of the mixture was between ph 3 . 5 and ph 4 . 5 . the mixture was concentrated at 30 ° c . to 50 ° c . under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) until distillation of the solvent ceased . additional methyl tert - butyl ether ( 86 l ) was added to the concentrated reaction mixture and 43 l distilled off at 30 ° c . to 50 ° c . under sufficient vacuum to maintain distillation , reducing the thf level to less than 10 vol . %. mtbe ( 302 l ) was added into the concentrate . the mixture was agitated , then left quiescent to settle . the layers were split , and the organic layer was washed with 3 aliquots of water ( 42 l each aliquot ). after washing , the organic layer was concentrated at 30 ° c . to 55 ° c . under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) until distillation ceased . methanol ( 130 l ) was added to the concentrate . the mixture was heated to 30 ° c . to 50 ° c . under slight vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) and 43 l of methanol was distilled off . the solution thus obtained was evaluated by hplc and found to contain an amount of the compound of formula iv equal to a 72 % yield based on the amount of the compound of formula iii employed in the reaction . the solution containing the compound of formula iv prepared in the previous step ( 53 . 8 kg , 18 . 8 kg active , 30 . 7 moles of formula iv ) was diluted with methanol ( 90 liters ). aqueous concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 5 . 1 liters ) was slowly added to the agitated solution while maintaining the mixture at a temperature of between 20 ° c . to 30 ° c . into a separate vessel containing palladium on charcoal catalyst ( 1 . 5 kg , 10 % on charcoal , 54 % water ) was slowly added methanol ( 19 liters ) while the mixture was slowly agitated to form a catalyst suspension . while continuing to slowly agitate the suspension , the solution of compound iv was slowly added to the suspension while maintaining the mixture at a temperature of from 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . after all of the solution of compound iv had been added , the mixture was placed under 1 - 3 bar of hydrogen pressure and agitated vigorously while maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature of between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . until the reaction was complete as determined by hplc . the reaction mixture was filtered through dicalite ® ( 0 . 5 kg ) and the filter cake washed with methanol , which was combined with the filtrate . the filtrate was placed under vacuum ( 500 mbar ) and concentrated while maintaining the temperature of the filtrate between 20 ° c . and 30 ° c . until distillation ceased . during the concentrating procedure , when the mixture was concentrated to about 20 % of the initial volume , the mixture was analyzed by hplc . after the mixture had been concentrated , toluene ( 113l ) was added to the concentrate . the ph of the residue was adjusted by addition of sodium carbonate solution ( 7 . 8 kg sodium carbonate dissolved in 79 l of water ) to a value between ph 9 and ph 10 . when the desired ph range had been achieved , the mixture was settled and split . the organic layer was washed with a sodium chloride solution ( 11 . 3 kg sodium carbonate dissolved in 102 l of water ) and concentrated under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) while maintaining it at a temperature of 30 ° c . to 60 ° c . until distillation ceased . to the concentrate was added toluene ( 57 l ) which was distilled off azetropically at 30 ° c . to 60 ° c . under vacuum . a second aliquot of toluene ( 57 l ) was added and distilled off azetropically at 30 ° c . to 60 ° c . under vacuum . karl fischer titration indicated that the concentrate contained less than 0 . 2 % water . to the concentrate was added 2 aliquots of n - hexane ( 57 l each ). each of the hexane aliquots was subsequently distilled off under vacuum maintaining the mixture at 30 ° c . to 60 ° c . until distillation ceased . the resulting solution was evaluated by hplc and found to contain an amount of the compound of formula v equal to a 93 % yield based on the amount of compound iv initially used . this solution was used in the subsequent step . into a vessel was placed n - hexane ( 106 liters ). with stirring , 135 . 8 kg of basic aluminum oxide was added ( brockmann iv , water content 9 - 14 %, camag , used as received ) to form a suspension . the solution containing 29 . 2 kg ( 13 . 5 kg active , 28 . 4 moles ) of the compound of formula v prepared in the previous step was added to the suspension while stirring was continued and the mixture temperature was maintained at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . the equipment was rinsed with additional hexane and agitation of the reaction mixture was continued for 20 to 30 minutes after ail of the solution had been added to the suspension . into the reaction mixture was added 14 . 74 kg ( 171 . 2 moles ) methyl acrylate maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . the equipment was rinsed with additional n - hexane and the mixture was maintained at ambient temperature until the reaction was completed as determined by hplc . at the end of the reaction , the reaction mixture was filtered and the filter cake was washed with toluene . the combined filtrate and wash were concentrated by applying a vacuum and maintaining the temperature of the filtrate between 30 ° c . and 60 ° c . until the filtrate is concentrated to the smallest volume that permits it to maintain a free - flowing characteristic . the concentrate was evaluated by hplc and found to contain an amount of the compounds of formulae 27a and 27b equivalent to a yield of 71 % based on the amount of the compound of formula v used initially . in determining yield it was found that the product contained both diastereomers in a 2 : 1 ratio of the compound of formula 27a ( s - diastereomer ) to the compound of formula 27b ( r - diastereomer ) and the yield of the desired s - diastereomer ( compound 27a ) was 48 % based on the amount of compound v initially used , ( solution yields ). the solution was used directly to prepare the methylsulfonate salt in the next step . to the solution containing compounds of the formulae 27a and 27b free base prepared in step 5 ( containing 22 . 78 kg of both diastereomers , including 15 . 6 kg ( 27 . 7 moles ) of the s - isomer ) was added 62 liters of mtbe maintaining the temperature of the mixture at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . the solution was passed through a fine filter and the filter was rinsed with mtbe . the clear filtrate thus obtained was concentrated to about 3 × at 30 ° c . to 55 ° c . under slight vacuum ( 500 mbar ), the concentrate was diluted with toluene and the temperature of the mixture was adjusted to 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . methane sulfonic acid ( 2 . 0 kg , 0 . 75 eq ) was added to the mixture over 20 to 30 minutes while maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . after acid addition the reaction mixture was agitated for 15 to 20 minutes . an additional 2 . 1 kg ( 0 . 79 eq ) of methanesulfonic acid was added to the suspension while maintaining the temperature and agitation . the reaction mixture was agitated at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . for an additional 50 to 60 minutes following addition and then cooled to a temperature between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c ., then agitated for an additional 50 to 60 minutes . at the end of the agitation period the reaction mixture was filtered , the wet cake was washed with a 1 : 1 mixture of mtbe / toluene at 0 ° c . to 5 ° c . the filter cake ( wet ) was suspended in mtbe and agitated for 50 to 60 minutes while maintaining the suspension temperature at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . at the end of the agitation time , the suspension was cooled and maintained at a temperature between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c . and agitated for an additional 50 to 60 minutes . the batch was filtered and washed with 0 ° c . to 5 ° c . mtbe . the wet cake was maintained at a temperature of between 30 ° c . and 40 ° c . and dried under vacuum ( 150 mbar to 200 mbar ), and then for an additional 4 to 5 hours at 45 ° c . to 50 ° c . under vacuum . the solids thus obtained were evaluated by hplc and found to contain an amount of the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate ( s - isomer ) equivalent to a yield of 88 % based on the amount of s - isomer initially present in the mixture . hplc analysis indicated also that the salt precipitated had an isomeric ratio of 98 % s - enationmer ( 27a - sulfonate , desired ): 2 % r - enantiomer ( 27b - sulfonate , undesired ). the solid thus obtained was used directly in the next step . a suspension was made by adding zinc powder ( 12 . 2 kg , 186 . 6 moles ) to 42 liters of concentrated acetic acid with vigorous stirring . in a separate vessel was placed 4 . 04 kg of the starting material prepared in example 5 , above , and 4 . 1 kg of a compound 27a - sulfonate compound prepared in a similar reaction which yielded a salt comprising 88 . 2 % s - enantiomer and 7 . 8 % r - enantiomer ( total 8 . 14 kg of the sulfonate salts , about 95 % s - enantiomer ). the sulfonate salts were dissolved in 82 liters of concentrated acetic acid heated to 45 ° c . to obtain a solution . when all of the solids had dissolved the solution temperature was adjusted and maintained at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 30 ° c . the solution containing the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate was added to the stirring zinc suspension while maintaining the mixture at a temperature below 60 ° c . after all of the solution was added , the reaction mixture temperature was adjusted and maintained at a temperature of from 55 ° c . to 60 ° c . until the reaction was complete , as determined by hplc . at the end of the reaction the reaction mixture was then cooled and maintained at a temperature of from 20 ° c . to 30 ° c . the reaction mixture was filtered through hyflo ( 4 . 12 kg ) and the wet cake was washed with toluene . the wash was combined with the filtrate and the mixture was concentrated under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) by maintaining the reaction mixture temperature between 30 ° c . and 60 ° c . until distillation ceased . to the concentrate was added 41 l of toluene . the resulting organic solution was washed successively with aliquots of 2n hydrochloric acid solution ( 45 l ), sodium carbonate solution ( 2 aliquots of 82 t each , 8 % solution ) and sodium chloride solution ( 22 l , 10 % solution ). the washed solution was filtered and the filter rinsed with toluene which was combined with the filtrate . the filtrate was seeded with seed crystals of the compound of formula i maintaining the filtrate at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . concentrated hydrochloride acid was slowly added to the filtrate followed by fine spirit ( 95 : 5 ethanol , isopropanol ) maintaining the mixture at a temperature between 20 ° c . and 25 ° c . the mixture was agitated at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . for 25 to 35 minutes and then cooled to 0 ° c . to 5 ° c . and agitated for 25 to 35 minutes . the mixture was filtered and the wet cake washed with an aliquot of a 1 : 1 mixture of toluene / mtbe ( 10 l ), followed by a second aliquot of mtb6 ( 10 l ) maintained at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . the wet cake was dried at 40 ° c . to 45 ° c . under vacuum . the yield of crude compound i was 88 %. the crude crystals of compound i ( 14 . 54 kg , 25 . 6 moles ) were recrystalized by dissolving the crude compound in a mixture of fine spirit ( 35 liters ; 95 : 5 ethanol / isopropanol ), water with endotoxin control ( 35 liters ) and hydrochloride acid ( 0 . 3 liter . 37 %), and heating the solution to reflux with agitation . the refluxing solution was cooled and maintained at a temperature of between 74 ° c . to 77 ° c ., and filtered through a preheated pipe and in - line filter . the apparatus was rinsed with a mixture of fine spirit ( 95 : 5 ethanol / isopropanol ) and water with endotoxin control maintained at 60 ° c . to 70 ° c . and combined with the filtrate . the temperature of the solution thus provided was adjusted and maintained at a temperature between 72 ° c . and 74 ° c . and compound i seed crystals were added . the seeded solution was maintained at this temperature for 15 to 20 minutes and then cooled to a temperature between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c . at the rate of 0 . 5 ° c . per minute . the seeded solution was maintained at a temperature between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c . and agitated for 30 to 40 minutes . at the end of the time the resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a 40 : 60 mixture of fine spirit ( 95 : 5 ethanol / isopropanol )/ water with endotoxin control at 0 ° c . to 5 ° c . the wet cake was dried under vacuum ( 150 mbar to 200 mbar ) at 35 ° c . to 40 ° c . under vacuum . the yield of the compound of formula i was determined by hplc to be 97 % based on the amount of the s - isomer present in the solids used initially . a second run was carried out in accordance with the foregoing , however , at the end of the reaction period the reaction mixture was extracted with aqueous sodium carbonate solution and the phases were split . the organic phase was added to dilute hcl to provide spontaneous crystallization . in a subsequent run , when spontaneous crystallization did not occur , seed crystals were charged to seed crystal formation . once crystalline product had precipitated , the product was filtered and the cake washed successively with aliquots of water , a 1 : 1 mixture ( vol .) of toluene : mtbe , and mtbe . the cake thus obtained was dried under vacuum at 40 °- 45 ° c . for approximately 8 h . preparation of the compound of formula i with co - production of a significant amount of the compound of formula ia1 was carried out using the procedure described in example 6a but starting with 47 kg of the compound of formula 27a - sulfonate and utilizing an industrial scale reactor . the product of the reaction was found to contain 35 mole % of the compound of formula i and 46 mole % of the compound of formula ia1 . at the end of the reaction the reaction mixture was was filtered through hyflo ( 4 . 12 kg ) and the wet cake was washed with toluene . the wash was combined with the filtrate and the mixture was concentrated under vacuum ( 80 mbar to 120 mbar ) by maintaining the reaction mixture at a temperature of less than about 60 ° c . until a residue which was capable of being stirred was obtained . the residue was azeotropically distilled with denatured ethanol until distillation ceased then diluted with an additional aliquot of ethyl alcohol . into a separate reactor , with stirring , was charged raney nickel ( ca . 25 kg ) and ethanol denatured with toluene . the reactor was stirred for 20 min and the liquid decanted off . the raney nickel was re - slurried with ethanol and the liquid decanted until the moisture content of the residue was acceptable for running a hydrogenation reaction . when the moisture content was acceptable , the reactor was charged with additional ethanol and the catalyst was transferred to an autoclave with agitation as an ethanol slurry . the product mixture prepared as described above was added to the autoclave and the batch hydrogenated at 5 bar h 2 pressure at ca . 50 ° c . until a mixture of 81 . 5 mole % of the compound of formula i and 1 . 9 mole % of the compound of formula ia1 was observed in the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture thus obtained was filtered and the resulting filter cake rinsed with ethanol and combined with the filtrate . the filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to a stirrable residue , azeotropically distilled with ethanol , and when distillation ceased , the residue was diluted with an additional aliquot of ethanol . a dilute solution of aqueous hcl was added to the ethanol solution with stirring over 20 minutes and the mixture was stirred for an additional 15 minutes . the resulting reaction mixture was filtered , and the cake washed successively with aliquots of water , a 1 : 1 mixture of mtbe : toluene , and mtbe . the washed cake was dried under vacuum at 40 °- 45 ° c . for about 8 hours and sampled for residual solvent and water content . the hydrogenation reaction over raney nickel yielded about 60 % of the compound of formula i based on the amount of compound of formula v employed . the michael addition reaction shown was carried out by dissolving a weighed amount of the compound of formula v ( reactions were run using from about 200 mg to about 10 g of formula v , depending upon the acrylate employed ) into the solvent shown in the tables below . the solution was stirred at a selected temperature while adding approximately 56 equivalents of brockmann activity iv alumina obtained from aldrich or camag ( residual water content 7 wt . % to 12 wt . %, used as received ). after 10 minutes of additional stirring , 5 equivalents of the r - acrylate indicated in the tables below was added and stirring was maintained for 20 hours . at the end of the reaction time the reaction mixture was analyzed by hplc for the combined amount of the compounds of formulae 27a and 27b and ratio of the compounds of formulae 27a and 27b produced in the reaction . the reactions run for table i were carried out using a weight of n - hexane 14 × the weight of the acrylate employed in the reaction . reactions were run at ambient temperature ( about 20 ° c . to 25 ° c .). the data shown in table 1 indicates that , for some acrylate acceptors , the presence of a protecting group on the piperidine nitrogen can reverse the selectivity of the michael addition reaction for the preferred isomer . it indicates also that basic alumina is the preferred base catalyst for promoting formation of the preferred isomer , and that selecting a sterically demanding acrylate , for example adamantane methanyl - acrylate , promotes preferentially the formation of the desired isomer . effect of solvent on isomer produced in the michael addition step the data in table ii were generated using the above - described addition reaction employing brockman activity iv basic alumina and (-)- 8 - phenylmenthyl acrylate as the michael acceptor with the deprotected substrate compound of formula v ( thus “ r 2 ”= h ). all runs were conducted at ambient temperature ( about 20 ° c . to 25 ° c .). these results indicate that non - polar solvents , for example n - hexane , or low polarity non - protic solvents , for example toluene , promote formation of the desired isomer . these reactions were run using methyl acrylate as the michael acceptor , with a deprotected substrate ( therefore “ r * ”= h ) in n - hexane at 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . the data in table iii indicates that the best selectivity for the desired s - isomer is observed utilizing basic alumina having a brockman activity level of iv . it was also found that conversion yields on brockman activity i material were very low , typically 37 % conversion after reactions times comparable to those yielding complete conversion with brockman activity level iv alumina . the above description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting . various changes or modifications in the embodiments described herein may occur to those skilled in the art . these changes can be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention	2
referring now to the drawings , and more particularly to fig1 , there is illustrated a synchronous buck generator 110 including traditional constant frequency peak current mode control . the high side switch 112 and low side switch 114 are controlled complementarily from the outputs of the rs flip flop 124 . a pwm comparator 116 compares the integrated voltage feedback signal vcomp which is applied to the positive input of the pwm comparator 116 with the sum of the amplified current - sense signal from the current - sense amplifier 118 and a slope compensation ramp signal 120 . the output of the pwm comparator 116 is applied to rs flip - flop 124 , at each rising clock edge , the high side switch 112 , consisting of a mosfet transistor , is turned on until the sum of the amplified current signal from the current signal amplifier 118 and the slope compensation signal 120 is greater than the integrated voltage feedback signal from the error amplifier 122 . when this signal condition is reached , the output of pwm comparator 116 resets the rs flip - flop 124 and the rs flip - flop 124 turns off the high side switch 112 . referring now also to fig2 , there is illustrated a timing diagram of the switching waveforms at light load in forced pulse width modulated ( pwm ) mode . while the high side transistor switch 112 is turned on , current i l ramps up through the inductor 126 sourcing the current to the output ( v out ) and storing energy within the inductor 126 . the current mode feedback system regulates the peak inductor current as a function of the output voltage error signal which is provided from the output of the error amplifier 122 . to preserve loop stability , a compensation ramp signal 120 is summed with the amplified current - sense signal from the current - sense amplifier 118 . when the high side switch 112 is turned off , the low side switch 114 , consisting of a mosfet transistor , is turned on . the inductor 126 releases its stored energy as the current ramps down ( 204 ) in the off condition while still providing current to the output v out . the output capacitor 128 stores charge when the inductor 126 exceeds the load current . the output capacitor 128 releases this charge when the inductor current is lower and smooths the voltage across load 130 . if the load current ( 206 ) is less than half of the peak inductor current ( 208 ), the inductor current i l becomes negative in a certain amount of time interval ( 210 ) and circulates through the low side switch 114 resulting in high conduction losses . switches 112 and 114 turn on and off complementarily with a fixed switching frequency responsive to the q and { overscore ( q )} outputs of the rs flip - flop 124 . thus , when the valley inductor current value ( 212 ) is reached , the low side switch 114 will turn off and the high side switch 112 will turn on as illustrated at t 3 . similarly , when the peak value ( 208 ) of the inductor current i l is reached , the high side switch 112 turns off and the low side switch 114 turns on as illustrated at t 2 . the peak - to - peak inductor current ( δi l ) may be determined by the equation ; δ ⁢ ⁢ i l = v in - v out l · dt s referring now to fig3 , there is illustrated one prior art method for reducing the conduction losses within a synchronous buck regulator at light loads . the circuitry described in fig3 is the same as that described with respect to fig1 with the inclusion of the zero crossing detection circuitry 302 . the zero crossing detection circuitry 302 detects when the low side switch 114 current is below zero and turns off the low side switch 114 upon detection of this condition . referring now also to fig4 , there are illustrated the switching waveforms associated with the circuit of fig3 . the high side transistor 112 is turned on responsive to a clock pulse 402 at t 1 . the high side switch 112 remains on until the inductor current ramps up to its peak value ( 404 ). upon reaching the peak inductor current value ( 404 ), the high side transistor 112 turns off and the low side transistor 114 turns on . the low side transistor 114 will remain on until point t 2 wherein the low side transistor 114 is turned off . the low side transistor 114 is turned off by the zero detection circuit 302 once the inductor current through the low side switch 114 drops below zero ( 406 ). both the high side switch 112 and the low side switch 114 remain off between points t 2 and t 3 until receipt of the next clock pulse 406 . the process then repeats . there is no power loss while both switches 112 and 114 are turned off between t 2 and t 3 . this results in lower conduction losses when compared with the regulator circuit described with respect to fig1 . the output voltage v 0 is regulated by the duty cycle while the converter keeps a constant high switching frequency operation not only during heavy load but at light loads . while a circuit of this type improves conduction losses , the circuit still suffers from high switching losses and low light load efficiency , since the circuit operates at the same frequency at both heavy loads and light loads . the shortcomings of the circuit described with respect to fig3 are overcome in the high light load efficiency synchronous buck generator having pulse skipping control illustrated in fig5 . the buck regulator 502 includes a voltage source 504 . high side switch 506 comprises a mosfet transistor having its drain - source path between the voltage source 504 and node 508 . the low side transistor also consists of a mosfet transistor having its drain - source path connected between node 508 and ground . each of the high side switch 506 and low side switch 510 have a driver 512 , 514 connected to their gates and to the ug and lg outputs of the skip mode controller 516 . an inductor 518 is connected between node 508 and the positive input of current - sense amplifier 520 . a resistor 522 is placed across the positive and negative inputs of the current - sense amplifier 520 . the negative input of the current - sense amplifier 120 is connected to the voltage output node 524 . a load resistor 526 is connected in parallel with a load capacitor 528 between voltage output node 524 and ground . resistor 530 represents a parasitic resistance associated with capacitor 528 . an integrated voltage signal vcomp is provided by an error amplifier 532 having its negative input connected to the voltage output node 524 and its positive input connected to a reference voltage v ref . the output of the error amplifier 532 is connected to the positive input of a pwm comparator 534 and to ground through a resistor 536 and capacitor 538 . the pwm comparator 534 compares the vcomp signal from the error amplifier 532 with the sum of the amplified current - sense signal ( csout ) from the current signal amplifier 520 and a slope compensation signal 536 . the csout signal is also provided as an input to the skip mode controller 516 . the output ( compout ) of the pwm comparator 534 is input to the skip mode controller 516 . referring now to fig6 , there is illustrated the skip mode controller 516 of the present invention . the skip mode controller 516 receives the csout signal from the current - sense amplifier 520 as one input signal and the compout signal from the pwm comparator 534 as another input signal . the csout signal is provided to the negative inputs of a first comparator 602 and a second comparator 604 . comparator 602 detects if the converter 502 is operating in a discontinuous current mode ( dcm ) or a continuous current mode ( ccm ) of operation . this is done by comparing the csout input with the zero voltage level signal ( vzero ) applied to the positive input of comparator 602 . the output of comparator 602 is applied to an inverter 606 , and the output of invertor 606 is applied to one input of an and gate 608 . the output of the and gate 608 comprises output lg which is used to turn on and turn off low side transistor 510 . comparator 604 determines the pulse skipping current limit threshold for the regulator 502 . this is accomplished by comparing csout with the voltage signal vskip which is connected to the positive input of comparator 604 . the output of comparator 604 is connected to one input of an and gate 610 . the output of and gate 610 is connected to one input of or gate 612 having an output connected to the r input of rs flip - flop 614 . the other input of or gate 612 is connected to the compout signal from the pwm converter 534 . the compout signal is also applied to an invertor 616 and to one input of a nand gate 618 . the output of invertor 616 is provided to the r input of d flip - flop 620 . the d input of d flip - flop 620 is connected to a 5v reference voltage signal , and the cp input is connected to a clock signal . the clock signal is additionally connected to one input of nand gate 618 . the q output of d flip - flop 620 is also connected to an input of nand gate 618 . the output of nand gate 618 is connected to the s input of rs flip - flop 614 . the q output of rs flip - flop 614 is connected to the other input of and gate 608 . the q output of rs flip - flop 614 provides output signal ug for turning on and off high side transistor 506 . signals lg and ug are also provided to the inputs of a nor gate 622 . the output of nor gate 622 connects to a resistor 624 connected to the cp input of d flip - flop 626 . a capacitor 628 connects between the cp input of d flip - flop 626 and ground . the d input of the d flip - flop 626 is connected to a 5v reference voltage . the r input of d flip - flop 626 connects to lg output signal from and gate 608 , and the q output of d flip - flop is connected to the other input of and gate 610 . the skip mode controller 516 in addition to minimizing conduction losses as will be described in one moment , reduces the switching frequency at light loads and thus the switching losses within the synchronous buck regulator 502 . within the pulse skipping circuit 516 , the comparator 602 detects if the regulator 502 is operating in either a discontinuous current mode or continuous current mode . additionally , comparator 604 is used to determine the pulse skipping current threshold for the regulator 502 . the high side switch 506 is turned on when a clock signal pulse is received if the sum of the amplified current signal ( csout ) and the slope compensation signal 536 is lower than the compensation signal vcomp from the output of the error amplifier 532 . this process is more fully illustrated in fig7 . when the high side switch 506 is off at step 702 , inquiry step 704 determines if a clock signal pulse has been received . if not , the high side switch 506 remains off at step 702 . if inquiry step 704 detects a clock pulse , inquiry step 706 determines if the sum of the amplified current - sense signal from the current - sense amplifier 520 and the slope compensation signal 536 are lower than the compensation signal vcomp from the error amplifier 532 . if not , the high side switch remains turned off . however , if the sum is less than the vcomp signal , the high side switch 506 is turned on at step 708 . if inquiry step 706 determines that the sum of the amplified current - sense signal and the voltage compensation signal is higher than the compensation signal vcomp , there is no high side switch 506 on time pulse until the next clock cycle is received . during this time period when no high side switch pulse is provided , the output capacitor 528 provides the load current during this pulse skipping period . once the high side switch 506 has been turned on , there are two criteria for determining whether the high side switch 506 must be turned off as illustrated in fig8 . the high side switch 506 is initially on at 802 . inquiry step 804 determines whether the converter 502 is operating in the dcm or ccm mode . if inquiry step 804 determines that the converter 502 is operating in the dcm mode , inquiry step 806 uses the pulse skipping current ( vskip / r cs ) to determine when to turn off the high side switch at step 810 . if the regulator gets into dcm , the output of d flip - flop 626 toggles to logic high so that the rbar input of d flip - flop 614 cannot toggle to logic low until csout is higher than vskip . if inquiry step 804 determines that the high side transistor 506 is operating in the ccm mode , inquiry step 808 uses the value of compout to determine when to turn off the high side transistor at step 810 . if the converter stays at ccm , the output of d flip - flop 626 stays at logic low so that the rbar input of d - flip flop ( 614 ) is only determined by compout . referring now to fig9 , there are illustrated the switching waveforms associated with the buck regulator 502 and skip mode controller 516 . at time period t 1 , a clock pulse 902 is applied to the regulator 502 and signal ug goes high since the sum of the amplified current signal csout and the slope compensation signal is lower than vcomp and compout is high . this turns on the high side switch 506 , and the inductor current i l begins increasing between t 1 and t 2 . the high side switch 506 is turned off when the inductor current i l reaches the skipping current limit threshold ( vskip ) 904 because the high side switch 506 is operating in dcm mode according to the output from d - type flip - flop f 1 626 . the high side switch 506 is turned off and low side switch 510 is turned on at t 2 when the inductor current i l reaches the pulse skipping current limit 904 . when the inductor current i l is below the zero current limit threshold ( v 0 ) 906 at t 3 , lg goes low and turns off the low side transistor 510 . this reduces the conduction loss using diode emulation . both the low side switch 510 and high side switch 506 remain turned off from time period t 3 to t 4 . an additional clock pulse is received at t 4 . however , since the sum of the slope compensation signal and the amplified current - sense signal ( csout ) are above the loop compensation voltage vcomp , and compout remains low , signal ug remains low and the high side and low side switches remain off . this creates a pulse skip while the circuit waits for a next clock cycle . the output capacitor 528 provides the load current during the pulse skipping period 908 between t 4 and t 5 . use of the pulse skipping period 908 between t 4 and t 5 effectively reduces the switching frequency of the regulator 502 and results in reduced switching losses as well as the reduced conduction losses described above . the reduced switching and conduction losses improves operation of the regulator 502 in light load conditions . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a comparison of the measured efficiencies between a circuit operating in the pulse skipping mode of the circuit described with respect to fig6 , and a regulator operating in a forced pulse width pwm mode . as can be seen in fig1 , a circuit operating in pulse skipping mode can achieve over 80 % efficiency at a 10 milliamp load current . a circuit using the forced pwm mode may only achieve 20 % efficiency under this same load current . thus , the pulse skipping pwm control scheme described with respect to fig5 - 9 can significantly improve the light load power conversion efficiency of a voltage regulator thus extending the battery life in portable power applications . although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	7
referring now to fig1 there is shown a valve housing 11 providing aligned bores 13 and 15 which receive , respectively , a poppet or check valve element 17 and a spool valve element 19 . the bores 13 and 15 are of equal diameter forming chambers 14 and 16 . the poppet valve element 17 and the spool valve element 19 are connected by a stem 21 which is of smaller diameter than the bores 13 and 15 . a source port 23 opens into the portion of the bore 15 below the spool valve element 19 and a load port 24 opens into the space above the poppet valve element 17 . the space below the poppet valve element connects to a port 26 through the housing . this port is referred to herein as a load drain port , a somewhat arbitrary designation . for purposes of illustration , the housing and valve elements are shown as solid or integral pieces . however , as will be understood by those skilled in the art , these elements must be necessarily assembled from component pieces in order to arrive at the completed construction shown . the techniques for building up such components , however , are known in the art and thus are not described in detail herein . likewise , for ease of description , various elements are described as being &# 34 ; above &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; below &# 34 ; each other in accordance with the orientation shown in the drawing but it should be understood that the valve when in use may be in any orientation . the housing 11 includes , around the bore 15 , a pair of axially spaced annular grooves 27 and 29 which provide valving and throttling functions in connection with the spool valve element 19 as described in greater detail hereinafter . annular groove 27 is connected to a port 28 through the housing 11 . the annular groove 27 on the interior of bore 15 cooperates with an annular groove 31 on the exterior surface of the valving element 19 to provide a throttling action as described in greater detail hereinafter . when the valving elements are in their lowermost positions as shown , the hydraulic connection between grooves 27 and 31 is effectively cut off . annular groove 29 communicates with a port 33 through the housing 11 and cooperates with the bottom face of the valving element 19 to open a hydraulic connection between the source port 23 and the port 33 when the valving elements have moved a predetermined distance , upwardly as illustrated . the valving elements are normally biased toward this lowermost or closed position by a spring 35 in the space above the spool valve element 19 in the bore 15 . port 33 is referred to herein as a source drain port , an essentially arbitrary designation . within the spool valve element 19 , a series of internal passageways or internal chamber 25 connects the groove 31 with a check valve constituted by a seat in the bottom surface of the valving element 19 together with a spherical valving element 37 . valving element 37 is biased into engagement with the seat by a spring 39 whose lower end rests on housing 11 . preferably , the space ( 16 ) in the bore 19 above the spool valve element 19 is also vented into the interior chamber 25 . with the ball element 37 resting in its seat , it can be seen that fluid introduced through the source port 23 will cause both the spool valve element 19 and the poppet valve element 17 to be lifted . as such lifting progresses , the poppet valve element 17 essentially immediately opens the connection between the load port 24 and the load drain port 26 . slight additional upward movement of the valve elements opens the hydraulic connections into the annular grooves 27 and 29 . while it is preferred that these connections open at approximately the same position , the throttling port ( groove 27 ) should be exposed slightly before the groove 29 . referring now to fig2 a prime mover or actuator is indicated generally by reference character 121 and comprises piston 123 and cylinder 125 . the double rod ended piston provides equal annular areas on both faces of the piston . for providing fail safe operation in certain applications , the piston is heavily biased to the right by a spring 126 so that the volume to the right of the piston can normally be considered to be the higher pressure side . a bi - directional , positive displacement pump 127 is utilized for providing hydraulic fluid under pressure suitable for operating the actuator 121 . a pressurized accumulator 131 provides a reservoir for the hydraulic fluid . this reservoir is connected through respective check valves 132 and 133 to both sides of the pump 127 . pump 127 is preferably of the positive displacement , meshing gear type and is driven in either direction by an electric motor 135 whose speed can be varied from zero to a preselected maximum by means of suitable control electronics . movement of the piston may be tracked by a suitable transducer ; e . g ., a slide wire potentiometer so as to provide a suitable feedback voltage or signal for controlling the energization of the motor . the system of fig2 also employs two control valves 139 and 141 of the type shown in fig1 . one side of the pump 127 , e . g . the left side as shown in fig2 is connected to one side of the cylinder 121 , ( e . g . the right side ) through a hydraulic circuit which includes the source / source - drain path of control valve 139 and the load drain / load path of the second flow matching valve 141 . the other side of the pump 127 is symmetrically connected through a hydraulic circuit which includes the source / source - drain path of the flow matching valve 141 and the load drain / load path of the flow matching valve 139 . both flow matching valves 139 and 141 are identical in construction and size . the load - drain port of each of the control valves 139 and 141 is also cross connected , for discharge , to the source drain port 33 of the other control valve . while the theory of operation of the overall hydraulic system is subject to differing interpretations and explanations , the following is submitted as useful in understanding its operation . in the description of operation , it is assumed that load is being applied to the piston 123 so that the right side of the cylinder is under greater pressure than the left side . in order to drive the piston against the load , the pump 127 is driven so as to produce a flow to the left as seen in the drawing of fig2 . when the pressure at the outlet of the pump exceeds that on the high pressure side of the actuator 121 , the valving elements in the left hand control valve 139 will be raised until the source port 23 is opened to the source drain port 23 . the poppet valve 17 and the throttling valve ( grooves 27 and 31 ) will also have been opened . thus , during operation in this direction , the valve 139 is essentially open and has no control effect , i . e . it is &# 34 ; passive &# 34 ;. hydraulic fluid flow proceeding from the left hand source drain port into the load drain port 26 of the right hand control valve 141 will lift its valving elements also by virtue of the force exerted on the underside of the poppet element 17 . this high pressure flow will then proceed out the load port 24 and into the high pressure ( right hand ) side of the actuator . since the poppet valve portion of the left hand control valve 139 will have been opened as described previously , hydraulic fluid from the low pressure side of the actuator 121 can drain through the upper portion of control valve 139 and into the throttling port 28 of the right hand control valve 141 , this port having been opened through to the groove 31 by the lifting of the valve elements by the flow past the poppet element 17 . while the source drain port 33 may still be closed , the return flow can exit , past the ball check valve 37 , to the source port 23 and then back to the pump on its ( current ) intake or suction side . when the pump 127 is operated in the opposite direction , i . e . producing flow to the right as seen in fig2 an essentially similar operation takes place but additional flow matching or throttling effects come into play . again , the pump output pressure must reach a level at least equal to that on the high pressure side of the cylinder in order to lift the valving elements of the right hand control valve 141 against the pressure exerted on the top of the poppet element 17 since this pressure is transmitted , through the stem 21 , to the spool valve element 19 . in this direction of operation , the right hand valve is the &# 34 ; passive &# 34 ; one of the two . once the source drain port 33 has been opened , flow can proceed into the load drain port 26 of the left hand control valve 139 where it will cause the poppet valve element 17 to lift somewhat and then proceed into the low pressure side of the actuator 121 . since the poppet valve 17 on the right hand control valve 141 will have been raised , high pressure flow can proceed past the poppet valve and out the load drain port 26 of control valve 141 . however , since the flow out of the source drain port 33 from the right hand control valve 141 past the poppet valve element 17 of the left hand control valve will not be sufficient to fully open the respective source drain port 33 , venting flow from the high pressure side must take place through the throttling port 28 . further , since the extent of opening between the cooperating grooves 27 and 31 in the valve 139 depends upon the amount of flow past the poppet element 17 , it will be understood that a throttling operation will take place which will tend to match the venting flow from the high pressure side of the actuator 121 to the filling flow coming in to its low pressure side . it is an aspect of the present invention that the main pressure drop , i . e . down to pressure at the inlet or suction side of the pump , occurs at the spool valve opening between grooves 27 and 31 . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , this pressure drop is developed without exerting force tending to displace the spool valve element along its axis , i . e . vertically as illustrated . the throttling action prevents whatever load may be present on the hydraulic actuator 121 from overrunning the motor driving pump 127 . accordingly , the operation of the system in the two directions tends to be matched . further , when the motor driving the pump 127 is stopped , the two poppet valve elements will close in rapid succession effective freezing the piston in position . any residual motor energy will flow back through the gear pump and back to the intake of the pump . once stopped , the pump and its driving motor are unloaded . since the hydraulic circuit is entirely symmetrical , it can be seen that complementary actions are obtained if the load is applied to the piston in the opposite direction . in other words , the high pressure and low pressure sides of the cylinder are only dictated by the direction of the load vector . conversely , the response or sensitivity of the actuator is identical in both directions regardless of the direction of the load , a highly desirable attribute as will be understood by those skilled in the servo control art . in view of the foregoing it may be seen that several objects of the present invention are achieved and other advantageous results have been attained . as various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention , it should be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	8
the combinations of a cox2 inhibitors with aspirin and antioxidants useful in the treatment of inflammatory and thrombotic disorders including rheumatoid arthritis , atherosclerotic arterial disease , valvular heart disease , cerebrovascular disease such as stroke , atrial fibrillation , coronary artery disease such as myocardial infarction and unstable angina , coronary artery bypass grafts , peripheral vascular disease , thromboembolic complications of prosthetic cardiovascular devices such as heart valves and vascular grafts . these combinations are also expected to be useful in combining with endovascular stenting procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty , to prevent subsequent arterial thrombus formation and reocclusion . also useful in the treatment of thrombosis is the combination in a therapeutically effective amount of tissue plasminogen activator and the gpiib / iiia antagonists . specific examples of useful gpiibiiia antagonist compounds are abciximab , eptifibatide , tirofiban , lamifiban , lefradafiban , sibrafiban ( ro - 48 - 3657 ), orbofiban and xemilofiban described in the paper of graul et al . and scarborough ( graul a , martel a m and castaner j . xemilifiban ; drugs of the future 22 : 508 - 517 , 1997 ; scarborough r m ; eptifibatide . drugs of the future 23 : 585 - 590 , 1998 ). of these , lamifiban , lefradafiban , sibrafiban , orbofiban and xemilofiban are preferred . others will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . “ therapeutically effective amount ” is intended to include an amount of a combination of compounds claimed effective to treat inflammatory and thrombotic disorders in a mammal . by “ administered in combination ”, “ combination ”, or “ combined ” when — referring to compounds described herein , it is meant that the compounds or components are administered concurrently to the mammal being treated . when administered in combination each compound or component may be administered at the same time or sequentially in any order or at different points in time , so as to provide the desired therapeutic effect . combinations of standard doses of cox2 inhibitors , aspirin at doses ranging from 70 - 350 mg , and antioxidants are administered as treatment for inflammatory , cancer , and thrombotic disorders . they can be administered by any conventional means available for use in conjunction with pharmaceuticals , either as individual therapeutic agents or in a combination of therapeutic agents . dosage forms of compositions suitable for administration contain from about 1 mg to about 100 mg of active ingredient per unit . in these pharmaceutical compositions the active ingredient will ordinarily be present in an amount of about 0 . 5 - 95 % by weight based on the total weight of the composition . the active ingredient can be administered orally in solid dosage forms , such as capsules , tablets and powders , or in liquid dosage forms , such as elixirs , syrups and suspensions . it can also be administered parenterally , in sterile liquid dosage forms . gelatin capsules contain the active ingredient and powdered carriers , such as lactose , starch , cellulose derivatives , magnesium stearate , stearic acid , and the like . similar dilutants can be used to make compressed tablets . both tablets and capsules can be manufactured as sustained release products to provide for continuous release of medication over a period of hours . compressed tablets can be sugar coated or film coated to mask any unpleasant taste and protect the tablet from the atmosphere , or enteric coated for selective disintegration in the gastrointestinal tract . liquid dosage forms for oral administration can contain coloring and flavoring to increase patient acceptance . in general , water , suitable oil , saline , aqueous dextrose ( glucose ), and related sugar solutions and glycols such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycols are suitable carriers for parenteral solutions . solutions for parenteral administration preferably contain a water soluble salt of the active ingredient , suitable stabilizing agents , and if necessary , buffer - substances . antioxidizing agents such as sodium bisulfite , sodium sulfite , or ascorbic acid , either alone or combined , are suitable stabilizing agents . also used are citric acid and its salts , and sodium edta . in addition , parenteral solutions can contain preservatives , such as benzalkonium chloride , methyl - or propyl - paraben and chlorobutanol . suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , 17th ed ., mack publishing company , easton , pa ., 1985 , a standard reference text in this field , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . useful pharmaceutical dosage - forms for administration of the compounds of this invention can be illustrated as follows : a large number of unit capsules can be prepared by filling standard two - piece hard gelatin capsules each with 0 . 1 to 100 mg of powdered active ingredient , 150 mg of lactose , 50 mg of cellulose , and 6 mg magnesium stearic . a mixture of active ingredient in digestible oil such as soybean oil , cottonseed oil or olive oil can be prepared and injected by means of a positive displacement pump into gelatin to form soft gelatin capsules containing 0 . 1 to 100 mg of the active ingredient . the capsules should then be washed and dried . a large number of tablets can be prepared by conventional procedures so that the dosage unit is 0 . 1 to 100 mg of active ingredient , 0 . 2 mg of colloidal silicon dioxide , 5 milligrams of magnesium stearate , 275 mg of microcrystalline cellulose , 11 mg of starch and 98 . 8 mg of lactose . appropriate coatings may be applied to increase palatability or delay absorption . an aqueous suspension can be prepared for oral administration so that each 5 ml contains 0 . 1 to 100 mg of finely divided active ingredient , 200 mg of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , 5 mg of sodium benzoate , 1 . 0 g of sorbitol solution , u . s . p ., and 0 . 025 mg of vanillin . the combined compounds of this invention may be formulated such that , although the active ingredients are combined in a single dosage unit , the physical contact between the active ingredients is minimized . in order to minimize contact , for example , where the product is orally administered , one active ingredient may be enteric coated . by enteric coating one of the active ingredients , it is possible not only to minimize the contact between the combined active ingredients , but also , it is possible to control the release of one of these components in the gastrointestinal tract such that one of these components is not released in the stomach but rather is released in the intestines . another embodiment of this invention where oral administration is desired provides for combined compounds wherein one of the active ingredients is coated with a sustained - release material which effects a sustained - release throughout the gastrointestinal tract and also serves to minimize physical contact between the combined active ingredients . furthermore , the sustained - released component can be additionally enteric coated such that the release of this component occurs only in the intestine . still another approach would involve the formulation of combined compounds in which the one compound is coated with a sustained and / or enteric release polymer , and the other compound is also coated with a polymer such as a low viscosity grade of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or other appropriate materials as known in the art , in order to further separate the active components . the polymer coating serves to form an additional barrier to interaction with the other component . dosage forms of the combination products of the present invention wherein one active ingredient is enteric coated can be in the form of tablets such that the enteric - coated compound and the other active ingredient are blended together and then compressed into a tablet or such that the enteric coated component is compressed into one tablet layer and the other active ingredient is compressed into an additional layer . optionally , in order to further separate the two layers , one or more placebo layers may be present such that the placebo layer is between the layers of active ingredients . in addition , dosage forms of the present invention can be in the form of capsules wherein one active ingredient is compressed into a tablet or in the form of a plurality of microtablets , particles , granules or non - perils , which are then enteric coated . these enteric coated microtablets , particles , granules or non - perils are then placed into a capsule or compressed into a capsule along with a granulation of the other active ingredient . these , as well as other ways of minimizing contact between the combined compounds , whether administered in a single dosage form or administered in separate forms but at the same time or concurrently by the same manner , will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , based on the present disclosure . each therapeutic compound of this invention can independently be in any dosage form , such as those described above , and can also be administered in various ways , as described above . for example , the compounds may be formulated together , in a single dosage unit ( that is , combined together in one capsule , tablet , powder , or liquid , etc .) as a combination product . alternatively , when not formulated together in a single dosage unit , individual cox2 inhibitors may be administered at the same time as either aspirin or antioxidants ( flavanoids , flavonoids or isoflavones ) or sequentially , in any order thereof . as is appreciated by a medical practitioner skilled in the art , the dosage of the combination therapy of the invention may vary depending upon various factors such as the pharmacodynamic characteristics of the particular agent and its mode and route of administration , the age , health and weight of the recipient , the nature and extent of the symptoms , the kind of concurrent treatment , the frequency of treatment , and the effect desired , as described above . the proper dosage of a cox2 inhibitor and low dose aspirin ( 35 - 150 mg ) combination in an enteric coated formulation is the preferred form . by way of general guidance , typically a daily dosage may be about 0 . 01 milligram to about 1 gram of each component . by way of general guidance , when the compounds are administered in combination , the dosage amount of each component may be reduced by about 70 - 80 % relative to the usual dosage of the component when it is administered alone as a single agent for the treatment of thrombosis , in view of the synergistic effect of the combination . obviously , numerous 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 herein .	0
of note is the top part of the molecule as illustrated above , which may be seen to have a 9 - keto structure and 10 - β hydroxy or 10 - β acetyl stereochemistry . the present invention provides novel taxane analogs having α stereochemistry at the c - 9 and c - 10 oh positions of the molecule . generally , these compounds have been found to exhibit excellent inhibition of cell growth against mdr sensitive cancer cell lines . for example , the 9 , 10 - α , α hydroxy taxane derivatives discussed in table 2 exhibit favorable inhibition of cell growth in several of the tested cell lines . table 2 , above , identifies the compounds tpi 287 , tpi 285 and tpi 251 , which were found to exhibit excellent inhibition of cell growth against mdr sensitive cancer cell lines . the compounds tpi 287 , tpi 285 and tpi 251 are discussed in greater detail below and have the following respective structures : as will become apparent from the discussion below , tpi 287 is a mixture of the compounds identified as formula 31 and formula 33 , which are discussed below with respect to fig3 . the 2 ′ r isomer of tpi 285 is illustrated , for example , with respect to generalized formula a in fig1 wherein r 1 is a tert - butoxyl group , r 2 is an isobutyl group and r 7 is acetyl . although not shown in fig1 , the 2 &# 39 ; s isomer of tpi 285 , as shown above , is also contemplated . tpi 251 is illustrated , for example , with respect to generalized formula z in fig9 wherein r 8 is h and r 9 is ethylene . in addition to the compounds tpi 287 , tpi 285 , and tpi 251 , various other 9 , 10 - α , α hydroxy taxane derivatives have also exhibited significant inhibition against various cancer cell lines . such compounds may be formed in a number of ways according to the present invention . for example , as shown in fig1 ( scheme 1 ) and fig2 ( scheme 2 ), a 9 , 10 - α , α hydroxy taxane f may be formed directly from a standard taxane a or a ′ through various transformations , including oxidation of a 10 - hydroxy taxane d to a 9 , 10 - diketo taxane e and reduction to the 9 , 10 - α , α - hydroxy taxane f . in the compounds shown in schemes 1 and 2 , r 1 and r 2 may each be h , alkyl such as an isobutyl group or a tert - butyl group , olefinic such as a tigloyl group , aromatic such as a phenyl group , o - alkyl , o - olefinic , or o - aromatic ; r 7 may be alkyl such as a methyl group , olefinic or aromatic ; and p 1 and p 2 may each be a hydroxyl protecting group , such as a silyl protecting group , including tbdms or tes . such a process is exemplified in fig1 through 17 . for example , as shown in fig1 , paclitaxel of formula 1 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula a of scheme 1 ) is first protected at the 2 ′- hydroxyl with a hydroxyl protecting group such as tert - butyldimethylsilyl ( tbdms ). to a 500 ml round bottom flask ( rbf ) equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 50 . 0 g ( 58 . 55 mmol ) paclitaxel , formula 1 , 13 . 96 g ( 204 . 8 mmol , 3 . 5 eq .) imidazole , and 26 . 47 g ( 175 . 7 mmol , 3 . 0 eq .) tbdms - cl . the flask was placed under a nitrogen environment and 350 ml ( 7 ml / g paclitaxel ) anhydrous n , n - dimethyl formamide ( dmf ) was charged to the flask . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for twenty hours , then was worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 600 ml isopropyl acetate ( ipac ) and washing with water until the aqueous wash reached ph 7 , then with brine . the organic partition was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and then was evaporated to a white foam solid to yield 66 . 9 g ( 93 . 0 area percent ) of unpurified 2 ′- o - tbdms paclitaxel product of formula 2 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 7 = ch 3 ; p 1 = tbdms in generalized formula b of scheme 1 ). this reaction is nearly quantitative . there are slight amounts of 2 ′, 7 - bis - tbdms , but this is not a significant amount . next , as shown in fig1 , the 10 - acetyl group is removed by hydrazinolysis . to a 1 l rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 59 . 5 g 2 ′- o - tbdms paclitaxel of formula 2 and 600 ml ( 10 ml / g ) ipac . the solution was stirred to dissolve the 2 ′- o - tbdms paclitaxel , then 60 ml ( 1 ml / g ) hydrazine hydrate was charged to the flask and the reaction stirred at room temperature for one hour . the reaction was worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 1 . 2 l ipac and washing first with water , then ammonium chloride solution , then again with water until the aqueous wash was ph 7 and lastly with brine . the organic partition was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated to 55 . 8 g of solid . the solid was redissolved in 3 : 1 ipac ( 1 % water ): heptane to a concentration 0 . 25 g / ml total dissolved solids ( tds ) and purified on a ymc silica column ; the column eluent was monitored for uv absorbance . the fractions were pooled based on hplc analysis and evaporated to yield 39 . 3 g ( 98 . 6 area percent ) of 2 ′- o - tbdms - 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel solid of formula 3 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms in generalized formula c of scheme 1 ). if the reaction goes too long ( beyond 2 h ), the product begins epimerizing at the c - 7 position . besides decreasing the yield by the formation of the 7 - epi degradant , this impurity requires adding a chromatographic step to remove the impurity . as illustrated in fig1 , the 7 - hydroxyl is now protected with a protecting group such as triethylsilyl ( tes ). to a 500 ml rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 39 . 3 g ( 42 . 46 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 3 and 15 . 6 g ( 127 . 4 mmol , 3 eq .) dmap . the flask was placed under nitrogen and 390 ml ( 10 ml / g ) anhydrous dichloromethane ( dcm ) charged to the flask to dissolve the solids followed by 14 ml ( 84 . 92 mmol , 2 eq .) tes - ci . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for three hours . the reaction was worked up by evaporating the reaction solution to approximately half its starting volume and diluting it in 300 ml etoac and washing with water and dilute hcl solutions until the ph of the aqueous wash was approximately 7 , then with brine . the organic partition was dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated to yield 42 . 0 g ( 97 . 7 area percent ) of white solid of formula 4 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; p 2 = tes in generalized formula d of scheme 1 ). this reaction is nearly quantitative , with a slight amount of 7 , 10 - bis - tes and excess silyl compounds in the worked up solids , as with the 2 ′- tbdms protection step above . next , oxidation of the 10 - hydroxyl yields a 9 , 10 - diketo compound , as exemplified in fig1 . to a 1 l rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 41 . 0 g ( 39 . 43 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 4 , 2 . 1 g ( 5 . 92 mmol , 0 . 15 eq .) of tpap , 13 . 9 g ( 118 . 3 mmol , 3 eq .) nmo . the flask was placed under nitrogen and 720 ml (˜ 20 ml / g ) anhydrous dcm charged to the flask to dissolve the solids . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 22 hours . the reaction was worked up by concentrating the reaction solution to half its volume and then drying the reaction contents onto 175 g silica gel ( em sciences 40 - 63μ ). the taxane containing silica was placed on 30 g of clean silica gel ( em sciences 40 - 63μ ) and the product eluted from the silica with 4 l mtbe . the mtbe was evaporated to yield 37 . 3 g ( 93 . 2 area percent ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - diketo paclitaxel of formula 5 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; p 2 = tes in generalized formula e of scheme 1 ). finally , reduction of the 9 , 10 - diketo taxane yields the 9 , 10 - α , α - hydroxy taxane , as shown for example in fig1 . to a 2 l rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 37 . 3 g ( 35 . 9 mmol ) protected 9 , 10 - diketo paclitaxel of formula 5 and 900 ml (˜ 30 ml / g taxane ) of 3 : 1 etoh / meoh . the solution was stirred to dissolve the solids then the flask was placed in an ice / water bath and the solution was stirred for 30 minutes . 8 . 1 g ( 215 . 7 mmol , 6 eq .) of sodium borohydride ( nabh 4 ) was charged to the flask and the reaction stirred in the ice / water bath for five hours . the reaction was worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 1 l ipac and washing with 4 × 750 ml water , then with 200 ml brine . the organic partition was dried over magnesium sulfate . the aqueous washes were reextracted with 500 ml ipac . the organic reextract solution was washed with 100 ml brine then dried over magnesium sulfate and combined with the first organic partition . the ipac solution was concentrated until solids began precipitating out then heptane was added to the solution to crystallize the protected 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel product of formula 6 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; p 2 = tes in generalized formula f of scheme 1 ). the crystallizing solution was placed in a freezer overnight . three crystallizations were done on the material , the first yielded 4 . 1 g ( 95 . 3 area percent ) protected 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel product , the second yielded 18 . 3 g ( 90 . 9 area percent ) product , and the third yielded 2 . 9 g ( 81 . 7 area percent ) product . the original work on this reaction employed flash chromatography to purify the product . however , the crystallizations that were performed gave similar purity , by hplc , to the chromatographed material from earlier work . as illustrated in fig2 ( scheme 2 ), the same steps as above may be followed — absent the hydrazinolysis step — when the starting material is a 10 - deacetyl taxane , such as of generalized formula a ′ in fig2 . next , as shown in fig3 ( scheme 3 ), the resulting taxane of generalized formula f may be deprotected at the 7 - position to yield the taxane of generalized formula h and then deprotected at the 2 ′- position to yield a taxane of the generalized formula i . the deprotection at the 2 ′- and 7 - positions may be either a two - step process or may be performed in a single step . alternatively , as shown in scheme 3 , the taxane of generalized formula f may be first acylated at the 10 position before deprotecting at the 7 and 2 ′ positions . according to this route , the 10 acylation of the taxane of generalized formula f results in the taxane of generalized formula g , which may then be deprotected at 7 position to yield a taxane of the generalized formula h ′ and deprotected at the 2 ′- position to yield a taxane of the generalized formula i ′. here again , the deprotection at the 7 - and 2 ′- positions may be either a two - step process or may be performed in a single step . the 10 - acylation of the taxane of generalized formula f may be accomplished in a number of manners , as exemplified in fig1 . in particular , the invention contemplates the use of either a carboxylic acid of generalized formula r 7 cooh , a carboxylic acid halide such as an acid chloride of generalized formula r 7 cocl , or a carboxyl anhydride of generalized formula r 7 coocor 7 . in the compounds shown in scheme 3 , r 1 , r 2 , r 7 , p 1 and p 2 are as defined above for schemes 1 and 2 , although it should be appreciated that the r 7 coo group attached at c - 10 in scheme 3 may be different from the r 7 coo group that was removed in scheme 1 . when the reagent used is a carboxylic acid , an exemplary procedure ( as shown in fig1 ) is as follows . to a 25 ml rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 300 mg ( 0 . 288 mmol ) of 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 6 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; p 2 = tes in generalized formula f of scheme 3 ), ( 0 . 720 mmol , 2 . 5 eq .) carboxylic acid ( ch 3 cooh ), 178 mg ( 0 . 864 mmol , 3 . 0 eq .) of dcc , and 13 mg ( 0 . 086 mmol , 0 . 3 eq .) of 4 - pyrrolidinopyridine ( 4 - pp ). the contents of the flask were placed in a nitrogen environment and 10 ml anhydrous dcm added to the flask . the reactions were stirred at room temperature for 15 + hours ( all the reactions were monitored by tlc or hplc for consumption of the starting material ); the reactions generally ran overnight . the reactions were worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 20 ml etoac and stirring for fifteen minutes to precipitate dicyclohexyl urea ( dcu ). the dcu was removed from the solution by vacuum filtration and the filtrate was washed with water until the ph of the water washes was approximately 7 . the organic solution was then washed with brine and dried over sodium sulfate before evaporating to dryness . when the reagent used is a carboxylic acid halide , an exemplary procedure ( as shown in fig1 ) is as follows . to a 25 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar and under a nitrogen environment , was charged 300 mg ( 0 . 288 mmol ) of 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 6 , ( 0 . 720 mmol , 2 . 5 eq .) acid chloride ( ch 3 cocl ), 1404 ( 1 . 008 mmol , 3 . 5 eq .) tea , 13 mg ( 0 . 086 mmol , 0 . 3 eq .) 4 - pp , and 10 ml anhydrous dcm . the reactions were stirred at room temperature for 15 + hours ; reactions generally ran overnight and were monitored by tlc and / or hplc in the morning for consumption of starting material . the reactions were worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 20 ml etoac and washing with water until the ph of the water washes was approximately 7 . the organic solution was then washed with brine and dried over sodium sulfate before evaporating to dryness . when the reagent used is a carboxyl anhydride , an exemplary procedure ( as shown in fig1 ) is as follows . to a 25 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar and under a nitrogen environment , was charged 300 mg ( 0 . 288 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 6 , ( 2 . 880 mmol , 10 eq .) acid anhydride ( ch 3 coococh 3 ), 106 mg ( 0 . 864 mmol , 3 eq .) dmap , and 5 ml anhydrous dcm . the reactions were stirred at room temperature for 15 + hours . the reactions were worked up by adding 5 ml saturated sodium bicarbonate solution to the reaction flask and stirring for 5 minutes . the solution was then transferred to a separatory funnel and organics were extracted with 20 ml etoac . the organic extract was then washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate and water until the ph of the water washes was approximately 7 . the organic partition was then washed with brine and dried over sodium sulfate before evaporating to dryness . the resulting product is the 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 - α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 7 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; p 2 = tes ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula g of scheme 3 ). fig4 shows numerous alternative groups that may be used for the r 7 coo group at the 10 - α - position of generalized formula g . as would be appreciated by the ordinarily skilled person , these acylations may be performed for example by substituting the appropriate carboxylic acid r 7 cooh , carboxylic acid halide r 7 cox or carboxyl anhydride r 7 coocor 7 in the above procedures . as indicated above and as further illustrated in scheme 3 , taxanes of generalized formula f or g may be deprotected at the 2 ′- and 7 - positions in either a two - step process or a single step . fig1 through 21 show exemplary deprotections of the 2 ′- and 7 - positions . for example , as shown in fig1 , the 7 - o - tes group may be removed from formula 6 to give formula 8 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms in generalized formula h of scheme 3 ) or from formula 7 to give formula 9 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula h ′ of scheme 3 ), respectively , using acetonitrile ( acn ) and aqueous hf . to a 500 ml teflon bottle equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged 2 . 50 g ( 2 . 40 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 6 and 100 ml acn . the bottle was placed in and ice / water bath and the solution was stirred for 30 minutes . next , 0 . 8 ml of 48 % hf aqueous was added slowly to the reaction solution and the reaction stirred in the ice / water bath for 20 minutes . the reaction was monitored by tlc for disappearance of the starting material . the reaction was worked up by diluting the reaction solution by adding 200 ml etoac and quenching the acid by adding 25 ml saturated sodium bicarbonate solution to the bottle and stirring for 10 minutes . the solution was then transferred to a separatory funnel and the organic partition was washed with water until the ph of the water wash was approximately 7 , then was washed with brine . the organic partition was dried over sodium sulfate and then was evaporated to a solid of formula 8 . this procedure was also followed if there was an acyl group on the 10 - α - hydroxyl ( i . e . formula 7 to formula 9 in fig1 or generalized formula g to generalized formula h ′ in scheme 3 ). next , as shown in fig2 , the 2 ′- o - protecting group may be removed from formula 8 to give formula 10 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph in generalized formula i of scheme 3 ) or from formula 9 to give formula 11 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula i ′ of scheme 3 ), respectively . to a 50 ml teflon bottle equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged , 500 mg 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 - deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 8 ( or 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 - α - oh , 9 - desoxo , 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 9 ) and 5 ml anhydrous thf . next , 1 ml hf - pyridine solution was slowly charged to the reaction solution . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour ; reaction progress was monitored by tlc and / or hplc for disappearance of starting material . the reaction was worked up by adding 10 ml etoac to the bottle to dilute the reaction solution then saturated sodium bicarbonate was slowly added to the bottle to neutralize the hf . the solution was then transferred to a separatory funnel and the organic partition was washed with 10 wt % sodium bicarbonate solution then water until the ph of the water wash was approximately 7 . then the organic partition was washed with brine and then dried over sodium sulfate before evaporating to a solid of formula 10 ( or formula 11 ). it should be appreciated that one ordinarily skilled in the art would understand that the order of the above deprotection steps may be reversed , such that the 2 ′- hydroxyl protecting group is removed first , and the 7 - hydroxyl protecting group removed second . further , as indicated above , the 2 ′- and 7 - positions of either the taxanes of the generalized formula f or g may be deprotected in a one - step procedure using tetrabutylammoniumfluoride ( tbaf ). here , as shown for example in fig2 , formula 6 may be deprotected directly to formula 10 , and formula 7 may be deprotected directly to formula 11 . a 10 ml rbf equipped with a magnetic stir bar was charged with 100 mg of 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 - desoxo 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 6 ( or 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 7 ) and 5 ml etoac or thf to dissolve the taxane . next , 100 μl of 1m tbaf in thf was charged to the flask and the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour ; the reaction was monitored by tlc and / or hplc for disappearance of starting material . the reaction was worked up by washing the reaction solution with water and then brine . the organic partition was dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated to a solid of formula 10 ( or formula 11 ). this method removes both the 2 ′- o - tbdms protecting group and the 7 - o - tes protecting group . now , as illustrated in fig5 ( scheme 4 ), the 7 -, 9 -, and / or 10 - positions may be acylated with various groups r 7 coo , such as those shown in fig6 . in the compounds shown in scheme 4 , r 1 , r 2 , r 7 , and p 1 are as defined above for schemes 1 and 2 , although it should be appreciated that the r 7 coo groups in scheme 4 may be different from the r 7 coo group that was removed in scheme 1 . for example , as shown in fig2 , 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 desoxo , 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 8 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms in generalized formula h of scheme 4 ) may be mono - acylated on the 7 - hydroxyl as formula 12 ( corresponding to generalized formula j of scheme 4 ), bis - acylated on the 7 , 10 - hydroxyls as formula 13 ( corresponding to generalized formula j ′ of scheme 4 ), and / or tris - acylated on the 7 , 9 , 10 - hydroxyls as formula 14 ( corresponding to generalized formula j ″ of scheme 4 ). it should be appreciated by the ordinarily skilled person that the appropriate carboxylic acid r 7 cooh corresponding to the desired r 7 coo group may be substituted in the procedure below , such as those groups from fig6 or other groups as desired . to a 5 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar and nitrogen purge , was charged 100 mg ( 0 . 108 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 desoxo , 10 deacetyl paclitaxel of formula 8 , ( 0 . 324 mmol , 3 eq .) carboxylic acid , 66 . 8 mg ( 0 . 324 mmol , 3 eq .) dcc , 6 . 6 mg ( 0 . 054 mmol , 0 . 5 eq .) dmap , and 1 . 5 ml anhydrous dcm . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 2 . 5 hours . the reaction progression was monitored by tlc and / or hplc . if no acyl addition was detected , an additional charge of reagents was done to try and start the reaction . the reaction produces a mixture of monoacylated , bisacylated , and some trisacylated products . the reaction was worked up by filtering the reaction solution through a 0 . 2 μm nylon acrodisc . to the filtrate plus a 1 ml dcm wash of the solids 100 mg of irc - 50 ion - exchange resin was added . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . the mixture was filtered again through a second 0 . 2 μm nylon acrodisc . as further shown in fig2 , the resulting filtrate solution went directly to the reaction to remove the tbdms from the 2 ′- hydroxyl using the tbaf method , described above to obtain formula 10 and formula 11 from formula 6 and formula 7 respectively ; 1504 of the reagent was added directly to the filtrate and stirred at room temperature for four hours . the work - up was the same as described above for the deprotection method . compounds were purified on a reverse phase semi - prep scale hplc column to provide formula 15 ( corresponding to generalized formula k of scheme 4 ), formula 16 ( corresponding to generalized formula k ′ of scheme 4 ) and formula 17 ( corresponding to generalized formula k ″ of scheme 4 ). as illustrated in fig7 ( scheme 5 ) the 2 ′- hydroxyl may be protected and a functional group attached at the c - 7 position , as shown for example in fig2 through 25 . in the compounds shown in scheme 5 , r 1 , r 2 , r 7 , and p 1 are as defined above for scheme 3 , and r 6 is an ether functionality , such as an o - methylthiomethyl group or other hetero substituted ether functionalities . initial attempts to synthesize a 7 - o - methylthiomethyl compound from 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel provided difficulty in that the methylthiomethyl group was too labile to withstand the 2 ′- hydroxyl deprotection step using either the hf - pyridine method or the tbaf method , described above . accordingly , it is desirable to use a 2 ′- hydroxyl protecting group that can be removed under less harsh conditions , such as a tes protecting group . in fig2 , 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 11 , which may be formed according to one of the routes described above with respect to scheme 3 , is first protected as the 2 ′- o - tes ether of formula 18 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tes ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula l of scheme 5 ). to a 25 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar and a nitrogen purge , was charged 1 . 2 g ( 1 . 415 mmol ) 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 11 , 6 ml anhydrous dcm , and 6 ml anhydrous pyridine . the flask was placed in an ice / water bath and the solution was stirred for 15 minutes . after the solution cooled , 0 . 95 ml ( 5 . 659 mmol , 4 . 0 eq .) tes - cl was charged to the flask . the reaction was stirred in the ice / water bath for 3 hours . the reaction was worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 30 ml etoac and washing with water then brine . the organic partition was dried over sodium sulfate before evaporating to a solid . the 2 ′- o - tes - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel product of formula 18 was purified by flash chromatography using an etoac / heptane gradient . as shown for example in fig2 , a methylthiomethyl group may be attached at the 7 - o - position to give formula 19 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tes ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 6 = och 2 sch 3 in generalized formula m of scheme 5 ). because the c - 9 hydroxyl is very susceptible to oxidation , it is preferred that there are no oxidizing reagents present in the reaction to add the methylthiomethyl ether to the modified taxane . a 100 ml rbf was equipped with a magnetic stir bar , a nitrogen purge , and a condenser , and was wrapped with aluminum foil . 850 mg ( 0 . 877 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tes - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 18 , 894 mg ( 5 . 261 mmol , 6 eq .) silver nitrate , 156 mg ( 1 . 052 mmol , 1 . 2 eq .) 4 - pp , 50 ml anhydrous toluene , and 0 . 8 ml ( 5 . 701 mmol , 6 . 5 eq .) tea were charged to the flask . the solution was stirred to dissolve the solids then 441 μl ( 5 . 261 mmol , 6 . 0 eq .) chloromethylmethyl - sulfide was charged to the flask . the reaction was heated to 70 ° c . the reaction was stirred at 70 ° c . for 24 hours . the reaction was worked up by filtering the reaction solution through celite . the reaction flask and solids were washed with 80 ml etoac . the combined filtrate was transferred to a separatory funnel and washed with water then dilute ammonium chloride then dilute sodium bicarbonate then with water until the ph of the water wash was approximately 7 . next the organic partition was washed with brine then dried over sodium sulfate before it was concentrated to approximately 5 ml . this solution was purified by flash chromatography using an etoac / heptane gradient . the fraction pools were evaporated to yield 0 . 13 g of 2 ′- o - tes - 7 - o - methylthiomethyl - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 19 . the 2 ′- hydroxyl is then deprotected , as shown for example in fig2 to provide formula 20 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 6 = och 2 sch 3 in generalized formula n of scheme 5 ). to a 10 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar , 0 . 12 g ( 0 . 117 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tes - 7 - o - methylthiomethyl - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 19 and 8 ml acn were charged . the flask was placed in an ice / water bath and the solution stirred for 30 minutes . 233 μl ( 0 . 233 mmol , 2 eq .) of 1n hcl was charged to the flask and the reaction stirred in the ice / water bath for 45 minutes . the methylthiomethyl ether is fairly acid labile , and the methylthiomethyl group may be removed if the reaction to remove the tes group using 1n hcl in acn runs too long . the reaction was worked up by pouring the reaction solution into a separatory funnel containing 20 ml etoac and 30 ml saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . after agitation the aqueous partition was removed and the organic partition was washed with water until the ph of the water wash was approximately 7 then with brine . the organic partition was dried over sodium sulfate then evaporated to a yellowish oil . the product was purified by reverse phase semi - prep scale hplc to yield 50 mg of 7 - o - methylthiomethyl - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 20 as a white solid . as illustrated in fig8 ( scheme 6 ) the present invention also provides 7 , 9 acetal linked analogs of 9 , 10 - α , α oh taxanes . in particular , the 7 - and 9 - positions may be linked through a generalized — oc ( r 8 )( r 9 ) o — structure and the 2 ′- position may be deprotected . in the compounds shown in scheme 6 , r 1 , r 2 , r 7 and p 1 are as defined above for scheme 3 , and r 8 and r 9 may each be h , alkyl , olefinic or aromatic . fig9 illustrates various 7 , 9 - acetal linked analogs of formula z formed according to the method described below . initial data from a cytotoxicity study on the compound where r 8 = r 9 = h in fig9 suggested that there was good activity for the acetal . it should be appreciated that the present invention contemplates further variations in the substituents of such 7 , 9 - acetal linked analogs . for example , the r 8 and r 9 groups shown in fig9 , or others , may be substituted for r 8 and r 9 in the generalized formulas o and p of scheme 6 , and the r 1 , r 2 , r 7 and p 1 groups thereof may be further varied as described herein . for example , as shown in fig2 , a compound of formula 9 ( which may be formed as described above with respect to fig1 ) may be protected as a 7 , 9 - acetal linked analog of formula 21 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; p 1 = tbdms ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 8 = r 9 = h in generalized formula o of scheme 6 ). to a 10 ml rbf , equipped with a magnetic stir bar and nitrogen purge , 100 mg ( 0 . 103 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 9 , 2 . 5 mg ( 0 . 013 mmol , 0 . 13 eq .) p - toluene sulfonic acid , and 5 ml anhydrous dcm were added . the solution was stirred to dissolve the solids then ch 2 ( och 3 ) 2 ( 0 . 515 mmol , 5 eq .) was added and the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 1 . 5 hours . reaction progress was monitored by tlc and / or hplc . the reaction was worked up by diluting the reaction solution in 10 ml and washing the resulting solution with water then brine . the organic partition was dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated to a solid of formula 21 . the protected product was purified on a reverse phase semi - prep scale hplc before running the tbaf deprotection method , as shown in fig2 , to remove the tbdms group to form formula 22 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 8 = r 9 = h in generalized formula 0 of scheme 6 ). as apparent from scheme 6 , it should be appreciated that compounds of generalized formula r 8 r 9 c ( och 3 ) 2 may be substituted in the reaction above to provide 7 , 9 - acetal linked analogs having r 8 and r 9 groups , such as those illustrated in fig9 or others . the discussion above and the corresponding figures illustrate various methods of producing 9 , 10 - α , α - oh taxanes as well as intermediate compounds useful in the formation of those taxanes . with respect to those 9 , 10 - α , α - oh taxanes produced by those methods , the sidechain may be cleaved therefrom so as to attach an alternative sidechain having different substituents than those shown and described . accordingly , fig1 provides a generalized scheme 7 for cleaving the sidechain of 9 , 10 - α , α - oh taxane analogs according to the present invention . the sidechain may be replaced , for example , with a compound of formula 12 according to the generalized scheme 9 , shown in fig1 . more particularly , as shown in scheme 7 and exemplified in fig2 and 29 , a 9 , 10 - α , α - taxane may be protected as a 7 , 9 - acetal linked analog , such as described above , and the sidechain may thereafter be cleaved to provide a 13 - hydroxyl taxane . in the compounds shown in scheme 7 , r 3 is hydroxyl or op 1 ; r 1 , r 2 , r 7 and p 1 are as defined above for scheme 3 ; and r 8 and r 9 are as defined above for scheme 6 . for example , a compound of formula 11 was first prepared according to procedures described above with respect to fig1 and 21 , as follows . to a 200 ml rbf was charged 5 . 0 g ( 4 . 800 mmol ) 2 ′- o - tbdms - 7 - o - tes - 9 , 10 - α , α - oh , 9 desoxo 10 deacetyl paclitaxel ( formula 6 ), 1 . 75 g ( 14 . 400 mmol , 3 . 0 eq .) dmap , and 60 ml anhyd . dcm to dissolve the solids . the flask was sealed and placed under nitrogen then the flask was placed in an ice - water bath . next was slowly charged , 4 . 5 ml ( 48 . 000 mmol , 10 . 0 eq .) acetic anhydride to the flask . the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c ., going to room temperature overnight . the reaction was quenched after 18 hours by adding 100 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . product was extracted with etoac and washed with sodium bicarbonate solution and with water . the organic partition was dried down to yield approximately 5 . 5 g ( 5 . 075 mmol ) of crude product of formula 7 . this crude product was charged in a 250 ml rbf with 110 ml thf , under nitrogen . next was charged 14 . 2 ml of 1 . 0m tbaf in thf . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 2 . 5 hours then was worked up by extracting with etoac and washing with water . the organic partition was evaporated to yield approximately 5 . 9 g of crude solid . the crude material was purified by flash chromatography to yield 1 . 5 g of purified compound of formula 11 . as shown for example in fig2 , the compound of formula 11 may be protected as a 7 , 9 - acetal such as with anisaldehyde dimethyl acetal to form a compound of formula 23 ( where r 1 = r 2 = ph ; r 3 = oh ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 8 = h ; r 9 = phome in generalized formula q of scheme 7 ). to a 50 ml rbf was charged 1 . 15 g ( 1 . 345 mmol ) 9 - α - oh - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 11 and 25 ml anhydrous dcm , under nitrogen . 343 μl ( 2 . 017 mmol , 1 . 5 eq .) anisaldehyde dimethyl acetal was charged to the flask , followed by 51 mg ( 0 . 269 mmol , 0 . 2 eq .) ptsa . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 45 minutes then was worked up by extracting the product with etoac and washing with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution followed by water . the organic partition was evaporated to yield approximately 1 . 5 g of crude product . the crude product was purified by flash chromatography to yield 0 . 72 g of pure product of formula 23 . next , the sidechain is cleaved to form the compound of formula 24 ( where r 7 = ch 3 ; r 8 = h ; r 9 = phome in generalized formula r of scheme 7 ), as exemplified in fig2 . to a 25 ml rbf was charged 720 mg ( 0 . 740 mmol ) 7 , 9 - anisaldehyde acetal - 10 - epi paclitaxel of formula 23 and 15 ml anhyd . thf , under nitrogen . the flask was placed in an ice / water / ammonium chloride , − 13 ° c . bath . solid lithium borohydride ( 29 . 0 mg , 1 . 331 mmol , 1 . 8 eq .) was charged to the reaction flask and the reaction stirred at − 13 ° c . for two hours before raising the temperature to 0 ° c . the reaction was worked up after five hours fifteen minutes by diluting with etoac and washing with water and ammonium chloride solution . the organic partition was evaporated to yield 650 mg of crude compound but hplc indicated that there was only approximately 20 % product and mostly unreacted starting material ; therefore , the reaction was restarted by repeating the above procedure and running the reaction for an additional six hours . the organic partition was evaporated to yield approximately 660 mg of crude product . the compound was purified on a ymc silica column to yield the compound of formula 24 . the replacement sidechain may next be formed as illustrated in fig1 ( scheme 8 ) and shown in fig3 through 32 , for example . in the compounds shown in scheme 8 , r 2 is as defined above for schemes 1 and 2 ; p 3 is a hydroxyl protecting group such as a carbobenzyloxy ( cbz ) group ; r 10 is an alkyl group such as a methyl or ethyl group ; and r 11 and r 12 are defined as for r 8 and r 9 , respectively , for scheme 6 above . it should be appreciated that the r 2 group attached at c - 3 in scheme 8 may be different from the r 2 group that was on the sidechain that was removed in scheme 7 . further , while the exemplary diagrams show an isobutyl sidechain , it should be appreciated that other groups may be substituted for the various substituents in the formulas of scheme 8 . as shown in fig3 , a carboxylic acid of formula 25 ( where r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 in generalized formula s of scheme 8 ) is converted to an ester of formula 26 ( where r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; p 3 = cbz ; r 10 = methyl in generalized formula t of scheme 8 ). to a 1 l rbf was charged 8 . 65 g ( 53 . 69 mmol ) 2 - r , s - hydroxy - 3 - s - amino - 5 - methyl hexanoic acid of formula 25 , and 130 ml meoh to suspend the acid . the flask was then placed in an ice - water bath and 17 . 6 ml ( 241 . 62 mmol , 4 . 5 eq .) thionyl chloride ( socl 2 ) was slowly charged to the flask . the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c . for four and a half hours then 160 ml etoac and 100 ml water was charged to the flask and the ph of the reaction solution was adjusted to approximately 8 using 3m naoh . next , 16 . 9 ml ( 118 . 1 mmol , 2 . 2 eq .) cbz - cl was charged to the flask and the ph was then readjusted to approximately 8 . the reaction was stirred an additional three hours before working it up by diluting the reaction with etoac , removing the aqueous partition and washing the organic solution with water before evaporating it to yield approximately 22 g of crude oil . the product was purified by normal phase chromatography to yield 8 . 4 g of product of formula 26 . as shown in fig3 , the compound of formula 26 may be protected as an n , o - anisaldehyde acetal of formula 27 ( where r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; p 3 = cbz ; r 10 = methyl ; r 11 = h ; r 12 = phome in generalized formula u of scheme 8 ). to a 10 ml rbf equipped with a reflux condenser was charged 250 mg ( 0 . 809 mmol ) 2 - r , s - hydroxy - 3 - s — n -( cbz )- 5 - methyl hexanoyl methyl ester and 6 ml toluene to dissolve the solid . next was charged 15 mg ( 0 . 081 mmol , 0 . 1 eq .) ptsa followed by 1654 ( 0 . 970 mmol , 1 . 2 eq .) anisaldehyde dimethyl acetal . the reaction was refluxed for two and a half hours then was quenched by washing the reaction solution with 4 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the organic partition was evaporated to an oil then was purified by flash chromatography to yield 218 mg of product of formula 27 . while it is preferred that the n , o - acetal protecting the sidechain is the same as the 7 , 9 - acetal protecting the taxane backbone ( i . e . r 8 = r 11 and r 9 = r 12 ) so that they may both be removed later in a single chemical step , it should be appreciated that different acetal protecting groups may be used , and separate deprotection steps may be necessary . as shown in fig3 , the ester compound of formula 27 is next saponified to its corresponding carboxylic acid of formula 28 ( where r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; p 3 = cbz ; r 11 = h ; r 12 = phome in generalized formula v of scheme 8 ). to a 5 ml rbf was charged 280 mg ( 0 . 656 mmol ) of 3 - n , 2 - o - anisaldehyde acetal - 3 - n - cbz - 5 - methyl hexanoyl methyl ester of formula 27 and 2 . 8 ml etoh to dissolve the solid . next was charged a solution of 51 . 3 mg lioh monohydrate in 420 μl water . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for four hours and fifteen minutes then was worked up by quenching with dilute hcl to ph 1 and extracting the product into 20 ml toluene . the organic phase was then washed with water and evaporated to 216 mg of acid product of formula 28 . as shown in scheme 9 , the replacement sidechain is next coupled to the taxane backbone . in the compounds shown in scheme 9 , r 2 , r 11 , r 12 and p 3 are as defined above for scheme 8 ; r 7 , r 8 and r 9 are as defined above for scheme 7 ; r 1 is as defined above for schemes 1 and 2 ; and r 13 and r 14 are as defined above for r 8 and r 9 , respectively , of scheme 6 . it should be appreciated that the r 1 group in scheme 9 may be different from the r 1 group that was on the sidechain that was removed in scheme 7 . fig3 , for example , provides the coupling reaction of formula 24 ( from fig2 ) with formula 28 ( from fig3 ) to provide the compound of formula 29 ( where r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; p 3 = cbz ; r 11 = h ; r 12 = phome ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 8 = h ; r 9 = phome in generalized formula w of scheme 9 ). to a 5 ml rbf was charged 180 mg ( 0 . 255 mmol ) 7 , 9 - anisaldehyde acetal , 9 - desoxo 10 - epi baccatin iii ( formula 24 ) and 105 mg ( 0 . 510 mmol , 2 . 0 eq .) dcc . toluene ( 2 ml ) was then added to dissolve the solids . next , 158 mg ( 0 . 383 mmol , 1 . 5 eq .) iso - butyl sidechain acid ( formula 28 ) was dissolved in 1 . 0 ml dcm then this solution was charged to the reaction flask followed by 6 mg ( 0 . 038 mmol , 0 . 15 eq .) 4 - pp . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 23 hours then was quenched by adding 11 . 54 acetic acid and 4 μl water and stirring for one hour . mtbe was added to the reaction flask to precipitate dcu and the reaction solution was filtered to remove the precipitate . the filtrate was slurried with activated carbon then passed across a silica plug to remove the 4 - pp salts . the eluent was evaporated to a solid to yield 270 . 7 mg of crude coupled product of formula 29 . as exemplified in fig3 , the 7 , 9 - acetal and n , o - acetal protecting groups may then be removed and an n - acyl group added to form the compounds of formula 30 and 32 ( where r 1 = t - butoxyl ; r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; r 7 = ch 3 in generalized formula x of scheme 9 ), which may be separated from each other by liquid chromatography or kept together for the next step . while the same anisaldehyde group is used at both the 7 , 9 - acetal and n , o - acetal in the exemplary compound of formula 29 , such that both groups may be removed in a single step , it should be appreciated that other acetal protecting groups are contemplated such that multiple deprotection steps may be required . to a 10 ml rbf was charged , 270 mg ( 0 . 245 mmol ) of 7 , 9 - anisaldehyde acetal - 10 - epi - 3 ′- isobutyl - 3 ′, 2 ′- n , o - anisaldehyde acetal coupled ester of formula 29 , 220 mg ( 0 . 8 g / g coupled ester ) degussa type palladium on carbon , and 4 . 1 ml thf . in a separate vial , 99 μl conc . hcl was diluted in 198 μl water and 1 . 0 ml thf . this solution was added to the reaction flask and the flask was sealed and placed under hydrogen . the hydrogenation reaction was stirred for 31 hours then was quenched by removing the hydrogen and filtering the catalyst from the reaction solution then adding molecular sieves to the reaction solution to remove water before adding 84 . 5 μl ( 0 . 368 mmol , 1 . 5 eq .) t - butoxy carbonyl ( t - boc ) anhydride then 684 μl tea . the reaction stirred an additional 21 hours then was worked up by filtering the sieves from the reaction solution , diluting the filtrate with etoac and washing with water . the organic partition was evaporated to approximately 370 mg of oil . the oil was purified first by flash chromatography , then preparative tlc ( ptlc ) then by a semi - prep reverse phase column to yield 3 . 9 mg of pure product of formula 30 and 32 . finally , as shown in fig3 , an alternate 7 , 9 - acetal may be formed if desired to provide the compound of formula 31 or 33 ( where r 1 = t - butyl ; r 2 = ch 2 ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ; r 7 = ch 3 ; r 13 = h ; r 14 = ch ═ ch 2 in generalized formula y of scheme 9 ). while an acrolein acetal is formed in fig3 , it should be appreciated that other groups may be substituted for r 13 and r 14 of scheme 9 , such as those defined for the r 8 and r 9 groups exemplified in fig9 , or others . in a hplc vial insert , 3 . 4 mg ( 4 . 13 μmol ) of 9 - α - hydroxy , 10 - α - acetyl - 2 ′- r , s - hydroxy - 3 ′- s - isobutyl - 3 ′- n - t - butoxy carbonyl taxane of formula 30 and 32 was charged followed by 70 μl dcm . next , 12 . 8 μmol of a 1 to 20 diluted acrolein dimethyl acetal in dcm ( 0 . 64 μl acetal , 5 . 37 μmol , 1 . 3 eq .) was charged to the insert followed by 8 . 44 ( 0 . 413 μmol , 0 . 1 eq .) of a 0 . 05m ptsa solution in dcm . the reaction was lightly agitated then sat at room temperature . the reaction took more additions of the acetal solution to drive it to completion then was worked up after a couple of days by filtering the solution through approximately 80 mg of basic activated alumina . the alumina was washed with dcm then etoac and the fractions evaporated to dryness . the crude compound was purified on a normal phase analytical column to yield 605 μg of compound ( the product was an isomeric mixture ) 7 , 9 - acrolein acetal - 10 - α - acetyl - 2 ′- r , s - hydroxy - 3 ′- s - isobutyl - 3 ′- n - t - butoxy carbonyl taxane of formulas 31 and 33 , which may be separated by liquid chromatography . 7 , 9 acetal linked analogs of 9 , 10 - αα oh taxanes can also be formed directly from 10 - deacetylbaccatin iii ( 10 - dab ), which has the formula : using 10 - dab has an advantage since it is much more naturally abundant , and thus less expensive than either of the starting compounds a or a ′ that are shown and discussed above with respect to in fig1 and 2 . in this alternative process , 10 - dab , formula 34 , is first protected at both the c - 7 and c - 10 positions to form c7 , c10 di - cbz 10 - deacetylbaccatin iii , formula 35 , according to the following reaction : c7 , c10 di - cbz 10 - deacetylbaccatin iii of formula 34 ( 50 g , 91 . 8 mmol ) was dissolved in thf ( 2 l , 40 ml / g ) by warming to 40 ° c . in a warm - water bath . the solution was cooled to − 41 ° c . in a neslab chiller and benzylchloroformate ( 46 ml , 3 . 2 eq , 293 . 8 mmol ) was added to the stirred chilled solution followed by further cooling to − 44 ° c . to this solution 2 . 3m hexyl lithium solution ( 130 ml , 3 . 3 eq , 303 mmol ) was added gradually over 45 min while maintaining the temperature of the reaction mixture at ≦− 39 ° c . stirring continued in the neslab for 45 minutes at which time hplc indicated the reaction had gone to completion . at 2 hr total reaction time , the reaction was quenched by the addition of 1n hcl ( 400 ml ) and ipac ( 1 l ) and removal from the neslab chiller . the reaction was allowed to stir while warming to 10 ° c . the layers were separated and the ipac layer was washed sequentially with h 2 o ( 500 ml ), saturated nahco 3 ( 200 ml ) and h 2 o ( 4 × 500 ml ) and then filtered through a silica gel pad . the filtrate was concentrated until solids started to form . ipac ( 850 ml ) was added and the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . to dissolve some of the solids . to the warm solution , heptanes ( 800 ml ) were added and the solution was cooled in the refrigerator and filtered . the solids collected by the filtration were washed with heptanes and dried under vacuum at 45 ° c . to give 35 . next , formula 35 was coupled with a sidechain of formula 36 to form formula 37 according to the following reaction : here , the sidechain of formula 36 , ( 38 g , 99 . 6 mmol ) was dissolved in toluene to a known concentration ( 0 . 09524 g / ml ). this solution was added to formula 35 ( 54 . 0 g , 66 . 4 mmol ). the solution was heated in a warm - water bath and dmap ( 8 . 13 g , 66 . 4 mmol ) and dcc ( 25 . 28 g , 119 . 6 mmol ) in toluene ( 540 ml ) were added to the warm reaction mixture . while maintaining the temperature at about 51 ° c ., the reaction was continually stirred and sampled periodically for hplc . after 3 hours , additional dcc ( 13 . 0 g ) in toluene ( 140 ml ) was added . the following morning ( 25 . 25 hr ), mtbe ( 450 ml ) was added and the reaction mixture was filtered through a pad of silica gel , washed with mtbe followed by etoac , and concentrated to give 61 . 8 g oil . the silica was washed again with etoac and the second pool was concentrated to 50 ml and allowed to sit . the following day the second pool had started to crystallize . it was filtered and the filtrate was washed with 1 : 1 heptane / ipac and dried under vacuum at 40 ° c . to give a solid of formula 37 . next , formula 37 was deprotected at both the c7 and c10 position to give formula 38 according to the following reaction : a solution of thf ( 300 ml ) and hcl ( 22 ml ) was added to a solution of formula 37 ( 61 . 8 , 52 . 5 mmol ) in thf ( 15 ml / g , 920 ml ). the resulting solution was flushed with nitrogen . a catalyst ( 10 % pd / c with 50 % water , 99 . 1 g ) was added and the flask was flushed with nitrogen three times and then with hydrogen three times . the reaction mixture was stirred vigorously under a hydrogen balloon for 21 hours . at this time the reaction was sampled and hplc indicated that 38 % by area of starting material still remained . water ( 10 ml ) was added and stirring continued . twenty hours later , hplc indicated the same amount of starting material still remaining . the reaction mixture was filtered through celite and washed with thf . it was then concentrated to remove excess thf ; fresh catalyst ( 101 g ) was added and the reaction mixture was placed back under hydrogen as before . after another 24 hours , an intermediate compound was still present and still more catalyst ( 20 g ) was added . after another hour , hplc indicated that the reaction was complete . the reaction mixture was filtered through celite and washed through with ipac . the combined filtrate was washed with nh 4 cl solution ( 500 ml ), water ( 500 ml ), 5 % nahco 3 ( 500 ml ), h 2 o ( 300 ml ), and brine ( 300 ml ). the organic layer was dried , filtered , and concentrated to give a foam of formula 38 . formula 38 was then converted to formula 39 according to the following reaction : formula 38 ( 41 . 37 g , 52 . 5 mmol ) was dissolved in dcm ( 500 ml ) at room temperature . the solution was cloudy , possibly caused by the presence of dcu in the product from the previous reaction . in the case that the impurity was water , na 2 so 4 was added to the solution , and the solution was filtered through filter paper into to a 2 l flask . the solids were collected and washed with dcm ( 250 ml ) into the flask and the flask was covered with a septum and n 2 balloon . tea ( 35 ml ) followed by dmap ( 1 . 284 g ) and tes - cl (˜ 30 ml , 3 . 5 eq ) were added to the solution and stirred . additional tes - cl ( 15 ml ) and tea ( 20 ml ) were added , and after 6 hours hplc indicated the reaction had gone to completion . the reaction was then quenched by the addition of etoh ( 25 ml ). the layers were separated and the organic layer was washed with saturated nh 4 cl (˜ 500 ml ) and dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated . a flash column was packed with silica gel and wet with 8 : 2 heptane / ipac ( 1 . 5 l ). the solids were dissolved in 8 : 2 heptane / ipac ( 250 ml ) and filtered to remove solids that would not dissolve . this solution was concentrated to ˜ 100 ml and applied to the column . the column was eluted with 8 : 2 heptane / ipac and fractions collected . fractions with product were pooled and concentrated to give foam of formula 39 . formula 39 was then oxidized to form formula 40 according to the following reaction : here , solid na 2 so 4 was added to a solution of formula 39 ( 24 . 45 g , 24 . 0 mmol ) and 4 - methyl morpholine n - oxide ( 10 . 1 g , 84 mmol ) in dcm ( 340 ml ) to assure that the reaction was dry . the mixture was stirred for 1 hour and then filtered through 24 cm fluted filter paper into a 2 l 3 - n round bottom flask . the na 2 so 4 solids were washed with dcm ( 100 ml ) into the flask . molecular sieves ( 6 . 1 g , 15 wt %/ g ) were added to the solution and stirring was begun . tpap ( 1 . 38 g ) was added and the reaction was allowed to stir under a n 2 blanket . samples were taken periodically for hplc . additional tpap ( 0 . 62 g ) was added after 2 hours and again ( 0 . 8 g ) after 15 hours . the reaction mixture was applied to a pad of silica gel ( 86 g ), wet with 8 : 2 heptane / ipac and eluted with ipac . the fractions were collected , pooled and concentrated to an oil . 4 - methyl morpholine n - oxide ( 5 . 0 g ) and dcm ( 100 ml ) were added and stirred . na 2 so 4 ( 13 g ) was added to the mixture and it was filtered through filter paper . the na 2 so 4 solids were washed with dcm ( 45 ml ) and molecular sieves ( 5 g ) and tpap ( 1 . 03 g ) were added . after 45 minutes , more tpap ( 1 . 05 g ) was added . a pad of silica gel was prepared and wet with 80 : 20 heptane / ipac . the reaction mixture was applied to the pad and eluted with ipac . fractions were collected and those fractions containing product were pooled and concentrated to give an oil product of formula 40 . next , formula 40 was reduced according to the following reaction to form formula 41 . nabh 4 ( 365 mg , 6 eq ) was added to a stirred solution of formula 40 ( 1 . 6 g ) in etoh ( 19 ml ) and meoh ( 6 . 5 ml ) cooled in an ice - water bath . after 1 hour , the reaction mixture was removed from the ice - water bath and at 2 hours , the reaction was sampled for hplc , which indicated the reaction had gone to completion . the reaction mixture was cooled in an ice - water bath and a solution of nh 4 oac in meoh ( 15 ml ) was added followed by the addition of ipac ( 50 ml ) and h 2 o ( 20 ml ). it was mixed and separated . the organic layer was washed with water ( 20 ml ) and brine ( 10 ml ), a second time with water ( 15 ml ) and brine ( 10 ml ), and then twice with water ( 2 × 15 ml ). it was dried over na 2 so 4 and placed in the freezer overnight . the following morning a sample was taken for hplc and the reaction was dried and the organic layer was concentrated on the rotovap . it was placed in the vacuum oven to give a foam product of formula 41 . formula 41 was next acylated to form formula 42 according to the following reaction : tea ( 5 . 8 ml , 41 . 5 mmol ), ac 2 o ( 2 . 62 ml , 27 . 7 mmol ) and dmap ( 724 mg , 5 . 5 mmol ) were added to a solution of formula 41 ( 14 . 1 g . 13 . 84 mmol )) in dcm ( 50 ml ). the reaction was stirred and sampled for hplc periodically . after 18 . 5 hours , additional tea ( 1 . 5 ml ) and ac 2 o ( 1 ml ) were added . at 19 hours , hplc indicated the reaction had gone to completion . the reaction mixture was diluted with ipac ( 300 ml ) and poured into 5 % hahco 3 ( 100 ml ). it was then stirred , separated , and the organic layer was washed with water ( 100 ml ), saturated nh 4 cl ( 2 × 100 ml ), water ( 3 × 50 ml ) and brine ( 50 ml ) and then filtered through na 2 so 4 . the mixture was concentrated to give a foam product of formula 42 . next , formula 42 was converted to a compound of formula 43 according to the following reaction : a quantity of formula 42 ( 3 . 0 g , 2 . 829 mmol ) was weighed into a 100 ml flask . next , dcm ( 24 ml ) followed by meoh ( 6 ml ) were added to the flask at room temperature . stirring of the mixture began under n 2 and csa ( 0 . 0394 g , 0 . 17 mmol ) was added . after 4 hours lcms indicated the product had formed . 5 % nahco 3 ( 15 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture ; it was shaken vigorously and then added to a separatory funnel . the reaction flask was rinsed into the separatory funnel with 5 % nahco 3 ( 25 ml ) and , thereafter , the reaction mixture was shaken and the layers were separated . the organic layer was washed with brine , dried over na 2 so 4 , and concentrated . mtbe ( 3 × 25 ml ) was added and the reaction mixture was concentrated to dryness after each addition to finally give 3 . 7068 g foam . the foam was dissolved in mtbe ( 10 ml ) and stirred . heptane ( 50 ml ) was slowly added to the reaction solution and solids began to form immediately . the solids were vacuum filtered and rinsed with heptane ( 720 ml ). the solids were collected and dried in a vacuum oven at 40 ° c . to give formula 43 . formula 43 was then converted to formula 44 in the following reaction : a solution of formula 43 ( 2 . 1 g , 2 . 52 mmol ) in dcm ( 10 . 5 ml ) was stirred at room temperature . next , 3 , 3 - dimethoxy - 1 - propene ( 2 . 03 g , 17 . 7 mmol ) followed by csa ( 0 . 035 g , 0 . 15 mmol ) were added to the solution . after the solution was stirred for 3 . 5 hours , lcms indicated the reaction had gone to completion . the reaction was diluted with dcm ( 25 ml ) and added to a separatory funnel with 55 ml 5 % nahco 3 solution . the layers were separated and the aqueous layer was washed with dcm ( 25 ml ). the two organic layers were combined , washed with brine , dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated . a flash chromatography column was packed with silica gel and wet with 50 : 50 mtbe / heptane ( 1000 ml ). the reaction mixture was dissolved in mtbe ( 10 ml ), loaded on the column and eluted with 50 : 50 mtbe / heptane . the fractions were collected , pooled , concentrated and dried in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . to give product of formula 44 . as illustrated above in the second reaction step of the alternative process of forming 7 , 9 acetal linked analogs of 9 , 10 - αα oh taxanes , the c7 , c10 di - cbz 10 - deacetylbaccatin ill of formula 35 was coupled with a sidechain of formula 36 to form formula 37 . the present invention further contemplates the coupling of an alternative sidechain to formula 35 . the alternative sidechain of formula 45 that is contemplated has the following structure : formula 45 may be formed from the structure of formula 36 ( above ) according to the following reaction : here , the bom - acid , formula 36 , ( 3 . 8 g , ˜ 10 . 0 mmol ) was dissolved in dcm ( 30 ml ), stirred and cooled in an ice - water bath at 0 ° c . under n 2 . dcm ( 2 ml ) and diethyl sulfur trifluoride ( 1 . 575 g , 20 . 0 mmol ) were both added to this solution and the reaction was stirred for 4 hours . the temperature increased to about 10 ° c . lcms indicated the reaction had gone to completion . h 2 o ( 50 ml ) and dcm ( 50 ml ) were added and the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel . the layers were separated and the organic layer was washed with h 2 o ( 50 ml ) and brine ( 50 ml ), dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated yielding product of formula 45 . next , formula 35 was coupled with a sidechain of formula 45 resulting in product of formula 46 according to the following reaction : here , formula 35 ( 0 . 2 g , 0 . 246 mmol ) and dmap ( 0 . 5 g , 4 . 1 mmol ) were weighed into a pear shaped flame - dried flask purged with n 2 . an oven - dried reflux condenser , purged with n 2 , was placed on top of the flask and it was put in an oil bath heated to 75 ° c . the bom acyl fluoride , formula 45 ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 31 mmol ), in toluene ( 1 ml ) was added to the flask and the temperature increased to 85 ° c . stirring continued under n 2 for 5 . 5 hour to give product of formula 46 . accordingly , the present invention has been described with some degree of particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention . it should be appreciated , though , that the present invention is defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior art so that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein .	2
now referring to the drawings and in particular to fig1 a grapple skidder 10 suited for transporting loads or drags of logs or trees and embodying the elements of the present invention will be described . the grapple skidder 10 generally comprises a log skidder or self - propelled tracked vehicle 12 supported on either side thereof by a track 14 . each track 14 is driven by a pair of wheels 16 operating in tandem . a rear chassis 18 is articulated to the front chassis of the vehicle 12 and is driven from the power take - off thereof . the rear chassis 18 is provided in the form of a structural frame 26 supported on either side thereof by a track 20 . each track 20 is driven by front and rear wheels 22 and 24 operating in tandem . it has been found that the use of such an articulated self - propelled tracked vehicle 12 in the context of a grapple skidder is advantageous , as compared to conventional four wheel drive grapple skidders , in that it provides increased traction , floatation , and stability , especially , on soft grounds . a base in the form of a turntable 28 is mounted on the frame 26 substantially between the front and rear wheels 22 and 24 for pivotal movement about a vertical axis . a boom mount 30 is secured on the top surface of the turntable 28 . as best seen in fig1 and 4 , a linear main boom 32 is pivotally mounted at a bottom end thereof to the boom mount 30 by means of a pair of hinge pins 34 extending along a horizontal pivot axis ( see fig2 ). accordingly , the main boom 32 is capable of swinging on the turntable bearings and pivoting about the hinge pins 34 relative to the boom mount 30 . likewise , a boom arm 36 is pivotally mounted to the main boom 32 via a horizontal hinge pin 38 . a conventional grapple 40 is freely suspended from the free distal end of the arm 36 by an appropriate grapple coupling 42 that pivots about two axes perpendicular to one another . the grapple 40 includes a pair of opposed arcuate jaw members 44 which can be hydraulically operated to open and close tightly about a bundle of logs or trees piled on the ground in stacked relationship , as is well known in the art . as seen in fig1 and 2 , a pair of side - by - side hydraulic cylinders 46 are provided for pivoting the main boom 32 relative to the turntable 28 . each hydraulic cylinder 46 is connected at a first end thereof to the boom mount 30 via a hinge pin 48 located below the hinge pins 34 of the main boom 32 . each hydraulic cylinder 46 is connected at an opposed rod end thereof to a bracket 50 extending integrally away from a top surface 51 of the main boom 32 , at a pivot point 53 spaced from the main boom 32 itself to provide a lever arm for the movement of the main boom 32 . hydraulic lines ( not shown ) provide pressurized hydraulic fluid to retract and extend the boom cylinders 46 , as is well known in the art . as seen in fig2 and 4 , the proximal end of the arm 36 is received in a central rectangular cutout portion 52 provided in the main boom 32 at a location spaced lengthwise from the distal end thereof . a single central hydraulic arm cylinder 54 is provided on a top side of the arm 36 for pivoting the same relative to the main boom 32 . the arm cylinder 54 is pivotally connected at a first end thereof to the distal end of the main boom 32 via a hinge pin 56 . likewise , the arm cylinder 54 is pivotally connected at a second opposed end thereof to the boom arm 36 by means of a hinge pin 58 . the boom arm 36 has a proximal linear segment 60 and a distal arched segment 62 extending integrally downwardly from the linear segment 60 . the hinge pin 58 is located substantially adjacent the root of the arched segment 62 , i . e . at the end of the linear segment 60 near the junction of the linear and arched segments 60 and 62 . as to the hinge pins 38 connecting the boom arm 36 to the main boom 32 , they are disposed at a location between the opposed ends of the boom 32 below the point of pivot of the arm cylinder 54 relative to the main boom 32 and immediately above the point of connection of the boom cylinders 46 and the main boom 32 . the shape of the main boom 32 and the boom arm 36 in combination with the emplacement of the arm cylinder 54 between the boom arm 36 and the main boom 32 provide a boom assembly which is foldable upon itself , thereby allowing the overall dimensions of the boom assembly to be minimized for transport and storage purposes . furthermore , the fact the main boom 32 is displaceable to a forwardly inclined position , as illustrated in full line in fig1 also allows an elongated load , such as a bundle of trees or logs , to be dragged with the leading ends thereof elevated just over the rear wheel 24 of the grapple skidder 10 , thereby minimizing the couple transmitted to the boom 32 by the dragged load . the above described relative disposition of the various points of connection between the boom mount 30 , the main boom 32 , the boom arm 36 , the boom cylinders 46 and the arm cylinder 54 has been found suitable to maximize the freedom of movement of the main boom 32 and the boom arm 36 while preserving the lifting capacity thereof . as seen in fig1 the boom 32 and boom arm 36 are displaceable between a fully retracted position in which the boom 32 is inclined forwardly with respect to a direction of travel of the tracked vehicle 12 , while the arm 36 extends in a generally vertical direction with the grapple 40 hanging therefrom over the rear chassis 18 between the front and rear wheels 22 and 24 thereof , and a fully deployed position ( shown in dotted lines ) wherein the boom 32 is inclined rearwardly and the arm 36 extends downwardly therefrom in a generally vertical direction . according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the boom 32 extends at about 65 degrees from the vertical when displaced to its retracted position and about 55 degrees when displaced to its deployed position . as seen in fig3 the mobility of the main boom 32 and boom arm 36 allows the grapple skidder 10 to drag a bundle of trees t with the butt ends thereof elevated over the rear wheels 24 of the rear chassis 18 and the other ends of the trees remaining in contact with the ground . by skidding the bundle of trees t with the butt ends thereof lifted directly over the rear chassis 18 , the flexural forces exerted on the main boom 32 and the frame 26 by the trees t , which are being dragged , can be advantageously reduced . in the vehicle loaded and skidding position illustrated in fig3 the boom cylinders 46 and the arm cylinder 54 are respectively fully and partly retracted so as to position the grapple 40 substantially over the rear wheel 24 of the rear chassis 18 . the grapple 40 tightly grasped the bundle of trees t at an appropriate location adjacent the butt ends of the trees t . in the event that the grapple skidder 10 becomes stuck in a soft ground while dragging a bundle of trees t , the boom cylinders 46 can be extended from the retracted position thereof to a fully or partly extended position , as indicated by arrow 64 in fig3 to cause the main boom 32 to pivot in the direction indicated by arrow 66 in order to push the vehicle in a forward direction with the bundle of trees t . as seen in fig4 the grapple skidder 10 further includes a heel 68 which is mounted on the main boom 32 near the bottom end thereof . the heel 68 includes a pair of laterally spaced - apart parallel mounting plates 70 which are secured to the underside 72 of the main boom 32 . a square tube 74 extends at right angle from each mounting plate 70 for slidably receiving a corresponding one of a pair of legs 76 extending from a transversal arresting bar 78 . the opposed ends of the arresting bar 78 are curved inwardly to embrace the sides of the bundle of trees t which are being lifted by the grapple skidder 10 . transversal through bores 80 are distributed along the square tubes 74 and the legs 76 for receiving fasteners 82 in order to secure the legs 76 to the square tubes 74 in one of a selected positions . this thus allows to adjust the spacing between the arresting bar 78 and the underside 72 of the main boom 32 . the location of the heel 68 allows the grapple skidder 10 to completely lift a bundle of trees t above the ground over another bundle of trees t ′ lying on the ground ( see fig5 ). accordingly , the grapple skidder 10 can advantageously be used to stack a bundle of trees onto another . the stacking operation is accomplished by first extending the boom cylinders 46 while the arm cylinder 54 remains retracted so as to locate the grapple 40 behind the rear chassis 18 for embracing a bundle of trees t , which lies on the ground , at a location comprised between their butt ends and their center of gravity . the jaw members 44 of the grapple 40 are then caused to close tightly around the bundle of trees t . thereafter , the boom cylinders 46 are retracted to displace the main boom 32 in a generally vertical orientation so as to lift the butt ends of the bundle of trees t , and the arm cylinder 54 is extended to locate the butt ends of the grasped bundle of trees t under the heel 68 . once the butt ends have been elevated directly under the heel 68 , further contraction of the boom cylinders 46 will first cause the butt ends of the bundle of trees to engage the arresting bar 78 , thereby preventing pivotal movement of the bundle of trees t due to gravitational forces , and then result in the grasped bundle of trees t being completely lifted off the ground . [ 0039 ] fig6 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention which is similar to the first one with the exception that the turntable 28 ′ has been incorporated at the articulation between the boom arm 36 ′ and the main boom 32 ′ rather than being provided on the rear chassis 18 at the bottom of the main boom 32 ′. accordingly , the arm 36 ′ is adapted to pivot relative to the main boom 32 ′ about two axes perpendicular to one another . the turn table 28 ′ is mounted on the main boom 32 ′ for pivotal movement about a pivot 102 . a pair of lateral cylinders 104 extend between the turntable 28 ′ and the main boom 32 ′ to pivot the turntable 28 ′ about the pivot 102 laterally relative to the main boom 32 ′. the boom arm 36 ′ is pivotally mounted to the turntable 28 ′ for pivotal movement about a pivot 106 . a boom arm cylinder 54 ′ is provided between the boom arm 36 ′ and the turntable 28 ′ to pivot the boom arm 36 ′ about its pivot axis 106 .	1
as shown in fig1 the fipsoc architecture includes a microcontroller 2 , ram memory 1 for data and programs , a set of programmable digital cells 3 as in an fpga , a set of programmable analog cells 4 , a set of programmable digital input / output cells 5 , a set of programmable analog input / output pads 6 , an interface 7 to interconnect the internal memory bus to external devices , and an external interface 8 to communicate the device with other fipsoc devices through a fast serial link , and an optimized interface 9 to interconnect the microprocessor core to the programmable cells and other on - chip peripherals 10 . as shown in fig2 the dmc includes four configurable luts 11 . 1 to 11 . 4 , four programmable flip - flops 12 . 1 to 12 . 4 , an internal router 13 to interconnect them and an external interface 14 . 1 to 14 . 3 to interconnect the dmc outputs to the routing channels . the invention , which can be characterized as a field programmable system on a chip ( fipsoc ), comprises a mixed - signal field programmable device ( fpd ) with a standard microprocessor core , a suitable set of cad tools to easily program it , and a set of library macros and cells which support a number of typical applications to be easily mapped onto the fpd and migrated to an asic afterwards , if required . the interaction between each of the three domains is as close as it can be : the microprocessor can read and write the configuration of the analog and digital hardware and can physically interface ports and the entire microprocessor bus to the routing channels of the fpd ). any point inside the digital blocks or the analog subsystems can be probed and it can even change the data inside the ffs of the digital cells real time . the microprocessor is then used to configure ( and reconfigure ) the programmable cells , to interact with the actual hardware are mapped onto them and to run general purpose user programs . the “ new concept ” of this approach relies upon the fully integrated design and prototyping methodology that the user can follow with such a system . a powerful set of user - friendly cad tools is provided , with the final target of letting the user specify , compile , simulate , emulate ( probe ) and map the complete design on a single chip using one design environment . this includes mixed - signal schematic capture 15 and simulation 16 , software compilation 23 , automatic technology mapping 17 , placement 18 and routing tools 19 , an integrated emulation software 20 ( which allows step by step program execution and real time internal signal probing ), and an integrated device programming package 21 . 1 and 21 . 2 . a large set of library macros provides optimized solutions to typical design needs , albeit the user can implement his own ones at any design level , from hdl to even manual placement and routing . a parallel asic library is also supported to make the migration to asic much easier than in normal prototyping solutions . as an added value , two configuration contexts are stored , which makes it possible to change the configuration of the whole circuit ( or part of it ) with a microprocessor command . this feature , and the close interaction between the microprocessor and the programmable digital cells , makes this fpd a powerful tool for applications based on hardware - software interaction and dynamic reconfiguration . the design of the chip is accomplished in a modular manner to allow the derivation of a family of fipsoc devices with a range of sizes and organizations to fit user designs of different levels of complexity . typical levels of complexity for the initial prototypes of this family are situated around 10k usable logic gates , 10 to 12 bits accuracy for the mixed signal block , and a microcontroller . fig1 schematically shows a block diagram of the fipsoc device . the digital configurable hardware 3 is an array of programmable dmcs ( digital macro cell ). the dmc is a large granularity , lut based , synthesis targeted 4 - bit wide programmable cell . fig2 shows a simplified block diagram of the dmc . each lookup table ( lut ) 11 . 1 to 11 . 4 can implement any boolean function of 4 inputs , and two luts can be combined to form a 5 input function . the four luts of a dmc can be combined to perform any 6 input boolean function . four flip - flops ( ff ) are available within every dmc 12 . 1 to 12 . 4 , and each one can be independently configured as mux - type or enable and latch or ff , and with synchronous and asynchronous set or reset . both parts ( combinational and sequential ) of the dmc can be used more or less independently . there also are a number of macro modes which can configure the dmc as a 16 × 4 memory ( in fact , two independent 16 × 2 memories ), a cascadable 4 - bit adder with carry - in and carry - out , a cascadable shift register with load and enable , and a cascadable 4 - bit up / down counter with load and enable . these macro functions are especially suitable to be used by synthesis programs . the analog subsystem 4 is composed of fixed functionality blocks of coarse granularity . the analog functions include user programmable amplifiers , filters , analog multiplexers , comparators , voltage references , 10 - 12 bits acd / dacs , etc . several parameters can be configured from the microprocessor , such as the operating frequency of the filters , the gain and offset of the amplifiers , the function of the adc / dac block ( as a dac or as an adc ), etc . a flexible interconnection architecture is provided to let the user build a custom application out of these blocks . furthermore , having dedicated hardware for each analog function allows an easy path for migration to asic , as the same cells used in the prototype can be used in the final asic design should volume subsequently justify it . an optimized serial link is provided to communicate the microprocessor core with the digital and analog hardware . the configuration is read and written using this interface , and the actual signals at the outputs of the dmcs can be accessed by the microprocessor too . the adc can also be triggered using this interface , so it is possible to use it from the microprocessor without wasting configurable hardware resources ( dmcs and routing channels ) to map the adc onto the microprocessor address space . finally , a simple serial interface to the chip outside ( an on - chip peripheral 10 ) can be used to power up the system from a pc , so a complete development system can be implemented using only the fipsoc chip , the pc and a rs232 interface between them . as it has been already mentioned , two configuration contexts are stored for every programmable feature of the fipsoc chip . in fact , every configuration bit is backed - up by a two bit memory cell as schematically shown in fig3 . the microprocessor can then read and write any of these memory locations while in operation . this allows the user to reconfigure a context while the other one is still active , then changing the active context to the new one . with this approach , the whole circuit can be reconfigured just by issuing a microprocessor command , and the reconfiguration time would be that of a microprocessor write cycle . in fact , as long as the microprocessor can reconfigure any single cell of the fpga , a set of cells rather than the whole chip can be reconfigured “ on the fly .” furthermore , the data inside the ffs is also duplicated , and can also be read and written by the microprocessor while the application is running . when the context is swapped , the status of the ffs can be maintained or stored with the rest of the context . this makes it possible to initialise the ffs in the non - active context before setting it as active , and also to save the values of the circuit nodes when changing the context . this technique has been christened as hardware swap , and it makes it possible to efficiently work with virtual hardware . non - active contexts hold their configuration and data just like virtual memory is stored into a swap archive in a computer system . a hardware swap takes place when the virtual hardware is mapped back onto the actual hardware resources , just like the information inside the swap archive is restored onto the actual memory of a computer when required again . moreover , an analogy can be established between virtual hardware and software procedures : global variables in software procedures can be likened to data in the ffs which is kept after hardware swap , and procedure parameters can be compared to data in the ffs which are saved and restored during the hardware swap . an overview of the design flow is shown in fig4 . this diagram is in fact simplified to avoid cluttering . there are some features not highlighted on it such as back - annotation after placement and routing to give feedback to simulation , the interaction between the emulation stage and the schematic capture for example . the key innovative point of this design flow is that it follows an integrated methodology . this entails integrated design specification , simulation , emulation , waveform display , technology mapping ( with placement and routing ) and device programming . the user can interface the system at nearly any point of the design flow . for example , he could specify the design with hdl before the synthesis or at gate level before the technology mapping or instancing dmcs just before the placement or even try a manual placement or routing . the emulation box 20 allows for the emulation of the microprocessor program including step by step execution , breakpoints , etc ., and probing of the internal points of the analog or digital architecture . this way , the user can trace the program and , at the same time , see the current values of actual nodes of the circuit . an integrated waveform display 22 is provided to understand how the entire system is interacting at a given moment in run time or simulation time . it includes an analog waveform display ( in fact , when emulation is used this is quite like a digital oscilloscope ), a digital waveform display ( this is like a logic analyser ) and a code execution window ( where one can trace the program , set breakpoints , etc .). a wide range of applications have been considered to be mappable onto the fipsoc chip using the fipsoc cad design flow . the typical system to be developed , implemented and prototype with the fipsoc environment is composed of a core microprocessor which runs some user programs , digital hardware for high speed or control purposes , and an analog front - end for data acquisition or analog output . as an example , two applications are currently being developed to show how the fipsoc system can be used in an industrial design and prototyping environment . an example application is an integrated coin recognizer and vending machines controller system . this system includes a microprocessor that controls digital and analog hardware ( optical , magnetic and extensiometric sensors to measure coin dimensions , weight and conductivity , serial communication interfaces implementing standard protocols , etc .). the microprocessor also carries out some processing work to calculate the coin speed and acceleration , credit accounting and selling prices control , sold products and cash control , etc . real time emulation can be useful in this application to calibrate the sensing processes , testing the digital hardware , etc . a great number of applications based on dynamic reconfiguration could also be identified and implemented with the fipsoc digital hardware . these include communication switches , parallel processing applications such as image processing , array - based applications , medical electronics and ultrasonics etc .	6
a typical gate stack for processing herein is shown in fig1 . a crystalline silicon substrate 10 has sequentially deposited thereover a layer of gate oxide 12 about 50 angstroms thick ; a layer of amorphous germanium 14 about 600 angstroms thick ; a layer of amorphous silicon 16 about 1400 angstroms thick ; a layer of pecvd silicon oxide 18 about 800 angstroms thick ; and a bottom antireflection layer 20 about 1140 angstroms thick . a patterned layer of a deep ultraviolet photoresist 22 about 8000 angstroms thick is deposited and patterned to a cross section of about 0 . 18 micron in diameter . a suitable chamber for etching through all of the above film layers sequentially is shown in fig2 . this chamber is referred to as a decoupled plasma source ( dps ) chamber . ths inductively coupled rf plasma reactor includes a reactor chamber 100 having a grounded conductive cylindrical sidewall 110 and a dielectric ceiling 112 , e . g ., flat or dome - like . the reactor includes a substrate support electrode 114 for supporting a substrate 116 to be processed in the chamber 100 ; a cylindrical inductor coil 118 surrounding an upper portion of the chamber beginning near the plane of the top of the substrate 116 or substrate support electrode 114 and extending upwardly therefrom toward the top of the chamber 100 ; a process gas source 122 and a gas inlet 124 , which can be a plurality of inlets spaced about the interior of the chamber 100 ; and a pump 126 for controlling the chamber pressure . the coil inductor 118 is energized by a plasma source power supply , or rf generator 128 , through a conventional active rf match network 130 , the top winding of the inductor coil 118 being “ hot ” and the bottom winding being grounded . alternatively , a flat coil can be used . the substrate support electrode 114 includes an interior conductive portion 132 connected to a bias rf power supply or generator 134 , and an exterior grounded conductor 136 which is insulated from the interior conductive portion 132 . a conductive grounded rf shield 120 surrounds the coil inductor 118 . to carry out the present process , the source power is turned on and a fluorocarbon or hydrofluorocarbon processing gas is passed into the chamber 100 from the desired gas containers ( not shown ). the fluorocarbon gas deposits a polymer onto the photoresist layer to protect it during the multiple etch steps to follow . the power to the chamber 100 from the inductive rf power source 128 is suitably from about 200 up to about 3000 watts , and is preferably from about 500 to 2000 watts . the rf source can be a 12 . 56 mhz power source . no bias power is used during the deposition step . the pressure in the chamber during this step is maintained at about 40 millitorr . suitable fluorocarbon gases include polymer - generating gases such as chf 3 ; c 2 f 6 ; c 4 f 6 ; c 4 f 8 ; c 5 f 8 and the like . such gases form a fluorocarbon , polytetrafluorethylene - like coating on the photoresist , protecting the photoresist during the subsequent etch steps . the deposition step is generally carried out for about five seconds . during the etch steps , the various layers are etched as described further hereinbelow . the bottom antireflection layer is etched using hydrogen bromide , oxygen and an argon carrier gas at low pressure , comparatively low source power and comparatively high bias power . this etch is monitored using a known optical laser endpoint detection system . the pecvd silicon oxide layer is etched using argon , oxygen and a fluorocarbon , at somewhat higher pressure and bias power . this endpoint is monitored using a suitable endpoint detector . the amorphous silicon layer is etched using a mixture of hydrogen bromide and oxygen , at somewhat higher pressure and source power but somewhat lower bias power . this endpoint is monitored using a suitable endpoint detection system . the germanium layer is etched using the same etchant gases as for amorphous silicon , but at higher pressure , higher source power and higher bias power . thus all of the layers can be etched in the same chamber simply by changing the etch gas mixtures and the power and pressure in the chamber . the substrate can be cooled during etch processing , generally by means of a coolant passed to a channel in the substrate support electrode 114 ( not shown ). in addition , a flow of a coolant gas , such as helium , can be passed between the substrate 116 and the substrate support 114 to enhance cooling and maintain the temperature of the substrate within the desired range , generally from about 10 to about 100 ° c . after completing the etch , a resist removal step is used to strip the remaining resist and to notch the gate structure . the present method is further explained in the following examples . however , the invention is not meant to be limited by the details described therein . after patterning the photoresist layer as shown in fig1 , the various layers are etched as follows : the bottom antireflection coating ( barc ) layer is etched using hbr , argon , and oxygen in a gas flow ratio of about 4 : 2 : 1 . the chamber pressure was maintained at 4 millitorr , the source power was 500 watts , the bias power was 120 watts . the cathode temperature was kept at 50 ° c . with a backside pressure of helium of 8 torr for all of the etch steps . the wavelength monitored by the endpoint detector was 4705 angstroms . the silicon oxide layer was etched using argon , carbon tetrafluoride and oxygen at a gas flow ratio of about 30 : 20 : 1 at a chamber pressure of 5 millitorr . the source power was 500 watts and the bias power was 135 watts . the etch endpoint was monitored using a wavelength of 2880 angstroms . the amorphous silicon layer was then etched with hbr and oxygen at a gas flow ratio of 60 : 1 and a pressure of 6 millitorr . the source power used was 700 watts , the bias power 60 watts . the etch was monitored using a detection wavelength of 3040 angstroms . fig3 illustrates the emission endpoint for the silicon - germanium interface . the etch was stopped at the endpoint , permitting a repeatable soft landing for this etch . the germanium layer was etched using the same etch gases , but increasing the pressure to 55 millitorr , the source power to 950 watts and reducing the bias power to 70 watts . this etch was carried out for 30 seconds . the resultant etched profiles are shown in fig4 a and 4b for the center of the wafer . fig4 c and 4d show the etched profiles at the edge of the wafer . very little notching is apparent . the main etch is stopped after etching the silicon and germanium layers , but before reaching the thin gate oxide layer . in order to achieve a “ soft landing ”, the main etch is terminated before reaching the thin gate oxide layer . an over - etch is carried out to remove the remaining germanium under the following conditions : gas flows of hbr and oxygen at a gas flow ratio of 60 : 1 and optional carbon tetrafluoride . the pressure was 55 millitorr , the source power was 950 watts , and the bias power was 70 watts , for 60 seconds . fig5 a illustrates the profile obtained when no carbon tetrafluoride was added . fig5 b illustrates the profile obtained when carbon tetrafluoride was added to the etchant gases at a gas flow ratio of 60 : 1 : 0 . 5 . fig5 c illustrates the profile obtained when carbon tatrafluoride was added to the etchant gases at a gas flow rate of 60 : 1 : 1 . it is apparent that adding increasing amounts of carbon tetrafluoride increases notching at the silicon - germanium interface to provide a controllable etch . after etching openings in the various layers as in fig1 , the silicon wafer was dipped in a cleaning solution for 10 minutes . the resultant overetch is shown in fig6 . it can be seen that the notch was opened almost through the width of the line and is difficult to control . after completing the etch , a photoresist removal step was used to strip the remaining resist and to notch the gate structure . the strip / notch step can also be carried out using a hydrofluorocarbon in place of , or in addition to , the fluorocarbon together with oxygen , or by using chlorine and oxygen , or using a mixture of chlorine , hydrogen bromide and oxygen . isotropic plasma etch stripping is shown to be more controllable as a post etch treatment than wet etching to recess the germanium layer at the germanium - oxide interface and reduce l eff . depending on the etch time and the amount of fluorocarbon employed , a very controllable over - etch step can produce line widths at the silicon - germanium interface that are very small . however , the overall width of the line is not affected very much , and thus the conductivity of the gate line is preserved . any etchant that includes water also works very well . liquid water , water vapor , or a water plasma can be employed . the latter method is preferred because it can be readily controlled . if the over - etch is continued too far , the germanium layer will be etched through , thereby removing the gates . thus the over - etch step to form a notch at the silicon - germanium interface can be carried out by dipping in liquid water for about one minute ; by exposing it to water vapor , or by using an oxygen - containing plasma . when making transistors , notching reduces the capacitance which develops after ion implantation and drive - in of the source and drain , which in turn slows down the transistor speeds . to further improve transistor speed , the ion implants should be made as close as possible to the germanium layer . although the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments , other etchants , reaction conditions , etch chambers and layers can be substituted as will be known to one skilled in the art . these substitutions are meant to be included within the scope of the invention , which is only to be limited by the scope of the appended claims .	7
in fig1 a , e 1 and e 2 are two e - cores formed out of magnetizable material together forming a main core . the end surfaces of the transverse legs of the first e - core e 1 are facing the end surfaces of the second e - core e 2 . 1 and 2 are first and second windings surrounding the transverse middle leg of the first e - core e 1 and the middle transverse leg of the second e - core e 2 respectively . since the first and second winding are very close together there is a good magnetic coupling between them . the first winding 1 and the second winding 2 together with the two e - cores e 1 and e 2 form an equalizer transformer . a third winding 3 surrounds the middle transverse leg of the first e - core e 1 , while a fourth winding 4 surrounds the middle transverse leg of the second e - core e 2 . because the third and the fourth winding are separated from each other by the other windings the magnetic coupling between the first and the second winding is relatively small . for this reason the third winding 3 and the fourth winding 4 together with the two e - cores form an inductor that can be used as an inductive ballast means . the first winding 1 and the second winding 2 each comprise a number of turns that is substantially equal to n , while the third winding 3 and the fourth winding 4 each comprise a number of turns substantially equal to m . the first winding 1 and the second winding 2 are arranged between the third winding 3 and the fourth winding 4 . during operation of the inductive component shown in fig1 the first winding and the second winding are so connected that each of them carries substantially the same amount of current and that the magnetic fluxes generated by them substantially cancel each other . similarly the third and fourth winding are so connected that during operation they carry substantially the same amount of current and that the fluxes generated by them substantially cancel each other in the part of the main core that is surrounded by the first and the second winding . consequently the part of the inductive component that forms the inductive ballast means does not interact with the functioning of the part of the inductive component that forms the equalizer transformer . in the other embodiments shown in fig1 similar parts are indicated by means of the same reference numerals . the embodiment shown in fig1 b only differs from the embodiment in fig1 a in that the first winding and the second winding are implemented as a bifilar winding . this feature further improves the coupling between the first and the second winding so that the performance of this embodiment is slightly better than that of the embodiment shown in fig1 a . the embodiment in fig1 c differs from the one in fig1 b in that the bifilar winding is not round the middle transverse legs of the e - cores but round two of the side transverse legs of the e - cores . to decrease the magnetic coupling between the third and the fourth winding , an air gap is present between the end surfaces of the middle transverse legs of both e - cores . in this embodiment the equalizer transformer and the ballast inductor are even more magnetically decoupled than in the embodiment in fig1 b ., so that the performance is slightly improved . in the embodiment in fig1 d , the first and second windings are formed by a bifilar winding around two of the side transverse legs of the e - cores , while the third and the fourth winding are each around a further side transverse leg of an e - core . in this embodiment the magnetic coupling between the equalizer and the ballast inductor is further reduced with respect to the embodiment in fig1 c . an air gap is present between the third and the fourth winding to reduce the magnetic coupling between them . the overall performance of this component is very similar to that of the embodiment in fig1 a . in the embodiment in fig1 e use is made of two u - cores , u 1 and u 2 , instead of two e - cores . the bifilar winding that forms the first and the second winding surrounds a first transverse leg of the first u - core u 1 and a first transverse leg of the second u - core u 2 . the third winding surrounds the first transverse leg of the first u - core u 1 and the fourth winding surrounds the first transverse leg of the second u - core u 2 . in this embodiment less magnetizable material is used so that this embodiments is relatively cheap . in practice , however , the performance of this embodiment is found to be not as good as that of the embodiments comprising two e - cores . in fig2 k 1 and k 2 are input terminals suitable for connection to a dc voltage supply source . input terminals k 1 and k 2 are connected by means of a series arrangement of switching elements s 1 and s 2 . control electrodes of switching elements s 1 and s 2 are connected to respective output terminals of a control circuit sc for rendering the switching elements alternately conductive and non - conductive . switching element s 2 is shunted by series arrangement of third winding 3 , fourth winding 4 and capacitor c 1 , k 3 , k 3 ′, k 4 and k 4 ′ are terminals for lamp connection . capacitor c 1 is shunted by a first series arrangement of terminal k 3 , lamp la 1 , terminal k 3 ′ and first winding 1 . capacitor c 1 is also shunted by a second series arrangement of terminal k 4 , lamp la 2 , terminal k 4 ′ and second winding 2 . the operation of the circuit arrangement shown in fig2 is as follows . in case a dc voltage source is connected to input terminals k 1 and k 2 , the control circuit sc renders the switching elements s 1 and s 2 alternately conductive and non - conductive . as a result an ac - voltage is present over capacitor c 1 . in case for example lamp la 1 ignites as a result of the presence of this ac voltage , the first winding 1 will carry a current . because of the good magnetic coupling between the first and the second winding , the current through the first winding induces a voltage over the second winding . the voltage present over the second lamp is the sum of the voltage over capacitor c 1 and the voltage over the second winding 2 . although the voltage over capacitor c 1 has decreased after the ignition of lamp la 1 , this sum voltage is high enough to ignite the lamp la 2 . after both lamps have ignited both the first and the second winding carry a current that is equal to the current through lamp la 1 and the current through lamp la 2 respectively . if the currents through both lamps are substantially equal the magnetic coupling between the first and the second winding causes an induced voltage over each of the windings that substantially cancels the voltage that is present over each of the windings because of the current it carries . however , if for instance the lamp current through lamp la 1 is larger than that through lamp la 2 , the voltage over the second winding that is induced by the magnetic coupling between the first and the second winding is higher than the voltage that is present over the second winding because of the current this second winding carries . as a result both voltages present over the second winding do not completely cancel each other and a rest voltage is present over the second winding . for similar reasons a rest voltage with a substantially equal amplitude but of opposite polarity is present over the first winding . the rest voltage present over the first winding forces the current through lamp la 1 to decrease while the rest voltage present over the second winding forces the current through lamp la 2 to increase . as a result the currents through each of the lamps are maintained substantially equal during steady - state operation . in the circuit shown in fig2 the third winding and the fourth winding are arranged in series and each carry a current that is twice as large as the current through each of the first and the second windings . alternatively the third winding can be arranged in parallel with the fourth winding . an important advantage of the topology shown in fig2 however , is the fact that the third and the fourth winding always carry the same current .	7
referring to drawing fig1 a first embodiment 10 of the present invention is shown . the stacked assembly 10 having heat transfer members therewith is illustrated on a substrate 12 . the substrate 12 contains a plurality of apertures 14 therein in which the ends of alignment pins 16 are retained , such as using an interference fit , adhesive bonding , threaded connections , etc ., the alignment pins 16 may be of any suitable material for use in the aligning of the substrates 12 having sufficient strength and heat conductivity , such as metal , high temperature plastic , etc . the substrate 12 further includes a plurality of circuit traces 18 thereon . stacked on substrate 12 are a plurality of semiconductor device assemblies 100 , each assembly 100 including a semiconductor device 102 mounted on a substrate 104 having a plurality of circuits thereon connected to bond pads on the semiconductor device 102 . the substrate further includes a plurality of vias or circuits therein for connection to other adjacent substrates by suitable connections therewith . such suitable connections may be made by the use of reflowed solder balls 106 . as illustrated , located between vertically adjacent assemblies 100 are heat transfer plates 50 . the heat transfer plates 50 are formed having apertures 52 therein through which alignment pins 16 extend and elongated slots 54 through which reflowed solder balls 106 extend to make contact with circuits on adjacent substrates 104 . the heat transfer plates 50 have a portion thereof in contact with the inactive surface of the semiconductor device 102 of the assembly 100 to transfer the heat therefrom during the operation of the semiconductor device 102 . if desired , a thermal grease may be applied to the inactive surface of the semiconductor device 102 and / or the portion of the heat transfer plate 50 which contacts the inactive surface of the semiconductor device 102 to facilitate the transfer of heat from the semiconductor device 102 . the elongated slots 54 have sufficient width to allow no electrical contact from the reflowed solder balls 106 extending therethrough . the reflowed solder balls 106 extending from the bottom surface of the substrate 104 of the lowest assembly 100 in the vertical stack electrically and mechanically contact circuit traces 18 on the upper surface of the substrate 12 . the alignment apertures 52 in the heat transfer plates 50 are typically circular to closely mate with the alignment pins 16 to align the heat transfer plates 50 on the substrate 12 which , in turn , aligns the assemblies 100 located between the heat transfer plates 50 on the substrate 12 . to provide additional heat transfer from the upper semiconductor device 102 which has no heat transfer plate 50 associated therewith a finned heat transfer member 60 having a plurality of fins 62 thereon and alignment apertures 64 therein is placed into contact with the inactive surface of the semiconductor device 102 . the fins 62 may be integrally formed on the heat transfer member 60 or may be secured thereto by any suitable means , such as welding , or the like . the fins 62 may extend in any desire direction of the heat transfer member 60 as desired . the alignment apertures 64 are used to locate the heat transfer member 60 using alignment pins 16 secured to the substrate 12 . a thermal grease may be applied to the inactive surface of the semiconductor device 102 and / or a portion of the lower surface of the heat transfer member 60 to aid in heat transfer from the semiconductor device 102 . if desired , a heat transfer plate 50 ( shown in dotted lines ) such as described herein , may be used between upper semiconductor device 102 and heat transfer member 60 for additional heat transfer from the upper semiconductor device 102 . if desired , a thermal grease may be used between the upper semiconductor device 102 and the heat transfer plate 50 and the heat transfer member 60 . referring to drawing fig2 a second embodiment 20 of the present invention is illustrated . the second embodiment 20 of the present invention being the same as the first embodiment 10 of the invention except as described hereinafter . a plurality of assemblies 100 are vertically stacked on a substrate 12 having a plurality of circuit traces 18 on the upper surface thereof and alignment pins 16 extending therefrom . the heat transfer plates 50 in the second embodiment of the invention illustrated include a plurality of annular heat conductive members 108 therebetween which are retained on the alignment pins 16 between adjacent heat transfer plates 50 in the plurality of vertically stacked assemblies 100 . the annular heat conductive members 108 may be comprised of any suitable material , such as easily deformable metal , a reinforced heat conductive elastomeric material , such as silicon rubber having an annular spirally wound spring 110 therein , etc . the annular heat conductive members 108 helping to transfer heat from one heat transfer plate 50 to an adjacent heat transfer plate 50 and to the heat transfer member 60 to provide an additional heat transfer path for the stacked assemblies 100 . referring to drawing fig3 a third embodiment 30 of the present invention is illustrated . the third embodiment 30 of the present invention is the same as the first embodiment 10 and second embodiment 20 of the present invention except as described hereinafter . the third embodiment 30 of the present invention includes a plurality of vertically stacked assemblies 100 connected to a substrate 12 being aligned thereon by alignment pins 16 . an additional heat transfer path for conducting heat from the individual semiconductor devices 102 connected to substrates 104 is provided by the inclusion of heat transfer spacers 112 located between adjacent heat transfer plates 50 and the bottom of adjacent substrates 104 of assemblies 100 . the heat transfer spacers 112 may be of any suitable material , such as an easily deformable metal , silicon rubber , an annular elastomeric member filled with thermal grease , etc . in this manner , heat transfer from the semiconductor device 102 is provided by heat transfer plate 50 , heat transfer member 60 , annular heat transfer members 108 , and heat transfer spacers 112 to the ambient atmosphere and through heat transfer member 60 to the ambient atmosphere . referring to drawing fig4 a fourth embodiment 40 of the present invention is illustrated . the fourth embodiment 40 of the present invention comprises vertically stacked assemblies 100 as described hereinbefore on substrate 12 using alignment pins 16 . the assemblies 100 are in contact with heat transfer plates 50 and heat transfer members 60 . if desired , annular heat transfer members 108 ( show in dotted lines ) may be used as well as heat transfer spacers 112 ( shown in dotted lines ) as described hereinbefore for the transfer of heat from semiconductor devices 102 during operation . referring to drawing fig5 a heat transfer plate 50 is illustrated . the heat transfer plate 50 is generally rectangular in shape having alignment holes 52 therethrough and having elongated slots 54 therein . the heat transfer plate 50 may be of any desired thickness sufficient for the effective heat transfer from semiconductor device 102 ( not shown ) in contact therewith . referring to drawing fig6 an alternative heat transfer member 50 ′ is illustrated . the alternative heat transfer member 50 ′ is generally shaped having the crossbars of the t &# 39 ; s located at each end and the stems of the t &# 39 ; s joined with alignment apertures 52 formed therein . in this manner , additional clearance for the reflowed solder balls 106 is provided . referring to drawing fig7 another alternative heat transfer member 50 ″ is illustrated . the heat transfer member 50 ″ is generally circular in shape having alignment apertures 52 therein and elongated slots 54 formed therein . the circular shape of the heat transfer member 50 ″ provides additional material for the transfer of heat away from the semiconductor device 102 ( not shown ) which contacts the member 50 ″. referring to drawing fig8 yet another alternative heat transfer member 50 ′″ is illustrated . the heat transfer member 50 ′″ is generally elipical in shape having alignment apertures 52 therein and elongated slots 54 formed therein . the circular shape of the heat transfer member 50 ′″ provides additional material for the transfer of heat away from the semiconductor device 102 ( not shown ) which contacts the member 50 ′″. referring to drawing fig9 a fifth embodiment 80 of the present invention is illustrated . the fifth embodiment 80 includes a plurality of vertically stacked assemblies 100 . each assembly 100 includes a semiconductor device 102 mounted on a substrate 104 as described hereinbefore . each assembly 100 being electrically and mechanically connected to an adjacent assembly 100 by means of reflowed solder balls 106 extending therebetween . each substrate 104 of the assembly 100 having circuits thereon , circuits therein , and vias extending therethrough , as required , to make electrical contact as required with the semiconductor device 102 . surrounding each substrate 104 is a heat transfer member 150 . each assembly 100 is contained or installed or has extending therearound a heat transfer member 150 . the heat transfer member 150 comprises a member of suitable metal having downwardly extending retention t - shaped flanges 152 , upon a portion of which a substrate 104 sits , and upwardly extending l - shaped members 154 , the upper portion 156 serving as support for the assembly 100 located thereabove having a heat transfer member 150 located therearound . the portion 156 of l - shaped members 154 having an area 158 into which lower portion 160 of retention t - shaped flanges 152 extends to locate , position , and retain the heat transfer member 150 in position with respect to an adjacent heat transfer member 150 as well as locating and positioning the assembly 100 within the heat transfer member 150 with respect to an adjacent assembly 100 in its heat transfer member 150 . referring to drawing fig1 , an assembly 100 having heat transfer member 150 located therearound is illustrated . in addition to retention t - shaped flanges 152 and l - shaped members 154 retaining the assembly 100 in the heat transfer member 150 , additional l - shaped members 164 are used on the other sides of the heat transfer member 150 , not illustrated in drawing fig9 to retain the substrate 104 of the assembly 100 in position in the heat transfer member 150 . some of the additional l - shaped members 164 extend over or above the assembly 100 while other l - shaped members 164 extend therebelow to act as a ledge or support for the substrate 104 of the assembly 100 when it is installed in the heat transfer member 150 . as illustrated , the reflowed solder balls 106 extend in two rows along two portions of the substrate 104 . referring to drawing fig1 , a sixth embodiment 180 of the present invention is illustrated . the sixth embodiment 180 includes a plurality of assemblies 100 comprising substrates 104 having semiconductor devices 102 thereon , each substrate 104 being electrically and mechanically connected to an adjacent substrate 104 by reflowed solder balls 106 extending therebetween . the plurality of assemblies 100 are contained within an enclosure 170 having a plurality of vertical heat transfer fins 172 thereon and a plurality of horizontal heat transfer fins 174 extending thereacross . the lowermost assembly 100 is formed having substantially the same shape as opening 178 of the enclosure 170 so that the plurality of assemblies 100 may be retained therein , except for the bottom of the substrate 104 of the lowermost assembly 100 and the reflowed solder balls 106 thereon , and a seal 176 is used to sealingly engage the substrate 104 and enclosure 170 to form an enclosed , lead free member . the enclosure 170 may be made of any suitable material , such as metal , plastic , etc ., and may be of any desired suitable geometric shape . any desired number of heat fins 172 and 174 may be used on the enclosure 170 . the heat transfer fins 172 and 174 may have any desired shape suitable for use on the enclosure 170 . the heat transfer fins 172 and 174 may be integrally formed on the enclosure 170 or attached thereto using any desired suitable attachment devices , such as adhesives , soldering , etc . any desired number of assemblies 100 may be used in the enclosure 170 , as desired . the enclosure 170 may be filled with a suitable heat transfer fluid , such as thermal grease , oil , etc . the present invention may include changes , additions , deletions , modifications which are within the scope of the invention .	8
by proper utilization of the perceived differential gloss inherent between various anisotropic halftone dot structures , the desired manipulation of perceived gloss and the generation of glossmark ™ images via that differential gloss may be achieved without the need for special paper or special toners or inks . however , to best allow glossmark ™ image technology to be proffered as a complete product offering , there needs to be a convenient method to enable relatively unskilled office workers and print shop operators to generate glossmark ™ differential gloss images and prints in a straight - forward , on - the - fly , and uncomplicated manner . in consideration of these needs there is provided herein a user interface and a graphic user interface ( gui ) for creating glossmark ™ images . these user interfaces provide for selecting among the various glossmark ™ patterns , and adjusting the size and position of the glossmark ™ differential gloss image with respect to the selected base image . the gui variant solves the problem that unlike some other watermark methods , glossmarks rely upon an interaction with the underlying base image structure , and optimal placement requires visual feedback of the two images together . because glossmark ™ differential gloss images do not manipulate the base contone image but only modify the halftone structure of a print , a glossmark ™ is not normally visible on a computer display of the base image . one gui embodiment provided herein allows selection of the base image , the desired gloss image , and allows a digital overlay for monitor display by showing outlines of the binary gloss image or altering color values of the base image . fig1 shows how the human eye 1 can read gloss upon the page and a scanner cannot from the angle it is operated from . three glossy areas 14 are shown . one ray of light 10 from the light source 2 hits the paper at a point where there is no gloss toner 14 , and the reflected light 13 is diffused so that there is only a small amount of light in all directions , including the direction toward the human eye 1 . another ray of light 11 of equal intensity touches the paper at a point where there is gloss toner 14 . here , there is a large amount of reflected light 12 in the indicated direction . if the human eye 1 is positioned as shown , a large difference between glossy and non - glossy toner areas is readily observable by the human eye 1 . however , the scanner or a human eye at position 3 reads incident light at right angles to the paper . in this case , there is only a small amount of diffused light coming from both the glossy and non - glossy dots , and the scanner cannot detect a difference . this is one manner for creating a gloss image which cannot be scanned by conventional copiers and scanners . heretofore , there has been little appreciation for the fact that the inherent reflective and diffusive characteristics of halftones may be manipulated to be directive of incident light as about an azimuth by use of a halftone structure which the inherent gloss is anisotropic in nature . a mirror is equally reflective regardless of the azimuth of the light source relative to the plane of the mirror . similarly , an ordinary blank paper is equally reflective and diffusive regardless of the azimuth of the light source . however , printed matter can and will often display differing reflective and diffusive characteristics depending upon the azimuth of origin for a light source relative to the structural orientation of the halftone . such reflective characteristics when maximized are exhibited in a halftone with a structure which is anisotropic in nature . in other words , the indicatrix used to express the light scattered or reflected from a halftone dot will maximally vary depending upon the halftone dot &# 39 ; s azimuth orientation to the light source when that halftone has an anisotropic structure . fig2 provides an example of what is meant by anisotropic structure . in fig2 , a simple line - screen halftone of anisotropic nature is presented in two orientations relative to impinging incident light 200 , a parallel orientation 210 , and a perpendicular orientation 220 . both halftone dot orientations are selected to be similar in density so that the diffuse light and incident light at orthogonal angles to the paper are equal . in this way , the light which is available to scanner 3 or to the human eye from straight on is the same . however , the specular reflected light 12 is considerably greater for the anisotropic parallel orientation 210 . if as printed , a mass of the 210 parallel orientation halftones are butted directly adjacent to a mass of 220 perpendicular orientation halftones , there will be a difference in reflected light between them , which when viewed from an angle will be perceived as a shift in gloss differential or a glossmark ™ image . the perceptibility of this gloss differential will be maximized when the halftone anisotropic orientations are 90 degrees apart as shown here in fig2 . fig3 shows example halftone cells suitable for a skilled practitioner to employ in an embodiment employing the teachings of the present invention . they are but one useful example as will be evident to those skilled in the art . each halftone cell is comprised as a three by six pixel array . the turn on / off sequence is numerically indicated . note the diagonal orientation of the pixel numbering . the type - a sub - cell 310 and type - b sub - cell 320 both have a 45 degree orientation , one to the right and the other to the left . this orientation can be clearly seen in the density sweeps 410 and 420 of fig4 . to maximize the perceptibility of the gloss differential , the orientations of sub - cells type - a and type - b are arranged 90 degrees apart one from the other . fig5 depicts a glossmark ™ image 500 achievable using halftone cells as described above . screen - a 510 uses one halftone cell type and screen - b 520 uses the other . the circle 501 is provided as a visual aid across the image screens 500 , 510 and 520 . the desired glossmark ™ image here is for a sphere 502 to be perceived in the midst of image 500 . screen - a 510 provides the field of right diagonal oriented anisotropic halftones and screen 520 provides the spherical area of left diagonal oriented anisotropic halftone cells . in this manner , a selection of the two screen types are patch - worked together to create the glossmark ™ image 500 . an another approach for the assembly of a glossmark ™ or differential gloss image is diagramed in fig6 . here , the primary image 600 is received as input data to the digital front - end ( dfe ) 610 as is normal . however , a desired gloss image data 620 is also received as input data to the dfe 610 as well . the processed image as sent to the image output terminal ( iot ) 630 is a binary image by halftoning the primary image 600 data as is normal . however , the halftone type selection is driven by the intended gloss image data 620 as input to multiplexer switch 640 . the intended gloss image data 620 will serve to direct a portion of the primary image 600 to use a first anisotropic structured halftone while directing an alternative halftone to be used for the remainder of primary image 600 . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the intended gloss image data 620 may be flattened into simple zero and one pixel data representations if needed in the dfe 610 . this pattern of zero and ones are then used to toggle the multiplexer 640 to one halftone anisotropic structure orientation type or the other . multiplexer 640 therefore toggles between either screen 1 type halftone 650 or screen 2 halftone type 660 , as dictated by the desired gloss image data 620 , to produce the composite result of raster input processed ( rip ) image data as passed to the iot 630 . in this way , a superimposition of a pattern 620 is imbedded into the primary image 600 which can only be perceived as a gloss differential glossmark ™ image . in order to add a glossmark ™ to an image , a second image ( an intended or desired gloss image ) is used to alter the image halftoning structure . this alteration becomes visible under certain angles of illumination and not under other angles , i . e . : the original , base image is not disturbed in normal viewing , but the intended glossmark ™ gloss image can be made visible when tilting the image in the light . in fig7 , there is depicted intended binary gloss image examples as incoming flat binary intended gloss data , which are utilized as the input to multiplexer switch 640 . in order to create glossmark ™ images , two files are necessary . first , the base image file such as for example as is depicted in fig8 . this file is the “ normal ” image that is seen when casually looking at the print . it serves as the background over which the intended gloss image is located . this image can be created in or be the result of any appropriate image manipulation application , such as for example adobe photoshop ™. this image forms the base for the glossmark ™ and should have a sufficient image area in the mid - tones so that the desired differential gloss image will be visible . ( it should be noted that the rendering in fig8 is necessarily of a binary nature for displayed inclusion with this specification , but that the actual image in operation is of a continuous tone or contone nature ) the second file is the intended or desired gloss image file . this file encapsulates the actual gloss image file that is placed over the base image and thus is intended to be visible as a differential gloss image in the hardcopy output . this file needs to be a binary image data type , meaning that only “ black ” and “ white ”, or “ zero ” and “ one ” pixel values are allowed . this can be achieved , for example , by using “ image → mode → bitmap ” commands in photoshop ™ or by any other image manipulation software using the appropriate commands to create a binary representation . the desired gloss image file may also have its resolution adjusted to match up with the base image data if so needed . examples of good gloss images would look like any of the example elements as depicted in fig7 . it should be noted that even complex patterns , such as halftoned images , can theoretically be used as gloss patterns , however , simple patterns like those shown in fig7 are generally preferred . a gui to create glossmark ™ images consists of a file chooser for the base image , and a file chooser for the gloss pattern . both files can be displayed in the gui , thus enabling a quick verification of the desired layout . a third image representation can also be displayed . in this representation the intended gloss pattern is superimposed as a placeholder over the base image to verify glossmark ™ size , location , etc . since the glossmark ™ or true differential gloss can not be created or even simulated on a standard monitor ( be it crt or lcd ), an alternate version for depiction is created in which the glossmark ™ location is created by a digital overlay placeholder modifying the actual base image data . of course in the actual glossmark ™ hardcopy print , no manipulation of the base image data will be performed , but rather a modification of the halftone structure will be executed under the glossmark ™ pattern control as described above . the digital overlay for monitor display purposes can be done by only showing the outlines of the desired gloss pattern ( this will generally work since desired differential gloss patterns are binary in nature ), it can be done by changing the color values of the base image in dependence of the pattern or as will be understood by those skilled in the art , with any other known method for altering digital images such as a grayscale intensity shift . this means that the gui does not represent the actual changes made to the base image during printing , as would be the normal approach to a gui , but that instead it represents a placeholder . the general structure is shown with fig9 , 10 , and 11 . the base image of fig9 is selected and displayed , in this case the image of a car , as the primary image data 610 . this image will be visible under normal viewing conditions . next , the desired gloss pattern is selected as depicted in fig1 , in this case the simple text string “ 1976 jaguar e ” is also shown in the gui . simultaneously , the gloss pattern size and location is indicated in the composite image of fig1 by suitably modifying the base image data in superimposition , in this case simply shifting the image brightness or contrast . this composite image is an aid in locating the intended gloss pattern into the correct spot of the base image and to verify the size and geometric relationship . the verification image is thus only an inspection tool indicative of the relationship between base image and desired differential gloss image and not normally a verification of the look , feel or quality of the final glossmark ™ hardcopy print . it should be noted that the problem of “ correctly ” locating a watermark is not common in digital watermarking . rather a digital signature is spread over the entire image in order to reduce the sensitivity to editing . as such , the glossmark ™ modifications are unique since they are influenced by the relative geometrical relationship and a gui such as taught herein allows the user to correctly create this relationship . in just one example embodiment of a suitable user interface , the base image file and gloss image file are combined into the actual glossmark ™ image file , either as a postscript ™ file or as eps . the software will bring up a simple interface with one button to select the base image , i . e . : the image visible at all times , and one button to select the gloss image file . file selection follows standard mac osx or other operating system procedures . after both files are selected , a glossmark ™ image file can be created in either postscript ™ or eps format by clicking the appropriate button on the interface . creating the glossmark ™ image file step - by - step : start the glossmark ™ generator ; click base image ; select the base image inside the file browser ; click glossmark ™; select the desired gloss image file inside the file browser ; select output format as either postscript ™ or eps ; select create glossmark ™; enter the glossmark ™ image file name ; and save . thus the glossmark ™ image file is ready for printing or post - processing as the glossmark ™ image file is now available in a specified directory . postscript ™ files can be directly printed and eps can be used in other applications , such as page layout applications . it should be noted that other file formats might be used , such as tiff , png , jpg etc . glossmark ™ image generation in hardware system based environment may be graphical based , or command based , or push button based . in a machine hardware scenario such as found with an office multifunction device , scanner or a digital copier / printer , a “ button ” labeled glossmark ™ is provided , which when pushed will instruct the operator / user to : first place a base image upon the platen and hit copy ; second , place desired glossmark ™ overlay image upon the platen and hit the copy button again . with the completion of the above steps the operation software will generate the glossmark ™ image and a glossmark ™ differential gloss print will result as hardcopy output . the claims , as originally presented and as they may be amended , encompass variations , alternatives , modifications , improvements , equivalents , and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein , including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated , and that , for example , may arise from applicants / patentees and others .	7
according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , a personal boat carrying apparatus such as boat carrying apparatus 100 is generally configured to allow a user , namely a human , to support a boat , such as a kayak or fisherman &# 39 ; s kayak or similar boat , above a surface . the boat carrying apparatus 100 may better distribute the weight of the boat over the user &# 39 ; s musculature ( as opposed to the boat being carried over one shoulder only ) so that the user may better balance the boat while it is being carried as well as reduce the discomfort of carrying the boat over long durations . the boat carrying apparatus 100 may be used to assist the user to carry the boat over almost any surface capable of being traversed on foot with less difficulty and less discomfort than carrying the boat without the boat carrying apparatus 100 . as a preliminary matter , it should also be noted that the boat carrying apparatus of the present invention discussed herein may be embodied in configurations other than what is shown in fig1 to 11 and used with other types of boats that may be carried by a person as long as there is a way for the first and second supports to engage the boat in a manner that allows the boat to be carried as described more particularly below . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , the boat carrying apparatus 100 may include a body 105 , a first support 110 and a second support 130 . the body 105 may be configured to rest on the user carrying the boat . the body 105 may have a center portion designed to rest on the user such that the body 105 is substantially evenly balanced on the shoulders of the user . according to an embodiment , the center portion of the body 105 may be curved in a contour around the neck of the user and arched higher towards the center so as to cause the apparatus to better rest across the upper back and shoulders of the user and provide increased comfort while carrying a boat . according to other embodiments , the center portion of the body 105 may be u - shaped , or may include a wider portion with an opening to accommodate the neck , or may be straight . according to yet further embodiments , the boat carrying apparatus 100 may be modified to distribute the weight of the boat onto another portion of the user &# 39 ; s body such as the head , back , waist , or a combination of body parts , which may serve to reduce localized stress on the user . according to an embodiment , the boat carrying apparatus 100 may secure to the user such as by use of a harness so that the boat may be carried hands - free . according to an embodiment , the body 105 may include hooks on the outside of the body 105 to carry items and personal effects such as key chains or gear to portage . carrying gear off of hooks on the body 105 of boat carrying apparatus 100 may make the boat easier to carry than when gear is stowed in the boat as gear stowed in the boat may affect the center of gravity of the boat ( including the stowed gear ) and may increase the forces necessary to stabilize the boat while being carried . the body 105 may be constructed from materials which provide the mechanical strength and rigidity for supporting the boat on the user . according to an embodiment , the body 105 may be made of plastic , such as injection molded plastic . in other embodiments , the body 105 may include wood , aluminum , steel , plastics or composites , or a combination of suitable materials . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , the first support 110 may be disposed proximate to a first end of the body 105 and may be configured to engage a first location of the boat . according to an embodiment , the first support 110 may comprise a first support arm 120 extending from the body 105 , and the first support arm 120 may pivot from a first hinge 122 connected to the body 105 . according to an embodiment as shown in fig8 and 9 , the first support arm 120 may pivot to more than one open position which may allow the boat carrying apparatus to be used with different sizes and configurations of boats . according to an embodiment as shown in fig7 to 9 , at least one of the open positions ( as shown in fig9 ) may include pivoting the first support arm 120 more than 90 degrees from the closed position shown in fig7 . the boat carrying apparatus 100 may include a strap 170 , as described further below , that may be attached to the body 105 and wrapped around the boat to assist in securing the boat to the boat carrying apparatus 100 which may reduce the likelihood of the boat shifting or disengaging off of the boat carrying apparatus 100 while the boat is being carried . according to one particular embodiment built as a prototype , the one or more open positions may span from about 14 . 73 inches to about 21 . 04 inches as measured from the first support bracket to the second support bracket . according to other embodiments , the first support 110 may be connected to the body 105 using a nail , a screw , a clamping mechanism , pin or peg , or a combination thereof . in a yet further embodiment , the first support 110 may be integrally formed from the body 105 . the first support 110 may be constructed from materials which provide the mechanical strength and rigidity for supporting the boat on the user . according to an embodiment , the first support 110 may be made from plastic , such as through injection molding . according to other embodiments , the first support 110 may include wood , aluminum , steel , plastics or composites , or a combination of suitable materials . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , the first support 110 further comprises a first support bracket 125 disposed on the first support arm 120 . the first support bracket 125 may be configured to engage a complimentary structure of the boat such as a gunwale 65 ( also referred to as a gunnel , i . e . the top edge of the side of a boat ) of the boat . for example , where the boat is a kayak , the first support bracket 125 may be configured to receive the gunwale 65 of the kayak &# 39 ; s cockpit . according to an embodiment , the first support bracket 125 may swivel about a point at the center of its attachment with the first support arm 120 to permit the first support bracket 145 to rotate to an angle that may better receive the gunwale of the boat . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , a second support 130 may be disposed proximate to a second end of the body 105 opposite of the end where the first support 110 is disposed . the second support 130 may be similar in configuration to the first support 110 and may be configured to engage a second location of the boat . according to an embodiment , the second support 130 may be a mirror image of the first support 110 . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , the second support 130 may comprise a second support arm 140 extending from the body 105 , and the second support arm 140 may pivot from a second hinge 142 connected to the body 105 . according to other embodiments , the second support 130 may be connected to the body 105 using a nail , a screw , a clamping mechanism , pin or peg , or a combination thereof . in a yet further embodiment , the second support 130 may be integrally formed from the body 105 . the second support 130 may be constructed from materials which provide the mechanical strength and rigidity for supporting the boat on the user such as those materials discussed above in connection with the first support 110 . according to the embodiment as shown in fig1 to 11 , the second support 130 further comprises a second support bracket 145 disposed on the second support arm 140 . the second support bracket 145 may be configured to engage with a complimentary structure of the boat such as a gunwale 65 of the boat . according to an embodiment , the second support bracket 145 may be configured to engage with a location along the gunwale 65 of a cockpit . according to an embodiment , the second support bracket 145 may swivel about a point on at the center of its attachment with the second support arm 140 to permit the second support bracket 145 to rotate to an angle that may better receive the gunwale of the boat . according to an embodiment , the first support bracket 125 and the second support bracket 145 may be configured to engage the boat at locations substantially opposite each other on the gunwale 65 of the cockpit of the boat to provide balanced support of the boat and to distribute the weight of the boat across the boat carrying apparatus 100 . according to an embodiment , dimples may be set in the body 105 to aid in retaining the support arms 120 and 140 in the closed position as shown in fig7 . the dimples may provide enough resistance to prevent the support arms from swinging open in absence of the exercise of deliberate force by the user . similarly , dimples may be employed to help retain the brackets 125 and 145 in their neutral orientation in the absence of a suitable threshold amount of force being exercised to reorient them . according to further embodiments , other attachment points may support the boat and the locations of where the first support 110 and the second support 130 engage the boat may be modified such that the first and second support brackets 125 and 145 are not directly opposite each other . furthermore , first support 110 and second support 130 may also be configured to engage other types of boats with different connection mechanisms . according to a further embodiment , the boat carrying apparatus may comprise more than two supports . in further embodiments of the boat carrying apparatus 100 , one or both of the first support bracket 125 and the second support bracket 145 may be omitted and another mechanism for securing the support to a location on the boat may be used . for example , one or both supports may include a quick release mechanism configured to mate with a complimentary mechanism disposed on the boat , or one or both supports may be configured to be directly secured by employing a notch or other connection mechanism . in use , as may be seen with reference to fig1 , the boat carrying apparatus 100 according to the embodiments described herein may be configured to engage a first location of the boat using the first support 110 and a second location of the boat using the second support 130 . the center portion of the body 105 may then be rested on the user such that the weight of the boat carrying apparatus 100 and the boat may be supported by the user . a particular embodiment built by the inventor was capable of handling loads of at least 120 pounds . according to an embodiment as shown in fig1 and 11 , the boat carrying apparatus 100 may comprise a securing mechanism such as a strap 170 that may be used to further secure the boat on the first support 110 and the second support 130 of the boat carrying apparatus 100 . use of the strap 170 may reduce the likelihood of the boat shifting or disengaging off of the brackets 125 and 145 while the boat is being carried by the user . the strap 170 may be made from any suitable material which has sufficient strength to secure the boat on the first support 110 and the second support 130 , including nylon , plastics , metal , and cloth . considerations to be taken in account when selecting the material for the strap 170 may include the weight of the boat , the specific design of the boat carrying apparatus , and manufacturing costs . according to an embodiment , opposite ends of the strap 170 may be connected to opposite ends of the body 105 , respectively , such that the strap 170 is configured to wrap around the boat . the mechanism for connecting the strap 170 to the ends of the body 105 may include any mechanism capable of securely holding the strap in place , such as hook and loop fasteners , nails , screws , or nuts and bolts that pass through the strap 170 , clamping mechanisms , adhesives , or a combination thereof . according to an embodiment , the length of the strap 170 between the attachment points may be adjusted from a loose to a tightened position so as to secure boats of different shapes and sizes to the boat carrying apparatus 100 . according to an embodiment , a buckle 175 disposed between the attachment points of the strap 170 may be used in providing this length adjustment . in other embodiments , the length may be adjusted using a plurality of buckles or the strap 170 may be configured to connect to the body 105 using an adjustable buckle at one or both of the attachment points . in yet another embodiment , the strap 170 may comprise an elastic material such as rubber or a synthetic polymer so that the length may be adjusted using the natural elasticity of the strap 170 . in a yet further embodiment of the strap 170 , it may be of a fixed length and designed to be used with a specific size and configuration of boat . according to further embodiments , the securing mechanism may be any other suitable securing mechanism such as a clamp or rope . according to certain of such embodiments , the securing mechanism need not wrap around the entire boat and may engage a portion of the sides or bottom of the boat . moreover , the embodiments discussed above may include padding such as neoprene padding ( not shown ) on the curved center of the body 105 configured to cushion the body 105 against the user which may increase comfort . furthermore , padding such as a rubber adhesive may be used on the brackets 125 and 145 to protect the boat against scratches . it is to be appreciated that the padding is not limited to any specific type of material and generally includes soft materials . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . certain adaptations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art . therefore , the presently discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	1
preferred embodiments of a pulse photometry probe according to the invention will be described in detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings . [ 0066 ] fig1 shows the appearance of a pulse photometry probe according to a first embodiment of the invention . the pulse photometry probe is roughly divided into an instrument section 20 and a bandage section 30 . the instrument section 20 comprises a light emitter 1 ( an led or the like ) for emitting light ; a light receiver 2 ( a photodiode or the like ) for receiving the light that has been emitted from the light emitter 1 and passed through living tissue ; a y - shaped cable 3 which transmits a light - emission drive signal to the light emitter 1 and transmits a received light signal from a light receiver 2 to a main unit ( not shown ); and a connector 4 to be attached to the main unit . the y - shaped cable 3 is constituted of two lead wires ; one connected to the light emitter 1 , and the other connected to the light receiver 2 . the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are taken as individual measurement elements , thereby rendering a cable diameter small and the cable flexible . the distance between the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 is not fixed . the bandage section 30 will now be described by reference to fig2 and 3 . the bandage section 30 has a compressive sponge 5 which is to be wrapped directly around living tissue ( e . g ., a finger or a foot ), and a cover tape 9 one side of which is an adhesive surface 10 to be attached to the sponge 5 . the adhesive surface 10 of the cover tape 9 has a surface to be bonded to the sponge 5 , and another surface not to be bonded to the sponge 5 . when the bandage section 30 is wrapped around living tissue , the surface that is not to be brought into contact with the sponge 5 serves as a fastener for maintaining an attached state of the bandage section 30 . before the bandage section 30 is attached to living tissue , the adhesive surface that is not brought into contact with the sponge 5 is covered with backing paper 12 . a hook - and - loop fastener or the like may be used in place of the adhesive surface of a cover tape 9 which is not attached to the sponge 5 . the cover tape 9 may be made of an extendable bandage or a non - extendable paper tape . preferably , the cover tape 9 is made of a nonwoven extendable tape over which adhesive is applied . since the only member to be brought into direct contact with living tissue is the sponge 5 , the sponge 5 can softly contact irregularities in the surface of living tissue , thereby achieving superior adhesion and dispersion of pressure applied on the living tissue . further , the bandage section 30 has a first hole 13 for permitting passage of the light originating from the light emitter 1 , and a second hole 14 for causing the light receiver 2 to receive the light that has been emitted from the light emitter 1 and has passed through the living tissue . the light emitter 1 is removably attached to an upper surface of the cover tape 9 so as to be able to emit light by way of the first hole 13 . the light receiver 2 is removably attached to the upper surface of the cover tape 9 so as to be able to receive light by way of the second hole 14 . black ( non - transparent ) annular double - sided tapes 8 , each having a hole substantially identical in size with the first and second holes 13 , 14 , are removably attached to the respective first and second holes in a concentric manner . a hole 13 a constituting the first hole 13 and a hole 14 a constituting the second hole 14 , the first and second holes 13 and 14 being formed in the cover tape 9 , are formed so as to become larger than a hole 13 b constituting the first hole 13 and a hole 14 b constituting the second hole 14 , the first and second holes 13 and 14 being formed in the sponge 5 . the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are attached and bonded to the adhesive surface of the double - sided tape 8 that is exposed by way of the holes 13 a and 14 a . before the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are bonded to the bandage section 30 , areas of the adhesive surface of the tape 8 , which are exposed by way of the holes 13 a , 14 a , are covered with backing paper 11 . when the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are attached to the bandage section 30 , the backing paper 11 is peeled , whereby the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are attached to the double - sided tape 8 . with such a structure , measurement elements , such as the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 , are fixed to areas on the back of the bandage section 30 ( i . e ., on another surface of the tape section 30 opposite to a surface to be brought into contact with living tissue ). moreover , the distance between the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 is not fixed . the first hole 13 or the second hole 14 is formed into an oval shape , whereby the distance between the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 can be adjusted at the time of attachment of the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 to the bandage section 30 . as a result , the distance can be finely adjusted such that the optical axis of the light emitter 1 is aligned with that of the light receiver 2 at the time of attachment of the probe . alternatively , a plurality of bandage sections 30 , which differ from each other in terms of a distance between the first hole 13 and the second hole 14 , are prepared in advance . in accordance with the size of a patient &# 39 ; s living tissue ( e . g ., a finger ), an appropriate bandage section 30 may be selected . in order to distribute the pressure which is exerted on living tissue from the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 when the bandage section 30 is wrapped around the living tissue , plates 6 are provided concentrically with the first and second holes 13 , 14 and at positions closer to the living tissue than the double - sided tape 8 . in the embodiment , the plates 6 assume an annular shape and have the same size holes as that of the first and second holes 13 , 14 . here , the plates 6 may assume the shape of a disk , so long as the plates are transparent . a surface of each plate 6 facing a living tissue is provided with the double - sided tape 7 and is to be attached to the sponge 5 . as a result of the plate 6 being provided with a surface larger than the attachment surface of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 , the plates 6 can distribute the pressure exerted on the surface of a living tissue ( skin ) in cooperation with a buffering action of the sponge 5 . in particular , local pressure , which would arise in the edge of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 , can be prevented by the plates 6 and the sponge 5 . the plates 6 may be made of abs , pet , or vinyl chloride . although in the embodiment a double - sided tape is used for bonding individual components , heat welding may also be employed . although a black , non - transparent adhesive tape is used for the annular double - sided adhesive tapes 8 , any one of the cover tape 9 , the annular double - sided adhesive tapes 8 , the annular plates 6 , and the sponge 5 may be non - transparent , so that external light attributable to an error in measurement can be shielded . as shown in fig1 according to the embodiment , three holes are provided between the first hole 13 and the second hole 14 of the bandage section 30 with respect to the widthwise direction of the bandage section 30 . these holes are provided for making the bandage section 30 flexible at the time of attachment of the bandage section 30 to a patient . attachment of the probe will now be described . the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are fixed to measurement element attaching sections of the bandage section 30 . the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are oriented so as to oppose each other with a region of a patient to be measured ( e . g ., a finger or foot ) ( hereinafter simply called a “ measurement region ”) interposed therebetween . fig4 shows the manner in which the bandage section 30 is attached to a finger while the backing paper 12 is being peeled . fig5 a shows the manner in which the light emitter 1 is attached to an instep and the light receiver 2 is attached to a sole . the adhesive surface 10 , which is located at the end of the bandage section 30 and serves as a fastener , is attached to the back of the wrapped cover tape 9 , thereby placing and fixing the entire probe on the measurement region . fig5 b is a view showing the manner in which an attempt is made to attach the probe to a foot . the strength required for wrapping is adjusted in accordance with living tissue ( e . g ., the color of the skin ) located at a position distant from a measurement region or with the waveform of a measured pulse wave detected by the probe . the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are fixed to the measurement element attaching sections . however , if the bandage section 30 to be wrapped has a length sufficient for covering the back of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 , removal of the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 can be prevented . if the bandage section 30 is used as a disposable part and the instrument section 20 is recycled , cost - efficient use of the probe becomes feasible . [ 0089 ] fig6 shows a second embodiment of the invention . in the embodiment , a hook - and - loop fastener 40 is used for the probe of the first embodiment in order to attach the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 to the bandage section 30 . in other words , a hook section 40 a of the hook - and - loop fastener 40 is attached to the surface of double - sided adhesive tape 8 facing the cover tape 9 . a loop section 40 b of the hook - and - loop fastener 40 is attached to the respective surface of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 . the configuration of the light emitter 1 or that of the light receiver 2 is shown in the cross - sectional view of fig7 . an appearance of the light emitter 1 or that of the light receiver 2 is shown in fig8 . as illustrated , a light - emitting element or light - receiving element 41 is covered with two sheets ; namely , a transparent sheet 42 provided on a light - emitting or a light - receiving surface of the element , and a light - shielding sheet 44 provided on the other side of the element . for instance , a vinyl chloride sheet is used for these sheets 42 , 44 , and peripheries of the sheets are bonded together by high - frequency welding . the loop section 40 b of the hook - and - loop fastener 40 is attached to the entire exterior surfaces of the two sheets 42 , 44 . a window 43 is formed in a light - emitting surface or light - receiving surface 41 a in the loop section 40 b provided on the light - emitting or light - receiving surface of the light - emitting element or light - receiving element 41 so as not to shield light . in other respects , the probe is identical in structure with that described in the previous embodiment . since the probe employs the hook - and - loop fastener 40 , even when the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are repeatedly attached to and removed from the bandage section 30 , removal and attachment of the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 can be performed repeatedly . in the embodiment , the loop section 40 b is provided on the surface of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 . the hook section 40 a is provided on the bandage section 30 . the hook section 40 a and the loop section 40 b may be reversed . however , since the loop section 40 b provides a more comfortable feeling , for an operator who often touches the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 it is preferable to provide the light emitter 1 and the light emitter 2 with the loop section 40 b . [ 0093 ] fig9 shows a third embodiment of the invention . the embodiment is analogous to the probe described in connection with the first embodiment , and holes 13 a and 14 a formed in the cover tape 9 are angled by 60 ° to 120 ° with respect to the major axes of the holes . adhesive surface portions of the double - sided tape 8 exposed through the cover tape 9 are formed and elongated such that a proximal end of a lead wire of the light emitter 1 and a proximal end of a lead wire of the light receiver 2 are spaced apart from each other and angled by 60 ° to 120 ° when the bandage section 30 is placed in a horizontal state and the light emitter and the light receiver are attached to the double - sided tape 8 in a predetermined condition . in other respects , the probe is identical in structure with that of the first embodiment . by such a configuration , when the probe is attached to a patient and the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 are attached in the strongest manner to the adhesive surface portions of the double - sided tape 8 exposed through the holes 13 a and 14 a ; that is , when the surface to be bonded becomes maximum , a proximal end l 1 of the lead wire of the light emitter 1 and a proximal end l 2 of the lead wire of the light receiver 2 can be easily withdrawn , as shown in fig1 showing the manner in which the probe is attached to a patient &# 39 ; s foot . thus , an operation for attaching the probe becomes easy . the third embodiment is based on the first embodiment , and the holes 13 a , 14 a formed in the cover tape 9 are elongated such that major axes of the holes are angled by 60 ° to 120 °. in the second embodiment , the holes 13 a and 14 a formed in the cover 9 may be elongated such that major axes of the holes are angled by 60 ° to 120 °. in this case , the probe provides an easy withdrawal of lead wires and leads to a removable attachment of the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 repeatedly . [ 0096 ] fig1 is a view of a pulse photometry probe according to a fourth embodiment of the invention . the embodiment is based on the third embodiment , and holes 13 b , 14 b are sealed with two transparent sheets 15 ( surgical tape or film is preferable ) from the side surface of the sponge 5 which is to be brought into contact with living tissue . the reason for sealing the transparent sheets 15 is to prevent risk of necrosis , which could otherwise be caused when excessive pressure is exerted on the portion of the living tissue with which the edges of the holes 13 b , 14 b formed in the sponge 5 come into contact when the probe is attached to the living tissue . an appropriate example material for the transparent sheet 15 is polyurethane elastomer of about 0 . 3 to 0 . 4 mm thickness . preferably , an adhesive is thinly applied to one surface of each of the transparent sheets 15 , thereby sealing the sponge 5 . as shown in fig1 which is a cross - sectional view of the pulse photometry probe , the holes 13 , 14 are sealed with the transparent sheets 15 . the transparent sheets 15 are not necessarily divided into two pieces . as shown in fig1 , the transparent sheet may be a single sheet of sufficient size for collectively sealing the holes 13 b , 14 b formed in the sponge 15 . [ 0101 ] fig1 is a view showing a pulse photometry probe according to a fifth embodiment of the invention . the embodiment is based on the third embodiment and characterized in that the sponge 5 is provided thinly instead of forming the holes 13 b , 14 b , to thereby impart to the probe a light transmission characteristic attributable to the porosity of the sponge 5 . the purpose is to avoid forming edges of the holes of the sponge 5 , as well as the fourth embodiment . an appropriate example material of the sponge 5 is soft urethane foam . sufficient porosity for imparting a light transmission characteristic to the sponge is about 50 to 60 cells in an area of 25 mm 2 . a preferable thickness of at least a portion of the sponge 5 through which light transmits is about 1 to 2 mm . the thickness of the other portions of the sponge 5 may be the same value ; that is , 1 to 2 mm or thereabouts or a greater value . as shown in fig1 , light - passing portions of the sponge 5 are made thinner . by such a configuration , when a probe is attached to living tissue and measurement of the living tissue is performed , the light originating from the light emitter 1 transmits through the living tissue and reaches the light receiver 2 through at least portions of the sponge 5 having a light - transmission property . in the first through fifth embodiments , at least surface portions of the light emitter 1 and that of the light receiver 2 , which come into contact with the cover tape 9 , are made of a pile fabric , such as that of a hook - and - loop fastener , except for portions of the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 through which light transmits . further , it may be the case that the surface of the double - sided adhesive tape 8 facing the cover tape 9 is not provided with a hook - and - loop fastener . in this case , the peel strength required for removing the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 from the portions of the tape 8 exposed through the cover tape 9 is weaker than that required when the light emitter 1 , the light receiver 2 , and the double - sided adhesive tape 8 are made of a hook - and - loop fastener . therefore , the light emitter 1 and the light receiver 2 can be peeled from the cover tape 9 . although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments , various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein . such changes and modifications are obvious to be deemed to come within the spirit , scope and contemplation of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	0
those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not in any way limiting . other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons . in the prior art , a known method of automatically assigning an ip address to a cpe was by using the slarp protocol . however , a draw - back to using only the slarp protocol was that if device a ( referring to fig1 ) had an ip address in which the last octet was neither a one ( 1 ) or a two ( 2 ), the slarp protocol would not be able to assign an ip address to device b ( referring to fig1 ). further , slarp would only assign an ip address with the last octet being either a one ( 1 ) or a two ( 2 ). the present disclosed system will automatically assign an ip address to a cpe that is coupled to a device which has ip address with a last octet of one ( 1 ), two ( 2 ) and at least one other octet value . referring to fig3 a , a disclosed modular system is shown . device a 300 may be a router . device b 320 may be a cpe . device a 300 may have a serial connector 310 . device b 320 , may also have its own serial connector 330 . device b is shown with a disclosed method for automatically assigning ip address to device b as 335 . in this application the term “ simplex ip address ” refers to an ip address in which the last octet of the ip address is one ( 1 ). likewise , the term “ duplex ip address ” shall refer to an ip address in which the last octet of the ip address is two ( 2 ). device a and device b may be coupled by a communications link via the following non - limiting list of protocols : slarp , atm inarp , ppp / ipcp and frame relay protocols over serial , t1 and dsl connections . the communications link may be any link suitable for transmitting ip protocol information . referring to fig3 b , the modular system of 1 a is shown with devices b 1 through b n 320 , 360 and 380 shown coupled to device a . when coupling more than one device to device a , each serial connector of device a 310 , 340 and 350 may have its own ip address . each serial connector of device a 310 , 340 and 350 are coupled to the respective serial connectors of devices b 1 through b n 330 , 370 and 390 . if the last octet for the ip addresses for serial connectors 310 , 340 and 350 are anything other than one ( 1 ) or two ( 2 ), then the known slarp algorithm will not be able to assign an ip address to devices b 1 through b n 320 , 360 and 380 . the disclosed method is shown installed in devices b 1 through b n as 335 . fig4 shows an embodiment of the disclosed method . this embodiment allows for assigning of ip addresses with a last octet ranging from 1 through 254 , inclusive . referring to fig4 , device b powers up at act 404 . device b requests a &# 39 ; s ip address at act 408 . the algorithm determines whether the last octet in a &# 39 ; s ip address is a one ( 1 ) at query 412 . if it is a one ( 1 ), the algorithm adds one ( 1 ) to the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address and assigns that ip address to device b at act 416 . the algorithm ends at act 440 . if the algorithm determines that the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address is not one ( 1 ), then the algorithm determines whether the last octet is two ( 2 ) at query 420 . if the last octet is two ( 2 ), then the algorithm subtracts 1 from the last octet , and assigns that ip address to device b at act 424 . the algorithm ends after that at act 440 . if the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address is neither a one ( 1 ) or a two ( 2 ), then the algorithm proceeds to determine whether the last octet in a &# 39 ; s ip address is less than 254 at query 428 . if the last octet is less than 254 , the algorithm adds 1 to the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address and assigns that ip address to device b at act 432 . this ip address may be referred to as an “ added ip address ”. if the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address is greater than or equal to 254 , the algorithm subtracts 1 from a &# 39 ; s ip address and assigns that ip address to device b at act 436 . this ip address may be referred to as a “ subtracted ip address ”. in one embodiment of the disclosed system , the disclosed algorithm may be stored on each cpe device . referring back to fig3 a , if the ip address of device a is 21 . 244 . 119 . 254 , then the disclosed algorithm would assign an ip address of 21 . 244 . 119 . 253 . similarly , the disclosed system will work in a modular system shown in fig3 b . for instance , assuming that serial connector 310 has an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 2 , serial connector 340 has an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 234 , and serial connector 350 has an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 99 , then , pursuant to the disclosed system , the algorithm will assign the following ip addresses : b 1 will have an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 1 , b 2 will have an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 233 , and b n will have an ip address of 235 . 17 . 198 . 100 . fig5 , shows another embodiment of the disclosed system . device b powers up at act 504 . the algorithm requests device a &# 39 ; s ip address at act 508 . the algorithm determines whether the last octet in a &# 39 ; s ip address is less than 254 at query 512 . if the last octet is less than 254 , then at act 510 , the algorithm adds 1 to the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address and assigns that address to device b . after act 510 , the algorithm ends at act 520 . if the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address is greater than or equal to 254 , then the algorithm subtracts 1 from the last octet of a &# 39 ; s ip address and assigns that ip address to device b at act 524 . the algorithm then ends at act 520 . while embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described , it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the invention , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims .	7
the present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings , wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals . fig1 a shows an exemplary embodiment of a system 180 , in a coupled state , comprising a smart holder 100 and a mobile computer 150 coupled thereto . fig1 b shows system 180 in a decoupled state . with reference to fig1 a and 1b , an exemplary holder 100 according to the present invention comprises a wearable component 105 and a dock 110 integrally attached thereto . an exemplary mobile computer 150 according to the present invention comprises a housing 120 , an attachment component 125 , and a data - input arrangement 130 . to achieve the system of fig1 a , dock 110 permits attachment component 125 to couple to holder 100 . in a coupled state , system 180 may immediately begin operating as a single device . fig2 shows an exemplary holder 100 according to the present invention . wearable component 105 may be formed into any number of shapes and articles capable of attaching holder 100 to a user ( i . e . gloves , belts , headsets , sleds , ring holders , wrist holders , etc .). wearable component 105 may utilize attachment areas 140 to secure holder 100 to the user ( i . e ., velcro ®, buckles , magnets , etc .). wearable component 105 may provide for embedded electronic devices to reside within the fabric or other material used as part of wearable component 105 . preferably , holder 100 is relatively inexpensive so that it may be mass - produced and distributed to a number of users . the dock 110 is integrally attached to wearable component 105 such that the user remains unencumbered when system 180 is in the coupled state . dock 110 may be molded in any shape capable of receiving attachment component 125 . attachment component 125 may couple to dock 110 by plugging into an electrical outlet on dock 110 , snapping into place , etc . according to the present invention , dock 110 may also communicatively couple with attachment component 125 via a wireless connection ( e . g ., attachment component 125 scanning a barcode on holder 100 ). an exemplary holder 100 may contain controllers 215 , 220 , 225 and 230 , each holding a memory device , 216 , 221 , 222 , and 231 respectively . a memory device according to the present invention may be , for example , a hard drive , flash memory , memory card , rfid tag , etc . in one exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , an embedded controller may contain a non - volatile memory ( eeprom ). it may be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may comprise a plurality of memories within or without controllers as part of holder 100 . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , dock 110 may contain controller 215 comprising memory device 216 . wearable component 105 may also contain controller 220 comprising memory device 221 . the quantity and dimension of embedded controllers / memories within either wearable component 105 or dock 110 may be , for example , limited only by the physical dimensions of holder 100 . in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , memory of holder 100 may be sewn into wearable component 105 . memory of dock 110 may communicate with the memory of wearable component 105 . controllers 220 and 215 may be capable of interacting ( i . e . providing for data exchange between their respective memories ), despite their location on holder 100 . for example , controller 220 may be embedded within a section of the fabric of wearable component 105 , while controller 215 may be located in dock 110 . the interaction between memory devices 216 and 221 may be through wired , wireless , etc ., coupling between controllers 215 and 220 . according to the present invention , any number of controllers may be electrically or wirelessly coupled , so long as such coupling does not unduly encumber the user . since the present invention may apply to any number of wearable component styles , there may exist controller configurations which may not permit electrical coupling between all the embedded controllers in the holder 100 . referring to fig2 , controller 215 and controller 230 may be located in such a way that electrical coupling between memory device 231 and 216 may encumber the user . according to fig2 , controller 230 may be in a distal portion of a strap of a strap - style wearable component . according to the present invention , distally located controller 230 may still communicate with controller 215 in dock 110 . however , the memory devices 216 and 231 may interact via other device interaction methods known to those skilled in the art ( e . g ., bluetooth , rfid ). thus , distal controllers ( i . e . 230 ) may wirelessly communicate with memory devices 216 , 221 , and 222 which may be located elsewhere on holder 100 . in this way , users have access to all memories regardless of the location of the controllers and physical configuration of wearable component 105 and dock 110 . in another embodiment according to the present invention , the memory within holder 100 may be configured based on the type of connection between attachment component 125 of mobile computer 150 and dock 110 . in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , the dock may be configured to determine which memory device to use depending on the type of coupling at dock 110 . referring to fig2 , attachment component 125 may be received at any combination of receiver portions ( e . g ., receiver portions 115 , 205 and / or 210 ). for instance , dock 110 may limit mobile computer 150 access to memory device 216 when the mobile computer 150 is coupled to receiver portion 205 . alternatively , dock 110 may limit mobile computer 150 access to memory device 221 when the mobile computer 150 is coupled to receiver portion 210 . in this way , a particular memory device in holder 100 may be selected based on the type of coupling that exists between component 125 and dock 110 . interaction between memory devices may be monitored and configured when holder 100 is detached from mobile computer 150 . in this embodiment of the present invention , the user may select which memory device is to be used , for example , via a selection toggle 235 . alternatively , holder 100 may receive commands from remote applications ( i . e . server instructions via 802 . 11 networks , signals from another mobile , wearable system 180 , etc .). the memory devices 216 , 221 , 222 , and 231 may also automatically recognize which memories to make active depending on prior user settings , algorithms , commands , etc . in yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the mobile computer 150 may control the selection of and interaction between memory devices 216 , 221 , 222 and 231 . an exemplary mobile computer 150 according to fig3 comprises a housing 120 molded to contain components such as memory , processors , communication arrangements , etc . a user may operate the components within housing 120 via a data - input arrangement 130 . an exemplary implementation 130 according to the present invention may be an application - programming interface allowing an application program writer to write code that will access the memory . according to the present invention , an exemplary data - input arrangement 130 allows for system 180 operation using very few keys and smaller displays , as much of the setup and functionality will be automatic . in this way , users may operate system 180 by merely coupling mobile computer 150 and holder 100 , and avoid having the user navigate and enter data with a smaller number of device inputs . the present invention may also include numerous other embodiments of housings and data - input arrangements for use on mobile computers known to those skilled in the art . attachment component 125 may be molded in any shape capable of reception within dock 110 . the attachment component 125 may be disposed in any location on mobile computer 150 which provides for coupling with dock 110 . in an exemplary embodiment of mobile computer 150 , attachment component 125 includes a connection array 135 to be received within receiver portion 205 and / or receiver portion 210 . once attachment component 125 is received in dock 110 , system 180 is physically coupled and permits communication between mobile computer 150 and holder 100 . an exemplary connection array 135 may be an electrical jack capable of plugging into a receiver portion 205 or 210 . according to this embodiment of the present invention , connection array 135 creates an electrical coupling between mobile computer 150 and holder 100 . in this way , attachment component 125 enables a physical coupling of system 180 and provides communication ( i . e . via electrical signals ) between mobile computer 150 and holder 100 . in yet another embodiment , the connection array 135 may be a bar code scanned by dock 110 . according to this embodiment , mobile computer 150 may initiate wireless communications with holder 100 after the bar code is scanned and verified . in this way , attachment component 125 provides physical coupling for system 180 , but mobile computer 150 and holder 100 may communicate wirelessly . fig4 shows an exemplary embodiment of a mechanical arrangement of the attachment component 125 with holder 100 . in this embodiment , attachment component 125 may comprise several receiving surfaces 126 , 127 , and 128 . dock 110 may be formed to complement receiving surfaces 126 , 127 , and 128 . in one embodiment , surfaces 126 , 127 , and 128 may create a friction fit between dock 110 and attachment component 125 . in yet another embodiment , the surfaces 126 , 127 , and 128 may magnetically attach to the inner surface of dock 110 . in an alternate embodiment , surface 127 may be received in a recess of dock 110 . those skilled in the art may understand that numerous mechanical arrangements may be achieved between attachment component 125 and holder 100 where contact with a surface of the attachment component 125 occurs . in an exemplary mechanical arrangement , dock 110 allows electrical connectivity , wireless communication , etc ., between mobile computer 150 and holder 100 . according to this embodiment of the present invention , user activity taking place at the data - input arrangement 130 or toggle 235 may operate any component of system 180 . in one embodiment , a user can access components of holder 100 ( i . e . memory , controllers , power , etc .) via data - input arrangement 130 . thus , devices and device capabilities belonging exclusively to mobile computer 150 or holder 100 become accessible to both devices when system 180 is in a coupled state . in its coupled state , system 180 may be able to perform operations that neither mobile computer 150 nor holder 100 could do individually . for example , access to an 802 . 11 wireless network may require an 802 . 11 capable device found only within mobile computer 150 . further , access to the network may require a wireless network key which may be stored in holder 100 . according to the present invention , mobile computer 150 may gain access to a network ( i . e . restricted / confidential areas ) using the holder 100 as a key . in another embodiment , data - input arrangement 130 may act as an rfid interrogator when system 180 is in its coupled state . using holder 100 as an rfid tag , data - input arrangement 130 may gain access to another rfid interrogator by allowing holder 100 to be scanned . alternatively , data - input arrangement 130 may gain access to otherwise restricted areas after scanning holder 100 . system 180 may possess a functionality ( i . e ., a scanning system for users who scan products , a database search system for customers who seek sale items , etc .). this functionality may include a range of operations capable of being performed based on the type of user of the system . in one exemplary embodiment , functionality may be based on memory of either one or both of mobile computer 150 and holder 100 . information to establish functionality may be stored in memory and implemented seamlessly when system 180 is in its coupled state . in an alternate embodiment , functionality of the user may be stored over a network and only the user id may be stored in the holder in one exemplary embodiment , the functionality of system 180 may be based on a memory within holder 100 . according to this embodiment , any mobile computer 150 may couple to holder 100 and achieve the same system 180 functionality , regardless of the previous mobile computer &# 39 ; s use . thus , a user may wear the same holder 100 and use multiple mobile computers 150 at their convenience to perform the same job task . according to the present invention , the user will experience nominal down time when replacing mobile computers 150 due to a discharged , non - replaceable battery , discharged rechargeable battery , or damaged hardware , for a mobile computer 150 with different hardware ( e . g ., laser scanner , rfid reader , various wan radios , lan , different user inputs and displays .) according to an embodiment of the present invention , system 180 in its coupled state may automatically initiate applications specific to the user . most important concept automatic applications may include set - up of custom user - interfaces , user - authentication , network connections , etc . custom user - interfaces may include display screen lighting schemes , scanning configurations , e - mail , account information , etc . in an exemplary system 180 , when mobile computer 150 of a stock person is snapped into their holder 100 , a product stocking application will automatically start . in another exemplary embodiment , mobile computer 150 of a customer will initiate a price check application when snapped into the customer &# 39 ; s holder 100 . in a further exemplary embodiment , a supervisor application will stat when mobile computer 150 is snapped into a supervisor &# 39 ; s holder 100 . those skilled in the art may recognize the present invention contemplates numerous applications which may automatically start upon system 180 achieving a coupled state . fig5 a and 5b illustrate exemplary embodiments of a mobile computer 150 and holder 100 in diagram form . fig5 a illustrates holder 100 in block diagram form . fig5 b illustrates mobile computer 150 . in accordance with the present invention , fig5 b may illustrate any type of mobile computer 150 compatible with holder 100 . holder 100 may comprise a memory device 501 , a power source 502 , a processor 513 , and a communication arrangement 504 . according to the present invention , power source 502 may be a battery . an exemplary power source 502 may be inexpensive , disposable batteries that can be disposed of with an inexpensive holder . in another embodiment of the present invention , power source 502 may be a smart battery ( e . g . a battery with memory ). according to this embodiment , smart battery memory comprises only battery - related data , but smart battery memory may still be accessed by memory device 501 in accordance with the present invention . mobile computer 150 may comprise a memory 511 , a power source 512 , a processor 513 and a communication arrangement 514 . memory 511 may comprise , for example , one or more databases ( or other data storage mechanisms ) for storing user configuration settings ( i . e ., identification information , custom user - settings , wireless protocols , etc .). according to the present invention , mobile computer 150 may rely on power from an internal battery , external power , etc . communication arrangement 514 may include wireless and wired communications arrangements known by those skilled in the art . an exemplary communication arrangement 504 may provide coupling with mobile computer communication arrangement 514 via electrical , wireless , etc ., connection . additionally , communication arrangement 504 may also provide similar coupling with memory of holder 100 . communication arrangement 504 may comprise an electrical coupling between memory 501 and dock 110 . in another exemplary embodiment , communication arrangement 504 may comprise wireless communications such as 802 . 11 protocol , bluetooth , rfid etc ., to couple holder 100 to a network or another system 180 . in this way , holder 100 may provide functionality data from remote locations other than memory 501 . in a coupled state , system 180 may provide for the transmission of data to and from mobile computer 150 and holder 100 via communication arrangements 504 and 514 . system 180 may instruct mobile computer 150 to read / write information to memory 501 . alternatively , system 180 may provide for holder 100 to read / write information to memory 511 . in one exemplary embodiment , memory 501 and power 502 may be electrically coupled to the memory 511 and power 512 such that only two ( 2 ) electrical connections exist between the components . according to this embodiment , one electrical coupling may be between power sources 502 and 512 and a general purpose input / output (“ gpio ”) bidirectional communication between memories 501 and 511 . in yet a further embodiment , memory 501 may electrically couple to a plurality of memories 511 that may be both electrically coupled to holder memories or communicatively coupled via communication arrangement 514 . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , system 180 may choose which components of mobile computer 150 and holder 100 to initialize and / or operate . for example , system 180 may utilize processor 503 and 513 but may limit which memory to process data from ( i . e . read / write only from holder memory 501 ). an operation mode for system 180 comprises all data / information which derives from user interaction with the functions of system 180 ( i . e . user commands , scanning routines , etc .). the operation mode may relate to the functionality of system 180 or be selected by the user . each operation mode may be stored on memory 501 or other storage locations via communication arrangement 504 . in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , a first mobile computer 150 may be set to the exact operation mode of a previous mobile computer 150 when coupled to memory 501 . system 180 may seamlessly achieve this previous operation mode stored on memory 501 when in the coupled state . in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a first mobile computer 150 may read operation mode data ( e . g ., captured bar code or rfid data ) on memory 501 and automatically communicate applications associated with that mode to memory 511 . in this way , system 180 may be brought to the same point in the application reached by a prior mobile computer 150 . in another exemplary embodiment , user settings that were saved within holder 100 may be reinitiated even if the current functionality of mobile computer 150 differs from that of a previous mobile computer . according to this exemplary embodiment , holder 100 can communicate user settings regardless of a prior mobile computer 150 use . for example , a first mobile computer 150 may have been attached to holder 100 and used as a price checking device by a customer . when the customer switches from the first mobile computer 150 to a second mobile computer 150 , price check settings , items on sale , purchases , etc ., would be rendered on the second mobile computer 150 . the second mobile computer 150 would render the settings of the first mobile computer 150 regardless of whether the second mobile computer 150 had been used for price checking . holder 100 data such as scan times , back light defaults , data capture modes , trigger and button preferences , etc ., may be rendered on data input arrangement 130 without any reduction in user - service . thus , the present invention reduces the time , battery , and convenience costs associated with redefining subsequent mobile computers 150 . fig6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a method 600 of communication between mobile computer 150 and holder 100 when system 180 is in a coupled state . in one embodiment , mobile computer 150 and holder 100 may be in use for the first time , and therefore , system 180 runs an authentication step 610 . in one exemplary embodiment of an authentication step according to the present invention , mobile computer 150 may seek out identity information from memory 501 ( e . g ., user identity in the form of screen names , photo identification , voice recognition , etc .). for example , mobile computer 150 confirms a match between an access code on mobile computer 150 and in memory 501 . in another exemplary authentication step 610 , holder 100 may be authenticated remotely ( i . e ., over an 802 . 11 network , by another system 180 , etc .). according to this embodiment , system 180 authentication may occur by authenticating ip addresses , wep keys , mac address , etc . alternatively , the authentication step may occur automatically / seamlessly upon system 180 entering a coupled state . in an embodiment of the present invention , employees wearing their systems 180 on duty can be identified to other mobile computers 150 as being available to help customers , clean up a spill , etc . in yet another embodiment of the present invention , employees wearing their systems 180 can be identified in a phone directory as being “ on line ” over a voice over ip system (“ voip ”). following authentication step 610 , an initialization step 620 may involve initializing either mobile computer 150 , holder 100 , or system 180 . according to the present invention , the initialization step may occur automatically and / or seamlessly . in an exemplary initialization step 620 , mobile computer 150 and / or holder 100 may run a diagnostic test for network access , software updates , power supply checks , etc . in another exemplary initialization step 620 , mobile computer 150 couples to holder memory 501 to begin storing and receiving data / information therefrom . according to this embodiment of the present invention , mobile computer 150 may seek out application data from holder memory 501 , process application data via processor 513 , and initialize the applications for system 180 . system 180 may require initialization 620 only when it achieves a coupled state for the first time . according to one exemplary embodiment , system 180 , upon re - entering a coupled state , may bypass authentication step 610 and perform initialization step 620 . for example , a user may have already authenticated holder 100 and need not repeat authentication step 610 for further mobile computers 150 . alternatively , a user may have authenticated mobile computer 150 , and by doing so , provide authentication for subsequent holders 100 coupled thereto . in this way , authentication of a single holder 100 or mobile computer 150 may be transferred to either one when system 180 achieves a coupled state . in an exemplary read / write step 630 , the mobile computer memory 511 reads data and information stored on holder memory 501 . alternatively , mobile computer 150 may write data and information onto memory 501 to be accessed later during system 180 operation . mobile computer 150 may perform the read / write step 630 on any one of a plurality of holder memory devices or similar storage devices coupled thereto . in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , mobile computer 150 may read the product information stored on holder 100 , store the product information within memory 511 and store the product information in an online database on a network . mobile computer 150 may also write functionality and operation mode data to memory 501 for subsequent holder 100 use . in an exemplary execution step 640 according to the present invention , mobile computer 150 may respond to the processing of information and data stored on memory 501 . processor 513 may convert files stored on memory 501 into a compatible format , interpret bar code entries or other source data , print charts derived from an algorithm , etc . according to the present invention , system 180 may accomplish execution step 640 via mobile computer 150 , holder 100 , or a network device . following step 640 , system 180 , in a coupled state , may choose to read / write additional data and / or authenticate via steps 630 and 620 respectively . fig7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a network 700 wherein a user may communicate with other devices which are communicatively coupled to an access point ( ap ) 710 . the ap 710 may provide communicative coupling between a plurality of systems according to the present invention ( i . e . systems 180 , 181 , 182 and 183 ). ap 710 may also communicate with server 725 and database 730 over a communications network 720 . an exemplary network 700 may also include another communicatively coupled device 190 ( e . g ., laser based scanners , image based scanners , rfid devices , pdas , mobile phones , portable game consoles , laptops , etc .). in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , system 180 communicates wirelessly with system 181 and device 190 . the user of system 180 may be notified ( i . e . via voip system , e - mail , audible signal , etc .) once system 181 begins operating . alternatively , device 190 may communicate the existence of systems 180 and 181 as being “ online .” according to this embodiment , users of different systems may track , locate , and identify new systems communicating on the network , communicate with those systems , view system information , etc . in yet another exemplary embodiment of network 700 , certain systems may permit being grouped together based on their mobile computer 150 and / or holder 100 . for example , holder 100 of system 180 may contain identification information which conveys system 180 operation mode , user tasks , functionality , user identity , etc . ap 715 may communicate this information to server 725 which initiates a search in database 730 ( i . e . a system task database , system function group database , etc .). subsequent communications with server 725 may instruct ap 715 to group system 180 with system 181 . alternatively , ap 715 may be preprogrammed to group system 180 . according to the present invention , device 190 may also be grouped with systems 180 and 181 based on the information stored therein . once a group of systems exists , the functionalities , operation modes , access grants , tasks , etc ., specific to any one system / device in the group may be established for each system / device in the group . additionally , communications between systems / devices in a group may be exclusive for that group as opposed to other groups on network 700 . in one embodiment , a group comprised of systems 180 , 181 , and 182 , may have a system 180 authorized to access a restricted area . according to the present invention , the access granted to system 180 may be established for systems 181 and 182 . according to the present invention , groups of systems may all be capable of receiving the same communication from sources on network 700 ( i . e . a central server , managing computer , etc .). in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , pages may be broadcast over voip systems from a supervisory computer ( i . e . a server 725 ) to a group comprised of systems worn by “ outside garden department ” employees . the broadcast to this group to help a customer in “ isle 5 ” would be received by only that group and would not appear on other systems / devices outside of the group . in a further exemplary embodiment according to the present invention , a group comprised of customer systems may receive broadcast pages containing price updates for products from the store computer , but the same communication would not be communicated to employee systems / devices . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention , without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	6
the present invention provides an improved apparatus for the dispensing of a ribbon onto a moving web at a desired path on the web , with the apparatus including at least one ribbon dispensing guide arm independently adjustable transversely of the direction of movement of the web , and also includes a means to thread the ribbon on the guide arm on the outside of the moving web and outside the web path of the apparatus . as illustrated in the drawing the apparatus , generally designated 70 , is adapted to be positioned in a web laminating machine , e . g ., a corrugation machine , within an area generally triangular in cross section defined by a guide roll 46 for a liner or lower web 45 , a guide roll 43 for a single face web 44 , and the opposed double backer rolls 47 and 48 that are mounted for rotation about horizontal axes which extend transversely with respect to the in - machine direction across the entire width of liner 45 and web 44 . as shown in fig4 , the double - backer machine 37 has a limited width . therefore , the web or webs that can be processed cannot be wider than a certain maximum width , defined above as the “ maximum web width ”. as illustrated in fig3 & amp ; 4 , an apparatus 71 , corresponding to apparatus 70 , can additionally be mounted above the web 44 to apply a ribbon 20 to the side of the web 44 opposite the flutes 64 , and directly aligned with a ribbon 20 positioned between the flutes 64 and the liner 45 . the laminate can be die cut to form a pull tab so the superimposed ribbons form a tear tape to sever the laminate along the path of the ribbons when pulled through the liner 45 . preferably , a glue machine 38 holds the guide rolls 43 , 46 and a double backer machine 37 holds the double backer rolls 47 , 48 . since the apparatus 70 and 71 are similar , except for the position of the ribbon pulleys , only the construction of ribbon dispensing apparatus 70 will be further described . a frame member 65 on the corrugating machine supports a track 22 on which an apparatus frame 17 of the ribbon dispensing apparatus 70 is mounted by a plurality of support rollers , including transverse rollers 23 , supported in brackets 21 . the support rollers , four in all in each bracket 21 , engage the top , bottom and opposite faces of the track 22 , one above and one below the centreline of track 22 on each side . all of the support rollers are not shown but allow for the insertion and removal of the apparatus 70 in relationship to the right - triangular area defined above in a corrugating machine . a suitable positioning means on the machine frame 65 and on the apparatus frame 17 locate the apparatus frame 17 on the corrugating machine . the apparatus frame 17 includes an internal support angle 58 , which in turn support a bearing or guide rail 30 , which is approximately 2500 mm in length , and is supported by the rollers 23 and the brackets 21 . frame members 19 & amp ; 34 support a lead screw , generally designated 28 . frame members 19 & amp ; 34 are supplied with bearing mounts to support the lead screw 28 and step motor 16 which provide the means for rotating lead screw 28 . the bottom plate guide arm 33 supports the lead nut support 32 and the lead nut 31 . the apparatus frame 17 further includes an angle frame member 58 which supports transducer 59 . the transducer is held on internal support angle 58 by thermal insulative bushings . further , the frame 33 has a guide rail 29 supported below the frame member 33 . frame 17 supports the internal support angle 58 which also acts as a brake bar . a cover , including a cover sheet 18 and a bottom cover 36 , covers the frame 33 from the frame member 17 to the edge of member 33 . a ribbon dispensing guide arm 40 is an assembly mounted on the frame 33 for movement in relationship thereto . while only one guide arm 40 is illustrated in most views of the drawing for purposes of simplicity , a plurality of guide arm assemblies 40 are illustrated in fig6 . a complete system would incorporate 6 to 8 guide arms 40 of identical configuration spaced along the guide rail 29 and spaced transversely along the frame 33 and of the machine direction of the moving webs 45 and 44 . the width of lead screw 28 preferably exceeds the maximum web width of the web 45 & amp ; 44 , so guide arms 40 can be positioned outside the path of the webs for easy thread up of the ribbons 20 , as seen in fig4 . the lead screw 28 can move and position any guide arm 40 in any given position along the guide rail 29 as long as the guide arms 40 maintain their physical order . drive means in the form of a variable speed reversible electric step motor 16 , having an adapter to connect directly to lead screw 28 for direct drive . the transducer 59 has an electromagnet 60 positioned under frame member 33 . the transducer 59 is connected to a control box 13 , having a display panel 11 and circuitry associated therewith , to identify the position of each of the dispensing guide arms 40 as further described herein . the guide arms 40 , one of which is described , comprise a support frame , generally designated 33 , having a linear bearing 30 riding on the guide rail 29 and supporting two pneumatic cylinders 55 and 62 , and an upper bracket 24 supporting a plurality of guide pulleys 25 , 26 and 27 for the ribbon 20 . also , the frame 33 supports a permanent magnet 60 which is attached to each guide arm 40 . the permanent magnet 60 substantially surrounds the transducer 59 and is supported from a bracket 61 connected to the frame . the drive cylinder 55 is actuated by pneumatic pressure to force a rubber bumper 56 toward the lead screw 28 , forcing the lead screw nut 31 to block in the lead nut support 32 , thus forcing the movement of guide arm 40 when the lead screw 28 is rotating . the cylinder 55 is pneumatically operated and is returned to the normal position by a return spring . the cylinder 62 is connected to the support frame 33 by a cylinder bracket 57 and acts as a locking cylinder which is normally activated by a source of pneumatic pressure through a pneumatic pressure supply line to drive a rubber bumper 63 against the internal support angle 58 on the frame 33 locking the guide arm 40 in position to the frame 17 . this lock for the guide arm 40 is normally applied and upon removal of the pneumatic pressure in the cylinder 62 , the bumper 63 is separated from the internal support angle 58 by a return spring in and for the pneumatically operated cylinder 62 operating the bumper 63 . the figures of the drawing illustrate a plurality of pneumatic hoses 54 supported under frame 33 . each of the hoses 54 include a pair of pneumatic lines affording one line for each cylinder 55 and 62 of a guide arm assembly 40 . pneumatic pressure from a source supplies pressure to the hoses 54 via a valve control unit 14 and all lines are supported by energy chains 49 . the guide pulley 25 on each guide arm is the entrance pulley for the ribbon 20 entering the guide arm 40 . the ribbon 20 is rotated 90 degrees from pulley 25 to engage pulley 26 on a horizontal shaft to direct the ribbon 20 to a dispensing pulley or exit pulley 27 . from the pulley 27 the ribbon 20 is applied to the liner 45 . on each guide arm assembly 40 the pulley 25 is adjusted along the upper bracket 24 to stagger the incoming ribbons . in operation , the locking cylinder 62 , on all guide arms 40 , will be extended with the bumper 56 gripping the internal support angle 58 . when one or more of the arms 40 need to be moved to a new position , the drive cylinder 55 is activated to drive the bumper 56 against the lead nut 31 locking the lead nut 31 and the lead nut support 32 so the frame 33 of the guide arm 40 will be moved by the lead screw 28 . the bumper 63 of the locking brake cylinder 62 for that arm is retracted after some slight time delay . the lead screw 28 is operated by the motor 16 controlled by the motor control 15 having an operator interface 10 . the motor 16 can be activated in clockwise or counter - clockwise direction to move the guide arm 40 accordingly . when the particular arm 40 reaches the correct position , the locking cylinder is extended , and the drive cylinder is retracted from the lead nut 28 . the positioning procedure is fully automated . the numeric digital readouts of each guide arm 40 are continuously trigged and displayed in the display panel 11 . the operator enters on the keypad 12 the new position for each guide arm 40 with reference to preset “ 0 ”. once the new positions are entered in the display panel 11 , the positioning procedure can be started . the automated procedure is as follows . first , the controller 13 checks if the new positions for the guide arms 40 are possible . second , the controller 13 find the guide arm or guide arms 40 that can be move in first . third , the controller 13 sends signals to the pneumatic valve 14 and to electric motor drive 15 to move the guide arm or guide arms 40 to the new positions . four , the controller 13 checks if positions have been reached within the preset limits , and if not the guide arm or guide arms 40 are moved again . to find the position of a guide arm 40 , the control circuitry triggers the transducer to send a current pulse down a wire held inside the linear transducer rod 59 . the current in the wire creates an electric field about the wire . when the current flowing down the wire reaches the arm 40 in question , the electric field of the wire interacts with the magnetic field of the permanent horse - shoe magnet 60 on the guide arm 40 . this interaction creates a torque in the wire producing a signal by the arm . the electronics of the transducer head calculates how long in time it was from when the current pulse was sent down the wire to when the reaction signal in the wire is sensed . from this information , position of the arm is discerned and the distance is calculated from the preset “ 0 ”. and the numeric value is displayed . the electronics are designed to discern which magnet to read the electric field - magnetic field location signal from . the operator then has a precise position / location reading and can adjust the arm as necessary , in the manner described above . the transducer 59 and electromagnet 60 are a magnetostrictive transducer . the magnetostrictive element is an extremely small diameter ( i . d . less than 0 . 0125 inch , i . e ., 0 . 31 mm ) ni — fe alloy tube held in place inside a protective outer tube forming a waveguide . this waveguide runs the length of the transducer 59 . to initiate a measurement for position update , a circuit in the control box 13 has the transducer 59 pulse a current on a conductor wire which has been threaded coaxially through the waveguide . during the short time that this pulse is on , a rotating electromagnetic field surrounds the waveguide . at the same time , lines of field from electromagnet 60 in the guide arms 40 focus on the waveguide . the effect of these two fields is to generate a magnetostrictive strain wave just below the magnets producing a signal which ripples back down the waveguide to a receiver in the transducer 59 . this mechanical pulse is converted into an electrical signal . the high - speed clock or an integrator measures the time between launching the current pulse and arrival of the torsional wave . since the velocity of the torsion pulse is known as a material integrator , the distance will be known . the accuracy of the device to know the position of the guide arm 40 has a resolution of 2 . 5 um ( 0 . 0001 inch ). furthermore an automatic positioning system can be used to monitor the movement of the edge of the web 44 . a camera 66 is used to determine the edge of the web 44 and as result , a signal is sent to the control box 13 to automatically move all the guide arm 40 to maintain their relative position to the edge of the moving web 44 . a motion sensor or an infrared system could also be used instead of the camera 66 without departing from the scope of the invention . the memory of the control box 13 is also used to store the positions of the guide arms for numerous set - ups , so multiple orders can be run continuously on the laminator . having described the invention with reference to accompanying illustrations of the apparatus of the present invention , it is contemplated that engineering changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims .	1
the objects , features , and advantages of the inventive concept presented in this application are more readily understood when referring to the accompanying drawings . the drawings , totaling nine figures , show the basic components and functions of the preferred embodiment and at least one alternate embodiment . in the several figures , like reference numbers are used in each figure to correspond to the same component as may be depicted in other figures . the discussion of the present inventive concept will be initiated with fig1 , which illustrates a perspective view of the outer surface of the preferred embodiment of an inner - hinged lid 1 . the inner - hinged lid 1 is shown being separated from a dumpster or trash bin for which it is designed to be attached . in this embodiment there are shown five ribs : a first rib 10 , a second rib 12 , a third rib 14 , a fourth rib 16 , and a fifth rib 18 . each of the ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 runs lengthwise ( the longer dimension ) of the inner - hinged lid 1 . the leftmost portion of the inner - hinged lid 1 is the designated front end of the inner - hinged lid 1 . the rightmost portion of the inner - hinged lid 1 is designated as the rear end . fig2 is a front - end view of the inner - hinged lid 1 , showing the front ends of each of the five ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 . each rib 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , is essentially horizontally oriented , as is shown in fig1 and fig2 . there exists a slight peak of each rib 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 outer surface at the mid - length of each rib 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , as is exemplified at point 10 c of the first rib 10 . each rib 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 is given a three - dimensional structure by virtue of left and right vertical walls 10 a & amp ; 10 b , 12 a & amp ; 12 b , 14 a & amp ; 14 b , 16 a & amp ; 16 b , 18 a & amp ; 18 b ( all the vertical walls are not labeled , due to limited space in fig1 and fig2 ). fig2 does show , for purposes of illustration , the respective left and right vertical walls of the second rib 12 , designated as 12 a , and 12 b ; and the respective left and right vertical walls of the fourth rib 16 , designated as 16 a , 16 b . further , between the left and right vertical walls of neighboring ribs , there exist four lengthwise floors : 11 , 13 , 15 , and 17 , as is illustrated in both fig1 and fig2 . fig1 also depicts a right flange 9 running orthogonally and parallel to the right wall 18 b of the fifth rib 18 . the right flange 9 further bends downward to form a vertical rim 3 , said rim 3 being formed along the entire bottom perimeter of the inner - hinged lid 1 . also , in viewing fig2 , there is shown a profile view of a left flange 8 which , similarly to the right flange 9 , runs orthogonally and parallel to the left wall of the first rib 10 . the left flange 8 bends downward to form the left portion of the perimetral rim 3 . shown in fig1 are the front ends of each of said ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 , ( generally depicted by sub - letter d in fig3 , and further , as exemplified by item 10 d of fig1 ). the vertical walls 10 a & amp ; 10 b , 12 a & amp ; 12 b , 14 a & amp ; 14 b , 16 a & amp ; 16 b , 18 a & amp ; 18 b , and floors 11 , 13 , 15 , and 17 , transition to a downwardly arcuate shape culminating in a juncture with the perimetral rim 3 of the inner - hinged lid 1 . in viewing fig1 , there is illustrated the front ends of each of said vertical walls 10 a & amp ; 10 b , 12 a & amp ; 12 b , 14 a & amp ; 14 b , 16 a & amp ; 16 b , 18 a & amp ; 18 b constructed with co - axial circular apertures 20 proximate the front end of each of said vertical walls 10 a & amp ; 10 b , 12 a & amp ; 12 b , 14 a & amp ; 14 b , 16 a & amp ; 16 b , 18 a & amp ; 18 b . further , in fig1 , there is illustrated co - axial circular apertures 20 constructed proximate the rear end of each of said vertical walls 10 a & amp ; 10 b , 12 a & amp ; 12 b , 14 a & amp ; 14 b , 16 a & amp ; 16 b , 18 a & amp ; 18 b ( the rear ends generally depicted by sub - letter e , as exemplified by items 14 e and 18 e of fig3 ). fig3 depicts a top view of the inner - hinged lid 1 , again showing the five parallel ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 and the corresponding floors 11 , 13 , 15 , and 17 . a sectional view of the fifth rib 18 is depicted , as indicated by section line 3 - 3 of fig4 . in fig4 there is shown the configuration and profile of the left wall 18 b . the lengthwise flanges 8 , 9 are further shown in fig3 . it is also noted that fig4 illustrates the mid - length peak 18 c of the fifth rib 18 , the perimetral rim 3 of the inner - hinged lid 1 , the front end aperture 20 , and the rear end aperture 20 of the fifth rib 18 . fig5 depicts a cross - sectional view of the profile of the rear end of the ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 of the inner - hinged lid 1 as seen from section line 5 - 5 of fig1 . the essentially hollow interior of the ribs 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 and the positioning and alignment of the circular apertures 20 are both shown in fig5 . the structure of the inner - hinged lid 1 permits the front ends 10 d , 12 d , 14 d , 16 d , and 18 d , of each of said ribs to accommodate a circular cross - sectioned lid rod of the type typically attached to an upper surface of a dumpster , garbage receptacle , or trash bin . the circular cross - sectioned lid rod is installed through the circular apertures 20 of said front ends 10 d , 12 d , 14 d , 16 d , and 18 d . once the lid rod is re - secured to the container , the lid rod , in alignment with the circular apertures 20 then provides a hinge axis for opening and closure of the inner - hinged lid 1 . conversely , the structure of the inner - hinged lid 1 also permits the rear ends 10 e 12 e , 14 e , 16 e , and 18 e of each of said ribs to accommodate the circular cross - sectioned lid rod of the type typically integral to an upper surface of a dumpster , garbage receptacle , or trash bin to be inserted through the circular apertures 20 of said rear ends 10 e , 12 e , 14 e , 16 e , and 18 e . the overall dimensions of the inner - hinged lid 1 , along with the number of ribs and circular apertures 20 may be increased , as necessary to correspond to larger sizes of waste containers . in summary , after a certain amount of wear and tear , or strictly for recycling of the inner - hinged lid 1 , it may be removed and the opposite arrangement of circular apertures 20 may then be used , in conjunction with the circular cross - sectioned lid rod , to provide an essentially new hinge axis to function by virtue of the securement of the circular cross - sectioned lid rod to the opposite end of the inner - hinged lid 1 , at the option of a user of said dumpster , garbage receptacle , or trash bin . fig6 illustrates a perspective view of the outer surface of an alternate embodiment of the inventive concept , referred to as an outer - hinged lid 41 . the outer - hinged lid 41 is shown separate from a dumpster , trash bin , or similar container for which it is designed to be attached . in this alternate embodiment , there are shown five ribs : a first rib 50 , a second rib 52 , a third rib 54 , a fourth rib 56 , and a fifth rib 58 . each of the ribs 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 runs lengthwise ( the longer dimension ) of the outer - hinged lid 41 and further , comprise vertical walls and lengthwise floors 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 57 , similar to the inner - hinged lid 1 . in fig6 , the leftmost portion of the outer - hinged lid 41 is designated as the front end 44 . the rightmost portion ( not visible ) of the outer - hinged lid 41 is designated as the rear end 45 . the outer - hinged lid 41 comprises by four symmetrically - spaced front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d at the front end 44 of each of said ribs 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 . the front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d are constructed with co - axial circular apertures 20 so as to allow the front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d to accommodate a circular cross - sectioned lid rod of the type typically attached to an upper surface of a dumpster , garbage receptacle , or similar container . the circular cross - sectioned lid rod may be fitted through the front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d , and once the lid rod is re - secured to the container , the lid rod , in alignment with the front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d then provides a hinge axis for opening and closure of the outer - hinged lid 41 . the overall dimensions of the outer - hinged lid 41 , along with the number of front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d may be increased , as necessary to correspond to larger sizes of waste containers . the outer - hinged lid 41 further comprises four symmetrically - spaced rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d at the rear ends 45 of each of said ribs 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 . the rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d are constructed with co - axial circular apertures 20 so as to allow the rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d to accommodate a circular cross - sectioned lid rod of the type typically attached to an upper surface of a dumpster , garbage receptacle , or similar container . the circular cross - sectioned lid rod may alternatively be fitted through the rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d , and once the lid rod is re - secured to the waste container , the lid rod , in alignment with the rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d then provides a hinge axis for opening and closure of the outer - hinged lid 41 . the overall dimensions of the outer - hinged lid 41 , along with the number of rear barrel hinges 62 a , 62 b , 62 c , 62 d may be increased , as necessary to correspond to larger sizes of waste containers . fig8 is a cross - sectional view of the mid - length point of the outer - hinged lid 41 , as seen from section line 8 - 8 of fig6 . the essentially hollow interior of the ribs 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 exposes the inner surfaces 46 of the ribs , as is noted in fig8 . fig9 is a cross - sectional front - end 44 view of the outer - hinged lid 41 , as seen from section line 9 - 9 of fig6 . fig9 shows the front ends 44 of each of the five ribs 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 , in addition to showing a cross - section of the circular apertures 20 of each of the front barrel hinges 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , 60 d . each rib 50 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 58 is essentially horizontally oriented , as is shown in fig6 and fig7 . while preferred embodiments of the present inventive concept have been shown and disclosed herein , it will be obvious to those persons skilled in the art that such embodiments are presented by way of example only , and not as a limitation to the scope of the inventive concept . numerous variations , changes , and substitutions may occur or be suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from the intent , scope , and totality of this inventive concept . such variations , changes , and substitutions may involve other features which are already known per se and which may be used instead of in combination with , or in addition to features already disclosed herein . accordingly , it is intended that this inventive concept be inclusive of such variations , changes , and substitutions , and by no means limited by the scope of the claims presented herein .	1
the following description is of the best presently contemplated mode of carrying out the present invention . this description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention . the scope of the invention should be determined by referencing the appended claims . fig1 shows a block diagram of the hardware and software of the invention . referring now to fig1 a computer system 100 contains a processing element 102 which communicates to other elements of the computer system 100 over a system bus 104 . a keyboard 106 allows user of the system 100 to input commands and data into the computer system 100 . a mouse 110 allows the user to input graphical information into the computer system 100 . a display 108 allows the computer system 100 to output information to the user of the system . a disk 112 stores the software of the present invention as well as all the data collected by the present invention . a communications interface 114 connects the computer system 100 to a document scanner 116 to allow the present invention to receive information from the scanner 116 and to send commands to the scanner to set the bit depth for scanning . the document scanner 116 may be either a gray scale scanner or a color scanner . a gray scale scanner returns a gray scale value for each pixel scanned . this value is typically eight bits having a range of 0 to 255 , with 0 typically being pure black and 255 typically being pure white , although other scanners may use a different number of bits for each pixel . color scanners return three values , red , green , and blue , for each pixel , and each value has a range of 0 to 255 . a memory 118 contains an operating system 120 which is used by the present invention to access the keyboard , graphics display 108 , mouse 110 , disk 112 , as well as other elements of the computer system 100 . the scanner software 122 contains the present invention . fig2 shows an example of an image being processed by the present invention . referring now to fig2 an image is contained within an area 202 , which is typically a sheet of paper that is electronically scanned by a scanner device . within the scanned image 202 are two sections , comprising the top half 204 which contains a continuous tone image that has some line art 208 but also has continuous tonal areas 210 , 212 , and 214 . the bottom half of the image 202 contains only textual information 206 , which can be treated as line art . the purpose of the present invention is to identify whether a section of a document , for example section 204 or section 206 , contains a continuous tone image or a bi - tonal image . the section of the document to be analyzed will have been previously selected by other software , and the graphical image of the section to be analyzed passed to the method of the present invention . the present invention first performs a density slice operation on the graphical image to be analyzed to produce a binary image . fig3 shows an example binary image that results from performing a density slice operation on the image of fig2 . referring now to fig3 the bottom half of the binary image of fig3 area 206 from fig2 shows a large number of small dark areas which resulted from the density slice operation on the text area of 206 of fig2 . the top half of fig3 which contains the continuous tone image within the area 204 , has also been transformed using a density slice operation . the result is that the line art areas 208 in fig2 have nearly all been removed , however , the continuous tone areas 210 , 212 , and 214 of fig2 have been converted into solid black areas 310 , 312 , and 314 within fig3 . thus , the result of the density slice operation is a binary image containing only black and white pixels . fig4 shows the image of fig3 after the invention has performed an erosion operation on the image of fig3 . referring now to fig4 the erosion operation has nearly eliminated all the black pixels from the area 206 which originally contained text information . thus , a very low count of black pixels would indicate that the area contains line art or textual information . conversely , the areas 310 , 312 , and 314 within the area 204 still contain a large number of black pixels after the erosion operation has been performed . this large count of black pixels indicates that the area contains a continuous tonal picture , and would require that it be re - scanned using a bit depth suitable for grayscale . fig5 shows a flowchart of the present invention . the software of fig5 is contained within the scanner software 122 ( fig1 ) and would be called after the user has requested that a document be scanned and typed . referring now to fig5 after entry , block 502 sends commands over the communications interface 114 ( fig1 ) to the scanner 116 ( fig1 ) to scan the image using eight bit grayscale format . this is typically done at a low resolution , for example as low as 25 pixels per inch . performing the original scan and analysis at low resolution saves processing time and memory , however , the invention will perform correctly at any resolution , thus the invention is resolution independent . the process of scanning the image might also separate multiple areas within the image to be analyzed , such as , for example , the areas 204 and 206 shown previously in fig2 . this would allow the invention to analyze part of the scanned image , rather than analyzing the entire image . this separation of areas is not necessary to the present invention , however , since the present invention will analyze any area passed to it . after obtaining the scanned image , block 504 calls fig7 to perform a density slice operation on the image using a first tonal range . for example , this density slice might separate pixels having a tonal value ranging between 62 and 147 on a scale of 0 to 255 . the result of the density slice operation is a binary image wherein the pixels with values inside the tonal range are converted to black and the pixels outside the tonal range are converted to white . the tonal range to be used for a particular density slice is determined by the type of document that is being scanned . typically , the tonal range that represents a medium gray tone would be used for the density slice . after performing the density slice , block 506 calls fig8 to perform an erosion operation on the binary image that resulted from the density slice operation . the erosion operation is not necessary to the invention , however , it may improve results by eliminating small areas of black ( e . g . specks ), while leaving the large areas of black . block 508 then calls fig7 again passing the originally scanned image to fig7 to perform a second density slice using a different tonal range , for example , between tonal values 39 and 123 on a scale of 0 to 255 . when performing two density slice operations , typically the invention uses a light gray to medium gray tonal range for the first density slice , and a medium gray to dark gray tonal range for the second density slice . after the density slice is performed , block 510 calls fig8 to perform an erosion operation on the binary image that resulted from the operation of block 508 and then block 512 forms a third binary image by using a bitwise or operation between image 1 , formed by the first erosion operation of block 506 , and image 2 , formed by the second erosion of block 510 . block 514 then counts the number of black pixels contained in image 3 that resulted from the operation of block 512 . block 516 determines the area ( i . e . number of pixels ) of the image that is being analyzed , and block 518 creates a maximum pixel value maxpix by dividing the area determined in block 516 by a value of 512 . maxpix represents the maximum number of pixels that an area can have and still be considered line art . other methods could also be used to determine the value for maxpix , such as , for example , analyzing various scanned documents and arbitrarily selecting a value of maxpix that results in a correct determination of the line art and continuous tonal areas of the documents analyzed . after determining maxpix , block 520 determines whether the count determined in block 514 is greater than maxpix , and if it is , transfers to block 522 which sends command signals to the scanner 116 to re - scan the image as a grayscale image , using a bit density suitable for grayscale such as eight bits per pixel , since the image must be a continuous tone image . also , the re - scan may be performed at a different resolution from the original scan , for example 100 pixels per inch . if the original scan of the image was at the bit density and resolution suitable for the continuous tone image , step 522 could be skipped , thus the image would not be re - scanned . if the count is not greater than maxpix , block 520 transfers to block 524 which sends signals to the scanner 116 to re - scan the image using one bit binary bit density , since the image is a line art image . also , the re - scan may be performed at a different resolution from the original scan , for example 300 pixels per inch . after re - scanning the image , fig5 returns to the scanner software section from which it had been called . fig6 shows a diagram illustrating the process of density slicing . referring now to fig6 a grayscale 602 is shown which represents the numerical values that result from an eight bit grayscale scan of pixels . on the grayscale 602 , the value 0 represents pure black and the value 255 represents pure white . along the grayscale 602 , three tonal ranges have been illustrated . tonal range 604 represents the predominantly white or very light areas of pixels , above the value 147 . area 606 represents mid tone areas between the values of 62 and 147 and area 608 illustrates predominantly dark areas between the values of 0 and 62 . the numbers 62 and 147 are arbitrary , however , since many other tonal ranges could be used . density slicing involves analyzing each pixel within an area , and determining which of the three tonal ranges 604 , 606 , or 608 contains the pixel value . if the pixel value lies either within area 604 or area 608 , it is converted to a white pixel having a value of 255 . if the pixel value lies within the tonal range 606 , it is converted to a black pixel having a value of zero . the result of this operation is that all pixels which were originally black or originally white are converted to a white value in the resulting binary image , and all pixels which were originally a mid tone value are converted to black in the resulting binary image . fig7 shows a flowchart of the density slicing process called from fig5 . referring now to fig7 after entry , block 702 gets the first or next pixel from the image being analyzed . block 704 determines whether the pixel is greater than the high density slice value within the density slice range , and if so , block 704 transfers to block 710 which sets the pixel to a white value of 255 and then saves the pixel in the output binary image . if the pixel is not greater than the high density value , block 704 transfers to block 706 which determines whether the pixel value is less than the low density slice value . if the pixel is less than the low density slice value , block 706 transfers to block 710 which sets the pixel to the white value of 255 and then saves the pixel in the output binary image . if the pixel is not less than the low density value , block 706 transfers to block 708 since the pixel has a mid tone value . block 708 sets the pixel to a black value of 0 , and then saves the pixel value in the output binary image . after the pixel has been converted to either black or white , control goes to block 712 which determines whether there are more pixels to be processed and if there are , block 712 returns to block 702 to process the next pixel . after all pixels have been processed , fig7 returns to fig5 . the erosion process removes pixels from the edges of objects in binary images , where continuous black areas in the image are considered objects , and the background is assumed to be white . a pixel is removed from the binary image , by setting it to a value of white , if more than a predetermined number of its eight neighbors have a white value . that is , for each pixel , there are eight neighbors , two on either side , one above , one below , and four on each corner of the pixel . the erosion process analyzes these eight neighbors , and if a predetermined number of them are white , the pixel itself is set to white . in the present invention , this predetermined number is four . that is , if at least four of the neighbors of the pixel are white , the pixel itself is converted to white . the process of erosion separates objects that are touching and removes isolated pixels from consideration . other methods of erosion could also be used to remove the small black areas in the image , to accomplish the same purpose -- that of finding the number of pixels that were originally located in large gray tone areas . also , as discussed above , the erosion operation need not be performed . fig8 shows a flowchart of the erosion process of the present invention . referring now to fig8 after entry , block 802 gets the first or next pixel from the binary image . block 804 then obtains the eight neighbor pixels , and block 806 determines whether the predetermined number of neighbor pixels , that is four , have the value of 255 . if at least four neighbor pixels have a value of 255 , block 806 transfers to block 808 which sets the pixel value to 255 in the binary image , thus removing this pixel . if less than four neighbor pixels contain 255 , block 806 transfers directly to block 810 which determines whether there are more pixels to be analyzed . if there are more pixels to be analyzed , block 810 transfers back to block 802 to get the next pixel . after all pixels have been analyzed in this erosion process , fig8 returns to fig5 . having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention , it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved , and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and circuitry and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the disclosures and the description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention , more preferably defined in scope by the following claims .	6
a first exemplary embodiment of an ide according to the present invention includes a project facility ( a tool residing on the host ) that automatically determines if the application requires any components that are not included in the operating system 140 and allows a user of the project facility to add the required components to the operating system 140 . fig2 shows a block diagram illustrating the first exemplary ide 2 . in fig2 , the host 10 may include a number of tools such as an editor 110 used to edit the source - code in which the application 137 is written . the host 10 may also include a project facility 113 that provides graphical and automated mechanisms for , among other things , creating applications that can be downloaded to the target 20 , and for configuring the operating system 140 with selected components . for example , various networking and file system components may be required for one application and not another , and the project facility 113 provides a simple means for either including them , or excluding them from the operating system 140 . the host 10 may also include a shell 116 that acts as a command interpreter that provides access to operating system routines and dispatches requests to the target server 128 for any action involving target - resident programs or data . the host 10 may also include a debugger 119 which is used to debug an application program by , for example , setting breakpoints in the application 137 or controlling its execution . the host 10 may also include a browser 122 which is used to monitor the state of the target 20 . the browser 122 provides detailed information about objects ( e . g ., tasks , semaphores , message queues , etc .) running on the target 20 . the exemplary project facility 113 according to the present invention provides mechanisms for : organizing the files that make up a project . grouping related projects into a workspace . customizing and scaling the operating system 140 . adding application initialization routines to the operating system 140 . defining varied sets of build options . downloading application objects to the target . the project consists of source code files , build settings , and binaries that are used to create a downloadable application , or a custom version of the operating system 140 ( called a bootable application ). the downloadable application consists of one or more relocateable object modules , which can be downloaded and dynamically linked to the operating system 140 , and then started from the shell 116 or the debugger 119 . dynamically linked means that object modules can be loaded onto a running system . the object module (“ module ”) is source code which has been compiled using a compiler . the module is an intermediate form in the process of compiling application code from higher level language into machine executable code . the bootable application consists of an application linked to a custom version of the operating system 140 . a project may be either a bootable project or a downloadable project . a “ scalable ” operating system is statically partitioned into units of functionality that ( 1 ) expose interface ( s ) to the underlying hardware and ( 2 ) expose interfaces to units of software that extend the operating system . these units of extensibility are called project facility software components (“ components ”). components are operating system facilities that can be built into , or excluded from , a custom version of the operating system 140 . a component may include , among others , the following items : modules ; a list of symbols causing the modules to be linked into the project ; a description of constraints ; parameters ; and parameter values . for a component to run properly , that particular component may have initialization code that needs to be executed . if a component does require that initialization code be executed , then that code must be executed in a certain order . for example , to access a network , an ftp server component should be started only after a network stack component is started . fig3 shows a block diagram of the exemplary project facility 113 according to the present invention . the project facility 113 includes a compiler 250 which compiles the application source code into modules ( the module is defined earlier in the application ). the output from the compiler 250 is sent to an object module examination utility 253 which reads the modules and identifies all symbols either exported or imported by the modules . the outputs of the object module examination utility 253 are symbol names and attributes ( such as whether a particular symbol is imported or exported ). these outputs are sent to an mxrdoc parser 256 which , using the outputs , populates a module cross - reference (“ mxrdoc ”) database 259 . the mxrdoc database 259 is a database containing one or more symbols and modules . the mxrdoc database 259 allows for determining whether a specific module exports or imports a specific symbol . referring to fig3 , a cxrdoc parser 262 is also included in exemplary project facility 113 , and takes as an input a component description file (“ cdf ”). cdfs are data files that describes for a given computing environment all the components that could be in the bootable project . the output of the cxrdoc parser 262 is used to populate a component cross - reference (“ cxrdoc ”) database 265 . the cxrdoc database 265 is a gallery of components and modules that can possibly be used in a bootable project . the cxrdoc database 265 maps modules to components and also indicates the components required by other components . in addition to modules and components , the cxrdoc database 265 may also include the following objects : ( 1 ) parameters ( initial values ), ( 2 ) initgroup ( determines relative order of when components get initialized ); ( 3 ) folder ( groups components for display purposes ; also allows user to add multiple components simultaneously ); ( 4 ) selection ( ensures that a particular interface is satisfied , e . g ., only one network driver is selected for the tcp / ip stack ); and ( 5 ) symbols . a project analysis utility 268 may be coupled to the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 and is used to analyze the information in the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 in order to , for example , determine the set of operating system components which are needed by a particular application . the project analysis utility 268 includes the autoscale function . the project analysis utility 268 outputs component information , such as the components which are needed by a particular application . a configuration tool 267 is coupled to the project analysis utility 268 . the configuration tool 267 is used to build a bootable project . the bootable project includes the source code files , build settings , and binaries that are used to create the downloadable application or the bootable application . a gui 271 is coupled to the project analysis utility 268 and may allow a user of the project facility to , for example , add a set of needed components to the operating system 140 . a dependency management tool 274 , using the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 , determines component dependencies each time a component is included or excluded . that is , it determines if a component which is to be included is dependent upon other components that have not been included in the bootable project , or if a component that is to be deleted is required by other components . when a component is included , any dependent components are automatically included . when a component is excluded , any dependent components are also excluded . in this first exemplary embodiment , an autoscale feature of the project facility 113 determines if the application source code requires any components that are not included in the bootable project , and adds them as instructed by the user of the project facility . it also provides information about components that are not required by the application and thus can be removed . in the first exemplary embodiment , the autoscale feature has two phases : ( 1 ) the “ scale up ” phase which entails enumeration and inclusion of the components needed by the application ; and ( 2 ) the “ deadwood removal ” phase which indicates the components that may not be needed by the application . fig4 shows a flow chart for an exemplary set of steps involved in the scale up phase of autoscaling according to the first exemplary ide embodiment . in step 203 , the application source code , which may be written in a programming language such as “ c ”, is compiled . as stated earlier , the compiled source code may be referred to as one or more “ modules ”. in step 206 , the modules are fed to an object module examination utility 253 which reads each module and identifies any symbols in the module as either exported or imported by the module . in step 209 , the mxrdoc database 259 is populated by streaming the output of the object module examination utility 253 to the mxrdoc parser 256 which uses the output to populate the mxrdoc database 259 . the output streamed from the object module examination utility 253 is , for example , symbol names and attributes ( such as whether a particular symbol is imported or exported ). fig5 shows a diagram illustrating an example of the mxrdoc database 259 . the mxrdoc database 259 is a database containing one or more symbols and modules . a symbol is a name that represents a memory location of a code or data structure . the symbol may be : ( 1 ) produced ( exported ) and thus made available to others ; ( 2 ) private ( unavailable to other modules ); or ( 3 ) unresolved and thus must come from elsewhere ( imported ). the symbol may have a name such as “ var — 1 ”, which may be associated with a value representing a memory location . modules may also be named . for example , a particular module may have the name “ foo ” and thus can be referenced by , for example , other modules by using the name “ foo ”. referring to fig5 , in the exemplary mxrdoc database 259 , a symbol “ var_one ” is imported ( i . e ., used ) by a module foo ; the symbol var_one is also imported by a module “ goo ”; and the symbol “ var_one ” is exported ( i . e ., produced ) by a module “ hoo ”. in addition , a symbol “ var_two ” is exported by a module “ moo ”, and imported by a module “ noo ”. the mxrdoc database 259 maps symbols to modules . the mxrdoc database 259 allows for determining whether a specific module exports or imports a specific symbol . for example , in fig5 , to find all modules that import the symbol var_one , the edges of a graph in the mxrdoc database 259 are traversed to find that the module “ foo ” and the module “ goo ” import the symbol “ var_one ”. referring to fig4 , in step 212 , the cxrdoc database 265 is populated by streaming the cdf to the cxrdoc parser 262 , which processes the cdf and populates the cxrdoc database 265 . the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 are populated independently of each other . fig6 shows a diagram illustrating an example of the cxrdoc database 265 . as mentioned earlier , the cxrdoc database 265 is a gallery of possible components and modules that may be present in a project . the cxrdoc database 265 maps , for example , modules to components . in fig6 , module foo and module noo are mapped to a component “ comp_one ”. the cxrdoc database 265 also indicates which components are required by other components . in fig6 , component comp_one requires a component “ comp_two ” and therefore component comp_one is dependent on component comp_two . referring to fig4 , in step 215 , the project analysis utility 268 determines the operating system components needed ( the “ needed set ”) by the application . in order to determine the needed set , a query is run against the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 to determine those symbols that are imported by the application modules and exported by the operating system components . the needed set are those components exporting symbols which are not exported by the components currently available in a particular bootable project . the needed set may also include components which are specified as being required when a certain condition is satisfied ( e . g ., the “ include when ” command can be used to include component “ c 4 ” when component “ c 1 ” and component “ c 2 ” are present ). the particular bootable project is dependent on the needed set , and the set of components in the needed set will be linked to the particular bootable project at the time the particular bootable project is built . in step 218 , the project analysis utility 268 determines the set of operating system components which are required ( the “ required set ”) by the particular bootable project . the required set is found by subtracting the set of components presently in the bootable project ( the “ present set ”) from the needed set . as an example of using the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 to determine the present set , the needed set , and the required set , referring to fig5 , assume that module noo is located in component comp_one and that component comp_one resides in a bootable project “ boot_proj_one ”. also , assume that module moo is located in component comp_two and component comp_two resides in a bootable project “ boot_proj_two ”. running the exemplary autoscale function for boot_proj_one and in particular comp_one , the mxrdoc database 259 ( in fig5 ) shows that module moo exports the symbol var_two and that module noo imports the symbol var_two . therefore , module noo is dependent on module moo . the cxrdoc database 265 ( in fig6 ) shows that module moo resides in comp_two and that module noo resides in comp_one . running the exemplary autoscale function for boot_proj_one finds the present set to equal comp_one . the needed set for boot_proj_one is comp_one and comp_two ( i . e ., module noo in comp_one depends on module moo in comp_two ). the required set is the present set subtracted from the needed set which results in the required set equaling comp_two . because comp_two is required to define var_two , comp_two should be included in boot_proj_one ( i . e ., comp_two will be linked to boot_proj_one at the time of its build ). referring to fig4 , in step 221 , the project analysis utility 268 presents the components in the required set to a user of the project facility via the gui 271 . the user has the option to add the components in the required set to the bootable project . fig7 shows a first display example from graphical user interface 271 that allows the user to add the components in the required . in fig7 , the components in the left box indicate the components that the user wishes to add to the bootable project . the components in the right box are the components which are required by the components in the left box . by selecting the “ ok ” button , the components in the right box will be added to the bootable project . in the first exemplary embodiment , the deadwood removal phase of autoscaling may be implemented by subtracting the needed set from the present set to suggest components that are not needed and thus at the user &# 39 ; s option , those unneeded components can be removed from the bootable project . in a second exemplary embodiment of the project facility according to the present invention , the project facility supports the use of “ protection domains ” by the operating system 140 . a protection domain system segregates a computing environment into a number of “ protection domains .” each protection domain is a “ container ” for system resources , executable code and data structures , as well as for executing tasks and system objects ( such as semaphores and message queues ). each resource and object in the system is “ owned ” by exactly one protection domain . the protection domain itself is a self - contained entity , and may be isolated from other system resources and objects to prevent tasks executing in the protection domain from potentially interfering with resources and objects owned by other protection domains ( and vice versa ). the protection domain system also , however , provides mechanisms by which tasks executing in one protection domain may access resources and objects contained in a separate protection domain . each protection domain includes a “ protection view ” that defines the system resources and objects to which it has access ( i . e ., the resources and objects which it can “ see ”). by default , each protection domain has a protection view that includes only the system resources and objects contained within that protection domain . however , a protection domain may acquire access to the resources of other protection domains by “ attaching ” to these protection domains . in this exemplary embodiment , the project facility supports three basic types of projects : systems , domains , and components . system projects contain collections of domains ; domains contain collections of components ; and components contain source files and modules . the domains of the project facility represent the protection domains implemented by the operating system on the target . thus the project facility , by using domains within system projects , supports the use of protection domains by the operating system 140 running on the target 20 . the second exemplary embodiment of the project facility also includes an autoscale feature . the autoscale feature is implemented in three phases : ( 1 ) a “ scale - up ” phase to ensure that needed components are available in the system , allowing the user the option to add those needed components ; ( 2 ) a “ duplicate detection ” phase that identifies redundant components ; and ( 3 ) a “ deadwood removal ” phase that gives the user the option to remove unneeded components from their respective domains . the autoscale feature thus provides the minimum set of components needed for the system project to execute successfully . in this embodiment , the system is effectively “ componentized ”, i . e ., the system is effectively composed entirely of components . when new source code is added to the system , the autoscale feature componentizes the new source code ( i . e ., the source code is included in a component ) and information associated with the new source code ( e . g ., modules and symbols associated with the source code ) is added to the mxrdoc database and the cxrdoc database . because the new source code is componentized and information about the new source code is inserted into the cxrdoc database , the dependency management tool ( for example , dependency management tool 274 shown in fig3 ) is merged into the autoscale feature ( i . e ., the project analysis utility includes the functionality of the dependency management tool ). in the second exemplary embodiment , taking advantage of the fact that everything in the system is componentized ( including new user code ), the component description file (“ cdf ”) may include dependencies between components which may otherwise be missed . if new user source code is not componentized then the autoscale feature may not find an accurate list of dependencies ( e . g ., some component dependencies may not appear when using ordinary symbolic analysis ). in this exemplary embodiment , because it cannot be known a priori what other components will be available in other domains in a given system when a domain is created , autoscale operates in the context of a system project ( i . e ., a system project is autoscaled rather than only a domain ). the exception is that a kernel domain can be autoscaled by itself . in the second exemplary embodiment , the cxrdoc database may also include the following objects : ( 1 ) domains ( a static description of a protection domain ); ( 2 ) a symbol exported by this component , available for linkage to a component in another domain ( entrypoint ); ( 3 ) an object describing a region of memory ( physregion ); and ( 4 ) an object managing the regions of memory available on the target 20 ( physregiontable ). fig8 shows a block diagram of the exemplary project facility 339 according to the second exemplary embodiment . in fig8 , a configuration tool 333 may be used to configure the set of domains in a system and also to populate the domains with components . a project analysis utility 330 may be used to analyze the information in the mxrdoc database 259 and the cxrdoc database 265 in order to , for example , determine the set of operating system components and application components which are needed by each of the multiple domains of a particular system . the project analysis utility 330 also performs those tasks that were delegated to the dependency management tool 274 of the first embodiment ( see fig3 ; the tasks include the task of finding component dependencies each time a component is included or excluded ), and thus the dependency management tool 274 has been merged into the project analysis utility 330 . fig9 shows a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps of the autoscale feature according to the second exemplary embodiment . in step 303 , the set of domains of a system project are created and configured . fig1 shows an example of a system project 349 for purposes of illustrating this second exemplary embodiment . the system project 349 includes a kernel domain 350 which may contain all the kernel functions and data elements , and maybe used to provide the memory for all system objects ( e . g ., semaphores and message queues ). the system project 349 may also include zero or more system shared library domains 353 which contain operating system components that require more access than the kernel domain &# 39 ; s protection view allows . the system project 349 may also include zero or more shared library domains 356 which are domains that export functions or data for use by other domains . the system project 349 may also include zero or more application domains 359 ( as shown , two application domains 359 a and 359 b are used in exemplary system project 349 ) which are domains that may reference the modules , system objects such as semaphores , and memory required by a specific application , the application domains 359 contain components and these components reference the modules . in step 303 , the access privileges for each of the domains is also specified , i . e ., the other domains to which a particular domain has access . the path created by one domain being able to access another domain results in a domain link path or an inter - domain link path . the domain link path or inter - domain link path is an ordered list of domains against which otherwise unresolved external symbol references ( imports ) are resolved by the linker . in other words , the linker matches these imports against exported symbols in the domains listed in the path . an example of a domain link path is shown in fig1 . in step 306 , components are inserted into the domains . in this step , the us er , invoking the configuration tool 333 , may insert the desired components into a particular domain . fig1 is an example of the application of the second exemplary embodiment to find a set of present components for the domains in the system project . in fig1 , a list , denoted the “ present set ”, is maintained specifying the components , as selected by the user , in each of the domains . the kernel domain 350 includes the following components : c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , and c 7 . the system shared library domain 353 includes the following component : c 4 . the shared library domain 356 includes the following component : c 5 . the application domain 359 a includes the following components : c 6 and c 7 . the application domain 359 b includes the following component : c 9 . step 303 and step 306 are preprocessing steps and are performed by the configuration tool 333 . in the second exemplary embodiment , the configuration tool 333 may be used to create / configure systems , domains , and components . in the first exemplary embodiment , however , the configuration tool 267 did not have to create / configure multiple domains because there was effectively only one domain and only two projects available — the bootable project and the downloadable project . referring again to fig9 , in step 309 , the components needed by each domain are found . the scale - up phase starts at step 309 . fig1 is an example of the application of the second exemplary embodiment to find a set of needed components for the domains in the system project . the scale - up phase begins at the lowest hierarchical level ( the kernel domain 350 ) and progresses up to the highest hierarchical level ( the application domains 359 a and 359 b ). with regards to the kernel domain 350 , a temporary list is maintained , which may be denoted the “ present set ”, which contains the set of components currently in the kernel domain 350 . in fig1 , the present set contains the following components : c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , and c 7 . the components needed by the present set can be maintained in a list denoted the “ needed set ”. finding the components needed is done according to the first exemplary embodiment as discussed above with reference to fig5 and fig6 ( i . e ., analysis of mxrdoc database 259 and cxrdoc database 265 indicate that components c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , and c 7 require components c 5 and c 11 ). in fig1 , the needed set contains the following components : c 8 and c 11 . the components needed will be assumed to be added to the domain and another list is maintained , which may be denoted k ′, which contains the components of the present set added to the components of the needed set . k ′ thus represents a complete list of all the components needed at this layer ( the lowest hierarchical level ). moving up the hierarchy to the system shared library domain 353 , the present set for the system shared library domain 353 contains the following components : c 4 and k ′. k ′ is in the present set for the system shared library 353 because the components present ( and needed ) by the kernel domain 350 are assumed to have been added to that domain for purposes of the determination , and the system shared library domain 353 is effectively considered to have access to all those components ( the components in the kernel &# 39 ; s needed set and present set ). the components needed by the system shared library 380 can be maintained in a list denoted ssl “ needed set ”. finding the components needed by the system shared library domain 353 is done according to the first exemplary embodiment as discussed above . in fig1 , the ssl needed set is found to contain the following components : c 12 and c 13 . the components determined to be needed by the system shared library 353 will be assumed to be added to the system shared library domain 353 , and a new list is maintained , which may be denoted ssl ′, which contains the components of the ssl present set , and the components of the ssl needed set . this procedure of finding the present set , the needed set , and a set representing the combination of these two sets is repeated for each system shared library domain in the system project . finding ssl ′ for each system shared library domain 353 represents a complete list of all the components needed at that layer , via a particular domain link path ( the shared library &# 39 ; s domain link path ). again , moving up the hierarchy to the shared library domain 356 , the present set for the shared library domain 356 contains the following components : c 5 and ssl ′. the components needed by the shared library domain 356 can be maintained in a list denoted sl “ needed set ”. finding the components needed by the shared library domain 356 is done according to the first exemplary embodiment as described above . in fig1 , the sl needed set is found to contain the following components : c 23 and c 24 . the components needed will be assumed to be added to the shared library domain 356 , and a new list is maintained , which may be denoted sl ′, which contains the components of the sl present set , and the components of the sl needed set . this procedure of finding the present set , the needed set , and a set representing the combination of these two sets is repeated for each shared library domain in the system project . finding sl ′ for each shared library domain 356 represents a complete list of all the components needed at that layer , via a particular domain link path ( the shared library &# 39 ; s domain link path ). moving up the hierarchy to the application domain 359 a , the present set for this domain contains the following components : c 6 , c 7 , and sl ′. the components needed by the application domain 359 a can be maintained in a list denoted al “ needed set ”. finding the components needed by the application domain 359 a is done according the first exemplary embodiment as described above . in fig1 , the a 1 needed set is found to contain the following component : c 25 . the components needed will be assumed to be added to the domain and a new list is maintained , which may be denoted a 1 ′, which contains the components of the a 1 present set , and the components of the a 1 needed set . for the application domain 359 b , the present set for this domain contains the following components : c 25 and k ′. k ′ is in the a 2 present set because for this application domain 359 b , the domain link path connects directly to the kernel domain 350 , rather than to the shared library domain 356 or system shared library domain 353 , as is the connection for the application domain 359 a ( as a result , the application domain 359 b does not have access to the components in the shared library domain 356 or the system shared library domain 353 ). the components needed by the application domain 359 b can be maintained in a list denoted a 2 “ needed set ”. finding the components needed by the application domain 359 b is done according to the first exemplary embodiment discussed above . in fig1 , the a 2 needed set is found to contain the following component : c 26 . the components needed will be assumed to be added to this domain and a new list is maintained , which may be denoted a 2 ′, which contains the components of the a 2 present set , and the components of the a 2 needed set . this procedure of finding the present set , the needed set , and a set representing the combination of these two sets is repeated for each application domain 359 in the system project . determining a set representing the combination of the needed set and the present set for each application domain 359 represents a complete list of all the components needed at that layer , via a particular domain link path . throughout the above analysis of each of the domains of a particular system project , not only is the needed set of each domain tracked , but also to which domains the components in each needed set belong . referring to fig9 , in step 312 , the list of components in each needed set is presented to the user , ordered by , and identified with , the domains / libraries to which they must be added . the user may then override these selections by de - selecting any components . fig1 shows a display ( provided by gui 271 ) that allows the user to de - select components from the needed set for each of the domains in a particular system project . in fig1 , a check mark to the left of the component means that the component is selected and thus will be added to the corresponding domain . for example , in the “ cameraapp ” domain , the “ imaging component ” has a check mark to its left meaning that the component will be added to the “ cameraapp ” domain . by pressing the ok button , the user adds the selected components to the various domains . referring to fig9 , in step 315 , the duplicate detection phase is performed . the duplicate detection phase searches for duplicate components . duplicate components are those that can be found in more than one location in the same domain link path . for example , if a component occurs in both a kernel domain and an application domain , one of the two copies is a duplicate if both domains are “ connected ” by a domain link path . duplicate detection is useful in at least two situations : ( 1 ) the user creates a new system project from previously created domains ( the previously created domains may contain components that can be safely removed from higher levels of the hierarchy because it already exists in lower levels of the hierarchy in the new system project ); and ( 2 ) the user overrides autoscale &# 39 ; s suggestions ( the user introduces duplicates by adding components himself ). duplicate detection begins with an application domain ( the highest hierarchical level ) and proceeds layer by layer along the application &# 39 ; s domain link path ( application domains , then shared library domains ( if any ), then system shared library domains ( if any ), and then the kernel domain ) toward the kernel domain . if any of these layers contain components from the previous layer , these components are flagged for removal in the preceding layer ( s ). duplicate components from the preceding layer are removed in order to have the least amount of effect on the other domains in the domain link path . fig1 is an example of the application of the second exemplary embodiment to find duplicate components residing in the domains of the system project 349 . in fig1 , the application domain 359 b will contain “ c 8 ” after the “ scale - up ” phase . this application domain 359 has access to the kernel domain 350 . because c 8 is found in the kernel domain 356 and the application domain 359 b , c 8 will be flagged for removal from the application domain 359 b ( the duplicate component in the preceding layer , i . e ., the highest layer , is flagged for removal ). referring to fig9 , in step 318 , the user is presented with a list of the duplicate components , ordered by , and identified with , the corresponding domain . by selecting components , the user may elect to have all , or some of , the identified components removed . fig1 shows a display ( provided by gui 271 ) that allows the user to remove duplicate components from a particular system project according to the second exemplary embodiment . the window displays the duplicate components and the domains in which they reside for a particular system project . for example , in fig1 , a “ ansi stdlib ” component is found in a “ cameraapp ” domain and a “ camerakernel ” domain . if the ansi stdlib component is selected for removal , then it will be removed from the cameraapp domain ( the highest level of the hierarchy ). the user selects a particular duplicate component for removal by placing a check mark to the left of the component . referring to fig9 , in step 321 , deadwood removal is performed . in general , the goal of deadwood removal is to take two sets , the first constituting the components currently in the configuration and assumed to produce a working system ( the present set ) and the second , the set of those against which the user would like to perform deadwood removal ( the “ precious set ”), and produce the largest possible set of components that can be safely removed while still producing a working configuration . in the context of protection domains , that is , in the current embodiment , the “ deadwood removal ” ( also known as “ dead weight removal ”) operation takes as input two vectors of sets . the first vector represents the current configuration : each vector element corresponds to a domain and contains the domain &# 39 ; s current set of components . the second vector corresponds to the precious sets , one for each domain . fig1 is an example of the application of the second exemplary embodiment to remove duplicate components residing in the domains of the system project 349 . in fig1 , the user has designated the following precious sets : { application domain 359 a : c 6 , c 7 }; ( application domain 359 b : c 9 , c 26 }; { system shared library ssl : c 4 }; { kernel : none }. assume that the set containing { c 6 , c 7 }, via closure , requires { c 1 , c 2 , c 3 , c 4 , c 7 , c 11 , c 12 , c 23 , c 24 }; also assume that the set containing { c 9 , c 26 } requires { c 8 }. walking through each component in each domain &# 39 ; s present set , we test first to see if that component is also in the domain &# 39 ; s precious set or required ( via closure ) by any component in the precious set . if not , we add the component to the deadwood set . when we reach component c 5 in the shared library domain 356 , we learn that it is neither precious nor required by any precious component in the left - hand link path . c 5 becomes the sole component in the deadwood vector . the deadwood vector is then presented to a user of the project facility . the user may chose to allow the deadwood removal tool to remove the deadwood vector from the present vector . for the example of fig1 , c 5 would be removed from the shared library domain 356 . in the preceding specification , the invention has been described with reference to specific second exemplary embodiments thereof . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow . the specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense . note that references to “ a number of ” or “ at least one ” or “ a set of ” herein shall mean one or more of the quantified element , whereas references to “ a plurality of ” shall mean two or more of the quantified element .	8
the present invention is now described regarding the magneto - optical recording medium of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 illustrates the layer construction of the magneto - optical recording medium according to the present invention . referring to fig1 a reference numeral 11 designates a 1 . 2 mm thick substrate made of plastics , a reference numeral 12 designates an enhance layer , reference numeral 13 indicates a magneto - optical layer , a reference numeral 14 indicates a dielectric layer , a reference numeral 15 represents a reflection layer , a reference numeral 16 represents a protection layer , and a reference numeral 17 represents an overcoating layer made of organic material . as a first embodiment of the present invention , the enhance layer 12 was made of 80 nm thick znse . sio 2 ; the magneto - optical layer 13 was made of 30 nm thick tbfeco ; and the dielectric layer 14 was made of znse . sio 2 . in this case , the refractive index of the dielectric layer 14 was 2 . 2 , and the thermal conductivity was 2 . 2 j ( m sec k ) - 1 . the reflection layer 15 was 50 nm thick cuv , and the protection layer 16 was 100 nm thick znse . sio 2 . in addition , these layers were all deposited by the sputtering method . writing characteristics of the magneto - optical medium constructed as above are now described with reference to fig2 . write / read operation was performed using a magneto - optical disk of the above construction , and the cn ratio was measured . the conditions for the write / read operation were a linear velocity of 6 m / s , a signal frequency of 3 . 85 mhz , a writing pulse width of 86 nsec , and readout power of 1 mw . the laser wavelength used for the write / read operation was 780 nm , and the na of the objective lens was 0 . 53 . the results are shogun in fig2 . in fig2 the vertical axis represents the write power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . the horizontal axis represents the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 made of znse . sio 2 . as apparent from fig2 when znse . sio 2 ( refractive index : 2 . 2 , thermal conductivity : 2 . 2 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ) is used as the dielectric layer 14 , a dielectric layer set to above 3 nm and below 24 nm in thickness gives a wide writing power allowance . it is to be noted here that the wide writing power allowance means a writing power allowance of more than ± 25 % in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . in addition , the dielectric layer having a thickness of 13 nm gives the maximum writing power allowance , ± 28 %. also , the thickness region of ± 57 % around the thickness of 13 nm gives a wider writing power allowance as much as more than ± 27 %. in contrast to this , in the conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in direct contact with each other without the interposition of the dielectric layer 14 , that is , where the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 is zero , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is as little as ± 23 %. in another conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in contact with each other with the dielectric layer 14 having a thickness of more than 30 nm interposed therebetween , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is less than ± 21 %. as described above , according to this embodiment , there is provided an extremely thin dielectric layer that meets the above requirements between magneto - optical and reflection layers , whereby the writing power allowance can be expanded considerably . next , a second embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings . as the second embodiment , the enhancing layer 12 was made of 80 nm thick zns ; the magneto - optical layer 13 was made of 40 nm thick tbfeco ; and the dielectric layer 14 was made of zns . in this case , the refractive index of the dielectric layer 14 was 2 . 2 , and the thermal conductivity was 2 . 1 j ( m sec k ) - 1 . the reflection layer 15 was 40 nm thick alti , and the protection layer 16 was 100 nm thick zns . sio 2 . writing characteristics of the magneto - optical medium constructed as above are now described with reference to fig3 . the write / read operation was performed using a magneto - optical disk of the construction as shown in the second embodiment , and the cn ratio was measured . the conditions for the write / read operation were , as in the first embodiment , a linear velocity of 6 m / s , a signal frequency of 3 . 85 mhz , a writing pulse width of 86 nsec , and readout power of 1 mw . the laser wavelength used for the write / read operation was 780 nm , and the na of the objective lens was 0 . 53 . the results are shown in fig3 . in fig3 the vertical axis represents the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . the horizontal axis represents the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 made of zns . as apparent from fig3 when zns ( refractive index : 2 . 2 , thermal conductivity : 2 . 1 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ) is used - as the dielectric layer 14 , a dielectric layer set to above 3 nm and below 24 nm in thickness gives a wide writing power allowance . it is to be noted here that the wide writing power allowance means a writing power allowance of more ± 25 % in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained , as in the first embodiment . in addition , the dielectric layer having a thickness of 13 nm gives the maximum writing power allowance , ± 28 %. also , the thickness region of ± 60 % around the thickness of 13 nm gives a wide writing power allowance as much as more than ± 27 %. in contrast , in the conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in direct contact with each other without the interposition of the dielectric layer 14 , that is , where the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 is zero , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is as little as ± 23 %. in another conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in contact with each other with the dielectric layer 14 having a thickness of more than 30 nm interposed therebetween , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is less than ± 21 %. as described above , according to the second embodiment , there is provided an extremely thin dielectric layer that meets the above requirements between magneto - optical and reflection layers , whereby the writing power allowance can be extended considerably . as a third embodiment , the enhancing layer 12 was made of 80 nm thick zns ; the magneto - optical layer 13 was made of 40 nm thick tbfeco ; and the dielectric layer 14 was made of sio 2 . in this case , the refractive index of the dielectric layer 14 was 1 . 5 , and the thermal conductivity was 1 . 5 j ( m sec k ) - 1 . the reflection layer 15 was 40 nm thick alti , and the protection layer 16 was 100 nm thick znse . sio 2 . writing characteristics of the magneto - optical medium constructed as above are now described with reference to fig4 . write / read operation was performed using a magneto - optical disk of the construction as shown in the third embodiment , and the cn ratio was measured . the conditions for the write / read operation were , as in the first embodiment , a linear velocity of 6 m / s , a signal frequency of 3 . 85 mhz , a write pulse width of 86 nsec , and readout power of 1 mw . the results are shown in fig4 . in fig4 the vertical axis represents the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . the horizontal axis represents the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 made of sio 2 . as apparent from fig4 when sio 2 ( refractive index : 1 . 5 , thermal conductivity : 1 . 5 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ) is used as the dielectric layer 14 , a dielectric layer set to above 2 nm and below 17 nm in thickness gives a wide writing power allowance . it is to be noted here that the wide writing power allowance means a writing power allowance of ± 25 % in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained , as in the first embodiment . to add to this , the dielectric layer having a thickness of 8 nm gives the maximum writing power allowance , ± 30 %. also , the thickness region of ± 45 % around the thickness of 8 nm gives a wide writing power allowance as much as more than ± 29 %. in contrast to this , in the conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in direct contact with each other without the interposition of the dielectric layer 14 , that is , where the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 is zero , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is as little as ± 23 %. in another conventional case where the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in contact with each other with the dielectric layer 14 having a thickness of more than 30 nm interposed therebetween , the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained is less than ± 10 %. as described above , according to the present invention , there is provided an extremely thin dielectric layer that meets the above requirements between magneto - optical and reflection layers , whereby the writing power allowance can be extended considerably . as a fourth embodiment , the enhance layer 12 was made of 80 nm thick zns ; the magneto - optical layer 13 was made of 40 nm thick tbfeco ; and the dielectric layer 14 was made of a mixture of sio 2 and al 2 o 3 . in this case , the refractive index of the dielectric layer 14 was 1 . 5 to 1 . 6 irrespective of the mixing ratio , and the thermal conductivity was subject to change in the range of 1 . 5 to 20 j ( m sec k ) - 1 depending on the mixing ratio . the reflection layer 15 was 40 nm thick alti , and the protection layer 16 was 100 nm thick znse . sio 2 . write / read operation was performed using a magneto - optical disk of the construction as shown in the fourth embodiment , and the cn ratio was measured . the conditions for the write / read operation were , as in the first embodiment , a linear velocity of 6 m / s , a signal frequency of 3 . 85 mhz , a writing pulse width of 86 nsec , and readout power of 1 mw . the results are shown in fig5 . in fig5 the vertical axis represents the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . the horizontal axis represents the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 made of the mixture of ( sio 2 )×( al 2 o 3 ) 1 - x . the parameter in this case is the thermal conductivity of ( sio 2 ) x ( al 2 o 3 ) 1 - x , where reference characters stand : ( a ) for a thermal conductivity of 15 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ; ( b ) for that of 2 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ; ( c ) for that of 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ; ( d ) for that of 10 j ( m sec k ) - 1 ; and ( e ) for that of 20 j ( m sec k ) - 1 . as apparent from fig5 when the thermal conductivity of the dielectric layer 14 is not more than 4 ( m sec k ) - 1 , extension of the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained can be recognized depending on appropriate setting of the thickness of the dielectric layer . the appropriate setting of thickness here mentioned is , if the thickness is t ( nm ) and the thermal conductivity is cj ( msec k ) - 1 , as described above , according to the above embodiment , there is provided an extremely thin dielectric layer having a thermal conductivity of not more than 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 that meets the above requirements , whereby the writing power allowance can be extended considerably . as a fifth embodiment , the enhance layer 12 was made of 80 nm thick zns ; the magneto - optical layer 13 was made of 40 nm thick tbfeco ; and the dielectric layer 14 was made of a mixture of ( zns ) x ( mgo . sio 2 ) 1 - x . in this case , the thermal conductivity of the dielectric layer 14 was constant at 2 . 1 j ( m sec k ) - 1 irrespective of the mixing ratio , and the refractive index was subject to change in the range of 1 . 5 to 2 . 2 depending on the mixing ratio . the reflection layer 15 was 40 nm thick alti , and the protection layer 16 was 100 nm thick znse . sio 2 . write / read operation was performed using a magneto - optical disk of the construction as shown in the fifth embodiment , and the cn ratio was measured . the conditions for the write / read operation were , as in the first embodiment , a linear velocity of 6 m / s , a signal frequency of 3 . 85 mhz , a writing pulse width of 86 nsec , and readout power of 1 mw . the results are shown in fig6 . in fig6 the vertical axis represents the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained . the horizontal axis represents the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 made of ( zns ) x ( mgo . sio 2 ) 1 - x . the parameter in this case is the refractive index of ( zns ) x ( mgo . sio 2 ) 1 - x , where reference characters stand : ( a ) for a refractive index of 2 . 2 ; ( b ) for that of 1 . 9 ; and ( c ) for that of 1 . 5 . as apparent from fig6 when the refractive index of the dielectric layer 14 is 1 . 5 to 2 . 2 , extension of the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db can be obtained can be recognized depending on appropriate setting of the thickness of the dielectric layer . the appropriate setting of thickness here mentioned is , if the thickness is t ( nm ) and the refractive index is n , as described above , according to the above embodiment , there is provided an extremely thin dielectric layer that meets the above requirements , whereby the writing power allowance can be extended considerably . furthermore , taking the embodiments 4 and 5 together , the thickness of the dielectric layer t ( nm ) is preferably although the substrate 11 is provided by a plastic substrate in the first embodiment , it may also be provided by a glass substrate or a composite one of the two without affecting the effect of the present invention . although the enhance layer 12 is provided by znse . sio 2 or zns in the embodiments , it may also be provided by some other nitride ( e . g . sin , aln ), oxide ( e . g . sio , ta 2 o 5 ), chalcogenide compound ( e . g . znse , pbs ), or mixture thereof ( e . g . sialon , alon , 2mgo . sio 2 ). although the magneto - optical layer 13 is provided by tbfeco in the embodiments , it may also be provided by any of tbfe , dyfeco , gdtbfeco , or the like . although the dielectric layer 14 is provided by znse . sio 2 , zns , sio 2 , ( sio 2 ) x ( al 2 o 3 ) 1 - x , or ( zns ) x ( mgo . sio 2 ) 1 - x in the embodiments , it may also be provided by any of zro 2 , sio , zns . sio 2 , 2mgo . sio 2 , 3al 2 o 3 . 2sio 2 , and the like , which are superior in light transmittance , only if the thermal conductivity is less than 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 . for example , zns . znse can be used therefor . it is also possible to make use of metal oxides or metal nitrides , which have thermal conductivities more than 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 in the form of simple substances , have ones less than 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 by mixing them with a considerable quantity of sio or sio 2 . taking into consideration the reliability of magneto - optical layers , however , the dielectric layer is preferably a chalcogenide compound such as zns , zns . sio 2 , znse . sio 2 , and ( zns ) x ( mgo . sio 2 ) 1 - x , or a mixture of chalcogenide compounds and sio 2 . in particular , layers made of an organic compound such as polytetrafluoroethylene are inferior in reliability , thus undesirable . although the reflection layer 15 is provided by cuv or alti in the embodiments , it may also be any one of layers mainly composed of al , cu , ag , au , or the like . although the protection layer 16 is provided by znse . sio 2 or zns . sio 2 in the embodiments , the protection layer 16 is not necessarily involved , being used here only for the purpose of preventing the reflection layer from corrosion . although the disk is of single substrate type in the embodiments , the present invention is applicable also to that of double substrate type . as described heretofore , the present invention has such an arrangement that a magneto - optical layer and a reflection layer are superimposed on each other with a dielectric layer interposed therebetween , wherein the thermal conductivity of the dielectric layer is made less than 4 j ( m sec k ) - 1 and the thickness is set to within the range of 30 to 24 nm , thereby allowing the writing power allowance in which the cn ratio more than 50 db - can be obtained to be farther extended as compared with conventional cases . this then allows the power margin of writing power to be extended , contributing to the following possible effects : 1 . compensation for variation in sensitivity of the disk due to variation in operating temperature is obviated ; 3 . the disk is loosely restricted in its sensitivity distribution , and therefore easy to fabricate ; moreover , in a conventional structure in which the magneto - optical layer and the reflection layer are in contact with each other without the interposition of the dielectric layer , the present invention serves to suppress expansion of the written domain due to excessive power at writing and to improve the sensitivity at writing . the present invention further allows signal levels to be increased in another structure in which a magneto - optical layer and a reflection layer are superimposed on with each other with a dielectric layer having a thickness of more than 30 nm interposed therebetween . 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 .	6
the present invention is directed to a system and method for the generating and accepting qos based selections of access networks . reference may be made below to specific elements , numbered in accordance with the attached figures . the discussion below should be taken to be exemplary in nature , and not as limiting of the scope of the present invention . the scope of the present invention is defined in the claims , and should not be considered as limited by the implementation details described below , which as one skilled in the art will appreciate , can be modified by replacing elements with equivalent functional elements . whereas in the prior art , an andsf rule indicates when and under what circumstances a ue should offload its data connection from a 3gpp network to a non - 3gpp network , the andsf rules discussed here can be configured in the ue with the qos classification parameters , e . g . qci as a factor in making decisions about how data traffic is offloaded . one example of such rules could be “ if qci = 1 , only 3gpp access ”, or “ if qci & gt ; 9 , 3gpp or wlan ”. qos class identifier ( qci ) is the 3gpp qos classification technical term . in other non - 3gpp access , a different the term for the same function may be used . in this document , qci is used to explain the details of a particular implementation , and should not be considered restrictive . the qci is typically a scalar value that is used as a reference to a specific packet forwarding behavior . this may be implemented in the access network by the qci referencing node specific parameters that control packet forwarding treatment ( e . g . scheduling weights , admission thresholds , queue management thresholds , link layer protocol configuration , etc . ), that have been pre - configured by the operator at a specific node ( s ) ( e . g . enodeb ). when a pdn connection is setup in 3gpp access , the ue receives the qci for each bearer within the pdn connection . with a set of andsf rules that dictate behavior on a per qci basis , the ue can decide to keep the voice bearer in 3gpp access because of a qci value of 1 ; and it may open the wifi interface and offload traffic for which there is no qci ( and thus no qos ). one skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to provide the rule based on the combination of access type , apn and qci . therefore the ue can route the ip flow to the selected access network based the qos classification from the selected pdn connections . with the qos classification based routing rule , the operator can force the ue to offload ip flow dynamically based on qos classification parameters . this can avoid the requirements of dynamic andsf rule updating . one skilled in the art will appreciate that in handling data traffic , the ue will determine the qci associated with the data traffic . then , in accordance with the adnsf received from the network , will select an access network , such as an lte connection , a bbf based wifi connection , or a conventional wifi connection such as a public or private hotspot . the selected access network will then be used to transmit the data traffic . this allows for different data flows to have different priorities and different network access technologies to be used for different data flows . fig1 illustrates an exemplary method for execution at the ue for carrying out the above described process . in step 100 , the ue receives andsf rules that contain qci based differential routing instructions . in step 102 , the ue determines a qci associated with a given data traffic flow . based on the determined qci , an access network is selected in accordance with the qci based differential routing instructions in step 104 , and the traffic associated with the data flow is then transmitted over the selected access network in step 106 . fig2 is a block diagram of a ue for carrying out the method of fig1 . a ue 150 has a processor 152 , a memory 154 and a set of network interfaces 156 . 1 through 156 . n . an andsf rule containing qci based selection information is received over a 3gpp compliant network interface , such as interface 156 . 1 . the rule is received by processor 152 and stored in memory 154 . the processor 152 , using instructions stored in memory 154 , determines that a data flow has a particular qci , and in accordance with the stored andsf rule , processor 152 selects network interface 156 . 2 ( for example a wifi interface ) to be used to transmit the data associated with the data flow . another data flow , such as the voice traffic for a phone call , can still be transmitted over network interface 156 . 1 . it should be understood that although the different network interfaces logically separate , they will also provide connections to at least two different network access technologies . one physical network interface may act as a series of logical network interfaces ( though this may not happen simultaneously ). embodiments of the invention may be represented as a software product stored in a machine - readable medium ( also referred to as a computer - readable medium , a processor - readable medium , or a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein ). the machine - readable medium may be any suitable tangible medium including a magnetic , optical , or electrical storage medium including a diskette , compact disk read only memory ( cd - rom ), digital versatile disc read only memory ( dvd - rom ) memory device ( volatile or non - volatile ), or similar storage mechanism . the machine - readable medium may contain various sets of instructions , code sequences , configuration information , or other data , which , when executed , cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to an embodiment of the invention . those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implement the described invention may also be stored on the machine - readable medium . software running from the machine - readable medium may interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only . alterations , modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto .	7
in fig1 there is shown an analytical resistance furnace 10 , which includes an upper electrode assembly 12 and a lower electrode assembly 14 for supporting a graphite crucible 16 having a pedestal base sitting upon the electrode post 15 of the lower electrode assembly 14 . the upper electrode assembly includes a conduit 18 for admission of a sample from the sample drop assembly shown in fig3 which rests on and is attached to the upper surface 19 of the upper electrode assembly 12 in a conventional manner by fasteners or the like . the electrode assemblies 12 and 14 can be of the type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 056 , 677 or the type employed in commercially available instruments such as the tc 500 manufactured by leco corporation of st . joseph , mich . during combustion of a sample , electrode assemblies 12 and 14 come together with o - ring seals 17 enclosing the combustion area and byproducts of combustion exit through a discharge tube 13 into an analyzer for analysis of byproducts of combustion . a carrier gas , such as helium , is introduced through conduit 18 , as described in greater detail below , through the sample drop jaw assembly . the upper edge of crucible 16 engages the annular electrode 11 of the upper electrode assembly 12 and an electrical current is passed through the graphite crucible 16 to heat and combust samples positioned therein through the unique sample jaw drop assembly of the present invention . crucible 16 may , for example , be of the type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 899 , 627 . although this invention is described in the environment of a resistance heating furnace 10 , the invention can be used in induction and other types of furnaces where it is necessary to admit a sample into an analytical crucible for combustion . suitably mounted on top of surface 19 of the furnace 10 shown in fig1 is a sample drop assembly 20 of the present invention , which is shown in fig2 and 3 . the sample drop assembly 20 includes a fixed sample drop block 30 , a sample drop jaw assembly 40 , and a sample drop slide assembly 90 positioned , as seen in fig3 with block 30 positioned on surface 19 with a conical aperture 32 aligned with the open tapered mouth of conduit 18 . aperture 32 , as seen in fig8 - 10 , is generally conical or funnel shaped , having a relatively wide open mouth narrowing to a size conforming to that of conduit 18 . block 30 is positioned with aperture 32 aligned with conduit 18 such that samples dropped , as described in greater detail below , will fall into the open mouth of crucible 16 during the sample loading operation . sample drop block 30 includes a pair of toggle bolts 34 and 36 which are pivotally mounted to the undersurface of the sample block and rotate upwardly within slots 35 to allow the sample drop jaw assembly 40 to be removably attached thereon . the sample drop jaw assembly is mounted to the upper surface 31 of block 30 , as seen in fig3 with the toggle bolts 34 and 36 including socket heads 38 , which seat in configured sockets 44 , 45 of assembly 40 when tightened into a threaded aperture in rotatable dowels 35 ′ in apertures 35 ″ to seal and secure the sample drop jaw assembly 40 to the upper surface of block 30 . for such purpose , assembly 40 includes an o - ring seal 42 ( fig8 - 10 ) which is mounted in an annular recess 41 in the lower surface 43 of jaw assembly 40 to seal the interface between block 30 and drop jaw assembly 40 . blocks 30 , 40 and 90 are all machined of suitable nonferrous material , such as aluminum . both jaw assembly 40 and block 30 are fixedly mounted to the top surface 19 of furnace 10 , and slide assembly 90 is slidably mounted to the drop jaw assembly 40 as described below . block 40 includes semicylindrical configured sockets 44 and 45 on opposite corners thereof for receiving the toggle bolts 34 and 36 , respectively , for securing block 40 to block 30 . block 40 includes , at its upper opposed edges , a pair of outwardly projecting flanges 55 ( fig2 and 3 ) for captively and slidably receiving the sample drop slide 90 as described below in greater detail . block 40 includes a central , vertically extending opening 46 ( fig2 and 8 - 10 ), which has a side wall 47 tapered to define one side of a sample drop hopper together with a movable jaw 50 ( fig6 ) having a semi - conically tapered side wall 57 mating with side wall 47 and joined together when the jaws are in the closed position as shown in fig8 and 9 to enclose the lower end of the conical sample dropping chamber 52 so defined . block 40 includes a semicylindrical surface 48 spaced from and opposed to conical surface 47 . communicating with the chamber 52 defined by the volume between the semi - conical tapered surface 47 and block 50 and the opposed semicylindrical wall 48 is an inclined passageway 49 communicating with an axially extending cylindrical aperture 51 ( fig8 - 10 ) terminating in a threaded cylindrical aperture 53 into which a plunger assembly comprising an actuator rod 60 and plunger 70 . aperture 53 is threaded at 56 , as best seen in fig2 to receive the threaded end 76 of plunger 70 as shown in the assembled view of fig8 - 10 . the drop jaw assembly block 40 includes an end wall 54 ( fig8 - 10 ) with an aperture 58 therethrough for allowing coupling between the actuator rod 60 and movable jaw 50 . movable jaw 50 is shown in fig6 and is a generally semicylindrical machined aluminum block which slidably moves within the chamber 52 with tapered surface 57 facing mating surface 47 to define an enclosed hopper which can be opened , as seen in fig1 , for dropping a sample therefrom into the analytical furnace 10 . the side wall 59 ( fig6 ) of movable jaw 50 includes a threaded stud 59 ′ extending therefrom . the actuator rod 60 includes a cylindrical end 62 having an internally threaded socket 63 that threads onto stud 59 ′ for coupling the actuator plunger rod 60 to the movable jaw 50 , as seen in fig8 - 10 . the end 62 of actuator rod 60 thus extends through aperture 58 in wall 54 of block 50 to communicate with and engage movable jaw 50 . rod 60 is machined of a ferro - magnetic material such as steel , and includes an annular flange 64 ( fig2 and 8 - 10 ) near end 62 for receiving a compression spring 65 which , as seen in fig8 and 9 , urges the movable jaw 50 coupled thereto to a closed sample holding position . the rod 60 includes a post 66 at an opposite end for receiving an o - ring 67 which engages an end wall 77 ′ of plunger 70 ( fig1 ) to prevent a metallic interface upon retraction of the rod actuator 60 within plunger 70 as described in greater detail below . as best seen in fig5 plunger 70 comprises a thin non - ferrous cylindrical tube 72 which has an annular collar 74 at one end with external threads 75 and an annular shoulder 76 for receiving an o - ring 77 which seats and seals against surface 57 ′ ( fig2 and 8 - 10 ) of block 40 for sealing the interface between plunger 70 and block 40 . plunger 70 further includes a nipple 78 at an end opposite o - ring seal 77 for the admission of an inert gas through an axial opening 79 therein which communicates with a transversely extending aperture 80 to allow an inert gas , such as helium , to flood into the space surrounding the outer diameter of the movable actuator rod 60 and the interior wall 82 of plunger 70 . wall 77 ′ is formed of a cylindrical block dimensioned to allow the helium gas to extend around the periphery thereof and is secured to the nipple 78 by a solder joint 84 ( fig5 ). an o - ring 85 surrounds nipple 78 to allow an airtight coupling of a helium source to nipple 78 , which may be threaded to receive a coupling nut or the like for the introduction of the inert gas . a solenoid actuating coil 86 ( fig2 , and 8 - 10 ) surrounds the outer cylindrical surface 72 of plunger 70 and includes a pair of conductors 87 coupled to a suitable electrical control circuit for inducing a magnetic field within plunger 70 , drawing the ferro - magnetic actuator rod 60 into the plunger cylinder to a position shown in fig1 when actuated for sliding jaw 50 to the open position as shown in fig1 . the jaw can move relatively freely within the chamber 52 defined within block 40 and yet is completely sealed by the utilization of the o - ring seal 77 from the outside atmosphere . thus , there are no dynamic seals associated with the movable jaw assembly as it moves from a closed to an open position . instead , the jaw is freely movable under the influence of a magnetic field which couples the plunger to the actuating solenoid 86 . a sample is admitted to the sample drop jaw assembly 40 through the sample drop slide assembly 90 now briefly described in conjunction with fig7 - 10 . sample drop slide 90 is a machined aluminum block which includes a conically tapered aperture 92 which aligns with the chamber 52 when in the sample drop position shown in fig8 . adjacent aperture 92 is a sealing piston assembly comprising a disk - shaped piston 94 having a piston seal 95 mounted to the outer cylindrical periphery thereof and an annular groove 96 on its face facing the upper surface 41 ′ of block 40 for receiving an o - ring seal 98 . seal 98 effectively seals the open mouth 46 of the sample drop jaw assembly when in a position shown in fig9 and described below . the piston 94 and its seal 95 is received in a piston cylinder 100 formed in block 90 which includes a pair of inwardly facing slots 102 which slidably fit over and captively hold sample drop slide 90 to block 40 by engaging flanges 55 . a source of pressurized air communicates with cylinder 100 through aperture 104 and a sealed coupling 106 coupled to threaded aperture 104 by an o - ring seal 105 to pressurize the piston 94 , pushing it downwardly against the sealing surface 41 ′ of block 40 during dropping of a sample and subsequent combustion of the sample by furnace 10 . the sliding block 90 may include a sealed window 108 allowing an operator to view downwardly into the analytical furnace during a cycle of combustion . for such purpose , a quartz window 110 ( fig8 - 10 ) suitably sealed to block 40 can be employed for providing viewing of the combustion operation . an actuator arm 120 is coupled to slide 90 on a pneumatic actuator ( not shown ) for moving slide 90 between sample loading and sample dropping positions during operation of the sample loading assembly 20 as now described in connection with fig8 - 10 . sample loading is accomplished by positioning sample drop slide 90 with open mouth 92 above the chamber 52 of sample drop jaw assembly 40 as seen in fig8 . in this position , a sample , such as a pin , chip , or rod sample 112 , can be dropped by an operator downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow a through the funnel - shaped opening 92 into the hopper defined by fixed side wall 47 of block 40 and the movable side wall 57 of movable jaw 50 . the sample is retained in the bottom of the hopper so defined and slide 90 is then moved in a direction indicated by arrow b , as shown in fig9 such that the piston sealing o - ring 98 surrounds the upper circular opening of hopper 52 and pressure is applied to the piston through fitting 106 to pressurize the piston , thereby forming a sealing engagement with drop jaw assembly 40 . at this time , an inert gas , such as helium , is introduced through fitting 78 with the flow of gas entering opening 79 , extending through transverse opening 80 into the annular space between the outer surface of actuator rod 60 and the inner surface 82 of cylinder 72 through upwardly extending passageway 49 into the volume of hopper 52 including the area surrounding cylindrical wall 48 . the gas advances downwardly through the jaws into channel 18 of the now enclosed electrodes of the furnace , outwardly through tube 13 and into the analyzer . after a suitable purge time , solenoid 86 is actuated by a control signal on conductors 87 to retract jaw 50 to the right , as indicated by arrow c in fig1 , allowing the sample 112 to drop by gravity through the funnel - shaped opening 32 aligned with conduit 18 in upper electrode assembly 12 . it is noted that by elimination of separate jaw members and by machining surface 47 into block 40 , the amount of trapped air space needing to be purged is greatly reduced , allowing the purging time to be less . the helium gas continues to flow through the opening 79 and passageway 49 into the area provided by the loosely fitted movable jaw 50 downwardly , as indicated by arrow d in fig1 , to continuously sweep byproducts of combustion out of the furnace 10 through conduit 13 into an analyzer ( not shown ) during a cycle of analysis . actuator arm 120 can be coupled to a suitable pneumatic cylinder with a throw length sufficient for moving slide 90 between the sample admission position shown in fig8 to a sealing position shown in fig9 and 10 . it is noted also that the slide 90 may be moved from left to right as opposed to right to left , such that a sample can be admitted to opening 92 and rest on the upper surface 41 ′ of block 40 until such time as it is desired to be dropped into the hopper 52 by moving the slide to the position shown in fig8 from a position to the left of that shown in fig8 . subsequently , the slide will be moved again to a position as shown in fig9 for the operation of the piston seal enclosing the hopper 52 . it is seen , therefore , with the sample drop assembly 20 of the present invention , a sample can be admitted to a sample drop jaw assembly which is subsequently sealed from the atmosphere and the jaw can be moved without the use of dynamic seals on the moving parts of the jaw , thereby preventing any minute amount of contaminant gas which may otherwise be present in a dynamic seal construction from entering the combustion zone during an analysis . the result is that very small levels of oxygen and nitrogen can be detected by an analyzer without interference from atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen which otherwise may leak into the system through sample assemblies . by providing a single movable jaw element also , the volume which must be purged using an inert gas is reduced , and , by providing a spring loaded jaw assembly which holds a sample in a closed sample holding position , only momentary actuation of the solenoid 86 is required to drop a sample into the furnace for analysis . the jaw 50 can be retracted as desired , however , for viewing the sample through the quartz window 110 during an analysis , if desired . it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described herein can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	5
in the above composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, if the amount of the constituent element ( 1 ), or aluminous cement , is too small , or below the specified range shown above , it generally leads to deterioration of the material properties such as its compressive strength , while if the amount is too large , or in excess of the specified range , it will cause a reduction in any one of the constituent elements ( 2 ) to ( 4 ), bringing about an adverse effect on the material quality . therefore , the amount of aluminous cement should be carefully determined to be maintained within the range specified above . likewise , should the amount of the element ( 2 ) fall short of the prescribed range , it will induce a decline in density of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material . on the other hand , too much of the element ( 2 ) will cause a decrease in hardness of the material . so , the amount of constituent element ( 2 ) should be appropriately set within the specified range . further , in the above composition &# 34 ; a :, if the amount of the constituent element ( 3 ) is too little , or below the specified range , the resulting building material will show and increased water - absorption property , whereas too much of the element ( 3 ) will mean decreases in the amount of ( 1 ) and other constituent elements , which will adversely affect the strength and other properties of the material . so , again , the amount of the element ( 3 ) should be adjusted within the specified range . similarly , should the amount of the constituent element ( 4 ) fall below the range limit as specified above , it will likely cause air bubbles to appear in the surface of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material , while too much of the element ( 4 ) will weaken the strength of the building material of the present invention , so that the amount of the constituent element ( 4 ) should be kept within the specified range . since these constituent elements ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) cooperate with each other and work in interactive and complementing ways to contribute jointly toward the excellent material properties of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material , it would be impossible to describe individually actions and effects of these constituent elements ( 1 ) to ( 4 ). however , it is possible to provide the optimal composition of these constituent elements ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) by experimentally and easily controlling the amounts of the elements ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) within their respective specified ranges , so that desired material properties of the building material may be obtained . in the composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, it is possible to employ more than one component elements listed in each of the constituent elements ( 2 ), ( 3 ) or ( 4 ). when more than one component elements are employed in any one of these element categories ( 2 ), ( 3 ) or ( 4 ), however , the total amount of such component elements employed should be kept within the prescribed range for that category . for instance , if two component elements in the category ( 2 ) are to be employed , the total combined amount of these components employed should remain within the prescribed range of 3 to 10 parts by weight . component elements in the constituent element category ( 4 ) may include , for instance , sodium carbonate stearate , potassium oxide stearate , magnesium stearate , calcium stearate and the like . in composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, constituent elements in categories ( 5 ), ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) are , as noted earlier , employed to prevent solidification delay and crystalline transition , which are shortcomings of aluminous cement , and help long - term stabilization , and are not used to directly contribute to the product ( material ) strength and other properties . however , 3 % in the case of silicic acid , 5 % for fly ash and 3 % for gypsum and aluminum sulfate are considered appropriate standards . the mortar composition of the present invention is composed of composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; described above and aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; at the rate of about 1 to about 4 parts by volume per 1 part by volume of the said composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; for the aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; various types of conventional aggregates for conventional mortar compositions may be employed , including natural and artificial aggregates . it is also possible to control the weight of the ceramic tile - like uncalcined building material of the present invention by the use of light - weight aggregates besides conventional ones . such aggregates are well - known by themselves and may be used in the present invention . they may include aggregates mainly composed of expanded shale , fly ash , lightweight aggregates mixed with granulated blast - furnace slag , barite ( artificial light - weight aggregate ), volcanic ash ( natural lightweight aggregate ) and the like . appropriate mixture of these with general river sand and crushed stone can be utilized to control the weight ( weight per unit of volume ) of the ceramic tile - like uncalcined building material of the present invention . the mortar composition of the present invention may further comprise additional constituent elements . such additional elements may include coloring agents like pigments and mineral fibers such as glass wool and rock wool . the total amount of such additional constituent elements just mentioned may vary , as long as it does not adversely affect the excellent surface gloss and other superior material properties of the ceramic tile - like uncalcined building material of the present invention . for example , it is possible to add , based on the weight of composition &# 34 ; a :, the coloring agent of about 0 . 5 to about 5 . 0 % by weight and mineral fibers of about 0 . 5 to about 3 % by weight . blending of mineral fibers improves the bending strength of the building material of the present invention . although the amount of mineral fibers to be added may be more than about 3 % by weight , any further amount will not contribute to further improvement in the bending strength of the building material . therefore , up to about 3 % by weight is sufficient for the amount of fibers to be added . the production process of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material of the present invention is as follows : 1 part by volume of the aluminous cement - composition &# 34 ; a : is mixed with about 1 to about 4 parts by volume of aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and possibly some other elements to make mortar composition , to which an appropriate amount of water is added . for example , 1 part by volume of composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; is mixed and kneaded together with about 3 parts by volume of aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and about 1 . 5 parts by volume of water , with the mixture then cast in a desired mold to produce the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material of the present invention . the mold casting process by itself may be well - known and conventional , which can be applied to the present invention . generally speaking , the paste mixture is cast into a mold an then kept stationary for about 8 hours , after which the building material of the present invention will be removed from the mold . in casting of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material of the present invention in a mold , it is particularly preferable that the mold be provided with a smooth surface on the inside that comes into direct contact with the surface of the product . for example , the mold frame is placed on a glass plate , into which then the mortar composition of the present invention is poured up to a necessary thickness , and the process yields tiles of the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material . if various other types of molding frames are used in place of the glass plate , the process can easily produce other products such as roofing tiles , paving stones , flower pots and the like , according to the present invention . the ceramic tile - like aluminous cement - uncalcined building material of the present invention can find a broad area of application in a variety of types of building material . for example , the building material of the present invention may be used to make a wide range of products from high - quality bricks , roofing tiles , tiles , cement blocks for gate and wall structures , tiles for both house interior and exterior applications , paving stones , flower - bed bricks , flower pots , to building materials for high - rise building structures . several types of actual application possibilities of the present invention are described in detail below , with reference to some actual examples and reference case descriptions . each of compositions &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; shown in the following table 1 is mixed with average aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; where aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is crush - run having a grain size of 0 to 5 mm and a specific gravity of at least 15 t / m 3 at a ratio of &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;= 2 to 8 by volume to produce a mixture . then , 20 parts by weight of water is added to 100 parts by weight of the said mixture and the resulting composition is kneaded to prepare a paste which is then cast in a triplex shuttering mold , each casting section of which has a size of 4 cm ( longitudinal length ) by 4 cm ( cross width ) by 10 cm ( depth ), to produce testing pieces for a uniaxial compressive strength measurement of the building material . another testing piece to be employed for measurement of specular reflection ratio ( of the surface of the molded material ), water - absorption ratio , hardness and the number of air bubbles appearing on the surface of the building material is obtained by casting the said paste in a tile - type shuttering mold having a size of 8 cm ( longitudinal length ) by 13 cm ( cross width ) by 2 cm ( thickness or depth ), where the tile - type shuttering mold is a plastic mold with a smooth bottom surface . the tile - shaped hardened material thus obtained was tested for its uniaxial compressive strength ( 7 days after casting ), specular reflection ratio ( of the surface of the cast material ), water - absorption ratio , hardness and the number of air bubbles appearing on the surface . the test results are shown in the following table 1 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ * * ref act act act act act ref ref ref refno . 1 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5__________________________________________________________________________composition ( 1 ) 91 84 81 76 71 68 84 91 76 71 &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; a . c . ( 2 ). sub .-- 0 3 5 8 9 10 0 8 5 10 mn . ( 3 )* 0 3 . 5 4 5 . 5 9 10 4 0 10 10 zc ( 4 )* 0 0 . 5 1 1 . 5 2 3 3 2 0 0 sr ( 5 - 7 )* 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 st total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100test unia - 350 465 470 474 460 435 310 303 297 282items c . s . * sp . r . 72 92 94 95 95 94 82 77 76 73 r * w . a . . 25 . 1 . 08 . 06 . 05 . 06 . 15 . 18 . 20 . 22 r * hn * 4 5 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 no . b . * 13 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 11 13__________________________________________________________________________ legend : ref . : reference case act . : actual application example ( 1 ): aluminous cement ( 2 ): montmorillonite ( 3 ): zirconia ( 4 ): stearates ( 5 - 7 ) st : standard value , where ( 5 ) is silica ( st . v . at 3 ), ( 6 ) is gypsum ( st . v . at 3 ) and ( 7 ) is aluminum sulfate ( st . v . at 3 ) uniac . s . : uniaxial compressive strength at 7 days ( kg / cm . sup . 2 ) sp . r . r : specular reflection ratio w . a . r : waterabsorption ratio hn : hardness no . b . : number of air bubbles appearing on the surface notes : 1 . waterabsorption ratio = ( weight after 24 hours immersion in water - dr weight )/ dry weight 2 . hardness : fluorite = 4 , apatite = 5 , orthoclase = 6 , and quartz = 7 3 . number of air bubbles appearing on the surface : the number of air bubbles remaining in the bottom surface of the shuttering mold ( area of 1 cm × 20 cm ) in this series of examples , a lightweight aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; ( barite with specific gravity of less than 1 . 0 ) was used in place of the normal aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; in each of the actual examples 1 to 5 and the reference cases 1 to 5 described above , at an &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; ratio of 25 to 75 parts by volume to prepare another set of test pieces . all other remaining conditions for the preparation were identical with those employed in the preparation for examples 1 to 5 and references 1 to 5 shown in table 1 . test results for the second test pieces are presented in the following table 2 . as indicated by table 2 , the new test pieces employing the lightweight aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; show a decline in its uniaxial compressive strength . however , as for other remaining properties , the new test pieces were shown to have substantially the same properties as those in table 1 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ * * ref act act act act act ref ref ref refno . 6 6 7 8 9 10 7 8 9 10__________________________________________________________________________composition ( 1 )* 91 84 81 76 71 68 84 91 76 71 &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; a . c . ( 2 ). sub .-- mn . 0 3 5 8 9 10 0 8 5 10 ( 3 )* 0 3 . 5 4 5 . 5 9 10 4 0 10 10 zc ( 4 )* 0 0 . 5 1 1 . 5 2 3 3 2 0 0 sr ( 5 - 7 )* 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 st total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100test unia - 260 310 325 330 320 313 255 238 230 226items c . s . * sp . r . 72 93 94 95 94 95 81 76 76 74 r * w . a . . 26 . 1 . 07 . 07 . 05 . 06 . 16 . 18 . 21 . 22 r * hn * 4 5 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 no . b . * 12 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 10 13__________________________________________________________________________ legend : ref . : reference case act . : actual application example ( 1 ): aluminous cement ( 2 ): montmorillonite ( 3 ): zirconia ( 4 ): stearates ( 5 - 7 ) st : standard value , where ( 5 ) is silica ( st . v . at 3 ), ( 6 ) is gypsum ( st . v . at 3 ) and ( 7 ) is aluminum sulfate ( st . v . at 3 ) uniac . s . : uniaxial compressive strength at 7 days ( kg / cm . sup . 2 ) sp . r . r : specular reflection ratio w . a . r : waterabsorption ratio hn : hardness no . b . : number of air bubbles appearing on the surface notes : 1 . waterabsorption ratio = ( weight after 24 hours immersion in water - dr weight )/ dry weight 2 . hardness : fluorite = 4 , apatite = 5 , orthoclase = 6 , and quartz = 7 3 . number of air bubbles appearing on the surface : the number of air bubbles remaining in the bottom surface of the shuttering mold ( area of 1 cm × 20 cm ) the following table 3 shows further test results of the building material of the present invention , when glass wool was added to the mortar composition of actual application example 3 , described earlier , at the following percentage ratios , as indicated in the table , based on the total amount by weight of composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;. all other remaining conditions in preparation of examples 11 to 14 below were identical to those employed in preparation of example 3 . results of the bending strength test conducted 7 days after casting of the material with glass wool addition are shown in table 3 . table 3______________________________________ act ex . act ex . act ex . act ex . act ex . no . 3 11 12 13 14______________________________________glass wool 0 0 . 5 1 2 3 ( wt %) bending 37 70 73 75 76strength ( 7 dayslater ( kg / cm . sup . 2 ) ______________________________________ table 4 below shows further test results of the building material of the present invention , when glass wool was added to the mortar composition of actual application example 8 , described earlier , at the following percentage ratios , as indicated in the table , based on the total amount by weight of composition &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and aggregate &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;. table 4______________________________________ act ex . act ex . act ex . act ex . act ex . no . 8 15 16 17 18______________________________________glass wool 0 0 . 5 1 2 3 ( wt %) bending 27 47 49 49 . 5 50strength ( 7 dayslater )( kg / cm . sup . 2 ) ______________________________________	2
the present invention is embodied in apparatus and related methods for automatically implementing intermittent intravenous medical therapy using a fluid bag having a configuration that largely defines the sequence and flow rate of the infusion of medications into a patient . the invention is advantageous in simplifying the administration of intermittent intravenous medical infusion therapy . a patient ( or caregiver ), with relatively little medical training , would receive a fluid bag having chambers configured with predetermined geometries and prefilled with prescribed medications and would self - administer the therapy using an infusion pump . because the therapy is defined by the bag &# 39 ; s configuration , the patient , nurse or caregiver would not need to program the infusion pump or perform manual manipulations during the infusion procedure thus substantially reducing the patient &# 39 ; s risks due to improper administration . referring to fig1 and 2 , the invention is embodied in a multiple chamber fluid bag 20 or cartridge having a plurality of fluid chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 . the bag is a laminate of two flexible plastic sheets attached together to form four separate and distinct chambers and corresponding passageways ( not shown ) from each chamber to a common passageway 30 and an exit port 31 . the unitary bag is relatively flat with the chambers generally lying in a common plane . when chambers are filled with fluid , they expand to have a cylindrical or a &# 34 ; pillow - like &# 34 ; shape . an infusion tube 32 is coupled to the exit port . a connector 34 is coupled to the tube for connection to standard i . v . couplers . a clip 36 is provided on the tube to stop fluid flow through the tube if needed . although four chambers are shown in fig1 ., as will be discussed in more detail below , the fluid bag may be configured with any of a wide variety of chamber numbers , positions , sequences , and geometries . each chamber may also include one or more fill ports 38 for filling the chambers . the bag may also include alignment holes 40 ( or other alignment vehicles ) for positioning the bag within an infusion pump having corresponding alignment pegs ( not shown ). the chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 may be emptied by applying pressure to the bag 20 . as discussed below with respect to fig2 and 25 , the pressure may be applied by a roller traveling from the top of the bag toward its bottom at a steady rate . other apparatus and methods for applying pressure to the chambers are also discussed in more detail below with respect to fig1 - 23 . the chambers of the fluid bag 20 of fig1 and 2 are suitably configured to implement a sash infusion therapy . sash is an acronym for saline - antibiotic - saline - heparin . the first chamber 22 is typically filled with about 5 ml . of saline solution . the second chamber 24 is typically filled with about 100 ml . of liquid antibiotic . the third and fourth chambers are each typically filled with about 5 ml . of saline solution and heparinized solution , respectively . with reference now to fig3 the bag 20 can be constructed from two flexible sheets of plastic film 44 by welding the sheets together along weld lines 46 . the welds may be ultrasonic or heat welds or the like . the weld lines define each chamber &# 39 ; s geometry and size thus its volume . the geometry and volume of each chamber defines the sequence and rate at which the corresponding prescribed medication is infused into the patient . the four alignment holes 40 may be cut before or after the sheets are welded . the plastic film may be formed of any medically acceptable plastic , e . g ., polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), polyolefin or other suitable material . the rate at which the medications exit the chambers may be additionally defined by restrictive openings at the exit of each chamber , e . g ., by a restrictive orifice in the common passageway 30 , by a valve in the infusion tube 32 , or the like . exit port openings for controlling the flow rate from the chambers are discussed below in more detail with respect to fig9 . fig4 shows a top view of a cartridge 310 of the present invention . the cartridge 310 has four chambers 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 for holding the sash fluids . the first chamber 312 holds 3 - 10 cc &# 39 ; s of saline solution . the second chamber 314 holds 10 - 250 cc &# 39 ; s of the desired medicine . the third chamber 316 holds 3 - 10 cc &# 39 ; s of saline and the forth chamber 318 holds 3 - 10 cc &# 39 ; s of heparin . the first chamber 312 is filled via port 332 ; the second chamber 314 is filled via port 334 ; the third chamber 316 is filled via port 336 and the fourth chamber 318 is filled via port 338 . ports 332 , 334 , 336 , and 338 are standard injection ports or luer lock connections . chambers 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 are supplied factory pre - filled or are pre - filled by a pharmacist with the correct fluids . after the ports are filled by the pharmacist they are sealed by the self sealing injection port or by a cap on the luer lock connection . if the chamber is factory pre - filled , it may be heat sealed after filling which would eliminate the need for an inlet port . at the exit port of each chamber is a check valve that only permits fluid flow in one direction . check valves 322 , 324 , 326 and 328 are at the exit ports of chambers 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 , respectively . each check valve permits fluid flow into line 330 as shown in fig4 . line 330 passes through clamp 340 that is used to completely restrict any fluid flow . line 330 terminates at luer connection 342 that is used to connect to the patient catheter . the cartridge 310 is constructed as a two piece laminate made from pvc , polyolefin or similar materials typically used for iv bags . the laminate is heat sealed or adhesively bonded . the cross - hatched areas 320 show the sections of the cartridge 310 that have been bonded together . the unbonded areas are represented by the chambers 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 . the chambers can be made in many different geometric shapes . these shapes can be used to control the flow rate of the medication in the chambers . this will be discussed with reference to fig9 and 10 . when the chambers have been filled with the desired fluids , the cartridge 310 is placed in the pump unit , not shown in fig4 for infusion of the medication . rollers will squeeze the fluids in sequence from chambers 312 , 314 , 316 and 318 into the line 330 , past the clamp 340 to luer connection 342 and into the patient catheter . when the infusion sequence is completed , the cartridge can be disconnected from the catheter and pump and then discarded . this infusion process does not involve the use of needles or syringes and therefor increases the safety factor for anyone administering the procedure . the fluid dynamics of the dispensing process will now be discussed with reference to fig5 - 10 . fig5 , 7 and 8 show alternate geometric shapes for the fluid chambers discussed with reference to fig4 . fig5 shows a fluid chamber 350 having a filling port 356 and an exit port 352 . as fluid chamber 350 is compressed by the pumping device , to be discussed later , the fluid is expelled from the chamber 350 through the exit port 352 . the shape of chamber 350 can provide a higher fluid flow rate in the beginning and a steadily decreasing flow rate until all the fluid has been dispensed . the fluid flow rate will be discussed in greater detail with reference to fig9 and 10 . fig6 shows fluid chamber 354 , filling port 358 and exit port 355 . the shape of this fluid chamber can provide a constant fluid flow rate from the beginning to the end of the infusion . fig7 shows fluid chamber 360 with filling port 64 and exit port 362 . the shape shown in fig7 can provide a nonlinear decrease in the flow rate from the beginning to the end of the infusion . fig8 shows fluid chamber 366 having filling port 368 and exit port 365 . the shape shown in fig8 can provide an initially constant fluid flow rate followed by a steadily decreasing flow rate during the last part of the infusion . the factors involved in determining the fluid flow rate will now be discussed with reference to fig9 and 10 . fig9 shows a fluid chamber 370 having an exit port 372 . the exit port 372 has a length represented by l and a radius represented by r . p 1 represents the pressure inside the fluid chamber 370 and p 2 represents the pressure outside the fluid chamber 370 . in the following formula q represents the mass flow rate in ml / min and u represents the viscosity of the fluid in the fluid chamber 370 . the formula is as follows : the above equation is poiseville &# 39 ; s law for homogeneous fluid . p 1 - p 2 is the difference in pressure between the inside and the outside of the fluid chamber 370 . a change in the radius r of the exit port 372 or a change in the length l of the exit port 372 can have a large effect on the flow rate q . the elasticity of the materials used to construct the fluid chamber can also have an effect on the flow rate . however , for the purpose of this discussion it is assumed that the elasticity will not have a significant effect on the flow rate . fig1 shows a fluid chamber 380 having an exit port 386 . if it is assumed that the r and l are constant , then the major factor in determining the flow rate will be p 1 . if a press type roller moving at a constant rate starts to compress the fluid chamber 380 at point 388 then the pressure p 1 will continually increase . thus the pressure generated at line 384 will be much greater than the pressure generated at line 382 , causing a much higher flow rate at line 384 . fig1 shows a fluid chamber that can have an increasing flow rate from the beginning to the end of the infusion . differing infusion therapies for a wide variety drug regimens may be implemented by the chamber configurations as shown , for example , in fig1 a - 11f . for example , as shown , in fig1 a the infusion bag 20 is configured with four separate fluid chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 suitable for implementing a sash drug regimen . the intravenous antibiotic is contained in the second chamber 24 . the volume and shape of the second chamber may be prescribed to affect the volume and the administration rate of the antibiotic as shown in fig1 a - 11c . in fig1 a , the antibiotic chamber 24 has a square shape and a volume of about 100 ml . in fig1 b , the antibiotic chamber 24 has an elongated rectangular shape and a volume of about 50 ml . the antibiotic chamber 24 shown in fig1 c , also has a volume of 50 ml , but has a wide shortened rectangular shape . accordingly , using a constant speed roller that compresses the chambers from top to bottom , the drug prescribed by the bag in fig1 b is infused at a slower rate than the drug prescribed by the bag in fig1 c . the chamber , of course , is not required to have a rectangular shape and , thus , it may have any shape ( e . g ., circular , triangular , diamond , etc .) which is beneficial for administering a prescribed infusion therapy . further , drugs that are incompatible for premixing may be stored in separate chambers until they are simultaneously infused into the patient . as shown in fig1 d , simultaneous infusion of separate drugs may be readily accomplished by configuring the bag 48 to have two side - by - side chambers 50 and 52 . the first chamber 50 is filled with a first drug and the second chamber 52 is filled with a second drug . accordingly , as the roller travels down the bag , it simultaneously compresses the two side - by - side drug chambers so that the two drugs are simultaneously infused into the patient , thus simplifying the infusion of the two incompatible drugs without premixing . as shown in fig1 e , the infusion therapies that may be addressed by configuring the bag &# 39 ; s geometry are not limited to the sash procedure . the bag in fig1 e is configured with six separate chambers . the first , third and fifth chambers 56 , 58 and 60 can be filled with a saline solution and the sixth chamber 62 can be filled with heparin . the second and fourth chambers 64 and 66 , however , can be filled with first and second drugs , respectively . of course , this bag may be used to administer intermittent infusions of a single drug by filling the second and fourth chambers with the same drug . similarly , as shown in fig1 f , multiple doses of a drug may be intermittently administered at prescribed time intervals by a bag 70 having its chambers configured in accordance with the dosage regimen . thus , the first chamber 72 can be filled with a first prescribed drug dosage , the second chamber 74 can be filled with a saline solution , the third chamber 76 can be filled with a second prescribed drug dosage , the fourth chamber 78 can be filled with a saline solution , the fifth chamber 80 can be filled with a third described drug dosage , and finally , the sixth chamber 82 can be filled with a final saline solution . fig1 shows a cartridge 440 having six fluid chambers 454 , 456 , 458 , 460 , 462 and 464 . each fluid chamber has its respective check valve 468 , 470 , 472 , 474 , 476 and 478 in its respective exit port . each of the fluid chambers 454 , 456 , 458 , 460 , 462 and 464 is filled via its respective filling port 442 , 444 , 446 , 450 , 448 and 452 as previously described . the exit port for each fluid chamber empties into line 466 causing the fluid in the chambers to pass along line 466 through clamp 480 to luer connector 482 . the connector 482 can be any type of connector required for the environment in which the cartridge 440 is used . fluid chamber 454 could be used to deliver saline as previously discussed . chambers 456 , 458 , 460 and 462 would be used to deliver medications concurrently to the patient . for instance , fluid chambers 456 and 458 will deliver the medications concurrently with both chambers starting delivery and ending delivery of the medication at the same time . fluid chamber 462 will start its delivery after fluid chambers 456 and 458 start their delivery and fluid chamber 462 will end its delivery of medication after fluid chambers 456 and 458 end their delivery . fluid chamber 460 will begin its delivery of medication before fluid chambers 456 , 458 and 462 deliver their medication and fluid chamber 460 will end its delivery of medication after fluid chambers 456 , 458 and 462 end their delivery of medication . this arrangement allows the flexibility of delivering medications simultaneously or in any sequence desired . this is useful when medications that cannot be premixed are to be delivered simultaneously . in another sequence , fluid chamber 460 can be filled with saline that can be delivered simultaneously with and after the medications that are delivered from the fluid chambers 456 , 458 and 462 . fluid chamber 464 could then contain heparin as previously discussed . the cross - hatched areas 484 show the sections of the cartridge 440 that have been bonded together . this arrangement shows the flexibility of the invention as well as the simplicity of the invention that allows for the uncomplicated administration of medications to a patient . intermittent medications are prescribed using widely accepted medical infusion therapies that are fairly standard for adult patients with similar diagnoses . these standard medical therapies often call for multiple administrations of an infusion regimen each day and rarely change after they are prescribed . thus a prescription for an infusion regimen is similar to a prescription for an oral antibiotic in that the drug is taken a predetermined number of times per day for a predetermined time period . accordingly , an infusion patient generally receives a prescription for a particular medical infusion therapy that remains the same for several days . in accordance with the invention , the infusion prescription is filled by a pharmacist having a supply of infusion bags 20 having chambers with differing configurations . the pharmacist would provide the patient with the prescribed number of prefilled bags with the prescribed medication dosages . the following list is illustrative of the types of drug regimens that may be implemented in a bag in accordance with the invention . possible drug regimens and possible chamber configurations are not limited to those listed below or shown in the drawings . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 1 gram ( g ) of cefazolin in 50 ml of 5 % dextrose in water -- given over 60 minutes ; and 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 3 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 1 g of cefazolin in 20 ml of dextrose ( d5w )-- given over 30 minutes ; 3 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minute ; 1 g of ceftazidime in 20 ml of dextrose ( d5w )-- given over 30 minutes ; 3 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; and 5 ml of 1000 units / ml of heparized saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 80 mg of gentamicin in 50 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 500 mg of ampicillin in 100 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes ; 5 mls of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; and 5 ml of 100 units / ml of heparized saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 10 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 1 g of vancomycin in 250 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 90 minutes ; and 10 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 3 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 1 g of cefazolin in 20 ml of dextrose ( d5w )-- given over 30 minutes ; 80 mg of gentamicin in 50 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes ; 1 g of ceptazidime in 100 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes ; and 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 500 mg of cafazolin in 20 ml of dextrose ( d5w )-- given over 30 minutes ; 500 mg of ceptazidime in 20 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes ; and 50 mg of tobramycin in 50 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given over 60 minutes . kytril in 20 ml of 0 . 9 % saline given over five minutes ; and cisplatin in 100 ml of 0 . 9 % saline given over 30 minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 10 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 10 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; and 5 ml of 100 units / ml of heparized saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes ; 60 ml of drug # 1 -- given over 60 minutes tapered linearly beginning at a rate of 10 ml / hr and ending at a rate of 110 ml / hr . ; 5 ml of 0 . 9 % saline -- given quickly or over a few minutes . another embodiment of a fluid bag 90 , in accordance with the invention , is shown in fig1 , 14a , 14b and 14c . in this embodiment , the fluid bag includes a high - pressure clip 92 that is completely closed when the bag is in transport , preventing fluid from leaking from the bag or from moving between chambers . the clip includes a first bar 94 having two notched prongs 96 , and a second bar 98 having two corresponding sockets 100 for receiving the prongs . the bars may also include alignment holes 107 for specifically aligning the clip in the pump . the clip may be formed of metal or relatively rigid plastic and the two bars may be attached by a small wire or flexible plastic strip 101 . the prongs each have a dual position latch 102 which engages a ledge 104 in the socket . after the clip is closed to the second latch position , it closes the passage ways ( see fig1 c ) and cannot be opened with reasonable manual effort . the clip is engaged on the bag over the chamber passageways 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 through two clip holes 106 in the bag . the clip is automatically released and opened only when the bag is placed in an infusion pump of the invention , and the pump &# 39 ; s door is properly closed , the latch is automatically opened by the pump to a first open position ( see fig1 b ). in this embodiment , the pump also includes a low - pressure clamp . when the bag is properly placed in the pump and the door is properly closed , the low - pressure clamp or pad of the pumping device lays parallel next to the clip and seals off the chamber passageways 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 at a pad location 115 and simultaneously the clip is opened . the low - pressure clamp generates sufficient pressure to prevent any fluid flow through the chamber passageways until a minimum of pressure is applied to the chambers by the pump . when the pump generates enough pressure within a chamber , the fluid in the chamber is forced underneath and past the clamp through the corresponding chamber passageway to a common passage 116 which leads to the outlet port 118 . the bag may also include a pressure sensing dome 120 which is fluidly coupled to the common passage . the pressure sensing dome may be used to provide occlusion detection or pressure control . the pump pressurizes the bag in a linear sequence from the bag &# 39 ; s top to its bottom . again , because each chamber &# 39 ; s size and shape governs how the contents of each respective chamber will be administered , the bag may be configured to match the designed drug regimen . in this embodiment , the bag &# 39 ; s chambers can be filled with its base solutions ( diluent ) through the outlet ( and fill ) port 108 in the following manner . the high pressure clip 92 is released either by a special filling device which automatically releases the clip as the proper solution ( s ) are flowing into the bag or by a specially designed hand release device . additionally , the bag may include filling ports for each chamber ( not shown , see e . g ., fig1 ) and fluids or drugs may be added through these filling ports on an opposite side of the bag . fig1 a - 15d show another embodiment of a fluid bag 122 of the present invention . the bag is shown with four chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 for implementing the sash infusion procedure . in this embodiment , the bag includes an integral connector 124 for coupling to an infusion tube ( not shown ). the integral connector allows the bag to be more integrated and simplifies the procedure for inserting the bag into an infusion pump . the bag further includes associated passageways 108 , 110 , 112 and 114 from each chamber to a common passageway 116 leading to the connector , a high pressure clip 92 , five alignment holes 40 , and a pressure sensing dome 120 . these components function as described in the previous embodiment shown in fig1 and 14a - 14c . fig1 shows another embodiment of a fluid bag of the invention . the bag 130 has features that are similar to the features of the bags discussed above and further includes fill openings 132 , vent openings 134 and frangible rupture seals 136 . thus , each of the chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 has a fill opening 132 and a vent opening 134 . the vent part for the drug chamber 24 also includes a resealable or reusable port 138 for adding medication to the chamber . in this embodiment , the chambers are filled with the prescribed fluids through the fill openings 132 . air is allowed to escape through the vent openings 134 to prevent air bubbles in the chambers . then all of the openings , except the opening to the additional drug port 138 , may be sealed along seal lines 140 and 142 by a heat or ultrasonic seal or the like . an additional seal may seal the drug chamber 24 . the seal prevents the addition of additional drugs to the respective sealed chambers . the bag also features frangible rupture seals . as pressure is sequentially applied to the second , third and fourth chambers , respectively , the seal ruptures when the pressure in the corresponding chamber exceeds a predetermined threshold value . alternatively , the rupture seals may break at incremental increases in the applied chamber pressure such that when increasing pressure is applied to the entire surface of the bag , the rupture seals define the sequence of administration of the fluids in the chambers . the fluid bag of the invention may be filled by the bag manufacturer or by a pharmacist . the manufacturer may fill the bag &# 39 ; s chambers with saline solution , with other base solutions , or with the appropriate medications in a &# 34 ; form , fill and seal &# 34 ; or other manufacturing process . alternatively , the manufacturer may leave one or more chambers empty . the pharmacist would then complete the prescription using the fill ports . in yet another alternative , medication may be added to a bag through the fill port after the bag is inserted into a pump . the techniques for applying pressure to the bag may include a linear roller mechanism , a coiled spring mechanism , an air bladder , a series of platens , or other alternative methods . the pressurization technique is chosen in accordance with the designed embodiment of the bag and may be effected by a mechanical , electrical , chemical or other drive means , alone or in combination . apparatus for implementing representative pressurization techniques are discussed below . fig1 a and 17b show an embodiment of an infusion pump 150 for expelling the fluids from the chambers 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 of a fluid bag 152 of the invention . the infusion pump has compartment 154 for receiving the fluid bag . the compartment has a hinged door 156 which is shown in its open position in fig1 a . the hinged door includes a release latch 158 . at one end of the chamber are a roll - up roller 160 and an opposing roller 162 . the roll - up roller travels at a constant speed in conjunction with the opposing roller so that the rollers travel the length of the bag to sequentially compress the bag and sequentially force the fluid from the chambers toward the exit ports . the roll - up roller can be driven by a variety of means , e . g ., a spring drive mechanism housed in the enlarged side portion 163 of the pump which also functions as a hand grip . the hand grip is preferably covered with a &# 34 ; soft feel &# 34 ;, material . the fluid bag shown in fig1 a has three exit ports 164 , 166 and 168 that are coupled to an injection molded manifold 170 that functions as fill ports for the chambers and includes check valves . the solutions from the separate chambers are coupled to an exit tube 172 . the infusion pump 150 may have status indicators 174 for indicating the progress of the infusion . the pump may be an entirely mechanical device that may be operated by a spring mechanism . the pump may have a curved back surface 176 for ergonomically fitting again a patient &# 39 ; s body . fig1 a - 18c show another infusion pump 177 having an installed fluid bag for the administering the sash infusion procedure . this embodiment of the pump includes electronic control circuits and mechanisms for programmable control of the roller mechanism . programmable control allows the roller mechanism to operate at a variable rate . further , the roller mechanism may be stopped between chambers for a desired time interval . fig1 a shows a control panel 178 for one embodiment of the infusion pump 177 of fig1 a - 18b . the pump &# 39 ; s control panel has three buttons and four lights . the first button 180 is a start or run button for beginning the infusion procedure . the next button 182 is a stop or pause button to interrupt the infusion for a relatively brief pause . the third button 184 is a discontinue dose button for terminating the infusion . the lights indicate the status of an infusion and may be light emitting diodes , incandescent lamps , or the like . after the start or run button has been pressed and the roller is sequentially compressing the bag &# 39 ; s compartments , the running light 186 will be lit . if the pause button is pressed during the infusion procedure , the stopped / pause light 188 will be lit . when the infusion has been completed , the bag empty light 190 will be lit . an additional light 192 indicates whether an occlusion has occurred in the infusion line leading to the patient . fig1 b shows a control panel 178 for a second embodiment of the infusion pump 177 of fig1 a - 18c . the panel further includes , in addition to the buttons discussed above with respect to fig1 a , a clock 192 , a keypad 194 , and three dose select buttons 196 . the keypad may be used to enter a prescribed infusion therapy . the dosage buttons may be used to select various dose rates or administration times for a given bag ( or times for given chambers within a bag ) and corresponding drug therapy . another embodiment of the infusion pump mechanism for applying pressure sequentially across a bag 20 of the invention is shown in fig2 . the bag rests on a relatively rigid surface 200 . a pressurized bladder 202 is separated from the bag by a movable belt 204 . the bladder is sequentially released by the belt , thus applying sequential pressure across the bag . the belt accordingly replaces , for example , the function of the roller in the infusion pump of fig1 a and 17b . the speed at which the belt releases the bladder controls the pumping speed of the infusion pump . yet another embodiment of the infusion pump pressure mechanism is shown in fig2 . pressure is applied to the bag 20 by a series of inflatable bladders 206 . the bladders are inflated sequentially so that the series of bladders perform the same function as the rollers shown in fig1 a and 17b . a timer or a pressure sensor feedback mechanism ( not shown ) initiates the inflation of each subsequent bladder of the series of the desired time . another embodiment of the infusion pump pressure mechanism is shown in fig2 . the mechanism includes a series of bladders 206 that press a flexible pad 208 against the bag . the bladders are inflated sequentially and the flexible pad operates to smooth out pressure variations caused by the inflation of each individual bladder . an additional embodiment of the infusion pump , shown in fig2 , has a single bladder 210 that is pressurized after the bag is installed in the pump . the pump further includes valves configured to press against the respective passages of the chambers . the flow rate and sequence of fluids flowing from the chambers may be controlled by the valves , the applied pressure , and restrictive orifices to actively control the infusion process . fig2 shows a pump cartridge 410 inside one embodiment of a pump 400 . in this embodiment of the invention there is only one roller 402 that is held and guided by two slots 404 ( only one slot is shown ) to roll over the cartridge 410 . the roller is biased by a spring 406 to roll over the cartridge 410 and expel the fluids via exit port 408 . this embodiment can also use a motor and worm gear to drive the roller 402 over the cartridge 410 to dispense the fluid in the cartridge . the force applied to the roller by the motor and worm gear is controlled to produce the desired q for any given r , l and chamber geometry . fig2 shows the fluid chamber 409 having a top curved wall 407 and a relatively flat bottom wall 411 . however , depending on the materials used , both the top wall 407 and the bottom wall 411 can be curved , thus making a relatively symmetrical fluid chamber . fig2 shows one aspect of the invention in which a cartridge 414 with four chambers is placed in a vertically oriented rectangular hopper 412 . as the cartridge 414 &# 39 ; is fed through the rollers 418 and 420 , fluid is squeezed out of the cartridge 414 through line 408 . the rollers are driven by motor 428 via shaft 426 to clutch 424 which drives the shaft 422 that drives the rollers 418 and 420 . the clutch 424 is used to limit the maximum amount of force that can be applied to the rollers . the roller 418 is shown with optional tractor feed teeth 416 that can engage corresponding holes in the cartridge 414 for the purpose of applying a consistent force to the cartridge and preventing slippage of the cartridge when engaged by the rollers . while the foregoing has been with reference to specific embodiments of the invention , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that these are illustrations only and that changes in these embodiments can be made without departing from the principles of the invention , the scope of which is defined by the appended claims .	0
with reference to the drawings , a first embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 through 4 comprising a hair cutter 10 having a frame 12 which includes handle 14 and blade table 16 . the handle 14 is shown comprising a top portion 17 and a bottom portion 18 which are crimped or otherwise secured together . the top portion 17 terminates in an upper bearing support 20 while the lower portion 18 forms lower bearing support 22 and blade table 16 , the latter of which terminates in guideway 24 , ( see fig1 and 3 ). a blade carrier 26 is provided with upper and lower bearing surfaces 28 and 30 respectively which are complementary and in sliding engagement within the continuous guideway channels formed by upper and lower bearing supports 20 and 22 , respectively . the blade carrier 26 terminates in a gear rack 32 which serves as a driven gear for a driving gear which is pinion 34 . a shaft 36 extends through aperture 37 and is rigidly secured to pinion 34 and thumb knob 38 . by rotating thumb knob 38 , lateral movement is thus imparted to the blade carrier 36 , with its end slidable within guideway 24 . a cutting blade 40 is securable to carrier 36 and is preferably a standard double edged blade . it is clamped to the carrier 26 by blade clamp plate 42 having depending sides 44 which when under stress provide resilient clamping of the blade against the blade carrier 26 . clamp studs 46 of carrier 26 have flanged heads 47 to engage slots 48 of the clamp 42 , to secure the blade firmly in place on the blade carrier 26 . a blade cage 49 comprises upper and lower spines 68 and 58 , respectively , which are formed from a single piece of material with the lower spine 58 terminating in an extension 57 . the blade cage 49 further comprises wire tines 64 which are shaped to form oppositely disposed apexes 65 and define generally right and left sides of the hair cutter 10 . it will be noted that the tines 64 have inwardly bent portions 67 to permit the hair to pass through the cage without being pressed down by either the upper or lower spines 68 , 58 , respectively . as shown in fig4 lower spine 58 is shown having outer staking ribs 60 and a center staking rib 62 , all of which have crosswise staking slots to receive the wire tines 64 . in this embodiment , each tine 64 is shown terminating at the center staking rib 62 with each of the tine ends turned slightly into the holes 63 within the staking rib 62 . a pull tab 66 ( fig1 ) is formed from lower and upper spines 58 and 68 , respectively . the upper spine 68 is shown having two parallel staking ribs 70 with crosswise slots 72 into which the wire tines 64 are inserted . the tines 64 may be secured by staking , welding or brazing into both the upper and lower spines 58 and 68 , respectively . with further reference to fig1 and 4 , the blade table 16 has a pair of stiffening ribs 52 formed therein and male components 54 of dovetail slide are cut and pressed to depend downwardly . the lower spine 58 has the female components 59 of the dovetail slide which are compatible with the male components 54 of the blade table 16 to permit the relative longitudinal sliding of the cage 49 with respect to the remainder of the frame 12 . the extension 57 is slid into the hollow handle 14 ( fig3 ) through a slot traversing the lower bearing surface 22 ( fig1 ). an interlock ridge 50 extends upwardly along the upper surface of extension 57 and when blade carrier 26 is in a centered position , an interlock notch 56 is also centered to permit interlock ridge 50 to pass the blade carrier lower bearing surface 30 . thus , the cage 49 can be removed and replaced only when the blade carrier 26 is in its centered position where the blade 40 ( fig2 ) will be shielded from contact by the sides of blade table 16 , the width of the blade table 16 being greater than that of hair cutting blade 40 . as shown in fig1 a stop tab 51 may be provided to depend downwardly and engage interlock ridge 50 to prevent complete removal of the cage 49 as it is slid to an extended position , where unobstructed access is provided for blade changing purposes . with reference to fig5 through 8 , a modified embodiment of the hair cutter is shown in which the blade changing takes place without removal or movement of the cage . as seen in fig7 the hair cutter 73 may utilize a single piece of material to form top 74 and base 76 of handle 75 as well as the upper and lower spines 78 and 79 , these four members comprising the frame 77 . a laterally shifting blade carrier 80 is positioned between upper and lower spines 78 , 79 , respectively and has a rear bearing member 82 and a forward groove - like bearing member 84 which are compatible with and slidable within bearing surfaces 125 and 123 of frame 7 ; respectively . as best seen in fig5 and 7 , a thumb knob 86 is secured to a pinion 88 by means of shaft 90 ( fig7 ) which extends through aperture 91 . the pinion engages a circular internal rack 92 of an adjustment lever 94 which is pivotally mounted through aperture 98 by connecting members 96 extending through aperture 97 in the top 74 of handle 75 . the adjustment lever 94 is pivotally secured to the blade carrier 80 by means of connecting member 102 which extends through aperture 104 and sliding slot 106 of carrier 80 and lever 94 , respectively , and is embedded in sliding block 107 ( fig6 ). it will be appreciated that by means of structure 82 and 84 , the carrier 80 retains a lateral motion path which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hair cutter . thus , the adjustment lever 94 serves as a motion enhancing means to increase the throw ( lateral travel ) of the blade carrier 80 more than is possible by using the linear rack and pinion of the embodiment shown in fig1 to 4 . the carrier 80 ( fig5 ) has male components 108 which are compatible with female components 112 of the blade clamp support 116 to form a dovetail type sliding relationship between the carrier 80 and blade clamp support 116 . the blade is mounted on the clamp support 116 in a manner similar to that used on blade carrier 26 of fig1 . the wire tines 64 of cage 49 ( fig8 ) are essentially the same as shown in the earlier embodiment , however , it will be noted that the lower spine member 79 has only two staking ribs 118 ( fig . 8 ) and that the tines terminate just after passing through the notches in the ribs 118 instead of passing into a third rib as shown in fig4 . the shaped end structure 122 of the frame 77 includes a slot 124 through which the blade clamp support 116 with blade 40 and clamp 42 mounted thereon can be easily inserted . the clamp support 116 slides onto blade carrier 80 as the dovetail components 108 and 112 slidably engage one another . a pull tab 126 extends from blade clamp support 116 and remains on the exterior of the frame 77 when the blade support 116 with blade 40 are inserted into the cage 49 . when it is desired to change the blade , the pull tab 126 is grasped and the blade 40 and its support 116 are easily removed , thus permitting clamp 42 to be conveniently operated for blade replacement . with reference to fig9 and 10 , a further embodiment is shown in which a continuous helical coil wire is used in place of individual wires to form tines . as seen in fig1 , the helical coil 128 is shaped into tines 128 &# 39 ; and is secured onto the hair cutter by staking or the other means above described . in place of the helical coil wire 128 , a continuous wire piece shown as 130 in fig1 may be shaped as shown into tines 130 &# 39 ;. the tines have double 90 ° angle portions 131 , and in fig1 , it will be seen that by means of cross - wise notches 132 through the staking ribs 70 , the shaped tines may be mounted by clamping the 90 ° double angle portions 131 around the nub - like portions of the staking ribs 70 which are formed by the crosswise notches 132 . in staking the tines , material of the staking rib is flowed down and around the wire of the tine to secure it within the crosswise staking notches 132 . alternatively , welding or brazing or any other suitable process may be used . while two staking ribs 70 are disclosed , it is understood that any desired number on either the upper or lower spine may be used . with reference to fig1 and 14 , a further embodiment of a hair cutter similar to that shown in fig5 is disclosed . the upper member 150 as shown in fig1 forms the upper portion 152 of handle 148 ( fig1 ), the bearing support 154 and the upper spine 156 which includes staking ribs 158 and staking notches 160 into which tines of cage 49 are inserted . the handle portion 152 ( fig1 ) includes a crimping skirt 162 which is crimped about flange 164 of the lower handle portion 166 ( fig1 ) as is shown crimped in fig1 . the lower member 163 also includes the lower spine 168 with staking ribs 170 and notches 172 . the lower spine 168 terminates in an upturned end guideway 169 which houses the end portion 180 of the carrier 174 shown in the exploded view in fig1 . the carrier 174 is similar to carriage 80 shown in fig5 and includes the linear gear rack 176 , bearing support 178 and the dovetail slide male components 182 which mate with female slide units 112 or 194 of units 184 or 186 , respectively . the unit 184 is the assembled blade clamp support 116 of fig5 with blade 40 and clamp plate 42 secured thereto . in addition to the blade clamp embodiment of fig5 an alternate one piece molded plastic blade holder 186 is shown in fig1 a which comprises the center raised portion 190 , pull tab extension 192 , and dovetail components 194 . in this embodiment , the blade may be bonded to the plastic and the unit may be thrown away when the edges begin to dull . while the following specifications are not to be deemed limiting , they describe the preferred way of constructing the cages for the embodiments described herein . at the apexes 65 of the various hair cutter cages , both the upwardly and downwardly extending tine wire forms a 40 ° angle with the horizontal bisector of the angle . the tine wire which has been found preferable is 0 . 028 inches in diameter . the blade 40 itself is positioned to bisect the angle of the apexes 65 since were it otherwise , uniform operation would not be achieved when first one side and then the other side of the cutter are held facing the scalp during hair cutting . inwardly bent portions 67 of the tines have included angles of approximately 90 ° to provide clearance paths for the hair , thus permitting free unimpeded movement of hair during stroking or combing . by utilizing the double spine construction and making the spines integral with each other and / or with other portions of the frame , heretofore unachievable rigidity in the tines is obtained . this strength and rigidity is further increased by utilizing helical or otherwise continuous wire strands in the construction of the hair cutter . thus , a more durable hair cutter results and deformation from dropping is minimized and for practical purposes eliminated . while various embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be understood that various modifications may be made . the appended claims , therefore , are intended to define the true scope of the invention .	1
a storage container 10 according to the present disclosure is shown in fig1 . the storage container 10 generally includes a floor or base 12 , a pair of side walls 14 and a pair of end walls 16 extending upwardly from a periphery of the base 12 . a support system 18 is mounted to the container 10 proximate each end wall 16 . in the embodiment shown , the support system 18 is mounted to an upper edge of the end wall 16 . the support system 18 includes a first support 20 hingeably mounted to the end wall 16 . a second support 22 and a third support 24 are each hingeably mounted to the end wall 16 . the first , second and third supports 20 , 22 and 24 are each independently pivotable relative to one another and relative to the end wall 16 about a common axis 26 adjacent an outer edge of an upper surface 28 of the end wall 16 . each end wall 16 includes an exterior surface 30 and an interior surface 32 . a horizontal lip or flange 34 protrudes outwardly from the exterior 30 of each end wall 16 . the interior 32 of each end wall 16 includes a pair of vertically extending first channels 40 a pair of vertically extending second channels 44 outward of the first channels 40 and a pair of vertically extending third channels 48 outward of the second channels 44 . the channels 40 , 44 , 48 open upwardly and inwardly . the channels 40 , 44 , 48 define alternate first , second and third columns 41 , 45 , 49 that extend to the upper surface 28 of the end wall 16 . each channel 40 , 44 , 48 also forms a corresponding first , second and third projection 42 , 46 , 50 , respectively , on the exterior surface 30 of the end wall 16 . a lower end of each projection 42 , 46 , 50 forms an interlocking member 43 , 47 , 51 , respectively . the lower ends of the first projections 42 are at a first height above a plane containing the base 12 . the lower ends of the second projections 44 are at a second height relative to the base 12 , the second height being less than the first height . the lower ends of the third projections 48 are at a third height relative to the base 12 , the third height less than the second height . each side wall 14 also includes a horizontal lip or flange 56 and further includes an opening to form a handle 58 . as can be seen in fig2 , the first , second and third supports , 20 , 22 , 24 are each pivotable relative to the container . each support 20 , 22 , 24 includes a pair of flaps 60 hingeably connected to the end wall 16 and connected to one another by a beam 62 . in fig2 , the first supports 20 have been pivoted to a stack position . in the stack position , the flaps 60 cover and block the first channels 40 while being supported on the first columns 41 and the upper surface 28 of end wall 16 . similarly , the second support 22 can be pivoted to a stacked position in which the flaps 60 would cover and block the second channels 44 and be supported on the first and second columns 41 , 45 . similarly , a third support 24 can be pivoted to the stacked position where the flaps 60 would rest on the second and third columns 45 , 49 and hover and block the third channels 48 . fig3 illustrates the storage container 10 with the support system 18 , including the first support 20 , second support 22 and third support 24 , in the open or nest position and with a like storage container 10 ′ nested therein . the upper container 10 ′ and lower container 10 are identical and corresponding components on the upper container 10 ′ will be indicated with identical reference numerals appended with a prime designation . thus , descriptions of any components on the upper container 10 ′ apply equally to the lower container 10 and vice versa . in this position , the empty containers 10 , 10 ′ can be stored or shipped while occupying the least amount of space . other similar containers can be nested within the upper container 10 ′ and so on . while nested , the flange 56 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is supported on the flange 56 of the lower container 10 and the flange 34 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is supported on the flange 34 of the lower container 10 . as can be seen more clearly in fig3 , the upper surfaces of the columns 41 ′, 45 ′ and 49 ′ each include a plurality of tenons 66 ′ which are positioned to be received in mortises 68 ′ on the flaps 60 ′ of the first , second and third supports 20 ′, 22 ′, 24 ′. in fig4 , the first supports 20 , 20 ′ of the lower and upper containers 10 , 10 ′ have been pivoted to the stacked position in which the flaps 60 , 60 ′ cover the first channels 40 , 40 ′ ( fig1 ). in this first stack position , the flap 60 of the lower container 10 thus prevents the first projection 42 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ from entering the first channel 40 . the first projection 42 ′ is supported on the flap 60 on the first support 20 . the second and third projections 46 ′, 50 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ are partially received within the second and third channels 44 , 48 of the lower container 10 respectively . the base 12 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is supported at a first distance above the base 12 of the lower container 10 . the interlocking member 43 ′ of the first support 42 ′ is received within a recess in the flap 60 of the first support 20 . referring to the upper container 10 ′ where it can be seen more clearly , the second support 22 ′ includes a tapered surface 72 ′ that engages a tapered surface 74 ′ of the first support 20 ′ such that the second support 42 ′ cannot be pivoted to the stack position without also pivoting the first support 20 ′ to the stack position . similarly , the second support 22 ′ includes a tab 76 ′ that is engaged by the third support 24 ′, such that the third support 24 ′ cannot be pivoted to the stack position without also pivoting the second support 22 ′ ( and therefore the first support 20 ′) to the stack position . in fig5 , the second supports 22 , 22 ′ and the first supports 20 , 20 ′ are pivoted to the stack position . the flap 60 of the second support 22 of the lower container 10 covers and blocks the second channel 44 thereby preventing the second projection 46 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ from entering the second channel 44 ( fig1 ). the flap 60 of the second support 22 is supported on the first column 41 ( fig1 ) and the second column 45 . the interlocking member 47 ′ of the second projection 46 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is received within a recess of the flap 60 of the second support 22 of the lower container 10 . the third projection 50 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is partially received within the third channel 48 of the lower container 10 . the base 12 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is supported at a second height above the base 12 of the lower container 10 , the second height is greater than the first height . fig6 illustrates the support systems 18 , 18 ′ in the third stacking position , with the first , second and third supports 20 , 20 ′, 22 , 22 ′, 24 , 24 ′ in the stack position . in this position , the flap 60 of the third support 24 of the lower container 10 covers and blocks the third channel 48 ( fig1 ) and is supported on the second and third columns 45 , 49 ( fig1 ). the interlocking member 51 ′ of the third projection 50 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is received in a recess of the flap 60 . in this position , the base 12 ′ of the upper container 10 ′ is supported at a third , maximum distance above the base 12 of the lower container 10 . this provides the maximum storage container in the lower container 10 with the upper container 10 ′ stacked on it . fig7 is an end view of the storage container 10 . as shown , the pair of first projections 42 on end wall 16 are at the same height from the base 12 and are laterally aligned with the flaps 60 of the first support 20 . the pair of second projections 46 are at equal heights from the base 12 , both lower than the first projections 42 , and are laterally aligned with the flaps 60 on the second support 22 . the pair of second projections 46 are laterally outward of the first projections 42 . the pair of third projections 50 are at equal heights from the base 12 , both lower than the second projections 46 , and are laterally aligned with the flaps 60 on the third support 24 . the pair of third projections 50 are laterally outward of the second projections 46 . fig8 is a side view of the storage container 10 . the third projections 50 and the interlocking member 51 are shown . fig9 is a top view of the storage container 10 , illustrating the columns 41 , 45 , 49 and the channels 40 , 44 , 48 formed on the interior 32 of the end walls 16 . fig1 is a bottom view of the storage container 10 , illustrating the projections 42 , 46 , 50 and interlocking members 43 , 47 , 51 formed on the exterior 30 of the end walls 16 . fig1 is an end view of the storage container 10 , with shading to indicate one potential useful color scheme . as shown , the first support 20 is preferably a first color as are the first projections 42 . the second support 22 and the second projections 46 are a second color . the third support 24 and the third projections 50 are a third color . the end wall 16 ( and the rest of the container 10 ) are preferably a fourth color . in this manner , it is easier for a user to select one of the supports 20 , 22 , 24 by clearly recognizing the corresponding projection 42 , 46 , 50 . the supports 20 , 22 , 24 are molded separately from the end wall 16 , and thus may be molded of a plastic of the appropriate color . the projections 42 may be painted , covered with stickers or molded of a plastic of the appropriate color using a multi - shot mold . an end wall 114 of a storage container 110 according to a second embodiment is shown in fig1 - 14 . fig1 - 14 are top views of an end wall 114 that could be used in place of the end walls 14 in the storage container 10 of fig1 - 11 . except as otherwise described , the storage container 110 could be identical to the storage container 10 of the first embodiment except as otherwise described or shown below . the end wall 114 includes a first channel 140 and a second channel 144 on an interior surface 132 . the support system 118 includes a support 119 that is slideable along the upper surface of the end wall 114 , such that a support surface or flap 60 can selectively cover and block neither of the channels 140 , 144 , the first channel 140 ( fig1 ) or the second channel 144 ( fig1 ). additional channels ( such as a third channel , like the first embodiment ) could be added . like the first embodiment , the end wall 114 of the storage container 110 includes a pair of first channels 140 ( one shown ) and a pair of second channels 144 ( one shown ) and the support 119 includes a pair of flaps 160 for covering the pairs . in the description above and in the claims , the term “ projection ,” such as the first , second and third projections 42 , 46 , 50 , means any surface that protrudes laterally , or in a plane parallel to the base 12 , relative to a surface above or below it vertically ( i . e . perpendicular to the base 12 ). this is demonstrated by a third embodiment shown in fig1 - 16 . fig1 illustrates a lower container 210 ′ and an upper container 210 . the upper container includes a first projection 242 defined by a first recess 282 therebelow formed in the exterior surface 234 of the end wall 214 . similarly , a second projection 242 is defined by a second recess 284 therebelow . by selectively pivoting a first support 220 ′ of the lower container 210 ′ inwardly , the first projection 242 of the upper container 210 can be supported at a first height by the first support 220 ′ of the lower container 210 ′, as shown in fig1 . the first recess 282 forms a corresponding first column 241 on a interior surface 232 of the storage container 210 . similarly , ( although not illustrated ) by selectively pivoting a second support 222 ′ of the lower container 210 ′ inwardly , the second projection 244 of the upper container 210 can be supported at a second height by the second support 222 ′ of the lower container 210 ′. additional supports and projections could be used to provide different support heights , as in the first embodiment . while embodiments of the disclosure have been illustrated and described , it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the disclosure . 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 disclosure .	1
[ 0014 ] fig1 illustrates a typical battery voltage discharge curve . a set of curves is related to a single battery and is usually provided by the battery manufacturer . each plotted curve on fig1 shows the battery voltage as a function of time for a given fixed load current . the shape of the curves will vary depending on the battery manufacturer and the battery chemistry . the area under the curve reflects the battery capacity is and is fairly constant for a given battery . therefore , each curve representing different load currents has approximately the same area under the curve . thus the remaining capacity of a battery can be determined by finding a voltage on the curve and subtracting the used capacity from the initial capacity . alternatively , a table or graph could be produced that reflects the remaining capacity for a given voltage . [ 0015 ] fig2 illustrates the circuit for the battery discharge curves shown in fig1 . the battery 10 is modeled by a voltage source 12 and an internal resistance r int 14 . the voltage v ref is plotted over time with respect to a fixed current i ref plotting the voltage for different currents ( i 1 and i 2 ) gives the curves shown in fig1 . as can be observed from fig1 the remaining battery life ( t ) changes as a function of the current draw on the battery . in many portable electronic devices , the current draw on the battery may vary quite dramatically . for example , in a plt , when the wireless interface is active , the current draw increases substantially . the battery life indication circuit must be able to determine the remaining life with the varying current draw . the present invention provides a method to more accurately monitor battery condition under varying conditions , particularly in a system where the battery may be exchanged and where the load varies dramatically over time . a system diagram for a portable or hand - held computer device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by the block diagram shown in fig3 . the device 100 includes a battery pack 102 that provides power to the device . the battery pack output has a battery pack identification line 104 to tell the micro - processor 106 the type of battery is installed in the device . this allows the device to use multiple types of batteries with different chemistries . again referring to fig3 the battery pack also has a power output 108 that is monitored to determine the remaining life of the battery as described further herein . the voltage of the battery output 108 is applied to an a / d converter 110 . the current of the battery output 108 is applied to a current sense circuit 112 that converts the current to a voltage representative of the battery current . the voltage representative of the battery current is also applied to the a / d converter 110 . the a / d converter 110 sends to the micro - processor a digital indication of the battery voltage and current . the voltage regulator 114 uses the output of the current sense circuit to maintain the system voltage for the remainder of the device electronics as indicated by the connection to the micro - processor . [ 0019 ] fig4 shows a flow diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention . this method flow uses a circuit such as the circuit diagram shown in fig3 . the first step 200 is to measure the battery load current i meas . this is accomplished by the micro - processor selecting the input from the current sense circuit to the a / d converter and reading the output of the a / d . the next step 202 is to measure the battery voltage in a similar manner from the a / d converter . the current is then again measured in step 204 . the current of the second measurement is compared with the second current measurement to determine if the current has remained fairly constant 206 . if the current is constant , then the current i meas measurements can be used and proceed to the next step . if the currents are not constant , then the measurements are repeated by proceeding back to step 200 . this process is necessary in the illustrated embodiment to get a current that is representative of the voltage when the load could be changing . in the illustrated embodiment , the a / d does not latch the input current and voltage . other circuits may not need to repeat the current measurement if the circuit measures or latches the current and voltage contemporaneously . step 208 uses the measured current and voltage of the battery to determine a voltage delta . the voltage delta is defined as : v d =( i meas − i ref )× r . the measured current i meas is obtained as described above . the reference current i ref is the reference current for the voltage discharge curve that will be used to compute the battery life . the resistance r is the internal resistance of the current battery pack . this resistance can be stored in memory for each battery pack type and chemistry . in other embodiments , the internal resistance is calculated by comparing different loads or connecting a known load and measuring the current according to the prior art . the calculation of v d is made with the micro - processor using the values and formula stated above . the voltage delta v d can then be used to estimate the battery life remaining in the next step . step 210 then uses the voltage delta to find the adjusted battery voltage v adj . the voltage v adj is found by adding the measured battery voltage v bat with the voltage delta v d . the adjusted voltage represents the voltage of the battery adjusted to the discharge curve for the i ref current . this is the curve that will be used to estimate the remaining battery life . step 212 then uses the adjusted voltage v adj to estimate the remaining battery life . the remaining battery life could be communicated to the user as the remaining percentage of the total capacity of the battery . this can be done by finding the corresponding remaining capacity for v adj on the stored discharge curve described above and reporting the capacity to the user as a percentage of total capacity . the discharge curve in a preferred embodiment is a table stored in memory representative of a discharge curve for the battery pack type and chemistry as determined by the battery pack identification line 104 . in a preferred embodiment , the voltage discharge curve stored in the table corresponds to the average current draw for the device . if the remaining capacity of the battery is not fairly constant with current draw , multiple discharge curves could be utilized . the remaining battery life could also be communicated to the user as an estimated time . this could be done by finding the corresponding remaining capacity for v adj on the stored discharge curve as described above , and then dividing by an average current . the average current may be determined by periodically checking the current and taking an average with a sufficient frequency to insure some stability in the reported time to the user . [ 0024 ] fig5 illustrates a plt or hand held computing device 300 that is uses the method and circuit of the present invention as described above . the device executes software described herein stored in memory 301 on the micro - processor 303 ( 106 in fig2 ). the device has a display screen 302 having a display area 304 . in this embodiment , the display is a touch sensitive display that uses a stylus for input ( not shown ). the device has a wireless interface such as wireless pcmcia card ( not shown ). although the present invention has been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . the features that are the subject of the present invention could be incorporated into other into other computer based portable electronic tools and computers .	6
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals correspond to like parts and elements throughout the several views , there is shown in fig1 an alignment tool generally designated 11 . alignment tool 11 has top block 12 , bottom block 13 , side plates 14 and 15 , lead screw 16 , lead screw threads 16a , adjusting fork 17 , driving bevel gear 18 , driven bevel gear 19 and input shaft 21 . tool 11 rigidly attaches to mounting pin 22a by means of insert 63 which fits within bottom block 13 . mounting pin 22a is rigidly attached to unit mount 31 . reference pin 41a is rigidly attached to aircraft structure 64 and does not move relative to aircraft bore sight reference line 42 . adjusting fork 17 straddles reference pin 41a , is held from rotation by sideplates 14 and 15 , and is driven laterally by threads 16a on lead screw 16 . as tine 66 or 66 &# 39 ; on fork 17 is driven into pin 41a , the relative distance between pin 41a and pin 22a is forced to change , thereby adjusting the position of unit mount 31 relative to aircraft structure 64 . lead screw 16 is caused to rotate by torque applied to input shaft 21 by a socket wrench type tool , not shown , which couples to hexagon termination 24 on input shaft 21 in the conventional manner . driving bevel gear 18 is rigidly attached to input shaft 21 by means of roll pin 25 , although other means of attachment such as welding or brazing , splines on gear 18 and shaft 21 , or a key and slot could be used . driving bevel gear 18 meshes with driven bevel gear 19 and causes rotation of gear 19 about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of input shaft 21 . driven bevel gear 19 is rigidly attached to lead screw 16 by roll pin 26 , although the alternate fastening means taught for gear 18 would work equally well for gear 19 . insert 63 is configured to match pin 22a and provide a tight fit . end thrust of lead screw 16 is taken up by bushings 27 and 28 respectively . axial play of lead screw 16 is removed by adjustment of set screw 29 . because the bevel gear drive of this invention defines the input torque drive axis 44 to be approximately parallel to pin axis 45 , the mechanic making the head - up unit mount adjustment may employ conventional socket wrench extensions and accessories to place the actual point of manual torque input aft from the relatively crowded head - up display space in the front portion of the cockpit , to the relatively uncrowded pilot space near the back of the cockpit . this fact in itself greatly increases the speed and convenience with which the adjustment may be made using this invention . three or more tools 11 may be used simultaneously , depending on the number of adjusting points provided by unit mount design . unit mount 31 provides three adjusting points generally referred to as a , b and c . each adjusting point has a mounting pin 22a , 22b , or 22c and a reference pin 41a , 41b or 41c , and may include a second mounting pin 23a , 23b , or 23c . an aligning tool 11 mounted at adjusting point a shifts unit mount 31 along axis 51 . it should be remembered however that axis 51 is fixed to unit mount 31 and as unit mount 31 is adjusted at points b and c , the direction of axis 51 will change slightly . it is advisable to adjust all adjusting points simultaneously because an adjustment at one point may affect the adjustment at the other points . insert 63 is used to grip pin 22a while second mounting pin 23a occupies space 46 between side plates 14 and 15 . the tool 11 can be reversed so that insert 63 grips pin 23a while pin 22a occupies space 46 , if desired . side plates 14 and 15 maintain precision alignment of top block 12 with respect to bottom block 13 by means of dowel 47 and fastener 48 which are used at at least two places on each side plate . the position of the dowels and fasteners is not critical as long as they do not interfere with the disclosed function , and are otherwise placed in accordance with good machinist practice . side plates 14 and 15 may be rectangular and have a rectangular or other shaped cut - out 65 for lateral clearance of pin 41a during adjustment and for exposing tines 66 of fork 17 . shaft 21 is supported by cap 49 which is rigidly fastened to top block 12 by fasteners 51 , which may be cap screws or the like . insert 63 is specially configured to fit pin 22a , and other designs may be used to fit the tool to the unit mounts of other manufacturers . insert 63 is retained in bottom block 13 by roll pin 52 which penetrates block 13 and intersects annular groove 53 in insert 63 . this means that tool 11 is a universal adjustment tool needing only the proper insert 63 for the corresponding pin 22a . adjusting fork 17 has raised bearing surfaces 54 and 54 &# 39 ;. surfaces 54 and 54 &# 39 ; abut side plates 14 and 15 and are guided in shallow channels 55 and 55 &# 39 ; to prevent fork rotation and resultant binding as the lateral load on fork 17 from pin 41a increases . in normal use , three tools 11 are used simultaneously , one at each adjusting point a , b and c . elaborate sighting and target apparatus , not shown , provides a reference for the boresighting operation . when unit mount 31 is properly aligned relative to the pitch , roll , and yaw axes as indicated by sighting apparatus , adjustable fasteners which extend through mount holes 56 , 57 , 58 and 59 are tightened to lock mount 31 in position . the tools 11 are then removed . fan 61 and holes 62 are for ventilation of instrumentation carried within unit mount 31 . other fasteners , not shown , add additional rigidity to the alignment of unit mount 31 by fastening other parts of the mount directly to aircraft structure . when properly aligned , unit mount 31 maintains precision alignment of the head - up display which projects symbology , gunsights , and other information to a screen in front of the pilot which the pilot may rely upon when aiming the aircraft weapons . although the preferred embodiment has been described , it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form , details , proportion and arrangement of parts , the combination thereof and mode of operation , which generally stated results in a device capable of carrying out the features set forth , as disclosed and defined in the appended claims .	1
while the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . referring now to the drawings , wherein like numerals indicate like elements , there is shown in fig1 selected components of a venturi scrubber 10 which according to the present invention includes a liquid inlet port 12 and a gas inlet port 14 which empty into converging section 16 , the converging section 16 connects to throat zone 18 , which in turn , connects to diverging section 20 . the diverging section 20 connects to elbow 22 , which in turn , connects to gas outlet port 24 . the throat zone 18 contains fixed plate group 26 and optional movable plate group 28 therein , the construction of which is detailed in fig2 . the fixed plate group 26 can be either fastened within a normally empty throat zone 18 or can be integrally formed with the throat zone tube section . in the depicted embodiment , the fixed plate group 26 is fastened to the throat tube by bolts 27 . in this manner , the fixed plate group 26 could be retrofitted into existing rectangular venturis which typically have empty or hollow throat zones by cutting a hole in one of the four sides and sliding the entire apparatus into the throat . this type of installation also allows for removal and / or replacement of the fixed plate group 26 . alternatively , new installations could be constructed with a fixed plate group 26 built into the throat zone 18 . fig1 also shows an optional movable plate group 28 which slidingly engages spaces between plates of the fixed plate group 26 as will be described in detail below . the movable plate group 28 is either manually positioned or dynamically positioned by a position control means 30 which receives a signal 32 representing the throat zone gas velocity . fig2 shows assembly 34 comprising fixed plate group 26 and optional movable plate group 28 as the assembly 34 appears before installation in throat zone 18 . the fixed plate group 26 includes two oppositely disposed frame portions 36 . a series of evenly spaced fixed parallel plates 38 extends between the frame portions 36 . one or both frame portion 36 contain holes 40 around the frame for allowing the fixed plate group to be bolted to the throat zone 18 . optional movable plate group 28 has a series of evenly spaced fixed parallel plates 42 which slidingly engage spaces between adjacent plates 38 of the fixed plate group 26 in an interlocking finger - like manner . movement of the movable plate group 28 into and out of the fixed plate group allows for adjustment of the hydraulic diameter of the throat zone 18 . the hydraulic diameter is the net open area of the throat and is also called the &# 34 ; hydraulic area .&# 34 ; the concept of &# 34 ; hydraulic diameter &# 34 ; holds that a venturi scrubber will provide a certain pressure drop regardless of its precise geometrical configuration . venturi scrubbers with rectangular throats , as depicted in the figures , are characterized by a pressure drop very similar to the pressure drop in venturi scrubbers with round throats of the same area . the throat geometry has a only a very minor effect on the pressure drop . as described above , movable plates 42 move into and out of the spaces between fixed plates 38 . as the gas velocity decreases , the plates 42 may be moved into the spaces between fixed plates 38 ( plates 42 move into the gas stream ) to reduce the throat area . as the gas velocity increases , the plates 42 can be moved out of the spaces between fixed plates 38 ( plates 42 move out of the gas stream ) to increase the throat area . thus , the movement of plate group 28 is a dynamic process which depends upon the instantaneous value of the throat zone gas velocity signal 32 shown in fig1 . when the position control means 30 shown in fig1 is operating in an automatic mode , the signal 32 causes the position control means 30 to move the plate group 28 into and out of the throat zone 18 . the portions of the plates of movable plate group 28 which extend into the fixed plate group 26 are preferably wedge - shaped . the wedge shape improves the smoothness of the transition as the movable plates 42 are moved into the gas stream . if the leading edges of the plates 42 were square , the pressure drop across the throat may increase abruptly , causing a temporary increase in turbulence within the throat zone 18 . this temporary turbulence would create wildly fluctuating gas velocity readings which would , in turn , result in loss of smooth control of the movement of plate group 28 into and out of the throat zone 18 . slotted seal 44 seals the right - hand frame 36 from the outside environment . in the preferred embodiment , seal 44 would be a resilient material so as to allow for uninhibited movement of movable plate group 28 , while simultaneously serving as an effective barrier between the inside of the throat zone 18 and the outside environment . of course , if the optional movable plate group 28 was not employed , another sealing means such as a door or cover plate ( not shown ) would provide the necessary barrier between the inside of the throat zone 18 and the outside environment . it is not necessary that the plates 42 of movable plate group 28 tightly interlock with plates 38 of the fixed plate group 26 . to the contrary , the spacing between oppositely disposed surfaces of a pair of adjacent plates 38 and 42 can be quite large without affecting the operation of the device . due to the fact that gas will take the path of least resistance , the gas will flow through the more open areas ( e . g ., the spaces between plates 38 which are not restricted by plates 42 ). furthermore , in experimental trials , spacing between oppositely disposed surfaces of a pair of adjacent plates 38 and 42 as large as 3 / 16 of an inch has been found to be effectively sealed by a film of scrubbing liquid that forms on the surfaces , thereby providing an effective barrier to gas flow between the spaces . fig3 is a perspective view of selected portions of venturi scrubber 10 in operation showing liquid inlet 12 , converging section 16 , throat zone 18 and diverging section 20 . also visible in this view are parallel plates 38 which preferably form part of fixed plate group 26 ( not labelled ). the central regions of space between two adjacent plates 38 define droplet dispersion zones 46 . in the simplified embodiment depicted in fig3 only three plates 38 are shown . one important optional features of the invention is that the plates 38 in the central region of the throat zone 18 are longer than the plates near the wall of throat zone 18 . since the gas velocity is greatest at the center of the throat zone , the flat plates should be longer in the center than at the wall . this is because the residence time of each gas molecule over the plate should be the same , whether the molecule enters the throat zone 18 at the throat &# 39 ; s axis or near throat wall 48 . the approximate length for each plate can be determined by calculating the gas velocity at each zone across the throat width . this design feature ensures essentially that all portions of the gas flow will have equal contact time on each plate as the gas stream passes through the throat zone 18 . in operation , scrubbing liquid ( e . g ., water ) enters the liquid inlet 12 and is injected into converging section 16 as liquid spray , preferably near the top of ( or entrance to ) the throat zone 18 . the liquid is immediately atomized by an incoming high - velocity gas stream into a mist or spray of target droplets . the static pressure of the incoming gas stream is converted to velocity pressure ( i . e ., kinetic energy ) as the gases move through spaces between the plates 38 in the throat zone 18 . the target droplets undergo dispersion within the droplet dispersion zones 46 by accelerating the gas stream to a high velocity and then using this kinetic energy to shear the scrubbing liquid into fine droplets . the motive force comes primarily from gas - stream kinetic energy , typically injected into the system by a fan ( not shown ). within the throat zone 18 , the liquid target droplets and some ( ideally all ) particulate matter entrained in the gas stream come into contact . the particulate matter adheres to the target droplets as the gas continues along its path through the venturi scrubber . the particulates held by the droplets are eventually removed from the stream and collected in a conventional manner . channeling the incoming particulate - laden gas into a series of parallel paths defined by plates 38 where it can interact with the liquid spray enhances the probability of interaction between the created target droplets and particulates in the stream . drag from the parallel plates slows down droplet dispersion without destroying the dispersion effect . in effect , the parallel plates create a plurality of narrow free stream areas . the net result of this effect is to increase the residence time of the droplets linger in throat zone 18 . this increased residence time increases the probability that a given target droplet will impact and intercept a particulate , thereby improving the capture efficiency of venturi scrubber 10 . fig4 and 5 show different views of one alternative embodiment for changing the hydraulic diameter of the throat zone 18 . these figures will be described together for clarity . fig4 is a view from an outer side of fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ; ( similar to fixed plate group 26 as shown in fig2 ). fig5 is a sectional view of the throat zone 18 taken along lines 5 -- 5 in fig4 . in this embodiment , blades 50 ( one blade 50 is depicted in phantom in fig4 ) pivot into and out of the fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ; within the spaces between adjacent parallel plates 38 &# 39 ;, as illustrated in fig5 . fig4 depicts adjusting apparatus 52 for moving the blades 50 into and out of the fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ;. this adjusting apparatus 52 can be placed completely outside of the throat zone 18 so as not to take up any space within the zone . adjusting apparatus 52 includes adjustable rod 54 connected through ball joint rod end 56 and connecting rod 58 to arm 60 . arm 60 , supported by reinforcing rib 62 , is connected to circular boss 64 which is attached to extension portion 66 of rotating support shaft 68 ( shown in fig5 ) by friction and set screw 70 . turning to fig5 fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ; has plates 38 &# 39 ; arranged in a manner similar to fig2 described above . however , instead of employing a slidingly engaging movable plate group 28 ( as shown in fig2 ) for adjusting the hydraulic diameter of the throat zone 18 , movable blades 50 perform this function . the blades 50 fill a portion of the spaces within the fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ; in the same manner as plates 42 shown in fig2 . a gap between adjacent plates 38 &# 39 ; and blades 50 near rotating support shaft 68 is filled by spacers 72 . in operation , reciprocation of the adjustable rod 54 in fig4 along axis a causes rotation of support shaft 68 . each of the blades 50 are coupled to support shaft 68 so that rotation of the support shaft 68 by the fig4 adjusting apparatus 52 causes movement of the blades 50 into and out of the throat . it should be recognized that adjustable rod 54 in fig4 can be connected to position control means 30 ( not shown ) which is responsive to a signal representing the throat zone gas velocity as described with respect to fig1 . in this manner , the position control means 30 would cause the adjustable rod 54 to move inward or outward in dependence upon the throat zone gas velocity . in turn , this rod movement would cause blades 50 to move into and out of the throat , thereby adjusting the hydraulic diameter of the throat zone 18 . in fig5 adjustable blades 50 are shown extending into the throat from the right - hand side of fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ;. however , it should be recognized that two identical apparatus could be mounted on opposed sides of the throat zone 18 . such an embodiment is shown in fig6 a . fig6 a depicts a sectional side view of fixed plate group 26 &# 39 ; with adjustable blades 50 between adjacent fixed plates 38 &# 39 ;. visible in this view is fixed plate 38 &# 39 ; which is partly held in place within frame 36 &# 39 ; by blade rests 74 . movable blades 50 are shown by solid lines in their fully retracted position resting against blade rests 74 and in phantom in an extended position . each blade 50 has a bushing 76 on one end which is slid onto support shaft 68 . support shaft 68 preferably has a flat portion 78 for attachment of a set screw ( not shown ) so as to secure each blade 50 to the support shaft 68 . it should also be noted that the blades in fig5 can be rotated outward ( completely out of the throat ) for servicing . also , the shape of the blades can be varied . for example , blades 50 &# 39 ; may have a flat oval shape as shown in fig6 b so that oppositely disposed sides of the blade are relatively symmetrical . furthermore , when the fixed plates 38 or 38 &# 39 ; have different lengths as illustrated in fig3 adjacently disposed blades 50 , 50 &# 39 ; ( or movable plates 42 in the embodiment of fig2 ) can also have different lengths . fig7 shows an alternative embodiment of a vibrating fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; mounted in throat zone 18 . the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; having plates 38 &# 34 ; is mounted within housing 80 . the housing 80 ( which remains fixed ) is connected by bracket 82 to vibrator 84 . the vibrator 84 is attached to push rod 86 . the push rod 86 is connected to a flexible end plate 88 of fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ;. another flexible end plate 88 is disposed on the far side of the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ;. the flexibility of these end plates 88 allow for the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; to freely move within the fixed housing 80 . the vibrator 84 vibrates perpendicular to the gas flow ( i . e ., perpendicular to the orientation of plates 38 &# 34 ;), which in turn , causes reciprocation of push rod 86 . in operation , the vibrator 84 , through push rod 86 , excites the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; so that it also vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the gas flow . empty spaces 90 between either sides of the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; and the housing 80 allow for a small displacement of the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; during vibration . the push rod is covered by boot 92 which acts as a barrier to seal in lubricating fluid and to prevent dust and dirt from clogging the push rod components . the vibrator 82 can be constructed of any conventional vibrating means , for example , a buzzer . the particular type of vibrating means does not form any part of the invention and thus , need not be described with any particularity . in this alternative embodiment , a movable plate group 28 ( not shown ) can , alternatively , be used and would remain stationary . the vibration helps to release the liquid film from the plate surfaces ( e . g ., separating the boundary layer liquid stream from the plates ), thereby pushing more liquid into the gas stream for droplet creation . an amplitude of vibration of about 1 / 3 of the distance between adjacent plates will normally be sufficient to cause this desired effect . if the fixed plate group 26 &# 34 ; was excited fast enough , the standing waves created by the excitation agglomerate particulate matter , enhancing its probability of capture . the use of an adjustable vibrator 84 ( e . g ., as used in hopper vibrators ) allows the user to tune the excitation frequency for maximum effect . theoretically , this added energy input at the throat should reduce the amount of fan energy input needed for accelerating the incoming gas stream into the venturi scrubber . fig8 a depicts an exploded view of a manually adjusted multiple throat assembly 94 , prior to insertion into an empty throat zone tube section 96 . the hydraulic diameter of the throat zone can be adjusted by manually turning rod 98 . fig8 b depicts assembly 94 after it has been inserted into the throat zone tube section 96 . as described above , the spacing between the fixed plates and movable plates or blades need not be so small as to create operational or manufacturing tolerance difficulties . in experimental trials , gaps of 9 / 16 of an inch between adjacent fixed plates 38 were filled with movable plates or blades having widths of 3 / 16 of an inch with a spacing of 3 / 16 of an inch on either side . generally , the amount of and type of particulate matter entrained in the incoming gas flow determines the desired spacing . for example , if the venturi scrubber was used on a lime kiln where the dust is concentrated and large , 1 / 2 of an inch to 3 / 4 of an inch plate spacing would be optimal . however , if the scrubber was part of an incinerator with a low loading of extremely fine particulate , 3 / 16 of an inch spacing would be more suitable . the minimum throat width is determined by the solids in the scrubbing liquid that could bridge the gaps and plug the throat . distances below 3 / 16 of an inch ( or approximately 0 . 5 cm . ) could potentially cause this undesirable effect , although these efficiency robbing effects could occur at distances as great as 3 cm . on the maximum side , distances as great as 8 inches can be used . of course , distances this great would require venturi throats having much larger diameters . one manner of determining an appropriate length for the throat plates is to empty an iterative procedure as follows : assume a net open area of the throat , a ( defined in equation 4 below ). volumetric flow equations dictate that : from the given volume of gas to be treated and the assumed open area of the throat , ν can be calculated . to remove a certain size particle , a certain pressure drop across the venturi scrubber is needed . fig9 illustrates a prior art &# 34 ; grade efficiency / penetration curve &# 34 ; for various pressure drops generated by conventional scrubbers . a series of such curves can be generated for the novel multiple - throat , narrow gap venturi scrubber . thus , to remove a certain size particle , one would know the approximate pressure drop needed . empirical data will yield the gas density and liquid - to - gas ratio . the liquid - to - gas ratio increases with increasing particulate loadings . this scrubber will preferably operate at between 2 gallons / 1000 acfm and 30 gallons / 1000 acfm . one of many known empirical equations for predicting the venturi scrubber pressure drop in metric and english units is : the venturi pressure drop , p , is the pressure drop across the working portion of the scrubber . this is measured from the venturi inlet duct , where a uniform free stream velocity has been established , to the outlet duct , where the free stream velocity resumes . equations 2 or 3 can then be used to solve for a , the open area of the throat . if the assumed open area a and the required open area are different , one can assume a new open area and then recalculate . this iterative process continues until the net open area of the throat agrees with both the ( q = a × ν ) relationship and the venturi pressure drop equation above . in the novel multiple throat , narrow gap venturi described above in respect to fig1 - 7 , the net open area of the throat is the gross open area less the area occupied by the plates . using equation 4 , the gross open area of the throat can be calculated . since the throat width is limited , the throat length measured in the direction of gas flow can then be determined . if the desired plate spacing is known , the number of plates , n , can be varied until a compatible net open area and plate spacing is achieved . it should be recognized that the process above is iterative because the throat area , a , used in the pressure drop prediction is the &# 34 ; net open area &# 34 ;, as defined in equation 4 . after calculating the &# 34 ; net open area &# 34 ; from equations 2 or 3 , one assumes a certain number of plates , plate thickness and spacing between plates . the area by which these plates reduce the gross throat area then determines the throat plate length . the plate spacing must then be rechecked so as to ensure that a discrete number of full plates can be used ( i . e ., not a discrete number plus a portion of a plate ). if the plate spacing is too great , e . g ., 3 / 4 of an inch when it is desired to have spacings of 3 / 16 of an inch , it will be necessary to add extra plates . this will require a recalculation of the net open area to determine whether the desired spacing is maintained . during this iterative process , the throat width must be kept limited to a desired practical range ( e . g ., less than one foot ) while keeping the net open area consistent with equations 2 and 3 and the individual plate spacing consistent with the amount and type of particulate matter to be removed . it should be recognized that a correction factor , k , should be applied to the equations above to compensate for the dry frictional loss of the plates themselves . the correction factor , k , can be determined empirically based upon the plates &# 39 ; material of construction . for determining plate length when the plates vary in length across the throat , the overall goal is to provide approximately the same residence time of the gas on each of the plates . thus , if the top surface of each plate is on the same plane , the longer plates would be in the center where the gas velocity is the greatest . given the randomness of activity in the throat zone , it is nearly impossible to make precise calculations of the throat plate lengths . in addition , the parameters would change as the gas velocity changes . as a practical matter , it has been discovered that the plate length need only approximate the velocity relationship across the throat . the plate length can be approximated by assuming that the gas velocity profile forms a shallow parabolic curve . this is a well known fact proven by pitot tube velocity pressure traversing ductwork containing moving gas . practice has shown that throat lengths , measured in the direction of gas flow , of 10 - 12 inches are adequate for proper mixing in conventional scrubbers , although lengths of as great as 18 inches can be used . in an example where the plates are 10 inches long at the center , the length of the plates as one moves towards the wall of the throat can be determined using this parabolic relationship . fig1 shows a graph of blade or plate depth ( length from the top plane downward into the throat ) vs . throat position from the center for an exemplary embodiment where the center blade depth is 10 inches . it was calculated from the equation for a very shallow parabola : equation 5 is applicable only if the depth , d , is small compared to the width , l . it is a catenary shape . in one design example , a ratio of l : d of 10 , 000 : 1 was used . further experimental efforts will yield various curves for different throat pressure drops . as the venturi scrubber pressure drop , p , rises , the curve will become deeper , but the center plate will still be 10 - 12 inches long . the side plates will become shorter to compensate for the increased velocity and shorter gas / plate residence time . determining the optimum throat length ( which will determine the optimum range of plate lengths ) is a complicated matter and has , heretofore , been arrived at mainly by experimentation . generally speaking , a throat that is too short will not allow for sufficient time for impaction of the particulate matter in the particulate - laden gas stream with the target droplets . the result of insufficient impaction is low particulate removal efficiency . a throat that is too long will also be undesirable due to excessive frictional losses . particle impaction can only occur when there is a differential speed between the incoming particulate - laden gas stream and the target droplets . once the gas stream enters the throat , its speed continuously slows because no energy is being added to allow it to maintain its speed . eventually , the gas stream reaches the speed of the slow - moving target droplet or visa - versa . ( energy from the gas stream can accelerate the target droplets .) at that point in time , very little impaction occurs due to the small differential speed and unavoidable frictional losses from drag are not offset by any beneficial impaction . furthermore , the plate &# 39 ; s ultimate length must also be determined by the frictional losses created by the film of liquid at the boundary layer ( i . e ., the film of liquid which adheres to and runs down the surface of the plates ). the friction can help in holding the fine droplet dispersion under control , but can hurt by creating power robbing friction once the dispersion task is completed . by following the empirical example of narrow conventional throat venturis and various published studies , a throat length , measured in the direction of gas flow , of 1 &# 39 ; 0 &# 34 ; to 1 &# 39 ; 6 &# 34 ; ( 12 to 18 inches ) at the center was used . of course , it should be recognized that the particular throat length will be a function of the overall dimensions of the venturi scrubber . thus , a proportionally larger venturi scrubber may call for a proportionally longer venturi zone . likewise , the overall width of the venturi throat will vary according to the particular application . the embodiment shown in fig3 depicts plates which extend the entire length of the throat zone with some plates ( those near the center of the throat ) extending partially into the diverging section . it should be understood that the plates need not run the full length of the throat zone nor is it necessary that any of the plates extend into the diverging section . in the design example of a 12 to 18 inch throat using a 10 inch maximum plate , the top of the plate can begin at or near the top of the throat zone . thus , no part of any plate would extend into the diverging section . the invention should not be considered limited to particular plate or throat zone lengths , or to particular spacings between plates . any lengths or spacings which achieve the novel effects described above are considered to be within the scope of the invention . furthermore , the invention should not be considered limited to any particular number of plates . for example , a gas stream of 200 , 000 acfm passing through a throat zone 12 inches wide by 20 - 30 feet long and containing 50 - 60 or more plates could operate according to the principles of the invention . it should further be recognized that converging section 16 and diverging section 20 can have varying degrees of convergence or divergence , including very abrupt degrees . ( converging and diverging sections can also be expressed as sections having plural cross - sectional areas .) for example , the throat zone 18 can be joined to a converging section 16 or a diverging section 20 that has a single cross - sectional area throughout its length . as long as the cross - sectional area of at least a portion of the converging section 16 and a portion of the diverging section 20 is greater than the cross - sectional area of the throat zone 18 , the desired venturi effect will exist . the novel multiple throat , narrow gap venturi scrubber described above provides significant advantages not contemplated by prior art . this novel structure permits increased particle capture without significantly affecting energy utilization of the scrubber . the novel structure is simple to build and when placed in the venturi zone , does not significantly alter the incoming path flow of gas as it passes therethrough , thereby promoting direct impact collisions between target droplets and particles . the novel structure is also easily retrofitted into existing venturi scrubbers which typically have hollow passageways . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and , accordingly , reference should be made to the appended claims , rather than to the foregoing specification , as indicating the scope of the invention .	8
the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein the same reference numerals have been used to identify the same or similar elements throughout the several views . fig1 a shows an image forming apparatus 11 , wherein printing is achieved using a wide format inkjet printer . the wide - format image forming apparatus 11 comprises a housing 16 , wherein the printing assembly , for example the ink jet printing assembly shown in fig1 b is placed . the image forming apparatus 11 also comprises a storage means for storing image receiving member 18 , 19 , a delivery station to collect the image receiving member 18 , 19 after printing and storage means for marking material 15 . in fig1 a , the delivery station is embodied as a delivery tray 17 . optionally , the delivery station may comprise processing means for processing the image receiving member 18 , 19 after printing , e . g . a folder or a puncher . the wide - format image forming apparatus 11 furthermore comprises means for receiving print jobs and optionally means for manipulating print jobs . these means may include a user interface unit 14 and / or a control unit 13 , for example a computer . images are printed on an image receiving member , for example paper , supplied by a roll 18 , 19 . the roll 18 is supported on the roll support r 1 , while the roll 19 is supported on the roll support r 2 . alternatively , cut sheet image receiving members may be used instead of rolls 18 , 19 of image receiving member . printed sheets of the image receiving member , cut off from the roll 18 , 19 , are deposited in the delivery tray 17 . each one of the marking materials for use in the printing assembly are stored in four containers 15 arranged in fluid connection with the respective print heads for supplying marking material to said print heads . the local user interface unit 14 is integrated to the print engine and may comprise a display unit and a control panel . alternatively , the control panel may be integrated in the display unit , for example in the form of a touch - screen control panel . the local user interface unit 14 is connected to a control unit 13 placed inside the printing apparatus 11 . the control unit 13 , for example a computer , comprises a processor adapted to issue commands to the print engine , for example for controlling the print process . the image forming apparatus 11 may optionally be connected to a network n . the connection to the network n is diagrammatically shown in the form of a cable 12 , but nevertheless , the connection could be wireless . the image forming apparatus 11 may receive printing jobs via the network . further , optionally , the controller of the printer may be provided with a usb port , so printing jobs may be sent to the printer via this usb port . fig1 b shows an ink jet printing assembly 3 . the ink jet printing assembly 3 comprises supporting means for supporting an image receiving member 2 . the supporting means are shown in fig1 b as a platen 1 , but alternatively , the supporting means may be a flat surface . the platen 1 , as depicted in fig1 b , is a rotatable drum , which is rotatable about its axis as indicated by arrow a . the supporting means may be optionally provided with suction holes for holding the image receiving member in a fixed position with respect to the supporting means . the ink jet printing assembly 3 comprises print heads 4 a - 4 d , mounted on a scanning print carriage 5 . the scanning print carriage 5 is guided by suitable guiding means 6 , 7 to move in reciprocation in the main scanning direction b . each print head 4 a - 4 d comprises an orifice surface 9 , which orifice surface 9 is provided with at least one orifice 8 . the print heads 4 a - 4 d are configured to eject droplets of marking material onto the image receiving member 2 . the platen 1 , the carriage 5 and the print heads 4 a - 4 d are controlled by suitable controlling means 10 a , 10 b and 10 c , respectively . the image receiving member 2 may be a medium in web or in sheet form and may be composed of e . g . paper , cardboard , label stock , coated paper , plastic or textile . alternatively , the image receiving member 2 may also be an intermediate member , endless or not . examples of endless members , which may be moved cyclically , are a belt or a drum . the image receiving member 2 is moved in the sub - scanning direction a by the platen 1 along four print heads 4 a - 4 d provided with a fluid marking material . a scanning print carriage 5 carries the four print heads 4 a - 4 d and may be moved in reciprocation in the main scanning direction b parallel to the platen 1 , such as to enable scanning of the image receiving member 2 in the main scanning direction b . only four print heads 4 a - 4 d are depicted for demonstrating the invention . in practice an arbitrary number of print heads may be employed . in any case , at least one print head 4 a - 4 d per color of marking material is placed on the scanning print carriage 5 . for example , for a black - and - white printer , at least one print head 4 a - 4 d , usually containing black marking material is present . alternatively , a black - and - white printer may comprise a white marking material , which is to be applied on a black image - receiving member 2 . for a full - color printer , containing multiple colors , at least one print head 4 a - 4 d for each of the colors , usually black , cyan , magenta and yellow is present . often , in a full - color printer , black marking material is used more frequently in comparison to differently colored marking material . therefore , more print heads 4 a - 4 d containing black marking material may be provided on the scanning print carriage 5 compared to print heads 4 a - 4 d containing marking material in any of the other colors . alternatively , the print head 4 a - 4 d containing black marking material may be larger than any of the print heads 4 a - 4 d , containing a differently colored marking material . the carriage 5 is guided by guiding means 6 , 7 . these guiding means 6 , 7 may be rods as depicted in fig1 b . the rods may be driven by suitable driving means ( not shown ). alternatively , the carriage 5 may be guided by other guiding means , such as an arm being able to move the carriage 5 . another alternative is to move the image receiving material 2 in the main scanning direction b . each print head 4 a - 4 d comprises an orifice surface 9 having at least one orifice 8 , in fluid communication with a pressure chamber containing fluid marking material provided in the print head 4 a - 4 d . on the orifice surface 9 , a number of orifices 8 is arranged in a single linear array parallel to the sub - scanning direction a . eight orifices 8 per print head 4 a - 4 d are depicted in fig1 b , however obviously in a practical embodiment several hundreds of orifices 8 may be provided per print head 4 a - 4 d , optionally arranged in multiple arrays . as depicted in fig1 b , the respective print heads 4 a - 4 d are placed parallel to each other such that corresponding orifices 8 of the respective print heads 4 a - 4 d are positioned in - line in the main scanning direction b . this means that a line of image dots in the main scanning direction b may be formed by selectively activating up to four orifices 8 , each of them being part of a different print head 4 a - 4 d . this parallel positioning of the print heads 4 a - 4 d with corresponding in - line placement of the orifices 8 is advantageous to increase productivity and / or improve print quality . alternatively multiple print heads 4 a - 4 d may be placed on the print carriage adjacent to each other such that the orifices 8 of the respective print heads 4 a - 4 d are positioned in a staggered configuration instead of in - line . for instance , this may be done to increase the print resolution or to enlarge the effective print area , which may be addressed in a single scan in the main scanning direction . the image dots are formed by ejecting droplets of marking material from the orifices 8 . upon ejection of the marking material , some marking material may be spilled and stay on the orifice surface 9 of the print head 4 a - 4 d . the ink present on the orifice surface 9 may negatively influence the ejection of droplets and the placement of these droplets on the image receiving member 2 . therefore , it may be advantageous to remove excess of ink from the orifice surface 9 . the excess of ink may be removed for example by wiping with a wiper and / or by application of a suitable anti - wetting property of the surface , e . g . provided by a coating . fig2 is a diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention . the printer shown in fig2 comprises a supply unit 20 , a transport unit 60 and a print station 80 . the supply unit 20 serves for the storage and delivery of a substrate 18 for printing . the transport unit 60 transports the substrate 18 from the supply unit 20 to the print station 80 and also provides for accurate positioning of the substrate in a print zone in the print station . in this embodiment , the print station 80 is a conventional ink jet engine which comprises a print head 4 arranged above a print surface 82 and adapted to move back and forth across the substrate 18 on the print surface 82 in a direction normal to the plane of the drawing in fig2 . the print head 4 has only a limited printing range , so that it is necessary to print the image on the substrate in different sub - images . to this end , the substrate 18 is advanced intermittently , and a sub - image or swath is printed in each interval between two subsequent advance steps . the increments by which the substrate 18 is advanced over the print surface 82 are precisely controlled , so that the sub - images will exactly adjoin to one another . in the example shown , the substrate 18 comes from a roll 22 that is rotatably supported in the supply unit 20 . the substrate 18 has the form of a web having a length 150 m , for example , that is wound on the roll 22 . in the example shown , the printer is a large format printer , and the width of the web corresponds to the smaller side of a document in ao format . a pair of drive rollers 24 serves for drawing the substrate 18 off from the roll 22 . the web drawn off from the roll is passed over a deflection roller 26 and is then paid out towards the transport unit 60 . in the transport unit 60 , the web - type print substrate passes through a nip between a pair of rollers 28 forming a first feed unit , is deflected at a guide member 30 and is then passed on towards a feed nip of a second feed unit comprising a driven feed roller 32 and a pressure roller 34 . the driven feed roller 32 controls the length of the increments with which the substrate 18 is advanced over the print surface 82 . a portion of the substrate 18 adjoining the feed roller 32 on the upstream side is divided by the guide member 30 into two sub - portions 36 a , 36 b forming an angle with one another . the guide member 30 , which may be a roller or a stationary member , is movable along an axis a bisecting the angle between the sub - portions 36 a and 36 b and the guide member is elastically biased in a direction indicated by an arrow b , so that the substrate portion 36 a , 36 b is held under a certain tension . thus , the movable guide member 30 and its guide and biasing mechanism serve as a tensioning mechanism 38 . in fig1 the elastic bias of the guide member 30 has been symbolized by a compression spring 40 . in view of the fact that , on the one hand , the substrate 18 is advanced intermittently by the feed roller 32 and , on the other hand , the roll 22 in the supply unit 20 may have a considerable moment of inertia , so that large forces are required for accelerating and decelerating the same , one of the functions of the tensioning mechanism 38 in the transport unit 60 is to provide a buffer in the feed path of the web and to protect the web against successive strains . this buffer action may for example be accomplished as follows . when the feed roller 32 stops , the guide member 30 will be in the extended position shown in phantom lines in fig1 , so that the length of the substrate portion 36 a , 36 b is comparatively large . then , when a new advance step commences , the feed roller 32 starts to rotate with a comparatively large acceleration , whereas the roller pairs 24 and 28 accelerate the web with a smaller acceleration . as a result , a part of the length of the substrate portion 36 a , 36 b will be consumed , and the guide member 30 is moved against the biasing force of the spring 40 towards the position shown in continuous lines in fig2 . conversely , at the end of the advance step , the feed roller 32 will be stopped relatively abruptly , whereas the roller pairs 24 and 28 will decelerate the web with a moderate deceleration . consequently , the guide member 30 will move back towards the position shown in phantom lines , so as to eliminate a possible slack in the substrate portion 36 a , 36 b . in the present invention the pressure roller 34 has a textured outer surface , which outer surface is in rolling contact with a second surface of the print substrate . in fig3 a is shown a cross section of an embodiment of the pressure roller according to the present invention . the pressure roller 34 comprises a base roller 42 and an outer surface layer 44 ( or film ). the base roller 42 is freely rotatable mounted around axis 43 . the outer surface layer 44 comprises an assembly of glass beads 56 . fig3 b illustrates an enlarged portion e of the outer surface layer of the pressure roller shown in fig3 a . each glass bead 58 is substantially spherical . the diameter of the glass bead 58 is indicated by arrow b . the beads in the assembly 46 are arranged adjacent to each other , thereby forming a single layer of beads having a dense matrix packing . each of the beads 58 provides a small contact area with a print substrate . the distance between adjacent contact areas is schematically indicated by arrow c . the assembly of beads 56 is coated by a single layer coating 50 , which is substantially conformal to the outer surface of the glass beads 58 , or is coated by a multiple layer coating structure . the single layer coating 50 is a silicon coating , an adhesive coating , or any other suitable coating for retaining the glass beads 58 in the assembly of beads 56 . the multiple layers coating structure ( not shown ) comprises a silicon coating , preferably a silicon top coating , an adhesive coating , and optionally a primer coating for bonding the silicon top coating to the adhesive coating . any of the coatings may optionally provide an ink and / or oil resistant layer . the assembly of beads 56 is embedded in a base layer 52 , which provides adhesion to the beads 58 . each of the beads 58 provides a protrusion which extends from the base layer 52 over a distance as indicated by arrow d . the base layer 52 further provides flexibility to the surface layer 44 . this is for example useful when the surface layer 44 is handled in the form of a film when being applied onto the outer surface of the base roller 34 . the glass beads 58 in the assembly of glass beads 56 have a mean diameter in the range between 0 . 05 mm and 0 . 8 mm . in table i is shown how the mean diameter of the glass beads effects the crystal size distribution of the hot melt ink image in an area which has been contacted by the pressure roller . a reference gloss level is provided by a crystal size distribution shown in fig4 a for an area of the inkjet image , which area of the print substrate has not been contacted by the pressure roller 34 . the crystal size distribution is symmetrical around crystal size 0 . 1 mm ( type a ). in case a pressure roller 34 has a smooth outer surface , the crystal size distribution is asymmetric as is shown in fig4 b , wherein larger crystals are formed having crystal sizes up to 0 . 3 mm ( type c ). the gloss of the image is visibly diminished . the crystal size distribution is not affected by a pressure roller 34 and is similar to the symmetrical distribution shown in fig4 a , in case the glass bead size is in the range between 0 . 1 mm and 0 . 4 mm ( type a ). no effects on gloss marks are seen . the crystal size distribution becomes slightly affected by a pressure roller 34 in case the glass bead size is around 0 . 05 mm or is around 0 . 8 mm ( type b ). in this case the crystal size distribution is slightly asymmetrical , having some crystals larger than 0 . 15 mm as is shown in fig4 c . effects on gloss level become slightly visible . bead size used to texture the outer surface of the pressure roller the glass beads provide a defined contact area with the print substrate . the glass beads also prevent an intrusion of the surface of the print substrate . a person skilled in the art may easily contemplate similar globular and / or spherical segments which could provide a suitable textured outer surface as disclosed in the present invention . detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention , which can be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . in particular , features presented and described in separate dependent claims may be applied in combination and any advantageous combination of such claims is herewith disclosed . further , the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting ; but rather , to provide an understandable description of the invention . the terms “ a ” or “ an ”, as used herein , are defined as one or more than one . the term plurality , as used herein , is defined as two or more than two . the term another , as used herein , is defined as at least a second or more . the terms including and / or having , as used herein , are defined as comprising ( i . e ., open language ). the term coupled , as used herein , is defined as connected , although not necessarily directly . 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 .	1
the invention described in detail herein generally relates a system for producing and consuming a universal potent healing tonic . for the purposes of the present invention the term “ natural sugars ” means all naturally derived sugars including : honey , molasses , and maple syrup . a full course of using this healing tonic consists of 45 days . during this time , the user will be taking a multivitamin , such as geritol as in the preferred embodiment , before breakfast . as is apparent to those in the art , other multivitamins can be used . additionally , the user will consume at least three 8 oz . glasses of water per day , and not exceeding sixteen 8 oz . glasses of water . the user &# 39 ; s diet should be considered healthy and include 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables where possible . a laxative may be taken by the user to avoid or alleviate constipation while executing the course . consumption of the healing tonic occurs either before breakfast or in the evening , after the final meal of the day . the tonic is made by preparing 8 ounces of boiling water in one container . in another container , place approximately one tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate , and one teaspoon of grandma &# 39 ; s molasses . as is apparent , other types of molasses may be substituted . moreover , other natural sugars may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention . next , approximately 6 ounces of boiling water is poured into the container with sodium bicarbonate and molasses , and the mixture is gently stirred for approximately 30 seconds or until the contents are in solution . alternatively , 6 ounces of boiling water may be mixed with one tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate and the molasses is added immediately thereafter . the mixture is then gently stirred for approximately 30 seconds . the mixture is then cooled to lukewarm temperature , approximately 90 - 100 ° fahrenheit . this can be accomplished with the addition of ice ( approximately two standard ice cubes ). once the mixture is lukewarm , it is consumed . the mixture is prepared and consumed twice daily , in the morning before breakfast , and in the evening after the last meal , for fifteen consecutive days ( days 1 - 15 ). then , the mixture is prepared and consumed every other day , in the evening , for the next fifteen days ( days 16 - 30 ). next , the mixture is prepared and consumed once per day , in the evening , for fifteen days ( days 31 - 45 ). if symptoms recur , the user goes back to the regimen started on day 16 . namely , the mixture is prepared and consumed every other day for 15 days , followed by once a day consumption for 15 days . additionally , the mixture may be purchased by the consumer as a kit as is part of the present invention . this kit would include a sealed container of 6 ounces of water . the container is capable of being heated to the boiling temperature of water without degradation . the kit also includes packets of one tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate , and one teaspoon of natural sugars . the packets may be singular ( i . e ., only sodium bicarbonate ), or may have the capability of housing both ingredients without mixing . moreover , another embodiment of the kit consisting of a container with markings as to the appropriate amount of water to boil as well as a packets of one tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate , and one teaspoon of natural sugars . the packets may be singular ( i . e ., only sodium bicarbonate ), or may have the capability of housing both ingredients without mixing . while the invention has been shown and described herein with reference to particular embodiments , it is to be understood that the various additions , substitutions , or modifications of form , structure , arrangement , proportions , materials , and components and otherwise , used in the practice and which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements , may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention . various other modifications may be made by those skilled in the art , which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and the scope thereof .	0
the present invention utilizes the discovery that chlorine gas reacts with ammonia ( nh 3 ), while chlorine dioxide gas does not . when chlorine reacts with ammonia in the gas phase it produces a white smoke , believed to contain ammonium chloride particles . if an excess of ammonia is mixed with the gas to be measured , the density of the smoke increases with the concentration of the chlorine in the sample . according to one aspect of the invention smoke generated by the reaction can be detected by optical means , such as light absorbence , light scatter or light transmission . when a beam of light shines through a transparent cell containing a sample of chlorine in chlorine dioxide and air into which ammonia has been introduced , the amount of transmitted light decreases with the amount of chlorine in the sample . in other words , if no chlorine is present there will be no decrease in the amount of light passing through the cell , other than losses that would normally be encounted from the cell itself and / or the solution . there are other techniques , which may be useful for detecting and measuring the density of the smoke . however , many of the available techniques , although they would work are not preferred because of the corrosive nature of chlorine and / or chlorine dioxide in the sample . for instance , corrosion may pose a serious problem in any system where the gas sample , especially humidified gas , comes in contact with metallic components , or with components made of many types of non - metallic materials . referring to fig1 the process of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 10 . according to the process of the present invention an inlet conduit 12 having a control valve 14 is connected to an outlet conduit of the chlorine dioxide generator 11 so that a sample of the product chlorine dioxide can be introduced into an apparatus according to the present invention . valve 14 , is in turn connected via conduit 16 to a central manifold conduit 18 . a source of water is introduced via conduit 20 , control valve 22 and conduit 24 into the manifold 18 . a source of ammonia 26 is connected via conduit 28 , control valve 30 and conduit 32 to manifold 18 . lastly , a source of air is introduced via conduit 34 , valve 36 and conduit 38 into the manifold 18 . manifold 18 in turn is connected to the inlet of a sample block or sample holder 40 . inlet 42 of the sample block 40 permits the various fluids or gases to be introduced into a sample tube 44 . sample cell 44 has an outlet conduit 46 , which is connected via conduit 48 , control valve 50 , and conduit 52 to a vacuum ejector 54 . sample cell 44 , sometimes referred to as a test receptacle , test cell , sample tube or sample holder , is made of a transparent material , preferably glass , so that corrosion does not become a problem . the glass sample cell 44 can be mounted vertically as shown in fig1 . the glass sample cell 44 has a light source 56 and a light receiver 58 , which are connected to test instrumentation via leads 60 and 62 respectively . leads 60 are connected to a dc ( direct current ) power supply to power the light source . leads 62 are connected to a digital volt - ohm - multimeter . such instruments are well known to workers skilled in the art . fig2 shows one form of the sample block or apparatus 40 , which can be made from three separate blocks of material such as acrylic resins or other structural plastic materials . the first or top block 70 contains an inlet conduit 72 , which communicates with a vertical conduit 74 . conduit 74 extends to the top surface of block 70 where it is closed by a cap or other suitable closure device 76 . conduit 74 terminates at an entrance to the test receptacle 44 . test receptacle 44 is contained in the middle block 78 . middle block 78 has suitable conduits 80 , 87 to position the light emitter 56 and the light receptacle 58 . the bottom of glass of sample tube 44 is closed by the bottom block 84 , which has a vertical conduit 86 , which extends from the bottom of the sample cell 44 to the bottom surface 87 of block 84 . conduit 86 is closed by a cap or other suitable closure device 88 . an outlet conduit 90 extends from the vertical conduit 86 to an outer surface of bottom block 84 so that the sample can be withdrawn . as stated above the sample block 40 can be made from separate pieces of structural plastic materials which can be held together by through bolts 92 , 94 and nuts 96 , 98 . “ o ” rings 57 and 59 are used to prevent leaking of the sample from the top or bottom of the sample tube 44 . the apparatus shown schematically in fig1 and 2 has been designed to work in conjunction with a production scale chlorine dioxide generator . in view of the fact that the production scale chlorine dioxide generator used with the present invention operates under a vacuum ( typically 15 inches of mercury ) the sample and the sample cell 44 must be under slightly higher vacuum to draw the sample from the generator into the cell 44 . the analytical process according to the present invention can by cyclical in nature . according to one embodiment of the present invention the entire cycle lasts approximately 2 . 5 minutes , though it could be considerably longer or shorter . at the beginning of the cycle valves 14 and 50 are opened to draw a sample through the cell . the light emitter 56 shines on the receiver 58 and the output of the receiver is amplified into a signal that is used as the zero signal . thereafter valve 30 is opened and ammonia begins to flow through the cell containing the sample . the signal from the infrared receiver is measured relative to zero and the difference is interpreted as to the concentration of the chlorine . this is shown in the graph of fig3 . thereafter , valves 14 and 30 are closed and valve 22 is opened . water flows through the cell and tubing to dissolve any build up of ammonium chloride . valve 22 is then closed and valve 36 is opened to vent the cell and drain the wash water from the cell . valves 36 and 50 are then closed and the system is idle until the next cycle is initiated . the exact sequence may be varied . for example , if the idle time were long , it might be desirable to wash the cell 44 immediately prior to introduction of the chlorine dioxide sample in order to wash out any condensation left in the cell . on the other hand if the idle time is short it might be desirable to have the idle time immediately after the wash cycle to give the cell more time to drain before sampling . according to the present invention the source of ammonia vapor for reaction ammonia used is an aqueous solution of ammonia with the concentration of ammonia between 10 and 30 percent . tests have shown that there is no difference in effectiveness between reagent grade ammonia solutions and household ammonia solutions . for example , the solution of ammonia can be injected into sample cell and enough volatilizes to cause reaction . for each sample , only between one and two cubic centimeters of ammonia solution or less is necessary . gaseous anhydrous ammonia could also be used but it is not preferred because of problems associated with handling gaseous anhydrous ammonia . the light used in detecting the smoke should be of a wavelength that does not cause breakdown of the chlorine dioxide . it is well known that chlorine dioxide is subject to photolysis , e . g ., ultraviolet light decomposes chlorine dioxide into chlorine and oxygen . tests according to the present invention have shown that chlorine produced by photolytic decomposition of chlorine dioxide reacts with ammonia to generate smoke , thereby leading to a false positive signal . tests have also shown that lower frequency light in the visible range also appears to cause such a breakdown . samples of pure , dilute chlorine dioxide with gaseous ammonia in a glass flask remain clear yellow in the dark , but turn cloudy within a few seconds in low - intensity ambient fluorescent light . it has also been found that mixtures of pure chlorine dioxide gas and ammonia gas exposed to high intensity incandescent light in a turbidimeter deposit a white coating on the inside of the glass sample tube . the shape of the deposited spot of this white coating is the same as the shape of the light beam . it is not clear in either the case of incandescent or fluorescent light , whether the breakdown of chlorine dioxide is caused by visible light or by high frequency components of light which are otherwise in the visible range . experiments have shown , light in the red to infrared region of the spectrum ( greater than 630 nanometers wavelength ) show no breakdown of chlorine dioxide . the device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes light in the infrared spectrum . in view of the fact that clouding of a glass sample cell can occur by deposits of ammonium chloride produced when chlorine is present , a preferred method and apparatus includes the cycle in which the sample cell and all the tubing that might contain ammonium and chlorine are flushed out with clean water and then drained . since there is a possibility that the sample tube might cloud up over extended periods due to insoluble deposits or chemical reactions in the glass sample cell , the cycle of the present invention has been designed to be self - zeroing . in order to accomplish self - zeroing according to the invention , after each water / flush cycle the infrared light is passed through the sample cell containing air , chlorine dioxide and chlorine ( if there is any chlorine to sample ), but no ammonia . the signal is then measured from the infrared receiver . this signal intensity is used as the zero level which corresponds to the presence of zero concentration of chlorine . changes in signal intensity from this zero level are measured to indicate the presence of chlorine when ammonia is added to the cell . it is also possible to zero the analyzer when the cell is only filled with air . however , measurements have shown no difference in light transmission , regardless of whether that cell is filled with air , chlorine , chlorine dioxide or any mixture of these gases as long as there is no ammonia present in the cell . measurements using red to infrared light ( radiation ) have also shown no difference in the signal between air in the cell versus a blend of air , chlorine dioxide and ammonia , as long as there is no chlorine present in the cell with this mixture . as there is a possibility of water condensation inside the sample cell one embodiment may include means for heating the sample cell or otherwise evaporating the condensate between cycles . this can be accomplished by well known techniques . the process and apparatus of the present invention is intended first for use as a chlorine breakthrough detector in the product gas from a gas - solid chlorine dioxide generator . therefore , a simple device can be constructed where the emphasis is placed upon reliability , low cost and low maintenance . typically , devices of this general design would be used to detect the presence or absence of chlorine and can be operated unattended without maintenance for days or weeks . tests were carried out using a hach turbidimeter . this instrument measures the side - scatter of light from a high intensity incandescent bulb in units of nep ( nephelos ). it was found necessary to equip the device with infrared filters to prevent fogging of the sample cell . when so equipped , the device was able to quantitatively and repeatedly measure the concentration of smoke and hence indicate the levels of chlorine gas and the chlorine dioxide gas , with chlorine at the 100 to 1000 ppm level . results of these tests are plotted in fig4 . according to another part of the invention , the discovery that ammonia reacts with chlorine in the gas phase while it does not react with chlorine dioxide makes it possible to separate chlorine from a gaseous stream containing chlorine dioxide and a diluent such as air . referring to fig5 the contaminated gas containing chlorine dioxide , chlorine and a diluent is represented by arrow 102 . ammonia gas is introduced into the contaminated stream as shown by arrow 104 . contained in the reaction mixture represented by arrow 106 are gaseous chlorine dioxide , a diluent , and solid particles of ammonium chloride . the mixture of chlorine dioxide , diluent and solid ammonium chloride particles can be passed through a filter , represented by dashed line 108 , which traps and removes the solid ammonium chloride particles represented by arrow 112 . this leaves a product stream represented by arrow 110 which contains chlorine dioxide and diluent . this process can be extremely important when it becomes necessary to remove even small amounts of chlorine from a chlorine dioxide / diluent gas stream . any excess ammonia gas present in the product stream 110 can be removed by wellknown techiques . having thus described our invention , what is desired to be secured by letters patent of the united states is set forth in the appended claims , which should be read without limitation .	8
this document describes a tunable capacitor , and more particularly a mechanically tunable capacitor having high accuracy in the designed range . further , the tunable capacitor described herein provides a large range of capacitance value and allows for automatic digital control of the capacitance value . in accordance with some implementations , as shown in fig1 , a tunable capacitor 100 includes two fixed electrodes 1 and 2 , and a sliding electrode 3 provided between the two fixed electrodes 1 and 2 . the tunable capacitor 100 is equivalent to two variable capacitors connected in series . when the sliding electrode 3 is in a lowest position , i . e . furthest displaced from the two fixed electrodes 1 and 2 as shown in fig1 , then the capacitance is minimal . however , when the sliding electrode 3 is in a highest position , i . e . most overlapping with the two fixed electrodes 1 and 2 , the capacitance is maximal . depending on the relative position of the electrodes , the tunable capacitor 100 provides capacitance for certain values within a particular designed range . the sliding electrode 3 is attached to a stepper - motor that moves the sliding electrode 3 between the electrodes 1 and 2 , without touching them . the gap between the first fixed electrode 1 and the sliding electrode 3 , and between the second fixed electrode 2 and the sliding electrode 3 may be air or filled with any rf dielectric , such as teflon , or other suitable material . the high accuracy provided by the tunable capacitor 100 is provided by the fixed ( not movable ) capacitor plates 1 and 2 , contrary to other technologies where one or two capacitor plates are movable . the sliding electrode 3 is movable , and is not electrically connected to any circuit ( or ground ); it is an electrically isolated electrode , which is easier to move without compromising electrical performance . further , the gaps between the electrodes need not be kept constant for higher accuracy , as is the case for some conventional capacitors . assuming that the central electrode deviates from its central position to one side , the gap between one of the fixed electrodes 1 or 2 and the sliding electrode 3 is decreased . accordingly , this results in increased capacitance , according to the formula ( 1 ). concurrently , the gap between the central sliding electrode 3 and the other fixed electrode 2 or 1 is increased , which results in decreased capacitance , according to formula ( 1 ). thus , due to the series connection of the two capacitive arrangements , created by the two gaps as shown in fig1 , the total capacitance remains substantially unchanged . the fixed electrodes 1 and 2 , and the distance between the sliding electrode 3 , compensate each other as shown in formula ( 2 ): where : c tot is the total capacitance of the tunable capacitor , c 1 is the capacitance between the central electrode ( 3 ) and the side electrode ( 1 ) c 2 is the capacitance between the central electrode ( 3 ) and the side electrode ( 2 ) in other implementations , a tunable capacitor 200 includes a fixed electrode 100 and two movable electrodes 200 , which are movable to slide relative to the fixed electrode 100 . as shown in fig2 a - 2c , the fixed electrode 100 is fixed by any fixing mechanism . fig2 a - 2c show a tunable capacitor 200 in which movable electrodes 200 are connected together by a traverse 300 . the traverse 300 is preferably formed of a non - conductive material . the traverse 300 is connected to both movable electrodes 200 and preferably aligns and spaces the movable electrodes 200 relative to the fixed electrode 100 . the movable electrodes 200 are movable according to any number of moving mechanisms , the preferred of which are described below . fig2 a shows a tunable capacitor 200 that includes a threaded nut 4 which receives and cooperates with threaded screw 5 , which is turned and controlled by stepper motor 6 . the stepper motor 6 can be controlled via electrical terminals 7 , which can supply electrical pulses from a computer controller to the stepper motor 6 . the electrical pulses can include a control signal to turn the threaded screw 5 clock - wise or counter clock - wise , to move the movable electrodes 200 closer over the fixed electrode 100 or away from the fixed electrode 100 , respectively . fig2 b shows the tunable capacitor 200 , which includes a linear actuator 9 to control a push - pull rod 8 , to push the movable electrodes 200 closer over the fixed electrode 100 or pull the movable electrodes 200 away from the fixed electrode 100 , respectively . the linear actuator 9 can be controlled via electrical terminals 10 , which can supply electrical pulses from a computer controller to linear actuator 9 . the electrical pulses can include a control signal to incrementally push out or pull back the push - pull rod 8 . fig2 c shows a tunable capacitor 200 in which a push - pull rod 13 is controlled by magnet 11 , around which a coil 12 is wound . direct current signals form an external source , such as a computer or other logical controller , controls a magnetic force exerted on the push - pull rod 13 . these implementations provide accuracy of precision motion and do not require a high control voltage like many conventional trimmers . in preferred implementations , control voltage terminals and the rf signal terminals are separated , which does not require a dc block circuit . as a result , the quality of the tunable capacitor is much higher than conventional designs . in addition , the tunable capacitor described herein , especially as shown in fig2 a and 2b , has no springs and is insensitive to vibration . the capacitive value does not depend on a position of the tunable components , and therefore any error is eliminated . the tunable capacitor can handle high power , and has a dielectric strength to be able to withstand 1000 volts or more . in preferred implementations , the tunable capacitor uses an aluminum oxide , or “ alumina ” dielectric having a dielectric constant of approximately 9 . 5 . other dielectric materials can be suitably used , such as polytetrafluoroethylene , otherwise known as teflon ®, for example . referring back to the exemplary implementation shown in fig2 c , for example , a gap between electrodes 1 and 2 requires a dielectric thickness of approximately 0 . 010 ″, and the dimensions of electrodes are approximately 0 . 400 ″× 0 . 200 ″. accordingly , the overall dimensions of the capacitor is 0 . 400 ″× 0 . 400 ″× 0 . 100 ″. of course , these dimensions are exemplary , and actual dimensions could vary by up to 10 % or more from those disclosed . the tunable capacitor described herein that uses alumina dielectric can withstand up to 1055v or more , while a tunable capacitor using a teflon dielectric can withstand up to 4700v or more . accordingly , the tunable capacitor described herein can withstand high power as well . referring to fig2 c as an example , the maximum capacitance is achieved when the electrodes 2 are in the most left position overlapping the electrode 1 completely , and can be calculated as follows : c ⁡ [ pf ] = 0 . 2249 * ε * s ⁡ [ sq . ⁢ in . ] 2 * d ⁡ [ in ] , ( 2 ) ∈ is dielectric constant of the capacitor dielectric , ( i . e . 9 . 5 for alumina , 2 . 1 for teflon ); s is the area of the electrode 2 in squared inches ; d is the gap between electrodes 1 and 2 in inches . this formula ( 2 ) results in maximum capacitance value of approximately 8 . 5 pf , which is sufficient for an rf application . the minimum value is close to 0 pf . the break - down voltage for the tunable capacitor in which alumina is used for the dielectric can be given as : for a teflon dielectric , the break - down voltage is even higher , around 4700 [ v ]. the reactive power stored in the capacitor , then , can be calculated using the following formula : dissipating power of a tunable capacitor with q = 500 due to imperfect materials is : this is a very small power , and cannot damage the tunable capacitor . however , as described above , power is not the damaging factor ; the voltage is . the tunable capacitor can withstand 1055v with alumina and 4700v with teflon dielectric . accordingly , the tunable capacitor can withstand high power as well , the threshold of which can be estimated only for a particular application in which the capacitor is used . although a few embodiments have been described in detail above , other modifications are possible . other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims .	7
referring to fig1 ( a ) through ( c ), a structure of an image sensor according to the present invention is hereinafter explained . the general structure is that an array of picture cells for image sensing are located along the center line b - b &# 39 ;. ccds 13 for transferring and outputting the signal charges produced in picture cells are symmetrically arranged at both sides of the line b - b &# 39 ;, further more , main peripheral portions , such as 2 - phase buses 16 - 1 &# 39 ; and 16 - 2 &# 39 ; to charge - transfer electrodes 8 of the ccd 13 , are symmetrically arranged outside of the charge transfer electrodes 8 . on a p - - type semiconductor substrate 1 , an n - type region 5 is doped to form a p - n junction with the substrate . a photo gate 7 is formed in a sio 2 insulation layer 17 by a silicon gate technique to hold the picture cells at a predetermined potential . a light injected through an opening 15 &# 39 ; of an aluminum coating 11 , through a psg ( phospho silicate glass ) passivation film 10 and through a window 15 of an sio 2 layer film 18 into the p - n junction , produces signal charges in the p - n junction depending on the intensity of the injected light . a picture cell 19 of the image sensor is thus constituted there , as well known . each picture cell 19 is isolated from each other by a field isolation 3 shown by the hatched area in fig1 ( a ) and ( c ). as for its thickness , explanation shall be given later in detail . underneath the field isolation 3 , a p + - type region 6 &# 39 ; is formed as a channel stop to prevent a lateral conduction path between the adjacent cells through the substrate 1 , as well known . the signal charge produced by the injected light in the n - type region 5 of the picture cell is transferred by a transfer gate 9 into under a corresponding one of the charge transfer electrodes 8 of the ccd 13 . underneath each of the charge transfer electrodes 8 , an n - type region 4 is formed for storing and transferring the signal charges . arrays of the charge transfer electrodes 8 of polycrystalline silicon together with the n - type region 4 are thus forming the ccd 13 , as well known . in a peripheral portion of the ccd , a pair of the electrodes 8 , one shown by solid lines and one shown by dotted lines , is connected together alternatively to a patterned aluminum bus 16 - 1 &# 39 ;, and the next pair to 16 - 2 &# 39 ;, each formed on an insulation layer 2 of sio 2 , as well known . these two groups of patterned buses are supplied with 2 - phase clock pulses φ 1 and φ 2 respectively for the charge transfer operation . the ccd portion is illustrated merely schematically in fig1 omitting the details . the supplied voltage to the ccd portion is generally as high as 12 v inherently required for charge transfer operation . the insulation layer 2 is approximately 8000åthick , enough to prevent the field effect of the voltage , 12 v , of the aluminum buses 16 - 1 &# 39 ;, 16 - 2 &# 39 ; and polycrystalline silicon lead 16 - 1 , 16 - 2 onto the region 6 which must be inactive underneath the insulation layer 2 . the transfer gate 9 is also supplied with 12 v . where the transfer gate 9 must exert its influence ( i . e . field effect ) on the substrate for its charge transfer operation , the transfer gate 9 is located close to the substrate 1 . however , at a portion where the transfer gate 9 must not exert its influence on the substrate , the transfer gate 9 is separated from the substrate 1 by the thick insulation layer 2 &# 39 ; which is fabricated together with the insulation layer 2 and has the same thickness , as shown in fig1 ( b ). thickness of the field isolation 3 is approximately 3000 to 4000å , which is less than that of the insulation layer 2 . the width is approximately 2 μm or less , which can be achieved due to its reduced thickness , because the width laterally inflates wider when the thickness is inflated by the thermal oxidization . the applied voltage on the picture cells as well as the photo gate 7 is generally 5 v . thus , the field isolation can be narrowed as long as the field isolation 3 can isolate the neighboring picture cells . the narrowed width of the field isolation contribures to provide an adequate area for each picture cell , which means fair sensitivity of light detection , as well as fair opening ratio of the picture cells , as high as approximately 70 %. the opening ratio is essential for obtaining more accurate information of the light intensity . accurate information means information from a wider area of the picture cell . two fabrication methods of the image sensor according to the present invention are hereinafter described . a first method is explained , referring to fig2 through fig8 schematically illustrating only main steps and a main portion related to embody the method of the present invention . the steps are : ( 1 ) on a portion where a field isolation 24 ( i . e . 2 of fig1 and cited as the first insulation layer in the claims ) of the peripheral portion is to be fabricated on a p - - type semiconductor substrate 1 , a p + - type impurity 22 &# 39 ; is doped for preparing a channel stop , by a known method , such as ion implantation . an sio 2 layer 23 is formed over the substrate 21 , so as to cover all the surface including the doped regions 22 &# 39 ; as thick as approximately 1000 å , by a known method , such as thermal oxidization . the order of these processes can be reversed . ( 2 ) a silicon nitride ( referred to hereinafter as si 3 n 4 ) film 25 is formed over the the sio 2 film 22 , so as to cover the area except for the area for fabricating an insulation layer in the peripheral portion of the ccd as shown in fig2 using known methods , such as cvd ( chemical vapor deposition ) and a photo lithography technique . the si 3 n 4 film 25 can be commonly used as a mask of the above - mentioned ion implantation . ( 3 ) approximately 7000åthick sio 2 layers 24 are formed on the exposed portion , i . e . not - masked portion by the si 3 n 4 film 25 , of the sio 2 layer 23 by a known method , such as selective oxidization method , i . e . so called locos ( local oxidization of silicon ) as shown in fig3 . silicon inflates both vertically and laterally when it is oxidized , thus the surface becomes taller and the p + region 22 &# 39 ; is moved down deeper into the substrate . thus , the field isolation 24 and its channel stop 22 are fabricated . ( 4 ) a photo resist film 26 is formed all over the si 3 n 4 film 25 as well as over the inflated insulation layer 24 , as shown in fig4 . ( 5 ) an opening 24a is formed in the photo resist film 26 , on a portion where a picture cell is fabricated , by a known method , such as lithography technique . exposed portion of the si 3 n 4 film 25 through the opening of the photo resist film is etched by a known method , such as a wet etching method , so that the opening 24a is made to expose the sio 2 layer 23 therein , as shown in fig5 . ( 6 ) a p + - type dopant 27 &# 39 ;, such as boron , is doped into the p - - type substrate 21 through the sio 2 layer 23 by a known method , such as ion implantation , for preparing a channel stop , as shown in fig6 . ( 7 ) the photo resist film 26 is removed by a known method such as a stripping process . then , the exposed portion of sio 2 layer 23 through the opening 24a is additionally oxidized by a known method , such as thermal oxidization , so that the sio 2 in the opening 24a is inflated to be as thick as 3000 to 4000å . thus the field isolation 28 , which is cited as the second insulation layer in the claims , is fabricated between the picture cells as shown in fig7 . then , the p + - type dopant 27 &# 39 ; forms a channel stop region 27 underneath the fabricated field isolation 28 . ( 8 ) the si 3 n 4 film 25 used as an etching mask is removed , as shown in fig8 . a second method is explained , referring to fig9 through fig1 , schematically illustrating only the main steps and the main portion related to the embodiment of the method of the present invention . the steps of the method are : ( 1 ) on a portion where an insulation layer 24 ( i . e . 2 of fig1 ) of the peripheral portion of the ccd as well as a portion where field isolation 28 ( i . e . 3 of fig1 ) for picture cells is to be fabricated on a p - - type semiconductor substrate 21 , p + - type impurity 22 &# 39 ; and 27 &# 39 ; are selectively doped to prepare channel stops , by a known method , such as ion implantation . an sio 2 layer 23 &# 39 ; is formed on the substrate 21 , so as to cover all the surface including the doped regions 22 &# 39 ; and 27 &# 39 ; as thick as approximately 1000 å , by a known method , such as thermal oxidization . the order of these processes can be reversed . ( 2 ) a si 3 n 4 film 29 is formed over the the sio 2 layer 23 &# 39 ;, so as to cover the area except for an area for fabricating an insulation layer 24 for the peripheral portion of the ccd as well as an area for a field isolation 28 of the picture cell using a known method , such as cvd and photo lithography technique , as shown in fig9 . the si 3 n 4 film 29 can be commonly used as a mask for the above - mentioned ion implantation . ( 3 ) approximately 3000 to 4000åthick sio 2 layers 24 &# 39 ; and 28 are formed on the exposed portions , i . e . not masked portion by the si 3 n 4 film 29 , of the sio 2 layer 23 by a known , method , such as selective thermal oxidization method , i . e . so called locos , as shown in fig1 , in similar manner to those of fig3 . thus , the field isolation 28 is fabricated . ( 4 ) a si 3 n 4 film 31 is formed to cover the field isolation 28 by known methods , such as cvd and photo lithography technique , as shown in fig1 . ( 5 ) the exposed sio 2 layer 24 &# 39 ; is further oxidized , using the si 3 n 4 film 29 and 31 as masks , by employing a known method , such as thermal oxidization method , until the exposed sio 2 layer 24 &# 39 ; is inflated as thick as approximately 8000å , thus the insulation layer 24 is fabricated . ( 6 ) the si 3 n 4 film 29 and 31 used as masks are removed by a known method as a stripping process . thus insulation layers 24 and 28 of different thickness are formed as shown in fig1 . successive steps , such as forming silicon gates 7 , 8 , 8 &# 39 ;, 9 , 16 - 1 and 16 - 2 and so on , following the step ( 8 ) of the first method or the step ( 6 ) of the second method are the same as those of the prior art , therefore no more description or drawing are given hereinafter . an insulation layer 2 &# 39 ; on which the transfer gate 9 having 12 v is formed is omitted in the explanation referring to fig2 through fig9 because the insulation layer 24 can representatively explain the invention in simplified drawings . the insulation layer 24 ( i . e . 2 of fig1 ), fabricated by the above - described methods is thick enough to withstand the applied voltage 12 v , while the field isolation 28 , ( i . e . 3 of fig1 ) is thin and narrow enough to withstand the applied voltage 5 v . thus , the width of the field isolation 3 can achieve less than a half of that of the prior art , resulting in a fair opening ratio , which is a ratio of the opened width of the picture cell to the cell pitch , achieving more than 70 %, compared with about 50 % if the prior art is applied thereto . the fair value of the opening ratio means accurate light information received by each picture cell . consequently , according to the present invention , 5k - pixel image sensor with 2k - pixel size outputting accurate light information is achieved causing no malfunction due to poor isolation of the cells nor difficulty of production . the many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and thus , it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the system which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .	7
international application ser . no . pct / us97 / 00739 discloses a television system which receives television transmission from either over - the - air (“ ota ”) broadcast , cable ready signals , or cable box signals . it also describes a way to transmit and download setup information for that television system . the system described there automatically generates a channel map corresponding to the source of the television transmission . a channel map relates television station call letters to their respective channel allocations . in a preferred embodiment , the system and method disclosed in international application ser . no . pct / us97 / 00739 is extended to handle the situation where a single television system is capable of tuning to multiple television sources , including satellite and digital sources , and receives a channel map from each of the sources . a single television guide is then created based on the channel maps . this guide tells you how to find a channel , regardless of its source . it is desirable to do this in a way that eliminates redundant listings , and conserves memory . a channel map will be generated for each program source . initially the viewer inputs the sources of programming available to his television , such as a cable subscription and / or a dss unit . the user also inputs their zip code . zip code allows transmission of program line ups that are available in an area to be picked up by the subscriber &# 39 ; s receiver . the user , through a remote control unit , issues a set up command , which is transmitted to a main micro controller in the television system which initiates a auto set up procedure telling program stored in internal memory that will include declaring a channel map . the channel mapping program accesses an extended channel map selection packet . a channel map id based on the inputted zip code is identified . a channel map corresponding to the identified channel map id is then downloaded into the system . each local host station provides channel mapping information to the viewer . this is done by transmitting an extended channel map (“ xcm ”) packet with television channel allocations ( receiving channel numbers ) corresponding to channel id . the xcm packet also transmits a “ channel map type ” field that identifies the multiple programming sources . this field has several attributes : dual ( a / b ) trunk , digital signal , and system type . if the dual trunk bit is clear , the system is single trunk ( or other feed such as ota or dss ). if the digital signal bit is clear , the signal is analog . the system type attribute allows specification of the type of source ( e . g . ota = 0 , cable = 1 , and satellite = 2 ). the channel id is used to select the appropriate guide channel ( gch )- to - call - letter mapping from the extended source map (“ xsm ”) packet . information in the xcm and xsm packets are then merged to create a lineup . an example of a source map , a channel map , and a finalized lineup is shown below . after channel maps of all the sources have been generated , the system merges the channel maps into a single merged channel map . however , channel maps frequently change . to facilitate these changes network name ( affiliation ) and call letters ( station id ) from the channel information class of the xds data corrects the lineups automatically . an exemplary embodiment of the invention consists of firmware that stores a list of channel names in its source map . the firmware also stores a list of all receiver channels on which the channels are received in the channel map . as with the source map the channel map is an array , of which a channel id is an index . the algorithm for updating the channel map is given in detail in appendix a . the first step is to initiate a search . this is done by pointing the data tuner to a channel for which the xds data is to be examined . the xds feed for a given station is examined for call letters or network name . when these appear the channel map stored in the viewers location is queried . if the station on which the channel is stored differs from the one on the xds feed , a full search is scheduled for a non download period . the next step is to scan the channel map . this must be done between downloads so that sufficient time for a search is available . the receiver channel from the channel map for any channels in the source map whose call letters match those found in the xds data , is compared to the current channel . if they match , nothing is done . if they do not match a check is later made to determine if this is a split channel . if not a split channel the receiver channel found in the channel map is checked for xds data . data collected from the original channel can lead to 3 cases which must be analyzed , as described in appendix a . if this original channel has the same data as the scan channel , no change is made . if no data or different xds data is present here , on the original channel , the channel map will be corrected . however if it is determined that the user has edited this channel a correction will not be made . in an alternate embodiment it may be desirable to collect xds data from all channels if the call letter data on the scan channel does not match the channel map . additionally this embodiment is designed to support digital television . in digital television , a television station can divide its bandwidth so that multiple sub channels are available . for example it is desirable to use the full bandwidth for movies or other transmissions that need the highest image quality . for news shows , for example , a high quality picture might not be necessary , or desired . if this is the case the channel can be divided to show several programs on sub channels . the number of sub channels can expand and contract during the day . it is desirable to list these sub channels in the guide . the use of xds call letter data to correct channel maps channel maps for cable systems can chance frequently as channels are added , removed , or moved . this presents us with the challenge of updating our data stream to match these changes . often we will not have advanced information that the lineup will change and we can only react to these changes , leading to customer service calls from users whose lineup is not incorrect . our desire is to use the network name ( affiliation ) and call letters ( station id ) packets from the channel information class of the xds data to correct some lineups automatically . this information is currently included on few , if any stations but we expect it to become more common in the future . to that end we wish to be prepared to take advantage of this resource . there are two packets of interested to us that are specified in eia - 608 , section 6 . 5 . 3 . it is recommended that the following packets be considered “ high priority ” and thus sent out every 2 to 4 seconds ; however , this is only a recommendation and the actual interval is left up to the originating station . the following is from the eia - 608 specification . grammar and punctuation errors are copied from the original . this packet contains a variable number , 2 to 32 , of characters that define the network name associated with the local channel . each characters is an ascii character in the range of 20h to 7fh . each network should use a short , unique and consistent name so that receivers could access internal information , like a logo , about the network . the network name should be kept short and should always be consistent . standard letter abbreviations are the preferred method . network names longer than 18 characters should be avoided due to additional overhead that is used , thereby slowing the repetition rate . this packet contains four or six characters . the first four will define the call letters of the local broadcasting station . each characters is an ascii character in the range of 20h to 7fh . a four - letter abbreviation of the network name may also be substituted for the four character call letters . when six characters are used , the last two a r e ascii characters that are used to indicate the channel number that is assigned by the fcc to the station for local over - the - air broadcasting . in a catv system , the native channel number is frequently different than the catv channel number which carries the station . the valid range for these channels is 2 - 69 , single digit numbers may either be preceded by a zero or a standard null . while five or six letter names or abbreviations are technically permitted ( instead of 4 characters and two numerals ) as all characters are ascii , they should be avoided as some tv receivers may only use the first four letters . this packet should be used only for standard four ( or three ) letter fcc call letters . cable programming channels should use the network name packet . if there are more than 4 characters in the call letters , the station must truncate to four characters . substituting another acronym for the call letters (“ tv10 ”, etc .) is acceptable . a station may choose to include the native channel number to indicate the designated vhf / uhf channel assignment when that station is carried on a different channel by catv companies . the firmware stores a list of all the channel names in the source map . for ota channels the channel name will be the channels fcc supplied call letters . f or cable only channels it can be any name up to 8 characters . this list is an array , the index of which is a guide channel . for guide 99 the guide channel will be a 16 bit number . the firmware stores a list of all receiver channels on which the channels are received in the channel map . like the source map , the channel map is an array the index of which is a guide channel . in general , the way we intend to update entries in the channel map is as follows . in order to examine xds data for a channel we must point the data tuner at that channel . this means it is not practical to examine xds data while we are in download , but outside of download periods we can have the data tuner follow the picture tuner as the user changes channels and attempt to collect the call letter and network name packets . in a single tuner system this happens automatically , in a dual tuner system the host will allow when the user is not using the pip . while in the guide itself we can also collect xds data on whatever channel the pip is tuned to . whenever we see call letters or a network name in the xds feed for a given station we will look up those call letters in our channel map and determine on which channel we believe that station should be . if the station we believe the channel should be on differs from the channel on which we found the xds data we will schedule a full xds data search for a non - download period . note , given that not all instances of call letter variations will be corrected we will need to keep track of known but uncorrectable variations to prevent them from repeatedly generating xds data searches . note , this does assume that call letters and network names are unique which will be addressed below . once a full xds data search has been requested the slicing engine should select a time period between downloads when it will have enough time to complete a full search . if stations follow the guidelines in eia - 608 we will only have to pause about 5 seconds on each station to receive the relevant xds data . this means a search should take less than half an hour to complete ( 255 channels * 5 seconds per channel ). however , we do need to spend enough time on each station to receive both the call letter and network name packets if they are available . during this search it is important to we receive the most significant channel name information . if we only receive a network name packet when a call letter packet is available we may during a later comparison generate a false negative . theoretically call letter packets should always override network name packets as cable channels should not send out call letter packets and for ota channels we will use the call letters in the source map . once we receive the appropriate xds packets we decide what information to search for in the source map . as previously mentioned , if we only receive a network name packet , we will search for the network name in the source map . if , however , receive a call letters packet , we will search for the call letters . if we receive neither no search is made and we continue to the next channel . if the search finds a match in the source map we compare the receiver channel returned with the current channel . if they match this simply confirms that our channel map is correct and we continue to the next channel . if they do not match , we make sure that neither the returned channel nor the current channel is a split channel , the reason for this will be explained in the next section , analyzing apparent channel map changes . if neither is a split channel , we must test the receiver channel found by the source map search itself for xds data . at this point we are on a channel ( scan channel ) which has xds data for one station , but we believe that station should be on a different channel ( original channel ). at this point we must tune to the original channel and collect xds data from there . this can lead to three cases . a ) no xds data found on the original channel . this could mean one of three things . i ) a different station that has no xds data is now on the original channel . ii ) the original channel is a split channel that carries the station we are looking for only part of the day . iii ) the original channel is the station we are looking for , but that channel does not have xds data . b ) xds data is found on the original channel and it is for the same station . this case is pretty clear , it appears the same station is carried on two channels . c ) xds data is found on the original channel and it is for a different station . this can mean one of two different things . ii ) the original channel is a split channel that carries the station we are looking for only part of the day . in considering all of these cases we have three goals . first , to only set a station to a channel if that station is received on that channel . second , to make sure that we do not cause station oscillation in the channel map , that is we want to make sure whatever correction we make is not reversed during the next xds scan . finally , we want a station set to the best channel if it is on multiple channels . this is , of course , a very subjective criteria but it should be kept in mind . for condition b it is obvious that no change should be made to the channel map . for condition a , we would want to change the channel map if instance i occurred , but not in instances ii or iii . i believe that instance iii will be very rare and not worth considering unless xds data is transmitted intermittently . this is addressed below . even if it did occur the correction would not cause station oscillation . instance ii in conditions a and b is troublesome as it could lead to station oscillation , especially if the scan channel is also a split channel . however we can protect ourselves against this by not correcting split channels . we can accomplish this by making sure that neither the scan channel nor the original channel has more than one station assigned to it . to summarize , we do not attempt to correct split channels . if neither the original nor the scan channel is a split channel we compare the xds data on those two channels . we do not make any change if the original channel has the same xds data as the scan channel . if there is different or no xds data on the original channel will correct the channel map . if we decide that the scan channel should be the receiver channel for the station found in the source map the program manager will attempt to make that change . the program manager has one additional criterion it will check before allowing the station to receive a new receiver channel . if the user has edited the receiver channel for that station the program manager will not accept the change . otherwise it will modify the channel map as requested . rather than collecting xds data from the original channel whenever we find call letter data on a scan channel which does not match our channel map , we may wish to collect xds data from all channels , buffer it , and then compare . however , this would exacerbate problems caused by stations only transmitting call letters part of the time . there are a few factors which will make it difficult to use xds data to correct channel maps in the near future . the first is unreliable data . it is unclear which channels will transmit the call letter xds data , and of the stations that do , it is not known what call letters or network names they will use . this presents us with the possibility that we could change a channel from the correct channel to an incorrect one . to demonstrate this , imagine a hypothetical situation where two hbo stations are available ( hbo east and hbo west ). if we called the stations hbo for east and hbo2 for west in our lineup , but hbo transmitted the call letters hbo for west and hbo2 for east . we would of course change the channel for hbo east to that of hbo west . while this is , of course , an unlikely scenario is demonstrates the danger of attempting to make changes without knowing what data is being transmitted . if a cable lineup has the same station being carried on two channels we could easily end up changing the channel of one station to that of the other . if we found one channel during the scan , but when we switched to the original channel that station had stopped transmitting xds data this would be condition a - iii above . we know that no two stations will share call letters , but it is conceivable that a cable stations chosen network name may be the same as the call letters of another station ( win vs . win ) as network names are not assigned by the fcc . this is highly unlikely but should be watched . of all the potential problems we may run into , this is the most likely . if we assumes that cable stations will only transmit the network name packet and ota stations will only transmit the call letter packet then channel scans are simple ; we scan the xds on a given channel until we see either a call letter or network name packet . however , if in addition to network name packets cable stations also start sending out call letter packets we could not assume that our search on a given channel is finished when we see a call letter packet .	7
the present invention provides an optical image capturing lens system comprising , in order from an object side to an image side : a first lens element with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface at paraxial region and a concave image - side surface at the paraxial region ; a second lens element with positive refractive power ; a third lens element with negative refractive power ; a fourth lens element with positive refractive power having a convex image - side surface at the paraxial region ; a fifth lens element with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface at the paraxial region as well as a concave at the paraxial region and convex at a peripheral region image - side surface , at least one of an object - side surface and the image - side surface thereof being aspheric , and the fifth lens element is made of plastic ; and the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are the first lens element , the second lens element , the third lens element , the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element ; wherein a focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , a focal length of the first lens element is f1 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the fifth lens element of the optical image capturing lens system is td , a sum of central thicknesses of all lens elements with refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system is σct , the central thickness of the fourth lens element is ct4 , and they satisfy the following relations : − 0 . 33 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 ; 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 ; and 0 . 15 & lt ; ct4 / f & lt ; 0 . 60 . when the relation of − 0 . 33 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 is satisfied , the field of view of the lens system can be enlarged , and the refraction of the incident light is more moderate for preventing the aberrations from being excessively large ; therefore , it is favorable for obtaining a better balance between wide field of view and aberration corrections ; preferably , the following relation is satisfied : − 0 . 25 ≦ f / f1 & lt ; 0 . when the relation of 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 is satisfied , the central thickness of the lens elements are more favorable for manufacturing and molding in order to raise the yield rate , resulting in a more condensed arrangement and keeping the system compact ; preferably , the following relation is satisfied : 1 . 05 & lt ; td / σct ≦ 1 . 25 . when the relation of 0 . 15 & lt ; ct4 / f & lt ; 0 . 60 is satisfied , the central thickness of the fourth lens element is better suited for obtaining a good balance between the manufacturing yields and correcting the aberrations of the system . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an abbe number of the second lens element is v2 , an abbe number of the third lens element is v3 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 1 . 5 & lt ; v2 / v3 & lt ; 3 . 0 . when the above relation is satisfied , the chromatic aberration of the system can be favorably corrected . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the third lens element and the fourth lens element is t34 , an axial distance between the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element is t45 , a central thickness of the fourth lens element is ct4 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 . 10 & lt ;( t34 + t45 )/ ct4 & lt ; 0 . 50 . when the above relation is satisfied , the arrangement for each lens element is more suitable for assembling with an appropriate total track length . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , a curvature radius of the object - side surface of the fifth lens element is r9 , a curvature radius of the image - side surface of the fifth lens element is r10 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 & lt ;\| r10 / r9 \|& lt ; 0 . 70 . when the above relation is satisfied , the principal point of the system can be positioned away from the image plane so that the total track length is shortened to keep the system compact . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the maximal field of view of the optical image capturing lens system is fov , and preferably , when it satisfies the following relation : 72 degrees & lt ; fov & lt ; 95 degrees , the angle of view of the optical image capturing lens system is more suitable . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the system further comprises a stop , an axial distance between the aperture stop and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dsr4 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dr1r4 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 . 30 & lt ; dsr4 / dr1r4 & lt ; 0 . 95 . when the above relation is satisfied , the relative position of the aperture stop and the nearby lens elements thereof can be effectively controlled for improving the sensing efficiency and image quality . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the first lens element and the second lens element is t12 , an axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is t23 , an axial distance between the third lens element and the fourth lens element is t34 , an axial distance between the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element is t45 , and preferably , when t23 has the largest axial distance among t12 , t23 , t34 , t45 , it is favorable for the second lens element to correct the field curvature . on the other hand , the present invention provides an optical image capturing lens system comprising , in order from an object side to an image side : a first lens element with negative refractive power ; a second lens element with positive refractive power ; a third lens element with negative refractive power ; a fourth lens element with positive refractive power having a convex image - side surface at the paraxial region ; a fifth lens element with negative refractive power having a concave image - side surface at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , at least one of an object - side surface and the image - side surface thereof being aspheric , and the fifth lens element is made of plastic ; and the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are the first lens element , the second lens element , the third lens element , the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element ; wherein a focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , a focal length of the first lens element is f1 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the fifth lens element of the optical image capturing lens system is td , a sum of central thicknesses of all lens elements with refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system is σct , a curvature radius of the object - side surface of the fifth lens element is r9 , a curvature radius of the image - side surface of the fifth lens element is r10 , and they satisfy the following relations : − 0 . 33 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 ; 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 ; and 0 & lt ;\| r10 / r9 \|& lt ; 0 . 70 . when the relation of − 0 . 33 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 is satisfied , the field of view of the lens system can be enlarged , and the refraction of the incident light is more moderate for preventing the aberrations from being excessively large ; therefore , it is favorable for obtaining a better balance between wide field of view and aberration corrections ; preferably , the following relation is satisfied : − 0 . 25 ≦ f / f1 & lt ; 0 . when the relation of 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 is satisfied , the central thickness of the lens elements are more favorable for manufacturing and molding in order to raise the yield rate , resulting in a more condensed arrangement and keeping the system compact ; preferably , the following relation is satisfied : 1 . 05 & lt ; td / σct ≦ 1 . 25 . when the relation of 0 & lt ;\| r10 / r9 \|& lt ; 0 . 70 is satisfied , the principal point of the system can be positioned away from the image plane so that the total track length is shortened to keep the system compact . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , a curvature radius of the object - side surface of the fourth lens element is r7 , a curvature radius of the image - side surface of the fourth lens element is r8 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 . 75 & lt ;( r7 + r8 )/( r7 − r8 )& lt ; 2 . 5 . when the above relation is satisfied , the curvature of the fourth lens element is more suitable and thereby the aberration of the system can be corrected favorably . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the system further comprises an aperture stop , an axial distance between the aperture stop and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dsr4 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dr1r4 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 . 30 & lt ; dsr4 / dr1r4 & lt ; 0 . 95 . when the above relation is satisfied , the relative position of the aperture stop and the nearby lens elements thereof can be effectively controlled for arrangement and assembly of the lens elements and the aperture stop . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the first lens element and the second lens element is t12 , an axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is t23 , an axial distance between the third lens element and the fourth lens element is t34 , an axial distance between the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element is t45 , and preferably , when t23 has the largest axial distance among t12 , t23 , t34 , t45 , it is favorable for the second lens element to correct the field curvature . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the fifth lens element of the optical image capturing lens system is td , a sum of central thicknesses of all lens elements with refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system is σct , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 1 . 05 & lt ; td / σct ≦ 1 . 25 . when the above relation is satisfied , the central thickness of the lens elements are more favorable for manufacturing and molding in order to raise the yield rate , resulting in a more condensed arrangement and keeping the system compact . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an abbe number of the second lens element is v2 , an abbe number of the third lens element is v3 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 1 . 5 & lt ; v2 / v3 & lt ; 3 . 0 . when the above relation is satisfied , the chromatic aberration of the system can be favorably corrected . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the maximal field of view of the optical image capturing lens system is fov , and preferably , when it satisfies the following relation : 72 degrees & lt ; fov & lt ; 95 degrees , the angle of view of the optical image capturing lens system is more suitable . furthermore , the present invention provides an optical image capturing lens system comprising , in order from an object side to an image side : a first lens element with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface at paraxial region and a concave image - side surface at the paraxial region ; a second lens element with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface at paraxial region ; a third lens element with negative refractive power having a concave or plane object - side surface at the paraxial region , both of the object - side and the image - side surfaces thereof being aspheric , and the third lens element is made of plastic ; a fourth lens element with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface at the paraxial region , both of the object - side and the image - side surfaces thereof being aspheric , and the fourth lens element is made of plastic ; a fifth lens element with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface at the paraxial region as well as a concave at the paraxial region and convex at a peripheral region image - side surface , both of the object - side and the image - side surfaces thereof being aspheric , and the fifth lens element is made of plastic ; the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are the first lens element , the second lens element , the third lens element , the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element ; and the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an aperture stop disposed between an object and the second lens element ; wherein a focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , a focal length of the first lens element is f1 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the fifth lens element of the optical image capturing lens system is td , a sum of central thicknesses of all lens elements with refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system is σct , the central thickness of the fourth lens element is ct4 , and they satisfy the following relations : − 0 . 45 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 ; and 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 . when the relation of − 0 . 45 & lt ; f / f1 & lt ; 0 is satisfied , the field of view of the lens system can be enlarged , and the refraction of the incident light is more moderate for preventing the aberrations from being excessively large ; therefore , it is favorable for obtaining a better balance between wide field of view and aberration corrections . when the relation of 1 . 0 & lt ; td / σct & lt ; 1 . 33 is satisfied , the central thickness of the lens elements are more favorable for manufacturing and molding in order to raise the yield rate , resulting in a more condensed arrangement and keeping the system compact ; preferably , the following relation is satisfied : 1 . 05 & lt ; td / σct ≦ 1 . 25 . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the system further comprises an aperture stop , an axial distance between the aperture stop and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dsr4 , an axial distance between the object - side surface of the first lens element and the image - side surface of the second lens element is dr1r4 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 . 30 & lt ; dsr4 / dr1r4 & lt ; 0 . 95 . when the above relation is satisfied , the relative position of the aperture stop and the nearby lens elements thereof can be effectively controlled for arrangement and assembly of the lens elements and the aperture stop . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the first lens element and the second lens element is t12 , an axial distance between the second lens element and the third lens element is t23 , an axial distance between the third lens element and the fourth lens element is t34 , an axial distance between the fourth lens element and the fifth lens element is t45 , and preferably , when t23 has the largest axial distance among t12 , t23 , t34 , t45 , it is favorable for the second lens element to correct the field curvature . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , a curvature radius of the object - side surface of the fifth lens element is r9 , a curvature radius of the image - side surface of the fifth lens element is r10 , and they preferably satisfy the following relation : 0 & lt ;\| r10 / r9 \|& lt ; 0 . 70 . when the above relation is satisfied , the principal point of the system can be positioned away from the image plane so that the total track length is shortened to keep the system compact . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , the lens elements can be made of glass or plastic material . if the lens elements are made of glass , the freedom for distributing the refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system can be increased . if plastic material is adopted to produce the lens elements , the production cost will be reduced effectively . furthermore , the surfaces of the lens elements can be aspheric and easily made into non - spherical profiles , allowing more design parameter freedom which can be used to reduce aberrations and the number of the lens elements used in an optical system . consequently , the total track length of the optical image capturing lens system can be effectively reduced . in the present optical image capturing lens system of the present invention , if a lens element has a convex surface , it means the portion of the surface in proximity to the axis is convex ; if a lens element has a concave surface , it means the portion of the surface in proximity to the axis is concave . in the present optical image capturing lens system , there can be at least one stop provided , such as an aperture stop , a glare stop or a field stop . said glare stop or field stop for eliminating the stray light and thereby improving the image resolution thereof . moreover , in the present optical image capturing lens system , the aperture stop can be configured as a front stop ( before the first lens element ), a middle stop ( between the first lens element and the image plane ), or disposed before the image plane , and the configuration of the aperture stop is decided based on the plan of the optical designer . preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following paragraphs by referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the aberration curves of the first embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the first embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 110 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 111 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 112 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 111 and 112 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 120 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 121 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 122 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 121 and 122 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 130 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 131 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 132 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 131 and 132 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 140 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 141 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 142 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 141 and 142 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 150 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 151 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 152 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 151 and 152 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 110 , the second lens element 120 , the third lens element 130 , the fourth lens element 140 and the fifth lens element 150 ; wherein an aperture stop 100 is disposed between the first lens element 110 and the second lens element 120 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 160 disposed between the image - side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 and an image plane 170 , and the ir filter 160 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the first embodiment is shown in table 1 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 2 , wherein the units of the curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . x : the relative distance between a point on the aspheric surface at a distance y from the optical axis and the tangential plane at the aspheric surface vertex ; y : the distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , and it satisfies the relation : f = 1 . 64 ( mm ). in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , the f - number of the optical image capturing lens system is fno , and it satisfies the relation : fno = 1 . 95 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , half of the maximal field of view of the optical image capturing lens system is hfov , and it satisfies the relation : hfov = 42 . 8 deg . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , an abbe number of the second lens element 120 is v2 , an abbe number of the third lens element 130 is v3 , and they satisfy the relation : v2 / v3 = 2 . 42 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , a central thickness of the fourth lens element 140 on the optical axis is ct4 , a focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , and they satisfy the relation : ct4 / f = 0 . 34 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the third lens element 130 and the fourth lens element 140 is t34 , an axial distance between the fourth lens element 140 and the fifth lens element 150 is t45 , a central thickness of the fourth lens element 140 on the optical axis is ct4 , and they satisfy the relation : ( t34 + t45 )/ ct4 = 0 . 19 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , curvature radius of the object - side surface 141 of the fourth lens element 140 is r7 , curvature radius of the image - side surface 142 of the fourth lens element 140 is r8 , and they satisfy the following relation : ( r7 + r8 )/( r7 − r8 )= 1 . 50 . in the aforementioned optical image capturing lens system , a curvature radius of the object - side surface 151 of the fifth lens element 150 is r9 , a curvature radius of the image - side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 is r10 , and they satisfy the following relation : \| r10 / r9 \|= 0 . 51 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , a focal length of the optical image capturing lens system is f , a focal length of the first lens element 110 is f1 , and they satisfy the relation : f / f1 =− 0 . 103 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the object - side surface 111 of the first lens element 110 and the image - side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 of the optical image capturing lens system is td , a sum of central thicknesses of all lens elements with refractive power of the optical image capturing lens system is σct , and they satisfy the relation : td / σct = 1 . 20 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , an axial distance between the aperture stop 100 and the image - side surface 122 of the second lens element 120 is dsr4 , an axial distance between the object - side surface 111 of the first lens element 110 and the image - side surface 122 of the second lens element 120 is dr1r4 , and they satisfy the following relation : dsr4 / dr1r4 = 0 . 49 . in the first embodiment of the present optical image capturing lens system , a maximal field of view of the optical image capturing lens system is fov , and it satisfies the relation : fov = 85 . 7 deg . fig2 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention , and fig2 b shows the aberration curves of the second embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the second embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 210 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 211 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 212 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 211 and 212 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 220 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 221 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 222 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 221 and 222 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 230 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 231 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 232 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 231 and 232 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 240 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 241 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 242 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 241 and 242 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 250 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 251 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 252 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 251 and 252 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 210 , the second lens element 220 , the third lens element 230 , the fourth lens element 240 and the fifth lens element 250 ; wherein an aperture stop 200 is disposed between the first lens element 210 and the second lens element 220 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 260 disposed between the image - side surface 252 of the fifth lens element 250 and an image plane 270 , and the ir filter 260 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the second embodiment is shown in table 3 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 4 , wherein the units of the curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the second embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the second embodiment are listed in table 5 as presented below : fig3 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 b shows the aberration curves of the third embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the third embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 310 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 311 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 312 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 311 and 312 thereof being aspheric ; a glass second lens element 320 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 321 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 322 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 321 and 322 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 330 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 331 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 332 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 331 and 332 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 340 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 341 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 342 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 341 and 342 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 350 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 351 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 352 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 351 and 352 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 310 , the second lens element 320 , the third lens element 330 , the fourth lens element 340 and the fifth lens element 350 ; wherein an aperture stop 300 is disposed between the first lens element 310 and the second lens element 320 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 360 disposed between the image - side surface 352 of the fifth lens element 350 and an image plane 370 , and the ir filter 360 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the third embodiment is shown in table 6 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 7 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the third embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the third embodiment are listed in table 8 : fig4 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention , and fig4 b shows the aberration curves of the fourth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the fourth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 410 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 411 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 412 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 411 and 412 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 420 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 421 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 422 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 421 and 422 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 430 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 431 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 432 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 431 and 432 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 440 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 441 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 442 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 441 and 442 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 450 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 451 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 452 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 451 and 452 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 410 , the second lens element 420 , the third lens element 430 , the fourth lens element 440 and the fifth lens element 450 ; wherein an aperture stop 400 is disposed between the first lens element 410 and the second lens element 420 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 460 disposed between the image - side surface 452 of the fifth lens element 450 and an image plane 470 , and the ir filter 460 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the fourth embodiment is shown in table 9 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 10 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the fourth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the fourth embodiment are listed in table 11 : fig5 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention , and fig5 b shows the aberration curves of the fifth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the fifth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 510 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 511 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 512 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 511 and 512 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 520 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 521 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 522 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 521 and 522 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 530 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 531 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 532 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 531 and 532 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 540 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 541 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 542 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 541 and 542 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 550 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 551 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 552 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 551 and 552 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 510 , the second lens element 520 , the third lens element 530 , the fourth lens element 540 and the fifth lens element 550 ; wherein an aperture stop 500 is disposed between the first lens element 510 and the second lens element 520 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 560 disposed between the image - side surface 552 of the fifth lens element 550 and an image plane 570 , and the ir filter 560 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the fifth embodiment is shown in table 12 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 13 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the fifth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the fifth embodiment are listed in the following table 14 : fig6 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the sixth embodiment of the present invention , and fig6 b shows the aberration curves of the sixth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the sixth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 610 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 611 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 612 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 611 and 612 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 620 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 621 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 622 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 621 and 622 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 630 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 631 at the paraxial region and a plane image - side surface 632 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 631 and 632 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 640 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 641 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 642 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 641 and 642 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 650 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 651 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 652 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 651 and 652 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 610 , the second lens element 620 , the third lens element 630 , the fourth lens element 640 and the fifth lens element 650 ; wherein an aperture stop 600 is disposed between the first lens element 610 and the second lens element 620 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 660 disposed between the image - side surface 652 of the fifth lens element 650 and an image plane 670 , and the ir filter 660 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the sixth embodiment is shown in table 15 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 16 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the sixth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the sixth embodiment are listed in table 17 : fig7 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the seventh embodiment of the present invention , and fig7 b shows the aberration curves of the seventh embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the seventh embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 710 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 711 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 712 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 711 and 712 thereof being aspheric ; a glass second lens element 720 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 721 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 722 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 721 and 722 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 730 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 731 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 732 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 731 and 732 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 740 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 741 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 742 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 741 and 742 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 750 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 751 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 752 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 751 and 752 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 710 , the second lens element 720 , the third lens element 730 , the fourth lens element 740 and the fifth lens element 750 ; wherein an aperture stop 700 is disposed between the first lens element 710 and the second lens element 720 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 760 disposed between the image - side surface 752 of the fifth lens element 750 and an image plane 770 , and the ir filter 760 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the seventh embodiment is shown in table 18 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 19 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the seventh embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the seventh embodiment are listed in the following table 20 : fig8 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the eighth embodiment of the present invention , and fig8 b shows the aberration curves of the eighth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the eighth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 810 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 811 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 812 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 811 and 812 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 820 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 821 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 822 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 821 and 822 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 830 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 831 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 832 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 831 and 832 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 840 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 841 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 842 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 841 and 842 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 850 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 851 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 852 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 851 and 852 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 810 , the second lens element 820 , the third lens element 830 , the fourth lens element 840 and the fifth lens element 850 ; wherein an aperture stop 800 is disposed between the first lens element 810 and the second lens element 820 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 860 disposed between the image - side surface 852 of the fifth lens element 850 and an image plane 870 , and the ir filter 860 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the eighth embodiment is shown in table 21 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 22 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the eighth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the eighth embodiment are listed in table 23 : fig9 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the ninth embodiment of the present invention , and fig9 b shows the aberration curves of the ninth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the ninth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 910 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 911 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 912 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 911 and 912 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 920 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 921 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 922 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 921 and 922 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 930 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 931 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 932 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 931 and 932 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 940 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 941 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 942 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 941 and 942 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 950 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 951 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 952 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 951 and 952 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 910 , the second lens element 920 , the third lens element 930 , the fourth lens element 940 and the fifth lens element 950 ; wherein an aperture stop 900 is disposed between the first lens element 910 and the second lens element 920 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 960 disposed between the image - side surface 952 of the fifth lens element 950 and an image plane 970 , and the ir filter 960 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the ninth embodiment is shown in table 24 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 25 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the ninth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the definitions of the parameters of the relations are the same as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the value of the relations of the ninth embodiment are listed in the following table 26 : fig1 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the tenth embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the aberration curves of the tenth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the tenth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 1010 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1011 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1012 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1011 and 1012 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 1020 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1021 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1022 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1021 and 1022 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 1030 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1031 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1032 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1031 and 1032 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 1040 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1041 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1042 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1041 and 1042 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 1050 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1051 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1052 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1051 and 1052 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 1010 , the second lens element 1020 , the third lens element 1030 , the fourth lens element 1040 and the fifth lens element 1050 ; wherein an aperture stop 1000 is disposed between an object and the first lens element 1010 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 1060 disposed between the image - side surface 1052 of the fifth lens element 1050 and an image plane 1070 , and the ir filter 1060 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the tenth embodiment is shown in table 27 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 28 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the tenth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the description of the factors in the relations is as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the values of the relations of the tenth embodiment are listed in table 29 . fig1 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the tenth embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the aberration curves of the tenth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the tenth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 1110 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1111 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1112 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1111 and 1112 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 1120 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1121 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1122 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1121 and 1122 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 1130 with negative refractive power having a plane object - side surface 1131 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1132 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1131 and 1132 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 1140 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1141 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1142 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1141 and 1142 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 1150 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1151 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1152 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1151 and 1152 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 1110 , the second lens element 1120 , the third lens element 1130 , the fourth lens element 1140 and the fifth lens element 1150 ; wherein an aperture stop 1100 is disposed between an object and the first lens element 1110 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 1160 disposed between the image - side surface 1152 of the fifth lens element 1150 and an image plane 1170 , and the ir filter 1160 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the eleventh embodiment is shown in table 30 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 31 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the eleventh embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the description of the factors in the relations is as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the values of the relations of the tenth embodiment are listed in table 32 . fig1 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the tenth embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the aberration curves of the tenth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the tenth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a glass first lens element 1210 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1211 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1212 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1211 and 1212 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 1220 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1221 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1222 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1221 and 1222 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 1230 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1231 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1232 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1231 and 1232 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 1240 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1241 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1242 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1241 and 1242 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 1250 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1251 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1252 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1251 and 1252 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 1210 , the second lens element 1220 , the third lens element 1230 , the fourth lens element 1240 and the fifth lens element 1250 ; wherein an aperture stop 1200 is disposed between an object and the first lens element 1210 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 1260 disposed between the image - side surface 1252 of the fifth lens element 1250 and an image plane 1270 , and the ir filter 1260 is made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the twelfth embodiment is shown in table 33 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 34 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the twelfth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the description of the factors in the relations is as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the values of the relations of the tenth embodiment are listed in table 35 . fig1 a shows an optical image capturing lens system in accordance with the tenth embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the aberration curves of the tenth embodiment of the present invention . the optical image capturing lens system of the tenth embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises five lens elements with refractive power , in order from an object side to an image side : a plastic first lens element 1310 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1311 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1312 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1311 and 1312 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic second lens element 1320 with positive refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1321 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1322 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1321 and 1322 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic third lens element 1330 with negative refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1331 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1332 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1331 and 1332 thereof being aspheric ; a plastic fourth lens element 1340 with positive refractive power having a concave object - side surface 1341 at the paraxial region and a convex image - side surface 1342 at the paraxial region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1341 and 1342 thereof being aspheric ; and a plastic fifth lens element 1350 with negative refractive power having a convex object - side surface 1351 at the paraxial region and a concave image - side surface 1352 at the paraxial region and convex shape at the peripheral region , the object - side and image - side surfaces 1351 and 1352 thereof being aspheric ; wherein the lens elements of the optical image capturing lens system with refractive power are five lens elements which are the first lens element 1310 , the second lens element 1320 , the third lens element 1330 , the fourth lens element 1340 and the fifth lens element 1350 ; wherein an aperture stop 1300 is disposed between the first lens element 1310 and the second lens element 1320 ; the optical image capturing lens system further comprises an ir filter 1360 and a cover glass 1380 in order disposed between the image - side surface 1352 of the fifth lens element 1350 and an image plane 1370 , and the ir filter 1360 and the cover glass 1380 are made of glass and has no influence on the focal length of the optical image capturing lens system . the detailed optical data of the thirteenth embodiment is shown in table 36 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 37 , wherein the units of curvature radius , the central thickness and the focal length are expressed in mm , and hfov is defined as half of the maximal field of view . the equation of the aspheric surface profiles of the thirteenth embodiment has the same form as that of the first embodiment . moreover , the description of the factors in the relations is as those set forth in the first embodiment , but the values of the relations of the tenth embodiment are listed in table 38 . it is to be noted that tables 1 - 38 show different data of the different embodiments ; however , the data of the different embodiments are obtained from experiments . therefore , any optical image capturing lens system of the same structure is considered to be within the scope of the present invention even if it uses different data . the embodiments depicted above and the appended drawings are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention .	6
a preferred embodiment carton constructed according to the principles of the present invention is designated as 100 in fig1 - 7 . the carton 100 includes an exterior surface 101 and an interior surface 102 . the carton 100 may be manufactured from a sheet of card stock 100 &# 39 ; cut as shown in fig8 and then manipulated to arrive at the configuration shown in fig1 - 7 . the carton 100 provides a compartment or containment space 103 having an enclosed forward portion and an upwardly opening rearward portion . as shown primarily in fig3 and 8 , the carton 100 includes a back panel 110 which is generally rectangular in shape . the back panel 110 is integrally joined to a right side panel 120 along a fold line 112 . the back panel 110 includes a distal edge 111 which is opposite the fold line 112 and extends substantially parallel thereto . an upper edge 118 extends in a moderate arc between upper ends of the distal edge 111 and the fold line 112 . the back panel is also integrally joined to a first bottom panel 210 along a fold line 212 , which is opposite the upper edge 118 . the fold line 212 extends between lower ends of the distal edge 111 and the fold line 112 and substantially perpendicular thereto . as shown primarily in fig1 , and 8 , the right side panel 120 has a shape that generally corresponds to the profile of a &# 34 ; high - top &# 34 ; athletic shoe . the right side panel 120 is integrally joined to a front panel 140 along a fold line 122 which extends substantially parallel to the fold line 112 . the right side panel 120 is also integrally joined to a second bottom panel 220 along a fold line 222 , which extends between lower ends of the fold lines 112 and 122 and substantially perpendicular thereto . the right side panel 120 is also integrally joined to a first top panel 190 along a fold line 129 , which extends from an upper end of the fold line 122 and at an obtuse angle relative thereto . a curved upper edge 128 extends from an opposite end of the fold line 129 to the juncture between the fold line 112 and the arcuate upper edge 118 . the curved upper edge 128 includes a cut 109 between the right side panel 120 and the first top panel 190 . as shown primarily in fig1 , and 8 , the front panel 140 has a shape that may be described generally as an inverted arch . the front panel 140 is integrally joined to a left side panel 160 along a fold line 142 which extends substantially parallel to the fold line 122 . the front panel 140 is also integrally joined to a third bottom panel 240 along a fold line 242 , which extends between lower ends of the fold lines 122 and 142 and substantially perpendicular thereto . the front panel 140 is also integrally joined to an intermediate panel 143 along an arcuate fold line 141 which extends between upper ends of the fold lines 122 and 142 . the left side panel 160 is similar in size and shape to the right side panel 120 . thus , as shown primarily in fig4 and 8 , the left side panel 160 also has a shape that generally corresponds to the profile of a &# 34 ; high - top &# 34 ; athletic shoe . the left side panel 160 is integrally joined to an overlap panel 170 along a fold line 162 which extends substantially parallel to the fold line 142 . the left side panel 160 is also integrally joined to a fourth bottom panel 260 along a fold line 262 , which extends between lower ends of the fold lines 142 and 162 and substantially perpendicular thereto . the left side panel 160 is also integrally joined to a second top panel 180 along a fold line 169 , which extends from an upper end of the fold line 142 and at an obtuse angle relative thereto . a curved upper edge 168 extends from an opposite end of the fold line 169 to an upper end of the fold line 162 . the curved upper edge 168 includes a cut 108 between the left side panel 160 and the second top panel 180 . the overlap panel 170 is shaped as a trapezoid with the fold line 162 defining the longer parallel side thereof . the overlap panel 170 includes a distal edge 171 which is opposite the fold line 162 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a lower edge 173 of the overlap panel 170 extends linearly between lower ends of the fold line 162 and the distal edge 171 , at an acute angle relative to the former ( and thus , an obtuse angle relative to the latter ). an upper edge 178 of the overlap panel 170 extends linearly between upper ends of the fold line 162 and the distal edge 171 , at an acute angle relative to the former ( and thus , an obtuse angle relative to the latter ). the upper edge 178 is a substantially continuous linear extension of the curved upper edge 168 on the left side panel 160 . an adhesive 179 is applied to the exterior of the overlap panel 170 for purposes of assembly , as explained below in greater detail . as shown primarily in fig6 - 8 , the first bottom panel 210 is shaped as a trapezoid with the fold line 212 defining the longer parallel side thereof . the first bottom panel 210 includes an outer edge 213 which is opposite the fold line 212 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a left edge 211 of the first bottom panel 210 extends between respective left ends of the fold line 212 and the outer edge 213 , defining angles of approximately forty - five degrees and one hundred and thirty - five degrees relative to the former and the latter , respectively . a right edge 214 of the first bottom panel 210 extends between respective right ends of the fold line 212 and the outer edge 213 , defining angles of approximately eighty - five degrees and ninety - five degrees relative to the former and the latter , respectively . an adhesive 291 is applied to an intermediate portion of the exterior of the first bottom panel 210 for purposes of assembly , as explained below in greater detail . as shown primarily in fig6 - 8 , the second bottom panel 220 is shaped as a trapezoid with the fold line 222 defining the longer parallel side thereof . the second bottom panel 220 includes an outer edge 223 which is opposite the fold line 222 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a front edge 224 of the second bottom panel 220 extends from the front end of the fold line 222 to the front end of the outer edge 223 and substantially perpendicular thereto . a rear edge 221 of the second bottom panel 220 extends from the rear end of the outer edge 223 toward the rear end of the fold line 222 , defining angles of approximately one hundred and thirty - five degrees and forty - five degrees relative to the former and the latter , respectively . a fifth bottom panel 230 is integrally joined to the second bottom panel 220 along a fold line 232 , which extends from the rear end of the fold line 222 toward the rear end of the outer edge 223 . in other words , the fold line 232 is a co - linear extension of the rear edge 221 of the second bottom panel 220 . the fifth bottom panel 230 is shaped as a quadrilateral . the fifth bottom panel 230 includes an outer edge 233 which is opposite the fold line 222 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a front edge 234 of the fifth bottom panel 230 extends from the front end of the outer edge 233 to the juncture between the fold line 232 and the rear edge 221 of the second bottom panel 220 and generally perpendicular thereto . a rear edge 231 of the fifth bottom panel 230 extends from the rear end of the outer edge 233 toward the rear end of the fold line 222 and generally perpendicular thereto . a generally triangular notch 239 is formed in the fifth bottom panel 230 proximate the juncture between the rear edge 231 and the fold line 232 . as shown primarily in fig6 - 8 , the third bottom panel 240 is similar in size and shape to the first bottom panel 210 . the third bottom panel 240 is likewise shaped as a trapezoid with the fold line 242 defining the longer parallel side thereof . the third bottom panel 240 includes an outer edge 243 which is opposite the fold line 242 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a right edge 241 of the third bottom panel 240 extends between respective right ends of the fold line 242 and the outer edge 243 , defining angles of approximately forty - five degrees and one hundred and thirty - five degrees relative to the former and the latter , respectively . a left edge 244 of the third bottom panel 240 extends between respective left ends of the fold line 242 and the outer edge 243 , defining angles of approximately eighty - five degrees and ninety - five degrees relative to the former and the latter , respectively . an adhesive 294 is applied to an intermediate portion of the exterior of the third bottom panel 240 for purposes of assembly , which is explained below in greater detail . as shown primarily in fig6 - 8 , the fourth bottom panel 260 includes an outer edge 263 which is opposite the fold line 262 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a rear edge 266 of the fourth bottom panel 260 extends from the rear end of the fold line 262 and substantially perpendicular thereto . another outer edge 265 of the fourth bottom panel 260 extends from an opposite end of the rear edge 266 and substantially perpendicular thereto . a connecting edge 264 extends from an opposite , front end of the other outer edge 265 and toward the rear end of the outer edge 263 , defining angles of approximately one hundred and thirty - five degrees relative to each . a generally triangular notch 269 is formed in the fourth bottom panel 260 proximate the juncture between the outer edge 263 and the connecting edge 264 . a sixth bottom panel 270 is integrally joined to the fourth bottom panel 260 along a fold line 272 , which extends between respective front ends of the fold line 262 and the outer edge 263 of the fourth bottom panel 260 . the sixth bottom panel 270 is similar in size and shape to the fifth bottom panel 230 . the sixth bottom panel 270 likewise includes an outer edge 273 which is opposite the fold line 262 and extends substantially parallel thereto . a rear edge 274 of the sixth bottom panel 270 extends from the rear end of the outer edge 273 to the juncture between the fold line 272 and the outer edge 262 and generally perpendicular to the latter . a front edge 271 of the sixth bottom panel 270 extends from the front end of the outer edge 273 toward the front end of the fold line 262 and generally perpendicular thereto . a generally triangular notch 279 is formed in the sixth bottom panel 270 proximate the juncture between the front edge 271 and the fold line 272 . the first top panel 190 is generally rectangular in shape . as discussed above , the first top panel 190 is integrally joined to the right side panel 120 along the fold line 129 , which extends from an upper end of the fold line 122 and at an obtuse angle relative thereto . the first top panel 190 includes an outer edge 199 which is opposite the fold line 129 and extends generally parallel thereto . a curved forward edge 194 , which may be described as rearwardly convex , extends between forward ends of the outer edge 199 and the fold line 129 . the cut 109 between the right side panel 120 and the first top panel 190 defines a curved lower edge 195 of the first top panel 190 , as well as a portion of the curved upper edge 128 of the right side panel 120 . a curved rearward edge 198 , which may also be described as rearwardly convex , extends between rearward ends of the lower edge 195 and the fold line 129 . a fold line 193 extends away from the juncture between the fold line 129 and the cut 109 and generally perpendicular to the former . the fold line 193 separates the first top panel 190 into a first or forward flap 191 and a second or rearward flap 192 . the forward flap 191 is bordered by the fold line 193 , the fold line 129 , the forward edge 194 , and the portion of the outer edge 199 extending between the forward edge 194 and the fold line 193 . the rearward flap 192 is bordered by the rearward edge 198 , the lower edge 195 , the fold line 193 , and the portion of the outer edge 199 that extends between the fold line 193 and the rearward edge 198 . a third top panel 145 is integrally joined to the intermediate panel 143 along an arcuate fold line 144 which extends between upper ends of the fold lines 122 and 142 . recognizing that the fold line 141 likewise extends between the upper ends of the fold lines 122 and 142 , the intermediate panel 143 is defined between these two arcuate fold lines 141 and 144 , which may be described as concave relative to one another . the third top panel 145 includes opposite edges 146 and 147 which extend in slightly convergent fashion from the upper ends of the fold lines 142 and 122 , respectively . an outer edge 148 extends between upper ends of the opposite edges 146 and 147 , generally opposite the fold line 144 . the outer edge 148 extends generally parallel to the fold line 242 that separates the front panel 140 and the third bottom panel 240 . the third top panel 145 and the intermediate panel 143 cooperate to define a forward top panel . the second top panel 180 is generally similar in size and shape to the first top panel 190 . thus , the second top panel 180 is likewise generally rectangular in shape . as discussed above , the second top panel 180 is integrally joined to the left side panel 160 along the fold line 169 , which extends from an upper end of the fold line 142 and at an obtuse angle relative thereto . the second top panel 180 includes an outer edge 189 which is opposite the fold line 169 and extends generally parallel thereto . a curved forward edge 184 , which may be described as rearwardly convex , extends between forward ends of the outer edge 189 and the fold line 169 . the cut 108 between the left side panel 160 and the second top panel 180 defines a curved lower edge ( shown without an accompanying reference numeral ) of the second top panel 180 , as well as a portion of the curved upper edge 168 of the left side panel 160 . a curved rearward edge 188 , which may also be described as rearwardly convex , extends between rearward ends of the lower edge ( not numbered ) and the fold line 169 . a fold line 183 extends away from the juncture between the fold line 169 and the cut 108 and generally perpendicular to the former . the fold line 183 separates the second top panel 180 into a first or forward flap 181 and a second or rearward flap 182 . the forward flap 181 is bordered by the fold line 183 , the fold line 169 , the forward edge 184 , and the portion of the outer edge 189 extending between the forward edge 184 and the fold line 183 . the rearward flap 182 is bordered by the rearward edge 188 , the lower edge ( not numbered ), the fold line 183 , and the portion of the outer edge 189 that extends between the fold line 183 and the rearward edge 188 . a tab or tongue 187 is integrally joined to the forward flap 181 of the second top panel 180 along a fold line 186 , which is disposed slightly inside the outer edge 189 and extends generally parallel thereto . generally arcuate cuts 185 extend between respective ends of the outer edge 189 and the fold line 186 . the tab 187 is approximately centered relative to the midpoint along the forward flap 181 . designed to cooperate with the tab 187 , a linear slot 196 is formed in the forward flap 191 of the first top panel 190 . the slot 196 is disposed approximately one - half inch inside the outer edge 199 and extends generally parallel thereto . an arcuate slot ( shown without an accompanying reference numeral ) is also formed in the forward flap 191 . the ends of the arcuate slot ( not numbered ) intersect discrete intermediate points on the linear slot 196 and thereby define an opening 197 . the slot 196 and the opening 197 are approximately centered relative to the midpoint along the forward flap 191 . assembly of the carton 100 requires that the first bottom panel 210 be folded relative to the rear panel 110 along the fold line 212 , and in such a manner that normal lines extending away from the interior surface of each are capable of intersecting one another . in like manner along respective fold lines , the second bottom panel 220 is folded relative to the right side panel 120 ; the third bottom panel 240 is folded relative to the front panel 140 ; and the fourth bottom panel 260 is folded relative to the left side panel 160 . assembly of the carton 100 further requires that the rear panel 110 be folded relative to the right side panel 120 along the fold line 112 , and again , in such a manner that normal lines extending away from the interior surface of each are capable of intersecting one another . adhesive 291 is used to connect the exterior face of the first bottom panel 210 to the interior face of the fifth bottom panel 230 . in like manner , the front panel 140 is folded relative to the left side panel 160 along the fold line 142 , and adhesive 294 is used to connect the exterior face of the third bottom panel 240 to the interior face of the sixth bottom panel 270 . assembly of the carton 100 further requires that , in like manner and along respective fold lines , the overlap panel 170 be folded relative to left side panel 160 ; and the right side panel 120 be folded relative to the front panel 140 . adhesive 179 is used to connect the exterior face of the overlap panel 170 to the interior face of the rear panel 110 . at this point , the resulting structure is an upwardly opening box that may be described as having an &# 34 ; auto bottom &# 34 ; which allows the box to be readily manipulated between a three dimensional box ( suitable for use ) and a substantially two dimensional configuration ( suitable for storage and shipping ). as shown in fig6 - 7 , the third bottom panel 240 and the fourth bottom panel 260 , as well as the sixth bottom panel 270 , are disposed outside the second bottom panel 220 . however , the first bottom panel 210 and the fifth bottom panel 230 are disposed outside the fourth bottom panel 260 . the bottom collapses along the fold lines 232 and 272 to arrive at the two dimensional configuration . the first bottom panel 210 and the fifth bottom panel 230 fold against the rear panel 110 ; the second bottom panel 220 folds against the right side panel 120 ; the third bottom panel 240 and the sixth bottom panel 270 fold against the front panel 140 ; and the fourth bottom panel 260 folds against the left side panel 160 . when the carton 100 is in the folded configuration , the exterior faces of the second bottom panel 220 and the fifth bottom panel 230 face one another , and the exterior faces of the fourth bottom panel 260 and the sixth bottom panel 270 face one another . when the carton 100 is unfolded to arrive at the three dimensional box configuration , the notches 229 and 269 interengage and cooperate to discourage unintentional collapse of the carton 100 . assembly of the carton 100 further requires that the intermediate panel 143 be folded relative to the front panel 140 along the fold line 141 , in like manner though not to the same degree as the other folds described above . the skewed orientation of the intermediate panel 143 relative to the other panels significantly enhances the structural integrity of the carton 100 . the third top panel 145 is likewise folded relative to the intermediate panel 143 along the fold line 144 . assembly of the carton 100 further requires that the first top panel 190 be folded relative to the right side panel 120 along the fold line 129 , in such a manner that the interior of the first top panel 190 faces generally toward the interior of the second bottom panel 220 . a forward portion of the forward flap 191 overlaps more than half of the third top panel 145 , and the forward edge 194 of the first top panel 190 substantially aligns with the fold line 144 . the rearward flap 192 is folded relative to the forward flap 191 along the fold line 193 , and in a manner contrary to all of the folds described above . in particular , the rearward flap 192 is folded relative to the forward flap 191 in such a manner that normal lines extending away from the exterior surface of each are capable of intersecting one another . similar manipulations are performed on the second top panel 180 . in particular , the second top panel 180 is folded relative to the left side panel 160 along the fold line 169 , in such a manner that the interior of the second top panel 180 faces generally toward the interior of the fourth bottom panel 260 . a forward portion of the forward flap 181 overlaps approximately half of the third top panel 145 , and the forward edge 184 of the second top panel 180 substantially aligns with the fold line 144 . the rearward flap 182 is folded relative to the forward flap 181 along the fold line 193 , in such a manner that normal lines extending away from the exterior surface of each are capable of intersecting one another . the rearward flaps 192 and 182 cooperate with the bottom of the carton , the rear panel 110 , and rearward portions of the side panels 120 and 160 to provide an upwardly opening compartment suitable for holding a beverage container comparable to the type included in a mcdonald &# 39 ; s happy meal . the rearward flaps 192 and 182 resiliently deflect to accommodate and retain such a container . the tab 187 and the opening 197 cooperate to provide a means for selectively connecting the second top panel 180 and the first top panel 190 relative to one another to partially enclose the carton 100 . in particular , the linear slot 196 in the first top panel 190 receives the tab 187 on the second top panel 180 , and the arcuate edge of the opening 197 in the first top panel 190 releasably interengages the arcuate slots 185 in the second top panel 180 . in this configuration , the forward flaps 191 and 181 cooperate with the bottom of the carton , the third top panel 145 , the intermediate panel 143 , the front panel 140 , and forward portions of the side panels 120 and 160 to provide a substantially enclosed compartment suitable for holding food and a toy comparable to those included in a mcdonald &# 39 ; s happy meal . although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment and a particular application , the foregoing disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to realize additional applications and embodiments . for example , the preferred embodiment carton 100 can also function as a package or container for a beverage cup and a serving of nachos . thus , the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the extent of the claims that follow .	1
referring to fig1 and 2 , the programmer / timer is indicated generally at 10 and has a housing or deck plate 12 upon which is mounted a program cam 14 journaled on housing 12 and which has thereon a cam track 16 and an advance ratchet wheel having teeth 18 thereon for rotation with the cam 14 . auxiliary support bracket with arms 20 , 22 is attached to the deck plate 12 by suitable means as for example , twist - tabs ( not shown ). a suitable gear reduction indicated generally at 24 is driven by a timing motor 26 mounted on the exterior of bracket arm 20 . motor 26 has its shaft engaging the gear box 24 through bracket arm 20 and the motor 26 has a pair of electrical leads 28 , 30 adapted for attachment to a line switch as will hereinafter be described . the ratchet wheel teeth 18 are driven by an oscillating pawl ( not shown ) which interconnects the gear box 24 with the ratchet teeth for indexing the cam 14 in a manner well known in the art , the details of which have been omitted for the sake of brevity . deck plate 12 has mounted thereon an insulator block 32 which has molded therein and extending outwardly thereform in spaced generally parallel cantilevered relationship a plurality of stacked switch contact blades comprising a combination line and program switch assembly indicated generally at 34 . the combination switch has an upper contact blade 36 which extends the furthest distance from block 32 and which has a terminal portion 38 extending through the block 32 and outwardly therefrom for electrical connection to one side of a power line . the line switch contact blade 36 has provided on the lower face thereof a suitable button contact 40 which is adapted for making and breaking a circuit upon movement of the blade 36 . disposed adjacent the lower face of the line switch contact blade 36 near its free end is a line switch actuator 42 which is suitably mounted on deck plate 12 for sliding movement in the vertical direction . line switch actuator 42 has an inclined cam surface 44 provided thereon which contacts a corresponding surface 48 provided on an axially movable cam member 46 . cam member 46 has a shaft extending therefrom which is received in cam 14 for axially sliding movement therein by the appliance user . axial movement of cam member 46 is effective to cause movement of line switch actuator 42 from the position shown in solid outline in fig2 to the position shown in dashed outline . it will be understood that shaft 49 although axially moveable is engaged with cam drum 14 for rotation therewith by any suitable means such as a clutch , flats on shaft 49 ( not shown ) or other technique well known in the art . a lower program contact blade 50 is mounted in and extends from insulator block 32 in cantilever arrangement with the free end thereof having a follower 52 thereon for contacting a level surface 15 of the cam drum for stationary location with respect to the drum surface as a datum from which the cam track 16 is located . the program blade 50 has an electrical contact 54 disposed on the upper surface thereof with reference to lower program contact blade 50 has a connector portion 52 thereof extending through insulator block 32 and adapted for electrical connection to various desired appliance load functions . an intermediate program blade 58 is disposed between upper blade 36 and the lower blade 50 , the intermediate blade extending in cantilever from insulator block 32 in spaced generally parallel relationship with blades 36 and 50 . intermediate blade 58 has a cam follower 60 provided at the free end thereof which follower is self - biased by the blade 58 to ride on cam track 16 . the intermediate blade 58 has an upper contact 62 which is aligned vertically with the contact 40 on the line switch contact blade ; and , blade 58 has a lower contact 64 disposed on the undersurface thereof and aligned with the contact 54 on the lower program blade . an electrical connector portion 68 of blade 58 extends through block 32 and externally thereof for connection to motor lead 28 as indicated in fig1 by dashed line . rotation of the cam 14 causes the follower 60 to rise and fall in accordance with the contour of the cam track 16 thereby raising and lowering intermediate blade 58 for moving contact 64 between an open and closed position with respect to the lower contact 54 for making and breaking a circuit between the connector terminals 52 , 68 . it will be understood that upon closure of the contact pair 62 , 40 between the intermediate blade and the upper line power contact blade , line power is connected to motor 26 . referring to fig1 through 5 , the cam drum 14 is shown in a position wherein the cam follower 60 is raised to ride on cam track 16 wherein the intermediate blade 58 is raised and maintained in a position to open the contact set 54 , 64 between the intermediate blade 58 and the lower blade 50 , thus breaking circuit connections for the selected appliance functions . in fig3 the line switch actuator 42 is shown in the raised or uppermost position limit of its travel wherein the follower 44 is riding on the outer diameter 46 of the actuator member . in the position shown in fig3 the line switch actuator 42 has raised the upper line power contact blade 36 to a position wherein contacts 40 , 62 are broken thereby cutting off line power to the timing motor 26 and all other appliance functions . in the condition of switch combinations 34 shown in fig3 the cam drum 14 is immobilized because the timing motor is inactivated . referring to fig4 the switch combination 34 is changed although the cam with same position of fig3 is illustrated , but with the line switch actuator 42 dropped to the lower position wherein the camming surface 44 thereon is released from the outer diameter 46 of the axially movable actuator member to ride on the cam surface 48 ( fig2 ). in the position shown in fig4 the line switch actuator has permitted the upper contact blade 36 to drop under its self - bias until the contact set 40 , 62 has closed thereby providing current to flow through contact blade 58 and its connector 68 to the timing motor 26 for continuing advancement of cam 14 . in the position shown in fig4 the line switch actuator members 42 and 46 are considered to be in the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; position ( shown in solid outline in fig2 ). referring to fig5 switch combination 34 is shown in a condition wherein cam track 16 is no longer beneath follower 60 which has dropped into the depression 56 formed in the cam track 16 . in the position shown in fig5 the line switch actuator 42 is maintained in the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; position ( shown in solid outline in fig2 ) as in fig4 ; and , the contact blade 58 has dropped to close the lower set of contacts 64 , 54 with and the line power blade self bias maintaining the contact pair 40 , 62 closed . in the switch position shown is fig5 both sets of contacts are closed and power is provided to the machine functions through the lower set of contacts and to the timing motors through the upper set of contacts . referring to fig6 - 11 , an alternative embodiment of the programmer cam track 116 is illustrated as having an intermediate step down level 118 and a lower level 120 . with reference to fig6 the line switch actuator members 46 , 42 are shown in the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; position wherein the cam surface 44 on the actuator 42 is riding on the large diameter 46 of the axially movable actuator member . in the condition of switch combination 34 shown in fig6 cam track surface 116 has raised the cam follower 60 closing contacts 62 40 thereby maintaining power to the timing motor and the lower contact set 64 , 54 is broken , thereby terminating current flow to the appliance program functions . thus , it will be seen that in the switch condition shown in fig6 the cam track 116 maintains power to the timing motor despite the user movement of the line actuator to the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; position . referring to fig7 a changed condition of switch combination 34 is shown wherein the cam track 116 is maintained in the same position as shown in fig6 ; however , the line switch actuator 42 has been dropped to the lower or &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; position by moving the member 46 axially until the cam surface 44 has dropped onto the cam surface 48 ( see fig2 ). in the condition of fig7 switch 34 has the line power contact blade 36 biased downwardly to close the contact sets 40 , 62 maintaining power to the timing motor . with reference to fig6 and 7 it will be seen that irrespective of the position , e . g . &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;, of line switch actuators 46 , 42 contacts 40 , 62 are closed and power to the timing motor is continued ; whereas , the lower set of contacts 64 , 54 is broken . referring to fig8 the line switch actuator member 42 is maintained in the lower position as described with respect to fig7 ; however , the cam 14 has been rotated until the cam follower 60 is disposed above portion 120 of the cam track . in the cam track position shown in fig8 blade 58 has dropped to close the lower contact set 64 , 54 for providing power to the selected appliance functions , while the upper contact set 62 , 40 is maintained closed for continuing power to the timing motor . referring to fig9 the cam 14 and track portion 120 are maintained in the same position as illustrated in fig8 the lower contact set 64 , 54 is maintained closed ; however , the line switch actuators 42 , 46 have been moved to the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; position and raising contact blade 36 and no power flows through the contacts 54 , 64 because line power has been broken by the upper set of contacts . referring to fig1 , the cam 14 has been rotated to a position wherein the intermediate level 118 of cam track is lifting the cam follower 60 and intermediate contact blade 58 to a open switch condition . the line switch actuator 42 has been moved to the raised or &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; position wherein blade 36 has been raised to break contacts 40 , 62 . referring to fig1 , the program cam track has been maintained in the same position as in fig1 ; however , the line switch actuator member 42 has been dropped by axial movement of the member 46 to cause cam surface 44 to drop onto the cam 48 as shown in solid outline . with the line switch actuator in the position shown in fig1 , the self - bias of blade 36 has closed the contacts 40 , 62 while the lower contact set is maintained broken for preventing current flow to the appliance functions . thus , it will be seen that the intermediate cam track surface 118 is operative to effect opening and closing of the circuit to the timing motor . referring to fig1 and 13 , an alternative version of the line switch actuator is shown wherein the cam member 146 has a conical or chamfered auxilliary camming surface 148 thereon which contacts the vertical slider member 42 for actuating the upper contact blade 36 . the cam member 146 is supported by shaft 149 which is journaled at one end in the deck plate 12 and has the opposite end shown truncated in fig1 and 13 , but actually extending outwardly for user actuation via a knob ( not shown ). cam member 146 has provided thereon an auxiliary helical cam surface 151 which contacts a tab or lug 153 formed on the deck plate for automatically providing leftward axial movement of the cam member 146 upon rotation of the member 146 by shaft 149 due to the rotational coupling of the shaft 149 with cam drum 14 . with reference to fig1 , the auxiliary cam 151 is shown in the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; position with the cam member 146 moved axially rightward by user movement of shaft 149 permitting rightward movement for camming slider 42 to be moved vertically downward for enabling moving the contact blade member 36 to move to the position contacting blade member 58 to close contact 40 , 62 . referring to fig1 , cam member 146 has been rotated by the cam drum 14 approximately one - quarter turn counterclockwise , as viewed from the right side in fig1 , to a position where auxiliary cam surface 151 has acted against the end of the lug 153 to cause diagonal sliding contact between cam surface 148 and surface 44 thereby raising the slider 42 and positioning the line switch blade 36 in the position breaking the circuit between contacts 40 , 62 . the version shown in fig1 and 13 thus incorporates an automatic appliance shut - off at the end of the program or where the user has manually rotated shaft 149 to position member 146 and surface 151 to the position shown in fig1 . referring to fig1 through 16 , a further alternative version of the line switch actuator mechanism is illustrated where a cam member 246 has shaft 249 extending in opposite directions therefrom , with one end journaled in plate 12 and the other end in the direction opposite the plate 12 for user actuation , but shown truncated . the member 246 has a conical or chamfered auxiliary cam surface 248 provided on the axial end thereof adjacent plate 12 and a lug 251 extending radially outwardly from the outer diameter thereof . the line switch actuator slider 142 has provided thereon a projection 253 which has a generally cylindrical configuration to provide a camming action upon rotation of the cam member 246 to a position such that the end of the projection 251 engages the cylindrical surface of the member 253 . rotation of the member 246 by user rotation of shaft 249 one - quarter turn counterclockwise from the fig1 position as shown in fig1 raises slider 142 to its vertically upward position thereby raising line switch contact blade member 36 to the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; position . the present invention thus provides a programmer / timer for an appliance wherein the line power switch for controlling power to the timer motor for advancing the program cam drum and all of the machine functions is combined with a program switch for controlling selected machine functions in response to cam drum rotation . a user operated actuator permits the appliance user to selectively open and close the line power switch during operation of the machine program . the present invention provides for a single switch start which combines line power switching with selected program switching in response to a follower on a single program cam track . in one embodiment , the program cam maintains power to the timing motor to advance the cam when the user opens the line power switch with the program cam in certain positions to stop the main appliance functions . continued rotation of the cam by the advance mechanism advances the cam to provide certain function positions desirable for restart upon the user closing the line power switch . although the present invention has hereinabove been described with respect to the illustrated embodiments , it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and is limited only by the following claims .	7
threads of execution , or threads , are commonly used for splitting programs into two or more simultaneous running tasks . multiple threads can often be executed in parallel , such as by multiple microprocessors operating in parallel ; a single microprocessor with multiple execution cores or specialized multithreaded execution capabilities ; or by time - multiplexing different threads , where a processor frequently switches execution between different threads . in the latter case , an application , such as an emulator or operating system , can schedule thread execution to maximum performance of all threads . typically , an application allocates to each time - multiplexed thread an execution time period . the execution time period can be expressed in terms of time , processor clock cycles , number of instructions , or any other measurement of processor computing resources . the processor executes each thread during its assigned execution time period . after the expiration of its execution time period , the processor suspends execution of the current thread until the thread is assigned a new execution time period . the processor then executes another thread for its assigned execution time period . the number and size of the execution time periods assigned to each thread determine the proportion of the processor &# 39 ; s computing resources devoted to each thread . emulators can use multiple threads of execution to emulate the functions of different portions of the target computer system that operate in parallel . because many portions of the target computer system are often dependent on instruction and data interactions with other portions of the target computer system , the emulator should schedule for execution emulator threads corresponding to these portions of the target computer system in accordance with these dependencies . for example , direct memory access ( dma ) is commonly used by target computer systems to transfer data and instructions between its different portions with minimal processor supervision . if the dma transfers to a component of the target computer system do not arrive fast enough , the component may stall while waiting for necessary instructions and / or data . conversely , if the dma attempts to transfer data to a component of the target computer system too quickly , the registers , local buffers , or local storage of the component will be overwhelmed and unable to accept all of the dma transfer . as a result , the dma transfer will stall , which may potentially block subsequent dma transfers to other components of the target computer system . this may cause the other components of the target computer system to stall while waiting for their dma transfers to arrive . applications for target computer systems are often finely tuned to prevent either of these conditions from occurring . for emulators executing applications on a target system , it is important for the emulated dma system to maintain an optimal dma transfer rate to all of the emulated components and to utilize host computer system resources in an efficient manner . fig1 illustrates a method 100 of scheduling threads of a multithreaded emulator according to one embodiment . method 100 can be used to schedule threads of an emulator for execution on a single processor or processor core in a time multiplexed manner and for execution on multiple processors or processor cores in parallel . method 100 can be applied to threads used to emulate dma functionality of a target computer system on a target system . method 100 can also be applied to threads emulating the functionality of components of a target computer system highly dependent upon dma transfers . method 100 begins with step 105 , which selects the next thread for execution . in an embodiment , step 105 can select emulator threads for execution according to any load - balancing scheme known in the art . for example , step 105 can select threads for execution randomly , in a round - robin manner , or according to a priority scheme . step 105 also assigns the selected thread an execution time period . step 110 determines if the emulation thread selected for execution is a dma emulation thread associated with dma emulation . if not , method 100 proceeds to step 125 . step 125 executes the selected emulation thread . while the selected emulation thread is being executed , step 130 monitors the selected emulation thread to determine if this thread has stalled . for example , the selected emulation thread may stall if it is waiting on a resource of the host computer system , such as information from another thread or the host computer system &# 39 ; s dma functions . the selected emulation thread may also stall if the local storage , buffer , or other memory that data is being transferred to is full . if the selected emulation thread has stalled , the selected emulation thread is suspended to avoid wasting processor time . then , method 100 proceeds from step 130 back to step 105 to select the next emulation thread for execution . if the selected emulation thread is executing normally , step 135 determines whether the thread execution time period of the selected emulation thread has expired . if not , the selected emulation thread is allowed to continue to operate . if the dma emulation thread &# 39 ; s execution time period has expired , then method 100 proceeds from step 135 to step 140 . step 140 suspends the selected emulation thread . following the suspension of the selected emulation thread , method 100 proceeds from step 140 back to step 105 to select the next emulation thread for execution . in an alternate embodiment , interrupts are used to control the execution time period of emulation threads , rather than assigning execution time periods to emulation threads in advance . conversely , if step 110 determines that the emulation thread selected for execution is a dma emulation thread associated with the emulation of the target computer system &# 39 ; s dma functionality on the host computer system , then method 100 proceeds to step 115 . step 115 executes the dma emulation thread . while the dma emulation thread is being executed , step 120 determines whether the dma emulation thread has stalled . the dma emulation thread may stall if there are no more dma commands to be processed , if there are no more dma channels available for use by the dma emulation thread , or if the local storage , buffer , or other memory that data is being transferred to is full . if not , the selected emulation thread is allowed to continue to operate . if the dma emulation thread has stalled , or the thread &# 39 ; s execution time period has expired , the dma emulation thread is suspended in step 140 and method 100 returns to step 105 to select another emulation thread for execution . in some emulators , the dma emulation thread , which emulates the dma functionality of the target computer system , may utilize the dma functionality of the host computer system . in these types of emulators , the dma emulation thread essentially translates dma operations in an application intended for the target computer system into equivalent dma operations on the host computer system . however , there may be differences in the latency and bandwidth between dma functions on the target computer system and the host computer system . therefore , it is often desirable for the dma emulation thread to optimize its dma operations to the characteristics of the host computer system . fig2 illustrates a method 200 of optimizing direct memory access emulation according to one embodiment . in step 205 a target computer system dma command is received . dma commands can be received from other emulation threads responsible for the emulation of target computer system components that issue dma commands , such as threads responsible for processor and i / o emulation . the target computer dma command is analyzed in step 210 to identify the data requested . the requested data can be identified by one or a range of memory addresses in the target computer system address space . in an alternate embodiment , the requested data can be identified by one or a range of memory addresses in the host computer system address space . in an embodiment , emulator prefetches dma data by rounding the size of dma requests up to a larger value to fetch additional adjacent data . for example , if a target computer system dma command requests a set of 64 bytes of data , the emulator may issue a host computer dma command for a page of 512 bytes of data . the page of data requested will include the set of 64 bytes of data originally specified by the target computer system dma command , as well as additional adjacent data before and / or after this set . this page of data is saved in local storage , along with associated identifying information , for potential future use . embodiments of the emulator may save multiple pages of data for potential future use . after identifying the data requested by the target computer system dma command , step 210 determines if this requested data is part of a page of data previously retrieved and stored . in an embodiment , step 210 compares the memory address or range of addresses of the requested data with the range of memory addresses associated with one or more pages of previously stored data . if the requested data is located within the range of memory addresses associated with a page of previously stored data , step 215 discards the target computer system dma command and retrieves the requested data from the appropriate page of memory . this data is then provided to the appropriate portion of the emulator in accordance with the target computer system dma request . conversely , if the requested data is not located within the range of memory addresses associated with any page of previously stored data , step 220 converts the target computer system dma request into a corresponding host computer system dma request . in an embodiment , step 220 performs address translation from the target computer system address space to the host computer system address space if needed . additionally , the corresponding host computer system dma request rounds the size of the data requested to a full page of data that includes the originally requested data . fig3 illustrates an example hardware system suitable for implementing an embodiment of the invention . fig3 is a block diagram of a computer system 1000 , such as a personal computer , video game console , personal digital assistant , or other digital device , suitable for practicing an embodiment of the invention . computer system 1000 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 1005 for running software applications and optionally an operating system . cpu 1005 may be comprised of one or more processing cores . memory 1010 stores applications and data for use by the cpu 1005 . storage 1015 provides non - volatile storage for applications and data and may include fixed disk drives , removable disk drives , flash memory devices , and cd - rom , dvd - rom , blu - ray , hd - dvd , or other optical storage devices . user input devices 1020 communicate user inputs from one or more users to the computer system 1000 , examples of which may include keyboards , mice , joysticks , touch pads , touch screens , still or video cameras , and / or microphones . network interface 1025 allows computer system 1000 to communicate with other computer systems via an electronic communications network , and may include wired or wireless communication over local area networks and wide area networks such as the internet . an audio processor 1055 is adapted to generate analog or digital audio output from instructions and / or data provided by the cpu 1005 , memory 1010 , and / or storage 1015 . the components of computer system 1000 , including cpu 1005 , memory 1010 , data storage 1015 , user input devices 1020 , network interface 1025 , and audio processor 1055 are connected via one or more data buses 1060 . a graphics subsystem 1030 is further connected with data bus 1060 and the components of the computer system 1000 . the graphics subsystem 1030 includes a graphics processing unit ( gpu ) 1035 and graphics memory 1040 . graphics memory 1040 includes a display memory ( e . g ., a frame buffer ) used for storing pixel data for each pixel of an output image . graphics memory 1040 can be integrated in the same device as gpu 1035 , connected as a separate device with gpu 1035 , and / or implemented within memory 1010 . pixel data can be provided to graphics memory 1040 directly from the cpu 1005 . alternatively , cpu 1005 provides the gpu 1035 with data and / or instructions defining the desired output images , from which the gpu 1035 generates the pixel data of one or more output images . the data and / or instructions defining the desired output images can be stored in memory 1010 and / or graphics memory 1040 . in an embodiment , the gpu 1035 includes 3d rendering capabilities for generating pixel data for output images from instructions and data defining the geometry , lighting , shading , texturing , motion , and / or camera parameters for a scene . the gpu 1035 can further include one or more programmable execution units capable of executing shader programs . the graphics subsystem 1030 periodically outputs pixel data for an image from graphics memory 1040 to be displayed on display device 1050 . display device 1050 is any device capable of displaying visual information in response to a signal from the computer system 1000 , including crt , lcd , plasma , and oled displays . computer system 1000 can provide the display device 1050 with an analog or digital signal . in certain embodiments , cpu 1005 is one or more general - purpose microprocessors having one or more processing cores . further embodiments of the invention can be implemented using one or more cpus with microprocessor architectures specifically adapted for highly parallel and computationally intensive applications , such as media and interactive entertainment applications . fig5 illustrates an example processor 2000 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the invention . fig4 illustrates an exemplary hardware system suitable for implementing an embodiment in accordance with the present invention . fig5 is a block diagram of a computer system 1000 , such as a personal computer , video game console , personal digital assistant , or other digital device , suitable for practicing such an embodiment . computer system 1000 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 1005 for running software applications and optionally an operating system . cpu 1005 may be comprised of one or more processing cores . memory 1010 stores applications and data for use by the cpu 1005 . storage 1015 provides non - volatile storage for applications and data and may include fixed disk drives , removable disk drives , flash memory devices , and cd - rom , dvd - rom , blu - ray , hd - dvd , or other optical storage devices . user input devices 1020 communicate user inputs from one or more users to the computer system 1000 , examples of which may include keyboards , mice , joysticks , touch pads , touch screens , still or video cameras , and / or microphones . network interface 1025 allows computer system 1000 to communicate with other computer systems via an electronic communications network , and may include wired or wireless communication over local area networks and wide area networks such as the internet . an audio processor 1055 is adapted to generate analog or digital audio output from instructions and / or data provided by the cpu 1005 , memory 1010 , and / or storage 1015 . the components of computer system 1000 , including cpu 1005 , memory 1010 , data storage 1015 , user input devices 1020 , network interface 1025 , and audio processor 1055 are connected via one or more data buses 1060 . a graphics subsystem 1030 is further connected with data bus 1060 and the components of the computer system 1000 . the graphics subsystem 1030 includes a graphics processing unit ( gpu ) 1035 and graphics memory 1040 . graphics memory 1040 includes a display memory ( e . g ., a frame buffer ) used for storing pixel data for each pixel of an output image . graphics memory 1040 can be integrated in the same device as gpu 1035 , connected as a separate device with gpu 1035 , and / or implemented within memory 1010 . pixel data can be provided to graphics memory 1040 directly from the cpu 1005 . alternatively , cpu 1005 provides the gpu 1035 with data and / or instructions defining the desired output images , from which the gpu 1035 generates the pixel data of one or more output images . the data and / or instructions defining the desired output images can be stored in memory 1010 and / or graphics memory 1040 . in an embodiment , the gpu 1035 includes 3d rendering capabilities for generating pixel data for output images from instructions and data defining the geometry , lighting , shading , texturing , motion , and / or camera parameters for a scene . the gpu 1035 can further include one or more programmable execution units capable of executing shader programs . the graphics subsystem 1030 periodically outputs pixel data for an image from graphics memory 1040 to be displayed on display device 1050 . display device 1050 is any device capable of displaying visual information in response to a signal from the computer system 1000 , including crt , lcd , plasma , and oled displays . computer system 1000 can provide the display device 1050 with an analog or digital signal . in embodiments of the invention , cpu 1005 is one or more general - purpose microprocessors having one or more processing cores . further embodiments of the invention can be implemented using one or more cpus with microprocessor architectures specifically adapted for highly parallel and computationally intensive applications , such as media and interactive entertainment applications . fig5 illustrates an example processor 2000 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the invention . processor 2000 includes a number of processor elements , each capable of executing independent programs in parallel . processor 2000 includes ppe processor element 2005 . ppe processor element is a general - purpose processor of cisc , risc , or other type of microprocessor architecture known in the art . in one example , ppe processor element 2005 is a 64 - bit , multithreaded risc architecture microprocessor , such as the powerpc architecture . ppe processor element 2005 can include a cache memory 2007 partitioned into one , two , or more levels of caches temporarily holding data and instructions to be executed by ppe processor element 2005 . for additional performance , processor 2000 includes a number of spe processor elements 2010 . in this example , processor 2000 includes eight spe processor elements 2010 a - 2010 h ; however , other example processors can include different number of spe processor elements . spe processor elements 2010 are adapted for stream processing of data . in stream processing , a program is executed repeatedly on each item in a large set of data . to facilitate stream processing , the spe processor elements 2010 may include instruction execution units capable of executing simd instructions on multiple data operands simultaneously . spe processor elements 2010 may also include instruction units capable of executing single - instruction , single data ( sisd ) for more general processing tasks . each spe processor element , such as spe processor element 2010 a , includes local data and instruction storage 2012 a . data and instructions can be transferred to and from the local data and instruction storage 2012 a via dma unit 2014 a . the dma units , such as unit 2014 a , are capable of transferring data to and from each of the spe processor elements 2010 without processor supervision , enabling the spe processor elements 2010 to process data continuously without stalling . data and instructions are input and output by the processor 2000 via memory and i / o interfaces 2015 . data and instructions can be communicated between the memory and i / o interfaces 2015 , the ppe processor element 2005 , and spe processor elements 2010 via processor bus 2020 . embodiments of the invention can be used to improve emulator performance and compatibility for a variety of different types of target computer systems , including general computer system 1000 shown above . fig5 illustrates another example target computer system 3000 capable of being emulated using embodiments of the invention . target computer system 3000 illustrates the hardware architecture of the sony playstation 2 video game console . target computer system 3000 includes a variety of components connected via a central data bus 3002 . these components include a cpu core 3005 ; a pair of vector processing units , vp 0 3010 and vp 1 3015 ; a graphics processing unit interface 3020 ; an image processing unit 3030 ; an i / o interface 3035 ; a dma controller 3040 ; and a memory interface 3045 . in addition to the central data bus 3002 , target computer system 3000 includes a private bus 3007 between cpu core 3005 and vector processing unit vp 0 3010 and a private bus 3019 between vector processing unit vpu 1 3015 and graphics processing unit interface 3020 . in some applications , components 3005 , 3010 , 3015 , 3020 , 3030 , 3035 , 3040 and 3045 are included within a processor chip 3060 . processor chip 3060 is connected with graphics processing unit 3025 via graphics bus 3022 and with memory 3050 via memory bus 3055 . additional external components , such as sound and audio processing components , network interfaces , and optical storage components , are omitted from fig6 for clarity . fig6 illustrates an example emulator architecture 4000 on a host computer system capable of emulating the target computer system 3000 of fig6 . in this example , emulator architecture 4000 is implemented on a host computer system including a processor similar to processor 2000 of fig5 . in emulator architecture 4000 , ppe processor element 4005 executes one or more emulator threads that provide functions including emulator control ; device drivers ; a vector processing unit vpu 1 code translator ; cpu core emulation including code interpreters and translators ; and vector processing unit vpu 0 emulation . spe processor element 4010 e executes one or more emulation threads that provide functions including dma controller emulation ; vector processing unit vpu 1 interface emulation ; and graphics processing unit interface arbitration . spe processor element 4010 f executes one or more emulation threads that execute the translated or recompiled vector processing unit vpu 1 code . spe processor element 4010 g executes one or more emulation threads that emulate the image processing unit . spe processor element 4010 h executes one or more emulation threads that emulate the i / o interface functions . spe processor element 4010 a executes one or more emulation threads that emulate the functions of sound and audio processors . spe processor element 4010 b executes one or more emulation threads that emulate the functions of the graphics processing unit interface . in some implementations , additional emulation threads executed by ppe processor element 4005 and / or spe processor elements can emulate the functionality of the graphics processing unit of the target computer system or translate graphics processing instructions to a format compatible with the graphics processing unit of the host computer system ( omitted for clarity from fig7 ). in other implementations , the host computer system can include a graphics processing unit similar to or compatible with the graphics processing unit of the target computer system . the above example source and host computer systems are discussed for the purposes of illustration and embodiments of the invention can improve performance and compatibility of emulation of any type of target computer system by any type of host computer system . further embodiments can be envisioned to one of ordinary skill in the art from the specification and figures . in other embodiments , combinations or sub - combinations of the above disclosed invention can be advantageously made . the block diagrams of the architecture and flow charts are grouped for ease of understanding . however it should be understood that combinations of blocks , additions of new blocks , re - arrangement of blocks , and the like are contemplated in alternative embodiments of the present invention . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense . it will , however , be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims .	6
the drawing figures are intended to illustrate the general manner of construction and are not necessarily to scale . in the detailed description and in the drawing figures , specific illustrative examples are shown and herein described in detail . it should be understood , however , that the drawing figures and detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed , but are merely illustrative and intended to teach one of ordinary skill how to make and / or use the invention claimed herein and for setting forth the best mode for carrying out the invention . with reference to fig1 , a conventional open - web steel truss 10 comprises a top flange 12 and a bottom flange 14 each of which is formed from two symmetrical structural angles 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 . each of structural angles 16 - 22 have vertical legs 62 , 63 , 64 and 65 as well as horizontal legs 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 . each of horizontal legs 66 - 69 have a length “ l 1 ” and each of the vertical legs 62 - 65 have a length “ l 2 ” the dimensions of which are selected to withstand the particular loads required . top flange 12 and bottom flange 14 are connected together in a spaced - apart configuration having a web - depth “ d ” by means of an open web 24 . web 24 is made from a structural steel round bar or rod 26 which forms a series of vee &# 39 ; s typical of a warren truss . structural rod 26 has a diameter “ d 1 .” consequently there is a gap “ g ” equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of structural rod 26 between the vertical legs 62 and 64 of structural angles 16 and 18 forming top flange 12 and a similar gap equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of structural rod 26 between the vertical legs 63 and 65 of structural angles 20 and 22 . in a conventional k - series truss , the legs of the angles leg “ l 1 ” and “ l 2 ” are typically from 1 inches to 4 inches while the diameter of the structural rod 26 is typically from ⅜ inches to 1 - ½ inches . with reference to fig2 - 4 , a lifting hook 30 incorporating features of the present invention comprises a longitudinal shaft 32 , made of steel or similar high - strength material , comprising a shank 34 and a hook member 36 at the lower end . in the illustrative embodiment , longitudinal shaft 32 terminates at the upper end in a lifting eye 38 , which is adapted to receive a lifting hook , shackle or other conventional means for connection to a lifting cable from a crane , derrick or similar lifting device . although the illustrative embodiment comprises a lifting eye 38 , any conventional means for attaching a lifting cable , such as a lug , chain plate or threaded fastener may be substituted within the contemplation of the present invention . hook member 36 comprises a generally u - shaped steel body having a transverse thickness “ t 2 ” and throat “ t 2 .” the throat dimension “ t 2 .” is selected to be slightly larger than the dimension “ t 1 ,” which is the distance between the outer surfaces of the vertical legs 62 and 64 of the angles 16 and 18 that form top flange 12 . the upright flanges 53 and 54 of hook member 36 are chamfered inward as shown in fig2 to guide hook member 36 into position as described hereinafter . the diameter “ d 2 ” of shank 34 is selected to be less than the gap “ g ” between the structural angles 16 and 18 forming top flange 12 . similarly the transverse width “ w ” of hook member 36 ( fig3 ) is selected to be less than the gap “ g ” between the structural angles 16 and 18 forming top flange 12 . for reasons discussed more fully hereinafter , the selection of the dimensions “ d 2 ” and “ w ” ensure that hook member 36 and shank 34 can pass through the gap “ g ” in top flange 12 . in the illustrative embodiment , “ d 2 ” and “ w ” are between ⅜ inch and 1½ inch , preferably between ⅜ and ⅝ inch and the overall length of lifting hook 30 is approximately 18 inches . lifting hook 30 further comprises a casing 40 which comprises a generally tubular or conical shell 42 having an upper opening 44 and a lower opening 46 . casing 40 further comprises a rigid floor 48 . a resilient member , such as a compression spring 50 acts between the floor 48 and spring perch 52 formed on or attached ( e . g . welded ) to shank 34 of longitudinal shaft 32 . spring 50 urges longitudinal shaft 32 upward towards a closed position as shown in fig4 . compression spring 50 may be of any suitable size , but in the illustrative embodiment comprises a conventional cylindrical compression spring having a free length of about 8 - ¾ inches and a spring rate of preferably between 2 lb / in and 20 lb / inch preferably about 6 - ¾ lb / in such that in the maximum open position ( 4 - ½ inch stroke ) the spring is exerting a restoring force of about 35 pounds and in the fully - closed position ( installed height of 8 inches ) is exerting a force of about 5 pounds . with reference in particular to fig1 , in operation , lifting hook 30 is moved into position by the crane operator ( not shown ) with sufficient slack to enable the user to insert the hook member 36 and shank 34 through the gap between angles 16 and 18 forming upper flange 12 . with the hook member 36 oriented longitudinally with respect to the gap “ g ” between angles 16 and 18 as shown in fig1 a , lifting hook 30 is fed through the gap until the lower bearing surface 58 of the casing 40 comes into contact with the horizontal legs of angles 16 and 18 . because lower bearing surface 58 is larger than the gap “ g ” the downward motion of casing 40 is arrested . pressing against lifting eye 38 , the user extends hook member downward against the force of spring 50 until upright flanges 53 and 54 of hook member 36 are below the vertical legs 62 and 64 of angles 16 and 18 . still manipulating lifting eye 38 , the user rotates hook member 36 approximately 90 ° to orient hook member as shown in fig1 b the user then releases lifting eye 38 , which allows spring 50 to move lifting hook 30 toward the closed position with angles 16 and 18 pressed between hook member 36 and lower bearing surface 58 of casing 40 . the upright flanges 53 and 54 of hook member 36 extend past the vertical flanges 62 and 64 of angles 16 and 18 as shown in fig1 c which locks lifting hook 30 against rotation thereby preventing hook member 36 from disengaging top flange 12 . the lifting force from the crane , of course , only further locks the engagement between lifting hook 30 and truss 10 . with reference to fig4 and 5 , the lower bearing surface 58 of casing 40 is conical in shape , having a conical angle φ selected to match the maximum anticipated angle between the lifting cable and the top surface 60 of top flange 12 of truss 10 . for example , if the lift is to be made with two 30 foot cables without spreaders , spaced apart along the truss by 30 feet , the cables would make a 60 ° angle with respect to the top surface 60 and , therefore , upper jaw surface 58 would have a conical angle of 90 °- 60 °= 30 °. use of spreaders will , of course reduce the cable angle to below 60 °. accordingly , conical angle φ is typically between 15 ° and 45 ° and , most preferably between 25 ° and 35 ° and most preferably about 30 °. although certain illustrative embodiments and methods have been disclosed herein , it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of such embodiments and methods may be made without departing from the invention . for example although in the illustrative embodiment , lower bearing surface 58 is conical , other tapered surfaces such as a spherical lower surface are considered within the scope of the invention . similarly , although in the illustrative embodiment shank 32 is circular in cross section , a rod with square , hexagonal or other cross - sectional shape is considered within the scope of the invention . accordingly , as used herein , “ diameter ” when used in connection with shank 32 means the maximum diagonal of a rod with a non - circular cross section as well as the diameter of a rod with circular cross - section . additionally , although in the illustrative embodiment hook member 36 is generally u - shaped , other hook members such as a t - shaped or w - shaped hook member that can be rotated to lock the lifting hook to the truss are also considered within the scope of the invention . accordingly , it is intended that the invention should be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the rules and principles of applicable law . additionally , as used herein , references to direction such as “ up ” or “ down ” are intend to be exemplary and are not considered as limiting the invention and , unless otherwise specifically defined , the terms “ substantially ” or “ generally ” when used with mathematical concepts or measurements mean within ± 10 degrees of angle or within 10 percent of the measurement , whichever is greater .	1
in the first step a selected inside top round of 12 - 15 pounds is trimmed of fat , gristle , veins and loose flesh but leaving connective tissue . usually the top round after trimming will be about 85 % of the original weight . in the second step batches of 75 to 100 rounds , e . g . 88 , are put in a vacuum tumbler with 8 to 12 %, e . g . 10 % added water and with phosphates and spices or flavorings as desired . a suitable tumbler is manufactured by globus manufacturing company , new york , ny . the product is tumbled for over 45 minutes , e . g . 65 minutes , with a few , e . g . three , rest periods of several minutes each , e . g . 5 minutes , at a vacuum of no less than 17 inches of mercury , e . g . 20 inches . the temperature is preferably less than 40 ° f . the rounds at this point have taken up substantially all of the water and are soft and gooey with extracted protein which will serve as a binder later . if desired , extra protein binder can be added during the tumbling step as can a binder promoting material . the phosphate is added during tumbling to promote water uptake . in step 3 the thus treated round is passed through a horn that forces it into a shaping cylinder that insures a perfect diameter . the roast is preferably extruded solid muscle end first . the other end is &# 34 ; split &# 34 ; because of some folding over of the sides of the roast at that end during the extrusion . a cylinder block can be placed in the end of the cylindrical form before extrusion and one can be forced onto the end of the extrudate . these can be locked into the ends of the encasement in a known manner . in step 4 the rounds are placed in a large cook oven , for example one that will hold 200 pieces , with each round preferably having its own thermocouple . cooking is carried out in a known manner for approximately 8 to 10 hours . the temperature is raised to a temperature that is uniform throughout the roast , preferably plus or minus 21 / 2 ° f . end - to - end . the roast can be cooked to any degree specified by the customer . for example , it can be cooked 9 hours raising the internal temperature of the roast to one in the range of 130 ° to 140 ° f . plus or minus 21 / 2 ° end - to - end . this is the temperature required to achieve a rare to medium roast . after cooking , the product is rapidly crust chilled in step 5 to below 40 ° f . and is then ready for slicing . the casing and the shape - forming end blocks are removed . in step 6 the roast is examined for the firmest surface and that surface is kept to the rear in the slicing chamber . a suitable slicer is a slice - n - tact sold by bettcher industries , vermillion , ohio , 44089 . this slicer looks much like a bread slicer except the blades are set very close together , from 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 mm , e . g . 2 mm . as the roast is pushed through the slicer with the firmest surfaces to the rear , breakage is minimized . the next succeeding roast is used to complete the passage of the preceding roast through the slicer . any breakage or open seam should be put face down in the slicing chamber as this helps to hold the seams closed and to reduce breakage during slicing . the top of the roast slides under and is confined by a surface or platen as it approaches the blades . the ends are similarly confined . as the slices pass the blade they immediately come together again , thus excluding air from contacting the faces of the slices and all but eliminating subsequent blooming of the slices . the blades in passing through the slices draw down from the top juices and flavorings from the crust and smear them across the face of the slices . as the sliced roast is stored and shipped , these juices and flavorings have an opportunity to enhance the taste of the roast . when the roast emerges from the slicer , a person weighs the roast in step 7 to see if it meets the desired weight , e . g ., 7 . 5 pounds . normally , there will be excess weight and the weigher removes slices from the muscle end of the roast until the desired weight is reached . with a roast having a starting weight of 13 to 14 pounds before trimming , normally enough of the butt will be removed from 2 pieces so that every third roast can be made up of two butts brought together . if the roast has a cylindrical diameter of 51 / 2 inches , the length of the roast will usually be about 9 inches to give a 71 / 2 pound weight . if each slice is approximately 0 . 0625 inches thick and weighs about 1 ounce then the operator will be able to add or remove quite readily the desired number of slices to achieve the target weight . for example , if the roast after removing some of the muscle ends weighs 7 . 2 pounds then the operator will know that adding five slices from the remaining portion will make the roast weigh about 7 . 5 pounds . the customer receiving every third roast that contains the two muscle end sections is not likely to complain that the roast is not continuous as it will be obvious to him that he has gotten the two best portions of the two rounds . following the weighing , the roast is placed in a roll stock vacuum packing machine such as one made by tirmomat , a european firm whose machine is distributed by kutter sales , randolph , mass . the packing material may be a trilaminate film such as one made of polyethylene / syrlon / nylon . preferably the roasts are packaged two to a package with the bottom half of the container being in the shape of two upfacing adjacent half cylinders with closed confining ends to hold the roast shape , over which is placed a flat top sheet heat sealed to the edges of the bottom container . when it comes time to serve the roasts , the container can be used to bring the roasts up to the temperature desired and the top sheet of the container can be peeled back leaving the roasts in the confining two half cylindrical bottoms in their juices ready to serve . this gives a better yield and slices of better color . while the process has been described with particular reference to roast beef , one skilled in the art will appreciate that it can also be applied to other primal cuts used such as of veal , lamb , pork and mutton , which can be fresh or cured , such as a corned beef . while the process is most advantageously applied to a single solid muscle , the meat can be in smaller pieces such that , for example , it takes at least 10 pieces to make up one roast . a particular advantage of this process resides in the fact that it can process range fed beef to good advantage . the consuming public has become used to the consistent flavor and uniformity of commercial grain feed beef . because of the cost of energy and grain , range fed beef in the future will have a price advantage . range fed beef , however , varies more widely in taste and texture than grain fed beef . the present process reduces the wide variation in texture and taste of the range fed beef by at least 50 % if not more . the uniformity of the size of the roast of this invention and of the slices allows the consumer quite some accuracy in dispensing the roast and in establishing cost control . the product comes to the consumer completely sliced and the consumer may avoid messy and labor - consuming operations and loss due to slicing shrinkage . the slice uniformity allows exact sandwich count per roll and discourages pilferage . by proper trimming of the roast to start , the roast of this invention offers more lean meat per sandwich . of primary importance is that the roast does not undergo blooming during storage and shipping as a result of the slicing . when its container is opened by the customer the roast beef slices bloom and develop good color and appearance . this good color will remain through 3 or 4 days of serving . the roast beef can of course be cooked to a customer &# 39 ; s specification if a greater or lesser degree of doneness is desired .	0
in this description , references to “ some embodiment ”, “ one embodiment ,” or the like , mean that the particular feature , function , structure or characteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosed technology . occurrences of such phrases in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment . on the other hand , the embodiments referred to are not necessarily mutually exclusive . the present disclosure relates to an underwater signal transmission system that is compact , durable , easy - to - assemble , and convenient - to - use . the system enables a user to receive images from an underwater image source ( e . g ., a diving camera ) and transmit the received image to an abovewater device ( e . g ., a mobile device held by a person on a boat nearby ). in some embodiments , the system can first transmit the received images to an abovewater intermediate device ( e . g ., an unmanned aerial vehicle , uav , located right above the system ), and then the intermediate device can further transmit the images to other devices ( e . g ., a mobile device on the shore of a water body ). the present disclosure also provides a floating data transmission system that can facilitate data transmission from an underwater device ( e . g ., an underwater sensor configured to collect information associated with an underwater parameter such as water temperature , water pressure , fluid constituents , etc .). the system can remain floating and be moved in response to a movement of an underwater device attached thereto via a wire component . for example , the floating system can be coupled to an underwater sensor by a water - proof cable . when the underwater sensor is moved ( e . g ., by a propeller or by a scuba diver ), the floating system can be moved accordingly ( e . g ., dragged by the cable ) and remain positioned abovewater . another aspect of the present disclosure is that it provides a floating system having a housing structure that is easy to assemble , install and maintain . the system includes two housing parts , and the two housing parts are sealedly connected ( e . g ., along an installation plane , discussed in detail in fig4 a below ), so as to form a water - proof chamber . the system can have multiple vulnerable - to - fluid components ( e . g ., a signal converter , data storage , transmitter , etc .) positioned in the chamber . during maintenance , a user can simply disengage the two housing parts and then have access to a component positioned in the chamber . the present disclose also provides a floating housing structure that can be operably coupled to an antenna and an interface component . the antenna and the interface component can be positioned to pass through the housing structure such that they can communicate with other devices . the antenna can be positioned on an upper surface of the housing structure for better communication and / or signal reception . the interface component can be positioned on a lower surface of the housing structure for the ease of connecting the interface component with an underwater device . fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 100 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . as shown , the system 100 includes a processor 101 , a memory 102 , a monitoring component 103 , a storage component 105 , a communication component 107 , a signal converter 109 , an interface component 111 , and an antenna feed point 113 . in the illustrated embodiment , the system 100 is coupled to an ( external ) antenna 13 . in other embodiments , however , the system 100 can include an internal antenna ( not shown in fig1 ). the system 100 is configured to receive image signals from an image source 11 and then transmit it to device a via network a and / or device b via network b . the image source 11 is configured to capture or collect underwater images ( pictures , videos , etc .) from the ambient environments surrounding the image source 11 . in some embodiments , the image component 11 can be an underwater camera . in some embodiments , the image component 11 can be an underwater video recorder . in some embodiments , device a can be a mobile device held by one user , and device b can be another mobile device held by another user . in some embodiments , device a can be a smartphone held by a user , and device b can be a tablet carried by the user . in some embodiments , network a and network b can be two different networks with different communication protocols ( 3g , 4g , wi - fi , etc .). in some embodiments , network a and network b can be two different networks with the same communication protocol . in other embodiments , network a and network b can be operated by a common carrier or service provider . the processor 101 is configured to control the memory 102 and other components ( e . g ., components 103 - 113 ) in the system 100 . the memory 102 is coupled to the processor 101 and configured to store instructions for controlling other components in the system 100 . the monitoring component 103 is configured to monitor a status of the system 100 . for example , the monitoring component 103 can be configured to check whether the system 100 is in an air - tight condition . in some embodiments , the monitoring component 103 can be configured to check whether the system 100 is in a water - proof condition . in some embodiments , the monitoring component 103 can check whether other components ( such as components 105 - 113 ) function properly . the storage component 105 is configured to store , temporarily or permanently , information / data / files / signals associated with the system 100 . in some embodiments , the storage component 105 can be a hard disk drive . in some embodiments , the storage component 105 can be a memory stick or a memory card . the communication component 107 is configured to communicate with devices / components outside the system 100 . the communication component 107 is coupled to the antenna feed component 113 , which further connects with the antenna 13 . the antenna feed component 113 acts as a signal interface between the antenna 13 and the system 100 . for example , the antenna feed component 113 can receive radio waves from the antenna 13 and converts then into a form ( e . g ., electrical current ) that is recognizable by the system 100 . similarly , the antenna feed component 113 can convert signals / information to be transmitted via the antenna 13 to radio waves such that the antenna 13 can transmit the signals / information outwardly . as shown in fig1 , the interface component 111 is coupled to the image source 11 . in some embodiments , the interface component 111 can be a water - proof universal serial bus ( usb ) connector . for example , the interface component 111 can be a usb connector surrounded by a sealing component ( e . g ., silicon sealant , plastic gasket , etc .). the interface component 111 is coupled to the signal converter 109 . the signal converter 109 is configured to verify or convert the format of the images received from the image source 11 via the interface component 111 . in some embodiments , the signal convert 109 converts the format of the images such that the converted images are suitable for being transmitted to device a or device b via the antenna 13 . in some embodiments , the signal converter 109 and the antenna feed component 113 can be integrated into one component ( e . g ., in one integrated chip ). fig2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 200 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . the system 200 is configured to receive image signals from an underwater data source 23 and then transmit it to one or more abovewater devices , such as device a and device b . the system 200 includes a processor 201 , a memory 202 , a monitoring component 203 , a storage component 205 , a communication component 207 , a data assimilation component 209 , an interface component 211 , and an antenna feed point 217 . the system 200 further includes a level sensor 213 and a moisture sensor 215 both coupled to the monitoring component 203 . in the illustrated embodiment , the system 200 is coupled to an ( external ) antenna 25 . in other embodiments , however , the system 200 can also include an internal antenna ( not shown in fig2 ). the system 200 is configured to receive data from the data source 23 ( via a wire connection ) and then transmit it to device a ( e . g ., an uav ) via network a . the received data can be further transmitted to device b ( e . g ., a mobile device held by a person on a boat ) via network b . the data source 23 is configured to collect underwater data ( e . g ., images , sounds , water pressure , water temperature , fluid constituents , etc .) from the ambient environments surrounding the data source 23 . in some embodiments , the data source 23 can include one or more suitable sensors to collect corresponding data . in some embodiments , the data source 23 can be coupled to the interface component 211 by a water - proof wire or cable . as shown in the illustrated embodiments , a wire buffer component 21 can be positioned between the interface component 211 and the data source 23 . the wire buffer component 21 is configured to act as a wire buffer when the data source 23 is moved by a user . more particularly , when a user moves the data source 23 , the wire connected therewith is moved accordingly . as a result , the system 200 can also be moved in response to the movement of the wire . to optimize the quality of data transmission , the movement of the system 200 needs to be minimized . the wire buffer component 21 can reduce or even eliminate the possible impacts to the system 200 caused by the movement of the data source 23 . in some embodiments , for example , the wire buffer component 21 can be a wire roller . in such embodiments , when a user pulls the data source 23 away from the system 200 , which accordingly requires a longer wire , the wire buffer component 21 can provide additional wire ( e . g ., release more wire from the wire roller ) without moving the system 200 . the interface component 211 is coupled to the data source 23 via the wire buffer component 21 . in some embodiments , the interface component 211 can be a water - proof universal serial bus ( usb ) connector . for example , the interface component 211 can be a usb connector surrounded by a sealing component . the interface component 211 is coupled to the data assimilation component 209 . the data assimilation component 109 is configured to verify or adjust the data received from the data source 23 . in some embodiments , the data assimilation component 209 can edit or convert the format of the received data such that the received images can be transmitted to device a or device b and instantly viewed by a user . the processor 201 is configured to control the memory 202 and other components ( e . g ., components 203 - 217 ) in the system 200 . the memory 202 is coupled to the processor 201 and configured to store instructions for controlling other components in the system 200 . the monitoring component 203 is configured to monitor a status of the system 200 . for example , the monitoring component 203 can employ the level sensor 213 to measure whether the system 200 is horizontal or is tilted . if the level sensor 213 detects that the system 200 is tilted ( e . g ., caused by water leakage ), the level sensor 213 can generate a warning signal and then transmit it to a user of the system 200 . the user can then choose to check the status of the system 200 or ignore the warning signal ( e . g ., the system 200 is transmitting important data ). in some embodiments , the level sensor 213 can be a bubble level sensor . in some embodiments , the level sensor 213 can be a digital level sensor . as another example , the monitoring component 203 can employ the moisture sensor 215 to detect moisture within the system 200 so as to determine whether there is any water leakage that may cause malfunctions of the system 200 . the storage component 205 is configured to store , temporarily or permanently , information / data / files / signals associated with the system 200 . in some embodiments , the storage component 205 can be a hard disk drive . in some embodiments , the storage component 205 can be a memory stick or a memory card . the communication component 207 is configured to communicate with devices / components outside the system 200 . the communication component 207 is coupled to the antenna feed component 217 , which further connects with the antenna 25 . the antenna feed component 217 acts as a signal interface between the antenna 25 and the system 200 . fig3 a is a schematic , isometric diagram illustrating a floating system 300 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . the floating system 300 is configured to receive a signal from an underwater device and then transmit the signal ( e . g ., after properly processing the signal , in some embodiments ) to an abovewater device . the system 300 includes an antenna 1 , an upper housing 2 , a lower housing 3 , and an interface component 4 . as shown in fig3 a , the antenna 1 is positioned on a top surface of the upper housing 2 . the antenna 1 has a foldable design for easy storage during transportation . the upper housing 2 is formed with an antenna recess 301 to accommodate the antenna 1 when the antenna 1 is folded . one end of the antenna 1 passes through a hole of the upper housing 2 and is coupled to components positioned inside the upper housing 2 ( such as an antenna feed component or a communication module , not shown in fig3 a ). in some embodiments , the system 300 can include a sealing component ( e . g ., sealant , a gasket , etc .) positioned between the hole of the upper housing 2 and the antenna 1 . the upper housing 2 is also formed with multiple upper structural recesses 303 on its outer surface . as shown , the upper structural recesses 303 are positioned circumferentially around the upper housing 2 and configured to enhance structure strength of the upper housing 2 . similarly , the lower housing 3 can be formed with multiple lower structural recesses 305 on its outer surface . as shown , the lower structural recesses 305 are positioned circumferentially around the upper housing 2 and configured to enhance structure strength of the lower housing 3 . in the illustrated embodiments , the lower structural recesses 305 are positioned in alignment with the upper structural recesses 303 . in other embodiments , however , the lower structural recesses 305 can be positioned without considering the locations of the upper structural recesses 303 . in some embodiments , the system 300 can only have either the upper structural recesses 303 or the lower structural recesses 305 . as shown , the interface component 4 is coupled to the lower housing 3 . the interface component 4 has an elongated structure such that it can be seamless coupled to a water - proof wire . in some embodiments , the interface component 4 can pass through a hole of the lower housing 3 and is coupled to components positioned inside the lower housing 2 ( such as a signal converter or a data assimilation component , not shown in fig3 a ). in some embodiments , the system 300 can include a sealing component ( e . g ., sealant , a gasket , etc .) positioned between the hole of the lower housing 3 and the interface component 4 . in some embodiments , the system 300 can include a sealing component positioned between the interface component 4 and the water - proof wire . as shown in fig3 a , the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 can be fixedly attached by a locking component 307 . in the illustrated embodiment , the locking device can be a screw hole that enables a screw to fixedly attach the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 . in other embodiments , the locking component 307 can include other mechanisms such as a latch . in some embodiments , the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 can be fixedly attached by glue . as shown in fig3 a , the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are fixedly attached and together form an installation plane 209 . details of the installation plane 209 will be discussed in fig4 and corresponding descriptions below . fig3 b is a schematic diagram illustrating multiple structural ribs 311 positioned in a housing 313 ( e . g ., either the upper housing 2 or the lower housing 3 ) of the floating system 300 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . as shown in fig3 b , four structural ribs 311 can be positioned on an inner surface of the housing 313 and configured to enhance structure strength of the housing 313 . in the illustrated embodiment , the structural ribs 311 are positioned circumferentially around the housing 313 . in other embodiments , however , the structural ribs 311 can be positioned at other locations depending on different designs . in some embodiments , the structural ribs 311 can be used to support or hold other components ( e . g ., the components 101 - 113 and 201 - 217 shown in fig1 and 2 ) positioned inside the housing 313 . fig4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an installation plane 405 formed by a first housing 401 and a second housing 403 of a floating system 400 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . the floating system 400 is configured to be positioned above a fluid surface ( e . g ., a sea surface or a water surface ) 40 , whereas a portion of the system 400 is positioned under the fluid surface 40 . as shown in fig4 , the floating system 400 and the fluid surface 40 together defines a floating surface 41 . in some embodiments , the floating system 400 above the floating surface 41 is positioned abovewater , whereas the system below the floating surface 41 is positioned underwater . as shown in the illustrated embodiments , the installation plane 405 formed by the first housing 401 and the second housing 403 are preferably kept above the floating surface 41 so as to prevent possible fluid leakage into the floating system 400 ( e . g ., from a space or gap between the first housing 401 and the second housing 403 ). fig5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a floating system 500 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . the floating system 500 is positioned on a water surface 50 and enables an underwater camera 53 to transmit collected images of an object - of - interest 55 ( e . g ., a fish ) to a mobile device 51 on a real - time basis . the system 500 includes an antenna 501 , a first housing 503 a , a second housing 503 b , an antenna feed component 507 , a signal converter 509 , a first ballast component 511 , a second ballast component 513 , a sensor 515 , a cable 516 , a cable buffer component 517 , a first floating - aid component 519 , and a second floating - aid component 521 . the first housing 503 a is fixedly attached to the second housing 503 b . as shown in fig5 , the first housing 503 a and the second housing 503 b together define an installation plane 505 . when the system 500 is in operation , in some embodiments , the installation plane 505 is positioned above the water surface 50 . the antenna 501 is coupled to the first housing 503 a and configured to transmit image signals to the mobile device 51 . a portion of the antenna 501 extends through a hole of the first housing 503 a and is coupled to the antenna feed component 507 . in the illustrated embodiment , the hole of the first housing 503 a is sealed by an upper sealing component ( or a first sealing component ) 523 . the upper sealing component 523 is configured to prevent moisture from entering into the first housing 503 a . in some embodiments , the upper sealing component 523 can be a gasket , a washer , glue , etc . in some embodiments , the upper sealing component 523 can be made of plastic . in other embodiments , the upper sealing component 523 can be an elastic component made of any other suitable materials . the antenna feed component 507 is coupled to the signal converter 509 . the antenna feed component 507 acts as a signal interface between the antenna 501 and the signal converter 509 . the signal converter 509 receives an image signal captured by the underwater camera 53 via the cable 516 . in some embodiments , the signal converter 509 can adjust the format of the received image signal such that the adjusted image signal is recognizable by the antenna feed component 507 . in some embodiment , the cable buffer component 517 can act as a buffer when the cable 516 is moved by a user such that the movement does not significantly affect the floating system 500 . in the illustrated embodiment , the floating system 500 can include an interface component 527 positioned in the second housing 503 b . the interface component 527 is configured to be coupled with the cable 516 . in some embodiments , the interface component 527 can include a universal serial bus ( usb ) port , a general input / output port , or other suitable connecting ports . as shown in fig5 , the interface component 527 can be sealed by a lower sealing component ( or a second sealing component ) 525 . in some embodiments , the lower sealing component 525 can be an elastic component with a shape corresponding to the interface component 527 such that it can seamlessly seal the interface component 527 . in such embodiments , the lower sealing component 525 can be made or plastic or other suitable elastic materials . in some embodiments , the floating system 500 can simply have a hole positioned in the second housing 503 b . in such embodiments , the cable 516 can directly pass through the hole of the second housing 503 b . the hole of the second housing 503 b can be sealed by the lower sealing component 525 such that water does not flow into the second housing 503 b . in such embodiments , the lower sealing component 525 can be a gasket , a washer , glue , etc . in some embodiments , the lower sealing component 525 can be made of plastic . in other embodiments , the lower sealing component 525 can be an elastic component made of any other suitable materials . the first ballast component 511 and the second ballast component 513 are configured to stabilize the system 500 . for example , the first ballast component 511 and the second ballast component 513 can provide additional weights to the system 500 so as to prevent the system 500 from being violently moved or rotated by water waves or by wind . the first and second floating - aid components 519 , 521 are also configured to stabilize the system 500 . in the illustrated embodiments , the first floating - aid component 519 is coupled to the first housing 503 a , and the second floating - aid component 521 is coupled to the second housing 503 b . in other embodiments , however , there can be more than one first floating - aid components 519 coupled to the first housing 503 a and more than one second floating - aid components 521 coupled to the second housing 503 b . in such embodiments , the first and second floating - aid components 519 , 521 can be positioned circumferentially around the system 500 . in the illustrated embodiment shown in fig5 , the sensor 515 is positioned inside the second housing 503 b . the sensor 515 is configured to measure a status of the system . in some embodiments , the sensor 515 can be a moisture sensor to detect whether there is any water leakage in the second housing 503 b . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating a method 600 for manufacturing a floating system in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology . the method starts at block 601 by forming a first housing having a first opening , a first recess on an outer surface of the first housing , and a first rib on an inner surface of the first housing . at block 603 , the process continues by forming a second housing having a second opening , a second recess on an outer surface of the second housing , and a second rib on an inner surface of the second housing . at block 605 , the method 600 proceeds by positioning an antenna to pass through the first opening and sealing the first opening by a first sealing component . at block 607 , the method 600 then positions an interface component to pass through the second opening and seals the second opening by the second sealing component . at block 609 , a transmitter is positioned inside the first housing and the transmitter is coupled to the antenna . at block 611 , the method 600 continues by positioning a signal converter inside the second housing and coupling the signal transmitter to the interface component and the transmitter . at block 613 , the process then sealedly attaches the first housing and the second housing by a third sealing component . at block 615 , the method 600 then couples the interface component to a wire component . the method 600 then returns . although the present technology has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments , it will be recognized that the present technology is not limited to the embodiments described but can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . accordingly , the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense .	7
referring to the drawings , fig1 an adjustable firearm support 10 is mounted to a firearm stock 5 of a firearm 4 . fig1 is a side view of adjustable firearm support 10 . as can be seen in fig1 , firearm stock 5 is of the type which includes a butt portion 5 a and an interior , generally upright surface 5 c . adjustable firearm support 10 includes a base member 20 , a positioning block 50 , a support rod 60 , a binding sleeve 70 and a support leg 80 . base member 20 is secured to upright surface 5 c of firearm stock 5 using a fastener arrangement which will be described in detail below . as will also be described in greater detail below , support leg 80 is threadably mounted to support rod 60 so that it may be rotated to raise and lower firearm stock 5 in a finely adjustable manner for finely adjusting the elevation angle of firearm 4 . as will be readily understood by the skilled reader , firearm stock 5 is preferably supported at its front end by a bi - pod or similar device . fig1 shows support leg 80 and other elements in an extended position for use . support leg 80 and other elements are also shown in phantom to illustrate a retracted position in fig1 . fig2 is an exploded view of the adjustable support 10 of the present invention . adjustable support 10 is mounted to firearm 4 by base member 20 . support rod 60 is a threaded element which carries a binding sleeve 70 and support leg 80 . both binding sleeve 70 and support leg 80 have threaded bores for engaging the external threads of support rod 60 . positioning block 50 is for pivotably mounting support rod 60 and the elements carried by support rod 60 to base member 20 . base member 20 is shown in fig2 and is shown in more detail in fig3 and 4 . fig2 shows a front view of base member 20 . as can be seen in fig2 , base member 20 is rectangular in shape and is oriented such that its longest sides are generally upright . a generally horizontal counter bored hole 24 extends between opposite front and back surfaces of base member 20 . a blind bored hole 32 , is positioned under counter bored hole 24 and oriented generally perpendicularly with respect to counter bored hole 24 . an axially aligned pair of holes 26 a and 26 b is generally parallel to and positioned under blind bored hole 32 . a positioning block slot 22 extends from the back and bottom surfaces of base member 20 in a normal and intersecting relationship with both blind bored hole 32 and holes 26 a and 26 b . fig3 is a top view of the base member 20 showing the cradle 27 which is shaped for fitting up against inside surface 5 c of firearm stock 5 shown in fig4 . positioning block slot 22 is shaped and sized for receiving positioning block 50 . positioning block 50 is pivotably mounted within within positioning block slot 22 by a positioning block pin 54 . bores 26 a and 26 b on opposite sides of positioning block slot 22 and a corresponding bore 52 in positioning block 50 are all axially aligned for receiving positioning block pin 54 . positioning block 50 has a threaded hole 56 in its lower surface for the fixed attachment of the upper threaded end of support rod 60 . as described above , positioning block 50 carries the pivoting portions of adjustable support 10 , namely threaded support rod 60 , binding sleeve 60 and support leg 80 which may be considered as an assembly indicated by reference character a in fig2 . base member 20 and assembly a indicated in fig2 are arranged such that assembly a may be selectively locked in either the retracted or extended positions shown in fig1 or unlocked and rotated between those two positions . as described above , positioning block 50 is pivotably mounted within base member 20 . positioning block 50 and base member 20 cooperate within a releasable locking mechanism for selectively locking the pivoting portions of adjustable support 10 either in the first , raised position as shown in phantom in fig1 or in the second extended or lowered position as shown with solid lines in fig1 . the releasable locking mechanism includes a positioning pin 30 which is received by a blind hole 32 in base member 20 . positioning pin 30 is biased to protrude from base member 20 by a spring 33 allow manual access by an operator . positioning pin 30 includes a wide portion 30 a toward its inserted end and a narrow portion 30 b adjacent to wide portion 30 a . as can be best seen in fig2 a , positioning block 50 includes a curved upper surface 52 a which preferably describes a circular arc centered around the center of rotation of positioning block 50 . positioning pin 30 and positioning block 50 are arranged within base member 20 so that upper surface 52 a of positioning block 50 clears narrow portion 30 b of positioning pin 30 as positioning block 50 rotates . these elements are also arranged such that wide portion 30 a of positioning pin 30 does not clear upper surface 52 a of positioning block 50 . thus , when positioning pin 30 and positioning block 50 are installed in base member 20 , positioning block 50 retains spring biased positioning pin 30 . fig2 a is a side view of positioning block 50 taken from plane a — a indicated in fig2 . as can be seen in fig2 a , positioning block 50 includes two recesses , a first recess 53 a and a second recess 53 b . first and second recesses 53 a and 53 b are similarly shaped to receive a portion of wide portion 30 a of positioning pin 30 . thus , when either first or second recess 53 a or 53 b captures part of the end of wide portion 30 a , positioning block 50 is locked and can not rotate within base member 20 . more particularly , when first recess 53 a captures wide portion 30 a , adjustable support 10 is locked in the first retracted position shown in phantom in fig1 . when second recess 53 b captures wide portion 30 a , adjustable support 10 is locked in the second extended position shown in solid lines in fig1 . positioning pin 30 is arranged so that a portion of positioning pin 30 protrudes from base member 20 by a sufficient amount to allow an operator to depress the protruding end of positioning pin 30 against its spring bias and cause wide portion 30 a to completely escape from either one of first or second recess 53 a or 53 b . thus an operator , by depressing positioning pin 30 may unlock positioning block 50 so that adjustable support 10 may be rotated between the first retracted position and the second extended position described above . it is preferable that positioning pin 30 and positioning block 50 or at least their corresponding engaging surfaces in the above described locking arrangement be fashioned from a hard tough material such as hardened steel . as can be seen in fig2 , support rod 60 includes a threaded shaft 62 and a bolt head 64 . support rod 60 can be fabricated from steel or brass or any material suitable for holding threaded surfaces . support rod 60 could be easily fabricated from a socket head cap screw . as can also be seen in fig2 , binding sleeve 70 includes a knurled portion 72 with an axial bore ( not shown ) which is threaded to receive the threaded shaft 62 of support rod 60 . binding sleeve 70 can be fabricated from steel or brass or any material suitable for holding knurled and threaded surfaces . support leg 80 is also shown in fig2 . it includes a top surface 82 , a threaded axial bore 84 , a counter bore 84 a , a large handle body 86 , and a rotation member 88 . large handle body 86 is designed to be easily manipulated by an operator . threaded axial bore 84 is in a normal relationship to top surface 82 and is adapted to receive threaded portion 62 of support rod 60 . counter bore 84 a extends from the bottom end of handle body 86 and meets threaded axial bore 84 near the center of handle body 86 . rotation member 88 closes off counter bore 84 a and is adapted to turn on a stable surface . support leg 80 can be made from a hard plastic capable of accepting internal threads or may have a metal insert for providing threaded axial bore 84 . fig4 is a section view of the adjustable firearm support 10 taken from plane 4 — 4 of fig2 with a firearm stock in relief . fig4 shows the assembled adjustable firearm support 10 in relationship to a firearm stock 5 and a means for attaching adjustable firearm support 10 by utilizing a butt pad bolt 5 e provided with firearm 4 . an internally threaded socket head fastener 90 is used to engage butt pad bolt 5 e and pull base member 20 tightly against inside surface 5 c of firearm stock 5 . preferably , socket head fastener 90 should be of high strength steel capable of withstanding significant stress . retaining clip 93 may be of common manufacture and configured to provide enough tension on internally threaded socket head fastener 90 to retain socket head fastener 90 within base member 20 . in the absence of a butt pad bolt 5 e , internally threaded socket head fastener 90 and retaining clip 93 are not required and adjustable firearm support 10 may be attached to firearm stock 5 by means of a common threaded fastener such as a socket head cap screw . adjustable firearm support 10 can be assembled as follows : first , support rod 60 is threaded into support leg 80 so that the bolt head 64 of support rod 60 is closely adjacent to top end of counter bore 84 a of support leg 80 . second , rotation member 88 is pressed into the bottom of support leg 80 . third , binding sleeve 72 is threaded down onto support rod 60 until it is closely adjacent to top surface 82 of support leg 80 . forth , positioning block 50 is permanently threaded onto support rod 60 by use of thread locking compound thereby creating a permanent assembly indicated by a in fig2 . fifth , spring 33 is placed into the bored blind hole 32 of the base member 20 . sixth , positioning pin 30 is pressed against poisoning spring 33 within blind bored hole 32 . seventh , and finally , the positioning pin 30 is depressed and positioning block 50 is inserted into positioning block slot 22 and is pivotably mounted to the base member 20 by pressing positioning block pivot pin 54 through the aligned holes 26 a and 26 b in base member 20 and hole 52 in positioning block 50 . assembled adjustable firearm support 10 may be mounted to firearm stock 5 by means of socket head fastener 90 and butt pad bolt 5 e as described above . as internally threaded socket head fastener 90 is threaded onto the butt pad bolt 5 e , cradle 27 of base member 20 will firmly engage internal surface 5 c of firearm stock 5 . by depressing the positioning pin 30 against the bias of spring 33 , an operator may disengage the wide portion 30 a of positioning pin 30 from either recess 53 a or 53 b for movement between the first retracted position and the second extended position . once adjustable firearm support 10 is locked in the second extended position as shown in fig1 with solid lines , rotation member 88 of support leg 80 may be placed on a stable surface and support leg 80 may be rotated about support rod 60 to finely adjust the elevation of firearm stock 5 . it is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described , it is not limited thereto , except in so far as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable equivalents thereof . equivalents thereof .	5
fig1 a - 1c are network diagrams illustrating different connections that may be implemented using an endpoint telephone device embodying the invention . fig1 a is a network diagram 100 a illustrating the connection of an endpoint telephone device 105 to a telephone set 110 for making a telephone call over a packet network 115 via voip service 120 over a packet network 125 a to a voip service user 130 a . fig1 b is a network diagram 100 b illustrating the connection of an endpoint telephone device 105 to a telephone set 110 for making a telephone call over a packet network 115 via voip service 120 over pstn 125 b to a telephone set 130 b . fig1 c is a network diagram 100 c illustrating the connection of an endpoint telephone device 105 to a telephone set 110 for making a telephone call over pstn 125 b to a telephone set 130 b . fig2 a - 2e are block diagrams illustrating example embodiments of an endpoint telephone device 200 . in fig2 a - 2d , the endpoint telephone device 200 includes a telephone set interface 205 for connecting to a telephone set 210 , a telephone line interface 215 for connecting to a telephone line 220 , and a packet network interface 225 for connecting to a packet network 230 , such as the internet . in fig2 a and 2c , the endpoint telephone device 200 uses a software switch 235 a to connect the telephone set interface 205 to the telephone line interface 215 or , alternatively , to the packet network interface 225 . in an alternate example embodiment , as illustrated by fig2 b and 2d , the endpoint telephone device can use a hardware switch or relay 235 b to connect the telephone set interface 205 to the telephone line interface 215 or , alternatively , to the packet network interface 225 . in the embodiment as illustrated by fig2 e the endpoint telephone device 200 includes a telephone set interface 205 for connecting to a telephone set 210 and a packet network interface 225 for connecting to a packet network 230 , such as the internet . because this embodiment does not provide a telephone line interface 215 for connecting to a telephone line 220 , the soft switch 235 a or a hardware switch or relay 235 b to connect the telephone set interface 205 to the packet network interface 225 or , alternatively , to the telephone line interface 215 are not required . in the example embodiments illustrated by fig2 a - 2d , the endpoint telephone device 200 communicates over a pstn network 220 or over a packet network 230 with a voip service 235 stored on a voip server 240 . the voip service 235 facilitates initiating telephone calls from the telephone set 210 to be transmitted over the packet network 230 . the processor block 245 includes a voip controller 250 and a processor 255 , and is connected to the telephone set interface 205 , telephone line interface 215 and packet network interface 225 . in fig2 e , the processor block 245 is connected to the telephone set interface 205 and the packet network interface 225 . in an example embodiment , the processor 255 senses the availability of emergency service on both the pstn and the voip network and runs a session initiation protocol ( sip ) stack that controls the voip telephony feature . in an alternate example embodiment , as illustrated by fig2 c and 2d , the endpoint telephone device can contain a switch 260 to control whether or not the processor 255 checks for an active pstn connection at the telephone line interface 215 and allows only voip calls to be made over the packet network 230 . for example , if a voip service user knows that there is no pstn line connected to the telephone line interface of the endpoint telephone device , such as when the voip service user does not have an active pstn line with a pstn carrier , the voip service user can indicate , via this switch , that the endpoint telephone device should place calls over only the packet network and not check for pstn connectivity . additionally , in another example embodiment , as illustrated by fig2 e , because the endpoint telephone device does not contain a telephone line interface , the endpoint telephone device may only make calls over the packet network 230 . in one embodiment , the packet network interface 225 is a wan ethernet port that can be connected to a broadband internet access device such as a digital subscriber line ( dsl ) modem or cable modem . in alternate embodiments , the packet network interface 130 can be an integrated dsl modem , integrated cable modem or other access medium , such as wireless or power line networking . in an alternate example embodiment , the packet network interface 225 may be an asymmetric digital subscriber line ( adsl ) enabled telephone line , in which case the telephone line interface 215 and the packet network interface 225 may share the same physical interface , although they are logically distinct . in one embodiment , the telephone line interface 215 is a dsl port with pstn service enabled . in alternate embodiments , this can be an fxo port , or a variant that allows a telephone connected to the device to be switched , as by a relay , directly to the pstn . in a process that is separate and distinct from the endpoint telephone device setup , the voip service provider configures a voip service user &# 39 ; s account for voip emergency service . to do this , the voip service provider determines the physical location of the endpoint telephone device either by some automated means or by requiring that the voip service user provide and authenticate the location information . the endpoint telephone device determines the status of emergency service through the voip connection or , more specifically , whether the voip service provider is required by the fcc order to supply emergency service and whether the voip service provider supplies that service , by making use of the sip mechanism called subscribe / notify , as described in internet engineering task force ( ietf ) request for comments ( rfc ) 3265 . the subscribe / notify mechanism provides a means for a sip service to convey specific information to the endpoint telephone device . fig3 is a table 300 illustrating four data fields in the sip event eservice - profile and the two values each field can have . data field sipprovider - supports911 indicates whether the voip service provider supplies emergency service for voip service users and can take the value yes or no . data field useraccountenabledfor - 911 indicates whether the voip service user &# 39 ; s account is configured with certain data , including the physical location of the endpoint telephone device , and can take the value yes or no . data field allow - voiptovoipcalls indicates whether the voip service provider allows the voip service users , under certain circumstances , to make direct calls to other voip customers only , and can take the value yes or no . data field 911 - servicenotrequired indicates whether the voip service user is among those not required under the fcc order to be supplied emergency service by the voip service provider , and can take the value yes or no . fig4 a is a flow diagram 400 a illustrating the use of the sip mechanism subscribe / notify to convey specific information regarding emergency service supplied by the voip service provider to the endpoint telephone device . first , the endpoint telephone device registers 405 with the sip service of the voip service provider using account information provisioned in the endpoint telephone device . this information is distinct from the emergency service location information , and the method for loading this information is beyond the scope of this description . next the endpoint telephone device subscribes 410 to the sip event eservice - profile . the sip service returns a notify 415 packet for this event that tells the endpoint telephone device whether or not it can and should make emergency service calls through the voip service . the notify packet does this by indicating the values of the data fields in eservice - profile as illustrated in fig3 . in general , the sip service will send notify packets related to an event any time there is a change in the status described by the event . in the case of eservice - profile , the sip service will send notify packets as soon as the subscription is initiated to convey the initial status . the endpoint telephone device then stores 420 that data . in another example embodiment , as illustrated by fig4 b , the sip service may also repeat 425 sending notify packets 415 to the endpoint telephone device that indicate whether the service continues to support voip emergency service and whether the particular voip service user account is activated for voip emergency service . the endpoint telephone device stores 420 the status indication it receives via the eservice - profile notification 415 . fig5 a is a flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the algorithm performed in determining whether the voip service provider complies with the fcc order and allowing calling based on that compliance . first , the endpoint telephone device checks the value of data field 911 - servicenotrequired 505 in eservice - profile to determine whether emergency service is required under the fcc order . if the value of data field 911 - servicenotrequired 505 is yes 507 , indicating that emergency service is not required by the fcc order ( implying that the voip service provider is not interconnected with the pstn ), then the endpoint telephone device enables all calls 535 . if the value of data field 911 - servicenotrequired is no 508 , indicating that emergency service is required under the fcc order ( implying that the voip service provider is interconnected with the pstn ), then the endpoint telephone device must determine whether emergency service is provided over the pstn connection . the endpoint telephone device checks whether the pstn connection is active 520 . the determination of an active pstn connection implies the availability of emergency service on the pstn line because emergency service is mandatory on active pstn lines within the united states . if the pstn connection is active 522 , the fcc order is satisfied because emergency service is available via the pstn . the endpoint telephone device enables all calls 535 . however , if the pstn connection is not active 523 , the fcc order is not yet satisfied and the endpoint telephone device must determine whether the voip service provider supplies emergency service . the endpoint telephone device checks the value of data field sipprovider - supports911 525 in eservice - profile . if the value of data field sipprovider - supports911 525 is no 527 , indicating that the voip service provider does not support emergency service , then there is no emergency service via either the pstn or the voip service provider to satisfy the fcc order . the endpoint telephone device disables all calls 540 . if the value of data field sipprovider - supports911 525 is yes 528 , indicating that the voip service provider does support emergency service , then the endpoint telephone device must determine whether the voip service user &# 39 ; s account is configured for voip emergency service . the endpoint telephone device checks the value of the data field useraccountenabledfor - 911 530 in eservice - profile . if the value of data field useraccountenabledfor - 911 530 is yes 532 , indicating that the voip service user &# 39 ; s account is enabled for voip emergency service , then the endpoint telephone device enables all calls 535 . otherwise , if the value of data field useraccountenabledfor - 911 530 is no 533 , indicating that the voip service user &# 39 ; s account is not enabled for voip emergency service , then the endpoint telephone device disables all calls 540 . fig5 b is a flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the algorithm performed in determining whether an endpoint telephone device should enable calling over the packet network or pstn . this example embodiment is identical to the example embodiment illustrated by fig5 a except that the endpoint telephone device contains a switch , as illustrated in fig2 c and 2d . thus , in an example embodiment , the endpoint telephone device must first determine 510 , via the position of the switch , if it should or should not check whether the pstn connection is active 520 . if the voip service user has indicated , via the switch , that the endpoint telephone device should check if the pstn connection is active 512 , the endpoint telephone device then does so 520 . however , if the voip service user has indicated that the endpoint telephone device should not check if the pstn connection is active 513 , then the endpoint telephone device may skip directly to checking whether the voip service provider supports emergency service 525 . fig5 c is a flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment identical to the example embodiment illustrated by fig5 b , except that the endpoint telephone device must check whether the voip service provider allows voip - to - voip only calls to be made on the voip network . if there is no approved method for emergency service access via either the pstn or the voip service provider , and such a method is required by the fcc order , the endpoint telephone device may be enabled for voip - to - voip calling if the voip service provider supports this feature . in this case , the voip service provider would allow calls from the endpoint telephone device to be made only over the packet network and not over the pstn . thus , in an example embodiment , before enabling voip - to - voip calls only , the endpoint telephone device must check the value of the data field allow - voiptovoipcalls 515 in eservice - profile . if the value of data field allow - voiptovoipcalls 515 is no 517 , indicating that the voip service provider does not support voip - to - voip only calls , then the endpoint telephone device disables all calls 540 . otherwise , if the value of data field allow - voiptovoipcalls 515 is yes 518 , indicating that voip - to - voip only calls are permitted by the voip service provider and the voip service provider will not allow calls from the endpoint telephone device to be made over the pstn , then the endpoint telephone device enables voip - to - voip calls only 545 . the endpoint telephone device can issue a special dial tone that indicates only voip - to - voip calls are supported . fig6 is a flow diagram 600 illustrating an example embodiment of the algorithm performed in determining whether there is an active telephone line attached to the telephone line interface of the endpoint telephone device and , therefore , whether the telephone line interface supports emergency service . the endpoint telephone device checks for the presence of an active pstn line 615 . this check may involve , for example , testing for dial tone or other ac signals on the pstn line , testing for pstn loop current , testing the pstn dc voltage level , or placing a call to a predetermined number and verifying ringback , a busy signal , or a successful connection . if the endpoint telephone device determines that there is not an active pstn line connected to the telephone line interface 617 , the endpoint telephone device then checks whether the voip service provider complies with the fcc order and supports emergency service 625 , corresponding to the same stage of the algorithm 525 as illustrated in fig5 a - 5c . if there is an active pstn line connected to the telephone line interface 618 , then pstn emergency service is available 620 . the determination of an active pstn connection is taken to imply the availability of emergency service on the pstn line because such emergency service is mandatory on active pstn lines within the united states . if the endpoint telephone device detects an active pstn connection 618 , it enables all calls 630 regardless of the value of data field sipprovider - supports911 625 in eservice - profile . when it does this it sends an indication to the voip service provider indicating that pstn emergency service is supported on the pstn line 635 . in an example embodiment , the indication is sent in a subscribe packet . in the case that a subscribe packet is used to send the indication of pstn emergency service support , the device re - subscribes when it detects a change in the pstn emergency service status . similarly , the voip service provider may respond to each subscribe packet with a notify packet that may include bit fields that the endpoint interprets to indicate how to route voip calls , as described previously . once the endpoint telephone device activates voip calling , whether because it found a valid value of data field sipprovider - supports911 in eservice - profile or because it detected an active pstn connection , the endpoint telephone device maintains the voip feature in the active state . however , in an example embodiment , this is subject to continuing tests of the availability of emergency service over both the pstn and packet network . if , at any time , emergency service becomes unavailable , the endpoint telephone device may disable voip calling if , for example , this is necessary in order to remain in compliance with the fcc order . in an example embodiment , the endpoint telephone device notifies the voip service provider if voip calling becomes disabled . the subscription to eservice - profile results in notifications sent to the endpoint telephone device . notifications may be sent in response to periodic resubscriptions , or if the voip service provider needs to report a change in state relative to eservices . if at any time a notification indicates that voip emergency service is no longer available for the account active on the endpoint telephone device or , if a number , such as two , successive notifications in response to periodic resubscriptions fail to arrive at the endpoint telephone device when expected , the endpoint telephone device will disable voip calling , unless the pstn connection is active , in order to remain in compliance with the fcc order . similarly , in an example embodiment , if the endpoint telephone device has detected an active pstn connection , the endpoint telephone device continuously verifies the connection . in another example embodiment , the endpoint telephone device tests for an active pstn connection when a user puts the telephone set connected to the telephone set interface in an off - hook condition . if at any time the endpoint telephone device determines that the pstn connection is no longer active , the endpoint telephone device disables voip calling unless the value of the sipprovider - supports911 data field indicates that the voip service provider supports emergency service . fig7 is a table 700 illustrating four states of pstn and voip emergency service availability . the endpoint telephone device configures default emergency service routing according to which state it is in . in state a , voip emergency service is not available and pstn emergency service is not available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device completely disables voip operations because the availability of emergency service does not comply with the fcc order . when the telephone set connected to the endpoint telephone device comes off hook , the endpoint telephone device connects its telephone set interface to the voip circuitry and generates a distinctive tone , such as a reorder tone , indicating that calling is not available . if the voip service provider sets the value of data field allow - voiptovoipcalls in eservice - profile to yes , indicating it will allow calls to be made from the endpoint telephone device over the packet network to another voip device and will not interconnect calls from the endpoint telephone device to the pstn , then the endpoint telephone device may accept incoming and outgoing voip - to - voip calls only . in this case , the device generates a dial tone when the telephone set connected to the endpoint telephone device comes off hook . the device continuously loops through its initialization detection routine searching for either voip or pstn emergency service . if the endpoint telephone device detects that voip emergency service is available , it proceeds to state b . if the endpoint telephone device detects pstn connectivity , it proceeds to state c . if the endpoint telephone device detects both voip emergency service and pstn connectivity it proceeds to state d . in state b , voip emergency service is available and pstn emergency service is not available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device routes all calls , including emergency service calls , via the voip connection . the endpoint telephone device checks for pstn connectivity on the telephone line interface either periodically or whenever the telephone set connected to the telephone set interface comes off hook . if the endpoint telephone device detects pstn connectivity , it proceeds to state d . the endpoint telephone device also continuously checks the availability of voip emergency service . if voip emergency service becomes unavailable , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state a . if voip emergency service becomes unavailable and the endpoint telephone device detects pstn connectivity , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state c . in state c voip emergency service is not available and pstn emergency service is available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device routes emergency service calls via the pstn and may route any or all other calls via voip according to information provided by the voip service provider . the endpoint telephone device continuously checks the availability of voip emergency service . if the endpoint telephone device detects that voip emergency service is available , it proceeds to state d . the endpoint telephone device also continuously checks for pstn connectivity . if the endpoint telephone device detects that the pstn is no longer connected , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state a . if the endpoint telephone device detects that the pstn is no longer connected and voip emergency service becomes available , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state b . in state d voip emergency service is available and pstn emergency service is available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device routes emergency service calls , and any and all other calls , either via the pstn or via voip according to information provided by the voip service provider . the endpoint telephone device continuously checks the availability of voip emergency service . if the endpoint telephone device detects that voip emergency service is not available , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state c . the endpoint telephone device also continuously checks for pstn connectivity . if the endpoint telephone device detects that the pstn is no longer connected , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state b . if the endpoint telephone device detects that the pstn is no longer connected and voip emergency service becomes unavailable , the endpoint telephone device proceeds to state a . fig8 is a table 800 illustrating two states of voip emergency service availability when the endpoint telephone device is in voip only mode or does not include a telephone line interface . the endpoint telephone device enters voip only mode when the voip service user selects the switch position that indicates to the endpoint telephone device that a telephone line will not be connected to the telephone line interface of the endpoint telephone device . similarly , if the endpoint telephone device does not include a telephone line interface , it is not possible for a user to connect a telephone line to the endpoint telephone device via its telephone line interface . therefore , pstn emergency service over the telephone line interface is not only not available , but is also not possible , making states c and d irrelevant such that the device may only operate in state a or b . in state a ( which is similar to state a in fig7 except that there is no pstn line connected to the endpoint telephone device , rather than there being a lack of emergency service on a connected telephone line ), voip emergency service is not available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device is disabled for voip calling because it does not comply with the fcc order . in state b ( which is similar to state b in fig7 except that there is no pstn line connected to the endpoint telephone device rather than there being a lack of emergency service on a connected telephone line ), voip emergency service is available . based on this availability , for a voip service provider required under the fcc order to supply emergency service to the endpoint telephone device , the endpoint telephone device is enabled for voip calling because it complies with the fcc order . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred 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 scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims .	7
the present invention will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . [ 0027 ] fig1 is a view for describing the three dimensional model of the area 101 to be covered by a plurality of cameras 103 , including a specific point p whose coordinates are ( x , y , z ). the coverage optimization algorithm determines each camera location and azimuth . considerations for this algorithm are areas to be covered and the quality of coverage required . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , the cameras will be located to create a coherent continuous real time video picture , similar to the video picture that one gets when physically navigating in the above mentioned space . [ 0028 ] fig2 is a view of the information flow between the various elements of fig1 . each camera 103 produces a continuous stream s of digital video signals made up of frames f . all these streams s are stored within the local server 201 . the local server 201 receives navigation commands from the users and forwards them to the remote servers . the network management module analyzes the required capacity and location and accordingly sends the required block of information . in order to present realistic looking pictures from a cluster of cameras ( with almost the same center of projection ) the pictures are first projected onto a virtual 3d surface and then using the local graphics renderer are reprojected into the image . [ 0030 ] fig3 is a conceptual view of the whole network including the plurality of cameras 103 each located in a predetermined location . the local server 201 or a network of servers collect the video streams s from the plurality of cameras and run a network management system that controls the flow of the above - mentioned information and remote servers 301 which forward the information over the internet 303 ( or another suitable communication network ) to the users &# 39 ; devices 305 . the user will have a dedicated application running on that user &# 39 ; s device 305 , which will allow the user to navigate within the said space . [ 0031 ] fig4 is a view of the navigation process from the user &# 39 ; s point of view . the figure provides a snapshot of the computer screen , which operates the video navigation application . in the in the preferred embodiment , the user will have an interface 401 similar to a typical web browser . that interface 401 includes location - based server icons 403 and a navigation bar 405 having navigation buttons . [ 0032 ] fig5 is a view of all the navigation commands available to the user through the interface 401 : up — this command moves the view point of the user ( the virtual picture ) up , in a similar way to head movements . down — this command moves the view point of the user down ( similar to head movements ) right , left — these commands move the view point right / left ( similar to head movements ) zoom in / zoom out — these commands applied a digital focus operation within the virtual picture in a way similar to eye focus . walk forward — this command moves the user &# 39 ; s view point forward in a way similar to body movements . walk backward — this command moves the user &# 39 ; s view point back in a way similar to body movements . open map — this command opens a map of the whole covered space with the location of the user “ virtual location ” is clearly marked . the map will be used by the user to built a cognitive map of the space . hop to new location — the viewer will be virtually transferred to a new location in the space . hop forward / hop back — the viewer will be virtually transferred to a previously hopped to location in the space . [ 0042 ] fig6 is a view of the process of integrating adjacent video pictures 601 , 603 into a single virtual picture . for each pixel in the virtual picture , n = the number of cameras covering this area will be identified according to the projection of the line of sight over the view point . if n & gt ; 1 , the virtual picture value is a weighted average of the pixels of the various pictures , where the weight is set according to the relative distance of the pixel from the picture boundary . in the preferred embodiment , the pixel will be set according to parametric control interpolation . without loss of generality we will assume that there are two pictures p 1 and p 2 overlapping with n o pixels . the distances e 1 and e 2 indicate the distance ( in pixels ) from the pixel under test to the edge of the picture . v 1 and v 2 are two three dimensional vectors depicting the color of the pixel . v , the vector describing the color of the pixel in the virtual picture , is given by : v i = ∑ j = 1 n  v j , i  ( e j - x j e j ) p ∑ j = 1 n  ( e j - x j e j ) p alternatively , a parameter can be included for object size normalization dependent on different camera distances from object . in the above equation , p is the power parameter which sets the level of interleaving between two pictures . for p = 0 the average is without weighting and we expect strong impact from one picture over the other . for very large values of p ( p & gt ;& gt ; 1 ) we expect the value of v to be the value of the pixel with the largest distance to the edge the frame . the value of the parameter will be set after field trails . [ 0050 ] fig7 is a view of the typical icons 701 inserted within the user &# 39 ; s screen once a predetermined three dimensional coordinate is within the view of the user virtual view field . the invention suggested here includes an edit mode , which enable the user ( typically the service provider ) to insert floating icons . in the edit mode , the operator will be able to navigate in the space and add from a library of icons an icon , which is connected to a specific three - dimensional location . further , while editing , the user will attach to each icon an application , which will be operated by double clicking . typical applications are web browsing , videoconference session etc ., detailed description of a product , hopping to other location etc . while a preferred embodiment has been set forth above , those skilled in the art who have reviewed the present disclosure will appreciate that other embodiments can be realized within the scope of the invention . for example , other techniques can be used for combining the frames f from the various cameras . also , the invention does not have to use the internet , but instead can use any other suitable communication technology , such as dedicated lines . therefore , the present invnetion should be construed as limited only by the appended claims .	7
fig1 illustrates an exemplary thermoelectric structure 2 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . as will be described in greater detail below , the thermoelectric structure 2 may include , for example , a coating 12 deposited on a substrate 10 . the substrate 10 may comprise any conventional substrate material such as , for example , polymers , mica , alumina , silicon , germanium , and glass . the substrate materials may be flexible or substantially rigid , and may be appropriate for industrial thermoelectric applications . the substrate materials may have a high electrical and thermal resistance , and may be relatively resistant to the absorption of heat in the form of laser energy . for example , the substrate materials may be substantially transparent to a laser beam having a specific wavelength . the substrate materials may be relatively inexpensive and may be configured to form a substrate 10 having a substantially uniform thickness . in an exemplary embodiment , the substrate 10 may have a thickness of approximately 25 microns . it is understood that the length , width , thickness , transparency , and / or other physical characteristics of the substrate 10 may be desirably chosen depending on the application . in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , the substrate 10 may comprise kapton ®. substrate materials such as kapton ® may have a degradation temperature of approximately 300 degrees celsius . in general , the substrate 10 may have a melting or degradation temperature that is substantially lower than the melting or annealing temperature of the coating 12 deposited thereon . the coating 12 may comprise any ceramic , metallic , and / or other thermoelectric thin film coatings known in the art . for example , the coating 12 may be a multilayer nanostructured thin film coating . such coatings 12 may include , for example , a boron carbide / boron carbide system , a silicon / silicon germanium system , a lead telluride / bismuth telluride system , and a silicon / silicon carbide system . in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , a boron carbide / boron carbide system may comprise alternating layers of two different boron to carbon ratios . in such an embodiment , the coating 12 may comprise a multilayer coating having alternating layers of b 4 c / b 9 c . in another exemplary embodiment , a silicon / silicon germanium system may comprise alternating layers of two different silicon to germanium ratios . in such an embodiment , the coating 12 may comprise a multilayer coating having alternating layers of si / si 80 ge 20 . in an exemplary embodiment , the coating 12 may have a thickness in the range of approximately 0 . 5 to approximately 15 micrometers . it is understood that the thickness and / or other physical characteristics of the coating 12 may be desirably chosen depending on the application . in addition , the coating 12 may have a melting or annealing temperature that is significantly higher than the melting or degradation temperature of the substrate 10 . for example , a boron carbide coating of the present disclosure may have a melting temperature of approximately 2450 degrees celsius or more . the coating 12 may be deposited on the substrate 10 in any conventional way such that the coating is dispersed substantially uniformly across a surface of the substrate 10 . such deposition processes may include , for example , low pressure chemical vapor deposition , plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , electron beam processes , molecular beam epitaxy , and sputtering . in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , a thin film coating 12 may be deposited through a pvd process useful in forming multilayered nanostructured thin film coatings on thin substrates . the pvd technique may be useful in forming such coatings due to its high productivity and the relative ease with which the molecular structure and / or thickness of the individual layers of the coating being deposited may be controlled . it is understood , however , that coating layers deposited using the pvd process may have a disordered or amorphous microstructure . because the electrical conductivity of the coating 12 may depend upon the coating 12 having an ordered or crystalline microstructure , however , a post - coating annealing process may be performed on coatings deposited through pvd for crystallization . as shown in fig1 , energy may be directed to the coating 12 and / or the substrate 10 by an energy source 14 . the energy source 14 may be any source of heat , laser , light , electricity , and / or other energy known in the art . such energy sources 14 may include , for example , arc - lamps , heaters , and lasers . in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , the energy source 14 may be a nanosecond q - switched laser source capable of rapidly directing a desired energy density to the coating 12 . the nanosecond laser source may be , for example , an nd yag laser . such an exemplary laser source may be capable of emitting a laser beam in pulses of relatively short duration . for example , such pulses may have a duration of less than ten nanoseconds and may deliver approximately 150 to approximately 350 milli - joules / pulse ( i . e ., approximately 200 to approximately 5000 milli - joules / cm 2 ). such pulses may also have a wavelength of approximately 1 , 050 to approximately 1 , 080 nanometers . the laser pulses emitted by the energy source 14 may be long enough in duration and high enough in energy density to melt the coating 12 but may also be short enough in duration and low enough in energy density to cause substantially no damage to the substrate 10 . the energy source 14 may be configured to substantially uniformly crystallize the amorphous coating 12 after the coating 12 is deposited on the substrate 10 . accordingly , the energy source 14 may be configured to heat or otherwise increase the temperature of the coating 12 to close to or above its melting temperature through an adiabatic heating process . in such a process , the temperature of the substrate 10 may be maintained below the substrate melting or degradation temperature while the temperature of the heat treated portion 16 is increased to its melting or annealing temperature . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the energy source 14 may be configured to scan a surface of the coating 12 in substantially parallel traces , and the scanning motion and / or focal optics of the energy source 14 may be controlled to produce the heat treated portion 16 of the coating 12 . it is understood that the energy source 14 may be configured to substantially uniformly heat treat the coating 12 . after the energy source 14 passes over the heat treated portion 16 , the melted coating 12 cools rapidly and changes from a substantially amorphous nanostructure to a substantially crystalline nanostructure . the crystallization of coatings 12 comprised of materials such as , for example , boron carbide , may increase the electrical conductivity by two orders of magnitude or more . an exemplary adiabatic heating temperature profile 18 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated in fig3 . the exemplary temperature profile 18 of fig3 illustrates the temperature of the heat treated portion 16 of the coating 12 and of an underlying portion 8 of the substrate 10 during the adiabatic heating process . as illustrated in fig3 , in an exemplary embodiment , the heat treated portion 16 of the coating may reach temperatures in excess of 1 , 600 degrees celsius during heating while the underlying portion 8 of the substrate 10 may be maintained at room temperature . it is also understood that an upper surface of the heat treated portion 16 may have a slightly higher temperature than a region of the heat treated portion 16 disposed closer to the underlying portion 8 . as discussed above with respect to the thermoelectric structure 2 , the methods and processes described herein may be used to treat amorphous multilayered coatings deposited on polymer substrates . the treated thermoelectric structures may be used in a wide array of industries such as , for example , semiconductor industry , consumer electronics , transportation , aerospace , heating , air conditioning , heavy duty machinery and material processing . the treated thermoelectric structures may be used for a variety of purposes such as , for example , heating , cooling , and / or other energy conversion applications . for example , the treated thermoelectric structures described above may be packaged into thermoelectric devices . these thermoelectric devices may be used for solid state cooling where electrical power is provided to the device , and a subsequent temperature differential is created that removes heat from a heat source . such devices may be applicable in , for example , air conditioning applications , and localized cooling of electronic equipment , laser diodes , and medical devices . these thermoelectric devices may also be used for electric power generation applications . in such applications , the devices may assist in harvesting and / or converting excess thermal energy from exhaust gases into useful electric power . such exhaust gases may be emitted by , for example , internal combustion engines , jet engines , industrial furnaces , heat treat furnaces , smelting facilities , foundry facilities , fuel cells , and / or geothermal sources . other embodiments of the disclosed thermoelectric structure and methods of treatment will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification . for example , a plurality of energy sources may be used to assist in adiabatically heating a portion of the coating . in addition , a cooling system may be used to assist in maintaining the substrate below its degradation temperature during the heat treatment process . moreover , at least the thermoelectric structure 2 and the energy source 14 may be enclosed within and / or acted upon by a vacuum system to minimize heat losses through convection . the disclosed methods may also be applicable to thermoelectric coating materials other than those mentioned herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with the true scope of the invention being indicated by the following claims .	2
reference is first being made to fig1 that shows a general flow chart of an embodiment of the virtual treatment method in accordance with the invention . upon initiation 20 , a virtual diagnostic setup model is inputted . this model may be obtained by a number of different ways . the basis is a virtual teeth model obtained through a variety of teeth scanning or direct teeth imaging techniques or through scanning or otherwise capturing a negative teeth impression or a positive teeth model . an example of a method for obtaining three - dimensional digital model of teeth is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 099 , 314 . from such a model a virtual setup model may be obtained through an automatic or manual procedure in which the setup model the teeth are separated from one another in a manner that permits separate manipulation of the position of each of the teeth . at the next step 24 a set of orthodontic appliances is selected for subsequent association with the teeth . as will be appreciated , the invention is not limited to a specific set of orthodontic appliances and the general principle described herein applies to any selected set . however , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention , the set of orthodontic appliances which is to be used is a straight wire set that comprises a straight wire and brackets . as known , each bracket has a horizontal slot for receiving the wire . in addition , similarly as in real life orthodontic treatment , other orthodontic appliances such as hooks , elastic components , and others may be included in the set . the selection of the set may be automatic by the system or may be manual . for selection of a set of orthodontic appliances , different options may be presented to the user , for example , sets of different manufacturers , and the orthodont may then choose the one most familiar to him or the set which he prefers to use . alternatively , rather than selecting a complete set , optionally the user may select individual components that together will comprise the set . at a next step 26 the appliances are attached to or made to associate with the teeth . in one embodiment of the invention this is an automatic operation . in such an embodiment , after selection of the set for orthodontic appliances , the brackets are automatically attached to teeth . in such an automatic attachment , the brackets are typically attached to the center point of the teeth crown ( namely at the center of the exposed surface of the teeth ). in accordance with another embodiment the user may be permitted to select the position of all or of only some of the brackets . once all brackets have been selected , a wire , typically a straight wire as pointed out above , is added , and the first sequence of orthodontic treatment follows . in this first sequence , teeth are repositioned in a manner so that all the wire - receiving slots on the brackets snap onto the wire . this causes all slots to align in the plane defined by the wire and the teeth to align in an overall arch is also defined by the wire . this step may be carried out , for example , in a manner as described in pct publication wo 99 / 34747 . thereby , a first treatment state of the virtual model is obtained . a more detailed description of the step appears further below . in a next step 30 , this initial treatment state is analyzed and graded by a variety of criteria c 1 , c 2 , . . . cn . these grading criteria include , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention , the following : alignment , marginal ridges , buccolingual inclination , overjet , occlusal relationship , occlusal contact and interproximal contacts . reference is made to the explanation above of these criteria . the grading , as pointed out above , is based on the deviation of the teeth arrangement from a standard or ideal arrangement , in accordance with one or more of established standards . an example of a standard which may be applied is that set by the american board of orthdontics , referenced above . it should , however , be noted that in some embodiments only part of the above criteria or at times even one , e . g . only the criteria of alignment , may be used to grade the teeth arrangement . in a typical embodiment of the invention , the grading is carried out automatically , although optionally , the grading may be manually done by the user . following the grading according to one or more of the above criteria , at a next step 32 an overall model analysis is carried out . in this analysis the different grading scores are combined , which combination may be a simple combination , may be a weighted combination ( ascribing a different way to a different criteria ) or any other acceptable analysis of the system . here again , the overall model analysis is typically automatic , although it is possible also to permit the user to do it manually . following this overall analysis , at a distant point 34 an assessment is made whether the model meets orthodontic standards or whether an improvement is required . if no improvement is required , the virtual treatment ends 36 . if a decision is made and an improvement is required , which decision may be automatic or may be a decision made by the user , a next step 38 teeth for repositioning are selected , then at 40 the orthodontic appliances are virtually detaching from at least the selected teeth , the detached appliances are then repositioned at 42 , to effect repositioning of the teeth . for example , where a bracket is repositioned to a different lateral portion of the tooth , it effects axial rotation of the tooth . where , by another example the bracket is repositioned to a different vertical position of the tooth crown , it effects extraction or retraction of the tooth . where , by a further example , the attachment of the bracket to the wire is the different anteoposterior point on the wire , it effects the tooth to moved in the anterior or posterior direction . it should be noted that optionally in steps 40 and 42 , orthodontic appliances are at least temporary removed or hidden for easier visualization of the manipulation outcome . then , at 44 , the detached orthodontic appliances are reattached to the teeth and a resulting altered treatment state is obtained . the appliances repositioning may be done using an optimization algorithm employing one of many optimization or goal - seeking algorithms where the variable set is the set of appliances positions and the goal is best grade . possible algorithms include deepest descent , newton - raphson method and others . in addition , the goal may also include additional restrictions such as having minimal angle between teeth to avoid results that may give a goal grade but are less aesthetically appealing . the resulting altered treatment state so obtained is analyzed and graded in the same manner as described above . typically in the orthodontic treatment , each tooth is assembled with its corresponding bracket such that the base point of the bracket falls initially on the facial axis point of the tooth , as typically done in orthodontry . the assembled teeth may then translocate along the wire &# 39 ; s curve according to the following criteria : ( i ) the two central incisors are translocated along the wire curve ( along the curve falling on the andrews plane ) until they are brought into at least one point of contact , preferably such that their contact point falls on the mid - platal plane . ( ii ) the lateral incisors on each side of the mid - platal ( the left and right lateral incisors ) may be translocated towards their respective central incisors ( i . e . the left and right incisors , respectively ), followed by translocating the canine , premolar ( first premolar , then premolar ) and molar ( for the first molar , then second molar and optionally then the third molar ) teeth such that each flanking teeth have at least one point of contact therebetween . it should be clear that the same procedure is applied whenever a tooth is extracted or stripped , taking into consideration which tooth exactly was extracted . the outcome of the above procedure is an arch wire set with brackets which are fixed with the respective tooth , the teeth being optimally arranged according to orthodontic criteria . at times , movement of the first molar teeth by the system of the invention may result in a distilization of the mandibular molar teeth in an amount greater than that allowed in a real life treatment according to real life treatment considerations . accordingly , after translocation of teeth as described above , the system verifies whether the mandibular distilization performed would be allowed in real life considerations and if in the negative , the result displayed on the display screen , will show the user that the procedure performed would not be feasible in the real life orthodontic treatment . the user will then know that the orthodontic treatment plan he selected should be changed , e . g . by selecting a different wire , different brackets , performing other , if any manipulations on the teeth , etc . the resulting arrangement of the teeth may further be processed by applying a vertical repositioning of the teeth , and if necessary , move in a manner similar to that in step ( ii ) above . the result obtained for one arch , i . e . the maxillary arch or the mandibular arch , is then used for determination of the inter arch relationship . the algorithm employed may also use some optimization criteria for obtaining the initial treatment stage . for example , the mandibular arch may be first aligned with the mandibular jaw by their central point ( an average distance between the central incisors ) to fall onto the mid palatal plane . the maxillary arch fixed onto the maxillary jaw may then be vertically aligned onto the mandibular jaw in the manner as described in pct publication no . wo 98 / 52493 . the alignment between the two jaws may be according to a fixed mandibular jaw or alternatively according to a fixed maxillary jaw . the following description refers to alignment of the maxilla according to the fixed mandibular jaw . however , it should be understood that the same steps apply in flow diagram , for alignment of the mandible according to the fixed maxilla jaw ( muatis mutandis ). for determining the inter arch relationship , first the parameters of the mandibular jaw are provided , with which the mandibular arch is aligned by determining their center antheroposterior point ( lower center point a - p56 ). then occlusion of the mandibular first molar with the maxillary first molar is dictated by the features of class ( i ) type of occlusion . if necessary , i . e . when the outcome obtained and displayed on the display screen is not the desired outcome or when the user decides it is required to change the class type , he may change the class by which the mandibular first molar and the maxillary first molar interlock until reaching the desired outcome . at times , the horizontal alignment performed will result in a mandibular distilization which is greater than that acceptable in real life orthodontic treatment . as a result , the procedure according to the invention may be carried out while each arch is positioned onto their respective jaw by defining their center antheroposterior point , the steps of interlocking the molar teeth according to standard orthodontic guidelines is not performed . the definition of the different classes which can be selected by the user in a manner as shown herein in fig3 , which shows an example of a screen display showing a virtual model 100 with an upper jaw 102 and a lower jaw 103 . shown in this view is also a view control window 105 which permits control of position of orientation as well as view angles in a manner as described in pct application , publication no . wo 98 / 53428 . the treatment parameters may be controlled through user interface window 106 . a front view of the same jaw is seen in fig4 . fig3 and 4 also show a virtual diagnostic setup model of an individual &# 39 ; s jaws , in its original , untreated form . once an orthodontic treatment is executed , a second three dimensional digital model is obtained . the second three dimensional digital model includes the jaw carrying teeth assembled with brackets and a wire . the teeth in the second model are arranged in an optimal dental and skeletal arrangement as obtained by the system of the invention . the teeth are automatically associated with brackets , the later set on a wire . the outcome of virtual treatment of the original model ( shown in fig3 and 4 ) is seen in fig5 and 6 . in this case the parameters of the system were automatically selected , including the arch wire ( rothoformiii - ovoid ), the brackets ( clarity ™), and class ( class i ) and yielded one optimal outcome . there are different classes which may be applied . class i , which is a default class in the system and is that applied in fig5 and 6 . change in the class may be achieved by ticking off box 120 in user interface window 106 and moving scroll bar 122 to either side . another parameter which may be selected is a lower center point , which may be automatically selected ( the automatic selection is dictated by the original center point in the individual &# 39 ; s jaw before treatment ), as in fig3 – 6 or , it may be moved between the interior posterior direction by ticking oft box 124 and moving scroll bar 126 to either the left , as seen in fig7 or the right directions . in addition , the arch wire selection may be automatic , as in fig6 and 7 , which in this case is the default arch wire known as ortho formll - ovoid , but may also be manually selected within selection window 130 . the user may also control the parameters of which jaw will be fixed during the procedure . this is achieved by ticking in the set up design user interface 140 between the mandible 142 selection point or the maxilla 144 selection point . in the case of fig8 , the parameters of maxillary jaw are fixed during the procedure and after aligning therewith the maxillary arch , the inter arch arrangement is performed . by the default of the system , the mandible parameters are fixed and the maxilla is moved accordingly . the reverse selection is shown in fig9 ( 145 ). thus , as can be seen , in view of the initial structure of the teeth , the two jaws are more forwardly oriented in fig9 as compared to fig8 . another manner of control is a virtual extraction of teeth . in fig1 , the treatment is preceded normally without extraction . by ticking alleviation box 138 and marking in the user interface window 106 the tooth or teeth to be extracted , the marked tooth , in this particular case , the second molar 148 is virtually extracted and the void 150 which is left is at least partially filled by lateral movement of the flanking teeth , as seen in fig1 . this feature of the system of the invention enables the user to decide whether extraction of a tooth in a real life treatment will be effective in achieving a desired orthodontic outcome before performing such an irreversible manipulation in the real life treatment . reference is made now to fig2 which shows the manner of using the results of the virtual orthodontic treatment for guidance for the real - life orthodontic treatment . following start 50 , the virtual model with the altered treatment state obtained through the virtual orthodontic treatment ( 36 in fig1 ) is inputted at 52 . the teeth are then , at 54 , permitted to reposition to their original position in the original diagnostic setup model with the orthodontic appliances remaining attached thereon . the association of the orthodontic appliances with the teeth is then recorded as 56 and this is served as an input for guidance of the real - life orthodontic treatment for the purpose of achieving results similar to those obtained in the virtual treatment in accordance with the invention . the manner of association of the orthodontic appliances may be displayed on the screen or may be outputted to a guidance system for proper placing of an orthodontic element on a tooth &# 39 ; s surface , such as that described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 334 , 772 .	0
referring generally to fig1 - 11 , it will be appreciated that the present invention generally may be embodied in numerous configurations of a practice sled . referring now to fig1 and 2 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in a practice sled 10 . the sled 10 includes a base 12 , a pad assembly 14 , a pad assembly suspension system 16 , a control assembly 18 , a protective backing 20 , and ground - engaging runners 22 . many of the rigid components of the preferred embodiment of sled 10 shown in fig1 are made from conventional steel products , such as circular or square tubing , or flat sheet or bar stock . these components and are joined by conventional methods , such as by welding or with common fasteners . however , it will be appreciated that suitable alternative materials and methods of joining components may be employed , in keeping with the invention . runners 22 may be formed from a single structural element as shown , or may be formed as separate elements . in either event , the runners 22 may be formed of suitable material , such as the steel box tube shown . the runners 22 also may include rear caps 24 , or upwardly turned rear ends , or other structures or shapes to facilitate rearward sliding on top of the ground surface . extending between the runners 22 is a gusset 26 of tubular construction , with an upstanding base collar 28 passing through its upper wall . the base collar 28 is fixed in a position extending upward and forward from the gusset 26 and includes a set screw 30 . also extending between the runners is grating 32 . other suitable platform materials and structures could be employed to hold the operator / instructor . the components of the base 12 are of durable construction , such as steel , and are rigidly fixed together , such as by welding . the backing 20 may be constructed of durable material in any suitable manner , such as molded , textured black abs plastic . sled 10 of the preferred embodiment also includes major axle 34 , which fits into sleeve 28 and is fixed in place by a fastener , such as a nut and bolt assembly 36 . major axle 34 may be further held in position , so as to prevent vibration and rattling , by set screw 30 . the pad assembly suspension system 16 is mounted on major axle 34 . major axle 34 has a series of upper and lower through holes 38 and 40 , respectively . the suspension system 16 has an upper major collar 42 connected to downward extending rear member 44 , and a lower major collar 46 connected to upward extending control member 48 . upper and lower major collars 42 and 46 are held a fixed distance apart by connection of rear member 44 and control member 48 , such as by welding . the suspension system 16 is height adjustable by aligning the appropriate through holes 38 and 40 with through holes in respective upper and lower major collars 42 and 46 , and installing suitable fasteners , such as nut and bolt assemblies . referring now to fig3 and 4 , pad assembly suspension system 16 includes frame 48 mounted between collars 42 and 46 . frame 48 has a sleeve 50 , with grease fittings 52 , for rotational mounting relative to major axle 34 . frame 48 also includes upper horizontal members 54 and lower horizontal members 56 fixed at their inner ends to the respective left and right sides of sleeve 50 , such as by welding . alternatively , frame 48 could be constructed to permit pivotal connection and could have unitary upper and lower horizontal members , or other suitable structure . fixed atop the upper horizontal members 54 of the preferred embodiment are mounting brackets 58 . mounting brackets 58 are provided for attachment of the top of protective backing 20 to the suspension system 16 , by conventional fasteners such as bolt into fixed nut . similar fastening positions are provided along side brackets 60 for the sides of protective backing 20 . each side bracket 60 is fixed , such as by welding , at the end of the respective upper and lower horizontal members 54 and 56 . the side brackets 60 may be made of flat bar stock , and may serve to help fixture or hold components in place during welding operations . fixed near the outer end of each respective upper and lower horizontal member 54 and 56 is a bushing 62 with a grease fitting . a minor axle 64 is mounted for rotation within each respective pair of upper and lower bushings 62 . mounted on minor axle 64 between the upper and lower bushings 62 on each side of suspension system 16 are a pair of collars 66 and a sleeve 68 . sleeve 68 is permitted to rotate about minor axle 64 . the collars 66 are held in fixed position relative to minor axle 64 by set screws 72 , which also serve to hold minor axle 64 in its vertical position for rotation within upper and lower bushings 62 . the left and right sleeves 68 are connected to the respective left and right ends of common link 74 , such as by welding . each of the collars 66 on the right and left sides of pad assembly suspension system 16 has a first end of a bent link 76 fixed thereto , such as by welding . a portion of each link 76 passes between the rear member 44 and sleeve 50 on major axle 26 . the links 76 are staggered in height so as not to interfere with each other . the second end of each bent link 76 is connected to the pad assembly 14 as discussed below . as best seen in fig5 the pad assembly 14 includes a pad 78 and locking assemblies 80 attached to the rear of pad 78 . pad 78 has an inner pad frame 82 having a skeleton 84 , such as of steel tubing , with fastening plates 86 attached thereto , such as by welding . the fastening plates 86 have a series of fixed fastener components , such as the nuts of nut and bolt assemblies . the inner pad frame 82 is encased in a resilient material 88 made of suitable foam , such as low density urethane . as seen in fig3 for increased durability , the pad 78 further includes a zippered vinyl cover 90 of conventional construction . each locking assembly 80 includes a base plate 92 with holes therethrough in a like pattern for alignment with the series of fixed fastener components of a respective fastening plate 86 . locking assemblies 80 are mounted to the rear of pad 78 by attachment of base plates 92 to fastening plates 86 via conventional fasteners . a pliable close - out panel 94 , such as of sheet polyethylene construction , is attached between each locking assembly 80 and pad 78 to shield users of the sled 10 from inadvertently putting bodily parts in harms way between the rear of the pad 78 and the protective backing 20 shown in fig1 . the panel 94 can be configured to slide between the sleeve and collar arrangement on minor axle 64 and the side brackets 60 . returning to fig3 and 5 , attached to the base plate 92 of each locking assembly are upper and lower mounting brackets 96 , a u - shaped lock bar 98 and a flange 100 . in the preferred embodiment , each bracket 96 is of clevis form and has a slot in its upper and lower rearward extending legs . each bracket 96 receives a respective second end of a link 76 between the upper and lower legs of the bracket 96 and is locked to the end of the link 76 by a roll pin or other suitable fastener passing through the link 76 and being free to translate or rotate within the slots ( as best seen in reference to the right , upper bracket 94 in fig4 ). the u - shaped lock bar 98 and flange 100 each extend rearward from the face of the base plate 92 and are fixed thereto , such as by welding . pad assembly suspension system 16 further includes a pair of primary biasing members 102 . although the biasing members 102 of the preferred embodiment are of the commonly available gas spring type , such as manufactured by suspa , incorporated , they may be of alternative configuration , such as coil springs . each primary biasing member 102 is connected to the common link 74 at a first end , and connected to a flange 100 on a locking assembly 80 at a second end . as best seen in fig4 and 6 , a latch 104 is attached to a mounting bracket 106 proximate each end of common link 74 . the latch 104 is generally similar to the structure of latches used with vehicle deck lids , but could be of suitable alternative construction . each latch 104 is connected to control assembly 14 via a first end of a conventional cable assembly 108 . each cable assembly 108 has a second end which is connected to a control lever 112 , such as commonly used with bicycles and the like . the control levers 112 are connected to handle bars 114 of control assembly 14 . each cable assembly 108 is biased , such as by a spring 1 10 , so that the latch 104 engages the u - shaped lock bar 98 on locking assembly 80 to hold the respective primary biasing member 102 in a compressed position . best illustrated in fig3 and 7 is a secondary rotation and centering assembly 116 which connects rear member 44 to major sleeve 50 via secondary biasing members 118 and bar assemblies 120 to control the rotation of pad assembly suspension system 16 . although gas springs are shown for secondary biasing members 118 , alternative biasing elements may be employed . in contrast to the primary biasing members 102 which should be installed so as to be in a compressed position when the pad 78 is facing directly forward , the secondary biasing members 118 are preferably installed near the end of their full travel , to minimize damage to the biasing members relating to over - travel . each secondary biasing member 1 18 is connected at a first end to a tab on rear member 44 . the second end of each biasing member 118 is connected to a bar assembly 120 . each bar assembly 120 is connected to a tab on sleeve 50 and includes bars which can be joined together by conventional fasteners and adjusted in length via slot arrangements . with a biasing member 118 essentially at its full travel , the centering bar assembly 120 may be adjusted in length to affect the angle of the centering bar assembly 118 relative to the pad assembly suspension system 16 . for instance , if a bar assembly 120 is shortened , the outer end of the bar assembly 120 will move forward toward sleeve 68 , whereas if it is lengthened , the outer end of bar assembly 120 will move rearward . when in proper adjustment , the bar assemblies 120 should be adjusted in length to pivot about the connection to the tab on major sleeve 50 until their outer ends are adjacent to or contact respective sleeves 68 on minor axles 64 . to limit the maximum secondary rotational travel of the pad assembly suspension system 16 , stops 122 are connected to common link 74 . each stop 122 is positioned to contact rear member 44 prior to over extending its associated secondary biasing member 118 . to prevent damage to rear member 44 due to repeated contact by stops 122 , a collar 124 is crimped or otherwise fastened into place on rear member 44 to strengthen rear member 44 where it is contacted by stops 122 . when in operation , the instructor may use one or both of the control levers 112 to advance the pad 78 toward the player and elicit a reaction to such movement . if the pad is in the ready position , as seen in fig4 and 8 , then the instructor may use the right hand control lever to trigger or open the right - hand latch 104 , releasing the u - shaped lock bar 98 . once the right latch 104 is triggered , the right side of the pad 78 advances forward ( shown in fig3 ) due to the permitted extension of compressed primary biasing member 102 on the right side , the rotation of collars 66 and corresponding minor axle 64 on the left side , and the pivotal movement at the right hand end of links 76 with respect to associated brackets 96 . if the left control level is triggered the pad 78 advances forward on the left side ( shown in fig1 ), due to actuation of a similar set of components for the left side . if both levers 112 are triggered , then both the right and left sides of the pad move forward ( shown in fig9 ) accordingly . this forward translation of the entire pad 78 when both control levers 112 are triggered gives rise to the need for the slots in brackets 96 . the slots in brackets 96 allow the ends of links 76 connected to the brackets 96 on the right and left sides , to not only pivot but also to move closer to each other in a scissor - type movement . when a player strikes pad 78 that was triggered to advance toward him , the player &# 39 ; s contact with the pad will normally force the advanced pad portion ( s ) rearward , resetting any latch 104 that had been triggered , and leaving the pad 78 in the ready position ( as shown in fig4 and 8 ). the sled 10 further may be used to train players to fight through an opponent and finish a play . for instance , rather than have the player stop applying force to the pad 78 once the pad has been reset , the player may be instructed to fight through and release from the pad 78 as one would when engaging an opponent . this is permitted with sled 10 of the present invention because once the pad 78 has been rotated sufficiently to reset the primary biasing member ( s ) 102 , the pad 78 may undergo secondary rotation via rotation of sleeve 50 and horizontal members 54 and 56 about major axle 26 . under secondary rotation , the secondary biasing member 118 on the side of the sled 10 receiving the driving force from the player will be compressed until the associated stop 122 ( best seen in the embodiment of fig3 and 4 ) contacts the collar 124 on rear member 44 . rotation of the pad assembly suspension system 16 compresses one of the secondary biasing members 118 , while leaving the other secondary biasing member 118 in its static position . if the pad 78 has undergone secondary rotation , after it is released by the player , the secondary biasing member 118 that was compressed during the rotation will be free to seek its fully extended position and will automatically return the pad 78 to the ready position shown in fig4 and 8 . it should be understood that any of a variety of fastening means and suitable materials of construction and dimensions may be used to satisfy the particular needs and requirements of the end user . it also will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the design and construction of a reaction and technique development sled without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein .	0
mutually corresponding parts and variables are always provided with the same reference symbols in all the figures . fig1 shows a diagrammatic illustration of an anti - trapping apparatus 1 for a movable adjustment element of a motor vehicle , in particular a door or a tailgate which is moved by motor . the anti - trapping apparatus 1 contains a capacitive sensor 2 and a monitoring unit 3 . the sensor 2 is based on capacitive metrology . the sensor 2 accordingly contains an electrode arrangement 4 having at least one transmission electrode 5 and at least one counter - electrode or reception electrode 6 . the electrode arrangement 4 preferably contains a plurality of transmission electrodes 5 which interact with a common reception electrode 6 . during operation of the sensor 2 , an electric field f ( only indicated ) is generated in an opening area of the adjustment element by applying an electrical ac voltage to the or each transmission electrode 5 , while the ( electrical ) capacitance of the capacitor formed from the field - emitting transmission electrode 5 and the reception electrode 6 or a measurement variable correlated therewith is recorded using the reception electrode 6 . in detail , the sensor 2 contains , in addition to the electrode arrangement 4 , a signal generation circuit 7 , a reception circuit 8 and a capacitance measuring element 9 . during operation of the sensor 2 , the signal generation circuit 7 generates a transmission signal s e in the form of a sinusoidal ac voltage or a pulsed voltage signal at a predefined frequency f . the signal generation circuit 7 passes the transmission signal s e to the transmission electrode 5 which emits the electric field f under the action of the transmission signal s e . if the sensor 2 contains a plurality of transmission electrodes 5 , a time division multiplexer is preferably interposed between the signal generation circuit 7 and the electrode arrangement 4 and passes the transmission signal s e to one of the plurality of transmission electrodes 5 in each case in an alternating manner in terms of time . an electrical alternating signal which is referred to as the reception signal s r below is generated in the reception electrode 6 under the action of the electric field f . during interference - free operation , the reception signal s r is phase - synchronous with the transmission signal s e and therefore oscillates at the frequency f of the transmission signal s e . in contrast to the transmission signal s e , however , the signal amplitude of the reception signal s r additionally varies on the basis of the capacitance to be measured . the reception signal s r is supplied to the reception circuit 8 as an input signal . in this case , a low - pass filter for pre - filtering the reception signal s r is optionally interposed between the reception electrode 6 and the reception circuit 8 . the reception circuit 8 contains a transimpedance amplifier 20 ( fig2 ) as a fundamental component . in this case , the reception circuit 8 outputs a voltage signal — referred to as the reception signal s r ′ below — which is proportional to the displacement current induced in the reception electrode 6 under the action of the transmission signal s e . the reception signal s r ′ is supplied to the capacitance measuring element 9 which is connected downstream of the reception circuit 8 and generates a capacitance - proportional measurement variable k therefrom . the measurement variable k is supplied to the monitoring unit 3 connected downstream of the sensor 2 . the monitoring unit 3 which is preferably formed by a microcontroller with monitoring software implemented therein compares the measurement variable k with a stored triggering threshold value . if the threshold value is exceeded , the monitoring unit 3 outputs a triggering signal a which indicates possible trapping , and the movement of the adjustment element associated with the anti - trapping apparatus 1 is reversed under the action of the signal . according to fig2 , the transimpedance amplifier 20 is formed by an operational amplifier 21 and a coupling capacitance 22 . an output 23 of the operational amplifier 21 is coupled with negative feedback to the inverting input 24 via the coupling capacitance 22 . the operational amplifier 21 is connected to the reception electrode 6 directly — or indirectly via the low - pass filter which is possibly present — via the inverting input 24 . the non - inverting input 25 of the operational amplifier 21 is connected to ground m . the coupling capacitance 22 preferably has a capacitance value of 10 pf . fig3 shows the frequency response of the sensor 2 provided with the transimpedance amplifier 20 according to fig2 , that is to say the dependence of an output voltage u 0 of the transimpedance amplifier 20 on the frequency f of the incoming reception signal s r , in which case a constant signal amplitude of the transmission signal s e is assumed . in this case , the output voltage u 0 denotes the amplitude of the reception signal s r ′ output by the transimpedance amplifier 20 . as can be gathered from fig3 , the sensor 2 provided with the transimpedance amplifier 20 according to fig2 has a disappearing frequency response , that is to say a frequency response compensated to zero , on account of the exclusively capacitive negative feedback . in other words , the output voltage u 0 is at least approximately the same for all frequencies f with a constant signal amplitude of the transmission signal s e . fig4 illustrates a variant of the transimpedance amplifier 20 . this variant differs from the exemplary embodiment according to fig2 in that a coupling resistor 40 is connected in parallel with the coupling capacitance 22 . the coupling capacitance 22 preferably has — as in the example according to fig2 — a capacitance value of 10 pf . the non - reactive coupling resistor 40 preferably has approximately a resistance of 1 mω . it can be seen from fig5 , which shows the frequency response of the sensor 2 provided with the transimpedance amplifier 20 according to fig4 , that the transimpedance amplifier 20 exhibits a high - pass filter behavior in the embodiment according to fig4 . in other words , the frequency response of the sensor 2 is compensated to zero only for frequencies f of the reception signal s r which exceed a lower cut - off frequency f u ( f & gt ; f u ). in contrast , for frequencies f which undershoot the lower cut - off frequency f u ( f & lt ; f u ), the output voltage u 0 falls greatly with decreasing frequency f — again with a constant signal strength of the transmission signal s e . fig6 illustrates another variant of the transimpedance amplifier 20 . this variant again differs from the embodiment according to fig4 in that an inductance 60 is additionally connected upstream of the inverting input 24 of the operational amplifier 21 . the inductance 60 is therefore interposed between the input 24 and the reception electrode 6 . the coupling capacitance 22 and the non - reactive coupling resistor 40 preferably have — like in the example according to fig4 — a capacitance value of 10 pf and a resistance of 1 mω , respectively . the inductance 60 has an inductance value of 10 μh , for example . it can be seen from fig7 , which shows the frequency response of the sensor 2 provided with the transimpedance amplifier 20 according to fig6 , that the sensor 2 exhibits a bandpass filter behavior in this case . the frequency response of the sensor 2 is here accordingly compensated to zero only in a frequency range between the lower cut - off frequency f u and an upper cut - off frequency f o ( f u ≦ f ≦ f o ). the output voltage u 0 falls with decreasing or increasing frequency f — again with a constant signal strength of the transmission signal s e — both for frequencies f which undershoot the lower cut - off frequency f u ( f & lt ; f u ) and for frequencies f which exceed the upper cut - off frequency f o ( f & gt ; f o ). although the invention becomes particularly clear from the above exemplary embodiments , it is not restricted to the latter . rather , numerous further embodiments of the invention may be derived by a person skilled in the art from the above description .	6
the present invention has originated from the discovery of the fact that the color flash or erroneous reading is caused during reading on an optical recording medium by the previously described blisters 6 of the aluminum thin film 2 of fig3 . it has been found that the blisters 6 have a close relationship with the crystal grain size of the thin film 2 formed on the substrate 1 . that is , there were prepared two kinds of substrates respectively provided with aluminum thin films 2 each having a film thickness of 40 - 80 nanometers but respectively having a grain size not larger than 20 - 30 nanometers and a grain size not smaller than 50 - 80 nanometers . those substrates were left in a room for a long time and some of them were heated and dampened to accelerate deterioration . the result was that no blisters were generated in the thin film of small crystal grain size while blisters were generated in the thin film of large crystal grain size . the reason why such a phenomenon occurs is considered to be as follows . there is a difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the aluminum thin film 2 and the substrate 1 due to the difference in the quality of material between the thin film 2 and the substrate 1 . this difference in the coefficients causes a difference in expansion / contraction between the thin film 2 and the substrate 1 which appears as a distortion . this distortion is difficult to disperse if the crystal grain size is large , so that the thus generated stress overcomes the bonding force between the substrate 1 and the thin film 2 to thereby partially peel the thin film 2 from the substrate 1 to generate the blisters 6 . in the thin film of the small crystal grain size , on the other hand , it is considered that the foregoing distortion is easily dispersed by slippage of crystal or the like , so that there occurs no stress sufficient to peel the thin film 2 form the substrate 1 . it has been found that the aluminum thin film 2 having such a small crystal grain size can be formed when the evaporation speed is selected to be equal to or lower than ( 1 . 5 nanometers ) per second and the degree of vacuum is set to the order of 10 - 4 torr . in view of the foregoing point , according to the present invention , the crystal grain size of the reflective thin film 2 of a group of metal formed on the surface of the substrate 1 having the information bits 5 formed thereon is selected to be not larger than 50 nanometers . in an optical video disk in which the thin film 2 is formed in such a condition as described above , no blister 6 is generated so that a picture of good quality can be obtained even under a difficult condition such as heating and / or dampness . particularly , if the substrate 1 is made of a macromolecular compound consisting of components having a polar group in their side chains such as acrylic resin or epoxy resin , the polar group has a strong bonding force with aluminum so that the blisters 6 are apt to be generated . in this regard , however , the reduction in crystal grain size is effective to prevent the blisters 6 from occurring . although the invention has been described for an aluminum thin film , the method can be similarly applied to the formation of thin films of a metal group having reflective property such as an aluminum alloy , silver , gold , or the like , to be used for the same purpose . the present invention can be realized in manufacturing not only the optical video disks as described above but other optical recording media such as compact disks , draw disks , e - draw disks , and so on . further , the method according to the present invention is extremely effective for the prevention of the foregoing deterioration when used in manufacturing an optical recording media having substrates made of a macromolecular compound of components having a polar group at their side chains . such macromolecular compounds are acrylic resins or epoxy resins , in which the polar group has a strong bonding force with aluminum . as described above , according to the present invention , no blister is generated in the reflective thin film of a metal group during aging or temperature excursions , and so on , so that there occurs no deterioration in signal such as color flash , erroneous reading of information , or the like . reliability is thus improved . in the case of using the crystal grain size as described above according to the invention , the difference in expansion / contraction between the substrate and the thin film owing to time aging , heat impact , or the like , is dispersed to thereby prevent blisters and peelings of the thin film from occurring . therefore , any color flash and any erroneous reading of information signals due to blisters or peelings can be prevented from occurring to thereby extremely improve the reliability . the manufacturing method can be carried out only by lowering the speed of evaporation for forming the thin film below the conventional speed as well as can be carried out in a low vacuum , so that the productivity can be maintained . although the generation of blisters has been prevented , conventionally , by means of fine control on the external conditions such as water , or the like , the control becomes unnecessary in the manufacturing method according to the invention in which the crystal grain size is made small , so that the productive efficiency can be significantly improved .	8
referring to fig1 , a conventional planter row unit 10 with an air seed meter 5 is shown . the row unit 10 and air seed meter 5 , as shown in fig1 and 2 , is known in its general aspects to persons skilled in the art . the row unit 10 includes a u - bolt mount 11 for mounting the row unit 10 to a planter frame or tool bar ( not shown ), as it is sometimes called , which may be a steel tube of 5 by 7 inches ( although other sizes are used ). the mount 11 includes a faceplate 12 , which is used to mount left and right parallel linkages . each linkage may be a four - bar linkage , such as the left one 14 shown in fig1 . it is noted that the opposite ( right ) linkage is generally a mirror image of the linkage 14 shown in fig1 . the double linkage is sometimes described as having upper parallel links and lower parallel links , and the rear ends of all four parallel links are pivotally mounted to the frame 15 of the row unit 10 . the frame 15 includes a support for an air seed meter 5 and seed hopper 16 , as well as a structure including a shank 17 for mounting a pair of ground - engaging gauge wheels 18 . the frame 15 is also mounted to a furrow - closing unit 19 , which includes a pair of inclined closing wheels 19 a , 19 b . the row unit 10 also includes a pair of furrow opener discs 9 , as shown in fig2 . fig3 and fig4 represent a seed meter 20 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention . the seed meter 20 of fig3 and fig4 includes a seed meter housing 21 , which contains the seed disc 22 and central hub 25 . the seed disc 22 and central hub 25 are exposed for illustration purposes , but would normally be concealed behind a vacuum housing 200 attached to the seed meter housing 21 . the vacuum housing 200 , shown in fig6 and fig7 , also includes a vacuum inlet 202 for a vacuum or other air source ( not shown ), an aperture 204 to allow seed disc central hub 25 to pass through , and attachment means 206 ( shown to be keyhole slots ) at an outer area of the vacuum housing 200 . the seed meter housing 21 and the vacuum housing 200 may be molded , such that they comprise molded plastic or other rigid materials . seed is conveyed into a reservoir 26 on the seed meter housing 21 via an input tube ( not shown ) or a seed hopper ( fig1 ). once in the reservoir 26 , the seed pools adjacent the seed disc 22 near the bottom or lower portion of the seed meter housing 21 and becomes attached to the seed disc 22 as the seed disc 22 is rotated by direct drive 27 . the interior of the seed meter housing 21 without the seed disc 22 is shown in fig5 , which also shows the location of the reservoir 26 inside the seed meter housing 21 . a door 167 , which may be slidable or otherwise movable , may be positioned adjacent the reservoir opening to provide access to the reservoir 26 to aid in emptying or cleaning out the reservoir 26 . fig5 also shows the location and configuration of a singulator 111 , which is used to prevent multiple seeds becoming attached at a single seed cell 54 . the singulator 111 is shown in fig1 - 17 . seeds are then released from the seed disc 22 as they transition through a zone 30 of the seed meter 20 having little to no pressure differential . seeds are dropped into the seed chute 24 , which delivers them to the furrow . the vacuum housing 200 , as shown in fig6 and fig7 , includes a vacuum inlet 202 , which is connected to a vacuum source ( not shown ), such as a vacuum impeller , via vacuum hoses ( not shown ). the seed meter housing 21 includes a plurality of bosses 32 disposed along its periphery , as shown in fig3 . the plurality of bosses 32 are configured to extend through the attachment means 206 of the vacuum housing 200 to locate the vacuum housing and , after rotation by the user , restrain it in place against the seed meter housing 21 . the attachment means 206 of the vacuum housing 200 are shown to be keyhole slots , but any other configuration can be used . the vacuum housing 200 further includes a sealing member 208 fitted into a groove on the interior of the vacuum housing 200 . the sealing member 208 contacts the seed flange 51 of the vacuum side of the seed disc 22 ( see , for example , fig8 and 9 ) to define a vacuum chamber 210 in communication with the vacuum inlet 202 . the sealing member 208 is also surrounded by an annular rim 162 of the seed disc 22 to improve suction at the seed cells 54 . as seed cells 54 move into the vacuum chamber 210 , they are placed in fluid communication with the vacuum source . a plurality of apertures 211 in the chamber 210 provide for suction from the vacuum source along the length of the chamber 210 . also mounted to the inside of the vacuum housing 200 is a remnant ejector 212 for the removal of seeds or seed remnants from a seed cell 54 after the seed cell passes the seed chute 24 and is no longer in communication with the vacuum chamber 210 . the remnant ejector 212 is housed within an ejector housing 215 formed integrally with the vacuum housing 200 . however , the ejector housing 215 may also be removable so as to allow different ejectors to be used according to different seed discs and seed types . the remnant ejector 212 interfaces with a series of seed cells 54 from the vacuum side of the seed disc ( shown in fig3 and 8 ). the remnant ejector 212 includes a rotatable wheel 214 with a plurality of punches 216 about its periphery to remove seeds , seed debris , or other remnants remaining in a seed cell 54 after it passes the seed chute 24 . the remnant ejector 212 is spring - biased towards the seed disc 22 and moves synchronously with the seed disc 22 as it is rotated , i . e ., the rotation of the seed disc 22 rotates the wheel 214 of the remnant ejector 212 . furthermore , the remnant ejector 212 is rotatable about legs 218 to allow the ejector to move relative to the biasing spring , which aids in pressing the punches 216 of the wheel 214 to remain biased against the seed cells 54 of the seed disc 22 . fig8 illustrates the vacuum side of the seed disc 22 . the seed disc 22 is substantially cylindrical and has opposing sides — a vacuum side shown in fig3 and 8 , and a reservoir side , which contacts a pool of seed ( fig1 ). it should be noted that the “ vacuum side ” generally refers to the side of the disc 22 that will be adjacent the vacuum source . the seed disc 22 comprises a molded plastic or other rigid material . the seed disc 22 has a cross - sectional profile as shown in fig9 . the cross - sectional profile of the seed disc 22 shows at least two zones on the seed disc 22 . the first zone is a generally flat seed flange 51 located at or near the outer radius of the seed disc 22 . a series of seed cells 54 located at the seed flange 51 comprise apertures extending from the vacuum side to the reservoir side , and are spaced radially about the circumference of the seed disc , which is generally a circle . the aperture of the seed cells 54 may be larger on the vacuum side of the disc 22 and narrow through the disc 22 such that the negative pressure on the seed side of the disc 22 is increased . alternatively , a single - sized aperture may form the seed cell 54 . the seed flange 51 also includes an annular rim 162 extending radially outward from the plurality of seed cells 54 and which will be described later in further detail . although in the embodiment shown in fig8 a single seed cell circle is shown with seed cells 54 being positioned at an equal radius , one skilled in the art may also appreciate that seed cells could be staggered about multiple circles to create an alternating pattern . it should also be appreciated that the spacing and size of the seed cells 54 may be changed from the illustrated embodiments to accommodate different seed types and planting methods . the present seed disc and seed cells are not to be limited to the embodiments shown and described . a second zone 52 is shown by the cross - sectional profile of the seed disc 22 . the second zone is contoured and located radially inward of the seed flange 51 . the second zone 52 includes a cylindrical internal flange 55 . the internal flange 55 is formed substantially perpendicular to the seed flange 51 and is substantially concentric with the center axis of the seed disc 22 . the interior sidewall of the cylindrical interior flange 55 includes four keyways 53 running longitudinally through the interior flange 55 and spaced evenly about the inner circumference of the flange 55 . the cross - section of the keyways 53 is substantially similar to the external profile of the hub protrusions 61 as shown in fig1 . while four keyways are shown in the figures , it should be appreciated that generally any number of keyways are contemplated for use with the seed disc 22 of the exemplary embodiment . when more or less keyways are used with a seed disc , the keyways can be radially spaced around the axis of the disc , or can otherwise be positioned to align with at least as many hub protrusions 61 for connecting the hub to the seed disc . the seed disc 22 can be fixed within the seed meter 20 without the use of fasteners or tools by inserting the central hub 25 of the seed meter housing 21 through the aperture 56 created by the inner flange 55 of the seed disc 22 . the keyways 53 of the inner flange 55 are shaped and aligned at 90 - degree intervals to receive the protrusions 71 of the hub 25 ( see , e . g ., fig1 ). with the central hub 25 inserted through the inner flange 55 , the protrusions will emerge from the keyways 53 . the hub 25 can then be rotated in the direction shown by the embossed arrows 57 ( see , e . g ., fig8 ), while the seed disc 22 is restrained , such that the protrusions 71 will engage recesses or notches 81 on the rim of the interior flange 55 of the seed disc 22 , as shown in fig1 . the seed disc 22 could also be rotated while the hub 25 is restrained to lock and unlock . the central hub 25 slidably mounts to a first end of a shaft 40 to fix the position of the seed disc 22 within the seed meter housing 21 . the central hub 25 is retained in place by an upper roll pin 42 passing through an aperture on the shaft 40 and lower dowel pin , located on the shaft 40 , which may otherwise be the protrusions 71 of the hub 25 . the second , opposite end of shaft 40 is rotatably and axially coupled to an integrated shaft bearing . the shaft bearing ( not shown ) may be a plain bearing , such as generally any cylindrical sleeve made of a low friction material , a rolling - element bearing , which uses spheres or small cylinders that rotate or roll between a shaft and the mating parts to reduce friction and allow much tighter mechanical tolerances , or a water pump - style bearing . the shaft bearing is positioned in a cavity 44 , as shown fig4 . it should be appreciated that when other numbers of keyways 53 are used to aid in attaching the seed disc 22 to the seed meter 20 , the keyways may be located at other angles , such that the disc 22 or hub 25 can be rotated more or less to engage the protrusions with the recesses . turning now to the reservoir side of the seed disc 22 , which is shown in fig1 , a plurality of recesses or channels 91 are shown formed in the seed flange 51 . on the reservoir side of the seed disc 22 , the seed flange 51 includes a portion extending from the face of the disc 22 and including an inner lip 96 and an outer chamfer 94 . the outer chamfer 94 may be beveled or other angular in relation to the face of the seed disc 22 . fig1 shows an enlarged view of these recesses or channels 91 . a recess or channel 91 is present for and respectfully aligned to a seed cell 54 . the recess or channel 91 is positioned substantially forward of its corresponding seed cell 54 with respect to the rotational direction ( as shown by the arrow 93 of fig1 ) of the seed disc 22 during operation and provides agitation of seed in a seed pool when the seed disc 22 is rotated . the channel 91 is oriented at an oblique angle with respect to the radius line that passes through the center of corresponding seed cell 54 . this angle directs seed radially outward and rearward with respect to the rotational direction 93 of the seed disc 22 during operation , such that seed is guided towards the seed cells 54 . the channels 91 as shown are substantially rectangular in shape , but could be also comprise an oval or any other shape that would aid in the directing of seed towards seed cells 54 . it should also be appreciated that the shape and configuration of the channels can aid in loosening seeds in the reservoir , while also guiding them towards the seed cells 54 . furthermore , the channels or recesses include a ramped portion 97 generally adjacent the seed cell 54 , which is used to position the seed at the seed cell 54 during rotation of the seed disc 22 . therefore , the channels 91 of the seed disc 22 provide numerous advantages . as the channels 91 are generally recessed areas separated by wall - like portions , they will increase agitation of the seed pool to promote the movement of the seeds from the seed pool . the recessed channels 91 will also provide a direct path from the seed pool to the seed cells 54 , which will promote good adhesion between the seed and the seed disc 22 at the seed cells 54 . this will aid in increasing the accuracy of the seed meter by increasing the likelihood that a seed will be adhered to the seed cell 54 . as the channels 91 are formed integrally with the seed disc 22 , they can be configured and numbered to match generally any number of seed cells 54 and can be oriented or sized to best match with any type of seed . in the alternative , one single channel 91 size and orientation may be configured such that it is usable with all types of seed . in addition , the reservoir side of the seed disc 22 will include an outer chamfer 94 and an extension surface 95 , which extends generally from the outer chamfer 94 to the annular lip 162 on the periphery of the seed disc 22 . the outer chamfer 94 essentially forms a “ false edge ” of the seed disc 22 , to better position the seed at or near the edge for better consistency during release of the seed into the chute 24 . during rotation of the seed disc 22 , and after the seeds have adhered to the seed cells 54 , the disc 22 will continue to rotate until a seed passes the zone 30 of the seed meter 20 with little to no pressure differential . at this location , the outer chamfer 94 will be directly adjacent the outer wall of the seed meter housing 21 , which positions the seed and seed cell 54 at the false “ outer edge ” of the seed disc 22 . thus , the seed will become disengaged from the seed cell at the outer edge , which will decrease the likelihood of ricochet or bounce as the seed passes through the chute 24 , thereby increasing seed spacing consistency . the length of the extension surface 95 will vary based upon factors such as the amount of offset 161 , the type of seed , how close the seed cells 54 need to be to the “ edge ”, as well as other factors . the creation of the “ false edge ” provides for the seed to be released at or near the “ edge ” of the seed disc 22 , while still providing enough suction as the disc 22 passes adjacent the seed pool , as will be discussed below . in situations where duplicate seeds may be drawn onto or against a single seed cell 54 , a singulator 111 , such as that shown in fig5 , 15 , and 17 can be used . the singulator 111 is configured to remove the excess seed ( s ) from the seed cell . the singulator 111 is mounted at and operatively connected to the seed meter housing 21 such that a first blade 112 ( shown most clearly in fig1 ) and a second blade 113 is adjacent to the reservoir side face of the seed flange 51 and the seed cells 54 . the blades are spaced from the face of the seed disc 22 , as well as the flange 51 and seed cells 54 . the blades 112 , 113 may be configured such that they are on opposite sides of the seed cell circle . the singulator 111 is biased towards the axis of the seed disc 22 and / or seed meter housing 21 . the biasing towards the axis of the seed disc 22 and / or seed meter housing 21 may be provided by a spring , gravity , or other tension member , such as by attaching the singulator 111 by a wire to the seed meter housing 21 . the singulator 111 is configured to have a fixed , curved rim portion 119 that at least partially surrounds the annular rim 162 of the seed disc , which aids in positioning the singulator 111 adjacent the seed cells 54 . the first blade 112 is positioned adjacent to the backside of the curved rim 119 , i . e ., the side furthest from the seed disc 22 , and radially outward of the seed cell 54 circle . the first blade 112 includes an inner edge with a first set of ramps 115 and a generally curved profile similar to the circumference of the seed cell circle . biasing the singulator 111 , including first blade 112 , generally inward towards the axis , aids in keeping the blade 112 , and thus , the ramps 115 , at the outer edge of the seed disc 22 to position the blade 112 and ramps 115 adjacent an outer area of the seed cells 54 . this aids in removing additional seeds at the seed cells 54 so that one seed is positioned at a seed cell 54 . the second blade 113 is spaced from the first blade 112 and is positioned radially inward of the seed cell circle 54 . the second blade 113 includes an inner edge ( closest to the seed cell circle ) with a second set of ramps 116 . it should be appreciated that the singulator 111 could have other ramp configurations for different seed types and the profile of the blades are not to be limiting to the exemplary embodiment . for example , smaller seeds such as a soybean seed may need less aggressive singulation and , therefore , fewer or smaller ramps can be used than for larger seeds like corn . it should also be appreciated that first blade 112 and second blade 113 could be comprised of a plurality of individual ramp assemblies , capable of moving independent of or in relationship with one another . for instance , a first ramp on first blade 112 could move independent of or in relationship with a second ramp on first blade 112 , or a first ramp on first blade 112 could move independent of or in relationship with a first ramp on second blade 113 . the first blade 112 and second blade 113 are attached to first and second carriages , 121 and 122 . in addition , the first and second blades 112 , 113 may be formed integrally with the carriages 121 , 122 . the blades 112 , 113 may be attached to the carriages 121 , 122 such that they can be replaced after wear and tear , or due to a change in the type of seed being using with the system . therefore , screws , or other temporary attachments may be used to at least temporarily attach the blades to the carriages . the first and second carriages , 121 and 122 , are manipulated via a rotary adjustment 114 in a manner such that the first blade 112 adjusts radially outward as the second blade 113 simultaneously adjusts radially inward or vice versa , thus changing the width of the seed path between the first and second blades 112 , 113 for the seed cells 54 to pass through . the second blade 113 is connected to the rotary adjustment 114 via a cam or other mechanism that converts the rotational movement of the rotary adjustment 114 to a translational movement of the first 112 and / or second blade 113 . thus , the second blade 113 ( and / or first blade 112 ) moves generally towards or away from the first blade 112 in a longitudinal manner as the rotary adjustment is rotated . for example , the blades 112 , 113 may be slidably connected such that the blades slide along guides , slots , or notches in the singulator 111 . however , it is not required that both carriages , and thus , both blades move with rotation of the rotary adjustment 114 . for example , it is contemplated that only one of the blades move when the rotary adjustment 114 is rotated to either widen or narrow the distance between the blades , and thus , the ramps on the blades . furthermore , the curved rim 119 remains fixed while the first blade 112 moves to ensure positioning of the singulator 111 adjacent the seed cells 54 . a wider seed path typically allows for less aggressive singulation , i . e ., less contact by a ramp 115 , 116 with a seed ( s ) in the seed cell 54 . a narrower seed path typically creates more aggressive singulation , i . e ., more contact by a ramp 115 , 116 of a seed ( s ) in a seed cell 54 . the level of aggressiveness is determined based on a number of factors , including , but not limited to , seed size , rate of seed dispensing , type of seed , and / or the amount of suction present at the seed cell 54 . however , the singulator 111 is generally configured such that only one seed is drawn onto or against the seed cell 54 and any other seeds drawn onto or against the seed cell 54 are knocked off into the seed pool . the slot 28 in the housing allows an operator to easily access the rotary adjustment 114 , so as to adjust the width of the seed path between the first and second blades 112 , 113 without removal of any parts . this allows the singulator 111 to be used in the seed meter 20 with a variety of types of seeds , e . g . corn , bean , etc ., while also allowing quick and easy adjustment for the width of the path between the blades . fig1 illustrates a view of the face of the rotary adjustment 114 . on the face are cam grooves 131 and 132 . these grooves 131 , 132 vary in radial distance from the center axis 134 of the rotary adjustment 114 . rotating the rotary adjustment 114 causes the first and second carriages 121 , 122 ( and thus , first and second blades 112 , 113 ) to move in a linear direction either toward or away from the axis of the seed disc 22 , which changes the width of the path between the blades 112 , 113 such that the blades can be used with different types and sizes of seeds . with the carriages restricted to linear motion , the engagement of the carriage protrusions , 141 and 142 , with the cam grooves , 131 and 132 , causes the carriages to change position relative to the rotation of the rotary adjustment 114 . the carriages 121 , 122 , and protrusions 141 , 142 can be seen in fig1 . however , as noted above , when only one of the blades 112 , 113 is to be moved , only one set of grooves can be included on the face of the rotary adjustment 114 such that rotation thereof causes the protrusion in engagement with the groove to move linearly . the singulator 111 can also be a removable cartridge from the seed meter housing 21 to allow the singulator 111 to be repaired , replaced , cleaned , adjusted , etc . the singulator 111 includes attachment means 117 , such as feet extending generally from the bottom side of the singulator 111 . the feet 117 , which are shown for exemplary purposes , are configured to fit into slots 118 ( see fig5 ) formed integrally with or attached to the inside of the seed meter housing 21 . therefore , to remove the singulator 111 , a set of snaps on the singulator are disengaged , allowing the singulator to be rotated and the feet 117 to remove from the slots 118 in the seed meter housing 21 , and removing the rotary adjustment 114 through an aperture in the seed meter housing 21 . to replace the singulator 111 , the feet 117 are positioned in the slots 118 , and the rotary adjustment 114 is positioned through the aperture in the seed meter housing 21 to provide access for a user to adjust the spacing between the first and second blades 112 , 113 . furthermore , any number or configuration of snaps or other members may be added to the singulator body and / or housing to aid in retaining the singulator in place in the seed meter housing 21 . in another embodiment of a singulator mechanism , which is shown generally in fig1 a , the singulator 111 does not include a set of snaps and feet 117 , but instead is secured to and within the seed meter housing 21 by a tension member 120 , such as a flat spring . in this manner , the singulator 111 can be removed from the housing by sliding clips 120 a upwardly and then towards the user with respect to boss 120 b . singulator 111 can then be removed from the seed meter housing 21 for repair , replacement , cleaning and adjustment . in other embodiments using the tension member 120 , protrusions may extend from the interior of the seed meter housing 21 , with apertures of the tension member 120 simply snapping to or otherwise fitting on the protrusions to at least temporarily secure the singulator 111 to the seed meter housing 21 . fig1 provides an illustration of the interaction between the unique drive 27 and the seed disc 22 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention . a portion of the seed meter 20 has been sectioned away to show internal components of the assembly . as shown in fig1 , the unique drive 27 is mounted externally to the seed meter housing 21 such that an output shaft 154 of the drive 27 protrudes through at least a portion of the seed meter housing 21 perpendicular to and adjacent the face of the reservoir side of seed disc 22 . an external gear 153 is mounted on or otherwise forms a portion of the output shaft 154 . integrally molded into , or attached to in some embodiments , the reservoir side of the seed disc 22 is an internal gear feature 152 . said internal gear 152 and said external gear 153 are positioned such that their matching gear teeth engage each other . this engagement allows direct control of the rotational speed of the seed disc 22 via control of the unique drive &# 39 ; s 27 rotational output speed of the output shaft 154 . in an exemplary embodiment , the unique drive 27 is powered by an electric motor 151 , but one skilled in the art may appreciate that the unique drive could also derive its power from a pneumatic or hydraulic rotary motor , as well as any other type of rotary motion , including but not limited to , mechanical , cable drive , or chain . in another embodiment of a seed meter , as shown in fig1 , the unique drive 27 a is mounted externally to the vacuum housing 200 a such that the output shaft 154 a protrudes through the vacuum housing 200 a substantially perpendicular to and adjacent the face of the vacuum side of the seed disc 22 . an external gear 153 a is mounted on or otherwise forms a portion of the output shaft 154 a . integrally molded into the vacuum side of the seed disc 22 a is an internal gear feature 152 a . the internal gear feature 152 a may also be a separate element that is attached to an internal ring or flange of the vacuum side of the seed disc 22 a . said internal gear feature 152 a and said external gear 153 a are positioned such that their matching gear teeth engage each other such that the output of the unique drive 27 a rotates the seed disc 22 a . fig2 - 22 further depict the seed disc 22 a and vacuum housing 200 a of the modified embodiment . the control of the speed of the unique drive 27 , 27 a , and thus seed disc 22 , 22 a , allows for the spacing of the seeds during planting to be better controlled . as noted , the rotational velocity of the seed disc 22 , 22 a in relation to the speed of travel of the tractor or other equipment aids in controlling the distance between seeds in a row . therefore , the addition of the unique drive 27 , 27 a allows an operator to control the distance by simply adjusting control of the drive 27 , 27 a . for example , an operator in a tractor could adjust the rotational speed via remote or other control interface such that the distance between seeds could be adjusted during planting . this can result in significant time savings , as the operator does not have to stop planting to adjust seed rate of the meter , thus allowing a field to be efficiently planted with varied planting conditions . referring to fig2 a and 23 b , an enlarged and sectional view of the seed meter 20 is shown detailing the interface between the seed disc 22 and the seed meter housing 21 . in certain areas , an offset portion 161 of the outer sidewall 163 is provided to be eccentric with the outer circumference ( e . g ., annular rim 162 ) of the seed disc 22 . a relief member 165 , which is also shown in fig5 , covers the space created by the offset portion 161 between the seed cell 54 of the seed disc 22 and the bottom edge of outer sidewall 163 . for example , as shown in fig2 a , the offset portion 161 is eccentric with the seed disc 22 at the loading zone 166 , i . e ., the area of the seed meter 22 where the seed pools and is agitated prior to being drawn onto or against a seed cell 54 . the area created by offset portion 161 and covered by the relief member 165 gives the seed additional room to move about and be drawn onto or against the seed cell 54 , which reduces the likelihood of the seed being knocked free from the seed cell 54 by the seed meter housing 21 during rotation of the seed disc 22 . the relief member 165 also aids in orienting the seed in the seed cell 54 such that a greater surface area of the seed will fit in the cell 54 to provide the strongest suction on the seed at the cell 54 . the relief member 165 essentially creates a false outer wall of the seed meter housing 21 . as mentioned above and shown best in fig1 and 13 , the reservoir side of the seed disc 22 will include an outer chamfer 94 and an extension 95 that ends at the annular rim 162 of the seed disc 22 . as mentioned above , the outer chamfer 94 and extension 95 creates a false edge for the seed disc 22 , which allows the seed cells 54 to be positioned generally at the outer edge of the false edge . while the false edge created by the outer chamfer 94 and extension 95 aids in releasing seed , they can make it difficult for the seed to attach to a seed cell 54 at the seed pool due to the decreased suction at the outer edge of the seed disc 22 . the offset portion 161 and relief member 165 counteract this by creating a “ false wall ”. the so - called false wall created by the relief member 165 will extend from the outer chamfer 94 to the outer wall of the seed meter housing 21 . the width of the false wall ( relief member 165 ) will make it appear as though the seed is being attached at a location further inward on the seed disc 22 , with the relief member providing a barrier to create more suction at the seed cell 54 to increase the consistency of seed attaching to the seed cells 54 . the relief member 165 and offset 161 can extend to the entrance of the singulator 111 , which is used to ensure that only one seed is positioned at each seed cell 54 . an air seed meter for dispensing seed in a field has been provided . the exemplary embodiments shown and described contemplate numerous variations , options , and alternatives , and are not to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described herein . for example , the improvements described herein are equally applicable to other meters , such as positive - air meters like that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 450 , 959 to deckler , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , and is not intended to be exhaustive list or to limit the exemplary embodiment to precise forms disclosed . it is contemplated that other alternative processes obvious to those skilled in the art are considered to be included in the invention .	0
referring now to fig1 there is shown a schematic side view of a thermionic electric converter according to the present invention . the converter is shown generally at 10 having an elongated , cylindrically shaped outer housing 12 fitted with a pair of end walls 14 and 16 , thereby forming a closed chamber 18 . the housing 12 is made of any one of a number of known strong , electrically non - conductive materials such as high temperature plastics or ceramics , while the end walls 14 and 16 are metallic plates to which electrical connections may be made . the three elements are mechanically bonded together and hermetically sealed such that the chamber 18 may support a vacuum , and a moderately high electrical potential may be applied and maintained across the end walls 14 and 16 . the first end wall 14 contains a shaped cathode region 20 having an electron emissive coating ( not shown ) disposed on its interior surface , while the second end wall 16 is formed as a circular , slightly convex surface which is first mounted in an insulating ring 21 to form an assembly , all of which is then mated to the housing 12 . in use , the end walls 14 and 16 function respectively as the cathode terminal and the collecting plate of the converter 10 . between these two walls an electron stream 22 will flow substantially along the axis of symmetry of the cylindrical chamber 18 , originating at the cathode region 20 and terminating at the collecting plate 16 . an annular focusing element 24 is concentrically positioned within the chamber 18 at a location adjacent to the cathode 20 . a baffle element 26 is concentrically positioned within the chamber 18 at a location adjacent to the collecting plate 16 . disposed between these two elements is an induction assembly 28 comprised of a helical induction coil 30 and an elongated annular magnet 32 . the coil 30 and the magnet 32 are concentrically disposed within , and occupy the central region of , the chamber 18 . referring briefly to the schematic end view of fig2 the relative radial positioning of the various elements and assemblies may be seen . for clarity of presentation , the mechanical retaining means for these interiorly located elements have not been included in either figure . focusing element 24 is electrically connected by means of a lead 34 and a hermetically sealed feed through 36 to an external source of static potential ( not shown ). the induction coil 30 is similarly connected via a pair of leads 38 and 40 and a pair of feed throughs 42 and 44 to an external load element shown simply as a resistor 46 . the potentials applied to the various elements are not explicitly shown nor discussed in detail as they constitute well known and conventional means for implementing related electron stream devices . briefly , considering ( conventionally ) the cathode region 20 as a voltage reference level , a high positive voltage is applied to the collecting plate 16 and the external circuit containing this voltage source is completed by connection of its negative side to the cathode 20 . this applied high positive voltage causes the electron stream 22 which originated at the cathode region 20 to be accelerated towards the collecting plate 16 with a magnitude directly dependent upon the magnitude of the high voltage applied . the electrons impinge upon the collecting plate 16 at a velocity sufficient to cause a certain amount of ricochet . the baffle element 26 is configured and positioned to prevent these ricochet electrons from reaching the main section of the converter , and electrical connections ( not shown ) are applied thereto as required . a positive voltage of low to moderate level is applied to the focusing element 24 for focusing the electron stream 22 into a narrow beam . in operation , a heat source 48 ( which could be derived from diverse soources such as combustion of fossil fuels , solar devices , atomic , atomic waste or heat exchangers from existing atomic operations ) is used to heat the electron emissive coating on the cathode 20 thereby boiling off quantities of electrons . the released electrons are focused into a narrow beam by focusing element 24 and are accelerated towards the collecting plate 16 . while transiting the induction assembly 28 , the electrons come under the influence of the magnetic field produced by the magnet 32 and execute an interactive motion which causes an emf to be induced in the turns of the induction coil 30 . actually , this induced emf is the sum of a large number of individual electrons executing small circular current loops thereby developing a correspondingly large number of minute emfs in each winding of the coil 30 . taken as a whole , the output voltage of the converter is proportional to the velocity of the electrons in transit , and the output current is dependent on the size and temperature of the electron source . the mechanism for the induced emf may be explained in terms of the lorentz force acting on an electron having an initial linear velocity as it enters a substantially uniform magnetic field orthogonally disposed to the electron velocity . in a properly configured device , a spiral electron path ( not shown ) results , which produces the desired net rate of change of flux as required by faraday &# 39 ; s law to produce an induced emf . this spiral electron path results from a combination of the linear translational path ( longitudinal ) due to the acceleration action of collecting plate 16 and a circular path ( transverse ) due to the interaction of the initial electron velocity and the transverse magnetic field of magnet 32 . depending on the relative magnitude of the high voltage applied to the collecting plate 16 and the strength and orientation of the magnetic field produced by the magnet 32 , other mechanisms for producing a voltage directly in the induction coil 30 may be possible . the mechanism outlined above is suggested as an illustrative one only , and is not considered as the only operating mode available . all mechanisms , however , would result from various combinations of the applicable lorentz and faraday considerations . the collecting plate 16 , which has been described as a single conductive element , may be configured as shown in fig3 a and 3b . referring to fig3 a , element 16 has been replaced with a compound collector 50 , comprised of electrophorus collector elements 52 and 54 . collector element 52 is made of electrically conductive material , while collector element 54 is a non - conductor . conductive element 52 is electrically connected to the external system circuitry via a lead 56 , and a feed through 58 positioned in the outer casing 12 . non - conductive element 54 is similarly connected via a feed through 60 positioned in the extended insulated end wall 21 &# 39 ;. in operation , element 54 is charged with a static charge of positive sign , which will induce a negative change on the adjacent side of element 52 , and will cause a positive charge to be induced on the opposite side of element 52 . the various charges are illustrated as linear distributions of appropriately polarity charges along their respective surfaces . the positive charge on element 52 will then act to attract the electrons being emitted from the cathode 20 . thus , the charge remains on element 52 as long as the charge remains on element 54 , and the electrons never contact element 54 . the electrons do not neutralize the positive charge on element 52 because they are constantly drained off through a grounding means ( not shown ) which may either feed the electrons to the neutral ground environment or may return them through external circuitry to the cathode 20 . this would probably prevent rapid erosion of the cathode , thus lengthening the life of the converter . fig3 b shows an alternate embodiment of the compound collector 50 , which has a modified geometry but essentially functions as the embodiment of fig3 a . note that the elements 52 and 54 are shaped so as to be nested together . as before , element 54 is charged with a positive sign , which induces a charge on the container - like element 52 which is negative on the inner surface and which induces a positive on the outer surface of the element 52 . once again , the attracted electrons are immediately drained off via the lead 56 and are returned to cathode 20 or system ground as appropriate . fig4 a and 4b show a further alternate embodiment which may be employed in lieu of the collecting plate 16 . referring to partial side view 4a and end view 4b , element 16 has been replaced with collector plate mechanism 70 comprised of a number of concentric sections , all of which are shaped to produce a truncated hemispherical overall form . collector mechanism is made of a general housing 72 which is bonded to the cylindrical outer housing 12 . general housing 12 serves as the outermost ring , to the inner edge of which is bonded an insulation ring 74 . a heavily statically charged ring 76 is next bonded to the insulation ring 74 . an inter - collecting element consisting of an insulating ring 78 is next bonded into the collector plate mechanism 70 , and finally a circular electron collecting element 80 provides the central area . the collecting element 80 is electrically connected to the external system circuitry via a lead 82 . in operation , a heavy static charge is applied to the charged ring 76 ( via a lead not shown ), which ring would then serve as the attracting force for the electron stream . thereafter system operation is substantially as detailed above , except for the need , under certain operating conditions , for additional electron focusing in the region between the induction coil 30 and the collecting plate . this additional electron focusing is readily accomplished by the insertion of an additional focusing element , similar to that of element 24 of fig1 which would control electron scatter . while in the basic embodiment described it is apparent that an ac output voltage is produced , a variety of adjunct conversion means may be used to provide the output electrical energy in almost any desired form . an internal mechanism for providing the output energy in alternate forms is available by dividing the induction coil 30 into a number of individual coils . the output from each of the individual coils may then be used to energize separate external loads , or may be combined in various ways to optimize the available output voltages , currents , and power , as well as to minimize output power ripple . clearly , as the induction coil 30 serves to produce incrementally induced voltages throughout substantially all of its length , any subsection thereof may also be considered as a discrete source of electrical energy and may be used accordingly . although the invention has been described in terms of selected preferred and illustrative embodiments , the invention should not be deemed limited thereto , since other embodiments and modifications will readily occur to one skilled in the art . for example , the magnet 32 described as being a permanent magnet may readily be replaced by an electromagnet . further , a portion of the electrical energy produced by the converter may be used in part to supply the electrical needs of the converter itself . it is therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .	7
the detergent composition of this invention , which is especially adapted for washing and imparting shine to glassware , china and other vitreous articles and simultaneously providing persistent , regular drainage characteristics , thereby making towel - drying or wiping or additional special rinsing and heating cycles in dishwashing machines superfluous , comprises , calculated on the total weight of the composition : a . from about 0 . 5 to about 10 % by weight of a water - soluble quaternary ammonium compound of the general formula ## str1 ## wherein r 1 represents a radical selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals optionally interrupted by an oxygen atom or -- conh -- group , having in total from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms , alkylaryl radicals having from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety , alkyl radicals having from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms , and aryl ; r 2 and r 3 represent radicals selected from the group consisting of methyl , ethyl , propyl , hydroxyethyl , and hydroxypropyl ; r 4 represents an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to about 22 , preferably about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms , said hydrocarbon radical optionally interrupted by an oxygen or -- conh -- group ; r 5 represents a radical selected from the group consisting of ethylene , propylene , and hydroxypropylene ; k is 0 , 1 or 2 ; and x - is an anion , preferably cl - , br - , or ch 3 so 3 - ; b . from about 1 to about 30 percent by weight of a nonionic surface active polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation product , having a molecular weight of from about 500 to about 10 , 000 , preferably of from 1 , 000 to 5 , 000 , and wherein the ethylene oxide content , calculated on the total weight of the condensation product , is from about 10 to about 30 percent by weight ; c . from about 2 to about 50 percent by weight of a water - soluble betaine or sultaine of the general formula : ## str2 ## wherein r 6 represents a radical selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon , optionally interrupted by an oxygen or -- conh -- group , having in total from about 8 to about 22 carbon atoms , alkylaryl having from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety , and arylalkyl having from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety ; r 7 and r 8 represent radicals selected from the group consisting of methyl , ethyl , propyl , hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl ; y - is selected from the group consisting of -- coo - and -- so 3 - ; r 9 represents a chemical bond or an alkylene radical having from 1 to about 5 carbon atoms ; and z represents a hydrogen atom , or a hydroxyl or methyl group substituted in the 2 - position relative to y ; whereby the weight ratio of ( a )/( b ) is from about 1 : 2 to about 1 : 20 , and the weight ratio of ( a )/( c ) is from about 1 : 4 to about 1 : 50 . thus , the detergent composition of the present invention contains three essential components : a water - soluble , surface - active , quaternary ammonium compound , a slightly water - soluble nonionic surface - active condensation product , and a betaine or sultaine . the composition can additionally contain a neutral carrier and other optional detergent composition adjuvants . each of the aspects of the present invention is discussed in detail below . the first essential component of the detergent composition of the present invention is a water - soluble quaternary ammonium compound of the general formula ## str3 ## wherein r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , k and x have the meaning given above . specific examples of compounds having two quaternary ammonium groups , and two long aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals are represented by the formula : ## str4 ## wherein r 10 is an alkyl radical containing from 6 to about 20 , preferably 10 to 14 , carbon atoms , and r 11 and r 12 are methyl , ethyl or hydroxyethyl , and the cation x - is a chloride or bromide . specific compounds are : tetramethyl - di -( octoxy - β - hydroxypropyl )- β - hydroxypropylene - diammonium chloride , tetramethyl - di -( β - hydroxydodecyl )- β - hydroxypropylene - diammonium bromide , tetramethyl - di -( β - hydroxytetradecyl )- β - hydroxypropylene - diammonium chloride , tetraethyl - di -( dodecyloxy - β - hydroxypropyl )- β - hydroxy - propylene - diammonium chloride . the diquaternary ammonium compounds useful in the composition of this invention can be obtained by several methods known to those skilled in the art . in example 7 of the u . s . pat . no . 2 , 113 , 606 issued to ludwig taub et al on april 12 , 1938 , a preparation of one of the specific compounds is disclosed . others can be made by analogous methods . specific surface - active ammonium compounds with one quaternary ammonium group , which are preferred in liquid detergent compositions of the present invention , are : ditallow - dimethylammonium chloride , didecyldimethylammonium chloride , ditetradecyl - diethyl ammonium bromide , dioctoxymethyl - dimethyl ammonium methyl sulfonate [( c 8 h 17 och 2 ) 2 ( ch 3 ) 2 n + . ch 3 so 3 -] , di ( β - hydroxydodecyl )- dimethylammonium chloride , tetradecyl - octyl - dimethylammonium bromide , ( dodecoxy - β - hydroxypropyl )- trimethyl ammonium chloride , octadecyl - tri -( hydroxyethyl )- ammonium bromide , octylphenoxyethyl - dihydroxyethyl - methyl ammonium bromide [ c 8 h 17 c 6 h 4 oc 2 h 4 n + ch 3 ( c 2 h 4 oh ) 2 . br ], and lauryl - 1 , 3 - amidopropyl - triethylammonium chloride [ c 11 h 23 conhc 3 h 6 n + ( c 2 h 5 ) 3 cl -] . said quaternary ammonium compounds can be made according to different method known to those skilled in the art . the amount of quaternary ammonium compound present in the composition of the present invention may vary between from about 0 . 5 to about 10 percent by weight , preferably between 1 and 5 percent by weight , calculated on the total weight of the composition . if the very low level of 0 . 5 percent by weight of quaternary ammonium compounds is necessary to obtain a noticeable drainage effect , a minimum level of about 1 percent by weight is preferred , particularly in liquid detergent compositions . the upper level is restricted to about 10 percent by weight because no additional benefit is obtained beyond this level and , in addition , because of formulation requirements especially when the quaternary ammonium compound has two long hydrophobic radicals each containing more than 12 carbon atoms . liquid compositions of the present invention preferably contain from about 1 to about 3 percent of the quaternary ammonium compound while powdered compositions preferably contain from about 1 to about 5 percent by weight of the compound . the second essential component of the detergent composition is a polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation product which is slightly soluble in water and wherein the total ethylene oxide content of the condensation product is from about 10 to about 30 percent by weight of the total weight of the condensation product and wherein the total molecular weight is from about 500 to about 10 , 000 , preferably from about 1 , 000 to about 5 , 000 . condensation products which have a low ethylene oxide content , e . g . 10 - 15 percent by weight , should preferably have a molecular weight from about 500 to about 2 , 500 while condensation products with a high ethylene oxide content should have a high molecular weight . the polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation products appear to have a high influence on the regularity of the drainage of the rinse water . too high a speed of drainage of the rinse water causes breakages in the film of rinse water draining from the washed and rinsed articles leaving drops of rinsing water on the surface of said articles which form hard - to - remove spots because of precipitated water hardness salts . therefore , the film of rinse water should drain off regularly , but not slowly . to obtain fast but regular drainage , the amount of polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation product present in the compositions of the present invention should be at least about 2 times the amount of quaternary ammonium compound , and preferably about 4 times that amount . while the amount of condensation product present may be as much as about 20 times the amount of quaternary ammonium compound present , it is preferred to restrict it to about 10 times the amount of quaternary ammonium compound . the total amount of condensation product in the composition of the present invention should not exceed about 30 percent by weight of the total weight of the composition , and should preferably be below about 20 percent by weight . it is surprising that only the condensation products as defined hereinbefore impart fast , regular drainage to compositions of the present invention , while other nonionic condensation products , obtained for example by reacting a fatty alcohol or a c 6 - 12 alkylphenol with ethylene oxide , which have about the same molecular weight and percentage by weight of ethylene oxide as the condensation products of this invention , do not provide the effect . since the weight of the ethylene oxide units or moieties present in the condensation product and not the distribution of said ethylene oxide units in the product is of primary importance to obtain a fast , regular drainage , said condensation product can be manufactured by many methods well known to those skilled in the art . the third essential component of the composition of the present invention is a betaine or sultaine having the general formula : ## str5 ## wherein r 6 , r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , z and y - have the meaning given above . although mixtures of betaines and sultaines can be used , particularly in very low amounts , preferred are compositions containing either betaine or sultaine , most preferably sultaine . specific examples of sultaines of particular interest are those in which r 6 is a single alkyl of from about 10 to about 18 carbon atoms or mixtures of alkyl chains derived from naturally occurring substances , hydrogenated and nonhydrogenated , and wherein the r 7 and r 8 are methyl , ethyl , or hydroxyethyl radicals . other specific examples of the sultaines include : 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecylammonio )- propane - 1 - sulfonate , 2 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- ethane - 1 - sulfonate , 4 -( n , n - diethyl - n - tetradecylammonio )- butate - 1 - sulfonate , 4 -[ n , n - di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - octadecylammonio ]- 2 - hydroxybutane - 1 - sulfonate , 2 -[ n , n - di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - dodecylammonio ]- ethane - 1 - sulfonate , 4 -[ n - methyl - n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - hexadecylammonio ]- 3 - hydroxybutane - 1 - sulfonate , 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecylammonio )- 2 - hydroxypropane - 1 - sulfonate . other specific examples include compounds wherein long alkyl chains are used to provide the corresponding octyl , decyl , dodecyl , tetradecyl , hexadecyl , octadecyl homologues of the above compounds such as 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecylammonio )- propane - 1 - sulfonate , etc . still other specific examples include compounds in which the short chains substituted on the nitrogen atoms in the above compounds are replaced by methyl , ethyl and hydroxyethyl groups to provide the corresponding homologues of the above compounds . another series of specific examples includes compounds wherein alkylaryl and arylalkyl radicals are present as long hydrophobic hydrocarbon radical , such as 3 ( n - decylbenzyl - n , n - dimethylammonio )- 2 - hydroxypropane - 1 - sulfonate ; 2 -( n - tetradecylbenzyl - n , n - diethylammonio )- ethane - 1 - sulfonate ; and 3 -[ n - benzyldodecyl - n , n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) ammonio ]- propane - 1 - sulfonate . said sultaines can be made according to different processes known to those skilled in the art . specific processes are described , for example , in the german patent specification dbp 1 , 018 , 421 , the u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 129 , 264 , 3 , 360 , 470 ( example i ), and 3 , 239 , 560 . specific examples of betaines of particular interest are those in which the r 6 is a single alkyl of from about 10 to about 18 carbon atoms or mixtures of alkyl chains derived from naturally occurring substances , hydrogenated or unhydrogenated , particularly from coconut oil , and wherein r 7 and r 8 are methyl , ethyl or hydroxyethyl radicals . other specific examples of said betaines include : 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- propionate - 1 ( c 12 h 25 n + ( ch 3 ) 2 . c 2 h 4 coo - ), 4 -( n , n - diethyl - n - tetradecylammonio ) butanate - 1 , 3 -[ n , n - di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - octadecyl ]- 2 - hydroxypropionate - 1 , and n , n - dimethyltetradecylammonio acetate ( c 14 h 29 n + ( ch 3 ) 2 ch 2 coo - ). another specific example is octylphenoxyethyl - di ( hydroxyethyl ) ammonio acetate : c 8 h 17 c 6 h 4 oc 2 h 4 n + ( c 2 h 4 oh ) 2 . ch 2 coo - . the amount of sultaine or betaine present in the composition of the present invention may vary from about 2 to about 50 percent by weight , preferably from about 4 to about 20 percent by weight . the amount of sultaine or betaine in the composition of the present invention should be at least four times the weight of quaternary ammonium compound . amounts beyond 50 times the weight of the quaternary ammonium compound are acceptable , but are not needed and restrict the ease of formulation . preferred weight ratios of quaternary ammonium compound to sultaine or betaine are from about 1 : 5 to about 1 : 20 . at these preferred ratios , one of the most persistent , fast and regular drainages is obtained , one which permits the user to leave the washed dishes in the rinsing bath for up to 20 minutes , thereby giving a great flexibility to the washing job . the sultaine or betaine not only imparts cleaning power to the composition , but also surprisingly imparts persistency to the fast and regular drainage effect . this is the more surprising since chemically very similar compounds such as taurides having approximately the same molecular weight and long chain and short chain substituents do not impart persistency to the drainage and even adversely influence the speed and regularity of the drainage phenomenon . the same is true for quaternary ammonium sulfonates and quaternary ammonium alkylsulfates . since one of the most specific differences between the quaternary ammonium sulfonates and sultaines is the intromolecular binding of the latter , it could be assumed that other amphoteric compounds would yield the same properties as said betaines or sultaines . but well known amphoterics as described for example in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 528 , 378 issued to mannheimer on oct . 31 , 1950 do not impart persistency to the drainage phenomenon either . thus , the effect obtained by the sultaine or betaine is quite specific . a preferred optional neutral carrier is water . in the formulation of granular , powdered and agglomerated compositions of the present invention , suitable neutral carriers are sodium sulfate and potassium sulfate . sodium silicate , sodium chloride and potassium chloride can be added . optional neutral carriers can be present in amounts up to about 90 percent by weight of the total composition , but should preferably not exceed about 75 percent by weight . most preferably the composition in liquid form contains at least 15 percent by weight of the ternary mixture of essential surface - active agents and at least 35 percent by weight when in granular , powdered , or agglomerated form . the attractivity , efficacity and economy of the composition of the present invention can be tailored to suit specific needs , and adapted or improved by admixing additional nonionic surface - active detergents , organic acids and salts , inorganic builder salts , emulsifying agents , bactericides , dyes , perfumes , corrosion inhibitors , and soil suspending agents , as more specifically defined hereinafter . suitable water - soluble nonionic surfactants can optionally be added to the composition of the present invention in amounts not exceeding the total weight of the three essential components , preferably less than about 50 percent by weight of the three components . examples of suitable optional nonionic surfactants include : wherein r 13 represents a high molecular weight , straight or branched chain , saturated or unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon , hydroxyhydrocarbon , or alkyloxyhydrocarbon radical , preferably an alkyl radical having from 8 to 24 , preferably from 12 to 16 carbon atoms ; r 14 and r 15 each represent a methyl , ethyl , hydroxymethyl or hydroxyethyl radical . amine oxides are generally prepared by direct oxidation of appropriate tertiary amines according to known methods . specific examples of tertiary amine oxides are : dimethyl dodecyl amine oxide ; diethyl tetradecyl amine oxide ; bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- dodecyl amine oxide ; bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 3 - dodecoxy - 1 - hydroxypropyl amine oxide ; dimethyl 2 - hydroxy - dodecyl amine oxide ; and diethyl eicosyl amine oxide . wherein r 16 is a saturated or unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 7 to 21 , preferably from 11 to 17 carbon atoms ; r 17 represents a methylene or ethylene group ; and m is 1 , 2 , or 3 , preferably 1 . specific examples of said amides are mono - ethanol coconut fatty acids amide , diethanol dodecyl fatty acid amide , and dimethanol oleyl amide . 3 . water - soluble condensation products obtained by condensing , in a manner known per se , from about 3 to about 25 moles ethylene oxide with one mole of an organic , hydrophobic compound which may be either aliphatic or alkyl aromatic in nature , having 8 to 24 carbon atoms and at least one reactive hydrogen atom or , preferably , a reactive hydroxyl , amino , amido , or carboxy group . general examples are : a . the condensates of ethylene oxide with aliphatic alcohols of more than eight carbon atoms . the alcohols can be derived not only from naturally occurring fatty acids , but also from various branched - chain higher alcohols . among the preferred alcohol - ethylene oxide condensation products are those made from alcohols derived from tallow and coconut fatty acids . most preferred are condensation products of about 4 to about 12 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of an aliphatic alcohol having from 10 to about 18 carbon atoms . an especially preferred compound is middle - cut coconut fatty alcohol condensed with 6 moles of ethylene oxide . b . condensates of ethylene oxide with alkylphenols , wherein the phenols are mono - or polyalkylated and the total number of side chain carbon atoms is from about 5 to about 18 carbon atoms . the aromatic nucleus bearing the phenolic hydroxyl can be benzene , naphthalene , or diphenyl , preferably benzene . specific examples are the condensation products of one mole nonylphenol with 9 to 15 moles of ethylene oxide . c . condensates of ethylene oxide with the fatty acid esters , preferably the mono - fatty acid esters of sorbitol and manitol , and , but less preferred , of di - and polysaccharides . specific examples are the polyoxyethylene sorbitan - monolauric acid esters , having at least 20 ethylene oxide units and the polyoxyethylene derivatives of fatty acid partial esters of hexitol anhydrides generally known under the trade name tween . d . polyethynoxy esters or esters obtained by reacting ethylene oxide with carboxylic acids . the acids can be natural fatty acids of fatty acids made from oxidized paraffin wax , or mono - or polyalkylated benzoic and naphthenic acids . preferred are the aliphatic fatty acids having from 10 to 20 carbon atoms and the alkylbenzoic acids with 5 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl groups . specific examples are tallow oil - ethylene oxide and oleic acid - ethylene oxide condensation products having 9 to 15 ethylene oxide units . e . condensation products of fatty acyl alkanolamides of the type r 18 -- co - nhc 2 h 4 oh with ethylene oxide wherein r 18 is alkyl having from about 7 to 17 carbon atoms . preferred are condensation products of one mole coconut - co - nh - c 2 h 4 oh with 5 to 20 moles of ethylene oxide . specific examples of polyethenoxy alkanolamides of fatty acids are the commercial products , marketed under the trade name ethomid . f . condensation products of c 8 - 18 alkyl , c 8 - 18 alkenyl , and c 5 - 18 alkylaryl amines and ethylene oxide . a specific and preferred example is the condensation product of one mole of a dedecylamine with 9 - 12 moles of ethylene oxide . another specific example has the formula r 19 - co - nh - c 6 h 4 - n -[ ( oc 2 h 4 ) 6 oh ] 2 wherein r 19 is alkyl having from 11 to 13 carbon atoms . another component that can optionally be included in the cleaner composition of this invention is a water - soluble , low molecular weight organic acid , or the water - soluble alkali metal , ammonium , or substituted ammonium salts thereof . organic acids or their salts are added to enhance the cleaning action of the liquid detergent composition of the present invention and can , in addition , be used as a source of ions to maintain the ph of the composition at a given ph value . suitable water - soluble , low molecular weight organic acids include , for example , acetic , citric , malic , gluconic , maleic , lactic , tartaric , propionic , butyric , malonic , polymaleic , polyitaconic , glutaric , citraconic , benzene pentacarboxylic , hexacarboxylic , succinic , ethylene diamine tetraacetic , and nitrilotriacetic acids . partially and completely neutralized salts of the foregoing acids can also be used . specific examples of suitable , organic acid salts are mono -, di - and trisodium citrate , diammonium citrate , monopotassium tartrate , disodium succinate , and tetrasodium melletate . the maximum level of the water - soluble organic acids or salts that can be added to the liquid detergent composition of the present invention should not exceed 15 percent by weight of the total weight of the composition , and should preferably be below 10 percent by weight in liquid compositions . some of the organic acid salts can be replaced by inorganic builder salts . the amount of inorganic builder salts , e . g . sodium phosphates and carbonates , should preferably not exceed the 5 percent by weight in liquid compositions , and should not exceed 15 percent by weight in powdered or granular compositions . other suitable ingredients or additional compounds that can optionally be added to improve consumer acceptance of the composition of the present invention are : perfume ; dyes ; fluorescers ; tarnish inhibitors such as benzotriozole or ethylene thio - urea ; shine improvers as boric acid or its salts in amounts up to 3 percent by weight ; bactericides such as 2 - bromo - 2 - nitro - 1 , 3 - propanediol , substituted benziodolium compounds , diphenyl ethers substituted with cl , br or - cf 3 , e . g . 3 , 4 - dichloro - 4 &# 39 ;- trifluoromethyldiphenyl ether ; and organic solvents in amounts up to 15 percent by weight to improve the pourability of the composition and to enhance the compatibility of different components . examples of the organic solvents are the mono - and dialcohols containing 2 to 8 carbon atoms such as butanol , methyl - propanol - 1 and - 2 , amylol ( pentanol ), 1 , 2 -, 1 , 3 - and 1 , 4 - butanediol , toluol , benzyl carbinol , ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether , propyleneglycol propyl ether , diethyleneglycol dimethyl ether . the excellent cleaning and , especially , the fast , regular , persistent drainage performance of the detergent compositions of the present invention are illustrated in the following tests . four series , a , b , c , and d , each consisting of five replicates , of dishwashing liquors were prepared , each containing 0 . 25 percent by weight of a dishwashing composition as defined hereinafter . also , four series , each consisting of five replicates , of rinsing liquors were prepared . the rinsing liquors were plain tap water . the water of both the washing and rinsing liquors had a water hardness of about 3 millimoles of caco 3 per liter . each washing and rinsing liquor was prepared as a bath containing about 5 liters of water . the temperature of all washing liquors was about 45 ° c at the beginning of the washing cycle and dropped to between 32 ° and 38 ° c at the end of the washing cycle . the temperature of the rinsing baths fluctuated between 17 ° and 19 . 5 ° c . in each replicate of the four series of dishwashing liquors , four soiled , flat dishes ( with glazed surfaces ), obtained from a cafeteria ( 80 dishes in all ), were washed for 10 seconds , removed from the washing liquor and subsequently rinsed in the respective rinsing baths of each series ( 3 times successively immersed for 4 seconds , taken out for 2 seconds ) and finally removed from the rinsing baths . the dishes were then placed in nearly vertical positions for draining and air - drying . the rinse water on the dishes washed and rinsed in the washing and rinsing liquors of series a , b and c drained off within 5 seconds . while the dishes washed and rinsed in the washing and rinsing liquors of series a and b were totally dry and spot free after the 5 seconds , the dishes washed and rinsed in the washing and rinsing liquors of series c all showed water spots . the rinse water on the dishes washed and rinsed in the washing and rinsing liquor of series d only slowly disappeared by evaporation ; 10 to 12 minutes were needed to obtain dry dishes . the washing and rinsing operations as described above , i . e . using four series , a , b , c and d , each consisting of five replicates of dishwashing liquors and four series , each consisting of five replicates , of rinsing liquors , were repeated , but this time continuing the rinsing by immersing the dishes for 4 seconds and removing them for 2 seconds . the rinse water on the first set of dishes washed with composition b but immersed and removed 5 times , did not drain off completely anymore , while the water on the second , third , fourth and fifth set , immersed and removed 6 times and more , did not drain off at all , but disappeared slowly due to evaporation as for treatment d . even after 20 successive immersions and removals , the water on the dishes washed and rinsed in the washing and rinsing liquors a and c still drained off within 5 seconds leaving the dishes dry and spot - free after treatment a , but spotted after treatment c . when washing four sets of four dishes each , in washing liquors a , b , c and d respectively , as described above , but rinsing them immediately under running tap water (± 16 ° c ) instead of immersing them in the rinsing liquors , the following results with respect to drainage persistency or spotting were observed : a . after continued rinsing for a few seconds or more , the water on the dishes washed in the washing liquors a and c drained off within 5 seconds , but while the dishes washed in washing liquor a were dry and spot - free , those washed in washing liquor c were spotted . b . if the rinsing was done not longer than 10 seconds , the dishes washed in washing liquor b drained off within 5 seconds leaving the dishes dry and spot free . however , if the rinsing lasted longer than 10 seconds , the drainage effect disappeared gradually in time and the rinsing water on the dishes only disappeared slowly due to evaporation . ( 10 to 12 minutes were needed to obtain dry dishes ). the dishwashing compositions used in the washing liquors of the series a , b , c , and d of the test were formulated as follows ( the figures indicating the percentage by weight of the components present ): ______________________________________ a b c d______________________________________dicoconut dimethylammonium bromide 1 1 1 -- 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- 2 - hydroxypropane - 1 - sulfonate 10 -- 10 -- polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation pro - duct ( mw about2 , 200 ; ethyleneoxide contentabout 20 % by weight ) 8 8 -- -- coconut dimethylamineoxide 4 4 4 -- coconut diethanol - amide 2 2 2 -- coconut ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 oh 5 5 5 -- tallow ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 11 oh -- -- 8 -- c . sub . 12 alkylbenzene - so . sub . 3 na -- -- -- 20c . sub . 12 alkyl ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 3 - oso . sub . 3 na -- -- -- 10water balance______________________________________ a liquid dishwashing composition is prepared by first mixing the quaternary ammonium compound and the betaine , and subsequently the condensation product and the other components , with stirring , to yield a composition containing ( in % by weight ): ______________________________________didodecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide 1 . 5 % 3 -( n - coconut - n , n - dimethylammonio )- propionate - 1 8 . 0 % polypropylene oxide - polyethyleneoxide condensation product ( mwabout 2 , 500 ; ethylene oxidecontent about 10 % by weight ) 10 . 0 % coconutdimethylamine oxide 4 . 0 % coconut diethanol amide 3 . 0 % coconut ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 oh 9 . 0 % water balance______________________________________ this composition is not only effective for cleaning dishes and glasses when used at 0 . 2 percent concentration in washing liquors , but also imparts lustre and shine to the dishes and glasses after they have been either rinsed for a few seconds with running tap water or immersed for about 10 minutes in tap water because of the regular fast drainage of the film of rinse water removing all water hardness . also , at the end of a long washing cycle , whereby carry - over of surfactant and soil into the rinsing bath may occur , the drainage is still fast and regular removing the contaminants completely and leaving the dishes and glasses spot - free . the composition also has commercially acceptable sudsing and mildness characteristics . substantially similar cleaning and drainage performance are obtained when the betaine in example ii is replaced by the same amount of the sultaine 3 -[ n , n - di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - tetradecylammonio ]- 2 - hydroxypropane - 1 - sulfonate . replacing the polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation product of example ii with one having a molecular weight of about 3 , 500 and an ethylene oxide content of about 18 percent by weight yields a product with approximately the same cleaning and rinsing performance . replacing the polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide condensation product of example ii by the same amount of a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of about 2 , 500 yields a composition with acceptable cleaning but irregular drainage , leaving spots on dishes and glasses . the following examples are illustrations of compositions of the present invention . all figures given indicate percentages by weight . ______________________________________ditetradecyldiethylammonium chloride 2 % dodecyldimethylammoniopropane sulfonate 12 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 2 , 200 ; ethylene oxide content about 20 % by weight ) 14 % coconutdimethylamine oxide 4 % water balance______________________________________ ______________________________________didecyldimethylammonium chloride 1 % 2 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- ethane - 1 - sulfonate 5 % polypropylene oxide - polyethyleneoxide condensation product ( mwabout 1 , 500 ; ethylene oxidecontent about 20 % by weight ) 5 % dodecyl ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 oh 10 % citric acid 5 % water balance______________________________________ ______________________________________didecyldimethylammonium chloride 0 . 5 % 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- propane - 1 - sulfonate 5 . 0 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 1 , 500 ; ethylene oxide content about 10 % by weight ) 5 . 0 % dodecyl ( oc . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 ). sub . 6 oh 10 . 0 % triethanolamine 10 . 0 % sodium citrate 5 . 0 % water balance______________________________________ ______________________________________nonylbenzyldimethylhydroxypropylammonium chloride 1 % 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - nonylbenzylammonio )- propane - 1 - sulfonate 10 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 3 , 500 ; ethylene oxide content about 10 % by weight ) 10 % coconut dimethylamine oxide 5 % coconut diethanol amide 2 % water balance______________________________________ ______________________________________ditallowdimethylammonium chloride 1 % 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- 2 - hydroxy - propane - 1 - sulfonate 15 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 5 , 000 ; ethylene oxide content about 20 % byweight ) 10 % condensation product of the one mole oftallow alcohol and about 11 molesof ethylene oxide 5 % sodium tripolyphosphate 8 % sodium sulfate 57 % water 4 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________didodecyldiethylammonium chloride 4 % 3 -( n , n - dimethyl - n - dodecylammonio )- 2 - hydroxy - propane - 1 - sulfonate 16 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 2 , 500 ; ethylene oxide content about 10 % byweight ) 20 % c . sub . 16 h . sub . 33 o ( c . sub . 2 h . sub . 4 o ). sub . 11 h 5 % sodium tripolyphosphate 15 % sodium silicate 5 % sodium sulfate 30 % water and perfume 5 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________tetramethyl - di -( octoxy - β - hydroxypropyl )- β - hydroxypropylene - diammonium chloride 1 . 5 % polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxidecondensation product ( mw about 3 , 500 ; ethylene oxide content about 22 % byweight ) 6 . 0 % 3 -[ n , n - di ( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- n - octadecyl ]- 2 - hydroxy - propionate - 1 10 . 0 % citric acid 3 . 0 % sodium silicate 2 . 0 % dodecyldimethylamine oxide 8 . 0 % ethanol 8 . 0 % water balance______________________________________	2
as used herein , the expression &# 34 ; aryl &# 34 ; is defined as phenyl . the term &# 34 ; substituted aryl &# 34 ; shall include phenyl substituted by alkyl of one to ten carbon atoms . the term &# 34 ; alkyloxyaryl &# 34 ; is defined to include alkyl of one to ten carbon atoms and aryl which may be unsubstituted phenyl or phenyl substituted by alkyl of one to ten carbon atoms . the term &# 34 ; alkyl &# 34 ; is defined to include straight or branched carbon - carbon linkages of one to ten carbon atoms . the term &# 34 ; cycloalkyl &# 34 ; is defined to include cyclic alkyl carbon - carbon linkages of five to eight carbon atoms . the term &# 34 ; benzodioxole &# 34 ; is defined to mean the substituent of the formula ## str2 ## the term &# 34 ; cardiac arrhythmia &# 34 ; is defined to mean any variation from the normal rhythm of the heartbeat , including , without limitation , sinus arrhythmia , premature heartbeat , heartblock , fibrillation , flutter , pulsus alternans , tachycardia , paroxysmal tachycardia and premature ventricular contractions . the term &# 34 ; repolarization of cardiac cells &# 34 ; is defined as those phases of a cardiac action potential during which time a depolarized cardiac cell is reverting to normal pre - polarization transmembrane voltage . the term &# 34 ; pharmaceutically acceptable salts &# 34 ; refers to non - toxic salts of the compounds of this invention which are generally prepared by reacting the free base with a suitable organic or inorganic acid . representative salts include the hydrochloride , hydroiodic , hydrobromide , sulfate , bisulfate , acetate , oxalate , valerate , oleate , palmitate , stearate , laurate , borate , benzoate , lactate , phosphate , tosylate , citrate , maleate , fumarate , succinate , tartrate , napsylate , clavulanate and the like salts . compounds of the invention can be prepared readily according to the following reaction scheme or modifications thereof using readily available starting materials , reagents and conventional synthesis procedures . in these reactions , it is also possible to make use of variants which are in themselves known , but are not mentioned in greater detail . ## str3 ## the compounds of this invention may be prepared by a variety of methods . unless otherwise specified , the various substituents are defined as for formula i above . y is , for example , a suitable leaving group such as halogen , a tosylate moiety or a mesylate moiety . compounds of formula i may be prepared by the methods outlined in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 600 , 758 ( terence m . dolak and tellis a . martin ) or u . s . pat . no . 4 , 289 , 78i ( karl s . bengtsson , seth o . thorberg , and sven o . ogren ). the preferred method is outlined in scheme 1 . reduction of 4 acetamidopyridine formula ii affords 4 acetamidopiperidine formula iii . a method for the preparation of 4 - acetamidopiperidine iii involves the reduction of 4 - acylamino n - benzyl pyridinium compounds by alkali metal hydrides or catalytic hydrogenation of the aromatic ring with debenzylation as described in ep 1 , 537 , 867 ( g . o . weston ) and ep 1 , 345 , 872 ( j . l . archibald and j . f . cavalla ). preferred reduction conditions employ a ruthenium on carbon catalyst in a solvent such as alcohol , thf , or acetic acid under an atmosphere of hydrogen . subsequent reductive alkylation of the piperidine formula iii with aldehydes formula iv provides the n - arylmethyl intermediates formula v . preferred conditions employ pt / c catalyst in an inert solvent such as alcohol , thf , or acetic acid under an atmosphere of hydrogen . alternative preferred conditions employ borane - pyridine complex as the reducing agent at room temperature in alcohol , acetic acid or methylene chloride . hydrolysis of the amide bond of acetamides formula v provides amine intermediates formula vi . although hydrolysis may be effected in acid or base , the preferred method employs hydrolysis in 1 . 2 m hcl at 100 ° c . phthalimidines i can be prepared by a variety of methods . one method involves reaction of amine vi with a phthalic anhydride to afford the phthalimide formula viii which can be reduced with sn / hcl . ## str4 ## another method involves treatment of amines vi with phthalaldehydic acids in the presence of a cyanide salt to give intermediate ix ( r 3 ═ cn ) which can be hydrolyzed to give the ## str5 ## carboxylic acid ix ( r 3 ═ cooh ) and decarboxylated by heating at 100 - 200 ° c . under dry conditions to give phthalimidines i . a further method involves the reaction of amines vi with phthalide of ## str6 ## formula x . a preferred method involves the reaction of amines formula vi with ortho - toluic ester derivatives formula vii which bear a suitable leaving group y ( such as halogen , mesylate , or tosylate ). the preferred method employs alkyl 2 - bromomethyl - benzoates in a refluxing inert solvent such as toluene or chloroform . the phthalimidine intermediates formula i are subsequently converted to the quaternary salts formula i ( that is , where r 2 is not an unshared valence bond ) by n - alkylating reagents formula ix in an inert solvent . preferred alkylation conditions employ acetonitrile as the solvent at room temperature . the compounds of the present invention can be administered in such oral dosage forms as tablets , capsules , pills , powders , granules , elixers , tinctures , suspensions , syrups and emulsions . likewise , it can also be administered in intravenous , intraperitoneal , subcutaneous or intramuscular form , all using forms known to those of ordinary skill in the pharmaceutical arts . in general , the preferred form of administration is oral . an effective but non - toxic amount of the compound is employed in the treatment of arrhythmias of the heart . the dosage regimen utilizing the compound of the present invention is selected in accordance with a variety of factors including the type , species , age , weight , sex and medical condition of the patient ; with the severity of the condition to be treated ; the route of administration ; the renal and hepatic function of the patient ; and the particular compound employed or salt thereof . an ordinarily skilled veterinarian or physician can readily determine and prescribe the effective amount of the drug required to prevent , treat or arrest the progress of the condition . oral dosages of the compounds of the present invention , when used for the indicated cardiac effects , will range between about 0 . 1 mg per kilogram of body weight per day ( mg / kg / day ) to about 1000 mg / kg / day and preferably 1 . 0 to 100 mg / kg / day . advantageously , the compounds of the present invention can be administered in a single daily dose or the total daily dosage can be administered in divided doses of two , three or four times daily . in the pharmaceutical compositions and methods of the present invention , the compounds described in detail below will form the active ingredient that will typically be administered in admixture with suitable pharmaceutical diluents , excipients or carriers ( collectively referred to herein as &# 34 ; carrier &# 34 ; materials ) suitably selected with respect to the intended form of administration , that is , oral tablets , capsules , elixers , syrups and the like , and consistent with conventional pharmaceutical practices . for instance , for oral administration in the form of tablets or capsules , the active drug component can be combined with an oral non toxic pharmaceutically acceptable inert carrier such as lactose , starch , sucrose , glucose , methylcellulose , magnesium stearate , dicalcium phosphate , calcium sulfate , mannitol , sorbitol and the like ; for oral administration in liquid form , the active drug components can be combined with any oral non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable inert carrier such as ethanol , glycerol , water , and the like . in the case of oral administration and in liquid form , suitable flavoring carriers can be added such as cherry syrup and the like . moreover , when desired or necessary , suitable binders , lubricants , disintegrating agents and coloring agents can also be incorporated into the mixture . suitable binders include starch , gelatin , natural sugars such as glucose or beta - lactose , corn sweeteners , natural and synthetic gums such as acacia , tragacanth , or sodium alginate , carboxymethylcellulose , polyethylene glycol and various waxes . lubricants for use in these dosage forms include magnesium stearate , sodium benzoate , sodium acetate , sodium stearate , sodium chloride , sodium oleate and the like . disintegrators include , without limitation , starch , methycellulose , agar , centonite , xanthan gum and the like . the compounds of this invention can also be administered by intravenous route in doses ranging from 0 . 01 to 10 mg / kg / day . furthermore , it is also contemplated that the invention can be administered in an intranasal form topically via the use of suitable intranasal vehicles , or via transdermal routes , using those forms of transdermal skin patches well known to those of ordinary skill in that art . in the case of transdermal skin patch administration , daily dosage is continuous via the transdermal delivery system rather than divided , as in an oral delivery system . the compounds of this invention exhibit antiarrythmic activity useful in the treatment of various cardiac arrhythmias . the test procedures employed to measure this activity of the compounds of the present invention are described below . guinea pigs , of either sex weighing between 200 - 350 g , are acutely sacrificed and the right ventricular papillary muscle is isolated . a sample of a given test compound is added using an in vitro tissue bath . concentrations used are generally 3 × 10 - 5 m , but may also be as low as 3 × 10 - 7 m . changes in refractory period are measured before and after adding 1 concentration ( usually 3 × 10 - 5 m , as noted above ) of a test compound to the bath . one hour is allowed for drug equilibration . a compound is considered active ( class iii ) if an increase in ventricular refractory period is 25 msec or more ( at 3 × 10 - 5 m ). ______________________________________resultscompound concentration ( m ) change ( msec ) ______________________________________h . sub . 2 o -- 8disopyramide 3 × 10 . sup .- 5 20clofilium 3 × 10 . sup .- 5 24sotalol 3 × 10 . sup .- 5 35example 6 1 × 10 . sup .- 6 75example 7 3 × 10 . sup .- 5 65example 8 3 × 10 . sup .- 5 80______________________________________ the following non - limiting examples further illustrate details for the preparation of the compounds of the present invention . those skilled in the art will readily understand that known variations of the conditions and processes of the following preparative procedures can be used to prepare these compounds . all temperatures are degrees celsius unless otherwise noted . melting points were determined on a thomas hoover unimelt ( capillary apparatus and are not corrected . unless otherwise noted , i . r . and nmr spectra were consistent with the assigned structure . 4 - aminopyridine ( 101 . 28 g ) and acetic anhydride ( 110 g ) were mixed neat and heated at 100 ° c . for 1 / 2 h . the solidified reaction mixture was triturated with acetone , filtered off , and washed with ether to afford 186 . 48 g of title compound as a white solid in two crops . anal . calcd for c c , 55 . 09 ; h , 6 . 16 ; n , 14 . 26 . found : c , 55 . 04 ; h , 5 . 96 ; n , 15 . 22 . a solution of the product of example 2 ( 75 g ) in 750 ml acetic acid was reduced over pto 2 catalyst at 60 psi hydrogen atmosphere at 60 ° c . for 7 hours . the solution was filtered , concentrated and triturated with ether to afford the title compound quantitatively as a white solid which was used directly in subsequent reactions . a mixture of 10 g amine acetate , the product of example 3 , and 13 . 48 g 4 methoxy benzaldehyde was hydrogenated in 100 ml ethanol over a pt / c catalyst at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction mixture was filtered and concentrated to give 74 . 0 g of the acetate salt of title compound as a white solid which was hydrolyzed directly as described in example 5 . ( an alternative reductive amination procedure is described in example 6 ). conversion of a sample to the free base using aqueous base and ethyl acetate extraction provided a white solid after solvent evaporation and trituration with ether : mp 140 - 142 ° c . ; anal . calcd for c 15 h 22 n 2 o 2 : c , 68 . 67 ; h , 8 . 45 ; n , 10 . 68 . found : c , 65 . 26 ; h , 8 . 60 ; n , 10 . 77 . a ) a solution of 50 g of the product of example 4 ( r 1 =( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) was dissolved in 500 ml of 1 . 2 n hcl and heated at 100 ° c . for 8 h . the solution was made alkaline with 50 % aq . naoh and extracted three times with ether . the combined organic layers were washed with water and saturated brine , dried over sodium sulfate , and concentrated to give the title compound ( r 1 =( 4 methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) as 28 g of clear oil which was used without further purification . b ) ( alternative general reductive alkylation procedure .) a solution of 50 mmol amine acetate ( the product of example 3 ) and 100 mmol of 4 methoxybenzaldehyde in 125 ml methylene chloride and 15 ml acetic acid was treated with 50 mmol of borane - pyridine complex and allowed to stir at room temperature overnight . the removal of volatiles by rotary evaporation afforded acetamide ( the product of example 4 ) ( r 1 =( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) as an oil which was dissolved in 300 ml of i . 2 n hcl and heated overnight on a steam bath . the cooled reaction mixture was extracted once with a 50 ml portion of ethyl acetate which was discarded . the aqueous layer was made basic with aq . naoh and extracted three times with 50 ml ether . the combined layers were washed with water and dried over sodium sulfate . solvent removal afforded the title compound ( r 1 =( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) as a crude oil ( yield typically 60 - 70 % for two steps ) which was used directly without further purification . a solution of 2 . 29 g of methyl 2 - bromomethyl benzoate and 2 . 30 g of amine vi ( r 1 =( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) in 25 ml ethanol and 1 . 4 ml triethylamine were stirred at room temperature for 72 n . the reaction mixture was concentrated and the residue was taken up in 10 % hcl and washed twice with ethyl acetate . the ethyl acetate layers were discarded and the acidic solution was made basic with 10 % naoh and extracted thrice with ethyl acetate . the combined organic layers were washed with water and dried over sodium sulfate . concentration gave 1 . 05 g of a gum which was recrystallized from ethyl acetate / skellysolve b to give i ( r 1 =( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) methyl ) as 602 mg of white crystalline solid : mp 112 - 114 ° c . anal . calcd for c 21 h 24 n 2 o 2 : c , 74 . 97 ; h , 7 . 19 ; n , 8 . 32 . found : c , 74 . 56 ; h , 7 . 23 ; n , 8 . 22 following the procedure outlined in example 6 and substituting commercially available 1 phenylmethyl 4 - aminopiperidine ( 2 . 29 g ), 0 . 60 g of product was isolated as a white crystalline solid from ethyl acetate / skellysolve b : mp 116 - 118 ° c . anal . calcd for c 20 h 22 n 2 o 0 . 25 h20 : c , 77 . 26 ; h , 7 . 29 ; n , 9 . 01 . found : c , 77 . 65 ; h , 7 . 38 ; n , 9 . 08 . following the procedure outlined in example 5 part b and substituting piperonal for benzaldehyde in the reductive amination reaction afforded amine vi , which was converted to the product i by the procedure described in example 6 ; the product was isolated as the hydrochloride salt : mp 253 - 255 ° c . ( meoh / ether ). anal . calcd for c 21 h 22 n 2 o 3 hcl : c , 65 . 20 ; h , 5 . 99 ; n , 7 . 24 . found : c , 64 . 71 ; h , 6 . 04 ; n , 6 . 99 a solution of 2 [- 1 ( phenylmethyl ) 4 piperidinyl ] 2 , 3 - dihydro - lh isoindol - 1 - one ( i , r 1 = phenylmethyl . example 7 ) was dissolved in 5 ml acetonitrile treated with 0 . 5 ml of iodomethane . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 18 h and the white crystalline precipitate ( 277 mg ) was filtered off to afford i ( r 1 = phenylmethyl , r 2 ═ ch 3 ): mp 247 - 250 ° c . anal . calcd for c 20 h 23 in 2 o : c , 55 . 31 ; h , 5 . 34 ; n , 6 . 45 . found : 55 . 64 ; h , 5 . 69 ; n , 6 . 52 . while the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to certain preparative embodiments thereof , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes , modifications and substitutions can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , effective dosages other than the preferred range as set forth herein above may be applicable as a consequence of variations in the responsiveness of the mammal being treated for severity of cardiac arrhythmia , dosage - related adverse effects , if any , and analogous considerations . likewise , the specific pharmacological responses observed may vary according to and depending upon the particular active compounds selected or whether there are present certain pharmaceutical carriers , as well as the type of formulation and mode of administration employed , and such expected variations for differences in the results are contemplated in accordance with the objects and practices of the present invention . it is intended , therefore , that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims which follow , and that such claims be interpreted as broadly as is reasonable .	2
fig1 generally depicts a photovoltaic panel 10 including a plurality of photovoltaic cells 12 according to the present invention . the panel consists of relatively thin chemical layers 18 formed on a common vitreous substrate 14 . glass is a preferred substrate due to its relatively low cost and its ideal flat surface for applying thin layers , and for subsequently heating those layers due to the low thermal expansion of the substrate . it should be understood that each of these applied layers , which are particularly shown in fig3 are relatively thin to reduce material costs , and together will typically be less than 20 microns , so that the panel as shown in fig1 visually appears to be little more than a rectangular sheet of glass with a thin painted coating . also , it should be understood that the panel as shown in fig1 may be complete in the sense that it is capable of producing electrical energy directly from sunlight . to maintain any form of reasonable efficiency , however , the panel needs to be encapsulated to prevent water vapor - related degradation of the cells . fig1 depicts a backwall cell configuration , i . e ., sunlight passes first through the glass substrate and then to the junction formed by the active photovoltaic layers . the panel as shown in fig1 is thus turned over during typical outdoor use , so that the glass substrate 14 is above the layers 18 . nevertheless , the panel is formed with the glass as the base or substrate , and accordingly , the terms &# 34 ; top &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; upper &# 34 ; when referring to the layers discussed subsequently should be understood with respect to the substrate being beneath these layers . the techniques of the present invention are also applicable to manufacturing front wall photovoltaic cells , wherein sunlight is absorbed by the junction formed by a cadmium telluride adsorber layer on top of the cds window layer , so that light rays do not pass through the cds layer . the photovoltaic panel shown in fig1 may be formed by successively applying thin , continuous layers of chemicals on a glass substrate . individual cells are formed by making a series of elongate parallel cuts 20 through at least some of these layers to divide the panel into an elongate strips of cells according to the disclosure of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 243 , 432 . a layer or layers applied over the active photovoltaic layers also preferably provide the series interconnection of these cells to form the desired output voltage , and series interconnection strips 16 for accomplishing this purpose are generally depicted in fig1 . a suitable series interconnection configuration for electrically connecting cells is discussed subsequently . a suitable panel according to the present invention may thus be approximately 60 cm by 60 cm , and is capable of producing an output of approximately 50 watts with an incident isolation of approximately 1000 watts per square meter . for many commercial purposes , the desired electrical output is obtained by housing a plurality of panels in a module similar to the arrangement disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 233 , 085 . fig2 depicts in cross - section a panel prior to regrowth ( crystallization ) of the active photovoltaic layers . it should be understood that the thickness of each of the applied layers as shown in fig2 and 3 is approximately to scale with respect to the other depicted layers , but not with respect to the glass substrate 14 . during the first step of constructing the photovoltaic panel , a bottom electrode may be formed on the substrate , with the electrode itself consisting of a bottom continuous electrode layer 24 having a high conductivity , and a top electrode layer 26 having a comparatively low conductivity . each of these layers may be formed from a tin oxide solution utilizing spray pyrolysis techniques disclosed in the previously - cited prior art . the desired conductivity of these layers may be varied and , within reasonable limits , easily controlled by adjusting the amount of zinc or cadmium which is added to the tin oxide spray solution . since the panel particularly described herein is of a backwall configuration , light must pass both through the glass substrate and the layers 24 , 26 before reaching the junction formed by the active photovoltaic layers . high transmissivity of these tin oxide layers can nevertheless be maintained while changing the conductivity of these layers by a factor of approximately six orders of magnitude . the bottom tin oxide layer 24 serves the primary purpose of passing electrical energy through the cell and interconnecting the cell in a series arrangement , and thus should have a high conductivity . preferably the layer 24 has a conductivity of more than 1000 mho / cm , and most preferably more than 2200 mho / cm . using prior art techniques , a highly conductive yet highly transmissive tin oxide layer has been generated having a specific conductivity of 3700 mho / cm , so that obtaining a tin oxide layer with a specific conductivity of approximately 2200 mho / cm is feasible on a commercial basis . for reasons explained subsequently , the top tin oxide layer 26 must have low conductivity , should be thin , and also must have a high degree continuity ( few pinholes or flaws in layer 26 are permissible ). high continuity of this layer may be obtained utilizing a low molarity tin oxide spray solution for the spray pyrolysis process . the specific conductivity of the upper tin oxide layer preferably is in the range from approximately 1 . 25 × 10 - 3 to 100 mho / cm . the thickness of the lower tin oxide layer is not particularly critical , but is preferably in the range 0 . 4 to 1 . 0 microns . the thickness of the upper tin oxide layer may be from approximately 0 . 1 to approximately 1 . 0 microns and , as previously noted , is doped with a suitable metal such as cadmium or zinc to produce low carrier concentration . once the tin oxide layers have been formed , a relatively continuous layer 28 of cds may be applied utilizing spray pyrolysis . the thickness of the deposited cds layer may be in the range of from approximately 2 , 000 å to 12 , 000 å ( 0 . 2 to 1 . 2 microns ), and this layer also has a high degree of continuity ( few pinholes ). a fairly thick cdte layer 30 may then be applied on the cds layer , with the thickness of layer 30 being substantially greater than that of the cds layer 28 . the cdte layer may be economically formed using the atmospheric temperature spray and compression technique disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 375 , 909 . it should be understood that various techniques may be used for applying any of the layers 24 , 26 , 28 and 30 , including spray pyrolysis , dip coating , or gas deposition . the preferred deposition technique has low cost deposition equipment and thus low manufacturing costs , and will result in continuous , thin , and thus relatively inexpensive layers . as shown in fig2 the layers 28 , 30 as applied have relatively small crystals ( not shown ), which is undesirable for high photovoltaic efficiency . to increase the conversion efficiency , these layers are regrown at a temperature in excess of 400 ° c ., and preferably from approximately 520 ° c . to approximately 550 ° c ., to form substantially large crystals as shown in fig3 . individual lower crystals 36a , 36b , 36c , and 36d in the regrown cdte layer have dimensions approximating 2 microns , while the total thickness of the regrown layer 44 is typically approximately 6 microns . the smaller cdte crystals are generally toward the upper portion of layer 44 . alternatively , the cdte crystals could have a thickness approximating that of the layer itself , which is likely an achievable goal . regrowth occurs at a temperature and during a time interval sufficient to cause substantial interdiffusion between the cds and the cdte layers and the cds is also believed to migrate into the cdte layer , and particularly in the interstices between the large diameter cdte crystals . the term effective thickness , as used herein , is intended to mean its apparent thickness as defined by its transmissivity of short wavelength sunlight , i . e ., wavelengths below 520 nm . as an example , using an absorptivity coefficient of cds of 10 5 / cm , a cds layer having an actual uniform thickness of 3 , 500 å may pass less than approximately 3 % of sunlight having a wavelength less than 520 nm , while a cds layer having an actual thickness of approximately 200 å may pass more than 92 % of this low wavelength energy . the photovoltaic cell formed according to the techniques of the present invention has an efficiency with respect to such short wavelength energy which would be equivalent to a device having a very thin cds layer , and accordingly it is convenient to discuss the effective thickness of the cds layer . as exemplified in fig3 it is believed that the actual thickness of portion 32 of the cds layer between the bottom of a cdte crystal and the top of the low conductivity tin oxide layer 26 is substantially minimized , and it is also believed that the cds tends to diffuse away from the tin oxide layer and partially enters the cadmium telluride crystals , occupies a portion of the voids between cdte crystals , and deposits on cdte grain surfaces . this diffusion or migration of the cds is generally in the lower portion of the cdte layer , and some voids 48 generally will still exist between cdte crystals , with diffused cds &# 34 ; surrounding &# 34 ; these voids and adjoining the cdte grain boundaries . the effective thickness of the cds layer and the tin oxide layer is substantially reduced by the interdiffusion of cdte and cds and the &# 34 ; transfer &# 34 ; of cds onto cdte grains . fig3 thus represents the presumed flow of cds material during regrowth , with some of the cds material migrating upward to deposit on cdte crystal surfaces or form irregular upwardly extending walls 34 of cds material between cdte crystals , while some of the cds material may form a relatively thin , generally planar layer 32 between the bottom of individual cdte crystals and the top of the layer 26 . during regrowth , some of the cds material also may diffuse into the cdte crystals and some cdte may likewise diffuse into the cds material . this diffusion and / or interdiffusion also may result in the desired substantial reduction in the effective thickness of the cds layer . the significant reduction of the effective thickness of the cds layer during the regrowth of the active photovoltaic layers can be exemplified by noting that the cds layer 28 in fig2 prior to regrowth has an effective thickness of from 2 , 000 to 10 , 000 å , while the effective thickness of the cds layer 32 after regrowth as shown in fig3 is preferably in the range of from approximately 100 to approximately 500 å . accordingly , the effective thickness of the cds layer has been reduced during regrowth so that its thickness subsequent to regrowth is approximately 1 / 20th or less of its thickness prior to regrowth . this substantial reduction in effective thickness of the cds layer is thus a primary reason for the substantial increase in photovoltaic efficiency , since the thin cds layer is able to pass short wavelength light ( less than 520 nm ) to the junction , while the comparatively thick cds layer absorbed and wasted that short wavelength energy as heat . in the middle of the blue response region of photovoltaic devices , e . g ., 450 nm , cells using relatively thick cds layers ( with absorptivities of 10 5 / cm ) have less than 3 % quantum efficiency at that wavelength . cells according to the present invention , however , have a quantum efficiency at the same wavelength of from 60 up to 80 % at that wavelength . while an extremely thin cds layer is desired to pass this low wavelength energy , the average effective thickness of the cds layer must be sufficient to minimize the number of pinholes or flaws in this layer , and must also be sufficient to form a reasonable junction with the cdte crystals . according to the present invention , the effective thickness of the cds layer may be uniformly reduced to less than 500 å by diffusing a great deal of the material from this layer into the cdte layer 44 during regrowth , and at least some of this material migrates to enter the gaps between the cdte crystals . if the cds is deposited by spray pyrolysis , the quantum efficiency of the regrown cell decreases slightly with an increase in as - deposited cds effective thickness greater than 2 , 000 å . in one experimental program , an as - deposited cds layer effective thickness from 5 , 000 to 6 , 000 å nevertheless results in quantum efficiency in excess of 70 % at 450 nm on a finished device . while the effective thickness of the cds layer subsequent to regrowth may thus be reduced to approximately 1 / 20th of its as - applied thickness , a slightly greater or slightly less effective thickness reduction may occur . in any event , however , the effective thickness of the cds layer will be significantly reduced during regrowth , and preferably will be reduced to an effective thickness less than approximately 10 % of its as - applied thickness , and most preferably will be reduced to approximately 500 å or less . the addition of cadmium chloride as a flux in the cdte layer during regrowth may be important for large diameter crystal formation . it is also noted that generation of hot halogen - containing gases during regrowth is important for acceleration of the interdiffusion of the cds and cdte . due in large part to the substantially reduced effective thickness of the cds layer , it is possible that some pinholes or other flaws in the applied cds layer may occur . if a conventional conductor layer adjoins the cds layer , a pinhole in the cds layer will result in a short between the cdte layer and the conductor layer , thereby destroying the energy producing effect of the cell . according to the present invention , such shorting is avoided by applying two dissimilar tin oxide layers , with the layer adjoining the cds layer being the relatively low conductivity layer . due to the special nature of this layer , a pinhole in the cds layer will not result in shorting of the cell , but rather , it will actually produce power due to the heterojunction formed between the cadmium telluride and the low conductivity tin oxide . since this low conductivity ( high resistivity ) tin oxide layer is thin , preferably less than about 8000 å , and since current passes in a direction normal or perpendicular to the plane of this layer , the low conductivity of this layer adds little series resistance to the overall panel . current flow in the high conductivity tin oxide layer moves in a direction generally parallel to the plane of this layer , and high conductivity for the bottom tin oxide layer is essential to achieve high efficiency . it has been determined that , by properly doping the top tin oxide layer with zinc or other suitable metal , the electron carrier density of this level may be adjusted to be compatible with the presumed electron carrier density of the p - type layer , in this case the cdte layer . adjusting the electron carrier density of the upper tin oxide layer by adding a suitable metal also affects the resistivity of this layer , and to a much lesser amount affects transmissivity . accordingly , a reasonable tradeoff must be made between the desire to achieve the desired carrier density for this layer , at the same time ensuring that this layer has high transmissivity and the desired resistivity . nevertheless , it is possible to obtain high transmissivity for this layer , achieve the desired specific conductivity in the range of from 1 . 25 × 10 - 3 to 100 mho / cm , and simultaneously obtain an electron carrier density for this layer which preferably is adjusted to be within the range of approximately two to three orders of magnitude of the known or presumed hole carrier density for the cdte layer . by making the carrier density of the top tin oxide layer compatible with the p - type layer ( within at least two or three orders of magnitude ), any reasonable flaws in the cds layer would not result in short - circuiting of the cell for reasons previously noted , but rather an energy - producing junction is formed by the cdte layer and the top tin oxide layer . if the adjusted electron carrier density of the top tin oxide layer is too low relative to the carrier density of the cdte layer , the junction formed with the tin oxide layer is undesirably shallow within the cdte crystals , thereby resulting in low open - circuit voltage for that small contact area between the cdte and the high resistivity tin oxide layer . on the other hand , if the electron carrier density of the tin oxide layer is undesirably high relative to that of the cds layer , the junction formed in the cdte crystals is too deep , thereby resulting in low short circuit current and an unsatisfactory junction . nevertheless , a reasonably efficient junction may be obtained between the cdte layer and a tin oxide layer doped with a suitable metal . while it is preferred to form a cell according to the present invention so that a very thin cds layer capable of passing low wavelength sunlight is obtained , flaws in such a cds layer will not destroy the cell for the reasons noted above , and accordingly extreme quality control procedures for applying and for regrowing crystals in this layer are not required . also , it should be understood that it is possible to entirely eliminate the cds layer and form a suitable photovoltaic cell , so that the bottom tin oxide layer acts as a conductor , the top tin oxide layer acts as the n - type layer ( heterojunction partner ), and cadmium telluride or other suitable material acts as the p - type layer . as a further explanation of the latter embodiment described above , it is recognized that the cost of producing photovoltaic modules has been a major limitation to large - scale terrestrial use of photovoltaics as an energy source . the low - cost production of photovoltaics is primarily a function of reducing the cost of materials used , reducing the cost of deposition equipment for applying the active film layers , the simplicity of design of the active layers and the module itself , and a lack of sensitivity to process variations as a function of the materials and the design utilized . each additional material present in the photovoltaic device adds to the complexity and therefore the cost of the device . a number of materials can conceivably be matched to a given absorber layer ( typically the p - type layer ) by adjusting the relative ratio of electron or hole carrier concentration contained in each of the p - type and n - type layers . the function of practically adjusting the carrier density of the junction partner layer ( typically the n - type layer ) often includes complexities which add significantly to the cost of the deposition . according to this invention , the method of adjusting the carrier concentration of a tin oxide layer is disclosed . the carrier concentration is related to the specific resistivity which may be adjusted by over seven orders of magnitude by changing the amount and type of dopant added to the tin oxide solution , which may be sprayed on top of the heated substrate ( glass ). the reliability of manufacturing according to this technique is simplified since the base material for each of the various tin oxide layers need not be significantly changed and the deposition technique need not change . the carrier concentration of the tin oxide layer may thus be matched to any of various p - type absorber layers , thus eliminating the requirement of a separate cds layer , and thus reducing the cost of the photovoltaic modules . fig4 illustrates in cross - section a photovoltaic cell according to this latter invention . the glass substrate and conductive layers 24 and 26 are as previously described . preferably substantially the same conductive material composition is used to form both layers 24 and 26 , with the selected material forming a transparent , conducting layer with suitable characteristics , and preferably being from a group consisting of tin oxide , zinc oxide , indium tin oxide , and cadmium stannate . more particularly , this selected material for the layer 24 should be highly conductive , while at the same time this material can be doped to form a layer 26 which acts as a heterojunction partner and a window layer for the photovoltaic cell . for purposes of explanation , this discussion assumes that the material for the p - type layer will be cadmium telluride , although various compounds may be used to form the p - type layer , and exemplary alternatives are discussed below . also , for purposes of explanation , the layer 26 may be doped with cadmium or zinc to reduce the conductivity of this layer and result in the desired n - type material , although lead , mercury , selenium , sulfur , sodium , cesium , mercury , boron , and chromium may be alternative doping materials . the photovoltaic panel as shown in fig4 thus comprises a substantially continuous conductive layer 24 of tin oxide for electrically interconnecting the plurality of cells , and a polycrystalline tin oxide layer 26 being applied on layer 24 and doped with a selected amount of a desired dopant . a polycrystalline p - type layer 46 is then formed on the layer 26 with the cadmium telluride crystals of layer 46 being of the form and size previously described . the top electrode layer 38 as shown in fig3 is applied over the cadmium telluride layer , and may migrate down into the porous cdte layer 46 with no significant adverse affect . a spacing between the lowermost migrated material of layer 38 and the uppermost migrated n - type material is preferred , as shown in fig3 with this spacing being occupied by cdte crystals and voids between the crystals . for the embodiment as shown in fig4 the migrating material of layer 38 does not contact the tin oxide layer 26 , and again voids occur between the cdte crystals and between this migrating material and the tin oxide layer 26 . sunlight thus passes through the substrate 14 and the layer 24 to reach the junction formed by the n - type layer 26 and the p - type layer 46 . preferably both the layers 24 and 26 are deposited by the same process to reduce manufacturing costs and improve quality control , and spray pyrolysis is one suitable process for depositing both the conductive tin oxide layer 24 and the doped tin oxide layer 26 . according to the method of this invention , a photovoltaic panel including a plurality of photovoltaic cells may be formed on a common substrate by selecting a material for the conductive polycrystalline film layer 24 , then depositing this selected material by spray pyrolysis or another technique on to the substrate to form a substantially continuous optically transmissive conductive layer for electrically interconnecting the plurality of photovoltaic cells . the p - type material for forming the photovoltaic heterojunction is selected , and the presumed carrier density or approximate carrier density of the p - type layer is known . substantially the same material used to form the layer 24 may then be selectively doped to form the n - type layer , with the amount of dopant being a function of the presumed carrier density of the p - type photovoltaic layer . the high conductivity layer 24 may consist of tin oxide and a small amount of fluorine , which may be added to the tin oxide material for layer 24 to enhance conductivity . although a different dopant is added to the tin oxide material for layer 26 , the material for forming both layers 24 and 26 prior to adding the dopant is substantially the same , e . g ., tin oxide . this doped material may then be deposited by spray pyrolysis on the conductive thin film layer 24 to form an n - type polycrystalline thin film layer for the photovoltaic cells , and finally the selected p - type material may be deposited on the n - type material to form a p - type photovoltaic layer and the junction with the n - type layer . once a panel as shown in fig4 is formed by this technique , the large photovoltaic cell may be divided to form a plurality of photovoltaic cells in the manner described in the prior art , and the divided photovoltaic cells then interconnected to form a photovoltaic panel . tin oxide is a preferred material for achieving the above purposes due to its high transparency and dopability to achieve a wide range of resistivity . other materials may , however , be used . zinc oxide is one alternative and , although its extinction coefficient is smaller than that for tin oxide , its specific resistivity is considerably higher . the large electron density of tin oxide , generally greater than about 10 20 / cm 3 , prevents its use as a junction material with every potential semi - conductor partner layer . cadmium telluride may form the p - type layer for such a photovoltaic cell , since its carrier density can be approximately 10 16 / cm 3 . the cell formed from these layers can thus be expected to have a low open - circuit voltage and / or unsatisfactory short - circuit current . by doping the tin oxide layer , however , a junction may be produced with the cadmium telluride layer which results in a reasonable voltage , current , and fill factor . the uniform continuity of the low carrier concentration density tin oxide layer is necessary to avoid shorts , while at the same time this tin oxide layer must remain thin , and preferably less than about 8 , 000 å , to prevent unnecessary optical absorption . these objectives can be achieved by applying this layer with spray pyrolysis utilizing a large number of low molarity droplets to consistently and completely cover the low resistance tin oxide layer and thereby prevent low resistance shunt paths . it should also be understood that the p - material layer may be formed from materials other than cdte . according to the above technique , an inexpensive copper indium diselenide cell may be formed with the n - type material being a doped tin oxide layer formed by spray pyrolysis . a similar cell may be formed utilizing copper sulfide , copper indium disulfide or copper indium diselenide as the p - type material . other cells which may be formed according to this invention include cells having a p - type semi - conductor layer of either polycrystalline silicon , aluminum antiminide , gallium arsenide , or indium phosphide . according to the method of the present invention , the effective thickness of the n - type material layer is reduced so that at least a substantial amount of sunlight , i . e ., at least 25 %, and preferably at least 50 %, having a wavelength with an energy higher than the bandgap of the n - type material for this layer ( short wavelength light ) passes through this reduced effective thickness n - type layer to be absorbed by the photovoltaic heterojunction . since the n - type layer must be physically thin , flaws or holes in this otherwise continuous layer can be expected . according to a preferred embodiment of this invention , the p - type layer forms a desired photovoltaic junction with this thin n - type layer , and also forms a photovoltaic junction with the conductive layer 26 where flaws occur in the n - type layer . this latter junction has a reasonably high efficiency due to the doping at this layer 26 , so that its electron carrier density is within at least three orders of magnitude of the known or presumed carrier density of the p - type material . in order to prevent shorts in the cell , the specific conductivity of this layer 26 is also maintained within the range previously described . once a panel has been regrown in a manner which results in layers 24 , 26 , 32 , and 36 as shown in fig3 or 24 , 26 , and 46 as shown in fig4 the panel may be divided and series interconnected according to prior art techniques . using either a mechanical cutter or a laser , a thin strip of applied layers may be removed down to the glass substrate , and a portion of the thin elongate gap formed by this operation filled with a suitable insulating film to cut the electrical connection between the bottom electrode layers 24 of adjacent cells . a desired electrode strip may be formed on an edge portion of the bottom tin oxide layer . either prior or subsequent to this operation , a top electrode layer 38 as shown in fig3 may be deposited over the cdte layer , with some of this layer 38 optionally filling the upper portion of gaps between the cdte crystals . accordingly , the top electrode layer 38 may include downwardly projecting walls 40 which preferably do not come into contact with the upwardly projecting walls 34 of the cds layer . various materials may be used for the layer 38 , and it is presently preferred that the layer be formed by a graphite paste process , thereby achieving relatively low material and deposition cost . the series interconnection of the cells may then be formed by depositing a conductive electrode layer on top of layer 38 , with the conductive electrode layer filling part of the gap formed by the cell division technique and forming a reliable electrical connection between the top electrode of one cell and the bottom electrode of an adjacent cell . the completed cell may then be encapsulated according to techniques described in patents previously noted . any of the layers 24 , 26 or 44 , 46 may thus include a narrow elongate cut to divide the panel into individual cells and to series interconnect the cells . each of these layers is nevertheless deposited as and remains a substantially continuous layer , thereby resulting in comparatively low manufacturing costs . while tin oxide is a preferred material for each of the high conductivity and low conductivity layers of a cell according to the present invention due to its high transmissivity and ability to easily adjust its carrier concentration , other materials may be used to form this bottom electrode . a zinc oxide layer may form this conductor layer , and is particularly well suited for forming the low conductivity layer . the material used to dope the conductor and adjust its carrier density and resistivity should not substantially affect the high transmissivity of this layer , and zinc , indium , gallium , and aluminum are a suitable doping metal for this purpose . other dopants may also be used . while the tin oxide layers may be formed according to spray pyrolysis techniques , the invention is not limited to using spray pyrolysis to form the conductor layers . also , it should be understood that while the bottom conductor layer as described herein consists of the bottom high conductivity tin oxide layer and a substantially increased resistivity top tin oxide layer , the conductivity of the conductor layer may change gradually from the bottom to the top of the conductor layer , so that two distinct layers are not formed but rather a gradual change in conductivity of the tin oxide layer occurs as one moves up through the thickness of the layer . the prospect of gradually changing the conductivity of this layer is not difficult to obtain when panels are formed on a mass production basis , since the glass substrate may be moved over a series of spray nozzles each having an increasing or decreasing amount of added metal as a dopant . as previously noted , high continuity of the tin oxide layer adjoining the cds layer is essential , and this high continuity can be obtained by reducing the molarity of the tin oxide solution which form this upper layer , and increasing the deposition time and thus the number of droplets reaching the substrate . while no precise molarity for forming this uppermost tin oxide layer is critical , the molarity of the solution forming the uppermost tin oxide layer typically will be less than 0 . 5 moles / liter , and frequently in the range of about 0 . 2 moles / liter or less . while the techniques of the present invention are particularly well - suited for forming a high efficiency cds / cdte photovoltaic cell , it should be understood that the concepts of the present invention are not limited to use of these chemical layers for either the p - type or the n - type material . in particular , it should be understood that substantially increased efficiency of a photovoltaic device is formed according to the present invention by obtaining an n - type material layer which has a substantially reduced effective thickness compared to its as - deposited thickness , and that this n - type layer is obtained by simultaneously heating the p - type material and the n - type material layer to substantially increase the size of the crystals in each of these layers while simultaneously diffusing and interdiffusing the n - type and the p - type layers . a complete understanding of the mechanical and chemical functions occurring during the substantial reduction in the effective thickness of the cds layer ( or other n - type layer highly transmissive of sunlight ) is not yet fully understood . this reduction in effective thickness is primarily believed to be due to diffusion , interdiffusion , and / or migration of cds material into the cdte ( or other p - type material ) layer , with cds material entering the voids between the regrown cdte crystals and depositing on the available cdte surfaces . the term &# 34 ; diffusion &# 34 ; as used herein with respect to the action occurring during the reduction in the effective thickness of the n - type layer should be understood to encompass conventional diffusion , as well as interdiffusion and migration into the p - type layer . also , those skilled in the art will appreciate that while diffusion of the n - type layer into the p - type layer will reduce the effective thickness of the n - type layer , as explained above , this action can also be similarly described as diffusion of the p - type layer into the n - type layer . the key is the desired effective reduction in the thickness of the n - type layer which occurs during heating , not the specific mechanical and / or chemical function which causes this reduction . another benefit of this cds &# 34 ; diffusion &# 34 ; action is that the n - type material tends to cover a substantially higher portion of the cdte grain surfaces than would occur during a planar interface of two layers . also , it should be understood that the benefit of passing short wavelength light to the junction will occur regardless of the selected n - type material , and that the earlier reference to passing light less than 52 nm is based on the bandgap of cds , which is approximately 520 nm . the bandgap of various materials suitable for forming the n - type layer is well known , and energy bandgaps for various materials can be easily calculated from minimum room temperature energy gap values published in available handbooks , such as crc handbook of chemistry & amp ; physics , 58th edition . the present invention thus envisions the significant reduction in the effective thickness of the n - type material layer by &# 34 ; diffusion &# 34 ; into the p - type layer , such that a majority of sunlight energy having a wavelength with an energy higher than the bandgap of the selected n - type material passes through the reduced thickness n - type layer to react with the photovoltaic junction . while the invention has thus been described in terms of specific embodiments which are set forth in detail , it should be understood that this discussion and the drawings which form a part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting this invention . various alternative embodiments and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure . the invention should thus be understood to include various embodiments not described herein , and the invention is limited only by reasonable construction of the claims attached hereto in view of this disclosure .	8
it was surprisingly found that a deletion mutation in the guab gene can lead to attenuated salmonella enterica strains with significantly reduced virulence and capable of inducing an immune response in a livestock animal . such deletion would attenuate any organism that can use the guanine nucleotide as an intermediary . the term “ gene ” as used herein refers to the coding sequence and its regulatory sequences such as promoter and termination signals . the deletion mutant according to the invention is one in which the purine metabolic pathway enzyme imp dehydrogenase ( encoded by guab ) is inactivated . such inactivation may be obtained via a deletion by which the guab gene function is impaired , leading to a null - function ( no functional gene product formed ) of the affected gene ( s ). a person skilled in the art knows how to obtain such mutants and a simple test can tell whether the guab gene function is impaired . the mutant strain which fails to express a functional guab gene product cannot grow on minimal a medium , unless this medium is supplemented with ( e . g . 0 . 3 mm ) guanine , xanthine , guanosine or xanthosine . the invention aims to provide , amongst others , attenuated s . enteritidis and s . typhimurium strains since these are the most common s . enterica serovars . the present invention provides attenuated strains . the invention provides amongst others attenuated salmonella enterica strains for use , inter alia , as live attenuated vaccines against salmonellosis , as live vector and / or as dna - mediated vaccines expressing foreign antigens . as used herein , a “ foreign antigen ” means an antigen foreign to salmonella . live vector vaccines , also called “ carrier vaccines ” and “ live antigen delivery systems ”, comprise an exciting and versatile area of vaccinology ( levine et al , 1990 , microecol . ther . 19 : 23 - 32 ). in this approach , a live viral or bacterial vaccine is modified so that it expresses protective foreign antigens of another microorganism , and delivers those antigens to the immune system , thereby stimulating a protective immune response . live bacterial vectors that are being promulgated include , among others , attenuated salmonella . an object of the invention is to provide attenuated strains , like attenuated s . enterica strains for use in a live vaccine , possibly a polyvalent or multivalent live vaccine . one of the objects of the invention is therefore to provide a vaccine against e . g . salmonellosis comprising : a pharmaceutically effective or an immunizing amount of a mutant of the invention ( e . g . a salmonella enterica mutant ) which is incapable of forming de novo guanine nucleotides , wherein said mutant contains a deletion mutation in the guab gene ; and another object of the invention is to provide a live vector vaccine comprising : a pharmaceutically effective or an immunizing amount of a mutant of the invention ( e . g . a salmonella enterica mutant ), which is incapable of forming de novo guanine nucleotides , wherein said mutant contains a mutation in the guab gene , and wherein said mutant encodes and expresses a foreign antigen ; and the particular foreign antigen employed in the ( s . enterica ) live vector is not critical to the present invention . still another object of the invention is to provide a dna - mediated vaccine comprising : a pharmaceutically effective amount or an immunizing amount of a mutant of the invention ( e . g . a salmonella enterica mutant ), which is incapable of forming de novo guanine nucleotides , wherein said mutant contains a mutation in the guab gene ; wherein said mutant contains a plasmid which encodes and expresses in a eukaryotic cell , a foreign antigen ; and details as to the construction and use of dna - mediated vaccines can be found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 877 , 159 , which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . again , the particular foreign antigen employed in the dna - mediated vaccine is not critical to the present invention . the decision whether to express the foreign antigen in e . g . s . enterica ( using a prokaryotic promoter in a live vector vaccine ) or in the cells invaded by e . g . s . enterica ( using a eukaryotic promoter in a dna - mediated vaccine ) may be based upon which vaccine construction for that particular antigen gives the best immune response in animal studies or in clinical trials , and / or , if the glycosylation of an antigen is essential for its protective immunogenicity , and / or , if the correct tertiary conformation of an antigen is achieved better with one form of expression than the other ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 783 , 196 ). in the vaccines of the present invention , the pharmaceutically effective amount or the immunizing amount of the mutants of the present invention to be administered will vary depending on the age , weight and sex of the subject . by an “ immunizing amount ” as used herein is in fact meant an amount that is able to induce an immune response in the animal that receives the pharmaceutical composition / vaccine . the immune response invoked may be a humoral , mucosal , local and / or a cellular immune response . the particular pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent employed is not critical to the present invention , and are conventional in the art . examples of diluents include : buffer for buffering against gastric acid in the stomach , such as citrate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ) containing sucrose , bicarbonate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ) alone , or bicarbonate buffer ( ph 7 . 0 ) containing ascorbic acid , lactose , and optionally aspartame . examples of carriers include : proteins , e . g ., as found in skimmed milk ; sugars ; e . g . sucrose ; or polyvinylpyrrolidone . the deletion mutants according to the invention have been created via standard homologous recombination techniques , whereby part of the guab gene , for instance part of the guab coding sequence , in a first step is replaced by a resistance gene and flanking frt sites . preferably , in a second step , said resistance gene is removed by recombination between the two frt sites . one frt site and the priming sites p1 and p2 remain by the molecular mechanism of the recombination removing the antibiotics resistance gene according to datsenko and wanner ( 2000 ) ( see for instance fig4 ). a particular example of the invention relates for instance to guab deletion mutants of s . enteritidis that comprise a mutated guab gene or coding sequence comprising seq id no : 12 . fig1 is a schematic representation of the biosynthetic pathway of guanosine monophosphate ( adapted from zalkin and nygaard , 1996 , in “ escherichia coli and salmonella , cellular and molecular biology , second edition ”, 1996 f . c . neidhardt ed . asm press , washington d . c ., vol . 1 , ch . 34 : 561 - 579 ). aicar : 5 ′- phosphoribosyl - 4 - carboxamide - 5 - aminoimidazole ; atp : adenosine triphosphate ; g : guanine ; gmp : guanosine monophosphate ; gr : guanosine ; hx : hypoxanthine ; hxr : hypoxanthine riboside ( inosine ); imp : inosine monophosphate ; x : xanthine , xmp : xanthosine monophosphate ; guaa : gmp synthetase , guab : imp dehydrogenase ; guac : gmp reductase . fig2 represents contig 1294 of the s . enteritidis genome ( seq id no : 10 ). the atg initiation codon and tga termination codon of the guab gene are in bold . fig3 represents the sequence of the δguab fragment of s . enteritidis cloned in puc18 ( seq id no : 11 ). the primers that were used are indicated by horizontal arrows . the fragment generated with primers guab6 - guab7 was cloned in puc18 . the atg initiation and tga termination codon of the guab gene and the cccggg smai restriction site are indicated in bold . fig4 represents the nucleotide sequence of the s . enteritidis pcr fragment , which includes the guab deletion , obtained after sequencing , using primer guab10 ( seq id no : 12 ). the pcr fragment was amplified with primers guab6 - guab7 , using total genomic dna of the mutant sm20 . the remaining frt site is indicated in bold italic and the p1 and p2 primers by arrows ( datsenko and wanner , 2000 , pnas 97 : 6640 - 6645 ). the atg initiation and tga termination codon of the guab gene are indicated in bold . fig5 represents the guab gene of s . typhimurium lt2 , section 117 of 220 of the complete genome ( seq id no : 13 ). the atg initiation codon and tga termination codon of the guab gene are in bold . fig6 - 7 represent the deposit receipts of sm69 and sm86 respectively . the invention will be described in further details in the following examples and embodiments by reference to the enclosed drawings . particular embodiments and examples are not in any way intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed . an auxotrophic insertion mutant of a wild type s . enteritidis was obtained via insertion mutagenesis . only when supplemented with 0 . 3 mm guanine , xanthine , guanosine or xanthosine could the mutant strain grow on minimal a medium . these data strongly suggest that the auxotrophic mutation of the strain affects the guab gene , encoding the enzyme imp dehydrogenase ( ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 205 ). this enzyme converts inosine - 5 ′- monophosphate ( imp ) into xanthosine monophosphate ( xmp ) as indicated in fig1 . an insertion mutant can revert , thereby restoring the pathogenicity of the strain . this limits its applicability in a live attenuated vaccine . in that aspect deletion mutants are preferred . guab deletion mutants of s . enteritidis and s . typhimurium were therefore created and tested . the guab genes of both serovars are given in fig2 and 5 . guab deletion mutants were created according to the method for generating deletion mutations in the genome of escherichia coli k12 ( datsenko and wanner , 2000 , pnas 97 : 6640 - 5 , incorporated by reference herein ). this method relies on homologous recombination , mediated by the bacteriophage λ red recombinase system , of a linear dna fragment generated by pcr . the guab sequence is hereby substituted by an antibiotic resistance gene . this resistance gene is flanked by frt sites ( flp recognition target sites ) and can be excised from the genome by site - specific recombination , mediated by the flp recombinase . overlap pcr ( ho et al ., 1989 , gene 77 : 51 - 59 ) was applied to construct a linear fragment . the principle relies on the use of two primer sets , one upstream pair ( guab3 - guab4 ; guab3 : 5 ′ ggctgcgatt ggcgaggtag ta 3 ′, seq id no 2 ; guab4 : 5 ′ ggtgatcccg ggcgtcaaac gtcagggctt cttta 3 ′, seq id no 3 ) and one downstream pair ( guab5 - guab2 ; guab5 : 5 ′ ttgacgcccg ggatcaccaa agagtccccg aacta 3 ′, seq id no 4 ; guab2 : 5 ′ cgttcaggcg caacaggccg ttgt 3 ′, seq id no 1 ) of the guab gene . both sets contain primers ( guab4 , guab5 ) that are partially complementary and to which a smai restriction site was added . after annealing of the resulting complementary sequences and chain elongation , pcr with the outward primers ( guab6 - guab7 ; guabg : 5 ′ gcaacaactc ctgctggtta 3 ′, seq id no 5 ; guab7 : 5 ′ agaccgagga tcactttatc 3 ′, seq id no 6 ) generated a fragment with a 6 basepair smai site replacing an 861 basepair internal segment of the guab coding sequence . this δguab fragment was cloned in the vector puc18 ( see fig3 ). the chloramphenicol resistance gene ( cat ) with its flanking frt sequences was amplified using the primers p1 ( 5 ′ gtgtaggctg gagctgcttc 3 ′, seq id no 8 ) and p2 ( 5 ′ catatgaata tcctccttag 3 ′, seq id no 9 ) ( datsenko and wanner , 2000 ) and plasmid pkd3 dna ( datsenko and wanner , 2000 ) as a template . this pcr fragment was ligated in the smai site of the cloned δguab fragment . the desired fragment was generated using nested primers ( guab6 - guab7 ). the resulting pcr fragment was electroporated into s . enteritidis phage type 4 strain 76sa88 ( a clinical isolate from a turkey , obtained from the veterinary and agrochemical research centre , groeselenberg 99 , b - 1180 ukkel , belgium ) harboring the temperature sensitive replication plasmid pkd46 , encoding the bacteriophage lambda red recombinase system . the chloramphenicol resistant transformants were tested on minimal a medium and on minimal a medium supplemented with 0 . 3 mm guanine . the δguab :: catfrt mutants were confirmed by . pcr using the following primer combinations : guab6 - guab7 , guab6 - p2 , guab7 - p1 and p1 - p2 . the s . enteritidis δguab :: catfrt mutant ( sm12 ) was transformed with the temperature sensitive replication plasmid pcp20 by electroporation . the plasmid pcp20 encodes the flp recombinase , which recognizes the frt - sites , to remove the cat gene . the resulting strain was named sm20 . the pcr fragment in which the deletion is located was obtained using total genomic dna of the mutant sm20 and the primer combination guab6 - guab7 ( see fig4 ). the δguab mutation was confirmed by sequencing of this fragment , using the primer guab10 ( 5 ′ aggaagtttg agaggataa 3 ′, seq id no 7 ). the sequences of all above - mentioned primers are given in table 1 . to avoid the presence of possible additional mutations , caused by the expression of the red recombinase system , an isogenic strain was constructed . the δguab :: catfrt mutation of the mutant sm12 was transduced by bacteriophage p22 ht int − ( davis , r . w ., botstein d . and roth , j . r . ( 1980 ) in advanced bacterial genetics , a manual for genetic engineering . cold spring harbor laboratory , cold spring harbor , n . y .) to wild type s . enteritidis 76sa88 . the cat gene was removed using the plasmid pcp20 . the resulting strain was called sm69 ( deposit number lmg p - 21641 ). a δguab mutant of s . typhimurium strain 1491s96 was constructed using the same procedure and the same primers . the resulting strains s . typhimurium δguab :: catfrt and s . typhimurium δguab were named sm9 and sm19 respectively . sm86 ( having the deposit number lmg p - 21646 ) is the isogenic strain obtained therefrom , after transduction by bacteriophage p22 ht int − lysate from strain sm9 and excision of the cat gene using the plasmid pcp20 . the δguab mutants sm19 , sm20 , sm86 and sm69 are sensitive to bacteriophage p22 . this proves the presence of intact lipopolysaccharides ( lps ). virulence and protection tests with the guab deletion mutant sm20 in mice the virulence of the mutant sm20 in mice was tested by oral infection of 6 - 8 week old female balb / c mice in two independent experiments . these were performed as described above . the wild type strain s . enteritidis 76sa88 was tested in parallel as a positive control . the s . enteritidis 76sa88 δaroa mutant sm50 was included in the experiment as a vaccine control . this mutant carries a precise deletion of the complete aroa coding sequence and was constructed by the method of datsenko and wanner ( 2000 ). the complete data are given in tables 2 and 3 . these results demonstrate that the δguab mutant sm20 is strongly attenuated in mice but still shows some residual pathogenicity when administered at this high dose . oral immunization with the mutant induces protective immunity against infection by a high dose of the corresponding pathogenic wild type s . enteritidis strain 76sa88 . the protection is at least equal to the protection conferred by the s . enteritidis δaroa mutant sm50 . virulence and protection tests with the isogenic guab deletion mutants sm69 and sm86 in mice the virulence of the mutants sm69 and sm86 in mice was tested by oral infection of 6 - 8 week old female balb / c mice . these were performed as described above . the wild type strains s . enteritidis 76sa88 and s . typhimurium 1491s96 were tested in parallel as positive controls . the complete data are given in tables 4 - 7 . these results demonstrate that the δguab mutants sm69 and sm86 are strongly attenuated in mice but still show some residual pathogenicity when administered at this high dose . oral immunization with the mutants induces protective immunity against infection by a high dose of the corresponding pathogenic wild type strain . safety evaluation of the s . enteritidis guab deletion mutant sm69 in one - day - old chickens by the intratracheal and oral gavage routes the objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of s . enteritidis δguab mutant strain sm69 master seed in one - day - old chickens . mortality was used as a primary parameter for the determination of safety . chicks at one day of age were leg - banded and randomly placed in each of the four treatment groups ( group 1 : sm69 - it , group 2 : sm69 - og , group 3 : pbs - it and group 4 : pbs - og ). after the master seed inoculation , the birds from groups 1 and 2 were placed in one isolator and those of groups 3 and 4 in another isolator . chickens in groups 1 and 2 were inoculated with the sm69 master seed by the intratracheal ( it ) route or oral gavage ( og ) route , respectively , with an actual titer of 1 . 28 × 10 8 cfu / 0 . 2 ml per bird . chickens in groups 3 and 4 were administered with 0 . 2 ml pbs ( phosphate buffered saline ) per bird by the intratracheal or oral gavage , respectively . following the inoculation of sm69 or pbs , chick mortality was observed daily until 38 days post inoculation . table 8 summarizes the results of mortality for all 4 groups . in group 1 , one bird died during the inoculation due to inoculation trauma . two birds died at 2 days post inoculation ( dpi ). three birds died from day 3 to day 13 ( at 3 , 5 and 13 dpi respectively ). a total of 6 birds thus died in group 1 . in group 2 , two birds died in total . one died during inoculation due to inoculation trauma and one died at day 5 post inoculation . no birds died in the pbs treated groups either by the intratracheal or oral gavage route . this study indicates that the s . enteritidis δguab mutant strain sm 69 is not safe when administered at 1 . 28 × 10 8 cfu per bird at one day of age by the intratracheal or oral gavage route . safety evaluation of the s . enteritidis δguab deletion mutant sm69 in 2 - week old chickens by the intratracheal and oral gavage routes safety of the s . enteritidis δguab mutant strain sm69 was then evaluated in 2 week - old specific pathogen free ( spf ) chickens by the intratracheal and oral gavage routes . mortality was used as a primary criterion and body weight as a secondary criterion for the determination of safety . birds at 2 weeks of age were leg - banded and randomly placed in each of the four treatment groups : sm69 - it , sm69 - og , poulvac st - it and pbs - it . ten birds in group 1 were inoculated with sm69 by the intratracheal route ; ten birds in group 2 were inoculated with sm69 by oral gavage ; ten birds in group 3 were inoculated with a s . typhimurium aroa − vaccine ( poulvac ® st ) by the intratracheal route ; and five birds in group 4 were inoculated with pbs by the intratracheal route . chickens in groups 1 and 2 were inoculated with sm69 master seed by the intratracheal or oral gavage route , respectively , with the actual titer of 2 . 304 × 10 8 cfu / 0 . 2 ml per bird . chickens in group 3 were administered with poulvac ® st by the intratracheal route with 2 . 19 × 10 8 cfu / 0 . 2 ml per bird . chickens in group 4 were administered by the intratracheal route with 0 . 2 ml pbs per bird . after inoculation , the birds from treatment groups 1 and 2 were placed in one isolator and those from groups 3 and 4 in another isolator . following inoculations , mortality was observed daily until 21 days post - inoculation . body weight of all birds was also recorded at the end of the study period ( 21 days ). poulvac ® st and pbs were used as intratracheal procedure controls . during the 21 - day observation period , one bird in the sm69 intratracheal treatment group ( group 1 ) died from an infected yolk sac . no mortality was associated with sm69 inoculation , indicating that the sm69 strain is safe at the titer tested , 2 . 304 × 10 8 cfu per bird by the intratracheal and oral gavage routes . as expected , no death was observed either in the poulvac ® st treated birds at the titer of 2 . 19 × 10 8 cfu per bird or in the pbs treated birds , indicating that the study was valid ( table 9 ). body weight was compared amongst groups in an analysis of variance ( anova ) model with body weight as the dependent variable and treatment included as an independent variable . group comparisons were made using tukey &# 39 ; s test for multiple comparisons . the level of significance was set a p & lt ; 0 . 05 . the study was considered valid because the control chickens ( pbs control group ) remained healthy and free of clinical signs of diseases or mortality throughout the study . there were no significant differences in the final body weight in chickens administered with sm69 by the intratracheal or oral gavage inoculation , poulvac ® st , or pbs ( table 5 ). even though no baseline was established of the birds in each group at one day of age , it was unlikely that there was a significant difference in the initial body weight amongst the four groups since the birds were randomly placed into each of the 4 treatment groups . since no mortality was attributable to the inoculation of sm69 , it can be concluded that the s . enteritidis δguab mutant strain , sm69 , is safe when administered at the tested titer of 2 . 304 × 10 8 cfu / 0 . 2 ml dose per 2 - week - old bird , by either the intratracheal or oral gavage inoculation route . sm69 inoculations had no effect on the final body weight of the birds , bird weight being the second safety parameter evaluated here . a deposit has been made according to the budapest treaty at the bccm / lmg culture collection , laboratorium voor microbiologie , k . l . ledeganckstraat 35 , b - 9000 gent ( belgium ) for the following micro - organisms : salmonella enteritidis sm69 under deposit number lmg p - 21641 ( deposit date : 9 aug ., 2002 ) and s . typhimurium sm86 under deposit number lmg p - 21646 ( deposit date : 28 aug ., 2002 ). the deposits have been made in the name of prof . j . - p . hernalsteens , previous address : vrije universiteit brussel , laboratorium genetische virologie , paardenstraat 65 , b - 1640 sint - genesius - rhode , current address : vrije universiteit brussel , onderzoeksgroep genetische virologie , pleinlaan 2 , b - 1050 brussels , belgium .	0
fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present multi - cell computer system 100 which provides detection and routing of platform events for each cell 101 in the system . as used herein , the term ‘ cell ’ refers to an entity ( typically a single board ) comprising a group of processors 106 that share memory and i / o resources . a plurality of cells 101 may be combined , as a partition , to execute one instance of an operating system 103 . as shown in fig1 , system 100 comprises a plurality of cells 101 connected , via switch 112 in system backplane 110 , to a plurality of i / o card slots 150 in pci ( i / o card ) backplane 120 . note that where there is a plurality of similar devices , a single one of the devices is hereinafter denoted by a reference number followed by a wild card symbol ; e . g ., cell 101 * represents any one of the cells 101 ( 1 )- 101 ( n ); the plurality of similar devices is simply denoted by the reference number only . system 100 also includes a supervisory processor 130 , core i / o devices 140 , and mass storage 114 interconnected , via system backplane 110 and switch 112 , with cells 101 and pci backplane 120 . each cell 101 * includes a one or more main processors 106 ( typically 4 ), a local service processor 105 , external hardware registers 107 , memory & amp ; i / o manager 109 , scratch ram 104 , and interfacing hardware 108 . each main processor 106 * in a given partition is associated with one instance of the os ( operating system ) 103 . each processor 106 has associated firmware , hereinafter referred to as platform dependent code ( pdc ) 102 , for managing low - level i / o functions including booting the os 103 across one or more cells 101 . there is one pdc image per cell , therefore all processors 106 in a given cell 101 * share the same pdc 102 . the supervisory processor , herein after referred to as the main service processor ( msp ) 130 , performs functions including receiving notification of events and sending event information to each cell 101 . local service processor ( lsp ) 105 coordinates event handling between main service processor 130 and main processors 106 . in an exemplary embodiment , processors 106 are risc processors , which perform the major computing functions in system 100 . each card slot 150 * in pci backplane 120 has a card insertion latch 165 * and a manually activated switch ( e . g ., a pushbutton switch ) 155 * associated therewith . switch 155 * functions as a ‘ doorbell ’ to provide notification to that a user is ready to replace an i / o card in one of the slots 150 . each group of card slots 150 is accessed through an access panel 170 , the open or closed condition of which is detectable via a switch 175 . fig2 a is a flowchart illustrating , at a high level , exemplary steps performed in detection and routing of intrusion events . as shown in fig2 , when access panel 170 is opened , at step 205 , switch 175 detects the intrusion , causing an interrupt to be generated . at step 210 , main service processor 130 is notified of the intrusion via the interrupt . at step 215 msp 130 then sends an intrusion event message to local service processor 105 . intrusion data comprises two types of information , both of which may be stored in external registers 107 . there is an event register indicating that intrusion has occurred since the event was last cleared , and an intrusion status register indicating current intrusion latch status . intrusion latch status is always placed in an external register , and intrusion event data is stored either in an external register or in scratch ram inter - communication memory ( icm ) 104 . local service processor 105 updates either external registers or icm with intrusion event data , as explained below . at step 220 , local service processor 105 sets the event - corresponding bit in the interrupt pending register . at step 225 , lsp notifies os 103 of the intrusion event , and os 103 then notifies pdc 102 . at step 230 , the intrusion event is cleared by pdc 102 , since all concerned entities have now been informed of the intrusion . at step 235 , main service processor 130 resets the intrusion state , for each affected card slot , in the intrusion status register . after the next time the system is booted , at step 237 , a check is made of previously saved uncleared intrusion events or any new intrusion events by main service processor 130 , at step 240 , to determine whether an intrusion occurred since the last boot . if access panel 170 has not been opened since the previous boot , then , at step 245 , pdc 102 does not have to scan for new devices , since the device configuration is known to be unchanged . therefore , by avoiding scanning for non - existent devices , the present system allows the boot process to occur more quickly when no intrusion has occurred between boot operations . if , however , it is determined that an intrusion occurred since the last boot , then at step 250 the previously pending interrupt is generated for the intrusion event , and pdc 102 scans for new devices , at step 255 . fig2 b is a flowchart illustrating , in greater detail , exemplary steps performed in intrusion event handling . after main service processor 130 is notified of the intrusion event , and msp 130 sends an intrusion event message to local service processor 105 ( steps 210 and 215 ), then at step 216 , local service processor 105 checks to see if pdc 102 has signaled that the pdc code has initialized the shared memory communication path between the pdc and the main service processor 130 . in the present embodiment , this situation is indicated by an sm_good signal from the pdc . if the shared memory ( in fig1 , block 108 ) has not been initialized , then at step 217 , local service processor 105 writes the intrusion event data to an external register 107 . at step 218 , pdc 102 moves the intrusion event data in external register 107 to inter - communication memory ( icm ) 104 of fig1 . intrusion event processing then continues at step 225 , described below . if , at step 216 , it was determined that the shared memory has been initialized , then , at step 219 , local service processor 105 writes intrusion event data to icm in block 104 . at step 220 , local service processor 105 sets the event - corresponding bit in the interrupt pending register , and at step 225 , os 103 sends a message to pdc 102 ( via an event handler ) to clear the event from the event register . at step 230 , the intrusion event is cleared by pdc 102 at the request of the os 103 . at step 235 , main service processor 130 resets the intrusion state , for each affected card slot , in the intrusion status register , and intrusion event processing continues at step 237 in fig2 a , as described above . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps performed when a ‘ doorbell ’ is pressed in system 100 . as shown in fig3 , at step 305 , a user presses a ‘ doorbell ’ pushbutton switch 155 associated with a specific card slot 150 containing an i / o card that is to be removed , so that it can be repaired or replaced . at step 310 , main service processor 130 is notified of the doorbell event by an interrupt generated when switch 155 was pressed . at step 315 , main service processor 130 then sends a message to only the local service processor 105 on the affected partition . more specifically , main service processor 130 sends a message to the lsp 105 in the cell 101 associated with the card slot 150 for which the doorbell was pressed . at step 320 , local service processor 105 writes the card slot identifying information ( e . g ., slot n ) to an area in scratch ram ( icm ) 104 reserved for doorbell data . at step 325 , lsp 105 causes an interrupt for slot n to be sent to its associated os 103 . when the interrupt is serviced , at step 330 , the os issues a call to a pdc function to get the doorbell event from icm 104 . the pdc function sends the doorbell event and physical location to the os 103 , at step 335 . at step 340 , the i / o driver ( s ) ( located on core i / o card 140 ) for the slot 150 associated with the doorbell 155 is ( are ) quiesced . os 103 then turns off power to card slot n , at step 345 , by notifying the appropriate controller ( not shown ) to power down the slot . at step 346 , an attention light 156 is optionally illuminated to notify the user that it is ok to remove the i / o board ( in slot n ) associated with the doorbell that was pressed . at step 350 , the board is removed from slot n , and at step 355 , a board is ( re ) inserted into the slot . insertion of a board into the slot causes closure of a latch ( switch ) 165 associated with the slot , which in turn triggers a latch interrupt . this latch interrupt is sent to main service processor 130 at step 360 , and doorbell / latch processing continues at step 505 in fig5 , as described below . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps performed during the latch initialization process , which takes place prior to i / o discovery . as shown in fig4 , at step 405 , if a latch interrupt is generated ( because a board was removed from its slot ), main service processor 130 sends a status message to local service processor 105 . note that the status message may , alternatively , indicate a doorbell or an intrusion event . if , at step 410 , pdc 102 has signaled ( via an sm_good signal ) that the shared memory ( in block 108 ) between the pdc and main service processor 130 has been initialized , then , at step 415 , local service processor 105 moves the event information in external registers 107 to icm ( scratch ram ) 104 , and latch initialization continues at step 423 . if the shared memory has not been initialized , then at step 420 , the event is ignored , since shared memory must be initialized prior to i / o discovery ( at step 425 ). at step 423 , local service processor 105 sets the appropriate latch status bits in the interrupt pending register . at step 425 , i / o discovery takes place . i / o discovery is part of the pdc boot process . during boot , pdc 102 initializes processors 106 , icm 104 , and i / o devices . when the pdc finds and initializes i / o , the i / o discovery phase occurs . during this step , pdc 102 reads the latch status from icm 104 . next , at step 430 , pdc 102 checks the latch status for each card slot 150 . if a given latch 165 is closed , the pdc powers up the associated slot ( step 440 ); if a given latch is open , the pdc does not power up the slot ( step 435 ). fig5 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps performed when a latch on a card slot is opened or closed during normal operation of system 100 , i . e ., when os 103 has been booted and is running . as shown in fig5 , at step 505 , if a latch interrupt is generated ( because a board was removed from its slot ), main service processor 130 sends a status message to local service processor 105 . the status message may , alternatively , indicate a doorbell or an intrusion event . if , at step 510 , pdc 102 has signaled ( via an sm_good signal ) that the shared memory ( in block 108 ) between the pdc and main service processor 130 has been initialized , then , at step 515 , local service processor 105 moves the event information in external registers 107 to icm ( scratch ram ) 104 , and latch initialization continues at step 523 . if the shared memory has not been initialized , then at step 520 , the event is ignored . at step 523 , local service processor 105 sets the appropriate latch status bits in the interrupt pending register . at step 525 , os 103 receives the interrupt and requests the latch status from pdc 102 . at step 530 , pdc 102 reads the latch status from icm 104 . at step 531 , pdc 102 checks the latch status for each card slot 150 . if a given latch is open , the pdc does not power up the slot ( step 532 ), if a given latch 165 is closed , then at step 533 , pdc 102 sends a slot “ power down ” message to os 103 . at step 535 , os 103 shuts down the i / o driver for the relevant slot 150 , and at step 540 , pdc 103 powers down the slot . while exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and described above , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various embodiments of the present invention are possible . for example , the specific configuration of the system as shown in fig1 , as well as the particular sequence of steps described above in fig2 through 5 should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiments described herein . modification may be made to these and other specific elements of the invention without departing from its spirit and scope as expressed in the following claims .	6
with reference to fig1 the drawing illustrates a snowboard 1 for snowboarders who keep their left foot at the back , or in a &# 34 ; goofy &# 34 ; position , and comprises two mounting zones , viz ., a rear zone 10 where the rear binding 20 is located , and a front zone 11 where the front binding 21 is located . between the two zones 10 , 11 that have been illustrated schematically in a circular fashion due to the possibility of the angular displacement of the bindings , is located a central portion 2 . towards the rear of the rear zone is the rear end portion 3 that end in a raised edge 30 . similarly , the front end 4 is located beyond the front zone and it ends in a raised edge 40 . the board as illustrated represents a non - limiting example , and it would be possible to envision a single raised edge at the front , for example . according to the invention , the central portion 2 comprises a shock - absorption device 5 that is connected to the board and comprises two separate elongate elements 50 , 51 for transmitting the bending and torsional stresses . the two elongate transmission elements 50 , 51 are oriented substantially along the longitudinal direction of the board and are spaced laterally from one another and located on either side of the longitudinal median axis i - i &# 39 ;. these elements each have a first end portion 500 , 510 and a second end portion 501 , 511 that are connected to the board . between the end portions of each element is located a central portion 502 , 512 that has the special characteristic of having no connection with the board , and of thus being free , especially in translation , during the deformation of the central portion of the board during bending and / or torsion . the end portions 500 , 510 , 501 , 511 are all connected to the board via flexible shock - absorption devices 600 , 610 , 601 , 611 that will be described in detail below . the device thus adds much less stiffness compared to a shock - absorption element that is connected along its entire length via a flexible means , as is the case in the prior art cited previously . the arrangement of the two elements 50 , 51 that are laterally spaced from one another and , preferably in the vicinity of each edge of the board , has the advantage of being able to handle both the pure bending deformations , i . e ., maximum in the orientation along the axis i - i &# 39 ; as well as the torsional deformations , oriented in an inclined manner with respect to the axis i - i &# 39 ; ( maximum at ± 45 degrees with respect to i - i &# 39 ;). the details of element 50 equipping the board are illustrated in fig2 through 5 . the other element 51 has an identical design and the following description applies equally to such element 51 . similarly , only one of the halves of element 50 has been represented and described in the following description and it is to be understood that the element has been designed symmetrically with respect to the vertical and transverse plane p passing through the center of such element . the elongate element 50 thus comprises a central portion 502 which is not connected to the upper surface of the board by any type of connection arrangement such as adhesive , for example . in other words , this portion is free in longitudinal translation , but it also has a certain capacity for vertical displacement with respect to the surface of the board depending on the bending and torsional stresses that are applied onto the central portion of the board . the elongate element is extended at the end by an end portion 500 that is connected to the board via a flexible connection mechanism 600 . the connection is thus ensured by layers of flexible material , preferably a visco - elastic material 600a , 600b . this flexible shock - absorption mechanism 600 allows a translational displacement of the end 500a of the end portion 500 . a protection and guiding device 7 covers the end of the portion that is free in translation and is fixedly connected to the board . this protection and guiding device 7 is a casing through which an opening 70 is provided for the passage of the end of the free portion and leads to a housing 71 . the housing contains a or quantity of visco - elastic material surrounding the end of the free portion , thus forming an upper layer 600b adhered on top of housing 71 and on top of the end , and a lower layer 600a adhered on top of the board and beneath the end . under no circumstances can the end 500a come into abutment against the base 710 of the housing of the casing under normal conditions of use . during the displacement of the end 500a in the housing 71 , the layers of visco - elastic material 600a , 600b are stressed together during shearing and dissipate the energy transmitted by the elongate element . preferably , the visco - elastic material is an elastomer whose shore hardness a is comprised between 5 and 85 , whose elasticity modulus is comprised between 1 and 150 mpa and whose shock - absorption coefficient is comprised between 0 . 1 and 2 . 5 . some of these materials are preferred over others , such as mastics , due to their self - adhesive properties that do not necessitate the use of adhesives . generally , these mastics have shock - absorption coefficients and moduli that vary substantially depending on the temperature . in order to identify those that can be used , we consider that they must have a modulus comprised between 1 and 20 mpa and a shock - absorption coefficient comprised between 0 . 1 and 2 . 2 for a useful temperature range comprised between - 20 and + 20 degrees . the use of other synthetic rubbers or elastomers is not excluded . however , it will generally be necessary to stick these layers via an appropriate adhesive . fig6 a , 7 , 7a schematically represent the functioning of the shock - absorption device . fig6 shows the board in a state of rest , and fig7 when it is being bent . during bending , the central portion becomes deformed , for example , along the direction f of fig7 ; this causes a longitudinal displacement relative to the end portions 500 , 501 with respect to the surface of the board ; and especially within the casings 7 . this displacement leads to the shearing of the layers of visco - elastic material 600a , 600b and thus shock - absorption due to the energy dissipated in the material . the free bending of the board , especially its central portion , is hardly influenced by the fact that the elongate element is &# 34 ; floatably &# 34 ; mounted and is not rigidly connected to any spot to the board , and that the central portion especially is capable of being displaced with respect to the surface of the board . fig8 and 9 illustrate a variation of the invention wherein the shock - absorption device 5 is constituted of an elongate element in the shape of a cross 52 comprising a central portion 520 without any direct connection with the board and starting from the central portion , four end portions 521a , 521b , 521c and 521d form arms that are aligned and opposed in pairs . as regards these end portions , they are connected to the board via flexible shock - absorption mechanisms 600 , 601 , 610 , 611 . the elongate element 52 is oriented along the board in such a way that each end portion extends along a preferred direction ( a -- a ; b -- b ) forming an orientation angle θ of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction i - i &# 39 ; of the board . in this configuration , torsional shock - absorption is favored . preferably , the central portion 520 is located at a point that is equidistant from the two mounting zones 10 , 11 . fig9 shows the shock - absorption element whose construction principle is based on the previous embodiment . the ends of each end portion is engaged in the protection and guiding devices or casing 7 , that number four in all . inside , the construction is identical to that of fig4 . according to a different embodiment illustrated in fig1 through 12 , the protection and guiding device 7 is a stirrup that includes a shim 72 upon which a guiding element 73 is affixed ; a guiding housing 71 through which the end 501a of the free portion 501 is adapted to be displaced in translation ; a layer of visco - elastic material 602 is provided at the contact between the shim 72 and the end . in this case , provision has been made for just one layer of flexible material for the purpose of simplification . the purpose of the shim is to maintain the elongate element in the form of a facing at a distance d from the surface of the board in order to avoid any friction along the element with the board . the main function of the guiding element 73 is to ensure the translational guidance of the elongate element during the displacement of the free portion 501 , and also to avoid the adhesive link between the end of the element and the visco - elastic layer 602 , or the link between the layer 602 and the shim 72 from getting ripped off . in some cases it would be possible to envision eliminating the guiding element 73 whilst still remaining within the scope of the invention . regardless of the embodiment , the elongate element for transmitting the bending and / or torsional stresses can be provided in the form of blands , profiles , rings , rods or plastic tubes , whether reinforced or otherwise . in order to ensure a good transmission of the forces , the element must be constituted of a material having a high modulus , selected from among metals and composite resin , fiber glass , carbon , acrylic , polyester based materials and a mixture of such fibers , as well as from among certain high modulus plastics . in the context of fig1 the device comprises two separate elements that extend longitudinally along the board . it would also fall within the scope of the invention to provide a shock - absorption device constituted of a single element 50 . in this case , the element can be located in a laterally offset manner with respect to the axis i - i &# 39 ;, or even be located in an aligned manner along the longitudinal axis i - i &# 39 ;. in the latter case , only the shock - absorption of the longitudinal bending of the board is taken into account . fig1 through 17 illustrate another possible variation of the invention . in this case , the shock - absorption device comprises two elongate elements 50 , 51 constituted of rods that have been spaced laterally with respect to one another and located on either side of the median axis i - i &# 39 ;. in this embodiment , the end portions 500 , 510 of the two rods 50 , 51 are fixedly connected to the board via a fixed connection device that maintains a firm grip on the ends and does not allow for the possibility of any translational or rotational movement . in addition to this connecting arrangement , each rod is extended by an opposite end portion 501 , 511 connected to the board via a flexible connecting arrangement 600 that comprises a casing 7 which is rigidly affixed to the board . as is shown in fig1 , the casing comprises openings 70a , 70b in order to enable the introduction of the ends of the free portions 510 , 511 , both in translation and also in rotation . a recess 71 is provided within casing 71 in order to allow a free displacement of each rod in translation . the volume is totally or partially filled with a block of visco - elastic material 603 . each end having a substantially cylindrical section , is thus surrounded by the material . in order to facilitate the assembly of the shock - absorbing device , while at the same time ensuring the constant spacing of the rods , the fixed connection device , located across from it , is presented in the form of a second housing 8 connected to the board by any means such as welding , screwing , adhesive etc . the fixed portions of the rods are themselves affixed in the casing 7 by means of an adhesive layer 80 , for example . a protective sheath 9 surrounds the rods between the fixed connection arrangement 8 and the shock - absorbing casing 7 . the advantage of this embodiment lies in the fact that it efficiently absorbs both the bending deformations as well as the torsional deformations by virtue of the freedom of movement that is conferred on the end portions 510 , 511 both in translation , as well as in rotation . it is not essential that the rods be assembled in parallel , and they can also have different lengths in order to provide asymmetrical shock - absorption , for example . the rods can also have a non - circular section , such as a flattened , substantially semi - circular or oval shape , for example . they can have a filled or hollow section as well . the embodiment of fig1 through 17 represents a simplified and more economical example of the invention , wherein the flexible shock - absorption arrangement is present only at one of the two ends of each rod , whereas the other end is rigidly affixed to the board . it is to be understood that one could envision providing an identical shock - absorption arrangement at each end of each rod , as was the case in the previous embodiments . in the possible variations of the invention , it could be envisioned that the flexible shock - absorption mechanisms 600 , 601 , 610 , 611 of the embodiments described and illustrated be replaced by a friction shock - absorption arrangement that comprises a friction layer having a friction surface that is covered with a material having a high friction coefficient . in this case , the friction layer can be directly or indirectly connected to the board and it can brake the translational , and possibly the rotational displacements of the end portion 501 , 510 , 511 , 521a , 521b , 521c , 521d . the friction layer has to be guided in translation and / or rotation via a protection and guiding device of the type as described in the above cited embodiments . in another possible embodiment , the friction layer can be connected to the end portion and its friction surface remains in contact either with the upper surface of the board , or with one of the surfaces of the protection and guiding device . however , for a more efficient functioning of the shock - absorption device over time , the use of a flexible shock - absorption device , working in shearing is preferable . indeed , the friction means is subject to quicker wear and tear . the shock - absorption conditions can also vary depending on the conditions . for example , if the snow is wet , water can penetrate inside and get interspersed between the friction surface of the layer and the surface that is subject to the friction ( ski or casing ) and thus affect the shock - absorption . with reference to fig1 through 20 that show another variation of the invention , the central portion 2 of the snowboard represented comprises a shock - absorption device 5 connected to the board . the device 5 comprises four elongate elements 50a , 50b , 51a , 51b that are grouped together in pairs . each elongate element is oriented in an inclined manner with respect to the longitudinal direction of the axis i - i &# 39 ;. preferably , the inclination α of each element with respect to i - i &# 39 ; is close to 45 °. each of the elements has a first end portion 500a , 500b , 510a , 510b that is connected to the board via a fixed connection , such as via screws that extend through the element and become anchored into the body of the board . the screws can be replaced by any other equivalent means , such as adhesive , vibration welding , or other means . the fixed portions are extended by the central portions 502a , 502b , 512a , 512b that have the special characteristic of not being linked to the board , and of thus being free in translation during the torsional deformation of the central portion . finally , the elements end in second end portions 501a , 501b , 511a , 511b that are connected in pairs via a flexible shock - absorption arrangement 600 , 601 . in fact , the end portions 501a , 501b are connected to each other by a shock - absorption arrangement 60 , and more specifically by means of a layer made of a flexible material 600 . the same applies to the end portions 511a , 511b that are connected via shock - absorption arrangement 61 by means of a layer made of a flexible material 601 . during the displacement of the ends during the torsional stresses of the central portion , the layers 600 , 601 , that are preferably layers made of a visco - elastic material , are stressed by shearing and dissipate the energy transmitted by the elongate elements . for the correct functioning of the device , it is necessary that each of the end portions 501a , 501b , 511a , 511b be guided in translation by a protection and guiding device 7 , present in the form of a casing through which openings 70a , 70b , 70c , 70d are provided for the passage of the second end portions . it should be noted that in this specific embodiment , the end portions 501a , 501b , 511a , 511b are not directly linked to the surface of the board by flexible shock - absorption means , but on the contrary , they are free to become displaced with respect to the board , especially during the bending stresses of the central portion . such an embodiment thus provides shock - absorption and stability during torsional deformations and retains flexibility and responsiveness during bending deformations . the invention is not limited to the embodiments that have been expressly described therein , and includes the different variations and generalizations that fall within the scope of the following claims . the instant application is based upon the french priority patent application no . 96 . 10698 filed on aug . 29 , 1996 , the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference thereto , and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 usc 119 .	0
in reference to fig1 a . the frontal bottom portion of the canopy and backpack combination comprises a waist strap ( 87 r ) and ( 87 l ) secured to the lower right and left sides of the bag portion ( 100 ) and the ends of these strap members contain a clasp type fastening device commonly used on backpacks . the male end ( 91 ) and female end ( 92 ) connects and enable the strap member to be loosened or tightened . the shoulder strap members ( 85 r ) and ( 85 l ) are attached to the top opposing sides of the bag portion ( 100 ) and extends to the lower inner side edges of the bag portion and therein attached . the length of the shoulder straps being extend at the lower ends ( 108 r ) and ( 108 l ) enabling the shoulder straps to be loosened or tightened to secure the assembly on the carriers body . the front portion of the assembly further consists of canopy frame strap members ( 70 r ) and ( 70 l ). these straps are affixed to opposing sides lower extremities of canopy frame directly above the connection devices extending across the shoulders and thus attached to the front middle portion of the shoulder strap members ( 85 r ) and ( 85 l ). the canopy frame straps ( 70 r ) and ( 70 l ) enable the canopy to be deployed to its raised position by pulling in a downward forward motion on the strap members which is best accomplished but not limited to using the designated area referenced as ( 112 r ) and ( 112 l ). the canopy frame strap members are also fabricated to include elastic straps the top portions ( 72 r ) and ( 72 l ) being connected to upper portion of the canopy strap members and the bottom portions ( 90 r ) and ( 90 l ) which are connected to the shoulder strap members ( 85 r ) and ( 85 l ) having elastic straps ( 86 r ) and ( 86 l ) horizontally configured across the bottom elastic strap members which guide these strap members ( 90 r ) and ( 90 l ) upward , the end tips of said elastic strap members having clasp type fastening devices female ends ( 71 r ) and ( 71 l ) also male ends ( 73 r ) and ( 73 l ) enable the canopy to be secured in its raised position by connecting the clasp ends . to return the canopy to its collapsed or relaxed position the clasp type fastening device is simply disconnected and the user can then slightly push the canopy frame on either side backwards . the canopy flange and frame members function unitarily in relevance to its movement between desired positions . the frontal bag portion of the assembly also contains poncho strap members ( 111 r ) and ( 111 l ) wherein said strap members are also attached to the shoulder strap members ( 85 r ) and ( 85 l ) towards the upper portions of said shoulder straps . the poncho straps extend across the shoulders passing through slits in the appendage portion ( 99 ) of water resistant fabric which is connected by seams doubled over and symmetrically attached to the outer rear surface of the canopy frame member wherein said fabric extend downward and connected by the same method of doubled over seams to the top rear of bag portion ( 100 ) when viewing the assembly from the rear . the poncho strap members ( 111 l ) & amp ; ( 111 r ) after extending from the front and passing through the slits on the appended fabric having minimal slack which allows the backpack carrier to pull on the straps from the front and release the poncho from its storage compartment located on the rear of the backpack assembly . in referring to fig3 c the canopy portion is in an upright position with the canopy retracted in partially collapsed position . velcro strips ( 94 r ) and ( 94 l ) are depicted wherein the strips are attached by seams to both the right and left sides of the canopy frame fabric ( 99 ) inner lower extremities when viewing the assembly from the front , the velcro strips ( 94 r ) and ( 94 l ) structurally positioned next to the connection devices ( 78 r ) and ( 78 l ) wherein said strips cross horizontally over said connection devices symmetrically and connects to the strip bottoms ( 101 r ) and ( 101 l ) positioned symmetrically and attached by seams to lower extremities of said fabric when viewed from the rear . the canopy portion in the depicted upright position is thus stabilized in this position which allows hands free access to the bag portion ( 100 ) and its accessories as desired . the canopy is then released by detaching said strips ( 94 r ) and ( 94 l ) wherein the option to secure it in its collapsed position is available by attaching the aforementioned fastening device ( 84 ). in referring to fig1 a and 3c respectively the upper canopy portion from a front perspective view comprises the semicircular flange member ( 65 ) and the tubular canopy frame member ( 67 ), also comprising a water resistant fabric ( 95 ) enveloping the flange members ( 65 ) complete outer surface connected by use of a doubled over seam formation , and said material thus extending to the concave in shape tubular canopy frame member ( 67 ) where joined and connected with the aforementioned seam formation to the appended material ( 99 ) on the rear of the canopy frame . the fabrication there of allowing rain to flow off the canopy without the wearer having rain flow down there backs . the canopy frame further comprises a clasp type fastening device ( 84 ) positioned within the canopy at the top center edge below the flange member . this fastening device ( 84 ) also being of the typically used clasp type is attached to the fabric ( 95 ) with seams and is used to stabilize the canopy portion when in its collapsed relaxed position by attaching the top of clasp ( 84 ) to the bottom of the clasp which is attached to the bag portion ( 100 ) directly below the poncho storage compartment . in referring to fig1 a and 19b , there is shown the upper and lower frame members of the assembly . the lower frame being of a tubular u - shape having vertical limbs ( 69 ) and ( 68 ) which merge into the horizontal limb ( 66 ) located at the lowest extremity . the upper extremity ( 74 ) of the lower frame constructed to be telescopic in nature enables the height of the canopy up or down to a desired position by opening the locking mechanisms ( 75 r ) and ( 75 l ) pushing and sliding upward or downward on the indents ( 80 r ) and ( 80 l ) located above the locking mechanisms . once the desired height is chosen the locking mechanisms are closed to secure the position . the upper frame comprises of a concave shaped tubular canopy member ( 67 ) wherein the ends ( 81 r ) and ( 81 l ) are capped to provide a smooth surface and the upper frame also consists of a semicircular flange member ( 65 ). for descriptive purposes the canopy frame is depicted in its raised position . the upper canopy frame member ( 67 ) lower extremities along with the lower frame vertical limbs ( 69 ) and ( 68 ) top extremities are adjacently joined and superimposed by connection devices ( 78 r ) and ( 78 l ). apertures enable the canopy frame member to be secured within the connection device with rivets ( 76 r ) and ( 76 l ). the flange member is received into apertures ( 93 r ) and ( 93 l ) where the ends are flared within the connection device to secure its position , yet allowing the flange member to rotate pivotally between positions . apertures also allow the lower frame vertical limbs to be secured within the connection device with rivets ( 79 r ) and ( 79 l ). notches ( 77 r ) and ( 77 l ) are structurally positioned adjacent to the flange member apertures to provide more stabilization to the flange member when the canopy is in its raised position . a final member of the front lower portion of the assembly consists of a compact sized detachable cushioned pillow ( 98 ) which comprises of foam having the shape of a miniature sized pillow enveloped by a water - resistant fabric fastened with doubled over seams wherein another piece of fabric which can optionally be water resistant also covers the pillow fastened by use of a zipper attached by doubled over seams which allows the top fabric layer to be washed and recycled or replaced . the cushioned pillow ( 98 ) is structurally positioned on the bag portion ( 100 ) of the backpack to provide lumbar support when the backpack assembly is being worm . said pillow is thereby attached by seams to the bag portions top rear side by a strap member ( 88 ) the end thereof having a male fastening device end ( 89 a ) which connects to female end ( 89 a ) attached to the top portion of the detachable pillow ( 98 ) by strap member ( 107 a ) and a lower strap member ( 105 ) affixed to the middle section of the horizontal limb ( 66 ) of the lower frame member . said strap having a female end fastening device ( 89 b ) which connects to a male end ( 89 b ) attached to the bottom of the detachable pillow by strap member ( 107 b ). said detachable pillow also having the ability to be detached and used for cushioned seating on hard surfaces and / or alternatively for resting or sleeping . in reference to fig2 and 12 respectively the bag portion ( 100 ) comprises of the lower unshaped frame member previously described where secured within the outer walls of the bag portion by doubled over seams that affix the bag portion to the frame members with a fabric material which has the option of being water resistant but not limited to . the bag portion having storage compartments ( 97 ) ( 103 a ) ( 103 b ) along with small pockets ( 109 r ) ( 109 l ) and large pocket portions ( 123 ) ( 102 ) with zip fastener ( 96 ). numerous variations can be used in the fabrication of the bag portion storage compartments pockets and fastening devices as seen in the plurality of backpacks that are commonly in use . a last member of the rear bag portion ( 100 ) comprises a poncho storage compartment ( 119 ) wherein the poncho member ( 122 ) which consists of a water resistant type material fabricated and constructed in the manner typically used to construct common basic ponchos and thus forms an integrated unit , the poncho member ( 122 ) being attached to inner bottom portion ( 115 ) of the poncho storage compartment of the backpack assembly . when the poncho ( 122 ) is not in use it is stowed within the storage compartment the upper portion ( 119 ) of the storage compartment connects to the lower portion having velcro strips ( 113 ) ( 114 ) and ( 116 ) affix to the outer sides and outer bottom side of the lower storage compartment member ( 115 ) by use of seams and thus connects to upper storage upper portion of the storage compartment ( 119 ) having velcro positioned symmetrically on the inside of said upper portion of the storage compartment . the poncho ( 122 ) is released from its storage compartment by the carrier pulling forward and downward on the poncho strap members ( 111 r ) ( 111 l ) which extend as previously described from the front portion where attached to the shoulder straps ( 85 r ) ( 85 l ). the poncho straps pass through horizontal loop members right side ( 117 a ) ( 117 b ) & amp ; ( 117 c ) left side ( 116 a ) ( 116 b ) & amp ; ( 116 c ). the ends of the poncho strap members ( 111 r ) ( 111 l ) having male ends ( 118 r ) & amp ; ( 118 l ) which connects to female ends ( 121 r ) & amp ; ( 121 l ) that are attached and fastened to the top portion ( 119 ) of the poncho storage compartment by the bottom straps ( 120 r ) & amp ; ( 120 l ) portions . the carrying case member being fabricated and constructed to provide protection and preservation of the backpack and canopy combination while being transported or stored comprises of a material that is optionally water resistant or none water resistant . the first layer ( 126 ) being the desired fabric material , the second layer ( 124 ) a foam type cushion and the third layer ( 128 ) are attached by use of doubled over seams that extend around the complete outer edges of the carrying case depicted in flat laid out manner . seams are also sewn across the carrying case creating three sections of equal length . an appendage of the same fabrication is joined at the top seam thus forming the area to safely store the assembly . zippers ( 127 ) are use to fasten the sides of the appendage to the top section of the carrying bag . velcro strips ( 125 ) are used to fasten the carrying case in its folded configuration having loop shaped handles ( 132 a ) & amp ; ( 132 b ) comprised of a fabric material affixed by use of doubled over seams to the center on both the right and left sides of the carrying bag opening center sections when depicted from a top perspective view .	0
hydrogen peroxide is advantageously used in the form of aqueous solutions . the h 2 o 2 concentration of the solution varies from approximately 35 to 75 % by weight and is preferably between 65 and 75 %. although it is preferable to use pure or very concentrated ( 80 % by weight or higher ) sulphuric acid , it is also possible to use sulphuric acid solutions containing up to 50 % by weight of water . as carboxylic acids , aliphatic acids which are liquids under the operating conditions are preferably used . these acids which generally contain from 1 to 8 carbon atoms may be straight - chain or branched chain , saturated or unsaturated , and may contain substituents such as , for example , halogen atoms . acetic acid and propionic acid are particularly useful . it is also possible to use solid carboxylic acids such as higher aliphatic acids or aromatic acids ( for example benzoic acid and its substituted derivatives ) by adding a solvent such as an alcohol ( for example methanol , ethanol or propanol ) or an ester . as mentioned above , a carboxylic acid ester may be used . this ester is preferably an ester of an aliphatic alcohol containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms , for example ethyl acetate , butyl acetate or ethyl propionate . the oxidation according to the invention may be carried out at a temperature which may range from - 20 ° to 140 ° c ., but which is advantageously between 60 ° and 90 ° c . the process according to the invention may be carried out in different ways . for example , it is possible to operate , as in european pat . no . 24 , 224 and west german pat . no . 3 , 035 , 641 by adding to the 2 -( perfluoroalkyl ) ethyl iodide a mixture of hydrogen peroxide , sulphuric acid and carboxylic acid or the ester in the required proportions . it is also possible to operate in the reverse manner by introducing the iodide into such a mixture . however , the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises introducing hydrogen peroxide into a mixture of 2 -( perfluoroalkyl ) ethyl iodide , sulphuric acid and the carboxylic acid or the carboxylic acid ester . this introduction is advantageously carried out under vigorous stirring . the addition rate is such that the temperature of the reaction medium is maintained by itself between 60 ° and 90 ° c . the reaction is generally very quick and takes place with a release of iodine and / or of iodic acid which can easily be separated from the reaction mixture by filtration . the major portion of iodine may thus be recovered in the form of elementary iodine by treating the iodic acid with a conventional reducing agent such as sodium sulphite . the fluorinated products may be isolated according to conventional methods , for example by phase separation and washing the organic phase with water . a product which mainly comprises the 2 -( perfluoroalkyl ) ethyl ester ( r f c 2 h 4 ocor ) is finally obtained . the ester may be saponified to obtain the alcohol r f ch 2 ch 2 oh or be converted into another ester , epecially into acrylate or methacrylate . as it has already been pointed out in the above - cited german pat . no . 3 , 035 , 641 , working with peracids and hydrogen peroxide involves not - negligible risks of firing and explosion . consequently , when carrying out the process according to this invention , it is urged to take all the usual security measures against these risks . the following examples in which the percentages refer to percentages by weight , illustrate the invention without limiting it . 47 . 4 g ( 0 . 1 mole ) of 2 -( perfluorohexyl ) ethyl iodide , 60 g of acetic acid and 28 ml of 98 % sulphuric acid are charged into a 250 ml glass reactor equipped with a high power stirrer , a reflux condenser and a dropping funnel , 24 . 7 g of a 70 % hydrogen peroxide solution ( which amounts to 0 . 5 mole of h 2 o 2 ) are then added dropwise during a 50 minute period . the temperature rises by itself to 75 °- 80 ° c . and is maintained at this level for a further period of 30 to 45 minutes following the completion of the addition . the reaction mixture is then filtered to separate the iodine and the iodic acid formed and phase separation of the filtrate is then carried out . the organic phase is washed with 3 × 50 ml of water at 25 ° c . 38 g of organic phase are thus obtained . the distribution of fluorinated compounds , as determined by chromatography , is as follows : 95 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 ococh 3 , 3 . 1 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 oh , 1 . 5 % of ( c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 o ) 2 so 2 , and 1 . 4 % of unconverted c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 i . 47 . 4 g of 2 -( perfluorohexyl ) ethyl iodide , 30 ml of 98 % sulphuric acid and 74 g of propionic acid are charged into a reactor identical to that in example 1 . 26 . 9 g of a 70 % hydrogen peroxide solution are then added dropwise during a 45 minute period . the mixture is maintained at 75 °- 80 ° c . for a further period of 30 minutes with stirring . after filtering , phase separation of the filtrate and washing with sodium sulphite and with water , 40 g of organic phase are recovered . the distribution of fluorinated compounds is as follows : 98 . 4 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 ococ 2 h 5 , 1 . 49 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 oh , and 0 . 2 % of unconverted c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 i . operating as in example 2 , starting with 37 . 4 g of 2 -( perfluorobutyl ) ethyl iodide , 28 g of organic phase are obtained . the distribution of fluorinated compounds is as follows : 97 % of c 4 f 9 c 2 h 4 ococ 2 h 5 , 1 . 5 % of c 4 f 9 c 2 h 4 oh , and 1 . 5 % of unconverted c 4 f 9 c 2 h 4 i . the reaction is carried out as in example 2 , but replacing the 2 -( perfluorohexyl ) ethyl iodide by 53 . 8 g of a mixture of iodides r f c 2 h 4 i having the following composition by weight : ______________________________________ r . sub . f % ______________________________________ c . sub . 6 f . sub . 13 56 . 1 c . sub . 8 f . sub . 17 25 . 0 c . sub . 10 f . sub . 21 10 . 1 c . sub . 12 f . sub . 25 4 . 0 ≧ c . sub . 14 f . sub . 29 4 . 8______________________________________ the average molecular weight of this mixture is in the vicinity of 538 . the distribution of fluorinated compounds in the organic phase thus obtained ( 40 g ) is as follows : 97 . 8 % of r f c 2 h 4 ococ 2 h 5 , 2 % of r f c 2 h 4 oh , and 0 . 2 % of unconverted r f c 2 h 4 i . operating as in example 2 , starting with 27 . 4 g of 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 4 - pentafluorobutyl iodide , 20 g of organic phase are obtained . the fluorinated compounds are distributed as follows : 96 . 5 % of c 2 f 5 c 2 h 4 ococ 2 h 5 , 1 . 5 % of c 2 f 5 c 2 h 4 oh , and 2 % of unconverted c 2 f 5 c 2 h 4 i . 47 . 4 g of 2 -( perfluorohexyl ) ethyl iodide , 30 ml of 98 % sulphuric acid and 163 g of trichloroacetic acid are charged into a reactor identical to that in example 1 . 26 . 9 g of a 70 % hydrogen peroxide solution are then added , with stirring , at an addition rate such that the temperature is maintained at 70 °- 80 ° c . when the addition of hydrogen peroxide is complete , the mixture is maintained stirred for a further period of 30 minutes . after cooling to 20 ° c ., 100 ml of water are added . 12 . 3 g of crude iodine are recovered by filtration . after phase separation of the filtrate and washing the organic phase with water , 53 g of a product are obtained . the distribution of fluorinated compounds is as follows : 90 . 6 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 ococcl 3 , 1 . 1 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 oh , 5 . 6 % of ( c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 o ) 2 so 2 , and 2 . 7 % of unconverted c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 i . the reaction is carried out as in example 2 , but replacing the 74 g of propionic acid by 144 g of octanoic acid . 56 g of organic phase are obtained . the fluorinated compounds are distributed as follows : 98 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 ococ 7 h 15 , 0 . 8 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 oh , and 1 . 2 % of unconverted c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 i . the reaction is carried out as in example 2 , but replacing the propionic acid by 88 g of ethyl acetate . 38 g of organic phase are thus obtained . the fluorinated compounds are distributed as follows : 79 . 3 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 ococh 3 , 18 . 2 % of c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 oh , and 2 . 5 % of unconverted c 6 f 13 c 2 h 4 i . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments , it is evident that many alternatives and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , the invention is intended to embrace all of the alternatives and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	2
fig1 shows an axial piston pump of a swash plate design . the pump includes components that have a coating 24 produced in accordance with a method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention . a rotating driveable cylindrical drum 1 is provided in a pump housing 7 in the manner conventional for axial piston pumps of this type . the cylindrical drum is attached to a swash plate 3 , which may be pivoted for adjusting the output and , therefore , the system pressure producible by the pump , the pivot axis of the swash plate 3 being identified by numeral 37 in fig1 . the pump housing 7 includes an upper part 9 situated above in the drawing and a lower part 11 . a drive shaft 13 for the cylindrical drum 1 is mounted in the upper part 9 in a tapered roller bearing 16 for rotational movement about the axis 15 and in the lower part 11 via a slide bearing 17 . the cylinder chambers 19 of the cylindrical drum 1 with pistons 21 guided therein ( in the section plane of fig1 only one cylinder chamber 19 is visible ) contact a control plate 23 , in the drawing at the lower cylinder end , which control plate abuts the lower housing part 11 . the control plate 23 has control openings 25 and 26 for connections between a connection 29 on the intake side and a connection 27 on the pressure side into the cylinder chambers 19 of the cylindrical drum 1 . the control plate 23 , depicted separately in fig2 and fig7 , has a coating 24 , see fig2 , on the upper side in the drawing facing the cylindrical drum 1 . the coating is produced in accordance with a method according to the invention , and forms the bearing surface on which the slightly concavely curved bottom surface 8 of the cylindrical drum 1 slides as it rotates . in fig7 , parts 6 of the coating 24 form bearing points between a central orifice 14 and adjacent control openings 25 and 26 . as the cylindrical drum 1 moves , the pistons 21 slide past one guide shoe 31 , each on the sliding surface 33 situated on the underside of the swash plate 3 . a guide shoe 31 is depicted separately in fig1 . the guide shoes 31 are connected to the upper piston side of the associated piston 21 in a ball - joint manner . the ball joint is formed by a ball - shaped head 34 on the piston 21 and a ball socket 36 in the guide shoe 31 . the ball joint is secured by a crimp 38 on the guide shoe 31 . oil bores 35 in the ball - shaped head 34 and guide shoe 31 form an access for fluid , such as hydraulic oil , for lubricating the sliding surface 33 and for hydrostatic release of the guide shoe . as in the case of the control plate 23 , the guide shoes 31 also having a coating 24 produced in accordance with a method according to the invention . as previously mentioned , the swash plate 3 , to set the flow volume , is adjustable about the pivot axis 37 , which lies in the plane of the sliding surface 33 of the swash plate 3 . this pivot axis 37 is defined by the swash plate mounting formed between the swash plate 3 and the upper part 9 . the mounting includes a plastic bearing shell 39 on the upper part 9 , on which the swash plate 3 with a concave - shaped sliding surface 41 is guided . in the sliding surface 41 , a passage opening 43 expanding conically upward is formed in the swash plate 3 to allow entry of the drive shaft 13 . guide rails 45 projecting from the sliding surface 41 are provided on both sides next to the opening 43 as part of the swash plate mounting . for pivotally moving the swash plate 3 about the pivot axis 37 , the side of the swash plate 3 located to the left in fig1 is screwed to a pivot lever 47 . pivot lever 47 extends parallel to the axis 15 next to the cylindrical drum 1 and is movable at its lower end 49 in fig1 , in a direction extending perpendicular to the drawing plane , in order to effect a corresponding pivotal movement of the swash plate 3 about the pivot axis 37 . the pivot lever 47 is screwed to an inner thread situated in a bore 51 on the associated side of the swash plate 3 . a flexible tube 5 forming a component of a feed and pressure device is , as shown in fig1 , arranged laterally next to the cylindrical drum 1 in a direction extending parallel to the axis 15 . the flexible tube 5 is seated at its lower end in fig1 in a mount 53 in a connector block 55 on the lower housing portion 11 . the mount 53 allows for an axial displacement of the flexible tube 5 . the block 55 includes a connection channel to the pressure side 29 , not visible in fig1 , which opens into the mount 53 of the flexible tube 5 . the upper end of the flexible tube 5 is flexibly connected to the swash plate 3 via a connecting piece 58 arranged laterally outside of the sliding surface 33 on the underside of the swash plate 3 . the flexible connection is realized by a type of ball joint and includes a ball - shaped head 59 at the upper end of the flexible tube 5 , which is accommodated in a ball socket 61 of the connecting piece 58 . the flexible tube 5 is braced via the connecting piece 58 against the swash plate 3 . for this purpose , a disk spring set 63 is arranged between the lower end of the flexible tube 5 and the bottom of the mount 53 . a fluid orifice 67 in the connecting piece 58 continues the fluid connection to the pressure side 29 beyond the tube opening on the ball - shaped head 59 to the swash plate 3 . adjoining the orifice 67 of the connecting piece 58 are lubrication channels 73 , 75 formed within the swash plate 3 , of which only some are visible in fig1 and of which the vertical ducts 75 lead to the locations of the sliding surface 41 relevant for supplying lubricant for the swash plate mounting . fig3 through 7 illustrate the steps of a method according to the invention for forming a coating 24 on the control plate 23 of the axial piston pump depicted in fig1 . fig3 shows the form of a blank 81 produced from tempered steel as a rotating part in the form of a circular cylindrical disk having a circular recess 83 between a projecting circumferential edge 85 and a projecting annular rib 87 at the edge of the central orifice 14 . as shown in fig4 , the recess 83 is consistently recessed in the radial direction ( i . e ., recess 83 continuously deepens in the radially outward direction ). fig5 and 6 illustrate the further method step , in which the recess 83 is filled with the powdery coating material 4 . to form the coating 24 in the form of a bearing bronze , a powdery tin bronze cusn6 is filled in as the filler material . the coating material 4 is then melted under a protective gas atmosphere without pressure in a vacuum furnace . the bronze layer is inseparably bonded to the carrier part as a result of the soldered connection produced . a specific tempered state can be achieved through targeted cooling following the soldering process . fig7 illustrates the finished state of the control plate 23 , once the semi - finished product shown in fig5 and 6 is rendered in the form shown in fig2 and fig7 by turning . as is apparent , slide bearing regions 6 are formed from the coating 24 between the central orifice 14 and the control opening 25 on the intake side , and the control opening 26 on the pressure side , as well as between a flange - like circumferential region 89 and the control openings 25 , 26 , as they are identified in fig7 . the bearing region 6 formed from the coating 24 is convexly curved , corresponding to the slightly concavely curved bottom surface 8 of the cylindrical drum 1 . the region 6 of the coating 24 is lapped together with the bottom surface 8 of the cylindrical drum 1 . fig8 through 10 illustrate the coating of a guide shoe 31 of the axial piston pump of fig1 in accordance with a coating method according to the invention . again , a steel blank 82 is roughly turned so as to form a recess 84 in the form of an annular surface bordered by a projecting circumferential edge 88 , which is filled with the powdery coating material 4 , again tin bronze . melting then takes place as described in the example of the control plate 23 . the semi - finished product formed after melting is depicted in fig9 . the guide shoe 31 is brought to final form as shown in fig1 by subsequent final machining by turning and milling ( some of the machining lines are indicated by dashed lines 91 and 93 in fig9 ). as is apparent here , the upper side of the guide shoe 31 , provided for interacting with the sliding surface 33 of the axial piston pump , is machined in such a way that bearing regions 6 in the form of adjoining circular rings are formed from the coating 24 on the circumferential region of the upper side 95 . while various embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims .	5
referring to fig1 of the drawings , a copier representative of and image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applicable is shown . as shown , the copier has a dust - proof glass 1 for protecting a lens and mirrors of optics ( not shown ) against contaminants , an eraser 2 , a main charger 3 , an image carrier in the form of a photoconductive drum 4 which is implemented by a selenium - based photoconductor , a precleaning charger ( pcc ) 5 , a cleaning unit 6 , a separating pawl 7 , a postcleaning charger ( pqc ) 8 , a photosensor 9 responsive to a potential on the drum 4 , a register roller pair 10 , a transfer charger 11 , a separation charger 12 , a transport belt 13 , a paddle wheel 14 for feeding a developer having been agitated together with a toner , and a developing sleeve 15 to which the developer is fed by the paddle wheel 14 . in fig1 the drum 4 is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow a by a copy command , for example . simultaneously with the drive of the drum 4 , the pcc or discharger 5 , eraser 2 , transfer charger 11 , separation charger 12 and cleaning unit 6 are activated to prevent toner particles and irregular potentials deposited on the drum 4 from reaching the main charger 3 and a developing unit ( constituted by the developing sleeve 15 ). this maintains the surface potential of the drum 4 moved away from a discharging lamp ( not shown ) zero even after a sheet jam or similar occurence . in this case , the leading edge of an image is positioned on the drum 4 downstream of the position which has moved away from the cleaning unit 6 by a control section . the eraser 2 illuminates an unnecessary area of the drum 4 which has been charged by the main charger 3 , so that an image frame matching a paper sheet or an image to be projected is formed on the drum 4 . as the drum 4 reaches a predetermined position , imagewise light from the optics is focused on the drum 4 to form a latent image in the image frame . the developing unit develops the latent image to form a toner image , and then the drum 4 is discharged by a pretransfer discharging lamp and a pretransfer discharger ( not shown ). a paper sheet fed from a paper feed section ( not shown ) is held in a halt by the register roller pair 10 . as soon as the leading edge of the toner image coincides with the leading edge of the paper sheet under the control of the control section , the register roller pair 10 drives the paper sheet again , resulting in the toner image being transferred to the paper sheet . at this instance , since the surface of the drum 4 is extremely smooth and , therefore , the paper sheet is held in tight contact with the drum 4 , the separation charger 12 lowers the potential of the paper sheet to reduce the adhering force acting between the drum 4 and the paper sheet . subsequently , the paper sheet is separated from the drum 4 by the separating pawl 7 . the paper sheet separated from the drum 4 is transported by the belt 13 to a fixing station ( not shown ). as shown in fig2 when the latent image on the drum 4 is developed by the developing unit , a potential may be applied to the developing unit to increase or decrease image density as desired . referring to fig8 a specific construction of a control system is shown in a schematic block diagram . as shown , the control system has a main control unit 16 , an operating section 17 , an ac driving section 18 , a key inputting section 19 , a display section 20 , a fixation thermistor 21 , a drum thermistor 22 , a heater 23 , a main motor 24 , a lamp 25 , loads 26 such as solenoids and clutches , sensors 27 , a bias supply unit for development 28 , a charging unit 29 , an optics control unit 30 , a motor 31 for magnification change , and a position sensor 32 . the photosensor 9 is connected to the main control unit 16 . fig2 and 3 show a specific arrangement of a focusing system . in the figures , when the drum 4 is rotated to a predetermined position by a copy command , for example , a document laid on the glass platen 33 is scanned by a first scanner 36 on which a first mirror 34 and an illuminating unit ( lamp ) 35 are mounted . a reflection from the document is steered by the first mirror 34 , a second mirror 37 , a third mirror 38 , a lens 39 and a fourth mirror 40 to the drum 4 and focused thereon . the reference numerals 41 and 42 designate a black pattern and a white reference pattern , respectively . label l 1 is a distance as measured from a home position hp ( position of the first mirror 34 indicated by a phantom line ). a reference amount of illumination or exposure is determined as follows . as shown in fig3 the white reference pattern 42 ( 0 . 1 in terms of document density od ) is provided on a bracket 43 at a distance of about 10 millimeters as measured from the leading edge le side . also provided on the bracket 43 is the black pattern ( od = 1 . 8 ) for determining the density and supply of toner while an ordinary copying operation is under way . since the pattern 41 is located at a different optical length from the document surface , it substantially differs from one machine to another . fig3 a to 34c are graphs showing a relationship between the density of the white reference pattern image and the amount of light which was determined by changing the position of a filament and with respect to different potentials vl of the reference pattern image . the curves of the figures prove that the image of the white reference pattern having a density od of 0 . 1 undergoes a change in density from 0 . 18 to 0 . 35 in terms of document density . specifically , the amount of exposure as measured on the surface of the drum 4 varies noticeably despite the combination of a constant amount of light ( constant voltage of the lamp 35 ) and the white reference pattern 42 . hence , it is necessary to set the reference value ( initial reference data ) machine by machine . a difference in the amount of light between machines can be compensated for by correcting the bias voltage for development machine by machine . it is to be noted that the density od remains constant in individual machines . in fig3 l 2 indicates the distance of approach run of the first scanner 36 . referring to fig5 and 6 , an exemplary system for sensing the potential and density is shown . imagewise light is focused by the focusing system on the drum 4 having been charged by the main charger 3 , whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum 4 . the photosensor 9 made up of a light emitting element and a light - sensitive element photoelectrically transforms a reflection from the drum 4 and delivers an output thereof to the main control unit 16 . when an image density is to be sensed , the developing unit develops the latent image on the drum 4 . then , the photosensor 9 senses the density of the resulting toner image pattern and feeds to the main control unit 16 a signal which is representative of the sensed potential . in response , the main control unit 16 performs toner density control , toner end detection , etc . in this manner , the photosensor 9 reads not only the pattern on the drum 4 but also the portions of the drum 4 adjacent to the opposite ends a 1 and a 2 of the pattern , as shown in fig4 . such portions of the drum 4 are labled a &# 39 ; 1 and a &# 39 ; 2 in fig5 which shows the data read out by the photosensor 9 . as shown in fig5 when the ratio of a pattern output vsp to a background output vsg is large , it may be determined that the toner density is low ( a black toner reflects hardly any light ). the toner supply control and toner - end detection are executed on the basis of the outputs vsg and vsp . the drum thermistor 22 and fixation thermistor 21 shown in fig8 serve to detect the suspension of operation of the apparatus . when the power switch of the apparatus is turned on , the outputs of the thermistors 21 and 22 are read via an an port . generally , when the power switch is turned off after the warm - up of a fixing roller , the temperature of the fixing roller is sequentially lowered toward room temperature along a curve which is expressed as : ## equ1 ## where a and b are the constants particular to a machine and t is the time . assuming that the temperatures sensed by the thermistors 21 and 22 are tf and td , respectively , a difference δt between tf and td is produced by : in the equation ( 2 ), the temperature td substantially equals room temperature if the operation of the apparatus is suspended over a long period of time . hence , the suspension time , i . e ., the duration of deactivation of the drum 4 can be estimated on the basis of the level of at least one of δt ( with td being assumed to be nearly equal to td ) and tf . since the sensitivity of the drum 4 is susceptible to the duration of deactivation as stated previously , it is possible to correct the reference voltage for development efficiently and , yet , accurately by determining the suspension time on the basis of δt or tf . to further promote accurate detection of a suspension time , δt and tf may be replaced with a timer which is backed up . as stated above , the illustrative embodiment detects a suspension of the apparatus before the contamination of background and , when δt and tf do not satisfy the above condition , does not perform background detection ( i . e . a detection start flag is not set ). a reference will be made to fig2 to 7 for describing how the illustrative embodiment checks the background for contamination . ( 1 ) first , reference values vsgs and bsst are set . the reference value vsgs is the mean value of reflection outputs ( vsg ) associated with the background of the drum 4 and read by the photosensor 9 with the drum 4 being rotated . the reference value vsst is the reflection output associated with the white reference pattern 42 read with the drum 4 being rotated . a bias output vbs is another reference value used to cope with the amount of exposure on the drum surface which differs from one machine to another . specifically , considering the fact that the amount of exposure as measured on the drum surface depends on the machine even if the white reference pattern 42 , for example , is projected onto the drum 4 by a constant lamp voltage , the bias output is variably controlled to memorize a reference white pattern output vsst which is equal to or greater than 3 . 0 and equal to or smaller than vsgs . this setting is carried out in a factory , for example . in detail , after the image adjustment of the machine or after forming , for example , the background of the drum 4 and the white reference pattern 42 are illuminated as shown in fig2 and then the resulting latent image is developed by a desired bias output vbs such as 240 volts to 300 volts . the output of the photosensor 9 representative of the densities of the developed pattern are stored in a non - volatile memory ( ram ) as the reference values vsgs and vsst . such setting of reference values involve restrictions , as follows . while vsg is selected to be 4 . 0 ± 0 . 2 volts , { vsgs \| 3 . 6 volts ≦ vsgs } is set up because vsgs is generally not equal to vsg . further , since small vsst narrows the range of an equation which will be described , vbs is varied until { vsst 3 . 0 ≦ vsst ≦ vsgs } holds as stated previously . more specifically , after vsst has been read , vbs is varied until vsgs & lt ; 3 . 6 volts and 3 . 0 volts ≦ vsst ≦ vsgs hold and the resulting value of vbs is memorized also . however , the restriction associated with vsst depends on the bias output step . the optical path length ( magnification ), lamp voltage and other various image forming conditions are also stored . it is to be noted that while the repetitive correction associated with drum suspension time is added to the bias output vbs , the illustrative embodiment treats vbs by excluding the repetitive correction . the photosensor 9 reads a reflection from the surface of the drum 4 , as described in detail in relation to the potential sensing and density sensing system . in the illustrative embodiment , the influence of eccentricity of the drum 4 and difference in reflectance on the output of the photosensor 9 is reduced by causing it to sense the reflection at a plurality of equally spaced locations along the circumference of the drum 4 and averaging the resulting outputs . assume that the drum 4 is equally segmented into six parts by each 60 degrees along the circumference thereof , as shown in fig6 . in fig6 the photosensor 9 reads the reflection at four equally spaced positions [ 1 ] to [ 6 ] of the drum 4 in response to photosensor triggers each matching the angle of 60 degrees and , further , reads it eight consecutive times with respect to each of the six positions [ 1 ] to [ 6 ] in synchronism with drum pulses . an average value of the values read at each position is outputted . the mean values associated with positions [ 1 ] to [ 6 ] are outputted as data associated with one rotation of the drum 4 . such a reading operation is repeated six times , and the resulting data are averaged to produce a mean value . fig7 shows data read by the above - stated , specific procedure . as shown , the data associated with the positions [ 1 ] to [ 6 ] and resulted from the first rotation of the drum 4 varies from 3 . 70 to 4 . 23 , the mean value being 3 . 90 . the drum 4 is rotated five more times to produce a mean value x = 3 . 865 of all of the output data , as shown in fig7 . the mean value x is memorized as vsgs . by so reading the reflection while the drum 4 is in rotation ( with vsg being controlled to 4 . 0 volts in a suspended state of the machine ), it is possible to calculate a correction value ( ratio to vsgs ) of the reference white pattern output vsst of the photosensor 9 also , in matching relation to the reference background output vsgs . this is successful in enhancing accurate detection . it is to be noted that the timings for effecting the first to sixth reading operations are determined at random . ( 2 ) after the above procedure , values to be compared or comparison values are read . specifically , when the user turns on the power switch of the apparatus , whether or not the suspension of operation of the apparatus satisfies the previously stated condition is determined . if the condition is satisfied , i . e ., when it is decided that the power switch has been turned off more than a predetermined period of time on the basis of the absolute values or differences of the fixing temperature and drum temperature , a reading procedure similar to the procedure executed with the photosensor 9 is effected . this produces a comparison background output ( vsg ): vsgc and a comparison white pattern output vsck . these values vsgc and vsck are also calculated as mean values . a bias output vbs set beforehand on the basis of such data and by using an equation which will be described is corrected by a correction value + δvb . the correction value + δvb is selected to be zero for the first reading operation . ( 3 ) the procedure ( 2 ) described above is followed by a sequence of steps for setting a correction value . this sequence is effected during the second and successive reading operations . a sum of the bias output vbs and the correction value + δvb is the bias output . the correction value + δvb is determined as follows . by limiting the output of photosensor 9 by the bias output vb or the amount of illumination , for example , the correction value δvb is produced by the following equations . while the contamination of a background is ascribable to an increase in drum potential v o and a decrease in the amount of illumination ( contamination of optics ), both of such causes results in an increase in the potential vl of a white area of the drum 4 . assuming that vsg is 4 . 0 volts ( set value ), the relationship between the pattern output ( vsst , vsck ) of the photosensor 9 and the potential vl is expressed as : ## equ2 ## the ratio of vsgs to vsgc is corrected to vsck by : ## equ3 ## substituting the equation ( 4 ) for ( 3 ), ## equ4 ## in the illustrative embodiment , assuming that the bias output step is 30 volts , and that δvl of the equation ( 5 ) is 30 volts , then hence , when ( vsst - vsck &# 39 ;) is assumed to be the correction of ( δvb =) 30 volts which occurs every 27 bits in the control aspect , then the background correction value δvb is produced by : ## equ5 ## the bias output at the time of reading values to be compared is selected to be vbs + δvb as stated previously for the following reason . should the bias output vbs be constant , the range wherein δvl can be followed would be limited to ( 1 . 0 - 3 . 7 ) volts ×(- 57 )= 154 volts ( one notch of change in bias voltage is selected to be 60 volts ). in contrast , when the bias output is vbs + δvb , δvb will be added at each time of background detection . this allows the pattern output to be confined in the range of 1 . 0 volt to 3 . 7 volts and thereby satisifies the equation ( 3 ) at all times . as stated above , in the illustrative embodiment , the bias voltage vbs is changed until vsst becomes equal to or higher than 3 . 0 volts and equal to or lower than vsgs . however , when a vsg error flag or a comparison value error flag is set , the correction data is not added while an ordinary copying operation is under way . as shown in fig2 the first scanner 34 is usually located at its home position hp which is defined beneath the black pattern 41 . hence , during an ordinary copying operation , a black pattern for controlling the toner density which is one of image forming conditions is formed on the drum 4 . in the event when the background is checked for contamination , the first scanner 36 is shifted to a position beneath the white reference pattern 42 to form a latent image of the pattern 42 on the circumference of the drum 4 as a continuous one - round pattern . this latent image is read by the photosensor 9 at equally spaced locations , as stated earlier . the single continuous one - round pattern may be replaced with a plurality of equally spaced segments , if desired . the photosensor 9 reads the background on the drum 4 first and , then , reads the one - round pattern formed thereafter at the same position . the two patterns stated above are formed while the scanner 36 is moved back and forth . specifically , the first scanner 36 is reciprocated between the home position , fig2 and the predetermined position beneath the white reference pattern 42 . while the scanner 36 is moving forward , a black pattern for toner density control is formed on the drum 4 with the conditions ( steps ) necessary for pattern formation being executed . on the other hand , the white pattern is formed on the drum 4 by locating the scanner 36 at a position remotest from the home position hp , as stated earlier . these patterns adapted for the control over image forming conditions extend in parallel to the direction of movement ( forward ) of the scanner 36 . in this manner , the illustrative embodiment uses two different patterns in controlling image forming conditions . the black pattern is read while the scanner is in movement , and the white pattern is read while the scanner is in a halt . this allows a minimum of error to occur when the black and white patterns are read . a single scanner suffices to implement a plurality of patterns for the control over image forming conditions . although the white pattern is usually susceptible to the eccentricity to the drum 4 , for example , the influence of such eccentricity will be reduced if the scanner reads a plurality of small patterns while in a halt . it follows that the output of the photosensor 9 is free from noticeable errors and , therefore , promotes accurate correction of toner density ( black pattern ) and background output ( white pattern ) based on sensed values . fig9 is a timing chart demonstrating a specific operation of the illustrative embodiment . as shown , there occur in predetermined clock pulse ranges the turn - on of a main motor , charging , image transfer , paper separation , pcc , pqc / br , ql , ptl , turn - on of the lamp , scanner movement , erasure , application of bias voltage for development , and turn - on of the photosensor . vsgs and vsgc are detected , and the bias voltage is corrected to make vsst equal to or higher than 3 . 0 volts and equal to or lower than vsgs . the contamination of a background is ascribable to an increase in the surface potential of the photoconductive element ( drum potential ) and a decrease in the amount of exposure due to the contamination of optics , as stated previously . the decrease in the amount of exposure translates into an increase in the potential vl of the white reference pattern . fig3 is a graph showing a relationship between the drum potential v o and the potential vl of a white area of the drum . in the graph , the rectangles are the ranges of numerical values over which the measured values were scattered . fig3 shows a relationship between the amount of exposure and the potential vl , and this relationship was obtained with a drum potential v o of 760 volts , a thermistor temperature of 32 ° c . to 33 ° c ., and a drum temperature of 25 ° c . to 27 ° c . fig3 indicates how the potential vl and the photosensor output are related with respect to the drum potential v o . further , fig3 indicates a relationship among the drum potential v o , potential vl and photosensor output by using the density as a parameter . the general operations of the illustrative embodiments for correcting the bias voltage for development will be described hereinafter . referring to fig1 , a procedure for checking a background for contamination is outlined . details of this procedure are shown in fig1 to 28 . the procedure of fig1 begins with a step 10 - 1 for determining a suspended state of the apparatus on the basis of the equation ( 2 ). if the condition associated with the suspension of operation is satisfied , the program advances to a routine pw001 ; if otherwise , a copying operation is effected in an ordinary copy mode . as shown in fig1 , in the routine pw001 , whether or not a bias up / down flag is set or ( logical ) one or not is determined ( step 11 - 1 ). if the answer of the step 11 - 1 is no , a sense start flag is checked to see if it is one ( step 11 - 2 ). if the answer of the step 11 - 1 is yes , the operation advances to a step 11 - 3 ; if otherwise , the program is transferred to an ordinary copy wait routine via a step 11 - 14 without the background sensing operation being executed . in the step 11 - 3 , whether or not a vsg ( background output ) read flag is one is determined . if the answer of the step 11 - 3 is yes , the sense start flag is reset or turned to ( logical ) zero ( step 11 - 4 ), a background check end flag is turned to zero ( step 11 - 5 ), a background in - check flag is turned to one ( step 11 - 6 ), and a correction end flag is turned to zero ( step 11 - 7 ). if the answer of the step 11 - 1 is yes , it is directly followed by the step 11 - 4 . if the answer of the step 11 - 3 is no , it is directly followed by the step 11 - 5 . in a step 11 - 8 , whether a reference set flag is one or not is determined . if the answer of the step 11 - 8 is yes , a reference read flag is turned to zero ( step 11 - 9 ) while a comparison value read flag is turned to zero ( step 11 - 10 ). at the same time , if the vsg read flag is one ( step 11 - 11 ), the first scanner 36 is moved by 10 millimeters to a stand - by position as shown in fig2 and , during this movement , scans the black pattern for density control to form its pattern on the drum 1 ( step 11 - 12 ). counters adapted to check a background for contamination are cleared ( step 11 - 13 ). by the sequence of steps described above , whether background checking can be executed or not is determined . the routine pw001 of fig1 is followed by a routine pw010 which is shown in detail in fig1 . the routine pw0101 has a step 12 - 1 for turning on a power relay , a step 12 - 2 for energizing a solenoid associated with a blade , a step 12 - 3 for inhibiting key inputs on the operating section , and a step 12 - 4 for starting a 200 milliseconds timer adapted for the blade . then , a routine pw020 is executed . as shown in fig1 , if the 200 milliseconds timer for the blade is counting up ( step 13 - 1 ), the main motor 24 is energized ( step 13 - 2 ) and the erasure is prepared for operation ( step 13 - 3 ). if the vsg read flag is one as determined in a step 13 - 4 , the postcleaning discharger ( pqc ) is energized ( step 13 - 5 ). as stated above , in the routine pw010 shown in fig1 , the scanner is shifted to a position below the white reference pattern . subsequently , routines pw024 and pw025 shown in fig1 are executed . as shown in fig1 , if the vsg read flag is one ( step 14 - 1 ), if a drum clock pulse counter has exceeded 20 ( step 14 - 2 ), and if it has not exceeded 421 ( step 14 - 3 ), the transfer charger , separation charger and precleaning charger ( pcc ) 5 are energized ( step 14 - 4 ) and the lamp 35 is turned on ( step 14 - 5 ). if the drum clock pulse counter has exceeded 421 ( step 14 - 3 ), whether or not the count is greater than 570 is determined ( step 14 - 6 ). if the answer of the step 14 - 6 is no , the image transferring and paper separating operations are stopped ( step 14 - 7 ); if otherwise , the pcc 5 is turned off ( step 14 - 8 ). then , as shown in fig1 , if the vsg read is one ( step 15 - 1 ) and if the drum clock pulse counter has exceeded 100 but not 380 ( steps 15 - 2 and 15 - 3 ), charging is turned on ( 15 - 4 ). if the drum clock pulse counter has exceeded 380 ( step 15 - 3 ), the charging operation is stopped ( step 15 - 5 ). the procedure described with reference to fig1 and 15 determines the on / off state of the high - tension power source . subsequently , a routine pw030 is executed as shown in detail in fig1 . in fig1 , if the vsg read flag is one ( step 16 - 1 ) and if the drum clock pulse counter is greater than 20 but smaller than 380 ( steps 16 - 2 and 16 - 3 ), the drum 4 is erased except for the area to be read by the photosensor 9 ( step 16 - 4 ). if the vsg read flag is not one or if the drum clock pulse counter is not greater than 20 or greater than 380 ( steps 16 - 1 , 16 - 2 and 16 - 3 ), the drum 4 is entirely erased ( step 16 - 5 ). this completes an erase timing checking procedure . the routine pw030 is followed by a routine pw050 . this routine includes output data read timing processing which is shown in fig1 . this processing occurs six times at each angular position of the drum 4 , and the numerical values indicated by * 1 to * 5 in fig2 vary each time . concerning the first processing , if the drum clock pulse counter has exceeded 219 and not exceeded 232 ( steps 18 - 1 and 18 - 2 ), only lower three bits of fpsnck ( byte data ) are saved ( step 18 - 3 ). if the lower three bits of data are 00h ( step 18 - 4 ), a subroutine readps is executed ( 18 - 5 ). if an output read end flag is one ( step 18 - 6 ), mean value data are written in dpstl1 ( addresses of individual output data ) ( step 18 - 7 ), the output read end flag is turned to zero ( step 18 - 8 ), and fpsnck ( lower three bits ) which is the next read flag is changed to 01h . as shown in fig1 , in a subroutine readps , if a photosensor read start flag is one ( step 19 - 1 ) and if a photosensor read flag is one ( step 19 - 2 ), a sun of a data adding buffer and a photosensor output is loaded in the data adding buffer ( step 19 - 3 ), the photosensor read flag is turned to zero ( step 19 - 4 ), and a data adding counter is incremented by 1 . as the data adding counter exceeds 8 ( step 19 - 6 ), a photosensor read end flag is turned to one ( step 19 - 7 ), the photosensor read start flag is turned to zero ( step 19 - 8 ), a value produced by dividing the data adding buffer by the data adding counter is inputted in the main value data ( step 19 - 9 ), and the data adding buffer and data adding counter are cleared ( step 19 - 10 ). this mean value data ( 19 - 9 ) is inputted as the mean value data which is represented by the step 18 - 7 of fig1 . on the other hand , if the photosensor read start flag is not one ( step 19 - 1 ), it is turned to one ( step 19 - 11 ) and the step ( 19 - 10 ) is executed . further , if the photosensor read flag is not one ( step 19 - 2 ), it is turned to one at the leading edge or training edge of the drum clock pulse , for example . in this manner , the processing shown in fig1 and 19 causes the photosensor 9 to read the drum 4 at equally spaced locations of the latter ( every 60 degrees ) and repeat such a reading operation six consecutive times . a routine pw610 of fig1 is shown in detail in fig2 . as shown , whether or not a timing for forming a toner density pattern has been reached is determined , ( step 20 - 1 ). if the answer of the step 20 - 1 is no , the program advances to a step 20 - 2 . in step 20 - 2 , if the bias up / down flag is one ( step 20 - 2 ), and if a bias up flag is one ( step 20 - 3 ), bias - up correction is executed ( step 20 - 4 ). if a bias down flag is one ( step 20 - 5 ), bias - down correction is executed ( step 20 - 6 ). the corrected level ( up or down ) is memorized ( step 20 - 7 ). then , a bias change end flag is turned to one ( step 20 - 8 ), and then correction is executed in matching relation to the period of time during which the operation of the drum 4 has suspensed ( step 20 - 9 ). on the other hand , if the answer of the step 20 - 1 is yes , bias processing for the ordinary density pattern ( 20 - 10 ) is executed ( step 20 - 10 ), follwed by a step ( 20 - 9 ). by the steps described so far , bias processing for forming the reference pattern is executed . it is to be noted that the step 20 - 9 is equivalent to the correction which occurs during usual copying operations , i . e ., the degree of recovery of the drum 4 from fatigue is estimated and correction is executed by manipulating the bias voltage , for example . subsequently , a routine pw611 shown in fig1 is executed . as shown in fig2 , whether or not a density pattern timing has reached is determined ( step 21 - 1 ). if the answer of the step 21 - 1 is no , the program advances to a step 12 - 2 for determining whether or not the total correction data is equal to or greater than 7 . if the answer of the step 21 - 2 is no , the correction data is added to the correction level ( step 21 - 4 ). this is followed by a step 21 - 5 for executing correction in relation to the drum suspension time , as in the step 20 - 9 . if the answer of the step 21 - 2 is yes , the program directly advances to a step 21 - 5 . in this manner , bias processing is executed at the time of formation of a comparison pattern . next , a routine pw070 shown in fig1 is executed . as shown in fig2 , if the drum clock pulse counter is equal to or greater than 650 ( step 22 - 1 ), the first scanner 36 is moved to the home position ( step 22 - 2 ), various outputs around the drum 4 are interrupted ( step 22 - 3 ), the main motor 24 is deenergized ( step 22 - 4 ), and the background in - check flag is turned to zero ( step 22 - 5 ). this is the end of the checking procedure . the routine pw070 is follows by a routine pw100 . as shown in fig2 , if the background in - check flag is one ( step 23 - 1 ), a loop 1 is executed ( step 23 - 9 ) for continuing the sensing operation . if the answer of the step 23 - 1 is no , processing pw080 is executed to average the outputs . as shown in fig2 , the processing pw080 begins with a step 24 - 1 for determining whether or not the background in - check flag is one . if the answer of the step 24 - 1 is no , a counter for summing up the data is cleared ( 24 - 2 ), the sum of six photosensor output data ( 0 degrees to 300 degrees ) is stored in the counter ( step 24 - 3 ), the sum in the counter is divided by 6 to produce a mean value ( step 24 - 4 ). then , whether or not the vsg read flag is one is determined ( step 24 - 5 ). if the answer of the step 24 - 5 is yes , whether or not a reference set flag is one is determined ( step 24 - 6 ). if the answer of the step 24 - 6 is yes , the mean value is stored in the reference white pattern vsst ( step 24 - 7 ). this is followed by processing pw080 for checking the reference output . in fig2 , a vsg ( background output ) error flag is turned to zero ( step 25 - 1 ). if the reference background output vsgs is equal to or higher than 3 . 6 volts ( step 25 - 2 ), if the reference white pattern output vsst is equal to or higher than 3 . 0 volts ( 25 - 3 ), and if vsst is not equal to or higher than vsgs ( 25 - 4 ), the bias - up and bias - down flags are turned to zero ( steps 25 - 5 and 25 - 6 ). on the other hand , if vsst is equal to or higher than vsgs ( step 25 - 4 ), the bias - down flag is turned to one ( step 25 - 10 ) and the bias change end flag is turned to zero ( step 25 - 11 ). if vsgs is not equal to or higher than 3 . 6 volts ( 25 - 2 ), the background output vsg error flag is turned to one ( step 25 - 7 ). if vsst is equal to or higher than 3 . 0 volts ( step 25 - 3 ), the bias - up flag is turned to one ( step 25 - 8 ) and the bias change end flag is turned to zero ( 25 - 9 ). on the end of the procedure shown in fig2 , the program is transferred to a step 24 - 8 of fig2 for determining whether or not the bias up / down flag is one . if the answer of the step 24 - 8 is no , the reference set flag is turned to zero ( step 24 - 9 ) and the reference read flag is turned to one ( step 24 - 10 ). if the bsg read flag is not one ( step 24 - 5 ), whether or not the reference set flag is one is determined ( step 24 - 11 ). if the answer of the step 24 - 11 is yes , the mean value is stored in the reference background output vsg : vsgs ( step 24 - 12 ); if otherwise , the mean value is stored in the comparison background output vsg : vsgc ( step 24 - 13 ). if the reference set flag is not one ( step 24 - 6 ), the mean value is stored in the comparison white pattern output : bsck ( step 24 - 14 ) and a comparison value read flag is turned to one ( step 24 - 15 ). the sequence of steps shown in fig2 is followed by processing pw090 shown in fig2 . specifically , if a correction end flag is not one ( step 26 - 1 ) and if a correction value read flag is one ( step 26 - 2 ), vsck × vsgc / vsgc - vsck &# 39 ; is calculated ( step 26 - 3 ). if vsgc is equal to or higher than 2 . 5 volts and if vsck &# 39 ; is not equal to or higher than 5 . 0 vols ( steps 26 - 4 and 26 - 5 ), processing pw091 is executed for determining a correction value δvb . as shown in fig2 , the processing pw091 begins with a step 27 - 1 for setting a value for vsst - vsck &# 39 ; ( step 27 - 1 ). this is followed by a step 27 - 2 for determining whether vsp / vsg is equal to or greater than 6 / 40 . in this instance , vsp and vsg are the outputs of the photosensor 9 adapted for toner density control , i . e ., usual outputs vsp and vsg of the photosensor 9 are detected during the background detection so as to change the correction data level by using them . if the answer of the step 27 - 2 is no , whether or not vsp / vsg is equal to or greater than 3 / 40 is determined ( step 27 - 3 ). if the answer of the step 27 - 3 is yes , whether the above - mentioned value a is lower than 0 . 53 volts is determined . if the value is lower than 0 . 53 volts , the operation is transferred to i ( steps 27 - 4 and 27 - 5 ). if a is higher than 0 . 53 volts and equal to or lower than 1 . 06 volts , the operation is transferred to ii ( step 27 - 6 ). if a is higher than 1 . 06 volts and equal to or lower 1 . 59 volts , the operation is transferred to iii ( step 27 - 7 ). if a is higher than 1 . 59 volts and equal to or lower than 2 . 0 vols , the operation is transferred to iv ( step 27 - 8 ). further , if a is higher than 2 . 0 volts , 4 is entered in the correction data ( 27 - 9 ). this correction data is added to the correction data memory ( 27 - 10 ). if the answer of the step 27 - 2 is yes , meaning that the toner density is low , the program is transferred to i if a is equal to or lower than 0 . 46 volts ( steps 27 - 15 and 27 - 16 ), transferred to ii if a is higher than 0 . 46 volt and equal to or lower than 0 . 93 volt ( step 27 - 17 ), transferred to iii if a is higher than 0 . 93 volt and equal to or lower than 1 . 40 volts ( step 28 - 18 ), and transferred to iv if a is higher than 1 . 40 volts and equal to or lower than 1 . 75 volts ( step 27 - 19 ). further , if a is higher than 1 . 75 volts , the step 27 - 9 is executed . if the answer of the step 27 - 3 is no , meaning that the toner density is high , the program is transferred to i if a is equal to or lower than 0 . 61 volt ( steps 27 - 10 and 27 - 11 ), transferred to ii if a is higher than 0 . 61 volt and equal to or lower than 1 . 21 volts ( step 27 - 12 ), transferred to iii if a is higher than 1 . 21 volts and equal to or lower than 1 . 82 volts ( step 27 - 13 ), and to iv if a is higher than 1 . 82 volts and equal to or lower than 2 . 3 volts ( step 27 - 14 ). further , if a is higher than 2 . 3 volts , the step 27 - 9 is executed . correction data 0 , 1 , 2 and 3 are inputted in the correction data by the above - mentioned i , ii , iii and iv ( steps 27 - 20 , 27 - 21 , 27 - 22 and 27 - 23 ), respectively . thereafter , the correction data is processed in a step 27 - 10 . the numerical values 0 to 4 to be inputted in the correction data are representative of the bias output steps ; one step corresponds to an output step (× 15 to 30 ). the processing pw091 shown in fig2 takes account of the toner density pattern output . fig2 shows a sequence of steps which do not take the toner density pattern into consideration . in fig2 , whether or not vsst - vsck &# 39 ; is greater than 0 is determined ( step 28 - 1 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 1 is yes , whether or not vsst - vsck &# 39 ; is higher than 0 . 53 volt is determined ( 28 - 2 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 2 is yes , whether or not bsst - vsck &# 39 ; is higher than 1 . 06 volts is determined ( step 28 - 3 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 3 is yes , whether vsst - vsck &# 39 ; is higher than 1 . 59 volts is determined ( step 28 - 4 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 4 is yes , whether or not vsst - vsck &# 39 ; is higher than 2 . 0 volts is determined ( step 28 - 5 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 5 is yes , 4 is inputted in the correction data ( step 28 - 6 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 1 or that of the step 28 - 2 is no , 0 is inputted in the correction data ( step 28 - 7 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 3 is no , 1 is inputted in the correction data 1 ( step 28 - 8 ). if the answer of the step 28 - 4 is no , 2 is inputted in the correction data ( step 28 - 9 ). futher , if the answer of the step 28 - 5 is no , 3 is inputted in the correction data ( step 28 - 10 ). in a step s28 - 11 , such correction data is added to the bias voltage for development which will be applied during usual copying operations . on the completion of the procedure shown in fig2 or 28 , the program advances to a step 26 - 6 shown in fig2 for turning the correction end flag to one . if vsgc is not equal to or higher than 2 . 5 volts ( step 26 - 4 ) or if vsck &# 39 ; is equal to or higher than 5 . 0 volts ( step 26 - 5 ), a comparison value error flag is turned to one ( step 26 - 7 ). by such a procedure , the comparison background output vsgc is corrected . the procedure of fig2 is followed by the step 23 - 2 of fig2 to see if the vsg read flag is one . if the answer of the step 23 - 2 is no , the vsg read flag is turned to one ( step 23 - 3 ). if a bias upper limit flag is not one ( step 23 - 4 ), a bias correction counter is incremented by 1 ( step 23 - 5 ). if the bias correction counter is 15 ( step 23 - 6 ), the bias correction upper flag is turned to one ( step 23 - 7 ), and then a step 23 - 8 , i . e ., a loop 2 of fig1 is executed . while in the illustrative embodiment the black pattern is read while the scanner is in a forward movement , it may alternatively be read during a backward movement of the scanner or even during both of the forward and backward movements . dividing the circumference of the drum 4 into six equal segments as shown and described is only illustrative . the gist is that the photosensor outputs are associated with a pluality of positions on the circumference of the drum 4 and are averaged . for averaging the photosensor outputs , any one of known implementations such as simple averaging and averaging with the highest and lowest values being cut may be used . although the illustrative embodiment has concentrated on a bias voltage for development , the present invention is practicable with any other image forming conditions such as the amount of charge and that of illumination . in summary , in accordance with the present invention , a plurality of patterns for controlling image forming conditions can be formed on a photoconductive element . the present invention , therefore , insures accurate correction of toner density and background output by reducing the influence of the eccentricity of the photoconductive element , for example , on outputs of a sensor associated with the patterns . various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof .	6
this invention includes procedures for identifying chronic fatigue syndrome , as evidenced by a viral - associated aberration of rnase l enzyme coupled with low level of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase enzyme in the patient &# 39 ; s peripheral blood lymphocytes , diagnostic procedures using this information to determine the presence of chronic fatigue syndrome , therapeutic procedures for restoring the patient &# 39 ; s 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a molecular pathway aberrations such as by administering exogenous dsrnas and improving the patient &# 39 ; s clinical condition , therapeutic procedures for monitoring a chronic fatigue syndrome patient &# 39 ; s condition and gauging the degree of dsrna replacement required on an individual basis , and therapeutic compositions for treating chronic fatigue syndrome . the in vivo concentration of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase enzyme , 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a molecules , and activated rnase l in normal individuals and subjects with chronic fatigue syndrome was assessed from patient samples ( ficoll - hypaque - purified peripheral blood lymphocytes ). the 2 -&# 39 ; 5 &# 39 ; a content was determined by 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a core - cellulose assays ( affinity chromatography ) with poly u -{ 32 p }- pcp . in this assay , the ability of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a - activated rnase l to hydrolyze poly ( u ) is used to determine the concentration of functional 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a . reference values were established by testing 25 normal subjects with no recent history of viral infections as evidenced by lack of virus - culturability , fever , absence of constitutional symptoms , rashes , etc . concentrations of the test subject &# 39 ; s lymphocyte 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a levels were determined using calibration curves obtained with authentic 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a molecules . normal individual reference values , expressed as nanamoles of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a per gram of lymphocyte protein , are generally within the range of 0 . 2 to 1 . 0 . normal calibration curves were also established for the 2 &# 39 ;-- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase enzyme and rnase l enzyme . using these assay methods , ten patients exhibiting the usual symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome were tested and the representative results are summarized below . 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a oligonucleotide levels are typically increased about 2 - 15 fold while 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase enzyme is proportionally decreased and a novel rnase l enzymic aberrancy arises . table 1______________________________________pre - therapy aberrations in2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a / rnase l pathway in patients experiencingchronic fatique secondary to viral infection n moles 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; asubject per gram lymphocytenunber protein______________________________________a 1 . 4 , 2 . 4b 2 . 0c 10 . 1d 5 . 2e 11 . 3f 7 . 6g 8 . 3h 4 . 7i 3 . 8j 5 . 9______________________________________ also , all 10 subjects prior to dsrna therapy showed depression of intracellular 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase enzyme to levels approximately 5 to 50 fold below that of healthy , uninfected subjects . patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have generally an associated defect ( or aberration ) in the terminal mediator of the antiviral defense pathway termed rnase l . thus , the entire antiviral defense pathway demonstrates both defects ( altered levels of mediators ) or aberrancies ( new activities of enzyme components ). definitive treatment of such individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome is provided by supplying exogenous dsrnas , as required , until the intracellular level of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a oligonucleotides and 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase reaches normal , the rnase l aberration is corrected , and / or the patient &# 39 ; s clinical symptomology abates . often these molecular improvements occur apparently contemporaneously with dramatic clinical improvements , as noted by comparing table 2 ( an enzymatic pathway studied over time in patient a ) with clinical charts of patient a ( tables 3 and 4 ). more than 90 % of the other patients studied to date had similar dramatic enzymatic improvements associated with clinical recovery . table 2______________________________________components of the 2 - 5a synthetase / rnase antiviralsystem in pbmc from chronic fatigue syndrome ( cfs ) patients weeks on 2 - 5a synthetase intracellularpbmc mismatched activity concentration activatedsource dsrna in vitro . sup . a of 2 - 5a . sup . b rnase l . sup . c______________________________________cfs 0 2 . 4 1 . 4 ++++ patient 0 1 . 8 2 . 4 ++++# a 2 1 . 4 0 . 5 +++ 4 2 . 1 0 . 7 + 8 1 . 4 0 . 6 + healthy 5 0 . 7 + ______________________________________ . sup . a nmoles atp incorporated into 25a per mg protein . sup . b nmoles per gram protein . sup . c + = normal level ; ++++ = &# 34 ; hyperactive &# 34 ; rnase l level as measured i rrna cleavage assay . table 3______________________________________cumulative neuropsychologicaltest scores______________________________________ ampligen startedtest 8 / 26 / 87 5 / 26 / 88 6 / 30 / 88 ↓ 9 / 1 / 88______________________________________wais - rinformation 12 13 11 15digit span 11 8 8 10vocabulary 12 12 12 16arithmetic 9 8 5 11similarities 15 13 9 12block design 8 6 5 9digit symbol 8 2 3 8full scale iq 110 98 88 112______________________________________halstead - reitan impairment levels______________________________________hand tapping severe severe severe normaltrailmaking a mild severe severe normaltrailmaking b mild mild moderate normal______________________________________ table 4______________________________________exercise tolerance testdate stage duration______________________________________7 / 23 / 88 i 1 min , 30 sec8 / 9 / 88 ampligen therapy started9 / 6 / 88 i 3 min10 / 20 / 88 ii 3 min iii 5 min12 / 6 / 88 i 3 min ii 6 min , 10 sec4 / 4 / 89 ii 3 min iii 6 min______________________________________ the patient &# 39 ; s resistance to chronic fatigue syndrome and opportunistic viruses can be maintained by continuing to measure the patient &# 39 ; s intracellular 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a oligonucleotide levels , 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase , and degree of aberrancy in rnase l enzyme , and by supplying exogenous dsrna , as required , to maintain normalcy , or near normalcy , of these molecular functions . the natural ( intracellular ) dsrnas also play a role in host defense when an individual is challenged with viral agent ( s ) such as in chronic fatigue syndrome . specific reduction in bioactive dsrna , or enzymes which depend directly or indirectly on dsrna , notably 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a synthetase and aberrant rnase l , coupled with abnormally low levels of 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a in peripheral blood lymphocytes , within specific cells contributes to viral disease chronicity , whatever the specific viral agent . dsrna , notably mismatched dsrnas ( such as ampligen ®, hem research , inc ., rockville , md ., usa ), reverses disease symptomology by re - regulating the deranged molecular pathway . by &# 34 ; mismatched dsrna &# 34 ; are meant those in which hydrogen bonding ( base stacking ) between the counterpart strands is relatively intact , i . e ., is interrupted infrequently . the term &# 34 ; mismatched dsrna &# 34 ; should be understood accordingly . the dsrna may be a complex of a polyinosinate and a polycytidylate containing a proportion of uracil bases or guanidine bases , e . g ., from 1 in 5 to 1 in 30 such bases ( poly i · poly ( c 4 - 29 x & gt ; u or g )). the dsrna may be of the general formula ri n · r ( c 11 - 14 , u ) n or ri n · r ( c 12 , u ) n . other suitable examples of dsrna are discussed below , and specific double - stranded oligonucleotides can also be deployed in certain instances . the mismatched dsrnas preferred for use in the present invention are based on copolynucleotides selected from poly ( c n , u ) and poly ( c n , g ) in which n is an integer having a value of from 4 to 29 are mismatched analogs of complexes of polyriboinosinic and polyribocytidilic acids , formed by modifying ri n · rc n to incorporate unpaired bases ( uracil or guanidine ) along the polyribocytidylate ( rc n ) strand . alternatively , the dsrna may be derived from poly ( i )· poly ( c ) dsrna by modifying the ribosyl backbone of polyriboinosinic acid ( ri n ), e . g ., by including 2 &# 39 ;- o - methyl ribosyl residues . the mismatched complexes may be complexed with an rna - stabilizing polymer such as lysine and cellulose . these mismatched analogs of ri n · rc n , preferred ones of which are of the general formula ri n ·( c 11 - 14 , u ) n or ri n 1 · r ( c 29 , g ) n , are described by carter and ts &# 39 ; o in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 130 , 641 and 4 , 024 , 222 the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . the dsrnas described therein generally are suitable for use according to the present invention . other examples of mismatched dsrna for use in the invention include : oligonucleotide dsrna molecules may also be used in which the molecular &# 34 ; ends &# 34 ; are hinged to prevent slippage of the base pairs , thereby conferring a specific bioactivity in a variety of solvent or aqueous environments which exist in human biological fluids . 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a concentration and molecular size may be quantitated by high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ). ribosomal rna cleavage assays may be used to assess biological functionality ( activity ) of the 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a - synthesized by the patient in vivo and to determine the level of activated rnase l in patient samples . peripheral mononuclear blood cells are the preferred cells for analysis although other cells may be analyzed if the chronic virus infection s is sequestered in other body organs . patients having chronic fatigue syndrome are treated typically with intravenous infusions of 200 to 600 mg of ri · r ( c 11 - 14 , u ) twice or three times weekly or until 2 &# 39 ;- 5 &# 39 ; a levels increase in association with clinical improvement and correction of synthetase levels and rnase l aberrancy occurs . the amount of dsrna administered and the frequency of administration will be guided by these laboratory parameters measured in conjunction with the patient &# 39 ; s clinical improvement . amounts of dsrna administered will provide a transient level of from 0 . 01 to 1 , 000 micrograms of dsrna per milliliter of the patient &# 39 ; s systemic blood circulation immediately following administration measured at a point distal from the point of infusion . bioactive fragments of dsrna , breakdown products of the infused macromolecular dsrna , serve to sustain the 2 - 5a enzymatic pathway improvements , thus enhancing the clinical recovery process .	0
fig1 shows a splicer 10 that includes first and second retaining plates 12 , 14 for label strips and a splicing station 16 consisting of two splicing - station halves 16 a , 16 b that are mirror images of each other . the two mirror - symmetric splicing - station halves 16 a , 16 b have first and second guide rolls 20 a , 20 b , first and second cutters 22 a , 22 b , best seen in fig3 , and first and second deflector rolls 24 a , 24 b for joining the label strips . the first cutter 22 a and the first deflector roll 24 a are held on a first swivel arm 26 a of the splicing station 16 . the second cutter 22 b and the second deflector roll 24 b are held on a second swivel arm 26 b of the splicing station 16 . the swivel arms 26 a , 26 b are , in turn , held on the frame 18 of the splicer 10 . each swivel arm 26 a , 26 b transitions between an open position and an operating position . in the open position , it is possible to change the label strip . in the operating position , the splicer 10 is in actual use . the left - hand side of fig2 shows the first swivel arm 26 a in its operating position ; the right - hand side of fig2 shows the second swivel arm 26 b in its open position . first and second swivel bearings 28 a , 28 b hold the first and second swivel arms 26 a , 26 b on the frame 18 of the splicer 10 . as can be seen from fig3 and fig4 , each cutter 22 a , 22 b has a blade carrier 30 a , 30 b that holds a cutting blade 32 a , 32 b . the blade carrier 30 a , 30 b is movably guided on a guide 34 a , 34 b at right angles to the course of the label strip . each blade carrier 30 a , 30 b is held on a first end of a coil spring 36 a , 36 b or lies against a coil spring 36 a , 36 b . a second end of the coil spring 36 a , 36 b attaches either to an outer wall 38 a , 38 b of the splicing station 16 or to another component that is connected to frame 18 . the cutter 22 a , 22 b also comprises a detent 40 a , 40 b that can arrest the blade carrier 30 a , 30 b in a pre - tensioned position of the coil spring 36 a , 36 b . an electromagnetically - operated trigger 42 a , 42 b releases the detent 40 a , 40 b . the coil spring 36 a , 36 b , the blade carrier 30 a , 30 b , and the detent 40 a , 40 b collectively form a pre - tensioning device 41 a , 41 b , as shown in fig4 . finally , fig4 shows a tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b that projects beyond an outer wall 38 a , 38 b of each symmetrical splicing - station half 16 a , 16 b . the tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b is mounted so as to be able to swivel on a swivel axis 46 a , 46 b on the frame 18 . using this tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b , the blade carrier 30 a , b can be pre - tensioned from a cutting position into an arrested position . in addition to pre - tensioning the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b in the arrested position , operating the tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b also draws the swivel lever 26 a , 26 b from its operating position to its open position . referring now to fig2 , each symmetrical splicing - station half 16 a , 16 b has an inner protective wall 48 a , 48 b that faces the course of the label strip . a slit 50 a , 50 b in the inner protective wall 48 a , 48 b permits passage of the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b . when the swivel arm 26 b is in its the open position , an operator can change a label strip in the corresponding half 16 b of the splicing station 16 without the risk of being injured by the cutting blade 32 b . a frame - mounted contact element 52 interacts with associated arm - mounted contact elements 54 a , 54 b on corresponding swivel arms 26 a , 26 b . it is via these associated arm - mounted contact elements 54 a , 54 b that the trigger 42 a of the splicing - station half 16 a , 16 b receives current . therefore , it is not possible to trigger the cutter 22 a , 22 b to transfer of cutting blade 32 a , 32 b from the arrested position to the cutting position as long as the swivel arm 26 a , 26 b remains open . an advantage of the splicing station 16 described herein is that the single maneuver of operating the tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b carries out two functions . first , it pretensions the pre - tensioning device 41 a , 41 b thus retracting the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b into its protected arrested position . at the same time , it swings the corresponding swivel arm 26 a , 26 b into its open position to allow the strip to be changed in the corresponding splicing - station half 16 a , 16 b . while the swivel arm 26 a , 26 b is in the open position , an operator can quickly load a new label strip in the prescribed feed position without fear of injury from the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b . yet another advantage of the splicing station 16 is that both the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b and the trigger 42 a , 42 b can be actuated entirely without pneumatic components . in particular , the manually pre - tensioned coil spring 36 a , 36 b provides the energy for actuating the cutting blade 32 a , 32 b , and electric current provides the energy needed to operate the trigger 42 a , 42 b . the splicer 10 therefore allows the label strip to be changed quickly and safely . in the depicted embodiment , when swivel arms 26 a , 26 b are in their operating position the tensioning lever is connected with a detent for the swivel arms such that when the tensioning lever 44 a , 44 b is actuated , the detent of the associated swivel arm is released and the swivel arm can be opened , as shown on the δright - hand side of fig2 . in some embodiments , a controller electrically interrogates the contacts determines whether they are closed . if the contacts are closed , the controller concludes that the halves 16 a , 16 b of the splicing station 16 are in the operating position . by verifying the switched state of the contacts , it is possible to ensure that the splicer is fully closed and that the splicing station 16 is fully prepared for the next splicing operation .	1
fig1 illustrates the system architecture for a computer system 100 such as an ibm ps / 2 ®, on which the invention may be implemented . the exemplary computer system of fig1 is for descriptive purposes only . although the description may refer to terms commonly used in describing particular computer systems , such as in ibm ps / 2 computer , the description and concepts equally apply to other systems , including systems having architectures dissimilar to fig1 . computer system 100 includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 105 , which may be implemented with a conventional microprocessor , a random access memory ( ram ) 110 for temporary storage of information , and a read only memory ( rom ) 115 for permanent storage of information . a memory controller 120 is provided for controlling ram 110 . a bus 130 interconnects the components of computer system 100 . a bus controller 125 is provided for controlling bus 130 . an interrupt controller 135 is used for receiving and processing various interrupt signals from the system components . mass storage may be provided by diskette 142 , cd rom 147 , or hard drive 152 . data and software may be exchanged with computer system 100 via removable media such as diskette 142 and cd rom 147 . diskette 142 is insertable into diskette drive 141 which is , in turn , connected to bus 130 by a controller 140 . similarly , cd rom 147 is insertable into cd rom drive 146 which is , in turn , connected to bus 130 by controller 145 . hard disc 152 is part of a fixed disc drive 151 which is connected to bus 130 by controller 150 . user input to computer system 100 may be provided by a number of devices . for example , a keyboard 156 and mouse 157 are connected to bus 130 by controller 155 . an audio transducer 196 , which may act as both a microphone and a speaker , is connected to bus 130 by audio controller 197 , as illustrated . it will be obvious to those reasonably skilled in the art that other input devices , such as a pen and / or tabloid may be connected to bus 130 and an appropriate controller and software , as required . dma controller 160 is provided for performing direct memory access to ram 110 . a visual display is generated by video controller 165 which controls video display 170 . computer system 100 also includes a communications adaptor 190 which allows the system to be interconnected to a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), schematically illustrated by bus 191 and network 195 . operation of computer system 100 is generally controlled and coordinated by operating system software , such as the os / 2 ® operating system , available from international business machines corporation , boca raton , fla . the operating system controls allocation of system resources and performs tasks such as processing scheduling , memory management , networking , and i / o services , among things . in particular , an operating system resident in system memory and running on cpu 105 coordinates the operation of the other elements of computer system 100 . the present invention may be implemented with any number of commercially available operating systems including os / 2 , unix and dos , etc . one or more applications , such as lotus notes ™, commercially available from lotus development corp ., cambridge , mass . may also run on the cpu 105 . if the operating system is a true multitasking operating system , such as os / 2 , multiple applications may execute simultaneously . fig2 illustrates conceptually the main components of a system 200 in accordance with the present invention . fig2 shows a dvd - rom drive 204 connected to a computer 206 . use of the dvd - rom drive 204 with the computer 206 should not be construed as a limitation of the invention , however , since other dvd source mechanisms such as the internet , digital satellite dishes , etc ., may be substituted for the dvd - rom drive 204 . in addition , the dvd - rom drive 204 may also be a drive suitable for internal mounting in computer 206 . the dvd drive 204 receives a disc 202 containing compressed and encoded information which has been coded in accordance with the dvd 1 . 0 specification for read - only disc and disc 202 may contain up to seventeen gigabytes of information . the computer 206 includes a driver , not shown , for enabling the operating system in the computer 206 to control and exchange information with the drive 204 . computer 206 also includes one or more input devices 212 which receive input from a user . the computer 206 also includes a control and playback program shown schematically in fig2 as having a navigation object 208 with logic for reading data from the drive . a presentation engine 210 includes decompressing and decoding routines for decoding the information on the disc 202 and routines for formatting the information for display . for example , the audio information may be compressed by means of conventional compression technique known as dolby ® ac - 3 ® compression , also known as “ dolby ® digital ” compression . video information may be compressed using a compression technique known as moving picture experts group - 2 ( mpeg - 2 ). in an illustrative embodiment , the software elements of system 200 may be implemented using object - oriented programming techniques . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , object - oriented programming ( oop ) techniques involve the definition , creation , use and destruction of “ objects ”. these objects are software entities comprising data elements , or attributes , and methods , or functions , which manipulate the data elements . the attributes and related methods are treated by the software as an entity and can be created , used and deleted as if they were a single item . together , the attributes and methods enable objects to model virtually any real - world entity in terms of its characteristics , which can be represented by the data elements , and its behavior , which can be represented by its data manipulation functions . in this way , objects can model concrete things like people and computers , and they can also model abstract concepts like numbers or geometrical designs . the current dvd specification for read - only discs proposes the use of iso / iec 13818 specification as a method for combining different types of presentation data and navigation information . the iso / iec 13818 specification provides a specific set of data stream identifiers ( ids ) for representing audio and video packets in accordance with the mpeg1 and mpeg2 standard , as well as two private stream identifiers . the dvd specification for read - only discs specifies utilization of a first of the stream identifiers , i . e ., private_stream_ 1 stream id with a set of substream ids to represent presentation data packets of mpeg1 and mpeg2 audio and video data . the specification specifies utilization of the second stream identifier , i . e . private_stream_ 2 stream id with a set of substreams ids to represent navigation information . two private stream ids defined within the iso / iec 13818 specification are utilized in accordance within the present invention for accessing source of information other than a dvd disc , e . g ., for introducing packets of internet access information . referring to fig3 an internet access pack 300 is shown comprising the pack header 302 , packet header 304 , sub stream_id 306 , navigation command and parameter 308 , and a html page address 310 . in the illustrative embodiment , packet header 302 may be implemented with 14 bytes of digital information . packet header 304 may be implemented with either 9 or 14 bytes of digital information while substream_id 306 may be implemented with as little as a single byte . navigation command and parameter 308 may be implemented with 8 bytes of information and may have a form and content as described hereinafter . the html page address 310 may comprise from 4 to 2 , 016 bytes of information and may have the form and content of a conventional html address as used by an internet browser and understood by those reasonably skilled in the arts . the present invention contemplates the creation and use of two navigation commands associated with the presentation engine layer of the interactive dvd browser and one navigation command associated with the navigation engine layer of the interactive dvd browser , as set forth below : the change source command is a navigation command which directs the interactive dvd browser to accept data from a new source , as indicated by the new source parameter . in the illustrative embodiment , the new source indicated by the parameter would be the local internet browser located on the user system . internet browsers suitable for use with the present invention are netscape navigator , commercially available from netscape communications corporation , santa clara , calif . or internet explorer , available from microsoft corporation , redmond , wash . the second new navigation command , the wait command directs the interactive dvd browser to wait for a specific amount of time . in the illustrative embodiment , the amount of time to wait can be expressed in seconds or fractions thereof , e . g . milliseconds . when the interactive dvd browser receives a specific navigation command in the internet access packet , as described above indicating the presence of a html page address , the interactive dvd browser passes the html address to the user &# 39 ; s internet browser on the same system . once a hyperlink is connected with the remote site specified by the html address , the presentation data residing at the remote site can be presented to the user in one of two possible methods depending on the navigation command . if the hyperlinked data contains dvd compliant presentation data , the interactive dvd browser may accept the data from the internet browser accordingly . once the data has been presented , the interactive dvd browser may use the change source command to change sources back to the dvd disc currently associated with the platform . alternatively , if the hyperlink data from the remote source contains non - dvd compliant data , the interactive dvd browser waits for the duration specified in the wait command parameter while the internet browser displays the data using the command . the present invention provides a means for accessing html page addresses stored in a dvd bitstream . the html pages identified by the addresses within the internet access packets may be linked to other types of presentation data which may be interpreted by either the dvd browser or local html browser and its associated media players . in the illustrative embodiment , the presentation layer data is encoded into the internet access packets with the private stream 1 stream id , as previously described , and a tentative substream id of 1111 1000 . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the specific address used within the substream may vary according to the discretion of the designer . the navigation layer data is encoded into the internet access packets with private stream 2 stream id and a tentative stream id of 1111 1000 . when the interactive dvd browser changes sources to the local internet html browser , the interactive dvd browser treats the internet access pack as a navigation pack ( nv_pack ) as described by the dvd specification for read - only discs . the block diagram of fig4 provides a functional level overview of an illustrative embodiment of an interactive dvd playback system 400 in accordance with the principles of the present invention . the user interface 212 , dvd presentation engine 210 , dvd navigation engine 208 , and dvd source 204 are as previously described . the presentation engine 210 , navigation engine 208 and user interface 212 together comprise interactive dvd browser 402 . in html presentation engine 404 and html navigation engine 406 are included within a conventional html browser 408 , such as an internet browser . the conventional browser 408 exchanges navigation in presentation data with an html source which , illustratively , may be the internet , a satellite feed , or other data source . illustratively , the interactive dvd browser 402 and html 408 are respectively associated with dvd and html compliant data at system initialization . consequently , the html browser 408 routes non dvd compliant presentation and navigation data to its own presentation in navigation engines 404 and 406 , respectively , whenever it receives such data from the html source 410 . conversely , whenever the html browser 408 encounters dvd compliant navigation or presentation data , the html browser passes the dvd compliant data to the interactive dvd browser 402 for execution by presentation and navigation engine 210 and 208 . the user interface 212 provides for user input , such as navigation commands , for example , and may present , e . g ., display , provide sound , etc . data from either the dvd presentation engine 210 or the html presentation engine 404 . the user interface 212 may also present data from the presentation engine 210 and 404 simultaneously , with the data from one engine displayed within a window , for example . as previously described , the source data being presented may be switched in a variety of ways . a “ navigation ” command , change source , embedded within the dvd bitstream may include an html address which specifies an html address which , in the illustrative embodiment , provides dvd compliant data . consequently , the data , although obtained through the html browser 408 , is sent to the interactive dvd browser 402 for execution by the dvd presentation and navigation engines 210 and 208 , respectively . additionally , the source of data may be switched from the dvd source 204 to another source by embedding commands within the dvd bitstream for the dvd presentation engine 210 . in such a case , the dvd presentation engine 210 may display a change source command to a user through the user interface 212 , permitting the user to form a hyperlink to another source . change source commands handled by the dvd presentation engine 210 may be “ bare ” command , in that they simply provide an address for a new source of dvd compliant data , which will be routed to the dvd presentation and navigation engines 210 and 208 . alternatively , the presentation engine 210 may encounter within the dvd bitstream a change source command that is accompanied by a wait command . the combination of change source and wait commands permit the dvd system 400 to present non dvd compliant data from a source such as the html source 401 . in the case of non dvd compliant data sources , the change source command is accompanied by a wait command which specifies a period of time for the interactive dvd browser to wait in order to permit the html browser 408 to present data which is non dvd compliant . although the data may be mpeg1 audio or video or mpeg2 audio or video data or linear code modulation data , or any of a variety of data types which may be found on a dvd disc , it is not formatted in accordance with the dvd specification . that is , the data may , for example , not include a pack header 302 . after establishing the hyperlink to display non dvd data , the html browser 408 may acquire additional time to process the non dvd data . in such a case , the html browser may send a wait command to the interactive dvd browser so that the html browser will have sufficient time to complete its presentation of the non dvd compliant data . the process of using a presentation engine command to change a data source is illustrated in the flow chart of fig5 . the process begins in step 500 and proceeds from there to step 502 where the presentation engine examines the dvd bitstream to determine whether the next command is a change source command . if the next command in the bitstream is not a change source command , the process proceeds to 504 where the interactive dvd browser continues operation by , for example , presenting presentation data . conversely , if the next data pack within the dvd bitstream contains a change source command , the process proceeds from step 502 to step 506 where the following pack is examined to determine whether it contains a wait command . if the following command is not a wait command , the new source provides dvd compliant data . consequently , the process proceeds to step 508 with a navigation and presentation data provided by the new source , e . g ., html source 401 , are passed to and processed by the dvd navigation and presentation engines 210 and 208 . from step 508 the process proceeds to step 510 where it is determined whether the source of data will be switched back to the dvd source . this return to the dvd source may be affected in any number of ways , such as a change source command issued by the new data source , a timeout , or other methods known in the art . if the interactive dvd browser is to return to the dvd source 204 for navigation and presentation data , the process proceeds to step 512 where the interactive dvd browser returns to the dvd source 204 for presentation in navigation data . from step 512 , the process proceeds to step 504 and from there as previously described . if , in step 506 , it is determined that the change source command was accompanied by a wait command , the process proceeds to step 514 where the interactive dvd browser 402 waits for the prescribed period of time . while the interactive dvd browser is waiting , navigation and presentation data are routed to the html navigation and presentation engines 406 and 404 in step 516 . the process proceeds to step 518 where the interactive dvd browser determines whether the wait period set forth in the initial wait command has expired . if the period has not expired , the process returns to step 514 and continues to loop in this fashion until the time period has expired . after the wait period has expired , that is , when in step 518 it is determined that the wait period is over , the process proceeds to step 520 where it is determined whether another wait command has been encountered . a second wait command , generated by the html data source 1410 for example , may be used to extend the period of time available for the html browser 408 to present non dvd compliant data . if there is another wait command , the process returns to step 154 and from there as previously described . if there is not another wait command , the process proceeds from step 520 to step 512 , and from there as previously described . the process of executing a change source command embedded within the navigation portion of a dvd bitstream is set forth in the flow chart of fig6 . the process begins in step 600 and proceeds from there to step 602 , where the bitstream is examined for a change source command . when a change source command is uncovered , the process proceeds to step 604 where the source of data is changed from the dvd source 204 to the html source 410 . in the illustrative embodiment , the navigation layer change source command supports a change of data source only to a source which provides dvd compliant data . consequently , no wait command is required and once the link is established to the html source 410 , dvd compliant data is transferred from the html browser 408 to the interactive dvd browser 402 for execution by the dvd presentation and navigation engines 210 and 208 . operation continues from the non dvd source , e . g ., html source 410 ( which provides dvd compliant data ) until , in step 606 , it is determined that the interactive dvd browser is to convert to receiving data from the dvd source 204 . in such a case , the process proceeds from step 606 to step 608 , where the interactive dvd browser commences receiving data from the dvd data source and routes it through the dvd presentation and navigation engines 210 and 208 . otherwise , the process returns to step 604 where the dvd compliant data from the html source continues to be executed by the dvd presentation and navigation engines 210 and 208 . after reconnecting to the dvd source , the process proceeds from step 608 to step 610 where the interactive dvd browser activity continues . the illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to an interactive dvd browser written in accordance with the dvd specification for read - only discs . similar concepts , however , may be applied to the current specification for cd rom players and other media players having legacy design which adhere to published standards of specification . using the concepts disclosed herein of introducing new navigation commands , as well as embedding html addresses within unused portions of either the navigation or presentation packets , such other types of media players may be able to similarly access presentation data from new sources , particularly those located at html page addresses . a software implementation of the above described embodiment ( s ) may comprise a series of computer instructions either fixed on a tangible medium , such as a computer readable media , e . g . diskette 142 , cd - rom 147 , rom 115 , or fixed disc 152 of fig1 or transmittable to a computer system , via a modem or other interface device , such as communications adapter 190 connected to the network 195 over a medium 191 . medium 191 can be either a tangible medium , including but not limited to optical or analog communications lines , or may be implemented with wireless techniques , including but not limited to microwave , infrared or other transmission techniques . the series of computer instructions embodies all or part of the functionality previously described herein with respect to the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages for use with many computer architectures or operating systems . further , such instructions may be stored using any memory technology , present or future , including , but not limited to , semiconductor , magnetic , optical or other memory devices , or transmitted using any communications technology , present or future , including but not limited to optical , infrared , microwave , or other transmission technologies . it is contemplated that such a computer program product may be distributed as a removable media with accompanying printed or electronic documentation , e . g ., shrink wrapped software , preloaded with a computer system , e . g ., on system rom or fixed disc , or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over a network , e . g ., the internet or world wide web . although various exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made which will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it will be obvious to those reasonably skilled in the art that other components performing the same functions may be suitably substituted . further , the methods of the invention may be achieved in either all software implementations , using the appropriate object or processor instructions , or in hybrid implementations which utilize a combination of hardware logic , software logic and / or firmware to achieve the same results , the specific configuration of logic and / or instructions utilized to achieve a particular function , as well as other modifications to the inventive concept are intended to be covered by the appended claims .	7
hereinafter , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses in accordance with the present invention . the measurements , materials , and shapes of the structural components of each of the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses in the following preferred embodiments of the present invention , and their positional relationship , are to be modified as necessary according to the structure of the image forming apparatus to which they belong , and conditions under which they are operated . in other words , the following preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope unless specifically noted . first , referring to fig1 - 6 , the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is described . fig1 and 2 are drawings for describing the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in the first preferred embodiment . the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in this embodiment is a laser beam printer . thus , the general structure and function of the image forming apparatus which will be described next are those of the laser beam printer . incidentally , in the following description of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the present invention , the front side of the main assembly of the apparatus means the side from which an operator operates the image forming apparatus . thus , the opposite side of the main assembly of the apparatus from the front side of the main assembly is the rear side ( back side ) of the main assembly as seen from the operator . fig1 ( a ) is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus . fig1 ( b ) is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus . referring to fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ), the image forming apparatus is a full - color laser beam printer , which uses an electrophotographic process , and is based on four primary colors . the image forming apparatus forms images on recording medium ( recording paper ) in response to electrical image formation signals inputted from an external host apparatus ( unshown ), such as a personal computer , an image reader , a facsimile apparatus ( from which images are sent ). the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus comprises : a laser scanner unit 10 ; process cartridges p ( py , pm , pc , and pk ) which are removably mountable in the main assembly 100 ; an intermediary transfer unit 40 ; a fixing apparatus 50 ; a sheet feeding - and - conveying unit 60 ; etc . the sheet feeding - and - conveying unit 60 has a sheet feeder cassette 62 , a sheet feeder roller 61 , a separation pad 63 , etc . the sheet feeder cassette 62 is removably mountable in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus , from the front side of the main assembly ( front loading ). the sheet feeder roller 61 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction ( indicated by arrow mark a in fig1 ( b )) with preset control timing . as the sheet feeder roller 61 is rotated , one of the layered recording medium sheets s in the sheet feeder cassette 62 is fed into the main assembly , while being separated from the rest , by the coordination between the sheet feeder roller 61 and separation pad 63 . then , the recording medium sheet s is conveyed to the nip between the intermediary unit 40 and a second transfer roller 41 , by a pair of recording sheet conveyance rollers 64 . the photosensitive drum 21 is being rotated in the clockwise direction ( indicated by arrow mark b in fig1 ( b )). as the photosensitive drum 21 is rotated , an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by the beam l of laser light outputted from the exposing portion 16 of laser scanner unit 10 . then , the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed by a development roller 32 into a visible image , that is , an image formed of toner ( toner image ). after the formation of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 , the toner image is transferred ( first transfer ) onto the intermediary transfer unit 40 . in a case where a full - color image is formed , yellow , magenta , cyan , and black monochromatic images are developed on the four photosensitive drums 21 one for one , and are sequentially transferred ( first transfer ) onto the intermediary transfer unit 40 . after the transfer of the toner images onto the intermediary transfer unit 40 , the toner images are transferred ( second transfer ) onto the recording sheet s as the recording sheet s is conveyed through the nip between the intermediary transfer unit 40 and a second transfer roller 41 . the first transfer residual toner , that is , the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the transfer of the toner image onto the intermediary transfer unit 40 , is removed by a cleaning device 22 , and is stored in the waste toner chamber 27 ( fig3 ( b )) of a photosensitive drum unit 20 . after the transfer of the toner images onto the recording sheet s , the sheet s is sent to the nip between the fixation film 51 and pressure roller 52 of a fixing apparatus 50 so that the toner images on the sheet s are fixed to the sheet s by being heated and pressed in the nip . after the fixation of the toner images to the sheet s in the nip , the sheet s is discharged into a delivery tray 70 by a pair of discharge rollers 71 . the second transfer residual toner , that is , the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediary transfer unit 40 after the transfer ( second transfer ) of the toner images onto the recording sheet s , is electrostatically adhered to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 , in the first transfer portion of the process cartridge py , for example , and then , is removed by the cleaning device 22 . after being removed by the cleaning device 22 , the second transfer residual toner is stored in the waste toner chamber 27 . each process cartridge has an integral combination of an electrophotographic photosensitive member and processing means ( processing apparatus or processing apparatuses ). in this embodiment , each process cartridge p has the photosensitive drum unit 20 ( first unit ) and development unit 30 ( second unit ), as shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ). the photosensitive drum unit 20 has a photosensitive drum 21 , which is an electrophotographic photosensitive member . it has also : a charge roller 24 ( charging means ) which is a processing means for processing the photosensitive drum 21 ; the cleaning device 22 ( cleaning means ) for removing the developer t remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 ; and a photosensitive member case 23 . the image forming apparatus in this embodiment uses multiple ( four ) photosensitive drum units ( one for each process cartridge ), which are mounted into the main assembly of the image forming apparatus in such a manner that they are vertically stacked in contact with the intermediary transfer unit 40 , with the presence of preset intervals . the development unit 30 is in engagement with the photosensitive drum unit 20 , being enabled to be rotationally moved relative to the photosensitive drum unit 20 about its rotational axle . the development unit 30 has : a development device case 31 in which the developer t to be supplied to the photosensitive drum 21 is stored ; a development roller 32 ( developing means ) which supplies the photosensitive drum 21 with the developer t ; and a supply roller 33 which supplies the development roller 32 with the developer t in the developing device case 31 . the development roller 32 may be in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 as shown in fig4 ( a ), or not in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 as shown in fig4 ( b ). when the development roller 32 is not in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 as shown in fig4 ( b ), a pair of spacers 37 , which are in engagement with the lengthwise ends of the development roller 32 , one for one , keep a preset distance between the development roller 32 and photosensitive drum 21 by being in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 . the laser scanner unit 10 ( exposing apparatus ) is on the front side of the group of the vertically stacked process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk ; it is in the front portion of the apparatus main assembly . the laser scanner unit 10 scans ( exposes ) the peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum 21 with the beam l of laser light which it outputs while modulating the beam l according to the information regarding the images ( one monochromatic image per primary color ) to be formed , which is inputted from the external host apparatus . next , the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk , which are removably mountable in the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus , are described . fig3 ( a ) is an external perspective view of one of the process cartridges . the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk have a mechanism for carrying out the electrophotographic image formation process . they are different only in the color of the toner they contains , and the amount of the toner therein . the left and right directions of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk is parallel to the axial line of the photosensitive drum 21 in each cartridge . they are long and narrow assemblies , the lengthwise direction of which coincides with their left and right direction . the photosensitive drum 21 is rotatably supported at its lengthwise ends by a pair of bearings ( unshown ) which are at the right and left end of the process cartridge frame , one for one . the position of the photosensitive drum 21 relative to the intermediary transfer unit 40 is determined by the engagement between the rotational axle 21 a of the photosensitive drum 21 and one of the four pairs of photosensitive drum positioning portions 43 ( electrophotographic photosensitive member positioning portions ) of the intermediary transfer unit 40 . incidentally , in this embodiment , the photosensitive drum positioning portions ( electrophotographic photosensitive member positioning portions ) belong to the intermediary transfer unit 40 . however , this setup is not intended to limit the present invention in scope . for example , the image forming apparatus may be structured so that the electrophotographic photosensitive member positioning portions are parts of the intermediary transfer unit supporting portion of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . one of the lengthwise ends of the abovementioned rotational axle 21 a of the photosensitive drum 21 has a drum driving gear 25 , through which the photosensitive drum 21 is driven , and therefore , may be referred to as the drive side hereafter . the corresponding lengthwise end of the rotational axle 32 a of the development roller 32 has a development roller driving gear 36 , through which the development roller 32 is driven . hereafter , the left end of the process cartridge , that is , the opposite end from the drive side , has electrical contacts ( unshown ). the force for driving the photosensitive drum 21 and development roller 32 is transmitted to the photosensitive drum 21 and development roller 32 through the meshing of the photosensitive drum driving gear 25 and development roller driving gear 36 of each of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk , and the corresponding driving force output gears ( unshown ) of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . fig3 ( b ) is a sectional view of the opposite end portion of one of the process cartridges from the drive side , at a vertical plane perpendicular to the axial line of the photosensitive drum . fig3 ( c ) is a side view of the opposite end of the one of the process cartridges from the drive side . the photosensitive drum 21 is rotated by the driving force which it receives from the driving force output gear ( unshown ) of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . the charge roller 24 is of the contact type . it is placed in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 to charge the photosensitive drum 21 , and is rotated by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 21 . the cleaning device 22 is a blade formed of a piece of elastic rubber , and is in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 in such a manner that its cleaning edge is on the upstream side of its base in terms of the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 21 . the cleaning device 22 plays the role of removing the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the first transfer of the toner image . after being removed by the cleaning device 22 , the transfer residual toner is stored in the waste toner chamber 27 in the photosensitive member case 23 . the development unit 30 has : the development roller 32 which is a developing means ; and the development blade 35 . referring to fig3 ( b ), the functional edge of the development blade 35 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the development roller 32 . the development blade 35 plays the role of forming the toner borne on the peripheral surface of the development roller 32 , into a thin layer of toner . referring to fig3 ( c ), the photosensitive drum unit 20 has a pair of development roller positioning holes , which are at the lengthwise ends of the photosensitive drum unit 20 , one for one . the development roller 32 is supported by the photosensitive drum unit 20 . more specifically , the lengthwise ends of the rotational axle 32 a of the development roller 32 are in the abovementioned development roller positioning holes , and therefore , the development roller 32 is properly positioned relative to the photosensitive drum 21 . fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) are sectional views of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , and are for describing the method for replacing the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk . fig2 c is a perspective view of the main assembly unit , and the process cartridges held by the main assembly unit . in fig2 c , the process cartridges to be replaced are being removed . it is for describing the mechanical structure for properly positioning the development cartridges as they are mounted into the main assembly unit . the door 101 , which can be rotationally opened or closed about its hinge 102 , is on the front side ( user side ) of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . the door 101 exposes or covers the opening 104 of the apparatus main assembly 100 . the opening 104 is for allowing the process cartridges p to be mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . in order to open the door 101 , the door 101 is to be rotated about the hinge 102 in the direction indicated by an arrow mark d in fig2 a . the laser scanner unit 10 is on the door 101 , and is on the front side ( user side ) of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk in the apparatus main assembly 100 . thus , as the door 101 is rotationally opened , the laser scanner unit 10 is also rotationally moved frontward , exposing thereby the opening 104 of the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , it becomes possible to access the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk in the apparatus main assembly 100 . that is , it becomes possible to remove the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk in the direction indicated by an arrow mark e in fig2 b . when it is necessary to mount the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk into the apparatus main assembly 100 , the above described sequence for removing the process cartridges p is to be carried out in the reverse order . that is , the door 101 is to be opened , and then , the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk are to be mounted into the apparatus main assembly 100 . fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) are perspective views of the combination of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , process cartridges p , main frame 15 of the apparatus main assembly 100 , laser scanner unit 10 , and door 101 of the image forming apparatus when the door 101 is open to replace one or more of the process cartridges p and when the door 101 is closed , respectively . since the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk are the same in structure , one of them is described as a process cartridge p . the laser scanner unit 10 has multiple pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 for stopping the rotation of the process cartridges p . each of the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 is the positioning means ( second positioning portion ) for properly positioning a process cartridge p relative to the laser scanner unit 10 relative to each other . as the door 101 is closed , each pair of rotation preventing portions 12 engage with the corresponding process cartridge p . more specifically , the laser scanner unit 10 has four pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 , each pair of rotation preventing portions 12 being at the ends of the laser scanner unit 40 , one for one , in terms of the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the process cartridge p is mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . the process cartridge p has a pair of development unit rotation preventing portions 34 as cartridge positioning portion , which engage with the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . each pair of the development roller rotation preventing portions 34 are at the lengthwise ends of the development unit 30 , one for one , of each process cartridge p . they prevent the process cartridge p from rotationally moving , by engaging with the rotation preventing portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus has a pair of laser scanner unit positioning portions 103 , which are the positioning means for properly positioning the laser scanner unit 10 relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 . the laser scanner unit positioning means 103 are parts of the frame 15 of the apparatus main assembly 100 , and engage with the laser scanner unit 10 . the two laser scanner unit positioning portions 103 are in the end portions of the frame 15 in terms of the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the process cartridge p is mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . one of them is a round hole , and the other is a rectangular hole . the laser scanner unit 10 is held by the door 101 , and is movable within a preset range . the laser scanner unit 10 has a pair of laser scanner unit positioning portions 11 , which are the third positioning portions . as the door 101 is closed , the pair of laser scanner unit positioning portions 11 engage into the laser scanner unit positioning portions of the frame 10 , being thereby properly positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 . as the door 101 is closed , the laser scanner unit positioning portions . 103 of the frame 15 of the main assembly 100 engage with the laser scanner unit positioning portions 11 of the laser scanner unit 10 , one for one , whereby the laser scanner unit 10 is properly positioned relative to the apparatus main assembly 100 . incidentally , one of the laser scanner unit positioning portions 103 of the apparatus main assembly 100 is a round hole , and the other is a rectangular hole , as described above . therefore , the laser scanner unit 10 is accurately positioned relative to the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . as the door 101 is closed , each pair of rotation preventing portions 12 , which are at the ends of the laser scanner unit 10 , one for one , engage with the pair of development unit rotation preventing portions of the development unit 30 of the corresponding process cartridge p . thus , the development unit 30 of the process cartridge p is properly positioned relative to the laser scanner unit 10 , ensuring that a clear path is provided between the laser scanner unit 10 and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 , for the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 , in spite of a very small clearance between the adjacent two process cartridges p . as the rotational axle 21 a of the photosensitive drum 21 of the process cartridge p engages with the photosensitive drum positioning portions 43 ( first positioning portions ) of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , the photosensitive drum 21 is properly positioned relative to the intermediary transfer unit 40 ( fig2 c ). then , the door 101 is to be closed . as the door 101 is closed , the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 engage with the development unit rotation preventing portions 34 of the process cartridge p , whereby the process cartridge p is properly positioned relative to the laser scanner unit 10 . that is , the process cartridge p is properly position relative to the laser scanner unit 10 by the photosensitive drum positioning portions of the apparatus main assembly 100 ( which engage with the photosensitive drum ) and the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . further , one of the pair of rotation preventing portions 12 which are at the ends of the laser scanner unit 10 engages with the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 of the process cartridge p with the presence of a small gap between the two rotation preventing portions 12 and 34 . the other of the pair of rotation preventing portions 12 engages with the other of the corresponding pair of development unit rotation preventing portions 34 . shown in fig6 is the state of engagement between one of the rotation preventing portion 12 and the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 , with the presence of gap between the two rotation preventing portions 12 and 34 . as will be evident from fig6 , when one of the rotation preventing portion 12 is in engagement with the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 , the top side of the outward end portion of the rotation preventing portion 12 is in contact with the top side of the outward portion of the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 , but , the bottom side of the outward end portion of the rotation preventing portion 12 is not in contact with the bottom side of the outward portion of the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 . designing the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 , and the development unit rotation preventing portions 34 of the development unit 30 as described above , can prevent the problem that the warping , twisting , and / or the like deformation of the process cartridge p prevents the rotation preventing portions 12 and development rotation preventing portions 34 from properly engaging with each other . it is not mandatory that one of the pair of rotation preventing portions 12 and the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 with the presence of the gap between the two rotation preventing portions 12 and 34 as described above . that is , the state of the contact may be such that the bottom side of the outward portion of the rotation preventing portion 12 is in contact with the bottom side of the inward portion of the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 , but , the top side of the outward portion of the rotation preventing portion 12 is not in contact with the top side of the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 . that is , the state of contact between one of the pair of rotation preventing portions 12 and the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 has only to be such that top or bottom side of one of the pair of rotation preventing portions 12 contacts the top or bottom side of the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 , respectively . as for the positional relationship between the development roller 32 and photosensitive drum 21 , the development roller 32 is properly positioned relative to the photosensitive drum 21 by the development roller positioning hole 26 of the photosensitive drum unit 20 as described above . further , the positioning of the process cartridge p ( development unit 30 ) by the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 is only in terms of the rotational direction of each process cartridge p . therefore , it does not affect the development function of the process cartridge p . in this embodiment , the development unit 30 is properly positioned relative to the laser beam unit 10 by the direct engagement between the pair of development unit rotation preventing portions 34 of the development unit 30 , with which the lengthwise end portions of the development unit 30 are provided one for one , and the rotation preventing portions 12 with which the lengthwise end portions of the laser scanner unit 10 on the door 101 are provided one for one . therefore , it is possible to minimize the gap between the development unit 30 and the path of the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . thus , the structural arrangement , in this embodiment , for positioning the development unit 30 of each of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk relative to the laser scanner unit 10 of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus is different from the structural arrangement in accordance with any of the prior art , which positions the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) relative to the laser scanner unit 10 , through the contacts , different in position from those in this embodiment , between the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) and the portions of the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , this embodiment has the following effects . that is , this embodiment can minimize the gap ( space ) between the development unit 30 and the path of the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 while ensuring that a clear path is provided for the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . further , in the case of a process cartridge , the development unit 30 and photosensitive drum unit 20 of which are rotationally movable relative to each other as in this embodiment , one of the two units 30 and 20 is properly positioned by the laser scanner unit 10 , and the other is properly positioned by the portion ( s ), other than the laser scanner unit 10 , of the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , the internal components of the apparatus main assembly 100 can be efficiently positioned in terms of spatial efficiency . thus , the image forming apparatus in this embodiment is simpler in the structure for positioning the development units 30 ( process cartridges p ), and smaller in the size of the apparatus main assembly 100 , than any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts . the image forming apparatus in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is the same in general structure as the image forming apparatus in the first preferred embodiment . thus , the members , components , etc ., of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are the same in function as the counterparts in the first embodiment are given the same referential codes as those given to the counterparts , and are not going to be described . in other words , the following description of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is focused on the portions of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are different in structure from the counterparts in the first embodiment . fig7 ( a ) is a perspective view of the combination of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , process cartridges p ( development units 30 ), laser scanner unit 10 , and door 101 when the door 101 is in its open position for the replacement of the process cartridge ( s ). fig7 ( b ) is a perspective view of the same combination as that in the fig7 ( a ), but when the door 101 is in its closed position . the laser scanner unit 10 has five pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 for preventing the process cartridges p from rotationally moving . each pair of the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 are portions for positioning the corresponding process cartridge p relative to the laser scanner unit 10 . each pair of rotation prevention portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 are at the ends of the laser scanner unit 10 , one for one , in terms of the direction parallel to the axial line of the photosensitive drum 21 . each rotation preventing portion 12 is in the form of a small projection . the second , third , and fourth pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 , counting from the top side of the door 101 , are for holding a preset distance between the process cartridges py and pm , between the process cartridge pm and pc , and between process cartridges pc and pk , respectively . thus , as the door 101 is closed , two pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 directly engage with the top and bottom edges of each process cartridge p , preventing thereby the process cartridge p ( development unit 30 ) from rotationally moving . in other words , as the door 101 is closed , the process cartridges p are properly positioned relative to the laser scanner unit 10 so that a preset amount of gap is maintained between the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 , and the corresponding process cartridge p . in this embodiment , the image forming apparatus is structured so that as the door 101 is closed , each pair of rotation preventing portions 12 directly contact the frame of the corresponding process cartridge p . therefore , it is unnecessary to provide the process cartridge p with the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 as in the first embodiment . thus , the image forming apparatus in this embodiment is simpler in the cartridge positioning structure , being therefore lower in cost , than the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment . that is , also in this embodiment , the rotation preventing portions 12 with which the laser scanner unit 10 is provided properly position the process cartridges p by coming directly in contact with the process cartridges p as described above . thus , this embodiment also can reduce an image forming apparatus in the gap between the development unit 30 and the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . therefore , this embodiment also can accurately position the development unit 30 and laser scanner unit 10 relative each other , making it therefore possible to minimizing the gap between the development unit 30 and the path of the corresponding beam l of light from the laser scanner unit 10 while ensuring that there is a clearance for the beam l of laser light as can the first embodiment described above . in other words , this embodiment also makes it possible to efficiently position the internal components of the main assembly 100 of an image forming apparatus in terms of spatial efficiency . therefore , it can provide an image forming apparatus which is simpler in the cartridge positioning structure of the main assembly 100 , and is smaller in the size of the main assembly 100 . in addition , not only is the image forming apparatus in this embodiment simper in the cartridge positioning structure , but also , lower in cost , than the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment . the general structure of the image forming apparatus in the third embodiment is similar to that of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment . thus , the members , components , etc ., of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are similar in function to the counterparts in the first embodiment are given the same referential codes as those given to the counterparts , and are not going to be described . in other words , the following description of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is focused on the portions of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are different in structure from the counterparts in the first embodiment . fig8 ( a ) is a perspective view of the combination of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk , laser scanner unit 10 , and door 101 when the door 101 is in its open position for the replacement of the process cartridge ( s ). fig8 ( b ) is a perspective view of the same combination as that in the fig8 ( a ), but when the door 101 is in its closed position . the laser scanner unit 10 has four rotation preventing portions 12 for preventing the process cartridges p from rotationally moving . the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 are portions for properly positioning the corresponding process cartridge p relative to the laser scanner unit 10 . each rotation preventing portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 is at the center of the laser scanner unit 10 in terms of the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the process cartridges p are mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . each rotation preventing portion 12 is in the form of a small projection . the rotation preventing portions 12 are for accurately positioning the development units 30 of the properly positioned adjacent two process cartridges p , with the presence of a preset gap . further , each process cartridge p has a development unit rotation preventing portion 34 as a development unit rotation preventing portion which engages with one of the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 is in the form of a recess . the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 is at the center of the development unit 30 of the process cartridge p in terms of the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the process cartridge p is mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . as the door 101 is closed , the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 of each process cartridge p , which is in the form of a recess , engages with the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 , which is in the form of a projection , whereby the process cartridge p ( development unit 30 ) is prevented from rotationally moving . in other words , each process cartridge p is accurately positioned so that a preset amount of gap is maintained between each process cartridge p and the path of the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . also in this embodiment , as the door 101 is closed , each of the rotation preventing portions 12 , with which the laser scanner unit 10 on the door 101 is provided , accurately positions the corresponding process cartridge p by directly engaging with the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 of the development unit 30 , which is at the center of the development unit 30 . thus , this embodiment also can reduce an image forming apparatus in the gap between the development unit 30 and the path of the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . therefore , this embodiment also can minimize the gap ( space ) between the development unit 30 and the path of the corresponding beam l of light from the laser scanner unit 10 while ensuring that there is a clearance for the beam l of laser light as can the embodiment described above . in other words , this embodiment also makes it possible to efficiently position the internal components of the main assembly of an image forming apparatus in terms of spatial efficiency . therefore , it can provide an image forming apparatus which is simpler in the cartridge positioning structure of the main assembly , and is smaller in the size of the main assembly , than any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts . the general structure of the image forming apparatus in the fourth embodiment is similar to that of the image forming apparatus in the first embodiment . thus , the members , components , etc ., of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are similar in function to the counterparts in the first embodiment , are given the same referential codes as those given to the counterparts , and are not going to be described . in other words , the following description of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is focused on the portions of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are different in structure from the counterparts in the first embodiment . fig9 ( a ) is a perspective view of the combination of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk , laser scanner unit 10 , and door 101 when the door 101 is in its open position for the replacement of the process cartridge ( s ). fig9 ( b ) is a side view of the same combination as that in fig9 ( a ) when the door 101 is in its closed position . the laser scanner unit 10 has four pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 for preventing the process cartridges p from rotationally moving . each pair of rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 are portions for properly positioning the corresponding process cartridge p relative to the laser scanner unit 10 . referring to fig1 , the structure of the laser scanner unit 10 is such that each rotation prevention portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 is under the pressure generated by a rotation preventing spring 13 in the direction which is roughly the same as the direction in which the process cartridge p is pressed for positioning . each rotation preventing portion 12 in this embodiment is in the form of a small projection . the rotation preventing portions 12 are for accurately positioning the development units 30 of the properly positioned adjacent two process cartridges p ( py , pm , pc , and pk ), with the present of a preset interval . further , each process cartridge p has a pair of development unit rotation preventing portion 34 as cartridge positioning portions which engage with the corresponding pair of rotation preventing portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 is in the form of a recess . each pair of development unit rotation preventing portion 34 are at the ends of the development unit 30 of the process cartridge p , one for one , in terms of the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the process cartridge p is mounted into , or removed from , the apparatus main assembly 100 . as the door 101 is closed , each of the development unit rotation preventing portions 34 of the process cartridge p , which is in the form of a recess , engages with the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 , which is in the form of a projection , whereby the process cartridge p ( development unit 30 ) is prevented from rotationally moving . in other words , the process cartridges p are positioned so that a preset amount of gap is maintained between each process cartridge p and the path of the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . also in this embodiment , as the door 101 is closed , each of the rotation preventing portions 12 , with which the laser scanner unit 10 on the door 101 is provided , functions to properly position the corresponding process cartridge p by directly engaging with the corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 . thus , this embodiment also can reduce an image forming apparatus in the gap between the development unit 30 and the path of the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . further , the laser scanner unit 10 is structured so that each of the rotation preventing portions 12 is under the pressure generated by the rotation preventing spring 13 in the direction which is roughly the same as the direction in which the process cartridge p is pressed for positioning . therefore , the members dedicated for keeping the process cartridges p pressured are unnecessary . fig1 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the development unit rotation preventing portions 34 and the corresponding rotation preventing portion 12 , in this embodiment , when the two portions 34 and 12 are in contact with each other . the laser unit scanner 10 and process cartridge p ( development unit 30 ) are structured so that the areas of contacts s 1 and s 2 between each rotation preventing portion 12 and corresponding development unit rotation preventing portion 34 are slanted . therefore , the two portions 34 and 12 engage with each other with no play between them . further , the areas of contact of the rotation preventing portion 12 , and the areas of contact of the development unit rotation preventing portion 34 are provided with an electrical contact for supplying the processing portion of the corresponding process cartridge with electric power . therefore , the electric power for generating the bias to be applied to the development roller , for example , can be supplied to the processing portion through the areas of contact s 1 and s 2 . positioning the electrical contacts as described above can make the contact pressure greater than the pressure applied to the process cartridge p . therefore , it is ensured that the electrical contacts remain in contact . moreover , this structural arrangement makes it unnecessary to provide portions dedicated to the electrical connection between the apparatus main assembly 100 and the process cartridge p . further , it ensures that the process cartridges p remain properly positioned . in other words , the structural arrangement , in this embodiment , for positioning the development unit 30 of each of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk relative to the laser scanner unit 10 of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus is different from the structural arrangement in accordance with any of the prior art , which positions the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) relative to the laser scanner unit 10 , through the contacts , different in position from those in this embodiment , between the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) and the portions of the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , this embodiment has the following effects . that is , this embodiment can minimize the gap ( space ) between the development unit 30 and the path of the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 while ensuring that a clear path is provided for the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . further , this embodiment eliminates the need for the members dedicated to the pressing of the process cartridges p . thus , this embodiment makes it possible to efficiently position the internal components of the apparatus main assembly 100 in terms of spatial efficiency . in other words , the present invention can provide an image forming apparatus which is simpler in the cartridge positioning structure , and smaller in the main assembly , than any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts . the general structure of the image forming apparatus in the fifth embodiment is similar to that of the image forming apparatus in the fourth embodiment . thus , the members , components , etc ., of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are similar in function to the counterparts in the first embodiment , are given the same referential codes as those given to the counterparts , and are not going to be described . in other words , the following description of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention is focused on the portions of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment , which are different in structure from the counterparts in the fourth embodiment . fig1 ( a ) is a perspective view of the combination of the intermediary transfer unit 40 , process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk , laser scanner unit 10 , and door 101 in this embodiment when the door 101 is in its open position for the replacement of the process cartridge ( s ). fig1 ( b ) is a side view of the same combination as that in the fig1 ( a ) when the door 101 is in its closed position . fig1 is a side view of the combination of the process cartridges p and laser scanner unit 10 in the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention when the door 101 for the replacement of the process cartridge ( s ) is in its closed position . the laser scanner unit 10 has four pairs of rotation preventing portions 12 for preventing the process cartridges p from rotationally moving . each pair of the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 are portions for properly positioning the corresponding process cartridge p relative to the laser scanner unit 10 . referring to fig1 , the laser scanner unit 10 is structured so that each of the rotation preventing portions 12 is under the pressure generated by a spring 13 in the direction which is roughly the same as the direction in which the process cartridge is pressed for positioning . further , the laser scanner unit 10 is structured so that as the door 101 is opened , each rotation preventing portion 12 engages with the corresponding shutter 14 for covering the exposure window 16 of the abovementioned exposing apparatus , and rotates the shutter 14 about its rotational axis 14 a . as the door 101 is opened , the laser scanner unit 10 moves in the direction indicated by an arrow mark c , and each rotation preventing portion 12 moves in the direction indicated by an arrow mark a . thus , the process cartridge p is freed from the pressure under which it was . also in this embodiment , the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) are properly positioned relative to the laser scanner unit 10 by the direct engagement between the development unit rotation preventing portions 34 of the development unit 30 , and the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 on the door 101 , one for one . therefore , the gap between each of the development units 30 , and the path of the corresponding beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 does not need to be as wide as that in any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts , as descried above . further , each of the rotation preventing portions 12 is under the pressure generated in the direction which is roughly parallel to the process cartridge positioning direction . therefore , the apparatus main assembly 100 does not need to be provided with the members dedicated to the pressing of the process cartridges . moreover , each rotation preventing portion 12 is in engagement with the shutter 14 with its engaging portion 12 a . therefore , as the pressure which is being applied to the process cartridge p is removed , the rotation preventing portion 12 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow mark a , causing thereby the shielding member 14 to cover the exposure window of the exposing apparatus . that is , the structural arrangement , in this embodiment , for positioning the development unit 30 of each of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk relative to the laser scanner unit 30 of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus is different from the structural arrangement in accordance with any of the prior art , which positions the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) relative to the laser scanner unit 10 , through the contacts different in position from those in this embodiment , between the development unit 30 ( process cartridges p ) and the portions of the apparatus main assembly 100 . therefore , this embodiment has the following effects . that is , this embodiment can minimize the gap ( space ) between the development unit 30 and the path of the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 while ensuring that a clearance is provided for the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 . further , this embodiment eliminates the need for the members dedicated to the pressing of the process cartridges p . moreover , this embodiment can simplify the mechanism for covering the exposure window of the exposing apparatus . thus , this embodiment makes it possible to efficiently position the internal components of the apparatus main assembly 100 in terms of spatial efficiency . in other words , the present invention can provide an image forming apparatus which is simpler in the cartridge positioning structure , and smaller in the main assembly , than any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts . in the preceding embodiments of the present invention , the laser scanner unit 10 is attached to the door 101 , being allowed to move within a preset range , and as the door 101 is closed , the laser scanner unit 10 is accurately positioned relative to the frame 15 of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus . however , these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , the present invention is also effectively applicable to an image forming apparatus , the laser scanner unit 10 of which is immovably attached to the door 101 , but , is not accurately positioned relative to the frame 15 of the apparatus main assembly 100 . that is , according to the present invention , the development unit 30 of the process cartridge p is accurately positioned by the rotation preventing portions 12 of the laser scanner unit 10 . thus , even if the laser scanner unit 10 on the door 101 is not movable relative to the door 101 , it is ensured that a clear path is provided for the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 , between the laser scanner unit 10 and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 . also in the preceding preferred embodiments described above , the door 101 was rotationally moved frontward of the main assembly 100 of the image forming apparatus to replace the process cartridge ( s ) in the apparatus main assembly 100 . however , this structural arrangement is not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , referring to fig1 ( a ) and 14 ( b ), the present invention is also compatible with an image forming apparatus structured so that the door 101 is to be rotationally moved upward about the hinge 102 in the direction indicated by an arrow mark in fig1 ( b ). in such a case , it is in the upward direction indicated by an arrow mark g that the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk are to be removed . the application of the present invention to the above described structural design for an image forming apparatus can provide an image forming apparatus which is significantly smaller in the gap between the development unit 30 of each of the process cartridges py , pm , pc , and pk in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus , and the path of the beam l of laser light outputted from the laser scanner unit 10 , and therefore , in the front - to - rear dimension , than any of the image forming apparatuses in accordance with the prior arts . further , in the preceding embodiments , the development unit 30 belonged to the process cartridge ( py , pm , pc , and pk ), the development unit 30 and photosensitive drum unit 20 of which were not separable from each other . however , the present invention is also compatible with a process cartridge , the development unit and photosensitive drum unit of which are independently replaceable from each other . that is , the application of the present invention to an image forming apparatus which employs such process cartridges also provide the same effects as those described above . for example , referring to fig1 , the present invention is compatible with a process cartridge structured so that as the lengthwise end portions of the rotational axle 32 a of the development roller 32 of the development unit 30 engage into the pair of development unit positioning grooves 29 of the photosensitive drum unit 20 , the development unit 30 and photosensitive drum unit 20 become accurately positioned to each other . further , referring to fig1 , 17 ( a ) and 17 ( b ), the present invention is applicable to such an image forming apparatus design that the photosensitive drum unit 21 , with which the development unit 30 engages , is accurately positioned relative to the intermediary transfer unit 40 by the engagement of the rotational axle 21 a of the photosensitive drum 21 of the photosensitive drum unit 20 , and the pair of photosensitive drum rotation preventing portions 28 of the photosensitive drum unit 20 , into the pair of photosensitive drum unit positioning grooves 43 of the intermediary transfer unit 40 . further , the application of the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus design which places the means for positioning the photosensitive drum unit 20 , on the intermediary transfer unit 40 . that is , the present invention is compatible with also such an image forming apparatus design that the means for accurately positioning the photosensitive drum unit 20 is placed on the side walls of the apparatus main assembly 100 . further , in the preceding embodiments , each of the image forming apparatuses was such an image forming apparatus that employed four process cartridges which are removably mountable in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus . however , the present invention does not require that the process cartridge count is limited to four . that is , the present invention is compatible with any image forming apparatus design of the above described type regardless of the process cartridge count of the design . further , each of the exposing apparatuses in the preceding embodiments was a laser scanner unit . however , the present invention does not require that the exposing apparatus is a laser scanner unit . that is , the present invention is also compatible with exposing apparatuses made up of an led array , or the like . further , each of the process cartridges in the preceding embodiments was such a process cartridge that integrally comprises a photosensitive drum , and a combination of processing means , more specifically , charging means , a developing means , and a cleaning means . however , the preceding embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , the present invention is also compatible with a process cartridge that integrally comprises a photosensitive drum and only one processing means among a charging means , a developing , and a cleaning means . also in the preceding embodiments , each image forming apparatus was a printer . however , these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , the present invention is compatible with an image forming apparatus other than a printer . for example , the present invention is compatible with a copying machine , a facsimile machine , etc ., and a multifunction apparatus capable of performing two or more functions of the preceding image forming apparatuses . further , each image forming apparatus was such an image forming apparatus that uses an intermediary transfer member ; sequentially transfers in layers multiple monochromatic toner image , different in color , onto the intermediary transfer member ; and transfers all at once the multiple toner images onto recording medium . however , these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention in scope . that is , the present invention is also compatible with such an image forming apparatus that uses a recording medium bearing member ; and sequentially transfers in layer multiple monochromatic toner images , different in color , directly onto the recording medium on the recording medium bearing member . the effects of the application of the present invention to these image forming , apparatuses ( other than those in preceding embodiments ) are the same as those described above . while the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein , it is not confined to the details set forth , and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims . this application claims priority from japanese patent applications nos . 281858 / 2009 and 258559 / 2010 filed dec . 11 , 2009 and nov . 19 , 2010 which are hereby incorporated by reference .	6
as used herein : the terms “ audio - visual content ” or “ a / v content ” includes audio , visual and other multimedia content including motion pictures , music , the spoken word , photos , and printed text ; “ material ” and “ content ” may be used interchangeably , and includes a / v and other distributed content such as computer programs or software ; and “ proprietary material ” means material protected by contract or intellectual property law . fig1 illustrates , as an example , a flow diagram of a method for securely providing material to a licensee of the material that may be performed by one or more servers . in 101 , a content or material request is received from a client . the client in this case may be a person , or a client device such as a computer , a set - top box , network appliance , wireless communicating device such as a personal digital assistant (“ pda ”) or other type of electronic device . along with the content request that identifies the content being requested such as , for example , a movie or music title , information identifying a client device or its operator may also be provided . in the case of the client device , this may take the form of a host or network interface card identification number , and in the case of the operator , this may take the form of a credit card number or user identification and password . for establishing secure communications between electronic devices , a public key “ ku ” may also be provided along with the content request . in such case , a conventional authentication and key exchange procedure may be performed to establish a secure channel . in 102 , the transaction is authorized in a conventional manner . preferably this takes the common form of verifying that the requester or operator of the client has properly paid for the requested content and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving it . payment may be by credit card with conventional bank confirmation . in addition , the requester may also be first required to accept terms of a license agreement in a click - the - button or other conventional manner before the transaction is authorized . in 103 , a license detailing the usage rights purchased by the requester is provided to the client . the usage rights may include many conventional items such as the number of allowed viewings or playing of material such as a movie , music recording , electronic book , entertainment event or software program . they may also include such things as the time period over which such viewings or playing is allowed . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 715 , 403 entitled “ system for controlling the distribution and use of digital works having attached usage rights where the usage rights are defined by a usage rights grammar ”, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by this reference , gives numerous examples of such usage rights . in 104 , at least one license key “ kl ” corresponding to the license is provided preferably at the same time as the license to the client . as will be discussed in more detail below , a primary purpose of the at least one license key “ kl ” is to provide a second level of security by encrypting an at least one content key “ kc ” that is in turn , used to encrypt the requested content prior to its transmission to the client . in one embodiment of the invention , the at least one license key comprises a plurality of license keys that are used one - at - a - time in a predetermined fashion for encrypting the at least one content key . in 105 , the at least one content key “ kc ” is conventionally generated . in 106 , the at least one content key is encrypted by the at least one license key in a conventional manner . where the at least one license key comprises a plurality of license keys for encrypting and decrypting the at least one content key , the plurality of license keys are preferably used one - at - a - time in a predetermined fashion for such encryption and corresponding decryption . for example , they may be used on a periodically rotating time basis for encrypting and decrypting the at least one content key . thus , with the many possible combinations of license and content keys , increased security is provided using the method . in 107 , the requested material is encrypted with the at least one content key “ kc ” in a conventional manner . where the at least one content key comprises a plurality of content keys for encrypting and decrypting the requested material , the plurality of content keys are preferably used one - at - a - time in a predetermined fashion for such encryption and corresponding decryption , depending upon the application . in 108 , the content key encrypted with the license key ( also referred to herein simply as the “ encrypted content key ”) and the material encrypted with the at least one content key ( also referred to herein simply as the “ encrypted material ” or “ encrypted content ”) are provided to the client , either in separate transactions or in the same transaction . the order of the separate transactions is generally not important . the encrypted material may be provided as a file or streaming media . in one application example where the requested content or material is included in at least one mpeg - 4 bit stream such as its video and audio bit streams , the at least one content key conventionally comprises a plurality of content keys that are used one - at - a - time in a predetermined fashion for encrypting corresponding time periods of the material . alternatively , they may be used one - at - a - time in a predetermined fashion for encrypting corresponding portions of the material . the at least one content key in this case is encrypted with the at least one license key , and included in an ipmp (“ intellectual property management & amp ; protection ”) stream that is provided to the licensee along with the material included in the mpeg - 4 bit stream that is encrypted with the at least one content key . the at least one content key in this case is conventionally mapped to corresponding portions of the material included in the at least one mpeg - 4 bit stream that is encrypted with the at least one content key , by ipmp descriptors associated with the corresponding portions . fig2 illustrates , as an example , a flow diagram of a method for securely providing material to a licensee of the material that may be performed by a client and is complementary to the method described in reference to fig1 . in 201 , a content or material request is made by a client . the client in this case may be a person , or a client device such as a computer , a set - top box , network appliance , wireless communicating device such as a pda or other type of electronic device . along with the content request that identifies the content being requested such as , for example , a movie or music title , information identifying a client device or its operator may also be provided . in the case of the client device , this may take the form of a host or network interface card identification number , and in the case of the operator , this may take the form of a credit card number or user identification and password . for establishing secure communications between electronic devices , a public key “ ku ” may also be provided along with the content request . in such case , a conventional authentication and key exchange procedure may be performed to establish a secure channel , thus providing a third level of security through three key levels ( i . e ., ku , kl and kc ). in 202 , a license detailing the usage rights purchased by the requester is received . in 203 , at least one license key “ kl ” corresponding to the license is also received , either along with the license or in a separate transaction . in 204 , the requested material is received encrypted with at least one content key . in 205 , the at least one content key “ kc ” is received encrypted with the at least one license key , either along with the encrypted material or in a separate transaction . when the encrypted material and the encrypted at least one content key are received in separate transactions , the order that they are received is generally not important . when the encrypted at least one content key is provided with the encrypted material , such as in the case of the mpeg - 4 example described above , the encrypted at least one content is extracted from the combination . in 206 , the encrypted at least one content key is decrypted using the at least one license key in a conventional manner . where the at least one content key comprises a plurality of content keys , and / or the at least one license key comprises a plurality of license keys , such decryption follows a complementary process to the encryption described in reference to 106 of fig1 . in 207 , the encrypted content or material is then decrypted using the at least one content key in a conventional manner . where the at least one content key comprises a plurality of content keys , such decryption follows a complementary process to the encryption described in reference to 107 in fig1 . in 208 , the content is then used in accordance with the license , using conventional control software installed on the client device . fig3 ˜ 5 illustrate , as examples , block diagrams of representative systems for securely providing material to a licensee of the material . in fig3 , a server 301 performs the method described in reference to fig1 , and a client 302 performs the method described in reference to fig2 . in this case , all transmissions between the server 301 and the client 302 go through a communication medium 303 , which may be , for examples , the internet or a direct connection through cable , satellite or telephone modem . in fig4 , a server 401 likewise performs the method described in reference to fig1 , and a client 402 likewise performs the method described in reference to fig2 . in this case , however , certain portions of the methods described in reference to fig1 and 2 , such as , for example , the content request and transmission of the encrypted content and encrypted at least one content key , go through a communication medium 403 , and other portions of the methods described in reference to fig1 and 2 , such as , for example , the transmission of the license and the license key , go through another communication medium 404 for additional security . in fig5 , servers 501 and 503 combine to perform the method described in reference to fig1 , whereas client 502 performs the method described in reference to fig2 . in this system , the server 501 is referred to as a content server , because it preferably performs portions of the method described in reference to 101 , 102 and 105 ˜ 108 in fig1 . the server 503 , on the other hand , is referred to as a license server , because it preferably performs the remaining portions of the method described in reference to 103 and 104 in fig1 . communications between the content server 501 , client 502 and license server 503 may go through communication mediums 504 , 505 and 506 , as shown . other arrangements of multi - server systems are also fully contemplated to be within the full scope of the present invention . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 202 , 056 b1 , entitled “ method for computer network operation providing basis for usage fees ”, which is incorporated herein by this reference , is just one example of a multi - server system in which the present invention may be employed . although the various aspects of the invention have been described with respect to preferred embodiments , it will be understood that the invention is entitled to full protection within the full scope of the appended claims .	6
the steps of the inventive method are shown in fig1 - 18 and involve combining a wick 14 and a sealant 18 in a wick sustainer 10 for a candle by injecting the sealant 18 into the bottom of the wick sustainer 10 . the wick sustainer 10 is a unitary structure that has an elongated barrel 6 and a perpendicular , planar base 8 . the barrel 6 intersects the base 8 approximately at the base &# 39 ; s center . a passage 12 extends longitudinally through the barrel 6 and the intersecting region of the base 8 . the passage 12 has an upper region 11 and a lower region 13 defined by the position of the wick 14 as described below . the preferred sustainer is composed of a flame - resistant , rigid , liquid - impermeable metal such as steel or tin , but it may be ceramic , plastic , or other material having similar flame - resistant properties . the preferred sustainer is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 842 , 850 to pappas , which is incorporated herein by reference . the sustainer 10 that is preferred for this method has an elongated barrel 6 of a length of about one - half inch or more , although the method disclosed is applicable for a sustainer having a barrel of any length . the standard wick sustainer commonly used in candles has a barrel that is shorter than the barrel 6 of the sustainer 10 used in the preferred method . the wick 14 used in this method is the type commonly used in the industry . the standard wick is cord of tightly intertwined , woven fibers that may be fuel - coated . the wick 14 turns to ash as it burns , essentially disintegrating . the sealant 18 used in the preferred method is flame - resistant and has a high softening point . the softening point is the temperature at which the sealant 18 loses enough structural integrity to substantially detach from the sustainer 10 and permit the passage 12 to become unsealed . the sealant 18 must resist softening when exposed to the heat of a candle flame , which is estimated to be 400 degrees fahrenheit . if such temperatures are reached , then the sealant 18 is prevented from flowing out of the sustainer 10 . more preferably , the sealant 18 resists softening when exposed even directly to the flame , which typically has a temperature of about 2100 degrees fahrenheit . the sealant 18 that is preferred is flame - resistant hot - melt thermoplastic glue called macromelt tpx 16 - 157 , manufactured by henkel and distributed by rudolph brothers and company , canal winchester , ohio . thermosetting materials may be used as an alternative to thermoplastics . fig1 is an illustration showing the first step in the series of steps for performing the preferred method . a conventional candle wick 14 is pre - cut to a desired length , and its axis is aligned with the axis of the passage 12 . in the next step shown in fig2 the wick 14 is inserted into the passage 12 . this insertion proceeds in the conventional manner until a predetermined length of the wick 14 protrudes from the upper region 11 of the passage , as shown in fig3 and the wick 14 is in the desired position within the passage 12 . alternatively or additionally , the protruding length of the wick 14 can be grasped and pulled to position the wick 14 within the passage 12 . preferably , there is a space between the lower end of the wick 14 and the base 8 of the sustainer 10 . the lower region 13 of the passage 12 is the part that is unoccupied by the wick 14 and extends from the lower end of the wick 14 within the passage to the base 8 of the sustainer 10 . the preferred length of the lower region 13 is in the range between one - eighth and one - fourth of an inch . the upper region 11 of the passage 12 is the part that the wick 14 occupies . as shown in fig4 after the wick 14 is positioned in the upper region 11 , the next step is the injection of the sealant 18 from a hot - melt source into the lower region 13 where a gap was formed to make room for the sealant 18 . as shown in fig5 the amount of sealant 18 must be sufficient to bridge substantially entirely across the passage 12 . injecting an amount of the sealant 18 that forms a thin layer suspended across the entire passage 12 , or an amount of the sealant 18 that completely fills the lower region 13 , will suffice to block the passage 12 to substantially hinder the flow of fuel to the wick 14 . the passage 12 need not be completely blocked to effect the desired starvation of the candle resulting in extinguishment of the flame . the sealant 18 needs to substantially seal the passage 12 , which is defined as limiting the amount of fuel that can reach the wick 14 , and therefore the flame , thereby resulting in flame extinguishment . fig6 shows the resulting sustainer 10 that has a sealed passage 12 . the preferred sealant 18 has adhesive properties and adheres to the inner walls of the barrel 6 . as shown in fig5 an amount of sealant 18 injected into the passage 12 will preferably protrude from the lower region 13 into the upper region 11 and into adhesive contact with the wick 14 . in this way , the sealant 18 adheres the wick 14 to the sustainer 10 . the sustainer 10 must also often sit level on a flat surface in an operable position , and therefore the sealant 18 should not ordinarily protrude from the passage 12 at the base 8 so much that a glob is formed that causes the sustainer 10 to sit unevenly . in an alternative embodiment shown in fig1 , an excess amount of the adhesive sealant 18 can be injected into the passage 12 and caused to protrude from the lower region 13 . the excess amount of adhesive sealant 18 protruding from the lower region 13 is useful for adhering the sustainer 10 to an interior bottom of a candle container such as when the sealant 18 is re - heated and softened prior to contacting the candle container . the step of injecting the sealant 18 into the sustainer 10 seals the passage 12 to prevent , or at least substantially restrict , the flow of fuel into the passage 12 from the pool of liquid fuel at the bottom of the candle . once the candle flame has burned for a period of time , the upper surface of the pool will no longer be above the top end of the sustainer 10 . at this point the wick 14 no longer absorbs fuel through the sides of the wick 14 , and the only path available to the fuel for reaching the flame is through the bottom of the sustainer 10 . sealing the sustainer 10 blocks this path , so the flame is extinguished due to fuel starvation . as a result , the pool cools and and flashover cannot occur . the term injecting is used to mean more than merely inserting the sealant 18 into the sustainer 10 or applying the sealant 18 to the bottom of the sustainer 10 and pushing it into the passage 12 . injecting means to squirt a jet of sealant 18 under pressure from a nozzle or small orifice into the passage 12 of the sustainer 10 . the preferred device for performing the sealing step in the method of fig1 is an automated machine . the preferred machine is the herrhammer edp - 250 wicking machine , by herrhammer gmbh of germany , with a faceplate removed to accommodate an automated hot sealant - injector . alternatively , if a thermosetting sealant is used , the injector may not need to be heated . as an indexed wick sustainer 10 is processed through the machine in the conventional manner , the automated hot sealant - injector squirts sealant 18 into the passage 12 of the sustainer 10 at a later , new step . the sealant 18 is injected at the lower end of the passage 12 . the tip of the sealant injector is removable , having a hexagonal shape to provide surfaces that a tool can grasp for removal for cleaning . fig7 shows the first in a series of steps for performing the method in an alternative embodiment . the wick 114 is continuously drawn from a wick source 16 , such as a roll or spool , and its axis is aligned with the axis of the passage 12 . fig8 shows the next step of inserting the wick 114 into the passage 12 , and the insertion is continuous at least until an amount of the wick 114 protrudes from the opposite end of the barrel 6 , as shown in fig9 . the steps in fig1 and 11 show drawing and severing of the wick 114 from the wick source 16 . the point of severance depends on the desired final length for the wick 114 . fig1 shows the nearly completed structure having the wick 114 positioned within the passage 12 prior to injecting the sealant 18 , which is illustrated in fig1 . a sectional view in fig1 shows the sealant 18 and wick 114 placed within the passage 12 , and fig1 shows the structure with a sealed passage 12 . fig1 illustrates the first step in an alternative method to make the structure shown in fig1 . the wick 214 is inserted into the passage 12 of the barrel 6 at the end opposite the base 8 . fig1 shows that the insertion of the wick 214 and injection of the sealant 18 into the barrel 6 can occur simultaneously . however , the sealant 18 may be injected prior or subsequent to inserting the wick 214 . in all embodiments , the sustainer 10 is crimped . after inserting the wick 14 into the upper region 11 of the passage 12 , the further step of crimping the sustainer 10 in the upper region 11 pinches the walls of the passage 12 against the wick 14 . crimping enhances the mechanical support of the wick 14 by the upper region 11 . because the barrel 6 of the sustainer 10 is elongated , the crimp does not distort and bend the sustainer 10 . while certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail , it is to be understood that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims .	5
for a general understanding of the disclosed system and method , reference is made to the drawings . in the drawings , like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements . a “ data storage medium ” or “ storage medium ” is a physical medium that can store data . examples of data storage media include magnetic media such as diskettes , floppy disks , and tape ; optical media such as laser disks and cd - roms ; and semiconductor media such as semiconductor roms and rams . as used herein , “ storage medium ” covers one or more distinct units of a medium that together store a body of data . for example , a set of floppy disks storing a single body of data would together be a storage medium . “ memory circuitry ” or “ memory ” is any circuitry or data storage medium that can store data , and may include local and remote memory and input / output devices . examples include semiconductor roms , rams , and storage medium access devices with data storage media that they can access . referring now to fig1 and 2 there are shown alternative views of a multi - function digital reprographic device 100 that provides an exemplary embodiment for aspects of the disclosed system and method . in particular device 100 is capable of providing multi - function document scanning , storage , faxing / e - mailing , and printing functions . in one embodiment device 100 includes a scanning subsystem 120 and an associated document feeder 130 , suitable for feeding a plurality of hard copy documents to and through the scanning subsystem . output of the scanning subsystem , in the form of digital image data ( e . g ., rasterized data ) is generated by the scanning system and input to the device control circuitry 140 for processing and / or storage . once processed , the image data may be output from the system , either in the form of processed image data , or in the form of a hard copy rendering of the data on a substrate . rendering in hard copy form is accomplished by passing the image data to a printing or output engine 150 , that prints the black and white or color document using one of several known printing methods . storage or output in a digital format includes processing of the image data to produce an image file in a conventional image format ( e . g ., jpg , tiff , gif , pdf , etc .). as will be appreciated the system may further process the image in accordance with system and / or user settings to control the processing and storage / forwarding of the scanned image data or file . as more specifically illustrated in fig2 , the control circuitry will include , among other subsystems , a system and user interface control circuit 250 including a processor ( e . g ., pentium ) and associated program memory indicating the control processes to be executed . linked to the system controller 250 is an image processing system 220 , that is , in one embodiment , an electronics for imaging , inc . ( efi ) controller linked to the print engine 150 . the efi controller is a component within the 850 mhz intel pentium ili computing platform , where the platform includes at least 256 mb printing memory , and a 20 gb hard drive 210 suitable for storing output produced by the system . the platform is also preferably linked to an external network by a 10 / 100 base t ethernet connection , and may further include a facsimile - capable modem connection to a telephone service as represented by interface 152 . as will be appreciated , the various features and functionality of the device 100 are enabled by computer software and various computing algorithms . in particular , as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the system controller 250 includes programmatic memory that will produce the various user interface screens and menus that guide a user through the scan / print job process and provide job status to the user via user interface 130 . in other words , device 100 further includes a user interface whereby a user can make a plurality of selections relative to the operation of the image processing system . in accordance with the system as described below , at least one of such selections controls the processing of the image relative to the manner and characteristics of a stored or forwarded digital image . accordingly , the system and user interface control circuit 250 controls operation of the image processor 220 so as to operate the subsystems and perform the scanning ( 110 , 120 ), processing ( 220 ) and output ( 150 ) functions described . more specifically , processor 220 is connected to memory or storage medium ( e . g ., magnetic disk 210 ), for receiving the digital image data produced by scanner 120 and processing the image data to produce compressed image files . having described an exemplary system , reference is now made to fig3 , which illustrates a portion of an exemplary user interface screen wherein a user is permitted to select or control the processing of a scanned image in accordance with an image type and / or a compressed file size limitation . more specifically , user interface 310 illustrates a series of user selectable “ tabs ” 320 , 322 and 324 where a user may select a tab to control a particular feature or component of the system 100 . as indicated in the figure , tab 320 has been selected and a user is presented with an image settings interface , whereby the user may select from a plurality of settings to control or indicate a preference as to the manner in which the image data from scanning system 120 will be processed and stored . as indicated in the table - like region 340 , the user may indicate the type of image ( left most column ) and a desired file size setting ( top row ), by selecting the corresponding block or region in the matrix . as indicated , the user has selected region 344 , which indicates a document image that is a combination of text and photo , and a small file size is desired . it is also possible that a user or a system setting , for example region 350 of the interface , be employed to set an upper limit on the image file size . such a setting may be employed to automatically control the quality ( and therefore file size ) selection and subsequently the processing of the image . in accordance with the user or administrator selected setting for system 100 , the following table ( table a ) illustrates exemplary processing that would be carried out in the system with respect to the scanned image data and associated image file : table a image image quality type low medium high text only text enhancement ; text error diffused enhancement image text & amp ; photo text enhancement ; text error diffused clustering for enhancement image pictorial photo only clustering for enhancement / error diffused pictorial clustering 1 image 1 at some printing resolutions , error diffusion processing may result in significant artifact structure , accordingly , the process to be completed may be altered in accordance with the particular printing resolution of the system it will be appreciated that the various options portrayed in user interface 310 enable the user to select from different image processing and file - size combinations , thereby permitting a user &# 39 ; s preferences to be employed by the system 100 . as it will be appreciated that in most scanning systems , high - quality images require larger file sizes . as will now be described in further detail relative to the processes carried out by system 100 , the scanned image data may be segmented into different types of regions , and those regions then processed so as to maintain reasonable image quality while at the same time conserving file space . for example , the high quality output will be an error diffused image , whereas the medium and lower quality ( and respectively smaller file size ) output to which different treatments or combinations are applied . accordingly , the operation to be performed while processing the image data are , to at least some extent , the result of segmentation of the image as well as the user - specified intent as determined from the interface 310 or an alternative set of preferences or selections . referring now to fig4 , there is depicted a flowchart illustrating the processes carried out in system 100 . in particular , process 410 represents conventional image processing operations for a scanned image . process 410 includes scanning a document to produce a grayscale or continuous tone ( contone ) image s 412 , following by a scaling operation s 414 and then error diffusion of the image data s 416 . as noted above , the process 410 does not permit adjustment of the process to achieve preferences relative to the nature of the image processing applied and / or file size . accordingly , process 420 is added to the method to accommodate such preferences . in particular , process 420 includes first determining an image quality setting at s 424 . as described above , such a setting may be specified by a user , or may be set by an administrator . depending upon the image quality setting , processing continues at s 426 or s 450 . at s 426 , the mode of the scanner or image is characterized , and again the subsequent processing is determined by the selection . in the event the user specified a photo , indicating that the document being scanned consisted of a photograph or continuous tone image over the entire document , processing continues at s 430 . alternative , if not photo mode , that processing continues at s 428 , where the resulting image data is analyzed and segments into photo ( continuous tone ) and text regions . subsequently , based upon the nature , or classification , of each region , processing of at least that portion of the image continues at s 430 and / or s 440 . for photo or continuous tone regions , the quality setting is next determined at s 432 , and for low quality settings , the previously error - diffused data is further processed to cluster the pixels , thereby enabling further reduction in the image size due to improved compression resulting from the pixel clustering at s 434 . for non - photo regions , which are thus treated as text ( or line art ), a text enhancement operation s 442 is performed . after the processing operations described ( again relative to the entire image or portions thereof ), the segments of the mixed image ( text and photo ) are merged at s 450 and then all images are compressed at s 452 . the compression operation may be any suitable compression operation , and may include one or more run - length compression algorithms suitable for reducing the size of the image prior to storage in memory and / or transmission . having described the basic method performed by system 100 , attention is now turned to the remaining figures which are employed to describe further details of several processing operations depicted in fig4 . it is known that error - diffused images may be difficult to compress . for some compression methods , the compression result could even be larger than the original uncompressed image , particularly when the image has significant photographic content . as scan services are gaining in popularity ( scan - to - e - mail ; scan - to - file , etc . ), the file size of a scanned image becomes more of a concern particularly as transmitted over a network or in occupying e - mail or network storage space . for a large quantity scan archiving service , the file size sensitivity is further heightened . in view of such problems , the method described above provides for a post - error diffusion operation to be applied to continuous tone or photographic images or segments . one such method is to rearrange the pixels in the error diffused binary image to make it more compression friendly . such processing has been demonstrated to result in a file size improvement of approximately fifty - five percent for pure image content . such a process also works for mixed content scanned images , as long as segmentation is employed to separate the text and photo portions of the page . of course the average file size saving on mixed content images is highly dependent upon the image . the disclosed method rearranges the pixel positions of the error diffused , continuous tone regions , to create a fixed pattern and thereby improve the compression performance . recognizing that moving pixels around ( post processing of the error - diffused image ) may degrade the image quality , the goal was to seek a compromise that provided reasonable quality but improved compression ratios . the basic concept employed is from the halftoning process — using cluster dot . as employed in the method generally described above , the process of rearranging the pixels comprises the following steps : 2 . for the area under each halftone cell , counting the number of pixels that are on ( assuming “ on ” has a value of 1 , and means black ); and 3 . rearranging the pixels inside the halftone cell according to the growth order of the halftone pattern . for example , referring to fig5 , for a halftone cell 510 , the growth pattern is illustrated as 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 . consider the following example . assume that the halftone cell has a 2 × 2 pixel size , and with the growth order illustrated in fig5 . hence , for a 2 × 2 pixel image area , as long as there is one pixel that is on , it will already be put at the upper left corner of the cell . if there are two pixels that are on , then the upper row will be filled . if three pixels are on , then the lower right corner will be off all the time . although such a cell may not prove to be most visually pleasing , it would , nonetheless assure that , for example when contrasted with cell 610 of fig6 , produce greater run - lengths for compression . accordingly , cell 510 produces the smallest quality degradation and the most compression ratio improvement . for whole page photographic content , the compression improvement is listed in table b . more specifically , the original error diffused images ( left column number indicate original resolution of error - diffused image ) and their pixel - rearranged versions using clustering algorithm were compressed using three different binary compression algorithms as represented in the columns . the numbers in the table are the ratios of the two compressed image file sizes , resulting from the images with and without the pixel rearrangement described above . a number that is smaller than one means that clustering algorithm improves the compression ratio . table b g4 jbig2 - huff jbig2 - arith img1 @ 200 × 200 0 . 38 0 . 44 0 . 66 img1 @ 300 × 300 0 . 35 0 . 40 0 . 59 img1 @ 400 × 400 0 . 34 0 . 35 0 . 58 img1 @ 600 × 600 0 . 36 0 . 43 0 . 52 img2 @ 200 × 200 0 . 34 0 . 34 0 . 61 img2 @ 300 × 300 0 . 31 0 . 52 0 . 62 img2 @ 400 × 400 0 . 30 0 . 51 0 . 62 img2 @ 600 × 600 0 . 29 0 . 54 0 . 56 average 0 . 33 0 . 44 0 . 60 it was found that the most efficient compression improvement is achieved by creating long runs of 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s from the patterns that switched between white and black in a very high frequency for each row . the halftone fill - in - order that is shown in fig5 is one of the orders that can achieve desired results . moreover , the extent that the algorithm can improve the compression ratio depends on whether the compression is done along the direction that has long run of 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s when this type of clustering is used . attention is now turned to the processing of the text portions of the documents pursuant to the process of fig3 . in one embodiment , the text region ( s ) of the scanned document are morphologically enhanced to achieve good overall rendering . the workflow , having segmented the binary scanned document into text region ( s ) and photograph region ( s ) at s 428 , uses a morphological operation at s 442 to enhance the text region — leaving the image portion unchanged . as previously noted the regions are subsequently merged together at 450 . morphological filtering can be applied to the text image to smooth the text edge , remove the holes inside the text , and connect certain line art objects . depending on the characteristics of the text , it will be appreciated that different morphologic filtering can be employed . for one scanning embodiment a closing operation with 2 × 2 template was used to achieve the best result for 300dpi resolution scans . it should also be appreciated that template size could be resolution dependent if necessary . an exemplary closing operation is described by eschbach et al . in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 275 , 304 , where morphological operations such as erosion and dilation are described as well known ( referring to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 048 , 109 to bloomberg ), both patents being hereby incorporated by reference for their teachings . the morphological operation termed “ closing ” may be performed by a dilation followed by an erosion . one promising candidate for the enhancement filtering is a template - based filter . the advantage of using template matching instead of a regular morphology operation is that the templates can be “ trained ” or adjusted to fit best for each product , as the error diffusion algorithm for different products may be different , and thus the filtering operation may need to be different . for example , fig7 and 8 the images illustrate the part of the images before and after the text enhancement . fig7 illustrates the image in a before text - enhancement state whereas fig8 illustrates the image in an after text - enhancement state . it will be appreciated that various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . what is claimed is :	7
fig1 , and 3 illustrate one form of contact member comprising a conforming section in accordance with the invention . the most important application of the invention is the fabrication of metal pins for insertion by automatic insertion machines into through - plated holes of a pcb . however , the invention is not limited to metal pins , nor to through - plated holes , nor to pcbs . the invention can be used with any kind of substrate that has openings into which a projecting member needs to be mounted by insertion in the holes . while a common purpose would be to establish an electrically - conductive contact between an electrically - conductive portion on the contact member and an electrically - conductive part on the substrate , the latter need not be on the walls of the hole but could be a pad or other electrically - conductive member on a surface of the substrate . more , while the more common usage would involve circular or square male contact members engaging circular holes in the substrate , the invention is also applicable to contact members such as lugs , tabs , posts or the like possessing non - circular cross - sections for engaging non - circular holes in a substrate , as well as to pins having rectangular or hexagonal cross - sections . the invention can also be applied to projecting members from sockets that can use the conforming section of the invention for mounting of the socket on a substrate . however , to simplify the description , with the understanding that the invention is not so limited , the invention will be described and illustrated in the most common application employing in this case , as the contact member , a male pin 10 intended to receive a female connector ( not shown ) for establishing an electrical connection between a wire or component on a pcb connected to the female connector and a component on a pcb and connected via a conductive trace to the pin 10 . fig4 illustrates schematically a portion of a pcb 12 with the pin 10 mounted ( inserted ) in a plated - through hole 14 of the pcb 12 . the insertion is typically carried out by a placement machine , known as an automatic insertion machine , which detaches a pin from a reel of continuously - formed wire and inserts it into the board hole , often under computer control . the fitting of the pin 10 in the hole 14 is a conforming press - fit ( hereinafter defined ), so that the pin will be stably held in position for soldering or further processing to the pcb . to prevent damage to the pcb hole plating 8 while allowing pins with a certain range of dimensions to be used , the hole size 14 must be kept within certain tolerances . with looser hole tolerances , particularly on pcbs with small holes , many holes , or thicker boards , production yields are significantly higher . a principal feature of the invention is to provide a pin construction with an elastically - deformable conforming section 15 for engaging the pcb hole 14 that allows a larger range of tolerances for the hole size of the pcb . as will be seen in fig1 - 3 , the main body 16 of the pin , which may be square or round , has a simple cross - section which is square if the pin is square or round if the pin is round . close to the pin bottom is located the conforming section 15 , which is an enlarged section whose lateral dimension 26 ( horizontal in fig1 of the drawing ) extends generally transverse to the longitudinal axis 18 of the pin 10 . in the center of the conforming section 15 is a vertical through - slot 20 that has a length ( height in fig1 ) indicated by reference numeral 22 and a width . the widest slot width , when uncompressed in a relaxed position , referred to from time to time as the gap , is referenced 24 . several practical examples , which are not to be considered limiting , will now be given for certain industry standard pin sizes , typically 0 . 018 , 0 . 025 , and 0 . 045 inches , typically with ± 0 . 001 inches tolerance . these standard pin size examples that follow apply equally to both round and square pins . with the known solid press - fit pin , the maximum tolerance allowed in the pcb hole 14 is ± 0 . 002 inches or less , whereas with the known pin with a compliant section , the maximum tolerance allowed in the pcb hole for the larger pin is ± 0 . 003 inches or less , but which typically is smaller for smaller size pins . the pin with the conforming section 15 of the invention will allow a maximum hole tolerance of ± 0 . 005 inches for the two larger sized pins and ± 0 . 003 inches for the smaller 0 . 018 inches pin . this provide a 60 % or more increase in pcb hole tolerance and a significantly lower fabrication cost for the pcb . these new results have been obtained by lengthening the pin beam members , designated 30 , that flank the through - slot 20 resulting in a reduced spring rate , discussed below , and by providing a configuration of the conforming section 15 that allows a much larger range of lateral movement or compression when the pin is inserted in the pcb hole with the conforming section engaging the hole walls . in accordance with this feature of the invention , the flanking beam members 30 are allowed to move toward one another before touching a distance 24 a that exceeds the gap width 24 . this is achieved , in accordance with a preferred embodiment , by forming the through - slot 20 by a forming process that causes the walls defining the slot to be slightly offset from one another viewed from a vertical plane 32 through the pin axis 18 and parallel to the slot ( that corresponds in the drawing to the plane of the drawing for fig1 and perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of fig3 ). the clearance width , referenced 24 a in fig3 is the horizontal distance between the beam members 30 when uncompressed and in a relaxed state , and represents the actual distance the beam members 30 can move toward each other before touching . the overall width of the conforming section 15 , at its widest part , is referenced 26 . the length 56 is the height of the conforming section 15 . the shorter length 56 a is the vertical dimension where the sides of the conforming section 15 are straight . since the section 56 a is the widest part of the conforming section 15 , it is the only part of the conforming section 15 that actually touches the inside of the pcb hole . above and below the length 56 a , the straight sides curve inward forming a transition region before joining the narrower sides of the main body 16 of the pin 10 . the gap 24 also has straight sides within the section 56 a and is the actual length of the gap ( height in fig1 ) which collapses evenly as the conforming section 15 is compressed . the length indicated by numeral 22 a represents the height within the conforming section 15 where the beam members 30 actually touch , and is positioned with respect to the length referenced 56 a such that , when the conforming section 15 is inserted into the pcb hole , the gap 24 a is wide enough to permit compression of conforming section 15 within acceptable criteria determined by the application . it will be understood that the lateral compression allowed is determined by the recommended hole tolerances so as to prevent the gap 24 a from being exceeded . in other words , the beam members 30 do not actually touch under maximum compression of the conforming section 15 . the height of the wider gap section 24 a in the relaxed state must be at least equal to or greater than the height of the widest section ( 26 ) of the conforming section 15 , which is reference length 56 a . as will be observed , the conforming section 15 has approximately the same thickness as the main body 16 of the pin in the side view of fig2 . only in the front view of fig1 where the through - slot 20 is present , does the width 26 exceed that of the main body 16 of the pin . this excess width of the conforming section 15 in the plane of fig1 is relied on to establish the desired press - fit in the typically round pcb hole 14 . fig5 illustrates one form of the forming process in accordance with the invention . the process is a continuous wire - forming process generally of the type described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 318 , 964 , whose contents are herein incorporated by reference , in which a continuous length 36 of preplated copper - alloy electrical - pin - forming wire , supplied from a reel 38 , is typically fed through a machine , in turn through a slot - punching station 40 and then through a notching station 42 , except that square cross - sectioned wire , which is more popular , is first fed through a rounding station 44 , followed by reeling up 46 of the finished continuous strip of finished pins . any copper alloy , such as brass , with sufficient spring force can be used in this application . at the rounding station 44 , forming dies 48 are applied 360 around the wire as shown in fig5 to form spaced rounded sections 50 ( see fig3 ) as the wire 36 is advanced through the machine . the rounded sections 50 are formed where the spaced conforming sections 15 will be formed . the rounding is preferably equal to or slightly less than the radius of the plated - through hole 14 in the pcb . the resultant rounded smooth sides of the conforming section ( see fig3 ) reduces hole damage and lowers insertion forces . following the rounding operation , opposed dies 52 with triangular faces punch the through - slot 20 which causes the wire - enlarged conforming section 15 shown in fig1 . the punching is carried out by dies 52 slightly laterally displaced relative to one another , for example , about 0 . 004 inches above for the left die and about 0 . 004 inches below for the right die with respect to the slot center line designated 54 in fig6 . the die punching displaces metal of the wire or of the rounded section to form the conforming section which in cross - section ( fig1 ) comprises two slightly displaced triangular ( in cross - section ) non - symmetrical opposed beam members 30 defining the slot 20 with a gap width 24 . the center lines of the triangular sections , running horizontally from the triangle peaks in fig6 are also offset , with the result that , when the conforming section 15 is subjected to compression forces , which occur when forced into the pcb hole , the opposed beam members 30 will move toward one another and will not abut unless the distance moved exceeds the gap width 24 a , which is not desired . fig7 illustrates schematically how the opposed beam members 30 when compressed can overlap thus providing a range of movement exceeding the gap width 24 . as one example , which is not to be considered limiting , for a 0 . 045 inches pin , the gap width 24 is about 0 . 008 inches , the peak center lines are offset by about 0 . 011 inches , and the allowed lateral movement 24 a before abutment occurs is about 0 . 016 inches . preferably , the clearance width 24 a of the conforming section , for the example given , is such that the conforming section must be approximately 0 . 014 inches minimum to allow for ± 0 . 005 inches plated - through hole tolerance , conforming section manufacturing tolerance , and residual spring force during soldering . the length of the conforming section , designated 56 in fig1 is chosen to provide a low power spring rate as defined below . for the pin examples given , the preferred length 56 of each of the opposed beam members is about 0 . 070 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 inches , about 0 . 125 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 025 inches , and about 0 . 240 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 045 inches . for plated - through hole sizes and tolerance of 0 . 023 ± 0 . 003 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 inches , 0 . 038 ± 0 . 005 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 025 inches , and 0 . 065 ± 0 . 005 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 045 inches , the force in spring rate grams / 0 . 001 inches of conforming section deflection preferably required to compress the conforming section is about 150 - 350 for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 - 0 . 045 inches . the corresponding retention forces of the pin in the hole are as follows . the minimum retention force for the maximum recommended hole is about 3 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 inches , about 4 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 025 inches , and about 9 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 045 inches . the maximum insertion force for the minimum recommended hole is about 12 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 inches , about 25 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 025 inches , and about 32 lbs for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 045 inches . the maximum hole deformation when the pin is press - fitted in the hole is less than about 0 . 001 inches on radius , which corresponds to about a 50 %- 100 % improvement over the known press - fit pin . for the examples given above , the preferred overall width 26 of the conforming section is about 0 . 033 ± 0 . 001 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 018 inches , about 0 . 049 ± 0 . 001 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 025 inches , and about 0 . 075 ± 0 . 002 inches for a pin with a nominal dimension of 0 . 045 inches . the overall pin lengths can cover a wide range , for example , from 0 . 25 - 2 inches . press - fitted , as used herein in describing the invention , means a minimum interference between a mating hole and contact member conforming section that substantially equals the ( sum of the diameter of hole and its maximum tolerance ) less the ( minimum diameter of the conforming section section in its non - compressed mode ), divided by 2 . for the 0 . 018 pin , this minimum interference amounts to [( 0 . 023 + 0 . 003 )− 0 . 032 ]/ 2 =− 0 . 003 inches . in addition to the advantages set forth above , the inserted pins may or may not be soldered depending on the mechanical , environmental , and electrical performance requirements of the application . moreover , they may be inserted in the pcb hole , removed before soldering , and re - used several times without damage to the hole or to the pin . it is noted that retention of the contact member of the invention in the substrate hole , before soldering , is a result of the spring force generated by the flexed opposed beam members which press tightly along their partly circular outer surfaces against the circular surface of the typical hole , as shown in fig7 producing normal forces between the conforming section and the hole walls , but not between the opposed beam members themselves . the through - slot in the center of the conforming section performs the important function of providing ample space for the triangular - shaped opposed beam members to move toward one another and to overlap at the slot furnishing the increased range of movement desired . the through - slot construction also permits the important benefit of allowing the manufacture as described of a series of the contact members by a wire - forming process providing reeled end - to - end , notched , continuous contact members ready for insertion by conventional insertion machines into substrates as desired , typically realized by separating the lead pin at a notch 58 from the continuous strip during the insertion process . the notching also conveniently forms bevel ends 60 at opposite ends of the one - piece contact member . the examples given for the nominally sized pins apply to both round and square pins , and the annexed claims should be understood in the same light . while the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments , it will be understood that modifications thereof within the principles outlined above will be evident to those skilled in the art and thus the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments but is intended to encompass such modifications .	8
the present invention contrasts with normal annuitization in two ways . first , the annuitization of the contract ( or , in the case of a mutual fund , purchase of the annuity ) is postponed until the end of the liquidity period ( which may be the end of the mortality table , if so elected ). rather , a series of income benefit payments specified by the program is made from an account value . this means that , upon death of the contract owner during the liquidity period , the account value is paid to the beneficiary . this contrasts with distribution methods associated with true annuitizations , where the form of the annuity payout option chosen governs whether any residual value remains for a secondary annuitant or beneficiary . for example , under a variable annuity contract annuitized under a single life annuity option with no certain period or other refund option , the insurer &# 39 ; s obligation to the annuitant ceases upon death . no further payments , “ account value ,” or any other form of residual value flows to the beneficiary . even if the annuitization option includes a period certain ( for example , life with a 10 - year period certain ), and even though the death of the annuitant during the certain period does not prevent the balance of the certain period payments from being made , no “ account value ” is available as a death benefit and no further benefits are paid after the certain period has ended . second , because the annuitization of the contract ( or mutual fund ) is postponed , a lump sum or partial account value withdrawal capability still resides with the owner ( s ) during the liquidity period . additionally , the contract holder may elect to withdraw less than the allowable withdrawal amount ; payments under a variable annuity payout do not offer this flexibility . under this approach ( which applies equally well to joint ownership as to single ownership ), the contract holder chooses a period during which income benefit payments will be withdrawn from the account value and during which full account value liquidity is maintained . at the end of this liquidity period , the remaining account value is annuitized according to standard annuity payout options . the insurance company determines the amount of the initial benefit payment , based on the length of the liquidity period chosen , the age of the contract holder , and other factors . using the assumed interest rate ( air ), the company calculates the initial withdrawal so that , if the air is realized in a given period , the benefit payment amount will not change . fig3 illustrates variable payments made during and after the liquidity period in a program of this type . fig4 illustrates the cash surrender value and death benefits before and after annuitization for a program of this type . the amount of the initial benefit payment can be determined by a method that begins with calculating a special annuity factor equal to the present value ( using the air ) of an annual payment of $ 1 . 00 during the chosen liquidity period , plus the present value ( again using the air ) of annual payments of $ 1 . 00 after the end of the liquidity period , such payments made according to the desired annuity option . the initial payment is then calculated by dividing the available account value at the beginning of the program by the special annuity factor described above . subsequent benefit payments are adjusted up or down exactly as payments are adjusted under normal annuitization . for example , assuming an n - year liquidity period and a life only annuity at the end of that period , the special annuity factor is calculated as follows : σv t = the present value of payments from t = 0 to t = n − 1 σv t t − n p x + n = the present value of payments from t = n to the end of the mortality table , where each payment depends on the probability that the owner lives from duration n to duration t . under this method , the liquidity period can be extended to the end of the mortality table ( for example , age 115 ); in such case , if the owner lives until that age , a life annuity is still guaranteed , but by that age the financial risk to the insurer is de minimis . the contract holder may make additional deposits and may make withdrawals in excess of the designated withdrawal amount , provided the end of the liquidity period has not yet been reached . in such instances , the benefit payment program must be adjusted . adjustments are made by increasing or decreasing the current payment amount by the same proportion as the amount of the new transaction ( deposit or excess withdrawal ) bears to the account value just prior to the transaction . for example , if the current account value is $ 50 , 000 and the current payment amount is $ 1 , 500 , an additional deposit of $ 5 , 000 increases the account value by 10 % and the payment amount is therefore increased by 10 %. in the same example , an unscheduled payment of $ 5 , 000 ( which is therefore an excess withdrawal of $ 5 , 000 ) reduces the account value by 10 % and the current payment amount reduces by 10 %. in the adjustments , the investment return for the period from the most recent scheduled payment to the date of the new transaction may be reflected in the adjustment . this invention also encompasses the integration of this program with death benefit guarantees . for example , such death benefit guarantees may promise that the contract owner will have returned to him or her a specified percentage of either the initial deposit , the “ high - water mark ” account value as of any subsequent policy anniversary , deposits accumulated at a specified interest rate or rates , or other definitions of value , with prorata or other adjustments made for payment amounts received prior to death . in addition to distribution methods associated with true annuitizations , distributions associated with withdrawal programs — including systematic withdrawal programs — from active ( unannuitized ) deferred annuity contracts are also encompassed by this invention . for example , for a given attained age ( s ) and , where allowed , gender ( s ), an insurer may permit withdrawals from an active ( unannuitized ) deferred annuity contract . under such a program , if these withdrawals do not exceed a predetermined percentage established by the insurer for a given withdrawal frequency , the insurer guarantees that withdrawals under this program will last for the period prescribed , including a lifetime period . as a hypothetical example , if a male age 60 withdraws 4 . 4 % of the initial account value each year , such withdrawals are guaranteed to last a lifetime . ( initial account value is that account value at the time a systematic withdrawal program , inclusive of this guaranteed minimum benefit payment option , commences .) there is an explicit increment to the asset charge for those customers who opt to purchase this benefit . this distribution program contrasts with those shown earlier in two major ways . first , the variable annuity contract is never “ annuitized .” rather , a series of partial withdrawals is made from an active ( unannuitized ) deferred variable annuity contract . this means that , upon death of the contract owner , the account value is paid to the beneficiary . this contrasts with distribution methods associated with true annuitizations , where the form of the annuity payout option chosen determines whether any residual value remains for a secondary annuitant or beneficiary . for example , under a variable annuity contract annuitized under a single life annuity option with no certain period or other refund option , the insurer &# 39 ; s obligation to the annuitant ceases upon death . no further payments , “ account value ,” or any other form of residual value flows to the beneficiary . second , because the variable annuity contract is never annuitized under this distribution program , a lump sum or partial account value withdrawal capability still resides with the variable deferred annuity contract owner ( s ). however , withdrawals in excess of the amounts stated by the insurer to keep the guaranteed payout program in place may alter or may terminate the program . one variant of this distribution program calls for the percentage withdrawal allowed to be not just of the initial account value , but rather of the highest account value achieved on any policy anniversary following inception of the program , such account value necessarily recognizing all withdrawals and fees as well as appreciation . for example , suppose a male age 60 may withdraw 4 . 4 % of the initial account value each year under this program and be guaranteed a lifetime income of that amount . suppose the initial account value at inception of this program is $ 100 , 000 . the contract owner withdraws $ 4 , 400 , the maximum permitted . favorable fund performance causes the account value to increase from $ 100 , 000 −$ 4 , 400 =$ 95 , 600 to $ 110 , 000 as of the contract owner &# 39 ; s next policy anniversary when he has attained age 61 . the account value against which the 4 . 4 % withdrawal applies is then re - established as the “ high - water mark ” account value on any policy anniversary . thus , he may now withdraw up to 4 . 4 % of $ 110 , 000 , or $ 4 , 840 , each year and have the lifetime income guarantee program remain in place . if the account value subsequently decreases at all — even to zero — the $ 4 , 840 is guaranteed to be paid for life . the table of fig9 illustrates the operation of this aspect of the invention . in the illustration of fig9 , the initial account value is $ 100 , 000 , the withdrawal guarantee is 7 . 5 % of the highest account value attained , the investment return is assumed to be as illustrated , and the term is 15 years . in addition to guaranteed income for specified periods including lifetime periods under systematic withdrawal programs , this invention also encompasses the integration of such income guarantees with death benefit guarantees . for example , such death benefit guarantees may promise that the contract owner will have returned to him or her a specified percentage ( e . g ., 0 %- 100 %, inclusive ) of either the initial account value or the “ high - water mark ” account value as of any subsequent policy anniversary . under this approach , the initial withdrawal amount is adjusted in the same way variable annuity benefit payments subsequent to the initial payment are adjusted ( see above ), substituting “ withdrawal ” for “ benefit ” in the formulas . such adjustment occurs during the liquidity period ( chosen by the contract holder at the beginning of the program ) and continues on into the life annuity period to adjust the variable payments under that phase of the program also . since the first adjustments are made during the liquidity period , the deferred annuity account value ( or mutual fund account value ) must be maintained as usual for deferred annuities ( or mutual funds ), with special adaptation for additional deposits and for withdrawals in excess of the calculated withdrawal amount . assuming no additional deposits and no excess withdrawals , the administration of the account value proceeds as follows : fig5 is a flow chart which illustrates a portion of a computerized method of practicing the present invention . more particularly , fig5 is an illustrative embodiment of the steps which are taken to collect data which is used in the remainder of the process , as described in more detail below . for a new annuity , the data collected through the individual steps illustrated in fig5 may be entered manually at a computer terminal or equivalent input device , or electronically , or in any other manner which is customary at present or in the future . for an existing annuity , the data will generally be retrieved from an existing contract master record , or other file . the process may be initiated ( block 10 ) either manually at a work station , or automatically in a batch cycle . in either case , a main menu is displayed ( block 12 ) or provided , offering a number of possible operations . a choice may be entered by an operator or emulator ( block 14 ). the choice may be validated as indicated in fig5 ( block 16 ). after a valid choice has been selected , the system determines whether the subject annuity is a new annuity or an existing annuity ( block 18 ). for a new annuity , the process proceeds to display a new annuity input screen ( block 20 ). this screen contains entry fields for items such as : information regarding the annuitant , owner and / or beneficiary ; information regarding type of annuity chosen , including relevant dates and amounts ; information on interest and mortality guarantees to be used in the subsequent calculations ; and other related information . this data is entered ( block 22 ) and checked for validity and completeness ( block 24 ). if the data is valid and complete , a master record is created ( block 26 ). the fields of the master record are populated with the data entered in step 22 . the new master record is then displayed ( block 28 ) for visual checking by an operator . if the data is deemed to be satisfactory ( block 30 ), the master record is stored in a master record file ( block 32 ). if the data is not satisfactory , the process repeats as indicated in fig5 . referring again to step 18 , if the system determines that an existing annuity is to be dealt with , processing proceeds to display the existing annuity input screen ( block 34 ). this screen contains entry fields for items such as : contract number ; annuitant identification ; and other items associated with the existing annuity contract . new data is entered ( block 36 ) via the existing annuity input screen , and such new data is checked to determine validity and completeness ( block 38 ). the master record associated with the existing annuity contract is retrieved ( block 40 ) and displayed ( block 42 ) for viewing by an operator . if and when the master record , as updated by the newly inputted data , is satisfactory , processing proceeds as indicated in fig5 . fig6 illustrates the next step in the overall process of the present invention . that step is calculation of an annuity benefit using information from the master record , as created or updated in the process of fig5 and other retrieved data . more particularly , the flow charts of fig6 and 7 illustrate one embodiment of a computer - based process for calculating an annuity benefit in accordance with a retrospective approach to benefit calculation . the first step in the flow chart of fig6 is to retrieve additional data relating to annuity factors ( block 46 ), survivor factors ( block 48 ) and annuity unit values ( block 50 ). these data are typically stored in files used for other purposes , although duplicate or dedicated purpose files may be created to hold such information for use in the calculation process . the process of fig6 then checks to determine whether the particular calculation at hand involves a new or existing annuity ( block 52 ). if the calculation involves a new annuity , processing proceeds by deducting the premium load ( if any ) from the amount of money available for purchasing the annuity ( block 54 ). for an existing annuity , the process checks for the end of the liquidity period ( block 56 ). if the liquidity period has come to an end , the account value is set to 0 ( block 64 ) and a paid up immediate annuity is purchased ( block 66 ). if the liquidity period continues , the system calculates the investment return ( i ) for the recent period using annuity unit values ( block 58 ). the results of step 58 are then used to update the account value ( block 60 ). following step 54 , for new annuities , or step 60 , in the case of existing annuities , the benefit is determined . this calculation uses the net money available for purchasing the annuity , the appropriate annuity factor for the age , sex and type of annuity , and the appropriate annuity unit value to determine the benefit . the benefit may also be adjusted according to other terms of the contract ( e . g ., multiplied by 0 . 8 , or other factor ) ( block 62 ). processing in accordance with the retrospective approach continues as illustrated by the flow chart of fig7 . generally , the flow chart of fig7 illustrates the steps of using the benefit amount determined in the process of fig6 to update files and make adjustments needed for the benefit calculations to be performed on the next benefit payment date . also illustrated in fig7 are steps relating to the generation of reports and updates for the benefit of both the annuity payer and the annuitant . with reference to fig7 , the benefit determined in step 62 is used to reduce the account value by the amount of the benefit ( block 70 ). the system then checks to see if the account value is less than zero ( block 72 ). if so , the account value is then set to equal zero ( block 74 ). in either event , the system then proceeds to update the master record ( block 76 ). all appropriate data and information entered or affected by the processing to this point are captured on the master record . this data would include such items as the amount of the benefit determined in step 62 , the new account value or remaining units , payment date ( s ) of benefit ( s ), the next benefit due date , and similar information . following the updating of the master record ( and any other related files ), the system generates reports ( block 78 ). reports may be generated for internal use , as well as for the annuitant . representative usages are illustrated in fig7 . these include : accounting file ( block 80 ) for use in preparing process and accounting records ( block 82 ); a valuation file ( block 84 ) for use in establishing reserves ( block 86 ); a payment center file ( block 88 ) for use in preparing benefit checks and reports to annuitants ( block 90 ); a customer service file ( block 92 ) for use in preparing screens for the use of customer service personnel in responding to inquiries from annuitants and related entities ; and other files ( block 96 ) for use in any other activities ( block 98 ) which might be useful to the annuity payer or annuitant . fig8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of an annuity - based retirement program constructed in accordance with the present invention . as indicated by the continuation letter “ a ” at the top of the flow chart of fig8 , this embodiment shares the data collection steps illustrated in fig5 in common with the preceding embodiments . similar information regarding the annuitant and account is collected in accordance with the steps described in connection with fig5 . additional information specific to the present embodiment , such as length of the liquidity period , is also entered in accordance with the steps described in connection with fig5 . with reference to fig8 , the process continues by retrieving additional data ( block 158 ), such as annuity unit values , annuity factors , and survivor factors . these values are typically stored in files which may be used for other purposes , as well . following the data retrieval step , the system determines whether a particular event is a scheduled withdrawal ( block 160 ). if yes , the system then checks to determine if the withdrawal program is a new program ( block 162 ). if yes , the system proceeds to calculate the initial withdrawal amount ( block 164 ) based upon the data inputted for the new account . if the account is not a new program , the system calculates the actual net investment return , i , ( block 166 ). the system then calculates the new withdrawal amount ( block 168 ), using the actual net investment return and the air . if the subject event is not a scheduled withdrawal , the system checks to determine whether the event is a premium payment or deposit ( i . e ., is a negative withdrawal ) ( block 170 ). if yes , the system calculates the current account value ( block 172 ), calculates the increase factor ( block 174 ) using the formulas described below , and increases the scheduled withdrawal amounts to be used in future calculations ( block 176 ). if the subject event is not a scheduled withdrawal and is not a premium payment or deposit , the system checks to confirm that it is an unscheduled withdrawal ( block 178 ). if the system indicates that this is not the case , an error message is produced ( block 180 ) and the process halts . if the system confirms that the event is an unscheduled withdrawal , processing proceeds with calculation of the current account value ( block 182 ), calculation of the decrease factor ( block 184 ), as described previously , and decrease of the scheduled withdrawal amount to be used in the future ( block 186 ). as indicated in the flow chart of fig8 , after completion of the appropriate steps described above , the system processes the transaction amount ( i . e ., the amount of the scheduled withdrawal , premium payment , deposit , or unscheduled withdrawal ) ( block 188 ). the master record is then updated ( block 190 ). as indicated by the connecting letter “ e ”, the system then updates the files and generates reports in the same manner as described in connection with the previously discussed embodiments of the invention . from the preceding description of the preferred embodiments , it is evident that the objectives of the invention are attained . although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail , it is to be clearly understood that the same is intended by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation . the spirit and scope of the invention are to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims .	6
referring to the drawings and particularly to fig1 and 5 , there is illustrated in fig1 a schematic flow chart representing a first embodiment of an automatic bottle return machine , generally designated 10 , adapted for processing containers in the form of bottles b , as shown in dot - dash line form in fig4 and 5 , and being equipped with a self - cleaning arrangement 12 , as shown in fig4 and 5 , in accordance with the present invention . the machine 10 includes a bottle input unit 14 , a transport stage 16 , a bottle detection unit 18 , and a bottle output unit 20 . the bottle input unit 14 can be , for example , a turnstile ( not shown ) with an oblique axis and compartments in which bottles are placed individually in an inclined , or obliquely , downward orientation with the opening of the bottle pointing toward the operator . from the bottle input unit 14 the bottles b arrive at the transport stage 16 which is implemented as a conveyor belt 22 being shown in fig4 and 5 . the conveyor belt 22 transports each bottle b past the bottle detection unit 18 which , for example , optoelectronically determines whether or not each bottle b is a deposit - due bottle . bottles b on which the bottle detection unit 18 determines that no deposit is due are sorted out of the usual transport path by a sorting unit ( not shown ) of the machine 10 . after passing the bottle detection unit 18 , the deposit - due bottles b leave the machine 10 via the bottle output unit 20 . the bottle output units 20 , as a rule , are transporting or conveying devices such as , for example , conveyor belts or slides which transport the bottles b to a placement surface ( not shown ). as seen in fig1 alternative areas of the machine 10 that are encompassed by different versions of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 are shown symbolically by dashed lines l 1 and l 2 . the area l 1 is smaller than the area l 2 . the smaller area l 1 encompassed by the self - cleaning arrangement 22 includes the transport stage 16 and bottle detection unit 18 and is an economy version of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 . it is assumed that in the bottle input unit 14 and bottle output unit 20 of the machine 10 less contamination will occur or that these units , by being disposed on the periphery of the machine 10 , can readily be cleaned manually . the larger or expanded area l 2 encompassed by the self - cleaning arrangement 12 includes all of the units of the machine 10 coming into contact with the bottles b and thus is a full version of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 . referring to fig4 and 5 , the transport stage 16 of the machine is shown equipped with the self - cleaning arrangement 12 in accordance with the present invention . the transport stage 16 includes spaced apart front and rear rollers 24 , 26 and the previously - mentioned conveyor belt 22 which runs over the rollers 24 , 26 . each bottle b while lying on an upper section of the conveyor belt 22 is conveyed in the direction of arrow a from the bottom input unit 14 to and past the bottle detection unit 18 . the transport stage 16 also includes a pair of flanks 28 , 30 stationarily disposed along and above opposite side edge portions of the conveyor belt 22 . each bottle b is laterally guided the flanks 28 , 30 as the bottle b travels between the flanks 28 , 30 on the conveyor belt 22 and the conveyor belt 22 passes below the flanks 28 , 30 . as seen in fig4 and 5 , the self - cleaning arrangement 12 includes nozzles 32 , a cleaning medium 34 supplied from any suitable source ( not shown ) to the nozzles 32 , and means 36 for encapsulating the transport stage 16 , for example , in the form of a tubular envelope which extends along and about the transport stage 16 so as to screen the surrounding areas of the machine 10 from the encapsulated areas of the machine 10 . the nozzles 32 are disposed in an upper portion 36 a of the tubular encapsulating envelope 36 and directed toward the conveyor belt 22 and flanks 28 , 30 such that the cleaning medium 34 is sprayed or injected by the nozzles 32 onto the conveyor belt 22 and flanks 28 , 30 . the cleaning medium 34 can be water , preferably warm water , mixed with a cleaning agent . at a corresponding pressure of the cleaning medium 34 , a thorough cleaning of the contaminated surfaces of the transport stage 16 takes place as caused by streams of the cleaning medium 34 jetting from the nozzles 32 . the tubular encapsulating envelope 36 ensures that no spray of cleaning medium 34 splattered onto or reaches the surrounding areas of the transport stage 16 where sensitive devices , for example electronic devices , are located which could be destroyed or at least functionally impaired through contact with the cleaning fluid . it should be noted here that in the self - cleaning mode of the machine 10 , no bottles b are located within at least the transport stage 16 of the machine 10 . preferably , in the self - cleaning mode the machine 10 is run empty of bottles b . a bottle b is only depicted in dot - dash line form in fig4 and 5 for the purpose of showing that the transporting of a bottle b occurs while the bottle b is in a lying position . when the desired cleaning effect on the transport stage 16 of the machine 10 has been attained by the self - cleaning arrangement 12 , which can be detected , for example , through sensor ( s ) 38 , the supply of cleaning medium 34 via the nozzles 32 is terminated . residual cleaning fluid 34 remaining on the conveyor belt 22 and flanks 28 , 30 drips off under the effect of gravity . in order to accelerate this process , the self - cleaning arrangement 12 also can include a fan 40 which is operated to blow warm air obliquely from above the transport stage 16 onto the previously cleaned surfaces thereof . a lower portion 36 b of the tubular encapsulating envelope 36 , in addition to its above - described screening effect , provides means in the form of a tub 42 of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 for collecting cleaning medium 34 contaminated by with rinsed - off dirt particles . the tub 42 has one or more drainage openings 44 formed therein through which the collected contaminated cleaning medium 34 is supplied to a tube system 46 which is incorporated into a separator ( not shown ) for the treatment of the contaminated cleaning fluid . in the case of the smaller self - cleaning area l 1 depicted in fig1 the self - cleaning arrangement 12 further includes another tubular encapsulating envelope , substantially the same as the envelope 36 described above , which encompasses the bottle detection unit 18 such that the envelopes 36 of the transport stage 16 and bottle detection unit 18 seamlessly merge one into the other . the self - cleaning arrangement 12 also includes additional cleaning nozzles 22 and , optionally , cleaning brushes 48 ( such as shown in fig6 with respect to the third embodiment of the machine 10 ) disposed in the area of the bottle detection unit 18 . since in its operation , the bottle detection unit 18 utilizes light beams and includes optical components , such as light barriers , optical sensors and image detection devices , the tubular encapsulating envelope 36 must be light - transmissive at least in the areas of beam penetration . this can be realized through corresponding windows , for example comprised of acrylic glass . it is understood that it is also possible to form the entire envelope 36 such that it is transparent . in the case of the expanded self - cleaning area l 2 depicted in fig1 the entire passage of the bottles b through the machine 10 can be chambered by a tubular encapsulating envelope 36 as described above . referring to fig2 there is illustrated another schematic flow chart representing a second embodiment of the automatic bottle return machine , generally designated 10 , adapted for processing containers in the form of bottles while emplaced in their standing positions and equipped with the above - described self - cleaning arrangement 12 , as shown in fig4 and 5 , in accordance with the present invention . here , with the bottles emplaced and transported in their standing positions by the transport stage 16 , it is required to isolate them , i . e ., to space them apart from one another , in order to ensure the faultless operation of the bottom detection unit 18 . thus , in the second embodiment the machine 10 additionally includes a bottle isolating unit 50 . the area of the machine 10 encompassed by the self - cleaning arrangement 12 in the second embodiment of the machine 10 is symbolically indicated by dashed lines l 3 in fig2 . the bottle transport stage 16 , bottle detection unit 18 and bottle isolating unit 50 of the second embodiment of the machine 10 of fig2 are equipped or integrated in a similar manner with the same components of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 as described above in connection with the first embodiment of the machine 10 of fig1 and 5 . it should be noted here that , although not shown , the transport stage 16 can also be provided between the bottle isolating unit 50 and bottle detection unit 18 . the bottle input and output units 14 , 20 are excluded from the self - cleaning area l 3 in the second embodiment of the machine 10 for the same reason as in the case of the smaller area l 1 of the first embodiment of the machine 10 . referring now to fig3 and 7 , there is illustrated in fig3 still another schematic flow chart representing a third embodiment of the automatic bottle return machine , generally designated 10 , adapted for processing containers in the form of bottle cases and equipped with the self - cleaning arrangement 12 , as now shown in fig6 and 7 , in accordance with the present invention . in many automatic return machines the single bottle acceptance and the bottle case acceptance are accommodated jointly in one housing wherein in an upper area of the machine is provided the single bottle stage and in a lower area the case stage . in the third embodiment of fig3 and 7 , the machine 10 includes a conveyor belt 22 passing from the front side up to the rear side of the machine 10 and on which the bottle cases are conveyed from the case input unit 52 via the case and bottle detection unit 54 to the case output unit 56 . the self - cleaning arrangement 12 is provided in the third embodiment below the lower section of the conveyor belt 22 . the self - cleaning arrangement 12 includes nozzles 32 spaced apart from one another , via which the cleaning medium 34 is jet - sprayed onto the conveyor belt 22 . between the nozzles 32 , a brush 48 is disposed which extends over the entire width of the conveyor belt 22 , as is evident in fig7 . the brush 48 can be moved toward and away from the conveyor belt 22 , as indicated by an arrow b . when the machine 10 is switched to a self - cleaning mode , the brush 48 is moved automatically upwardly such that its bristles are brought into contact on the lower section of the conveyor belt 22 . simultaneously , the nozzles 32 spray cleaning medium 34 thereon . a fan 40 is disposed downstream of the nozzles 32 relative to the direction of movement of the lower section of the conveyor belt 22 and blows warm air onto the conveyor belt 22 in order to eliminate the residual liquid therefrom . underneath the conveyor belt 22 is disposed a collecting tub 58 which has a drain 60 for draining away from the tub 58 the collected contaminated cleaning medium 34 . in the third embodiment of the machine 10 , the entire area symbolically indicated by dashed lines l 4 in fig3 wherein the bottle cases pass through the machine 10 , is encompassed by the above - described components of the self - cleaning arrangement 12 . an encapsulation , as provided in the preceding first and second embodiments , is not absolutely necessary in the third embodiment since the conveyor belt 22 already ensures a covering overhead . if appropriate , additionally overhead coverings can be provided along the opposite sides of the conveyor belt 22 . it is thought that the present invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages , the form hereinbefore described being merely preferred or exemplary embodiment thereof .	6
as best illustrated in fig1 , a generally rectangular waste receptacle 10 is provided with an open top 11 for receiving a flexible , removable trash bag ( not shown in the drawing ). a pair of opposing lateral sides 12 , 13 extend from the open top 11 to a generally flat base 14 . recessed housings 15 , 16 are formed in opposite respective sides 12 , 13 of the receptacle 10 . the housings 15 , 16 , moreover , are formed in the receptacle 10 adjoining the base 14 . in accordance with a feature of the invention foot pedals 17 , 20 each are selectively foldable in the direction of respective arrows 21 , 22 into the individual housings 15 , 16 . a specific structure that characterizes features of this invention is shown in fig2 . as illustrated , the foot pedal 17 has a shaft 23 that is received in corresponding journals ( not shown in the drawing ) that are formed in the recessed housing 15 . in this manner , the foot pedal 17 can be pivoted back into the recessed housing 15 in the direction of the arrow 21 . when so received within the housing 15 , exposed surface 24 of the pedal 17 is generally flush with outer surface 25 of the lateral side 12 of the receptacle 10 . when withdrawn from the housing 15 in the direction of arrow 26 , at full extension , the exposed surface surface 24 of the foot pedal 17 lies essentially flush with external surface 27 of the base 14 . to maintain the foot pedal 17 in the extended condition illustrated in fig2 , two detents are used , of which only boss 30 is shown protruding from the lateral side of the foot pedal 17 . the boss 30 selectively engages in a mating recess ( not shown in the drawing ) formed in the base 14 . the boss 30 , moreover , snaps into , or out of the mating recess through the natural resiliency of materials from which the foot pedal 17 and the receptacle 10 are formed . the force required to snap the boss 30 out of it mating recess is sufficient to enable the foot pedal 17 to remain in the extended condition through the stresses of ordinary use . in a similar manner , by pivoting the foot pedal 17 into the housing 15 in the direction of the arrow 21 , boss 30 and the companion boss on the opposite side of the pedal 17 disengage from their respective recesses ( not shown in the drawing ). with the detents at the base 14 of the receptacle 10 disengaged , and the foot pedal 17 being pivoted into the recessed housing 15 , a detent or boss 31 on the free end of the foot pedal 17 snaps into a mating recess ( not shown in the drawing ) to retain the foot pedal 17 in the upwardly folded position . a corresponding boss ( not shown in the drawing ) protrudes from the side of the foot pedal 17 opposite to the boss 31 in order to engage and be received in a mating recess 32 . a similar system of detents , bosses and mating recesses is provided for the foot pedal 20 ( fig1 ). in this manner , the exposed surface 24 of the foot pedal 17 and exposed surface 35 of the corresponding pedal 20 are held in positions that are flush with the respective outer surface 25 and outer surface 28 of the receptacle 10 . in operation , and as shown fig1 , the foot pedal 20 , at the base 14 and the lateral side 13 is pivoted from the housing 16 in the direction of arrow 33 to extend from the base 14 . in this manner , with the appropriate detents engaged , the two foot pedals 17 , 20 are extended as shown in fig1 . the waste receptacle is stabilized against supporting surface 34 by placing each foot of the user on a respective one of the two foot pedals 17 , 20 . thus , stabilized , the user is free to apply both hands to withdrawing a flexible trash bag ( not shown in the drawing ) from the open top 11 of the waste receptacle 10 . to retract the foot pedals 17 , 20 in order to telescopically stack several of the waste receptacles , or for purposes of display or storage , it is only necessary to overcome the detent forces and pivot the foot pedals 17 , 20 in the direction of the respective arrows 21 , 22 . the exposed surface 24 on the foot pedal 17 and the exposed surface 35 on the foot pedal 20 now lie flush with the respective outer surfaces 25 and 28 of the waste receptacle 10 . accordingly , the foot pedals 17 , 20 , so retracted , do not block or interfere with stacking or other handling that is required of the waste receptacle 10 . an alternative mounting for waste receptacle foot pedals embodying principles of the invention is illustrated in fig3 for example , a foot pedal 36 is mounted in a recessed housing 37 formed in base 40 . to extend the foot pedal 36 from the housing 37 in the direction of arrow 41 , the foot pedal 36 is pivoted about a shaft 42 that is journalled in the base 40 . to pivot the pedal 36 in the direction of the arrow 41 , the pedal 36 is pressed downwardly to overcome retention by detents , of which only mating detent recess 43 and a boss 44 that protrudes from the distal end on the opposite side of the foot pedal 36 is shown in the figure . when fully extended , a pair of detents , of which only detent boss 45 is shown in the drawing , engage corresponding mating recesses in the lateral sides of the housing 37 to selectively lock the foot pedal 36 into its extended position . on retraction , it is only necessary to overcome the locking effect of the detents ( of which the detent boss 45 is illustrative ) and press the extended foot pedal 36 back toward the housing 37 in the direction of arrow 46 . on retraction , the detents of which the boss 44 and the detent recess 43 are typical , engage the foot pedal 36 and retain the pedal 36 in the housing 37 . in accordance with a feature of the invention , the foot pedal 36 has a companion foot pedal ( not shown in the drawing ) of essentially the same construction mounted on the side of the waste receptacle 10 that is opposite to the position of the foot pedal 36 . in this fashion , two foot pedals are made available to stabilize the waste receptacle 10 and to enable use of both hands to withdraw a flexible trash bag ( not shown in the drawing ) from the receptacle 10 . a further embodiment of the invention is shown in fig4 . base 47 of the receptacle 10 has a recessed housing 50 formed at the junction between the base 47 and side 51 . at a corner 52 formed by the intersection of the base 47 and the side 51 a stop 53 is provided that is joined to both sides of the housing 50 . a foot pedal 54 bridges over the stop 53 . in order to bridge over the stop 53 and thus to retain the foot pedal 54 in the fully extended status shown in fig4 , an indentation 55 is formed in bearing surface 56 of the pedal 54 that receives the stop 53 . in further operation , the foot pedal 54 is manually pressed into the housing 50 in the direction of arrow 61 . a round 60 formed on the outer side of the indentation 55 eases the insertion and full retraction of the foot pedal 54 into the housing 50 . to retain the foot pedal within the recessed housing 50 a key 65 protrudes from proximal end 66 of the pedal 54 . as illustrated in fig4 , when the foot pedal 54 is pressed back fully into the housing 50 in the direction of the arrow 61 , the key 65 is seated in a slot 67 that is formed in the wall of the housing 50 . when so received , the surface 56 of the pedal 54 bears against the top of the stop 53 and the key 65 , at the proximal end 66 of the pedal 54 , is supported in its companion slot 67 to retain the retracted foot pedal 54 within the recessed housing 50 . when it is desired to extend the foot pedal 54 from the housing 50 in the direction of arrow 57 , distal end 70 of the foot pedal 54 protrudes beyond the stop 53 . so extended , foot pressure on exposed portion 63 of the pedal 54 presses the bearing surfaces 56 against the stop 53 and supporting surface 64 to stabilize the foot pedal 54 against both the stop 53 and the supporting surface 64 . a corresponding foot pedal ( not shown in the drawing ) in accordance with a feature of the invention , provided at the opposite side of the waste receptacle 10 enables the user to steady the receptacle 10 on the supporting surface 64 by placing each foot on a respective pedal and pressing the pedals against the supporting surface 64 . thus stabilized , the user can withdraw a flexible trash bag ( not shown ) from the waste receptacle 10 with both hands without touching the trash contents , tipping the waste receptacle or spilling the trash . consequently , there is provided in accordance with the invention an improved waste receptacle that overcomes the awkward and unsanitary mishaps that have characterized the use of prior art receptacles .	1
the present invention is directed to an improved method for screening a population of capacitors . more particularly , the present invention is related to a method of screening capacitors , prior to the completion of manufacturing , based on the charge curve as voltage approaches breakdown voltage . parameters of the screening , including average bdv and series resistance r s , are preferably determined on a small group of samples from a set of representative capacitors prior to the screening process . for the purposes of the present discussion the parameters are defined on a subpopulation of capacitors wherein the subpopulation is preferably sacrificial capacitors which are removed from the population after testing . to determine the average bdv , dc voltage is gradually increased on the capacitor , preferably connected to a fuse , until rapid current increase in the circuit and / or a blown fuse indicates a breakdown . as an example , fig1 demonstrates typical distribution of the bdv in d - case polymer tantalum 15 uf capacitors rated at 25v . in the distribution shown , the left “ tail ” with low bdv represents unreliable capacitors with weak dielectric , while the right end of the distribution , with high bdv , represents highly reliable capacitors with a robust dielectric . the bdv test can not be used for screening purposes since all the tested capacitors are electrically broken to determine the endpoint of the test . to determine series resistance r s , the current ( i )- vs . voltage ( v ) characteristics are investigated in the range of dc voltages from working voltage ( wv ) to the bdv . as an example , fig2 shows typical i ( v ) characteristics of two d - case polymer tantalum 15 uf capacitors with a 25 v rating . these two capacitors have practically equal currents at wv and they are therefore indistinguishable under conventional testing . however , their currents and , thereby , resistances are distinguishable when the applied voltage approaches average bdv . high resistance in the vicinity of the average bdv correlates with high actual bdv and vice versa . the r s is chosen as an average resistance of the capacitors in vicinity of the bdv . if the resistance of the capacitor in vicinity of the bdv is lower than rs , as in part # 9 , the larger part of the applied voltage will drop on the rs , making final voltage drop on the capacitor small as shown in fig3 . if the resistance of the capacitor in vicinity of the bdv is higher than rs , as in the part # 12 , most of the applied voltage will drop on the capacitor , making final voltage drop high ( fig3 ). the applied dc voltage is selected to be between the average breakdown voltage and 1 . 5 times the average breakdown voltage . if the applied dc voltage is below average bdv , it is impossible to achieve bdv during charging . if the applied dc voltage equals average bdv , the charging time is too long . if applied dc voltages is above 1 . 5 times average bdv , the increase in voltage is too rapid and hampers screening accuracy . with the average bdv and r s determined on a subpopulation comprising a small percentage of the total population , screening can be performed on all of the remaining population of the capacitors with given capacitance and rated voltage . as an example , fig3 demonstrates charge curves obtained from a typical screening procedure for the two d - case polymer tantalum 15 μf capacitors rated at 25 v . in this example , average bdv was 48v , rs was 2 mohm , and maximum screening time , t , was 1 min . in fig3 , the voltage drop on capacitor 12 reached average bdv after 52 s at which point the voltage application was terminated . on capacitor 9 voltage drop reached its maximum at about 40 s with no further change until voltage application was terminated after about 1 min of the test . the final voltage drop on capacitor 9 was below average bdv due to noticeable voltage drop on the r . this indicates low resistance for capacitor 9 , in vicinity of the average bdv which suggest weaker dielectric in the capacitor relative to capacitor 12 . a representative distribution of the final voltage drop on a population of the d - case ta polymer 15 uf capacitors rated at 25 v is shown on the fig4 . the lower left part of this distribution represents unreliable capacitors with weak dielectric which would preferably be removed from the population . the central part of the population represents normal capacitors . the high right part of the population , with a high final voltage , represents exceptional quality capacitors suitable for special applications . to guarantee that the capacitors are not damaged during the screening , the dc leakage ( dcl ) at rated voltage was tested on these capacitors before and after the screening procedure with the results presented graphically in fig5 . as illustrated , the experimental points are either on the diagonal or below the diagonal , which indicates no change , or an improvement in quality , of the dielectric as a result of screening . lower dcl after the screening can be attributed to a self - healing phenomena , when high voltage is applied briefly to the capacitor in the circuit with limited current . fig6 graphically demonstrates results of the accelerated life test of the capacitors with , and without , the inventive screening . during the screening , the capacitors with low final voltage drop were removed from the general population of the capacitors subjected to the accelerated test . as illustrated in fig6 , screening enables the elimination of early failures . after selection by this screening , the failures start at a later time and with a much lower percentage of failed parts . non - reliable capacitors , characterized as having a weak dielectric , can be removed from the general population by this screening method thereby avoiding subsequent manufacturing steps such as encapsulation and formation of terminals , for capacitors which are inferior and ultimately not to be sold . the distribution of the failures after the screening falls into a simple pattern , which indicates uniform degradation mechanism in the tested capacitors . in a preferred embodiment the capacitors which are considered inferior represent no more than 10 % of the total population . in a particularly preferred embodiment the capacitors which are considered inferior represent no more than 1 % of the total population . the capacitors which are considered inferior are typically at least 1 % to no more than 10 % when considering superior quality capacitors . an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in a schematic diagram in fig7 . in fig7 , a circuit diagram of a preferred embodiment is illustrated generally at 10 . a first dc power supply , 14 , provides a pre - determined voltage to the electrolytic capacitor , 12 , and a series resistor , 24 , of predetermined value . the test capacitor is reversibly attached to the circuit by a capacitor attachment , 29 . after a pre - determined amount of time the voltage drop across the series resistor is accurately determined and , by subtraction , the voltage appearing across the capacitor is determined . a second dc source , 16 , of pre - determined limiting voltage provides a voltage to the resistor through a diode , 20 , to prevent the possibility of overcharging the electrolytic capacitor . this forces the voltage across the series resistor to never fall below a desired level . when the voltage across the series resistor , as determined by a dc voltage sensor or scanner , 18 , is above the minimum desired value the diode does not conduct and the second dc source is effectively disconnected from the series resistor . the voltage drop across the diode is considered when determining the voltage of the second dc source . the two pre - determined voltages , the pre - determined value of the series resistor , and the measurement time after first application of the voltages are determined according to the methods of u . s . pat . no . 7 , 671 , 603 that describes screening electrolytic capacitors by detecting , without damaging the capacitor , a voltage that correlates with the capacitor &# 39 ; s breakdown voltage . the purpose of the voltmeter or dc voltage scanner in fig7 and 8 is to detect the division of the voltage from the first dc source that occurs between the capacitor and the series resistor . the voltmeter , or voltage scanner , in fig7 and 8 measures the voltage across the series resistor ( rs ), thereby allowing for an estimation of the capacitor &# 39 ; s voltage in light of the pre - determined voltage of the power supply . a second resistor , 22 , is provided to raise the input resistance of the voltage detection circuit to a high enough level to consistently avoid significant loading of the voltage appearing across the series resistor , 24 , during the voltage detection sampling time . the second resistor has a high resistance such as 100 megaohms . the sampling time is preferably between 0 . 001 & lt ; t & lt ; 10 seconds , most preferably about 0 . 1 seconds . the detected voltage is scaled appropriately to account for the voltage division that occurs between the secondary resistor and the input resistance of the scanner unit which can vary but is preferably about 10 megohms . a 100 megohm secondary resistor is preferred under most common circumstances but there are circumstances where adequate performance can be achieved when the input resistance of the voltage measurement circuit falls as low as approximately 1 megohm . there is no upper limit on the range of acceptable input resistance of the voltage measurement circuit . a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in a schematic diagram in fig8 and generally represented at 30 . in fig8 , the components are as described in fig7 with additional test loops provided thereby allowing for simultaneous testing of multiple capacitors . the circuit diagram illustrated in fig8 extends the circuit of fig7 to accommodate concurrent screening of multiple electrolytic capacitors . multiple circuits similar to that of fig7 are connected in parallel with each test loop , or circuit , sharing the voltages provided by the first dc source , 14 , and second dc source , 16 . multiple channels of voltage detection are employed , one per screening circuit . it is preferable that each voltage scanner , 18 , the first dc power source , 14 , and second dc power source , 16 , are in communication with a computer , 31 , through data links , 32 . after the pre - determined period of voltage application , the voltage across each capacitor &# 39 ; s associated series resistor is sequentially sampled by the scanner system at a rate whose period falls between 0 . 001 & lt ; t & lt ; 10 seconds per channel , most preferably about 0 . 1 seconds per channel . the circuits of fig7 and 8 employ variable dc sources and dc voltmeters and scanning units and are suitable for solving a dc problem estimating a performance characteristic of dc electrolytic capacitors that are used in electronic systems . the circuits of fig7 and 8 estimate the breakdown voltage of non - defective capacitors without destruction of the capacitors . moreover , the circuits of fig7 and 8 allow for an estimation of the capacitors &# 39 ; various breakdown voltages without actually harming any of the capacitors in the process . the tested capacitors typically meet published specifications before screening , thus are not initially defective . moreover , the design of the screening circuits is such as to avoid damaging the capacitors during screening so that they will continue to meet published specifications after screening . a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig9 . in fig9 , the circuit , generally represented at 40 , comprises a power supply , 41 , which provides power across a test capacitor , 42 , which is in series with a series resistor , 43 . a first voltage scanner , 44 , measures the input voltage to the test capacitor and series resistor . a second voltage scanner , 45 , measures the voltage across the capacitor and therefore , the voltage drop relative to the input voltage . a fuse , 46 , or circuit breaker , protects against overload . the method of this invention maybe used to remove potentially defective capacitors before completion of the manufacturing process , thereby reducing manufacturing costs by eliminating further processing of inferior capacitors . the enabled identification of higher quality units reduces returns and in - use failures . the invention has been described in terms of representative examples which are not limitative of the scope of the invention . modifications apparent to those with skill in the art are included within the scope of the invention .	6
[ 0014 ] fig1 , and 3 are sectional side views of heat dissipation schemes for heat generating devices . [ 0015 ] fig4 is top view of the assembly of fig3 before attachment of the base plate . [ 0016 ] fig5 , and 7 are a top view of an assembly during manufacture and a side view and a top view at a later stage of manufacture . as shown in fig3 and 4 , heat can be conducted from a heat generating packaged electronic device 50 to a heat sinking metal base plate 52 along a path 54 . the device 50 includes a semiconductor power component 56 attached by solder or epoxy 58 to a portion of a copper lead frame 60 . termination pads on the top of the semiconductor device are connected to other portions of the lead frame ( for example , by means of bond wires , not shown in the figure ). the copper lead frame 60 is in turn soldered 62 to conductive runs 64 on a printed circuit board 66 . a small gap 68 separates the top surface of the device from the bottom surface of the base plate . to each side of the device , a thermal chimney 70 , 72 spans the larger gap 74 between the top surface of the circuit board conductive runs and the bottom surface of the base plate . each of the chimneys includes a long rectangular alumina piece 76 , 78 with direct bonded copper layers 80 , 82 , 84 , 86 on the top and bottom faces . solder 88 , 90 , 92 , 94 connects the alumina pieces to the printed circuit runs and to the base plate . the entire assembly ( except for the base plate ) is potted in a molding compound 96 before attachment to the base plate . laser etching may be used to clean away excess molding compound on the top surface of the potted assembly to expose the top surfaces of the copper layers 80 , 84 . as shown in fig4 the packaged electronic device 50 and the chimneys 70 , 72 are separate components which are individually mounted on conductive runs 64 on the printed circuit board 66 . in an alternate packaging arrangement , shown in fig5 through 7 , both the semiconductor power component 56 and the chimneys 70 , 72 are contained within a single packaged device 80 . the semiconductor device 56 is mounted on a portion of a lead frame 60 by conductive material 58 ( e . g ., conductive epoxy or solder ). bond wires 100 electrically connect the upper surface of the semiconductor device to other portions of the lead frame 102 , 104 . the thermal chimneys 70 72 are attached ( by conductive material ) to the portion of the lead frame 60 onto which the power component 56 is mounted to provide low thermal resistance paths , indicated by arrows 83 , 85 , between the power component and the chimneys . the assembly is encapsulated in molding compound 106 . surfaces 80 , 84 are left exposed during the molding process or are re - exposed by a post molding process such as laser etching , for subsequent connection to a heat sink . if configured for equal thermal resistances , the arrangement of fig4 provides lower capacitance between the circuit etch ( 64 , fig4 ; 33 , fig2 ) and the base plate than the arrangement of fig2 . we compare the arrangement of fig2 including a high thermal conductivity silicone having a thermal conductivity of 1 w / m -° k and a dielectric constant of 3 . 3 to the arrangement of fig4 including alumina chimneys having a thermal conductivity of 25 w / m -° k and a dielectric constant of 9 . 9 . for equal cross - sectional areas of the chimneys 76 , 78 and the metal columns 42 , equality in thermal resistance would require that the thickness of the silicone layer ( between the top of the metal column and the baseplate in fig2 ) be approximately 4 % of the length of the alumina chimney in fig4 . as a result , the capacitance of fig4 would be approximately 12 % of the capacitance of fig2 . high thermal conductivity combined with low dielectric constant are desirable features in heat removal systems of the kinds shown in fig2 and 4 . an increase in a figure - of - merit defined as the ratio of the thermal conductivity and the dielectric constant will result in an improved heat removal path . for the alumina chimney described above the figure - of - merit is 2 . 53 , whereas the figure - of - merit for the system having a metal slug and silicone , also described above , is 0 . 30 . the alumina system is superior . the relative capacitances of two systems , for the same cross sectional areas and thermal resistances , is inversely proportional to the figures - of - merit of the systems ; in the example just given the inverse ratio is 0 . 03 / 2 . 53 which corresponds to the 12 % figure given above . silicones and related materials suitable for potting electronic assemblies have thermal conductivities below 7 w / m -° k , whereas thermal conductivities of insulating ceramics used in electronic assemblies are typically above 10 w / m -° k . [ 0025 ] fig8 is a table showing thermal resistance calculations for the heat dissipation paths of fig3 and 4 ( assuming one chimney or two ) at the top of the table and for the dissipation path of fig1 at the bottom of the table . with two chimneys , the cumulative thermal resistance ( rise per watt ) is 7 . 1 compared to 7 . 6 for the path of fig1 . other implementations are within the scope of the following claims . for example , the chimneys can comprise thermally conductive and electrically insulating materials other than alumina , for example , beryllium oxide or aluminum nitride . solderable material may be applied to the faces of the chimneys other than by direct bond copper . alternatively , if a face of a chimney is to be connected , either to a conductive etch or to a base plate , by thermally conductive adhesive , it can be left bare .	7
fig1 shows a transfer unit 1 with an elongated shaft 2 and a screen 3 . the shaft 2 consists of a first capillary medium 4 , here absorbent card board 4 ′, preferably 1 to 4 mm thick . the shaft 2 may have , but is not restricted to a rectangular shape with a width w 1 of preferably 5 to 10 mm . the length of the shaft 2 is greater than the width w 1 and is chosen such that at least the bottom portion 20 of the shaft 2 is in contact with the liquid , e . g . a perfume , when introduced into a liquid reservoir . the bottom portion 20 has a tip 20 ′ to facilitate breaking a seal , as shown in fig5 a , b . the screen 3 consists of a second capillary medium 5 with a plurality of “ small ” openings 6 punched out to allow air to pass through , each opening 6 covering less than 5 % of the total screen area . the width w 2 of the circular screen 3 is about three times the width w 1 of the shaft 2 . screen 3 and shaft 2 are made of the same material , a card sheet , i . e . in this embodiment for the second capillary medium 5 the same material as for the first capillary medium 4 is used . alternatively , different capillary materials could be connected to enable liquid transfer to the screen 3 . fig2 shows another example for a transfer unit 7 with a shaft 8 and a screen 9 both having a plurality of “ small ” openings 12 , 12 ′. its shape is generally the same as of the unit of fig1 . as a capillary material for the capillary media 11 and 10 of screen 9 respectively shaft 8 an absorbent card 10 ′ with perforations that constitute the openings 12 , 12 ′ is used , e . g . as shown in fig8 a . fig3 shows a third example for a transfer unit 13 with a shaft 14 and a screen 15 . the screen 15 comprises an annular frame 18 with a central opening 17 , that covers approximately 80 % of the screen area (“ big ” opening ). the opening 17 is covered with a sheet of capillary air permeable material , here a gauze sheet 19 ′. the gauze sheet 19 ′ receives as a second capillary medium 19 liquid drawn into the shaft 14 and to the screen 15 by the first capillary medium 16 . the frame 18 is made of the same material as the shaft 14 , here card board 16 , i . e . the frame contributes to the distribution and transfer of the liquid to the gauze sheet 19 ′ using capillary action . fig3 a shows a transfer unit 1 ′ with an elongated shaft 2 ′ and a screen 3 . the shaft 2 ′ consists of a first capillary medium 4 ′ preferably 1 to 4 mm thick . the shaft 2 ′ has a rectangular shape at its upper most portion directly below the screen , and a triangular taper for the remainder of its length with the taper comprising of 5 % to 95 % of the total length of the shaft . the length of shaft 2 ′ is greater than the maximum width and is chosen such that at least the bottom portion of the shaft is in contact with the liquid . in another embodiment ( not shown ) the frame 18 is made of a non capillary material , such as plastic or metal , serving to stabilise the second capillary medium 19 which is connected to the shaft for liquid transfer . in yet another embodiment ( not shown ) the shaft itself comprises a frame made of non capillary material stabilising a first capillary medium , e . g . a gauze sheet or a tissue paper , being connected to the second capillary medium , preferably the second capillary medium being an integral part of the first capillary medium . fig4 a - c shows different views of a shaft receiving passage 21 dimensioned to receive the shaft of a transfer unit . a transfer unit 1 being introduced into the receiving passage 21 is shown in fig5 a , b . the receiving passage 21 may be an integral part of a refill for an air freshener or the like , as shown in fig6 a , b , or may be suited for insertion into the outlet opening of a liquid reservoir . the receiving passage 21 comprises an elongated sleeve 23 having a rectangular cross section dimensioned to tightly embrace the shaft 4 of transfer unit 1 . the receiving passage 21 further comprises a fitting 22 adjacent to the sleeve 23 having circular cross section . the fitting is dimensioned to tightly fit into a circular outlet opening of a liquid reservoir 26 . the fitting 22 comprises an annular flange 35 to seal the outlet opening when the passage 21 is inserted . in case the receiving passage is an integral part of the liquid reservoir 26 the fitting 22 is not essential as the passage 21 and the reservoir 26 can be moulded in one piece . the passage 21 guides the transfer unit 1 into a defined position with respect to the dispensing device , e . g . to a fan generating an air flow . in this position transfer unit 1 is mechanically stabilised by passage 21 . fig5 c - d are similar to fig4 b - c except that they depict a shaft receiving passage 23 ′ containing a tapered shaft 2 ′, as shown in fig3 a . the receiving passage has a cross section dimensioned as not to tightly embrace the shaft 2 ′ hence leaving a gap between the shaft and receiving passage of at least 1 mm on both front and back sides . in this embodiment there will be a tight ; fitting portion at the top 36 ′ of the receiving passage 23 ′ to hold the transfer unit 9 ′ in place . the bottom opening of the passage 21 is closed with a foil seal 24 that can be punctured by the shaft 4 as shown in fig5 b and 6 b . the seal 24 isolates the liquid 27 contained in the reservoir 26 of the refill 25 from the outside , no extra lid is needed . when the transfer unit 1 is inserted , the tip 20 ′ of its bottom portion 20 breaks the seal 24 , the liquid 27 has access to the shaft 4 immediately , is drawn up to the screen 3 and evaporated . fig7 , 8 b and 9 a - c show methods of manufacturing the transfer units as shown in fig1 to 3 . the transfer unit of fig1 is manufactured by punching a shape 29 with a circular main body 29 ′, forming the screen afterwards , and an elongated part 29 ″, forming the shaft , from a sheet 28 of capillary material . this shape 29 can be punched in one go with a plurality of holes 29 ′″ arranged within the main body shape 29 ′ or before or after punching the holes 29 ′″. a pre - perforated sheet or mat 30 of capillary material with a plurality of holes 31 as shown in fig8 a serves as basis for manufacturing transfer units shown in fig2 . a shape 29 as , described above is punched from the sheet 30 . the cut out shape is ready to use as a transfer unit . the steps of an alternative manufacturing method are depicted in fig9 a - c , where “ big ” holes 33 are punched from a continual mat or sheet 32 ( fig9 a ). then a strip of continual air permeable capillary material 34 such as gauze is glued over the holes 33 ( fig9 b ). a shape 29 as described above is punched from the sheet 32 , where the shape 29 is positioned such that each hole 33 is located in the center of the circular main body 29 ′. the inventive transfer units 1 , 7 , 13 as shown above can thus be manufactured at very low cost as the materials used , e . g . gauze , cardboard , fleece , are cheap and the methods of manufacturing described in fig7 to 9 involve three steps at most .	0
certain embodiments of the application are illustrated in fig3 - 4b and described in the text that follows . it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features or sequence of processing steps shown in these embodiments . further , disclosure of process steps in a particular order or numbering of steps for purposes of illustration should not be understood to necessarily imply that the specified steps must be performed in the order stated . in practice , many input files for a sort process are already in a partial “ presorted ” condition even before they are processed . some files are updated in production by appending new records to the end of an already sorted base file , leaving the sorted base data completely intact . other files are minimally modified between sort jobs , leaving long runs of sorted data in the file . indeed , on occasion , some input files are provided in 100 % sorted order . to “ sort ” such files could require doing very little , or practically nothing , if it were thought to take advantage of the presort condition already existing in the file . the following discussion describes one example of how a more efficent process may be desigend to reduce or eliminate successive reading and writing to and from disk in sort processing . disk - based data resides on disk drives and are organized on the drives in accordance with a “ file system .” there are hardware and organizational aspects to such systems . a typical physical configuration used in modern disk drives is shown in fig2 a . the storage areas of the device comprise a plurality of stacked platters 210 , 220 , etc ., which spin in unison on a spindle 230 . each platter has two surfaces , 211 , 212 , one or both of which may be used for data storage . the surfaces are accessed with one or more read / write heads 250 , etc . mounted on corresponding arms 260 , etc ., which are also movable in unison as a single structure 265 in a stepwise fashion , to address narrow concentric rings 271 , 272 , 273 , etc . on each surface . these rings are called “ tracks .” the movement of arm structure 265 is such that the read / write heads move in and out across the surface , to address tracks at different radii from the center of the spindle . a set of vertically stacked tracks ( i . e ., one for each surface ) is called a “ cylinder ” ( 281 , 282 , 283 , etc .). within each track are a series of “ sectors ” ( 291 , 292 , 293 etc . ), each holding some number of bytes determined by the disk formatting , for example , 512 bytes per sector . the term “ latency ” refers to the rotational time delay in having a given sector spin around , so as to be under the corresponding head . the term “ seek ” time refers to the time delay resulting from having to reposition the read / write arm structure 265 to address a different set of tracks . of all disk operations , seeking a new cylinder can be the most time consuming . in modern file systems , for example , the ntfs file system of various microsoft ® windows ® implementations , disk files are organized with directory structures containing pointers to the data blocks constituting a file . the physical order of data on the medium is independent of the logical order reflected in the list of pointers maintained by the disk directory . for example , the ntfs file system referred to above stores disk directory and file information in a master file table ( mft ). the mft holds numerous disk , directory and file attributes . within the information maintained on each file in the mft are two series of cluster numerations , which keep track of data clusters in a file . ( in the terminology of ntfs , a “ cluster ” is a data block , which contains a power of two ( e . g ., 256 , 512 , etc .) number of sectors . the first , the “ virtual cluster number ” ( vcn ), refers to the order of the data in the file , starting at 0 and running to the last cluster , for example , the mth cluster . the second number , the “ logical cluster number ” ( lcn ) represents the numbering of all physical clusters , from the beginning of the volume to the end . lcns may be converted to a physical disk address by multiplying the lcn by the cluster factor to get the physical byte offset on the volume . ( the “ cluster factor ” is the block size ( number of bytes per cluster ), for example , 4 , 096 bytes ( 4k ), in the case of clusters consisting of eight sectors of 512 bytes each , though large drives can have larger cluster factors .) from this , the disk drive interface ( driver ) can readily calculate platter , track and sector addresses , to accurately position the disk read head . it is seen that vcns are pointers to data , and that there is nothing that requires that the vcns denoting the data clusters comprising a file to be stored in a contiguous manner on the disk , or even that they be recorded in order . indeed , it is very often the case that a file &# 39 ; s vcns are neither contiguous nor in order . for purposes of the discussion that follows , the term “ directory pointer ” will mean a vcn , or similar structure or information in a file system other than ntfs , that indicates the physical on - disk location of a given block of data associated with a file stored on the disk . it may be seen from the foregoing that the directory structure of ntfs and similar modern file systems are adapted to organizing data in persistent , machine - readable storage ( e . g ., disk data ) by reorganizing directory pointers as opposed to physically moving data on the disk . this aspect of the file system may be used to advantage in sorting externally stored data having a partial ( or total ) presorted condition . in one embodiment , during the string generation phase , a “ run ” of input data which is already in sorted condition can be left physically where it is found in an input file ( sortin ), and by rearrangement of directory pointers , may be included , without physically copying or moving any data , in what is regarded as the “ sortwork ” file . ( the process mentioned in the preceding sentence of moving data from file to file by reassigning directory pointers rather than physically copying the data is referred to herein as “ transposing ” the data from one file to the other .) in the merge phase ( if necessary ), some of the data destined for sort ouput file ( sortout ) may be transposed again , from the original position in sortin , as well as from sortwork , again without reading or writing such data itself . thus , disk reading and writing may be greatly reduced . the existence of presorted data in the sortin file may be determined either in the pre - string generation ( sort ) phase , or during the string generation phase . since these blocks are already in order , they may be carried over into sortwork file by mere rearrangement of pointers , without physically copying any data ( transposition ). data in sortin that is found not to be presorted may be sorted and physically written out to sortwork , as strings . in other words , as much of the input as can be transposed is transposed without being sorted or written , and the remainder is sorted and written . if possible , the sorted strings are concatenated during the sort phase , to thus form the longest strings possible in sortwork . i . e ., when updating or writing to sortwork , the high and low keys of the run or block involved are examined , and if the low key of the current run or block is higher than the high key of the one just processed , the run just so written may be extended to include the new data , to thus result in a longer run ( and thus fewer strings to merge ). after the sort phase , the sortwork file consists of strings comprised of any presorted blocks whose data still resides in the space of sortin , as well as those blocks that were sorted and physically written to sortwork . the string generation phase of such an embodiment may be implemented using a computer program reflecting the operations set forth in the following or similar pseudocode . the numbered steps in the pseudocode listed below correspond to the reference numerals of fig3 , which is a flow chart of the same process : 310 mark all ( allocated ) core as “ free ” // ( put all core addresses on // ( note that after reading full core load , free list will be empty ) // ( note - a “ run ” is a continuous string of presorted data that is 340 examine string that was just read and determine location of any 360 if free list is empty // ( i . e ., no sorted runs are in core after 380 if left with partial core load from the end of the input file , sort the “ core ” referred to in the above pseudocode refers to any machine - readable memory accessible by the computer processor . the sortwork index referred to in the pseudocode can be a separate data structure used to modify the directory structure ( or other arrangement of pointers to disk data ) for the sortwork file , or , in suitable operating systems , it can be the directory structure itself , since in those systems the directory itself comprises a list of such data block pointers . the merge phase ( where it is necessary ) involves a modification of a conventional “ n - way merge ” algorithm . in a conventional n - way merge the records in blocks from the sorted strings to be merged are sequentially examined and written back to sortwork ( or , on the final pass , sortout ) based on key comparison with the records in the other blocks . ( sortwork space may be reused during a merge phase having more than one merge pass , as taught in whitlow , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 210 , 961 .) when a block of data is exhausted , it is replenished by reading the next block from the string . if a string is used up , the order or “ power ” of the merge , n , is decremented , and processing continues until n is reduced to one . the merge procedure takes advantage of the fact that there is already recorded in working memory information sufficient to determine , without again reading from the disk , the high and low keys for every block in sortwork , as well as the physical location of each block . accordingly , whenever it is necessary to fetch a block of data in connection with the conventional n - way merge algorithm , a test is added before actually reading the block . if the high key of the block about to read is less than the low keys of the other blocks in the set ( including , during initialization , the blocks to be read in order to initially fill the buffers ), then the consequence is that this block can be passed directly to sortout . moreover , since all of the high and low key values and block locations were already known prior to beginning the merge step , the block in question may be “ transposed ” to sortout without actually being read from or written to disk . if the test described in the preceding paragraph succeeds , then the next block is tested , and the process is repeated . note that it is not necessary to actually read a block from the disk until the test fails . if the test does fail , and upon reading , it is found that the string is exhausted , the string count ( merge order ) is reduced by one , and if that should reduce the string count so that it equals one , the n - way merge is exited and the process is completed by transposing directly to sortout whatever then remains of the last string . otherwise , the conventional merge algorithm is applied ( until it is necessary to read another block ). in any event , when only one string remains in sortwork , that string is simply transposed directly to sortout . the merge phase of one embodiment may be implemented using a computer program reflecting the operations set forth in the following or similar pseudocode . the numbered steps in the pseudocode listed below correspond to the reference numerals of fig4 a , which is a flow chart of the same process , and fig4 b , which is a flow chart of a block - read subroutine which may be used in such process : 445 compare ( without file i / o ) low key of block about to be the main routine “ merge ” is a traditional n - way merge , modified in its block read function , shown here as subroutine “ read - next - block - special ( )”, and in that the last remaining string in the merge process is always simply transposed to sortout . in this subroutine , before a block is read by file 110 , a key comparison 445 - 455 is executed , based on information in memory from the sort phase , to determine if the block about to read can instead be transposed directly to sortout . the process is repeated until the comparison fails ( 460 ), or until all but the last string have been processed ( 441 ). in the latter case , control is transferred directly to the last - string label , which ( 430 ) transposes the one remaining string to sortout . if in the course of this input processing a string is exhausted and this leaves more than one string , the read process simply moves on to the next string ( 470 ). if the comparison fails , then it is necessary to acquire and merge the data from the block in question , so a traditional read ( with file 110 ) is performed ( 480 ) and the subroutine returns . note that it is immaterial in this operation where the incoming blocks actually reside , as between sortin and sortwork . however , if , in this process , data in sortin has been transposed to sortout , then some of the same data blocks will be shared by both files , and the manner in which the operating system handles shared blocks of this nature must be taken into account . some operating systems accommodate such sharing by automatically creating another block when the data changes for one of the referencing files . in other operating systems , sortin will be deleted after sorting or replaced by sortout , in which case the sorting software , on completion , may transpose data as necessary by rearranging directory pointers . an example will illustrate some of the efficiencies that might be achieved by applying the present disclosure . in data processing it is often the case that the same data repository is periodically sorted , on a repetitive basis . it may be the case on occasion with such an input file ( or in numerous other circumstances ) that the input file is already 100 % sorted before the sort process is carried out . if a conventional sort - merge procedure is employed , it will be seen by reference to fig1 that there will be two complete file reads , two complete file writes , plus internal sort of all blocks , and merge of all strings , at the record level . if such a file were to be processed in accordance with the present disclosure , the majority of this processing would be eliminated . in the sort phase , the input file would be read once . each core load would be “ transposed ” to sortwork ( without writing to disk ) in step 350 of fig3 . none of this data would have to be sorted . there would be nothing left in core at the end of this process , so step 375 would have nothing to do and the sort phase would end . the “ sortwork ” file would consist of all of the still in - place data from the input file . in accordance with steps 356 - 357 , at the end of the sort phase , the data in the file would be regarded as one fully sorted string . in any preferred embodiment , the software would recognize this situation and by changing the disk directory , treat the input file as sortout , and the job would be complete . if the software were to invoke the merge phase , then in step 441 , entire string would immediately be transposed to sortout , without reading from or writing to disk , and without actually merging any records , and the process would end . thus , in accordance with the present disclosure , there is one complete read of the input file , plus fast key comparisons and pointer reassignments at the block and string level . this represents a better than 75 % improvement in efficiency over conventional processing , which by contrast requires reading and writing the entire file &# 39 ; s worth of data four times and considerably additional internal processing . while certain features and embodiments of the present application have been described in detail herein , it will be appreciated that modifications , variations and features will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art given the benefit of the disclosure , which modifications , variations and features will be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	6
a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating the first embodiment of the invention ; like components as those described above will be assigned like reference numerals and the detailed description thereof will be omitted . in this embodiment , two systems of the same configuration including the ionic current detecting circuit and comparator circuits 14a and 14b are provided . an example will be given wherein a first ionic current pulse gia associated with cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 which belong to the first cylinder group wherein the ignition control sequence is discontinuous , and a second ionic current pulse gib associated with cylinder # 3 and cylinder # 2 which belong to the second cylinder group wherein the ignition control sequence is discontinuous are individually output . an ecu 2a individually generates threshold values th1 and th2 , which provide the comparative references in the respective comparator circuits 14a and 14b , while changing them for each ignition control . a first ionic current detecting circuit includes a series circuit composed of a capacitor 9a and a detecting resistor 10a . connected to one end of the detecting resistor 10a is the first comparator circuit 14a . a second ionic current detecting circuit includes a series circuit composed of a capacitor 9b and a detecting resistor 10b . connected to one end of the detecting resistor 10b is the comparator circuit 14b . spark plugs 8a and 8c of cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 are connected to the capacitor 9a in one ionic current detecting circuit via high - voltage diodes 11a and 11c ; they are subjected to a bias voltage vbi applied by the capacitor 9a . spark plugs 8b and 8d of cylinder # 3 and cylinder # 2 are connected to the capacitor 9b in the other ionic current detecting circuit via high - voltage diodes 11b and 11d ; they are subjected to a bias voltage vbi applied by the capacitor 9b . hence , an ionic current ia associated with cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 which belong to the first cylinder group is detected in the form of an ionic current waveform eia via the detecting resistor 10a in one ionic current detecting circuit and it is formed into an ionic current pulse gia via the comparator circuit 14a before it supplied to the ecu 2a . likewise , an ionic current ib associated with cylinder # 3 and cylinder # 2 which belong to the second cylinder group is detected in the form of an ionic current waveform eib by the detecting resistor 10b in the other ionic current detecting circuit and it is formed into an ionic current pulse gib via the comparator circuit 14b before it supplied to the ecu 2a . in the configuration described above , the ionic currents relative to the cylinders in successive ignition control order are detected via the two different systems alternately and they present the ionic current waveforms eia and eib , and ionic current pulses gia and gib , respectively . fig2 through fig4 show timing charts illustrative of the signal waveforms in fig1 which are observed in the case of normal combustion . the threshold values th1 and th2 are set to different values in these drawings ; fig2 uses a minimum value , fig3 uses a maximum value , and fig4 shows a case where they are set to values slightly lower than peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib . fig5 shows timing charts illustrative of signal waveforms in fig1 which are observed when a combustion failure has taken place in cylinder # 1 ; it shows a case where the threshold values th1 and th2 are set to the minimum value . in fig2 through fig5 the ionic current waveforms eia and eib have peak values ip1 and ip2 , respectively . the ionic current pulses gia and gib rise at times tu1 and tu2 , respectively , and they have pulse widths τ1 and τ2 , respectively . in fig5 the ionic current waveform eie observed in the case of a combustion failure exhibits a peak value ipe which is lower than a normal peak value ; an ionic current pulse gie in this case has a pulse width τe which is greater than a normal pulse width . referring now to fig2 through fig5 the operation of the first embodiment in accordance with the first embodiment shown in fig1 will be described . firstly , in fig1 one ionic current detecting circuit and the comparator circuit 14a generate the first ionic current pulse gia for each ignition control of the spark plugs 8a and 8cof cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 . likewise , the other ionic current detecting circuit and the comparator circuit 14b generate the second ionic current pulse gib for each ignition control of the spark plugs 8b and 8d of cylinder # 3 which is ignited after cylinder # 1 , and cylinder # 2 which is ignited after cylinder # 4 . at this time , the relationship between cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 and the relationship between cylinder # 3 and cylinder # 2 are symmetrical to each other in stroke ; for example , when one is in the compression stroke , the other is in the exhaust stroke . accordingly , there should be no case where the ionic current pulse gia or gib is generated in succession by one ionic current detecting circuit . as a result , the detecting resistors 10a and 10b alternately output the ionic current waveforms eia and eib based on ionic currents ia and ib for each cylinder group . the ionic current waveforms eia and eib thus detected are converted to ionic current pulses gia and gib which switch to on level in the sections ( pulse widths τ1 and τ2 ) above the threshold values th1 and th2 , and shaped into the alternate pulse waveforms shown in fig2 . conversely , as shown in fig3 if the threshold values th1 and th2 are set to the maximum value , namely , a value which is not less than the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib , then neither the ionic current pulse gia nor gib is generated . if the threshold values th1 and th2 are set to a value which is slightly smaller than the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib as shown in fig4 then the ionic current pulses gia and gib of the small pulse widths τ1 and τ2 are generated . the ecu 2a detects the presence of the ionic current pulse gia and gib , the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 thereof , etc . while changing the threshold values th1 and th2 by a predetermined value in the range of the minimum value ( see fig2 ) to the maximum value ( see fig3 ) for each ignition control . based on the result of the statistical processing for totalizing a plurality of detection results , the ecu 2a recognizes the generation of the ionic current i to determine the combustion state of a cylinder under ignition control . at this time , the ecu 2a identifies the current cylinder under control according to the crank angle signal sgt , etc . ; therefore , it is capable of detecting the combustion state with high reliability according to only the ionic current pulse gia or gib which corresponds to the current cylinder under the ignition control . for instance , when detecting the combustion state according to the peak values ip1 and ip2 , the ecu 2a changes the threshold values th1 and th2 from the minimum value ( see fig2 ) to the maximum value ( see fig3 ) and detects the threshold values th1 and th2 ( see fig4 ), which are obtained immediately before the ionic current pulses gia and gib are no longer detected , as the peak values ip1 and ip2 . alternatively , the ecu 2a changes the threshold values th1 and th2 from the maximum value ( see fig3 ) to the minimum value ( see fig2 ) and detects the threshold values th1 and th2 ( see fig4 ), which are obtained when the ionic current pulses gia and gib are begun to be detected , as the peak values ip1 and ip2 . as shown in fig4 the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib are decreased by setting the threshold values th1 and th2 for shaping the ionic current waveforms eia and eib to a high level in the vicinity of the peak values ip1 and ip2 . this makes it possible to detect the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current from the threshold values th1 and th2 at the moment the ionic current pulses gia and gib are no longer detected or at the moment they are begun to be detected . in general , the ionic current waveforms eia and eib change into various waveforms depending on the combustion state . when the combustion state is good and the burning velocity is high , the detection of the - ionic current waveforms eia and eib is concentrated in a short period of time ; therefore , the peak values ip1 and ip2 become high . hence , as illustrated in fig5 when a low peak value ipe is detected , it means that a combustion failure has occurred . thus , the generation of the ionic currents ia and ib can be precisely detected with high accuracy so as to enable a combustion state to be determined with high reliability without adding to cost by using a plurality of two - dimensional data composed of the threshold values th1 and th2 which change for each ignition control and the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib . further , the quantity of ions generated at the time of combustion can be recognized by the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib . therefore , when conducting egr control , for example , the egr rate can be optimized according to the quantity of generated ions . in the foregoing first embodiment , the ionic current peak values have been detected from the presence of the ionic current pulses gia and gib as the varying factors for detecting the combustion state . alternatively , however , only the presence of the ionic current pulses gia and gib may be detected . in the foregoing first embodiment , the peak values ip1 and ip2 based on the presence of the ionic current pulses gia and gib at certain threshold values th1 and th2 have been detected as the varying factors . alternatively , however , the ionic current generating period based on the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib may be detected . in this case , the ecu 2a sets the threshold values th1 and th2 at the minimum value as shown in fig2 and fig5 and detects the ionic current generating period from the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 by approximately matching the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib to the period during which the ionic current waveforms eia and eib are generated . if the combustion state of an internal - combustion engine is not good and the burning velocity is slow , then the period during which ionic current is generated is extremely extended , and a great pulse width τe corresponding to the cylinder ( cylinder # 1 ) which has incurred the combustion failure is detected as illustrated in fig5 . hence , if the ionic current generating period is extended , that is , if the burning velocity is slow , then the ecu 2a feeds back the detected result of the pulse width τe , thereby enabling optimized ignition timing to be achieved . thus , the generation of the ionic currents ia and ib can be precisely detected with high accuracy so as to enable a combustion state to be determined with high reliability by using a plurality of two - dimensional data composed of the threshold values th1 and th2 which change for each ignition control and the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib . further , the quantity of ions generated at the time of combustion can be recognized by the period during which the ionic current is generated ; therefore , when conducting egr control , for example , the egr rate can be optimized according to the quantity of generated ions . in the foregoing third embodiment , the period during which ionic current is generated has been detected from the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib as the varying factors for detecting the combustion state . alternatively , however , only the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 may be detected . in the first through fourth embodiments described above , the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib , or the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib have been detected as the varying factors for detecting the combustion state . alternatively , however , both the peak value of ionic current and the generating period may be detected . in this case , the ecu 2a is allowed to presume , with high accuracy , the areas of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib corresponding to the quantity of generated ionic current . this makes it possible to determine a combustion state according to both peak values and generating period , permitting still higher reliability in the determination . in the first through fifth embodiments described above , the peak values ip1 and ip2 of the ionic current waveforms eia and eib , or the pulse widths τ1 and τ2 of the ionic current pulses gia and gib have been detected as the varying factors for detecting the combustion state . alternatively , however , the numbers of the ionic current pulses gia and gib may be detected . fig6 shows timing charts illustrative of the operation for detecting the number of the pulses in the sixth embodiment in accordance with the invention ; it shows a case where a combustion failure has taken place . the configuration of the sixth embodiment according to the invention is as shown in fig1 except that the function of the ecu 2a is partially different . in this case , the ecu 2a changes the threshold values th1 and th2 to set them to the values optimized for detecting the disturbance in the ionic current waveforms eia and eib . in general , if unstable stepwise combustion takes place in a cylinder under ignition control , the ionic current waveforms eia and eib present a plurality of peak values as shown in fig6 . hence , the ecu 2a counts the number n of the ionic current pulses gia and gib to detect a disturbance in the ionic current waveforms eia and eib from the number n of pulses , thus enabling the combustion state to be determined . thus , a plurality of two - dimensional data composed of the threshold values th1 and th2 which vary for each ignition control and the number n of the ionic current pulses gia and gib are employed to detect a disturbance in the ionic current . based on the detection results , the generated ionic currents ia and ib can be precisely detected with high accuracy , permitting the combustion state to be determined with high reliability . in the first through sixth embodiments described above , the threshold values th1 and th2 of two series have been set for each cylinder group so as to improve the combustion state detecting accuracy and reliability . if , however , the variation in the ionic current of each cylinder group is negligible , then the same threshold values may be set . in the first through sixth embodiments described above , the four - cylinder engine has been taken as the example , and the cylinders subjected to the detection of ionic current have been divided into the first cylinder group which includes cylinder # 1 and cylinder # 4 and the second cylinder group which includes cylinder # 3 and cylinder # 2 so as to perform the detection through the two series of ionic current detecting circuits . the number of the cylinder groups and the number of the series of the ionic current detecting circuits can be set optionally to a desired values ; for example , the detection may be carried out through one series as shown in fig7 . the foregoing first through sixth embodiments have referred to the case wherein the high voltage is distributed to the respective spark plugs 8a through 8d via the distributor 7 from the secondary winding 4b of the ignition coil 4 ; however , there is no restriction on the distributing method , and the invention may be applied also to a case wherein low voltage is distributed .	5
[ 0023 ] fig2 illustrates an exemplary schematic flow for encryption in one embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig2 plain text 12 is input to both an encoder 114 and a model 116 . a main key 118 is supplied to the model 116 and to a random generator 122 . the random generator 122 produces working keys from the main key 118 and random numbers generated within and the working keys are output to the encoder 114 and the model 116 . the model 116 provides to the encoder 114 , two frequency counts , for 0 and 1 , respectively and the encoder 114 output is a compressed bit stream . the encoder 114 produces compressed information ( i . e ., cipher text 120 ), based on the plain text 12 and the working keys output from the random number generator 122 , and the frequency counts 0 , 1 from the model 116 . the encoder 114 may operate as follows . a message to be encoded is represented by an interval of real numbers between 0 and 1 . as the message becomes longer , the interval needed to represent the message decreases and the number of bits needed to specify the interval increase . successive symbols of the message reduce the size of the interval in accordance with the symbol probabilities generated by the model 116 . the more likely symbols reduce the range by less than the unlikely symbols and hence add fewer bits to the message . initially , the interval assigned to a message is the entire interval [ 0 , 1 )([ 0 , 1 ) denotes the half - open interval 0 ≦ x & lt ; 1 ). as each symbol in the message is processed , the range is narrowed to that portion of the range allocated to the given symbol . for example , assume the alphabet is ( a , b , c , d , e , f ) and a fixed model is used with the probabilities shown in table 1 . assume the message abc is transmitted . initially , the encoder 114 ( and an associated decoder which will be described later ) knows that the range is [ 0 , 1 ). after receiving the first symbol a , the encoder 114 narrows the range to [ 0 , 0 . 25 ), the range that model 116 allocates to the symbol a . the second symbol b narrows the new range to the second one - fourth , [ 0 . 0625 , 0 . 125 )— the previous range was 0 . 25 units long and one - fourth of that is 0 . 0625 . the next symbol c is allocated [ 0 . 5 , 0 . 6 ), which when applied to [ 0 . 0625 , 0 . 125 ) gives the smaller range [ 0 . 09375 , 0 . 1 ). suppose all the associated decoder knows about the message is the final range [ 0 . 9375 , 0 . 1 ). the decoder can immediately deduce that the first character was a , since the range lies entirely within the space the model of table 1 allocates for a . after this , the range is [ 0 , 0 . 25 ). after seeing b [ 0 . 0625 , 0 . 125 ) which entirely encloses the given range [ 0 . 09375 , 0 . 1 ), the second character is b . proceeding in this manner , the decoder can identify the whole message . in one exemplary embodiment , the encoder 114 is the encoder described in copending u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 240 , 576 entitled “ multiplication - free arithmetic coding ” filed on feb . 1 , 1999 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . an advantage of this encoder are that there is no multiplication and division operation involved , which makes the hardware design simple . this encoder is described below . initially , two registers r and l , are set to 1 and an arbitrary number , respectively . the encoder 114 is supplied with three inputs , a first frequency count c 0 representing a fractional value of the probability of 0 , a second frequency count c 1 , representing a fractional value of the probability 1 , and a so - far encoded symbol i ( either 0 or 1 ). the encoding steps performed by the encoder 114 can be summarized in pseudocode as : 1 . if c 0 & gt ; c 1 , exchange the values of c 0 and c 1 , and let i =! i . 3 . if i = 0 , then r = c 0 ; else r = r − c 0 , l = l + c 0 . note that some c language notation is employed in the above pseudocode . ! represents logic complement , represents binary complement , and & lt ;& lt ;= represents arithmetic shift left . from the description above , the present invention operates on the following assumption : for each iteration , r ≅ c 0 + c 1 . in the present invention , initializing the two registers r and l to 1 and an arbitrary number , respectively , permits the first word in the output stream to denote a synchronous word for real time transmission applications . further , step 1 is generally referred to as an exchange step , step 2 is referred to as an adjustment step , and step 3 is referred to as an encoding step . a magnitude step , which is required in conventional multiplication - free arithmetic coding techniques is not required in the present invention . in the present invention , the adjustment step is executed before the encoding step . in the adjustment - step , executing the “ while ” loop when the value of register r is less than or equal to the value of the second frequency count and setting the value of register r equal to the binary complement of the value of register l plus one if the value of the register r is greater than the binary complement of the value of register r eliminates the need for a subsequent bit stuffing step . to summarize , the method of multiplication - free arithmetic coding of the present invention produces an encoded bit stream by receiving a symbol from an encoded string and two frequency counts , finding a most probable symbol and a least probable symbol ; subjecting a first register to magnitude shift operations for outputting bits to the encoded bit stream and for approximating a contextual probability of each symbol in the encoded string , and encoding a next symbol in the encoded string based on the contextual probability . [ 0042 ] fig3 includes the specific steps performed by the encoder 114 in the encoding process 20 in more detail . in particular , in step 22 , registers r and l are initialized to 1 and the sync word , respectively . the encoded bit stream , in this example , 11011100i , is input along with the initial values of registers r and l to the 0 - order markov model at step 24 to produce the frequency counts c 0 and c 1 . in step 26 , c 0 and c 1 are compared and if c 0 is greater than c 1 , c 0 and c 1 are exchanged and i is set to its logical complement at step 28 . if however , c 0 is not greater than c 1 , processing proceeds to step 30 , where it is determined whether the value in register r is greater than or equal to c 1 . if so , processing proceeds to step 32 , where the most significant bit of the l register is output , l and r are arithmetically left shifted , and if r is greater than the binary complement of l , then r is set to the binary complement of l plus one , and processing returns to step 30 . if the value of register r is not greater than equal to c ,, then processing continues to step 34 . in step 34 it is determined whether i is equal to 0 . if i is equal to 0 , then the value of register r is set equal to c 0 at step 36 and if i is not equal to 0 then r is set to the previous value of r minus c 0 and l is set to the previous value of l plus c 0 in step 38 , thereby encoding the next bit in the bit stream . the process then repeats by inputting the next bit to the markov model update at step 24 . the processing is continued until all bits of the input bit stream are encoded . then , the value of register l is output as the encoded bit stream . although the present invention is described utilizing a 0 - order markov model , any model , known to one ordinary skill in the art , could be utilized . as illustrated in fig4 the model 116 includes a frequency table 130 ( illustrated as rams 126 ) and a model controller 128 . the frequency counts contained in frequency table 130 represent the probabilities , such as the probabilities shown in table 1 . the plain text 12 , the main key 118 and the working keys are input to the model controller 128 . the random generator 122 generates one random bit per system clock . as illustrated in fig4 the frequency table 130 may include two related terms that make it very difficult to trace all information saved in the frequency table 130 except the two related terms . the model 116 can use an address register r to record the closest t bits currently processed , the size of the frequency table 130 is 2 t . in one embodiment , the model 116 is a t - order markov model and r looks like sliding windows of size t . initially , the values in the frequency table 130 may be set to 1 . the present invention may be described as a two phase cipher . the first phase processes random bits and key bits . in the first phase , the key size controls the random bit generator , so that controller 128 can obtain random bit string with the same size as the key . for each bit pair ( one random bit , one key bit ), controller 128 can perform the following : 1 ) according to a shift register in model controller 128 , get f 0 and f 1 from rams 126 ; 2 ) if the key bit is 0 , add 1 to f 0 ; else add 1 to f 1 ; 3 ) pass the random bit and f 0 , f 1 to encoder 114 ; 4 ) if the random bit is 0 , add 1 to f 0 ; else add 1 to f 1 ; 5 ) write f 0 and f 1 back to rams 126 ; 6 ) left shift the shift register in model controller 128 , and insert the current random bit into the last position of the shift register . in the first phase , the random bit is provided to encoder 114 ( or decoder ) via the model controller 128 . when the first phase is completed , a useful initial frequency table is obtained in rams 126 . in the second phase , the plain text 12 is encoded . in the second phase , the plain text 12 is input to the model controller 128 which executes the following actions for each input bit : 1 ) according to the shift register , get f 0 and f 1 from rams 126 ; 2 ) pass the plain text bit and f 0 , f 1 to encoder 114 ; 3 ) if the plain text bit is 0 , add 1 to f 0 ; else add 1 to f 1 ; 4 ) write f 0 and f 1 back to rams 126 ; 5 ) left shift the shift register , and insert the current plain text bit into the last position of the shift register . therefore , the plain text 12 also will pass to encoder 114 ( or decoder ) via the model controller 128 . [ 0059 ] fig5 illustrates the frequency table 130 in one preferred embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig5 the frequency table 130 includes r entries for the frequency of 0 and r entries for the frequency of 1 . the size of the frequency table 130 in one embodiment is 2 t . in one embodiment , t = 15 . the model controller 128 controls the read and writes of the rams 126 and the output of the frequency table 130 and source bit to the arithmetic coder 114 . the inputs to the encoder 114 include a text bit from the plain text 12 , a key bit from the main key 118 , a random bit from the random generator 122 , and two frequencies 136 from the rams 126 . the output of the model controller 128 to rams 126 is a read - enable signal 138 , a write - enable signal 140 , modified frequencies 142 for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”, respectively and an address 144 . the outputs from the model controller 128 to the encoder 114 include a source bit 146 and a pair of frequency counts 148 for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”. in one exemplary embodiment , the model 116 is implemented utilizing two clocks , a system clock and a ram clock , in order to permit the model controller 128 to finish a read and write to the rams 126 in one system cycle . the interaction between the encoder 114 and the model 116 is as follows . initially , r may be set to a fixed number ; the current value of r is used to find two frequency counts respectively for 0 and 1 from the frequency table 130 . the two counts are then input to the encoder 114 . the current bit is encoded and the frequency count is updated at the location pointed to by r . then , slide r to contain the current bit and repeat until all bits are encoded . as illustrated in the embodiment of fig4 the frequency table 130 includes random access memories 126 . the two rams 126 represent the frequency tables for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”, respectively . in one exemplary embodiment , there are a total of 64 k pairs of frequencies for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”. as a result , the frequency may range from 1 to 255 . the encoder 114 implements an arithmetic encoding algorithm , where its input signal is a one bit source signal and a pair of frequencies for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”. for each time interval , the pair of frequencies are different and dependent on the input source bit . the output of the encoder 114 is the cipher - text 120 and an output valid bit 150 . the present invention may also use a key ( any length of bit stream ) to control the initial value in frequency table 130 and a random bit stream to control the values of r . the random bit stream may be generated by the random generator 122 . the key for encryption is termed the working key . to be more precise , if k 1 , k 2 , . . . , k n is the bit stream for encryption key . an exemplary algorithm is as follows : initialization : r = 0 . let all items in frequency table 130 be 1 , initialize the encoder 114 , j = 1 find the location pointed by r from the frequency table 130 . if k j = 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location ; else add 1 to frequency 0 location . use the current frequency counts to encode one bit 1 from random generator 122 . if i = 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location ; else , add 1 to frequency 0 location . 2 . encode plain text 12 and update model 116 as follows : if current bit is 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location , else add 1 to frequency 0 location . it is noted that step 1 is used to generate the initial frequency table 130 , the frequency table 130 may depend on environment , since random generator 122 is used . further , even if the same encryption key is used at different times , a different frequency table 130 will result . this indicates the cipher in the present invention is not one - to - one but is variable . in one preferred embodiment , vhdl language is used to describe the behavior model between the model controller 128 and the encoder 114 illustrated in fig4 . exemplary vhdl is set forth below : library ieee ; - use ieee . std_logic_uusigned . all ; use ieee . std_logic_signed . all ; use ieee . std_logic_arith . all ; use ieee . std_logic_1164 . all ; entity cipher is port ( key : in std_logic ; random : in std_logic ; text : in std_logic ; end_of_key : in std_logic ; end_of_text : in std_logic ; data0_in : in std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); data1_in : in std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); sys_clock : in std_logic ; mem_clock : in std_logic ; data0_out : out std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); data1_out : out std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); addr : buffer std_logic_vector ( 15 dowuto 0 ); read_enable : out std_logic ; write_enable : out std_logic ; cipher_text : out std_logic ; out_valid : out std_logic ); end cipher ; architecture rtl of cipher is signal encode_bit : std_logic ; signal encode_valid : std_logic :=‘ 0 ’; signal c0 , c1 : std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); signal l : std_logic_vector ( 31 downto 0 ): =“ 00000000000000000000000000000000 ”; signal r , h : std_logic_vector ( 31 downto 0 ): =“ 00000000000000000000000000000001 ”; signal freq0 : std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); signal freq1 : std_logic_vector ( 7 downto 0 ); signal j : std_logic ; begin model_update : process variable a , b : integer ; variable counter : integer ;=− 1 ; begin wait until mem_clock ′ event and mem_clock =‘ 1 ’; counter :=( counter + 1 ) mod 8 ; case counter is when 0 =& gt ; read_enable & lt ;=‘ 1 ’; write_enable & lt ;=‘ 0 ’; if ( end_of_key =‘ 0 ’) then addr & lt ;= shl ( addr ,“ 01 ”) + key ; else addr & lt ;= shl ( addr ,“ 01 ”) + text ; end if ; when 2 =& gt ; if ( end_of_key =‘ 0 ’) then encode_bit & lt ;= random ; c0 & lt ;= data0_in + not key ; c1 & lt ;= data1_in + key ; a := conv_integer ( data0_in ) + conv_integer ( not key ) + conv_integer ( not random ); b := conv_integer ( data1_in ) + conv_integer ( key ) + conv_integer ( random ); else encode_bit & lt ;= text ; c0 & lt ;= data0_in ; c1 & lt ;= data1_in ; a := conv_integer ( data0_in ) + conv_integer ( not text ); b := conv_integer ( data1_in ) + conv_integer ( text ); end if ; if ( end_of_text =‘ 0 ’) then encode_valid & lt ;=‘ 1 ’; else encode_valid & lt ;=‘ 0 ’; end if ; read_enable & lt ;=‘ 0 ’; write_enable & lt ;=‘ 1 ’; if ( a & gt ; 16 # ff # or b & gt ; 16 # ff #) then data0_out & lt ;= shr ( conv_std_logic_vector (( a + 1 ), 8 ),“ 01 ”); data1_out & lt ;= shr ( conv_std_logic_vector (( b + 1 ), 8 ),“ 01 ”); else data0_out & lt ;= conv_std_logic_vector ( a , 8 ); data1_out & lt ;= conv_std_logic_vector ( b , 8 ); end if ; when others =& gt ; null ; end case ; end process ; arith_coder : process variable a , b , c : std_logic_vector ( 31 downto 0 ); variable f0 , f1 : std_logic_vector ( 7 down to 0 ); variable k : std_logic ; begin wait until sys_clock =‘ 1 ’ and sys_clock ‘ event ; if ( encode_valid =‘ 1 ’) then if ( c0 & gt ; c1 ) then freq0 & lt ;= c1 ; freq1 & lt ;= c0 ; j & lt ;= not encode_bit ; else freq0 & lt ;= c0 ; freq1 & lt ;= c1 ; j & lt ;= encode_bit ; end if ; f0 := freq0 ; f1 := freq1 ; k := j ; while r & lt ;= fl loop cipher_text & lt ;= l ( 31 ); out_valid & lt ;=‘ 1 ’; a := shl ( l ,“ 01 ”); b := shl ( r ,“ 01 ”); c := not a ; l & lt ;= a ; if b & gt ; a then r & lt ;= c + ‘ 1 ’; else r & lt ;= b ; end if ; wait until mem_clock =‘ 1 ’ and mem_clock ‘ event ; end loop ; out_valid & lt ;=‘ 0 ’; if ( k =‘ 0 ’) then r & lt ;= conv_std_logic_vector ( conv_integer ( f0 ), 32 ); else r & lt ;= r − f0 ; l & lt ;= l + f0 ; end if ; end if end process ; end rtl ; the parameters used for testing in this example are as follows : 2 t — size of the frequency table 130 : 64k for both 0 and 1 , t = 15 from tables 2 and 3 above , the following is apparent : 1 ) for the same plain text with the same key , different cipher text results , 2 ) the size of cipher text is changeable with different experiment parameters and different keys , and 3 ) for high correlative data the compression rate is high , but for less correlative date or a shorter string , the compression rate is also good . the technique of the present invention may be used for encryption if the values in the frequency table are used as the encryption key . one difference between the present invention and wnc is the model . the bit - based model of the present invention makes it extremely difficult to trace all the initial values using a technique such as the one described by bergen / hogan . the compressed bit stream or cipher text 120 may be decoded by a reverse process . [ 0088 ] fig6 illustrates an exemplary schematic flow of decryption in one embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in fig6 the cipher text 120 is input to a decoder 124 . a main key 118 is input to the model 116 and to the decoder 124 . the output of random bit generator 152 is input to the model 116 . the output of the model 116 is input to the decoder 124 . the decoder 124 decodes the cipher text 120 to produce the plain text 12 which is fed back to the model 116 . the decoder 124 also passes an output to the random generator 152 . in one exemplary embodiment , the decoder 124 is the decoder described in copending u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 240 , 576 entitled “ multiplication - free arithmetic coding ” filed on feb . 1 , 1999 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . this decoder is described in more detail below . for decoding the r and l registers are again initialized and a third register v is utilized to store part of the decoding bit stream , and i denotes the output bit . if s is the decoding bit stream , which is generated by the encoding algorithm described above , the decoding steps performed by the decoder 124 are summarized in pseudocode as : 1 . if c 0 & gt ; c 1 , exchange the values of c 0 and c 1 , and let i = 1 ; else i = 0 . 3 . if c 0 & lt ; v , then r = c 0 ; else r = r − c 0 , l = l + c 0 , and i =! i to summarize , the method of the multiplication - free arithmetic coding to produce a decoded string receives bits from a decoded stream and two frequency counts , finds a most probable symbol and a least probable symbol , subjecting a first register to magnitude shift operations for inputting bits from the decoded bit stream and for approximating a contextual probability of each symbol in the decoded string , and decoding a next symbol to the decoded stream based on the contextual probability . [ 0098 ] fig7 includes the specific steps performed by the decoder 124 in the decoding process 40 in more detail . in particular , in step 42 , the register r , l , and v are initialized . the values of registers r , l , and v and the string to be decoded are input to 0 - markov model at step 44 to produce frequency counts c 0 and c 1 . in step 46 , c 0 and c 1 are compared and if c 0 is greater than c 1 , c 0 and c 1 are exchanged and i is set to its logical complement at step 48 . if however , c 0 is not greater than c 1 , processing proceeds to step 50 , where it is determined whether the value of register r is greater than or equal to c 1 . if so , processing proceeds to step 52 where registers r , l , and v are all arithmetically left shifted , the next bit from the decoding bit stream s is added to register v , and if r is greater than the binary complement of l , then r is set to the binary complement of l plus one . processing then returns to step 50 . if the value of register r is not greater than or equal to c 1 , then processing continues to step 54 . in step 54 , it is determined whether c 0 is less than v . if c 0 is less than v , then the value of register r is set equal to c 0 at step 56 and if c 0 is not less than v , then r is set to the previous value of r minus c 0 , l is set to the previous value of l plus c 0 , and i is set to its logic complement at step 58 , thereby decoding the next bit in the bit stream s . the process then repeats by inputting the next bit to the markov model update at step 44 . the processing is continued until all bits of the decoding bit stream s are decoded . again , although the present invention just described utilizing a 0 - order markov model , any model , known to one of ordinary skill in the art , could be utilized . table 4 , set forth below , illustrates a compression ratio comparison for files of varying types , between an encoder which implements multiplication , the prior art technique disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 652 , 856 , and the multiplication - free arithmetic coding of the present invention . as illustrated in table 4 , the present invention achieves a compression ratio better than prior art multiplication - free arithmetic techniques . table 4 also illustrates that the multiplication encoder usually provides the best compression because each multiplication - free design utilizes some approximate value instead of practical probabilities , so there will usually some degradation in compression ratios utilizing multiplication - free arithmetic techniques . however , the present invention , as illustrated in table 4 , provides a low computationally complex and low cost hardware implementation , which still achieves compression ratios which are comparable to multiplication - base techniques . as illustrated in fig8 the main key 118 is supplied to the model controller 128 . the model controller 128 controls the read and writes of the rams 126 and the output of the frequency table 130 and the source bit to the decoder 124 . the inputs to the decoder 124 include a text bit from the cipher text 120 , a key bit from the main key 118 , and a pair of frequency counts 148 for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”. the output of the model controller 128 to rams 126 is a read enable signal 138 , a write enable signal 140 , modified frequencies 142 for bits “ 0 ” and “ 1 ”, respectively , and an address 144 . the rams 126 output two frequencies 136 to the model controller 128 . in one exemplary embodiment , the model 116 is implemented utilizing two clocks , a system clock and a ram clock , in order to permit a model controller 128 to finish read and write to the rams 126 in one system cycle . the present invention may also be described as a two - phase decipher . in the first phase , random bits are decoded from cipher bits . in the first phase , the key size controls the decoder 124 so that the model controller 128 can receive random bit strings from the decoder 124 with the same size as the key . for each bit pair ( one random bit and one key bit ), decipher is performed by : 1 ) using a shift register in decoder 124 , to get f and f 1 from rams 126 ; 2 ) if the key bit is 0 , add 1 to f 0 ; add 1 to f 1 ; 3 ) pass f 0 , f 1 to decoder 124 ; 4 ) decoder 124 decodes random bit and send the random bit to model controller 128 ; 5 ) if the random bit is 0 , the model controller 128 adds 1 to f ; else adds 1 to f 1 ; 6 ) write f 0 and f 1 back into rams 126 ; and 7 ) shift the register left , and insert the current random bit into the last position of the shift register . when the first phase is completed , a useful initial frequency table is obtained in rams 126 . in the second phase , the plain text 12 is decoded . in the second phase , only one input , the cipher text 120 , is required and deciphering includes the following steps for each input bit : 1 ) according to the shift register , get f 0 and f 1 from rams 126 ; 2 ) pass f 0 , f 1 to the decoder 124 ; 3 ) decoder 124 decodes a plain text bit and sends the plain text bit to model controller 126 ; 4 ) if the plain text bit is 0 , add i to f 0 ; else add 1 to f 1 ; 5 ) write f 0 and f 1 back into to rams 126 ; and 6 ) shift the register left , and insert the current plain text bit into the last portion of the shift register . therefore , plain text 12 will be output from decoder 124 . to decode an encrypted message , the frequency table 130 may be constructed and the random bit stream in the cipher text 120 can be recovered before decoding begin ( s ). decoding can also be defined in pseudocode as follows : find the location pointed by r from the frequency table 130 . if k j = 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location ; else add 1 to frequency 0 location . use the current frequency counts to decode one random bit 1 . if l = 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location ; else , add 1 to frequency 0 location . 2 . decode cipher text 120 and update model as follows : if current bit is 1 , add 1 to frequency 1 location , else add 1 to frequency 0 location . it is noted that the functional blocks in fig1 - 3 , 6 and 8 may be implemented in hardware and / or software . the hardware / software implementations may include a combination of processor ( s ) and article ( s ) of manufacture . the article ( s ) of manufacture may further include storage media and executable computer program ( s ). the executable computer program ( s ) may include the instructions to perform the described operations . the computer executable program ( s ) may also be provided as part of externally supplied propagated signal ( s ). 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 .	7
in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth . however , it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known circuits , structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description . references to “ one embodiment ”, “ an embodiment ”, “ example embodiment ”, “ various embodiments ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment ( s ) of the invention so described may include particular features , structures , or characteristics , but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular features , structures , or characteristics . further , some embodiments may have some , all , or none of the features described for other embodiments . in the following description and claims , the terms “ coupled ” and “ connected ,” along with their derivatives , may be used . it should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other . rather , in particular embodiments , “ connected ” is used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other . “ coupled ” is used to indicate that two or more elements co - operate or interact with each other , but they may or may not have intervening physical or electrical components between them . as used in the claims , unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “ first ”, “ second ”, “ third ”, etc ., to describe a common element , merely indicate that different instances of like elements are being referred to , and are not intended to imply that the elements so described must be in a given sequence , either temporally , spatially , in ranking , or in any other manner . various embodiments of the invention may be implemented in one or any combination of hardware , firmware , and software . the invention may also be implemented as instructions contained in or on a tangible non - transient computer - readable medium , which may be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein . such a computer - readable medium may include any tangible non - transient mechanism for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers , such as but not limited to read only memory ( rom ); random access memory ( ram ); magnetic disk storage media ; optical storage media ; a flash memory device , etc . the term “ wireless ” may be used to describe circuits , devices , systems , methods , techniques , communications channels , etc ., that communicate data by using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non - solid medium . the term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires . a wireless device may comprise at least one antenna , at least one radio , at least one memory , and at least one processor , where the radio transmits signals through the antenna that represent data and receives signals through the antenna that represent data , while the processor may process the data to be transmitted and the data that has been received . the processor may also process other data which is neither transmitted nor received . as used within this document , the term “ network controller ” is intended to cover devices that schedule and control , at least partially , wireless communications by other devices in the network . a network controller may also be known as a base station ( bs ), access point ( ap ), central point ( cp ), or any other term that may arise to describe the functionality of a network controller . as used within this document , the term “ mobile device ” is intended to cover those devices whose wireless communications are at least partially scheduled and controlled by the network controller . a mobile device ( md ) may also be known as a mobile station ( ms ), sta , subscriber station ( ss ), user equipment ( ue ), or any other term that may arise to describe the functionality of a mobile device . mobile devices may move during such communications , but movement is not required . in various types of wireless technology , a wireless device with a multi - element antenna may transmit and receive in a directional manner . although each element may have omnidirectional characteristics by itself , by adjusting the phase and amplitude of the signal being transmitted from each element , the combined transmissions may produce an overall signal that is relatively strong in one direction and relatively weak in the other directions . similarly , by adjusting the phase and amplitude of the signals received by each element , directional reception may be achieved , in which signals from one direction are received relatively strongly and signals received from other directions are received relatively weakly . a typical network may have multiple devices that communicate with each other , such as a network controller and multiple mobile devices that communicate directly with the network controller . within this document , the term mu mimo network ( multi - user multiple input multiple output network ) indicates a network in which the network controller is capable of simultaneous directional communication with multiple mobile devices in different directions on the same frequency or the same frequencies ( simultaneous different spatial channels , where a spatial channel is a directional channel ), and in which each of the multiple mobile devices is capable of simultaneous directional communication with the network controller . within this document , the term mu mimo rts means a wireless device is simultaneously transmitting an rts directionally to each of multiple other devices over different spatial channels . within this document , the term mu mimo cts means a device is simultaneously transmitting or receiving multiple ctss from different devices over different spatial channels . some embodiments of the invention use protocols especially designed for use in a network in which a network controller can simultaneously transmit to ( and / or receive from ) multiple mobile devices on the same frequency ( s ) by using directional communications . fig1 shows a wireless device with a multi - element antenna and associated electronics , according to an embodiment of the invention . in the illustrated device 110 , antenna 115 has an array of nine antenna elements 117 arranged in a 3 × 3 rectangular configuration . other embodiments may contain other quantities of antenna elements , which may be arranged in other geometric configurations . each element 117 is connected to a separate analog circuit ( ac ) 120 , which may have adjustable capacitive and / or inductive and / or resistive components that may shift the phase and / or amplitude of the signal going to or from the antenna element . only two such analog circuits are shown to avoid cluttering up the drawing , but each antenna element may have its own associated analog circuit . the value of , and effect of , these analog components may be individually set by ac control circuit 140 . a single rf chain 130 may be used for the signals going to / from the analog circuits 120 and antenna elements 117 . additional processing unit ( s ) 150 may provide additional processing as needed . in most embodiments , the same antenna 115 will be used for both transmission and reception , but other embodiments may have a separate antenna for each . in some embodiments that have the same antenna 115 for transmission and reception , there may one set of analog circuits 120 for transmission and another set for reception . in some embodiments , a device 110 may have multiple antennas , with each antenna having a multi - element array with its own rf chain and set of analog circuits . fig2 shows a mu mimo wireless network , according to an embodiment of the invention . in the illustrated network 200 , a network controller nc may control communications by each of three mobile devices md 1 , md 2 , and md 3 . each of mobile devices md 1 , md 2 , and md 3 is assumed to have at least one multi - element antenna and therefore be able to transmit directionally and to receive directionally in at least one direction that is controllable by the device . network controller nc is assumed to have multiple antennas , each antenna being multi - element , and the nc may be able to simultaneously transmit and / or receive different signals with each antenna at the same frequency ( s ) in a different direction , each direction being controllable by the device . the cone - shaped figures next to each device indicate that the device is generally able to communicate directionally within the arc of the cone and not able to do so outside the arc of the cone . of course , the transition between able to communicate and not able to do so is not a distinct transition , and the location of that transition may vary depending on various factors . so the angular size of each cone in the drawing is symbolic rather than an accurate depiction of measured directionality . since the nc is shown communicating with three different md &# 39 ; s simultaneously , it must have at least three antennas , but it may have more . in general , a mu mimo device may simultaneously transmit ( or receive ) in as many different directions as it has multi - element antennas , provided the primary lobes ( and any secondary lobes if they exist ), do not overlap enough to cause the signals from different antennas to interfere with each other . in networks that use omni - directional transmission and reception techniques , direct combined channel assessment ( cca ) may typically be used to determine if a channel is busy before a device tries to transmit on that channel . the device may monitor the channel directly for energy level and / or a decodable signal to determine if another device is already using the channel . however , in an area that contains a mixture of directional and omni - directional signals , this technique may not work well , as a particular device may not hear another device &# 39 ; s directional transmission , but may still be able to interfere with that other device &# 39 ; s communications if a transmission is attempted . in such networks , virtual carrier sensing may be used instead of direct carrier sensing . in some embodiments , a ‘ channel ’ may be a single - carrier channel ( e . g ., as used in wifi ), while in other embodiments a channel may be a multi - carrier channel ( e . g ., using ofdm or ofdma ). this may apply to both omnidirectional and directional ( spatial ) channels . fig3 shows a diagram of a slot time for virtual carrier sensing , according to an embodiment of the invention . in virtual carrier sensing , rts and cts frame exchange may be utilized to indicate to md &# 39 ; s whether a channel is busy or idle . that is different than direct carrier sensing , in which the channel is sensed directly to determine if it is idle . as used herein , the term ‘ slot time ’ indicates how long a device should wait before determining whether the carrier is idle or not . in some embodiments , slot time may be set to equal the sum of rtsdur ( time to transmit an rts )+ sifstime ( the time of a short interframe space , which is typically defined in a wireless communications standard )+ ccatime ( the time for a device to directly sense if a carrier is detected )+ rxtxturnaroundtime ( the time allowed for devices to switch from receive operation to transmit operation ). if the channel is sensed as busy during any part of the slot time , it may be assumed to be busy for the entire slot time , and the device may need to defer until a subsequent slot time to determine if the channel is idle at that time . on the other hand , if the channel is sensed as idle during the entire slot time , the sensing device may decrement its backoff counter by one . ‘ idle ’, in this case , means that current transmissions at that frequency ( s ) from other devices should not cause interference with a communication by this device , and this device should not cause interference with those other devices &# 39 ; current communications . it does not necessarily mean those other devices are not transmitting at the same frequency . but if they are , the detected signal is weak enough to prevent inter - device interference from occurring . a device monitoring the medium may be able to detect a quasi - omni rts or a quasi - omni cts transmitted from the nc . by monitoring the medium for an entire slot time and by decoding the received rts or cts frame , the monitoring device may assure that 1 ) no other device will transmit a directional rts that would establish a potentially interfering communication , and 2 ) no other device will respond to an rts with a directional cts that would establish a potentially interfering communication . after sensing the channel to be idle for an entire slot time , in some embodiments the monitoring device may wait for an additional time period before actually transmitting . this additional time period may be a randomly - selected ‘ backoff window ’. if no transmission is sensed during the slot time , the device may decrement the backoff counter by one , and the device may begin transmitting when the backoff counter reaches zero . backoff windows are frequently used in contention - based communications to prevent multiple devices from using the same algorithm to determine when the channel is idle , and then all trying to transmit at once . fig4 shows a protocol for a network controller to use for initiating a period of downlink communication with multiple mobile devices , according to an embodiment of the invention . once the nc has obtained control of the channel for a transmission , it may use a protocol such as the illustrated example to simultaneously and directionally transmit a separately - addressed rts ( e . g ., each with a different unicast address ) to each of the multiple mds . alternately , the nc may simultaneously and directionally transmit the same rts ( e . g ., with the same multi - cast address that each md recognizes ) to each of the multiple mds . in either case , if uplink mu mimo is supported , the indicated mds may each respond simultaneously with a separate cts . since communications between the nc and each md is directional , these simultaneous transmissions should not interfere with each other . if uplink mu mimo is not supported , the nc may transmit one quasi - omni rts frame that indicates the mds to which the pending downlink mu mimo data transmission is to be directed , and the rts frame may be addressed to one of the intended destination . upon receiving a cts frame from one of the destinations , the nc may transmit the pending downlink mu mimo transmission to all intended destinations . after a reserved period of communications has been established in this manner between the nc and each of the mds , the nc may directionally transmit data to the mds , each of which may then respond with a block acknowledgement ( ba ). in some embodiments , the various data transmissions from the nc may be padded as needed to make sure each simultaneous transmission has the same length , thus positioning the multiple bas for simultaneous transmission . if uplink mu mimo is supported , bas may be transmitted simultaneously . if uplink mu mimo is not supported , the first ba response may be transmitted by one of the destination mds and the nc may poll the rest of the destination mds using block request frames to trigger those responses . in the protocol of fig4 , because each of the three communications pairs ( nc - md 1 , nc - md 2 , and nc - md 3 ) has established its spatial channel with a directional rts and a directional cts , any signals that would otherwise be interfering should not interfere with each other . fig5 shows a format for a network controller to use for communicating with multiple mds in a mu mimo network , according to an embodiment of the invention . by using this format , the nc may schedule directional communications for each of the multiple mds . the protocol in fig5 may be used in a downlink transmission from the nc to schedule subsequent communications with multiple mds . the subsequent communications thus defined may be either downlink or uplink , as described later . the illustrated protocol uses an information element ( ie ), the first two fields of which have been standardized in the industry . this particular ie is labeled an extended schedule element , but other labels may be used . such an ie may be encapsulated in any feasible larger format . in some embodiments , in may be encapsulated in an rts and / or a cts . in the illustrated ie , shown in the first row of fig5 , the first field indicates the element id ( indicating the purpose and associated layout of the ie ), and the second field indicates the length of the ie , so that the receiving device will be able to know where this ie ends and the subsequent fields begin . the remaining fields shown for the ie may be specific to this particular type of ie , and individual implementations may vary somewhat from that shown . following the element id and length fields , the rest of the ie is shown to contain multiple allocation fields , each one of which contains information for a different md that the nc is to communicate with . each allocation field is shown to contain 15 octets , or bytes , but other embodiments may differ . in some embodiments , each allocation field in the extended schedule element may allocate the same service period ( sp ), i . e ., the scheduled period of time . the second row of fig5 shows the contents of each allocation field , according to a particular embodiment . in the illustrated embodiment , the first sub - field may indicate allocation control , which will be described later in more detail . the second sub - field is shown as bf control , and may contain information relating to beam - forming for directional control . the next two sub - fields are shown as source address id and destination address id , respectively , to define the source - destination devices for which this allocation is being defined . the remaining sub - fields shown here all have to do with the particular time period being reserved by the allocation , and in some embodiments may be the same for all allocations in this ie . returning to the allocation control sub - field , the contents of this embodiment are shown in the bottom row of fig5 . various formats may be used , but in this example , the first sub - field may indicate the type of service period ( sp ) being reserved for the subsequent communication . in a related manner , the multi - user sub - field may indicate whether this allocation is for a single - user or multi - user communication . since two bits provides for four combinations , this sub - field may also be used to indicate whether this is for a downlink or uplink communication . in some embodiments , one bit will indicate single or multi - user , while a separate bit will indicate uplink or downlink . if multi - user is indicated , the previously described source address id may indicate the group id of the mu mimo group , rather than the source address id of an individual device . the remainder of the sub - fields may be used for various purposes , which are not further described here . if the number of mds exceeds the number that the nc can communicate with simultaneously , or if the direction of each md from the nc makes simultaneous communication unfeasible , the nc may create multiple groups of mds , and communicate with each group at different times . for example , if seven mds are located too close together to create seven separate spatial channels , the nc may transmit simultaneously to three mds in a first group , simultaneously receive the acknowledgements from those three , then simultaneously transmit to four more mds in a second group and simultaneously receive the acknowledgements from those four . fig6 shows a protocol for a network controller to use for initiating a period of uplink communication with multiple mobile devices , according to an embodiment of the invention . in this example , md 1 obtains control of the medium and transmits an rts to request time for an uplink transmission . the nc then uses the opportunity to permit multiple mds ( in this case , md 1 , md 2 , md 3 ) to make simultaneous uplink transmissions . the nc may do so by transmitting a cts that accomplishes two things : 1 ) it identifies the multiple mds ( including md 1 ) that may transmit simultaneously , and 2 ) it specifies a desired rssi ( received signal strength indicator ) for each md to use for its transmission . the indicated rssis may be chosen to make the various uplink transmissions more likely to be received correctly . for example , similar rssis may reduce the chance that the signal on one spatial channel from one direction will be sufficiently strong to cause interference on another spatial channel from another direction . alternately , overlapping signals from a competing network may need to be overcome with a stronger rssi . transmission power levels may have previously been established in each md to achieve a particular rssi at the nc . after receiving the cts , each indicated md which has uplink data to send may then directionally transmit that data at the same time . the nc may then transmit directional block acknowledgements to the mds to acknowledge receipt of the data . in some embodiments , the data transmissions may be padded so that they end at the same time . in some embodiments , the cts may establish a network allocation vector ( nav ) for other network devices so that they will not cause interference by transmitting during the reserved time period . such ‘ other ’ devices may include 1 ) devices that are not addressed by the cts but are able to receive and decode it , and / or 2 ) devices that are addressed by the cts but do not transmit data during the reserved time period . fig7 shows a frame format containing a desired rssi field , according to an embodiment of the invention . in some embodiments , this may be a cts frame , while in other embodiments , the relevant parts may be contained in another type of frame . in the illustrated example , the first field may be a frame control field , so that the receiver can determine what kind of frame this is . the second field is shown as a duration field , so the receiver may know where this frame ends and the next frame begins . receive address ( ra ) and transmit address ( ta ) indicate the intended receiver and the transmitter of this frame . in some embodiments , the ra may be a multicast address indicating multiple mds are all the intended recipients of the cts , but it is possible that not all of the recipients will be scheduled to transmit . following this are multiple aid fields , each indicating a particular md that is scheduled to simultaneously make an uplink transmission . the desired rssi may indicate a received signal strength ( as measured at the nc ) that each md should try to achieve with its transmission . this rssi may be applied to each md indicated by the aid fields . as described previously , the transmit signal power associated with various rssi values may have been previously established between each md and the nc . the fcs field may be used as a validation field to determine that the frame was received correctly . the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and not limiting . variations will occur to those of skill in the art . those variations are intended to be included in the various embodiments of the invention , which are limited only by the scope of the following claims .	7
fig1 depicts a convertible bag 100 . the convertible bag 100 can comprise one or more body portions 102 , one or more storage portions 104 , and one or more child carrier portions 106 . the convertible bag 100 can have a closed position in which the body portions 102 enclose the child carrier portions 106 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . the convertible bag 100 can also have an open position in which the child carrier portions 106 are not enclosed by the body portions 102 and the convertible bag 100 can be used as a child sling and / or carrier , as shown in fig5 - 7 . in the closed position , the convertible bag 100 can have a front , as shown in fig1 , and a back , as shown in fig2 . in some embodiments , the convertible bag 100 can also have one or more sides , a top , and / or a bottom that can extend between the front and the back of the convertible bag 100 . the front , back , sides , top , and / or bottom of the convertible bag 100 can comprise one or more body portions 102 . in some embodiments , the convertible bag 100 can comprise a single body portion 102 that is large enough to extend from the front of the convertible bag 100 to the back of the convertible bag 100 . by way of a non - limiting example , a single body portion 102 can be folded , tucked , segmented , or bent into at least two sections such that one section of the body portion 102 is the front of the convertible bag and the other section of the bottom portion is the back of the convertible bag , as shown in fig1 and 2 . in alternate embodiments , the front of the convertible bag 100 can comprise one body portion 102 and the back of the convertible bag 100 can comprise a separate body portion 102 . in still other embodiments , the front , back , top , bottom and / or sides of the convertible bag 100 can each comprise any number of body portions 102 coupled with one another in any configuration . in some embodiments of the convertible bag 100 that comprise a plurality of body portions , the body portions can be coupled with one another directly through stitching , adhesives , fusing , or any other connection method . in other embodiments of the convertible bag 100 that comprise a plurality of body portions 102 , the body portions 102 can be coupled with one another via intermediate portions comprised of fabric , plastic , polymer , nylon , elastomeric material , metallic thread , or any other known and / or convenient material or combination of materials . in some embodiments , the body portions 102 can be substantially rectangular . in alternate embodiments , the body portions 102 can be circular , square , ovoid , irregular in shape , and / or can have any other known and / or convenient geometry . in some embodiments , the body portions 102 can be at least partially comprised of fabric . in other embodiments the body portions 102 can be at least partially comprised of plastic , polymer , nylon , elastomeric material , metallic thread , and / or any other known and / or convenient material or combination of materials . in some embodiments , the body portions 102 can be comprised of hypo - allergenic , anti - bacterial , anti - fungal , waterproof , breathable , sun resistant , and / or water resistant material . in some embodiments , the body portions 102 can be at least partially comprised of impermeable material , such that liquid cannot pass through the body portions 102 . the body portions 102 can be machine washable and / or insulated . the body portions 102 can comprise one or more colors , prints , designs , and / or embellishments . the front and back of the convertible bag 100 can be permanently coupled with one another along one side , and selectively coupled with one another on the remaining sides via closure mechanisms 108 to form the convertible bag 100 into the closed position . in some embodiments , the closure mechanisms 108 can be one or more zippers . by way of a non - limiting example , in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 , the front and back of the convertible bag 100 are permanently coupled with one another along one side ( the left side as seen in fig1 and the right side as seen in fig2 ), and are selectively coupled with one another along the top , opposing side , and bottom via a zipper . in alternate embodiments , the closure mechanisms 108 can be hook and loop fasteners , snaps , buttons , magnets , and / or any other convenient and / or desired closure mechanism . in some embodiments , one or more storage portions 104 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 . a storage portion 104 can comprise one or more storage compartments 110 and one or more access sections 112 . a storage compartment 110 can be a pouch , box , pocket , case , or any other type of compartment . an access section 112 can be a flap , slit , or any other mode of accessing a storage compartment 110 . in some embodiments , the storage compartment 110 and / or the access section 112 can comprise one or more fastening components 114 that can be selectively engaged to close the storage portion 104 . in some embodiments , the fastening components 114 can be complementary hook and loop fasteners . in other embodiments , the fastening components 114 can be snaps , hook and eye fasteners , buttons , magnets , zippers , or any other known and / or convenient fastening mechanism . the storage portion 104 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 at any location on the convertible bag 100 . by way of a non - limiting example , the storage portion 104 can be coupled with front of the convertible bag 100 , as shown in fig1 . in some embodiments , the storage portion 104 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 permanently via stitching , adhesives , or any other desired mechanism . in alternate embodiments , the storage portion 104 can be removable and can be selectively coupled with the convertible bag 100 temporarily via snaps , buttons , hook and loop fasteners , or any other desired selective coupling mechanism . fig3 depicts an embodiment of a storage portion 104 in a configuration with an access section 112 open such that the interior of the storage compartment 110 can be accessed . in some embodiments , a storage compartment 110 can be sized such that it can store a diaper changing pad 302 , as shown in fig3 . in other embodiments , the storage compartment 110 can be sized such that it can store baby wipes , diapers , toys , clothing , medications , books , and / or any other item or group of items . the access section 112 can be secured to the storage compartment 110 with the fastening components 114 . by way of a non - limiting example , the fastening components 114 shown in fig3 are corresponding strips of hook and loop fasteners coupled with the access section 112 and the storage compartment 110 . fig4 depicts an embodiment of the storage portion 104 comprising a bottle compartment 116 . in some embodiments one or more bottle compartments 116 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 . in some embodiments , one or more bottle compartments 116 can be coupled with the storage portion 104 , as shown in fig1 and 4 . in other embodiments , one or more bottle compartments 116 can be coupled with one or more body portions 102 at any location on the convertible bag 102 . in some embodiments , a bottle compartment 116 can be a substantially horizontal tubular pathway configured to accommodate one or more baby bottles 402 and / or other desired objects , as shown in fig4 . in alternate embodiments , the bottle compartment 116 can be vertical or can be oriented in any other direction . in some embodiments , a bottle compartment 116 can comprise flaps 118 at one or both ends of the tubular pathway to enclose the bottle compartment 112 . in some embodiments , the flaps 118 can be selectively coupled with the bottle compartment 116 via fastening components 114 to enclose the bottle compartment 116 . in some embodiments , the bottle compartment 116 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 permanently via stitching , adhesives , or any other desired mechanism . in alternate embodiments , the bottle compartment 116 can be removable and can be selectively coupled with the convertible bag 100 temporarily via snaps , buttons , hook and loop fasteners , or any other desired selective coupling mechanism . the bottle compartments 116 and the flaps 118 can be comprised of the same material as the body portions 102 and / or storage portions 104 , or can be comprised of a different material . in some embodiments , the bottle compartments 116 can be insulated via insulating layers or inherently insulating material such as foam , rubber , polystyrene , neoprene , or other insulating material to assist in keeping baby formula , breast milk , food , or other items at proper temperatures . in some embodiments , the convertible bag 100 can comprise one or more pockets 120 . the pockets 120 can have any desired dimensions . pockets 120 can be configured to hold a mobile phone , personal computing device , keys , wallet , credit cards , cash , toys , pacifiers , jewelry and / or any other desired items . a pocket 120 can be located at any position on the convertible bag 100 , such as on a body portion 102 or on the exterior or interior of a storage portion 104 . by way of a non - limiting example , fig2 depicts a pocket 120 coupled with the body portion 102 on the back of the convertible bag 100 . by way of another non - limiting example , fig3 depicts a pocket 120 coupled with the interior of the storage compartment 110 such that the pocket 120 and the contents of the pocket 120 cannot be seen from outside the convertible bag 100 . in some embodiments , the pockets 120 can be closed and / or fastened with fastening components 114 such that the contents of the pocket 120 can be secured inside the pocket 120 until the pocket 120 is opened or unfastened . in some embodiments , one or more pockets 120 can be selectively removable from the convertible bag 100 . the pockets 120 can be removably coupled with the body portions 102 via hook and loop fasteners , snaps , buttons , zippers , clips , magnets and / or any other convenient mechanism . in alternate embodiments , the pockets 120 can be permanently coupled with the body portions 102 via stitching , adhesives , or any other attachment mechanism . one or more handles 122 can be coupled with the convertible bag 100 . in some embodiments , the convertible bag 100 can comprise rings 124 and the handles 122 can be removably coupled with the rings 124 , such that the handles 122 can be detached from the convertible bag 100 and optionally stored in a storage compartment 110 . the rings 124 can be fabric loops , metal rings , plastic rings , or any other type of ring or loop . in alternate embodiments , the handles 122 can be permanently coupled with the convertible bag 100 and / or the loops 124 via stitching , adhesives , fusing , or any other attachment mechanism . in some embodiments , the handles 122 can be coupled with a storage portion 104 . in alternate embodiments , the handles 122 can be coupled with one or more of the front , back , sides , and / or top of the convertible bag 100 . by way of a non - limiting example , the handle 122 depicted in fig1 can be coupled with the storage portion 104 . in some embodiments , the handles 122 can have an adjustable length via one or more rings 126 . in some embodiments , the handles 122 can have a fixed length suitable for wearing the handles 122 over a user &# 39 ; s shoulder . in other embodiments , the handles 122 can have a fixed length suitable for carrying the handles 122 by hand . the handles 106 can be comprised of fabric , nylon , polymer , elastomeric material , non - slip material , breathable material , mesh material , and / or any other desired material or combination of materials . in some embodiments , one or more carabiners 128 can be selectively coupled with the handles 122 and / or the rings 124 . in other embodiments , the carabiners 128 can be selectively coupled with any other desired portion of the convertible bag 100 . in operation , the carabiners 128 can be used to attach keys , accessories , toys , pacifiers , rattles or other items to the convertible bag 100 . fig5 depicts the convertible bag 100 in one embodiment of an open position such that the one or more child carrier portions 106 are not enclosed by the body portions 102 . in some embodiments , in the open position the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can form a sling type child carrier , as shown in fig5 - 9 . in other embodiments , in the open position the body portions and / or the child carrier portions 106 can form a front style child carrier , as shown in fig1 and 11 . in still other embodiments , in the open position the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can form any other style , form , or type of child carrier , such as a wrap , sling , backpack , harness , papoose , or other child carrier . referring back to fig5 , the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can form a loop 130 that can be worn by a user as a sling type child carrier , as shown in fig6 and 7 . in some embodiments , some segments of the loop 130 can be wider than other segments of the loop 130 . in other embodiments , the loop 130 can have a uniform width at each segment around the circumference of the loop 130 . the loop 130 can have a circumference such that a user can surround his or her upper torso with the loop 130 so that the loop 130 is positioned diagonally across the user &# 39 ; s chest from a shoulder to the waist . in some embodiments , the loop 130 can have a fixed circumference . in other embodiments , the loop 130 can comprise one or more adjustment mechanisms 132 that a user can operate to change the circumference of the loop 130 to fit the user &# 39 ; s body size . in some embodiments , the adjustment mechanisms 132 can be one or more elastic cords with toggles . in alternate embodiments , the adjustment mechanisms 132 can be adjustable straps . in still other embodiments , the adjustment mechanisms 132 can be hook and loop fasteners , snaps , buttons , or any other device for changing the circumference of the loop 130 . in some embodiments the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can be permanently formed into the loop 130 . in other embodiments , the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can be selectively coupled with one another to form the loop 130 , and in some embodiments can be selectively coupled at different locations to change the circumference of the loop 130 . in some embodiments , a child carrier portion 106 can be integral with and made from the same piece of material as a body portion 102 . in alternate embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be coupled with the body portions 102 via stitching , adhesives , fusing , or any other coupling mechanism . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of elastomeric material , such that the child carrier portions 106 can conform to a child &# 39 ; s body when the child rests on the child carrier portion 106 . in other embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of fabric , nylon , fleece , mesh , polymer , plastic , and / or any other desired material or combination of materials . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of hypo - allergenic , anti - bacterial , anti - fungal , waterproof , breathable , sun resistant , and / or water resistant material . the child carrier portions 106 can be machine washable and / or insulated . in some embodiments , the edges of the loop 130 formed by the child carrier portions 106 can be elastomeric . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can comprise cushions . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can have holes for a child &# 39 ; s legs . in some embodiments , one or more portions of the loop 130 that can be worn at a user &# 39 ; s shoulder can comprise one or more shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 to change the width of the loop 130 at the user &# 39 ; s shoulder . the shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 can be one or more straps , hook and loop fasteners , buttons , snaps , clasps , elastic cording , or any other device that can change the width of the shoulder portion of the loop 130 . in some embodiments , a plurality of shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 can be selectively mated with one another to decrease the width of the loop 130 . in alternate embodiments , one or more shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 can be operated in isolation to adjust the width of the loop 130 . in some embodiments , a plurality of shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 can be located in different positions around the loop 130 , such that the user can choose to wear the loop 130 in different configurations , for example around the user &# 39 ; s left shoulder , right shoulder , or both shoulders , and have shoulder adjustment mechanisms 134 near the chosen shoulders regardless of the orientation of the loop 130 around the user &# 39 ; s body . in operation , the convertible bag 100 can be in a closed position such that the child carrier portions 106 are enclosed by the body portions 102 secured together by the closure mechanisms 108 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . in the closed position , the user can be able to reach and access items stored in the storage compartments 110 , the bottle compartments 116 , and / or the pockets 120 . when the user wishes to carry a child , the user can convert the convertible bag 100 to a child carrier by unsecuring the closure mechanisms 108 so that the front and the back of the collapsible bag 100 can be unfolded and arranged substantially side by side such that the child carrier portions 106 are no longer enclosed by the body portions 102 . the user can then arrange the child carrier portions 106 into the loop 130 as shown in fig5 , and wear the opened convertible bag 100 around the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 as shown in fig6 and 7 . in some embodiments , the opened convertible bag 100 can be worn over a user &# 39 ; s shoulder in a substantially diagonal fashion , as shown in fig6 . in alternate embodiments , the opened convertible bag 100 can be worn on both shoulders , over a user &# 39 ; s back , or in any other desired configuration . the user can also choose to remove the handles 122 from the convertible bag 100 and store the handles 122 in a storage compartment 110 . after the convertible bag 100 has been opened and worn on the user &# 39 ; s body , the user can place a child 604 on the inside of the loop 130 of the opened convertible bag 100 , such that the child &# 39 ; s weight rests on the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 . a user can hold the child 604 in the opened convertible bag 100 in a cradle position , as shown in fig6 . in other embodiments , a child 604 may be placed upright against the user &# 39 ; s chest , such that the child &# 39 ; s buttocks can be supported by the child carrier portions 106 and / or the body portions 102 , with the child &# 39 ; s feet dangling below the child carrier portions 106 , as shown in fig7 . in still other embodiments , the child 604 can be placed such that the child &# 39 ; s legs are tucked into the loop 130 , the child 604 is placed against the user &# 39 ; s hips , the child 604 is placed facing forward , the child 604 is placed facing backward , the child 604 is placed sideways , and / or the child 604 is placed in any other configuration . after the child 604 has been placed into the opened convertible bag 100 , the user can still be able to reach and access items stored in the storage compartments 110 , the bottle compartments 116 , and / or the pockets 120 . in some embodiments , one or more breastfeeding covers 606 can be coupled with the loop 130 such that the breastfeeding covers 606 can be placed over the child 604 and / or the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 during breastfeeding for the user &# 39 ; s privacy , as shown in fig7 . in some embodiments , the breastfeeding covers 606 can be integral with the loop 130 . in alternate embodiments , the breastfeeding covers 606 can be separate components that can be selectively coupled to the child carrier portions 106 and / or the body portions 102 via fastening components 114 . fig8 a - 8e depict one embodiment of steps a user can take to return the convertible bag 100 to the closed position . when a user no longer desires to use the convertible bag 100 as a child carrier , the user can remove the child 604 from the opened convertible bag 100 . the user can then flatten the loop 130 as shown in fig8 a . the user can fold the sections of the child carrier portions 106 that extend above and below the body portions 102 into the loop 130 or behind the loop 130 , as shown in fig8 b . the user can fold the sections of the child carrier portions 106 that extend to the left and right of the body portions 102 , as shown in fig8 c . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 and / or the body portions 102 can have corresponding fastening components 114 to secure the folded sections in place after the user folds them into position . the user can fold the body portions 102 and the child carrier portions 106 along the line 800 at which the front and the back of the convertible bag 100 are permanently coupled with one another , as shown in fig8 d . the user can then engage the closure mechanisms 108 to secure the remaining sides of the front and the back of the convertible bag with one another such that the child carrier portions 106 are enclosed by the body portions 102 , as shown in fig8 e . the steps can be reversed to convert the convertible bag 100 from the closed position back to the open position . fig9 a - 9d depict another embodiment of steps a user can take to return the convertible bag 100 to the closed position . when a user no longer desires to use the convertible bag 100 as a child carrier , the user can remove the child 604 from the opened convertible bag 100 . the user can then flatten the loop 130 as shown in fig9 a . the user can fold the sections of the child carrier portions 106 that extend above and below the body portions 102 into the loop 130 , as shown in fig9 b . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 and / or the body portions 102 can have corresponding fastening components 114 to secure the folded sections in place after the user folds them into position . the user can fold the body portions 102 and the child carrier portions 106 along the line 800 at which the front and the back of the convertible bag 100 are permanently coupled with one another , such that the child carrier portions 106 extend outward from the end 802 opposite the line 800 , as shown in fig9 c . the user can then engage the closure mechanisms 108 to secure the tops and the bottoms of the front and the back of the convertible bag with one another while leaving the side 802 of the convertible bag 100 opposite the line 800 open , as shown in fig9 c . the user can then push the child carrier portions 106 through the open side 802 to a position between the body sections 102 and engage the closure mechanisms 108 along the side 802 to enclose the child carrier portions 106 inside the body portions 102 , as shown in fig9 d . the steps can be reversed to convert the convertible bag 100 from the closed position back to the open position . in other embodiments , when a user no longer desires to use the convertible bag 100 as a child carrier , the user can remove the child 604 from the opened convertible bag 100 and use any other sequence of steps including tucking , folding , rolling , bending , stuffing , or otherwise manipulating the child carrier portions 106 , the body portions 102 , and the closure mechanisms 108 to enclose the child carrier portions 106 within the body portions 102 and return the convertible bag 100 to the closed position . fig1 depicts another embodiment of the convertible bag 100 in which the body portions 102 and / or the child carrier portions 106 can form a front style baby carrier 1000 when the convertible bag 100 is in the open position . the child carrier portions 106 can be one or more support sections 1002 . support sections 1002 can be shoulder straps 1004 , back straps 1006 , child support sections 1008 , and / or any other sections of a front style baby carrier 1000 . in some embodiments , the support sections 1002 can comprise additional hardware 1010 that can adjust and / or connect the support sections 1002 together , such as buckles , adjustment rings , clasps , straps , snaps , buttons , or any other desired hardware . in some embodiments , a child carrier portion 106 can be integral with and made from the same piece of material as a body portion 102 . in alternate embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be coupled with the body portions 102 via stitching , adhesives , fusing , or any other coupling mechanism . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of elastomeric material , such that the child carrier portions 106 can conform to a child &# 39 ; s body when the child rests on the child carrier portion 106 . in other embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of fabric , nylon , fleece , mesh , polymer , plastic , and / or any other desired material or combination of materials . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can be comprised of hypo - allergenic , anti - bacterial , anti - fungal , waterproof , breathable , sun resistant , and / or water resistant material . the child carrier portions 106 can be machine washable and / or insulated . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can comprise cushions . in some embodiments , the child carrier portions 106 can have holes for a child &# 39 ; s legs and / or arms . fig1 depicts the embodiment of the convertible bag 100 of fig1 in use . when the user wishes to carry a child 604 , the user can convert the convertible bag 100 to the front style child carrier 1000 by unsecuring the closure mechanisms 108 so that the front and the back of the collapsible bag 100 can be unfolded and arranged substantially side by side such that the child carrier portions 106 are no longer enclosed by the body portions 102 . the user can then arrange the child carrier portions 106 into the support sections 1002 as shown in fig1 and wear the front style child carrier 1000 around the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 as shown in fig1 . the user can also choose to remove the handles 122 from the convertible bag 100 and store the handles 122 in a storage compartment 110 . after the convertible bag 100 has been opened and worn on the user &# 39 ; s body , the user can place a child 604 between the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 and the convertible bag 100 , such that the child &# 39 ; s weight is supported by the body portions 102 , the child support section 1008 , and or any other support section 1000 . in some embodiments , the child &# 39 ; s feet can dangle below the front style child carrier 1000 , as shown in fig1 . the user can place the child 604 into the front style child carrier 1000 such that the child 604 is facing toward the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 or facing away from the user &# 39 ; s torso 602 . after the child 604 has been placed into the front style child carrier 1000 , the user can still be able to reach and access items stored in the storage compartments 110 , the bottle compartments 116 , and / or the pockets 120 . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the invention as described and hereinafter claimed is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims .	0
the predominant proportion of the polyetherimide principal polymer chain comprises structural units of the empirical formula : where the mole fraction m stands for a number greater than 0 and smaller than 1 , preferably a number at least greater than about 0 . 25 , more preferably greater than about 0 . 50 , and even more preferably greater than about the a units comprise the formula : ## str10 ## where -- o -- z -- o -- is in the 3 or 3 &# 39 ;-- and 4 or 4 &# 39 ;-- positions and z is a member of the class consisting of ( 1 ) ## str11 ## and ( 2 ) divalent organic radicals of the general formula : ## str12 ## where x is a member selected from the class consisting of divalent radicals of the formulas , c y h 2y , ## str13 ## -- o -- and -- s --, where q is 0 or 1 , y is a whole number from 1 to 5 , the divalent bonds of the -- o -- z -- o -- radical are situated on the phthalic anhydride end groups , e . g ., in the 3 , 3 &# 39 ;-, 3 , 4 &# 39 ;-, 4 , 3 &# 39 ;- or the 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- positions , and r is a divalent organic radical selected from the class consisting of ( a ) aromatic hydrocarbon radicals having from 6 - 20 carbon atoms and halogenated derivatives thereof , ( b ) alkylene radicals and cycloalkylene radicals having from 2 - 20 carbon atoms , c . sub . ( 2 - x ) alkylene terminated polydiorganosiloxane , and ( c ) divalent radicals included by the formula ## str14 ## where q is a member selected from the class consisting of -- o --, ## str15 ## -- s --, and -- c x h 2x --, and x is a whole number from 1 to 5 inclusive , and where the b units comprise the formula : ## str16 ## where r is a divalent organic radical as previously defined , and independently a and b represent a whole number in excess of 1 , e . g ., 10 to 10 , 000 or more . generally useful high molecular weight polyetherimides , hereinafter sometimes referred to as pei , of formula ii have an intrinsic viscosity [√] greater than 0 . 2 dl ./ gm ., preferably in the 0 . 4 to 0 . 7 dl ./ gm . range or even higher , in phenol / trichloroethane at 25 ° c . the polyetherimide a units of formula ii and the polyimide b units of formula iii are combinable with each other in all proportions . consequently , pei compositions comprising from 1 to 99 % a units , by weight , and from 99 to 1 % b units , by weight , are included within the scope of the invention . by controlling the proportions of pei - a units and pi - b units solvent resistant polyetherimides of formula i can be prepared having predetermined properties which are improved over those of polyetherimides of formula ii free of polyimide units of formula iii . in general , the above - described polyetherimides can be made directly from the reaction of dianhydrides , for example , the dianhydride of formula ## str17 ## a dianhydride of formula ## str18 ## the bis ether anhydrides used to prepare the polyetherimides of this invention are known or can be readily prepared by those skilled in this art . see , for example , heath , et al ., u . s . pat . no . 3 , 847 , 867 . in general , the disodium salt of a dihydric phenol is reacted with a haloarylanhydride under condition wherein the c - o - c bond is formed . aromatic bis ( ether anhydride ) s include , for example , 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) phenyl ]- propane dianhydride ; 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl ether dianhydride ; 1 , 3 - bis ( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl sulfide dianhydride ; 1 , 4 - bis ( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) benzene dianhydride ; 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl sulfone dianhydride 2 , 2 - bis [ 4 -( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) phenyl ] propane dianhydride ; 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl ether dianhydride ; 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl sulfide dianhydride ; 1 , 3 - bis ( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) benzene dianhydride ; 1 , 4 - bis ( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) benzophenone dianhydride ; 4 -( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy )- 4 ,( 3 , 4 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) diphenyl - 2 , 2 - propane dianhydride ; etc . and mixtures of dianhydrides . the 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dicarboxyphenyl ) hexafluoropropane dianhydride ( f6da ) is a known compound reported to be useful in making pyromellitic dianhydride based copolymers . see , for example , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 424 , 718 ( example 5 ). the f6da can be made by those skilled in the art following reported procedures , e . g ., those of netherlands patent application no . 6 , 406 , 896 ( published dec . 18 , 1964 ( ca 62 : 145856 ( 1965 )). in one manner of proceeding , a mixture of co ( cf 2 c1 ) 2 , toluene and hf is heated and then cooled . the product is treated with cro 3 in acoh , and h 2 o is added . this mixture is distilled with steam , filtered , and the resulting solid is dissolved in na 2 co 3 solution then filtered again and acidified with h 2 so 4 . hconme 2 is added to this crude diacid in socl 2 . after reflux , the socl 2 is removed and the mixture is hydrolyzed with dilute aqueous meoh - naoh . nh 3 is added to this product in h 2 so 4 and chcl 3 , and after reflux and h 2 o filtration , the mixture is made alkaline with naoh . acetylation in acoh with ac 2 o is followed by addition of h 2 so 4 in hno 3 . this product is dissolved in h 2 so 4 , and h 2 o is added until turbidity . the mixture is refluxed , then oxidized with kmno 4 in c 5 h 5 n - h 2 o yielding a mixture which is dehydrated by boiling with xylene ( dean - stark trap ) to give f6da . the material can be obtained commercially from hoechst , u . s . a . the polyetherimides of formula i can be obtained by reacting any dianhydride of formula v , and the dianhydride of formula vi , with a diamino compound of the formula where r is as defined hereinbefore by any method well known to those skilled in the art . in the above diamino compound , r is a divalent organic radical selected from the class consisting of ( a ) aromatic hydrocarbon radicals having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms and halogenated derivatives thereof , ( b ) alkylene radicals , and cycloalkylene radicals having from 2 - 20 carbon atoms , c . sub . ( 2 - x ) alkylene terminated polydiorganosiloxanes , and ( c ) a divalent radical included by the formula ## str19 ## where q is a member selected from the class consisting of -- o --, ## str20 ## -- s --, -- c 2 h 2x --, and x is a whole number of from 1 to 5 , inclusive . included among the organic diamines of formula vii are , for example , m - phenylenediamine , the reaction can be advantageously carried out employing well known solvents , e . g ., o - dichlorobenzene , m - cresol / toluene , etc ., in which to effect interaction between the dianhydrides and the diamines , at temperatures of from about 100 ° to about 250 ° c . aternatively , the polyetherimides can be prepared by melt polymerization where the dianhydrides of formulas v and vi are reacted with any diamino compound of formula vii while heating the mixture of the ingredients at elevated temperatures with concurrent intermixing . generally , melt polymerization temperatures between about 200 ° to 400 ° c . and preferably 230 ° to 300 ° c . can be employed . any order of addition of chain stoppers ordinarily employed in melt polymerization can be employed . the conditions of the reaction and the proportions of ingredients can be varied widely depending on the desired molecular weight , intrinsic viscosity , and solvent resistance . in general , equimolar amounts of diamine and dianhydride are employed for high molecular weight polyetherimides , however , in certain instances , a slight molar excess ( about 1 to 5 mol percent ) of diamine can be employed resulting in the production of polyetherimides having terminal groups . the polyetherimides are injection moldable and can be reinforced by fillers , such as silica , carbon fibers , glass fibers , etc ., in which the filler comprises on a weight basis from 20 to 200 parts of filler per 100 parts of polymer . the following examples illustrate the present invention , but are not intended to limit it in any manner whatsoever . the following rectants and solvents were added to a reactant vessel : 12 . 49 grams ( 0 . 024 moles ) 2 , 2 - bis -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dicarboxyphenoxy ) phenyl ] propane dianhydride , hereinafter referred to as bisphenol - a dianhydride ( bpa da ), 5 . 33 grams ( 0 . 012 mole ) 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dicarboxyphenyl ) hexafluoropropane dianhydride ( f6da ), 3 . 89 grams ( 0 . 036 mole ) m - phenylenediamine , 0 . 08 grams ( 0 . 00054 mole ) of phthalic anhydride , 100 g . of m - cresol and 100 ml . of toluene . the reaction mixture was heated at 150 ° c . for about 4 hours with the azeotropic removal of water . then the temperature was raised to 180 ° c . for 1 hour . the resulting viscous solution was cooled and the polyetherimide was precipitated by pouring into methanol . the precipitate was dried at 180 ° c . under vacuum to give a polyetherimide containing structuring units a and b , respectively , of the formula ## str21 ## where m is a number equal to about 0 . 67 . the polymer had an intrinsic viscosity of 0 . 44 dl ./ g . when measured in phenol / trichloroethane , and a tg = 235 ° c . the corresponding polymer prepared without f6da has a tg of 217 ° c . a polyetherimide was prepared in accordance with the procedure of example 1 , except as noted hereafter . the reactants and solvents were 6 . 25 grams ( 0 . 012 mole ) bpa da , 10 . 66 grams ( 0 . 024 mole ) f6da , 3 . 89 grams ( 0 . 036 mole ) m - phenylene diamine , 0 . 04 grams ( 0 . 0003 mole ) of phthalic anhydride , 100 g . of m - cresol , and 100 ml . of toluene . the polyetherimide precipitate was dried at 180 ° c . under vacuum yielding a polyetherimide containing structuring units of a and b , respectively , of the formula ## str22 ## where m is a number equal to about 0 . 33 . the polymer had an intrinsic viscosity of 0 . 38 dl ./ g . when measured in phenol / trichloroethane , and a tg = 257 ° c . a polyetherimide was prepared in accordance with the procedure of example 1 , except as noted hereafter . the reactants and solvents were 5 . 20 grams ( 0 . 010 mole ) bpa da , 2 . 22 grams ( 0 . 005 mole ) f6da , 1 . 62 grams ( 0 . 015 mole ) p - phenylenediamine , 0 . 03 grams ( 0 . 0002 mole ) of phthalic anhydride , 100 g . of m - cresol and 150 ml . of toluene . the polyetherimide precipitate was dried at 180 ° c . under vacuum to give a polyetherimide containing structuring units a and b , respectively , of the formula ## str23 ## where m is a number equal to about 0 . 67 . the polymer had an intrinsic viscosity of 0 . 46 dl ./ g . when measured in phenol / trichloroethane , and a tg = 252 ° c . a polyetherimide was prepared in accordance with the procedure of example 1 , except as hereafter noted . the reactants and solvents were 3 . 64 grams ( 0 . 007 mole ) bpa da , 3 . 11 grams ( 0 . 007 mole ) f6da , 2 . 80 grams ( 0 . 014 mole ) oxy - dianiline , 0 . 03 grams ( 0 . 0002 mole ) of phthalic anhydride , 100 g . of m - cresol , and 150 ml . of toluene to give a polyetherimide containing structuring units a and b , respectively , of the formula ## str24 ## where m is a number equal to about 0 . 50 . the polymer had an intrinsic viscosity of 0 . 39 dl ./ g . when measured in phenol / trichloroethane , and a tg = 238 ° c . the corresponding polymer prepared without f6da has a tg of 210 ° c . a polyetherimide was prepared in accordance with the procedure of example 1 , except as noted hereafter . the reactants and solvents were 4 . 16 grams ( 0 . 008 mole ) bpa da , 3 . 55 grams ( 0 . 008 mole ) f6da , 3 . 17 grams ( 0 . 016 mole ) methyl dianiline ( mda ), 0 . 03 grams ( 0 . 0002 mole ) of phthalic anhydride , 100 g . of m - cresol , and 150 ml . of toluene to give a polyetherimide containing structuring units a and b , respectively , of the formula ## str25 ## where m is a number equal to about 0 . 50 . the polymer had an intrinsic viscosity of 0 . 37 dl ./ g . when measured in phenol / trichloroethane , and a tg = 241 ° c . the corresponding polymer prepared without f6da has a tg of 210 ° c . it will , of course , be apparent to those skilled in the art that other organic diamines -- in addition to the organic diamines employed in the foregoing examples -- of formula vii can be employed without departing from the scope of this invention . in addition to having the structuring units a represented by formula ii , the pei polymers of this invention can also contain other a units , for instance , those of formula ## str26 ## where t may be in the 3 or 3 &# 39 ;- and 4 or 4 &# 39 ;- positions and is a radical selected from the class consisting of ( 1 ) ## str27 ## and ( 2 ) divalent organic radicals of the general formula ## str28 ## where x is a member selected from the class consisting of divalent radicals of the formulas -- c x h 2x -- ## str29 ## -- o -- and -- s --, where r , a , q and y are as previously defined . the compositions of the present invention have application in a wide variety of physical shapes and form , including the use as films , molding compounds , coatings , etc . when used as films or when made into molded products , these polymers , including laminated products prepared therefrom , not only possess good physical properties at room temperature but they retain their strength and excellent response to work - loading at elevated temperatures for long periods of time . films formed from the polymeric compositions of this invention may be used in application where films have been used previously . thus , the compositions of the present invention can be used in automobile and aviation applications for decorative and protective purposes , and as high temperature electrical insulation for motor slot liners , in transformers , as dielectric capacitors , as coil and cable wrappings ( form wound coil insulation for motors ), for containers and container linings , in laminating structures where films of the present composition or where solutions of the claimed compositions of matter are applied to various heat - resistant or other type of materials such as asbestos , mica , glass fiber and the like and superposing the sheets one upon the other and thereafter subjecting them to elevated temperatures and pressures to effect flow and cure of the resinous binder to yield cohesive laminated structures . films made from these compositions of matter can also serve in printed circuit applications . alternatively , solutions of the compositions herein described can be coated on electrical conductors such as copper , aluminum , etc ., and thereafter the coated conductor can be heated at elevated temperatures to remove the solvent and to effect curing of the resinous composition thereon . if desired , an additional overcoat may be applied to such insulated conductors including the use of polymeric coatings , such as polyamides , polyesters , silicones , polyvinylformal resins , epoxy resins , polyimides , polytetrafluoro - ethylene , etc . the use of the curable compositions of the present invention as overcoats on other types of insulation is not precluded . applications which recommended these resins include their use as binders for asbestos fibers , carbon fibers , and other fibrous materials in making brake linings . in addition , molding compositions and molded articles may be formed from the polymeric compositions in this invention by incorporating such fillers as asbestos , glass fibers , talc , quartz , powder , wood flour , finely divided carbon , silica , into such compositions prior to molding . shaped articles are formed under heat , or under heat and pressure in accordance with practices well known in the art . in addition , various heat - resistant pigments and dyes may be incorporated as well as various types of inhibitors depending on the application intended . all of the foregoing patents and / or publications are incorporated herein by reference . obviously , other modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore , to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention described which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	2
same elements have been designated with same reference numerals in the different drawings . for clarity , only those steps of the method and those elements of the processor that are necessary to the understanding of embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and will be described hereafter . in particular , the calculation of actual correspondence tables has not been detailed , as such calculations can be implemented with conventionally - used calculation tools . a feature of an embodiment of the present invention is to calculate , at each context change ( coming of a new application to the foreground ), the identifier of the application by means of an algorithm executing a hash function or the like calculating a signature of at least part of the code of the application stored in the ram and / or in the mass storage . another feature of an embodiment of the present invention is to check the conformity of this current calculated signature with respect to a previously - calculated reference signature stored in the correspondence table . the reference signature calculation is performed on each calculation of a new correspondence between a virtual address and a physical address . this signature however always remains the same for a same application . [ 0033 ] fig5 schematically illustrates , in the form of blocks , an embodiment of the present invention . the representation of fig5 mainly shows the functional links between the different elements . an embodiment of the present invention exploits an architecture of the type previously described in relation with fig4 that is , exploiting an identifier asid of the application or program associated with each correspondence line of table 10 between a virtual address virtad and a physical address physad . as previously described , correspondence table 10 is used to convert virtual addresses of an application required by a cpu 1 provided with an application identifier register 20 ( asidreg ), into a physical address physad of a ram 4 in which is stored the concerned application . the cpu comprises hardware or software means ( block 11 , calc ) for having the physical addresses calculated by its exploitation system either at the loading of an application , or when a virtual address is called for the first time . according to an embodiment of the present invention , each time an application ( for example , a program or a sub - program ) contained in memory 4 ( or in a mass storage not shown ) t comes to the foreground , that is , at least one of its instructions is executed by cpu 1 , a signature ( block 30 , hash ) of at least part of the lines of the program stored in memory 4 is calculated . this signature provides a current application identifier ( curasid ) stored in register 20 . the content of register 20 is then compared ( block 32 , comp ) with the identifier asid stored on the line of table 10 corresponding to the involved application which is desired to be used . the result of this comparison enables verifying that the operation code of the application has not been modified in the ram while this application was in the background . comparison block 32 , be it hardware or software , provides an authorization or authentication signal aut to cpu 1 to take the appropriate measures . in practice , the cpu will only execute , or will only transfer into its cache memory for execution , the instructions of the program stored in ram 4 if comparator 32 has authenticated that the operation code has not been modified since its loading into memory 4 . preferably , the signature calculation is performed on a fixed significant portion of the code of the program stored in the ram . “ fixed portion ” means that lines containing data processed by the program , and the content of which is thus likely to change and to modify their signature even when no piracy has occurred , should be avoided . “ significant ” means that the larger the number of code lines taken into account in the signature calculation , the more the authentication will be robust in terms of efficiency . as an example , the signature can be calculated taking one line out of ten , one line out of twenty , or one line out of thirty of the operation code . an advantage of an embodiment of the present invention is that a modification of the operation code of a background program stored in a ram becomes difficult since its operation code must be modified while respecting the signature , the calculation algorithm of which is in principle unknown . preferably , to guarantee the system security and for rapidity reasons , the hash function is executed in hardware fashion in an integrated circuit . the application being executed necessarily is in the cache memory of the microprocessor which forms an area considered as untouchable for a pirate . only when the application is pending in the ram does there exist a risk of piracy . it should be noted that if the totality of a program is not transferred from the mass storage ( 5 , fig1 ) to the ram at the application loading , the signature calculation can exploit program lines still present in the mass storage . an advantage of an embodiment of the present invention is that , without requiring recalculation of correspondence table 10 on each coming to the foreground of a new application , it prevents an operation code from being pirated when it is in the background in a multitask processing . of course , the content of the lines of table 10 can be overwritten as it is filled , as conventionally used to be the case in the solution discussed in relation to fig4 . any conventional algorithm executing a function of hash type may be used . among known algorithms , one can mention , for example , the algorithm known as sha - 1 which operates on 512 - bit blocks and provides a 160 - bit signature as an output . for the application of such an algorithm , the code or code portion of which a signature is desired to be obtained is cut into blocks of 512 bits for which are calculated , each time , five concatenated 32 - bit words corresponding to the block signature . in this case , a single word out of the five 32 - bit words of the signature may be used and the first words of several signatures calculated on different blocks may be added to obtain the current code curasid of the application . the architecture illustrated in and described with reference to fig4 may be part of an electronic system , such as a computer system . of course , embodiments of the present invention are likely to have various alterations , modifications , and improvements which will readily occur to those skilled in the art . in particular , the selection of the signature calculation algorithm preferentially depends on the size of the application identifiers used in the correspondence table and on the security level desired for the system . further , the selection of the operation code lines to be taken into account in the signature calculation is within the abilities of those skilled in the art based on the functional indications given hereabove . finally , although a hardware implementation of the signature calculation is preferred , embodiments of the present invention do not exclude a software implementation . such alterations , modifications , and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure , and are intended to be within the spirit and the scope of embodiments of the present invention . accordingly , the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting .	6
fig1 shows a block diagram of the computer system of the present invention . the computer system of the preferred embodiment is an enhanced ibm rs - 6000 computer system . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms and apparatus of the present invention apply equally to any computer system , regardless of whether the computer system is a complicated multi - user computing apparatus or a single user workstation . as shown in the exploded view of fig1 computer system 100 comprises a main or central processing unit ( cpu ) 110 connected to a main memory 120 , a mass storage interface 130 , a terminal interface 140 , and a network interface 150 . these system components are interconnected through the use of a system bus 160 . mass storage interface 130 is used to connect mass storage devices ( such as dasd device 155 ) to computer system 100 . one specific type of dasd device is a floppy disk drive , which may store data to and read data from a floppy diskette 195 . main memory 120 contains one or more application programs 122 , circuit elements 124 , data 126 , and an operating system 128 . computer system 100 utilizes well known virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the programs of computer system 100 to behave as if they only have access to a large , single storage entity instead of access to multiple , smaller storage entities such as main memory 120 and dasd device 155 . therefore , while application programs 122 , circuit elements 124 , data 126 , and operating system 128 are shown to reside in main memory 120 , those skilled in the art will recognize that these are not necessarily all completely contained in main memory 120 at the same time . ( it should also be noted that the term &# 34 ; computer system memory &# 34 ; is used herein to generically refer to the entire virtual memory of computer system 100 .) operating system 128 is a suitable multitasking operating system . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the spirit and scope of the present invention is not limited to any one operating system . also residing in main memory 120 are one or more application programs 122 that are executed by cpu 110 . one of these application programs is an integrated circuit design tool 134 in accordance with the present invention . also included within main memory 120 are representations ( e . g ., electrical and timing parameters ) of circuit elements 124 that are used by design tool 134 . one example of a suitable circuit element is a gate 136 as shown . while integrated circuit design tool 134 and circuit elements 124 are shown residing in main memory 120 , they may exist anywhere in the virtual memory space of computer 800 . in addition , while circuit elements 124 are shown separate from design tool 134 , these circuit elements 124 could also be provided as an integral part of integrated circuit design tool 134 . although computer system 100 is shown to contain only a single main cpu and a single system bus , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced using a computer system that has multiple cpus and / or multiple buses . in addition , the interfaces that are used in the preferred embodiment each include separate , fully programmed microprocessors that are used to off - load compute - intensive processing from cpu 110 . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention applies equally to computer systems that simply use i / o adapters to perform similar functions . terminal interface 140 is used to directly connect one or more terminals 165 to computer system 100 . these terminals 165 , which may be non - intelligent or fully programmable workstations , are used to allow system administrators and users to communicate with computer system 100 . network interface 150 is used to connect other computer systems and / or workstations ( e . g ., 175 and 185 in fig1 ) to computer system 100 in networked fashion . the present invention applies regardless of whether network interface 150 is present or not . for the purposes of the preferred embodiment herein , network interface 150 is present , and the present invention applies equally no matter how computer system 100 may be connected to other computer systems and / or workstations , regardless of whether the connection ( s ) is made using present - day analog and / or digital techniques or via some networking mechanism of the future . it is also important to point out that the presence of network interface 150 within computer system 100 means that computer system 100 may engage in cooperative processing with one or more other computer systems or workstations . of course , this in turn means that the programs shown in main memory 120 need not necessarily all reside on computer system 100 . for example , one or more programs of application programs 122 may reside on another system and engage in cooperative processing with one or more programs that reside on computer system 100 . this cooperative processing could be accomplished through use of one of the well known client - server mechanisms such as remote procedure call ( rpc ). at this point , it is important to note that while the present invention has been ( and will continue to be ) described in the context of a fully functional computer system , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed on any signal bearing media , such as a program via floppy disk ( e . g ., 195 of fig1 ), cd rom , or other form of recordable media , or via any type of electronic transmission mechanism . the remainder of this specification describes how the present invention improves the process of designing an integrated circuit by providing a computer system and associated method to automatically layout and route post - layout optimization circuitry . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention applies equally to any computer - based process for designing integrated circuits . many different computer - based design tools 134 exist for designing integrated circuits . as discussed in the background section , design tools typically operate in two distinct stages , the logic design stage , followed by the physical design stage . referring to fig2 the logic design stage for one particular type of computer - based integrated circuit design tool begins with the step of designing the circuit ( step 210 ). once the circuit is designed , the circuit design is implemented in a suitable hardware description language ( step 220 ), such as vhdl or verilog . the next step is logic synthesis ( step 230 ), which , among other things , estimates the timing for each net in the circuit based on the number and type of circuit elements connected to the net . once the logic synthesis is complete , a net list is generated ( step 240 ), which represents a detailed listing of all circuit elements and their interconnections to implement the circuit design . if the performance of the circuit during logic synthesis indicates that the design will not work as desired ( step 250 = no ), the logic design stage must be repeated . if the performance is satisfactory ( step 250 = yes ), the design tool then proceeds to the physical design stage . details of a suitable logic synthesis step 230 of fig2 are illustrated in the flow diagram of fig3 . a new circuit element is created and connected to the appropriate nets in the circuit ( step 310 ). next , an incremental timing analysis is performed ( step 320 ) to determine the timing effects of adding the new circuit element . if the new circuit element meets desired timing constraints ( step 330 = yes ), the new circuit element is accepted ( step 340 ) in the synthesized circuit design . if the new circuit element does not meet the desired timing constraints ( step 330 = no ), the process is repeated with a different circuit element until the timing performance is adequate ( step 330 = yes ). once all circuit elements in the circuit design have been synthesized ( i . e ., have been accepted into the synthesized circuit design ) ( step 350 = yes ), the logic synthesis step 230 is complete . note that the logic synthesis step 230 may perform many steps and functions other than those shown , but the steps shown in fig3 and described herein are those steps that are most pertinent in relation to the timing constraints of the integrated circuit . the details of one suitable incremental timing analysis step 320 of fig3 are illustrated in fig4 . in general , an incremental timing analysis step may perform a variety of functions that are not shown in fig4 including the determination of which delays need to be recalculated and in what order . only the aspects of an incremental timing analysis step 320 that are most relevant to the present invention are disclosed in fig4 . an incremental timing analysis 320 is performed by first determining which nets are affected by the addition of the new circuit element ( step 410 ), and in which order the timing characteristics ( or delay ) of the affected nets must be computed . one of the affected nets is selected ( step 420 ), and the timing characteristics of the selected net are estimated based on the number and type of connections on the net ( step 430 ). this timing estimate is a rough estimate , based solely on the number and type of connections on the net . if there remain other affected nets that need timing estimates ( step 440 = no ), the next net is selected ( step 420 ), and timing is estimated for that net based again on the number and type of connections on that net ( step 430 ). once all affected nets have been processed and estimated timing characteristics for each affected net have been computed ( step 440 = yes ), the incremental timing analysis is complete . referring to fig5 following the logic design stage ( e . g ., stage 200 of fig2 ) comes the physical design stage , during which the circuit behavior from the logic design stage is implemented into circuit elements on an integrated circuit . the net list generated in step 240 of fig2 includes a list of all required circuit elements to implement the circuit that resulted from the logic design stage . these elements are placed in appropriate positions on the integrated circuit substrate during layout ( step 510 ). once the layout is complete , a more precise timing estimate is performed ( step 520 ). a more precise timing estimate is possible by making estimations of signal length given the layout of circuit elements , which produces an estimate of electrical characteristics for each net in the circuit . this more precise estimate may reveal one or more problems with the physical design . if a major problem exists ( step 530 = yes ), the physical design has failed , and the designer will have to return to the logic design stage and start over again , and may be required to design the circuit using a different set of parameters ( such as a larger integrated circuit die size or a different process technology ). at this stage , a problem is a major problem if the problem may not be easily fixed with manual adjustments . thus , a major problem may be one or two severe timing problems , may be a multitude of timing problems that would make manual adjustments of all the problems impractical , or may be any other problem that makes manual adjustments by the integrated circuit designer impractical . if no major problems exist ( step 530 = no ), then an analysis is performed to detect minor timing problems ( step 540 ). if minor timing problems are present ( step 540 = yes ), the designer must make manual adjustments to the physical design ( step 590 ) as discussed in more detail below . if no minor timing problems exist ( step 540 = no ), routing interconnects all the circuit elements with signal lines or &# 34 ; wires &# 34 ; ( step 550 ). when the routing is complete , another timing analysis is performed ( step 560 ), but this time the timing analysis is based on the exact topology of the nets now that the topology has been defined by routing the wires on the integrated circuit . the physical design is once again checked for major problems ( step 570 ) and minor problems ( step 580 ). if there are no major problems ( step 570 = no ) and no minor timing problems ( step 580 = no ), the design of the integrated circuit is complete . however , if any differences between the rough timing estimates ( e . g ., in step 430 of fig4 ) and the more precise timing estimates ( e . g ., step 560 of fig5 ) reveal only minor timing problems ( step 580 = yes ), the designer may then make manual adjustments ( i . e ., post - layout optimizations ) ( step 590 ) to correct these timing problems . timing problems may be corrected by a variety of different methods , including the insertion or deletion of circuit elements that will fix the timing problems . one example of adjustments the designer may make is reducing the delay in long signal lines by inserting a gate or buffer at an approximate half - way point in the signal run . since delay in a signal run is proportional to the resistance times the capacitance ( rc ), and both resistance and capacitance are proportional to the length of the run , the delay is proportional to the square of the length of the run . thus , by cutting the length of a signal line in half by inserting a buffer or gate , the delay in each half of the run is approximately one - fourth its previous delay . typically the designer will determine a location for the buffer or gate manually , and will route the connections to the buffer or gate manually as well . an experienced designer may effectively use this manual procedure to compensate for a variety of different timing problems , but this manual procedure is only as good as the experience and intelligence of the designer performing the manual layout and routing of the post - layout optimization circuitry . referring to fig6 one particular design of a logic synthesis block 610 of computer code includes different program modules . these program modules include one or more transforms 620 , a timing system 630 , and an electrical system 640 . in general terms , the transform module 620 inserts a circuit element , then requests updated timing information from the timing system 630 to determine the effect on timing of the added circuit element on the rest of the circuit . when the timing system 630 receives a request for timing information from a transform , it , in turn , generates a request to the electrical system 640 for the electrical characteristics ( e . g ., resistance and capacitance ) that determine the timing of the affected nets . the electrical subsystem 640 returns estimates of electrical characteristics to the timing system 630 , which then computes and passes the timing information to the transform 620 . the particular operation of the preferred embodiment of the integrated circuit tool as disclosed in fig6 - 9 assumes that an application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ) is being designed . it is also assumed that the specific circuit elements that are available in the asic are gates . for this reason the discussion in fig7 - 9 is in the context of placing gates within an asic . in a different context , the circuit elements could include individual transistors . in yet another context , the circuit elements could include cells . the invention extends to the design of any type of integrated circuit , and is not limited by the discussion herein to asic design . during the logic design stage ( i . e ., 200 of fig2 ), the logic synthesis step 230 for the specific configuration 610 of logic synthesis is shown in more detail in fig7 . first , transform 620 creates a new gate and connects it into the circuit ( step 710 ). transform 620 then requests timing information from timing system 630 ( step 712 ). timing system 630 notes the circuit changes that result from adding the new gate , and initiates automatic update of affected nets ( step 714 ). an affected net is selected ( step 716 ). next , timing system 630 requests electrical characteristics of the selected net from electrical system 640 ( step 718 ). in response to this request , electrical system 640 estimates the electrical characteristics ( e . g ., resistance and capacitance ) of the selected net based solely on the number and type of connections on the net ( step 720 ). the electrical characteristics are returned by electrical system 640 to timing system 630 ( step 722 ). timing system 630 then computes timing from the electrical characteristics ( step 724 ). if there are affected nets that do not yet have timing estimates ( step 726 = no ), the next affected net is selected ( step 716 ), and the process ( steps 718 - 724 ) is repeated , until timing has been estimated for all nets that are affected by the new gate ( step 726 = yes ). once all affected nets have estimated timing due to the change , timing system 630 returns the timing estimates to transform 620 ( step 730 ). the estimated timing is then compared with the timing constraints of the circuit design . if the estimated timing is not within the appropriate timing constraints ( step 732 = no ), the new gate is discarded and the process is repeated for a different new gate . if , however , the estimated timing is within the required timing constraints ( step 732 = yes ), the new gate is accepted ( step 734 ) into the synthesized design . if more gates remain in the design that need to be synthesized ( step 740 = no ), the process is repeated for the new gate . once all gates in the design have been synthesized ( step 740 = yes ) ( i . e ., have been accepted in step 734 ), the logic synthesis step 230 is complete . referring to fig8 a physical design stage 800 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention improves upon the physical design stage 500 ( of fig5 ) by providing for automatic post - layout optimizations ( step 890 ) rather than manual adjustments ( step 590 of fig5 ). physical design stage 800 is very similar to physical design stage 500 . first , layout places all the gates on the integrated circuit ( step 810 ). next , the timing is estimated from estimates of the signal length based on the layout ( step 820 ). the physical design is then checked for major problems ( step 830 ). if no major problems are present ( step 830 = no ), the physical design is checked for minor timing problems ( step 840 ). if no minor problems are encountered ( step 840 = no ), the signal wires are then routed ( step 850 ). the timing is then recalculated using the exact net topology that resulted from routing ( step 860 ). if a major problem exists ( step 870 = yes ), the logic design stage must be started again . note that a major problem in this context is different than a major problem in the physical design stage that uses manual adjustments as shown in fig5 . for example , as discussed above , a large number of minor timing problems may be a major problem if the integrated circuit designer has to manually fix all the problems , causing the designer to rethink his or her design . in the context of a method and apparatus for automatically generating post - layout optimization circuitry , however , a large number of minor timing problems may not present a major problem since method 800 could potentially automatically find solutions to most or all of these problems . if method 800 automatically attempts to fix the large number of minor timing problems and is unable to fix enough of these minor timing problems , then the group of unresolved minor timing problems becomes a major problem , and the integrated circuit designer will return to the logic design stage to improve the design . if there are no major problems ( step 870 = no ) nor minor timing problems ( step 880 = no ), the logic design stage is done , thereby completing the design of the integrated circuit . if , however , there are no major problems ( step 870 = no ) but there are some minor timing problems ( step 880 = yes ), a post - layout logic synthesis step 890 is performed to automatically generate the required post - layout optimization circuitry . the specific design of the logic synthesis code 610 as shown in fig6 allows for using the same logic synthesis code in the post - layout logic synthesis step 890 as was used in the logic synthesis step 230 during the logic design stage 200 ( see fig2 ). specifically , the steps of post - layout logic synthesis ( step 890 ) are shown in more detail in fig9 . note that the steps 710 - 718 and 722 - 734 are the same as the corresponding steps in the logic synthesis step 230 that occurs during the logic design stage shown in fig7 . the commonality in steps illustrates the portions of the logic synthesis code that may be used for both logic synthesis in the logic design stage ( step 230 ) and post - layout logic synthesis ( step 890 ). the primary difference is how electrical system 640 estimates electrical characteristics . in the logic design stage , electrical system 640 estimates electrical characteristics based solely on the number and type of connections on a net ( step 720 of fig7 ). however , in the case of using the logic synthesis code for post - layout logic synthesis , when a new gate is created and connected into the circuit , it has no location since the need for the gate was identified post - layout . as a result , electrical system 640 will attempt to compute the electrical characteristics of the affected net only to discover that the new gate has not yet been placed . thus , for the first pass after creating a new gate , the gate will not yet be assigned a location ( step 910 = no ). as a result , electrical system 640 will compute a location for the new gate using a suitable heuristic , without necessarily determining whether the computed location is an available location on the integrated circuit ( step 920 ). for example , for a single gate , the location for the new gate may be based on the average of the locations of the pins on all nets connected to the new gate . if two gates are added in sequence , the locations of the two gates can be computed using a weighted average that accounts for the multiple unplaced elements . in computing the location , electrical system 640 could check a list of large blocks of circuitry ( such as ram or rom arrays ) to assure the gate is not given a location in these regions . by estimating gate location without determining the exact physical position of the gate , the post - layout logic synthesis 890 may explore a large number of alternatives and fix a large number of problems in a reasonable amount of time . the new gate is assigned the computed location ( step 930 ) for all subsequent timing estimates for nets that are affected by insertion of the new gate . electrical system 640 then estimates the electrical characteristics for the net based on the topology of the net ( step 940 ), without regard to the fact that the new gate may be located in an illegal location . the rest of steps 722 - 734 are the same as described in relation to fig7 . note that when a second and subsequent affected nets are selected ( step 716 ) for a given gate , the gate has already been assigned a location ( step 910 = yes ), so electrical system 640 will use the previously assigned location in estimating the electrical characteristics of the affected net of interest . if the timing returned to transform 620 by timing system 630 is within timing constraints ( step 732 = yes ), the new gate is accepted ( step 734 ). once a new gate is accepted , a check is made to see if all the timing problems have been solved ( step 950 ). if not ( step 950 = no ), the process will be repeated , and another gate ( i . e ., additional post - layout optimization circuitry ) will be created and inserted into the circuit . once all timing problems have been solved ( step 950 = yes ), an incremental layout step places all the new gates ( step 960 ), using the assigned location of each gate as its initial target for placement . while the final placement may vary from the location assigned , the two are generally close enough to validate the results of the changes necessitated by the post - layout optimization circuitry . as the steps in fig9 illustrate , logic synthesis code 610 suitably includes the same code for transform 620 and timing system 630 . the primary difference is in electrical system 640 , which must know whether the logic synthesis is in the logic synthesis step 230 in logic design stage 200 or in the post - layout logic synthesis step 890 in physical design stage 800 , and change its operation accordingly ( as illustrated in fig7 and 9 ). the best mode for the invention herein is to provide a body of common code in the logic synthesis code 610 that may be used in both the logic design stage as well as during post - layout optimizations . however , it is clearly within the scope of the present invention to provide code in the post - layout optimization stage that is unique compared to the logic synthesis code used in the logic design stage of the design process . the computer system 100 and method 800 in accordance with the present invention provide a powerful tool for designing integrated circuits by automating the time - consuming and laborious task of manually placing and routing post - layout optimization circuitry . computer system 100 includes an integrated circuit design tool 134 that has the capability to automatically generate post - layout optimization circuitry by performing a logic synthesis step after layout and routing is complete . in this manner , computer system 100 may automatically assign locations ( although not necessarily valid locations ) to gates used in the post - layout optimization circuitry . then , once all gates needed for post - layout optimization have been assigned , computer system 100 may perform an incremental layout to place the gates in valid locations , using the assigned locations as initial targets . this method of automatically generating post - layout optimization circuitry drastically improves the time for designing an integrated circuit by eliminating the need for the integrated circuit designer to manually place and route these circuits . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred 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 .	6
the present invention will now be described in more detail according to a preferred but non limiting embodiment and with reference to the accompanying illustrations wherein ; fig1 : shows an elevation of a known container for holding an alcoholic beverage ; fig2 : shows the container of fig1 with the sealing membrane peeled away from the peripheral flange around the open mouth of the receptacle ; fig3 : shows the container of fig1 with a sealing cover ; fig4 : shows a schematic view of a multi layer arrangement for the receptacle ; fig5 shows a cross sectional elevation view of the single serve container of fig1 ; and with recessed sealing membrane according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . fig6 : shows a cross sectional elevation view of a single serve container with recessed sealing membrane according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 and 2 there is shows a known container i for alcoholic beverages . container i comprises a plastics receptacle 2 which ) day assume the general shape of a wine glass for holding an alcoholic beverage . the receptacle may have the appearance of a conventional glass receptacle such as a tumbler or other glass shaped receptacles used for serving alcoholic beverages and also including carafes and the like to enhance the appearance of receptacle 2 as a suitable container from which wine may be directly consumed , the receptacle is adapted 5 with a base 3 which is connected to the underside 4 of receptacle 2 via stem 5 . receptacle 2 is sealed prior to use and in order to facilitate said sealing a membrane 6 covers the open mouth 7 of receptacle 2 . in order to enable effective air tight sealing , a peripheral flange 8 ( see fig2 ) is moulded into the receptacle . the upper surface 9 of flange 8 provides a surface which receives and enables bonding thereto of the membrane 6 . membrane 6 also has a second layer comprising a biocompatible coating which isolates the contents of the receptacle 2 from the primary membrane material . the membrane material is thin aluminium sheet coated on the inside face with a layer of chemically , electrically and biologically inert material and preferably a selected polymer such as polypropylene . fig3 shows the container of fig1 and 2 with optional lid 11 exploded away . fig4 shows one possible embodiment of the constituents of a multi layer plastics walled container . as shown schematically in . fig4 receptacle 2 may be of multi layer construction 20 formed from an inner layer 12 of virgin polypropylene . however , the receptacle may be formed from a single layer of plastics material such as but not limited to modified nylon . layer 13 comprises scrap polypropylene as this will not come in contact with the alcoholic beverage . scrap polypropylene layer 13 is in apposition with adhesive layer 14 which in turn is in apposition with evoh core layer 15 . an adhesive layer 16 overlies layer 15 and is itself overlain by layer 17 which comprises scrap polypropylene . the layered receptacle 2 must be impermeable to oxygen absorption and to carbon dioxide leeching to ensure that the alcoholic beverage does not undergo oxidation or other form of degradation . this is achieved by careful selection of the plastics material 30 used in the multi layered or single layer receptacle wall . layer 17 of receptacle 2 may be mixed with a preselected colourant . in use , seating membrane 6 is simply peeled away from flange 8 to gain access to the contents of the receptacle as shown in fig2 . fig5 shows receptacle 20 seated in stem 21 . according to a preferred embodiment of the method aspect , container 1 is produced according to the following regime . the first step is to produce the receptacle 2 and this is effected by moulding polypropylene ( or other suitable material through which oxygen cannot penetrate ) to ensure that the integrity of the sealing of the contents is maintained and thus to ensure that oxidisation of the liquid beverage does not take place . preferably , receptacle 2 is moulded into the shape of a glass . to satisfy consumer preference for container of alcoholic beverages . each receptacle 2 is set in position on a production line where it is filled via dispensers with the selected alcoholic beverage which may be white or red wine , beer or any other alcoholic beverage . on the inner surface of the aluminium membrane is a biocompatible lacquer layer or layer formed from a material which performs the roles of isolating the contents of the receptacle 2 from the aluminium , and providing a sealing material which melts under the sealing process . during or moments after the preheating any residual oxygen is evacuated from the receptacle by injection of gaseous nitrogen or other suitable food grade gas into the contents . the membrane is presented to the peripheral flange 8 immediately the evacuation has been completed thereby effecting sealing of the contents . to consume the contents , the user simply pulls tab 10 of membrane 6 away from flange 8 as shown in fig2 . fig3 shows a cover 11 detached from the container of fig1 . receptacle 2 can be reseated where necessary by the removable cover 11 which engages the peripheral flange 8 . cover 1 l can also be used to cover and protect membrane 6 prior to use . the selection of an appropriate combination of plastics when a multi - layered receptacle is required and the selection of a suitable plastic for a single layer receptacle is made with reference to the behaviour and a number of properties of the selected plastics materials . these include clarity flexural modulus , impact strength density oxygen transmissibility and carbon dioxide transmissibility . to fully appreciate the invention , necessitates an appreciation of the chemistry involved in wine manufacture and packaging and in particular , the importance of eliminating contact between oxygen aid the wine to avoid degradation and to maximize shelf life . this is perhaps most important in wine over any other liquid beverage due to the sensitivity of wine chemistry to air and particularly oxygen . traditionally wine has been bottled although there have been other forms of packaging such as the wine cask which involves use of a collapsible bladder . both forms of packaging accommodate multiple serve quantities . in the case of glass packaging oxygen may only be entrained through the cork which is unlikely allowing a long shelf life . thus , in adopting plastics packaging for wine it is most important to use biocompatible materials and to ensure effective seating against oxygen entrainment or entrapment in the container . this can occur through the walls of the container where an inappropriate material is used but is most likely to occur through the seal between the closure membrane and the flange at the upper reaches of the container where the seal engages the receptacle . however the present invention involves minimizing or eliminating the space between the biocompatible inner layer of the seating membrane and the upper surface of the wine . much turns on the nature of the headspace and is preferably kept to a minimum to the extent that there may be contact between the upper surface of the wine and the underside surface of the sealing membrane . this may result in the membrane being angled at its edges above the fill line and below the sealing zone rather than flush with ) the surface of the liquid contents this is achieved by recessing the sealing membrane such that it is generally concave inwards . the seal according to one embodiment is concave inwards to minimize the headspace thereby manifesting the advantage of having a negligible or no headspace which minimizes the prospect of oxygen contamination of the wine . the headspace could perhaps be considered a compromise between minimization of headspace but ensuring just enough space to accommodate wine expansion . in the present invention , the seal is flexible to accommodate expansion and is also recessed with the result that the ullage voluble is so reduced that the gas volume of the headspace is so small that the concentration of the residual oxygen present is insignificant . as a result the seal will flex where the wine expands with temperature and this is not possible in the cited art or in bottled wine where any expansion is taken through compression of the cork . fig6 shows a preferred seal arrangement to demonstrate a preferred seal arrangement and configuration . fig6 is in most respects similar to the container described in fig1 - 5 with corresponding parts numbered the same . fig6 differs from the arrangements of fig1 - 5 in that membrane 30 is placed to that underside surface 31 opposes and is at least partially in contact with a beverage 32 when container 20 is filled to fill line 33 . it can be seen that membrane 30 is recessed to minimize the space between the wine beverage and the biocompatible underside of the seal . a headspace will almost be completely eliminated between surfaces 31 and fill line 33 . line 34 shows the relative position of the membrane according to the prior art and it will be seen that in eliminating a headspace between line 34 and fill line 33 results in a corresponding recess 35 . to enable the membrane 30 to conform to its configuration and to allow the membrane to displace in the event of an environmental change causing expansion of beverage 32 , membrane is longer the the outside diameter of the container which it seals . this results in the formation of walls 36 and 37 which enables membrane 30 to essentially sit on the surface of beverage 35 . this also may have the effect of creating a small vertical but negligible headspace 38 . elimination of the headspace is achieved by overfilling the container with beverage past fill line 33 . it will be recognized by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications can be made to the invention as broadly described herein such as but not limited to changing the order of the method steps and / or altering the materials of construction of the container without departing from the overall spirit and scope of the invention .	1
fig1 illustrates a headphone assembly 10 adapted for engagement over the ears of a user . the headphone assembly 10 includes two earpieces 12 and 14 , each coupled to an arcuate headband 16 that is designed for wear on a user &# 39 ; s head . the headphone assembly 10 also includes a housing 18 for attaching a microphone boom 20 coupled to a microphone 22 . the microphone boom 20 is connected to a microphone jack 24 for attachment to other conventional communication or sound equipment . the headphone assembly may also include an on / off button 28 and a volume control switch 26 . the headphone assembly 10 may include active noise reduction circuitry mounted in one or both of the earpieces 12 and 14 . such circuitry may actively reduce the noise generated outside the headphone assembly 10 from reaching the user &# 39 ; s eardrum . conventional noise reduction circuitry is well known to those skilled in the art and generally includes means for sensing noise that originates from sources outside the headphone assembly 10 and means for generating a compensating sound to the outside noise and means for supplying the compensating sound to the user for canceling at least some of the outside noise . as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , the housing 18 includes a lower gasket 30 which mates with upper gasket 32 to retain the microphone boom 20 . each of the lower and upper gaskets 30 and 32 preferably include notches 46 shaped to mate with the outer circular surface of the microphone boom 20 . the lower gasket 30 may be smaller in diameter than the upper gasket 32 such that the upper gasket 32 fits over the lower gasket 30 . a washer 34 , which may be a fiber or other suitable washer , may be included between the upper or lower gasket 30 or 32 to assist in retaining the microphone boom 20 in place . a thumb screw 42 is inserted into a screw opening in the upper gasket 32 to retain the housing 18 and to permit the user to rotate the microphone boom 20 . a second washer 44 may be placed between the upper gasket 32 and the thumb screw 42 . preferably , the notches 46 are offset from the centerline of the gaskets 30 and 32 to afford the thumb screw 42 an opportunity to pass through the center of the gaskets 30 and 32 to retain the microphone boom 20 . fig4 illustrates one means for attaching the housing 18 to an earpiece 12 . earpiece 12 includes a hollow , preferably circular , port 38 into which a screw insert 40 ( preferably brass ) is placed . the insert 40 may be molded into the port 38 of the earpiece 12 , glued in , or attached by other conventional means . the screw insert 40 has a threaded internal opening designed to threadedly engage with the thumb screw 42 and a smooth outer surface designed to engage with an opening in the proximal end of the lower gasket 30 . the lower gasket 30 of the housing 18 is then rotationally attached to the screw insert 40 to allow the microphone boom 20 to swivel . thus , the thumb screw 42 is screwed into the screw insert 40 to retain the housing to the earpiece 12 . the proximal end of the lower gasket 30 fits onto the outside surface of the screw insert 40 . a guide 36 may be used to provide support and to fill in space between the inner surface of the lower end of the lower gasket 30 and the outer surface of the screw insert 40 . although fig4 illustrates the opening 38 and screw insert 40 on only one earpiece , such an port 38 and insert 40 may be included on one or both of the earpieces to allow the user to located the microphone boom 20 on either earpiece 12 or 14 . as illustrated in fig5 , the headphone assembly 10 may further include a rubber plug 48 inserted into the port 38 of an earpiece 12 when the user desires to use the headphones without the accompanying microphone . a variety of detachable booms with various microphones may be used , including these specifically designed for ham radio , broadcast radio , and interfacing with computers . in the event the booms vary in outer diameter ( either in shape or size ), the gaskets 30 and 32 may be changed to accommodate these other booms . thus , the headphone assembly may come in a kit that includes a number of microphone booms and associated gaskets , all designed to work with the same headphones . although certain illustrative embodiments and methods have been disclosed herein , it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of such embodiments and methods may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is intended that the invention should be limited only to extent required by the appended claims and the rules and principals of applicable law .	7
with reference to the remaining figures , exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described . the exemplary embodiments will primarily be described with reference to block diagrams and flow charts . as to the flowcharts , each block therein represents both a method step and an apparatus element for performing the recited method step . depending upon the implementation , each apparatus element , or portions thereof , may be configured in hardware , software , firmware or combinations thereof . also , it should be appreciated that not all components necessary for a complete implementation of a practical system are illustrated or described in detail . rather , only those components necessary for a thorough understanding of the invention are illustrated and described . fig4 illustrates pertinent components of a mobile telephone 128 or other mobile station receiving a signal provided by a base station transmission system such as the one of fig1 wherein a signal having variable rate packets is transmitted . frame rates include full rate , half rate , quarter rate and eighth rate as shown in fig2 a - 2d . the packets include encoded speech parameters representative of a compressed voice signal . in addition , each packet includes crc bits and / or encoder tail bits . additional details regarding the content of the packets is provided above in connection with fig1 and in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 414 , 796 referenced above . the illustrated components of fig4 are similar to those of fig3 and only pertinent differences will be described in detail . the transmitted signal is received by antenna 130 , downconverted and amplified by receiver 132 . the signal is then provided to a frame rate detection unit 133 which attempts to determine the corresponding frame rate for the packet . the packet is then provided to a crc unit 134 for performing cyclic redundancy checks on frames of the received signal in an attempt to verify that no frame rate detection error or transmission error occurred . frames failing the crc , i . e . bad frames , are erased by frame erasure unit 136 . as noted above , no separate frame erasure unit is necessarily required . rather , frames subject to crc errors may merely not be output from crc unit . in any case , frames which pass the crc , i . e . potentially good frames , are routed to a variable rate decoder 140 which decodes any speech parameters contained therein for conversion back to digitized voice signals . the digitized voice signals are ultimately converted to analog signals by a digital to analog converter ( not shown ) for output through a speaker 142 of the mobile telephone to a listener . the output frames of variable rate decoder 140 are provided to decoded frame check unit 157 . in the exemplary embodiment , the rate of the frame is provided to decoded frame check unit 157 by crc unit 134 . decoded frame check unit 157 examines the energy of the of the frame output by the variable rate decoder 140 . in the exemplary embodiment , if the rate of the frame is eighth rate and the energy of the decoded frame exceeds a predetermined threshold then the frame is declared a frame error . in addition , decoded frame check unit 157 sends a signal to variable rate decoder 140 indicating the detection of the error . in response to the signal from decoded check unit 157 , variable rate decoder 140 reinitializes and clears the memory of its filters . in response to a declared frame error either the output pcm speech is muted . in alternative embodiments , the output can be set to comfort noise . in an alternative embodiment , decoded frame check unit 157 performs a dft or fft operation on the decoded frame . decoded frame check unit 157 examines the energy of the frame that has frequency components over 3500 hz , and if those components have an energy in excess of a predetermined threshold then decoded frame check unit 157 mutes the output and reinitializes the filter memories of variable rate decoder 140 . speech parameters decoded by variable rate decoder 140 are routed to a speech parameter examining unit 144 which determines whether the decoded speech parameters lie within predetermined acceptable ranges of speech parameters stored within an acceptable speech parameters table 146 . only frames having data parameters within the acceptable ranges specified by table 146 are returned to variable rate decoder 140 and used for generating the digitized speech signal ultimately output via speaker 142 . all other frames are routed to frame erasure unit 136 . thus , speech parameter examining unit 144 compares decoded speech parameters with acceptable ranges to identify frames containing speech parameters that lie outside the acceptable ranges . fig5 graphically illustrates an acceptable range of speech parameters 145 for a system wherein two speech parameter dimensions are evaluated . for example , one dimension may represent lsp frequencies and the other codebook gain parameters , but in general any appropriate characteristics of the encoded speech signal may be utilized . a range of unacceptable speech parameters 147 is also illustrated in fig5 . depending upon the implementation , the acceptable ranges of speech parameters may be predetermined based upon the probability of encountering certain speech parameters in typical , transmitted human speech . for example , there is a low probability that transmitted human speech contains extremely low or high frequencies . hence , the speech parameters may be examined to determine the corresponding frequency and if the frequency is found to be above or below certain predetermined thresholds specified in the acceptable speech range table 146 , the system concludes that the speech parameters are incorrect . of course , there is the possibility that the low probability speech parameters are perfectly correct , resulting in an erroneous frame erasure . care should be taken to select the acceptable ranges of speech parameters to minimize the likelihood of unnecessary frame erasures . in this regard , acceptable speech parameter ranges may be determined empirically by evaluating the probabilities of encountering various speech parameters in typical speech and in other typical sounds expected to be transmitted including tones , dtmf signals , music , background noise etc . the resulting ranges may be tested against input signals known to be correct to identify the likelihood of unnecessary frame erasures and then adjusted accordingly . for systems capable of transmitting data as well as voice signals , the speech parameter - based frame erasure mechanism is preferably disabled during data transmissions . also , the acceptable ranges of speech parameters stored in table 146 may be tailored to the community expected to utilize the mobile telephone . for example , the acceptable ranges may be set differently for mobile telephones employed in communities where english is expected to be spoken as opposed to communities where another language having significantly different speech characteristics , such as hottentot , is expected to be spoken . furthermore , adaptive filtering techniques may be employed to vary the ranges with time , perhaps to compensate for an excessive number of packet erasures which likely indicates that the ranges are not optimally set . in an exemplary implementation , speech is encoded using the aforementioned variable rate encoder of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 414 , 796 at full , half ( rate ½ ), quarter ( rate ¼ ) or eighth ( rate ⅛ ) rates having the crc bits and encoder tail bits illustrated in fig2 a - 2d . a method , represented by pseudocode , for detecting bad packets using lsp frequencies and codebook gain parameters which are extracted or otherwise determined from the received packets , is as follows : if rxrate == full or ½ { if (. 66 & gt ;= wq ( 10 ) or wq ( 10 ) & lt ;= . 985 ) erase packet for ( i = 5 ; i & lt ; 11 ; i ++) if ( abs ( wq ( n )− wq ( n − 4 )) & lt ; . 0931 ) erase packet } if rxrate == ¼ { if (. 70 & gt ;= wq ( 10 ) or wq ( 10 ) & gt ;= . 97 ) erase packet for ( i = 4 ; i & lt ; 11 ; i ++) if ( abs ( wq ( n )− wq ( n − 3 )) & lt ; . 08 ) erase packet } if rxrate == ¼ { for ( i = 0 ; i & lt ; 4 ; i ++) if ( abs ( g 0 ( i + 1 ) − g 0 ( i )) & gt ; 40 ) erase packet for ( i = 0 ; i & lt ; 3 ; i ++) if ( abs ( g 0 ( i + 2 )− 2g 0 ( i + 1 ) + g 0 ( i )) & gt ; 48 ) erase packet } where wq ( i ) is an ith lsp parameter scaled from 0 . 0 to 1 . 0 , g 0 ( i ) is an ith rate ¼ codebook gain parameter represented in db from 0 to 60 db , and rxrate is the detected frame rate of full , ½ , ¼ or ⅛ . as can be seen , the codebook gain test is applied only to the rate ¼ packets . this additional test is provided because the probability of receiving an incorrect packet at rate ¼ is greater than receiving an incorrect packet at rate ½ or rate 1 . the probability is higher because rate ¼ has a smaller crc and because , with the exemplary encoder of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 414 , 796 , rate ¼ is used to code only unvoiced or temporally masked speech . hence , rate ¼ packets are subject to stricter testing . no testing is applied to rate ⅛ packets . what has been primarily described is a method and apparatus for detecting bad packets occurring because of frame rate detection errors by comparing speech parameters encoded within , or derivable from , the packets against ranges of acceptable parameters . the techniques also apply to detecting errors caused by other factors as well . also , techniques of the invention are applicable in other signal transmission systems , including those which do not represent data in packets or which do not employ variable rates . in general , principles of the invention are applicable in almost any system wherein some amount of redundancy occurs in a transmitted signal , i . e . wherein a greater number of bits are employed to encode information than is minimally necessary . typically , in such systems , all possible data patterns are not equally probable . if the possible data patterns are not equally probable then the techniques of the invention may be exploited to distinguish “ good ” data from “ bad ” data based on the probability of occurrence . if all data patterns are equally probably no such distinction can typically be made . fig6 illustrates the exemplary implementation of variable rate decoder 140 in greater detail . in the exemplary embodiment , variable rate decoder 140 is a celp decoder as described in detail in the aforementioned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 414 , 796 ( the &# 39 ; 796 patent ). the codebook index i is provided to codebook element 170 which retrieves an excitation vector in accordance with the index i . the selected codebook index is provided to multiplier 172 and multiplied by the gain value g . the product from multiplier 172 is provided to pitch filter 174 which filters the product in accordance with a pitch filter parameters l & amp ; b as is known in the art and described in the aforementioned &# 39 ; 796 patent . the pitch filtered signal is then provided to formant filter 176 which filters the pitch filtered signal in accordance with linear predictive code ( lpc ) coefficients α 1 - α 10 . the output of the formant filter is provided to the adaptive postfilter 178 which post filters the output to provide improved perceptual quality . fig7 illustrates the adaptive post filter 178 of the exemplary embodiment . the postfilters used in this implementation were first described in “ real - time vector apc speech coding at 4800 bps with adaptive postfiltering ” by j . h . chen et al ., proc . icassp , 1987 . since speech formants are perceptually more important than spectral valleys , the postfilter boosts the formants slightly to improve the perceptual quality of the coded speech . this is done by scaling the poles of the formant synthesis filter radially toward the origin in postfilter 202 . however , an all pole postfilter generally introduces a spectral tilt which results in muffling of the filtered speech . the spectral tilt of this all pole postfilter is reduced by adding zeros having the same phase angles as the poles but with smaller radii , resulting in a postfilter of the form : h ⁡ ( z ) = a ⁡ ( z / ρ ) a ⁡ ( z / σ ) ⁢ where a ( z ) is the formant prediction filter and the values ρ and σ are the postfilter scaling factors where ρ is set to 0 . 5 , and σ is set to 0 . 8 . the computation of the filter coefficients is performed by filter tap generator 200 in accordance with the formant filter tap coefficients α 1 - α 10 . an adaptive brightness filter 204 is added to further compensate for the spectral tilt introduced by the formant postfilter . the brightness filter is of the form : b ⁡ ( z ) = 1 - κz - 1 1 + κz - 1 ( 2 ) where the value of κ ( the coefficient of this one tap filter ) is determined by the average value of the lsp frequencies which approximates the change in the spectral tilt of a ( z ). the tap values of brightness filter 204 are generated by filter tap generator 200 in the formant filter tap coefficients α 1 - α 10 . to avoid any large gain excursions resulting from postfiltering , an agc loop 205 is implemented to scale the speech output so that it has roughly the same energy as the non - postfiltered speech . gain control is accomplished by dividing the sum of the squares of the 40 filter input samples computed in unfiltered speech energy calculator 212 by the sum of the squares of the 40 filter output samples computed in filtered speech energy calculator 214 to get the inverse filter gain . the square root of this gain factor is then smoothed : and then the filter output is scaled in gain control element 206 by this smoothed inverse gain which is computed in gain calculator 208 to produce the output speech . in the preferred embodiment , the energy computed by unfiltered speech energy calculator 212 is provided to decoded frame check unit 157 reducing the amount of additional hardware necessary for the added protection against improperly decoded frames . if the decoded rate is eighth rate , and the energy is greater than a predefined threshold value , t , the output is muted . in accordance with one embodiment , an exemplary speech decoder performs the method steps illustrated in the flow chart of fig8 . in step 300 an encoded speech signal is received by the decoder . in step 302 the received encoded speech signal is decoded in accordance with known decoding methods such as , e . g ., maximum - likelihood decoding . in step 304 the decoded signal is filtered , using a formant prediction filter and a brightness filter as described above . in step 306 the energy content of the filtered signal is calculated in accordance with known energy calculation methods such as , e . g ., root - mean - square summation . in step 308 the frame rate of the received encoded speech signal is determined in accordance with known frame rate determination methods . in step 310 the energy of the received encoded speech signal is calculated in accordance with known methods such as , e . g ., root - mean - square summation . in step 312 a corresponding acceptable range of energy for the calculated frame rate of step 308 is selected . in step 314 the decoder checks whether the calculated energy content of step 310 is within the selected range of energy of step 312 . if the calculated energy content is within the selected energy range , the output of a speaker 318 is not muted , in accordance with step 316 . if , on the other hand , in step 314 , the calculated energy content is not within the selected energy range , the output speech signal is muted , in accordance with step 320 . in step 322 the energy content of the received encoded speech signal ( calculated in step 310 ) is divided by the energy content of the decoded , filtered speech signal ( calculated in step 306 ), yielding a ratio . the square root of the ratio is then calculated . the calculations may be performed in accordance with a number of known digital signal processing ( dsp ) techniques . in step 324 the square root of the ratio is multiplied by decoded , filtered speech signal , generating an output speech signal . the output speech signal is passed through a switch 326 , which mutes the output speech signal as necessary in accordance with steps 314 and 320 . the output speech signal is then provided to the speaker 318 , which generates audible output sound for a user . the previous description of the preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention . the various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of the inventive faculty . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein .	6
after considering this description it is apparent to one skilled in the art how the invention is implemented in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications . however , although various embodiments of the present invention is described herein , it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only , and not limitation . as such , this description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention . furthermore , statements of advantages or other aspects apply to specific exemplary embodiments , and not necessarily to all embodiments covered by the claims . throughout the description and the claims of this specification the word “ comprise ” and variations of the word , such as “ comprising ” and “ comprises ” is not intended to exclude other additives , components , integers or steps . reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . thus , appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ” or “ in an embodiment ” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment , but may . the present invention is predicated at least in part on the applicant &# 39 ; s finding that a player &# 39 ; s tennis stroke may be improved by the use of an electronic device having sensors which ( in real time ) provide data allowing for the construction of a stroke profile , and to compare that stroke profile with that of a superior profile such as that of an accomplished tennis player . feedback is provided to the player to identify aspects of their stroke profile which should be altered in order to more faithfully replicate the superior stroke profile . accordingly , in a first aspect the present invention provides a system for improving stroke technique in tennis , the system comprising : ( i ) a limb - mountable device comprising one or more electronic sensors configured to collect data capable of defining a tennis stroke profile of a user , ( ii ) a processor device in operable connection with the sensor ( s ), ( iii ) a memory device comprising data defining a comparator tennis stroke profile , and optionally ( iv ) a user feedback device , wherein the processor device comprises software configured to compare the user tennis stroke profile with the comparator tennis stroke profile , and provide feedback to the user via the feedback device indentifying similarities and / or differences between the user tennis stroke and the comparator tennis stroke . the present system is a significant departure from prior art approaches , which rely to a large extent on the observation of a player by a trained person ( such as a coach ) in order to identify and correct dysfunctional stroke technique . a player utilizing the present system may be presented with feedback based on a comparison of his or her stroke profile with that of an accomplished player ( the comparator stroke ) allowing aspect ( s ) of user &# 39 ; s stroke profile to be altered to be closer to that of the accomplished player . the stroke profile of the accomplished player is typically superior to that of the user , and may be constructed from real data ( for example , by the accomplished player executing a stroke while using the present system ) or constructed by reference to video or photographic record of the accomplished player executing a stroke . it is anticipated that a user may wish to emulate the technique of a certain professional player , and may be enabled by the present system to upload that player &# 39 ; s stroke profile into the memory device . the profile of the comparator tennis stroke may not be constructed with reference to the stroke of any single player , and may be a composite of a number of players . alternatively , the comparator stroke profile may be completely or partially artificially constructed based on sound biomechanical principles in tennis which are known to the skilled artisan . in some embodiments , the comparator stroke profile is roughly equivalent or inferior to the user stroke profile . these circumstances are typically encountered in circumstances where the comparator stroke profile is constructed from a user tennis stroke . the ability for a user to compare their own stroke profiles over a period of time may be useful in some training strategies to identify an improvement , lack of improvement , or even a decline in stroke technique . as used herein , the term “ stroke profile ” is intended to include a physical aspect of a tennis stroke which may be represented by a dataset , or constructed from a dataset , the dataset being provided by the sensor ( s ) of the limb - mountable device . for example , the stroke profile may comprise time - based positional information which describes the relative position of the device ( and therefore the user &# 39 ; s wrist ). the sensor data may be translated into a real time estimate of sensor orientation ( typically in quaternion or euler angle representation ). this provides an indication of device / wrist orientation rather than position ( which can in turn be interpreted ). thus , in that circumstance the profile comprises a spatial path along which the device travels in executing a stroke . further information may be overlaid such as velocity , angular velocity , acceleration and the like to provide a more complete or substantially complete description of the stroke which is electronically storable in memory and processable . the stroke profile may be constructed from a dataset covering ( in a substantially continuous manner ) the entirety of a tennis stroke . alternatively , the stroke profile may be constructed from a dataset covering only a segment of a tennis stroke , or a number of discontinuous segments of a tennis stroke . as another alternative , the stroke profile may be constructed from data taken at only a single time point , or a number of discontinuous time points of a tennis stroke . it is understood that a stroke profile having incomplete , or even minimal information may also be useful in certain embodiments of the present systems . for example , in some circumstances velocity information alone may be useful where a user &# 39 ; s serve is acceptable , except for his or her propensity to briefly pause before the main swing . in that situation , a point in the stroke profile of zero velocity is sufficient information to indicate further improvement in the user &# 39 ; s serve is necessary , and efforts made to avoid the halt in service action . the terms “ superior ”, “ inferior ” and “ equivalent ” when used as descriptors for a stroke profile , in comparison with the user stroke profile . a stroke profile may be superior , inferior or equivalent with respect to any parameter of a stroke profile , or the result of striking a tennis ball with a physical stroke of the profile . for example , an effective forehand stroke may have a spatial path which is substantially c - shaped , with a long follow through . the user &# 39 ; s stroke profile may have a short follow through , which is suboptimal for power . accordingly , the effective forehand stroke profile is considered superior to that of the users . as another example , the wrist in an effective forehand stroke rapidly accelerates around half way through the stroke to increase racket head speed . the user &# 39 ; s stroke profile may have a consistent velocity throughout , and accordingly , the user &# 39 ; s stroke profile is inferior to the effective stroke profile given the lower speed at which the ball is struck . the limb - mounted device comprises a processor which is in operable connection with the sensors . the operable connection may be direct such that data output of the sensors is transmitted directly to the processor . indirect connections are also contemplated , such as where the sensor output is communicated to a memory device , with the stored data subsequently transmitted to the processor . the processor device comprises software configured to compares the user stroke profile with the comparator stroke profile . typically , the comparison is undertaken using time - matched data from the user and comparator profile data streams . matching of the data from the two profiles may first require analysis of one or both profiles to identify events or segments of the profile ( s ). it will be understood that in the comparison of user stroke profile and comparator stroke profile , raw datasets may be compared . alternatively , the raw datasets are first processed into the segment ( s ) or time point ( s ). for example , in the serve a first event in the stroke profile may be the first movement of the wrist which signifies commencement of the stroke , a second event may be the sharp reversal in direction which signifies the commencement of the main swing , and a third event may be the subsequent deceleration of the wrist signifying the end of the stroke . a similar analysis may be conducted on the comparator stroke profile such that the data from the two stroke profiles may be paired on a time - base with reference to the three events . in one embodiment , the comparator stroke profile is not analysed in this way , but instead has embedded event data which has been independently validated . the processor device may perform this pre - comparison analysis , or a second processor device may be implemented for that task . the software may be configured to identity similarities and or differences in the stroke profiles under comparison . the differences may be output as qualitative information ( for example short , long , high , low , fast , slow ), or may be quantitative ( for example , velocity , angular rotation , distance ) while the sensor data may be transmitted by wired or wireless transmission to a processor external to the limb - mountable device , it is preferable that the processor is integral with the device . the feedback device may be integral with the limb - mountable device , or may be a separate device . the feedback device may provide feedback by way of audio and / or visual means including pre - recorded or synthesized speech , a graph , a photograph , a video , text , an animation , or a haptic stimulus . a preferred feedback device is a mobile processor - enabled device , and particularly a smart phone or similar contrivance . in some embodiments of the system , the feedback is constructed by the software of the limb - mounted device , and transmitted to the feedback device for presentation thereon . in other embodiments , the feedback device constructs the feedback based on one or more of the sensor data , the user stroke profile , or a comparison of the user stroke profile and the comparator stroke profile . the feedback may be generated and presented to the user in real time ( i . e . during stroke execution ), allowing the user to receive instant feedback while hitting a number of consecutive shots . this approach allows a user to continuously refine their stroke technique while playing in an attempt to more closely replicate the comparator stroke . as is understood , feedback in this circumstance may be limited to simple qualitative signals provided by audio tones , or short passages of synthesised speech . alternatively , the feedback may be presented after a training session , in which case more complex information may be presented . for example , graphics showing the spatial path of the wrist of the user overlaid with the path of the comparator stroke may be presented as feedback . such graphics may be overlaid with velocity information or angular rotation information to provide a more complete comparative analysis for the user . the user can note where the two strokes diverge , and modify his or her stroke accordingly . the system may be further configured to provide feedback on stroke consistency , typically as a rating . the stroke consistency may be defined by reference to the comparator stroke profile or the user &# 39 ; s previous stroke profile ( s ). other types of feedback are further contemplated , including shot frequency , total shot count and breakdown , quality of shots and overall game , total play time plus effort expended on the court ( in the form of calories burnt and distance travelled ). this type of feedback is typically suited more so to an analysis conducted over the course of a game , a set , or a match . a user may also be provided with feedback detailing achievements over a period of time , such as a playing season . the system may be configured to including feedback such as personal bests , improvement in a particular stroke , if the user has the best technique in their area , or at their club ( this last feedback type requiring a number of users to deposit feedback into a shared server ). any achievements may be further shared on a social media platform such as twitter ™ or facebook ™. the limb - mountable device of the present system may be configured to sit snugly on the player &# 39 ; s wrist , preferably in a manner similar to a wrist watch , or a sweat band . a number of advantages are provided by the sensors being mounted on the user , rather than on the racket . good stroke technique is driven to a large extent by forearm ( and particularly the wrist ) movement , which in turn dictates racket movement . thus , attempting to emulate a superior stroke profile based on comparative data from racket - based sensors will only assist the user in placing the racket in the same position as for the superior stroke . instead , the present systems assist the user in placing their body in the same position as that required for a superior stroke . understanding biomechanical movements of the wrist is fundamental to stroke technique . the greater extent to which precise wrists movements are recorded and assessed , the better the user will understand whether or not their technique is consistent with a comparator technique . it is particularly advantageous in comparative systems such as the present , that comparisons are made in the position and rotational movements of the wrist . these are the precise movements which should be isolated in order to understand technique . if these movements are correct , then the racket movement will more likely be correct . as another advantage , reducing noise in the measurement system allows for greater accuracy of measurement . applicant has found that embedding sensors away from the racket handle ( such as about the wrist ) reduces vibrational forces which occur through the racket when the ball is struck . these vibrational forces create noise in the data obtained by the sensors . while additional filtering and processing can minimise the noise , these processes have a detrimental impact on battery life of the device and in any event lead to a less precise understanding of the movement of the wrist . the device comprises a sensor ( and typically a number of sensors ) which act to collect substantially real time data useful in the construction of a stroke profile . in one embodiment , sensors are selected such that information on the position and orientation of the device ( and therefore the wrist ) is obtainable . it is known in the art that the output of a combination accelerometer output and gyroscope output can be used to track the position and the orientation of an object . for example , inertial measurement units ( imus ) are known which can reliably sense and process multiple degrees of freedom ( dof ), even in highly complex applications and under dynamic conditions . these units typically contain multi - axis combinations of precision gyroscopes , accelerometers , and magnetometers . in one embodiment , the limb - mountable device comprises three accelerometers , three gyroscopes , and optionally three magnetometers . the accelerometers are typically disposed with their measuring axes are orthogonal to each other . these sensors measure inertial acceleration . the three gyroscopes are typically placed in a similar orthogonal pattern , measuring angular velocity . as the skilled person appreciates , position may be derived from the sensor data and the gyroscope only provides instantaneous rate of angular velocity which is a relative figure and not an absolute figure . other sensor data are used to relate the output of the gyroscope back to a fixed frame of reference or coordinate system . the optional inclusion of three magnetometers provides an absolute reference for yaw or heading . the gyroscope data may be used to provide granular data on yaw with the magnetometer data used to correct for drift that accumulates over time it is noted that the processor ( s ) and / or software of the present system are typically configured to execute any calculations required to provide useful information ( such as the relative orientation of the limb - mountable device ) from the accelerometer , gyroscope and optionally the magnetometer output . other information useful in the construction of a stroke profile may be provided by the sensors . for example , it is useful to identify the point in the stroke at which the ball is struck . a contemporaneous change in linear and angular momentum of the limb - mountable device may be reflective of a ball strike . alternatively , the total acceleration data ( square root of x ̂ 2 + y ̂ 2 + z ̂ 2 ) may be used to identify ball impact . the moment of impact has a characteristic peak combined with vibration in this data . other calculations executed in the present system are directed to reference models which calculate the relative position of the racket face . the calculations may accept as input from the user information relating to the grip used to hold the racket for serves , forehands , backhands and volleys . for example , a semi western grip on the forehand . this allows for an accurate picture of how the movements of racket and wrist interact . preferably , this process is applicable for all tennis strokes . some embodiments of the invention comprise two or more limb - mountable devices . for example , the system may comprise a first wrist - mountable device for the left limb , and a second wrist - mountable device for the right limb . where the user is right - handed the second wrist - mountable device operates as discussed above , while the second wrist mountable device obtains positional data on the right hand . as is understood by the skilled person , the position of the non - playing hand can be important in maintaining balance , and correction to the position of that hand may lead to an improvement in the user &# 39 ; s stroke technique . in another embodiment , the system comprises a first wrist - mountable device for an upper limb , and a second ankle - mountable device for a lower limb , in tennis , the positioning of feet ( and particularly the leading foot ) can be important in improving stroke technique . in a further embodiment , the system comprises two or more limb - mountable devices configured to be mounted on two or more regions of the dominant arm of the user . for example , there may be a wrist - mounted device , and an upper arm - mounted device . this system allows for a stroke profile to include information regarding an bend in the arm at the elbow joint . in some strokes a straight arm is necessary at some time during the stroke , and information on the relative positions of the upper and lower arms may be relevant in the improvement of stroke technique . it is contemplated that the system may further comprise non - limb mountable devices capable of providing data relating to body orientation , hip rotation , head orientation position and the like . accordingly , devices mountable on the head , neck , chest , waist , hips and buttocks may also be included in the system . in another aspect , the present invention provides a limb - mountable device configured to be operable in the systems as described herein . the limb - mountable device may be constructed from elastomeric materials to ensure a snug fit on the limb . movement of the device relative to the wrist is to be avoided , and so materials and surfaces which limit slippage a preferred especially in consideration of the lubricating effect of perspiration . it is preferred that the limb - mountable device is light , so as to minimise any effect of the device on the user &# 39 ; s stroke during data collection . preferably , the device has a mass of less than about 5 g , 6 g , 7 g , 8 g , 9 g , 10 g , 11 g , 12 g , 13 g , 14 g , 15 g , 16 g , 17 g , 18 g , 19 g , 20 g . in one embodiment , the device has a mass of between about 10 g and about 15 g . in another aspect the present invention provides software configured to be operable in the present systems . the software of part thereof may be embodied in the form of firmware in the processor device or memory device of the limb - mountable device . the software of part thereof may also be embodied in the form of an application executable on a mobile device ( such as a smart phone ), and therefore operable in an ios or android operating system environment for example . in a further aspect , the present invention provides a method for improving the stroke of a user , the method comprising the steps of : electronically recording data capable of defining a user stroke profile , providing a comparator stroke profile , comparing the user stroke profile to the comparator stroke profile , and providing feedback to the user indentifying similarities and / or differences between the user stroke profile and the comparator stroke profile . the method may include the use of any system , any limb - mountable device , or any feedback device , or any software as described herein . the present invention will now be further described by way of the following non - limiting preferred embodiments . an exemplary wristband captures and analyses the movements of the player by way of an array of onboard sensors , processors and micro controllers . the sensors are ( i ) a tri - axial accelerometer , ( ii ) a gyroscope and ( iii ) a magnetometer . collectively these sensors have nine degrees of freedom ( 9dof ). working together the sensors provide the ability to monitor an object &# 39 ; s position , and the forces acting upon it , in time and space . reference is made to fig1 a , which shows a diagram of the components of a wrist - band of the present invention . the components are generally disposed in two layers , the lower layer comprising the battery 12 being a lithium polymer battery with 100 - 150 mah capacity and dimensions of 35 × 25 × 3 mm ., which is the upper layer 14 comprising two circuit boards 16 . disposed on the circuit board is a microcontroller being a efm32wg390 microprocessor ( silicon wave inc ; rf micro devices inc ) 18 . this microprocessor rate of up to 48 mhz , which is sufficient to process the data output by the inertial sensors 20 . the inertial sensors are st lsm303d ( a dual sensor triaxial magnetometer and accelerometer ) and st l3gd2oh ( a triaxial gyroscope ) ( stmicroelectronics inc ). these two inertial sensors 20 are disposed adjacent each other on the circuit board 16 with the orientation of the x - axis of each sensor pointing down towards the hand . the pcb is housed in the wristband with the sensors positioned on the top of the wrist . each of the three sensors takes measurements through three axes , x , y and z . combined together they represent 9 degrees of freedom ( 9dof ) with the output data being interpreted to provide information on the position of the wrist in space as a function of time . they also capture forces acting on the wrist such as momentum , angular rotation , acceleration and force . again , the sensor outputs are not used directly to provide this information . the sensors provide vector linear acceleration , vector angular velocity and vector magnetic field strength data . sensor fusion algorithms are then used to derive orientation data . the memory 22 is in operable communication with the microprocessor 18 and inertial sensors 20 . a bluetooth module 24 being a dual mode bluetooth transceiver - bluetooth classic and bluetooth low energy , is included to transmit feedback to a proximal smart phone of the user ( not shown ). the two circuit boards 16 are operably connected by a bus 26 . the battery 12 is slightly curved to accommodate the curved surface of the wrist operably connected to the circuit board 16 by flexible wire 28 . in fig1 b the battery 12 and circuit boards 16 are shown layered , and positioned with reference to the wrist of a user . the battery 12 is curved , with the bus 26 forming a hinge between the two circuit boards 16 . the ability of the circuit boards 16 to flex relative to each other allows them to conform to some extent to the curvature of the battery and the curve of the mechanics of the device . the sensors are embedded in the wristband and capture the movement and orientation of the wrist holding the racket . the data output by the sensors is processed on board the device constantly , this includes analysing the data using a set of on board algorithms which determine shot type , and the characteristics of the shot . this data is then stored on the device using the inbuilt memory the data processing functionality inside the wristband is responsible for translating raw sensor data into specific shot characteristic data and carrying out the associated analysis . while the sensor is in one of the normal active modes , it is continuously processing this raw data and looking for evidence that a shot has been played . on detecting such an event , it will analyse the shot to determine a wide range of characteristics related to that shot ( including shot type ) and log or stream the results of that shot . in addition , the system will keep track of the overall play data ( shot frequency , total play time , etc .). turning to fig2 there is shown a flow diagram detailing an exemplary scheme for processing raw data from wristband sensors . the sensors 50 output raw data in the form of accelerometer data , gyroscope data , magnetometer data and temperature data . the raw data is firstly adjusted by reference to a calibration standard 52 , and output as calibrated data . further processing 54 of the calibrated data provides orientation data which is used for stroke detection 56 either directly or after lp filtering 58 . the orientation data is also co - processed with complementary data 60 before lp filtering 58 . the orientation data is directly processed for stroke characterisation extraction 60 , and also indirectly after lp filtering 58 . stroke characterization extraction 60 followed by stroke evaluation involves analysis of the lp filtered orientation data to identify and characterize stroke events in the data in order to resolve what type of shot has been played ( forehand , backhand , lob , serve etc ), any relevant event characteristics which together form a stroke profile . when a shot has been detected 56 , play analysis 64 is triggered , involving the comparison of the stroke profile of the user with that of a superior stroke profile . the play analysis 64 is reliant on the identification of the shot type and event characteristics output by the shot evaluation step 62 . the play analysis is presented to the user in the form of feedback on a smart phone ( not shown ). shot detection is based on carrying out peak detection of the low pass filtered total acceleration data . this peak detection is based on first identifying any occasion where the filtered total acceleration exceeds a predefined threshold . once such an event has been detected , the peak itself is determined using a peak detection algorithm on the raw data itself . with respect to characteristic extraction , a range of shot characteristic data is extracted at this stage . this data is used in turn to determine the shot type and other data in the shot evaluation stage . the type of data extracted in this processing stage includes : minimum and maximum peaks for yaw , pitch and roll . time of minimum and maximum peaks for yaw , pitch and roll . difference between minimum and maximum peaks for yaw , pitch and roll . maximum angular rate maximum angular rate at moment of ball impact the characteristics extracted form an overall stroke profile of every shot played . each shot is broken down into a number of separate phases or stages . in this way , it is possible to identify and measure different characteristics related to shot technique more accurately . each of these phases has a specific measurable duration ( with the exception of the ball impact itself which is taken to occur at a specific point in time ). for some shots ( and particularly non - serve shots ), the following process and phases of movement are identified : 1 . ready / waiting for the next shot . 2 . backswing 3 . swing ( to impact ) 4 . ball impact 5 . follow through 6 . set - up for next shot 7 . ready / waiting for the next shot . with regard to shot evaluation , this processing step evaluates the specific shot type and characteristics related to that specific shot . the output from this step is the primary data that is presented to the player for each shot and is used in construction a summary of overall user performance . evaluating overall performance is undertaken by reference to the quality of each shot . to achieve this , the system uses a process of comparison against an extensive library of ideal stroke technique . the library contains characteristic information , data markers and limits against which the user &# 39 ; s data is compared . algorithms then identify differences between the user &# 39 ; s data , and the library to determine the specific points of feedback to return to the player on their mobile device . examples include , but are not limited to ; amount of wrist rotation during follow through of the forehand , momentum of racket head during serving motion . depending on the size of the variance the device can determine against these characteristics the relative quality of a players game . the algorithms determine the quality of a players shot and overall game by analysing the size of the variance in the data , relative to a set of ideal models . with respect to play analysis , the output of this process step is a summary of the overall play session . this includes shot frequency , total shot count and breakdown , quality of shots and overall game , total play time plus effort expended on the court ( in the form of calories burnt and distance travelled ). a key feature of play analysis is the consistency rating , which is combined with other data to provide an overall user score . the overall user score aggregates all shot evaluation data to determine how often the user is repeatedly achieving the correct technique . this applies to every shot hit by the user . the data collected over time on the users overall performance and overall user score allows the user to monitor their improvement over time . this may be broken down further to relate to performance in each session , or to focus on one stroke in particular . the users overall score can also be used to compare with other players in the community . from mobile devices , a player can challenge another player nearby . it should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention , various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment , figure , or description thereof , for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects . this method of disclosure , however , is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim . rather , as the following claims reflect , inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment . thus , the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description , with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention . furthermore , while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments , combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention , and form different embodiments , as would be understood by those skilled in the art . for example , in the following claims , any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination . in the description provided herein , numerous specific details are set forth . however , it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known methods , structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description . thus , while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention , those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention , and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as falling within the scope of the invention . for example , components and functionality may be added or deleted from diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks . steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention .	0
fig1 is a schematic view of a first , general embodiment of a directional antenna 100 according to the invention for locating radio - frequency interference sources . the directional antenna 100 is designed to receive and analyse an electromagnetic signal 102 which is generated and broadcast for example by an interference source 101 such as a defective household appliance , a mobile radio transmitter or the like . the directional antenna 100 according to the invention comprises a camera 103 , which may be an analogue camera or digital camera and which is for example embedded in the housing 104 of the directional antenna 100 . by means of the directional antenna 100 according to the invention comprising an integrated camera 103 , a functionally expanded directional antenna 100 is provided . in particular , the directional antenna 100 makes it possible to document the location , the environment , the exact position , the type and nature etc . of the interference source 101 in a particularly efficient and convenient manner by the camera 103 capturing image information from the interference source 101 or the surroundings thereof . the camera 103 may be designed as a photo camera for capturing individual images or as a video camera for capturing image sequences . fig2 is a schematic view of a further embodiment of a directional antenna 200 according to the invention . in this case , the directional antenna 100 comprises a storage medium 200 for storing the image information captured by the camera 103 and further information such as position - finding data . in the case of a digital camera 103 , the storage medium 200 may already be integrated into the camera 103 . in this case , the storage medium 200 is an electronic memory 200 , such as a dram , sram , graphical memory , memory card , hard disk or the like . it would also be conceivable for the storage medium 200 to be formed as an external memory and for example to be able to be coupled to the directional antenna 100 via an i / o interface ( not shown ). the directional antenna 100 further comprises a control device 201 , which is coupled both to the camera 103 and to the memory 200 . the control device 201 controls the functionality of the directional antenna 100 and the camera 103 and memory 200 thereof . for example , it may be provided that the control device 201 triggers automatically in a manner depending on a predetermined condition . the predetermined condition may for example be that of exceeding a particular predetermined threshold , for example relating to the amplitude , intensity , scattering and / or frequency of the detected electromagnetic interference signal 102 . fig3 is a schematic view of a further embodiment of a directional antenna 100 according to the invention . in this case , in addition to the camera 103 , memory 200 and control device 201 , the directional antenna 100 comprises a gps sensor 300 for determining the position of the directional antenna 100 . the gps sensor 300 is coupled to the memory 200 so as to store the obtained position data therein . the gps sensor 300 thus makes it possible for image information detected by the camera 103 and position - finding data detected by the directional antenna 100 each to be provided with a position stamp , in such a way that associated image and position - finding data can subsequently be identified in a simpler manner by way of the position stamp . the directional antenna 100 further comprises a device 301 for time detection . since data which were detected at ( virtually ) the same time were generally also detected at ( virtually ) the same location , it is also possible to carry out particularly precise position assignment of the detected data using the device 301 . furthermore , the directional antenna 100 comprises an actuation device 302 for actuating the camera 103 . in this embodiment , the actuation device 302 is designed as a trigger button 302 , by means of which the camera 103 is triggered by a user . however , the camera 103 could also be controlled by means of the actuation device 302 . the directional antenna 100 further comprises a directional microphone 303 for receiving a sound signal which is emitted by an interference source 101 at the same time as the electromagnetic interference signal 102 . by means of the directional microphone 303 , a difference in delay time between the delay time of the electromagnetic interference signal 102 and the sound signal is detected , by way of which the distance from the interference source 101 to the directional antenna 100 can be determined . for easier handling by a user , the directional antenna 100 is additionally equipped with a handle 304 . fig4 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a measurement arrangement 400 according to the invention for detecting and locating electrical radio - frequency interference source . the measurement arrangement 400 comprises a directional antenna 100 of the type disclosed above by way of fig1 to 3 , and a spectrum analyser 401 . a spectrum analyser 401 is a measurement device used in electrical measurement for detecting and displaying a signal in the frequency range . the display is usually provided on a screen installed in the measuring device , the horizontal axis ( x - axis ) being the frequency axis and the amplitude of the signal being shown on the vertical axis ( y - axis ). the resulting image is referred to as a frequency spectrum . spectrum analysers 401 are used inter alia in the field of high - frequency technology . using the measurement arrangement 400 according to the invention , it is possible to initially detect and characterise an electromagnetic interference signal 102 by means of the spectrum analyser 401 and to subsequently locate the detected and characterised interference signal 102 by means of the directional antenna 100 . the measurement arrangement 400 may be formed in a single piece . in this case , the spectrum analyser 401 would already be integrated into the directional antenna 100 ( or vice versa ). however , it is advantageous if the measurement arrangement 400 is formed in two pieces , as is shown in fig4 . in this case , a first part of the measurement arrangement 400 comprises the directional antenna 100 and a second part of the measurement arrangement 400 comprises the spectrum analyser 401 . in this case , the directional antenna 100 and the spectrum analyser 401 are to be coupled to one another for example by means of a radio connection or a connection cable 402 . fig5 shows a further embodiment of a measurement arrangement 400 according to the invention . in this case , the spectrum analyser 401 comprises an input device 500 , via which user - specific additional information can be inputted and can be stored together with the associated position - finding data and image information . in this case , the input device 500 comprises a keypad 501 , a microphone 502 for inputting a voice memo and a touchscreen 503 . fig6 is a flow diagram illustrating the individual steps of the method according to the invention for measuring an electromagnetic signal emitted by an interference source . initially , in a first step s 1 , an electromagnetic interference signal generated by an interference source is detected and evaluated , for example by analysing a characteristic of the interference signal in terms of the frequency , amplitude , intensity etc . thereof . in a further step s 2 , a direction of incidence of the detected electromagnetic signal is determined . the steps s 1 , s 2 may be repeated iteratively , in such a way that the user can optimally approximate the direction of incidence of the detected electromagnetic signal . during or subsequent to these search and optimisation steps s 1 and s 2 , in step s 3 at least one image of the environment in which the electromagnetic signal was detected is captured . in a subsequent step s 4 , the detected data and information captured and measured in steps s 1 , s 2 and s 3 are stored . to reduce post - processing work , associated data are stored cohesively or labelled in such a way that , after storage , associated data can be detected by a sorting algorithm as being associated . fig7 a - 7d show further embodiments of a directional antenna 100 according to the invention . instead of a gps sensor 300 , as in the embodiment of fig3 , this directional antenna 100 is equipped with a compass 305 for position determination . the various directional antennae 100 of fig7 a - 7d are distinguished by different receiving sensitivities towards the interference signals to be detected . thus , for example , the directional antenna 100 in fig7 a is configured for a frequency range of 9 khz to 20 mhz . the directional antenna 100 in fig7 b is configured for a frequency range of 200 mhz to 500 mhz . the directional antenna 100 in fig7 c is configured for a frequency range of 20 mhz to 200 mhz . the directional antenna 100 in 7 d is configured for a frequency range of 0 . 5 ghz to 7 . 5 ghz . fig8 shows a further embodiment of a measurement arrangement 400 according to the invention comprising a spectrum analyser 401 and a directional antenna 100 . in this embodiment , in fig8 , the spectrum analyser 401 is connected to the directional antenna 100 via a coaxial cable 404 . alternatively , wireless coupling of the spectrum analyser 401 and the directional antenna 100 may also be provided , for example by bluetooth , ir , radio etc . in this case , the spectrum analyser 401 comprises an input device 500 in the form of a keypad 501 . in addition , a display 403 is provided , on which data from the interference signal which are detected by the directional antenna 100 are displayed . in this embodiment , the display 403 shows a frequency spectrum 405 of the detected interference signal . in addition , the signal intensity 406 detected by the spectrum analyser 401 is shown . furthermore , the display 403 shows the position - finding data detected by the directional antenna 100 on an angle scale 407 . according to the invention , an image 408 captured by the camera 103 is now also shown on the display 403 . although the present invention has been disclosed by way of preferred embodiments , it is not limited thereto , but can be modified in various ways . thus , the detailed description of embodiments of the invention is merely exemplary in nature , and is not intended to limit the invention or the range of application or the applications of the invention . in particular , the values stated or shown in the embodiments are merely exemplary in nature and may vary depending on the field of application of the invention .	6
in tests of the effectiveness of various modifications to the cocraly overlay coating system described above , the overlay coating was first applied to in738 alloy bars by the previously mentioned argon shrouded plasma spray technique . extra elements were then introduced into the outer layer of the coating using various methods as described below : ( 1 ) vapour aluminise at 1090 ° c . for six hours , then heat treat to restore the properties of the base material , i . e . one to two hours diffusion treatment at 1120 ° c ., gas fan quench , and age 24 hours at 845 ° c . a diagrammatic representation of the resulting structure is shown in fig1 . ( 2 ) vapour aluminise as in ( 1 ), clean by controlled blasting procedure , then - platinum plate the coating to a thickness of 15 μm , then heat treat as in ( 1 ) to inter - diffuse the mcraly coating with the pt layer and restore the properties of the base material . the resulting structure is diagrammatically shown in fig2 . ( 3 ) vapour aluminise as in ( 1 ), clean by controlled blasting procedure , then platinum plate the coating to a thickness of 8 μm , then heat treat as in ( 1 ) to inter - diffuse the mcraly coating with the pt layer and restore the properties of the base material . the resulting structure is diagrammatically shown in fig3 . ( 4 ) vapour chrimize at 1100 ° c . for five hours in a sealed retort , then additionally process as ( 2 ). the resulting structure is as for fig2 except that the aluminide layer is enriched by cr . ( 5 ) vapour chrimize at 1100 ° c . for five hours in a sealed retort , then additionally process as ( 3 ). resulting structure as for fig3 except that the aluminide layers are enriched by cr . ( 6 ) vapour chrimize at 1100 ° c . for five hours in a sealed retort , then additionally process as ( 1 ). resulting structure as for fig1 except that the aluminide layer is enriched by cr . in addition to the above six processes involving modification of an initial mcraly coating , two further coating systems were tried : ( 7 ) process as ( 5 ), but without an initial mcraly base coat . the major coating processes referred to above are characterised as follows . the vapour aluminising process took place in an argon - filled retort vessel , with the parts to be aluminised being suspended in close proximity over packs of aluminising powder which liberate aluminium halide gas when heated . aluminium from the gas is deposited onto the parts and diffuses into it due to the elevated temperature . a commercial example of this technique is the rt69 ( trade name ) process available from chromalloy u . k . limited , of bramble way , clover nook industrial estate , somercoates , derby de55 4rh , england , or its parent company , chromalloy research and technology , blaisdell , orangeburg , n . y . 10962 , u . s . a . platinum plating was accomplished by an electroplating process , again available from chromalloy at the sites mentioned above under the trade name rt22 . vapour chrimizing is performed in a similar way to vapour aluminising and is also available from chromalloy under the trade name cn70 . the samples processed as outlined above were subjected to simulated isothermal sulphidation tests . the coated test pieces were placed in a nimonic boat and covered with 50 / 50 mixture of na 2 sio 3 and mos 2 paste . the samples were then tested at 850 ° c . in a muffle furnace for times of up to 3550 hours . at intervals a sample of each coating system type was removed and carefully prepared for microscopic examination . the depth of attack was recorded for each test piece . results of this test are given in fig4 which is a graph of depth of penetration of the coating in microns against time of the test in hours . below is a short commentary on the microscopic examinations of the tested samples for each type of coating mentioned in paragraphs 1 to 8 above . ( 1 ) an al rich outer layer had been produced in the outer part of the mcraly coating . sulphidation attack was observed mainly in the al rich outer layer , with no attack within the mcraly . ( 2 ) a platinum modified aluminide layer ( ptal 2 + coal ) had been produced in the outer part of the mcraly coating . however , the al concentration in wt . % within this layer was found to be poor , affording inferior protection against sulphidation attack compared with ( 1 ). ( 3 ) a platinum modified aluminide layer ( ptal 2 + coal ) had been produced in the outer part of the mcraly coating , on top of a cobalt aluminide layer ( coal ). increased al concentration in the platinum modified aluminide layer afforded better protection than ( 2 ). ( 4 ) a chromium enriched platinum modified aluminide layer ( ptal 2 + coal ) had been produced in the outer part of the mcraly coating , on top of a chromium enriched mcraly coating layer . however , the al concentration in wt . % within the platinum modified alumina layer was found to be poor , showing only marginally greater protection against sulphidation attack compared with ( 1 ). ( 5 ) a chromium enriched platinum modified aluminide layer ( ptal 2 + coal ) had been produced in the outer part of the mcraly coating , on top of a chromium enriched cobalt aluminide layer ( coal ). increased al concentration in the platinum modified aluminide layer afforded better protection than ( 4 ). ( 6 ) a chromium enriched aluminide outer layer had been produced in the outer part of the chrimized mcraly coating . sulphidation attack was greater than for ( 1 ) due to al concentration not being sufficiently high , but the presence of additional chromium throughout would improve oxidation protection at lower temperatures . ( 7 ) a chromium enriched aluminide surface layer had been produced on the superalloy specimen . this showed very poor protection against sulphidation , partly due to low al concentration . ( 8 ) the plain mcraly coating exhibited much inferior protection to the aluminised mcraly layer of ( 1 ), but was better than ( 7 ). as can be seen from fig4 overall best performance in the sulphidation tests was given by coating ( 5 ), which had been chrimized , aluminised and platinised with the 8 micron platinum plate diffused layer . next best performers were coatings ( 4 ), ( 6 ), ( 3 ) and ( 2 ), which were very close together in apparent sulphidation performance . coating ( 4 ) had been processed in the same way as coating ( 5 ), except for the application of the thicker 16 micron platinum plate . coating ( 6 ) had been chrimized and aluminised , but not platinised . coatings ( 3 ) and ( 2 ) had been aluminised and platinised , but not chrimized . the trend shown here is that sulphidation performance is increased by the chrimizing step , and increased even further by platinising , provided that aluminium concentrations in the platinum modified aluminide layer can be kept as high as possible . lower concentrations of aluminium in such cases are associated with application of thicker platinum plate for diffusion . fig5 shows a typical microstructure of coating ( 5 ) at x200 magnification before sulphidation testing , with the various layers indicated . in accordance with the previous description relating to coating ( 5 ), this coating resulted from the following process . a cocraly overlay coating system on in738 alloy bars was vapour chrimized at 1100 ° c . for 5 hours in a sealed retort . it was then vapour aluminised at 1090 ° c . for 6 hours , cleaned by a controlled blasting procedure , and platinum plated to a thickness of 8 μm . it was next heat treated using one to two hours diffusion treatment at 1120 ° c ., gas fan quench and age 24 hours at 845 ° c . the heat treatment inter - diffused the processed mcraly coating with the pt layer and restored the properties of the base material . the resulting structure was similar to that diagrammatically shown in fig3 the aluminide layers being additionally enriched by cr . fig6 shows the result of an electron probe microanalysis of a coating similar to that shown in fig5 and produced by the above process . it should be noted that the results of the electron probe microanalysis as plotted are subject to variation due to experimental error and to local variations in element concentrations in the small scale microstructure . in fig6 the concentration in weight percentage terms of various elements in the coating is graphically plotted against the depth of the coating in microns . here it can be seen that the cr content of the coating is up to about 40 wt . % in the chrimized layer , up to about 20 wt . % in the platinum aluminide layer and about 25 wt . % retained in the body of the mcraly coating . on the other hand , the highest aluminium content is only about 20 wt . % and is less than this near the surface of the coating in the top platinum modified layer . as expected , a high pt content is evident in this layer . the platinum modified aluminide top layer shown diagrammatically in fig3 and in more detail in fig5 results from diffusion of the deposited pt plate into the cobalt aluminide surface layer produced by aluminising the mcraly overlay earlier in the process . due to the pt plating and diffusion process , there will of course be an excess of elemental platinum near the surface of the top layer of the coating , as indicated in fig5 and 6 . from the work as detailed above it was evident that with coatings ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) the al concentration in the outer zones was lower than is generally accepted to be optimum in aluminide coatings . consequently , further experimental work was undertaken with test pieces in which the process activity and sequence of operation were altered to increase the al concentration level to 25 - 30wt . %. alterations to the process were essentially to apply the platinum plate directly onto the chrimized mcraly overlay coating and platinise by diffusion heat treating at 1050 ° c . for 2 hours before the aluminising step . depending upon the depth of the platinum plate as applied and the time for which the platinised coating was subsequently aluminised ( thicker platinum modified layers require longer aluminising times ), it was found that the structures illustrated in fig5 and 6 could be reproduced , but with increased al concentrations of 25 - 30 wt . % in the aluminide layers . to illustrate the effect of sequentially chrimizing an mcraly coating , then platinising and finally aluminising , fig7 and 8 are electron microprobe plots of elemental abundances in a cross section of a coating produced in this way . as in fig6 the concentration in weight percentage terms of various elements in the coating is graphically plotted against the depth of the coating in microns . however , it is important to notice that whereas in fig6 the coating depth in microns is measured from a zero datum at the surface of the coating , in fig7 and 8 , the zero datum is within the superalloy base material , the surface of the coating being at approximately 225 μm on the horizontal scale . it can be seen from fig7 that the al content of the coating in the outer platinum aluminide layer is up to about 30 wt . %, as desired . as shown in fig8 there is also up to about 30 wt . % chromium in the platinum aluminide layer , a very high cr content of between about 30 and 60 wt . % in the chrimized layer comprising the subsurface layer of the coating , and an average of about 25 ; wt . % cr retained in the body of the mcraly coating . there is a second peak of about 34 wt . % aluminium concentration just below the chrimized layer at about the 190 μm mark on the horizontal scale . it will also be seen that the cobalt concentration increases very abruptly at about the same depth into the coating . these characteristics of the plots for al and co illustrate that the chrimized layer acts as a barrier for the outward diffusion of these species from the mcraly overlay during the heat treatment associated with platinising and aluminising . the plot of cr concentration in fig8 shows peaks well in excess of the 40 wt . % usually considered desirable for chrimized coatings in view of the previously mentioned embrittlement associated with high cr concentrations . however , this is not considered to be a problem for the production of commercially valuable coatings by the above process sequence , because the level of chromium enrichment of the mcraly overlay during chrimizing can be readily controlled by varying the process parameters , such as time and temperature , as is well known in the industry . in summary , the further experimental process work , concerned with platinising before aluminising , showed that al concentration in the outermost platinum aluminide layer of the coating could be increased by an advantageous amount , compared with the previously described process involving platinising after aluminising . such increased aluminium concentration enables achievement of the required synergistic effect of extra alumina scale production at the surface of the coating at high temperatures consequent upon dissociation of chromia , thereby enhancing high temperature sulphidation resistance . although of maximum advantage when utilized in conjunction with the chrimizing step , the method of platinising an mcraly coating before aluminising it , in order to gain higher al concentrations in the platinum modified aluminide surface layer of the finished coating , will also plainly be advantageous when utilized without the prior chrimizing step . whereas the above description has concentrated on the use of a cocraly overlay coating on an in738 nickel based superalloy substrate , the invention is plainly more generally applicable to mcraly - type coatings on a variety of superalloy substrates .	2
referring to fig1 the processing apparatus 20 includes a processing chamber 22 having an upper disc support 24 and a lower disc support 26 . a robotic device ( not shown ) is utilized in a known manner to load a first optical disc 28 having a first layer of data or information 30 onto the upper disc support 24 . the robotic device is also operable to load a second optical disc 32 having a second layer of information or data 34 onto the lower disc support 26 . with the current application , the discs are loaded in the processing chamber 22 to have a separation in the range of approximately 0 . 50 inches to approximately 0 . 75 inches or more . however , it should be noted that the magnitude of disc separation is not important to and totally independent of the successful practice of the present invention . normally , a closer disc spacing is correlated to more efficient and faster cycle times . the processing chamber 22 also has a vent valve 35 which may be selectively opened to vent the processing chamber to atmosphere . the upper disc support 24 preferably has a pneumatic vacuum chuck to secure the first disc 28 to the upper disc support 24 . the first disc 28 can alternatively be secured to the upper disc holder 24 by a mechanical locking system of a known design , for example , of the type in which a shaft expands into the center hole 38 , thereby securing the disc 28 to the upper disc support 24 . the upper disc support 24 is movable in a vertical direction by means of a cylinder 36 having a stroke of a length that the cylinder 36 may be used to lower the first disc 28 onto the second disc 32 . the cylinder 36 may be pneumatic or electric . the lower disc support 26 includes a center spindle 40 extending through the center hole 42 of the second disc 32 . the spindle 40 preferably extends above the second layer 34 and thus , facilitates the accurate placement of the first disc 28 onto the second disc 32 . the lower disc support 26 is mechanically coupled to a pneumatic or electric motor 44 that rotates the lower disc support 26 and second optical disc 32 while a bonding fluid is being dispensed onto the disc 32 . a bonding fluid or adhesive 47 , for example , an ultraviolet (“ uv ”) curable lacquer , is held within a tank 48 . a fluid conduit , for example , hard or flexible tubing , 50 carries the bonding fluid from the tank 48 to an input side of a dispensing valve 52 . the output side of the dispensing valve 52 is connected to a fluid conduit 54 that extends into the processing tank 22 and terminates with a fluid dispensing head 56 . the dispensing valve 52 , dispensing head 56 and connecting fluid conduit 54 function together as a fluid dispenser . the dispensing head 56 is supported by a robot arm or a pivot arm 58 that is powered by a pneumatic or electric motor 60 . the dispensing head 56 is supported by the robot arm 58 at a first , nondispensing position outside the peripheral boundaries of the discs 30 , 32 . the robot arm 58 , at the appropriate times , rotates or pivots the dispensing head 56 to a second , dispensing position , at which the dispensing head preferably extends radially between the discs 30 , 32 . after dispensing the adhesive , the robot arm 58 then rotates the dispensing head back to the first position . a return fluid conduit 62 functions to return excess bonding fluid from the chamber 22 to the tank 48 through a return valve 64 . a gas tank 66 provides a source of an inert gas , for example , helium , which is provided to the adhesive tank 48 by means of a fluid conduit or pipe 68 and a helium valve 70 . a vacuum pump 72 has an inlet 74 fluidly connected to a first port 78 of a 3 - way vacuum valve 76 . the vacuum valve 76 has a second port 80 fluidly connected to the adhesive tank 48 by means of a fluid conduit 82 . the vacuum valve 76 has a third port 82 fluidly connected to one side of a process vacuum valve 84 by means of a fluid conduit 86 . the other side of the process vacuum valve 84 is connected to the processing chamber 22 by means of a fluid conduit 88 . the processing chamber 22 , vacuum pump 72 , actuators 36 , 44 , 60 and the various valves 35 , 52 , 64 , 70 , 76 , 84 are electrically connected to a controller 90 . the controller 90 can be implemented using any commercially available programmable logic controller such as those available from allen bradley , modicon and others . the controller 90 is programmed to execute a serial sequence of logical operations and provides output signals via various valve and motor drivers to operate processing chamber 22 , vacuum pump 72 , actuators 36 , 44 , 60 and the various valves 35 , 52 , 64 , 70 , 76 , 84 in such a manner as to perform the desired operation of the processing apparatus 20 . generally , the output signals from the controller 90 are binary signals the states of which are operative to open or close a valve or solenoid or turn a motor pump or actuator on or off . the main purpose of the processing apparatus 20 is to dispense a bonding fluid or adhesive free of air bubbles onto the upper surface of the upper directed layer 34 of the second optical disc 32 and thereafter , bring the layer 30 of the first optical disc 28 into contact with layer 34 of the second optical disc 32 such that the intermediate layer of bonding fluid continues to remain free of air bubbles . to achieve an air bubble free intermediate bonding layer , the adhesive tank 48 is evacuated and filled with an inert gas ; and in addition , the bonding fluid is dispensed within an evacuated processing chamber 22 . referring to fig2 the processing apparatus 20 first , at 202 , removes air from the tank 48 . to accomplish this , the controller provides output signals to maintain the helium valve 70 , the return valve 64 , the dispensing valve 52 in their initial or default , closed positions and the vent valve 35 to the processing chamber 22 in its open state . further , output signals from the controller 90 cause the actuator 36 to maintain the upper disc support 24 in its illustrated upper position and the actuator 60 of the robot arm 58 to locate the dispenser 56 at its first default position outside the periphery of the upper disc support 24 . further , output signals from the controller 90 turn the vacuum pump 72 on and move the three - way vacuum valve 76 to a position providing continuity between the ports 78 , 80 , thereby connecting the inlet 74 of the vacuum pump 72 to the adhesive tank 48 . the vacuum pump 72 then evacuates air from the adhesive tank 48 . the controller 90 then determines that the tank 48 is evacuated to a proper less than atmospheric pressure , that is , a partial vacuum . the controller 90 achieves a desired evacuation pressure by evacuating the tank 48 with the pump 72 for a predetermined period of time as determined by a timing function within the controller 90 . alternatively , the controller can monitor an output signal from a pressure sensor 73 in a pressure measuring relationship with the adhesive tank 48 and providing a signal representing the pressure in the tank 48 to the controller 90 . when the adhesive tank 48 is evacuated to the proper pressure , the controller 90 then provides an output signal to the valve 76 that switches the valve 76 to a state in which the ports 78 , 82 are connected within the valve , however , the closed state of the process vacuum valve 84 prevents the vacuum pump 72 from evacuating the processing chamber 22 . the processing apparatus 20 next , at 204 , applies a helium blanket to the tank 48 . this is accomplished by the controller 90 providing output signals to open the helium valve 70 and also switch the three - way vacuum valve 76 such that the ports 78 , 82 are connected within the valve 76 . pressure from the helium tank 66 fills the evacuated space within the adhesive tank 48 , and after a predetermined period of time determined by a timer within the controller 90 , the controller provides an output signal causing the helium valve 70 to close . with an inert gas such as helium in the tank 48 , the probability of air bubbles forming in the bonding fluid within the tank and in its transfer to the processing chamber 22 is close to nil . thereafter , the processing apparatus 20 , at 206 , causes the discs 28 , 32 to be loaded into the processing chamber 22 . the controller 90 , in a known manner , provides output signals to cause an access door 92 to open and a robot ( not shown ) to load the discs 28 , 32 on the respective upper and lower disc supports 24 , 26 . thereafter , the controller 90 provides output signals to cause the door 92 of the process chamber 22 to close . next , the processing apparatus 20 , at 208 , evacuates the processing chamber 22 . to effect this step , the controller 90 provides an output signal to open the process vacuum valve 84 which connects the interior of the processing chamber 22 to the inlet 74 of the vacuum pump 72 . the processing chamber 22 is evacuated to a desired pressure less than atmospheric pressure , that is , a partial vacuum , which is determined by the controller 90 either , by means of a passage of a period of time signaled by the expiration of an internal timer or , the detecting of a pressure value from a pressure transducer 75 connected in a pressure measuring relationship to the processing chamber 22 . after the desired partial vacuum pressure in the processing chamber is achieved , the processing apparatus 20 then , at 210 , applies the bonding fluid to the upper layer 34 of the lower disc 32 . the controller 90 first provides an output signal to the motor 44 to initiate rotation of the lower disc support 26 and the lower disc 32 . in addition , an output signal is provided by the controller 90 to the motor 60 to cause the robot arm 58 and dispensing head 56 to rotate from the first position to a second , dispensing position at which the dispensing head 56 is generally above and directed radially with respect to the rotating lower disc 32 . the controller 90 then initiates a dispense timing cycle by activating a timer within the controller 90 and simultaneously providing an output signal to open the dispense valve 52 . the partial vacuum within the processing chamber 22 causes bonding fluid to be drawn from the tank 48 , through the conduit 50 , the dispensing valve 52 , the conduit 54 and out the dispensing head 56 . dispensing the bonding fluid on the upper surface of the layer 34 of the disc 32 in combination with the rotation of the disc 32 causes the bonding fluid to distribute itself over the upper surface of the layer 34 of the lower disc 32 . upon the internal dispensing timer timing out , the controller 90 changes the state of the output signal to the dispense valve 52 , thereby causing the dispense valve 52 to close . in addition , the controller 90 changes the states of the output signals to the motors 44 , 60 , thereby causing the motor 44 to stop the rotation of the lower support 26 and disc 32 and the robot arm 58 to return the dispensing head 56 back to its original first position . next , the processing apparatus 20 , at 212 , causes the upper disc 28 to be lowered onto the lower disc 32 . the controller 90 , therefore , provides an output signal to the cylinder 36 causing the cylinder to move the upper disc support 24 vertically downward until the upper disc 28 is contacting and resting on top of the lower disc 32 with the bonding fluid therebetween . when the cylinder 36 has reached the end of its downward stroke , the controller 90 provides an output signal to the device securing the upper disc 28 to the upper support 24 to cause the upper disc 28 to be released therefrom . for example , if the upper disc 28 is being held by a vacuum chuck , the controller 90 would provide an output signal to terminate the vacuum , thereby releasing the upper disc 28 from the upper support 24 . alternatively , if the upper disc 28 is being held by a clamp in the center hole 30 , the controller 90 would provide an output signal to release the clamp , thereby permitting the disc 28 to drop onto the lower disc 32 . after releasing the upper disc 28 from the support 24 , the controller 90 then provides a further output signal to the cylinder 36 causing the cylinder to retract the upper support 24 to its original illustrated position . thus , referring to fig3 a multilayer disc assembly 96 is provided in which a first layer of data 30 of a first optical disc 28 is juxtaposed on top of a second layer of data 34 of a second optical disc 32 with an intervening layer 94 of bonding fluid or adhesive . next at 214 , the processing apparatus 20 vents the processing chamber 22 . to effect this , the controller 90 first provides an output signal to the process vacuum valve 84 causing the process vacuum valve to close and provides a further output signal to the vent valve 35 causing the vent valve to open , thereby releasing the partial vacuum and bringing the pressure within the processing chamber 22 to atmospheric pressure . upon opening the vent valve 35 , the controller 90 also provides an output signal to the return valve 64 causing the return valve to open , thereby permitting excess bonding fluid to drain back into the tank thereafter , at 216 , the processing apparatus 20 causes the assembly of the upper and lower discs 28 , 32 with the intervening layer 94 of bonding fluid to be removed from the processing chamber 22 . thus , the controller 90 provides output signals to cause the door 92 to the processing chamber 22 to open and to command the robotic disc loader / unloader to remove the assembly of the upper and lower discs 28 , 32 with the intervening layer 94 of adhesive . the load / unload robotic device then loads two other optical discs onto the respective upper and lower supports 24 , 26 within the processing chamber 22 and provides further output signals to close the door 92 . the process of fig2 as described with respect to process steps 208 - 216 is repeated , and thereafter , the process as described with respect to steps 206 - 216 is repeated to make additional disc assemblies . the process of the apparatus 20 just described is effective to quickly and efficiently place the two discs 28 , 30 in a contacting , bondable relationship with an intervening layer of bonding fluid 94 such that there are no air bubbles in the layer of bonding fluid 94 . the discs are further processed in accordance with known steps , for example , the assembly of the two discs 28 , 32 with the intervening layer of bonding fluid 94 are then spun at a high speed to provide a uniform layer 94 of bonding fluid at a consistent , desired thickness prior to being exposed to a flash of ultraviolet light for curing . while the invention has been illustrated by the description of one embodiment , and while the embodiment has been described in considerable detail , there is no intention to restrict nor in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those who are skilled in the art . for example , with the illustrated embodiment , the bonding fluid is deposited on the lower one of the discs 32 ; however , as will be appreciated , the bonding fluid may be deposited on either or both of the discs 28 , 32 . with the described embodiment , the tank 48 is evacuated and filled with an inert gas prior to the discs 28 , 32 being loaded into the processing chamber 22 ; however , consistent with the present invention , the discs 28 , 32 may be loaded into the processing chamber 22 prior to the tank 48 being evacuated and filled with an inert gas . further , the high speed spinning of the assembly of the two discs 28 , 32 with the intervening layer of bonding fluid 94 is performed with a separate apparatus outside the processing chamber 22 . as will be appreciated , the processing chamber 22 may be designed to provide that high speed spinning process . further , within the processing chamber 22 , the spinning process may occur either under a partial vacuum or at atmospheric pressure . likewise , it is also within the scope of the invention that the processing chamber 22 may be designed to include a station for exposing the intervening layer of bonding fluid 94 to the ultraviolet light . the described embodiment includes a return valve 62 located between the processing chamber and the tank 48 . as will be appreciated , a return manifold may also be utilized in which return fluid is collected prior to its release into the tank 48 . with such an arrangement , the return manifold may include return valves at both ends of the manifold . the described embodiment utilizes a single vacuum pump 72 and a vacuum valve 76 connected to the tank 48 and the processing chamber 22 to selectively apply a vacuum thereto . as will be appreciated , the processing chamber 22 and the tank 48 may each be connected to a separate vacuum pump , and thus , with two vacuum pumps the vacuum valve 76 can be eliminated . therefore , the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited to the specific details shown and described . consequently , departures may be made from the details described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims which follow .	1
in one embodiment , a process for fabricating lead body material for stimulation leads begins with a continuous working material 10 shown in fig1 . in one embodiment , the working material 10 is a polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) coated stainless steel mandrel wire 12 ( shown in fig2 ). referring again to fig1 , the working material 10 is then helically wrapped with a set of micro cables 14 at a wire wrapping system 15 . while seven micro cables 14 are used in one embodiment , those skilled in the art will recognize that any suitable number of micro cables 14 may be wrapped onto mandrel 12 according to other embodiments . in one preferred embodiment , micro cables 14 are wrapped about working material 10 in an axially repeating pattern of groups 301 of closely spaced wires with each group 301 separated by distance 302 that is larger than the spacing between adjacent wires within each group ( fig3 ). the distance between groups in fig3 is by way of example and any suitable distance may be employed according to some embodiments . the wrapping of micro cables 14 in this manner may occur using the wire wrapping system disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 61 / 247 , 264 , entitled “ system and method for fabricating a stimulation lead ,” which is incorporated herein by reference . referring again to fig1 , in step 18 , an outer sheath is provided over the working material 10 ( which now includes the helically wound micro cables 14 ) using any suitable method . upon provision of the outer sheath of insulative material , working material 10 may now be spooled and later unspooled ( not shown ) or fed directly to the next step in the process . in the next step , working material 10 may optionally be heated in reflow oven 19 . micro cables 14 are heated to a temperature that causes insulative material of micro cables 14 to approach or achieve a phase change , thereby becoming soft and adherent and ultimately fusing together , by heating , melting and re - solidifying . at this point , the working material 10 , now comprising mandrel 12 having micro cables 14 at least partially fused about it , may now be spooled onto a spool and stored for later work . continuous working material 10 is cut ( step 24 ) into individual lead bodies 21 . each individual lead body 21 may have a length anywhere from about 10 cm ( 4 in ) to about 150 cm ( 60 in ). after the lead bodies 21 have been cut to length , mandrel 12 is removed from within in a mandrel removal step 28 . this task may be facilitated by a coating of mandrel 12 that will ease removal , such as a ptfe coating . the mandrel removal step 28 may be a simple hand operation by a human worker . next , in an electrode creation step 30 , electrodes and terminals are provided on the distal and proximal ends of the lead body , respectively . any suitable technique or process may be employed to provide the electrodes and terminals . also , the lead body could alternatively be connected to a paddle structure which holds electrodes in a planar arrangement as is well known in the art . micro cable 14 is shown in greater detail in fig4 . a length of micro cable 14 is preferably fabricated by using a standard serving process ( using any suitable commercially available serving system ) to twist stranded wires or other suitable conductors 401 around center support core 402 . center support core 402 may be a monofilament or a metallic wire as examples . each conductor 401 may be a stranded wire ( e . g . of a diameter of approximately 0 . 003 inches ) coated with a thin coating of insulative material with suitable properties ( a perfluoroalkoxy copolymer ( pfa ), polytetrafluoroethylene , liquid crystal polymer ( lcp ), etc .). in one embodiment , the coating is perfluoroalkoxyethylene . in one embodiment , five conductors 401 are wound about central support core 402 , although any suitable number of conductors 401 may employed depending upon the total number of conductors selected for the final lead configuration . outer sheath 403 of insulative material is then provided about the wound conductors 401 ( e . g ., using an extrusion process ). in one embodiment , the diameter of micro cable 14 is approximately 0 . 012 inches . the length of micro cable 14 is then cut into separate segments and wound onto respective spools . fig5 depicts lead body assembly 500 according to one representative embodiment . in this embodiment , seven micro cables 14 are helically wound about inner wall 501 of insulative material , although any suitable number could be employed . as depicted in fig5 , each conductor 401 within each micro cable 14 is twisted so that the conductors 401 rotate with each micro cable 14 to expose a different conductor 401 at each different axial position along lead body 500 . that is , a different conductor 401 within each micro cable 14 is closest to exterior insulative sheath 502 at different axial positions along lead body 500 . this is achieved by using a suitable wire wrapping system to twist conductors 401 about central support core 402 . also , as shown in fig5 , gap 503 is provided that is empty of micro cables 14 . the presence of gap 503 facilitates the elongation of lead body 500 according to some embodiments . in one embodiment , the diameter of lead body 500 is approximately 0 . 055 inches which is approximately equal to the diameter of commercially available neurostimulation leads . however , lead body 500 encloses 35 conductors for connection to electrodes and terminals , which is considerably larger than known commercially available neurostimulation leads adapted for long term implantation . also , because each conductor 401 within each micro cable 14 is located near the surface of lead body 500 at various points , access to each conductor 401 for electrode and terminal fabrication is relatively straight forward and only involves removal of a small amount of insulation from sheath 502 ( i . e ., it is not necessary to ablate through insulative material to a separate interior layer ). in some embodiments , different visual characteristics ( e . g ., different colors ) may be employed to permit an operator to distinguish between respective conductors 401 within each cable 14 . the dimensions for lead body 500 and components thereof are by way of example . other suitable dimensions may be employed . also , other configurations of conductor 401 and micro cables 14 may be employed . for example , 4 conductor / 8 micro cables or 6 conductor / 6 micro cables may be selected for other embodiments . further , in some embodiments , lead body 500 is fabricated such that lead body 500 is capable of elastic elongation under relatively low stretching forces . also , after removal of the stretching force , lead body 500 is capable of resuming its original length and profile . for example , in one embodiment , relatively low durometer , elastic polymer material ( e . g . carbosil ™) is used for inner wall 501 and outer sheath 502 . the combination of the selection of the insulative materials , the helically wrapping of the micro cables , and the repeating groups of micro cables with separating gaps enables the stretching according to the relatively low stretching forces . for example , the lead body may stretch 10 %, 20 %, 25 %, 35 %, or even up to 50 % at forces of about 0 . 5 , 1 . 0 , and / or 2 . 0 pounds of stretching force . for additional description of a lead body capable of elastic elongation , reference is made to u . s . patent publication no . 2007 / 0282411 , entitled “ compliant electrical stimulation leads and methods of fabrication ,” which is incorporated herein by reference . fig6 depicts lead body 600 according to one representative embodiment . lead body 600 is substantially similar to lead body 500 except that in lieu of gap 503 , lead body 600 includes a plurality of elastic spacer threads 601 wound about inner wall 501 with micro cables 14 . the elastic spacer threads facilitate the elastic characteristics of lead body 600 while ensuring that micro cables 14 remain in their respective angular positions within lead body 600 . the elastic spacer threads may be subsequently fused with the insulative material of inner wall 501 and outer sheath 502 using suitable application of heat and , optionally , pressure to form a uniform fused matrix of insulative material enclosing conductors 401 according to some embodiments . fig7 a depicts cortical paddle lead 775 according to one representative embodiment . cortical paddle lead 775 comprises a relatively large number of electrodes 701 disposed on paddle structure 702 . the larger number of electrode sites for selection by a clinician may be beneficial for cortical stimulation in which targeting the appropriate cortical tissue can be challenging . electrodes 701 are electrically coupled to terminals 703 through the conductors 401 ( not shown in fig7 ) of lead body 500 ( or any other lead body according to some representative embodiments ). although a cortical paddle is shown in fig7 a , any suitable stimulation lead for stimulation of tissue of a patient may utilize lead bodies according to some representative embodiments . for example , spinal cord stimulation leads , deep brain stimulation leads , peripheral nerve stimulation leads , cardiac leads may employ lead bodies according to some embodiments described herein . also , any suitable number and arrangement of electrodes may be employed according to other embodiments . for example , ring electrodes or segmented electrodes may be disposed about the outer diameter of lead body 500 in lieu of being disposed on paddle structure 702 . fig7 b depicts stimulation system 700 according to one representative embodiment . neurostimulation system 700 includes pulse generator 720 and one or more stimulation leads 775 . pulse generator 720 is typically implemented using a metallic housing that encloses circuitry for generating the electrical pulses for application to neural tissue of the patient . control circuitry , communication circuitry , and a rechargeable battery ( not shown ) are also typically included within pulse generator 720 . pulse generator 720 is usually implanted within a subcutaneous pocket created under the skin by a physician . lead 775 is electrically coupled to the circuitry within pulse generator 720 using header 710 . lead 775 includes terminals 703 ( shown in fig7 a ) that are adapted to electrically connect with electrical connectors ( e . g ., “ bal - seal ” connectors which are commercially available and widely known ) disposed within header 710 . the terminals 703 are electrically coupled to conductors ( not shown in fig7 b ) within lead body 500 of lead 775 . the conductors conduct pulses from the proximal end to the distal end of lead 775 . the conductors are also electrically coupled to electrodes 701 to apply the pulses to tissue of the patient . lead 775 can be utilized for any suitable stimulation therapy . an “ extension ” lead ( not shown ) may be utilized as an intermediate connector if deemed appropriate by the physician . pulse generator 720 preferably wirelessly communicates with programmer device 750 . programmer device 750 enables a clinician to control the pulse generating operations of pulse generator 720 . the clinician can select electrode combinations , pulse amplitude , pulse width , frequency parameters , and / or the like using the user interface of programmer device 750 . the parameters can be defined in terms of “ stim sets ,” “ stimulation programs ,” ( which are known in the art ) or any other suitable format . programmer device 750 responds by communicating the parameters to pulse generator 720 and pulse generator 720 modifies its operations to generate stimulation pulses according to the communicated parameters . although certain representative embodiments and 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 appended claims . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process , machine , manufacture , composition of matter , means , methods and steps described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate when reading the present application , other processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps , presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the described embodiments may be utilized . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps .	0
fig1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a microscope 10 that embodies aspects of the invention . for simplicity and clarity , an outer housing of the microscope 10 has been omitted in the drawings . the microscope 10 is used for fluorescence analysis , but could alternatively be used for some other purpose . fig2 is a diagrammatic sectional side view of the microscope 10 , taken along the section line 2 - 2 in fig1 . the microscope 10 has an aluminum base 12 that includes a lower part 16 in a form of a base plate , and an upper part 17 in the form of a shell . the shell 17 is fixedly secured to the base plate 16 by a plurality of screws 18 . as best seen in fig2 , the base 12 has a chamber 21 therein , defined by a downwardly open recess in the shell 17 . the upper portion of the shell 17 includes a vertically upwardly extending projection 23 having a cylindrical outer surface that is concentric to a vertical axis 25 . a cylindrical opening 24 extends vertically through the projection 23 . the cylindrical opening 24 is concentric to the vertical axis 25 , has a lower end that opens into the chamber 21 , and has an upper end that opens through a top surface 27 of the shell 17 . the top surface 27 is an axially upwardly facing annular bearing surface . a radially outwardly facing annular bearing surface 28 is provided adjacent the upper end of the projection 23 . the bearing surfaces 27 and 28 are each concentric to the vertical axis 25 . the shell 17 has eight uniformly circumferentially spaced cylindrical openings that extend therethrough from the chamber 21 to the outer surface of the shell at an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the vertical axis 25 . two of the these openings are visible in fig2 , and are respectively designated by reference numerals 31 and 32 . the base plate 16 has a downwardly converging frustoconical opening 36 therethrough . the opening 36 is concentric to the vertical axis 25 . at its upper end , the opening 36 communicates with the chamber 21 . a conventional and not - illustrated specimen support can be removably secured against an underside of the base plate 16 , in order to support a specimen at a location 37 that is identified in fig2 by a small rectangle . fig3 is a diagrammatic perspective exploded view showing selected components from the microscope 10 of fig1 and 2 . with reference to fig1 through 3 , an aluminum support column 41 has its lower end fixedly secured to the base plate 16 by several screws 42 , and extends vertically upwardly from the base plate . as shown in fig2 and 3 , an electric motor 46 is fixedly secured to an upper portion of the support column 41 , with an orientation so that a rotatable shaft 47 of the motor protects vertically downwardly from the motor . in the disclosed embodiment , the motor 46 is a stepper motor , but it could alternatively be any other suitable type of motor . a pinion gear 48 is fixedly secured to the lower end of the shaft 47 , for a purpose discussed later . an anti - rotation section 51 is also fixedly secured to the upper portion of the support column 41 , and has a vertically extending slot 52 therein for a purpose discussed later . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the microscope 10 has eight illumination modules , three of which are designated by respective reference numerals 61 , 62 and 63 . as discussed above , the shell has eight circumferentially - spaced openings therethrough , two of which are identified by reference numerals 31 and 32 . each of these eight openings has fixedly but removably installed therein a respective one of the eight illumination modules , including the three illumination modules identified by reference numerals 61 , 62 and 63 . the eight illumination modules are each held in place by a single removable screw , for example as shown in 67 and 68 in fig2 for the illumination modules 61 and 62 . each of the eight illumination modules can emit radiation that illuminates a not - illustrated specimen disposed at the location 37 . in the microscope 10 , the eight illumination modules are all different from each other . for example , the illumination modules each emit radiation having respective distinct characteristics , and typically no more than one of the eight illumination modules is energized at any given point in time . the structure and operation of the illumination modules is discussed in more detail later . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the microscope 10 includes a tubular barrel member 81 that is made of aluminum and that extends vertically through the cylindrical opening 24 in the projection 23 of the shell 17 . the barrel member 81 has a cylindrical outer surface 82 that is concentric to the vertical axis 25 , and that has a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the cylindrical opening 24 . the cylindrical surface 82 slidably engages the cylindrical inner surface of the opening 24 , so that the barrel member 81 is capable of reciprocal vertical sliding movement relative to the shell 17 . fig4 is a diagrammatic fragmentary sectional side view that shows , in an enlarged scale , a portion of the structure of fig2 , including a lower portion of the barrel member 81 , and some surrounding structure . as shown in fig4 , the barrel member 81 has an annular recess 86 near a lower end thereof . a retaining ring 87 is fixedly engaged in the annular recess 86 with a snap fit . a flat washer 91 encircles the barrel member 81 above the retaining ring 87 , and has an upper surface that is disposed against a top surface of the chamber 21 in the shell 17 . a resilient helical compression spring 92 encircles the barrel member 81 between the retaining ring 87 and the washer 91 , and yieldably urges the retaining ring 87 away from the washer 91 . this in turn causes the barrel member 81 to be urged downwardly in relation to the shell 17 . as best seen in fig2 , 3 and 4 , an annular gear 101 encircles the barrel member 81 . in the disclosed embodiment , the gear 101 is made of aluminum , but it could alternatively be made of any other suitable material . the gear 101 has a radially inwardly facing cylindrical bearing surface 102 that slidably engages the cylindrical surface 82 on the barrel member 81 , an annular axially - facing bearing surface 103 that slidably engages the bearing surface 27 on the shell 17 , and a radially - inwardly facing annular bearing surface 104 that slidably engages the bearing surface 28 on the shell . as a result of the sliding engagement of these pairs of bearing surfaces , the annular gear 101 can rotate relative to the shell 17 and the barrel member 81 . a lubricant is provided between these pairs of bearing surfaces . the lubricant used in the disclosed embodiment is available commercially as braycote ® 601 ef from castrol industrial north america , inc . of naperville , ill . alternatively , however , any other suitable lubricant could be used , or for some applications the lubricant could be omitted . the annular gear 101 has a plurality of gear teeth 107 extending around the periphery thereof . as shown in fig2 , the gear teeth 107 on the gear 101 engage the gear teeth on the pinion gear 48 . thus , when the motor 46 rotates the gear 48 , the gear 48 in turn rotates the gear 101 . fig5 and 6 are respectively a diagrammatic perspective view and a diagrammatic top view of the gear 101 , showing the gear in an enlarged scale . with reference to fig4 , 5 , and 6 , the upper portion of the gear 101 serves as an annular cam 111 that extends completely around the barrel member 81 . the cam 111 has thereon an upwardly - facing annular cam surface 112 that extends completely around the barrel member 81 . as best seen in fig5 and 6 , the cam surface 112 has two short transition surface portions 116 and 117 at diametrically opposed locations , and has longer cam surface portions 118 and 119 disposed between the transition surface portions 116 and 117 . in a counterclockwise direction 123 , as viewed in fig5 , the cam surface portion 118 progressively rises with a gradual slope from the transition surface portion 117 to the transition surface portion 116 , the transition surface portion 116 then progressively drops with a significantly greater slope , the cam surface portion 119 then progressively rises with a gradual slope from the transition surface portion 116 to the transition surface portion 117 , and then the transition surface portion 117 progressively drops with a significantly greater slope . fig7 is a diagrammatic fragmentary side view of the gear 101 , and adjacent portions of the barrel member 81 and shell 17 . with reference to fig3 and 7 , two screws 131 are disposed on diametrically opposite sides of the barrel member 81 . the screws 131 each extend radially with respect to the vertical axis 25 , and each engage a respect threaded radial opening provided in the barrel member 81 . two identical cam follower parts 132 are provided , and each is pivotally supported on a respective one of the two screws 131 . the cam follower parts 132 each slidably engage the cam surface 112 on the gear 101 . in the disclosed embodiment , the cam follower parts 132 are each made of nylon . however , they could alternatively be made of any other suitable material . fig8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one of the cam follower parts 132 . as shown in fig8 , the cam follower part 132 has a cylindrical opening 136 which extends therethrough , and which rotatably receives a shank of the associated screw 131 . the cylindrical opening 136 is concentric to a pivot axis 137 of the cam follower part 132 . the cam follower part has , on one side thereof , two spaced planar surfaces 141 and 142 that are substantially co - planar , and are separated by a shallow recess 143 . the surfaces 141 and 142 are slider surfaces that each slidably engage the cam 112 on the gear 101 . as discussed above in association with fig4 , the compression spring 92 urges the barrel member 81 downwardly in relation to the shell 17 and the gear 101 . as a result , the cam follower parts 132 on the barrel member 81 are urged downwardly against the upwardly - facing cam surface 112 on the gear 101 , and this in turn urges the bearing surface 103 on the gear against the bearing surface 27 on the shell 17 . fig1 shows an annular protective cover 146 that is provided around the barrel member 81 just above the gear 101 , in order to cover and protect the cam surface 112 and the cam follower parts 132 . the lower end of the cover 146 rests on top of the gear 101 , at a location just radially outwardly of the cam 111 with the cam surface 112 . although the protective cover 146 is shown in fig1 , for clarity it is omitted from the other drawing figures . with reference to fig1 , 2 and 3 , a horizontal plate is fixedly mounted to an upper end of the barrel member 81 . an anti - rotation flange 157 is fixedly secured to and extends vertically downwardly from the underside of the plate 156 , at a location spaced radially outwardly from the barrel member 81 . the anti - rotation flange 157 has at its lower end a horizontally outwardly projecting tab 158 that is vertically slidably received within the vertical slot 52 of the anti - rotation section 51 . the cooperation of the tab 158 and slot 52 prevents rotation of the barrel member 81 relative to the shell 17 . a circuit board 161 is disposed above and supported by the plate 156 . an image sensor 162 of a known type is mounted on the circuit board 161 , at a location so that the vertical axis 25 extends through a central portion of the image sensor . the plate 156 has an opening 164 ( fig2 ) that is disposed just below the image sensor 162 . with reference to fig2 and 4 , an optics assembly 166 is installed within the barrel member 81 , near the lower end of the barrel member . the optics assembly 166 includes several optical components , such as lenses . a detailed understanding of the optics 166 is not necessary to an understanding of the present invention , and the optics 166 are therefore not described here in detail . with reference to fig2 , the optics 166 form on the image sensor 162 an image of a region that is disposed at the lower end of the frustoconical opening 36 , and that includes the location 37 at which a specimen can be supported . as discussed above , the microscope 10 includes eight illumination modules , three of which are identified by reference numerals 61 , 62 , and 63 . as also discussed above , these eight illumination modules are not all identical . for example , each emits radiation with a respective different color ( wavelength ). fig9 is a diagrammatic central sectional side view of the illumination module 62 . fig1 is a diagrammatic perspective exploded view of the illumination module 62 . with reference to fig9 and 10 , the illumination module 62 includes a member or cap 201 having a circular planar wall 202 , and having a flange 203 that projects axially from a peripheral edge of the wall 201 . a recess or gap 204 is provided through the flange 203 . the member 201 is thermally conductive . in the disclosed embodiment , the member 201 is made from aluminum , but it could alternatively be made from any other suitable material . a heat sink 207 has a base plate 208 , and a plurality of spaced parallel projections 209 that extend outwardly from the base plate 208 on one side thereof . the heat sink 207 is thermally conductive . in the disclosed embodiment , the heat sink 207 is made from aluminum , but it could alternatively be made of any other suitable material . the base plate 208 of the heat sink 207 is fixedly secured to the circular wall 202 of the member 201 by a thermally - conductive adhesive that is not separately shown in the drawings . in the disclosed embodiment , the thermally - conductive adhesive is obtained commercially under the tradename tra - bond 2151 from tra - con , inc . of bedford , mass . however , the heat sink 207 and member 201 could alternatively be physically and thermally coupled in any other suitable manner . the illumination module 62 includes a small and elongate circuit board 212 with a radiation source 213 mounted on one end portion thereof , and an electrical connector 214 mounted on an opposite end portion thereof . the connector 214 and radiation source 213 are on opposite sides of the circuit board . the electrical connector 214 has two electrically conductive pins 216 , and one end of each pin is soldered to a respective electrically - conductive run on the circuit board . the circuit board electrically couples the pins 216 of the connector 214 to respective terminals of the radiation source 213 . in the disclosed embodiment , the radiation source 213 is a commercially - available light emitting diode ( led ), and is therefore not described here in detail . the radiation source 213 in the illumination module 62 emits radiation having a center wavelength corresponding to a color commonly known as cyan . a not - illustrated cable has one end detachably coupled to the connector 214 , and another end detachably coupled to a connector on another circuit board , in order to supply electrical power through the connector 214 and the circuit board 212 to the radiation source 213 . the end portion of the circuit board 212 having the radiation source 213 thereon is disposed against and fixedly secured to the circular wall 202 of the member 201 . in the disclosed embodiment , this portion of the circuit board is adhesively secured to the wall 202 with the same thermally - conductive epoxy used to secure the heat sink 207 to the member 201 . however , the heat sink 207 , circuit board 212 and member 201 could alternatively be physically and thermally coupled in any other suitable manner . the opposite end portion of the circuit board 212 projects outwardly beyond the member 201 , through the gap 204 in the flange 203 . this end portion of the circuit board has a circular opening 217 therethrough adjacent the electrical connector 214 . the screw 68 ( fig1 ) extends through the opening 217 , in order to releasably secure the illumination module 62 to the shell 17 of the microscope 10 . with reference to fig9 and 10 , the illumination module 62 includes a cylindrical tubular support 221 that has three notches 222 ( fig9 ) and 223 - 224 ( fig1 ) in one end thereof . in the disclosed embodiment , the support 221 is made from aluminum , but it could alternatively be made from any other suitable material . the notched end of the tubular support 221 is received within the flange 203 on the member 201 , with the notch 222 aligned with the gap 204 in the flange 203 . the notched end of the tubular support 221 has an outside diameter that is only slightly less than the inside diameter of the flange 203 . an adhesive is provided between these two surfaces in order to fixedly secure the tubular support 221 to the member 201 . in the disclosed embodiment , this adhesive is obtained commercially as loctite ® 380 from henkel corporation of rocky hill , conn . however , it would alternatively be possible to couple the tubular support 221 to the member 201 in any other suitable manner . the circuit board 212 extends outwardly through the notch 222 in the support 221 . the notches 223 and 224 in the support 221 receive respective corners of the rectangular circuit board . at its outer end , the tubular support 221 has in its outer surface a circumferentially - extending annular groove 227 . an optical filter 231 of a known type is supported within the tubular support 221 , near the outer end thereof . the filter 231 is held in place by a ring 232 of adhesive . in the disclosed embodiment , the adhesive includes a bond material obtained commercially under the trademark uralane ® 5753 from huntsman corporation of the woodlands , tex ., with the addition of 0 . 4 % by weight carbon lampblack to blacken and avoid fluorescence of the uralane ® bond material . alternatively , however , the filter 231 could be held in place in any other suitable manner . the filter 231 is a bandpass filter having a center wavelength that is substantially the same as the center wavelength of the radiation emitted by the radiation source 213 ( cyan ). a collimating lens 236 of a known type is provided within the tubular support 221 , at a location between the filter 231 and the radiation source 213 . the lens 236 is fixedly held in place by a ring 237 of the uralane ® adhesive mentioned above . however , the lens 236 could alternatively be held in place in any other suitable manner . the illumination module 62 includes a cylindrical tubular extension 241 that is made of aluminum , but that could alternatively be made of any other suitable material . the tubular extension 241 has at one end an annular axial projection 242 . the annular projection 242 is received within the annular recess 227 in the tubular support 221 . the diameter of the radially - outwardly facing cylindrical surface in the recess 227 is slightly less than the diameter of the radially inwardly facing cylindrical surface on the annular projection 242 . a quantity of the above - mentioned loctite ® 380 adhesive is provided between these two cylindrical surfaces , in order to fixedly secure the tubular extension 241 to the tubular support 221 . a focusing or condenser lens 246 of a known type is provided within the tubular extension 241 , near the outer end thereof . the lens 246 is fixedly held in place by a ring 247 of the above - mentioned uralane ® 5753 adhesive . alternatively , however , the lens 246 could be secured in place in any other suitable manner . a cylindrical thermal barrier sleeve 251 encircles the tubular support 221 , and has an inside diameter that is only slightly larger than the outside diameter of the tubular support 221 . the thermal barrier sleeve 251 is fixedly secured to the tubular support 221 by a quantity of the above - mentioned loctite ® 380 adhesive . alternatively , however , the sleeve 251 could be secured to the tubular support 221 in any other suitable manner . in the disclosed embodiment , the thermal barrier sleeve 251 is made of nylon . however , it could alternatively be made of any other suitable material that is thermally non - conductive , including but not limited to a plastic material . radiation emitted by the radiation source 213 travels downwardly in fig9 , and passes successively through the lens 236 , the bandpass filter 231 , and the lens 246 . the lens 236 collimates the radiation from the source 213 , the bandpass filter 231 removes wavelengths above and below the center wavelength of interest ( which for the illumination module 62 is cyan ), and the lens 246 takes the collimated and filtered radiation and focuses it to the specimen location 37 ( fig2 ). the filter 231 is positioned so that it is disposed in collimated radiation , with a reduced aperture . the filter 231 and the lenses 236 and 246 constitute all of the optics needed to deliver radiation from the radiation source 213 to the specimen location 37 , and are all present within the removable illumination module 62 . when the illumination module 62 is installed in the microscope 10 , the thermal barrier sleeve 251 is disposed between the tubular support 221 and the shell 17 , and resists heat flow from the illumination module to the shell . the majority of the heat emitted by the radiation source 213 flows through the member 202 to the heat sink 207 , and is discharged to the ambient air disposed externally of the base 12 of the microscope . the illumination module 62 is intentionally configured to be a very low - cost component . in this regard , the illumination module 62 uses a minimal number of optical components . further , the filter 231 and the lenses 236 and 246 are each an inexpensive , mass - produced component that can be readily commercially obtained . for example , the lenses 236 and 246 can each be a molded plastic part . the heat sink 207 is also an inexpensive , mass - produced component that is readily commercially available . the illumination module 62 does not contain any threaded parts that screw together , and that would be relatively expensive to fabricate . instead , the radiation source 213 and the connector 214 are each soldered to the circuit board 212 , and the circuit board 212 and other components are coupled to each other through the use of appropriate low - cost adhesives , including a thermally - conductive adhesive where appropriate . fig1 is a diagrammatic central sectional side view similar to fig9 , but showing the illumination module 61 rather than the illumination module 62 . the illumination module 61 is identical to the illumination module 62 , except for certain differences that are discussed below . parts in fig1 that are similar or identical to parts in fig9 are identified in fig1 with the same reference numerals used for those parts in fig9 . the illumination module 61 has on the circuit board 212 a radiation source 301 . the radiation source 301 is an led that produces radiation at a center wavelength different from the center wavelength of radiation emitted by the radiation source 213 of fig9 . in particular , the radiation source 301 emits radiation with a wavelength corresponding to the color red . the illumination module 61 has a bandpass filter 303 that is different from the bandpass filter 231 of fig9 , in that the bandpass filter 303 has a center wavelength that is the same as the center wavelength of the radiation emitted by the radiation source 301 . in particular , the filter 303 has a passband with a center wavelength corresponding to the color red . the illumination module 61 has a cylindrical tubular extension 311 that is similar to the tubular extension 241 in the embodiment of fig9 , except that the tubular extension 311 is axially shorter than the tubular extension 241 . the tubular extension 311 has an annular axial projection 312 that engages and is adhesively secured in the annular recess 227 of the tubular support 221 . the illumination module 61 has a focusing lens 316 that is fixedly mounted in the lower end of the tubular extension 311 , in place of the focusing lens 246 in the embodiment of fig9 . the focusing lens 316 is selected to properly focus the radiation with a red wavelength that is emitted by the radiation source 301 . the shorter axial length of the tubular extension 311 , in comparison to the axial length of the tubular extension 241 in fig9 , reflects the fact that the focal length of the lens 316 is different from the focal length of the lens 246 . fig1 is a diagrammatic central sectional side view similar to fig9 and 11 , but showing the illumination module 63 . the illumination module 63 is identical to the illumination 62 of fig9 , except for certain differences that are discussed below . the illumination module 63 does not include the filter 231 , tubular extension 241 , lens 246 , or retaining rings 232 and 247 that are present in the illumination module 62 of fig9 . in addition , a radiation source 341 provided on the circuit board 212 is different from the radiation source 213 shown in fig9 . in particular , the radiation source 341 of fig1 is an led that emits radiation with a plurality of different wavelengths , or in other words radiation that is commonly referred to as “ white light ”. the lens 236 collimates this white light . since this radiation contains a variety of wavelengths , there is no need for a bandpass filter such as that shown at 231 in fig9 , or a focusing lens such as that shown at 246 in fig9 . although selected embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail , it should be understood that a variety of substitutions and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention , as defined by the claims that follow .	6

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