description stringlengths 2.98k 3.35M | abstract stringlengths 94 10.6k | cpc int64 0 8 |
|---|---|---|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
NONE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to devices and method for perforating a subterranean formation in an underbalanced condition.
BACKGROUND
Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are produced from cased wellbores intersecting one or more hydrocarbon reservoirs in a formation. These hydrocarbons flow into the wellbore through perforations in the cased wellbore. Perforations are usually made using a perforating gun that is generally comprised of a steel tube “carrier,” a charge tube riding on the inside of the carrier, and with shaped charges positioned in the charge tube. The gun is lowered into the wellbore on electric wireline, slickline, tubing, coiled tubing, or other conveyance device until it is adjacent to the hydrocarbon producing formation. Thereafter, a surface signal actuates a firing head associated with the perforating gun, which then detonates the shaped charges. Projectiles or jets formed by the explosion of the shaped charges penetrate the casing to thereby allow formation fluids to flow through the perforations and into a production string.
In certain instances, it may be desirable to perforate the formation while the wellbore pressure is less than the formation pressure. This condition is known as an “underbalanced” condition. In an underbalanced condition, the fluid from the formation flows out of a newly formed perforation. This flow can clean the perforation of debris and improve production of resident hydrocarbons. The present disclosure addresses the need for perforating guns that can generate an underbalanced condition during a perforating activity.
SUMMARY
In aspects, the present disclosure provides a perforating gun that has: at least one shaped charge that generates a high-pressure gas when detonated, a valve sub connected to the perforating gun, and a reservoir sub connected to the valve sub. The valve sub may have an enclosure having at least one port providing fluid communication between an exterior and an interior of the valve sub, a mandrel disposed in the enclosure, the mandrel having a piston head and a fluid path extending at least partially through the mandrel, a sleeve slidably mounted on the mandrel, the sleeve selectively blocking fluid flow through the at least one port, and a pressure chamber defined by an inner surface of the sleeve and an outer surface of the piston head, the pressure chamber receiving the generated high-pressure gas via the fluid path, wherein the sleeve slides toward the perforating gun after a predetermined pressure is created by the generated high-pressure gas in the pressure chamber. The reservoir sub may have at least one chamber in fluid communication with the interior of the valve sub.
In further aspects, the present disclosure provides a dynamic underbalanced sub for use with a perforating gun having at least one shaped charge that generates a high-pressure gas when detonated. The dynamic underbalance sub may include a valve sub and a reservoir sub. The valve sub connects to the perforating gun and includes an enclosure having a longitudinal cavity and at least one port providing fluid communication between an exterior and the cavity, a mandrel disposed in the cavity and fixed to the enclosure, the mandrel having a piston head and a fluid path extending at least partially through the mandrel, the fluid path being in communication with an interior of the perforating gun, a tubular sleeve slidably mounted on the mandrel, the sleeve shifting from a first position and a second position inside the cavity, wherein the sleeve blocks fluid flow through the at least one port in the first position, and a pressure chamber defined by an inner surface of the sleeve and an outer surface of the piston head, the pressure chamber receiving the generated high-pressure gas via the fluid path, wherein the generated high-pressure gas in the pressure chamber displaces the sleeve to a second position wherein the at least one port is at least partially uncovered. The reservoir sub is coupled to the valve sub and may include at least one chamber in fluid communication with the cavity, wherein the sleeve slides away from the reservoir sub when shifting from the first position to the second position.
Still further aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for perforating a formation using the disclosed perforating gun systems.
It should be understood that certain features of the disclosure have been summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contributions to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will in some cases form the subject of the claims appended thereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For detailed understanding of the present disclosure, references should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals and wherein:
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a side sectional view of a perforating gun with an underbalanced perforating sub according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2A schematically illustrates a sectional view of a portion of an underbalanced perforating sub according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2B schematically illustrates the FIG. 2A embodiment in an activated state; and
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a well in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be deployed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for perforating a formation intersected by a wellbore. The present disclosure is susceptible to embodiments of different forms. There are shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, specific embodiments of the present disclosure with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the disclosure to that illustrated and described herein.
Referring now to FIG. 1 , there is shown one embodiment of a perforating gun 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. For ease of discussion, devices such as boosters, electrical wiring, connectors, fasteners and detonating cords have been omitted. The perforating gun system 100 may include a gun 102 that perforates a section of a formation and a dynamic underbalance sub 104 (hereafter ‘sub 104 ’) that generates an underbalanced condition after the gun 102 fires. The gun 102 may include a carrier 106 that is shaped to receive a charge tube 108 and one or more shaped charges 110 that create jets for perforating a surrounding formation.
The sub 104 generates a temporary pressure drop in the wellbore immediately after the gun 102 fires. This temporary pressure drop allows formation fluid to flow through and clean the newly formed perforations. In one embodiment, the sub 104 includes a valve sub 120 and a reservoir sub 122 . As used herein, the term “sub” refers to an assembly of components configured to perform one or more tasks and residing within a common structure such as a housing, frame, or enclosure. As discussed in greater detail below, the high pressure gas generated by the gun 102 actuates the valve sub 120 , which then allows wellbore fluid to flow into the reservoir sub 122 . The sudden inrush of fluid causes a pressure drop and the temporary (dynamic) underbalanced condition in the surrounding wellbore fluid. As noted previously, an underbalanced condition refers to a pressure environment wherein the wellbore pressure is less than the formation pressure.
Referring to FIG. 2A , the valve sub 120 may include an enclosure 124 in which are disposed a mandrel 126 and a sleeve 128 . The enclosure 124 may include a longitudinal cavity 130 having a passage 132 at an upper end 134 and a mouth 136 at a lower end 137 . The upper end 134 may be configured to connect with the gun 102 ( FIG. 1 ) and the lower end 136 may be configured to connect with the reservoir sub 122 ( FIG. 1 ). One or more ports 138 formed on a circumferential wall 140 allow fluid communication between an exterior of the valve sub 120 and the cavity 130 . Fluid flow through ports 138 is controlled by moving the sleeve 128 axially along the mandrel 126 .
The mandrel 126 may be a cylindrical member having a shaft 142 that terminates at a diametrically larger piston head 144 . The shaft 142 may be fixed to the enclosure 124 and the piston head 144 has a surface that includes a pressure face 148 and an outer circumferential surface 150 . The mandrel 126 also includes a fluid passage 152 that include a bore 154 that extends from an upper end 156 to one or more transverse openings 158 that are positioned to communicate with the pressure face 148 . For instances, the bore 154 may be longitudinally aligned and the opening(s) 158 may radiate from the longitudinal bore 154 .
The sleeve 128 may be a tubular member having a length sufficient to completely cover and thereby block flow through the ports 138 when in a pre-activated position. In the activated position, the sleeve 128 is axially spaced apart from and at least partially uncovers the ports 138 . The sleeve 128 may have a first bore 160 formed complementary to the shaft 142 and a larger second bore 162 in which the piston head 144 is disposed. An annular pressure chamber 164 is formed at a shoulder 166 defining a juncture between the first bore 160 and the second bore 162 . The pressure chamber 164 is defined by the pressure face 148 and an inner surface 170 of the sleeve 128 . In some embodiments, a retaining member 176 may be used to selectively lock the sleeve 128 to the mandrel 126 . For example, the retaining member 176 may be a shear pin that is configured to break when subjected to a known force.
In some embodiments, seals may be used to form fluid barriers within the enclosure 124 . For example, seals 172 between the mandrel 126 and the sleeve 128 may be used to hydraulically isolate the pressure chamber 164 and seals 174 may be used to form fluid tight barriers between the sleeve 128 and the enclosure 124 to isolate the ports 138 .
Additionally, in some embodiments, the shaft 142 and the passage 132 may be configured to provide a locking function. For instance, some or all of the passage 132 may be sized to be diametrically smaller than the shaft 142 . Thus, when the shaft 142 is forced under pressure to slide through the passage 132 , an interfering contact is formed, which can lock the shaft 142 to the enclosure 124 .
Referring to FIG. 1 , the reservoir sub 122 includes one or more interior chambers 180 for receiving wellbore fluids after the valve sub 120 is in the activated position. The chamber(s) 180 may be defined within one or more housings 182 . In some arrangements, the reservoir sub 122 may have an adjustable volumetric capacity by using modular housings. For instance, the housings 182 may interconnect with one another. Thus, adding two housings will double the volumetric capacity and increase the available pressure drop.
Referring to FIG. 3 , there is shown a well construction and/or hydrocarbon production facility 30 positioned over subterranean formations of interest 32 . The facility 30 can be a land-based or offshore rig adapted to drill, complete, or service the wellbore 12 . The facility 30 can include known equipment and structures such as a platform 40 at the earth's surface 42 , a wellhead 44 , and casing 46 . A work string 48 suspended within the well bore 12 is used to convey a perforating gun 100 into and out of the wellbore 12 . The work string 48 can include coiled tubing 50 injected by a coiled tubing injector (not shown). Other work strings can include tubing, drill pipe, wire line, slick line, or any other known conveyance means. A surface control unit (e.g., a power source and/or firing panel) 54 can be used to monitor and/or operate tooling connected to the work string 48 .
Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , in one illustrative method of use, the gun 100 is first positioned at a desired location in the wellbore 12 . In the pre-activated state, the sleeve 128 blocks the openings 138 and the interior of the reservoir sub 122 is empty of liquids and at a pressure lower than the ambient formation pressure (e.g., substantially atmospheric pressure). When fired, the shaped charges 110 create jets that form perforations or tunnels 60 into the adjacent formation 32 . Immediately thereafter, high pressure gas generated by the detonation of the shaped charges 110 flows from the interior of the gun 100 through the fluid passage 152 and into the pressure chamber 164 . After it reaches a predetermined value, the pressure in the pressure chamber 164 breaks the retaining member 176 and pushes the sleeve 128 axially upward, which uncovers the openings 138 as shown in FIG. 2B . It should be appreciated that the sliding motion of the sleeve 128 is axially upward toward the perforating gun 100 and away from the reservoir sub 122 . Moreover, the shoulder 166 prevents the sleeve 128 from sliding toward the reservoir sub 122 . Thus, the sleeve 128 is retained within the valve sub 120 .
Now that the valve sub 120 has been activated, wellbore fluid surrounding the perforating gun 100 can flow through the openings 138 and into the chambers of the reservoir sub 122 . The seals 172 and 174 prevent this flow from flowing upward to the perforating gun 100 . This inflow of fluid causes a transient reduction in surrounding wellbore pressure and an underbalanced condition. This underbalanced condition promotes the flow of formation fluid out of the newly formed perforation tunnels 60 .
The foregoing description is directed to particular embodiments of the present invention for the purpose of illustration and explanation. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that many modifications and changes to the embodiment set forth above are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such modifications and changes. | A perforating gun has shaped charges that can generate a high-pressure gas. A valve sub connects to the perforating gun and a reservoir sub connects to the valve sub. The valve sub has an enclosure with a port. A mandrel in the enclosure has a piston head and a fluid path extending at least partially through the mandrel. A sleeve is slidably mounted on the mandrel and selectively blocks fluid flow through the port. A pressure chamber in the sleeve receives the generated high-pressure gas via the fluid path. The sleeve slides toward the perforating gun after a predetermined pressure is created by the generated high-pressure gas in the pressure chamber. The reservoir sub may have at least one chamber in fluid communication with the interior of the valve sub. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement to the Microsoft® Windows® family of operating systems, and in particular, improvements to Microsoft® Windows Vista™ print driver technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, Microsoft Corporation has introduced the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system. Windows Vista™ uses two print paths (or drivers) for processing print jobs including the XML Paper Specification (XPS) print path and the Graphics Device Interface (GDI) print path. The XPS print path implements a filter based XPSDrv print driver. Both print paths are present in the Windows Vista™ print subsystem which includes conversion routines that convert print jobs from one print path to the other. These drivers can be used to print from a Win32® application or Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application.
The XPSDrv print driver and print path processing are described in greater detail in the Microsoft® Windows® whitepaper entitled “The XPSDrv Filter Pipeline”, published Nov. 3, 2005 (see http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/print/XPSDRV_FilterPipe.mspx). Moreover, an overview of printing enhancements enabled by XPS are described in greater detail in the Microsoft® Windows® whitepaper entitled “XPS and Color Printing Enhancements in Microsoft® Windows Vista™”, published Sep. 1, 2005 (see http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/vista_print.mspx).
Print Paths in Windows Vista™
FIG. 1 illustrates system components of the conventional print paths now provided in Windows Vista™. A print subsystem 6 is provided with an XPS to GDI conversion unit 8 , a GDI to XPS conversion unit 10 , an XPS spool 14 , XPSDrv driver 18 , EMF spool 12 , and GDI/DDI driver 16 . A Win32 application 2 starts a print job in the GDI print path 5 . In the XPS print path 3 , a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application 4 starts the print job. Once an application submits a print job to the GDI/DDI driver 16 , it may be processed and routed to a PDL-based device 20 for printing. Otherwise, when an application submits a print job to the XPSDrv driver 18 , it may be routed to an XPS document-based 22 device for printing.
The print subsystem 6 in Windows Vista™ implements the XPS print path 3 that supports the XPS spool file 14 and the WPF based graphics engine. The GDI print path 2 (from Windows XP), which uses the GDI/DDI based print driver 16 , is also still available in Windows Vista™. Moreover, FIG. 1 shows the additional built-in conversion capabilities that allow Microsoft Win32® GDI-based applications 2 to print to XPS document devices 22 and that allow WPF applications 4 to print to legacy printers 20 . As a result, both Win32 and WPF applications 2 , 4 can print to either type of printer driver 16 , 18 .
As shown in FIG. 1 , if the Win32 application 4 prints to the XPSDrv driver 18 , GDI-DDI calls are converted to XPS spool data before being sent to the XPSDrv Driver 18 . On the other hand, if WPF application 4 prints to GDI/DDI driver 16 , XPS based spool data is converted to EMF that will be fed to an EMF print processor to generate PDL output for a PDL-based device 20 .
FIG. 2 illustrates a side-by-side comparison of the conventional XPS print path 3 and the conventional GDI print path 5 in Windows Vista and how the print subsystem 6 processes print jobs. Print jobs that are sent to a print queue with an XPSDrv printer driver 18 are spooled by print spooler 24 in the XPS spool file format 14 and processed in the XPS print path 3 by print filter pipeline service 28 . Print jobs that are sent to the print queue with a GDI-based, Version-3 printer driver 16 are spooled by print spooler 24 in the EMF spool file format and processed in the GDI print path 5 by GDI print subsystem 27 .
Now referring to FIG. 2 , the print subsystem 6 further includes print spooler 24 which services the GDI print path 5 and the XPS print path 3 , respectively. The architecture of the GDI/DDI driver 16 print path 5 includes GDI print subsystem 27 which includes printer graphics DLL Version 3 print driver 42 , an EMF print processor 38 and a GDI rendering engine 40 . The architecture of the XPSDrv driver 18 print path 3 includes a print filter pipeline service, filter configuration file 32 and a filter pipeline manager 30 which includes various filters for individualized tasks Filter A, Filter B, Filter n . . . and so on.
Conversion routines are performed by XPS to GDI conversion unit 8 and GDI to XPS conversion unit 10 so that Win32 applications 2 can print to an XPS printer 36 with XPSDrv printer driver 18 and WPF applications 4 can print to a GDI printer 34 with the GDI-based printer driver 16 . When Win32 application 2 submits the print job to the spooler, the print subsystem determines whether the print job from the application 2 must be converted before spooling although the type of the printer driver 16 , 18 of the target print queue determines which print path 3 , 5 is supported. If the application's presentation technology differs from that of the print path 3 , 5 supported by the driver 16 , 18 , the print job format must be converted by the XPS to GDI conversion unit 8 and GDI to XPS conversion unit 10 which convert between the XPS and the GDI print paths 3 , 5 .
XPS-to-GDI Conversion Path
FIG. 3 illustrates the conventional XPS-to-GDI conversion path 7 (see also FIG. 1 ). XPS documents that are sent to a printer 34 with a GDI-based printer driver 16 are converted by the XPS-to-GDI conversion (XGC) module 8 that is part of the WPF print support 11 . In particular, FIG. 3 shows how the WPF print support 11 processes documents for printers 34 , 36 based on the type of printer driver. The application 4 prints the document by using the WPF print support 11 . Moreover, when printing to a GDI-based printer driver 16 , the XGC 8 simulates a Win32-based application and makes GDI calls to the GDI functions that are required to spool the document for the GDI-based print path 5 .
If the job is submitted from WPF application 4 , underneath, WPF print support 11 checks the driver type, if it is an XPSDrv driver 18 , then the job is serialized to print pipeline service 28 and further processed by the XPSDrv filters 30 .
GDI-to-XPS Conversion Path
FIG. 4 illustrates the GDI-to-XPS conversion path 9 (see FIG. 1 ). When a Win32 application 2 sends a document to a printer 36 with an XPSDrv printer driver 18 , the spooler 24 uses the GDI-to-XPS conversion (GXC) unit 10 to create an XPS spool file 14 for the XPS print path 3 from the application that calls the GDI functions.
When the print job is submitted from a Win32 application 2 , the type of the printer driver is checked. If it is an XPSDrv driver 18 , GDI to XPS converter 10 (also referred to as MXDX) is used to convert GDI/DDI calls into XPS spool data 14 and then the print job is fed to print filter pipeline service 28 .
Although the aforementioned conversions between XPS and EMF or vice versa are acceptable solutions, one drawback of this approach is that the conversions take processing time. In particular, these data conversions create unwanted latency with regard to the performance of the printing process. Since most of the printers out in the market do not support XPS natively, it is totally redundant to convert EMF into XPS, and again converting XPS into device-specific PDL data at the renderer filter.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to eliminate the conversion from XPS to GDI or from GDI to XPS in an effort to improve the performance of printing from the Win32 application 2 as well as provide rich XPS printing from a WPF application 4 .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an improvement is provided for the Microsoft® Windows® family of operating systems, such as the recently introduced Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system.
And in particular, a method of supporting XPS and GDI print job in a single driver without performing any data conversion between XPS to GDI or vice versa. This new hybrid dual-head XPS driver includes a GDI/DDI graphics driver as well as XPS filter components to support both print paths even though the driver utilized is configured as an XPS driver in an installation file. When the Win32 application prints to this dual-head XPS driver, a spooler tries to convert GDI/DDI calls into XPS, since the conversion unit is replaced with a GDI/DDI graphics driver, the print spooler ends up converting from GDI/DDI calls into either extended Enhanced MetaFile Format (EMF) data or RAW data in printer supported printer definition language (PDL). Replacing the GDI to XPS conversion unit with a graphics driver mimics the printing of the Win32 application using a GDI/DDI driver. As a result, the present invention will greatly improve performance of high-speed GDI printing from a Win32 application as well as provide feature-rich XPS printing from WPF based applications.
According to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for improving printing performance of a print job from a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) based Windows® application submitted to an XPSDrv printer driver which is utilized by a filter pipeline service, wherein a required conversion from an existing GDI/device driver interface (DDI) to an XML Paper Specification (XPS) performed by a GDI-to-XPS conversion unit is eliminated to reduce latency. The method includes replacing the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit with a printer graphics driver which converts DDI calls into raw spool data; and adding a dual head filter as a first filter to the filter pipeline service to handle the raw spool data generated from the printer graphics driver.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a first filter in the filter pipeline service is configured to take IPrintReadStream as input print data and then output print data as IPrintWriteStream, and determine whether the input print data is in an XPS data format or another data format generated from the printer graphics driver.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, if the input print data is not in the XPS data format, and is instead in raw spool data format, the print job is resubmitted. Moreover, according to another aspect of the present invention, resubmitting the print job includes setting data type as XPS_PASS, and as a result, the filter pipeline service and input print data will be directly sent to a printer.
Furthermore, according another aspect of the present invention, when printing from a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application, and if the first filter determines that the input print data is in XPS data format, the input print data is passed to a second filter of the filter pipeline service without any modification.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for improving printing performance of a print job from a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) based Windows® application submitted to an XPSDrv printer driver which is utilized by a filter pipeline service, wherein a required conversion from an existing GDI/device driver interface (DDI) to an XML Paper Specification (XPS) performed by a GDI-to-XPS conversion unit is eliminated to reduce latency. Here, the method includes eliminating the conversion performed by the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit by replacing the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit with a printer graphics driver which converts DDI calls into enhanced metafile format(EMF) data; and adding a dual head filter as a first filter to the filter pipeline service to handle the EMF data generated from the printer graphics driver.
And furthermore, according to still yet another aspect of the present invention, a first filter in the filter pipeline service is configured to take IPrintReadStream as input print data and then output print data as IPrintWriteStream, and determine whether the input print data is in an XPS data format or EMF data format generated from the printer graphics driver.
Also, according to another aspect of the present invention, if the input print data is not in the XPS data format, and is instead in EMF data format
Still further, according to another aspect of the present invention, instead of resubmitting the print job the first filter launches a page layout server and passes input print data through IPrintReadStream. Moreover, according to another aspect of the present invention, the page layout server reads the input print data, performs page layout features, and plays the EMF data.
And furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, the printer graphics driver generates raw print data which is sent to a printer. Also, according to another aspect of the present invention, instead of resubmitting the print job, the first filter launches a page layout server as a separate application and passes the input print data through a memory mapped file or a Namedpipe.
Moreover, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable medium is provided containing computer-executable instructions for improving printing performance of a print job from a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) based Windows® application submitted to an XPSDrv printer driver which is utilized by a filter pipeline service, wherein a required conversion from an existing GDI/device driver interface (DDI) to an XML Paper Specification (XPS) performed by a GDI-to-XPS conversion unit is eliminated to reduce latency. The medium includes computer-executable instructions for replacing the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit with a printer graphics driver which converts DDI calls into raw spool data; and computer-executable instructions for adding a dual head filter as a first filter to the filter pipeline service to handle the raw spool data generated from the printer graphics driver.
And finally, according to still yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable medium is provided containing computer-executable instructions for improving printing performance of a print job from a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) based Windows® application submitted to an XPSDrv printer driver which is utilized by a filter pipeline service, wherein a required conversion from an existing GDI/device driver interface (DDI) to an XML Paper Specification (XPS) performed by a GDI-to-XPS conversion unit is eliminated to reduce latency. Here, the medium includes computer-executable instructions for eliminating the conversion performed by the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit by replacing the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit with a printer graphics driver which converts DDI calls into enhanced metafile format(EMF) data; and computer-executable instructions for adding a dual head filter as a first filter to the filter pipeline service to handle the EMF data generated from the printer graphics driver.
Besides improving printing performance, it is noted that another advantage of the present invention is that only one printer driver is required to print from Win32 applications as well as WPF applications without any data conversion.
It is also noted that further embodiments, features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments, features and aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates system components of conventional print paths in Windows Vista.
FIG. 2 illustrates a side-by-side comparison of a conventional XPS print path and a conventional GDI print path in Windows Vista.
FIG. 3 illustrates the conventional XPS-to-GDI conversion path.
FIG. 4 illustrates the conventional GDI-to-XPS conversion path.
FIG. 5 illustrates a GDI-to-XPS conversion elimination procedure according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates another GDI-to-XPS conversion elimination procedure according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the present invention will now be herein described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
First Exemplary Embodiment
The aforementioned features and aspects of the first exemplary embodiment will now herein be discussed in greater detail below.
[Eliminating GDI to XPS Conversion by Replacing (MXDL) with Printer Graphics Driver and Resubmitting the Job]
FIG. 5 illustrates a GDI-to-XPS conversion elimination procedure according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Here, the GDI-to-XPS (which may also referred to as MXDC or MXDWDRV.DLL) converter 10 is replaced with printer graphics driver 44 in a printer installation setup file. Further, configuration module 46 is configured to handle DOCUMENT_EVENTS from GDI jobs as well as XPS print jobs.
In particular, the GDI-to-XPS (MXDL) conversion unit 10 is replaced with printer graphics driver 44 which rasterizes device driver interface (DDI) calls into RAW print data that will be sent to print filter pipeline service 28 . The first Filter A in the filter pipeline service 28 is configured to take IPrintReadStream as input print data and output print data as IPrintWriteStream. Then first Filter A read the print data by using IPrintReadStream where it checks the incoming print data type to determine whether it is XPS data or another data format generated from the print graphics driver 44 . If the input print data is not in an XPS data format and is instead in the device-specific RAW format, the job is resubmitted with setting data type as XPS_PASS as specified in the below pseudo code:
// Resubmit the new job.
DOC_INFO_1 docinfo;
docinfo.pOutputFile = NULL;
docinfo.pDataType = XPS_PASS;
StartDocPrinter(hPrinter, 1, &docinfo);
Call series of WritePrinter( ) with data reading from
IPrintReadStream.
EndDocPrinter( )
// Cancel the current job.
As a result, resubmitting the new job with pDataType as XPS_PASS will skip filter pipeline service 28 and print data will be directly sent to printer 36 .
Further it is noted that when printing from WPF application 4 , where if the first filter A determines the type of the print data as XPS print data is passed to the 2 nd filter B without any modification.
Second Exemplary Embodiment
The aforementioned features and aspects of the second exemplary embodiment will now herein be discussed in greater detail below.
[Eliminating GDI to XPS Conversion by Replacing (MXDL) Printer Graphics Driver and Launching In-Process Page Layout Server from First Filter]
FIG. 6 illustrates another GDI-to-XPS conversion elimination procedure according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this approach, instead of resubmitting the print job from the first filter A within print filter pipeline service 28 , first filter A launches page layout server 45 with passing IPrintReadStream as an input. The page layout server 45 can be an in-proc or a local server. When page layout server 45 is used, it reads the extended EMF spool file 43 data via IPrintReadStream, performs page layout features, and plays the EMF file. At this time, the GDI/DDI graphics driver 44 generates RAW print data which will be sent to printer 36 . Communication between Filter A and page layout server 45 can be implemented in many different ways such as NamedPipe, memory mapped file, etc. or the like.
Third Exemplary Embodiment
The aforementioned features and aspects of the third exemplary embodiment will now herein be discussed in greater detail below.
[Eliminating GDI to XPS Conversion by Replacing (MXDL) with Printer Graphic Driver and Launching a Separate Application from First Filter A]
The third embodiment is similar to the second embodiment, but data is passed through a memory mapped file (not illustrated) or Namedpipe, instead of IPrintReadStream, from first filter A. In this embodiment, page layout features can be implemented in a separate application.
Other Exemplary Embodiments
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.
It is noted that this invention can also be applied to Windows XP SP2 upgraded to Windows XPS print driver technology.
The embodiments described above current describes using Microsoft's Ixps Document Provider and Ixps Document Consumer as input and output interfaces respectively. However, Microsoft also provides IPrintReadStream and IPrintWriteStream as input and output interfaces for the filters. Nevertheless, the present invention also applies for the usage IPrintReadStream and IPrintWriteStream without any change to the core flow described above.
The functions described above can be implemented by a host computer according to a program installed from outside. In that case, the present invention is applicable to a case where information including programs is supplied from a storage media, such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, and an FD, or from an external storage medium through the network.
A storage medium storing program code of software that executes the functions of the above-described embodiments can be supplied to a system or an apparatus. Then, an aspect of the present invention can be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored on the storage medium by a computer (alternatively, a CPU or an MPU) of the system or apparatus.
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium can achieve the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code configures the present invention. Accordingly, any form of program can be used as long as it has a program function, such as object code, a program executed by an interpreter, and script data supplied to an OS.
The storage medium for supplying a program includes, for instance, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnet-optical disk, an MO, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-W, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, a DVD or the like.
Moreover, the program according to the present invention can be encrypted and stored on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM to be distributed to users. Then, a user who meets a predetermined condition is allowed to download key information for decryption from a web page via the Internet. The user can install and execute the encrypted program using the key information.
Moreover, with program code read and executed by a computer, not only the functions of the embodiments are achieved but also an OS operating on the computer can perform all of or part of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. The functions of the embodiments are achieved by the processes described above.
In addition to that, program code read from a storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function extension board inserted in a computer or a function extension unit connected to a computer. Then, a CPU provided in the function extension board or the function extension unit performs all of or part of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. The functions of the embodiments are achieved by the above-described processes. | A method is provided for improving printing performance of a print job from a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) based Windows® application submitted to an XPSDrv printer driver which is utilized by a filter pipeline service, wherein a required conversion from an existing GDI/device driver interface (DDI) to an XML Paper Specification (XPS) performed by a GDI-to-XPS conversion unit is eliminated to reduce latency. The method includes replacing the GDI-to-XPS conversion unit with a printer graphics driver which converts DDI calls into raw spool data; and adding a dual head filter as a first filter to the filter pipeline service to handle the raw spool data generated from the printer graphics driver. | 6 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 60/492,959, filed Aug. 7, 2003 and Provisional Application No. 60/526,140, filed Dec. 2, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to a formulation created by reacting sodium hydroxide, water, and silicon metal which has unique properties and many uses. The present invention further relates to methods of washing metal parts and cleaning using formulations comprising aqueous solutions of silicon.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Silicon is well known in the art for providing an effective coating for use with a variety of applications. For example, silicon is often used to coat metals, thereby reducing corrosion of the metal. One of the disadvantages associated with the use of silicon as a coating has been the difficulty of providing silicon in an aqueous medium. This is in part due to silicon being insoluble in water. Many attempts have been made to combine silicon or other metals in an aqueous solution. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,328 to Rice relates to one such combination. The aqueous electrodeposition baths produced in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,328 addresses some of the problems associated with prior art techniques of making silicon solutions. The patent describes the formation of an aqueous silicon solution from the combination of silicon, sodium hydroxide and water in the molar ratio of 6:1:10, respectively. While the resulting solutions may be useful, the manufacturing process disclosed is complex and dangerous and results in solutions that are unstable and inferior in quality and character to the solutions of the instant invention. As such, these solutions are not suited to the methods of the present invention.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,713, also to Rice, relates to aqueous silicon compounds for use with oil recovery methods. As with U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,328, this patent teaches the formation of a metal hydride from reacting a non-alkaline metal with an alkaline metal hydroxide in water. The metal hydride is water-soluble and may be diluted to a solution with specific gravity of 1.3. As in the '713 patent, the manufacturing process disclosed is complex and dangerous and results in solutions that are unstable
[0005] Thus, it would therefore be desirable to provide a safe and effective method of manufacturing stable, aqueous solutions of silicon. The present invention solves the above problem by providing a safer, more effective method of reacting sodium hydroxide, water, and silicon metal to produce an aqueous solution of silicon which is more stable and has more useful properties than any known aqueous solution of silicon. The solutions of the instant invention have a myriad of uses as a result of this improved stability and its unique properties.
[0006] Washing hydrocarbons from metal parts has long been a tedious and inefficient means of cleaning tools, parts, and/or metal components. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent every month on cleaning solutions for use in parts washing machines around the country, and many of these solutions clean parts only marginally at best and leave unacceptable “dirty” parts at the end of the so-called cleaning cycle. The combination of these cleaning solutions and their by-products create serious waste water and effluent problems. Most cleaning products, e.g., petroleum based solvents, high pH industrial cleaners, etc., are (i) difficult to handle, (ii) highly volatile, and (iii) inherently toxic to our environment. Moreover, petroleum products that are recovered from parts washing machines are contaminated and are not re-usable or re-cyclable. And finally, many companies are forced to treat environmental effluent from the parts washing process to meet environmental standards, resulting in increased cost of business.
[0007] It is thus apparent that there still remains a long-felt, but unfulfilled need to provide an environmentally safe, simple wash capable of cleaning tools, parts, and/or metal components. The present invention solves the above stated problems through the use of a revolutionary formulation created by reacting sodium hydroxide, water, and silicon metal which has unique properties and many uses beyond that of a cleaning solution.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention contemplates a stable complex of silicon metal in an aqueous solution.
[0009] Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods of making stable, aqueous silicon solutions.
[0010] The present invention further embodies methods of washing hydrocarbons from metal parts.
[0011] The present invention also contemplates methods of using stable, aqueous, silicon solutions in the following cleaning methods:
Cleaning aromatic sludge tanks-specifically benzene, but also applicable to toluene, xylene, and other type tanks. pits, oil and sludge and other wastes clean up: barges, railcars, rig wash slop oil recovery: coal slurry pond clean up, gun barrel separator clean up; pipeline cleaning (“Pig” operations); pipeline “Sock type” filter cleaners; pipeline right of way clean up; site, pad, and staging area clean up and remediation; parts washing; computer circuit board washing; steam cleaning; soil washing; carpet cleaning; carpet cleaning and flea treatment; upholstery cleaning; and cleaning concrete.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the present invention are described by referring to various exemplary embodiments thereof. Although the preferred embodiments of the invention are particularly disclosed herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can be implicated in other compositions and methods, and that any such variation would be within such modifications that do not part from the scope of the present invention. Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of any particular embodiment shown, since of course the invention is capable of other embodiments. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Further, although certain methods are described with reference to certain steps that are presented herein in certain order, in many instances, these steps may be performed in any order as may be appreciated by one skilled in the art, and the methods are not limited to the particular arrangement of steps disclosed herein.
[0027] The composition of the instant invention is a stable complex of silicon metal in an aqueous solution. It has been discovered that the composition is more stable than previously described solutions of silicon and has a myriad of heretofore undisclosed uses. The instant invention provides a safe method of manufacturing aqueous solutions of silicon. This method requires an appropriate reaction vessel, silicon metal, and NaOH.
[heading-0028] The Vessel
[0029] The first thing required is a suitable vessel to contain the reaction. While a single reaction, or in some cases several reactions can be run in any number of vessels the reaction will, in time, destroy just about any container from glass to steel. The reaction eventually causes “hydrogen embrittlement” and vessels can burst open spontaneously and if a reaction is underway this can be very hazardous. As such, the choice of reaction vessel is critical.
[0030] It has been determined that high percentage nickel materials are best suited to the task of resisting the problems associated with running the reaction but solid vessels of such material are not known nor used due to excessive costs. Lined or clad vessels are currently available in the market. The current preferred vessel is a reactor with a single bottom valve in the coned bottom and an open top. It is a nickel welded overlay design and the main structure is 1″ thick 4140 steel.
[0031] The cone shaped bottom is critical as it has been found that using flat bottomed tanks and or beakers from a lab had the effect of exaggerating the “up the side rise” of the reaction and thus vessels had to have a higher side wall to “hold” the reaction in the rising or balloon stage. Without a coned bottom the reaction vessel typically needed to be sized six to eight times the volume of the base rock load to keep the reaction from boiling over the top. In some cases the ratio was even greater. With the coned bottom the load is easier to hold and the reaction has the noticeable “FIG. 8” rotation during the early reaction and the ratio is about 3.5 to one. The current vessel also has a reduced height to width ratio. The current vessel has a width of eight feet. The straight side is also eight feet and the distance from the coned bottom to the bottom of the valve is an additional five feet (5′). It is important that vessel have no crevices because crevice eddying will have a negative effect on the results. The reaction generates a significant amount of energy and substantial heat is produced, a heavy vessel can help in dissipating this heat and is also useful in holding initial heat in the course of the continued reaction.
[0032] During the reaction significant hydrogen is produced and the potential for explosion always exists where free hydrogen is present. Thus, care should be exercised while running the reaction regardless of the construction of the vessel.
[heading-0033] The Silicon Metal
[0034] Upon procurement of a suitable vessel the reagents that are particular to the reaction are required. The silicon metal is in the form of rock. The current composition of the base rock by molar percent is:
Silicon: 99.18 Iron: 0.393 Calcium 0.022 Aluminum: 0.176
Currently such rock is available commercially in the U.S., Canada, and China.
[0040] The critical material, other than silicon, in this chemistry is the iron. If the iron content is above 0.5% the reaction will “brown out”, that is, it will react but the resultant material will be brown in color and not have many of the properties of the required material. For example, it doesn't foam very well and the resultant foam seems to be slightly hydroscopic.
[0041] If the iron is not there at all or in very small amounts, as with reagent grade material, the reaction will not start without addition of external heat. When it does start it will react too vigorously unless water cooled. The “start” may take several hours of near boiling heat to cause the reaction to begin actual reaction and it will run only a short while when it does. Sometimes additional external heat is needed to have it be completed. The resultant material will be high purity and will be very clear to just slightly opaque and will never turn the “yellowish” color common to the desired material when it is exposed to sun light.
[0042] In order to properly perform the reaction, it is necessary to develop the “base rock” for the reactions and this takes time and understanding of the process. For the reactor described above, the silicon metal should be in chunks from 2″ (two inches) minimum to 4″ ( four inches) in diameter or square maximum. Some very small particle size material is unavoidable but should be discouraged from the supplier. It will quickly convert into “fines” and will ride the top of the reaction and become a general nuisance as well as very damaging to pumps and mechanical seals in the process. If the particle size of the reaction is too small the reaction will over react and many times rush up the side of the reactor and spill onto the floor.
[0043] When starting the very first reaction one should know that in the early stages of the base rock development great accuracy is required. After a few reactions the base rock will begin to show reactivity signs that may look like saw cuts across the face of the rock and or worm hole type configurations that make a surface much like sea coral. This is called the “etching” process and until we have a base of rock that is over 4000 pounds or almost half of the gross maximum reaction weight, every portion of the 1-6-10 molar ratio must be managed with great care.
[0044] In a desired vessel we estimate by geometry what the maximum reaction possible will be from that vessel. In the case of our current vessel we determined that at somewhere around 8000 pounds we would reach the maximum amount of the desired product the vessel will hold.
[0045] Making the height greater and increasing the base has been tried and the extended “dome” portion of the reaction can and often does collapse into an improper reaction or “middle collapse” that can make the reaction products turn white . . . a common indicator of failure. In such a case the new load material is lost and the old material must be significantly cleaned if not removed and re-started, or a blue collapse where the material stops mid-reaction and returns to a blue rock like state can occur and this must be removed by hand from the reactor and in such cases if it is allowed to fully dry it must be removed by jack hammers. Thus, it is necessary to stay within the known parameters.
[0046] In the current example, one begins with one hundred pounds and work up 25% at a time until we get to 1000 pounds. We then double the base and run the reaction with and additional 12.6758% of the total base rock. The reaction was then doubled to 2000 pounds and three reactions run with the 253.52 pounds of fresh material. This resulted in 4 drums of 1.25 specific gravity material for six more reactions with the same replacement material. We then went to 4000 pounds and doubled the values and the percent yield was as expected based on the scale up ratio. We then went to 6000 pounds and finally 8000 pounds but the reaction was getting within a couple of feet of the top so we ran subsequent reactions 20 pounds at a time until we reached 8800 pounds and the reaction was one foot from the top.
[heading-0047] The NaOH
[0048] Sodium hydroxide is dangerous to handle and is temperature sensitive. The process can be run with powdered material but it has been found that top loading of dry sodium hydroxide makes for poor base rock and eventual failure of the process. Loading the NaOH from the bottom is critical to a successful reaction.
[0049] The rock and water are loaded onto the base rock. Enough water is kept back to purge the load lines of the NaOH after it is loaded from the bottom. The NaOH is loaded and then the remainder of the water. One to two hundred gallons of water is enough to purge the lines and load the last of the NaOH into the reactor. The reaction will commence immediately with a bubbling and release of hydrogen.
[heading-0050] Ratios
[0051] As a rule a good middle ratio reaction will yield 1.4 gravity material. The blend down to 1.25 gravity should increase the volume by a third.
[0052] It should be mentioned that this is the 1-6-10 ratio. The “window” is believed to be from 1 to 5.75 to 9 to 1 to 7.75 to 12. This is a restrictive “window” but it does leave some leeway for error. As can be seen, this formulation will allow the computation of any amount of silicon to the specified ratio. A spread sheet reflecting twenty pound increments up to four thousand pounds of base may be useful in building base reactions and the compensation for water and such could be pre-calculated. Using such a spreadsheet it could determined how much can be added to the batch each time to work up to the maximum “safe” volume that the reactor will hold during reaction without boiling over. This will also allow for the cross sectional area of the Si rock to be better treated as we expand the reactions, due to graduated increases. Large volume increases above the recommended increase is not recommended. The rock will over react or under react and the resulting “cross-sectional” areas of the rock will become imbalanced. Once they are radically out of balance the only means to get them back in balance is to start the “base building” process from the beginning. Taking care to scatter the reacted rock into the reactor gradually or wait until the 4000 pound base has been established to introduce the “damaged” rock.
[0053] After extensive experimentation, correct post reaction values and a theoretic use for predicting reactions was developed. The correct number is 12.6758% of the remaining base rock where all other variables have been made constant (heat temperature, pressure, time in reaction, size of rock, and application and mixture procedure for all reagents).
[heading-0054] Methods
[0055] When preparing the start up rock for a reactor it becomes necessary to weigh after each reaction for the first four reactions to be assured that the weight to add is correct and in the “window”. In the early reactions the margin for error is almost nil.
[0056] Initial reactions were performed with 100 pounds in the bottom of the reactor. The NaOH was carried inside the vessel by hand. By trial and error it was learned that in successive reactions one can only increase the amount of base by a maximum of 25.3516 percent of the original weight of the start up base or in this case the next reaction would be for 138.0274 pounds of Si rock or an addition of 50.7032 pounds of rock. The base reaction will yield about one drum of 1.3 gravity material per each sixty two pounds of reacted silicon rock. The 138.0274 reaction would yield 17.4960 reacted pounds or less than ⅓ of a drum of material.
[0057] The next reaction would be 173.0196 pounds. The subsequent ones would reflect a gradual growth of the base
[0058] Accuracy is critical in all phases until the base rock is over 4000 pounds or until the rock has reached its own “balance” and the “sawed” surface or “worm hole” effect can be seen easily.
[0059] Past 4000 pounds the weight can be determined at 12.6 pounds without fear of “falling” from the window. The other ratios are still carefully controlled to the fourth decimal place.
[0060] At 6000 pounds of base rock the “window” seems to “stabilize” and amounts as high as 14% and as low as 11% percent by weight seem to find a correct “window”. The finished material is simply a little more silicon rich. The weight of Si (silicon) can vary from 60 pounds per 55 gallon drum to 68 pounds per 55 gallon drum at 1.3 gravity. Below sixty pounds is always sodium silicate or sodium silicate and unstable, inferior silicon solution. Above 68 pounds is a ceramic like material that is very dense and friable and is very unstable. Using up 50% of the existing rock in an reaction is impossible. Further prolonged use of too much silicon will build large amounts of residual NaOH on the rock and a “blue” or super hot reaction can occur which leaves a very blue colored solution that will dry to a ceramic consistence if left in the air to dry.
[0061] The broader “window” allows for a circumstance where a less-than full compliment of Si could be used as long as the variance is noted and compensation is done on the next reaction to re-stabilize the base. The last of a batch of silicon or a shutdown circumstance might require such a decision.
[0062] Regular and sustained use of the base rock seems to show that only the “new rock” or added rock, gets reacted and the base rock seems to be unchanged except for the “saw” effect and some “worm hole” effects. This is usually easily seen on the level of the rock in the vessel. When running standard reactions the volumes will soon all look very much the same.
[0063] At 8000 pounds the “freedom” window is expanded and the full “window” of the reaction can be run and there seems to be no ill effect of additional water except to prolong the time of the reaction start up. This explains why heavy rains destroyed earlier reactions but have almost no effect on the current ones. One thousand and eight pounds of “new” Si rock added to this base yields 16.25 barrels of 1.3 gravity concentrate.
[0064] Clearly this method requires a lot of work and care to get to the base state. However this does not explain why a diligent person weighing each load and gradually adding “empirical” amounts will not eventually get to this “stable” state. There are several reasons for this but the most glaring is the temperature of the reaction at initial reaction.
[0065] A correct reaction started after a off load cool down will always start too fast if the presentation of the chemicals is done in the wrong order. Also, it was long believed that the base rock could not be fully covered with water for a “proper” reaction to occur. In fact, the opposite is true. The rock must be fully covered with water before any new base( NaOH) is induced.
[0066] Since the rock is often moved around and stacked by the preceding reaction the adding of the initial water should be over the top of the vessel and done by hand to fully wash down the base rock and wash off the dust from the new rock. The NaOH should be added from the bottom of the vessel through the primary drain valve. Then the last of the water should be added from the bottom through the same hoses to purge all the NaOH and clear the bottom of the NaOH (this is critical). Very soon a distinctive figure eight movement of the water and NaOH can be seen in a “rolling” motion in the bottom of the vessel.
[0067] Top loads or loads in different order do not produce the distinctive figure eight reaction and often result in low stability, inferior silicon solutions or worse. The three most important parameters of the method are:
1. The preparation of the rock. 2. Scrupulous attention to the 12.657% reaction maximum( especially in the beginning of base rock preparation) 3. Loading parameters (load it in the wrong sequence and it will fail)
The following parameters are also relevant.
[0072] There is no definitive mechanism for knowing the reaction is complete except to let it go to term. This is the state where either “blobs” or “lily pads” of very thick material appear on the surface or when the top is covered with a soft looking silver cover of very thick material. This occurs in a normal reaction in about 14 hours.
[0073] Off load earlier at your own peril. Reactions have been off loaded at 10 hours with success and reactions have been off loaded at 12 hours and failed. These disparities might be due to a late starting reaction. The use of hot water in the winter helps but is unnecessary in temperatures above 50 degrees. A good rule of thumb is the condition of the 50% by volume NaOH. If it is frozen, about 48 degrees F, it is a good time to use hot water or allow more time for reaction. At times it may take as much as two additional hours.
[0074] One should use about ten barrels of fresh water to circulate out of the bottom of the vessel and over the top. Again this should be done by hand and the “lily pads” should be targeted. The tank should not be off loaded until there is a homogenous material at around 1.35 gravity at near room temperature. Too much water will drop the material below the commercial level of 1.25 specific gravity. This material can be used as blend stock on the next reaction.
[0075] The material should not be off loaded directly to barrels for shipment or into light resistant tanks. It will remove the lining of even chemical lined barrels. It will hydrogen imbrittle plastic barrels and have the same effect on a long term basis on metal ones. Allow the Si solution to settle and cool and get some sun or UV rays to improve its stability characteristics. The amber color of the material comes from the exposure to light. It may be related to the iron residual in the silicon metal since it doesn't occur in the high purity material.
[0076] Plastic storage tanks are light and easy to move and handle and allow the sun to access the material. Fines or other sediments will accumulate in these tanks. A 1% additional correction for a standard reaction of the new silicon metal on every fifth reaction compensates for the fines that are lost. One should never add fines to the reaction to try to “start it”. This starts a vertical or non-figure eight reaction and as such it will fail, if not that time it will fail in subsequent reactions.
[0077] After about every fifty reactions the reactor should be cleared of all base rock and the remainder of the rock allowed one day to dry. It may turn white, this is of no consequence. It should then be weighed and returned to the reactor. Any maintenance to the tank or valves and such should be done at this time. There may be significant iron or black looking material in the bottom of the tank. It is of no use and should be removed. It is iron silicate and is land fill allowed. It would not be more than ten of twenty pounds but it can cause reaction troubles and is unsightly at best.
[0078] The size of the rock is important. When building the base of a new reactor the early reactions should be limited to material no greater in diameter than one inch. As the base is built the size can increase to two inches for 1000 pounds of base up to two thousand pounds. From two to four use a maximum of four inch. For four and above the six inch maximum rocks, which is the optimum price, is ok to use. However, a good mixture of smaller sizes is advisable until the base has had at least three reactions.
[0079] The reactions will reaction differently under different barometric and weather conditions. In wet low pressure conditions the risk of boil over is greater. In dry cold and high pressure conditions the risk is less great.
[0080] Expect the boiling volume to be from three to five times the level of the mixture at pre-reaction. If you react the material over night there will be a ring around the top of the vessel indicating how high the reaction reached in the vessel. The use of a top is dangerous since it could cause an explosion or pressure valves to blow off.
[0081] The pH of the as reacted material is 13-14. However, this pH is not truly indicative of the reactivity of the material. Ordinarily, 13+pH material would be radically corrosive and extremely dangerous to have come in contact with your skin. The stable material is neither. The stability is also reflected in more than shelf life. Of course shelf life is important, but stability with reactions with other chemicals is important also.
[0082] Some anionic materials with very low pH such as acids will react violently with the material. Of course the material has a very valuable use for neutralizing acids in spills and industrial processes. Sodium hydroxide is commonly used in these cases and is very dangerous to handle, ship, and store. Hydroxide burns are far worse to treat and recover from than acid and temperature induced burns. The silicon material is only dangerous during the first two hours of the reaction. During that time it will burn you from the near 400 degree temperature and from the highly reactive and caustic base that is part of the early and intermediate stages. This is the time of the reaction that care should be exercised the most.
[0083] When the material settles down and just slowly bubbles and or “rolls” it becomes progressively less and less dangerous. At the end it is just hot to the touch and until it is diluted it should be avoided. It is over 180 degrees F. and it holds the temperature for an inordinately long time. Left un-diluted the reactor can be hot for several days.
[0084] When the reactor is to be shut down, water should be put on top of the silicon rock to assure no exposure to the air. Leaving the rock covered for several days is not harmful to the base. The water should be drained off and used as dilution material. It is not recommended to use it as start up water for the type one reaction since it will likely over react.
[0085] With new base or rock and a new vessel and a first reaction it will go pretty much as follows.
[0086] The start is as described before. It will get progressively more violent and begin to turn the effluent in an up the side back to the middle and then repeat the process very rapidly that we call “FIG. 8”. In a very stable reaction this may take no longer than a couple of hours to begin to foam on the top with some blue fines in the foam and the gradual building of a “dome” or bubble dome as it is called by some.
[0087] If this “dome” makes it over the top of the vessel the reaction will shoot up the side and then collapse and fail to a “white or a “blue ” reaction. Both are bad and to be avoided.
[0088] In the passage of a couple of hours the reaction will begin to subside and the dome will collapse to a boiling and turning reaction that is center specific. The outsides will begin to “crust up” or form fine and bubble barriers that may grow to cover the entire reaction. This is a sure sign of a very heavy and excellent reaction. This process may splinter and form what we call “lily pads” which are named because that is what they look like on top of the reactor. They are also a good sign but neither is necessary for a successful reaction but time is.
[0089] Allow the reaction the full 12.5 hours required. The errors are not always obvious and as a result we advise to err to the secure. Run the full time. The preferred reaction time is 14 hours with the only ill effects being a loss of water and difficulty extracting the material. The phase one material may also be used to dilute the hot material for extraction.
[0090] The off load is important and failure to off load can lead to the material drying into the rock and it takes days to get it out with endless washing and circulation. The material must be removed hot and quickly.
[0091] The settling process begins in the first storage tank and it is designed to allow fines to settle out and commencement to proper dilution from the 1.3 to 1.35 gravity down to 1.25, the commercial goal. Gravity and time do the work with water as the diluents and the tank quickly settles and in 2 to four days should be moved to the next tank.
[0092] We often circulate this tank and it is located where it is exposed to sun light. The sun is part of the equation. Move the phase one material to a dark tank and it will never change color and will continue to bubble hydrogen that can cause vessels to swell or burst. Settling tanks are always open topped.
[0093] Ten days in the settling tank or sun tank and the material is ready to go to the bulk tank and can be stored indefinitely and or put into drums. We have stored material in the bulk tank a year and had no change in pH, gravity or color. The preferred material for bulk tanks is plastic. Over a period of time the fines from the settling process will accumulate in the tanks. The fines should be removed periodically and they make good road grade material.
[0094] After the reaction process, water is used to wash the rock clear and put that water back into a smaller holding tank after a couple of hours of circulation and cooling the rock. This water may be used to dilute heavy reaction material when “Phase I” material is not readily available. It works almost as well but care needs to be exercised to not over dilute. Material dropped to 1.15 can be very hard to raise back to 1.25 gravity even with new heavy reacted material. It happens but slowly and with much circulation required.
[heading-0095] Process Summary
[0096] In summary, the process of producing the silicon material involves a group of variables that all must be completed in a timed and often sequential order to produce stable silicon material.
[0097] First, the vessel must be of a size, design, material, and of construction suitable for proper exothermic reactions. That means a vessel that will withstand the heat generated by the reaction and the potential for hydrogen embrittlement. Nickel and nickel alloys have proven satisfactory. The vessel needs to have a coned bottom to assist in avoidance of “offset” or “crevice” related reactions that can become too hot or too reactive. The rolling reaction that is seen in start up and during successful reactions that we call “figure eight” will often not occur in flat bottomed vessels or vessels with areas where crevices can cause different reactions characteristics.
[0098] The vessel must be open at the top and valved at the bottom for water and chemical introduction into the vessel and for the off load mechanism after the finished reaction.
[0099] The base rock, or the amount of rock that is in the vessel prior to an initial reaction is a critical variable. When first beginning to “build” this “base” of silicon metal extreme care must be exercised to be exactly in the 1-6-10 molar calculation window, however one should note that this early reaction product may not be the “stable” material that will result once the “base” metal (rock) has been fully established. Removal of all the product of the first few reactions is advised if there is no “base” or catalyst rock available as would be the case in a new start up reactor. The base rock will get a “worm hole” or sawed appearance as if the surface of the lump of metal or rock had been first sawed a few millimeters deep with a band saw. This is a good sign and the “rock” will often be white from excess sodium and this is an expected condition also.
[0100] When the gradual reaction and removal rates increase as described above have been done and the base rock reaches 4,000 pounds, then the very tight restrictions (done to the gram) on the control of the rock added is less needed. What has to be determined is how much rock can be reacted and still have the reaction not go over the top of the open topped vessel. The preferred method is increase the base rock gradually, realizing that the actual proper reaction will be in the 12.6758% window, and a residual weight can be calculated for the proper addition for the next reaction.
[0101] Any new amount may be added to the base to establish a new base number but the resulting ratio and molar calculation of water and NaOH may yield a reaction that may not stay in the vessel. So raising the total base gradually from reaction to reaction is empirical and based on how high the reaction mixture expands during the reaction and still stays in the vessel. Totals that allow for a growth of the reaction to within one foot of the top of the vessel at maximum reaction is desired. Any more risks over flow and loss of the reaction and damage to the vessel.
[0102] The next parts of the process are equally critical. The loading of the chemical and the new rock for the next reaction. Loading the chemical over the top of the vessel will cause what we call an inverted reaction and can and often does fail. Thus, loading the NaOH from the bottom is critical to our method. Using the last of the water to purge the process and loading lines also forces the heavier NaOH into the center of the catalyst rock base and the reaction starts in the middle of the vessel and rolls figure eight outward.
[0103] The reaction will be very violent for the first four hours with rolling and boiling and production of “very wet” steam that is hydrogen rich. The last eight hours the dome of the reaction will subside and the material may cover with a dark shell or have a floating material that is mostly silicon metal fines that we call lily pads.
[0104] If the reaction is not blended with other material and water before these lily pads and of the cover material becomes very dry, the removal of the finished product is very difficult. We use previously produced material to unstop the valves and to circulate the material in a cooling process before we off load the material for blending with water or other lower than 1.25 material. We circulate the mixtures bottom to top over the sides of the vessel and add water and take specific gravity readings until we are at 1.35-1.38 specific gravity at the current temperature. That varies with the seasons but in the summer that is about 135 degrees F. We circulate the mixture to around 90 degrees F. and the off load it into the primary blending tank.
[0105] The blending tanks allow light to pass into them readily since exposure to light and or sunlight is part of the final process for a stable material. When the product is not exposed to light the product stays a blue color and often continues to react, sometimes expanding and damaging the tank.
[0106] From the primary blend tank the material is circulated and blended with water for a minimum of two hours and then allowed to settle for two days. We then move all the material into the secondary tank less 800 gallons that we retain for off loading assistance and stabilizing of the next reaction.
[0107] In tanks two and three we circulate the materials from subsequent reactions and allow the material to gradually change color to a light amber. This is a product of settling out of silicon fines from the process but is also a product of exposure to the sun.
[0108] Final water is added and circulated extensively to make the material exactly 1.25 gravity.
[heading-0109] Applications
[0110] The liquid material is ready for use when the manufacturing is complete. For most uses, simply dilute the aqueous silicon solution with water and use.
[0111] The liquid solution in ready-to-use form has a high pH yet does not have the typical harmful effects or risks associated with higher pH cleaning compounds. The aqueous solutions of silicon in accordance with the present invention are very safe, non-volatile, and easy to handle. Moreover, the solutions of the instant invention separate petroleum compounds from parts being cleaned to a recoverable and reusable product, essentially restoring its value as “waste oil”. Further, the solutions of the instant invention have a far longer life cycle due to totally separating and isolating waste products from not only the parts being cleaned but also itself, enabling continued usage. Because of this separating and isolating, the solutions of the present invention have no negative environmental impact, and no waste-water/effluent issues. Additionally, most known cleaning solutions near the end of their life cycle clean only marginally, leaving unacceptable dirty parts. The solutions of the present invention do not experience this performance drop-off.
[0112] Cleaning method using solutions in accordance with the instant invention include, but are not limited to the following: cleaning aromatic sludge tanks (specifically benzene, but also applicable to toluene, xylene, and other type tanks), pits (oil and sludge) and other waste clean up including barges, railcars, rig wash, slop oil recovery including coal slurry pond clean up, gun barrel separator clean up, pipeline cleaning (“Pig” operations) including pipeline “Sock type” filter cleaners, pipeline right of way clean up, site, pad, and staging area clean up and remediation, parts washing, computer circuit board washing, steam cleaning, soil washing, carpet cleaning, carpet cleaning and flea treatment, upholstery cleaning, and cleaning concrete. Typically, for cleaning and washing applications the stable, aqueous silicon solution of the present invention should be diluted with water to provide a cleaning solution that is 1-2% Si solution.
[0113] The solutions of the instant invention can by used in accordance with known methods of washing and cleaning. For example, highly aromatic solvents often are absorbed into the matrix of carbon steel tanks. A tank containing such a solvent can be emptied and repeatedly washed with soap and common detergents and then allowed to air dry for weeks or even months. The so called clean tank is still a danger for possible explosions and many have been killed in such accidents. Take the tank and heat it with the lid on with a torch and it will explode as soon as the torch cuts into the tank. Wash the tank with the silicon material of the instant invention and all the solvent will be removed and the risk of explosion is gone.
[0114] The solutions of the instant invention will clean surfaces that have been contaminated with hydrocarbons. For example, metal parts used in conjunction with oil drilling and pumping are often coated with oil as they are being used. Such parts can be rinsed or washed with the solutions of the instant invention which will remove the oil contamination. These parts may also be submerged in solutions of the instant invention to achieve a similar effect. Moreover, the solution will separate the hydrocarbon from the parts which can then be recovered restoring its value as waste oil.
[0115] The solutions of the instant invention are also useful in methods of cleaning metal surfaces. Simply use the solution as you would any other soap or detergent for superior cleaning results. For example, fast food restaurants use grease in the production or cooking of many of their products. The solutions of the instant invention can be used to clean any of the metal surfaces that get coated or contaminate with this grease. The solutions of the instant invention offer a superior alternative to the cleaning products that are currently available as they are more effective and economical.
[0116] Generally, any product or method that is currently using a water soluble base to do a job can likely do the same job cheaper and without the adverse environmental impact using the solutions of the instant invention.
[0117] For example, sodium hydroxide is currently used by airlines to treat their process water at airports because the water is highly acidic and cannot be put into common sewers. Sodium hydroxide is costly and dangerous to use handle and store. A solution in accordance with the instant invention is much less dangerous to handle and use, is significantly cheaper and is equally effective in such treatment methods.
[0118] Energy companies have the same problem caused by the acid they use to clean their primary burners at lignite coal plants. They use sodium hydroxide in their treatment methods. A solution in accordance with the instant invention is much less dangerous to handle and use, is significantly cheaper and is equally effective in such treatment methods document after the trip.
[0119] While the invention has been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art may make various modifications to the described embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the present invention has been described by way of examples, a variety of compositions and methods would practice the inventive concepts described herein. Although the invention has been described and disclosed in various terms and certain embodiments, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved, especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims and their equivalents. | The present invention generally relates to a formulation created by reacting sodium hydroxide, water, and silicon metal which has unique properties and many uses. The instant invention is further directed Lo methods of producing and using such formulations. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a borehole logging system and to a communication system for use in such logging systems. In particular, the invention concerns borehole logging systems which include a number of discrete logging sondes connected together to form an array, for example a borehole seismic array tool or to muliple measuring entities connected to form a string.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the logging of boreholes, one method of making measurements underground comprises connecting one or more tools to a cable connected to a surface system. The tools are then lowered into the borehole by means of the cable and then drawn back to the surface (“logged”) through the borehole while making measurements. The conductors of the cable provide power to the tool from the surface and provide a route for electric signals to be passed between the tool and the surface system. These signals are for example, tool control signals which pass from the surface system to the tool, and tool operation signals and data which pass from the tool to the surface system.
A schematic view of a prior art telemetry system for use in logging boreholes is shown in FIG. 1 . The system shown comprises a digital telemetry module DTM which is typically located at the surface, a cable C, a downhole telemetry cartridge DTC at the head of a tool string which includes a number of downhole tools T 1 , T 2 , . . . each containing a respective interface package IP 1 , IP 2 , . . . through which they are in communication with the DTC via a fast tool bus FTB. This system is configured to handle data flows in opposite directions, i.e. from the tools, via the respective IPs and FTB, to the DTC and then to the DTM over the cable (“uplink”), and the reverse direction from the DTM to the DTC and tools over the same path (“downlink”). Since the principal object of the system is to provide a communication path from the tools to the surface so that data acquired by the tools in use can be processed and analysed at the surface, the protocol used favours the uplink at the cost of the downlink to optimise data flow from the tools. The communication path is split into two parts, the cable C and the tool bus FTB, and operation of these two are asynchronous to each other. In the FTB, the uplink and downlink both comprise biphase modulation using a half duplex systems of identical instantaneous data rate and frequency synchronised to a clock in the DTC. Both uplink and downlink are half duplex. A suitable protocol for implementing such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,326 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,318, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The FTB signal path is typically constituted by a pair of coax cables or a twisted pair conductor running along the length of the tool string.
The tools T 1 , T 2 . . . in the tool string are typically a series of sondes which make physical measurements of the formation surrounding the borehole, for example electrical, nuclear and acoustic measurements. The sondes are usually connected together to form a rigid tool string with electrical connectors permitting data and power connection between or through the sondes. In use, the operator must configure the FTB from the surface system to indicate the number of nodes (i.e. number of tools or sondes) such that the system can allocate addresses for each node. Once this is set, it is fixed and must be completely reconfigured to change the number of nodes.
Certain borehole tools are commonly found in the form of arrays, in which a number of similar (or identical) sondes which make the same measurement are connected together. Such an approach is often found in borehole seismic logging tools and examples can be found in SEISMIC APPLICATIONS Vol. 1, CROSSWELL SEISMOLOGY & REVERSE VSP by Bob A. Hardage, Geophysical Press Ltd., London 1992. Because of the necessity to couple the measurement sondes closely to the borehole wall in such cases in order to improve the acoustic detection ability, and the difficulty of achieving such coupling with a very long tool string, it is often proposed to join the sondes together with lengths of flexible cable, often called “bridles”. The Array Seismic Imager ASI tool of Schlumberger, the SST 500 tool of CGG and other examples of such “array” or “multi-level” tools are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,392.
One problem encountered with multi-level borehole seismic tools is that the large quantity of data recorded for each shot is greater than can be handled by current wireline telemetry systems. The tool described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,392 attempts to overcome this problem by providing memory in each sonde and in a downhole cartridge which is connected to the logging cable. In use, a signal is sent from a surface system to the cartridge to instruct activation of the measuring devices in each sonde for a predetermined time after the signal is received. This signal is coordinated with the firing of the surface source so that the sondes are active when the signal arrives. In order to overcome the limitations of the telemetry system, the sondes and the downhole cartridge are provided with buffers or memories which store the recorded signals. The stored signals are then telemetered to the surface over the logging cable when the sensors are not recording and when the tool is being moved in the borehole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,556 describes a measurement while drilling system for making seismic measurements. In order to overcome the limitations of the telemetry system, signals are recorded downhole when drilling has stopped and a surface source is activated and stored. Some processing is performed on these signals and the processed data transmitted to the surface. The downhole tool must be retrieved in order to download all of the stored signals. In order to operate, the system is described as having synchronised clocks in the surface and downhole systems.
The systems described above have certain limitations. It is not possible to acquire data continuously and the surface system must be closely associated with the source firing system. This is often not possible, especially in marine environments. It is also not possible with this system to decide after the fact which data is to be telemetered to the surface and which can be discarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides novel methods for recording data in borehole logging systems, novel borehole logging systems and novel borehole seismic logging tools and systems.
A method of recording data in a borehole logging system according to a first aspect of the invention comprises recording data at multiple measuring elements (such as seismic sensors) in a downhole system in a substantially continuous manner; storing the recorded data in a memory downhole; determining a data time window and a data sampling rate; and communicating, from the memory to the surface system, data falling in the determined time window and sampled at the determined sampling rate.
Preferably, time stamp data is associated with the recorded data in the memory. The time stamp data can be generated with a clock in the downhole system. In such a case, a synchronisation signal can be generated with a clock in the surface system, the synchronisation signal being sent to the downhole system and used to synchronise the clock in the downhole system with the clock in the surface system. The clock in the surface system can be synchronised with a time signal from a GPS system.
The time window and sampling rate can be communicated to the downhole system in a signal from the surface system. Alternatively, the time window and sampling rate can be determined in response to a detected event.
It is also convenient to transmit to the surface system data relating to the operating of the signal source which creates the signals sensed downhole.
The downhole system preferably includes a downhole telemetry cartridge and a sensor network cartridge, the recorded data being stored in the sensor network cartridge and the data being communicated to the surface via the downhole telemetry cartridge.
It is particularly preferred to assemble the downhole system at the surface and connecte it to the surface system and lower it into the borehole. By providing power to the downhole system, data can be recorded as the downhole system is lowered into the borehole.
A borehole logging system according to a second aspect of the invention comprises a surface system; and a downhole system, connected to the surface system, and including: a series of measuring elements; a memory; means for passing data from the measuring elements to the memory; and means for communicating data in a predetermined time window and at a predetermined sampling rate from the memory to the surface system.
A borehole seismic logging system according to a third aspect of the invention comprises a surface unit; a downhole seismic detector array connected to the surface unit and including a control module including a memory; and a series of shuttles, each of which has a sensor, the shuttles being connected to the control module and operating so as to record seismic signals and transmit data to the control module in a substantially continuous manner; wherein the control module communicates to the surface system data in a predetermined time window and at a predetermined sampling rate.
Preferably, the downhole system is connected to the surface system by means of a logging cable providing a power and data communication path.
The downhole array can further comprise a telemetry cartridge to which the control module is connected and via which it communicates with the surface system. Furthermore, the array can include a clock which provides time data to be associated with seismic signals recorded in the control module memory. The clock is preferably synchronised with a clock in the surface unit by means of control signals sent from the surface unit.
Where the system also includes a seismic source, the surface unit can receive time signals indicating operation of the source, the time signals being used to determine the time window and the sampling rate.
A borehole seismic logging tool according to a fourth aspect of the invention comprises a control module including a memory; and a series of shuttles, each of which includes a sensor and is connected to the control module such that, when supplied with power, it records seismic signal substantially continuously and transmits the recorded signals to the control module where they are recorded in the memory.
When the memory is full, it is preferred that new signals received from the shuttles are overwritten on old data already in the memory. The control module can also include a clock which provides time data to be associated with the recorded seismic signals. The control module preferably includes a first controller which can be connected to a surface system and a second controller which controls operation of the shuttles independently of any other borehole logging tools connected to the surface unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a telemetry system for borehole use;
FIG. 2 shows a borehole seismic logging tool embodying an aspect of the invention;
FIG. 3 shows the network topology of the tool of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows more detail of the cartridge used in the tool of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 shows more detail of the shuttle electronics used in the tool of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 6 shows detail of the network interface of the shuttle electronics shown in FIG. 5 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The invention will be described in the context of a multi-shuttle borehole seismic logging tool as is shown schematically in FIG. 2 . The tool comprises a surface unit 100 from which a tool string 110 is suspended in a borehole 120 by a conventional logging heptacable 130 . The connection between the cable 13 Q and the tool string 110 is provided by a downhole telemetry cartridge (DTC) 140 which communicates with the surface unit 100 in the manner described above in relation to FIG. 1. A tool cartridge 150 is connected below the telemetry cartridge 140 . An array of tool shuttles 160 1 , 160 2 ,. . . , 160 n , are connected to the tool cartridge 150 , and an array terminator 180 is provided at the lower end of the array connected to the last shuttle 160 n . Each shuttle 160 comprises a shuttle body 162 , and anchoring arm 164 and a three-axis geophone package 166 . The shuttles 160 are connected in an end to end arrangement with bridles 168 formed from logging heptacable. The number of shuttles in the array can vary from one to 20 depending on requirements. Also, other tool elements (sondes) can be connected to the downhole telemetry cartridge 140 above the tool cartridge 150 .
The tool cartridge 150 and the shuttles 160 define a network, the topology of which is schematically shown in FIG. 3 . The connections between the cartridge 150 and the first shuttle 160 , and between adjacent shuttles 160 n , 160 n+1 is provided by heptacable bridles 168 . The cable has eight electrically conducting paths, conductors # 1 −# 7 and the armour. The cartridge 150 includes a controller module 152 which communicates with the telemetry system via an interface package such as those found in other downhole tool telemetry systems to the surface, and with the network of shuttles 160 below, and AC and DC power supplies 154 , 156 . Each shuttle 160 includes a shuttle module 162 . with command and data interfaces as well as AC and DC power supplies 164 , 166 . Command line signals CMD are implemented on conductors # 2 , # 3 , # 5 and # 6 of the cable using T 5 mode transformers. Data line signals DATA, are implemented on conductors # 2 , # 3 , # 5 and # 6 of the cable using T 2 mode transformers. Conductors # 1 and # 4 and the armour are used for power supply along the network. The command line is implemented in a daisy-chained, point to point configuration with re-timing and repeating in each shuttle.
The data line is implemented in daisy-chained, point to point configuration with re-timing and bidirectional data transmission in each shuttle.
The use of logging cable for the bridles offers a number of advantages. Logging cable is essentially cheap and plentiful at the well site which means that bridles can easily be made to measure according to requirements at the well site allowing greater flexibility in inter-shuttle spacing. In fact, the inter-shuttle spacing need not be regular across the array. Furthermore logging cable provides a good electrical power supply path across the array so as to allow faster and more reliable operation of the shuttles. Using mode transformers (e.g. T 5 or T 7 ) on the conductors for data communication means that this power can be supplied without compromising data quality or rate.
FIG. 4 shows the cartridge 150 in more detail. The cartridge connects to the tool bus (FTB) of the tool string by means of an interface package IP which functions in essentially the same manner as the IP found in other downhole tools, and forms part of the controller module CM which communicates with the telemetry system and tool string to send data up hole and receive commands sent down hole from the surface.
The cartridge 150 also includes a sensor network master SNM which transmits and receives command CMD+, CMD−and data DATA+, DATA−signals to and from the network using the logging cable bridles 168 as a signal path. The master SNM includes shuttle network controller SNC functions, a protocol handler PH and transmit/receive TX/RX functions. An AC/DC power supply PS 1 provides an electric power source for the cartridge electronics and for the shuttle electronics and sensors. An AC/AC inverter PS 2 provides power for motors powering the shuttle anchoring mechanism. Buffer memory MEM is provided for the controller and sensor network master modules CM, SNM and a clock CLK which can be synchronised with a clock in the surface unit via the telemetry system provides time information to the network.
The clock CLK is implemented as an oscillator in a phase locked loop under the control of a dedicated DSP, and outputs a VSI Clock value which is increased incrementally by the action of the oscillator.
The shuttle electronics are shown in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6 and comprise two main functional blocks. A front end module 200 handles data acquisition and control at the shuttle level while a back end module 210 handles communication with the shuttle network.
As shown in FIG. 5, the shuttle includes a sensor package 220 which has a shaker 222 and three geophone accelerometers (GAC) 224 x , 224 y , 224 z oriented in orthogonal directions, a motor 226 operating an anchoring arm (not shown) and various other auxiliary functions such as system check sensors (e.g. temperature) 228 a , anchoring arm force sensor 228 b , anchoring arm clutch position sensor 228 c , arm position sensor 228 d and anchor motor control 228 e.
The output from each GAC 224 is provided to an associated Σ-Δ ADC 230 x , 230 y , 230 z which outputs a digital signal to a respective filter 232 x , 232 y , 232 z in the back end module 210 . The outputs of the filters 232 are passed to a shuttle module 234 from where the signals are passed along the network to the cartridge and on to the surface.
The back end module 210 includes a network interface 236 which shows in more detail in FIG. 6 the connections to heptacable conductors # 2 , # 3 , # 5 and # 6 for command signals (CMD 1 , CMD 2 , CMDB 1 , CMDB 2 ) in T 5 mode, and data signals (DATAA+, DATAA−, DATAB+, DATAB−) in T 2 mode; and to conductors # 1 , # 4 , # 7 and ARMOR for AC and DC power for shuttle function and motor control (the connections between the network interface and the rest of the back end module are omitted for clarity in FIG. 6 ).
The back end module 210 not only receives the GAC outputs, it is also provided with a sych/clock recovery function 238 and an output to a test signal generator 240 in the front end module 200 . The test signal generator 240 can be used to drive the shaker 222 in the sensor package 220 or applied, via a switch 242 , to the GAC signal lines connecting to the pre-amps 225 . The back end module 210 also communicates with the auxiliary functions 228 of the front end module 200 via an appropriate A/D converter and front end multiplexer 244 .
In use, the tool string is assembled at the surface and if more than one type of tool is present in the string, an array tool such as that described above will typically be the bottom-most tool in the string. Once the array is placed in the well, a signal is sent from the surface to power up the tool, the signal being transmitted along the array of shuttles from the cartridge. On power up, each shuttle registers itself automatically in the network controlled by the cartridge. The network of shuttles then runs completely under control of the control module in the cartridge.
The clock in the cartridge is initially synchronised with the surface telemetry system clock via the digital telemetry system but runs independently of that clock apart from periodic resynchronisation.
Once the network has become active, it acquires data continuously, the GACs in each shuttle recording seismic signals without interruption. This data is time stamped in each shuttle using the network clock, and transmitted over the network to the cartridge where it is stored in the buffer memory. The data in the buffer memory is transmitted back to the surface over the digital telemetry system in the order in which it was received, but independently of the acquisition of the data by the shuttles. Should the buffer become full, newly acquired data overwrites the old data. Because of the provision of the network clock, it is possible to record data continuously and time stamp the data without being reliant on the digital telemetry system. Thus the acquisition of data is relatively independent of the performance of the telemetry system to the surface. The transmission of data to the surface can take place under the control of the digital telemetry system at whatever rate is available without compromising the ability of the array to acquire data at its optimum rate.
Since the sensors become active on power-up, it is possible to use them as descent monitors as the array is lowered into the borehole. The sensors will detect signals due to road noise as the tool is run into the borehole. If the sensors on one or more shuttles stop recording signal, it is an indication that the array is stuck at the sensors in question and running in can be stopped before the bridles or logging cable become tangled.
Once the desired depth is reached, the shuttles are anchored in the borehole by actuation of the anchoring arm mechanism. By measuring the anchoring arm force, the likely quality of data recorded at any given time can be evaluated. If the anchoring force is low, it is possible that the shuttles are not properly anchored to the borehole wall and any data for that period is of suspect quality. Anchoring arm force in one of a number of auxiliary measurements and operations that can be made at each shuttle. These include temperature measurement, anchoring arm clutch position measurement, arm position measurement, anchoring motor operation and shaker operation. Since it is not necessary to have all of these auxiliary functions available at all times, a smaller number of channels are made available for the signals, typically three channels although other numbers of channels may be used depending on availability. Operation of these functions is on a multiplexed basis according to received command signals. Consequently, while seismic data acquisition is on a continuous basis, auxiliary functions are performed on a periodic basis.
When it is desired to move the array to another location in the borehole, a signal is sent from the surface to the cartridge which then passes commands to the shuttles to stop acquiring data and release the anchoring arm for each shuttle. The auxiliary sensors in each shuttle allow confirmation that it has released and the array can be moved to another location where the shuttles can be locked in place again using the anchoring arms. Again the auxiliary sensors allow confirmation of proper deployment of each shuttle before new data acquisition begins.
On startup, each sensor in the shuttles 160 begins acquiring data at a predetermined sampling rate (e.g. 0.5 ms, 1 ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, etc.), which are transmitted to the tool cartridge 150 and stored in the buffer memory MEM. At the beginning of the session, the initial clock value TO is latched and transmitted to the surface unit 100 . At every second FTB frame following this, the clock value is latched and transmitted to the surface unit together with the corresponding value from a clock in the DTC (not shown) which is synchronised with a clock in the surface unit 100 . Thus, for an FTB frame length of 16 ms, every 32 ms the surface unit 100 receives a pair of values comprising the VSI clock t(n) and the corresponding DTC time stamp DTS Time Stamp t(n) (which relates to the clock value in the surface unit 100 ). The sequence is as follows:
1. Startup
2. Latch VSI clock and transmit t(O) to surface. (Begin data acquisition from shuttles an store in buffer with corresponding VSI clock value t(n))
3. Miss one FTB frame.
4. Latch VSI clock and transmit value VSI clock t(n) to surface together with DTC slave clock time stamp, DTS Time Stamp t(n).
5. Miss one FTB frame.
6. Latch VSI clock and transmit value VSI clock t(n) to surface together with DTC slave clock time stamp, DTS Time Stamp t(n).
7. Miss one FTB frame.
8. etc.
In the surface system 100 , the latest 256 pairs of VSI clock t(n) and DTS Time Stamp t(n) are accumulated in memory.
When it is desired to retrieve samples of the acquired signals, the clock in the surface system 100 is latched according to the time Te of some event. This can be set internally in the surface system 100 or can be triggered by an external event such as the firing command of a source at the surface or detection of source firing. The surface system translates Te from surface clock time (DTS Time) into VSI clock time using the stored 256 values of VSI clock t(n) and DTS Time Stamp t(n) and simple extrapolation to Te. The time Ts to commence sampling of the data is then computed in terms of VSI clock value which is in phase with the VSI data/time stamp pairs in the buffer MEM. The DTS Time Ts is computed from the extrapolation and used to generate a command signal in the surface system which is transmitted to a surface sensor (if present) and downhole over the telemetry system. This command provides the VSI Ts value and the number of samples to be transmitted uphole. The cartridge uses this command to determine which data are to be retrieved from the buffer MEM and passed to the telemetry cartridge for communication to the surface system 100 over the cable. The sequence is as follows:
1. Latch surface clock to obtain Te
2. Translate Te from DTS time to VSI clock time
3. Compute Ts in VSI clock time from Te
4. Translate Ts from VSI clock time to DTS time and generate command signal
5. Transmit command signal downhole
6. Receive command signal at telemetry cartridge DTC downhole and pass to tool cartridge over FTB
7. Receive FTB command signal in tool cartridge and determine VSI clock time value Ts to start data to be retrieval from buffer and the number of samples to be retrieved
8. Retrieve data and transmit to DTC for communication to surface over cable
Using the system described above, it is possible to separate the acquisition of data from the transmission of data to the surface (by the use of the VSI clock) and to only transmit to the surface the data required (by correlating the VSI clock with the surface clock). This optimises use of the telemetry bandwidth by avoiding transmitting unwanted data. While the sampling rate is typically predetermined for the shuttles, it can be adjusted by providing the necessary command signals from the surface.
Because the VSI clock runs independently of the surface clock, it is necessary when determining Te to round its value to the nearest VSI clock value. This rounding varies from case to case by up to one sampling interval (typically 1ms). Since this amount is measurable in the surface system, it can be applied later when the data is analysed. While the invention has been described above in relation to an array seismic tool, it will be apparent that the concept can be applied to other tools either in the form of arrays of similar sensors or strings of different sensors and tools. | A borehole logging tool system includes a surface system, a logging array, and a logging cable providing power supply and data paths connecting the logging array to the surface system, wherein the logging array includes a series of discrete sondes connected together. The sondes in the logging array, for example a borehole seismic logging array, are connected to their neighbours by means of lengths of logging cable. Such cable can be the same as that connecting the logging array to the surface system. The logging array can also include a master controller module which communicates with the surface system and which includes a first controller module which connects to the surface system and a second controller which controls operation of the sondes in the logging array independently of any other borehole logging tools connected to the surface system. The master controller can include a data buffer for handling data from the array and a clock which can be synchronised with a clock at the surface and which can be used in the control of the sondes in the array. Adopting such an arrangement with a borehole seismic logging array allows the sondes to continue acquiring data continuously under control of the master controller module irrespective of the transmission of data to the surface by the telemetry system. | 4 |
This is a division of application Ser. No. 752,282, filed Aug. 29, 1991, abandoned.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 752,419, filed on Aug. 30, 1991 as the present application, by Furtek and Camarota for PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CELL AND ARRAY, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/608,415, filed on Nov. 2, 1990.
Both of the above-cited related applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to user programmable integrated circuit devices and, in particular, to the configurations features of an efficient, highly-versatile configurable logic array (CLA).
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A configurable logic array (CLA) is a matrix of interconnected, programmable logic cells. The individual logic function and the active inputs and outputs of each logic cell are determined by parameter flip-flops and logic gates within the cell, rather than by physically customizing the array during manufacture. Thus, the individual cell functions and the interconnections between cells are dynamically programmable to provide a wide variety of functions. The greater the number of cells in the array, the greater the functional flexibility of the CLA device.
The configurable logic array concept was first introduced by Sven E. Wahlstrom in 1967. Wahlstrom. Electronics, Dec. 11, 1967, pp. 90-95.
Since then, Xilinx Inc., Acetel Inc., Pilkington Micro-electronics Ltd. and Concurrent Logic, Inc., among others, have proposed implementations of CLA devices.
The basic Xilinx CLA architecture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,302, which issued to Ross H. Freeman on Feb. 19, 1988.
The CLA device described by the Xilinx '302 patent and shown in FIG. 1 includes an array of configurable logic elements that are variably interconnected in response to control signals to perform selected overall logic functions. Each configurable element in the array is capable of performing a number of logic functions depending upon the control information provided to that element. The array can have its function varied at any time by changing its control information.
FIG. 2 shows a CLA interconnect structure currently utilized in the Xilinx array. In addition to the single-length interconnect lines between logic elements, as shown in FIG. 2, the Xilinx array utilizes lines that connect switch matrices, e.g., two vertical and two horizontal double-length lines per logic-element column. The Xilinx array also utilizes "global" interconnect lines, e.g., six vertical global lines and six horizontal global lines per logic-element column, for clocks, resets and other global signals. Two of the horizontal global lines may be placed in a high impedance state.
FIG. 3 shows a logic-element currently utilized in the Xilinx array. The Xilinx logic element has three function generators, two flip-flops, and several multiplexers. The first two function generators can perform a Boolean function of four inputs. The function generators are implemented as memory look-up tables. The outputs of these two function generators are provided to the multiplexers and to a three-input function generator which can perform a Boolean function of G', F', and an external input. The output of the third function generator is also provided to the multiplexers. The multiplexers select whether the signals are provided to the output of the logic element or to the input of the flip-flops. The flip-flops have common clock, enable, and set or reset inputs. The configuration bits that determine the function of the logic element also determine how the C1 through C4 inputs are mapped into the four inputs: H1, DIN, S/R, and EC.
The basic Pilkington CLA architecture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,734, which issued to Kenneth Austin on Sep. 10, 1986.
An implementation of the CLA architecture disclosed in the Pilkington '734 patent is shown in FIG. 4. Each logic element in the Pilkington array accepts inputs from four other logic elements in the illustrated pattern. Each logic element output drives multiple other elements as illustrated. In the array disclosed in the '734 patent, there is no additional wiring. However, the Plessey Company, under license from Pilkington, has marketed a product wherein bus wiring is added as shown in FIG. 4; i.e. in every third column, a bus provides inputs to every right-direction logic element in that column, and every third row has a bus providing inputs to every left-direction logic element in that row.
FIG. 5 shows a logic cell currently utilized in the FIG. 4 array. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the two inputs to a NAND gate are provided by a user configured multiplexer the inputs of which are provided by other logic elements or inputs. Plessey has also added circuitry to the logic element to permit it to be a latch or a 2-input NAND gate.
The basic Actel CLA architecture is disclosed an U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,459, issued to El Gamal et al on Oct. 10, 1989.
The Actel architecture relies on one-time programmable anti-fuses for configurability and, thus, is not re-programmable.
The Concurrent Logic, Inc. (CLI) CLA architecture, which is most relevant to the present invention, is discussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 6-17. Features of the CLI CLA architecture are disclosed in the following U.S. patents issued to Frederick C. Furtek: U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,187, issued Oct. 13, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,440, issued Apr. 17, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,736, issued May 28, 1991.
As discussed in above-cited related application Ser. No. 07/608,415, a CLA may be viewed as an array of programmable logic on which a flexible bussing network is superimposed. As shown in FIG. 6, the heart of the CLI CLA 10 is a two-dimensional array of logic cells 12 each of which receives inputs from and provides outputs to its four adjacent neighbors. The core logic cell 12, which is shown in detail in FIG. 7, can be programmed to provide all the wiring and logic functions needed to create any digital circuit.
Each logic cell 12 in the array, other than those on the periphery, receives eight inputs from and provides eight outputs to its North (N), East (E), South (S), and West (W) neighbors. These sixteen inputs and outputs are divided into two types, "A" and "B", with an A input, an A output a B input and a B output for each neighboring cell 12. Between cells 12, an A output is always connected to an A input and a B output is always connected to a B input.
As further shown in FIG. 7, within a cell 12, the four A inputs enter a user-configurable multiplexer 14, while the four B inputs enter a second user-configurable multiplexer 16. The two multiplexer outputs feed the logic components of the cell 12. In logic cell 12, these components include a NAND gate 18, a register 20, an XOR gate 22, and two additional user-configurable multiplexers 24 and 26.
The two four-input multiplexers 24 and 26 are controlled in tandem (unlike the input multiplexers), giving rise to four possible logic configurations shown in FIGS. 8A-8D.
In the FIG. 8A configuration, corresponding to the "0" inputs of the multiplexers 24 and 26, the A outputs are connected to a single A input and the B outputs are connected to a single B input.
In the FIG. 8B configuration, corresponding to the "1" inputs of the multiplexers 24 and 26, the A outputs are connected to a single B input and the B outputs are connected to a single A input.
In the FIG. 8C configuration, corresponding to the "2" inputs of the multiplexers 24 and 26, the A outputs provide the NAND and the B outputs the XOR of a single A input and a single B input. This is the equivalent of a half adder circuit.
In the FIG. 8D configuration, corresponding to the "3" inputs of the multiplexers 24 and 26, the Q output of edge-triggered D flip-flop 20 is connected to the A outputs, the D input of the flip-flop 20 is connected to a single A input, the enable (EN) input of the flip-flop 20 is connected to a single B input and the B outputs provide the logical constant "1". A global clock input and register reset are provided for this configuration, but are not illustrated in FIG. 8D. This configuration is equivalent to a one bit register.
The cell 12 thus provides the most fundamental routing and logic functions: extensive routing capabilities, NAND and XOR (half adder), a one-bit register, the logical constant "1", and fan-out capabilities.
These functions permit the basic CLA array 10 to implement arbitrary digital circuits. A register and half adder (NAND and XOR) included in each cell 12, together with a high cell density, make the array 10 well adapted for both register-intensive and combinatorial applications. In addition, signals passing through a cell 12 are always regenerated, ensuring regular and predictable timing.
Although the basic logic array 10 is completely regular, routing wires through individual cells 12 can cause increased delays over long distances. To address this issue, the neighboring interconnect provided by the array 10 is augmented with three types of programmable busses: local, turning, and express.
Local busses provide connections between the array of cells and the bussing network. They also provide the wired-AND function.
Turning busses provide for 90° turns within the bussing network, enabling T-intersections and corners. Turning busses provide faster connections than do local busses, since they do not have the delays associated with using a cell as a wire.
Express busses are designed purely for speed. They are the fastest way to cover straight-line distances.
There is one bus of each type described above for each row and each column of logic cells 12 in the array 10. Connective units, called repeaters, are spaced every eight cells 12 and divide each bus into segments spanning eight cells 12. Repeaters are aligned into rows and columns, thereby partitioning the basic array 10 into 8×8 blocks of cells 12 called "superblocks". FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified view of a bussing network containing four superblocks. Cell-to-cell connections are not shown.
As shown in FIG. 10, each local bus segment 13 is connected to eight consecutive cells 12. As shown in FIG. 11, each turning bus segment 15 is connected to eight orthogonal turning busses through programmable turn points. As shown in FIG. 12 each express bus segment 17 is connected only to the repeaters at either end of the 8×8 superblock. FIG. 13 shows the three types of busses combined to form the bussing network of the array 10.
In order for the bussing network to communicate with the array 10, each core logic cell 12 is augmented as shown in FIG. 14 to permit the reading and writing of local busses L. The cell 12 reads a horizontal local bus through the "L x " input of the B input multiplexer 16 and reads a vertical local bus through the "L y " input of the B input multiplexer 16. The cell 12 writes to a local bus through the driver 28 connected to the A output.
While the cell 12 may read either a horizontal or a vertical bus under program control, the cell 12 may write to only one bus of fixed orientation. Whether a cell 12 writes to a horizontal or vertical bus is determined by its location with the array 10. Referring back to FIG. 10, the cell 12 in the upper-left corner of the illustrated superblock writes to a horizontal local bus. If a particular cell 12 writes to a horizontal local bus, then its four immediate neighbors write to vertical local busses, and vice versa.
As shown in FIG. 13, the two types of cells 12 are thus arranged in a checker-board pattern where the black cells 12 write to horizontal busses and the white cells 12 write to vertical busses.
The CLA busses can be driven by the bus driver 28 in two ways. The bus driver 28 has two control bits, "TS" and "OC", which provide high impedance and open-collector capabilities, respectively. The high impedance capability, which is independently programmeable for each cell 12, allows the bus driver to be disconnected from the bus when the cell 12 is not being used to write to the bus.
The open-collector capability provides the wired-AND function when multiple cells 12 are driving the same local bus simultaneously. Unlike the high impedance function, which is controlled at the cell level, the open-collector function is controlled at the bus level; all cells 12 driving the same local bus are in the same open-collector state. The programming environment insures that if there is exactly one driver 28 driving a local bus, then that driver 28 provides active pull-up and active pull-down (The open-collector capability is turned off.) In all other cases, the drivers 28 driving a local bus provide passive pull-up and active pull-down. (The open-collector capability is turned on.)
In the special case when there are no drivers 28 driving a local bus (that is, when the bus is not used), the open-collector capability is turned on, and the bus is pulled high through the passive pull-up resistor. An unused local bus, therefore, provides a logical "1" to those cells reading the bus.
As stated above, repeaters provide connections between busses. Each repeater is programmable so that any bus on one side of a repeater can be connected to any bus on the other side of the repeater, as shown in FIG. 15. Each connection is unidirectional (direction is not depicted in FIG. 15) since repeaters always provide signal regeneration. The direction, like the connection itself, is programmable. Including direction, there are 18 (2×9) repeater configurations providing one connection, 72 (4×18) providing two connections, and 48 (8×6) providing three connections.
As shown in FIG. 16, logic 19 for distributing clock signals to the D flip-flops 20 in the logic cells 12 is located along one edge of the array 10. The distribution network is organized by column and permits columns of cells 12 to be independently clocked. At the head of each column is a user-configurable multiplexer 30 providing the clock signal for that column. There are four inputs to each multiplexer 30: an external clock supplied from off chip, the logical constant "0", the express bus adjacent to the distribution logic, and the A output of the cell 12 at the head of the corresponding column.
Through the global clock, the network provides low-skew distribution of an externally supplied clock to any or all of the columns of the array 10. The constant "0" is used to reduce power dissipation in columns containing no registers. The express bus is useful in distributing a secondary clock to multiple columns when the external clock line is used as a primary clock. The A output of a cell is useful in providing a clock signal to a single column.
All D flip-flops 20 of the cells 12 of the array 10 may be globally reset through an externally supplied signal entering the RESET control pin.
The CLA array 10 provides a flexible interface between the logic array, configuration control logic and the I/O pads of the CLA device. As shown in FIG. 17, two adjacent cells, an "exit" cell 12a and an "entrance" cell 12b, on the perimeter of the logic array are associated with each I/O pad 32. The A output of the exit cell 12a is connected, under program control, to an output buffer 34. The edge-facing A input of the adjacent entrance cell 12b is connected to an input buffer 36. The output of the output buffer 34 and the input to the input buffer 36 are both connected to the I/O pad 32. Control of the I/O logic is provided by various control signals and bits, as shown in FIG. 17.
While the CLA array 10 described above provides a wide range of configuration options, it would be desirable to have available a CLA device that provides an even greater level of programmable flexibility.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to various configuration features of a logic array that includes a plurality of individually configurable logic cells arranged in a matrix. These features include reconfiguration logic for reconfiguring logic cells in a selected portion of the matrix using a window-based protocol. The array also includes configuration data storage means for storing configuration data utilizable for configuring the logic elements, wherein each logic element includes a working data storage register, and reset circuitry for modifying the configuration data without modifying the working data. The array further includes read disable circuitry and write disable circuitry for disabling read access and write access, respectively, to the configuration data. The array further includes a comparison protocol mechanism for checking the configuration data against data on the array pins. The array further includes a configuration circuit for generating external addresses and that can be controlled through a data configuration file fetched from an external storage medium.
A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth an illustrative embodiment in which the principles of the invention are utilized.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a first type of conventional configurable logic array architecture.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cell-to-cell interconnect structure utilizable in the FIG. 1 CLA array.
FIG. 3 is a logic diagram illustrating a logic cell utilizable in the FIG. 1 CLA array.
FIG. 4 is a logic diagram illustrating a portion of a second type of conventional configurable logic array architecture.
FIG. 5 is a logic diagram illustrating a logic cell utilizable in the FIG. 4 CLA array.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of third type of conventional configurable logic array.
FIG. 7 is a logic diagram illustrating a logic cell utilizable in the FIG. 6 CLA array.
FIGS. 8A-8D are simple logic diagrams illustrating four possible logic configurations of the FIG. 7 logic cell.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bussing network for the FIG. 6 CLA array.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating local bus segments for the FIG. 9 bussing network.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating turning bus segments for the FIG. 9 bussing network.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating express bus segments for the FIG. 9 bussing network.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the combination of the local, turning and express bus segments of the FIG. 9 bussing network.
FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of the FIG. 7 logic cell augmented to permit read/write of local busses.
FIG. 15 illustrates the multiple possible repeater configurations for inter-bus connections in the FIG. 9 bussing network.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating clock distribution logic utilizable in the FIG. 6 CLA array.
FIG. 17 is a logic diagram illustrating "exit" and "entrance" cells associated with each I/O pad of the FIG. 6 CLA array.
FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a configurable logic array in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the bus turning capability of a logic cell of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 20 is a schematic representation illustrating the interface between a cell and local busses in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 20A is a schematic representation illustrating an alternate interface between a cell and the local buses of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 21 is a schematic representation illustrating the implementation of individual control of the local busses in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating express busses in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 23A is a schematic representation illustrating utilization of repeaters in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 23B is a schematic representation illustrating repeaters utilized in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 24 is a schematic representation illustrating diagonal connections between abutting logic cells in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 25 is a schematic representation illustrating diagonal local busses in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 26 is a functional diagram of a logic cell utilizable in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 27 illustrates sixteen basic configurations of the FIG. 26 logic cell.
FIG. 28 is a schematic representation of a possible modification to the FIG. 26 logic cell.
FIG. 29 is a logic diagram illustrating an alternate embodiment of a logic cell utilizable in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 30 is a logic diagram illustrating a tri-stable output buffer circuit utilizable in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 31 is a schematic representation of the sequential configuration of multiple CLA arrays of the type shown in FIG. 18.
FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating a power up sensing circuit utilizable in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 33 is a graph illustrating the hysteresis of the FIG. 32 power up sensing circuit.
FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating edge core cells and I/O cells in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating express bus I/O cells in the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating configuration logic for the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 37 is a schematic representation illustrating the loading of a configuration file into the internal configuration SRAM within the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 38 is a schematic representation illustrating the bit sequential, internal clock configuration mode of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 39 is a schematic representation illustrating the bit sequential, external clock configuration mode of the 18 CLA array.
FIG. 40 is a schematic representation illustrating the cascaded configuration of multiple CLAs of the type shown in FIG. 18.
FIG. 41 is a schematic representation illustrating the parallel configuration of multiple CLAs of the type shown in FIG. 18.
FIG. 42 is a schematic representation illustrating the address count-up, internal clock configuration mode of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 43 is a schematic representation illustrating the address count-up, external clock configuration mode of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
FIG. 44 is a schematic representation illustrating the byte-sequential, external clock configuration mode of the FIG. 18 CLA array.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 18 shows a configurable logic array 100 comprising a matrix of individual programmable logic cells 102. As shown by the "typical" logic cell 102 in FIG. 18, each logic cell 102 receives eight inputs from and provides eight outputs to its North (N), East (E), South (S) and West (W) neighbors.
These sixteen inputs and outputs are divided into two types, "A" and "B", with an A input an A output, a B input and a B output for each neighboring cell. Between cells 102, an A output is always connected to an A input and a B output is always connected to a B input.
As further shown in FIG. 18, the CLA array 100 includes two local busses L N , L S in the x direction and two local buses L E , L W in the y direction running between each row and column of cells 102, respectively, in the array 100. Thus, each cell 102 has access to four local busses. The local busses allow efficient interconnections between cells 102 that are not nearest neighbors cells in the same row or column.
Any of these local busses may be active within any given cell 102. However, a cell's connections to local busses must be selected either only as inputs or only as outputs if they are used at all by the cell 102, except when used as a bus-to-bus connection or when the FIG. 21 alternative scheme, described below, is used. If selected as inputs, then only one of the local busses can be enabled. If selected as outputs, then a cell 102 can drive up to all four of its accessible local busses.
As shown in FIG. 19, a cell 102 may allow a turn from a local bus L N , L S running in the x direction to a local bus L E , L W running in the y direction. This type of connection is useful when two non-neighboring cells 102 must be connected to one another and the cells 102 are not in the same row or the same column. In this case, the cell 102 that facilitates the turn cannot use the local busses as an input or an output. If a cell 102 is using its local busses for anything other than an input, then the output of the local bus input mux (Lin in FIG. 26) is forced to a "1".
FIG. 20 shows the functional implementation of the interface between a cell 102 and the local busses.
As shown in FIG. 20, a cell 102 can drive signal A onto any combination of its associated local busses, L N , L S , L E and L W by activating various combinations of the transmission gates controlled by signals CL N , CL S , CL E , CL W and CL OUT . A cell 102 can receive input from any one of its associated local busses L N , L S , L E and L W by activating the transmission gate controlled by signal CL IN along with activating one of the transmission gates controlled by signals CL N , CL S , CL E , and CL W . If signal CL IN disables its transmission gate, then p-channel pullup transistor P provides a logic "1" level on signal Lin.
If the transmission gates controlled by signals CL OUT and CL IN are both disabled, then the local bus interface shown in FIG. 20 can facilitate a connection from any of its associated local busses to any or all others. This capability allows turns from a horizontal local bus to a vertical local bus.
The cell/bus connection scheme shown in FIG. 20 can be extended to accommodate a larger number of busses and to allow multiple simultaneous turns between horizontal and vertical busses.
FIG. 20A illustrates an interface scheme that assumes four horizontal local buses (EW0, EW1, EW2 and EW3) and four vertical local buses (NS0, NS1, NS2 and NS3). For each pair of corresponding busses, e.g. NS0 and EW0, there are three bidirectional pass gates connected in a tree, as illustrated. Each of the eight upper pass gates, i.e. those connected directly to the busses, are controlled by a separate configuration bit. The four lower pass gates, i.e. those connected directly to the cell, may be controlled either by individual bits or, in order to conserve configuration bits, by control signals derived from the configuration bits controlling the upper pass gates.
For example, assume that "A" and "B" are the configuration bits controlling the upper pass gates associated with NS0 and EW0, respectively. Then either A XOR B or A NAND B can be used to control the corresponding lower pass gate. Note that, in both cases, the lower pass gate is turned off when both upper pass gates are turned on--this is a bus turn. Note also that when exactly one of the upper pass gates is turned on, the lower pass gate is also turned on--this is either a read or a write to the cell. When both upper pass gates are turned off, the state of the lower pass gate is a "don't care".
As in the FIG. 20 scheme, the FIG. 20A scheme uses the same pass gates for both reading and writing. In addition, however, it is now possible to have up to four simultaneous bus turns when the cell is not accessing the bus, or up to three simultaneous turns when the cell is accessing the bus.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 21, rather than constraining all four local bus connections to all being inputs or all being outputs, configuration memory and multiplexors can be added so that the bus connections can be individually controlled. In this way, one bus connection could be an input and, simultaneously, another bus connection could be an output in situations other then bus-to-bus connections. This would reduce the number of cells 102 required for routing in the array 100.
As shown in FIG. 22, in addition to the local busses described above, the array 100 includes two express busses X N , X S running in the x direction and two express busses X E , X W running in the y direction between each row and column, respectively, of cells 102 in the array 100. Each express bus is associated with one local bus. Entry to/from an express bus is only possible from/to its associated local bus at the repeater.
As shown in FIG. 23A, repeaters R are spaced eight cells 102 apart. A block of cells 102 surrounded by repeaters R is referred to as a "superblock". An express bus allows a signal to travel a distance of eight cells 102 without additional variable loads, giving it the highest speed possible for the full length of the superblock.
Repeaters R are used to regenerate bus signals and to drive the different bus segments at the superblock interface. A repeater R is shown in FIG. 23B. Under configuration control, the following paths in the repeater are possible:
______________________________________Description: Path in FIG. 23B______________________________________Local Bus L1 drives Local Bus L2 D1-PG3Local Bus L2 drives Local Bus L1 D3-PG6Express Bus X1 drives Express Bus X2 D2-PG5Express Bus X2 drives Express Bus X1 D4-PG8L1 drives Local Bus L2 & Express Bus X2 D1-PG3 & PG2L2 drives Local Bus L1 & Express Bus X1 D3-PG6 & PG7X1 drives Express Buss X2 & Local Bus L2 D2-PG5 & PG4X2 drives Express Buss X1 & Local Bus L1 D4-PG8- & PG9Local Busses L1 & L2 are single PG1bidirectional bus______________________________________ (This latter path can be used to make a long busses spanning multiple repeaters.)
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 24, the CLA array 100 can include diagonal interconnections between abutting cells 102. With diagonal cell interconnection, a substantially smaller number of cells 102 are used by certain macros for interconnections, thereby improving performance and gate array utilization and increasing the interconnect resources.
As shown in FIG. 24, data flows diagonally from left to right. Each cell 102 requires an additional input to the input mux and an additional output to the bottom right . The diagonal interconnect concept can be extended to data flowing diagonally from right to left (top to bottom), left to right (bottom to top) and right to left (bottom to top).
As shown in FIG. 25, the array 100 can include an additional set of local vertical buses and an additional set of local horizontal busses. However, instead of these busses being purely vertical and horizontal, as in the case of the local busses discussed above, this second set of local busses runs diagonally. Thus, as shown in FIG. 25, one set of these busses attaches to the cell's East side and one attaches the cell's South side. In this architecture, every cell 102 is capable of driving each of the busses to which it is attached. In this arrangement, each cell 102 in the array 100 can connect more easily to nearby cells 102 in a diagonal direction, a very useful feature in compute-intensive algorithms and in random logic.
Each programmable function of the CLA 100 is controlled by one or more transistor pass gates, each of which has its pass-or-block state determined by the state of a memory bit, either directly or through a decoder. All of these registers are collectively referred to as SRAM Configuration Data Storage. The advantage of an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), as opposed to a ROM (Read Only Memory), in this application, is that the configuration data can be changed a virtually unlimited number of times by simply rewriting the data in the SRAM.
The functional diagram for an embodiment of the logic cell 102 is shown in FIG. 26. It consists of five 4:1 muxes, (shown in pass-gate form), cell function logic, and 4 high impedance local bus connectors (also shown in pass-gate form) drivers. Three of the 4:1 muxes determine the A, B, and L inputs to be used by the cell function logic. If no input to a mux is selected, then the output of the mux is forced to a logical "1" state. The cell function logic implements the function to be applied to the A, B, and L inputs and supplies the result to the A and B output muxes. The four pass gates connecting the cell to the local busses allow the cell 102 to drive its corresponding local busses or receivers signals from the busses.
The application of the illustrated technology uses 16 bits of SRAM for each cell's configuration memory address space to define the functionality of the FIG. 26 logic cell 102. Fourteen bits are used for input and output multiplex control. The remaining two bits are used to determine the cell's use of its associated local busses. These two bits (BUS0, BUS1), combined with the number of local busses enabled for a given cell, determine the function of the local busses within the cell, as shown in Table I below. If BUS0 is a "1", then either 1 or 2 of the local busses must be selected. Otherwise, any number of local busses may be selected, within the dictates of Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________ L's local bus en- function TRI-STATEBUS0 Bus1 abled within cell Li Control______________________________________0 0 0 not used "1" "0"(disabled)0 0 1-4 output "1" "0"(enabled0 1 0 not used "1" "0"0 1 1-4 output "1" Bin1 0 1 input enabled L "0"1 0 2 x/y turn "1" "0"1 1 1 mux select enabled L "0"1 1 2 x/y turn "1" "0"______________________________________
The function of the cell's control/configuration bits is described in Table II below.
TABLE II______________________________________SIGNALS #OF BITS DESCRIPTION______________________________________CAN,CAS 4 A Input mux selects (zeroCAE,CAW or one enabled)CBN,CBS 4 B Input mux selects (zero orCBE,CBW one enabled)CLN,CLS 4 L enables (any number, perCLE,CLW Table I)BUS0,BUS1 2 Determines local bus function within cellCFUN0,CFUN1 2 A and B output function select______________________________________
Thus, there are sixteen primary functional configurations of the CLA cell 102, based on the sixteen possible combinations at signals CFUN1, CFUN2, BUS0 and BUS1. FIG. 27 shows the functional diagrams of these sixteen configurations.
Other applications of this technology may use more (or less) than 16 SRAM configuration bits per cell, e.g. to switch the connections of additional busses.
FIG. 28 shows a possible modification to the FIG. 26 logic cell 102 that allows the high impedance control signal to be input over the local bus through the L mux. Additionally, both the local bus input and the B input of the cell can be used for control of the high impedance. This allows the user the flexibility of using either of the inputs for high impedance control, thereby saving cells used for wiring. As shown in FIG. 28, the high impedance control signal is provided by the output of OR gate 104. The L-mux and B-mux outputs, with the high impedance enable signal, are inputs to the OR gate 104. This facilitates using either the local bus inputs (through the L-mux) or the B inputs (through the B-mux) as the high impedance control signal.
FIG. 29 shows an alternative embodiment of logic cell 102. The alternate cell utilizes six-state output muxes, giving the user the flexibility of obtaining the outputs of the XOR, Flip-Flop, NAND and AND functions on either the A output or B output of the cell. Therefore, the user does not have to use an extra cell as a cross-wire for routing to switch the A output to the B output and vice versa.
The alternate cell shown in FIG. 29 requires one extra configuration bit to provide the extra control required for both the A output mux and the B output mux. This extra bit is accommodated by decoding the control signals for all of the input muxes, as shown in FIG. 29. If cell space is a limitation, then only one input mux must be changed to decoded control (3 lines) signals, with the other two input muxes using undecoded control signals (4 lines).
FIG. 30 shows an embodiment of a high-performance, high impedance output buffer circuit 106, with reduced groundbounce, that is utilizable in conjunction with the CLA array 100. The output buffer circuit 106 compensates output buffer slew-rate for process and temperature variation to reduce groundbounce with minimal performance impact.
The output buffer 106 is designed to reduce groundbounce by staging the turn on of the upper transistors (P1, P2, P3, . . . Px) and lower output transistors (N1, N2, N3, . . . Nx).
The delays between stages are created by transmission gates (TP1, TP2, TP3, TN1, TN2, TN3) in series with capacitors connected at the gates of the output transistors. These transmission gates tend to compensate the output buffer's slew rate for variations in processing and temperature. Under conditions that would normally cause the output transistors to have highest current carrying capability and, thus, fastest slew rate and greatest groundbounce, the transmission gates will have lowest impedance and thus allow the capacitors to which they are connected to have maximum effect. Under conditions that would normally cause the output transistors to have lowest current-carrying capability and, thus, slowest slew rate, the transmission gates will have highest impedance and thus tend to isolate their corresponding output transistors from the capacitors to which they are connected. The benefit of this is that, for a given level of groundbounce under fast conditions, the maximum delay of the output buffer under slow conditions can be less than that possible using conventional, non-compensating techniques.
FIG. 32 shows an embodiment of a power-up sensing circuit 108 utilizable with the CLA array 100. The purpose of circuit 108 is to create a reset signal for the internal logic of the CLA array 100 when the power supply ramps, independent of the ramp rate.
The power-up circuit 108 detects power applied to the CLA device by monitoring the VCC signal. After VCC reaches the level of two n-channel Vts the PWRERRN signal goes low and stays low until VCC reaches the level of two n-channel and two p-channel. Vts. The PWRERRN signal can thus be used as a reset signal for the CLA device to ensure that the device is in a known state after power up. When the PWRERRN signal goes high, the VCC level necessary to keep PWRERRN high changes to 2 n-channel and 1 p-channel Vts. This hysteresis quality, illustrated in FIG. 33, means that power supply spikes down to 2 n-channel and 1 p-channel Vt can be tolerated without resetting the chip.
Referring to FIG. 32, the power-up sensing circuit 108 works as follows. N-channel transistors 110, 112, 114 and 116 make up a comparator, with the gates of transistors 112 and 116 being the comparator inputs. N-channel transistors 118 and 120 have very large gate widths, while P-channel transistor 122 is very small. This will result in the gate of transistor 112 being clamped at (2*Vth,n) above ground for Vcc>(2*Vtn,n). Both P-channel transistor 124 and P-channel transistor 126 are very large and N-channel transistor 128 transistor is very small. This would make the input to the transistor 116 gate (2*Vth,p) less than Vcc, for Vcc>(2*Vtn,P). As Vcc ramps up, while the Vcc to GND voltage is less than (2*Vth,p+2*Vth,n) the transistor 112 gate will be at a higher potential than the transistor 116 gate. This will result in the comparator output (m) providing a logic "1" level to the input of inverter 130 input causing the power up signal to be at a logic "0" level. Once the Vcc to GND potential exceeds (2*Vth,n+2*Vth,p) the transistor 112 gate will be lower than the transistor 116 gate. This will cause the (m) node to be at a logic "0" level, and the power up output to be at a logic "1" level. This indicates that the power is at a sufficient level to support proper device operation. Hysteresis is provided by P-channel transistor 132. When the gate of transistor 132 is high, transistor 132 is disabled, and the circuit operates as described above. After node (m) goes low, the gate of transistor 132 will be pulled to ground by inverter 134. Thus, transistor 132 will effectively short the source of transistor 126 to its drain, thereby lowering the Vcc to GND voltage needed to cause node (m) to be at a logic "1" level to (2*Vtn,P). Therefore, the Vcc to GND differential will have to fall to (1*Vth,p) plus (2*Vth,n) before the power up signal provided by inverter 136 will go low.
In accordance with another aspect of the CLA device 100 architecture, I/O cell pins are provided that are connected directly to the array's express busses in addition to the edge core cells.
As stated above, the architecture of the CLA device 100 comprises a regular array of logic cells 102. I/O pins in I/O cells are attached uniformly around the periphery of the array. An I/O cell is connected to two adjacent edge core cells 102 of the array.
FIG. 34 shows an example of pin Pw23 in an I/O cell connected to two core cells 102 on the west edge of the array 100. The input buffer Cin of the Pw23 I/O cell is connected to an A input of an edge core cell via wire Aw12. The output buffer Cout is connected to an A output of an adjacent edge core cell via wire Awl3. Placing of the output buffer Cout in the high impedance state can be controlled by configuration (always enabled or disabled) or by signals on a horizontal or vertical buss, Ls3 or Lw1 respectively.
Express busses running horizontally and vertically are connected to A or B inputs and outputs of edge core cells (e.g. express busses Es1, En1, Es2, En2, Es3 and En3 in FIG. 34).
In a modified architecture, a new type of I/O cell is added. These mew express bus I/O cells connect directly to the express busses instead of being connected to a core cell. FIG. 35 shows an example of an express bus I/O cell Pw12 adjacent to I/O cell Pw23.
The express bus I/O cells make only minor modifications in the architecture of the CLA device 100. As in the regular I/O cells, high impedance is controlled at configuration or by the horizontal and vertical local busses Lw1 and Ls2, respectively. Unlike the regular I/O cell, however, input buffer Cin and output buffer Cout are connected directly to express busses En1 and Es2, respectively, and the express bus links that previously went to the core cells are disconnected from the express busses; for example, express bus Es2 is not connected to A output A12 and express bus En1 is not connected to A input Aw11.
The addition of the express bus I/O cells allows direct access to express busses, thus improving access to interior regions of the array 100 and improving its cross-point switch capabilities.
FIG. 36 shows a block diagram of the configuration logic for the CLA array 100.
The device pins required for configuration of the CLA array 100 are as follows:
The dedicated pins are:
/Con Configuration Request Pin (Open collector I/O). This pin is pulled low along with /Cs by the laser to initiate configuration. Once the device has begun configuration, it will drive /Con low until configuration is complete. The device will also pull /Con low during the power-up and reset sequences. The chip will auto-configure in modes 4 and 5 (as shown in Table III).
/Cs Chip Select (Input). Must be pulled low with /Con to initiate configuration or reset.
Cclk Configuration Clock (Input/output). This signal is the byte clock in Address modes, and the bit clock in bit-sequential modes. In the byte-sequential mode, this pin is used as an active low write strobe. In direct-Address mode, this is an active low data strobe. Cclk is not used during configuration reset. The device drives Cclk during configuration in modes 4 and 5 with a frequency between 1 and 1.5 MHz. In all other modes, Cclk is an input, with a maximum frequency of 16 MHz. Note that cascaded programing will not work in byte-sequential or Address modes with as Cclk of over 1 MHz.
The Mode pins M2, M1, M0 (input) are used to select the configuration mode, as described in Table III.
TABLE III______________________________________M2 M1 M0 Description of Modes______________________________________0 0 0 Configuration Reset0 0 1 Address, Count up, external CCLK0 1 0 Address, Count down, external CCLK0 1 1 Bit-Sequential, external CCLK1 0 0 Bit-Sequential, internal CCLK1 0 1 Address, Count up, internal CCLK1 1 0 Byte-Sequential, external CCLK as write strobe1 1 1 Direct Addressing, external CCLK as data strobe______________________________________
The dual-purpose pins are:
D0 Data pin (Input/Output). This pin is used as serial data input pin, and as the LSB in byte-sequential, direct addressing and Address modes. Used as an I/O only in direct address mode.
D1-7 Data pins (Input/Output). These pins are used as data input pins in byte-sequential and Address modes and as I/O only in direct address mode.
A0-16 Address pins (Input/Output). 17 bits of address are used as outputs during Address modes for accessing external memory. 13 bits are also used as internal address inputs for the configuration RAM in direct address mode.
/Cen Chip enable (Output). This signal is driven low by the device during configuration in byte-sequential and Address modes. It can be disabled by setting configuration register bit B2. It is used for the Output Enable (OE) and Chip Enable (CE) of parallel EPROMs.
/Check Enables Check configuration (Input). This pin enables checking of the configuration RAM against data on input pins. If this pin is enabled, then writing configuration data is disabled. This pin is disabled during the first configuration after power-up or reset, and whenever configuration register bit B3 is set. In direct address mode, this pin selects whether data is being written to or read from the configuration RAM.
/Err Error (Output). This output is driven low if there is a configuration error, a configuration RAM addressing error, or an incorrect preamble or postamble at the end of a block of configuration data. It also signals the result of the configuration check, selected when /Check is low. This output is disabled when configuration register bit B3 is set.
Dout Data out (Output). This pin provides the data output to another CLA device during cascaded programming. It can be disabled by setting configuration register bit B2.
Clkout Clock out (Output). This pin provides the clock output to another CLAY during cascaded programming. It can be disabled by setting configuration register bit B2.
Testclk Test clock (Input). This pin overrides the internal oscillator after a certain reserved configuration bit is set to logical "1". This feature is used for internal testing purposes.
The CLA array 100 can be in either an operational state or in a configuration state. After initial configuration, the device moves into the operational state. It can be pulled back into the configuration state by assertion of the "/Con" and "/Cs" inputs.
The configuration file, in a cascaded programming environment, is shown in Table IV below. The first CLA device in the cascade receives the Preamble. This is followed by the contents of the configuration register, an optional external memory address, and the number of windows in the first CLA device that need to be programmed. The start/stop addresses for each window and the configuration data follow. The configuration data (including header) for the cascaded devices are appended to the file. If the configuration register specifies that the device needs to load an external memory address, then this address is loaded every time it encounters that field. When the master has finished configuring itself, it looks for a preamble or postamble, If it finds a postamble, then configuration is complete. If it receives a preamble, then it passes on the data and clock to configure the next CLA device in the cascade.
TABLE IV______________________________________Preamble (1 byte)Config reg contents for first device (1 byte)External Memory Address (3 bytes)Number of windows to be programmed (1 byte)Reserved Byte (1 byte)Start address of window number 1 (2 bytes)End address of window number 1 (2 bytes)Bytes of data for window number 1 (1 byte each)Start address of window number n (2 bytes)End address of window number n (2 bytes)Bytes of data for window number n (1 byte each)Preamble (1 byte)Config reg contents for cascaded device (1 byte)External Memory Address (for first device) (3 bytes)Reserved Byte (1 byte)Number of windows to be programmed (1 byte)Postamble (1 byte)______________________________________
The first CLA device loads itself until it exhausts the number of windows it has to configure. Any data after this and within the configuration file is used for cascaded devices. At the end of configuration, the external memory address counter in the first device is either reset or stored at the current value depending on the state of bit 0 in the configuration register. The preamble is "10110010" and the postamble is "01001101". Serial data is transmitted LSB first.
The clock description for each mode is shown in Table V below.
TABLE V______________________________________M2 M1 M0 Clkout CSM CCLK______________________________________0 0 0 NA NA NA0 0 1 osc cclk input0 1 1 cclk cclk input1 0 0 cclk cclk osc/81 0 1 osc cclk osc/81 1 0 osc /wr /wr1 1 1 NA NA /DS______________________________________
Osc is the internal oscillator which runs between 8 and 12 MHz.
/WR is the Cclk input used as a write strobe.
/DS is the Cclk input used as a data strobe.
In modes 1, 2, and 6, data is output on the Dout pin along with the clock on the clkout pin. The configuration scheme allows the user to provide a Cclk at up to 16 MHz for these modes. However, for cascaded programming and other applications where Clkout and Dout are required, the speed of Cclk must be less than 1 MHz in these modes.
To specify the desired application function, the user must load the internal SRAM which the CLA device uses to store configuration information. The user does not need to generate the SRAM bit pattern; this is done for the user by the Configurable Logic Array Software System.
The user must also determine the method by which the configuration RAM is loaded. Many factors, including bard area, configuration speed, and the number of designs concurrently implemented in a device can influence the user's final choice.
The CLA provides seven configuration modes:
Mode 0: Configuration Reset
Mode 1: Address Count-up, External CCLK
Mode 2: Address Count-down, External CCLK
Mode 3: Bit-sequential, External CCLK
Mode 4: Bit-sequential, Internal CCLK
Mode 5: Address Count-up, Internal CCLK
Mode 6: Byte-sequential, External CCLK
Mode 7: Direct Addressing, External CCLK
Upon power-up, the CLA goes through a boot or initialization sequence. This sequence initializes all core cells, repeaters, I/O logic, clock distribution logic, and open collector controls, as well as the configuration register and external memory address counter (discussed below).
Core cells become flip-flops with A N and B N inputs.
All bus drivers are switched off.
All repeaters are open and all bus segments are high impedance.
I/0s are set as TTL inputs only, with the pull-up on.
Column clocks are set to "0".
All open collector controls are set for full CMOS drive.
Each of the bits in the configuration register is reset.
During the initialization sequence, the CLA device 100 drives the /CON pin low. Since power-up initialization uses an internal clock for timing, no external clock source is required. Once initialization is complete, /CON, which is an open collector output, is released; it must be pulled high by an external pull-up resistor.
After power-up initialization is complete, the CLA device 100 is ready to accept the user's configuration. After /CON has been released for a minimum period of time, the user can initiate the configuration cycle by driving /CS and /CON low (in some modes this can take place automatically). The configuration mode is determined by the values on the M0, M1, and M2 pins, as described above. Once the first bytes of the configuration have been loaded, the CLA device 100 takes over driving /CON low, the values on the M0, M1, and M2 pins are ignored, and /CS can be released high. The CLA device 100 will release /CON only after the complete configuration file has been read. It will remain in the configuration state until both /CON and /CS are released.
The CCLK pin should be driven with the configuration clock (in External CCLK Modes) and the M0, M1, and M2 pins held constant throughout the reboot and configuration sequences.
The user can reconfigure the CLA device 100 at any time by asserting /CON and /CS, as outlined above. The CLA device must be allowed to move into the operational state (/CON and /CS high) between configurations. Note that those pins not required for configuration remain operational throughout a configuration sequence allowing partial reconfiguration of an operational device.
Details of each configuration mode are described below.
The configuration file which is stored in an external memory device is used to load the user's configuration into the internal configuration SRAM within the CLA, as shown in FIG. 38. This file has a similar format, shown in Table VI, regardless of the configuration mode (sequential, or Address).
TABLE VI______________________________________Configuration File Formats______________________________________Single CLA Cascaded CLAsPreamble PreambleHeader Header[Window 1] [Window 1][Window 2] [Window 2][Window 3] [Window 3][Window n] [Window n]Postamble Preamble Header 2 [Window 1] [Window 2] [Window 3] [Window n] Preamble Preamble Header n [Window 1] [Window 2] [Window 3] [Window n] Postamble______________________________________
The preamble is a fixed data byte used to synchronize the serial bit stream in sequential modes, and to signal the start of the configuration file in all modes.
The header is a five byte field which includes configuration register data, the external memory address for Address modes, and a counter for the number of CLA data windows to be programmed.
The configuration register includes five bits used to control various configuration sequence parameters. Information regarding these five bits follows.
______________________________________X X X B4 B3 B2 B1 B0______________________________________
B0 This bit determines whether the external memory address in Address modes is reset after each configuration sequence (default), or if it retains its last value. This allows the user to store multiple designs as sequential configuration files. Otherwise, the subsequent configuration sequences will load the configuration file from the same initial address (00000 in modes 1 and 5, 1FFFF in mode 2).
B1 This bit determines-whether the external memory address in the header field(s) will be ignored (default) or loaded into the CLA's external memory address counter. This allows the user to store configuration files as a continuous stream or as a pointer-based linked list.
B2 This bit disables the /CEN, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT functions of these multiplexed configuration pins. This is useful if a minimum pin count configuration circuit is desired.
B3 This bit disables the /ERR and /CHECK pins. This is useful both for design security and minimum pin-count configurations.
B4 This bit prevents configuration data from being written into the CLA during subsequent configuration sequences. The only way to reset this bit is by rebooting the device.
The external memory address is used to set the external memory address counter of the CLA device 100 in the Address modes. This counter increments on every configuration clock in order to drive the address of an external memory device to generate a parallel data stream. The counter counts up in Modes 1 and 5, and down in Mode 2. The new programmed value will be output after each header has been read, according to the configuration bit settings. Note that the external address is for use by external memory. It has no relationship with the internal configuration SRAM within the CLA device 100. Configuration data is read into the CLA device 100 in a stream format.
Another header byte loads the number of windows counter. Configuration data windows make it possible to configure or reconfigure one or more sub-sections of the device. It is possible to load the entire CLA array using a single window. Multiple windows allow the user to Jump over sections of the CLA array, thus saving configuration time and memory for lightly used arrays.
Data windows also support the creation of dynamic CLA designs, as small sections of the array can be reconfigured regularly as part of the design's functionality. The optimum set of configuration data windows are generated automatically by the CLA's development system. Only the section of the array selected by the user for reconfiguration will be programmed. There can be a maximum of 255 windows per CLA device 100. If 0 windows are specified, then the array's configuration will not be modified. This is useful if multiple CLA device 100 are being configured simultaneously.
Each configuration data window consists of an internal array start address, an internal array end address, and the sequential data required to fill the segment of the array defined by the two addresses. Internally, the array is represented as a circular address space. The configuration data stream sequence is divided such that cell types are grouped together in the following order:
Core Cell Configuration Data
Bus Repeater Cell Data
I/O and Clock Cell Data
Open Collector Control Data
If a single CLA device 100 is being configured, then the configuration data windows are followed by a postamble. This is a fixed data byte which signals the end of the configuration file. If multiple CLA devices 100 are being cascaded, however, another preamble byte will appear at this point in the configuration file. This preamble will be followed by another header and a new set of configuration data windows. Theoretically, any number of CLA devices 100 can be programmed in this fashion. In actual practice, however, it is recommended that not more than 8 CLA devices 100 be linked in this cascaded fashion, due to potential clock skew problems.
Configuration reset is not a true configuration mode. It is used to start the boot sequence. Enabling this mode is equivalent to turning power to the device off and on again, except that the state of the core's user-accessible flip-flops is saved. This mode is enabled by asserting /CS, /CON, M0, M1, and M2 low for a minimum period of time and then returning them to the desired mode. Once the reboot process is started, it overrides any other configuration sequence that may be running and cannot be stopped.
The remaining configuration modes load all or some of the CLA device's internal configuration SRAM.
Bit-sequential, internal CCLK mode 4 is the simplest of configuration modes, as it requires the fewest pins and the fewest external components. For a single CLA device, only one dual-function pin, DO, is needed for data received from a serial EPROM. The other dual-function pins, /CEN, /ERR, /CHECK, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT, are all optional. Assuming the /CS and mode pins (M0, M1 and M2) are fixed, the only active pins are /CON, CCLK, and DO. Because most serial EPROMs come in 8-pin DIP packages, little board space is required for this configuration mode, as shown in FIG. 38.
During the power-up boot sequence, /CON is asserted low by the CLA device. Once initialization is complete, /CON is released long enough to reset a serial EPROM. If the mode pins are set to mode 4 before release of /CON, the CLA will then begin auto-configuration. It reasserts /CON low and an internal oscillator toggles CCLK. This causes the serial EPROM to generate a stream of data which configures the CLA device 100. One bit of configuration data is loaded from the DO pin on each rising edge of CCLK until configuration is complete. The CLA device 100 will then release /CON indicating that the device 100 is ready for use.
Configuration time will vary depending on the speed of the internal oscillator, but the maximum configuration time for a complete array is about 80 milliseconds.
Bit-sequential, External CCLK (Mode 3) is very much like Mode 4, above, with two exceptions: the user must supply a configuration clock to the CCLK pin and the user most drive /CON low to start configuration. Mode 3 will not automatically generate a /CON signal after the power-up boot sequence. During configuration, only one dual-function pin, DO, is required. The pins /CEN, /ERR, /CHECK, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT are optional. The only active pins are /CON, CCLK, and DO, as shown in FIG. 39.
Mode 3 can be used for the cascaded configuration of multiple CLA devices 100, as shown in FIG. 40. The first device 100 in a chain can use any configuration mode. If the first device 100 receives a configuration file containing another preamble instead of a postamble, then the remaining configuration data will be ignored by the first device 100 and passed on through its DATAOUT and CLKOUT pins to the next device 100. The DATAOUT pin of an upstream device 100 goes to DO of the downstream device, 100, and the upstream CLKOUT pin connects to the downstream CCLK. In Mode 3, the CLKOUT signal is derived directly from the CCLK Input. The /CON pins of each device in the cascade can be tied together to create a single "configuration complete" signal.
It is also possible for an external processor to configure multiple Mode 3 CLA devices 100 in parallel by assigning a unique bit of its data path to the DO of each device 100, and tying the CCLK inputs of the devices 100 together as a write strobe, as shown in FIG. 41.
One advantage that the Mode 3 has over Mode 4 is that, depending on the accuracy of the user-supplied clock, the time required to configure the device 100 can be determined precisely. Also, because the user can supply a faster maximum clock rate than the typical internally-generated clock range, Mode 3 can be a faster configuration method. As long as data set-up and hold requirements are satisfied, the CCLK pulses can have arbitrary periods. Such a clock is required when using asynchronous communication ports or UARTs to configure the device 100 instead of a serial EPROM. It is necessary, however, to allow sufficient preceding and trailing clock pulses with respect to /CON going low CCLK is to be stopped entirely between configurations.
Count-up Address, Internal CCLK (Mode 5) mode requires the same number of parts as Mode 4, but uses more dual-function I/O pins during the configuration sequence. Because serial EPROMs are not currently available in sizes large enough of all multiple-device designs, the increased memory of a parallel EPROM is sometimes necessary. With the standard parallel EPROM, this configuration mode uses the CO-D7 data pins, the A0-A16 address pins /CEN, and the fixed function pins, as shown in FIG. 42.
/CHECK, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT pins are optional in this mode.
Mode 5 supports auto-configuration. If the mode pins are set appropriately before the release of /CON during the power-up boot sequence. After a brief period, the CLA device reasserts /CON low, and the internal oscillator begins to toggle CCLK. This causes the CLA device 100 to generate addresses, beginning at 0X00000 to read the configuration file from the parallel EPROM. The external memory address is incremented and one byte of configuration data is loaded from the D0-D7 pins on each rising edge of CCLK until configuration is complete. The CLA device 100 will then release /CON, indicating that the device 100 is ready for use.
Thirteen address bits are required to fully program a single CLA device 100; the extra addresses allow multiple device configuration and reconfiguration, as well as the ability to share a larger memory space with other components of a system. If cascading is necessary, the parallel input data is automatically converted to a serial data output stream on the DATAOUT and CLKOUT pins. Configuration time will vary depending on the speed of the internal oscillator, but the maximum configuration time per array in this mode is about 10 milliseconds.
The Count-up Address, External CCLK (Mode 1) mode is very much like Mode 5, above, with two exceptions: the user must supply as configuration clock to the CCLK pin and the user must always drive /CON low to start configuration. Mode 1 will not automatically generate a /CON signal after the power-up boot sequence. This configuration mode uses the D0-D7 data pins, the A0-A16 address pins /CEN and the fixed function pins, as shown in FIG. 43.
/CHECK, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT pins remain operational in this mode.
In Mode 2, the user can supply the maximum clock rate in order to complete configuration of a single device in under 1 millisecond. The use of cascading however, limits the parallel data rate to 800 KHz, since the internal clock is used to drive the CLKOUT pin. As in Mode 3, the CCLK signal can be synchronous or asynchronous.
The Count-Down Address, External CCLK (Mode 2) is identical to Mode 1, above, except that the DMA address counter starts at 1FFFF instead of 00000, and counts down instead of up. The two modes are included because a typical microprocessor uses the highest or lowest address to load its own reboot address vector. If the CLA device 100 is sharing a large EPROM with a microprocessor, it must start from the opposite end of the EPROM address map so that it does not interfere with the microprocessor, and vice versa.
The Byte-sequential, External CCLK (Mode 6) mode is similar to Mode 3, except that data is loaded in 8-bit words to decrease load time. This mode uses fewer dual-function pins than the does the Address mode because the CLA device 100 does not generate an address instead, the next byte in the data stream is assumed to be present on the rising edge of CCLK. During configuration, D0-D7 are the only dual-function pins required, as shown in FIG. 44. The pins /ERR, /CHECK, DATAOUT, and CLKOUT are optional. The CCLK requirements are the same as for Mode 1.
Intended to be used as the parallel port of a microprocessor, this mode may be best for a smart system in which the user intends to reconfigure the CLA device 100 as a regular part of system operation. Multiple CLA device 100 can be configured by tying all the data busses together, as well as the /CON pins. The /CS pin can then be used to select individual devices for configuration. Alternatively, multiple CLA devices 100 can be configured in parallel by assigning each byte of a 32-bit processor's data path to a unique CLA device 100, and tying the CCLK inputs of the CLA devices 100 together as a common write strobe, as shown in FIG. 31. It is also possible to program the first device 100 in Mode 6, and cascade all downstream devices 100 in Mode 3 as outlined previously.
It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiment of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. For example, although the inventive concepts are described above in the context of reconfigurable logic, these concepts are also applicable to one-time programmable logic. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and apparatus within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby. | The present invention is directed to various configuration features of a logic array that includes a plurality of individually configurable logic cells arranged in a matrix. These features include reconfiguration logic for reconfiguring logic cells in a selected portion of the matrix using a window-based protocol. The array also includes configuration data storage means for storing configuration data utilizable for configuring the logic elements, wherein each logic element includes a working data storage register, and reset circuitry for modifying the configuration data without modifying the working data. The array further includes read disable circuitry and write disable circuitry for disabling read access and write access, respectively, to the configuration data. The array further includes a comparison protocol mechanism for checking the configuration data against data on the array pins. The array further includes a configuration circuit for generating external addresses and that can be controlled through a data configuration file fetched from an external storage medium. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the preparation of polychloro copper phthalocyanine and, particularly, to an improved process for preparing polychloro copper phthalocyanine by the eutectic method.
Polyhalo metal phthalocyanines have been produced by a variety of methods. What appears to be the first attempt to produce halogenated phthalocyanines by halogenation of the synthesized phthalocyanine is described in British Pat. No. 461,268. As halogenating agents therein it is proposed to employ normally liquid halogenating agents, such as sulfuryl chloride, thionyl chloride, bromine, or liquid chlorine. The reaction is normally carried out in a sealed vessel, and at a temperature between 230° and 300° C. Such halogen carriers as aluminum chloride are used in limited quantities, but the bulk of the reaction medium consisted of the liquid halogenating agent. In other words, the halogenating agent is depended upon to supply the liquid medium for the reaction and the process is consequently limited to such halogenating agents as are liquids under the reaction conditions, or to such conditions of operation (e.g., autogenous pressure) as will maintain the halogenating agent in liquid condition. Although the process of British Pat. No. 461,268 produces polyhalo phthalocyanines which were adequate in many respects, the process is not successful in introducing beyond about 12.3 atoms of halogen per molecule, and that only by starting with a tetrachloro or octachloro phthalocyanine can the halogen content of the phthalocyanine be raised to about 13 or 14 atoms per molecule.
An attempt to correct the deficiencies of British Pat. No. 461,268 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,247,752. This patent describes a process for preparing highly halogenated metal phthalocyanines by halogenating the metal phthalocyanine in a reaction medium of molten inorganic halide. This process is commonly referred to in the art as the "eutectic" process for preparing polyhalo metal phthalocyanines. The halogenation is normally accomplished by passing gaseous halogen, particularly chlorine, through the molten inorganic halide. Although the amount of gaseous halogen used in this process is not nearly as excessive as that of the liquid halogenating agent of British Pat. No. 461,168, in practice at least 30% excess must be employed because some gaseous halogen bubbles through the molten reaction medium and does not react. By this process it is possible to produce metal phthalocyanines, particularly copper phthalocyanine, having over 13 atoms of chlorine per molecule up to, in some cases, the theoretical maximum of 16 atoms per molecule. The polychloro copper phthalocyanine so produced exhibits a bright green shade which was previously unavailable in colors of the phthalocyanine series.
Although the polychloro copper phthalocyanine produced according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,247,752 is adequate for many applications, the yield, particularly in the case of highly chlorinated copper phthalocyanines, is undesirably low and the pigmentary properties of the product, particularly strength, are not as high as desirable for high quality pigmentary applications. I have found that the problems associated with this process are due predominantly to the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide, a colorless compound useless as a pigment. Tetrachlorophthalimide, which is formed upon contacting the reaction medium with water, cannot be converted to the polychloro copper phthalocyanine and must be extracted from the polychloro copper phthalocyanine with alkali.
To overcome the disadvantages of the conventional eutectic process, I have developed an improved eutectic process which prevents the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide and thus provides for the preparation of a highly chlorinated copper phthalocyanine without substantial yield loss and contamination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides an improved eutectic process for preparing polychloro copper phthalocyanine by (i) chlorinating copper phthalocyanine in a reaction medium of molten inorganic metal halide to form said polychloro copper phthalocyanine and (ii) contacting said reaction medium with an aqueous medium to precipitate said polychloro copper phthalocyanine. The improvement resides in contacting said polychloro copper phthalocyanine after the completion of the chlorination with a reducing agent in an amount sufficient to substantially prevent the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide. The reducing agent, preferably a sulfur-containing compound, can be added to the reaction medium of molten inorganic metal halide after the completion of the chlorination or to the aqueous medium prior to contact with the reaction medium. The polychloro copper phthalocyanine produced in accordance with the invention contains from 13.5 chlorine atoms per molecule of 46.0% by weight to 16 chlorine atoms per molecule of 50.3% by weight, based on the weight of the polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
Since the nature of the eutectic process necessitates operating with at least some excess molecular chlorine, e.g., at least 30% excess, to insure substantially complete chlorination of the copper phthalocyanine, some over chlorination will occur in the reaction medium. Although this invention is not bound by any theory or explanation, it is believed that this over chlorination occurs after completion of the chlorination of the copper phthalocyanine and results in the formation of a chlorine adduct of the following formula ##STR1## It is believed to be the reaction of this chlorine adduct with the aqueous medium which causes the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide. Although the tetrachlorophthalimide cannot be reversibly transformed back to polychloro copper phthalocyanine in the aqueous medium, the chlorine adduct can be transformed back to polychloro copper phthalocyanine by use of a reducing agent in accordance with the invention.
The reducing agent must not be added to the reaction medium prior to the completion of the chlorination because the molecular chlorine present in the reaction medium will act as an oxidizing agent and preferentially consume the reducing agent wholly or in part before the formation of the chlorine adduct and before the completion of the chlorination, thereby rendering the reducing agent less effective in preventing the formation of the chlorine adduct and the consequent tetrachlorophthalimide.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graph of the infrared absorption ratio of the crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine versus the amount of tetrachlorophthalimide present in the crude copper phthalocyanine, as percent by weight based on the total weight of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are graphs of the amount of sulfur and Na 2 SO.sub. 3, respectively, as percent by weight based on the total weight of the crude copper phthalocyanine needed to substantially eliminate the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide versus the infrared absorption ratio of the crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The reducing agent utilized in accordance with the invention can be an organic or inorganic compound, preferably containing sulfur, which does not adversely affect the polychloro copper phthalocyanine and which is not adversely affected by aqueous or molten inorganic halide media. Among the inorganic compounds useful in the practice of the invention are elemental sulfur, sulfur dioxide, metal sulfites and their corresponding acids, ammonium sulfites and their corresponding acids, metal bisulfites, metal thiosulfates, metal sulfides, metal polysulfides, metal hydrosulfides, metal thiocarbamates, metal thiocyanates, sulfoxylic acids (H.sub. 2 SO.sub. 2) and the addition products of inorganic sulfur-containing reducing agents and formaldehyde, such as sodium formaldehyde desulfoxylate. Other inorganic compounds which will not themselves act as reducing agents but will form an effective reducing agent by reaction in the medium of use are also effective. For example, sulfur- and chlorine-containing compounds such as thionyl chloride, sulfuryl chloride and sulfur chloride react with water to form sulfur dioxide and can, therefore, be used in the aqueous medium in accordance with the invention. Also ferrous sulfate can be reacted in situ with sulfur trioxide to form ferric sulfate and sulfur dioxide which acts as a reducing agent. Organic reducing agents useful in the practice of the invention include thiourea, substituted thioureas, organic sulfides, organic disulfides, thioalcohols, organic thioacids and salts, e.g., thioacetic acid and sodium thioacetate, thiocarbazoles, e.g., dithizone, bi or polyfunctional organic sulfur compounds, e.g., cysteine and cystine, thioacetals, thioesters, zanthates, organic sulfoxides, sulfones and carbon disulfide (CS.sub. 2).
To achieve uniform reducing action throughout the medium it is preferred that the reducing agent be added to the medium in which it functions best. For example, reducing agents which have at least moderate solubility in water, such as sodium thiosulfate and sodium sulfite, can be effectively used in the aqueous medium or the molten inorganic halide. On the other hand, compounds such as sulfur, 2,2' -thiodiethanol and thiourea are preferred for use in the reaction medium of molten inorganic halide.
The amount of reducing agent which should be used can be easily determined by a variety of simple tests, but the most quantitative and reproducible are based upon the measurement of the amount of tetrachlorophthalimide present in the product after the completion of the halogenation, which is directly related to the ratio of the carbonyl absorption for tetrachlorophthalimide to the strongest absorption for polychloro copper phthalocyanine as measured by infrared spectroscopy of the product. The place of the maximum absorption of the carbonyl changes slightly depending upon the amount of tetrachlorophthalimide in the product, but is in the range of 1700 to 1800 cm - 1 , and commonly at 1720 cm - 1 . The strongest absorption band for polychloro copper phthalocyanine normally appears at 1150 cm - 1 . The absorption ratio is determined by taking a small sample from the reaction medium, contacting the sample with an aqueous medium and taking the infra red spectrum of the product. The percent of weight of tetrachlorophthalimide present in the product and based on the weight of the polychloro copper phthalocyanine is determined by separating the polychloro copper phthalocyanine from the tetrachlorophthalimide by extraction with alkali or dimethylformamide and isolating the respective components.
FIG. 1 shows the relationship of the observed absorption ratio to the weight percent of tetrachlorophthalimide in the product. The weight percent of tetrachlorophthalimide in the product should be less than about 5% by weight, and preferably as low as practically possible. At higher amounts, it is necessary to subject the product to further processing steps, e.g., extraction with alkali, to remove the tetrachlorophthalimide prior to use of the product. To achieve the desired quality product the absorption ratio should therefore be less than about 0.4, and preferably as low as practically possible approaching 0 when no tetrachlorophthalimide is present. The determination of the absorption ratio is a rapid accurate method for determining the amount of tetrachlorophthalimide present at any given point in the chlorination after the end point, i.e., the completion of the halogenation, as the tetrachlorophthalimide is not formed until after chlorination is complete.
For the reducing agent employed a working graph can easily be determined to relate the amount of reducing agent needed to prevent the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide to the absorption ratio of the sample after the completion of chlorination. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate such graphs for elemental sulfur and sodium sulfite, respectively, added to the reaction medium after complete chlorination. These graphs show the weight percent of reducing agent, based on the weight of copper phthalocyanine, necessary to substantially eliminate the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide at the observed absorption ratio. Since the relationship of the amount of reducing agent needed to the amount of tetrachlorophthalimide present and therefore the absorption ratio is approximately direct and linear, the point at which the absorption ratio is 0 is the point at which no reducing agent need be added. To determine a second point withdraw a small sample from the reaction medium, isolate the product and take the infra red absorption, note the absorption ratio, add a few varying amounts of reducing agent to the reaction medium or to the aqueous medium until the absorption ratio of the sample is less than, for example, 0.1. This amount of reducing agent is the amount necessary to substantially eliminate the formation of tetrachlorophthalimide. Enter this amount on the graph opposite the originally observed absorption ratio and draw a straight line to the origin. Using the working graph, which need be prepared only once for each reducing agent and each mode of addition, one can easily read the amount of reducing agent necessary for a determined absorption ratio.
Another method for determining the amount of reducing agent to use by infrared spectroscopy involves observation of a characteristic absorption band at 1165 cm - 1 , which is adjacent to the principle absorption band for polychloro copper phthalocyanine at 1150 cm - 1 . This band, i.e., 1165 cm - 1 , is not present in the absorption spectra of copper phthalocyanine and appears during the chlorination. This band is reduced in size and disappears completely before the appearance of the absorption band at 1720 cm - 1 , which is characteristic of tetrachlorophthalimide. Therefore, the disappearance of this 1165 cm - 1 band would represent the precise point at which all of the positions on the ring are filled with chlorine. The absorption ratio of this band to the principle band for polychloro copper phthalocyanine at 1150 cm - 1 can be plotted as the end of the chlorination is approached and extrapolated to zero. Using this to determine the end pont of the chlorination, the amount of reducing agent needed after the end point can then be determined as described above.
A somewhat less quantitative and more subjective test for determining the end point and consequently the amount of reducing agent necessary involves visual examination of the depth of shade of color in the filtrate of the resulting products. As above, samples of the reaction medium are taken and products isolated therefrom during the chlorination. The products are treated with 90% sulfuric acid and filtered. The depth of shade of the filtrate indicates the completeness of chlorination. A very light pale yellow color indicates complete chlorination. Before and after complete chlorination the shade is a darker reddish yellow color.
The conditions under which the chlorination of copper phthalocyanine is accomplished are substantially similar to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,247,752. The reaction medium can be composed of anhydrous inorganic metal halide, particularly aluminum chloride, or mixtures of aluminum chloride with other inorganic metal halides, particularly other metal chlorides, which aid in the fluxing thereof and reduces the temperature of the melt. An ideal medium from the viewpoint of commercial availability and economy is a mixture of aluminum chloride and sodium chloride. Other chlorides can be used in place of sodium chloride or in addition thereto, such as potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, ferric chloride, cupric chloride, and antimony trichloride. The use of some of these halides in addition to sodium chloride has the further advantage that, besides reducing the fusion temperature of the mass, they have a catalytic effect and act as so-called "halogen carriers".
The reaction temperature is normally in the range from 160° to 210° C. depending upon the composition of salts in the reaction medium. The halogenating agent, preferably molecular chlorine, need not be present in any great concentration but may be added gradually during the course of the reaction at a rate commensurate with its rate of consumption. Although the eutectic process enables one to operate in an open vessel, it may be carried out in a closed vessel or under pressure if desired. Likewise, although the use of molecular chlorine (gaseous) is preferred for convenience and economy, one may nevertheless practice the eutectic process with liquid chlorine. In general chlorine carriers, i.e., compounds from which chlorine is easily released, such as sulfuryl chloride, are not recommended for use in the invention because of the formation of undesirable by-products during the chlorination which must be cleaned from the off gases prior to venting.
The polychloro copper phthalocyanine is isolated from the reaction medium by contacting the reaction medium with an aqueous medium. The aqueous medium may contain, in addition to water, surface active agents, dispersants, or pigment conditioning agents such as ortho-dichlorobenzene if desired, so long as the medium remains substantially aqueous. It is preferred for complete recovery of the product and complete removal of the inorganic metal halide therefrom that the aqueous medium be acidic, e.g., have a pH of less than 1. The product which precipitates in the aqueous medium is recovered in the conventional manner by filtration, washing and drying. As recovered from this process, the product is referred to as "crude" polychloro copper phthalocyanine because the nature of the product is usually too coarse and the particle size somewhat too large for direction use in high quality pigmentary applications. The crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine can be subjected to a wide variety of finishing techniques well-known to those skilled in the art such as milling or acid pasting to produce a high quality pigment. The pigment can be utilized in various coating compositions such as automotive enamels and house paints to impart a brilliant green shade to the resulting composition.
The following examples illustrate the invention.
EXAMPLES 1a-1c
The following ingredients are placed in a flask, stirred, and heated to 170° C.:
______________________________________Ingredient Amount, grams______________________________________Anhydrous aluminum chloride 600Sodium chloride 102Anhydrous ferric chloride 68Cuprous chloride 8______________________________________
To the resulting reaction medium 120 g of crude copper phthalocyanine is added. Gaseous chlorine is passed through the reaction medium until 320 g are added.
EXAMPLE 1a
A 24 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 5.5 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is stirred with 2 g of anhydrous sodium thiosulfate for 2 minutes. The sample is added to 50 g of water containing 9 g of sulfuric acid. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water, and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very small absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.04. The product is then mixed with dimethylformamide and heated to 60° C. for 10 minutes. After heating, the product is filtered, washed successively with dimethylformamide, water, and acetone, and dried. The product is found to contain 91.4% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
EXAMPLE 1b
A 53 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 12.2 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is stirred with 2 g of sulfur for 5 minutes. The product is isolated from the reaction medium as described above for Example 1a. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very small absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.02. The product is solvent extracted as described above for Example 1a and found to contain 92.3% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
EXAMPLE 1c
A 12 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 2.7 parts of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to an aqueous medium containing 100 g of water, 1.84 g of concentrated sulfuric acid and 2 g of sodium thiosulfate. The product is filtered, washed with water, and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very small absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.07. The product is solvent extracted as described for Example 1a and found to contain 86.0% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
EXAMPLE 2 AND CONTROL
The following ingredients are placed in a flask, stirred, and heated to 170° C.:
______________________________________Ingredient Amount, grams______________________________________Anhydrous aluminum chloride 660Sodium chloride 112Anhydrous ferric chloride 75Cuprous chloride 8.8______________________________________
To the resulting reaction medium 132 g of crude copper phthalocyanine is added. Gaseous chlorine is passed through the reaction medium until 375 g are added.
CONTROL
A 205 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 47.0 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to 1800 g of water containing 260 g of sulfuric acid. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water, and dried. The infrared spectrum of the product shows a very strong absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 1.58 indicating the presence of a substantial amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 56% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine, the balance being attributed primarily to tetrachlorophthalimide.
EXAMPLE 2
A 190 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 43.5 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to an aqueous medium containing 1800 g of water, 285 g of concentrated sulfuric acid and 65 g of sodium sulfite. The resulting suspension is heated to 60° to 70° C. for 30 minutes, after which the suspension is filtered, washed with water and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a moderate absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.40 indicating the presence of a moderate amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 75% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This is an increase in yield of 18% over the Control and a corresponding increase in the purity of the product.
EXAMPLES 3a-3d and CONTROL
The following ingredients are placed in a flask, stirred, and heated to 170° C.:
______________________________________Ingredient Amount, grams______________________________________Anhydrous aluminum chloride 750Sodium chloride 126Anhydrous ferric chloride 85Cuprous chloride 10______________________________________
To the resulting reaction medium 150 g of crude copper phthalocyanine is added. Gaseous chlorine is passed through the reaction medium until 345 g are added.
CONTROL
A 118 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 27.2 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to an aqueous medium containing 2000 g of water, 320 g of concentrated sulfuric acid, 39 g of orthodichlorobenzene, and 0.4 g of a commercially available surfactant. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very strong absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.63 indicating the presence of a substantial amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 82.5% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine.
EXAMPLE 3a
A 147 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 33.7 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to the aqueous medium described in the Control except that 16 g of sodium sulfite is also present in the aqueous medium. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a moderate absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.45 indicating the presence of a moderate amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 87.8% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This is an increase in yield of 5.3% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity.
EXAMPLE 3b
A 102 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 23.4 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to an aqueous medium containing 450 g of water, 72 g of concentrated sulfuric acid, 6.5 g of orthodichlorobenzene, 0.072 g of the commercially available surfactant used in the Control and 4 g of thiourea. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very small absorption at 1720 cm.sup. -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.066 indicating the presence of a very small amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 92.7% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This is an increase in yield of 10.2% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity.
EXAMPLE 3c
A 111 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 25.5 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is mixed with 1.2 g of anhydrous sodium sulfite and stirred for 5 minutes. The sample is then added to an aqueous medium containing 450 g of water, 72 g of concentrated sulfuric acid, 6.5 g of ortho-dichlorobenzene, and 0.072 g of the commercially available surfactant used in the Control. The resulting precipitate is filtered, washed with water, and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a small absorption at 1720 cm -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.138 indicating the presence of a small amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 91.6% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This is an increase in yield of 9.1% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity.
EXAMPLE 3d
A 98 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 22.5 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is mixed with 1.2 g of elemental sulfur and stirred for 5 minutes. The product is precipitated as described in the Control, filtered, washed with water, and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very small absorption at 1720 cm -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.026 indicating the presence of a very small amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 93.5% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This is an increase in yield of 10% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity.
EXAMPLES 4a-4b and CONTROL
Six hundred grams of anhydrous aluminum chloride and 87 g of sodium chloride are placed in a flask, stirred and heated to 175° C. Then 108 g of crude copper phthalocyanine, containing 100 l g of 100% pure copper phthalocyanine and having an overall purity of 92%, is added to the heated reaction medium. The temperature of the reaction medium is then raised to 200° C. and held at that temperature while gaseous chlorine is passed through the reaction medium until 360 g are added.
CONTROL
A 104 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 24.6 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is added to water to separate the product. The resulting suspension is filtered, washed with water and dried. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a very strong absorption at 1720 cm -1 and an absorption ratio of 3.12 indicating the presence of a substantial amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 46.5% by weight of polychloro copper phthalocyanine, the balance consisting predominantly of tetrachlorophthalimide.
EXAMPLE 4a
A 160 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium containing 37.5 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is mixed with 1.5 g of 2,2'-dithioethanol and stirred for 5 minutes. The product is isolated from the reaction medium as described for the Control. The infrared absorption spectrum of the products shows a small absorption at 1720 cm -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.143 indicating the presence of a small amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 95.7% of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This shows an increase in yield of 49.2% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity.
EXAMPLE 4b
A 130 g sample of the above-prepared reaction medium, containing 30.8 g of crude polychloro copper phthalocyanine is mixed with 0.75 g of thiourea and stirred for 5 minutes. The product is isolated from the reaction medium as described for the Control. The infrared absorption spectrum of the product shows a small absorption at 1720 cm -1 and an absorption ratio of 0.145 indicating the presence of a small amount of tetrachlorophthalimide. The product is solvent extracted as described in Example 1a and found to contain 94.0% of polychloro copper phthalocyanine. This shows an increase in yield of 47.5% over the Control and a corresponding increase in purity. | Improved eutectic process for preparing polychloro copper phthalocyanine by chlorinating copper phthalocyanine in a reaction medium of molten inorganic metal halide and contacting the reaction medium with an aqueous medium to precipitate the polychloro copper phthalocyanine, wherein the improvement resides in adding a reducing agent to the reaction medium after the completion of the chlorination or to the aqueous medium prior to contact with the reaction medium. The improved process provides a highly chlorinated polychloro copper phthalocyanine which is substantially free of tetrachlorophthalimide impurity. The resulting polychloro copper phthalocyanine is a pure green compound useful as a high quality pigment for a variety of applications. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/634,201, filed Dec. 7, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
NOT APPLICABLE
REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK
NOT APPLICABLE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hemostasis, the control of bleeding, occurs by surgical means, or by the physiological properties of vasoconstriction and coagulation. This invention is particularly concerned with blood coagulation and ways in which it assists in maintaining the integrity of mammalian circulation after injury, inflammation, disease, congenital defect, dysfunction or other disruption. Although platelets and blood coagulation are both involved in thrombus formation, certain components of the coagulation cascade are primarily responsible for the amplification or acceleration of the processes involved in platelet aggregation and fibrin deposition.
Thrombin is a key enzyme in the coagulation cascade as well as in hemostasis. Thrombin plays a central role in thrombosis through its ability to catalyze the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin and through its potent platelet activation activity. Direct or indirect inhibition of thrombin activity has been the focus of a variety of recent anticoagulant strategies as reviewed by Claeson, G., “Synthetic Peptides and Peptidomimetics as Substrates and Inhibitors of Thrombin and Other Proteases in the Blood Coagulation System”, Blood Coag. Fibrinol., 5:411-436 (1994). Several classes of anticoagulants currently used in the clinic directly or indirectly affect thrombin (i.e. heparins, low-molecular weight heparins, heparin-like compounds and coumarins).
A prothrombinase complex, including Factor Xa (a serine protease, the activated form of its Factor X precursor and a member of the calcium ion binding, gamma carboxyglutamyl (Gla)-containing, vitamin K dependent, blood coagulation glycoprotein family), converts the zymogen prothrombin into the active procoagulant thrombin. Unlike thrombin, which acts on a variety of protein substrates as well as at a specific receptor, factor Xa appears to have a single physiologic substrate, namely prothrombin. Since one molecule of factor Xa may be able to generate up to 138 molecules of thrombin (Elodi et al., Thromb. Res. 15:617-619 (1979)), direct inhibition of factor Xa as a way of indirectly inhibiting the formation of thrombin may be an efficient anticoagulant strategy. Therefore, it has been suggested that compounds which selectively inhibit factor Xa may be useful as in vitro diagnostic agents, or for therapeutic administration in certain thrombotic disorders, see e.g., WO 94/13693.
Polypeptides derived from hematophagous organisms have been reported which are highly potent and specific inhibitors of factor Xa. U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,587 describes anticoagulant activity in the saliva of the Mexican leech, Haementeria officinalis . A principal component of this saliva was shown to be the polypeptide factor Xa inhibitor, antistasin (ATS), by Nutt, E. et al., “The Amino Acid Sequence of Antistasin, a Potent Inhibitor of Factor Xa Reveals a Repeated Internal Structure”, J. Biol. Chem., 263:10162-10167 (1988). Another potent and highly specific inhibitor of Factor Xa, called tick anticoagulant peptide (TAP), has been isolated from the whole body extract of the soft tick Ornithidoros moubata , as reported by Waxman, L., et al., “Tick Anticoagulant Peptide (TAP) is a Novel Inhibitor of Blood Coagulation Factor Xa”, Science, 248:593-596 (1990).
Factor Xa inhibitory compounds which are not large polypeptide-type inhibitors have also been reported (see e.g. Tidwell, R. R. et al., “Strategies for Anticoagulation With Synthetic Protease Inhibitors. Xa Inhibitors Versus Thrombin Inhibitors”, Thromb. Res., 19:339-349 (1980); Turner, A. D. et al., “p-Amidino Esters as Irreversible Inhibitors of Factor IXa and Xa and Thrombin”, Biochemistry, 25:4929-4935 (1986); Hitomi, Y. et al., “Inhibitory Effect of New Synthetic Protease Inhibitor (FUT-175) on the Coagulation System”, Haemostasis, 15:164-168 (1985); Sturzebecher, J. et al., “Synthetic Inhibitors of Bovine Factor Xa and Thrombin. Comparison of Their Anticoagulant Efficiency”, Thromb. Res., 54:245-252 (1989); Kam, C. M. et al., “Mechanism Based Isocoumarin Inhibitors for Trypsin and Blood Coagulation Serine Proteases: New Anticoagulants”, Biochemistry, 27:2547-2557 (1988); Hauptmann, J. et al., “Comparison of the Anticoagulant and Antithrombotic Effects of Synthetic Thrombin and Factor Xa Inhibitors”, Thromb. Haemost., 63:220-223 (1990)).
Others have reported Factor Xa inhibitors which are small molecule organic compounds, such as nitrogen containing heterocyclic compounds which have amidino substituent groups, wherein two functional groups of the compounds can bind to Factor Xa at two of its active sites. For example, WO 98/28269 describes pyrazole compounds having a terminal C(═NH)—NH 2 group; WO 97/21437 describes benzimidazole compounds substituted by a basic radical which are connected to a naphthyl group via a straight or branched chain alkylene, C(O) or SO 2 bridging group; WO 99/10316 describes compounds having a 4-phenyl-N-alkylamidino-piperidine and 4-phenoxy-N-alkylamidino-piperidine group connected to a 3-amidinophenyl group via a carboxamidealkyleneamino bridge; and EP 798295 describes compounds having a 4-phenoxy-N-alkylamidino-piperidine group connected to an amidinonaphthyl group via a substituted or unsubstituted sulfonamide or carboxamide bridging group.
There exists a need for effective therapeutic agents for the regulation of hemostasis, and for the prevention and treatment of thrombus formation and other pathological processes in the vasculature induced by thrombin such as restenosis and inflammation. In particular, there continues to be a need for compounds which selectively inhibit factor Xa or its precursors. Compounds that have different combinations of bridging groups and functional groups than compounds previously discovered are needed, particularly compounds which selectively or preferentially bind to Factor Xa. Compounds with a higher degree of binding to Factor Xa than to thrombin are desired, especially those compounds having good bioavailability and/or solubility.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (I), each R 1 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, heteroaryl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N( 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—PO(—OR 4b )(—OR 4c ), —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, and —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The letter D is a member selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, aryl, heteroaryl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, unfused heterobicyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 9 substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a )—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )CH 2 —, —CH 2 N(R 10a )—, —C(O)N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, —SO 2 N(R 10a )—, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 —; and at least one of D and Q is not a direct bond.
The symbol A is selected from the group consisting of: —NR 11c R 11d , —C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —C(═NR 11e R 11f )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )R 11a , —N(R 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11c )OR 11d , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, and pyridyl-oxide optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g .
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—CO 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-CO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 —R 12b , ═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═S —OH, —CN and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(C, 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteraryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
Each of the symbols R 11a , R 11b , R 11c , R 11d , R 11e and R 11f are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-6 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or each R 11a and R 11b can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or each R 11e and R 11f can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the subscripts n1 and n2 is an integer of 0 to 1.
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (II), R 1 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 0-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 is a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, heteroaryl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O-R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —CO 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ) —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—PO(—OR 4b )(—OR 4c ), —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, and —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a ), —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 —.
The symbol A is selected from the group consisting of: —NR 11c R 11d , —C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —C(═NR 11e R 11f )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )R 11a , —N(R 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11c )OR 11d ; C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; each of aryl, heteroaryl, heteromonocyclyl and fused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g ; wherein each hetercyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SOR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-CO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 —R 12b ,-═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 4c , R 11a , R 11b , R 11c , R 11d , R 11e , R 11f R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —C 0-2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteraryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl; and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl and heteroaryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (III), R 1 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 is a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, heteroaryl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R, —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—PO(—OR 4b )(—OR 4c ), —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, and —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The letter D is a member selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, aryl, heteroaryl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, unfused heterobicyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 9 substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a )—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )CH 2 —, —CH 2 N(R 10a )—, —C(O)N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, —SO 2 N(R 10a )—, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 —; and at least one of D and Q is not a direct bond.
In one embodiment the symbol A is dihydroimidazolyl, 1,4-diazepanyl, thiazolyl, oxazolyl, imidazolyl, pyrid-4-yl or 3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl, each optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g . In another embodiment the symbol A is pyridinyl, pyrrolidinyl, homopiperazinyl, piperazinyl or morpholinyl each optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g .
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SOR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-CO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 —R 12b , ═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 4c , R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 -N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteraryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
Each of the subscripts n1 and n2 is an integer of 0 to 1.
The present invention further provides chemical intermediates, pharmaceutical compositions and methods for preventing or treating a condition in a mammal characterized by undesired thrombosis comprising the step of administering to said mammal a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the present invention. Such conditions include but are not limited to acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, refractory angina, occlusive coronary thrombus occurring post-thrombolytic therapy or post-coronary angioplasty, a thrombotically mediated cerebrovascular syndrome, embolic stroke, thrombotic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, venous thrombosis, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, coagulopathy, disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, thromboangiitis obliterans, thrombotic disease associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, thrombotic complications associated with extracorporeal circulation, thrombotic complications associated with instrumentation such as cardiac or other intravascular catheterization, intra-aortic balloon pump, coronary stent or cardiac valve, conditions requiring the fitting of prosthetic devices, and the like.
The present invention further provides methods for inhibiting the coagulation of a blood sample comprising contacting said sample with a compound of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A-W illustrates a variety of embodiments of compounds of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Abbreviations and Definitions
The term “alkyl”, by itself or as part of another substituent, means, unless otherwise stated, a straight or branched chain hydrocarbon radical, having the number of carbon atoms designated (i.e. C 1-8 means one to eight carbons). Examples of alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, and the like. The term “alkenyl” refers to an unsaturated alkyl group is one having one or more double bonds. Similarly, the term “alkynyl” refers to an unsaturated alkyl group having one or more triple bonds. Examples of such unsaturated alkyl groups include vinyl, 2-propenyl, crotyl, 2-isopentenyl, 2-(butadienyl), 2,4-pentadienyl, 3-(1,4-pentadienyl), ethynyl, 1- and 3-propynyl, 3-butynyl, and the higher homologs and isomers. The term “cycloalkyl” refers to hydrocarbon rings having the indicated number of ring atoms (e.g., C 3-6 cycloalkyl) and being fully saturated or having no more than one double bond between ring vertices. When “cycloalkyl” is used in combination with “alkyl”, as in C 3-5 cycloalkyl-alkyl, the cycloalkyl portion is meant to have from three to five carbon atoms, while the alkyl portion is an alkylene moiety having from one to three carbon atoms (e.g., —CH 2 —, —CH 2 CH 2 — or —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 —).
The term “alkylene” by itself or as part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from an alkane, as exemplified by —CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 —. Typically, an alkyl (or alkylene) group will have from 1 to 24 carbon atoms, with those groups having 10 or fewer carbon atoms being preferred in the present invention. A “lower alkyl” or “lower alkylene” is a shorter chain alkyl or alkylene group, generally having four or fewer carbon atoms.
The terms “alkoxy,” “alkylamino” and “alkylthio” (or thioalkoxy) are used in their conventional sense, and refer to those alkyl groups attached to the remainder of the molecule via an oxygen atom, an amino group, or a sulfur atom, respectively. Additionally, for dialkylamino groups (typically provided as —NR a R b or a variant thereof), the alkyl portions can be the same or different and can also be combined to form a 3-7 membered ring with the nitrogen atom to which each is attached. Accordingly, a group represented as —NR a R b is meant to include piperidinyl, pyrrolidinyl, morpholinyl, azetidinyl and the like.
The terms “halo” or “halogen,” by themselves or as part of another substituent, mean, unless otherwise stated, a fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine atom. Additionally, terms such as “haloalkyl,” are meant to include monohaloalkyl and polyhaloalkyl. For example, the term “C 1-4 haloalkyl” is mean to include trifluoromethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 4-chlorobutyl, 3-bromopropyl, and the like.
The term “aryl” means, unless otherwise stated, a polyunsaturated, typically aromatic, hydrocarbon group which can be a single ring or multiple rings (up to three rings) which are fused together or linked covalently. The term “heteroaryl” refers to aryl groups (or rings) that contain from one to five heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms are optionally oxidized, and the nitrogen atom(s) are optionally quatemized. A heteroaryl group can be attached to the remainder of the molecule through a heteroatom or through a carbon atom. Non-limiting examples of aryl groups include phenyl, naphthyl and biphenyl, while non-limiting examples of heteroaryl groups include 1-pyrrolyl, 2-pyrrolyl, 3-pyrrolyl, 1-pyrazolyl, 3-pyrazolyl, 2-imidazolyl, 4-imidazolyl, pyrazinyl, 2-oxazolyl, 4-oxazolyl, 5-oxazolyl, 3-isoxazolyl, 4-isoxazolyl, 5-isoxazolyl, 2-thiazolyl, 4-thiazolyl, 5-thiazolyl, 2-furyl, 3-furyl, 2-thienyl, 3-thienyl, 2-pyridyl, 3-pyridyl, 4-pyridyl, 2-pyrimidyl, 4-pyrimidyl, 5-benzothiazolyl, purinyl, 2-benzimidazolyl, benzopyrazolyl, 5-indolyl, 1-isoquinolyl, 5-isoquinolyl, 2-quinoxalinyl, 5-quinoxalinyl, 3-quinolyl, and 6-quinolyl. If not specifically stated, substituents for each of the above noted aryl and heteroaryl ring systems are selected from the group of acceptable substituents described below.
For brevity, the term “aryl” when used in combination with other terms (e.g., aryloxy, arylthioxy, arylalkyl) includes both aryl and heteroaryl rings as defined above. Thus, the term “arylalkyl” is meant to include those radicals in which an aryl group is attached to an alkyl group (e.g., benzyl, phenethyl, pyridylmethyl and the like).
The terms “heterocycle” and “heterocyclyl” refers to a saturated or unsaturated non-aromatic cyclic group containing at least one sulfur, nitrogen or oxygen heteroatom. Each heterocycle can be attached at any available ring carbon or heteroatom. Each heterocycle may have one (“heteromonocyclyl”) or more rings (e.g. “heterobicyclyl”). When multiple rings are present, they can be fused together or linked covalently. Each heterocycle must contain at least one heteroatom (typically 1 to 5 heteroatoms) selected from nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Preferably, these groups contain 0-5 nitrogen atoms, 0-2 sulfur atoms and 0-2 oxygen atoms. More preferably, these groups contain 0-3 nitrogen atoms, 0-1 sulfur atoms and 0-1 oxygen atoms. Non-limiting examples of heterocycle groups include pyrrolidine, piperidine, imidazolidine, pyrazolidine, butyrolactam, valerolactam, imidazolidinone, hydantoin, dioxolane, phthalimide, 1,4-dioxane, morpholine, thiomorpholine, thiomorpholine-S,S-dioxide, piperazine, pyran, pyridone, 3-pyrroline, thiopyran, pyrone, tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydrothiophene and the like.
The above terms (e.g., “aryl” and “heteroaryl”), in some embodiments, will include both substituted and unsubstituted forms of the indicated radical. Preferred substituents for each type of radical are provided below. For brevity, the terms aryl and heteroaryl will refer to substituted or unsubstituted versions as provided below.
Substituents for the aryl and heteroaryl groups are varied and are generally selected from: -halogen, —OR′, —OC(O)R′, —NR′R″, —SR′, —R′, —CN, —NO 2 , —CO 2 R′, —CONR′R″, —C(O)R′, —OC(O)NR′R″, —NR″C(O)R′, —NR″CO 2 R′, —NR′—C(O)NR″R′″, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NH, —NR′C(NH 2 )═NH, —NH—C(NH 2 )═NR′, —S(O)R′, —SO 2 R′, —SO 2 NR′R″, —NR′SO 2 R″, —N 3 , perfluoro(C 1 -C 4 )alkoxy, and perfluoro(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl, in a number ranging from zero to the total number of open valences on the aromatic ring system; and where R′, R″and R′″ is independently selected from hydrogen, C 1-8 alkyl, C 3-6 cycloalkyl, C 2-8 alkenyl, C 2-8 alkynyl, unsubstituted aryl and heteroaryl, (unsubstituted aryl)-C 1-4 alkyl, and unsubstituted aryloxy-C 1-4 alkyl. Other suitable substituents include each of the above aryl substituents attached to a ring atom by an alkylene tether of from 1-4 carbon atoms.
As used herein, the term “heteroatom” is meant to include oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and silicon (Si).
The term “pharmaceutically acceptable salts” is meant to include salts of the active compounds which are prepared with relatively nontoxic acids or bases, depending on the particular substituents found on the compounds described herein. When compounds of the present invention contain relatively acidic functionalities, base addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of such compounds with a sufficient amount of the desired base, either neat or in a suitable inert solvent. Examples of salts derived from pharmaceutically-acceptable inorganic bases include aluminum, ammonium, calcium, copper, ferric, ferrous, lithium, magnesium, manganic, manganous, potassium, sodium, zinc and the like. Salts derived from pharmaceutically-acceptable organic bases include salts of primary, secondary and tertiary amines, including substituted amines, cyclic amines, naturally-occuring amines and the like, such as arginine, betaine, caffeine, choline, N,N′-dibenzylethylenediamine, diethylamine, 2-diethylaminoethanol, 2-dimethylaminoethanol, ethanolamine, ethylenediamine, N-ethylmorpholine, N-ethylpiperidine, glucamine, glucosamine, histidine, hydrabamine, isopropylamine, lysine, methylglucamine, morpholine, piperazine, piperadine, polyamine resins, procaine, purines, theobromine, triethylamine, trimethylamine, tripropylamine, tromethamine and the like. When compounds of the present invention contain relatively basic functionalities, acid addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of such compounds with a sufficient amount of the desired acid, either neat or in a suitable inert solvent. Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts include those derived from inorganic acids like hydrochloric, hydrobromic, nitric, carbonic, monohydrogencarbonic, phosphoric, monohydrogenphosphoric, dihydrogenphosphoric, sulfuric, monohydrogensulfuric, hydriodic, or phosphorous acids and the like, as well as the salts derived from relatively nontoxic organic acids like acetic, propionic, isobutyric, malonic, benzoic, succinic, suberic, fumaric, mandelic, phthalic, benzenesulfonic, p-tolylsulfonic, citric, tartaric, methanesulfonic, and the like. Also included are salts of amino acids such as arginate and the like, and salts of organic acids like glucuronic or galactunoric acids and the like (see, e.g., Berge, S. M., et al, “Pharmaceutical Salts”, Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 1977, 66, 1-19). Certain specific compounds of the present invention contain both basic and acidic functionalities that allow the compounds to be converted into either base or acid addition salts.
The neutral forms of the compounds may be regenerated by contacting the salt with a base or acid and isolating the parent compound in the conventional manner. The parent form of the compound differs from the various salt forms in certain physical properties, such as solubility in polar solvents, but otherwise the salts are equivalent to the parent form of the compound for the purposes of the present invention.
In addition to salt forms, the present invention provides compounds which are in a prodrug form. Prodrugs of the compounds described herein are those compounds that readily undergo chemical changes under physiological conditions to provide the compounds of the present invention. Additionally, prodrugs can be converted to the compounds of the present invention by chemical or biochemical methods in an ex vivo environment. For example, prodrugs can be slowly converted to the compounds of the present invention when placed in a transdermal patch reservoir with a suitable enzyme or chemical reagent.
Certain compounds of the present invention can exist in unsolvated forms as well as solvated forms, including hydrated forms. In general, the solvated forms are equivalent to unsolvated forms and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention. Certain compounds of the present invention may exist in multiple crystalline or amorphous forms. In general, all physical forms are equivalent for the uses contemplated by the present invention and are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.
Certain compounds of the present invention possess asymmetric carbon atoms (optical centers) or double bonds; the racemates, diastereomers, geometric isomers, regioisomers and individual isomers (e.g., separate enantiomers) are all intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention. The compounds of the present invention may also contain unnatural proportions of atomic isotopes at one or more of the atoms that constitute such compounds. For example, the compounds may be radiolabeled with radioactive isotopes, such as for example tritium ( 3 H), iodine-125 ( 125 I) or carbon-14 ( 14 C). All isotopic variations of the compounds of the present invention, whether radioactive or not, are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention.
General
Embodiments of the Invention
Compounds
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (I), each R 1 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 represents a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, heteroaryl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO-OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N)R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—PO(—OR 4b )(—OR 4c ), —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, and —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The letter D is a member selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, aryl, heteroaryl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, unfused heterobicyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 9 substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a )—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )CH 2 —, —CH 2 N(R 10a )—, —C(O)N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, —SO 2 N(R 10a )—, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 —; and at least one of D and Q is not a direct bond.
The symbol A is selected from the group consisting of: —NR 11c R 11d , —C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —C(═NR 11e R 11f )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )R 11a , —N(R 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11c )OR 11d , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, and pyridyl-oxide, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g . In another embodiment the symbol A is pyridinyl, pyrrolidinyl, homopiperazinyl, piperazinyl or morpholinyl each optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g .
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SOR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-CO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 R 12b , ═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═X, —OH, —CN and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 4c , R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
Each of the symbols R 11a , R 11b , R 11c , R 11d , R 11e and R 11f are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —NR 12a R 12b and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or each R 11a and R 11b can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or each R 11e and R 11f can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the subscripts n1 and n2 is an integer of 0 to 1.
With the above formula are a number of specific embodiments of the invention. In one group of embodiments, R 1 and R 3 is H. In a specific group of embodiments, R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . More preferably, R 2 is phenyl or thiophenyl. More preferably, R 2a is independently selected from the group consisting of halo and C 2-6 alkynyl. For these embodiments, a preferred group of embodiments are those in which R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In one group of embodiments, R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl and —C 2-6 alkynyl, wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl and heteroaryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, 2-thiophenyl, phenyl and 2-butynyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration. In another group of embodiments each R 4d is a member independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 and C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a ; and R 12a is C 1-6 alkyl or C 0-4 alkylaryl.
In one group of embodiments, the subscript n1 is 0. In another group of embodiments the subscript n1 is 1.
In a specific group of embodiments R 6 is H or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. Within this embodiment, R 4 and R 6 are taken together with the atoms to which they are attached selected from the group having the formula:
optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. In one group of embodiments, the subscript n2 is 0. In another group of embodiments the subscript n2 is 1. In another group of embodiments, each R 7 and R 8 is H.
In one group of embodiments, D is aryl or heteromonocyclyl, wherein each heteromonocyclyl comprises from 5 to 7 ring atoms, 1 to 2 of which are N or O. More preferably, D is phenyl, piperidinyl or piperazinyl.
In another group of embodiments, Q is selected from the group consisting of a direct bond, —C(═NH)—, C(O)— and —N(R 10a )—; and R 10a is C 1-6 alkyl. More preferably, Q is attached to the phenyl, piperidinyl or piperazinyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In another group of embodiments, A is selected from the group consisting of:—NR 11c R 11d , —C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —C(═NR 11e R 11f )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11c )NR 11a R 11b , C 1-6 alkyl and pyridyl-oxide. In another embodiment the symbol A is pyridinyl, pyrrolidinyl, homopiperazinyl, piperazinyl or morpholinyl each optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g .
More preferably, each R 11a and R 11b is independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl and —C 0-6 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b or each R 11a and R 11b can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Other embodiments are in which A-Q-D-(CR 7 R 8 ) n2 —NR 6 n1 is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are in which A-Q-D-(CR 7 R 8 ) n2 —NR 6 n1 is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are in wherein A-Q- is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are in wherein A-Q- is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are wherein R 11a and R 11b is independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl and —C 0-6 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b or each R 11a and R 11b can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
In other embodiments, compounds of formula I are provided which have the formula:
Within this group, specific embodiments are provided in which R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a ; and preferably phenyl. Preferably, the optional substituent R 2a is halo. Still further preferred are embodiments, wherein R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule. Yet another group of embodiments are those in which each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl and heteroaryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, 2-thiophenyl and phenyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration.
In other embodiments, each R 11a and R 11b is independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl and —C 0-6 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b or each R 11a and R 11b can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (II), R 1 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 is a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-O—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ) —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-NR 4a )—PO(—OR 4b )(—OR 4c ) and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a )—, —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 .
The symbol A is selected from the group consisting of: —NR 11c R 11d , —C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —C(═NR 11e R 11f )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11d )C(═NR 11c )R 11a , —N(R 11c )NR 11a R 11b , —N(R 11c )OR 11d ; C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, aryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; each of aryl, heteroaryl, heteromonocyclyl and fused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g ; wherein each hetercyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SOR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR R 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-CO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 —R 12b ) ═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═S, —OH, —CH and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 4c , R 11a , R 11b , R 11c , R 11d , R 11e , R 11f , R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl, C 104 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —C 0-2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-6 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteraryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl; and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl and heteroaryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
With the above formula are a number of specific embodiments of the invention. In one group of embodiments, R 1 and R 3 is H. In a specific group of embodiments, R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . More preferably, R 2 is phenyl or thiophenyl. More preferably, R 2a is halo. For these embodiments, a preferred group of embodiments are those in which R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In one group of embodiments, R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is phenyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration. In another group of embodiments, each R 4d is a member independently selected from the group consisting of halogen and C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a ; and R 12a is C 1-6 alkyl.
In one group of embodiments, the compounds have the formula:
wherein R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . In a specific group of embodiments, R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . More preferably, R 2a is phenyl. More preferably, R 2a is halo. For these embodiments, a preferred group of embodiments are those in which R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In one group of embodiments, R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is phenyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration. In another group of embodiments, each R 4d is a member independently selected from the group consisting of halogen and C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a ; and R 12a is C 1-6 alkyl.
In one group of embodiments, the compounds have the formula:
wherein R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . In a specific group of embodiments, R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . More preferably, R 2 is phenyl. More preferably, R 2a is halo. For these embodiments, a preferred group of embodiments are those in which R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In one group of embodiments, R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is phenyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration. In another group of embodiments, each R 4d is a member independently selected from the group consisting of halogen and C 0-2 lkyl-OR 12a ; and R 12a is C 1-6 alkyl.
In one aspect, the present invention provides compounds having the formula:
and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, hydrates, solvates and prodrugs thereof. In formula (III), R 1 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteroaryl and —C 2-6 alkenyl.
The symbol R 2 is a member selected from the group consisting of: —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylaryl, heteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkylheteroaryl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, fused heterobicyclyl and unfused heterobicyclyl, optionally substituted with from 1 to 3 R 2a substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises 5 to 12 ring atoms, 1 to 4 of which are members independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol R 3 is a member selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a R 3b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 3a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 3a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 3a R 3b ) and —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 3a )—C(O)R 3b .
Each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 2-6 alkenyl, —C 2-6 alkynyl, —C 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-4 alkyl-C 3-8 -cycloalkyl, C 1-6 haloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heterocyclyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CN, —C 0-6 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 1-6 alkyl-O—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S—R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-S(O)—R 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)R 4a , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—C(O)—N(R 4b R 4c ), —C 1-6 alkyl-(N)R 4a )—SO 2 —R 4b , —C 1-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 0-6 alkyl-PO(—OR 4a )(—OR 4b ), —C 1-6 alkyl-N(R 4a )—PO(— 4b )(—OR 4c ) and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 8 membered cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents.
The letter D is a member selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, aryl, heteroaryl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 3-8 cycloalkenyl, heteromonocyclyl, unfused heterobicyclyl, and fused heterobicyclyl; optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 9 substituents, wherein each heterocyclyl comprises from 5 to 10 ring atoms, 1-4 of which are selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
The symbol Q is selected from the group consisting of: a direct bond, —C(R 10a R 10b )—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(═NR 10a )—, —O—, —S—, —N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )CH 2 —, —CH 2 N(R 10a )—, —C(O)N(R 10a )—, —N(R 10a )C(O)—, —SO 2 —, —SO—, —SO 2 N(R 10a )—, and —N(R 10a )—SO 2 —; and at least one of D and Q is not a direct bond.
The symbol A is dihydroimidazolyl, 1,4-diazepanyl, thiazolyl, oxazolyl, imidazolyl, pyrid-4-yl, 3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g . In another embodiment the symbol A is 1-H-2-oxo-pyridyl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 11g .
Each R 2a , R 4d , R 9 and R 11g is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: H, halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 1-4 alkoxy, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-CN, —C 0-2 alkyl-NO 2 , —C 0-2 alkyl-NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-SO 2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SOR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 , —C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-SR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12a , —O—CH 2 —CO 2 R 12a , —N(R 12a )—CH 2 —CH 2 —OR 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(O)NR R 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C 0-2 R 12a , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—C(O)R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12c )—C(O)NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b ), —C 0-2 alkyl-C(═NR 12a )R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12d )C(═NR 12c )NR 12a R 12b , —C 0-2 alkyl-N(R 12a )—SO 2 —R 12b , ═O, ═S, ═NR 12a , 5- or 6-membered aryl, 5- or 6-membered heteroaryl and 5- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted with a member independently selected from the group consisting of halo, CF 3 , OCF 3 , SCF 3 , C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CONR 12a R 12b , ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and —NO 2 ; wherein each heteroaryl or heterocyclyl comprises 1 to 4 heteroatoms, independently selected from the group consisting of N, O and S.
Each of the symbols R 3a , R 3b , R 4a , R 4b , R 4c R 12a , R 12b , R 12c and R 12d are members independently selected from the group consisting of: H, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 0-4 alkylaryl, C 0-4 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-COC 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —C 1-4 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-SO 2 —N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —C 0-6 alkyl-N(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl) and —C 1-6 alkyl-O—C 0-6 alkyl, wherein 1-3 hydrogen atoms on the aryl or heteroaryl ring may be independently replaced with a member selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), —OH, —CN and NO 2 ; or can be taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached to form a 3-8 membered heterocyclyl group, comprising 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of N, O and S, optionally substituted with 1 to 4 R 13 substituents selected from the group consisting of halo, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy, —CO 2 H, —CO 2 C 1-4 alkyl, —CON(C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkyl), ═O, ═S, —OH, —CN and NO 2 .
Each of the symbols R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10a and R 10b is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, C 1-6 alkyl, C 2-6 alkenyl, C 2-6 alkynyl, C 3-8 cycloalkyl and C 0-4 alkylC 3-8 cycloalkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, heteraryl and —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. Each of the subscripts n1 and n2 is an integer of 0 to 1.
With the above formula are a number of specific embodiments of the invention. In one group of embodiments, R 1 and R 3 is H. In a specific group of embodiments, R 2 is aryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . More preferably, R 2 is phenyl or thiophenyl. More preferably, R 2a is independently selected from the group consisting of halo and C 2-6 alkynyl. For these embodiments, a preferred group of embodiments are those in which R 2a is attached to the phenyl or pyridyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In one group of embodiments, each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —C 0-6 alkyl-heteroaryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl, —C 0-6 alkyl-CO—OR 4a , —C 0-6 alkyl-C(O)—N(R 4a R 4b ), —C 2-6 alkynyl and —C 2-6 alkynyl; or R 4 and R 5 can be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 12 membered cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 3 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl and heteroaryl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen or phenyl; and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, isopropyl, t-butyl, isobutyl, benzyl, 2-indol-3-ylmethyl, 2-imidazol-4-ylmethyl, phenyl, 3-pyridyl, 2-thiophenyl, 3-thiophenyl, 2-benzyloxycarbonylmethyl, 2-carboxymethyl, 2-dimethylaminocarbonylmethyl, 2-(piperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl), 2-(morpholin-4-ylcarbonylmethyl), 2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl-carbonylmethyl), 2-[4-ethoxycarbonyl-piperidin-1-yl)carbonylmethyl], 2-(homopiperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl), 2-(benzylamino-carbonylmethyl), 2-(methylamino-carbonylmethyl), 2-(aminocarbonylmethyl), 2-(phenylamino-carbonylmethyl), benzodioxol-5-yl, 2-butynyl, 2-propynyl, and 2-propenyl or are taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to from a cyclopropyl ring. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration. In another group of embodiments, each R 4d is a member independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, —C 1-6 alkyl, —O—C 0-2 alkyl-CF 3 and C 0-2 alkyl-OR 12a ; and R 12a is C 1-6 alkyl or C 0-4 alkylary.
In one group of embodiments, the subscript n1 is 0. In another group of embodiments the subscript n1 is 1.
In a specific group of embodiments R 6 is H or R 4 and R 6 can be taken together with the atoms to which they are attached to form a 5 to 12 membered heterocyclyl group; wherein each heterocyclyl is a 5 to 8 membered monocyclic ring or a 8-12 membered bicyclic ring, each comprising from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of O, N and S, and wherein 1 to 3 carbon or nitrogen atoms of aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl are substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. Within this embodiment, R 4 and R 6 are taken together with the atoms to which they are attached selected from the group having the formula:
optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 4d substituents. In one group of embodiments, the subscript n2 is 0. In another group of embodiments the subscript n2 is 1.
In one group of embodiments, D is aryl or heteromonocyclyl, wherein heteromonocyclyl comprises from 5 to 7 ring atoms, 1 to 2 of which are N or O. More preferably, D is phenyl or piperidinyl.
In another group of embodiments, Q is a direct bond or —C(O)-More preferably, Q is attached to the phenyl or piperidinyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule.
In another group of embodiments, A is a member selected from the group consisting of: dihydroimidazolyl, 1,4-diazepanyl, thiazolyl and oxazolyl. In another group of embodiments, A is a member selected from the group consisting of: imidazolyl, pyrid-4-yl, 3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl. More preferably, A-Q-D-(CR 7 R 8 ) n2 —NR 6 n1 is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein Z is O or S; and the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are wherein A-Q-D-(CR 7 R 8 ) n2 —NR 6 n1 is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein and the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are wherein A-Q- is selected from the group consisting of:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule. Other embodiments are wherein A-Q- is:
wherein the wavy line indicates the point of attachment to the rest of the molecule.
In other embodiments, compounds of formula I are provided which have the formula:
Within this group, specific embodiments are provided in which R 2 is aryl or heteroaryl, optionally substituted with 1 to 3 R 2a . Preferably, R 2 is selected from the group consisting of phenyl and benzofuranyl. Still further preferred are embodiments wherein each optional substituent R 2a is independently selected from the group consisting of halo and C 1-6 alkyl. Still further preferred are embodiments wherein R 2a is attached to the phenyl ring at a position para to the rest of the molecule. Yet another group of embodiments are those in which each R 4 and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, —C 1-6 alkyl and —C 0-6 alkyl-aryl. More preferably R 4 is hydrogen and R 5 is a member independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, isobutyl and phenyl. In a specific group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the R-configuration. In another group of embodiments when R 4 and R 5 are different, the carbon bearing R 5 has the S-configuration.
In each of the above embodiments, any variables are meant to have their full scope w/reference to formulas (I), (II) and (III) unless indicated otherwise.
Within the present invention, the compounds provided in the examples below are each preferred embodiments, along with their pharmaceutically acceptable salts. Preferred examples of compounds of formula (I) include:
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-isopropyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2,2-dimethylpropyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-indol-3-ylmethyl-2-4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-imidazol-4-ylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(1-methyl-indol-3-ylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-pyridin-3-yl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(3-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2,2-diphenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-1-cyclopropanecarboxamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-fluorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-ethynylphenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidinylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(piperidinylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(methylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-allylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-propargylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(azetidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-allylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-propargylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(4-methylaminoimino-2-fluorophenyl)-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(azetidin-1-ylimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(piperidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(piperidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2,2-dimethylhydrazinoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(piperidin-4-ylmethyl)-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[(N-acetimidyl-piperidin-4-yl)methyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaninomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxy-carbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxycarbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-dimethylaminocarbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(piperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(morpholin-4-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-[4-ethoxycarbonyl-piperidin-1-yl)carbonylmethyl]-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(homopiperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(benzylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(methylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(aminocarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-succinimide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(phenylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(benzo-1,3-dioxl-5-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-methyl-N-pyridin-4-yl-amino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(thiazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(oxazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-(4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-phenoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-phenoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-propargyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-allyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-allyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 1-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one; 1-[4-(pyrrolidinylimino)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one; 1-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihyrdo-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one. (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(2-chlorothiophen-5-ylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(4-methyl-2-piperazinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(homopiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; 4-(1-methylhomopiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) 4-(4-methylhomopiperazin-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; (2R) 4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide; and (2R) 4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)homopiperazin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide.
All the preferred, more preferred, and most preferred compounds listed above are selective inhibitors of Factor Xa.
Compositions
The present invention further provides compositions comprising one or more compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III) or a tautomer or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. It will be appreciated that the compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III) in this invention may be derivatized at functional groups to provide prodrug derivatives which are capable of conversion back to the parent compounds in vivo. Examples of such prodrugs include the physiologically acceptable and metabolically labile ester derivatives, such as methoxymethyl esters, methylthiomethyl esters, or pivaloyloxymethyl esters derived from a hydroxyl group of the compound or a carbamoyl moiety derived from an amino group of the compound. Additionally, any physiologically acceptable equivalents of the compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III), similar to metabolically labile esters or carbamates, which are capable of producing the parent compounds of formula (I), (II) or (III) in vivo, are within the scope of this invention.
If pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of this invention are utilized in these compositions, those salts are preferably derived from inorganic or organic acids and bases. Included among such acid salts are the following: acetate, adipate, alginate, aspartate, benzoate, benzene sulfonate, bisulfate, butyrate, citrate, camphorate, camphor sulfonate, cyclopentanepropionate, digluconate, dodecylsulfate, ethanesulfonate, fumarate, lucoheptanoate, glycerophosphate, hemisulfate, heptanoate, hexanoate, hydrochloride, hydrobromide, hydroiodide, 2-hydroxyethanesulfonate, lactate, maleate, methanesulfonate, 2-naphthalenesulfonate, nicotinate, oxalate, pamoate, pectinate, persulfate, 3-phenyl-propionate, picrate, pivalate, propionate, succinate, tartrate, thiocyanate, tosylate and undecanoate. Base salts include ammonium salts, alkali metal salts, such as sodium and potassium salts, alkaline earth metal salts, such as calcium and magnesium salts, salts with organic bases, such as dicyclohexylamine salts, N-methyl-D-glucamine, and salts with amino acids such as arginine, lysine, and so forth.
Furthermore, the basic nitrogen-containing groups may be quatemized with agents like lower alkyl halides, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl chlorides, bromides and iodides; dialkyl sulfates, such as dimethyl, diethyl, dibutyl and diamyl sulfates, long chain halides, such as decyl, lauryl, myristyl and stearyl chlorides, bromides and iodides; aralkyl halides, such as benzyl and phenethyl bromides and others. Water or oil-soluble or dispersible products are thereby obtained.
The compounds utilized in the compositions and methods of this invention may also be modified by appending appropriate functionalities to enhance selective biological properties. Such modifications are known in the art and include those which increase biological penetration into a given biological system (e.g., blood, lymphatic system, central nervous system, etc.), increase oral availability, increase solubility to allow administration by injection, alter metabolism and alter rate of excretion.
The pharmaceutical compositions of the invention can be manufactured by methods well known in the art such as conventional granulating, mixing, dissolving, encapsulating, lyophilizing, or emulsifying processes, among others. Compositions may be produced in various forms, including granules, precipitates, or particulates, powders, including freeze dried, rotary dried or spray dried powders, amorphous powders, tablets, capsules, syrup, suppositories, injections, emulsions, elixirs, suspensions or solutions. Formulations may optionally contain stabilizers, pH modifiers, surfactants, bioavailability modifiers and combinations of these.
Pharmaceutical formulations may be prepared as liquid suspensions or solutions using a sterile liquid, such as oil, water, alcohol, and combinations thereof. Pharmaceutically suitable surfactants, suspending agents or emulsifying agents, may be added for oral or parenteral administration. Suspensions may include oils, such as peanut oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil and olive oil. Suspension preparation may also contain esters of fatty acids, such as ethyl oleate, isopropyl myristate, fatty acid glycerides and acetylated fatty acid glycerides. Suspension formulations may include alcohols, such as ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, hexadecyl alcohol, glycerol and propylene glycol. Ethers, such as poly(ethyleneglycol), petroleum hydrocarbons, such as mineral oil and petrolatum, and water may also be used in suspension formulations.
Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers that may be used in these compositions include ion exchangers, alumina, aluminum stearate, lecithin, serum proteins, such as human serum albumin, buffer substances, such as phosphates, glycine, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, partial glyceride mixtures of saturated vegetable fatty acids, water, salts or electrolytes, such as protamine sulfate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, potassium hydrogen phosphate, sodium chloride, zinc salts, colloidal silica, magnesium trisilicate, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, cellulose-based substances, polyethylene glycol, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylates, waxes, polyethylene-polyoxypropylene-block polymers, polyethylene glycol and wool fat.
According to a preferred embodiment, the compositions of this invention are formulated for pharmaceutical administration to a mammal, preferably a human being. Such pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may be administered orally, parenterally, by inhalation spray, topically, rectally, nasally, buccally, vaginally or via an implanted reservoir. The term “parenteral” as used herein includes subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intra-articular, intra-synovial, intrasternal, intrathecal, intrahepatic, intralesional and intracranial injection or infusion techniques. Preferably, the compositions are administered orally or intravenously. The formulations of the invention may be designed as short-acting, fast-releasing, or long-acting. Still further, compounds can be administered in a local rather than systemic means, such as administration (e.g., injection) as a sustained release formulation.
Sterile injectable forms of the compositions of this invention may be aqueous or oleaginous suspension. These suspensions may be formulated according to techniques known in the art using suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents. The sterile injectable preparation may also be a sterile injectable solution or suspension in a non-toxic parenterally acceptable diluent or solvent, for example as a solution in 1,3-butanediol. Among the acceptable vehicles and solvents that may be employed are water, Ringer's solution and isotonic sodium chloride solution. In addition, sterile, fixed oils are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium. For this purpose, any bland fixed oil may be employed including synthetic mono- or di-glycerides. Fatty acids, such as oleic acid and its glyceride derivatives are useful in the preparation of injectables, as are natural pharmaceutically-acceptable oils, such as olive oil or castor oil, especially in their polyoxyethylated versions. These oil solutions or suspensions may also contain a long-chain alcohol diluent or dispersant, such as carboxymethyl cellulose or similar dispersing agents which are commonly used in the formulation of pharmaceutically acceptable dosage forms including emulsions and suspensions. Other commonly used surfactants, such as Tweens, Spans and other emulsifying agents or bioavailability enhancers which are commonly used in the manufacture of pharmaceutically acceptable solid, liquid, or other dosage forms may also be used for the purposes of formulation. Compounds may be formulated for parenteral administration by injection such as by bolus injection or continuous infusion. A unit dosage form for injection may be in ampoules or in multi-dose containers.
The pharmaceutical compositions of this invention may be in any orally acceptable dosage form, including capsules, tablets, aqueous suspensions or solutions. In the case of tablets for oral use, carriers that are commonly used include lactose and corn starch. Lubricating agents, such as magnesium stearate, are also typically added. For a capsule form, useful diluents include lactose and dried cornstarch. When aqueous suspensions are required for oral use, the active ingredient is combined with emulsifying and suspending agents. If desired, certain sweetening, flavoring or coloring agents may also be added.
Alternatively, the pharmaceutical compositions of this invention may be in the form of suppositories for rectal administration. These may be prepared by mixing the agent with a suitable non-irritating excipient which is solid at room temperature but liquid at rectal temperature and therefore will melt in the rectum to release the drug. Such materials include cocoa butter, beeswax and polyethylene glycols.
The pharmaceutical compositions of this invention may also be in a topical form, especially when the target of treatment includes areas or organs readily accessible by topical application, including diseases of the eye, the skin, or the lower intestinal tract. Suitable topical formulations are readily prepared for each of these areas or organs.
Topical application for the lower intestinal tract may be effected in a rectal suppository formulation (see above) or in a suitable enema formulation. Topically-transdermal patches may also be used. For topical applications, the pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated in a suitable ointment containing the active component suspended or dissolved in one or more carriers. Carriers for topical administration of the compounds of this invention include, but are not limited to, mineral oil, liquid petrolatum, white petrolatum, propylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene compound, emulsifying wax and water. Alternatively, the pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated in a suitable lotion or cream containing the active components suspended or dissolved in one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. Suitable carriers include mineral oil, sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60, cetyl esters, wax, cetyl alcohol, 2-octyldodecanol, benzyl alcohol and water.
For ophthalmic use, the pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated as micronized suspensions in isotonic, pH adjusted sterile saline, or, preferably, as solutions in isotonic, pH adjusted sterile saline, either with our without a preservative, such as benzylalkonium chloride. Alternatively, for ophthalmic uses, the pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated in an ointment, such as petrolatum.
The pharmaceutical compositions of this invention may also be administered by nasal aerosol or inhalation. Such compositions are prepared according to techniques known in the art of pharmaceutical formulation and may be prepared as solutions in saline, employing benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives, absorption promoters to enhance bioavailability, fluorocarbons and/or other conventional solubilizing or dispersing agents.
Any of the above dosage forms containing effective amounts are within the bounds of routine experimentation and within the scope of the invention. A therapeutically effective dose may vary depending upon the route of administration and dosage form. The preferred compound or compounds of the invention is a formulation that exhibits a high therapeutic index. The therapeutic index is the dose ratio between toxic and therapeutic effects which can be expressed as the ratio between LD 50 and ED 50 . The LD 50 is the dose lethal to 50% of the population and the ED 50 is the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population. The LD 50 and ED 50 are determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in animal cell cultures or experimental animals.
Besides those representative dosage forms described above, pharmaceutically acceptable excipients and carriers and dosage forms are generally known to those skilled in the art and are included in the invention. It should be understood that a specific dosage and treatment regimen for any particular patient will depend upon a variety of factors, including the activity of the specific compound employed, the age, body weight, general health, sex and diet of the patient, and the time of administration, rate of excretion, drug combination, judgment of the treating physician and severity of the particular disease being treated. The amount of active ingredient(s) will also depend upon the particular compound and other therapeutic agent, if present, in the composition.
Methods of Use
The invention provides methods of inhibiting or decreasing Factor Xa activity as well as treating or ameliorating a Factor Xa associated state, symptom, disorder or disease in a patient in need thereof (e.g., human or non-human). “Treating” within the context of the invention means an alleviation of symptoms associated with a disorder or disease, or halt of further progression or worsening of those symptoms, or prevention or prophylaxis of the disease or disorder.
The term “mammal” includes organisms which express Factor Xa. Examples of mammals include mice, rats, cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, bears, monkeys, dogs, cats and, preferably, humans. Transgenic organisms which express Factor Xa are also included in this definition.
The inventive methods comprise administering an effective amount of a compound or composition described herein to a mammal or non-human animal. As used herein, “effective amount” of a compound or composition of the invention includes those amounts that antagonize or inhibit Factor Xa. An amount which antagonizes or inhibits Factor Xa is detectable, for example, by any assay capable of determining Factor Xa activity, including the one described below as an illustrative testing method. Effective amounts may also include those amounts which alleviate symptoms of a Factor Xa associated disorder treatable by inhibiting Factor Xa. Accordingly, “antagonists of Factor Xa” include compounds which interact with the Factor Xa and modulate, e.g., inhibit or decrease, the ability of a second compound, e.g., another Factor Xa ligand, to interact with the Factor Xa. The Factor Xa binding compounds are preferably antagonists of Factor Xa. The language “Factor Xa binding compound” (e.g., exhibits binding affinity to the receptor) includes those compounds which interact with Factor Xa resulting in modulation of the activity of Factor Xa. Factor Xa binding compounds may be identified using an in vitro (e.g., cell and non-cell based) or in vivo method. A description of an in vitro method is provided below.
The amount of compound present in the methods and compositions described herein should be sufficient to cause a detectable decrease in the severity of the disorder, as measured by any of the assays described in the examples. The amount of Factor Xa modulator needed will depend on the effectiveness of the modulator for the given cell type and the length of time required to treat the disorder. In certain embodiments, the compositions of this invention may further comprise another therapeutic agent. When a second agent is used, the second agent may be administered either as a separate dosage form or as part of a single dosage form with the compounds or compositions of this invention. While one or more of the inventive compounds can be used in an application of monotherapy to treat a disorder, disease or symptom, they also may be used in combination therapy, in which the use of an inventive compound or composition (therapeutic agent) is combined with the use of one or more other therapeutic agents for treating the same and/or other types of disorders, symptoms and diseases. Combination therapy includes administration of the two or more therapeutic agents concurrently or sequentially. The agents may be administered in any order. Alternatively, the multiple therapeutic agents can be combined into a single composition that can be administered to the patient. For instance, a single pharmaceutical composition could comprise the compound or pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate according to the formula I, another therapeutic agent (e.g., methotrexate) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier.
The invention comprises a compound having the formula I, a method for making an inventive compound, a method for making a pharmaceutical composition from at least one inventive compound and at least one pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, and a method of using one or more inventive compounds to treat a variety of disorders, symptoms and diseases (e.g., inflammatory, autoimmune, neurological, neurodegenerative, oncology and cardiovascular), such as RA, osteoarthritis, irritable bowel disease IBD, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD and MS. The inventive compounds and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and/or neutral compositions may be formulated together with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier and the resulting composition may be administered in vivo to mammals, such as men, women and animals, to treat a variety of disorders, symptoms and diseases. Furthermore, the inventive compounds can be used to prepare a medicament that is useful for treating a variety of disorders, symptoms and diseases.
Kits
Still another aspect of this invention is to provide a kit comprising separate containers in a single package, wherein the inventive pharmaceutical compounds, compositions and/or salts thereof are used in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers to treat states, disorders, symptoms and diseases where Factor Xa plays a role.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of N-Boc-glycine (1.75 g, 10.0 mmol) and 4-aminobenzonitrile (1.18 g, 10.0 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (10 mL), EDC (1.95 g, 10.2 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. The product was collected as a white precipitate by filtration (2.46 g). MS 276.1 (M+H) and 298.1 (M+Na).
To a solution of the nitrile compound (400 mg, 1.45 mmol) in pyridine (10 mL) and TEA (1.0 mL), H2S gas was bubbled until saturation was reached. The solution was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in acetone (8 mL). Iodomethane (0.903 mL, 14.5 mmol) was added. It was heated at reflux for 30 min, then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in MeOH (12 mL).To the solution, a pre-mixed N-methylethylenediamine (0.637 mL, 7.34 mmol) and HOAc (0.630 mL, 11.0 mmol) were added. The mixture was heated at reflux for 30 min. It was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give white powder (258 mg).
A solution of the N-Boc compound (110 mg, 0.331 mmol) in TFA (5 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. It was the concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in THF (4 mL). To the solution, 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (53 mg, 0.35 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (35 mg) MS 386.1 and 388.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 2
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-isopropyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of N-Boc-valine (DL, 217 mg, 1.00 mmol) and 4-aminobenzonitrile (118 mg, 1.00 mmol) in pyridine (5 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.186 mL, 2.00 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. EtOAc and H 2 O were added. The organic layer was separated, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (260 mg) MS 340.2 (M+Na).
To a solution of the nitrile compound (260 mg, 0.820 mmol) in anhydrous MeOH (5 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, HCl gas was bubbled through until saturation was reached. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in anhydrous MeOH (6 mL). To the solution, N-methylethylenediamine (0.360 mL, 4.10 mmol) was added. The mixture was heated at reflux for 2 h. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give an oil (90 mg). MS 275.2 (M+H).
To a solution of the oil (45 mg, 0.16 mmol) and TEA (0.050 mL, 0.36 mmol) in THF (4 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (33 mg, 0.21 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (20 mg). 428.2 and 430.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 3
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine
To a solution of 4-aminobenzonitrile (5.1 g, 43 mmol) in dry methanol (60 mL) at 0 C, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled through until saturation was reached. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in dry methanol (60 mL). To the solution, N-methyl ethylenediamine (19 mL, 216 mmol) was added. The mixture was then heated to reflux for 3 h. After being cooled in fridge overnight, the precipitated product was collected by filtration, then was dried on vacuum to give white solids (3.7 g). MS 176.0 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-tert-leucine (43 mg, 0.33 mmol) in DMF (2 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (50 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. To the reaction mixture, 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (150 mg, 0.86 mmol) and H 2 O (0.5 mL, to solubilize the amine) were added. To the solution, EDC (127 mg, 0.66 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (35 mg). MS 442.1 and 444.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 4
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2,2-dimethylpropyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-γ-methylleucine (48 mg, 0.33 mmol) in DMF (2 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (50 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. To the reaction mixture, 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (150 mg, 0.86 mmol) and H 2 O (0.5 mL, to solubilize the amine) were added. To the solution, EDC (127 mg, 0.66 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (77 mg). MS 456.2 and 458.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 5
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-phenylalanine (83 mg, 0.50 mmol) in DMF (6 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (77 mg, 0.50 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. To the reaction mixture, 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (180 mg, 1.02 mmol) and H 2 O (1 mL, to solubilize the amine) were added. To the solution, EDC (200 mg, 1.04 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (96 mg). MS 476.1 and 478.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 6
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-indol-3-ylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-tryptophan (102 mg, 0.50 mmol) in DMF (6 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (77 mg, 0.50 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. To the reaction mixture, 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (180 mg, 1.02 mmol) and H 2 O (1 mL, to solubilize the amine) were added. To the solution, EDC (200 mg, 1.04 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (200 mg). MS 515.2 and 517.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 7
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-imidazol-4-ylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-histidine (155 mg, 1.00 mmol) in 1N NaOH (5 mL), a solution of 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (173 mg, 1.13 mmol) in dioxane (5 mL) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (47 mg).
To a solution of the powder (45 mg, 0.15 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (51 mg, 0.29 mmol) in DMF (2 mL) and H 2 O (0.5 mL), EDC (112 mg, 0.58 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (10 mg). MS 466.2 and 468.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 8
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(1-methyl-indol-3-ylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-1-methyl-tryptophan (71 mg, 0.33 mmol) in DMF (4 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (50 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was filtered. To the filtrate, 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (150 mg, 0.86 mmol) and H 2 O (0.5 mL, to solubilize the amine) were added. To the solution, EDC (127 mg, 0.66 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (108 mg). MS 529.2 and 531.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 9
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-pyridin-3-yl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-3-pyridyl-aminoacetic acid hydrochloride (307 mg, 1.63 mmol) and DIEA (0.283 mL, 1.63 mmol) in DMF (10 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (253 mg, 1.65 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (155 mg). MS 306.0 and 308.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the powder (93 mg, 0.30 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (10-6 mg, 0.60 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (232 mg, 1.21 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (110 mg). MS 463.1 and 465.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 10
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 4-fluorophenyl glycine (288 mg, 1.70 mmol) in DMF (5 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (262 mg, 1.70 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (210 mg). MS 323.1 and 325.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the powder (52 mg, 0.16 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (64 mg, 0.37 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (64 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (28 mg). MS 480.1 and 482.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 11
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-fluorophenyl glycine (288 mg, 1.70 mmol) in DMF (8 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (262 mg, 1.70 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (150 mg). MS 323.1 and 325.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the powder (52 mg, 0.16 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (64 mg, 0.37 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (64 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 3 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (50 mg). MS 480.1 and 482.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 12
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-thienyl glycine (278 mg, 1.77 mmol) in DMF (8 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (270 mg, 1.76 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (110 mg). MS 311.0 and 313.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the powder (52 mg, 0.17 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (64 mg, 0.37 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (64 mg, 0.33 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 3 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (53 mg). MS 468.1 and 470.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 13
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(3-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 3-thienyl glycine (240 mg, 1.53 mmol) in DMF (5 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (234 mg, 1.52 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (170 mg).
To a solution of the powder (55 mg, 0.18 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (66 mg, 0.38 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (66 mg, 0.34 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 3 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (75 mg). MS 468.1 and 470.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 14
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2,2-diphenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of diphenyl glycine (353 mg, 1.56 mmol) in DMF (5 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (235 mg, 1.53 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH3CN (8 mL). When H 2 O (8 mL) was added, solids precipitated out as the desired product, which were collected by filtration (160 mg). MS 381.0 and 383.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the solid (100 mg, 0.262 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (92 mg, 0.53 mmol) in DMF (8 mL) and H 2 O (2 mL), EDC (197 mg, 1.03 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (25 mg). MS 538.3 and 540.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 15
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-1-cyclopropanecarboxamide
To a solution of 1-amino-1-cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (204 mg, 2.02 mmol) in 1N NaOH (6 mL), a solution of 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (465 mg, 3.03 mmol) in dioxane (5 mL) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. The mixture was washed with Et2O. The aqueous layer was separated, and acidified with 4N HCl to pH 1-2. The product was extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc solution was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , then concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (210 mg).
To a solution of the solid (51 mg, 0.20 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (69 mg, 0.40 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (151 mg, 0.79 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (10 mg). MS 412.24 and 414.15 (N+H, Cl pattern).
Example 16
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 10, starting from DL-phenyl glycine in the place of 4-fluorophenyl glycine. MS 462.1 and 464.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 17
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-fluorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 12, starting from 4-fluorophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 452.1 (M+H).
Example 18
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-ethynylphenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 12, starting from 4-ethynylphenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 458.1 (M+H).
4-Ethynylphenylisocyanate was prepared from reaction of 4-ethynylaniline with one equivalent of carbonyldiimidazole in CH 2 Cl 2 .
Example 19
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-thienyl glycine (785 mg, 5.00 mmol) in DMF (10 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (765 mg, 5.00 mmol) was added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 3 h. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (1.06 g).
To a solution of the powder (1.00 g, 3.23 mmol) and 4-aminobenzonitrile (0.380 g, 3.22 mmol) in DMF (10 mL), EDC (1.24 g, 6.46 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a solid (1.22 g). MS 411.0 and 413.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the nitrile compound (500 mg, 1.22 mmol) in pyridine (10 mL) and TEA (1.0 mL), H2S gas was bubbled until saturation was reached. The solution was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in acetone (8 mL). Iodomethane (0.380 mL, 6.10 mmol) was added. It was heated at reflux for 30 min, then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in MeOH (20 mL).To a fifth of the solution (4 mL, 0.24 mmol), a pre-mixed dimethylamine (2M in THF, 0.61 mL, 1.22 mmol) and HOAc (0.11 mL, 1.92 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (25 mg). MS 456.1 and 458.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 20
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.24 mmol) from Example 19, a pre-mixed N-methyl-N-ethylamine (0.11 mL, 1.28 mmol) and HOAc (0.11 mL, 1.92 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (8 mg). MS 470.1 and 472.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 21
N-[4-(pyrrolidinylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.24 mmol) from Example 19, a pre-mixed pyrrolidine (0.11 mL, 1.32 mmol) and HOAc (0.11 mL, 1.92 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (24 mg). MS 482.1 and 484.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 22
N-[4-(piperidinylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.24 mmol) from Example 19, a pre-mixed piperidine (0.12 mL, 1.21 mmol) and HOAc (0.11 mL, 1.92 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (21 mg). MS 496.1 and 498.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 23
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenyl glycine in the place of 2-thienyl glycine. MS 450.2 and 452.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 24
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenyl glycine in the place of 2-thienyl glycine, and using N-methyl-N-ethylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 464.1 and 466.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 25
N-[4-(methylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenylglycine in the place of 2-thienylglycine, and using methylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 436.1 and 438.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 26
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-allylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenylglycine in the place of 2-thienylglycine, and using N-methyl-N-allylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 476.2 and 478.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 27
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-propargylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenylglycine in the place of 2-thienylglycine, and using N-methyl-N-propargylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 474.2 and 476.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 28
N-[4-(azetidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenylglycine in the place of 2-thienylglycine, and using azetidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 462.1 and 464.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 29
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 19, starting from phenylglycine in the place of 2-thienylglycine, and using pyrrolidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 476.2 and 478.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 30
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-thienyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 12, starting from 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 512.0 and 514.0 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 31
(2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 10, starting from L-phenylglycine in the place of 4-fluorophenyl glycine. MS 462.1 and 464.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 32
(2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 10, starting from D-phenylglycine in the place of 4-fluorophenyl glycine. MS 462.1 and 464.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 33
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-amino-3-fluoro-benzonitrile
A mixture of 2-fluoro-4-iodoaniline (10.0 g, 42.2 mmol) and CuCN (7.56 g, 84.4 mmol) in DMF (40 mL) was heated at reflux for 5 h. After being cooled down, EtOAc and 1N HCl were added. The mixture was filtered through celite. The organic phase was separated, washed sequentially with 1N HCl and brine. It was then dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a brown solid (5.69 g), which was pure enough for the next step. MS 137.1 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of DL-phenylglycine (2.51 g, 10.0 mmol) and 4-amino-3-fluoro-benzonitrile (1.36 g, 10.0 mmol) in pyridine (25 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (2.30 mL, 25.0 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred for 3 h. EtOAc and H 2 O were added. The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (3.15 g), which was pure enough for the next step.
To a solution of the solid (1.50 g, 4.06 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (10 mL), TFA (6 mL) was added. After it was stirred for 30 min, it was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in THF (15 mL). To the solution, TEA (1.09 mL, 7.84 mmol) was added, followed by addition of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (0.626 g, 4.07 mmol). After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (0.842 g). MS 423.1 (M+H) and 445.1 (M+Na).
To a solution of the powder (0.842 g, 1.99 mmol) in pyridine (10 mL) and TEA (1.0 mL), H 2 S gas was bubbled until saturation was reached. The solution was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in acetone (10 mL). Iodomethane (0.620 mL, 9.95 mmol) was added. It was heated at reflux for 30 min, then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in MeOH (28 mL).To a seventh of the solution (4 mL, 0.284 mmol), a pre-mixed dimethylamine (2M in THF, 0.713 mL, 1.42 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give white powder (15 mg). MS 468.2 and 470.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 34
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-ethylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from Example 33, a pre-mixed N-methyl-N-ethylamine (0.123 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (21 mg). MS 482.2 and 484.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 35
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-allylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from Example 33, a pre-mixed N-methyl-N-allylamine (0.136 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (9 mg). MS 494.2 and 496.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 36
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-propargylaminoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from EXAMPLE 33, a pre-mixed N-methyl-N-propargylamine (0.119 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (21 mg). MS 492.2 and 494.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 37
N-(4-methylaminoimino-2-fluorophenyl)-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from EXAMPLE 33, a pre-mixed methylamine (2M in THF, 0.713 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (18 mg). MS 454.1 and 456.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 38
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from EXAMPLE 33, a pre-mixed pyrrolidine (0.119 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (17 mg). MS 494.1 and 496.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 39
N-[4-(azetidin-1-ylimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.284 mmol) from EXAMPLE 33, a pre-mixed azetidine (0.096 mL, 1.43 mmol) and HOAc (0.122 mL, 2.14 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (24 mg). MS 480.1 and 482.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 40
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 11, using 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 524.0 and 526.0 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 41
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-fluorophenylglycine (0.592 g, 3.50 mmol) in DMF (10 mL), 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (0.540 g, 3.52 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. To the solution, 4-aminobenzonitrile (0.418 g, 3.54 mmol) was added, followed by addition of EDC (0.803 g, 4.19 mmol). After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a flash silica gel column using EtOAc/Hexanes (10-20% EtOAc) as eluents to give a solid (0.260 g). MS 445.0 and 447.0 (M+Na, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the solid (260 mg, 0.615 mmol) in pyridine (8 mL) and TEA (0.8 mL), H 2 S gas was bubbled until saturation was reached. The solution was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in acetone (10 mL). Iodomethane (0.383 mL, 6.15 mmol) was added. It was heated at reflux for 30 min, then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in MeOH (12 mL).To one third of the solution (4 mL, 0.205 mmol), a pre-mixed pyrrolidine and 1.5 eq. HOAc (0.5 M in THF, 2.0 mL, 1.0 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give white powder (42 mg). MS 494.1 and 496.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 42
N-[4-(piperidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.205 mmol) from EXAMPLE 42, a pre-mixed piperidine and 1.5 eq. HOAc (0.5 M in THF, 2.0 mL, 1.0 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give white powder (28 mg). MS 508.1 and 510.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 43
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.205 mmol) from EXAMPLE 42, a pre-mixed dimethylamine and 1.5 eq. HOAc (0.5 M in THF, 2.0 mL, 1.0 mmol) were added. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give white powder (43 mg). MS 468.1 and 470.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 44
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 41, using 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 538.0 and 540.0 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 45
N-[4-(piperidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 42, using 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 552.0 and 554.0 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 46
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 43, using 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 512 and 514 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 47
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 33, starting from DL-2-fluorophenylglycine in the place of DL-phenylglycine, and using pyrrolidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 512.0 and 514.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 48
N-[4-(2,2-dimethylhydrazinoimino)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 33, starting from DL-2-fluorophenylglycine in the place of DL-phenylglycine, and using N,N-dimethylhydrazine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 501.1 and 503.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 49
N-[4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenylamine
To a solution of 4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)aniline (1.33 g, 6.07 mmol) in toluene (20 mL) and n-butanol (7 mL), a solution of 4-bromopyridine hydrochloride (0.608 g, 3.13 mmol) and Cs 2 CO 3 (3.0-6 g, 9.39 mmol) in H 2 O (15 mL) was added. The mixture was degassed three times with Ar/vacuum cycle before being charged with Pd(Ph 3 P) 4 (0.270 g, 0.230 mmol, 7% mol). It was then heated at reflux under Ar overnight. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool at room temperature, and then in an ice-bath. The precipitates were collected, dried on vacuum to give a solid (0.420 g). MS 171.0 (M+H)
B. Preparation of N-[4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-fluorophenylglycine (0.157 g, 0.930 mmol) in DMF (4 mL), 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (0.143 g, 0.930 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. To the solution, 4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenylamine (0.150 g, 0.880 mmol) was added, followed by addition of EDC (0.339 g, 1.77 mmol). The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH 3 CN. H 2 O was then added to induce precipitation. The precipitates were collected by filtration (0.215 g). MS 475.1 and 477.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 50
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of N-[4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLE 49, 210 mg, 0.442 mmol) in acetone (10 mL), mCPBA (ca.70%, 650 mg, 2.63 mmol) was added. After the mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight, it was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (115 mg). MS 491.1 and 493.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 51
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-fluorophenylglycine (79 mg, 0.466 mmol) in DMF (4 mL), 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (72 mg, 0.466 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. To the solution, a solution of 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride (104 mg, 0.466 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (2 mL) was added, followed by addition of EDC (135 mg, 0.704 mmol). The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a powder (25 mg). MS 491.0 and 493.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 52
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was analogously prepared as described in EXAMPLE 51, using 4-bromophenylisocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 535.0 and 537.0 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 53
N-(piperidin-4-ylmethyl)-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-fluorophenylglycine (59 mg, 0.35 mmol) in DMF (4 mL), 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (54 mg, 0.35 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. To the solution, a solution of N-BOC-aminomethylpiperidine hydrochloride (105 mg, 0.42 mmol) and TEA (0.150 mL, 1.08 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) was added, followed by addition of BOP (239 mg, 0.54 mmol). The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. EtOAc and H 2 O were added. The organic layer was separated, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo.
The residue was dissolved in TFA (5 mL). After being stirred for 1 h, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (100 mg). MS 419.1 and 421.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 54
N-[(N-acetimidyl-piperidin-4-yl)methyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A solution of N-(piperidin-4-ylmethyl)-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLE 53, 70 mg, 0.17 mmol), ethyl acetimidate hydrochloride (40 mg, 0.32 mmol) and TEA (0.070 mL, 0.50 mmol) in EtOH (3 mL) was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (37 mg). MS 460.1 and 462.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 55
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenylamine
To a solution of 2-dimethylaminomethyl-bromobenzene (588 mg, 2.75 mmol) and 4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)aniline (560 mg, 2.56 mmol) in toluene (10 mL) and n-BuOH (3 mL), Cs 2 CO 3 (2.50 g, 7.67 mmol) in H 2 O (5 mL) was added, followed by addition of Pd(Ph 3 P) 4 (200 mg, 0.17 mmol, 6%). The mixture was then heated at reflux for 4 h. EtOAc and H 2 O were added. The organic layer was separated, filtered, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a silica gel flash column using 50% EtOAc/hexanes (containing 1% TEA) as eluent to give a solid (300 mg). MS 182.0 (M—Me2N).
B. 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid
A mixture of 2-fluorophenylglycine (1.18 g, 6.98 mmol) and 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (1.10 g, 7.16 mmol) in DMF (20 mL) was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white solid (1.60 g).
C. Preparation of N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (60 mg, 0.19 mmol) and 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenylamine (50 mg, 0.22 mmol) in pyridine (3 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.034 mL, 0.37 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (8 mg). MS 531.1 and 533.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 56
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluoro-phenylamine
To a solution of 2-dimethylaminomethyl-bromobenzene (1.93 g, 9.02 mmol) and 4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)aniline (4.42 g, 18.6 mmol) in toluene (40 mL) and n-BuOH (10 mL), Cs 2 CO 3 (8.80 g, 27.0 mmol) in H 2 O (20 mL) was added, followed by addition of Pd(Ph 3 P) 4 (0.556 g, 0.480 mmol). The mixture was then heated at reflux overnight. EtOAc and H 2 O were added. The organic layer was separated, filtered, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a silica gel flash column using 50% EtOAc/hexanes (containing 1% TEA) as eluent to give an oil (0.537 g). MS 245.1 (M+H).
B. Preparation of N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 55, 90 mg, 0.28 mmol) and 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluoro-phenylamine (80 mg, 0.33 mmol) in pyridine (3 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.050 mL, 0.55 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (38 mg). MS 549.1 and 551.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 57
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 56, using 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-bromophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 593.0 and 595.1 (M+H, Br pattern).
Example 58
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenylamine
To suspension of 2-imidazolecarboxaldehyde (1.06 g, 11.0 mmol) and dimethylamine (2M in THF, 7 mL, 14 mmol) in MeOH (10 mL) and HOAc (7 mL), NaBH 3 CN (1.04 g, 16.5 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight, during which time the suspension became clear. The solution was concentrated in vacuo, and the residue was partitioned between 1N NaOH and nBuOH. The nBuOH solution was separated, concentrated in vacuo to give gum-like residue (0.89 g), which was pure enough for the next reaction. MS 126.1 (M+H)
A suspension of the residue (0.790 g, 6.32 mmol), 2-fluoro-4-iodoaniline (1.24 g, 5.23 mmol), K 2 CO 3 (0.794 g, 5.75 mmol) and 8-hydroxyquinoline (114 mg, 0.786 mmol) in DMSO (20 mL) was degassed with vacuum/Ar cycle (3×), before being charged with CuI (170 mg, 0.895 mmol). The mixture was then heated at 130 C overnight. EtOAc and 14% NH 4 OH were added. The organic layer was separated, filtered, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give an oil, which was then dissolved in EtOAc. The EtOAc solution was washed with sat. NaHCO 3 to remove TFA, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (0.32 g). MS 235.1 (M+H) and 190.0 (M—Me 2 N).
B. Preparation of N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 55, 62 mg, 0.19 mmol) and 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenylamine (45 mg, 0.19 mmol) in pyridine (3 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.035 mL, 0.38 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (19 mg). MS 539.1 and 541.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 59
2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxy-carbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A mixture of L-aspartic acid γ-benzyl ester (327 mg, 1.47 mmol) and 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (230 mg, 1.50 mmol) in DMF (12 mL) was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then filtered. A small portion of the filtrate (2 mL, 0.20 mmol) was taken to mix with 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (from EXAMPLE 3, 70 mg, 0.40 mmol) and H 2 O (0.5 mL). To the resulted solution, EDC (77 mg, 0.40 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (85 mg). MS 534.1 and 536.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 60
(2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of (2S) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxycarbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLE 59, 60 mg, 0.11 mmol) in MeOH (3 mL) at room temperature, 1N aq. NaOH (0.50 mL) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue (after being neutralized to acidic with TFA) was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (26 mg). MS
Example 61
(2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxycarbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 59, using D-aspartic acid γ-benzyl ester in the place of the L-isomer. MS 534.1 and 546.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 62
(2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 60, using (2R) N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-benzyloxycarbonylmethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide in the place of the S isomer.
Example 63
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-dimethylaminocarbonylmethyl -2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 1:1 mixture of the R and S isomers of N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLEs 60 and 62, 45 mg, 0.10 mmol) and dimethylamine (2N in THF, 0.25 mL, 0.50 mmol) in DMF (2 mL), BOP (100 mg, 0.22 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (25 mg). MS 471.1 and 473.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 64
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(piperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using piperidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 511.1 and 513.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 65
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(morpholin-4-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using morpholine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 513.2 and 515.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 66
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using pyrrolidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 497.2 and 499.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 67
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-[4-ethoxycarbonyl-piperidin-1-yl)carbonylmethyl]-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using ethyl isonipecotate in the place of dimethylamine. MS 583.2 and 585.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 68
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(homopiperidin-1-ylcarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using homopiperidine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 525.2 and 527.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 69
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(benzylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using benzylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 533.2 and 535.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 70
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(methylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using methylamine in the place of dimethylamine. MS 457.1 and 459.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 71
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(aminocarbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 63, using ammonia in the place of dimethylamine. MS 443.1 and 445.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 72
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-succinimide
The titled compound was prepared by surprise during an attempted synthesis of N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(phenylamino carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide, which was not obtained by the following procedure. However, it was synthesized by the procedure described in EXAMPLE 73.
To a solution of 1:1 mixture of the R and S isomers of N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLEs 60 and 62, 45 mg, 0.10 mmol), aniline hydrochloride (65 mg, 0.50 mmol) and TEA (0.10 mL, 0.72 mmol) in DMF (2 mL), BOP (100 mg, 0.22 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the cyclized compound as a powder (30 mg). MS 426.1 and 428.1 (M+H, Cl pattern). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CD 3 OD) δ 7.79 (d, 9 Hz, 2H), 7.68 (d, 9 Hz, 2H), 7.33 (d, 11 Hz, 2H), 7.21 (d, 11 Hz, 2H), 4.60-4.50 (m, 1H), 4.18-4.05 (m, 2H), 4.05-3.95 (m, 2H), 3.30-3.10 (m, 1H), 3.15 (s, 3H), 2.96-2.88 (M, 1H).
Example 73
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(phenylamino-carbonylmethyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 1:1 mixture of the R and S isomers of N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-carboxymethyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (from EXAMPLEs 60 and 62, 45 mg, 0.10 mmol) and aniline hydrochloride (28 mg, 0.22 mmol) in pyridine (2 mL) cooled in an ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.040 mL, 0.44 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to the titled compound as a powder (12 mg). MS 519.1 and 521.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 74
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of NaCN (349 mg, 7.12 mmol) in H 2 O (15 mL), was added a solution of 3-chlorobenzaldehyde (0.807 mL, 7.12 mmol), 4-methoxybenzylamine (0.929 mL, 7.12 mmol) and conc. HCl (0.593 mL, 7.12 mmol) in MeOH (15 mL). The mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 48 h. The white precipitates were collected by filtration (2.0 g).
A suspension of the white solid (1.00 g, 3.49 mmol) in 6N HCl (16 mL) was heated at reflux overnight. The reaction mixture was then filtered. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give the 3-chlorophenylglycine as a solid (0.44 g). MS 186.0 and 188.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
A solution of 3-chlorophenylglycine (240 mg, 1.29 mmol) and 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (244 mg, 1.59 mmol) in DMF (5 mL) was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to the urea acid as a white powder (55 mg).
To a solution of the powder (45 mg, 0.13 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (from EXAMPLE 3, 35 mg, 0.20 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (0.5 mL), EDC (84 mg, 0.44 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the tilted compound as a white powder (23 mg). MS 496.1 and 498.1 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 75
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 74, starting with 2-chlorobenzaldehyde in the place of 3-chlorobenzaldehyde. MS 496.1 and 498.1 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 76
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(benzo-1,3-dioxl-5-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 74, starting with piperonal in the place of 3-chlorobenzaldehyde. MS 506.1 and 508.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 77
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid
An improved Strecker synthesis procedure was used to prepare the required 2-bromophenylglycine (ref: Mai, K & Patil, G., Tetra. Lett. 25, 4583, 1984).
A mixture of 2-bromobenzaldehyde (1.00 mL, 8.57 mmol), trimethylsilyl cyanide (1.42 mL, 10.7 mmol) and catalytic amount of ZnI2 (ca.10 mg) was stirred at room temperature for 2 h. A solution of methanolic ammonia (ca.7 N, 6.0 mL, 42 mmol) was added. The mixture was then warmed to 40 C and stirred at that temperature for 3 h. The mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was taken up in ether (40 mL). The solution was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and then filtered. To the filtrate, 4N HCl in dioxane (2 mL) was added. The precipitated product was collected as brownish gum-like oil (0.90 g). MS 211.0 and 212.9 (M+H, Br pattern).
A mixture of the oil (0.890 g, 3.60 mmol) in 6N HCl (15 mL) was heated at reflux for 3 h. It was then concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (0.905 g).
A solution of the solid (0.900 g, 3.38 mmol) and 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (0.690 g, 4.49 mmol) in DMF (15 mL) was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the reaction mixture was purified by HPLC to give the urea acid as a powder (0.680 g). MS 382.9 and 385.0 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
B. N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of the urea acid (77 mg, 0.20 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (from EXAMPLE 3, 70 mg, 0.40 mmol) in DMF (5 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (78 mg, 0.40 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (110 mg). MS 540.0 and 542.0 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 78
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLEs 49 and 50, starting from 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(pyridine-4-yl)phenylamine. MS 551.0, 552.0, 553.0 and 554.0 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 79
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in EXAMPLE 51, using 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 551.0 and 553.0 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 80
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenylamine
To a solution of 4-aminobenzonitrile (5.1 g, 43 mmol) in dry methanol (70 mL) at 0 C, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled through until saturation was reached. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was suspended in dry methanol (80 mL). To the solution, dimethylamine (2M in THF, 120 mL, 240 mmol) was added. The mixture was then heated to reflux for 30 min, during which time the mixture became clear. It was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in methanol (140 mL). To the solution, Et 2 O (140 mL) was added. After being cooled in fridge overnight, the precipitated product was collected by filtration. It was then dried on vacuum to give white solids (5.6 g). MS 164 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 77, 60 mg, 0.16 mmol) and 4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenylamine (51 mg, 0.31 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (120 mg, 0.62 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (40 mg). MS 528.2 and 530.2 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 81
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenylamine
To a solution of 4-aminobenzonitrile (5.1 g, 43 mmol) in dry methanol (70 mL) at 0 C, hydrogen chloride gas was bubbled through until saturation was reached. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was suspended in dry methanol (80 mL). To the solution, pyrrolidine (22 mL, 264 mmol) was added. The mixture was then heated to reflux for 30 min, during which time the mixture became clear. It was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in methanol (90 mL). To the solution, Et 2 O (170 mL) was added. After being cooled in fridge overnight, the precipitated product was collected by filtration. It was then dried on vacuum to give white solids (4.5 g). MS 190 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 77, 60 mg, 0.16 mmol) and 4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenylamine (60 mg, 0.31 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (120 mg, 0.62 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (70 mg). MS 554.2 and 556.2 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 82
N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 1-isopropyl-4-aminopiperidine
To a solution of 4-N-Boc-aminopiperidine (1.50 g, 7.49 mmol) and acetone (2.8 mL, 37.5 mmol) in MeOH (10 mL) and HOAc (0.5 mL), NaBH 3 CN (1.89 g, 15.0 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 6 h. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a flash column using MeOH/CH 2 Cl 2 /NH 3 (5/95/1) as eluents to afford an off-white solid (1.5 g). MS 244.4 (M+H)
The solid (1.0 g, 4.1 mmol) was dissolved in 4 N HCl in dioxane (10 mL). The solution was stirred at room temperature for 3 h. It was then concentrated in vacuo to give the desired product as hydrochloride salt (0.71 g).
B. Preparation of N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenyl-aminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 77, 60 mg, 0.16 mmol), 1-isopropyl-4-aminopiperidine (60 mg, 0.31 mmol) and TEA (0.087 mL, 0.62 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), BOP (103 mg, 0.23 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (63 mg). MS 507.1 and 509.1 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 83
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 77, 30 mg, 0.078 mmol), 1-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazine (purchased from Oakwood products, 21 mg, 0.11 mmol) and TEA (0.0-44 mL, 0.31 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), BOP (69 mg, 0.16 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 1 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (39 mg). MS 548.3 and 550.3 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 84
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 77, using o-tolualdehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 476.1 and 478.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 85
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-imidazol-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 58, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 535.4 and 537.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 86
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 80, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 464.4 and 466.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 87
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 81, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 490.4 and 492.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 88
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in EXAMPLE 51, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4 -(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 487.1 and 489.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 89
N-[4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in EXAMPLE 55, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenyl)phenylamine MS 527.7 and 529.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 90
N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in EXAMPLE 82, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 1-isopropyl-4-aminopiperidine. MS 443.2 and 445.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 91
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in EXAMPLE 83, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 484.6 and 486.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 92
N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenylamine
A mixture of 1-fluoro-4-nitrobenzene (1.00 g, 7.09 mmol), 1-methylhomopiperazine (0.882 mL, 7.09 mmol) and K 2 CO 3 (1.96 g, 14.2 mmol) in DMF (8 mL) was heated at 100 C for 7 h. After cooling to room temperature, H 2 O and EtOAc were added. The organic layer was separated, dried over MgSO 4 , and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was diluted with H 2 O, and acidified with 4N HCl to pH=1-2. The aqueous solution was then washed with EtOAc, neutralized with 5 N NaOH to pH=9. The aqueous solution was concentrated in vacuo. The product in the residue was taken up in MeOH. The insoluble inorganic salt was filtered off, the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (0.88 g). MS 236.1 (M+H)
A mixture of the solid (0.80 g, 3.4 mmol) and Pd—C (5%, 0.080 g) in MeOH (10 mL) was stirred under balloon H 2 overnight. It was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give the desired product as an oil (0.59 g).
B. N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 84, 40 mg, 0.13 mmol) and 4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenylamine (61 mg, 0.25 mmol) in DMF (3 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (96 mg, 0.50 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (25 mg). MS 506.2 and 508.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 93
N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidinyl]methylamine hydrochloride
To a solution of 4-N-Boc-aminomethyl piperidine (1.32 g, 6.17 mmol) and sodium t-butoxide (0.741 g, 7.71 mmol) in dioxane (10 mL), 4-bromopyridine hydrochloride (1.00 g, 5.14 mmol) in H 2 O (2 mL) was added, then Pd2 (dba)3 (47 mg, 0.05 mmol) and BINAP (96 mg, 0.15 mmol) were added. The mixture was stirred at 80 C for 8 h. The mixture was filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the desired product (1.2 g).
Alternatively, a mixture of 4-N-Boc-aminomethyl piperidine (132 mg, 0.617 mmol), 4-bromopyridine hydrochloride (100 mg, 0.514 mmol) and K 2 CO 3 (142 mg, 1.03 mmol) in DMF (5 mL) was heated at 80 C overnight. A clean product was also obtained.
The product (120 mg) was dissolved in 4 N HCl in dioxane (3 mL). The solution was stirred at room temperature for 2 h. It was then concentrated in vacuo to give the titled compound (100 mg). MS 192.3 (M+H).
B. Preparation of N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from EXAMPLE 84, 30 mg, 0.094 mmol), 4-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidinyl]methylamine hydrochloride (36 mg, 0.19 mmol) and TEA (0.052 mL, 0.37 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), BOP (62 mg, 0.14 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a powder (15 mg). MS 492.4 and 494.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 94
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(pyrrolidinylcarbonyl)phenylamine hydrochloride
To a suspension of 4-nitrobenzoyl chloride (18.5 g, 100 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (200 mL) cooled in ice-bath, a solution of pyrrolidine (8.30 mL, 100 mmol) and TEA (28.0 mL, 200 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (50 mL) was added dropwise. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the reaction solution was washed sequentially with sat. NaHCO 3 , H 2 O, 1N HCl, H 2 O, dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (15 g), which was pure enough for the next reaction.
A mixture of the solid (10 g, 45 mmol) and Pd—C (10%, 0.80 g) in MeOH (200 mL) containing 4N HCl (12 mL) was hydrogenated under 50 psi on a Parr shaker overnight. It was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give the titled compound as a solid. MS 191.1 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (50 mg, 0.16 mmol) and 4-(pyrrolidinylcarbonyl)phenylamine hydrochloride (43 mg, 0.19 mmol) in pyridine (3 mL) cooled in ice-bath, POCl 3 (0.028 mL, 0.31 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (15 mg). MS 491.4 and 493.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 95
N-[4-(3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 3-morpholinone
NaH (60%, 3.2 g, 80 mmol) in a flask was washed with hexane. To the flask cooled in an ice-bath, a solution of ethanolamine (4.4 mL, 73 mmol) in dioxane (40 mL) was added. The mixture was heated at reflux for 10 min until no H 2 gas evolved. The thick slurry was then cooled in an ice-bath, and a solution of ethyl chloroacetate (8.9 g, 73 mmol) in dioxane (15 mL) was added. The reaction mixture was heated at reflux for 1 h. It was then filtered. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give an oil, which was purified by a short flash column, eluted with EtOAc/MeOH (95/5) to give a white solid (1.9 g).
B. Preparation of 4-(3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl)phenylamine
To a blue solution of 3-morpholinone (250 mg, 2.48 mmol), 4-iodoaniline (650 mg, 2.97 mmol), CuI (47 mg, 0.25 mmol) and N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (0.040 mL, 0.372 mmol) in dioxane (5 mL) in a pressure bottle, K 2 CO 3 (683 mg, 4.95 mmol) was added. The mixture was heated at 110 C overnight. After being cooled to room temperature, the crude dark solution was loaded to two preparative TLC plates, eluted with EtOAc/MeOH (95/5) to give the desired product as off-white solid (240 mg). MS 193.1 (M+H).
C. Preparation of N-[4-(3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (26 mg, 0.082 mmol) and 4-(3-oxo-morpholin-4-yl)phenylamine (23 mg, 0.12 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), EDC (39 mg, 0.20 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (27 mg). MS 493.2 and 495.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 96
N-[4-(N-methyl-N-pyridin-4-yl-amino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(N-methyl-N-pyridin-4-yl-amino)phenylamine
A mixture of 4-methylaminopyridine (427 mg, 3.95 mmol), 1-fluoro-nitrobenzene (0.472 mL, 4.45 mmol) and Cs 2 CO 3 (2.0 g, 6.1 mmol) in DMF (9 mL) was heated at 80 C for 3 h. It was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give an oil (230 mg). MS 230.0 (M+H).
A mixture of the oil (110 mg, 0.480 mmol) and Pd—C (5%, 35 mg) in MeOH (5 mL) was stirred under balloon H 2 for 4 h. It was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give the titled compound (94 mg). MS 200.2 (M+H).
B. Preparation of N-[4-(N-methyl-N-pyridin-4-yl-amino)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (53 mg, 0.17 mmol) and 4-(N-methyl-N-pyridin-4-yl-amino)phenylamine (47 mg, 0.24 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), EDC (73 mg, 0.38 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (28 mg). MS 500.2 and 502.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 97
N-[4-(thiazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(thiazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenylamine
To a suspension of 4-nitrobenzoic acid (1.00 g, 5.99 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (15 mL) and DMF (4 drops) at room temperature, oxalyl chloride (0.628 mL, 7.19 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was then stirred for 4 h, during which time the suspension became clear. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 (15 mL). To the solution, thiazolidine (0.471 mL, 5.99 mmol) and TEA (1.67 mL, 12.0 mmol) were added. It was stirred overnight. The CH 2 Cl 2 solution was washed with 1N HCl, H 2 O, and sat. NaHCO 3 , then dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give an oil (1.12 g).
A mixture of the oil (1.12 g, 4.71 mmol) and Pd—C (5%, 180 mg) in CH 2 Cl 2 (5 mL) and MeOH (10 mL) containing TFA (5 drops) was hydrogenated at 45 psi on a Parr shaker for 3 days. The mixture was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. One half of the residue was purified by HPLC to give an oil (151 mg). MS 209.0 (M+H) and 231.0 (M+Na).
B. Preparation of N-[4-(thiazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (46 mg, 0.14 mmol) and 4-(thiazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenylamine (30 mg, 0.14 mmol) in DMF (2 mL), EDC (54 mg, 0.28 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (15 mg). MS 509.2 and 511.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 98
N-[4-(oxazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 4-(oxazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenylamine
To a suspension of 4-nitrobenzoic acid (2.00 g, 12.0 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (30 mL) and DMF (5 drops) at room temperature, oxalyl chloride (1.25 mL, 14.3 mmol) was added. It was then stirred overnight. The solution was concentrated in vacuo.
To a solution of ethanolamine (0.866 mL, 14.3 mmol) and TEA (3.9 mL, 28.0 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (15 mL) at room temperature, a solution of the acid chloride (12 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (8 mL) was added. After being stirred for 1 h, the reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo. One third of the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white solid (0.62 g). MS 211.0 (M+H).
A mixture of the solid (230 mg, 1.10 mmol), dimethoxymethane (0.58 mL, 6.6 mmol) and P 2 O 5 (600 mg, 4.23 mmol) in CHCl 3 (5 mL) was heated at 70 C for 4 h. CHCl 3 and 1 N HCl were added. The CHCl 3 solution was separated, washed with brine, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give an oil (138 mg). MS 223.0 (M+H).
A mixture of the oil (138 mg) and Pd—C (5%, 33 mg) in MeOH (5 mL) was stirred under balloon H 2 overnight. It was then filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give titled compound as an oil (105 mg). MS 193.0 (M+H).
B. N-[4-(oxazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (44 mg, 0.14 mmol) and 4-(oxazolidin-3-ylcarbonyl)phenylamine (25 mg, 0.13 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), EDC (75 mg, 0.39 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (20 mg). MS 493.2 and 495.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 99
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was analogously prepared as described in Example 51, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 507.1, 508.1, 509.1 and 510.1 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 100
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 80, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 484.5, 485.6, 486.5 and 487.6 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 101
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 81, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 510.6, 511.6, 512.6 and 513.6 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 102
N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 92, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 526.2, 527.2, 528.2 and 529.2 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 103
N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 82, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 1-isopropyl-4-aminopiperidine. MS 463.1, 464.1, 465.1 and 466.1 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 104
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 83, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 504.4, 505.4, 506.4 and 507.4 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 105
N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 93, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 512.3, 513.3, 514.3 and 515.3 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 106
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using o-anisaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 492.1 and 494.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 107
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 503.1 and 505.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 108
N-[1-(pyridin-4-yl)piperidin-4-yl]methyl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 93, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 508.4 and 510.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 109
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 83, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 500.4 and 502.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 110
N-(1-isopropylpiperidin-4-yl)-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 82, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 1-isopropyl-4-aminopiperidine. MS 460.2 and 462.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 111
N-[4-(4-methyl-homopiperazinyl)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 92, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 522.2 and 524.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 112
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 80, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 480.3 and 482.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 113
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 81, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 506.4 and 508.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 114
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using 2-iodobenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 588.5 and 590.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 115
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylamino-carbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 599.5 and 601.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 116
N-[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 80, using 2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 576.2 and 578.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 117
N-[4-(pyrrolidin-1-ylimino)phenyl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 81, using 2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 602.2 and 604.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 118
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 83, using 2-(2-iodophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 596.3 and 598.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 119
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(4-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using 4-bromobenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 540.5 and 542.5 (M+H, Cl+Br pattern).
Example 120
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using 2-trifluoromethoxybenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 546.6 and 548.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 121
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(2-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 557.6 and 559.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 122
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in EXAMPLE 77, using 2-trifluoromethylthiobenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 562.6 and 564.6(M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 123
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-trifluoromethylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(2-trifluoromethylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 573.5 and 575.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 124
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-phenoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using 2-phenoxybenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde. MS 554.7 and 556.7 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 125
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-phenoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(2-phenoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 565.6 and 567.6 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 126
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(2-methylthiophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 77, using 2-methylthiobenzaldehyde in the place of 2-bromobenzaldehyde, and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride in the place of 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine. MS 519.1 and 521.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 127
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 83, using 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from Example 55) in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 488.2 and 490.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 128
N-[4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 83, using 2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from Example 16) in the place of 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 470.2 and 472.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 129
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-propargyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as described in Example 59, using DL-propargylglycine in the place of L-aspartic acid γ-benzyl ester. MS 424.1 and 426.1 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 130
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. 2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid
To a mixture of N-(diphenylmethylene)glycine t-butyl ester (300 mg, 1.02 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (4 mL) and aq. 5N NaOH (4 mL), 1-bromo-2-butyne (0.107 mL, 1.22 mmol) was added, followed by addition of tetrabutylammonium bromide (164 mg, 0.508 mmol). After being stirred at room temperature overnight, H 2 O and CH 2 Cl 2 were added. The CH 2 Cl 2 layer was separated, dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (330 mg), which was pure enough for the next step.
A mixture of the solid (330 mg, 0.950 mmol) in CHCl 3 (10 mL) and aq. 5N HCl (10 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 3 h. H 2 O (20 mL) was added. The aqueous layer was separated, washed with CHCl 3 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (110 mg), which was pure enough for the next step. MS 128.2 (M+H).
To a solution of the solid (110 mg, 0.866 mmol) in 1N aq. NaOH (3 mL), a solution of 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (200 mg, 1.30 mmol) in dioxane (3 mL) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 h. H 2 O (20 mL) was added. The aqueous layer was washed with Et 2 O, acidified with 4N HCl to pH 1-2. The product was extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc solution was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the urea acid as a white powder (207 mg). MS 303.3 and 305.2 (M+Na, Cl pattern)
B. N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of the urea acid (60 mg, 0.21 mmol) and 4-(1-Methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenylamine (from Example 3, 75 mg, 0.43 mmol) in DMF (4 mL) and H 2 O (1 mL), EDC (219 mg, 0.86 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 2 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound as a white powder (46 mg). MS 438.5 and 440.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 131
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-(but-2-yn-1-yl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from Example 130) and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 449.5 and 451.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 132
N-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-2-allyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 130, starting with allyl bromide in the place of 1-bromo-2-butyne. MS 426.5 and 428.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 133
N-[4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-2-allyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously as describe in Example 51, using 2-allyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (from Example 132) and 4-(N-oxo-pyridin-2-yl)phenylamine hydrochloride. MS 437.5 and 439.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 134
1 -[4-(dimethylaminoimino)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one
A mixture of 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one (1.00 g, 6.80 mmol), 4-iodobenzonitrile (1.71 g, 7.47 mmol), CuI (0.129 g, 0.680 mmol), 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (0.038 mL, 3.10 mmol) and K 3 PO 4 (2.90 g, 13.7 mmol) in dioxane (10 mL) in a sealed thick-wall flask was heated at 110 C overnight. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture was filtered. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a flash column using EtOAc/hexane (15-40%) as eluents to give a white solid (0.690 g).
To a solution of the solid (0.250 g, 1.00 mmol) in THF (6 mL) at −78 C, LDA (1.8 M, 0.70 mL, 1.26 mmol) was added. After 15 min, a solution of triisopropylbenzenesulfonyl azide (0.464 g, 1.50 mmol) in THF (2 mL) was added. After being stirred at −78 C for 1 h, the mixture was removed to room temperature, and was stirred at that temperature overnight. Aqueous NH 4 Cl and EtOAc were added. The organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a flash column using EtOAc/hexane (10-20%) as eluents to give a solid (0.110 g).
To a solution of the solid (0.100 g, 0.346 mmol) in THF (4 mL), Ph 3 P (0.180 g, 0.687 mmol) was added, followed by addition of H 2 O (0.050 mL, 2.78 mmol). After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. To a solution of the residue in DMF (5 mL), 4-chlorophenyl isocyanate (0.080 g, 0.52 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give a solid (0.092 g). MS 417.3 and 419.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
To a solution of the nitrile compound (0.080 g, 0.19 mmol) in pyridine (7 mL) and TEA (0.7 mL), H 2 S gas was bubbled until saturation was reached. The solution was then stirred at room temperature overnight. It was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in acetone (8 mL). Iodomethane (0.100 mL, 1.61 mmol) was added. It was heated at reflux for 3 h, then concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in MeOH (12 mL).To a third of the solution (4 mL, 0.063 mmol), a pre-mixed dimethylamine (2M in THF, 0.22 mL, 0.44 mmol) and HOAc (0.040 mL, 0.70 mmol) were added. The mixture was heated to reflux for 1 h, then was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (15 mg). MS 462.3 and 464.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 135
1-[4-(pyrrolidinylimino)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.063 mmol) from Example 134, a pre-mixed pyrrolidine (0.037 mL, 0.44 mmol) and HOAc (0.040 mL, 0.70 mmol) were added. The mixture was heated to reflux for 1 h, then was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (15 mg). MS 488.3 and 490.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 136
1-[4-(1-methyl-4,5-dihyrdo-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl]-3-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one
To the thioimidate solution in MeOH (4 mL, 0.063 mmol) from Example 134, a pre-mixed N-methylethylenediamine (0.039 mL, 0.44 mmol) and HOAc (0.080 mL, 1.4 mmol) were added. The mixture was heated to reflux for 1 h, then was stirred at room temperature overnight. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (15 mg). MS 474.3 and 476.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 137
Preparation of (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenylamine
A mixture of 4-iodoaniline (1.00 g, 4.57 mmol), 2-hydroxypyridine (0.477 g, 5.02 mmol), 8-hydroxyquinoline (0.110 g, 0.759 mmol) and K 2 CO 3 (0.945 g, 6.85 mmol) in DMSO (10 mL) was degassed with Ar before being charged with CuI (0.145 g, 0.763 mmol). The mixture in a sealed tube was then heated at 130° C. overnight. Water and nBuOH were added. The mixture was filtered. The nBuOH phase was separated, and concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (0.666 g), which was pure enough for subsequent reactions. MS 187.3 (M+H).
B. Preparation of (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of (L) N-BOC-phenylglycine (126 mg, 0.500 mmol) and 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenylamine (102 mg, 0.548 mmol) in DMF (3 mL), EDC (144 mg, 0.750 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. Water (10 mL) was added to induce precipitation. The precipitate was collected by filtration to give the amide (61 mg). MS 420.2 (M+H).
The amide (61 mg, 0.15 mmol) was dissolved in TFA (4 mL). After being stirred at room temperature for 1 h, TFA was removed in vacuo. The residue was partitioned between EtOAc and aq. 5% NaHCO 3 . The EtOAc phase was separated, dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (35 mg).
To a solution of the solid (17 mg, 0.053 mmol) in CH 3 CN (2 mL), 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (20 mg, 0.13 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 30 min, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (10 mg). MS 473.2 and 475.2 (M+H, Cl pattern)
Example 138
Preparation of (2R) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 137, using (D) N-BOC-phenylglycine in the place of (L) N-BOC-phenylglycine. MS 473.2 and 475.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 139
Preparation of (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(2-chlorothiophen-5-ylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 2-chlorothiophene-5-isocyanate
To a suspension of 5-chloro-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid (650 mg, 4.00 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (8 mL) containing 3 drops of DMF, oxalyl chloride (0.700 mL, 8.00 mmol) was added. The suspension became clear after 10 min of stirring. After being stirred for 1 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in toluene (8 mL). NaN 3 (540 mg, 8.31 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then filtered. The filtrate was heated at 100 C for 3 h. The solution was filtered, and used in the next reaction.
B. Preparation of (2S) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(2-chlorothiophen-5-ylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in step B of Example 137, using 2-chlorothiophene-5-isocyanate in the place of 4-chlorophenylisocyanate. MS 479.2 and 481.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 140
Preparation of (2R) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-2-fluorophenylamine
A mixture of 2-fluoro-4-iodoaniline (1.08 g, 4.56 mmol), 2-hydroxypyridine (0.477 g, 5.02 mmol), 8-hydroxyquinoline (0.110 g, 0.759 mmol) and K 2 CO 3 (0.945 g, 6.85 mmol) in DMSO (10 mL) was degassed with Ar before being charged with CuI (0.145 g, 0.763 mmol). The mixture in a sealed tube was then heated at 130° C. overnight. Water and nBuOH were added. The mixture was filtered. The nBuOH phase was separated, and concentrated in vacuo to give a solid (0.902 g), which was pure enough for subsequent reactions. MS 205.2 (M+H).
B. Preparation of (2R) N-[4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-2-fluorophenyl]-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 138, using 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-2-fluorophenylamine in the place of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)phenylamine. MS 488.7 and 490.7 (M−H, Cl pattern).
Example 141
Preparation of (2R) 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)pyridine
A mixture of 4-bromopyridine hydrochloride (778 mg, 4.00 mmol), 2-hydroxypyridine (388 mg, 4.08 mmol), K 3 PO 4 (1.70 g, 8.00 mmol) and 1,2-trans-diaminocyclohexane (200 uL, 1.60 mmol) in dioxane (10 mL).was degassed with Ar before being charged with CuI (152 mg, 0.80 mmol). The mixture in a sealed tube was heated at 110° C. overnight. The mixture was then applied to a silica gel column, which was eluted with CH 2 Cl 2 /MeOH (95/5) to give the desired product (205 mg). MS 173.5 (M+H).
B. Preparation of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine
A solution of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)pyridine (186 mg, 1.08 mmol) and PtO 2 (100 mg) in HOAc (8 mL) was hydrogenated under 40 psi on a Parr shaker overnight. The mixture was filtered through Celite. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. To the residue, aqueous 1N HCl (3 mL) was added. The solution was then concentrated in vacuo to give the desired product as hydrochloride salt (231 mg). MS 183.5 (M+H)
C. Preparation of (2R) 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of(D) N-BOC phenylglycine (32 mg, 0.13 mmol), 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine hydrochloride (22 mg, 0.10 mmol) and triethylamine (0.070 mL, 0.50 mmol) in DMF (1.0 mL), BOP (66 mg, 0.15 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 20 min. Water and EtOAc were added. The EtOAc phase was separated, washed with 5% NaHCO 3 , dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrated in vacuo to give the amide (51 mg). MS 416.5 (M+H).
The amide (51 mg, 0.12 mmol) was dissolved in TFA (4.0 mL). After being stirred at room temperature for 15 min, the TFA was removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH 3 CN (2.0 mL). To the solution, 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (27 mg, 0.18 mmol) and triethylamine (0.050 mL, 0.36 mmol) were added. After being stirred for 30 min, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (15 mg). MS 469.2 and 471.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 142
Preparation of (2R) 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidine
A mixture of 4-bromopyridine hydrochloride (778 mg, 4.00 mmol), 3-morpholinone (404 mg, 4.00 mmol), K 3 PO 4 (1.70 g, 8.00 mmol) and 1,2-trans-diaminocyclohexane (200 uL, 1.60 mmol) in dioxane (10 mL) was degassed with Ar before being charged with CuI (152 mg, 0.80 mmol). The mixture in a sealed tube was heated at 110° C. overnight. The mixture was applied to a silica gel column, which was then eluted with 2-5% MeOH in CH 2 Cl 2 to give the desired product (85 mg). MS 179.5 (M+H).
A solution of the compound (85 mg, 0.48 mmol) and PtO 2 (50 mg) in HOAc (8 mL) was hydrogenated under 40 psi on a Parr shaker overnight. The mixture was filtered through Celite. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. To the residue, aqueous 1N HCl (3 mL) was added. The solution was then concentrated in vacuo to give the desired product as hydrochloride salt (91 mg). MS 185.2 (M+H).
B. Preparation of (2R) 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 141, using 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidine hydrochloride in the place of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine hydrochloride. MS 471.0 and 473.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 143
Preparation of (2R) 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)piperidine
To a solution of t-butyl 4-hydroxypiperidine carboxylate (1.02 g, 5.07 mmol) in CH 2 Cl 2 (10 mL) and pyridine (4 mL) at room temperature, methanesulfonyl chloride (1.00 mL, 12.9 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. Water and CH 2 Cl 2 were added. The organic phase was separated, washed with 5% NaHCO 3 , 1N HCl and brine, then it was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , concentrated in vacuo to give a white solid (1.35 g).
A mixture of the white solid (550 mg, 1.97 mmol), 2-hydroxypyridine (207 mg, 2.18 mmol) and Cs 2 CO 3 (1.37 g, 4.20 mmol) in DMF (10 mL) was heated at 100° C. for 2 h. After being cooled to room temperature, the mixture was filtered. The filtrate was then purified by RP-HPLC to give the desired compound as a minor product (62 mg). MS 223.3 (M-tBu+H) and 279.5 (M+H).
The compound (62 mg) was dissolved in trifluoroacetic acid (6 mL). After being stirred for 30 min, the trifluoroacetic acid was removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in H 2 O (5 mL), 6N HCl (0.5 mL) was added. The aqueous solution was then lyophilized to give the titled compound as hydrochloride salt (47 mg).
B. Preparation of (2R) 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 141, using 4-(2-pyridon-1-yl)piperidine hydrochloride in the place of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine hydrochloride. MS 465.0 and 467.0 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 144
Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (50 mg, 0.15 mmol), 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidine hydrochloride (45 mg, 0.20 mmol) and triethylamine (0.086 mL, 0.62 mmol) in DMF (1.0 mL, containing 0.10 mL of H 2 O to solubilize the piperidine hydrochloride), BOP (100 mg, 0.23 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 30 min, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (20 mg). MS 489.4 and 491.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 145
Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 144, using 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 505.4 and 507.4 (M+H, 2Cl pattern).
Example 146
Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 144, using 2-(2-bromophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 549.3 and 551.3 (M+H, Br +Cl pattern).
Example 147
Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 144, using 2-(2-methylphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 485.4 and 487.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 148
Preparation of 4-(3-morpholinon-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 144, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 501.4 and 503.4 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 149
Preparation of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (45 mg, 0.14 mmol), 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine hydrochloride (40 mg, 0.18 mmol) and triethylamine (0.085 mL, 0.61 mmol) in DMF (1.0 mL, containing 0.050 mL of H 2 O to solubilize the piperidine hydrochloride), BOP (100 mg, 0.23 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 30 min, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (20 mg). MS 487.3 and 489.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 150
Preparation of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 149, using 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid in the place of 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid. MS 499.2 and 501.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 151
Preparation of 4-(4-methyl-2-piperazinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
A. Preparation of 4-(4-methyl-2-piperazinon-1-yl)piperidine
To a solution of 2-piperazinone (200 mg, 2.00 mmol) and HCHO (37% aq., 0.200 mL, 2.69 mmol) in MeOH (6 mL) at room temperature, NaBH 3 CN (162 mg, 2.57 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the solution was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was partitioned between 5% aq. NaHCO 3 and nBuOH. The nBuOH phase was separated, concentrated in vacuo to give the 4-methyl-2-piperazinone as a semi-solid (118 mg). MS 115.5 (M+H).
A mixture of 4-iodopyridine (218 mg, 1.06 mmol), 4-methyl-2-piperazinone (106 mg, 0.929 mmol), K 3 PO 4 (425 mg, 2.00 mmol) and 1,2-trans-diaminocyclohexane (0.050 mL, 0.41 mmol) in anhydrous dioxane (3.0 mL) was degassed with Ar before being charged with CuI (40 mg, 0.21 mmol). The mixture in a sealed tube was heated at 110 ° C. overnight. The mixture was purified by a prep-TLC using MeOH/CH 2 Cl 2 (10/90) as solvents to give 1-(pyridin-4-yl)-4-methyl-2-piperazinone (42 mg). MS 192.5 (M+H).
A mixture of 1-(pyridin-4-yl)-4-methyl-2-piperazinone (12 mg, 0.063 mmol) and PtO 2 (49 mg) in HOAc (6.0 mL) was hydrogenated on a Parr shaker under 40 psi for 3 days. The mixture was filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in 1N HCl (5.0 mL). The solution was then concentrated in vacuo to give the titled compound as hydrochloride salt (12 mg). MS 198.5 (M+H).
B. Preparation of 4-(4-methyl-2-piperazinon-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
The titled compound was prepared analogously to the procedure described in Example 150, using 4-(4-methyl-2-piperazinon-1-yl)piperidine in the place of 4-(2-piperidinon-1-yl)piperidine. MS 514.2 and 516.3 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 152
Preparation of 4-(homopiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetic acid (134 mg, 0.400 mmol), piperazine (190 mg, 2.21 mmol) and triethylamine (0.200 mL, 1.44 mmol) in DMF (6.0 mL), BOP (260 mg, 0.587 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 30 min, EtOAc and 5% aq. NaHCO 3 were added. The organic phase was separated, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the amide as a white powder (156 mg).
To a solution of the amide (156 mg, 0.39 mmol) and N-BOC-hexahydro-1H-azepin-4-one (101 mg, 0.47 mmol) in MeOH (2.0 mL), NaBH 3 CN (45 mg, 0.71 mmol) was added. The solution was stirred at room temperature overnight. More azepinone (65 mg, 0.31 mmol) and NaBH 3 CN (45 mg, 0.71 mmol) were added. After being stirred for another day, water and EtOAc were added. The organic phase was separated, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in TFA (8.0 mL). After being stirred for 1 h, TFA was removed in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (158 mg). MS 500.3 and 502.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 153
Preparation of 4-(1-methylhomopiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of 4-(homopiperidin-4-yl)piperazin-1-yl-2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide (150 mg, 0.30 mmol) and HCHO (37% aq., 0.067 mL, 0.90 mmol) in MeOH (5.0 mL), NaBH 3 CN (57 mg, 0.90 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (40 mg). MS 514.5 qnd 516.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 154
Preparation of (2R) 4-(4-methylhomopiperazin-1-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of (D) N-BOC phenylglycine (100 mg, 0.400 mmol), triethylamine (0.200 mL, 1.44 mmol) and 4-piperidone hydrate hydrochloride (67 mg, 0.436 mmol) in DMF (3.0 mL), BOP (230 mg, 0.520 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, water and EtOAc were added. The organic phase was separated, washed with 1N HCl, then with 5% NaHCO 3 and brine. The solution was dried over Na 2 SO 4 , and concentrated in vacuo to give the amide (130 mg). MS 233.5 (M−tBu+H).
To a solution of the amide (130 mg, 0.39 mmol) and 1-methylhomopiperazine (0.045 mL, 0.36 mmol) in MeOH (4.0 mL), NaBH 3 CN (33 mg, 0.52 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give a white powder (90 mg). MS 431.5 (M+H).
The white powder (90 mg, 0.21 mmol) was dissolved in TFA (3.0 mL). After being stirred at room temperature for 30 min, TFA was removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH 3 CN (4.0 mL), and triethylamine (0.200 mL, 1.44 mmol) was added. To the solution, 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (53 mg, 0.35 mmol) was added. After being stirred for 1 h, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (20 mg). MS 484.2 and 486.2 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 155
Preparation of (2R) 4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)piperidin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of(D) N-BOC phenylglycine (100 mg, 0.40 mmol), 4,4′-bipiperidine dihydrochloride (482 mg, 2.00 mmol) and triethylamine (0.70 mL, 5.0 mmol) in DMF (6.0 mL) and H 2 O (3.0 mL), BOP (355 mg, 0.80 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature for 1 h, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the amide (160 mg). MS 402.5 (M+H).
To a solution of the amide (160 mg, 0.40 mmol) and HCHO (37% aq, 0.178 mL, 2.39 mmol) in MeOH (6.0 mL), NaBH 3 CN (151 mg, 2.39 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in TFA (6.0 mL). After being stirred for 2 h, TFA removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH 3 CN (6 mL). To the solution, 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (90 mg, 0.58 mmol) was added. After 30 min of stirring, the mixture was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (32 mg). MS 469.5 and 471.5 (M+H, Cl pattern).
Example 156
Preparation of (2R) 4-(1-methylpiperidin-4-yl)homopiperazin-1-yl-2-phenyl-2-(4-chlorophenylaminocarbonylamino)-acetamide
To a solution of (D) N-BOC phenylglycine (100 mg, 0.400 mmol) and triethylamine (0.200 mL, 1.44 mmol) in DMF (3.0 mL), BOP (230 mg, 0.520 mmol) was added. After 30 min of stirring, the solution was added to a solution of homopiperazine (200 mg, 2.00 mmol) in DMF (2.0 mL). After being stirred at room temperature for 1 h, the mixture was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by HPLC to give the amide (91 mg). MS 334.5 (M+H).
To a solution of the amide (91 mg, 0.27 mmol) and 1-methyl-4-piperidone (0.040 mL, 0.33 mmol) in MeOH (4.0 mL), NaBH 3 CN (26 mg, 0.41 mmol) was added. After being stirred at room temperature overnight, more 1-methyl-4-piperidone (0.040 mL, 0.33 mmol) and NaBH 3 CN (26 mg, 0.41 mmol) were added. The mixture was stirred for another day, then it was concentrated in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in TFA (6.0 mL). After being stirred for 30 min, TFA was removed in vacuo. The residue was dissolved in CH 3 CN (5.0 mL), and triethylamine (0.400 mL, 2.88 mmol) was added. To the solution, 4-chlorophenylisocyanate (62 mg, 0.40 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred for 30 min before it was purified by HPLC to give the titled compound (25 mg).
Example 157
This example illustrates methods for evaluating the compounds of the invention, along with results obtained for such assays. The in vitro and in vivo Factor Xa isoform activities of the inventive compounds can be determined by various procedures known in the art, such as a test for their ability to inhibit the activity of the Factor Xa isoform. The potent affinities for Factor Xa isoform exhibited by the inventive compounds can be measured by an IC 50 value (in nM). The IC 50 value is the concentration (in nM) of the compound required to provide 50% inhibition of Factor Xa isoform. The smaller the IC 50 value, the more active (potent) is a compound for inhibiting Factor Xa isoform.
An in vitro assay for detecting and measuring inhibition activity against Factor Xa is as follows:
IC 50 and Ki Determinations:
Substrate:
The substrate S-2765 (Z-D-Arg-Gly-Arg-pNA.HCl) was obtained from Diapharma (West Chester, Ohio).
Enzyme:
The human plasma protein factor Xa was purchased from Haematologic Technologies (Essex Junction, Vt.).
Methods
IC 50 Determinations
All assays, which are performed in 96-well microtiter plates, measure proteolytic activity of the enzyme (factor Xa) by following cleavage of paranitroanilide substrate. The assay buffer used for proteolytic assays was Tris buffered saline (20 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl 2 , 0.1% Bovine serum albumin (BSA), 5% Dimethly Sulfoxide (DMSO) pH 7.4). In a 96-well microtiter plate, inhibitor was serially diluted to give a range of concentrations from 0.01 nM to 10 μM (final). Duplicate sets of wells were assayed and control wells without inhibitor were included. Enzyme was added to each well,(fXa concentration=1nM), the plate was shaken for 5 seconds and then incubated for 5 minutes at room temperature. S2765 was added (100 μM final) and the plate was shaken for 5 seconds (final liquid volume in each well was 200 μl). The degree of substrate hydrolysis was measured at 405 nm on a Thermomax plate reader (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif.) for 2 minutes. The initial velocities (mOD/min), for each range of inhibitor concentrations, were fitted to a four parameter equation using Softmax data analysis software. The parameter C, derived from the resulting curve-fit, corresponded to the concentration for half maximal inhibition (IC 50 ).
K i Determination
The assay buffer for this series of assays was Hepes buffered saline (20 mM Hepes, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCl 2 , 0.1% PEG-8000, pH 7.4). In a 96-well microtiter plate, inhibitor was serially diluted in a duplicate set of wells to give a range of final concentrations from 5 pM to 3 μM final. Controls without inhibitor (8 wells) were included. The enzyme, fXa (1 nM final) was added to the wells. The substrate S-2765 (200 μM final) was added and the degree of substrate hydrolysis was measured at 405 nm on a Thermomax plate reader for 5 minutes, using Softmax software. Initial velocities (mOD/min) were analyzed by non-linear least squares regression in the Plate Ki software (BioKin Ltd, Pullman, Wash.) (Literature reference: Kusmic P, Sideris S, Cregar L M, Elrod K C, Rice K D, Janc J. High-throughput screening of enzyme inhibitors: Automatic determination of tight-binding inhibition constants. Anal. Biochemistry 2000, 281:62-67). The model used for fitting the inhibitor dose-response curves was the Morrison equation. An apparent K i (Ki*) was determined. The overall K i was calculated using the following equation:
Ki = Ki * 1 + [ S ] Km
where [S] is substrate concentration (200 μM) and K m , the Michaelis constant for S2765.
The hERG (Human ether-a-go-go Related Gene Protein) Membrane Binding Assay
Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells stably transfected with hERG cDNA were used for preparation of membranes (Literature reference: Zhou, Z., Gong, Q., Ye, B., Fan, Z., Makielski, C., Robertson, G., January, C T., Properties of hERG stably expressed in HEK293 cells studied at physiological temperature. Biophys. J, 1998, 74:230-241). The assay buffer was comprised of 50 mM Tris, 10 mM KCl, 1 mM MgCl 2 , pH 7.4. Competition assays for hERG binding were performed, in a 96 well plate, with 50 μL 3 H-dofetilide, at a concentration of 3.5 nM (final concentration of 0.01% ethanol). Test compound was added at final concentrations of 100 μM, 33.33 μM, 11.11 μM, 3.70 μM, 1.23 μM, 0.41 μM, 0.14 μM, 0.046 μM, 0.015 μM, and 0.005 μM (1.0% DMSO). Each compound was run in duplicate on each of two plates. Total binding was determined by addition of 50 μL of assay buffer in place of compound. Non-specific binding was determined by addition of 50 μL of 50 μM terfenadine in place of test compound. All assays were initiated by addition of 150 μL of membrane homogenates (15 ug protein/well as final concentration) to the wells (total volume=250 μL per well), and the plates were incubated at room temperature for 80 minutes on a shaking platform. All assays were terminated by vacuum filtration on to glass fiber filters, followed by two washes with cold assay buffer. The filter plates were dried at 55° C. for 90 minutes, after which, Microscint 0 (50 μL) was added to each well of the dried filter plate. The plates were counted on a Packard Topcount (Perkin Elmer, Boston, Mass.) using a one minute protocol. Scintillation reading (counts per minute, CPM) data generated by the Packard TopCount was used to calculate the percent inhibition of 3 H-dofetilide binding, for each compound at each concentration, using the total binding control value corrected for non-specific binding. The IC 50 value was calculated from the percent inhibition curve generated using Excel XL Fit software (Microsoft). The equilibrium dissociation constant (K i ) was calculated using the equation of Cheng and Prusoff (see “Relationship between the inhibition constant (K i ) and the concentration of inhibitor which causes 50 per cent inhibition (I 50 ) of an enzymatic reaction,” Biochem Pharmacol., 1973, 22(23):3099-108.
K i =IC 50 /[1+([ L]/K D ).
A compound can be run through this assay and its corresponding IC 50 inhibition value can be calculated from the assay data.
The following examples exhibited Factor Xa IC 50 values less than or equal to 100 nM: 1, 2, 5-8, 10-13, 16, 19-47, 51, 52, 55-59, 74-77, 79-81, 83-89, 91-133, 136-145, 148-150, 152, 153 and 155.
The following examples exhibited Factor Xa IC 50 values greater than 100 nM and less than 500 nM: 3, 9, 15, 17, 18, 48-50, 54, 61, 62, 70, 72, 73, 78, 134, 146, 147 and 154.
The following examples exhibited Factor Xa IC 50 values greater than or equal to 500 nM: 4, 14, 53, 60, 63-69, 71, 82, 90, 103, 110, 135, 151 and 156.
The present invention provides a number of embodiments. It is apparent that the examples may be altered to provide other embodiments of this invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of this invention is to be defined by the appended claims rather than by the specific embodiments, which have been represented by way of example. | The present invention is directed to compounds represented by Formula I and pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates, hydrates, and prodrugs thereof which are inhibitors of Factor Xa. The present invention is also directed to and intermediates used in making such compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds, methods to prevent or treat a number of conditions characterized by undesired thrombosis and methods of inhibiting the coagulation of a blood sample. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/639,112, which was filed on Dec. 16, 2009. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/639,112 is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present application relates to touchless faucets, and more particularly to such faucets that employ a light beam to sense presence of a person and activate the faucet in response to that sensing.
[0003] In hospitals, public rest rooms, and other facilities, it is commonplace to provide a faucet which is turned on and off without requiring the user to touch the faucet. The prior art is replete with devices for sensing the presence of a user and, in response thereto, activating a solenoid valve assembly that controls the flow of water to a faucet. A common sensing technique, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,347, involves transmitting an infrared light beam into a flow region underneath the outlet of the faucet spout, where a user's hands or other objects are placed for washing. A hand or object so placed reflects some of the infrared light beam back toward the faucet, where that reflected light is detected by a sensor mounted either on or adjacent the faucet. Detection of reflected light at the sensor indicates the presence of a user in front of the faucet. In response to receiving the reflected light, the sensor emits an electrical signal that causes the solenoid valve to open, sending water from the faucet. When the detection of reflected light ceases, the solenoid valve is de-energized, terminating the flow of water.
[0004] A problem with such proximity activated faucets is that room elements near the faucet, such as a mirror or shiny sink surfaces, can reflect light back to the sensor, thereby falsely triggering the flow of water. Inanimate objects, such as handbags, placed on the front edge of the sink also can falsely cause faucet operation. The false activation of the faucet not only wastes water, but may result in water overflowing the sink, if an unattended object also is blocking the drain opening.
[0005] Prior touchless faucets were not practical for kitchen sinks which are used for operations, such as draining water from a cooking pot or cutting vegetables, during which water from the faucet is not desired. Thus during such activities, the presence of a hand or other object beneath the faucet outlet should not activate the flow of water.
SUMMARY
[0006] A faucet assembly includes spout having a base for mounting adjacent a basin of a sink. The basin is the recessed portion of the sink that is designed to receive and retain water. The spout projects upward and away from the base over the basin and terminates at an outlet from which a stream of water is to be produced in a flow region beneath the outlet. A light emitter and a light sensor are mounted to the spout. The light emitter projects a beam of light toward the spout base without the beam of light intersecting the flow region beneath the spout where the water sprays from the outlet. The light sensor produces a signal indicating whether the beam of light is striking the light sensor. In response to the signal, a control circuit opens a valve, thereby conveying water through the spout.
[0007] In one embodiment of this faucet assembly, the light sensor is mounted to the spout base and the light emitter is mounted proximate to the spout outlet with the light beam directed at the light sensor. Here, a person interrupts the light beam, with his or her hands for example, which interruption is indicated by the signal from the light sensor. The control circuit responds to that signal by opening a valve which supplies water to the faucet spout. The light may be in the visible spectrum to provide an indication to the person when the hands have interrupted the light beam. The water valve may remain open until either a predefined time interval elapses or the light beam is interrupted again, which ever occurs first.
[0008] In another faucet assembly embodiment, the light emitter and light sensor are proximate to each other on the spout and the light sensor responds to the reflection of the light beam by an object, such as a person's hands. In this case, the control circuit opens the valve in response to the signal indicating receipt of the light beam by the light sensor. Here too, the water valve may remain open until either a predefined time interval elapses or the light beam is interrupted again, whichever occurs first.
[0009] Because the light beam does not intersect the flow region beneath the spout where the water sprays from the outlet, a person can use the sink without triggering the flow of water. For example, the person may wash dishes in water retained in the sink or empty a pot of water without impinging the light beam and activating the faucet. Thus the faucet assembly is particularly adapted for use at sinks where activities other than washing hands occur.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a sink on which a faucet assembly, according to an exemplary embodiment, is mounted.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electrical circuit for controlling the flow of water from the faucet assembly.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a prospective view of a sink with second faucet assembly mounted thereto.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the plumbing and controller associated with the second faucet assembly.
[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates the plumbing and controller associated with a third faucet assembly that has a conventional single outlet manual mixing valve.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] With initial reference to FIG. 1 , a faucet assembly 10 includes a faucet 11 that has a mounting plate 12 and a spout 14 . The mounting plate 12 is adapted to stand on the rim 15 of a sink 16 or on a counter surrounding an under-the-counter mounted sink. Some stylized faucets do not have a mounting plate 12 and the bottom of the spout 14 is mounted directly to the surface adjacent the basin 24 of the sink 16 . The spout 14 extends upward from the mounting plate 12 in an inverted J-shaped manner. Specifically, the spout 14 has a first end 17 with a generally vertical, tubular base 18 projecting upward from the mounting plate 12 and connecting into a tubular, arched portion 20 that curves upward and outward over the sink basin 24 and then continues curving downward terminating at a second end 19 that has a water outlet 22 . The water outlet 22 has a nozzle from which a stream 26 of water flows when the faucet assembly 10 is activated. Although the present embodiment is being described in the context of a high arching type spout, the faucet 11 may have other types of spouts which project upward and forwardly outward from a base section to a water outlet. The faucet 11 may have a pull-out style spray head in which the water outlet is attached to a hose that extends through the spout.
[0016] A light emitter 30 , such as a semiconductor laser, light emitting diode (LED) or other device that emits a beam 32 of light, is mounted on the spout 14 adjacent the water outlet 22 and facing the base 18 . The light emitter 30 is oriented to direct the light beam 32 in a downward angle toward the base. A light sensor 34 is located on the base 18 at a position to receive the beam 32 of light. For this embodiment, a semiconductor laser has the advantage of producing a highly collimated, narrow light beam 32 whereby most, if not all, of the light impinges the sensor 34 . Nevertheless light from another type of emitter that is focused into a narrow beam also may be used. Such as narrow light beams provides a relatively small object detection zone along the path of that beam. Preferably, the light is visible to the human eye, so that when a hand of a user or other item blocks the light beam 32 , a visible spot of light appears on that object to indicate that the beam has been interrupted. Nonetheless, a beam of invisible light, such as in the infrared spectrum, can be utilized. Alternatively, the locations of the light emitter 30 and the sensor 34 can be reversed, wherein the light emitter is mounted on or proximate the base 18 and the sensor is on or proximate the spout, however with this variation a spot of light on the hands may not be visible to the user. This alternative also may allow some of the emitted light to travel visibly across the room in which the sink 16 is located.
[0017] Operation of the faucet assembly 10 is controlled by an electrical circuit 40 shown in FIG. 2 in which the light emitter 30 and the sensor 34 are connected to a controller 44 . The controller 44 is powered by a battery 42 or a low voltage DC power supply connected to a 110 or 220 volt AC electrical system in a building. The light emitter 30 is activated periodically by an output signal from a control circuit 46 and when activated, produces a beam 32 of light. Upon being impinged by the light beam 32 , the sensor 34 produces an electrical signal that is applied to an input of the control circuit 46 . Any of several well-known signal processing techniques or filters can be employed to prevent light in the room from activating the faucet assembly 110 .
[0018] The control circuit 46 preferably is microcomputer based and has a memory that stores a control program which governs operation of the faucet assembly 10 and stores data used by that control program. Inputs of the control circuit 46 are connected to a user input device 50 that in the illustrated embodiment is a touchpad, such as commonly found on laptop computers for the user to move a cursor on the display screen. The touch pad produces output signals indicating a two dimensional location on the surface of the touch pad that is touched by the user. The X signal for one orthogonal axis of touch pad indicates the desired temperature of the water discharged from the faucet 11 , while the Y signal for the other orthogonal axis indicates a desired flow rate of that water. By touching different locations on the touchpad the user is able to change the temperature and flow rate. Alternatively conventional pushbutton switches can be employed as the user input device 50 by which the user increases and decreases the water temperature and flow rate. Pushbutton switches also may be provided for selecting preset water temperatures or flow rates that have been programmed into the control circuit 46 .
[0019] When the faucet 11 is not being used, the light beam 32 travels from the emitter 30 to the light sensor 34 , thereby producing an electrical signal that is applied to an input of the control circuit 46 . As long as the control circuit 46 receives that electrical signal, a determination is made that a user is not present at the faucet 11 and the water is not permitted to flow to the faucet spout 14 .
[0020] Referring again to FIG. 1 , note that the light beam 32 does not intersect a “flow region” beneath the outlet 22 through which the outlet water stream 26 flows, nor does it intersect any region beneath the water outlet 22 in which the user typically places hands or other objects for washing or other sink use. In one embodiment, the light beam 32 does not intersect a larger “work region” 66 which extends downward from the second end 19 of the spout to the edge of the upper opening 27 of the basin 24 . For the exemplary rectangular basin 24 , the work region 66 has the form of a rectangular pyramid, edges of each side being indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1 , however for an circular or oval basin, the work region is conical. In other words, the work region 66 has a lower boundary defined by the upper opening 27 of the basin 24 and tapers upward to the second end 19 of the spout at which the water outlet 22 is located. The work region 66 may in addition include the interior of the basin 24 , thus being bounded further by the side walls and bottom of the basin.
[0021] The path of the light beam 32 , by avoiding the flow region and work region, allows a person to use the sink without activating the water flow. For example, a large pot of water may be emptied into the sink or dishes can be washed in water retained in the basin without that activity interrupting the light beam 132 and thereby triggering the water flow. As used herein the “flow region beneath the outlet” refers to the space under the faucet spout where an object is placed so that water from the outlet will impinge upon the object and excludes other spaces below the vertical location of the outlet where water from the outlet will not strike an object placed there. Although in first faucet assembly 10 , the light sensor 34 is lower than the water outlet 22 , the sensor is set back toward the rear of the sink, so that the light beam 32 that is aimed at the sensor does not intersect the flow region beneath the outlet 22 that is defined by the outlet water stream 26 .
[0022] When a user approaches the sink 16 and desires to activate the faucet 11 , his or her hand or another object is placed between the light emitter 30 and sensor 34 , thereby interrupting the light beam 32 . The path of the narrow light beam 132 defines a detection zone. As noted previously, it is preferred that the light is in the visible spectrum so as to produce a perceptible spot of light on the object to indicate to the user that the light beam is blocked. Furthermore, this spot is visible to the user because the light travels from adjacent the water outlet 22 of the faucet downward toward the back of the sink basin 24 and near the tubular base 18 of the faucet spout. This path illuminates a portion of the hand or the other object that is visible to the user.
[0023] Referring again to FIG. 2 , interrupting the light beam 32 in this manner terminates the previously occurring electrical signal produced by the light sensor 34 and applied to the input of the control circuit 46 . When the control circuit 46 recognizes that it is not receiving an input signal in response to activating the light emitter 30 , a determination is made that a person is present and desires to use the sink 16 . In response to that determination, the control circuit 46 sends output signals which cause a pair of valve drivers 56 and 58 to open a valve assembly 60 that comprises two proportional solenoid valves 61 and 62 . The two solenoid valves 61 and 62 respectively control the flow of hot and cold water to the spout 14 . Specifically, the outlets of the two solenoid valves 61 and 62 are connected together to produce a mixture of the hot and cold water that is fed through the spout 14 to produce the outlet water stream 26 . The valve assembly 60 may employ other electrically operated valve arrangements to produce a mixture of hot and cold water. The valve assembly 60 , along with the controller 44 , usually are located beneath the sink 16 .
[0024] The amounts to which the hot and cold solenoid valves 61 and 62 are opened are specified independently by respective first and second values stored within the memory of the control circuit 46 . Those values are set by the signals from the user input device 50 and are used by the control circuit to determine the magnitude of the control signals sent to the valve drivers 56 and 58 and thus the level of electric current applied to each proportional solenoid valve 61 and 62 . With reference to the orientation of the touch pad 52 in FIG. 2 , touching a finger to different locations along the horizontal axis of the touch pad designate different desired temperatures. The resultant signal for that axis of the touch pad 52 causes the control circuit to increases or decrease the first value which designates the amount that the hot water solenoid valve 61 is to open, and changes the second value in the opposite manner to alter the amount that the cold water solenoid valve 62 is to open. For example, moving a finger to the right on the touch pad 52 designates that the water temperature should increase which results in the first value for the hot water solenoid valve 61 increasing and the second value for the cold water solenoid valve 62 decreasing. This action sends more hot water and less cold water to the spout 14 .
[0025] Touching different locations along the vertical axis of the touch pad 52 , oriented as in FIG. 2 , alters the water flow rate by modifying both the first and second values by the same amount and to alter the changing the opening of both solenoid valves 61 and 62 equally. It should be understood that the two solenoid valves 61 and 62 may not be opened the same amounts as the water temperature setting may designate a greater amount of hot or cold water. For example, moving a finger downward on the touch pad 52 designates that the water flow rate should decrease. This movement will decrease both the first and second values by identical amounts which decreases the flow rates of the hot and cold water to the same extent while maintaining the same proportion of flow rates and thus the same temperature mixture of the water from the faucet 11 .
[0026] Reference herein to directional relationships and movements, such as horizontal and vertical, up and down, or left and right, refer to a relationship and movement associated with the orientation of components as illustrated in the drawings, which may not be the orientation of those components when installed on or near a sink.
[0027] After interruption of the light beam has been indicated either by a spot of light on the user's hand or by water commencing to flow from the faucet, the hands of the user can be removed from blocking the light beam. Once activated, the faucet 11 may remain open for a fixed period of time, as determined by a software timer implemented by the microcomputer within the control circuit 46 . During that time period, the control circuit continues to periodically activate the light emitter 30 and inspect the signal produced by the light sensor 34 . If the user interrupts the light beam 32 again while water is flowing from the spout 14 , the two solenoid valves 61 and 62 are closed immediately even though the fixed period of time has not elapsed. Alternatively, the faucet assembly 10 could be configured so that the two solenoid valves 61 and 62 remain open only while the light beam 32 continues to be interrupted.
[0028] A person may use the sink without turning on the water. The person may work underneath the spout outlet 22 and not activate the water flow because the light beam does not intersect the flow region beneath the outlet 22 or the larger work region 66 . Thus the person may peel vegetables, place dishes in the sink, or empty a pan of water without water flowing from the spout. The location of the detection zone defined by the path of the light beam 32 allows such use of the sink. Anytime that water flow from the spout 14 is desired, the user simply moves a hand or other object through the detection zone defined by the light beam 32 , thereby momentarily interrupting the light beam.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 3 , a second faucet assembly 110 includes a faucet 111 that has a mounting plate 112 affixed adjacent the basin 124 of a sink 116 and has a spout 114 projecting upward from the mounting plate inverted J-shaped manner. Specifically, the spout 114 has a generally vertical, tubular base 118 extending upward from a first end 117 abutting the mounting plate 112 and connecting into an arched portion 120 that curves upward and outward over the sink basin 124 . The arched portion 120 continues curving downward to a remote second end 119 of the spout 114 . The second end 119 has a water outlet 122 , also referred to as a spray head, which produces a stream of water 126 when water flows through the spout.
[0030] A proximity detector 130 is mounted on the spout 114 near the second end 119 and faces the base 118 . The proximity detector 130 incorporates a light emitter, such as a light emitting diode (LED), and a light sensor similar to components 30 and 34 in the first faucet assembly 10 . The light emitter and light sensor are arranged near to each other so as to project a narrow beam 132 of visible light downward toward the spout base 118 and sense any light that is reflected back to the detector by an object 133 , such as a user's hands, that may be placed in the light beam. The path of the light beam 132 forms a detection zone which does not intersect the flow region beneath the water outlet 122 , through which the outlet water stream 26 flows, nor does the light beam intersect the work region of the sink.
[0031] The second faucet assembly 110 includes a manually operated mixing valve 134 that is mounted on the rim of the sink adjacent the mounting plate 112 . Alternatively, the mixing valve could be incorporated into the tubular base 118 of the spout 114 as long as a separate outlet is provided for an automatic mixing valve assembly 147 , as will be described. With reference to FIG. 4 , this type of mixing valve 134 has a mixing stage that combines water from hot and cold water supply lines 141 and 142 into an intermediate chamber. The proportion of the hot and cold water that mixes in the intermediate chamber is varied by the rotational position of a lever 144 . The mixing valve 134 has a flow shutoff valve that, when open, allows water to flow from the intermediate chamber to a first outlet 145 . The flow shutoff valve is closed by tilting the lever 144 into the downward most position. Raising the lever 144 from that downward most position opens the flow shutoff valve and the amount that the lever is raised proportionally controls the rate of water flow to the first outlet 145 . The first outlet 145 of the mixing valve 134 is connected to the inlet 148 of the spout 114 . The mixing valve 134 has a second outlet 146 that is connected directly to the intermediate chamber. Thus, regardless of the open or closed state of the flow shutoff valve, the hot and cold water mixture in the intermediate chamber always is able to flow from the second outlet 146 . An suitable manual mixing valve is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0072965, for example, however other types of manual mixing valves can be used.
[0032] The second outlet 146 is connected to an electrically operated valve assembly 147 having a single solenoid valve that couples the second outlet to the inlet 148 of the spout 114 . Operation of the valve assembly 147 is governed by a controller 150 that includes a control circuit 152 for operating a valve driver 154 connected to the valve assembly 147 . The control circuit 152 has an output connected to a light emitter 156 and an input connected to a light sensor 158 , wherein the light emitter and the light detector are parts of the proximity detector 130 . The controller 150 includes a power supply 159 , such as a battery.
[0033] The second faucet assembly 110 can be operated automatically in a similar manner as the first faucet assembly 10 by placing a hand or other object in the light beam 132 . Such action reflects light back to the sensor within the proximity detector 130 . Since light from that light beams only strikes the sensor 158 when an object is present, the control circuit 152 only receives an active signal from the light sensor at that time. At such time, the control circuit responds by sending an output signal to the valve driver 154 that responds by opening the valve assembly 147 to feed the mixture of hot and cold water from the second outlet 146 of the mixing valve 134 to the inlet 148 of the spout 114 . The amount that the valve assembly 147 is opened, and thus the flow rate of the water, is preset in the control circuit. Note that the water temperature is determined by the mixing stage of the manual mixing valve 134 . Thereafter, the control circuit 152 closes the valve assembly 147 upon either the user again placing a hand or other object in the light beam 132 or after a predefined activation time period has elapsed, whichever occurs first.
[0034] The second faucet assembly 110 can be operated manually by the user lifting the lever 144 which opens the flow control valve stage of the mixing valve 134 . The amount that the lever is raised determines the degree to which the flow control valve stage opens and thus the flow rate of the water. The flow control valve stage of the mixing valve 134 is connected in parallel with the electrically operated valve assembly 147 , thus when either one is open water flows from the intermediate chamber of the mixing valve to the faucet spout 114 and water outlet 122 . Regardless of which one of the manual mixing valve 134 or the electrically operated valve assembly 147 is open, rotating the lever 144 of the mixing valve 134 controls the temperature of the water fed to the water outlet 122 .
[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates a third faucet assembly 180 that is similar to the second faucet assembly 110 , except for using a manually operated mixing valve 182 that has a single outlet 184 . Components of the third faucet assembly 180 that are the same as those in the second faucet assembly 110 have been assigned identical reference numerals. Rotation of a lever 186 of the mixing valve 182 varies the proportion of the hot and cold water in the mixture that exits the valve and thus varies the output water temperature. The amount that the lever 186 is tilted controls the flow rate of the water exiting the mixing valve. The mixing valve 182 has an internal electric switch that conducts electric current only when that valve is open thereby providing an valve signal to the control circuit 152 via a cable 188 .
[0036] The outlet 184 of the mixing valve 182 is connected to the inlet of the electrically operated valve assembly 147 , thus those two valves are fluidically connected in series. To turn on the faucet, a user must raise the lever 186 to open the mixing valve 182 . This action also closes the internal electric switch of the mixing valve which sends the valve signal to the control circuit 152 indicating that the mixing valve has been opened. The control circuit 152 responds to that valve signal by opening the electrically operated valve assembly 147 to the fully open state. This sends the mixture of water from the mixing valve 182 to the faucet spout 114 and through the water outlet 122 . The user does not have to place a hand or other object in the path of the light beam 132 for this water flow to commence.
[0037] Now, however, if the user places a hand or other object in the path of the light beam 132 , the resultant signal from the light sensor 158 causes the control circuit 152 to close the electrically operated valve assembly 147 and turn off the water flow. If the mixing valve 182 remains open, as indicated to the control circuit 152 by the valve signal on cable 188 , removing the hand or other object from the light beam and then reinserting that hand or object into the light beam again causes the control circuit to open the valve assembly 147 . Interrupting the light beam repeatedly, toggles the valve assembly 147 between open and closed states as long as the control circuit 152 continues to receive a valve signal indicating that the mixing valve 182 is open.
[0038] The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure. | A faucet for discharging water, comprising a spout configured to receive and discharge a supply of water; a light emitter mounted on the spout and configured to emit a light beam; a light sensor mounted on the spout and configured to receive the light beam and detect an interruption of the light beam; a control circuit configured to control the flow of water through the faucet based on the interruption of the light beam; and a touchpad for controlling at least one of a flow rate and a temperature of the water discharged from the spout. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a plastering and in particular to a machine to apply cement-sand mortar plaster onto brick wall, or concrete wall surfaces to provide a substantially smooth surface.
BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART
In the construction of buildings, the exposed brick wall surfaces or concrete wall surfaces, which are often rough or uneven, are generally plastered with cement-sand mortar to provide a substantially smooth surface. This application of cement-sand mortar plaster is typically done manually. The manual plastering method is labor intensive and generally does not always result in uniform plastered surfaces, if the task is undertaken by persons lacking the necessary skills. Further, the manual rate of application of plaster is also slow.
Various attempts have been made to introduce mechanical contrivances to apply plaster onto walls. In one such example, cement plaster is sprayed onto the wall, resulting in a rough surface. The inventor is not aware of any other machines or contrivances used to apply plaster onto walls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A principal object of this invention is to provide a plastering machine to apply cement-sand mortar plaster onto a substantially planar vertical surface.
The plastering machine in the preferred embodiment includes a container secured to a frame assembly means capable of vertical movement to hold and to apply cement sand mortar plaster onto the planar structure. The frame assembly includes an outer pair of frame members which are non-moveably fixed onto a base frame and an inner pair of frame members longitudinal moveable along the outer pair of frame members. The travelling frame member is secured to rollers which are slideable along a pair of grooves in the inner pair of frame members. A vibration means is provided and includes a vibration rod disposed horizontally along the length of the container. The plastering machine is mounted onto a fixed set of wheels and a set of hydraulically mounted roller wheels and the base frame can be raised above ground level.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be move clearly understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment thereof by way of example and in which:
FIG. 1 is a rear elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 3(a), (b), (c) and (d) shows details of a container and vibrator locking device.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of a container and frame of the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 5(a) and (b) are detailed views of the container and frame.
FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the frame assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the plastering machine. The plastering machine includes a base frame (2) which is of rectangular configuration. The base frame is mounted onto four caster swivel wheels (4) each rotatable 360 degrees about its respective mounting. At least one pair of angled roller wheels (6) are installed at the front end of the base frame (2). These angled roller wheels are mounted onto a pair of hydraulic piston rods (8). Another pair of wheels (10) is mounted onto a second pair of hydraulic piston rods (12). By activating the hydraulic pistons (8, 12), the base frame can be lifted above the ground, so that the caster swivel wheels (4) are free, i.e. no longer in contact with the ground. The pair of angled rollers are mountable onto a angled rail (14). Each of the two pairs of hydraulic pistons (8, 12) can be independently operated so that the base frame and the fixtures thereon can be aligned vertically to any desired angle.
The plastering machine further includes a upright mast assembly (16). The upright mast assembly (16) consists of three frames. The outer frame (18) includes a pair of frame members, and is stationary with one end anchored to the base frame (2). The inner frame (20) is slidable along the outer frame (18) preferably by means of eight to twelve guide rollers (21). The inner frame (20) is secured to a hydraulic piston (22) at appropriate position, preferably at the connecting bar (21) of the inner frame (see FIG. 6). Thus the inner frame (20) can be moved up and down along the outer frame (18) by operating the hydraulic piston (22). A travelling frame (24) is slidable along the inner frame (20) by means of guide rollers (26). The movement of the travelling frame (24) along the inner frame (20) is by means of a hydraulic piston (28) and a chain and sprocket assembly. Thus two independent sliding movements are enabled by the provision of the outer frame, the inner frame and the travelling frame assembly.
To raise the container assembly, the inner frame is first raised, by energizing the hydraulic piston (22). To raise the container assembly further, the second hydraulic piston (28) is energized whereby the travelling frame is raised by sliding along the inner frame (20). The second set of guide rollers (26) facilitates this sliding movement. The frame are lowered by the operation of the hydraulic pistons. A motor (32), a hydraulic pump apparatus (34), and a hydraulic fluid tank (36) are suitably accommodated and mounted onto the base frame so as to be isolated form the outer frame, the inner frame and the container.
The container assembly will now be described by referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The container (38) is a generally rectangular box with a inclined base. The front panel (40) extends from the top of the container to about 10 cm from the edge of the inclined base to leave a rectangular void. A cutter or smoothening device number (42) is attached to the base of the container (30) and lies along the same plane as the front panel (40). A vibrator means preferably including a vibrator rod (44) is introduceable onto the container. The vibration generator means (46) is powered by the hydraulic pump (34) or the motor (32).
The vibration generator means (46) and the vibration rod (44) are connected by a flexible rubber hose of appropriate design and strength (not shown in illustration).
The container (38) is mounted onto the travelling frame (24) by appropriate structural frame-members as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. To move the container (38) forward, a hydraulic ram is provided. By energizing this hydraulic ram (48), the container can be moved forward towards the wall or withdrawn backwards. The angle of the container or the front panel and the cutter (42) can be adjusted by rod and bolt means (52). The cutter (42) can be independently adjusted by bolts. Alternatively hydraulic means (not shown) can be employed to adjust the position of the cutter (42).
To lock the removable vibrator rod (44) suitable vibrator locking devices (54) are provided on both sides of the container side walls. In the preferred embodiment, the locking device (54) consists of a plate with slots slideable over bolts.
The frames (18, 20) are secured in position by the provision of appropriate frame structures including a turn buckle rod assembly (56). The turn buckle (56) is used to adjust the arm position during the setting up of the machine for plastering. Liquid levels (58) are provided on either side of the outer frames (18) to facilitate level positioning of the machine before commencing the plastering operation. To facilitate the registration of the container distance from the wall, a wall space indicator (60) is provided. The indicator measures the distance of the container from the wall surface. Whenever the machine is moved from one place to another the wall indicator readings are taken at the location. Thereafter the position of the container is adjusted to the corresponding level.
The workings of the machine and other features of the invention will be described now. The machine is moved towards the wall or structure to be plastered and positioned in a manner such that the container is adjusted and parallel to the plane of the wall or the structure. The angled rail (14) is positioned parallel to the plane of the wall or structure and is preferably fixed in the selected position by driving of nails or screws into apertures provided along the length of the rail. The machine is then positioned in registration with the angled rail. The pair of angled roller wheels (6) is then mounted over the angled rail. It will be observed that with the angled roller wheels (6, 10) in a first rest position, they are above the ground level, while the castor swivel wheels are on the ground and are bearing the weight of the machine. Thus it is relatively convenient to move the machine to adjacent the wall or the angled rail, before positioning the angled roller wheels (6) over the rail. The four hydraulic rods (12, 8) are energized so that the wheels are extended downwards thus "lifting" the machine above the ground level, whereby the caster swivel wheels (4) are lifted above the ground. The hydraulic rods are independently adjusted in such a manner that the machine is vertical. The positioning of the machine vertically is facilitated by the liquid level indicators (58).
The container (38) is lowered to the ground wherein the cutter (42) is at ground level. The desired thickness of the plaster to be applied onto the wall is determined. The desired distance of the container (38) from the wall is correspondingly determined and fixed in position. If necessary the hydraulic ram (48) is energized to ensure that the container is at the desired position. The angle of inclination of the container to the wall can be further adjusted if necessary by adjusting the rod and adjusting bolts (52). The vibrator rod (44) is inserted into the container (38) at the front edge of the container and at least one end of the vibrator rod is locked in position by the use of the vibrator locking device (54).
Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it should be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.
Cement plaster is introduced into the container (38) by any known means, either by pumping plaster into the container or by manual means. The vibrator rod (44) is energised and the container is moved vertically upwards in a controlled manner. The cement mortar is compacted onto the wall, the vibration generated in the mortar in the container, ensuring that the mortar flows downwards by gravitational force. As the container is raised upwards, an even layer of plaster is compacted onto the wall structure by vibration action. The cutter (42) as it moves upwards with the movement of the container (38) ensures that the mortar is smoothened out to produce an even and smooth plastered wall.
At the first stage, the traveling frame and the container is moved vertically upwards by moving the inner frame (20) upwards, by activating the main hydraulic position (22). Once the inner frame reaches the maximum height, the second stage of vertical movement is activated. In the second stage, the second hydraulic piston (28) is activated, the traveling frame (24) moves upwards along the inner frame (20). The configuration of the outer pair of frame (18), the inner pair of frame (20) and the traveling frame (24) is similar to that found in fork-lift truck where the forks are mounted to a traveling frame, in corresponding relationship to the traveling frame and the container (38) in this invention. Once a rectangular patch of wall is plastered, the container is withdrawn backwards and is lowered to the ground level, the machine is moved laterally along the angular rail to the next position such that edge of the container is at the edge of the rectangular patch to be plastered. The process is repeated as described earlier.
The speed of the movement of the container upwards and the rate of vibration has to be coordinated so that the cement mortar is effectively plastered.
The hydraulic rams, are powered by a hydraulic pump (34), the hydraulic control levers (62) are conveniently located towards the side edge of the machine, so that it is convenient for the operator to stand adjacent to the machine and operate the control levers. The hydraulic fluid tank (36) is conveniently located beneath the hydraulic pump, on top of the base frame (2). For convenience, the vibration generating means is positioned at the back of the machine, adjacent to the hydraulic levers.
Vibration forces are transferred to the vibrator rod by means of a suitable detachable rubber hose (not shown).
The present embodiment is desired to be easily disassembled and assembled at site, thus enhancing the flexibility of the machine. The size, in particular the length of the container can be varied so that at each upward movement of the container a larger surface area of the wall can be plastered.
The entire machine can be conveniently motorised, so that an operator can move the machine from one point to another, just similar to the operation of fork-lift trucks. Alternatively the hydraulic pump, hydraulic tank and the hydraulic control levers can be isolated from the machine.
It has been found in practice that the use of the machine as described above, greatly increases the rate of plastering of wall. Further the finish of the surface area after plastering is much smoother and even as compared to the manual operations. The strength of the plaster compacted onto the wall surface is stronger as compared to that plastered surface produced in manual operation. | A plastering machine is formed to apply and compact cement-sand mortar plaster onto a vertical wall surface. A container (30) for holding and applying mortar is attached to a frame assembly moveable along both a vertical axis and horizontal axis. The container is supported by a frame-assembly (16) which includes vertical moveable frame members (18, 20) energized by hydraulic means, mounted onto a base frame (2). The base-frame (2) is fitted with swivel caster wheels (4) and angled roller wheels (6). A vibration rod (44) is provided within the container (38). A cutter and smoothening device (42) is provided to smoothen the plaster applied to the wall surface. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Accidental pricking is a serious problem for persons who must handle hypodermic needles. The pricking is most apt to occur to the fingers that hold a needle cover, in the act of replacing the cover, and almost all covers must be replaced, even for disposable needles for it is hazardous to throw a used syringe into the trash with an exposed needle. Needles with plastic needle covers are used in large quantities and in standard sizes and shapes. Widely used disposable insulin needles have covers of ridge lined cylindrical shape, with flanged tops, while most, including luer lock, other needles have tapered covers, varying in length to fit different length needles but being provided in a short range of diameters.
When the needles are re-covered it is usually after they have been removed from a patient and are contaminated with the patient's microorganisms, such, possibly, as AIDS virus. It is thus a matter of grave concern to nurses and hospital assistants that they be protected from the danger of pricking their fingers when they replace a needle cover. The covers, however, present a very small target when held in one's hand, and if this target is missed by the syringe needle, a dangerous skin breaking by the contaminated needle is almost inevitable. In practical terms there has been no solution to this problem prior to the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have invented a safety device for grippingly supporting a flanged syringe needle cover, comprising a base with a back platelike member extending from it. Two other coplanar platelike members extend from the base, generally parallel to the back platelike member. These are spaced from the back member enough so that a flat wall of the back member and opposing flat walls of the other two members define a slot for receiving the flange of the cover, and the edges of the other two members define a channel, at least a portion of which is narrower than the flange but wide enough for the reception of the cover. Handle means extend from the base oppositely to the platelike members so that the cover can be firmly held but any human fingers are remote from the line of insertion of a needle into the cover. In some embodiments either the slot or the channel or both may be tapered toward the base, and in a preferred embodiment the platelike members and the base are homogeneously integral with the handle. My device may advantageously comprise a plate comprising walls defining at least one aperture that is dimensioned to grippingly support a tapered syringe needle cover.
Using my device I have originated a method for routinely replacing tapered syringe needle covers without danger of pricking the hand that holds the cover. In this method I follow the steps of inserting the cover into a hole through both surfaces of a plate, the hole being dimensioned to grippingly support the cover, holding the plate with one hand at a location remote from the hole bearing the cover, bringing the plate and needle together so that the needle enters and fits snugly into the cover, and then grasping the cover in one hand and the plate in the other, withdrawing the cover, including the needle, from the plate.
I have also originated another method, for routinely replacing flanged syringe needle covers, without danger of pricking the hand that holds the cover. In this method I follow the steps of inserting the cover flange into a slot between platelike members extending from a base that is attached to a handle means, holding the handle means with one hand at a location remote from the slot, and bringing together the platelike members and the needle so that the needle enters and fits snugly into the cover. Then while grasping the cover in one hand the handle means in the other, I withdraw the flange, with the cover including the needle, from the slot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an enlarged front view of a device of my invention.
FIG. 2 shows an end view of the device of FIG. 1 holding an insulin syringe by its flanged cover.
FIG. 3 shows an enlarged end view of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a method of using the device of my invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a preferred one of my devices 11 about double size, a back platelike member 12 extends from a base 13 from which also extend coplanar platelike members 14 and 16 whose respective edges 17, 18 comprise a channel 19 that is wide enough to receive a needle cover 21 but narrow enough to engage a flange 22 of the cover 21 when the latter is pressed into a slot 23 created by opposing flat walls 24,26 of the respective platelike platelike members 16, 14 and 12. The channel 19 tapers toward the base 13 so that, while an upper opening 24 of the channel is wider than the diameter of the cover 21, a bottom 26 of the channel 19 is narrower than the cover. Thus the cover will be wedged into the channel if it is forced down far enough. In the preferred illustrated example the opening of the channel is 0.375 in. (9.53 mm), tapering down to 0.219 in. (5.56 mm). However, wedging of the cover 21 into the tapered channel 19 does not necessarily occur because the slot 23 is also tapered toward the base 13, from a top slot width, in the present example, of 0.047 in. (1.2 mm) to a width at the bottom of the slot of 0.034 in. (0.86 mm) and, surprisingly, the flange 22 wedges in the slot 23 firmly enough to support not only the cover 21 but also an attached syringe 27, before the walls of the cover 21 engage the edges 17, 18.
The cover can safely be inserted into the device 11 by finger pressure against the top of the flange 22. However, the circular outline of the top portion of the device facilitates "rolling" it over the cover of a syringe that is lying on any rigid flat surface, and thus engaging the cover flange in the slot 23 without manually holding the syringe at all.
The base 13 might, within the scope of my invention, be secured to a cylindrical handle, not shown, but I prefer that the base 13 comprise the top portion of an integral slab or block which comprises a plate portion 28 and a handle portion 29. Three holes 31, 32, 33, having respective diameters of 5/16, 9/32, and 1/4 inches (7.9, 7.1, and 6.35 mm) are machined through the plate portion 28 since I have found that at least one of these holes in the plate portion 28 will grippingly support any of the commonly used tapered needle covers, such as a cover 34 (FIG. 4) and provide a safe method for re-covering the needle. This is due to the fact that human fingers 36, holding my device by its handle 29 are remote from the line of motion of a needle 37 being inserted into the cover, where it will fit snugly due to a conventional needle hub 30 engaging a conventional cylindrical portion 35 of the cover.
My device my advantageously be made of synthetic polymeric material such as, but not limited to methyl methacrylate, nylon, and polycarbonate. It may also be made of stainless steel or glass, but synthetic polymer has an advantage of economy. The material used should be capable of polishing to a smooth, washable surface, and should be stable at sterilization temperatures. Although I have tapered the slot 23 and channel 19, I have found that, if the slot is not tapered but has a width somewhat smaller than that of the flange, it will assume a tapered contour when a flange is forced into it. And, if the flange is gripped sufficiently by the slot, the edges 17,18 may be parallel, forming a straight channel so long as its width exceeds that of the cover 21 and is sufficiently less than that of the flange 22.
Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, after the needle has been safely inserted into the cover the cover is removed from the plate portion 28 by grasping it in the other hand 41. A similar method is applied to flanged needle covers. Here the cover is held by its flange in the slot 23, the fingers 36 being, in this case, also remote from the line of motion of the needle.
A preferred example of my invention, comprising homogeneous synthetic polymer has an overall length between a bottom 38 of the handle 29 and a top 39 of the platelike member 12, of 31/8 in. (8.25 cm), a width W of the device 11 of 11/8 in. (2.9 cm), and a thickness T (FIG. 2) of 0.25 in. (6.35 mm).
The foregoing description has been exemplary rather than definitive of my invention for which I desire an award of Letters Patent as defined in the appended claims. | A hand tool for holding a syringe needle cover prevents accidental pricking when it is replaced, and comprises a slot between parallel plates, into which the needle cover flange can be wedged. Tapered needle covers are gripped by holes in the tool, providing a safe method for handling syringes. | 0 |
[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/421,858 filed Apr. 14, 1995 by Harrison G. Purvis and Tony R. Matthews entitled Temporary Guard Rail System and Method of Using the Same now U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,074.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to safety devices and more particularly to temporary guard rails used during construction of buildings.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] During the construction of buildings, both commercial and residential, there has been a problem in providing safety rails prior to permanent railings being installed on decks, balconies, and even elevated floors prior to the construction of exterior walls.
[0004] Quite often, 2.times.4 lumber has been temporarily nailed to form makeshift railings. Structures of this type, however, are usually not strong in structure and a worker or other person falling thereagainst can easily dislodge the makeshift railing causing such person to fall. This of course can result in grievous injury or even death. The above mentioned problems are of such a serious nature that the Occupational Hazards Safety Act, or OSHA agency has become so alarmed that regulations have been promulgated to require temporary railings on all open elevated building structures that will withstand at least two hundred pounds pressure without failing. No structure, however, has been detailed to meet these requirements.
Concise Explanation of Prior Art
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 2,910,135 to William P. Moore discloses a ladder scaffold with a guard rail which includes an upwardly projecting bolt with a wing nut that secures a telescopically adjustable railing in position.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,167 to Jesse H. Holloman discloses a temporary rail structure design to be used around the floor of a building during the construction process.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,311 to Samuel T. Melfi discloses a support for guard rails including wing nuts that hold both the top rail and the intermediate rail in position. However, the intermediate rails are not adjustable.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,341 to Jean Arteau, et al. discloses an anchor for mounting a temporary safety fence to a floor of a building under construction.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,993 to Anthony Lionetto discloses a protective guard fixture for open work areas in building construction having two vertical posts which support a barrier frame member.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,889 to Dennis Johnson discloses a barrier system having a plurality of elongated rod members and bracket system for attachment of the barrier to a structure.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,054 to Bernard Storch discloses a safety fence including a plurality of posts having brackets and telescopic rails which are coupled to an supported by the brackets.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,900 to Richard T. Dagiel, et al. discloses a guard assembly including a stanchion bracket which is designed for removable attachment to the outer edge of a concrete floor in combination with similar stanchion brackets.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,827 to Harold E. Brand discloses a stanchion including a base secured to a building support having a tubular receptacle carried on the base and supported thereon by an angular gusset.
[0014] Finally, U.S. Pat. No. RE20,653 to Clyde K. Lamb is considered of general interest in that it discloses a guard rail for a scaffold having a plurality of posts adapted to be secured at one end of the scaffold and to extend vertically upwardly from the floor of the scaffold and the guard rail section supported between pairs of adjacent posts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0015] After much research and study into the above mentioned problems, the present invention has been developed to provide a simple and yet highly efficient temporary railing system in accordance with OSHA requirements that can be readily installed when needed and just as readily removed when no longer required.
[0016] The present invention can be readily adapted to conform to varying building stricture configurations. In particular, the temporary guard rail of the present invention includes a plurality of upright stanchions that are designed to be installed about the edge of a flat roof, an elevated platform, flight of stairs, or a floor area to support a plurality of vertically spaced, telescoping side railings.
[0017] Each of the upright stanchions of the temporary guard rail of the present invention include an anchor bracket integrally formed therewith for attaching the upright stanchions to the subfloor or framing members of the building under construction. The anchor brackets are provided with a plurality of mounting holes to permit the attachment of the same to the building structure with lag screws or other suitable fasteners. Typically, a pair or a series of these upright stanchions are attached to the subfloor in locations that present a potential for injury due to falls.
[0018] The individual stanchions are connected by upper and lower side rails which are pivotally mounted at a predetermined height on each upright stanchion. The pivoting side rail connectors with adapters permit the horizontal side rails to be rotated a full 360 degrees about the point of attachment on each upright stanchion either horizontally or at an angle. Thus, the guard rails may be adapted to virtually to any configuration encountered in a building under construction.
[0019] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a temporary guard rail system that can be readily installed when needed and readily removed when no longer required.
[0020] Another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary guard rail system which may be readily adapted to virtually any configuration encountered in the building construction including roofs, elevated platforms, balconies, stairs, and the perimeter of the floor of the building prior to the construction of the exterior walls or permanent protective railings.
[0021] Another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary guard rail system which may be adapted for installation on soil or asphalt adjacent trenches or other excavations to prevent falls therein.
[0022] Another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary guard rail system that fully complies with the OSHA requirements for such temporary guard rails. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0023] [0023]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an upright stanchion that forms a part of the temporary guard rail system of the present invention;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upright stanchion showing sections of the telescoping, horizontal side rails mounted thereon and fastened to the floor of a structure;
[0025] [0025]FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged perspective views of the pivoting collars for attaching the lower, horizontal side rails of the present invention;
[0026] [0026]FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged perspective views of the top end of the upright stanchion showing the upper horizontal side rails attached thereto;
[0027] [0027]FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the telescoping segments comprising each respective side rail;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the top end of the upright stanchion showing an adapter for stair railings attached thereto;
[0029] [0029]FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the top end of the upright stanchion showing the stair rail adapter of FIG. 8 having a stair railing attached thereto at an angle;
[0030] [0030]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the anchor bracket of the present invention;
[0031] [0031]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the toe board of the present invention installed on an upright stanchion;
[0032] [0032]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the one-way swivel bracket of the present invention for use on top of an upright stanchion;
[0033] [0033]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a two-way swivel bracket of the present invention for use on top of an upright stanchion;
[0034] [0034]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the one-way, mid-rail bracket of the present invention for use with a rail support collar;
[0035] [0035]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the two-way mid-rail bracket of the present invention for use with a rail support collar;
[0036] [0036]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the guard rail extension post of the present invention;
[0037] [0037]FIG. 17 is side elevational view of the guide post leverage strap of the present invention installed in its functional position;
[0038] [0038]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the ground plate adapter of the present invention; and
[0039] [0039]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the roof plate adapter of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0040] With further reference to the drawings, the temporary guard rail system in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 2 and indicated generally at 10 . The temporary guard rail system 10 comprises a plurality of upright stanchions 11 as shown in FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment, stanchions 11 are formed from solid steel bars in order to comply with OSHA strength regulations. However, it will be appreciated that other materials such as aluminum, fiberglass and similar composites may be utilized in alternative embodiments.
[0041] The lower end of each stanchion 11 has integrally formed therewith or otherwise fixed thereto an anchor bracket, indicated generally at 12 , for attaching each stanchion 11 to the building subfloor 13 or other suitable forming members (not shown). In the preferred embodiment, stanchion 11 is positioned in a predetermined location on anchor bracket 12 and is attached in perpendicular relation thereto by weldment or other suitable means as illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 1, anchor bracket 12 includes a plurality of mounting apertures 12 a extending through the same in predetermined locations. Mounting apertures 12 a each have a center axis that is disposed in perpendicular relation to the plane of anchor bracket 12 .
[0043] Anchor bracket 12 may be securely attached to building subfloor 13 by installing a plurality of lag screws 14 or other suitable fasteners to secure stanchion 11 in position as illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0044] Referring now to FIG. 10 there is shown therein an alternative embodiment of the anchor bracket, indicated generally at 12 ′, for attaching each stanchion 11 ′ to the building subfloor or other suitable framing members. In this embodiment anchor bracket 12 ′ includes a cylindrical cup 12 b ′ that is positioned in a predetermined location on anchor bracket 12 ′ and is attached in perpendicular relation thereto by weldment or other suitable means.
[0045] Cup 12 b ′ includes an internal bore 12 c ′ having an inside diameter that is slightly larger than an outside diameter of stanchion 11 ′. Thus, cup 12 b ′ is adapted to receive a lower end of stanchion 11 ′ therein.
[0046] Stanchion 11 ′ is provided with a cross-drilled hole 11 a ′ at the lower end thereof and in perpendicular relation to a longitudinal axis of stanchion 11 ′.
[0047] Similarly, cup 12 b ′ includes a pair of cross-drilled holes (not shown) having a common axis of symmetry and being positioned so as to enable axial alignment with cross-drilled hole 11 a ′ in stanchion 11 ′ when the same is inserted within cup 12 b′.
[0048] In this embodiment a safety bolt, indicated generally at 30 ′, is inserted through cup 12 b ′ and stanchion 11 ′ to retain the same in position. Safety bolt 30 ′ includes a safety spring 31 ′ as shown in FIG. 10.
[0049] Spring 31 ′ is generally semicircular in configuration having a loop portion 31 a ′ formed at either end thereof. Safety bolt 30 ′ includes a head portion 30 a ′ having a hole 30 a ″ drilled therethrough wherein a loop portion 31 a ′ of safety spring 31 ′ may be inserted and permanently captured. An opposite end of the safety spring 31 ′, also having a loop portion 31 a ′ formed thereon, is snapped into position over the terminal end of safety bolt 30 ′ which extends through cup 12 b ′ and is spring-biased against cup 12 b ′ in order to retain bolt 30 ′ therein.
[0050] Since such safety bolts and safety springs are well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary.
[0051] In yet another alternative embodiment (not illustrated), anchor bracket 12 ′ includes a cup 12 b ′ having an internal bore 12 c ′ that is provided with internal threads which are adapted to receive and engage a mating external thread formed at the lower end of stanchion 11 ′ so as secure the same therein.
[0052] Since such internally threaded fittings are well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary.
[0053] Referring to FIG. 2 it will be appreciated that stanchion 11 is positioned at a predetermined location on anchor bracket 12 which is offset in a lateral direction from a center point 15 of the top surface of anchor bracket 12 .
[0054] The above predetermined positioning of stanchion 11 on anchor bracket 12 in conjunction with the predetermined location of mounting apertures 12 a in anchor bracket 12 is designed to gain a mechanical advantage in counteracting the potential force which could be exerted against horizontal side rails, indicated generally at 16 , generated as a result of an adult or child falling against the same while moving through and around the building site thereby preventing serious bodily injury.
[0055] Still referring to FIG. 2, it will be appreciated that stanchion 11 has formed thereon an upper rail stop 17 a and a lower rail stop 17 b . Rail stops 17 a and 17 b are preferably fabricated as steel rings having an axial opening that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of stanchion 11 . Upper rail stop 17 a and lower rail stop 17 b are disposed about the outside diameter of stanchion 11 and positioned at a predetermined vertical height generally corresponding to the vertical height of lower horizontal side rails 16 b as shown in FIG. 2.
[0056] It will be more clearly seen by referring to FIG. 1, that upper rail stop 17 a and lower rail stop 17 b are disposed about stanchion 11 in perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis thereof. Rail stops 17 a and 17 b are positioned in spaced relation from each other to accommodate the installation of at least two rail support collars 18 therebetween as clearly seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0057] In the preferred embodiment, rail support collars 18 are also fabricated from steel having an axial opening that is somewhat larger than the outside diameter of stanchion 11 but smaller than rail stops 17 a and 17 b enabling collars 18 to be freely rotated 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis of stanchion 11 .
[0058] Formed on the outside diameter of collars 18 are at least one threaded stud 19 extending outwardly therefrom in perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis of stanchion 11 as shown in FIG. 3. In the embodiment shown, threaded studs 19 are fabricated from hexagonal steel stock and are attached to the exterior surface of collar 18 by weldment or other suitable means. There is also provided with each threaded stud 19 a wing nut 20 having cooperating threads for engaging therewith.
[0059] It will be understood that during the manufacturing process of stanchion 11 as shown in FIG. 3, rail stops 17 a and 17 b with at least two rail support collars 18 therebetween are slideably positioned at a predetermined location on stanchion 11 . After the aforesaid components are precisely located in their operative positions, rail stops 17 a and 17 b are attached to stanchion 11 by weldment thereby permanently retaining collars 18 . Collars 18 remain freely rotatable 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis of stanchion 11 .
[0060] Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that each end of lower horizontal side rails 16 b includes a side rail extension bracket 16 c that is attached in substantial linear alignment thereto by weldment. Side rail extension brackets 16 c include at least one mounting aperture 16 f through which threaded stud 19 may be inserted to mount lower horizontal side rails 16 b in their functional position as shown in FIG. 4.
[0061] Wing nut 20 , or other suitable fastener, may then be screwed into engagement with extension bracket 16 c to secure lower horizontal side rail 16 b in position.
[0062] It will be appreciated that lower side rail 16 b may now be rotated in a horizontal plane or pivoted vertically to conform to the shape of the building structure where it will be deployed.
[0063] Now, turning to FIG. 5, there is shown the top end of upright stanchion 11 whereon an tipper horizontal side rail 16 a is secured. It will be seen that the top end of stanchion 11 includes a threaded stud 19 that is integrally formed or otherwise fixed thereon. There is also provided with threaded stud 19 a wing nut 20 including cooperating threads therein.
[0064] It can also be seen that upper side rail 16 a includes a side rail extension bracket 16 c that is disposed in substantial linear alignment with upper side rail 16 a and attached thereto by means such as weldment. Extension bracket 16 c is provided with at least one mounting aperture 16 f for locating extension bracket 16 c on threaded stud 19 in its functional. position.
[0065] Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be appreciated that at least two side rail extension brackets 16 c and their corresponding upper side rails 16 a may be positioned on threaded stud 19 and secured in this position by engagement with wing nut 20 .
[0066] It will be appreciated that upper horizontal side rails 16 a may also be rotated 360 degrees in perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis of stanchion 11 to conform to the shape of the building structure or construction site where it is to be utilized.
[0067] Now, turning to FIG. 7, there is shown therein a detailed view of the telescoping side rail of the present invention, indicated generally at 16 . In the preferred embodiment, side rail 16 is composed of two individual segments, namely internal segment 6 d and external segment 16 e . It will be understood that both internal segment 16 d and external segment 16 e are fabricated from steel tubing that is generally rectangular in cross section. In particular, internal segment 16 d is fabricated to an outside dimension that is slightly smaller than the inside dimension of external segment 16 e.
[0068] Accordingly, internal segment 16 d may be slideably engaged with the inside surface of external segment 16 e in a telescoping manner. Hence, horizontal side rails 16 may be adjusted in length to conform to the dimensions of the building structure on the construction site where it is to be installed.
[0069] The telescoping ends of internal segment 16 d and external segment 16 e may be provided with a suitable locking means, such as that indicated generally at 21 , for securing the telescoping side rail 16 in a fixed position after it has been adjusted to the desired length.
[0070] It is noteworthy that each respective telescoping side rail 16 as shown in FIG. 6 is manufactured to the same specifications and, thus, upper side rails 16 a and lower side rails 16 b are functionally interchangeable. The respective numerical designations herein are provided for purposes of clarification only.
[0071] Turning now to FIG. 11 there is shown therein a perspective view of the telescoping toe board of the present invention, indicated generally at 35 ′. In the preferred embodiment, toe board 35 ′ is comprised of two individual sections, namely internal section 35 a ′ and external 35 b ′. Both internal section 35 a ′ and external section 35 b ′ are fabricated from steel tubing that is generally rectangular in cross-section. In particular, internal section 35 a is fabricated to an outside dimension that is slightly smaller than the inside dimension of external section 35 b′.
[0072] Accordingly, internal section 35 a ′ may be slidingly engaged with the inside surface of external section of 35 b ′ in a telescoping manner. Hence, the toe board 35 ′ may be adjusted in length to conform to the dimension of the building structure on the construction site in a manner similar to that of the telescoping side rails 16 of the present invention.
[0073] Internal section 35 a ′ and external section 35 b ′ may be provided with a suitable locking means, such as thumb screw 34 ′ as shown in FIG. 11. Thumb screw 34 ′ threadably engages mating nut 33 ′ that is fixedly attached to an exterior surface of external section 35 b ′ by weldment or other suitable means.
[0074] Thumb screw 34 ′ is of sufficient length to extend through an aperture (not shown) formed in external section 35 b ′ in alignment with nut 33 ′ so as to secure internal member 35 a ′ in a desired position after telescoping adjustment of the toe board 35 ′.
[0075] The opposite ends of internal member 35 a ′ and external member 35 b ′ are each provided with a semicircular yoke bracket, indicated generally at 36 ′, which are adapted to engage upright stanchions 11 ′ adjacent a lower end thereof as shown in FIG. 11. Yoke brackets 36 ′ are secured in axial alignment with toe board 35 ′ by machine screws 37 ′ or other suitable fastening means.
[0076] In practical use, toe board 35 ′ is positioned intermediate an adjacent pair of upright stanchions 11 ′ and telescopingly adjusted to the required length and secured in position by thumb screw 34 ′. It will be appreciated that toe board 35 ′ functions to prevent tools and other materials from accidentally being pushed over the edge of the staircase or balcony whereon the temporary guard rail system is installed and onto persons below thereby preventing potential injury.
[0077] The toe board 35 ′ is designed to withstand in excess of 50 pounds of outward pressure applied thereto in accordance with OSHA standards.
[0078] Referring now to FIG. 8, there is shown a stair adapter bracket, indicated generally at 24 , designed to receive and support upper side rails 16 a at varying angles in relation to upright stanchion 11 and particularly in those instances where the temporary guard rail system is utilized as a hand rail on a flight of stairs or other inclines.
[0079] Stair adapter bracket 24 is L-shaped, having a long member 24 a and a short member 24 b . In the preferred embodiment, stair adapter bracket 24 is fabricated from steel plate material and long member 24 a is bent or attached in perpendicular relation to short member 24 b by weldment.
[0080] Short member 24 b is provided with a mounting aperture (not shown) at a predetermined location designed to receive threaded stud 19 that outwardly projects from the top of stanchion 11 such that long member 24 a of stair adapter 24 is disposed in substantial parallel relation to the top of stanchion 11 as shown in FIG. 8.
[0081] There is also provided at the distal end of long member 24 a a threaded stud 19 that is disposed in. perpendicular relation to the plane defining member 24 a . Threaded stud 19 is provided with a wing nut 20 having compatible threads therein.
[0082] In this particular application, anchor brackets 12 are attached to the treads of a convention flight of stairs or other inclines at various intervals. Upper side rails 16 a are mounted on threaded stud 19 at the distal end of long member 24 a of the stair adapter bracket 24 . Wing nut 20 is screwed into engagement with side rail extension bracket 16 c . Thereafter, the respective stanchions 11 , each having a stair adapter bracket 24 installed thereon, are connected by a plurality of side rails 16 a that extend from end to end down the flight of stairs or other inclines.
[0083] It will be appreciated that side rail extension bracket 16 c is designed and fabricated to provide sufficient clearance between the end of upper side rail 16 a and stair adapter bracket 24 to enable side rail 16 a to be pivoted at varying angles to vertical without binding against adapter bracket 24 .
[0084] It is understood that lower side rails 16 b are designed and fabricated to enable this same pivoting movement at varying angles to vertical without special adaptation.
[0085] In order to facilitate the installation of the temporary guard rail system on a flight of stair or other inclines, various alternative embodiments of stair adapter bracket 24 are provided as illustrated in FIGS. 12 - 15 .
[0086] Referring to FIG. 12 there is shown therein a one-way swivel bracket, indicated generally at 25 ′, designed to receive and support upper side rails 16 a at varying angles in relation to upright stanchion 11 ′. It will be appreciated that the one-way swivel bracket 25 ′ is a modified version of the stair adapter bracket 24 as shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment bracket 25 ′ includes a swivel plate 25 c ′ that is adapted for rotational movement about pivot pin 29 ′ in a plane generally parallel to that of long member 25 a ′ of bracket 25 ′ as shown in FIG. 12.
[0087] Plate 25 c ′ has mounted thereon a threaded stud 19 ′ that projects outwardly therefrom in perpendicular relation to a plane defining plate 25 c ′. Threaded stud 19 ′ is provided with a wing nut 20 ′ having compatible threads therein.
[0088] It will be understood that the one-way swivel bracket 25 ′ is intended for use on an upright stanchion 11 ′ disposed at a terminal end of an assembled temporary guard rail system 10 whereon only one end of a guard rail 16 will be installed.
[0089] Referring now to FIG. 13, there is shown therein a two-way swivel bracket, indicated generally at 26 ′, designed for installation on the top end of an upright stanchion 11 ′ wherein the same is disposed intermediate two adjacent upright stanchions 11 ′ in an assembled temporary guard rail system 10 .
[0090] Two-way swivel bracket 26 ′ includes a swivel plate 26 c ′ having a pair of threaded studs 19 ′ installed thereon and extending outwardly therefrom in generally perpendicular relation thereto. It will be appreciated that pivot pin 29 ′ is installed intermediate the two threaded studs 19 ′ which are installed adjacent the ends of plate 26 c ′ so as to provide a symmetrical pivoting movement thereof about pin 29 ′.
[0091] In this embodiment bracket 26 ′ is adapted to receive the ends of two adjacent upper side rails 16 a thereon.
[0092] Referring now to FIG. 14, there is shown therein a one-way mid-rail swivel bracket, indicated generally at 27 ′. It will be appreciated that the one-way mid-rail swivel bracket 27 ′ is adapted for use on an upright stanchion 11 ′ positioned at the terminal end of. an assembled guard rail whereon it functions to receive only one end of a lower side rail 16 b.
[0093] In the preferred embodiment, mid-rail swivel bracket 27 ′ includes an elongated body member 27 a ′ having an aperture (not shown) formed adjacent an end thereof for installation on a threaded stud 19 formed on rail support collar 18 .
[0094] Bracket 27 ′ includes a swivel plate 27 c ′ which is pivotedly attached to body member 27 a ′ by a pivot pin 29 ′ imparting rotational movement thereto in a plane parallel to the plane defining member 27 a ′. Plate 27 c ′ is provided with a single threaded stud 19 ′ projecting outwardly therefrom in perpendicular relation thereto. Threaded stud 19 ′ is provided with a wing nut 20 ′ having compatible threads therein.
[0095] Turning now to FIG. 15 there is shown therein a two-way mid-rail swivel bracket, indicated generally at 28 ′, designed for use on a stanchion 11 ′ disposed intermediate two adjacent stanchions 11 ′ in an assembled temporary guard rail system 10 .
[0096] The two-way mid-rail swivel bracket 28 ′ is adapted to receive the ends of two adjacent lower side rails 16 b in maimer similar to that described hereinabove for the two-way swivel bracket 26 ′.
[0097] In this embodiment the bracket 28 ′ includes an elongated rectangular member 28 a ′ having an aperture (not shown) formed adjacent an end thereof for installation on a threaded stud 19 formed on rail support collar 18 . Bracket 28 ′ includes a swivel plate 28 c ′ having a pair of outwardly projecting threaded studs 19 ′ installed thereon in a symmetrical arrangement about a pivot pin 291 . Thus, plate 28 c ′ is adapted for symmetrical movement about pivot pin 29 ′ in a plane parallel to the plane defining elongated member 28 a′.
[0098] In each of the above described alternative embodiments shown in FIGS. 12 - 15 , the brackets, swivel plates and pivot pins are fabricated from steel or other suitable materials having sufficient strength to comply with OSHA standards for temporary guard rails.
[0099] Referring now to FIG. 16, there is shown therein a stanchion extension post, indicated generally at 40 ′. Extension post 40 ′ functions to increase the vertical height of stanchions 11 ′ to provide an increased measure of safety for employees working on ladders and stilts as required by OSHA regulations.
[0100] Extension post 40 ′ is similar in overall appearance and includes basically the same features as described hereinabove for stanchion 11 . Extension post 40 ′ differs from stanchion 11 with respect to its overall length which is approximately 24 inches. The extension post 40 ′ includes an internal bore 40 a ′ having an inside diameter which is slightly larger than the outside diameter of stanchion 11 ′. Thus, the extension post 40 ′ is adapted to slide onto the upper end of stanchion 11 ′ to effectively extend the vertical height thereof from 42 inches to approximately 54 inches. When installed in its functional position, the lower end of extension post 401 comes into positive contact with the upper rail stop 17 a of stanchion 11 ′ as shown in FIG. 17.
[0101] In order to attach the extension post 401 to an assembled temporary guard rail system 10 , the upper side rails 16 a are detached from their position at the top of stanchion 11 ′ by removing wing nut 20 from threaded stud 19 .
[0102] Next, the extension post 40 ′ is disposed about the top of stanchion 11 ′ such that the same slidingly engages internal bore 40 a ′ and slides downwardly against the upper rail stop 17 a of stanchion 11 ′.
[0103] Thereafter, upper side rail 16 a is re-attached to collar 18 ′ by engaging the same on threaded stud 19 ′ with wing nut 20 ′.
[0104] Next an additional telescoping side rail (not shown) having features identical to side rails 16 a and 16 b as seen in FIG. 2 is installed at the top of extension post 40 ′ on threaded stud 19 ′ and secured thereto by wing nut 20 ′.
[0105] When installing extension post 40 ′ on the first or last post in the temporary guard rail system which is unsupported by an adjacent stanchion 11 ′, the use of a leverage strap, indicated generally at 41 ′, as shown in FIG. 17 is required to meet OSHA standards. Leverage strap 41 ′ comprises an elongated steel band having an aperture (not shown) at the top end thereof for installation on a threaded stud 19 ′ integrally formed on collar 18 ′ of extension post 40 ′.
[0106] Leverage strap 41 ′ includes a base plate 41 a ′ integrally formed thereto including a plurality of apertures (not shown) positioned at predetermined locations thereon so as to be aligned with apertures 12 a formed in anchor bracket 12 . Thus, the base plate 41 a ′ of leverage strap 41 may be secured together with anchor bracket 12 by lag screws 14 to the building subfloor in order to support the extension post 401 in the above described configuration.
[0107] In order to adapt the temporary guard rail system 10 of the present invention for use adjacent an open trench or other excavation site, anchor brackets 12 may be installed on a ground adapter plate as shown in FIG. 18 and indicated generally at 45 . In the preferred embodiment, plate 45 is fabricated from a heavy gauge, corrugated sheet metal which is well known in the art. Such corrugated sheet metal is typically formed with alternating ridge portions 45 a and valley portions 45 b which are interconnected by upwardly tapered side wall portions 45 c when viewed in cross-section.
[0108] Since such corrugated sheet metal is well known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion of the same is not deemed necessary. the preferred embodiment, the plate 45 is cut into approximately 18 inch squares for use in combination with the present invention. An anchor bracket 12 is mounted on the top surface of ridge portion 45 a in axially alignment therewith at a predetermined location. Thereafter, anchor bracket 12 is secured in position by a plurality of self-tapping, sheet metal screws 42 which are threadably secured in a plurality of pilot holes 43 formed therein in coaxial alignment thereto.
[0109] It will be understood that any embodiment of anchor bracket 12 described hereinabove is suitable for this installation.
[0110] Plate 45 is provided with a plurality of cylindrical, locating sleeves 46 which are positioned at predetermined locations thereon as shown in FIG. 18. Locating sleeves 46 are disposed in axial alignment with corresponding locating holes 47 formed in plate 45 in axial alignment therewith and being fixedly attached thereto by weldment or other suitable fastening means.
[0111] Each locating sleeve 46 is adapted to receive an anchor pin 48 which loosely penetrates the same and is driven into the ground or asphalt surface 50 adjacent the open trench 55 or other excavation site where the temporary guard rail system 10 is being installed.
[0112] In the preferred embodiment, anchor pins 48 are fabricated from elongated metal rods such as steel rods and measure approximately 36 inches in length. Anchor pins 48 include a head portion 48 a integrally formed therewith and having a diameter that is larger than that of locating sleeves 46 so as to prevent it passing through the same when anchor pin 48 is driven into its functional position below the surface 50 by a sledge hammer (not shown) or other suitable tool.
[0113] In a similar manner, a plurality of anchor stakes 49 are utilized to secure the peripheral edges of plate 45 in place.
[0114] In the preferred embodiment, anchor stake 49 includes an elongated body member 49 b that is T-shaped in cross-section. An upper end of body member 49 b includes an outwardly projecting flange member 49 c which functions to secure the peripheral edges of plate 45 in position after stake 49 has been driven into the ground 50 . Stake 49 may be provided with a cylindrical head portion 49 a being attached thereto by weldment so that it may be conveniently driven into the ground 50 by a hammer (not shown) or other suitable tool.
[0115] In the manner described hereinabove, a plurality of ground adapter plates 45 may be positioned about the perimeter of an open trench 55 or other excavation site at predetermined intervals so as to provide support for the installation of the temporary guard rail system 10 thereon.
[0116] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the ground adapter plates 45 may also be installed on an asphalt surface such as a street or roadway adjacent a trench 55 or excavation site.
[0117] In the construction of modem commercial buildings, panels of corrugated sheet. metal are frequently utilized in the construction of the roof. In order to adapt the temporary guard rail system 10 to such a corrugated metal structure, a roof adapter plate, indicated generally at 60 , is provided as shown in FIG. 19. In the preferred embodiment, the roof adapter plate 60 is fabricated from the same corrugated metal material used in the construction of the roof A panel of corrugated sheet metal is cut into approximately 18-inch squares. Thereafter, a plurality of such squares are stacked and secured together by weldment or other suitable fastening means.
[0118] In this configuration, roof adapter plate 60 may be positioned in the desired location on the surface of the roof 61 for installation as shown in FIG. 19.
[0119] Next, an anchor bracket 12 may be positioned thereon for attachment to the underlying roof 61 by a plurality of self-tapping sheet metal screws 42 . The roof adapter plate 60 is further secured to the roof 61 by a plurality of self-tapping screws which are installed through the ridge portions 60 a and the upwardly tapered side wall portions 60 c thereof in predetermined locations.
[0120] It will be understood that in the roof installation described above, anchor bracket 12 is preferably of an embodiment having a cup 12 b ′ including an internal bore 12 c ′ having internal threads formed therein which are adapted to receive an externally threaded portion of stanchion 11 as previously described. After installation of the roof adapter plate 60 , the construction of the roof 61 proceeds in the normal manner wherein a concrete slab is poured permanently capturing the plate 60 and anchor bracket 12 therein. Upon completion the threaded stanchion 11 ′ may be threadably disengaged from the threaded anchor bracket 12 ′ and the resulting void filled with a suitable cap or plug (not shown) when use of the temporary guard rail system is complete.
[0121] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the roof adapter plate 60 may be retrofitted to pre-existing commercial buildings using the above described procedure by removing a portion of a pre-existing roof having a corrugated metal structure, matching the roof adapter plate 60 to the roof, installing the roof adapter plate with the attached anchor bracket 12 ′ and patching the retrofitted area with a suitable roof material so as to capture the plate 60 therein.
[0122] It is reiterated that the temporary guard rail system 10 of the present invention has been designed and fabricated to comply with OSHA standards for temporary guard rails. From the above it can be seen that the present invention provides a temporary guard rail system that may be readily adapted to any feature of a building that is under construction to protect against the potential for serious bodily injury from falls particularly when the construction site is unsupervised.
[0123] The terms “upper”, “lower”, “side”, “top”, “bottom” and so forth have been used herein merely for convenience to describe the present invention and its parts as oriented in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that these terms are in no way limiting to the invention since such invention may obviously be disposed in different orientations when in use.
[0124] The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of such invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein. | An improved temporary guard rail system for use by residential and commercial builders on construction sites in those areas of building structures where an accidental fall may result in serious bodily injury. In particular, the temporary guard rail system of the present invention includes a plurality of upright stanchions having mounting brackets integrally formed or attached thereto that are connected by a plurality of vertically spaced, generally horizontal side rails extending end to end. The vertically spaced side rails are adapted for 360 degree rotational movement in both horizontal and vertical planes. In addition, the tubular guard rails are fabricated in a plurality of sections that may be slideably engaged, one inside another, to provide a telescoping adjustment of length. The temporary guard rail system may be adapted and secured to various features of a building such as balconies, elevated platforms, stair cases, and the perimeter of a floor prior to the external walls or permanent protective railings being erected to prevent accidental injury. Further, the temporary guard rail system is designed and manufactured to conform to OSHA requirements for temporary guard rails. This system also provides a versatile safety device which is easy to install, easy to dismantle, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. | 4 |
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in e, to the operation of hydraulically controllable downhole devices and in particular to a system and method for communicating hydraulic control from a tubing retrievable downhole device to a wireline retrievable downhole device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One or more subsurface safety valves are commonly installed as part of the tubing string within oil and gas wells to protect against the communication of high pressure and high temperature formation fluids to the surface. These subsurface safety valves are designed to shut in production from the formation in response to a variety of abnormal and potentially dangerous conditions.
As one or more subsurface safety valves are built into the tubing string, these valves are typically referred to as tubing retrievable safety valves (“TRSV”). TRSVs are normally operated by hydraulic fluid pressure. The hydraulic fluid pressure is typically controlled at the surface and transmitted to the TRSV via a hydraulic fluid line. Hydraulic fluid pressure must be applied to the TRSV to place the TRSV in the open position. When hydraulic fluid pressure is lost, the TRSV will operate to the closed position to prevent formation fluids from traveling therethrough. As such, TRSVs are fail safe valves.
As TRSVs are often subjected to years of service in severe operating conditions, failure of TRSVs may occur. For example, a TRSV in the closed position may leak. Alternatively, a TRSV in the closed position may not properly open. Because of the potential for disaster in the absence of a properly functioning TRSV, it is vital that the malfunctioning TRSV be promptly replaced or repaired.
As TRSVs are typically incorporated into the tubing string, removal of the tubing string to replace or repair the malfunctioning TRSV is required. Depending on the circumstances, the cost of pulling the tubing string out of the wellbore can run into the millions of dollars.
It has been found, however, that a wireline retrievable safety valve (“WRSV”) may be inserted inside the original TRSV and operated to provide the same safety function as the original TRSV. These valves are designed to be lowered into place from the surface via wireline and locked in place inside the original TRSV. This method is a much more efficient and cost-effective alternative to pulling the tubing string.
If the WRSV is to take over the full functionality of the original TRSV, the WRSV must be communicated to the hydraulic control system. In traditional TRSVs, the communication path for the hydraulic fluid pressure to the replacement WRSV is established through a pre-machined radial bore extending from the hydraulic chamber to the interior of the TRSV. Once a failure in the TRSV has been detected, this communication path is established by shifting the TRSV to its locked out position and sheering a sheer plug that is installed within the radial bore.
It has been found, however, that operating conventional TRSVs to the locked out position and establishing this communication path has several inherent drawbacks. To begin with, the communication path creates a leak path for formation fluids up through the hydraulic control system. As noted above, TRSVs are intended to operate under abnormal well conditions and serve a vital and potentially life-saving function. Hence, if such an abnormal condition occurred when one TRSV has been locked out, even if other safety valves have closed the tubing string, high pressure formation fluids may travel to the surface through the hydraulic line. In addition, manufacturing a TRSV with this radial bore requires several high-precision drilling and thread tapping operations in a difficult-to-machine material. Any mistake in the cutting of these features necessitates that the entire upper subassembly of the TRSV be scrapped. The manufacturing of the radial bore also adds considerable expense to the TRSV, while at the same time reducing reliability of the finished product. For example, if the seal between the sheer plug and the radial bore fails, a communication path for formation fluids may be created between the annulus and the interior of the TRSV. Additionally, this added expense and complexity must be built into every installed TRSV, while it will only be put to use in some small fraction thereof.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a system and method for establishing a communication path for hydraulic fluid pressure to a WRSV from a failed TRSV. A need has also arisen for such a system and method that does not create the potential for formation fluids to travel up through the hydraulic control line. Further, a need has arisen for such a system and method that does not require the complexity, expense, leak potential and reliability concerns associated with manufacturing a TPSV with a radial bore having a sheer plug therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention disclosed herein comprises a system and method for establishing a communication path for hydraulic fluid pressure to a wireline retrievable downhole device from a tubing retrievable downhole device. The system and method of the present invention avoids the potential for formation fluids to travel up through the hydraulic control line. The system and method of the present invention also avoids the complexity, expense, leak potential and reliability concerns associated with a pre-drilled radial bore in the tubing retrievable downhole device that requires a sheer plug to be disposed therein to provide a seal.
The system of the present invention for communicating hydraulic control from a tubing retrievable downhole device to a wireline retrievable downhole utilizes a tubing retrievable downhole device having a hydraulic chamber. After a malfunction of the tubing retrievable downhole device is detected and a need exists to otherwise achieve the functionality of the tubing retrievable downhole device, a radial cutting tool may be selectively located within the tubing retrievable downhole device. The radial cutting tool is used to create a fluid passageway between the hydraulic chamber of the tubing retrievable downhole device and the interior of the tubing retrievable downhole device. As such, hydraulic fluid may now be communicated down the existing hydraulic lines to the interior of the tubing. Once this communication path exists, the wireline retrievable downhole device may be positioned within the tubing retrievable downhole device such that the hydraulic fluid pressure from the hydraulic system may be communicated to the wireline retrievable downhole device.
The radial cutting tool that is selectively located within the tubing retrievable downhole device may be a chemical cutting tool, a mechanical cutting tool, explosive cutting mechanism or the like that are well known in the art.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the tubing retrievable downhole device may be a tubing retrievable safety valve that is operated to the lock out position prior to creating the fluid passageway between the hydraulic chamber of the tubing retrievable safety valve and the interior of the tubing retrievable safety valve. In this embodiment of the present invention, the wireline retrievable downhole device is typically a wireline retrievable safety valve that is used to replace the functionality of a malfunctioning tubing retrievable safety valve.
The method of the present invention for communicating hydraulic control from a tubing retrievable downhole device to a wireline retrievable downhole device involves locating a radial cutting tool within the tubing retrievable downhole device, creating a fluid passageway from the hydraulic chamber of the tubing retrievable downhole device to the interior of the tubing retrievable downhole device with the radial cutting tool and positioning the wireline retrievable downhole device within the tubing retrievable downhole device adjacent to the fluid passageway, thereby communicating hydraulic control to the wireline retrievable downhole device.
In the method of the present invention, the step of creating the fluid passageway may be achieved by chemically cutting the fluid passageway, mechanically cutting the fluid passageway, explosively cutting the fluid passageway or the like.
The method of the present invention may, for example, be used to communicate hydraulic fluid pressure to actuate a wireline retrievable safety valve that has been positioned within a tubing retrievable safety valve that has been operated to its lock out position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, including its features and advantages, reference is row made to the detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals identify like parts and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an offshore production platform wherein a wireline retrievable safety valve is being lowered into a tubing retrievable safety valve to take over the functionality thereof;
FIG. 2 is a half-section view of a tubing retrievable safety valve in its lock out position;
FIG. 3 is a half-section view of a tubing retrievable safety valve having a radial cutting tool positioned therein adjacent to the hydraulic chamber of the tubing retrievable safety valve;
FIG. 4 is a half-section view of a tubing retrievable safety valve having a radial cutting tool positioned therein after creating a fluid passageway between the hydraulic chamber of the tubing retrievable safety valve and the interior of the tubing; and
FIG. 5 is a half-section view of a tubing retrievable safety valve having a wireline retrievable safety valve disposed therein such that hydraulic control over the wireline retrievable safety valve may be established with the hydraulic system originally utilized to control the tubing retrievable safety valve.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention is discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts which can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not delimit the scope of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, an offshore oil and gas production platform having wireline retrievable safety valve lowered into a tubing retrievable safety valve is schematically illustrated and generally designated 10 . A semi-submersible platform 12 is centered over a submerged oil and gas formation 14 located below sea floor 16 . Wellhead 18 is located on deck 20 of platform 12 . Well 22 extends through the sea 24 and penetrates the various earth strata including formation 14 to form wellbore 26 . Disposed within wellbore 26 is casing 28 . Disposed within casing 28 and extending from wellhead 18 is production tubing 30 . A pair of seal assemblies 32 , 34 provide a seal between tubing 30 and casing 28 to prevent the flow of production fluids therebetween. During production, formation fluids enter wellbore 26 through perforations 36 of casing 28 and travel into tubing 30 to wellhead 18 .
Coupled within tubing 30 is a tubing retrievable safety valve 38 . As is well known in the art, multiple tubing retrievable safety valves are commonly installed as part of tubing 30 to shut in production from formation 14 in response to a variety of abnormal and potentially dangerous conditions. For convenience of illustration, however, only tubing retrievable safety valve 38 is shown.
Tubing retrievable safety valve 38 is operated by hydraulic fluid pressure communicated thereto from surface installation 40 and hydraulic fluid control conduit 42 . Hydraulic fluid pressure must be applied to tubing retrievable safety valve 38 to place tubing retrievable safety valve 38 in the open position. When hydraulic fluid pressure is lost, tubing retrievable safety valve 38 will operate to the closed position to prevent formation fluids from traveling therethrough.
If, for example, tubing retrievable safety valve 38 is unable to properly seal in the closed position or does not properly open after being in the closed position, tubing retrievable safety valve 38 must typically be repaired or replaced. In the present invention, however, the functionality of tubing retrievable safety valve 38 may be replaced by wireline retrievable safety valve 44 , which may be installed within tubing retrievable safety valve 38 via wireline assembly 46 including wireline 48 . Once in place within tubing retrievable safety valve 38 , wireline retrievable safety valve 44 will be operated by hydraulic fluid pressure communicated thereto from surface installation 40 and hydraulic fluid line 42 through tubing retrievable safety valve 38 . As with the original configuration of tubing retrievable safety valve 38 , the hydraulic fluid pressure must be applied to wireline retrievable safety valve 44 to place wireline retrievable safety valve 44 in the open position. If hydraulic fluid pressure is lost, wireline retrievable safety valve 44 will operate to the closed position to prevent formation fluids from traveling therethrough.
Even though FIG. 1 depicts a cased vertical well, it should be noted by one skilled in the art that the present invention is equally well-suited for uncased wells, deviated wells or horizontal wells.
Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, half sectional views of tubing retrievable safety valve 50 are illustrated. Safety valve 50 is connected directly in series with production tubing 30 . Hydraulic control pressure is conducted in communicated to subsurface safety valve 50 via control conduit 42 to a longitudinal bore 52 formed in the sidewall of the top connector sub 54 . Pressurized hydraulic fluid is delivered through the longitudinal bore 52 into an annular chamber 56 defined by a counterbore 58 which is in communication with an annular undercut 60 formed in the sidewall of the top connector sub 54 . An inner housing mandrel 62 is slidably coupled and sealed to the top connector sub 54 by a slip union 64 and seal 66 , with the undercut 60 defining an annulus between inner mandrel 62 and the sidewall of top connector sub 54 .
A piston 68 is received in slidable, sealed engagement against the internal bore of inner mandrel 62 . The undercut annulus 60 opens into a piston chamber 70 in the annulus between the internal bore of a connector sub 72 and the external surface of piston 68 . The external radius of an upper sidewall piston section 74 is machined and reduced to define a radial clearance between piston 68 and connector sub 72 . An annular sloping surface 76 of piston 68 is acted against by the pressurized hydraulic fluid delivered through control conduit 42 . In FIGS. 2A-2B, piston 68 is in its locked out position wherein piston 68 is fully extended with the piston shoulder 78 engaging the top annular face 80 of an operator tube 82 . In this locked out position, a return spring 84 is fully compressed.
A flapper plate 86 is pivotally mounted onto a hinge sub 88 which is threadably connected to the lower end of spring housing 90 . A valve seat 92 is confined within a counterbore formed on hinge sub 88 . The lower end of safety valve 50 is connected to production tubing 30 by a bottom sub connector 94 . The bottom sub connector 94 has a counterbore 96 which defines a flapper valve chamber 98 . Thus, the bottom sub connector 94 forms a part of the flapper valve housing enclosure. In normal operation, flapper plate 86 pivots about pivot pin 100 and is biased to the valve closed position by coil spring 102 . When subsurface safety valve 50 must be operated from the valve open position to the valve closed position, hydraulic pressure is released from conduit 42 such that return spring 84 acts on the lower end of piston 68 which retracts operator tube 82 longitudinally through flapper valve chamber 98 . Flapper closure plate 86 will then rotate through chamber 98 . In the locked out position as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, however, the spring bias force is overcome and flapper plate 86 is locked out by operator tube 82 .
Even though subsurface safety valve 50 has been depicted, for the purposes of illustration, as having a flapper-type closure plate, it should be understood by one skilled in the art that subsurface safety valve 50 may incorporate various types of valve closure elements. Additionally, even though subsurface safety valve 50 has been depicted, for the purposes of illustration, as having hydraulic fluid acting directly upon piston 68 , it should be understood by one skilled in the art that subsurface safety valve 50 may alternatively incorporate a rod-piston mechanism which is acted upon by the hydraulic fluid and which in turn operates piston 68 .
If safety valve 50 becomes unable to properly seal in the closed position or does not properly open after being in the closed position, it is desirable to reestablish the functionality of safety valve 50 without removal of tubing 30 . In the present invention, as depicted in FIGS. 3A-3B, this is achieved by inserting a radial cutting tool 104 into the central bore of safety valve 50 . Radial cutting tool 104 may use any one of several cutting techniques that are well known in the art including, but not limited to, chemical cutting, thermal cutting, mechanical cutting, explosive cutting or the like.
For example, radial cutting tool 104 may be a chemical cutter that is lowered through tubing 30 from the surface into the center of the locked out safety valve 50 . An example of a suitable chemical cutter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,331, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The position of radial cutting tool 104 within safety valve 50 is determined by the engagement of the locator section 106 of radial cutting tool 104 with a landing nipple 108 within tubing 30 . Once in place, radial cutting tool 104 is operated to cut through upper sidewall piston section 74 . In the case of using the chemical cutter, a dispersed jet of cutting fluid is released through cutting ports, making a 360 degree cut into the surrounding material. The chemical cutter is fired by an electrical signal carried by a cable, which is normally controlled at the surface. The depth of cut made by the chemical cutter is predetermined, and is controlled by the composition of chemicals loaded into the chemical cutter and the geometry of the cutting ports. The chemical cutter is set to make a cut deep enough to penetrate through upper sidewall piston section 74 of the piston 68 while still shallow enough to maintain the integrity of connector sub 72 , as best seen in FIGS. 4A-4B.
With the use of any suitable radial cutting tool 104 , a fluid passageway 110 is created from piston chamber 70 to the interior of safety valve 50 through upper sidewall piston section 74 . Hydraulic pressure communicated to piston chamber 70 may thereby be communicated to the interior of safety valve 50 . Once fluid passageway 110 is created through upper sidewall piston section 74 , radial cutting tool 104 is retrieved to the surface. As depicted in FIGS. 5A-5B, a wireline retrievable safety valve 112 is then lowered into the central bore of tubing retrievable safety valve 50 . Wireline retrievable valve locator ring 115 engages landing nipple 108 within tubing 30 and locks into place. Installed in this manner, safety valve 112 seals the previously open fluid passageway 110 created by radial cutting tool 104 between seal 114 and seal 116 . Hydraulic control pressure is now conducted to safety valve 112 through fluid passageway 110 . Pressurized hydraulic fluid may now be delivered through an annular chamber 118 defined between piston 68 of safety valve 50 and housing 120 of safety valve 112 . Annular chamber 118 is in communication with a radial port 122 and an annular chamber 124 formed between housing 120 and piston 126 of safety valve 112 . Piston 126 is slidably coupled and sealed to housing 120 by seals 128 and 129 . Piston 126 is fully extended with the piston shoulder 130 engaging the top annular face 132 of an operator tube 134 . In this valve open position, a return spring 136 is fully compressed.
A flapper plate 138 is pivotally mounted onto a hinge sub 140 . A valve seat 142 is confined within hinge sub 140 . Flapper plate 138 pivots about pivot pin 144 and is biased to the valve closed position by coil spring 146 . In the valve open position as shown in FIGS. 5A-5B, the spring bias force is overcome and flapper plate 138 is retained in the valve open position by operator tube 134 to permit formation fluid slow up through tubing 30 .
When an out of range condition occurs and safety valve 112 must be operated from the valve open position to the valve closed position, hydraulic pressure is released from conduit 44 such that return spring 136 acts on the lower end of piston 126 which retracts operator tube 134 longitudinally through flapper valve chamber 148 . Flapper closure plate 138 will then rotate through chamber 148 and seal against seat 142 to prevent the flow of formation fluids therethrough. As such, safety valve 112 replaces the functionality of safety valve 50 utilizing the hydraulic system originally used to operate safety valve 50 . Thus, with the use of the present invention, hydraulic control may be communicated to a wireline retrievable downhole device through an existing tubing retrievable downhole device without removal of tubing 30 . In addition, with the use of the present invention, hydraulic control may be communicated to a wireline retrievable downhole device through an existing tubing retrievable downhole device without creating unnecessary leak paths or designing complex and expensive tubing retrievable downhole devices.
While this invention has been described with a reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments. | A system and method for communicating hydraulic control to a wireline retrievable downhole device ( 112 ) are disclosed. The system utilizes a tubing retrievable downhole device ( 50 ) having a hydraulic chamber ( 70 ). A radial cutting tool ( 104 ) is selectively located within the tubing retrievable downhole device ( 50 ) to cut a fluid passageway ( 110 ) between the hydraulic chamber ( 70 ) and the interior of the tubing retrievable downhole device ( 50 ). Thereafter, when the wireline retrievable downhole device ( 112 ) is positioned within the tubing retrievable downhole device ( 50 ), hydraulic control is communicated to the wireline retrievable downhole device ( 50 ) through the fluid passageway ( 110 ) to actuate the wireline retrievable downhole device ( 50 ). | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data carrier with a data processing device as well as to an electronic component with a data processing device, for example for such a data carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently doubts have been raised as regards the security of data carriers, it being stipulated that security-relevant data could be determined by monitoring the power consumption of such data carriers. It is true that during all logic operations, so also during sensible operations or sub-operations (for example cryptographic calculations) current power is consumed by switching operations in the logic circuitry in dependence on the result or logic level. Measurement of the power consumed by the circuit, therefore, could be used for an attack so as to find out secret data (key) by means of mathematical methods (correlations, power analysis).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to prevent such attempts from being successful.
This object is achieved in that a load circuit is connected to the power supply of the data carrier and is intended to influence the power consumption of the data carrier at least during security-relevant operations of the data processing device.
The power consumption that can be measured externally thus no longer corresponds to the power consumption of the data processing device alone, but also contains a further component which preferably is not directly related to the internal operations of the data processing device.
A particularly simple embodiment is obtained when the load circuit is constructed as a variable ballast resistor which in the simplest case may consist of a transistor or a network of series and parallel-connected transistors, connected to the same power supply lead in parallel with the data processing device. Different load states can be adjusted by appropriate control of the load resistor or load resistors.
A more complex embodiment is provided with a circuit arrangement which is constructed so as to be complementary to at least parts of the data processing device and can be controlled in parallel with the data processing device. Changes in the switching state, initiated during security-relevant operations, are thus carried out in a complementary fashion at the same time. Even if the power consumption should be different for different logic levels, in the ideal case the power consumption is constant because of the complementary switching states. However, because it cannot be detected from the outside what power consumption relates to the logic states actually involved in the security-relevant operations and what power consumption is involved in the complementary switching states which occur in parallel merely for the purpose of masking, it is not even necessary to pursue a constant power consumption. Therefore, it is not even necessary to construct all switching circuit components required for the security-relevant operations in a complementary fashion, but it suffices to make only a part of the circuit components complementary.
Preferably, the load circuit and the data processing device are integrated in a common circuit because the separation of the load circuit from the data processing data for the purpose of attempted discovery requires far more technical means than when these circuit components are arranged on the data carrier in a physically separated manner. The analysis of circuit elements actually involved in security-relevant operations is rendered more complicated notably when the circuit elements required are physically mixed with complementary circuit elements in one chip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a chip card having an embedded chip connected by a contact field by wires.
FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment providing complementary copies of logic circuits.
FIG. 3 illustrates a complementary machine connected to nodes of security-related circuit elements performing the calculation of a cryptogram.
The invention will be described in detail hereinafter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention is used, for example in so-called chip cards 1 or integrated circuits 3 (chip card chips) for such chip cards. Different constructions (for example SIM card, secure access model for a terminal, contactless or dual interface transponders) are feasible, the power supply being possible via contacts 2 , in a contactless manner, for example by induction of alternating current, or also by means of internal power supply sources such as rechargeable batteries. Therefore, the invention is suitable for any type of power supply. If the invention is incorporated in the relevant chip, usable information cannot be extracted either by a deliberate attempt aimed at the power supply provided within a chip card.
FIG. 1 shows such a chip card 1 with an embedded chip 3 which is connected to a contact field 2 by internal wires 4 .
Generally speaking, it would also be possible to construct all logic elements of a chip as a complementary copy. As an example for all logical elements of a chip FIG. 2 shows a first AND-gate 5 . The inputs of this AND-gate 5 are connected, via logic inverters 6 , 7 , to a second AND-gate 8 which forms the complementary gate and acts as a supplementary load. Preferably, delay elements are inserted in the input lines of the fist AND-gate 5 in order to compensate the signal delay of the inverters 6 , 7 . As the output of the first AND-gate 5 switches to logic “1” when both of its inputs are logic “1” and the output of the second AND-gate 8 switches to “1” when the inputs of the first AND-gate are all of logic value “0”, it cannot be recognized from outside if switching occurs when all the inputs of the first AND-gate 5 are set to “0” or are set to “1”. If a third and a fourth AND-gate were added parallel to the first and second AND-gate with a single inverter connected in-between one of the inputs, exactly one of those four AND-gates would switch every time when one of the logic values of the inputs changes. Because chips in a chip card are exposed to mechanical loads, however, they should not exceed a given size. Therefore, it is considered to be sufficient if only the logic elements which execute sensitive operations are constructed so as to be complementary. Two alternatives seem to be attractive for copying. On the one hand, security-relevant circuit elements, being of interest to a fraud because of the power consumption, can actually be provided on the chip in complementary logic so as to be controlled in parallel. For example, if during the calculation of a cryptogram, during which a secret in the form of a key which is unknown to the fraud is input, a logic level becomes high on a node at a given instant, be it random during the calculation (the previous state may have been low or high), in the complementary logic the state low is generated at the comparable node (the immediately previous state was high or low).
Consequently, for sensitive operations the number of low-high transitions and the number of high-low transitions are exactly equal and the number of nodes which are high at a given instant corresponds exactly to the number of nodes which are low. The surface area required by the complementary logic corresponds exactly to the surface area required by the copied logic.
On the other hand, it is also possible to realize a complementary machine which copies all logic combinations, be it not identical, by the switching of different load states.
FIG. 3 shows a complementary machine 10 which is connected, via wires 10 , to nodes of security-related circuit elements of parts 9 of the chip performing the calculation of the cryptogram. In relation to the states of the sensored nodes, the complementary machine 10 calculates an appropriate load and switches, via switching transistors 12 , the calculated number of load resistors 13 .
This step is aimed at the generating of a power consumption which is independent of the data or the key but not necessarily constant, in order to achieve resistance against attacks which utilize the power consumption as a starting point (simple or differential power analysis). In any case the object is not to achieve a constant power consumption of the circuit by complex control concepts.
This concept can be realized independently of the construction of the logic (synchronous or asynchronous circuit technique). | In order to prevent the retrieval of data via the measurement of the power consumption in a data carrier provided with a data processing device, it is proposed to connect a load circuit to the power supply of the data carrier so as to influence the power consumption of the data carrier at least during security-relevant operations of the data processing device. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a process for spin printing conductors, insulators, dielectrics, phosphors, emitters, and other elements that may be used for electronics and display applications. The present invention also relates to compositions used in this printing process. The present invention further includes devices made therefrom.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
[0002] The electronics, display and energy industries rely on the formation of coatings and patterns of conductive and other electronically active materials to form circuits on organic and inorganic substrates. The primary methods for generating these patterns are screen printing for features larger than about 100 μm and thin film and etching methods for features smaller than about 100 μm. Other subtractive methods to attain fine feature sizes include the use of photo-patternable pastes and laser trimming.
[0003] It is the trend in the electronics industry to make smaller and less expensive electronic devices that provide higher resolution and enhanced display performance. As a result, it has become necessary to develop new materials and new approaches to manufacture such devices.
[0004] Photo-patterning technologies offer uniform finer lines and space resolution when compared to traditional screen- printing methods. A photo-patterning method, such as DuPont's FODEL@ printing system, utilizes a photoimageable organic medium as found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,019; U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,771; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,480, whereby the substrate is first completely covered (printed, sprayed, coated or laminated) with the photoimageable thick film composition and dried. An image of the circuit pattern is generated by exposure of the photoimageable thick film composition with actinic radiation through a photomask bearing a circuit pattern. Actinic radiation is radiation such as ultraviolet that may cause photochemical reactions. The exposed substrate is then developed. The unexposed portion of the circuit pattern is washed away leaving the photoimaged thick film composition on the substrate that, subsequently, is fired to remove all remaining organic materials and sinter inorganic materials. Such a photo-patterning method demonstrates line resolution of about 30 microns depending on the substrate smoothness, inorganic particle size distribution, exposure, and development variables. When employed for the production of conductors in display devices such as plasma display panels, field emission displays, or liquid crystal displays, the conducting lines can be up to a meter long, many orders of magnitude longer than their widths and precision. The process is necessarily subtractive in its nature as a result of the wash-out of a large portion of the pattern. A process that is additive is desired by those in the industry.
[0005] The ink jet printing system is a high resolution, additive printing system having the ability to print complex patterns through digital instructions. This ink jet printing system is a recording system, which prints by discharging ink drops through a discharge orifice such as a nozzle or a slit to thus make the ink drops directly adhere to a printing substrate. Ink jet techniques usually fall into two broad categories: continuous injection systems and on-demand systems. In continuous injection systems, the ink jet is firing a continuous stream of microdrops and the pattern is established by selectively diverting or not diverting those microdrops to a waste reservoir. This system cannot be viewed as fully additive in that the portion of material diverted to the reservoir is lost, making the process less than 100% additive. In the on-demand system, drops are fired only when required. These systems are more prone to clogging when employing inks with high solids content, and it is a common feature that the first several drops on demand may not fire.
[0006] The ink mainly used in such an ink jet printing system comprises a dye dissolved in an aqueous or nonaqueous solvent. In the field of conductive inks, a liquid dispersion of ultrafine metal particles has been used in the formation of a conductive circuit making use of the ink jet printing system (US patent application 2003/0110978 A1). Liquid dispersions of other ultrafine particles such as metal oxides, organometallics or polymers may also be used in the formation of components of electronic circuits or display devices using ink jet printing systems.
[0007] United States patent application US 2004 (009290) discloses the spinning of conductive fibers or ribbons that are attached to a substrate by spinning a fiber or ribbon composed of an organic polymer with an inorganic material and affixing that fiber or ribbon in a desired orientation on a substrate and finally heating the composition to remove the organic polymer. This results in the conductive fiber or ribbon being affixed to the substrate in the desired orientation. Suitable inorganic materials are generally metal conductors that include Au, Ni, Au—Cr alloy, Au—Ta alloy, Cu—Cr alloy, Au/Indium tin oxide, Cu, Ag, and Ni. These constructions are useful as electrodes particularly on silicon wafers in solar cell fabrication. While several spinning methods are discussed, the concept of utilizing a viscoelastic system in which the concentration of the polymer component is no higher than a few percent is not disclosed. United States patent application US 2004050476 is similar but directed to a process for the fabrication of features on a display panel utilizing fibers or ribbons comprising organic polymers and inorganic material, the inorganic materials being phosphors, conductive metals or dielectric particles. These applications do not anticipate the advantage of using a viscoelastic polymer solution having a low polymer content thereby maximizing the quantity of functional phase materials printed onto the substrate.
[0008] It is possible to disperse solids in many synthetic polymers and spin fibers of those polymers. This is practiced with carbon blacks (U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,677, U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,370, and EP 250664), zinc oxide (U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,432), magnesium oxide (JP 57161115), or antimony tin oxide-coated Ti oxide particles (JP 59047474) in nylon for antistatic purpose, both throughout the fiber and in segregated into the core of core-shell compositions. Tin oxide (JP 49034550) has been added as a flame retardant. In all of these examples, the polymer component is an appreciable fraction and usually the majority of the mixture being spun. Conductivities of the resulting system are relatively low because the content of the active phase is necessarily so low. In addition, the fibers would have to be adhered to the substrate surface at very high temperatures for them to adhere. To achieve higher conductivities, the polymer fraction would have to be fired out, but the polymer content is so high that the volatilization process would destroy the lines.
[0009] An advantage of the composition in the current invention is that the polymer content is lower than the content of the functional phase and that it may be spun and adhered to the substrate surface at conditions close to ambient.
[0010] Various methods for preparing the foregoing liquid dispersion of metal ultrafine particles are known. The metal ultrafine particles or powder can be dispersed together with, for instance, a solvent, a resin and a dispersant, according to various means such as stirring, the applying of ultrasonic waves and mixing in, for instance, a ball mill or a sand mill. Liquid dispersions prepared according to this method have been employed in the fields of inks, paints and varnishes. There have been known, for instance, a method for directly preparing metal ultrafine particles in a liquid phase such as the technique for the evaporation of a metal in a gas phase (subsequently referred to as “evaporation-in-gas” technique) comprising the steps of evaporating a metal in a low vacuum atmosphere in the coexistence of vapor of a solvent, and then condensing the evaporated metal and solvent into uniform metal ultrafine particles to thus disperse the resulting particles in the condensed solvent and to thus give a liquid dispersion (Japanese Patent No. 2,561,537) and those, which make use of an insoluble precipitate-forming reaction or a reducing reaction using a reducing agent. Among these methods for preparing liquid dispersions of metal ultra fine particles, the evaporation-in-gas technique would permit the stable preparation of a liquid dispersion containing metal ultrafine particles having a particle size of not more than 100 nm and which are uniformly dispersed therein. In the evaporation in-gas technique, the amount of a dispersion stabilizer or a component required for the preparation of a liquid dispersion containing metal ultrafine particles in a desired concentration is smaller than that required in the liquid phase preparation technique.
[0011] Dispersion of metal or other ultrafine particles must have characteristic properties (such as viscosity and surface tension) required for the ink used in ink jet printing. Ultrafine particles often undergo aggregation and this makes it difficult to prepare any liquid dispersion in which the ultrafine particles are dispersed in a stable manner. For this reason, when using such a liquid dispersion of ultrafine particles as ink for the inkjet printing, the ink suffers from a problem in that aggregates of the ultrafine particles present therein result in clogging of the ink jet nozzles. Moreover, when using a liquid dispersion in which the ultrafine particles are independently or separately dispersed, as ink for the ink jet printing, the liquid dispersion should be prepared using a solvent suitable for satisfying the requirements for characteristic properties of the ink. However, the choice of a solvent suitably used in the ink for the ink jet printing has been quite difficult. The properties required for an ink jet system are often at odds with the requirements for stable dispersions of the ultrafine particles.
[0012] Ink jet techniques necessarily require low viscosity fluids for proper operation of the jetting system. It is difficult to build features to any appreciable thickness, though this can be done utilizing multiple passes. Drying time or some other means for stabilizing the initial feature is required between passes. Resolution is often compromised and it is difficult to obtain appreciable feature height to feature width because non-viscous, wetting fluids are employed.
[0013] Despite the foregoing advances in such systems, manufacturers are continuously seeking compositions with improved utility of the ultrafine materials and finer resolution of lines and spaces. Such materials will increase the speed of the manufacturing processes without compromising high resolutions in the lines and spaces of the circuit or display patterns. The present invention is directed to-such a process, the materials and compositions required for implementation of the process, and the methods for production of said materials.
[0014] In solution spinning, a concentrated solution of a polymer is forced through a spinneret. The face of the spinneret is in contact only with a gas, which is usually air. Because solvent evaporation is generally a slow process, after travelling a short distance through the air, typically 0.1-10 cm., the concentrated solution (in the form of a fine “jet”) usually enters a coagulant, which extracts the solvent from the polymer, resulting in the formation of a polymer fiber. The coagulant is frequently water or, as in the case of the present invention, air. Importantly, in the gap between the spinneret face and the coagulant, the fiber solution, which is usually quite viscous and somewhat viscoelastic, is drawn, resulting in a smaller diameter jet of polymer solution entering the coagulant than was extruded from the spinneret holes. The amount of drawing that can be done is limited, because above some maximum draw value the fibers tend to break.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The present invention includes a composition comprising:
(a) between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles, (b) a dispersing vehicle, and (c) between 0.1 and 8 percent by weight of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer soluble in that dispersing vehicle.
[0019] The above composition may have a weight fraction of the functional phase particles of between 0.5 and 50 weight percent and may have various other additives.
[0020] The present invention also includes a composition comprising:
(a) between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles; and (b) a viscoelastic polymer solution.
[0023] The present invention further includes a process for creating an image on a substrate comprising:
a) forcing a deposit composition comprising between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles, a dispersing vehicle, and between 0.1 and 8 percent by weight of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer soluble in that dispersing vehicle through an orifice to form a fiber b) optionally elongating that fiber; c) depositing that fiber on a substrate; and d) evaporating the dispersing vehicle from the deposited fiber resulting in the functional phase particles affixed to the substrate in the desired image. e) and optionally heating the substrate and deposited fiber to a temperature sufficient to effect removal of the organic components.
[0029] The present invention also includes a process comprising:
f) forcing a deposit composition comprising between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles, and a viscoelastic polymer solution through an orifice to form a fiber g) optionally elongating that fiber; h) depositing that fiber on a substrate; and i) evaporating the volatile components from the deposited fiber resulting in the functional phase particles affixed to the substrate in the desired image. j) and optionally heating the substrate and deposited fiber to a temperature sufficient to effect removal of the organic components.
[0035] The present invention further describes a process for creating an image on a substrate comprising:
a) depositing from a dispensing orifice a reservoir of a deposit composition comprising between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles, a dispersing vehicle, and between 0.1 and 8 percent by weight of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer soluble in that dispersing vehicle on the surface of a substrate; b) contacting said reservoir with a finely pointed object wet by the composition; c) drawing a fiber from said reservoir by removing the finely pointed object from the reservoir and away from the surface of said substrate; d) translating the finely pointed object to an other point above the substrate such that said fiber extends between said reservoir and said other point; e) depositing that fiber between said reservoir and another point on the substrate by contacting the finely pointed object to the substrate at that point; f) evaporating the dispersing vehicle from the deposited fiber resulting in the functional phase particles affixed to the substrate in the desired image; and g) and optionally heating the substrate and deposited fiber to a temperature sufficient to effect removal of the organic components.
[0043] The invention also includes a process comprising:
a) depositing from a dispensing orifice a reservoir of a deposit composition comprising between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles and a viscoelastic polymer solution onto the surface of a substrate; b) contacting said reservoir with a finely pointed object wet by the composition; c) drawing a fiber from said reservoir by removing the finely pointed object from the reservoir and away from the surface of said substrate; d) translating the finely pointed object to an other point above the substrate such that said fiber extends between said reservoir and said other point; e) depositing that fiber between said reservoir and another point on the substrate by contacting the finely pointed object to the substrate at that point; f) evaporating the volatile components from the deposited fiber resulting in the functional phase particles being affixed to the substrate in the desired image; and g) and optionally heating the substrate and deposited fiber to a temperature sufficient to effect removal of the organic components.
[0051] The invention further includes an ink set that comprises at least two compositions
(a) the first composition comprising:
(b) between 0.1 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles, (c) a dispersing vehicle, (d) between 0.1 and 8 percent by weight of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer soluble in that dispersing vehicle, and (e) optionally other adjuvants
(f) the second composition comprising:
(g) between 0 and 70 percent by weight of functional phase particles different than those of (b), (h) a dispersing vehicle, and (i) between 0.1 and 8 percent by weight of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer soluble in that dispersing vehicle, and (j) optionally other adjuvants
[0062] The invention also includes products of all the above processes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0063] FIG. 1 shows a spun fiber being deposited on a rigid substrate.
[0064] FIG. 2 shows a spun fiber being deposited on a flexible substrate.
[0065] FIG. 3 shows simultaneous deposition on two fibers on top of one another.
[0066] FIG. 4 shows a display element with phosphors and barrier ribs.
[0067] FIG. 5 shows a cross section of sheath/core fibers on a substrate.
[0068] FIG. 6 shows a cross section of sheath/core fibers with a fugitive polymer sheath after firing to remove the fugitive polymer.
[0069] FIG. 7 shows a cross section of sheath/core fibers on a substrate where the sheaths have been sintered together.
[0070] FIG. 8 shows a top view of parallel, deposited fibers where the fiber diameter has been increased by varying the relative translation speed of the orifice and the substrate.
[0071] FIG. 9 is a diagram of the printing process based upon generating a reservoir on the surface of the substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0072] The formulation described herein contains a relatively dilute, extensible solution of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer. A low solution concentration of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer in the dispersing vehicle is essential to the composition of this invention. The formulation also contains a material that will become a functional phase in an electronics or display application. Finally, the formulation may contain a variety of other materials that aid in the formulation of the composition, the printing of the composition, or the performance of the composition in the end use application. Lines of the functional phase are printed onto a substrate by means of a spin printing process, which consists of forcing the formulation through an orifice to form a continuous fiber that may or may not be stretched before being laid down onto the substrate surface. The dispersing vehicle is evaporated to form the line and the other components may or may not be burned out of the line.
[0073] Virtually any system in which an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer is soluble in a solvent will work, though some are more practical than others. The ultrahigh molecular weight polymer in solution imparts significant viscoelasticity to the solution, making the solution extensible even at very low concentrations of the polymer. Similar effects can be seen for more concentrated solutions of polymers, which are merely high but not ultrahigh molecular weight, but the high concentrations required put additional demands upon the system. In a polymeric fluid, which is viscoelastic, there are normal (elastic) forces generated during shear in addition to the viscous forces. Since normal-forces scale with weight average molecular weight (Mw) to the 7th power, versus viscous forces that scale to Mw to the 3.4 power, as the molecular weight of the polymer builds, the normal forces scale very quickly.
[0074] The term “ultrahigh molecular weight polymer”, as used herein, generally refers to a polymer having a molecular weight over 1,000,000. The term may include a single homopolymer or copolymer or may include a mixture of homopolymers or copolymers. Polymers of adequate molecular weight include the family of drag reducing polymers. By “drag reducing polymer” is meant a polymer which reduces the frictional force between the polymer solution and an object moving with respect to that solution, such as the solution flowing through a pipe, or a fiber being pulled through the solution. Such polymers, their properties, and tests for drag reduction, are known in the art, see for instance J. W. Hoyt in H. Mark, et al. Ed., Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering , vol. 5,3rd Ed., p. 129-151 (1986) which is hereby included by reference. As explained in this reference, the higher the molecular weight of the polymer, the more effective the polymer is as a drag reducer. Therefore, it is preferred if the (number average) molecular weight of the polymer is at least 500,000, more preferably at least 1,00,000, and especially preferably well over 1,000,000.
[0075] Another measure of the adequacy of the molecular weight of a polymer in solution is a phenomenon called “rod climbing” and the “Weissenberg effect” after K. Weissenberg ( Nature, 159, 310, (1947)) who first analyzed the effect and proposed a mechanism. In “rod climbing” the vortex of a stirred liquid inverts such as to climb the rod of a conventional stirring apparatus. Such polymers, their properties, and tests for “rod-climbing,” are known in the art; see for instance Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids. The phenomenon may be interpreted in a rather simple fashion with the notion of an extra tension along the streamlines. In the rod-climbing experiment the streamlines (the paths of imaginary particles in a fluid relative to the stirrer past which the fluid is moving in a smooth flow without turbulence) are closed circles and the extra tension along these lines “strangulates” the fluid and forces it inwards against the centrifugal force and upwards against the gravitational forces. The extra tension along the streamlines comes from the normal forces exhibited by polymeric solutions. In a Newtonian fluid under shear, there are only viscous dissipation forces. In a polymeric fluid, which is viscoelastic, there are normal (elastic) forces generated during shear in addition to the viscous forces. Scaling of the normal-forces with seventh power of weight average molecular weight (Mw) rapidly overwhelms the shear force, leading to rod climbing.
[0076] The unique physical properties of solutions of ultrahigh molecular weight polymers have been recognized for some time. They are often used as drag reducers in turbulent flow systems. Injecting only 10-50 ppm stock solution of a polymer additive can produce a drag reduction of more than 50%, implying that the energy cost necessary to transport the fluid is reduced by the same amount. It is generally accepted that both the highly viscoelastic behavior and energy dissipation phenomena of polymer solutions and the interaction between polymer molecules and turbulence generate the drag reduction phenomenon. It is this high viscoelasticity of the dilute polymer solution that allows the process of spin printing in the current invention to occur. Thus, polymer systems that are effective in drag reduction will be effective in spin printing. It is anticipated that any polymer capable of drag reduction at part per million concentrations will be effective in spin printing at concentrations of a few percent. However, the sets of solvent and polymers that display this effect to date are limited.
[0077] Effective polymeric drag reducer additives are generally flexible, linear macromolecules with an ultrahigh molecular weight (H. J. Choi and M. S. Jhon, 1996 , Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 35, 2993-2998.). Examples are poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (C. A. Kim, J. H. Sung, H. J. Choi, C. B. Kim, W. Chun and M. S. Jhon, 1999 , J. Chem. Eng. Japan 32, 803-811.), poly(acrylamide) (PMM)(T. Rho, J. Park, C. Kim, H. K. Yoon and H. S. Suh, 1996 , Polym. Degrad. Stab. 51, 287-293) and polyisobutylene (PIB)(H. J. Choi and M. S. Jhon, 1996 , Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 35,2993-2998). Double-stranded lambda DNA is a better drag reducer when compared with the linear polymers (H. J. Choi, S. T. Lim, P. Y. Lai and C. K. Chan, 2002 , Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, art. no. 088302). Cationic surfactant systems (K. Sung, M. S. Han and C. Kim, 2003 , Korea - Australia Rheol. J. 15, 151-156) are effective and are resistant to degradation in turbulent flow. Hydrophobically modified hydroxylethyl cellulose is effective in the presence of surfactants (V. Tirtaatmadja, J. J. Copper-White and S. J. Gason, 2002 , Korea - Aus - tralia Rheol. J. 14, 189-201).
[0078] Industrial applications of drag reduction can be found in areas such as transport of crude oil (E. D. Burger, L. G. Chorn and T. K. Perkins, 1980 , J. Rheol. 24, 603-626.), closed-circuit pumping installations such as central-heating systems and fire-fighting to increase the range of water jets, and water supply and irrigation systems (R. H. Sellin, J. W. Hoyt and O. Scrivener, 1982 , J. Hydraulic. Res. 20, 29-68), sewage systems to prevent over-flowing after heavy rain (R. H. Sellin and M. Ollis, 1980 , J. Rheol. 24, 667-684).
[0079] More relevant to this application, drag reducers have been employed in the hydraulic transport of solid particle suspensions (J. Golda, 1986, Hydraulic transport of coal in pipes with drag reducing additives, Chem. Eng. Commun. 43, 53-67) but coal is well outside the scope of this application.
[0080] Useful polymers for aqueous solutions include, but are not limited to poly (ethylene oxide), poly(acrylamide), xanthans and guar gum. Materials that are especially suitable for spin printing in an aqueous system appear to fall in certain specific categories. They are viscoelastic polymers having the following characteristics: a high polarity, water solubility, high molecular weight and a high hydrogen bond forming capability. Also, significantly they are very long or ultrahigh molecular weight, having a high linearity with few side branches and thereby an extremely large length to diameter ratio of the molecules. Solubility and high molecular weight are also important for effective dissolution of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer in the water to achieve the desired properties. Some materials that work well are Guar Gum, Locust bean Gum, carrageenan or Irish moss, Gum Karaya, hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, DAPS 10 [acrylamide-3-(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropyl)dimethylammonio)-1-propanesulfonate copolymer], polyethylene oxide, polyacryamide and polyvinylpyrrolidone. These materials are exemplary of substances exhibiting the above characteristics and thus work well in spin printing. Poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(acrylamide) are preferred polymers, and poly(ethylene oxide) is especially preferred. Included in the term poly(ethylene oxide) are both homo- and copolymers of ethylene oxide. Similarly, the term poly(acrylamide) is meant to include homopolymers of acrylamide as well as its copolymers with monomers such as acrylic acid or N-alkylacrylamides.
[0081] The concentration by weight of the polymer in the formulated composition is about 0.1-8%, preferably about 0.5-5%, and more preferably about 1-2%. The optimum concentration will depend on many factors such as the molecular weight of the polymer being used and its chemical structure. Generally speaking, the higher the molecular weight of the polymer, the lower the concentration that will be needed in the extensible viscoelastic solution. Some polymers for the extensible solutions, particularly natural polymers, may have some fraction that is insoluble in water. This insoluble fraction should preferably be removed, as by filtration of the solution but care must be taken to avoid reduction of the molecular weight of the polymer in solution.
[0082] Useful polymers for hydrocarbon solutions include, but are not limited to poly(alpha-olefins) where the olefins contain eight or more carbon atoms. For instance, polyoctene, polydecene, polydodecene, polytetradecene, polyhexadecene, polyoctadecene, polyeicosene, and higher, and copolymers of mixed alpha-olefins such as polyhexene/codecene, polypentene/cohexadecene, polyhexene/cooctenne/codecene, and related copolymers, have been produced using traditional Ziegler Natta catalysts and employed in oil pipelines such as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to reduce drag resulting from turbulence and increase the apparent carrying capacity of the pipeline. These polymers dissolved in hexane, octane, methylcyclohexane, decane, decaline, petroleum ethers, purified kerosenes, Exxon's Isopar® high purity isoparafinic solvents, or other hydrocarbon solvents are suitable non-aqueous systems for spin printing. They can be quite effective in use, but in practical terms, may suffer from the flammability of the solvent.
[0083] Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and related acrylic polymers, when of sufficient molecular weight, are useful in solvents such as pyridine, butyl acetate, butyl cellosolve acetate; carbitol esters, such as butyl carbitol, butyl carbitol acetate and carbitol acetate, TEXANOLB (2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate) and other appropriate polar and generally, ester solvents. Poly(methyl methacrylate) is not particularly useful in for instance, toluene. Poly(n-alkyl methacrylates) and n-alkyl acrylates can be useful polymers in hydrocarbon solvents when the alkyl branch on the ester group is of sufficient length to impart solubility in hydrocarbon solvents.
[0084] If polymers such as polyesters or nylons are to be employed, solvents such as hexafluoroisopropanol, phenol, catechols or formic acid must be employed. These solvents are toxic and noxious, limiting their applicability and thereby the applicability of the polymers they dissolve in spin printing. The ultra-high molecular weight PET utilized in the process of this invention can be made utilizing the procedure described by Rinehart in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,587 or the process described by Cohn in U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,573. In the spin printing process of this invention, a solution of PET in an appropriate organic solvent is prepared with the PET essentially homogeneously dispersed throughout the solvent. The organic solvents which can be utilized for PET are selected from the group consisting of (a) hexafluoroisopropanol, (b) trifluoroacetic acid, (c) mixed solvent systems containing hexafluoroisopropanol and dichloromethane, and (d) mixed solvent systems containing trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane. The mixed solvent systems of hexafluoroisopropanol and dichloromethane will typically contain from about 20 weight percent to about 99 weight percent hexafluoroisopropanol and from about 1 weight percent to about 80 weight percent dichloromethane. Such hexafluoroisopropanol/dichloromethane mixed solvent systems will preferably contain from about 30 weight percent to about 99 weight percent hexafluoroisopropanol and from about 1 weight percent to about 70 weight percent dichloromethane. The mixed solvent systems containing trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane will typically contain from about 20 weight percent to about 99 weight percent trifluoroacetic acid and from about 1 weight percent to about 80 weight percent dichloromethane.
[0085] The term “dispersing vehicle”, as used herein, refers to fluids that are solvents or mixtures of solvents for the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer and will disperse the active component particles. Solvents may be pure chemicals or mixtures of chemicals. For instance, it may be useful to combine water with an alcohol or glycol to modify the rate of evaporation of the overall solvent mixture. Similarly, butyl acetate solvent may be used in conjunction with 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate to modify the rate of evaporation.
[0086] The terms “viscoelastic polymer solution” or “viscoelastic solution”, as used herein refer to a solution of an ultrahigh molecular weight polymer exhibiting both viscous and elastic properties. A viscoelastic liquid will readily deform and flow under the influence of an applied shear stress. When the stress is removed the liquid will quickly recover from the last small portion of the deformation. Thus a small fiber quickly being drawn from a mass of the viscoelastic solution will remain straight while under tension, but will visibly sag immediately under the lesser force of the weight of gravity when the drawing tension is removed. For the purpose of this invention, any polymer solution having less than 10% concentration by weight of ultrahigh molecular weight polymer that may be extruded from a 125 μm orifice at a rate greater than 20 m/min and extended to greater than 40 m/min for 1 min or longer without breaking will be considered to be a “viscoelastic polymer solution.” Example 4 demonstrates actual tests of polymer solutions and the results of those tests.
[0087] The term “functional phase particles” as used herein refers to materials that impart conductive, resistive, emissive, phosphorescent, barrier, insulator, or dielectric properties to the composition. The “functional phase particles” may also impart UV or visible absorption to the composition or may act as photoactive species such as photocatalysts. It is generally desired that the functional phase particles contained herein are spherical or close to spherical in shape, but in contrast to ink-jet printing systems, acicular materials can be accommodated. Components of the composition are described herein below. The term “functional phase particles” as used herein does not refer to materials designed to impart improved strength or stability to the ultrahigh molecular weight fraction of the composition.
[0088] The concentration by weight of the functional phase particles in the formulated composition is about 0.1-70%, preferably about 0.5-50%, and more preferably about 1-30%. The optimum concentration will depend on many factors that include the density of the functional phase, the ability to disperse the material in the overall composition, the dimensions of the resulting desired images. The ability to disperse the material is dependent upon a variety of factors including the particle size of the material, the surface energy of the material, any surface treatments of the material, the efficacy of energy input in the dispersion process, to name a few.
[0089] In conductor applications the functional phase is comprised of electrically functional conductor powder(s). The electrically functional powders in a given composition may comprise a single type of powder, mixtures of powders, alloys or compounds of several elements. Examples of such powders include: gold, silver, copper, nickel, aluminum, platinum, palladium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, tin, indium, lanthanum, gadolinium, ruthenium, cobalt, titanium, yttrium, europium, gallium, zinc, silicon, magnesium, barium, cerium, strontium, lead, antimony, conductive carbon, and combinations thereof and others common in the art of thick film compositions. In systems to be fired at elevated temperatures, silver oxide may be employed because it auto-reduces to silver metal under firing conditions.
[0090] In resistor compositions, the functional phase is generally a conductive oxide. Examples of the functional phase in resistor compositions are Pd/Ag and RuO 2 . Other examples include ruthenium pyrochlore oxide, which is a multi-component compound of Ru +4 , Ir +4 or a mixture of these (MI′), said compound being expressed by the following general formula:
M x Bi 2−x (M′ y M″ 2−y )O 7−z
wherein: M is selected from the group consisting of yttrium, thallium, indium, cadmium, lead, copper and rare earth metals; M′ is selected from the group consisting of platinum, titanium, chromium, rhodium and antimony; M″ is ruthenium, iridium or a mixture thereof; x denotes 0 to 2 with a proviso that x≦1 for monovalent copper; y denotes 0 to 0.5 with the proviso that when M′ is rhodium or two or more of platinum, titanium, chromium, rhodium and antimony, y stands for 0 to 1; and z denotes 0 to 1 with a proviso that when M is divalent lead or cadmium, z is at least equal to about x/2. These ruthenium pyrochlore oxides are described in detail in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,931. The preferred ruthenium pyrochlore oxides are bismuth ruthenate (Bi 2 Ru 2 O 7 ) and lead ruthenate (Pb 2 Ru 2 O 6 ).
[0091] In dielectric compositions, the functional phase is generally a glass or ceramic. Dielectric thick film compositions are nonconducting compositions or insulator compositions that separate electrical charges and may result in the storage of an electrical charge. Therefore, the thick film dielectric compositions typically contain ceramic powders, oxide and non-oxide frits, crystallization initiator or inhibitor, surfactants, colorants, organic mediums, and other components common in the art of such thick film dielectric compositions. Examples of ceramic solids include: alumina, titanates, zirconates and stannates, BaTiO 3 , CaTiO 3 , SrTiO 3 , PbTiO 3 , CaZrO 3 , BaZrO 3 , CaSnO 3 , BaSnO 3 and Al 2 O 3 , glass and glass-ceramic. It is also applicable to precursors of such materials, i.e., solid materials, which upon firing are converted to dielectric solids, and to mixtures thereof.
[0092] In barrier or insulator compositions, the functional phase is generally a glassy or ceramic metal oxide. Examples are powder of borosilicate lead glass, borosilicate zinc glass or borosilicate bismuth glass (i.e., PbO—SiO 4 glass, PbO—B 2 O 3 —SiO 4 glass, ZnO—SiO 4 glass, ZnO—B 2 O 3 —SiO 4 , glass, BiOSiO 4 glass, and BiO—B 2 O 3 —SiO 4 glass); powdered oxides of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ba, Ti, Zr, Al, etc., such as cobalt oxide, iron oxide, chromium oxide, nickel oxide, copper oxide, manganese oxide, neodymium oxide, vanadium oxide, cerium oxide, titanium dioxide (Tipaque Yellow), cadmium oxide, ruthenium oxide, silica, magnesia, and spinel;
The inorganic, insulating or dielectric powder may be a mixture of particles different in physical properties. For example, a combined use of glass particles or ceramic particles having different thermal softening points is effective to control the shrinkage on baking. The shapes and the physical properties of inorganic powders are combined appropriately according to the characteristics required of the components such as barrier ribs, etc.
[0094] In emissive compositions, the functional field emitting phase may be single or multiple wall carbon nanotubes. Metal oxide electron-emitting material often contain a first component, M′, selected from the group consisting of barium, strontium, calcium and mixtures thereof, and a second component, M″, selected from the group consisting of tantalum, zirconium, niobium, titanium, hafnium and mixtures thereof, as metal element components and also contains oxynitride perovskite. The electron-emitting material may also contain M′M″O 4 N type crystals as the oxynitride perovskite wherein M′ denotes the first component and M″ denotes the second component. Preferably, the electron-emitting material satisfies the relationship: wherein X and Y are molar ratios of the first and second components to the total of the first and second components, respectively. In the electron-emitting material, the second component may be partially present in the form of a carbide or nitride or both. Preferably, the electron-emitting material further contains as an additional metal element component at least one element M which is selected from the group consisting of Mg, Sc, Y, La, V, Cr, Mo, W, Fe, Ni, and Al, more preferably in an amount of more than 0 mass % to 10 mass % calculated as oxide. The electron-emitting material may further contain at least one oxide selected from among M′ 4 M″ 2 O 9 , M′M″ 2 O 6 , M′M″O 3 , M′ 5 M″ 4 O 15 , M′ 7 M″ 6 O 22 , and M′ 6 M″M″ 4 O 18 type crystals wherein M′ and M″ are as defined above. The electron-emitting material preferably has a resistivity of 10 −6 to 10 3 ohm m at room temperature. The electrode is typically used as an electrode in a discharge lamp, electron gun, gas discharge panel, or field emission display.
[0095] Electroluminescent phosphor particles are useful in the manufacture of displays. They may be selected for example from MGa 2 S 4 , ZnGa 2 O 4 , MGa 2 O 4 , Ga 2 O 3 , Ca 3 Ga 2 O 6 , and Zn 2 (Ge,Si)O 4 (M═Ca and/or Sr), ZnS or M′S (M′═Ba, Ca, and/or Sr). Also included would be Y 2 O 2 S, ZnS, ZnSiO 4 , or Y 2 SiO 5
[0096] The “functional phase particles” also includes “precursor compositions” or may be formed in situ from “precursor compositions.” Such an approach has been described in detail in the international application, WO 03/032084 that is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The precursor compositions preferably have chemical reactivity that allows them to be decomposed, reduced, oxidized, hydrolyzed or otherwise converted into “functional phase” under relatively mild conditions. For instance, conductive functional phases could be formed by the low temperature decomposition of organometallic precursors, thereby enabling the formation of electronic feature on a variety of substrates, including organic substrates. The precursor compositions to conductive systems can include various combinations of molecular metal precursors, solvents, micron-sized particles, nanoparticles, vehicles, reducing agents and other additives. The precursor compositions can advantageously include one or more conversion reaction inducing agents adapted to reduce the conversion temperature of the precursor composition. The conductive precursor compositions can be deposited onto a substrate and reacted to form highly conductive electronic features having good electrical and mechanical properties. The conductive precursor compositions according to the present invention can be formulated to have a wide range of properties and a wide range of relative cost. For example, in high volume applications that do not require well-controlled properties, inexpensive conductive precursor compositions can be deposited on cellulose-based materials, such as paper, to form simple disposable circuits. Ceramic precursor compositions could be formulated in non- aqueous solvent systems from metal alkoxides that would undergo subsequent hydrolytic transformations upon exposure to water or atmospheric moisture.
[0097] The electrically functional powders described above are finely dispersed in an organic medium and are optionally accompanied by inorganic binders. The term “inorganic binders” as used herein refers to materials that cause the functional phase materials to perform better in the end-use application. Inorganic binders frequently cause the functional material to bind more securely to the substrate. Alternatively, they may reduce the surface tension of the functional phase materials to improve continuity in the printed pattern. These may be metal oxides, ceramics, and fillers, such as other powders or solids. These materials may be identical in composition to some of the active components in other applications, but when used as a binder, they are generally present in lower concentrations in the overall composition. The function of an inorganic binder in a composition is binding the particles to one another and to the substrate after firing. Examples of inorganic binders include glass binders (frits), metal oxides and ceramics. Glass binders useful in the composition are conventional in the art. Some examples include borosilicate and aluminosilicate glasses. Examples further include combinations of oxides, such as: B 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , CdO, CaO, BaO, ZnO, SiO 2 , Na 2 O, Li 2 O, PbO, and ZrO which may be used independently or in combination to form glass binders. Typical metal oxides useful in thick film compositions are conventional in the art and can be, for example, ZnO, MgO, CoO, NiO, FeO, MnO and mixtures thereof.
[0098] The glass frits most preferably used are the borosilicate frits, such as lead borosilicate frit, bismuth, cadmium, barium, calcium, or other alkaline earth borosilicate frits. The preparation of such glass frits is well known and consists, for example, in melting together the constituents of the glass in the form of the oxides of the constituents and pouring such molten composition into water to form the frit. The batch ingredients may, of course, be any compounds that will yield the desired oxides under the usual conditions of frit production. For example, boric oxide will be obtained from boric acid, silicon dioxide will be produced from flint, barium oxide will be produced from barium carbonate, etc. The glass is preferably milled in a ball mill with water to reduce the particle size of the frit and to obtain a frit of substantially uniform size. It is then settled in water to separate fines and the supernatant fluid containing the fines is removed. Other methods of classification may be used as well.
[0099] The glasses are prepared by conventional glassmaking techniques, by mixing the desired components in the desired proportions and heating the mixture to form a melt. As is well known in the art, heating is conducted to a peak temperature and for a time such that the melt becomes entirely liquid and homogeneous. The glass transition temperature is in the range of 325 to 600° C.
[0100] It is preferred that at least 85% the inorganic binder particles be in the range of 0.1-10 μm and more preferably in the range of 0.2-2 μm . The reason for this is that smaller particles having a high surface area tend to adsorb the organic materials and thus impede clean decomposition. On the other hand, larger size particles tend to have poorer sintering characteristics. It is preferred that the weight ratio of inorganic binder to total solids be in the range 0.02 to 5 and more preferably in the range 0.1 to 2 and all ranges contained therein.
[0101] The binder materials may or may not be present in the formulations of other active components in compositions for resistive, emissive, phosphorescent, barrier, insulator, or dielectric applications.
[0102] Some or all of the solid-state inorganic binder or frit may be replaced with metal resinates and as used herein, the term inorganic binders is meant to include metal resinates. As used herein, the term “metal resinate” refers to organic metallic compounds which upon firing will be converted to inorganic oxides or glasses playing a role similar to the glass frit inorganic binders. The resinates are soluble or dispersible in the solvent used in the spin printing system. Common metallic soaps available on the market may be used as organic acid salts of base metals. Metals available for organic acid salts include such precious metals as Au, Ag, Pt, Rh, Ru and Pd. Available organic acid salts of base metals include Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Zr, Nb, MO, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, Ta, Pb and Bi. An appropriate material can be selected from the foregoing materials according to the properties required of the conductive paste. Another type of metal resinate is a chelate-type compound such as an organotitanate.
[0103] Metal resinates may range from highly fluid to very viscous liquids and to solids as well. From the standpoint of use in the invention, the solubility or dispersibility of the resinates in the medium is of primary importance. Typically, metal resinates are soluble in organic solvents, particularly polar solvents such as toluene, methylene chloride, benzyl acetate, and the like.
[0104] Suitable organotitanates are those disclosed in U.K. Pat. No. 772,675 and particularly those in which the organotitanates are hydrolyzable metal alcoholates of titanium corresponding to the formula (AO) 4x .2yTiO, in which A is C1-8 alkyl and C1-8 acyl, O is an oxygen atom covalently bonding two titanium atoms, x is an integer from 1 to 12 and y is 0 or an integer from 1 to 3x/2. The alkyl groups may be either straight chained or branched. Preferred organotitanates include titanium acetyl acetonate and tetraoctylene glycol titanium chelate. Other organotitanates of this titanium corresponding to the formula (AO) 4x .2yTiO, in type are disclosed in Ken-React Bul. No. KR-0278-7 Rev. (Kenrich Petrochemicals, Inc., Bayonne, N.J.) and which A is C1-8 alkyl or a mixture of C1-8 alkyl and C1-8 in Du Pont Bul. No. E-38961 entitled Versatile Tyzor Organic Titanates.
[0105] The “functional phase particles” are preferably nanoparticles. Nanoparticles have an average size of not greater than about 100 nanometers, such as from about 10 to 80 nanometers. Particularly preferred for compositions are nanoparticles having an average size in the range of from about 25 to 75 nanometers.
[0106] Nanoparticles that are particularly preferred for use in the present invention are not substantially agglomerated. Preferred nanoparticle compositions include Al 2 O 3 , CuO x , SiO 2 and TiO 2 , conductive metal oxides such as In 2 O 3 , indium-tin oxide (ITO) and antimony-tin oxide (ATO), silver, palladium, copper, gold, platinum and nickel. Other useful nanoparticles of metal oxides include pyrogenous silica such as HS-5 or M5 or others (Cabot Corp., Boston, Mass.) and AEROSIL 200 or others (Degussa AG, Dusseldorf, Germany) or surface modified silica such as TS530 or TS720 (Cabot Corp., Boston, Mass.) and AEROSIL 380 (Degussa AG, Dusseldorf, Germany). In one embodiment of the present invention, the nanoparticles are composed of the same metal that is contained in the metal precursor compound, discussed below. Nanoparticles can be fabricated using a number of methods and one preferred method, referred to as the Polyol process, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,041 by Figlarz et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0107] The “functional phase particles” according to the present invention can also include micron-size particles, having an average size of at least about 0.1 μm. Preferred compositions of micron-size particles are similar to the compositions described above with respect to nanoparticles. The particles are preferably spherical, such as those produced by spray pyrolysis. Particles in the form of flakes increase the viscosity of the precursor composition and are not amenable to deposition using tools having a restricted orifice size, such as an ink-jet device. When substantially spherical particles are described herein, the particle size refers to the particle diameter. In one preferred embodiment, the low viscosity precursor compositions according to the present invention do not include any particles in the form of flakes.
[0108] It is known that micron-size particles and nanoparticles often form soft agglomerates as a result of their relatively high surface energies, as compared to larger particles. It is also known that such soft agglomerates may be dispersed easily by treatments such as exposure to ultrasound in a liquid medium, sieving, high shear mixing and 3-roll milling.
[0109] As used herein, the term “dispersing vehicle” is a fluid whose main purpose is to serve as a vehicle for dispersion of the finely divided solids of the active component of the composition in such form that it can readily be applied to a ceramic or other substrate. The solvent components of the dispersing vehicle should be inert (non-reactive) towards the other components of the composition. The dispersing vehicle must also be a solvent for the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer. Thus, the dispersing vehicle must first be one in which the solids are dispersible with an adequate degree of stability. Secondly, the rheological properties of the organic medium must be such that they lend good application properties to the dispersion.
[0110] The solvent(s) should have sufficiently high volatility to enable the solvent to be evaporated from the dispersion by the application of relatively low levels of heat at atmospheric pressure; however, the solvent should not be so volatile that the ink rapidly dries at normal room temperatures, during the spin-printing process. The preferred solvents for use in the compositions should have boiling points at atmospheric pressure of less than 300° C. and preferably less than 250° C. For more polar polymer systems, such solvents include water, aliphatic alcohols, esters of such alcohols, for example, acetates and propionates; terpenes such as pine oil and alpha- or beta-terpineol, or mixtures thereof; ethylene glycol and esters thereof, such as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and butyl cellosolve acetate; carbitol esters, such as butyl carbitol, butyl carbitol acetate and carbitol acetate and other appropriate solvents such as TEXANOLB (2,2,4-trimethyl- ,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate).
[0111] For non-polar polymer systems such as poly(alpha-olefins), the solvents will be non-polar systems such as alkanes; examples of useful systems include hexane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohecanes, octane, decane, Isopar® alkanes, petroleum ethers, purified kerosenes, terpenes and long-chain alkylethers. Aromatic solvents generally do not work well with poly(alpha-olefins) unless high operating temperatures are employed or there is some aromatic content in the polymer (See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,576,732). Solvents for crystalline polymer such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or nylons will be highly polar hydrogen bonding solvents such as hexafluoroisopropanol, phenol, catechols, or formic acid.
[0112] As discussed above, the primary solvents used in these systems must be chosen in tandem with the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer. Water is the most common vehicle employed in these systems because it is compatible with many of the polymers and it is non-flammable as opposed to the solvents for the polyolefin systems. Water is commonly used in combination with a variety of hydrophilic organic molecules to modify the rate of evaporation, the wetting of the substrate, the compatibility with other additives and water as used herein is meant to imply systems in which the major component of the dispersing vehicle is water.
[0113] The ability to utilize mixtures of solvents with this invention provides considerable process advantages through operating latitude. Multiple solvents chosen to have specific evaporation or volatilization profiles can be critical in the development of uniform lines and edges, and in assuring adhesion of the printing ink to the substrate surface. In a preferred process of this invention, the primary solvent is water used in combination with other organic solvents having varied volatilities.
[0114] The vapor pressure of the organic molecules present in the dispersing vehicle should be sufficiently low that it does not rapidly evaporate from the paste at room temperature. This is to avoid reducing the “working life” of the spin printing ink. Additionally, if the vapor pressure is too high, it may vaporize during heat treatment too rapidly, which may produce an image containing excessive voids. The vapor pressure should be high enough to completely vaporize from the paste within a commercially practical time during heat treatment. The vapor pressure will therefore, at least in part, depend on the conditions of heat treatment.
[0115] B. Adjuvants
[0116] As used herein, the term “adjuvants” refers to a variety of additives whose purpose is to improve the performance of the process or system. For instance, polymeric dispersants and binders are important to the compositions of this invention and they are generally present in the composition at concentrations equal to or higher than those of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymers. As a result of their low molecular weight, in general, they contribute little to the viscoelastic properties of the system. They play a different role in that they help in the dispersion of the inorganic phases in the medium and help maintain the suspensions once dispersion is achieved. They must be compatible with the dispersing vehicle being employed and generally have a high affinity for or solubility in that solvent.
[0117] Water-based pigment dispersions are well known in the art, and have been used commercially for applying films such as paints or inks to various substrates. The pigment dispersion is generally stabilized by either a non-ionic or ionic technique. When using the non-ionic technique, the pigment particles are stabilized by a polymer that has a water-soluble, hydrophilic section that extends into the water and provides entropic or steric stabilization. Representative polymers useful for this purpose include polyvinyl alcohol, cellulosics, ethylene oxide modified phenols, and ethylene oxide/propylene oxide polymers. In aqueous systems, homopolymers, random copolymers and block copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone are particularly useful. The non-ionic technique is not sensitive to pH changes or ionic contamination. In many applications, it has a major disadvantage in that the final product is water sensitive. Thus, if used in ink applications or the like, the pigment will tend to smear upon exposure to moisture. In many of the applications involving the printing of ultra-fine active components discussed herein, this water sensitivity is not an issue in that the organic components will be removed by firing leaving the ultrafine active component behind.
[0118] In the ionic technique, the pigments or ultrafine particles are stabilized by a polymer of an ion containing monomer, such as neutralized acrylic, maleic, or vinyl sulfonic acid. The polymer provides stabilization through a charged double layer mechanism whereby ionic repulsion hinders the particles from flocculating. Since the neutralizing component tends to evaporate after application, the polymer then has reduced water solubility and the final product is not water sensitive. Unfortunately, in most cases the ionic stabilizers will leave behind an inorganic residue of the counterion upon firing. In the case of ammonium, phosphonium or related ionic stabilizers, this residue can be mitigated. In certain circumstances, the counterions can even serve the role of inorganic binder. Thus it is a complex combination of variables that will influence the choice of dispersants.
[0119] The polymeric dispersants can also be binders after the solvent has evaporated, but binders may also be required, independently. There are two general classes of polymer binder that are commercially available polymers. They may be used independently or together in the formulations. First are binders made of copolymer, interpolymer or mixtures thereof made from (1) nonacidic comonomers comprising C+ 10 alkyl methacrylate, C 1-10 alkyl acrylates, styrene, substituted styrene, or combinations thereof and (2) acidic comonomer comprising ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid containing moiety; the copolymer, interpolymer or mixture thereof having an acid content of at least 10 weight % of the total polymer weight; and having an average glass transition temperature (Tg) of 50-150° C. and weight average molecular weight in the range of 2,000-100,000 and all ranges contained therein.
[0120] The polymers formulated in the present invention function to impart significant viscoelasticity for spinning and to suspend the other ingredients in the solvent so that they can be conveniently spun and applied to the substrate. Furthermore, the solvent diffuses from the paste and vaporizes during heat treatment to provide a substantially liquid-free, active components in combination with the polymeric components.
[0121] Both the ultrahigh molecular weight polymers and the adjuvant polymers in the present invention should act as “fugitive polymers” in most applications. It is important that the polymeric components are eliminated during firing or heat treatment in such a way as to provide a final image that is substantially free of voids and defects. The polymers must be “fugitive polymers” that will undergo 98-100% burnout under the firing conditions. The polymer is referred to as a “fugitive polymer” because the polymer material can be burned out of the functional components at elevated temperatures prior to fusing or sintering of the functional components on the substrate. As opposed to the solvent components that are simply volatilized, the polymeric components generally must undergo decomposition or oxidation to be removed. Thus, an important factor in the choice of both the ultrahigh molecular weight components and the dispersant component is their thermal behavior as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis. In general, it is desired that the polymers leave behind no carbonaceous residue, thus aromatic polymer systems are generally not preferred. For example, binder materials containing a significant proportion of aromatic hydrocarbons, such as phenolic resin materials, can leave graphitic carbon particles during firing which can require significantly higher temperatures to completely remove. It is also desirable that the polymeric components do not melt or otherwise become fluid during the firing process so that there is no degradation of the printed image.
[0122] At times, the printed compositions are too soft or malleable for subsequent operating steps. Alternatively, they can soften or flow during early stages of the burnout process. It then becomes convenient to crosslink the polymers in place photochemically after printing. Additionally, it may be convenient to print more than the desired pattern, photopolymerize the bulk of the pattern and then wash off certain small portions. While this might be a less than 100% additive process, the flexibility gained may well offset the loss of a small portion of the active component.
[0123] As described in Glicksman and Santopietro, WO 03/034150 A1, photocrosslinkable polymer binders are made of copolymer, interpolymer or mixtures thereof, wherein each copolymer or interpolymer comprises (1) a nonacidic comonomer comprising an alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate, styrene, substituted styrene or combinations thereof and; (2) an acidic comonomer comprising ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid containing moiety, wherein a portion of the carboxylic acid-containing moiety is reacted with a reactive molecule having a first and second functional unit, wherein the first functional unit is a vinyl group and the second functional unit is capable of forming a chemical bond by reaction with the carboxylic acid moiety. Examples of the vinyl group include, but are not limited to methacrylate and acrylate groups. Examples of the second functional unit include, but are not limited to epoxides, alcohols and amines.
[0124] The presence of the acidic comonomer components in the composition is important in this technique. The acidic functional group generates the ability to be developed in aqueous bases such as aqueous solutions of 0.4-2.0% sodium carbonate. Best development is obtained when acidic comonomers are present in concentrations between 10% and 30%. Because they are cleaner burning in low-oxygen atmospheres, methacrylic polymers are preferred over acrylic polymers.
[0125] In addition to the above copolymers, adding small amounts of other polymer binders is possible. Some examples include polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, polyisobutylene, and ethylene- propylene copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol polymers (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone polymers (PVP), vinyl alcohol and vinyl pyrrolidone copolymers, as well as polyethers that are low alkylene oxide polymers such as polyethylene oxide can be cited.
[0126] The weight average molecular weight of the polymer binder is in the range of 2,000-100,000 and any ranges contained therein. The molecular weight of the polymer binder will depend on the application. Weights less than 10,000 are generally useful because they do not adversely affect the viscosity of the system. It is desired that the viscoelastic properties of the system be imparted mostly by the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer.
[0127] When the above composition is printed to form a dry image, it is preferable that the Tg (glass transition temperature) of the polymer binder is 50-150° C., and more preferably 50-100° C. The polymer is found in the composition in the range of 3-15 wt. % and any ranges contained therein based on total composition.
[0128] As used herein, the term “deposit composition” refers the composition of this invention when it has been or is about to be deposited on the surface of a substrate.
[0129] As used herein, the term “reservoir” refers to a portion of deposit composition deposited upon the surface of the substrate from which fibers can be drawn as a result of the high viscoelasticity of the composition. The reservoir will generally be deposited through a fine-tipped spinnerette or other device capable of deposition metered quantities of fluid on the surface. Fibers will then be drawn from that reservoir as shown in FIG. 9 , a cartoon of one exemplification of the printing process based upon generating a reservoir on the surface of the substrate. In step A of FIG. 9 , the surface is contacted with deposit composition from the orifice of a finely pointed spinnerette. In step B, the material from the reservoir is stretched with the finely pointed tip of the spinnerette with some additional material being drawn out of the tip of the spinnerette. In step C, the tip is brought back close to the surface to pin or adhere the fiber to the surface. Finally, in step D, the tip is withdrawn from the surface while withdrawing the deposit composition partially into the depositing orifice to break or interrupt the continuity of the stream of deposit composition. Alternatively, the reservoir may be deposited on the surface of the substrate from a depositing orifice such as a spinnerette and the drawing of a fiber from the reservoir may be accomplished with another finely pointed object such as a needle.
[0130] As used herein, the term “finely pointed object” is a spinnerette or needle or other mechanical object capable of contacting a reservoir of deposit composition on the surface of a substrate. The finely pointed object is adhered to the deposit composition through any a variety of means. It may be wetted by the deposit composition. If the finely pointed object is a spinnerette, the deposit composition may not wet the surface of the spinnerette, but may selectively adhere to the deposit composition contained within the hollow cylinder of the spinnerette. Finely pointed is meant to imply that the tip of the object is of dimensions equal to or smaller than the dimensions of the reservoir and in the order of the dimensions of the desired fiber to be drawn into a feature. It is observed that when the reservoir is touched by a needle that cannot supply additional deposit composition and then a fiber is drawn from that reservoir, the length of the resulting fiber is limited by several factors. The first is the quantity of material in the reservoir. Another is the amount of surface of the needle over which the deposit composition is adhered, thus controlling the diameter of the fiber that is drawn from the reservoir. The surface area of contact with the needle is controlled by the diameter of the needle, the curvature of the point of the needle and the depth to which the needle is penetrates the surface of the reservoir. Another factor is the ability of the deposit composition to wet the surface of the needle. The ability to wet the surface of the needle will once again control the diameter of the fiber that is initially drawn from the reservoir. The ability to wet the surface of the needle is a function of the materials included in the deposit composition and the materials of construction of the needle. Thus, the surface of a stainless steel needle might be unmodified or might be modified by silylation or with fluorocarbon materials to control the wetting interaction.
[0131] It is clear that the length of the fiber to be drawn would normally be limited by the amount of material contained in the reservoir on the surface of the substrate. When the finely pointed object is capable of delivering additional deposit composition during the drawing process, as in a spinnerette, the line may be extended.
[0132] Generally, the spin printing process, by the nature of spinning and drawing fibers, is best suited to printing long, straight, very uniform lines on a flat substrate. The process of introducing physical contact of the spinnerette with the substrate, thereby pinning the fiber to the substrate, allows the process to readily turn corners. Thus a right angle pattern could be printed by translating in the X direction over a sunstrate, touching the surface at a specified point and then translating in the Y direction.
[0133] Spin printing readily accommodates printing on flat surfaces. Convex surfaces are readily treated through three dimensional movement of the spinnerette with respect to the surface of the substrate. However, the process would not normally accommodate printing on concave surfaces because the linear drawing of the fiber would span gaps in the surface. The method of contacting the surface of the substrate to leave a reservoir at the point of contact facilitates the printing of concave three dimensional surfaces.
[0000] Other Optional Components.
[0134] i. Photohardenable Monomer
[0135] Photoimaging capability may be optionally added to the fiber system. Photoimageable compositions are particularly useful to harden the deposited fiber when the fiber will not be fired. This is particularly important when the present invention is used in conjunction with flexible, polymeric substrates that would not undergo a firing step. Conventional photohardenable methacrylate monomers may be used in the invention as described in Glicksman and Santopietro, WO 03/034150 A1. Depending on the application, it is not always necessary to include a monomer in the composition of the invention when using the photocrosslinkable polymer.
[0136] ii. Photoinitiation System.
[0137] Suitable photoinitiation systems are those, which generate free radicals upon exposure to actinic light at ambient temperature. A useful variety of them are described in Glicksman and Santopietro, WO 03/034150 A1.
[0138] iii. Plasticizers
[0139] Frequently the organic medium will also contain one or more plasticizers if additional image softness is needed. Such plasticizers help to assure good lamination to substrates and in photopolymerizable systems, enhance the developability of unexposed areas of the composition. However, the use of such materials should be minimized in order to reduce the amount of organic materials that must be removed when the images are fired. The choice of plasticizers is determined primarily by its compatibility with the chosen solvent and the polymer that must be modified. Solubility of the plasticizer in the primary solvent is not necessarily required as long as it remained well dispersed in the ink. Among the plasticizers, which have been used in various binder systems are diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, dibenzyl phthalate, alkyl phosphates, polyalkylene glycols, glycerol, poly (ethylene oxides), hydroxy ethylated alkyl phenol, tricresyl phosphate triethyleneglycol diacetate and polyester plasticizers.
[0140] iv. Photospeed Enhancer
[0141] A photospeed enhancer may added to the organic medium or directly added to the composition in those cases where some degree of photocuring is desired and are described in Glicksman and Santopietro, WO 03/034150 A1.
[0142] v. Additional Components
[0143] Additional components known to those skilled in the art may be present in the composition including dispersants, stabilizers, release, agents, dispersing agents, stripping agents, and antifoaming agents. A general disclosure of suitable materials is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5049,480.
[0144] The technique of the present invention may be applied to a wide variety of substrates. The types of substrates that are particularly useful include polyfluorinated compounds, polyimides, epoxies (including glass-filled epoxy), polycarbonates and many other polymers. Particularly useful substrates include cellulose-based materials such as wood or paper, acetate, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylonitrile, butadiene (ABS), flexible fiber board, non-woven polymeric fabric, cloth, metallic foil, ceramics and glass. The substrate can be coated, for example a dielectric on a metallic foil or a metal on a ceramic or glass.
[0145] One difficulty in printing fine features is that the printed composition can wet the surface and rapidly spread to increase the width of the deposit, thereby negating the advantages of fine line printing. This is particularly true when printing is employed to deposit fine features such as interconnects or conductors for displays.
[0146] Spreading of the precursor composition is influenced by a number of factors. A drop of liquid placed onto a surface will either spread or not depending on the surface tensions of the liquid, the surface tension of the solid and the interfacial tension between the solid and the liquid. If the contact angle is greater than 90 degrees, the liquid is considered non- wetting and the liquid tends to bead or shrink away from the surface. For contact angles less than 90 degrees, the liquid can spread on the surface. For the liquid to completely wet, the contact angle must be zero. For spreading to occur, the surface tension of the liquid must be lower than the surface tension of the solid on which it resides.
[0147] The compositions can be confined on the substrate, thereby enabling the formation of features having a small minimum feature size, the minimum feature size being the smallest dimension in the x-y axis, such as the width of a conductive line. The composition can be confined to regions having a width of not greater than 100 μm, preferably not greater than 75 μm, more preferably not greater than 50 μm, and even more preferably not greater than 25 μm. The present invention provides compositions and methods of processing that advantageously reduce the spreading of the composition. For example, small amounts of rheology modifiers such as styrene allyl alcohol (SAA) and other polymers can be added to the precursor composition to reduce spreading. The spreading can also be controlled through combinations of nanoparticles and precursors. Spreading can also be controlled by rapidly drying the compositions during printing by irradiating the composition during deposition.
[0148] A preferred method is to pattern an otherwise wetting substrate with non-wetting enhancement agents that control the spreading. For example, this can be achieved by functionalizing the substrate surface with trialkylsilyl, hydrocarbyl or fluorocarbon groups.
[0149] Fabrication of conductor features with feature widths of not greater than 100 μm or features with minimum feature size of not greater than 100 μm from a composition requires the confinement of the low viscosity precursor compositions so that the composition does not spread over certain defined boundaries. Various methods can be used to confine the composition on a surface, including surface energy patterning by increasing or decreasing the hydrophobicity (surface energy) of the surface in selected regions corresponding to where it is desired to confine the precursor or eliminate the precursor. These can be classified as physical barriers, electrostatic and magnetic barriers, surface energy differences, and process related methods such as increasing the composition viscosity to reduce spreading, for example by freezing or drying the composition very rapidly once it strikes the surface.
[0150] A preferred method is to simultaneously print two immiscible compositions, one containing functional phase particles and the other without functional phase particles side by side on a substrate in such a manner that the composition without functional phase particles constrains the composition with functional phase particles to a specific surface area. The miscibility of the two compositions would be dictated largely by the dispersing vehicle. It is generally found that for ultrahigh molecular weight polymers, the solvent for a given polymer is limited, so it is likely that both the dispersing vehicle and the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer would be different to achieve immiscibility. Alternatively, the two compositions may both contain functional phase particles that are different. Such a procedure would result in one functional phase material being bound in position by the adjacency of the other.
[0151] A preferred method which is a variation of the immiscible composition approach is to print two miscible but differing compositions, one containing functional phase particles and the other without functional phase particles side by side on a substrate in such a manner that the composition without functional phase particles constrains the composition with functional phase particles to a specific surface area. The two dispersing vehicles in the two compositions my simply be miscible or they may be the same. While the miscibility of the two compositions would allow some mixing, the high solution viscosity of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer causes the mixing or interpenetration of the two compositions to be minimal. As a result, diffusion of the functional phase particles is minimal. Alternatively, the two compositions may both contain functional phase particles that are different. Such a procedure would result in one functional phase material being bound in position by the other.
[0152] One embodiment of the invention provides a set of printing compositions designed to minimize the spreading of lines. The composition set comprises at least two compositions. The two dispersing vehicles and their respective ultrahigh molecular weight polymers may be chosen to be immiscible, thereby providing the maximum resistance to line spreading. Alternatively, the dispersing media may be miscible or may be the same, relying upon the high solution viscosity of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer to minimize interpenetration of the two compositions.
[0153] Another example of a method for depositing the composition is to heat the composition relative to the temperature of the substrate to decrease the viscosity of the composition during printing. This can also have the advantage of volatilizing a portion of the dispersing vehicle before the composition reaches the substrate, thereby minimizing spreading of the line due to wetting of the surface.
[0154] Another example of a method for depositing the composition is using a heated substrate to increase the rate of volatilization of the dispersing vehicle. If the composition contains reactive species, the heated surface can cause the immediate reaction, thereby crosslinking or otherwise modifying the printed pattern.
[0155] Another example of a method for depositing the composition is using a chilled substrate to quickly increase the viscosity of the printed pattern to minimize spreading of the lines.
[0156] Another example of a method for depositing the composition is to employ an array of many spinnerettes. Thus, for example, to print 1000 parallel conductive silver lines on glass for a display, a spinning head containing 1000 spinnerettes would be used. Consecutive sheets of glass would be transported continuously beneath the spinning head to print all 1000 lines on each glass panel with no break in the silver-containing fiber. Alternatively, a single head could be transported repeatedly back and forth across a single sheet of glass printing all 1000 lines.
[0157] Another example of a method for depositing the composition is to employ the method of creating a reservoir and pulling fibers from that reservoir. Generally, a fiber being stretched will be essentially linear from the point from which it originated to the point at which the drawing force is being applied. Thus, curved patterns are difficult. However, the act of “pinning” the fiber to the substrate surface by touching it to that surface such that it adheres. The act of pinning allows the direction of draw to be changed to create, for example, a right angle in the resulting image. This process may be repeated as many times as necessary to create the desired image. Taken to an extreme, the spinnerette would be writing continuous curves on the surface of the substrate. In this case, there would be no draw of the fiber and the width of the resulting line would be determined by the diameter of the spinnerette. Thus the resolution of the lines would be severely limited.
[0158] The conductive feature can be post-treated after deposition and conversion of the metal precursor. For example, the crystallinity of the phases present can be increased, such as by laser processing. The post- treatment can also include cleaning and/or encapsulation of the electronic features, or other modifications.
[0159] Another method for depositing the composition is using multi-pass deposition to build the thickness of the deposit. In one embodiment, the average thickness of the deposited feature is greater than about 0.1 μm and even more preferably is greater than about 0.5 μm. The thickness can even be greater than about 1 μm, such as greater than about 5 μm. These thicknesses can be obtained by deposition of discrete units of material by depositing more than a single layer. A single layer can be deposited and dried, followed by repetitions of this cycle. Sequential layers of material do not have to be taken through sequential drying processes; additional depositions may be carried out before the previous layer is completely dry. The use of multiple layers can be employed to build up substantial channels or vias on the surface of a substrate to physically confine the composition.
[0160] Channels on the surface of a substrate may be filled via the method of this invention. The channels being filled may have been created by any of a number of processes. In this physical barrier approach, a confining structure is formed that keeps the composition from spreading. These confining structures may be trenches and cavities of various shapes and depths below a flat or curved surface, which confine the flow of the precursor composition. Such trenches can be formed by chemical etching or by photochemical means. The physical structure confining the precursor can also be formed by mechanical means including embossing a pattern into a softened surface or means of mechanical milling, grinding or scratching features. Trenches can also be formed thermally, for example by locally melting a low melting point coating such as a wax coating. Alternatively, retaining barriers and patches can be deposited to confine the flow of composition within a certain region. For example, a photoresist layer can be spin coated on a polymer substrate. Photolithography can be used to form trenches and other patterns in this photoresist layer. These patterns can be used to retain precursor that is deposited onto these preformed patterns. After drying, the photolithographic mask may or may not be removed with the appropriate solvents without removing the deposited metal. Retaining barriers can also be deposited with direct write deposition approaches such as ink-jet printing or any other direct writing approach as disclosed herein.
[0161] It will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that the process is best designed for the printing of straight lines on a substrate. A process of line spreading upon contact with the substrate has been described. The width of line features is also a function of the width of the fiber being deposited upon the surface. The width of the line is a function of the size of the spinnerette, the pumping rate through the spinnerette, and the draw ratio of the fiber after it has left the spinnerette and before it has contacted the substrate surface. The draw ratio of the fiber is a function of the rate of translation of the spinnerette relative to the surface of the substrate. Relative translation of the spinnerette to the substrate can be accomplished by movement of either the substrate or the spinnerette. The width of a line may be modulated by modification of width of the fiber before contact with the substrate. Thus the width of a line may be modulated by changing the spinning rate or by changing the rate of relative translation of the spinnerette to the substrate.
[0162] The width of line features is also a function of the concentration of the dispersing vehicle at the moment of contact with the substrate surface. Thus, if there is evaporation of the dispersing vehicle from the fiber between the time that it exits the spinnerette and the time that it contacts the surface of the substrate, wetting of the surface and spreading of the line will reduced. This is particularly true as the diameter if the drawn fiber is reduced, thereby increasing the relative surface area of the fiber from which evaporation may occur. On the rapid time frame of the imaging process, evaporation will occur primarily from the surface of the fiber rather than uniformly throughout. This further contributes to minimization of spreading on the substrate surface.
[0163] It will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that two or more of the latter process steps (drying, heating, reacting and sintering) can be combined into a single process step.
[0164] When forcing the composition through the spinnerette, a variety of methods may be employed. A positive displacement pump may be employed to maintain a constant flow rate. Syringe pumps are typically employed for this approach. Alternatively, the composition may be maintained at a constant positive pressure sufficient to force it through the spinnerette at the desired rate.
[0165] The electronics, display and energy industries rely on a variety of printing methods for the formation of coatings and patterns of conductive and other electronically active materials to form circuits on organic and inorganic substrates. The primary methods for generating these patterns are screen printing for features larger than about 100 μm and thin film and etching methods for features smaller than about 100 μm. Ink jet technology is beginning to be developed for printing find conductive features on electronic systems. Subtractive methods to attain fine feature sizes include the use of photo-patternable pastes and laser trimming. Each of these printing techniques together with the spin printing technique described in this document has a signature set of characteristics that allow devices made by one particular technique to be differentiated from those made by the others. Those features are detected by optical microscopy, electron microscopy, profilometry, and electrical measurements. For instance, photo-patternable pastes have relatively square shoulder features. Ink jetting results in relatively thin patterns or the presence of multiple passes can be detected microscopically. Laser trimming shows the effects of ablation along the sides of the features. Spin printing is characterized by good edge acuity and a rounded profile often thicker than can be achieved with ink jetting. These characteristics become apparent to one skilled in the art.
[0000] General Preparation of the Composition
[0166] Typically, aqueous-based spin printing ink compositions are formulated to have a jelly- or paste-like consistency. Generally, the inks are prepared by mixing the organic vehicle that is a non-solvent for the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer that is added in powder form, monomer (s), ultrahigh molecular weight polymer and other organic components in a mixing vessel. This mixing will be carried out under yellow light for photocurable systems. The ultrafine inorganic materials are then added to the mixture of organic components. The total composition is then mixed until the inorganic powders and ultrahigh molecular weight polymer is wetted by the organic materials. The mixture is then roll milled using a high-shear three-roll mill. The paste viscosity at this point could be adjusted with the appropriate vehicle or solvent to achieve a viscosity optimum for processing. Care is taken to avoid dirt contamination in the process of preparing paste compositions and in preparing parts, since such contamination can lead to defects. Finally, the water is added to the system, causing the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer to go into solution and achieving the desired jell-like consistency. The ink is then tumble-milled under low-shear conditions until it is thoroughly mixed.
[0167] Hydrocarbon-based systems will be prepared similarly, but the ultrahigh molecular weight polymers are not available in convenient powder forms. Thus the milling will be done in the primary solvent used for the system rather than in a non-solvent for the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer. Small particles of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer are added to the system and the mixture is further mixed in a rubber mill for a short period of time while the polymer begins to swell. Mixing is completed in a tumble mill.
[0000] Conditions:
[0168] The temperature of the spin printing process is not critical but will be dependent upon the nature of the solvent being employed. For aqueous systems a temperature range of about 0° C. to about 80° C., preferably 30° C. to 60° C. is convenient. Obviously, higher temperatures will result in greater evaporation of the dispersing vehicle during the printing process.
[0169] The printing process is relatively unaffected by environmental conditions, though the movement of air between the point the fiber is spun and the fiber is laid onto the substrate should be minimized.
[0170] Relative humidity will affect the drying rate of the aqueous based systems and a lesser effect on the other solvent systems. This is generally reflected in the rate of drying of the polymer filament. If drying is too rapid, the fiber can be difficult to elongate prior to laying on the substrate. Drying too rapidly on the substrate can lead to distortions of the edge features of the lines. For these reasons, some control of relative humidity is preferred. It is also useful to utilize bi-component solvents to control the drying profile.
[0171] Substrates:
[0172] The substrates for this process can be rigid or flexible. Generally, it is desired that the substrates not be highly absorbant and the surface of the substrate must be clean, free from defects, and smooth.
[0173] Rigid substrates would encompass for example, glass, rigid crystalline or amorphous plastics, glass with various surface treatments, or various electrical components previously printed onto a rigid substrate. Rigid substrates are useful in display devices such as plasma display panels, or liquid crystal displays. Substrates such as crystalline and amorphous silicon for solar energy devices may be printed using the techniques reported herein.
[0174] Flexible or semiflexible substrates are useful in a number of manners. The substrates may include flexible plastics such as Mylar® poly(ethylene terephthalate), or other polyester films, Kapton® polyimide films, paper, surface-coated paper, polyethylene, polypropylene and biaxially-oriented polypropylene, or other natural and synthetic polymer systems. The printed flexible substrates can be or be incorporated into the final device. Alternatively, the image printed on the flexible substrate can be transferred onto the final device. Generally, patterns spin-printed onto flexible substrates cannot be fired at high temperatures due to the stability of the flexible substrate, but after transfer to or lamination on to rigid substrates, the system may be fired to achieve the final desired properties and to remove the flexible portion of the system.
[0175] Process Conditions:
[0176] Care was taken to avoid dirt contamination in the process of preparing paste compositions and in preparing parts, since such contamination can lead to defects. The parts were dried at 80° C. in an air atmosphere oven. The dried parts were then normally fired in an air atmosphere at peak temperatures of 520° C. or under.
[0177] General Firing Profile:
[0178] The composition of the present invention may be processed by using a firing profile. Firing profiles are well within the knowledge of those skilled in the art of thick film technology. Removal of the organic medium and sintering of the inorganic materials is dependent on the firing profile. The profile will determine if the medium is substantially removed from the finished article and if the inorganic materials are substantially sintered in the finished article. The term “substantially” as used herein means at least 95% removal of the medium and sintering the inorganic materials to a point to provide at least adequate resistivity or conductivity or dielectric properties for the intended use or application.
[0179] Systems for Lamination:
[0180] When the image is being made onto a flexible medium for subsequent lamination, the spin-printed image may be protected by lamination with a coversheet before it is wound as a widestock roll. Silicone coated terephthalate PET film, polypropylene, or polyethylene may be used as a coversheet. The coversheet is removed before laminating to the final substrate.
[0181] Spin-printing is accomplished by spinning the viscoelastic polymer solution containing the functional phase and other components through a die or spinnerette onto a substrate that is in motion relative to the spinnerette. The solution-spun filament is made by forcing the organic solvent containing the polymer and other ingredients through the orifice of the die. The orifice of the die will typically be round, but can also be of other desired geometries. Dies have orifices of varied shape can be utilized to produce filaments having a wide variety of cross sectional designs, for example, round, square, rectangular, or elliptical. For instance, a die having a rectangular orifice can be utilized to produce a filament that is essentially in the form of a ribbon or film. If the shape of the filament is other than round, the orientation of the die shape relative to the substrate can be adjusted as desired. For instance, a ribbon or rectangular shape can be placed on the substrate either vertically or horizontally, as desired. It is generally convenient to utilize a die having an orifice that is essentially circular. The orifice of such dies will typically have a diameter that is within the range of about 20 to about 400 microns. In most cases, it is preferred for such orifices to have a diameter that is within the range of about 30 microns to about 200 microns.
[0182] Spinnerets that are equipped with multiple orifices can be used to print multiple lines in a single pass. Spacing of the multiple holes can be regular to provide a regular array of lines or spaced in a particular pattern to give a particularly desired array of lines. Dies with multiple holes do not necessarily need to be placed perpendicularly to the direction being printed. A diagonal placement will allow lines to be printed with spacing more narrow than the spacing of holes in the die. Holes in the die which are aligned parallel to the printing direction would allow multiple thicknesses to be printed in a single pass or to have two or more different compositions printed one atop another in a single pass.
[0183] The polymer solution containing the functional phase and other ingredients is forced through the die at a rate that is sufficient to attain a spinning speed of about 1 meter per minute to about 1000 meters per minute. Typically, the spinning speed is between about 2 meters per minute to about 400 meters per minute. It is generally desirable to utilize the fastest possible spinning speed that retains satisfactory uniformity. However, it may also be convenient to utilize slower spin-printing speeds to match the speed of the printing process with the speed of subsequent, down-stream steps in the manufacturing process. Higher spinning speeds are also desirable because they result in higher throughputs and better productivity. For this reason, spinning speeds in excess of 400 meters per minute would be desirable if uniformity and other desired properties can be maintained. It is expected that the lower spin-printing speeds will be utilized on rigid substrates where the machine direction is not parallel to the spinning direction. A potential configuration where the fiber is deposited on a flat glass substrate is shown in FIG. 1 . Gas flow may be utilized to lay the polymer onto the substrate. Areas where no printing is desired may be masked during the continuous printing process. In FIG. 1 , the spinnerette is labeled as 2 , polymer solution is labeled as 4 . The solution moves through die swell 6 and is shown as elongation 8 . A gas flow 10 may optionally be used to lay the polymer solution on the substrate 14 .
[0184] Higher speed can be sustained when the printing and spinning directions are in alignment. This would be exemplified by spin-printing onto a flexible substrate where the surface of the substrate can be aligned with the direction of the spinnerettes. A second potential configuration where the polymer fiber 8 is deposited on a moving flexible substrate 18 is shown as FIG. 2 . In these figures, it is noted that the printing head is fixed and the “flexible” substrate 18 is moving. While there are significant advantages to this approach, it is quite possible that the substrate can be fixed and the printing heads will move.
[0185] The polymer solution is forced through the die or spinnerette utilizing an adequate pressure to attain the spinning speed desired. The temperature of the process must be below the boiling point of the solvent. The polymer solution will typically be spin-printed at a temperature that is within the range of about 20° C. to about 70° C. when the solvent is water. The temperature will be determined by engineering of the process, the chosen solvent, its rate of evaporation, spinning speeds and other process variables. Temperatures above room temperature and controlled humidity conditions (primarily but not exclusively for aqueous-based systems) are desirable so that a uniform evaporation is easily maintained as atmospheric condition change. It is preferred that much of the solvent is removed from the polymer solution after passage through the die. Judicious choice of organic solvents would allow greater variation of the operating temperatures for the process.
[0186] As the solution-spun filament exits the spinnerette, it can be subjected to a drawing procedure. During the drawing procedure the solution spun filament is drawn to a total draw ratio of at least about 1:1 to 50:1. The total draw ratio will typically be within the range of about 5:1 to about 20:1 for circular filaments. It is advantageous to utilize drawing to decrease line size, increase uniformity and possibly orient acicular active components. Drawing of non-circular filament shapes will be minimal because there is a tendency of all shapes to approach circular upon drawing.
[0187] Multiple spinnerettes may be employed and multiple active components may be printed in a single pass. This would be particularly advantageous on a flexible substrate. The two components could be laid one atop the other or side-by-side. One potential configuration is shown in FIG. 3 where the spinnerette is labeled as 2 , the die swell is 6 , the substrate is 18 and the polymer solutions are labeled as 16 a and 16 b.
[0188] For instance, the components of barrier ribs for plasma display panels could be printed between rows of a fugitive polymer onto a flexible sheet. Shaped spinning is useful to establish the desired aspect ratio of rib height to width and the shape would be maintained by the fugitive polymer component. The two-component system could be transferred to a glass substrates in registration and the fugitive polymer channels would assure that the barrier ribs would retain their shape during the transfer and firing processes.
[0189] If a phosphor or other active components were contained in the fugitive polymer component, the phosphor would line the resulting channels after the firing process eliminating multiple steps in the manufacturing process. Extrusion coating of a barrier or cover layer may be carried out subsequent to the printing step yet all in the same overall process. The resulting structure would be that shown in FIG. 4 where the glass substrate is 22 , the fugitive binder layer is 24 , glass ceramic ribs are 28 and phosphors are 26 .
[0190] The term “sheath-core” as used herein refers to fibers that consist of two components, one down the center core of the fiber and another that sheaths the inner component. By definition, the two components must be different in nature. In this application, the polymer components in the core and sheath may be the same or different. Most commonly, the active component in the core and sheath will be different. The sheath component need not contain any active component and in that case it would act largely as a spacer material to shield the core component during some particular step in the fabrication process. The preparation of sheath-core synthetic polymer fibers is well known in the art, as described by, e.g., Killian in U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,482, by Bannerman in U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,798, and by Lee in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,949, and also in the art referenced herein above. A bicomponent spinning technique, which produces solid sheath-core bicomponent filaments of round cross-section is also known in the art and is described by Hernandez et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,971. It should be understood that known techniques for the production of sheath-core synthetic polymer fibers and of sheath-core bicomponent filaments as described above and in other prior publications may be used without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0191] Spin-printing of core shell fibers in direct contact with adjacent fibers on the substrate can lead to several useful configurations. In the initial printing process, the configuration of the fibers viewed in the machine direction would be shown in cross section by FIG. 5 , where the substrate is 22 , the shell system is 30 and the conductive core is labeled 32 . If the sheath component is a fugitive polymer, then it would be removed during the firing process and the remaining material would be in the configuration shown in FIG. 6 .
[0192] This would be an additional means of preparing closely spaced wires if the core material was a conducting active phase. If the sheath material contained for example an insulator and the core 32 contained a conductor, then the resulting configuration, after firing, would be shown in FIG. 7 . The conducting fibers would be encased in an insulating film. This configuration would have applicability in the preparation of plasma display panels and other display devices.
[0193] At times, in a video display, it is necessary to vary the dimensions of the conductor lines to better enable electrical contact at the sides of the display. For instance, the lines will widen as shown in FIG. 8 . This widening is accomplished by decreasing the rate of translation of the substrate relative to the rate of the extrusion from the spinnerette. The reduced draw on the fiber causes it to be of greater dimension. The greater dimension is reflected in both the width of the line and the thickness. The enhanced thickness at the contact point ensures good contact with the electrical connector strips and enhanced resistance to scratching while the connector strip is being installed.
EXAMPLES
[0194] This invention is illustrated by the following examples that are merely for the purpose of illustration and are not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the invention or the manner in which it can be practiced.
Example 1
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Non-Aqueous Systems
[0195] A solution of UHMW polydecene (estimated molecular weight greater than 2,000,000)(2.5 g) in hexane (50 mL) was prepared by cutting the sample of polydecene into small pieces and then placing the jar containing the polymer and solvent onto a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine Ohio) set on its lowest speed. Tumbling for 65 hours produced a viscoelastic, relatively homogeneous liquid or gel. The material could easily be drawn into long fibers.
[0196] A sample of Ferro silver (1.0 g, Ferro 7000 ultrafine silver powder, Ferro Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio) was dispersed in hexane (1 mL) in a 25 mL sample vial. A sample of polymer solution (1 mL) was added to the vial. Then an uncapped 1.5 mL vial was added to the sample vial. The capped sample vial was placed in a jar with padding and placed on the roller mill at its slowest speed for 24 hours. The small vial inside the sample vial served as a roller to disperse the silver.
[0197] The samples were transferred to a 1 mL syringe having a needle that had been cut off to a flat tip. Small samples were forced from the tip of the syringe needle and drawn across three side-by-side square glass slides (VWR-1302-50, 2 in sq) making relatively straight lines. The hexane/PD suspensions were highly viscoelastic and if not well adhered to the glass surface, would retract elastically. Nonetheless, they made very straight, fine lines containing silver.
[0198] Microscopic examination of the slides indicated that lines from 20-250 microns had been drawn. There were blemishes that one would expect from such a process, but the lines were remarkably good with very smooth edges and good uniformity in most sections.
Example 2
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Conductive Materials in Aqueous Systems
[0199] A sample of UHMW polyethyleneoxide (2 g, Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis. 18,947-2, molecular weight about 5,000,000) was dispersed quickly into highly stirred hot water 50 mL) in a jar. The jar containing the UHMW PEO and water was placed onto a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine OH) set on its lowest speed. Tumbling for 65 hours produced a viscous, relatively homogeneous liquid or gel. The material could easily be drawn into long fibers.
[0200] A sample of Ferro silver (1.0 g) was dispersed in water (1 mL) in a 25 mL sample vial. A sample of polymer solution (1 mL) was added to the vial. Then an uncapped 1.5 mL vial was added to the sample vial. The sample vial was placed in a jar with padding and placed on the roller mill at its slowest speed for 24 hours.
[0201] The sample was transferred to a 1 mL syringes having a needle that had been cut off to a flat tip. Small samples were forced from the tip of the syringe needle and drawn across three side-by-side square glass slides (VWR-1302-50, 2 in sq) making relatively straight lines. The polymer adhered well to the slide and the slides could be separated with little effort.
[0202] Microscopic examination of the slides indicated that lines from 20-200 microns had been drawn and they had very smooth edges and good uniformity in sections. It was clear that the dispersion process had not been very effective because no real dispersant polymer had been included.
Example 3
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Complex Additives and Adjuvants
[0203] A sample (10 g) of fully formulated DuPont Fodel® (DC-204) photocurable silver conductor paste (60% silver by weight) was obtained from DuPont Micro Circuit Materials, Wilmington, Del. The major constituents by weight were silver (60%), trimethylpentanediol monoisobutyrate (10%), acrylic resin (6%), modified acrylate ester (3%), glass frit (3%), and other smaller components including isopropanol, diethylthioxanthone, ethyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, and 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone. The glass frit is composed of the component weight % of the following: SiO 2 (9.1), Al 2 O 3 (1.4), PbO (77.0), B 2 O 3 (12.5). The sample was combined with poly(ethylene oxide) (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis. 18,947-2, molecular weight about 5,000,000), and methanol (0.6 g). The slurry was placed in a 25 mL vial and placed on a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine Ohio) at slowest speed for 24 hr. Thus the UHMW PEO was well dispersed in the mixture.
[0204] A sample of polyvinylpyrrolidone (0.2 g, Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis. 85,645-2, Batch 12731JA, Mw about 10,000) was dissolved in water (4 g) and swirled until dissolution was complete. This sample was then quickly added to the Fodel® slurry, shaken vigorously for several minutes and then placed on the roller mill for 24 hours. This formulation would give a sample containing 40% silver by weight.
[0205] A small sample of the resulting viscoelastic slurry was transferred to a 1 mL syringe having a needle that had been cut off to a flat tip. Small samples were forced from the tip of the syringe needle and drawn across adjacent, square glass slides making relatively straight lines. The polymer adhered well to the slides. The samples were dried at room temperature. Examination of the slides by optical microscopy indicated that lines from ranging from 100 to 330 microns had been drawn. Dispersion of the silver in the lines appeared to be uniform and excellent. The lines were good, with smooth edges and good uniformity.
[0206] A sample was fired in the belt oven at 500° C. over a period of 1 hr. Profilometry and resistivity of an unfired and a fired slide were measured and are given in the Table 1. The lines on the unfired slide did not conduct but those on the fired slide conducted well. The unfired widths seem to be wider than the fired, but that is an artifact of the hand-drawing technique.
TABLE 1 Unfired and fired profilometry and resistivity of a series of silver lines Unfired Fired Fired Width Height Width Height Resistance Line No. (μm) (μm) (μm) (μm) (Ohms/cm) 1 240 22.1 170 3.9 1.96 2 105 6.5 125 3.4 2.32 3 340 24.6 170 5.2 1.49 4 135 8.7 100 2.0 2.44 5 310 22.6 265 4.2 1.52 6 410 32.5 315 11.2 1.29 7 125 6.9 110 1.8 3.06 8 475 38.5 330 10.9 1.22
Example 4
Demonstrating that the Technique can Work with a Defined Range of Polymers, Dispersing Media and Concentrations
[0207] Traditional spinning of a fiber is performed by forcing a viscoelastic polymer fluid through a small orifice while a take-up wheel draws the resulting filament. These polymers are normally forced through a spinneret hole using a syringe pump. The relationship between the syringe pump speed and the resulting spinning speed (called jet velocity) and the take-up velocity will be defined as “draw” and is calculated presuming the cross section of a perfect cylinder. Draw is closely related to filament radius, but draw is utilizing a moving system verses a static cylinder.
[0208] Using a Harvard PHD-4400 syringe pump (Harvard Apparatus, Inc., Holliston, Mass.) and a Custom Scientific Instruments (Newark N.J.) variable speed take-up wheel (CS-194T), a spun filament was successfully created. Using a pumping rate of 0.25 ml/min through a nominally 5 mil (127 μm) orifice the jet velocity was determined to be approximately 20 m/min. At a take-up rate of 53 m/min, the draw was calculated to be 2.7 and the diameter of the filament was calculated to be approximately 80 μm. While testing various polymers for spinning ability, a length between spinneret and take-up wheel was set to 1 cm. Polymer solutions that could be spun continuously for a minute or longer over this distance were considered to be a “viscoelastic polymer solution.” Examples of solutions that passed this test are given in Table 2.
TABLE 2 Combinations of polymers, dispersing media and concentrations successfully spun. Molecular Dispersing Concentration Polymer weight vehicle (% by weight) Poly(ethylene oxide) 9,000,000 Water 1 Poly(ethylene oxide) 5,000,000 Water 2 Poly(acrylamide) 6,000,000 Water 2 Polyacrylamide 18,000,000 Water 2 Poly(acrylamide- 10,000,000 Water 2 co-acrylic acid) (Na salt 40%) Poly(acrylamide) 6,000,000 Water/20 wt 2 % ethanol Poly(ethylene oxide) 5,000,000 water/20% wt 2 methanol Poly(ethylene oxide) 5,000,000 water 0.2 Poly(acrylamide) 6,000,000 water 0.3 Poly(decene) >2,000,000 Hexane 3
[0209] Examples of solutions that failed this test under the stated conditions are listed in Table 3.
TABLE 3 Combinations of polymers, dispersing media and concentrations that failed to meet the criteria for spinning. Molecular Dispersing Concentration Polymer weight vehicle (% by weight) Poly(ethylene oxide) 100,000 Water 2 Poly(ethylene oxide) 9,000,000 Water 0.1 Poly(acrylamide) 23,000 Water 2 Poly(sodium styrene-4- 1,000,000 Water 2 sulfonate) Carbomethoxy cellulose 90,000 Water 2 Poly(methyl 996,000 Methyl ethyl 2 methacrylate) ketone Poly(epichlorohydrin) 700,000 Methylene 2 chloride Dextran 3-7,000,000 water 2 Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) 1,300,000 water 2
Example 5
Demonstrating that the Technique can be Automated
[0210] When a formed filament is drawn across the surface of a substrate and adhered to that substrate, it is the basis of spin printing. An Illiad PS2 robotic system from Charybdis Technologies (Carlsbad, Calif.) was modified for printing. A Harvard PHD-4400 syringe pump (Harvard Apparatus, Inc., Holliston, Mass.) was utilized to pump the spin printing ink to the robotic arm of the Illiad. The Illiad was programmed to draw parallel lines across a glass slide. The robotic arm motion was limited to speeds measured at a maximum of 24 m/min. Thus very low pumping speeds were required to obtain substantial draw of the filament. Pumping had to be initiated just before movement of the arm began. A series of for parallel lines having widths of approximately 100 μm width and a spacing of approximately 400 μm were obtained.
Example 6
Demonstrating that the Automated Technique Works with Conductive Materials
[0211] A modified CS-194T BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform from Cartesian Technologies (Genomic Solutions, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.) was found to be the better choice of printing platform. It utilizes a moving stage versus the overhead robotic arm of the Illiad. The BioDot programming also allowed for the use of multiple onboard syringe pumps coordinated with the moveable stage. As the table speed was still not as fast as desired, the onboard syringe pumps were manipulated to retain a proper spinning ratio.
[0212] The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform utilizes a variable speed 250 μL syringe pump correlated to a moveable platform of maximum speed ca. 2.6 m/min. Custom made spin jets were cut to length from ART-10 Molecular BioProducts pipette tips #2139 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.) with an exit internal diameter of ca.45 μm. These jets are the equivalent to spinnerets in traditional fiber spinning. Using the BioDot AxSys software, a program was developed to draw 4 parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths <80 μm. These lines were drawn on a factory cleaned 10 cm diameter silicon wafer with <1 mm thickness. A silicon wafer was chosen due to its compatibility with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the wafer as to minimize any drawing effects due to gravity. The final modification made was to manually fill the syringe, as the solution was too viscous to be filled under the suction of the pump. The syringe pump exhibited no problems in pushing this solution through the jet.
[0213] The technique used in spin printing was to first place the jet directly on the surface of the substrate. This creates a starting point to which the filament was anchored. The jet is then withdrawn from the surface by a distance of 3.0 mm. As the table moved horizontally in a straight line in the x-direction at constant speed, a filament was created and gravity pulled it to the surface of the substrate. When the first line was complete, the process began again in the reverse direction after shifting a known distance in the y-direction to achieve a series of parallel lines.
[0214] A suspension of nanoparticle silver (1.5 g, 10%) (Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.), di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (11.7 g, 78%) was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific), duty cycle =constant, output control=5 for ca. 30 min. To the dark-red, fine suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (300 mg, 2%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed overnight (Mini Vortexer, VWR, West Chester, Pa.) and further rolled for several hours on a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine OH) set on its lowest speed, yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing.
[0215] A series of four parallel lines having widths of approximately 100 μm width and a spacing of approximately 400 μm were obtained. The samples was heated in a belt furnace that ramped from room temperature to 525° C. in a period of 24 minutes, held at 525° C. for 18 minutes and then ramped back down to room temperature in 18 minutes. The lines had good conductivity.
Example 7
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Conductive Materials at High Loadings
[0216] Example 6 was repeated utilizing 40% silver suspension of Sumitomo nanoparticles Ag (6.0 g, 40%)(Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.), di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (7.2 g, 48%) was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific), duty cycle =constant, output control =5 for ca. 30 min. To the dark-red, fine suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (300 mg, 2%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed overnight with a Mini Vortexer (VWR, West Chester, Pa.) and further rolled for several hours on a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine OH) set on its lowest speed, yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing.
[0217] The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition on a glass slide at about 2.6 m/min. Custom made spin jets were cut to length from ART-10 Molecular BioProducts pipette tips #2139 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.) with an exit internal diameter of ca.45 μm. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn on a cleaned glass slide. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the wafer. After printing, the sample was heated in the belt furnace. The lines had dimensions of <80 μm and a resistance of 4 ohm/cm.
Example 8
Demonstrating that the Technique with Photoactive Materials
[0218] Titanium dioxide (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) is a well known white pigment and absorber of UV radiation. It is also a photocatalyst for the oxidation of a wide variety of organic molecules. A suspension of TiO 2 nanopowder (50 mg, 0.32%), SDS (50 mg, 0.32%), and 15 ml deionized water was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.), duty cycle =constant, output control =5 for ca. 45 min. To the white suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (388 mg, 2.5%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed for several hours and rolled overnight yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing. Lines were successfully printed as described above.
[0219] The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition on a glass slide at about 2.6 m/min. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn on a cleaned glass slide. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the wafer. After printing, the sample was heated in the belt furnace. The lines were white and had dimensions of 55 mm by <80 μm.
Example 9
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Dielectric Materials
[0220] Barium titanate (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) is a well known high dielectric material useful in a number of electronic applications. A suspension of BaTiO 3 nanopowder (45 mg, 0.29%), SDS (30 mg, 0.19%), and 15 ml deionized water was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific), duty cycle =constant, output control =5 for ca. 45 min. To the white suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (387 mg, 2.5%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed for several hours and rolled overnight yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing.
[0221] The BioDot XYZ Dispense Plafform was utilized to print the composition on a glass slide at about 2.6 m/min. Custom made spin jets were cut to length from ART-10 Molecular BioProducts pipette tips #2139 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.) with an exit internal diameter of ca.45 μm. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn on a cleaned glass slide. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the wafer. After printing, the sample was heated in the belt furnace. The lines were white and had dimensions of 55 mm by <80 um.
Example 10
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Inorganic Oxide Materials
[0222] Bismuth oxide (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) is a yellow pigment and is a known antimicrobial. A suspension of Bi 2 O 3 nanopowder (110 mg, 0.71%), SDS (30 mg, 0.19%), and 15 ml deionized water was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific), duty cycle =constant, output control =5 for ca. 45 min. To the yellow suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (389 mg, 2.5%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed for an hour and rolled overnight yielding an inhomogeneous viscoelastic suspension that was nonetheless suitable for spin printing. Lines were successfully printed as described above. Upon firing, the lines were white and had dimensions of 55 mm by <80 μm
Example 11
Demonstrating that the Technique Works on Flexible Polymeric Substrates and with High Silver Loading
[0223] Silver lines were printed on a Kapton® polyimide film (DuPont, Wilmington, Del.) utilizing 50% silver suspension of silver nanoparticles (7.5 g, 50%) in di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (5.6 g, 37.5%) with poly(ethylene oxide) (300 mg, 2%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000) prepared as above. The sample was vortexed overnight with a Mini Vortexer (VWR, West Chester, Pa.) and further rolled for several hours on a roller mill (U.S. Stoneware Corp., Palestine OH) set on its lowest speed, yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing. The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition on the Kapton® film at about 2.6 m/min. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the film. After printing, the sample was heated on a hot plate to 200° C. for two hours. The lines had dimensions of 55 mm by <80 μm and were conductive.
Example 11
Demonstrating that the Technique Works on Ceramic Substrates
[0224] Silver lines were printed on an alumina ceramic plate utilizing a suspension of Sumitomo nanoparticle silver (6.0 g, 40%)(Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.) in di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (7.2 g, 48%) with poly(ethylene oxide) (300 mg, 2%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition at about 2.6 m/min. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn on the 5 cm×5 cm ceramic substrate. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the ceramic. After printing, the sample was heated on a hot plate to 200° C. for two hours and then again in the belt furnace. The lines had dimensions of 45 mm by <80 μm.
Example 12
Demonstrating that the Technique Works on Larger Substrates
[0225] Silver lines were printed on a glass plate utilizing a suspension of Sumitomo nanoparticle silver (1.5 g, 10%)(Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.) in di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (11.7 g, 78%) with poly(ethylene oxide) (300 mg, 2%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition at about 2.6 m/min. Sets of four parallel lines at 180 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn on the 100 mm×200 mm glass substrate (Uniplate TLC plates from Analtech, Newark, Del., that had been cleaned). Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the glass. After printing, the sample was heated on a hot plate to 200° C. for two hours. The lines had dimensions of 180 mm by <80 μm. Additional lines were drawn with dimensions as low as 25 μm. All of the lines had conductivity.
Example 13
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Lower Polymer Loadings
[0226] A suspension of Sumitomo Ag nanoparticles (3.0 g, 20%)(Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.), di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.35 g, 9%), and deionized water (10.5 g, 70%) was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.), duty cycle=constant, output control=5 for ca. 30 min. To the dark-red, fine suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (150 mg, 1.0%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed overnight on a VWR Mini Vortexer and further rolled for several hours on a roller mill set on its lowest speed, yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing. The BioDot XYZ Dispense Plafform was utilized to print the composition on a clean glass slide at about 2.6 m/min. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn. Each line was drawn <1 mm from the surface of the wafer. The line appeared to be good to the naked eye, but under microscopic examination was found to be subject to “mud cracking,” a drying issue that can be corrected by the addition of adjuvants.
Example 14
Demonstrating that the Technique Works with Higher Polymer Loadings
[0227] A suspension of Sumitomo Ag nanoparticles (1.5 g, 10%)(Sumitomo Electric, White Plains, N.Y.), di(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (Dowanol™ DB) (1.5 g, 10%), and deionized water (11.6 g, 77.5%) was sonicated in a 20 ml vial using a Branson Sonifier 450 (VWR Scientific, West Chester, Pa.), duty cycle=constant, output control=5 for ca. 30 min. To the dark-red, fine suspension was added poly(ethylene oxide) (375 mg, 2.5%) (Avg. MW 5,000,000). The sample was vortexed overnight and further rolled for several hours on a roller mill set on its lowest speed, yielding a viscoelastic suspension suitable for spin printing. The BioDot XYZ Dispense Platform was utilized to print the composition on a clean glass slide at about 2.6 m/min. Four parallel lines at 55 mm lengths and widths of less than 80 μm were drawn successfully. | The present invention is directed to a process for printing conductors, insulators, dielectrics, phosphors, emitters, and other elements that may be for electronics and display applications. The present invention also relates to viscoelastic compositions used in this printing process. The present invention further includes devices made therefrom. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to assisting users of walkers with a safe and convenient place to sit while using a conventional stand-alone walker and more specifically to providing trailing chair attachments for operation with various makes and models of pre-existing walkers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past, it has not been uncommon in a nursing home environment to have many patients/residents each having their own personally owned conventional stand alone walker. The term “conventional stand alone walker” is hereby defined to be a walker apparatus for aiding a person walking, which includes at least three upwardly extending support members, which provide support to structures for two hands of a person to grasp while walking; and further having at least three points (either rolling, non-rolling, or a combination of the two) of contacting the ground. The term conventional stand alone walker shall specifically exclude a walker device which has a structure thereon which is specifically adapted to be coupled with a structure for pulling a rolling chair.
At times, such as after surgery or other incident, residents may need to exercise by walking with a conventional stand alone walker. At times, these patients may temporarily require additional assistance. In such cases, many staff members can be needed in assisting users of conventional stand alone walkers. In many instances, two staff members are used simultaneously to aid a single user of a conventional stand alone walker. In such situations where the patient is using such a walker, one staff person is walking next to the patient and another follows with a wheel chair. In the event the patient begins to tire or fall, the person walking with the patient provides immediate support, while the other guides the wheel chair into place so the patient can be seated.
In the past, it has been known to combine a walker and seat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,620 is directed to a walker with a seat which permits the person using the walker to take a rest by being seated in an opposite facing seat. Another patent describes a walker with an attached seat which allows the user to take a forward facing seat when desired. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,912.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,438 describes a collapsible rolling apparatus with a seat and a walking support structure.
While these devices do provide significant utility, they do have drawbacks.
The '620 patent requires the walker to turn around to sit down. In some situations turning around may be difficult, especially if the patient is very unstable or needs to sit urgently.
With the '912 patent, the seat is facing the direction of travel but the system, with only wheels contacting the ground, may not provide the same level of exercise as is required of a person using a conventional stand alone walker, nor does it provide the same level of stability as a conventional stand alone walker. This system, with its ability to roll in any direction, could be difficult for some individuals to use as a walker and entering/exiting it may also be difficult for some.
Lastly, the '438 patent is a large structure, also with only wheels touching the ground, and the structure includes two collapsing segments which are not designed to work independently of the other. The '438 patent does not take advantage of the installed base of walkers, and can not provide the same familiarity as the person's own walker.
Consequently, there exists a need for improvements in using conventional stand alone walkers which overcomes some of the problems of these prior designs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient and safe method for assisting a large group of users of their own personal conventional stand alone walkers.
It is a feature of the invention to utilize an installed base of pre-existing conventional stand alone walkers from various manufacturers.
It is another feature of the invention to provide a quick connecting and disconnection method for coupling a trailing chair attachment to a patient's own pre-existing conventional stand alone walker.
It is an advantage of the present invention to reduce the expense of providing assistance to a large number of users of conventional stand alone walkers with minimal investment in equipment, while at the same time allowing the patient to enjoy the comfort and peace of mind of using their own familiar personal conventional stand alone walker.
Accordingly, the present invention comprises a trailing chair attachment which works with a conventional stand alone walker from various manufacturers, without a need to make changes to the patient's own walker.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an assembly of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a dedicated trailing chair attachment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a roll restricting assembly of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Now referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a device, generally designated 100 , of the present invention, which could be as simple as a well known and very popular prior art wheeled walker except that it is equipped with connection arms 210 and spring loaded casters 120 , which restrict rolling when a downward force is applied thereon. These spring loaded castors may have adjustable tension for different weights of persons using the walkers. Such spring loaded casters are well known for use with rolling step ladders which roll freely when moved without a load and then lock down, with an internal to the castor brake, when a person steps on the ladder. In some instances, the casters 120 could, instead, be spring loaded wheels 304 . Now referring to FIG. 3 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the present invention which has standard walker legs 302 with firm gripping relatively soft pliable end caps 306 , such as found on crutches and walkers. The wheels 304 can be spring loaded to allow them to move upward relative to the legs when increased forces are being applied to the length adjustable handles 110 ( FIG. 1 ) or the seat 130 . These wheels 304 and casters 120 allow the trailing chair attachment 100 to roll freely when there is minimal force applied to the handles 110 or the seat 130 . Any suitable selective means for rolling could be used so long as the ability to roll is greatly reduced when pressure is increased on the walker. Spring loaded castors are just one method of allowing for weight sensitive rolling control to exist. For example, the castors 120 and 220 could be augmented with electric brakes which allow for the braking to occur in response to sensors detecting various things such as the amount of force the person walking applies to the handles 110 . A combination of rolling control mechanisms could be employed as well.
Now referring to FIG. 2 , there is shown a dedicated trailing chair attachment of the present invention, generally designated 200 which also could have variable length connection bars 210 for connecting with the device 100 or any conventional stand alone walker. Snaps tethers or quick release connections 212 could be used to easily loosely couple the connection bars 210 between the seat portion 230 and the walker 100 . The trailing chair attachment 200 can roll behind any walker on casters 220 , similar to castors 120 , as the person walking is located between the walker and the seat 230 . The person using the walker can sit down at any time without the need to turn around. The length of connection bars can be adjusted for the size of the person, the speed of walking and other factors as well. Trailing chair attachment 200 may have a storage basket 240 , similar to storage basket 140 beneath seat 130 of FIG. 1 .
The main structural portions of the trailing chair attachment can be made of pipe, rods, straps, etc. and made of various materials such as steel, aluminum, plastic, wood or other suitable material. The walker can be constructed like many prior art walkers with suitable materials. It may be preferred, but is not essential, that the walker also have spring loaded casters. Some of the benefits of the present invention would still exist if the walker 100 had non-rolling tips, i.e. crutch tips, etc. The trailing chair attachment is readily detachable and can be removed to allow the use of the walker without a chair if a chair is not necessary.
In the method and system of the present invention, the device 100 could be used as both a walker, which the patient moves forward while walking and/or it could be used as a trailing chair attachment. In one embodiment of the present invention, they could be identical structures reversed in direction (i.e. the seats facing each other) and coupled to each other by connecting rods 210 . The patient would be located between the two and could push one while the other trails along. When the patient is tired, the patient can merely sit down in the seat of the trailing chair attachment.
The Applicant believes that the present invention can be understood by a person skilled in the art after reading this application. | A system of attaching a trailing seat attachment to a walker so a person can sit down while using the walker without the need to turn around. The system comprising a pair of facing identical wheeled walkers coupled by an extension rod there between, where the walker includes spring loaded casters to restrict rolling when downward forces are applied to the walker seat or grips. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system for purifying an impure supply gas stream containing a desirable pure gas, such as hydrogen, using a continuous feed of the supply gas stream.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The need for high purity gases, such as hydrogen, is growing in the chemical process industries, e.g., in steel annealing, silicon manufacturing, hydrogenation of fats and oils, glass making, hydrocracking, methanol production, the production of oxo alcohols, and isomerization processes. This growing demand requires the development of highly efficient separation processes for H 2 production from various feed mixtures. In order to obtain highly efficient PSA separation processes, both the capital and operating costs of the PSA system must be reduced.
[0003] One way of reducing PSA system cost is to decrease the adsorbent inventory and number of beds in the PSA process. In addition, further improvements may be possible using advance cycles and adsorbents in the PSA process. However, H 2 feed gas contains several contaminants, e.g. a feed stream may contain CO 2 (20% to 25%) and minor amounts of H 2 O (<0.5%), CH 4 (<3%), CO (<1%) and N 2 (<1%). Such a combination of adsorbates at such widely varying compositions presents a significant challenge to efficient adsorbent selection, adsorbent configuration in the adsorber, and the choices of individual adsorbent layers and multiple adsorbent bed systems to obtain an efficient H 2 -PSA process.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,380 B1 relates to a gas separation apparatus and process that has a first PSA unit for receiving feed gas which comprises a first and a second component. First PSA unit produces first product gas predominantly containing the first component, and the first off gas containing at least some of the first component and second component. A compressor is coupled to a first PSA unit to compress first off gas to form compressed off gas, which is passed downstream to an absorber unit, which employs a solvent to remove at least part of the second component from compressed off gas, forming an enriched compressed off gas. Second PSA unit receives enriched compressed off gas and produces second product gas which predominantly contains the first component and a second off gas that is sent to waste or reformer burner.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,143 B1 relates to a process that provides for simultaneously producing a syngas product having a H 2 /CO ratio of less than 2.5 and a hydrogen gas product. The process includes increasing an amount of carbon dioxide being fed to a secondary reformer with carbon dioxide extracted from: (a) an effluent from a primary reformer and (b) an effluent from the secondary reformer. An apparatus for performing the process is also provided.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,299 B2 relates to a two bed PSA process for recovering a primary gaseous component at a purity of over 99% from a feed gas comprising the primary component and one or more impurities. Once such process includes: (a) passing the feed gas through a first adsorption bed to remove one or more impurities; (b) conducting a PSA cycle in the first bed; (c) separately passing effluent gases from the first bed into at least two separate tanks for subsequent purging and pressurization of the beds; (d) storing a gas mixture in the first of the tanks containing the primary component in a concentration higher than the concentration of the primary component in the gas mixture in the second of the tanks; (e) refluxing the mixture of the primary component from the second tank in the first adsorption bed during the regeneration steps therein; (f) refluxing the mixture of the primary component from the first tank in the first adsorption bed during the regeneration steps therein; (g) simultaneously and non-concurrently performing steps (a) to (f) in a second bed; and (h) recovering the product gas stream.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,382 B1 relates to a PSA process for purifying a synthesis gas stream containing from 60 to 90 mole % hydrogen and impurities such as CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 , and CO. The PSA process of this disclosure further provides a method of adsorbing substantially all of the nitrogen and other contaminants from the feed gas stream; wherein the feed stream is passed at superatmospheric pressure through a plurality of adsorbent beds and each adsorbent bed contains at least a CaX, LiA, LiX or calcium containing mixed cation zeolite having a SiO 2 /Al 2 , O 3 mole ration of 2.0-2.5. Such process involves sequentially pressurizing, depressurizing, purging and repressurizing the adsorbent beds with product hydrogen, and recovering product hydrogen in purities of 99.9% or greater from the beds.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,813 B2 relates to a gas stream containing one or more gaseous impurities from the group formed by carbon dioxide, water vapor, H 2 S, alcohols, SO 2 and C 1 -C 8 saturated or unsaturated, linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbons which is brought into contact with several different porous carbon adsorbents, that is to say active carbons having different properties and characteristics. The gas is air, nitrogen, hydrogen produced by the reforming or cracking of ammonia or the combustion gas or fermentation gas.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,001 B2 relates to a PSA apparatus and process for the production of purified hydrogen from a feed gas stream containing heavy hydro-carbons (i.e., hydrocarbons having at least six carbons). The apparatus comprises at least one bed containing at least three layers. The layered adsorption zone contains a feed end with a low surface area adsorbent (20 to 400 m 2 /g) which comprises 2 to 20% of the total bed length followed by a layer of an intermediate surface area adsorbent (425 to 800 m 2 /g) which comprises 25 to 40% of the total bed length and a final layer of high surface area adsorbent (825 to 2000 m 2 /g) which comprises 40 to 78% of the total bed length.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,549 relates to a process for adsorbing carbon dioxide from a carbon dioxide containing gas mixture comprising contacting the gas mixture with an activated carbon adsorbent having a density in the range of approximately 0.56 to 0.61 g/cc (35 to 38 lbs./ft 3 ) and adsorbing the carbon dioxide on the activated carbon adsorbent.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,247 relates to a process for recovering hydrogen from dilute refinery off gases using a vacuum swing adsorption process having a simultaneous cocurrent depressurization to provide a purge gas for another bed under the influence of a vacuum and countercurrent depressurization to vent void space gas and/or adsorbed gas to ambient.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,838 B1 relates to a PSA process includes providing a PSA apparatus having six beds, and equalizing a pressure of each of the six beds in four steps, wherein at all times during the process, at least one of the six beds is providing off gas. The process is particularly suitable for purifying hydrogen from a feed gas mixture containing hydrogen and at least one of the methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and water vapor.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,431 B1 relates to a PSA process including an adsorption apparatus having a plurality of beds and countercurrently purging at least two of the beds simultaneously throughout the process. The number of beds and number of pressure equalization steps are not particularly limited, but a ten-bed, four pressure equalization step process is advantageous. In addition, other ten-bed, four pressure equalization step processes are disclosed which do not countercurrently purge at least two of the beds simultaneously, but which have an average of at least two of the ten beds being simultaneously regenerated by simultaneously providing off gas from a feed end of each of the beds to an off gas line.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,422 relates to a process for the separation of the hydrogen contained in a gas mixture contaminated by carbon monoxide and containing at least one other impurity chosen from the group consisting of carbon dioxide and saturated or unsaturated, linear, branched or cyclic C 1 -C 8 hydrocarbons, comprising bringing the gas mixture to be purified into contact, in an adsorption region, with at least:
one first adsorbent selective at least for carbon dioxide and for C 1 -C 8 hydrocarbons and one second adsorbent which is a zeolite of faujasite type exchanged to at least 80% with lithium, the Si/Al ratio of which is less than 1.5, in order to remove at least carbon monoxide (CO).
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,466 B1 relates to a process which overcomes historical limitations to the capacity of PSA units for a wide variety of gas separations. Capacities in excess of about 110 thousand normal cubic meters per hour (100 million standard cubic feet per day) can now be achieved in a single integrated process train. The corresponding significant equipment reduction results from a departure from the accepted principle in the PSA arts that the length of the purge step must be equal to or less than the length of the adsorption step. By increasing the purge time relative to the adsorption step combined with supplying the purge gas for any adsorption bed in the train from one or more other adsorption beds and during the provide-purge step, the other adsorption beds simultaneously provide the purge gas to essentially all adsorption beds undergoing the purge step, that the single train can provide for significant increases in capacity with a minimum loss in recovery or performance. The benefit of this discovery is that very large-scale PSA units can now be constructed as a single train of equipment for a cost significantly lower than the cost of two or more parallel trains of equipment.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,010 relates to a method for increasing product recovery or reducing the size of steam methane reformer and pressure swing adsorption systems utilized for hydrogen production. A significant portion of the hydrogen in the PSA depressurization and purge effluent gas, which is otherwise burned as fuel in the reformer, is recovered and recycled to the PSA system to provide additional high purity hydrogen product. This is accomplished by processing selected portions of the depressurization and purge effluent gas in adsorbent membrane separators to increase hydrogen content for recycle to the PSA system. Remaining portions of the depressurization and purge effluent gas which contain lower concentrations of hydrogen are utilized for fuel value in the reformer.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,418 relates to an adiabatic pressure swing process for selectively adsorbing components such as carbon dioxide, water and light aliphatic hydrocarbons from admixture with hydrogen gas is provided by at least four adsorbent beds joined in a particular flow sequence.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,816 relates to a PSA process for separation of gas mixtures in which at least four adsorbent beds are joined so that the adsorbate loaded bed is pressure equalized with two other beds in staged sequence.
[0021] U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,451 B2 relates to a compact multiple bed PSA apparatus to produce a high concentration of oxygen efficiently and at minimum noise levels by using inactive pressurized adsorber beds to purge adsorbed nitrogen.
[0022] U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,607 B1 relates to a PSA process for the separation of a pressurized feed gas containing at least one more strongly adsorbable component and at least one less strongly adsorbable component. The process comprises (a) introducing the pressurized feed gas into a feed end of an adsorber bed containing one or more solid adsorbents which preferentially adsorb the more strongly adsorbable component and withdrawing from a product end of the adsorber bed a first adsorber effluent gas enriched in the less strongly adsorbable component, wherein the first adsorber effluent gas is utilized as final product gas; (b) terminating the introduction of the pressurized feed gas into the adsorber bed while withdrawing from the product end of the adsorber bed a second adsorber effluent gas enriched in the less strongly adsorbable component, wherein the pressure in the adsorber bed decreases while the second adsorber effluent gas is utilized as additional final product gas; (c) depressurizing the adsorber bed to a minimum bed pressure by withdrawing additional gas therefrom; (d) repressurizing the adsorber bed by introducing repressurization gas into the bed, wherein at least a portion of the repressurization gas is provided by pressurized feed gas; and (e) repeating steps (a) through (d) in a cyclic manner. No final product gas is required for purge or repressurization in the process cycle steps.
[0023] U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,075 relates to a method for recovering nitrogen from air in a three bed vacuum swing adsorption technique in which the beds are not rinsed with nitrogen gas before recovering a nitrogen recycle stream and a nitrogen product.
[0024] An object of the present invention is to provide multiple bed PSA system, preferably a three bed PSA system, that can process a continuous impurity gas stream to produce a high purity gas component without the use of storage tanks for collecting void gases during pressure changing steps in the PSA cycle.
[0025] Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact three bed PSA system that can operate with continuous supply gas at lower adsorption pressures, lower bed size factor (bsf) and lower capital cost relative prior art PSA processes.
[0026] Another object of the invention is to provide a novel three bed PSA system for the production of hydrogen from a continuous impure gas stream containing hydrogen as a component.
[0027] Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The invention provides a pressure swing adsorption process for the separation of a pressurized supply feed gas containing at least one more strongly adsorbable component and at least one less strongly adsorbable product gas component in a multiple bed system which comprises the continuous feeding of a supply gas into a feed end of an adsorber bed containing at least one solid adsorbent which preferentially adsorb the more strongly adsorbable component and withdrawing the least strongly adsorbable product component from an exit end of the adsorber bed, producing in cycles by steps in which the continuous feeding of the supply gas in sequentially co-current direction through each of the adsorber beds to produce gas product using continuous feed gas, pressurization step, pressure equalization step, constant product gas step and purge step in the PSA cycle.
[0029] The product gas of the process is preferably hydrogen although the process can also be extended to other separation processes such as helium purification, natural gas upgrading, CO 2 production from synthesis gas or other sources containing CO 2 in the supply feed or in other PSA processes for Co-production of H 2 and CO. One of the novel features of the invention is the use of a continuous feed supply gas in a multiple bed PSA system, preferably a three bed H 2 PSA system, that utilizes shorter beds having a lower adsorption pressure with an optimum ratio of product pressurization to adsorption pressure ranges from about 0.20 to about 0.35 for adsorption pressure from 20 psig to 900 psig from a 12-step cycle and 50 psig to 900 psig for other cycle steps. The above optimum amount of product pressurization is required to minimize bed size factor (bsf) in the production of high purity hydrogen at high recoveries. The amount of product pressurization is defined by dividing the change in bed pressure during the product pressurization step by the adsorption pressure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] In a first and preferred embodiment of the invention, the novel PSA system employs a twelve-step three adsorbent bed PSA cycle having two pressure equalization steps in addition to purging and product pressurization steps. The PSA process also utilizes a continuous supply gas feed without the use of storage tanks and utilizes a product pressurization step before a high pressure equalization step. The three bed PSA cycle has lower bed size factor than prior art PSA processes.
[0031] Another embodiment of the invention utilizes a nine-step three bed PSA system having a high-pressure equalization overlapped with feed pressurization step without a product pressurization step.
[0032] Another embodiment of the invention utilizes a nine-step three bed PSA system having a product pressurization step without a high pressure equalization step.
[0033] A primary benefit of the twelve-step three bed hydrogen PSA system in comparison to either embodiments of the nine-step three bed system, is reduction in the bed size factor.
[0034] Suitable adsorbents such as activated carbons with different bulk densities and other zeolitic materials such as Li—X zeolite, CaX (2.0), etc. can be used in the three bed PSA separation process without deviating from the scope of the invention. For example, instead of using VSA6 zeolite, the three bed PSA process could also use CaX (2.0) and naturally occurring crystalline zeolite molecular sieves such as chabazite, erionite and faujasite. Furthermore, zeolite containing lithium/alkaline earth metal A and X zeolites (Chao et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,413,625; 5,174,979; 5,698,013; 5,454,857 and 4,859,217) may also be used in this invention.
[0035] Also, each of the layered adsorbent zone in each of the PSA bed could be replaced with layers of adsorbents of the same type. For example, the single layer of zeolite in each bed could be replaced with multiple layers of different adsorbents (e.g., VSA 6 could be replaced by a first layer of 13× with VSA6 on top). In addition, the zeolite layer could be substituted by a composite adsorbent layer containing different adsorbent materials positioned in separate zones in which temperature conditions favor adsorption performance of the particular adsorbent material under applicable processing conditions in each zone. Further details on composite adsorbent layer design is given by Notaro et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,311.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] The invention is described with reference to the appended figures.
[0037] FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram for a three bed PSA system in accordance with the invention.
[0038] FIG. 2 is a series of schematic illustrations of adsorption beds as they undergo each step of the first embodiment of a twelve-step three bed PSA system of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 3 is process pressure profiles of a twelve-step three bed PSA system.
[0040] FIG. 4 is a plot of bed size factor versus bed pressure change during product pressurization/adsorption pressure for a three bed PSA system.
[0041] FIG. 5 is a series of schematic illustrations of adsorption beds as they undergo each step of the second embodiment of a nine-step three bed PSA system of the present invention.
[0042] FIG. 6 is a series of schematic illustrations of adsorption beds as they undergo each step of the third embodiment of a nine-step three bed PSA system of the present invention.
[0043] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a twelve-step three bed PSA system comprising three adsorber beds, 17 ON/OFF valves, 5 control valves (CV) and associated piping and fittings. The control valves are used to control the flow rate or pressure during certain steps in the process; CV- 1 controls the flow rate out of the bed during the first blowdown; CV- 2 controls the rate at which the beds provide purge; CV- 3 controls the rate at which the beds equalize; CV- 4 controls the rate at which the beds receive product pressurization gas; and CV- 5 maintains the bed at constant pressure during product production.
[0044] An example of a PSA process using the three bed PSA process of this invention is shown on FIGS. 1-3 , having operation conditions shown in Table 1 and the valve switching logic of Table 2. The results shown below were obtained from PSA pilot plant using a feed mixture on a dry basis: 77.4% H 2 , 19.24%, CO 2 , 066% CO, 1.99% CH 4 and 0.70 N 2 . Also in the table, total bed size factor is the total quantity of adsorbents per ton per day of H 2 produced.
TABLE 1 PSA Process Performance and Operating Conditions. Cycle time(s): 480 Adsorbent in first layer of Bed Alumina Amount of alumina (lb/TPD H 2 ): 1.053 × 10 3 Adsorbent in third layer of bed: activated carbon Amount of activated carbon (lb/TPD H 2 ): 2.804 × 10 3 Adsorbent in third layer of bed: VSA6 zeolite Amount of zeolite (lb/TPD H 2 ): 2.063 × 10 3 High Pressure: 9.324 × 10 2 kPa Low Pressure: 1.360 × 10 2 kPa Feed Flux (Kmol/s · m 2 ) 1.5814 × 10 −2 Hydrogen Purity: 99.99% Hydrogen Recovery: 75% Total Bed Size Factor (lb/TPD H 2 ) 5.920 × 10 3 Temperature 311.2 K TPD = ton (2000 lb Pa = S.I. unit for atm. = 1.01325 bars = 101.32 pressure (1.0)
[0045]
TABLE 2
Valve Firing Sequence for twelve-step three bed hydrogen PSA Process
Step
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Step
90
24
35
11
90
24
35
11
90
24
35
11
Times
(seconds)
Bed 1
AD1
AD2
AD3
ED1
PPG
ED2
BD1
BD2
PG
EUI
PP
EU2/FD
Bed 2
PG
EUI
PP
EU2/FD
AD1
AD2
AD3
ED1
PPG
ED2
BD1
BD2
Bed 3
PPG
ED2
BDI
BD2
PG
EUI
PP
EU2/FD
ADI
AD2
AD3
EDI
Valve No.
1
O
O
O
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
O
2
C
C
C
O
O
O
O
C
C
C
C
C
3
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
O
O
O
O
C
4
C
C
C
C
C
C
O
O
O
C
C
C
5
O
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
O
O
6
C
C
O
O
O
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
7a
C
C
C
C
0
0
C
C
C
C
C
0
7b
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
0
C
7c
C
C
C
0
C
C
C
C
0
0
C
C
8a
0
0
C
0
C
C
C
0
0
0
C
C
8b
C
C
0
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
9a
0
0
C
C
0
0
C
0
C
C
C
0
9b
C
C
C
C
C
C
0
C
C
C
C
C
10
0
0
0
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
11
C
C
C
C
0
0
0
C
C
C
C
C
12
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
0
0
0
C
13
0
C
C
0
0
C
C
0
0
C
C
0
AD: Adsorption/Product Production
PG: Receive Purge
ED1: First Equalization Down
EU1: First Equalization Up
PPG: Provide Purge Gas
EU2: Second Equalization Up
ED2: Second Equalization Down
PP: Product Pressurization Using R Gas (RG)
BD: Blowdown
FD: Feed Pressurization
[0046] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 and Table 2, the three bed twelve step PSA process is now described over one complete PSA cycle.
[0047] Step No. 1: Feed gas is introduced to the bottom of Bed 1 while hydrogen product is taken from the top (AD 1 ). Bed 2 is receiving purge gas from Bed 3 . At start of step 1 , the pressure in Bed 1 is close to adsorption pressure. Valve 1 is open to allow feed into the bottom of Bed 1 and Valve 10 is open to allow product hydrogen out of the top of Bed 1 . However, product production does not occur until Bed 1 reaches the adsorption pressure. At this point CV- 5 opens and controls the pressure in the bed for constant pressure product production. Valves 8 a and 9 a are open to allow purge gas to flow from Bed 3 to Bed 2 through Control Valve CV- 2 . Valves 5 and 13 remain open to allow purge gas to flow out of the bottom of Bed 2 .
[0048] Step No. 2: Bed 1 is in the second adsorption step (AD 2 ). Bed 3 undergoes a second equalization down while Bed 2 receives gas from Bed 3 and undergoes a first equalization up. At the start of step 2 , Valves 1 and 10 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 1 . Valves 8 a and 9 a also remain open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 2 and 3 . However, the equalization gas flows through Control Valve CV- 3 instead of CV- 2 . Valves 5 and 13 close.
[0049] Step No. 3: Bed 1 is in the third adsorption step (AD 3 ). Bed 2 receives product pressurization gas from the product manifold. Bed 3 undergoes a first contour-current blowdown. At the start of step 3 , Valves 1 and 10 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 1 . Valves 8 a and 9 a close. Valve 8 b opens to allow product gas to pressurize Bed 2 . Valve 6 opens to allow Bed 3 to undergo counter-current blowdown. Valve CV- 1 controls the flow rate of the blowdown gas.
[0050] Step No. 4: Bed 1 undergoes a first equalization down (ED 1 ) while Bed 2 receives gas from Bed 1 and undergoes a second equalization up overlapped with feed pressurization. Bed 3 undergoes a second contour-current blowdown. At the start of step 4 , Valves 1 , 8 b and 10 close. Valves 7 c and 8 a open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 1 and 2 through Control Valve CV 3 . Valve 2 opens to allow feed pressurization in Bed 2 . Valve 13 opens and Valve CV- 1 closes.
[0051] Step No. 5: Bed 1 provides purge gas to Bed 3 (PPG) while Bed 2 undergoes the first adsorption step. At the start of step 5 , Valves 7 c and 8 a close. Valve 2 remains open to allow feed gas into the bottom of Bed 2 and Valve 11 is open to allow product hydrogen out of the top of Bed 2 . However, product production does not occur until Bed 2 reaches the adsorption pressure. At this point CV- 5 opens and controls the pressure in the bed for constant pressure product production. Valves 7 a and 9 a are open to allow purge gas to flow from Bed 1 to Bed 3 through Control Valve CV- 2 . Valves 6 and 13 remain open to allow purge gas to flow out of the bottom of Bed 3 .
[0052] Step No. 6: Bed 1 undergoes a second equalization down (ED 2 ) while Bed 3 receives gas from Bed 1 and undergoes a first equalization up. Bed 2 undergoes the second adsorption step. At the start of step 6 , Valves 2 and 11 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 2 . Valve 7 a and 9 a also remain open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 1 and 3 . However, the equalization gas flows through Control Valve CV- 3 instead of CV- 2 . Valves 6 and 13 close.
[0053] Step No. 7: Bed 1 undergoes the first counter-current blowdown (BD 1 ). Bed 2 undergoes the third adsorption step while Bed 3 receives product pressurization gas from the product manifold. At the start of step 7 , Valves 2 and 11 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 2 . valves 7 a and 9 a close. Valve 9 b opens to allow product gas to pressurize Bed 3 . Valve 4 opens to allow Bed 1 to undergo counter-current blowdown. Valve CV- 1 controls the flow rate of the blowdown gas.
[0054] Step No. 8: Bed 1 undergoes the second counter-current blowdown (BD 2 ). Bed 2 undergoes a first equalization down while Bed 3 receives gas from Bed 2 and undergoes a second equalization up overlapped with feed pressurization. At the start of step 8 , Valves 2 , 9 b , and 12 close. Valves 8 a and 9 a open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 3 and 2 through Control Valve CV- 3 . Valve 3 opens to allow feed pressurization in Bed 3 . Valve 4 remains open and Bed 1 continues to undergo counter-current blowdown. Valve 13 opens and Valve CV- 1 closes.
[0055] Step No. 9: Bed 1 receives purge gas from Bed 2 (PG) while Bed 3 undergoes the first adsorption step. At the start of step 9 , Valve 9 a closes. Valve 3 remains open to allow feed gas into the bottom of Bed 3 and Valve 12 is open to allow product hydrogen out of the top of Bed 3 . However, product production does not occur until Bed 3 reaches the adsorption pressure. At this point CV- 5 opens and controls the pressure in the bed for constant pressure product production. Valve 7 c opens and Valve 8 a remains open to allow purge gas to flow from Bed 2 to Bed 1 through Control Valve CV- 2 . Valves 4 and 13 remain open to allow purge gas to flow out of the bottom of Bed 1 .
[0056] Step No. 10: Bed 1 undergoes a first equalization up (EU 1 ) while Bed 2 provides gas to Bed 1 and undergoes a second equalization down. Bed 3 undergoes the second adsorption step. At the start of step 10 , Valves 3 and 12 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 3 . Valves 7 c and 8 a also remain open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 2 and 1 . However, the equalization gas flows through Control Valve CV- 3 instead of CV- 2 . Valves 4 and 13 close.
[0057] Step No. 11: Bed 1 receives product gas from the product manifold for product pressurization. Bed 2 undergoes the first counter-current blowdown. Bed 3 undergoes the third adsorption step. At the start of step 11 , Valves 3 and 12 remain open to allow product production to continue from Bed 3 . Valves 7 c and 8 a close. Valve 7 b opens to allow product gas to pressurize Bed 1 . Valve 5 opens to allow Bed 2 to undergo countercurrent blowdown. Valve CV- 1 controls the flow rate of the blowdown gas.
[0058] Step No. 12: Bed 1 undergoes a second equalization up with overlapped feed pressurization (EU 2 /FD) while Bed 3 provides gas to Bed 1 and undergoes a first equalization down. Bed 2 undergoes the second counter-current blowdown. At the start of step 12 , Valves 3 , 7 b , and 12 close. Valves 7 a and 9 a open to allow equalization to occur between Beds 3 and 1 through Control Valve CV- 3 . Valve 1 opens to allow feed pressurization in Bed 3 . Valve 5 remains open and Bed 2 continues to undergo counter-current blowdown. Valve 13 opens and Valve CV- 1 closes.
[0059] Note from FIG. 2 and Table 2 that the three beds operate in parallel, and during ⅓ of the total cycle time one of the beds is in the adsorption step, while the other beds are either undergoing purging, equalization, countercurrent blowdown, and product pressurization.
[0060] Based on pilot plant and PSA simulation results, there is an optimum amount of product pressurization and high pressure equalization gas required to achieve high H 2 recovery in the three bed PSA process of this invention. Also, since the product pressurization step (see FIG. 2 ) is before the high pressure equalization step (ED 1 ), then using too much product pressurization gas will result in a much reduced quantity of gas recovered in the high pressure equalization step. Because the driving force (pressure gradient) is reduced with increasing amount of gas used for product pressurization, there is an optimum quantity of product pressurization gas and high pressure equalization gas to be used in the PSA process in order to achieve high H 2 recovery (low bed size factor). FIG. 4 shows a plot of the bed size factor (bsf) for various amounts of product pressurization gas used in the PSA process of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
[0061] Referring to FIG. 4 , Points B-E show data for the twelve step PSA process shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when the amount of product pressurization gas used in the PSA process is varied. Point E shows the optimum amount of product pressurization to achieve the minimum bed size factor (bsf). In FIG. 4 , the mount of product pressurization is defined by dividing the change in bed pressure during the product pressurization step by the adsorption pressure.
[0062] Some novel features of the 12-step three bed PSA system are the use of two pressure equalization steps in addition to purging and product pressurization steps, use of the product pressurization step before the pressure equalization step, use of continuous supply feed gas and a constant pressure product gas step.
[0063] In the limiting cases where no product pressurization or high pressure equalization is used, the PSA process of FIG. 2 is reduced to two different 9-step processes. For example, if steps 3 , 7 and 11 are eliminated (i.e., no product pressurization case) from the twelve step PSA cycle in FIG. 2 , then the resulting PSA cycle is reduced to a 9-step cycle shown in FIG. 5 . This cycle ( FIG. 5 ) has a high pressure equalization step but has no product pressurization step. This is Point A on FIG. 4 . Alternatively, if steps 4 , 8 and 12 are eliminated (i.e., no high pressure equalization), then the resulting cycle is reduced to a 9-step PSA cycle shown in FIG. 6 . This cycle ( FIG. 6 ) has a product pressurization step but has no high pressure equalization step. This is Point F on FIG. 4 . In accordance to the teachings of this invention, the three bed PSA process depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 has enhanced H 2 recovery (lower bed size factor) when the ratio of product pressurization to adsorption pressure ranges from 0.20 to 0.35. In addition, this optimum ratio of product pressurization to adsorption pressure holds for adsorption pressures from 20 psig to 900 psig for the twelve-step PSA system and 50 psig to 900 psig for the 9-step PSA system.
[0064] It will be understood that other changes may be made in the parameters of the PSA system hereof without departing from the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of this invention should be determined from the claims appended hereto. | A three-bed pressure swing adsorption system providing a constant continuous supply gas, preferably containing a hydrogen component, in a multi-step and preferably in a twelve-step, process cycle that can produce a purified gas product, preferably hydrogen, on a constant flow. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to tractor mounted harvesting units and, more specifically, to mounting assemblies for securing and supporting a corn harvesting unit from a tractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of mounting assemblies have been employed in the past for supporting corn harvesting units from tractors as exemplified by the mounting assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 21,542 issued to Oehler, et al., Jan. 10, 1936. Oehler, et al. discloses a tractor mounted two row corn picker which has ground engaging support wheels that at all times carry a major part of the picker weight. The corn picker is pivotally attached at its rear end to the tractor and the front end is manually vertically adjustable with respect thereto. Steering control of the corn picker wheels is provided by a linkage connection between the picker wheels such that the steerable wheels of the corn picker move in unison with the steering wheels of the tractor.
The Oehler, et al. device has many desirable features of operation, but is of a complicated structure so as to involve considerable labor and time in mounting it on a tractor. Moreover, the mounting assembly does not permit the corn picker to be fully--or even substantially--supported by the tractor even though under certain conditions of terrain, it would be highly desirable to do so.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a tractor mounting assembly for the rear end portion of a corn harvesting unit on a tractor so that the front portion of the harvesting unit can be carried by the tractor, or supported in whole or in part by steerable ground engaging wheels on the harvesting unit. Adjustment of the weight supported position of the harvesting unit relative to the tractor is accomplished in conformance with field conditions encountered during a harvesting operation.
When operating in muddy fields, the harvesting unit can be adjusted for support on the ground engaging wheels so as to reduce the weight carried by the tractor front wheels, and thereby facilitate steering and decreasing the risk of the tractor wheels becoming mired in the field. Under dry field conditions the harvesting unit can be moved to a raised position for partial support on the tractor. In a raised or elevated position, the front end of the harvesting unit is yieldably supported on the tractor front end for isolating the corn picker from terrain jarring forces to which the tractor may be subjected.
The mounting assembly includes side frame members that provide a pivotal support of the harvesting unit to the tractor vehicle, and a manually actuated hydraulic means for raising and lowering the unit. Pivot connections for pivotally connecting the frame members and the hydraulic means to the tractor vehicle provide for a ready connection or disconnection of the harvesting unit and tractor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tractor mounted corn harvester unit of the present invention shown in assembly relation with a tractor vehicle;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing the mounting assembly for the front portion of the harvester unit with the front end of the tractor vehicle;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the linkage connection between the steering wheels of the tractor vehicle and the steerable ground engaging wheels of the harvesting unit of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail plan view showing the assembly of the rear portion of the harvester unit with the tractor vehicle;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8--8 of FIG. 7; and
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the connecting members forming the assembly, shown in FIG. 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention provides a support assembly, shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1, for mounting a corn harvesting unit 11 from the front portion of a standard type tractor vehicle 12 having a main frame 13, a front pair of steerable wheels 14 (FIG. 2) and a rear pair of drive wheels 15 are mounted on wheel axles 16 and 17, respectively. An air directing shield 18 prevents debris from entering the tractor engine compartment.
The corn harvesting unit 11 is of the general construction described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,110, incorporated by reference herein. Included in the harvesting unit 11 is a corn head 19 having an upright rear support structure 20 with vertically spaced apart upper and lower transverse cross beams 21 and 22 (FIG. 5), respectively. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, spaced apart side walls 24 and 25 extend forwardly from the support structure 20 and terminate in forwardly extended gatherers 26.
The harvesting unit 11 illustrated is of a four row type; consequently, there are three additional gatherers 27, 28, and 29 between the gatherers 26. The gatherers 27-29 are supported from the lower cross beam 22, and a panel 30 (FIG. 2 only) disposed between the lower support beam 22 and the rear portions of the gatherers 27-29 serves as a floor for the harvesting unit 11. An auger 31 is rotatably mounted at its ends in the side walls 24 and 25, and is connected to a drive means (not shown) for rotatably driving the auger 31 to convey ears of corn collected by the gatherers 26-29 to an elevator 35 adjacent the corn head side wall 25.
The elevator 35 has a front end 36 connected to the harvesting unit rear support structure 20 and extends rearwardly and upwardly to terminate in a rear end 37 that preferably is disposed above the hopper of a corn sheller or husker 38. The support structure 20 is open to the elevator 35 to permit passage of the ears of corn directed by the auger 31 into the elevator 35 for delivery thereby to the corn sheller 38.
The aforementioned components of the harvesting unit 11 are all old in the art. The present invention is directed to the support assembly 10 that includes side frame members 39 for pivotally securing the unit 11 to the tractor vehicle 12, and power means 40 for raising and lowering the unit 11 with respect to the vehicle 12 to vary the distribution of the weight of the unit 11 between the vehicle 12 and a pair of ground engaging support wheels 41 rotatably mounted from the unit 11. Thus, under wet terrain operating conditions, the corn head 19 can be lowered, so as to be primarily supported by the wheels 41 to reduce the weight carried by the wheels of the tractor vehicle 12. In contrast, under dry terrain operating conditions, the corn head 19 can be completely supported by the vehicle 12.
The power means 40 (FIG. 5) is preferably a double acting hydraulic cylinder unit 42 having a piston rod 43 and a cylinder 44. The cylinder unit 42 may be driven by the hydraulic fluid system of the tractor vehicle 12 and is extended in an upright position between a mounting bracket 45 supported from the tractor vehicle body 13 and a support frame 46 fixed to the corn head cross beams 21 and 22. Referring to FIG. 4, the mounting bracket 45 is supported forward of the lower front portion of the tractor vehicle 12 by a pair of support brackets 49 each having a base portion 50 bolted to one side of the tractor body 13, and a forwardly extended arm portion 51 that is bolted to one side of the mounting bracket 45 to form a rigid support therefor.
A clevis connector 52 (FIG. 5) is centrally fixed to the mounting bracket 45 for connection to the lower end of the cylinder 44. The outer end of the piston rod 43 is slidably disposed through an angle iron 53 that serves as a top member for the support frame 46. Also forming the support frame 46 are two upright spaced apart parallel side beam members 54 that are welded at their bottom ends to the harvesting unit lower cross beam 22. Each side beam member 54 also has a bracket member 55 that cradles the upper cross beam member 21, and a bolt and nut assembly 56 is engaged between each of the bracket members 55 and associated side beam member 54 to fix the side beam members 54 to the cross arm 21.
Welded to the upper ends of the side beam members 54 are axially aligned journal members 60 (FIG. 4). Stub shafts 61 are fixed to the end portions of the top member 53 for disposition in the journal members 60 so as that the top member 53 is rotatable with respect to the side members 54. An abutment plate 65 (FIG. 5) is clamped in a fixed relation about the piston rod 43 above the cylinder 44, and a stiff coil spring 66 is mounted about the piston rod 43 between the abutment member 65 and the top frame member 53. Thus, the spring 66 provides a yieldable support for the harvesting unit 11 in all vertically moved positions of the piston rod 43.
Extension of the piston rod 43 raises the harvesting unit 11 to result in a shifting of the weight of the unit 11 from the ground engaging wheels 41 to the tractor vehicle 12, and can be sustained until the entire unit 11 is supported by the vehicle 12. Correspondingly, the piston rod 43 can be retracted until a major portion of the unit 11 is supported by the wheels 41. To provide steering control of the wheels 41, bell crank members 66 (FIG. 6) are clamped onto the front axles 16 of the vehicle 12 and are interconnected by links 67 with levers 68 tied to vertical axles 69 of the wheels 41. As a result, the wheels 41 move in unison with movement of the front wheels 14 of the vehicle 12.
The side frame members 39 of the assembly 10 are formed of tubular connecting members 70 and 71 that are extended on each side of the tractor body 13 between the corn head 19 and the rear axle 17 of the tractor vehicle 12 for holding the corn head 19 in a position normal to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 12. As indicated by FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting members 70 and 71 are fixed, as by welding, at their front ends to the support frame side members 54, and gusset plates 72 are employed for strengthening the connections therebetween.
The rear ends of the connecting members 70 and 71 each terminate in a pivot connection 74 (FIGS. 7-9) adapted for pivotally coupling with a latch assembly 74 clamped on side housings 75 for the rear axle 17. The connections 73 have pins 76 that are receivable in slots 77 in the latch assemblies 74, and pivotal latches 78 of the assemblies 74 are engageable with the pins 76 for releasably securing the pins 76 in the slots 77. Thus, the pivot connections 73 and the latch assemblies 74 provide quick fit connections for pivotally supporting the rear end of the harvesting unit 11 to the tractor vehicle 12.
To aid in supporting the elevator 35, an upright tubular connecting member 80 is extended between and welded to the connecting member 71 and the housing of the elevator 35 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Consequently, the elevator 35 has no direct connections with the tractor vehicle 12, but is entirely supported from the corn head 19 and the stabilizer member 71. Accordingly, attachment or removal of the harvesting unit 11 from the tractor vehicle 12 involves only three connections between the support assembly 10 and the tractor vehicle 12, which are the clevis connector 52 to the hydraulic cylinder 44, and the connecting members 70 and 71 to the latch assemblies 74. Yet, each of these connections is made simply by means of a pin coupling to reduce to a minimum the time and labor required in attaching or removing the harvesting unit 11. When the harvesting unit 11 is removed from the tractor vehicle 12, support feet 81 (FIG. 3) are employed to maintain the unit 11 in a tractor mounted position. Thus, to install the unit 11 on the vehicle 12 all that is necessary is to drive the vehicle 12 into a proper mounting position with the unit 11 and then making the above connections. To facilitate driving the tractor into a proper mounting position, guide members 82 are mounted on the front ends of the side frame members 39 to guide the tractor front end into a proper position with the unit 11 for mounting.
Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. | A tractor mounted corn harvesting unit has ground engaging steerable wheels, side frame members pivotally connected to the tractor, and a hydraulic cylinder connected between the tractor and the harvesting unit for adjusting the unit weight carried by the ground engaging wheels. The side frame members movably support the rear end of the harvesting unit on the tractor for up and down movement of the front end thereof, and the hydraulic cylinder operates to raise and lower the harvesting unit between an elevated position therefor, wherein the ground engaging wheels provide substantially no ground support for the front end of the harvesting unit, and a lowered position therefor wherein the wheels provide at least a partial ground support for the harvesting unit. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed generally to fluid warming apparatus and, more particularly, to a device and method for measuring the operating temperature of apparatus for warming cold parental fluids such as whole blood for intervenous injection or transfusion procedures.
Whole blood is commonly stored in blood banks at a temperature of 4° C until infused into a patient, at which time it is necessary that the blood be warmed to or slightly below the 37° C temperature of the human body if hypothermia and the attendant risk of ventricular fibrillation and cardiac asystole are to be avoided. For applications where substantial and unpredictable quantities of blood are required, as where a patient hemorrages during surgery, it is preferable that blood in storage be transferred substantially directly into the patient, since this avoids warming blood which is not subsequently used.
The apparatus described in the copending application of Robert J. Froehlich and Daniel B. Granzow, Jr., Ser. No. 761,926, concurrently filed herewith, provides an effective and efficient system for dry warming blood or other parental fluids to body temperature during the process of infusing such fluids into the patient. It is a feature of that invention that the temperature of the infused blood is maintained substantially constant at 37° C substantially independent of flow rates, which may vary from 0 to 150 ml per minute depending on the needs of the patient. A further feature is that the operation of the apparatus, as well as the temperature of the blood leaving the apparatus, is continuously monitored, and in the event of a malfunction operation is terminated and an alarm is sounded. Novel self-test provisions within the apparatus allow the operator to verify the operation of these monitoring circuits prior to placing the blood warming apparatus in service.
Sterility of the blood is maintained and contamination of the apparatus is avoided by use of a disposable flow system having a blood warming bag which fits within the apparatus in thermal communication with electric heating elements. An additional feature of that invention provides an alarm in the event of inadvertent removal of the blood processing bag from the apparatus, and AC-coupled sensing circuitry which measures the temperature of the blood at the inlet and outlet portions of the blood processing bag automatically controls the operation of the heating elements to more accurately maintain the output temperature of the blood.
However, the need exists for means to independently measure the operating temperature of such apparatus, both to verify its proper operation, and to facilitate adjustment of its control circuits. Preferably, such temperature measuring means should be convenient and simple to use, and should provide an accurate reading completely independent of the warming apparatus.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for measuring the operating temperature of apparatus for warming blood and other parental fluids prior to infusion into the human body.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for measuring the operating temperature of apparatus for warming blood and other parental fluids which is simple and convenient to use, and which provides an accurate measurement completely independent of the warming apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to temperature measuring apparatus for use in conjunction with a thermometer for measuring operating temperature in fluid warming apparatus of the type which warms fluid as it passes through a disposable warming bag, and which includes a housing defining a heating chamber for containing the warming bag, and a door providing access to the chamber, a first heating plate on the inside surface of the door, and a second heating plate underlying the door. The temperature measuring apparatus comprises a thermally-conductive block member having mounting means for receiving the thermometer and establishing thermal communication therewith, and first and second surfaces on opposite sides thereof, the first surface being adapted to engage in abutting relationship one of the heating planes, and insulating means including a layer of thermally-insulating material on the second surface whereby the block is thermally isolated from the other of the heating plates and the thermometer reads only the temperature of the one plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals indentify like elements, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a blood warming apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention mounted on a support pole and having a disposable blood warming flow system installed therein;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the blood warming apparatus set-up on a supporting surface with its heating chamber access door opened and partially broken away to show the internal placement of the blood warming bag of an associated flow system and the location of the heating element within the heating chamber door;
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the blood warming apparatus showing the retractable support clamps and operational test buttons incorporated therein;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3 showing the interior construction of the apparatus and the utilization of the support clamps for mounting the apparatus to a supporting pole;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4 showing the placement and construction of the heating elements of the heater apparatus and the placement of the input and output blood temperature sensing elements provided therein;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the blood warmer apparatus partially broken away to show the construction and operation of the heating chamber access door latch assembly;
FIG. 7 is a simplified functional block diagram of the blood warmer apparatus showing the principal functional elements thereof;
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a temperature measurement apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention for adjusting the operation of the blood warmer apparatus;
FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the blood warmer apparatus showing the placement of the temperature measurement apparatus therein to verify and adjust for proper operation; and
FIGS. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9 showing the positioning of the temperature measuring apparatus of FIG. 8 to a measure and verify the operation of the housing and door mounted heating elements of the blood warmer apparatus, respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the Figures, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, a blood warmer apparatus 10 with which the temperature measuring method and apparatus of the invention may be advantageously used is seen to comprise a generally rectangular housing 11 having a handle portion 12 at its top end and a base portion 13 at its bottom end. In use, the blood warmer apparatus can either be set on a flat supporting surface, as in FIG. 2, in which case the wide base portion 13 provides a high degree of stability, or can be mounted on a vertical support or IV pole 14, as in FIG. 1, wherein a pair of clamps 15 and 16 provided on the rear surface of the apparatus provide the necessary stability.
The blood warmer apparatus is also seen to include in the upper portion of its housing a control panel 17, which may be slightly recessed for protection while the apparatus is in transit and storage. The control panel includes temperature indicating means in the form of a meter 18 which is preferably calibrated to provide a direct readout of blood output temperature, and an ON-OFF power switch 19 which allows the operator to initiate and terminate operation of the blood warmer apparatus.
The blood warmer apparatus 10 includes under panel 17 a heater compartment access door 20 which is pivotably mounted on pins 21 (FIG. 2) to housing 11 at one end as to open as shown in FIG. 2, providing access to a heating chamber 24 (FIG. 4) formed within the blood warmer apparatus between the inside wall or plate 22 of the door 20 and the underlying wall or plate 23 of housing 11.
Blood warmer apparatus 20 is intended for use in conjunction with a sterile disposable fluid flow system through which whole blood to be warmed is caused to flow, either by means of gravity, pressure or pump feed, to a patient or other utilization means. One such flow system is marketed by Fenwal Laboratories, a division of Travenol Laboratories, Inc., of Deerfield, Ill., U.S.A., as model No. 4C2416, and is intended for use with a blood administration set for infusing blood from a storage container directly to a patient. The flow system includes a flat generally rectangular warming bag 26 (FIG. 2) which is suspended within chamber 24 by means of a plurality of support pins 27. The warming bag 26 is internally baffled to define a tortuous flow path 25 (FIG. 5) for the blood as it flows from an inlet port 28 at the lower end of the bag to an outlet port 29 at the upper end of the bag. Inlet port 28 is connected by a length of tubing 30 to a container of refrigerated blood (not shown), and outlet port 29 is connected through a chamber 31 and a length of tubing 32 to a needle adapter (not shown), to which a needle is attached for venipuncture. When access door 20 is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the blood warming bag 26 is sandwiched between plate 22 of door 20 and plate 23 of housing 11. When the door 20 is closed connection is established to inlet and outlet ports 28 and 29 through recesses 33 and 34, respectively, provided along the edges of the door and housing. These recesses allow the door to be closed snugly over the warming bag.
Referring to FIG. 3, housing 11 is seen to include on its rear surface a wing-shaped plate 35 which forms a convenient reel around which the power cord 36 of the apparatus can be wound during storage. Bracket 35 also defines an open channel 37 on the rear surface into which clamps 15 and 16 pivot when not in use. Also contained on the rear surface are a pair of push button switches 38 and 39, which when depressed provide first and second tests of the safety monitoring circuits of the blood warmer apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 4, to warm the blood flowing through warming bag 26 the blood warming apparatus includes a first heating element 40 within housing 11 in substantially contiguous contact with the inside surface of plate 23. A second heating element 41 is positioned within door 20 immediately behind and adjacent to the inside 22 of the door. The two heating elements are held in position by relatively thick and inflexible plates 45 of insulating material. Electrical power is supplied to this heating element by means of electrical conductors 42 which extend into the interior of housing 11 through the upper pivot hinge 21 (FIG. 6) of door 20. Electrical components and circuitry including a printed wiring board 43 necessary for operation of the blood warmer apparatus 10 are contained within housing 11 behind heating element 40. These items are readily accessible for adjustment and repair by removing the rear plate 44 of housing 11.
Referring to FIG. 5, when access door 20 is closed blood warming bag 26 is sandwiched between plates 22 and 23 so that blood flowing through the interior passageways 25 of the warming bag comes into thermal communication with heating elements 40 and 41. The temperature of the blood flowing through the blood warming bag 26 is sensed by temperature sensing means in the form of a pair of thermistors 46 and 47 located on the center line of recess 24 near the top and bottom of the recess, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Thermistor 47 measures the temperature of the blood flowing through the warming bag near inlet ports 28, and thermistor 46 measures the temperature of the blood in bag 26 near outlet port 29. Within the blood warming apparatus termistors 46 and 47 provide signals indicative of the temperature of the blood discharged from the apparatus as well as the differential temperature which exists between the blood entering the apparatus and the blood being discharged. This information is utilized by control circuitry within the apparatus to control the operation of heating elements 40 and 41, and consequently the temperature to which the blood is heated.
To lock door 20 in a closed position a latch assembly 48 is provided. This assembly includes a user-actuable handle 49 on the outside surface of the door which drives a bell-crank 50 located within the door. The bell-crank is connected by linkages 51 and 52 to locking pins 53 and 54 located on the top and bottom edges of the door. When handle 49 is turned from the extreme counterclockwise position shown to an extreme clockwise position locking pins 53 and 54 are retracted from engagement with aligned recesses 55 and 56 in housing 11 and door 20 is free to open.
When door 20 is locked in its closed position locking pin 53 engages the actuator pin of a switch 57 within housing 11. This switch in conjunction with associated circuitry functions to provide an alarm should the user attempt to unlatch the door while the blood warming apparatus is in operation. To this end switch 57 is arranged so as to be actuated only when locking pin 53 is fully extended so that the alarm will be sounded as the user first attempts to turn handle 49 and before the locking pins have become disengaged from their recesses in housing 11.
Referring to FIG. 7, the temperature of the blood discharged from the blood warming apparatus 10 is controlled by means of a heater duty cycle control circuit 60 which causes the heating elements 40 and 41 to be periodically energized with a duty cycle dependent on the temperatures sensed by thermistors 46 and 47. The output of this circuit, which comprises a heater on-off control signal, is applied through an optical isolator 61 to a heater switch circuit 62, which controls application of current to heater elements 40 and 41. Current for powering heater 40 and 41 is supplied to heater switch circuit 62 from the AC line through a circuit breaker 63 which also functions as a user-actuable power switch and a means of automatically disconnecting power to the unit in the event of a malfunction. Optical isolator 61, which comprises a conventional commercially available component, functions to electrically isolate duty cycle control circuit 60 from the switched AC line and the other control circuits of the blood warming apparatus to minimize leakage between the AC line and the patient under treatment.
The heater duty cycle control circuit 60 varies the duty cycle of heaters 40 and 41 both as a function of the output temperature sensed by sensor 46, and as a function of the differential between the input and output temperature of the blood as sensed by sensors 46 and 47. As the output temperature of the blood increases beyond the desired level control circuit 60 functions to reduce the duty cycle of heaters 40 and 41, thus lowering the output temperature to the desired level. Conversely, as the output temperature of the blood decreases below the desired level control circuit 60 functions to increase the duty cycle of the heaters, thus increasing the blood temperature to the desired level. At the same time, should the differential in sensed temperatures increase, signifying an increase in blood flow rate, the duty cycle of heaters 40 and 41 is automatically increased to compensate for the increased flow rate and avoid the output temperature of the blood falling below the desired level. Conversely, as the difference between the sensed input and output temperatures decreases, signifying a reduced flow rate, the duty cycle of the heaters is automatically reduced to avoid heating the blood beyond the desired level.
Protection is provided against malfunction of the control circuit by means of a first alarm circuit comprising an over-under temperature monitor circuit 64 which provides an output in the event that the blood output temperature, as sensed by sensor 46, rises above a predetermined maximum temperature or falls below a predetermined minimum temperature. In practice, the maximum temperature limit is set just slightly above the nominal body temperature to 37° C to avoid any possibility of damage to the blood being processed, and the minimum temperature limit is set at approximately 0° C so as to sense a failure of the output temperature sensor 46.
In the event of an output from temperature monitor 64 indicating either an over or under temperature condition, an alarm 65 is actuated to indicate to the user that a malfunction has occurred. Simultaneously, the application of control signals from control circuit 60 to the heater switch circuit 62 is interrupted to prevent further heating of the blood by heating elements 40 and 41.
The blood warming apparatus 10 incorporates a second monitoring circuit 66 which monitors current supplied to heating elements 40 and 41. During normal operation this current is periodically switched on and off at a rate determined by control circuit 60. Should a malfunction occur which results in a continuous current being applied to heaters 40 and 41, duty cycle monitor 66 generates an output signal which is applied to an appropriate terminating device in circuit breaker 63 to interrupt power to the blood warming apparatus. In practice, duty cycle monitor 66 is constructed to terminate operation whenever power to the heating elements is not interrupted in a 3 second interval.
A further feature of the control arrangement shown in FIG. 7 is that power to the heating element is switched on only during those portions of the applied AC line current when that current is passing through its zero axis. This is done to minimize transients which would otherwise be generated by switching during periods of current flow through the heating elements, and to minimize the attendant radio frequency interference produced as a result of such transients.
In accordance with the invention, the accuracy of the temperature indicated by meter 18 and the operation of the heating elements can be independently confirmed by inserting a temperature measurement apparatus 110 in the heating chamber 24 of the heating apparatus. Referring to FIG. 8, this apparatus includes a thermally-conductive block member 111 and temperature measuring means in the form of a thermometer 112. The block member 111 is preferably rectangular in cross section, and wedge-shaped to provide interfaces with plates 22 and 23 when inserted into heating compartment 24 with the door partially open, as shown in FIG. 12. In practice, this is done with the blood warming apparatus positioned horizontally with winged plate 35 resting on a supporting surface, so that the thermometer block 111 and thermometer 112 will more readily remain in position. A flange portion 113 at the outside or wider end of the block member facilitates positioning the block within the heating chamber, and an aperture 114 is provided at this end for receiving thermometer 112, which may comprise a standard generally cylindrical oral thermometer. Alternatively, an electronic or other type of thermometer could be used, with an appropriate modification to aperture 114 if necessary.
To enable the thermometer block member 111 to selectively measure the temperature of either the door heating plate 22 or the base heating plate 23, the block member is preferably provided with a layer of heat-insulating material 115 along one face thereof. As shown in FIG. 10A, when this insulating layer is positioned toward plate 23 thermometer 112 reads the temperature of the heating plate 22 associated with door 20, whereas when the insulating layer is positioned toward plate 22, as shown in FIG. 10B, thermometer 112 reads the temperature of plate 23 associated with housing 11.
In a successful embodiment of the invention the thermometer block was formed of aluminum with an overall length of 2.5 in. and a width of 0.5 in., and tapered from a thickness at its narrow end of 5/16 in. to a thickness at its wide end of 7/16 in., excluding flange portion 113. Aperture 114 was formed with a diameter of 3/16 in. for receiving a standard oral thermometer. Layer 115 was formed of sponge rubber with a thickness of 1/8 inch. In practice a period of approximately 3 minutes may be required to alow a stabilized output reading when using an oral thermometer.
Temperature measurement apparatus 110 provides a simple and convenient means for ascertaining the proper operation of blood warming apparatus 10 since it is merely necessary to position the warming apparatus on its back and insert the measurement block within the door. This ease of use enables the operation of the warming apparatus to be frequently checked by relatively unskilled operators. Furthermore, since the measurement is taken completely independently of the warming apparatus, the resulting temperature reading may be taken as an absolute indication of proper operation prior to actual use of the warming apparatus.
While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. | An apparatus for warming blood and other parental fluids as they are infused through a disposable flow system includes a pair of heating plates which heat the blood as it passes through a warming bag provided in the flow system. One of the heating plates comprises the inside surface of a door pivotally mounted to the apparatus housing, and the other heating plate comprises the underlying surface of the housing so as to form in conjunction with the first plate a user accessable heating chamber for receiving the warming bag. A wedge-shaped temperature-conductive thermometer block having a temperature insulating layer along one surface thereof fits between the heating plates and receives a thermometer to enable the temperature of each heating plate to be independently measured. | 0 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/385,518, filed Jul. 27, 1989, now abandoned, which is a division of application Ser. No. 07/063,357, filed Jun. 18, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,370, issued Oct. 3, 1989.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to production of ammonia mercerized cellulose. More specifically, this invention relates to treating cellulose fiber with vapors of ammonia to produce stable cellulose III polymorphs.
2) Description of Prior Art
Heretofore, cotton cellulose in fiber, yarn and fabric was subjected to a conventional pretreatment with aqueous NaOH of "mercerization" strength (15-23%) to convert the cellulose I crystalline lattice to the cellulose II crystalline lattice which is more permeable to chemical solutions used in subsequent treatments. Although complexes of ammonia and cellulose were reported as early as 1936 Barry, A. J., Peterson, F. C., and King, A. J., "Interactions of Cellulose with Liquid NH 3 , J. Amer. Chem., Soc., 58, 333-337 (1936); and, Clark, G. L. and Parker, E. A., "X-Ray Diffraction Study of the Action of Liquid NH 3 on Cellulose and Its Derivatives," J. Phys. Chem. 41, the interest until 1968 when a British patent, J. & P. Coates Ltd. et al British Patent, 1,136,417, Dec. 11, 1968 issued and described the use of liquid ammonia (NH 3 ).
Interest by the textile industry in liquid NH 3 pretreatments of cotton increased when Gogek, C. J., Olds, W. F., Volko, E. I., and Shanley, E. S. "Effect of Preswelling on Durable-Press Performance of Cotton," Textile Res. J. 39, 543-547 (1969) reported that liquid NH 3 pretreatments improved wash-wear ratings and abrasion resistance of subsequently crosslinked cotton fabrics. However, all of the prior art teaches that the degree of conversion of cellulose I to a new crystalline lattice, cellulose III, depended upon the manner in which liquid NH 3 was removed, Calamari, T. A., Jr., Screiber, S. P., Cooper, A. S., and Reeves, W. A., "Liquid Ammonia Modification of Cellulose in Cotton and Polyester/Cotton Textiles," Textile Chem. and Color. 3, 61-65 (1971).
Even under optimum conditions, only partial conversion of I to III was obtained when NH 3 was removed in the absence of water. In every case in the prior art, that part of the lattice partially converted to III reverted to Cellulose I or to decrystallized or amorphous cellulose when the product was immersed in water for subsequent chemical treatments as shown in Lewin, M. and Roldan, L. G., "The Effect of liquid Anhydrous Ammonia in the Structure and Morphology of Cotton Cellulose," J. Polym. Sci., 36, 213-229 (1971). All x-ray diffractograms published show only partial conversion to III even before contact with water and decrystallization to amorphous cellulose. Earlier work on the removal of NH 3 at extremely low temperatures (-196° C.) indicated a larger conversion to crystalline form III than when NH 3 was removed at room temperature as seen in Jung, H. Z., Benerito, R. R., Berni, R. J., and Mitcham, D., "Effect of Low Temperatures on Polymorphic Structure of Cotton Cellulose," J. Applied Poly. Sci. 21, 1981-1988 (1977). However, these partial conversions to crystalline form III readily converted to Cellulose I in the presence of water again showing serious instability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Novel cellulosic fiber with improved resistance to abrasion and increased permeability to chemicals characterized by highly stable crystalline cellulose III form is disclosed. Complete conversion to cellulose III has been obtained and this new, highly crystalline product, exhibits a remarkably highly stable III condition.
The primary objective is to provide a method for producing cellulosic products with improved physical characteristics of easy-care or permanent press cottons and particularly with respect to resistance to abrasive wear.
A second objective is to obtain a stable cellulose III polymorph.
A further objective is to react cellulose III with non-aqueous or organic solvents to convert III to cellulose IV completely.
A further objective is to convert cellulosic fibers from either open or closed cotton bolls, yarns, and fabrics which have been converted from cellulose I crystalline form to cellulose III crystalline and exhibit a highly stable III form.
As used in the specification and claims, the phrase "highly stable" in reference to cellulose III and IV means that the cellulose III or IV can be boiled in water for at least one hour without reconverting to cellulose I.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the preferred practice of this invention, cotton in fiber, yarn, or fabric forms is treated with liquid ammonia vapors under pressure. In general, samples in a slack condition are subjected to liquid ammonia vapors in a Parr bomb that is kept at 25° C. and a pressure of 690 kPa (100 psi). Samples can be dried either at room temperature by placing in ambient conditions or by drying into a vacuum. Pressure can be increased to 12,000 kPa (1700 psi) and temperatures to 140° C. while cellulose is in the bomb. These conditions and subsequent drying into vacuum or into air result in complete conversion of cellulose to stable cellulose III polymorphs and immersion of these cellulose III polymorphs in water or aqueous media will not result in reconversion to native cellulose I form as always occurs with cellulose samples treated with liquid NH 3 by procedures such as those taught in the prior art. Cellulose III products of the preferred embodiments can be boiled for several hours in boiling water without being reconverted to cellulose I.
In the preferred embodiments of this invention, that part of cellulose in polymorph I form is entirely converted to polymorph III and does not alter the cellulose II polymorph which is present in cottons pretreated with 23% aqueous NaOH (conventionally mercerized cotton).
Cellulose III polymorph can also be completely converted to Cellulose IV polymorph by first immersing Cellulose III in ethylenediamine and then in dimethylformamide at its boiling point.
The nature of the product can be verified via x-ray diffractograms in which 20 gives interplaner distances. Data in Table I show 20 diffractometer angles for polymorphs I, II, III and IV of cellulose.
The following examples serve to illustrate the preferred embodiments but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
Native cotton fabric (cellulose I) was immersed in a small amount (sufficient to cover fabric) of liquid NH 3 ; evaporated in a Parr bomb at ambient temperature until the pressure within the bomb registered approximately 100 psi (690 kPa). Samples could be left in the bomb after pressure stabilized for periods varying from short time intervals (30 min) to 16 hours at 25° C. Pressure could be released either into a vacuum at 25° C. (Sample 6 Table II) or into ambient room conditions. Fabric could also be freed of NH 3 by drying at high temperatures 140° C. (Sample 7 Table II). Samples were subjected to textile testing and x-ray diffraction before and after treatments. Fabrics completely converted to III, as determined by x-ray diffractograms, (See Table II), showed no change in moisture contents or regain values as compared to native cotton, cellulose I (determined by ASTM procedures) (see Table III). Conditioned wrinkle recovery was slightly less than that of native cotton, but abrasion resistance, as measured by Stoll Flex tests, was increased by 115% and tearing strength, as measured by Elmendorf method, was increased by 10% (see Table III).
TABLE I______________________________________Polymorphic Forms of Cotton Cellulose.sup.1/ Diffractometer Angles, 2θSamples Polymorph 101 10- 1 002______________________________________1. Cotton Cellulose I 14.6 16.4 22.62. Mercerized Cellulose I & II 12.0 20.0 21.53. Liquid NH.sub.3 Cellulose III 11.7 20.64. Ethylenediamine Cellulose IV 15.5 22.45. (3) treated as (4) Cellulose IV 15.5 22.36. (2) treated as (3) Cellulose II & III 11.8 20.5 21.2______________________________________ .sup.1/ Sample (1) is purified cotton sliver; Sample (2) is Sample (1) after conventional mercerization with aqueous 23% NaOH; Sample (3) is Sample (1) treated with liquid ammonia in a Parr bomb with ammonia remove at or above the critial point to produce Cellulose III; Sample (4) is Sample (1) treated with ethylenediamine.
TABLE II______________________________________X-ray Diffraction Angles of Cotton Treated with AmmoniaTemperatures (°C.).sup.2 Diffractometer Angle (2θ).sup.3Sample.sup.1 Bomb Drying 101 10- 1 002______________________________________1. Fibers 140 140 11.5(24) -- 20.6(100) br 15.5(9) sh 22.2(32)2. Fibers 140 140 11.5(22) -- 20.6(100) br 15.5(9) sh 22.3(29)3. Fibers 140 140 11.6(25) -- 20.6(100) br 15.5(10) sh 22.3(37)4. Fabric 140 140 11.6(22) -- 20.5(100) br 15.5(9) sh 22.3(22)5. Fibers 140 25 11.6(35) -- 20.7(100) br 15.5(20) sh 22.2(40)6. Fabric 25 25 11.6(29) -- 20.6(100) (vac) br 15.5(14) sh 22.3(35)7. Fabric 25 140 11.6(22) -- 20.4(100) br 15.5(9) sh 22.2(22)8. Fibers 25 25 11.6(37) -- 20.6(100) (vac) br 15.5(17) sh 22.3(44)9. Fibers 25 140 11.7(33) -- 20.6(100) br 15.5(15) sh 22.2(39)10. Fabric -37 25 11.8(14) -- br 21.0(100) (open (vac) br 15.5(36) Dewar)______________________________________ .sup.1 All samples except 1 and 2 were purified; Sample 1 was from freshl picked unopened bolls; and, Sample 2 from unopened bolls after storage in 95% ethanol. .sup.2 Bomb temperature is maximum reached in Parr and drying was by release of NH.sub.3 at indicated temperature into ambient conditions or with a vacuum (vac) as indicated .sup.3 Values in parentheses are normalized intensities; "br" is broad du to 101 and 10-1 planes in IV; "sh" is shoulder due to 002 planes in IV; other peaks are sharp.
TABLE III__________________________________________________________________________Fabric Properties.sup.1/Abrasion Resistance Conditioned Wrinkle Elmendorfstoll, flex, filing recovery angles tearing strength Moisture MoistureSample Cycles Change, % (W + F)° filling, mN content % regain %__________________________________________________________________________ Fibers -- -- -- -- -- -- Fibers -- -- -- -- -- -- Fibers -- -- -- -- -- -- Fabric 1017 +113 186 8066 5.60 5.19 Fibers -- -- -- -- -- -- Fabric 1050 +120 190 9005 5.50 5.20 Fabric 1040 +117 185 -- -- -- Fibers -- -- -- -- -- -- Fibers -- -- -- -- 5.48 5.6810. Fabric -- -- -- -- -- -- Fabric 477 -- 235 7321 5.48 5.10(native cotton control)__________________________________________________________________________ .sup.1/ Samples same as in Table II.
EXAMPLE 2
The techniques of Example 1 were employed except that the temperature of the bomb was increased above the critical temperature of NH 3 which is (132.5° C.) with a resultant increase in bomb pressure to 1700 psi (12,000 kPa). Samples were dried at room temperature or above the critical temperature of ammonia. X-ray diffractograms showed 100% conversion to Cellulose III polymorphs (Samples 4 and 5 of Table II).
EXAMPLE 3
The technique of Example 1 was applied except that the samples were purified yarns or fibers rather than purified fabrics. The x-ray diffractograms showed excellent conversion of cellulose I to cellulose III (samples 3 and 9 of Table II). The cellulose III formed by this technique was highly crystalline III and remained III even after immersion in boiling water for several hours.
In contrast, even fibrous cellulose I treated with liquid NH 3 using prior art methods was only partially converted to cellulose III that disappeared as soon as the fibers were immersed in water at room temperature or exposed to moist air for several hours.
EXAMPLE 4
Techniques of Example 2 were employed except that fibers from unopened cotton bolls were used and samples were dried at 140° C. into a vacuum. The x-ray diffractograms showed that these samples not purified or pretreated were 100% converted to cellulose III (samples 1 and 2 of Table II) and that a pre-purification of the fibers to remove waxes was not required to convert cellulose I polymorph to cellulose III stable polymorph. | Novel cellulosic fiber with improved resistance to abrasion and increased permeability to chemicals characterized by highly stable crystalline cellulose III and cellulose IV forms is disclosed. Cellulose selected from either fiber, yarn, fabric, cotton, or mercerized cotton is treated with ammonia vapors at from about ambient to 140° C. and from about 100 psi to 1700 psi for sufficient time to alter the interatomic planar distances and produce stable crystalline cellulose III polymorph. Crystalline cellulose III can also be immersed in ethylenediamine and then boiled in dimethylformamide to completely convert the III to cellulose IV. | 3 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/062188 filed Apr. 25, 2013, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELD
The present invention relates to a receptacle protection cover that protects a receptacle included in an electronic device and to an electronic device that connects a plug and a receptacle.
BACKGROUND
Conventionally, when a plug is inserted into a receptacle (such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus)) provided in a device, the terminal part of the plug is inserted into the receptacle while one grips the housing of the plug with one's fingers; however, if the receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position of the device, the fingers cannot reach the receptacle. In such a case, the terminal part is inserted into the receptacle while gripping the cable part; however, because the cable part is flexible, the insertion direction cannot be settled, and thus it is difficult to insert the terminal part into the receptacle.
When two receptacles are provided at a deeply recessed position, the receptacles are difficult to see, and thus there is a possibility that a terminal part is erroneously inserted into an unintended receptacle.
Furthermore, when a locking mechanism is not provided in a plug, the plug is held in place only by the contact pressure to the receptacle; therefore, the plug easily comes out when it is pulled. If the plug comes out during communication, there is a possibility that a device will operate erroneously or malfunction.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration for preventing a cable housing from coming out of a connector (a plug from coming out of a receptacle) even when a force is applied to a cable in a direction in which the plug comes out.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-266993
SUMMARY
Technical Problem
However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 listed above, although it is possible to prevent a plug from coming out of a receptacle, if it is difficult to grip the housing when the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the problem with holding the cable part to insert the plug into the receptacle remains.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle protection cover and an electronic device in which, even when a receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position, a plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle.
Solution to Problem
In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, an aspect of the present invention is a receptacle protection cover that is attachable to and detachable from a casing of an electronic device including a receptacle into which a plug is inserted, and that protects the receptacle provided in a concave part by covering the concave part formed in the casing, the receptacle protection cover including: a rectangular plate-shaped cover plate; and a plug attachment part that is provided on one face of the cover plate and that fixes the plug such that a terminal part of the plug projects from an end part of the cover plate in a longitudinal direction, wherein as the receptacle protection cover is detached from the casing, the receptacle protection cover serves as a jig for inserting the plug attached to the plug attachment part into the receptacle.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
In the receptacle protection cover and the electronic device according to the present invention, an effect is obtained where even when a receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position, a plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a receptacle protection cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment is used.
FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used.
FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of a front cover of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used.
FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle.
FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug is being fitted into a plug attachment part.
FIG. 7A is a plan view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 7B is a plan view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 8A is a perspective view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 8B is a perspective view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 9A is a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device with a receptacle protection cover in a closed state.
FIG. 9B is a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic device with the receptacle protection cover in an open state.
FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating a state where the receptacle protection cover is being detached from a front cover.
FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part.
FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a state where one end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part.
FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a state where the other end side of the receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part.
FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from one end side.
FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from the other end side.
FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from one end side is fixed to a front cover.
FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from the other end side is fixed to a front cover.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Exemplary embodiments of a receptacle protection cover according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
Embodiment
FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams each illustrating a configuration of a receptacle protection cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. A receptacle protection cover 3 includes a substantially rectangular plate-shaped cover plate 30 . Bearing parts 311 and plug attachment parts 312 and 313 are provided on an inner side face 31 of the cover plate 30 , and engagement projections 321 , 322 , and 323 are provided on an outer side face 32 thereof.
The plug attachment part 312 and the plug attachment part 313 are provided at positions having different distances in the longitudinal direction from the end parts of the cover plate 30 . Specifically, the distance between the plug attachment part 312 and one end 3 a of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction is longer than the distance between the plug attachment part 313 and the other end 3 b of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction. The engagement projection 321 is provided at the one end 3 a of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction, and the engagement projections 322 and 323 are provided at the other end 3 b . The bearing parts 311 are provided such that one of them is at the one end 3 a of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction and the other one of them is at the other end 3 b of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction. A width “a” of the plug attachment part 312 is set to be larger than a width “b” of the plug attachment part 313 .
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment is used. FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of a front cover of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used. In an electronic device 1 , a part of a casing thereof is constituted by a front cover 2 . On the front cover 2 , there is a concave part 21 that is concave so that a substantially rectangular bottom face 211 is surrounded by an inner wall 220 . The electronic device 1 includes two receptacles 11 and 12 having different shapes. The receptacles 11 and 12 are provided such that plugs 4 and 5 , described later, are insertable and removable through plug insertion holes 212 and 213 , which are described later and are provided in the bottom face 211 of the concave part 21 .
The receptacle protection cover 3 protects the receptacles 11 and 12 as the receptacle protection cover 3 is attached to the front cover 2 so as to cover the concave part 21 .
FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams each illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle, where FIG. 5A illustrates the configuration of the plug 4 that is inserted into the receptacle 11 and FIG. 5B illustrates the configuration of the plug 5 that is inserted into the receptacle 12 . The plug 4 includes a terminal part 41 , a housing 42 , and a cable part 43 . The terminal part 41 is a portion that is inserted into the receptacle 11 to make the electrical connection. The housing 42 is a portion that protects a connecting portion between the terminal part 41 and the cable part 43 , and the housing 42 is provided with a tension relieving part 421 on the cable part 43 side. The tension relieving part 421 relieves the tension created around the boundary between the housing 42 and the cable part 43 when the cable part 43 is bent. The cable part 43 is connected to a device as a communication counterpart or to a plug connected to the device. The plug 5 includes a terminal part 51 , a housing 52 , and a cable part 53 . The terminal part 51 is a portion that is inserted into the receptacle 12 to make the electrical connection. The housing 52 is a portion that protects a connecting portion between the terminal part 51 and the cable part 53 , and the housing 52 is provided with a tension relieving part 521 on the cable part 53 side. The tension relieving part 521 relieves the tension created around the boundary between the housing 52 and the cable part 53 when the cable part 53 is bent. The cable part 53 is connected to a device as a communication counterpart or to a plug connected to the device. Because the receptacle 11 and the receptacle 12 have different shapes, respective parts of the plug 4 and the plug 5 that are inserted into the receptacles 11 and 12 have different shapes and different sizes. In this example, the housing 42 of the plug 4 is assumed to be wider and longer than the housing 52 of the plug 5 .
A width “c” of the tension relieving part 421 is substantially equal to the width “a” of the plug attachment part 312 (c≅a). A width “d” of the tension relieving part 521 is substantially equal to the width “b” of the plug attachment part 313 (d≅b).
Because the width “c” of the tension relieving part 421 is substantially equal to the width “a” of the plug attachment part 312 , the plug 4 is fixed to the receptacle protection cover 3 as the tension relieving part 421 is fitted into the plug attachment part 312 . Because the width “d” of the tension relieving part 521 is substantially equal to the width “b” of the plug attachment part 313 , the plug 5 is fixed to the receptacle protection cover 3 as the tension relieving part 521 is fitted into the plug attachment part 313 . FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug is being fitted into a plug attachment part. The plug 5 is fixed to the receptacle protection cover 3 as the tension relieving part 521 is inserted into the plug attachment part 313 in the direction of arrow A so as to attach the plug 5 to the receptacle protection cover 3 .
The front cover 2 includes, in the concave part 21 , shaft parts 216 , the plug insertion holes 212 and 213 , guides 214 and 215 , and engagement concave parts 217 , 218 , and 219 . The engagement concave part 217 is provided in a portion adjacent to the plug insertion hole 212 of the inner wall 220 , and the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 are provided in a portion adjacent to the plug insertion hole 213 of the inner wall 220 . A pair of guides 214 is provided in a rib shape to sandwich the engagement concave part 217 therebetween, and the guide 215 is provided in a rib shape between the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 . The plug insertion holes 212 and 213 are provided in the bottom face 211 of the concave part 21 , and thus the plugs 4 and 5 are insertable into the receptacles 11 and 12 within the electronic device 1 through the plug insertion holes 212 and 213 .
FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views each illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part, where FIG. 7A illustrates a state where the plug 4 has been attached to the plug attachment part 312 and FIG. 7B illustrates a state where the plug 5 has been attached to the plug attachment part 313 . FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views each illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part, where FIG. 8A illustrates a state where the plug 4 has been attached to the plug attachment part 312 and FIG. 8B illustrates a state where the plug 5 has been attached to the plug attachment part 313 . By attaching the plug 4 to the plug attachment part 312 , a portion of the terminal part 41 projects from the one end 3 a of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, by attaching the plug 5 to the plug attachment part 313 , a portion of the terminal part 51 projects from the other end 3 b of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction.
By engaging the bearing parts 311 with the shaft parts 216 of the front cover 2 , the receptacle protection cover 3 is pivotally supported between a closed state where the concave part 21 is covered and an open state where the concave part 21 is exposed. FIG. 9A is a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device with a receptacle protection cover in a closed state. FIG. 9B is a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic device with the receptacle protection cover in an open state. The receptacle protection cover 3 can engage the bearing parts 311 with the shaft parts 216 or cancel the engagement therebetween in a fully open state, and thus it is possible to attach and detach the receptacle protection cover 3 to and from the front cover 2 . FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating a state where the receptacle protection cover is being detached from a front cover. In a fully open state, the engagement projection 321 formed on the outer side face 32 of the cover plate 30 is in contact with the front cover 2 . Therefore, by applying a force in a direction (direction indicated by arrow B) of further opening the receptacle protection cover 3 in the fully open state to an end part 314 on the long side, which is the side opposite to the side where the bearing parts 311 of the cover plate 30 are provided, and by employing the principle of leverage in which the end part 314 is the point of effort, the engagement projection 321 is the fulcrum, and the bearing parts 311 are the points of load, the bearing parts 311 move in the direction of arrow C. With this configuration, the engagement between the shaft parts 216 and the bearing parts 311 is canceled, and the receptacle protection cover 3 is separated from the front cover 2 . Commonly-known structures can be used as the bearing structure in which shaft parts and bearing parts are separable when in a fully open state.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams each illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part, where FIG. 10A illustrates a state where the plug 5 is attached to the plug attachment part 312 and FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a state where the plug 4 is attached to the plug attachment part 313 . The length of the housing 52 of the plug 5 is shorter than that of the housing 42 of the plug 4 , and the distance between the plug attachment part 312 and the one end 3 a of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction is longer than that between the plug attachment part 313 and the other end 3 b of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, when the plug 5 is attached to the plug attachment part 312 , the terminal part 51 does not project from the one end 3 a side of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction. In contrast, when the plug 4 is to be attached to the plug attachment part 313 , because the width of the tension relieving part 421 is larger than that of the plug attachment part 313 (c>b), the tension relieving part 421 interferes with the plug attachment part 313 , so that the plug 4 cannot be inserted into the plug attachment part 313 . Therefore, when the plug 4 is attached to the plug attachment part 313 and when the plug 5 is attached to the plug attachment part 312 , in both cases, it is possible to easily determine that the attachment orientation is reversed. While there has been exemplified a configuration in which the plug attachment part 313 itself functions as an erroneous-attachment prevention projection by the tension relieving part 421 interfering with the plug attachment part 313 , it is also possible to provide an erroneous-attachment prevention projection, which inhibits attachment of a plug having a non-matching shape, separately from the plug attachment part.
The one end 3 a side of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction engages with the engagement concave part 217 only on the plug insertion hole 212 side, and the other end 3 b side of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction engages with the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 only on the plug insertion hole 213 side. That is, the position of the engagement concave part 217 on the plug insertion hole 212 side and the positions of the engagement projections 322 and 323 on the other end 3 b side of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction do not match each other, and the positions of the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 on the plug insertion hole 213 side and the position of the engagement projection 321 on the one end 3 a side of the cover plate 30 in the longitudinal direction do not match each other; therefore, erroneous insertion of the plugs can be prevented.
FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a state where one end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. To facilitate the understanding of the position of the engagement projection 321 , in FIG. 11A , the receptacle protection cover 3 is illustrated with the outer side face 32 facing upward; however, in practice, the receptacle protection cover 3 is inserted into the concave part 21 in a state where the inner side face 31 faces upward. Because the position of the engagement projection 321 and the position of the engagement concave part 217 match each other, the engagement projection 321 and the engagement concave part 217 can engage with each other. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a state where the other end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. To facilitate the understanding of the positions of the engagement projections 322 and 323 , in FIG. 11B , the receptacle protection cover 3 is illustrated with the outer side face 32 facing upward; however, in practice, the receptacle protection cover 3 is inserted into the concave part 21 in a state where the inner side face 31 faces upward. Because the positions of the engagement projections 322 and 323 and the positions of the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 match each other, the engagement projections 322 and 323 and the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 can engage with each other.
When the plug 4 having been attached to the plug attachment part 312 is inserted into the receptacle 11 , the cover plate 30 is inserted into the concave part 21 from the one end 3 a side in the longitudinal direction. At this point, because the cover plate 30 is guided by causing the engagement projection 321 to be sandwiched between the guides 214 , the plug 4 can be easily put through the plug insertion hole 212 provided in the bottom face 211 of the concave part 21 . FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from one end side. The cover plate 30 is guided by causing the engagement projection 321 to be sandwiched between the guides 214 . When the cover plate 30 is inserted into the concave part 21 from the other end 3 b side, the guides 214 inhibit the engagement projections 322 and 323 from advancing into the concave part 21 ; therefore, the cover plate 30 can be inserted only part-way into the concave part 21 .
Similarly, when the plug 5 having been attached to the plug attachment part 313 is inserted into the receptacle 12 , the cover plate 30 is inserted into the concave part 21 from the other end 3 b side in the longitudinal direction. At this point, because the cover plate 30 is guided by causing the guide 215 to be sandwiched between the engagement projections 322 and 323 , the plug 5 can be easily put through the plug insertion hole 213 provided in the bottom face 211 of the concave part 21 . FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from the other end side. The cover plate 30 is guided by causing the guide 215 to be sandwiched between the engagement projections 322 and 323 . When the cover plate 30 is inserted into the concave part 21 from the one end 3 a side, the guide 215 inhibits the engagement projection 321 from advancing into the concave part 21 ; therefore, the cover plate 30 can be inserted only partway into the concave part 21 .
When the cover plate 30 is inserted deep enough to have the plug 4 inserted into the receptacle 11 , the engagement projection 321 and the engagement concave part 217 engage with each other, and the receptacle protection cover 3 is fixed to the front cover 2 . With this configuration, the plug 4 is locked in a state where the plug 4 is inserted into the receptacle 11 . FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from one end side is fixed to a front cover. As is the case of the above configuration, when the cover plate 30 is inserted deep enough to have the plug 5 inserted into the receptacle 12 , the engagement projections 322 and 323 and the engagement concave parts 218 and 219 engage with each other, and the receptacle protection cover 3 is fixed to the front cover 2 . With this configuration, the plug 5 is locked in a state where the plug 5 is inserted into the receptacle 12 . FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from the other end side is fixed to a front cover.
In the above descriptions, a case where an electronic device including two receptacles having different shapes has been exemplified; however, it is also permissible that the electronic device includes only one receptacle (or one type of receptacle). In this case, it suffices that one plug attachment part is provided in the receptacle protection cover.
According to the present embodiment, because a plug can be inserted into a receptacle while a receptacle protection cover is held by a user, even if the concave part is deep and the user's fingers cannot reach enough into the concave part, the plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle.
Even when the electronic device includes two types of receptacles having different shapes, it is still possible to accommodate the two plug shapes with a single protection cover.
When a plug is inserted into a receptacle, an engagement projection is guided to an engagement concave part along a guide; therefore, the plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle. Thus, erroneous insertion of a plug and damage to the receptacle and the plug due to such erroneous insertion can be prevented.
When a plug is inserted into a receptacle, the plug is locked due to the engagement between an engagement projection and an engagement concave part, and thus it is possible to prevent erroneous operations and malfunctions of a device due to the plug coming out of the receptacle during communication.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
As described above, the receptacle protection cover and the electronic device according to the present invention are useful in terms of enabling a plug to be easily connected to a receptacle that is provided in a concave part, which is provided in a casing of an electronic device and has a narrow width.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
1 electronic device, 2 front cover, 3 receptacle protection cover, 3 a one end, 3 b other end, 4 , 5 plug, 11 , 12 receptacle, 21 concave part, 30 cover plate, 31 inner side face, 32 outer side face, 41 , 51 terminal part, 42 , 52 housing, 43 , 53 cable part, 211 bottom face, 212 , 213 plug insertion hole, 214 , 215 guide, 216 shaft part, 217 , 218 , 219 engagement concave part, 220 inner wall, 311 bearing part, 312 , 313 plug attachment part, 314 end part, 321 , 322 , 323 engagement projection, 421 , 521 tension relieving part. | A receptacle protection cover that is attachable to and detachable from a casing of an electronic device including a receptacle into which a plug is inserted, and that protects the receptacle provided in a concave part by covering the concave part formed in the casing, includes: a rectangular plate-shaped cover plate; and a plug attachment part that is provided on an inner side face of the cover plate and that fixes the plug such that a terminal part of the plug projects from one end or the other end of the cover plate in a longitudinal direction, wherein as the receptacle protection cover is detached from the casing, the receptacle protection cover serves as a jig for inserting the plug attached to the plug attachment part into the receptacle. | 7 |
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to pivot assemblies, and more specifically to power actuated pivot assemblies.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
[0003] Plow systems are commonly used for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Current plow systems can require the driver to get off of the vehicle to adjust the pivot angle of the plow blade. A variety of other maintenance equipment used in combination with tractors and/or ATVs, such as lawn cutting and sweeper assemblies, can require a user to manually adjust a rotary orientation of the maintenance equipment.
SUMMARY
[0004] Accordingly, a pivot assembly may include first and second subassemblies. The first subassembly may be adapted to be coupled to a frame member and rotationally fixed relative thereto. The first subassembly may include a latch mechanism displaceable between locked and unlocked positions. The second subassembly may be adapted to be coupled to the frame member and may be rotatable relative thereto. The second subassembly may include a power pivot assembly and a cam member. The power pivot assembly may be drivingly engaged with the cam member and operable to rotate the cam member in a first rotational direction to a first position where the cam member urges the latch mechanism into the unlocked position.
[0005] An alternate pivot assembly may include a rotating member, a latch mechanism, and a power pivot assembly. The rotating member may be adapted to be rotatably coupled to a frame member. The latch mechanism may be adapted to be coupled to the frame member and may be displaceable between first and second positions. The latch mechanism may be engaged with the rotating member when in the first position to prevent relative rotation between the rotating member and the frame member. The latch mechanism may be disengaged from the rotating member when in the second position to allow relative rotation between the rotating member and the frame member. The power pivot assembly may include a drive assembly drivingly coupled to the rotating member and operable to displace the latch mechanism between the first and second positions.
[0006] The power pivot assembly may include a motor, a planetary gear assembly, and a housing having a splined inner surface. The motor may be drivingly coupled to the planetary gear assembly and the planetary gear assembly may be engaged with the splined inner surface. The planetary gear assembly is operable to displace the latch mechanism to the second position and to rotate the rotating member relative to the frame member.
[0007] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
DRAWINGS
[0008] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plow mount assembly according to the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective exploded view of the plow mount assembly of FIG. 1 ;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a portion of the plow mount assembly of FIG. 1 ;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of a power pivot assembly of the plow mount assembly of FIG. 1 ;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the plow mount assembly of FIG. 1 in a first position;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the plow mount assembly of FIG. 1 in a second position; and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a side view of the plow mount assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
[0017] With reference to FIG. 1 , a plow mount assembly 10 may include a frame assembly 12 , a base swivel 14 , and a power pivot assembly 16 . Frame assembly 12 may include a series of tubular frame members 18 , 20 , a vehicle mounting bracket 22 , and a base plate 24 . Vehicle mounting bracket 22 may provide for mounting of frame assembly 12 to a vehicle and base plate 24 may support base swivel 14 and power pivot assembly 16 thereon, as discussed below. With additional reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 , plow mount assembly 10 may further include first, second and third bearing plates 26 , 28 , 30 , a coupling plate 31 , first and second stop members 32 , 34 , first and second support members 36 , 38 , first and second pivot arms 40 , 42 forming a latch mechanism, a lock plate assembly 44 , a drive plate 46 and a cam member 48 .
[0018] As best shown in FIG. 3 , base swivel 14 may include a plate member 49 having arms 50 , 52 extending upwardly from opposite sides thereof. Plate member 49 may include a central aperture 54 and a series of slots 56 extending therethrough. Aperture 54 may be generally circular and may have a diameter similar to an outer diameter of first bearing plate 26 . Base swivel 14 may be disposed adjacent to the upper surface of base plate 24 , having first bearing plate 26 disposed within aperture 54 , such that base swivel 14 is rotatable relative to base plate 24 about first bearing plate 26 . Coupling plate 31 may be disposed between base swivel 14 and drive plate 46 .
[0019] Drive plate 46 may be disposed adjacent to an upper surface of base swivel 14 and may include a plate member 58 having arms 60 , 62 extending upwardly from opposite sides thereof and a flange portion 64 extending from a side between arms 60 , 62 . Arms 60 , 62 may generally oppose inner surfaces of arms 50 , 52 of plate member 49 . Plate member 58 may include a central aperture 66 extending therethrough and a series of slots 68 extending through flange portion 64 and generally aligned with slots 56 in plate member 49 . Aperture 66 may be generally circular and may have a diameter similar to an outer diameter of second bearing plate 28 . Second bearing plate 28 may be disposed within aperture 66 , such that drive plate 46 is rotatable thereabout.
[0020] With additional reference to FIGS. 2 and 5 , lock plate assembly 44 may be disposed adjacent to an upper surface of drive plate 46 and may include first and second plates 70 , 72 fixed to one another. First plate 70 may include first and second arcuate-shaped apertures 74 , 76 generally opposite one another, a central aperture 78 , and a series of slots 80 extending therethrough and aligned with slots 68 in drive plate 46 . Second plate 72 may include a generally circular central opening 82 having first and second sets of teeth 84 , 86 generally opposite one another formed on an inner circumference thereof adjacent first and second arcuate portions 88 , 90 . Second plate 72 may further include a series of slots 92 extending therethrough and aligned with slots 80 in first plate 70 .
[0021] First and second stop members 32 , 34 , first and second support members 36 , 38 , first and second pivot arms 40 , 42 , and cam member 48 may be disposed within lock plate assembly 44 . More specifically, stop members 32 , 34 may have generally arcuate bodies and may be disposed adjacent to arcuate portions 88 , 90 of second plate 72 . Outer circumferential surfaces of stop members 32 , 34 may form bearing and guide surfaces for rotation of lock plate assembly 44 thereabout, as discussed below. First and second support members 36 , 38 may have generally arcuate bodies and may be disposed within first and second arcuate-shaped apertures 74 , 76 of first plate 70 . Outer and inner circumferential surfaces of support members 36 , 38 may form bearing and guide surfaces for rotation of lock plate assembly 44 thereabout, as discussed below. First and second pivot arms 40 , 42 may be disposed within second plate 72 adjacent to first and second sets of teeth 84 , 86 , best shown in FIG. 5 .
[0022] First and second pivot arms 40 , 42 may be generally similar to one another, therefore, only first pivot arm 40 will be discussed in detail with the understanding that the description applies equally to second pivot arm 42 . First pivot arm 40 may include an aperture 93 having a pin 94 extending therethrough and through an aperture 95 in first support member 36 , rotatably coupling first pivot arm 40 thereto. First pivot arm 40 may further include first and second end portions 96 , 98 . First end portion 96 may include a recess 100 therein and second end portion 98 may include teeth 102 for engagement with teeth 84 in second plate 72 , as discussed below.
[0023] Cam member 48 may be disposed within a central portion of second plate 72 and may include a central portion 104 having first and second arms 106 , 108 extending radially outwardly therefrom. Central portion 104 may include an aperture 110 ( FIG. 2 ) generally aligned with aperture 78 in first plate 70 . Arms 106 , 108 may include arcuate radially outer surfaces for slidable engagement with arcuate inner surfaces of stop members 32 , 34 , as discussed below.
[0024] With additional reference to FIG. 2 , power pivot assembly 16 may be disposed adjacent to an upper surface of lock plate assembly 44 . As shown in FIG. 4 , power pivot assembly 16 may include a motor assembly 112 , a gear housing assembly 114 , and a gear assembly 116 . Motor assembly 112 may include a motor 118 and a drive gear 122 . Drive gear 122 may be in a driven engagement with motor 118 . Gear housing assembly 114 may include an end plate 124 and a gear housing 126 . End plate 124 may be fixed to an upper portion of gear housing 126 and may have motor 118 fixed thereto. End plate 124 may include an aperture 127 allowing engagement between motor 118 and drive gear 122 . Gear housing 126 may include a generally cylindrical body having a splined inner surface 128 , which may operate as a ring gear, as discussed below.
[0025] Gear assembly 116 may include a series of compound planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 rotatably coupled to respective cages 132 , 137 , 139 , 141 . Cages 132 , 137 , 139 , 141 each may include lower plates 134 , 143 , 145 , 147 having driven gears 136 , 149 , 151 , 153 coupled thereto for rotation therewith. Planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 may be engaged with splined inner surface 128 of gear housing 126 , as discussed below. Driven gear 136 may extend axially beyond gear housing 126 and may be drivingly engaged with cam member 48 . More specifically, aperture 110 in cam member 48 may include a splined inner surface 138 engaged with driven gear 136 , causing rotation of cam member 48 with driven gear 136 , as discussed below.
[0026] Gear housing 126 ( FIG. 4 ) may include a series of apertures 111 aligned with a series of apertures 113 in first plate 70 ( FIG. 2 ). Pins 117 ( FIG. 2 ) may be located in apertures 111 and apertures 113 , fixing first plate 70 for rotation with gear housing assembly 114 , as discussed below. Third bearing plate 30 may include a central aperture 140 having gear housing 126 located therein. A circumferential surface 142 of aperture 140 may provide a bearing surface for gear housing 126 , as discussed below.
[0027] Third bearing plate 30 may include a series of apertures 144 disposed about a circumferential portion thereof and aligned with a series of apertures 146 , 148 in support members 36 , 38 , a first series of apertures 150 , 152 in stop members 32 , 34 , a first series of apertures 154 in second bearing plate 28 , a first series of apertures 157 in coupling plate 31 , a first series of apertures 155 in first bearing plate 26 , and a first series of apertures 156 in base plate 24 . A first series of fasteners 158 may pass through apertures 144 , 146 , 148 , 150 , 152 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 and may receive nuts 160 on ends thereof, fixing first, second and third bearing plates 26 , 28 , 30 , first and second stop members 32 , 34 , and first and second support members 36 , 38 to base plate 24 .
[0028] More specifically, first series of apertures 157 in coupling plate 31 may include a threading. First series of fasteners 158 may threadingly engage first series of apertures 157 . Power pivot assembly 16 , third bearing plate 30 , lock plate assembly 44 , first and second support members 36 , 38 , cam member 48 , first and second stop members 32 , 34 , stop first and second pivot arms 40 , 42 , second bearing plate 28 , drive plate 46 , and coupling plate 31 may be fixed to one another by the threaded engagement between first series of fasteners 158 and coupling plate 31 . Threaded ends of fasteners 158 may pass though apertures 155 in first bearing plate 26 and apertures 156 in base plate 24 . Fasteners 158 may then receive nuts 160 on ends thereof. Therefore, first, second and third bearing plates 26 , 28 , 30 , first and second stop members 32 , 34 , first and second support members 36 , 38 may form a first subassembly that is rotationally fixed relative to base plate 24 .
[0029] A second set of fasteners 162 may extend through a second series of apertures 163 in stop members 32 , 34 , a second series of apertures 165 in second bearing plate 28 , a second series of apertures 159 in coupling plate 31 , a second series of apertures 167 in first bearing plate 26 , and a second series of apertures 169 in base plate 24 . Second set of fasteners 162 may receive nuts 164 on ends thereof, further securing stop members 32 , 34 , second bearing plate 28 , and first bearing plate 26 to base plate 24 . Base swivel 14 , power pivot assembly 16 , lock plate assembly 44 , drive plate 46 , and cam member 48 may be rotatable relative to base plate 24 and may form a second subassembly that is rotatable relative to base plate 24 , as discussed below. Base swivel 14 , lock plate assembly 44 , and drive plate 46 may form a plow rotating member.
[0030] With reference to FIG. 5 , an initial orientation of lock plate assembly 44 is illustrated and generally corresponds to a straight orientation of base swivel 14 seen in FIG. 1 . In the initial orientation, cam member 48 is generally centered between stops 166 , 168 of stop members 32 , 34 and teeth 102 of pivot arms 40 , 42 are biased into engagement with teeth 84 in second plate 72 through biasing members 170 , 172 acting on pivot arms 40 , 42 . In this initial orientation, lock plate assembly 44 is generally rotatably fixed relative to base plate 24 since pivot arms 40 , 42 are coupled to support members 36 , 38 which are fixed to base plate 24 . However, lock plate assembly 44 may be rotated in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, as discussed below. For exemplary purposes, rotation of lock plate assembly 44 in the counterclockwise direction is discussed below.
[0031] Motor 118 may rotate drive gear 122 in a clockwise direction. When drive gear 122 is rotated in a clockwise direction, planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 are rotated in a counterclockwise direction. Since lock plate assembly 44 is generally rotationally fixed by pivot arms 40 , 42 when in the initial orientation, planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 may drive cages 132 , 137 , 139 , 141 , and therefore driven gears 136 , 149 , 151 , 153 and cam member 48 , in a clockwise direction. When driven in the clockwise direction, cam member 48 will eventually abut stops 166 , 168 on stop members 32 , 34 (seen in FIG. 6 ), preventing further rotation of cages 132 , 137 , 139 , 141 and cam member 48 relative to base plate 24 . When cam member 48 abuts stops 166 , 168 , arm 108 of cam member 48 may engage pivot arm 40 , biasing teeth 102 thereof out of engagement with teeth 84 of second plate 72 . Lock plate assembly 44 may then be rotated in a counterclockwise direction.
[0032] As drive gear 122 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction, planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 continue to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. However, since cage 132 is fixed against rotation in the clockwise direction due to the engagement between cam member 48 and stop members 32 , 34 , gear housing 126 is rotated. More specifically, as planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 rotate in the counterclockwise direction, the engagement between planetary gears 130 , 131 , 133 , 135 and splined inner surface 128 of gear housing 126 drives gear housing 126 in the counterclockwise direction. Since gear housing 126 is rotationally fixed to lock plate assembly 44 , rotation of gear housing 126 causes rotation of lock plate assembly 44 as well. Rotation of lock plate assembly 44 may be further translated to drive plate 46 through a series of pins 170 ( FIG. 2 ).
[0033] More specifically, slots 80 , 92 in first and second plates 70 , 72 may be aligned with slots 68 in drive plate 46 and slots 56 in base swivel 14 . Pins 170 may extend into slots 80 , 92 , 68 , 56 , fixing drive plate 46 and base swivel 14 for rotation with gear housing 126 . Pins 170 may be removed, allowing rotation of lock plate assembly 44 without any corresponding rotation of drive plate 46 or base swivel 14 .
[0034] Lock plate assembly 44 may be returned to the initial orientation corresponding to a generally straight orientation of base swivel 14 shown in FIG. 5 by rotating drive gear 122 in a counterclockwise direction. More specifically, since pivot arm 42 is engaged with teeth 82 in second plate 72 , lock plate assembly 44 is prevented from rotating in a clockwise direction. Therefore, when drive gear 122 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction while cam member 48 is engaged with stops 166 , 168 , cam member 48 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. Once cam member 48 is generally centered between stops 166 , 168 lock plate assembly 44 is once again oriented in the initial position discussed above. While clockwise rotation of drive gear 122 has been discussed, it is understood that counterclockwise rotation of drive gear 122 will result in opposite clockwise rotation of base swivel 14 .
[0035] With reference to FIG. 7 , plow mount assembly 10 may be mounted to a vehicle, such as a utility vehicle 200 . Vehicle mounting bracket 22 of plow mount assembly 10 may be coupled to a frame 202 of vehicle 200 . More specifically, vehicle mounting bracket 22 may be laterally fixed relative to frame 202 and vertically pivotable for upward and downward displacement of plow mount assembly 10 . Base swivel 14 may have a plow blade 204 fixed thereto. Plow blade 204 may rotate with base swivel 14 during actuation of plow mount system 10 , as discussed above. Plow mount assembly 10 therefore provides powered rotation of plow blade 204 .
[0036] While shown and described as related to plow mount assembly 10 , it is understood that power pivot assembly 16 may be used in combination with a variety of other tools pivotally coupled to a mounting structure. For example, power pivot assembly 16 may be used in combination with maintenance equipment such as lawn cutting and sweeping assemblies. | A pivot assembly may include first and second subassemblies. The first subassembly may be adapted to be coupled to a frame member and rotationally fixed relative thereto. The first subassembly may include a latch mechanism displaceable between locked and unlocked positions. The second subassembly may be adapted to be coupled to the frame member and may be rotatable relative thereto. The second subassembly may include a power pivot assembly and a cam member. The power pivot assembly may be drivingly engaged with the cam member and operable to rotate the cam member in a first rotational direction to a first position where the cam member urges the latch mechanism into the unlocked position. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to lubricating oil reconditioning devices and processes for utilization with an operating internal combustion engine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Filtering of circulating lubricating oil does not remove miscible liquid contaminants from the oil. These contaminants are mainly water and low boiling organic chemicals whose presence in lubricating oil cause engine corrosion and wear.
[0003] Lubricating oil reconditioning systems that are associated with an internal combustion engine and that function to remove such liquid contaminants from lubricating oil being circulated in the operating engine are known; see, for example, DePaul U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,707,515 and 6,083,406. Although functional and effective, improvements in such systems would be desirable particularly to improve operational efficiency and reliability.
[0004] So far as is now known, no one has previously achieved a lubricating oil reconditioning system wherein oil from an operating internal combustion engine is first filtered and then passed as a thin film using gravity as a primary flow-inducing force over internal surface regions of a generally conically tapered heated platen, particularly a platen where a thin film is moved over platen internal surfaces that are arranged so that lower internal surface portions thereof generally have a smaller diameter than upper internal surface portions thereof. Preferably, the internal surface regions of the platen define a plurality of localized slope changes whereby the descending thin film of oil on the internal surface regions experiences a variable flow rate and a variable film thickness before reaching a bottom region where the resulting oil is collected and recycled for engine lubrication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] This invention relates to new and very useful improved apparatus and processes for continuously accomplishing removal of low boiling liquids, such as water, from the lubricating oil of an operating internal combustion engine.
[0006] In accord with the invention, a side stream of circulating engine lubricating oil is processed continuously as the engine operates. The side stream usually and preferably comprises a minor fraction of the total quantity of engine lubricating oil that is being conventionally pumped through an engine, contacted with bearing surfaces thereof, and moved to a filtering zone.
[0007] In accordance with the present invention, either before or preferably after the filtering zone, a side stream of the engine lubricating oil is continuously removed, preferably separately filtered, and then conveyed to a volatile contaminant removal processing zone. In this processing zone, the side stream oil is continuously deposited upon upper internal surface regions of a preferably generally conically tapered, heated platen. A thin film of the deposited oil is formed on internal surface portions of the platen, and the thin film of oil flows downwardly thereover using gravity as a primary moving force.
[0008] The internal surface region of the platen is oriented so that lower internal surface portions thereof generally have a smaller perimeter or diameter relative to upper internal surface portions thereof. Preferably, the platen internal surface regions define a plurality of localized slope changes whereby the descending thin film on the internal surface regions experiences at local regions of the platen a variable flow rate and a variable film thickness. Oil reaching a platen bottom region is collected and recycled for engine lubrication usage.
[0009] Volatile components are evolved from the oil in the precessing zone, particularly as the oil descends as a thin film over platen interior surface regions, is separated and preferably vented. Preferably, the processing zone involves a chamber that is provided over the platen and that is over the oil input locations for the platen. The chamber can be defined by a housing. Vapors collecting in the processing zone are conveniently released to the atmosphere through a relief valve, which is preferably a check valve.
[0010] To accomplish a generally uniform distribution of the filtered oil over the internal surface portions of the platen, various arrangements can be utilized. It is presently preferred to accomplish a substantially uniform distribution of entering oil over upper internal surface portions of the platen. This distribution is accomplished preferably by charging the filtered oil to a metering jet. Oil passing through the metering jet enters into a distributing chamber. The distributing chamber is preferably located centrally over upper portions of the platen.
[0011] From bottom portions of the distributing chamber, oil flows through a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially extending tube members to a circumferentially extending, rim-like distributing tube that is horizontally oriented, located over upper portions of the platen, and is in preferably equally outwardly spaced relationship relative to the distributing chamber. The distributing tube is provided with a plurality of holes in its gravitationally lower portions. Thus, oil reaching the distributing tube flows downwardly out of the holes therein and descends to upper internal surface portions of the platen where the oil forms a thin film that downwardly flows thereover.
[0012] Conveniently and preferably, the platen is electrically heated to a desired elevated temperature by a resistance heating element or the like that is located on and about outside wall portions of the platen yet is inside of a housing, thereby isolating the heating element from direct contact with oil.
[0013] The inventive apparatus and method provide various advantages over the prior art. For example, the present conically configured platen in the inventive combination appears to provide improved thin film flow characteristics over its interior surface regions compared to the dome configured platen described in DePaul '406 (cited above), for example.
[0014] Other and further objects, aim, purposes, features, advantages, component substitutes, operating conditions, embodiments and the like will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the present description taken with the associated drawings and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In the drawings:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view illustrating one embodiment of an oil reconditioning system of the present invention in functional association with the lubrication system of a fuel combusting engine;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a partial diagrammatic vertical sectional view through a presently preferred embodiment of an oil reconditioning system of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is top plan view of the platen employed in the FIG. 1 system;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view through a bracket employed in the FIG. 1 system to support the distribution pipe thereof;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the electric heating element employed in the FIG. 1 system;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the oil distribution system employed in the FIG. 1 system;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the distribution pipe employed in the FIG. 1 system;
[0023] FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of a platen adapted for use in the FIG. 1 system;
[0024] FIG. 9 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the platen of FIG. 8 ;
[0025] FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of a further alternative embodiment of a platen adapted for use in the FIG. 1 system;
[0026] FIG. 11 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the platen of FIG. 10 ;
[0027] FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another pattern for a platen adapted for use in the FIG. 1 system;
[0028] FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 , but showing another platen sidewall pattern;
[0029] FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 12 , but showing another platen sidewall pattern;
[0030] FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 12 , but showing another platen sidewall pattern;
[0031] FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 8 , but showing another platen embodiment; and
[0032] FIG. 17 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 8 , but showing another platen embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] Referring to FIG. 1 , there is seen one embodiment 20 of an engine lubricating oil reconditioning system of the present invention. In system 20 , lubricating oil that has drained and collected in a conventional engine oil pan 21 is withdrawn by a conventional engine lubricating oil pump 22 through an interconnecting conduit 23 that incorporates a conventional lubricating oil screen structure 24 located in oil pan 21 . From pump 22 , the oil is passed to a main lubricating oil stream successively through respective conduits 26 and 27 into a conventional replaceable oil filter 28 or the like. The oil filter, if desired, may have a multi-stage core or may have multiple stages, such as three or five stages, for example, that may be encased in a housing.
[0034] In filter 28 , oil under partial pump 22 pressure from conduit 27 is conventionally filtered to remove filterable contaminants, such as particulates including sludge; and the filtered oil passes into a conduit system 33 through which it is conveyed to engine bearings 34 for conventional lubrication purposes. From the bearings 34 , the oil drains down (not detailed in FIG. 1 ) and is again collected in the oil pan 21 for recycling through pump 22 .
[0035] Conduits 26 and 27 are connected together through a by-pass valve or proportional flow divider 29 into two streams, a main oil stream in conduit 27 comprising more than 50 volume percent of the oil that enters and flows through conduit 26 and a side oil stream in conduit 31 comprising the remaining volume percent of the oil. The side stream that enters and flows through conduit 31 feeds into an embodiment of the oil reconditioning apparatus of this invention, such embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 32 .
[0036] From conduit 31 , the side oil stream under partial pressure generated by pump 22 enters into oil reconditioning apparatus 32 and is processed as described herein first to separate filterable contaminants and then to separate low boiling contaminants from the oil. The resulting processed and reconditioned oil exits from apparatus 32 through interconnecting conduit 36 and preferably passes (not detailed in FIG. 1 ) into oil pan 21 or the like for recycling and reuse in engine lubrication. The volatiles separated from the oil in apparatus 32 are discharged from apparatus 32 either into the atmosphere through vent 63 (which preferably is equipped with a check valve (not shown)), or into a conduit 37 for conveyance to the engine intake manifold (not detailed), or otherwise, as may be desired.
[0037] The system 32 is well suited for installation in combination with a previously manufactured vehicular engine or the like using a kit or the equivalent.
[0038] Such a kit can comprise, for example, the proportional flow divider 29 , components of the oil reconditioning apparatus 32 and the interconnecting conduit components, such as conduit 31 . Observe that, in the system 20 , one could consider that there are essentially two lubricating oil reconditioning systems, one system involving the main oil stream that is charged to conduit 27 and in which the filter 28 is used for oil processing, and the second system 32 involving the side oil stream that is charged to conduit 31 in which the apparatus 32 is used for oil processing. It is a feature of the system 20 that it can be functionally associated with a vehicular engine without redesigning the originally installed lubricating oil system. Thus, usually even the originally installed lubricating oil pump (which is commonly located in the oil pan) can be used in operating the system 20 .
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 2-7 , for example, the structure and operation of the lubricating oil reconditioning apparatus 38 is seen wherein low boiling volatiles are separated in the oil reconditioning apparatus 32 of this invention. Preliminarily, the oil side stream is filtered to remove particulates including sludge through a filter 35 . In the apparatus 32 , through a conduit 39 that extends in gas-tight relationship through a side portion of a top cap plate 41 , a stream of filtered oil from filter 35 is delivered to and enters a central chamber 42 through a metering orifice or metering jet 43 . The chamber 42 is defined by a generally cup-configured body 44 that has cylindrical side walls, an integral flat bottom and outwardly extending top mounting flange portions. Outer edge portions of the mounting flange portions that are adapted to lie flat against bottom edge portions of downwardly extending ribs integrally formed on under surface portions of the top plate 41 . The mounting flange portions of body 44 are mounted against the bottom edge portions by machine screws 40 or the like that extend upwardly normally through the mounting flange portions into threaded engagement with the rib portions, although alternative configurations and mounting arrangements can be used, if desired.
[0040] Radially extending outwardly from a functionally interconnected relationship with bottom portions of the cylindrical side walls of body 44 are a plurality of straight, radially extending, spoke-like conduits 46 (preferably four, equally circumferentially spaced), as shown. Each conduit 46 terminally functionally interconnects with local circumferential surface portions of a circular tubular pipe 47 that is horizontally oriented, that is located above top edge portions of the platen 51 , and that is preferably substantially coaxial with the body 44 . Thus, portions of the circular pipe 47 are approximately equally radially spaced from adjacent portions of the body 44 .
[0041] A plurality of brackets 49 (preferably four, see, for example, FIG. 4 ) are provided. Each bracket 49 has a hook-configured foot portion for extending under and supporting a local portion of the pipe 47 and also a flat head flange portion for mounting to downwardly projecting rib portions or the like of the top plate 41 . Thus, each flat head flange portion is adapted to lie flat against adjacent under surface portions of the top plate 41 and is mounted against adjacent top plate 41 under surface portions by machine screws that extend normally through the head flange portions into threaded engagement with the top plate 41 . Preferably, the individual brackets 49 are circumferentially generally equally spaced from one another and function to support the pipe 47 in the desired centered, flat, central orientation and spacing relationship relative to the body 44 , as shown. Alternative configurations and mounting arrangements can be used, if desired.
[0042] Lower portions of the pipe 47 are provided with a plurality of small holes 48 (see, for example, FIGS. 6 and 7 ). Thus, oil in chamber 42 moves into and passes through the conduits 46 , enters the pipe 47 , and is substantially uniformly distributed therein. Oil in pipe 47 passes downwardly through the holes 48 and is deposited on upper interior surface portions of the generally conically configured platen 51 forming a thin film on interior surface portions thereof.
[0043] The housing 52 and the cap plate 41 are conveniently formed of cast, machined metal, and the platen 51 is conveniently formed of stamped, welded sheet metal, preferably stainless steel.
[0044] Internal surface portions of the platen 51 preferably have a plurality of slope changes. In the preferred form of platen 51 shown in FIG. 2 , the platen 51 is provided at regular longitudinal intervals along its length with inturned ledge regions that give the platen 51 sidewalls, when viewed in longitudinal section, a stair-step type of configuration. Alternative configurations and arrangements can be utilized, if desired. The purpose of the localized variations in platen 51 sidewall slope to achieve slope changes in interior surface portions of the platen 51 , as those skilled in the art will appreciate, thereby to enhance changes in film thickness and flow rate as the oil film descends. As the oil film descends, its exposed surface area declines, which may aid in removing volatiles from the oil being processed. Also, as the oil descends, it is concentrated which is desirable for oil collection purposes at the bottom portions of the platen 51 .
[0045] Upper edge portions of platen 51 are provided with an outturned flange 57 . The platen 51 is contained in a housing 52 that has generally cylindrical side walls 53 that are joined unitarily at bottom edge portions to a dome configured bottom plate 54 . An outturned rim flange 41 a on perimeter portions of the top plate 41 mounts by machine screws or the like over, and sealingly closes, with the aid of a seal (not shown), the upper edge portions of the cylindrical side walls 53 , thereby completing an enclosure within the housing 52 . Circumferentially extending about inside wall portions of the side walls 53 in downwardly spaced, adjacent relationship to the upper edge portions of the side walls 53 is a ledge projection 56 . Against the flattened upper face of the ledge projection 56 rests the outturned flange 57 of the platen 51 . The flange 57 is mounted to the ledge projection 56 by a plurality of circumferentially spaced machine screws 45 or the like. Thus, the platen 51 divides the enclosure defined by the housing 52 into an upper chamber 58 and a lower chamber 59 .
[0046] Oil that drops from the holes 48 in the circular pipe 47 upon the upper interior surface portions of the platen 51 forms a thin film moves downwards by gravity over the heated surface portions of the platen 51 . Since the internal surface regions define a plurality of slope changes, the oil flowing thereover experiences a variable flow rate and a variable film thickness as it progresses to the bottom regions of the platen 51 . Such variations are preferred and are believed to be desirable for purposes of enhancing the separating and removing of volatile materials from the oil being so treated. Evidently, more volatile material is removed when such slope variations are employed than when the platen 51 sidewalls are uniformly sloped as in a smooth sidewall funnel-type configuration for platen 51 , although even a smooth-walled funnel-type configuration for a platen 51 is very useful in removing volatiles from engine lubricating oil.
[0047] Volatiles separated from the oil enter the upper chamber 58 and collect over the platen 51 and beneath the top plate 41 and between the side walls 53 over the ledge projection 56 . Conveniently and preferably, vapors collecting in the upper chamber 58 are released through a check valve 63 preferably when the pressure in chamber 42 rises above a preset value.
[0048] An electric resistance heating element 61 , preferably conventional, is circumferentially extended around an exterior, preferably longitudinally medially situated, sidewall portion of the platen 51 . Element 61 is conveniently connected to an electrical plug type connector 62 that is associated with and extends through a location in the side walls 53 . Exteriorly relative to the housing 52 , the plug type connector 62 is conventionally connectable with an electric power supply line 64 . The element 61 is preferably provided with thermostatic temperature regulating means, preferably conventional (not shown), whereby the platen 51 can be maintained at a predetermined elevated temperature. Conveniently, and preferably, the element 61 is operated by the 12 volt or other conventional power battery system associated with a vehicle in which the oil conditioning apparatus 32 is being used. Since the heating element 61 and associated components are located in lower chamber 59 , they are isolated from the upper chamber 58 and all fluids (including oil and volatiles) therein.
[0049] As shown in FIG. 1 , oil in conduit 31 is preferably filtered through a filter 35 before being charged to conduit 39 . Filtering can be accomplished by a conventional filter structure connected to conduit 31 whose output is connected to conduit line 39 . Filter arrangements such as taught in DePaul U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 can be employed, or otherwise, if desired.
[0050] Oil filtering is preferably carried out at a flow rate of about 4 to about 10 gallons per hour at a pressure in the range of about 20 to about 100 psi, and preferably in the range of about 40 to about 75 psi. Preferably during the filtering particulates having particle sizes over about 5 microns are removed.
[0051] In practice, one charges pressurized and filtered oil stream through the metering orifice or jet 43 into the chamber 58 and the distributing chamber 42 . Since chamber 42 is open to chamber 58 , these chambers are maintained at the same pressure. Pressure in chamber 58 is preferably maintained at atmospheric pressure through vent 63 . Thus passing the pressurized and filtered oil stream through the metering orifice or jet 43 depressurizes the oil stream and reduces its pressure to atmospheric pressure. In chamber 58 , the oil is moved to the upper, interior surfaces of the platen 51 . The movement can be accomplished by various means and methods. In the present preferred embodiment, the oil collected in the chamber 42 flows through the radially extending conduits 46 into the pipe 47 and out through the holes 48 to reach the inner upper surfaces of the platen 51 .
[0052] Preferably, the platen 51 interior surfaces are heated during oil film contacting to a temperature in the range of from about 150 to about 210° F., and more preferably about 160 to about 200° F., although higher and lower temperatures can be used, if desired.
[0053] At the bottom of the platen 51 , oil is drained away and returned to the engine lubricating oil.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, particularly in the case of relatively small vehicular engines, the apparatus 32 can sometimes be employed as a replacement or alternative for a conventional oil filter assembly, such as the replaceable oil filter 28 , or the like.
[0055] As indicated, in place of a platen having smooth, conically configured side walls, various alternative sidewall configurations in place of a platen 51 can be employed in the practice of this invention, such as illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 8-17 where platens with sidewalls having various localized slope changes are illustrated. While in platen 51 , the localized slope changes are defined by a plurality of longitudinally spaced, continuously circumferentially extending, progressively or successive inturned ledge regions, the ledge regions can alternatively be outturned or inturned and can extend continuously and spirally, as shown in FIG. 16 , or continuously and arcuately, as shown in FIG. 17 , for example. The localized slope changes can be defined by a plurality of local offset regions (geometric designs) that each have geometrically configured perimeter portions that can be defined as depressions or as elevations that can be considered to be relative to a basic continuously extending platen side wall, such as illustrated in FIGS. 8-15 , for example, where the offset regions are each defined by a plurality of straight edge portions, a plurality of curved edge portions, or a mixture of curved and straight edge portions. Platen side wall designs are preferably chosen for reasons of fabrication convenience and durably to be producable by stamping of sheet metal (preferably stainless steel) although oil resistant, heat resistant plastic materials can be used, if desired.
[0056] Other and further equivalent embodiments and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. | Apparatus and process for improved contaminant removal from engine lubricating oil are provided. The invention is adapted for use with an existing engine oil lubrication system and continuously processes a side stream that after processing is returned to the engine oil. During processing, the oil is first filtered and then is deposited to form a thin film upon upper internal surface regions of a heated, generally conically configured platen whose average transverse internal diameter generally decreases with increasing downward distance from said upper internal surface regions. The platen internal surface regions preferably have a plurality of slope changes. Oil so deposited on the platen internal surface regions forms a thin film that flows downwards and preferably experiences a variable flow rate and variable film thickness. Volatiles produced from the thin film are separated and vented preferably from a chamber over the platen, while oil consolidated from the thin film at the platen bottom is collected and recycled. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a truss system. And more particularly, the present invention relates to a foldable and collapsible truss system which can be assembled at the construction situs and, after use, be collapsed and folded and moved conveniently, in component sections, from such situs.
2. General Background
Various truss systems are known for use in building construction. The building of trusses on a building site is an expensive and time consuming operation. Because of this, the building industry has adopted prefabricated trusses which eliminate costly on-site labor time. When prefabricated trusses are completely assembled, they are shipped to the job site for use but, due to their size, often require an inordinate amount of shipping carriers and thus time and expense. Furthermore, because prefabricated trusses must be ordered to size for each individual structure, the transportation reliability factor is greatly reduced.
Several attempts have been made in the prior art to develop a truss system which is collapsible, foldable and easily transportable in quantity in the collapsed state and, upon arrival at the construction site, adapted to be erected in a short period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,550, issued to W. E. Mueller, et al., discloses a truss structure prefabricated and capable of being shipped in a collapsed condition and which can be erected easily at the site into a roof truss while maintaining a desired and predetermined roof pitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,642,825, issued to C. A. McElhone, et al., and discloses a foldable and compactable roof truss having a plurality of upper chords hingedly connected at the truss peak, the upper chords being hingedly connected at their truss ends to the truss ends of each of a plurality of bottom chords connected at the center of the truss span. There are further provided compression members and tension members hingedly connected to both the top and bottom chords.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,077, issued to C. B. K. Van Norman, also discloses a collapsible roof truss.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,573, issued to D. H. Vaughan, and discloses a three-dimensional triangulated truss capable of being retracted to a compact package for storage and shipment and then expanded on site for erection and connection to similar modules.
Other prior art patents exist which show truss systems which are not foldable and collapsible but which attempt to provide adaptability for various construction requirements:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,057, issued to J. W. Franklin discloses chords, struts, couplers, connectors and brace components for cooperative interconnection to provide trusses of various lengths, heights and inclinations with fastener elements used at selected positions to provide desired adaptability.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,970, issued to R. S. Black, and discloses a truss-type joist longtitudinally adjustable to vary the length thereof by providing overlapping longitudinal sections with bolt holes spaced apart in series for adjustment to elongate or contract the joist according to the span required.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,536, issued to S. T. Moore et al., and discloses the conventional "flying" truss deck form.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,102,096; 4,102,108; and 4,106,256 all issued to D. L. Cody, and disclose an expandable truss structure and a wide variety of applications of the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,164, issued to S. S. Dashew, discloses an adjustable truss support.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,990, issued to W. F. Zabriskie, discloses a collapsible truss-like structure for reinforced concrete construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,458,866, issued to C. H. Wetzel, discloses a collapsible and foldable truss-like structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,373, issued to G. Chapaman and U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,355, issued to B. J. Solesbee, disclose collapsible roof trusses.
The following U.S. Patents disclose known art pertinent to the field of the invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,618, issued to J. W. Franklin.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,385, issued to J. O. Ellinger.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,869, issued to F. H. Rooney.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,783, issued to S. B. Dunne.
Further prior art which is known to the applicant but not the subject of a U.S. Patent is an aluminum truss system marketed under the trademark SYMONS. Catalogs illustrating the SYMONS truss system are enclosed as Exhibits A and B.
Many of these truss systems suffer in that they are bulky in the collapsed state and have a complex structure requiring extensive time and effort to re-assemble the truss from its collapsed state. Some of the patented devices require a voluminous amount of pins and fasteners to interconnect component parts which can be lost or misplaced when the assembly is in the collapsed condition. Other devices, when collapsed, may be compact but in only one dimension thus leaving a large width, length or height as the case may be.
Therefore, it is as an object of the present invention to provide a truss system which is collapsible and compactable to a size allowing for ease of shipment in quantity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a collapsible and compactable truss system which can be expanded and assembled in a minimum amount of time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provided a collapsible and compactable truss system having a minimum amount of removable fasteners and spacers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a collapsible and compactable truss system which maintains its structural integrity and strength in the assembled position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are given like reference numerals and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the truss system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when fully erected.
FIG. 2 is an end view of the truss system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the truss system of FIG. 1 illustrating the first stage of collapse.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the truss system of FIG. 1 in a partially collapsed condition.
FIG. 5 is a top view of the truss system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is an end view of the truss system of FIG. 1 in the fully collapsed position.
FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating the upper chord and a chord coupler.
FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the assembly of the lower chord and struts.
FIG. 9 is a partial cutaway view of the assembly of the upper chord and struts and spacer.
FIG. 10 is a top view of the spacer of FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the spacer of FIG. 9.
FIG. 12 is an end view of the spacer of FIG. 9.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 best show the apparatus 10 of the present invention in the assembled condition. In the assembled condition, truss section 10 is comprised of upper and lower chord members 12, 14 which are made of U-shaped channels 20, 30 having flanged or side walls and top or bottom portions. U-shaped channel 20 of upper chord 12 is provided with flanges or side walls 16, 18 integral with top portion 17. Similarly, lower chord 14 is made of U-shaped channel 30 having flanges or side walls 22, 24 integrally joined with bottom portion 23. Thus truss 10 component whether in the assembled, partially collapsed or collapsed position provides upper and lower chords 12, 14 in vertically spaced substantially parallel relation to each other such that channels 20 and 30 face each other across the vertical spacing. The channels 20, 30 provided in upper and lower chords 12, 14 are adapted to receive and snuggly engage the exterior sides of struts 40, all of which are of identical length. Struts 40 have holes 41, best seen in FIG. 9, (and seen in phantom view in FIG. 8) drilled transversely therethrough in a position a slight distance away from the curved ends of the struts. With this structure, the struts 40 may be received in channels 20 and 30, and their holes 41 may be brought into alignment with holes 44 and 48, which are drilled transversely through both side walls (16, 18 and 22, 24) of upper and lower chords 14, 16. A plurality of pins 45, 49 are provided for engagement through holes 44, 48 respectively and the aligned end holes 41 of struts 40 to provide the assembly shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. All of the holes 44, 48 are of a precise diameter adapted to receive and snugly engage pins 45, 49, which are not of a standard size. The diameter of holes 41, 44, and 48 should preferably be just slightly smaller than the diameter of pins 45, 49 to provide a snug fit. With this type of snug fit, the pins 45, 49 must be driven into and out of engagement but securely support truss 10 when assembled.
At both ends of chord members 12, 14 a plurality of holes 34, 35 respectively are provided for use when a similar truss section is to be joined to truss section 10. As best seen in FIG. 7, for joining chord sections together a chord coupler 32 is provided. Chord coupler 32 may be of a U-shaped channel construction (similar to chords 12, 14) or rectangular construction as long as it is dimensioned to snugly fit within the confines of channels 20 and 30. It is to be understood that the description and illustration of the use of chord coupler 32 is for upper chord 12, however, it is to be similarly employed with lower chord section 14. For the illustrative case of upper chord 12 as shown in FIG. 7, the end holes 34 in chord 12 are spaced and patterned to correspond precisely to the spacing and pattern of end holes 36 of chord coupler 32 and, as stated hereinabove, chord coupler 32 is of a size for close interfitting telescopically within chord 12 so that when holes 34 are brought into alignment with coupler holes 36, pins 38, which are identical to pins 45, 49, are engaged through these holes to hold a pair of chord sections 12 in alignment for transmitting arrangement. The use of such couplers 32 allows sections of upper chord 12 and lower chord 14 to be joined each to the other to provide a composite assembled truss. If the composite truss is to be divided into separate truss components again, the pins 38 will be removed, the chord sections 12, 14 separated and chord couplers 32 removed. Conversely, when any two separate previously assembled truss components are to be interconnected in end to end relation to provide a longer composite truss, two chord couplers 32 for one end, and additional pins 38 will be required to maintain the assembly. In this way the ends of an assembled composite truss will always maintain holes 34, 35 for further extension of the truss so they may be used for attaching the truss to a fastener system as required. The holes 34, 35 by virture of their position in chords 12, 14 do not affect the collapsibility nor compactibility of the truss.
Channels 20, 30 of upper and lower chords 12, 14 respectively are further adapted to receive struts 42. Struts 42 are all of identical dimension but dimensioned differently than struts 40. As best seen in FIG. 8, struts 40 are dimensioned so that their exterior side walls snugly engage the interior side walls of channels 20, 30. Further, struts 40 are themselves dimensioned to form a U-shaped channel in much the same manner as chords 12, 14. Struts 40 further are provided to maintain the predetermined vertical spacing of chords 12, 14 as holes 44, 48 are substantially equally spaced along their respective chords 14, 12, although holes 44 and 48 are offset relative to each other in the assembled condition of FIG. 1. Unlike struts 40, struts 42 are not adapted to snugly engage the interior sides of channels 20, 30 respectively, but contrarily dimensioned not to do so, but to be received into the confines of channels 39 of struts 40. Further, struts 42 will be of a length less than the length of struts 40 and will be dimensioned according to the vertical spacing between chords 12 and 14 and the spacing between holes 46 and 48 to be discussed further herein.
Struts 42 may be provided in either rectangular form, U-shaped channel form or tubular form as may be required as long as it is dimensioned to be received in channel 39 of strut 40. Whatever the shape of struts 42, they are to be provided with holes 43 drilled transversely through them in position a slight distance away from either end of the struts. With this arrangement, the struts 42 may be received in channels 20, 30 and holes 43 may be brought into alignment with holes 46 in upper chord 12 and holes 41 in struts 40 and holes 44 in lower chord 14 to provide the assembled condition of FIGS. 1, 2, and 5. All of the holes 41, 43, 44, 46 are, as referenced above, of such a diameter to receive and snugly engage pins 45 and 47 which are provided in chords 14, 12 respectively.
In order for the struts 40, 42 to be collapsed completely to the position of FIG. 6, the lengths of struts 40 and 42, and the spacing of holes 44 of lower chord 14 and holes 46, 48 of upper chord 12 must be precisely calculated. This can be done by first determining the required vertical spacing of chords 12, 14 which controls the hole spacing of holes 44 on lower chord 14. Therefore, it follows that upper chord 12 must also be provided with holes 46 and 48 which must have the same relative spacing as holes 44. The vertical spacing of the chords 12, 14 thus controls the length and the maximum spacing of the holes 44, 46 and 48. Once this is determined, the length of struts 40 can be determined and in turn the length of struts 42, which are less than that of struts 40. Thus it can be seen that in the assembled condition of FIG. 1, struts 40 control the vertical spacing of chords 12, 14 and thus the height of the truss by providing a series of diagnonal support members pivotally connected to chords 12 and 14 in holes 48, 44 respectively, and that any particular diagonal strut 40 is pivotally fastened to upper chord 12 at a hole 48 disposed laterally and to the left, as seen in FIG. 1, of hole 44. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1, with the truss in the assembled condition, strut 40b is pivotally connected at either end to chords 12, 14 at holes 48a, 44b respectively by pins 49a, 45b respectively. As seen in FIG. 1, any pairs of struts 40, 42 will be provided such that strut 42, which is of a lesser length than strut 40, will be disposed laterally to the right or rotated clockwise of strut 40 at an angle normally less than 90° and both struts 40, 42 integrally pivotally hinged to lower chord 14 by having hole 43 provided in the lower end of strut 42 brought into alignment with hole 41 in the lower end of strut 40 and hole 44 of chord 14 with pin 45 provided therethrough to complete the engagement. With this arrangement, to complete the assembly of truss 10, struts 42 will be pivotally connected to upper chord 12 by having holes 43 near its upper ends brought into alignment with holes 46 and pins 47 provided for engagement through the alligned holes. Thus struts 42 will be diagonally disposed so that their ends are pivotally pinned to holes 44, 46 in chords 14, 12 respectively, such holes 44, 46 being laterally offset from each other, the hole 46 in upper chord 12 being disposed to the right of the hole 44 in lower chord 14 for any given strut 42, as viewed in FIG. 1.
Thus strut 42a will be pivoted at either end through holes 44a, 46a; strut 42b through holes 44b, 46b, and so on. (While struts 40 and 42 will normally be disposed relative to each other at an angle less than 90° when truss 10 is in the assembled condition, if there was a special need for a very short truss, then the angle could be greater than 90°.)
The structuring of the assembled truss 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1, will provide for pin 47 which is to be snugly engaged in aligned holes 43, 46, yet be easily removed when it is desired to collapse truss 10. To provide for easy collapse and compaction of truss 10 and to prevent the misplacing or loss of pins, fasteners 45 and 49 can be more permanently secured in respective chords 12, 14 by providing for fasteners such as nut and bolt combinations, welded portions and the like.
Returning now to FIG. 1 and the method of collapsing and compacting truss 10, it is to be understood that only pins 47 provided through aligned holes 43, 46 and spacers 70, if used, need be removed. Spacers 70 provide protection to chord 12 if nuts and bolts are used as the fastening means instead of pins 47. Without spacers 70, the use of nuts and bolts through holes 46 and 43 would draw side walls 16, 18 into channel 20 thus collapsing chord 12. Spacers 70 in the preferred embodiment would be dimensioned to space its walls apart the same width as that of strut 40 so that exterior side walls 74, 76 of spacer 70 snugly engage the interior walls of channel 20 of chord 12. With the removal of pins 47 (and spacers 70, if used) from upper chord 12, upper chord 12 is moved laterally or horizontally in the direction of ARROW A or to the right in FIG. 2, a distance sufficient to bring the upper end of struts 42 out of engagement with the interior surface of top portion 17 of channel 20. This movement of upper chord 12 in the direction of ARROW A will increase the vertical spacing between chords 12 and 14 and rotate struts 40 clockwise in the direction of ARROW B, thus assuming the position of truss 10 in FIG. 3. From this position, struts 42 will be rotated counterclockwise opposite the direction of ARROW B (or in the direction of ARROW C) and be received into channels 39 of corresponding or mating struts 40 due to the relative dimensions of struts 40 and 42 as discussed above. With struts 42 confined to channels 39 of corresponding struts 40, they can no longer engage the interior surface of top portion 17 of channel 20 when upper chord 12 is moved in the direction opposite ARROW A to the original vertical spacing between chords 12, 14 illustrated in FIG. 1. Then chord 12 can be moved even further in the direction opposite ARROW A to diminish the spacing between chords 12 and 14 and approach the partially collapsed position of FIG. 4. This movement of chord 12 in the direction opposite ARROW A with struts 42 maintained in corresponding struts 40 will cause the movement of struts 40 and 42 in a direction opposite ARROW B to the position of FIG. 4. It can therefore be seen that from the position of FIG. 4, it is a simple matter to move upper chord 12 in the direction opposite ARROW A and thus cause the total collapse of truss 10 to the position of FIG. 6 with upper and lower chords 12, 14 in abutment with each other at their marginal edges 82, 84 and struts 40 maintained in the confines of channels 20 and 30 which are now mated to provide the height H illustrated in FIG. 6. Thus truss 10 is totally collapsed and compacted, a feature not obtainable in the prior art discussed hereinabove.
Once the truss has been collapsed to the position of FIG. 6, it can be expanded and re-assembled to the position of FIG. 1 by merely reversing the above-described method. First, chords 12, 14 will be vertically separated by imparting lateral motion to upper chord 12 in the direction of ARROW A thus causing the rotation of struts 40 and 42 (provided in channel 39 of struts 40) in the direction of ARROW B until chords 12 and 14 are separated a vertical distance such that struts 42 can be rotated further in the direction of ARROW B without contacting the inner surface of top portion 17 of channel 20. At this point, upper chord 12 is moved in the direction opposite ARROW A so that companion struts 40b, 42b's relative angle is increased to that illustrated in FIG. 1, at which point holes 43 and of struts 42 are brought into alignment with holes 46 and upper chord 12 so that removable pins 47 (or other fasteners) can be placed therethrough to secure truss 10 in the assembled position of FIG. 1. With nuts and bolts spacers 70 will be used with holes 78 aligned with holes 43 and 46 as provided above.
Of course, many sections of truss 10 can be placed end to end and fixedly connected by means of holes 34 and 35 and couplers 32 to provide a truss of a length adapted to any building specifications. In practice, the sections will be made up at a specific job site and the trusses may be moved at the job site from one pour location to the next as needed.
Because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught, and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirement of the law, it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. | A truss system component comprising upper and lower chord members, a plurality of first strut members extending between the chord members for maintaining the chords in vertically spaced apart relation, the upper and lower chord members providing pin connections for pivotally connecting said first strut member to the lower chord at substantially equally spaced points along the chord, and a plurality of second strut members extending between the chord members for maintaining the chords in vertically spaced apart relation, each of the second struts being at its lower end pivotally connected to one of the first strut members at each of the first points along the lower chord and at its upper end being pivotally connected to the upper chord member at substantially equally spaced second points therealong. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/881,283, filed Jun. 14, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,289, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/233,409, filed Jan. 19, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,229, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/071,906, filed Jan. 20, 1998. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
Polydeoxynucleotide and oligonucleotide sequencing with laboratory-based instruments has become inexpensive and reliable due to the variety and availability of complimentary fluorescent labeled target sequences. These fluorescent labeled probes may be specially tailored to hybridize with genomic DNA segments and form base pair matches that can accurately detect the presence of inherited genetic disorders or native-cell mutations. Under excitation light in the visible or UV range, the associated fluorescent marker attached to the probe emits a secondary emission that may be detected by a charge-coupled device (CCD) array, photodiode, or other spectrally sensitive light detector.
However, current techniques require the use of specialized reagents and additional processing to separate the cell wall and other components before analysis. The analyte is removed and introduced into an assay chamber for analysis. The chambers are housed in portable or tabletop analytic instruments that typically contain an excitation source, detection sensors, spatial reading or imaging devices, and archiving capabilities. These systems are expensive and require that tissue samples be processed prior to use. The biggest drawback to these types of systems is their inherent inability to perform fast, localized reading of array probes in a convenient and repeatable manner in vivo. In vivo monitoring and detection of changes to the human body in response to therapy is needed to expedite trials and to monitor results from therapy, and would allow doctors to treat serious diseases such as cancer safely in a more effective and less costly manner.
SUMMARY
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present invention performs specific detection and analysis of biological analytes in vivo using a simplified, low-cost set of components. In one embodiment, the small size and simplified operation allow the entire device to be housed in a catheter. In one aspect, the device consists of a housing, a light excitation source, a detector, and at least one fluorescent-labeled probe material on a substrate that is exposed to the tissue of the body. The excitation source may be directed at the substrate carrying the probe, or may be a conductor of the excitation energy. Other embodiments include the use of a lumen to introduce a lysing agent or energy to the area of interest. The lysing agent or energy may be an ultrasonic transducer capable of rupturing cell membranes through the use of a brief burst of ultrasonic energy. In another aspect, a lysing system is used in which pressurization and evacuation of the sample via the lumen adjacent to the probe array creates a pressure capable of rupturing the cell membrane. Each of the probes may be read by application of electrical current to the excitation source and by detecting the presence or absence of signal via the probe sensor. The probe sensor may be a photodiode that is responsive to light emitted by the fluorescent probe material. Two probes may be mixed and read by two sensors if the spectrum is sufficiently separated. A ratio can then be obtained to facilitate analysis. In another embodiment, a normalizing patch may be adjacent to provide a reference signal, thereby simplifying the calibration of the instrument.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a planar view of a probe array containing a multiplicity of fluorescent probes on its surface.
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the probe array of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a sheet of material carrying a probe array.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a readable polydeoxynucleotide array module and system.
FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the readable polydeoxynucleotide array module and system.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an interventional device carrying the readable polydeoxynucleotide array module.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an interventional device fitted with a lysing core.
FIG. 5 is a side view of a secondary insertable device having a tip and a multifilar shaft.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a hollow needle carrying the readable polydeoxynucleotide array module equipped insertable appliance.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to FIG. 1 , the planar view of a probe array 11 is shown as a grid-like array with a plurality of chambers 13 arranged to have separators 15 within a frame 17 . The frame 17 may be a small injection-molded component made of a plastic, such as polystyrene, or a molded material, such as glass. The separators 15 may be molded integrally to the frame 17 or may be separate elements placed within it. The overall dimensions of the frame 17 may be small. Typical dimensions are less than 1 mm by 1 mm.
Referring now to FIG. 1A , which is a cross-sectional view of the probe array 11 , the aforementioned separators 15 are effective to separate a fluorescent probe material 21 that may have different characteristics from an adjacent fluorescent probe material 23 . Probe materials 21 and 23 are generally deposited in a thin layer on top of a substrate, in this case, the material of the frame 17 . Alternatively, the frame 17 may be made of a foraminous material or a partly foraminous substance such as sol gel (not shown). The probe materials may be incorporated into the substrate, which may be a flat surface that allows ink printing processes to be used to deposit the probe array materials at high speeds and at low cost.
Probe materials generally are engineered molecular materials that are designed to have an affinity to one or more constituents that may be expected to be found in the tissue, fluid, or chemical mix to be analyzed. These probe materials may be made sensitive to specific genes or gene segments through complimentary genetic indicators that have been designed to fluoresce or change color, as observed by the naked eye or by spectrographic analysis methods, when they are linked to a molecule to which they have affinity. A large number of different types and combinations of optically readable probes are being manufactured today that have specific affinity to one or more genes, proteins, or other chemicals. In preferred embodiments, the present invention contemplates the use of two classes of probes: (i) protein sensitive probes, such as GFP (green fluorescent probe) from the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria ; and (ii) modified oligonucleotide probes that are fluorogenic, such as those manufactured by Synthegen LLC, Houston, Tex. 77042. Additional probes suited for use in the present invention are available from Midland Certified Reagent Company, Midland, Tex. 79701, and Transbio Corp., Baltimore, Md. 21220. Typically, these probes must be used in vitro due to either their lack of biocompatibility or because they must be used in conjunction with aggressive reagents that are toxic to cells.
Various methods and configurations may be used to deposit or arrange probe locations and positions in an array or singly. For instance, a sheet of plastic material 33 , as shown in FIG. 1B , may have lines 35 made of probe-filled ink printed in any arrangement that may be produced with printing methods. More than one type of probe-filled ink may be used to produce various patterns and arrangements, including overlapping patterns (not shown). The ink pattern lines 35 may be protected with a topcoat 37 that may be made of a dissolvable gel such as ordinary gelatin, or another material such as soluble or even a waterproof polymer that only dissolves and provides access to the probe material in the probe-filled ink in lines 35 after the application of a solvent. The arrangement of the sensitive areas by this process allows the probe materials to be applied to a variety of surfaces and substrates, including medical devices, such as needles, trocars, forceps, catheters, guidewires, implants, and prostheses, in an inexpensive and reliable manner.
The following discussion and description of the present invention is directed to a readable polydeoxynucleotide array module (RPAM). However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention and specific embodiments described below may be utilized with any number of probe arrays and the RPAM described here is provided as only one non-limiting example.
Referring now to FIG. 2 , which is a cross-sectional view of a readable polydeoxynucleotide array module (RPAM) 41 , the probe array 11 may be positioned adjacent to a spectrometer module that is encapsulated in an at least partly transparent housing 45 . The probe array 11 may be cemented to the side, top, or other area within a spectrometer module 43 with an optical cement (not shown), or by a solvent bond line 47 that allows two plastics to be fused through partial melting. A spectrometer module suitable for use in this invention has been described in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/898,604, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Specifically, the spectrometer module used in the present invention includes a light source and a light detector for placement inside a body such that optical conduits are not necessary to deliver light signals to and from the RPAM inside the body. The miniature spectrometer includes the light source and one or more light detectors. The light source illuminates a tissue region and the light detectors detect optical properties of the illuminated tissue by measuring modified light signals. The light detectors convert optical signals to electrical signals such that one or more electrical wires placed inside an interventional device can deliver the electrical signals from the RPAM to a signal display or a microprocessor.
The light source and the light detectors are energized by an external power supply through electrical wires. In another embodiment, an optically transparent tip encapsulates a spectrometer. The tip is shaped to optimize tissue contact and optical transmission. The tip encapsulating the spectrometer is disposed at a distal end of an interventional device. The tip may be coated with a material to improve light transmission. The tip may include at least one fluid channel, which is in communication with a lumen inside the interventional device, to deliver a fluid to a tissue region. The spectrometer may also include a light source and the light detectors formed on a single substrate. The light source may be a light-emitting diode and the light detectors may be a photodiode comprising multiple channels, where both devices are formed on a silicon substrate. The light detector can include multiple channels to detect light emission at multiple wavelengths.
Still referring to FIG. 2 , probe array 11 may be integrally molded onto the surface of the spectrometer module 43 , creating a somewhat simplified one-piece unit that may provide processing advantages in high-speed production environments where parts counts are intentionally kept low to minimize stock and therefore reduce cost of fabrication and assembly. Injection molding or casting of the components is effective to produce miniature components that correspond in size to conventional silicon-based integrated circuit scale. Therefore, it should be appreciated that the RPAM may be small, e.g., about the size of a miniature electronic component such as a surface mount device. Such devices include packaging, leads, and other components, and may be obtainable in size ranges of less than 1 mm in length. Such devices may typically be configured in the range from about 0.5 mm to about 3 mm to produce small, useful devices for in vivo use. The RPAM 41 may also have printable surfaces according to the construction of alternative probe array configurations as described in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B , if desired. Referring once again to FIG. 2 , the internal components of the RPAM consist of a substrate material 49 such as silicon upon which a light-emitting diode light source 51 is mounted with power lead 53 attached to one of terminals 55 . Various colors and types of diode light sources may be used, including those now available that emit light in the infrared, the red, the yellow, the green, the blue, and the blue-violet regions. A working range of RPAM excitation wavelengths is from about 1100 nanometers to about 250 nanometers and may comprise monochromatic, bichromatic, or broadband emissions. The exit aperture 57 is positioned to illuminate a movable mirror 59 that is bonded to piezoelectric stack actuator 61 . Empowerment of the stack actuator 61 is effective to direct light emission from diode light source 51 to one or more chambers 13 . Light emission from the probe materials 21 is picked up by one or more light detectors 63 through filters 65 . Signals from the detectors 63 are brought out from the RPAM through other terminals 55 .
Referring now to FIG. 2A , the operation of the RPAM is depicted in block diagram form as follows: Light is generated and directed from light source 51 and directed at one or more of chambers 13 by mirror 59 , which impinges upon at least one probe material 21 . Fluorescence or other secondary light generated by the action of the light energy upon the probe material causes a second emission that may be detected by one or more light detectors 63 after passing through a bandpass filter 65 . The signal may be amplified and/or conditioned by one or more amplifier stages 64 . Filters 65 allow the system to discriminate between various secondary light emission wavelengths, and signals from said light detectors 63 may be synchronized with the operation of light source 51 so that at any given time there is a known relationship between the particular probe that is illuminated and its response as detected by the light detectors. The timing and relationship of the light-generating, light-detecting event and the spatial position of the mirror 59 are controlled by CPU 71 and sent to the components via control lines 73 .
The data obtained may be stored or presented in a display device or other therapeutic device that can be a graphical display, a television monitor, printout or drug delivery pump, interventional device, motor or actuator, etc. Accordingly, this apparatus may effectively scan or read a plurality of probe materials in a repeatable, fast, and controllable manner; and the information read may be stored, displayed, or used to initiate another action such as a therapeutic application of a drug, or control of a motor. The bandpass filter system of detecting one or more light wavelengths for this purpose is basic, and more complex schemes could be employed by those of ordinary skill in the art. Such schemes may include, without limitation, light wavelength detection systems comprising gratings, graduated filters, heterodyne detection, acousto-optic tunable filtering, and other light detectors that effectively provide an amplitude and frequency responsive signal. A diffraction grating (not shown), for instance, may be attached to movable mirror 59 to provide spatial and chromatic control simultaneously.
FIG. 3 is the cross-sectional view of an interventional device incorporating the spectrometer and probe still referred to here as RPAM 41 ; there is a body-insertable appliance 81 such as a catheter that may have a distal end and a proximal end and may consist of a plastic, rubber, or metal material that is generally elongated in shape, has a small cross section allowing it to pass easily through the body, and has one or more lumens or conduits that may extend through the length of the device. Shown in FIG. 3 is a device having three lumens, although a greater or lesser number of lumens may be used, depending upon the application for which the device is intended. The main lumen 83 is relatively large and is used to deliver a drug, a reagent, or a device to or beyond the distal tip 89 . Suction lumen 85 is useful for drawing biological fluids, tissue, or other materials into proximity with the RPAM 41 , where the material can be analyzed. Signal wires 74 may extend to an external controller (not shown) or to a CPU, pump, motor, or other controller as shown in FIG. 2A , 75 .
Returning once again to FIG. 3 , infusion lumen 87 may provide additional fluids, reagents, drugs, wires, or appliances that may be useful to the procedure. For example, the practitioner will appreciate that additional reagents can be introduced to facilitate analysis. Such additional reagents can include: denaturants, such as guanidinium thiosulfate; buffers, such as Tris-Cl; detergents, such as SDS; chelators, such as EDTA; enzymes, such as proteinases and/or DNAases; and other reagents known to those of ordinary skill in the art that may be appropriate to the particular analysis to be carried out using the apparatus of the present invention.
Referring now to FIG. 4 , a cross-sectional view of an interventional device, such as a body-insertable appliance 81 fitted with a lysing core 101 , is shown. The lysing core 101 utilizes mechanical motion to disrupt cells in order to make the cell contents available for analysis by the RPAM (not shown). The use of a lysing device in conjunction with the RPAM system eliminates the need for potentially toxic reagents that are commonly used to open cells in vitro. The lysing head 105 consists here of a more or less hemispherical component that may be comprised of a metal or plastic, which is mounted at the distal end of a driveshaft 103 . Such driveshafts are well known for their ability to deliver torque and rotary motion from a proximal motor 107 or by hand control. As taught in this invention, motor 107 is one of a class of components shown in FIG. 2A as 75 which may be controlled by system CPU 71 , also shown in FIG. 2A . Numerous other lysing devices are known that may abrade, disrupt, dissolve, pressurize, vacuum, cavitate, or otherwise apply mechanical forces to a cell or cells that are effective to disrupt the cell and make its contents available for analysis. It should be pointed out that such damage to cells is usually minimized to avoid permanent damage to the organ, vessel, duct, or tissue being tested. The lysing head 105 need not be relatively large and may be made small enough so that it may easily pass through the device from the proximal end so that another device or implant may be inserted, if needed, through the same large lumen 83 . Such an implant may be a solid or porous, foraminous, or dissolvable seed, implant, stent, gel, or the like, which may carry therapeutic agents to a particular site in the body. This system provides the advantage that local conditions can be determined through use of the polydeoxynucleotide-readable array (afforded by the construction of the RPAM device as described herein); and, therefore, better and more precise application of appropriate medicaments, drugs, therapeutic genetically based substances, etc., is facilitated. Further advantages are provided in that the information is obtained at or near real time, and that information is obtainable from the exact location of a proposed therapeutic intervention. Such a device that may be used to place an implant is shown in FIG. 5 , which is a side view of a secondary insertable device 111 comprising a rotary, multifilar, flexible driveshaft 112 having a therapeutic tip 113 terminating in an anchoring device 115 shown as a screw form capable of being screwed into tissue until separable joint 117 breaks, after which the remaining part of insertable device 111 may be withdrawn. Driveshaft 112 may be hollow, to allow tether 119 to remain attached to therapeutic tip 113 . Tether material may be constructed of a wire to allow the sending and receiving of an electrical signal, or may simply be used as a retrieval device to retrieve any portion of the therapeutic tip that may remain after the need for it is over.
Numerous carrying devices may be used to deliver the RPAM. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a hollow needle 121 carrying the RPAM insertable appliance 81 . The advantage of a needle is that it allows the introduction of the RPAM into portions of the body where there is no natural passageway. This method allows the user to position the distal tip of the lysing head 105 in various positions with respect to the sharp needle tip 106 . The needle may be of stainless steel and may be inserted into body tissue such as muscle, breast, prostate, or cardiac tissue. The needle may be left in place, and the RPAM withdrawn temporarily to allow another appliance (not shown) to be introduced. Other carrying devices may include guidewires, balloon catheters, ultrasound catheters with both imaging or non-imaging, and rotatable or array configurations, introducer sheaths, balloon angioplasty catheters for use in the blood vessels of the heart, the extremities, and the vascular system, atherectomy catheters, and many other types of interventional devices, as well as intraoperative devices. The device of the invention may be used anywhere there is the need for fast, precise localized detection and analysis of nucleotides, proteins, or the like, either for diagnostic purposes, or to guide therapy which itself may be made more localized, and therefore site-specific. Such uses are economical and have less impact on surrounding tissue that is free of disease. The invention allows use of any agent that may change color as a result of the application of a local chemical to be read and includes, without limitation, such agents as litmus, photodynamic therapeutic agents, such as photofrin, fluorescent agents or dyes, staining dyes, luciferin, etc. The present invention permits analysis in a real time fashion without the need to remove and transport tissue specimens for later analysis.
While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A disposable high-density, optically readable polydeoxynucleotide array with integral fluorescence excitation and fluorescence emission channels is described. The compact array size allows integration into several types of interventional devices such as catheters, guidewires, needles, and trocars and may be used intraoperatively. Highly sensitive monitoring of the metabolic and disease pathways of cells in vivo under varying chemical, genetic, and environmental conditions is afforded. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of stretching continuously moving tubular fabric in a wet state and to apparatus for carrying out the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to improve the dimensional stability of tubular textile material, it is known for the textile material to be stretched in the wet state and then to be dried. Until now, this stretching of the tubular material has been carried out with the aid of mechanical stretching means (width holders) in which the tubular material is gripped in its edge region and is stretched widthways by gradual moving apart of the two gripping zones.
The principal disadvantage of this method is that the tubular material is considerably more stretched in the immediate proximity of the gripped edge region by the greater traction exerted there than in the central region between the gripped zones. Thus, in this known method, the tubular material is stretched unevenly, so that optimum improvement of the dimensional stability is not achieved.
For another purpose, namely for laying textile material in rope or tubular form during wet treatment (such as dyeing, washing, rinsing), it is also known to blow air into the tubular material in order to open out the creases which have formed (U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,209). However, no expansion forces are exerted on the material beyond the simple opening out of the tube.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to make further developments to a method of the type set out in the Field of the Invention in such a way that uniform stretching of the tubular material over its whole width is achieved without any mechanical action impairing the surface of the material.
This object is achieved according to the invention.
In the method according to the invention, the tubular material is introduced into the stretching zone with a lead. With a delivery speed higher than the removal speed, a greater length of tubular material is therefore introduced into the stretching zone than is removed. In addition, compressed air (in sufficient quantity and under sufficient pressure) is sprayed into the stretching zone, and the tubular material is sealed at the beginning and at the end of the stretching zone against the escape of air.
In the tests on which the invention is based, it was found that the extent of the stretching of the tubular material can be influenced very sensitively and accurately by regulating the delivery speed and/or the removal speed. If the width of the tubular material is measured after the stretching zone, then by regulation of the delivery and/or removal speed, the tubular material can be stretched accurately to the desired width. In contrast to the previously known mechanical method of stretching, in the pneumatic stretching method according to the invention, an absolutely uniform stretching of the tubular material over the whole width is achieved, since the same expansion forces act on all peripheral points and no zones of the tubular material are gripped.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing is a schematic view of an apparatus for practicing the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The schematically represented apparatus serves for stretching tubular material 1 in a stretching zone 2, the beginning and end of which are each defined by a pair of rollers 3, 4 and 5, 6 respectively. One roller of each pair, namely the rollers 4 and 6 respectively, is driven. In addition, the speed of rotation of the roller 4 of the pair of rollers provided at the beginning of the stretching zone is regulable.
The rollers 3 and 4 are arranged in a fluid tank 7 which is preferably filled with water and into which the tubular material 1 is led over a guide roller 8.
For spraying compressed air into the tubular material 1, a nozzle element 9 which butts against the outside of the tubular material 1 is provided at the beginning of the stretching zone 2, is supplied with compressed air by a pump 10 and contains at least one nozzle opening (not shown). The nozzle element 9 can either be arranged stationary or can run freely with the tubular material. In the latter case the openings of the nozzle element 9 which are not covered by the tubular material can either be sealed by a stationary seal or (accepting a certain loss of compressed air) can remain open.
Two guide rollers 11, 12 are arranged some distance before the rollers 5 and 6 located at the end of the stretching zone and cause the inflated tubular material 1 to run into the pair of rollers 5, 6 at a defined aperture angle which is not too great. In this way, the formation of creases in the tubular material 1 as it passes the pair of rollers 5, 6 is prevented.
After leaving the stretching zone 2, the tubular material 1 passes a reel 13, for example. The tubular material 1 is led between the pair of rollers 5, 6 and the reel 13 in a flat (planar) state and passes a measuring arrangement 14 which measures the width of the tubular material 1 which was stretched in the stretching zone 2 and is now in two layers.
The method according to the invention can be carried out using the illustrated apparatus, for example, in such a way that the roller 6 which removes the tubular material 1 from the stretching zone 2 is driven at a fixed speed so that the tubular material leaves the stretching zone at a predetermined removal speed. By contrast, the roller 4 which is provided at the beginning of the stretching zone 2 is driven as a function of the signal from the measuring arrangement 14 at such a speed that the tubular material 1 runs into the stretching zone 2 at a delivery speed which is higher than the removal speed. Furthermore, if compressed air is sprayed into the tubular material in sufficient quantity and at sufficient pressure through the nozzle element 9, then by regulating the drive speed of the roller 4 it is possible for the degree of stretching of the tubular material 1 taking place in the stretching zone 2 to be influenced very sensitively and accurately (and with quite a small delay in response). If the delivery speed is increased, then the stretching becomes greater, and the reverse applies. In the stretching zone 2 the fluid applied to the tubular material 1 in the fluid tank 7 seals the interior of the tubular material 1 against an escape of air. In addition, at the beginning and at the end of the stretching zone 2, the rollers 3, 4 and 5, 6 effect the necessary sealing of the stretching zone.
The following example should serve for further explanation of the invention. A tubular knit fine-ribbed cotton material comes as raw material for finishing with a tube width of 36 cm. The desired tube width of the finished material is 30 cm.
The material is treated in a bleaching plant, then rinsed, and then because of the longitudinal stretching has a tube width of 25 cm.
This material runs at 20 m/min into the gap formed by the rollers 3 and 4. The fluid level in the tank 7 is chosen so that the material coming out of the gap can in turn be fully wetted with water.
Air is passed to the wet fluid-covered tubular material by the pump 10 at a pressure approximately 1000 mm of water via a stationary pipe which is provided with a bore of 3 mm. In this way, the tubular material is filled with air. The rollers 11 and 12 ensure that the tubular material reaches the gap formed by the rollers 5 and 6 without distortion of the curvature. The pair of rollers formed by the rollers 5 and 6 run at a speed of 17 m/min. This results in a speed differential between the two pairs of transport rollers of 15%.
The material is squeezed hard between the rollers 5 and 6 so that it has a minimal water content, for example 70%. The material passes the measuring arrangement 14 with a tube width of 31 cm. In the subsequent drying, the material shrinks a little more lengthways and widthways so that the desired finished width of 30 cm is achieved and the length of material has low residual shrinkage values. | The invention relates to a method and to apparatus for stretching tubular material by blowing in compressed air, in which the delivery speed and/or the removal speed of the tubular material are regulated. In this way, a very uniform stretching of the tubular material is achieved without impairing the surface. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a multi-layered twisted nematic liquid crystal display panel wherein a plurality of layers of liquid crystal cells are disposed each having a so-called twisted nematic liquid crystal composition between a pair of plates with its spiral axis normal to the plates and its longitudinal axes of the liquid crystal molecules twisted approximately 90° in relation to the plates.
As is well known in the art, a twisted nematic liquid crystal display manifests a strong anisotropy and hence a viewing angle dependency in display contrast when being supplied with an effective voltage of an amplitude less than a three-fold value of the threshold level of its optical effects (cf. "Some Characteristics in Twisted Nematic Field Effect Liquid Crystal Displays" by Funada, Uede, Wada and Mito, Applied Physics, 44, 866, 1975). The viewing angle dependency is governed by the twisting direction (chirality) of liquid crystal molecules and the tilting direction (tilt angle) of the liquid crystal molecules with respect to a surface of a substrate. The liquid crystal molecules, therefore, bear the same chirality and tilt angle within a common liquid crystal cell, bringing a highest contrast area into agreement with the viewer's direction of observing the liquid crystal cell. This is of a significant importance in minufacturing twisted nematic liquid crystal cells with high quality of display (cf. Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 51/4996). As disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 50/794, a multi-layered twisted nematic liquid crystal display panel has been proposed in which such twisted nematic liquid crystal cells are built in a multi-layer fashion and an electrode structure is made to apply partially an electric field to respective ones of liquid crystal layers in the cells as well as a built-in drive circuit for applying desired voltage levels to respective electrodes in the cells. This multilayered twisted nematic liquid crystal display panel is advantageous over a single layer panel as follows:
(1) Diverse displays are possible;
(2) Electro-optical logic circuits can be formed; and
(3) The number of picture elements can increase by an increase in the number of the cells when the length of time (duty factor) where a voltage is applied to respective picture elements is fixed in driving the panel in a multiplexing manner. Nevertheless, the display panel is difficult to reduce to practice primarily because of deterioration of display quality.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful display panel with a multiplicity of twisted nematic liquid crystal cells which is absent of any deterioration of display performances.
According to the present invention, a multi-layered liquid crystal display device comprises a stack of liquid crystal layers in which the longitudinal axes of the liquid crystal molecules extend spirally, said liquid crystal layers being disposed in parallel with the spiral axes, a voltage supply means for supplying a voltage to at least a portion of said liquid crystal layers for conversion of the molecular alignment and a polarizer means for making visible the conversion of the molecular alignment. Each of the liquid crystal layers is disposed in an orientation vector between each pair of plates so as to bring its good display contrast area following the conversion of the molecular alignment into agreement with each other pair of plates with regard to a whole display area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for further objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of construction of a two-layer liquid crystal display device;
FIGS. 2(A) through 2(E) are diagrams showing alignment of liquid crystal molecules for explanation of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an explanation diagram for definition of a vector r indicative of alignment of liquid crystal molecules;
FIGS. 4(A) through 4(E) are diagrams showing alignment of liquid crystal molecules in one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electrode structure of the display device of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanation diagrams of the display operation of the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of still another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a construction of a two-layer twisted nematic liquid crystal display panel. Three transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c of glass, etc., are disposed vis-a-vis and nematic liquid crystal layers (or cholesteric liquid crystal layers with a long pitch) 2a and 2b are intervened between the spacings between the respective transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c. In order to apply an enabling voltage to the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b, the transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c are coated with transparent electrodes 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of In 2 O 3 , etc., respectively. Electrodes 3a and 3b are connected to a voltage source 4a to drive the liquid crystal layer 2a and the electrodes 3c and 3d are connected to a voltage source 4b to drive the liquid crystal layer 2b. The surfaces of the transparent electrodes 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d and the transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c facing against the liquid crystal layers are coated with alignment layers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d after being subjected to alignment treatment such as rubbing or slant evaporation for determining the direction of alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. The transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c are sealed at their peripheral edges by means of a proper sealant such as epoxy resin and frit glass. Linear polarizer filters 7a and 7b or iodine systems, polyene dye systems, etc., are disposed outside the transparent plates 1a and 1c. A scattering reflective plate 8 is provided at the back of the liquid crystal panel. The polarizer filters 7a and 7b make visible the display upon the conversion of the direction of the molecular alignment. By applying a voltage to the transparent electrodes a visual display is provided for the viewer through optical effects caused by the conversion of the direction of the molecular alignment in the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b.
FIGS. 2(A) through 2(E) depict the molecular alignment on the alignment layers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d and the whole of the liquid crystal panel, wherein FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) show the orientation vectors of the liquid crystal layer 2a. FIGS. 2(A) depicts the molecular alignment on the alignment layer 5a and FIG. 2(B) depicts that on the alignment layer 5b. It should be noted that the twisting direction is left-handed or counterclockwise. FIGS. 2(C) and 2(D) show the orientation vectors of the liquid crystal layer 2b wherein FIG. 2(C) depicts the molecular alignment on the alignment layer 5c and FIG. 2(D) depicts that on the alignment layer 5d. Note that the twisting direction is left-handed. In the drawings r 2 2 , r 1 2 , r 2 1 , and r 1 1 represent the orientation vector of the liquid crystal molecules.
FIG. 3 is an explanation diagram of a tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules. As is obvious from FIG. 3, r represents the direction where the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b have a tilt angle Δθ with respect to the transparent plates 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d.
In the case where the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b show the molecular alignment as shown in FIG. 2, the upper and lower liquid crystal cells have areas where the viewing direction is different and thus provide no uniform display contrast for the viewer's eye with the resulting deterioration of display quality when an electric field is applied to the overall display area. In other words, as indicated in FIG. 2(E), the liquid crystal layer 2a shows a good display contrast in the region 10 defined by the dotted lines and the liquid crystal layer 2b a good display contrast in the region 11 defined by the hatch lines so that both the good display contrast areas afforded by the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b disagree. This presents a severe problem with the display performances of the multi-layered liquid crystal display panel.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the orientation vectors of the respective liquid crystal layers are periodic and symmetric with respect to the spiral axis to place all the good contrast regions of the respective liquid crystal layers into agreement. FIGS. 4(A) through 4(E) depict the orientation vectors of the liquid crystal molecules in the two-layered structure liquid crystal display panel according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The structure of the two-layered liquid crystal display panel is similar to that as shown in FIG. 1. The transparent plates 1a, 1b and 1c are made from soda glass of 0.7 mm-3 mm thick. The transparent electrodes 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are patterned by means of etching, etc. and made from In 2 O 3 . The alignment layers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are made in a thin film by electron beam deposition of SiO 2 and then rubbed in a specific direction with cloth, etc. The liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b are approximately 7μm thick and include a biphenyl liquid crystal (ROTN 403 by Roche) containing a slight amount of cholesteryl nonanoate. It is desirable that the liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b comprise the same liquid crystal material and have the same thickness, in which case the second layer compensates for an elliptical polarization component occurring within the first layer. This provided a high contrast for the multi-layered liquid crystal panel without any interfering color in a background.
From the results of the inventors' experiments it is desirable that the thicknesses di and dj of the liquid crystal layers be within the range of:
0.7≦dj/di≦1.4
In other words, di and dj are preferably between 5μm and 10μm.
The sealants 6a and 6b are of epoxy resin useful for screen printing. The polarizer filters 7a and 7b are typically L-83-18 marketed by Sanritsu Electric Co. The scattering reflection plate 8 is an aluminium plate subject to sandblast. FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) show the orientation vectors of the liquid crystal layer 2a wherein the alignment layer 5a has a vector r 2 2 and the alignment layer 5b has a vector r 1 2 . The orientation vectors of the liquid crystal layer 2b, on the other hand, are illustrated in FIGS. 4(C) and 4(D) wherein the alignment layer 5c has a vector r 2 1 . The tilt angle Δθ is within the range of 2°-3°.
With such an arrangement, the good display contrast areas of the two liquid crystal layers 2a and 2b are located in the region 12 as defined by the hatch lines and therefore in agreement with each other.
FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an electrode structure of the above illustrated two-layered liquid crystal display panel, wherein a display division 10 is defined by the electrode groups 3a and 3b and another display division 11 by the electrode groups 3c and 3d. When being viewed from the normal direction (Z direction), the distance (r') between the two adjacent display divisions along the X axis is equal to the distance (r) within the same display division.
In the case where the twisted nematic field effect mode display cell 12 is driven in a multiplexing manner as shown in FIG. 6, the good display contrast area 13 is confined in a viewing angle region remote from the specific Z axis direction or the normal line direction. When the display panel as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 is observed from the angle θ of FIG. 6, the substantial distance r o ' of the display divisions 10 and 11 depends on the viewing angle θ because of the optical thickness l of the plate 16 being finite. For example, as indicated in FIG. 7, r 0 '<r, r 0 '=r and r 0 '>r when -θ 0 <θ<0, θ=0 and θ>0, respectively. The display divisions 10 and 11 overlap with each other in the case that θ<-θ 0 . More particularly, when θ>0 and the display panel of FIG. 7 is observed at the viewing angle θ as shown in FIG. 6, r 0 '>r indicating that the distance r 0 ' between the two adjacent display areas 10 and 11 differs from the distance r within the same display division, with the result of a visual display of a "strange line".
According to the above illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the transparent electrodes 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are determined such that the respective display areas of the liquid crystal layers do not overlap with each other and the X axis distance r 0 ' between the two adjacent imaging divisions is substantially equal to the X axis direction r within the same display division or γ>r 0 when the liquid crystal cell is observed from the good display contrast area.
While in an embodiment shown in FIG. 8 the display divisions 10 and 11 overlap with each other when being seen from the normal line direction and the direction of θ<0, the threshold voltage level of the electro-optical effects within the area where θ<0 or θ=0 is higher than that within the area where θ>0, causing no difference in display contrast. It goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to liquid crystal display panels having three or more liquid crystal layers.
Whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. | A multi-layered liquid crystal display device has a stack of liquid crystal layers. Each of the liquid crystal layers is disposed in such an orientation vector between each pair of plates as to bring its good display contrast area following the conversion of the molecular alignment into agreement with each other with regard to a whole display area. | 6 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/541,249, filed Jul. 3, 2012 (pending). U.S. application Ser. No. 13/541,249 is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/597,370, filed Jun. 23, 2010 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,738). U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,738 was filed as a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/CA08/00786, filed Apr. 25, 2008. International Application No. PCT/CA08/00786 cites the priority of Provisional U.S. Application No. 60/924,006, filed Apr. 26, 2007.
FIELD
This invention relates to fluid compositions and their use in controlling proppant flowback after a hydraulic fracturing treatment and in reducing formation sand production along with fluids in poorly consolidated formations.
BACKGROUND
Hydraulic fracturing operations are used extensively in the petroleum industry to enhance oil and gas production. In a hydraulic fracturing operation, a fracturing fluid is injected through a wellbore into a subterranean formation at a pressure sufficient to initiate fractures to increase oil and gas production.
Frequently, particulates, called proppants, are suspended in the fracturing fluid and transported into the fractures as a slurry. Proppants include sand, ceramic particles, glass spheres, bauxite (aluminum oxide), resin coated proppants, synthetic polymeric beads, and the like. Among them, sand is by far the most commonly used proppant.
Fracturing fluids in common use include aqueous and non-aqueous ones including hydrocarbon, methanol and liquid carbon dioxide fluids. The most commonly used fracturing fluids are aqueous fluids including water, brines, water containing polymers or viscoelastic surfactants and foam fluids.
At the last stage of a fracturing treatment, fracturing fluid is flowed back to the surface and proppants are left in the fractures to prevent them from closing back after the hydraulic fracturing pressure is released. The proppant filled fractures provide high conductive channels that allow oil and/or gas to seep through to the wellbore more efficiently. The conductivity of the proppant packs formed after proppant settles in the fractures plays a dominant role in increasing oil and gas production.
However, it is not unusual for a significant amount of proppant to be carried out of the fractures and into the well bore along with the fluids being flowed back out the well. This process is known as proppant flowback. Proppant flowback is highly undesirable since it not only reduces the amount of proppants remaining in the fractures resulting in less conductive channels, but also causes significant operational difficulties. It has long plagued the petroleum industry because of its adverse effect on well productivity and equipment.
Numerous methods have been attempted in an effort to find a solution to the problem of proppant flowback. The commonly used method is the use of so-called “resin-coated proppants”. The outer surfaces of the resin-coated proppants have an adherent resin coating so that the proppant grains are bonded to each other under suitable conditions forming a permeable barrier and reducing the proppant flowback.
The substrate materials for the resin-coated proppants include sand, glass beads and organic materials such as shells or seeds. The resins used include epoxy, urea aldehyde, phenol-aldehyde, furfural alcohol and furfural. The resin-coated proppants can be either pre-cured or can be cured by an over-flush of a chemical binding agent, commonly known as activator, once the proppants are in place.
Different binding agents have been used. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,492,147 and 3,935,339 disclose compositions and methods of coating solid particulates with different resins. The particulates to be coated include sand, nut shells, glass beads, and aluminum pellets. The resins used include urea-aldehyde resins, phenol-aldehyde resins, epoxy resins, furfuryl alcohol resins, and polyester or alkyl resins. The resins can be in pure form or mixtures containing curing agents, coupling agents or other additives. Other examples of resins and resin mixtures for proppants are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,643,669; 5,916,933; 6,059,034 and 6,328,105.
However, there are significant limitations to the use of resin-coated proppants. For example, resin-coated proppants are much more expensive than normal sands, especially considering that a fracturing treatment usually employs tons of proppants in a single well. Normally, when the formation temperature is below 60° C., activators are required to make the resin-coated proppants bind together. This increases the cost.
Thus, the use of resin-coated proppants is limited by their high cost to only certain types of wells, or to use in only the final stages of a fracturing treatment, also known as the “tail-in” of proppants, where the last few tons of proppants are pumped into the fracture. For less economically viable wells, application of resin-coated proppants often becomes cost prohibitive.
During hydrocarbon production, especially from poorly consolidated formations, small particulates, typically of sand, often flow into the wellbore along with produced fluids. This is because the formation sands in poorly consolidated formations are bonded together with insufficient bond strength to withstand the forces exerted by the fluids flowing through and are readily entrained by the produced fluids flowing out of the well.
The produced sand erodes surface and subterranean equipment, and requires a removal process before the hydrocarbon can be processed. Different methods have been tried in an effort to reduce formation sand production. One approach employed is to filter the produced fluids through a gravel pack retained by a screen in the wellbore, where the particulates are trapped by the gravel pack. This technique is known as gravel packing. However, this technique is relatively time consuming and expensive. The gravel and the screen can be plugged and eroded by the sand within a relatively short period of time.
Another method that has been employed in some instances is to inject various resins into a formation to strengthen the binding of formation sands. Such an approach, however, results in uncertainty and sometimes creates undesirable results. For example, due to the uncertainty in controlling the chemical reaction, the resin may set in the well bore itself rather than in the poorly consolidated producing zone. Another problem encountered in the use of resin compositions is that the resins normally have short shelf lives. For example, it can lead to costly waste if the operation using the resin is postponed after the resin is mixed.
Thus, it is highly desirable to have a cost effective composition and a method that can control proppant flowback after fracturing treatment. It is also highly desirable to have a composition and a method of reducing formation sand production from the poorly consolidated formation.
SUMMARY
The present invention in one embodiment relates to an aqueous slurry composition having water, particulates, a chemical compound for rendering the surface of the particulates hydrophobic and an oil.
The present invention in another embodiment relates to a method of controlling sand in a hydrocarbon producing formation comprising the steps of mixing water, particulates and a chemical compound for rendering the surface of the particulates hydrophobic, pumping the mixture into the formation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Aggregation phenomena induced by hydrophobic interaction in water are observed everywhere, in nature, industrial practice, as well as in daily life. In general, and without being bound by theory, the hydrophobic interaction refers to the attractive forces between two or more apolar particles in water. When the hydrophobic interaction becomes sufficiently strong, the hydrophobic particles come together to further reduce the surface energy, essentially bridging the particles together and resulting in the formation of particle aggregations, known as hydrophobic aggregations. It is also known that micro-bubbles attached to hydrophobic particle surfaces also tend to bridge the particles together.
In this invention the concept of hydrophobic aggregation is applied to develop compositions and methods to control proppant flowback as well as to reduce formation sand production during well production. Unlike in conventional approaches, where attention is focused on making proppants or sand particles sticky through formation of chemical bonds between resins coated on the particle surfaces, in the present invention the attention is focused on making particle aggregations by bridging the particles through strong hydrophobic force or micro-bubbles. Moreover, the hydrophobic surfaces of the particles induced by the present compositions reduce the friction between the particles and water making them harder to be entrained by fluids flowing out of the well.
In general, only a limited amount of agents is required in the present invention, and the field operational is simple.
There are different ways of carrying out the invention. For example, during a fracturing operation, a proppant, for example, sand, which is naturally hydrophilic and can be easily water wetted, is mixed with a fluid containing a chemical agent, referred as hydrophobizing agent, which makes the sand surface hydrophobic. The hydrophobizing agent can be simply added into a sand slurry comprising sand and fracturing fluid which is pumped down the well. Depending on the hydrophobizing agent used and the application conditions, different fracturing fluids (aqueous or non-aqueous fluids) can be used. Aqueous fluid is normally preferred. Of particular interest as a fracturing fluid, is water, or brine or water containing a small amount of a friction reducing agent, also known as slick-water.
The hydrophobizing agent can be applied throughout the proppant stage or during a portion of the proppant stage such as the last portion of the proppant stage, i.e., tail-in. Alternatively, sand can be hydrophobized first and dried and then used to make a slurry and pumped into fracture.
It has been discovered that when a small amount of an oil, including hydrocarbon oil and silicone oil, is mixed into the aqueous slurry containing the hydrophobized sands, the hydrophobic aggregation is enhanced significantly. The possible explanation for this is that the concentration of oil among the hydrophobic sands may further enhance the bridge between sand grains.
The present invention can be used in a number of ways. For example, in a fracture operation, proppant such as sand is mixed with a hydrophobizing agent in water based slurry and pumped into the fractures, and then followed by over flush with oil or water containing a small amount of oil to strengthen the bridge between the sand grains. Similarly, the same operation can be applied in the tail-in stage. Alternatively the slurry containing a hydrophobizing agent can be pumped into the fracture forming the proppant pack, which can be further consolidated by oil or condensate contained in the formation. Or the pre-hydrophobized sand is used as proppant and then followed by flushing with water, containing small amount of oil. Or the pre-hydrophobized sand is used as proppant which can be further consolidated by oil or condensate contained in the formation. Or the pre-hydrophobized sand is tailed in and followed by flushing with water containing small amount of oil. In all such operations, a gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or air can be mixed into the fluid.
There are different ways of pre-treating the solid surface hydrophobic. For example, one may thoroughly mix the proppants, preferable sands, with a fluid containing the appropriate hydrophobizing agent for certain period of time. After the proppant grains are dried, they can be used in fracturing operations. Different fluids can be used. Different hydrophobizing agents may need different conditions to interact with the solid surface. When an aqueous fluid is used, the pH of the fluid may also play a role.
Besides controlling proppant flowback in hydraulic fracturing treatments, the present invention is also useful in reducing formation sand production during well production. In the majority of cases, sand production increases substantially when wells begin to produce water. The formation sand is normally hydrophilic, or water-wet, and therefore is easily entrained by a flowing water phase. Depending on the hydrophobizing agent used and the operational conditions, different carrying fluids, aqueous or non-aqueous, can be used. There are different methods, according to the present invention, to treat a formation to reduce formation sand production. For example, a fluid, preferably an aqueous fluid, containing an appropriate amount of hydrophobizing agent can be injected into the poorly consolidated formation. After the sand grains become hydrophobic they tend to aggregate together. The hydrophobic surfaces also reduce the dragging force exerted by the aqueous fluid making them more difficult to be entrained by the formation fluid. If the water phase contains certain amount of oil, the hydrophobic aggregation between sand grains can be further enhanced. Alternatively, the fluid contain the hydrophobizing agent can be first injected into the poorly consolidated formation, and then followed by injecting small volume of oil or a fluid containing oil. In all these applications, a gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or air can be mixed into the fluid.
Also, the compositions and methods of the present invention can be used in gravel pack operations, where the slurry containing hydrophobised sands are added in the well bore to remediate sand production.
There are various types of hydrophobizing agents for sand, which can be used in the present invention. For example, it is known that many organosilicon compounds including organosiloxane, organosilane, fluoroorganosiloxane and fluoro-organosilane compounds are commonly used to render various surfaces hydrophobic. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,537,595; 5,240,760; 5,798,144; 6,323,268; 6,403,163; 6,524,597 and 6,830,811 which are incorporated herein by reference for such teachings.
Organosilanes are compounds containing silicon to carbon bonds. Organosiloxanes are compounds containing Si—O—Si bonds. Polysiloxanes are compounds in which the elements silicon and oxygen alternate in the molecular skeleton, i.e., Si—O—Si bonds are repeated. The simplest polysiloxanes are polydimethylsiloxanes.
Polysiloxane compounds can be modified by various organic substitutes having different numbers of carbons, which may contain N, S, or P moieties that impart desired characteristics. For example, cationic polysiloxanes are compounds in which organic cationic groups are attached to the polysiloxane chain, either at the middle or the end. Normally the organic cationic group may contain a hydroxyl group or other functional groups containing N or O. The most common organic cationic groups are alkyl amine derivatives including secondary, tertiary and quaternary amines (for example, quaternary polysiloxanes including, quaternary polysiloxanes including mono- as well as, di-quaternary polysiloxanes, amido quaternary polysiloxanes, imidazoline quaternary polysiloxanes and carboxy quaternary polysiloxanes.
Similarly, the polysiloxane can be modified by organic amphoteric groups, where one or more organic amphoteric groups are attached to the polysiloxane chain, either at the middle or the end, and include betaine polysiloxancs and phosphobetaine polysiloxanes.
Similarly, the polysiloxane can be modified by organic anionic groups, where one or more organic anionic groups are attached to the polysiloxane chain, either at the middle or the end, including sulfate polysiloxanes, phosphate polysiloxanes, carboxylate polysiloxanes, sulfonate polysiloxanes, thiosulfate polysiloxanes. The organosiloxane compounds also include alkylsiloxanes including hexamethylcydotrisiloxane, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, decamethylcydopentasiloxane, hexamethyldisiloxane, hexaethyldisiloxane, 1,3-divinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane, octamethyltrisiloxane, decamethyltetrasiloxane.
The organosilane compounds include alkylchlorosilane, for example methyltrichlorosilane, dimethylchlorosilane, trimethylchlorosilane, octadecyltrichlorosilane; alkyl-alkoxysilane compounds, for example methyl-, propyl-, isobutyl- and octyltrialkoxysilanes, and fluoro-organosilane compounds, for example, 2-(n-perfluoro-octyl)-ethyltriethoxysilane, and perfluorooctyldimethyl chlorosilane.
Other types of chemical compounds, which are not organosilicon compounds, which can be used to render particulate surface hydrophobic are certain fluoro-substituted compounds, for example certain fluoro-organic compounds including cationic fluoro-organic compounds.
Further information regarding organosilicon compounds can be found in Silicone Surfactants (Randal M. Hill, 1999) and the references therein, and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,046,795; 4,537,595; 4,564,456; 4,689,085; 4,960,845; 5,098,979; 5,149,765; 5,209,775; 5,240,760; 5,256,805; 5,359,104; 6,132,638 and 6,830,811 and Canadian Patent No. 2,213,168 which are incorporated herein by reference for such teachings.
Organosilanes can be represented by the formula
R n SiX (4-n) (I)
wherein R is an organic radical having 1-50 carbon atoms that may possess functionality containing N, S, or P moieties that imparts desired characteristics, X is a halogen, alkoxy, acyloxy or amine and n has a value of 0-3. Examples of organosilanes include:
CH 3 SiCl 3 , CH 3 CH 2 SiCl 3 , (CH 3 ) 2 SiCl 2 , (CH 3 CH 2 ) 2 SiCl 2 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 SiCl 2 , (C 6 H 5 )SiCl 3 , (CH 3 ) 3 SiCl, CH 3 HSiCl 2 , (CH 3 ) 2 HSiCl, CH 3 SiBr 3 , (C 6 H 5 )SiBr 3 , (CH 3 ) 2 SiBr 2 , (CH 3 CH 2 ) 2 SiBr 2 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 SiBr 2 , (CH 3 ) 3 SiBr, CH 3 HSiBr 2 , (CH 3 )HSiBr, Si(OCH 3 ) 4 , CH 3 Si(OCH 3 ) 3 , CH 3 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 3 , CH 3 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 , CH 3 Si[O(CH 2 ) 3 CH 3 ] 3 , CH 3 CH 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 3 , C 6 H 5 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 3 , C 6 H 5 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 3 , CH 2 ═CHCH 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 3 , (CH 3 ) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 2 ═CH)Si(CH 3 ) 2 Cl, (CH 3 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 2 , (CH 3 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ) 2 , (CH 3 ) 2 Si[O(CH 2 ) 3 CH 3 ] 2 , (CH 3 CH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 2 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , (C 6 H 5 CH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 2 , (CH 2 ═CH) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 2 ═CHCH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 3 ) 3 SiOCH 3 , CH 3 HSi(OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 3 ) 2 HSi(OCH 3 ), CH 3 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 , (CH 2 ═CHCH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 2 ═CHCH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , (C 6 H 5 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 3 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , CH 2 ═CH) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , (CH 2 ═CHCH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , (C 6 H 3 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 , CH 3 Si(CH 3 COO) 3 , 3-aminotriethoxysilane, methyldiethylchlorosilane, butyltrichlorosilane, diphenyldichlorosilane, vinyltrichlorosilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, vinyltris(methoxyethoxy)silane, methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, aminopropyltriethoxysilane, divinyldi-2-methoxysilane, ethyltributoxysilane, isobutyltrimethoxysilane, hexyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, dihexyldimethoxysilane, octadecyltrichiorosilane, octadecyltrimethoxysilane, octadecyldimethylchlorosilane, octadecyldimethylmethoxysilane and quaternary ammonium silanes including 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium bromide, 3-(trimethylethoxysilylpropyl)didecylmethyl ammonium chloride, triethoxysilyl soyapropyl dimonium chloride, 3-(trimethylethoxysilylpropyl)didecylmethyl ammonium bromide, 3-(trimethylethoxysilylpropyl)didecylmethyl ammonium bromide, triethoxysilyl soyapropyl dimonium bromide, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 P + (C 6 H 5 ) 3 Cl—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 P + (C 6 H 5 ) 3 Br—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 P + (CH 3 ) 3 Cl—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 P + (C 6 H 13 ) 3 Cl—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (CH 3 ) 2 C 4 H 9 Cl, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (CH 3 ) 2 CH 2 C 6 H 5 Cl—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (CH 3 ) 2 CH 2 CH 2 OHCl—, (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (C 2 H 5 ) 3 Cl—, (C 2 H 5 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (CH 3 ) 2 C 18 H 37 Cl—.
Among different organosiloxane compounds which are useful for the present invention, polysiloxanes modified with organic amphoteric or cationic groups including organic betaine polysiloxanes and organic quaternary polysiloxanes are examples. One type of betaine polysiloxane or quaternary polysiloxane is represented by the formula
wherein each of the groups R 1 to R 6 , and R 8 to R 10 represents an alkyl containing 1-6 carbon atoms, typically a methyl group, R 7 represents an organic betaine group for betaine polysiloxane, or an organic quaternary group for quaternary polysiloxane, and have different numbers of carbon atoms, and may contain a hydroxyl group or other functional groups containing N, P or S, and m and n are from 1 to 200. For example, one type of quaternary polysiloxanes is when R 7 is represented by the group
wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 are alkyl groups with 1 to 22 carbon atoms or alkenyl groups with 2 to 22 carbon atoms. R 4 , R 5 , R 7 are alkyl groups with 1 to 22 carbon atoms or alkenyl groups with 2 to 22 carbon atoms; R 6 is —O— or the NR 8 group, R 8 being an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl group with 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a hydrogen group; Z is a bivalent hydrocarbon group with at least 4 carbon atoms, which may have a hydroxyl group and may be interrupted by an oxygen atom, an amino group or an amide group; x is 2 to 4; The R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 7 may be the same or the different, and X— is an inorganic or organic anion including Cl″ and CH 3 COO—.
Examples of organic quaternary groups include [R—N + (CH3) 2 -CH 2 CH(OH)CH2-O—(CH 2 ) 3 —](CH3COO—), wherein R is an alkyl group containing from 1-22 carbons or an benzyl radical and CH3COO— an anion. Examples of organic betaine include —(CH 2 ) 3 —O—CH 2 CH(OH)(CH 2 )—N + (CH3) 2 CH 2 COO—. Such compounds are commercial available. Betaine polysiloxane copolyol is one of examples. It should be understood that cationic polysiloxanes include compounds represented by formula (II), wherein R 7 represents other organic amine derivatives including organic primary, secondary and tertiary amines.
Other examples of organo-modified polysiloxanes include di-betaine polysiloxanes and di-quaternary polysiloxanes, where two betain or quaternary groups are attached to the siloxane chain. One type of the di-betaine polysiloxane and di-quaternary polysiloxane can be represented by the formula
wherein the groups R 12 to R 17 each represents an alkyl containing 1-6 carbon atoms, typically a methyl group, both R 11 and R 18 group represent an organic betaine group for di-betaine polysiloxanes or an organic quaternary group for di-quaternary, and have different numbers of carbon atoms and may contain a hydroxyl group or other functional groups containing N, P or S, and m is from 1 to 200. For example, one type of di-quaternary polysiloxanes is when R 11 and R 18 are represented by the group
wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , Z, X— and x are the same as defined above. Such compounds are commercially available. Quaternium 80 (INCI) is one of the commercial examples.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that cationic polysiloxanes include compounds represented by formula (III), wherein R 11 and R 18 represents other organic amine derivatives including organic primary, secondary and tertiary amines. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are different mona- and di-quatemary polysiloxanes, mono- and di-betaine polysiloxanes and other organo-modified polysiloxane compounds which can be used to render the solid surfaces hydrophobic and are useful in the present invention. These compounds are widely used in personal care and other products, for example as discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,161; 4,654,161; 4,891,166; 4,898,957; 4,933,327; 5,166,297; 5,235,082; 5,306,434; 5,474,835; 5,616,758; 5,798,144; 6,277,361; 6,482,969; 6,323,268 and 6,696,052 which are incorporated herein by reference for such teachings.
Another example of organosilicon compounds which can be used in the composition of the present invention are fluoro-organosilane or fluroorganosiloxane compounds in which at least part of the organic radicals in the silane or siloxane compounds are fluorinated. Suitable examples are fluorinated chlorosilanes or fluorinated alkoxysilanes including 2(n-perfluorooctyl)ethyltriethoxysilane, perfluoro-octyldimethylchlorosilane,
(CF 3 CH 2 CH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 2 , CF 3 CH 2 CH 2 Si(OCH 3 ) 3 , (CF 3 CH 2 CH 2 ) 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 2 and CF 3 CH 2 CH 2 Si(OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 ) 3 and (CH 3 O) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 3 N + (CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 3 NHC(O)(CF 2 ) 6 CF 3 Cl—.
Other compounds which can be used, but less preferable, are fluoro-substituted compounds, which are not organic silicon compounds, for example, certain fluoro-organic compounds.
The following provides several non-limiting examples of compositions and methods according to the present invention.
Example 1
300 g of 20/40 US mesh frac sand was added into 1000 ml of water containing 2 ml of a solution containing 20 vol % Tegopren 6924, a di-quaternary polydimethylsiloxane from Degussa Corp., and 80 vol % of ethylene glycol mono-butyl ether, and 1 ml of TEGO Betaine 810, capryl/capramidopropyl betaine, an amphoteric hydrocarbon surfactant from Degussa Corp. The slurry was shaken up and then let stand to allow sands settle down. When tilted slowly, the settled sand tended to move as cohesive masses. After 10 ml of silicon oil, where its viscosity is 200 cp, was mixed into the shiny and shaken up sand grains were visually observed to clump together forming strong bridge among each other.
The solution was decanted, and the sand was dried overnight at the room temperature for further tests.
Example 2
200 g of pre-treated sand according to Example 1 was placed in a fluid 1055 chamber to form a sand pack and wetted with water. Afterward, 300 ml of water was allowed to filter from the top through the sand pack. The time was stopped when water drops slowed to less than one every five seconds. Same test using untreated sand was carried out as the reference. The average filter time over 6 runs for the pre-treated sand was 2 minutes and 5 seconds, while it was 5 minutes for the untreated sand.
Example 3
200 g of pre-treated sand according to Example 1 was placed in a fluid loss chamber to form a sand pack and wetted with kerosene. Afterward, 300 ml of kerosene was allowed to filter from the top through the sand pack. The time was stopped when kerosene drops slowed to less than one every five seconds. Same test using untreated sand was carried out as the reference. The average filter time over 5 runs for the pre-treated sand was 3 minutes and 2 seconds, while it was 3 minutes and 28 seconds for the untreated sand.
Example 4
100 ml of water and 25 grams of 30/50 US mesh fracturing sands were added into each of two glass bottles (200 ml). The first sample was used as the reference. In the second sample, 2 ml of a solution containing 20% Tegopren 6924 and 80% of ethylene glycol mono-butyl ether, and 0.5 ml of kerosene were added. The slurry was shaken up and then let stand to allow sands settle down. When tilted slowly, the settled sand tended to move as cohesive masses. Sand grains were visually observed to clump together forming strong bridge among each others.
Example 5
100 ml of water and 25 grains of 30/50 US mesh fracturing sands were added into each of two glass bottles (200 ml). The first sample was used as the reference. In the second sample, 2 ml of a solution containing 20% Tegopren 6924 and 80% of ethylene glycol mono-butyl ether, and 0.5 ml of frac oil were added. The slurry was shaken up and then let stand to allow sands settle down. When tilted slowly, the settled sand tended to move as cohesive masses. Sand grains were visually observed to clump together forming strong bridge among each others. | An aqueous slurry composition for use in industries such as petroleum and pipeline industries that includes: a particulate, an aqueous carrier fluid, a chemical compound that renders the particulate surface hydrophobic, and a small amount of an oil. The slurry is produced by rendering the surface of the particulate hydrophobic during or before the making of the slurry. The addition of the oil greatly enhances the aggregation potential of the hydrophobically modified particulates once placed in the well bore. | 4 |
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 National Stage Application of PCT/EP2012/059963, filed on May 29, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to Serial No. DE 10 2011 076 919.6, filed on Jun. 3, 2011 in Germany, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to a battery cell and to a battery or a battery cell module which comprises a number of the battery cells according to the disclosure. The present disclosure also relates to a method for producing a battery cell according to the disclosure and to a motor vehicle.
The present disclosure particularly concerns lithium-ion battery cells and lithium-ion batteries or corresponding battery cell modules.
Such lithium-ion cells usually comprise an electrode which allows the reversible insertion of ions in a process known as intercalation and their extraction again in a process known as deintercalation. The intercalation takes place during the charging process of the battery cell and the deintercalation takes place during the discharging of the battery cell for supplying power to electrical units.
DE 10 2008 015 965 A1 discloses a galvanic element with a foil seal which is designed as an energy store for chip cards. The galvanic element is a primary battery. This galvanic element merely comprises two electrode layers that are separated by a separator. The respective electrode layers contact copper plates, which partially form the housing of the galvanic element. On account of the low capacitance and the lack of rechargability, the galvanic element presented in this document is not suitable for use in the automotive sector. Furthermore, on account of the purely planar structure, the construction presented cannot be used for the stacked electrodes (known as the stack principle or pouch cells) or rolled electrodes (jelly roll) with lateral contacting that are customary in automobile applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,994 B2 discloses a battery in which a substantially conventional battery cell has a casing that is formed by an upper shell and a lower shell.
Electrical contacting of the battery cell can take place through clearances in this casing. The casing is made of a non-conducting material and accordingly acts as an electrical insulator and also as a guard against mechanically induced damage.
Conventional lithium-ion batteries often have design features that have noticeable adverse effect in terms of the effort involved in production and the associated production costs. With respect to the individual battery cell, there is for example the necessary leading through the battery housing of an electrical connection between the electrodes in the battery cell housing and the respective pole binders or terminals. This often makes it necessary to insulate the one-part battery housing from at least one pole of such an electrode-terminal connection. The fixed arrangement of the pole binders or terminals on specific sides of the battery cells means that they only have a low degree of flexibility with regard to the interconnection of a number of battery cells to form a battery cell module. In the case of the battery cells, in which the housing is at the potential of one pole, an additional insulation of the cell housing, for example by varnishing or encapsulation in plastic, has to be provided for the purposes of insulation for a series connection.
SUMMARY
The disclosure provides a battery cell, and in particular a lithium-ion battery cell, which comprises a housing and, in the housing, at least one electrode assembly, in which electrodes are arranged in more than two layers in a cross section, the housing having at least two housing elements that substantially separate the electrode assembly from the surroundings. According to the disclosure, it is provided that a first housing element is electrically connected to the positive pole of the electrode assembly and a second housing element is electrically connected to the negative pole of the electrode assembly, so that the battery cell can be electrically contacted on the first housing element and on the second housing element. In this case, one or more electrode assemblies can be arranged in the housing. Such an electrode assembly may for example take the form of what is known as a jelly roll, that is to say a wound arrangement in which two electrodes and a separator arranged in between form three layers, so that in a section through this roll it has significantly more than two electrode layers although it only comprises two electrodes. In the case of an arrangement of the electrodes in what is known as a stack, a multiplicity of electrodes are arranged alternately one behind the other, so that such an electrode assembly consequently likewise has electrodes in more than two layers in a cross section. The battery cell according to the disclosure is preferably what is known as a secondary battery, that is to say it is designed to be rechargeable. The first and second housing elements together form the outer side of the battery cell, via which the electrical contact with the battery cell can be established, so that the battery cell can be charged and discharged via the first and second housing elements. That is to say that the housing elements form the terminals of the battery cell. An important aspect of the present disclosure is therefore the continuation of the electrical insulation of the two poles of the electrode assembly on the housing level. This makes it possible to dispense completely with lead-throughs of the poles or the terminals from the electrode assembly through the housing in an insulated or uninsulated form. The effort involved in production is correspondingly less, and accordingly so too is the cost. As a result of the potential being applied to the housing elements, the battery cells according to the disclosure are much more flexible than conventional battery cells in the way that they can be interconnected to form a battery cell module or a battery, since the battery cells according to the disclosure can be contacted anywhere on the housing elements. Also, the costs for the electrical lead-through through the housing and the insulation there of one or both electrodes with respect to the housing no longer arise. Furthermore, as a result of the design according to the disclosure, the necessary costs in the case of conventional battery cells for the electrical insulation of the cell housing from the electrodes or the extra connection of the housing to an electrode no longer arise. Ways of cooling the battery cell according to the disclosure are easily and efficiently possible directly on the housing elements, with good heat transfer to the electrode assembly. In this respect, it must be ensured that the two housing elements are not short-circuited via the heat sink.
The first housing element and the second housing element are preferably respectively designed substantially in the form of a half-shell, the open sides thereof being aligned in relation to one another and the battery cell also comprising at least one electrical insulating element, which is arranged between the housing elements, and with which an electrical short-circuit between the first housing element and the second housing element can be prevented. The housing elements are in this case preferably of a substantially prismatic configuration, the electrical contact between the electrode assembly and the respective housing half preferably taking place on sides of the housing that are facing away from one another, that is to say on end faces of the housing that are formed by the housing elements. For reliable insulation of the housing elements, the insulating element may be arranged between the end faces of the open side of the housing elements in what is known as an insulating face, although the disclosure is not restricted to this design and it may instead also be provided that the housing elements are spaced apart from one another and are merely mechanically bridged by the insulating element. The two housing elements, which are formed as half-shells, may be used directly as poles or as terminals, providing a wide variety of possibilities for the electrical interconnection and cooling of the battery cell, since, for example in the case of cuboidal half-shells, they can be contacted on five out of six sides of the respective prismatic half-shell cuboid. In the case of generally prismatic half-shells with N sides, it is possible for contacts to be established on N-1 faces, since only the insulating face cannot be contacted.
For the purposes of the disclosure, half-shells are meant to mean hollow bodies that are open at least on one side, in which the open side is preferably formed in one plane.
In a preferred design variant, it is provided that, at least in certain regions, the insulating element reaches as far as the inner side of at least one housing element, so that in this region the insulating element provides an electrical insulation between the housing element and the electrode assembly. That is to say that the insulating element already mentioned may serve not only for the insulation between the housing elements but also for the insulation of the housing from the electrode assembly, and consequently for preventing the housing element to which potential is applied from contacting the other pole, respectively, of the electrode assembly. Such an insulating element is advantageously of just a one-part design, so that the production and assembly thereof can be easily carried out. Furthermore, the insulating element may surround the housing, in a further expedient design the respective housing element apart from one or more side faces or end faces or regions thereof, it being possible for the non-insulated regions to serve for the contacting of the respective housing element. That is to say that an insulating element serving for the insulation of the electrode assembly in the battery cell may at the same time serve as an external insulator of the battery cell according to the disclosure.
In a further advantageous design of the battery cell according to the disclosure, it may be provided that it has on at least one housing element a heat sink that electrically contacts said element. The heat sink may in this case also undertake the function of a cell connector. This allows large conduit cross sections and efficient cooling to be made possible, since the cooling effect is provided directly on the current-carrying parts, with good heat transfer characteristics with respect to the cell.
The disclosure also provides a method for producing a battery cell, and in particular a method for producing a lithium-ion battery cell, the battery cell comprising at least one electrode assembly, in which electrodes are arranged in more than two layers in a cross section. It is provided according to the disclosure that the respective electrode assembly is introduced into a substantially tubular insulating element and a first and a second substantially half-shell-shaped housing element are slipped over the insulating element, on both open end faces thereof, and over the electrode assembly, and the two housing elements are electrically insulated from one another, and that an electrical contact is established between the positive pole of the electrode assembly and the first housing element and an electrical contact is established between the negative pole of the electrode assembly and the second housing element. The establishment of the electrical contact between the electrode assembly and the housing element may take place for example from the outside by welding, in particular at an overlapping joint, so that sealing integrity is ensured.
With a number of electrode assemblies arranged in one housing, they can be introduced together into a tubular insulating element or be introduced respectively into a tubular insulating element and then, as described above, be brought into electrical contact with the housing elements.
The filling of the battery cell with the electrolyte may take place in a classic way through a separate opening. This opening may be located in the insulating element and can be easily closed by welding or tightly fitting a plastic plug. In comparison with conventional battery cells with openings in metal housings, a cost advantage is thereby likewise obtained.
The disclosure also provides a battery or a battery cell module which comprises a number of the battery cells according to the disclosure.
Such a battery or battery cell module may be designed in such a way that housing elements of a number of battery cells are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner by a material bond. That is to say that, for example, a second housing element of a first battery cell is connected in an electrically conductive manner to a first housing element of a second battery cell, for example by means of welding, plug-in insertion or adhesive bonding.
In an alternative embodiment, it is provided that a battery according to the disclosure or a battery cell module according to the disclosure is designed in such a way that housing elements of a number of battery cells are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner by a positive and/or nonpositive connection. That is to say that these battery cells may for example be screwed, riveted or inserted or else may for example be connected to one another by means of a tongue-and-groove connection. The great number of possible connecting techniques on a great number of faces of the battery cell housing means that module construction is possible with a high degree of flexibility, since half-shell-shaped housing elements can be connected to one another on five bounding faces and/or can be cooled there. This allows almost any desired two-dimensional or three-dimensional arrangements. As a result, adaptation to extremely varied installation spaces in vehicles is easily possible. In spite of the reduction in the number of individual components of a battery cell, and accordingly a module, at the same time the flexibility thereof for the construction of battery modules or batteries is significantly increased. This results in price advantages in terms of the structural design, material consumption, assembly and maintenance or recycling. This applies both when there is a series connection and when there is a parallel connection of cells.
The housing elements may be connected to one another directly or connected to one another indirectly. In the case of direct connection, the housing elements lie directly against one another and contact one another directly. In the case of an indirect connection, it is provided that the housing elements are connected to one another by means of a connecting element, which may possibly at the same time have a cooling function.
Also provided in addition is a motor vehicle, in particular an electromotively driven motor vehicle, which has at least one battery cell according to the disclosure or a battery according to the disclosure or a battery cell module according to the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Exemplary embodiments of the invention disclosure are explained in more detail on the basis of the description that follows and the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a battery cell according to the disclosure in a sectional view from above,
FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the battery cell according to the disclosure along the sectional profile A-A from FIG. 1 ,
FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the battery cell according to the disclosure along the sectional profile B-B represented in FIG. 1 ,
FIG. 4 shows a battery cell module with battery cells welded in an overlapping manner,
FIG. 5 shows a battery cell module with battery cells welded one behind the other,
FIG. 6 shows a battery cell module with battery cells fastened in an overlapping manner by means of angular elements,
FIG. 7 shows a battery cell module with battery cells clamped in an overlapping manner by means of extensions of the insulating element,
FIG. 8 shows battery cells arranged one above the other, which are electrically connected by means of connecting elements,
FIG. 9 shows battery cells arranged in series and parallel connection directly to form a battery cell module, and
FIG. 10 shows battery cells arranged in series and parallel connection, which are connected by means of a tongue-and-groove connection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the exemplary embodiments represented, half-shells 11 , 12 are used as housing elements, the disclosure not being restricted to the use of half-shells 11 , 12 as housing elements.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show the basic construction of a half-shell battery cell 1 . The construction is described on the basis of the assembly sequence.
Firstly, the electrode assembly 2 in the form of what is known as a jelly roll or a pouch stack is introduced through one of the two openings into the insulating element 20 serving as a half-shell insulator. The material thereof is preferably a plastic.
The electrical connections of the electrode assembly 2 are respectively facing the open sides 13 of the insulating element. If need be, there may also be an adapter element (not represented), which makes the electrical contacting of the electrode assembly 2 to the half-shell 11 , 12 easier.
In the ideal case, however, the contacting takes place directly.
The two half-shells 11 , 12 are slipped over the insulating element 20 . The sealing effect takes place either directly through the contact area between the plastic of the insulating element 20 and the metal of the half-shell 11 , 12 by means of cold pressing or by just slipping over, with later heating and/or adhesive bonding, so that in this way a sealed positive connection is obtained. As a result, the housing 10 of the battery cell 1 is produced.
On the end faces 16 lying opposite their respective opened side, the two half-shells 11 , 12 preferably have clearances, or at least guides, which make it possible for the contacting zone of the electrode assembly 2 to be accurately positioned. The contacts 17 , 18 are made by welding or other classic connecting techniques, such as for example soldering, plug-in insertion, conductive adhesive bonding and the like. Direct through-welding is also possible. This has the advantage that no sealing problems are likely. After this step, the respective half-shell 11 , 12 is electrically at the potential of the electrode that is electrically conductively connected to it, which is indicated by the respective plus sign or minus sign.
The filling of the battery cell 1 with the electrolyte may take place in a classic way through a separate opening. This opening may be located in the insulating element 20 and can be easily closed by welding/tightly fitting a plastic plug. In comparison with conventional battery cells, assembly is thereby made easier and accordingly less costly.
The insulating element 20 may be produced from an electrically non-conducting material, such as for example from a plastic with a high water and gas impermeability factor. For this purpose, special barrier films may be introduced into the plastic or coat the plastic.
The insulating element 20 provides a highly resistive separation of the two half-shells 11 , 12 . It may in this case be taken as far as the outer sides of the half-shells 11 , 12 , where in the region of a joining zone 24 it establishes a mechanical connection to the half-shells 11 , 12 and between the half-shells 11 , 12 , possibly by an external clamping 23 by means of a positive and/or nonpositive connection, and at the same time can undertake a sealing function. This component part of the insulating element 20 may be referred to as an insulating bridge 21 .
In the case of adhesively bonded connections between the half-shell 11 , 12 and the insulating element 20 , it is possible to dispense with the positive and/or nonpositive connection.
The sealing then takes place directly with respect to the insulating bridge 21 . In a variant that requires an insulation of the faces of the half-shells 11 , 12 , the insulating element 20 may cover the respective half-shell 11 , 12 on the outside and/or the inside. Then all of the faces of the battery cell 1 apart from the faces contacting the electrode assembly 2 are insulated. Alternatively, various external geometries or clearances of any desired form may be present for the electrical contacting.
The half-shells 11 , 12 preferably consist of a suitable aluminum or copper alloy or high-grade steel or other conductive materials with corrosion resistance with respect to the electrolyte.
In a first configurational variant, both half-shells 11 , 12 consist of an aluminum alloy. This provides advantages in the later interconnection of the battery cells 1 to form modules 100 , since it is not necessary to connect different materials. One half-shell may in this case be coated on its inner side with copper or be constructed from a copper-aluminum alloy in two layers, in order to prevent contact corrosion at the transition between the copper-containing electrode assembly and a half-shell-shaped housing element.
However, as far as possible, electrical connection between the half-shell 11 , 12 of an aluminum alloy and the copper-based electrode assembly 2 should not be wetted by the electrolyte. For this purpose, the lead-through of the copper contact via passing through the half-shell 11 , 12 must be sealed with respect to the electrolyte, for example by means of pressing or by means of sealing elements, so that the electrical contacting can take place by welding completely on the outer side of the half-shell.
In a second configurational variant, a first half-shell 11 consists of a copper alloy, preferably on the anode side. On the cathode side, a second half-shell 12 consists of an aluminum alloy. As a result, there is no risk of contact corrosion at the contacting point.
FIGS. 4 to 8 show possible variants of how the battery cells 1 can be assembled to form battery cell modules or batteries 100 .
FIGS. 4 and 5 thereby show low-cost serial interconnections. The individual battery cells 1 are contacted directly, that is to say no further elements such as cell connectors, cables etc. between the battery cells 1 are required. Instead, the half-shells 11 , 12 are welded to one another directly, for example with welds 60 directly on one of the side faces 15 or on the end face 16 of the respective half-shell 11 , 12 . The transfer resistance between the cells 1 can be improved by conductive paste or the like. Alternatively, a direct connection may take place by way of electrically conductive adhesive at an adhesive-bonding point 70 .
FIG. 6 shows a connection variant by means of mechanical connecting elements. Here, the battery cells are screwed or riveted by way of angular elements 80 . The battery cell 1 itself has in this case mechanical elements such as studs or recessed nuts/threads. These are preferably integrated in the half-shells 11 , 12 . Alternatively, the angular elements 80 are already welded-on on one side. The advantage of this configurational variant is the ease with which it can be disassembled in the event of repair or recycling.
FIG. 7 shows an inserted connection variant. Here, the insulating element 20 between the half-shells 11 , is extended far enough that it can be inserted directly into the next battery cell 1 or the half-shell 11 , 12 thereof. Although engaging mechanisms that prevent unwanted release are not represented, they may be present for fixing the battery cells 1 to one another. The extension 22 represented of the insulating element 20 may be completely integrated in it or flange-mounted on it, for example by means of a screw, snap-in or other mechanical connection. Apart from the fixing of the battery cells 1 to one another, the insulating element 20 also undertakes an insulation with respect to the outside in certain regions of the module 100 thereby produced.
FIG. 8 shows a variant with completely insulated side faces 15 . This allows the battery cells 1 to be stacked flush against one another without further insulation with respect to the surroundings. The cell connection takes place by unitary connecting elements, for example welded or screwed connecting elements 50 , on uninsulated end faces 16 , that is to say on the respective face of a half-shell 11 , 12 that is opposite from its open side. The connecting elements 50 may at the same time serve as heat sinks 30 .
FIGS. 9 and 10 show low-cost parallel-serial interconnections.
In FIG. 9 , the battery cells 1 are connected to one another directly by way of their side faces 15 , as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 .
In FIG. 10 , a plug-in connection that is not depicted in detail is used. A component connection based on a positive connection, such as for example a tongue-and-groove connection 40 , may be used here. In this case, grooves may be recessed in the insulating element of one battery cell 1 and be connected to tongues of a further battery cell 1 that are formed in a correspondingly complementary manner.
The contacts between the battery cells 1 may likewise be made in a configuration of a tongue-and-groove form, such as for example as welded-on grooved rails or as welded-on tongues. The grooves and tongues on the half-shells may in principle be provided on each half-shell face, so that the parallel connection can take place on all four side faces 15 .
It is evident overall from the figures presented that the external insulation of a battery cell 1 can cover the end faces 16 thereof and/or at least one of the side faces 15 , while part of the half-shell 11 , 12 , to which potential is applied, must always remain uninsulated for the electrical contacting. | A battery cell, in particular a lithium ion battery cell, includes a housing and at least one electrode assembly in the housing. The electrode assembly includes electrode assembly electrodes that are arranged in more than two layers in a cross-section in the housing. The housing has at least two housing elements that substantially separate the electrode assembly from the environment. A first housing element is electrically connected to the positive pole of the electrode assembly and a second housing element is electrically connected to the negative pole of the electrode assembly such that the battery cell is configured to be electrically contacted at the first housing element and at the second housing element. A battery or a battery cell module includes several of the battery cells. A method is implemented to produce the battery cell and a motor vehicle includes the battery cell. | 7 |
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates to a system and method for cutting individual objects, such as shingles, from a continuous sheet of material.
[0002] In the mass production of composition, or asphalt, roofing shingles, a cutting cylinder is often positioned to engage a continuous sheet of a composition material that forms the shingles. Cutting blades are provided on the outer circumference of the cutting cylinder and the continuous sheet of material is passed under the cylinder as it is rotated to cut the shingles. In order to produce an attractive pattern, shingles have been cut in a “dragon tooth” pattern. However, when dragon tooth patterns are cut, a lack of variance in shingle patterns result in a non-random appearance when the shingles are applied to a roof, resulting in a relatively unsightly patterned appearance when compared to individual wood shingles, and the like.
[0003] Therefore a system and method is needed to produce roofing shingles of the above type which are cut in a dragon tooth pattern yet increase both productivity and product appearance when compared to the techniques discussed above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting an embodiment of the system of the present invention.
[0005] FIG. 2 is an elevational view of eight shingles produced by the system of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1 , the reference numeral 10 refers to a strip of material that is used to produce shingles in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. It is understood that the strip 10 forms a portion of a continuous strip which is described in detail later. The strip 10 passes between two opposed cylinders 12 and 14 which are mounted for rotation in a conventional manner. One or both of the cylinders 12 or 14 is driven in any conventional manner to rotate the cylinders and drive the strip 10 in a longitudinal direction indicated by the arrows while being guided by edge guides, or the like (not shown), all in a conventional manner.
[0007] A cutting blade 16 a is mounted on the outer circumference of the cylinder 12 and is adapted to cut the strip 10 when it passes between the cylinders 12 and 14 . The cutting blade 16 a extends for approximately one half the circumference of the cylinder, and a cutting blade 16 b is also mounted on the outer circumference of the cylinder and extends from the cutting blade 16 a around the remaining one half of the circumference of the cylinder.
[0008] A cutting blade 18 a is also mounted on the outer circumference of the cylinder 12 and extends in a spaced parallel relationship to the blades 16 a and 16 b for approximately one half the circumference of the cylinder 12 . A cutting blade 18 b is also mounted on the outer circumference of the cylinder and extends from the cutting blade 18 and around the remaining one half of the circumference of the cylinder. A cutting blade 19 is also mounted on the outer circumference of the center portion of the cylinder 12 and extends around the entire circumference of the cylinder. The cutting blades 16 a, 16 b, 18 a, 18 b and 19 are mounted on the cylinder 12 in any conventional manner.
[0009] Although FIG. 1 is not necessarily to scale, it is understood that the circumference of the cylinder 12 is substantially equal to twice that of the length of each shingle to be cut, and the cutting blades 16 a, 16 b, 18 a and 18 b are configured to cut four different dragon tooth patterns in the strip 10 upon one rotation of the cylinder 12 . Each dragon tooth pattern produces two shingles with complementary tabs and spaces between the tabs, which will be described. Therefore one rotation of the cylinder 12 produces eight unique shingles.
[0010] During the cutting of the above patterns by the blades 16 a, 16 b, 18 a and 18 b, the center cutting blade 19 cuts the strip 10 longitudinally to separate the patterns cut by the blades 16 a and 16 b from the patterns cut by the blades 18 a and 18 b. It is understood that an end cutter (not shown) can be provided downstream from, and in a spaced relation to, the cylinder 12 for making transverse cuts in the strip to cut the strips into predetermined lengths.
[0011] FIG. 2 shows examples of eight different shingles after being cut by the blades 16 a, 16 b, 18 a, 18 b and 19 , and by the above end cutter in response to one rotation of the cylinder 12 , with the shingles being shown spaced apart in the lateral and longitudinal directions. In particular, two shingles 20 and 22 are formed by the dragon tooth cut made by the blade 16 a. The shingle 20 includes four relatively narrow rectangular tabs 20 a, and the shingle 22 includes four relatively wide rectangular tabs 22 a.
[0012] Two shingles 24 and 26 are formed by the dragon tooth cut made by the blade 16 b. The dragon tooth pattern cut by the blade 16 b is such that the shingle 24 includes two relatively wide rectangular tabs 24 a which are wider than the wide tabs 22 a of the shingle 22 ; while the shingle 26 includes a tab 26 a that is wider than the tabs 24 a and a tab 26 b that is wider than the tab 26 a.
[0013] Similarly, two shingles 28 and 30 are formed by the dragon tooth cut made by the blade 18 a. The latter pattern is such that the shingle 28 includes a relatively wide rectangular tab 28 a extending between two relatively narrow tabs 28 b; while the shingle 30 is formed with three rectangular tabs 30 a of the same width as the tabs 28 b, with two of the tabs 30 a being spaced apart as a result of cutting the tab 28 a.
[0014] Two shingles 32 and 34 are formed by the dragon tooth cut made by the blade 18 b. The dragon tooth pattern cut by the blade 18 b is such that both shingles 32 and 34 include four triangularly shaped tabs 32 a and 34 a.
[0015] As a result of the above, one rotation of the cylinder 12 produces eight different shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 all of which vary in appearance. Thus, when stacked and applied to a roof in sequence, a non-random, dimensional appearance is achieved rather than the unsightly patterned appearance of the prior art.
[0016] It should be emphasized that the above configurations of the shingles are for the purpose of example only, and that the patterns can vary considerably from those that are shown. For example, the sizes and numbers of the tabs, as well as their width, length, and/or shape can vary from tab-to-tab and/or from shingle-to-shingle. Also, the patterns cut by the blades are not limited to a dragon tooth pattern but may take other forms, such as saw tooth, etc.
[0017] According to a preferred method of applying the different patterned shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 to a supporting structure to form a roof, the shingles are laid in accordance with the following equation:
C=L/N± 3
where C is one of the course offsets, L is the length of each shingle, and N is the number of courses repeated during installation under the following conditions:
1. all of the shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 have a tooth covering the area C±3″ from the left side of the shingle 2. all of the shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 have a gap between teeth in the area C±3″ from the right side of the shingle, and 3. the sum of the offsets in the course repeat equal the shingle length.
[0022] This provides a random appearance and insures that all the seams between adjacent shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 are covered for enhanced appearance and leak protection. Also, the above permits the shingles 20 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , and 34 to be applied using continuous offsets (e.g. 0. C, 2 C, 3 C . . . ) to obtain the same roof appearance as when the offsets repeat (e.g. 0, C, 2 C, 0, C, 2 C, etc.). Further, roofers can cut the shingles C inches from the right side of each shingle and never have to cut through a tooth and only one shingle needs to be cut every N courses when applying shingles of a rake edge which allows for easier application and less waste.
[0023] It is understood that the strip 10 may be formed in a conventional manner such as by applying one or two asphalt coatings to a base material made from a mat of organic felt, fiberglass, polyester, or a blended fiberglass/polyester, and applying one or two outer layers of mineral granules to the asphalt coating(s). Further details of the composition of the strip 10 and the lamination technique are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,929 which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated by reference. It is also understood that one or more backing strips (not shown) can be laminated to the strip 10 before the resulting laminated strip is cut in the foregoing manner. The backing strip may be identical to the strip 10 or may be different from the latter strip.
[0024] It is understood that other variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the above-described relative movement between the cylinder 12 and the strip 10 can be achieved in other manners. Also, the spatial references, such as “over,” “under,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” and the like, are for the purpose of illustration only and do not limit the specific orientation or location of the structure described above.
[0025] Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many other modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. | A system and method for cutting shingles according to which a plurality of cutting blades are mounted on the outer circumference of a cutting cylinder, and the cylinder is rotated with the blades engaging the sheet while effecting relative translational movement between the cylinder and the sheet so that eight unique shingles are cut from the sheet upon one rotation of the cylinder. | 1 |
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a clothes treatment apparatus.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Clothes treatment apparatuses are apparatuses that treat clothes, e.g. wash and dry clothes and remove wrinkles from clothes, at home or in laundromats.
[0003] Clothes treatment apparatuses may be classified into a washer for washing clothes, a dryer for drying clothes, a washer/dryer having both a washing function and a drying function, a refresher for refreshing clothes, and a steamer for removing wrinkles from clothes.
[0004] The refresher is an apparatus that keep clothes comfortable and fresh. The refresher functions to dry clothes, to supply fragrance to clothes, to prevent the occurrence of static electricity in clothes, or to remove wrinkles from clothes.
[0005] The steamer is an apparatus that supplies steam to clothes in order to remove wrinkles from the clothes. Unlike a general iron, the steamer gently removes wrinkles from the clothes without direct contact between the clothes and a heating plate.
SUMMARY
[0006] According to an innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a clothes treatment apparatus includes: a case that defines a treatment chamber that is configured to receive clothes; a steam unit that is configured to supply steam to the treatment chamber; a blower unit that is configured to draw air from the treatment chamber; an inlet temperature sensor that is configured to measure an inlet temperature of air drawn by the blower unit; a heat pump unit that is configured to heat air drawn by the blower unit and that is configured to supply heated air to the treatment chamber; and a control unit that is configured to control the steam unit, the blower unit, and the heat pump unit.
[0007] The clothes treatment apparatus may include one or more of the following optional features. The control unit is configured to control operation of the heat pump unit based on a preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) that is measured by the inlet temperature sensor at a time of the blower unit beginning to operate and the steam unit performing preheating. At the time of the blower unit beginning to operate and the steam unit performing preheating, the heat pump unit is not operating. The control unit is configured to, based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in), control the heat pump unit to heat air, that is drawn by the blower unit, at a slower rate than based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than the reference inlet temperature (T_in). The control unit is configured to control the heat pump unit based on a comparison of a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that the inlet temperature sensor measures while the control unit operates the heat pump unit, with the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ).
[0008] The control unit is configured to, based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in), and based on a difference between the dried inlet temperature (T 2 ) and the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a predetermined first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ), halt operation of the heat pump unit. The control unit is configured to, based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than the reference inlet temperature (T_in), and based on a difference between the dried inlet temperature (T 2 ) and the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a predetermined second temperature difference (ΔD 2 ), halt operation of the heat pump unit. The second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ) is less than the first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ). The heat pump unit includes a compressor that is configured to compress refrigerant and a condenser that is configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor and the air drawn by the blower unit.
[0009] The control unit is configured to operate the compressor at a predetermined first operating speed (V 1 ) based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in). The control unit is configured to operate the compressor at a predetermined second operating speed (V 2 ) based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than the reference inlet temperature (T_in). The second operating speed (V 2 ) is lower than the first operating speed (V 1 ). The control unit is configured to halt operation of the compressor based on a difference between a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that the inlet temperature sensor measures while the compressor operates at the first operating speed (V 1 ), and based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ). The control unit is configured to halt operation of the compressor based on the difference between a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that the inlet temperature sensor measures while the compressor operates at the second operating speed (V 2 ), and based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ). The second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ) is less than the first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ).
[0010] According to another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a method of controlling a clothes treatment apparatus that includes: a case that defines a treatment chamber that is configured to receive clothes, a steam unit that is configured to supply steam to the treatment chamber; a blower unit that is configured to draw air from the treatment chamber; an inlet temperature sensor that is configured to measure an inlet temperature of air drawn by the blower unit; and a heat pump unit that is configured to heat air drawn by the blower unit and that is configured to supply heated air to the treatment chamber. The method includes the actions of operating the blower unit; in response to operating the blower unit, preheating the steam unit and measuring a preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) of air drawn by the blower unit; supplying, by the steam unit, steam to the treatment chamber; lowering a temperature inside the treatment chamber by operating the blower unit after halting operation of the steam unit; and based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ), heating air drawn by the blower unit and discharging heated air into the treatment chamber by controlling the heat pump unit.
[0011] The method may include one or more of the following optional features. The action of operating the blower unit includes not operating the heat pump unit. The steam unit is preheated and the inlet temperature (T 1 ) is measured in response to operating the blower unit and not operating the heat pump unit. The heat pump unit is configured to, based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in), heat air drawn by the blower unit at a slower rate than based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than the reference inlet temperature (T_in). The actions further include measuring a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that is a temperature of air drawn by the blower unit while the heat pump unit operates; and halting operation of the heat pump unit based on a difference between the dried inlet temperature (T 2 ) and the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ).
[0012] The actions further include halting operation of the heat pump unit based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in), and based on a difference between the dried inlet temperature (T 2 ) and the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or greater than a predetermined first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ), halting operation of the heat pump unit based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than the predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in), and based on a difference between the dried inlet temperature (T 2 ) and the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or greater than a predetermined second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ), and the second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ) is less than the first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ). The heat pump unit includes a compressor that is configured to compress refrigerant and a condenser that is configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor and the air drawn by the blower unit.
[0013] The compressor is configured to operate at a predetermined first operating speed (V 1 ) based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being lower than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in). The compressor is configured to operate at a predetermined second operating speed (V 2 ) based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a predetermined reference inlet temperature (T_in). The second operating speed (V 2 ) is lower than the first operating speed (V 1 ). The actions further include halting operation of the compressor based on a difference between a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that the inlet temperature sensor measures while the compressor operates at the first operating speed (V 1 ), and based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ), and halting operation of the compressor based on the difference between a dried inlet temperature (T 2 ), that the inlet temperature sensor measures while the compressor operates at the second operating speed (V 2 ), and based on the preheated inlet temperature (T 1 ) being equal to or higher than a second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ). The second reference temperature difference (ΔD 2 ) is less than the first reference temperature difference (ΔD 1 ).
[0014] It is an object of the subject matter described in this application to provide a clothes treatment apparatus, which control a drying cycle in accordance with the environment in which the apparatus is installed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of example components of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of example components of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating example cycles of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example control process of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an example clothes treatment apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates example components of an example clothes treatment apparatus. FIG. 3 illustrates an example partial construction of an example clothes treatment apparatus. FIG. 4 illustrates an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0022] The clothes treatment apparatus includes a case 10 defining therein a treatment chamber 12 for accommodating clothes, a steam unit 40 for supplying steam to the treatment chamber 12 , a blower unit 30 for drawing air from the treatment chamber 12 , an inlet temperature sensor 39 for measuring the inlet temperature, which is a temperature of the air drawn by the blower unit 30 , a heat pump unit 50 for heating the air drawn by the blower unit 30 to supply the heated air into the treatment chamber 12 , and a control unit 60 for controlling the steam unit 40 , the blower unit 30 and the heat pump unit 50 .
[0023] The case 10 is provided with a partition plate 11 for dividing the internal space into upper and lower parts, that is, a treatment chamber 12 , which is defined above the partition plate 11 so as to accommodate clothes, and a cycle chamber 14 , which is defined below the partition plate 11 so as to accommodate mechanical devices.
[0024] The case 10 is provided with a door 20 for opening or closing the front face of the case 10 .
[0025] The treatment chamber 12 accommodates clothes, and the clothes accommodated in the treatment chamber 12 are treated by the circulation of steam or air, drying or the like so as to remove wrinkles or odors from the clothes.
[0026] The cycle chamber 14 is provided therein with the blower unit 30 for drawing air in the treatment chamber 12 thereinto and circulating the air, the steam unit 40 for supplying steam to the treatment chamber 12 , the heat pump unit 50 for supplying heated air to the treatment chamber 12 , and a control unit 60 for controlling the blower unit 30 , the steam unit 40 and the heat pump unit 50 .
[0027] The blower unit 30 draws the air from the treatment chamber 12 under the control of the control unit 60 . The air drawn into the blower unit 30 is discharged to the heat pump unit 50 .
[0028] The blower unit 30 includes a blower module 32 for drawing the air in the treatment chamber 12 and discharging the air to the heat pump unit 50 by causing the air to flow through rotation of a fan, and an inlet duct 34 , which is disposed at the inlet side of the blower module 32 so as to guide the air in the treatment chamber 12 toward the blower module 32 .
[0029] One side of the inlet duct 34 is connected to the treatment chamber 12 , and the other side of the inlet duct 34 is connected to the blower module 32 . The inlet duct 34 is provided therein with the inlet temperature sensor 39 for measuring the inlet temperature, which is the temperature of the air flowing in the inlet duct 34 . The inlet temperature sensor 39 measures the inlet temperature, which is the temperature of the air drawn into the inlet duct 34 from the treatment chamber 12 , and transfers the inlet temperature to the control unit 60 .
[0030] One side of the blower module 32 is connected to the inlet duct 34 , and the other side of the blower module 32 is connected to the heat pump unit 50 . The blower module 32 is a single module into which a sirocco fan, a duct and a motor are incorporated.
[0031] The steam unit 40 supplies steam to the treatment chamber 12 under the control of the control unit 60 . The steam unit 40 generates heat by application of power. The steam unit 40 receives water from a separate water supply tank, and heats the water so as to convert the water into steam.
[0032] The steam generated from the steam unit 40 is discharged to the treatment chamber 12 . In some implementations, the steam generated from the steam unit 40 flows to the treatment chamber 12 through a flow channel of the heat pump unit 50 . In some implementations, the steam unit 40 is connected to the heat pump unit 50 .
[0033] The steam unit 40 includes a heater 41 for heating water. The steam unit 40 first heats the heater 41 and then generates steam under the control of the control unit 60 .
[0034] The heat pump unit 50 heats the air drawn by the blower unit 30 under the control of the control unit 60 . The heat pump unit 50 supplies the heated air to the treatment chamber 12 .
[0035] The heat pump unit 50 is constituted by a refrigeration cycle, which includes a compressor 51 , a condenser 53 , an evaporator and an expansion valve. The heat pump unit 50 includes a heat pump channel 55 , in which the condenser 53 is disposed and which has a flow channel defined therein.
[0036] The compressor 51 compresses refrigerant so as to cause the refrigerant to be in a high-temperature and high-pressure state. The condenser 53 facilitates the exchange of heat between the refrigerant compressed in the compressor and the air drawn by the blower unit 30 so as to heat the air. The expansion valve expands the refrigerant condensed in the condenser 53 , and the evaporator evaporates the refrigerant expanded at the expansion valve. The evaporated refrigerant is recovered into the compressor 51 .
[0037] One side of the heat pump channel 55 is connected to the blower module 32 of the blower unit 30 , and the other side of the heat pump channel 55 is connected to the treatment chamber 12 . The condenser 53 is disposed in the heat pump channel 55 .
[0038] A tank module 70 for storing water is disposed in front of the cycle chamber 14 . In some implementations, a tank module frame 71 , on which the tank module 70 is mounted, is disposed in front of the inlet duct 34 .
[0039] The tank module 70 includes a water supply tank 80 for supplying water to the steam unit 40 and a drain tank 90 for storing condensed water collected in the treatment chamber 12 . The water supply tank 80 is connected to the steam unit 40 so as to supply water to the steam unit 40 , and the drain tank 90 is connected to the treatment chamber 12 so as to store water condensed in the treatment chamber 12 or the heat pump unit 50 .
[0040] The control unit 60 receives an inlet temperature from the inlet temperature sensor 39 . The control unit 60 controls the steam unit 40 , the blower unit 30 and the heat pump unit 50 in accordance with user settings or the inlet temperature such that the clothes treatment apparatus performs respective treatment cycles in compliance with the set course. The respective cycles of treating clothes will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 .
[0041] The control unit 60 operates the blower unit 30 while preheating the steam unit 40 so as to control the heat pump unit 50 based on the preheated inlet temperature, measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 .
[0042] When the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference inlet temperature, the control unit 60 controls the heat pump unit 50 to heat the air drawn by the blower unit 30 more slowly than in the case in which the preheated inlet temperature is lower than the reference inlet temperature.
[0043] More specifically, the control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at a predetermined first operating speed when the preheated inlet temperature is lower than the reference inlet temperature, and operates the compressor 51 at a predetermined second operating speed, which is lower than the first operating speed, when the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or higher than the reference inlet temperature. The operating speed of the compressor 51 , which is the rotational speed of a motor for generating the rotational force required to compress refrigerant, may be expressed as a frequency. The operating speed of the compressor 51 is proportional to the compression ability of the compressor 51 . The higher the operating speed of the compressor 51 , the quicker the heat pump unit 50 heats air. The lower the operating speed of the compressor 51 , the slower the heat pump unit 50 heats air. When the heat pump unit 50 heats air, the control unit 60 controls the heat pump unit 50 based on the result of a comparison between the dried inlet temperature measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 , and the preheated inlet temperature. In some implementations, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the heat pump unit 50 depending on the difference between the dried inlet temperature and the preheated inlet temperature.
[0044] In some implementations, the preheated inlet temperature is lower than the reference inlet temperature, and the control unit 60 operates the heat pump unit 50 to heat the air drawn by the blower unit 30 and discharge the heated air into the treatment chamber 12 . At this time, when the difference between the dried inlet temperature measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 and the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or greater than a predetermined first reference temperature difference, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the heat pump unit 50 . In some implementations, the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or higher than the reference inlet temperature, and the control unit 60 operates the heat pump unit 50 and discharges the heated air into the treatment chamber 12 . At this time, when the difference between the dried inlet temperature and the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or greater than a predetermined second reference temperature difference, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the heat pump unit 50 . Here, the second reference temperature difference is less than the first reference temperature difference.
[0045] In some implementations, the control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at a first operating speed, and when the difference between the dried inlet temperature measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 and the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or greater than the predetermined first reference temperature difference, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the compressor 51 . In some implementations, the control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at a second operating speed, and when the difference between the dried inlet temperature measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 and the preheated inlet temperature is equal to or greater than the predetermined first reference temperature difference, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the compressor 51 . Here, the second reference temperature difference is less than the first reference temperature difference.
[0046] A detailed description regarding this control will be made below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 .
[0047] FIG. 5 illustrates example cycles of an example clothes treatment apparatus. FIG. 6 illustrates an example control process of an example clothes treatment apparatus.
[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates respective cycles of a general course, in which some of the cycles may be omitted or changed in sequence.
[0049] When a user initiates operation of the clothes treatment apparatus, the control unit 60 performs a preheating cycle S 210 of supplying power to the heater 41 of the steam unit 40 to preheat the heater 41 .
[0050] In the preheating cycle S 210 , the control unit 60 operates the blower module 32 of the blower unit 30 . During the preheating cycle S 210 , the heat pump unit 50 is not operated. When the blower module 32 is started to operate, the inlet temperature sensor 39 measures the temperature of the air drawn into the inlet duct 34 of the blower unit 30 , and transfers the measured preheated inlet temperature to the control unit 60 .
[0051] When the preheating of the heater 41 is completed, the control unit 60 performs a steam cycle S 220 . In the steam cycle S 220 , the control unit 60 supplies the water in the water supply tank 80 to the steam unit 40 so as t create steam, and supplies the steam to the treatment chamber 12 . The control unit 60 operates the blower module 32 to circulate the air in the treatment chamber 12 . During the steam cycle S 220 , the heat pump unit 50 is not operated.
[0052] After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the control unit 60 halts the operation of the steam unit 40 so as to terminate the steam cycle S 220 .
[0053] After the steam cycle S 220 , the control unit 60 performs a waiting cycle S 230 and a cooling cycle S 240 . After the operation of the steam unit 40 is halted, the control unit 60 rotates the blower module at a relatively low RPM, and performs the waiting cycle S 230 so as to allow the clothes to be sufficiently treated with steam.
[0054] After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the control unit 60 performs the cooling cycle S 240 of rotating the blower module 32 at a relatively higher RPM to lower the temperature inside the treatment chamber 12 .
[0055] After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the control unit 60 terminates the cooling cycle S 240 .
[0056] After the cooling cycle S 240 , the control unit 60 performs a drying cycle S 250 by operating the blower module 32 and operating the compressor 51 of the heat pump unit 50 so as to supply the heated air to the treatment chamber 12 .
[0057] The state of operation of the compressor 51 in the drying cycle S 250 and the state of termination of the drying cycle S 250 will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 .
[0058] Referring to FIG. 6 , in the preheating cycle S 210 , the control unit 60 operates the blower module 32 without operating the heat pump unit 50 , and the inlet temperature sensor 39 measures a preheated inlet temperature T 1 , which is the temperature value of air drawn by the blower unit 30 (S 310 ). Since the preheated inlet temperature T 1 , which is measured concurrently with the start of operation of the blower module 32 , is almost equal to the indoor temperature in the space in which the clothes treatment apparatus is installed, the control unit 60 controls the heat pump unit 50 based on the preheated inlet temperature T 1 during the drying cycle S 250 .
[0059] The control unit 60 determines whether the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is lower than the predetermined reference inlet temperature T_in (S 320 ). The reference inlet temperature T_in is set to be 45° C. so as to be prepared for used in torrid zone.
[0060] When the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is lower than the predetermined reference inlet temperature T_in, the control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at a predetermined first operating speed V 1 in order to perform the drying cycle S 250 (S 330 ). The first operating speed V 1 is set to be relatively high such that the heat pump unit 50 can heat the air drawn by the blower unit 30 relatively quickly so as to be suitable for the drying cycle in temperate zones.
[0061] The control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at the first operating speed V 1 , and the inlet temperature sensor 39 consecutively measures a dried inlet temperature T 2 , which is the temperature of air drawn by the blower unit 30 (S 340 ). The inlet temperature sensor 39 transfers the measured dried inlet temperature T 2 to the control unit 60 .
[0062] The control unit 60 determines whether the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 in the drying cycle S 250 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 (S 350 ). Here, the dried inlet temperature T 2 is a temperature value, which is consecutively measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 when the compressor 51 is operated, and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is a temperature value, which is measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 in the preheating cycle S 210 . The first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 is set to be relatively high such that the heat pump unit 50 can supply heated air to the inside of the treatment chamber 12 for a relatively long period of time so as to be suitable for the drying cycle.
[0063] When the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is less than the first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 , the control unit 60 consecutively measures the dried inlet temperature T 2 and determines whether the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 .
[0064] When the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 , the control unit 60 halts the operation of the compressor 51 and halts the operation of the blower module 32 in order to terminate the drying cycle S 250 (S 390 ).
[0065] When the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or higher than the predetermined reference inlet temperature T_in, the control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at a predetermined second operating speed V 2 in order to perform the drying cycle S 250 . The second operating speed V 2 is set to be relatively low such that the heat pump unit 50 can relatively slowly heat the air drawn by the blower unit 30 so as to be suitable for the drying cycle in a torrid zone. Here, the second operating speed V 2 is set to be lower than the first operating speed V 1 .
[0066] The control unit 60 operates the compressor 51 at the second operating speed V 2 , and the inlet temperature sensor 39 consecutively measures the dried inlet temperature T 2 , which is the temperature of the air drawn into the blower unit 30 (S 370 ). The inlet temperature sensor 39 transfers the measured dried inlet temperature T 2 to the control unit 60 .
[0067] The control unit 60 determines whether the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 (S 380 ). The dried inlet temperature T 2 is a temperature value that is repeatedly measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 when the compressor 51 is operated, and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is a temperature value that is measured by the inlet temperature sensor 39 in the preheating cycle S 210 . The second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 is set to be relatively small such that the heat pump unit 50 can supply heated air to the inside of the treatment chamber 12 for a relatively short period of time so as to be suitable for the drying cycle in a torrid zone. Here, the second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 is set to be less than the first reference temperature difference ΔD 1 .
[0068] When the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is less than the second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 , the control unit 60 repeatedly measures the dried inlet temperature T 2 , and determines whether the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 .
[0069] When the difference between the dried inlet temperature T 2 and the preheated inlet temperature T 1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined second reference temperature difference ΔD 2 , the control unit 60 halts the operation of the compressor 51 and halts the operation of the blower module 32 in order to terminate the drying cycle S 250 (S 390 ).
[0070] The clothes treatment apparatus and a method of controlling the same provide at least one of the following effects.
[0071] First, it is possible to check a temperature in the space in which the clothes treatment apparatus is installed by operation of the blower module for circulating air during preheating of the steam unit.
[0072] Second, it is also possible to efficiently perform a drying cycle by controlling the heat pump unit, which is adapted to perform a drying cycle in accordance with the ambient temperature in the environment in which the clothes treatment apparatus is installed.
[0073] Third, it is also possible to efficiently perform a drying cycle by controlling the operating speed of the compressor of the heat pump unit in accordance with the ambient temperature condition in the environment in which the clothe treatment apparatus is installed.
[0074] Fourth, it is also possible to efficiently perform a drying cycle by determining whether to halt the operation of the heat pump unit based on the temperature in the space in which the clothes treatment apparatus is installed and the temperature in the treatment chamber, which accommodates clothes, when the heat pump unit is operated. | A clothes treatment apparatus includes a case that defines a treatment chamber that is configured to receive clothes. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a steam unit that is configured to supply steam to the treatment chamber. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a blower unit that is configured to draw air from the treatment chamber. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes an inlet temperature sensor that is configured to measure an inlet temperature of air drawn by the blower unit. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a heat pump unit that is configured to heat air drawn by the blower unit and that is configured to supply heated air to the treatment chamber. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a control unit that is configured to control the steam unit, the blower unit, and the heat pump unit. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/575,408, filed May 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,388, issued Jan. 21, 2003.
This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, South African provisional patent application number 99/3465, filed May 21, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hanger, and more particularly, to a clothes hanger having a release mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, many different types of hangers are available for displaying and organizing clothing or other items in a retail shop or warehouse. Generally, these hangers have a hook to suspend the hanger and item from a bar. With this structure, the hanger and item can be slid along the bar together with other hangers suspending items. These type of hangers generally have a transverse support member such as a bar or dowel to which the hook is attached.
One type of hanger of interest has gripping members on either end of the hanger bar for gripping clothing. In these hangers, the gripping members are usually hinged extensions which can pivot into a closed position to grip the item of clothing. The closed position can be maintained with a resilient spring clip, which can be engaged or disengaged to secure the hinged extensions in place. The clip can be formed with the hanger to permit the clip to snap into place on the gripping member, and remain fixed in place until a user wishes to release the item of clothing from the grip. When it is desired to remove the article from the hanger, the clip is moved from its engaged position, and the hinged extensions are free to pivot into an open position.
While the above described type of hanger is useful in reliably securing articles of clothing to the hanger for suspension or storage, situations arise in which it is difficult to move the clip from the engaged position. It is fairly easy to move the clip to the location where the clip snaps into the secured position, by applying increasing pressure. Once in place, however, a large directed force is required to “unsnap” the clip. This force is greater than the force required to move the clip into the engaged position where the clip easily slides into place. To unsnap the clip, the end of the clip must be disengaged from a corresponding lip formed on the gripping member. It is often difficult to apply the proper amount of force in the proper direction to unsnap and disengage the clip. This difficulty occurs because it is often hard to direct the right amount of force in the proper direction with a person's fingers. Thus, when a person attempts to unsnap the clip with their fingers, the process can be awkward and troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a hanger for hanging an item comprising a support member and at least one clasp disposed on the support member. The clasp is movable between a closed position where the clasp is effective to retain the item, and an open position. The clasp also includes a releaseable locking mechanism that is effective to retain the clasp in the closed position when the locking mechanism is engaged. The clasp also includes a release wherein actuation of the release is effective to disengage the locking mechanism thereby permitting the clasp to move to the open position.
Advantageously, the release comprises a lever pivotably coupled to the hanger at a pivot point. The lever disengages the locking mechanism when the lever is pivoted about the pivot point.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a disengagement mechanism for a hanger having a locking mechanism to secure a gripping member. The disengagement mechanism comprises a catch on the gripping member, a locking member moveable into a position effective to engage the catch and a user operable release. The release operates to disengage the locking member from the catch thereby permitting the locking member to be moved into a position to free the gripping member.
Advantageously, the locking member is resilient, and engagement of the locking member urges the gripping member into the closed position.
Preferably, the release is a resilient lever and the lever contacts and urges the locking member to a position disengaged from the catch.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a hanger comprising a support bar, at least one gripping member moveable between an open and closed position on the support bar, means for securing the gripping member in a closed position and a release member on the gripping member. The release member is operable to disengage the means for securing.
According to a method embodied in the present invention, there is provided a method of disengaging a locking mechanism securing a gripping member on a hanger comprising the steps of:
pivoting a lever pivotally attached to the gripping member;
contacting the locking mechanism with an end of the lever; and
moving the locking mechanism to a disengaged state with respect to a locking catch.
The above features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a hanger according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of a gripping member of the hanger of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the gripping member of FIG. 2 taken along arrows III—III of FIG. 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIG. 1, a hanger in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at 10 . The hanger 10 includes a support bar 12 provided with a hook attachment 14 . The hook, the support bar 12 and the gripping members 16 , 18 can be made of any of the known materials by any of the known methods, e.g., plastic materials by injection molding. The gripping arrangements 16 , 18 can be formed integrally with the support bar 12 . The gripping arrangements 16 , 18 may also be formed of the same material as the support bar 12 . Moreover, any number of gripping arrangements 16 , 18 may be provided, e.g. one at either end of the support bar 12 . The gripping arrangements 16 , 18 may be composed of a material suitable for preventing slippage of a gripped item.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the hook attachment 14 is connected to the support bar 12 and extends upwardly. Two gripping members 16 , 18 are provided on either end of the support bar 12 to receive and secure an article of clothing. It should be evident that the gripping members 16 , 18 function in the same way, and only gripping member 16 will be described here.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, an enlarged view of the gripping member 16 is shown. The gripping member 16 includes a gripping clip 20 and a U-shaped spring fitting 22 made of metal, or other resilient material. The gripping clip 20 is invertedly U-shaped and has a rear leg 24 formed integrally with the bar 12 . A transverse bridge 26 extends from the upper edge of the rear leg 24 . The bridge 26 includes a weakened zone defining a hinge connection 28 . A front leg 30 extends downward from the bridge 26 substantially parallel to the rear leg 24 . While the gripping clip 20 is illustrated as a resilient U-shaped band, it should be evident to an artisan of ordinary skill that other structures can be used equivalently. Such equivalent structures can include but are not limited to a peg in a compression fit opening, a butterfly clamp, and other items available to one skilled in the art to accomplish the gripping function.
The rear leg 24 and the front leg 30 are provided with protrusions 32 . The protrusions 32 extend from inner surfaces of the rear leg 24 and the front leg 30 toward each other. When the gripping member 16 is in a closed position, protrusions 32 oppose each other and cooperate to secure an article of clothing there between.
The front leg 30 is further provided with a lip 34 on an outward surface for retaining the spring fitting 22 in an engaged position. A portion of the outer surface of the front leg 30 is sloped downward and away from a plane of the rear leg 24 . Alternatively, or in addition, the outer surface of the front leg 30 can have a protrusion.
The spring fitting 22 is substantially U-shaped in side view and is adapted to slide over the gripping clip 20 and to fit tightly thereon, thereby engaging gripping member 16 in the closed position. The spring fitting 22 can be made of any of the known materials such as plastics or metal, e.g. spring steel.
The spring fitting 22 includes a first leg 36 , a bridge 38 and a second leg 40 , the second leg 40 having a bent end 42 . The first leg 36 is adapted to abut against the rear leg 24 while the second leg 40 is adapted to abut against the front leg 30 . The spring fitting 22 is held in place against gripping clip 20 by means of the end 42 which can hook over the lip 34 .
The gripping member 16 further includes a release mechanism 44 to release spring fitting 22 from fitting tightly over gripping clip 20 , i.e. to release gripping mechanism 16 from the closed position. Preferably, the release mechanism 44 includes a lever 45 pivotally mounted on the front leg 30 of the gripping clip 20 and adapted to lift the spring fitting 22 off the gripping clip 20 . In particular, lever 45 of release mechanism 44 is hingedly joined to the front leg 30 at pivot point 47 . The lever 45 includes a tab 46 which can be operated by an individual, and an elongated protrusion 48 extending from the tab 46 . When pressed by an individual, the protrusion 48 is adapted to press against the end 42 and to release the end 42 from the lip 34 .
It should be realized by those skilled in the art that the release mechanism 44 can be constructed in any manner, just so long as the release mechanism releases spring fitting 22 from fitting tightly over gripping clip 20 . For example, the release mechanism 44 may be adapted to remove the spring fitting 22 from the gripping clip 20 . The release mechanism 44 may itself be resilient and act as a spring to return to an original position after disengaging the spring fitting 22 . In a further example, the release mechanism 44 can be made as a sliding mechanism where the release mechanism includes a wedge portion that is adapted to slide between the end 42 and the lip 34 , thereby disengaging the end 42 from the lip 44 .
Referring back now to FIGS. 1-3, in use, an article of clothing is hung up, or suspended, with the hanger 10 by gripping the clothing with the gripping members 16 , 18 . Before an item is secured to the hanger, the gripping members 16 , 18 are in an open position. In the open position, the gripping clip 20 is open, with the front leg 30 pivoted away from the rear leg 24 . The clothing is placed against the rear leg 24 between the rear leg 24 and the front leg 30 . The front leg 30 is then swivelled at the hinge connection 28 toward the rear leg 24 so that the protrusions 32 can grip the clothing.
To close the gripping member 16 , the spring fitting 22 is placed over the gripping clip 20 and slid downward such that the front leg 30 is forced towards the rear leg 24 . As the spring fitting 22 slides down the gripping clip 20 , the slope or protrusion on the outer surface of the front leg 30 helps to increase the force applied by the spring fitting 22 , which in turn increases the force urging the front leg 30 toward the rear leg 24 . Since the spring fitting 22 is resilient, sliding the spring fitting 22 downward does not require excessive force. The resiliency of the spring fitting 22 also helps to improve the force applied between the front leg 30 and the rear leg 24 . As the spring fitting 22 is moved toward the base of gripping member 16 , the end 42 moves beyond and clears the edge of the lip 34 . After clearing the edge of the lip 34 , the end 42 snaps into place abutting lip 34 . The spring fitting 22 now engages and secures gripping members 16 , 18 .
When it is desired to remove the clothing from the hanger 10 , pressure is applied to the tab 46 thereby causing the tab 46 to swivel around its pivot point 47 . As the tab 46 swivels, the protrusion 48 presses against the end 42 of the spring fitting 22 . Consequently, the end 42 shifts outward as pressure is applied from the protrusion 48 , and eventually clears the lip 34 . Once the end 42 clears the lip 34 , the spring fitting 22 is released and can be easily slid in an upward direction. As the spring fitting 22 slides upward, the distance between the first leg 36 and the second leg 40 decreases due to the slope of the outer surface of the front leg 30 . The combination of the resiliency of the spring fitting 22 and the slope or protrusion on the front leg 30 contribute to urge the spring fitting 22 upward. The force applied by the spring fitting 22 decreases as the first leg 36 and the second leg 40 are permitted to approach each other. As the spring fitting 22 continues to slide upward, the front leg 30 is released, permitting the gripping members 16 , 18 to be opened. The front leg 30 is swivelled upwards away from the rear leg 24 about the hinge connection 28 and the clothing can be removed.
In summary, by providing a release easily operated by an individual user, a securing mechanism for a gripping member on a hanger can be easily disengaged. This provision permits the hanger to be used more quickly and reliably, with less effort on the part of the individual user.
Having described preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. | A hanger with a locking mechanism to secure gripping members can be disengaged with a user operated lever. The gripping members engage and securely retain an item such as an article of clothing when the locking mechanism is engaged. A tab located on the gripping members acts as a lever and disengages the locking mechanism with decreased effort by an individual user. With this structure, the item can be easily secured to the hanger by engaging the locking mechanism, and free by easily disengaging the locking mechanism by operation of the tab. | 0 |
This application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/300,594, filed Feb. 2, 2010.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a new pavement preservation material that combines fine polymers, cement, fly-ash, aggregate, microfibers and water to form a flexible pavement surfacing overlay that exhibits superior performance, product uniformity, wear, shrinkage and surface friction properties.
2. Background
Most pavement preservation materials are bituminous; however, polymer modified cement materials are also available for use in pavement preservation and service life extension. With an increase in the cost of asphalt, the use of polymer modified cementitious materials have gained more acceptance, and such materials have been more widely used on a variety of road surfaces.
Current polymer modified cementitious materials are typically blended on site and make use of a dry blend of solids and cements, a liquid polymer emulsion and water. The product(s) are widely sold to contractors and combined according to approximate mixture parameters. There is a risk that the amount of the polymer and cement, the most costly mix components, can potentially vary according to the desired level of profitability on the job, rendering the service performance inadequate. Hence, quality, unless strictly controlled or supervised, can vary considerably.
Current polymers used for polymer modified cementitious overlays are mostly acrylic latex polymers which, when mixed with cement and aggregate blends, generate very high air voids. The high air voids will make the product porous. The porous cured product will neither fully protect asphalt surfaces from hydrocarbons, nor prevent the ingress of surface water into the underlying supporting layers. The high air void content (and associated lower density of the placed product) will also result in a product that is more susceptible to wear, abrasion and friction loss.
Further, the polymer modified cementitious materials are installed on a pavement surface, the polymer tends to form a thin polymer film on the surface despite thorough mixing prior to placement. Depending on the ambient temperatures and humidity, the accelerated curing of this thin polymer film can lead to the development of tension cracks as this layer shrinks more rapidly than the underlying mix. The most commonly applied method to reduce the incidence of these crack formations is to simply break the surface tension by spreading a thin layer of sand on the surface. However, this is not well received; firstly, it is a second process that needs to be performed after installing the polymer modified layer; and, secondly, it is very difficult to control the broadcasting of the sand in a single closed traffic lane being overlaid.
Also, to increase the skid resistance of the polymer modified cements, the use of a topically applied sand is usually required. Although increasing the sand content in the mix can also aid in increasing the skid resistance, the current range of polymer modified cement pavement overlay mixtures typically have gap graded sands, i.e., a blend of 2 to 3 specified sizes, which means that the incidence of segregation (the heavier, coarser, sand settling well below the wearing friction surface) prevents the sand from having a significant effect on the surface friction.
The current range of polymer modified cementitious surfacing materials have demonstrated that they are susceptible to even more segregation when necessarily applied in thicker lifts, such as in the wheelpaths that have rutted ½ inch or more, and over cracks that are greater than ¼ inch wide and deep. When the mix has segregated, the larger particles settle to the bottom of the layer, and the fines remain at the top. In addition, when sand segregation does occur, the discontinuous sand profile provides poor flexural performance and cracks form when the layer is subjected to trafficking.
Current polymer modified cementitious surfacing materials are applied during the day to take advantage of sunlight or daylight to help achieve hydration of the cement and therefore allow the road to be opened to traffic within a reasonable timespan. The night time cure times can be as long as 4 to 5 hours depending on the temperature and humidity. Heaters and air blowers have been tried to aid in accelerating the curing process, but such usage is not recommended as the removal of water will reduce the water available for hydration and will weaken the strength aspect contributed by the cement in the mix. This slow cure is difficult to address inasmuch as most commercially available cement accelerators do not work with polymer modified cements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present formulation of a new polymer cement surface overlay mix has been developed to address limitations in the current range of polymer modified cements described above in the background, and each component has been selected and quantified to achieve desired performance properties which are described in detail in the Detailed Description herein.
The present mix includes a specific dry combination of the following components: finely graded polymers; well graded aggregates such as Microsurfacing Type 2 or Type 3 aggregate (sometimes referred to as Type II or Type III aggregates) or C144 aggregates; Type I cement; Type C or Type F fly ash; intermediate length polymer microfibers; and, optionally, accelerators and retarders. The dry mix is delivered to the site and mixed with specified amounts of water. The mixture is mixed until workability is sufficient for application and, thereafter, applied to the substrate in depths of about ⅛ inch to about 1 inch in lifts or layers. The mixture is allowed to cure for about 3 to about 4 hours before being returned to traffic.
The present invention uses commercially available Microsurfacing Type 2 or Type 3 aggregate or C144 aggregate suited to pavement preservation applications in order to provide a well graded aggregate matrix that is not prone to segregate during installation as opposed to more commonly used engineered gap graded prior mix types that are prone to segregate. In addition, by reducing use of the #60 to #120 fine mesh sand in the mix, the dry solid surface area of the aggregate is reduced along with the resultant water requirement necessary to achieve workability. The lower water requirement also reduces the water cement ratio, which ultimately increases the efficiency of the hydration process and therefore increases the short term strength of the inventive mix resulting in a more rapid return to service of the overlaid pavement.
It is an object of this invention to use the larger aggregate fractions, even greater than the 2.65 mm sieve size in the Microsurfacing Type 2 or C144 aggregate gradation, to provide a naturally forming textured surface which will provide skid resistance without having to topically apply aggregate to provide skid resistance.
It is a further object of this invention to use finer aggregate fractions found in mortar sand, to provide a less aggregate textured surface to offer the minimal skid resistance with reduced noise levels.
It is another object of this invention to use the larger aggregate fractions within the well graded aggregate to enable the construction of thicker (but still less than about 1 inch) and internally stable wet and cured lifts in wheelpaths on road surfaces.
It is still a further object of this invention to use a polypropylene (PP) microfiber, preferably about ¼ inch long, to improve the workability of the mix, reduce the incidence of shrinkage cracks in the cured material, which will increase the flexible properties of the cured material, and thereby also reduce the incidence of segregation of the larger aggregate particles while curing.
It is still another object of this invention to use polypropylene microfibers, preferably about 1 inch long, in the mix when the product will be installed in lifts thicker than about ½ inch to increase the flexural strength of the layer, and thereby also reduce its ability to crack under flexure over the long term.
It is still yet a further object of this invention to use a pozzolanic filler that does not exhibit alkali silica reaction tendencies in the dry blend to improve the workability of the mix, reduce the shrinkage of the cured material, and improve the long term strength development of the cured material. A preferred filler is a Type F Fly Ash which improves the resistance of the mix to the development of Alkali Silica Reactivity (ASR) in areas where the local aggregate contains high silica components.
A further object of this invention is to use a dry redispersible polymer, as opposed to a liquid polymer emulsion, to improve the quality control of the product on site. During the conformance and performance testing by independent agencies the dry polymer will allow for a higher level of repeatability in the mixing, applied quality, and testing of the product. Using a dry polymer will also allow the blended product to be delivered to site and simply require the introduction of water only, which simplifies the mixing and placing operation on site.
Still another object of this invention is to use a dry redispersible polymer that has been engineered to allow thin and thick layers of polymer modified layers to be flexible, where liquid polymers have limited flexibility in thicker lifts of polymer modified cement slurries.
Still a further object of this invention is to use a redispersible polymer that also has a defoaming and self leveling action to assist with the reduction of air during the mixing process that is common in prior polymer modified mortars. The reduction of air voids to below 5% is to reduce the permeability and increase the abrasion resistance of the cured material. This polymer is blended with another polymer to ensure that the polymer provides a defoaming action, increases the flexibility of the cured product, and also provides self leveling performance.
Still yet another object of this invention is to provide a polymer to cementitious content ratio of above about 0.15 which is much higher than the ratios proposed for conventional polymer modified mortars. This higher ratio enables the provision of a rapidly cured but highly flexible material. This higher polymer to cementitious content ratio is adopted to allow a higher cementitious content to be used to achieve initial adequate compressive strength (as well as higher full term cure strength), but also allows the product to be pliable to cope with flexible asphalt support surfaces.
A final object of this invention to be expressly recited is to include sufficient cement by total weight of the mix to provide sufficient short term (3 hour) vertical compressive strength to allow a truck tire (100 psi) to traffic the material without deformation.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be read in conjunction with both this summary, the detailed description and any preferred and/or particular embodiments specifically discussed or otherwise disclosed. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only and so that this disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a typical grading chart envelope for Type II Microsurfacing or C144 aggregate suitable for use in the invention mixture.
FIG. 2 is a testing device for measuring field compressive strength of the invention mixture during cure.
FIG. 3 is a flow meter for testing the invention mixture workability in the field prior to placement.
FIG. 4 shows a batch mixer for combining the dry components of the mixture and water on site.
FIG. 5 shows an equipment configuration where a batch mixer feeds a self-propelled mixer/spreader.
FIG. 6 is a top view showing a 4 chambered screed for depositing the mixture on a pavement.
FIG. 7 is a rear elevation view of the screed of FIG. 6 , showing the elastomeric rear lip.
FIG. 8 shows a detail of a height adjustable endplate of the FIG. 6 screed.
FIG. 9 shows self propelled screed equipped batch mixer/spreader for the mixture.
FIG. 10 is a pavement substrate cross section with an overlay according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a pavement substrate section including a substrate crack pre-treatment according to the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a perspective cut-away view of the pavement substrate with overlay section shown according to the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a typical high shear volumetric mixing system for use according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The formulation of the new mix has been developed around the following components. Each component has been selected and quantified to provide certain performance properties which are described in detail below.
TABLE 1
Mix Components, the Proportions and Their Contribution
Approximate %
Range By
Mix Component
Weight
Material Type
Desired Performance
Elotex 2211
0.5-1%
Polymer
Reduced air voids
and either
Elotex 2322
3-3.5%
Polymer
High flexibility; Strong bond with
substrate
or Elotex 2320
3-3.5%
Polymer
High flexibility; Strong bond with
substrate
Well graded
49-59%
Aggregate
Thickness; Increase skid resistance;
Type 2 or C144
Limit segregation; Place thicker lifts or
aggregate, or
layers
equivalent
Type ½ Cement
15-25%
Cement
Rapid initial and long term compressive
strength gain
Type C or Type F
1-20%
Pozzolanic
Workability; Resists ASR, segregation
Fly Ash
Filler
and shrinkage; Long term compressive
strength gain
Hardtflow, or
0-2%
Plasticizer
Workability, to accommodate lower
equivalent
water to reduce the water:cement ratio
Potable Water
11-21%
Water
Hydrates cement; Improves workability
and flowability
PP Microfibers
0.08-1.16%
Microfibers
Limit segregation; Improves
(about ⅜ inch to
workability; Limits exotherm generation
about 1½ inch
long)
Calcium
0%-10%
Accelerator
Accelerate curing process for night time
Chloride, or
and time constrained projects
equivalent
Quikrete
0%-5%
Retarder
Delay the change in workability that
Retarder
comes from adding an accelerator
The current specifications for Elotex 2211 and 2322 are as follows:
Type 2322 or Type 2320:
Type 2211:
Appearance free-flowing,
Appearance free-flowing,
white powder
white powder
Bulk density 350-650 g/l
Bulk density 440-640 g/l
Residual moisture maximum 1.0%
Residual moisture maximum 1.0%
Ash TGA 1000° C.
Ash TGA 1000° C. 10.5% +/− 1.5%
6.0%-10.5% +/− 1.5%
pH value 6.0-9.0
pH value 7.0-8.5
(as a 10% dispersion in water)
(as a 10% dispersion in water)
Min. film building temp. +0° C.
Min. film building temp. + 3° C.
Film properties opaque, flexible
Film properties opaque, viscoplastic
ELOTEX® FX2322, FX2320, and FL 2211 are redispersible binders based on the copolymer of vinyl acetate and ethylene. The protective colloid in each is a polyvinyl alcohol and the powder further includes additive mineral anti-block agents. FX 2320 has slightly higher bulk density (on average) than FX 2322 and a somewhat higher Ash TGA. (FX 2320: Bulk density 450-650 g/l; Ash TGA 1000° C. 10.5%+/−1.5%; FX 2322: Bulk density 350-500 g/l; Ash TGA 1000° C. 6.0%+/−1.5%). These two polymer powders can be used interchangeably in the mixture as noted herein. Type 2211 is used in each version of the mixture.
The components, appearance or properties of these two products could be modified and improvements made over time and therefore should the product, or its code be modified, then it is contemplated that the present invention shall also include the new product specifications or code.
The unique mix target combinations or ratios of the mix components have been developed based on desired performance, field performance observations and laboratory testing and are tabulated in Table 2 below.
TABLE 2
Mix Design Proportions and Ratios
Approximate
Component Ratios
Ratio Range
H 2 0:Cement
0.35-0.8
Polymer:Cementitious
0.15-0.3
(includes cement and fly ash)
Polymer:Dry Solids
0.04-0.07
Cement:Aggregate
0.25-0.5
This invention uses commercially available Microsurfacing Type 2, C144, or equivalent aggregate suited to pavement preservation applications. This aggregate provides a well graded aggregate matrix that is not prone to segregate during installation and cure. The limits of the Microsurfacing Type 2, C144, or equivalent aggregate are shown using the grading envelope in the FIG. 1 Grading Chart. A typical commercially available Type 2, C144, or equivalent aggregate suitable for use in the mix of the present invention is Butler Sand from the Quikrete Companies, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.
This invention enables the use of larger aggregate fractions, up to a maximum of a 9.5 mm sieve size, found in the Microsurfacing Type 2, 89 stone, C33, or C144 aggregate gradations, to provide a naturally forming, during cure, textured surface which will provide skid resistance. The resulting textured surface forms during the curing of the surface and shrinkage or levelling of the top layer of the overlay to conform to the shape of the uppermost underlying aggregate. In addition, the use of the larger aggregate fractions within the well graded aggregate enables the construction of thicker (<1 inch) internally stable lifts in wheelpaths and other depressed areas on the overlaid road surfaces.
This invention uses a polypropylene microfiber, preferably at least ⅜ inch long, to improve the workability of the mix, which reduces the incidence of shrinkage cracks in the cured material and increases the flexible properties of the cured material. The fiber addition also reduces the incidence of segregation of the larger aggregate particles while curing. The use of about 1 inch long polypropylene microfibers in the mix is preferred when the product will be installed in lifts thicker than about ½ inch to increase the flexural strength of the layer and also reduce its ability to crack under flexure over the long term. Commercially available micro fiber materials to meet the foregoing requirements include those from Durafiber Inc., Nashville, Tenn., or equivalent.
This invention uses a pozzolanic filler in the dry blend to improve the workability of the mix, reduce the shrinkage of the cured material, and improve the long term strength development of the cured material. This invention uses a Type C or Type F Fly Ash filler to improve the resistance of the mix to the development of Alkali Silica Reactivity (ASR) in areas where the local Type 2 aggregate or C144 aggregate contain high silica components. Commercially available Fly Ash materials which meet this requirement include Boral Fly Ash available from Boral Material Technologies, Inc., San Antonio, Tex., or an equivalent.
This invention uses a dry redispersible polymer so as to improve the quality control during the mixing of the product on site. A dry polymer will allow the blended mixture to be delivered to the site and simply require the introduction of water only, which simplifies the mixing and placing operation on site. The redispersible polymer also has a defoaming and self leveling action to assist with the reduction of air during the mixing process that is common in polymer modified mortars. The reduction of air improves the impermeability of the surface mix and increases the abrasion resistance of the cured material. This polymer is blended with another polymer that to ensure that the polymer provides a defoaming action, increases the flexibility of the cured product, and also provides self leveling performance. Commercially available polymer materials to meet this requirement include the Elotex products available from Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals, Brewster, N.Y.
The polymer to cementitious content (including cement and fly ash) ratio of above at least 0.15 enables the provision of a strong but highly flexible material. This high polymer to cement ratio allows a higher cement content to be used to achieve initial adequate compressive strength, but also allows the product to be pliable to cope with the flexible asphalt support surfaces being overlaid. Cement (>15%) by total weight of the mix provides sufficient short term (3 hour) vertical compressive strength to allow a truck tire (100 psi) to traffic the material without deformation and thereby enable a rapid return to service of the travel lane. A pocket penetrometer, shown in FIG. 2 , can be used to measure the vertical compressive strength of the curing mix in place, and easily gauge the compressive strength of the thin lift on the road surface at selected intervals during curing. Once the vertical compressive strength registers a strength that exceeds 100 psi, then moderate traffic is allowed onto the surface. Commercially available Type I/II cement materials to meet this requirement include Quikrete® cement available from Quikrete Companies, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., or an equivalent.
Calcium chloride or another suitable accelerator to mix in the foregoing mixture or dissolved, or dispersed in the mixing water could include regular road de-icing coarse granulated materials or an equivalent. The accelerator should either be mixed in the dry blend delivered on site in the proportion noted in Table I, or it should be dissolved in the water prior to adding the dry blend.
This invention uses a standard flow cone 5 , as shown in FIG. 3 , test (ASTM C939) with a ¾ inch spout 7 to measure the flow of the mix. A user fills the cone 5 to fill line 6 , and clocks the time for the mix to pass through the spout 7 under gravity. This test is done on site so as to ensure the product consistency/workability and to assure that the product is being mixed in accordance with the specifications and the design. The flow time of the mix through the cone should fall between 25 seconds and 1 minute so as to enable the mix to be mixed and placed without blockage occurring in the placing equipment, such as shown in FIGS. 4-9 . The use of an alternative flow device can be allowed, as long as calibration data is available prior to the test.
Application Types
The inventive mixture can be applied over both asphaltic and concrete surfaces as well as other suitable pavements. The product requires only one application of a single lift or layer of material to achieve a wearing surface. If the existing surface is severely spalled, severely textured, or rough, then two successive lifts or layers could be appropriate to achieve a final level surface. If the substrate maintenance design period, remaining structural life, or design interval is less than or equal to 5 years, then such surface is not usually considered a good candidate for the use of the overlay mixture of the present invention.
The following surface types could be considered for use with the overlay composition of the present invention:
Sealcoats Single Chip, Double Chip or Cape Seals Type I, Type II or Type III Slurries Type I, Type II or Type III Microsurfacings Thin hot mix flexible asphalt pavement surfaces with high surface deflections (≧0.8 mm deflection) Thick hot mix flexible asphalt pavement surfaces with low surface deflections (≦0.8 mm deflection) Unjointed, Jointed, Continuously Reinforced Portland Cement Concrete Pavements, sidewalks, or cycle paths Whitetopping Roller compacted concrete Stamped or Stenciled Cross walks Tennis court acrylic surfacings
Material Handling
The dry solid components of the present invention are delivered to site in bulk bags or other containers. The dry blend materials are plant mixed to a uniform consistency, and delivered to site, preferably, in weatherproof containers and stored in a covered and ventilated location. The water used for mixing the product should preferably be of potable quality and as free as practicable from soluble salts. (This may require pre-treatment or filtering to achieve the desired low level of soluble salts.)
It is preferred that all of the dry solid components, including the aggregate, be mixed together as above described when delivered to site in bulk bags in order to ensure product quality. However, it is also possible that the aggregate component can be separately delivered apart from the other dry solid components to site, and thoroughly mixed with the other solid components at the site before they are added to the water.
The Mixing Procedure
The material is suitable for mixing in small batches using a paddle mixer, portable mortar mixers, seal coat mixing machines or even adapted self propelled high production microsurfacing or slurry vehicles such as those shown in FIG. 4 , 5 , 9 and as described below.
The materials delivered to a site include a preblended combination of the cementitious components, dry solids and microfibers. The water is first added to the mixing equipment, such as batch mixing machine 10 (shown in FIG. 4 ) or secondary mixing machine 50 (shown in FIG. 5 ) and then the dry solids are added incrementally until a smooth mixture is obtained. When mixed together, this blend creates a “slurry” type mixture that when applied to asphalt, concrete and other pavement types forms a continuous thin lift of material on the surface. The mix is blended for a minimum of 5 minutes or instantly using a high shear mixer before placing the material in the pull blade screed device 70 such as that shown in FIG. 6-8 .
To add color, the dry pigments can either be preblended with the dry solids or a liquid or dry color additive should be added to the water, before adding the dry solids in the field.
When the ambient temperature exceeds 90° F., then either chilled water (40° F.) should be used or 50% by weight of the water should be replaced by ice cubes from a commercial source.
Where the ambient temperature is less than 50° F., or if night time paving is anticipated, then an “accelerator” and “retarder” blend of additives should be added that is appropriate for the surface being paved. For example, the accelerator calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) should be used only over asphalt, and not concrete surfaces that have steel reinforcement.
The prescribed flowability testing of the mix for each batch will dictate whether additional water is required. Depending on the size of the batch, if the desired level of flowability is not achieved, then additional water can be added in increments of no more than about 0.5% by weight of the total mix, until the desired level of flowability is achieved. This additional increased amount should be recorded, and the remainder of the batches, should have the water content increased accordingly.
Optimum Placement Conditions
The mixture of the present invention should not be applied when the surface, such as surface 104 in FIG. 10 , is wet or impending weather conditions will not allow for proper curing. When rain appears imminent, placement operations should cease until the threat of rain has passed. In addition, the inventive mixture should not be placed until both the ambient and substrate temperatures are 50° F. (10° C.) and rising and are expected to remain above 50° F. (10° C.) for at least 8 hours. If the ambient temperature exceeds 90° F. (32° C.) the water used in the mix should be cooled to 40° F. (5° C.), and if the temperatures are anticipated to exceed 100° F. (38° C.) then it is recommended that 50% of the weight of the water should be made available in commercially sourced ice cubes.
Application temperatures of the substrate that exceed 130° F. (50° C.) should be closely monitored for performance during the first application of the mixture. Any observable defects such as surface cracking occurring as a result of extreme temperature should be cause for immediate halting of placement operations. It is recommended that if this occurs with the intervention of cooled water or ice, then an additive should be added to slow down the rate of hydration.
Surface Preparation
The area to be surfaced, such as surface 104 in FIG. 10 , must be structurally sufficient and should reasonably offer a minimum of 5 years of acceptable serviceability without the new surfacing, for its intended purpose. If the surface is a newly constructed asphalt surface, the surface should be allowed to cure for a minimum of 2 weeks, so that there is no concentration of residual oils (volatiles) on the surface.
As is the case for any overlay product, the surface 104 that is to receive the mixture should be cleaned of sand, dirt, dust, rock, or any other debris that could prevent proper adhesion. The cleaning can be accomplished by power broom, scraping, blowing, pressure washing, ice or other blasting techniques to ensure a clean surface to allow bonding between the mixture surface course and the substrate.
A degreaser, if needed, can be used to thoroughly remove areas of bleeding, excess sealant, oils, fuels, or other contaminants that could prevent proper adhesion. Areas identified as soft, unstable, or otherwise unsuitable for overlay during the cleaning process should be removed to a depth where the substrate is structurally sound and repaired, such as substrate 106 in FIG. 10 .
All cracks greater than ¼ inch (6 mm) and less than ¾ inch (19 mm) in width should be cleaned out to remove raveled aggregate, dirt, vegetation, organic matter, and pliable joint sealants. The cracks should be blown out with compressed air to remove any loose debris. Once all the cracks have been cleaned out, the surface should be cleaned in accordance with the methods proposed above to clean the surface. After the crack has been cleaned, a 12 inch (300 mm) wide layer of a self adhesive stress absorbing interlayer 208 can be applied on the surface, spanning the crack. An 18 inch (460 mm) wide layer of the mixture 204 / 205 should then be installed spanning and following the centerline of the crack. A second layer of the mixture 204 / 205 should be installed if necessary.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , if the cracks in substrate 200 are greater than ¾ inch (19 mm) in width, the cracks should be prefilled with an appropriate filler 202 / 203 , which could include the mixture material of the present invention with a larger size aggregate or may comprise an epoxy combination. Once the filler 202 / 203 has cured, a self adhesive stress absorbing interlayer 208 can be applied on the surface, spanning the filled crack. A layer of the mixture 204 / 205 should then be installed over and through the self adhesive stress absorbing interlayer 208 to lock/sandwich the interlayer product 208 into place. An additional wearing course 206 of inventive overlay mix, if necessary, can then be applied to smooth the surface.
A 18 inch wide paving mat interlayer strip can be used in place of a self adhesive stress absorbing interlayer 208 . To install the paving mat interlayer strip, a layer of the mixture 204 / 205 should be installed at least 18 inches wide spanning the crack. The paving mat interlayer is then imbedded in the mixture by hand, and then using either a broom or a squeegee, pressure is applied to the mat to remove any wrinkles and to force the mixture to bleed through to the surface. This surface should then be allowed to cure until dry to the touch, and then a second layer of the mixture 204 / 205 is then applied 18 inches wide using either a 18 inch wide hand operated pull box device or squeegees. A final surface course of the mixture 204 / 205 can then be applied over the entire pavement on top of this second layer once the lower surface has dried and reached the 100 psi strength.
Placement and Mixing Equipment
It is contemplated that the overlay composition of the present invention can be mixed and applied to the pavement surface to be coated by any suitable equipment.
With reference to FIG. 4-9 , the inventive mixture can be mixed, spread, struck-off, and finished in one operation by mechanical methods. The mechanical device(s) are preferably a self propelled primary 90 or secondary mixing and extrusion machine 50 . Conventional mechanical devices that can mix and place a single 3,000 LB tote bag to which is added to the 450 LB of water per tote bag in the mixer are sufficient.
A mobile 90 or fixed high capacity batch mixing machine ( 10 as shown in FIG. 4 ) or high shear volumetric mixer (illustrated in FIG. 13 ) can be used to produce multiple batches of the inventive mix. The multiple batches can be produced with the aid of either a fixed or mobile crane and/or a forklift. A single batch of dry solids will be provided in a 3,000 LB tote bag which is added to the 450 LB of water per tote bag in the mixer which can be considered a single “kit”. A normal job mix is 1 complete kit, and is mixed in the high capacity mixing machine 10 to reduce the loss of materials that could result from delays or sudden changes in ambient weather conditions. The truck mounted crane 92 or forklift lifts each 3,000 LB tote bag of dry solids over the opening 14 at the top of the mixer tank 11 and gravity feeds the dry blend through a valve at the bottom of each tote bag. Water is added to the mixer first, and then the dry mix is added in incremental additions. The mixing can be inspected using steps 13 and hand rail 16 through loading hatch 14 . Once a tote bag has been emptied into the agitating mixer 10 driven by motor 12 and shaft 15 , the inventive blend is allowed to mix for 5 to 15 minutes prior to discharging through valve 17 and hose 19 to the self-propelled secondary mixer machine 50 for material placement through the drag behind screed 70 .
Alternatively, continuous batching can be also be achieved for the present invention by using a conveyor 312 fed high shear volumetric mixer system 300 , as shown in FIG. 13 , with either a high or low dry blend holding capacity hopper 302 . The high shear volumetric mixer 300 system combines a high shear continuous mixer 304 to mix the material, a sump with agitator 316 to receive the mixture, and a hydraulic squeeze pump 306 , or equivalent, to distribute the materials for placement. These components in FIG. 13 can be installed permanently on a self propelled vehicle or on a rigid frame that can be transferred onto a flat bed vehicle or other means of transportation. Multiple tote bags can either be deposited in the high capacity hopper, or each individual tote bag can be fed individually continuously into the low capacity hopper 302 to a conveyor 312 . Water is added 310 by means of a pumping system in the high speed shear continuous mixing chamber 304 ; the mixture being discharged through valve 314 to surge agitator 316 . The blended inventive mix is then either pumped by means of the hydraulic squeeze pump 306 thru pipes 318 and 320 into the drag behind screed 70 (see FIG. 6 ) behind the vehicle or into the secondary mixer machine 50 (see FIG. 5 ).
The secondary mixing machine 50 can operate independently from the primary mixer 91 or can be coupled for high volume placements. The secondary mixer 50 is equipped with its own power source 55 , mixing shaft 56 and paddles 52 . The secondary mixer can receive premixed materials through elbow 54 , or can accept water and dry mix through its own loading hatch. Mixed material is discharged through discharge chute 51 to the drag behind screed 70 linked to the machine 50 by drag bars 57 . The screed 70 is height adjustable through link 53 and the side elements 74 can be raised and lowered depending on the thickness of the lift of mixture being placed. The screed 70 itself has multiple chambers 72 and 71 to spread and smooth the mixture as it is being placed. The mid-positioned cross member 73 divides the loading chambers 72 and the placing chamber(s) 71 . The end plate cross member 78 is preferably equipped with an elastomeric flexible edge, see FIG. 37 , to smooth the top surface of the placed material in the same way a spatula spreads cake frosting. Side elements 74 are adjustable by way of clamping bracket 79 and contain the edges of the spread mix into a lift of controllable dimensions.
Mixture Quality Control
To ensure consistent quality control on any job, it is preferred that the mixture be checked during the mixing process to ensure that its consistency is correct. A flow device should be used after 5 minutes of mixing to ensure that the rate of flow through an ASTM flow device, such as the FIG. 3 cone or an equivalent calibrated manufacturer provided flow device, so that uniformity between batches is maintained.
After the coating mixture has been placed on the pavement and the mixture surface is solid to the touch, the mixture should be checked to ensure that it is strong enough to carry traffic. To ensure that there are no subjectivity risks associated with this decision, a handheld compressive strength device 1 , as shown in FIG. 2 , should demonstrate that the surface is not marked when the compressive strength is 100 psi or greater for moderate trafficked surfaces. The device 1 includes an extended probe 2 that is placed in contact with the curing mixture. The device 1 is set to an expected testing pressure 3 using a pretensioned spring in handle 4 . On every project, it is also recommended that at least 1 set of 9 cube samples should be taken from a randomly selected batch per 500,000 square feet to assess the respective 7, 14 and 28 day strengths of the mix.
The following examples will serve to illustrate the present invention.
Example 1
Type I/II Cement 20% Type “C” Fly Ash 6% C144 Aggregate 54% Elotex 2322 3% Elotex 2211 1% DuraFiber 0.2%
Water by Weight of Dry Components 15%
The pre-mixed dry components were delivered in a 3,100 lb bulk bag. The amount of water was calculated, measured and deposited into the mixer unit. The bulk bag was opened, and the contents fed into a Neal 580 mixing machine to evaluate whether the materials can be mixed adequately in machines that are similar in construction. The mix was placed on a parking lot substrate using a pull blade with a 5 mm high fixed level screed to evaluate the surface texture and to determine the approximate yield.
Example 2
Type I Cement
18%
Type “C” Fly Ash
8%
Butler Sand
54%
Elotex 2322
3%
Elotex 2211
1%
DuraFiber
0.1%
Water by Weight of Dry Components
16%
The pre-mixed dry components were delivered in 80 lb bags. The water required for a single bag was calculated, measured and placed into the mortar mixer. A single bag was then opened, and the contents fed into a portable mortar mixing machine. The mix was observed to see whether the materials can be mixed thoroughly in machines that are similar in construction. After thorough mixing was observed, the process was repeated again with six bags. The water content was calculated and measured for the six 80 lb bags and then placed in the mixer. The six bags were opened and deposited into the mortar mixer. The mix was placed on a tennis court using a 6 foot pull blade with a 5 mm high fixed level screed and soft gum rubber blades to evaluate the surface texture and to determine the approximate yield.
Example 3
Type I/II Cement
20%
Type “C” Fly Ash
20%
C144 Sand
50%
Elotex 2320
3%
Elotex 2211
0.7%
Hardtflow
0.07%
DuraFiber
0.13%
Water by Weight of Dry Components
15%
The pre-mixed dry components were delivered in 3,000 lb bags. Five tote bags of pre-mixed dry component were discharged into the high capacity dry goods hopper of a self propelled high volume mixer using a forklift. The vehicle was driven to the location where the material was to be applied to the asphalt surface. The water and dry materials were discharged into the high shear pugmill mixing chamber and mixed until thorough mixing was observed. The water content was determined based on trials performed off site and then regulated with the water meter on the vehicle and flow testing. The mix was placed on the asphalt apron using a 12 foot adjustable pull blade with a variable height screed and a combination of soft and stiff gum rubber blades to create surface texture. The flow was checked at the beginning of each pull, and the water was only adjusted when the measured flow was too low. Once the dry goods hopper was empty, the vehicle was sent to the cleaning bay where the mixing chamber and the pull blade were rinsed with water. Then the vehicle dry goods was replenished with a further 5 tote bags and the installation was repeated.
While the present invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is indeed intended that the scope of the invention should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings. | A mix design for a polymer modified cement pavement overlay is disclosed along with a method of making and using the mix on a variety of pavement substrates. The mix includes a specific dry combination of: finely divided Elotex 2311 and 2322 or 2320 polymers; Type 2 or C144 aggregate or equivalent; Type I/II cement; Type F or Type C fly ash; intermediate length polymer microfibers; plasticizer; (optionally) calcium chloride or equivalent; (optionally) quikrete retarder or equivalent; and water. The mixture is combined and applied to the substrate in depths of about ⅛ to about 1 inch in lifts. The mixture is allowed to cure for 3-4 hours before being returned to traffic. The placed mixture exhibits preferred qualities of substrate adhesion, flexibility, tire friction, and wearability. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to digital mobile communication system, more particularly to a method for computing maximum traffic capacitance of a base station using a virtual call in the digital mobile communication system in such a way that an operator at operating terminal for Base Station Manager (BSM) inputs call-set-request-instructions using the virtual call to maintain and repair the digital mobile communication system so that traffic state is set between mobile stations in the service area of a test base station and a vocoder of a Base Station Controller (BSC) to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the test base station.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As a rule, maximum mobile station number being on service in a particular base station may be calculated manually through Mobile Switching Center (MSC) that processes call setting and switching of a traffic path, in the state of directly maintaining traffic either between test mobile stations or the test mobile stations and fixed subscribers in such a way that system operators set up the test mobile stations in the service area of the base station and provide communication service to general users to measure maximum traffic capacitance of the base station.
In the above case, however, a number of operators are needed to set the multiple mobile stations to a traffic state and it must be inevitably carried to monitor the existence of the mobile stations being abruptly cut from the traffic state and again make the cut mobile station to the traffic state. Therefore, many operators are needed to calculate maximum traffic capacitance of the base station, which results in difficulty in traffic calculation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,792 shows network traffic analysis, which comprises the steps of receiving real traffic data, computing a steady state distribution function and power spectral function from the data, generating a stochastic model of a nonnegative rate random process using frequency domain techniques, inputting the nonnegative rate random process in a queue of the network node, performing queuing analysis on the queue and constructing the network node using the design of the network node. This technique, however, causes traffic computation to be difficult and complex because of receiving real traffic data, providing a traffic model and analyzing the same by means of stochastic access.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a method for computing maximum traffic capacitance of a base station using a virtual call in a digital mobile communication system, which outputs the mobile station numbers on service to an operator whenever the mobile station numbers are changed on whether a call set has completed or not based on the virtual call and sends a call-set-request until the operator issues call-set-stop-instruction or the call set has completed as to the mobile stations being failed in call setting, so that the maximum traffic capacitance can be computed with ease for the operator to recognize present maximum traffic numbers on service and thereby to reduce the number of operators to participate in a test.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for computing maximum traffic capacitance of a base station using a virtual call in a digital mobile communication system comprising the steps of: (1) inputting and storing information for test mobile stations to a call set managing data base of Base Station Manager (BSM) to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the base station; (2) setting virtual calls to the mobile stations using instructions according to call type to set; (3) renewing the data base for the test mobile stations and outputting mobile station numbers on service; and (4) outputting statistics for mean maximum traffic capacitance of the test mobile stations.
In the one aspect, the step (2) further comprises the steps of: (1) initializing the call set managing data base and a maximum traffic capacitance computing data base for each mobile station upon request for a virtual call-set-start-instruction from an operator; (2) identifying whether a call-set-start-flag is set as start; and (3) when the call-set-flag was set as start, sending by the BSM a packet having the call-set-information for the test mobile stations in the call set managing data base of the BSM and virtual call type information to request call set to Call Control Processor(CCP), sending by the CCP a call-set-request-message to Base Transceiver Station Control Processor (BCP), and sending by the BCP information on whether the call set has completed to the CCP after performing action for setting call.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention disclosed herein will be understood better with reference to the following drawing of which:
FIG. 1 is a flowchart for call-set-path-signals that a traffic is set using a virtual call of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 are 2 A and flowcharts showing the process for computing maximum traffic capacitance of a base station using the virtual call according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in conjunction with attached drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a flowchart for call-set-path-signals that a traffic is set using a virtual call of the present invention.
First of all, the BSM 1 requests a virtual call from the CCP 2 , the CCP 2 receives the request (S 1 ) and requests the BCP 4 of associated BTS (S 2 ) to call Mobile Station (MS) 6 . The BCP 4 receives the request and requests Cannel Element (CE) 5 to call the MS 6 through a paging channel, and the CE 5 calls the MS 6 through the paging channel (S 4 ). Then the MS 6 that is watching the call senses and responds to the call for itself (S 5 ), the CE 5 reports to the BCP 4 that the MS 6 responded to the request for the virtual call (S 6 ), the BCP 4 requests the CCP 2 to set the virtual call (S 7 ), the CCP 2 acknowledges setting of the virtual call to the BCP 4 (S 8 ), the BCP 4 transfers information for initializing and reconstructing of a traffic channel to the CE 5 and activates the traffic channel (S 9 ), and the CE 5 sends forward null traffic data to the MS 6 to maintain connection with the MS 6 (S 10 ).
The MS 6 receives the traffic data and acknowledges activation of the traffic channel to the BCP 4 (S 11 ), the BCP informs the CE 5 of the allocation results of the traffic channel (S 12 ), the CE 5 informs the MS 6 of the allocation results through the paging channel (S 13 ), the CCP 2 sends information required to set a vocoder to the Transceiver Selector Bank (TSB) 3 (S 14 ), and the TSB 3 requires arranging information with regard to the call set from the CCP 2 (S 15 ).
Further the CE 5 acknowledges to the BCP 4 as to informing of the allocation results of the traffic channel (S 16 ), the MS 6 sends reverse null traffic data to the CE 5 to maintain connection with the BTS (S 17 ), time synchronization is matched between the TSB 3 and the CE 5 (S 18 , 19 ), and the CCP 2 provides to the TSB 3 Program Load Data(PLD) required to set the call such as in-traffic system parameter, time sync control parameter, reverse power control parameter, forward power control parameter etc. (S 20 ).
The CE 5 informs the BCP 4 that the traffic channel and the vocoder have been linked (S 21 ), the TSB 3 informs the CCP 2 that the traffic channel and the vocoder have been linked (S 22 ), the CE 5 informs the TSB 3 that the reverse traffic channel has acquired, and the TSB 3 acknowledges to the informing (S 24 ) and informs the MS 6 that the traffic channel is available (S 25 ).
Then the MS 6 acknowledges the informing in S 25 (S 26 ), the TSB 3 reports to the CCP 2 that the virtual call with the MS 6 has set (S 27 ), and the CCP 2 acknowledges the reporting in S 27 (S 28 ) and reports the set state of the virtual call to the BSM 1 (S 29 ). By means of the above process, the virtual call to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the base station may be set.
In FIGS. 2 and 2A, a flowchart is illustrated showing the process for computing maximum traffic capacitance of the base station using the virtual call according to the present invention.
Referring to the drawing, the process comprises the steps of: a first process of inputting and storing information for test mobile stations to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the base station to a call set managing data base of the BSM; a second process of requesting call setting to the CCP 2 using instructions according to a call type (Markov Call or Service Option 2 ) to set; a third process of receiving information with regard to the call setting and call cutting from the CCP 2 , renewing the data base for the test mobile stations and outputting mobile station numbers on service; and a fourth process of outputting statistics for mean maximum traffic capacitance of the test mobile stations during the time requesting maximum traffic capacitance computing for the test mobile stations.
At first, a description for the first process will be explained. An operator inputs and stores the information for the test mobile stations to the call set managing data base D 1 (S 1 , S 2 ). In general, the numerals of the test mobile stations may be in the range of 100 to 120.
The information comprises base station numbers, mobile station identification numbers, station mark class (characteristics having the mobile station) and traffic data rates, etc.
Then the second process will be explained. In the step 3 , a virtual call-set-start-instruction using the virtual call is processed. That is, in the step 3 , the BSM 1 initializes the call set managing data base D 1 and a maximum traffic capacitance computing data base D 2 for each mobile station upon request for the virtual call-set-start-instruction from an operator. Also the BSM 1 identifies whether a call-set-start-flag is set as start (S 4 ). When the call-set-flag was set as start, the BSM 1 sends a packet having the call-set-information for the test mobile stations in the call set managing data base of the BSM and a virtual call type information to request call set to the CCP 2 . Then the CCP 2 sends a call-set-request-message to the BCP 4 and the BCP 4 sends information on whether the call set has completed to the CCP after performing action for setting call (S 6 ). In the step S 4 , when the call-set-flag was not set as start, it means that test message has already been outputted (S 5 ).
In the present invention, types of the virtual call may be Markov call or Service option 2 as well known in the art. The Markov call provides pseudo random data to test the traffic channel between the mobile station, the channel of the BTS and the vocoder of the BSC. The test may be performed with a fixed data rate at one of 9600 bps, 4800 bps, 2400 bps and 1200 bps or a variable data rate. The mobile station and the vocoder of the BSC generate packet data for each traffic channel frame according to the rate to be desired by the operator. In case of the variable data rate, rate for each data may be selected by the pseudo random process being Qualcomm standard and the content of each packet also be processed by the pseudo random process. The vocoder of the BSC and Markov service option of the mobile station count numbers of transmission frame per each rate, and count type of received frame according to comparing results between information provided by a multiplex sublayer, received packet and a duplicate produced by itself then take statistics on frame error. Data transmission rate in testing by the variable data rate is determined by 4-state second order Markov chain (determined by transmission rate selected for 2 packets prior to present packet).
Referring to the Service option 2 , the vocoder of the BTS produces and transmits primary traffic packet to the mobile station, which transmits the received packet to the vocoder after admitted delay. The vocoder can produce packet sizes of 171, 80, 40 16 and 0 bit(s). The Service option 2 allows normal message and second traffic and the mobile station transmits frame defining information with upper 2 bits on received packet to determine quality of the forward traffic channel.
Frame type of the traffic data is divided into forward traffic channel frames and reverse traffic channel frames such as a table 1 and a table 2 listed below.
TABLE 1
Forward Traffic Channel Frames
Packet
Bits per
Type
Packet
Rate
Rate 1
171
9600 bps Traffic frame with 171 primary traffic bits
Rate
80
4800 bps Traffic or dim-and-burst Traffic with
1/2
80 primary bits
Rate
40
2400 bps Traffic or dim-and-burst Traffic with
1/4
40 primary bits
Rate
16
1200 bps Traffic or dim-and-burst Traffic with
1/8
16 primary bits
Blank
0
Blank-and-burst Traffic Channel frame
TABLE 2
Reverse Traffic Channel Frames
Packet Type
Bits per Packet
Rate 1
171
Rate 1/2
80
Rate 1/4
40
Rate 1/8
16
Blank
0
Rate 1 with Bit Errors
171
Insufficient Frame Quality (Erasure)
0
The third process for renewing the data bases of the test mobile stations and outputting the numbers of the mobile stations on service will now be explained. The CCP 2 receives a message on whether the call setting has completed from the BCP 4 and checks on whether the call setting has completed in the step 7 . When the call setting has completed, the CCP 2 sets the call-set-start-flag to “set up” in the data base D 1 (S 9 ). Also, when the call setting has not completed, the CCP 2 sets the call-set-start-flag to “no set up” in the data base D 1 (S 8 ). Then the BSM 1 renews maximum traffic call numbers, minimum traffic call numbers, call setting request numbers and call numbers on service in the data base D 2 and outputs the associated information to the operator (S 10 ).
In the step 7 , a call setting path is as follows; the vocoder of the BSC⇄channel element⇄the mobile station.
In the step 11 , the CCP 2 identifies that the call-set-start-flag was set to “set up” until service states of the test mobile stations have reached a predetermined limit value. If not reaching the limit value, flow returns to step 6 . In detail, the BSM 1 searches the data base D 1 every 20 seconds. That is the time to be taken until the call setting has completed at one time. When it occurs that there are the mobile stations that are in non-traffic states due to problems in system or radio circumstance, the flow returns to the step 6 .
In other words, the step 11 is performed for identifying traffic states for each mobile station because it is impossible to measure maximum mean traffic capacitance through call setting with one time. For example, if call settings for only a predetermined number of the mobile stations out of 120 mobile stations have completed due to various circumstances, the BSM 1 searches the data base D 1 every 20 seconds and sends again the call-set-request-message to the CCP 2 . According to this, call setting process for traffic state will be started again to take call setting for a predetermined number of the mobile stations. The process as described above will be repeated until service states of the mobile stations, which were required to set call, have reached the limit value to compute the maximum traffic capacitance of the base station.
Finally, the fourth process for outputting statistics for the mean traffic capacitance will be described. In the step 11 , if it is judged that the service state has reached the limit value, the operator inputs mean maximum traffic capacitance request using scanning times representing how often an operator is intended to take statistics through setting of the virtual call (S 12 ). The scanning times also represent the times for calculating the mean maximum traffic capacitance in relation with the mobile stations on service. The BSM 1 designate the mobile stations on service to maximum traffic number, minimum traffic number or the whole number of the mobile stations on service during the time requested from the operator and starts initializing operation for computing traffic based on the designation (S 13 ). After identifying that the scanning times have ended (S 14 ), the BSM 1 outputs information for maximum service call numbers, minimum service call numbers, call-set-request times and mean service numbers. According to this process, the operator can recognize statistics for the mean maximum traffic capacitance (S 15 ). In the step 14 , when the scanning times have not ended, flow returns to step 13 .
In case of receiving input in step 12 , the BSM 1 initializes the data base D 2 and renews next data base to compute mean maximum traffic capacitance inputted from the operator every 10 seconds. The mean maximum traffic capacitance is given as scanning times/sum of calls on service every 10 seconds.
According to the above description, the present invention has the effect of outputting the mobile station numbers on service to an operator whenever the mobile station numbers are changed on whether a call set has completed or not based on the virtual call and sends a call-set-request until the operator issues call-set-stop-instructions or call set has completed as to the mobile station being failed in call setting, so that the maximum traffic capacitance can be computed with ease for the operator to recognize present maximum traffic numbers on service and thereby to reduce the number of operators to participate in a test.
It is further understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description is a preferred embodiment of the disclosed method and that various changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. | A method for computing maximum traffic capacitance of a base station using a virtual call in the digital mobile communication system in such a way that an operator at operating terminal for Base Station Manager (BSM) inputs call-set-request instructions using the virtual call to maintain and repair the digital mobile communication system so that traffic state is set between mobile stations in the service area of test base station and a vocoder of a Base Station Controller (BSC) to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the test base station. An operator at operation terminal inputs call set information by operator instruction as much as mobile station numbers to be tested to compute maximum traffic capacitance of the base station. The BSM inputs a virtual call-set-request-instruction by means of a virtual call-set-start-flag. A virtual call-set-path is given among the vocoder of the BSC, the channel element, and the mobile station without going through Mobile Switching Center (MSC) that processes call setting and switching of a traffic path. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved passenger vehicle transit rail system to be installed above a city sidewalk for carrying a plurality of passenger vehicles within a closed loop.
The ever increasing congestion on city streets, freeways, and other vehicular arteries, both inter-city and intra-city, has created a need for new ground transportation systems. It is well-known that the acceptance of a transmit system by the general public depends upon its ability to provide economical transportation which is as fast as or faster than other existing forms of transportation, such as the personal automobile, buses, streetcars, and the like. By way of example, a transit system, to be acceptable, must be capable of transporting as many people over any given route of the transit system as a typical freeway. Moreover, the transit system must be safer than the automobile and must be capable of reliable operation in all kinds of weather. Preferably, the passenger service of the transit system should be immune to stoppage as a result of labor disputes. Summarizing, then, the ideal transit system is one which satisfies five basic requirements; speed, economy, reliability, safety and continuous availability.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,664, issued July 20, 1971, discloses a conveying system that directs vehicles around a maze of tracks by a pair of slots in a flat surface below the vehicle, wherein the slots are engaged by rollers alternately engaging the slots to change vehicle direction, to either left or right.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,462, issued Dec. 23, 1971, discloses an overhead monorail vehicle switching apparatus that incorporates a pivotal mechanical rocking assembly that engages a left or right hand side of the overhead support rail, thereby selecting a left or right direction at a switch junction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,535, issued Nov. 19, 1974, discloses an automatic overhead supporting monorail system. This system utilizes overhead mounted motors to propel the vehicle by driving a segmented tow bar supporting the vehicle from above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,278, issued Aug. 25, 1981, discloses improvements to an overhead monorail transit system consisting of guide fingers slidably engaging guide bars causing the vehicle to turn into a station. Additionally, an improved turning means is disclosed consisting of a pair of wedge-shaped guides sliding within grooves in a flat platform located at each track turn below the car. The guides improve car stability by resisting centrifugal forces and turns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a transit system which satisfies the foregoing requirements. In general terms, the transit system of the invention is characterized by a multiplicity of vehicles which are driven independently along a guide line complex. This guide line complex includes a main line and shunt lines with stations spaced at frequent intervals. Each station is located on a siding adjacent to a main line. Each siding has a length of shunt line for deceleration before reaching the station and a length of line for acceleration to main line speed. The passenger can direct the vehicle past all stations to any final destination by a manual control lever that directs the vehicle into a station by engaging guide slots under the vehicle on the main line deck between track rails. As the vehicle approaches the station of destination on the siding, the vehicle is automatically braked to bring the vehicle to a smooth stop in front of the station. The passenger then disembarks to empty the vehicle for the next passenger. After a new passenger enters, the vehicle is then propelled from the station of departure, accelerated to main line speed before entering the main line, and then propelled along the main guide line at a constant speed toward a new station of destination.
According to a feature of the invention, each vehicle includes an elongate tow bar which is pivoted at the front allowing back end movement between the guide beams of the transit system, and a cargo carrier mounted on wheels above the tow bar. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, this cargo carrier is a passenger vehicle or cab for holding two passengers.
The vehicle is propelled by motor-driven rollers mounted on support beams. These rollers are disposed for peripheral driving engagement with the longitudinal edges of the tow bar on each vehicle and are spaced such that they effect continuous driving of the vehicle as the latter moves along the guide line. Spacing between motors is slightly less than the length of the tow bar. The roller motors are started and brought up to speed immediately prior to engagement between the tow bar and the roller motors. Power to the motors is shut off after the tow bar passes through. All driving rollers on the main track run at the same speed so that all vehicles travel at the same speed. Acceleration and deceleration occurs only on the shunt lines.
The system of the present invention includes a conveyor belt in each station to slowly move vehicles that have entered the station. A counting means controls the number of vehicles within the station and a switching means is adapted to divert vehicles to a subsequent station from any station that is full. Additionally, a remote operator at a main control panel can divert any vehicle into a station in an emergency by overriding the controls in an individual vehicle.
In addition to application in a metropolitan environment as set forth above, the inventive system is well-suited for installation at large airports where passengers must travel between air terminals, or between air terminals and other ground transport systems.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a simple two-station transport system of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a two-passenger vehicle of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the two-passenger vehicle of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a vehicle and supporting structure of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the rail switching apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6--6 of FIG. 5, with a schematic representation of the vehicle guide means added;
FIG. 7 is a schematic elevation view of the station and conveyor belt of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is an elevation view of a vehicle sitting on the conveyor belt within the passenger station; and
FIG. 9 is an electrical schematic of the system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1, the closed loop transit system 10, is illustrated with two stations 12a and 12b on the shunt tracks 14a and 14b and having a plurality of passenger vehicles 16 either in the stations, waiting on the shunt tracks, or travelling on the main line 18. It is to be understood that while the invention is described hereinafter with reference to vehicles adapted to transport people, such vehicles can be configured as cargo vehicles, as for instance in a large factory or facility with robotic delivery of parts or raw materials. Additionally, when adapted for carrying people, the 2-person design disclosed herein is not exclusive --the vehicles may be configured to transport any reasonable number of passengers. Each station has an entry portion 20a and 20b and an exit portion 22a and 22b. Each vehicle 16 is individually controlled by a passenger with reference to starting and selecting and entering a station, but the speed on the main track 18 is fixed by constant speed motors as set forth below.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in a primary embodiment, a light two-passenger vehicle 16, is illustrated. The vehicle is provided with a shock absorber 28, which is attached to the front of each vehicle to ameliorate the effects of contact in the station. Guidance of the vehicle 16 is effected by guide means in the form of a center pin 30 and a pair of side pins 32, which are actuated by the passenger through a mechanical linkage from within vehicle 16. Four wheels 34 support the vehicle between a pair of H-beams 36 (FIG. 4). The front wheels have a slight caster to avoid sliding while rounding curves. Four side wheels 38 prevent the vehicle from scraping against the sides of the H-beam 36.
Referring to FIG. 4, vehicle motion is imparted by one or more electric motors 40 suspended from support structure 42 below H-beam rails 36. The wheels 34 are captive within the upper and lower flanges of H-beam rails 36 except when the vehicle 16 is in the station entry 20 and the exit 22 (FIG. 1).
Each of the motors 40 are rigidly mounted below the H-beam rails and are provided with a drive wheel 50 that contacts either side of a tow bar 52, pivotally suspended below vehicle 16. The tow bar 52 pivots at pin 30, and a rearward portion 54 of tow bar 52 is supported vertically allowing lateral movement within an arcuate slide 56. The forward thrust of the drive motors is transmitted to the vehicle from the tow bar through a pivot bearing enclosing pin 30.
The vehicle 16, H-beams 36 and motors 40 are positioned above the ground surface such as a roadway, parking lot or the edge of sidewalk 58, etc., by a column 60 which can be placed at appropriate intervals.
It is contemplated that the vehicles utilized herein will be two-passenger vehicles having dimensions of approximately 12 feet (length)×3 feet (width)×4 feet (height). The H-beams 36 will therefore be positioned about three feet apart, with the motors 40 spaced at twelve-foot intervals to span the length of the 12-foot tow bar 52. Therefore, as the tow bar 52 engages one set of drive motors, it is disengaging the next-rearward pair of motors, so that there is a constant drive force on the tow bar 52 by the equally spaced motors 40. By pivoting, the rectangular tow bar 52 at 30, the vehicle 16 is permitted to make turns and still engage drive motors 40. Motors 40 can be activated by a pair of limit switches placed beneath the rails, and are actuated by contact with the tow bar 52. The first limit switch contact accelerates the motors 40 to operating speed (approximately 1750 rpm) and the second limit switch contact maintains the power to the motors throughout the twelve-foot travel of the tow bar 52 between the motors.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the directional switching system of the present invention causes the vehicle to enter the shunt track 14 at the station as illustrated in FIG. 1. The system comprises a pair of side guide slots 70, 72 and a center slot 84 in a deck portion 74 that is installed at each shunt track entry 20 and exit 22 portion (FIG. 1). The side guide slots 70, 72 engage the pins 32 (FIG. 6) that extend through the bottom 76 of vehicle 16. FIG. 6 illustrates the pins 32 slidably engaging the side slots 70, 72 with the center pin 30 disengaged from center slot 84. The pins 30, 32 may be actuated by any convenient means--as illustrated herein a mechanical linkage is utilized. However, it is to be appreciated that any one of a number of different methods may be utilized to actuate the pins, such as hydraulic, electric, pneumatic, etc. The specific features of which will be well-known to those skilled in the art. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the pins 32 have been actuated by the passenger to a down position by operation of steering linkage 78, and specifically by control lever 80 within vehicle 16. While still on the main line 18, the passenger moves the lever 80 to the position shown prior to entering the deck portion 74 at the particular station at which he wishes to exit. A passenger desiring to remain on the main line 18 has previously moved lever 80 in the direction of arrow 82 when starting the vehicle at the station. This action has extracted pins 32 from side slots 70, 72 and inserted center pin 30 into center slot 84, and vehicle 16 is guided straight ahead on the main line 18.
At the location of each entry portion 20 the side slots 70, 72 are provided with movable side guide vanes 90, and the center slot 84 is provided with a movable guide vane 92. Both of the side guide vanes 90 are operated together by an operating means, such as an hydraulic cylinder 94, when activated by a remote counter/controller 96. The side guide vanes 90 are illustrated in the normal "exit" position in FIG. 5, such that a vehicle will exit at a given station unless the steering linkage 78 is set with tee center pin 30 down. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the center guide vane 92 is normally set in the "no exit" position. By moving the lever 80 so that the side pins 32 are extended into slots 70, 72, the side pins 32 will enter the side vanes 90 and the vehicle will exit. The side vanes 90 may be interconnected, as by bar 97, so that a single operating means 94 will move the side vanes from the "exit" to the "no exit" position. As described below, the counter 96 will count the number of vehicles in a particular station and, when full, will actuate the operating means 94 to move the side vanes 90 from the normal "exit" position (illustrated in FIG. 5) to the "no exit" position. The vehicle will then proceed to the next station which is not full, and at which the side vanes 90 remain in the "exit" position.
Activation of the operating means 98 will cause the center vane 92 to move from the normal "no exit" position of FIG. 5 to an emergency "exit" position. Such movement will engage the center pin 30 of any vehicle with the center pin 30 in the down position. It is anticipated that the center guide vane 92 would be moved to the "exit" position only in an emergency situation wherein a master controller located at a remote location notes a condition that requires the vehicle to be directed into the nearest station. Such condition may be an emergency involving damaged vehicles or ailing passengers.
FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of the station 12, conveyor belt 110 and shunt track 14. The vehicles 16 switch off the main line at station entry 20 and are decelerated by means of slow speed motors 112, that engage the tow bar 52. The slower speed of motors 112 provide the braking action necessary to permit accumulation of vehicles 16 at station 12. Conveyor entry motor 114 operates at an even slower speed (for instance, at about one mile per hour as opposed to motors 112 at about 3 mph) to limit impact forces as the vehicle stops when the shock absorber 28 contacts the preceding vehicle. The conveyor 110 moves vehicles slowly from the station entrance shunt track 14 to a start position 116. The vehicle in start position 116 (the waiting position) is restrained from forward motion by solenoid-operated vehicle stop 118. The rear wheels of the vehicles in start position 116 remain on the conveyor belt 110a and rotate backwards with no ill effects while the vehicle is restrained by the vehicle stop 118.
Passengers board vehicles in the system when the vehicles are in position 116. Forward motion is begun, and the vehicle enters the system when the vehicle start motor 130 is energized, and the vehicle accelerates when acceleration motor 132 is activated by limit switches that are actuated as vehicle forward motion begins. The vehicle is accelerated to station exit 22 to enter the main line. The vehicle will not enter the main line if there is a vehicle approaching on the main line within about 70 feet of the station exit 22. Tow bar sensing limit switches 133 are provided at each motor 40 on the main line near station exits to de-energize a control circuit, (not shown) that limits entry of a vehicle onto the main line if a vehicle is close enough to the station exit 22 to result in either a collision or less than minimum separation between adjacent vehicles.
FIG. 8 illustrates a vehicle 16 in station 12, with the vehicle 16 engaging endless conveyor belt 110, which is in turn driven by conveyor motor 134. The upper portion 110a of conveyor belt 110 slides upon a lower leg of channel 136.
The station deck 138 is advantageously provided below the centerline of vehicle wheels 34. Space over sidewalk 58 is conserved by using the inner flange 140 of H-beam 36 for vehicles in the station and the outer flange 142 of beam 36 for vehicles on the main line. The conveyor belt 110 typically will transport and hold approximately seven vehicles as illustrated in FIG. 7, although the station may be configured to accommodate any number of vehicles. Access to the station deck 138 can be by stairs or elevator at the platform ends.
System operation will be described by reference to the station (FIG. 7) and the electrical schematic (FIG. 9). The operation of the system will be described based upon a situation wherein a full complement of vehicles 16 is available at a station, including a vehicle in start position 116. Eight vehicles (FIG. 7) is exemplary but not necessarily the fixed number.
A passenger pushes stop switch 152 at start position 116, thereby activating a timer (not shown) in counter/controller 96. This prevents any vehicle motion until the passengers have entered and seated themselves within the vehicle at the start position 116 or other positions on the conveyor belt 110. Rotating the lever 80 to ensure that the center pin 30 is down and engaging the center guide vane 92 in the exit portion 22 activates a start switch 156 in the deck below the vehicle. Controller 96 is then activated to energize switch contacts 158 and 160 and thence the conveyor motor 134 and start motor 130. Accelerating motor 132 is started through limit switch contacts 162 that activate when vehicle motion commences. Contact 166 energizes the vehicle stop solenoid 164, lowering vehicle stop 118 (FIG. 7). If there is no approaching vehicle on the main line within, say, 70 feet of the station, the main line limit switches 133 will be closed and the vehicle 16 will be started and accelerated to the station exit 22 to enter the main line at approximately the main line speed. Upon exiting the station: the stop limit switch 170 opens, de-energizing stop solenoid 164, permitting a spring return to raise the stop 118 to halt the next oncoming vehicle which is being moved by the conveyor belt 110; the exiting vehicle actuates exit limit switch 172 reducing the vehicle count of counter/controller 96 to seven since there is now an empty position at conveyor position 120.
In a situation where the station conveyor is within one vehicle of being full and a passenger in a vehicle has caused the vehicle to enter at station entry 20, the vehicle activates enter limit switch 174 and the counter/controller 96 energizes side vane solenoid 176 through contact 178. The solenoid 176 causes the side vanes 90 (FIG. 5) to move in the direction of arrow 179, preventing the next vehicle from exiting, and keeping it on the main line 18, even though the control lever 80 was set for station entry as illustrated in FIG. 6. The diverted vehicle will travel to and exit at the next available station that is not full. When the next vehicle with passengers leaves the station, counter/controller 96 then de-energizes side vane solenoid 176 to restore side vanes to the normal "exit" position (FIG. 5).
Each station has a variable vehicle occupancy quota that is set by a remote master controller, based on the particular activity at each station. The quota is determined by an "at rest" base quota condition where all vehicles are in the system stations, i.e., there are no cars on the main line 18. The quota for each station can be changed by the remote master controller who monitors passenger and vehicle availability at each station, to provide for the optimum distribution of vehicles. Normally there would be space for two extra vehicles above the base quota. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the base quota can be set at six vehicles, leaving room for two vehicles on conveyor 110. It is also possible to reduce the station quota to zero based on demand at other stations of the transit system.
When the station quota is reached, any vehicle entering the station activates counter/controller 96 to energize the start motor and conveyor motors 130 and 134 so that empty vehicles leave the station as described above, until the vehicle count is restored to the preset quota.
Vehicles leaving the station either empty or occupied are activated after an approximate three-five second delay by a timing circuit within the counter/controller 96 which controls activation of the start motor 130. Vehicle exit may be delayed by the approach of a vehicle on the main line, if such vehicle is within the minimum separation distance between vehicles.
In normal operation, the vehicles are maintained at relatively constant speed by motors 40 which are started three feet before the vehicle tow bars contact the motors 40 by actuation of 3-foot limit switch 180. As the tow bar contacts the motor drive wheels 50 (FIG. 4) the second run limit switch 182 is actuated, thereby powering the motors for an additional twelve feet of vehicle and tow bar travel.
Vehicles entering the station actuate enter limit switch 174 which in turn starts conveyor motor 130. Vehicles are then decelerated by slow motors 112 that are also energized when the vehicle enters the shunt line and activates the three mph limit switch 192 and the one mph limit switch 194, which in turn activates the conveyor entry motor 114. As each car enters the station they are moved towards exit 22 by conveyor belt 110a motion. The conveyor motor is deactivated when a limit switch 210 is actuated and the car count in the station, as counted by the counter/controller 96, is one greater than the car position on the conveyor. While only one limit switch is shown in the figures, it is to be understood that there are actually seven switches, or one for each vehicle position on the conveyor belt.
In an emergency requiring the shunting of a vehicle from the main line into a station, emergency switch 196 is actuated for the appropriate station by the master controller, which thereby energizes center vane solenoid 198 causing center vane 92 (FIG. 5) to move in the direction of arrow 200. Therefore, any vehicle with the control lever set for main line travel, i.e., center pin 30 down (FIG. 6) will be diverted into the station. The master controller can monitor the entire system by means of T.V. monitors.
The description above of the various features disclosed in FIG. 9 are to be considered exemplary only; there are many different methods of effecting the exit and reentry of vehicles in this system. Therefore, while the invention has been described with some specificity, it is believed that alternatives would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after review of this disclosure.
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, various modes of carrying out the principles disclosed herein are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the invention is not to be limited except as otherwise set forth in the claims. | A closed loop transit system that transports passengers in vehicles to a destination of their choice where they exit a main line to a shunt line and station. The system has automatic means for bypassing vehicles past stations that are full and moving excess empty vehicles from one station to a next station that does not have excess vehicles. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2012-0002350 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 23, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
(a) Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a dish having a display element installed therein and a charging device of the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
People buying a food dish or food plate may be more interested in designs of the dishes, such as prints on the surface of the dishes, than in functions such as durability and thermal conductivity. In addition, dishes might be used not only for serving the food, but may also be used for ornamental purposes.
The dishes may be designed by changing their shapes, or by printing images or patterns on the dish. However, such a design cannot be modified once it is applied to the dish.
An organic light emitting diode display includes a hole injection electrode, an electron injection electrode, and an organic emission layer formed between the hole and electron injection elements, and emits light as holes injected from an anode and, electrons injected from a cathode are recombined to cancel each other at the organic light emission layer. The OLED display device, having high quality properties such as low power consumption, high luminance, a high reaction speed, and the like, can be manufactured to be slim, and can be used in various devices including a portable electron device because of its flexible feature.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of embodiments of the invention, and may therefore contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
SUMMARY
Embodiments of the present invention provide a dish having a display element therein that is capable of changing a design in the dish by displaying various images and providing various functions.
A dish having a display element installed therein according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a dish main body including a display element including a display portion and a circuit portion, a first side including a transparent material, and a second side, and a battery portion at the second side for supplying power to the display element.
The dish main body may include a center area for accommodating food and including the display portion of the display element, and a periphery area around the center area, rising from the center area, and including the circuit portion of the display element.
The display element may include a flexible material, and an upper side of the dish main body may be concave.
The dish may further include a bottom side protection pad at a bottom side of the dish main body for sealing the battery portion.
The bottom side protection pad may include an impact cushioning member.
The dish may further include a battery terminal coupled to the battery portion and exposed through the bottom side protection pad, and a capping portion for sealing the battery terminal.
The battery portion may be configured to be charged using a wireless charging method or a solar light charging method.
The dish may further include an antenna portion using BLUETOOTH® wireless communication at an edge of the dish main body.
The dish may further include a touch screen for enabling control of the display element.
The dish may further include a detachable protection film for covering at least a portion of an upper side of the dish main body.
The dish may further include a controller coupled to the display element for controlling power to the display element and for controlling image displaying of the display element.
A charging device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can charge the dish having the display element installed therein, and the charging device includes a base for supporting the charging device, a plurality of supports extended upward from the base, and a plurality of dish mounting portions, each including a supporting portion coupling adjacent ones of the supports, a stand for supporting the dish, the stand extending from and perpendicular to the support, a fixing supporting portion extending from the stand and configured to affix the dish to the dish mounting portion, and a charging terminal for charging the battery portion of the dish.
A position of the supporting portion may be adjustable with respect to the supports.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a design of the dish can be changed depending on the food served in the dish by displaying various images, and the dish can emit light so that it can be used for ornamental purposes.
In addition, according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the dish can perform various functions using the display element installed therein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dish having a display element installed therein according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dish having the display element installed therein according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the dish having the display element installed therein according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a charging device of the dish having the display element installed therein according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 5 is a view of the dish having the display element installed therein in the state of being charged by the charging device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Hereinafter, a dish having a display element installed therein, and a charging device thereof, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiments of the present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate same or like components.
In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of other elements. It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or plate is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element, or one or more intervening elements may be present.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dish having a display element installed therein, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dish having the display element installed therein, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to the drawings, the present embodiment includes a dish having a display element installed therein 10 , a dish main body 100 , a display element 110 ( FIG. 3 ), and a battery portion 120 .
The dish main body 100 is formed in the shape of a plate so that food can be put on an upper side thereof. The dish main body 100 is in the shape of a circular plate in the present exemplary embodiment, but may be formed in other shapes, such as the shape of a polygon like a triangle or a square, or may be a curved plate having the shape of, for example, a leaf or a water droplet. In addition, the upper side of the dish main body 100 may be flat or concave downward. As shown in FIG. 2 , the dish main body 100 may include a center area 100 a where food may be placed, and a periphery area 100 b that is higher than the center area 100 a (e.g., uplifted from, or rising from, the center area 100 a ) while surrounding the center area 100 a . Since the peripheral area 100 b is higher than the center area 100 a , food can be prevented from moving outside of the dish main body 100 . Since the display element 110 is installed in the dish main body 100 to display an image or emit light, the upper side of the dish main body 100 may be at least partially formed of a transparent material.
The dish main body 100 may further include a protection film 140 covering the upper side of the dish main body 100 , and capable of being detached from the dish main body 100 . The protection film 140 can prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, an image displayed in the display element 110 from being unclear due to scratches caused by a fork or a knife, or scratches in the dish main body 100 resulting from washing. Since the protection film 140 is attachable/detachable, the protection film 140 may be attached during meal time, and the protection film 140 may be detached when the dish 10 is used for ornamental purposes. In addition, when scratches are generated in the protection film 140 , the scratched protection film 140 can be replaced with another protection film 140 . The protection film 140 may be a film used for surface protection, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene, although the present invention is not restricted to these materials. Various protection films formed of various components that are known to a person skilled in the art, which are not harmful to humans, can be used as the protection film.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the dish having the display element installed therein according to the present exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
The battery portion 120 is connected with the display element 110 to supply power to the display element 110 , and is disposed in a bottom side of the dish main body 110 . The battery portion 120 is formed in the shape of a plate and is disposed in the bottom side of the dish main body 110 , and in the present exemplary embodiment, the battery portion 120 is formed in the shape of a square plate having a hole therein, although the present invention is not restricted to the battery portion 120 of the present embodiment. The battery portion 120 can have any shape that allows it to be connected with the display element 120 and supply power to the display element 110 .
The battery portion 120 may be charged by a wireless charging method or a solar charging method. When the battery portion 120 is charged by the wireless charging method, it may be charged through an antenna portion 150 , and when the battery portion 120 is charged by the solar charging method, a solar light panel may be partially provided in an upper or bottom side of the dish main body 100 in a manner that will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The battery portion 120 may further include a bottom side protection pad 130 at a bottom side 120 of the dish main body 100 to seal the battery portion 120 . Permeation of moisture into the battery portion 120 can be reduced or prevented by sealing the battery portion 120 . The bottom side protection pad 130 is also provided as an impact cushioning member that can absorb impact, and thus not only the battery portion 120 but also the dish 10 can be protected from external impact. The impact cushioning material may be elastic rubber or urethane, but it is not limited thereto. Any material having elastic force to absorb external impact can be used.
When the bottom side protection pad 130 is provided, as shown in FIG. 3 , a battery terminal (e.g., a charging terminal of the battery portion) 122 is connected to one side of the battery portion 120 and is exposed through the bottom side protection pad 130 , and a capping portion 124 sealing the exposed battery terminal 122 may be further provided. The battery portion 120 may be connected with an external power source through the externally exposed battery terminal 122 , and thus the battery portion 120 can be charged. In addition, the capping portion 124 seals the exposed battery terminal 122 to prevent the battery terminal 122 from being exposed to moisture and the like.
The antenna portion 150 of the present embodiment may, for example, wirelessly connect the display element 110 with an external device using BLUETOOTH® wireless communication (BLUETOOTH® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG. Inc., Kirkland, Wash.). The antenna portion 150 of the present embodiment is formed along the edge of the dish main body 100 . For example, when the dish main body 150 is formed in the shape of a circle, the antenna portion 150 is formed in the shape of a circular ring. The antenna portion 150 may also wireless charge the battery portion 120 . When the display element 110 is connected with the external device using BLUETOOTH® wireless communication, the display element 110 may receive a signal of an image stored in the external device, and may display the corresponding image, or may be controlled by the external device.
In the present embodiment, a touch sensor formed as a touch film, a touch sheet, or a touch pad is provided in the upper side of the dish main body 100 where the display portion of the display element 110 is located to sense touch such that the display element 10 can be driven by a touch screen method.
The display element 110 may include a controller (not shown) provided at the bottom side of the dish main body 100 and connected with the display element 100 , and the controller may turn on and turn off the power of the display element 110 . In addition, as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 1 , the controller may change an image displayed in the display element 110 .
In the above-description, an additional coupling member is provided for coupling or access between different elements or access. In addition, an additional sealant may be further provided to reduce or prevent leakage in an accessing portion. Further, a protrusion or groove may be formed in a fitted manner for convenience in a coupling process and reduction or prevention of a leak.
Hereinafter, a charging device 20 that charges the dish of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawing.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the charging device 20 of the dish having the display element installed therein according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 4 , the charging device 20 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a bracket (e.g., a base) 210 , a support 220 , and a dish mounting portion 230 .
The bracket 210 acts as a base of the charging device 20 , and may be coupled to the ground, and may have a flat-plate shaped bottom side to stably support the charging device 20 . A cross-section of the bracket 210 of the present exemplary embodiment may be rectangularly-shaped, although the present invention is not limited thereto. The bottom side of the bracket 210 may be realized in various shapes. In addition, an inner space of the bracket 210 may have a space (e.g., a predetermined space) to install devices and wires for charging.
Further, a plurality of supports 220 extended upward from the bracket 210 are formed at an upper side of the bracket 210 . The support 220 is supported by the bracket 210 , and the plurality of supports 220 may be formed in the shape of a plurality of parallel bars. In the present exemplary embodiment, three supports 220 are provided, but a different number of supports 220 (e.g., two or more) may be selected and provided according to the number of dishes 10 to be mounted and/or charged. In addition, the support 200 may have a space (e.g., a predetermined space) for installation of charging-related wires along the inner space.
The dish mounting portion 230 for mounting and charging the dish 10 having the display element installed therein includes a supporting portion 232 , a stand 234 , and a fixing support portion 236 , and a charging terminal 238 that charges the dish 10 having the display element installed therein is formed in one side of the dish mounting portion 230 . The dish mounting portion 230 is provided as a plurality of separate dish mounting portions 230 to mount a plurality of dishes 10 , each having a display element installed therein.
The supporting portion 232 functions to fix, or provide additional stability to, the supports 220 by connecting adjacent supports 220 . In the present exemplary embodiment, the supporting portion 232 is formed in the shape of a bar connecting bar-shaped supports 220 extended upward in a vertical direction.
The stand 234 at least partially protrudes outwardly from the supporting bar 232 to support the dish 10 having the display element installed therein. In the present exemplary embodiment, the stand 234 is extended downward in the supporting bar 232 , and ends of the stand 234 are formed into two parts such that the ends may protrude to a direction crossing the up and down direction. In addition, the fixing support portion 236 is formed protruding from an end of the stand 234 and affixes the dish 10 (e.g., affixes the dish 10 to the fixing support portion 236 or to the dish mounting portion 230 ) such that an upper side of the dish 10 faces frontward. The inner space of the dish mounting portion 230 preferably has a predetermined space for installation of charging-related wires along the inner space.
The height of the dish mounting portion 230 may be controlled by lifting or lowering the supporting bar 232 that connects between the supports 220 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the dish mounting portion 230 may be alternately disposed with an adjacent dish mounting portion 230 in the horizontal direction, and may be disposed in a row direction with the dish mounting portion 230 adjacent thereto in the horizontal direction by controlling the height thereof. In addition, a gap between adjacent dish mounting portions 230 may be adjusted as the dish mounting portions 230 are moved in the up and down direction depending on the size of the dish 10 having the display element installed therein.
The dish 10 having the display element installed therein may be mounted to the dish mounting portion 230 , and may be charged through the charging terminal 238 formed in one side of the dish mounting portion 230 . The dish mounting portion 230 may be charged by combination of the charging terminal 238 of the dish mounting portion 230 and the battery terminal 122 of the battery portion 120 of the dish 10 having the display element installed therein.
In addition, the bracket 210 , the support 220 , and the dish mounting portion 230 can install configuration such as charging-related devices such as a charging adapter and wires connecting the charging-related device and the charging terminal therein, and therefore space utilization can be simplified and a good appearance can be provided.
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which the dish 10 having the display element installed therein is mounted to the charging device 10 to be charged.
The dish 10 having the display element installed therein may be charged while being mounted to the dish mounting portion 230 , and, as shown in FIG. 5 , the upper side of the dish 10 faces frontward, the bottom side of the dish 10 is leaned on the dish mounting portion 232 , and the edge of the dish 10 is fixed by the fixing support portion 236 .
The dish 10 having the display element installed therein can be mounted to the charging device 20 , allowing external power to be connected through contact of the charging devices 122 and 128 , and the dish 10 can be used as an ornament.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and their equivalents.
DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE REFERENCE CHARACTERS
100 : dish main body
110 : display element
120 : battery portion
130 : bottom side protection portion
140 : protection film
150 : antenna portion | A dish having a display element installed therein includes a dish main body including a display element including a display portion and a circuit portion, a first side including a transparent material, and a second side, and a battery portion at the second side for supplying power to the display element. | 0 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/819,769 filed May 6, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to processes for the synthesis of saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons using iron-containing or cobalt-containing catalysts. The processes of the invention can produce tetraalkylsilanes, phenyltrialkylsilanes, substituted phenyltrialkylsilanes and their mixtures, which are useful as lubricants and hydraulic fluids, as well as alkyl alkenylsilanes, phenyl alkenylsilanes and substituted phenyl alkenylsilanes and their mixtures, which are useful in the synthesis of saturated silahydrocarbons and other organofunctional silanes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Hydrosilylation chemistry, typically involving a reaction between a silyl hydride and an unsaturated organic group, is one basic route in the synthesis of commercial silicone-based products like silicone surfactants, silicone fluids and silanes, as well as many addition cured products like sealants, adhesives, and silicone-based coating products. Heretofore, hydrosilylation reactions have been typically catalyzed by precious metal catalysts, such as platinum or rhodium metal complexes.
[0004] Various precious metal complex catalysts are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,452 discloses a platinum complex containing unsaturated siloxanes as ligands. This type of catalyst is known as Karstedt's-catalyst. Other exemplary platinum-based hydrosilylation catalysts that have been described in the literature include Ashby's catalyst as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,159,601, Lamoreaux's catalyst as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,972, and Speier's catalyst as disclosed in Speier, J. L, Webster J. A. and Barnes G. H., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 79, 974 (1957).
[0005] Although these precious metal complex catalysts are widely accepted as catalysts for hydrosilylation reactions, they have several distinct disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the precious metal complex catalysts are inefficient in catalyzing certain reactions. For example, in the case of hydrosilylations of allyl polyethers with silicone hydrides using precious metal complex catalysts, use of an excess amount of allyl polyether, relative to the amount of silicone hydride, is needed to compensate for the lack of efficiency of the catalyst in order to ensure complete conversion of the silicone hydride to a useful product. When the hydrosilylation reaction is completed, this excess allyl polyether must either be: (A) removed by an additional step, which is not cost-effective, or (B) left in the product which results in reduced performance of this product in end-use applications. Additionally, the use of an excess amount of allyl polyether typically results in a significant amount of undesired side products such as olefin isomers, which in turn can lead to the formation of undesirably odoriferous byproduct compounds.
[0006] Another disadvantage of the precious metal complex catalysts is that sometimes they are not effective in catalyzing hydrosilylation reactions involving certain type of reactants. It is known that precious metal complex catalysts are susceptible to catalyst poisons such as phosphorous and amine compounds. Accordingly, for a hydrosilylation involving unsaturated amine compounds, the precious metal catalysts known in the art are normally less effective in promoting a direct reaction between these unsaturated amine compounds with Si-hydride substrates, and will often lead to the formation of mixtures of undesired isomers.
[0007] Further, due to the high price of precious metals, the precious metal-containing catalysts can constitute a significant proportion of the cost of silicone formulations. Recently, global demand for precious metals, including platinum, has increased, driving prices for platinum to record highs, creating a need for effective, low cost replacement catalysts.
[0008] Silahydrocarbons contain only carbon, hydrogen and silicon atoms, and are useful in a variety of industrial applications. For example, tetraalkylsilanes, wherein two or more of the alkyl groups have between eight and twenty carbon atoms, have been shown to be useful and effective hydraulic fluids and lubricants, especially in aerospace and space vehicles. Pettigrew ( Synthetic Lubricants and High Performance Fluids ( second edition ), L. R. Rudnick and L. R. Shubkin (Editors), Marcel Dekker, NY 1999, PP 287-296) has reviewed various methods for synthesizing these fluids, many of which rely on hydrosilylation, catalyzed by precious metal catalysts (Rh, Pt, Pd) for hydrosilylation of alpha olefins by primary, secondary, and tertiary silanes. Specific disclosures of such syntheses using precious metal catalysts include the following:
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,971 disclosed the rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilylation synthesis of saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons from alpha olefins and dialkylsilanes and/or trialkylsilanes. Completely saturated silahydrocarbon products were obtained by hydrogenation of the unsaturated silahydrocarbons byproducts.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,497 disclosed the platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation of alpha olefins with primary (—SiH 3 ), secondary (═SiH 2 ) and tertiary (≡SiH) silanes to produce a reaction mixture still containing unreacted SiH functionality and subsequently introducing air or oxygen to complete the conversion to the tetraalkylsilane.
[0011] Lewis, et al., ( Organometallics 9 (1990) 621-625) reported that both rhodium and platinum colloids catalyze the hydrosilylation synthesis of CH 3 (C 10 H 21 )Si(C 8 H 17 ) 2 from CH 3 (C 10 H 21 )SiH 2 and 1-octene. Rhodium was more active than platinum and injection of air or oxygen was critical to obtaining complete conversion of the starting materials to the silahydrocarbon. The primary (—SiH 3 ) and secondary silanes (=SiH 2 ) inhibited the platinum catalysis, but no inhibition was observed with rhodium.
[0012] LaPointe, et al., ( J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 119 (1997) 906-917) reported the palladium-catalyzed hydrosilylation synthesis of tetralkylsilanes from tertiary silanes and olefins.
[0013] Bart, et al ( J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 126 (2004) 13794-13807) reported that the bis(imino)pyridine iron di-nitrogen compound ( iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 ) 2 [ iPr PDI=2,6-(2,6-(iPr) 2 -C 6 H 3 N═CMe) 2 C 5 H 3 N] was an effective catalyst for hydrosilylation of alkenes and alkynes by primary and secondary silanes. However, the reaction products always had one or two SiH bonds and no tetraalkylsilanes were observed.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,915 discloses the use of manganese, iron, cobalt and nickel complexes of terdentate pyridine diimine ligands as hydrosilylation catalysts. However, this reference does not disclose use of these catalysts in the production of unsaturated silahydrocarbons.
[0015] Trisilahydrocarbon compounds are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,312. They are synthesized by a method comprising (1) Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation of a large molar excess of alpha,omega dienes of four to sixteen carbon atoms by dihalosilanes to yield bis(alkenyl)dihalosilanes, and (2) further hydrosilylation of the bis(alkenyl)dihalosilanes by a trialkylsilane, or (3) further hydrosilylation of the bis(alkenyl)dihalosilanes by a trihalosilane and (4) substitution of the halogen atoms by reaction with Grignard, organolithium or organozinc reagents.
[0016] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,893 and 6,278,011 disclose polysilahydrocarbons by methods comprising Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation of substrates such as alkyltrivinylsilanes, phenyltrivinylsilane or trivinylcyclohexane with trialkylsilanes. The hydrosilylation methods disclosed are unreactive with internal olefins (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,011, Column 4, lines 2-6).
[0017] As an alternative to precious metals, recently, certain iron complexes have gained attention for use as hydrosilylation catalysts. Illustratively, technical journal articles have disclosed that that Fe(CO) 5 catalyzes hydrosilylation reactions at high temperatures. (Nesmeyanov, A. N. et al., Tetrahedron 1962, 17, 61), (Corey, J. Y et al., J. Chem. Rev. 1999, 99, 175), (C. Randolph, M. S. Wrighton, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 108 (1986) 3366). However, unwanted by-products such as the unsaturated silyl olefins, which result from dehydrogenative silylation, were formed as well.
[0018] A five-coordinate Fe(II) complex containing a pyridine di-imine (PDI) ligand with isopropyl substitution at the ortho positions of the aniline rings has been used to hydrosilylate an unsaturated hydrocarbon (1-hexene) with primary and secondary silanes such as PhSiH 3 or Ph 2 SiH 2 (Bart et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004, 126, 13794) (Archer, A. M. et al. Organometallics 2006, 25, 4269). However, one of the limitations of these catalysts is that they are only effective in hydrosilylating the aforementioned primary and secondary phenyl-substituted silanes, and not in hydrosilylating tertiary or alkyl-substituted silanes such as Et 3 SiH, or with alkoxy substituted silanes such as (EtO) 3 SiH.
[0019] Other Fe-PDI complexes have also been disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,555 discloses the synthesis of certain iron or cobalt PDI dianion complexes. The preferred anions are chloride, bromide and tetrafluoroborate. U.S. Pat. No. 7,442,819 discloses iron and cobalt complexes of certain tricyclic ligands containing a “pyridine” ring substituted with two imino groups. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,461,994, 6,657,026 and 7,148,304 disclose several catalyst systems containing certain transitional metal-PDI complexes. U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,020 discloses a catalyst system containing, inter alia, one or more bisarylimino pyridine iron or cobalt catalyst. However, the catalysts and catalyst systems disclosed in these references are described for use in the context of olefin polymerizations and/or oligomerisations, not in the context of hydrosilylation reactions.
[0020] There is a continuing need in the hydrosilation industry for selectively catalyzing hydrosilylation reactions, particularly those involving silahydrocarbons such as tetraalkylsilanes from alkenes and primary and/or secondary silanes. A method of producing silahydrocarbons catalyzed by compounds of non-precious transition metals such as manganese, iron, cobalt and nickel, would be useful in the industry. The present invention provides one answer to that need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a process for the production of silahydrocarbons, comprising: reacting at least one first reactant with at least one second reactant in the presence of a catalyst, to produce silahydrocarbons of general formulae R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Si, R 1 R 2 R 3 Si(Q)SiR 1 R 2 R 3 , R 5 R 6 R 7 R 8 Si, R 5 R 6 R 7 Si(Q)SiR 5 R 7 R 8 , (R 1 ) 2 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 2 , R 1 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 3 , or Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 4 , wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and R 8 are selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms, with the proviso that at least one of R 5 , R 6 , R 7 or R 8 has an alkenyl functional group; and Q is a straight or branched alkylene group having from two to twenty carbon atoms;
[0022] wherein the first reactant comprises olefins of 2 to 30 carbon atoms and alkenylsilanes of general formulae (R 1 ) 2 Si(R k ) 2 , (R 1 ) 3 Si(R k ) 3 , or Si(R k ) 4 wherein R k is an alkenyl group of two to thirty carbons and R 1 is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms;
[0023] wherein the second reactant comprises monosilane (SiH 4 ) and hydridosilanes of general formulae, R′SiH 3 , (R′) 2 SiH 2 , or (R′) 3 SiH, or (R′) n H 3-n SiQSi(R′) y H 3-y wherein n is 0, 1, 2, or 3, y is 0, 1, 2, or 3, n+y≧1, and R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl and cyclohexylpropyl; and
[0024] wherein the catalyst comprises iron complexes of terdentate pyridine diimine ligands of Formulae (I) or (II):
[0000]
[0025] wherein:
[0026] G is Fe;
[0027] each occurrence of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert substituent, wherein R 2 -R 9 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom;
[0028] each occurrence of R 23 is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl or substituted aryl, wherein R 23 optionally contains at least one heteroatom; optionally, any two of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , and R 23 vicinal to one another taken together may form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated, or unsaturated cyclic structure
[0029] wherein L 1 -L 2 is
[0000]
[0030] wherein each occurrence of R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , and R 16 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C2-C18 alkenyl, or C2-C18 alkynyl, wherein R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , and R 16 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom, and R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , and R 16 , other than hydrogen, are optionally substituted,
[0031] each occurrence of R 12 is independently C1-C18 alkylene, C1-C18 substituted alkylene, C2-C18 alkenylene, C2-C18 substituted alkenylene, C2-C18 alkynylene, C2-C18 substituted alkynylene, arylene, or a substituted arylene, wherein R 12 optionally contains at least one heteroatom;
[0032] optionally any two of R 10 , R 11 , R 12 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , and R 16 taken together form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0033] each occurrence of R 17 and R 18 is independently alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, wherein each of R 17 and R 18 optionally contains at least one heteroatom, and wherein R 17 and R 18 taken together optionally form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0034] each occurrence of R 19 and R 20 is independently a covalent bond that connects Si and C, an alkylene, substituted alkylene, or a heteroatom, wherein R 19 and R 20 optionally contain at least one heteroatom;
[0035] wherein L 1 -L 2 bonds with G through unsaturated sites S 1 and S 2 ;
[0036] with the provisos that
[0037] (1) R 1 in Formula (I) is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl or n-propyl; and
[0038] (2) L 1 -L 2 of Formula (A) is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane, 1,3-butadiene, 1,5-cyclooctadienes, dicyclopentadienes, and norbornadienes.
[0039] In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a process for hydrosilylation/dehydrogenative silylation synthesis comprising reacting C2-C30 olefins and primary silanes of general formula R′SiH 3 or monosilane (SiH 4 ) in the presence of the catalyst of Formula (III)
[0000]
[0040] wherein:
[0041] each occurrence of Ar is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, wherein Ar optionally contains at least one heteroatom;
[0042] Z is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert functional group;
[0043] R 7 , R 8 and R 9 are independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert functional group;
[0044] X is N 2 , CO, alkyl, OH, SH, SeH, —H, or SiR 3 where R is an alkyl, aryl, or siloxanyl group;
[0045] to produce alkylbis(alkenyl)-silanes and arylbis(alkenyl)silanes of formula R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH, alkenylbis(alkyl)silanes and arylalkenylalkylsilanes of formula (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH, or tetralkenylsilanes of general formula Si(R k ) 4 , wherein R 1 is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms; R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloalpihatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl, and cyclohexylpropyl; and R k is an alkenyl group of two to thirty carbons.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0046] As defined herein, silahydrocarbons contain only carbon, hydrogen, and silicon atoms. Saturated silahydrocarbons have general formulae such as, R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Si or R 1 R 2 R 3 Si(Q)SiR 1 R 2 R 3 , wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 are aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, phenylethyl, and cyclohexylpropyl.
[0047] Polysilahydrocarbon compounds contain more than one silicon atom per molecule. Q is a bridging group between silicon atoms in polysilahydrocarbons. Thus, Q can be a straight-chained or branched alkylene group having from two to twenty carbon atoms.
[0048] Unsaturated silahydrocarbons have general formulae such as, R 5 R 6 R 7 R 8 Si or R 5 R 6 R 7 Si(O)SiR 5 R 7 R 8 in which at least one of the R groups (R 5 -R 8 ) has an alkenyl (—C═C—) functionality such as vinyl, allyl or propenyl. Q has the same meaning as defined above.
[0049] The alkyl alkenylsilanes and phenyl alkenylsilanes of this invention are defined as R′SiHR 2 , R′ 2 SiHR, or R′SiH 2 R, wherein R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, alkylene, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl, and cyclohexylpropyl. R is a univalent hydrocarbyl group of three to thirty carbon atoms with one carbon double bond (—C═C—) in the chain.
[0050] Hydrosilylation is the addition of an SiH functionality to an unsaturated group such as an alkene, alkyne, ketone, or nitrile. Hydrosilylation of an alkene results in the formation of a saturated product. When the SiH addition to the alkene results in the formation of an unsaturated product, such as a vinylsilane or allylsilane, and hydrogen and/or a hydrogenated co-product, such as an alkane, then the process is called Dehydrogenative Silylation. Both hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation can occur simultaneously in the same reaction.
[0051] As used in the instant application, “alkyl” includes straight, branched and cyclic alkyl groups. Specific and non-limiting examples of alkyls include, but are not limited to, methyl, ethyl, propyl, hexyl, octyl, and isobutyl. In some embodiments, the alkyl group is a C1-C18 alkyl. In other embodiments, it is a C1-C10 alkyl or C1-C30 alkyl.
[0052] By “substituted alkyl” herein is meant an alkyl group that contains one or more substituent groups that are inert under the process conditions to which the compound containing these groups is subjected. The substituent groups also do not substantially interfere with the hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation processes described herein. In some embodiments, the substituted alkyl group is a C1-C18 substituted alkyl. In other embodiments, it is a C1-C10 substituted alkyl. The substituents for the alkyl include, but are not limited to, the inert functional groups described herein.
[0053] By “aryl” herein is meant a non-limiting group of any aromatic hydrocarbon from which one hydrogen atom has been removed. An aryl may have one or more aromatic rings, which may be fused, connected by single bonds or other groups. Specific and non-limiting examples of aryls include, but are not limited to, tolyl, xylyl, phenyl, and naphthalenyl.
[0054] By “substituted aryl” herein is meant an aromatic group that contains one or more substituent groups that are inert under the process conditions to which the compound containing these substituent groups is subjected. The substituent groups also do not substantially interfere with the hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative processes described herein. Similar to an aryl, a substituted aryl may have one or more aromatic rings, which may be fused, connected by single bonds or other groups; however, when the substituted aryl has a heteroaromatic ring, the free valence in the substituted aryl group can be to a heteroatom (such as nitrogen) of the heteroaromatic ring instead of a carbon. If not otherwise stated, it is preferred that the substituents of the substituted aryl groups herein contain 0 to about 30 carbon atoms, specifically from 0 to 20 carbon atoms, more specifically, from 0 to 10 carbon atoms. In one embodiment, the substituents are the inert groups described herein.
[0055] By “alkenyl” herein is meant any straight, branched, or cyclic alkenyl group containing one or more carbon-carbon double bonds, where the point of substitution can be either at a carbon-carbon double bond or elsewhere in the group. Specific and non-limiting examples of alkenyls include, but are not limited to, vinyl, propenyl, allyl, methallyl, and ethylidenyl norbornane.
[0056] By “aralkyl” herein is meant an alkyl group in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been substituted by the same number of aryl groups, which aryl groups may be the same or different from one another. Non-limiting examples of aralkyls include benzyl and phenylethyl.
[0057] As indicated above, the present invention is a process for the production of silahydrocarbons of general formulae R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Si, R 1 R 2 R 3 Si(Q)SiR 1 R 2 R 3 , R 5 R 6 R 7 R 8 Si, R 5 R 6 R 7 Si(O)SiR 5 R 7 R 8 (R 1 ) 2 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 2 , R 1 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 3 or Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 4 wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and R 8 are aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms (methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, phenylethyl, cyclohexylpropyl and the like), with the proviso that at least one of the R groups (R 5 -R 8 ) has an alkenyl (—C═C—) functional group; Q is a straight or branched alkylene group having from two to twenty carbon atoms bridging the silicon atoms in silahydrocarbons having more than one silicon atom. The process of the invention comprises reacting at least one olefin or alkenylsilane with a monosilane or hydridosilane in the presence of iron complexes of terdentate pyridine diimine ligands as depicted in Formulae (I) or (II):
[0000]
[0058] In Formulae (I) and (II), G is Fe; each occurrence of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert functional group, wherein R 2 -R 9 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom;
[0059] each occurrence of R 23 is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, wherein R 23 optionally contains at least one heteroatom; optionally, any two of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , and R 23 vicinal to one another taken together may form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated, or unsaturated cyclic structure
[0060] wherein L 1 -L 2 is
[0000]
[0061] wherein each occurrence of R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C2-C18 alkenyl, or C2-C18 alkynyl, wherein R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom, and R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 , other than hydrogen, are optionally substituted,
[0062] each occurrence of R 12 is independently C1-C18 alkylene, C1-C18 substituted alkylene, C2-C18 alkenylene, C2-C18 substituted alkenylene, C2-C18 alkynylene, C2-C18 substituted alkynylene, arylene, or substituted arylene, wherein R 12 optionally contains at least one heteroatom;
[0063] optionally any two of R 10 , R 11 , R 12 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , R 16 taken together form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0064] each occurrence of R 17 and R 18 is independently alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, wherein each of R 17 and R 18 optionally contains at least one heteroatom, and wherein R 17 and R 18 taken together optionally form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0065] each occurrence of R 19 and R 20 is independently a covalent bond that connects Si and C, an alkylene, substituted alkylene, or a heteroatom, wherein R 19 and R 20 optionally contain at least one heteroatom;
[0066] wherein L 1 -L 2 bonds with G through unsaturated sites S 1 and S 2 ;
[0067] with the provisos that
[0068] (1) R 1 in Formula (I) is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl or n-propyl; and
[0069] (2) L 1 -L 2 of Formula (A) is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane, 1,3-butadiene, 1,5-cyclooctadienes, dicyclopentadienes, and norbornadienes.
[0070] Preferably, the reacting olefin or alkenylsilane include olefins of 2 to 30 carbon atoms and alkenylsilanes of general formulae (R 1 ) 2 Si(R k ) 2 , (R 1 ) 3 Si(R k ), (R 1 )Si(R k ) 3 , or Si(R k ) 4 wherein R k is an alkenyl group of two to thirty carbons
[0071] Preferably, the monosilane or hydridosilane include monosilane (SiH 4 ) and hydridosilanes of general formulae, R′SiH 3 , (R′) 2 SiH 2 , (R′) 3 SiH, or (R′) n H 3-n SiQSi(R′) y H 3-y wherein n is 0, 1, 2, or 3, y is 0, 1, 2, or 3, n+y≧1, and R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl, and cyclohexylpropyl.
[0072] In one preferred embodiment, the present invention is a catalytic hydrosilylation process for synthesizing silahydrocarbons of general formula R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Si, from primary silanes of general formula R′SiH 3 , secondary silanes of general formula (R′) 2 SiH 2 , or tertiary silanes of general formula (R′) 3 SiH, and C2-C30 olefins, characterized by the use iron complexes of terdentate pyridine diimine ligands according to Formula (I) or Formula (II). In the silahydrocarbon formula, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 are aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, phenylethyl and cyclohexylpropyl. R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl, and cyclohexylpropyl. The R′ radicals are not all the same in the general formulae of the secondary and tertiary silanes. Unsaturation in the C2-C30 olefins can be terminal or internal.
[0073] In Formula (I) and Formula (II), G is Fe; each occurrence of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert functional group, wherein R 2 -R 9 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom; each occurrence of R 23 is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl or substituted aryl, wherein R 23 optionally contains at least one heteroatom. Optionally, any two of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , and R 23 vicinal to one another taken together may form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated, or unsaturated cyclic structure.
[0000]
[0074] L 1 -L 2 is
[0000]
[0075] wherein each occurrence of R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C2-C18 alkenyl, or C2-C18 alkynyl, wherein R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom, and R 10 , R 11 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 and R 16 , other than hydrogen, are optionally substituted,
[0076] each occurrence of R 12 is independently C1-C18 alkylene, C1-C18 substituted alkylene, C2-C18 alkenylene, C2-C18 substituted alkenylene, C2-C18 alkynylene, C2-C18 substituted alkynylene, arylene, substituted arylene, wherein R 12 optionally contains at least one heteroatom;
[0077] optionally any two of R 10 , R 11 , R 12 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , R 16 taken together form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0078] each occurrence of R 17 and R 18 is independently alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, wherein each of R 17 and R 18 optionally contains at least one heteroatom, and wherein R 17 and R 18 taken together optionally form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated cyclic structure;
[0079] each occurrence of R 19 and R 20 is independently a covalent bond that connects Si and C, an alkylene, substituted alkylene, or a heteroatom, wherein R 19 and R 20 optionally contain at least one heteroatom;
[0080] wherein L 1 -L 2 bonds with G through unsaturated sites S 1 and S 2 ;
[0081] with the proviso that
[0082] (1) R 1 in Formula (I) is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl or n-propyl; and
[0083] (2) L 1 -L 2 of Formula (A) is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane, 1,3-butadiene, 1,5-cyclooctadienes, dicyclopentadienes, and norbornadienes.
[0084] In a second preferred embodiment, cobalt-containing compounds of Formula (III) are used in the hydrosilylation/dehydrogenative silylation synthesis of alkylbis(alkenyl)-silanes and arylbis(alkenyl)silanes of formula R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH, alkenylbis(alkyl)silanes and arylalkenylalkylsilanes of formula (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH, and tetralkenylsilanes of general formula Si(R k ) 4 from C2-C30 olefins and primary silanes of general formula, R′SiH 3 or monosilane (SiH 4 ). R 1 and R′ have the same meanings as hereinabove defined. R k is an alkenyl group of two to thirty carbons.
[0000]
[0085] In Formula (III), each occurrence of Ar is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl or substituted aryl, wherein Ar optionally contains at least one heteroatom. Z is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert substituent. Z can optionally contain at least one heteroatom. R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 have the same meanings as defined hereinabove in Formula (I). X can be N 2 , CO, alkyl such as methyl, OH, SH, SeH, —H, or SiR 3 where R is an alkyl, aryl, or siloxanyl group.
[0086] In a third preferred embodiment, iron-containing compounds of Formula (I) or Formula (II) are used in the hydrosilylation synthesis of saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons from alkylbis(alkenyl)silanes and arylbis(alkenyl)silanes of formula R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH, and alkenylbis(alkyl)silanes and arylalkenylalkylsilanes of formula (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH with C2-C30 olefins. The formulae of products of these hydrosilylation reactions are (R 1 ) 2 (R k ) 2 Si and (R 1 ) 3 R k Si, respectively.
[0087] In a fourth preferred embodiment, the synthesis of saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons having more than one silicon atom per molecule is done by reacting unsaturated compounds of formulae (R 1 ) 2 Si(R k ) 2 and/or (R 1 ) 3 Si(R k ) and/or (R 1 )Si(R k ) 3 and/or Si(R k ) 4 with hydridosilanes of formulae (R 1 ) 3 SiH and/or (R 1 )(R k ) 2 SiH and/or (R 1 ) 2 (R k )SiH in the presence of pyridine diimine complexes of Formulae (I), (II), or (III). The saturated silahydrocarbon products containing more than one silicon atom per molecule derived from (R 1 ) 3 SiH in this embodiment have general formulae, (R 1 ) 3 SiQSi(R 1 ) 3 , (R 1 ) 2 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 2 , R 1 Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 3 and Si[QSi(R 1 ) 3 ] 4 . As was defined hereinabove, Q is a straight-chained or branched alkylene group having from two to twenty carbon atoms. Saturated polysilahydrocarbons can also be synthesized by hydrosilylation of olefins with hydrides of general formula, (R′) 3-n H n SiQSi(R′) 3-y H y (n=0, 1, 2, 3; y=0, 1, 2, 3; n+y≧1) in the presence of the aforementioned pyridine diimine complexes. Unsaturated polysilahydrocarbons are formed in the hydrosilylation/dehydrogenative silylation reactions of (R 1 ) n Si(R k ) 4 , (n=1, 2, 3) and (R 1 ) m (R k ) 3-m SiH (m=1, 2) as well as in the autoreactions of (R 1 ) m (R k ) 3-m SiH (m=1, 2).
[0088] The present invention discloses the synthesis via hydrosilylation of silahydrocarbons (also known as tetraalkylsilanes) of general formula, R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Si. R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 are aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl groups having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, phenylethyl and cyclohexylpropyl. Examples of these silahydrocarbons are methyltri(octyl)silane, dimethyl(dioctyl)silane, methyl(hexyl)(decyl)octadecylsilane, tetra(octyl)silane, phenyltri(octyl)silane, phenyl(dipentyl)dodecylsilane and phenyl(dinonyl)butylsilane.
[0089] The compounds are synthesized by hydrosilylation of C2-C30 olefins with monosilane (SiH 4 ), primary silanes of general formula R′SiH 3 , secondary silanes of general formula (R′) 2 SiH 2 , tertiary silanes of general formula (R′) 3 SiH, or combinations thereof. R′ is an aliphatic, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl, and cycloaliphatic univalent hydrocarbyl group having from one to thirty carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, octyl, octadecyl, phenyl, tolyl, phenylethyl, mesityl and cyclohexylpropyl. The R′ radicals are not all the same in the general formulae of the secondary and tertiary silanes. Examples of primary silanes are methylsilane, butylsilane, amylsilane, hexylsilane, octylsilane, phenylsilane, phenyethylsilane, octadecylsilane, cyclohexylsilane and mixtures thereof. Suitable secondary silanes are dimethylsilane, methyl(decyl)silane, ethyl(nonyl)silane, phenyl(phenethyl)silane, dioctylsilane, hexyltetradecylsilane and combinations thereof. Examples of tertiary silanes are trioctylsilane, methyl(diheptyl)silane, butyl(nonyl)dodecylsilane, phenyl(dioctyl)silane, tri(dodecyl)silane and mixtures thereof.
[0090] It is not necessary that the C2-C30 olefins be individually pure compounds, or that the unsaturation be terminal. Mixtures of olefins, including those with internal unsaturation, are suitable for the hydrosilylation synthesis of the instant invention. Thus, suitable examples include all the positional and geometric isomers of butene, pentene, hexene, octene, nonene, dodecene, tetradecene, triacontene and their mixtures. The iron pyridine diimine catalysts of this invention, depicted in Formula (I) and Formula (II), can effect the hydrosilylation of olefins with internal carbon carbon double bonds.
[0091] In Formula (I) and Formula (II), G is Fe; each occurrence of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 is independently hydrogen, C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, or an inert substituent, wherein R 2 -R 9 , other than hydrogen, optionally contain at least one heteroatom; each occurrence of R 23 is independently C1-C18 alkyl, C1-C18 substituted alkyl, aryl or substituted aryl, wherein R 23 optionally contains at least one heteroatom. Optionally, any two of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 and R 23 vicinal to one another taken together may form a ring being a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated, or unsaturated cyclic structure.
[0092] Preferred compositions of Formula (I) include [( 2,6-(R″) PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ), PDI=2,6-(2,6-(R″) 2 —C 6 H 3 N═CMe) 2 C 5 H 3 N; R″ is independently Me, Et, and Mesityl and PDI=2,6-(2,6-(R″) 2 —C 6 H 3 N═CPhenyl) 2 C 5 H 3 N; R″ is independently Me, Et, and Mesityl. It will be appreciated that R″ represents R 1 and/or R 2 in Formula (I).
[0093] Preferred compositions of Formula (II) include [( 2,6-(R″)2 PDI)Fe(M vi M vi ), PDI=2,6-(2,6-(R″) 2 —C 6 H 3 N═CMe) 2 C 5 H 3 N; R″ is independently Me, Et, and Mesityl, M vi M vi =1, 3-Divinyltetramethyldisiloxane, [( 2,6-(R″)2 PDI)Fe(H 2 C═CHCH═CH 2 ), and PDI=2,6-(2,6-(R″) 2 —C 6 H 3 N═CPhenyl) 2 C 5 H 3 N; R″ is independently Me, Et, and Mesityl It will be appreciated that R″ represents R 1 and/or R 2 in Formula (II).
[0094] The iron-containing compounds of Formula (I) and Formula (II) are also effective for the hydrosilylation of C2-C30 olefins by alkylbis(alkenyl)silanes and arylbis(alkenyl)silanes of general formula, R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH, and alkenylbis(alkyl)silanes and arylalkenylalkylsilanes of general formula (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH, and their mixtures, to yield saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons. Additionally, they are effective for the hydrosilylation of C2-C30 olefins by (R′) 3-n H n SiQSi(R′) 3-y H y (n=0, 1, 2, 3; y=0, 1, 2, 3; n+y≧1) to yield polysilahydrocarbons.
[0095] In R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH and (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH, R 1 and R′ have the same meanings as hereinabove defined. R k is an alkenyl group of three to thirty carbons. The unsaturation in R k can be at any position along the carbon chain. Suitable examples of R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH include all isomers of methylbis(octenyl)silane, octylbis(butenyl)silane, decylbis(nonenyl)silane, methylbis(tetradecenyl)silane, phenylbis(octenyl)silane, phenylbis(dodecenyl)silane, octylbis(octenyl)silane, phenyl(octenyl)decenylsilane and their mixtures.
[0096] The unsaturated silahydrocarbon products of the hydrosilylation of the C2-C30 olefins by R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH have the general formula (R 1 ) 2 (R k ) 2 Si. Examples are dimethyldi(decenyl)silane, dioctlyldi(tetradecenyl)silane, methyl(octyl)di-(hexenyl)silane, phenyl(nonyl)di(dodecenyl)silane, octyl(decyl)(octenyl)-(decenyl)silane and phenyl(heptyl)(nonenyl)(undecenyl)silane.
[0097] Suitable examples of (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH include all isomers of dimethyl(tetradecenyl)-silane, didodecyl(decenyl)silane, diethyl(octenyl)silane, propyl(decyl)(heptenyl)-silane, phenyl(decyl)(nonenyl)silane, phenyl(tetradecyl)(dodecenyl)silane and mixtures thereof.
[0098] The unsaturated silahydrocarbon products of the hydrosilylation of the C2-C30 olefins by (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH have the general formula (R 1 ) 3 (R k )Si. Examples are tri(octyl)(hexadecenyl)silane, cyclohexyl(phenethyl)(heptyl)(nonenyl)silane, methyl(hexyl)(decyl)(dodecenyl)silane and ethyldi(pentyl)(tetradecenyl)silane.
[0099] Compounds of general formulae R 1 (R k ) 2 SiH and (R 1 ) 2 R k SiH are synthesized via hydrosilylation/dehydrogenative silylation of C2-C30 olefins by primary silanes, R′SiH 3 (already defined hereinabove), with cobalt pyridine diimine complexes of Formula (III) as catalysts. The corresponding C2-C30 alkane is a coproduct of the dehydrogenative silylation.
[0100] Suitable examples of the catalysts of Formula (III) include ( Mes PDICoCH 3 ) in which R 7 -R 9 and Z are hydrogen, Ar is mestiyl and X is CH 3 ; ( Mes PDIMeCoCH 3 ) in which R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen, Z is methyl, Ar is mestiyl and X is CH 3 ; ( 2,6-iPr PDICoN 2 ) in which R 7 -R 9 and Z are hydrogen, Ar is 2,6-diisopropyl-phenyl and X is N 2 ; ( 2,6-iPr PDIMeCoN 2 ) in which R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen, Z is methyl, Ar is 2,6-diisopropylphenyl and X is N 2 ; ( 2,6-iPr PDIPhCON 2 ) in which R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen, Z is phenyl, Ar is 2,6-diisopropylphenyl and X is N 2 ; ( 2,6-iPr PDIMeCoOH) in which R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen, Z is methyl, Ar is 2,6-diisopropylphenyl and X is OH; ( Mes PDI)CoOH in which R 7 -R 9 and Z are hydrogen, Ar is mestiyl and X is OH; ( Mes PDI)CoCl in which R 7 -R 9 and Z are hydrogen, Ar is mestiyl and X is Cl; ( 2,6-Et PDI)CoN 2 in which R 7 -R 9 and Z are hydrogen, Ar is 2,6-diethylphenyl and X is N 2 ; and ( 2,6-iPr BPDI)CoN 2 in which R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen, Z is isopropyl, Ar is mestiyl and X is N 2 .
[0101] Silahydrocarbons with two silicon atoms per molecule are synthesized via the hydrosilylation of (R 1 ) 3 (R k )Si compounds by (R 1 ) 3 SiH. Alternatively, they are synthesized via the hydrosilylation of C2-C30 olefins by the bissilyl hydrides, (R′) 3-n H n SiQSi(R′) 3-y H y (n=0, 1, 2, 3; y=0, 1, 2, 3; n+y≧1). Those with three silicon atom per molecule are synthesized via the hydrosilylation of the compounds of general formula (R 1 ) 2 Si(R k ) 2 by those of general formula, (R 1 ) 3 SiH. Iron catalysts of Formula (I) or Formula (II) are employed in both cases.
[0102] The hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation process of the present invention can be done with or without a solvent, but is advantageously done solventless. Hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, cyclohexane, benzene, toluene and xylene can be used.
[0103] In general, stoichiometric amounts of olefin and hydridosilane will enable complete conversion of both functionalities to produce the desired product. However, there are instances in which a stoichiometric excess of olefin is preferred, for example in the synthesis of unsaturated silahydrocarbons from bis(alkenyl)silanes and olefins.
[0104] Effective catalyst usage for hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation ranges from 0.01 mole percent to 10 mole percent based on the molar quantity of the alkene to be reacted. Preferred levels are from 0.1 to 5 mole percent. In still another embodiment, the catalyst level is from 0.2 mole percent to 1 mole percent. Reaction may be run at temperatures from about 0° C. up to 300° C., depending on the thermal stability of the alkene, silyl hydride and the specific pyridine diimine complex. Temperatures in the range, 20-100° C., have been found to effective for most reactions. Selectivity to dehydrogenative silylation is more pronounced at the lower temperatures of this range. Heating of reaction mixtures can be done using conventional methods as well as with microwave devices.
[0105] The hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation reactions of this invention can be run at sub-atmospheric and supra-atmospheric pressures. Typically, pressures from about 1 atmosphere (0.1 MPa) to about 50 atmospheres (5.1 MPa) are suitable. Higher pressures are effective with volatile and/or less reactive alkenes which require confinement to enable high conversions.
[0106] A variety of reactors can be used in the process of this invention. Selection is determined by factors such as the volatility of the reagents and products. Continuously stirred batch reactors are conveniently used when the reagents are liquid at ambient and reaction temperature. With gaseous olefins, fixed-bed reactors and autoclave reactors can be more suitable.
[0107] The following examples are intended to illustrate, but in no way limit the scope of the present invention. All parts and percentages are by weight and all temperatures are in degrees Celsius unless explicitly stated otherwise. All the publications and the US patents referred to in the application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
EXAMPLES
General Considerations
[0108] All air- and moisture-sensitive manipulations were carried out using standard vacuum line, Schlenk, and cannula techniques or in an MBraun inert atmosphere dry box containing an atmosphere of purified nitrogen. Solvents for air- and moisture-sensitive manipulations were initially dried and deoxygenated using literature procedures (Pangborn, A B et al., Organometallics 15:1518 (1996)). Chloroform-d and benzene-d 6 were purchased from Cambridge Isotope Laboratories.
[0109] Synthesis of [( 2,6-Et2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )], [( 2,6-Me2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 -[μ-(N 2 )], [( 2-Me,6-iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )], [ 2,4,6-Me3 PDIFe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-N 2 )] and [ 2,6-iPr2 PDIFe(butadiene)] is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,915.
[0110] The complexes ( iPr PDI)CoN 2 , (Bowman A C et al., JACS 132:1676 (2010)), ( Et PDI)CoN 2 , (Bowman A C et al., JACS 132:1676 (2010)), ( iPr BPDI)CoN 2 , (Bowman A C et al., JACS 132:1676 (2010)), (MesPDI)CoCH 3 (Humphries, M J Organometallics 24:2039.2 (2005)), (Humphries, M J Organometallics 24:2039.2 (2005)) [( Mes PDI)CoN 2 ][MeB(C 6 F 5 ) 3 ] (Gibson, V C et al., J. Chem. Soc. Comm. 2252 (2001)), and [( Mes PDI)CoCH 3 ][BArF 24 ] (Atienza, C C H et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50:8143 (2011)) were prepared according to reported literature procedures. Phenylsilane, n-octylsilane and Et 3 SiH were purchased from Gelest and were distilled from calcium hydride before use. The olefin substrates were dried on calcium hydride and distilled under reduced pressure before use.
[0111] 1 H NMR spectra were recorded on Inova 400 and 500 spectrometers operating at 399.78, and 500.62 MHz, respectively. 13 C NMR spectra were recorded on an Inova 500 spectrometer operating at 125.893 MHz. All 1 H and 13 C NMR chemical shifts are reported relative to SiMe 4 using the 1 H (residual) and 13 C chemical shifts of the solvent as a secondary standard. The following abbreviations and terms are used: bs-broad singlet; s-singlet; t-triplet; bm-broad multiplet; GC-Gas Chromatography; MS-Mass Spectroscopy; THF-tetrahydrofuran
[0112] GC analyses were performed using a Shimadzu GC-2010 gas chromatograph equipped with a Shimadzu AOC-20s autosampler and a Shimadzu SHRXI-5MS capillary column (15 m×250 μm). The instrument was set to an injection volume of 1 μL, an inlet split ratio of 20:1, and inlet and detector temperatures of 250° C. and 275° C., respectively. UHP-grade helium was used as carrier gas with a flow rate of 1.82 mL/min. The temperature program used for all the analyses is as follows: 60° C., 1 min; 15° C./min to 250° C., 2 min.
[0113] Catalyst loadings in the following text are reported in mol % of the cobalt or iron complex (mol complex /mol olefin )×100.
[0114] Hydrosilylation Procedure: A scintillation vial was charged with weighed amounts of the olefin and silane reagents. A weighed amount of iron or cobalt pyridine diimine complex was then added to the vial, and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature, or at another selected temperature. Periodic monitoring of the reaction by GC and NMR spectroscopy was used to establish complete conversion of the olefin.
Example 1a, 1B and Comparative Example a
Hydrosilylation of 1-Octene with Phenylsilane
[0115] All three examples are based on the hydrosilylation of 1-octene by phenylsilane. Comparative Example A illustrates hydrosilylation catalysis by ( iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 ) 2 to produce phenyldioctylsilane as expected from Bart, et al ( J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 126 (2004) 13794-13807). Example 1A illustrates hydrosilylation catalysis with [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ) to produce the silahydrocarbon, phenyltrioctylsilane. Example 1B illustrates synthesis of the silahydrocarbon from the reaction of 1-octene with phenyldioctylsilane produced by Comparative Example A.
Comparative Example A
[0116] The reaction was performed according to the general hydrosilylation procedure described above with 0.050 g (0.46 mmol) of phenylsilane, 0.156 g (1.36 mmol, 3 equiv) of 1-octene, and 0.002 g (0.003 mmol (0.2 mol %) of ( iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 ) 2 . The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature and quenched by exposure to air. The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy. The product from the reaction was identified to be phenyldioctylsilane.
[0000]
[0117] Phenyldioctylsilane. 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=0.86 (m, 4H, SiCH 2 ), 0.89 (t, 6H, CH 3 ), 1.24-1.42 (m, 24H, CH 2 ), 4.27 (quintent, 1H, SiH), 7.34-7.39 (m, 3H, p-Ph and m-Ph), 7.54 (d, 2H, o-Ph). { 1 H} 13 C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=12.05 (SiCH 2 ); 14.30 (CH 3 ); 22.85, 24.65, 29.40, 32.07, 33.44 (CH 2 ); 127.90 (m-Ph); 129.19 (p-Ph); 134.77 (o-Ph); 136.28 (i-Ph).
Example 1A
[0118] The reaction was performed according to the general hydrosilylation procedure described above using 0.050 g (0.46 mmol) of phenylsilane, 0.156 g (1.36 mmol, 3 equiv) of 1-octene and 0.002 mmol (0.1 mol %) of [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 )). The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature and quenched by exposure to air. The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy. The product from the reaction was identified to be phenyltrioctyl-silane.
[0000]
[0119] Phenyltrioctylsilane. 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=0.78 (m, 6H, SiCH 2 ), 0.89 (t, 9H, CH 3 ), 1.25-1.38 (m, 36H, CH 2 ), 7.34-7.37 (m, 3H, p-Ph and m-Ph), 7.49 (d, 2H, o-Ph). { 1 H} 13 C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=12.54 (SiCH 2 ); 14.30 (CH 3 ); 22.85, 23.92, 29.38, 29.44, 32.10, 33.99 (CH 2 ); 127.73 (m-Ph); 128.71 (p-Ph); 134.23 (o-Ph); 138.39 (i-Ph).
Example 1B
[0120] In a similar manner to the reaction of Example 1A, phenyldioctylsilane produced via Comparative Example A was reacted with 1 equivalent of 1-octene using 0.1 mol % of [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ). The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy and the reaction product was identified as phenyltrioctylsilane.
[0121] The reactions illustrated in Examples 1A, 1B and Comparative Example A can be summarized by the sequence diagrammed below.
[0000]
Synthesis of Phenyltrioctylsilane by successive Hydrosilylations
Example 2A, 2B and Comparative Example B
Hydrosilylation of 1-Octene with Octylsilane
[0122] All three examples are based on the hydrosilylation of 1-octene by octylsilane. Comparative Example B illustrates hydrosilylation catalysis by ( iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 ) 2 to produce trioctylsilane as expected from Bart, et al ( J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 126 (2004) 13794-13807). Example 2A illustrates hydrosilylation catalysis with [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ) to produce the silahydrocarbon, tetraoctylsilane. Example 2B illustrates synthesis of tetraoctylsilane from the reaction of 1-octene with trioctylsilane produced by Comparative Example B.
Comparative Example B
[0123] The reaction was performed according to the general hydrosilylation procedure described above with 0.066 g (0.46 mmol) of octylsilane, 0.156 g (1.36 mmol, 3 equiv) of 1-octene, and 0.002 g (0.003 mmol (0.2 mol %) of ( iPr PDI)Fe(N 2 ) 2 . The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour at 65° C. and quenched by exposure to air. The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy. The product was identified as trioctylsilane.
[0000]
[0124] Trioctylsilane. 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=0.60 (m, 6H, SiCH 2 ), 0.91 (t, 9H, CH 3 ), 1.28-1.34 (m, 36H, CH 2 ), 3.71 (SiH). { 1 H} 13 C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=11.53 (SiCH 2 ); 14.32 (CH 3 ); 22.95, 24.94, 29.56, 29.59, 32.22, 33.68 (CH 2 ).
Example 2A
[0125] The reaction was performed according to the general hydrosilylation procedure described above with 0.066 g (0.46 mmol) of octylsilane, 0.156 g (1.36 mmol, 3 equiv) of 1-octene, and 0.002 mmol (0.1 mol %) of [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ). The reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour at 65° C. and quenched by exposure to air. The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy. The product was identified as tetraoctylsilane.
[0000]
[0126] Tetraoctylsilane. 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=0.50 (m, 8H, SiCH 2 ), 0.91 (t, 12H, CH 3 ), 1.28-1.34 (m, 48H, CH 2 ). { 1 H} 13 C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=12.66 (SiCH 2 ); 14.34 (CH 3 ); 22.96, 24.16, 29.56, 29.58, 32.23, 34.21 (CH 2 ).
Example 2B
[0127] In a similar manner to the reaction of Example 2A, trioctylsilane produced via Comparative Example B was reacted with 1 equivalent of 1-octene at 65° C. using 0.1 mol % of [( Me PDI)FeN 2 ] 2 (μ 2 -N 2 ). The product mixture was analyzed by GC and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectroscopy and the reaction product was identified as tetraoctylsilane.
Examples 3-10
Hydrosilylation Synthesis of Silahydrocarbons
[0128] The following Examples illustrate the hydrosilylation synthesis of various silahydrocarbons catalyzed by iron pyridine diimine complexes. The procedure used is that in Examples 1 and 2. Table 1 summarizes the quantities of raw materials employed and the products synthesized. The following catalyst abbreviations are used in the table
EtPDI=[( 2,6-Et2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )], MePDI=[( 2,6-Me2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )], MesPDI=[ 2,4,6-Me3 PDIFe(N 2 )] 2 [(μ-N 2 )], PrBtdPDI=[ 2,6-iPr2 PDIFe(butadiene)]
[0000]
TABLE 1
Hydrosilylation Synthesis of the Silahydrocarbons of Examples 3-10
Alpha-
TEMP
EX
SILANE
OLEFIN
CATALYST
° C./ TIME, h
PRODUCT
3
C 6 H 5 SiH 3 ,
C 8 H 16 ,
MesPDI, 1
mol %
23, 1
h
Phenyltrioctylsilane
0.5 mmol
1.51 mmol
4
C 6 H 5 SiH(C 8 H 17 ) 2 ,
C 8 H 16 ,
MesPDI, 1
mol %
23, 1
h
Phenyltrioctylsilane
0.46 mmol
0.46 mmol
5
C 8 H 17 SiH 3 ,
C 10 H 20 ,
MePDI, 0.1
mol %
65, 1
h
Octyltridecylsilane
0.5 mmol
1.5 mmol
6
C 8 H 17 SiH 3 ,
C 18 H 36 ,
EtPDI, 0.2
mol %
65, 1
h
Octyltris(octadecyl)silane
0.5 mmol
1.55 mmol
7
C 6 H 13 (C 10 H 21 )SiH 2
C 14 H 28 ,
MePDI, 0.2
mol %
23, 1
h
Hexyldecylbis(tetradecyl)-
0.49 mmol
1.0 mmol
silane
8
C 6 H 5 SiH 3 ,
C 8 H 16 ,
MePDI, 0.2
mol %
23, 1
h
Phenyloctyldidecylsilane
0.5 mmol
0.5 mmol and
C 10 H 20 ,
1.0 mmol
9
C 8 H 17 SiH 3 ,
C 6 H 12 ,
MePDI, 0.2
mol %
65, 1
h
Octyldihexyloctadecyl-
0.46 mmol
1.0 mmol and
silane
C 18 H 36 ,
0.5 mmol
10
(C 2 H 5 ) 3 SiH,
C 8 H 16 ,
PrBtdPDI,1
mol %
23, 24
h
Octyltriethylsilane and
0.5 mmol
0.25 mmol
Octadecyltriethylsilane
and
C 18 H 36 ,
0.25 mmol
[0133] Triethyloctylsilane. 1 H NMR (C6D6, 22° C.): 1.39-1.28 (m, 12H), 0.99 (t, 9H, J=7.9 Hz), 0.93 (t, 3H, 8.6 Hz), 0.97 (t, 9H, 8 Hz), 0.59-0.51 (m, 8H). 13 C NMR: 34.83, 32.79, 30.21, 30.19, 24.73, 23.53, 14.77, 12.08, 8.16, 4.08.
Examples 11A-11B
Catalytic Synthesis of Unsaturated Silahydrocarbons
[0134] These Examples illustrate the catalytic synthesis of unsaturated silahydrocarbons using cobalt-containing compounds of Formula (III).
Example 11A
Synthesis of 1-Triethylsilyl-2-octene, (C 2 H 5 ) 3 Si(CH 2 CH═CHC 5 H 11 )
[0135] In a nitrogen-filled drybox, a scintillation vial was charged with 0.100 g (0.891 mmol) of 1-octene and 0.449 mmol (0.5 equiv) of 0.052 g Et 3 SiH. 0.001 g (0.002 mmol, 0.5 mol %) of ( Mes PDI)CoMe was then added to the mixture and the reaction was stirred at room temperature (23° C.) for 24 hours. The reaction was quenched by exposure to air, and the product mixture was analyzed by gas chromatography and 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy. Conversion of the SiH and olefin functional groups was greater than 99%. GC analysis showed 46% of the alkenylsilane and 52% octane. Both E and Z isomers of 1-triethylsilyl-2-octene were formed. The alkenylsilane product was purified by passing the mixture through a silica gel column with hexane followed by removal of the volatiles in vacuo. In another experiment, during which the progress of the reaction was monitored by NMR, 37% conversion occurred in 30 minutes at 23° C. Product distribution at that point was 36% E isomer, 21% Z isomer and 41% octane. The 1 H and 13 C NMR details of 1-triethylsilyl-2-octene are presented below.
[0000]
[0136] 1-Triethylsilyl-2-octene. 1 H NMR (benzene-d 6 ): δ=0.55 (t, 6H, Si(CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ), 0.91 (t, 3H, H h ), 0.97 (t, 9H, Si(CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ), 1.28 (m, 2H, H f ), 1.32 (m, 2H, H g ), 1.36 (m, 2H, H e ), 1.50 (d, 2H {75%}, H a -trans isomer), 1.54 (d, 2H {25%}, H a -cis isomer), 2.03 (m, 2H {75%}, H d -trans isomer), 2.08 (m, 2H {25%}, H d -cis isomer), 5.47 (m, 1H {75%}, H c -trans isomer), 5.50 (m, 1H {25%}, H c -cis isomer), 5.36 (m, 1H {75%}, H b -trans isomer), 5.38 (m, 1H {25%}, H b -cis isomer). 13 C { 1 H} NMR (benzene-d 6 ): δ=2.82 (Si(CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ), 7.70 (Si(CH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ), 14.42 (C h ), 17.70 (C a -trans), 17.71 (C a -cis), 23.04 (C g ), 23.19 (C e ), 29.24 (C f ), 32.40 (C d -trans), 32.47 (C d -cis), 126.41 (C b -trans), 126.46 (C b -cis), 129.31 (C c -trans), 129.33 (C c -cis).
Example 11B
[0137] This Example illustrates the synthesis of 1-triethylsilyl-2-octene with ( Mes PDI)CoN 2 as the catalyst. The experiment of Example 11 was repeated with 0.447 mmol (0.052 g) (C 2 H 5 ) 3 SiH, 0.89 mmol 1-octene and 0.004 g ( Mes PDI)CoN 2 . After 24 hours at 23° C., the reaction mixture was analyzed and found to contain 45% of the alkenylsilane and 43% octane. Conversion was 88%.
Example 12
Synthesis of Bis(Alkenyl)Silanes from Internal Olefins
[0138] This Example illustrates the synthesis of bis(alkenyl)silanes from internal olefins. The experiment was carried out in a manner similar to that of Example 11A with 0.100 g (0.891 mmol) of cis- or trans-4-octene and 0.009 mmol (1 mol %) of the cobalt complex (0.004 g of ( Mes PDI)CoCH 3 ), and 0.447 mmol (0.5 equiv) of the (C 2 H 5 ) 3 SiH (0.052 g). The reactions were stirred at room temperature for 24 hours and then quenched by exposure to air and the product mixtures were analyzed by gas chromatography and NMR spectroscopy. Results showed 70% conversion for cis-4-octene and 85% conversion for trans-4-octene. NMR indicated that, in both reactions, silylation had occurred primarily at the terminal carbon.
Example 13
Use of Cobalt Pyridine Diimine Complexes
[0139] This Example illustrates the use of cobalt pyridine diimine complexes to synthesize bis(alkenyl)silanes from primary silanes and alpha olefins.
[0140] Dehydrogenative silylation with C 6 H 5 SiH 3 . This reaction was performed using the general procedure for the silylation of 1-octene described in Example 11. 0.002 g (0.004 mmol, 1 mol %) of ( Mes PDI)CoMe, 0.050 g (0.46 mmol) of PhSiH 3 and 0.207 g (1.85 mmol, 4 equiv) of 1-octene were used, and the reaction was run at 23° C. for 1 h. Complete conversion to C 6 H 5 (2-octenyl) 2 SiH (2:1 E/Z) was observed by GC and NMR spectroscopy.
[0141] bis(2-octenyl)phenylsilane. 1 H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=0.88 (t, 3H, C 8 H 3 ), 1.16-1.35 (m, 6H, C 5 H 2 C 6 H 2 C 7 H 2 ), 1.81 (d, 7.3 Hz, 4H {67%}, C 1 H 2 -E isomer), 1.84 (d, 8.3 Hz, 4H {33%}, C 1 H 2 -Z isomer), 1.94 (m, 2H, C 4 H 2 ), 4.15 (s, 1H, SiH), 5.30 (m, 1H, C 3 H), 5.40 (m, 1H, C 2 H), 7.33-7.44 (m, 3H, p-Ph and m-Ph), 7.53 (d, 2H, o-Ph). { 1 H} 13 C NMR (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ=14.42 (C 8 -E), 15.11 (C 8 -Z), 16.13 (C 1 -Z), 16.36 (C 1 -E), 22.67 (C 7 -Z), 22.84 (C 7 -E), 29.47 (C 5 -E), 29.53 (C 5 -Z), 31.77 (C 6 -Z), 31.99 (C 6 -E), 32.66 (C 4 -Z), 32.84 (C 4 -E), 124.46 (C 2 -Z), 125.25 (C 2 -E), 127.79 (m-Ph), 127.82 (p-Ph), 129.04 (C 3 -Z), 129.29 (C 3 -E), 134.65 (i-Ph), 135.29 (o-Ph).
Example 14A-14D
Synthesis of Unsaturated Silahydrocarbons
[0142] This Example illustrates synthesis of unsaturated silahydrocarbons by reacting a stoichiometric excess of olefins with the bis(alkenyl)silanes of Example 13A in the presence of the iron pyridine diimine catalysts of U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,915. The catalyst source is 1 mol % [( 2,6-Me2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )]. Reactions and products are summarized in the table below.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Reagents and Products of Example 14A-14D
EXAMPLE
SILANE
OLEFIN
PRODUCT
14A
C 6 H 5 (2-octenyl) 2 SiH
Hexene
Phenyl-
hexylbis(2-
octenyl)-silane
14B
C 6 H 5 (2-octenyl) 2 SiH
Decene
Phenyl-
decylbis(2-
octenyl)-silane
14C
C 8 H 17 (2-octenyl) 2 SiH
Octadecene
Phenyl-
octadecylbis(2-
octenyl)silane
14D
C 8 H 17 (2-octenyl) 2 SiH
Octene
Phenyl-
octylbis(2-
octenyl)-silane
Example 15A-15G
Synthesis of Polysilahydrocarbon Compounds
[0143] This Example illustrates the synthesis of polysilahydrocarbon compounds with the iron pyridine diimine complex, [( 2,6-Me2 PDI)Fe(N 2 )] 2 [μ-(N 2 )], as the catalyst source. The general procedure for the experiments is described in Examples 1 and 2. The silanes, unsaturated substrates and products are identified in Table 3. In Examples 15A-15D and 15F, unsaturation is internal, but it is terminal in Examples 15E and 15G.
[0000]
TABLE 3
Synthesis of Disila- (Examples 15A, 15B), Trisila-
(Example 15C), Tetrasila- (Examples 15D-15F) and
Pentasila-hydrocarbon (Example 15G) Compounds
Ex
Reactions And Products
15A
(C 2 H 5 ) 3 Si(CH 2 CH═CHC 5 H 11 ) + (C 2 H 5 ) 3 SiH →
(C 2 H 5 ) 3 Si(CH 2 ) 8 Si(C 2 H 5 ) 3
15B
(C 2 H 5 ) 3 Si(CH 2 CH═CHC 5 H 11 ) + C 6 H 5 (C 8 H 17 ) 2 SiH →
C 6 H 5 (C 8 H 17 ) 2 Si(CH 2 ) 8 Si(C 2 H 5 ) 3
15C
C 6 H 5 CH 3 Si(CH 2 CH═CHC 5 H 11 ) 2 + 2C 6 H 5 (CH 3 ) 2 SiH →
C 6 H 5 CH 3 Si[(CH 2 ) 8 SiC 6 H 5 (CH 3 ) 2 ] 2
15D
C 6 H 5 SiH 3 + 3(C 2 H 5 ) 3 Si(CH 2 CH═CHC 5 H 11 ) →
C 6 H 5 Si[(CH 2 ) 8 Si(C 2 H 5 ) 3 ] 3
15E
C 6 H 13 SiH 3 + 3H 2 C═CHCH 2 Si(C 4 H 9 ) 3 →
C 6 H 13 Si[C 3 H 6 Si(C 4 H 9 ) 3 ] 3
15F
C 8 H 17 SiH 3 + 3CH 3 CH═CHSi(C 10 H 21 ) 3 →
C 8 H 17 Si[C 3 H 6 Si(C 10 H 21 ) 3 ] 3
15G
4(C 12 H 25 ) 3 SiH + Si(C 2 H 3 ) 4 → Si[C 2 H 4 Si(C 12 H 25 ) 3 ] 4
[0144] While the above description contains many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art may envision many other possible variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto. | The present invention relates to processes for the synthesis of saturated and unsaturated silahydrocarbons using iron-containing or cobalt-containing catalysts. The processes of the invention can produce tetraalkylsilanes, phenyltrialkylsilanes, substituted phenyltrialkylsilanes and their mixtures, which are useful as lubricants and hydraulic fluids, as well as alkyl alkenylsilanes, phenyl alkenylsilanes and substituted phenyl alkenylsilanes and their mixtures, which are useful in the synthesis of saturated silahydrocarbons and other organofunctional silanes. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to pesticide products formulated as aqueous solutions. More particularly, it relates to aqueous compositions which contain the herbicide N-phosphonomethyl glycine (“glyphosate”) in the form of a salt other than its potassium salt, and preferably its mono-iso-propylamine salt.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] The present invention pertains to liquid compositions of matter useful as herbicides and to liquid concentrates from which liquid herbicides may be prepared, wherein the active herbicidal ingredient is a salt of N-phosphonomethyl glycine, which is commonly referred to as glyphosate by those skilled in this art. Owing to the fact that glyphosate in its acid form has a low solubility in water, those skilled in the art who produce and/or use formulations containing glyphosate have found it beneficial to employ a water-soluble glyphosate salt in their formulations in order to achieve higher levels of glyphosate effectively dissolved in the solutions. This is regarded as being common knowledge in the art, and salts typically employed are the amine salts of glyphosate, including without limitation the mono-iso-propylamine salt of glyphosate, alkanolamine salts of glyphosate, the alkali and/or alkaline earth metal salts of glyphosate, and mixtures comprising any of the foregoing.
[0003] In a general sense, it is desirable to provide concentrates which contain one or more salts of glyphosate in as high a concentration as possible because the higher the concentration, the more active ingredient is contained in a given volume, which reduces shipping costs and enables large volumes of final solutions to be prepared from small volumes of concentrate by mere addition of water. Thus, it is desirable to increase the maximum level of glyphosate loading possible to successfully formulate in a commercially-viable product.
[0004] One current commercial glyphosate formulation is the mono-iso-propylamine (“IPA”) salt in loaded at 480 g/L active ingredient, which is approximately 360 g/L glyphosate (acid form) equivalent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,085 discloses that mono-iso-propylamine glyphosate solutions are easily prepared containing 250-400 g/L of glyphosate acid equivalent.
[0005] European Patent EP 1 133 233 B1 (WO 00030452 A1) discloses an adjuvant system compatible with the mono-ethanolamine (“MEA”) salt of glyphosate. Table 1 of this patent shows how the cloud point decreases with increasing surfactant concentration. The patent further states the commonly-held belief that to maintain acceptable cloud point when raising the concentration of glyphosate, the surfactant concentration must be reduced. The cloud point is a measure of the maximum temperature at which a given aqueous composition containing a surfactant and a salt of glyphosate at defined concentrations forms a single-phase solution. Above the cloud point, the surfactant separates from the solution, initially as a hazy or cloudy dispersion, and, upon standing, as a distinct phase generally rising to the surface of the solution. (Cloud point of a composition is normally determined by heating the composition until the solution becomes cloudy, and then allowing the composition to cool, with agitation, while its temperature is continuously monitored. A temperature reading taken when the solution clears is a measure of cloud point.) European Patent EP 0 999 749 B1 discloses high-load ammonium glyphosate. The publications WO 00/30451 and EP1438896A1 disclose compositions containing the MEA salt of glyphosate.
[0006] The object of this invention is to provide commercially viable products of very high loaded glyphosate formulations. This invention pertains to IPA salts of glyphosate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] In the annexed drawings,
[0008] FIG. 1 graphically depicts the cloud points of solutions containing the mono-iso-propylamine salt and various surfactants and surfactant combinations at a glyphosate loading of 480 grams per liter;
[0009] FIG. 2 graphically depicts the cloud points of solutions containing the mono-iso-propylamine salt and various surfactants and surfactant combinations at a glyphosate loading of 580 grams per liter;
[0010] FIG. 3 graphically depicts the cloud points of solutions containing the mono-iso-propylamine salt and various surfactants and surfactant combinations at a glyphosate loading of 680 grams per liter; and
[0011] FIG. 4 comprises the graphs from FIGS. 1-3 on the same graph.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention provides liquid compositions of matter comprising: a) a glyphosate salt in an amount greater than 480 g/L a.i.; b) a tallowamine alkoxylate; and c) an EDA alkoxylate.
[0013] In another embodiment, the present invention provides liquid compositions of matter comprising: a) a glyphosate salt in an amount greater than 580 g/L a.i.; b) a tallowamine alkoxylate; and c) an EDA alkoxylate, wherein the composition has a cloud point greater than 90° C.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The present disclosure specifies the creation of mixtures comprising ethylenediamine alkoxylates and tallowamine ethoxylates which form stable, homogeneous solutions in combination with the mono-iso-propylamine salt of glyphosate at higher loadings of the glyphosate salt. Example formulations have been made at both 430 g/L glyphosate acid equivalent (“ae”) and 505 g/L glyphosate acid equivalent. The 505 g/L ae formulation enabled observation of two unexpected properties: 1) the cloud point actually increased as the level of glyphosate loading was raised; and 2) a high level of surfactant was maintained at the high glyphosate loading.
[0015] According to the work carried out in connection with the present specification, surfactant blends were made using alkoxylates of ethylene diamine (“alkoxylated EDA”) and alkoxylates of tallowamine (“alkoxylated tallowamine”), including those which now follow. The surfactant sold as SURFONIC® ADA-170 surfactant is an alkoxylated ethylenediamine (“EDA”), (propylene oxide (“PO”)/ethylene oxide (“EO”) block) surfactant, and is available from Huntsman LLC of Houston, Tex. The surfactant sold as SURFONIC® R-170 surfactant is an alkoxylated EDA (EO/PO block) surfactant that is also available from Huntsman LLC of Houston, Tex. The surfactant known as SURFONIC® M-170 surfactant is an alkoxylated EDA (EO/PO mixed block) surfactant is also available from Huntsman LLC of Houston, Tex. The surfactant known as SURFONIC® T-15 surfactant is a 15-mole alkoxylated tallowamine (ethylene oxide) that is available from Huntsman LLC. The surfactant known as SURFONIC® T-5 surfactant is a 5-mole alkoxylated tallowamine (ethylene oxide) that is available from Huntsman LLC. The surfactant known as SURFONIC® T-10 surfactant is a 10-mole alkoxylated tallowamine (ethylene oxide) that is available from Huntsman LLC. The glycol sold as POGOL® 400 PEG is a polyethylene glycol with an average molecular weight of about 400 that is also available from Huntsman LLC of Houston, Tex.
[0016] It is convenient for this specification and FIGS. 1-4 that the foregoing surfactants be abbreviated as set forth in table I below:
[0000]
TABLE I
abbreviations
Surfactant Name
Abbreviation
SURFONIC ® ADA-170
ADA
SURFONIC ® R-170
R
SURFONIC ® T-15
T15
SURFONIC ® T-10
T10
SURFONIC ® T-5
T5
SURFONIC ® M-170
M
[0017] Nine adjuvant compositions were prepared using the formula in the table II below:
[0000] TABLE II formula for adjuvants Component w/w % EDA Alkoxylate 40 Tallowamine ethoxylate 40 POGOL ® 400 PEG 10 H 2 O 10 Total 100
using the three alkoxylated EDA surfactants and the three alkoxylated tallowamine surfactants mentioned above in the combinations specified in Table III below:
[0000] TABLE III surfactants used in adjuvants Adjuvant Number Specific Surfactants Used 1 ADA + T15 2 R + T15 3 M + T15 4 ADA + T10 5 R + T10 6 M + T10 7 ADA + T5 8 R + T5 9 M + T5
using the mono-iso-propylamine salt of glyphosate (“IPA glyphosate”) in formulations at three loadings according to table IV below, in which quantities of ingredients are specified in parts by weight:
[0000]
TABLE IV
compositions of finished concentrates
Component
Normal Load
High Load
Very High Load
IPA glyphosate (62% a.i.)
66.1
78.5
90.0
adjuvant blend
7.5
7.5
10.0
Water
26.4
14.0
—
Total:
100
100
100
g/L a.i. (active ingr.)
480
580
680
g/L ae (acid equiv)
360
430
505
S.G. (25/4)
1.17
1.20
1.22
[0018] Cloud point tests were run on the twenty-seven glyphosate formulations so produced using the nine adjuvant formulations for each level of loading specified in table IV, and the results are depicted graphically in FIGS. 1-3 . The cloud point was determined by a three-step procedure of: 1) heating the solution until it becomes cloudy and thence removing the heat source; 2) mechanically stirring the cloudy solution while monitoring its temperature as the sample cools; and 3) recording the temperature at the point at which the solution displays complete clarity. Those of ordinary skill in the art immediately recognize that a cloud point equal or greater than 50° C. is generally required in order for a composition to possess the status of being commercially acceptable.
[0000]
TABLE V
cloud point results for finished concentrates
IPA glyphosate loading g/L a.i.
480
580
680
Adjuvant number
cloud point (° C.)
1
91
64
55
2
89
65
28
3
86
52
18
4
>100
74
54
5
>100
86
55
6
>100
74
47
7
>100
73
>100
8
>100
94
>100
9
>100
73
>100
[0019] These data are plotted individually in FIGS. 1-3 , and combined in FIG. 4 . All of the 480 and 580 g/L a.i. formulations are homogeneous and have a cloud point greater than 50° C.
[0020] The data in Table V and the FIGS. 1-3 show the known trend of increasing cloud point with decreasing moles of ethylene oxide present on the ethoxylated tallowamine surfactant.
[0021] However, the compositions according to this invention display results which are wholly unexpected. Firstly, the cloud point increased as the loading was increased from 580 to 680 g/L a.i. IPA glyphosate for the EDA/T-5 adjuvant formulations (adjuvants 7, 8, 9). This is in direct opposition to what one of ordinary skill in the art would expect, as the cloud point normally decreases as glyphosate loading is increased.
[0022] Secondly, the cloud point increased as the surfactant concentration was increased. The 580 g/L a.i. formulation contains 7.5 w/w % adjuvant and the 680 g/L a.i. formulation contains 10.0 w/w % adjuvant. This is in direct opposition to what one of ordinary skill in the art would expect, as the cloud point normally decreases as surfactant loading is increased.
[0023] Thus, by the present invention, a surfactant system containing IPA glyphosate has been created which can be used to yield formulations containing an ultra-high load of IPA glyphosate, in which the IPA glyphosate concentration is higher than previously possible in any agriculturally-acceptable formulation. With the combinations made using adjuvants numbers 7, 8, and 9, cloud point increased with increased IPA glyphosate loading, instead of trending downward as one of ordinary skill would expect. Thus, according to the present invention, surfactant loading is increased and maintained at the highest IPA glyphosate loading without adversely affecting cloud point.
[0024] The three formulations with EDA/T-5 blends (adjuvant numbers 7, 8, 9) were stored for one week at 5° C. in order to determine low-temperature stability. After the expiry of 7 days under such conditions, there was no crystallization present and the solutions had remained homogeneous. Thus, the present invention has provided low temperature-stable, homogeneous formulations of very highly loaded IPA glyphosate, using a range of surfactant blends. The adjuvant chemistry of this invention allows the successful formulation of very high loadings using the IPA salt of glyphosate.
[0025] The tallowamine ethoxylate used in the practice of this invention according to one of its preferred forms is a mixture of materials having the general structure:
[0000]
[0000] wherein R is a mixture of hydrocarbon groups typical of tallow as are well known in the art to comprise alkyl and alkenyl groups having between about 12 and 20 carbon atoms, is mostly C 18 , and in which x and y are each independently any value within the range of between about 1 and about 12, with a value for x and y each of about 2-3 being most preferable.
[0026] The alkoxylated EDA component (ADA-170) of a composition according to the invention is a mixture of materials conforming to the general structure:
[0000]
[0000] wherein EO and PO represent ethylene oxide and propylene oxide units, respectively, and in which a, b, c, d may each independently be any value between about 0 and 3, including 0 and 3, the sum of a+b+c+d has a preferred average value of about 4, but the sum of a+b+c+d may be any value in the range of between about 2 and 8, and in which the sum of p+q+r+s has a preferred average value of about 22 but the average sum of p+q+r+s may be any value in the range of between about 16 and 30.
[0027] The alkoxylated EDA component (R-170) of a composition according to another embodiment of the invention is a mixture of materials conforming to the general structure:
[0000]
[0000] wherein EO and PO represent ethylene oxide and propylene oxide units, respectively, and in which a, b, c, d may each independently be any value between about 0 and 3, including 0 and 3, the sum of a+b+c+d has a preferred average value of about 4, but the sum of a+b+c+d may be any value in the range of between about 2 and 8, and in which the sum of p+q+r+s has a preferred average value of about 22 but the average sum of p+q+r+s may be any value in the range of between about 16 and 30.
[0028] The alkoxylated EDA component (M-170) of a composition according to one embodiment of the invention is a mixture of materials conforming to the general structure:
[0000]
[0000] wherein EO and PO represent ethylene oxide and propylene oxide units, respectively, and in which w, x, y, and z in each occurrence may each independently be any integer between about 0 and 3, including 0 and 3 such that the sum of w+x+y+z is any value in the range of between about 2 and 8; and in which p, q, r, and s in each occurrence may independently be any integer between about 0 and 10, including 0 and 10 such that the sum of p+q+r+s is any value in the range of between about 12 and 24; and in which a, b, c, and d in each occurrence may independently be any integer between about 0 and 3, including 0 and 3 such that the sum of a+b+c+d is any value in the range of about 2 to 8, subject to the proviso that the EO/PO units within the [square brackets] in this equation are added in a random fashion to the EO already connected to the nitrogen atoms, that is, the material is formed by reacting a mixture of the gases EO and PO are with a precursor, which precursor already contains EO attached to the nitrogen atoms in ethylene diamine in an amount as defined by x above.
[0029] Thus, the present invention comprises mixtures of two or more alkoxylated nitrogenous substances. It is recognized by those skilled in the art that during the alkoxylation process the alkylene oxide units may add to the nitrogenous substance being alkoxylated in either a random or block fashion. Thus, the compositions of the invention shall not be construed as being limited to any specific structure with regards to which the EO and PO units are present in the molecules, except as otherwise specified herein. It is also recognized that during such alkoxylations used to provide the alkoxylated materials used as components in this invention that a mixture of products are obtained; hence the values of x, y, and z as they represent alkoxide units are average values, as specified.
[0030] The present invention also includes compositions containing the molecules as expressed herein in which the propylene oxide is replaced by butylene oxide. The tallowamine may also include propylene oxide units and butylene oxide units.
[0031] The present invention also comprises a process for controlling weeds which comprises the step of applying a composition according to the invention to soil and/or foliage. The present invention also comprises a process for controlling weeds which comprises the steps of: 1) diluting any composition according to the invention with any desired amount of water and applying any composition according to the invention to soil and/or foliage.
[0032] Consideration must be given to the fact that although this invention has been described and disclosed in relation to certain preferred embodiments, obvious equivalent modifications and alterations thereof will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in this art upon reading and understanding this specification and the claims appended hereto. The present disclosure includes the subject matter defined by any combination of any one of the various claims appended hereto with any one or more of the remaining claims, including the incorporation of the features and/or limitations of any dependent claim, singly or in combination with features and/or limitations of any one or more of the other dependent claims, with features and/or limitations of any one or more of the independent claims, with the remaining dependent claims in their original text being read and applied to any independent claim so modified. This also includes combination of the features and/or limitations of one or more of the independent claims with the features and/or limitations of another independent claim to arrive at a modified independent claim, with the remaining dependent claims in their original text being read and applied to any independent claim so modified. Accordingly, the presently disclosed invention is intended to cover all such modifications and alterations, and is limited only by the scope of the claims which follow, in view of the foregoing and other contents of this specification. | By the present invention, a surfactant system containing glyphosate has been created which can be used to yield formulations containing an ultra-high load of glyphosate, in which the glyphosate concentration is higher than previously possible in any agriculturally-acceptable formulation. Higher loadings are desirable to reduce shipping and container costs, as well as reduce wastes. The higher loading reduces storage requirements and allows the farmer to handle less volume of pesticide. The main advantage is that maximizing the loading minimizes the cost to deliver the active ingredient, which in turn maximizes economy in use of glyphosate. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for the sorption of water and organic compounds from gases selected from the group comprising natural gas and process gases by using a sorbent comprising activated carbon in an oxidic carrier.
German patent application . . . (P 42 16 867.8= European patent application filing number 93 10 7797.9) describes sorbents comprising activated carbon in an oxidic carrier. It is pointed out that a great number of organic substances can be separated from gases with the aid of this sorbent, for instance aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons; it is also possible to absorb solvents as are found in the outlet air of paint shops or printing shops. As can be learnt from an example, a small amount of water can absorbed from test gas mixtures consisting of nitrogen, toluene and water, apart from the predominant amount of toluene.
There are very different reasons why water, CO 2 and organic compounds are separated from natural gas or process gases. For instance, it may be desirable to separate water and organic compounds from waste gases so that the cleaned waste gases can be discharged into the environment. It may also be desirable to separate water and specific organic components from gases whenever said components are undesired or objectionable when the gases in question are used in a technical process. Apart from methane, natural gas, for instance, contains a complex mixture of higher hydrocarbons and some water.
The constitutional characteristics of such gas mixtures upon variation of the pressure, the volume and/or the temperature differ from the known characteristics of single-component systems. The so-called "retrograde" characteristics of such gas mixtures are due to the fact that boiling curve and dew-point curve cover a constitutional field in which saturated phases also exist above the critical point. A condensation of components of the gas mixture can also be observed upon a decrease in pressure or an increase in temperature because of the curve of that field. This phase region extends into the region of the temperatures and pressures observed during gas transportation (i.e. for example in natural gas pipelines) the further the higher the amount of higher hydrocarbons is. Furthermore, natural gas must be dried to avoid obstacles presented by ice or hydrates of hydrocarbons to pipeline transportation. So far amorphous aluminosilicate beads with the aid of which higher hydrocarbons (C5+) are separated in processes employing changing temperatures have been used for separating water and higher hydrocarbons from natural gas.
Hydrogen flows resulting from refining processes or steam reforming processes are normally contaminated with hydrocarbons and/or carbon dioxide. These impurities have so far been separated by means of activated carbon in processes employing changing pressures.
The simultaneous separation of water and organic compounds, in particular C5+ hydrocarbons, i.e. hydrocarbons which contain at least 5 hydrocarbon atoms, has so far been carried out with sorbents based on silicon dioxide. Water and C5+ hydrocarbon compounds have been separated from natural gas and waste gases resulting from the production of maleic acid anhydride, terephthalic acid anhydride or phthalic acid anhydride. C2+ carbon compounds have been separated from waste gases resulting from steam reforming.
EP-A-0369171 and EP-A-0343697 describe each a sorbent comprising particulate activated carbon and aluminum oxide which can be used for the sorption of water and organic compounds from gases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved process for the simultaneous sorption of water and organic compounds from gases selected from the group comprising natural gas and process gases.
This object is achieved according to the invention with a process for the simultaneous sorption of water and organic compounds from gases selected from the group comprising natural gas and process gases, wherein the gas is contacted with a sorbent comprising particulate activated carbon in an oxidic carrier, characterized in that the carrier has been made from a gel, with the proviso that the process does not comprise the sorption of toluene and water by contacting a gas consisting of nitrogen, toluene and water with a sorbent containing 6.4% by wt. or 20% by wt. of activated carbon in silicon dioxide for 3 seconds.
In the process of the invention for the simultaneous sorption of water and organic compounds from gases selected from the group comprising natural gas and process gases, the gas to be treated is contacted with a sorbent comprising particulate activated carbon in an oxidic carrier, preferably based on silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum phosphate or aluminosilicate. Of course, the oxidic carrier may also comprise mixtures, in particular of said oxides. The process known from German patent application . . . (P 42 16 867.8), which is used for the sorption of toluene and water by contacting the test gas consisting of nitrogen, toluene and water with a sorbent containing 6.4% by wt. or 20% by wt. of activated carbon in SiO 2 for 3 seconds, is exempted from the scope of the present invention.
The term "natural gas" comprises all natural gases which predominantly contain methane and may be pretreated, if desired, e.g. "sweetened".
The term "process gases" in its widest sense covers any desired gases that contain water and organic compounds in gaseous or vaporous form. One may optionally determine by simply contacting a gas and through a subsequent analysis whether a specific organic substance can be absorbed. It is possible to remove polar and non-polar, hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic substances which are present in gaseous or vaporous form. For instance, it is possible to absorb substances which are only composed of carbon and hydrogen, e.g. aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, or aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, toluene or xylene. It is also possible to absorb compound classes which contain carbon and heteroatoms, such as nitrogen, oxygen, halogen atoms, sulfur, phosphorus and optionally hydrogen. For instance, it is possible to remove CO 2 , halogenated carbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, such as chlorinated carbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrogen chlorofluorocarbons, fluorocarbons, hydrogen fluorocarbons, alcohols, ketones, carboxylic acid esters, aldehydes, aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic ethers, alkyl phosphorus compounds, alkyl sulfur compounds. As follows from the above, it can be assumed that, with the exception of methane, any desired organic substance can be absorbed.
Apart from water, preferred process gases contain vaporizable aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds having one or more carbon atoms, aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene or toluene, hydrogen and/or CO 2 . Especially preferred process gases are derived from the production of maleic acid or terephthalic acid anhydride, from the production of phthalic acid or from steam reforming.
Within the scope of the present invention, the term "activated carbon" includes activated-carbon black, activated-carbon coke and graphite, but no activated-carbon molecular sieve.
The particle size of the activated carbon is expediently in the range of from 50 to 50,000 nm, preferably in the range of from 50 to 10,000 nm.
The content of activated carbon in the sorbent can vary within a wide range, for instance between 0.1 and 90% by wt., based on the total weight of the sorbent. The content is preferably between 0.5 and 70% by wt., in particular between 5 and 40% by wt., and between 5 and 30% by wt. in an especially preferred manner.
Sorbents coated with activated carbon can be used; a uniform distribution of the activated carbon in the sorbent is especially advantageous.
Amorphous and/or crystalline material can be used as the oxidic carrier. Amorphous oxidic carriers which may contain crystalline material are very well suited. Amorphous oxidic carriers based on silicon dioxide or aluminosilicate are especially well suited for use in the process of the invention.
Crystalline components, such as zeolite or aluminum phosphate, may be contained in an amount of up to 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the sorbent.
The sorbent can be present in any desired form, for instance as a granular material, extrudate or monolith. Particles having a size of at least 0.1 mm, especially beaded particles, are expedient. The diameter of the beaded particles is advantageously in the range of from 0.5 to 10 mm, preferably in the range of from 1 to 6 mm.
The production of the usable sorbent is described in the said prior German patent application . . . (P 42 16 867.8). The production of oxidic materials based on amorphous or crystalline silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum phosphate or aluminosilicate is known. Crystalline aluminosilicate, for instance, can be produced by analogy with the process of DE-AS 1 038 015. Sodium aluminate solution and sodium silicate solution are here intermixed to form a gel and are made crystalline. Depending on the molar ratio of silicon and aluminum, different zeolites can be produced. The sorbent can be made by mixing and solidifying zeolite, binder and activated carbon, e.g. by way of granulation.
The production of amorphous aluminosilicates can take place by analogy with the process described in DE-OS 29 17 313. An aluminate solution and a silicate solution are combined and immediately put into a precipitation oil. Bead-like bodies of amorphous aluminosilicate are formed. Activated carbon is added by precipitation by adding activated carbon to either the aluminate solution or the silicate solution or to both solutions.
An alternative possibility is that an (acid) aluminum sulfate solution and a silicate solution are combined with one another and converted into amorphous aluminosilicate. In this case, too, activated carbon can be added to one or both solutions. Beaded bodies that contain activated carbon are again obtained when the blended solutions are immediately put into a precipitation oil.
A sorbent which contains activated carbon and is based on amorphous silicon dioxide is obtained by mixing a silicate solution containing activated carbon into an acid solution. Alternatively, activated carbon could also be added to the acid solution. Beaded bodies are again obtained upon dropwise introduction into a precipitation oil.
In addition to the activated carbon, crystalline components, such as zeolites, may be admixed.
Spray gelation may also be used as a method for producing sorbents containing activated carbon. A sol containing activated carbon is sprayed into a reactive gas. The spray jet tears open, thereby forming drops, and spherical particles are formed that solidify in the reaction gas and form a gel. For instance, a metastable acid aluminum oxide sol can have added thereto activated carbon and can be sprayed into ammonia gas.
Alternatively, solidified amorphous oxidic materials can be coated with activated carbon, for instance, by spraying with an activated-carbon suspension in water.
Other conventional steps, such as ageing, base exchange, washing, deionizing, drying or tempering, can subsequently be taken. Especially advantageous sorbents are obtained when the precipitated oxidic material is dried after ageing, but prior to base exchange.
The use of a sorbent containing activated carbon for the simultaneous sorption of water and organic compounds from gases shall now be explained.
In one embodiment, water and higher-boiling hydrocarbons, preferably C5+ hydrocarbons, are simultaneously separated from the gas to be treated. On the one hand, it is possible to clean the gas with such a treatment; on the other hand, water or the above-mentioned higher-boiling hydrocarbons are prevented from condensing upon possible decreases in temperature and/or increases in pressure of the gas. Hence, the dew point of the gas is lowered relative to water and said hydrocarbons. The sorbent which contains activated carbon and the gas or the sorbent and a gas stream to be treated are contacted for at least 20 minutes for the simultaneous separation of water and C5+ hydrocarbons. The treatment can generally be carried out at a reduced pressure, at ambient pressure or at an increased pressure. Contact is preferably established at pressures of from 1 to 150 bar (abs.). For instance, process gases, especially process gases of the maleic acid or terephthalic acid anhydride synthesis or the phthalic acid synthesis, can be treated in this manner.
Natural gas can also be treated at said pressures. The operating conditions for the simultaneous separation of water and C5+ hydrocarbons are preferably above 30 bar, especially in case of pipeline pressure, i.e. at pressures of 80 to 110 bar (abs.).
The sorption of water and the said higher-boiling hydrocarbons is expediently performed at a temperature in the range of from 0° to 50° C. (changing temperature regeneration), and desorption at a temperature of from 150° to 350° C. Desorption can be carried out with heated gases, for instance air or inert gases, such as nitrogen. The water contained in the regeneration gas and the higher-boiling hydrocarbons can be condensed by cooling the regeneration gas and can then be separated. One proceeds preferably in such a manner that a split stream of the gas to be treated is used as the regeneration gas, the split stream being heated to a temperature of from 150° to 300° C. and passed through the charged sorbent, and the regeneration gas being charged with the desorbate, and that the desorbate-charged regeneration gas is freed from the desorbate under cooling in that the desorbate is condensed, and the desorbate-freed regeneration gas is added to the gas (or gas stream) which is to be treated or has been treated.
In the above-described embodiment, it is of course possible to treat gases, such as natural gases, which contain hydrocarbons having less than 5 carbon atoms. These lower-boiling hydrocarbons are not absorbed or only absorbed to a negligent degree.
Another embodiment of the invention permits the simultaneous separation of water, CO 2 and/or C2+ hydrocarbons. To this end, the gas to be treated, especially natural gas or steam reforming gas, is contacted with the sorbent, which contains the activated carbon, for a relatively short period of time, especially for not more than 15 minutes. CO 2 or the low-boiling hydrocarbons are then more and more replaced by higher-boiling substances. The temperature during sorption is preferably in the range of from 0° to 50° C.; the desorption temperature in the range of from 0° to 50° C. Desorption is expediently effected in that the temperature of the sorbent is kept constant, but the pressure is lowered (changing pressure regeneration).
In this process variant, it is of course possible to treat gases which have higher-boiling hydrocarbons, such as C5+ hydrocarbon compounds. These hydrocarbon compounds are only negligently or not at all absorbed during the above-described short treatment in which water and C2+ carbon compounds are absorbed up to compounds having 4 carbon atoms.
This variant is especially preferred in the treatment of waste gases of a steam reforming process. In steam reforming, crude oil and water are passed over a catalyst, whereby hydrocarbon products are formed that are rich in aromatic compounds and isoparaffin. The waste gases from the said process contain hydrogen, water, carbon dioxide and, inter alia, ethane. When these waste gases are contacted with the sorbent containing activated carbon at the said temperature and at the said pressure for not more than about 15 minutes, water, the C2+ carbon compounds up to compounds having 4 carbon atoms, and carbon dioxide are absorbed by the sorbent. Methane and hydrogen do not absorb.
The separated hydrocarbons can be used as a substitute for gasoline or as combustible gases.
As already stated, the sorbent can be regenerated. In the simplest case, one proceeds such that a heated regeneration gas, for instance heated air, is passed through the charge with the charged sorbent, the regeneration gas charged with the desorbate is cooled, with water and condensible organic compounds being separated, and the regeneration gas being subjected to a posttreatment to separate residual remaining organic compounds. The regeneration gas cleaned in this manner can then be discharged into the environment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a closed circuit, two absorber embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a three absorber variant embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another three absorber variant embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of another three absorber variant embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In a preferred embodiment, the regeneration gas is circulated in a closed circuit. This embodiment of the invention is further explained with reference to FIG. 1.
The gas to be treated is supplied via line 1. The gas is introduced via the multiway valve 2 and line 3 into the absorber 4 switched to sorption, which contains a charge of the sorbent containing activated carbon and amorphous SiO 2 . The gases which have been cleaned by contact with the sorbent leave the absorber 4 via line 5 and can be discharged via line 6 into the environment. The charged absorber 7 is being regenerated in the meantime. To this end, a regeneration gas (for instance an inert gas such as nitrogen or a split stream of the gas which is to be treated or has been treated) is passed over line 16 into heat exchanger 14 and is heated there. The heated gas is passed via line 17 into absorber 7 and desorbs the water absorbed by the sorbent charge, as well as organic substances. The desorbate-charged gas leaves the absorber 7 via line 8, it is passed via the multiway valve 2 into the heat exchanger 9 and is cooled there; the cooled gas is then introduced into condenser 10. The condensate which is deposited there is discharged via line 11 from condenser 10. Water and organic components can be separated in a phase separator. The organic components, in case of a natural gas treatment, for instance, C5+ hydrocarbons, can be used as fuel or propellant additive. The remaining gas stream leaves the condenser 10 via line 12 and is passed via a pump 13 into heat exchanger 14, it is heated there and passed via line 17 again into the absorber 7 to be regenerated. When the absorber 4 has been charged and the absorber 7 has been regenerated, the multiway valve is switched over. The gas to be treated, which has flown from line 1, is now conducted via line 8 through the regenerated absorber 4 from which the cleaned gas is discharged via line 17 and line 6 into the environment. In the meantime, and by analogy with the regeneration of absorber 7, the absorber 4 is treated with regeneration gas which is introduced via line 5 into absorber 4. Hence, in this embodiment the regeneration gas is circulated. It is possible to proceed in such a manner that, if desired, the gas is only heated at the beginning of the regeneration in the heat exchanger 14.
In particular, when two alternately operated absorbers are used, the above-described regeneration is preferred with recirculation of the regeneration gas. Of course, it is also possible to guide a split stream of the gas which is to be treated or has been treated in the bypass either constantly or temporarily.
Especially when at least three alternately operated absorbers are used, it is especially advantageous to guide a split stream of the gas which is to be treated or has been treated either temporarily or constantly in the bypass past the absorber respectively used for sorption and to use it for the regeneration of the absorber to be respectively regenerated. One expediently proceeds such that one absorber is switched to sorption, one absorber is already regenerated and flown through and cooled by the regeneration gas, and another absorber is regenerated by heated regeneration gas. There are various expedient variants.
In this embodiment, there are at least three absorbers A, B and C, absorber A being switched to sorption, absorber B being already present in regenerated form and being in a state which is still hot from regeneration, and absorber C is to be regenerated; the gas to be treated is thus introduced through absorber A. In a variant I, a split stream of the gas to be treated is first passed through absorber B and the gas stream which leaves absorber B is being heated and passed through the absorber C to be regenerated, the gas stream leaving absorber C, which is enriched with desorbate, is cooled, condensing organic compounds (and condensing water) and the residual gas stream comprising the non-condensing components are passed through absorber A.
In a variant II, a split stream of the gas to be treated is first heated and passed through absorber C, the gas stream which leaves absorber C and is enriched with desorbate is cooled, condensing organic components (and condensing water) are separated, the gas stream comprising non-condensing components is passed through absorber B, the latter being thereby cooled, and the gas stream leaving absorber B is admixed to the gas to be treated for the purpose of passing it through absorber A.
In a third variant, a split stream of the gas to be treated is heated and passed through absorber C, the gas stream which leaves absorber C and is enriched with desorbate is cooled, condensing organic compounds (and condensing water) are separated and the residual gas stream is admixed to the gas to be treated for the purpose of passing it through absorber A. In this variant III, a split stream of the gas leaving absorber A is additionally passed through absorber B which is thereby cooled, and the gas stream leaving absorber B is admixed to the main stream of the treated gas.
FIG. 2 illustrates variant I. The illustrated scheme comprises a few components (precondenser, air cooler, two-stage condenser) which are not imperative for carrying out the variant, but have turned out to be especially advantageous during technical use (the same applies to the variants II and III, which will be discussed later, and the associated FIGS. 3 and 4). The gas to be treated is passed via line 1 into precondenser 18. Condensing components can be removed via line 19. The residual gas stream is passed via line 3 into the absorber A switched to absorption, and the cleaned gas is discharged via line 6 into the environment or used technically. A split stream of the gas to be treated is taken from line 3 via line 20 and passed through the freshly regenerated, still heated absorber B, which is thereby cooled. The gas leaving absorber B in substantially unchanged form is introduced via line 21, if desired, through heat exchanger 22, or partly or fully via bypass 23 into a heater 24. The gases leaving the heater pass through the charge of the sorbent of the absorber C to be regenerated. The desorbate-charged gases leave absorber C via line 25, pass the heat exchanger 22 and are precooled in air cooler 26. They subsequently pass through cooler 27 and are then introduced into the high-pressure condenser 28. The small amount of highly pressurized non-condensing components in the desorbate-containing gas stream is admixed via line 29 into line 3 for the purpose of treatment in absorber A. The condensate of the high-pressure condenser 28 is introduced into the low-pressure condenser 30. Non-condensing components, such as low-boiling hydrocarbons, are discharged via line 31 and can be used as combustible gases. The condensate of condenser 30 is introduced via line 32 into supply tank 33. For instance, with natural gas, higher-boiling hydrocarbons are predominantly used, especially C6+ hydrocarbons, as well as water which can be separated by phase separation. The hydrocarbons, for instance, serve as propellant additives and can be removed via line 34 from the supply tank.
FIG. 3 illustrates variant II. Like in variant I, the gas to be treated is passed via line 1 into precondenser 18 and via line 3 through the absorber A which is switched to sorption. The cleaned gases leave the absorber via line 6. The cleaned gases leave the absorber via line 6. A split stream of the gas to be treated is passed via line 20 through the heat exchangers 35 and 22 into heater 24. The hot gases leaving heater 24 are passed through the absorber C to be regenerated. The desorbate-charged gases leave absorber C via line 25 and are introduced via air cooler 26 and cooler 27 into the high-pressure condenser 28. The non-condensing part of the gas is passed from the high-pressure condenser 28 via line 29 into the freshly regenerated, still heated absorber B. The substantially unchanged, slightly cooled gases are then admixed via heat exchanger 35 to the gas stream to be treated in line 3 for the purpose of treatment in absorber A. The condensate of the high-pressure condenser 28 is then further treated as described in variant I.
FIG. 4 illustrates variant III. In this case, too, the gas to be treated is passed via line 1 and precondenser 18 and via line 3 through the absorber A which has been switched to absorption, and the cleaned gases are discharged via line 6 into the environment. A split stream of the gas to be treated is taken from line 3 and passed via line 20 first of all into heater 24. The heated gases which leave heater 23 are passed through the absorber C to be regenerated. The desorbate-enriched gases leave the absorber C via line 25 and are again introduced through air cooler 26 and heat exchanger 27 first into the high-pressure condenser 28. The non-condensing components of the gas stream are added via line 29 to the gas to be treated. The condensate of condenser 28 is further treated as described in variant 1. In this variant, the freshly regenerated, still heated absorber B is cooled by a split stream of the gas to be treated, the split stream following from line 6 and being passed via line 36 through absorber B, whereby the latter is cooled. The already slightly cooled gas is passed over heat exchanger 37 and is then added again to the gas stream in line 6.
It is an advantage of the process of the invention that water and C5+ hydrocarbon compounds can be absorbed simultaneously and selectively or that water and CO 2 or C2+ hydrocarbon compounds can be absorbed simultaneously. It has even been found that the used activated carbon is especially well suited for sorption. For instance, five times the amount of pure activated carbon just exhibits an additional capacity of 50%. Systems can therefore be given a smaller size. Another advantage is the facilitated desorption and the strongly reduced flammability of the used activated carbon.
The following examples shall further explain the invention.
Examples 1 to 13 describe the production of the sorbent containing activated carbon; examples 14 to 15 the application for the simultaneous sorption of water and specific hydrocarbon compounds or CO 2 .
EXAMPLES 1 TO 11
Production of activated carbon and, optionally, crystalline wide-pored SiO 2 -containing sorbents based on amorphous SiO 2 .
GENERAL PREPARATION RULE:
A sodium silicate solution containing 6.30% by wt. of Na 2 O and 21.16% by wt. of SiO 2 and having a density d 20 =1.256 was used as a source for the amorphous SiO 2 . Activated carbon or graphite and, optionally, wide-pored SiO 2 (finely divided particles, pore diameter 20 to 30 Å), were added to the sodium silicate solution in the form of an aqueous suspension (mash). Precipitation was carried out by mixing with an acid solution which was an aqueous sulfuric acid having a concentration of 7.87% by wt. of H 2 SO 4 and a density of d 20 =1.049. A pH value of 6.9 was obtained upon mixing the alkaline solution and the acid solution. The mixture was immediately introduced into a precipitation oil and the resultant beads, optionally following an ageing step, were washed until they had been freed from sulfate. A base exchange was then performed, the beads being contacted with 0.5% by wt. of H 2 SO 4 -containing sulfuric acid for five times 3 hours each. A recirculating drier was then used for drying at 180° C. with steam for 3.5 hours. Tempering was subsequently performed. Following ageing, drying was performed in Example 5 and the dried beaded bodies were subjected to a base exchange by contacting the same with sulfuric acid of a concentration of 0.5% by wt. of H 2 SO 4 five times for 3 hours, and were then washed until freed from fate. Instead of sulfuric acid, 0.5% by wt. of Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 solution was used in Example 1.
EXAMPLES 12 AND 13
Beaded amorphous SiO 2 was used in the form of the commercial product "AF25 R " of Solvay Catalysts GmbH. These are beads having a diameter of from 2 to 6 mm. These beads were sprayed with an aqueous graphite suspension and then dried at 200° C. for 18 hours.
The process parameters and properties of the resultant sorbents are summarized in the following Table 1:
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Mean Cont. Part. Size Volume Ratio Vibrat. Pore Bursting Cont. ofUsed of Mash micron! Mash:Water Ageing Temper. h; Weight volume Surface Pressure Act. CarbonExampleMash % by wt.! (8) Glass h! °C. g/ml! ml/g!! m.sup.2 /ml! kg! % by__________________________________________________________________________ wt.!1 Act. 13.8 4.7 0.438 2 18/200 0.91 817 2.7 20Carbon(1)2 Graphite 21.4 8.6 0.375 2 18/200 0.53 0.63 680 3SiO.sub.2 21.4 4.2wide-pored3 Graphite 21.4 8.6 0.375 2 18/200 0.59 11.3SiO.sub.2 21.4 1.8wide-pored4 Act. 16.1 4.8 0.411 18 18/200 0.40 1.01 675 1.4 6.4Carbon(2)5 Act. 21.4 5.2 0.411 18 4/180 + 0.41 1.07 285 7.2 6.4Carbon 18/200(2)6 Act. 15.3 2.8 0.395 4 6/200 0.79 758 3.7 20Carbon(3)7 Act. 13.0 2.8 0.464 4 6/200 0.49 0.73 739 2.9 20Carbon(3)8 Act. 15.5 2.6 0.390 4 6/200 0.43 0.90 745 0.9 20Carbon(4) (11)9 Act. 10.8 2.8 0.562 4 6/200 0.48 0.76 719 3.2 20Carbon(5) (12)10 Act. 14.3 0.9 0.423 4 6/200 0.95 592 20Carbon(6)11 Act. 12.1 1.4 0.500 4 6/200 0.52 0.68 722 6.9 20Carbon(7) (13)12 Graphite 21.4 8.6 (9) -- 18/200 0.48 8.013 Graphite 21.4 8.6 (10) -- 18/200 0.47 4.2__________________________________________________________________________ Explanations regarding Table 1: (1) product Lurgi AS 4/420 ®- (2) AKohle Riedel 18003 ®- (3) Norit P1 ®, American Norit Co. (4) Lurgi Carbopol SC 44/1 ®- (5) Lurgi GnA ®- (6) Degussa FlammruB ®- (7) Norit SA 1 ®- (8) d.sub.50 determined according to the Cilas method (9) finished SiO.sub.2 beads, sprayed (10) finished SiO.sub.2 beads, sprayed (11) bulk density: 0.40 g/ml (12) bulk density: 0.45 g/ml (13) bulk density: 0.48 g/ml
EXAMPLE 14
Simultaneous separation of water and carbon dioxide or C5+ hydrocarbons.
Natural gas normally contains about 93.5 to 94% by mole of methane. The content of carbon dioxide typically varies between 0.3 and 0.4% by mole, the content of ethane is normally 2.6 to 3% by mole, C5+ hydrocarbons are present in an amount of 0.3 to 0.8% by mole. Of course, these are only approximate values which can vary in natural gas.
EXAMPLE 14.1
Separation of carbon dioxide, ethane and water.
Use was made of a sorbent comprising 20% by wt. of activated carbon in amorphous SiO 2 in the form of beads having an average bead diameter of 3.5 mm (commercial product AK 20 of Solvay Catalysts GmbH, Hannover, Germany). These beads have an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 4.8% by wt. for water vapor at 25°, with gases exhibiting 10% relative humidity. In gases having 40% relative humidity, the equilibrium adsorption capacity is 18.3% by wt. and even 55.1% by wt. in gases with 80% relative humidity. The surface is 800 m 2 /g, the pore volume 0.6 cm 3 /g, the average pore diameter is 3 mm and the adsorption capacity for n-pentane is 38% by wt. at the saturation point.
Natural gas was passed through a charge of 1 l of the above-described beads at a pressure of 1 bar and a temperature of 20° C. The duration was about 5 minutes. An analysis of the charged beads revealed that the capacity for ethane was between 6 and 7 l per liter of sorbent. The CO 2 capacity was about 3 to 3.5 l of CO 2 per liter of sorbent. The water was fully separated from the natural gas. The sorbent was regenerated according to the changing pressure principle, i.e. the beads as charged (at about a partial pressure of about 0.32 bar for CO 2 and 0.66 bar for ethane) were flown through at a much smaller pressure, namely at almost 0 bar, by an inert gas which was being enriched with the desorbing ethane and carbon dioxide. The absorbing water was then removed at a temperature of 20° C.
EXAMPLE 14.2
Separation of water and higher-boiling hydrocarbons from natural gas.
In this example, the suitability of sorbents comprising activated carbon in amorphous SiO 2 for the separation of higher hydrocarbons and water from natural gas was tested. A gas which, apart from natural gas and water, contained benzene as a main substance was selected as test gas. Suitability was tested at various pressures with respect to the equilibrium capacity in weight percent. The results are summarized in the following Table 1:
______________________________________ Equilibrium CapacityTemperature Steam Pressure (%)______________________________________29° C. 2 7 40 17 80 19 600 31 900 3344° C. 20 7 100 16 200 18 1000 31 2000 33______________________________________
These values are in part considerably above values of otherwise similar sorbents without any content of activated carbon.
The hydrocarbon n-nonane is also a test substance on the basis of which the suitability of sorbents for treating natural gas can be checked. The following Table 2 shows values for the adsorption of n-nonane at different pressures and temperatures:
______________________________________ Steam Pressure Equilibrium CapacityTemperature (Pascal) (%)______________________________________36° C. 0.25 6.7 3.41 10 41.6 13.7 121 16 465 18.767° C. 2.44 6.7 24 10 299 13.7 733 16 2295 18.7______________________________________
A high equilibrium capacity which is above average is here also present. Hence, the sorbents are excellently suited for treating natural gas with a view to separating higher-boiling hydrocarbons and water.
EXAMPLE 15
Cleaning of waste gases of the phthalic acid anhydride synthesis.
Waste gases of the phthalic acid anhydride synthesis normally contain small amounts of para-xylene, methyl acetate, methyl bromide, acetic acid, large amounts of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and very large amounts of nitrogen. Such a waste gas was passed over a charge of a sorbent comprising 20% by weight of activated carbon in SiO 2 (product AK 20 of Solvay Catalysts GmbH). The amount of sorbent was designed such that about 6 kg of sorbent were used per liter of sorbate. The pressure was about 16 to 20 bar, the temperature about 47° C., the separating period 0.35 hours. The gas leaving the adsorber only contained 50 ppm p-xylene, methyl acetate and acetic acid, and 350 ppm H 2 O. | Described is a process for the simultaneous sorption of water and organic compounds from gases selected from the group comprising natural gas and process gases (e.g. waste gases of maleic acid or terephthalic acid (anhydride) production or phthalic acid anhydride production or of steam reforming). The gas to be treated is contacted with a sorbent comprising particulate activated carbon in an oxidic carrier on a basis of silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum phosphate or aluminosilicate. When natural gas is treated, water and C5+ hydrocarbons, for example, can be separated simultaneously. In steam reforming, with appropriate process management, C2+ hydrocarbons, CO 2 and water can be absorbed simultaneously. | 1 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a compact tampon applicator having a first tube, a tampon positioned in the first tube having an aperture formed therein and a radially expandable second tube. A portion of the second tube is initially retained within the aperture formed in the tampon such that when removed, the second tube will radially expand and can be used to eject the tampon from the first tube into a woman's vagina.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tampons represent one product for absorbing catamenial fluid which are used by many women because they are discreet and more portable than sanitary napkins. While tampons are only a couple of inches long, the traditional tube-type applicators add substantially to the length such that the combination may be four or more inches in length. The combination is so long that it cannot be easily carried by a woman in her hand without a portion of it being exposed.
Women prefer tampon applicators formed from molded plastic although many are still formed from rolled paper or cardboard. The plastic applicators include an outer tube containing a tampon or pledget, as it is sometimes referred to, and an inner tube which is designed to be pushed forward into the outer tube to eject the tampon into a woman's vagina. The formation and assembly of applicators with inner and outer tubes, including a mechanism to prevent the user from accidental disassembling the applicator by complete withdrawal of the inner tube, is difficult and expensive.
There are compact tampon applicators on the market today which are shorter than conventional applicators and which telescope prior to use so that initially they are only slightly longer than the tampon which is to be inserted. Various forms of such compact applicators are taught in U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,276,881 issued to Lilaonitkul, 3,101,713 issued to Sargent and 4,676,773 issued to Sheldon. However, these compact applicators are relatively complicated in design and expensive to fabricate.
There is currently a need for a compact tampon applicator which is discreet and can be easily carried by a woman in her hand or purse. Futhermore, there is a need for a compact tampon applicator which is economical, easy to manufacture and assemble and easy to use.
Most tampons are compressed or wound cylinders of fibrous material made from rayon, polyester or cotton. Other embodiments consist of bags of loose fibers or foam particles which are compressed into tampons. Regardless of the material used, there remains a problem with early leakage for the compression step hinders the ability of the tampon to initially expand and provide sufficient surface area for fluid absorption. Therefore, there is a need for a tampon that will be effective in stopping early leakage. This tampon must also be inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention relates to a compact tampon applicator which retains a tampon which can be inserted into a woman's vagina. The compact tampon applicator comprises a hollow first tube having a forward end and a rearward end. A tampon is slidably positioned in the first tube. The tampon has a longitudinally aligned central aperture formed therein which is open at both ends and has a withdrawal string attached thereto. The applicator also includes a radially expandable second tube having a forward end and a rearward end. The forward end is initially retained in the central aperture of the tampon while the rearward end initially extends out of the rearward end of the first tube. The second tube is capable of radially expanding once the forward end is removed from the tampon such that the second tube acquires a larger diameter and can then be manually moved forward to eject the tampon from the first tube.
The general object of this invention is to provide a compact tampon applicator with a hollow tampon. A more specific object of this invention is to provide a compact tampon applicator having an outer tube, a hollow tampon positioned in the outer tube and a radially expandable inner tube initially retained in the hollow tampon.
Another object of this invention is to provide a discreet compact tampon applicator which contains a tampon which is effective in preventing leakage of menstrual fluid.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a low-cost, compact tampon applicator which is easy to manufacture and assemble.
Still further, an object of this invention is to provide a compact tampon applicator which utilizes a hollow tampon. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a compact tampon applicator shown in an extended condition.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of the compact tampon applicator shown in FIG. 1 depicting the initial position of the tampon and its movement as it is ejected from the outer tube by the inner tube.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a hollow tampon and the initial position of the inner tube within the hollow tampon.
FIG. 6 is an end view of the tampon and inner tube taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a hollow tampon and an inner tube with the inner tube removed from the tampon and having expanded radially.
FIG. 8 is an end view of the tampon and inner tube taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of an inner tube having pleats formed at one end.
FIG. 10 is a side view of the inner tube shown in FIG. 9 depicting its shape while initially retained within a hollow tampon.
FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are cross-sectional views of a compact tampon applicator depicting the initial position of the tampon and its movement as it is ejected from the outer tube by a pleated inner tube as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
FIG. 14 is a side view of a hollow tampon.
FIG. 15 is an end view of the tampon shown in FIG. 14.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the tampon taken along line 16--16 of FIG. 14.
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the tampon taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 15.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The compact tampon applicator of this invention has numerous advantages over conventional applicators. The hollow tampon is superior in leakage protection in that it presents a greater amount of surface area for absorption of menstrual fluids. The hollow tubular construction also permits easier handling during formation by automated equipment because the tampon can be centered and manipulated. The tampon design also facilitates insertion of the tampon into the plastic, outer tube of the compact tampon applicator.
The radially expandable inner tube is easily formed of relatively low-cost materials such as plastic sheets, paper tubes, and plastic tubes.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a compact tampon applicator 10 is shown having an outer tube 12 and an inner tube 14. The outer tube 12 has a series of petals 16 formed at a forward end 18 which is designed to be inserted into a woman's vagina. The outer tube 12 is provided with a gripping portion 20 that includes ridges 22, 23 and 24. The inner tube 14 has an elongated slot 26 that aids in retaining the inner tube 14 in the outer tube 12. The cut-out slot 26 also aids in moving the inner tube 14 relative to the outer tube 12 during use. A withdrawal string 27 is attached to one end of a hollow tampon 28 and extends through the inner tube 14. The withdrawal string 27 is used to withdraw the tampon 28 from the vagina after use.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the compact tampon applicator 10 is shown as it would be delivered to the ultimate user. The inner tube 14 is positioned within an aperture or opening 34 formed through the tampon 28 and extends to the forward end 18 of the outer tube 12. Preferably, the opening 34 extends longitudinally along the central axis of the tampon 28 and passes completely therethrough such that it is open at both ends. The gripping portion 20 has an inwardly extending projection 30 which engages the slot 26. When the tampon 28 is needed, the user withdraws the inner tube 14 from the tampon 28, as shown in FIG. 3, such that the slot 26 moves longitudinally with respect to the projection 30 and projection 30 contacts the forward end 32 of the slot 26. When the inner tube 14 is removed from the opening 34 formed in the hollow tampon 28, it will expand radially so as to acquire a larger diameter than the opening 34, see FIG. 4. The radial expansion of the inner tube 14 allows it to acquire a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the opening 34 but smaller than the outside diameter of the tampon 28. This size limitation permits the inner tube 14 to be used as the push mechanism to remove the tampon 28 out of the forward end 18 of the outer tube 12.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the tampon 28 has been substantially ejected from the outer tube 12 by movement of the inner tube 14 forward. The tampon 28 is ejected from the outer tube 12 by movement of the inner tube 14 to the left and the outward displacement of the petals 16. The compact applicator 10 is then withdrawn from the vagina by the woman as she grips the gripping portion 20. The withdrawal string 27 will pass through the inner tube 14 and will remain with the tampon 28 for withdrawal of the tampon 28 after use.
Referring to FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the relationship of the inner tube 14 to the tampon 28 is shown. In FIG. 5, one end of the inner tube 14 is almost fully inserted in the opening 34 and the other end of the inner tube 14 is spaced away from the tampon 28. The withdrawal string 27 is attached to the forward end of the tampon 28 and is positioned in the inner tube 14 with the free end extending outward therefrom. The withdrawal string 27 should be longer than the length of both the tampon 28 and the inner tube 14 as is shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 6, the inner tube 14 is shown having longitudinal edge 38 and 40 which have been overlapped at 42 to provide for a smaller diameter. After the inner tube 14 is withdrawn from the central opening 34 the inner tube 14 radially expands such that the edge 38 and 40 move apart and become opposed to each other thereby giving the inner tube 14 a larger diameter than the opening 34. This difference in diameter allows the forward motion of the inner tube 14 relative to the outer tube 12 to dislodge the tampon 28 from outer tube 12 and push it into a woman's vagina. As used herein, the forward end of the applicator 10 and the tampon 28 is the end that is inserted into the vagina first. The rearward end is the opposite end that extends outward from the woman's body during insertion.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an alternative form of an inner tube, designated 50. The inner tube 50 has a generally cylindrical portion 52 and a pleated forward end 54. When the forward end 54 is stretched the pleats are removed and the diameter of the stretched portion 54, labeled A, is reduced to about the same diameter as the diameter of the cylindrical portion 52. In the relaxed condition, the pleated forward end 54 has a diameter labeled B, which is greater than the diameter of the trailing cylindrical portion 52. The inner tube 50 is also provided with a slot or groove 56 which has a forward end 57. The slot 56 is designed to cooperate with a projection formed on the outer tube 12 to limit the movement of the inner tube 50 and prevent it from rotating. The slot 56 also assures that the outer tube 12 and the inner tube 50 remain together while the forward end 57 determines the extent to which the inner tube 50 can be withdrawn from the outer tube 12.
Referring to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 a compact tampon applicator 60 is shown utilizing the inner tube 50. The compact applicator 60 includes the inner tube 50 and an outer tube 62. The outer tube 62 is provided with a finger grip portion 64 and has a forward petal shaped end 66. A cylindrical hollow tampon 68 having a longitudinal central aperture or opening 74 is positioned in the outer tube 62 and it is provided with a withdrawal string 70. The gripping portion 64 has a projection 72 formed on its interior diameter which cooperates with the slot 56 to prevent complete withdrawal of the inner tube 50 from the outer tube 62. As shown in FIG. 12, the inner tube 50 has been withdrawn from the cylindrical opening 74 formed in the tampon 68. The pleated section 54 expanded radially once it was withdrawn from the opening 74. Turning to FIG. 13, the inner tube 50 is shown being moved toward the forward end of the outer tube 62 and in so moving has expelled the tampon 68 through the petal shaped end 66. The forward travel of the inner tube 50 will be stopped when the projection 72 engages the opposite end of the slot 56. When this occurs, the tampon 68 should be completely expelled from the outer tube 62. The applicator 60 can then be withdrawn by utilizing the finger gripping portion 64 leaving the tampon 68 in the woman's vagina. The withdrawal string 70 will remain attached to the tampon 68 so as to be available to remove the tampon 68 from the vagina.
FIGS. 14 through 17 illustrate an alternatively designed hollow tampon 80 which is composed of a body portion 82 and a withdrawal string 84. The body portion 82 has a rounded forward end 86 and a generally cylindrical central aperture or opening 88.
In FIGS. 16 and 17 hollow tampon 80 includes a cover 90 that encloses both an outer surface 92 of a wound absorbent 96 and a continuous annular surface 94 that surrounds the wall of the aperture 88. The withdrawal string 84 is securely attached to the tampon 80 by passing it around one winding 98 of the absorbent 96.
The tampons 28, 68 and 80 are stated to be formed of a wound material, but could also be formed by pressure molding a folded batt of nonwound carded material to a cylindrical shape. The tampon also does not have to be covered. The absorbents utilized in the tampon may be made from any suitable fibrous material. Typical of such materials are carded webs of polyester, rayon and cotton. The cover, if utilized, may be made from any suitable liquid permeable material such as spunbonded polypropylene or a woven gauze. The withdrawal string may be formed from cotton, rayon or polyester.
The hollow tampons 28, 68 and 80 each have an aperture which extends completely therethrough. However, a tampon could be formed with a solid rounded forward end and a hollow cavity which extends from the rear of the tampon to just short of the forward end. Such a tampon would require a somewhat longer applicator as the inner tube could not extend as far forward.
The inner tubes 14 and 50 have been illustrated as being capable of expanding radially by either using overlap windings of a sheet of resilient material or by pleating the forward end. These two methods of radial expansion are preferred as they are low in cost and can readily be formed by existing technologies. Furthermore, while radial expansion in all directions is preferred in order to obtain an even push on the tampon, the expansion could be in only one or two radial directions. The term radial expansion as used herein is intended to include expansion in less than all radial directions. It is possible that other means of radial expansion, such as an umbrella-like levered arrangement, could also be utilized. The outer tubes 12 and 62 have been shown with a narrow gripping section, although it is possible to form a simpler gripping area or to eliminate the gripping section altogether.
The materials used to form the inner and outer tubes of the applicator can be cardboard, paper or polymers such as polypropylene and polyethylene. The inner tube, if formed as a rolled sheet, should have enough resiliency to enable it to expand when withdrawn from the hollow tampon. A preferred material is polypropylene polymer for it is low in cost, flexible and easily formed. Another preferred material is paper for it is disposable as well as being low in cost. The inner tube can also be formed as a solid rod.
The embodiments of the radially expandable inner tube in combination with a hollow tampon are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive of the possible combinations for formation of a compact tampon applicator. For instance, while the hollow tampons have been shown having cylindrical openings, the openings could be other shapes such as triangular, oval, keyhole or square. The shape of the opening can be utilized to assist in expelling the tampon after withdrawal of the inner tube. For instance, if an oval or keyhole shaped opening was present, an oval or keyhole shaped inner tube could be withdrawn and then partially turned in order to eject the tampon from the outer tube. The term radial expansion is intended to include the increase in effective diameter caused by rotation of a shaped inner tube that is not round in cross-section. Furthermore, while straight compact applicators are shown, it is possible to form curved compact applicators and arcuately shaped tampons as are disclosed in European Patent Publication No. 0 243 250 issued to Paul et al. While round crosssection applicators have been shown, the compact applicator and tampon could have an oval cross-sectional shape.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with several specific embodiments, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the aforegoing description. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations which fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | A compact tampon applicator is disclosed having a hollow first tube with a forward end and a rearward end. A tampon is slidably positioned within the first tube. The tampon has a longitudinally aligned central aperture formed therein which is open at both ends and has a withdrawal string attached thereto. The applicator also contains a radially expandable second tube having a forward end and a rearward end. The forward end is initially retained in the central aperture of the tampon and the rearward end initially extends out of the rearward end of the first tube. The second tube is capable of expanding radially once the forward end is removed from the tampon such that the second tube acquires a larger diameter and can be manually moved forward to eject the tampon from the first tube. | 8 |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/875,700, filed Apr. 29, 1992 abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to therapeutic compositions with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity, suitable for intranasal administration, which include KETOROLAC® or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts as the active ingredient.
This invention also relates to a therapeutic method which provides for the administration of KETOROLAC® or its salts by the intranasal route.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
KETOROLAC® or 5-benzoyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine-1-carboxylic acid, the formula of which is:
has been known for several years (U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,969) and is used in human therapy as an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory.
Both the racemic form and each of the dextro and levo isomers of this compound are known. Many pharmaceutically acceptable salts, the most commonly used of which is the tromethamine(2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol) salt, are also known. Hereinafter, the name KETOROLAC® shall encompass individually or collectively the racemic mixture or either optically active compound and shall encompass the free acid as well as the tromethamine salt or any other pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any one of the foregoing.
Ample literature is available on KETOROLAC® (for instance, “KETOROLAC®—A review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties and its therapeutic potential”, Drugs 39(1): 86-109, 1990. It is described as a drug with considerably higher analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity than many other non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Most significantly, it has higher analgesic activity than morphine, without the well-known side effects of the latter.
In the several pharmacological and clinical trials involving KETOROLAC® that have been conducted, this drug was administered both by the oral route and by injection (in turn, both intravenous and intramuscular). Regardless of the administration route, KETOROLAC® proved active and was found comparatively more active than the better known non-steroid drugs with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity. However, about 10% of the patients treated (20 doses of 30 mg each administered over five days) by the intramuscular route suffered from one or more undesirable side effects such as somnolence, local (injection site) pain, sweating, nausea, headache, dizziness, vomiting, pruritus, and vasodilation.
The incidence of side effects was even higher (around 32%) in the patients treated with KETOROLAC® by the oral route for a few days. In the case of oral administration, gastrointestinal disorders (nausea, g.i. pain, dyspepsia, diarrhea, flatulence, g.i. fullness, vomiting) were noted in up to 50% of the patients in addition to side effects incident to i.m. administration.
Intravenous administration is inconvenient and is limited to the treatment of acute conditions.
On the whole, the data available to date clearly describe a drug which is very active, but still unsatisfactory from the point of view of convenience of administration and/or side effects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have now found that it is possible to prepare Analgesic/anti-inflammatory formulations containing KETOROLAC® as an active ingredient, which are suitable for intranasal administration and that KETOROLAC® so administered is rapidly and thoroughly absorbed, giving therapeutic effects equivalent to those obtained by the intravenous route (acute treatments) or the intramuscular or oral routes (extended or chronic treatments), without inducing severe side effects. Most important, any possibility of gastrointestinal disorders is excluded, while disorders caused by CNS stimulation are considerably reduced both in incidence (e.g. number of patients affected) and intensity.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a therapeutic method for the treatment of inflammatory processes and for the therapy of pain of a traumatic or pathologic origin, which method comprises administering by the intranasal route an analgesic/anti-inflammatory amount of KETOROLAC® along with an absorption promoter and pharmaceutically acceptable diluents and/or excipients.
The new method provides for the intranasal administration of KETOROLAC® doses ranging between 0.5 and 40 mg, preferably between 5 and 30 mg, and is particularly effective in acute therapies, where a very rapid systemic delivery is required especially one not accompanied by the drawbacks of i.v. delivery (hospitalization, cost, etc.).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
All cited patents and literature are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Although nasal administration to mammals (especially humans) of certain therapeutic agents is known, it is not to be presumed that all therapeutic agents can be effectively administered by this route. To the contrary, many therapeutic agents cannot be nasally administered. At present, the molecules which have proved suitable for this route of administration are still very few and consist essentially of only small peptide or hormone molecules (such as calcitonin, cerulean, β-endorphin, glucagon, horseradish peroxidase, B-interferon, oxytocin and insulin) in special formulations. The ability of drug molecules to be absorbed by the nasal mucous membranes is utterly unpredictable, as is the ability of intranasal formulations to avoid irritation of the mucous nasal membranes. In fact, mucous membrane irritation caused by the drug and/or excipient is the most common reason for which intranasal administration has not gained wider acceptance.
The new compositions according to the invention include the active ingredient in quantities ranging from 0.5 to 40 mg per dose, preferably 5 to 30 mg per dose, diluted in excipients such as humectants, isotoning agents, antioxidants, buffers and preservatives. A calcium chelating agent is also preferably included.
The intranasal formulations of the invention contain KETOROLAC® concentrations ranging from 5 to 20%, preferably about 15% weight/volume. Of course, the selection of the particular excipients depends on the desired formulation dosage form, i.e. on whether a solution to be used in drops or as a spray (aerosol) is desired or a suspension, ointment or gel to be applied in the nasal cavity are desired. In any case, the invention make it possible to have single-dose dosage forms, which ensure application of an optimum quantity of drug.
Administration of the present intranasal formulations provides very good absolute bioavailability of KETOROLAC®, as demonstrated in tests involving rabbits. The predictive value of the rabbit model with respect to bioavailability of nasally administered KETOROLAC® in humans is art-recognized (Mroszczak, E. J. et al., Drug Metab. Dispos., 15:618-626, 1987, especially Tables 1 and 3). According to the results of the rabbit tests set forth below it is extrapolated that in humans intranasal administration of a composition according to the invention in amounts ranging between 0.5 mg/kg/day and 4 mg/kg/day will generate plasma levels of KETOROLAC® within the range of 0.3-5 mg/liter of plasma.
Suitable vehicles for the formulations according to the invention include aqueous solutions containing an appropriate isotoning agent selected among those commonly used in pharmaceutics. Substances used for this purpose are, for instance, sodium chloride and glucose. The quantity of isotoning agent should impart to the vehicle (taking into account the osmotic effect of the active ingredient), an osmotic pressure similar to that of biological fluids, i.e. generally from about 150 to about 850 milliOsmoles (mOsm) preferably from about 270 to about 330 mOsm.
However, it is known that nasal mucous membranes are also capable of tolerating slightly hypertonic solutions. Should a suspension or gel be desired instead of a solution, appropriate oily or gel vehicles may be used or one or more polymeric materials may be included, which desirably should be capable of conferring bioadhesive characteristics to the vehicle.
Several polymers are used in pharmaceutics for the preparation of a gel; the following can be mentioned as nonlimiting examples: hydroxypropyl cellulose (KLUCEL®), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (METHOCEL®), hydroxyethyl cellulose (NATROSOL®), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (BLANOSE®), acrylic polymers (CARBOPOL®, POLYCARBOPHIL®), gum xanthan, gum tragacanth, alginates and agar-agar.
Some of them, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and acrylic polymers, have marked bioadhesive properties and are preferred if bioadhesiveness is desired.
Other formulations suitable for intranasal administration of KETOROLAC® can be obtained by adding to the aqueous vehicle polymers capable of changing the rheologic behavior of the composition in relation to the temperature. These polymers make it possible to obtain low viscosity solutions at room temperature, which can be applied for instance by nasal spray and which increase in viscosity at body temperature, yielding a viscous fluid which ensures a better and longer contact with the nasal mucous membrane. Polymers of this class include without limitation polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymers (POLOXAMER®).
In addition to aqueous, oil or gel vehicles, other vehicles which may be used in the compositions according to the invention comprise solvent systems containing ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, mixtures thereof or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing with water.
In any case, a pharmaceutically acceptable buffer should be present in order to create optimum pH conditions for both product stability and tolerance (pH range about 4 to about 8; preferably about 5.5 to 7.5). Suitable buffers include without limitation tris (tromethamine) buffer, phosphate buffer, etc.
Other excipients include chemical enhancers such as absorption promoters. These include chelating agents, fatty acids, bile acid salts and other surfactants, fusidic acid, lysophosphatides, cyclic peptide antibiotics, preservatives, carboxylic acids (ascorbic acid, amino acids), glycyrrhetinic acid, o-acylcarnitine. Preferred promoters are diisopropyladipate, POE(9) lauryl alcohol, sodium glycocholate and lysophosphatidyl-choline which proved to be particularly active. Finally, the new compositions according to the invention preferably contain preservatives which ensure the microbiological stability of the active ingredient. Suitable preservatives include without limitation, methyl paraoxybenzoate, propyl paraoxybenzoate, sodium benzoate, benzyl alcohol, benzalkonium chloride and chlorobutanol.
The liquid KETOROLAC® formulations, preferably in the form of solutions, may be administered in the form of drops or spray, using atomizers equipped with a mechanical valve and possibly including a propellant of a type commercially available, such as butane, N 2 , Ar, CO 2 , nitrous oxide, propane, dimethyl ether, chlorofluorocarbons (e.g. FREON) etc. Vehicles suitable for spray administration are water, alcohol, glycol and propylene glycol, used alone or in a mixture of two or more.
Generally, illustrative formulations will contain the following ingredients and amounts (weight/volume):
Ingredient
Broad Range (%)
Preferred Range (%)
Na 2 EDTA
0.001-1
0.05-0.1
Nipagin
0.01-2
0.05-0.25
POE (9) Lauryl alcohol
0.1-10
1-10
NaCMC (Blanose 7m8 sfd)
0.1-5
0.3-3
Carbopol 940
0.05-2
0.1-1.5
Glycerol
1-99
Sodium glycocholate
0.05-5
0.1-1
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill that ingredients such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and Carbopol exist in many types differing in viscosity. Their amounts are to be adjusted accordingly. Different adjustments to each formulation may also be necessary including omission of some optional ingredients and addition of others. It is thus not possible to give an all-encompassing amount range for each ingredient, but the optimization of each preparation according to the invention is within the skill of the art.
Another, although not preferred, alternative for the intranasal administration of the KETOROLAC®-based compositions comprises a suspension of finely micronized active ingredient (generally from 1 to 200 micrometers, preferably from 5 to 100 micrometers) in a propellant or in an oily vehicle or in another vehicle in which the drug is not soluble. The vehicle is mixed or emulsified with the propellant. Vehicles suitable for this alternative are, for instance, vegetable and mineral oils and triglyceride mixtures. Appropriate surfactants, suspending agents and diluents suitable for use in pharmaceutics are added to these vehicles. Surfactants include without limitation sorbitan sesquioleate, sorbitanmonooleate, sorbitan trioleate (amount: between about 0.25 and about 1%); suspending agents include without limitation isopropylmyristate (amount: between about 0.5 and about 1%) and colloidal silica (amount: between about 0.1 and about 0.5%); and diluents include without limitation zinc stearate (about 0.6 to about 1%).
The following examples of formulations for the intranasal administration of KETOROLAC® serve to illustrate the invention without limiting its scope.
EXAMPLE 1
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
EDTA disodium (chelating agent)
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN (preservative)
0.1
10
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 9 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Stir the solution constantly to complete dissolution of the components.
Cool the obtained solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine by stirring.
Bring to volume with water.
The isotonicity of this composition was 190 mOsm but can be adjusted e.g. to 270 mOsm by the addition of 0.3% NaCl or 2.03% of glucose.
EXAMPLE 2
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
POE (9) lauryl alcohol (enhancer/promoter)
5
500
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 9 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Stir the solution constantly to complete dissolution, of the components.
Cool the obtained solution to room temperature.
Add POE (9) lauryl alcohol and stir to complete dissolution.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine by stirring.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 3
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose
1
100
g
Tromethamine, q.s. to pH = 6
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 9 liters purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN.
Cool the obtained solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® and continue stirring to complete dissolution of the drug.
Disperse sodium carboxymethyl cellulose in the solution stirring vigorously.
Continue stirring to complete hydration of the polymer.
Adjust the pH to the required value by suitably adding tromethamine dissolved in water.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 4
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
CARBOPOL 940
0.1
10
g
Tromethamine, q.s. to pH = 7-7.4
Glycerol
2
200
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 4 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA.
Cool the solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine.
Complete the dissolution of the active ingredient and adjust the pH to a value of 7.1-7.4 by adding a 5% tromethamine solution.
In a separate vessel equipped with mixer, introduce the quantity of glycerol called for in the formulation.
Introduce CARBOPOL and mix until a homogeneous dispersion in the glycerol is obtained.
Add 4 liters of purified water with vigorous stirring and continue stirring the solution to complete hydration of the polymer.
Combine the solution containing the active ingredient and the polymer solution with stirring.
If necessary, adjust the pH to the required value with the tromethamine solution.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 5
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
LUTROL F127
17
1.7
Kg
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 4 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Cool the solution to 4° C. and then, maintaining it between 4 and 6° C. throughout the operation, gradually add Lutrol F127 with stirring.
Continue stirring to complete hydration of the polymer.
Bring the solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 6
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose
2
200
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
The procedure of Example 3 was used to make the above formulation except that no buffer was added.
EXAMPLE 7
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
LUTROL F127
15
1500
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Purified Water, q.s. to
100
10
L
The procedure of Example 5 was used to make the above formulation.
EXAMPLE 8
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Sodium glycocholate
0.3
30
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
The procedure of Example 1 was used except that sodium glycocholate was dissolved with the nipagin and disodium EDTA at 80° C. in water. The isotonicity of this composition was 190 mOsm; it can be adjusted e.g. to 330 mOsm by the addition of 0.44% NaCl or 3.05% glucose.
EXAMPLE 9
Composition
%
For 10 liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
5
500
g
Lutrol F127
15
1500
g
Sodium glycocholate
0.3
30
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.1
10
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
The procedure of Example 5 was used except that sodium glycocholate was dissolved along with nipagin and disodium EDTA at 80° C.
EXAMPLE 10
We studied the stability of the preparations described in the Examples 1 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9. The storing conditions were 4° C., 22° C., 45° C. and 55° C. We analyzed the preparations at the beginning of the storing period and after 1, 2, 3 and 6 months. We used UV and HPLC analysis.
The parameters tested were:
content of active compound (UV and HPLC)
content of keto and hydroxy degradation products (UV and HPLC)
appearance and color (visual examination)
pH (digital pH meter)
The results are summarized in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Ex-
KTM
Hy-
am-
Temp.
(mg/
Keto
droxy
Appearance
ple
° C.
Months
ml)
%
%
of solution
pH
1
22
0
50.1
0.8
0.3
light yellow
6.2
45
2
50.8
0.2
0.0
yellow
6.5
45
3
49.6
0.2
0.0
opalescent yellow
6.5
45
6
51.4
0.4
0.0
yellow with deposit
6.5
2
22
0
49.0
0.1
0.3
light yellow
6.4
45
2
47.7
0.4
0.0
yellow
6.8
45
3
46.7
0.2
0.0
yellow
6.9
45
6
47.3
1.0
0.0
yellow
7.0
6
22
0
49.6
0.1
0.4
yellow
6.0
45
1
47.0
0.1
0.1
yellow
6.5
45
3
48.8
0.2
0.0
yellow
6.5
45
6
50.1
0.9
0.0
yellow with deposit
5.5
7
22
0
48.5
0.0
0.5
light yellow
6.7
55
1
49.0
0.8
0.0
yellow gel
6.8
55
3
47.1
1.4
1.9
orange gel
6.6
8
22
0
52.3
0.0
0.0
light yellow
6.2
45
1
53.2
0.0
0.0
yellow
6.4
45
3
54.3
0.5
0.0
yellow
6.5
9
22
0
48.7
0.0
0.0
light yellow
6.7
45
1
51.7
0.0
0.0
yellow
6.8
EXAMPLE 11
We tested in vitro the thermosetting properties of some preparations (Examples 1, 2, 7, 9). We sprayed a standardized amount of every preparation to a 37° C. constant-temperature, vertical glass surface and we measured the time that the drops of preparation spent to cover 10 cm. The speed of solution in moving on the constant-temperature surface is an indicator of the thermosetting properties of the dosage form. Examples 7 and 9 gave the best results in terms of thermosetting properties.
The results are reported in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Preparation Time to Cover 10 cm
H 2 O
3 sec.
Example 1
3 sec.
Example 2
3 sec.
Example 7
12 sec.
Example 9
15 sec.
EXAMPLE 12
We studied the nasal absorption and the local tolerance of four preparations (Examples 1, 6, 8, 9) in White New Zealand rabbits (three rabbits for each experimental group plus three controls). Each rabbit received a active preparation in one nostril and its placebo in the other. Each animal received 2 mg/kg of KETOROLAC® tromethamine (KTM), twice a day for seven days and once on the eighth day. The control rabbits were treated, after seven days of nasal administration of physiologic solution, with 2 mg/kg of KTM by intravenous route once. After the last treatment plasma samples were collected at several times and KTM plasma levels were investigated by HPLC. After the last blood sample was drawn all the animals were killed by excision of femoral arteries, after having been completely anaesthetized. Nasal turbinates, larynx and pharynx were removed and subjected to histological examinations.
Pharmacokinetic parameters are reported in Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and in FIG. 1. The local (nasal mucous) tolerance data showed good tolerance of the KETOROLAC-containing intranasal preparations with the formulation of Example 1 being the best tolerated followed by that of Example 6, Example 9 and Example 8 in that order.
TABLE 3
Control Absorption of KTM
Route of Administration: Intravenous
Administered Dose: 2 mg/kg
Plasma Concentration of KTM as ng/ml
Sampling Time
(hours)
Mean
± S.D.
Basal
0
0
0.083
14510
1999
0.25
7682
2887
0.5
3884
1891
1
1703
792
2
403
167
3
120
67
5
20
7
TABLE 4
Nasal Absorption of KTM
Composition: Example 1
Route of Administration: Intranasal
Administered Dose: 2 mg/kg/administration
Sampling Time
(hours)
Mean
± S.D.
Basal
18
16
0.25
2363
1035
0.5
1875
726
1
1103
490
2
593
217
3
267
55
5
121
52
TABLE 5
Nasal Absorption of KTM
Composition: Example 8
Route of Administration: Intranasal
Administered Dose: 2 mg/kg/administration
Sampling Time
(hours)
Mean
± S.D.
Basal
29
22
0.25
2973
1258
0.5
2654
880
1
2246
1145
2
1121
832
3
665
444
5
427
194
TABLE 6
Nasal Absorption of KTM
Composition: Example 9
Route of Administration: Intranasal
Administered Dose: 2 mg/kg/administration
Sampling Time
(hours)
Mean
± S.D.
Basal
35
17
0.25
2036
572
0.5
1663
778
1
1009
345
2
325
103
3
184
22
5
198
52
TABLE 7
Nasal Absorption of KTM
Composition: Example 6
Route of Administration: Intranasal
Dose Administered: 2 mg/kg/administration
Sampling Time
(hours)
Mean
± S.D.
Basal
23
20
0.25
1872
1228
0.5
1772
1027
1
1213
619
2
616
293
3
269
96
5
133
23
From the foregoing data, the following bioavailability parameters were calculated:
TABLE 8
Example 1
Example 8
Example 9
Example 6
Formulation
i.v.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
AUC 0-5 (h.ng/ml)
average
7355
3237
5972
2692
3197
± S.D.
2405
1129
2973
571
976
CV (%)
32.7
34.9
49.8
21.2
30.5
T max (hours)
average
0.25
0.42
0.33
0.33
± S.D.
0
0.14
0.14
0.14
CV (%)
0
34.6
43.3
43.3
C max (ng/ml)
average
2363
3226
2229
1895
± S.D.
1035
1079
335
1203
CV (%)
43.8
33.4
15.0
63.5
AUC i.n./AUC i.v.
average
0.44
0.81
0.36
0.43
i.n. = intranasal
i.v. = intravenous
Each value is the mean of the data obtained from three animals.
The foregoing results indicate that intranasal formulations of KETOROLAC® according to the invention compare favorably with intravenous formulations in terms of absorption (Formulation B from Example 8 being the best absorbed), time to maximum plasma concentration, and maximum plasma concentration and exhibit good absolute bioavailability (especially formulation B).
EXAMPLE 13
Composition
%
For 10 Liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
15
1500
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.2
20
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 9 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Stir the solution constantly to complete dissolution of the components.
Cool the obtained solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine by stirring.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 14
Composition
%
For 10 Liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
15
1500
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.2
20
g
Glycocholic acid
0.3
30
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 9 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Stir the solution constantly to complete dissolution of the components.
Cool the obtained solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine and glycocholic acid by stirring.
Bring to volume with water.
EXAMPLE 15
Composition
%
For 10 Liters
KETOROLAC ® tromethamine
15
1500
g
EDTA disodium
0.01
1
g
NIPAGIN
0.2
20
g
Glycocholic acid
0.3
30
g
Lutrol F 127
15
1500
g
Purified water, q.s. to
100
10
L
Method of Preparation
In a suitable vessel equipped with mixer and heating sleeve, introduce about 8 liters of purified water and heat to a temperature of 80° C.
Dissolve NIPAGIN and EDTA disodium.
Stir the solution to 4° C. and then, maintaining it between 4° and 6° C. throughout the operation, gradually add Lutrol F127 with stirring.
Continue stirring to complete hydration of the polymer.
Bring the solution to room temperature.
Dissolve KETOROLAC® tromethamine and glycocholic acid.
Bring to volume with water.
APPENDIX OF PRODUCT NAMES AND EXAMPLES OF COMMERCIAL SOURCES
KETROLAC TROMETHAMINE: SYNTEX IRELAND, CLARECASTLE, IRELAND
HYDROXYPROPYLCELLULOSE (KLUCEL) DOW CHEMICAL CO, MIDLAND Mich. USA
HYDROXYPROPYLMETHYLCELLULOSE (METHOCEL) DOW CHEM. CO, MIDLAND Mich.
HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE (NATROSOL) HERCULES INC, WILMINGTON Del. USA
SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE (BLANOSE) HERCULES INC, WILMINGTON Del.
CARBOPOL: BF GOODRICH CHEMICAL CO., CLEVELAND, Ohio, USA
POLYCARBOPHIL: BF GOODRICH CHEMICAL CO., CLEVELAND, Ohio, USA
GUM TRAGACANTH: COLONY IP. & EXP. CO., NEW YORK, N.Y., USA
GUM XANTHAN: ALDRICH CHEMIE, STANHEIM, GERMANY
SODIUM ALGINATE: EDWARD MANDELL CO., CARMEL, NEW YORK, USA
AGAR AGAR: ALDRICH CHEMIE, STANHEIM, GERMANY
POLOXAMER (LUTROL f127): BASF WYNDOTTE CORP., PARSIPPANY, N.J., USA
ETHYL ALCOHOL: EASTMAN CHEMICAL PRODUCTS INC., KINGSPORT, Tenn., USA
ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL: BAKER CHEMICAL CO., NEW YORK, N.Y., USA
PROPYLENE GLYCOL: DOW CHEMICAL CO., MIDLAND, Mich., USA
POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL: BASF WYNDOTTE CORP., PARSIPPANY, N.J., USA
DIISOPROPYLADIPATE: CRODA, GOOLE, NORTH HUMERSIDE, UK
SODIUM GLYCOCHOLATE: SIGMA CHEMICAL COMPANY, ST. LOUIS, Mo., USA
LYSOPHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE: AMERICAN LECITHIN, LONG ISLAND, N.Y., USA
METHYLPARAOXYBENZOATE (NIPAGIN): BDH CHEMICAL LTD, POOLE, DORSET, UK
PROPYLPARAOXYBENZOATE: BDH CHEMICAL LTD, POOLE, DORSET, UK
SODIUM BENZOATE: PFIZER INC., NEW YORK, N.Y., USA.
BENZYL ALCOHOL: BDH CHEMICAL LTD, POOLE DORSET, UK
BENZALCONIUM CHLORIDE: ION PHARMACEUTICALS, COVINA, Calif., USA
CHLORBUTANOL: EASTERN CHEMICAL PRODUCTS, SMITHTOWN, N.Y. USA
EDTA DISODIUM: GRACE AND CO., LONDON, UK.
POE(9)LAURYL ALCOHOL: BASF WYNDOTTE CORP, PARSIPPANY, N.J., USA
TROMETHAMINE: FARMITALIA, MILAN, ITALY
GLYCEROL: DOW CHEMICAL CO., MIDLAND, Mich., USA
SODIUM CHLORIDE: ALDRICH CHEMIE, STANHEIM, GERMANY
GLUCOSE: ROQUETTE LTD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT, UK | An analgesic/anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical dosage form which comprises an effective amount of an active ingredient selected from the group consisting of racemic 5-benzoyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine-1-carboxylic acid, optically active forms thereof and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or diluent, said dosage form being an intranasally administrable dosage form. | 8 |
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/018,491 filed Jan. 1, 2008 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/103,883 filed Oct. 8, 2008, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The embodiments of the invention relate to storage of telecommunication devices. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to carriers with a pocket to hold arbitrarily sized telecommunication devices.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] Telecommunication devices, such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's) and personal music players, such as MP3 players and iPods™ have become ubiquitous in society. These devices come in widely different shapes and sizes. Many such devices have cases uniquely designed to fit the particular device to allow it to be protected and still used. These cases are limited to a single model or a few models having a substantially identical form factor. Moreover, such cases are solely for the retention of the device rather than being a general purpose carrier, such as a purse or a briefcase. Commonly, if telecommunication device resides in a general purpose carrier, such as a purse or briefcase, it can be difficult to find within the general purpose internal volume and generally must be found and removed from the general purpose carrier for use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a carrier of one embodiment of the invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 shows a front plan view of a carrier of one embodiment of the invention.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a top view of a carrier in one embodiment of the invention and open orientation.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an alternative embodiment of the invention suitable for use with a flip type phone.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a carrier of one embodiment of the invention. A plurality of panels 102 , 104 , 106 define an internal volume 108 in which articles of a general nature may be carried. Panels 102 , 104 , 106 may be made of leather, plastic, or other suitable materials from which a carrier 100 may be constructed. General purpose carrier 100 may be a purse, a briefcase, a computer case, a handbag, a duffel bag, a backpack, a valise, laptop sleeve, padfolio. etc., generically a carrier 100 .
[0012] An internal panel 122 in conjunction with a transparent region 112 of panel 102 defines a pocket 120 in which a telecommunication device 110 may reside. Internal panel 122 may be fabric, leather, plastic, laminated cardboard or other suitable material consistent with the type of carrier. Transparent region 112 effectively forms a window in panel 102 and may be clear plastic or other suitable flexible transparent material.
[0013] One or more elastic members 124 may be coupled in tension with panel 102 to bias the device 110 into contact with transparent region 112 of panel 102 . As used herein, “telecommunication device” 110 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant, e.g. a BlackBerry™ available from Research in Motion Limited of Ontario, Canada, a portable music player, such as an iPod™ available from Apple Computer from Cupertino, Calif., and the like.
[0014] By “coupled in tension” it is meant that the elastic members 124 are, before introduction of device 110 , stretched to some degree such that introduction of device 110 will further stretch the elastic members independent of the size of device 110 . Thus, introduction of an iPod Nano™ would further stretch elastic members 124 and such small sized device would be biased into contact with transparent region. Similarly, introduction of e.g., a personal digital assistant, such as a BlackBerry™ would also stretch members 124 , but to a larger degree and would still cause the BlackBerry™ (device 110 ) to be biased into contact with transparent region 112 .
[0015] In some embodiments, a fabric panel 126 may reside between internal panel 122 and panel 102 . In some embodiments, fabric panel 126 may be made of a slick fabric, such as silk, a microfiber, nylon, etc. The slick fabric results in relatively little friction between the fabric panel 126 and device 110 to allow device to easily slide into pocket 120 . In some embodiments, internal panel 122 has a raised and/or pleated upper edge 130 to facilitate grasping by a user to permit the pocket to be easily opened for insertion of device 110 . In one embodiment, pulling upper edge 130 internally stretches elastic members 124 to allow device 110 to be more easily inserted between transparent region 112 and elastic members 124 . In an alternative embodiment, pulling upper edge 130 internally opens the space between fabric panel 126 and panel 102 and the user inserts the device with pressure to wedge the device between elastic members 124 and transparent region 112 .
[0016] In the shown embodiment, elastic members 124 are shown as two substantially horizontally disposed elastic straps. Elastic members may be of any material having suitable elasticity and strength. In some embodiments elastic fabric such as Lycra™ may be used. In other embodiments, garden variety elastic, rubber, rubberized material, elastomeric materials or the like may be used. In some embodiments, a single elastic strap may be used. A desirable width and number of straps may vary depending on the size of the pocket 120 and the weight of telecommunication device expected to be used. Elastic material with a suitable spring constant may be selected based on the expected maximum weight of a device expected to be placed in the pocket. For example, the elastic member 124 should be selected such that the weight of the device 118 does not cause the members 126 to sag such that the device regresses from the transparent region when gravity is acting normal to that region. Because the straps are coupled in tension an arbitrary sized device e.g., any device that fits within the pocket can be retained in contact with the transparent region. As is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 2 , this retention of the device in contact with the transparent region 112 is important to the usability of the device 110 within the pocket 120 .
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a front plan view of a carrier of one embodiment of the invention. Panel 202 has a transparent region 212 forming a part thereof. An internal panel 222 in conjunction with transparent region 212 defines a pocket 220 within carrier 200 . Elastic members 224 are coupled in tension between internal panel 212 and panel 202 such that a device 210 inserted into pocket 220 is biased into contact with transparent region 212 . Device 210 may be any arbitrary size that fits within the pocket and is retained in contact by pressure from internal panel 222 as a result of tension in elastic members 224 .
[0018] When device 210 is held against transparent region 212 , the screen is readily viewable without removing device 210 from the pocket 220 . Additionally, the buttons, controls and/or touch screen of the device may be actuated through the transparent region 212 without removing the device 210 from the pocket 220 .
[0019] In this embodiment, elastic members 224 run vertically along the sides of the pocket and do not make direct contact with device 210 . In some embodiments as shown, transparent region 212 is substantially coextensive with the dimensions with pocket 220 . In such an embodiment, the internal panel 222 prevents visibility of the contents of the internal volume (not shown in FIG. 2 ) of the carrier 200 .
[0020] A second pocket 240 may be provided either externally or internally to the carrier 200 and adjacent to pocket 220 . A second pocket may be used to, for example, hold wired headphones to be used in conjunction with device 210 . Pocket 240 may include a closure of flap 242 and a cooperative closure device 244 , such as, snaps, hook and loop material, e.g., Velcro™, mechanical hooks, buckles, zippers or the like. Second pocket 240 may define a through hole 246 into pocket 220 to permit, for example, headset cord to pass between second pocket 240 and pocket 220 . This facilitates usability of a wired headset with device 210 .
[0021] In one embodiment, a window cover flap 260 may be included. Window cover flap 260 may be made of the same kinds of materials as the panel 202 . Cover flap 260 may either fixedly or removably coupled on one side of the transparent region 212 . For example, cover flap may be sewn to the panel 202 adjacent to the right side of transparent region 212 or may coupled there with e.g., hook and loop material. An opposing side of the cover flap 260 may be provided with one of hook or loop material 262 with the opposing side of the transparent region may be provided with the other of Loop or hook material so the different moieties may engage to close the flap to occlude the transparent region if desired. In some embodiments, the cover flap 260 may attach at the top and bottom of the transparent region instead of the sides.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a top view of a carrier in one embodiment of the invention and open orientation. Carrier 300 defines an internal volume 308 . A plurality of general purpose internal pockets 350 are defined within the internal volume 308 . Handles 334 permit the carrier, in this case a purse, to be easily carried by a user. Telecommunication device pocket 320 may retain a telecommunication device 310 so that the biased into contact with a clear region (not shown) of an external panel (also not shown) consistent with the description above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 . Internal panel 322 defines one side of pocket 320 and may have a pleated or raised upper edge 330 to permit a user to grasp and open the pocket for easy insertion with the telecommunication device 310 .
[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an alternative embodiment of the invention suitable for use with a flip type phone. Panel 402 includes a transparent region 412 , which in conjunction with internal panel 422 defines a pocket 420 that may receive at least a portion of a telecommunication device (not shown). In one embodiment, pocket 420 receives the lower portion of a flip type telecommunication device which is biased into contact with transparent region 412 by at least one elastic member 424 . Opening 480 of pocket 420 is external to the carrier rather than within the internal volume as in several of the previously described embodiments. An additional pocket 470 may be removably coupled upwardly adjacent to pocket 420 via a coupling member 462 , which may, for example, be snaps, Velcro™, or the like. Pocket 470 may be generally composed of two panels; transparent panel 472 and an opaque panel 476 and elastic member 474 to bias the top portion of a flip type telecommunications device into contact with the transparent panel 472 when inserted within pocket 470 . When the flip telecommunication device is not residing within pockets 470 and 420 , pocket 470 may close down to occlude the transparent region 412 . Similarly, when the flip phone is in a closed orientation, pocket 470 folds down to occlude transparent region 412 .
[0024] The invention has been described using exemplary embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and equivalents. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications, similar arrangements and equivalents. | A general purpose carrier having a clear pocket to retain a telecommunication device in a usable orientation. One panel of a plurality of panels that form the sides of a general purpose carrier has a transparent region. A pocket is formed having the transparent region as one side. One or more elastic members retain an arbitrarily sized telecommunication device inserted within the pocket against the transparent region to permit viewing of the display of the device as well as manipulation of its controls through the transparent region. | 0 |
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the high-speed movement of tape where tension and speed control are critical factors. The particular disclosure of this application is a closed loop, high-speed tape transporter of the type used to duplicate audio signals off of a rapidly moving master tape onto tape at at least one slaved duplicator.
This process is carried out by passing a closed loop of recording tape across a pick-up head where a signal on the loop of tape is conveyed downstream to the slaved duplicator. The loop of tape is conveyed from the pick-up head into a storage bin for accumulation while a trailing length of the loop of tape is passed across the pick-up head. The loop continues endlessly from the bin back across the pick-up head, with each complete passage of the loop across the pick-up head providing a complete replication of the signal from the loop which is conveyed from the pick-up head to the slaved duplicator.
Typically, a relatively large number, such as ten, slaved duplicators are connected to a single tape transporter of the type described above. Hence, each complete passage of the master tape through the transporter results in ten copies being made. Eventually, these copies are loaded into cassettes for use in tape playback devices.
Tape duplicating processes are subject to a number of industry-imposed standards. A world-wide standard cassette playback speed has been set at 17/8 inches per second (ips) 4.76 centimeters per second (cps) for many years. All speeds at which the tape is processed must therefore be referenced in some manner to this standard. Historically, this has required difficult trade-offs between tape processing speed and tape playback quality. As is well known, the higher the recording speed, the greater the fidelity and playback quality which is obtained. At one time, the tape duplicating industry recorded master tapes at 7.5 ips (19 cps), thereby achieving a very high quality standard. However, in an effort to increase efficiency and output, the duplicating industry began duplicating at 64 times normal speed. However, to reproduce at 64 times 7.5 ips (19 cps) would mean a master tape speed of 480 ips (1219 cps). This was found to be impossible to achieve on a commercial basis, since the master tapes very quickly broke or wore out and, in addition, the playback quality of the duplicated tape was very poor. Therefore, in order to maintain the 64 to 1 ratio, the master recording speed was cut in half to 3.75 ips (9.5 cps), thereby permitting a 64 to 1 duplicating ratio at a master tape speed of 240 ips (610 cps). When 3.75 ips (9.5 cps) was adopted as standard master recording speed, this was acceptable because cassette tape and duplicating slaves were not capable of producing quality sufficient to take advantage of higher recording speeds. However, with the advent of new types of tape, improved recording heads, more sophisticated electronics and the development of Dolby HX Pro high frequency headroom extension system, it became clear that recording the master at 3.75 ips (9.5 cps) constituted a strict upper limit on the quality which could be achieved. Repeated attempts to increase the duplicating speed to 480 ips (1219 cps) has resulted in inefficiencies caused by frequent master tape replacement and poor playback quality. Many of these attempts have involved increasing the speed of the tape transporting capstans in an attempt to simply move the master tape more rapidly through the transporter. However, the physical affects of moving a relatively thin tape at ever increasing speeds are not always linear or even predictable. Experience in the design of tape transporting devices has shown that many different variables controlling tape movement must be controlled and improved to achieve operating efficiency combined with high frequency amplitude stability, high frequency phase stability, and an enhanced stereo image on the end product cassette tape.
The invention described in this application permits a master to be recorded at 7.5 ips (19 cps), and duplicated at a 64 to 1 ratio while substantially improving the efficiency of the tape transporter and the quality of the cassette tape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to permit higher master tape recording speed in a tape duplication system while permitting tape duplication to occur at high record to duplication ratios;
it is another object of the present invention to provide for precise speed control of a closed loop of recording tape on a high-speed tape transporter;
it is another object of the invention to provide improved control of the tension on a rapidly moving closed loop of recording tape in a tape transporter;
it is yet another object of the invention to provide a means of cleaning dust and loose oxide particles from a master tape without damaging the tape and without varying the speed or tension on the tape;
it is still another object of the invention to provide a tape transporter wherein control of the speed of the tape and control of the tension on the tape is performed by separate capstans.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a closed loop, high-speed tape transporter of the type wherein a closed loop of recording tape is passed across a pick-up head where a signal on the loop of tape is conveyed downstream to at least one slaved duplicator, and wherein the loop of tape is conveyed from the pick-up head into a bin for accumulation and storage while a trailing length of the loop is passed across the pick-up head, and from the bin back across the pick-up head repeatedly whereby successive replications of the signal from the loop are conveyed from the pick-up head to the slaved duplicator.
The improvement comprises a vacuum supply and first and second vacuum columns. The first and second vacuum columns are each operatively connected to the vacuum supply and are positioned in the plane of tape travel. The first vacuum column is positioned upstream from the pick-up head and downstream from the tape bin for receiving the loop of tape during its travel and exerting a vacuum induced hold-back tension thereon. The second vacuum column is positioned in the plane of tape travel downstream of the pick-up head and upstream of the tape bin for exerting a vacuum induced pull forward tension on the tape in opposition to the holdback tension exerted on the tape by the first vacuum column.
A motor-driven capstan is positioned in the plane of tape travel intermediate the pick-up head and the second vacuum column and is driven at a constant speed equal to the ideal reference tape duplication speed. Tape drives are associated with the first and second vacuum columns and a servo-control is provided for sensing changes in the position of the tape within the first and second vacuum columns and sending a signal responsive thereto to the tape drives for varying, respectively, the speed at which the tape is moved through the first and second vacuum columns and minimizing tension induced speed variation in the tape in the region of the pick-up head.
Preferably, the first and second vacuum columns each comprise an enclosure having a depth approximately that of the tape to provide a seal between that portion of the vacuum column outside the loop of tape and that portion of the vacuum column inside the loop of tape. In each vacuum column, at least one sensing slot is positioned in vacuum communication with the vacuum supply and interrupts the seal between the outside and inside of the loop of tape within the vacuum column and communicates information corresponding to tape position-related vacuum pressure to the servo-control for servo regulating the speed of the tape drives associated with the respective first and second vacuum columns.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Some of the objects of the invention have been set forth above. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description of the invention proceeds when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape transporter according to the present invention, in combination with a plurality of slaved duplicators;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the tape transporter of the type shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view of the tape transporter in FIG. 3, showing the threading pattern while loading the master tape;
FIG. 4 is a view of the transporter shown in FIG. 2, with the tape loaded for duplication;
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are schematic views showing the tension and speed control function of the vacuum columns on the tape transport;
FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the pneumatic control circuit which controls the vacuum ports in the tape bin;
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the vacuum guide roller;
FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the pneumatic pinch roller controls;
FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the pneumatic vacuum holdback and pull forward functions of the vacuum columns;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the crowned capstan roller according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now specifically to the drawings, a closed loop high-speed tape transporter according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and broadly indicated at 10. Tape transporter 10 comprises a cabinet enclosure 11 within or on which all of the working parts of transporter 10 are contained. As can be seen, all of the tape manipulating portions of transporter 10 are contained on a vertically extending front panel 12. A vacuum supply 11A, a microprocessor-based controller 11B and all other auxiliary equipment are contained in cabinet 11 behind front panel 12. Tape transporter 10 is electrically connected to a series of slave units "S." Each slave unit reproduces the program on the endless master tape onto, for example, audio cassette tape and winds the audio cassette tape onto a large reel, usually referred to as a "pancake" which is then loaded onto a cassette loader. The cassette loader takes a "C-0" cassette, extracts the leader, cuts the leader and splices one half of the leader onto the leading end of recorded audio tape on the pancake, winds a single reproduction of the program recorded from the master tape into the cassette, then splices the trailing end of the audio tape onto the second half of the cassette leader, ejects the cassette and then repeats the process.
Brief Description of Tape Handling Components
Referring now to FIG. 2, front panel 12 of tape transporter 10 includes a control panel 13 having a display 14 and switches 15-23, inclusive, the functions of which are described below. A lockable hub 25 driven by a motor 26 is positioned in the lower left hand corner of front panel 12 and is used only when loading a tape. Freewheeling guides 28-33, inclusive, are positioned in predetermined spaced-apart relation on front panel 12 and cooperate with other tape contacting surfaces to establish the proper path of the closed loop of tape. A pair of optical sensors 35 are positioned intermediate tape guides 29 and 30 and a similar pair of optical sensors 36 are positioned near guide roller 32. The tape path extends between these two respective pairs of sensors 35 and 36 and prevent operation of the tape transporter if the tape is improperly threaded.
A vacuum column 40 is positioned on the lower half of front panel 12 immediately above hub 25. Vacuum column 40 includes a back wall 41 which includes a sensing slot 42 which senses the vacuum pressure within vacuum column 40 at any given time. In addition to back wall 41, vacuum column 40 is defined by outwardly extending, spaced-apart side walls 43 and 44, a bottom wall 46 and a transparent cover (not shown). Vacuum ports 47 in bottom wall 46 communicate with a vacuum supply to exert a vacuum force in vacuum column 40. The depth of side walls 43 and 44, and bottom wall 46 is essentially the same as the width of the tape. Therefore, when tape is in vacuum column 40, it defines an upper vacuum column zone in communication with atmospheric pressure, and a lower, enclosed vacuum column zone defined by the tape and the lower portion of the side walls 43 and 44 and bottom wall 46. The lower zone, which is sealed against communication with atmospheric pressure by the tape, communicates with vacuum supply through vacuum ports 47.
Another vacuum column 50 is positioned in the upper half of front panel 12 and includes a back wall 51, outwardly extending, spaced-apart side walls 52 and 53, a bottom wall 54 and a transparent cover (not shown). Vacuum pressure is exerted on vacuum column 50 by vacuum through vacuum ports 57. A sensing slot 58 is provided in back wall 51.
Vacuum column 50 operates in the same manner as vacuum column 40. Further details concerning the operation of vacuum column 40 and 50 are set forth below.
Tape transporter 10 includes four motor driven capstans. Capstan 60 is powered by a synchronous electric motor 60A which runs at a constant speed at all times during the tape duplication process. The only function of capstan 60 is to move the tape at a precise and constant speed. A pinch roller assembly 61, which includes a hard rubber pinch roller 62 rides on the surface of capstan 60 and the tape therebetween. A capstan 62 is positioned downstream of vacuum column 50 and at an entrance 63 to a tape storage bin 64. Capstan 62 is driven by a servo-controlled motor 62A which is coupled to sensing slot 58 and varies the speed of capstan 62 to maintain the loop of tape in a reference position within vacuum column 50. A pinch roller assembly 65, including a hard rubber pinch roller 66, rides on the surface of capstan 62.
A capstan 70, controlled by a servo motor 70A coupled to vacuum column 40 is positioned above exit 71 from bin 64. A pinch roller assembly 73, including a hard rubber pinch roller 74, cooperates with capstan 70.
Tape is delivered to capstan 70 by a vacuum guide roller 76.
A capstan 80 is driven by a variable speed motor 80A and is positioned in the bottom of tape bin 64 and drives a low speed flat belt 81. Belt 81 is positioned in driving relation between two rollers 82 and 83. Belt 81 is driven counterclockwise and moves the pack of tape loops from right to left and, at the same time, inverts the tape pack so that tape is being removed from the top rather than the bottom of the pack.
As the tape is pulled through the exit 71 of bin 64, dampening belts 85 and 86 eliminate a significant amount of tape flutter and prevent twisting of, and possible damage to, the tape as it exits tape bin 64.
Bin 64 is approximately the same thickness as the tape and includes side rails 64A and 64B to guide the tape downwardly. The upper portion of bin 64 is covered by a glass door 86 mounted on hinges 87 and 88. Vacuum ports 96 are positioned along side rail 64A in tape contacting position. The lower portion of bin 64 is enclosed by a glass door 90 which is pivoted on hinges 91 and 92. As can be seen by continued reference to FIG. 2, a vacuum chamber 94 is positioned adjacent bin 64 and includes a vacuum port 95. Vacuum chamber 94 communicates with bin 64 and exerts a vacuum pull on the lower extent of tape bin 64.
Finally, a reproduce head 100 is positioned between guide rollers 30 and 31. As tape passes across reproduce head 100, the analog signal on the magnetic tape is sensed and transmitted by suitable electrical circuitry downstream to the plurality of slaved tape duplicators "S."
Procedure For Loading Master Tape Into Bin
Referring now to FIG. 3, a master tape "T" which is stored on a suitably sized reel is placed on lockable hub 25. Motor 26 rotates in a clockwise direction and therefore provides a holdback tension on the master tape, allowing it to ride over guide 28. The operator pulls the tape to the left of guides 28 and 29, between optical sensors 35 and to the right of guide 30. Sensors 35 detect the presence of the master tape before allowing transporter 10 to start its motors. This reduces the risk of operator error in misthreading the master tape. Sensors 35 also signal the controller 11B when the end of the master tape has passed guide roller 29. Controller 11B stops the loading process whenever the tape is not between sensors 35.
The tape is next threaded to the left of guide 31 and between capstan 60 and pinch roller 67. Upper door 86 of tape bin 64 is opened and the operator pulls the tape between capstan 62 and pinch roller 66 and down the outside rail 64A of bin 64. Then, the bottom door 90 is opened and the operator pulls the tape under the bottom of the inside rail 64B of bin 64 and up through dampening belts 85 and 86. The tape is advanced about four or five feet more before doors 86 and 90 are closed. The tape is then passed to the left of and over vacuum guide roller 76 to the right of and over capstan 70 and over and to the left of guide 33 and then down into the vacuum column 40, where the leading end of the tape resides during loading.
Switch 15 is then placed in the "low" position, switch 16 engages pinch rollers 67 and 66 with capstans 60 and 62 respectively. Switch 17 turns on the vacuum blowers. As soon as the vacuum pressure is at the correct level (3-5 seconds) the operator threads the section of tape between capstans 60 and 62 down into vacuum column 50. Switch 18, the "start" switch, is pressed and the controller 11B carries out a number of system checks. Transporter 10 will not start if capstan 60 is spinning, since this might damage the tape. Likewise, if the tape is not between sensors 35, the transporter 10 will not start since this indicates a misthreading of the tape.
Once all test conditions have been met, capstan 62 begins turning. During the first four seconds, capstan 62 is rotated slowly to remove any slack in the tape path between hub 25 and capstan 62, except for the correct amount of tape in vacuum column 50. As is illustrated in FIG. 5, this amount is detected by a column transducer 55 which detects the vacuum in column 50 through slot 58. The column transducer 55 generates a voltage to a servo circuit 56 which is proportional to the vacuum level within column 50. Servo circuit 56 controls the speed of motor 62A. As the tape is pulled higher within vacuum column 50, the pressure becomes more negative. When the pressure reaches a preset value, the tape is correctly positioned in vacuum column 50.
Once this condition has been achieved, full power is applied to capstan 60 and the tape is pulled off of hub 25 and is allowed to drop into vacuum column 50. The servo circuit 56 controlling capstan 62 senses this level change and rotates capstan 62 clockwise at a speed sufficient to remove the same amount of tape as is being added to vacuum column 50 by capstan 60. This process continues until the tail end of the tape passes from between sensors 35 and the sensors are no longer blocked.
At any point during this loading operation, the operator may stop the process by pressing switch 19.
As the tape leaves capstan it 62, is forced to project outwardly in a straight line by a slight curve which has been introduced into the tape by a crowned surface on capstan 62. (See FIG. 12). This eliminates the need for knife-like strippers near the point of tape departure at capstan 62. The tape is moving at 480 ips (1219 cps) during most of the load cycle. As noted above, this is the same speed at which the transporter 10 operates during the duplication cycle. This is necessary to insure that the tape packs in the bin 64 in the same manner as it will while running in service.
The tape is allowed to contact the upper section of the 74A bin rail at a distance of approximately five to six inches (12.7-15 cm) from capstan 62. This rail is made of stainless steel and is polished to prevent scratches in the tape oxide surface. This rail also performs another function in that it decelerates the tape before it packs in the bottom of tape bin 64, as will be explained further below. It is important that this deceleration occur. If the tape is allowed to impact the pack in the bottom of bin 64 at full speed, a number of problems result. The pack does not form in a manageable fashion and tape forms such large loops that it occupies too much space and the bin 64 will not hold long length programs. The high impact may also damage the surface of the tape causing loss of fidelity in the final product and premature replacement of the master tape. For this reason, the vacuum ports 96 are connected to a high capacity low level vacuum source. As the tape passes the ports 96, the vacuum progressively impedes the progress of the tape along the rail slightly in relation to the tape which has not yet hit the first vacuum port 96. This causes the tape to form loops. The vacuum level is quite low and the tape is merely slowed somewhat, but not stopped. As the moving tape passes across the successive vacuum ports 96, it forms progressively larger loops as it descends. As is shown in FIG. 4, the loops decrease in frequency and increase in amplitude as they descend into the bottom tape bin 34. Not only is the tape protected by slowing it somewhat, but the formation of the loops by vacuum ports 96 assist the tape in falling into bin 64 in an even, regular pattern of loops.
While bin 64 is being filled with tape, belt 81 is driven at a slow speed by capstan 80, as described above, so that the pack of tape is inverted, permitting tape to be removed from the bin during the run mode without being pulled from the bottom of the pack where it is under high pressure due to the weight of the tape above it.
During the loading process, the controller 11B monitors the speed of motor 26. Because the speed of the tape is held at a constant 480 ips (1219 cps) by the constant speed of capstan 60, the rotational velocity of motor 26 continues to increase as the diameter of the reel of tape decreases. At a predetermined velocity, which indicates the end of the tape is approaching, controller 11B reduces the average power transmitted to capstan 60 and the tape slows to approximately 200 ips (508 cps) during the last few hundred feet.
When the end of the tape passes through sensors 35, the controller disengages the pinch rollers 67 and 66 from capstans 60 and 62 respectively, and removes power from motors 60A, 62A, 70A and 80A. This allows the tail of the tape to be pulled down into vacuum column 50 and held there by vacuum.
Finally, the operator removes the two ends of the master tape from vacuum columns 40 and 50, respectively, and applies a splice, thus making the tape a continuous closed loop. Ordinarily, the splice includes a short section of transparent tape which forms a "window" through which sensors 35 and 36 can see as the tape completes each circuit. This "window" is used to generate a cueing signal which is applied to the tape being reproduced at the slave duplicators "S" so that the end of a particular program segment can be detected.
Procedure for Running Master Tape
After completing the loading procedure, the tape must be threaded in a slightly different path. Referring now to FIG. 4, the vacuum supply 11A is left on and the tape is allowed to drop into vacuum column 40 and 50. The tape exits the left side of vacuum column 40 and passes to the left of guide roller 29 through sensors 35 and to the right of guide roller 30. The tape is placed in front of the reproduce heads and to the right of guide roller 31. The tape must then be placed to the left of guide roller 32 through optical sensors 36 and between capstan 60 and pinch roller 67. The tape is then placed between pinch roller 66 and capstan 62.
At the exit 71 of tape bin 64, the tape passes between dampening belts 85 and 86 and clockwise around vacuum holdback guide 76 which directs the tape into capstan 70. The tape passes between capstan 70 and pinch roller 74 in a counterclockwise direction and over guide roller 33. The tape drops into vacuum column 40, completing its circuit.
To start operation, the operator sets switch 15 to the "run" mode, closes switch 16 to engage pinch rollers 67 and 66 with capstans 60 and 62, respectively, and checks switch 17 to insure that the vacuum supply is still operating. By pressing switch 18, the controller 11B checks to make sure that capstan 60 is stationary. It is important to make sure that capstan 60 is not rotating before tension is applied to the tape, since this may cause the tape to skew off of capstan 60. Frequently, this damages the edge of the tape.
Both sets of sensors 35 and 36 must indicate that tape is blocking light transmission, thereby insuring that the tape has been properly threaded.
Upon starting, the controller applies low power to capstan 60. By rotating clockwise, capstan 60 removes slack from the tape path between vacuum column 40 and vacuum column 50. After a predetermined period, pinch roller 67 is engaged and capstan 60 is slowly excelerated. Capstan 60 pulls the tape across the reproduce heads 100 while the vacuum pressure in vacuum column 50 is pulling the tape from the right side of capstan 60 into vacuum column 50. The change in position as the tape enters vacuum column 50 is sensed by the vacuum transducer 55 which, as explained previously, results in an increase in rotational velocity of the servo motor 62A controlling capstan 62. The increase in velocity of capstan 62 pulls the tape upward in vacuum column 50 until an equilibrium is established. Any amount of tape supplied to vacuum column 50 by capstan 60 is removed by capstan 62. Therefore, the level of tape in vacuum column 50 remains relatively constant. Compare FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.
In a similar fashion, as capstan 60 removes tape from vacuum column 4, the change in position of the tape is sensed by vacuum transducer 48 associated with vacuum column 40 which results in an increase in the rotational velocity of servo motor 70A controlling capstan 70. The increase in velocity pulls tape out of bin 64 at a greater rate and delivers it to vacuum column 40 until equilibrium has been established. Compare FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.
In the case of both vacuum column 40 and vacuum column 50, the "servo" aspect of the operation means that the speed of capstans 70 and 62, respectively, is varying constantly as the loop of tape moves upwardly and downwardly within vacuum columns 40 and 50. Under ideal circumstances, the loop of tape would intersect sensing slots 42 and 58 and define a reference position at its approximate mid-point. See FIG. 5. Capstan 70 would deliver exactly the same length of tape per unit of time to vacuum column 40 as is being withdrawn by constant speed capstan 60. Likewise, capstan 62 would withdraw exactly the same length of tape per unit of time to vacuum column 50 as being delivered by constant speed capstan 60. The extent which tension variations within tape bin 64 vary from the ideal determines the extent to which the loop within vacuum column 40 changes position and, consequently, the extent to which the speed of capstan 70 is varied to always try to put the loop of tape back in the reference position at the approximate mid-point of sensing slot 42.
As is apparent, the primary purpose is to deliver the master tape across the record heads at a precise and uniform tension. However, once the tape passes the reproduce head 100, tension control on the tape ceases to be the primary object, and control of the speed of the tape becomes the factor over which primary control is sought. This is because capstan 60 is designed to rotate at a fixed speed of 480 ips (1219 cps), and must maintain this speed as closely as possible.
Therefore, the primary purpose of capstan 62 and vacuum column 50 is to exert a "pull forward" tension on the tape which ideally exactly matches the holdback tension exerted by vacuum column 40. Motor 60A is relieved of the duty of pulling against the holdback tension created by vacuum column 40. With the tension the same on both sides of capstan 60, capstan 60 can be devoted strictly to free running at a constant speed. Since the tape at the point between capstan 60 and pinch roller 67 is isolated on both sides from tension variations, there are no extraneous forces to cause even minute changes in the instantaneous rotational velocity of motor 60A. In fact, vacuum columns 40 and 50 function together so well that surface speeds of up to 700 ips (1778 cps) at capstan 60 have been achieved with little, if any, degradation in reproduction quality.
As the tape enters bin 64 through bin entrance 63, the tape lightly glazes the outside rail 64A and decelerates by the action upon it of vacuum ports 96, as described earlier.
Still referring to FIG. 3, the pack of tape can be seen in the extreme bottom portion of tape bin 64. As the tape settles into the bottom of bin 64, air is removed from between the layers of tape by a suction through vacuum port 95. By removing air from between the layers of tape, a reduction in pack height is achieved which effectively increases the capacity of the bin 64. Another effect is that the tape does not slide over the top of the pack upon initial contact. This results in loops that fit the bin from one end to the other and which are more manageable than long loops which extend up the sides and are subject to tangling.
The transfer belt 81 is a low coefficient of friction tape having very little surface area in contact with the pack. Belt 81 is driven by capstan 64 and moves in a slow, continuous motion causing the pack to invert itself. The inversion allows the tape to be removed from the bin 64 under very low tension because it is taken from the top of the pack. The speed of capstan 80 and consequently belt 81 is set semi-automatically by the transporter controller 11A. The longer the master tape, the slower belt 81 must move. Manual control can be effected by means of a potentiometer 22 which causes a linear change in the speed of capstan 80. Manual override by means of rheostat 22 is most often needed because of variations in the type of tape, temperature and humidity which alter the packing characteristics of the tape.
Capstan 70 rotates in a counterclockwise direction pulling tape out of bin 64 through bin exit 71. As tape is pulled off of the top of the pack, loops are formed. These loops are the result of uneven acceleration and it is common for sections of the tape to obtain velocities well above 480 ips (1219 cps). The dampening belts 85 and 86 therefore are set to contact any loop which may jump upward, thereby absorbing some of the energy. Left undampened, loops having a large amplitude may twist and even destroy the master tape.
Vacuum guide 76 supplies a holdback tension to the back surface of the tape. Vacuum guide 76 is quite large and the area affected is correspondingly large to reduce the wear on any given section of the tape and to reduce the change in tension if a small section were to lose contact with vacuum guide 76 momentarily. The vacuum level applied to vacuum guide 76 is adjusted such that the tape tension between vacuum guide 76 and capstan 70 is slightly less than the tape tension between capstan 70 and vacuum column 40. This nearly balanced tension allows pinch roller pressure applied by pinch roller 74 to be very low, further reducing wear on the master tape.
Tape leaving capstan 70 is pulled by vacuum column 40 across guide roller 33 and down into vacuum column 40.
By careful reference to vacuum columns 40 and 50, and following carefully the threading pattern of the tape through both vacuum columns, it will be seen that one side of the tape is in the inwardly facing position of the lower vacuum column zone of vacuum column 40, and the opposite side of the tape is in vacuum communication within the lower vacuum column portion of vacuum column 60. The vacuum applied to the opposite sides of the tape results in a thorough cleaning of loose oxide particles and dust from both sides of the tape during each circuit without rubbing the surface of the tape against a cleaning medium.
During the "run" mode, sensor 35 detects the "window" in the master tape during each complete pass. The controller 11A times the interval for each pass and displays the information on display 14 alternately with the number of passes completed.
To stop transporter 10, the operator has three choices. "Stop" switch 19 is an emergency stop which will stop the tape in less than one second. In this case, the tape will usually not remain in its threaded path. Therefore, rethreading is necessary before restarting. When switch 19 is activated, controller 11A disengages pinch rollers 67, 66 and 74 and removes power from motors 60A, 62A, 70A and 80A. This allows the tape to be quickly pulled down into vacuum columns 40 and 50, thus rapidly stopping it. Vacuum guide 76 provides some holdback tension to keep tape around capstan 70, but all other guides become ineffective as the tape tension from guide 33 to capstan 60 drops.
Another method of stopping the tape is by activating "soft stop" switch 20. When this switch is activated, the controller begins to reduce the average power applied to capstan 60. As the tape begins to slow, vacuum columns 40 and 50, by operation of the column transducers 48 and 56, respectively, command a corresponding reduction in the speed of motors 62A and 70A. A tachometer (not shown) monitors capstan 60 and when a speed of 200 ips or less is reached, the controller switches into the normal "stop" routine. At this slow speed, the tape will remain threaded within the guides and capstans.
The third stopping method is called "cue stop" and is controlled by switch 21. The "window" in the tape is usually placed at or near the splice between the beginning and end of the tape. By detecting when the window passes sensor 35, the controller calculates the time which will pass before the window reaches sensor 35 again. If this time is greater than 15 seconds or less than 5 seconds when switch 21 is pressed, the tape is allowed to continue. When the window is within the predetermined distance from sensor 35, the controller automatically goes into a "soft stop" routine. Capstan 60 reduces tape speed down to 200 ips and then continues at that speed until sensor 35 detects the presence of the window. This signals the controller to stop, leaving the window near vacuum column 40 where it can be easily located.
Procedure for Unloading Master Tape
Once the tape has been stopped by using the "cue stop" switch 21, the window is located. The operator places an empty reel on hub 25. After the splice is removed, the end of the master tape exiting the upper section of bin 64 is threaded between pinch roller 66 and capstan 62, down into vacuum column 50, between pinch roller 67 and capstan 60, through sensor 36 and to the left of guide rollers 32 and 28. The tape is wrapped clockwise around the reel on hub 25. The other end of the tape, that which has just exited bin 64, is placed so that it may be pulled back into the bin by the loading process without damage.
Then, mode switch 15 is placed in the "unload" mode and switch 17, which controls the vacuum supply, is closed. Then the operator presses "start", the controller does a series of tests, as described above, to insure the presence of vacuum, proper threading and that capstan 60 is not rotating. If all conditions are valid, power is then applied to motor 26 causing it to rotate clockwise. Vacuum column 50 pulls the master tape down to the bottom of the column. This action creates a holdback tension of sufficient amount to provide good guidance around guide roller 28 and thus a good pack for storage of the master. When the end of tape passes sensor 36, the controller removes power from motor 26.
The major components of the pneumatic system are explained by reference to FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11. Vacuum ports 96 are connected by means of suitable hoses 110 to a volume chamber 111. Suction pressure is applied through volume chamber 111 by vacuum supply 11B. A filter 112 prevents contaminants from passing through vacuum ports 96 into vacuum supply 11B. Vacuum port 95, which removes air trapped between the loops of tape in the bottom of bin 64 is also connected to volume chamber 111 by a vacuum hose 114. Vacuum port 95 and the plurality of vacuum ports 96 are both controlled by a suitable vacuum pressure adjustment controller 115.
Referring now to FIG. 9, the vacuum guide 76 includes two ports 76A and 76B. Both ports 76A and 76B communicate with a volume chamber 120 through vacuum hoses 121 and 122. Vacuum pressure and, hence, tension on the tape is controlled by a tension adjustment 125. A filter 126 prevents contaminants from being sucked into vacuum supply 11B.
Referring now to FIG. 10, positive air pressure is supplied from a source 130 through pneumatic switches 131, 132 and 133 (which are controlled by controller 11A) and through pressure regulators 135, 136 and 137 to pneumatic cylinders 140, 141 and 142. Pneumatic cylinders 140, 141 and 142 control, respectively, pinch rollers 67, 66 and 74.
Referring now to FIG. 11, vacuum pressure for vacuum columns 40 and 50 is supplied through a volume chamber 150, which is supplied by vacuum supply 11B. A filter 151 prevents contaminants from being sucked through vacuum columns 40 and 50 into vacuum supply 11B. Tension adjustment is controlled by a vacuum pressure adjustment control 152.
A tape transporter is described above. Various details of the invention may be changed without departing from its scope. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of a tape transporter according to the present invention is provided for the purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose of limitation-the invention being defined by the claims. | A closed loop, high-speed tape transporter (10) includes a vacuum supply (11A), a first vacuum column (40) operatively connected to the vacuum supply (11A) and positioned upstream from a pick-up head (100) and downstream from a tape bin (64) for receiving the loop of tape and exerting a vacuum-induced holdback tension thereon, a second vacuum column (50) operatively connected to the vacuum supply (11A) and positioned downstream of head (100) and upstream of the tape bin (64) for exerting a vacuum-induced pull forward tension on the tape in opposition to the holdback tension exerted on the tape by the first vacuum column (40). A motor-driven capstan (60) is positioned intermediate the pick-up head (100) and the second vacuum column (50). Capstan (100) is driven at a constant speed equal to the ideal reference tape duplication speed. Tape drive capstans (62A) and (70A) cooperate with the first and second vacuum columns (40) and (50) for moving the tape. A servo-control (42 ), (45), (48) senses changes in the position of the tape within the first vacuum column (40) and sends a signal to tape drive (70A) and a servo-control (58), (55), (56) senses changes in the position of the tape within the second vacuum column (50) and sends a signal to tape drive (62A). The speed of the tape is varied as it moves through the first and second vacuum columns (40), (50) thereby minimizing tension induced speed variation in the tape in the region of the pickup head (100). | 6 |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 853,068 filed Nov. 21, 1977, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,297.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to machines for washing paper stock pulp and other free-filtering materials.
2. State of the Art
According to various processes well-known in the paper making industry, paper stock pulp is formed by digesting wood chips in the presence of various chemicals in a heated pressure vessel. After discharge from the pressure vessel, the paper stock pulp must be washed and filtered to separate the wood fibers from the digestion chemicals.
According to a conventional system for washing paper stock pulp the pulp is diluted with water after digestion and then is picked up by a large-diameter rotating cylinder whose surface is formed of a wire mesh screen. A couch roll is positioned to press downward onto the surface of the screen-covered cylinder to express liquid from the stock and thus to form a blanket or mat of dewatered fibers. Such a conventional system further includes an agitation device wherein once-dewatered fibers are repulped by mixing with water. Still further, the system includes additional agitation devices, screen-covered cylinders, and couch rolls to wash the pulp in stages.
According to other processes well-known in the paper-making industry, materials such as waste paper and ground-wood, although not digested with chemicals, must nevertheless be washed. Conventional systems for such washing are also known.
According to still other processes well-known in the paper-making industry paper pulp is bleached by treating the pulp with chemicals such as a solution of chlorine or sodium hydroxide. In other processes chemical solutions are often used to treat the pulp.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine to wash paper stock pulp and other free-filtering materials. As will be readily understood in view of the following description, the term free-filtering encompasses materials which, when covering a filtering surface, allow liquid to pass readily there through when a slight hydraulic head is exerted. The term pulp is used herein as a synonym for free-filtering materials.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for treating pulp with solutions of chemicals to accomplish bleaching and other processes. The term "washing" is used herein to include such treatment with chemical solutions, and the term "liquid" includes such chemical solutions.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for washing pulp, which machine is of the type which operates without interstage pumps.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for washing pulp which operates without repulping of the pulp stock.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a machine for washing pulp wherein frothing of the pulp is substantially minimized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects of the present invention may be readily ascertained by consideration of the following detailed description and appended drawings, which are offered by way of illustration ony and not in limitation of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and equivalents.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a machine according to the present invention shown schematically;
FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1 for viewing in the direction of the arrows which schematically illustrates one detail of the machine of FIG. 1 partially cut away;
FIG. 3 shows a detail of the machine of FIG. 1 enlarged for purposes of clarity;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation of another embodiment of a machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 4 which schematically shows a detail of the machine of FIG. 1 partially cut away.
FIG. 6 shows a detail of the machine of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, a machine according to this invention generally includes horizontally-disposed wash drums 11 and 13 which are mounted in spaced-apart, side-by-side relationship. The wash drums are illustrated as being cylinders of equal diameter but, in certain instances, it may be desirable for the wash drums to have different diameters. The wash drums are mounted in vertically stepped relationship to one another so that the central axis of the first drum 11 is lower than the central axis of the second drum 13. The two illustrated drums are essentially the same in construction and operation and, for that reason, only one wash drum 11 will now be described in detail.
With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wash drum 11 includes a cylindrical sidewall 19 and end closure walls 21 and 23. The cylindrical sidewall is perforated say by small spaced-apart apertures 25 to permit liquid to flow freely from the drum. Workers skilled in this art will readily recognize that the sidewalls of the drums, instead of being perforated, could be comprised of a wedgewire grid or other conventional support means which permit liquid flow. The end closure walls 21 and 23 are nonforaminate. Axle members 27 and 29 are fixed to the end closure walls 21 and 23, respectively, and are supported for rotation outboard of the drum by stationary pillow blocks 33 and 35, respectively, or other journal means.
According to the embodiment in FIG. 2, a tube 39 is stationarily mounted to extend into the wash drum 11 to introduce liquid into its interior. The illustrated tube 39 has a horizontal section 40 which extends into the drum through the axle member 27, and a leg 42 which extends downward inside the drum.
With respect to the machine in FIG. 1, tubes 39 and 43 are mounted in communication with the interiors of wash drums 11 and 13 respectively. Tube 43 should be understood to be the same in construction and operation as the tube 39 described above.
Referring still to FIG. 1, open tanks 45 and 47 are mounted below the respective wash drums 11 and 13. The tanks are constructed and positioned to encompass the lower half or less of each of the respective wash drums and to contain a substantial quantity of liquid exterior of the wash drums. In practice, the tanks preferably are identical to one another and are mounted in vertically-stepped relationship corresponding to the differential elevations of the wash drums. A plate 49 is connected between the upper edges of tanks 45 and 47, and a second plate 50 is connected to the upper edge of tank 47 to extend upward therefrom.
A liquid inlet means, such as a conduit 51 shown in FIG. 1, is connected in communication with the tube 43 to carry wash liquor into the wash drum 13. In some applications, the wash liquor may simply be fresh water while in other instances it may be an aqueous solution of particular chemicals or a non-aqueous liquid. As will be understood in view of the following description, the flow of wash liquid is countercurrent to the direction of travel of pulp material through the machine.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, a compression roller member 55 is mounted to the right and above the first wash drum and is supported for rotation by conventional means, not shown. The compression roller member 55 shown in FIG. 3 comprises, for example, a rigid hollow cylinder which is formed from wire screeen or other foraminous material so that liquid can drain freely through it. Likewise, a second compression roller member 57 is rotatably mounted to the right and above the second wash drum 13. The second roller member 57 is mounted adjacent the second drum 13 and can be adjustably positioned relative to the second drum. The second roller member 57 is the same in construction as roller member 55. However, the second roller member 57 can optionally have a rigid, non-foraminate wall.
As further shown in FIG. 1, a conduit 69 is coupled to the tank 47 to carry liquid therefrom to tube 39. A conduit 71 is connected to tank 45 to carry liquid therefrom to disposal.
The machine in FIG. 1 further includes feed means which, in the illustrated embodiment by way of example, comprises a horizontal vacuum pan 75 of conventional construction which is mounted to the left of the first wash drum 11. A conventional suction-producing device, not shown, is connected in communication with the interior of the vacuum pan to draw liquid therefrom via a conduit 76. Above the vacuum pan 75 is mounted a distribution box 77, which also is of conventional construction. At the opposite ends of the vacuum pan are rotatably mounted support rollers 79 and 81, respectively. One skilled in this art should readily recognize that the feed means could, alternatively, comprise other conventional means for forming a pulp mat between two belts. For example, the feed means could comprise a conventional vacuum drum means or a conventional system including two belts disposed substantially vertically.
Two endless filter belts 83 and 85, referred to herein as the upper and lower belts respectively, are trained around the wash drums and the compression roller members in zig-zag fashion as illustrated in FIG. 1. More particularly, the endless belts are trained in face-to-face relationship to each other to pass under each of the wash drums 11 and 13 and over each of the compression roller members 55 and 57. The endless belts should be understood to comprise conventional porous filter belts of the type which are well known in the filtration art.
Above the machine, the upper belt 83 is trained over a set of guide rollers 90-94; below the machine, the lower belt 85 is trained over a set of guide rollers 95-100. Conventional drive means, not shown, are connected to rotatably drive the roller member 57 and, thus, to cause the two endless belts 83 and 85 to travel together at equal speeds in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. The upper and lower sets of guide rollers are positioned to separate the upper and lower belts after the belts have passed over the second compression roller member 57 and, at the opposite end of the machine, to reunite the belts in face-to-face relationship before the belts travel under the first wash drum 11. It should be further observed that the lower set of guide rollers 95-100 is positioned so that the lower belt 85 passes around the support roller 79, then between the vacuum pan 75 and the distribution box 77, and finally over the support roller 81 before reuniting with the upper belt 83. In practice, at least one guide roller in both the upper and lower sets is movably mounted so that the tensions of the belts can be selectively adjusted. Also, conventional means for laterally aligning the belts are normally provided.
The operation of the above-described machine can now be understood. Initially a free-filtering material, such as paper stock pulp containing digestion chemicals, is fed into the distribution box 77 as indicated by the arrow. That material is then discharged onto the belt 85 as it travels across the vacuum pan 75. Suction applied through the vacuum pan 75 draws liquid from the pulp, leaving a sheet or mat 102 of partially dewatered fibers lying on the belt 85. The withdrawn liquid, or filtrate, is discharged from the machine via conduit 76. The lower belt 85, after passage across the vacuum pan, meets the upper belt 83 in face-to-face relationship and, thus, the mat of pulp fibers is gripped between the two belts. Typically, the pulp mat is about one-quarter to one inch in thickness.
The two belts 83 and 85, with the pulp mat between them, then pass into the first tank 45 and under the first wash drum 11. Simultaneously the wash drum 11 is rotated, say by frictional engagement with the upper belt 83. At this time, liquid from inside the first drum 11 passes through the pulp mat between the two belts and then flows into the tank 45. This flow of liquid through the pulp mat occurs because of the differential in the hydrostatic head (liquid level) between the interior and exterior of the wash drum 11. The flow of liquid through the pulp mat serves to wash the pulp and, in some instances, also increases the moisture content of the pulp mat because some of the wash liquid is absorbed by the pulp.
The two belts 83 and 85, after passing under the wash drum 11, then pass over the first compression roller member 55. During this stage, the pulp mat is squeezed between the belts due to the tension in the upper belt 83. Liquid, which is thus expressed from the pulp, drains through the roller member 55 as shown in FIG. 3. The expressed liquor is caught by the plate 49 and flows into the tank 45.
After passage over the first compression roller member 55, the two endless belts 83 and 85 carry the pulp mat into the second tank 47 and then under the second wash drum 13. During this stage, the pulp mat undergoes a second wash like the one described above. Then, the two belts 83 and 85 with the pulp mat therebetween pass over the second compression roller member 57. Thus it can be seen that the pulp mat undergoes two stages of washing and expression. The second compression roller 57 is positioned relative to the drum 13 so that the two belts are simultaneously tangent to both the drum and the roller. The position of the roller 57 is adjusted to compress the pulp mat and express liquid therefrom.
After passing over the roller 57 the upper and lower belts 83 and 85 are moved apart by the guide rollers 94 and 95 to expose the washed pulp mat. The pulp mat is then discharged from the machine by suitable means, not shown, such as a doctor blade or the like.
As mentioned earlier, the upper and lower belts are held under predetermined tensions by the adjustable guide rollers. The tensions need not be the same. In fact, the upper belt 83 is preferably at greater tension than the lower belt 85. This causes the compressive force on the pulp mat to be greater when the mat passes over the compression rollers 55 and 57 than when it passes under the wash drums 11 and 13. This is advantageous because the pulp mat is "worked", i.e., compressed during its passage over the compression roller members and allowed to expand and absorb wash liquid when passing under the wash drums. This working can be likened to wringing a sponge and then allowing it to expand to absorb more water.
At this juncture, it should be appreciated that the flow of wash liquor through the illustrated machine is opposite to the travel of the pulp mat. More specifically, fresh water liquor is continuously fed into the second drum 13 via inlet conduit 51 at a sufficient flow rate to keep approximately the lower half of the wash drum 15 filled. Suitable control means, not shown, are preferably provided to insure that this liquor level is maintained. This fresh wash liquor, as previously described, is then forced into the tank 47 through the submerged pulp mat due to the hydrostatic head difference between the interior and exterior of the drum 13. Then, the once-used wash liquor flows from the tank 47 into the first drum 11 via the conduit 71. The liquid in the first drum 11 then is forced into the first tank 45 by the hydrostatic head in the first drum 11 and, followingly, flows to disposal via conduit 69.
It should now be apparent that a machine according to this invention can include more than two pairs of wash drums and tanks, depending upon the number of stages of washing which are required for a particular application.
An embodiment of a particular modification of the aforedescribed machine will now be described in conjunction with FIGS. 4-6. In this embodiment, elements which are common to the machine in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. This embodiment differs from the one described earlier principally with respect to the construction of the wash drums and tanks as well as with respect to the piping within the machine.
As shown in FIG. 4, a machine according to this embodiment includes two wash cylinders 104 and 105 arranged to rotate in respective tanks 45 and 47 in the same fashion as the wash drums in the earlier-described embodiment. Here, however, the wash cylinders each have a least one open end, not two closed ends as had the aforedescribed wash drums. Thus, as shown by way of example in FIGS. 5-6, the wash cylinder 104 has a perforate sidewall 19 supported by rigid spokes 106 which extend radially from axle shafts 27 and 29. The spaces between the spokes are open, permitting liquid-flow communication between the associated tank 45 and the interior of the wash cylinder.
The machine in this embodiment further includes seal members 107 which are fixedly mounted in pairs in each of the tanks 45 and 47 near the ends of the wash cylinders. As can be best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, each seal member is planar and has an arcuate edge portion which sealingly abuts the sidewall of the associated wash cylinder. Each seal member is fixed to extend from sidewall to sidewall of the associated tank across the tank floor. The function of the seal members is to partition the interior of each of the tanks into distinct zones. The zones defined between associated pairs of the seal members, herein referred to as wash spaces 109, are in liquid-flow communication with the interiors of the associated wash cylinders only via the openings in the cylindrical sidewalls. Pipe 111 is connected to the wash space 109 of tank 47 to introduce liquid thereinto.
A zone defined between a seal member 107 and the adjacent sidewall of the associated tank is herein referred to as discharge space 112. At least one such discharge space is provided in each of the tanks 45 and 47. (The wash cylinder 95 in FIG. 5 should be understood to have both of its end open and, therefore, there are two discharge spaces 112 provided in tank 45.) The discharge spaces are in direct flow communication with the interiors of the associated wash cylinders via the open ends of the cylinders. The discharge spaces 112, are of course, separated from the wash spaces 109 by the seal members 107. Connected in communication within the tank 45 is outlet conduit 115 which functions to withdraw liquid from discharge space 112. Pipe 117 is connected between the wash space 109 of tank 45 and the discharge space 112 of tank 47 to provide liquid flow therebetween.
Referring to FIG. 4, the outlet conduit 115 associated with the discharge space 112 in the first tank 45 is connected so that liquid drawn from the interior of the first wash cylinder 104 is carried to discharge. The outlet conduit 117 connected to the discharge space 112 in the second tank 47 is also connected to the wash space 109 of tank 45 so that liquid drawn from the interior of the second wash cylinder 105 is conveyed into the first tank 45.
The operation of the machine in FIG. 4 can now be understood with reference, for example, to wash cylinder 105 located in tank 47. Conduit 111 carries liquid into the wash space 109 of tank 47. Simultaneously, a pulp mat is carried between the endless belts 83 and 85 into the tank 47 and, with the belts, passes under the wash cylinder 105. From the wash space 109 in tank 47, liquid flows through the pulp mat into the wash cylinder 105. This flow is due to the hydrostatic head exterior of the wash cylinder exceeding the head within the wash cylinder. Liquid then flows through the open end of the wash cylinder 105 and into the discharge space 112. This liquid is then withdrawn from the discharge space 112 via the outlet conduit 117 and conveyed to tank 45. | A machine and process for washing paper stock pulp and similar free-filtering materials includes two or more horizontally-disposed wash drums mounted each in a tank. Two endless filter belts are trained to pass under each of said wash drums and through liquid contained in each of the tanks. A mat of pulp is formed between the two endless filter belts and carried under each of the wash drums for washing therein. Wash liquor passes through the pulp mat as it travels under each of the drums thereby washing the pulp mat, and the liquor passes between the drums and the tanks by gravity flow. After the pulp has been washed it is removed from between the two belts. | 3 |
PRIORITY APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/020,535, filed Jan. 11, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to apparatus, tools and methods for treating pelvic conditions by use of a pelvic implant to support pelvic tissue. The pelvic conditions include conditions of the female or male anatomy, and specifically include treatments of female or male urinary and fecal incontinence, and treatment of female vaginal prolapse conditions including enterocele, rectocele, cystocele, vault prolapse, and any of these conditions in combination. In particular, the present invention relates to tools for facilitating implantation of surgical implants that support pelvic tissue and that are secured in the abdominal area.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Pelvic health for men and women is a medical area of increasing importance, at least in part due to an aging population. Examples of common pelvic ailments include incontinence (fecal and urinary) and pelvic tissue prolapse (e.g., female vaginal prolapse). Urinary incontinence can further be classified as including different types, such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urge urinary incontinence, mixed urinary incontinence, among others. Other pelvic floor disorders include cystocele, rectocele, enterocele, and prolapse such as anal, uterine and vaginal vault prolapse. A cystocele is a hernia of the bladder, usually into the vagina and introitus. Pelvic disorders such as these can result from weakness or damage to normal pelvic support systems.
[0004] In its most severe forms, vaginal vault prolapse can result in the distension of the vaginal apex outside of the vagina. An enterocele is a vaginal hernia in which the peritoneal sac containing a portion of the small bowel extends into the rectovaginal space. Vaginal vault prolapse and enterocele represent challenging forms of pelvic disorders for surgeons. These procedures often involve lengthy surgical procedure times.
[0005] Urinary incontinence can be characterized by the loss or diminution in the ability to maintain the urethral sphincter closed as the bladder fills with urine. Male or female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when the patient is physically stressed.
[0006] One cause of urinary incontinence is damage to the urethral sphincter. Other causes include the loss of support of the urethral sphincter, such as can occur in males after prostatectomy or following radiation treatment, or that can occur due to pelvic accidents and aging related deterioration of muscle and connective tissue supporting the urethra. Other causes of male incontinence include bladder instability, over-flowing incontinence, and fistulas.
[0007] The female's natural support system for the urethra is a hammock-like supportive layer composed of endopelvic fascia, the anterior vaginal wall, and the arcus tendineus. Weakening and elongation of the pubourethral ligaments and the arcus tendineus fascia pelvis, and weakening of the endopelvic fascia and pubourethral prolapse of the anterior vaginal wall, may have a role in the loss of pelvic support for the urethra and a low non-anatomic position that leads to urinary incontinence.
[0008] In general, urinary continence is considered to be a function of urethral support and coaptation. For coaptation to successfully prevent or cure incontinence, the urethra must be supported and stabilized in its normal anatomic position. A number of surgical procedures and implantable medical devices have been developed over the years to provide urethral support and restore coaptation. Examples of such surgical instruments included Stamey needles, Raz needles, and Pereyra needles. See Stamey, Endoscopic Suspension of the Vesical Neck for Urinary Incontinence in Females, Ann. Surgery, pp. 465-471, October 1980; and Pereyra, A Simplified Surgical Procedure for the Correction of Stress Incontinence in Women, West. J. Surg., Obstetrics & Gynecology, pp. 243-246, July-August 1959. Other treatments involve implantation of a Kaufman Prosthesis, an artificial sphincter (such as the AMS-800 Urinary Control System available from American Medical Systems, Inc.), or a urethral sling procedure in which a urethral sling is inserted beneath the urethra and advanced to the retropubic space. Peripheral or extension portions of the elongated urethral sling are affixed to bone or body tissue at or near the retropubic space. A central support portion of the elongated urethral sling extends under the urethral or bladder neck to provide a platform that compresses the urethral sphincter, limits urethral distention and pelvic drop, and thereby improves coaptation. Similar attached slings or supports have been proposed for restoring proper positioning of pelvic organs, e.g., the vagina or bladder. In other procedures, autologous fascia was used as an artificial graft material that was placed under the bladder neck and tied or anchored to the pelvic bone.
SUMMARY
[0009] The present patent application describes pelvic implants and methods for treating pelvic conditions such as incontinence (various forms such as fecal incontinence, stress urinary incontinence, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, etc.), vaginal prolapse (including various forms such as enterocele, cystocele, rectocele, vault prolapse, etc.), among others. Embodiments of the various tools or introducers as well as the surgical techniques are described herein.
[0010] According to the invention, a sling, implant tool and method are being proposed that eliminate some of the challenges of the prior art. This involves placement of the graft material under the mid-urethra and not the bladder neck and so as to bring the “entire” graft material up to the abdominal wall fascia via a blind percutaneous approach thereby simplifying and securing the support of the bladder neck with a long hammock that transverses the endopelvic fascia and abdominal wall fascia. Although preferable in theory, instruments have been scarce that specifically facilitate retrieval and correct placement of the graft material and noninvasive anchoring of the graft to the abdominal wall. We propose such a surgical kit that would facilitate improved placement of the graft or sling material in the mid-urethra, via an easy percutaneous retrieval of the graft to the abdominal wall and adequate attachment of the graft material to the anterior rectus fascia avoiding suture slippage and long term infections. Therefore, we prefer that this novel introducer tool be packaged such that it is available in a sterilized form in a disposable kit.
[0011] Incontinence device kit of the invention includes all the materials necessary to perform a transvaginal sling procedure: 1) a disposable passer having an ovoid tip which permits penetration of the abdominal fascia retroperitoneal tissue and endopelvic fascia with adequate dilation of the endopelvic fascia to accept sling material. The tip of the passer is adapted to easily accept the end of the graft material so that it can atraumatically brought to the abdominal wall; 2) nonabsorbable graft material with a hole at the distal end so as to fit into the passer; 3) a calibrated catheter to permit localization of the correct incision over the urethra; 4) a water soluble button or clip or funnel through which the graft is placed. The graft is secured into the button and the button is then secured to the anterior abdominal wall fascia causing the graft to be securely fixed and prevents migration into the periostinium. The material is slowly absorbed over a fixed period or amount of time so that tissue ingrowth can secure the sling in place over time.
[0012] The invention also contemplates a method of treating urinary incontinence in male and female patients. The method includes creating at least one medial incision (a transvaginal incision or a perineal incision) under the mid-urethra, dissecting a tissue path on each side of the incision, passing a urinary incontinence sling through the incision whereby the urinary incontinence sling is suspended in the retropubic space or endopelvic fascia such that the sling body is positioned between the patient's urethra and vaginal wall (for a female) to provide support to the urethra and optionally exits at least one suprapubic or prepubic incision. For males, a perineal incision can be made to pass the sling through the incision and suspend the sling in a manner comparable to the sling installed in the female patient anatomy. A procedure for treating male urinary incontinence may be performed with or following a prostatectomy, or otherwise.
[0013] In addition to treating urinary incontinence, the invention also contemplates methods relating to other types of pelvic floor repairs. Currently, pelvic floor repairs are surgically treated through graft augmented repairs and with kit systems that use needles to deliver a graft through an incision on the anterior and posterior vaginal wall. These current procedures address tissue, muscle and ligament weakness in the pelvic floor such as rectoceles, enteroceles, cystoceles, apical, fecal and flatal incontinence, perineal and uterine descent.
[0014] Another aspect of the invention includes a combination (e.g., kit, system, etc.) of an implant, as described herein and which can be fashioned by the physician during surgery, along with a surgical tool or introducer for implanting the implant.
[0015] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of treating a pelvic condition. The method includes providing an implant according to the current description; providing an insertion tool that includes a handle and a needle extending from the handle, the needle including a proximal end attached to the handle and a distal end, the distal end including a needle having at least one hook for engaging an implant. In a related embodiment, the implant tool includes a balloon dilator along the length of the needle that is inflatable to dilate tissue in the pelvic/abdominal area when passing the needle through or when locating a pelvic implant. The balloon dilator can also be used in the implantation of other incontinence devices such as an artificial urinary sphincter or for facilitating implantation of bulk implants or bulking agents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0016] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be seen as the following description of particular embodiment's progress in conjunction with the drawings. Drawings are schematic and not to scale.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the surgical tool kit for implanting a pelvic implant.
[0018] FIGS. 2A-2C are schematics of the top, side and expanded views of the needle portion and needle end of the surgical tool/introducer of FIG. 1 .
[0019] FIGS. 3A & 3B illustrate one embodiment of a balloon dilating introducer, tip operation and mesh capturing device according to the invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a pelvic implant kit that includes an implant tool according to the invention.
[0021] FIGS. 5A-5G illustrate the various steps of the surgical method for locating an implant using the implant tool of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] The following description is meant to be illustrative only and not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description.
[0023] The present invention is directed to surgical instruments, assemblies, and implantable articles for treating pelvic floor disorders such as fecal or urinary incontinence, including stress urinary incontinence (SUI), prolapse, etc. According to various embodiments, a surgical implant can be used to treat a pelvic condition, including the specific examples of implanting a support member (“implant”) to treat a condition such as vaginal vault prolapse or incontinence (male or female). Described are various features of surgical implants, surgical tools, surgical systems, surgical kits, and surgical methods, useful for installing implants. An implant can be implanted in a male or a female to treat disorders such as urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, overflow incontinence, functional incontinence, fecal incontinence, or for female conditions including prolapse (e.g. vaginal or uterine), enteroceles (e.g. of the uterus), rectoceles, cystocele, and anatomic hypermobility.
[0024] Exemplary implants can include a tissue support portion for placing in contact with tissue to be supported and one or more “extension” portions, the tissue support portion being useful to support a specific type of pelvic tissue such as the urethra, bladder, or vaginal tissue (anterior, posterior, apical, etc.). The tissue support portion can be sized and shaped to contact the desired tissue when installed, e.g., as a “sling” or “hammock,” to contact and support pelvic tissue. A tissue support portion that is located between two or more extension or extension portions is sometimes referred to herein as a “central support portion” or a “support portion.”
[0025] Extension portions are elongate pieces of material that extend from the tissue support portion and either are or can be connected to the tissue support portion, and are useful to attach to anatomical features in the pelvic region to thereby provide support for the tissue support portion and the supported tissue. One or multiple (e.g., one, two, or four) extension portions can extend from the tissue support portion as elongate “ends,” “arms,” or “extensions,” useful to attach to tissue in the pelvic region, such as by extending through a tissue path to an internal anchoring point as described herein.
[0026] Types of exemplary implants that can be generally useful as discussed herein can include those previously and currently used in treating pelvic conditions, including those implants referred to as urethral “slings,” “strips,” “mesh strips,” “hammocks,” among other terms for pelvic implants.
[0027] Referring now to the Figures, FIG. 1 and 2 A- 2 C illustrate one embodiment of the surgical tool kit 100 for implanting a pelvic implant (transvaginally or transperineally) as well as a schematic of the top, side and expanded views of the needle portion and needle end of the surgical tool/introducer of FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, kit 100 includes four (4) instruments: a passer ( 110 ), sling or mesh material ( 120 ), a water soluble fascial anchor (not shown) such as a button or clip, and a calibrated catheter ( 130 ) to measure urethral length, and optional instructional tape or video ( 140 ). The passer consists of a handle ( 112 ), curved metal shaft ( 114 ), and unique bend ( 116 ). The handle is shaped to be ergonomically favorable and to permit easy leverage of the device as it is passed percutaneously through the abdominal wall tissue. The handle indentations ( 113 ) permit an easy grasp of the handle. The metal shaft is shaped so as to pass along the pubic bone and not perforate the underlying bladder. The angle of the distal portion of the shaft can vary from 0 degrees to 90 degrees.
[0028] The bend of the passer is uniquely shaped in an ovoid geometry to protect adjacent organs and to avoid the needle from straying away from the preferred path. This permits easy passage through the endopelvic fascia with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue or bleeding. The shape and size also permits dilation of the endopelvic fascia to adequately pull the graft material through the endopelvic fascia. Although it is preferred as an ovoid geometry, any atraumatic geometry can suffice, including bulbous or circular. In its preferred embodiment, the head and hook are parallel with the plane of the shaft; the hook being co-linear with the shaft. At the tip of the head is a sharp protuberance. This sharp protuberance provides a point for piercing the abdominal wall fascia, underlying pelvic tissue and endopelvic fascia.
[0029] The graft material or sling 120 must be of sufficient length to reach the abdominal wall on both sides. The material can consist of various autologous and biologic materials including autologous fascia, bovine fascia, absorbable mesh, a non-absorbable mesh such or polypropylene. The mesh width can also vary from 2-3 centimeters. At each end of the mesh is a hole which permits the passer 110 to engage the mesh and pull it upwards to the abdominal wall. In its preferred embodiment this is a hole although it can also be a closed loop (or other shapes that permit engagement with the hook at the needle end) that protrudes from the end of the tape.
[0030] The urethral catheter is also included. The catheter is placed into the bladder to measure urethral length. The surgeon may then know how far away from the top of the urethra in order to make the incision so that the sling can be correctly placed in the mid-urethral section. The abdominal button serves as an anchor to prevent the sling from falling back into the retropelvic or retropubic space. Although this clip device can be constructed of non-absorbable material, absorbable material is its preferred embodiment. It can be constructed from a water soluble polypropylene which gradually dissolves over a predetermined period of time. The button has various shapes and sizes but in its preferred embodiment is a truncated graduated shape with the narrow end facing down towards the pelvic floor (like an upside down funnel or cone). In the center of the button is a slit, slot or hole which is of sufficient size to permit passage of the graft material through the center of the button.
[0031] In the preferred embodiment, the button is constructed of a water soluble material which dissolves over a period of 1-2 months. Water soluble material provides a stable fixation for a period of several weeks, allowing the graft material to become incorporated into the surrounding tissue. After this period is allowed, the water soluble material should become absorbed so that within several months it has disappeared, thereby eliminating the need for post-operative removal of the button and avoiding infection from a permanent fixation device. The material utilized to construct the clip or button includes polypropylene.
[0032] The surgical kit of the invention would permit easy access by the surgeon to each of these materials needed to conduct the surgery. The kit would come in a sterile, disposable tray or holder, including the tissue passer, fashioned or customizable graft material, calibrated urethra catheter and water soluble fascial buttons for fixation.
[0033] In another embodiment of the invention, FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate one embodiment of a balloon dilating introducer 300 . Introducer 300 includes a tip that operates in a manner that facilitates various pelvic implant treatments including, but not limited to, urinary and fecal incontinence and other pelvic conditions in both men and women.
[0034] Referring further to FIGS. 3A and 3B , dilator tool or introducer 300 includes a handle 302 , an elongated portion 304 , and a needle tip 306 with an engageable hook portion 308 that is activated by a button 310 located on handle 302 . Handle 302 further includes syringe type mechanism 312 to inflate a balloon dilation member 308 is located on or about the elongate portion of the needle. Dilator member 308 is located proximal to tip 306 . FIG. 3A illustrates how needle tip 306 can be opened and closed to engage the mesh or closed to avoid engaging tissue while the needle is being passed through the pelvic tissue. Dilator tool 300 facilitates the implantation of meshes or other devices by dilating tissue as the tool is introduced or when the tool is being pulled from the patient, so dilation can occur in both directions depending upon the physician's needs and choice. FIG. 3B illustrates how a mesh or sling can be captured by a button or clip device at or near or below the skin and in the fascia, to prevent sling slippage after surgery.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a pelvic implant kit 400 with the implant tool 410 , a sling or mesh implant 420 , abdominal clips, buttons and/or funnels 430 , a urethral catheter 440 for calibrating the urethral length and a balloon dilator tool of according to the invention.
[0036] Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5G , there is illustrated the various steps of the surgical method for locating an implant using the implant tool 300 (or other tools described in this application). In the initial step, a urethral or medial incision is made under the urethra (clitoris is shown for positioning). Dilator tool 300 is then inserted uninflated or inflated through the incision so as to either pass the needle through or pass the needle and dilate tissue as the needle is being passed through. Suprapubic or prepubic incision or incisions can be made earlier in the procedure to allow for passage of tool 300 or the tool can puncture the abdominal skin from the inside when the needle is passed underneath. Once tool 300 exits the suprapubic incision, a sling or mesh can be pulled back through and out of the urethral or perineal incision. The step is repeated on the other side to form a U or V shape under the urethra or other tissue or organ that is being supported (such as the rectum). The mesh can be made from Martex or Prolene™ (polypropylene), a biologic material or autologous or cadaveric tissue. FIG. 5G illustrates a side view of the exit points of the mesh and how they can be held in place with clips or funnels or the like.
[0037] For a typical procedure for treating any pelvic condition, a patient may be first placed under local, spinal, or general anesthesia. According to exemplary methods of treating a female condition of incontinence (e.g., a small, medial, transvaginal incision for treating female urinary incontinence) is made in the upper wall of the vagina under the mid-urethra. For implantation of a sling to treat incontinence in a male, a perineal incision may be made instead. The incision should be large enough for the surgeon to place the sling through the incision using selected instruments. A desired amount of tissue may optionally be dissected on each side, for placement of sling. In one embodiment the tissue may be dissected approximately 1-2 centimeters in each direction away from the urethra.
[0038] As previously discussed, the sling or a portion of an implant may be positioned inside a sleeve before the implant is inserted through the incision. In alternate embodiments, sleeve may not be used or necessary, depending on surgeon preference. In one embodiment, sleeve or a delivery tool can cover the woven portion during implantation. As described herein, embodiments of the invention can involve the use of various types of delivery tools to prevent an extension portion of an implant from contacting tissue of a tissue path during insertion of the extension portion through a tissue path.
[0039] The precise anatomical position of an implant can depend on a variety of factors including the type and degree of anatomical damage, location of significant scar tissue, and whether the procedure is combined with other procedures. Typically, an implant such as a urethral sling (e.g., sling) can be placed mid-urethra, without tension, but in position to support the mid-urethra. Alternately, the sling could be placed to support the bladder neck and/or UV junction. Implants for use to treat prolapse can be positioned at the middle or posterior vagina, or vaginal vault. Implants for treating fecal incontinence can be placed in the posterior portion of the pelvic region to support tissue for treating fecal incontinence.
[0040] Sling tension may be adjusted by a tension member such as a tensioning suture disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,450. The tensioning suture may be constructed from a permanent or absorbable (i.e., bioresorbable or bioabsorbable) material. In still further embodiments, an implant such as sling can be introduced with a desired amount of tension in a number of different ways, such as those discussed elsewhere in the present description. A plastic sleeve or sheath, if present, may be removed after implantation of an implant such as sling and before the adjustment of tension by a tension member such as a tensioning suture. Once the implant is positioned and optionally tensioned or adjusted, the incision may be closed.
[0041] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the treatment of female urinary continence, it should be appreciated that many of these embodiments would also be suitable to repair a variety of pelvic conditions in both males and females. For example, embodiments of the present invention would be suitable for a variety of pelvic floor repairs and/or treatments, including pelvic organ prolapse repair, levator hiatus repair, fecal incontinence treatment, perineal body support and hysterectomy support.
[0042] The following patents and publications are also herein incorporated by reference in their entireties: US Publications 2002/0128670; 2003/0191480; 2005/0148813; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,506,190; and 7,131,944; and WO 2006/069078 A2.
[0043] Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof. | Pelvic implant system having a sling implant that can be inserted into a patient's pelvic cavity with an introducer needle device. The introducer needle device includes a handle portion having an actuator. An elongate needle portion extends away from the handle and has an engagement hook proximate a distal end of the elongate needle portion. The engagement hook is capable of selectively engaging a portion of the sling implant upon activation of the handle actuator. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a receiver in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communications system.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] UWB wireless communication, which uses a signal pulse width on the order of several nanoseconds, is attracting attention as wireless communication that can achieve high-speed data transmission with low power consumption. UWB wireless communication is susceptible to the effects of timing jitter arising on the receiving side, and there is a possibility that the transmission error rate may deteriorate greatly due to interference among pulse signals arising due to the use of large numbers of devices. Conceivable methods of improving this transmission error rate include the application of channel encoding. Up until now, Reed-Solomon encoding, convolutional encoding and turbo encoding have been studied as the channel encoding in UWB wireless communications, and convolutional encoding and turbo encoding have been shown to be effective.
[0005] Reference Document 1 (R. Herzog, A. Schmitbauer, and J. Hagenauer, “Iterative Decoding and Despreading Improves CDMA-Systems using M-ary Orthogonal Modulation and FEC,” IEEE International Conference on Communications, Montreal, Canada, pp. 909-913, June 1997.) reports an iterative decoding method of the constitution shown in FIG. 4 . This reported decoding method is a constitution wherein the turbo principle presented in Reference Document 5 (J. Hagenauer, “The turbo principle: Tutorial introduction and state of the art,” International Symposium on Turbo Codes, Brest, France, pp. 1-11, September 1997.) is used as a decoding method for improving the transmission error rate in the IS-95(B) Code Division Multiple Access system using narrowband signals. In FIG. 4 , the output from a Fast Hadamard Transformer (FHT) is sent to a channel decoder via a deinterleaver, and in the decoder decoding is performed based on the Maximum A posteriori Probability (MAP) decoding algorithm or the Soft Output Viterbi Algorithm (SOVA), and the output is fed back to the FHT as a priori information. Decoding of the input and output from each FHT and is performed using the log likelihood ratio which is soft information.
[0006] In addition, Reference Document 2 (S. ten Brink, “Iterative Decoding for Multicode CDMA,” IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Vol. 3, pp. 1876-1880, May 1999.) reports the iterative decoding method illustrated in FIG. 5 . This reported decoding illustrates a method wherein iterative decoding is performed on the receiving side by using the turbo principle illustrated in Reference Document 5 in narrowband multicode CDMA where a plurality of spread codes are used to perform parallel transmission. Regarding the constitution of FIG. 5 , the likelihood of information transmitted in each spread signal is calculated in the code demapper, and this likelihood information is sent to the decoder via a deinterleaver, and in the decoder, decoding is performed based on an a posteriori probability (APP) decoding algorithm, and the output is fed back to the code decoder as a priori information. Decoding of the input and output from each code demapper and decoder is performed using the log likelihood ratio which is soft information.
[0007] The conventional decoding methods described above are ones intended to improve the transmission error rate characteristics of iterative decoding on the receiver side when using the turbo principle in narrowband Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Each consists of a block that calculates the likelihood of transmitted spread codes along with a deinterleaver, decoder and interleaver, thus achieving iterative decoding by the feedback of likelihood information from the decoder via the interleaver.
[0008] In addition, Reference Document 3 (03154r2P802-15_TG3a Xtreme Spectrum CFP Presentation. Proposal for IEEE 802.15.3a. May 2003.) presents a study of the application of convolutional code or Reed-Solomon code to UWB wireless communication. On the receiving side, hard decisions are made on each pulse signal and decoding is performed on each code. Since hard decisions are made on the receiver side, the improvement of the transmission error rate characteristics becomes smaller than in the case of using iterative decoding based on a soft-input/soft-output algorithm.
[0009] In addition, Reference Document 4 (N. Yamamoto and T. Ohtsuki, “Adaptive internally turbo-coded ultra wideband-impulse radio (AITC-UWB-IR) system,” IEEE International Conference on Communications 2003, pp. 3535-3539, May 2003.) applies turbo codes to UWB wireless communications. As shown in FIG. 6 , the receiving side consists of a pulse correlator, integrator and turbo decoder. In this method of Reference Document 4, recalculation of the likelihood information on received pulses is not performed using a priori information from the decoder.
[0010] The present invention has as its object to provide a receiver that is able to improve the transmission error rate in an arbitrarily encoded UWB wireless communications system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention provides a receiver comprising a pulse demapper that, based on an a posteriori probability decoding algorithm, calculates soft likelihood information for each bit from a priori information with respect to a sent pulse waveform and received signals; a first interleaver that uses on a sending side an output from the pulse demapper to make an interleaving operation; a deinterleaver that makes a deinterleaving operation; a channel decoder that calculates likelihood information for each of code word bits and likelihood information for information bits, respectively, from deinterleaved likelihood information; a second interleaver that interleaves an output of the channel decoder with respect to the code words; and a feedback circuit that provides feedback to the pulse demapper, of an output of the second interleaver as an a priori information for use in a second and subsequent iterations of decoding.
[0012] In the receiver in an ultra-wideband wireless system just mentioned above, the deinterleaver deinterleaves external information calculated by said pulse demapper and found by subtracting the a priori probability for each bit from a log likelihood ratio for each bit of the interleaved code words, the deinterleaved external information being for use in said channel decoder in decoding as the a priori probability with respect to the code word bits.
[0013] In the receiver in an ultra-wideband wireless system just mentioned above, the second interleaver interleaves external information that is found by subtracting the a priori probability from the logo likelihood information ratio for the code word, the interleaved external information being for being provided as feedback to the pulse demapper and used as the a priori probability in a second and subsequent iterations of decoding.
[0014] By using a receiver according to this invention, it is possible to improve the transmission error rate characteristics by iterative processing in the receiver of any UWB wireless communications system constituted as shown in FIG. 1 . As a result, one can expect an increased transmission range and an increased user capacity. In addition, iterative decoding can improve the transmission error rate characteristics proportionally to the increase in computational cost due to iteration. Thereby, it is also possible to adapt the computational cost by increasing or decreasing the number of iterations proportionally to the transmission error rate or throughput required.
[0015] In addition, with the present invention, it is possible to reduce the loss in encoding gain due to hard decisions by using soft likelihood information. In addition, the present invention is effective not only with respect only to a specific combination of pulse mapping and channel coding, but rather it can be applied to any UWB wireless communications system constituted as shown in FIG. 1 and improve its transmission error rare characteristics.
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWING
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the transmitting-side constitution in a UWB wireless system according to the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is the receiving-side constitution in a UWB wireless system according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the results of simulation of the present invention in an AWGN channel.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a first constitution of a conventional encoding method.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a second constitution of a conventional encoding method.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a third constitution of a conventional encoding method.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] The present invention discloses a method of improving the transmission error rate characteristics by performing iterative decoding between the pulse demapper and decoder in the receiver of a channel-encoded UWB wireless communications system. Iterative decoding is a decoding method that is able to successively improve the error rate characteristics by using soft likelihood information and performing the exchange of likelihood information between the pulse demapper and channel decoder via the deinterleaver or interleaver. The likelihood information output from the pulse demapper is calculated from a priori information (a priori probability) with respect to the each codeword bit and the received pulse signals. This a priori information is related to likelihood information with respect to the sent pulse waveforms, and in the event that this a priori information is not present, then all possibly sent waveforms take the same probability. The likelihood information calculated in the pulse demapper is exchanged with the channel decoder via the deinterleaver. In the channel decoder, decoding is performed and the soft likelihood information is calculated based on the received likelihood information. The calculated likelihood information is fed back to the pulse demapper via the interleaver and used as a priori information in the pulse demapper. By repeating this operation, iterative decoding is achieved between the pulse demapper and channel decoder. After a stipulated number of iterations of decoding, a hard decision on the likelihood information is made in the decoder based on the sign code thereof, to obtain the received bit.
[0023] First, the sending-side constitution in an ultra-wideband wireless system will be described using FIG. 1 . As data, an information bit sequence u={u 1 , . . . , u k , . . . , u k } is encoded with an arbitrary channel encoding by a channel encoding unit 11 to obtain a code word c={c 1 , . . . , C n , . . . , c N }. An interleaver 12 performs bit-level interleaving on this code word c. The interleaver size is set to the same N bits as the code word length. The interleaved code word c′={c′ 1 , . . . , c′ n , . . . , c′ N } is mapped symbol-wise by a pulse mapper 13 into corresponding pulse signals, taking K p bits to be 1 symbol. Taking M to be the types of sent pulse waveforms, the amount of information that can be sent per pulse signal is given by K p =log 2 M bits. The pulse signal corresponding to the i th symbol is given as s(i). In addition, P={s 1 , . . . , s m , . . . , s M } is the set of M types of sent pulse waveform. Each pulse signal Sm is a pulse waveform having the pulse time-width T F . The code word c′-mapped pulse signal train S={s(1), . . . , s(i), . . . , s(N/K p )} is sent to the channel through a band-limit filter.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates the receiver-side constitution in a UWB wireless system that uses iterative decoding. The received pulse signal r i (t) for the i th symbol is first fed to the pulse correlator 21 , which consists of M correlators corresponding to the pulses s m (m=1, . . . M) in P. The output from the m th correlator for the i th received symbol is given as
z i,m =∫ t=0 T P s m ( t ) r i ( t ) dt (1)
[0025] Here, T p denotes the time duration of the pulse.
[0026] Likelihood information L(c′) for the code word c′ is calculated in a pulse demapper 22 . The calculation of likelihood information is performed symbol-wise, with L(c′ i·Kp ) being calculated based on a priori information with respect to the the code word bits c′ (i−1)Kp+1 to c′ i·Kp from these K p bits of likelihood information L(c′ (i−1)Kp+1 ) and the received pulse signal R. The a priori information is given by an a priori probability L a (c′) fed back from the channel decoder 4 . Thus, there is no a priori probability during the first decoding and so the calculation of a priori information is performed assuming L a (c′)=0.
[0027] The extrinsic information L e (c′) found by subtracting L a (c′) from L(c′) is deinterleaved by a deinterleaver 23 and then used in a channel decoder 24 in the decoding of the channel code as the a priori probability L a (C) with respect to the code word bits.
[0028] In the channel decoder 24 , the likelihood information L a (c) and L(u) with respect to the code word c and information bit u are calculated using a soft-input/soft-output decoding algorithm, such as the maximum a posteriori probability decoding algorithm or the soft output Viterbi algorithm. In addition, the extrinsic information L e (c) found by subtracting the likelihood information in the decoder L a (c) from the likelihood information L(c) is interleaved by an interleaver 25 and then fed back to the pulse demapper 22 and used as the a priori probability L a (c′) in the second and subsequent iterations of decoding. The interleaver 25 provided in the feedback circuit is the same as that used on the sending side.
[0029] After the iterative decoding is performed the stipulated number of times, the hard-decision decoded bit is obtained by making a decision on the sign code of the likelihood information L(u).
[0030] The method of calculating the likelihood information in the pulse demapper 22 will now be presented. Assuming that the channel is an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, if a decoding algorithm using the a posteriori probability is used, then the likelihood information L(c′ n ) of each bit c′ n output from the pulse demapper is represented by Equation (2).
L ( c n ′ ) = log ∑ c n ′ = 1 , s m P ( s m | r i ) ∑ c n ′ = 0 , s m P ( s m | r i ) = log ∑ c n ′ = 1 , s m P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) ∑ c n ′ = 0 , s m P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) = log [ ∑ c n ′ = 1 , s m P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) ] - log [ ∑ c n ′ = 0 , s m P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) ] ≈ log [ max c n ′ = 1 , s m { P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) } ] - log [ max c n ′ = 0 , s m { P ( r i | s m ) P ( s m ) } ] = max c n ′ = 1 , s m [ log P ( r i | s m ) + log P ( s m ) ] - max c n ′ = 0 , s m [ log P ( r i | s m ) + log P ( s m ) ] ( 2 )
Here, i is the largest integer less than n/K p , and the code word bit c′ n represents the corresponding symbol. In this formula, the approximation in Equation (2) is derived from the assumption that the P(s m )P(r i |s m ) with respect to the largest pulse waveform is sufficiently larger than the other values. P(s m ) is a priori information (a priori probability) for all pulse waveforms (m=1, . . . , M), which is calculated from a priori information from the L a (C) decoder. In the event that there is no a priori information, it becomes 1/M which is an equal probability for all pulse waveforms. In addition, P(r i |s m ) is a conditional probability, becoming as in Equation (3) since an AWGN channel is assumed.
P ( r i | s m ) = ∏ t = 0 T F 1 2 π σ exp ( - r i ( t ) - s m ( t ) 2 2 σ 2 ) ( 3 ) = Const · exp ( - 1 2 σ 2 ∫ t = 0 T F s m ( t ) 2 ⅆ t ) exp ( 1 σ 2 ∫ t = 0 T F s m ( t ) r i ( t ) ⅆ t ) = Const · exp ( - E m 2 σ 2 + 1 σ 2 ∫ t = 0 T F s m ( t ) r i ( t ) ⅆ t ) = Const · exp ( - E m 2 σ 2 + z i , m σ 2 )
The Const in Equation (3) is a constant such that P(r i |s m ) becomes the same value with respect to all pulse waveforms. The electrical power of each pulse waveform is given by E m =∫|s m (t) 2 dt and σ is the standard deviation of noise. In Equation (3), if the electrical power of each pulse waveform is taken to be equal, then the term E m can be included in Const, giving Equation (4).
P ( r i | s m ) = Const · exp ( z i , m σ 2 ) ( 4 )
Here, z i,m is the correlator outputs given in Equation (1). In Equation (4), if the Const which becomes the same value in each of the pulse waveforms is ignored, substituting into Equation (2) gives Equation (5).
L ( c n ′ ) ≈ max c n ′ = 1 , s m ( log P ( s m ) + z i , m σ 2 ) - max c n ′ = 0 , s m ( log P ( s m ) + z i , m σ 2 ) ( 5 )
Here, log P(s m ) is a priori information (a priori probability) for all pulse waveforms. Starting from the second iteration of decoding, for the i th symbol, log P(s m ) is calculated as follows since the likelihood information from the decoder is the log likelihood ratio L a (c′ n )=log {P(c′ n =1)/P(c′ n =0)}.
log P ( s m ) = log P ( c m ′ | Mapping ( c m ′ ) = s m ) = - ∑ n m 0 L a ( c ( i - 1 ) K p + n m 0 ′ ) + Const ( 6 )
Here, c′ m is a K-bit string transferred to the pulse waveform s m in mapping. In addition, mm represents the bit position that is 0 in c′ m (n m 0 ε{1, . . . , K p }). The Const in Equation (6) is different from the one in Equation (4) but it is a constant common to all pulse waveforms. If the formula represented by this Equation (6) is substituted into Equation (5), ignoring the Const of Equation (6), this becomes as follows.
L ( c n ′ ) = max c n ′ = 1 , s m { - ∑ n m 0 L a ( c ( i - 1 ) K p + n m 0 ′ ) + z i , m σ 2 } - max c k ′ = 0 , s m { - ∑ n m 0 L a ( c ( i - 1 ) K p + n m 0 ′ ) + z m , m σ 2 } ( 7 )
[0031] Thus, the likelihood information L(c′ n ) is found by addition and maximum-value calculation using the correlator output z i,m weighted by the noise variance σ 2 and the a priori probability L a (c′ n ) fed back from the decoder. The likelihood information indicated by Equation (8), found by subtracting the a priori probability L a (c′ n ) from this likelihood information, is sent to the decoder via the deinterleaver.
L e ( c′ n )= L ( c′ n )− L a ( c′ n ) (8)
Simulation Results:
[0032] Table 1 presents the simulation parameters. In addition, FIG. 3 presents the results of a simulation in an AWGN channel. FIG. 3 presents the bit error rate (BER) as a function of the signal-to-noise power ratio per bit (E b /N 0 ) as a result of up to five iterations of decoding, along with the case of no encoding performed for comparison. The result of one iteration of decoding agrees with the bit error rate characteristic in the case that no iterative decoding is performed. One can see that the error rate characteristic can be successively improved by performing the iterative decoding between the pulse demapper and decoder according to the present invention. In addition, upon comparing the case of performing no encoding and the case of performing five iterations of decoding, one can see that a gain of approximately 3.2 dB is obtained in the signal-to-noise power ratio per bit required to obtain a bit error rate of 10 −5 . Upon comparing the result of one iteration of decoding (the case of not performing iterative decoding) and the case of performing five iterations of decoding, one can see that a gain of approximately 2.0 dB is obtained. Upon considering the free-propagation model of distance-squared attenuation, the distance at which a bit error rate of 10 −5 can be obtained can be multiplied by 1.25 by five iterations of iterative decoding.
TABLE 1 Simulation parameters Channel decoding (5, 7) 8 non-recursive, non-systematic convolutional code Pulse modulation M-ary Bi-orthogonal Keying (M = 8) Pulse waveform Gaussian monocycle waveform Number of users 1 Channel AWGN channel Decoding algorithm max-log MAP algorithm given by (7) Interleaver Random interleaver
[0033] The present invention is a constitution and method of iterative decoding between the pulse demapper and decoder of channel codes in a channel-encoded UWB wireless communications system. By using approximate calculation in the pulse demapper, likelihood information can be easily calculated with the operations of addition and maximum-value calculation. In a computer simulation, when using convolutional codes, upon comparing the bit error rate characteristic in the case in which encoding is not performed against the case in which five iterations of decoding are performed, one can see that a gain of approximately 3.2 dB is obtained at a bit error rate of 10 −5 . | This invention has as its object to implement the constitution of a receiver that receives signals sent by performing multi-valued pulse modulation and performs iterative decoding. The constitution includes: (1) a bank of pulse correlators that achieves correlation with all predetermined sent pulse waveforms, (2) a pulse demapper that calculates the log likelihood ratio for each bit of the interleaved code word from said pulse correlator outputs and a priori information for each bit, (3) a deinterleaver that performs deinterleaving on the output from said pulse demapper, (4) a decoder that calculates likelihood information for the deinterleaved code word bits and information bits, respectively, (5) an interleaver that interleaves the output of the decoder in the same manner as on the sending side, and (6) a feedback circuit that provides feedback of the output of said interleaver as a priori probability to the pulse demapper. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is based on provisional application Ser. No. 60/043,649, filed Apr. 11, 1997.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a hand held device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flashlight, and still more particularly to a penlight that is constructed of materials having relatively low magnetic susceptibilities. This provides the penlight of the present invention as a useful instrument in the vicinity of a magnetic resonance scanner.
2. Prior Art
The prior art is replete with various types of hand held devices such as flashlights made of metal materials that are not useful in the presence of the strong magnetic fields of a magnetic resonance scanner. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,067,646 to Downey; 1,877,077 to Stevens; 2,459,702 to Hipwell et al.; 2,651,763 to Grimsley; 3,890,498 to Toth, Sr.; 4,203,150 to Shamlian; 4,237,527 to Breedlove; 4,286,311 to Maglica; 5,593,222 to Maglica; and 5,601,359 to Sharrah et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,623 to Bauman describes a hand held laryngoscope constructed of non-ferrous materials such as ABS with the electrically conductive portions provided by first applying a thin copper layer to the ABS followed by electroless plating and then electrolytically plating another copper layer to form a conductive layer about 0.5 to 2 mils thick. A thin layer of aluminum is subsequentially applied to the copper coating in those areas intended to be reflective. The batteries powering this device are not further described, but may be of a nickel/cadmium type commonly used for such applications. Nickel/cadmium batteries are not considered to be relatively nonmagnetic and would not be useful with the flashlight of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 310,004 to Weston; 485,089 to Carhart; 2,282,979 to Murphy; 3,352,715 to Zaromb; 3,673,000 to Ruetschi and 4,318,967 to Ruetschi disclose anti- or non-magnetic materials in cells or batteries. Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,864,880 to Kaye; 2,982,807 to Dassow et al.; 4,053,687 to Coiboin et al.; 4,264,688 to Catanzarite; 4,595,641 to Giutino; 5,104,752 to Baughman et al.; 5,149,598 to Sunshine; 5,173,371 to Huhndorff et al.; 5,194,340 Kasako; 5,418,087 to Klein; and 5,443,924 to Spellman relate to batteries having means for assuring that proper battery polarity is established. However, none of these patents describe power sources that are useful with the hand held device of the present invention because they either include at least some magnetic components, do not have sufficient energy density for extended use or do not have a terminal configuration similar to that of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,926 to Heitman et al. discloses an illuminating assembly for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.
There is needed a flashlight, and particularly a penlight, that is capable of withstanding conditions which exist in close proximity to the strong magnetic field of an MRI scanner. For that purpose, the penlight of the present invention is constructed largely of components having low magnetic susceptibilities. With the ever increasing use of magnetic resonance scanning to aid medical personnel during pre- and post-clinical and surgical procedures, hand held devices such as a flashlight constructed of materials that have as low a magnetic susceptibility as possible are needed to facilitate the completion of the procedure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The penlight of the present invention is constructed of materials including metal components such as brass and beryllium copper having very low magnetic susceptibilities. Those parts not made of metal are preferably formed of a non-magnetic thermoplastic material, for example an acetal compound such as DELRIN. The battery powering the penlight lamp is also constructed of materials having low magnetic susceptibilities. Lithium batteries are required for that purpose, and all components such as the casing, terminal leads, current collectors and collector leads, some of which are typically made of nickel in conventional lithium batteries, are constructed of non-magnetic, austenitic stainless steel having a magnetic susceptibility of about 3,520 to 6,700×10 6 .
These and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following description and to the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a penlight 10 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, partly in elevation, of the penlight 10 shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an exploded view, partly in elevation, of the penlight 10 shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As defined in this application, the word "distal" is used to describe that portion of the penlight that extends away from the user holding the handle, and the word "proximal" is used to describe that portion of the penlight that extends toward the user holding the device by the handle.
Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 to 3 show a penlight 10 having low magnetic susceptibility characteristics according to the present invention comprised of a housing 12 having a handle section 14 and a forward section 16 extending distally from the handle. The housing 12 is of a non-magnetic material, preferably of an acetal compound such as DELRIN. The handle 14 comprises a tubular side wall 18 extending from an end wall 20 surrounding a proximal opening and having a cylindrical outer surface leading to a frusto-conical portion 22 that tapers downwardly along the longitudinal axis of the housing 12 to a reduced diameter step 24 of the forward section 16. The step 24 meets a first, cylindrical section 26 extending to an increased diameter step 28 meeting a second, gradually curved section 30 that terminates at forward end wall 32. The cylindrical section 26 between the steps 24 and 28 provides a recess for mounting a product label (not shown) and the like.
The interior of the tubular side wall 18 provides a first, cylindrically-shaped bore 34 extending along a major portion of the handle 14 to a first, internal step 36 that meets a second, cylindrically-shaped bore 38 extending along a minor portion of the handle 14, along the frusto-conical section 22 and along a major portion of the forward section 16 to a second, internal step 40 that meets a third cylindrically-shaped bore 42 extending along the remainder of the forward section 16 to end wall 32. The diameter of the third bore 42 is less than that of the second bore 38 which, in turn, is less than the diameter of the first bore 34. An annular channel 44 is provided in the first, cylindrically-shaped bore 34 of the handle section 14 adjacent to end wall 20. An opening 46 having an inwardly curved surface is provided through the tubular side wall 18 adjacent to step 36.
A lamp 48 is housed in the third, cylindrically-shaped bore 42 and an adjacent part of the second bore 38, and is secured in place by a first tubular member or sleeve 50. The sleeve 50 is a conductive member, preferably made of brass, having a diameter only slightly less than that of the second bore 38. Brass is a useful material for the present invention because it has a low magnetic susceptibility. A brass that has been determined to be particularly useful with the present invention has the following composition, by weight:
______________________________________ copper 62 to 65% cadmium <0.02% iron <0.03% lead <0.03% tin <0.03% zinc remainder______________________________________
A brass tube (5.6 mm OD×4.5 mm ID×122.6 mm long, mass of 9.810 g) of this material showed no magnetic attraction to the static field of a GE Signa 1.5 Tesla MR imaging system. In addition, the artifact associated with the tube material were equal in size of the tube (1:1 ratio), the material exhibited little, if any, RF heating and minimal alignment torquing under the influence of the strong magnetic field of the MR scanner. For a more detailed discussion of testing performed on this brass material, reference is made to a U.S. patent application titled "Endoscope Having Low Magnetic Susceptibility" (attorney docket no. 04645.0438), which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
A lamp suitable for use with the present penlight 10 having a low magnetic susceptibility is available from The Bulb Man Inc., Buffalo, N.Y. under model no. Philips #222. A distal end of the sleeve 50 abuts the lamp housing 52 with a proximal end thereof contacted by an outer coil spring 54. The outer spring 54 is of a conductive material, preferably of beryllium copper. A second sleeve 56, similar to the first sleeve 50, abuts the other end of the outer spring 54 and extends to a proximal end flush with the first step 36.
A non-magnetic tube 58, preferably of a polymeric material, for example an acetal compound such as DELRIN, is housed inside the first tubular member 50, outer spring 54 and the second tubular member 56. A distal end of the tube 58 contacts an insulator portion 60 of the lamp 48 with a proximal end thereof flush with the end of the second, tubular member 56 and step 36.
A first contact rod 62, preferably of a conductive material such as brass, is housed inside of a distal portion of the tube 58. Rod 62 is biased in electrical association with a contact 64 of lamp 48 by an inner coil spring 66, preferably of a conductive material such as beryllium copper. The inner spring 66 in turn biases against a second contact rod 68, preferably of a conductive material such as brass, that extends along the remaining length of the non-magnetic tube 58 with a proximal portion 70 of the second rod 68 extending beyond the first step 36. An axial bore 72 is provided in the proximal portion 70 of the second contact rod 68 and serves to house a resistor 74.
A contact ring 76, preferably of a conductive material such as brass, is disposed inside the first cylindrically-shaped bore 34 of the handle section 14 abutting the first step 36 to secure the first and second conductive sleeves 50, 56 and the intermediate outer spring 54 in place. The contact ring 76 has a central opening 78 that is sized to allow passage of the tube 58 therethrough. A non-magnetic, polymeric washer 80, preferably of NYLON, is seated in an annular recess 82 of the contact ring 76, flush with an annular rim 84 thereof.
A battery 86 is housed inside the handle section 14 to provide electrical power to the lamp 48. A battery suitable for use with the present low magnetic susceptibility penlight 10 is commercially available from the Electrochem Lithium Battery Division of Wilson Greatbatch Ltd., Clarence, N.Y. under model no. BCX 11 72 1/2A-LMS. This battery utilizes the lithium/thionyl chloride-bromine chloride (Li/BCX) couple.
The assembly of the first and second sleeves 50 and 56 with the intermediate outer spring 54 and the assembly of the first and second rods 62 and 68 with the intermediate inner spring 66 each provide conductive paths from the battery 86 to the lamp 48 with the springs 54, 66 serving as dimensional compensators for lamps of inexact dimensional tolerance. Further, the springs set up eddy currents that are each detachable in the magnetic field of an MRI scanner. However, the use of two springs 54 and 66 substantially radially aligned with each other serve to cancel each other to provide a non-distorted magnetic image of the penlight 10. This is especially important when the penlight 10 is used in the vicinity of a high voltage MRI scanner.
The battery 86 is secured in place by an end cap 88 having an annular, hooked-shaped protrusion 90 that snaps into the annular channel 44 adjacent to the handle end wall 20. The end cap 88 is of a non-magnetic material, preferably an acetal compound such as DELRIN. A generally U-shaped contact spring 92, preferably of a conductive material such as silver plated beryllium copper, is fitted into the end cap 88 surrounded by the annular protrusion 90. When the end cap 88 is received in the proximal opening of the handle section 14 with the annular protrusion 90 snap fitted into the annular channel 44, the contact spring 92 biases against a negative terminal 94 of the battery 86 having its opposite, positive terminal 96 contacting the resistor 74 housed in the bore 72 of the second contact rod 68. The resistor 74 lowers the voltage delivered by the battery 86 to that which is required by the lamp 48.
The end cap 88 further supports a pocket clip 98 having a ring portion 100 and a clip arm 102. The pocket clip 98 is of a conductive material such as chrome plated beryllium copper. Chrome is very impact resistant and has a low magnetic susceptibility. Other suitable coating materials include titanium nitride and parylene. Titanium nitride is a hard ceramic coating with toughness characteristics similar to chrome and that is typically physical vapor deposited. Parylene is a physical vapor deposited polymeric coating that imparts corrosion resistance and lubricity, if required. However, it is not quiet as tough or impact resistant as chrome and titanium nitride.
The ring portion 100 of the pocket clip 98 is sized to surround an inner annular ledge (not shown) of the protrusion portion 90 of the end cap 88 and is secured in place by a non-magnetic pin 104, preferably of an acetal compound, disposed in a bore 106 extending through a central protrusion 108 so that the clip ring 100 is confined between the end cap 88 and opposed ends of the pin 104. A distal section of the clip 98 supports a contact 110, preferably of a conductive material such as chrome plated beryllium copper, that is aligned with the opening 46 in the side wall 18 of the handle section 14.
In use, the lamp 48 is energized by moving the clip arm 102 towards the handle 14 so that the contact 110 moves through the opening 46 into contact with ring 76. This completes the electrical circuit from the positive terminal 96 of the battery 86 through resister 74, contact rod 68, inner spring 66, contact rod 62 and contact 64 of lamp 48 to energize the lamp's filaments (not shown) and back to the lamp housing 52 and first sleeve 50, outer spring 54 and second sleeve 56 to contact ring 76, contact 110, the pocket clip 98 to contact spring 92 and back to the negative terminal 94 of the battery 86. When the penlight 10 is not in use, the pocket clip 98 provide a convenient structure for carrying the light clipped to the pocket of a physician or like medical personnel.
In accordance with the stated low magnetic suceptibility characteristics of the penlight 10 of the present invention, Table 1 lists the magnetic susceptibilities of the various materials used to construct the penlight along with selected other materials.
TABLE 1______________________________________ Atomic or Density Molecular SusceptibilityMaterial (g/cc) Weight (×10.sup.6)______________________________________Carbon 2.26 12.011 -218(polycrystallinegraphite)Gold 19.32 196.97 -34Beryllium 1.85 9.012 -24Silver 10.50 107.87 -24Carbon (diamond) 3.513 12.011 -21.8Zinc 7.13 65.39 -15.7Copper 8.92 63.546 -9.63Water (37° C.) 1.00 18.015 -9.03Human Soft Tissues ˜1.00- -- ˜(-11.0 to 1.05 -7.0)Air (NTP) 0.00129 28.97 +0.36Stainless Steel (non- 8.0 -- 3520-6700magnetic,austenitic)Chrome 7.19 51.996 320______________________________________
It is known that brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.
In contrast, Table 2 lists the magnetic susceptibilities of various relatively highly magnetic materials.
TABLE 2______________________________________ Atomic or Density MolecularMaterial (g/cc) Weight Susceptibility______________________________________Nickel 8.9 58.69 600Stainless Steel 7.8 -- 400-1100(magnetic,martensitic)Iron 7.874 55.847 200,000______________________________________
The data used to construct Tables 1 and 2 was obtained from a paper authored by John Schneck of General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, N.Y. 12309, entitled "The Role of Magnetic Susceptibility In Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Magnetic Field Compatibility of the First and Second Kinds". The disclosure of that paper is incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, the penlight of the present invention is an instrument which is useful for pre- and post-clinical and surgical applications, especially in an environment proximate the strong magnetic field emitted by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.
It is appreciated that various modifications to the inventive concepts described herein may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. | A penlight constructed of materials including metal components having very low magnetic susceptibilities is described. The battery powering the penlight lamp is a lithium battery also constructed of materials having low magnetic susceptibilities. The penlight is particularly useful in the vicinity of the strong magnetic field of an MRI scanner. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vibrating devices and more particularly to vibrating devices for plows.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 1,190,501 discloses a gyratory structure in which a crank shaft imparts a rotary motion to sieve boxes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,451 discloses a vibrator with pistons which move toward and away from the axis. Movement of the pistons is controlled by approach ramp surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,615 discloses a vibrating device in which weights at the end of a rotating arm are effectively moved in and out with respect to the axis by the rotation of unbalanced masses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,832 discloses a vibratory apparatus having a movable weight which is moved by fluid pressure against a spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,331 discloses a gyroscopic propulsion apparatus in which sliding rods which bear weights are used to vary the radius of rotation of the weights. The positions of the weights with respect to the radius are controlled by a cable and pulley.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,798 discloses a transmission apparatus using wedge hinge assemblies which cause a weight to move toward and away from the axis of rotation.
The prior art disclosures do not meet the needs which are met by the present invention, the need for a simple, inexpensive, reliable vibratory device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The vibrator of this invention is based on the fact that vibration results from the rotation of weights of equal mass located at the ends of rotating arms if the effective radius of the arms is different.
In this vibrator, a rotating radius variation subassembly is rotated. In this subassembly the effective radius of each weight located at the end of a rotating arm is varied mechanically during the rotation of each weight through a full circle. Each weight is attached to arms located on each of two collars. The upper collar is given an eccentric motion with respect to the lower collar due to the rotation of the upper collar about a bent axle. Variation in the effective radius of the weights is caused by the effect of the eccentric motion of the upper collar.
The location of the upper collar on the axle may be varied using a ring and setscrew attached to the axle. The eccentricity of movement of the upper collar is increased, along with the variation in effective radius of the weights, and the resulting vibration, when the ring is used to secure the upper collar relatively far from the lower collar.
A motor or other source of rotary motion is used to rotate the radius variation subassembly.
An objective of this invention is a vibrator having unbalanced weights wherein the amount of unbalance may be varied.
Another objective is a vibrator in which the weights are rendered unbalanced by differences in the effective radius of their rotation.
Another objective is a vibrator in which the effective radius of the weights varies continuously during the rotation of the vibrator.
A final objective is a vibrator which is simple, inexpensive, reliable, and long lasting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the vibrator in side view.
FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are diagrams showing the effective radius of the weights during the rotation of the radius variation subassembly through a complete circle.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the directions of the forces generated by the rotation of the radius variation subassembly through a complete circle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the side view of the vibrator 10. A base 40 supports the vibrator 8. A C-shaped support member 26 is rigidly attached to the base 40. Holes 24 and 25 are located in support member 26. A nonrotating axle 36 is inserted into holes 24 and 25 in the support member 26 and the axle is welded to the support member at holes 24 and 25. The axle 36 has a bend 38, which is exaggerated for clarity in FIG. 1. The intensity of vibration imparted by the vibrator is in part due to the size of the bend 38, which may be from 0.01° to 45°. A preferred range is 1° to 45°.
A freely rotating lower collar 17 is axially located on the axle 36 between the bend 38 and the weld 24. Lower arms 16 and 29 are radially attached at a first end to lower collar 17 along a single diameter to collar 17. Lower arms 16 and 29 are equal in length. Hinge 30 is attached at a second end to arm 29, and hinge 46 is attached at a second end to arm 16. Connecting link 31 is attached at a first end to hinge 30, and connecting link 15 is attached at a first end to hinge 46. Connecting link 31 is equal in length to connecting link 15.
A freely rotating upper collar 37 is axially located on the axle 36 on the other side of the bend 38. Upper arms 11 and 35 are radially attached at a first end to upper collar 37 along a single diameter to collar 37. Upper arms 11 and 35 are equal in length and are equal in length to lower arms 16 and 29. Hinge 34 is attached at a second end of arm 35, and hinge 12 is attached at a second end of arm 11. Connecting link 33 is attached at a first end to hinge 34, and connecting link 13 is attached at a first end to hinge 12. Connecting link 33 is equal in length to connecting link 13 and both are equal in length to connecting links 31 and 15.
Connecting links 31 and 33 are connected at a second end to weight hinge 47 and connecting links 13 and 15 are connected at a second end to weight hinge 48.
Weight 32 is attached to weight hinge 47 and weight 14 is connected to weight hinge 48. The mass of weight 32 is equal to the mass of weight 14.
The subassembly 11 consisting of lower and upper collars, arms, connecting links, hinges, and weights is termed the radius variation subassembly 9.
Rotation of lower collar 17 causes rotation of the entire radius variation subassembly 9.
The location of upper collar 37 along the length of axle 36 may be fixed by ring 42 axially located on axle 36 and is secured by setscrew 44. By varying the location of ring 42, the location of upper collar 37 on axle 36 is varied.
Rotating spacer 18 is axially located on axle 36 and is firmly attached to the underside of collar 17. Rotating gear 19 is axially located on axle 36 and is firmly attached to the underside of spacer 18. Gear 19 meshes with gear 20. Gear 20 is attached at one end to second axle 21. Second axle 21 is supported by journal bearings 22 and 27. Bearings 22 and 27 are attached to the arms of C-shaped support member 26. Pulley 28 is attached to second axle 21. Pulley 28 is driven by electric motor 50 via pulley 45 on the motor and v-belt 49.
In operation, motor 50 causes gear 20 to rotate, which causes gear 19, spacer 18, and lower collar 17 to rotate. Rotation of lower collar 17 causes the entire radius variation subassembly to rotate. Since axle 36 is bent at 38, the center of rotation of upper collar 37 is displaced from the center of rotation of lower collar 17. The displacement of upper collar 37 from lower collar 17 varies with the location of the radius variation subassembly in a complete circle. The displacement of upper collar 37 from lower collar 17 affects the distance between hinge 34 located on upper arm 35 and hinge 30, located on lower arm 29. Similarly, this displacement affects the distance between hinge 12 located on upper arm 11 and hinge 46 located on lower arm 16. The distance of weights 32 and 14 from axle 36 at lower collar 17 is termed the effective radius of rotation of each weight. In FIG. 1, the effective radius of rotation of weight 32 is greater than the effective radius of rotation of weight 14. Rotation of the radius variation subassembly causes the vibration of the vibrator.
The degree of displacement of upper collar 37 with respect to lower collar 17 may be varied by the location of upper collar 37 on axle 36. The variation will be greater the farther away upper collar 37 is from lower collar 17. The greater the distance of upper collar 37 is from lower collar 17, the greater is the variation in effective radius of rotation of the weights, and the greater the vibration of the vibrator. Ring 42, secured by setscrew 44, is used to fix upper collar 37 at a desired location on axle 36.
FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 diagrammatically depict the displacement of upper collar 37 from lower collar 17 and the effective radius of rotation of weights 14 and 32 during one complete rotation of radius variation subassembly 9. For the purposes of FIGS. 2-5, it will be assumed that the length of lower arms 16 and 29 equals 20 inches and that the length of connector links 31 and 15 equals 10 inches. These numbers are used only as an example. The invention may have arms and connector links of other lengths, and may have other ratios between the lengths of the arms and connector links. The orientation of the arms through a complete rotation is indicated by the circle 52 with marks indicating 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees.
FIG. 2 shows the radius variation subassembly 9 with weight 14 at 0 degrees and weight 32 at 180 degrees. Because of the displacement of collar 37 relative to collar 17 the effective radius of rotation of weight 14 is at its minimum and is the length of arm 16 plus approximately one half of the length of connector link 15, or 20 inches plus 5 inches or 25 inches. Similarly, because of the displacement of collar 37 relative to collar 17 the effective radius of rotation of weight 32 is the length of arm 29 plus approximately the length of connector link 31, or 20 inches plus 10 inches or 30 inches.
FIG. 3 shows subassembly 9 with weight 14 at 90 degrees and weight 32 at 270 degrees. In this position, the effective radius of rotation of both weights 14 and 32 are the same, and the effect of the displacement of collar 37 from collar 17 is the same for each weight and is intermediate between the effect when a weight is at 0 or at 180 degrees. The effective radius of rotation of weights 14 and 32 is 20 inches plus approximately 71/2 inches or 271/2 inches.
FIG. 4 shows subassembly 9 with weight 32 at 0 degrees and weight 14 at 180 degrees. The effective radius of rotation of weight 32 is 25 inches and the effective radius of rotation of weight 14 is 30 inches.
FIG. 5 shows subassembly 9 with weight 32 at 90 degrees and weight 14 at 270 degrees. The effective radius of rotation of both weight 32 and weight 14 is 271/2 inches.
When the weights are at 0 and 180 degrees as in FIGS. 2 and 4 the difference in effective radii of weights 14 and 32 are at a maximum and the contribution to vibration is at a maximum. When the weights are at 90 and 270 degrees as in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 the effective radii of the weights are equal and there is no contribution to vibration.
It should be noted that the displacement of collar 37 from collar 17 does not vary during the course of a rotation. The vibratory impulse occurs at the same points in each rotation of the subassembly. Because of this invariant relationship between vibratory impulse and rotation, the direction of the vibration is determined and controlled.
FIG. 6 is a diagram which shows the direction of the forces generated by the clockwise rotation of a radius variation subassembly. A and B represent weights at the arms of a subassembly. Clockwise rotation of weights A and B through 1/4 turn, i.e. rotation of A from E to F and B from L to H, produces forces in the direction of arrows C and D for the duration of the 1/4 turn. These forces give momentum in the direction represented by arrow G.
A further 1/4 turn rotation, i.e. rotation of A from F to L and B from H to I, produces forces in the direction of arrows J and K.
These forces and momentum are repeated by further rotation of the subassembly.
The over all movement is first forward in direction as indicated by momentum G, followed by the generation of opposing forces which bring the whole device to a halt.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the examples and embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that other examples may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims. | This invention provides a simple and inexpensive vibrator. Upper and lower linked arms are used to hold equal weights attached at the ends of the arms. The arms are attached to collars which spin. A bent axle is used to cause displacement of the upper collar with a resultant shortening of the effective radius of rotation of one of the weights at a determined position in the circle of rotation. This shortening of the effective radius of rotation imparts a vibratory motion to the vibrator. | 8 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/602,907, filed on Sep. 4, 2012, now allowed (Attorney Docket No. 1744.1720003), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/424,504, filed on Mar. 20, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,285,277, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/164,449, filed on Jun. 20, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,195,149, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/936,821, filed on Sep. 9, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,966,012, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wireless data communication and, more particularly, to broadband wireless data communication.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] There is an increasing demand for broadband wireless communications, such as wireless internet access, which service providers are attempting to provide.
[0006] Cellular telephone companies are advertising future availability of broadband wireless internet access. According to the advertising, users will be able to connect to the internet at ever increasing speeds using cellular telephone systems.
[0007] Conventional cellular telephone systems do not provide uniform indoor or outdoor coverage. For example, a cellular telephone may work well in one part of a building but not in another part of the building or in one part of a city, but not the other.
[0008] Thus, it is expected that broadband wireless technology, such as cellular broadband wireless technology, will suffer from at least the same and most likely more of the location limitations as conventional cellular telephone technology. In fact, for a number of reasons, it is expected that cellular broadband wireless technology will suffer even greater location limitations due to factors such as increased bandwidth and additional users.
[0009] For example, broadband wireless communication will require transmissions at higher bandwidths to extend the available data rates. The higher the bandwidth, the more signal to noise ratio will be required to accurately transmit and receive the information. Given that all other factors remain the same, the distance and reliability will be reduced as the bandwidth increases. In addition, other cell phone frequency bands are being considered, at even higher frequencies. Cell phone systems deploying higher frequency technology will have increased distance and reliability problems due to increased directionally and free space loss.
[0010] In many locations, the current coverage area is unacceptable for low speed voice applications. Higher bandwidth and higher frequency wireless signals will reduce the current coverage area even more. As a result, in some environments and locations, reception of broadband wireless communications is expected to be poor or non-existent. In other words, broadband wireless communications, such as planned internet access through cellular telephone systems, will not provide adequate coverage in many locations and situations.
[0011] What is needed, therefore, is a method and system for extending the coverage area for broadband wireless communications, such as, but not limited to, planned internet access through cellular telephone systems.
SUMMARY
[0012] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and apparatuses for extending the coverage area for broadband wireless communications such as planned internet access through cellular telephone systems. An embodiment of the present invention includes a method with the following steps: converting first data formatted according to a broadband communication protocol, from a transceiver, to a local area network (LAN) protocol to generate LAN-formatted data; converting second data formatted according to the LAN protocol, from a computing device, to the broadband communication protocol to generate broadband-formatted data; and, transmitting the LAN-formatted data to the computing device and the broadband-formatted data to the transceiver.
[0013] Another embodiment includes an apparatus. The apparatus includes a protocol conversion module and a second transceiver. The protocol conversion module is configured to: convert first data formatted according to a broadband communication protocol, from a first transceiver, to a local area network (LAN) protocol to generate LAN-formatted data; and, convert second data formatted according to the LAN protocol, from a computing device, to the broadband communication protocol to generate broadband-formatted data. The second transceiver is configured to transmit the LAN-formatted data to the computing device and the broadband-formatted data to the first transceiver.
[0014] Further, another embodiment of the present invention includes a system with a local area network (LAN) and a protocol converter. The protocol converter includes a protocol conversion module and a second transceiver. The protocol conversion module is configured to: convert first data formatted according to a broadband communication protocol, from a first transceiver, to a LAN protocol to generate LAN-formatted data; and, convert second data formatted according to the LAN protocol, from a computing device, to the broadband communication protocol to generate broadband-formatted data. The second transceiver is configured to transmit the LAN-formatted data to the computing device and the broadband-formatted data to the first transceiver.
[0015] These and other features of embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings or may be learned by practice of the invention. It is to be understood that both the foregoing summary and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES
[0016] Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein generally like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Also generally, the leftmost digit(s) of the reference numbers identify the drawings in which the associated elements are first introduced.
[0017] FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a wireless LAN communication environment.
[0018] FIG. 2 is an exemplary illustration of broadband wireless communication environment.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a process flowchart for converting from a broadband wireless protocol to a wireless LAN protocol.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a process flowchart for bi-directionally converting between a broadband wireless protocol and a wireless LAN protocol.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
I. Introduction
[0021] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for extending the coverage area of broadband wireless communications, such as internet access through cellular telephone systems.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example local area network (“LAN”) system 100 . The LAN system 100 includes an access point (“AP”) 102 , such as a wired and/or wireless router. The AP 102 is connected via physical connection 104 to an internet service provider (“ISP”) 116 . The physical connection 104 can be, for example, a hardwired broadband connection or a wireless broadband connection. The internet service provider (“ISP”) 116 is connected to the internet 106 through a connection 118 .
[0023] The AP 102 interfaces between the ISP 116 and one or more devices 112 . The AP 102 optionally includes a wireless router and an antenna 108 . In this embodiment, the AP 102 transmits and receives an electromagnetic wave 110 to communicate data with one or more of the devices 112 , such as computers or other data processing devices with wireless LAN capability. Alternatively, or additionally, the AP 102 includes a physical connection 114 to one or more of the devices 112 .
[0024] Cellular telephone companies are attempting to design broadband wireless systems that will communicate wirelessly between the ISP 116 and devices 112 , thus eliminating the need for physical connection 104 and/or AP 102 .
[0025] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a broadband wireless system 200 . The broadband wireless system 200 includes the ISP 116 and System 100 as described above with reference to FIG. 1 .
[0026] In the example of FIG. 2 , the ISP 116 is coupled to a transceiver apparatus or tower 206 , such as a conventional cellular telephone transceiver tower. The cellular telephone transceiver tower 206 provides a broadband wireless communication link 210 in addition to wireless voice services and to a variety of wireless devices.
[0027] For example, the transceiver tower 206 interfaces with a wireless device 214 (e.g., a laptop computer) via broadband wireless communications channel 210 B. The transceiver tower 206 provides broadband wireless service (e.g., internet access) to the wireless device 214 .
[0028] The wireless communication channel 210 B has, for example, a cellular telephone protocol. Thus, the wireless device 214 need to contain, or be modified to include a communication device, such as a PCMCIA card or internal circuit card, plus associated software, to communicate with the transceiver tower 206 via wireless communication channel 210 B. To be commercially effective, many wireless devices 214 will need to be equipped with additional hardware and/or software to be compatible with the cell phone network
[0029] There are locations where the wireless device 214 does not effectively communicate with transceiver tower 206 . For example, the electromagnetic wave of broadband wireless communications link 210 may not for whatever reason (obstructions, multi-path, increased bandwidth, etc.) reach all desired coverage areas. As a result, in some environments and locations, wireless communications is poor or non-existent due to poor propagation.
[0030] In the example of FIG. 2 , the transceiver tower 206 also communicates with a cellular telephone 212 via communication channel 210 A. The communication channel 210 A includes conventional cellular telephone service. Alternatively, or additionally, the communication channel 210 A includes broadband wireless service (e.g., internet access). The communication channel 210 A potentially suffers from the same drawbacks that affect communication channel 210 B.
II. Repeater Station
[0031] In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the wireless system 200 includes a repeater station 226 . The repeater station 226 is positioned to effectively communicate with the transceiver tower 206 through a wireless communication channel 210 C. The repeater station 226 interfaces between the transceiver tower 206 and one or more devices 222 .
[0032] The repeater station 226 communicates with the one or more devices 222 , or a portion thereof, via wireless communication link 230 . Alternatively, or additionally, the repeater station 226 communicates with the one or more devices 222 , or a portion thereof, via a physical link 228 , which can be a wire, optic fiber, infra-red, and/or any other type of physical link.
[0033] As described below with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the repeater station 226 is implemented to receive information from the transceiver tower 206 , and/or to transmit the information to the one or more devices 222 .
[0034] Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the repeater station 226 can be implemented in a variety of ways.
III. Protocol Conversion
[0035] In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the repeater station 226 includes a protocol converter 220 that converts between a first protocol associated with the broadband wireless communication 210 C, and one or more additional protocols associated with the one or more devices 222 , or a portion thereof.
[0036] For example, and without limitation, the first protocol of the communication channel 210 C includes a cellular telephone protocol and at least one of the devices 222 operate with a second protocol, such as a LAN protocol. In this embodiment, the protocol converter 220 converts between the cellular telephone protocol and the LAN protocol. Example LAN protocols are described below.
[0037] The protocol converter 220 permits the one or more devices 222 to utilize conventional LAN hardware, software, and/or firmware. Thus, where a device 222 includes pre-existing LAN capabilities, no special upgrades are required to the device 222 . The invention is not limited, however, to existing LAN hardware, software, and/or firmware. Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the protocol converter can be implemented to interface with conventional and/or future developed protocols.
[0038] As noted above, aspects of the invention can be implemented for unidirectional or bi-directional operation. FIG. 3 is an example process flowchart 300 for converting from a first protocol to a second protocol, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Flowchart 300 is described below with reference to FIG. 2 . The invention is not, however, limited to the example of FIG. 2 . Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the invention can be implemented with other systems.
[0039] The flowchart 300 is now described for converting from a protocol associated with broadband wireless communication channel 210 C, to a second protocol, such as a LAN protocol, associated with the one or more devices 222 .
[0040] The process begins at step 302 , which includes receiving a broadband wireless communication having a first protocol. In the example of FIG. 2 , the repeater station 226 receives information over communication channel 210 C from the transceiver tower 206 . The information on communication channel 210 C is formatted according to, for example, a cellular telephone protocol.
[0041] Step 304 includes converting the received broadband wireless communication from the first protocol to a second protocol. In FIG. 2 , the protocol converter 220 converts information in communication channel 210 C from the cellular telephone protocol to a LAN protocol. The LAN protocol can be, for example, a protocol in accordance with IEEE Standard 802.11 et sequens. IEEE Standard 802.11 is available, for example, at: <http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/>.
[0042] Step 306 includes transmitting the protocol-converted communication to a device via wireless or wired means. In FIG. 2 , the repeater station 226 transmits protocol-converted communication 230 to the device 222 .
[0043] Alternatively, or additionally, steps 302 , 304 , and 306 are implemented to communicate from one or more of the devices 222 to the tower 206 .
[0044] FIG. 4 is an example process flowchart 400 for bi-directional protocol conversion, in accordance with the aspects of the invention. Flowchart 400 is described below with reference to FIG. 2 . The invention is not, however, limited to the example of FIG. 2 . Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the invention can be implemented with other systems.
[0045] The process flowchart 400 begins with steps 302 , 304 , and 306 , substantially as described above with respect to FIG. 3 .
[0046] The process flowchart 400 further includes step 402 , which includes receiving a broadband communication formatted according to the second protocol, from a device. In the example of FIG. 2 , the repeater station 226 receives communication 230 from the device 222 . Alternatively, or additionally, the repeater station 226 receives a communication via physical link 228 . The received communication is formatted according to a protocol associated with the device 222 (i.e., the second protocol, e.g., a LAN protocol).
[0047] Step 404 includes converting the received communication from the second protocol to the first protocol. In the example of FIG. 2 , the protocol converter 226 converts communication 230 from the LAN protocol to the cellular telephone protocol.
[0048] Step 406 includes transmitting the protocol-converted communication. In FIG. 2 , the repeater station 226 transmits protocol-converted information in communication channel 210 C to the transceiver tower 206 .
[0049] Steps 302 , 304 , and 306 are optionally independent of steps 402 , 404 , and 406 . Alternatively, steps 302 , 304 , and 306 are optionally dependent of steps 402 , 404 , and 406 , and/or vice versa. For example, steps 302 , 304 , and 306 are optionally performed in response to steps 402 , 404 , and 406 . Alternatively, or additionally, steps 402 , 404 , and 406 are optionally performed in response to steps 302 , 304 , and 306 .
IV. Example Implementations
[0050] Aspects of the invention can be implemented in a variety of applications.
[0051] A. Broadband Wireless Services
[0052] The broadband wireless communication channel 210 C ( FIG. 2 ) can include one or more of a variety of types of wireless communication. For example, and without limitation, the wireless communication channel 210 C can carry a cellular communication, such as a cellular telephone communication, and/or cellular wireless interne service. Alternatively, or additionally, the wireless communication channel 210 C can carry one or more of a wide area network (“WAN”) communication, such as a wireless communication from an IEEE 802.16 tower or device, and/or a broadband satellite communication.
[0053] The invention is not, however, limited to the examples herein. Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the broadband wireless communication channel 210 C can carry one or more of a variety of other types of broadband wireless communications.
[0054] Similarly, the broadband wireless communication link 230 , and/or a communication on physical link 228 , optionally includes one or more of a variety of types of broadband communications, including, without limitation, LAN communication. As described above, the LAN protocol can be, for example, a protocol in accordance with IEEE Standard 802.11. Additional optional protocols are described below.
[0055] Tne invention is not, however, limited to the examples herein. Based on the description herein, one skilled in the relevant art(s) will understand that the broadband wireless communication 230 and/or a communication on physical link 228 , can include one or more of a variety of other types of broadband wireless communication.
[0056] B. Physical Locations
1. Locations for the Repeater Station and Protocol Converter
[0058] The repeater station 226 ( FIG. 2 ) is positioned at a location that receives adequate signal strength with respect to broadband wireless communication channel 210 C. The optional protocol converter 220 is incorporated within or coupled to the repeater station 226 . The coupling can be physical and/or wireless.
[0059] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 are optionally positioned in a fixed location. For example, and without limitation, the repeater station 226 and the protocol converter 220 are positioned on or within a building, train station, subway, oil rig, church, prison, lamp post, bus shelter, school, office building, house, monument, telephone pole, tower, hotel, crane, warehouse, hanger, terminal, drydock, dam, jetway, bridge, dock, lock, marina, emergency services facility, police station, fire station, central office, equipment shelter, observation tower, power plant, factory, silo, research facility, shopping center, shopping mall, cellular communication system tower, traffic signal, fire escape, scaffold, bridge, convention center, sports arena, stadium, stage, and/or other man-made structure.
[0060] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 are optionally positioned on a fixed installation on a naturally-occurring structure or terrain feature. The protocol converter 220 is optionally designed to be wall-mountable, rack-mountable, and/or surface-mountable.
[0061] Alternatively or additionally, the repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 are optionally positioned on a mobile platform. In this way, the one or more devices 222 are can be moved around within a range of the mobile platform. For example, and without limitation, the repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 are positioned on or within a bus, taxi, car, truck, tractor, van, multi-purpose vehicle, sport utility vehicle, police vehicle, fire truck, ambulance, train car, locomotive, airplane, helicopter, blimp, hovercraft, boat, ship, barge, tugboat, construction machinery, naval vessel, motorcycle, subway car, pullman, trolley, lawnmower, race car, all-terrain vehicle, golf cart, forklift, segway, scooter, bicycle, pedal car, rickshaw, sled, tractor-trailer, delivery truck, trailer, submarine, raft, pushcart, and/or other transportation apparatus.
2. Locations for the Devices
[0063] The one or more devices 222 are positioned in a location that receives adequate signal strength with respect to broadband wireless communication 224 and/or a communication on physical link 228 . The one or more devices 222 are mobile within a range of the repeater station 226 .
C. Device Types
[0065] The one or more devices 222 can include a variety of types of devices, such as, without limitation, a desk-top computer, lap-top computer, printer, security system, thermostat, household appliance, industrial appliance, watercraft, airplane, industrial machinery, and/or electronic control system, such as an electronic control system for an automobile. The invention is not limited to these examples, but includes any data processing device or communication.
D. Controls, Settings, and Indicators
[0067] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 optionally include one or more controllable settings. The settings can include settings that are wholly controlled by a manufacturer and/or settings that are user selectable.
[0068] The settings can include, for example, protocol selection settings that allow a manufacturer and/or user to select one or more protocols that are compatible with the protocol of the broadband wireless transmission 210 C. The protocol converter 220 is also optionally factory set to communicate using a protocol that is compatible with the desired wireless LAN protocol. Alternatively, or additionally, the protocol of the broadband wireless transmission 210 is user-selectable. Alternatively, or additionally, the wireless LAN protocol is user-selectable. Alternatively, or additionally, the protocol converter 220 automatically senses and selects the broadband wireless protocol and/or the wireless LAN protocol.
[0069] Device addresses, subscriber numbers, phone numbers, and other device identifiers set in hardware and/or software of the protocol converter 220 are factory pre-set, user-selectable, and/or automatically sensed and set.
[0070] Software settings are optionally effected remotely by physical and/or wireless connection. Alternatively, or additionally, software settings are optionally effected locally.
[0071] Other optional controllable features include varying the output power of the repeater station 226 to maintain an optimal signal between the protocol converter 220 and devices 220 and/or transceiver tower 206 . Power adjustment is effected manually and/or automatically.
[0072] The protocol converter 220 optionally provides multiple broadband wireless communications channel 210 C to provide, for example, diverse and/or redundant service.
[0073] The protocol converter 220 optionally provides multiple wireless LAN connections 230 .
[0074] The protocol converter 220 optionally includes one or more antennas to communicate with the one or more devices 220 and/or the transceiver tower 206 . In an embodiment, the protocol converter 220 includes a single antenna to communicate with the one or more devices 220 and the transceiver tower 206 . Alternatively, or additionally, the protocol converter 220 includes at least one antenna to communicate with the one or more devices 220 , and at least one other antenna to communicate with the transceiver tower 206 .
[0075] The protocol converter 220 optionally includes at least one of: an integral antenna; an external antenna; a removable antenna; and a fixed antenna; to communicate with the one or more devices 220 and/or the transceiver tower 206 .
[0076] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 optionally include a data router, which includes one or more receptacles or ports for wired LAN.
[0077] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 optionally include one or more of a DSL modem, cable modem, ISDN modem, and/or dial-up modem.
[0078] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 optionally include one or more password protection features.
[0079] The repeater station 226 , the protocol converter 220 , and or the device 222 optionally include a hardwired or cordless telephone system.
[0080] The repeater station 226 , the protocol converter 220 , and or the device 222 optionally include one or more audio inputs for voice activated connections. The repeater station 226 , the protocol converter 220 , and or the device 222 optionally include one or more audio outputs for providing information or requests to a user.
[0081] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 are optionally powered by one or more of a variety of power sources including AC, DC, and/or battery power sources.
[0082] The repeater station 226 , the protocol converter 220 , and or the device 222 optionally include one or more of a variety of visual and/or audible indicators, such as status indicators. Status indicators can include, without limitation, link, data rate, RF transmit power, RF signal strength, supply power, and/or protocol type.
[0083] The repeater station 226 , optionally includes Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capability. A VoIP enabled device would be able to communicate with cell tower 206 ( FIG. 2 ), thereby enabling bi-directional VoIP to cell phone voice communications.
[0084] The repeater station 226 , optionally includes Quality of Service (QoS) capability. The QoS protocol could give higher priority to voice information, thereby enabling seamless voice and data communications on a network.
E. Example Environments
[0086] The repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 can be implemented in one or more of a variety of environments. For example, and without limitation, repeater station 226 and/or the protocol converter 220 can be implemented as part of a system associated with one or more of the following, alone and/or in combination with one another:
[0087] local area networks;
[0088] remote monitoring;
[0089] security systems, including home security systems and/or industrial security systems;
[0090] remote data logging;
[0091] monitoring of utility meters, such as oil or gas meters, residential and/or commercial;
[0092] Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA);
[0093] Monitoring and/or control of environmental conditions;
[0094] remote telemetry;
[0095] factory automation;
[0096] point-of-sale monitoring;
[0097] wireless inventory control;
[0098] mobile sales;
[0099] field service;
[0100] meter reading;
[0101] warehousing applications;
[0102] portable data terminals;
[0103] audio/visual transmissions;
[0104] radio transmissions;
[0105] television transmissions;
[0106] home automation;
[0107] security monitoring;
[0108] medical monitoring;
[0109] home and/or industrial heating and/or air-conditioning controls; and/or
[0110] packet data radio.
[0111] Network Standards
[0112] The wireless communications 230 , 210 A, 210 B, 210 C, and/or 110 ;
[0113] and/or communications over physical link 228 and/or 114 ; are optionally implemented in accordance with, and/or are in conformance with, one or more of the following standards:
[0114] IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.16a, IEEE 802.16e, IEEE 802.20, IEEE 802.15, T1, T3, DS1, DS3, ethernet, HiperMAN, HiperAccess, WirelessMAN, HiperLAN, HiperLAN2, HiperLink, internet protocol, transmission control protocol, atm, ppp, ipx, appletalk, windows nt, systems network architecture, decnet, netware, ipx, spx, netbios, Ethernet, FDDI, PPP, Token-Ring, IEEE 802.11, Classical IP over ATM, 3GPP2 All, 802.11 MGT, 802.11 Radiotap, AAL1, AAL3 — 4, AARP, ACAP, ACSE, AFP, AFS (RX), AH, AIM, AIM Administration, AIM Advertisements, AIM BOS, AIM Buddylist, AIM Chat, AIM ChatNav, AIM Directory, AIM Generic, AIM ICQ, AIM Invitation, AIM Location, AIM Messaging, AIM OFT, AIM Popup, AIM SSI, AIM Signon, AIM Stats, AIM Translate, AIM User Lookup, AJP13, ALCAP, ANS, ANSI BSMAP, ANSI DTAP, ANSI IS-637-A Teleservice, ANSI IS-637-A Transport, ANSI IS-683-A (OTA (Mobile)), ANSI IS-801 (Location Services (PLD)), ANSI MAP, AODV, ARCNET, ARP/RARP, ASAP, ASF, ASP, ATM, ATM LANE, ATP, ATSVC, AVS WLANCAP, Auto-RP, BACapp, BACnet, BEEP, BER, BFD Control, BGP, BICC, BOFL, BOOTP/DHCP, BOOTPARAMS, BOSSVR, BROWSER, BSSAP, BSSGP, BUDB, BUTC, BVLC, Boardwalk, CAST, CCSDS, CDP, CDS_CLERK, CFLOW, CGMP, CHDLC, CLDAP, CLEARCASE, CLNP, CLTP, CONV, COPS, COTP, CPFI, CPHA, CUPS, CoSine, DCCP, DCERPC, DCE_DFS, DDP, DDTP, DEC_STP, DES, DHCPv6, DISTCC, DLSw, DNS, DNSSERVER, DRSUAPI, DST, DTSPROVIDER, DTSSTIME_REQ, DVMRP, Data, Diameter, E.164, EAP, EAPOL, ECHO, EDONKEY, EFSRPC, EIGRP, ENC, ENIP, EPM, EPM4, ESIS, ESP, ETHERIP, Ethernet, FC, FC ELS, FC FZS, FC-FCS, FC-SB3, FC-SP, FC-SWILS, FC-dNS, FCIP, FCP, FC_CT, FDDI, FIX, FLDB, FR, FTAM, FTP, FTP-DATA, FTSERVER, FW-1, Frame, GIF image, GIOP, GMRP, GNUTELLA, GPRS NS, GPRS-LLC, GRE, GSM BSSMAP, GSM DTAP, GSM MAP, GSM RP, GSM SMS, GSM SMS UD, GSS-API, GTP, GVRP, H.261, H.263, H1, H225, H245, H4501, HCLNFSD, HPEXT, HSRP, HTTP, HyperSCSI, IAPP, IB, ICAP, ICL_RPC, ICMP, ICMPv6, ICP, ICQ, IGAP, IGMP, IGRP, ILMI, IMAP, INITSHUTDOWN, IP, IP/IEEE1394, IPComp, IPDC, IPFC, IPML IPP, IPVS, IPX, IPX MSG, IPX RIP, IPX SAP, IPX WAN, IPv6, IRC, ISAKMP, ISDN, ISIS, ISL, ISMP, ISUP, IUA, Inter-Asterisk eXchange v2, JFIF (JPEG) image, Jabber, KADM5, KLM, KRB5, KRB5RPC, Kpasswd, L2TP, LACP, LANMAN, LAPB, LAPBETHER, LAPD, LDAP, LDP, LLAP, LLC, LMI, LMP, LPD, LSA, LSA DS, LWAPP, LWAPP-CNTL, LWAPP-L3, Laplink, Line-based text data, Lucent/Ascend, M2PA, M2TP, M2UA, M3UA, MAN, MDS Header, MGMT, MIME multipart, MIPv6, MMSE, MOUNT, MPEG1, MPLS, MPLS Echo, MQ, MQ PCF, MRDISC, MS Proxy, MSDP, MSNIP, MSNMS, MTP2, MTP3, MTP3MG, Media, Messenger, Mobile IP, Modbus/TCP, MySQL, NBDS, NBIPX, NBNS, NBP, NBSS, NCP, NDMP, NDPS, NETLOGON, NFS, NFSACL, NFSAUTH, NIS+, NIS+CB, NLM, NLSP, NMAS, NMPI, NNTP, NSPI, NTLMSSP, NTP, NW SERIAL, NetBIOS, Null, OAM AAL, OLSR, OSPF, OXID, PCNFSD, PER, PFLOG, PFLOG-OLD, PGM, PIM, POP, POSTGRESQL, PPP, PPP BACP, PPP BAP, PPP CBCP, PPP CCP, PPP CDPCP, PPP CHAP, PPP Comp, PPP IPCP, PPP IPV6CP, PPP LCP, PPP MP, PPP MPLSCP, PPP OSICP, PPP PAP, PPP FPPMux, PPP PPPMuxCP, PPP VJ, PPPoED, PPPoES, PPTP, PRES, PTP, Portmap, Prism, Q.2931, Q.931, Q.933, QLLC, QUAKE, QUAKE2, QUAKE3, QUAKEWORLD, RADIUS, RANAP, REMACT, REP_PROC, RIP, RIPng, RMCP, RMI, RMP, RPC, RPC BROWSER, RPC_NETLOGON, RPL, RQUOTA, RSH, RSTAT, RSVP, RSYNC, RS_ACCT, RS_ATTR, RS_BIND, RS_PGO, RS_PLCY, RS REPADM, RS REPLIST, RS UNIX, RTCP, RTMP, RTP, RTP Event, RTPS, RTSP, RWALL, RX, Raw, Raw SIP, Rlogin, SADMIND, SAMR, SAP, SCCP, SCCPMG, SCSI, SCTP, SDLC, SDP, SEBEK, SECIDMAP, SES, SUFI MOUNT, SIP, SIPFRAG, SKINNY, SLARP, SU. SMB, SMB Mailsiot, SMB Pipe, SMPP. SMTP, SMUX, SNA, SNA XIII, SNAETH, SNDCP, SNMP, SONMP, SPNEGO-KRB5, SPOOLSS, SPRAY, SPX, SRVLOC, SRVSVC, SSCOP, SSH, SSL, STAT, STAT-CB, STP, STUN, SUA, SVCCTL, Serialization, SliMP3, Socks, SoulSeek, Spnego, Symantec, Syslog, T38, TACACS, TACACS+, TAPI, TCAP, TCP, TDS, TEI_MANAGEMENT, TELNET, TEREDO, TFTP, TIME, TKN4Int, TNS, TPCP, TPKT, TR MAC, TRKSVR, TSP, TUXEDO, TZSP, Token-king, UBIKDISK, UBIKVOTE, UCP, UDP, UDPENCAP, V.120, VLAN, VRRP, VTP, Vines ARP, Vines Echo, Vines FRP, Vines ICP, Vines IP, Vines IPC, Vines LLC, Vines RTP, Vines SPP, WAP SIR, WBXML, WCCP, WCP, WHDLC, WHO, WINREG, WKSSVC, WSP, WTLS, WTP, X.25, X.29, X11, XDMCP, XOT, XYPLEX, YHOO, YMSG, YPBIND, YPPASSWD, YPSERV, YPXFR, ZEBRA, ZIP, cds_solicit, cprpc_server, dce_update, dicom, iSCSI, iSNS, 11b, message/http, rdaclif, roverride, rpriv, rs_attr schema, rs_misc, rs_prop_acct, rs_prop_acl, rs_prop_attr, rs_prop_pgo, rs_prop_plcy, rs_pwd_mgmt, rs_repmgr, rseclogin, and/or sFlow.
[0115] The communication channels 210 A, 210 B, and/or 210 C optionally include, and/or are generated according to, and/or are in conformance with, without limitation, one or more of: quadrature amplitude modulation, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, vector orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, wideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, frequency division duplex, time division duplex, gaussian minimum shift keying, binary phase shift keying, differential phase shift keying, quadrature phase shift keying, binary frequency shift keying, minimum shift keying, phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, direct sequence spread spectrum, pulse code modulation, pulse amplitude modulation, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, angle modulation, quadrature multiplexing, single sideband amplitude modulation, vestigial sideband amplitude modulation, analog modulation, digital modulation, phase modulation, and/or frequency hopped spread spectrum.
[0116] The invention is optionally implemented with one or more of: gsm, cdma, gprs, umts, cdma2000, tdma, cellular, iden, pdc, is-95, is-136, is-54, is-661, amps, dcs 1800, edge, pcs 1900, gsm 900, gsm 850, namps, sdma, uwc-136, wpcdma, wap, a wide area network protocol, a satellite radio protocol, and/or wcdma.
[0117] The invention may include any combination of the foregoing, although the invention is not, however, limited to the examples herein.
CONCLUSION
[0118] From the foregoing disclosure and detailed description, it will be apparent that various modifications, additions, and other alternative embodiments are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the benefit to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.
[0119] Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Such alternate boundaries are within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention. One skilled in the art will recognize that these functional building blocks can be implemented by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like and combinations thereof.
[0120] While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not limitation. Ownership and/or possession of equipment by an entity is presented herein by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. | Methods, apparatuses, and systems for interfacing between a broadband wireless communication system and a Local Area Network (LAN) system are disclosed herein. For instance, the method can include converting first data formatted according to a broadband communication protocol, from a transceiver, to a local area network (LAN) protocol to generate LAN formatted data. The method can also include converting second data formatted according to the LAN protocol, from a computing device, to the broadband communication protocol to generate broadband-formatted data. Further, the method can includes transmitting the LAN-formatted data to the computing device and the broadband-formatted data to the transceiver. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable emergency lights, and more particularly, to a self-contained, hand-held strobe light and distress marker which may be used with various light filters to alert friendly emergency rescue personnel in a combat environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Strobe lights have been used for many years in order to make persons or objects more visible. The strobing effect of the light, particularly at night, draws an observer's attention directly to the light. In night time emergency situations, this effect is very beneficial since persons in need of rescue often require prompt response from rescue personnel. Locating a person at night in open, desolate terrain, desert, forest, jungle, or at sea is difficult, often because of the sheer size of the area that must be searched. The use of a strobe light enables emergency personnel to reach persons much more quickly since a bright, flashing strobe is very noticeable in any weather condition.
Portable strobe lights have been used by aviators for many years. Military aviators often operating over large ocean expanses or remote, desolate terrain have found the use of small strobe lights extremely effective in locating downed personnel. However, because the strobe light is visible in all directions, the use of such a light in a combat environment in enemy or hostile territory would also direct enemy forces to a downed aviator. Additionally, a bright flash might also be misinterpreted as a gun muzzle flash which could draw aircraft or ground fire. All of these disadvantages have indicated that there is a need for a small, lightweight, watertight, portable strobe light which may be used with one or more filters and which can be operated from a single, self-contained battery-operated source.
The present invention provides a portable, hand-held emergency strobe light that can be used in both combat and non-combat environments. An encompassing light shield and light filters, employed with a conventional strobe light, can be used to direct light rays along a line of sight and to block certain segments of the visible light spectrum so the emitted light rays may appear as a single distinctive color, often detected only with specialized equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a portable strobe light for use in emergency or distress situations for locating personnel in both combat and non-combat environments. The light includes a flashing xenon bulb and a transparent or clear, water-protective bulb cover contained at one end of a small, hand-sized housing. The xenon bulb emits a bright, white light through the clear cover, and flashes approximately one flash per second. A self-contained power source (battery) within the housing powers the bulb and associated circuitry while a manually-actuated, sparkproof switch lever mounted outside the housing actuates a switch controlling the electronic strobe circuit inside the housing.
The light includes a permanently mounted flash guard, slidably mounted to the exterior housing, having a positionable peripheral light shield and two different light filters, each of which may be positioned over the strobe light by manual manipulation of the flash guard to provide different light emission wave lengths and directional profiles.
The light has three different operating modes, i.e. white only, infrared only or blue only. The first light filter acts to block all visible light below infrared frequencies. The second filter inside the flash guard is used independently of the infrared filter to block all but blue light. When the blue filter is in use, the flash guard on the housing is positioned so that a peripheral light shield around the xenon bulb creates a tunnelling effect to block peripheral transmission of the blue light, in a line-of-sight manner, for manual aim in a desired direction.
The strobe light housing is constructed of a rigid plastic material that is watertight and is substantially rectangular in shape, having the xenon bulb mounted at one end underneath a clear, watertight plastic bulb cover. A manually operated, slidable on/off switch actuator is mounted externally on one face of the housing, and is a waterproof switch that connects the battery to the strobe light bulb through internal circuitry. Without the flash guard, the strobe light would operate in a normal fashion, providing pulsed, high intensity white light in a 360° area, hemispherically surrounding the strobe light when activated.
The flash guard, in accordance with the present invention, is a rectangular, hollow body that permanently fits slidably over the exterior portions of the strobe light housing while still exposing the on/off switch actuator. The flash guard, once installed on the housing, is non-removable. The flash guard has a storage or stored position in which the infrared filter forms a light seal over the clear protective cover of the strobe bulb. If the light were accidentally turned on in the storage position, only infrared rays would be emitted, unobservable by human beings. The shape and configuration of the infrared lens allows for a snug fit above and around the clear bulb cover in the storage position. The peripheral edges of the infrared filter overlap inwardly into the body of the flash guard, forming a light seal around the edges. In the flash guard storage position, the flash guard body and IR filter is mechanically locked in place and can be moved only by deliberate manual manipulation to change operation modes.
The flash guard has an external, movable infrared filter that covers the clear bulb cover in the storage mode and allows only infrared light to pass from the strobe light, and an internal, 90° movable, spring-loaded, blue light filter that can be positioned over the white strobe light when the flash guard body is moved to a particular position longitudinally relative to the strobe light housing. Thus, the flash guard body is moveable longitudinally to provide multiple positions for manually providing different light frequencies and area distribution, depending on the situation.
The present invention allows for three different light-emitting conditions for the strobe light viz. white, blue or infrared light. In the flash guard storage position, the exterior IR filter on the flash guard covers the white strobe light and bulb cover with an infrared filter, such that only infrared light is allowed to pass through the filter. In many military and combat environments, the use of infrared equipment is well known, including infrared detectors that are used at night for locating various objects. The IR filter can be rotated manually 90° from the flash guard stored position to a position out of the way of the white strobe light to provide a white light operating condition. In the white light operating position, the white light is prominently displayed and exposed outside of the flash guard for normal operation emitting white light, 360° peripherally and 180° elevationally. The blue filter operating position is achieved by sliding the flash guard body relative to the strobe light housing, causing the blue filter to move into position over the white strobe light and bulb cover within the flash guard body passage which acts as a peripheral shield. In a combat situation, a downed aviator, for example, could use the infrared filter in the storage position and direct IR rays in the direction of a helicopter or other equipment known to have infrared detecting equipment. The infrared detector operator could then observe a pulsing, infrared signal, not visible to the human eye in the area. This could be useful in peacetime or combat situations. Inside the flash guard body, when moved to the blue filter position, a dark blue light filter allows only dark blue light to pass in a line-of-sight fashion from the top opening of the flash guard. This would be highly directional by the person holding the light, and could be directed in a known direction of friendlies, who could observe and expect to see a blue light, indicating friendly downed personnel. Such a line-of-sight method could also be directed at overhead aircraft if the downed person realized that they were friendly aircraft looking for the downed person. The blue light would positively identify the person and would not be confused with muzzle flashes from firearms. Also, surrounding personnel would not be able to see the blue light because of the shield formed by the flash guard.
Thus, the present invention is capable of peacetime and combat usage, can emit white, strobed light, or an infrared or blue light, shielded, depending on the circumstances, by mere manipulation of a flash guard contained on the strobe light housing.
It is an object of this invention to provide a portable emergency strobe light for locating downed personnel in remote areas that is useful in both peacetime or combat environments through the use of a plurality of different light wave transmissions.
It is another object of this invention to provide a strobe light for emergency location of downed personnel that includes a flash guard to allow directionality and light wave selection for use in a combat environment for location of personnel.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a strobe light having three different individual modes of light transmission and emission, including white light, or infrared light, or blue light that can be directed in a particular line of sight, all modes using the same strobe light source.
And yet still another object of this invention is to provide a highly efficient, hand-held, portable strobe light that includes combat and non-combat operating modes, including a flash guard filter that is easily manipulated manually for changing circumstances.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the strobe light, including flash guard, showing the present invention.
FIG. 2a is a front elevational view of the strobe light with the flash guard in its retracted position, and the infrared lens pivoted to expose the white light.
FIG. 2b is a side elevational view of that shown in FIG. 2a.
FIG. 3a is a front elevational view of the strobe light, with the flash guard in a retracted position, with the infrared lens extended above the clear lens, an intermediate position.
FIG. 3b is a side elevational view of that shown in FIG. 3a.
FIG. 4a is a front elevational view of the strobe light and flash guard in the retracted position with the infrared lens retracted over the clear lens in the flash guard storage position and IR operation position.
FIG. 4b is a side elevational view of that shown in FIG. 4a.
FIG. 4c is a top plan view of that shown in FIG. 4a.
FIG. 4d is a bottom plan view of that shown in FIG. 4a.
FIG. 5a is a front elevational view of the strobe light and flash guard, shown with the flash guard in an extended position, with the infrared lens extended over the clear lens, a non-operable transition position while moving the infrared lens to an out of the way position.
FIG. 5b is a side elevational view of that shown in FIG. 5a.
FIG. 6a is a top view of the strobe light and flash guard, shown extended, with the infrared lens in a non-operable out of the way position.
FIG. 6b is a side elevational view of that shown in FIG. 6a.
FIG. 7a, 7b, and 7c are side elevational views of the strobe light and flash guard, partially in cross section, showing the blue lens transitionally moving from its spring-loaded, stored position through a partially extended position to fully extended position.
FIG. 8a shows a side cross-sectional view through lines VIIIa-VIIIa shown in FIG. 8b and is an alternative embodiment of the strobe light where the blue lens and spring are stored along a side of the lamp housing.
FIG. 8b shows a top view of that shown in FIG. 8a.
FIG. 8c shows a side cross-sectional view of the strobe light through lines VIIIc-VIIIc shown in FIG. 8d in which the light is in an extended position and the blue lens is bent in a U-shape over the clear cover.
FIG. 8d shows a top view of that shown in FIG. 8c.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the strobe light operational circuitry.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to FIG. 1, the invention 1 is shown comprising a strobe light 2, and depicts each of the components in an exploded format. The strobe light 2 is comprised of a main exterior housing 3, and a clear, watertight, transparent bulb cover 14. The housing 3 is manufactured of a durable, polycarbonate plastic, and may be colored brightly, such as bright orange or the like, for ease in detection. Alternatively, housing 3 may be colored black or olive to insure the unit's stealth. The main housing 3 includes a waterproof, manual light activating switch actuator 7 for activating an internal strobe light bulb electrical circuit shown in FIG. 9. Switch actuator 7 is a sparkproof magnetic switch which will neither spark nor ignite combustible gases or fuels when actuated. This feature is critical in the event of an aircraft or boating accident where a flammable gas or liquid may be on or near the user hand-held rescue light.
Housing 3 includes a switch guide and retainer channel 9 for sliding longitudinal movement of the switch actuator 7 therein between "on" and "off" positions of the light bulb. Four switch actuator detents 10 act to hold a retaining pin (not shown) attached to a lower portion of the switch actuator 7 within switch guide 9. These detents 10 hold switch actuator 7 into a respective on or off position. A lanyard 11 passes through an aperture at the lower end of switch guide 9 and is used to attach the strobe light 1 to the hand or other fixed object.
At the upper end of the strobe light housing 3, a flash lamp or xenon light bulb 13, as seen in FIG. 1, is connected to a fixed panel 3a, having a reflective surface. Flash lamp 13, when actuated by the flash circuit, emits approximately 250,000 peak lumens per flash at an initial flash rate of 60 FPM ±10 FPM. Flash lamp 13 is a xenon bulb or the like, and emits a white, visible light at a frequency range between approximately 4,000 and 7,700 Å. The visibility of flash lamp 13 exceeds one nautical mile on a clear, dark night. At the top of flash lamp 13, a clear, transparent cover 14 allows light transmission through the cover 14 while guarding the bulb 13 against damage due to moisture or collision with foreign objects.
The strobe light housing 3 fits within the hollow passage 15 of flash guard 200 and flash guard body 5. The flash guard and its light filters are movable relative to the strobe light housing and bulb between three different operating positions, explained below. Switch guide 9 fits within a cut out area on one face of flash guard body 5, so that the switch actuator 7 protrudes above the flash guard body surface. The flash guard body 5 also has an internally mounted blue light filter 23 along with spring 25 that pivotally moves translucent plastic blue light filter 23. The blue filter 23 includes hinges 24 which protrude and allow the filter 23 to pivot in a pair of corresponding recesses 24a within the flash guard body 5. As best seen in FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c, spring 25 forces the blue filter 23 downward over the top of clear cover 14. This occurs when the flash guard body 5 is longitudinally, manually pulled along strobe light housing 3 into an extended position. A second light filter, plastic infrared light filter 27, (hereinafter referred to as IR filter 27) includes rigidly attached support members 29 and corresponding position holding apertures 31. A pair of mounting posts 21 are rigidly attached to the upper portion of the flash guard body 5, one on each side, which fit through and over apertures 31 and allow the IR filter 27 to be manually pivoted about the posts 21 between an operable position when the flash guard is in a stored position, and pivoted to an out of the way position to expose the white or blue light modes.
In FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c, the strobe light with the IR filter 27 is shown in the flash guard storage or stored position. In the stored position, IR filter 27 rests on top of the flash guard body 5, above and covering bulb 13. As seen in FIG. 4b, IR filter 27 and lower edge 27a is positioned to overlap below the top edge of the flash guard body 5 to act as a white light seal around the upper edge of the body 5. The flash guard body 5 is not extended. Position barrier tabs 12, extending from the switch guide 9 on each side, press against the upper position detent 19 so the flash guard body 5 cannot be moved toward the strobe light housing base. The IR filter can be used in this position by switching on the light. Only IR rays will be emitted.
In FIGS. 2a and 2b, the IR filter 27 has been moved (pivoted) from the flash guard storage position and IR operating position to an out-of-the-way location that exposes white light bulb 13 and clear cover 14. This is the white light operating position.
FIGS. 3a and 3b show the longitudinal extent (manually) of the IR filter 27. The IR filter 27 can be moved from a side position (FIGS. 2a and 2b) upwardly into an IR operable position directly above, covering the clear cover 14, as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. FIG. 3b specifically shows that the mounting post 21 is at the rear of slot 31. Thus, in the IR operating position, the IR filter 27 snaps downward over the clear cover 14. This is best seen in FIGS. 4a and 4b. FIG. 4b shows the mounting post 21 one on each side) at the upper portion of slot 31 after the IR filter 27 has been snapped into the IR emitting operating position. The IR filter 27 lower edge 27a overlaps and fits snugly into a recess created by the junction of clear cover 14 and main housing 3. IR filter 27 totally overlaps clear cover 14 to provide a completely leakproof light barrier. Support member 29 also holds IR filter 27 by its frictional engagement with the outer surface of the flash guard body 5. A tight fit is required to prevent visible light emitted from the flash lamp bulb 13 from being emitted around the edges of the IR filter 27.
The IR filter 27 is made of durable plastic and acts to filter visible light below approximately 7,500 Å. As specified above, the IR filter 27 is made generally of a concave shape, and is C-shaped in cross section. This allows a snug fit and overlap that conforms in shape over the clear bulb cover 14 to prevent any visible light from escaping around the edges of the cover 29.
Since the IR spectrum ranges from approximately 7,500 Å to above 36,000 Å, the IR filter 27 filters out visible light below approximately 7,500 Å, allowing only IR frequencies to pass through the filter. Using an IR detection system (not shown), this IR light source can be readily detected. The IR is normally invisible and undetectable to the naked eye, useful in a combat situation. Hence, the strobe light 13, using IR filter 27, can be used by the military or others who wish to avoid detection to all persons except those with IR detection equipment.
FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d show the IR filter 27 in its operational position. This is also the compact stored position of the flash guard and the entire strobe light. Switch actuator 7 is shown in its "on" position. FIG. 4c shows the IR filter 27 fitting completely over both the flash lamp 13 and clear cover 14. FIG. 4d shows the access door to the internal battery compartment (not shown) within strobe light housing 3. A screw member 33 includes an elongated, threaded shaft (not shown) which engages inside the strobe light housing 3 to hold the access door 35 to the battery housing. The battery housing typically holds two AA alkaline batteries, or in the alternative, two AA lithium iron sulfide batteries if a long shelf life is desired. The screw member 33 and rubber gasket (not shown) surrounding the access door 35 insure the battery compartment is tightly sealed and is both vibration proof and waterproof to a depth of approximately thirty meters.
FIGS. 5a, 5b and 6a, 6b show the flash guard body 5 in a longitudinally (manually) extended position relative to the strobe light housing 3 required to move the IR 27 filter when it is desirous to use the blue filter 23 and to shield light emission laterally for line-of-sight transmission. The blue filter 23, when moved by a spring over the flash lamp 13, acts to filter out light above approximately 5,500 Å. The blue filter 23 would be used during night time in a combat area for positive identification by a friendly and direct line-of-sight positioning by the user to aim the blue light beam at a friendly aircraft or position without detection by the enemy.
For a white flashing strobe light, the IR filter 27 is manually extended and pivoted about its mounting posts 21 where it is moved out of the way of clear cover 14 and into its stored position as seen in FIGS. 6a and 6b. As seen in FIG. 6b, the IR filter 27 may be positioned flat against the surface of flash guard body 5. The flash guard body 5 stays in the retracted position for use of the white strobe light. Lower position detent 17 prevents the strobe light housing 3 from being totally disengaged and removed from the flash guard body 5.
As seen in FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c, when the strobe light housing 3 is extended relative to the flash guard body 5, bulb 13 and clear cover 14 are moved into a position behind the blue filter 23. A portion of spring 25 rests upon the perimeter of blue filter 23 and acts to provide a rotational force, pivoting the blue filter 23 about its hinges 24 as a portion of the strobe housing 3 is moved out of the inside channel in flash guard body 5, freeing the movement of the blue filter. Hinges 24 rotate within associated apertures 24a located at each side of the flash guard body 5. Blue filter 23 moves into the position shown in FIG. 7c so the lower surface of the blue filter is flush with the upper surface of clear cover 14. The upper portion of flash guard body 5 is moved so that the inner channel encompasses the blue filter to create a lateral peripheral light barrier or tunnel to effect line-of-sight directionality by manually pointing the light in a desired direction. This allows blue light which is emitted from blue filter 23 to be directed to a specific area. In a night combat environment, a friendly can identify the light source while the user can direct the light toward a known friendly aircraft, tank, or area. The IR filter 27 is always moved out of the way when using the blue filter 23.
FIGS. 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d show an alternative embodiment of the strobe light. In this embodiment, the blue lens 27' is stored in an extended position along the side of strobe housing 3. The blue lens 27' differs from the blue lens in the previous embodiment in that it is relatively thin and pliable, capable of bending and flexing into a U-shape repeatedly without damage. A spring 23' is also positioned adjacent and against the outer surface of blue lens 27'. The spring 23' may be approximately the same length as blue lens 27' and has a narrow dimension so a limited amount of lens area is covered. Spring 23' is typically positioned down the center of blue lens 27' in order to facilitate ease of movement. Alternatively, the spring may be placed at either side of blue lens 27'. FIG. 8a shows a side sectional view of blue lens 27', in a stored position, inside of the strobe housing 3. FIG. 8b shows a top view of blue lens 27' in its stored position. FIG. 8c shows a side sectional view of the extension of housing 3 relative to the flash guard body 5. As flash guard body 5 is moved into position, spring 23' is exposed at the upper portion of flash guard body 5 and tends to bend into its naturally U-shaped position. In turn, the spring 23' forces the pliable upper portion of blue lens 27', which is beneath spring 23', downward. As seen in the figure, blue lens 27' flexes and bends into a U-shape over the top of clear cover 14. FIG. 8d shows a top view of spring 23' providing a biasing force to bend blue filter 27' thereby covering flash lamp bulb 13 and clear cover 14. When retracting the flash guard body 5 back into the position shown in FIG. 8a, the surface of strobe housing 3 forces both spring 23' and blue lens 27' back into a straight position where it is again stored until its use is required.
FIG. 9 shows the circuit diagram for the strobe bulb 13 activation once switch actuator 7 is positioned to the "on" position. The strobe bulb 13 will pulse in accordance with the circuit parameters. The circuit shown is conventional and includes a trigger coil T2.
The present invention provides efficient, manually-actuated strobe light filters and light guard to allow a white strobe light, used for emergency location purposes, to be converted into a combat useful light that can emit light rays in both the infrared region of the spectrum and in the blue ray region, to allow a person in an emergency situation to be located when in enemy territory or a combat situation. Otherwise, the light can also be used as a normal survival light to find someone at night in remote locations with a strong, white, pulsed strobe light. Using the infrared spectrum in a combat situation, the device can transmit infrared light below the human visible spectrum to infrared detectors used by friendly forces to locate the downed person. Likewise, using a blue light and a tunnel-like shield around the strobe light, a highly directional line-of-sight emission of blue light rays can be transmitted at night in the direction of friendly forces or vehicles to attract attention, known by friendlies to look for a blue, pulsing light. The flash guard, in accordance with the present invention, can be affixed in conjunction with the housing of a white strobe light.
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. | A hand-held strobe light which may be used in rescue or emergency operations in peacetime or in a combat zone. The light includes a watertight housing with a high intensity bulb which flashes white light. Interchangeable blue and infrared filters attached to a flash guard body can be used with the bulb for filtering various wave lengths of light spectrum in combat situations and for both 360 degree or line-of-sight transmission. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle trailer hitch and more particularly to a vehicle hitch system which can detect a jackknife condition and warn the vehicle operator.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that backing up a vehicle with a trailer for many drivers is often difficult and frustrating. Even individuals with considerable driving experience often have little opportunity to develop the skill required to back up a trailer. Much of the difficulty associated with backing up a trailer results from the fact that it is not intuitive for many drivers to sense the jackknifing situation before it is too late a nd from the fact that many drivers do not know how to steer properly in order to align the trailer back to avoid a jackknifing situation. It is the purpose of this invention to provide such assistance to the driver by the early detection of vehicle-trailer jackknifing tendency and provide steering direction assistance to avoid a jackknifing situation.
In general, vehicle-trailer backing up is by nature an unstable motion, unless an experienced driver in the loop stabilizes it with timely and proper steering and/or braking. Jackknife occurs when a vehicle-trailer is approaching away from its equilibrium position, a position intended by the driver through his/her steering input, and thus becomes unstable. In other words, the relative angle between vehicle and trailer is diverging from the driver's intended target angle, and usually increases if proper steering and/or braking action are not taken. This is typically out of control by the driver, either due to lack of sufficient driving skill, or the condition is too severe. Therefore, a driver's capability in controlling the motion of vehicle-trailer combination is one of the key elements in this invention.
The prior art can be found through U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,800 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,626 related to this invention. Both of these systems use hitch articulation position as the sole criteria to detect a potential jackknifing situation. While systems provide satisfactory functioning for a vehicle towing a trailer, they may not function during the backing up of a trailer. More particularly, neither of them takes into account the operator and vehicle-trailer combination into consideration. Furthermore the articulation rate (as how fast the jackknife is to happen) during the detection of jackknife situation is not used in their calculations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The jackknifing warning system of the present invention utilizes vehicle steering wheel angle sensor signal, vehicle travel speed and hitch articulation angle to evaluate system stability. Based on a hitch angle equilibrium position, hitch angle rate and some predetermined criteria, the system utilizes an algorithm to determine if the motion of vehicle-trailer combination is stable or not with driver in the loop. When instability is detected, a critical hitch angle will be calculated as a function of hitch angle rate, a predetermined maximum critical hitch angle and a predetermined tolerant time period to determine if and how the vehicle-trailer is approaching jackknifing. If the vehicle-trailer surpasses the critical angle, a proper warning signal is issued with varying intensity as the severity varies. The algorithm also provides steering direction assistance in order for the driver to steer to avoid jackknifing.
This invention can apply to vehicle with either two-wheel steer or four-wheel steer with a trailer. Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 depicts an algorithm to determine a potential jackknife situation during back-up of a vehicle-trailer, and
FIG. 2 shows a schematic of a vehicle-trailer system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
With reference to FIG. 1 , the system according to the present invention first determines the instability of the vehicle and trailer with driver in the loop. For example, whether or not the vehicle-trailer combination is under control. After updating a system clock, the system begins when a controller reads steering wheel angle δ sw from steering wheel angle sensor and vehicle traveling speed from speed sensor at input point 10 . In order to detect system instability, at process block 12 an equilibrium position in terms of hitch angle is calculated based on the input of vehicle steering wheel angle, vehicle speed along with some geometric parameters of the vehicle and trailer. The equilibrium position of the hitch angle, {overscore (θ)} eq , can be calculated as below:
θ _ eq = tan - 1 ( y x ) = f ( δ f δ r , Γ ) , ( 1 )
Where
δ f = δ sw r gearRatio
is the front-wheel angle, and δ r =K f δ sw is the rear-wheel angle if four-wheel steer vehicle. r gearRatio is the gear ratio in front steering system while K f is the ratio between steering wheel to rear-wheel angle for four-wheel steer vehicle. Γ represents the geometric parameters of vehicle-trailer combination where
x = h - L 1 tan δ r tan δ f - tan δ r
y = YL 2 x Y 2 - x 2 + x 2 Y 2 - x 2 Y 2 + L 2 2 - x 2 , and
Y = ( L 1 tan δ f - tan δ r + T 2 ) 2 + ( h - L 1 tan δ r tan δ f - tan δ r ) 2 - L 2 2
A measured hitch angle is taken at input block 14 . The measured hitch angle is then compared with the equilibrium position in terms of hitch angle at query block 16 based on criteria (2) to determine if the measured hitch angle is approaching to the equilibrium position:
if θ( n )>{overscore (θ)} eq ( n ) then (2)
Δθ( n )=θ( n+ 1)−θ( n )<0
else
Δθ( n )=θ( n+ 1)−θ( n )>0
If the criteria (2) are not met, the measured hitch angle is diverging from the equilibrium position, therefore, the instability is detected. Then the hitch angle rate is estimated at block 26 and then proceeds to block 24 . Otherwise, it proceeds to query block 18 below.
If the criteria (2) are met in query block 16 , the difference |Δθ(n)|=|{overscore (θ)} eq (n)−θ(n)| between the current hitch angle θ (through hitch angle sensor) and {overscore (θ)} eq is calculated in query block 18 and checked to see if it is bounded to a small value. If it is bounded, then the hitch angle rate is estimated at block 20 and checked to see if it is approaching to zero (or bounded to a small value numerically) at the neighborhood of the equilibrium position based on the criteria (3), for early distinction between convergence and divergence of hitch angle towards the equilibrium position:
|Δθ( n )|=|{overscore (θ)} eq ( n )−θ( n )|<Δ{overscore (θ)}*( n ) (3)
|{dot over (θ)}( n )|<{dot over({overscore (θ)})}*( n )
Therefore, if both criteria (2) and (3) are met, the current hitch angle θ is determined to approach the equilibrium angle, and the stability of vehicle-trailer with drive in the loop can be determined. If Δθ is not bounded at query block 18 , it restarts at point 8 with time clock updated. If {dot over (θ)} is not bounded at query block 22 , the instability is detected. It proceeds to block 24 to calculate the critical hitch angle.
When the instability is detected, the system will check the current vehicle and trailer relative position and compare with a predetermined critical angle under the current estimated hitch angle rate based on equation (4). If the measured hitch angle is larger than the critical angle, the jackknifing status is detected and a warning message is issued a nd transmitted to the driver via some audio and/or video signals.
θ . ( n ) ≈ θ ( n + 1 ) - θ ( n ) Δ t ( 4 )
The critical hitch angle can vary depending on the hitch angle rate, as the larger of hitch angle rate, the smaller critical angle can be tolerated. As shown in query block 22 , if a is bounded by a small value (or approaching to zero), the system is stable and returns to start point 8 . If the condition of query block 22 is not met, the system continues with process block 24 . Similarly from query block 16 , should the current hitch angle 0 not approach the equilibrium angle, the hitch angle rate is estimated approximately in process block 26 based on equation (4).
Given a predetermined maximum critical hitch angle {overscore (θ)} cr0 at static (hitch angle rate equals to zero), and the predetermined tolerant time period, {overscore (τ)}*, to achieve the consistent tolerable time period, the critical hitch angle θ cr *(n) at hitch angle rate {dot over (θ)}( n ) can be determined in process block 24 as:
θ cr *( n )={overscore (θ)} cr0 *−{overscore (τ)}*·{dot over (θ)}( n ) (5)
If in query block 28 the current hitch angle is smaller than the critical hitch angle, then the system is not seen as a jackknife situation and restarts at start point 8 . If in query block 28 the current hitch angle is larger than the critical hitch angle, the vehicle-trailer motion is considered to be approaching to a jackknife situation:
|θ( n )|>{overscore (θ)} cr *( n ) (6)
The difference Δθ(n)=|θ(n)|−{overscore (θ)} cr *(n) can be used to determine how severe the potential jackknife situation is. An intensity-varying audio device, such as frequency-varying audio (beep) signal generator, for instance, can be used to generate a signal with lower frequency corresponding to a less severe situation, and higher frequency when the jackknife situation is worse.
Furthermore, when a potential jackknife situation is detected, the system will instruct the driver, based on the current hitch position, as to which direction to steer with maximum steering amount at the fastest steering rate in order to avoid the jackknife. In process block 30 , the steering command δ sw can be determined by:
if θ( n )>0, then (7)
δ sw *<0 (steering right)
else
δ sw *>0 (steering left)
Where positive steering means steering left in this invention. With the same device, such information can be passed to the driver through left or right speaker equipped respectively in the original vehicle audio system, or can use light emitting devices. It is envisioned either the amplitude or frequency of the audible signal can be adjusted to alert the operator.
FIG. 2 represent a schematic of the system according to the teachings of the present invention. Shown is a controller 40 coupled to an associated memory unit 42 . The controller 40 is coupled to a system I/O module 44 which is configured to accept signals from a number of wheel angle and vehicle traveling speed sensors 46 as well as a hitch articulation sensor 48 . The I/O module 44 is coupled to an occupant warning system 50 which can take the form of an audible, visual or tactile information system. The warning system FIG. 50 is configured to convey to the vehicle's operator if a jackknife condition exists and further recommend to the vehicle's operator how to avoid a jackknife condition. The detail procedure can be described as follows:
1. The controller 40 reads the sensor signals of vehicle speed, vehicle steering wheel angle δ sw , and calculates the front wheel angle
δ f ( n ) = δ sw r gearRatio
and rear wheel angle δ r (n)=K f δ sw (n) if any.
2. The controller 40 then calculates the hitch angle equilibrium position {overscore (θ)} eq (n) based on equation (1); 3. The I/O module 44 reads the sensor signal of hitch angle θ( n ) and the controller 40 compares it with {overscore (θ)} eq (n); 4. The controller 40 then determines if θ( n ) is approaching to equilibrium position {overscore (θ)} eq (n) based on the criteria (2); 5. If θ( n ) is not approaching to {overscore (θ)} eq (n) the vehicle-trailer motion is considered to be unstable. Then, the controller 40 goes to step 7 ; 6. If θ( n ) is approaching to {overscore (θ)} eq (n) further determine if hitch angle and hitch angle rate are bounded from block 18 , 20 and 22 based on the criteria (3). If yes, the vehicle-trailer motion is considered to be stable. The controller 46 starts detection over again by going back to step 1 ; 7. When instability is detected, the critical hitch angle is then calculated based on equation (5) by the controller 40 , which is a function of the current hitch angle rate, a predetermined maximum critical hitch angle and a predetermined tolerant time period; 8. If the controller 40 determines that the current hitch angle is larger than the critical hitch angle, the vehicle-trailer motion is considered to be approaching the jackknifing situation; 9. The controller 40 uses the difference Δθ=|θ(n)|−θ cr *(n) to determine the severity of the potential jackknife situation. A different audio signal is generated accordingly; and 10. The steering instruction δ sw * as how to steer to avoid the jackknife is determined based on criteria (7), and passed to the driver accordingly through either right or left speaker 50 , for instance.
The system assumes that the roll and pitch of the vehicle and trailer is small and can be neglected; furthermore, the system assumes that the tire slip is negligible. It is envisioned that the above parameters can be modified to incorporate the vehicle and trailer pitch and is well as tire slip should this information become available through systems such as traction control or and anti-lock braking systems.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. | This invention provides a system to detect in real time the condition of jackknifing tendency during vehicle-trailer backing up, and to provide steering direction assistance. The system utilizes rates of change of a vehicle-trailer articulation angle to determine a critical articulation angle. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/433,625, filed Dec. 13, 2002. The complete disclosure of application Serial No. 60/433,625 is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The field of the present invention generally relates to systems and methods for medical procedure documentation, and in particular to a system and method for generating naturally expressed medical procedure descriptions in unique association to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) billing codes for all non Evaluation and Management (E & M) CPT codes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Medical billing has become increasingly more complicated and time consuming. Medicare and other third-party payors are requiring CPT codes and supporting documentation to be recorded for each procedure performed on a patient. Medical billing is based on two kinds of billing codes: the diagnosis code and the procedure code. The diagnosis code represents the patient's diagnosed illness or malady and the procedure code represents what medical procedure was actually performed on the patient. The World Health Organization has developed a method to identify the patient's diagnosed conditions and injuries, and the associated codes are called the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition Clinical Modification (ICD9) codes. Similar codes will likely be adopted in the future as the ICD10 codes are already published. A uniform language for effective communication of procedure codes was developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966 and is called the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). In 1983, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), created the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) or “hick-picks” system. The HCPCS system is a uniform method for health care providers and medical suppliers to report professional services, procedures, and supplies. The HCPCS system is further categorized into three levels. Level I is the AMA Physician's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), Level II is the HCPCS national codes, and Level III is local codes maintained by individual state Medicare carriers. The HCPCS Level III codes are just one part of the three-level coding system which will soon become a two-level coding system. The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that there be standardized procedure coding. In order to meet this requirement all HCPCS Level III codes/modifiers need to be eliminated by Dec. 31, 2003.
[0004] A third party payor is an organization, carrier, or intermediary that supplies insurance, especially health insurance (including Medicare), to individuals. Third party payors now require that the appropriate ICD9, CPT, and HCPCS codes be assigned to each and every patient encounter, evaluation, examination, and procedure between a patient and a physician, assistant, nurse or other health care provider. These codes encompass the complexity of the problem evaluated, the amount of work required of the physician, and the level of treatment required. Accordingly, physicians must code all services, and in particular procedures, according to the CPT coding system to be paid for their services from these organizations. Therefore, billing for a physician's services has become increasingly more complex in recent years.
[0005] To manage this increasing complexity, groups such as Medicare and independent companies such as the Physician Management Information Company (PMIC) have developed categorizations of various parts of the patient encounter. These aids usually take the form of checklists on letter or legal sized papers. They are often several pages long and serve to aid the provider in choosing the accurate procedure code. Medical specialists find the CPT coding system difficult to use because many modern medical specialties fall within several enumerated categories. Further, the CPT coding system requires a working knowledge of the medical procedures involved to receive proper compensation, thereby causing non-physician coding personnel to sometimes improperly code examinations. Many procedures that are performed but not documented by the physician go unbilled and un-reimbursed because the non-physician coding personnel do not fully understand the medical procedures involved or because there is insufficient information provided by the physician in the procedural notes. Furthermore, even if a non-physician coding personnel coding the examinations understands the procedures involved, he or she is likely to overlook billable intermediate procedures. Thus, constructing a complete and concise set of CPT codes for procedures is complicated and problematical without a deep understanding of each medical procedure, the various ways each procedure can be described, and the associated arcane nomenclature used by the CPT coding system that matches each possible procedure description.
[0006] Additionally, physicians and non-physician coding personnel often do not accurately translate a performed medical procedure into the correct CPT coding format because of the very complexity of the CPT coding system itself. In many situations, a straight reading of the CPT code will not provide the proper billing code, and the physician or non-physician coding personnel must review an entire CPT category to determine the proper billing code, or must memorize how certain procedural codes interact. Memorizing all of the CPT codes and coding interactions applicable to a physicians' practice, however, is impractical, and using a truncated, but manageable, list would be incomplete and inaccurate. The CPT coding system is also imprecise in areas, and the physician or non-physician personnel must learn to compensate for this inexactness. These issues are exacerbated by the fact that the CPT codes commonly change from year to year. The CPT code interactions change as often as quarterly via the National Correct Coding Initiatives, (NCCl).
[0007] To effectively handle these issues, a medical coding profession was established to translate procedural descriptions used by their hospital's physician groups to an appropriately matched CPT. Nonetheless, because of the incredible, dynamic complexity of the CPT coding system, payments from Medicare and private insurance companies regularly lack parity with the physician's services.
[0008] There are systems and methods that address these issues. However, the prior art does not sufficiently address the issues to provide an efficient and effective means to solve these problems for non E & M CPT coding nor does the prior art address the issue of a consistent complete natural description of a medical procedure used by physicians. Furthermore, there does not exist a prescribed and predetermined relationship between the natural procedure description used by physicians and the non E & M CPT codes. A structured language bridge or ontology does not exist that uniquely matches up the natural procedure description used by the physicians and the language utilized in the non E & M CPT coding systems.
[0009] There are system systems that attempt to solve these problems. As an example, CodeLink is a system package developed by Context System Systems that compares CPT codes typed by the user to ICD9 codes or vice versa. The two codes are compared based on the medical necessity established by HCFA. The codes are not generated as part of a real-time documentation process but as a separate, stand-alone reference after the encounter. As another example, PRISM is system package that documents the medical encounter. PRISM's Patient Registration module prints a list of CPT and ICD9 codes selected by the physician. A significant limitation is that this list is not related to the patient-specific encounter.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,876 to Dart et al. describes a system for the production of accurate billing coding for care rendered. The invention established the process, the data gathering and documentation required of a provider in determining and documenting correct Evaluation and Management, (E & M), CPT code required for agency reimbursement for care delivered. This system only produces E & M CPT codes and does not produce non E & M CPT codes.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,443 to Milstein et al. describes a system for calculating a Current Procedural Terminology (“CPT”) code from input received from a physician or other medical professional. The physician is prompted with lists of choices corresponding to a patient's medical status. This system only produces E & M CPT codes and does not produce non E & M CPT codes.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,293 to Dome describes a system for performing the inventive method are provided to correlate billing code with planned or performed medical procedures. The method comprises the steps of determining raw codes directly associated with all of the medical procedures performed or planned to be performed with a particular patient examination, and manipulating the raw codes by the steps of a final common pathway to generate intermediate codes without altering the raw codes. The method also comprises the step of determining the billing codes from the intermediate codes. This system produces non E & M CPT codes but doesn't provide a method that utilizes a structured natural procedure description used by physicians to generate the non E & M CPT code. The system directs the physician to document the procedure in an unstructured non-natural procedure description method.
[0013] It would therefore be advantageous to have a method and system for designing and implementing a naturally expressible medical procedural language that correctly and concisely describes a physician's procedure with a summary descriptor, such as a procedure note label, header, tag, or title. The naturally expressed summary descriptor would have a distinct correspondence between the physician's procedure and a unique non E & M CPT code associated with it. In this manner, physicians are able to describe their procedures in a clinical style that is natural to the physician with no requirement to understand or use the CPT coding system nomenclature.
[0014] None of the known prior documentation code association approaches are able to accomplish the noteworthy need of determining accurate codes during the documentation process, providing codes that are as accurate as possible, and doing this in an easy-to-use and automated manner for the physician.
[0015] The invention incorporates the desired coding into the procedure documentation process for a physician using the invention. The invention correctly and accurately links the procedure performed, the procedure documentation input by the physician, and the procedure codes.
[0016] The invention therefore provides consistent coding. The invention incorporates a set of rules that guarantee that specific criteria for each code are met or not met. By associating a CPT code to the procedure documentation, the invention provides a reliable method of coding the procedure and a sense of security for the provider that an accurate code has been presented for incorporation into the procedure note.
[0017] Accuracy is a significant factor when assigning the diagnosis and procedural codes. Human error may factor into any process where numbers are looked up in one source and transcribed into another. The object of the invention is to provide concise and complete procedure documentation system that automates the generation of associated accurate CPT codes. The system allows the physician to select the textual descriptions of procedure terms and attributes as an integral part of documenting the procedure in a manner that is natural and is uniform for all procedure notes generated by the invention. The CPT codes are automatically coupled to the natural procedure label and procedure descriptions.
[0018] Thus, as will be appreciated from a review of the drawings and detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments, the present invention overcomes the significant limitations and shortcomings of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0019] The benefits of this invention will become clear and will be best appreciated with reference to the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. Other objects, advantages, and novel features will be apparent from the description when read in conjunction with the appended claims and attached drawings.
[0020] The present invention is an automated medical procedure documentation and code compliance system and method. The invention generates thorough, medically complete, procedure notes that are coupled with accurate non E & M CPT procedure codes.
[0021] A computer based system and method are described for generating a natural procedure label that summarize a clinical procedure description recorded into the system by a physician. The system and method manipulate a set of database records comprising medical content which is naturally descriptive of clinical procedures and which is controlled for coding to generate the natural procedure label and its corresponding Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code during the recording of the procedure description.
[0022] The system provides the features that eliminate the error prone process of dictation, and the often lengthy delays associated with transcribing, reviewing, recreating, and approving transcripts. A minimal learning curve is required to become productive when using the invention.
[0023] The system eliminates the time required for coding specialists to decipher inadequate documentation to obtain proper reimbursements. The system simplifies the CPT coding process. The system codes each procedure completely, based on the physician's notes. The coding is done accurately and in a manner that makes it foolproof by engineering design. The system's document driven charge capture module completes the process by transferring the documentation to the healthcare facilities billing system. The system eliminates the problems relating to under coding and under billing. All legitimate revenues claims are properly and completely documented.
[0024] The present invention is a software program operating on a single general purpose computing device or a plurality of computing devices interconnected via a network system. The invention is a system and method for electronically documenting a medical procedure in a manner that generates a natural procedure label and an associated non E & M CPT code that automatically matches the correct non E & M CPT description for the medical procedure. Procedure notes are stored in a database, permitting retrieval of existing procedure documentation in seconds. The procedure documentation is readily available for review, print, fax, email operations.
[0025] The invention interface comprises a set of procedure descriptors designed as drop down menus that controls the information input by a physician to document a medical procedure. The invention uses an anticipatory physician interface, which emulates a typical procedural workflow and a clinician's thought processes, instantly and automatically adapting to each piece of information that is input by the physician.
[0026] A procedure description narrative is constructed based on the initial procedure category selected by a physician. As the physician documents the procedure using the anticipatory interface menus, the narrative is edited as the next procedure description item is selected from a next menu in the documentation process. At the completion of the procedure documentation process, the procedure description narrative is completed and its description fields are filled in. The completed procedure description narrative is called a natural procedure label for the medical procedure.
[0027] The system reduces the time spent by the physician paging through a maze of screens to find the correct place to record information. The system also reduces the time spent by the physician scrolling through dozens of pull-down menus or the time spent by the physician reading through endless lists of words in search for terminology appropriate for the procedure at hand.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] The present invention can be better understood with reference to the following diagrams. The components within the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention.
[0029] [0029]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a personal computer.
[0030] [0030]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a laptop computer.
[0031] [0031]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a pocket pc.
[0032] [0032]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a tablet pc.
[0033] [0033]FIG. 5 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, portable device monitor.
[0034] [0034]FIG. 6 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a data acquisition computer.
[0035] [0035]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a computing device, in particular, a stationary device monitor.
[0036] [0036]FIG. 8 is a graphical representation of a computing device, in particular, an image capture computer.
[0037] [0037]FIG. 9 is a schematic, graphical representation of a typical configuration of system architecture.
[0038] [0038]FIG. 10 is a schematic, graphical representation of physical connections in a typical configuration of a system within the healthcare facility.
[0039] [0039]FIG. 11 is a schematic, graphical representation of physical connections in a WAN and internet configuration of the system.
[0040] [0040]FIG. 12 is a graphical representation of logical connections between clients and servers.
[0041] [0041]FIG. 13 is a screen shot illustrating a physician logon screen for the system of the invention.
[0042] [0042]FIG. 14 is a screen shot illustrating a form that allows a physician to select a specialty for the procedure documentation.
[0043] [0043]FIG. 15 is a screen shot illustrating a main selection form for the launching of a procedure documentation component of the system of the invention.
[0044] [0044]FIG. 16 is a screen shot illustrating an anticipatory physician interface for the system of the invention.
[0045] [0045]FIG. 17 is a screen shot illustrating the scheduling component of the system of the invention.
[0046] [0046]FIG. 18 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface after having selected a patient that has undergone a procedure.
[0047] [0047]FIG. 19 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the procedure category for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0048] [0048]FIG. 20 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the procedure name for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0049] [0049]FIG. 21 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the first attribute for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0050] [0050]FIG. 22 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the next attribute for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0051] [0051]FIG. 23 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the next attribute for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0052] [0052]FIG. 24 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface prompting the physician for the next attribute for the procedure requiring documentation.
[0053] [0053]FIG. 25 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface displaying the completed natural procedure label.
[0054] [0054]FIG. 26 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface displaying the coding form.
[0055] [0055]FIG. 27 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface displaying the coding form and the natural procedure label.
[0056] [0056]FIG. 28 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface displaying the natural procedure label and the associated coupled CPT code and description.
[0057] [0057]FIG. 29 is a screen shot illustrating the system's physician interface displaying the coding form outside the procedure documentation form
[0058] [0058]FIG. 39 is a schematic, graphical representation of a database server containing stored procedures and tables involved with invention.
[0059] [0059]FIG. 40 is a tabulated description of the stored procedures involved with invention.
[0060] [0060]FIG. 41 is a tabulated description of the Cdirect table and a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed as part of the invention.
[0061] [0061]FIG. 42 is a tabulated description of the Dirpar table and a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed as part of the invention.
[0062] [0062]FIG. 43 is a tabulated description of the Cdirmen table and a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed as part of the invention.
[0063] [0063]FIG. 44 is a tabulated description of the Cmenu table and a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed as part of the invention.
[0064] [0064]FIG. 45 is a tabulated description of the Cmenent table and a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed as part of the invention.
[0065] [0065]FIG. 46 is a tabulated description of the Exam table
[0066] [0066]FIG. 47 is a tabulated description of the Cmenat2 table.
[0067] [0067]FIG. 48 is a tabulated description of the Cmentmp table.
[0068] [0068]FIG. 49A is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0069] [0069]FIG. 49B is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0070] [0070]FIG. 49C is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0071] [0071]FIG. 50A is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0072] [0072]FIG. 50B is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0073] [0073]FIG. 51A is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0074] [0074]FIG. 51B is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0075] [0075]FIG. 52A is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0076] [0076]FIG. 52B is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0077] [0077]FIG. 53A is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0078] [0078]FIG. 53B is a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0079] [0079]FIG. 54A is a textual description of the Ai_dtree table and a representation of data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0080] [0080]FIG. 54B is a representation of the data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0081] [0081]FIG. 54C is a representation of the data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0082] [0082]FIG. 54D is a representation of the data stored in tables that are accessed in accord with the invention.
[0083] [0083]FIG. 55A is a textual description of the Exam_codes table.
[0084] [0084]FIG. 55B is a representation of the data stored in the table that is accessed in accord with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0085] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
[0086] Referring to FIG. 9, the present invention includes a plurality of general purpose computing devices interconnected in networked configuration. Referring to FIG. 11, this networked configuration can be in the form of a LAN, WAN, ISDN, Internet, or wired or wireless networked configuration. Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8, the general purpose computing devices can be a personal computer 100 , or laptop computer 200 , or Pocket PC 300 , or tablet pc 400 , or portable device monitor 500 , or data capture computer 600 , or stationary device monitor 700 , or image capture device 800 . Referring to FIG. 10, the general purpose computing devices communicate with a database server via standard TPC/IP network wireless or wired protocols. The database, which includes a knowledge base in the form of a plurality of medical content specialties, is managed by the database server. A plurality of printers is also included in this configuration. The computing devices may have their own local printers.
[0087] The system is written with commercially available application development and database applications. The system can be written in any programming language using commercially available database system. Referring to FIG. 12, the current system runs on Windows computers but the present invention is not limited to any specific operating systems, programming language, database vendor, or computing device.
[0088] Referring to FIG. 16, a physician uses the invention by going through the anticipatory system menus to document the procedure. The system is designed so that the physician is presented with natural procedure descriptors, in a manner that the physician would expect, and in a manner in which the physician would describe the procedure. The system constructs natural procedure labels that summarize the menu selections made by the physician, places these labels into the procedure report, and constructs records in the database that are used to generate the associated CPT codes.
[0089] To maximize the value of the information maintained by the system, it is important to facilitate both information entry, to ensure that the system can access all pertinent information, and information retrieval, to ensure that the information is accessible and that such retrieved information is accurately provided to the provider for proper interpretation. Further, the physicians must have confidence that the information is accurate, secure, and fail-safe; otherwise, physicians will be reluctant to rely upon the system for maintaining medical information.
[0090] In a typical configuration, the program modules of the system are organized in a multi-tier architecture. Several computers throughout the healthcare facility are equipped with the client-side components of the system, which can access other server-side components located on other computers via the network. The client-side system components physician user interface comprises a number of screens in a computing environment that prompts the physician for input and displaying output.
[0091] While the preferred implementation for a hospital setting is a network environment, many of the system functions, including the physician interface and data management functions can be performed on a single computer.
[0092] The discussions are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment for the server and client computers. As noted previously, the system is implemented as a series of program modules, comprising computer executable instructions executed either on a server or client computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, and data structures that perform specific coordinated and synchronized tasks.
[0093] The physician logs on to the system with a user name and password 1300 (FIG. 13). After securing access to the system (FIG. 14) the physician is presented with a screen that allows them to select the specialty area for procedure documentation 1400 . Referring now to FIG. 15, the physician is presented a listing of procedures that need procedure documentation 1500 . The listings of procedures 1500 is typically generated by a scheduling interface or by scheduling personnel using the scheduling module 1700 , see FIG. 17. The physician begins the documentation of the procedure by selecting rows of data in the listing of procedures 1500 . The physician user interface then displays a screen illustrated in FIG. 18.
[0094] [0094]FIG. 18 is a screen shot illustrating the operation of a system program 1800 , and more particularly the navigation tree and report area, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 18, the display of the system program typically comprises a navigation tree 1801 , a report area 1802 , a program function icon area 1806 , and a program function menu bar 1805 . Referring now to FIG. 39, the system program accesses a database server 3900 that is further comprised of programming logic in the form of Structured Query Language (SQL) stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 .
[0095] Referring to FIG. 18, the navigation tree 1801 is comprised of several nodes 1809 , 1807 that represent distinct areas of report documentation. One specific node, Note Record 1808 contains demographic information about the patient that is typically entered by the nursing or front desk personnel but can be automatically populated by an interface from the hospital information system. After entering data into the sub-nodes 1809 detailed within the Note Record 1808 , the data is automatically copied to the demographic subsection 1803 of the report area 1802 . Additional data is entered via the navigation tree 1801 by clicking on other nodes 1807 . The data entered is automatically copied to subsection 1804 of the report area 1802 .
[0096] [0096]FIG. 19 is a screen shot illustrating the first step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding. Referring now to FIG. 19, the physician navigates to or is automatically navigated to the node labeled Procedure Category 1900 . After clicking on the Procedure Category 1900 node several sophisticated interactions take place between the database server's 3900 (FIG. 39) stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 resulting in the display of the procedure category menu 1901 .
[0097] The first sophisticated interaction is with the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40). Getmenu 4000 is executed and returns a data element that is used to build the procedure category menu 1901 . The next operation searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data that indicates that there is a procedure category menu 1901 associated with the procedure category 1900 node. A row of data 4101 (FIG. 41) is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0098] Referring now to FIG. 42, the next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 (FIG. 40) is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that couples the Procedure Category 1900 node to a specific medical specialty. A row of data 4201 (FIG. 42) is returned that satisfies the search criteria and this example contains a data element that couples the Procedure Category 1900 node to the Urology specialty 4202 .
[0099] Referring now to FIG. 43, the next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 searches for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 (FIG. 43) that contains a menuid 4302 that is used to build the procedure category menu 1901 for the specialty ‘UR’ 4202 . A row of data 4301 is located that contains a menuid 4302 with a value of ‘430281’.
[0100] Referring now to FIG. 44, the Cmenu table 4400 is searched for rows of data that match the menuid value 4302 (FIG. 43) with the menuid value 4403 (FIG. 44) in the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44). Several rows of data 4401 are returned that are used by the system to build the procedure category menu 1901 .
[0101] Referring now to FIG. 19, the physician is presented with a controlled list of available procedure categories, the procedure category menu 1901 which was derived from the data 4401 retrieved from the Cmenu table 4400 .
[0102] Referring to FIG. 19, in this specific example, the physician has decided to document a procedure located within the procedure category of Bladder and clicks on the menu selection labeled Bladder 1902 . Several system operations occur with the stored procedure Update 4001 (FIG. 40). The first operation searches through the Cmenent table 4500 (FIG. 45) for a row of data that has a data element that matches the value, ‘161854’, of the data element 4402 (FIG. 44). A row of data 4501 (FIG. 45) is returned that has a menuentryid 4502 , containing the value, ‘161854’, which matches the value contained in the data element 4402 . The first step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete; the physician has selected the procedure category.
[0103] The physician is next presented with a screen illustrated in FIG. 20 after several sophisticated interactions between the database server's 3900 stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 are completed. These interactions retrieve data from the database that is utilized to present menus of available procedure types for the ‘Bladder’ procedure category.
[0104] The first sophisticated interaction is with the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40). Getmenu is executed and returns a data element that is used to build the base menu 2000 (FIG. 20) of procedure types 2001 and procedures 2002 . The first operation searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data values which indicate that there are procedure types 2001 and procedures 2002 associated with the selected procedure category 2005 . Referring to FIG. 49A, a row of data 4900 is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0105] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that links the procedure types 2001 and procedures 2002 to a specific medical specialty. Referring to FIG. 49A, a row of data 4901 is returned that satisfies the search criteria and in this example contains a data element that couples the procedure types 2001 and procedures 2002 to the Urology specialty, ‘UR’, 4902 (FIG. 49A).
[0106] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 searches for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 (FIG. 43) that matches specialty value ‘UR’ 4902 and Objname 4901 . Referring to FIG. 49A, a row of data is retrieved that meets the criteria, the specialty value 4902 matches the Tidvalue 4919 and the Objname 4901 matches the Objname 4917 . The row of data contains an ID 4904 with a data value of ‘564744’ that is used to find the base menu 2000 for the procedure category of bladder procedures 2005 (FIG. 20).
[0107] Next, the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 4904 (FIG. 49A) for the procedure category of bladder procedures 2005 . Referring to FIG. 49A, a row of data 4905 is returned that matches the ID 4904 value with the Parent 4918 value. This row of data contains the data element 4906 which has a value of ‘159872’ which is used to retrieve the next set of menuids.
[0108] Referring to FIG. 49A, the data element 4906 is used to find all of the procedure types and procedures 4907 (FIG. 49B) which are displayed in the base menu 2000 and the child menu of procedures 2003 . The base menu 2000 is created by locating all of the data 4908 in the cmenu table 4400 that have a menuid that matches the value of the data element 4906 (FIG. 49A). As the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 processes the retrieved data it determines if additional menus are needed by checking the values stored in the Childid column 4920 of Cmenu table 4400 . Additional data 4909 are retrieved that match the value in the Childid 4911 with the value in the Menuids 4921 . This data is used to create the child menu of procedures 2003 for the procedure type 2004 of Cystoscopy. The data element 4912 is used to locate the data 4910 which are used to create the child menu of procedures for the procedure type 2006 of Cystectomy.
[0109] The interactions that retrieve data from the database are complete and the physician is presented with the menus of available procedure types for the ‘Bladder’ procedure category. FIG. 20 is a screen shot illustrating the menus retrieved from the database. The screen shot represents a base menu 2000 of procedure types 2001 and procedures 2002 , a child menu of procedures 2003 for the procedure type 2004 of Cystoscopy for the procedure category of Bladder Procedures 2005 . The child menu of procedures 2003 is displayed when the cursor “flies over” the procedure type of Cystoscopy 2004 and a different child menu of procedures is displayed but not illustrated when the cursor “flies over” the procedure type of Cystectomy 2006 .
[0110] In this specific example, the physician is documenting a procedure located within the procedure category of Bladder Procedures 2005 , the procedure type 2004 of Cystoscopy, and clicks on the menu selection for the procedure Cysto+ Stent, Stone, F. Body Removal 2007 . After clicking on the procedure Cysto+ Stent, Stone, F. Body Removal 2007 , several system operations occur with the stored procedure Update 4001 . The first operation searches through the Cmenent table 4500 for data that has a Menuentryid value 4922 that matches the data element 4913 in FIG. 49B. A row of data 4914 is returned which contains data that is updated in the exam table 4600 .
[0111] Referring now to FIG. 49C, the next operation within the stored procedure Update 4001 is the updating of data in the exam table 4600 . The exam table 4600 Tidexamtype value 4923 is updated with the Tidparam value 4926 and the Examtype value 4924 is updated with the Param value 4915 for the procedure record with a specific examid 4925 . The second step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete. The physician has selected the procedure that they will be documenting and the system next needs to prompt the physician for additional data that will control the natural procedure label for coding.
[0112] A screen shot illustrating the next step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding in shown in FIG. 21. The physician is presented with the screen illustrated in FIG. 21, after several sophisticated interactions between the database server's 3900 stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 . These sophisticated interactions retrieve data from the database that builds that attribute menu 2103 .
[0113] The first sophisticated system operation constructs the attribute tree 2101 and the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 . The stored procedure make_ent 3 4002 (FIG. 40) searches through the cmenat2 table 4700 (FIG. 47) looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49C) which link the common procedure name 2104 to an attribute tree 2101 . Referring to FIG. 50A, several rows of data 5002 are returned and are used to construct the attribute tree 2101 .
[0114] The next operation within the stored procedure make_ent 3 4002 (FIG. 40) searches through the cmentmp table 4800 (FIG. 48) looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49) which couples the common procedure name 2104 (FIG. 21) to the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 . Referring to FIG. 50A, several rows of data 5003 are returned and are used to construct the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 .
[0115] Next, several system operations occur within the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40). The first operation searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data that indicates that there is an attribute menu 2103 (FIG. 21) for the attribute node 2102 from the attribute tree 2101 . Referring to FIG. 50A, a row of data 5004 is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0116] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 (FIG. 40) is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that links the common procedure name for a specific medical specialty to the attribute menu 2103 (FIG. 21). Referring to FIG. 50A, a row of data 5005 is returned that indicates that an attribute menu 2103 needs to be constructed. The cmenat2 table 4700 (FIG. 47) is searched looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49). A row of data 5006 is returned that satisfies the search criteria and contains a data value 5008 which is used to construct the attribute menu 2103 (FIG. 21).
[0117] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 (FIG. 40) is the searching for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 (FIG. 43). Referring to FIG. 50B, a row of data 5009 is returned that has the Tidvalue value 5018 matching the TidAtt value 5008 . The row of data contains a menuid 5010 with a data value of ‘1817696’ which is used to find the menu items which are used to construct the attribute menu 2103 (FIG. 21). Next, the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5010 . Referring to FIG. 50B, several rows of data 5011 are returned that match the menuid value 5019 with the menuid value 5010 that are used to build the attribute menu 2103 (FIG. 21).
[0118] The data needed to form the structured uncompleted natural procedure label has been retrieved from the database and FIG. 21 is a screen shot illustrating the next step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding. Referring now to FIG. 21, the screen shot represents the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 , the common procedure name 2104 , the attribute tree 2101 , and the attribute menu 2103 for the first required controlled attribute for the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 . In this example, the physician was ‘Successful’ with this aspect of the procedure and clicks on the menu item 2105 in the attribute menu 2103 documenting ‘Successful’.
[0119] After clicking on the menu item 2105 , the Cmenent table 4500 (FIG. 45) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5012 (FIG. 50B). In this example, the system is retrieving data that will dynamically update the structured uncompleted natural procedure label with the menu item's 2105 textual representation. Referring to FIG. 50B, a row of data 5013 is returned. The structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 is then reconstructed by concatenating the Sitext 5017 data values and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5014 into the Sislot location that is the match of 5007 and 5015 . In this example, the structured uncompleted natural procedure label is modified and the word ‘Successful’ 5014 replaces the placeholder text ‘[Successful/Attempted]’ that had previously been displayed in the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2100 . The next step in the constructing of the structured uncompleted natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete. The system then prompts the physician for additional data that will control the natural procedure label for coding.
[0120] The physician is next presented with the screen illustrated in FIG. 22 after several sophisticated interactions take place between the database server's 3900 (FIG. 39) stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 . FIG. 22 illustrates the modified structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2200 with an attribute menu 2203 prompting the physician for their next menu selection.
[0121] The first sophisticated interactions occur within the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40), the system searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data that indicates that there is an attribute menu 2203 (FIG. 22) for the attribute node 2202 from the attribute tree 2201 . Referring to FIG. 51A, a row of data 5104 is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0122] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that links the common procedure name for a specific medical specialty to the attribute menu 2203 . Referring to FIG. 51A, a row of data 5105 is returned that indicates that an attribute menu 2203 needs to be constructed. The cmenat2 table 4700 (FIG. 47) is searched looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49). A row of data 5106 (FIG. 51A) is returned that satisfies the search criteria and contains a data value 5108 which is used to construct the attribute menu 2203 .
[0123] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 . Referring to FIG. 51A, a row of data 5109 is returned that has the Tidvalue 5117 matching the Tidatt value 5108 . The row of data contains a menuid 5110 that is used to find the menu items which are used to construct the attribute menu 2203 . Next, the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5110 . Referring to FIG. 51B, several rows of data 5111 are returned that match the menuid value 5118 with the menuid value 5110 that are used to build the attribute menu 2203 .
[0124] The data needed to form the structured uncompleted natural procedure label has been retrieved from the database and FIG. 22 is a screen shot illustrating the next step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding. Referring now to FIG. 22, the screen shot represents the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2200 , the common procedure name 2204 , the attribute tree 2201 , and the attribute menu 2203 for the next required controlled attribute for the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2200 . In this example, the physician was ‘Successful’ with the removal of ‘Both’ and clicks on the menu item 2205 in the attribute menu 2203 documenting ‘Both’.
[0125] After clicking on the menu item 2205 , the Cmenent table 4500 (FIG. 45) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5112 (FIG. 51B). In this example, the system is retrieving data that will dynamically update the structured uncompleted natural procedure label with the menu item's 2205 textual representation. Referring to FIG. 51B, a row of data 5113 is returned. The structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2200 is then reconstructed by concatenating the Sitext 5116 and inserting specific replacement text 5014 (FIG. 50) into the Sislot location that is the match of 5007 and 5015 and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5114 into the Sislot location that is the match of 5107 and 5115 (FIG. 51). In this example, the structured uncompleted natural procedure label is modified and the word ‘Both’ 5114 replaced the placeholder text ‘[Side]’ that had previously been displayed in the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2200 . The next step in the constructing of the structured uncompleted natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete. The system then prompts the physician for additional data that will control the natural procedure label for coding.
[0126] The physician is next presented with the screen illustrated in FIG. 23 after several sophisticated interactions take place between the database server's 3900 stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 . FIG. 23 illustrates the modified structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2300 with an attribute menu 2303 prompting the physician for their next menu selection.
[0127] The first sophisticated interactions occur within the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40), the system searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data that indicates that there is an attribute menu 2303 (FIG. 23) for the attribute node 2302 from the attribute tree 2301 . Referring to FIG. 52A, a row of data 5204 is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0128] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that links the common procedure name for a specific medical specialty to the attribute menu 2303 . Referring to FIG. 52A, a row of data 5205 is returned that indicates that an attribute menu 2303 needs to be constructed. The cmenat2 table 4700 (FIG. 47) is searched looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49). A row of data 5206 (FIG. 52A) is returned that satisfies the search criteria and contains a data value 5208 which is used to construct the attribute menu 2303 .
[0129] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 . Referring to FIG. 52A, a row of data 5209 is returned that has the Tidvalue value 5217 matching the TidAtt value 5208 . The row of data contains a menuid 5210 that is used to find the menu items which are used to construct the attribute menu 2303 . Next, the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5210 . Referring to FIG. 52B, several rows of data 5211 are returned that match the menuid value 5218 with the menuid value 5210 that are used to build the attribute menu 2303 .
[0130] The data needed to form the structured uncompleted natural procedure label has been retrieved from the database and FIG. 23 is a screen shot illustrating the next step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding. Referring now to FIG. 23, the screen shot represents the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2300 , the common procedure name 2304 , the attribute tree 2301 , and the attribute menu 2303 for the next required controlled attribute for the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2300 . In this example, the physician was ‘Successful’ with the removal of ‘Both’ ‘Ureteral Stent(s)’ and clicks on the menu item 2305 in the attribute menu 2303 documenting ‘Ureteral Stent(s)’.
[0131] After clicking on the menu item 2305 , the Cmenent table 4500 (FIG. 45) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5212 (FIG. 52B). In this example, the system is retrieving data that will dynamically update the structured uncompleted natural procedure label with the menu item's 2305 textual representation. Referring to FIG. 52B, a row of data 5213 is returned. The structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2300 is then reconstructed by concatenating the Sitext 5216 and inserting specific replacement text 5014 (FIG. 50) into the Sislot location that is the match of 5007 and 5015 and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5114 into the Sislot location that is the match of 5107 and 5115 (FIG. 51) and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5214 into the Sislot that is the match of 5207 and 5215 (FIG. 52). In this example, the structured uncompleted natural procedure label is modified and the word ‘Ureteral Stent(s)’ 5214 replaced the placeholder text ‘[What Removed]’ that had previously been displayed in the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2300 . The next step in the constructing of the structured uncompleted natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete. The system then prompts the physician for additional data that will control the natural procedure label for coding.
[0132] The physician is next presented with the screen illustrated in FIG. 24 after several sophisticated interactions take place between the database server's 3900 stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 . FIG. 24 illustrates the modified structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2400 with an attribute menu 2403 prompting the physician for their next menu selection.
[0133] The first sophisticated interaction occur within the stored procedure Getmenu 4000 (FIG. 40), the system searches through the Cdirect table 4100 (FIG. 41) looking for data that indicates that there is an attribute menu 2403 for the attribute node 2402 from the attribute tree 2401 . Referring to FIG. 53A, a row of data 5304 is returned that satisfies the search criteria.
[0134] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Dirpar table 4200 (FIG. 42) that links the common procedure name for a specific medical specialty to the attribute menu 2403 . Referring to FIG. 53A, a row of data 5305 is returned that indicates that an attribute menu 2403 needs to be constructed. The cmenat2 table 4700 (FIG. 47) is searched looking for data that matches the value 4922 (FIG. 49). A row of data 5306 (FIG. 53A) is returned that satisfies the search criteria and contains a data value 5308 which is used to construct the attribute menu 2403 .
[0135] The next operation within the stored procedure GetMenu 4000 is the searching for data in the Cdirmen table 4300 (FIG. 43). Referring to FIG. 53A, a row of data 5309 is returned that has the Tidvalue value 5317 matching the Tidatt value 5308 . The row of data contains a menuid 5310 that is used to find the menu items which are used to construct the attribute menu 2403 . Next, the Cmenu table 4400 (FIG. 44) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5310 . Referring to FIG. 53B, several rows of data 5311 are returned that match the menuid value 5018 with the menuid value 5010 that are used to build the attribute menu 2403 .
[0136] The data needed to form the structured uncompleted natural procedure label has been retrieved from the database and FIG. 24 is a screen shot illustrating the next step in the constructing of a natural procedure label controlled for coding. Referring now to FIG. 24, the screen shot represents the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2400 , the common procedure name 2404 , the attribute tree 2401 , and the attribute menu 2403 for the next required controlled attribute for the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2400 . In this example, the physician was ‘Successful’ with the removal of ‘Both’ ‘Ureteral Stent(s)’ for a ‘Complicated’ procedure and clicks on the menu item 2405 in the attribute menu 2403 documenting ‘Complicated (eg Prev. Surg, Stone>2.5 cm)’.
[0137] After clicking on the menu item 2405 , the Cmenent table 4500 (FIG. 45) is searched for the rows of data that match the data element 5312 (FIG. 53B). In this example, the system is retrieving data that will dynamically update the structured uncompleted natural procedure label with the menu item's 2405 textual representation. Referring to FIG. 53A, a row of data 5313 is returned. The structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2400 is then reconstructed by concatenating the Sitext 5316 and inserting specific replacement text 5014 (FIG. 50) into the Sislot location that is the match of 5007 and 5015 and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5114 into the Sislot location that is the match of 5107 and 5115 (FIG. 51) and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5214 into the Sislot that is the match of 5207 and 5215 (FIG. 52) and inserting into this concatenation specific replacement text 5314 into the Sislot location that is the match of 5307 and 5315 (FIG. 53). In this example, the structured uncompleted natural procedure label is modified and the word ‘Complicated Procedure’ 5314 replaced the placeholder text ‘[Simple/Complicated]’ that had previously been displayed in the structured uncompleted natural procedure label 2400 . The system executes logic that determines that there are no more remaining attribute menus for this procedure type and system control moves to the next node on the navigation tree 2401 . The last step in the constructing of the natural procedure label controlled for coding is complete.
[0138] The physician is next presented with a screen illustrated in FIG. 25 showing the structured completed natural procedure label controlled for coding. The system's anticipatory interface navigates the system to the next step in the documentation process. This navigation is not illustrated in FIG. 25. The number of attributes in the above description of embodiments can vary based on the procedure being documented. The above description is representative of the other methods that are used to create a natural procedure label controlled for coding embodied in this invention. Other methods may involve the modifying of the natural procedure label based upon relevant information documented in nodes 1807 of the report area 1802 .
[0139] The physician is next prompted by the anticipatory physician interface to document additional aspects of the procedure documentation. Referring back to FIG. 18, the physician uses the navigation tree 1801 , comprised of several nodes 1809 and 1807 that represent distinct areas of report documentation to complete the documentation. Additional data is entered via the navigation tree 1801 by clicking on other nodes 1807 . The data entered is automatically copied to subsection 1803 and subsection 1804 of the report area 1802 . The Coding node 1810 is clicked when the physician is finished with their documentation and the physician is presented with a screen illustrated in FIG. 26.
[0140] After the physician clicks the coding node 1810 several sophisticated interactions take place between the navigation tree 1801 and the database server's 3900 stored procedures 3901 and data tables 3902 .
[0141] The first system operation occurs within the stored procedure AIMP 4003 (FIG. 40). The stored procedure AIMP 4003 is the component of the system that links the natural procedure label to a non E & M CPT code. The stored procedure AMIP is intrinsically an ontological inference engine that links the natural procedure label to a unique non E & M CPT codes by applying inference logic against data stored in the database.
[0142] Referring to FIG. 54A, the first system operation that occurs within the ontological interface engine 5401 locates the parent node 5404 for procedure type 5407 in the table AI_DTREE 5400 which matches the procedure type 4923 (FIG. 49) stored in the exam table 4600 (FIG. 46). The ontological interference engine 5401 is not displayed to the physician and the screen shots are presented to illustrate the data retrieved and logic that is executed within the system which results in the natural procedure label 2801 tied to the correct CPT code 2802 (FIG. 28).
[0143] The first system operation returns a row of data 5403 that contains commands 5406 on how to proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 . The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5406 (FIG. 54A). In this example, the command is ‘=’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to retrieve a row of data that has a parent value 5410 which matches the ID value 5405 . A row of data 5409 (FIG. 54B) is returned that contains commands 5412 on how to proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 .
[0144] The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5412 (FIG. 54B). In this example, the command is ‘getvalue’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to retrieve a row of data in the exam table 4600 (FIG. 46) which matches the subject value 5414 . A data value is retrieved 5016 (FIG. 50B) which is used to retrieve a row of data in AI_DTREE 5400 that matches ID value 5411 (FIG. 54B) with the Parent value 5417 and the retrieved value 5016 with the object value 5420 (FIG. 54B). A row of data 5416 (FIG. 54B) is returned that contains commands 5419 on how to next proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 .
[0145] The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5419 (FIG. 54B). In this example, the command is ‘=’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to retrieve a row of data that has a parent value 5423 which matches the ID value 5418 (FIG. 54B). A row of data 5422 (FIG. 54C) is returned that contains commands 5425 on how next to proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 .
[0146] The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5425 (FIG. 54C). In this example, the command is ‘getvalue’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to retrieve a row of data in the exam table 4600 (FIG. 46) which matches the subject value 5427 (FIG. 54C). A data value is retrieved 5108 (FIG. 51A) which is used to retrieve a row of data in AI_DTREE 5400 that matches ID value 5424 with the Parent value 5430 and the retrieved value 5108 with the object value 5427 (FIG. 54C). A row of data 5429 (FIG. 54C) is returned that contains commands 5432 on how to next proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 .
[0147] The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5432 . In this example, the command is ‘=’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to retrieve a row of data that has a parent value 5436 (FIG. 54D) which matches the ID value 5431 (FIG. 54C). A row of data 5435 (FIG. 54D) is returned that contains commands 5438 on how next to proceed through the ontological inference engine 5401 .
[0148] The next system operation that occurs within the ontological inference engine 5401 is based on the value located in the command 5438 (FIG. 54D). In this example, the command is ‘fill’ which instructs the ontological inference engine 5401 to populate the exam codes table 5500 with the value in fillid 5440 (FIG. 54D) and to end the ontological inference engine processing. The value of fillid 5440 , ‘52315’ is the CPT code coupled to the natural procedure label 2601 . Referring to FIG. 55B, the value of the fillid 5440 , ‘52315’, is stored in the exam codes table 5500 in the code field 5501 (FIG. 55B) for procedure code of ‘INDWELLI — 2’ which is stored in the TID 5504 . The data in exam codes 5500 is tied to a specific patient procedure identifier, (i.e., exam id).
[0149] The ontological inference engine is complete and the physician is presented with the screen illustrated in FIG. 26. The coding form 2600 contains the CPT code 2601 that is coupled with the natural procedure label 2500 previously generated in this example (FIG. 27). The physician can modify, add or delete to the non E & M CPT codes. The physician can also document the relevant ICD codes that were part of this procedure documentation. Additionally, the physician may indicate the non E & M CPT code for the technical aspect of the CPT billing. When the physician is satisfied with the coding they click on the Accept Codes button 2702 and the form closes. The physician is next presented with a form 2800 that has a natural procedure label 2801 controlled for coding 2802 (FIG. 28). The coding form can also be accessed in our areas of the system (FIG. 29) that are engineered to be used by non physician coding personnel.
[0150] The method described above is illustrative of the coupling of a natural procedure label 2500 with a CPT code 2601 . Alternative methods involve the coupling of several CPT codes with a natural procedure label, the presentation of CCl edits for multiple CPT codes, and the presentation of CPT modifiers.
[0151] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary in nature and that various changes can be made without departing from the scope and the spirit of this invention. Such various changes would become clear to one of ordinary skill in the art after inspection of the specification and the drawings. In that regard, as many changes as are possible to the embodiments of this invention utilizing the teachings thereof, the descriptions above, and the accompanying drawings should be interpreted in the illustrative and not the limited sense. The invention therefore is not to be restricted except within the spirit and scope of any appended claims.
[0152] The invention is by no means restricted to the embodiment shown. Many alternative versions are feasible in respect of the actual construction of the means used. The invention is not limited to procedure descriptions completed for procedures performed in Urology but in fact can be used to assign a natural procedure label to all of the non E & M CPT codes currently in place and developed in future releases. Furthermore, alternative user interfaces are in place and can be created in the future that couple a natural procedure label to a plurality of procedure terminologies and non E & M CPT codes. It is particularly to be noted that the invention is not restricted either to a special type of data or to special configurations of data. | A computer-based system and method are described for generating a natural procedure label to summarize a clinical procedure description recorded into the system by a physician. The system and method manipulate a set of database records comprising medical content which is naturally descriptive of clinical procedures and which is controlled for coding to generate the natural procedure label and its corresponding non E & M Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) code during the recording the procedure description. To support the generation of a set of said natural procedure labels, the system and method provide interchangeable, connected, ontologically-based medical procedure database cartridges of medical content terms and rules that naturally describe constrained procedure representations for clinical procedure descriptions. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a sea-going barge train. More particularly, the present invention relates to a barge train or modular tanker vessel for ocean transportation of cargo, such as oil or other dry or liquid materials, consisting of a forward traction unit, a rear powered caboose unit and a series of modular units or barges interposed therebetween wherein the units are flexibly interconnected by means of a universal type coupling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, over the sea transport of oil from production sites to refineries or remote storage facilities is accomplished by means of specialized ocean going vessels such as tankers and super-tankers. Such tankers are large vessels designed to transport up to 400,000 tons of oil. Because of the size of such vessels they can only pass through channels and be accepted in harbors which are large enough and deep enough to accommodate such large vessels. Furthermore, large tankers, such as super-tankers, are too large to pass through such artificial waterways as the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal to thus take advantage of the economies such artifical waterways were designed and built to provide. As a result, such super-tankers are required to traverse many additional thousands of miles of ocean in order to deliver their cargos.
The construction of a modern super-tanker requires a dry dock facility of huge proportions and other specialized facilities and relatively few shipyards in the world have the capability of undertaking such a project. Also, because of the large investment required to construct and operate such large vessels, ownership of super-tankers is generally restricted to very large and wealthy multinational corporations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel tanker vessel for sea transportation of cargos such as oil which is less expensive to construct and operate than heretofore, requires a much smaller dry dock facility for construction than is required for present day tankers of comparable capacity, can be accommodated in channels and harbors which are much smaller and shallower than those required to accommodate present day tankers of comparable capacity, and can pass through artificial waterways such as the Panama and Suez Canals.
The above object, as well as others which will hereinafter become apparent, is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by the provision of a modular tanker vessel consisting of a forward traction unit, a rear powered caboose unit and a series of modular units or barges interposed therebetween wherein the units are serially and flexibly interconnected by means of a universal type coupling which permits relative limited yaw, pitch and roll movement between units. The hull of each barge unit is substantially semi-cylindrically shaped so that the hull inmersed section is circular and the barge units are detachably coupled to each other fore and aft and to the traction and caboose units at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the hull cross section so that hull continuity of the barge train is maintained as the barge units roll relative to each other.
The universal type coupling employed to detachably couple the barge units to each other and to the forward traction unit and rear caboose unit consists of a male coupling shaft extending from a universal joint, such as a cardan or Hook joint or the ball of a ball and socket joint mounted at the fore (or aft) of a barge unit and a female socket, for receiving the male coupling shaft, mounted at the aft (or fore) of a mating barge unit. The universal joint of the male mating barge unit is mounted at the center of the circle defined by the hull cross section while the female socket of the female mating barge unit is also mounted, in its final locked position, at the center of the circle defined by the hull cross section. The female socket is carried by a housing adapted for vertical movement on the female mating barge unit so that the female socket can be vertically aligned with the male coupling shaft of the male mating barge during the coupling operation, where there is a difference in draft between the barges to be coupled. Furthermore, the female socket housing permits rotational movement of the female socket about vertical and horizontal axes during coupling of the mating barge units preceding the final locked position of the female socket to further promote the coupling operation. By repositioning the female socket housing so that the female socket is positioned at the center of the circle defined by the barge hull cross section and locking the female socket in its final locket position, following the coupling operation, the respective hulls of the mating barge units are aligned for hull continuity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a broken side elevational view of a sea-going barge train according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the female mating barge unit end according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the male mating barge unit end according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective elevational view of the female coupling mechanism;
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the female coupling mechanism of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the male coupling mechanism;
FIGS. 7 to 10 are schematic side elevational views of the male and female coupling mechanisms showing the sequence of the coupling operation; and
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the bumper employed between barge units.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Now turning to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a sea-going barge train according to the present invention, generally designated 10 . Barge train 10 , consists of a forward traction unit, designated 12 , a rear powered caboose unit, designated 14 , and a series of modular units or barges, designated 16 . There can be a relatively large number of barge units 16 in each barge train 10 which are serially coupled together and to forward traction unit 12 and rear powered caboose 14 by means of universal type coupling 18 . Universal type coupling 18 , which will hereinbelow be described in detail, permits relative limited yaw, pitch and roll movement between the various units which thereby dramatically reduces dynamic torsional and bending stresses in the barge train hull due to wave action.
Each barge unit 16 is designed to have a draft of about forty feet and a beam of one hundred feet thereby permitting the barge units to pass through the Panama Canal (which is one hundred ten feet wide) and to be acceptable in almost all harbors and channels. As clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, barge unit 16 has a hull 20 of substantially semi-circular cross section, so that the hull immersed section is circular, which minimizes the ratio of the ratio of skin area to displacement thereby minimizing the frictional resistance of hull 20 as it passes through the water. FIG. 2 shows the end of barge unit 16 on which the female coupling mechanism, designated 22 , of coupling 18 is mounted. FIG. 3 shows the end of barge unit 16 on which the male coupling mechanism, designated 24 , of coupling 18 is mounted. As clearly seen, the female socket 26 of female coupling mechanism 22 and the male coupling shaft 28 of male coupling mechanism 24 are located at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the cross section of hull 20 .
The forward traction unit 12 has a conventionally shaped bow 30 which merges at the mid and aft portions thereof to a hull 32 having the shape and dimensions of hull 20 of towed barge units 16 . At the rear or aft portion of traction unit 12 , the appropriate female or male coupling mechanism, 22 or 24 , is provided for coupling the traction unit to the first of the serially coupled barge units 16 . As with barge units 16 , the location of the coupling mechanism, female or male as the case may be, is at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the cross section of hull 32 . Traction unit 12 houses the propulsion machinery (not shown) for turning screw propellers 34 for propelling barge train 10 .
The rear powered caboose unit 14 has a hull 36 with the same semi-circular cross sectional shape and dimension as hull 20 of barge unit 16 which merges into a streamlined shape at the end 38 of the unit. As in the case of forward traction unit 12 , the front portion of caboose unit 14 is provided with the appropriate female or male coupling mechanism, 22 or 24 , for coupling to the last of the serially coupled barge units 16 . The location of this female or male coupling mechanism is also at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the cross section of hull 36 . Caboose unit 14 houses propulsion machinery (not shown) and can be used to assist in braking barge train 10 when required. Powered caboose unit 14 can also be used as a tug for delivering individual barge units 16 into or out of harbors thereby obviating the necessity for the entire barge train 10 to enter into harbors which may be too small or shallow to accommodate large ships.
The hull under water transverse section, designated 40 , of barge train 10 in FIG. 1, always remains circular as the individual units roll relative to each other so that hydraulic continuity of hull section 40 is maintained. This maintenance of the circular shape of hull under water transverse section 40 is a direct result of the shapes of hulls 20 , 32 , and 36 of the individual units of barge train 10 , the universal type couplings 18 and the locations thereof.
Universal type coupling 18 , as indicated above, consists of a female coupling mechanism 22 mounted at the female mating end of a barge unit 16 and a male coupling mechanism 24 mounted at the male mating end of a barge unit 16 . Complementary female and male coupling mechanisms, 22 and 24 , are also mounted at the connecting ends of traction unit 12 and caboose unit 14 . As clearly seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, female coupling mechanism 22 includes female socket 26 , female socket housing 42 , carriage housing 44 , lock collar 46 , pulley 48 and female socket vertical guide 50 . Female socket 26 has a cylindrically shaped barrel portion 52 for receiving therein shaft 28 of male coupling mechanism 24 with a tapered funnel shaped forward portion 54 for facilitating coupling between female socket 26 and shaft 28 . Vertically extending bearing shafts 56 and 58 extend from the top and bottom of barrel portion 52 and engage with top and bottom bearing sockets 60 and 62 in female socket housing 42 for securing female socket 26 therein and permitting pivotal movement of female socket 26 in the horizontal plane. Housing 42 is also provided with a pair of horizontally extending opposing bearing shafts, designated 64 , which engage with bearing sockets 66 in the opposing sidewalls 68 of carriage housing 44 thereby permitting pivotal movement of housing 42 and female socket 26 in the vertical plane. This arrangement permits substantially universal type movement of female socket 26 in order to facilitate coupling with male coupling shaft 28 , which will be explained more fully hereinafter. Carriage housing 44 , which in addition to sidewalls 68 includes top, intermediate and bottom walls 70 , 81 and 72 , is provided with vertical guide rails 74 which are received in vertical tracks 76 of vertical guide 50 . Vertical guide 50 is fixedly mounted to the female mating end of a barge unit 16 , traction unit 12 or caboose unit 14 . This structure permits vertical movement and positioning of female socket 26 in order to additionally facilitate the coupling procedure as more fully explained hereinafter. Guillotine type lock collar 46 is vertically movable and adapted to engage recess 78 of shaft 28 of male coupling mechanism 24 to prevent withdrawal of shaft 28 following the coupling operation. Engagement of lock collar 46 also restricts rotation in the horizontal plane and clockwise rotation in the vertical plane of female socket 26 . Additional restriction of rotation of female socket 26 in the vertical plane is provided by vertically movable set screw 80 which is guided through aligned openings in top wall 70 and intermediate wall 81 of carriage housing 44 to move into engagement with the top of socket housing 92 following the coupling operation. Pulley 48 guides cable 82 which is threaded through barrel portion 52 of female socket 26 and is attached to the tip 84 of male coupling shaft 28 during the coupling operation. Cable 82 is operated by a winch (not shown) mounted on the deck of barge unit 16 and serves to guide shaft 28 into barrel portion 52 of female socket 26 and to pull barge 16 housing the male coupling mechanism 24 into coupling engagement with barge 16 housing the female coupling mechanism 22 .
Male coupling mechanism 24 includes a universal joint, such as a cardan or Hook universal joint or preferably a ball and socket joint as shown in FIG. 6 . The male coupling mechanism 24 shown in FIG. 6 includes a ball 86 from which shaft 28 extends and socket 88 fixedly mounted to the male mating end of barge unit 16 at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the cross section of hull 20 of barge unit 16 . Ball 86 is captured in socket 88 to form a ball and socket with shaft 28 extending through opening 90 at the forward end of socket 88 .
The coupling of female coupling mechanism 22 with male coupling mechanism 24 is shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 wherein initially female socket 26 is free to rotate in both the horizontal and vertical planes as shown in FIG. 7, in order to align the same with shaft 28 of male coupling mechanism 24 . Cable 82 is then attached to male coupling shaft 28 and the vertical position of female socket 26 is adjusted in the direction of arrow “A” by mechanism 92 , such as an adjustment screw or hydraulic ram, which causes carriage housing 44 to move verticaly in female socket vertical guide 50 , so that the position of female socket 26 is substantially horizontally aligned with male coupling mechanism 24 , as shown in FIG. 8 . By thus horizontally aligning female socket 26 with male coupling mechanism 24 , allowance is made for any difference in draft between the barge units being coupled. At this time the winch (not shown) associated with female coupling mechanism 22 is operated to take up cable 82 and and draw barge unit 16 , on which male coupling mechanism 24 is mounted, towards barge unit 16 on which female coupling mechanism 22 is mounted, until male coupling shaft 28 enters into barrel portion 52 of female socket 26 , as shown in FIG. 9 . At this point the two barge units are substantially longitudinally aligned so that lock collar 46 may be lowered in the direction of arrow “B” by mechanism 94 , such as an adjustment screw or hydraulic ram, to engage recess 78 of male coupling shaft 28 and lock the same to prevent withdrawal from female socket 26 . Movable set screw 80 is then vertically adjusted to abut against the top of female socket housing 42 to prevent rotation thereof, as well as female socket 26 , in the vertical plane. In the final stage of the coupling operation shown in FIG. 10, mechanism 92 is operated to adjust the vertical position of carriage housing 44 in the direction of arrow “C” to return female socket 26 to its final position at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the cross section of hull 20 of barge unit 16 . Thus, the circle centers of the circle segments defined by the cross sections of the respective hulls 20 of the coupled barge units 16 are axially aligned. In the event the newly connected barge unit is empty it will ride high in the water and must be ballasted by a transfer of cargo, such as oil, from the other barge units of barge train 10 and/or water ballast in its ballast tanks, assuming the barge units have a double hull construction.
As clearly seen in FIG. 3, a pair of bumpers 96 are provided at the lateral outer edges on one end, preferably the front end, of barge unit 16 and exert a predetermined pressure on the mated barge unit 16 . The purpose of bumpers 96 is basically fourfold; first, to cushion impact during the coupling operation; two, to impart a limited lateral rigidity to barge train 10 , giving the train a tendency to self align, particularly when at rest; three, to absorb shocks between adjacent barge units 16 in the event the turning radius of barge train 10 exceeds the lower design radius limit; and four, to provide yawing stability to the barge train 10 which is subject to longitudinal compression when in the trough of a wave. The bumper must also be retractable an amount sufficient to prevent interference during the coupling operation. A suitable bumper design is shown in FIG. 11 wherein the bumper housing 98 is mounted in the wall 100 of the end of barge unit 16 and is adapted to slidingly receive the shaft 102 of bumper 96 . Bumper shaft 102 rests on spring 104 which provides sufficient bias to bumper 96 to accomplish the purposes set forth above. Of course, other biasing means may be used in place of spring 104 , such as hydraulic means, etc. To permit retraction of bumper 96 during the coupling operation a cam 106 and cam follower 108 operate on spring 104 . In normal operation, the high point or lobe 110 of cam 106 engages follower 108 to extend spring 104 and hence bumper 96 to its fully extended position. When it is desired to retract bumper 96 , cam 106 is rotated in the direction of arrow “D” so that the low point 112 of cam 106 engages cam follower 108 permitting bumper 106 to be retracted the amount necessary to allow the coupling operation to be performed.
In the event the small gap between successive barge units 16 causes an unacceptable turbulent drag on barge train 10 , the gap can be closed by means of a cowling 114 , a broken away portion of which is shown in FIG. 2, or a flexible filler. The addition of cowling 114 serves to maintain hydraulic continuity between adjacent barge units 16 and between forward traction unit 12 and adjacent barge unit 16 .
A feasibility study performed with respect to the barge train according to the present invention comparing it to a conventional tanker of 139,200 metric tons shows that the barge train will require 46% less hull steel than the conventional tanker. This demonstrates a very large savings in construction costs over the costs for a conventional tanker.
It is to be understood that the foregoing general and detailed descriptions are explanatory of the present invention and are not to be construed as restrictive of the scope of the following claims. | There is provided a sea going barge train or modular tanker vessel for ocean transportation of cargo, such as oil or other dry or liquid materials, consisting of a forward traction unit, a rear powered caboose unit and a series of modular units or barges interposed therebetween wherein the units are serially and flexibly interconnected by means of a universal type coupling which permits relative limited yaw, pitch and roll movement between units. The hull of each barge unit is substantially semi-cylindrically shaped so that the hull immersed section is circular and the barge units are detachably coupled to each other fore and aft and to the traction and caboose units at the circle center of the circle segment defined by the hull cross section so that hull continuity of the barge train is maintained as the barge units roll relative to each other. The universal type coupling employed to detachably couple the barge units to each other and to the forward traction unit and rear caboose unit consists of a male coupling shaft extending from a universal joint mounted at the fore or aft of a barge unit and a female socket, for receiving the male coupling shaft, mounted at the aft or fore of a mating barge unit. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the automatic processing of products. By automatic processing is meant one or more mechanical operations performed with an industrial robot, i.e., a device having a strictly mechanical portion having an articulated mechanical structure and a system of actuators, a data processing portion having sensitive detectors, and a system for processing information that receives the signals picked up by the detectors and that gives orders to the actuators. More particularly, the invention relates to an automatic device including an industrial robot and a system for processing a product also called a working system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The industrial robot is an automatic device which is increasingly used to perform varied processing on diversified products. There are various types of industrial robots, among which the robots with angular movements are the most widely used. In the case of processing a product requiring the following of predetermined paths, a problem encountered in the use of these industrial robots with angular movements is the impossibility of their moving along a perfectly smooth path. Actually, the robot is an articulated system and its wrist describes a series of incremental movements, each of which is shorter as the number of programming points increases. Unless an infinity of points is programmed, which is impossible, the path of the wrist of the robot cannot move along a perfectly smooth path, and except in special cases, the wrist cannot move along a continuous path parallel to the surface to be worked. It is even more difficult for it to follow a path parallel to the surface to be worked, while remaining, in addition, at a constant distance from another reference surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the objects of the invention is provision of an automatic device comprising an industrial robot with angular movements, and at least a processing or working system, this device using the shape of the product to be processed to define the desired path of the working system.
The automatic device according to the invention includes an industrial robot driving at the end of its wrist the working system, the movement of the wrist being along a programmed rough course, a guiding device which provides the exact course for the working system, and a damping system placed between the wrist of the industrial robot and the working systems, this damping system compensating for the course deviations between the programmed course and the desired course.
According to an embodiment of the device, the guiding device includes a feeler which rests against at least one surface of the product to be treated, which gives a desired regularity to the processing.
A particularly advantageous application of the automatic device of the invention is its use for the printing of products and particularly their marking, and although the invention is applicable to widely diverse automatic processing on very diversified products, out of concern for simplication, the following description will refer essentially to the marking of products and particularly to the marking by jets of ink, associated if necessary with another process.
Marking by jets of ink consists of spraying ink according to given sequences from several nozzles aligned to form ink points which define printing characters.
The automatic device according to the invention then comprises a working system which is a marking head and it makes possible the marking of bodies or products surrounded by surfaces of very diversified shapes that can be printed or which themselves exhibit these surfaces, the marking being done optionally at several differently oriented positions. In addition to a great flexibility of use, this device provides very regular lettering.
In the paper industries, it is customary to mark the paper reels on the edge and the roll. The device of the invention equipped with a marking head makes this printing possible in several positions, automatically. Thus, it makes possible the marking on the edge, by resting against it, the lettering being done along the arcs of a circle centered on the axis of the reel. This is advantageous because the markings provided by the marking of the reel can last until the end of the emptying of the reel.
It also makes possible the marking on the roll parallel to the edge, by resting simultaneously against two surfaces of the reel, namely the roll and the edge.
Advantageously, there can be associated with the marking head a second working system, for example a label-placing system.
There can also be associated with the marking head a system which uses identical reference points for its positioning. Thus, there can be associated with the marking head mounted on its damping system, a capping system. Actually, it is customary to introduce a cap which can, in fact, be a crown, on each side of the spindle of the paper reel to increase the resistance to deformation of the paper reel. The capping is then done advantageously at the same processing station of the paper reel as that of the marking, and following a locating of the center of the reel, this locating being used for the marking on the cut edge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views are wherein:
FIG. 1 show a marking system mounted at the end of the wrist of a robot in an embodiment of the device according to the invention, in a partially sectioned elevation;
FIG. 2 shows a front view of the structure of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows the structure of FIG. 1 in a partially sectioned side view;
FIG. 4 shows a marking system associated with a capping system in a partially sectioned elevation; and
FIG. 5 shows a portion of the marking and capping system of FIG. 4 in a side view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, marking system 1, shown in a working position for the marking of roll 2 of a paper reel 3 includes a box 4 provided on its lower face 5 with a long central slot 6 that extends over the major part of its length, in which nozzles 7 are aligned for printing by jets of ink. These nozzles, numbering about sixty, are arranged by groups 8a, 8b, 8c etc., separated by spaces corresponding to the spaces between lines, each group being able to form a lettering character, the nozzles are fixed in the slot and are protected by a projection 9 fastened to the box. Each nozzle is connected to a reserve of ink by tubing (not shown). Its supply is controlled by a solenoid valve, itself controlled by a microprocessor (not shown).
Mounted at the four corners of the lower face of the box, surrounding the slot, roller balls 10 serve as contacts on the surface to be marked. These four balls form a feeler and are part of guiding device 11 for the marking system; thus, they keep the marking system in position and particularly keep the nozzles at a constant and desired distance from the surface to be marked.
An arm 12, mounted at an end 13 of box 4 carries two bearings 14 and 15 through which two rods 16 and 17 pass, each ending in a caster 18 or 19. A brace 20 connecting the two rods 16 and 17 is mounted at the end of rod 21 of a pneumatic jack 22. This unit as well as the four balls mentioned above are part of the guide device 11. With the previously described mounting, the casters 18 and 19 can take two positions:
1. A rest position which corresponds to a retraction of rod 21 of jack 22, the casters then being behind the touching plane T defined by the end of the four balls of the feeler, and
2. A work position corresponding to the end of the outward throw of rod 21 of jack 22, casters 18 and 19 then being in front of previously defined touching plane T. In this work position, the two casters are applied against edge 23 of paper reel 3 as indicated below, while the four balls of the feeler are applied on roll 2 of the reel.
The connection between wrist 24 of the industrial robot and the marking system is provided by a compensation or damping system 25. This system includes, mounted rigidly on each of the two lateral faces 28 of the box, two bearings 26 and 27 which carry two longitudinal rods 29 and 30 extending parallel to the axis of slot 6. On each set of these two rods is mounted a slide unit 31 including a plate 32 equipped with four eyelets 33, 34, 35 and 36. Between the eyelets and the bearings 26 and 27 is placed an elastic clearance system such as spring washers 37. This system allows a longitudinal compensation of movements of the slide unit along rods 29 and 30. The slide also has a shaft 38 extending perpendicular to plate 32 and which carries this plate by a spherical ball bearing 39 mounted at the end of the shaft 38, making possible an oscillating movement of plate 32 in relation to shaft 38. On this shaft 38 is also mounted a guiding unit 40 formed of a disk 41 pierced with holes for the passage of several guide rods 42, for example three, parallel to shaft 38 and a drum 43 carrying these guide rods.
Spring washers 44 surrounds shaft 38 between disk 41 and drum 43. Drum 43 is fastened in translation in relation to shaft 38 while the disk can move along the shaft, this movement being limited on one side by a stop 45 mounted on a collar 46 of shaft 38 and on the other by the elasticity of washers 44. Disk 41 and plate 32 are connected by a torsionally elastic system made of three block cylinders 47, which limit the circular clearance of plate 32 in relation to shaft 38. End 48 of shaft 38 is mounted to slide in a window 49 of a structure 50 carried by wrist 24 of the robot.
This system of mounting provides elastic compensation for the marking system in several directions:
1. A first compensation for linear movements in the longitudinal direction, along rods 29 and 30, i.e., parallel to the slot carrying the nozzles, due to spring washers 37,
2. A second compensation for linear movements along shaft 38, perpendicular to the first, and to the surface to be marked, due to spring washers 44,
These two systems providing compensation amplitudes of several centimeters.
3. Two directional circular (or torsional) compensations due to the cylinder blocks 47 and the spring washers.
The structure carried by the wrist of the robot is equipped with two end of travel position switches, not shown, whose signals are sent to the control unit of the robot.
The industrial robot, not shown in the figures, is for example an industrial robot of the IRB 60 type, with 6 axes, marketed by the ASEA company. This robot provides in a known way a control unit based on microcomputers.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a device equipped with a marking system for paper reels, associated with a system for capping the spindles of paper reels.
Marking head 51 and damping system 52 on which it is mounted have structures equivalent to those described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In this embodiment, bearings 53 and 54 are mounted on face 55 of the marking head opposite lower face 56 provided with marking nozzles, which reduces the bulk of the system to be used. Guiding device 57 also has roller balls 58 located on the lower face 56 of the marking box and a set of two retractable casters 59 activated by a jack 60 which during the marking of the roll, rest against the edge of the reel.
A capping system 63 is mounted on structure 61 carried by wrist 62 of the robot. This system has a cap-holding nose 64 around which is mounted, kept in position with a ring 65 and a nut 66, an elastic membrane 67 inflatable by air arriving through a tube, not shown, in communication with a solenoid valve, connected to input 101 of pipes 68. The nose is equipped with an insert 69 exhibiting a spherical surface 70 on which a rod tip 71 can swivel. Between tip 71 and nose 64 are located cylinder blocks 72. The tip is screwed on a rod 73 placed in a cylinder 74, itself surrounded by a counter-cylinder 75. The counter-cylinder is mounted screwing on a mounting plate 76 fastened to the end of structure 61 carried by wrist 62 of the robot. Between cylinder 74 and counter-cylinder 75 is placed a first elastic spring 77 resting on the bottom 78 of the counter-cylinder and on base 79 of the cylinder. A second elastic spring 80 is placed inside cylinder 74 between rod 73 and a ring 81 fastened on the cylinder. A lock nut 82 keeps rod 73 fixed in sleeve 71. Two inserts 83 and 84 fastened on mounting plate 76 and structure 61, here by an attachment plate 85, carry on both sides of the counter-cylinder, two supports 84 and 87 for position switches 88 and 89.
The device operates in the following manner. A paper reel placed on the roll arrives at the capping and marking station. The rough movements of the wrist of the robot being programmed in a known way, the capping system will grasp a cap. The cap appears in the shape of a crown, the outer surface being provided with a bevel. To grip the cap, the cap-holding nose is placed in the central opening of the cap. At this moment, air is introduced into the inner pipes 68 to inflate the membrane which is then applied on the inner surface of the central opening of the cap. The wrist of the robot then moves to present itself opposite the edge of the reel. Position switch 88 detects two points of the hollow spindle of the reel which determines the center of the reel. The wrist of the robot then swivels to present the cap opposite the spindle.
Rod 73 is then activated by an input of air under pressure through opening 102, this input of air being controlled by a solenoid valve. The cap, guided by the bevel that it exhibits on its outer surface is then driven into the spindle, pushed by lower face 89 of nut 66. At the same time, elastic membrane 67 is deflated through the opening of the solenoid valve connected to the air supply pipe. The solenoid valve controlling the arrival of air over the head of rod 73 is also open and rod 73 returns under the thrust of spring 80. By reactivating the solenoid valve, air is reintroduced to assure the driving of the cap by one or possibly more striking blows. The reaction to the impact of these blows is absorbed by spring 77 placed between cylinder 74 and counter-cylinder 75. With the cap in place, the wrist of the robot disengages and swivels to present the marking head opposite the edge of the reel, the aligned marking nozzles being oriented along a radial axis of the reel. The head is applied against the edge and it is guided particularly by balls 58 which keep it at the desired marking distance. The wrist of the robot is then moved so that the marking head describes an arc of a circle around the center of the reel determined previously by contactor 88 before the capping previously described. During the movement of the marking head, the nozzles are supplied with ink in a programmed, sequenced manner so as to define printing characters, a character being defined, for example, by the action of 7 or 14 neighboring nozzles. During the movement of the head, it is kept at a fixed distance from the edge of the reel due to the guiding device including balls 58 and to the damping system on which it is mounted.
When the marking of the edge is completed, the wrist of the robot disengages the marking head and brings it to the edge of the reel. Position switch 88 locates the roll and the wrist places the marking head on top of it. Jack 60 controlling the outward movement of the casters 59 is activated and the marking head is placed in the correct position, the casters resting on the edge of the reel while balls 58 rest on the roll. The marking of the roll is then done like the marking of the edge, the nozzles being supplied with ink in a programmed and sequenced manner. During the movement of the marking head, the damping system compensates for the deviations between the programmed course of robot wrists and the desired and exact path provided by the guiding system with casters and balls.
In a device being equipped with two detectors, a second reel placed opposite the first can be worked on in the same way.
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. | The invention relates to an automatic device for processing a product. The device provides an industrial robot with angular movements that drives at the end of its wrist (24) along a programmed rough path a working system (1), a guiding device (11) which provides the exact course desired for the working system (1), a damping system (25) placed between the wrist (24) of the robot and the working system (1), this damping system (25) compensating for the course deviations between the programmed course and the exact desired course. The device can be used for the marking of various products and particularly for the marking of paper reels. | 1 |
FIELD OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a chemically adsorbed film and method of manufacturing the same; more particularly, the invention relates to a chemically adsorbed film and its method of manufacture, in which the molecules are, as a whole, densely connected to the substrate surface by chemically bonding graft molecules to chemically adsorbed stem molecules.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Conventional methods used for manufacturing chemically adsorbed film include the procedure mentioned, for example, on page 92, volume 102 of the Journal of American Chemical Society (J. Sagiv et al., Journal of American Chemical Society, 92, 102 (1980)) and page 851 of the sixth volume of Langmuir (K. Ogawa et al., Langmuir, 6, 851 (1990)). In this method, a chemically adsorbed film is manufactured by a dehydrochlorination reaction between groups exposed on a substrate surface, such as dehydroxyl groups, and a chlorosilane-based surface active material. The adsorption reaction is carried out for many hours until it reaches the point of saturation adsorption. To form one chemically adsorbed film, an adsorption reaction, a washing and a rinsing are performed once.
[0003] However, the above-noted method is limited in improving film density; the number of functional groups of the group itself sets an upper limit on the site number for the adsorption reaction of chemically adsorbed material. As a result, based on the above-noted method, there is a problem that film density can not be improved even by significantly lengthening the time for adsorption reaction.
[0004] The method of building up chemical admolecules on a chemically adsorbed film (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,673, 4,992,300) is also known as a conventional method. However, it is difficult to increase the density of molecules on the substrate surface using this method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An objective of the invention is to provide a chemically adsorbed film with improved film density, while detailing its method of manufacture, thereby solving the above-noted problems.
[0006] To accomplish the above objective, the chemically adsorbed film of this invention is formed by a direct or indirect covalent bonding of stem molecules to the substrate surface via at least one element chosen from Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C. Graft molecules are covalently bonded to at least one element chosen from Si, Ge, Ti, Zr, S or C via at least one bond chosen from —SiO—, —GeO—, —SnO—, TiO—, ZrO—, —SO 2 —, —SO—and —C—.
[0007] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that direct or indirect covalent bonding between stem molecules and the substrate surface employs at least one bond chosen from the following: —SiO—,—SiN—, —GeO—, —GeN—, —SnO—, —SnN—, —TiO—, —TiN—, —ZrO—and —ZrN—.
[0008] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that a stem or graft molecule contains a hydrocarbon chain, a fluorocarbon chain, an aromatic group or a heterocyclic group.
[0009] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that an unsaturated bond is included in a stem or graft molecule.
[0010] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that a chemically adsorbed film is a monomolecular chemically adsorbed built-up film.
[0011] The method of manufacturing a chemically adsorbed film of the invention, which is the method of bonding graft molecules to stem molecules, comprises the following procedures:
[0012] (1) directly or indirectly contacting the chemical admolecules, containing functional groups as shown in formula [A] or formula [B] at the end of molecules, with the substrate surface, which either has or is given an active hydrogen or alkali metal on the surface, thereby covalently bonding the chemical admolecules, stem molecules, to the substrate surface by condensation reaction;
[0013] removing unreacted chemical admolecules;
[0014] reacting the substrate surface with water, thereby substituting the halogen or alkoxyl group, or both, to a hydroxyl group.
[0015] Formula [A] is provided as seen below:
—AXm
[0016] where X represents halogen, A represents Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C, m represents 2 or 3.
[0017] Formula [B] is represented by:
—A(Q)m
[0018] where Q represents an alkoxyl group, A represents Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C, m represents 2 or 3.
[0019] The method additionally comprises contacting the substrate surface with chemical admolecules containing at least one functional group at the end of molecules, chosen from formulas [C] through [G], thereby creating a condensation reaction;
[0020] removing unreacted chemical admolecules;
[0021] reacting the substrate surface with water.
[0022] Formula [C] is designated:
[0023] —AXn
[0024] where X represents halogen, A represents Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C, n represents 1, 2 or 3.
[0025] Formula [D] is designated:
—A(Q)n
[0026] where Q represents an alkoxyl group, A represents Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C, n represents 1, 2 or 3.
[0027] Formula [E] is designated:
—SO 2 X
[0028] where X represents halogen.
[0029] Formula [F] is represented by:
—SOX
[0030] where X represents halogen.
[0031] Formula [G] is denoted by:
>N—CHO or —OCHO
[0032] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that unreacted chemical admolecules are removed by a nonaqueous solution.
[0033] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that either liquid water or steam is used in the process of reacting stem or graft molecules with water.
[0034] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that the chemical adsorbent, which contains trichlorosilane-based ends, is used as stem or graft molecules.
[0035] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that the condensation reaction due to the contact with stem or graft molecules is a dehydrochlorination, alcohol elimination or water elimination reaction.
[0036] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that a hydrocarbon chain, a fluorocarbon chain, an aromatic group or a heterocyclic group is included in stem or graft molecules.
[0037] In the above-noted composition, it is preferable that an unsaturated bond is included in stem or graft molecules.
[0038] Based on this invention, the density of a chemically adsorbed film is improved by increasing the number of admolecules. More specifically, the number of admolecules can be increased by the rise in the site number, which is promoted by introducing graft molecules to the roots of stem molecules. In addition, it is possible that graft molecules are directly bonded to the substrate.
[0039] Based on the preferable composition of the invention, direct or indirect covalent bonding of stem molecules to the substrate surface employs at least one bond chosen from —SiO—, —SiN—, —GeO—, —GeN—, —SnO—, —SnN—, —TiO—, —TiN—, —ZrO— and —ZrN—, thus allowing a molecular adsorption film to become chemically stable.
[0040] In a preferable composition of the invention—with an unsaturated bond in the hydrocarbon chain of stem or graft molecules—it is possible to polymerize stem and/or graft molecules or to introduce another molecule after the formation of a chemically adsorbed film. It is preferable that the unsaturated bond is the double bond of carbon-carbon (C═C), the double bond of carbon-nitrogen (C═N), the triple bond of carbon-carbon (C≡C), the triple bond of carbon-nitrogen (C≡N) or the like.
[0041] Furthermore, a preferable composition of the invention is a chemically adsorbed film and a monomolecular chemically adsorbed built-up film, whereby a film with increased molecular density is formed.
[0042] In the method of manufacturing a chemically adsorbed film of the invention, said film with improved film density efficiently may be formed by increasing the number of admolecules, which is made possible by increasing the site number. Moreover, this method can reduce the reaction time.
[0043] According to a preferable composition of the invention, the unreacted chemical admolecules are removed by a nonaqueous solution, and a film with a thickness at an angstrom or nanometer level is uniformly formed over the substrate surface.
[0044] In a preferable composition of the invention, stem or graft molecules are reacted with liquid water or steam, a halogen atom can be substituted for a hydroxyl group quite efficiently.
[0045] The above-noted method of using the chemical adsorbent with trichlorosilane ends as the stem or graft molecules is quite practical, providing a high adsorption reaction.
[0046] A preferable composition of the present invention comprises a condensation reaction due to the contact with stem or graft molecules in a dehydrochlorination, alcohol elimination or water elimination reaction, whereby a high reaction rate is possible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0047] [0047]FIG. 1 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing the substrate of one example according to the invention.
[0048] [0048]FIG. 2 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing the chemically adsorbed monomolecular film of the example according to the invention.
[0049] [0049]FIG. 3 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing another chemically adsorbed monomolecular film of the example according to the invention.
[0050] [0050]FIG. 4 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing the chemically adsorbed monomolecular film of another example according to the invention.
[0051] [0051]FIG. 5 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing another chemically adsorbed monomolecular film of the example according to the invention.
[0052] [0052]FIG. 6 is a model view, enlarged to a molecular level, showing the chemically adsorbed monomolecular film of another example according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0053] The method of manufacturing a chemically adsorbent film of the invention comprises fixing a chemical adsorbent to a substrate and chemically adsorbed film by repeating the alternate process of adsorption reaction and washing. Particularly, even in case the first adsorption reaction process is not completely directed without reaching the stage of unsaturated adsorption, the number of —OH groups is increased. This result is obtained by removing unreacted molecules with a nonaqueous solvent and by washing the substrate, which has only scattered admolecules on its surface, with water. After the second adsorption reaction, more than two admolecules are found where only one admolecule was originally contained. In this process, the distance between admolecules is decreased mutually and uniformly, thereby increasing the film density.
[0054] However, if the time spent for the adsorption reaction is too short, the adsorbed molecules will be scattered over the substrate at wide distances from one another. As a result, the admolecules can bend, become parallel to the substrate, or cover the original sites for adsorption. In order to prevent such undesirable results, more than several minutes are required for the adsorption reaction.
[0055] Under standard reaction conditions, however, it is quite likely that the reaction rate is too fast to enable control of the time for adsorption reaction. In this case, the association or collision rates between the reactive groups of the chemical adsorbent and the active hydrogen groups of a substrate can be reduced by lowering the temperature of the reaction or the concentration of adsorbent; as a result, the time for the reaction is extended and thus becomes quite manageable.
[0056] In this invention, a chemical adsorbent may be provided as recited below:
[0057] a molecule in which a halosilyl group as shown in formula [C] is bonded to the end of molecule—containing a hydrocarbon chain, a fluorocarbon chain, an aromatic ring, a heterocyclic ring, metal or the like;
[0058] a molecule in which an alkoxysilyl or aldehydesilyl group as shown in formula [D] is bonded to the end of molecule—containing a hydrocarbon chain, a fluorocarbon chain, an aromatic ring, a heterocyclic ring, metal or the like;
[0059] a molecule in which at least one functional group chosen from halogenated sulfonyl groups as shown in formulas [E] and [F] and an aldehyde group as shown in formula [G] is bonded to the end of molecules—containing a hydrocarbon chain, a fluorocarbon chain, an aromatic ring, a heterocyclic ring, metal or the like. However, it is preferable that halosilyl group is either dihalosilyl or trihaloxilyl group. Similarly, alkoxysilyl group should be either dialkoxysilyl or trialkoxysilyl group. In terms of reactivity, Cl is prefered to Br or I as a halogen. However, a similar chemically adsorbed film can be formed even with Br or I.
[0060] When the adsorption reaction is carried out more than once, the kind of chemical adsorbent can be changed each time. In spite of the fact that the film density is affected by the change of adsorbent, the density can be controlled in many cases.
[0061] The increase or control of film density is applicable not only to the case of forming one film on the substrate but to forming a multilayer film on the existing chemically adsorbed film.
[0062] The following can be used as chemical adsorbents in this invention:
[0063] (1) trichlorosilane-based surface active materials including
[0064] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl 3 ,
[0065] CF 3 CH 2 O (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl 3 ,
[0066] CF 3 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl 3 ,
[0067] CF 3 (CH 2 ) 3 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 9 SiCl 3 ,
[0068] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 9 SiCl 3 ,
[0069] CF 3 COO(CH 2 ) 15 SiCl 3 , or
[0070] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 5 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl 3
[0071] (2) monochlorosilane-based surface active materials, whose lower alkyl groups are substituted, or dichlorosilane-based surface active materials including
[0072] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n ,
[0073] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0074] CF 3 CH 2 O (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n ,
[0075] CF 3 CH 2 O (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0076] CF 3 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n ,
[0077] CF 3 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0078] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 9 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n ,
[0079] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 (CH 2 ) 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 9 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0080] CF 3 COO(CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n ,
[0081] CF 3 COO(CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0082] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 5 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n , or
[0083] CF 3 (CF 2 ) 5 (CH 2 ) 2 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n ,
[0084] where n represents 1 or 2.
[0085] In particular, trichlorosilane-based surface active materials, in which adjacent molecules form siloxane bonds, are preferable for obtaining a stronger chemically adsorbed film.
[0086] Moreover, CF 3 (CF 2 ) n CH 2 CH 2 SiCl 3 (where n represents an integer, preferably between about 3 and 25) is preferable since it is balanced with the dissolution property, chemical adsorption property, water-and oil-repelling property, and anticontamination property or the like. By incorporating an unsaturated bond into an alkyl or alkyl fluoride chain, a bridge formation can be formed by irradiation with an electron beam at only about 5 Mrads, after formation of a chemically adsorbed film; as a result, the hardness of the film can be improved.
[0087] Trichlorosilane-based surface active materials, such as the following: CH 3 (CH 2 ) 18 SiCl 3 , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl 3 , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 10 SiCl 3 , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 25 SiCl 3 or the like, and monochlorosilane-based materials, whose lower alkyl groups are substituted, or dichlorosilane-based surface active materials, such as the following: CH 3 (CH 2 ) 18 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 18 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 15 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 10 SiCl n (CH 3 ) 3−n , CH 3 (CH 2 ) 25 SiCl n (C 2 H 5 ) 3−n or the like, are included as chlorosilane-based surface active materials containing alkyl groups. CH 3 (CH 2 ) n SiCl 3 (where n represents an integer, preferably between about 3 and 25) is most preferable among these for the dissolution property of the solvent.
[0088] In order to achive a high adsorption density, a linear chlorosilane-based surface active material is preferred. However, as said active material applied in this invention, the alkyl fluoride or hydrocarbon groups of the material can be diverged, or the silicons at the ends of the material can be substituted by alkyl fluoride or hydrocarbon groups, expressed as the formulas including R 2 SiCl 2 , R 3 SiCl, R 1 R 2 SiCl 2 or R 1 R 2 R 3 SiCl, where R, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 represent alkyl fluoride or hydroxyl groups.
[0089] A nonaqueous solvent used for this invention is preferably chosen from the following solvents:
[0090] fluoric solvent such as 1,1-dichloro, 1-fluoroethane; 1,1-dichloro, 2,2,2-trifluoroethane; 1,1-dichloro, 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropane; 1,3-dichloro, 1,1,2,2,3-heptafluoropropane or the like;
[0091] hydrocarbon-based solvent such as hexane, octane, hexadecane, cyclohexane or the like;
[0092] ethers solvent such as dibutylether, dibenzylether or the like;
[0093] esters solvent such as methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, amyl acetate or the like.
[0094] Acetone, methyl ethyl ketone or the like can be used as ketones solvent.
[0095] Metal such as Al, Cu, stainless steel or the like, glass, ceramics, or a group which is hydrophilic but contains a comparatively small number of hydroxyl groups (—OH)—such as a plastic, whose surface is hydrophilic—are included as groups which can be used for this invention.
[0096] In employing metal as said group, it is preferable to use a base metal such as Al, Cu or stainless steel since chemical adsorption is promoted between the hydrophilic groups on the substrate surface and chlorosilyl groups in this invention.
[0097] If a material, such as plastic, does not have an oxide film on its surface, the surface must become hydrophilic beforehand by introducing to it carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. The introduction of such groups can be directed by treating the surface with 100 W under a plasma atmosphere, containing oxygen, for 20 minutes, or by corona treatment. However, in case of nylon and polyurethane resin, which have imino groups (>NH) on their surfaces, such treatment is not necessary; a dehydrochlorination reaction is promoted between the hydrogens of the imino groups (>NH) of the substrate and the chlorosilyl groups (—SiCi) of a chemical adsorbent, thereby creating a siloxane bond (—SiO—).
[0098] This invention can be applicable for various uses and materials as described in the following:
[0099] (a) examples of substrates—metal, ceramics, plastic, wood, stone (the invention being applicable even when the substrate surface being coated with paint or the like in advance);
[0100] (b) examples of cutlery—kitchen and other knives, scissors, engraver, razor blade, hair clippers, saw, plane, chisel, gimlet, badkin, cutting tools, drill tip, blender blade, juicer blade, flour mill blade, lawn mower blade, punch, straw cutter, stapler, blade for can opener, surgical knife or the like;
[0101] (c) examples of needles—acupuncture needle, sewing needle, sewing-machine needle, long thick needle for making tatami, syringe needle, surgical needle, safety pin or the like;
[0102] (d) examples of products in the pottery industry—products made of pottery, glass, ceramics or enameled products, including hygienic potteries (such as a chamber pot, wash-bowl, bathtub, etc.), tableware (such as a rice bowl, plate, bowl, teacup, glass, bottle, coffee-pot, pots and pans, earthenware mortar, cup, etc.), flower vases (such as a flower bowl, flowerpot, small flower vase, etc.), water tanks (such as a breeding cistern, aquarium water tank, etc.), chemistry apparatus (such as a beaker, reacter vessel, test tube, flask, culture dish, condenser, stirring rod, stirrer, mortar, vat, syringe), roof tile, tile, enameled tableware, enameled wash bowl, and enameled pots and pans;
[0103] (e) examples of mirrors—hand mirror, full-length mirror, bathroom mirror, washroom mirror, mirrors for automobile (back and side mirrors), half mirror, mirror for show window, mirrors for department store or the like;
[0104] (f) examples of molding parts—die for press molding, die for cast molding, die for injection molding, die for transfer molding, die for vacuum molding, die for blow forming, die for extrusion molding, die for inflation molding, die for fiber spinning, calender processing roll;
[0105] (g) examples of ornaments—watch, jewelry, pearl, sapphire, ruby, emerald, garnet, cat's-eye, diamond, topaz, bloodstone, aquamarine, turquoise, agate, marble, amethyst, cameo, opal, crystal, glass, ring, bracelet, brooch, tiepin, earrings, necklace, glasses frames (of platinum, gold, silver, aluminium, titanium, tin, compound metals of these elements, or stainless steel) or the like;
[0106] (h) examples of molds for food—cake mold, cookie mold, bread mold, chocolate mold, jelly mold, ice cream mold, oven plate, ice tray or the like;
[0107] (i) examples of cookware—pots and pans, iron pot, kettle, pot, frying pan, hot plate, net for grilling food, tool for draining off oil, plate for making takoyaki or the like;
[0108] (j) examples of paper—photogravure paper, water and oil repellent paper, paper for posters, high-quality paper for pamphlets or the like;
[0109] (k) examples of resin—polyolefin (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.), polyvinylchloride, polyvinylidenechloride, polyamide, polyimide, polyamideimide, polyester, aromatic polyester, polystyrene, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylenesulfide, phenolic resin, furan resin, urea resin, epoxide, polyurethane, silicon resin, ABS resin, methacrylic resin, ethylacrylate resin, ester resin, polyacetal, polyphenyleneoxide or the like;
[0110] (1) examples of household electric goods—television, radio, tape recorder, audio goods, CD player, refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, juicer, blender, blade of an electric fan, lighting equipment, dial plate, hair drier for perm or the like;
[0111] (m) examples of sporting goods—skis, fishing rod, pole for pole vault, boat, sailboat, jet skis, surfboard, golf ball, bowling ball, fishing line, fishing net, fishing float or the like;
[0112] (n) examples of vehicle parts;
[0113] (1) ABS resin—lamp cover, instrument panel, trimming parts, and protector for a motorcycle,
[0114] (2) cellulose plastic—markings for automobile, and steering wheel,
[0115] (3) FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics)—bumper, and engine cover,
[0116] (4) phenolic resin—brake,
[0117] (5) polyacetal—wiper, wiper gear, gas valve, carburetor parts,
[0118] (6) polyamide—radiator fan,
[0119] (7) polyarylate (polycondensation polymerization by bisphenol A and pseudo phthalic acid)—direction indicator lamp (or lens), cowl board lens, relay case,
[0120] (8) polybutylene terephthalate—rear end, front fender,
[0121] (9) poly amino-bismaleimide—engine parts, gear box, wheel, suspension drive system,
[0122] (10) methacrylate resin—lamp cover lens, meter panel and cover, and center mark,
[0123] (11) polypropylene—bumper,
[0124] (12) polyphenylene oxide—radiator grill, wheel cap,
[0125] (13) polyurethane—bumper, fender, instrument panel, and fan,
[0126] (14) unsaturated polyester resin—body, gas tank, heater housing, meter panel,
[0127] (o) examples of stationary goods—fountain pen, ballpoint pen, mechanical pencil, pencil case, binder, desk, chair, book shelf, rack, telephone base, ruler, draftsman's outfit or the like;
[0128] (p) examples of building materials—roof materials (such as ceramic tile, slate, tin such as used in galvanized iron plate, etc.), outer wall materials (such as wood including processed wood, mortar, concrete, ceramic sizing, metallic sizing, brick, building stone, plastic material, metallic material including aluminium, etc.), interior materials (such as wood including processed wood, metallic material including aluminium, plastic material, paper, fiber, etc.) or the like;
[0129] (q) examples of stone materials—granite, marble or the like, used for building, building material, works of art, ornament, bath, gravestone, monument, gatepost, stone wall, sidewalk, paving stone, etc.
[0130] (r) examples of musical instruments and audio apparatus—percussion instruments, string instruments, keyboard instruments, woodwind instruments, brass instruments or the like, more specifically, drum, cymbals, violin, cello, guitar, koto, piano, flute, clarinet, shakuhachi, horn, etc., and microphone, speaker, earphone or the like.
[0131] (s) others—high voltage insulator with good water, oil and contamination-repelling properties, including thermos bottles, vacuum apparatus, insulator for transmitting electricity, spark plugs or the like.
[0132] The method of manufacturing a chemically adsorbed film of the invention will now be explained specifically in the following examples 1-3.
EXAMPLE 1
[0133] Adsorption solution A was prepared by dissolving 1% by weight of a chemical adsorbent, n-nonadecyl trichlorosilane, into the mixed solvent of hexadecane, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform at a weight ratio of 80:12:8 respectively.
[0134] Glass substrate 1, as a hydrophilic group, was prepared as shown in FIG. 1. After being washed with a nonorganic solvent, the substrate was dipped in adsorption solution A for five minutes. Due to this treatment, a dehydrochlorination reaction was promoted between the Si—Cl groups of n-nonadecyl trichlorosilane and the —OH groups of glass substrate 1, thereby forming a chemically adsorbed film on the substrate as shown in formula [1].
[0135] A chemically adsorbed monomolecular film 2 as shown in FIG. 2, which had only a few horizontal bonds since the —OH groups were unaffected, was formed after washing the substrate with a nonorganic solvent for 15 minutes and with chloroform for another 15 minutes. This monomolecular film was firmly connected to the substrate, and had excellent water-repelling properties.
[0136] The formation of the film was confirmed by obtaining particular signals for this structure at 3680 (reversion: Si—OH), 2930-2840 (reversion: CH 3 , —CH 2 —), 1470 (reversion: —CH 2 —), and 1080 (reversion: Si—O)cm −1 by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectral (FTIR) measurement.
[0137] As a next step, a readsorption reaction was directed. The substrate with the formed monomolecular film was dipped and held in a newly prepared adsorption solution A for one hour. The substrate was then washed with a nonorganic solvent for 15 minutes and with water for another 15 minutes, thereby promoting a dehydrochlorination reaction between Si—Cl groups of n-nonadecyl trichlorosilane and —OH groups at the root of monomolecular film 3. As a result, a chemically adsorbed film was formed on glass substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 3.
[0138] According to FTIR measurement, the particular signals for this structure at 2930-2840 (reversion: CH 3 , —CH 2 —), 1470 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1080 (reversion: Si—O)cm −1 were stronger than the signals obtained after the first reaction. This result confirmed the increase of admolecules. The absorption wave number, measuring the asymmetric stretching vibration of methylene, declined from 2929cm −1 after the first adsorption reaction to 2921cm −1 after the second reaction. It is generally known that such decline in wave number occurs when the distance between molecules with a long chain alkyl part decreases. In fact, the absorption wave number of certain material decreases as the material changes from a gaseous body to a liquid body and then to a solid body. Therefore, confirmation was obtained that the film density increased due to the decrease in distance between the molecules—the composition of the film—after the readsorption reaction.
EXAMPLE 2
[0139] Adsorption solution B was prepared by dissolving 1% by weight of a chemical adsorbent, n-nonadecenyl trichlorosilane, into a mixed solvent of hexadecane, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform at a weight ratio of 80:12:8, respectively. As a hydrophilic group, glass substrate 1 was prepared. After being washed with organic solvent, the substrate was dipped and held in adsorption solution B for five minutes. As a result, a dehydrochlorination reaction was promoted between Si—Cl of n-nonadecenyl trichlorosilane and OH of glass substrate 1, thereby forming a chemically adsorbed film on the substrate as shown in formula [2].
[0140] After washing the substrate with a nonaqueous solvent for 15 minutes and with chloroform for another 15 minutes, chemically adsorbed monomolecular film 4 as shown in FIG. 4, which had few horizontal bonds since —OH groups were unaffected, was formed. This monomolecular film was firmly connected to the substrate, and possessed good water-repelling properties.
[0141] Signals were obtained for this structure at 2930-2840 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1470 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1080 (reversion: Si—O)cm −1 by FTIR measurement, thereby confirming the formation of the film.
[0142] A readsorption reaction was directed as in the following procedures:
[0143] dipping and holding the substrate formed with the monomolecular film in a newly prepared adsorption solution B;
[0144] washing the substrate with a nonaqueous solvent for 15 minutes and with water for another 15 minutes.
[0145] A dehydrochlorination reaction was then promoted between Si—Cl of n-nonadecyl trichlorosilane and —OH groups of glass substrate 1, thereby forming a chemically adsorbed film 5 on the substrate as shown in FIG. 5.
[0146] The particular signals obtained by FTIR measurement at 2930-2840 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1470 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1080 (reversion: Si—O)cm −1 for this structure were strengthened compared with the signals obtained from the first adsorption reaction, thereby confirming an increase of admolecules. Moreover, the absorption wave number of assymmetric stretching vibration of methylene declined from 2928cm −1 after the first adsorption to 2921cm −1 after the second adsorption.
[0147] As in example 1, after the readsorption reaction, the distance between molecules of the film became shorter, and the film density was increased.
EXAMPLE 3
[0148] Adsorption solution C was prepared by dissolving 1% by weight of a chemical adsorbent, 14-bromotetradecyl trichlorosilane, into a mixed solvent of hexadecane, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform at a weight ratio of 80:12:8, respectively.
[0149] A chemically adsorbed film shown in FIG. 2 was formed through the following procedures as detailed in example 2:
[0150] promoting the first adsorption by dipping and holding glass substrate 1 in adsorption solution A;
[0151] washing the substrate with a nonaqueous solution, chloroform, and then with water, thereby forming the film. This monomolecular film was firmly fixed to the substrate, and had a good water-repelling property. As in example 1, the formation of the film was confirmed by obtaining particular signals by FTIR measurement.
[0152] Readsorption was directed as in the following procedures:
[0153] dipping and holding the substrate formed with monomolecular film 2 in a newly prepared adsorption solution C for one hour;
[0154] washing the substrate with a nonaqueous solvent for 15 minutes and with chloroform for another 15 minutes.
[0155] As a result, a dehydrochlorination reaction was promoted between Si—Cl of 14-bromotetradecyl trichlorosilane and OH of glass substrate 1 or at the root of monomolecular film 3, thereby forming chemically adsorbed film 6 on the substrate as shown in FIG. 6.
[0156] Stronger signals at 2930-2840 (reversion: CH 3 , —CH 2 —), 1470 (reversion: —CH 2 —), 1080 (reversion: Si—O)cm −1 were obtained by FTIR measurement after the second adsorption reaction. The creation of an additional particular signal at 1440 (reversion: Br—C)cm −1 was also confirmed after the second adsorption. Absorption wave number by the asymmetric stretching vibration of methylene declined from 2928cm−1 after the first adsorption to 2922cm −1 after the second adsorption. As in other examples, it was confirmed that the distance between the molecules became shorter and the film density was increased.
[0157] Although a chemical adsorbent containing halosilyl groups was used for examples 1-3, the same results could be obtained by using an adsorbent having alkoxysilyl groups or the like.
[0158] For the first adsorption reaction, a chemical adsorbent comprises a functional group shown in formula [A] or formula [B]. From the second repetition onwards, however, a chemical adsorbent contains at least one group chosen from the group consisting of halosilyl, alkoxysilyl or functional groups shown in formulas [A] through [G].
[0159] As explained above, a highly dense chemically adsorbed film is formed by repeating an adsorption reaction and washing process, and by covalently bonding a chemical adsorbent to a substrate and a chemically adsorbed film. The density of the adsorbed film, in addition, can be controlled by varying the time for adsorption reaction, the number of repetitions, and the kind and combination of chemical adsorbents.
[0160] The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein. | A highly dense chemically adsorbed film is formed by repeating the alternate process of adsorption reaction and washing. Adsorption reaction is directed by contacting the substrate surface, which has or is given an alkali metal or a functional group, with a chemical adsorbent, having halosilyl or alkoxysilyl groups at the end of molecules. An unreacted chemical adsorbent is then washed away from the substrate surface. The alternate treatment of adsorption reaction and washing is repeated, thereby covalently bonding a chemically adsorbed film to the substrate surface. As a result, a chemically adsorbed film is formed in which stem molecules are directly or indirectly covalently bonded to the substrate surface via at least one element chosen from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C and graft molecules are covalently bonded to at least one element chosen from Si, Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, S or C via at least one bond chosen from —SiO—, —GeO—, SnO—, —TiO—, ZrO—, —SO 2 —, —SO— and —C—. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to the repair and beautification of construction surfaces, preferably roofing surfaces. The present invention further relates to the use of an adhesive, double-sided tape in combination with construction material to repair a construction surface. Roofing material choices vary depending upon the type of building, e.g., a residential or commercial building, as well as functional and aesthetic considerations.
[0002] There are numerous types of roof materials. One family of roof materials has a granulated surface. The granule surface (exposed top coat) is intended to increase life, improve weather-ability and add beauty. It is typically available in rolled or sheet form. Roll form is often called a “modified roof” and is typically used for a low-slope applications. Low-slope roofs are primarily found on commercial buildings. There are generally two types of rolled form roof materials with granulated surfaces: one is commonly referred to as “conventional commercial rolled-roofing” which is asphalt based, the other is styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) based. A third roll formed roofing material for low-slope roofs is based on atactic polypropylene (APP). APP seldom has a granulated surface.
[0003] Sheet form roofing materials with a granulated surface are commonly known as asphalt shingle. Two types of asphalt shingles are organic and fiberglass or glass fiber shingles. Organic shingles are generally paper (felt) saturated with asphalt to make it waterproof. Roll form and shingle (sheet) form are both coated with a top coat of adhesive asphalt with granules embedded into the adhesive layer. In some cases, a portion of the granules contain leachable copper or more often tin to prevent moss growth on the roof. Organic shingles contain around 40% more asphalt than fiberglass shingles which makes them weigh more and gives them better durability and wind blow-off resistance.
[0004] Fiberglass shingles have a glass fiber reinforcing mat manufactured to the shape of the shingle. The mat is coated with asphalt which contains mineral fillers. The glass fiber mat is not waterproof by itself and is a wet laid fiberglass mat bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin used for reinforcement. The asphalt makes the fiberglass shingle waterproof. Fiberglass reinforcement was devised as the replacement for asbestos paper reinforcement of roofing shingles. The older asbestos versions were actually more durable and were harder to tear, an important property when considering wind lift of shingles in heavy storms. Fiberglass based asphalt shingles are commercially replacing the older felt reinforcement based asphalt shingles.
[0005] Included in the shingle family is a newer design of asphalt shingle, known as a laminated shingle, which uses two distinct layers and is heavier, more expensive and more durable than traditional designs. Laminated shingles also give a more 3-D effect to a roof surface. The granules embedded in the top coat of the rolled form or shingle roof materials vary in composition and appearance (e.g., color). In general, such granule medium are mineral granules (ceramic-coated natural rock, sand-sized) containing some portion of iron or other color producing component. Alternatively, Roofing granules may have surfaces treated with oil and an elastomeric rubber. The elastomeric rubber can be an organic block copolymer having elastomeric and nonelastomeric repeating units. The oil and rubber are applied to the roofing granules' surfaces as a thin film. The thin film of oil and rubber impedes granule staining from oils in asphalt roofing materials, and reduces dust formation during granule handling. Roofing granules are typically from about 1-4 millimeters in diameter.
[0006] Though roofing materials are engineered to withstand relatively harsh climate changes and weather, they ultimately wear out or become damaged. With such wear or damage the owner of the building generally has two choices: one, remove the old roofing material and apply a whole new roofing material or two, attempt to repair that portion of the roofing material that is worn or damaged. In general, flat roofs can be repaired by the application of hot-melt, polymer, caulk, or tar-based materials, with or without a tape-like solid sheet backing. Quite often the repair will include a mesh reinforcement embedded in the hot-melt, polymer, caulking or tar-like material applied to the damaged or leaking roof area. For residential surfaces, especially those comprised of individual tar-granule shingles, the entire roofing surface is torn off and a new roofing surface is applied to the entire roof. Alternatively, the old shingles are left in place and a new roofing shingle surface is applied over the old shingle surface, covering the entire roof.
[0007] In some cases, an owner may wish to save time and money by doing a limited re-roofing of a damaged or worn area. These types of repairs, however, are less common because the anesthetic look of a partially repaired roof is not attractive. This is due, primarily from the difficulty of blending the new roofing shingles with the remaining, old shingles, combined with the difficulty of getting loose, matching granule to remain adhered to the hot-melt, polymer, caulking or tar-like material patch. Therefore, re-roofing of residential, shingle based roofs is usually performed on the entire roof. Such efforts, however, are more costly than isolated repairs and, combined with time involved, are in many occurrences not performed until the roof is in serious need of repair. On low-slope roofs of all types (not limited to granulated rolled formed roofing) and metal roofs there is the need to seal around roof penetrations, along wall connections and valleys, and along the seams of the roof material once it is rolled out and laid side by side (the seam). Currently there are different methods of sealing these areas, such as factory edges with a sealant already applied requiring a heating medium to make the sealant viscous and sticky, or the removal of a release liner to expose a sealant, but in all cases at minimum a line between the different pieces of the rolled roof material is exposed, and in the worse cases an additional sealant such as hot-tar, caulking, a cover tape, or self-leveling sealant is applied over the seam leaving an aesthetically unpleasing, non-matching seal, and in cases where an attempt is made to beautify the patch with matching granule, difficulty of getting the loose matching granule to remain adhered to the repaired surface remains a challenge.
[0008] A need therefore exists for the provision of a product, system and method of use that allows for the isolated repair and/or sealing of roofs that results in matching, aesthetically pleasing finished product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is directed to a repair product comprising a double-sided, adhesive tape and a top-coat medium. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a double-sided, adhesive roofing tape and quantity of roofing medium. The present invention is also directed to a double-sided, roofing tape with one side of the adhesive coated with a top-coat material, preferably roofing granules. The present invention is also directed to a roofing repair/sealing kit, system and methodology comprising a double-sided, adhesive roofing tape and a quantity of top-coat medium, preferably roofing granules.
[0010] The present invention is also directed to a method of repairing/sealing a construction surface, preferably a roof or concrete surface, comprising the application of one side of a double-sided, adhesive tape to the area requiring repair and the addition of a top coat medium, such as a roofing granule, sand, dry concrete, matching metal or single-ply membrane or matching roofing or other material to the other face of the double-sided, adhesive tape.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a repair kit of the present invention
[0012] FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of a repair tape of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a repair tape of the present invention showing the partial release of a releasing liner.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of an alternative repair tape of the present invention with a reinforcing scrim embedded in the adhesive.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a view of a roofing surface requiring various repairs on a shingle type roof material.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a view of a roofing surface of FIG. 5 repaired with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a view of a low-slope roofing surface requiring various repairs.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a view of a roofing surface of FIG. 7 repaired with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein a release liner is replaced with roofing medium.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The present invention is directed to a two-sided material capable of adhering to a construction surface and a repair medium. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a double-sided adhesive tape, wherein one side of the tape adhesive can adhere to a surface and the other side of the tape adhesive can adhere to a repair medium. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a repair kit comprising a double-sided adhesive tape and a quantity of repair medium.
[0021] The present invention is also directed to a method of using the double-sided adhesive tape and repair medium to repair a construction surface. Although a preferred use of the present invention is for the repair or beautification of a roofing surface, the present invention can generally be used with any surface capable of receiving an adhesive layer of the tape of the present invention. The invention will be generally described with reference to a repair or beautification of a roofing surface but such description should generally be read more broadly to encompass use on other surfaces as well. Similarly, the present invention is generally described as being used to repair a surface but should be read more broadly to encompass repair as well as a beautification of the surface.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 , in an embodiment, the present invention is directed to kit 11 , comprised of double-sided tape 7 (shown in folded fashion) and medium container 9 , comprising medium 12 .
[0023] Referring to FIG. 2 , tape 1 comprises three layers: adhesive layer 4 and release liners 8 and 10 .
[0024] Adhesive layer 4 is intended for adherence to a surface requiring repair and for adherence to a repair medium. In general, layer 4 is intended to adhere to a surface and remain adhered through various weather conditions, e.g., rain, sleet, snow, hail, sunlight, and through a range of climate conditions, preferably of from about −56° to 126° Celsius. Additionally, the adhering strength of layer 4 to its respective surfaces or mediums will generally be about 5 lbs per inch width, more preferably 20 lbs per inch width and most preferably 30 lbs per inch width. The adhesive of layer 4 can be comprised any adhesive that provides the appropriate level of adherence and can withstand the weathering conditions of the surface to be repaired for a reasonable period of time, e.g., more than one year, preferably 5 years, and more preferably 15 or more years. Examples of adhesive compositions suitable for layer 4 include, but are not limited to extruded and/or hot melt technologies, to butyl and non-butyl rubber based adhesives and their derivatives, rubberized asphalt and bitumen and its derivatives. The cross-sectional thickness of layer of 4 will vary, depending on the application, but will range from about 25 to about 300 mils, typically will be of from about 40 mils to 120 mils, and preferably 60 mils and at times, preferably 80 mils. As used herein, “mils” refers to one thousandth (0.001) of an inch.
[0025] Release liners 8 and 10 can be comprised of the same or different material and thicknesses. Liners 8 and 10 can be comprised of a variety of materials suitable to allow release from layer 4 . Such materials will allow release from adhesive layer 4 with minimal force. Liners 8 and 10 protect adhesive layer 4 from becoming contaminated with materials, dust and the like and from sticking to unwanted surfaces. Examples of materials useful for employment as liners 8 and 10 include, but are not limited to, silconized paper, siliconized polyethylene, siliconized polypropylene. In general, layers 8 and 10 will have a cross-sectional thickness of from about 1 to about 10 mils, preferably about 2 to 4 mils.
[0026] Medium 12 comprises a variety of surfacing agents useful for applying to layer 4 . In general, medium 12 will comprise the same or similar surface material of the surface to repair. Such similarities allow for an aesthetically pleasing application of the present invention to a repair surface. If the surface to be repaired is a granulated roof material then medium 12 may comprise roofing granules similar to those coated on the roofing shingle or sheet to be repaired. If the surface to be repaired is a concrete material, then medium 12 may comprise sand or dry concrete similar in texture and color to the concrete to be repaired. If the surface to be repaired is a metal or copper material, then medium 12 may comprise metal or copper similar to those of the surface to be repaired. If the surface to be repaired is a single-ply roof material like EPDM, chlorosulfonated polyethylene (Hypalan), TPO, or PVC roof material, then medium 12 may comprise swatches of roofing similar to those comprising the single ply roof to be repaired.
[0027] Alternatively, the adhesive tape of the present invention may contain an embedded scrim within the adhesive layer. Referring to FIG. 3 , in an embodiment, tape 3 comprises five layers: scrim 5 , adhesive layers 14 and 16 and release liners 18 and 20 .
[0028] Scrim 5 can be comprised of a variety of materials including, but not limited to, woven nylon, open weave polyester, expanded polyester, open weave cotton and closed weave fabrics. Scrim 5 can provide structural quality or improve the shear strength of tape 3 . In general, scrim 5 will have a cross-sectional thickness of from about 1 to 10 mils, preferably 1 to 4 mils. Adhesive layers 14 and 16 , which can be comprised of the same or different materials, will be comprised of the same types of materials discussed above for adhesive layer 4 . Layers 14 and 16 can the same or different cross-sectional thicknesses and will generally be from about 20 to 200 mils and preferably from about 40 to 80 mils. Liners 18 and 20 will be comprised of the same or different materials and will be comprised of the same types of materials and cross-sectional thicknesses discussed above for liners 8 and 10 .
[0029] In operation, release liner 8 is removed from layer 4 by peeling away liner 8 from layer 4 (see FIG. 4 ). Layer 4 is then applied to the area desired for repair. An operator may use a pressing device, e.g., a roller, to ensure a good adherence of layer 4 to the surface for repair. Following application of layer 4 to the repair surface, liner 10 is removed by peeling away from layer 4 similar in manner to the peeling of liner 8 . The exposed layer 4 is now ready to receive and adhere to medium 12 , typically of the same surface material of the repair surface. Depending on the type of material comprising medium 12 , it can be added to layer 4 in a variety of methods. For example, if medium 12 is a roofing granule or powdered concrete, then medium 12 can be sprinkled onto layer 4 , to cover layer 4 with granules. If medium 12 is comprised of metal sheets, then medium 12 will be placed on top of layer 4 and pressed to create adherence.
[0030] Following initial application of medium 12 , an operator may optionally press medium 12 , e.g., with a roller, to more firmly adhere medium 12 to layer 4 .
[0031] Alternative embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 . In these embodiments, tape 13 and 15 are analogous to tapes 1 or 3 , except that one of the release liners is replaced with a surface medium. Tape 13 is comprised of three layers: adhesive layer 22 , release liner 26 and medium 24 . In the other alternative embodiment, tape 15 (see FIG. 10 ) is comprised of four layers: adhesive layers 30 and 32 , scrim 36 , medium 34 and release liner 40 . Adhesive layers 22 , 30 and 32 are comprised of the same materials described above for layer 4 . Adhesive layer 22 can be of similar cross-sectional thicknesses as described for layer 4 . Adhesive layers 30 and 32 can be independently of similar thicknesses as discussed above for layers 14 and 16 . Scrim 36 and release liners 26 and 40 are comprised of similar materials and thickness as those described above for scrim 5 , and release liners 8 and 18 , respectively. Mediums 24 and 34 are analogous and are comprised of material suitable to cover and finish exposed adhesive layers after application of the tapes to the surface of repair. Mediums 24 and 34 are generally comprised of the same or similar materials as the top coat of the surface to be repaired. Preferably, mediums 24 and 34 are comprised of roofing granules similar to those described above for medium 12 .
[0032] In operation, tapes 13 and 15 are applied to a surface for repair by first removing liners 26 and 40 , respectively, allowing layers 22 and 30 , respectively, to adhere to the surface to be repaired, and applying pressure to mediums 24 and 34 , respectively, to create a good adherence of the adhesive layers to the surface to be repaired.
[0033] The tapes described above can be of various widths and lengths, depending on ease of manufacture and use. In general, the tapes will have a width of from about 1 to about 48 inches and preferably about 3 to about 12 inches. In general, the tapes will have a length of from about 6 to about 50 feet and preferably about 10 to about 20 feet. Depending on the length of the tape, it will generally be packaged as either a roll, single flat pieces, or as a folded configuration. The present invention kit can be prepared for larger industrial uses, wherein the tape is packaged in larger quantities or for smaller, consumer uses, wherein the tape is packaged in smaller quantities.
[0034] The methods of the present invention comprise the provision of a double sided, adhesive tape capable of being adhered to a surface to be repaired and also a repair medium. The methods involve adhering one side of a double-sided adhesive tape to a surface of repair and applying a medium to the other, exposed side of the adhesive tape. The present invention methods can employ the present invention repair kits, described above, or can employ a double-sided adhesive tape, similar to those described in the above kits, and a medium supplied by the user.
[0035] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the use of the present invention kit in the repair and improvement of the aesthetic appeal of a granule, shingle type of roof. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the use of the present invention kit in the improvement of rolled asphalt sheet types of roofing, typically found on low-slope roofs. In those examples, the seams formed from the side-by-side rolls and the seams around a roofing stack are sealed with the tape and medium of the present invention. | A repair kit and method are provided. The repair kit is comprised of a double-sided adhesive tape and a quantity of medium. Alternatively, the tape contains an embedded, reinforcing scrim or added strength or utility. Another alternative embodiment provides a kit wherein one side of the adhesive of the tape is pre-fabricated with medium. In operation, a user removes a release liner of one of the sides of the adhesive tape, applies the exposed adhesive surface to the repair surface, then removes the other release liner of the opposite side of the tape and applies a coating of medium to cover the exposed top coat of adhesive. The kit is particularly useful in roofing repair, such as for the repair of tar-based granule containing shingles, commercial rolled granulated surfaces, metal surfaces, single-ply material based and concrete and masonry based surfaces. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a fuel delivery control apparatus for use with a multi-cylinder type internal combustion engine and, more particularly, to a fuel delivery control apparatus for terminating fuel delivery to some of the cylinders of the engine to avoid overspeed at high engine speeds.
Generally, it is the current practice to avoid engine overspeed by terminating fuel delivery to the engine operating at high speeds. For example, Japanese Patent Kokai No. 81-55323 discloses a fuel delivery control apparatus for operating an engine in a fuelcut mode to terminate fuel delivery to a a preselected cylinder group when the engine speed exceeds a predetermined value.
A disadvantage with such a conventional fuel delivery control apparatus is that the life of the engine is limited because of mechanical stresses caused by the temperature differences between the preselected cylinder group and the other cylinder group in the fuelcut mode of operation of the engine. In addition, the components associated with the preselected cylinder group will wear in a relatively shorter time than the components associated with the other cylinder group. Since the fuel delivery to the preselected cylinder group is terminated frequently, the combustion of the air-fuel mixture becomes unstable in the preselected cylinder group, resulting in emission of unburned fuel components therefrom. On the other hand, the other cylinders discharge hot exhaust gases which are mixed with the unburned fuel components discharged from the preselected cylinders to increase the exhaust gas temperature to a great extent causing a breakdown of the catalytic converter located in the exhaust passage of the engine when the fuelcut mode continues for a long period of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, a main object of the invention to provide an improved fuel delivery control apparatus which is free from the above disadvantages associated with conventional apparatus.
There is provided, in accordance with the invention, an apparatus for controlling a multi-cylinder type internal combustion engine including first and second cylinder groups each having at least one cylinder. The apparatus comprises sensor means for generating electrical signals indicative of engine operating conditions including engine speed, and a control circuit coupled to the sensor means for determining an appropriate value repetitively at uniform intervals of rotation of the engine. This calculation is made according to the engine operating conditions. Means is coupled to the control circuit for supplying fuel to the first and second cylinder groups in an amount corresponding to the calculated value. The control circuit includes means responsive to an overspeed condition for operating the fuel supply means to alternatively terminate the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group and the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
This invention will be described in greater detail by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a fuel delivery control apparatus made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control unit used in the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 contains two waveforms used in explaining the operation of the first and second conters used in the control unit of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing different fuelcut intervals in connection with different engine speeds;
FIG. 5 contains two waveforms used in explaining the manner to determine the fuelcut interval;
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the programming of the digital computer as it is used to determine the fuelcut interval in a fuelcut mode of operation;
FIG. 7 contains several waveforms used in explaining different two fuelcut intervals selected according to engine speed;
FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of the programming of the digital computer as it is used to control the fuel delivery to the engine; and
FIG. 9 contains several waveforms used in explaining the operation of the fuel delivery control apparatus of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
With reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of a fuel delivery control apparatus embodying the invention. An internal combustion engine, generally designated by the numeral 10, for an automotive vehicle includes a combustion chamber or cylinder 12. A piston 14 is mounted for reciprocal motion within the cylinder 12. A crankshaft 16 is supported for rotation within the engine 10. Pivotally connected to the piston 14 and the crankshaft 16 is a connecting rod 18 used to produce rotation of the crankshaft 16 in response to reciprocation of the piston 14 within the cylinder 12.
An intake manifold 20 is connected with the cylinder 12 through an intake port with which an intake valve 22 is in cooperation for regulating an entry of combustion ingredients into the cylinder 12 from the intake manifold 20. A spark plug 24 is mounted in the top of the cylinder 12 for igniting the combustion ingredients within the cylinder 12 when the spark plug 24 is energized by the presence of high voltage electrical energy from an ignition coil 26. An exhaust manifold 30 is connected with the cylinder 12 through an exhaust port with which an exhaust valve is in cooperation for regulating the exit of combustion products, exhaust gases, from the cylinder 12 into the exhaust manifold 20. The intake and exhaust valves are driven through a suitable linkage with the crankshaft 16.
Air to the engine 10 is supplied through an air cleaner 32 into an induction passage 34. The amount of air permitted to enter the combustion chamber 12 through the intake manifold 20 is controlled by a butterfly throttle valve 36 situated within the induction passage 34. The throttle valve 36 is connected by a mechanical linkage to an accelerator pedal. The degree of rotation of the throttle valve 36 is manually controlled by the operator of the engine control system.
A fuel injector 40 is connected to a fuel supply system when includes a fuel tank 42, a fuel pump 44, a fuel damper 46, a fuel filter 48, and a pressure regulator 50. The fuel pump 44 is electrically operated and is capable of maintaining sufficient pressure. The fuel damper 46 attenuates the fuel pressure to an extent. The fuel filter 48 prevents any contaminants from reaching the fuel injector 40. The pressure regulator 50 maintains the pressure differential across the fuel injector 40 at a constant level. This regulation is accomplished by a variation in the amount of excess fuel returned by the regulator 50 to the fuel tank 42. The fuel injector 40 opens to inject fuel toward the intake port of the cylinder 12 when it is energized by the pressure of electrical current. The length of the electrical pulse, that is, the pulse-width, applied to the fuel injector 40 determines the length of time the fuel injector opens and, thus, determines the amount of fuel injected toward the intake port of the cylinder 12.
In the operation of the engine 10, fuel is injected through the fuel injector 40 toward the intake port of the cylinder 12 and mixes with the air therein. When the intake valve opens, the air-fuel mixture enters the combustion chamber 12. An upward stroke of the piston 14 compresses the air-fuel mixture, which is then ignited by a spark produced by the spark plug 24 in the combustion chamber 12. Combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber 12 takes place, releasing heat energy, which is converted into mechanical energy upon the power stroke of the piston 14. At or near the end of the power stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust gases are discharged into the exhaust manifold 30.
Although the engine 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1 has only one combustion chamber 12 formed by a cylinder and piston, it should be understood that the engine control system described here is equally applicable to a multi-cylinder engine. Thus, it should be understood that a four-cylinder engine has four cylinders, four intake valves, four exhaust valves, four reciprocating pistons, four fuel injectors and four spark plugs to ignite the air-fuel mixture within the combustion chambers and that a six-cylinder engine has six cylinders, six intake valves, six exhaust valves, six reciprocating pistons, six fuel injectors and six spark plugs to ignite the air-fuel mixture within the combustion chambers. It should also be understood that the engine control system described here is equally applicable to a multi-cylinder engine having a plurality of fuel injectors arranged to be actuated singly or in groups of varying numbers in a sequential fashion as well as simultaneously.
The amount of fuel metered to the engine, this being determined by the width of the electrical pulses applied to the fuel injector 40, the fuel-injection timing, and the ignition-system spark timing are repetitively determined from calculations performed by a digital computer, these calculations being based upon various conditions of the engine that are sensed during its operation. These sensed conditions include throttle position, intake air flow, and engine speed. Thus, a throttle position sensor 52, a flow meter 54, a starter switch 56 and a crankshaft position sensor 58 are connected to a control unit 60.
The throttle position sensor 52 includes a potentiometer electrically connected in a voltage divider circuit for supplying a voltage proportional to throttle-valve position. The flow meter 54 comprises a thermosensitive wire placed in a bypass passage 34a provided for the induction passage 34 upstream of the throttle valve 36. The starter switch 56 closes to supply current from the engine battery to the control unit 60 when the engine is starting. The crankshaft position sensor 58 produces a series of crankshaft position electrical pulses C1 each corresponding to one degree of rotation of the engine crankshaft and a series of reference electrical pulses Ca at a predetermined number of degree before the top dead center position of each engine piston.
Except under certain speed operating conditions, the fuel-injection pulse-width is calculated as a function of engine speed, intake air flow, ambient temperature, and engine-coolant temperature. The exceptions occur where the engine is being cranked, where its speed exceeds a predetermined upper limit (fuelcut speed), where the engine is idling, and where the engine is decelerating. If the engine operation is not within one of these exceptional regions, then the control unit 60 repetitively calculates an appropriate value for fuel delivery requirement using the sensed engine conditions. The control unit 60 generates fuel injection pulses having the calculated pulse width. The fuel injection pulses supplied to drive the fuel injectors 40 are issued at intervals of a predetermined number of degrees of rotation of the engine crankshaft at which fuel injection is to be initiated by the energization of the respective fuel injectors.
The control unit 60 calculates a difference of a predetermined upper limit (fuelcut speed) from the existing engine speed and it determines an overspeed condition when the calculated difference is greater than zero. Under the overspeed condition, the control unit 60 determines a first interval during which fuel delivery to a first group of cylinders is terminated according to the calculated difference and a second interval during which fuel delivery to a second group of cylinders is terminated according to the calculated difference. The control unit 60 produces no fuel injection pulse to the fuel injectors associated with the first cylinder group during the first interval. The control unit 60 produces no fuel injection pulse to the fuel injectors associated with the second cylinder group during the second interval. The second interval is shifted with respect to the first interval. Thus, the fuel delivery to the first and second cylinder groups are terminated alternatively under the overspeed condition. The control circuit sets the first and second intervals at a first value when the calculated difference is equal to or less than a predetermined first value and at a second value greater than the first value when the calculated difference is greater than the predetermined first value. The control circuit produces no fuel injection pulse to terminate the fuel delivery to both of the first and second cylinder groups when the calculated difference is greater than a predetermined second value greater than the predetermined first value.
Referring to FIG. 2, the control unit 60 comprises a digital computer which includes a central processing unit (CPU) 61, a random access memory (RAM) 62, a read only memory (ROM) 63, and an input/output control circuit (I/O) 64. The central processing unit 61 communicates with the rest of the computer via data bus 65. The input/output control circuit 64 includes a counter which counts the reference pulses Ca fed from the crankshaft position sensor 58 and converts its count into an engine speed indication digital signal for application to the central processing unit 61. The input/output control circuit 64 also includes an analog-to-digital converter which receives analog signals from the flow meter 54, and other sensors and converts them into digital form for application to the central processing unit 61. The A to D conversion process is initiated on command from the central processing unit 61 which selects the input channel to be converted. The read only memory 63 contains the program for operating the central processing unit 61 and further contains appropriate data in look-up tables used in calculating appropriate values for fuel delivery requirements and ignition-system spark timing. Control words specifying desired fuel delivery requirements and ignition-system spark timing are periodically transferred by the central processing unit 61 to the fuel-injection and spark-timing control circuits included in the input/output control circuit 64. The fuel injection control circuit converts the received control work into a fuel injection pulse signal Si for application to a power transistor 66. The power transistor 66 connects the fuel injector 40 to the engine battery 70 for a time period determined by the width of the fuel injection control pulse signal Si. The spark timing control circuit converts the received control word into a spark timing control pulse signal Sp for application to a power transistor 68. The power transistor 68 connects the ignition coil 26 to the engine battery 70 for a time period determined by the width of the spark timing control pulse signal Sp.
The ignition system includes a distributor 28 connected with the ignition coil 26 to energize the spark plugs 24 of the engine. For this purpose, the ignition coil 26 has a primary winding connected across the engine battery 70 through the power transistor 68. The ignition coil 26 has a high voltage terminal connected to a rotor 28a of the distributor 28. The rotor 28a is driven at one-half the rotational velocity of the crankshaft 16. The distributor 28 has electrical contacts 28b each of which is connected in the usual manner by separate electrical leads to the spark plugs 24 of the engine. As the distributor rotor 28a rotates, it sequentially contacts the electrical contacts 28b to permit high voltage electrical energy to be supplied at appropriate intervals to the spark plugs 24, causing sparks to be generated across the gaps 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d of the respective spark plugs 24. The distributor 28 does not control ignition-system spark timing. Rather, spark timing is an independently controlled variable calculated through the use of the digital computer in a manner hereinafter described. It should be understood that the illustrated four cylinder engine is shown and described only to facilitate a more complete understanding of the engine control system embodying the invention.
The input/output control circuit 64 includes first and second counters TM1 and TM2 and a register TREC used for determining the first interval during which fuel delivery to the first cylinder group is terminated under an overspeed condition and the second interval during which fuel delivery to the second cylinder group is terminated under an overspeed condition. The first counter TM1 has a predetermined value T set thereon at uniform intervals when its count decreases to zero under an overspeed condition. The first counter TM1 counts down by one step from the value T toward zero at uniform intervals, as shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, the second timer TM2 has the predetermined value T set thereon when the count of the first counter TM1 decreases to a value T/2, as shown in FIG. 3. The second counter TM2 counts down by one step from the value T toward zero at uniform intervals, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the time at which the predetermined value T is set on the first counter TM1 is deviated at time corresponding to an interval T/2 from the time at which the predetermined value T is set on the second counter TM2.
The register TREC latches a predetermined first value T1 when the existing overspeed, which corresponds to a difference of a predetermined upper limit (fuelcut speed) from the existing engine speed, is equal to or less than a first reference value N1. The register TREC latches a predetermined second, greater value T2 when the existing overspeed is smaller than the first reference value N1. For example, the predetermined first value T1 may be one-hair of the interval T during which the first and second counters count down from the value T to zero, whereas the predetermined second value T2 may be one-third of the interval T, as shown in FIG. 4 where the abscissae represent the engine speeds and the ordinates represent the ratios of the interval during which the engine operates in a fuelcut mode to the interval during which the engine operates in a normal mode. In FIG. 4, the character A indicates a region where the control unit operates all of the cylinders in a normal fashion, the character B indicates a region where the control unit terminates the fuel delivery to the first and second cylinder groups alternatively, the character C indicates a region where the control unit terminates the fuel delivery to all of the cylinders, and the character NCUT indicates a predetermined upper limit (fuelcut speed).
When the count of the first counter TM1 is greater than the value latched in the register TREC, a flag FC1 is set to indicate that the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group should be terminated, as shown in FIG. 5. Similarly, a second flag FC2 is set to indicate that the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group should be terminated when the count of the second counter TM2 is greater than the value latched in the register TREC.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the programming of the digital computer as it is used to determine the first and second intervals for the first and second cylinder groups.
The computer program is entered at the point 202 at uniform time intervals or at uniform intervals of rotation of the engine crankshaft. At the point 204 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the first counter TM1 indicates a zero count. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 208. Otherwise, the program proceeds to the point 206 where the first counter TM1 is counted down by one step. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 208. Thus, the first counter TM1 counts down by one step at uniform intervals.
At the point 208 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the second counter TM2 has a zero count. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 212. Otherwise, the program proceeds to the point 210 where the second counter TM1 is counted down by one step. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 212. Thus, the second counter TM2 counts down by one step at uniform intervals.
At the point 212 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the count of the first counter TM1 is equal to one-half of a prdetermined value T. If the answer to this question is "no", then the program proceeds to the point 216. Otherwise, the program proceeds to the point 214 where a predetermined value T is set on the second counter TM2. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 216. Thus, the second counter TM2 has a predetermined value T set thereon each time the count of the first counter TM1 decreases to one-half of the predetermined value T.
At the point 216 in the program, the central processing unit 61 calculates the existing overspeed value ΔRPM by subtracting a predetermined fuelcut speed value NCUT from the existing engine speed value N. At the point 218 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the first timer TM1 indicates a zero count. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to another determination step at the point 220. This determination is as to whether or not the calculated overspeed value RPM is equal or less than zero. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 236. Otherwise, the program proceeds to another determination step at the point 222. This determination is as to whether or not the calculated overspeed value ΔRPM is equal to or less than a first reference value N1 (FIG. 4). If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 224 where a predetermined first value T1 is set on the register TREC and then proceeds to the point 228. Otherwise, the program proceeds to the point 226 where a predetermined second, smaller value T2 is set on the register TREC. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 228. The steps at these points serves to prolong the interval during which the engine operates in a fuelcut mode when the overspeed value ΔTPM is greater than the first reference value N1, as can be seen from FIG. 5.
At the point 228 in the program, the predetermined value T is set on the first counter TM1. At the following point 230, a determination is made as to whether or not the calculated overspeed value ΔRPM is equal to or less than a second reference value N2 (FIG. 4) that is greater than the first reference value N1. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 236. Otherwise, the program proceeds to the point 232 where a value T2+1 is set on the first counter TM1 and then to the point 234 where a value T2+1+T/2 on the second counter TM2. The steps at these points serves to terminate the fuel delivery to both of the first and second groups when the overspeed value ΔRPM is greater than the second, greater reference value N2.
If the answer to the question inputted at the point 218 is "no", then the program proceeds to the point 230. Thus, the steps following the step at the point 230 are executed regardless of the fact that the first counter TM1 has a zero count. If the answer to the question inputted at the point 230 is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 236.
At the point 236 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the count of the first counter TM1 is greater than the value latched on the register TREC. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 238 where a first fuelcut flag FC1 is set to indicate that the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group should be terminated. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 242. Otherwise, the program proceeds from the point 236 to the point 240 where the first fuelcut flag FC1 is cleared to indicate that the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group should be restored. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 242.
At the point 242 in the program, a determination is made as to whether the count of the second counter TM2 is greater than the value latched on the register TREC. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 244 where a second fuelcut flag FC2 is set to indicate that the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group should be terminated. Following this, the program proceeds to the end point 248. Otherwise, the program proceeds from the point 242 to the point 246 where the second fuelcut flag FC2 is cleared to indicate that the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group should be restored. Following this, the program proceeds to the end point 248.
As shown in FIG. 7, the interval T is divided into an interval during which the first or second fuelcut flag is set and an interval during which the first or second fuelcut flag is cleared. The former interval is equal to the latter interval when the predetermined value T1 latched in the register TREC is one-half of the interval T, whereas the former interval is twice as long as the latter interval when the predetermined value T2 latched in the register TREC is one-third of the interval T. It is apparent from a study of FIG. 7 that there is no case where the interval during which the first fuelcut flag is cleared and the interval during which the second fuelcut flag FC2 is cleared overlap each other.
FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the programming of the digital computer as it is used to control the fuel delivery to the engine.
The computer program is entered at the point 252 at uniform intervals of rotation of the engine crankshaft. At the point 254 in the program, a determination is made as to whether or not the first fuelcut flag FC1 is cleared. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 256 where the calculated value for fuel-injection pulse-width is transferred into the fuel-injection control circuit included in the input/output control circuit 64. Thus, a fuel-injection control pulse is supplied to restore the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group at a particular angular point in the rotation of the engine crankshaft. Following this, the program proceeds to the point 258. If the first fuelcut flag FC1 is set, then the program proceeds from the point 254 directly to the point 258. Thus, no fuel-injection control pulse is produced from the fuel-injection control circuit so as to terminate the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group.
At the point 258 in the program, a determination is made as to where or not the second fuelcut flag FC2 is cleared. If the answer to this question is "yes", then the program proceeds to the point 260 where the calculated value for fuel-injection pulse-width is transferred into the fuel-injection control circuit included in the input/output control circuit 64. Thus, a fuel-injection control pulse is supplied to restore the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group at a particular angular point in the rotation of the engine crankshaft. Following this, the program proceeds to the end point 262. If the second fuelcut flag FC2 is set, then the program proceeds from the point 242 directly to the end point 262. Thus, no fuel-injection control pulse is produced from the fuel-injection control circuit so as to terminate the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group.
According to the invention, the fuel delivery control circuit operates the engine in a fuelcut mode under an overspeed condition. During the fuelcut mode of operation of the engine, the interval during which the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group is terminated is shifted a predetermined value with respect to the interval during which the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group is terminated so that the control circuit alternatively terminates the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group and the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group. This is effective to operate the engine with almost no temperature difference between the first and second cylinder groups. Although there is a tendency toward misfire in the cylinders when fuel injection is initiated at the start or end of the fuelcut interval, as indicated by the characters A and B in FIG. 9, the resulting influence is much smaller than in conventional apparatus. The reason for this is that the fuel delivery to one of the first and second cylinders is terminated when misfire occurs in one or two cylinders included in the other cylinder group, as indicated by the character A. Thus, the unburned fuel components discharged from the other cylinder group cannot react violently to the components discharged from the one cylinder group. In addition, misfire, indicated by the character B, cannot occur in two or more cylinders in one of the first and second cylinder groups. | An apparatus for controlling a multi-cylinder type internal combustion engine including first and second cylinder groups each includinhg at least one cylinder. The apparatus comprises sensors for generating electrical signals indicative of engine operating conditions including engine speed, and a control circuit coupled to the sensors for determining an appropriate value repetitively at uniform intervals. This calculation is made according to the engine operating conditions. A fuel supply device is coupled to the control circuit for supplying fuel to the first and second cylinder groups in an amount corresponding to the calculated value. The control circuit operates the fuel supply device to alternatively terminate the fuel delivery to the first cylinder group and the fuel delivery to the second cylinder group under an overspeed condition. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the production of beer and the provision of restaurant services generally and to the distributed production of beer and distributed provision of restaurant services in particular.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The production of beer is old in the human arts, with some historians and anthropologists of the belief that it was the need to produce grain to ferment into beer that led to the establishment of civilization thousands of years ago.
[0003] In very general terms, the production of beer involves first producing a “sweet wort”. The sweet wort is formed by the addition of water to malted, and unmalted crushed grain, such as but not limited to barley, to form a slurry or mash in a mash tun. Through the action of naturally occurring enzymes this mash is then converted into the sweet wort. Subsequently, the liquid in the sweet wort is drained from the mash tun and directed to a brew kettle where hops are added. The hopped liquid is then boiled in the brew kettle to produce a “hopped wort.” The final step in the brewing process involves the addition of a yeast to cause fermentation to occur in a fermentation vessel, which in turn results in the production of alcohol.
[0004] Over the years, the foregoing general process has been tinkered with and altered by brewmasters to produce beers of differing flavors, coloring, clarity, and alcohol content. Differing pressures, temperatures, grains, yeasts, and fermentation times produce differing beers, which is inclusive of ales and lagers.
[0005] Along with the rise in the production and sale of fermented beverages came eventually the provision of restaurant services. The basic methods of providing restaurant services, including the sale of alcoholic beverages, has changed little in substance, though perhaps greatly in style, over the centuries.
[0006] Many restaurants, though not all, serve alcoholic beverages, including beers. Restaurants generally provide their customers with beer by purchasing finished product produced at a brewery, which is then shipped to a restaurant for sale, or, in a few instances, by producing the beer on site at the restaurant. The latter form of restaurant establishments are known as “brew-pubs” in the industry. In reality, the vast majority of beer is brewed by the major breweries and then transported to various restaurants and served either in individual containers or out of kegs. Some restaurants have made the large capital expenditures necessary to brew beer from start to finish on site, though their numbers are limited because of the cost involved in purchasing, operating, and maintaining a quality beer production facility in a restaurant. In addition, those restaurants that have made this investment find expansion difficult to achieve for several reasons, not the least of them being because of the cost involved in building new brewing facilities at a new location and the lack of skilled brewmasters to oversee the brewing process in the individual restaurants. Consequently, often times a successful restaurant offering on-site brewing as well as other restaurant services is unable to expand beyond a single restaurant because of the capital cost involved with establishing another on-site brewery and/or the lack of a brewmaster to oversee the brewing operation.
[0007] Another difficulty faced by brew-pubs in expanding their operations from a single site is that the quality of beer produced at varying locations can differ for a number of reasons, most prominent of them being the quality of water used to produce the beer at each site. That is, because water quality naturally varies from site to site, it is difficult—if not nearly impossible—and costly to produce a beer of the exact same taste and quality from brew-pub to brew-pub without costly processing of the local water at multiple location so as to remove it as a factor in the quality of the final product produced at each location.
[0008] Some brew-pubs have perhaps considered a central location for the production of all of their brewed product with shipment of the finished product from the central production facility to other locations, thus avoiding the issue of the large capital costs involved in setting up second and subsequent brewing facilities. A considerable difficulty of this approach, however, is the regulatory morass involved in the production and transport of alcoholic beverages in intrastate and interstate commerce.
[0009] The prior art discloses an interruption in the brewing process in U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,153 to Bayne, et al. In that patent, the brewing process is discontinued after the production of the hopped wort. The hopped wort is then concentrated by passing it through continuous film evaporators to produce a wort concentrate having a solids content of about 80%. Following concentration, the wort is cooled to a temperature below 105° F. The patent then notes that the wort concentrate can be stored on site or shipped elsewhere for subsequent reconstitution and fermentation. It is unclear whether this method was ever actually implemented, but in any event, this production method is rife with difficulty, however, not the least of which is that the taste, color, etc. of beer is greatly dependent upon the quality of water used in the production of the final product. Thus, the production of beer at a different location from where the wort was originally produced using this process is subject to the production of beer of varying quality and taste at the various final production facilities or to great cost to neutralize the effect of the local water quality. In addition, the cost of producing the wort concentrate is itself expensive in that it requires multiple evaporators or equivalent equipment to produce the concentrated wort.
[0010] It would be desirable to have a process for the distributed production of beer and restaurant services to eliminate the foregoing deficiencies in the provision of beer and restaurant services.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved methods of beer production that is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages.
[0012] It is another object of the present invention to provide a quality beer product that is finish brewed at a plurality of restaurant locations at a favorable cost of production.
[0013] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for production of a quality beer product originally brewed on-site at a plurality of locations using a single source for the production of the hopped wort.
[0014] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for a brew-pub to produce a quality beer product at a plurality of locations without incurring full infrastructure costs for beer production at each location.
[0015] It is still yet another object of the present invention to enable a brew-pub chain to produce a beer of singular quality at each of its restaurants.
[0016] It is yet another object of the present invention to enable a brew-pub chain to produce a beer of singular quality at each of its restaurants without regard to local variations in water quality used in the production of beer.
[0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for a brew-pub to expand from a single location to one or more additional locations while still being able to produce and sell beer brewed on site without sacrificing quality in the brewed product and without being subject to various state and federal regulations regarding the production and shipment of alcoholic beverages.
[0018] The foregoing objects of the present invention are provided by a method for distributed restaurant services and beer production. The present invention provides for establishing a first of a plurality of restaurants with the first restaurant including the necessary equipment to brew beer from start to finish and being generally capable of producing more hopped wort than the first restaurant necessarily needs, presuming normal patronage, for fermenting into beer for onsite sales. The excess capacity hopped wort is cooled and then the unconcentrated, unadulterated hopped word is transported to at least a second restaurant where the hopped wort is placed within a fermentation vessel for the addition of yeast to begin and complete the fermentation process.
[0019] More generally, the present invention calls for the establishment of a centralized facility for the production of unfermented, undiluted, and unprocessed hopped wort using a single source of water. This hopped wort is then cooled and transported to a plurality of remote fermentation sites where the hopped wort will be fermented into beer by the addition of yeast. The fermentation sites are preferably located within a restaurant to provide the restaurant customers with the aesthetic enjoyment of consuming beers fermented on the premises and to provide a consistent quality from one restaurant location to the next where such beers are produced.
[0020] The foregoing objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to similar or identical parts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0021] [0021]FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart showing a method for the production of beer in accord with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The present invention provides for an discontinuation of the brewing process after the production of the hopped wort. The hopped wort is then transported to another location where the brewing process is completed. In other words, the present invention provides for beginning the beer production process at one facility and finishing at another facility remote from the first without sacrificing quality in the final product and without incurring multiple infrastructure costs at each location.
[0023] The general steps for the production of beer are well known, as set forth above. A method of producing beer according to the present invention includes completing the boil of the hopped wort in the brew kettle at the first facility. Upon completion of the boil of the hopped wort, the hopped wort will be chilled from its boiling temperature to between about 32° F. (0° C.) and about 38° F. (about 3° C.), and preferably about 36° F. (2.2° C.). There are many methods available for cooling such a liquid, such as passing it through a heat exchanger to remove the heat and then placing it in a cold wort storage vessel. The hopped wort could be chilled either in situ in the storage vessel or could undergo in-line cooling in well known manner as the liquid is transferred from the brew kettle to the storage vessel. Cooling of the hopped wort is desirable since bacterial action will be substantially, if not totally, inhibited.
[0024] After the hopped wort has been sufficiently cooled, it will be substantially held at the desired temperature range until it has been transported to one of the remote brewing sites. Depending upon the distance between the central facility and the remote fermenter, refrigeration of the wort may not be necessary since the hopped wort will warm only slightly over short transportation distances when transported in an insulated container. Where substantial distances are involved, however, it may be desirable to refrigerate the hopped wort during transport to maintain the desired temperature range and thus inhibit microbial activity from occurring in the hopped wort.
[0025] Upon arrival at the remote brewing site, the temperature of the hopped wort will be raised to the appropriate fermentation temperature either within or prior to transferring it to a fermentation vessel or fermenter. It will be understood that the “appropriate fermentation temperature” will vary based upon the beer being produced, which in turn is dependent upon the yeast being used in the fermentation process. Different yeasts, as is well known in the brewing arts, will ferment at different temperatures. Generally, however, the temperature will be raised to within in range of about 48° F. (about 9° C.) to about 74° F. (about 23° C.).
[0026] The hopped wort can be warmed to the appropriate temperature for the particular product being produced by use of in-line heaters between the transport vessel and the fermentation vessel at the second location. Alternatively, the hopped wort can be warmed in the fermentation vessel.
[0027] Once in the fermentation vessel and heated to the appropriate temperature for the particular yeast to be added, the yeast will be added and the fermentation process will begin
[0028] The present invention also provides a method for providing distributed restaurant services including the service of fermented-on-site beers. In a method in accord with the present invention, a centralized hopped wort production facility is established, which may be within an established restaurant. A hopped wort is produced at the centralized facility and then cooled and transported all as previously described to remote restaurant sites providing restaurant services comprising serving food and beverages including beer. The appropriate yeast will then be added to the rewarmed hopped wort at the remote restaurant site and the hopped wort will be fermented into beer.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention will be described with reference to the process flow chart shown there. Thus, FIG. 1 illustrates a method 10 for the distributed production of a quality beer product that is substantially independent of the quality of the local water source at the secondary production facilities. Method 10 contemplates establishing a first production facility as indicated at 12 , such as a restaurant providing restaurant services, with the facility including the necessary and well-known equipment for the production of beer from start to finish. Additionally, the first production facility will be able to produce hopped wort at a capacity over and above what would normally be expected to be fermented into beer and sold on the premises. The present invention contemplates that the production of the hopped wort will be carried out in the normal course of beer production at the first facility as indicated at 14 , preferably under the direction of a skilled brewmaster.
[0030] Once a batch of hopped wort has been produced, a preselected amount of the hopped wort batch can be drawn off and quickly cooled from its boiling point to a temperature below which microbial activity can normally be expected to occur, that is, within the range of between about 32° F. (0° C.) and about 38° F. (about 3° C.), and preferably about 36° F. (about 2.2° C.), as indicated at 16 . It will be understood that the production of the hopped wort, which involves boiling, will destroy most microbes present in the hopped liquid prior to boiling. By rapidly cooling the hopped wort, microbial production is slowed if not completely prevented, during transport to the fermentation facility at a remote location.
[0031] The hot wort can be cooled as indicated at 16 in any known manner useful for cooling hot fluids. For example, the output lines from the wort kettle may be jacketed with a cooling line. Alternatively, the hopped wort could be transferred to an appropriately designed cooling vessel known in the art for cooling to the desired temperature range.
[0032] Once cooled, the hopped wort can be loaded into a storage vessel disposed on any known form of transport capable of transporting fluids in sterile or near sterile conditions. The hopped wort can then be transported as indicated at 18 to a remote or distributed site. Typically the storage vessels used in liquid transport are insulated, preventing substantial temperature changes in the fluid. Thus, if the final production facility for which the hopped wort is destined is nearby, further efforts to maintain the temperature of the hopped wort within the range of between about 32° F. (0° C.) and about 38° F. (about 3° C.) will be unnecessary. Where, however, the wort is to be transported a considerable distance, or where environmental factors such as the ambient temperature would so indicate, the storage vessel could also be refrigerated in any well known manner so as to maintain the hopped wort within the acceptable transport temperature range.
[0033] Following the arrival of the hopped wort at the remote, final production facility, which may be another restaurant as previously noted, the hopped word will be offloaded from the transport vessel into a fermentation vessel. Either prior to offloading, during the transfer to the fermenter, or after being received in the fermentation vessel, the hopped wort will be warmed as indicated at 20 to the appropriate fermentation temperature for the final step in the beer production process—fermentation. As noted previously, different beers ferment at different temperatures. Generally, however, the hopped wort will need to be warmed to a temperature within the range of about 48° F. (about 9° C.) to about 74° F. (about 23° C.) as indicated above. Once the hopped wort is at the proper temperature and is now in the fermentation vessel depending upon where the warming occurred, the proper yeast can be added to the hopped wort as indicated at 22 to begin the fermentation process as indicated at 24 .
[0034] Following the normal fermentation for the particular type of beer desired to be produced, the newly on-site-produced beer is aged in maturation vessels and then is served to the restaurant's customers. Because there is no or very little local water that would need to be added during the fermentation process, the present invention of providing restaurant services is essentially independent of local water quality and thus the beer finally produced at the remote locations will have substantially the same taste and color and be of the same quality as that produced at the production facility which produced the hopped wort.
[0035] The present invention enables a restaurateur to expand the number of restaurant sites that offer a particular decor, menu, and on-site brewed beverages of identical taste and quality while reducing the amount of capital involved to do so and the need to rely on a skilled brewmaster at each location where the beverages are fermented. That is, with the present invention, a single brewmaster can maintain control of the production of the hopped wort at the central facility as well as individually oversee or properly train employees to oversee the fermentation process at the individual restaurants where the fermentation takes place. In addition, because the hopped wort does not contain alcohol, the production and transport of the hopped wort does not implicate state and federal laws and regulations regarding the production, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages, thus eliminating administrative and legal costs associated with compliance with those laws and regulations.
[0036] More generally still, the present invention provides a new method of producing beer comprising, first, cooling a hopped wort produced at a first location, which could be a centralized production facility, to a temperature in the range of about 32° F. to about 38° F.; second, transporting the unconcentrated, unadulterated hopped wort to a second location remote from the first location, the second location being a brewpub, restaurant, bar, or any other establishment capable of fermenting the hopped wort into beer; and, third, fermenting the hopped wort into beer at the second location. The present invention is distinct over the prior art techniques of producing beer in that the prior art beer production process is interrupted before the yeast is added to the hopped wort and instead the hopped wort is first transported to a second location remote from the first in any known manner, such as by trucks having refrigerated vessels for fluid transport and then the yeast is subsequently added at a new fermentation location.
[0037] The present invention having thus been described, other modifications, alterations, or substitutions may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, all of which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited only by the scope of the attached claims below. | The present invention calls for the establishment of a centralized facility for the production of unfermented, undiluted, and unprocessed hopped wort using a single source of water. The hopped wort is then cooled and transported to a plurality of remote fermentation sites where the hopped wort will be fermented into beer by the addition of yeast. The fermentation sites are preferably located within a restaurant to provide the diners with the aesthetic enjoyment of consuming beers fermented on the premises and to provide a consistent quality from one restaurant location to the next where such beers are produced. | 2 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates in general to board level transmission line drivers and receivers, and in particular, to methods for compensating for timing skew between differential data channels.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] Digital computer systems have a history of continually increasing the speed of the processors used in the system. As computer systems have migrated towards multiprocessor systems, sharing information between processors and memory systems has also generated a requirement for increased speed for the off-chip communication networks. Designers usually have more control over on-chip communication paths than for off-chip communication paths. Off-chip communication paths are longer, have higher noise, impedance mismatches, and have more discontinuities than on-chip communication paths. Since off-chip communication paths are of lower impedance, they require more current and thus more power to drive.
[0003] When using inter-chip high-speed signaling, noise and coupling between signal lines (cross talk) affects signal quality. One way to alleviate the detrimental effects of noise and coupling is through the use of differential signaling. Differential signaling comprises sending a signal and its compliment to a differential receiver. In this manner, noise and coupling affect both the signal and the compliment equally. The differential receiver only senses the difference between the signal and its compliment as the noise and coupling represent common mode signals. Therefore, differential signaling is resistant to the effects that noise and cross talk have on signal quality. On the negative side, differential signaling increases pin count by a factor of two for each data line. Additionally, an empty wiring channel is usually added between each differential channel which further adds to the wiring inefficiency.
[0004] The structure of a printed circuit board (PCB) is sometimes not homogeneous. It is common to find a weave structure on many laminates as shown in FIG. 1 . Given the space between the components of a differential pair and the weave structure of PCBs, it is possible to find differential pairs with an orientation as shown in FIG. 1 where the exemplary signal traces Data 103 and Data_b 105 do not have the same substrate configuration. In one case, the signal trace Data 103 has a dielectric substrate comprising the continuous fiberglass strand material 102 . In the other case, the signal trace Data_b has a dielectric substrate comprising fiberglass strands 101 in one direction and an epoxy fiberglass mix 104 in between the channels of fiberglass strands 101 . This results in the transmission lines formed by the signal traces having differing relative permittivities which results in the transmission lines having differing propagation delays.
[0005] A differential pair having a signal and complement signal transmitted over matched transmission lines would have a received signal waveform substantially represented by the waveforms of FIG. 2A where the transition cross over points 203 and 204 are symmetrical. However, if the two transmission lines had different propagation delays, the resulting waveforms may look like the waveforms of FIG. 2B where the transition cross over points 203 and 204 are no longer symmetrical and occur at differing voltage levels resulting in timing skew between the two signals when detected in a differential receiver.
[0006] With net lengths of tens of centimeters, differential skew delays due to PCB laminate weaves may approach tens of picoseconds. Presently transmission data rates of 10 gigabits per second means a bit width of only 100 picoseconds. Clearly, tens of picoseconds of in-pair timing skew for differential pairs is not negligible for these high data rates. In-pair differential skew may cause asymmetric crossover and aggravate common mode sensitivities. One solution that is been proposed is to use a diagonal trace pattern as shown in FIG. 3 where signal traces Data 301 and Data_b 302 are run at a diagonal with respect to the orthogonal strands 101 and 102 . See U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,700 and U.S. Patent Application 2004/0181764. This solution allows both signal traces Data 301 and Data_b 302 to have an equal mix of substrate composition. While this may be an improvement of FIG. 1 , adhering to this configuration may make wiring rules difficult.
[0007] There is, therefore, a need for a signaling scheme that enables the skew between differential data channels to be compensated without complicating layout rules. The scheme must be programmable and easy to implement and modify.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention uses two single ended off-chip drivers (OCD) to implement differential signal by having each data path transmit a data signal and its complement. Each of the OCDs is preceded by a programmable delay element. The input to the delay elements are coupled to the output of a two-input multiplexer (MUX) that receives the data signal for the path and a common clock signal. Under control of a select signal, either a data signal or a common clock signal is coupled to the data path comprising a transmission lines over the non-homogeneous PCB substrate. Each of the transmission lines is terminated in a suitable terminator and received in one input of a differential receiver. The two inputs to the differential receiver are also coupled to a phase detector whose output is coupled to the input of a Nx1 MUX. Skew control logic generates the select signals for the driver side MUXes as well as the select signal for the receiver side Nx1 MUX. The output of the Nx1 MUX is coupled as a feedback error signal to the skew control logic in a single feedback channel which is used to align each differential data channel.
[0009] To align the differential data channels, each differential data channel is selected in sequence by coupling the common clock signal to the drivers of the two transmission lines and selecting the phase detector for that channel as the output of the Nx1 MUX. The skew control logic then adjusts the delays in series with each driver until the phase detector output measures a predetermined amount of phase shift or delay error. Then a next differential data channel is selected and the process is repeated until all the delays for the differential data channels are set to minimize the inter-channel timing skew.
[0010] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates signal traces on a PCB with orthogonal strands of fiberglass;
[0013] FIG. 2A illustrates waveforms of ideal matched differential signals; and
[0014] FIG. 2B illustrates waveforms of differential signals with unequal delay causing timing skew;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art diagonal signal trace pattern to reduce delay differences;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating a current steering circuit for differential signaling;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrates a true-complement differential signaling;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrates a true-complement differential signaling with programmable delay according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrates a true-complement differential signaling with programmable delay and selectable input data according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a system for aligning a N channel bus according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a phase detector output states according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of method steps employed to align N differential data channels according to embodiments of the present invention; and
[0023] FIG. 11 is a block diagram a data processing system suitable for practicing embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits may be shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the most part, details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention and are within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
[0025] Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views. In the following, data channel refers to a single transmission path and differential data channel refers to a pair of transmission paths. Each differential data channel comprises transmission paths for a logic signal and the complement of the logic signal coupled to a single differential receiver.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a current steering circuit for realizing differential signaling. Current source 409 supplies a constant current to field effect transistors (FETs) 407 and 408 . When Data 103 is a logic one and Data_b 105 is a logic zero, FET 407 is turned ON and FET 408 is turned OFF. The current 409 flows through transmission line 404 and resistor 403 and pulls node 413 to a logic zero. Since FET 408 is OFF, resistor 402 and power supply voltage 411 pulls node 414 to a logic one. Therefore, the output of differential receiver 401 is a logic one corresponding to the value of Data 103 . When Data_b 105 is a logic one and Data 103 is a logic zero, the input logic states of nodes 413 and 414 reverse. The current 409 now flows through transmission line 405 and resistor 402 and pulls node 414 to a logic zero. FET 407 is OFF, thus resistor 403 and power supply voltage 411 pulls node 413 to a logic one. In this case, the output of differential receiver 401 is a logic zero corresponding to the value of Data_b 105 .
[0027] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of true-complement data transmission using single ended drivers to realize differential signaling. Data 103 is coupled to off-chip driver (OCD) 501 and Data_b 105 is coupled to OCD 502 . The output of OCD 501 drives transmission line 404 and output of OCD 502 drives transmission line 405 . The transmission lines 404 and 405 are terminated in a compatible termination network 503 coupled to nodes 413 and 414 and the inputs of receiver 401 . Data 103 transmits the true state of a logic signal and Data_b 105 transmits the complement of the logic signal. The circuit configuration 500 is used for differential signaling because single ended OCDs are generally easier to implement than true differential drivers.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of true-complement data transmission using single ended drivers where programmable delay elements 601 and 602 are inserted between the input signals Data 103 and Data_b 105 , respectively. Programming signals 603 and 604 are used to set the insertion delay in each data channel. In this manner, the skew between the data channel transmitting Data 103 and the data channel transmitting Data_b 105 is adjusted so the signals arriving at nodes 413 and 414 may be phase or transition aligned.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the circuit in FIG. 6 with the addition of a multiplexer (MUX) in each differential data channel to allow either a clock signal 704 or the data signals Data 103 and Data_b 105 to be transmitted to differential receiver 401 . If the data channels are to be aligned, then data select 701 selects clock 704 as the input to both data channels. Since the same signal is transmitted over both data channels, then the inherent delay differences may be compensated by adjusting programmable delay elements 601 and 602 . Initially, program signal 603 and delay select 604 may be programmed to set programmable delay elements 601 and 602 to one-half their maximum delays. This allows delay to be added or subtracted to compensate for either leading or lagging phase shifts between the data channels. The common clock signals are transmitted by OCDs 501 and 502 through transmission lines 404 and 405 respectively. Termination network 503 is configured to be compatible with the transmission lines and the drivers and receivers. The phase shift between the signals arriving at nodes 413 and 414 represents the time delay difference between the two data channels. Unless compensated for by adjusting the relative delays of programmable delay elements 601 and 602 , the data channel timing skew will effect the signal quality of the signal generated on the output of differential receiver 401 .
[0030] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system for aligning N differential channels according to embodiments of the present invention. Skew controller 801 controls the channel skew alignment process. When align channels command 807 transitions to a logic one, skew controller 801 starts the alignment process by selecting differential data channel 1 for the alignment process. Control signal 701 selects clock 704 as the input to programmable delay elements 601 and 602 using MUXes 702 and 703 . Likewise, control programming signals 603 and 604 set programmable delay elements 601 and 602 to a portion of their maximum delay (e.g., one-half). OCDs 501 and 502 drive the common clock signal 704 over transmission lines 404 and 405 where they are terminated by termination network 503 at nodes 413 and 414 . Phase detector 803 generates logic states corresponding to the phase differences between the signals arriving at nodes 413 and 414 . Skew controller 801 selects the output of phase detector 803 as the phase error feedback signal 805 using MUX 802 . Depending on the number of outputs (P) necessary to determine the phase between the signals at nodes 413 and 414 , MUX 802 is a PxN by P MUX. In one embodiment, phase detector 803 has two logic outputs with four logic states, thus MUX 802 would be a 2Nx2 MUX.
[0031] Depending on the “value” of the phase error feedback signal 805 , skew controller adjusts the delays of programmable delay elements 601 and 602 until the phase error feedback 805 indicates that the timing skew between the data channels in differential data channel 1 is within a predetermined minimum value. When this value is reached, the program values of program signals 603 and 604 are latched or held while the next channel is selected for alignment. Alignment continues until differential data channel N is aligned using phase detector 804 . When the alignments are completed, then skew controller 801 signals to the system (e.g., system 1300 ) that bus alignment is complete and the system can switch to operation mode wherein actual data signals (e.g., Data 103 and Data_b 105 ) are transmitted between the driver side and the receiver.
[0032] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary phase detector 803 illustrating the logic states of the two outputs PD_out 904 and PD_out 905 . Phase detectors are known in the art and may be tailored to meet the requirements of skew controller 801 . In one embodiment, phase detector 803 has two digital outputs representing four logic states as follows:
[0033] State 1: first delay signal 901 lags second delay signal 902 and PD_out 904 is a logic 1 and PD_out 905 is a logic 0.
[0034] State 2: first delay signal 901 leads second delay signal 902 and PD_out 904 is a logic 0 and PD_out 905 is a logic 1.
[0035] State 3: first delay signal 901 is in phase with second delay signal 902 and PD_out 904 is a logic 1 and PD_out 905 is a logic 1.
[0036] State 4: the phase difference between first delay signal 901 and second delay signal 902 is indeterminate and PD_out 904 is a logic 0 and PD_out 905 is a logic 0.
[0000] It is understood that other phase detector states may be used that are compatible with a skew controller 801 and still be within the scope of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of method steps used in embodiments of the present invention. In step 1001 , skew controller 801 receives a align channels command 807 from the system employing embodiments of the present invention. In step 1002 , controller 801 selects the differential data channel 1 to align. In step 1003 , the clock 704 is selected as the input to both of the data channels and phase detector 803 is selected to provide the phase error feedback signal 805 . In step 1004 , the delays of programmable delay elements 601 and 602 are set to one-half their maximum delay. The phase error is measured in step 1005 and in step 1006 , the delays in programmable delay elements 601 and 602 are adjusted until phase error feedback indicates the phase error is within a predetermined minimum value. The program inputs setting the delays in the preceding data channels are latched. In step 1007 , the next differential data channel is selected. In step 1008 , a test is done to determine if all channels have been aligned. If all channels have been aligned, then in step 1009 a functional mode is resumed by selecting Data 103 and Data_b 105 as the transmitted data signals. If all the differential data channels have not been aligned, then a branch is taken back to step 1003 .
[0038] FIG. 11 is a high level functional block diagram of a representative data processing system 1100 suitable for practicing the principles of the present invention. Data processing system 1100 includes a central processing system (CPU) 1110 operating in conjunction with a system bus 1112 . System bus 1112 operates in accordance with a standard bus protocol, such as the ISA protocol, compatible with CPU 1110 . CPU 1110 operates in conjunction with electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) 1116 and random access memory (RAM) 1114 . Among other things, EEPROM 1116 supports storage of the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) data and recovery code. RAM 1114 includes, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) system memory and SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) external cache. I/O Adapter 1118 allows for an interconnection between the devices on system bus 1112 and external peripherals, such as mass storage devices (e.g., a hard drive, floppy drive or CD/ROM drive), or a printer 1140 . A peripheral device 1120 is, for example, coupled to a peripheral control interface (PCI) bus, and I/O adapter 1118 therefore may be a PCI bus bridge. User interface adapter 1122 couples various user input devices, such as a keyboard 1124 or mouse 1126 to the processing devices on bus 1112 . Display 1138 which may be, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD) or similar conventional display units. Display adapter 1136 may include, among other things, a conventional display controller and frame buffer memory. Data processing system 1100 may be selectively coupled to a computer or telecommunications network 1141 through communications adapter 1134 . Communications adapter 1134 may include, for example, a modem for connection to a telecom network and/or hardware and software for connecting to a computer network such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). CPU 1110 and other components of data processing system 1100 may contain logic circuitry in two or more integrated circuit chips that are coupled with off-chip differential signaling. The timing skew between data channels of the differential data channels may be aligned using the system and method according to embodiments of the present invention.
[0039] Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | Data busses are configured as N differential channels driven by a data signal and its complement through two off-chip drivers (OCDs). Each OCD is preceded by a programmable delay element and a two way MUX. The two data channels either transmit the data signals or a common clock signal as determined by a select signal from a skew controller. The differential signals are received in a differential receiver and a phase detector. The output of the phase detector in each differential channel is routed through an Nx1 MUX. The Nx1 MUX is controlled by the skew controller. The output of the Nx1 MUX is fed back as a phase error feedback signal to the skew controller. Each differential data channel is sequentially selected and the programmable delays are adjusted until the phase error feedback signal from the selected phase detector reaches a predetermined minimum allowable value. Periodic adjustment may be implemented for calibration. | 7 |
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to X-ray beam position monitors.
BACKGROUND—PRIOR ART
X-ray diffractometers and cameras, especially those intended for macromolecular crystallography, are relatively large and heavy. The problem of aligning such instruments to the X-ray beam from a rotating anode generator requires very sturdy yet precise translational adjustments. Recently, compact sealed micro-focus X-ray tubes have been developed with a magnetically focused and steered electron beam (Arndt, Long & Duncumb, 1998). These tubes make it possible to keep the diffractometer stationary and to move the X-ray beam into alignment. In most of our applications the tube is used with focusing mirrors (Arndt et al., 1998) which are first aligned with respect to the tube; this alignment can be carried out with small and compact translations or, indeed, can be effected entirely by magnetically deflecting the electron beam on the X-ray tube target. The assembly of tube and collimators can then be moved into position relative to the diffractometer by relatively light translational adjustments. In those applications where pin-hole collimation without focusing mirrors is used, mechanical movements can be dispensed with entirely and the X-ray beam moved using the magnetic deflection of the focal spot on the tube target only.
In both applications alignment is greatly helped by an X-ray beam position monitor, preferably by one which has an electrical output which can be used for controlling the translations so as to make alignment automatic. We have found the split ion chamber (Koyama, Sasaki & Ishikawa, 1989; Schildkamp & Pradervand, 1995; Billing, 1998) ideal for our purposes. Beam-position monitors such as split-plate ion chambers are commonly employed in synchrotron radiation beam lines (Alkire, Rosenbaum & Evans, 1999). However, for laboratory sources and diffractometers compactness is of paramount importance and we have constructed a chamber which allows position monitoring in two orthogonal planes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention an X-ray beam position monitor comprises a first plate assembly for detecting the position of the X-ray beam in one plane, the first plate assembly comprising a first pair of collection plates and a first biasing plate, a second plate assembly for detecting the position of the X-ray beam in another plane transverse to said one plane, the second plate assembly comprising a second pair of collection plates and a second biasing plate, switching means for applying a bias voltage to the first biasing plate or the second biasing plate and signal processing means for processing electrical signals which are generated at the collection plates and which are representative of the position of the X-ray beam, wherein the first plate assembly and the second plate assembly are positioned at the same, or substantially the same, axial position along the direction of propagation of the X-ray beam. The placement of the first plate assembly and the second plate assembly at substantially the same position along the direction of propagation of the X-ray beam provides a compact arrangement which renders the monitor particularly useful for use with X-ray diffractometers and for laboratory use generally. This contrasts with the arrangements disclosed in Schildkamp & Pradervand where the X-ray beam passes first between a first plate assembly and then, afterwards, between a second plate assembly.
The plates of the first assembly are preferably orthogonal to the plates of the second assembly, so that said one plane and said another plane are mutually orthogonal. In this case, the first and second plate assemblies preferably constitute the four walls of a square-section tunnel-like structure through which the X-ray beam is propagated.
The X-ray beam position sensor preferably acts as a null-seeking device, the beam being centred by means of successive adjustments in the two planes of positioning, until the electrical signals are representative of a centred position of the X-ray beam.
An X-ray beam position sensor according to the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view showing the structure of collection and bias plates in the sensor,
FIG. 2 is an end view of the structure of FIG. 1, shown mounted in a tube,
FIG. 3 shows the electrical circuitry of the sensor, and
FIG. 4 is a graph showing how an observed output signal varies with displacement of the X-ray beam.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensor comprises a first plate assembly comprising a first pair of collection plates 1 printed on a first anode board 2 , and a first biasing plate 3 printed on a first cathode board 4 . The anode and cathode boards 2 and 4 occupy vertically spaced horizontal planes, with the first pair of collection plates 1 facing the first biasing plate 3 . The first biasing plate 3 is rectangular in shape, the two collection plates 1 having a similar rectangular outline which is divided along a non-conducting diagonal 5 to form the two individual collection plates 1 , each substantially triangular in shape.
Similarly, the second plate assembly comprises a second pair of collection plates 6 printed on a second anode board 7 and a second biasing plate 8 printed on a second cathode board 9 . The anode and cathode boards 7 and 9 occupy horizontally spaced vertical planes, with the second pair of collection plates 6 facing the second biasing plate 8 . The second biasing plate 8 is rectangular in shape, the two collection plates 6 having a similar rectangular outline which is divided along a non-conducting diagonal 10 to form the two individual collection plates 6 , each substantially triangular in shape.
Each plate 1 , 3 , 6 , 8 constitutes an electrode and is formed by an area of copper deposited on the appropriate board.
The first and second plate assemblies thus form a tunnel-like structure of square cross-sectional shape, through which the X-ray beam is propagated. Hence, the first and second plate assemblies are positioned at the same axial position along the direction of propagation of the X-ray beam, the centred direction of which is indicated at 11 in FIG. 1 .
The square section tunnel structure is housed within a tube 12 , shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2 . In a preferred embodiment, each board 2 , 4 , 7 , 9 is a rectangle 12 mm wide by 35 mm long, the tunnel-like structure is 35 mm long and has a square cross-sectional shape with an edge dimension of 14 mm. This structure fits within a 25 mm diameter tube 12 , thus providing a compact arrangement.
The two cathode or biasing plates 3 and 8 are connected to a double-pole switch 13 , in one position of which (illustrated in FIG. 3) the plate 8 is grounded and the plate 3 is connected to a −300 volt source 14 , and in the other position of which the plate 8 is connected to the −300 volt source 14 and the plate 3 is grounded.
The two collection plates 1 are respectively connected to two current-to-voltage amplifiers 15 each having a feedback resistor 16 of 20 GΩ. The amplifiers have respective voltage outputs V R and V L . In a corresponding manner, the two collection plates 6 are respectively connected to two current-to-voltage amplifiers 17 each having a feedback resistor 18 of 20 GΩ. The amplifiers 17 have respective voltage outputs V T and V B .
With the switch 13 in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, the horizontal position of the X-ray beam within the sensor is represented by a first differential voltage ratio: V R - V L V R + V L
With the switch 13 in the alternative position, the vertical position of the X-ray beam within the sensor is represented by a second differential voltage ratio: V T - V B V T + V B
The beam is positioned so as to be maintained in its central position, the centring of the beam being carried out by successive adjustments in the vertical and horizontal planes until both differential voltage ratios are zero. This centring process may be carried out automatically by a central processing unit.
FIG. 4 is a plot showing how the first differential voltage ratio varies with horizontal displacement of the X-ray beam from a central position, represented by 5 mm along the horizontal axis.
The first differential voltage ratio should theoretically vary from −1 through zero to +1. FIG. 4 shows that, except for a small end effect, the ratio behaves in this way in practice. The linear range of the ratio is about 5 mm and the precision about 5 μm. The intensity of the X-ray beam is about 2.5×10 9 8 KeV photons mm −2 s −1 ; the beam diameter is 0.3 mm. One photon generates ˜30 ion-electron pairs in air and with a field of about 300 volt cm −1 there is a negligible recombination so that there is a long range of intensities over which the output is linear. The fraction of the beam absorbed in the sensitive volume of the chamber is about 0.06. Accordingly the value of (V R +V L )=(V T +V B ) is about 1 volt so that the signal-to-noise ratio of the device is good.
It will be appreciated from considerations of symmetry, that the second differential voltage ratio varies with beam displacement in a vertical plane, in a similar way to that in which the first differential voltage ratio varies with beam displacement in a horizontal plane.
REFERENCES
Alkire, R. W., Rosenbaum, G & Evans, G. In preparation.
Arndt, U. W., Duncumb, P., Long, J. V. P., Pina, L. & Inneman, A. (1998). J. Appl. Cryst. 31, 733-741.
Arndt, U. W., Long, J. V. P. & Duncumb, P. (1998). J. Appl. Cryst. 31, 936-944.
Billing, M. (1998), Nucl. Instrum. Meth. Phys. Res. A266, 144-149.
Koyama, A., Sasaki, S. & Ishikawa, T. (1989). Rev. Sci. Instrum. 60, 1953-1956.
Schildkamp, W. & Pradervand, C. (1995). Rev. Sci. Instrum. 66, 1956-1959. | An X-ray beam position monitor has a first plate assembly ( 1, 3 ) for detecting the position of the X-ray beam in a horizontal plane and a second plate assembly ( 6, 8 ) for detecting the position of the X-ray beam in a vertical plane. The first plate assembly ( 1, 3 ) and the second plate assembly ( 6, 8 ) are located at the same position along the direction of propagation of the X-ray beam, to provide a compact arrangement suitable for use with X-ray diffractors and for laboratory use. | 6 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of rotating cutting tools used for milling downhole metal members in a well bore, and rotating cutting tools used for drilling a well bore through an earth formation.
2. Background Information
Various milling applications and drilling applications have, over the years, suffered from the problem of a “dead” spot in the center of the mill or drill bit. As the mill or drill bit rotates, it revolves around a central axis. At the point where that central axis passes through the cutting face of the mill or drill bit, the cutting structure is degraded and quickly becomes ineffective. Ultimately, a core, or depression, is worn into the cutting matrix. As the core wears further into the matrix, fluid circulation in the area is reduced, and cuttings resulting from the milling or drilling operation are no longer effectively removed. The reason for this problem is that on the cutting face, at the point where the central axis passes through the cutting face, the cutting elements have essentially a zero cutting surface speed.
In a typical milling situation, for instance, a segment of metal tubing may be stuck in the well bore. The tubing will usually be bent and leaning against the sides of the casing or well bore. In this situation, a rotating metal milling tool will typically be run downhole to mill away the bent metal tubing. As the milling tool progresses downwardly, milling away the bent tubing, there will be a number of times when the wall of the bent tubing is positioned against the center of the face of the milling tool. This results in a zero relative speed of the cutting elements across the bent tubing at the center point, with little effective cutting taking place. This generates considerable heat at the center point, which can soften the cutting matrix, leading to rapid deterioration of the matrix at the center point. Ultimately, this can create a deep depression or cone in the center of the face of the milling tool. When the depression deepens to the point of reaching the body of the milling tool, which is typically made of steel, no further milling progress can be made.
A similar problem can occur in the drilling of a well bore through an earth formation. Coning of the drill bit can occur at the center point, resulting in slowing or even stalling of drilling progress, requiring the drilling operation to be stopped until a new bit is installed. It is the object of the present invention to provide a design, which can be incorporated into either a milling tool or a drill bit, which will not have a zero cutting speed anywhere on the cutting face of the tool, thereby eliminating the coning problem and allowing a full depth milling or drilling operation to be accomplished.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Whether embodied in a milling tool or a drill bit, the tool of the present invention has a cutting assembly consisting of one or two cutting structures, with at least one of the cutting structures being rotated about an axis offset from the axis of the borehole. The tool is connectable to the lower end of a drill string or coiled tubing, for positioning in a well bore. Use of the term “drill string” herein is intended to include all types of tubular strings, including coiled tubing, where the context allows. The cutting assembly as a whole rotates about its longitudinal axis. Further, each of the cutting structures rotates about its own longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis of at least one cutting structure is offset from, but parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cutting assembly, and this cutting structure spans the longitudinal axis of the cutting assembly. Therefore, as the cutting assembly rotates, the offset cutting structure rotates independently, insuring that the center point of the cutting assembly does not have a zero cutting surface speed. This prevents coning of the cutting structures at the center point. Where a second cutting structure is present in the cutting assembly, it can also have an offset axis, or its axis can coincide with the axis of the cutting assembly.
In one embodiment, the cutting assembly can be mounted on the lower end of a housing connected to a drill string or coiled tubing, with a first cutting structure being fixedly mounted to the housing and a second cutting structure rotatably mounted to the housing. The rotational axis of the first cutting structure coincides with the axis of the housing, while the rotational axis of the second cutting structure is offset from the axis of the housing. In this embodiment, the first cutting structure is rotated by rotation of the housing, while the second cutting structure is independently rotated by a drill motor mounted within the housing. Rotation of the cutting assembly as a whole is accomplished by rotating the drill string to rotate the housing and cutting assembly, or by rotation of the housing and cutting assembly with a drill motor. The cutting assembly can be centered on the axis of the well bore or casing within which the apparatus is positioned.
In a second embodiment, the cutting assembly can be mounted on the lower end of a drill motor connected to a drill string or coiled tubing, with each of two cutting structures being independently rotated by the drill motor. Independent rotation of the cutting structures with a single drill motor can be accomplished by use of a single input, dual output transmission. Rotation of the cutting assembly as a whole is accomplished by rotating the drill string to rotate the drill motor and cutting assembly, or by rotation of the drill motor and cutting assembly with a drill motor. As with the first embodiment, the cutting assembly can be centered on the axis of the well bore or casing within which the apparatus is positioned.
In a third embodiment, a drill motor is fitted with clamp-on eccentric stabilizers which offset the axis of the drill motor from the axis of the borehole or casing. The drill motor is connected to a drill string or coiled tubing. Where the drill motor is connected to a rotatable drill string, the eccentric stabilizers contact the walls of the borehole or casing. Where the drill motor is connected to coiled tubing, the motor and stabilizers can be located within a rotatable housing which essentially aligns with the borehole or casing axis. In either case, the cutting assembly consists of a single cutting structure driven by the drill motor. This cutting structure can be aligned with the axis of the drill motor, with the result that the cutting assembly is offset from the axis of the well bore or casing. In this embodiment, the single cutting structure is rotated by the drill motor, while rotation of the motor and cutting assembly as a whole is accomplished by rotating the drill string, or by rotating the motor and cutting assembly with a drill motor.
In any of the embodiments where rotation of the apparatus is accomplished by a drill motor, a second drill motor may be used, or a secondary drive off a single drill motor may rotate the apparatus.
The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, will be best understood from the attached drawings, taken along with the following description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal section view of a first embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic end view of the cutting assembly mounted on the lower end of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal section view of a second embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic end view of the cutting assembly mounted on the lower end of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal section view of a third embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic end view of the cutting assembly mounted on the lower end of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the tool 10 of the present invention includes a housing 12 , a drill motor 14 , and a cutting assembly 18 . The housing 12 is connectable to the lower end of a drill string or coiled tubing DS. The housing 12 is rotatable about its longitudinal axis 26 , either by rotation of the drill string DS, or by being driven by a separate drill motor (not shown), above the housing 12 on the drill string DS. Alternatively, the housing 12 can be rotated by a secondary drive (not shown) off the drill motor 14 . The drill motor 14 can be driven by drilling fluid, or by compressed air, or by any other suitable means. The drill motor 14 can be mounted, and centered if desired, in the housing 12 by means of one or more mounts or centralizers 16 .
The cutting assembly 18 is mounted on the lower end of the housing 12 , for rotation by means of rotation of the housing 12 . The longitudinal axis of rotation 26 of the housing 12 is also the longitudinal axis of rotation 26 of the cutting assembly 18 . The cutting assembly 18 comprises a first cutting structure 19 , which is fixedly mounted to the lower end of the housing 12 , and a second cutting structure 20 , which is rotatably mounted to the lower end of the housing 12 . The longitudinal axis of rotation 26 of the housing 12 and the cutting assembly 18 is also the longitudinal axis of rotation 26 of the first cutting structure 19 . The second cutting structure 20 is independently rotatable about its longitudinal axis 28 , which is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the longitudinal axis 26 of the cutting assembly 18 . The second cutting structure 20 is driven by the drill motor 14 , via one or more coupling mechanisms or universal joints 22 , 24 if required. The second cutting structure 20 spans the longitudinal axis 26 of the cutting assembly 18 , since the longitudinal axis 26 of the cutting assembly 1 8 passes through the second cutting structure 20 .
As shown in FIG. 2, the first cutting structure 19 can incorporate a plurality of blades, or it could be a crescent shaped structure with a flat lower face similar to the lower face shown on the second cutting structure 20 . In either case, the first cutting structure 19 is dressed with cutting elements. The axis of rotation 26 of the housing 12 , the cutting assembly 18 , and the first cutting structure 19 passes through the center point 30 of the lower face of the cutting assembly 18 . The second cutting structure 20 can be a circular structure with a flat lower face as shown, or it could incorporate blades similar to the blades shown on the first cutting structure 19 . In either case, the second cutting structure 20 is dressed with cutting elements. The axis of rotation 28 of the second cutting structure 20 is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the axis of rotation 26 of the cutting assembly 18 . Therefore, although the second cutting structure 20 spans the longitudinal axis 26 of the cutting assembly 18 , the axis of rotation 28 of the second cutting structure 20 does not pass through the center point 30 of the lower face of the cutting assembly 18 . Instead, as the second cutting structure 20 independently rotates about its axis 28 , the cutting elements on the second cutting structure 20 continually sweep the center point 30 . It can be seen, therefore, that there is no point on the lower face of the cutting assembly 18 which has a zero cutting speed at any time.
As shown in FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the tool 110 of the present invention includes a drill motor 114 , and a cutting assembly 118 . The drill motor 114 is connectable to the lower end of a drill string or coiled tubing DS. The drill motor 114 is rotatable about its longitudinal axis 126 , either by rotation of the drill string DS, or by being driven by a separate drill motor (not shown), above the drill motor 114 on the drill string DS. Alternatively, the drill motor 114 can be rotated by a secondary drive (not shown) off the drill motor 114 . The drill motor 114 can be driven by drilling fluid, or by compressed air, or by any other suitable means.
The cutting assembly 118 is mounted on the lower end of the tool 110 , for rotation as a unit, by means of rotation of the entire drill motor 114 , as described above. The longitudinal axis of rotation 126 of the drill motor 114 is also the longitudinal axis of rotation 126 of the entire cutting assembly 118 . The cutting assembly 118 comprises a first cutting structure 119 , which is independently rotatably mounted to the lower end of the tool 110 , and a second cutting structure 120 , which is also independently rotatably mounted to the lower end of the tool 110 . The first cutting structure 119 is independently rotatable about its longitudinal axis 129 , which is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the longitudinal axis 126 of the cutting assembly 118 . The first cutting structure 119 is driven by the drill motor 114 , via one output of a single input, dual output transmission 122 . The second cutting structure 120 is independently rotatable about its longitudinal axis 128 , which is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the longitudinal axis 126 of the cutting assembly 118 . The second cutting structure 120 is also driven by the drill motor 114 , via a second output of the single input, dual output transmission 122 . Alternatively, each cutting structure 119 , 120 could be independently driven by a separate drill motor or air motor. The second cutting structure 120 spans the longitudinal axis 126 of the cutting assembly 118 , since the longitudinal axis 126 of the cutting assembly 118 passes through the second cutting structure 120 .
As shown in FIG. 4, the first cutting structure 119 can be a circular structure with a flat lower face as shown, or it could incorporate blades similar to the blades shown on the first cutting structure 19 in FIG. 2 . In either case, the first cutting structure 119 is dressed with cutting elements. The axis of rotation 126 of the drill motor 114 and the cutting assembly 118 passes through the center point 130 of the lower face of the cutting assembly 118 . The axis of rotation 129 of the first cutting structure 119 is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the axis of rotation 126 of the cutting assembly 118 . The second cutting structure 120 also can be a circular structure with a flat lower face as shown, or it could incorporate blades similar to the blades shown on the first cutting structure 19 in FIG. 2 . In either case, the second cutting structure 120 is dressed with cutting elements. The axis of rotation 128 of the second cutting structure 120 is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the axis of rotation 126 of the cutting assembly 118 . Therefore, although the second cutting structure 120 spans the longitudinal axis 126 of the cutting assembly 118 , the axis of rotation 128 of the second cutting structure 120 does not pass through the center point 130 of the lower face of the cutting assembly 118 . Instead, as the second cutting structure 120 independently rotates about its axis 128 , the cutting elements on the second cutting structure 120 continually sweep the center point 130 . It can be seen, therefore, that there is no point on the lower face of the cutting assembly 118 which has a zero cutting speed at any time.
As shown in FIG. 5, a third embodiment of the tool 210 of the present invention includes a drill motor 214 , and a cutting assembly 218 . It can also include a housing which essentially aligns with the borehole or casing BH within which the apparatus is positioned. The housing or drill motor 214 is connectable to the lower end of a drill string or coiled tubing DS. The tool 210 is rotatable about its longitudinal axis 226 , either by rotation of the drill string DS. or by being driven by a separate drill motor (not shown), above the tool 210 on the drill string DS. Alternatively, the tool 210 can be rotated by a secondary drive (not shown) off the drill motor 214 . The drill motor 214 can be driven by drilling fluid, or by compressed air, or by any other suitable means. Whether or not the housing is present, the drill motor 214 is held in a position laterally offset from the longitudinal axis of the tool 210 by one or more eccentric stabilizers 216 , which can be the clamp-on type.
The cutting assembly 218 comprises a single cutting structure which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis 228 , which is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the longitudinal axis 226 of the tool 210 . The cutting structure 218 is driven about its axis 228 by the drill motor 214 . Further, the cutting structure 218 is rotated about the axis 226 of the tool 210 by rotation of the tool 210 , either by turning of the drill string DS, by use of a second drill motor (not shown), or by means of a secondary drive (not shown) off the drill motor 214 . The cutting structure 218 spans the longitudinal axis 226 of the tool 210 , since the longitudinal axis 226 of the tool 210 passes through the cutting structure 218 .
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cutting structure 218 can incorporate a plurality of blades, or it could have a flat lower face similar to the lower face shown on the second cutting structure 20 in FIG. 2 . In either case, the cutting structure 218 is dressed with cutting elements. The axis of rotation 228 of the cutting structure 218 is parallel to, but laterally offset from, the axis of rotation 226 of the tool 210 . Therefore, although the cutting structure 218 spans the longitudinal axis 226 of the tool 210 , the axis of rotation 228 of the cutting structure 218 does not pass through the center point 230 of the lower face of the tool 210 . Instead, as the cutting structure 218 independently rotates about its axis 228 , the cutting elements on the cutting structure 218 continually sweep the center point 230 . It can be seen. therefore, that there is no point on the lower face of the cutting assembly 218 which has a zero cutting speed at any time.
Any of these embodiments, by preventing the occurrence of a zero speed point anywhere on the lower face of the cutting assembly 18 , 118 , 218 , prevents coning of the matrix material and deterioration of the central portion of the face of the cutting assembly 18 , 118 , 218 .
While the particular invention as herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended other than as described in the appended claims. | A rotating tool for milling or drilling in a well bore, having one or more rotating cutting structures, with each cutting structure rotating about its own axis, and with the cutting structures rotating about the axis of the tool. The rotational axis of the tool is offset from the axis of at least one cutting structure, with the axis of the tool passing through that cutting structure. This ensures that the cutting structure which spans the axis of the tool rotates independently of the tool, to prevent the existence of a zero velocity point on the cutting face of the tool. | 4 |
This application is a continuation application Ser. No. 08/258,165, filed Jun. 10, 1994, now abandoned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a mechanism for maintaining a consistent state in main memory without constraining normal computer operation, thereby enabling a computer system to recover from faults without loss of data integrity or processing continuity. In a typical computer system, a processor and input/output elements are connected to a main memory via a memory bus. In the invention, a shadow memory element, which includes a buffer memory and a main storage element, is also attached to this memory bus. During normal processing, data written to primary memory is also captured by the buffer memory of the shadow memory element. When a checkpoint is desired (thereby establishing a consistent state in main memory to which all executing applications can safely return following a fault), the data previously captured in the buffer memory is then copied to the main storage element of the shadow memory element. This structure and protocol can guarantee a consistent state in main memory, thus enabling fault-tolerant operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing,
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fault tolerant computer system which uses the main memory structure of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating in more detail a processing unit with a cache and a shadowed main memory;
FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the shadow memory shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the memory control logic shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a diagram of memory locations used by the processing units to maintain main memory consistency; and
FIG. 6 is a flowchart describing how each processing unit controls flushing of its cache to maintain main memory consistency.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention will be more completely understood through the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the attached drawing in which similar reference numbers indicate similar structures. All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
A computer system must guarantee the existence of a consistent state in main memory (i.e., a "checkpoint") to which all application programs can return following a fault if it is to be able to recover transparently from the fault. It is highly desirable for the computer system to provide this capability without placing any special requirements on application programs using it. In some currently available computer systems, a consistent state is assured by storing all modifiable data in two physically disjoint locations (a primary location and a shadow location) in main memory. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,819 and 4,819,154 further describe such a computer system. For this procedure to work, however, each processor in the computer system must have a blocking cache; that is, the processor cannot write any cache line back to main memory unless it writes back all currently modified lines at the same time. Thus, any cache overflow or request for data in the cache from another processor forces the processor to flush the entire cache.
The major disadvantage of this approach is that it precludes the use of more conventional non-blocking caches along with their associated cache-coherency protocols. Porting software from other computer systems to be used with such a computer system is difficult and performance problems are likely after the port is completed. Also, the use of unconventional hardware increases the cost of the computer system, whereas the use of standard commercially available processors would reduce its cost. Conventional processors also require the use of conventional cache protocols; however, previous checkpointing systems were unable to guarantee main memory consistency and thus to provide fault tolerant operation using conventional caches.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a fault tolerant computer system 11 embodying the invention. One or more processing elements 14 and 16 are connected to one or more main memory systems 18 and 20 via one or more buses 10 and 12. One or more input/output (I/O) subsystems 22 and 24 are also connected to the bus 10 (12). Each I/O subsystem comprises an input/output (I/O) element 26 (28) and one or more buses 30 and 32 (34 and 36). An I/O element 26 (28) may also be connected to any standard I/O bus 38 (40), such as a VME bus. For ease of description, only one of each of these systems and subsystems are referred to below.
As shown in FIG. 2, each processing element, e.g., 14, includes a processing unit 44 connected to a cache 42. This connection also connects the processing unit 44 and the cache 42 to the bus 10. The processing unit 44 may be any standard microprocessor unit (MPU). For example, the PENTIUM microprocessor, available from Intel Corporation, is suitable for this purpose. The processing unit 44 operates in accordance with any suitable operating system, as is conventional. A processing element 14 may include dual processing units 44 for self-checking purposes. The cache 42 is either a write-through or a write-back type of cache and has an arbitrary size and associativity. The processing unit 44 may store in the cache 42 either data only or both computer program instructions and data. In the former case, an additional similar instruction cache 43 may be connected to the processing unit 44 for the processing unit 44 to store computer program instructions. This connection also connects the instruction cache 43 to the bus 10. If this system is a symmetric multiprocessing computer system, each processing unit 44 may use any conventional mechanism to maintain cache coherency, such as bus snooping.
The cache 42 is connected to a main memory system, e.g., 18, via bus 10. The main memory system includes a primary memory element (PME) 46 and a shadow memory element (SME) 48 which are interconnected and connected to bus 10. The PME 46 and the SME 48 must have equal, but arbitrary, capacities.
The SME 48, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a buffer memory 52 and a main storage element 50, each having data inputs, data outputs and control inputs including access control and address inputs. The buffer memory and main storage element are typically implemented as dynamic, volatile, random-access memories (DRAMs), in the form of integrated circuits, typically, single in-line memory modules (SIMMs). A bus transceiver 55 connects the inputs of a data input buffer 54 and data outputs of the main storage element 50 to bus 10. Outputs of the data input buffer 54 are connected to the data inputs of buffer memory 52 and the data inputs of main storage element 50. The data outputs of the buffer memory 52 are also connected to the data inputs of the main storage element 50. Memory control logic 58 has control outputs which are connected to control inputs of each of the buffer memory 52, main storage element 50, data input buffer 54 and bus transceiver 55 to control the flow of data among those elements, in a manner which is described below. Memory control logic 58 also has data paths connected to bus 10 through the bus transceiver 55, a first address input connected to the address portion of bus 10 via bus transceiver 57 and a second address input connected to the data outputs of an address buffer memory 56. The address buffer memory 56 is also connected to outputs of an address input buffer 59, of which outputs are connected to the address portion of bus 10 via bus transceiver 57. Both bus transceiver 57 and address input buffer 59 have a control input connected to the memory control logic 58. The memory control logic 58 also controls storage in the address buffer memory 56 of addresses which correspond to data stored in the buffer memory 52, in a manner which is described below. The non-memory logic elements may be implemented using conventional circuitry, custom or semi-custom integrated circuits or programmable gate arrays.
Since it may be advantageous to keep the number of module types to a minimum, the PME's 46 may also have the same structure as the SME's 48. The buffer memory 52 in a memory element used as a PME 46 may store computer program instructions or read-only data which does not have to be shadowed. The memory control logic 58 in a memory element is preferably programmable to enable the memory element to be either a PME or an SME.
The buffer memory 52 should be large enough to capture all data modified between any pair of cache flushes. Given the process described below for using this system, the total capacity of all of the buffer memories 52 combined in computer system 11 should preferably be (at least) larger than the combined capacity of the caches 42 in the computer system 11.
The memory control logic 58 is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4. It includes a command register 68 which has data input connected to bus 10 via the bus transceiver 55. A status register 66 has an output also connected to the bus 10 via bus transceiver 55. Buffer memory control circuit 60 and main storage control circuit 62 provide the row address strobe (RAS), column address strobe (CAS), row and column addresses and write enable (WE) control signals to the buffer memory 52 and main storage element 50, respectively. Control circuit 60 and 62 also have connections for coordinating data transfer between buffer memory 52 and main storage element 50. Buffer memory control circuit 60 has an output connected to the input of the status register 66 to indicate how full the buffer memory 52 is and whether copying from the buffer memory 52 to main storage element 50 is complete. Buffer memory control circuit 60 also has an input connected to the output of command register 68 which indicates whether it should copy data between the buffer memory 52 and the main storage element 50. The command register also indicates whether the memory element is a primary memory element or a shadow memory element. An I/O interface control 64 controls the flow of information through the status register 66 and command register 68, and coordinates data transfers through the bus transceivers 55 and 57 with the buffer memory control circuit 60 and main storage control circuit 62. The I/O interface control 64 also accepts inputs from the address portion of bus 10, so as to recognize addresses to the command and status registers and to the main memory system itself.
The process of using this system to maintain memory consistency following a fault will now be described. This process allows data to be passed from one processing element 14 to another processing element 16 without requiring the entire cache 42 of processing unit 14 to be flushed. Since all processing units 44 in the computer system 11 have access to all buses, each processing unit 44 may use conventional bus snooping methods to assure cache coherency. If all processing units 44 do not have access to all system buses, the processing units 44 may use other well-known cache coherency techniques instead.
The buffer memory 52 in each shadow memory element 48 allows consistency to be maintained in the main memory system 18 in the event of a fault. All data lines that are stored in one primary memory element 46 are also stored in the buffer memory 52, along with their corresponding memory (physical) addresses which are stored in the associated address buffer memory 56 in the shadow memory element 48. The protocol also applies to lines written to the primary memory element 46 when a cache 42 is flushed by the operating system using either specially designed flushing hardware or conventional cache flushing processor instructions. Flushing operations by the processing units 44 are synchronized. When all processing units 44 have completed their flush, the operating system instructs the shadow memory element 48, using command register 68, to copy, using main storage control circuit 62, the contents of the buffer memory element 52 into its main storage element 50. To maintain consistency, once a processing element 14 has begun a flush, it cannot resume normal operation until all other processing elements 14 have completed their flushes.
Processor cache flushing is synchronized because the buffer memory needs to know which data should be copied to the main storage element 50, and which data should not. That is, the buffer memory needs to distinguish between post-flush and pre-flush data. Thus, if the buffer does not know what processor is sending data, all processors must complete their flushes before normal operation can begin in order to maintain consistency. Synchronization is preferably controlled using a test-and-set lock operation using a designated location in main memory 18, such as indicated at 80 in FIG. 5, to store the lock value. At periodic intervals, each processing unit 44 determines whether it should initiate a flush operation as indicated at step 90 in FIG. 6. The processing unit 44 can make this determination in a number of different ways. For example, one or more bits in the status register 66 of the shadow memory element 48 could be used to indicate the remaining capacity of the buffer memory 52. If the buffer memory 52 is too full, a processing unit 44 initiates a flush. Also, a flush may be initiated after a fixed period of time has elapsed. If this processing unit 44 does not need to initiate a flush, then it examines the designated memory location 80 to determine whether another processing unit 44 has already set the lock (step 92). If the lock is not set, this process ends as indicated at 94. Otherwise, if the lock is set, this processing unit 44 flushes its cache 42 in step 96. The effect of the flushing operation is to store all lines in the cache (or preferably only those lines that have been modified since the last flush) to the primary memory element 46, and, because of the aforementioned properties of the shadow memory element 48, to the buffer memory 50 of the shadow memory element 48 as well. Prior to the actual flushing operation, the processing unit 44 saves its state in the cache 42 so that this information is flushed as well.
If the processing unit 44 determines in step 90 that it should initiate a flush, it then determines whether the lock is already set in step 98, similar to step 92. If the lock is already set, the processing unit 44 continues by flushing its cache 42 in step 96. Otherwise, it sets the lock in step 100, and identifies itself as the initiator of the flush before flushing its cache 42.
After a processing unit 44 flushes its cache 42 in step 96, it increments its corresponding flush counter in step 102. As indicated in FIG. 5, each processing unit 44 has a flush counter, such as shown at 82 and 84, which are predetermined designated locations in main memory 18. After the flush counter (e.g., 82) is incremented, the processing unit 44 determines whether it is the initiator of this flush sequence (step 104). If it is not the initiator, it then waits until the lock is released in step 106. When the lock is released, this process ends in step 108 and the processing unit 44 may resume normal operations.
If the processing unit 44 is the initiator of the flush as determined in step 104, it then waits until all flush counters (82-84) are incremented in step 110. Once all flush counters have been incremented, this processing unit 44 instructs the shadow memory element 48 to begin copying data in the buffer memory 52 into the main storage element 50, by sending a command to the command register 68, and releases the lock (step 112). Receipt of the command notifies the shadow memory element 48 that the flush has completed and causes the buffer memory control 60 in conjunction with the main storage control 62 to move the data that was stored in the buffer memory 52 into the appropriate locations (as determined by the corresponding physical address stored in address buffer memory 56) in the main storage element 50. Once this command has been sent, the flush lock is released and the processing units 44 can resume normal processing. The loops around steps 106 and 110 should have time-out protection which triggers fault recovery procedures, in the event of a failure during flushing operations.
The buffer memory control 60 can distinguish between pre-flush and post-flush data, for example, by storing the last address of buffer memory 52 in which data is stored at the end of each synchronized flushing operation. There are other ways to identify such a boundary, for example by monitoring the addresses of buffer memory 52 from which data has been copied, or by counting how much data has been written to buffer memory 52. All data stored in addresses in buffer memory 52 between the address stored for the (i-1)th flush and the address stored for the ith flush is pre-flush data. Any data stored in an address outside of that range is post-flush data which is not copied to the main storage element 50. Any (i+1)th flush data may be placed in any area of the buffer memory 52 which has been copied to the main storage element.
These operations ensure the existence of a consistent state in main memory 18 to which the computer system 11 can safely return following a fault. If the fault affects any portion of the computer system 11 other than the shadow memory element 48 itself, the shadow memory element 48 contains the state of main memory 18 following the last completed flush. If data was being moved from the buffer memory 52 to the main storage element 50 at the time of the fault, this operation has to be completed before normal processing can resume. Since, as part of the flushing operation, each processing unit 44 has stored the processing state that existed at the time that the flush was initiated, all running tasks have been saved in a consistent state in main memory 18. Following a fault, the contents of the shadow memory element 48 can either be copied to the corresponding primary memory element 46, if it is still operational, or the shadow memory element 48 can take over the role of the primary memory element 46. In either event, normal processing can resume from that saved state.
If the fault was in the shadow memory element 48 itself, then the remainder of the computer system 11 is unaffected. The only consequence is that the computer system 11 no longer has the ability to recover if a second fault should occur before the shadow memory element 48 is repaired.
Overflow of a buffer memory 52 is also not fatal. The contents of the associated shadow memory element 48 can always be restored by copying the contents of its associated primary memory element 46. Since the system may not be able to recover from a fault during this interval, however, it is important that the probability of such an overflow be kept to a minimum.
This checkpointing protocol allows data to be written to a primary memory element 46 at any time. Consequently, a single cache line can be written to a primary memory element 46 without forcing the entire cache 42 to be flushed, thereby relaxing the requirement for a large, associative cache. Further, data can be passed from cache 42 of one processing unit 44 to cache 42 of another processing unit 44 so long as it is simultaneously updated in the primary memory element 46 and in the buffer memory 52 in the shadow memory element 48. Significant performance advantages can be obtained using this protocol in a multiprocessing system in which shared data is frequently passed from the processing element (e.g., 14) to another processing element (e.g., 16).
If a standard bus protocol is used to implement this process, a shadow memory element 48 remains passive so far as the bus 10 is concerned. It simply stores in its buffer memory 52 all data written to its corresponding primary memory element 46. In order for the shadow memory element 48 to accept data synchronously with the primary memory element 46 the data input buffer 54 temporarily stores the data because a line may be in the process of being copied from the buffer memory 52 to the main storage 50 at the time of the write.
Some performance advantage can be gained if certain non-standard bus protocols are also implemented. For example, if the bus protocol allows the shadow memory element 48 to distinguish between processing elements 14, or at least to identify whether a line being stored has been written by a processing element 14 that has completed its ith flush or is still executing its ith flush, a processing element 14 does not have to wait until all other processing elements have completed their flushes before it resumes normal operation. In this case, consistency is maintained in main memory by requiring a processing element 14 to suspend normal operation after completing its ith flush, only until all other processing elements 16 have also at least begun (but not necessarily completed) their ith flushes. This relaxed synchronization restriction still achieves checkpoint consistency. That is, it guarantees that a processing element 16 that has not begun its flush does not receive post-flush modified data from another processing element 14 that has completed its flush and resumed normal processing. This less restrictive synchronization protocol can be allowed if the logic associated with the buffer memory 52 can distinguish between data that is being written as part of the flushing operation (and hence must be stored in the part of the buffer memory 52 that is to be stored to the main storage element 50 as soon as all processing elements 14 have completed their flushes) and data that is being written by a processing element 14 that has completed its flush (and hence is not to be transferred to main storage element 50 until the next flush is completed). To implement this protocol, the order and placement of steps 96 and 102 in FIG. 6 are reversed.
Other non-standard bus protocol features, while also not necessary to support memory consistency, can be introduced to decrease recovery times following a fault by reducing memory-to-memory copy time. Two such features are the ability to support "dual-write" and "copy" memory access modes. If a line is stored in dual-write mode, both the primary memory element 46 and the shadow memory element 48 store the line in the main storage element 50. (Thus, the shadow memory element 48 does not store this data in the associated buffer memory 52). In copy mode, the primary memory element 46 sources the addressed line and the shadow memory element 48 stores the resulting data to the corresponding location in the main storage element 50.
It may also be useful to provide the capability for a memory element to operate in a "phantom mode" in which it acts like a primary memory element for accesses over some designated range of addresses, but like a shadow for all other addresses. This mode allows the computer system 11 to operate with some PMEs 46 shadowed and others unshadowed. Such a feature may be useful, for example, when a portion of the primary memory has failed and no replacement is immediately available, but the remainder of primary memory is still functioning normally.
Given the embodiments of the invention described here, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | A mechanism for maintaining a consistent state in main memory without constraining normal computer operation is provided, thereby enabling a computer system to recover from faults without loss of data or processing continuity. In a typical computer system, a processor and input/output elements are connected to a main memory via a memory bus. A shadow memory element, which includes a buffer memory and a main storage element, is also attached to this memory bus. During normal processing, data written to primary memory is also captured by the buffer memory of the shadow memory element. When a checkpoint is desired (thereby establishing a consistent state in main memory to which all executing applications can safely return following a fault), the data previously captured in the buffer memory is then copied to the main storage element of the shadow memory element. This structure and protocol can guarantee a consistent state in main memory, thus enabling fault-tolerant operation. | 6 |
[0001] The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-273786 filed Sep. 21, 2005 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a platen and a liquid ejecting apparatus having the same.
[0003] The liquid ejecting apparatus referred to herein means not only a recording apparatus, such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine, which uses an inkjet type recording head and performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink from the recording head, but also an apparatus in which, instead of the ink, a liquid corresponding to its application is ejected from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the inkjet type recording head onto a target medium corresponding to the recording medium, so as to allow the liquid to attach to the target medium.
[0004] As the liquid ejecting heads include, it is possible to cite, in addition to the recording head, a colorant ejecting head used in the manufacture of a color filter such as a liquid-crystal display, an electrode material (electroconductive paste) ejecting head used in the formation of electrodes for an organic EL display and a field emission display (FED), a bioorganic compound ejecting head used in the manufacture of a biochip, a sample ejecting head as a precision pipette, and so on.
[0005] Hereafter, the ink jet printer as one example of the liquid ejecting apparatus will be described. In recent years, ink jet printers have come to be generally widespread whereby super-high image quality printing which is on par with that of silver halide photography is easily realizable at homes, just as is called home DPE. Among such ink jet printers, there are those which are configured to be able to execute so-called marginless printing in which printing is also effected at the four sides of printing sheet without margins so as to obtain an output result equivalent to that of silver halide photography.
[0006] As the construction of such an ink jet printer, a generally adopted construction is such that recessed portions are provided in a platen provided so as to oppose the ink jet recording head and defining the distance between the printing sheet and the ink jet recording head, ink is ejected to regions offset from sheet end portions, and the ink ejected to the offset regions is discarded to the aforementioned recessed portions.
[0007] In addition, an ink absorbing material for absorbing the ink is provided in the recessed portions to prevent as practically as possible the floating of an ink mist due to the atomization of the ink which is discarded, and hole portions for ejecting the absorbed ink to below are formed in its bottom. Further, a construction is adopted in which the ink absorbed by the ink absorbing material is allowed to drop from the hole portions to a waste liquid collecting means (e.g., a waste liquid tray) provided below the platen (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-86757A).
[0008] When the carriage with the recording head mounted thereon starts to move from a standstill state, there are cases where, in conjunction with this operation, a negative pressure is temporarily applied to the place where the cartridge was at a standstill.
[0009] If the above-described hole portions for ejecting the ink to outside are provided in the bottoms of the recessed portions formed in the platen, there occurs the flow of air which penetrates the platen upwardly from below owing to the occurrence of the aforementioned negative pressure. Due to such flow of air, the ink mist floating over the platen is scattered more extensively, so that there is a possibility that the interior of the apparatus is fouled, exerting an adverse effect on the constituent elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a platen and a liquid ejecting apparatus to prevent the ink mist from being scattered extensively due to the above-described flow of air occurring in conjunction with the moving operation of the carriage and from thereby fouling the interior of the apparatus, or to alleviate the extent of the fouling.
[0011] In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention, there is provided a platen comprising: a plate-shaped main body, having a first face formed with a recess portion defined by a bottom face and side walls and a second face which is opposite to the first face, and the plate-shaped main body formed with a through hole connecting the bottom face and the second face; and an overhanging portion, provided on at least one of the side walls in the vicinity of the first face, and located so as to at least partially hang over the through hole. With this configuration, even if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below the platen through the through hole, the flow is hampered by the overhanging portions. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink mist floating over the platen from being scattered more extensively, or alleviate the extent thereof. Namely, it is possible to prevent the fouling of the interior of the apparatus and the exerting of an adverse effect on the constituent elements, or alleviate the extent thereof.
[0012] The recess portion and the through hole may define a crank shaped channel connecting the first face and the second face. With this configuration, even if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below the platen through the hole portions, the flow is hampered Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink mist floating over the platen from being scattered more extensively, or alleviate the extent thereof. Namely, it is possible to prevent the fouling of the interior of the apparatus and the exerting of an adverse effect on the constituent elements, or alleviate the extent thereof.
[0013] The through hole may be formed on an entire peripheral edge of the bottom face. With this configuration, the ink is difficult to stay in the bottom, i.e., the ink can be ejected smoothly to outside the platen.
[0014] The recess portion may be adapted to accommodate an ink absorbing member; and the overhanging portion may be adapted to retain the ink absorbing member accommodated in the recess portion. With this configuration, the ink absorbing member can be retained on the recess portion inexpensively.
[0015] According to the invention, there is also provided a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejecting head, operable to eject liquid toward a target medium; and the platen as described above, which is disposed so as to oppose the liquid ejecting head and is adapted to support the target medium so as to define a gap between the target medium and the liquid ejecting head. With this configuration, the liquid ejecting apparatus is able to obtain operational effects similar to above-described operational effects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus body of a printer in accordance with the invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printer;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower sheet guide and constituent elements in the vicinity of the same;
[0020] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a platen in the printer;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower sheet guide;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the main scanning direction, of the platen;
[0023] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of the platen;
[0024] FIG. 8 is a plan view of an ink absorbing material; and
[0025] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of a platen in accordance with another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a description will be given of the outline of an ink jet printer hereafter referred to as the “printer1”) 1 as one example of a liquid ejecting apparatus in accordance with the invention. It should be noted that in the following description the rightward direction side (front side of the printer) in FIG. 2 will be referred to as the “downstream side” of a sheet transporting (feeding) route, while the leftward direction side (rear side of the printer) will be referred to as the “downstream side” thereof
[0027] The printer 1 has a feeding device 2 whereby recording sheet (cut sheet in the main; hereafter referred to as the “sheet P”) as one example of the “recording medium” or the “target medium” can be set in an inclined posture, and the sheet P is fed from the feeding device 2 toward a recording medium transporting means 4 . The fed sheet P is transported to a recording means 3 on the downstream side by the recording medium transporting means 4 to execute recording. The sheet P on which recording has been performed by the recording means 3 is ejected to forwardly of the apparatus by a recording media ejecting means 5 on the downstream side.
[0028] Hereafter, a more detailed description will be given of the constituent elements of the printer 1 on the sheet transporting route. The feeding device 2 is comprised of a hopper 11 , a feed roller 12 , a retard roller 13 , a return lever 14 , a sheet support 15 , an auxiliary support 16 , a movable edge guide 17 , and a fixed edge guide 19 .
[0029] The hopper 11 consists of a plate-like member and is provided swingably about a swinging fulcrum (not shown) at its upper portion. As the hopper 11 is swung, it is changed over between a pressure contact posture in which the sheet P supported on the hopper 11 in the inclined posture is brought into pressure contact with the feed roller 12 and a spaced-apart posture in which the sheet P is spaced apart from the feed roller 12 . The feed roller 12 is formed in a substantially D-shape in a side view, and is controlled such that the sheet P at the uppermost position is fed to the downstream side by its circular arc portion, and such that while the sheet P is being transported by the recording medium transporting means 4 after the feeding of the sheet P, its flat portion opposes the sheet P so as not to apply a transporting load, as shown in the drawing.
[0030] The retard roller 13 , which has its outer periphery formed of an elastic material, is provided so as to be capable of being brought into 6 pressure contact with the circular arc portion of the feed roller 12 , and is provided in a state in which a predetermined rotational resistance (torque) is applied thereto. In a case where the multiple feeding of the sheet P does not occur and only one sheet is being fed, a torque exceeding the aforementioned rotational resistance is applied to the retard roller 13 , so that the retard roller 13 is drivenly rotated (clockwise in FIG. 2 ) with respect to the feed roller 13 . Meanwhile, in a case where a plurality of sheets of the sheet P are present between the first ribs 12 and the retard roller 13 , since the coefficient of friction between the sheets of sheet is lower than the coefficient of function between the sheet P and the retard roller 13 , the torque exceeding the aforementioned rotational resistance is not applied to the retard roller 13 , so that the retard roller 13 doe not rotate and remains at a standstill. Accordingly, the subsequent sheets of the sheet P which tend to be fed overlapped by accompanying the uppermost sheet P to be fed do not advance from the retard roller 13 toward the downstream side, thereby preventing the multiple feeding.
[0031] The return lever 14 is provided swingably in a side view of the feeding route of the sheet P. As the return lever 14 is swung, the return lever 14 exhibits the action of returning onto the hopper 11 the subsequent sheets of the sheet P which tended to be fed overlapped.
[0032] The sheet support 15 and the auxiliary support member 16 ( FIG. 1 ) end the sheet supporting surface in the hopper 11 toward the rear end of the sheet P to support the rear end of the sheet P.
[0033] The movable edge guide 17 and the-fixed edge guide 19 are provided so as to oppose each other in the hopper 11 , and abut against the edges of the sheet P to rests the positions of the edges. The movable edge guide 17 is provided displaceably (slidably) in the widthwise direction of the sheet P in the hopper 11 , with the result that the movable edge guide 17 is displaceable to an appropriate position fitted to the widthwise dimension of the sheet P.
[0034] It should be noted that reference numerals 17 a and 19 a denote restricting portions which are respectively formed on the movable edge guide 17 and the fixed edge guide 19 . These restricting portions 17 a and 19 a function to guide the sheet P at the time of setting the sheet P, and restrict a maximum number of sheets (an allowable maximum number of sheets) of the sheet P which are supported on the hopper 11 (set in the feeding device 2 ).
[0035] Next, the following are provided between the feeding device 2 and the recording medium transporting means 4 : sheet detecting means (not shown) for detecting the passage of the sheet P; a guide roller 26 which forms the posture of the sheet P being fed and prevents the contact of the sheet P with the feed roller 12 so as to alleviate the transport load; and a rear portion guiding member 57 for guiding to the recording medium transporting means 4 the sheet P being fed.
[0036] The recording medium transporting means 4 provided on the downstream side of the feeding device 2 is comprised of a transport drive roller 30 which is rotatively driven by a motor and transport driven rollers 31 which are drivenly rotated by coming into pressure contact with the transport drive roller 30 . The transport drive roller 30 is formed by having an adherent layer in which abrasion resistant particles are dispersed substantially uniformly on an outer peripheral face of a metallic shaft extending in the widthwise direction of the sheet. The transport driven rollers 31 has its outer peripheral surface formed of a low friction material such as an elastomer, and are arranged in the axial direction of the transport drive roller 30 .
[0037] More specifically, in this embodiment, two transport driven rollers 31 are axially supported freely rotatably at a downstream end portion of each of three main body portions 24 b constituting an upper sheet guide 24 . As the three main body portions 24 b are provided in the widthwise direction of the sheet, as shown in FIG. 1 , the three main body portions 24 b as a whole constitute the upper sheet guide 24 . As a shaft 24 a of the upper sheet guide 24 is axially supported by a main frame 23 , the upper sheet guide 24 is provided swingably about the shaft 24 a in a side view of the sheet feeding route, and is urged by a coil spring 25 in a direction in which the transport driven rollers 31 are brought into pressure contact with the transport drive roller 30 .
[0038] The sheet P which reached the recording medium transporting means 4 is transported to the recording means 3 on the downstream side as the transport drive roller 30 rotates in a state in which the sheet P is nipped by the transport drive roller 30 and the transport driven rollers 31 .
[0039] The recording means 3 is comprised of an ink jet recording head (hereafter, the “recording head”) 36 and a lower sheet guide 50 (platen 56 ) provided in such a manner as to oppose the recording head 36 . The recording head 36 is provided on a bottom portion of a carriage 33 , and the carriage 33 is driven so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction by an unillustrated drive motor while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 34 extending in the main scanning direction. Further, ink cartridges 35 which are respectively independent for a plurality of colors are installed on the carriage 33 to supply ink to the recording head 36 .
[0040] On the lower sheet guide 50 (platen 56 ) which defines the distance between the sheet P and the recording head 36 , first ribs 51 , second ribs 52 , and third ribs 53 are formed on its surface opposing the recording head 36 , and grooves 54 and 55 and grooves A to G (see FIG. 5 ) serving as “recessed portions” for discarding the ink are formed therein. It should be noted that a detailed description will be given later of the construction of the lower sheet guide 60 .
[0041] Subsequently, an auxiliary roller 43 and the recording medium ejecting means 5 are provided on the downstream side of the recording head 36 . The auxiliary roller 43 is provided so as to be drivenly rotated in contact with the recording surface of the sheet P on the sheet transporting route ranging from the region where the recording head 36 and the platen 56 oppose each other to the recording medium ejecting means 5 . Hence, the auxiliary roller 43 functions to maintain the distance between the sheet P and the recording head 36 to a fixed distance by preventing the lifting up of the sheet P from the platen 56 . The recording medium ejecting means 5 is comprised of eject drive rollers 41 which are rotatively driven by an unillustrated motor and eject driven rollers 42 which are drivenly rotated in contact with the eject drive rollers 41 . In this embodiment, the eject drive rollers 41 are constituted by rubber rollers and are arranged in the anal direction of a rotating shaft 40 which is rotatively driven (see FIG. 3 ).
[0042] The eject driven rollers 42 are constituted by toothed rollers having a plurality of teeth on their outer peripheries, and are provided on a sheet eject frame assembly 45 having an elongated shape in the main scaring direction so as to respectively correspond to the eject drive rollers 41 . The sheet P on which recording has been performed by the recording means 3 is ejected toward the front side (unillustrated stacker) of the apparatus as the eject drive rollers 41 are rotatively driven in a state in which the sheet P is nipped by the eject drive rollers 41 and the eject driven rollers 42 .
[0043] The above-described is the outline of the printer 1 , and a detailed description will be given of the lower sheet guide 50 with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 . Here, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the lower sheet guide 50 and constituent elements in its vicinities. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the lower sheet guide 50 (platen 56 ). FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower sheet guide 50 . FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the main scanning direction, of the lower sheet guide 50 (platen 56 ). FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of the lower sheet guide 50 (platen 56 ). FIG. 8 is a plan view of an ink absorbing material 70 .
[0044] As shown in FIG. 3 , the lower sheet guide 50 , which is integrally molded from a resin material, has as its principal body the platen 56 on the downstream side of the transport drive roller 30 , and is integrally comprised mainly of the rear portion guiding member 57 on the upstream side of the transport drive roller 30 , bearing portions 58 a , 58 b , and 58 c for axially supporting the transport drive roller 30 , bearing portions 59 a , 59 b , and 59 c for anally supporting the rotating shaft 40 of the eject drive rollers 41 , and a rotation-detecting-means attaching portion 60 for attaching a rotation detecting means (not shown) for detecting the amount of rotation of the transport drive roller 30 .
[0045] As has been described with reference to FIG. 2 , the platen 56 is provided at a position opposing the recording head 36 , defines a gap between the sheet P and the recording head 36 , and guides the sheet P to the downstream side. The rear portion guiding member 57 guides to the transport drive roller 30 the sheet P which is fed from the feeding device 2 .
[0046] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 , on the surface of the platen 56 opposing the recording head 36 , the first ribs 51 extending in the sub scanning direction are provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the transport drive roller 30 ; the second ribs 52 extending in the sub sang direction are provided on the downstream side of the fist ribs 51 with the groove 54 located therebetween; and the third ribs 53 are provided on the downstream side of the second ribs 52 with the groove 55 located therebetween. The first ribs 51 , the second ribs 52 , and the third ribs 53 are respectively provided at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction, support the sheet P from below, and define the gap between the sheet P and the recording head 36 . It should be noted that the second ribs 52 are located in a range where ink ejecting nozzles (not shown) in the recording head 36 are formed, while the first ribs 51 and the third ribs 53 are located outside the range where the ink ejecting nozzles are formed.
[0047] As described above, the groove 54 extending in the main scanning direction is formed between the first ribs 51 and the second ribs 52 , and the groove 55 extending in the main scanning direction is similarly formed between the second ribs 52 and the third ribs 53 . In addition, the grooves A to G are formed between the first ribs 51 and the third ribs 53 at portions corresponding to side end positions of the sheet P of predetermined sizes.
[0048] The grooves 54 and 55 are for respectively discarding ink droplets which are ejected to portions offset from a trailing end and a leading end of the sheet P. Namely, when the leading end of the sheet P has reached the upper portion of the groove 55 , ink droplets are ejected to the leading end of the sheet P and a portion offset from that leading end, whereby marginless recording is executed at the leading end of the sheet P, and the ink droplets offset from the leading end of the sheet P are discarded to the groove 55 . Also, when the trailing end of the sheet P has reached the upper portion of the groove 54 , ink droplets are ejected to the trailing end of the sheet P and a portion offset from that trailing end, whereby marginless recording is executed at the trailing end of the sheet P, and the ink droplets offset from the trailing end of the sheet P are discarded to the groove 54 .
[0049] Also, the grooves A to G are for discarding ink droplets which are ejected to portions offset from side ends of the sheet P. Specifically, the groove G is provided at a position where a side end on one side of the sheet P of all sizes passes, while the grooves A to F are respectively provided at positions where side ends on the other sides of the sheet P of the respective sizes pass. As ink droplets are ejected to portions offset from both side ends of the sheet P on which recording is performed, marginless recording is executed at the side ends of the sheet P, and the ink droplets are discarded to the grooves provided at positions corresponding to the sheet width.
[0050] As also shown in FIG. 2 , the rear portion guiding member 57 is located in the vicinity of the upstream side of the transport drive roller 30 , and has on its surface a plurality of ribs extending in the sub scanning direction at appropriate intervals in the main scanning direction so as to guide the sheet P smoothly to the transport drive roller 30 .
[0051] Next, as shown in FIG. 3 , the transport drive roller 30 located between the rear portion guiding member 57 and the platen 56 is anally supported by the bearing portions 58 a , 58 b , and 58 c hereafter, collectively referred to as the “bearing portions 58,” as required) which are integrally formed of a resin material together with the rear portion guiding member 57 and the platen 56 . Also, the rotating shaft 40 of the eject drive rollers 41 located on the downstream side of the platen 56 are axially supported by the bearing portions 59 a , 59 b , and 59 c hereafter, collectively referred to as the “bearing portions 59,” as required) which are integrally formed of the material together with the rear portion guiding member 57 and the platen 56 .
[0052] Accordingly, since the constituent elements of the rear portion guiding member 57 , the bearing portions 58 , and the bearing portions 59 are integrally provided on the platen 56 , it is possible to reduce the number of steps of assembly as compared with the construction in which the constituent elements are separately formed and are subsequently assembled. At the same time, it becomes possible to minimize variations in the manufacture of the constituent elements, assembly errors at the time of assembly, and so on. In consequence, it is possible to form a sheet transport route of more uniform quality, with the result that individual differences between apparatuses decrease, thereby making it possible to realize further stabilization of the recording quality. In addition, it becomes possible to prevent a decline ion the sheet transporting accuracy, and when marginless printing is executed, it becomes possible to minimize the amount of ink discarded by being offset from the end portions of the sheet P. Namely, it becomes possible to appropriately execute marginless printing in which the amount of image data discarded is extremely small.
[0053] In addition, since the bearing portions 58 for pivotally supporting the transport drive roller 30 are provided at both shaft end positions (bearing portions 58 a and 58 c ) of the transport drive roller 30 and one position (bearing portion 58 b ) between the both shaft end positions, the transport drive roller 30 is difficult to deflect even if it is subjected to a pressing load from the transport driven rollers 31 . Hence, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the transport drive roller 30 . Further, since the bearing portions 58 are provided integrally with the platen 56 by resin molding, even if the transport drive roller 30 is anally supported at a plurality of positions, since the positions of the bearing portions are accurately fixed, the transport drive roller 30 can be driven smoothly without imparting a load thereto.
[0054] In addition, since the rotating shaft 40 of the eject drive rollers 41 is also axially supported at both shaft end positions (bearing portions 59 a and 59 c ) and one position (bearing portion 59 b ) therebetween, it is possible to obtain an operational effect similar to the case of the transport drive roller 30 described above. Furthermore, even if backlash (clearance) has occurred between the rotating shaft 40 of the eject drive rollers 41 and each of the bearing portions 59 a to 59 c , since the rotating shaft 40 of the eject drive rollers 41 is axially supported at the plurality of positions, the bearing portions 59 a to 59 c are arranged at mutually offset positions with respect to the rotating shaft 40 , it is possible to overcome the backlash.
[0055] Next, a description will be given of hole portions 64 for ejecting the ink discarded to the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G to outside (below) the lower sheet guide 50 .
[0056] The hole portions 64 are formed over the entire peripheral edges of the bottoms of the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G, and openings 63 at upper portions of all the hole portions 64 are formed in such a manner as to oppose side walls of the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G. In other words, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , each hole portion 64 has a shape in which it extends from the bottom toward the upper portion, and a protective portion 65 is formed on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion 64 . Namely, each hole portion 64 is formed in a crank shape so as not to form a channel of the fluid (air and ink) which would penetrate the platen 56 straightly upwardly from below.
[0057] The hole portions 64 which are thus formed exhibit the following operational effect. When the carriage 33 starts to move from the standstill state, there are cases where, in conjunction with that moving operation, a negative pressure is temporarily applied to the place where the cartridge 33 was at a standstill. Consequently, if there occurs the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portions 64 , an ink mist floating over the platen 56 is scattered more extensively, so that there is a possibility that the interior of the apparatus is fouled, exerting an adverse effect on the constituent elements.
[0058] However, since the protective portion 65 is provided on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion 64 , as described above, the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portion 64 abuts against the protective portion 65 , and the flow is hampered, as indicated by an arrow in FIGS. 6 and 7 . Namely, since the flow of air which would penetrate straightly upwardly from below through the hole portion 64 is not produced, even if the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below is produced in the hole portion 64 in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 33 , since the flow is hampered, the ink mist floating over the platen 56 can be prevented from being scattered more extensively, or the extent of the scattering can be alleviated.
[0059] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the protective portion 65 is formed in such a manner as to substantially completely cover the opening of the hole portion 64 in a plan view of the platen 56 , as shown in FIG. 5 , the flow of air which is directed upwardly from below through the hole portion 64 is prevented more reliably.
[0060] The ink absorbing material 70 shown in FIG. 8 is disposed in the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G. On this ink absorbing material 70 , as shown in the drawing, a plurality of projecting portions 71 are formed on its surfaces opposing the inner side walls of the respective grooves when it is disposed in the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G. Accordingly, when the ink absorbing material 70 is disposed in the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G, the ink absorbing material 70 is disposed such that its projecting portions 71 are fitted in the openings 63 ( FIG. 4 ).
[0061] As a result, the ink absorbing material 70 is held inside the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G more reliably, so that the lifting up of the ink absorbing material 70 toward the recording head 36 side can be prevented reliably. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent such drawbacks as the fouling of the reverse surface of the sheet P due to the lifting up of the ink absorbing material 70 and causing a decline in the recording quality due to a change in the gap between the sheet P and the recording head 36 . Here, since the protective portion 65 formed on the upper side of the opening of each hole portion 64 also serves as a holding means for holding in the respective grooves the ink absorbing material 70 disposed in the grooves 54 and 55 and the grooves A to G, it becomes possible to inexpensively provide the construction for holding the ink absorbing material 70 in the respective grooves.
[0062] It should be noted that there are cases where, depending on the circumstances at the time of, for instance, resin molding, hole portions 66 which would penetrate the platen 56 straightly upwardly from below are inevitably formed at the bottoms of the grooves 54 and 55 (and the grooves A to G), as shown in FIG. 9 . It should be noted that FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the sub scanning direction, of a platen 56 ′ in accordance with another embodiment.
[0063] In such a case, if the ink absorbing material 70 formed of a porous material is merely disposed as it is, there can occur the flow of air which would penetrate the ink absorbing material 70 upwardly from below when the cartridge 3 is moved, whereby the ink mist floating over the platen 56 ′ is possibly scattered extensively.
[0064] Accordingly, in such a case, as a sheet material such as the one indicated by reference numeral 68 in FIG. 9 is laid in the bottoms of the grooves 54 and 55 (and the grooves A to G), it is possible to shut off the flow of air passing through the hole portions 66 . Since the flow of air which would penetrate the ink absorbing material 70 upwardly from below does not occur, it is possible to prevent the scattering of the ink mist extensively. | A plate-shaped main body, has a first face formed with a recess portion defined by a bottom face and side walls and a second face which is opposite to the first face. The plate-shaped main body is formed with a through hole connecting the bottom face and the second face. An overhanging portion, is provided on at least one of the side walls in the vicinity of the first face, and is located so as to at least partially hang over the through hole. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process for steeping corn or sorghum kernels in the production of starch and other products. As a matter of convenience only, the process will be described hereafter as applied to corn although equally applicable to sorghum.
Steeping of corn kernels is the first step in the processing of corn to obtain different product fractions like germs, proteins and starch. In this first step the hard corn kernels are steeped to soften them. The kernels absorb water and they swell. At the same time water-soluble substances are leached out of the corn and pass into the steepwater. The temperature of the steepwater is generally in the range 40°-55° C. The sulfur dioxide which is usually present in an amount of about 0.2%, by weight, breaks the cell wall structure and prevents the growth of microorganisms during steeping. The steeping process lasts about 48 hours. All subsequent steps, in which the different product fractions are obtained, are much shorter. The corn steep liquor (CSL) obtained is concentrated by evaporation. The product obtained will mainly be used as animal feed but is also utilized as a nutrient in microbial fermentations. The swollen kernels are further separated into germ, fiber, starch and protein fractions in succeeding steps.
As is common in many other plant seeds, phytic acid, the hexaphosphate ester of myoinositol, is present in the corn kernels. Phytic acid usually appears in the form of calcium and magnesium salts, which, as a class, are called phytin. A large part of the phosphorus present in plants is stored in these compounds. In the steeping process most of the phytic acid reports to the CSL. It forms an undesirable component therein for at least the reasons enumerated below:
(1) The phytic acid in CSL tends to deposit a sludge with
proteins and metal ions. This has caused problems in
concentrating by evaporation and in transporting and storing the CSL.
(2) When used as a nutrient in microbial fermentations, CSL is diluted and the pH is raised to 4-5. When this medium is sterilized, the phytic acid forms a precipitate coating on the inner surface of the fermenter. This precipitate is hard to scrub off afterwards and it also interferes with the purification of the fermentation end products.
(3) When CSL is used as animal feed the phytic acid present gives the following problems. Phytic acid, because it interacts with multivalent metal ions, interferes with the assimilation of various metals in the body of animals (and humans). This may lead to deficiency disorders. Phytic acid also inhibits the activity of various enzymes in the body such as pepsin. Besides, the phosphate present in the phytic acid is not available for monogastric animals, because they only can digest phytic acid to a restricted extent.
There have been proposals for removing phytic acid from the CSL. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 2,515,157 describes a process for the treatment of CSL to obtain an improved nutrient for antibiotic fermentations. In this process the phytic acid is removed by adding an aluminum ion-furnishing compound to the CSL at low pH, heating and separating the aluminum phytate formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,516 describes a similar process wherein phytate is precipitated as its calcium salt.
The processes described in the above-mentioned U.S. patents are performed following the steeping process. Therefore, an additional step is required for removing phytic acid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that the additional step specified in the prior art can be avoided by performing the steeping in the presence of an enzyme preparation comprising one or more phytin-degrading enzymes.
Broadly speaking, the process of the invention calls for steeping corn or sorghum kernels in warm water containing sulfur dioxide in the presence of an enzyme preparation comprising one or more phytin-degrading enzymes.
In more detail, this invention provides a process for processing corn or sorghum, which comprises the consecutive steps of
(a) steeping corn or sorghum kernels in warm water containing sulfur dioxide in the presence of an enzyme preparation comprising one or more phytin-degrading enzymes,
(b) separating the steepwater from the kernels and concentrating it,
(c) milling the kernels coarsely and separating and dewatering germs,
(d) fine-milling the kernels, separating fibers from starch and protein, and dewatering the fiber fraction, and
(e) separating starch and protein from each other, concentrating the protein fraction and drying and/or converting the starch fraction.
Preferably the enzyme preparation comprises such an amount of one or more phytin-degrading enzymes that the phytin present in the kernels is substantially degraded. The term "phytin" as used herein embraces the salts of phytic acid and also phytic acid itself.
Phytin degrading enzymes dephosphorylate inositol phosphates to yield inositol and orthophosphate. Phytin-degrading enzymes include phytase and acid phosphatases. Phytase and acid phosphatases are produced by various microorganisms like Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus spp. and yeasts (Appl. Microbial 16 (1968) 1348-1357; Enzyme Microb. Technol. 5 (1983), 377-382) while phytase is also produced by various plant seeds, as for example wheat, during germination. Phytin-degrading enzymes are very active at the low pH of the steepwater. According to methods known in the art, enzyme preparations can be obtained from the above mentioned organisms. It is found that phytin in corn is degraded most efficiently with enzymes from Aspergillus spp. Thus, at the same enzyme dosage an Aspergillus niger enzyme preparation is more efficient than wheat phytase.
Microbially produced enzyme preparations may comprise additional plant material degrading enzymes such as enzymes having cellulase, hemicellulase and/or pectinase activity. These other activities contribute to the advantages which are obtained by the process of the invention. Suitable enzyme preparations are for example enzymes of the Econase EP 43 series manufactured by Alko Ltd.
The temperature during the steeping process according to the invention is maintained in the range 20°-60° C., and generally about 50° C. The applied amount of enzyme preparation depends on the preparation used, the phytin contents of the corn kernels and the reaction conditions. The right dosage can easily be estimated by a person skilled in the art.
The process according to the invention offers, besides avoiding an additional step, various important advantages. First, by adding the enzyme preparation the steeping process is accelerated to such an extent that the steeping time may be reduced considerably. Since the steeping process is the longest step in total corn processing, a reduction thereof is of great economical importance. Thus the steeping process may be reduced to only 12 hours without any losses in the main product fraction yields. Preferably steeping time will be 12-18 hours; however, longer steeping times up to 48 hours are possible.
Secondly, the separation processes after the steeping process according to the invention are improved and give higher yields. When steeping is performed for 16 hours, for example, in the presence of the enzyme preparation, the yield of starch is higher than in the case of the conventional steeping process.
Thirdly, steeping corn in the presence of phytin-degrading enzymes leads to corn steep liquor that does not contain phytin. As a result, concentration of CSL is easier and the product obtained is excellently suitable for animal feed and for microbial fermentations.
The steeping time can yet be further reduced by performing the steeping process in two steps, first steeping for 4-10 hours, followed by milling the corn kernels and then further steeping the milled corn kernels for another 3-6 hours. Preferably the second stage of this double stage steeping is carried out in water not containing sulfur dioxide.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the examples which follow, the process of the invention is carried out on laboratory scale by standard Pelshenke and Lindemann determination. As may be expected, the results obtained when carrying out the process industrially will be similar or even better due to improved separating techniques.
EXAMPLE I
In a number of tests 50 g of corn kernels are steeped in water of 50° C. containing 0.2% by weight, sulfur dioxide, in the presence or in the absence of an amount of Econase EP 434. This enzyme preparation has as major activities phytin and cellulose degrading activities and as minor activities hemicellulase and pectinase. The steeping times of the tests vary from 12 to 48 hours, as shown in Table A.
The enzyme dosages are presented as phytin-degrading units/g of corn. One phytin-degrading unit (1 PU) is the amount of enzyme which liberates 1 nmol (nano mol) of inorganic phosphorus from sodium phytate per minute under standard conditions (40° C., pH 5.5). The kernels after steeping are processed further to obtain the product fractions mentioned in Table B.
TABLE A______________________________________Test 1 2 3 4 5 6______________________________________steeping time (h) 48 48 24 20 16 12dosage of Econase EP 434 -- 70 135 160 200 270(PU/g corn)______________________________________
TABLE B__________________________________________________________________________Results of single stage steeping Yield in % of dry weightTest 1 2 3 4 5 6__________________________________________________________________________dry substance in CSL 5.28 5.61 4.78 4.72 4.23 3.91germs 7.34 7.12 7.42 7.66 9.00 7.51fibers (starch content).sup.a 9.70 9.21 9.55 9.52 9.41 9.70 (19.01) (17.16) (16.91) (8.60) (16.71) (17.46)starch (protein content).sup.a 64.09 65.49 65.29 65.38 66.20 64.00 (0.37) (0.37) (0.35) (0.43) (0.39) (0.44)gluten (protein content).sup.a 7.31 6.24 7.57 8.12 6.94 9.42 (46.57) (51.43) (47.52) (49.21) (57.60) (42.76)dry substance in supernatant 2.21 2.25 2.88 2.89 3.00 2.59starch recovery 94.4 96.5 96.2 96.3 97.5 94.3total dry substance recovery 95.91 95.92 97.49 98.29 98.78 97.15__________________________________________________________________________ .sup.a expressed as % of the fraction
It appears from Table B that the starch yield after 16 to 48 hours of single stage steeping in the presence of the enzyme preparation is higher than in the case of conventional steeping without enzyme preparation, and after 12 hours of steeping in the presence of the enzyme preparation the starch yield is almost as high as in the case of conventional steeping without enzyme preparation.
EXAMPLE II
50 g of corn kernels are presteeped in water of 50° C. containing 0.2%, by weight, sulfur dioxide and Econase EP 434 providing 135 PU/g of corn for 6 hours. Following manual degermination, the product is milled coarsely. Then the germs are added back to the slurry. Thereafter, the second stage of the steeping is carried out in fresh water of 50° C. containing Econase EP 434 providing 135 PU/g of corn for 4 hours. The suspension obtained is processed further to obtain the product fractions mentioned in Table C.
TABLE C______________________________________ Yield in % of dry weight______________________________________dry substance in CSL 2.19germs 8.80fibers (starch content) 9.64 (20.99)starch (protein content) 65.53 (0.37)gluten (protein content) 6.8 (56.74)dry substance in supernatant 5.45starch recovery 96.5total dry substance recovery 98.41______________________________________ Note: In this test it is necessary to degerminate before milling because the mill used would damage the germ. When the double stage steeping is carried out industrially, a mill would be used which will not damage the germ. Degermination is not necessary then.
Examples I and II demonstrate that in using the process of the invention there is essentially no sacrifice in star production despite the shorter steeping times utilized.
EXAMPLE III
CSL is diluted 1:10 and the pH is adjusted to 5.0. Corn flour is diluted 1:10 with 0.2 M citrate buffer pH 5.0. Sodium azide is added at a concentration of 0.02%, by weight, to inhibit microbial growth. Aspergillus spp. enzyme preparation containing phytin degrading activity or wheat phytase (Sigma P-1259) is added at a dosage of 7000 PU/gram of phytin (300 PU per each ml of CSL dilution and 150 PU per each 2 grams of corn flour).
Suspensions are incubated in a shaker (250 rpm) at 50° C. At fixed intervals the reaction is stopped with equal volume of 6% (w/v) H 2 SO 4 . Phytate is extracted to the acidic liquid for 30 min. at room temperature. Phytic acid is then precipitated from a clear supernatant with ferric chloride. Ferric ions are removed by precipitation with sodium hydroxide. Phytate is determined by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) using sodium phytate as a standard.
Table D shows the residual phytin content of CSL and corn flour after incubation with phytin-degrading enzymes. In experiment (a) incubation is carried out with Aspergillus spp. enzyme preparation, and in experiment b) incubation is carried out with wheat phytase.
TABLE D______________________________________Comparing Aspergillus spp. enzyme preparation and wheat phytase. Phytin (as phytic acid) Incubation exp. (a) exp. (b)Substrate time (h) mg/ml % mg/ml %______________________________________CSL 0 3.1 100 3.4 100 2 2.7 87 2.4 71 4 1.4 45 1.9 56 10 1.0 32 2.0 59 24 0 0 1.4 41corn flour 0 13.6 100 11.4 100 2 9.1 67 9.1 80 4 0 0 7.9 69 10 0 0 6.8 60 24 0 0 2.3 20______________________________________
Table D shows that phytic acid content can be reduced considerably with both phytin degrading enzymes. At the same enzyme dosage Aspergillus spp. enzyme preparation is more efficient than wheat phytase.
EXAMPLE IV
25 g of corn kernels are steeped in 50 ml water of 50° C. containing 0.2%, by weight, sulfur dioxide. In the control no enzyme preparation is added and in the test according to the invention, an Aspergillus spp. enzyme preparation is added at a dosage of 135 PU/g corn. Steeping time is 24 hours or 48 hours.
After steeping, an amount of CSL is extracted for 30 min. with an equal volume of 6% (w/v) H 2 SO 4 at room temperature. Phytic acid is precipitated from a clear supernatant with ferric chloride. Ferric ions are removed by precipitation with sodium hydroxide. Phytate is determined by HPLC using sodium phytate as a standard.
Table E shows the amount of phytic acid in CSL. Experiment (a) comprises conventional steeping without phytin-degrading enzymes and experiment b) comprises steeping in the presence of the above enzyme preparation.
TABLE E______________________________________Phytin content of CSL mg phytic acid/ml CSLsteeping time (h) exp. (a) exp. (b)______________________________________24 1.6 048 3.1 0______________________________________ Table E shows that when corn kernels are steeped in the presence of phyti degrading enzymes CSL is free from phytin.
EXAMPLE V
Econase EP 434 and a plant cell wall degrading enzyme preparation with negligible phytin-degrading activity are tested in one-step and in two-step steeping.
In one-step steeping 50 g of corn kernels are steeped in water of 50° C. containing 0.2%, by weight, sulfur dioxide. The dosage of Econase EP 434 is 135 PU/g corn. Equal volume of the plant cell wall degrading enzyme preparation with negligible phytin-degrading activity is applied. Steeping time is 20 hours. The kernels are processed further according to Pelshenke and Lindemann method.
In two-step steeping, 50 g of corn kernels are presteeped for 6 hours in water of 50° C. containing 0.2%, by weight, sulfur dioxide and Econase EP 434 providing 135 PU/g corn or an equal volume of plant cell wall degrading enzyme preparation with negligible phytin-degrading activity. Following manual degermination, the product is milled coarsely. Then the germs are added back to the slurry. Thereafter, the second stage of the steeping is carried out for 4 hours in fresh water of 50° C. containing Econase EP 434 providing 135 PU/g corn or an equal volume of plant cell wall degrading enzyme preparation with negligible phytin-degrading activity. The slurry is further processed according to Pelshenke and Lindemann method.
The test results obtained are shown in the following Table F.
TABLE F______________________________________Starch recoveries with different enzyme preparations.1. Econase EP 4342. plant cell wall degrading enzyme preparation with negligiblephytin degrading activity.______________________________________ Steeping time starch recoverySteeping process h enzyme %______________________________________One-step 20 1 97.0 20 2 94.4Two-step 6 + 4 1 96.5 6 + 4 2 91.4______________________________________
It appears from Table F that the starch yield is higher when the kernels are treated with an enzyme preparation containing phytin-degrading activity.
There has thus been provided a remarkably simple process for steeping cereals to substantially degrade the deleterious phytin present in the cereal kernels without loss of starch product.
Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred process embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations in the process may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and appended claims. | Corn or sorghum kernels are steeped in warm water containing sulfur dioxide in the presence of an enzyme preparation including one or more phytin-degrading enzymes, such as phytase and acid phosphatases, to eliminate or greatly reduce phytic acid and the salts of phytic acid. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The field of the present invention is medical apparatus and methods for medical fluid delivery and collection, and more particularly, personally transportable medical fluid delivery and collection administration apparatus and methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Various types of medication or other fluids can be infused into a patient's body using intravenous (“IV”) or other fluid delivery apparatus. In addition, various types of fluids can be collected from a patient's body such as, for example, urine through a catheter.
[0003] Administering fluid delivery to a patient has often involved the use of flexible containers of fluid suspended on a vertically displaced pole, sometimes with a fluid pump, and often mounted on a stand. Such medical fluid deliver apparatus configurations limit the mobility of otherwise ambulatory patients.
[0004] Administering medical body fluid collection has often involved securing a collection bag to a person's body inside a person's clothing. Such medical body fluid collection apparatus configurations may be bulky, uncomfortable or unpleasant for the patient.
[0005] A better way of administering medical fluid delivery and collection is needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides a medical fluid administration device for delivering, such as intravenously, or collecting, medical fluids while the device is in either a collapsed concealed state or in an expanded unconcealed state.
[0007] The present invention provides a portable apparatus for collecting medical body fluids from a patient while the apparatus is in either a collapsed concealed state or in an expanded unconcealed state.
[0008] The present invention provides a medical support system for administering the delivery of medical fluids to a patient, or the collecting of medical body fluids from a patient, as the case may be, that comprises a portable telescoping stand and a tube winding/retraction device that can be concealed inside a carrying case.
[0009] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the carrying case would have two zippered compartments: one for personal storage for objects such as a wallet; the other for medical fluid delivery or collection, as the case may be, equipment. The compartment for medical fluid delivery or collection equipment, as the case may be, would hold a telescoping pole, a tube winding/retraction device, and would provide room for an extra fluid reservoir bag or other similarly sized equipment. In the exemplary embodiment, the telescoping pole would support a fluid reservoir bag and portable fluid regulation pump. The carrying case would provide an aperture in the side of the case to allow the tubing to exit the case while the zipper to the compartment containing the tubing is closed.
[0010] The patient may walk around with, or transport the exemplary carrying case with the pole and equipment concealed inside and at the same time receive, or deliver, as the case may be, the relevant medical fluids. If the patient is stationary for a while, the patient may open the compartment containing the tubing and raise the telescoping pole so as to aid the pump in transmitting the fluids from or to, as the case may be, the fluid reservoir bag.
[0011] The exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a telescoping pole comprising a means for suspending a medical fluid container, and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for delivery, or collection, of medical fluids to or from a patient.
[0012] The exemplary embodiment of the present invention further comprises a carrying case, said carrying case comprising a compartment for holding the telescoping pole, said carrying case further comprising an aperture through which fluid delivery tubing can be inserted.
[0013] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the carrying case compartment comprises a floor, the telescoping pole comprises a base, and the base of the telescoping pole is mounted on the floor of the carrying case compartment.
[0014] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the telescoping pole is spring loaded.
[0015] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the telescoping pole comprises a base sub-pole, a top sub-pole, and a plurality of telescoping sub-poles, the base sub-pole comprising an aperture, each telescoping sub-pole comprising a spring-loaded button and an aperture, the top sub-pole comprising a spring-loaded button.
[0016] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the telescoping pole comprises a top, and further comprises a means for suspending the medical fluid container from the top of the telescoping pole.
[0017] The exemplary embodiment of the present invention further comprises a means for suspending a portable fluid pump.
[0018] An alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of telescoping poles mounted to an exterior bottom of a carrying case, a stationary pole mounted to an interior floor of the carrying case, said stationary pole comprising a means for suspending a medical fluid container, and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for medical delivery or collection of fluids.
[0019] The exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide an apparatus for concealed transport of a medical fluid administration device. The medical fluid administration device would be capable of infusing medical fluids to, or collecting medical fluids from, as the case may be, the body of a patient during concealed transport. The exemplary apparatus would comprise one or more of the following: a stand disposed within a carrying case, said stand capable of being extended during stationary use or collapsed during ambulatory use; a medical fluid pump disposed within the carrying case, said pump capable of delivering or collecting medical fluids during concealed transport within the carrying case; and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for delivery of medical fluids to, or collection of medical fluids from, a body of a patient.
[0020] One exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide an apparatus for concealed transport of a medical fluid administration device; the device would be capable of infusing medical fluids to, or collecting medical fluids from, the body of a patient during concealed transport; the apparatus would comprise: a stand disposed within a carrying case, said stand capable of being extended during stationary use or collapsed during ambulatory use; and a medical fluid pump disposed within the carrying case, said pump capable of delivering or collecting medical fluids during concealed transport within the carrying case.
[0021] In a further alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for concealed transport of a medical fluid administration device would be provided in which the device would be capable of infusing medical fluids to, or collecting medical fluids from, the body of a patient during concealed transport; the apparatus would comprise: a medical fluid pump disposed within a carrying case, said pump capable of delivering or collecting medical fluids during concealed transport within the carrying case; and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for delivery of medical fluids to, or collection of medical fluids from, a body of a patient.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] These and other features of the present invention are more fully set forth in the following description of non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is presented with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary carrying case with an exemplary telescoping pole in an extended state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exemplary carrying case with the exemplary telescoping pole in a fully collapsed state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a side view depicting the exemplary telescoping pole in a fully collapsed state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section of the exemplary telescoping pole in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0028] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the bottom of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0029] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary carrying case 12 with an exemplary telescoping pole 3 in an extended state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] As depicted in FIG. 1 , the exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide a telescoping pole 3 . In an alternative embodiment (not shown), a loop may be provided on the carrying case 12 to hang the case 12 if the use of the telescoping pole 3 is not desired.
[0031] As depicted in FIG. 1 , the exemplary telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention would comprise a plurality of tubular members, or pole segments, 24 , 25 , 26 , and 27 . In the exemplary embodiment, each of the tubular members 24 , 25 , 26 , and 27 would be of equal length, and would each be approximately eight (8) inches long. When fully extended, the telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment would measure approximately two and one half (2½) feet in height. In the exemplary embodiment, the tubular members 24 , 25 , 26 , and 27 would be made of a strong, lightweight plastic or aluminum material. As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, the materials, the number of tubular members and the actual and relative length of the tubular members, described herein, are exemplary and illustrative, and are not a limitation of the invention; variations in the materials used, the number of tubular members, and the actual and relative length of each tubular member are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0032] As depicted in FIG. 1 , the exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide a base tubular member 27 , a top telescoping tubular member 24 , and two middle telescoping tubular members 25 and 26 . The diameter of each telescoping tubular member 26 , 25 , and 24 would decrease in diameter from the preceding tubular member, 27 , 26 , and 25 , respectively. Due to the decreasing diameter, each subsequent telescoping tubular member 26 , 25 , and 24 , respectively, would fit inside the preceding tubular member 27 , 26 , and 25 , respectively. In the exemplary embodiment, the diameter of the base pole 27 would be approximately 2 inches; the diameters of telescoping tubular members 26 , 25 , and 24 would each, respectively, decrease by one-half (½) inch.
[0033] Continuing with FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment, at the top of base tubular member 27 , an aperture 6 would be provided; at the top of telescoping tubular member 26 , an aperture 5 would be provided; at the bottom of telescoping tubular member 26 a spring-loaded locking button 33 would be provided; at the top of telescoping tubular member 25 , an aperture 4 would be provided; at the bottom of telescoping tubular member 25 , a spring-loaded locking button 32 would be provided; at the top of top telescoping tubular member 24 , a spring-loaded locking button 1 would be provided; and at the bottom of top telescoping tubular member 24 , a spring-loaded locking button 31 would be provided.
[0034] As depicted in FIG. 1 , when the exemplary telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is fully extended, telescoping pole 3 would be secured in its extended position by locking buttons 31 , 32 and 33 . As depicted in FIG. 1 , in the fully extended position of telescoping pole 3 , spring loaded button 31 would extend through aperture 4 in telescoping member 25 to lock the top telescoping member 24 in the extended position. Similarly, spring loaded button 32 would lock telescoping tubular member 25 in the extended position by extending through aperture 5 of telescoping member 26 ; and spring loaded button 33 would lock telescoping member 26 in place by extending through aperture 6 of the base tubular member 27 .
[0035] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exemplary carrying case with the exemplary telescoping pole 3 in a fully collapsed state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view depicting the exemplary telescoping pole 3 in a fully collapsed state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the exemplary telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is fully collapsed, spring-loaded button 1 would extend through apertures 4 (not visible in FIG. 2 , but visible in FIG. 3 ), 5 (not visible in FIG. 2 , but visible in FIG. 3 ) and 6 to lock the telescoping pole 3 in a fully collapsed state. Further, as depicted in FIG. 3 , when the exemplary telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is fully collapsed, locking buttons 31 , 32 and 33 would be compressed inside the tubular members 25 , 26 and 27 , respectively.
[0037] As depicted in FIG. 3 , in the exemplary embodiment of the telescoping pole 3 , each of the telescoping tubular members 24 , 25 and 26 would provide an outwardly flared ridge, 24 a , 25 a , and 26 a , respectively, at the bottom of the respective tubular member. As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3 , tubular members 25 , 26 and 27 respectively would provide an inward detent 25 b , 26 b , and 27 b , respectively. When the telescoping pole 3 is in its fully extended state such as depicted in FIG. 1 , the outwardly flared ridges 24 a , 25 a , and 26 a of the telescoping tubular members 24 , 25 and 26 would be resisted by the inward detents of 25 b , 26 b , and 27 b , respectively, of tubular members 25 , 26 and 27 , respectively, to prevent any telescoping tubular member 24 , 25 , 26 from becoming disengaged from the telescoping pole 3 .
[0038] As depicted in e.g., FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a carrying case 12 would be provided. As depicted in FIG. 1 , the exemplary carrying case 12 would provide a center divider 16 which would separate a compartment 17 for holding personal items, such as a wallet and makeup, from a compartment 18 for holding fluid delivery/collection supplies, such as intravenous fluid delivery supplies, e.g., a bag 7 (such as an IV bag), tubing 9 (such as IV tubing), small pump 21 (such as an IV pump) and a tube winding/retraction device 8 (such as an IV tube winding/retraction device), as well as for holding the telescoping pole 3 .
[0039] Bag 7 would contain fluid for delivery to a patient, or alternatively, would serve as a collection reservoir for fluids, such as, e.g., urine, collected from a patient. Tubing 9 would be coupled to bag 7 and would connect bag 7 to pump 21 ; more tubing 9 would be coupled to pump 21 to connect pump 21 to the patient (not shown). Tubing 9 would alternatively carry medical fluids from bag 7 , through pump 21 , for delivery to the patient (not shown); or alternatively, would carry medical body fluids from the patient (not shown) through pump 21 , to the fluid collection bag 7 . Pump 21 would pump fluid from bag 7 to be delivered, such as intravenously, to the patient, or alternatively, would pump fluid collected from the patient to fluid collection bag 7 .
[0040] When the present invention is used as a medical body fluid collection system, tubing 9 could be made of opaque material to conceal the nature of the fluid being transported. Alternatively, an expandable sleeve (not shown) of opaque material could be provided to cover the expanse of tubing between the carrying case 12 and the patient (not shown). The expandable sleeve could be made of various types of cloth or plastic. An exemplary expandable sleeve would be made in a tubular form; one end would be connected to the exterior of aperture 10 (see, e.g., FIG. 1 ) on carrying case 12 ; the other end could be connected to the distal end of tubing 9 for connection to the patient via an intravenous needle or other patient connecting device, such as, for example, a catheter, depending on the application.
[0041] As described further below, tube winding/retraction device 8 would be provided to allow extension or retraction of tubing 9 —when telescoping pole 3 is fully extended, and/or when the carry case 12 is placed in a stationary position, such as on the ground next to a patient in a chair, tube winding/retraction device 8 would be used to unwind (extend) the tubing 9 ; when telescoping pole is fully collapsed, such as when the patient is carrying the carrying case 12 , tube winding/retraction device 8 would be used to wind (retract) the tubing so that as much of it as possible would be concealed inside the carrying case 12 .
[0042] The exemplary embodiments of the invention herein generally depict and describe non-limiting intravenous fluid delivery embodiments. It will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to fluid delivery embodiments. Rather, the invention pertains equally to medical body fluid collection. Therefore, as will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, non-limiting references herein to IV (and/or intravenous) tubing, pumps, and the like, will apply equally to other medical fluid delivery and medical body fluid collection applications. In medical body fluid collection embodiments, it will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art that the pump 21 would be configured to transport bodily fluids, for example, urine, from the patient to the collection bag 7 —that is, the direction of the fluid will be reversed from the exemplary intravenous embodiments described herein; and bag 7 will be used as a collection reservoir as opposed to a delivery reservoir. Even though the direction of the flow of fluids will be reversed, the pump 21 will be used to regulate the flow of the fluids.
[0043] As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, medical fluid delivery or collection systems use pumps to regulate the flow of delivery, or collection, as the case may be, of the particular medical fluid—that is, the flow of the delivery or collection of the fluid is regulated by the pump 21 regardless of the position of the fluid delivery (or collection) bag 7 . It will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art that, depending on the height of the collection bag 7 in relation to the point at which the fluid is delivered into, or out of, as the case may be, a patient, it may be possible to turn the pump 21 off and allow gravity to deliver or collect the fluid, as the case may be. However, it would not be a requirement with the present invention that the pump 21 be turned off when the telescoping pole 3 is expanded. Rather, the pump 21 may be left on in order to ensure proper flow regulation.
[0044] In the exemplary embodiment, compartment 17 would open and close by means of zipper 14 . Compartment 18 would open and close by means of zipper 13 . As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, use of zippers 13 and 14 in the exemplary embodiment is not a limitation of the invention. Other closure means could be used without departing form the spirit of the invention. Further, as someone with ordinary skill in the art will understand, alternative carrying case construction could be provided without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, an alternative carrying case could provide a single compartment, e.g., compartment 18 ; compartment 18 could be provided with a C-shaped zippered flap. Other carrying case configurations are possible. For example, a divider 16 ′ (not shown) could be provided that was not centrally located in the case 12 . Further, the carrying case 12 could be configured in the form of a purse, a backpack, briefcase, or other types of utilitarian or fashion carrying case forms not typically associated with hospitals or sick rooms.
[0045] Equivalently, the carrying case 12 could provide a pump 21 for other than intravenous fluid delivery, including, but not limited to, various medical fluid delivery and collection systems such as, for example, gastrointestinal nourishment delivery, insulin delivery, urine collection (such as through a catheter), and colostomy fluid collection.
[0046] In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the center divider 16 of the carrying case 12 would be made of a cloth stretched across the center of the carrying case 12 separating the personal carrying compartment 17 from the compartment 18 containing IV equipment. In the exemplary embodiment, the sides of the carrying case 12 would be made of cardboard covered in a strong, durable, stiff fabric. In the exemplary embodiment, handles 15 would be provided. In the exemplary embodiment, the handles 15 would be made of a strong fabric. The zippers 14 and 13 of compartments 17 and 18 , respectively, could be closed for privacy and to prevent things from spilling out of the carrying case 12 .
[0047] Continuing with FIG. 1 , compartment 18 would provide a bottom 20 . In the exemplary embodiment, the bottom 20 would comprise a large plastic board and would measure approximately 10 inches by 6 inches.
[0048] As depicted in FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment, the base tubular member 27 would be attached to the bottom 20 of carrying case 12 at location 19 which is approximately the center of the bottom 20 .
[0049] As depicted in FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment, a double-sided “J” shaped hook 2 would be provided. In the exemplary embodiment, the double-sided “J” shaped hook 2 would be made of a strong metal with a length of approximately 4 inches and would be affixed to the top of the top telescoping tubular member 24 by means of two vertical posts 22 .
[0050] As depicted in FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment, a tube-winding/retraction device 8 would be provided. In the exemplary embodiment, the tube-winding device 8 would measure approximately 4 inches in diameter and approximately 1 inch wide. In the exemplary embodiment, thick-walled, relatively large diameter tubing 9 would be provided for use with the tube-winding device 8 . Thick-walled, relatively large diameter tubing 9 would tend to not dent, be crushed, or deform substantially, when wound into, and around the core of, the tube-winding/retraction device 8 . Therefore, by using thick-walled, relatively large diameter tubing 9 , constant flow of the fluid to be delivered intravenously would be delivered without obstruction. It will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art that the internal diameter of the tubing 9 will need to be appropriate relative to the fluid regulation pump 21 and the fluid for the particular application. The exemplary tube-winding/retraction device 8 of the exemplary embodiment would use a friction locking mechanism with which to lock the retracted or extended tubing 9 in place. Other tube-winding/retraction device configurations could be used, including, for example, a spool (not shown) upon which the tubing 9 could be wound.
[0051] Tube-winding/retraction device 8 would be provided to allow a patient to adjust the length of IV tube 9 . In the exemplary embodiment, a locking button 11 and a release button 30 would be provided on the tube-winding/retraction device 8 . Pressing locking button 11 on tube-winding/retraction device 8 would lock IV tube 9 at a desired length by griping the tube 9 , but not obstructing the flow of fluid through the tube 9 . Pressing release button 30 would release locking button 11 so that the IV tube 9 can be lengthened or shortened and then locked again so that there is no tension pulling on IV tube 9 . Providing tube-winding/retraction device 8 would allow a patient to adjust the length of the IV tubing 9 to suit the patient's needs. For example, the IV tubing 9 could be retracted to a short length when the patient is carrying the carrying case 12 with the telescoping pole 3 in a collapsed state, such as is depicted, e.g., in FIG. 2 . When the patient is sitting with, e.g., the carrying case 12 on the ground and extends telescoping pole 3 , the patient would release the locking button 11 by pressing release button 30 so that the IV tubing 9 could be extended.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section of the exemplary telescoping pole 3 in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the exemplary telescoping pole 3 would be spring loaded with spring 23 . In the exemplary embodiment, telescoping pole 3 would be held in a fully collapsed position, and as depicted in FIG. 3 , the spring 23 would be held in a fully compressed position, by spring-loaded button 1 extending through apertures 4 , 5 , and 6 .
[0053] Returning to FIG. 1 , in the exemplary embodiment, an aperture 10 would be provided in side 29 of carrying case 12 . In the exemplary embodiment, aperture 10 would be approximately ¾ inch in diameter. IV tubing 9 would be inserted through aperture 10 from inside compartment 18 to the patient.
[0054] In the exemplary embodiment, the carrying case 12 would weigh approximately five (5) pounds when loaded with all of the IV equipment, including a small pump 21 , needed to intravenously deliver fluids. Such an apparatus would provide a convenient, lightweight fluid delivery system for the patient. The personal compartment 17 of the exemplary embodiment would provide storage for personal items thereby reducing the need for the patient to carry additional bags. The exemplary embodiment of the present invention would thus provide portable, compact, disguised and convenient intravenous fluid delivery for highly mobile patients receiving IV fluids who wish to engage in everyday activities.
[0055] In order to administer fluid delivery, the IV bag 7 would be hung from one side of the double-sided “J”-shaped hook 2 which is attached to the telescoping pole 3 . The IV tube 9 would be attached to IV bag 7 at nozzle 28 . The IV tube 9 would be connected to the small fluid regulation pump 21 . The fluid regulation pump 21 would be hung from the other side of the double-sided “J”-shaped hook 2 . The IV tube 9 would then be threaded through the tube-winding device 8 and adjusted to the desired length. The IV tube 9 would then be threaded through aperture 10 in side 29 of the carrying case 12 for attachment to an intravenous needle for insertion into a patient in an appropriate manner.
[0056] Telescoping pole 3 could be fully collapsed and the IV tubing 9 retracted so that a patient can carry the carrying case 12 . Telescoping pole 3 could be fully extended and the IV tubing could be extended so that a patient can place the carrying case 12 on the ground or other stationary positions. In either the fully collapsed position, such as is depicted in FIG. 2 , or in the fully extended position, such as is depicted in FIG. 1 , the exemplary embodiment would be capable of delivering fluid intravenously.
[0057] If a patient that is connected to the exemplary embodiment for intravenous fluid delivery wanted to sit or stay in a stationary position, the patient would first open zipper 13 to open compartment 18 . The patient would then reach into compartment 18 and press release button 30 on the tube-winding/retraction device 8 to allow release and extension of the IV tube 9 . The patient could place the carrying case 12 , for example, on the ground. In order to fully extend the telescoping pole 3 , the patient would then press the spring-loaded button 1 to enable the compressed spring 23 to raise the telescoping pole 3 to its maximum height. When the telescoping pole 3 has reached its maximum height, spring loaded buttons 31 , 32 , and 33 would open through apertures 4 , 5 and 6 , respectively, in tubular members 25 , 26 , and 27 , respectively, thereby locking the telescoping pole 3 in its fully extended position.
[0058] Depending on the particular medical fluid application, it may be possible to turn the pump 21 off when the telescoping pole 3 is fully extended—that is because some medical fluid delivery systems can work on the basis of gravity alone when the height of the medical fluid delivery bag 7 is sufficiently higher than the point of fluid delivery into the body of a patient.
[0059] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0060] As depicted in FIG. 5 , instead of using a telescoping pole 3 as was used in the exemplary embodiment (see FIG. 1 ) on which to mount an IV bag 7 and a fluid regulation pump 21 , the alternative exemplary embodiment uses a stationary tubular member 50 on which to mount an IV bag 7 and a fluid regulation pump 21 ,
[0061] As depicted in FIG. 5 , in the alternative exemplary embodiment, a double-sided “J” shaped hook 2 would be provided. In the alternative exemplary embodiment, the double-sided “J” shaped hook 2 would be made of a strong metal with a length of approximately 4 inches and would be affixed to the top of the stationary tubular member 50 by means of two vertical posts 22 .
[0062] As depicted in FIG. 5 , in the alternative exemplary embodiment, a tube-winding/retraction device 8 would be provided. As with the exemplary embodiment, in the alternative exemplary embodiment, the tube-winding device 8 would measure approximately 4 inches in diameter and approximately 1 inch wide.
[0063] In the alternative exemplary embodiment, four identical telescoping legs 70 (two telescoping legs 70 are depicted in FIG. 5 —one fully expanded; one collapsed) would be provided. In the alternative exemplary embodiment, the telescoping legs 70 would be made out of a lightweight plastic or aluminum. In the alternative exemplary embodiment, a telescoping leg 70 would be inserted through each floor aperture 51 , 52 , 53 , and 54 as depicted in FIG. 5 on the bottom 20 of the carrying case 12 .
[0064] Each of the four telescoping legs 70 would comprise a plurality of tubular members, e.g., 27 , 26 , 25 , and 24 as depicted in FIG. 5 . That is, the telescoping legs 70 of the alternative exemplary embodiment, would be similar to the telescoping pole 3 of the exemplary embodiment, including spring-loaded buttons, e.g., 1 , 31 , 32 , and 33 (not visible in FIG. 5 ), apertures , e.g., 4 , 5 , and 6 (not visible in FIG. 5 ), outwardly flared ridges, 24 a , 25 a , and 26 a (not visible in FIG. 5 ), and inward detents 25 b , 26 b , and 27 b (not visible in FIG. 5 ), to lock the legs 70 in their extended position and/or in their collapsed positions.
[0065] In the alternative exemplary embodiment, each telescoping leg 70 would be extended to raise carrying case 12 when such a raised position was preferred by the patient, such as when the patient wanted to remain in a stationary period for some time.
[0066] In the alternative exemplary embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 5 , circular piece 64 would be provided. Circular piece 64 would be attached to the bottom of tubular member 24 of each telescoping leg 70 . Circular piece 64 would be provided to increase the surface area between the carrying case 12 and the ground when the telescoping legs 70 are extended for more stability. In the alternative exemplary embodiment, circular piece 64 would have a rubber tread on the bottom so as to further stabilize the raised carrying case 12 and create a non-slip surface.
[0067] In the alternative exemplary embodiment, base tubular member 27 would be provided with an outwardly flared ridge 60 to prevent base tubular member from dislodging from its respective aperture 51 , 52 , 53 , or 54 when the telescoping leg 70 is extended.
[0068] When the telescoping legs 70 are collapsed, such as the telescoping leg 70 pictured in aperture 52 in FIG. 5 , base tubular member 27 slides inside compartment 18 of the carrying case 12 . In the alternative exemplary embodiment, base tubular member 27 would be provided with an outwardly flared ridge 61 to prevent base tubular member from dislodging inside compartment 18 from its respective aperture 51 , 52 , 53 , or 54 when the telescoping leg 70 is collapsed.
[0069] In the alternative exemplary embodiment, when each telescoping leg 70 is collapsed, the telescoping leg 70 will lock in its collapsed position, as was explained for telescoping pole 3 in the exemplary embodiment, with spring-loaded button 1 locking through apertures 4 , 5 and 6 .
[0070] FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the exterior bottom 20 ′ of the alternative exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the alternative exemplary embodiment, a rotatable clip 62 would be fastened by a brad 63 to the exterior bottom 20 ′ of the carrying case 12 near each telescoping leg 70 . When a telescoping leg 70 is collapsed into compartment 18 , the rotatable clip 62 nearest that telescoping leg 70 could be rotated so that the clip 62 covers a portion of the outwardly flared ridge 61 , to prevent the base tubular member 27 from sliding out of the compartment 18 . As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, alternative means other than a rotatable clip 62 fastened with a brad 63 for preventing the telescoping leg from sliding out the compartment 18 could be provided without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0071] As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, dimensions, materials, and component sizes other than those mentioned above in describing the exemplary and alternative exemplary embodiments could be used without varying from the spirit of the invention.
[0072] As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, other features and characteristics of the present invention are depicted or are implicit in the accompanying figures and above-provided description.
[heading-0073] Facsimile Reproduction of Copyright Material
[0074] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection by the copyright owner, Michelle Gaster, or her successors or assigns. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
[heading-0075] Illustrative Embodiments
[0076] Although this invention has been described in certain specific embodiments, many additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. Thus, the embodiments of the invention described herein should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention to be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents rather than the foregoing description. | The exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide an apparatus for concealed transport of a medical fluid administration device. The medical fluid administration device would be capable of infusing medical fluids to, or collecting medical fluids from, as the case may be, the body of a patient during concealed transport. The exemplary apparatus would comprise one or more of the following: a stand disposed within a carrying case, said stand capable of being extended during stationary use or collapsed during ambulatory use; a medical fluid pump disposed within the carrying case, said pump capable of delivering or collecting medical fluids during concealed transport within the carrying case; and a tubing retraction device for engaging tubing for delivery of medical fluids to, or collection of medical fluids from, a body of a patient. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a fence-like partition for an inside of a house, more particularly to such a partition having a gate, and specifically to an in-house gated partition or safety barrier that is height adjustable along the entire length of the partition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A gate for the inside of a house may be placed at the top of a staircase, at the bottom of a staircase, at the entry way to the kitchen, at the exits to a living room, or at some other location in the house to control access to and from certain areas of the house. Some gates are big. Other gates are small. However, families change. Children grow. Dogs have puppies. Thus, over time, different gates are purchased and some gates are stored in the garage, never to be used again.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A feature of the present invention is the provision in height adjustable barrier, of a lower barrier section having a lower set of lower vertically extending support members and an upper barrier section having an upper set of upper vertically extending support members, with each of the upper vertically extending support members aligned with and slideably engaging one of the lower vertically extending support members.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of a gate in the lower and upper barrier sections.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in a such a height adjustable barrier, of a release connection between at least one vertically extending support member and the lower vertically extending support member with which said at least one vertically extending support member is aligned, wherein said quick release connection fixes the lower barrier section relative to the upper barrier section such that the lower barrier section is not slideable relative to the upper barrier section until the quick release connection is released.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of a gate lower barrier section having a lower set of lower vertically extending support members and a gate upper barrier section having a upper set of upper vertically extending support members, with each of the upper vertically extending support members of the gate upper barrier section aligned with and slideably engaging one of the lower vertically extending support members of the gate lower barrier section.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of one of said lower and upper vertically extending support members including a tube and the other of said lower and upper vertically extending support members being slideable in said tube.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of a pincher or pinch mechanism between at least one pair of the pairs of lower and upper vertically extending support members that are paired with each other such that the upper and lower barrier sections are slideable vertically relative to each other when the pincher is engaged and are not slideable vertically relative to each other when the pincher is disengaged.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of a slippery sleeve between at least some of the pairs of upper and lower vertically extending support members to enhance slideability between the upper and lower barrier sections.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of another lower barrier section and another upper barrier section, with said lower barrier sections being engaged to each other, and with said upper barrier sections being engaged to each other, such that the height adjustable barrier is extendable in length or lateral direction.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision in such a height adjustable barrier, of a lower horizontally extending support member engaging and spacing apart lower vertically extending support members, of an upper horizontally extending support member engaging and spacing apart upper vertically extending support members, and of a medial horizontally extending support member engaging one of the lower and upper barrier sections and engaging and spacing apart the vertically extending support members of such barrier section.
An advantage of the present invention is that the barrier is adjustable in height. The height adjustable barrier may be placed at a certain height pursuant to a particular place in the house, pursuant to a particular family having infants, small children or teenagers, or pursuant to other factors. Moreover, as children or dogs grow, a new gate need not be purchased.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the gate in the height adjustable barrier is adjustable in height along with, and at the same time as, all sections of the barrier or barriers.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the height adjustable barrier is also adjustable in length to reach between relatively narrow or relatively wide doorways or points of access.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the height adjustable barrier is quickly, readily and easily adjustable in height.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the height adjustable barrier is safe and sturdy whether the barrier is in a lowered position or a raised position. One feature contributing to this advantage is the relatively long or relatively elongated overlap between the upper and lower vertically extending support members when the barrier is in the raised position. Another feature contributing to this advantage is the provision of a sleeve between the upper and vertically extending support members that permits a true and tight fit between the upper and lower vertically extending support members while permitting an easy and relatively slippery sliding between the upper and lower vertically extending support members. Another feature contributing to this advantage is the medial horizontally extending support member disposed between the upper and lower horizontally extending support members.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the height adjustable barrier is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the height adjustable barrier may be set at an infinite number of heights. The vertically extending support members are slideable relative to each other and are thus incrementally adjustable relative to each other.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present gated height adjustable barrier.
FIG. 2 is a perspective, partial view of the gated height adjustable barrier of FIG. 1 , showing raised and lowered positions of the upper barrier section.
FIG. 3 is a detail, side, partially section view, at lines 3 - 3 of FIG. 1 , of a quick release connection or pincher for one pair of vertically extending support members of the height adjustable barrier of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a perspective, detail view of an end portion of the gated height adjustable barrier of FIG. 1 engaging a track mounted on a door frame or frame of a point of access.
FIG. 5 is a detail, side, partially section view, at lines 5 - 5 of FIG. 1 , of the upper end portion of the barrier of FIG. 1 and further shows how the barrier can engage relatively narrow points of access or relatively wide points of access.
FIG. 6 is a side, partial view of the gated height adjustable barrier of FIG. 1 that further includes a barrier extension having upper, lower, and medial horizontally extending support members and upper and lower vertically extending support members.
FIG. 7 is a detail, side, partially section view, at lines 7 - 7 of FIG. 1 , showing a slippery sleeve that permits easy sliding of the upper and lower vertically extending support members and that contributes to the stability of the upper and lower vertically extending support members relative to each other.
DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows a gated height adjustable barrier 12 . Barrier 12 includes a lower barrier section 16 and an upper barrier section 18 . Barrier 12 includes a height direction, a length direction, and a width direction, with all such directions being normal to each of the other two directions.
Lower barrier section 16 includes a lower horizontally extending support member 20 . Member 20 is a metal tube, generally rectangular in section. Member 20 includes, at each of its end portions, a through hole 21 extending through member 20 in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 6 , member 20 can receive a pin connector 22 for engaging a height adjustable barrier 24 that does not include a gate. Member 20 further includes at and centered in each of its end faces, a threaded opening extending in the length direction for engaging a horizontally adjustable extension 25 .
Lower barrier section 16 further includes a set of lower vertically extending support members 26 engaged to, such as by welding, the lower horizontally extending support member 20 . Each of the lower vertically extending support members 26 engage therein an upper vertically extending support member 27 depending from the upper barrier section 18 .
Lower vertically extending support member 26 is tubular and includes an upper open end 28 , as shown in FIG. 7 . Two of the lower vertically extending support members 26 confront opposite sides of a swingable gate 30 . As shown in FIG. 1 , these two members 26 are indicated by reference numbers 32 , 34 and can be referred to as lower vertically extending base support members 32 , 34 . These base support members 32 , 34 are rectangular in section and are relatively large, and are about the size of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 . Two other of the lower vertically extending support members 26 are indicated by reference numbers 36 , 38 and can be referred to as lower vertically extending end support members 36 , 38 . End support members 36 , 38 are cylindrical in shape.
Lower barrier section 16 further includes a lower gate barrier section 40 having a lower horizontally extending gate support member 42 , and a set of lower vertically extending support members 26 , of which two are gate end support members 44 , 46 and of which the remaining four are inner cylindrical support members 48 . Support members 44 , 46 are generally square in section. Gate end support member 44 has a downwardly projecting tab 50 , shown in FIG. 6 , that confronts and makes contact with a side face of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 to stop the gate 30 from swinging fully through a plane of the barrier 12 . Gate end support member 46 is pivotally joined along a vertical axis at a lower end to horizontally extending support member 20 such that gate 30 swings on such vertical axis defined generally by gate end support member 46 .
Lower barrier section 16 further includes first, second and third medial horizontally extending support members 52 , 54 , 56 . First and second end members 52 , 54 are disposed at the ends of the lower barrier section 16 and third member 56 is disposed therebetween in the gate 30 . Support members 52 , 54 , 56 are disposed in line or on a straight line with each other. Each of the members 52 , 54 , 56 fixedly engages the upper ends or end portions of their respective lower vertically extending support members 26 and spaces such members 26 apart from each other such that members 26 remain parallel to each other. Members 52 , 54 , 56 take the shape of an inverted U in section and include bracing 58 , 60 , shown in FIG. 7 . Bracing 58 extends widthwise or from side face to side face of the members 52 , 54 , 56 . Bracing 60 extends lengthwise such as between bracing members 58 and between bracing 58 and a cylindrical receptor 62 that frictionally engages the upper end or upper end portion of lower vertically extending support member 26 . Members 52 , 54 , 56 are one-piece and integral with bracing 58 , bracing 60 and cylindrical receptors 62 .
Upper barrier section 18 includes first, second and third upper horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 , 68 . Members 64 , 66 , 68 are preferably aligned with each other in a straight line. Members 66 and 68 , tied together with extension 100 , are raised and lowered together when pinchers 86 are operated. Member 64 is raised and lowered independently of members 66 and 68 , regardless of whether latch 102 is engaged or disengaged.
Each of the upper vertically extending support members 27 is now described more particularly. Members 64 and 66 are disposed on outer ends of the barrier 12 and have outer cylindrical tubes 70 , 72 depending therefrom. Tubes 70 , 72 slide vertically inside of respective tubes 36 , 38 of lower barrier section 16 . Members 64 , 66 further have inner gate confronting tubes 74 , 76 depending therefrom. Tubes 74 , 76 are rectangular in section and slide vertically inside of respective tubes 32 , 34 of lower barrier section 16 . Member 68 have outer tubes 78 , 80 depending therefrom. Tubes 78 , 80 are generally square in section and slide vertically inside of respective tubes 44 and 46 . Member 68 further includes a set of four cylindrical tubes 82 depending therefrom. Tubes 82 slide vertically inside of tubes 48 . Tubes 78 , 80 , 82 can be referred to as gate vertically extending support members.
In other words, upper barrier section 18 includes a set of upper vertically extending support members 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 and 82 engaged to, such as by welding, their respective upper horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 , 68 . These upper vertically extending support members 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 and 82 are generally referred to as upper vertically extending support members 27 . The lower vertically extending support members 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , 44 , 46 and 48 are generally referred to as lower vertically extending support members 26 .
Each of the upper and lower vertically extending support members 26 , 27 is a shaft in the nature of a tube or rod and is preferably a tube to minimize barrier weight. Upper vertically extending support members 27 slideably engage their respective lower vertically extending support members 26 so as to slideably engage the lower barrier section 16 to the upper barrier section 18 .
As shown in FIG. 7 , some of the upper open ends 28 of lower vertically extending support members 26 include an insert or sleeve 84 for engaging its respective upper vertically extending support members 27 . Sleeve 84 may include a relatively wide annular integral portion that rests upon the top of vertically extending support member 26 and a relatively narrow annular integral portion that extends in an elongated fashion below the relatively wide annular integral portion. Sleeve 84 spaces the paired lower and upper vertically extending support members 26 and 27 from each other such that the members 26 and 27 do not rub against one another. The vertically running opening in sleeve 84 has a surface that is manufactured or coated or that has a composition to be slippery such that members 26 and 27 are readily slideable relative to each other. Sleeve 84 is fixed within the open end 28 in a rigid or friction fit fashion such that sleeve 84 does not pop or ride out of open end 28 when the members 26 and 27 slide relative to each other.
Sleeve 84 is not utilized where a pincher 86 is used. As shown in FIG. 3 , pincher 86 includes a cylindrical first portion 88 that frictionally fits upon an upper end of one of the lower vertically extending support members 26 , namely, tubes 36 , 72 and one of the tubes 48 . Each of these vertically extending support members 36 , 72 , 48 extends a short way beyond the upper face of its respective medial horizontal support member 52 , 54 , 56 to permit such cylindrical portion 88 to be capped upon its upper end. At this point, it should be noted that the upper ends of the other lower vertically extending support members 26 terminate within the medial horizontal support member 52 , 54 , 56 , as shown in FIG. 7 . Cylindrical first portion 88 includes, in the nature of sleeve 84 , a vertically extending through opening that receives upper vertically extending support member 27 in a slippery sliding fashion.
Pincher 86 further has a threaded second portion 90 extending upwardly and integrally from cylindrical first portion 88 . Pincher 86 further includes a slotted tapered third portion 92 extending upwardly and integrally from threaded second portion 90 . Third portion 92 includes a set of four vertically extending slots 94 disposed at ninety degrees relative to each other. Pincher 86 further includes a pinching collar 96 rotatably mounted on vertically extending support member 27 . Pinching collar 96 has inner threads that engaged threaded second portion 90 and further includes a tapered inner surface that circumferentially engages tapered slotted portion 92 to reduce the width of slots 94 and thus the diameter of portion 92 such that portion 92 circumferentially grabs and frictionally holds member 27 relative to member 26 . The tapered features of pinching collar 96 and third portion 92 permit a fixing of members 26 and 27 with each other to a relatively greater or lesser degree in an incremental manner such that, for example, the height of the upper barrier section 18 can be temporarily set with a medium degree of drag produced by slotted portion 92 . Then, when the desired height is ascertained, the pinching collar 96 is fully turned such that slotted portion 92 produces a relatively high amount of drag to a point where the upper and lower barrier sections 16 , 18 are locked relative to each other.
Pincher 86 controls the length of insertion of member 27 into member 26 . Pincher 86 and its portions 88 , 90 , 92 include a through opening that functions in the nature of sleeve 84 . Pinching collar 96 and second portion 90 include interacting helical threads. Slot 94 can be referred to as a generally axially extending slot. Slot 94 permits width-wise expansion and contraction or radial expansion and contraction or diametrical expansion and contraction of the slotted portion 92 . Portion 92 is contracted when pinching collar 96 is threaded onto portion 90 . The inner through opening of pinching collar 96 is tapered so as to decrease in radius from a lower portion to an upper portion. With such a tapering, portion 92 is incrementally contracted or squeezed to as to incrementally apply greater and greater pressure upon upper vertically extending support member 27 when pinching collar 96 is screwed onto portion 90 . When pinching collar 96 is screwed off portion 90 , portion 92 incrementally expands and the engagement between portion 92 and vertically extending support member 27 is loosened such that the lower and upper vertically extending support members 26 and 27 slide relatively freely relative to each other. Slot 94 is open ended and runs out of an upper end of portion 92 .
Barrier 12 includes the gate 30 . Gate 30 includes a portion of the lower barrier section 16 and a portion of the upper barrier section 18 . More specifically, gate 30 includes the lower horizontally extending gate support member 42 , the upper horizontally extending support member 68 , gate end vertically extending support member 44 , gate end vertically extending support member 46 , vertically extending square gate tubes 78 and 80 that slide vertically in support members 44 and 46 respectively, medial horizontally extending support member 56 , four gate inner cylindrical and tubular support members 48 , four inner cylindrical tubes 82 sliding vertically in the support members 48 , and one or more pinchers 86 .
Gate 30 is pivotally engaged via the lower horizontally extending gate support member 42 to the lower horizontally extending support member 20 at a location 98 near the juncture of the support member 42 and gate end support member 46 . Gate 30 is pivotally engaged via upper horizontally extending support member 68 to an extension or strip 100 protruding from upper horizontally extending support member 66 . Swinging of the gate 30 extends to one side of the barrier 12 only. Swinging of the gate 30 to the other side is prevented by tab 50 that confronts a side of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 . In other words, the barrier 12 generally defines a plane and the gate 30 swings out of the plane to one side of the plane, and back into the plane, but not to the other side of the plane, since the gate 30 is restricted by the tab 50 hitting the side of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 .
Gate 30 further includes a latch 102 having generally four parts. Latch 102 includes a body 104 that is rigidly secured to upper horizontally extending support member 68 , vertically extending square tube 78 and its adjacent cylindrical tube 82 . Latch 102 further includes a lock 106 that slidingly engages upper horizontally support member 68 . Latch 102 further includes a handle arm 108 that pivotally engages the body 104 . The latch 102 further includes a generally U-shaped piece 110 that captures both sides of a portion of vertically extending support member 74 and a portion of horizontally extending support member 64 . U-shaped piece 110 slidingly engages the body 104 and is drawn to and away from members 64 , 74 by handle arm 108 that includes tabs that ride in vertically oriented slots formed in U-shaped piece 110 . It can be appreciated that U-shaped piece 110 has a length slightly longer on one side than an opposite side such that U-shaped piece 110 , even when fully drawn in by handle arm 108 , remains in a confronting position with one side of member 64 and one side of member 74 (which sides are coplanar) such that U-shaped piece 110 performs an upper confronting function in the manner (and on the same side of the barrier 12 ) that tab 50 performs a lower confronting function. Lock 106 via an upper ridge normally prevents a swinging upwardly of handle arm 108 . To operate handle arm 108 , lock 106 is slid away from body 104 and then the handle arm 108 can be swung upwardly.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , barrier 12 further includes a guide track or slide 112 and a rider or upper extension 114 extending from both of the ends 115 of horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 . Rider or extension 114 includes a threaded shaft 116 having rigidly affixed thereto a rider head or slide head or disk 118 such that turning of the head 118 turns the shaft 116 . Shaft 116 is threadingly engaged with an opening in the ends 115 of the horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 such that the head 118 can be set at greater or lesser distances from the ends of the horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 . Shaft 116 turns on an axis common with the axis of the horizontally extending support members 64 , 66 . Rider 114 further includes a relatively large hand manipulated locking nut 120 that threadingly engages the shaft 116 . Nut 120 , when turned and one face is set against end 115 , or when turned and the other face is set against track 112 , rigidly fixes shaft 116 from being turned and thereby sets the head 118 at a given distance from end 115 .
Track 112 is mounted on a wall or other vertical surface 122 via one or more pin connectors 124 . Track 112 is generally C-shaped and includes a slot 126 for reception of the shaft 116 . Slot 126 has a width greater than or equal to the diameter of the shaft 116 and less than the diameter of the head 118 so as to retain the head 118 in the track or guide member 112 and, at the same time, permit smooth vertical sliding of the head 118 in the track 112 . Track 112 and slot 126 have an open upper end 128 .
As shown in FIG. 1 , barrier 12 further includes the horizontally adjustable lower extension 25 . This can also be referred to as a pressurizing extension 25 . Extension 25 includes the structure shown in FIG. 5 . In other words, extension 25 includes the threaded shaft 116 having rigidly affixed thereto a head or disk 118 such that turning of the head 118 turns the shaft 116 . Shaft 116 is threadingly engaged with an opening in ends of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 such that the head 118 can be set at greater or lesser distances from the ends of the lower horizontally extending support member 20 . Shaft 116 turns on an axis common with the axis of the lower horizontally extending support member 25 . Extension 25 further includes the relatively large hand manipulated locking nut 120 that threadingly engages the shaft 116 . Nut 120 is first turned against the inner face of head 118 such that the head 118 can be turned or screwed inwardly or outwardly. By turning head 118 such that the length of extension 25 is extended, lower horizontal support member 20 can be pressure mounted between two walls 112 when both heads 118 are turned into and against both walls 112 . The relatively large roughened circumference of nut 120 allows for a relatively easy fixing, under pressure, of the heads 118 and hence the lower portion of the barrier 12 between two vertical surfaces 112 . Then, if desired, the nut 120 can be turned back the other way to fix the other face of the nut 120 against the end of the lower horizontal support member 20 to lock the shaft 116 or fix the shaft 116 from turning.
It should be noted that, if desired, the lower barrier section 16 may be engaged to vertical surface 122 with a guide track or slide 112 and a rider or upper extension 114 .
The barrier extension 24 is shown in FIG. 6 . This barrier extension 24 includes a lower horizontally extending support member 132 , a medial horizontally extending support member 134 , and a set of three vertically extending support members or vertically running cylindrical tubes 136 fixed between the members 132 , 134 . Barrier extension 24 further includes an upper horizontally extending support member 138 with a set of three vertically extending support members or vertically running cylindrical tubes 140 depending therefrom. Tubes 140 slide vertically in tubes 136 . A pincher 86 is engaged between the pair of middle tubes 136 , 140 and the other two pairs of tubes 136 , 140 include the sleeve 84 . Barrier extension 24 further includes a lower receptor 142 and an upper receptor 144 extending respectively from the lower and upper horizontally support members 132 , 138 . Receptors 142 , 144 are C-shaped and engage the upper and side faces of end portions of the lower and upper horizontally extending support members 20 and 64 (or 66 ) of main barrier 12 with pin connectors 22 .
FIG. 6 further shows that barrier 12 can include upper and lower pressurizing extensions 25 on each of the upper and lower horizontally extending support members 138 , 132 (or on members 64 and 20 , or on members 66 and 20 ). That is, the track or guide member 112 need not be included such that barrier 12 utilizes pressurizing extensions 25 at four locations, with two pressurizing extensions 25 disposed on each of the sides (or ends) of the barrier 12 , where one each side (or end) each of a lower and upper pressurizing extension 25 is used. This is in contrast to the preferred embodiment, where a pair of pressurizing extensions 25 are used for a lower engagement of the lower barrier section 16 to a pair of vertical surfaces 122 and where a pair of track 112 and rider 114 combinations are used for an upper engagement of the upper barrier section 18 to a pair of vertical surfaces 122 .
In operation, tracks 112 are fixed to opposing vertical surfaces 122 . Then shafts 116 are turned in or out to increase or decrease an effective length (or width) of barrier 12 such that the respective heads 118 can drop into respective open ends 128 . Then locking nuts 120 are fixed to either the track 112 or end 115 to fix the shafts 116 at the appropriate lengths. Then, or prior to the time of adjusting the length of shafts 116 , the lower horizontal extensions 25 are turned out so as to fix the lower barrier section 16 securely in place between the opposing vertical surfaces 122 . Then, as shown in FIG. 2 , the pinchers 86 are loosened to permit sliding of the upper barrier section 18 relative to the lower barrier section 16 . During this sliding, the heads 18 ride up and down in the tracks 112 . At the desired height, the pinchers 86 are tightened. The pinchers 86 are tightened when the upper barrier section 18 is in a raised position, such as shown in FIG. 2 in phantom, when the upper barrier section 18 is in a lowered position, such as shown in FIG. 2 , and when the upper barrier section 18 is at any position between the shown raised and lowered positions. Gate 30 is openable and closeable when the upper barrier section 18 is in any raised, lowered, or in-between position.
It should be noted that gate 30 includes a latching end or support member 44 that swings in an arc. Upper vertically extending support member 32 of the upper barrier section 18 opposes the latching end 44 . The height adjustable barrier 12 includes an operating configuration, such as between vertical surfaces 122 , and a storable configuration such as where the barrier 12 is laid flat and is not engaged between any two vertical surfaces 122 . The latching end 44 is spaced a given distance from the upper vertically extending support member 32 in each of the operating and storable configurations such that the gate 30 is not a pressure gate. A pressure gate may be a pressure gate where a barrier section, with which a gate barrier section swings into and out of engagement, has vertically extending support members slightly off parallel with vertically extending support members of the gate barrier section. Here, upper horizontally extending support member 64 , medial horizontally extending support member 52 , lower horizontally extending support member 20 , vertically extending support members 32 , 36 , 70 , and 74 can be referred to an end barrier section. Such end barrier section has vertically extending support members 26 , 27 that remain at all times parallel to the vertically extending support members 26 , 27 of the gate barrier section 30 whether the barrier section 12 is fixed between two vertical surfaces 122 in an operating configuration or whether the barrier section 12 is in a stored configuration and laid flat.
Thus since the invention disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims are intended to be embraced therein. | A barrier or partition for the inside of a house having upper and lower barrier sections that are adjustable relative to each other such that the barrier as a whole is adjustable in height. The upper and lower barrier sections have paired vertically extending support members that slide relative to each other. At least one pair of vertically extending support members have a pincher or pincher mechanism that squeezes upon one of the vertically extending support members to fix the vertically extending support members in a nonsliding fashion relative to each other. The barrier includes a gate that also includes upper and lower sections and paired vertically extending support members that slide relative to each other. Further upper and lower sections, with or without gates, may be laterally attached or detached to increase or decrease a length of the barrier. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] Not Applicable.
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX
[0003] Not Applicable
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention relates to wearable wireless communication devices and methods of utilizing such devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Every day millions of people engage in activities where their bodies are exposed to risks of varying intensity and cause, either external or due to underlying medical conditions. These risks may limit one's ability or desire to perform tasks such as those related to common everyday living, occupational functions or for the purposes of recreation.
[0006] It is generally recognized that in cases of a medical emergency those with an underlying medical conditions often wear or carry medical identification jewelry or information cards to facilitate medical care in the case of medical emergency or other events. Such devices are useful for the purposes of providing valuable information about the wearer in case of an event that would require medical attention. However such solutions are merely an informational queue for persons attempting to assist the wearer such as a first-responder, emergency medical technician, paramedic or simply a member of the general public acting in the capacity of a Good Samaritan. Furthermore, the amount of information such devices may hold, often in a non-digital, human-observable form, is limited by the small form-factor.
[0007] Other devices available in the prior art surrounding the addressing of medical response needs are available in the form of a help-call button mounted at strategic points within a facility or home. Alternatively, such devices may be worn and activated by the user or other persons assisting the wearer in order to summon emergency medical service personnel. The problem with such solutions stem from the need for activation that may occur following an event which prevents the user from being able to perform such actions. Furthermore, although previous medical information may be available, actionable data pertaining to the current event is unavailable to provide summoned medical personnel. Further still, such permit little mobility in the sense that the help-call buttons are typically hard wired or, in the case of the user-worn variety, offer a limited range of communication.
[0008] There are several commercially available medical data storage applications that are configured as jewelry or clothing elements and allow a wearer or emergency responders to access medical records stored within said applications. Additionally, there are several applications configured to allow a wearer to signal the emergency responders and summon assistance. However, there is a lack of a practical application configured with sensors and reporting means to alert the wearer or the emergency responders of a sensor-detected condition exceeding a predetermined threshold and predicted to present a medically urgent condition, and further configured to communicate the wearer data and information to the emergency responders.
[0009] Other devices in the prior art surrounding the need for notification to family members, caretakers, and other intended recipients in the case of need for assistance such as in an emergency revolve permit a nearly unlimited range by providing communication to a centralized service by means of satellite communication. These devices, however, provide a user a limited selection of communication options stemming from a series of pre-written messages by the user to be sent when the user actuates one of a series of buttons. Furthermore, some devices known in the prior art also require a substantially clear view of the sky, limiting the application of such a device to outdoors and away from large structures.
DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0010] FIG. 1A . Preferred embodiment of the Identification Device
[0011] FIG. 1B . Preferred embodiment of the open Identification Device
[0012] FIG. 2 . Identification Device embodiment on wrist
[0013] FIG. 3 Identification Device alternative embodiment
[0014] FIG. 4 Diagram of Embodiment of Communication System Related to Wearable Device
[0015] FIG. 5A Flowchart of Communicative Steps Taken in Association with Storage of and Access to Data in Embodiment of System
[0016] FIG. 5B Flowchart of Communicative Steps Taken in Association with Delivery of Notification to Third Party in Embodiment of System
[0017] FIG. 5C Flowchart of Communicative Steps Taken in Association with Delivery of Geolocation Information to Third Party in Embodiment of System
NUMERICAL REFERENCES IN FIGURES
[0000]
1 . Identification Device (“ID”) embodiment
2 . Long-Range Communications (“LRC”) device or cellular phone embodiment.
3 . Remote Information and Communications Center embodiment
4 . Emergency Medical Service (“EMR”)
11 . RF Transmitter
12 . Networked Data Center embodiment
13 . Mobile Software Application embodiment
14 . Clasp Embodiment
15 . Button Embodiment
16 . ID tag Embodiment
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an apparatus and preferred method of using said apparatus to create a portable diagnostic reporting system configured with data storage, sensors, processing, and transmission means to notify intended recipients of collected and prewritten user data. Generally, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a system and method implemented in situations where an individual or a plurality of users of an identification and data storage device discussed herein, recognize the value of the transmission of prerecorded information or collected data to recipients.
[0029] The preferred embodiment of the invention is intended as an identification device providing a means to store and record user data, detection of a physiological event, means to alert the user of event occurrence, and a means of communication of the event occurrence and wearer's data to a communication device, such as a mobile telephone, to enable communication of collected and stored data to intended recipients.
[0030] Furthermore, embodiments of the invention are configured to employ direct-to-mobile communications devices to report the user's data and more specifically to store and transmit the data and alert local area recipients/responders of useful personal information or access to important health or contact information in the case of an emergency, or in the case of, for example, other adverse biometric, climatic, atmospheric or battlefield conditions as intended by the user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DEFINITIONS
[0000]
MEMS—micro-electric mechanical system.
EEPROM—electrically erasable programmable read-only memory.
BLE—Bluetooth Low Energy
BLEC—Bluetooth Low Energy to Classic Converter
RF—radiofrequency
Cloud Computing—using multiple server computers via a digital network, as though they were one computer.
[0037] A device embodying the inventive principles of the invention comprises a power supply, at least one sensor, a processing unit, memory storage and communication means, solves the problems surrounding providing actionable data to intended recipients who intend to provide assistance to the user of said device. Said device records at least information set relevant to the user and saves it to memory storage. Sets of information include but are not limited to user's physiological and environmental information such as body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration. Enabled by the processing unit, at a predetermined event indicated directly by said information sets or the analysis thereof, the device utilizes the communication means to contact a remote recipient. Said recipient or plurality thereof, includes but is not limited to emergency medical service providers, family members, medical care providers, co-workers or anybody present to provide assistance to the user as necessary. Furthermore, the user may initiate the communication of said information sets manually if it is so desired. Further still, the device may be configured to allow the constant streaming of information sets or permit the request for data by a pre-approved entity such as a user's primary care physician.
[0038] The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an identification device 1 (“ID”),configured as a wearable article such as a piece of jewelry (bracelet, anklet, necklace) or article of clothing, worn by a wearer. Said ID 1 comprises of a power source, a control means, a microprocessor, memory storage, one or more sensing modules, and a means for short-range communication, herein referred to as an SRC, a transceiver, and an interface means. Furthermore, ID 1 is communicatively configured via the SRC with a Long Range Communication device herein referred to as an LRC. An LRC may comprise of a communication device with internet, cellular, or satellite communication connectivity capable of receiving and transmitting information through long range communication protocols including but not limited to cellular network, internet protocol, satellite communications and radio.
[0039] In an embodiment of the invention, the ID comprises of a wrist worn device with a sensor array, power supply, signal processing unit, memory and an SRC module. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that power supply refers to a source of electrical power, such as a battery or a capacitor. Said power source configuration allows the embodiment to be replaced or recharged as necessary. The preferred embodiment of the wrist worn device further comprises a clasp mechanism 14 to accomplish fastening to the wearer's wrist or other clothing or accessories worn by the wearer.
[0040] LRC is configured as a communication device operating with a mobile software application 13 to process signal communications from the ID, and capable of receiving and/or transmitting RF and other wireless communications (E.g. WiFi, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth Low Energy® or other Low Energy technology transmitter such as ANT+® or Zigbee®) in the frequency range of the means for short-range wireless communication 105 , and capable of wired or wireless long-range communications in a manner that allows for communicating with emergency responders or computer networks. The LRC within this embodiment comprises of one of a number of devices including but not limited to a Bluetooth enabled cellular telephone or a portable satellite telephone, capable of data transmission to emergency responders.
[0041] In such embodiment as described in the preceding paragraph, the ID is paired with a specific LRC device, preferably the cellular telephone of the user, user's spouse or a parent if the user of the ID is a child. In an embodiment of the invention, the pairing of the ID to an LRC is enables such that if it is desired, the users may pair a plurality of ID devices to a singular phone, a singular ID to a plurality of phones or a plurality of ID devices to a plurality of LRCs. When communication is initiated, the ID transmits the information to an LRC which is then transmitted to an external system. The external systems include but are not limited remote information and communications centers, 3 rd party EMS services, medical care providers such as a primary care physician and rescue workers.
[0042] Said remote information and communications center 3 , Cloud, comprises of a networked data center capable of receiving communications from the LRC means 12 and processing the data to determine the nature of the event occurrence. Furthermore, the LRC is capable of data storage, including wearer's medical records and personal information, and based on the data contained in the event occurrence communication configured to select optimal EMS 4 . Said optimal EMS being one that is geographically located close to the wearer 1000 and capable of responding to the specific type of event occurrence as detected by the sensor means 104 .
[0043] The preferred embodiment of the device incorporates a button 15 . The button is designed for easy access by the wearer or a third party that comes upon the wearer. Upon pressing the button, the communicative processes described further in the flowcharts included herein as FIG. 5A , FIG. 5B , and FIG. 5C are initiated. A primary purpose of the button is to provide a one step process, namely pressing the button, to initiate processes to deliver important data associated with the wearer to concerned parties, including family, friends and emergency responders. In an embodiment of the invention, an ID tag 16 is incorporated within the design. The ID tag 16 in varying embodiments incorporates personal data about the user, including “Protected Health Information” as that term is described in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In an embodiment, the ID tag 16 is programmable and exchangeable, so that the ID tag 16 may be replaced or reprogrammed with more updated information, to ensure that the information contained within and on the ID tag 16 about the wearer remains up to date. The ID tag 16 may also include human-readable information about the wearer on the exterior casing.
[0044] In one embodiment, the ID paired with an LRC 12 such as a mobile cellular device, is capable of employing the mobile software application 13 in conjunction with mapping and geopositioning mobile software applications, such as those produced by Google, to select an optimal EMS and transmit the wearer's data along with the event occurrence data directly to the selected EMS.
[0045] The memory storage means of the ID 1 being operationally connected to a signal processing unit for receiving, storing, and transmitting (1) data relevant to the wearer, including but not limited to gender, height, weight, age, medical records and other “Personal Health Information” as that term is defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (2) sensor data from sensor module, and (3) communication data relating to transmissions and receptions from the LRC.
[0046] An embodiment of the invention features sensing modules being configured to be external to the ID 1 , where the external configuration features a wearable sensing module communicatively connected to the ID 1 . Said connection being a direct contact (wired) or a wireless connection allowing the sensing module is a removable plug-in attachment, attachable to the ID 1 , enabling the wearer to attach different types of sensors to the ID 1 depending on the risks associated with the intended activity.
[0047] The sensing module further comprises one sensor or a plurality of sensors, preferably a two- or three-axis accelerometer configured to detect linear accelerations, motion, position, and impacts sustained by the wearer. Alternatively, the sensor array may further include but is not limited to the following sensors or a combination thereof; MEMS or piezoelectric accelerometers, force or strain gauges or transducers, force sensing textiles, thermocouples, thermistors, pyrometers, electric potential sensors, microphones, silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor, sensors for climatic data, biometric data, and the presence or chemical particle levels of nerve agents, poisonous gasses, bioweapons, oxygen, and a means for detecting and measuring sonic, percussive and or concussive results of explosions.
[0048] Additionally, the sensing module comprises a signal processor or a multiplicity of signal processors interfaced with the sensing elements of the sensing module. Generally, the signal processor, preferably integrated into the ID processing logic, is configured for any number of functions including filtering low frequency signals and analog to digital or digital to analog signal conversion where appropriate.
[0049] In an embodiment of the invention, the ID 1 , in combination with the sensing module further comprises a central processing unit, data memory buffer, data logger, fixed or removable flash memory unit, configured to receive, process, and record both signals and processed data from sensing module, process said data to determine if a triggering event occurrence has taken place, and if it has, commence an alarm sequence, said alarm sequence being configured to produce audible, visual, and/or tactile alarm utilizing control and interface means of the ID 1 , where the wearer would be alerted to the event occurrence by sounding of an alarm, flashing of lights, or the vibration of the ID. Should the wearer fail to cancel the alarm within a predetermined amount of time (in the preferred embodiment, 10 seconds, though the time period may vary in other embodiments), ID 1 would employ the SRC means to transmit the alarm to the LRC means, which would utilize a mobile software application to employ the audible, visual, and/or tactile means of the LRC to alert the wearer to the alarm, and present the wearer with the option of canceling the alarm via the LRC interface means—having the LRC transmit a “cancel alarm” signal to the ID 1 .
[0050] If the wearer does not cancel the alarm within an additional predetermined period (in the preferred embodiment, 20 seconds, though the time period may vary in other embodiments) utilizing either the ID or the LRC, the ID will transmit a second signal to the LRC, including such information as the wearer's personal information and encrypted medical records data. The LRC will then transmit said signal to either EMS or a Cloud service configured to process said data, determine the type of event occurrence and determine the most appropriate deployment of EMS responders based on the location of the wearer and the event type.
[0051] In an embodiment, the ID may be configured to periodically repeat data transmissions until the confirmation of receipt and or user acknowledgment is received from the LRC upon the expiration of a preset maximum alert time or transmittal attempts, or predetermined time for wearer acknowledgment. The ID is configured to attempt transmitting un-encrypted version of the data to any other LRC equipped with software and processing logic to receive data signals emitted from the ID, where such secondary LRC devices would both alert their users of the event occurrence and automatically pass the alert to the emergency responders, effectively commandeering the secondary LRC to transmit an emergency alarm to the emergency responders. Optionally, the Cloud would store either a duplicate or additional records corresponding to a wearer, providing backup storage and having ability to ensure that the files transmitted to the EMS are not incomplete due to some error in the operation of the ID. In this embodiment, the ID would periodically employ the LRC to synch the files stored on the ID with the files stored on the Cloud service.
[0052] In an embodiment, the ID is configured to receive a data transmission prompt from the LRC device via the RF receiver. Such a prompt would be transmitted from a paired LRC device, conveying predetermined user confirmation and authorization for the ID to transmit data stored on the removable storage memory to the prompting LRC device via the RF transmitter.
[0053] An embodiment features a means for determining the geographic position of the wearer and the ID via either a geopositional detector as a part of the sensing module 104 , or by employing a geopositional means integral to the LRC 2 , where the ID communicatively paired with a RF capable global positioning system (“GPS”), periodically updates the wearer's data with the location and the time of the update by sending an inquiry to the GPS device and receiving the location data. Alternatively, the LRC 2 is configured with a software application that attaches the geopositional data from a LRC integral GPS to any message sent to EMS.
[0054] In an embodiment, the ID 1 additionally comprises a RF transmitter, or transceiver communicatively interfaced with the processing unit, data memory buffer, data logger, and the flash memory unit to allow for transmission of the stored wearer's data and the collected event occurrence data to a receiving device, a long-range communications device 2 . Furthremore, said RF transceiver allows the receipt of commands, requests for data transmission, and confirmation signals from the LRC device 2 for the data transmission from ID's SRC means to the long-range communications means LRC 2 . Said SRC and LRC 2 means may be employed to upload wearer's data or files to ID 1 or to access and download said data to the computing device comprising the LRC 2 .
[0055] In an embodiment, the ID 1 is configured with software and processing logic configured to (1) utilize the RF transceiver to transmit data relating to event occurrence; (2) utilize the RF transceiver to confirm the receipt of said transmission by the long-range communications device 105 or periodically resend the data either until confirmation is received or for a preset period of time; (3) if there is no confirmation within the preset period of time, re-encode the transmission of the event occurrence for an immediate alert to emergency responders and attempt a transmission to any long-range communications device in the vicinity of the ID and capable of relying the data to the emergency responders; and (4) utilize the RF transceiver to accept prompts to transmit any data stored within the ID 1 via the RF transmitter and make said data available for access.
[0056] In an embodiment, the LRC 2 is configured to receive transmissions in the frequency range of the said RF transmitter 11 , and being configured with software and processing logic configured to receive and store the collected event occurrence data and employ any of the LRC user interface functionalities including audible, visual, or tactile to alert the user of an impact that exceeds a preset acceleration threshold.
[0057] In an embodiment, the LRC 2 is configured with software and processing logic to require user input to acknowledge the receipt of the said alert/alarm (optionally trigger a means to summon EMS); and further being configured with software and processing logic to alert emergency responders and summon assistance if the user fails to acknowledge the receipt of the said alert.
[0058] In an embodiment, the LRC 2 is configured with software and processing logic to allow the user review of stored impact data utilizing said user interface functionalities, specifically visual display capabilities and designate any of the data for transmission or download to a remote computer or network storage device. Such configuration enables the user to transmit data via the LRC to a cloud computer server where the data is analyzed with predetermined algorithms and analytics to provide relevant, actionable and decision supporting data in form easily viewed by the user or other involved personnel interacting with the user. Such generated information from raw data streams from information sets may be viewed with a computing device, smart phone or even via the ID in simplified yet informative form.
[0059] An embodiment is configured with a means for programming, storing, and transmittal/reporting of (emergency) information of a person or object 1000 . A wearable ID 1 is configured for detection of an event or a physical triggering event (e.g. wearer appropriate button on the ID) and locally signaling an alarm to the wearer's LRC such as a cellular phone 2 (or nearby cell phone) via the SRC module 105 . If the wearer 1000 fails to respond to the alarm via a control and interface means such as the LRC or appropriate button on the ID to either cancel the alarm or request the transmission of the alarm, the transmission is executed via the SRC module 105 to an LRC 2 , configured to transmit the alarm to a remote information and communications center 3 and/or an emergency response means 4 .
[0060] An embodiment comprises a personal and emergency identification device, ID 1 , comprising of at least one electronic memory storage device, processor, sensor, and wireless transmission module operationally connected to one or more persons or objects and capable of being programmed with identification information of said person or object and reporting said information to an external receiving device. Said ID 1 being capable of producing and transmitting a first set of signals, an alarm, comprising information representing properties of said emergency or other designated electronic information.
[0061] In an embodiment, the LRC 2 is configured with a processor in signal communication with a memory storage device, which is programmed to capture and record said wearer's information over a wireless or direct connection to a computer or cellular phone and store it on the memory storage device to until a predetermined time such as when the device is powered on (an event occurrence) to produce a second signal to another receiving device 2 of said data representing the personal stored information; the Wearer presses a button on bracelet (ID 1 ) for a predetermined prolonged period (5 seconds) allowing data to be programmed into the bracelet for storage. Once programmed, the bracelet is in a dormant/sleep mode until the event occurrence, or when the wearer or other person assisting the user presses bracelet activation button which then causes the processor to wake and send the stored personal data via wireless to the wearer's or any other nearby cell phone.
[0062] The control means, being configured with the interface means 106 , allows for interface between the ID 1 and the user audibly, visually, or tactilely. Said interface means comprising a toggle to power on or off the ID, an audible means to alert the wearer of any number of parameters and events, an event occurrence alarm, a communication transmission or reception, or low power level. Said interface means further comprising a microphone, allowing the wearer audibly communicate instructions to the ID 1 , for example requesting the communication to summon the EMS 4 assistance.
[0063] Said control means being configured and interface means 106 further being configured with a detecting means to detect the integrity of contact between the wearer and ID 1 . Such detection means preferably being a pressure sensor or an optical proximity sensor attached to the contact side of the ID 1 . Alternatively, said detection means may be configured as another means for detecting human body activity, such as pulse oximetry, near-infrared spectroscopy, electromyography means, echocardiography means, plethysmography means, or electroencephalography. The ID 1 being configured where the lack of integrity of contact between the wearer and ID 1 would cause the ID to go into a “sleep mode” or power down to preserve battery power.
[0064] A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that at least in part the data transmission from the ID 1 may be encrypted with 128 WPA by other data encryption means. For example, wearer's name, physical description, and location would not be encrypted and would be available for viewing on the cellular telephone device; however, the wearer's medical records would not, and would only be available for viewing when received by the EMS 4 .
[0065] In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings.
[0066] The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
[0067] Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”, “having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”, “approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The terms “coupled” and “linked” as used herein is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed. Also, the sequence of steps in a flow diagram or elements in the claims, even when preceded by a letter does not imply or require that sequence. | An emergency power supply system for providing hydraulic power and electric power in an aircraft includes a fuel cell having an electric outlet for providing electric power, a conversion unit couplable with at least one of an AC bus and a DC bus and the electric outlet, and at least one hydraulic pump having a reconfigurable electric motor and a motor control unit and being couplable with a hydraulic system for providing hydraulic power. The conversion unit is adapted for converting a supply voltage of the electrical outlet to at least one of an AC voltage matching a predetermined voltage at the AC bus and a DC voltage matching a predetermined voltage at the DC bus. The reconfigurable electric motor is couplable with the fuel cell and the AC bus and is adapted for being operated by the supply of electric power either from the fuel cell or the AC bus. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART
The present invention relates to an image heating apparatus employed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, etc.
In the field of an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a laser beam printer, etc., which is for forming an image, it has been common practice to obtain a fixed image by forming a toner image on the top surface of a recording medium, and then, thermally fixing this toner image to the recording medium. As a fixing means used for above described purpose, there has been available a fixing unit structured to fix an image to a recording medium while conveying the recording medium, convey the recording medium to which the image has just been fixed, and discharge the recording medium into an external delivery tray so that it is laid on top of the recording mediums having accumulated therein.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2001-318544 for example, discloses a fixing apparatus which comprises a fixing roller, a fixing pad, and a pressure application belt. The fixing apparatus is structured so that the pressure application belt is kept pressed against the fixing roller by the pressure application pad which presses on the rear surface of the pressure application belt. As for its fixing operation, while a recording sheet, on which toner (toner image) is present, is moved through the fixing area, that is, the interface effected by the pressing of the pressure application belt against the fixing roller by the fixing pad, the toner (toner image) is fixed. Generally, a fixing apparatus such as the above described one is structured so that it can switched in operational mode with the use of a lever; it can be put in the normal mode, that is, the pressure application mode, or the no pressure mode. The no pressure mode is the mode for making it easier for a user to remove the jammed paper. Obviously, it is used if a paper jam or the like occurs. More specifically, if a paper jam or the like occurs, a user is to remove the pressure by operating the lever, remove the jammed paper, and then, return the lever to the normal position to put the fixing apparatus back into the original mode, or the pressure application mode.
However, a fixing apparatus such as the above described one, which is based on the prior art, suffers from the following problem. That is, referring to FIG. 8 , when a user switches the fixing apparatus in operational mode by operating the unshown lever, from the mode in which the endless belt 118 is not under pressure, to the mode in which the endless belt 118 is under pressure, the fixing pad 113 presses the endless belt 118 toward the fixing roller 112 from inward side of the loop which the endless belt 118 forms. As a result, the fixing pad 113 first presses the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , generating pressure at the belt contacting surface 113 a , and then, the high rigidity pad 115 presses the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , generating higher pressure than the pressure generated by the fixing pad 113 .
Therefore, the leading edge portion 113 b of the fixing pad 113 , which is located very close to the high rigidity pad 115 , is pinched between the high rigidity pad 115 and endless belt 118 and is pressed while remaining pinched between the high rigidity pad 115 and endless belt 118 , sometimes preventing the belt contacting surface 115 a of the high rigidity pad 115 , which is expected to come into contact with the endless belt 118 and press the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , from pressing the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 .
If the belt contacting surface 115 a of the high rigidity pad 115 is prevented from pressing the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , it is impossible for a desired fixing nip to be formed. If the desired fixing nip is not formed, fixation failure occurs. Further, if the belt contacting surface 115 a is prevented from pressing the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , the high pressure portion of the desired fixing nip is not formed. Without the high pressure portion, the recording sheet, on which toner is borne, fails to separate from the fixing roller 112 , wrapping itself around the fixing roller 112 . These are the problems which an image heating apparatus based on the prior art suffers.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing the pressure distribution in the fixing nip. The axis of abscissas of the graph represents the position in the fixing nip in terms of the direction in which recording medium is conveyed, and the axis of ordinates represents the pressure in the fixing nip. The solid line represents the ideal pressure distribution pattern, in which the internal pressure of the fixing nip continuously increases from the entrance of the fixing nip, at which the internal pressure is P 1 (low pressure), toward the exit of the fixing nip, at which the internal pressure is P 2 (high pressure). It should be noted here that P 2 is the amount of pressure necessary to make the recording sheet to separate from the fixing roller 112 ; the high rigidity pad 115 causes the rubber layer of the fixing roller 112 to partially deform, causing thereby the recording sheet to separate from the fixing roller 112 . The double-dot chain line in FIG. 9 represents the pressure distribution in the fixing nip, which occurs when the leading edge portion 113 b of the fixing pad 113 remains pinched between the endless belt 118 and high rigidity pad 115 . In this case, the high rigidity pad 115 does not press the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , failing to generate P 2 , which is necessary to make the recording medium to separate from the fixing roller 112 . Further, with the high rigidity pad 115 prevented from pressing the endless belt 118 against the fixing roller 112 , the resultant fixing nip will be narrower than the desired fixing nip, failing to supply the recording medium with the amount of heat necessary for fixation. Therefore, it is possible that fixation failure will occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an image heating apparatus which does not suffer from the image heating deficiency attributable to the formation of an unsatisfactory nip.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image heating apparatus, the elastic pad of which is not pinched between its rotational heating member and rigid pad.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the fixing unit in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the pressure application unit and fixing roller in the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the fixing roller, and the pressure application unit kept pressed against the fixing roller, in the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the fixing roller, and the pressure application unit separated from the fixing roller.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the high rigidity block, and its adjacencies, in the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the fixing pad, and its adjacencies, in the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the essential portions of the fixing apparatus in accordance with the prior art.
FIG. 9 is a graph schematically showing the nip pressure distribution of the image heating apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the appended drawings. Incidentally, the measurements, materials, and shapes of the structural components, and the positional relationship among the components, which will be described hereafter, are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, unless specifically noted. Further, if a given component is identical in material, shape, etc., to another component which has already been described, it will not be described, unless specifically noted.
(Image Forming Apparatus)
First, an example of a preferable image forming apparatus compatible with an image heating apparatus in accordance with the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the general structure of the apparatus.
The image forming apparatus A in this embodiment is an electrophotographic printer (copying machine). Designated by a referential symbol 1 is the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, and designated by a referential symbol 2 is an electrophotographic image forming portion (which hereinafter will be referred to as image forming portion). Designated by a referential symbol 3 is a sheet (recording medium) cassette, as a sheet feeding and conveying portion (which hereinafter will be referred to as cassette). The mechanism of this image forming portion for carrying out the image formation process is the same as the publicly known mechanism of an image forming portion. Therefore, its structure is illustrated in a simplified form.
The image forming portion 2 carries out an image forming operation based on the image formation information and the print start signal, which are inputted into the control portion (unshown) of the apparatus main assembly 1 from a host apparatus (unshown) such as a computer. As the image forming operation is started, the feeder/conveyer roller 4 of the sheet feeding-and-conveying portion is driven with preset control timing. As a result, recording mediums S are fed from the cassette 3 into the apparatus main assembly 1 , while being separated one by one, and is conveyed further into the main assembly 1 , being guided upward by a conveyance path 5 . Then, each recording medium S is introduced into the image transferring portion of the image forming portion 2 by a pair of registration rollers with a preset timing. In the image transferring portion, a toner image is transferred onto the recording medium 2 . The image transferring portion will be described later.
The image forming portion 2 is of the tandem type, and employs an intermediary transfer belt. More specifically, the image forming portion 2 is made up of multiple image forming portions 50 Y, 50 M, 50 C, and 50 K, which are aligned in parallel and form monochromatic toner images different in color, one for one. Here, Y, M, C, and K stand for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors, respectively.
The image forming portions 50 Y- 50 K have charging apparatuses 51 Y, 51 M, 51 C, and 51 K, exposing apparatuses 52 Y, 52 M, 52 C, and 52 K, developing apparatuses 53 Y, 53 M, 53 C, and 53 K, and photosensitive members 54 Y, 54 M, 54 C, and 54 K, respectively. The intermediary transfer belt 55 is stretched around a driver roller 56 , a tension roller 57 , and a secondary transfer roller 58 , and is suspended by the rollers. The secondary roller 58 is disposed on the inward side of the loop which the intermediary transfer belt 55 forms. The intermediary transfer belt 55 circularly moves in the direction indicated by an arrow mark in the drawing. As the intermediary transfer belt 55 moves, the monochromatic toner images different in color are sequentially transferred in layers onto the intermediary transfer belt 55 by the primary image transferring apparatuses 59 Y, 59 M, 59 C, and 59 K. Incidentally, FIG. 2 shows an image forming apparatus, in which the image forming portions for forming the monochromatic toner images are positioned in the order of Y, M, C, and K. However, the order of the image forming portions does not need to be limited to the abovementioned one.
The multiple monochromatic color toner images on the intermediary transfer belt 55 are transferred all at once by a secondary image transferring apparatus 500 onto the recording medium S delivered thereto from a recording medium feeding portion. The secondary transferring apparatus 500 has a secondary transfer roller 501 , which is on the outward side of the intermediary transfer belt loop, and forms a transfer nip by being pressed against the secondary transfer roller 58 , which is on the inward side of the belt loop. In each transfer nip, the toner image is electrostatically adhered to the recording medium S.
After the reception of all the toner images by the recording medium S, the recording medium S is introduced into the fixing nip, which is the compression nip between a fixing roller (rotational heating member) 12 and a pressure application unit 13 . Then, as the recording medium S is conveyed through the fixing nip while remaining pinched by the fixing roller 12 and pressure application unit 13 , the toner images are permanently fixed to the recording medium S by the heat from the fixing roller 12 and the pressure in the fixing nip; the toner images on the recording medium S are turned into a single permanent image.
After coming out of the fixing nip, the recording medium S is guided by a discharge path 10 into an external delivery tray 114 , and accumulated therein. Incidentally, the guides and the like which make up the recording medium conveyance paths are not shown in the drawings to prevent the drawings from becoming complicated.
Embodiment
Next, the fixing unit 11 as one of the examples of an image heating apparatus in accordance with the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the fixing unit in this embodiment.
The fixing unit 11 has a frame 18 , which supports the fixing roller 12 by its axle. The fixing roller 12 is a rotational heating member, which is heated by an unshown heater. The fixing roller 12 is pressed by the pressure application unit 13 , forming a fixing nip between itself and the pressure application unit 13 . In this fixing nip, the toner images on the recording medium S are subjected to heat and pressure. As a result, the toner images are fixed to the recording medium S.
The pressure application unit 13 has a stay 23 (pressing means), which is a supporting member (supporting plate). The stay 23 is roughly U-shaped in cross-section, and extends in the direction parallel to the rotational axis of the fixing roller 12 . The stay 23 supports a high rigidity block 19 and a fixing pad 20 . The high rigidity block 19 functions as the high rigidity pad for forming the high pressure portion of the fixing nip, which constitutes the downstream end portion of the fixing nip in terms of the recording medium conveyance direction, whereas the fixing pad 20 is an elastic pad for forming the low pressure portion of the fixing nip, which is the upstream portion of the fixing nip. In other words, the fixing nip is made up of the low pressure portion effected by the elastic pad, and the high pressure portion effected by the rigid pad.
The pressure application unit 13 has a member 34 , which was welded to the stay 23 in a manner to cover the open side of the stay 23 . The stay 23 is formed by bending a flat piece of metallic plate so that the resultant product has a roughly U-shaped cross section. The stay 23 constitutes the backbone of the pressure application unit 13 .
The pressure application unit 13 also has an endless belt 27 (which hereafter will be referred to as belt), which is fitted around the aforementioned stay 23 . The pressure application unit 13 is structured so that the endless belt 27 is rotated by the rotation of the fixing roller 12 . The pressure application unit 13 is provided with a pair of belt guides 22 and 33 ( FIG. 3 ), which are disposed on the inward side of the belt loop to ensure that the belt 27 smoothly rotates. Also disposed on the inward side of the belt loop is a piece of felt (unshown) impregnated with silicon oil, as lubricant, to be supplied to the inward surface of the belt 27 to improve the belt 27 in terms of the slipperiness relative to the block 19 and fixing pad 20 .
Further, the pressure application unit 13 is provided with multiple compression springs 24 as pressure applying means, which are aligned in parallel in the lengthwise direction (which is direction parallel to the rotational axis of fixing roller). The compression springs 24 keeps the fixing pad 20 pressured toward the belt 27 , causing the fixing pad 20 to form the low pressure portion of the fixing nip, which will be described later.
Further, the pressure application unit 13 is provided with multiple compression springs 25 for keeping the block 19 pressured toward the belt 27 . The compression springs 25 raise the block 19 toward the fixing roller 12 as the fixing pressure is removed. This removal of the fixing pressure will be described later.
The pressure application unit 13 is supported by a pair of lateral plates 14 (pressure applying means), which are pivotally movable about an axle 15 . The lateral plates 14 keep the pressure application unit 13 pressured toward the fixing roller 12 by being kept pressured by fixing springs 17 (pressure applying means). The lateral plates 14 are located at the lengthwise ends of the pressure application unit 13 , one for one. In other words, the pressure application unit 13 is structured so that not only can it be made to keep the belt 27 pressured upon the fixing roller 12 , but also, it can be made not to pressure the belt 27 upon the fixing roller 12 .
The fixings springs 17 are strong springs, which are strong enough to generate roughly 500 N of pressure in the fixing nip. They are for forming the fixing nip, and are adjustable in pressure by an adjustment screw 16 to adjust the internal pressure of the fixing nip to a desired value.
The fixing roller 12 is made up of a cylindrical metallic core, an elastic layer coated on the peripheral surface of the metallic core, and a release layer, as a surface layer, coated on the elastic layer. The metallic core is formed of iron (SUS), aluminum, or the like, and has a thin wall (roughly 1 mm thick). The elastic layer is formed of silicon rubber or the like, and is roughly 0.5 mm in thickness. The release layer is formed of PFA or the like, and is roughly 30 μm in thickness. Within the hollow of the fixing roller 12 , a halogen lamp (unshown) is disposed as a heat source, which is controlled in temperature so that the temperature of the fixing roller 12 remains in the adjacencies of 200 degrees.
The belt 27 is formed of polyimide or the like resin, and is roughly 90 μm in thickness. It is provided with a roughly 30 μm thick release layer formed of PFA or the like.
The fixing pad 20 is a first pressure applying portion, which keep the belt 27 pressured toward the fixing roller 12 , and is relatively low in hardness; its hardness is in the range of 15-40 degrees in the rubber hardness scale (HS). The pad 20 is formed of such heat resistant rubber that is capable of withstanding a temperature of roughly 200° so that the pad 20 can satisfactorily performs at this level of temperature. It is integrally attached to a base 21 through the molding process used to form the pad 20 .
Since the hardness of the fixing pad 20 is in the abovementioned low range, it is easy for the fixing pad 20 to elastically deform. Therefore, as it is pressured against the fixing roller 12 , it generates relatively low pressure (P 1 , which will be described later) across the contact area between itself and fixing roller 12 , perfectly conforming to the curvature of the fixing roller 12 . Further, for the purpose of preventing the pressure applied to the fixing pad 20 to keep the belt 27 pressed upon the fixing roller 12 from the inward side of the belt loop, from escaping, the fixing pad 20 is shaped so that its belt contacting surface matches in shape the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 12 .
The fixing pad 20 is with a surface layer formed of fluorinated latex film to improve the fixing pad 20 in terms of the slipperiness relative to the belt 27 . Incidentally, providing the fixing pad 20 with the surface layer formed of fluorinated latex prevents the silicon oil from seeping into the rubber portion of the fixing pad 20 , preventing thereby the rubber portion from being made to swell by the silicon oil. Further, providing the fixing pad 20 with the surface layer formed of fluorinated latex improves the fixing pad 20 in terms of the slipperiness relative to the lateral surface 19 a of the block 19 .
A pad mount 26 , which supports the fixing pad 20 and base 21 , is provided with a guide 29 ( FIG. 3 ), being rendered slidable in the direction to remove the pressure applied to the fixing pad 20 . As the pressure application unit 13 is moved into the position in which it does not apply pressure to the fixing roller 12 , the pad mount 26 is pressured upward, that is, toward the fixing roller 12 , by the compression springs 24 . However, the movement of the pad mount 26 toward the fixing roller 12 is regulated by a stopper 30 .
The block 19 is disposed in contact with the fixing pad 20 . It is a second pressure applying member which generates higher pressure in the fixing nip than the pressure which the fixing pad 20 generated in the fixing nip. The block 19 is formed of a metallic substance such as aluminum, stainless steel, or the like, and is preferred to be formed in a single-piece. The metallic surface of the block 19 may be covered with resin such as liquid polymer that is highly rigid and highly heat resistant. In particular, the high rigidity block 19 (high rigidity pad) is required to remain sufficiently rigid and hard even at the fixing temperature (roughly 200° C.). Therefore, when aluminum alloy (#5,000), for example, is used as the material for the block 19 , an aluminum alloy, the hardness of which is greater than 60 HB (in the case of stainless steel, no less than 100 HB) is selected to ensure that the high pressure (P 3 which will be described later) can be generated. In order to ensure the generation of P 3 , the metallic material for the block 19 is required of the above described level of rigidity. In other words, the block 19 is harder than the fixing pad 20 .
FIG. 7 is a side view of the fixing pad 20 . As described above, the pressure application unit 13 is provided with the multiple compression springs 24 , which are aligned in parallel in the lengthwise direction which is parallel to the lengthwise direction of the fixing pad 20 , with preset intervals, so that the pressure applied to the fixing pad 20 by the compression springs 24 becomes uniform in distribution in terms of the lengthwise direction of the fixing pad 20 . The two sets of guide 29 and stopper 30 are disposed at two locations, one for one, in terms of the lengthwise direction of the fixing pad 20 , so that the fixing pad 20 is kept stable in attitude when the pressure is removed.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the high rigidity block 19 . The block 19 is provided with a pair of recesses 36 , which are located in the lengthwise end portions of the block 19 , one for one, and in which one end of the compression spring 25 is fitted. The block 19 is also provided with a pair of guides 32 , which are integral parts of the block 19 , enabling the block 19 to slide independently from the fixing pad 20 . The stopper 31 regulates the movement of the block 19 in the pressure applying direction. The only role which the compression springs 25 play is to lift the block 19 when the pressure is removed. While the fixing pressure is applied, the bottom surface 19 d of the block 19 remains in contact with the top surface of the member 34 . Therefore, the block 19 bears the pressure from the fixing springs 17 , through the stay 23 .
In other words, according to this embodiment, when the pressure application unit 13 is in such a state that the fixing springs 17 keep the belt 27 pressed upon the fixing roller 12 , the fixing pad 20 generates the aforementioned low pressure by being pressured by the compression springs 24 through the stay 23 , and the block 19 is pressured by the stay 23 . Therefore, the block 19 , which is required to generate the pressure higher than the pressure generated by the fixing pad 20 , can be pressured by stronger fixing springs which are located outside the pressure application unit 13 , being thereby enabled to apply the higher pressure. Therefore, the pressure application unit 13 can be reduced in size.
The fixing nip formed between the fixing roller 12 and belt 27 has the low pressure portion, that is, the portion which is relatively low in internal pressure, which is formed by the fixing pad 20 , and the high pressure portion, that is, the portion which is relatively high in internal pressure, which is formed by the block 19 . Further, the low and high pressure portions are contiguous. In other words, the pressure application unit 13 is structured so that, in terms of the recording medium conveyance direction, the internal pressure of the fixing nip is lowest at the upstream end, and also, so that the closer to the downstream end, the higher the internal pressure, being at its peak near the downstream end. It should be noted here that for the purpose of forming a wide nip within a limited space, it is effective to employ a fixing pad to apply fixing pressure to form a fixing nip.
In this embodiment, a wider nip is formed by pressuring the fixing pad 20 against the fixing roller 12 with the belt 27 pinched between the fixing pad 20 and fixing roller 12 . This type of structural arrangement causes the entirety of the fixing roller facing surface of the fixing pad 20 to be pressed against the fixing roller 12 , making it possible to form a wider fixing nip while minimizing the space necessary to form the nip.
FIG. 9 is a graph schematically showing the pressure distribution in the fixing nip of the image heating apparatus. The axis of abscissas represents the position in the fixing nip in terms of the recording medium conveyance direction, and the axis of ordinates represents the internal pressure of the fixing nip at a given point. The solid line represents the ideal distribution pattern for the internal pressure of the fixing nip. In other words, the distribution of the internal pressure of the fixing nip is desired to be such that the internal pressure is no lower than the low pressure P 1 (0.05-0.2 MPa) and no higher than the high pressure P 3 (0.3-0.5 MPa), and also, such that the closer to the exit of the fixing nip, the higher the internal pressure of the fixing nip, for the following reason. That is, if a given portion of the fixing nip, in terms of the recording medium conveyance direction, is lower in internal pressure than the upstream portion, the pressure applied to the recording medium to fix the toner images temporarily falls while the recording medium is conveyed through the fixing nip. Consequently, a copy suffering from image deviation and/or nonuniformity in glossiness is yielded. Incidentally, one pascal is the SI unit of pressure equal to one newton per square meter.
The heating of the toner images on the recording medium begins at the entrance of the fixing nip, and the heating temperature is highest at the exit of the nip. Applying high pressure while the toner is in the fully melted condition is an effective pressure application method for better fixation. The pressure P 2 (roughly 0.2 MPa) is the amount of pressure necessary to cause the recording medium S to separate from the fixing roller 12 , that is, the amount of pressure necessary for the high rigidity block 19 to partially deform the rubber layer of the fixing roller 12 . Therefore, in order to enable the image heating apparatus in this embodiment to display the above described image fixing performance, the apparatus is structured so that its fixing nip is provided with the low pressure portion and high pressure portions, which are contiguous.
If the recording medium S becomes stuck at the fixing unit 11 , an unshown lever is to be rotated to eliminate the fixing nip, in order to make it possible for the recording medium S to be removed. The rotation of the lever causes the pair of lateral plates 14 to rotate in the direction opposite to the direction in which the plates 14 are rotated for the pressure application. As a result, the fixing nip is eliminated against the force generated by the fixing springs 17 .
FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views of the fixing roller 12 , and the pressure application unit 13 kept pressed against the fixing roller 12 . The two drawings are different in the position of sectional plane, in terms of the lengthwise direction of the pressure application unit 13 .
The block 19 forms the high pressure portion of the fixing nip by being pressed against the fixing roller 12 by the fixing springs 17 , which pressures the entirety of the pressure application unit 13 , through the stay 23 . The compression springs 25 are compressed by the force generated by the fixing springs 17 , so that the bottom surface 19 d of the block 19 comes into contact with the top surface of the member 34 of the stay 23 . With the bottom surface 19 d remaining in contact with the stay 23 , the high pressure portion of the fixation remains stable in internal pressure. As for the fixing pad 20 , it is made to form the low pressure portion of the fixing nip, by being pressured by the compression springs 24 .
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the fixing roller, and the pressure application unit which is not being pressed against the fixing roller. The fixing nip is eliminated by separating the pressure application unit 13 from the fixing roller 12 . Incidentally, as long as the image heating apparatus is structured to allow the jammed recording medium S to be easily pulled out, it does not need to be structured to allow the pressure application unit 13 to be completely separated from the fixing roller 12 . As the pressure application unit 13 is separated from the fixing roller 12 , the fixing pad 20 , which is on the inward side of the belt loop, is moved upward by the pressure from the compression springs 24 , causing the stopper 30 of the pad mount 26 to come into contact with the bottom surface 23 a of the stay 23 . At the same time, the block 19 is moved upward by the pressure from the compression springs 25 , causing the stopper 31 , which is an integral part of the block 19 , to come into contact with the bottom surface 23 a of the stay 23 .
As for the positional relationship between the leading edge portion 20 a of the fixing pad 20 and the edge 19 b of the block 19 , the edge 19 b remains positioned higher than the leading edge portion 20 a ; the fixing pad 20 never protrudes above the block 19 . That is, the belt contacting surface 20 b of the fixing pad 20 , as the first pressure application surface, by which the fixing pad 20 presses the belt 27 , the belt contacting surface 19 c of the block 19 , as the second pressure application surface, by which the block 19 presses the belt 27 , are positioned next to each other, with the presence of a step between the two belt contacting surfaces 20 b and 19 c . Thus, after the removal of the pressure applied to the belt 27 , the belt contacting surface 19 c of the block 19 is closer to the fixing roller 12 than the belt contacting surface 20 b of the fixing pad 20 . In other words, the pressure application unit 13 is structured so that when pressure is applied to the belt 27 , the block 19 comes into contact with the belt 27 before the fixing pad 20 . Therefore, when the pressure application unit 13 is moved from the position in which it is not pressed against the fixing roller 12 , to the position in which it is pressed against the fixing roller 12 , the belt contacting surface 19 c of the block 19 begins to press the belt 27 toward the fixing roller 12 before the belt contacting surface 20 of the fixing pad 20 does. Then, the belt contacting surface 20 b of the fixing pad 20 begins to press the belt 27 toward the fixing roller 12 to complete the fixing nip.
Therefore, the above described problem which an image heating apparatus in accordance with the prior art suffers, that is, the problem that the leading edge portion 20 a of the fixing pad 20 is pinched by the block 19 , does not occur. Therefore, each time the pressure applying operation is carried out, a pressure nip which is identical to the desired fixing nip, which was initially formed, is formed, regardless of the number of times the combination of the pressure removing operation and pressure applying operation is carried out. In other words, the present invention is effective to improve an image heating apparatus in terms of image fixing performance endurance. Further, the present invention prevents the leading edge portion 20 a of the fixing pad 20 from being subjected to an excessive amount of pressure, preventing thereby the coating of the fixing pad 20 from peeling. In other words, the present invention extends the service life of the fixing pad 20 ; it can prevent the problem that the amount of pressure which the fixing pad 20 generates is changed by the swelling of the fixing pad 20 , which is caused by the silicon oil.
Further, as the pressure application unit 13 is moved from the position in which it is not pressed against on the fixing roller 12 , to the position in which it is pressed against the fixing roller 12 , the block 19 , which is harder than the fixing pad 20 and generates higher pressure than the fixing pad 20 , begins to generate pressure before the fixing pad 20 , which is softer than the block 19 and generates low pressure than the block 19 applies, does. Therefore, the problem that the fixing pad 20 , which is softer than the block 19 , is partially pinched between the block 19 and belt 27 does not occur. Therefore, the problem that the desired fixing is not reproduced does not occur. Further, it does not occur that a part or parts of the fixing pad 20 is subjected to an excessive amount of pressure. Therefore, the fixing pad 20 does not deform nor break. In other words, the present invention is effective to extend the service life of an image heating apparatus.
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 Application No. 142419/2005 filed May 16, 2005 which is hereby incorporated by reference. | An image heating apparatus includes a heating rotatable member for heating an image on a recording material at a nip; a belt cooperative with the heating rotatable member to form the nip; an elastic pad and a rigid pad, disposed in the order named along a feeding direction for the recording material, for pressing the belt toward the heating rotatable member at the nip; and urging means for urging the elastic pad and the rigid pad toward the belt, wherein the urging means contacts the rigid pad to the belt earlier than the elastic pad. | 6 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/553,914, filed Mar. 16, 2004.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a system for processing waste. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a system for processing waste by reducing volume and producing a usable byproduct.
[0003] Communities produce large volumes of waste each and every day. The waste produced is disposed of in many ways. In most communities, the waste (i.e., household waste) is deposited into plastic garbage bags and then temporarily stored in a garbage can. The garbage can is periodically placed at a curbside for removal by the local waste removal service. The waste removal service collects the community waste into larger trucks and compacts the waste to a certain degree. The waste is then transported to a waste collection facility for further processing or transported directly to a local landfill. The processed waste can be separated and sorted into various types of waste prior to transportation to a landfill.
[0004] In other prior art waste removal techniques, the waste is transported to a waste incinerator. In other prior art waste removal techniques, the waste is packaged onto barges, shipped offshore and dumped into the ocean.
[0005] In the prior art waste processing techniques, the waste is not efficiently reused. The landfills are rapidly becoming full and will no longer be a viable solution to waste removal. The incineration techniques are environmentally harmful, are not cost effective, and require government subsidies to operate. The ocean dumping is detrimental to the ocean environment and the extent of damage to the earth's oceans has yet to be completely understood.
[0006] What is needed in the art is a waste disposal processing system that efficiently processes waste and provides a useful byproduct.
SUMMARY
[0007] A waste processing system comprises a waste loader configured to receive waste. A shredder is coupled to the waste loader. The shredder includes at least one blade disposed in a shredder housing. The shredder is configured to shred and reduce waste into a refined composition. A grinding tank is disposed downstream of the shredder. The grinding tank is configured to further reduce the particle size of the waste by use of mechanical agitation and impact between grinding elements and the waste within an aqueous solution disposed in the grinding tank. A screen is disposed downstream of the grinding tank. The screen separates the waste composition based on particle size. The screen is configured to drain away the water for reuse in the grinding tank. A water extractor is coupled to the screen and is configured to further extract moisture from the waste composition. A drying tunnel and shaker table is coupled to the water extractor. The drying tunnel and shaker table is configured to remove additional moisture and air trapped in the waste composition.
[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, the powdered waste may be mixed with a binder material and may then be cast into blocks. The cast blocks have useful properties and may be used for construction and decorative applications.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of exemplary waste disposal processing system.
[0010] FIG. 2 is front view of an exemplary waste disposal processing system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] A waste disposal processing system is disclosed. The waste disposal processing system includes a waste loader configured to receive waste and load the waste into a shredder. The shredder shreds and reduces the waste into a refined composition. The waste disposal system includes a grinding tank downstream of the shredder. The grinding tank is configured to further reduce the particle size of the waste by use of mechanical agitation and impact between grinding elements and the waste within an aqueous solution in the grinding tank. The waste composition is further processed through a screen located downstream of the grinding tank. The screen separates the waste composition based on the particle size. The water is also drained away for reuse in the upstream grinding tank. A water extractor is coupled to the screen and is configured to further extract moisture from the waste composition. A drying tunnel and shaker table is located downstream of the water extractor. The drying tunnel and shaker table remove additional moisture and air trapped in the waste composition. A powdered solid material remains as a useful byproduct having a significant reduction in volume from the original waste disposed in the waste disposal processing system.
[0012] Referring to FIGS. 1 , and 2 , exemplary embodiments of the waste disposal processing system are illustrated in a schematic and perspective view, respectively. The waste disposal processing system 10 includes a waste loader 12 configured to receive waste and load the waste into a shredder 14 . The waste loader 12 can include a container 16 configured to receive and contain waste. In an exemplary embodiment, the container can be sized with and opening about 28 inches by 22 inches and about 38 inches high. It is contemplated to provide variations in the dimensions.
[0013] The waste loader 12 can include a lift 18 . The lift 18 is configured to elevate the container and reorient the container 16 in order to empty the waste from the container 16 into the shredder 14 . The container 16 can clip to the lift via a spring-loaded clip (not shown), and variants thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the lift 18 can comprise a chain driven by a 12 Volt DC motor (not shown). The motor can also be a variable speed motor of multiple sizes depending on the size of the container 16 . In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the waste loader 12 is configured to receive waste in the container 16 . The lift 18 raises the container 16 up to the shredder 14 and turns the container 16 over to empty the contents of the container 16 into the shredder 14 . The lift 18 returns the container 16 to a position ready for receiving additional waste. The container 16 can also be manually operated in other embodiments. The container 16 can be constructed of plastic, metal, wood, combinations thereof, and the like. It is contemplated that the waste loader 12 can include manual or automatic instrumentation and controls for ease of operation.
[0014] The shredder 14 shreds and reduces the waste into a refined composition. The shredder 14 includes a shredder housing 20 having an inlet 22 and outlet 24 . In an exemplary embodiment, the shredder housing 20 can be about 28 inches wide by about 22 inches wide and about 36 inches deep. The shredder housing 20 can comprise hard materials, such as, ⅛ inch steel plate, plastic, wood, aluminum, copper, brass, screen, mesh, and galvanized sheet metal, and the like.
[0015] The shredder 14 includes a plurality of blades 26 configured to shred waste in the shredder 14 . The blades 26 can be configured into a pattern of outlet rows 28 arranged as four rows of blades oriented with each blade axis perpendicular to the depth of the shredder housing 20 and aligned along the long width of the shredder housing 20 . In a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, each blade 26 is a disc of about 7.25 inches in a circular saw blade configuration. The size and number of teeth on each blade 26 can be varied. Each row of blades 26 can comprise, for example, 52 blades.
[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the four rows of blades 28 can be located about 12 inches from the outlet 24 . The blades 26 can overlap. In an exemplary embodiment, the blades 26 can overlap by about 3.5 inches. An inlet row 30 set of blades can be located proximate the inlet 22 . In an exemplary embodiment, the inlet row 30 can comprise 2 rows of blades 26 located about 6 to about 12 inches from the inlet 26 in the shredder housing 20 . In an exemplary embodiment, all blades 26 can be mounted on a shaft or rod about ⅜ inches. The blades 26 can be space apart by about ½ inch for the outlet rows 28 and about 2 inches for the inlet rows 30 . In an exemplary embodiment, the inlet blades 30 can be spaced apart equally to fill the available space. In another exemplary embodiment, there are two rows of thirteen inlet blades 30 .
[0017] In other embodiments, the shedder 14 can include mill stones, grinding rocks of various hardness, solid metal wheels, grinding discs, cutting discs, sand paper, hardwood of oak, and pecan, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the shredder blades 26 can operate at about 1800 rpm and be driven by, for example, a 2-horsepower electric motor or a 5-hp gasoline engine. In a preferred embodiment, the shredder 14 is configured to shred the waste into about a ¼ inch diameter size for minimum grinding time. The waste can be reduced to about 55% to 65% of original volume when being discharged from the outlet 24 . It is contemplated that the shredder 14 can reduce the waste to a larger size and with lower volume reductions, while creating a longer grinding process to occur.
[0018] The waste disposal system includes a grinding tank 32 downstream of the shredder 14 . The grinding tank 32 is configured to further reduce the particle size of the waste by use of mechanical agitation and impact between grinding elements 34 and the waste within an aqueous solution 36 in the grinding tank 32 . The grinding tank 32 includes a tank wall 38 defining an interior 40 and an exterior 42 . The grinding tank 32 includes an inlet 44 and an outlet 46 . The inlet 44 is proximate the outlet 24 of the shredder 14 and is configured to receive the waste from the shredder 14 . The processed waste is discharged from the outlet 24 of the shredder 14 .
[0019] The tank wall 38 is coupled to a rotary mechanism (not shown) and is configured to rotate in order to agitate the waste and the grinding elements 34 in the interior 40 . The grinding elements 34 can comprise about 2 inch to about 3 inch diameter grinding balls. It is contemplated that the grinding elements 34 can comprise various types of grinding materials, such as, sand, gravel, rocks, scrap metal, bricks, hard wood, chipped concrete, aluminum, brass, copper, and the like. The process can also include high pressure steam and water jets, high pressure sand, and the like. A volume of water is added to the grinding tank 32 to promote the grinding process. The amount of water and grinding elements 34 added to the grinding tank 32 depends on the processing time and quality of grinding desired. In a preferred embodiment the grinding time should be about 30 minutes and the quality of shredding, water and grinding elements can be adjusted appropriately.
[0020] The tank wall 38 can comprise, for example, a cement-mixing tank. The rotary mechanism can be the power takeoff of the cement-mixing tank. The tank may be portable and may be mounted, for example, on a multi-axle truck chassis. The grinding tank 32 can rotate at about 18 rpm to about 60 rpm. The rate of rotation can vary depending on the process speeds desired. The tank wall 38 can be configured in a 18 inch by 18 inch grinding tank by a predetermined length. The tank wall 38 can be ½ inch sheet metal. In alternate embodiments the tank wall 38 can comprise plastic, copper, brass, aluminum, galvanized sheet metal, and the like. The inlet 44 can be about 30 inches in diameter.
[0021] In an alternate embodiment, the grinding tank 32 can comprise a flow-through style arrangement. Instead of a closed container, the tank wall can comprise an open-ended tube or pipe with the waste material flowing through from the inlet to the outlet. The grinding elements 34 can comprise rods or long tubes that impinge on the material but remain inside the tank wall interior 40 . The tank wall 38 outlet 46 includes a lid 48 that is removable and configured to contain the waste and water mixture during grinding and allow for discharge of the waste with the retention of the grinding elements 34 . The lid 48 can comprise a solid plate and a screen mesh that can be interchangeable during processing. The solid plate and screen can also be integral.
[0022] The waste composition is further processed through a screen system 50 located downstream of the grinding tank 32 . The screen system 50 separates the waste composition based on the particle size. The water is also drained away for reuse in the upstream grinding tank 32 .
[0023] In an exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 , the screen system 50 can comprise a series of screens as is known in the art. For example, three screens 52 , 54 , 56 having varying mesh dimensions for segregating the materials based on size with the larger size above the smaller size in series may be used. In an exemplary embodiment, screen 52 can be a 10-mesh screen, screen 54 can be a 20-mesh screen, and screen 56 can be a 28-mesh screen. It is contemplated that any number of screens can be employed. The screen 50 can be agitated by an agitator, such as a motor (not shown). Screens 52 , 54 , and 56 may be disposed at an angle as known in the art and discharge chutes may be provided to return particles that do not pass through screens 52 , 54 , and 56 , as well as most of the water, to the grinding tank 32 .
[0024] The agitation motor can operate at about 1800 rpm. The speed of the motor and thus the agitation can be varied. In an exemplary embodiment, the displacement of the screen agitation can be from about 2 inches to about 3 inches. In an exemplary embodiment, the screen 50 can be rectilinear measuring about 4 feet by about 6 feet. The screen 50 can comprise a stainless steel placed into a wrap around deck of about ¼ inch by 2 inches angle iron. The deck and screen material can comprise plastic, iron, copper, brass, aluminum, wood, galvanized sheet metal, and the like. The deck and screen can be any size and configuration. The waste material can drain by gravity through the screen 50 to a water extractor 58 .
[0025] The water extractor 58 is coupled to the screen 50 and is configured to further extract moisture from the waste composition. An exemplary water extractor 58 suitable for use in the present invention is a dewatering drum filter, such as those available from Dorr-Oliver Eimco of Salt Lake City, Utah. The water extractor 58 is used to extract as much water as possible from the waste materials. The water extractor 58 draws the water off the waste material through fine mesh with vacuum or pump suction, that varies based on the density of the material. The water is pumped back to the grinding tank 32 for reuse. The dewatered material is dropped to a drying pad 60 below for further processing. The water extractor 58 can comprise a stainless steel, copper, brass, aluminum, plastic, and the like. The water extractor 58 can operate at variable speeds as well constant speed depending on the density of the material processed.
[0026] A drying tunnel and shaker table 62 is located downstream of the water extractor 58 . The drying tunnel and shaker table 62 remove additional moisture and air trapped in the waste composition. In exemplary embodiments, at least one drying pad 60 receives the waste composition downstream of the drying tunnel and shaker table 62 for the final curing and hardening of the waste composition.
[0027] The drying tunnel 64 can be, for example, about 15 feet in length and about 4 feet wide and located over the shaker table 66 . A cover 67 can be included over the table and be set at a minimum of about 24 inches from the shaker table. The cover can comprise, for example, a 10 gauge galvanized sheet metal although other materials can be used. The shaker table 66 can comprise two hollow legs 68 centrally located at the shaker table 66 . Pistons 70 are disposed within the hollow legs 68 and are configured to agitate the table and contents thereon. In an exemplary embodiment, the legs 68 can be about 3 inches in diameter and the pistons 70 can be about 2 inches in diameter and comprise a solid rod material. A motor, such as a 3-hp motor (not shown) can be coupled to each piston 70 via a 6 inch piston plate. The motors can be mounted on the floor directly in line with the legs 68 . The piston plate can include adjustment holes for speed adjustment. The connector rod from the piston plate can be a solid rod including a pivot pin about 6 inches up on the rod connected to the piston plate. The motor can operate at about 1800 rpm. The table is configured to be vertically displaced from about 1 inch to about 3 inches.
[0028] Rubber grommets 72 can be employed with the table between a stationary frame 74 and moveable table deck 76 . In an exemplary embodiment, eight grommets 72 can be employed in an equally spaced pattern and attached to the frame and configured for shock absorption. The table frame 74 can comprise a ¼ inch by 3 inch angle iron and the movable table deck 76 can comprise a ¼ inch sheet metal decking. The frame 74 and decking 76 can be welded. In other exemplary embodiments, the table can comprise wood, sheet metal, copper, brass, stainless steel, aluminum, galvanized sheet metal, and the like. The drying tunnel and shaker table 62 can include blowers 78 fluidly coupled to the drying tunnel 64 at an end proximate the material input end of the table. The blower can be about 11,000 CFM or greater.
[0029] The drying pad 60 can be included and located to receive the materials after the drying tunnel and shaker table 62 or after the water extractor 58 . The drying pad 60 can be large enough for one week of waste material processing. The drying pad 60 can be about 100 feet by 100 feet in size. The drying pad 60 can comprise concrete material and include sealed surfaces and containment barriers for the prevention of material leakage. Finger type agitators and ambient air can also be employed in the drying process.
[0030] A powdered fibrous material remains as a useful byproduct having a significant reduction in volume from the original waste disposed in the waste disposal processing system. As has been disclosed herein, all of the waste material that is not processed into a byproduct is returned to the grinding tank 32 . A single-component waste material, such as glass, or soft metals such as aluminum, may be processed according to the techniques of the present invention.
[0031] According to another aspect of the present invention, the powdered material that remains can be used for counter tops, wall tile, floor tile, patio pavers, table tops, artistic painting, paint pigmentation, decorative wall paint, cement filler mixture, and wall insulation and the like. The powdered material is mixed with a binder material such as latex, patch cement, tile grout, etc. According to one embodiment of this aspect of the invention, approximately equal amounts of the powdered byproduct and binder may be mixed with water and set in a mold. Too much water will adversely affect drying time and will also affect the quality of the final product (e.g., produce soft spots or discoloration on the top of the drying casting). It has been found that about 5.7 ounces of water per pound of material is satisfactory. Drying time depends on ambient temperature and humidity. Ideal temperature has been observed to be between about 70° to about 80° F.
[0032] While embodiments and applications of this disclosure 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 disclosure, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. | A waste processing method comprises shredding a batch of waste to produce shredded waste; grinding the shredded waste in a volume of water in a grinder to produce a mixture of ground waste particles and water; straining the mixture of ground waste particles and water; returning to the grinder the water and the ground waste particles having sizes larger than a extracting residual water from the ground waste particles having sizes smaller than the selected size; returning the residual water to the grinder; and drying the ground waste particles having sizes smaller than the selected size. | 1 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/IB2006/054692, filed Oct. 31, 2006, and claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a)-(d) of French Application No. 05.53321, filed Nov. 2, 2005, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of radio-frequency oscillators that can operate in the substantially GHz or slightly sub GHz to several dozen GHz frequency spectrum using magnetic thin-film system technology. The invention has a particular application in the field of telecommunications, especially mobile communications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Spectacular growth in mobile phones (cell phones, portable phones) during recent years has encouraged professionals in this field to continue offering ever more new products and services. More especially, the arrival of multimedia has inspired these professionals to integrate numerous applications into mobile phones. These new applications require multiple connectivity to the cellular network besides connectivity to Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), Bluetooth is one example of this technology which has been used as a basis for a new standard—IEEE 802.15.
This being so, consequently and in order to comply with the various standards, the electronics of these new products must be capable of operating over an extremely wide range of frequency bands. By way of example, the following different ranges of frequency bands are encountered among those used in telecommunications:
Band
Frequency
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 1.9 GHz
WCDMA
2 GHz
802.11 a/g
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
GPS
1.6 GHz
UWB
3 to 7 GHz
RFID
2.45 GHz
W-CDMA: Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access
GPS: Global Positioning System
UWB: Ultra Wide Band
802.11 a/g: System for wireless networking
RFID: Radio-frequency Identification (especially labels).
As is known, the electrical performance of receivers both in terms of sensitivity and selectivity is chiefly dictated by the frequency synthesiser, i.e. the device in radio-frequency sensors that is used to generate the carrier frequency of the signal. To cover the various frequency ranges mentioned above, multi-standard, multiband devices need to use a large number of radio-frequency oscillators.
Known oscillators include LC resonators which have a quality coefficient or quality factor Q=f/□f that is relatively low (4 to 10 in the frequency band in question). Oscillators made using such a resonator have average performance, especially in terms of spectral purity (phase jitter). In addition, frequency tunability is obtained with the aid of a variable MOS type capacitance (C) and is low, since the frequency variation that can be obtained is of the order of 20% of the carrier frequency value.
Not only this, the frequency bands allocated to telecommunications are becoming increasingly saturated, thus compromising a static allocation concept for said bands. To solve this saturation problem, one solution is to make use of dynamic frequency allocation. This principle relies on the ability to analyse the frequency spectrum and, as far as application to 1 GHz to 10 GHz telecommunications is concerned, to identify unoccupied frequency bands in order to be able to use them. This is referred to as a “radio-opportunistic” system.
However, in order to use this dynamic frequency allocation principle, the devices in question, in this case mobile phones, must have extremely wideband oscillators and offer extremely good performance in terms of phase jitter, and hence a high quality factor. This requirement effectively rules out LC-resonator-based oscillators which would involve using complex, expensive architecture.
One technical solution capable of meeting these requirements can be to use spintronic radio-frequency oscillators. Thus, using such oscillators, it is possible to obtain a wide frequency band with a high quality factor Q and straightforward frequency tunability and, moreover, to use a relatively simple architecture.
Spin electronics uses the spin of electrons as an additional degree of freedom in order to generate new effects.
Spin polarisation of an electric current is a result of asymmetry between the diffusion of “spin-up” type conduction electrons (i.e. parallel to local magnetisation) and that of “spin-down” type conduction electrons (i.e. antiparallel to local magnetisation). This asymmetry results in asymmetrical conductivity between the two spin-up and spin-down channels, and hence net spin polarisation of the current.
This spin polarisation of current causes magnetoresistive phenomena in magnetic multilayers such as giant magnetoresistance (Baibich, M., Broto, J. M., Fert, A., Nguyen Van Dau, F., Petroff, F., Etienne, P., Creuzet, G., Friederch, A. and Chazelas, J., “ Giant magnetoresistance of (001) Fe /(001) Cr magnetic superlattices ”, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 61 (1988), 2472-5), or tunnel magnetoresistance (Moodera, J. S., Kinder, L. R., Wong, T. M. and Meservey, R., “ Large magnetoresistance at room temperature in ferromagnetic thin film tunnel junctions ”, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 74 (1995), 3273-6).
In addition, it has also been observed that passing a spin-polarised current through a magnetic thin film can induce reversal of its magnetisation in the absence of any external magnetic field (Katine, J. A., Albert, F. J., Buhrman, R. A., Myers, E. B., and Ralph, D. C., “ Current - Driven Magnetization Reversal and Spin - Wave Excitations in Co/Cu/Co Pillars ”, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 84 (2000), 3149-52).
The polarised current may also generate sustained magnetic excitation, also referred to as “oscillations” (Kiselev, S. I., Sankey, J. C., Krivorotov, I. N., Emley, N. C., Schoekopf, R. J., Buhrman, R. A., and Ralph, D. C., “ Microwave oscillations of a nanomagnet driven by a spin - polarized current ”, Nature, Vol. 425 (2003), 380-3).
Using the effect of generating sustained magnetic excitation in a magnetoresistive device makes it possible to convert this effect into electrical resistance modulation that can be directly used in electronic circuits and hence, consequently, is capable of acting directly at the level of frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,864 describes various developments that use the physical principle mentioned above. It describes, in particular, precession of the magnetisation of a magnetic layer through which a spin-polarised electric current flows.
The physical principle used will be described below in detail in relation to FIG. 1 . In the context of a three-layer magnetic structure, two magnetic layers ( 1 and 2 ) are separated by a non-magnetic layer ( 3 ) (the term “non-magnetic” is taken to mean diamagnetic or paramagnetic). This intermediate layer ( 3 ) is also called a “spacer”. Its thickness is sufficiently small to enable it to transmit a spin-polarised current and sufficiently large to ensure magnetic decoupling between layers ( 1 and 2 ) which it separates.
Layer ( 1 ) is a so-called “anchored” ferromagnetic layer in the sense that it has a fixed magnetisation direction. Generally speaking, this layer ( 1 ) is coupled to an antiferromagnetic layer, the function of which is to anchor said layer ( 1 ) so that its magnetisation does not flip when the assembly is subjected to an electric current. This layer ( 1 ) may also be made up of several layers as, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,725, in order to build a so-called “synthetic antiferromagnetic” layer. This layer ( 1 ) is called the “polariser”. In fact, because of its fixed magnetisation direction, it induces spin polarisation of the electric current that flows through it. As already stated, in a magnetic material, the conductivity of elections that have spin parallel to the local magnetisation (spin-up) is different to that of electrons that have opposite spin (spin-down). Thus, reflection and transmission at the interface between the two layers having different magnetic properties are phenomena that depend on spin. The conduction electrons that reach the interface between layer ( 1 ) and spacer ( 3 ) mostly have a spin type (up or down) that depends on the nature of the materials used.
For layer ( 1 ) (polariser), one selects either a ferromagnetic layer of sufficient thickness to ensure maximum polarisation of the current or a “synthetic antiferromagnetic” (SAF) layer of appropriate thickness to achieve this same objective. With a transport geometry that is perpendicular to the plane of the layers, it is known that the characteristic length is the so-called spin diffusion length (Valet, T. and Fert, A., “ Theory of perpendicular magnetoresistance in magnetic multilayers ”, Physical Review B, Vol. 48 (1993), 7099-7113). The term “sufficient thickness”, in respect of the polarisation layer, is therefore taken to mean a thickness that is sufficiently large relative to this spin diffusion length (typically 5 nm in Ni 80 Fe 20 at ambient temperature). Obviously, the polarisation layer may consist of one or more layers (for example a NiFe/CoFe bilayer or a multilayer laminated composite (CoFe1 nm/Cu0.3 nM) 3 /CoFe1 nm) in order to encourage polarisation of the current or shorten the spin diffusion length.
If the thickness of spacer ( 3 ) is sufficiently small, polarisation of the electric current that flows through the layers at right angles is almost entirely preserved until it reaches the interface between spacer ( 3 ) and layer ( 2 ). This layer ( 2 ) is a magnetically soft so-called “free” layer, e.g. the direction of its magnetisation can easily be changed by the effect of a weak external field (typically a layer made of Ni 80 Fe 20 Permalloy or CoFe alloys or formed by associating two layers such as NiFe/CoFe).
At the level of the interface between layer ( 2 ) and layer ( 3 ), spin transfer occurs between the spin-polarised current and the magnetic moment of layer ( 2 ). If the latter and the spin polarisation direction (imparted by the magnetisation of layer ( 1 )) are not collinear, the current affects the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ) enough to make it rotate (precession). The sign of the spin transfer torque depends on the direction of the applied current:
If the conduction electrons move from polariser ( 1 ) to layer ( 2 ), the spin transfer torque will orientate the magnetisation of said layer ( 2 ) parallel to that of layer ( 1 ); In contrast, if the conduction electrons move from layer ( 2 ) to polariser ( 1 ), said torque will orientate the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ) antiparallel to that of layer ( 1 ).
It has been demonstrated that, depending on the amplitude of the current or even the external magnetic field applied, two distinct effects can be detected:
Firstly, reversal of the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ); this reversal may be hysteretic or reversible, depending on the amplitude of the current or even the external magnetic field; this phenomenon can also be used as a means of writing information in the context of producing random-access memories, also referred to as MRAMs; Also excitation of the sustained precession states of the magnetic moment of layer ( 2 ): this is the effect that is exploited within the framework of the present invention.
When one considers the sustained precession of the magnetic moment of layer ( 2 ), several modes have been revealed by microwave frequency measurements, depending on the relative intensity of the applied electric current in particular:
mode A: small-angle precession of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) type: this precession mode occurs for relatively weak intensity currents and is characterised by signals having a given frequency that does not depend on the applied current; mode B: large-angle precession: this precession mode occurs if the applied current is increased above a certain threshold and is characterised by marked frequency dependence on the applied current; mode C: microwave RTS noise for medium-intensity currents besides weak magnetic fields. The spectra measured under these conditions show very wide, very high-amplitude peaks centred around 1 GHz.
In the context of the present invention, the behaviours exploited are those for which the precession frequency can be adjusted, either by influencing the current or, preferably, by influencing both the current and the external magnetic field. Such structures on nanostructures are integrated in magnetoresistive assemblies or devices. In the case of both giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in metallic systems or tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) in metal-insulator-magnetic-metal tunnel junctions, magnetisation precession results in variation of the electrical resistance measured when a current is applied in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the layers (CCP or Current Perpendicular to Plane geometry).
Without going into details that are deemed to be known by those skilled in the art, magnetic tunnel junctions referred to as TMRs or MTJs, at their simplest, consist of two magnetic layers, it being possible to vary the relative orientation of their magnetisation and the layers being separated by an insulating layer.
The magnetoresistive devices used employ stacks made in two different ways:
so-called “point contact” stacks in which the active layers (layer 1 , layer 2 , layer 3 ) are not etched using nanometric patterns, or if they are, are then fabricated using very large patterns (roughly μm 2 ); an extremely narrow metallic contact, typically 50 nm above layer ( 2 ), is produced by means of an external nanotip (for example tip of an atomic force microscope) or internal nanotip (screen printed pillar). “pillar” type stacks: all the layers are etched to fabricate a pillar having a diameter of the order of 100 nm; in order to prevent the occurrence of significant magnetostatic interaction between layers ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), layer ( 1 ) is sometimes left unetched.
When current is passed through the first type of device perpendicular to the plane of the layers, the current lines all converge towards the nanocontact (the point contact) and diverge towards the inside of the stack in a cone, the shape of which depends on the electrical resistivity of the various layers. In the second case, with a pillar geometry, the current flows more or less uniformly over the entire cross-section of the pillar.
It has been demonstrated, with the aid of micromagnetic simulations, that the so-called “point contact” method is more advantageous for fabricating radio-frequency oscillators insofar as it minimises the occurrence of incoherent excitation produced by edge effects. FIG. 2 (pillar) and FIG. 3 (point contact) show these two types of stacks.
In relation to these structures, FR 2 817 999 states that when the polariser (layer 1 ) is magnetised in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the layers that make up the magnetoresistive device, and the moment of layer ( 2 ) is oriented in a direction parallel to the interfaces, the critical current required to induce precession of said magnetisation can be reduced.
Although, at a theoretical level, the magnetoresistive devices thus described make it possible to achieve implementation of radio-frequency oscillators that satisfy industrial manufacturing requirements (wide frequency range, dynamic frequency allocation is possible, high quality factor Q), it is nevertheless apparent that the actual quality of these devices depends on the consistency of the magnetisation precession produced by the electric current that flows through the layers.
The term “consistency of magnetisation precession” denotes the fact that magnetisation is moved as a single unit over the entire extent of the current sheet through the structure (i.e. over the cross-section of the pillar with a pillar geometry and over the cross-section of the current cone at the level of the free layer if there is a nanocontact) in contrast to producing multiple small excitations that are inconsistent.
Thus, greater consistency results in oscillation signals of narrower frequency and lower amplitude: it is the object of this invention to propose means of increasing the consistency of the dynamic movement of magnetisation precession. Because a reduction in amplitude is not the sought-after effect, once frequency narrowness has been obtained, attempts will be made to boost the amplitude.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore relates to a radio-frequency oscillator that includes a magnetoresistive device in which a spin-polarised electric current flows, said device comprising a stack of at least:
a first so-called “anchored” magnetic layer having a fixed magnetisation direction, a second magnetic layer, an amagnetic layer inserted between the above-mentioned two layers, intended to ensure magnetic decoupling of said layers; and
means of causing a flow of electrons in said layers perpendicular to these layers and, if applicable, of applying an external magnetic field to the structure.
According to the invention, the second magnetic layer has a high excitation damping factor (at least 10% greater than the damping measured in a simple layer of the same material having the same geometry) for magnetic excitation having wavelengths equal to or less than the extent of the cone or cylinder of current that flows through the stack that constitutes the magnetoresistive device.
In the rest of this description, for the sake of brevity, the excitation damping factor, also referred to as the “Gilbert damping factor” will be referred to simply as “damping”.
In other words, said second magnetic layer is chosen so that when it is subjected to a spin-polarised electric current by the anchored layer and, if applicable, to an applied external magnetic field, its magnetisation precesses in a consistent, sustained manner.
Expressed differently, the object of the invention is to induce precession of the magnetisation of said second layer, also referred to as the “free layer” due to the effect of the spin-polarised current from the anchored layer that acts as a polariser, with precession dynamics that are as consistent as possible, i.e. the magnetisation behaves like a single object that rotates as a unit, rather than as the result of small random excitations that locally disorganise magnetisation. In absolute terms, the aim is to ensure that magnetisation remains as single-domain as possible (macrospin).
This being so, the magnetisation dynamics of said second layer are more consistent than those of a simple layer, for example one made of cobalt, nickel or iron or of an alloy of these two metals, having the same geometry, same magnetisation configuration and subjected to spin current under the same conditions and, if applicable, to an external magnetic field.
Various methods are used to obtain significant damping of the second magnetic layer for magnetic excitation having a wavelength equal to or less than the extent of the cone or cylinder that passes through the stack that constitutes the magnetoresistive device. Any means making it possible to increase the excitation damping factor in the proportions mentioned above can be used in order to implement the invention. The three main means are described below.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, this damping is obtained by associating an antiferromagnetic layer with said second layer, this AFM layer being located on the surface of said layer opposite the spacer or paramagnetic layer. Such coupling increases the Gilbert damping. In addition, the restoring force exerted by ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic coupling encourages consistent dynamic magnetisation movement. Typically, this antiferromagnetic layer can consist of Ir 20 Mn 80 , having a thickness of 3 to 10 nm, or be made of FeMn having a typical thickness of 5 to 12 nm, or PtMn having a typical thickness of 8 to 30 nm.
Advantageously, this antiferromagnetic layer is a metallic, non-oxide based layer in order not to impair the series resistance of the pillar that is part of the stacked layers excessively.
According to a second embodiment of the invention, this damping is obtained by using, for said second layer, a material with a high exchange stiffness constant. In fact, because exchange interaction forces spins to remain parallel to each other, it is difficult for short-wavelength excitation to develop. Thus, damping of short-wavelength excitation is increased relative to the damping that would have been obtained for a layer having a lower exchange constant. There is a certain correlation between this constant, more commonly referred to as the “exchange stiffness”, and the Curie temperature. One preferably chooses materials that are rich in cobalt (for example CoFe alloys) and well known for their high Curie temperature.
Also, one can improve the consistency of precession by using magnetic materials with a low magnetic moment (for example CoFeB alloys incorporating 10 to 20% of boron are preferable to CoFe alloys with a higher moment) which have the advantage of minimising the effects of magnetic non-uniformity associated with the strong demagnetising field that is present at the edges of the device.
According to a third embodiment of the invention, this damping is increased by adding various lanthanide-series impurities to said second magnetic layer. By way of example, these impurities may consist of terbium in low proportions, typically from 0.01% to 2% (atomic percentage).
According to the invention, said first and second magnetic layers are anchored in optimised directions that may be located in or outside the plane of the layers. The direction is optimised so that the amplitude of the precession movement is as large as possible in order to produce an RF signal having the largest possible amplitude. This optimisation can be guided, for instance, by dynamic macrospin modelling based on the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert equation with the inclusion of Slonczewski's spin transfer term, and then be adjusted experimentally.
According to another embodiment of the invention that is similar to the second above-mentioned embodiment, said second magnetic layer, the magnetisation of which precesses, is not coupled to an adjacent antiferromagnetic layer but is associated firstly with a second amagnetic layer on the interface opposite that with the first amagnetic layer and then secondly, on the other side of this second layer, associated with a polarising layer, the function of which is similar to that of the first polarising layer. This being so, the magnetisation of said second magnetic layer is subjected to the spin transfer effects of the two polarising layers and this makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of the phenomenon that causes the magnetisation to precess.
The magnetisation direction of the two polarising layers is not, generally speaking, the same and may even be substantially antiparallel or orthogonal (one polarising layer is magnetised substantially in one plane and the other layer is outside this plane).
The invention makes it possible to achieve extremely consistent precession of the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ) with quality factors in excess of 10,000 and, potentially, in excess of 20,000.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The way in which the invention is implemented and its resulting advantages will be made more readily understandable by the descriptions of the following embodiments, given merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the stacked layers of a magnetoresistive device according to the prior art.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show different types of stacking of these layers.
FIGS. 4 and 5 schematically show two embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show the beneficial effect produced by the present invention on the excitation spectra of the structures that are the subject of this invention. Thus, FIG. 6 a shows an excitation spectrum for various currents flowing through the structure, the excited layer being a simple CoFe layer according to the prior art. FIG. 6 b shows the improvement in the fineness of the excitation lines due to the effect of the current when this same CoFe layer is moderately anchored by an IrMn antiferromagnetic layer. FIG. 6 b also shows the tunability of the excitation line as a function of the current flowing through the structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
To produce the radio-frequency oscillator in accordance with the invention, one uses a magnetoresistive device consisting of a stack of the same type as those described in relation to FIGS. 2 and 3 . This stack is inserted between two current leads, the contact thereof with the two extreme layers of said stack being made of copper or gold.
The geometry of this stack will be characterised, in particular, by its width or by its diameter if it is cylindrical.
Layer ( 1 ) of this so-called “anchored layer” stack has a fixed magnetisation direction. This layer ( 1 ) can be a simple, relatively thick (of the order of 100 nm) layer made of cobalt or a CoFe or NiFe alloy, for example. The thickness of this layer must be of the same magnitude or in excess of the spin diffusion length of the material of which this layer is made. In order to reduce this spin diffusion length, this layer may also be laminated by inserting several (typically 2 to 4) extremely fine layers of copper, silver or gold having a thickness of the order of 0.2 to 0.5 nm. These inserted layers are sufficiently fine to ensure strong exchange coupling throughout the laminated layer so that anchoring of this layer remains strong.
The typical composition of such a laminated anchored layer can be (CoFe1 nm/Cu0.3 nm) 3 /CoFe1 nm. But it may also consist of a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) layer of the CoFe3 nm/Ru0.7 nm/CoFe2.5 nm type. The selected Ru thickness is typically from 0.6 nm to 1 nm in order to ensure strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the two layers of CoFe. Once again, of the two layers that make up this SAF layer, at least the CoFe layer that will be closest to the free layer can be laminated by inserting fine layers of Cu in order to reduce its spin diffusion length. In addition, in both these configurations, the simple layer and the SAF layer can be anchored by exchange with an antiferromagnetic layer ( 4 ) (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ). This antiferromagnetic layer can be made of Ir 20 Mn 80 having a thickness of 6 to 10 nm or Pt 50 Mn 50 having a thickness of 15 to 30 nm. This layer ( 1 ) basically fulfils a polariser function. Thus, the electrical current electrons that flow through the layers that constitute the magnetoresistive device perpendicular to their plane and are reflected or transmitted by the polariser are polarised with a spin direction that is parallel to the magnetisation both on layer ( 1 ) and on the interface opposite to that which is in contact with antiferromagnetic layer ( 4 ).
Regardless whether it is simple ( FIG. 5 ) or synthetic ( FIG. 4 ), this layer ( 1 ) receives, on its surface that is opposite to that which receives antiferromagnetic layer ( 4 ), another layer ( 3 ) that functions as a spacer. This layer is metallic (typically a 5 nm to 10 nm thick layer of copper) or consists of a fine insulating layer of the aluminium oxide type (alumina Al 2 O 3 ), typically 0.5 to 1.5 nm thick, or of the magnesium oxide type (MgO), typically 0.5 to 3 nm thick.
Finally, the nature of layer ( 2 ) may vary. The thickness of this layer ( 2 ) is, generally speaking, less than that of layer ( 1 ).
It may firstly consist of a simple magnetic layer having a thickness comparable to that of reference layer ( 5 ) of the synthetic antiferromagnetic structure of anchored layer ( 1 ).
According to a first embodiment ( FIG. 5 ), this layer ( 2 ) is coupled with an antiferromagnetic layer ( 6 ) separately mounted on the latter on its surface opposite to the interface between layer ( 2 ) and spacer ( 3 ). This antiferromagnetic layer may also be made of a material selected from the group comprising Ir 20 Mn 80 , FeMn and PtMn. This antiferromagnetic layer will alter the relative freedom of the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ). However, by varying the thickness of this antiferromagnetic layer or by introducing an ultra fine layer of non-magnetic materials such as Cu or Pt (of the order of 0.1 to 0.5 nm thick along the interface between layers ( 2 ) and ( 6 )), one can thereby ensure that the coupling produced is weaker than that of anchored layer or polariser ( 1 ), so that the magnetisation of layer ( 2 ) nevertheless manages to precess and the decoupling inherent in antiferromagnetic layer ( 6 ) helps keep said magnetisation consistent.
Optimisation studies demonstrate that even signals that correspond to this precession have up to 10 times more power than those that correspond to the same layer without its associated antiferromagnetic layer. This increase in signal power is explained by improvement in the consistency of the magnetisation precession of layer ( 2 ) due to exchange interaction through the interface with the associated antiferromagnetic layer ( 6 ) (see FIG. 6 ). This exchange interaction exerts a uniform restoring force on the precessing magnetisation and, through the same consistency, encourages magnetisation precession movement. It has also been observed that the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic coupling results in increased Gilbert damping (an increase amounting to almost +10% to +400% of the blocking temperature of the antiferromagnetic layer) and this results in strong attenuation of magnetic excitation in the system, thus helping maintain good magnetisation consistency.
In another variant of the invention, doping in the form of lanthanide-series-based impurities, especially terbium, are introduced into layer ( 2 ) in a proportion of 0.01% to 2% (atomic percentage). It has been demonstrated that through such doping, one can increase the excitation damping factor, i.e. the “Gilbert damping factor” (Russek et al, “ Magnetostriction and angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance linewidth in Tb - doped Ni 0.8 Fe 0.2 thin films ,” Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 91 (2002), 8659). It is important to state that the Gilbert damping factor must not be increased too much because this would result in an excessive increase in the critical current that needs to be passed through the structure in order to generate sustained magnetisation precession movement. A compromise must therefore be struck—this typically corresponds to Gilbert damping from 0.01 to 0.05.
This moderate damping makes it possible to attenuate short-wavelength excitation, especially that having wavelengths shorter than the size of the magnetoresistive stack and which is undesirable because it disrupts precession consistency. This damping is nevertheless not too strong so as not to result in excessive values (in excess of 10 7 A/cm 2 ) in order to generate consistent magnetisation precession movement.
Advantageously, besides incorporating such impurities, one can also, as in the first embodiment described above, associate layer ( 2 ) doped in this way with antiferromagnetic layer ( 6 ) described above. In this case, the latter not only ensures increased damping, it also encourages, as previously, precession consistency by creating a restoring force exerted on the magnetisation.
Advantageously, the material used for layer ( 2 ) has a high exchange stiffness constant. To achieve this, one uses 3d metals, more especially cobalt or cobalt-rich alloys. Those skilled in the art will also be aware that layer ( 2 ) may consist of a number of ferromagnetic layers that are in direct contact with each other such as, for example, (NiFe/CoFe) bilayers that are commonly used in spin valves.
Advantageously, one can also use magnetic materials with a low magnetic moment (for example, CoFeB alloys incorporating 10 to 20% of boron are preferable to CoFe alloys with a higher moment) which have the advantage of minimising the effects of magnetic non-uniformity associated with the strong demagnetising field that is present at the edges of the device.
In another variant of the invention, layer ( 2 ), instead of consisting of a simple ferromagnetic layer, may consist, like the anchored layer, of a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) layer, i.e. two ferromagnetic layers that are strongly antiferromagnetically coupled through a 0.5 to 1 nm thick layer of ruthenium. This SAF layer ( 2 ) can, in turn, be moderately anchored by an antiferromagnetic layer.
In another variant of the invention, layer ( 2 ) can be anchored in any direction relative to the magnetisation of polariser ( 1 ) and relative to the plane of the layers, this direction being selected in order to optimise the amplitude of the precession movement of the free layer's magnetisation. This optimisation can be guided, for instance, by dynamic macrospin modelling based on the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert equation with the inclusion of Slonczewski's spin transfer term (Slonczewski, J. C., “ Currents and torques in metallic magnetic multilayers ”, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Vol. 159 (1996), L1); “ Excitation of spin waves by an electric current ”, Vol. 195 (1999), L261-L268), and then be adjusted experimentally. To obtain this optimisation, it may also be necessary to apply an additional external magnetic field to the structure. This field can then be produced, for example, by layers of permanent magnets positioned at appropriate locations around the pillar in the same way used, for instance, to generate a bias field in magnetoresistive read heads used to read information from computer hard disks.
Also, according to another variant of the invention, if said second magnetic layer, the magnetisation of which precesses (simple layer or SAF), is not coupled to an adjacent antiferromagnetic layer, one can associate it with a second amagnetic layer (second spacer) on the interface opposite that with the first amagnetic layer and then, on the other side of this second layer, associate it with a polarising layer, the function of which is similar to that of the first polarising layer. This second anchored layer serving as a second polariser can itself be simple or consist of a synthetic antiferromagnetic layer (SAF) and be coupled to an antiferromagnetic layer separately mounted on the opposite side of the interface between this second anchored layer and the second amagnetic spacer.
This being so, the magnetisation of said second magnetic layer is subjected to the spin transfer effects of the two polarising layers and this makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of the phenomenon that causes the magnetisation to precess. The magnetisation direction of the two polarising layers is not, generally speaking, the same and must be optimised depending on the nature of the layer whose magnetisation precesses. For example, if the layer whose magnetisation precesses is a simple doped layer, the magnetisation directions of the two polarising layers can be substantially antiparallel or orthogonal (one polarising layer is magnetised substantially in one plane and the other layer is magnetised outside this plane).
If the layer whose magnetisation precesses is an SAF layer, the magnetisation directions of the two polarising layers can be substantially parallel or orthogonal.
By way of example to illustrate the beneficial effect provided by the present invention on narrowness of the excitation lines (increase in quality factor), FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show excitation lines obtained for a structure based on the prior art and a structure according to the present invention. FIG. 6 a shows an excitation spectrum for various currents flowing through the structure, the excited layer being a simple CoFe layer according to the prior art inserted into a device of the type shown in FIG. 4 comprising an anchored synthetic layer. FIG. 6 b shows the very marked improvement in the fineness of the excitation lines due to the effect of the current when this same CoFe layer is moderately anchored by an IrMn antiferromagnetic layer. FIG. 6 b also shows the tunability of the excitation line as a function of the current flowing through the structure. | This radio-frequency oscillator includes a magnetoresistive device in which a spin-polarized electric current flows. This device comprises a stack of at least a first so-called “anchored” magnetic layer having a fixed magnetization direction, a second magnetic layer, an amagnetic layer inserted between the above-mentioned two layers, intended to ensure magnetic decoupling of said layers. The oscillator also comprises means of causing a flow of electrons in said layers perpendicular to these layers and, if applicable, of applying an external magnetic field to the structure. The second magnetic layer has an excitation damping factor at least 10% greater than the damping measured in a simple layer of the same material having the same geometry for magnetic excitation having wavelengths equal to or less than the extent of the cone or cylinder of current that flows through the stack that constitutes the magnetoresistive device. | 7 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 150,974, filed Feb. 1, 1988, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system for manufacturing springs of any prescribed free length, and to a method of manufacturing such springs
When manufacturing springs using a system of the aforementioned type in the prior art, the general practice is to manufacture the springs upon setting parameters related to spring manufacture. Even when various parameter data concerning spring manufacture have been set, however, springs having the same free length do not always result, so that there is usually a certain degree of variance from one spring to another.
The reasons for the above primarily are a change in the wire material, wire characteristics such as a non-uniformity in the cross-sectional shape (diameter, etc.) thereof, and a change in the environment, such as a change in temperature, at the time of manufacture. In particular, a change in wire characteristics owing to a difference among wire lots is a matter of course, but there are also slight variations among the wires in one and the same lot.
When there is a change in the wire characteristics or a change in temperature, this is ultimately accompanied by a change in the elasticity of the wire. By way of example, even when a spring is manufactured by moving a swivel shaft in the axial direction while forcibly winding a wire on the swivel shaft, the wire attempts to return to its original shape to a slight degree owing to its elasticity. As a result, a spring having the pitch and number of turns that prevailed at winding cannot be manufactured. Accordingly, when it is considered that the elasticity of a wire is constantly changing when a spring is being manufactured, it can be understood how difficult it is to manufacture springs having a fixed, free length.
Let springs which fall within allowable limits with regard to their desired free length be defined as "acceptable" or "non-defective" springs. In spring manufacture, what is important is to develop an expedient for raising the acceptance rate or yield, namely the ratio of the number of non-defective springs to the total number of springs manufactured In the prior art, however, there are many aspects in which reliance is placed upon the intuition or skill of the worker in an attempt to achieve this, and a firm set of relevant techniques has not yet been established.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a spring manufacturing system in which springs having a desired free length can be manufactured in large quantities through a simple operation.
According to the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing a spring manufacturing system comprising: feeding means for feeding a wire, a coiling point means situated in the direction of feed for being contacted by the wire to forcibly bend the wire in a predetermined direction, a pitch tool means reciprocating in a direction substantially perpendicular to a plane in which the wire is being bent for thrusting into contact with the wire to form pitch in the wire as the wire is being bent continuously by the coiling point means, severing means for severing the wire in synchronization with the reciprocating motion of the pitch tool means, setting means for setting a desired free length of a manufactured spring by selecting one of a plurality of values of a controlled variable to set a corresponding amount of thrusting motion of the pitch tool means detecting means for detecting the amount of a difference between the actual free length of a manufactured spring and the desired free length, means for converting the detected amount of difference into an amount of feedback, adjusting means for adjusting an amount of the thrusting motion of pitch tool means in accordance with the amount of feedback output from the converting means, means for manufacturing a predetermined number of springs in a manufacturing operation performed for each of a plurality of values of a control variable, and analyzing means for identifying an optimum one of said plurality of control variables in accordance with a distribution of free lengths of the springs manufactured on the basis of each control variable. The meaning of the term "control variable" as used herein applies only to the coefficient C. The difference between the desired free length and the actual free length is multiplied by this coefficient, whose value is selectively varied, and the result is used for adjustment of the amount of thrust of the pitch tool, as will be evident from the following description of the invention.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a spring manufacturing system embodying the present invention;
FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are views for describing the principle of spring manufacture in the present embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of an electric circuit for realizing a length detector according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a sorter according to the embodiment;
FIGS. 5(A), (B) and FIGS. 6(A), (B) are graphs showing the relationship between dispersion and the frequency thereof at the time of spring manufacture when a control variable according to the embodiment is varied;
FIGS. 7(A), (B) are flowcharts illustrating processing executed by a CPU in the embodiment;
FIGS. 8(A), (B) flowcharts illustrating processing executed by the CPU when manufacturing samples according to the embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an example of the relationship between acceptance rate and sampling manufacture according to the embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the construction of a spring manufacturing system according to the embodiment of the invention.
In the Figure, numeral 1 denotes a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as a "CPU") for controlling the overall system by executing processing in accordance with the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The program corresponding to these flowcharts is stored in a ROM 1a. A RAM 1b is used as a work area for the CPU 1. The system further includes a keyboard 2 for setting parameters (e.g. the allowable limits of free length) relating to spring manufacture, a display unit 3 for displaying various graphs based on the parameter settings or the free length of springs measured during spring manufacture, a printer 4 capable of printing out the graphs displayed by the display unit 3, a length detector 5 for detecting the distance between a detector portion 5a and the distal end of a spring manufactured by a spring manufacturing mechanism 6, described in detail below. More specifically, the length detector 5 operates by detecting electrostatic capacity and can be realized by the circuit shown in FIG. 3. That is, since electrostatic capacity varies depending upon the distance between the end of a spring and the detector portion 5 a, the capacitance of a variable capacitor 55 can be made to change correspondingly If the potential at OUT A , OUT B is detected, the capacitance of the variable capacitor 55 can be calculated, thus making it possible to detect the distance between the detector portion 5a and the end of the spring. It should be noted that the charge capacities of capacitors 51, 52 and the resistance values of resistors 53, 54 are known, and that an AC voltage generator 56 generates a voltage of E sinωt (0≦ω<π). Accordingly, if the length detector 5 is fixed in advance, it will be possible to detect an amount of variance .sub.Δ L in the desired free length L. It should be noted that the circuit shown in FIG. 3 is meant to serve as an example and that the invention is not limited thereto.
The CPU 1 determines from the free length of a manufactured spring whether the spring is an acceptable item within allowable limits or has a length which is longer or shorter than allowed. A sorter 7 receives from the CPU 1 solenoid drive signals corresponding to the results of the determination and responds by sorting the springs into those that fall within the allowable limits and those that do not.
FIG. 4 illustrates the specific structure of the sorter 7. The sorter 7 includes shutters 73, 74 rotated by respective solenoids 71, 72. When the levels of the solenoid drive signals outputted by the CPU 1 are both "0", both shutters 73, 74 are held in the positions indicated by the solid lines by the action of springs, not shown.
A spring whose free length has been detected by the length detector 5 is severed by a cutter 27 and drops through a common passageway 70. Concurrently, the CPU 1 outputs signals for driving the solenoids 71, 72 based on the detected free length. For example, when it is determined that the free length of a manufactured spring is too short to fall within the allowable limits, the CPU 1 outputs a signal which drives only the solenoid 71, whereupon the shutter 73 is rotated to the state shown by the broken line 73 in FIG. 4, causing the spring which has been dropped into the common passageway 70 to be diverted to a branch passageway 76.
The construction of the spring manufacturing mechanism 6 and the operating principle thereof will now be described in accordance with FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2(A), (B).
A first gear 26a and a first feed roller 20a are coaxially supported on the drive shaft of a motor 25. A second gear 26b is meshed with the first gear 26a. A second feed roller 20b is fixed to the second gear 26b in coaxial relation therewith. The first and second feed rollers 20a, 20b clamp a wire 100 between them so that the wire 100 is capable of being fed out toward a point 22 in accordance with the rotation of the rollers 20a, 20b. Specifically, by rotating the motor 25 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2(A), the first and second feed rollers 20a, 20b are caused to rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows, whereby the wire 100 is fed in the direction of the point 22 via a guide 21.
A guide groove is formed in the surface of the point 22 abutted by the end of the wire 100. The groove is inclined in such a manner that the wire 100 that abuts against the groove is forcibly bent downward in FIG. 2(A).
A motor 32 is provided in addition to the motor 25. The motor 32 has a drive shaft which makes one revolution whenever one spring is manufactured and is adapted to form the pitch of the spring. Attached to the drive shaft of the motor 32 is a cam 33 in abutting contact with a driven member 30. As the cam 33 makes one revolution, the driven member 30 makes one round trip in a direction crossing the feed direction of wire 100 while rotation about its axis is limited by a guide 31.
A push rod 29 is screwed into the driven member 30 and is capable of free back-and-forth movement in the axial direction thereof. A pitch tool 23 is mounted on the distal end of the rod 29 in such a manner as to be moved back and forth via a guide 28 without rotating. FIG. 1 shows a small-diameter portion of the cam 33 in abutting contact with driven member 30, in which state the pitch tool 23 is in a position where it will not form a pitch of the spring. As the cam 33 rotates so that the position of the cam contacted by the driven member 30 changes from the small-diameter portion to a large-diameter portion, the pitch tool 23 gradually crosses the travel path of the wire 100 and pushes the portion of the wire coiled by the groove of the point 22, thereby forming the abovementioned pitch. This state is shown in FIGS. 2(A), (B).
Immediately after the wire 100 is bent by the point 22, the wire is severed by a cutter 27 driven in synchronization with one revolution of the motor 32.
The spring pitch and the free length of the spring, which is decided by the number of coils in the spring, can be predicted depending upon the rotational speed of motor 32 relative to that of motor 25. Nevertheless, springs having exactly the same free length cannot be manufactured. The reason is that even if the pitch tool 23 is thrust forward by an amount L P , as shown in FIG. 2(B), the elasticity of the wire is constantly changing, as a result of which the spring pitch P fluctuates and therefore is not always 2L P . Accordingly, it is necessary to finely adjust the amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool 23 shown in FIG. 2(B). In order to finely adjust the amount of thrust L P in accordance with the present embodiment, the rod 29 is turned about its axis to change the amount by which the rod 29 is inserted into the driven member 30, thereby finely adjusting the length from the point of contact between the driven member 30 and cam 33 and the distal end of the pitch tool 23.
In order to accomplish this, there are provided, in accordance with the present embodiment, a worm wheel 36, a member 34 engaging the worm wheel 36, and a stepping motor 9 for rotating the worm wheel 36. The relationship among these elements will now be described.
The worm wheel 36, through which the rod 29 is slidably passed and which rotates along with the rod 29, has its axial movement regulated by the engaging member 34. Meshing with the worm wheel 36 is a worm screw 37 supported on the drive shaft of the stepping motor 9. Accordingly, by rotating the drive shaft of the stepping motor 9 a requisite amount in a desired direction, the amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool 23 described above can be finely adjusted. The stepping motor 9 is driven by a driver 8, and the direction and amount of rotation of the worm wheel 37 are controlled by the CPU 1.
An important consideration is how to determine a control variable for regulating the amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool 23.
More specifically, when a spring having a length .sub.Δ L greater than that of the desired free length L is manufactured, a feedback quantity (=C×.sub.Δ L) is calculated in order to reduce the amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool. The amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool is finely adjusted by driving the stepping motor 9 by an amount corresponding to the calculated value.
For example, assume that the control variable (feedback ratio) C is 0.01, and that a spring having a length +0.05 mm greater than that of the desired free length L is manufactured. In such case, the feedback quantity will be 5.0×10 -4 . The drive shaft of the stepping motor 9 is rotated by an amount corresponding to this value to shorten the length from the distal end of the pitch tool 23 to the end of the driven member 30. In other words, the amount of thrust L P of the pitch tool is reduced.
If .sub.Δ L is negative, the corresponding feedback quantity is calculated in similar fashion to enlarge the amount of thrust of pitch tool 23.
However, since the elasticity of the wire 100 is constantly changing, as described above, it is impossible to determine a value for control variable C conforming to all factors.
In the present embodiment, therefore, statistics are gathered and analyzed in order to decide an optimum value for control variable C before a spring having the desired free length L is manufactured.
The specifics of processing will now be described.
First, N-number of springs are manufactured using a function of a control variable Co as an initial value. This will be referred to as "sampling manufacture" hereinafter. Differences between desired free lengths sensed during sampling manufacture are stored successively in the RAM 1b. During this operation the sorter 7 is being driven in accordance with the sensed free lengths of the springs so that acceptable springs produced by sampling manufacture will not be wasted.
During or after a first sampling manufacturing operation, an acceptance rate G based on a number n of springs within allowable limits, an average value 66 L of differences relative to the desired free length, and a standard deviation value π thereof are calculated. It should be noted that an average length L may be used instead of the average value .sub.Δ L.
The aforementioned values are calculated in accordance with the following equations: ##EQU1##
where j represents the number of springs produced during a sampling manufacturing operation.
A control variable value Ci relating to a sampling manufacturing operations from the second onward (i.e. an i-th sampling manufacturing operation) is a value [=Co+.sub.Δ C×(i-1)] obtained by adding .sub.Δ C to the control variable of the immediately preceding sampling manufacturing operation, and the three values mentioned above are calculated for each operation. When these sampling manufacturing operations have been executed a preset m-number of times, it is determined which sampling manufacture, namely the sampling manufacture using which value of the control variable, gives the best results.
Criteria are used to decide the optimum value of the control variable. In the present embodiment, this is determined by carrying out weighting as follows with regard to each factor:
acceptance rate>average value>standard deviation
That is, when the maximum acceptance rate is obtained at the time of an i-th sampling manufacturing operation among m sampling manufacturing operations, the value of Co+.sub.Δ C×(i-1) is decided on as the optimum control variable. If there are-two or more candidates for the optimum acceptance rate, the decision is made based on the second criterion, namely the "average value". If the candidates cannot be limited to one using the average value, then the decision is made based on the third criterion, namely the "standard deviation".
In the present embodiment, the number m of sampling manufacturing operations and the number N of springs manufactured in each sampling manufacturing operation are specified. However, since the statistics collected will lose their meaning if these values are too small, it is necessary that m and N be somewhat large. Specifically, m should have a value of several tens, and N should have a value of several hundred. The setting of the initial control variable Co and of the add-on value .sub.Δ C in each sampling manufacturing operation is also important. When a spring having a comparatively large free length is manufactured, m should be large and .sub.Δ C should be small. The reason is that though the feedback quantity is decided by the control value, variance is large in comparison with manufacture of a spring having a small free length and it is therefore necessary to perform a detailed analysis.
The reasons for establishing a preferential order regarding the abovementioned factors will now be described in accordance with FIGS. 5 and 6. The description that follows is a method of deciding the optimum value for the control variable based on a distribution of differences relative to a desired free length. However, the same would hold using a distribution of free lengths of manufactured springs.
Assume that n springs are to be manufactured as samples, with the free length being 50.00 mm and the allowable limits being ±0.08 mm. Differences with respect to 50.00 mm are plotted along the vertical axis, and frequency is plotted along the horizontal axis to obtain the graphs shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B). It is assumed that the acceptance rates are the same in these views. Naturally, the values for the control variable in the two graphs differ.
Whereas the average differential with respect to the desired free length of the spring is about 0.008 mm in FIG. 5(A), the average differential is -0.0145 mm in FIG. 5(B). Obviously, the control variable relating to the sampling manufacture of FIG. 5(A) has the higher priority. Accordingly, upon predicting a case where the acceptance rates will be the same, the importance of the average value as the second criterion can be understood. In other words, one criterion is whether it is possible to manufacture springs having a higher precision by reducing the allowable limits (e.g. to ±0.04 mm).
If a case is predicted where the average values will be the same as well as the acceptance rates, then a determination is made using the third criterion, namely the standard deviation σ(or deviation σ 2 ).
FIGS. 6(A), 6(B) illustrate a case where the acceptance rates are the same and the errors with respect to the desired free length are both 0.00 mm. Obviously, the higher the frequency where the error is 0.00 mm (i.e. the smaller the standard deviation), the better. It can therefore be understood that the sampling manufacture having the control variable of FIG. 6(B) (i.e. where the standard deviation σ is about 0.026) has a higher priority than that having the control variable of FIG. 6(A) (where the standard deviation σ is about 0.039). In particular, in the case of FIG. 6(B), the fact that the standard deviation is small suggests that the allowable limits on the spring free length can be reduced further.
Displaying the foregoing graphs and a time-series transition of the three values serving as criteria on the display unit 3 will make it very easy for an operator to grasp the existing circumstances.
The flowcharts of FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) summarize processing according to the present embodiment based on the above-described arrangement and principle.
First, the number m of sampling manufacturing operations is set from the keyboard 2 at a step S1 of the flowchart. Next, the number N of springs produced by each sampling manufacturing operation is set at a step S2, the allowable limits are set at a step S3, the initial control variable value Co is set as a step S4, and an incremental value .sub.Δ C of the control variable value is set at a step S5. This is followed by a step S6, at which "1" is substituted into the variable i as the initial value. It should be noted that whether or not sampling manufacture has ended is determined based on the value of the variable i.
Step S7 in FIG. 7(B) calls for sampling manufacturing processing to be executed. When a single sampling manufacturing operation ends, the variable is incremented at a step S8 and the variable i is compared with the number m of sampling manufacturing operations at a step S9. If the decision rendered at the step S9 is that i≦m holds, then the program returns to the step S7 to execute the next sampling manufacturing operation. The steps S7 through S9 are repeated until the relation i>m is established.
When it is determined at the step S9 that i>m holds, the program proceeds to a step S10, at which the optimum value of the control variable is decided in accordance with the criteria already described. Spring manufacture is executed at a step S11 based on the optimum control variable obtained. This processing is executed until the preset number of acceptable springs is attained, or until the apparatus stops.
The details of sampling manufacture processing executed at the step S7 will now be described in accordance with FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B).
A step S701 calls for the value of control variable C for sampling manufacture to be obtained in accordance with the following equation based on the variable i indicating the order of the sampling manufacturing operation:
control variable C=Co+(i-1)×.sub.Δ C
Accordingly, the control variable at the time of the first sampling manufacturing operation is the preset value Co.
Next, "1" is substituted into the variable j representing the number of springs produced during the sampling manufacturing operation, a variable A representing the number of acceptable springs is initialized to "0", and a variable B representing the sum total of variance is also initialized to "0". At the conclusion of these initial settings, the program proceeds to a step S703 to actually manufacture one spring. This is followed by a step S704, at which the variance .sub.Δ L with respect to the desired free length detected by the length detector is detected and temporarily stored as a variable D(j). It is then determined at a step S705 whether the variance D(j) falls within the allowable limits. If the answer is YES, then "1" is added to the variable A at a step S706 and the program proceeds to a step S708. If the answer obtained at step S705 is NO, indicating that the variance D(j) is outside the allowable limits, the program proceeds to a step S707, at which the solenoid 71 or 72 of the sorter 7 is driven for a predetermined period of time. Which solenoid is driven depends upon the sign of the variance. This is followed by the step S708.
The step S708 calls for the variance D(j) to be added to the variable B, after which the value of D(j) and the graphs described above are displayed at a step S709.
Next, a feedback quantity F is calculated at a step S710 [FIG. 8(B)]. Though the function for calculating the feedback quantity has already been described, it may be expressed by the following equation:
F=C×D(j)
The stepping motor 9 is driven at a step S711 based on the magnitude and sign of the feedback quantity F obtained. This is followed by a step S712, at which the variable j is incremented by 1, and by a step S713, at which the variable j and set value N are compared. If it is determined that j≦N holds, this means that N springs have not yet been manufactured, and the program returns to the step S703. When N springs have been manufactured, the determination j>N is made at the step S713 and processing is executed from a step S714 onward. Accordingly, the number of springs which fall within the allowable limits is stored as the variable A at this time. In addition, the sum total value of the variances of the N springs is stored as the variable B, and the variances of the individual springs are stored as variables D(1) through D(N).
Based on these values, an acceptance rate G(i), average value X(i) and standard deviation σ(i) for the i-th sampling manufacturing operation are calculated at steps S714 through S716. The values obtained are stored in the RAM 1b at a step S717.
By executing the foregoing processing for each single sampling manufacture, there are obtained an acceptance rate, average value and standard deviation peculiar to each sampling manufacture. The optimum control variable value may thus be decided at the above-described step S10 in accordance with the variables G(i), X(i) and σ(i) obtained.
In accordance with the present embodiment as described above, the optimum conditions relating to spring manufacture are sensed prior to the spring manufacturing stage, thereby making it possible to manufacture springs under conditions for the optimum acceptance rate. Furthermore, since a series of processing steps is executed automatically, it is possible even for an operator with little spring manufacturing experience to reliably manufacture springs having the desired free length.
When one reel of the wire is used up and a new reel of the wire is set in place, or when springs having a different length are to be produced in the course of a manufacturing operation, executing the same preprocessing is desirable. The reason for this is that there is a slight change in material quality, diameter and the like when there is a difference in the lot of the wire.
In the present embodiment, acceptance rate is calculated by a count-up operation when manufactured springs fall within the allowable range. However, it is mathematically possible to calculate the acceptance rate when allowable limits are set based on the standard deviation value. The standard deviation value is calculated by the above-discussed equations. This means that it is unnecessary to count the springs within the allowable range one at a time. In other words, the optimum control variable can be decided based solely on a distribution of free lengths during each sampling manufacturing operation.
In the present embodiment, the feedback quantity is calculated on each occasion based on the function. However, feedback quantities can be stored as a table in the ROM 1a and read out as needed.
If a graph showing the relation of the kind illustrated, for example, in FIG. 9 is obtained when the number of sampling manufacturing operations is plotted along the horizontal axis and the acceptance rate along the longitudinal axis, it can be arranged so that subsequent sampling manufacture is suspended to prevent inadvertent waste of the wire. However, since the determination as to whether or not the acceptance rate has peaked cannot be made unless the acceptance rate of the next sampling (point B) is measured, the actual number of samplings necessary will be the number of samplings up to the moment the maximum acceptance rate is detected plus one additional sampling.
If the maximum acceptance rate is obtained at the point C in FIG. 9, it is judged that a setting for the maximum acceptance rate resides between points A and B on either side of the point C. Accordingly, if the sampling state (point A in FIG. 9) immediately preceding the sampling at which the maximum acceptance rate is detected is returned to, .sub.Δ C' (where .sub.Δ C'<.sub.Δ C) is adopted as the incremental value and the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 are executed up to the point B, a spring manufacturing environment for an even better acceptance rate can be sensed.
In the illustrated embodiment, only control of the pitch tool 23 is described. However, since the position of the point 22, by way of example, also has a significant influence upon the free length of springs, it can be arranged so that the position of the point is finely adjusted. Analysis processing may then be carried out as before.
Further, in illustrated embodiment, a motor for feeding the wire and a motor for making a pitch are independently provided. However, the present invention is not limited to such a construction, for example, a common motor for feeding the wire and for making a pitch may be used.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the spring manufacturing method of the present invention as described above, springs having a desired free length can be mass produced. In accordance with the spring manufacturing apparatus of the invention, springs having a desired free length can be mass produced through a simple operation.
As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims. | Springs manufactured to have a desired free length nonetheless exhibit a slight difference in free length from one spring to another. This results from a change in elasticity caused by a difference in wire material or a non-uniformity in wire cross section from one lot of wire to another or within one and the same lot. A plurality of pre-manufacturing operations, respectively, produce a given number of test springs is used to determine an optimum value of a control variable which is then used in a manufacturing operation. In a pre-manufacturing operation, the difference between the desired free length and the actual free length is determined, and the amount of this difference is multiplied by the control variable to produce a feedback signal. The feedback signal determined for one spring is used to adjust the thrusting motion of a pitch tool for corresponding by adjusting the free length of a subsequent spring. Each pre-manufacturing operation is performed with a different value of the control variable. The optimum value is determined from a distribution based on the actual free lengths associated with each value thereof. | 1 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to provisional application 61/221,460, filed Jun. 29, 2009.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to booster pump electric motors, and in particular to accommodating the expansion and contraction of dielectric lubricant of a sea floor submersible electric pump motor via a subsea expansion chamber.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electrical submersible pumps (“ESP”) are used for pumping high volumes of well fluid, particularly in wells requiring artificial lift. The ESP typically has at least one electrical motor that normally is a three-phase, AC motor. The motor drives a centrifugal pump that may contain a plurality of stages, each stage comprising an impeller and a diffuser that increases the pressure of the well fluid. The motor is filled with a dielectric lubricant or oil that provides lubrication and aids in the removal of heat from the motor during operation of the ESP. A seal section is typically located between the pump and the motor for equalizing the pressure of the lubricant contained within the motor with the hydrostatic pressure of the well fluid on the exterior. The seal section is filled with oil that communicates with the oil in the motor.
The ESP is typically run within the well with a workover rig. The ESP is run on the lower end of a string of production tubing. Once in place, the ESP may be energized to begin producing well fluid that is discharged into the production string for pumping to the surface.
During operation, the temperature of the oil in the motor of the ESP increases due to friction in the motor, causing the volume of the oil to also expand. The oil is vital to maintaining the motor within its rated temperature and maintain reliability. However, oil may migrate outside of the motor when it expands, resulting in less oil for protecting the motor and possible contamination of other parts of the ESP.
To counteract the expansion of the oil, a bladder, bellows or labyrinth seals form an expansion chamber within a seal section of the ESP. The internal expansion chamber provides additional volume into which the oil can expand. However, this requires increasing the length of the ESP system, which can be a problem for a sea floor booster pump. In addition, the internal expansion chamber may fail and the entire ESP system would need to be replaced. This could result in costly downtime.
A technique is desired to allow for expansion of the motor oil surrounding the motor that may translate to extended life and increased reliability of the motor without increased ESP length.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the present disclosure, an ESP is described that is part of a boosting system located on the seabed. The ESP may be horizontally mounted, inclined, or vertically mounted on a skid or within a caisson in the seafloor. The ESP has at least one motor and at least one pump, with a seal section located in between.
An expansion chamber comprising a primary chamber and a secondary chamber that is located external to the ESP boosting system in a. vicinity of a the sea floor has an oil port and a formation fluid port. An oil line connects to the oil port of the expansion chamber to thereby communicate with the primary chamber and communicate with the motor. A formation fluid line connects to the formation fluid port of the expansion chamber to thereby communicate with the secondary chamber and communicate with a capsule housing the motor. As the motor oil heats up and expands during operation, the motor oil flow into the primary chamber. The primary chamber expands to equalize the pressure between the motor oil and formation fluid. Further, the primary chamber may contract when the motor oil cools down. To achieve this expansion and contraction, the primary chamber may be fabricated as metallic bellows or an elastomeric bag.
The external expansion chamber arrangement thus provides an effective mechanism for dealing with expanding motor oil without the need of a longer ESP. Leaks due to expanding motor oil decrease and thereby loss of motor oil decreases as does contamination of the motor oil with formation fluid. Thus, the motor life is advantageously extended and its reliability is advantageously increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electrical submersible pump with an expansion chamber, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 1 mounted on a skid.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an electrical submersible pump within a caisson, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of multiple electrical submersible pumps, each with expansion chambers, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 5 .
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a standard electrical submersible pump with an expansion chamber, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the embodiment of FIG. 7 .
FIGS. 9 and 10 show a typical motor electrical connector and line connector arrangement, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a typical electrical penetrator and line connector arrangement, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , an electrical submersible pump (“ESP”) 20 is illustrated in a sectional view. The ESP 20 can be part of a boosting system located on the seabed. It may be horizontally mounted, inclined, or vertically mounted with a caisson in the seafloor, also referred to as a “dummy well.” A motor 22 and pump 24 are shown with a seal section 26 located in between. The seal section 26 contains a thrust bearing and can contain a pressure equalizer to equalize the pressure of lubricant in the motor 22 with the hydrostatic pressure that allows the motor oil lubricant to thermally expand and contract. The pressure equalizer may be a bellows, a bladder or a labyrinth arrangement. Alternatively, a battery of mechanical seals can be used in the seal section 26 .
A capsule 30 houses the ESP 20 and has a cap or barrier 32 at one end and a discharge port 36 at the other end. Capsule 30 in this example is located on the sea floor and is horizontal or inclined on a skid 60 ( FIG. 3 ). Capsule 30 may be part of a flowline jumper. The cap 32 can have various types of ports and connections depending on the configuration of the ESP within the capsule 30 . In this example, the motor 22 and pump 24 are in the inverted position such that the base of the motor 22 faces the end of the capsule 30 with the cap 32 . A standard subsea connector 31 that passes through the cap 32 can thus be used to connect with the base of the motor 22 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 . Alternatively, three independent phase connectors could be utilized to provide power to the motor. A power umbilical (not shown) can then provide electrical power to the motor 22 via the subsea connector 31 .
In this example, a port 33 passes through the cap 32 to allow production fluid to flow into the capsule 30 . Port 33 can connect to a flow line coming directly from a well or from other subsea equipment. The fluid is discharged by the pump 24 through port 36 . The discharge end of the pump 24 has a seal assembly 34 that seals the discharge end from the capsule 30 . In this example, port 36 can connect to a production flow line or to a production riser that can move production fluid to, for example, a floating production storage and offloading unit, a tension leg platform, a fixed platform, or a land facility. A connection can also be made to other subsea equipment, such as a manifold, prior to routing production fluid to the surface.
During operation of the ESP 20 , the temperature of the motor oil inside the motor 22 and circulating through the seal section 26 rises, causing the oil to expand. Due to expansion, the oil could damage the motor and seal section, resulting in less oil for protecting the motor, contamination of the motor, and possible contamination of other parts of the ESP 20 . Further, a leak caused by the expanded oil can result in formation fluid contaminating the motor oil, which is not designed to maintain the differential pressure. Contraction of the oil as it cools when the ESP 20 is not in operation is also a problem because a vacuum can form within the motor 22 and seal section 26 that can result in failure. Compensating for the expansion and contraction of motor oil due to thermal variations can thus prevent these problems.
To address these problems, seal section 26 may have an expansion chamber (not shown) that allows the motor oil to expand as it heats up during operation of the ESP and equalizes the pressure of oil in the motor 22 with the hydrostatic pressure of the formation fluid. The terms “formation fluid” and “production fluid” are used interchangeably throughout. However, providing an expansion chamber within the seal section 26 significantly adds to the length of the ESP 20 , which can impact assembly and handling of the ESP at the rig or installation vessel, and during running operations or subsea hardware installations. In addition, the reliability of seal section 26 and thus that of the ESP 20 is compromised if the internal expansion chamber fails. Typically, the seal section 26 fails because it exceeds its oil expansion capacity. The expansion chamber within the capsule has a maximum oil expansion capacity limited by the space available within the capsule. An expansion chamber on the seabed, however, can be designed for larger oil expansion capacity because there are no space limitations. Thus, by locating an expansion chamber 50 on the seabed externally to the capsule 30 , or on a skid that supports capsule 30 , the length of the ESP 20 could advantageously be reduced and the reliability of the ESP 20 could advantageously be increased.
Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 , an oil line 42 passes through a connector 43 that passes through the cap 32 to allow the oil line 42 to communicate with the base of the motor 22 . The oil line 42 allows hot motor oil from the base of the motor 22 to expand out into a bellows 54 inside the expansion chamber 50 , which defines a first chamber. The bellows 54 can be made out of metal or rubber that can flex and tolerate temperature variations. Alternatively, a bladder or piston chamber, can be used instead of bellows. A capsule line 48 passes through a connector 45 that passes through the cap 32 to allow the capsule line 48 to communicate with the interior of the capsule 30 exposed to the formation fluid. The capsule line 48 allows formation fluid in the capsule 30 to travel up to a second chamber within the expansion chamber 50 defined by the expansion chamber housing 52 and the external surface of the bellows 54 .
Housing 52 is sealed from hydrostatic pressure. Prior to deployment of the ESP 20 and the expansion chamber 50 , they are prefilled with oil. The bellows 54 section has a check valve 49 with a preset pressure setting that allows oil to flow from the bellows 54 to the second chamber of the expansion chamber 50 . The check valve 49 will provide communication to the motor oil fluid to the external part of the bellows 54 in case the maximum oil expansion is exceeded. The check valve 49 prevents formation fluid outside the bellows 54 to communicate with the internal portion of the bellows 54 . This overexpansion of oil is normal in the first start up of the system, until operational stability is achieved. The oil inside the bellows 54 does not communicate with the formation fluid held in the expansion chamber 50 although the formation fluid can communicate with oil external to the bellows 54 . Neither the formation fluid or oil communicate with seawater.
During operation, the hot oil inside causes the bellows 54 to expand while the formation fluid in the expansion chamber 50 simultaneously exerts external pressure on the bellows 54 , thereby equalizing the pressure of oil in the motor 22 with the pressure of the formation fluid in the capsule 30 surrounding ESP 20 . Oil from bellows 54 flows back through oil line 42 into motor 22 . Further, when the ESP 20 is shut down, the motor oil cools and contracts. Without a provision for contraction, the contraction can create a vacuum within the ESP system that can lead to failure. Motor oil leaks due to oil expansion or contraction can thus be minimized and the motor 22 can thus be protected to operate longer and more reliably while significantly reducing the length of the ESP 20 system.
Referring to FIG. 2 , an alternative embodiment is illustrated that is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . However, in this embodiment, an additional expansion chamber 56 is shown coupled in series with the primary expansion chamber 50 . The primary function of this embodiment is to provide an additional expansion chamber for redundancy proposes. The additional expansion chamber 56 can also provide additional expansion and contraction capability to the subsea system. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the oil line 42 allows hot motor oil from the base of the motor 22 to expand out into a bellows 54 inside the expansion chamber 50 . However, capsule line 48 connects to the additional expansion chamber 56 outside of bellows 58 to allow formation fluid in the capsule 30 to travel up to a second chamber within expansion chamber 56 defined by the expansion chamber housing 57 and the external surface of the bellows 58 . The interior of bellows 58 is connected by a line 51 to the exterior of bellows 54 . As in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the bellows 54 , 58 of both expansion chambers 50 , 56 have check valves 49 , 59 that allow oil to flow from one chamber to the next during prefilling. Thus, the oil inside bellows 54 , 58 does not communicate with the formation fluid held in the additional expansion chamber 56 although the formation fluid can communicate with oil external to the bellows 58 in the additional expansion chamber 56 . The capsule line 48 passes through a connector 45 that passes through the cap 32 to allow the capsule line 48 to communicate with the interior of the capsule 30 exposed to the formation fluid. The coupling line 51 connects the second chamber within the primary expansion chamber 50 , which contains oil, and is defined by the expansion chamber housing 52 and the external surface of the bellows 54 , to the interior of bellows 58 of the additional expansion chamber 56 , which is also filled with oil. The use of multiple expansion chambers as in this example can further increase reliability by including redundancy. If one expansion chamber fails or leaks, the second expansion chamber can protect the subsea system. As in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the ESP system of this embodiment may be horizontally mounted or inclined on a skid 60 ( FIG. 3 ), or vertically mounted with a caisson 100 ( FIG. 4 ) in the seafloor, as explained below.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the capsule 30 and the ESP 20 within can be housed in a caisson 100 . The caisson 100 can be partially or completely submerged in the seabed and can be several hundred feet deep. The connections and ESP 20 arrangement are identical in this embodiment to those shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 . However, the pump 24 discharges production fluid from the capsule 30 through outlet 36 and into the caisson 100 instead of a production flow line. An outlet port 104 on the caisson 100 connects to a production fluid riser or flow line. The caisson 100 can be used to separate gas in the production fluid to thereby increase pumping efficiency. The expansion chamber 50 would be located proximate and external the caisson 100 to allow for expansion of the motor oil. Alternatively, multiple expansion chambers could be utilized as in the embodiment of FIG. 2 . Also, in another alternate, the production fluid could flow into the upper end of caisson 100 down around capsule 30 . The fluid flows up capsule 30 and is pumped out cap 33 .
Referring to FIG. 5 , an alternative embodiment is illustrated that is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . However, in this embodiment, multiple ESP systems, 20 , 70 are shown connected in series, each with its own expansion chamber 50 , 84 . A primary ESP 20 within a capsule 30 is shown connected in series to ESP 70 within a capsule 76 to provide additional pressure boosting capacity. The discharge outlet 36 of the primary ESP 20 connects to the inlet port 72 of the secondary ESP 70 . A pump 71 then discharges production fluid through a discharge outlet 74 in the secondary ESP 70 . The discharge outlet 74 can connect to a production flow line or riser.
Continuing to refer to FIG. 5 , the arrangement of the secondary ESP 70 is identical to that of the primary ESP 20 . An oil line 80 passes through a connector 81 that passes through a cap 87 to allow the oil line 80 to communicate with the base of the motor 73 . The oil line 80 allows hot motor oil from the base of the motor 73 to expand out into a bellows 88 inside the expansion chamber 84 . A capsule line 82 passes through a connector 83 that passes through the cap 87 to allow the capsule line 82 to communicate with the interior of the capsule 76 exposed to the formation fluid. The capsule line 82 allows formation fluid in the capsule 76 to travel up to a second chamber within the expansion chamber 84 defined by the expansion chamber housing 86 and the external surface of the bellows 88 . Both the primary ESP 20 and the secondary ESP 70 have standard subsea connectors 31 , 85 that pass through their respective caps 32 , 87 to connect with the base of the motors 22 , 73 . The subsea connectors 31 , 85 allow a power umbilical (not shown) to provide electrical power to the motors 22 , 73 via the subsea connectors 31 , 85 . Each of the ESP systems can be electrically connected in parallel by running separate umbilicals from a main power umbilical (not shown).
Alternatively, stages in the pump of the secondary ESP can be inverted, as shown in FIG. 6 . The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , with multiple ESPs 20 , 90 and expansion chambers 50 , 84 . However, the secondary ESP 90 has a pump 94 with inverted stages relative to pump 71 of FIG. 5 that allow for production flow in the opposite direction. Thus, the discharge outlet 36 of the primary ESP 20 connects to the inlet port 95 of the secondary ESP 90 . In a non-inverted stage arrangement, such as in FIG. 5 , inlet port 95 would be the discharge outlet. The inverted stage pump 94 then discharges production fluid into the capsule 93 , where the fluid flows external to the motor 92 and seal section 96 and out of the capsule 93 through a discharge outlet 97 at one end of the capsule 93 . The discharge outlet 97 passes through a cap 99 that is identical to the cap 32 on the primary capsule 30 . The discharge outlet 97 can further connect to a production flow line or riser. In this case the bellows 88 of the expansion chamber 84 connected to the secondary pump system 90 will be balancing the oil pressure with the discharge fluid pressure.
The serially connected ESP systems in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be mounted inclined or horizontally on a skid 60 as in FIG. 3 or mounted in a caisson 100 as shown in FIG. 4 . Further the multiple expansion chambers can be mounted on the skid 60 ( FIG. 3 ) or on the seabed.
Referring to FIG. 7 , an alternative embodiment is illustrated that is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . However, in this embodiment, the ESP 20 uses a standard ESP arrangement instead of an inverted arrangement. Thus, the motor 110 is located below the pump 112 and a seal section 114 is located between. Further, the production fluid will flow into the capsule 30 through a port 124 at one end of the capsule 30 . Port 124 connects to a flow line carrying production fluid from a well. The pump 112 discharges the production fluid through a piece of tubing 126 that passes through the cap 32 . The discharge tubing 126 can connect to a flow line or riser, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 . The base of the motor 110 in this example is at the end of the capsule 30 opposite the cap 32 . A power cable 122 runs through an electrical penetrator 120 in the cap 32 ( FIGS. 11 and 12 ) and connects to motor 110 to energize it. In this embodiment the oil line 42 connects to the bellows 54 of the expansion chamber 50 and extends down into the capsule 30 to communicate with the motor 110 . As in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the capsule line 48 allows formation fluid in the capsule 30 to travel up to a second chamber within the expansion chamber 50 defined by the expansion chamber housing 52 and the external surface of the bellows 54 .
Alternatively, the seal section 114 shown in FIG. 7 could be replaced with a battery of mechanical seals 130 , as shown in FIG. 8 . The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is identical to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , with the ESP 20 in a standard ESP arrangement and expansion chamber 50 . However, replacing the seal section with the battery of mechanical seals 130 may require the addition of an internal expansion chamber 128 within that capsule 30 and at the base of the motor 110 . In this embodiment then, the external expansion chamber 50 can function as a redundant expansion chamber to prevent the internal expansion chamber 128 from overexpanding.
The ESP systems in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 can be mounted inclined or horizontally on a skid 60 as in FIG. 3 or mounted in a caisson 100 as shown in FIG. 4 . Further the multiple expansion chambers can be mounted on the skid 60 ( FIG. 3 ) or on the seabed.
During operation of an ESP 20 , the heat generated in the motor raises the temperature of the motor oil, causing it to expand. This expansion can lead to oil migrating outside of the motor and seal section, resulting in less oil for protecting the motor and possible contamination of other parts of the ESP 20 . Further, a leak caused by the expanded oil can result in formation fluid contaminating the motor oil, which is typically rated for a particular differential pressure. The conventional way of dealing with these problems requires the use of internal expansion chambers that add significant length to the ESP system, making for additional assembly and handling of the ESP at the rig and during running operations. In addition, the reliability of the expansion chamber at the seal section and thus that of the ESP 20 is compromised if the oil expansion exceeds the maximum capacity of the internal expansion chamber. Thus, by locating an expansion chamber 50 on the seabed externally to the capsule 30 , or on a skid that supports capsule 30 , the length of the ESP 20 could advantageously be reduced and the reliability of the ESP 20 could advantageously be increased.
While the invention has been shown in only one of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible to various changes without departing from the scope of the invention. | An expansion chamber to serve ESP equipment installed on the seabed located in either a caisson or a conduit on a skid. The expansion chamber provides an external reservoir for expansion and contraction of motor oil in the ESP equipment. During operation of an ESP, the heat generated in the motor raises the temperature of the motor oil, causing it to expand. The expansion chamber is connected to the ESP equipment via oil lines that allow oil to expand into the expansion chamber when the temperature of the motor oil increases. The expansion chamber has a movable barrier therein that defines primary and secondary chamber. Oil communicates with the primary chamber. Formation fluid within the conduit surrounding the motor communicates with the secondary chamber. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to end blocks for batteries and more particularly to an end block construction which eliminates components, reducing cost while maintaining structural integrity. In its most preferred form, the present invention relates to end blocks for zinc/bromine or other flowing electrolyte batteries, which include recesses for the terminal electrodes, as well as a simplified support structure designed for structural rigidity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,841, owned by the assignee of the present invention, a conventional flowing electrolyte bipolar battery is shown. It includes a stack of cells, an electrolyte pump, an electrolyte reservoir, a cooling element, and external studs in electrical communication with the terminal electrodes. Each cell is comprised of an electrode upon which the anodic reaction takes place and an electrode upon which the cathodic reaction takes place.
In typical bipolar batteries, each electrode comprises two poles, such that the anodic reaction occurs on one side of the electrode and the cathodic reaction occurs on the opposite side of the same electrode. In contrast to monopolar batteries which require two separate electrodes per cell, a bipolar battery consists of only one structure. As with a monopolar battery, the cells in a bipolar battery are electrically connected in series. Unlike a monopolar battery, however, where the cells are hydraulically isolated, the cells of a flowing electrolyte bipolar battery are hydraulically connected in parallel. The '841 patent describes current flow and the structure of bipolar batteries of the zinc/bromine type and is incorporated herein by this reference.
One of the requirements for flowing electrolyte bipolar batteries are end blocks, between which are sandwiched the cells stacks. The end blocks are supporting structures and provide the framework for duct and shunt tunnels to communicate with interiorly disposed elements of the flow system of the battery. Additionally, the blocks support the terminal studs which electrically communicate with the end or terminal electrodes of the cell stack. Not only must the blocks be inert to the various chemicals of the fluid anolyte/catholyte system, the end blocks must resist bending or bowing caused by different pressures which exist between the atmosphere and the internal operating environments of such batteries. In a typical zinc/bromine battery, operating pressures may easily reach 15 psi. Bowing of the end plates may result in non-uniform electrolyte distribution, resulting in a significant reduction in voltage and/or discharge capacity.
In zinc/bromine batteries, bowing of the end block may also result in poor zinc plating, causing undesirable dendritic growth which, if uncontrolled, could provide a short circuit for current in a particular cell and eliminate its voltage contribution.
Various attempts have been made to provide end blocks which minimize bowing and the resulting problems described above. Steel plates coated with inert material have been employed, leading to a sacrifice of an important battery design criteria, i.e. weight. Others have used plastic corrugations on the end plate to provide additional strength, leading to the sacrifice of another battery design criteria, i.e. overall volume. The solution proposed in the aforementioned '841 patent is a lightweight, deflection-resistant end block which included a base member made of a lightweight, chemically inert and chemically resistive material having one or more cavities for housing low density, substantially rigid inserts, such as honeycombed aluminum. The inserts are encapsulated by a cover welded or otherwise secured to walls located on the base member. The base member also extends beyond the walls to provide a means for receiving the various ducts carrying the flowing electrolyte to and from the interior of the battery, thereby isolating the inserts from possible exposure to the electrolytes. While the foregoing design represented a significant improvement over prior designs, four components are required (including the two insets), each of which has to be manufactured to relatively close tolerances and which require care in assembly.
In addition to the end block structures, such as those disclosed in the '841 patent, batteries of this type typically include a frame on the inside of each end block, such frames having compartments for receiving the terminal electrodes. The frames are additional elements required to construct the battery, and the elimination of such components would result in a desirable savings in the number of components required. The combined elimination of components from the end block and from the structure used to house the terminal electrodes would represent a significant advance in this art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention features an end block construction which, in a preferred form, includes an end plate and a cover, each of which includes a ribbed pattern. The end plate and cover are welded together along the upper surfaces of the ribs to provide an integral structure having all the advantages of the prior insert design, while eliminating components and reducing steps in the assembly of batteries.
In its most preferred form, the present invention features an end block in which the end plate is provided with recesses for receiving the terminal electrodes, which are attached to the end plate by an adhesive or by fusing the edges of the electrodes to the end plate. Such design eliminates two additional components presently used in the construction of such batteries, i.e., the terminal electrode frames.
The present invention also allows recycling without the additional step required with the present designs of removing the aluminum inserts from the end block plates.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like components, and
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the various components of a bipolar battery sandwiched between a pair of end blocks in accordance with the prior art '841 patent referred to above;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective of one of the end blocks used in the battery of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective of an end plate and cover in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the end plate of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the terminal electrode and end block of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Before proceeding to a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, several general comments need to be made about the applicability and the scope of the invention. First, the end block arrangement shown in the preferred embodiment incorporates two features of the invention, i.e., recesses in the end plate for receiving the terminal electrodes and a grid pattern used to provide structural rigidity. The illustrated block is formed by combining, through a welding operation an end plate and a cover, each including a portion of the rib pattern. It should first be pointed out that the end block construction itself could be used with separate terminal electrode frames, such as those which will be described in connection with FIG. 1. In the alternative, the terminal electrode recesses could be used with other end block configurations, such as the one described in the prior art '841 patent. Furthermore, while the preferred material for forming the end block of the present invention is high density polyethylene filled with glass fiber (preferably filled in an amount of 5% to 30%), other materials could be employed which provide the desired rigidity and resistance to the temperature and chemical environments typically encountered during use of such batteries. Also, it should be understood that the reference to the prior art battery should not be considered as limiting with regard to the structure thereof, but it should be understood that the end block construction of the present invention has utility in batteries of this general type, no matter the specific construction, arrangement of channels and ducts, etc.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a bipolar battery 100 comprises a pair of end blocks 130 disposed exterior to a series of alternating separators 112 and electrodes 114 and sealed together to form a stack 120 of electrochemical cells. A pair of terminal electrodes 110 are shown separated from end blocks 130 and contained within a separate frame element 111.
To provide the aqueous anolyte and catholyte to the respective half cells, anolyte and catholyte inlet ducts 35 and 20, respectively, and respective anolyte and catholyte discharge ducts 45 and 40 are positioned to facilitate passage of the aqueous anolyte and catholyte. Channels 116 are provided on each side of electrodes 114 or separators 112, as desired, for the proper flow of the fluid electrolyte. The various details involving the structure of the internal components and the movement of the aqueous anolyte and catholyte are not, in and of themselves, part of the present invention, but may be found in prior art patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,019, commonly owned and incorporated herein by way of this reference.
Battery 100 is further provided with a pair of shunt tunnels 60 and 65 and preferably a removable shunt terminal 70, which help minimize the effect of parasitic currents which often plague bipolar batteries of the zinc-bromine type. U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,325 describes in detail such a removable terminal and is incorporated by way of this reference.
Referring next to FIG. 2, the end block 130 is depicted in an exploded view and is made of four major components, a base 132, a pair of end block inserts 134 and 136, and a cover 138. Base 132 is essentially a thin, planar member having a first "major surface" 140 on the reverse side of a second major surface 142, seen in this FIGURE. Major surface 140 is essentially flat, while major surface 142 is totally circumscribed by a wall 144 projecting outwardly from the surface 142 except for corners 152. A dividing wall 146 bisects the area of surface 142 within the perimeter of wall 144 such that wall 146, together with wall 144 and surface 142, define a pair of cavities 148 and 150. Wall 146, which may have a width of about 0.5 inches, acts as a reinforcing rib to provide rigidity to base 132 and end block 130.
The inserts are housed within cavities 148 and 150. Walls 144 and 146 ensure encapsulation of the inserts by extending outwardly from surface 142 by a distance equal to or slightly greater than the thickness thereof.
The flat cover 138 has a configuration which is preferably the same as that of the outside edge of wall 144. This keeps the corners 152 of the base member 132 exposed when the cover is secured to wall 144. The corners 152 serve as supporting structures for various ducts and tunnels, and the inserts are thereby completely isolated from the ducts and tunnels by wall 144.
Rectangularly shaped studs 50 and 55 extend through each end block 130 from the terminal electrodes. The number is a matter of design choice. In the illustrated embodiment, each component of end block 130 is provided with a pair of openings through which the studs extend when the components are fully assembled. Base member 132 has a pair of rectangular shaped openings 158 and 160 circumscribed by respective rectangular shaped extensions or protrusions 159, 161 extending from major surface 142. These are centrally located within cavities 148 and 150. Complementary openings 162 and 164 are formed within respective inserts 134 and 136 such that the protrusions 159 and 161 extend therethrough in a snug relationship. Protrusions 159 and 161 thus serve to electrically insulate studs 50 and 55 from the inserts. The length of the extensions of protrusions 159 and 161 should be about the same or slightly greater than the thickness of the inserts, i.e., about the same as the extension of wall 144 and 146, such that the top surface of each protrusion abuts cover 138 around the openings 154, 156 formed in cover 138.
In the embodiment described as prior art and disclosed heretofore, the base members are preferably made from filled polyethylene or other polyolefin materials. The inserts are preferably fabricated from a low density but very strong material, and in the '841 patent, the inserts are made from a honeycombed aluminum laminated on either side with aluminum sheet, commercially available under the registered trademark Hexcel®, from the Hexcel Company and identified as aluminum honeycomb bonded panels.
Proceeding next to FIGS. 3-5, the end block 190 of the present invention can be explained. The electrode stack and other components which are shown in, for example, FIG. 1, could be used with this end block 190, so they are not shown here. The present invention can thus be better understood and the drawings will be less cluttered. In FIG. 3, the end plate 200 and cover 202 each include a raised pattern of intersecting ribs, including a plurality of ribs 204 which are parallel to the long axis of the end block 190, and a series of ribs 206 arranged perpendicularly thereto. The result is a plurality of cavities 208 defined by the ribs. From the perspective view of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, it will be seen that the spacing of the ribs 204 and 206 is not equal and that the size of cavities 208 vary in a pattern which is preferred, but not critical to the present invention. Through various stress testing, it has been determined that the pattern illustrated provides the most rigid structure, but other patterns could certainly be used without departing from the intended scope of the invention.
Plate 200 is generally rectangular in configuration, while the cover 202 has rectangular cutouts 210 at each corner, whereby, when the two components are joined, the corners 212 of plate 200 will be exposed for the same reasons previously discussed in connection with prior art end plate corners. The corners may include bosses molded into the part for connection of the anolyte and catholyte inlet and discharge ducts.
By reference to FIGS. 3-5, it will be understood that the patterns of ribs 204 and 206 are identical so that when placed in a confronting arrangement, the top of ribs 204 and 206 will abut one another (see especially FIG. 5), so they can be welded together, e.g., using vibration welding techniques, in and of themselves known to the art. When such welding takes place, an integral structure will be formed which is rigid and is made from fewer components than in previous designs.
It will also be seen from FIG. 3 that end plate 200 and cover 202 each include a pair of openings 215, 216 and 218, 219, respectively, adapted to receive therethrough tabs 220 of the terminal electrodes soon to be discussed. Note in FIG. 4 that two elongate recesses 207 are formed in end plate 200 extending to edge 209 thereof. Recess 207 are designed to receive bus bars 211 coupled to the ends of tabs 220 so that electrical connections to this battery can be made at the edge of the end block 190.
The surface 225 of plate 200, which is opposite to the surface containing the ribs, includes two generally square recesses 221-222 having a depth of, for example, 0.08 inches. The openings 215-216 are located generally in the center of each recess. Channels 230 and 231 are shown along the upper and lower margins of plate 200 on the surface 225 thereof, as are the openings 235 at each corner, through which the various ducts previously discussed may pass.
One terminal electrode is shown at 242. The terminal electrodes themselves may be attached to surface 225 of end block 200 in any suitable manner, such as by fusing the periphery 248 thereof to the edge of the recesses 221 and 222. If the terminal electrodes include a thermoplastic element at the edge, heat sealing can conveniently be used. Otherwise, other joining techniques, including the use of adhesives, could be employed.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view which shows the fully assembled and welded components, primarily plate 200, cover 202, ribs 204 and 206, one of the pair of matching recesses (in this case 215 and 218) and the electrode 242 with its tab 220. The ribs are welded to one another across the entire area of their mating upper surfaces, forming a plurality of cavities the recesses through which the collector tabs pass. It will also be appreciated by reference to FIG. 5 that the terminal electrode is received within recess 221 and that there is no need for a frame for such electrodes as was the case with prior designs.
While the illustrated end plate 200 and cover 202 show ribs of identical height, it is not necessary that the ribs be of equal height for the principles of the invention to be employed. For example, the ribs on either of the two components could be higher than the ribs on the mating component. Such a construction would yield an integral and strong end block for use in batteries of the type with which the present invention is concerned. It is also possible to have the entire rib configuration be present on one or the other of the end plate or cover, but we have found that molding techniques for preparing the individual components are better suited to forming the ribs in a manner so that a portion thereof are formed on each of the two planar surfaces.
The end block configuration of the present invention provides the required structural support, while eliminating a plurality of elements previously employed in such batteries. These include the frames for the terminal electrodes and separate inserts in the end block itself.
While the present invention has been described in connection with a particular preferred embodiment, it is not to be limited thereby but is to be limited solely by the claims which follow. | Improvements in the end block design for zinc/bromine batteries include modification of the end block configuration which previously has included rigid resin covers and end block plates with a honeycomb structure sandwiched therebetween. Such prior structures were used adjacent to terminal electrode frames. In the present invention, the terminal electrodes are preferably contained within the end plate, thereby eliminating two components used in prior zinc/bromine battery design and the end block itself is formed from two components by building a rib structure into the plate and cover and welding the two components together to join the ribs and form an integral and structurally sound unit. The end block configuration could be used for bipolar lead-acid batteries or other types of flowing or non-flowing batteries or capacitors. | 7 |
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/190,283 filed on Aug. 27, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In drying a moving web of material, such as paper, film or other sheet material, it is often desirable to contactlessly support the web during the drying operation in order to avoid damage to the web itself or to any ink or coating on the web surface. A conventional arrangement for contactlessly supporting and drying a moving web includes upper and lower sets of air bars extending along a substantially horizontal stretch of the web. Heated air issuing from the air bars floatingly supports the web and expedites web drying. The air bar array is typically inside a dryer housing which can be maintained at a slightly sub-atmospheric pressure by an exhaust blower that draws off the volatiles emanating from the web as a result of the drying of the ink thereon, for example.
When floating light weight webs under medium to high tensions, machine direction corrugations often form in the web which can not be removed with prior art dryer nozzle arrangements. In addition, these hard-to-float light weight webs tend to have ink build up and marking problems when conventional nozzle arrangements are employed.
It therefore would be desirable to provide a flotation dryer having a nozzle arrangement that provides excellent web flotation, excellent drying and heat transfer performance, minimal or no web flutter, and minimal or no corrugation formation even in light weight webs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problems of the prior art have been solved by the embodiments disclosed herein, which provide an apparatus and process for the non-contact drying of a web of material. The apparatus includes air flotation nozzles for floating the web, and direct air impingement nozzles for enhanced drying of the web. Specifically, a plurality of air flotation nozzles or air bars are mounted in one or more sections of a dryer enclosure in air-receiving communication with headers, preferably both above and below the web for the contactless convection drying of the web. In conjunction with these air flotation nozzles, one or more sections of the dryer also includes direct impingement nozzles such as hole-array bars or slot bars. The drying surface of the web is thus heated by both air issuing from the air flotation nozzles and from the direct impingement nozzles. As a result, the dryer has a high rate of drying in a small, enclosed space while maintaining a comfortable working environment. The nozzle arrangement includes pairs of flotation nozzles directly opposing pairs of direct impingement nozzles. A perforated member can be positioned between flotation nozzles within a pair of flotation nozzles to control return air.
The paired nozzle arrangement is particularly well-suited to float and dry light weight webs under moderate to high tension. Increased cushion pressure is created to support the web preferably with the same horsepower as conventional arrangements. The increased cushion pressure pad of the nozzle arrangement allows for good flotation with reduced velocities below about 11,500 FPM. Machine direction wrinkles are removed and the result is positive flotation with no marking on the web or ink build up on the air bars.
In its method aspects, embodiments include providing a web dryer enclosure having a web inlet slot and a web outlet slot, floatingly guiding a running web in the dryer enclosure with first and second opposed arrays of nozzles for floatingly supporting and drying the web, each array comprising at least a pair of air flotation nozzles and at least a pair of direct impingement nozzles, the pair of direct impingement nozzles opposing the pair of flotation nozzles, and wherein between each flotation nozzle with the pair of flotation nozzles, providing a member having a plurality of apertures for directing return air from said flotation nozzles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a flotation nozzle/direct impingement nozzle arrangement in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a direct impingement nozzle in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the bar of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a top view of a direct impingement nozzle in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 5 is a top view of a return air member in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of nozzle arrangement in a dryer entry section in accordance with certain embodiments;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a paired nozzle arrangement with a return air member;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a dryer-gear side arrangement of a paired nozzle and return air member;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an operator-side arrangement of a paired nozzle and return air member;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the apertured portion of a return air member in accordance with certain embodiments; and
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a return air member in accordance with certain embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Although the present invention is not limited to any particular flotation nozzle design, it is preferred that flotation nozzles which exhibit the Coanda effect such as the HI-FLOAT® air bar commercially available from Megtec, Inc. can be used, in view of their high heat transfer and excellent flotation characteristics. Standard 1× HI-FLOAT® air bars are characterized by a spacing between slots of 2.5 inches; a slot width of 0.070 to 0.075 inches, usually 0.0725 inches; an installed pitch of 10 inches; and a web-to-air bar clearance of ⅛ inch. Air bar size can be larger or smaller. For example, air bars ½, 1.5, 2 and 4 times the standard size can be used. Air bars 2 times the standard size are characterized by a slot distance of 5 inches and slot widths of 0.140 to 0.145 inches (available commercially as “2× air bars” from Megtec, Inc.). In general, the greater distance between the slots results in a larger air pressure pad between the air bar and the web, which allows for increasing the air bar spacing. Another suitable flotation nozzle that can be used in the present invention is the Tri-Flotation air bar disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,449, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Means for creating direct air impingement on the web, such as a direct impingement nozzle having a plurality of apertures, such as a hole-array bar or slot bar, provides a higher heat transfer coefficient for a given air volume and nozzle velocity than a flotation nozzle. As between the hole-array bar and the slot bar, the former provides a higher heat transfer coefficient for a given air volume at equal nozzle velocities. Although maximum heat transfer is obviously a goal of any dryer system, other considerations such as air volume, nozzle velocity, air horsepower, proper web flotation, dryer size, web line speed, etc., influence the extent to which optimum heat transfer can be achieved, and thus the appropriate design of the direct impingement nozzle.
Turning now to FIG. 1 , there is shown schematically a preferred flotation nozzle/direct impingement nozzle arrangement, such as for use in the first section (following the entry section) of a flotation dryer, with flotation nozzles or air bars denoted “AB” and direct impingement nozzles or hole bars denoted “HB”. Horizontal web W is shown floatingly supported between upper and lower flotation nozzle/direct impingement nozzle arrays. Two flotation nozzles AB are preferably positioned on 7″ centers with two direct impingement hole bars opposing them. Between the flotation nozzles is a member 42 , preferably made of metal, with return air holes in it. This member creates an additional pressure pad area and when in combination with the two Coanda air bar pressure pads doubles the support force on the web and gives good flotation particularly to hard-to-float webs. In certain embodiments, in the nozzle array above the web, the pair of flotation nozzles AB, AB is followed by, in the web direction, a pair of direct impingement nozzles HB, HB, which in turn is followed by another pair of flotation nozzles, and so on. A similar arrangement is provided in the nozzle array below the web, provided that each pair of flotation nozzles above the web is opposed by a pair of direct impingement nozzles below the web. Preferably the opposing nozzles are directly opposed, as shown, rather than positioned in a staggered relationship.
The member 42 between each flotation nozzle in a given pair of flotation nozzles opposed by a pair of direct impingement nozzles functions to restrict and control the amount of return air creating an additional pressure pad area which in turn enhances the pressure pad of the two flotation nozzles AB, AB. With the increased pressure pad area, good flotation of previously hard-to-float webs is achievable. The increased pressure pad area eliminates the ink build up and web marking found in conventional arrangements when floating light weight, wet webs under higher tensions. The controlled return air allows for improved flotation without adding air horsepower requirements from larger supply fans.
The member 42 is mounted between the air bars to control the amount of air that leaves the two flotation nozzles AB, AB and becomes trapped between the web W, the member 42 and the face of each air bar AB. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 , 10 and 11 , the member 42 between the two flotation airs bars AB is preferably an elongated, flat plate, and has a calculated hole pattern in the center third of the plate 42 to meter the correct amount of air leaving the pressure pad area above the plate. The pressure pad area over the member 42 and the two adjacent Hifloat pressure pads in this arrangement create a cushion pressure to float a web that is over twice the strength of the cushion pressure pad of the flotation nozzles in certain conventional nozzle arrangements. The opposing grouped direct impingement bars HB, HB on 7″ centers allow for increased heat transfer and form return air openings between the direct impingement bars to remove the solvent air via the dryer exhaust. The increased cushion pressure pad area developed from this arrangement eliminates the web marking and ink build up on air bars when floating high tensioned hard-to-float webs. The increased cushion pressure pad area of this arrangement allows for good flotation with reduced velocities below about 11,500 FPM required for prior art arrangements. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the term “plate” as used herein is not to be construed as limiting the return air member 42 to any particular thickness or shape; although a flat planar sheet is preferred, other designs are within the scope of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of member 42 suitable for use with the flotation bars AB. The member 42 is preferably a flat sheet having a length that corresponds to the length of the flotation bars AB. A portion of the member 42 includes a plurality of spaced apertures 43 , which are preferably located in the center third of the plate in the cross-machine direction, aligned linearly and centrally in the member 42 in the machine direction. In the embodiment shown, there are twelve such apertures 43 , although the number and size of the apertures is not particularly limited, and depends upon the desired return air characteristics to be achieved (note the embodiment of FIG. 10 includes 14 circular apertures). One suitable configuration has 1″ diameter circular apertures, at 2.5″ centers. Other shaped apertures could be used. An open area of about 10% is preferred. FIG. 7 shows the member 42 mounted between each flotation nozzle AB in a paired flotation nozzle assembly. The arrows illustrate one possible direction of return air flow through the apertures in the member 42 .
FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a suitable dryer gear-side and operator-side attachment of the member 42 to the paired air flotation bars 50 . The gear-side hold down tabs of member slide under the air bar 50 bodies to secure that end of member 42 . The operator-side hold down 70 includes a flat plate for affixing it to the air bar bodies, and an apertured right angle flange that positions under the member for inclusion of an adjustment bolt to adjust the open to flow area in the member 42 and balance the return air while on the run. The member is thus a damper in that the 1″ holes can be made to cover or overlap with the adjustment of the sliding bottom plate 62 , also shown in FIG. 11 . The bottom plate 62 and the plate 42 slide relative to one another, with the bottom plate 62 functioning to regulate the extend to which, if it all, any of the apertures 43 in the top plate are blocked.
A suitable dryer entry section arrangement of nozzles is shown in FIG. 6 . The dryer entry section is the first zone of the dryer, and is followed by the dryer section containing the air bar/hole bar arrangement discussed above. In the embodiment shown, respective air knives AK above and below the web W are the first upper and lower element of the dryer. Those skilled in the art are familiar with air knives; they are used to provide an air seal at the dryer to prevent a “belching” effect out of the dryer and a minimization of cold air into the dryer through the web slot. The design of the air knives that are used is not particularly limited. The dryer entry section also has an array of nozzles above the web W that includes a first dampered flotation nozzle 50 that is spaced from the upper air knife by a “blank off”, which may include a return air plate or baffle with appropriate apertures. These help to balance the pressure in these open areas to allow for stable web flotation through this section prior to the first air bars. The first dampered flotation nozzle 50 is unopposed by a nozzle below the web (as indicated by “blank off”), and is followed by a first direct impingement nozzle 60 A spaced from the dampered nozzle 50 by at least the distance necessary to accommodate another flotation nozzle (e.g., the center of the first direct impingement nozzle 60 A is 14 inches from the center of dampered nozzle 50 ) and directly opposed by a flotation nozzle 50 A, which in turn is followed by a second direct impingement nozzle 60 B in the web direction that is also directly opposed by a flotation nozzle SOB below the web W. Preferably the air flotation nozzles 50 A, 50 B and the direct impingement nozzles 60 A, 60 B are positioned on 7-inch centers. Preferably the flotation nozzles 50 A and 50 B are paired nozzles with return air member 42 as shown. The dampered flotation nozzle 50 has independent air pressure control via a damper in the inlet to the nozzle. It always runs at less pressure than the remaining air bars to center the web in the web slot opening on the dryer. The dampered nozzle does not have an opposing hole bar so the pressure must be reduced to keep the web from floating too high off the dampered nozzle.
Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a preferred embodiment of a direct impingement nozzle hole bar HB is shown. Hole bar HB is installed in air-receiving communication with a header 11 having a port 13 . Header 11 feeds air into hole bar compartment 12 . The air emits from the hole bar HB via a plurality of apertures, in this case spaced circular holes in the top surface 14 of the hole bar HB. Preferably the top surface 14 of hole bar is crown shaped and approaches a central apex 15 at about a 5 degree angle. This design encourages the return air to flow over the edges of the hole bar after impingement on the web W. A flatter top surface 14 tends to result in return air traveling down the face of the hole bar in the cross-web direction, which is undesirable. The angle of the crown can vary from about 0 degrees to about 10 degrees. In general, the closer the hole bar is to the web W, the larger the angle of the crown. Hole bars at a large distance from the web could be flat.
The particular pattern and configuration of apertures in the top surface 14 of the hole bar HB is not critical, as long as relatively uniform coverage of the web is provided, and the impingement of air is not directly over the center of the pressure pad generated by an opposing air bar. The percent open area of a hole bar or an air bar is defined by the following equation:
[ ∑ i = 1 i A sperfi n i ] lA top × 100
Where:
j=number of perforation types A sperf =cross-sectional area of a perforation type n=number of copies of a perforation type A top =exterior surface area of hole or air bar top where perforations are located
The percent open area of the hole bar HB is from 1.8 to about 7.5% of the total area of the hole bar, preferably about 2.4% of the total area of the hole bar. The total dryer effective open area is defined by the following equation:
[ ∑ i = 1 i ( A openi ) ( n i ) ( C di ) ] lA surface web based × 100
Where:
A open =% open area/100×A top of bar type n=number of duplicates of a bar type j=number of bar types in dryer C d =discharge coefficient of bar type A surface web heated=total surface area of web being heated
The dryer effective open area can be based on measured or calculated discharge coefficients, and is preferably in the range of 1.4 to 4%, most preferably 1.5% of the total web surface area being heated in the dryer enclosure. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the hole bar open area is accomplished with 8 horizontal rows 25 a - 25 h of circular holes 18 , each horizontal row of holes 18 consisting of 31 holes spaced at 1.83 inch intervals. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the number of rows of holes and the number of holes per row can vary, depending in part upon the size of the hole bar for the application. In the embodiment shown, the top row 25 a commences 0.488 inches from the side edge 20 of the hole bar, and 0.421 inches from the top and bottom edges 21 a and 21 b . Each subsequent horizontal row 25 b - 25 h is spaced an additional 0.229 inches from the side edge 20 . Each horizontal row 25 a - 25 h is vertically spaced 0.454 inches from its neighboring row, except the rows nearest the center of the bar. In order to reduce web disturbance at close spacing to the web, it is preferred that the center of the hole bar be devoid of holes. Preferably the dimensions of this central portion devoid of holes is such that two symmetrical rows of holes could be accommodated therein if such holes were present.
Where the apertures of the hole bar are of a different configuration, such as diamonds, square or rectangular slots, preferably they have an equivalent diameter of from about 0.06 to 0.5 inches. Also, the slots can be continuous along the length of the bar.
Although an end feed hole bar is shown in FIG. 4 , a center feed design can also be used, depending upon the application.
Depending upon the size of the holes 18 , “whistling” and web fluting or wrinkling problems, particularly in the machine-direction, can arise. These problems should be minimized without compromising good flotation and heat transfer characteristics. Hole diameters of 0.164, 0.172 and 0.1875 inches result in minimal web fluting and whistling in graphic arts applications, with hole diameters of 0.1875 inches being especially preferred. The optional use of a hole bar diffuser plate (not shown) coupled to flanges 9 ( FIG. 2 ) between the header 11 and the compartment 12 may also be used in reducing whistle. A flow straightener 30 may also be positioned in chamber 12 of hole bar HB to improve the air flow characteristics.
Also of importance in optimizing flotation and heat transfer characteristics is the height of the hole bars HB from the web W. If the hole bars are too close to the web centerline, web instability and web touch-down on the air bar top can occur. However, moving the hole bars too far away from the web centerline can cause an undesirable loss in heat transfer. Accordingly, preferably the hole bar should be from about 2 to about 10 equivalent aperture diameters (or slot widths) away from the web. Actual hole bar clearances ranging from about ⅛ to 1¾ inches from the web are preferred.
Suitable nozzle velocity is in the range of 1000 to 12000 feet per minute, with a nozzle velocity of from about 8000 to 10000 fpm being preferred.
The flotation nozzles and direct impingement nozzles need not be fed by the same header systems; separate headers can be used, especially if different operating velocities and/or air temperatures in the direct impingement nozzles and flotation nozzles are desired. Independent control of velocities may be important where heat transfer and flotation requirements are at odds, such as where low web tensions require reduced flotation velocity, yet the heat transfer required remains the same.
Similarly, the air bars and hole bars can be separately dampered such that they operate at different nozzle velocities. | Apparatus and method for the non-contact drying of a web of material. The apparatus includes air flotation nozzles for floating the web, and direct air impingement nozzles for enhanced drying of the web. The nozzle arrangement is particularly well-suited to float and dry light weight webs under moderate to high tension. Increased cushion pressure is created to support the web preferably with the same horsepower as conventional arrangements. The increased cushion pressure pad of the nozzle arrangement allows for good flotation with reduced velocities below about 11,500 FPM. Machine direction wrinkles are removed and the result is positive flotation with no marking on the web or ink build up on the air bars. The nozzle arrangement includes pairs of flotation nozzles directly opposing pairs of direct impingement nozzles. A perforated member can be positioned between flotation nozzles within a pair of flotation nozzles to control return air. | 5 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/576,384, filed on Dec. 19, 2014, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/066,559, filed on Apr. 18, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,943,687, which claims priority under 35 USC 119 from DS 10 2011 013 141,8, filed on Mar. 4, 2011, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a method for the production of a piston for an internal combustion engine.
[0003] From the state of the art, it is generally known to produce pistons from steel for an infernal combustion engine, in that first an upper piston part is produced using the forging method, and a lower piston part, is produced using the forging method or by means of casting, and then the upper piston part is welded to the lower piston part. In this regard, reference should be made to the patent documents DE 195 01 416 A1, DE-OS 29 19 638, DE 196 03 589 A1, and DE 198 46 152 A1. In this connection, the method of hot forming, in other words hot forging, at a steel temperature of 950° C. to 1300° C., is used.
[0004] In this connection, an uncontrollable oxide layer forms on the surface of the forged blank, and in order to remove it, the surface of the forged blank must be blasted with coarse blasting material. This results in great variations in the forged contour, so that as a consequence of this, complicated reworking of the forged blank, by means of a chip-cutting processing method, is required,
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Accordingly, it is the task of the present invention to avoid the aforementioned disadvantages of the state of the art, whereby in particular, complicated reworking of the combustion bowl and of the cooling channel is supposed to be avoided.
[0006] It is furthermore the task of the present invention to indicate a method with which pistons having combustion chamber bowls and cooling channels that are not configured with rotation symmetry or in centered manner can be produced in cost-advantageous manner.
[0007] Finally, it is the task of the present invention to indicate a method with which pistons can be produced, in which the wall between the edge of the combustion bowl and the upper part of the cooling channel has a constant thickness over the circumference.
[0008] These tasks are accomplished with the characteristics that stand in the characterizing part of the main claim and of the dependent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the object of the dependent claims.
[0009] In this connection, the result is achieved, by means of cold calibration or cold forming of the forged blank, that the combustion bowl and the cooling channel are formed in finished manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Some exemplary embodiments of the invention will be explained in the following, using the drawings. These show:
[0011] FIG. 1 a sectional diagram of a piston produced according to the method according to the invention, in a section plane that lies perpendicular to the pin bore axis,
[0012] FIG. 2 a section through the piston, in a section plane that, lies on the pin bore axis,
[0013] FIG. 3 a section through the upper piston part after semi-hot forming,
[0014] FIG. 4 a section through the upper piston part after over-lathing of the outer contour and of the contact regions intended for friction welding,
[0015] FIG. 5 a top view of a configuration of the upper piston part having an asymmetrically configured and eccentrically disposed combustion bowl,
[0016] FIG. 6 a section through the upper piston part along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5 ,
[0017] FIG. 7 the upper piston part and the lower piston part before joining by means of friction welding,
[0018] FIG. 8 a top view of another embodiment of the upper piston part having an asymmetrically configured and eccentrically disposed combustion bowl and having a valve niche, and
[0019] FIG. 9 a section through the upper piston part along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0020] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a piston 1 produced according to the method according to the invention, in section, perpendicular to the pin axis 2 , consisting of an upper piston part 3 and a lower piston part 4 , which are connected with one another by way of a friction-welding seam 5 .
[0021] The piston 1 has a piston crown 6 into which a combustion bowl 7 is formed. Radially on the outside, a ring wall 8 directed downward, having a ring belt 9 for piston rings not shown in the figure, is formed onto the piston crown 6 . Radially within the ring wall 8 , the piston 1 has a ring-shaped support 10 formed onto the underside of the piston crown 6 .
[0022] The lower piston part 4 consists of two skirt elements 11 and 12 that lie opposite one another, which are connected with one another by way of two pin bosses 13 and 14 that lie opposite one another, each having a pin bore 15 and 16 . In FIG. 1 , only the pin boss 13 having the pin bore 15 can be seen, because of the position of the section plane.
[0023] A ring-shaped contact part 17 connected with the pin bosses 13 , 14 is disposed on the top of the lower piston part 4 . Furthermore, the lower piston part 4 has a circumferential ring rib 18 on its top, which rib is disposed radially outside of the contact part 17 and connected with the skirt elements 11 , 12 . A radially oriented ring element 19 extends between the contact part 17 and the ring rib 18 .
[0024] In this connection, the support 10 and the contact part 17 are disposed in such a manner that the underside of the support 10 and the top of the contact part 17 have contact with one another and form a first contact region 20 . Furthermore, the ring wall 8 and the ring rib 18 are disposed in such a manner that the lower face side of the ring wall 8 and the top of the ring rib 18 also have contact with one another and form a second contact region 21 . The first and the second contact region 20 and 21 form friction-welding surfaces during the production of the piston 1 .
[0025] In this way, the result is achieved that a circumferential cooling channel 22 disposed close to the piston crown 6 , radially on the outside, is delimited, at the top, by the piston crown 6 , radially on the inside partly by the piston crown 6 , partly by the support 10 , and partly by the contact part 17 , at the bottom by the ring element 19 , and radially on the outside partly by the ring wall 8 and partly by the ring rib 18 . The cooling channel 22 has an inflow opening for introduction of cooling oil and an outflow opening for discharge of cooling oil, but these are not shown in the figure.
[0026] In FIG. 2 , the piston 1 is shown in section along the pin bore axis 2 . Here, the two pin bosses 13 , 14 can be seen, with the contact part 17 formed onto them, as can the ring element 19 that is connected with the contact part 17 and the pin bosses 13 , 14 , respectively.
[0027] The piston 1 is produced from AFP steel, in other words from precipitation-hardened ferritic-pearlitic steel, such as case-hardened steel 38MnVS6, for example. However, any other suitable steel can be used, such as tempered steel 42CrMo4, for example. In this connection, production of the lower piston part 4 takes place in conventional manner, by means of casting or hot forging.
[0028] The upper piston part 3 is produced by means of the method of hot forming. In this connection, a piece of AFP steel that is shaped to fit into the drop-forging machine intended for the upper piston part 3 is heated to 1200° C. to 1300° C., and subsequently formed or preformed in multiple forming stages, in other words forging processes, in the same drop-forging machine. The scale that forms during forging is removed by means of blasting.
[0029] Subsequently, the finished forged upper part blank is cold-calibrated at room temperature, whereby all the surfaces of the upper piston part 3 are pressed at room temperature, in order to achieve the final dimensions.
[0030] Alternatively to this, the pre-formed upper part blank can also be brought into its final shape by means of cold-forming at room temperature. It is advantageous, in this case, if an annealing process is still carried out before blasting, in order to reduce the tendency to form cracks during cold forming.
[0031] Furthermore, other processes can also be used for production of the pre-form, such as the method of cold forming, of semi-hot forming, or of milling, for example. Thus, the pre-form can also be produced by means of a precision casting method. In order to avoid scale formation, the latter method should be used under an inert gas atmosphere.
[0032] The resulting blank of the upper piston part 3 is shown in FIG. 3 . In this connection, the combustion bowl 7 , the upper cooling channel region, and the inner mandrel region 29 are already formed in their final form, so that no further processing steps are any longer required in these regions. In this connection, the result is also achieved that the wall thickness between the bowl edge and the upper cooling channel region is almost constant over the circumference. The upper piston part 3 as it looks after finishing is shown in FIG. 3 with broken lines.
[0033] In the subsequent method step, the radially outer region 23 of the piston crown 6 , the radially outer region 24 of the upper piston part 3 intended for the ring belt 9 , the lower face surface 25 of the ring wall 8 , the lower region 26 of the inner surface 27 of the ring wall 8 , and the contact surface 28 of the support 10 are machined by means of lathing, so that the upper piston part 3 as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. The lower region of the cooling channel 22 , the lower face surface 25 of the ring wall 8 , and the contact surface 28 of the support 10 are formed in finished form after this latter method step. Here again, the upper piston part 3 , as it looks after finishing, is shown with broken lines.
[0034] The production method of hot forming in combination with cold calibration or cold forming, respectively, particularly allows production of upper piston parts 3 ′ having combustion bowls 7 ′ that are configured asymmetrically and disposed eccentrically, as shown in FIG. 5 and 6 . Here, again, no further processing of the combustion bowl 7 ″ is required any longer, once the process of hot forming and of cold calibration or cold forming, respectively, of the upper piston part 3 ′ has been completed.
[0035] In the present exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5 and 6 , the combustion bowl 7 ′ has approximately the shape of a four-leafed clover. However, any desired shape of a combustion bowl can be implemented with the method of hot forming in combination with cold calibration or cold forming, respectively.
[0036] FIGS. 8 and 9 show the upper piston part according to FIG. 5 and 6 , produced in this manner, whereby in addition, a valve niche 30 has been formed into the piston crown 6 of the upper piston part 3 ″.
[0037] The upper piston part 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″ according to FIG. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 is braced into a friction-welding device (not shown in the figure) together with the lower piston part 4 , and, as shown in FIG. 7 , they are brought into position, relative to one another, so that they can be put into rotation, moved toward one another with force, and friction-welded to one another when the upper piston part 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″ makes contact with the lower piston part 4 in the region of the contact regions 20 and 21 . If the combustion bowl 7 ′ is configured asymmetrically or eccentrically, care must be taken during friction welding to ensure that after completion of the welding process, the combustion bowl 7 ′ assumes a clearly defined rotation position relative to the pin axis 2 , for example.
[0038] In this connection, the piston 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is obtained.
[0039] Within the scope of the last method step, the grooves of the ring belt 9 are lathed into the outer piston wall and the piston crown 6 is lathed flat, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4 . Furthermore, the precision piston contour and the pin bores are worked in.
REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST
[0000]
1 piston
2 pin axis
3 , 3 ′, 3 ″ upper piston part
4 lower piston part
5 friction-welding seam
6 piston crown
7 , 7 ′ combustion bowl
8 ring wall
9 ring belt
10 support
11 , 12 switch element
13 , 14 pin boss
15 , 16 pin bore
17 contact part
18 ring rib
19 ring element
20 first contact region
21 second contact region
22 cooling channel
23 outer region of piston crown 6
24 outer region of upper piston part
25 lower face surface of ring wall 8
26 lower region of inner surface 27 of ring wall B
27 inner surface of ring wall 8
28 contact surface of support 10
29 inner mandrel region
30 valve niche | A method for the production of a piston made of steel, for an internal combustion engine, in which the upper piston part is produced using the forging method, and the lower piston part is produced using the forging or casting method, and they are subsequently welded to one another. To simplify the production method and make it cheaper, the upper piston part is forged using the method of hot forming and of cold calibration, to finish it to such an extent that further processing of the combustion bowl and of the upper cooling channel regions can be eliminated. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data communications comparators and, in particular, to integrated circuit data communications receivers of the comparator type.
2. Description of Related Art
Integrated circuit receivers enjoy widespread use in data communications. For example, in an Ethernet system, data signals are differential signals transmitted over a twisted pair. The data signals are generally of a sine wave character. The data signals are shaped in a receiver, which typically is a type of comparator.
An example of a comparator for receiving Ethernet signals is shown in FIG. 1. Input signals enter the comparator 10 at nodes 11 and 12. The input signals are amplified and buffered by the network consisting of transistors 51, 52, 55, 56, 61, 62, 63, and resistors 53, 54. The amplified and buffered signals at nodes 15 and 16 are then amplified by inverting amplifiers 81, 83 and 82 84, respectively, to yield the output signals from the comparator 10 at nodes 19 and 20.
One problem encountered with the use of comparators to shape transmitted signals is that an unpredictable bias offset (which is the deviation of bias levels from their ideal values) can arise in the comparator so that the relative transitions between logic levels at the comparator output are distorted. Types of distortion typically encountered include, for example, phase distortion and duty cycle distortion. In phase distortion, the rising and falling edge of the comparator output waveform jitters or appears faster or slower than would be expected. In duty cycle distortion, the duty cycle of the comparator output differs from the duty cycle of the transmitted data signal at the comparator input. The bias offset results from, for instance, fluctuation in circuit parameters due to process and temperature changes and power supply noise.
In the comparator 10 shown in FIG. 1, bias generation circuitry consisting of differential amplifier 70, inverting amplifier 74, transistors 71, 72, 75 and resistor 73 is provided to overcome the problem of bias offset. The bias generation circuitry generates a current through the transistor 75 which, in turn, is mirrored in the transistors 61, 62 and 63. The components in the bias generation circuitry are matched With other components in the comparator 10 so that an appropriate amount of current will flow through the transistors 61, 62, 63 to keep the inverting amplifiers 81 and 82 biased in their high gain region when the inputs at nodes 11 and 12 are equal.
This circuit is inadequate for some applications because mismatch of currents in the transistors 75, 61, 62 and 63, or mismatch of device values between transistors 71, 55, 56 or resistors 73, 53, 54 will prevent the inverting amplifiers 81 and 82 from being properly biased. This circuit is also inadequate because it does not act to minimize the detrimental effects arising from the presence of noise in the power supply.
It is desirable, then, to provide a comparator in which fluctuations in the bias offset and the effects of power supply noise are minimized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a comparator is provided that may be used in data communications. In particular, the comparator may be advantageously used with an Ethernet Twisted-Pair line.
The comparator accepts as input a differential voltage from the transmission lines. The input differential voltage is amplified and buffered in a low gain first stage. The comparator further uses feedback circuitry to ensure that switching of the comparator output voltage between logic highs and lows accurately tracks the switching of the comparator input differential voltage between positive and negative. The feedback circuitry mitigates bias offset within the comparator that may result from, for instance, temperature driven device parameter variations.
In one embodiment, the feedback circuitry comprises an operational amplifier and a resistive-capacitive network. The resistive-capacitive network averages the output voltages of the low gain first stage to obtain a common-mode voltage. The common-mode voltage and a reference voltage equal to the logic threshold of an output amplifier constitute the two inputs to the operational amplifier. If the common-mode voltage is different from the reference voltage, then the output of the operational amplifier controls current in the low gain first stage so as to change the output DC level of the low gain first stage (i.e., input DC level of the output amplifier). The output DC levels of the low gain first stage are changed until the common-mode voltage (i.e., average of the two first stage output voltages) equals the reference voltage (i.e., logic threshold of the output amplifier).
The feedback circuitry thus ensures that as the comparator input differential voltage approaches zero (i.e., when the comparator outputs should switch from a logic high voltage to a logic low voltage or vice versa), the input of the output amplifier is situated in the middle of the high gain region of the output amplifier. In other words, the feedback circuitry ensures that the output amplifier is ready to quickly trigger switching of the comparator output when the comparator input differential voltage crosses zero volts.
Additionally, the feedback circuitry compensates for the effects of noise in the power supply. When noise appears in the comparator at the output voltages of the first stage, the feedback circuitry controls currents in the first stage so that the output voltages of the first stage are changed until the noise is eliminated.
In another embodiment, the resistive-capacitive network is implemented in silicon using a diffused region for the resistance and a polysilicon plate for the capacitance. This implementation provides an area efficient way of generating the common-mode voltage in an integrated circuit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a circuit schematic diagram of a prior art comparator.
FIG. 2 is a circuit schematic diagram of a comparator.
FIG. 3A is a circuit schematic diagram of an inverting amplifier.
FIG. 3B is a graph of the input/output characteristic of the inverting amplifier of FIG. 3A.
FIG. 4 is a circuit schematic diagram of an operational amplifier for use with the comparator of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a stage in the formation of an integrated circuit implementation of a distributed resistive-capacitive structure used in the comparator of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a stage after the stage shown in FIG. 5A of an integrated circuit implementation of a distributed resistive-capacitive structure used in the comparator of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit implementation of a distributed resistive-capacitive structure used in the comparator of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit implementation of a distributed resistive-capacitive structure used in the comparator of FIG. 2 along a section perpendicular to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 5C.
FIG. 6 is a top view of an integrated circuit implementation of a distributed resistive-capacitive structure used in the comparator of FIG. 2, with some layers omitted for clarity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 2 is a circuit schematic of comparator 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Illustratively, the comparator 100 is electrically connected to a twisted pair data communications line (not shown). The voltage in the two lines of the twisted pair is applied to the comparator 100 at, respectively, node 101 and node 102. In a typical application, the differential voltage across node 101 and node 102 will be approximately sinusoidal with an amplitude range of from several hundred millivolts to several volts. The common-mode voltage of node 101 and node 102 may range from 2 volts to positive supply V DD .
The two input voltages at nodes 101, 102 are first conditioned by a low gain first stage amplifier. In the first part of the low gain first stage amplifier, the two input voltages at nodes 101, 102 are amplified by a differential amplifier comprising transistor 151, transistor 152, resistors 153 and 154, and current sourcing transistor 162. The amplified voltages at nodes 103, 104 are then buffered by source followers comprising, respectively, transistor 155 and current sourcing transistor 161, and transistor 156 and current sourcing transistor 163. The voltages at nodes 105 and 106 are the buffered output of the low gain first stage.
The voltage at node 105 is amplified by inverting amplifiers 181 and 183, and output at node 109. In a similar manner, the voltage at node 106 is amplified by inverting amplifiers 182 and 184, and output at node 110. The voltages at nodes 109, 110 are the digital output voltages of the comparator 100.
FIG. 3A shows the structure of a typical inverting amplifier 200, the input/output characteristic 221 of which is shown in FIG. 3B. When the input voltage at node 211 to the inverting amplifier 200 is zero, the output voltage at node 212 is approximately equal to V DD . As the input voltage at node 211 increases, the output voltage at node 212 begins to slowly decrease. This low gain region 215 exists while P-channel transistor 202 is in the triode region and N-channel transistor 201 is in the saturation region. As the input voltage at node 211 reaches voltage 213, P-channel transistor 202 also saturates, and the output voltage at node 212 begins to fall sharply with small increases in the input voltage at node 211. This high gain region 216 exists while both transistors 201 and 202 are in saturation. As the input voltage at node 211 reaches voltage 214, N-channel transistor 201 goes into the triode region while P-channel transistor 202 remains in saturation, and the inverting amplifier 200 enters the second low gain region 217. In this region, the output voltage at node 212 drops slowly to zero volts as the input voltage at node 211 increases to V DD .
Referring again to FIG. 2, the inverting amplifiers 181, 182 are identical, and, by way of the bias voltage at node 111, the average of the voltages at node 105 and node 106 is centered about the high gain regions of the inverting amplifiers 181, 182. However, a bias offset arises in the comparator 100 due to, for example, temperature effects. The presence of bias offset means that the average value of the voltages at node 105 and node 106 may be outside the high gain region of the inverting amplifiers 181 and 182. Thus, the duty cycle of the comparator output waveform may not faithfully replicate the duty cycle of the waveform at the comparator input.
The comparator 100 minimizes the problem of bias offset through the implementation of feedback control circuitry. The voltages at node 105 and node 106 are applied to a resistive-captive network, which in an integrated circuit implementation is preferably distributed resistive-capacitive structures 171 and 172. The distributed resistive-capacitive structures 171 and 172 act as a voltage averager. The voltage at node 112 represents the average or common-mode voltage of the voltages at node 105 and node 106. The voltage at node 112 should ideally be equal to the voltage at the midpoint of the high gain region (logic threshold) of inverting amplifiers 181 and 182. However, as a bias offset voltage develops, the voltage at node 112 begins to deviate from the ideal value.
The voltage at node 112 is applied to the plus input 173A of an operational amplifier 173. The minus input 173B of the operational amplifier 173 is a reference voltage at node 113. The reference voltage at node 113 is obtained from inverting amplifier 174. The input and output of inverting amplifier 174 are shorted together so that the voltage at node 113 must equal the voltage at node 114 as shown by line 220 in FIG. 3B. Since the inverting amplifier 174 must also conform to the input/output characteristic 221, the inverting amplifier 174 must operate at point 222 (i.e., the middle of the high gain region 216). Thus, because inverting amplifier 174 is identical to inverting amplifiers 181 and 182, the reference voltage at node 113 is equal to the logic threshold of inverting amplifiers 181 and 182. The operational amplifier 173 compares the voltages at node 112 and node 113. Based upon this comparison, the voltage at node 111 is output at operational amplifier output 173C. The voltage at node 111 controls the transistors 161, 162, 163 which, in turn, control the current flow in the low gain first stage.
If the voltage at node 112 begins to drop below the voltage at node 113, the voltage at node 111 also begins to fall. Transistors 161, 162 and 163 respond by driving less current through the low gain first stage. The voltages at node 105 and node 106 rise. Consequently the voltage at node 112 (the average of the voltages at node 105 and node 106) rises back to its proper value. Conversely, if the voltage at node 112 begins to rise above the voltage at node 113, then the voltage at node 111 also begins to rise. Transistors 161, 162, and 163 respond by driving more current through the low gain first stage. The voltages at node 105 and node 106 drop, and the voltage at node 112 falls back to its proper value. Thus, the operational amplifier 173 and associated feedback circuitry provide negative feedback to keep the voltage at node 112 substantially equal to the logic threshold voltages of inverting amplifiers 181 and 182.
FIG. 4 shows a circuit schematic of the operational amplifier 173. Transistor 325 establishes a bias voltage at node 344. The bias voltage at node 344 controls transistor 320 to supply a constant current 340 through transistor 320. The current 340 is split between two branches: current 341 flows through branch 331 comprising transistors 301, 303 and current 342 flows through branch 332 comprising transistors 302, 304. The voltage inputs 173A and 173B to the operational amplifier 173 control how much current flows through each of the branches 331 and 332 since the current 340 is constant. Current 351, being mirrored by transistors 303 and 317, is equal to current 341. Current 352, being mirrored by transistors 304 and 318, is equal to current 342. Currents 351 and 352 go through cascode transistors 315 and 316, respectively. Transistors 311, 312, 313 and 314 serve as a differential to single-ended converter. The amplified version of the difference between input voltages 173A and 173B is available at node 345. The output voltage 173C is the level-shifted version of the voltage at node 345, and is more suitable than the voltage at node 345 for controlling the output voltage 173C (and thus, the voltage at node 111) because the output voltage 173C can swing to a lower voltage when transistors 161, 162 and 163 need to be shut off.
FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of a representative portion of the distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 and 172. FIGS. 5A or 5B are intermediate stages in the formation of the structure of FIG. 5C.
Referring to FIG. 5A, a first photolithographic operation defines the N- region 402 of length 420 in the P-type substrate 401. The N- region 402 may be doped by, for example, ion implantation followed by drive-in. After the N- region 402 is driven in, a thin layer of SiO 2 (not shown) is grown over the entire wafer. On top of the layer of SiO 2 , a layer of Si 3 N 4 (not shown) is deposited. A device-well mask is next used to etch the Si 3 N 4 and SiO 2 layers outside the device-well areas. A field oxide layer 404 is grown in regions not covered by the Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 mask. The use of Si 3 N 4 as a mask for oxidation results in a semi-recessed device well structure. The Si 3 N 4 is etched, exposing the thin SiO 2 layer. The exposed thin SiO 2 layer is removed and a new SiO 2 layer 409 is grown over the N- region 402. The SiO 2 layer 409 is the dielectric layer for the capacitors in this resistive-capacitive structure.
A polycrystalline silicon layer is deposited and a polysilicon mask is used to define the polysilicon plate 406 of length 429 for the resistive-capacitive structure, resulting in the structure of FIG. 5A. An illustrative concentration for the substrate 401 is 1×10 15 atoms/cm 3 and for the region 402 is 1×10 16 atoms/cm 3 .
Referring to FIG. 5B, an exclusion mask is used to exclude regions (not shown) which must not receive the N+ implant. Regions which are outside the N+ exclusion area and which are not masked by thick oxide or polysilicon layers receive N+ implant. The N+ implant is driven in to form N+ regions 403A and 403B. The N+ regions 403A and 403B serve as contacts to the N- region 402 in this resistive-capacitive structure. The length of the capacitor defined by N- region 402 and polysilicon plate 406 is limited to the length 429 of the polysilicon plate 406 rather than the length 420 of the N- region 402. An illustrative concentration for the regions 403A and 403B is 9×10 18 atoms/cm 3 .
A thick layer 407 of SiO 2 is deposited. FIG. 5B results after a contact mask is used to etch out the contact regions 408A and 408B.
In FIG. 5C, a layer of aluminum is evaporated over the entire surface. A metal mask is then used to define the metallization patterns 405A and 405B.
FIG. 6 is a top view of an integrated circuit implementation of the distributed resistive-capacitive structures 171 and 172. Each of the resistive-capacitive structures 171 and 172 is formed in a series of three strips; however, it is to be understood that one, two, four or more strips could also be used, depending on the resistance value desired and on layout considerations. The total length L of the lightly doped region 402 of each distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 or 172 is equal to two times the length 429 plus the length 529. The width W of the lightly doped region 402 is equal to the width 421 of each of the strips.
The strips of a given resistive-capacitive structure 171 or 172 are electrically connected between metal contacts, e.g., metal contacts 405B, 405C, by metal strips 505. The polysilicon plates 406 of each strip are connected by polysilicon connecting regions 506.
The polysilicon plates 406 and the interior ends of the resistive lightly doped regions 402 of each distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 and 172 are electrically connected at node 112 by metal strip 507 and metal contacts 508A, 508B, 508C. Metal strip 510 electrically connects the distributed resistive-capacitive structure 172 to node 106. Metal strip 511 electrically connects the distributive-capacitive structure 171 to node 105. Metal strip 512 electrically connects node 112 to the positive input 173A of operational amplifier 173.
For each distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 or 172, suitable values of total resistance range from 50K to 200K. Suitable values of total capacitance range from 1.5 pF to 5 pF. If the sheet resistance (in ohms/□) is RHO and the gate oxide capacitance (in F/m 2 ) is CAP, then the total resistance, R tot , and total capacitance, C tot , of each distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 or 172 is given by the following equations:
R.sub.tot =L/W*RHO
C.sub.tot =L*W*CAP
Illustratively, W is 5 micrometers and L is 384.5 micrometers. These dimensions yield nominal values of R tot =100K and C tot =2.65 pF.
Each distributed resistive-capacitive structure 171 or 172 has a parasitic junction capacitance between the lightly doped N-type region 402 and the P-type substrate 401. Illustratively, the value of this capacitance is approximately 0.9 pF. This capacitance contributes to the capacitance in the distributed resistive-capacitance structure 171 and 172, as shown in FIG. 2 by the elements 175B and 176B, and should be considered in the design of the feedback circuitry.
Another pair of capacitances which should be considered in the design of the feedback circuitry are the capacitances 175A and 176A, shown in FIG. 2, which are formed between the polysilicon plate 406 and substrate 401 shown in FIG. 5D. These capacitances are minimized by using the minimum polysilicon plate 406 overlap of lightly doped region 402 allowed by the design rules. For the same reason, polysilicon connecting region 506, which is an extension of polysilicon plate 406, preferably is kept to the minimum width allowed by the design rules. The width and length (in micrometers) of the transistors in FIGS. 2 and 4 are set forth below in Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________Transistor # (Width:Length) Transistor # (Width:Length)______________________________________151 (500:1.5) 301 (150:2)152 (500:1.5) 302 (150:2)155 (100:2) 303 (50:3)156 (100:2) 304 (50:3)161 (50:3) 311 (200:4)162 (100:3) 312 (200:4)163 (50:3) 313 (200:1.5) 314 (200:1.5) 315 (100:1.5) 316 (100:1.5) 317 (50:3) 318 (50:3) 320 (200:6) 325 (100:6)______________________________________
Resistors 153 and 154 have a resistance of 2K and capacitor 350 has a capacitance of 5 pF.
Above, embodiments of the invention are described. The descriptions are intended to be illustrative, not limitative. Thus, modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below. | A comparator that may be used in data communications transmission lines, in particular, an Ethernet Twisted-Pair line. The comparator accepts as input the differential voltage from the transmission lines. The comparator uses feedback circuitry to monitor particular voltages within the comparator and adjust them as necessary to mitigate the effect of bias offset within the comparator that may result from, for instance, temperature driven device parameter variations. The comparator also minimizes the effect of power supply noise. The feedback circuitry ensures that as the comparator input differential voltage approaches zero (i.e., when the comparator outputs should switch from a high voltage to a low voltage or vice versa), the input of a comparator output amplifier is situated in the middle of the high gain region of the output amplifier, ready to quickly trigger switching of the comparator output when the comparator input differential voltage crosses zero volts. In one embodiment, the feedback circuitry comprises an operational amplifier and two resistive-capacitive structures. | 7 |
PRIORITY INFORMATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/381,406, filed Mar. 10, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,208,996). This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/070,535, filed Mar. 24, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The invention relates to the field of depolarization imaging. In particular, the invention pertains to optical imaging of polarization scrambling scattering tissue. It has particular relevance in optical coherence tomography (OCT).
DISCUSSION OF BACKGROUND
[0003] Pathology and disease states of the human eye lead to visual impairment and, in the worst case, loss of vision. Optical assessment of the eye's health is preferred because of the non-invasive nature of optical examination techniques. Common eye diseases include glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, retinal detachment, and diabetic retinopathy. Improved optical diagnostic techniques offer hope in quantifying disease progression and in tracking the effectiveness of disease treatments.
[0004] Previous work identifying depolarizing materials, alternatively called polarization scrambling materials, has largely focused on extracting information from the Mueller matrix. This work lies mainly in the field of polarimetry. It has been argued that, at least for optical coherence tomography (OCT), the Mueller calculus is not necessary. (See, S. Jiao and L. H. Wang, “Jones-matrix imaging of biological tissues with quadruple-channel optical coherence tomography,” J. Biomed. Opt. 7(3), 350-358 (2002).) Depolarization is a consequence of analysis of incoherent scattering. Because OCT detection is coherent, depolarization, or polarization scrambling, by biological tissue simply means that the tissue does not present a spatially consistent polarization response across independent neighboring detection cells. In other words, the polarization state of the scattered light varies from detection cell to detection cell, whenever the detection cells are separated by more than the diameter of a speckle cell. Thus, in coherent detection devices like OCT, the degree of polarization is meaningful only when examining clusters of detection cells spanning a number of speckle diameters.
[0005] Alternatively, depolarization is directly addressed within the Mueller calculus. While the Mueller calculus nominally describes incoherently detected light, conversion from a Jones matrix to a Mueller matrix is possible and well-known (See, for example, Appendix 4: Jones-Mueller Matrix Conversion of “Spectroscopic Ellipsometry” by Hiroyuki Fujiwara (2007). Coherent detection is described by a subset of Mueller matrices. The full Mueller matrix contains information on the intensity, retardance, diattenuation, and depolarization of a scattering material. Evaluating the Mueller matrix on a scatterer-by-scatterer basis provides this information for each scatterer. In general, however, it is impractical to resolve each scatterer. In a typical OCT system, the resolution of the illumination beam (the detection cell) is specified to be nearly the same size as a speckle cell. In this case, computing or averaging the Mueller matrix over multiple speckle diameters, where each detection cell covers a plurality of actual scatterers is generally more practical. Nominally, for Mueller matrix imaging, the Mueller matrix is obtained on a pixel-by-pixel basis for a given image size. The 4×4 Mueller matrix has 16 real elements, and complete resolution of the Mueller matrix implicitly resolves the depolarization elements of the matrix.
[0006] The Mueller matrix elements for a scattering tissue represent the relationship between the input and the output Stokes vectors through the equation: Ŝ=MS, where S is the Stokes vector representing the input beam, M is the Mueller matrix, and Ŝ is the Stokes vector representing the beam backscattered by the tissue. By illuminating the tissue with light of various known polarization states and computing the Stokes vectors of the backscattered light for each pixel of illuminated tissue, evaluation of the Mueller matrix for each pixel of illuminated tissue is possible.
[0007] The degree of polarization (DOP), , of light is the proportion of completely polarized light when the light is decomposed into a completely depolarized component and a completely polarized component. When light represented by Stokes vector, S, is decomposed into its completely polarized component, S P , and its completely depolarized component, S D , the DOP satisfies: S=(1− )S D + S P For Stokes vector
[0000]
S
=
(
S
0
S
1
S
2
S
3
)
[0000] the DOP satisfies =√{square root over (S 1 2 +S 2 2 +S 3 2 )}/S 0 .
[0008] The classical measure of the degree of depolarization imparted by a scattering medium is the depolarization index of the Mueller matrix M defined by Gil and Bernabeu:
[0000]
D
(
M
)
=
1
3
1
m
00
∑
(
i
,
j
)
≠
(
0
,
0
)
m
ij
2
,
[0000] where m ij is the (i,j) th element of M.
(See 20070146632 Chipman, Eq. 14). The depolarization index varies between zero and one. It is zero for the ideal depolarizer and one for non-depolarizing Mueller matrices. Once the Mueller matrix is known, the depolarization elements (the 9 Mueller matrix elements m ij for i,j≧1) are known and a depolarization image can be constructed.
[0009] In “Segmentation of the retinal pigment epithelium by polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography,” Hitzenberger, et al., reported an alternate method for determining if tissue is depolarizing. Using a polarization sensitive OCT (PS-OCT) system with a polarizing beam splitter in the detection arm and two identical detection systems, they detected retardance data at each detection cell. Polarization preserving tissue returns consistent retardation values from neighboring scatters, while depolarizing tissue returns randomly varying retardation values from neighboring scatters. By computing statistics on retardation measurements in a neighborhood of a pixel, Hitzenberger determines that the tissue is depolarizing at any location where the variance of the retardation measurements exceeds a fixed threshold. In other words, the greater the variance in the retardation measurements, the greater the depolarizing nature of the scattering tissue.
[0010] Full resolution of the Mueller or Jones matrix is costly and/or time consuming. A typical PS-OCT system requires at least a polarizing beamsplitter and two detection channels to evaluate the polarization state of the return light (from which retardation and other polarization parameters can be derived) and depolarizing tissue can be located using statistics as shown by Hitzenberger. In this case, the cost is in additional hardware. Additionally, a PS-OCT system is relatively difficult to align and calibrate. Our invention resolves these problems by estimating the location of polarization scrambling tissue without resolving the Mueller or Jones matrix (i.e. without resolving the actual polarization state of the light) or adding additional hardware to the detection channels of a typical OCT system.
SUMMARY
[0011] The claims define the present invention and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention overcome the computational complexity and/or expensive detection hardware previously used in the art. The invention provides a means for imaging polarization scrambling tissue (alternatively called depolarization imaging herein) without resolution of Stokes vectors or the Mueller matrix and without the need of additional detection hardware.
[0012] One embodiment of the present invention is a method for displaying polarization scrambling tissue without resolving the polarization state of the sample beam.
[0013] Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for displaying polarization scrambling tissue by modulating a display image by a degree of depolarization parameter. This modulation may be by color or intensity. It may be linear or non-linear.
[0014] Yet another embodiment is a method of rapidly acquiring a 3-D volume image emphasizing depolarizing tissue.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for OCT scanning.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a Michelson interferometer for OCT scanning.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the process steps for creating an image of depolarizing tissue.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a polarization paddle.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows an example of a color image of a depolarizing tissue measurement performed using an embodiment of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a polarization paddle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] The embodiments, examples and descriptions illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications and are not a definition of the invention. Modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The claims define the scope of the invention and include known equivalents and equivalents unforeseeable at the time of filing of this application.
[0023] One embodiment of the invention is an apparatus for computing a tomographic image of a depolarizing tissue. One such apparatus includes an optical coherence tomography (OCT) device comprising of an interferometer like the one depicted in FIG. 1 having a source arm 105 , a reference arm 112 , a sample arm 117 (here shown in two parts since the splitting coupler 110 and combining coupler 130 are separate and distinct) and a detector arm 135 . A source 101 , typically a superluminescent diode (SLD), of at least partially spatially coherent light is coupled to the source arm 105 . A polarization controller 140 , capable of varying the polarization state of light within a limited range, is coupled to the sample arm 117 of the interferometer. The sample 120 is scanned with light via scanner 125 and light returned from the sample arm interferes with light from the reference arm in coupler 130 . The interference is detected 150 , forming first intensity data. Intensity data may be detected using either time domain techniques or frequency domain techniques.
[0024] Typically, the Z-axis is chosen along the beam-line of the optical illumination. Data acquired along a beam-line is often referred to as an A-scan. The scanner 125 causes the beam-line to vary transversely. The transverse directions are generally called X and Y, though their relative orientation and location depending upon the choice of orientation of the Z-axis and the location chosen for the origin.
[0025] While the interferometer of FIG. 1 is a Mach-Zehnder transmissive reference arm architecture, the interferometer could also be a Michelson architecture, shown in FIG. 2 . The Michelson architecture replaces the transmissive reference arm with a reference arm with reference reflector 160 . The OCT system containing the interferometer should acquire data rapidly. A frequency domain OCT system is preferred. A frequency domain system may be either a spectral domain system, including a wide-band illumination source and a spectrometer, or a swept source system wherein narrowband frequencies are swept across the frequency band. For example, the spectral domain OCT system described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/820,773, filed Jun. 20, 2006 (publication 2007/00291277) and incorporated herein by reference can be readily modified to support this invention.
[0026] As an alternative to varying the polarization in the sample arm 117 , the polarization can be varied in the reference arm 112 by moving the polarization controller from the sample arm to the reference arm.
[0027] In one embodiment, the tissue is illuminated twice and the Polarization Controller is set to impart two different polarizations on light passing through it. In this case, as depicted in FIG. 3 , we first establish two polarizations 210 . In one embodiment, we illuminate the tissue using a sequence of polarizations and determine the polarizations which create a maximum and minimum in the total intensity signal. We then acquire first and second images 220 using the polarizations which achieved the maximum and minimum intensities. When scanning can be performed quickly enough, the number of scans performed with uniquely different polarization states can be large, on the order of 25, 50 or even more different polarizations. However, when scanning time is limited, the number of trial scans with different polarization states may need to be kept quite small. In the latter case, the number of scans at different polarization states can be as small as 4 or 5. It should be appreciated that when the number of scans is smaller, the variation in polarization state for each scan should likely be larger than if a large number of scans can be accommodated. Comparison and combination of the first and second image intensity signals 230 enables detection of the depolarizing tissue. Optionally, this image is displayed 240 or stored (not shown).
[0028] In one embodiment, the same tissue is scanned to establish the two polarizations intended to be used in scanning for the final depolarization image. For example, if the depolarization image sought is a B-scan of a region of the eye and the total intensity used to determine the maximum and minimum requires scanning the entire B-scan, then the images acquired in 220 are optimally saved during the procedure 210 used to establish the scanning polarizations. This is readily accomplished when, for each polarization used in procedure 210 , the B-scan is acquired, its total intensity is computed and compared to the maximum and minimum previous total intensities of previous B-scans. If it is greater than the previous maximum, its intensity value becomes the new maximum intensity value and the image replaces the previous maximum intensity image. If it is less than the previous minimum, its intensity value becomes the new minimum intensity value and the image replaces the previous minimum intensity image. Alternatively, if the polarizations are established by scanning over a limited region, procedure 210 may quickly test a number of polarizations, choose two and then acquire images 200 in a completely separate procedure.
[0029] In one embodiment, the polarization is varied over a sampled subset of all polarizations attainable by a single polarization paddle. The polarization paddle may be located in the sample arm or in the reference arm. As the polarization paddle is rotated, it imparts different polarizations on the light traveling through the fiber mounted on the paddle. In the representation of FIG. 4 , a fiber would be mounted with a U-shape bend onto the paddle, but it could otherwise form the more traditional circular loop. The paddle can rotate out of the plane of the paper with the U-shape remaining in one plane at all times. The paddle design parameters are the three radii (R 1 , R 2 and R 3 ) and the three angles (α 1 , α 2 , α 3 ). These parameters are typically chosen to compensate for system birefringence.
[0030] In another embodiment, the polarization is varied over a sampled subset of all polarizations attainable by two or more polarization paddles. Alternatively, the polarization may be varied using a liquid crystal based polarization controller or an electro-optical polarization controller. Other polarization controllers with substantially similar operating parameters may be used, as will be clear to those versed in the art. In all cases, the polarizations are varied to determine the polarizations that establish detection efficiencies for the two images.
[0031] In another embodiment, the Establish Scanning Polarization process 210 of FIG. 3 is fixed in hardware. This hardware is a fast polarization modulator designed to rapidly vary the polarization to sample the scattering with a fixed number, say N, of detection efficiencies. This hardware may be placed in either the sample arm or the reference arm of the OCT interferometer. For example, this hardware may be a rotating retarder of N positions, for example a traditional ¼ lambda or ½ lambda rotating waveplate. Any polarization modulator that can produce a finite number of diversely varying polarization states where the polarization states are essentially fixed for each A-line may be used. Typically, N is less than 20 and preferentially it is between 2 and 6. Preferably the polarization is fixed or nearly fixed during acquisition of each A-line. Successive A-lines have different polarizations applied in the sample arm. While A-lines are normally quite closely spaced in typical OCT imaging, the A-lines can be oversampled or the same tissue may be imaged N times using a different polarization setting for each A-line acquisition. Preferentially, the A-lines are closely spaced. The acquired data 220 may be processed as N interleaved images, each acquired with a different polarization setting. From these N images, we select the maximum intensity image and the minimum intensity image from which to compute the depolarization image 230 .
[0032] The system hardware may alternatively be placed in the reference path. Alternatively, a polarization paddle or other Polarization Controller may be placed in the reference arm. Advantageously, this paddle or controller may be varied to increase the variation between the maximum intensity image and the minimum intensity image. Preferably, this optimization is performed over a small region and then the polarization paddle is set for full image acquisition. This decreases the full image acquisition duration. However, when the total time of acquisition is not critical, the polarization paddle may be varied over the full image region to optimize its setting. The polarization paddle and the N polarization state fixed hardware may be in the same interferometer arm or in the alternate arms.
[0033] In yet another embodiment, a first polarization is a priori selected to be at or near the maximum for a population and a second polarization is a priori selected to be at or near the minimum for the same population. The a priori selection may be heuristically determined from a sample set, derived analytically from a model, or obtained by other means.
[0034] In one embodiment, the maximum intensity signal is the maximum intensity averaged over an entire B-scan. In this embodiment, the minimum intensity signal is the minimum intensity averaged over an entire B-scan. Alternatively, the maximum signal intensity may be determined by the average intensity over a region associated with a particular structural feature in the eye such as near the inner limiting membrane (ILM) within a B-scan. In this case, the B-scan is acquired for a particular polarization, the B-scan is segmented to locate the ILM, and the region near the ILM is identified before the signal intensity is computed. In this embodiment, the minimum intensity signal is also determined over the same region near the inner limiting membrane (ILM) within a B-scan by computing the average intensity over the region. In this case, the B-scan is acquired for a particular polarization, the B-scan is segmented to locate the ILM, and the region near the ILM is identified before the signal intensity is computed. In order to reduce the computation time, the B-scan may contain only a limited number of A-scans. Indeed, either method can be implemented using only a single, representative A-scan instead of the full B-scan.
[0035] If the maximum signal intensity is the maximum average intensity of a B-scan over all polarizations, then the minimum signal intensity is the minimum average intensity of a B-scan over all polarizations. Similarly, if the maximum signal intensity is the maximum average intensity near the ILM over all polarizations, then the minimum signal intensity is the minimum average intensity near the ILM over all polarizations. That is, the minimum signal intensity should be computed over the same or over nearly the same polarizations as the maximum and computed over the same or nearly the same regions of tissue as the maximum.
[0036] Preferentially, the images are scanned interleaved, to reduce or eliminate motion artifacts. However, it may be impractical to interleave the images. In this case, proper registration of A-lines between images reduces motion artifacts that distort the final image.
[0037] In one embodiment, the images are combined on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Let I mn + represents the intensity of the (m,n) pixel of the image acquired using the polarization associated with the maximum intensity and I mn − represents the intensity of the (m,n) pixel of the image acquired using the polarization associated with the minimum intensity. If I mn represents the total intensity and I mn P represents the polarized intensity then the degree of polarization, mn =I mn P /I mn . Since, for perfectly correct polarization (i.e., where I mn + contains all of the polarized intensity and ½ of the unpolarized intensity),
[0000]
I
mn
+
=
I
mn
P
+
I
mn
-
I
mn
P
2
=
I
mn
+
I
mn
P
2
[0000] and, for perfectly orthogonal polarization (i.e. where I mn − contains ½ of the unpolarized intensity)
[0000]
I
mn
-
=
I
mn
-
I
mn
P
2
,
[0000] we have
[0000]
mn
=
I
mn
+
-
I
mn
-
I
mn
+
+
I
mn
-
.
[0000] Hence, we use the degree of depolarization, DOD, is
[0000]
DOD
=
1
-
mn
=
η
mn
=
2
I
mn
-
I
mn
+
+
I
mn
-
.
[0000] mn is a measure approaching 1 where the first and second image intensities are nearly equal and approaching 0 where the first image intensity is much larger than the second image intensity. If a single pixel is large enough that sufficiently many scatters are within an imaging cell (pixel), and then η mn represents the degree of depolarization for each pixel of an image. However, if each detection cell is sufficiently small that it represents a single scatterer or the imaging technique is coherently detected, then η mn should be computed using a smoothed I mn + and I mn − , where smoothing is performed over a window sufficiently large to account for the number of scatterers needed to depolarize the incoming light. In particular, for OCT, where the detection is confocal and coherent and the detection cell is approximately the size of speckle, the image should be smoothed over a region sufficiently large to cover a statistically meaningful number of different speckle cells. That is,
[0000]
I
mn
+
=
∑
j
-
m
≤
J
k
-
n
≤
K
(
w
(
j
-
m
,
k
-
n
)
I
^
mn
+
)
and
I
mn
-
=
∑
j
-
m
≤
J
k
-
n
≤
K
(
w
(
j
-
m
,
k
-
n
)
I
^
mn
-
)
,
[0000] where w is a smoothing weight, Î mn + and Î mn − are the measured intensities, and J and K govern the size of the window. The weight w=1 simply pixel-wise averages the intensities. Windows with even length boundaries are also anticipated and readily understood by those versed in the art.
[0038] The DOD η mn can be used create a color image by modulating the Hue, Saturation, or Value of an HSV color representation of the image. For example, the Hue, Saturation, and Value may be set as a functions of η mn , I mn + , and/or I mn − . In one instance, the Hue may be set to a function of η mn while the Saturation is saturated and the Value is set to a function of I mn + . FIG. 5 shows an example of a color image of depolarizing tissue. FIG. 5 a is an image of tissue imaged with a polarization paddle set to achieve a near maximum intensity I mn + . In order to view the dynamic range, the image is essentially log(I mn + ). FIG. 5 a is displayed in reverse video, with high intensity shown in black and low intensity shown in white. FIG. 5 b , also shown in reverse video, is the same tissue imaged with a polarization paddle set to achieve a near minimum intensity I mn − . FIG. 5 c is a color representation of the depolarization image where the Hue is set to magenta, the Saturation is set to the degree of depolarization
[0000]
η
mn
=
2
I
mn
-
I
mn
+
+
I
mn
-
,
[0000] and the Value is set to the logarithm of I mn + .
[0039] Alternatively, the Hue may be set to a function of η mn while the Saturation is saturated and the Value may be set to a function of I mn − .
[0040] Alternatively, the intensity the image I mn can be used create a grayscale image. FIG. 6 shows an example of a grayscale image of depolarizing tissue. FIG. 6 a is the same image as FIG. 5 a . It shows tissue imaged with a polarization paddle set to achieve a near maximum intensity I mn + in reverse video. FIG. 6 b , also shown in reverse video, is the same as FIG. 5 b . This is the same tissue imaged with a polarization paddle set to achieve a near minimum intensity I mn − . FIG. 6 c is a grayscale modulation of the degree of depolarization with the image I mn − . A grayscale modulation may be computed as: Ĩ mn + =f(η mn )g(I mn + ), or Ĩ mn − =f(η mn )g (I mn − ), or more generally Î mn =h(I mn − ,I mn + ). Since η mn is likely very nearly 1 in regions of weak signal, η mn by itself enhances some noise. Modulation of η mn should maintain its strength where I mn − is near its maximum, while reducing its strength where I mn − is near its minimum. The normal image display for OCT is essentially logarithmic (in order to increase the dynamic range distinguishable by the human eye). FIG. 6 c is an exemplary embodiment of the modulation η mn log(I mn − ). In general, while f and g may well be the identity function, it is preferred that g vary more slowly through values where I mn − is rich in signal, such as a logarithmic function or even a step function, thresholded at a known noise level. A continuous function transitioning rapidly from nearly 1 above a threshold to nearly 0 below the threshold provides an alternative to a true step function. Various other modulations of color and grayscale representations are possible and will be appreciated by one versed in the art.
[0041] A tomographic image composed of A-line scans of enhanced regions of depolarizing tissue can be formed. In some instances, the metric Ĩ mn − =f(η mn )g(I mn − ) used to create a depolarizing tissue image is sufficiently dominated by g(I mn − ) that the image I mn + is unnecessary for computing an approximate depolarizing tissue image Î mn − =g(I mn − ). This is particularly useful when acquiring a 3-D volume of image data since, once the polarization is determined for imaging I mn − , whether this is done over a B-scan, a portion of a B-scan, or even over an A-scan, the entire 3-D volume can be acquired using only that fixed polarization. Thus, the depolarizing tissue image can be acquired rapidly and without scanning using a distinct second polarization.
[0042] When only two polarizations are used, it is obvious that there is only one scanning sequence: the sequence that is used to provide information about the depolarization of tissue. The preferred polarizations are already chosen. However, when the preferred polarizations need to be determined, there is a need for a scanning sequence to generate information needed to choose preferred polarizations (e.g. the polarizations which produce the maximum and minimum average intensity image information). This scanning sequence used for determining preferred polarizations need not be the same as the scanning sequence used to provide information about the depolarization of tissue. For example, the scanning sequence used to determine the best two polarizations might be the scanning sequence used to generate the lower resolution B-scans of U.S. Patent Publication 2007/0216909 while the scanning sequence used to generate the images from the chosen polarizations might be the high resolution scanning sequence of that Patent Publication. In general, any appropriate sub-region of the region scanned by the scanning sequence used to provide information about the depolarization of tissue may be scanned to determine the preferred polarizations. In fact, even regions near the target region may be used to choose preferred polarizations, so long as the tissue is sufficiently uniform that the estimate obtained from the polarization choosing scans is relevant to the region scanned to provide information about the depolarization of the tissue.
[0043] It should be understood that the embodiments, examples and descriptions have been chosen and described in order to illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications and not as a definition of the invention. Modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which includes known equivalents and unforeseeable equivalents at the time of filing of this application.
[0044] The following references are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
US Patent Documents
[0045] 2007/0216909 Everett et al., Methods for mapping tissue with optical coherence tomography data
[0046] 2007/0291277 Everett et al., Spectral domain optical coherence tomography system
[0047] 2007/0146632 Chipman, Advanced polarization imaging method, apparatus, and computer program product for retinal imaging, liquid crystal testing, active remote sensing, and other applications.
[0048] U.S. Pat. No. 7,286,227 Zhou, et al. Method and system for removing the effects of corneal birefringence from a polarimetric image of the retina
[0049] U.S. Pat. No. 7,016,048 Chen et al. Phase-resolved functional optical coherence tomography: simultaneous imaging of the stokes vectors, structure, blood flow velocity, standard deviation and birefringence in biological samples.
Other Publications
[0050] Zhang, J., et al. (2004). “Full range polarization-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography.” Optics Express 12(24): 6033-6039.
[0051] Hitzenberger, et al., “Segmentation of the retinal pigment epithelium by polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography” Proc. of SPIE, Vol. 6847 684705:1-4
[0052] Pircher, et al., “Retinal pigment epithelium pathologies investigated with phase resolved polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography” Proc. of SPIE, Vol. 6138 61380I:1-5 | The present invention provides for the detection and display of polarization scrambling tissue without resolving the polarization state of the backscattered imaging beam. In one embodiment, we illuminate the tissue using two different polarizations. A first polarization determines a first image of high intensity while the second polarization determines a second image of low intensity. Comparison and combination of the first and second images determines tissue which scrambles the polarization in neighbouring detection cells. | 0 |
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/556898 filed Nov. 8, 2011.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a mobile support device for supporting and moving concrete spreading hoses.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In the construction industry it is common for concrete to be used and conveyed to the job site via hoses. Concrete is typically either delivered by transit mix trucks or mixed on site. The problem is that these sources of mixed concrete are typically at some distance from the actual site where the concrete is needed. Typically, uncured concrete is pumped from a mixing truck to the area to be filled utilizing a pumping device which feeds a flexible hose. Mixed but uncured concrete has a slurry-like consistency, and is difficult to deliver by hose. A common solution to this problem is to use a large diameter hose, which may range from about three inches in diameter to about ten inches in diameter, with about five inches being typical. When filled with uncured concrete, this hose may weigh up to 30 pounds per foot. With tens of feet of hose being a typical installation, devices which support and move the hose are advantageous. In order to facilitate distribution of the uncured concrete, it is desirable to position the hose off the ground, and provide a structure to support the hose so that it is easily movable, even though carrying substantial weight.
[0004] Devices have been developed which attempt to perform these functions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,175 (Woelfel) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,893 (Ferris) disclose support devices for concrete hoses. Both of these devices use a single, short support to hold the hose resulting in the hose only being supported for less than one foot of its length. In addition, these supports both arrange the supports so that the weight of the supported hose is centered below the tops of the wheels, thereby making the devices more stable. The present designs, however, are still inherently unstable, allowing the supports to rock in relation to the hose, and allowing the hose to contact the ground. Further, surges and collapses in the flexible hose can result in tipping of the hose supports in relation to the hose, which can sometimes impede the pumping process. Another shortcoming in the prior art is the relatively short portion of the support which underlies the hose. This abbreviated dimension allows the hose to flex excessively unless many separate support assemblies are employed. These design features mean that multiple supports may be needed to support a significant length of concrete spreading hose. Likewise, the low center of gravity means that these supports have very low ground clearance and therefore must be lifted over obstacles. In addition, the placement of the lifting handles is such that operators must place their feet on either side of the wheels in order to lift the device, placing the operator's feet in danger of being rolled over by the wheels.
[0005] It is desirable then, that a mobile support device for supporting and moving concrete spreading hoses be available which overcomes these limitations. In particular, it is desirable to provide a concrete pumping flexible hose support which resists tipping as it is moved from one distribution location to the next, which discourages buckling or collapsing, which provides readily accessible handles for repositioning, and which elevates the hose above the work site, while at the same time providing improved support along the longitudinal axis of the hose.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Aspects of the present invention provide for a mobile support device for supporting and moving concrete spreading hoses. Disclosed herein is a mobile support system for supporting a concrete spreading hose, comprising two or more supports spaced apart so as to support a length of concrete spreading hose; at least four large-diameter casters; a frame arranged to rotatably fixture the casters and to position the supports above the casters; and a hand hold arranged around the perimeter of the mobile support system above the wheels and below the supports. It is an object of the invention to provide an improved wheeled support for flexible concrete carrying hoses which provides stability for the flexible hose in all three dimensions, while still allowing a high degree of mobility. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a support which prevents or inhibits collapses of the hose during the concrete pumping and distribution process. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a support which offers increased clearance between the flexible hose and the work surface over which it is suspended, and to provide convenient hand holds for positioning the support and improved safety for the operator in positioning the support.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of this invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of this invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a front view of an embodiment of this invention; and
[0010] FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] Aspects of the present invention provide for a mobile support device for supporting and moving concrete spreading hoses. FIGS. 1-4 show a mobile support assembly 10 for supporting a concrete spreading hose 12 . The assembly is preferably constructed as a metal framework having sufficient strength to support the anticipated loads, while the hose 12 as above described is generally flexible. It will be appreciated that the preset invention will also function effectively when used with rigid or semi-rigid pipes or similar conduits. The mobile support assembly 10 comprises two or more holders 14 spaced apart on a support beam 15 so as to support a length of concrete spreading hose 12 . The holders 14 are preferably in the configuration of a semi-cylindrical section, open at the upper end and affixed by fasteners or weldment to a support beam 15 . Elongated support beam 15 is of rigid solid or tubular construction and may be of circular or polygonal cross-section. The support beam 15 is affixed to hand hold 28 , which in turn is affixed to frame 18 at tubular sockets 32 . The frame 18 , hand hold 28 and sockets 32 form a box-like structure which imparts rigidity to the assembly 10 . The ends 30 of support beam 15 extend outward from opposing sides of the rigid frame 18 to facilitate manipulation of the assembly 10 as will be further described herein.
[0012] The assembly 10 further comprises at least four large-diameter casters 16 , where large diameter is defined as 16 inches in diameter or greater. Large casters 16 are preferable in the typical work environment, where small, commonly occurring debris, such as gravel, nails, and the like may interfere with the operation of smaller wheels. The casters 16 may be provided with either solid or pneumatic tires 20 , which pivot on caster mounts 22 in the conventional fashion. The invention incorporates a frame 18 arranged to position legs 24 and casters 16 and to position the support beam 15 above the casters 16 . The frame 18 is preferably constructed of solid bar stock or hollow metal tubing, and is in the form of a rectangular structure to which is attached a plurality of legs 24 constructed of like material. The legs 24 extend downwardly and outwardly of said frame 18 , and at their distal ends are provided with the caster mounts 26 above described. A hand hold 28 is arranged above the frame 18 of the mobile support assembly 10 , above the wheels 16 and below the supports 14 , so that operators can lift or move the mobile support assembly 10 without placing their feet in danger from the casters 16 . Although the mobile support assembly 10 , by virtue of having the hose supports 14 well above the casters 16 , has a high center of gravity, the four casters 16 are located at the corners of the mobile support assembly 10 so as to provide adequate stability during use. In addition, the location of the elongated support beams 15 extending beyond the perimeter of the mobile support assembly 10 helps to keep the operator away from the hose 12 during use and permits operators to have additional safe and effective hand holds. To provide rigidity to the frame 18 and legs 24 , diagonal brace 38 is provided which extend from one corner 34 of the support frame 18 to a diagonally opposed corner 34 of said frame, and an additional brace 38 extends from one corner 34 of hand hold 28 to a diagonally opposed corner 34 of said hand hold. Preferably said braces 38 are constructed of solid bar stock, or hollow tubing.
[0013] Legs 24 are preferably constructed in pairs and each pair is interconnected by lateral brace 37 . Frame 18 is provided with tubular sockets 32 attached to the frame 18 and held hold at corners 34 . The upper end 36 of leg 24 are sized to removably fit within sockets 32 , where legs 24 may be secured with fasteners (not shown). Likewise, legs 24 may fit into sockets 32 utilizing only a slide fit, whereby the weight of frame 18 and hand hold 28 serves to hold the sockets 32 in engagement with the upper ends 36 of legs 24 . In this fashion, the assembly may be disassembled for compact storage.
[0014] With reference to FIG. 4 , it will be appreciated that support beam 15 extends laterally across hand hold 28 , and extends distance “A” beyond the track “B” of the support assembly. This facilitates manipulation of the entire assembly by the operator, reducing risk that the casters 16 will interfere with the operator's person during re-positioning of the hose 12 .
[0015] Embodiments of this invention use four supports 14 to support about ten feet of hose 12 and clear obstructions less than two feet high and two feet wide, permitting the hose 12 to be supported and moved forward, backward or side to side. Each assembly has a supporting beam 15 that typically supports 10 to 16 feet of hose. The normal gap between the support assemblies is between four and six feet. Therefore a set of four mobile support assemblies 10 can support over 80 feet of hose and keep it clear of the work surface. A typical pumping hose weighs over 30 pounds per foot when filled, giving the operators over 2400 pounds of concrete to transport.
[0016] Concrete pouring generally proceeds from areas distant from the concrete source to the source. As the pour proceeds, a way to handle the decrease in distance from the source is to remove sections of hose, a time-consuming and messy task. Aspects of this invention permit the mobile support assemblies carrying the hose sections to be moved in opposite directions thereby folding the hose back on itself, thereby shortening the effective hose length and reducing the need to remove sections of hose. In addition, the placement of the last section of hose on the mobile support system permits the operator to distribute the concrete directly from the hose on the mobile support system thereby reducing the burden on the operator to lift and move the end of the hose while distributing concrete. | A mobile support system for supporting a concrete pouring hose supports ten to sixteen feet of hose while providing sufficient ground clearance to avoid common obstacles. The mobile support system features large castors and conveniently placed hand holds to permit the mobile support system to be moved safely and easily. The system provides for socketed leg attachment, thereby allowing for ease of disassembly and storage. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to food processing devices, and more specifically to a Fruit Pitter.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Many fruits have a stone or a pit that requires removal prior to consumption. For example, cherries, while having a delightful flavor and texture that make them well suited for raw consumption or use in prepared dishes and baked goods, have a small hard pit or stone that must be removed prior to use. Other foods, such as olives, for example, have a similar hard stone or pit that must be removed prior to use.
[0005] There are various ways to remove the pit or stone, including merely eating the food and expelling the pit while chewing the food. While this technique may be effective, it is not a particularly attractive technique, especially in more formal settings. In addition, many foods, cherries included, can be used in prepared dishes, salads, as toppings, in baked goods, and the like. In such applications, it is oftentimes desirable to not only remove the pit or stone but also to retain the basic shape of the food once the pit or stone is removed, keeping the food item basically intact. While devices for removing a pit or stone from a food item such as a fruit are known, many of these devices have shortcomings including the way in which the pit is removed, the way in which the food retains its basic shape after pit removal, the mechanism of the device, the overall shape and ease of storage of the device, and the like.
[0006] What is needed is an improved Fruit Pitter that overcomes many of these shortcomings.
[0007] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a Fruit Pitter that retains the basic shape of the food after the pit has been removed. It is another object of the present invention to provide a Fruit Pitter with an improved mechanism. It is another object of the present invention to provide a Fruit Pitter with an improved and easy to store shape. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a Fruit Pitter with an improved way to retain a fruit and remove the associated pit.
[0008] These and other objects of the present invention are not to be considered comprehensive or exhaustive, but rather, exemplary of objects that may be ascertained after reading this specification and claims with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a Fruit Pitter for removing a pit from a food item, the Fruit Pitter comprising a generally cylindrical hollow barrel comprising a food receiving aperture and a plunger actuation aperture; a plunger comprising a plunger body, a plunger head attached to the plunger body, and a pit removal shaft retention structure; the plunger slidably disposed within the generally cylindrical hollow barrel; a pit removal shaft comprising a pit engaging end, the pit removal shaft attached to the pit removal shaft retention structure of the plunger; a retention plate affixed within the generally cylindrical hollow barrel, the retention plate comprising a pit removal shaft opening and a spring retention tab; a spring with the pit removal shaft therethrough where the spring is placed between the plunger and the retention plate to provide return force to the plunger after the plunger has been depressed; and a pit ejection chamber attached to the generally cylindrical hollow barrel.
[0010] The foregoing paragraph has been provided by way of introduction, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as described in this specification, claims and the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The invention will be described by reference to the following drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Fruit Pitter of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use with the plunger partially depressed;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use with the plunger fully depressed;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter;
[0017] FIG. 6 is top plan view of the Fruit Pitter;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the Fruit Pitter;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a rotated side plan view of the Fruit Pitter;
[0020] FIG. 9 is a rotated side plan view of the Fruit Pitter showing the plunger;
[0021] FIG. 10 is a cutaway view of the Fruit Pitter cut along line A-A of FIG. 5 ;
[0022] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the Fruit Pitter;
[0023] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the plunger of the Fruit Pitter;
[0024] FIG. 13 is a rotated perspective view of the plunger of the Fruit Pitter;
[0025] FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of the retention plate of the Fruit Pitter; and
[0026] FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the retention plate of the Fruit Pitter.
[0027] The attached figures depict various views of the Fruit Pitter in sufficient detail to allow one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. These figures are exemplary, and depict a preferred embodiment; however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment depicted herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by this specification, claims and drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] A Fruit Pitter is described and depicted by way of this specification and the attached drawings. For a general understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements.
[0029] The Fruit Pitter may be used to remove a pit or stone from a food item such as a cherry, an olive, or the like. The generally cylindrical shape of the Fruit Pitter makes for an easy to operate kitchen tool that is also convenient to clean and store. The operation is such that the Fruit Pitter may be used with one hand, and a single depression of a plunger removes and ejects a pit or stone from the food item.
[0030] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the Fruit Pitter that shows the general overall appearance and features that a user would interact with. The Fruit Pitter has a generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 comprising a food receiving aperture 103 and a plunger actuation aperture 105 . While the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 is depicted in the exemplary figures as cylindrical, other geometric variations may also employed, such as various polyhedra. Cylindrical, as used herein, applies to any elliptical cylinder, including, but not limited to, circular. The food receiving aperture 103 may be formed of any convenient shape that will receive a food item. The example depicted in the figures is that of an opening having a squared off bottom and a rounded and angled top with generally vertical sides. Other shapes may be envisioned after reading this specification and viewing the accompanying drawings and are to be considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The plunger actuation aperture 105 is a cutaway portion of the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 that allows a user to fully and easily depress the plunger 107 . While the plunger actuation aperture 105 is depicted on the right side of the barrel 101 as shown in FIG. 1 , it can also be placed on the left side of the barrel 101 (rotated 180 degrees from that depicted in FIG. 1 ), or rotated 90 degrees in either direction of that shown in FIG. 1 , or moved in any convenient position. The barrel 101 may be made from a material such as a rigid material, for example a plastic or a metal. Examples of suitable plastics include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. Bioplastics may also be used in some embodiments of the present invention. In addition, reinforced plastics, metals, and other materials that may be suitably formed may also be used. The barrel 101 may be made by injection molding, blow molding, machining, or the like.
[0031] Slidably disposed within the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 is a plunger 107 . The plunger can be seen in further detail in FIGS. 12 and 13 . The plunger 107 comprises a plunger body, a plunger head attached to the plunger body, and a pit removal shaft retention structure. The plunger 107 may be made from a material such as a rigid material, for example a plastic or a metal. Examples of suitable plastics include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. Bioplastics may also be used in some embodiments of the present invention. In addition, reinforced plastics, metals, and other materials that may be suitably formed may also be used. The plunger 107 may be made by injection molding, blow molding, machining, or the like.
[0032] Attached to, or molded with, the barrel 101 is a pit ejection chamber 109 . The pit ejection chamber 109 may be clearly seen detached from the barrel 101 in FIG. 11 . The pit ejection chamber may have a circumferential edge to assist in joining the pit ejection chamber 109 to the barrel 101 should the two parts not be molded as one piece. The pit ejection chamber 109 may be made from a material such as a rigid material, for example a plastic or a metal. Examples of suitable plastics include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. Bioplastics may also be used in some embodiments of the present invention. In addition, reinforced plastics, metals, and other materials that may be suitably formed may also be used. The pit ejection chamber 109 may be made by injection molding, blow molding, machining, or the like. In one embodiment, the pit ejection chamber 109 is made from Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), an optically clear or transparent plastic that allows a user to confirm that a pit has been ejected from a food item. The pit ejection chamber 109 , in one embodiment of the present invention, is generally cylindrical to align with a generally cylindrical barrel 101 . As with the barrel 101 , other geometric variations of the pit ejection chamber 109 may also employed, such as various polyhedra. Cylindrical, as used herein, applies to any elliptical cylinder, including, but not limited to, circular. The pit ejection chamber 109 , in one embodiment of the present invention, is open on the bottom to allow an ejected pit to be removed. In addition, an open top area of the pit ejection chamber 109 allows the pit removal shaft 115 to travel through the food item completely. In some embodiments of the present invention, the pit ejection chamber 109 has a depression or otherwise concave upper surface where the food item would rest to more securely retain the food item during a pit removal operation. This depression can be seen, for example, in FIGS. 10 and 11 , and can be seen in use in FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4 .
[0033] A retention plate 111 can also be seen in FIG. 1 affixed within the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 . The retention plate 111 comprises a pit removal shaft opening 115 and a spring retention tab (not seen in FIG. 1 , refer to FIG. 14 ). The retention plate 111 serves not only to stop travel of the plunger 107 and provide stability, but also serves as a backer to remove the food item from the pit removal shaft 115 . The retention plate 111 may be made from a material such as a rigid material, for example a plastic or a metal. Examples of suitable plastics include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, and the like. Bioplastics may also be used in some embodiments of the present invention. In addition, reinforced plastics, metals, and other materials that may be suitably formed may also be used. The retention plate 111 may be made by injection molding, blow molding, machining, or the like. The retention plate 111 should preferably be of the same or similar geometry as the barrel 101 . The pit removal shaft opening 113 may be any opening that accommodates travel of the pit removal shaft 115 therethrough. In one example, the pit removal shaft opening 113 is generally circular with four radial slots. The pit removal shaft 115 may be made of any rigid material, for example, stainless steel. The pit removal shaft comprises a pit engaging end that may, in some embodiments of the present invention, have additional structural features such as, for example, prongs to assist with the operation of pushing the pit through the food item and expelling the pit. The pit removal shaft 115 can be seen in use in FIGS. 3 and 4 , and can be clearly seen in FIG. 11 . The pit removal shaft 115 is attached to the plunger 107 by way of a pit removal shaft retention structure (not seen in FIG. 1 , see FIG. 10 . Not seen in FIG. 1 (see FIGS. 10 and 11 ) is a spring with the pit removal shaft 115 therethrough where the spring is placed between the plunger 107 and the retention plate 111 to provide return force to the plunger 107 after the plunger 107 has been depressed.
[0034] Turning now to FIG. 2 , a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use is depicted. A food item 201 such as a fruit is shown in the food receiving aperture 103 . To use the Fruit Pitter, a food item 201 is placed in the food receiving aperture 103 and oriented in such a way that the pit is generally centered below the pit removal shaft 115 . FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use with the plunger partially depressed. The food item 201 can be seen properly oriented in the food receiving aperture 103 and below the pit removal shaft 115 . The pit engaging end 303 can also be seen in FIG. 3 . The direction of travel 301 of the plunger 107 can be seen in FIG. 3 , as indicated by an arrow. As the plunger 107 is depressed by the user using a thumb or finger, the pit removal shaft 115 travels downward toward the food item 201 , enters the food item 201 , and pushes the pit through the food item 201 and out of the food item 201 into the pit ejection chamber 109 . FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter in use with the plunger 107 fully depressed and the direction of travel 401 of the plunger 107 indicated by an arrow. The pit 403 can be seen ejected from the food item 201 and falling through the pit ejection chamber 109 . The pit removal shaft 115 can also be seen penetrating through the food item 201 .
[0035] FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the Fruit Pitter that shows the plunger 107 exposed in the plunger actuation aperture 105 . The general internal outline of the pit ejection chamber 109 can also be seen in dotted line form.
[0036] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the Fruit Pitter that depicts the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 and the plunger 107 slidably disposed within. In some embodiments of the present invention, a depression 605 serves to provide more secure finger or thumb placement. The top edge of the barrel 101 in FIG. 1 is at two different elevations, the lower being to the right side of the drawing as a result of the plunger actuation aperture 105 . A first guide rail 601 and a second guide rail 603 can be seen axially disposed adjacent to the plunger actuation aperture 105 . FIG. 9 shows the first guide rail 601 and the second guide rail 603 and their axial orientation with respect to the axis of the barrel 101 . In some embodiments of the present invention, the first guide rail 601 and the second guide rail 603 are rectangular protrusions from the inner circumferential wall of the barrel 101 . The plunger 107 has a first upper slot 607 and a second upper slot 609 each of which is circumferentially located on the plunger head ( 1201 in FIG. 12 ) and tend to align with their respective guide rails; the first upper slot 607 aligned with and capable of traveling along the first guide rail 601 , and the second upper slot 609 aligned with and capable of traveling along the second guide rail 603 . This guiding arrangement serves to retain the plunger 107 within the barrel 101 and also reduces or eliminates unnecessary radial travel of the plunger 107 , which would be detrimental to the pitting operation.
[0037] Now turning to FIG. 7 , a bottom plan view of the Fruit Pitter is shown. The bottom edge of the pit ejection chamber 109 can be seen along with the retention plate 111 . The example depicted in FIG. 7 shows that the pit removal shaft opening of the retention plate is generally circular with four radial slots. The pit removal shaft opening 113 may also be any opening that accommodates travel of the pit removal shaft 115 therethrough. The pit engaging end 303 of the pit removal shaft 115 can be seen as well.
[0038] FIG. 8 is a rotated side plan view of the Fruit Pitter that shows the general internal outline of the pit ejection chamber 109 in dotted line form. FIG. 9 is a rotated side plan view of the Fruit Pitter showing the plunger 107 as well as the first guide rail 601 and the second guide rail 603 .
[0039] FIG. 10 is a cutaway view of the Fruit Pitter cut along line A-A of FIG. 5 that clearly shows the spring 1001 with the pit removal shaft 115 therethrough where the spring 1001 is placed between the plunger 107 and the retention plate 111 . Within the plunger 107 is a pit removal shaft retention structure 1003 that has a recess to accommodate the pit removal shaft 115 and also has a built up annular retainer that serves to retain the spring 1001 within the plunger 107 . The spring 1001 is preferably made from a food grade material that possesses spring like qualities. A stainless steel spring, for example, would be suitable. The spring is held by the pit removal shaft retention structure 1003 on one end and retention tabs attached to, or formed with, the retention plate 111 . Details of the pit ejection chamber 109 can also be seen. Within the hollow inner surface of the barrel 101 a transition feature 1005 can be seen. The transition feature 1005 is a ridge, bump, ring, notch, or other such structure that acts as a stop for the plunger 107 and also serves to assist with the assembly and manufacture of the Fruit Pitter, as will be later described herein. The transition feature 1005 may also be a transition or change in inner radius of the barrel 101 , and may be molded or otherwise integrated with the barrel 101 .
[0040] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the Fruit Pitter of the present invention. Each of the components of the Fruit Pitter can be clearly seen along with their relative locations with respect to each other.
[0041] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the plunger of the Fruit Pitter. In addition to a first upper slot 607 and a second upper slot 609 , in some embodiments of the present invention a first lower slot 1211 and a second lower slot 1303 (see FIG. 13 ) are also present on the plunger 107 . The first lower slot 1211 and the second lower slot 1303 are each circumferentially located on the plunger body 1203 , the first lower slot 1211 being slidably engaged with the first guide rail 601 of the barrel 101 and the second lower slot 1303 being slidably engaged with the second guide rail 603 of the barrel 101 . The plunger 107 comprises a plunger body 1203 and a plunger head 1201 attached to the plunger body 1203 . The plunger body 1203 has a first flex opening 1209 and a second flex opening 1301 (see FIG. 13 ). The flex opening may be a rectangular, square, oval, or other geometric opening in the plunger body 1203 that allows the plunger body to deform during assembly. The deformation may serve to reduce the radius of the plunger body 1203 so that it can be inserted into the barrel 101 and past the transition feature 1005 , after which it returns to it's pre-deformation shape and is held in place. A first flange half 1207 and a second flange half 1205 are formed between the first flex opening 1209 and the second flex opening 1301 and serve to stop the travel of the plunger 107 at the transition feature 1005 and also to guide the plunger 107 within the barrel 101 .
[0042] FIG. 13 is a rotated perspective view of the plunger of the Fruit Pitter showing the second flex opening 1301 and the second lower slot 1303 .
[0043] FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of the retention plate 111 of the Fruit Pitter showing the first spring retention tab 1401 , the second spring retention tab 1403 , the third spring retention tab 1405 and the fourth spring retention tab 1407 . In some embodiments of the present invention, more or less retention tabs may be used. The retention tabs may have a curvature to more positively engage the spring 1001 .
[0044] Lastly, FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the retention plate of the Fruit Pitter showing the pit removal shaft opening 113 . The pit removal shaft opening 113 may be any opening that accommodates travel of the pit removal shaft 115 therethrough. In one example, and as depicted in FIG. 15 , the pit removal shaft opening 113 is generally circular with four radial slots.
[0045] To manufacture the Fruit Pitter once each of the individual parts described herein have been fabricated, a pit removal shaft 115 is affixed to the plunger 107 by press fitting, gluing, threading, or the like. A spring 1001 is then placed around the pit removal shaft 115 . A pit ejection chamber 109 is then joined or formed with a generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 . A retention plate 111 is joined to an inner surface of the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 by press fitting, gluing, welding, or the like. The plunger 107 is then pushed inside the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 such that the plunger 107 deforms slightly through a reduction in radius caused by a flex opening in the plunger 107 and is retained by a transition feature 1005 inside the generally cylindrical hollow barrel 101 .
[0046] To use the Fruit Pitter, a food item is placed in the food receiving aperture 103 and oriented in such a way that the pit is generally centered below the pit removal shaft 115 . As the plunger 107 is depressed by the user using a thumb or finger, the pit removal shaft 115 travels downward toward the food item, enters the food item, and pushes the pit through the food item and out of the food item into the pit ejection chamber 109 . Once the pit is removed, the user relieves pressure on the plunger 107 , and the plunger 107 returns to its upward position by way of a spring 1001 , and in doing so the pit removal shaft 115 is removed from the food item. The food item can then be removed from the food receiving aperture 103 for consumption or further processing.
[0047] It is, therefore, apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the various objects of the present invention, a Fruit Pitter. While the various objects of this invention have been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of this specification, claims and the attached drawings. | A Fruit Pitter is disclosed where a plunger and shaft are slidably disposed within a generally cylindrical barrel. The shaft contains a pit engaging end that serves to cut and push a pit through a food item and expel the pit into a pit ejection chamber. The plunger is spring actuated for ease of operation. The food item rests in an opening in the barrel and remains there throughout the pit removal operation until a user removes the food item from the Fruit Pitter. The pit ejection chamber keeps the pit retained until it can be disposed of, and further serves to reduce splattering while the Fruit Pitter is in use. | 8 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to valve rotators for internal combustion engines, and more specifically to valve rotators with snap fit housings.
BACKGROUND
During operation, the cylinders of large internal combustion engines often create a heat gradient from the relatively cool intake side of the cylinder and the relatively hot exhaust side of the cylinder. This heat gradient may cause warping of the intake and exhaust valves if the gradient becomes too intense, thereby accelerating wear and potentially damaging the valves and valve seats. To combat these effects, valve rotators are commonly installed to rotate the valves during engine operation, which results in the valves being subjected to a more even distribution of heat. Rotation of the valve also provides a more even wear pattern for the valve and valve seat.
Valve rotators are frequently constructed in two parts, a housing that engages and is fixed relative to an end of the valve spring(s), and a body coupled to the valve stem. For every reciprocating movement of the valve, the body and the valve together rotate a small amount relative to the housing.
For higher performance and enhanced durability, valve springs are becoming increasingly hard and stiff. In response, the housing of the valve rotator assembly must also be hardened to resist premature wear on the surfaces of the housing that contact the spring. As a result of this hardening, the housing also becomes increasingly brittle and prone to cracking when worked. This issue is particularly troublesome in valve rotator assemblies in which an edge surface of the housing is cold rolled over a portion of the rotator body to form a locking bead that secures the two components together. Many times, the addition of the locking bead to a hardened housing by cold forming results in the part being cracked and/or rendered unusable.
SUMMARY
In some embodiments, the invention provides a valve rotator assembly for rotating an internal combustion engine valve about an axis in response to reciprocating movement of the valve. The assembly includes a body for coupling to a portion of the valve and including a retention surface. The assembly also includes a housing that removably and rotatably receives the body. The housing includes a bottom wall and a plurality of resilient members that engage the retention surface to removably couple the body to the housing. The assembly also includes a rotary advance mechanism that engages the body and the housing to rotate the body relative to the housing.
In some embodiments, the invention provides a method of assembling a valve rotator for rotating a valve of an internal combustion engine about an axis. The method includes providing a housing including a plurality of resilient members and a body for coupling with the valve and including a retention surface. Components of a rotary advance mechanism are positioned between the housing and the body, and the body is positioned for insertion into the housing. The body is axially inserted into the housing, which includes engaging the body with the resilient members to thereby urge the resilient members away from a relaxed position. The retention surface is moved axially beyond the resilient members, which allows the resilient members to return to the relaxed position so as to retain the body within the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a valve assembly for an internal combustion engine.
FIG. 2 is a section view taken along line 2 - 2 of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the valve assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a section view taken along line 4 - 4 of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the valve assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a valve rotator assembly of the valve assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 7 is a section view taken along line 7 - 7 of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the valve rotator assembly of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 9 is a section view taken along line 9 - 9 of FIG. 8 .
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rotator housing of the valve rotator assembly of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 11 is a section view taken along line 11 - 11 of FIG. 10 .
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a rotator body of the valve rotator assembly of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 13 is a section view taken along line 13 - 13 of FIG. 12 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a valve assembly 8 for use in an internal combustion engine. The valve assembly 8 includes a valve rotator assembly 10 that supports a valve 12 . The valve rotator assembly 10 includes a rotator housing 14 that engages the end(s) of one or more valve springs 18 a , 18 b , and a rotator body 22 received by and fitting generally within the rotator housing 14 . The rotator body 22 receives and engages a stem portion 26 of the valve 12 that generally defines a valve axis 28 . The rotator assembly 10 also includes a helical garter spring 30 that extends around and is received by an annular recess 98 defined by the rotator body 22 . The garter spring 30 also engages a spring washer 34 that fits between the garter spring 30 and an inner surface 51 of the housing 14 . The garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 together define a rotary advance mechanism that rotates the body 22 relative to the housing 14 . During engine operation, a valve actuation component (e.g., a cam lobe and/or a rocker arm, not shown) directly or indirectly applies a force to an upper surface 38 of the valve stem 26 to open the valve 12 (opening movement of the valve is in a generally downward direction with respect to FIGS. 1-4 ). The valve spring(s) 18 a , 18 b resist opening movement of the valve, thereby compressing the spring washer 34 and the garter spring 30 between the rotator housing 14 and the rotator body 22 . As the valve 12 returns to the closed position, the compressive forces between the valve spring(s) 18 a , 18 b and the valve actuation component reduce. Actuation of the valve 12 in this manner causes the spring washer 34 and the garter spring 30 to cyclically compress and expand, which in turn causes the rotator body 22 and the valve 12 to rotate with respect to the rotator housing 14 in a known manner.
With reference also to FIGS. 6-11 , the rotator housing 14 includes a bottom wall 42 that engages the valve spring(s) 18 a , 18 b , and an outer wall 46 extending around an outer circumference of the bottom wall 42 and generally perpendicularly away from the bottom wall 42 . The bottom wall 42 extends generally radially inwardly from the outer wall 46 and includes one or more spring seats 50 a , 50 b . Each spring seat 50 a , 50 b is shaped to retain a corresponding one of the valve springs 18 a , 18 b . In the illustrated construction, the spring seats 50 a , 50 b form concentric annular surfaces, with each annular surface sized to substantially correspond to the diameter of the valve spring 18 a , 18 b it retains. The spring seats 50 a , 50 b may also be formed on axially offset yet generally parallel planes to provide one or more retaining walls 58 . The retaining wall(s) 58 may be sized and shaped to provide radial stability to the valve springs 18 a, 18 b , and to help properly locate the valve rotator assembly 10 relative to the valve springs 18 a, 18 b during assembly. In alternate constructions, the one or more spring seats 50 a , 50 b may be formed in a common plane and/or be formed as or by a recess in the rotator housing 14 . In still further constructions, there may only be a single engagement surface for the one or more valve springs 18 a , 18 b . In yet another construction, the innermost valve seat 50 b may be provided with an additional retaining wall corresponding to the inner diameter of the inner valve spring 18 b.
The outer wall 46 defines a plurality of generally U-shaped recesses 62 that open at an upper edge 66 of the outer wall 46 and extend generally downwardly therefrom toward the bottom wall 42 . In the illustrated embodiment, the edges of the wall that define each recess 62 are filleted and/or radiused to reduce stresses along the outer wall 46 in the vicinity of the recesses 62 .
The outer wall 46 includes a plurality of resilient retention members 70 (e.g., 4 in the illustrated construction) that extend substantially perpendicularly away from the bottom wall 42 between adjacent ones of the recesses 62 . The retention members 70 are configured to be radially deflectable relative to the remainder of the outer wall 46 , away from a relaxed position, during assembly and disassembly of the valve rotator assembly 10 . The retention members 70 are generally equally distributed about the circumference of the outer wall 46 . In the illustrated construction, each retention member 70 includes a distal end that extends beyond the upper edge 66 of the remainder of the outer wall 46 . The distal end extends radially inwardly relative to the remainder of the retention member 70 to form a retaining tip 74 . In alternate constructions the retaining tip 74 may be formed as a hook, or may include a distal end having a first, proximal portion that extends radially inwardly, and a second distal portion that extends radially outwardly. The retention members 70 and retaining tips 74 may include other forms and configurations that allow the rotator housing 14 to removeably and rotatably receive the rotator body 22 , as discussed below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the rotator housing 14 is generally formed from sheet material by one or more stamping and/or drawing operations; however, alternate constructions may include the rotator housing 14 being forged, cast, machined, or various combinations of these to produce the desired shape. Additionally, the rotator housing 14 is generally formed from a metal (e.g. steel) and is preferably heat treated, induction hardened, case hardened, shot peened or otherwise materially treated to enhance the wear characteristics of the rotator housing 14 . In certain embodiments, the rotator housing 14 is formed of a low carbon (0.05-0.15% carbon) or a mild carbon (0.16-0.29% carbon) steel. Two specific examples of suitable carbon steels are AISI 1008 and AISI 1010, which are malleable enough to stamp but include sufficient carbon content for controlled hardening after forming. Although the final surface hardness of the rotator housing 14 depends upon the specific material used and whether and to what extent the rotator housing 14 is hardened, some non-hardened embodiments of the rotator housing 14 include a surface hardness of at least about 107 HK (Knoop hardness). Other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 , which are generally hardened in some manner, include a surface hardness of at least about 402 HK, while still other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 include a surface hardness of at least about 510 HK. Furthermore, some embodiments of the rotator housing, also generally hardened, include a surface hardness up to about 776 HK, while other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 are hardened to include a surface hardness up to about 630 HK, and other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 are hardened to include a surface hardness up to about 576 HK. Still other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 , which are also generally hardened, include a surface hardness in the range of about 402 HK to about 776 HK, while other embodiments of the rotator housing 14 include a surface hardness in a range of about 510 HK to about 630 HK. One preferred embodiment of the rotator housing 14 is hardened to include a surface hardness in a range of about 510 HK to about 576 HK.
The retention members 70 are configured to deflect radially outwardly as the rotator body 22 is inserted into or withdrawn from the rotator housing 14 . When the rotator body 22 is fully received within the rotator housing 14 , the retention members 70 return to their original positions, and do not restrict relative rotation between the rotator body 22 and the rotator housing 14 . Similarly, when the rotator body 22 is fully withdrawn from the rotator housing 14 , the retention members 70 return to their original positions such that the rotator housing 14 may be reused with a different (e.g., a new or rebuilt) rotator body 22 and/or a new or replacement garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 .
While the illustrated retention member is substantially uniform in cross section and has a length nearly equal to the height of the outer wall 42 , alternate constructions may include a retention member 70 that extends axially and inwardly directly from the upper edge 66 of the outer wall 42 . In still other constructions, the retention member 70 may extend only partially toward the upper edge 66 of the outer wall 42 . Alternate constructions may further include retention members 70 differing in width and or cross section along their length.
FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the rotator body 22 in further detail. The rotator body 22 is removeably and rotateably received by the rotator housing 14 and includes a main body 78 , a secondary body 82 extending radially outwardly from the main body 78 , and a central recess 86 extending axially through the rotator body 22 and shaped to receive the valve stem 26 .
The main body 78 of the rotator body 22 is substantially cylindrical and defines the central recess 86 . The main body 78 includes a first outer diameter 88 and a second outer diameter 90 . The first outer diameter 88 is sized to fit within the innermost diameter of the bottom wall 42 of the rotator housing 14 , and extends a first axial distance. The second outer diameter 90 is sized to fit within an inner diameter 36 of the spring washer 34 , and extends a second axial distance. In the illustrated construction, the combined first and second distances substantially define the height of the main body 78 .
The secondary body 82 extends radially outwardly from the main body 78 and defines a third outer diameter 94 that fits within the outer wall 46 while allowing sufficient clearance to allow relative rotation between the rotator housing 14 and the rotator body 22 . The secondary body 82 also defines an annular recess 98 shaped to receive the garter spring 30 , an angled lead-in surface 102 that engages the retention members 70 during assembly of the rotator assembly 10 , and a retention surface 106 that engages the retention members 70 during disassembly of the rotator assembly. In the illustrated embodiment, the secondary body 82 includes a substantially flat upper surface 110 , however, in alternate constructions; the upper surface 110 may be contoured to provide additional strength or perform other functions, as necessary. In still other constructions, the flat upper surface 110 may itself define the retention surface 106 .
The annular recess 98 is defined by the secondary body 82 and is shaped to receive the garter spring 30 (described below). In the illustrated construction, the annular recess 98 opens axially toward the main body 78 , is defined by a bottom surface 114 , and includes a substantially semi-circular cross-section. Alternate cross-sections may be utilized to facilitate the outer contour of different types of garter springs 30 . In some constructions, the annular recess 98 may define a plurality of ridges or ribs (not shown) that engage the garter spring 30 and facilitate rotation of the rotator body 22 relative to the rotator housing 14 . In still other constructions, the annular recess 98 may be lined with a deformable material (e.g. rubber), also to facilitate rotation of the rotator body 22 with respect to the rotator housing 14 .
The lead-in surface 102 defines a chamfer between the third outer diameter 94 and the bottom surface 114 of the rotator body 22 . When the rotator body 22 is inserted into the housing 14 , the lead-in surface 102 engages the retention members 70 and urges the retention members 70 radially outwardly. In the illustrated embodiment, the lead-in surface 102 extends completely around the third outer diameter 94 . In alternate embodiments, the rotator body 22 may include a plurality of radially spaced apart lead-in surfaces 102 , each positioned for alignment with a respective one of the retention members 70 during assembly. In still other embodiments, there may be no discernable chamfer or radius between the bottom surface 114 and the third outer diameter 94 , in which case the bottom surface 114 itself defines the lead-in surface.
In the illustrated construction, the retention surface 106 is formed as a radius between the third outer diameter 94 and the upper surface 110 of the rotator body 22 , and facilitates retention of the rotator body 22 with respect to the rotator housing 14 . The retention surface 106 extends completely around the third outer diameter 94 . In alternate embodiments, the corner defined by the junction of the upper surface 110 and third outer diameter 94 may not be radiused, in which case the upper surface 110 will itself defined the retention surface 106 . In yet another embodiment, the retention surface 106 may be in the form of a chamfer between the upper surface 110 and the third outer diameter 94 , and may bias the retention members 70 radially outwardly during removal of the body 22 from the housing 14 .
The central recess 86 is substantially concentric with the axis 28 and extends axially through the rotator body 22 . The central recess 86 includes a first portion 118 and a second portion 122 . The first portion 118 extends generally from the upper surface 110 a first distance into the rotator body 22 at a first wall angle. The second portion 122 generally extends from the first portion 118 a second distance into the rotator body 22 at a second, steeper wall angle. The second portion 122 defines a frusto-conical surface 123 configured to receive and capture a set of tapered valve collets 126 (see FIG. 5 ). In alternate embodiments, the central recess 86 may include additional portions each including a different wall angle, or may be formed from a single portion having a single wall angle.
In the illustrated embodiment, the rotator body 22 is generally formed from a single piece of metallic material (e.g., steel) and may be heat treated and/or hardened as necessary to improve durability. The rotator body 22 may be forged, stamped, cast, machined, formed of powdered metal, or any combination of these to produce the required shape.
Referring again to FIGS. 6-9 , the rotator housing 14 receives the spring washer 34 which engages the inner wall 51 of the rotator housing 14 . The spring washer 34 is slightly frusto-conical in profile, includes an annular depression 130 that receives the garter spring 34 , and defines an inner diameter 36 . The spring washer 34 may be formed from any suitable deformable and elastic material (e.g., spring steel). During operation the spring washer 34 deflects into a substantially flat, annular configuration upon application of an axial compressive force between the housing 14 and the body 22 .
In the illustrated construction the annular depression 130 is a smooth, concave groove extending completely around the spring washer 34 and shaped to receive the garter spring 30 . In alternate constructions, the annular depression 130 may include a plurality of ridges or ribs, or may be lined with a deformable material (e.g., rubber) to assist the garter spring 30 in rotating the rotator body 22 with respect to the rotator housing 14 .
The annular recess 98 receives the garter spring 30 , which in turn engages the spring washer 34 . Although illustrated schematically in the drawings as an annular ring, as understood by those skilled in the art, the garter spring 30 is a relatively tightly wound helical coil spring having a length that substantially corresponds to the circumference of the annular recess 98 . The garter spring 30 is substantially circular in cross-section and its coils deflect when subjected to an axial load. In some constructions, the garter spring 30 may be filled or coated with a deformable material (e.g., rubber) to provide additional vertical support under load and/or to assist in returning the garter spring 30 to its initial position.
The valve rotator assembly 10 can be assembled as a unit and transported to an engine manufacturing or rebuilding facility for installation. During assembly, the spring washer 34 is positioned in the rotator housing 14 against the inner surface 51 . The garter spring 30 is positioned in the annular recess 98 and the rotator body 22 is axially inserted into the rotator housing 14 . During such insertion the retaining tips 74 of the retention members 70 contact the lead-in surface 102 and deflect radially outwardly until the retaining tips 74 snap over the retention surface 106 . When the rotator body 22 is completely received by the rotator housing 14 , the garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 are captured therebetween. Once assembled, the completed rotator assembly 10 may be installed in a valve train of an engine, or shipped as a unit to a manufacturing or rebuilding facility.
To install the completed valve rotator assembly 10 in the valve train of an engine, the assembly 10 is positioned so the valve seat(s) 50 a , 50 b of the rotator housing 14 engage the end(s) of the valve spring(s) 18 a , 18 b . The valve stem 26 is inserted through a valve guide in the cylinder head (not shown), and into the central recess 86 . The valve springs 18 a , 18 b are compressed to expose the end of the valve stem 26 such that the collets 126 can be installed thereabout. The valve springs 18 a , 18 b are released and the collets 126 move into engagement with the angled surface 123 of the rotator body 22 , which biases the collets 126 into engagement with the end of the valve stem 26 to secure the valve 12 to the valve rotator 10 .
In operation, a valve train component operates to open the valve 12 by moving the valve stem 26 axially against the biasing force of the valve spring(s) 18 a , 18 b . The valve stem 26 in turn moves the rotator body 22 due to engagement between the valve collets 126 and the frusto-conical surface 123 . The garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 are thereby compressed between the rotator body 22 and the rotator housing 14 . When the valve train component operates to close the valve, at least some of the compressive forces applied to the garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 are reduced, thereby allowing the garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 to at least partially return toward a relaxed configuration. This cycling of compression and relaxation of the garter spring 30 and spring washer 34 rotates the rotator body 22 and valve 12 relative to the rotator housing 14 in a known manner.
The resilient retention members 70 allow the valve rotator assembly 10 to be disassembled and rebuilt without damaging or permanently (e.g., plastically) deforming the body 22 or the housing 14 . To disassemble the valve rotator 10 , the rotator body 22 is pressed or otherwise withdrawn axially from the rotator housing 14 , causing the retention surface 106 to engage the retaining tips 74 , and urging the retention members 70 radially outwardly. Once the rotator body 22 has been removed from the housing 14 , the retention members 70 elastically return to their original positions. The various parts of the assembly 10 may then be inspected and/or replaced, if necessary. The garter spring 30 and/or the spring washer 34 are the components most likely to require replacement. The various parts may then be re-assembled as described above and returned to service.
The resilience of the retention members 70 provides a rotator housing structure 14 that affords a snap fit between the rotator body 22 and the rotator housing 14 even when the housing 14 material is significantly hardened. The radiused geometry of the recesses 62 functions to distribute stresses that might otherwise lead to fractures when the retention members 70 deflect during assembly and disassembly of the valve rotator assembly 10 .
Although the foregoing disclosure has been directed generally to valve rotator assemblies including a garter spring and spring washer rotary advance mechanism, it should be appreciated that the teachings herein may also be incorporated into other valve rotators having other rotary advance mechanisms, such as valve rotators that utilizes various combinations of springs, ball bearings, wedges, and other known structures that provide relative rotation between the rotator body 22 and the rotator housing 14 during actuation of the valve 12 . | A valve rotator for use in an internal combustion engine. The valve rotator including a plurality of retention members, each able to removeably and rotateably couple the stationary housing to the rotating body. The plurality of retention members are defined by a plurality of recesses allowing each of the plurality of retention members to deflect with respect to the stationary housing. The retention members allow the rotating body to be removed from the stationary housing without the need for permanently damaging the stationary housing (e.g. during rebuilding). Additionally, the retention members may be incorporated on housings that have undergone heat treatment processes without rendering the housings susceptible to cracking or damage. | 5 |
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to an infant warming apparatus and, more particularly, to an infant warming apparatus having a pre-warm function that precedes the use of the apparatus in warming an infant.
In the care of newborn infants, there are various types of apparatus that provide heat to an infant and such apparatus can include infant incubators, infant warmers and combinations of the two. In such apparatus, there is normally provided, an infant platform on which the infant is positioned so as to receive the care and that infant platform is a generally planar surface located so as to underlie the infant.
With infant warmers, there is also an overhead radiant heater that can be energized to direct energy in the infrared spectrum toward an infant resting on the infant platform to warm the infant whereas, with infant incubators, there is normally provided an infant compartment that surrounds the infant and which can thereby form an enclosed area where the infant can reside. The atmosphere within the infant compartment is controlled by means of a control of the heat and possibly humidity so as to create a beneficial atmosphere for the wellbeing of the infant.
In the control of the atmosphere within the infant compartment of an infant incubator, normally there is a convective heating system that provides warmed air to the infant compartment and the control of the temperature of the warm air utilizes an air temperature sensor that is located within or proximate to the infant compartment. A heating algorithm carried out by a controller normally uses that air temperature sensor to control the convective heating system to provide the air at the desired temperature into the infant compartment.
An infant warmer is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,517 of Falk et al as prior art to that patent; an infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Mackin et al and a combination apparatus that combines the functions of both an infant warmer and an infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,539 of Jones et al.
One of the problems with an infant warmer is that the infant is normally placed on the infant platform that is at room temperature and thus there is an initial cooling of the infant until the radiant heater can take effect and warm the infant as well as the surfaces and materials surrounding the infant. With the use of an infant incubator, there has been proposed a pre-warm function in U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,003 of Moll et al and that pre-warm function is based on the continual monitoring of the air temperature within the infant compartment such that the pre-warm function can readily be terminated when the internal air temperature of the infant compartment reaches a predetermined temperature. However, the presence of the air temperature sensor within or in close proximity to the infant compartment in an infant incubator facilitates the control and timing of the pre-warm cycle and the air temperature within the infant compartment also provides a good indication of the temperature of the various air ducting and passageways of the conductive heating system.
In addition, with an infant incubator, the infant compartment is a confined, isolated environment and therefore is not greatly affected by factors such as the surrounding external environment, i.e. temperature, room air velocity or other factors such as supply voltage.
On the other hand, an infant warmer is affected by such conditions and moreover, an infant warmer does not have an air temperature sensor located in the vicinity of the infant and, therefore, there is no simple solution to controlling the use of a pre-warm function of an infant warmer. Accordingly, simply because the use of a pre-warm cycle may be present or disclosed for use with an infant incubator does not give rise to a easy transfer of that function or cycle for use with an infant warmer, despite the fact that the presence of a pre-warm cycle would also be advantageous with an infant warmer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an infant warmer that includes a base with an infant platform on the base for providing a support for an infant receiving care. The infant warmer includes an overhead radiant warmer that directs infrared radiation toward the infant platform in order to heat the infant supported thereon.
As such, the radiant heater is energized to provide the infrared energy and de-energized when the heating of the infant is discontinued. In the normal warming of an infant, there is an infant heating cycle that is carried out by a controller that may respond, for example, to a patient skin temperature sensor in carrying out that heating function. The controller determines the energization and de-energization of the radiant heater and, as a function of the controller, there is a pre-warm cycle, in addition to the normal infant heating cycle, that may be activated by the user in the initial start-up of the apparatus and which energizes the radiant heater prior to placing the infant on the infant platform. Thus, during the pre-warm cycle, the radiant warmer serves to heat the infant platform as well as other surfaces that are impinged upon by the infrared energy when the infant is not present and, during the normal infant heating cycle, the controller carries out the normal heating of the infant with the infant positioned on the infant platform.
When the surface of the infant platform and other surfaces have been warmed to the desired temperature, the infant can be placed on the infant platform and the potential of hypothermia is reduced by the infant now being placed on, and surrounded by, warmed surfaces instead of the otherwise ambient temperature surfaces and materials. The length of time that the pre-warm cycle can be activated can be determined by a timer or other control scheme that is independent of the air temperature surrounding the infant.
With the above, a pre-warm cycle can be used with an infant warmer where there is no air temperature sensor located proximate to the infant or even within an infant compartment and yet the radiant heater can be energized upon activation of the infant warmer for a period of time prior to placing the infant onto the infant platform such that the platform itself as well as the surrounding surfaces are pre-warmed to reduce the possibility of hypothermia.
The pre-warm cycle can be controlled in a number of ways. It may be initiated when the warmer itself is activated such that the pre-warm cycle can be automatically initiated at each start up of the infant warmer itself. Alternatively, the per-warm cycle can be initiated by the user choosing to start up the infant warmer in the pre-warm cycle such that the user initiates the pre-warm cycle. As a still further alternative, there may be a timer that starts up the infant warmer in the pre-warm cycle if the radiant heater has been deactivated for a predetermined minimum time and not initiate the pre-warm cycle if the radiant heater has been deactivated for only a maximum period of time. With the former, it is assumed that the infant platform and surrounding surfaces may have cooled to the point that the pre-warm cycle is needed, and with the latter, it is assumed that the infant platform and surrounding surfaces are still sufficiently warm from the prior activation of the radiant warmer that the pre-warm cycle is not necessary.
As a further alternate embodiment, there may be an infant sensor that senses when the infant is present on the infant platform and sends a signal to the controller indicating that the infant is present. Upon receipt of that signal, the controller recognizes the presence of the infant and, if that signal occurs at the initial start up of the warmer, the controller can immediately go into the normal infant heating cycle and thus skip the pre-warm cycle. In the event the infant senses the presence of the infant during the pre-warm cycle, such as when the user places the infant on the infant platform during the pre-warm cycle, the controller can, again in response to the recognition of the infant's presence, immediately terminate the pre-warm cycle and go into the normal infant heating cycle.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an infant warmer for carrying out the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the pre-warm cycle of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of an infant warmer 8 . As shown, the infant warmer 8 includes a frame 10 that provides a free standing unit for the infant warmer 8 . The frame 10 is supported upon a cabinet 12 which, in turn, is mounted upon a base 14 having wheels 16 so that the infant warmer 8 is easily movable. The cabinet 12 may also include one or more drawers 18 for containing items for attending to the infant.
An infant pedestal 20 is mounted atop of the cabinet 12 and on which is located an infant platform 22 which underlies an infant positioned thereon. Pedestal 20 is the main support for infant platform 20 . The infant platform 22 has a generally planar upper surface 24 with appropriate cushioning material for comfort of the infant and further may be surrounded by guards 26 , generally of a clear plastic material, and which contain the infant on the upper surface 24 . Generally, the guards 26 are removable and/or releasable for complete access to the infant.
Frame 10 includes upper and lower cross members 28 and 30 , respectively, joining a pair of vertical struts 32 and which vertical struts 32 may provide a means of support for other structural parts such as a shelf 34 .
Mounted on the upper cross member 28 may be a control module 35 for containing the various electrical controls to operate the infant warmer and the control module 35 includes a controller 37 , such as a microprocessor, that is employed to carry out the steps of the present invention that will be later described. A radiant heater 36 is mounted to the upper cross member 28 to direct the infrared radiation towards the infant platform 22 .
As will be noted, the location of the radiant heater 36 is such to be above the infant platform 22 . The radiant heater 36 is focused so as to provide a footprint on and around the infant to optimize the amount of heat directed upon the infant. Various types of focusable heaters are available for such application, examples of which may be a Calrod focused heater of about 500-600 watts or a corrugated foil heater. Preferably, the latter is of a linear length such that the footprint of heat at the infant platform 22 is generally rectangular.
Typically, the radiant heater 36 is about 18 to 24 inches in length extending outwardly, cantilever fashion from the cross member 28 and will contain therein, the Calrod resistance heater that is enclosed within a glass tube. Also within the heater 36 is a parabolic metal reflector that redirects the infrared radiation emanating in all directions from the Calrod resistance heater downwardly towards the infant platform 22 . The parabolic reflector and Calrod heater are not shown but are conventional in such currently available infant care centers.
As a further alternative, the radiant heater can be of the design and shape as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,010 of Thomas Jones and entitled Radiant Heater For Infant Warmers where the heater can be in the shape of a parabaloid, hyperboloid or ellipsoid.
There is also present an infant sensor 39 located on or proximate to the infant platform 22 and which senses the presence of the infant when positioned on the infant platform 22 . The infant sensor 39 senses when there is an infant present on the infant platform 22 and sends a signal indicative of that event. The infant sensor 39 may be any of a variety of sensors, including a sensor that is sensitive to the weight of an infant resting on the infant platform 22 , a motion sensing sensor or other device that senses when the infant is present on the infant platform 22 . The purpose of the infant sensor 39 will be later explained.
Thus far, with the exception of the infant sensor 39 , there has been described a typical infant warmer basically comprising the infant platform 22 with a radiant heater 36 located above that infant platform that directs infrared energy towards the infant platform 22 to impinge upon an infant, when present, to warm that infant. As will be seen, however, the present invention can be used with a conventional infant warmer, as herein described, or with any modified or new infant warmer to provide a unique feature to the infant warmer.
Accordingly, turning now to FIG. 2 , taken along with FIG. 1 , there is shown a flow chart that sets forth the steps of the pre-warm cycle of the present invention. Taking the steps of the flow chart, initially the infant warmer 8 is turned on at the start-up block 38 . In the infant warmer 8 , the start-up bock 38 is the initial activation of the infant warmer 8 by the user. There is a selection option at block 40 where the user may or may not select the use of the pre-warm cycle. If the pre-warm cycle option has not been selected by the user, the system immediately goes into its normal operation or heating cycle for heating the infant as depicted by the block 42 and the normal heating cycle is provided to an infant being cared for by the infant warmer 8 .
If, on the other hand, the pre-warm cycle has been selected at block 40 , the system initiates the pre-warm cycle, at block 44 and the radiant heater 36 begin to pre-warm the components of the infant warmer 8 . That pre-warm cycle will continue, in the absence of an infant, until the pre-warm cycle is completed, shown at 46 . As such, when the pre-warm cycle is prewarmed, there is a signal, at block 48 , that is activated and which may be visual, audible, or both, that alerts the user that the pre-warm cycle has been completed and the infant warmer 8 is ready to receive an infant.
Thus, the system keeps the controller 37 in the pre-warm cycle until there is an infant sensed by the infant sensor 39 indicating that an infant is present on the infant platform 22 . The infant may have been there initially or have been placed on the infant platform 22 during the pre-warm cycle, however, in either case, the presence of the infant immediately takes the system out of the pre-warm cycle and directly into the normal operation at 42 , where the radiant heater 36 is energized to warm the now present infant through the normal heating cycle.
As a further feature there can be a selection option where the infant warmer 8 is in its pre-warm cycle, at 50 , where the user can opt out of the pre-warm cycle manually, such as when an infant must be immediately placed in the infant warmer 8 despite the system still being in the pre-warm cycle. As such, the user can activate the normal operation selected option, at block 50 to cause the infant warmer 8 to again go directly into the normal operation at block 42 .
Finally, as can be seen, there is a “shut off” function at block 52 that allows the user to power down the infant warmer and, when triggered, the infant warmer 8 goes into the “warmer off” status of block 54 .
As a still further alternative, there may be a timer that automatically determines that the “off time” was sufficiently long that upon start-up the pre-warm cycle is automatically utilized rather than selected at block 40 . Conversely if the timer determines that the “off time” was relatively short, the pre-warm cycle may be eliminated.
The pre-warm cycle of block 44 thus activates or energizes the radiant heater 36 at a time when there is no infant positioned on the infant platform 22 so that the radiant warmer 8 can heat the infant platform 22 as well as surrounding materials in close proximity to the infant to avoid cold surfaces that could cause hypothermia of the infant. The radiant warmer 36 thereafter remains on until the surfaces involved reach the desired temperature. That time period may simply be established by a timer that leaves the radiant heater 36 on for a predetermined amount of time, and, when that time has elapsed, the controller 37 activates a signal to the user, shown at block 48 , either audible, visual or both, to advise the user that the surfaces are sufficient warm and that an infant can now be placed atop of the infant platform 22 .
In FIG. 2 , there is also shown, the optional function of the infant sensor 39 . In the event the user initiates the infant warmer 8 in the pre-warm mode block 44 , the controller 37 checks to see if there is a signal present from the infant sensor 39 , that is, to ascertain whether there is an infant resting on the infant platform 22 . If there is an infant present, the signal from the infant sensor 39 causes the controller 37 to skip the normal pre-warm cycle and proceed to the normal heating of the infant in the conventional control of the radiant heater 36 .
Along with that option, in the event that the pre-warm cycle of block 44 is activated, that is, the pre-warm cycle is being carried out, the placing of an infant on the infant warmer 8 during the pre-warm cycle can also activate the infant sensor 39 to send a signal to controller 37 such that the pre-warm cycle can be immediately terminated and the normal heating cycle and function of the infant warmer 8 can be activated. With this option, therefore, the pre-warm cycle is either prevented if there is an infant present on the infant platform 22 or is terminated if an infant is later placed on the infant platform 22 during the pre-warm cycle and, in either instance, the controller 37 omits or cancels, whichever the case may be, the pre-warm cycle and establishes the normal heating function of the infant warmer 8 .
Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the infant warmer of the present invention which will result in an improved heating system for an infant care apparatus, yet all of which will fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents. | An infant warmer for supporting an infant upon an infant platform. A radiant heater is located above the infant platform to direct infrared energy toward an infant positioned upon the infant platform. There is a pre-heat cycle that is carried out by a controller of the radiant heater that may be activated, manually or automatically, at the start-up of the infant warmer. The pre-warm cycle then warms the infant platform as well as other surfaces in close proximity thereto in order to heat those components prior to the infant being placed on the infant platform. The pre-warm cycle continues until those components are sufficient heated whereupon a signal, audible, visual or both, alerts the user that the pre-heat cycle has been completed and the infant warmer is ready to receive the infant. By warming those components, the possibility of hypothermia of the infant is reduced. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This disclosure relates to shirts and, more specifically to a shirt having an indicia on an inner side wherein the shirt may be selectively reversed, i.e. configured inside-out, and inverted to show the indicia.
[0003] 2. Background Information
[0004] Sports fans, as well as fans of other forms of entertainment, often wear shirts having an indicia related to the sport, their favorite team, or, disparaging the opposing team. Typically, such indicia are displayed on the outer side of the front panel of the shirt. Such indicia are substantially static or non-interactive. That is, the user simply wears the shirt and, other than holding the shirt taut to clearly show the image, the user has no other option to draw attention to the indicia. This is a disadvantage as a user may especially wish to draw attention to the indicia after an in-game event, e.g. scoring a goal.
[0005] There is, therefore, a need for a shirt having an indicia that may be displayed in a manner other than on the front of the shirt. There is a further need for a shirt that allows the user to draw attention to the indicia.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] These needs, and others, are met by at least one embodiment of the disclosed concept which provides for a shirt having an indicia disposed on the inner side of a shirt panel. In this configuration, the shirt may be reversed and inverted, i.e. the panel is turned inside-out while being lifted over the head. This action exposes the indicia and the act of lifting the shirt makes the shirt and indicia more visible.
[0007] Further, the indicia may be oriented upside-down on the panel inner side so that when the panel is reversed (placed inside out) and inverted, the image is oriented right-side up. Further, the panel may be structured to be wrapped about the user's head and the indicia may be positioned and structured to be disposed about The user's head with a 3D appearance. Alternatively, the panel may be structured to be displayed in a flared configuration with a 2D indicia. In these configurations the user's body will be exposed. As some user's modesty will prevent such displays, the concept further includes a shirt having an inner sheet that will cover the user's body. The inner sheet may also include an indicia.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a shirt in a first configuration.
[0010] FIG. 2A is an isometric view of a shirt in a second configuration, FIG. 2B is an isometric view of a shirt in a third configuration.
[0011] FIG. 3A an isometric view of a shirt in a first configuration, FIG. 3B is a side view of a shirt in a fourth configuration.
[0012] FIG. 4A is a front view of a shirt in a second configuration. FIG. 4B is a back view of a shirt in a second configuration.
[0013] FIG. 5A is a front view of an alternate embodiment of a shirt in a second configuration. FIG. 5B is a back view of an alternate embodiment of a shirt in a second configuration.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the steps of using the shirt.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] As used herein, “coupled” means a link between two or more elements, whether direct or indirect, so long as a link occurs.
[0016] As used herein, “directly coupled” means that two elements are directly in contact with each other.
[0017] As used herein, “fixedly coupled” or “fixed” means that two components are coupled so as to move as one while maintaining a constant orientation relative to each other. The fixed components may, or may not, be directly coupled.
[0018] As used herein, a “2D indicia” is an indicia structured to be viewed on a generally flat surface.
[0019] As used herein, a “3D indicia” is an indicia structured to be viewed on a shaped surface, i.e. not a flat surface.
[0020] As used herein, a “partial 3D indicia” is an indicia structured to be viewed on a portion of a shaped surface. For example, a map image of the northern hemisphere printed on cloth wherein the cloth may be draped over a basketball so that the image is displayed properly would be a “partial 3D indicia.” As used herein, a “cooperative indicia” is one of two, or more, indicia that form a larger indicia.
[0021] As used herein, a “collar” is an opening in a shirt structured to allow a user's head to pass therethrough. A “collar” does not require reinforcing material.
[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1-2 , a shirt 10 includes a collar 12 and a panel 14 . In one embodiment there are two panels 14 , a front panel 16 and a back panel 18 . The shirt 10 may further include sleeves 20 , cuffs 22 , or other known elements. In one embodiment, the front panel 16 does not include buttons or other fastening devices. In one embodiment the front panel 16 and a back panel 18 are made from a material that is capable of stretching. Each panel 14 has an upper end 30 , 40 (front panel and back panel respectively), a lower end 32 , 42 , an outer side 34 , 44 and an inner side 36 , 46 . An indicia 50 is disposed on the panel inner side 36 , 46 . In one embodiment, the indicia 50 has an upper side 52 and a lower side 54 . In this embodiment, the indicia 50 may be disposed in an inverted configuration on the panel inner side 36 , 46 . That is, when the shirt is in a first configuration, discussed below, the indicia 50 is disposed in an inverted configuration, i.e. upside-down, on the panel inner side 36 , 46 . In another embodiment, the indicia 50 does not have an upper or lower side. That is, the indicia 50 may be a pattern or a representation of an object without a specific orientation, e.g. fireworks.
[0023] The shirt 10 may include pockets 60 structured to assist the user in moving between configurations (discussed below). The pockets 60 are disposed adjacent the front or back panel lower ends 32 , 42 . In one embodiment, the pockets 60 are disposed on substantially opposite sides of the shirt 10 . That is, rather than being disposed on the front of the shirt 10 , the pockets 60 are disposed at the interface of the front panel 16 and the back panel 18 , i.e. on the sides of the shirt 10 . A user may place their hands in the pockets 60 when moving the shirt 10 between configurations.
[0024] The shirt 10 , when worn by a user, may be moved between a first configuration, wherein the panel 14 , i.e. the front panel 16 and/or back panel 18 , is disposed about the user's torso, and a second configuration, wherein the panel 14 , i.e. the front panel 16 and/or back panel 18 , is raised above the user's neck. That is, in the second configuration, the user selectively reverses and inverts the panel 14 , e.g. the panel 14 is selectively lifted over the user's head while the collar 12 remains about the user's neck. In this configuration, an indicia 50 that is inverted when in the first configuration will be displayed right-side up. That is, if, when the shirt is in the first configuration, the indicia 50 is inverted, then, when the shirt is in the second configuration, the indicia 50 will be oriented right-side up. The shirt may further be placed in a third configuration wherein the panel 14 is partially wrapped about the user's head, as discussed below. The shirt may further be placed in a fourth configuration wherein the panel 14 , or the front panel 16 or back panel 18 , is substantially wrapped about the user's head, as discussed below. It is understood that in all four configurations, the collar 12 remains generally about the user's neck.
[0025] The panel 14 , i.e. the front panel 16 and/or back panel 18 , in one embodiment, is structured to be displayed in a flared manner ( FIG. 2A ). That is, the panel 14 may be a flared panel 15 that is generally tapered having a wide lower end 32 , 42 and a narrow upper end 30 , 40 . In this embodiment, when the shirt 10 is in the second configuration, the user may hold opposing sides of the panel lower end 32 , 42 apart and spaced from the user's head. Thus, the panel 14 will be generally taut and flat. Moreover, because the panel 14 is tapered, the panel 14 , in the inverted configuration, will be flared from the narrow upper end 30 , 40 to the wider lower end 32 , 42 . A panel 14 structured to be displayed in a flared manner is adapted to display a 2D indicia 50 . That is, the indicia 50 is structured to be displayed on a generally flat surface. In this configuration, the user's arms will be generally within the partially enclosed space defined by the inverted, flared shirt 10 .
[0026] In another embodiment, panel 14 is structured to be partially wrapped about a user's head as shown n FIG. 2B . That is, the panel 14 is first drawn taut, in a manner similar to the second configuration, but then the panel is moved rearwardly, or the user's head is moved forwardly, until the user's face is pressed into the panel 14 . This is the third configuration. In this configuration, the panel 14 wraps partially about the user's head. Further, the indicia 50 is a partial 3D indicia 50 . A partial 3D indicia 50 may include features that are appropriately displayed on a three-dimensional mount, but is limited to less than a 360 degree image. For example, a 3D indicia 50 may represent the front of a frontiersman That is, the indicia 50 may have the front of a coonskin hat, a right ear, a left ear, and a face with eyes, nose, mouth, a beard, etc. The back portion of the frontiersman, however, would not be part of the indicia 50 . When the shirt is in the fourth configuration and the indicia 50 is a partial 3D indicia 50 , the features of the partial 3D indicia 50 will be displayed in a three-dimensional manner. That is, in the example of a frontiersman, the representation of a coonskin hat will be disposed on the upper front of the user's head, the representation of a left ear will be disposed over the user's left ear, the representation of a right ear will be disposed over the user's right ear, and the representation of a face will be disposed over the user's face. As noted, that elements of the back of the frontiersman's head do not appear and the indicia 50 does not wrap around the back of the user's head.
[0027] In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the panel 14 , i.e. the front panel 16 and/or back panel 18 , is structured to be substantially wrapped about a user's head. Using a front panel 16 as an example, a user may grasp the front panel lower end 32 and lift it over their head. The user may then pull the front panel lower end 32 downwardly about the back of the user's neck. In this configuration, the front panel 16 is substantially wrapped about a user's head. This is the fourth configuration in which the shirt 10 may be placed. In this configuration, the user's arms may be inside or outside of the shirt 10 .
[0028] In this embodiment, panel 14 is structured to be wrapped about a user's head and is adapted to display a 3D indicia 50 . A 3D indicia 50 may include features that are appropriately displayed on a three-dimensional mount. For example, a 3D indicia 50 may represent a frontiersman. That is, the indicia 50 may have a coonskin hat, a right ear, a left ear, and a face with eyes, nose, mouth, a beard, etc. When the shirt is in the fourth configuration and the indicia 50 is a 3D indicia 50 , as shown in FIG. 3B , the features of the 3D indicia 50 will be displayed in a three-dimensional manner. That is, in the example of a frontiersman, the representation of a coonskin hat will be disposed on the top of the user's head, the representation of a left ear will be disposed over the user's left ear, the representation of a right ear will be disposed over the user's right ear, and the representation of a face will be disposed over the user's face. A back panel 18 may also be structured to be substantially wrapped about a user's head. While the back panel 18 may be pulled completely over the user's head in a manner similar to the front panel 16 , as described above, the back panel 18 may also be structured to be partially pulled over the user's head. That is, the user may position the back panel lower end 42 at an elevation adjacent the user's nose. For this embodiment, the indicia 50 preferably extends to the back panel lower end 42 . In this configuration, the user's mouth will be exposed. As used herein, this is also considered to be the fourth configuration of the shirt 10 . The user may use face paint, or other materials, to compliment the indicia 50 . For example, the user may apply face paint representing a team mascot with one expression and the indicia 50 may display the team mascot with another expression. Thus, during a game, the user may keep the shirt in the first configuration and be displaying a team mascot with one expression. But, after an event, e.g. a touchdown, the user may place the shirt 10 in the fourth configuration and display the team mascot with another expression. Alternatively, a partial 3D image may be disposed on the back panel 18 . Such an image would be used in a manner similar to the description above, except the image would be disposed over the back of the user's head.
[0029] As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , The shirt 10 may include indicia 50 on both the front panel 16 and the back panel 18 . That is, a first indicia 56 is disposed on the front panel inner side 36 and a second indicia 57 is disposed on the back panel inner side 46 . The first and second indicia 56 , 57 may be related or cooperative. For example, the first indicia 56 may be the letter “D” and the second indicia 57 may be a representation of a fence. Thus, when the shirt 10 is in the second configuration, the front panel 16 displays a “D” and the back panel 18 displays a fence. The user may then pivot about a vertical axis selectively displaying either the “D” or the fence toward the field or the crowd.
[0030] It is noted that when the shirt 10 is in the second, third, or fourth configuration, the user's torso will be substantially exposed. As some users may not wish to expose their torso, the shirt 10 may include an interior sheet 70 . As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , the sheet 70 may be either, or both, a front sheet 72 or a back sheet 74 . Each sheet 70 has an upper end 80 , 90 (front sheet and back sheet, respectively), a lower end 82 , 92 , and an outer side 84 , 94 . The front sheet 72 and back sheet 74 may be coupled, essentially forming an inner shirt-like construct disposed below the inner and outer panels 16 , 18 . The front sheet 72 and back sheet 74 may further be coupled to the front and back panels 16 , 18 , typically at a location below the sleeves 20 . When a shirt 10 having a sheet 70 , e.g. a front sheet 72 , is moved into the second, third, or fourth configuration, the front sheet 72 covers the user's torso.
[0031] Further, the sheet 70 may also be used as a display surface for an indicia 50 . More specifically, a third indicia 58 may be disposed on the front sheet outer side 84 and a fourth indicia 59 may be disposed on the back sheet outer side 94 . The third indicia 58 may be cooperative with the first indicia 56 . For example, the first indicia 56 may be the upper portion of a mascot such as, but not limited to, a wildcat. The third indicia 58 may be the lower portion of a mascot such as, but not limited to, a wildcat. Thus, when the shirt 10 is in either the second, third, or fourth configuration, a cooperative indicia 50 is displayed. Similarly, the fourth indicia 59 may be cooperative with the second indicia 57 .
[0032] The shirt 10 described above may be utilized according to a method, shown in FIG. 6 , having the steps of wearing 200 a shirt 10 in a first configuration and placing 202 the shirt 10 in one of a second or third configuration, as described above.
[0033] While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of invention which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof. | A shirt having an indicia disposed on the inner side of a shirt panel is provided. The shirt may be reversed and inverted, i.e. the panel is lifted over the user's head while a collar remains about the user's neck. This action exposes the indicia and the act of lifting the shirt makes the shirt and indicia more visible. | 0 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 13/716,306 filed Dec. 17, 2012, now allowed, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/578,689 filed Dec. 21, 2011 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a process for the production of an HIV attachment inhibitor compound formulation with excipients, and more specifically, to a process for producing a diketo piperazine-based prodrug attachment inhibitor compound embedded with one or more excipients in spherical-shaped agglomerates having improved physical characteristics. The invention also relates to the crystallized formulation so produced.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus-1) infection remains a major medical problem, with an estimated 45-50 million people infected worldwide at the end of 2011. The number of cases of HIV and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) has risen rapidly. In 2005, approximately 5.0 million new infections were reported, and 3.1 million people died from AIDS. Currently available drugs for the treatment of HIV include nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors: zidovudine (or AZT or RETROVIR®), didanosine (or VIDEX®), stavudine (or ZERIT®), lamivudine (or 3TC or EPIVIR®), zalcitabine (or DDC or HIVID®), abacavir succinate (or ZIAGEN®), Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate salt (or VIREAD®), emtricitabine (or FTC—EMTRIVA®), COMBIVIR® (contains—3TC plus AZT), TRIZIVIR® (contains abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine), Epzicom (contains abacavir and lamivudine), TRUVADA® (contains VIREAD® and EMTRIVA®); non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors: rilpivirine (or Edurant), nevirapine (or VIRAMUNE®), delavirdine (or RESCRIPTOR®) and efavirenz (or SUSTIVA®), Atripla (TRUVADA®+SUSTIVA®), Complera (TRUVADA®+Edurant), and etravirine, and peptidomimetic protease inhibitors or approved formulations: saquinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, lopinavir, KALETRA® (lopinavir and Ritonavir), darunavir, atazanavir (REYATAZ®) and tipranavir (APTIVUS®), and integrase inhibitors such as raltegravir (Isentress), and entry inhibitors such as enfuvirtide (T-20) (FUZEON®) and maraviroc (Selzentry). Other drugs are slated for approval within the next few years, or are earlier on in various stages of development.
[0004] In addition to the foregoing, HIV attachment inhibitors are a novel subclass of antiviral compounds that bind to the HIV surface glycoprotein gp120, and interfere with the interaction between the surface protein gp120 and the host cell receptor CD4. Thus, they prevent HIV from attaching to the human CD4 T-cell, and block HIV replication in the first stage of the HIV life cycle. The properties of HIV attachment inhibitors have been improved in an effort to obtain compounds with maximized utility and efficacy as antiviral agents.
[0005] One HIV attachment inhibitor compound, in particular, has now shown considerable prowess against HIV. This compound is known as 1-(4-benzoyl-piperazin-1-yl)-2-[4-methoxy-7-(3-methyl-[1,2,4]triazol-1-yl)-1H-pyrralo[2,3-c]pyridine-3-yl]-ethane-1,2-dione, which is set forth and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,924, which is incorporated herein in its entirety:
[0000]
[0006] Further, a phosphate ester prodrug of the above parent compound has now been developed. This compound is 1-benzoyl-4-[2-[4-methoxy-7-(3-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-[(phosphonooxy)methyl]-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridin-3-yl]-1,2-dioxoethyl]-piperazine. It is set forth and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,745,625, which is incorporated by reference herein it its entirety. The compound is represented by the formula below:
[0000]
[0007] A formulation with the above phosphate ester prodrug in tris salt form, together with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), has been set forth and described in U.S. Publication No. 2010/0056540 A1, also incorporated by reference herein.
[0008] In certain other instances, however, there have been issues with formulating the API prodrug with excipients. The crystalline form of the input, unprocessed prodrug is typically characterized by highly chargeable, fragile needles with high aspect ratio, low bulk density and very poor flow capability, whether as API alone or when further mixed with excipients. Comparative FIG. 1 is a photograph of the unprocessed, crystalline phosphate ester prodrug compound. These characteristics can present significant challenges with either dry or wet granulation techniques. For dry granulation, poor powder flow presents a major challenge in controlling the hopper flow and feed into the roller compactor. With wet granulation, it has been difficult to control the change in form associated with the overall process, thereby often resulting in poor stability of the final product formulation.
[0009] What is now needed in the art is a new processing method for formulating the HIV attachment inhibitor phosphate ester prodrug compound with excipients, including HPMC. This method should produce a formulation with high API content with good release characteristics, as well as good flow, improved bulk density, and high compactability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In a first embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for the production of a formulation of HIV attachment inhibitor piperazine tris salt prodrug compound, comprising:
[0011] a) dissolving said prodrug compound in a solvent to form a solution;
[0012] b) adding a first quantity of a first anti-solvent to said solution;
[0013] c) dispersing a first quantity of HPMC in said solution;
[0014] d) adding a second quantity of said first anti-solvent to said solution;
[0015] e) dispersing a second quantity of HPMC in said solution; and
[0016] f) adding a second anti-solvent to said solution so as to crystallize said compound with said HPMC and thereby form said formulation, wherein said second anti-solvent is a combination consisting essentially of acetone and isopropyl acetate (IPAC).
[0017] It is further preferred that the next step comprise the filtering and washing of the crystallized compound/HPMC with an additional amount of the first anti-solvent, followed by agitated drying in vacuum to remove substantially all used solvents.
[0018] In a further embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for the production of a formulation of HIV attachment inhibitor piperazine tris salt prodrug compound, comprising:
[0019] a) adding a first anti-solvent to a first vessel;
[0020] b) dispersing HPMC in said first vessel;
[0021] c) dissolving said prodrug compound in a solvent to form a solution, and adding said solution to said first vessel;
[0022] d) adding a second anti-solvent to said solution in said first vessel so as to crystallize said compound with said HPMC and thereby form said formulation, wherein said second anti-solvent is a combination consisting essentially of acetone and isopropyl acetate (IPAC). In this embodiment, the next step involves filtering and washing of the crystallized compound/HPMC, followed by agitated drying to remove substantially all solvents.
[0023] The invention is further directed to the formulation so produced by the processes herein set forth.
[0024] In a further embodiment, the invention is also directed to the use of the formulation for producing pharmaceutical grade tablets.
[0025] The present invention is directed to these, as well as other important ends, hereinafter described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0026] FIG. 1 (comparative) is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of input, unprocessed API HIV attachment inhibitor piperazine phosphate ester prodrug compound at 650× magnification.
[0027] FIG. 2A is a SEM image of tray-dried prodrug/HPMC formulation at 50× magnification according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0028] FIG. 2B is a SEM image of agitation-dried prodrug/HPMC formulation at 50× magnification according to a further embodiment of the invention.
[0029] FIG. 3A is the same image presented in FIG. 2A for comparison purposes with FIGS. 3B and 3C below.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a SEM image of the formulation shown in FIG. 3A , but at 100× magnification.
[0031] FIG. 3C is a SEM image of the formulation shown in FIG. 3A , but at 250× magnification.
[0032] FIG. 4A is a SEM image of the surface of the formulation set forth in FIG. 3A showing individual needles at 1000× magnification.
[0033] FIG. 4B is a SEM image of the formulation shown in FIG. 4A at 2500× magnification.
[0034] FIG. 4C is a SEM image of the formulation shown in FIG. 4A at 5000× magnification.
[0035] FIG. 5A is a FIB-SEM cross-sectional image of the formulation of the invention according to one embodiment at 696× magnification.
[0036] FIG. 5B is a FIB-SEM surface image of the formulation of the invention set forth in FIG. 5A at 4340× magnification.
[0037] FIG. 6A is a FIB-SEM cross-sectional image of the formulation of the invention according to a further embodiment at 500× magnification.
[0038] FIG. 6B is a FIB-SEM surface image of the formulation of the invention as set forth in FIG. 6A at 500× magnification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0039] While a range of alternative water soluble salts of the phosphate ester prodrug may be employed, the tris salt form of 1-benzoyl-4-[2-[4-methoxy-7-(3-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-[(phosphonooxy)methyl]-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridin-3-yl]-1,2-dioxoethyl]-piperazine, in particular, is preferred for use herein.
[0040] The prodrug is first dissolved in a solvent so as to form a solution. The solvent is preferably water in the range of about 1.67 to 2.67 volume (mL) with respect to the prodrug weight (grams).
[0041] Next, a first quantity of a first anti-solvent is added to the prodrug solution. This first anti-solvent is preferably acetone in the range of about 4.0 to 5.0 volume (mL), more preferably about 4.66 volume (mL), with respect to the prodrug weight (grams). Those skilled in the art may find that acetonitrile is one possible alternative as a first anti-solvent herein.
[0042] Thereafter, a first quantity of HPMC is dispersed in the solution. The first quantity of HPMC will preferably be approximately 40-60%, and even more preferably, about 50% of the total amount of HPMC utilized in the co-processing method with the phosphate ester prodrug. It is further preferred that the ratio of the prodrug compound to the HPMC after the method of the invention is completed be about 3:1. Put another way, the HPMC will comprise about 20-30% of the final formulation, more preferably about 25% thereof. After addition of the HPMC, the solution is preferably allowed to stand for at least 20 minutes, and more preferably, up to about an hour or so.
[0043] A second quantity of the first anti-solvent of about 4.0 to 5.0 volume (mL), more preferably about 4.66 volume (mL), with respect to the prodrug weight (grams) is then added to the prodrug solution containing the dispersed HPMC.
[0044] Next, the remaining HPMC is dispersed in the solution. This quantity represents about 60-40%, and even more preferably, about 50% of the total amount of HPMC utilized herein. Again, the solution containing the HPMC is preferably allowed to stand or age for 20 minutes, and preferably, for up to an hour or so.
[0045] At this point, a second anti-solvent with the quantity of about 11.0 to 12.0 volume (mL), more preferably about 11.65 volume (mL), with respect to the prodrug weight (grams) is added to the solution containing the prodrug and dispersed HPMC. The second anti-solvent is a mixture of acetone and isopropyl acetate (IPAC). Preferably, the mixture is about 22:78 to 18:82 v/v acetone:IPAC, and even more preferably, about 20:80 v/v acetone:IPAC ratio. The second anti-solvent should be substantially free of additional compounds, for example, compounds such as ethyl acetate and n-butyl acetate. Both the particular combination of the second anti-solvents utilized, and their respective ratios, are important aspects of the method herein. The second anti-solvent is added to the solution over the course of approximately 1 to 5 hours. Upon addition of the second anti-solvent, the entire solution is slowly agitated and allowed to age for an extended period, preferably no less than about 12 hours, and more preferably, for about 16 hours. Without being bound by any particular theory, it appears that this extended time period permits the growth of prodrug crystals on the inside and on the surface of the HPMC polymers.
[0046] Finally, the prodrug and HPMC slurry mixture is diluted with acetone and filtered on a filter dryer. The formulation mixture is again washed, preferably twice washed, preferably with acetone. Thereafter, the formulation may be densified for several minutes under agitation. The formulation is then allowed to either tray dry under vacuum, or dry with optional agitation. The formulation may then be sieved or co-milled using apparatus and procedures available in the art.
[0047] FIG. 2A shows the resulting formulation after it has been tray dried, while FIG. 2B shows a similar formulation after agitation drying. FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate the formulation of the invention at progressively higher magnification. The spherical-shaped agglomerates are clearly shown in each scanning electron microscope image. FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C illustrate the individual crystallized needles present in the formulation agglomerates. In particular, the images of FIGS. 4A-4C should be contrasted with the image presented in FIG. 1 .
[0048] As set forth above, in some embodiments it may be preferable to allow the formulation to densify and dry under agitation. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the composition profile of the formulation under agitated drying. FIGS. 6A and 6B , while also part of the invention, illustrate the slightly less preferred method of tray drying without agitation. All the FIGS. 5 and 6 were characterized by FIB-SEM (focused ion beam SEM). The FIB-SEM instrument applies a high energy ion beam to carve out the surface of a sample particle, and then applies an X-ray probe to scan the element composition on the inner surface to obtain a cross-sectional composition profile. The FIB-SEM characterization indicates two points: 1) the API needles are embedded inside and on the surface of a skeleton structure formed by the HPMC; and 2) the tray dried particles have more voids inside the structure, while the particles from agitated drying are more closely packed with less observable voids. In both FIGS. 5A and 6A , the polymer phases are outlined in bold. In addition, in FIG. 6A , the API is indicated with arrows.
EXAMPLES
[0049] The following examples illustrate preferred aspects of the invention, but should not be construed as limiting the scope thereof:
Example 1
105 gm Scale as an Example
Crystallization Steps:
[0050] 1. Dissolve 105.0 g API in 245 ml DI water in a 4 L reactor.
[0051] 2. Dilute by 490 ml acetone agitate at 160 rpm and 35° C.
[0052] 3. Slowly add in 21 g HPMC at agitation 160 rpm and 35° C.
(Note: Avoid forming any lumps of polymer in the suspension when adding polymer.)
[0054] 4. Wait for 30 min., then add 490 ml acetone in 5 min (˜100 ml/min) with 160 rpm agitation.
[0055] 5. Add 14 g HPMC (same lot) and agitate at 125 rpm for 30 min.
[0056] 6. Add 1225 ml acetone/IPAC (1:4) in 280 min (addition rate 4.4 ml/min) starting at 45° C. and with agitator speed at 100-105 rpm.
(Note: Scale-up based on mixing time of 70 min from 15 g. batch, and 4× longer needed to scale-up from 70 ml to 2450 ml working volume.)
[0058] 7. Bath temp lowered from 45° C. to 20° C. in 280 min during acetone/IPAC addition (cooling rate 25° C./280 min).
[0059] 8. After addition of all acetone/IPAC solvent, age the slurry at 20° C. and with 90-95 rpm agitation for 12-16 hr.
[0060] 9. Retain slurry for HPLC and Karl-Fisher instrument, retain ML (mother liquor) and wash liquid for yield check.
Example 2
[0061] Alternatively, the crystallization sequence can be changed as another example depicted below:
1. Add 980 mL acetone (as first anti-solvent) to a 4 L reactor. 2. Add 35 g HPMC and agitate at 160 RPM at 45C. 3. Dissolve 105.0 g API in 245 ml DI water in separate vessel, add solution to reactor. 4. Wait 40 min. 5. Add 1225 ml acetone/IPAC (1:4) (as second anti-solvent) in 280 min (addition rate 4.4 ml/min) starting at 45° C. and with agitator speed at 100-105 rpm. (Note: Scale-up based on mixing time of 70 min from 15 g. batch, and 4× longer needed to scale-up from 70 ml to 2450 ml working volume.) 6. Bath temp lowered from 45° C. to 20° C. in 280 min during acetone/IPAC addition (cooling rate 25° C./280 min). 7. After addition of all acetone/IPAC solvent, age the slurry at 20° C. and with 90-95 rpm agitation for 12-16 hr. 8./9. Retain slurry for HPLC and Karl-Fisher instrument, retain ML (mother liquor) and wash liquid for yield check.
Filtration
[0000]
10. Charge 315 ml acetone to the slurry in the crystallizer while agitating. Agitate for 2-3 minutes.
11. Filter slurry.
12. Deliquor the cake completely. Do not blow dry.
13. Reslurry wash with 525 ml acetone. Agitate for 5-10 min at 10-40 rpm.
14. Deliquor the cake completely. Do not blow dry.
15. Displacement wash with 210 ml acetone.
16. Deliquor the cake completely. Do not blow dry.
Densification
[0000]
17. Agitate the cake.
RPM=10-40, agitate by lowering and raising agitator for complete mixing at RPM=3-10 rpm. Continue agitation until cake volume is constant (˜10-30 minutes).
Drying
[0000]
18. Vacuum dry with periodic agitation.
Ramp the jacket temperature from 25° C. to up to 50° C. over 2-4 hrs. Agitate for 2-5 minutes every 15 to 30 minutes until dry. Dry until LOD (loss on drying)<3% LOD.
[0086] The ester phosphate prodrug formulation obtained according to the various process embodiments herein described contains very high API content. The formulation is also characterized by improved bulk density, good flow characteristics and high compactability. When further compressed and formulated into tablets using methods and apparatus available in the art, the resulting tablets exhibit excellent extended release properties. Characterization results from Example 1 (Batches 1-5) to reflect the formulation properties from typical batches are provided below for illustration.
[0000]
Bulk
Tapped
Volumetric
Scale
Density
Density
Flow
Flow
Batch
(kg)
(g/cc)
(g/cc)
(s/100 g)
(mL/s)
API
120
0.13
0.23
incomplete
incomplete
1
0.5
0.31
0.40
19.1
17.0
2
0.5
0.39
0.48
12.8
19.9
3
3.8
0.30
0.39
26.7
12.4
4
3.8
0.34
0.43
24.2
12.3
5
14.5
0.33
0.43
33.6
9.2
[0087] The foregoing description is merely illustrative and should not be understood to limit the scope or underlying principles of the invention in any way. Indeed, various modifications of the invention, in addition to those shown and described herein, will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and examples. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. | A process for the production of a formulation of HIV attachment inhibitor piperazine tris salt prodrug compound involves dissolving the prodrug compound in a solvent to form a solution; adding a first quantity of a first anti-solvent to the solution; then dispersing a first quantity of HPMC in the solution; adding a second quantity of the first anti-solvent to the solution; dispersing a second quantity of HPMC in the solution; then adding a second anti-solvent to the solution so as to crystallize the compound with the HPMC and thereby form the formulation, wherein the second anti-solvent is a combination of acetone and isopropyl acetate (IPAC). The formulation is then washed, and dried. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to night vision optical devices, in particular to night-vision optical devices with controlled life expectancy. More specifically, the invention relates to night vision optical aiming devices for firearms, or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is known that cathodes, phosphorescence screens, and luminescent devices degrade during work in vacuum, and their life expectancy depends on the accumulated time of active work, as well as on the number of ON and OFF switchings. With the lapse of the accumulated operation time performance characteristics of the aforementioned devices are worsened, and therefore these devices can be used to a predetermined limit.
[0003] For the night vision optical devices, such as night vision riflescopes with image intensifiers, in addition to the accumulated time of active work, the life expectation of the scope also depends on the number of so-called muzzle flashes, which occur during nighttime shooting. In fact, the accumulated number of flashes of bright light is one important criterion that determines the service life of the sight with the night-vision optics.
[0004] Attempts have been made to extend the service life, e.g., of night vision devices with image intensifying tubes by utilizing an adjustable variable gain. Thus U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,650 issued in 2000 to J. Bowen, et al. describes a night vision device which utilizes an image intensifier tube, wherein the image intensifier tube has a given life expectancy, the image intensifier tube being subjected to factory calibration for providing an optimum output during operation, wherein the calibration undesirably differs from tube to tube and is adjustable by variable control means coupled to the tube, whereby when one tube is substituted for another the difference in calibration causes non-optimum performance. The method includes the steps of: determining minimum and maximum gain limits associated with the optimum output of the night vision device; factory calibrating gain limiting means according to the determined minimum and maximum gain limits, wherein the gain limiting means are associated with the image intensifier tube and for limiting the variable control means; and, tethering the gain limiting means to the image intensifier tube.
[0005] In other words, since the gain of an image intensifier tubes supplied by the manufacturers and used in firearm aiming device changes, it is proposed to adjust the gain with reference to the changes in order to maintain the gain at a relatively constant level. This is because some of the factory-supplied image intensifier tubes are overadjusted to an excessive gain or power and will have a shortened life time, while others are underadjusted and though will have a longer service life, will not work with a required efficiency. This means that variations in the life expectancy of the image intensifiers may occur in a very broad range. The optimization proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,650 narrows the above range. It is understood, however, that in order to efficiently control the workability of the night vision optics, it is important to known the expected service life of the night vision optics in order to replace it in time. This is especially important for night-vision optics used in night-vision sights of a firearm, where unexpected failure of the sight under combat conditions is absolutely intolerable.
[0006] It is understood that in reality the life expectancy of a night vision optics may vary in a very wide range depending on specific conditions of practical application. For example, when a night vision optics is used in an optical aiming device of a firearm that contains an image intensifier and when it is used in intensive battle conditions with frequent muzzle flashes which shorten the lifetime of the image intensifier because of a high light load, the life time of such an aiming device will be shorter than in the case of a sniper work who keeps the night vision optics in the ON condition over a long time but without flashes and under a low light load. In other words, the life expectation of a night vision device with cathodes, fluorescent screens, and similar items operating in vacuum will depends, among other things, on two main factors: the accumulated time of actual operation (SWITCHED-ON condition) of the night vision optics and the number of muzzle flashes when the optics operates with a very high light load.
[0007] As far as a firearm is concerned, It is understood that with the lapse of time any weapon loses its initial performance characteristics. Although the weapon is subject to damages caused by natural causes such as corrosion, loosening of fasteners, creeping and ageing deformation of the materials, or the like, these changes are normally revealed after such long period of time when the weapon becomes practically obsolete and is replaced by several new generations. On the other hand, when the weapon is frequently used for its direct purpose, i.e., for shooting, the process of weapon degradation is accelerated with a factor of several thousand. This is because shooting is accompanied by friction and wear, e.g., on the inner surface of the weapon barrel. Therefore, attempts have been made to limits the service life of a weapon by counting the number of shots. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,304 issued in 1999 to Karl Gartz describes an apparatus for monitoring the firing stress of a weapon barrel. It is stated that the barrels of particularly large-caliber weapons have to be replaced for safety reasons after firing a predetermined number of rounds. For this purpose a “barrel log” must be maintained in which the number of rounds fired from the barrel and the respective charge type (if different charges are used for the barrel) have to be entered. The invention is essentially based on the principle to measure, with a suitable sensor, the actual body sound signals (body oscillations) obtained upon the firing of the weapon and to compare the signals in an electronic evaluating apparatus with reference signals which characterize the different charges and which are stored in a memory. The charge value which is associated with the actual signal value and which is obtained from such a comparison is subsequently stored in a non-volatile memory of the evaluating apparatus and is added to an already stored charge value. The same applies to the number of shots measured by the sensor. The accumulated firing stress may be automatically and very accurately determined and may be at any time retrieved from the memory (electronic barrel log). Further, the apparatus may serve as a counter of fired rounds. Also, the apparatus may be utilized for determining the barrel condition because a change of the barrel condition leads to a characteristic change of the frequency spectrum of the measuring signal.
[0008] For the modern weapon, which is equipped with various optical and electronic devices, this problem is especially aggravated, but the weapons which are most of all sensitive to impacts resulting from the shots and recoil forces are those which are equipped with electro-vacuum devices such as image intensifiers, some distance ranges, night-vision optics, etc. In other words, for firearms used in combination with night-vision optics or similar devices that utilize vacuum electronic units with cathodes, phosphorescence screens or the like, the life expectation of the firearm is determined not only by the number of shots, wear, or mechanical damage but also by the service life of the aforementioned optical devices which is normally limited to several thousand hours of active work and, as has been mentioned above, to a great extent depends on the number of muzzle flashes acting on cathodes, phosphorescence screens, luminescent devices, or similar elements of vacuum night vision optics.
[0009] However, none of the existing prior-art devices known to the applicant are used for controlling or diagnosing the life expectation of the night vision instruments with reference to three aforementioned factors (number of shots, active time of operation of the night vision optics, and number of muzzle flashes during the use of the night vision optics) and their relationship.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] [0010]FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of the optical sight of the invention installed on a rifle.
[0011] [0011]FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the night-vision sight of the invention.
[0012] [0012]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the measuring and counting system used in the night-vision system of the invention.
[0013] [0013]FIG. 4 is a block diagram similar to the one shown in FIG. 3 for an embodiment in which reading of data from the respective data processing units is carried not via a remote control system but via direct electric connection of the data processing units to a data-reading unit via a connector.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a night-vision optical device having a controlled life expectancy. It is another object to provide a night vision optical device of the aforementioned type, which accumulates information relating to the time of active work of the device. It is another object to provide a night-vision optical aiming device for a firearm, which accumulates information relating to the total number of shots produced from the firearm. It is another object to provide a night vision optical aiming device of the aforementioned type, which accumulates information relating to the number of shots counted in parallel with measuring the time of active work of the night-vision optical aiming device. It is another object to provide a night-vision optical aiming device of aforementioned type which has a shot counter in combination with a unit that generates a signal indicating that the night-vision optics or the entire firearm has to be replaced. It is It is another object to provide a night vision optical aiming device of the aforementioned type, in which the time and shot number information is stored and can be retrieved and displayed on the optical device or in a remote location.
[0015] A night-vision optical device of the invention with controlled life expectancy contains a time measuring device built into the housing of the aforementioned device for measuring the accumulated time of active work of the device. In application to a night scope for a firearm, the device also contains a sensor, which is interlocked with activation of the scope and reacts on the shots produced from the firearm in general and separately on those shots produced during active work of the night-vision optics at nighttime. The aforementioned shots of both types are counted and stored in separate memory units. The night-time shots affects the life expectancy of the night-vision optics because of muzzle flashes which cause such devices as an image intensifier to work with an increased light load. The information obtained from the time measuring device and the shot counter makes it possible to timely receive a warning signal about the fact that the night optics or the entire firearm must be replaced.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] One practical embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to a night-vision optical aiming device. It is understood that this can be a night-vision optical device of any type and that the application to a riflescope described below should be considered only as an example.
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is a general three-dimensional view of a firearm 20 equipped with a night-vision aiming device 22 of the invention attached in a known manner to the firearm 20 , e.g., with a one-piece plate 24 of the firearm and the mounting bracket 26 of the night-vision aiming device 22 which are connected, e.g., via a dovetail arrangement 28 . It is understood that the type of connection is beyond the scope of the present invention. Such a device may be represented, e.g., by a night-vision sight of ARIES MK-6600 type produced by American Technology Network Corporation, So. San Francisco, Calif., USA.
[0018] Reference numeral 30 designates the ON/OFF button of the night-vision aiming device. Reference numeral 32 designates a socket for a connector (not shown) that can connect the measuring units (described in detail below) of the night-vision aiming device 22 with a remote data reading system (not shown in FIG. 1).
[0019] A more detailed longitudinal sectional view of the aforementioned night-vision sight of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. It can be seen that a standard night-vision sight 22 , e.g., the one mentioned above, has plenty of room inside the night-vision sight housing 34 for placing measuring units of the invention in one of the inner housing compartments. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the measuring units, which are shown as a printed circuit board (PCB) 36 , are secured to the housing 34 in a compartment 38 . Reference numeral 40 designates a clock generator, which generates time clocks counted by a clock counter 42 . Reference numeral 44 designates a signal transmitter, e.g., an infrared signal transmitter located on the outer side of the night-vision device 22 or inside the housing 34 but exposed to the outside, e.g., through an opening (not shown).
[0020] A block diagram of an electric circuit of the measuring and counting system used in the night-vision system of the invention is shown in FIG. 3. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the clock generator 40 installed on the PCB 36 is connected to a data processing unit 46 via a clock counter 42 which counts the accumulated number of time clock signals generated by the clock generator 40 . The activation of the clock generator 40 , the clock counter, and the data processing unit 46 is interlocked with the ON/OFF button 30 of the night-vision aiming device 22 (FIG. 1). The data processing unit 46 is permanently connected with a nonvolatile storage memory 48 , which receives the information from the output of the data processing unit 46 and permanently stores the obtained data in the memory ready for retrieval at any time. Another output of the data processing unit 46 is connected to the aforementioned signal transmitter 44 , e.g., infrared signal transmitter (FIGS. 1, 2, 3 ), via a driver 50 . The aforementioned elements may be mounted on the aforementioned PCB 36 (FIGS. 2 and 3).
[0021] A surface of the scope, preferably the one perpendicular to the optical axis O 1 -O 1 of the night vision riflescope 22 , e.g., an inner wall 52 of the compartment 38 , supports a shot sensor, e.g., in the form of a piezo-sensor 54 . It is understood that the wall 52 is also perpendicular to the direction of shooting. With such an arrangement of the shot sensor 54 , the recoil forces generated during shooting will be most efficiently perceived by the sensor 54 .
[0022] The PCB 36 also supports another data processing unit 56 , which is connected to the piezo-sensor 54 via a signal amplifier 58 and an analog/digital converter (A/D converter) 60 . Reference numeral 61 designates a second clock generator, which is connected to the data processing unit 56 via a clock counter 62 . This counter is needed for proper operation of the data processing unit 56 .
[0023] The data processing unit is connected to two memory units, i.e., a nonvolatile memory unit 64 for registering and storing the total number of shots detected by the piezo-sensor 54 and a nonvolatile memory unit 66 for registering and storing the total number of shots produces during the active work of the night-vision aiming device 22 (FIGS. 1 and 2), which is energized by pushing the push-button 30 .
[0024] Reference numeral 68 designates a power supply battery that keeps the aforementioned second set of elements, i.e., the signal amplifier 58 , the data processing unit 56 , the clock generator 60 , the clock counter 62 , etc., energized and that supplies the power to the first set of the elements, i.e., the clock generator 40 , the clock counter 42 , the data processing unit 46 , etc., when the push button 30 is pressed.
[0025] The aforementioned second set of elements contains a driver 70 and may contain a second signal transmitter 72 , e.g., infrared signal transmitter located on the outer side of the night-vision device 22 or inside the housing 34 but exposed to the outside, e.g., through an opening (not shown). Reference numeral 31 (FIG. 3) designates a push button, which activates retrieval of the information stored in the memory units 42 , 64 , and 66 .
[0026] Those skilled in the art understand that both aforementioned sets of elements may be powered from a common power source and may share the same data processing unit.
[0027] A unit 74 shown on the right side of FIG. 3 designates a remotely-located signal receiving and displaying unit, which contains a first receiver 76 for receiving signals from the signal transmitter 44 and a second receiver 78 for receiving signals from the signal transmitter 72 . The data received by the receivers 76 and 78 are transmitted to respective data processing units 80 and 82 and displayed on a display 84 . Reference numeral 86 designates a power source for supplying power to the receivers 46 , 78 , the data processing units 80 , 82 , and the display 84 after pressing on the push button 88 . The measured values are compared with given values or with a single reference given value that limits the life expectancy of the device for determining the remaining life-expectancy resource.
[0028] The transmitter-receiving system composed of the transmitters 72 , 44 and receivers 78 , 76 with the auxiliary devices may be implemented in different forms and may comprise standard systems, which are beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, this may be a system similar to the one used in a conventional TV remote control.
[0029] [0029]FIG. 4 is a block diagram similar to the one shown in FIG. 3 for an embodiment in which reading of data from the respective data processing units is carried out not via a remote control system but via direct electric connection of the data processing units 56 ′ and 46 ′ to a data reading unit 74 ′ via a connector, e.g., a pin connector 44 ′- 72 ′. The rest of the diagram is identical to the diagram of FIG. 3. The parts of the circuit of FIG. 4 equivalent to those of FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals with an addition of a prime, e.g., the piezo-sensor 54 of FIG. 3 will correspond to a piezo-sensor 54 ′ of FIG. 4, etc. Therefore the description of the remaining elements of the diagram of FIG. 4 is omitted. It is understood that the display 84 ′ may be installed on the riflescope 20 .
[0030] The night-vision riflescope 20 of the aforementioned embodiment operates as follows.
[0031] The power supply battery 68 always keeps the second set of elements, i.e., the signal amplifier 58 , the data processing unit 56 , the clock generator 60 , the clock counter 62 , etc., energized, so that whenever a shot is produced from the rifle 20 , the recoil of the firearm 20 resulting from the shot will be registered by the piezo-sensor 54 , and the accumulated number of the shots produced from the firearm 20 will be counted by the central processing unit 56 and stored in the nonvolatile memory unit 66 for retrieval on demand.
[0032] When the pushbutton 30 is pushed on, the power supply battery 68 energizes the first set of the elements, i.e., the clock generator 40 , the clock counter 42 , the data processing unit 46 , etc. As a result, a night-vision riflescope is activated, and the time of its active work, i.e., the time during which it is switched on, is measured and added to the previously accumulated total time of the active work which is stored in the nonvolatile memory unit 48 . At the same time, the data processing unit 46 of the first set of the elements sends a command to the data processing unit 56 of the second set of the elements for separately counting and storing in the nonvolatile memory unit 64 the number of shots produced from the firearm irrespective of the operation of the night vision system and in the nonvolatile memory unit 66 the number of shots produced during the working time of the night vision system (i.e., with muzzle flashes that can affect the light-sensitive elements of the night vision system).
[0033] When it is necessary to display the information about the total number of shots, the accumulated time of active work of the night vision system, and about the number of shots produced during operation of the night-vision with the damaging effect of the muzzle flashes, first the push button 88 of the data receiving unit 74 is pushed on for activating the elements of this unit. Then data processing units 56 and 46 are activated by pushing on the button 31 (FIG. 3) for retrieving the aforementioned information from the respective memory units 64 , 66 and 48 and for transmitting the retrieved data via the transmitters 72 and 44 to the receivers 78 and 76 remotely (FIG. 3) or directly from the data processing units 56 ′ and 46 ′ via the connector 44 ′ to the receiving unit 74 ′ (FIG. 4).
[0034] Thus it has been shown that the present invention provides a night-vision optical device having a controlled life expectancy, which accumulates information about the time of active work of the device, the total number of shots produced from the firearm, and the number of shots produced only during active work of the night vision system with muzzle flashes that affect the life time of such elements as cathodes, phosphorescence screens, and luminescent devices which degrade under the effect of light.
[0035] The invention has been shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, which should be construed only as examples and do not limit the scope of practical applications of the invention. Therefore any changes and modifications in technological processes, constructions, materials, shapes, and their components are possible, provided these changes do not depart from the scope of the attached patent claims. For example, in addition to a riflescope, the night vision optical device may comprise night vision binoculars, monoculars, goggles, etc. The diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 4 can be accomplished with different arrangements and types of their components. For example, a single CPU may control operation of the elements of both sets, and the receiver-transmitter system may comprise a standard commercially produced transceiver. The night vision optical device may contain a selector connected to an alarm unit, which will produce a warning signal when the selected values of one, two, or all three aforementioned parameters or a certain parameter that expresses relationship between them is reached. | A night-vision optical device of the invention with controlled life expectancy contains a time measuring device built into the housing of the aforementioned device for measuring the accumulated time of active work of the device. In application to a night scope for a firearm, the device also contains a sensor, which is interlocked with activation of the scope and reacts on the shots produced from the firearm in general and separately on those shots produced during active work of the night-vision optics at nighttime. The aforementioned shots of both types are counted and stored in separate memory units. The night-time shots affects the life expectancy of the night-vision optics because of muzzle flashes which cause such devices as an image intensifier to work with an increased light load. The information obtained from the time measuring device and the shot counter makes it possible to timely receive a warning signal about the fact that the night optics or the entire firearm must be replaced. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a fluid handling device; and more particularly, to a fluid handling device that uses the flow of fluid from one inlet to aspirate a liquid chemical through another inlet and discharge the fluid mixture through an outlet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is a common practice for chemicals such as those used for cleaning and sanitizing to be purchased as concentrated liquids. The chemicals are mixed with water to achieve the desired usage concentration. A variety of proportioning dispensers have been developed to achieve this. These dispense mixtures at use concentration. The dispensers often employ venturi-type devices sometimes called eductors to proportion the chemical and deliver this for use. Water traveling through the central portion of the venturi creates suction which draws the chemical into the water stream. The amount of chemical educted is controlled by a metering orifice in the chemical feed line.
The concentrations desired in this type of chemical dispensing varies greatly ranging from 1:1 to over 1:1000. The devices also must function with a wide range of water pressures, temperatures and dissolved minerals and gases. In some of these conditions, the eductor functions much like a classical flow venturi, while in other they are more like a jet pump. The devices are mechanically simple, generally without moving parts, but small details of the construction have important influence on their performance.
It is usually desirable to operate these dispensers with water provided directly from the public water supply. In this situation, the dispensers are subject to the regulations of the public water departments who are concerned about preventing any possibility of the chemical concentrates syphoning or flowing back into the water system. Venturi-type chemical eductors with an air gap for back siphoning protection for dispensing applications are disclosed in the Sand U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,253,677 and 5,159,958, both of which are assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. The essential geometry of a venturi is that of a constriction and then a downstream enlargement of a contained stream of fluid. According to Bernoulli's theory, suction is created at the point where the flow channel widens. The operation of the venturi requires that the entering fluid stream have a certain amount of flow energy. For an air gap eductor, this means that the stream must cross the air gap and enter the venturi while developing an appreciable pressure within the entrance of the venturi.
The geometry which creates this function includes an inlet orifice for directing a first fluid, for example, water, that has a diameter larger than the smallest orifice within the eductor venturi. The eductor venturi includes a larger diameter mixing chamber downstream of the smallest venturi orifice. A second fluid, for example, a liquid chemical, is pulled by suction through a second inlet into the mixing chamber and mixed with the first fluid. A venturi diffuser extends from the mixing chamber and flares outwardly to conduct the mixture of the first and second fluids, that is, the water and the chemical to an eductor outlet. A spray shield is located between the eductor air gap and the eductor venturi and blocks spray from reentering the air gap.
While the above chemical eductors work satisfactorily, there are several disadvantages to their designs. First, under some circumstances, current spray shield designs, may not optimally direct spray or collected water. Further, current spray shield designs require that the periphery of the spray shield have a water tight connection with the internal walls of the eductor body. That construction requirement adds complexity and cost to the process of manufacturing the eductor. In addition, the designs of current eductors are complex. The dimensional tolerances are relatively small, and the components of the chemical eductor require machining. The machined components are then assembled by welding, adhesives or other techniques to form the eductor. Therefore, the manufacture of the chemical eductor requires expensive capital equipment and highly skilled labor, and further, is complex and time consuming, all of which adds substantial cost to the eductor unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chemical eductor having a simplified design which provides an improved performance and which can be manufactured by assembling several molded components which require little or no machining.
According to the principles of the present invention and in accordance with the described embodiments, the present invention provides a chemical eductor for mixing two fluids that includes a hollow body member having a generally square cross-section extending longitudinally into the body member. An inlet fluid orifice having a predetermined diameter is located at one end of the hollow body member and receives a first fluid, for example, water, from a fluid source. The eductor further has an integral air gap within the generally square cross-section of the hollow body member that receives fluid from the inlet fluid orifice.
In another embodiment of the invention, the hollow body has an air vent in an outer wall thereof, and an arcuate wall section is located within the hollow body member and shields the air vent. In another aspect of the invention, the arcuate wall section is spaced away from a circumference of the inlet fluid orifice a radial distance equal to no less than four of the predetermined diameters of the fluid inlet orifice.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a spray shield located within the hollow body member between the integral air gap and the eductor section has a spray shield orifice receiving the first fluid from the integral air gap. The spray shield has a spray shield surface that extends along the central longitudinal axis and slopes away from the spray shield orifice toward the eductor orifice. The spray shield surface substantially blocks the first fluid in the eductor section from reentering the air gap. The spray shield design has the advantage of facilitating water flow through the eductor.
In a still further embodiment of the invention, the eductor includes a cap that is permanently coupled to the hollow body member. The cap is adapted at one end to be connected to the fluid source, and the cap has a connector on its opposite end that is sized and shaped to fit within the hollow body member. Either one of the side wall or the connector has a tab extending laterally therefrom within the hollow body member, and, the other of the side wall or the connector has a notch sized and shaped to receive the tab. The tab has a first position not engaged with the notch whereby the cap can be moved axially into the hollow body member. The tab has a second position engaged with the notch to form a mechanical lock between the tab and the notch that prevents the cap from moving in any direction with respect to the hollow body member. The component parts of the eductor require little or no machining, and have the advantage of being quickly assembled, either manually or with automatic assembly equipment.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a centerline cross-sectional view of an eductor in accordance with he principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an axial cross-sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a disassembled view of component parts of the eductor;
FIG. 4 is an overhead cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an overhead cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 6 is an overhead cross-sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a chemical eductor 20 includes an outer body 22 having an upstream first fluid or liquid inlet 24, a second fluid or liquid inlet 28 and a downstream fluid or liquid outlet 26. The first liquid, for example water, flows along a central axis 30 of the eductor 20 through an inlet section 32, through an intermediate section 34, through an eductor section 36, and into a collector section 38. The inlet section 32 includes a threaded coupling 40 adapted to screw onto a liquid source, for example, a water supply valve (not shown). Downstream of the coupling 40 is a flow stabilizer, for example, a set of strainers, 42 which are under a washer 44. The flow stabilizer serves to help the inlet section 32 deliver a dense, columnar stream of water therethrough. The inlet section 32 also has a flow passage 45 that is tapered and preferably has the shape of an inverted frustum. The flow passage 45 terminates at orifice 46 which is centered on the axial flow path and the central axis 30. Preferably the passage 45 and orifice 46 are formed by a brass nozzle 47 which is located within the bore 48 of the inlet section 32.
Downstream of the inlet section 32 is the intermediate section 34 which includes two, opposed generally square-shaped windows or vents 50 which extend through the outer wall 52 of the outer body member 22. Two generally opposed walls 54 are symmetrically located about the central axis 30 and are displaced a predetermined distance, for example, approximately 0.190 inches from an inner surface 56 of the outer wall 52. The walls 54 function as baffles in front of the vents 50; and therefore, the walls or baffles 54 are positioned to shield the vents 50. The walls 54 are sized to extend laterally beyond and overlap the sides of the vents 50. The baffles 54 have upper edges 60 that overlap and extend above the upper edge 62 of the vents 50. The lateral edges of the baffles 54 border second openings or vents 63 which are located between the first vents 50, thereby providing an indirect path for air circulation through the vents 50, behind the baffles 54, through the second openings 63, and into the air gap 58. The air gap 58 is the vertical separation between the bottom of the nozzle 47 and the bottom edge 74 of the vents 50. The air gap 58 is preferably approximately one inch. The lower ends of the walls 54 are connected to a base 64 that supports the walls 54 within the outer body member 22.
The base 64 also supports a spray shield 66 which has sloped sides 67 oblique to the centerline 30 and longitudinal sides parallel to the centerline 30. The spray shield 66 along with the base 64, extend downward through the outer body member 22 to overlap and partially cover the inlet orifice 74 of the eductor section 36. Water flows through the orifice 46 of the inlet section 32, through the intermediate section 34, through an orifice 70 in the spray shield 66 and into the eductor section 36. In the event that there is a pressure differential creating a siphoning effect through the inlet section 32, the intermediate section 34 functions to permit air to flow through the first vents 50, around the walls 54, through the second openings 63 and through the orifice 46, thereby preventing fluid below the air gap 58 from flowing back through the orifice 46 and out the fluid inlet 24.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, The eductor section 36 includes an eductor insert 68 that has an eductor inlet orifice 74 downstream of the orifice 70. The eductor insert 68 further includes a fluid passage 76 that preferably has tapered side walls that have an inverted frustoconical shape. The fluid passage 76 leads downstream into a generally cylindrical flow passage 78 that terminates at an eductor orifice 80 from which water flowing through the eductor insert 68 is discharged. The eductor insert 68 extends to a fluid mixing chamber 82 that is connected to a diffuser tube 84.
The eductor section 36 functions generally as a venturi, so that as water passes through the restricted passage 78 and eductor orifice 80, through the chamber 82 and into the flared diffuser flow path 85, there is a pressure reduction or suction effect within the chamber 82 that is effective to pull a second liquid, for example, a chemical concentrate, through the second inlet 28, the feed passage 86 and into the mixing chamber 82. The chemical and water are mixed in the mixing chamber 82 and discharged through the flared diffuser flow path 85 of the diffuser tube 84.
The collection section 38 which is downstream of the eductor section 36 includes a collection cavity 87 which is connected by first bypass, or drainage flow path 88 that extends through the base 64 into the air gap 58. A second, generally parallel, drainage flow path 90 extends between the air gap 58 and the collection cavity 87 along an area defined by an outer surface 92 of the base 64 and inner surface 56 of the outer member 22. The water that does not flow through the mixing chamber 82 flows along drainage paths 88, 90, through the collection cavity 87 and into a generally cylindrical passage 94 defined between an outer surface of a tubular extension 96 that is connected to the outlet of the eductor section 36 and a discharge tube 98 connected to the outlet 26 of the eductor 20. The water and chemical mixture flowing through the eductor section 36 mixes with the water flowing through the collection cavity 87 and the discharge tube 98.
Referring to FIG. 3, in its preferred embodiment, the eductor 20 is comprised of several molded parts that do not require machining, and that may be quickly assembled, either manually or with automatic assembly equipment. In the preferred construction, the first molded part is the collection section 38 which has a flange 110 directed upward and longitudinally with respect to the collection section 38. A second molded part of the eductor is the generally hollow body member 22 that has an annular groove 112 on a lower end thereof which is sized and shaped to receive the flange 110. The collection section 38 may be attached to the lower end groove 112 of the outer body 22 by spin welding, adhesives, or other known connecting mechanisms. Molded with the outer body 22 is the mixing chamber 82 and flared diffuser tube 84 of the eductor section 36. The eductor section 36 is supported in a central location within the outer body 22 by molded struts 114 and tubular section 116 that includes a coupling 118 contiguous with the chemical inlet 28 and a pipe section 120 containing the chemical inlet passage 86. The outer body 22 also has a transitional section 122 that flares outwardly from the generally cylindrical lower end 124 to a multi-lateral wall section 126 at the upper end of the outer body 22.
A third molded part of the eductor 20 is the eductor insert 68 which has a lower portion 128 that is inserted through the upper opening 130 leading to the mixing chamber 82. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the eductor insert 68 is oriented and located such that pairs of spaced arms 132 on opposite sides of its lower portion 128 slide down the lateral sides of alignment tabs 134 molded on opposite sides of the eductor section 36. The resilient arms 132 have projections 136 at their outer directed ends. The arms 132 spread apart as the projections 136 slide along the sides of the alignment tabs 134. The arms then come together and lock the projections 136 onto lower surfaces 138 of the tabs 134. Therefore, by sliding the eductor inlet into the mouth 130 as just described, the locking actions of the projections 136 secure and attach the eductor insert 68 to the eductor section 36. Further, the lower portion 128 of the eductor insert 68 has an annular ring 139 on its outer surface which frictionally engages the inner cylindrical surface 140 in an interference fit, thereby tightly securing the eductor insert 68 into the eductor section 36. If desired adhesives may also be used to more permanently secure the eductor insert into the eductor section 36.
Referring to FIG. 3, the intermediate section 34 of the eductor 20 is formed by a fourth molded part and is preferably molded from a clear plastic material. The intermediate section 34 is oriented such that the arcuate cutout 141 is aligned with the tubular section 116. The intermediate section 34 is then axially inserted past the multi-lateral walls 126 of the outer body 22 until lip edges 142 on the radially extending flanges 144 bear against a locating surface 148 within the outer body 22. The locating surface 148 is in a plane generally perpendicular to the central axis 30. The lip edges 142 are further located behind wall projections 150 which extend in an axial direction above the locating surface 148 over a distance that is generally in front of the vents 50. Further, the arcuate cutout 141 comes to rest immediately above the pipe section 120.
The assembly of the eductor 20 is completed by attaching a molded cap 152 to the upper end 153 of the outer body 22. The cap has a cover plate 154 which is located adjacent the lower side of the threaded coupling 40. The cover plate 154 is sized and shaped to cover the open upper end 153 of the outer body 22 when the cap 152 is attached thereto. The cap 152 further includes a generally cylindrical, tubular lower body 158 having a lower edge 160 extending below the orifice 46. The lower body 158 also has four equally spaced, radially projecting first tabs 162. Preferably, the first tabs 162 are generally rectangularly shaped and located adjacent the bottom edge 160 of the cylindrical body 158. In addition, the cap 152 contains four equally spaced and radially projecting second tabs 164 which are also preferably rectangularly shaped. Further, the tabs 164 are preferably located adjacent the upper edge of the tubular lower body 158, and further, the tabs 164 are preferably aligned with the center of the circumferential length of the first tabs 162.
The multi-lateral section 126 of the outer body 22 has a generally square-shaped cross section and includes four generally identical sides 166 which are oriented at right angles to each other. The sides 166 are joined along their lateral edges to corner walls 168. To attach the cap 152 to the outer body 22, the cap 152 is oriented such that the first tabs 162 are located immediately adjacent the corner walls 168. The distance between the outer surfaces 170 of opposing first tabs 162 are slightly less than the distances separating the opposing corner walls 168. Therefore, the cap 152 can be slid axially into the outer body 22 until the lower surface of the cover plate 154 covers the upper end 153 of the outer body 22 which is contiguous with the upper edges of the side walls 166 and corner walls 168. As the cap 152 slides axially into the outer body 22, the upper edges 60 of the walls 54 slide into an annular groove 169 in the lower edge 160 of the lower body 158. When the cap is properly inserted into the outer body 22, two of the opposed first tabs 162 are aligned with first openings or slots 171 located in opposite side walls 166. In addition, the other two opposed first tabs 162 are aligned with upper portions 172 of the two opposed vents 50. It should be noted that commonly directed or oriented ends of the slots 171 and open portions 172 of vents 50 extend to commonly oriented lateral edges or sides 174 of the end walls 168.
The end cap 152 is then rotated about the centerline 30 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. Rotating the cap 152 engages one pair 176 of the opposed first tabs 162 centrally within the slots 171. In addition, the opposite pair 177 of first tabs 162 enter the open portions 172 of the vents 50. The clockwise rotation of the cap 152 is continued until the four second tabs 164 engage four notches 178 which restrains and locks the cap 152 from rotation in either the clockwise or the counterclockwise directions. Further, the engagement of the first tabs 162 in the slots 171 and the open portions 172 of the vents 50 prevents the cap from being moved axially with respect to the outer body 22. Therefore, the cap 152 is mechanically and permanently locked within its desired position within the outer body 22 of the eductor 20. When locked in position, the cap 152 has two shields 179 to keep water from exiting from the slots 171 and to protect the orifice 46.
The molded parts just described have the advantage of being easily assembled into the functioning eductor 20 without requiring complex and expensive machining of the molded parts. Therefore, the eductor 20 has the advantage of being easier and less expensive to manufacture. Further, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 4, which is taken through the upper end of the assembled cap 152 as shown in FIG. 1, the interlocking tabs 162, 164 and slots 171, 178 provide a permanent assembly which cannot be disassembled or tampered with without destroying the functionality of the eductor.
As shown in the cross section of FIG. 5, the generally square cross section of the multilateral body section 126 provides for a generally cylindrical air chamber section 34 to be mounted therein. Further, the generally square cross section of the outer body 22 permits the eductor to be retrofit in most applications in the same location as prior cylindrical eductors. The generally square cross section of the outer body 22 further permits a larger spacing between the orifice 46 and the baffles or walls 54. For example, preferably, the radial distance 180 between the circumference of the orifice 46 and the walls 54 is approximately equal to four diameters of the largest size of the orifice 46. Prior designs limited the radial distance 180 of the intermediate section to be equal to three diameters of the orifice 46. The generally square cross section of the outer body 22 has the further advantage of providing larger drainage passages 88 (FIG. 2) within the intermediate section 34 and outside the spray shield 66. In addition, the design has the advantage of larger drainage passages 90 (FIG. 5) between the outside of the base member 64 and the inside surface 56 of the outer body 22. The engagement of the upper edges 60 of the walls 54 in groove 169 helps prevent water in the air gap 58 from splashing out through the vents 50.
As a further feature of the invention, the spray shield 66 extends around and down past the eductor inlet orifice 74 of the eductor insert 68. Therefore, water flowing through the orifice 70 of the spray shield 66 that splashes off of the surfaces within the eductor section 36 is directed downward into the collection cavity 87. The surfaces of the spray shield 66 slope downward from the orifice 70 thereby providing gravity drainage of water from the surfaces of the spray shield into the collection cavity 87. The design of the spray shield 66 minimizes the probability of water reentering the air gap 58 and has the further advantage in that the joint formed between the lip edge 142 and the locating surface 150 is not required to be watertight as with prior designs.
While the invention has been set forth by a description of the illustrated embodiment in considerable detail it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those who are skilled in the art. For example, the various components illustrated in FIG. 3 are preferably molded from plastic materials which have the characteristics of being chemically resistant, compatible with water and thermally stable. The outer body section 22 and collection section 38 are preferably injection molded from a polypropylene plastic resin. The intermediate section 34 is preferably molded from a styrene acrylonitrice resin and the cap 152 is preferably molded from an acetal resin. Other plastic resins may also be used to manufacture the various components.
Further, as will be appreciated, variations in the designs of the molded components may be implemented without varying from the principles of the present invention. For example, the brass nozzle 47 may be replaced by a nozzle section in which the flow passage 45 and orifice 46 are molded into the inlet section 32 of the cap 152. As will be appreciated, the sizes and shapes of various pieces, for example, tabs 162, 164 and mating openings 171, 172 may be varied without changing their function. In addition, the geometric shape of components may be dictated by the molding process. For example, the lateral edges of the baffle walls 54 are tapered slightly from the base 64 to their upper edge 60. That taper is provided to facilitate the removal of the molded intermediate section component 34 from the part molds. Also, the lip edge 142 on the flange 144 and the wall extension 150 may be eliminated; and with other minor dimensional variations, the positioning flange 44 will then directly bear against the locating surface 148 to position the molded component comprising the intermediate section 34 within the outer body 22.
In addition, the extent to which the walls of the spray shield 66 extend below the eductor inlet orifice 74 of the insert 68 is a matter of design choice. The spray shield 66 should minimally block any direct line between surfaces on the eductor section 36 and the air gap 58, so that water splashing off of the air duct section 36 cannot reenter the air gap 58. Further, the downward sloping surfaces of the spray shield from the orifice 70 of the spray shield 66 may be rectangular, conical, or other shape, and may slope at different angles.
Further, The number and locations of the vents 50 and baffle walls 54 may also be varied without deviating from the principles of the present invention. The construction of the adaptor as previously described provides an eductor with excellent flow, drainage and eduction characteristics and is suitable for a majority of situations. However, in some situations it is preferred that the baffles 54 and/or the spray shield 66 not be used. Simply removing the spray shield 66 and the baffles 54 would result in excessive spray passing through the windows 50 to the outside of the eductor 20. Therefore, other changes must be made to reduce the spray. It has been discovered that reducing the included angle between the side walls of the tapered flow passage 76 of the eductor insert 68 of FIG. 2 substantially reduces the spray. Further, it has been discovered if the included angle between the side walls of the tapered flow passage 76 is in the range of from approximately 5° to approximately 25°, as schematically shown at 182 in FIG. 2, the baffles 54 may be removed and not used with the spray shield 66. In addition, depending on the water pressures, the air in the water, etc, in some situations, the reduced angle frustoconical eductor insert 68 may allow the spray shield 66 and the baffles 54 to be not used and eliminated from the eductor assembly without there being excessive spray escaping from the windows 50 of the eductor 20. The invention, therefore, in its broadest aspects is not limited to the specific details shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | An improved venturi eductor for proportional dispensing of chemicals into flowing water includes a large anti-siphoning air gap section. The air gap section includes an outer wall and an inner wall with a gap between the walls. Both walls include offset vents or windows that provide an indirect path from the center of the air gap to the exterior of the eductor. The eductor is made from several molded parts that may be assembled without requiring machining. Further, eductor has a unique spray shield design that more effectively controls water splash in the eductor section and simplifies assembly. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a foldable honeycomb structure and the method for making the same, and particularly relates to a foldable honeycomb structure made through a simple process and the method for making the same.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1 , a schematic sectional view of a first kind of conventional foldable honeycomb structure is shown. The conventional foldable honeycomb structure 1 is applied to thermal insulation devices such as window curtain, and can be texture or non-texture, as shown in FIG. 2 . Referring to FIG. 1 , the honeycomb structure 1 is a double cell row structure, in which the reference numbers 11 a , 11 b , 11 c , 12 a , 12 b and the like refer to a cell, the cells 11 a , 11 b , 11 c refer to a first row, and the cells 12 a , 12 b refer to a second row.
[0005] Referring to FIGS. 3 a to 3 d , schematic views of a method for making the conventional foldable honeycomb structure in FIG. 1 are shown. First, a flat strip 13 with a length extending longitudinally is provided as shown in FIG. 3 a . The strip 13 has a first surface 131 and a second surface 132 .
[0006] Next, referring to FIG. 3 b , a first longitudinal crease 14 and a second longitudinal crease 15 are formed on the strip 13 , so as to define a first longitudinal margin 16 , a central portion 17 and a second longitudinal margin 18 on the strip 13 . Then, the first longitudinal margin 16 of the strip 13 is folded towards one side (upside) of the strip 13 along the first longitudinal crease 14 , and the second longitudinal margin 18 of the strip 13 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the strip 13 along the second longitudinal crease 15 , thereby forming an approximate Z-shape appearance. The first longitudinal margin 16 has a first surface 161 and a second surface 162 ; the central portion 17 has a first surface 171 and a second surface 172 ; and the second longitudinal margin 18 has a first surface 181 and a second surface 182 , wherein the first surfaces 161 , 171 , 181 are the same as the first surface 131 of the strip 13 , and the second surfaces 162 , 172 , 182 are the same as the second surface 132 of the strip 13 .
[0007] Next, referring to FIG. 3 c , a first glue line 191 , a second glue line 192 and a third glue line 193 are applied longitudinally to the folded strip 13 . The first glue line 191 is applied on the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 16 and the central portion 17 are overlapped, i.e. between the first surface 161 of the first longitudinal margin 16 and the first surface 171 of the central portion 17 , and the first glue line 191 is at the free end of the first longitudinal margin 16 . The second glue line 192 is applied to the second surface 172 of the central portion 17 at the position where the central portion 17 and the second longitudinal margin 18 are not overlapped, and the second glue line 192 is usually at the position corresponding to half of the width of the first longitudinal margin 16 . The third glue line 193 is applied to the first surface 181 of the second longitudinal margin 18 , and is at the free end of the second longitudinal margin 18 .
[0008] Next, referring to FIG. 3 d , the glued strips 13 are stacked; the first glue line 191 is used for adhering the free end of the first longitudinal margin 16 to the central portion 17 ; the second glue line 192 is used for adhering the central portion 17 to a first longitudinal margin of another adjacent (underlying) strip; and the third glue line 193 is used for adhering the second longitudinal margin 18 to a central portion of another adjacent (underlying) strip. The expanded view after adhering is as shown in FIG. 1 .
[0009] Referring to FIG. 4 , a schematic sectional view of a second kind of conventional foldable honeycomb structure is shown. The conventional foldable honeycomb structure 2 is a four-cell row structure.
[0010] Referring to FIGS. 5 a to 5 d , schematic views of a method for making the conventional foldable honeycomb structure in FIG. 4 is shown. First, referring to FIG. 5 a , a flat strip 23 with a length extending longitudinally is provided. The strip 23 has a first surface 231 and a second surface 232 .
[0011] Then, referring to FIG. 5 b , a first longitudinal crease 24 and a second longitudinal crease 25 are formed on the strip 23 , so as to define a first longitudinal margin 26 , a central portion 27 and a second longitudinal margin 28 on the strip 23 . After that, the first longitudinal margin 26 of the strip 23 is folded towards one side (upside) of the strip 23 along the first longitudinal crease 24 , and the second longitudinal margin 28 of the strip 23 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the strip 23 along the second longitudinal crease 25 , thereby forming an approximate Z-shape appearance. The first longitudinal margin 26 has a first surface 261 and a second surface 262 , the central portion 27 has a first surface 271 and a second surface 272 , and the second longitudinal margin 28 has a first surface 281 and a second surface 282 , wherein the first surfaces 261 , 271 , 281 are the same as the first surface 231 of the strip 23 , and the second surfaces 262 , 272 , 282 are the same as the second surface 232 of the strip 23 .
[0012] Then, Referring to FIG. 5 c , a first glue line 291 , a second glue line 292 , a third glue line 293 , a fourth glue line 294 and a fifth glue line 295 are applied longitudinally to the folded strip 23 . The first glue line 291 is applied to the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 26 and the central portion 27 are overlapped, i.e. between the first surface 261 of the first longitudinal margin 26 and the first surface 271 of the central portion 27 , and the first glue line 291 is at the location corresponding to the free end of the first longitudinal margin 26 . The second glue line 292 is applied to the second surface 272 of the central portion 27 at the location where the central portion 27 and the second longitudinal margin 28 are not overlapped, and the second glue line 292 is usually at the location corresponding to half of the width of the first longitudinal margin 26 . The third glue line 293 is applied to the first surface 281 of the second longitudinal margin 28 , and is at the free end of the second longitudinal margin 28 . The fourth glue line 294 is applied to the inside surface where the second longitudinal margin 28 and the central portion 27 are overlapped, i.e. between the second surface 282 of the second longitudinal margin 28 and the second surface 272 of the central portion 27 , and the fourth glue line 294 is two thirds of the width of the second longitudinal margin 28 away from the second longitudinal crease 25 . The fifth glue line 295 is applied to the first surface 281 of the second longitudinal margin 28 , and is one third of the width of the second longitudinal margin 28 away from the second longitudinal crease 25 .
[0013] Next, referring to FIG. 5 d , the glued strips 23 are stacked, wherein the first glue line 291 is used for adhering the free end of the first longitudinal margin 26 to the central portion 27 . The second glue line 292 is used for adhering the central portion 27 to a first longitudinal margin of another adjacent (underlying) strip. The third glue line 293 is used for adhering the second longitudinal margin 28 to a central portion of another adjacent (underlying) strip. The fourth glue line 294 is used for adhering the second longitudinal margin 28 to the central portion 27 . The fifth glue line 295 is used for adhering the second longitudinal margin 28 to a central portion of another adjacent (underlying) strip. The expanded view after adhering is as shown in FIG. 4 .
[0014] The first kind of conventional double cell row honeycomb structure 1 of FIG. 1 and the second kind of conventional four cell row honeycomb structure 2 of FIG. 4 and other methods of making the same have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,482,750, 5,670,000, 5,702,552, 6,319,586. The most important problem of the honeycomb structure and method for making the same described above resides in that the glue lines are between the central portions and the longitudinal margins. Taking the double cell row honeycomb structure 1 of FIG. 3 c for example, the first glue line 191 is applied to the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 16 and the central portion 17 are overlapped. During practical production process, since the first longitudinal margin 16 , the central portion 17 and the second longitudinal margin 18 are very close when the strip 13 is folded as an approximate Z-shape as shown in FIG. 3 b . Therefore, when the first glue line 191 is to be applied, a strip opener is required to be interposed between the first longitudinal margin 16 and the central portion 17 to open the first longitudinal margin 16 , such that the gluing nozzle can go deep into the gap between the first longitudinal margin 16 and the central portion 17 to apply the first glue line 191 . In this way, the strip 13 will be subjected to a force, which results in the bending deformation of the central portion 17 , and thus the precision of gluing position is affected, as well as the aesthetic appearance of the final products.
[0015] Similarly, taking the four cell row honeycomb structure 2 of FIG. 5 c for example, the first glue line 291 is applied to the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 26 and the central portion 27 are overlapped, and the fourth glue line 294 is applied to the inside surface where the second longitudinal margin 28 and the central portion 27 are overlapped. The above-mentioned problem of requiring a strip opener is not yet eliminated.
[0016] Furthermore, another problem of the above honeycomb structure and method for making the same resides in that it employs the same strip, and if a manufactured honeycomb structure is desired to have two sides of different colors, the difficulty in dyeing will be increased; or if a manufactured honeycomb structure is desired to have two sides with different material properties, it is very difficult to manufacture the strip.
[0017] Consequently, there is an existing need for a foldable honeycomb structure and method for making the same to solve the above-mentioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The main object of the present invention is to provide a method for making a foldable honeycomb structure, wherein the gluing positions are on at least one of exposed outside surfaces. As a result, it need not open the longitudinal margins during the process of applying the longitudinal glue lines, which can avoid the deformation of the strip and have a precise gluing position. Moreover, since the conventional trip opener is omitted, the manufacture equipment can be more simplified, thus reducing the cost and the process time.
[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for making a foldable honeycomb structure, wherein two strips of different materials, colors or made through different processes are used to improve the combined functionality.
[0020] In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a method for making a foldable honeycomb structure, which comprises the steps of:
[0021] (a) providing a plurality of flat strips each of which has a length extending longitudinally;
[0022] (b) forming a first longitudinal crease and a second longitudinal crease on each strip, so as to define a first longitudinal margin, a central portion and a second longitudinal margin on each strip;
[0023] (c) folding the first longitudinal margin of each strip towards one side of the strip along the first longitudinal crease, and folding the second longitudinal margin of each strip towards the other side of each strip along the second longitudinal crease, so that each folded strip has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface;
[0024] (d) applying a first glue line, a second glue line and a third glue line longitudinally on the first exposed outside surface or the second exposed outside surface of each folded strip; and
[0025] (e) stacking the glued strips, wherein the first glue line is used for adhering a central portion of a strip to a second longitudinal margin of an adjacent strip; the second glue line is used for adhering a first longitudinal margin of a strip to a second longitudinal margin of an adjacent strip; and the third glue line is used for adhering a first longitudinal margin of a strip to a central portion of an adjacent strip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a first kind of conventional foldable honeycomb structure;
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the conventional foldable honeycomb structure of FIG. 1 applied to the window curtain;
[0028] FIGS. 3 a - 3 d show schematic views of a method for making the conventional foldable honeycomb structure of FIG. 1 ;
[0029] FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a second kind of conventional foldable honeycomb structure;
[0030] FIGS. 5 a - 5 d show schematic views of a method for making the conventional foldable honeycomb structure of FIG. 4 ;
[0031] FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIGS. 7 a - 7 d show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the first embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 6 ;
[0033] FIG. 8 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in the second embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIGS. 9 a - 9 d show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the second embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 8 ;
[0035] FIG. 10 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a third embodiment of the present invention;
[0036] FIGS. 11 a and 11 b show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the third embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 10 ;
[0037] FIG. 12 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
[0038] FIGS. 13 a - 13 e show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the fourth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 12 ;
[0039] FIG. 14 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in the fifth embodiment of the present invention;
[0040] FIGS. 15 a - 15 e show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the fifth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 14 ;
[0041] FIG. 16 shows a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and
[0042] FIGS. 17 a and 17 b show schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the sixth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 16 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0043] Referring to FIG. 6 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 3 is applied to the thermal insulation devices such as window curtain or shield curtain, and can be texture or non-texture. The honeycomb structure 3 is of a double cell row structure, in which reference numbers 31 a , 31 b , 31 c , 32 a , 32 b refer to a cell respectively, the cells 31 a , 31 b , 31 c refer to a first row, and the cells 32 a , 32 b refer to a second row.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 7 a to 7 d , schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the first embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 6 are shown. First, referring to FIG. 7 a , a plurality of flat strips 33 each has a length extending longitudinally are provided. It is to be noted that one strip 33 is illustrated in the embodiment. The strip 33 has a first surface 331 and a second surface 332 .
[0045] Next, referring to FIG. 7 b , a first longitudinal crease 34 and a second longitudinal crease 35 are formed on the strip 33 , so as to define a first longitudinal margin 36 , a central portion 37 and a second longitudinal margin 38 on the strip 33 . After that, the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 is folded towards one side (upside) of the strip 33 along the first longitudinal crease 34 , and the second longitudinal margin 38 of the strip 33 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the strip 33 along the second longitudinal crease 35 , thereby forming an approximate Z-shape appearance. The total width of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the second longitudinal margin 38 is slightly larger than that of the central portion 37 . Preferably, the widths of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the second longitudinal margin 38 are the same, and both of them are slightly larger than half of the width of the central portion 37 .
[0046] The first longitudinal margin 36 has a first surface 361 , a second surface 362 and a free end 363 . The central portion 37 has a first surface 371 and a second surface 372 . The second longitudinal margin 38 has a first surface 381 , a second surface 382 and a free end 383 . The first surfaces 361 , 371 , 381 are the same as the first surface 31 of the strip 33 , and the second surfaces 362 , 372 , 382 are the same as those of second surface 332 the strip 33 . However, the folded strip 33 has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first exposed outside surface comprises the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the surface where the first surface 371 of the central portion 37 and the first longitudinal margin 36 are not overlapped (i.e. the right side of the first surface 371 ); the second exposed outside surface comprises the first surface 381 of the second longitudinal margin 38 and the surface where the second surface 372 of the central portion 37 and the second longitudinal margin 38 are not overlapped (i.e. the left side of the second surface 372 ).
[0047] Then, referring to FIG. 7 c , a first glue line 391 , a second glue line 392 and a third glue line 393 are applied longitudinally to the exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 . In the embodiment, the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 are all applied to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first glue line 391 is applied to the surface where the first surface 371 of the central portion 37 and the first longitudinal margin 36 are not overlapped (i.e. the right side of the first surface 371 ); the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 are applied to the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 , wherein the second glue line 392 is applied to the free end 363 of the first longitudinal margin 36 ; and the third glue line 393 is applied to the central position of the first longitudinal margin 36 . It is understood that the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 can all be applied to the second exposed outside surface; or the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 can be applied to different exposed outside surfaces respectively.
[0048] Since the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 are all applied to the exposed outside surface, it is not necessary to open the first longitudinal margin 36 during the process of applying the glue lines, which can avoid the deformation of the strip 33 and have a precise gluing position. Moreover, the conventional strip opener can be omitted, thus simplifying the manufacturing equipment.
[0049] Then, Referring to FIG. 7 d , the glued strips 33 are stacked, wherein the first glue line 391 is used for adhering the central portion 37 of the strip 33 to a longitudinal margin of an adjacent (upper) strip. The second glue line 392 is used for adhering the free end 363 of the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to the free end of a longitudinal margin of the adjacent (upper) strip. The third glue line 393 is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to a central portion of the adjacent (upper) strip. The expanded view of the strips after adhering is as shown in FIG. 6 .
[0050] Returning to FIG. 6 , the foldable honeycomb structure 3 is stacked by a plurality of folded strips 33 , and each of the folded strip 33 comprises a first longitudinal crease 34 , a second longitudinal crease 35 , a central portion 37 , a first longitudinal margin 36 , a second longitudinal margin 38 , a first glue line 391 , a second glue line 392 and a third glue line 393 . The central portion 37 is between the first longitudinal crease 34 and the second longitudinal crease 35 . The first longitudinal margin 36 is folded towards one side (upside) of the central portion 37 along the first longitudinal crease 34 . The second longitudinal margin 38 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the central portion 37 along the second longitudinal crease 35 . The total width of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the second longitudinal margin 38 is slightly larger than that of the central portion 37 . Preferably, the widths of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the second longitudinal margin 38 are the same, slightly larger than half of the width of the central portion 37 .
[0051] The folded strip 33 has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface. The first glue line 391 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and the central portion 37 , which is used for adhering the central portion 37 to a longitudinal margin of an adjacent strip. The second glue line 392 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and the free end of the first longitudinal margin 36 , which is used for adhering the free end of the first longitudinal margin 36 to the free end of a longitudinal margin of the adjacent strip. The third glue line 393 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and the first longitudinal margin 36 , which is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 to of a central portion of the adjacent strip.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 8 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 4 is a four-cell row structure.
[0053] Referring to FIGS. 9 a to 9 d , schematic views of a method for making a foldable honeycomb structure in the second embodiment of the present invention are shown. The method for making the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, except that two more bonding lines are formed during the gluing step of the present embodiment. First, referring to FIG. 9 a , a plurality of flat strips 33 each has a length extending longitudinally are provided. It is to be noted that one strip 33 is illustrated in the embodiment. The strip 33 has a first surface 331 and a second surface 332 .
[0054] Next, referring to FIG. 9 b , a first longitudinal crease 34 and a second longitudinal crease 35 are formed on the strip 33 , so as to define a first longitudinal margin 36 , a central portion 37 and a second longitudinal margin 38 on the strip 33 . After that, the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 is folded towards one side (upside) of the strip 33 along the first longitudinal crease 34 , and the second longitudinal margin 38 of the strip 33 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the strip 33 along the second longitudinal crease 35 , thereby forming an approximate Z-shape appearance. The folded strip 33 is the same as the strip 33 of FIG. 7 b , and both of them have a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first exposed outside surface comprises the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the surface where the first surface 371 of the central portion 37 and the first longitudinal margin 36 are not overlapped (i.e. the right side of the first surface 371 ); the second exposed outside surface comprises the first surface 381 of the second longitudinal margin 38 and the surface where the second surface 372 of the central portion 37 and the second longitudinal margin 38 are not overlapped (i.e. the left side of the second surface 372 ).
[0055] Then, referring to FIG. 9 c , a first glue line 391 , a second glue line 392 and a third glue line 393 are applied longitudinally, and a fourth bonding line 394 and a fifth bonding line 395 are formed. In the present embodiment, the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 are all applied to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first glue line 391 is applied to the first surface 371 of the central portion 37 which is not overlapped by the first longitudinal margin 36 (i.e. the right side of the first surface 371 ), and the first glue line 391 is two fifths of the width of the second longitudinal margin 38 away from the second longitudinal crease 35 . The second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 are applied to the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 , wherein the second glue line 392 is applied to the free end 363 of the first longitudinal margin 36 , and the third glue line 393 is two fifths of the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 away from the first longitudinal crease 34 .
[0056] It is understood that the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 can all be applied to the second exposed outside surface; or the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 can be applied to different exposed outside surfaces respectively.
[0057] In the present embodiment, the fourth bonding line 394 is a fourth glue line 394 , and the fifth bonding line 395 is a fifth glue line 395 . The fourth bonding line 394 is on the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 36 and the central portion 37 are overlapped in the folded strip 33 , and it is four fifths of the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 away from the first longitudinal crease 34 . The fifth bonding line 395 is on the inside surface where the second longitudinal margin 38 and the central portion 37 are overlapped in the folded strip 33 , and it is four fifths of the width of the second longitudinal margin 38 away from the second longitudinal crease 35 . It should be noted that the fourth bonding line 394 and the fifth bonding line 395 can also be bonded by using other bonding methods such as ultrasonic bonding or the like. In other applications, the fourth bonding line 394 and the fifth bonding line 395 can be formed previously, and the gluing operation (the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 and the third glue line 393 ) is then carried out.
[0058] Next, referring to FIG. 9 d , the glued strips 33 are stacked, wherein the first glue line 391 is used for adhering the central portion 37 of the strip 33 to a longitudinal margin of an adjacent (upper) strip; the second glue line 392 is used for adhering the free end 363 of the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to the free end of a longitudinal margin of the adjacent (upper) strip; the third glue line 393 is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to a central portion of the adjacent (upper)strip; the fourth bonding line 394 is used for bonding the first longitudinal margin 36 to the central portion 37 ; and the fifth bonding line 395 is used for bonding the second longitudinal margin 38 to the central portion 37 . The expanded view of the strips after adhering is as shown in FIG. 8 .
[0059] Returning to FIG. 8 , the foldable honeycomb structure 4 is stacked by a plurality of folded strips 33 , and each folded strip comprises a first longitudinal crease 34 , a second longitudinal crease 35 , a central portion 37 , a first longitudinal margin 36 , a second longitudinal margin 38 , a first glue line 391 , a second glue line 392 , a third glue line 393 , a fourth bonding line 394 and a fifth bonding line 395 . The central portion 37 is between the first longitudinal crease 34 and the second longitudinal crease 35 . The first longitudinal margin 36 is folded towards one side (upside) of the central portion 37 along the first longitudinal crease 34 . The second longitudinal margin 38 is folded towards the other side (underside) of the central portion 37 along the second longitudinal crease 35 . The total width of the first longitudinal margin 36 and the second longitudinal margin 38 is slightly larger than that of the central portion 37 . Preferably, the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 is the same as that of the second longitudinal margin 38 , and both of the widths are slightly larger than half of the width of the central portion 37 .
[0060] The folded strip 33 has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface. The first glue line 391 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and the central portion 37 , which is used for adhering the central portion 37 to a longitudinal margin of an adjacent strip. The second glue line 392 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and on the free end of the first longitudinal margin 36 , which is used for adhering the free end 363 of the first longitudinal margin 36 to the free end of a longitudinal margin of the adjacent strip. The third glue line 393 is on the first exposed outside surface of the folded strip 33 and the first longitudinal margin 36 , which is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 to a central portion of the adjacent strip.
[0061] The fourth bonding line 394 is on the inside surface where the first longitudinal margin 36 and the central portion 37 are overlapped in the s folded strip 33 , which is used for bonding the first longitudinal margin 36 to the central portion 37 . The fifth bonding line 395 is positioned on the inside surface where the second longitudinal margin 38 and the central portion 37 are overlapped in the folded strip 33 , which is used for bonding the second longitudinal margin 38 to the central portion 37 .
[0062] Referring to FIG. 10 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 40 is a four-cell row structure.
[0063] Referring to FIGS. 11 a and 11 b , schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the third embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 10 are shown. The method for making the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, except that in the present embodiment the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 is different from that of the second longitudinal margin 38 , and the fifth bonding line 395 is in a different position. Preferably, in the present embodiment, the ratio of width of the first longitudinal margin 36 to the width of the second longitudinal margin 38 is approximately more than 3:2. In the present embodiment, the fifth bonding line 395 is on the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 of the first exposed outside surface. Therefore, the fifth bonding line 395 is a fifth glue line 395 . It should be noted that the corresponding positions of the first glue line 391 , the second glue line 392 , the third glue line 393 and the fourth glue line 394 are the same as that in the second embodiment, but they need to be adjusted slightly along horizontal direction. Referring to FIG. 11 b , after the glued strips 33 are stacked, the fifth glue line 395 is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to a central portion of an adjacent (upper) strip. The expanded view of after adhering is as shown in FIG. 10 .
[0064] Returning to FIG. 10 , the foldable honeycomb structure 40 is substantially the same as the foldable honeycomb structure 4 in the second embodiment, only except that in the present embodiment the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 is different from that of the second longitudinal margin 38 , and the fifth bonding line 395 is in a different position. Preferably, in the present embodiment, the ratio of the width of the first longitudinal margin 36 to the width of the second longitudinal margin 38 is approximately more than 3:2. In the present embodiment, the fifth bonding line 395 is on the second surface 362 of the first longitudinal margin 36 of the first exposed outside surface. Therefore, the fifth bonding line 395 is a fifth glue line 395 . The fifth glue line 395 is used for adhering the first longitudinal margin 36 of the strip 33 to a central portion of an adjacent (upper) strip.
[0065] Referring to FIG. 12 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 41 is a double-cell row structure.
[0066] Referring to FIGS. 13 a to 13 e , schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the fourth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 12 are shown. First, referring to FIG. 13 a , a plurality of first strips 5 and a plurality of second strips 6 are provided. It is to be noted that one first strip 5 and one second strip 6 are illustrated in the embodiment. Both of the first strip 5 and the second strip 6 are flat and have a length extending longitudinally. In the present embodiment, the color or material of the first strip 5 is different from that of the second strip 6 .
[0067] Next, referring to FIG. 13 b , a first longitudinal crease 53 is formed on the first strip 5 and the first strip 5 is folded along the first longitudinal crease 53 , thereby defining a first region 54 and a second region 55 on the first strip 5 . The first region 54 has a first surface 541 , a second surface 542 and a free end 543 . The second region 55 has a first surface 551 , a second surface 552 and a free end 553 .
[0068] A second longitudinal crease 63 is formed on the second strip 6 and the second strip 6 is folded along the second longitudinal crease 63 , thereby defining a third region 64 and a fourth region 65 on the second strip 6 . The third region 64 has a first surface 641 , a second surface 642 and a free end 643 . The fourth region 65 has a first surface 651 , a second surface 652 and a free end 653 .
[0069] Next, referring to FIG. 13 c , the free end 553 of the second region 55 is connected to the free end 643 of the third region 64 , so as to form a combined strip 42 . In the combined strip 42 , the total width of the first region 54 and the fourth region 65 is larger than that of the second region 55 and the third region 64 after combination. In the present embodiment, a glue line 43 is used to connect the free end 553 of the second region 55 to the free end 643 of the third region 64 . However, it can be understood that the free end 553 of the second region 55 can be connected to the free end 643 of the third region 64 by any other conventional methods.
[0070] The combined strip 42 has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface. The first exposed outside surface comprises the first surface 541 of the first region 54 and the first surface 641 of the third region 64 . The second exposed outside surface comprises the second surface 552 of the second region 55 and the second surface 652 of the fourth region 65 .
[0071] Next, referring to FIG. 13 d , a first glue line 431 , a second glue line 432 and a third glue line 433 are applied longitudinally to the same exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 . In the present embodiment, the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 are all applied to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first glue line 431 is applied to the third region 64 , preferably, on the central portion of the third region 64 . The second glue line 432 is applied to the free end 543 of the first region 54 . The third glue line 433 is applied to the first region 54 , preferably, on the central portion of the first region 54 . It can be understood that the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can also be applied to the second exposed outside surface; or the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can be applied to different exposed outside surfaces respectively.
[0072] Next, referring to FIG. 13 e , the glued combined strips 42 are stacked, wherein the first glue line 431 is used for adhering the third region 64 to a fourth region of an adjacent (above) combined strip. The second glue line 432 is used for adhering the free end 543 of the first region 54 to the free end of a fourth region of the adjacent (above) combined strip. The third glue line 433 is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of the adjacent (above) combined strip. The expanded view after adhering is as shown in FIG. 12 .
[0073] Returning to FIG. 12 , the foldable honeycomb structure 41 is stacked by a plurality of combined strips 42 , and each combined strip 42 comprises a first strip 5 , a second strip 6 , a first glue line 431 , a second glue line 432 and a third glue line 433 .
[0074] The first strip 5 comprises a first longitudinal crease 53 , a first region 54 and a second region 55 . The first region 54 is folded towards the second region 55 along the first longitudinal crease 53 , and the first region 54 and the second region 55 each has a free end. The second strip 6 comprises a second longitudinal crease 63 , a third region 64 and a fourth region 65 . The third region 64 is folded towards the fourth region 65 along the second longitudinal crease 63 , and the third region 64 and the fourth region 65 each has a free end. The free end of the third region 64 is connected to the free end of the second region 55 by using a glue line 43 , so as to form a combined strip 42 which has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface.
[0075] The first glue line 431 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the third region 64 , which is used for adhering the third region 64 to a fourth region of an adjacent combined strip. The second glue line 432 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the free end 543 of the first region 54 , which is used for adhering the free end 543 of the first region 54 to the free end of a fourth region of the adjacent combined strip. The third glue line 433 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the first region 54 , which is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of the adjacent combined strip.
[0076] It can be understood that the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can also be applied to the second exposed outside surface; or the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can be applied to different exposed outside surfaces respectively.
[0077] The material or manufacturing process of the first strip 5 can be different from those of the second strip 6 , such that the combined functionality can be increased.
[0078] Referring to FIG. 14 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 7 is a four-cell row structure.
[0079] Referring to FIGS. 15 a to 15 d , schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the fifth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 14 are shown. The method for making the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment, only except that two more bonding lines are formed in the gluing step of the present embodiment.
[0080] First, referring to FIG. 15 a , a plurality of first strips 5 and a plurality of second strips 6 are provided. It is to be noted that one first strip 5 and one second strip 6 are illustrated in the embodiment. Both of the first strip 5 and the second strip 6 are flat and have a length extending longitudinally.
[0081] Next, referring to FIG. 15 b , a first longitudinal crease 53 is formed on the first strip 5 and the first strip 5 is folded along the first longitudinal crease 53 , thereby defining a first region 54 and a second region 55 on the first strip 5 . The first region 54 has a first surface 541 , a second surface 542 and a free end 543 . The second region 55 has a first surface 551 , a second surface 552 and a free end 553 .
[0082] A second longitudinal crease 63 is formed on the second strip 6 and the second strip 6 is folded along the second longitudinal crease 63 , thereby defining a third region 64 and a fourth region 65 on the second strip 6 . The third region 64 has a first surface 641 , a second surface 642 and a free end 643 . The fourth region 65 has a first surface 651 , a second surface 652 and a free end 653 .
[0083] Next, referring to FIG. 15 c , the free end 553 of the second region 55 is connected to the free end 643 of the third region 64 , so as to form a combined strip 42 . In the combined strip 42 , the total width of the first region 54 and the fourth region 65 is larger than that of the second region 55 and the third region 64 after combination. In the present embodiment, a glue line 43 is used to connect the free end 553 of the second region 55 to the free end 643 of the third region 64 . However, it can be understood that the free end 553 of the second region 55 can be connected to the free end 643 of the third region 64 by any other conventional method such as ultrasonic bonding or the like.
[0084] The combined strip 42 has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface. The first exposed outside surface comprises the first surface 541 of the first region 54 and the first surface 641 of the third region 64 . The second exposed outside surface comprises the second surface 552 of the second region 55 and the second surface 652 of the fourth region 65 .
[0085] Next, referring to FIG. 15 d , a first glue line 431 , a second glue line 432 , and a third glue line 433 are applied longitudinally to the combined strip 42 , and a fourth bonding line 434 and a fifth bonding line 435 are formed on the combined strip 42 . The first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 are all applied to the first exposed outside surface, wherein the first glue line 431 is applied to the third region 64 , preferably, the first glue line 431 is about two fifths of the width of the third region 64 away from the second longitudinal crease 63 . The second glue line 432 is applied to the free end 543 of the first region 54 . The third glue line 433 is applied to the first region 54 , preferably, the third glue line 433 is about two fifths of the width of the first region 54 away from the first longitudinal crease 53 .
[0086] It can be understood that the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can also be applied to the second exposed outside surface; or the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 can be applied to different exposed outside surfaces respectively.
[0087] In the embodiment, the fourth bonding line 434 is a fourth glue line 434 , and the fifth bonding line 435 is a fifth glue line 435 . The fourth bonding line 434 is on the inside surface where the first region 54 and the second region 55 are overlapped in the combined strip 42 , i.e. the second surface 542 of the first region 54 or the first surface 551 of the second region 55 . The fourth bonding line 434 is about four fifths of the width of the second region 55 away from the first longitudinal crease 53 . The fifth bonding line 435 is on the inside surface where the third region 64 and the fourth region 65 are overlapped in the combined strip 42 , i.e. the second surface 642 of the third region 64 or the first surface 651 of the fourth region 65 . The fifth bonding line 435 is about four fifths of the width of the fourth region 64 away from the second longitudinal crease 63 . It should be noted that the fourth bonding line 434 and the fifth bonding line 435 can also be bonded by other bonding methods such as ultrasonic bonding or the like. In other applications, the fourth bonding line 434 and the fifth bonding line 435 can be formed previously, and the gluing operation (the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 and the third glue line 433 ) is then carried out.
[0088] Next, referring to FIG. 15 e , the glued combined strips 42 are stacked, wherein the first glue line 431 is used for adhering the third region 64 to a fourth region of an adjacent (upper) combined strip. The second glue line 432 is used for adhering the free end 543 of the first region 54 to the free end of a fourth region of the adjacent (upper) combined strip. The third glue line 433 is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of the adjacent (upper) combined strip. The fourth bonding line 434 is used for bonding the first region 54 to the second region 55 . The fifth bonding line 435 is used for bonding the third region 64 to the fourth region 65 . The expanded view after adhering is as shown in FIG. 14 .
[0089] Returning to FIG. 14 , the foldable honeycomb structure 7 is stacked by a plurality of combined strips 42 . Each combined strip 42 comprises a first strip 5 , a second strip 6 , a first glue line 431 , a second glue line 432 , a third glue line 433 , a fourth bonding line 434 and a fifth bonding line 435 .
[0090] The first strip 5 comprises a first longitudinal crease 53 , a first region 54 and a second region 55 . The first region 54 is folded towards the second region 55 along the first longitudinal crease 53 , and the first region 54 and the second region 55 each has a free end. The second strip 6 comprises a second longitudinal crease 63 , a third region 64 and a fourth region 65 . The third region 64 is folded towards the fourth region 65 along the second longitudinal crease 63 , and the third region 64 and the fourth region 65 each has a free end. The free end of the third region 64 is connected to the free end of the second region 55 , so as to form a combined strip 42 which has a first exposed outside surface and a second exposed outside surface opposite to the first exposed outside surface.
[0091] The first glue line 431 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the third region 64 , which is used for adhering the third region 64 to a fourth region of an adjacent combined strip. The second glue line 432 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the free end 543 of the first region 54 , which is used for adhering the free end 543 of the first region 54 to the free end of a fourth region of the adjacent combined strip. The third glue line 433 is on the first exposed outside surface of the combined strip 42 and the first region 54 , which is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of the adjacent combined strip. The fourth bonding line 434 is on the inside surface where the first region 54 and the second region 55 are overlapped in the combined strip 42 , i.e., the second surface 542 of the first region 54 or the first surface 551 of the second region 55 , and the fourth bonding line 434 is used for bonding the first region 54 to the second region 55 . The fifth bonding line 435 is on the inside surface where the third region 64 and the fourth region 65 are overlapped in the combined strip 42 , i.e., the second surface 642 of the third region 64 or the first surface 651 of the fourth region 65 , and the fifth bonding line 435 is used for bonding the third region 64 to the fourth region 65 .
[0092] Referring to FIG. 16 , a schematic sectional view of a foldable honeycomb structure in a sixth embodiment of the present invention is shown. The foldable honeycomb structure 70 is a four-cell row structure.
[0093] Referring to FIGS. 17 a and 17 b , schematic views of a method for making the foldable honeycomb structure in the sixth embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 16 are shown. The method for making the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fifth embodiment, only except that in the present embodiment the width of the first strip 5 is different from that of the second strip 6 (i.e. the width of the first region 54 is different from that of the third region 64 ), and the fifth bonding line 435 is in a different position. Preferably, in the present embodiment, the ratio of the width of the first region 54 to the width of the third region 64 is approximately larger than 3:2. In the embodiment, the fifth bonding line 435 is on the first surface 541 of first region 54 of the first exposed outside surface. Therefore, the fifth bonding line 435 is a fifth glue line 435 . It should be noted that the corresponding positions of the first glue line 431 , the second glue line 432 , the third glue line 433 and the fourth glue line 434 are the same as those of the fifth embodiment, but they need to be adjusted slightly along horizontal direction. Referring to FIG. 17 b , after the glued combined strips 42 are stacked, the fifth glue line 435 is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of an adjacent combined strip. The expanded view after adhering is as shown in FIG. 16 .
[0094] Returning to FIG. 16 , the foldable honeycomb structure 70 is substantially the same as the foldable honeycomb structure 7 of the fifth embodiment, only except that in the present embodiment the width of the first strip 5 is different from that of the second strip 6 , and the fifth bonding line 435 is in a different position. Preferably, in the present embodiment, the ratio of the width of the first region 54 to the width of the third region 64 is approximately more than 3:2. In the present embodiment, the fifth bonding line 435 is on the first surface 541 of the first region 54 of the first exposed outside surface. Therefore, the fifth bonding line 435 is a fifth glue line 435 . The fifth glue line 435 is used for adhering the first region 54 to a second region of an adjacent combined strip.
[0095] While several embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art. The embodiments of the present invention are therefore described in an illustrative but not restrictive sense. It is intended that the present invention may not be limited to the particular forms as illustrated, and that all modifications which maintain the spirit and scope of the present invention are within the scope as defined in the appended claims. | The present invention relates to a foldable honeycomb structure and method for making the same. The method comprises (a) providing a plurality of flat strips; (b) forming a pair of longitudinal creases in each strip thereby defining the first two longitudinal margins of each strip and a central portion of each strip between the creases; (c) folding each strip along said creases so that each folded strip has two exposed outside surfaces; (d) applying at least three longitudinal glue lines to the exposed outside surface of each folded strip; and (e) stacking the glued strips. As a result, it need not open the longitudinal margins during the process of applying the longitudinal glue lines, which can avoid the deformation of the strip and have a precise gluing position. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc reproducing apparatus and method, and more particularly to an optical disc reproducing apparatus for displaying text such as caption data, program menu data, reproduction information, etc., on a display screen using a single character generating device.
2. Description of Related Art
A greater demand exits in the industry for techniques which allow large amounts of information to be densely recorded upon recording media. Development has focused on recording media such as compact discs, digital video discs (DVD), etc., to meet this need.
A DVD reproducing apparatus has been designed to reproduce data recorded on a DVD (diameter: 12 cm, thickness: 1.2 mm) for about 135 minutes, and to provide better image and sound quality than a laser disc. Accordingly, a DVD device is one of the noticeable multi-media devices in audio/video and computer applications. DVDs are widely used in image processing applications due to their large storage capacity. One of the DVD system formats has system specifications as follows:
1. Maximum 9 camera angles reproducible;
2. Maximum 8 channels for audio and 32 languages as a caption;
3. Storage of a plurality of user selectable programs, selectable via a menu screen; and
4. Provision of parental lock function which can prevent children from watching adult programs.
According to the above system specification, the structure of the data stream used in DVDs is shown in FIG. 1 . This data stream includes a video stream, an audio stream, and a sub-picture stream. Although not shown, the data stream also includes control data which is used during reproduction to control the reproducing operation. The video stream includes video or image data such as for a moving image, the audio stream includes audio data such as voice and/or sound data, and the sub-picture stream includes caption data to be displayed on a display screen during reproduction. As also shown in FIG. 1, the audio data includes multiple channels.
A conventional optical disc reproducing apparatus using the above-described data stream structure will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 2, the optical disc reproducing apparatus for reproducing data from an optical disc 1 includes a motor 11 for rotating the optical disc 1 ; an optical pick-up 3 for reading the data recorded on the optical disc 1 ; a servo circuit 13 for generating drive signals to control the operation of the motor 11 and the optical pick-up 3 ; and microprocessor 15 for controlling the operation of the servo circuit 13 , a signal processing circuit 5 , an error correction circuit 7 , a navigator 17 , and an on screen display (OSD) unit 31 based on key input from a user.
In accordance with the instructions received from the microprocessor 15 , the signal processing circuit 5 amplifies the reproduced signal output from the optical pick-up 3 , and performs phase compensation thereon. The microprocessor 15 also obtains management and sub-management data from the reproduced signal processed by the signal processing circuit 5 . The management data includes table of contents (TOC) data such as recorded in the lead-in area of the optical disk 1 . The sub-management data includes characteristic information for the data recorded on the optical disk such as recorded in the headers of logically grouped data. With respect to a DVD, the characteristic information could indicate which camera angle from the plurality of camera angles the data in the following logical group represents, or could indicate that the data in the following logical group is English language caption data.
The error correction circuit 7 corrects, under the control of the microprocessor 15 , errors in the bit stream of the reproduced signal output by the signal processing circuit 5 . A variable transfer rate (VBR) buffer 9 temporarily stores the error corrected reproduced signal. The navigator 17 controls the transfer of data from the VBR buffer 9 to a data decoding section 30 in part based on control signals from the microprocessor 15 and in part based on the control data extracted from the bit stream of the reproduction signal output from the VBR buffer 9 .
The data decoding section 30 includes a video decoding part 21 , a graphics circuit 24 , and an audio decoding part 27 operating under the control of the navigator 17 . The graphics circuit 24 receives the output of the VBR buffer 9 via the video decoding part 21 , and the audio decoding part 27 receives the output of the VBR buffer 9 via the graphics circuit 24 and the video decoding part 21 .
A mixer 43 mixes the output of the video decoding part 21 and the graphics circuit 24 to produce a digital video signal. A first digital/analog converter 23 digital-to-analog converts the digital video signal, while a second digital/analog converter 29 digital-to-analog converts the output of the audio decoding part 27 .
The OSD unit 31 , under the control of the microprocessor 15 , adds character data representing reproduction information to the analog video signal output by the first digital/analog converter 23 to produce an output video signal.
Next, the operation of the conventional optical disc reproducing apparatus will be described. After mounting the optical disc 1 on a turntable (not shown), the user selects a specific system function and options associated therewith using a plurality of input keys (not shown). For instance, after selecting a basic reproduction operation, the user can select the reproduction characteristics. The reproduction characteristics include, for example, the camera angle to be reproduced, that a caption should be displayed, and the language of the caption. If the user does not elect to select the reproduction characteristics, then the basic reproduction operation will proceed according to predetermined default reproduction characteristics.
When the user selects a reproduction operation, the microprocessor 15 controls the servo circuit 13 to drive the motor 11 and the optical pick-up 3 . According to the drive signals from the servo circuit 13 , the optical pick-up 3 reproduces data recorded on the optical disc 1 . The reproduced data is converted into an electrical signal and output to the signal processing circuit 5 . The signal processing circuit 5 performs a predetermined signal processing operation such as noise amplification, phase compensation, etc., on the electrical signal (i.e., the reproduced signal) in accordance with the instructions received from the microprocessor 15 , and the microprocessor 15 extracts the management and sub-management data from the processed reproduced signal.
The processed reproduced signal is output to the error correction circuit 7 . The error correction circuit 7 corrects errors generated in the reproduced signal in a predetermined manner as instructed by the microprocessor 15 . The error corrected reproduced signal is then output to and temporarily stored by the VBR buffer 9 . Based on the reproduction characteristics and the management and sub-management data, the navigator 17 controls the transfer of data from the VBR buffer 9 to the data decoding section 30 . Because frames of video data are compressed to different sizes according to the characteristics of the images in the frame, the quantity of data input by the VBR buffer 9 varies. In order to store variably transferred data, yet output a continuous and seamless stream of data, the VBR buffer 9 , under the control of the navigator 17 , is used.
As discussed above with respect to FIG. 1, the data output from the VBR buffer 9 includes system related control data, video data, sub-picture data, (e.g, caption and menu selection data), and audio data. The navigator 17 extracts the control data, and controls the operation of the data decoding section based in part thereon.
The data output from the VBR buffer 9 is received by the video decoding part 21 of the data decoding section 30 . The video decoding part 21 extracts, decompresses, and decodes the video data in the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 under the control of the navigator 17 . The video decoding part 21 then outputs the processed video data to the mixer 43 . The video decoding part 21 also passes the bit stream from the VBR buffer 9 to the graphics circuit 24 .
The graphics circuit 24 extracts and decodes the sub-picture data in the bit stream from the VBR buffer 9 , and outputs the decoded sub-picture data to the mixer 43 . FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the conventional graphics circuit 24 . As shown in FIG. 3, the graphics circuit 24 includes a data extracting part 33 for extracting the sub-picture data in the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 . A timing circuit 35 also receives the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 , and detects a sync signal from the video data included in the bit stream. Based on the detected sync signal, the timing circuit 25 generates a clock signal.
The graphics circuit 24 further includes a decoder 37 and a first character memory 39 . The decoder 37 receives the sub-picture data output by the data extracting part 33 , and decodes the sub-picture data. The decoded sub-picture data is then stored in the first character memory 39 . In accordance with the clock signal output by the timing circuit 35 , the first character memory 39 outputs the decoded sub-picture data for display at a predetermined position on the display screen. The decoded sub-picture data output by the first character memory 39 is amplified by a level controller 41 , and output to the mixer 43 . The mixer 43 mixes the processed video data output by the video decoding part 21 with the amplified decoded sub-picture data to produce a digital video signal.
As shown in FIG. 2, the first digital/analog converter 23 converts the digital video signal output by the mixer 43 into an analog video signal. The OSD unit 31 receives the analog video signal, and mixes a character signal with the analog video signal under the control of the microprocessor 15 .
FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the conventional OSD unit 31 . As shown in FIG. 4, a timing circuit 45 receives the analog video signal, detects a sync signal in the video signal portion of the analog video signal, and generates a clock signal according to the detected sync signal and instructions from a controller 47 . The controller 47 receives clock data and character control instructions from the microprocessor 15 . The clock data indicates when the clock signal should be output from the timing circuit 45 . In accordance with the clock data, the controller 47 outputs instructions to the timing circuit 45 . The controller 47 also converts the character control instructions into memory addresses, and outputs the memory addresses to a second character memory 49 . The second character memory 49 stores the text of, for example, reproduction information such as time information and operation information (e.g., play, rewind, fast forward, camera angle, etc.). The character control instructions specify the reproduction information the second character memory 49 is to output.
Based on the clock signal, the second character memory 49 outputs the text or character data addressed by the memory addresses from the controller 47 to a level controller 51 . Accordingly, the clock signal (i.e., the clock data from the microprocessor 15 ) specifies the position on the display where this character data will appear. The level controller 51 amplifies the character data output from the second character memory 49 , and converts the amplified data into an analog character signal. This analog character signal is then mixed by a mixer 53 with the analog video signal output from the mixer 43 to produce an output video signal.
As shown in FIG. 3, the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 is transferred from the video decoding part 21 and the graphics circuit 24 to the audio decoding part 27 . Based on instructions from the navigator 17 , the audio decoding part 27 extracts and decodes the audio data in this bit stream. The second analog converter 29 converts the audio data into an output audio signal.
As discussed above, both the graphics circuit 24 and the OSD unit 31 output data, which is mixed with video data, to display text on a display screen. As such, elements forming the graphics circuit 24 are duplicated in the OSD unit 31 . As a result, the conventional optical disc reproducing apparatus is large, complex, and costly.
Furthermore, the video data in the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 undergoes several processes (e.g., extraction, decoding, conversion, mixing). Each signal processing procedure degrades the signal-to-noise ratio of the resulting output video signal such that image quality is deteriorated and the display of characters can become distorted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc reproducing apparatus and method which overcome the problems and disadvantages discussed above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc reproducing apparatus which is smaller, less complex, and less costly than conventional optical reproducing apparatuses.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc reproducing apparatus which uses a single character generating device to display sub-picture data and reproduction information.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc reproducing apparatus which digitally processes sub-picture data and reproduction information to be displayed on a display screen.
These and other objectives are achieved by providing an optical disc reproducing apparatus, comprising: an optical pick-up for reproducing a digital signal from an optical disc, said reproduced digital signal including at least video data and sub-picture data; and processing means for storing a plurality of text portions, for receiving character control instructions, for receiving said reproduced digital signal, for generating first character data representing at least one of said plurality of text portions based on said character control instructions, for generating second character data based on said sub-picture data in said reproduced digital signal, and for generating a digital video signal based on said first and second character data and said video data in said reproduced digital signal.
These and other objectives are further achieved by providing an optical disc reproducing apparatus, comprising: an optical pick-up for reproducing a signal from an optical disc, said reproduced signal including at least video data and sub-picture data; a video decoder decoding said video data in said reproduced signal; and a graphics circuit storing a plurality of text portions, receiving character control instructions, receiving said reproduced signal, generating first character data representing at least one of said plurality of text portions based on said character control instructions, and generating second character data based on said sub-picture data in said reproduced signal.
These and other objectives are also achieved by providing an optical disc reproducing method, comprising: reproducing a digital signal from an optical disc, said reproduced digital signal including at least video data and sub-picture data; storing a plurality of text portions; receiving character control instructions; generating first and second character data based on said character control instructions and said sub-picture data in said reproduced digital video signal, said first character data representing at least one of said plurality of text portions; and generating a digital video signal based on said first and second character data and said video data.
These and other objectives are additionally achieved by providing an optical disc reproducing apparatus, comprising: an optical pick-up for reproducing a signal from an optical disc, said reproduced signal including at least video data and sub-picture data; and processing means for storing a plurality of text portions in a single memory, for receiving character control instructions, for receiving said reproduced digital signal, for generating, using said single memory, first character data representing at least one of said plurality of text portions based on said character control instructions, and for generating, using said single memory, second character data based on said sub-picture data in said reproduced signal.
Other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention; methods, operation, and functions of the related elements of the structure; combination of parts; and economies of manufacture will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a data stream in a DVD;
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional optical disc reproducing apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the graphics circuit shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the OSD unit shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an optical disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the digital OSD unit shown in FIG. 5; and
FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of another embodiment of the digital OSD unit shown in FIG. 5
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIG. 5, the optical disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is the same as the conventional optical disc apparatus shown in FIG. 2 except that the graphics circuit 24 has been replaced by a digital OSD unit 125 and no OSD unit is connected to the output of the first digital/analog converter 23 . In view of the foregoing, only the differences between the present invention and the conventional art will be discussed.
FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of the digital OSD unit 125 . As shown in FIG. 6, the digital OSD unit 125 includes a single character memory 139 connected to a timing circuit 135 , a decoder 137 , a level controller 141 , and a controller 145 . The character memory 139 includes a first and second portion (not shown). The first portion of the character memory 139 is, for example, a random access memory RAM, while the second portion of the character memory 139 is, for example, a read only memory ROM. The second portion of the character memory 139 stores the text of, for example, reproduction information such as time information and operation information (e.g., play, rewind, fast forward, camera angle, etc.) at predetermined memory addresses.
As further shown, a data extracting part 133 receives the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 from the video decoding part 21 , and sends output to the decoder 137 . The controller 145 receives the clock data and the character control instructions from the microprocessor 15 , and sends output to the timing circuit 135 and the character memory 139 .
The level controller 141 amplifies the character data received from the character memory 139 , and sends the amplified character data to the mixer 43 . As also shown in FIG. 6, the digital OSD unit 125 transfers the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 to the audio decoding part 27 .
The operation of the digital OSD unit 125 shown in FIG. 6 will now be described. The data extracting part 133 extracts the sub-picture data in the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 . The sub-picture data includes menu selection data (e.g., camera angle selection, audio and language selection, etc.), caption data, etc. The decoder 137 decodes this sub-picture data, and the decoded sub-picture data is stored in the first portion of the character memory 139 .
The controller 145 receives clock data and character control instructions from the microprocessor 15 . The controller 145 converts the character control instructions into memory addresses of reproduction information stored in the character memory 139 , and outputs the memory addresses to the character memory 139 . Based on the clock data, the controller 145 generates timing instructions, and outputs these timing instructions to the timing circuit 135 . The timing circuit 135 detects the sync signal from the video data in the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 , and based on the timing instructions and the sync signal, generates a clock signal.
In accordance with the clock signal, the character memory 139 outputs the decoded sub-picture data as first character data. In accordance with the clock signal and the memory addresses, the character memory 139 outputs the addressed reproduction information as second character data.
The first character data output from the character memory 139 represents the text of a caption and/or menu selection, and the position of this caption and/or menu selection on the display screen is predetermined with respect to the sync signal. The second character data output by the character memory 139 represents the text of reproduction information, and is positioned on the display screen in accordance with the timing instructions output by the controller 145 to the timing circuit 135 .
The character data output of the character memory 139 is amplified by the level controller 141 . The mixer 43 mixes the amplified character data with the processed video signal output by the video decoding part 21 to generate a digital video signal. Also, the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 is transferred to the audio decoding part 27 .
Unlike the conventional optical disc reproducing apparatus, the optical disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, which incorporates the digital OSD unit 125 , includes a single character generating device for both the sub-picture data and the reproduction information. Because a single extracting, decoding, and mixing operation are performed, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved compared to the conventional optical disc reproducing apparatuses. Furthermore, the processing performed by the OSD unit 125 takes place entirely in the digital domain. This further benefits the signal-to-noise ratio by eliminating the number of digital-to-analog conversions to produce an output video signal.
Another embodiment of the digital OSD unit 125 is illustrated in FIG. 7 . As shown in FIG. 7, the digital OSD unit 125 includes a first character memory 239 and a second character memory 247 . The first character memory 239 is connected to a timing circuit 235 , a decoder 237 , and a level controller 241 . The first character memory 239 is, for example, a RAM. The second character memory 247 is connected to the timing circuit 235 , the level controller 241 , and a controller 245 . The second character memory 247 is, for example, a ROM, and stores the text of, for example, reproduction information such as time information and operation information (e.g., play, rewind, fast forward, camera angle, etc.).
As further shown, a data extracting part 233 receives the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 from the video decoding part 21 , and sends output to the decoder 237 . The controller 245 receives the clock data and the character control instructions from the microprocessor 15 , and sends output to the timing circuit 235 and the second character memory 247 .
The level controller 241 amplifies the character data output by the first and second character memories 239 and 247 , and outputs the amplified character data to the mixer 43 . As also shown in FIG. 6, the digital OSD unit 125 transfers the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 to the audio decoding part 27 .
The operation of the digital OSD unit 125 according to the second embodiment will now be described. The data extracting part 233 extracts sub-picture data from the bit stream output by the VBR buffer 9 . A decoder 237 decodes the sub-picture data, and the decoded sub-picture data is stored in the first character memory 239 .
The controller 245 receives the clock data and character control instructions from the microprocessor 15 . The controller 245 converts the character control instructions into memory addresses of reproduction information stored in the second character memory 247 , and outputs the memory addresses to the second character memory 247 . The controller 245 also generates timing instructions based on the clock data, and outputs the timing instructions to the timing circuit 235 . The timing circuit 235 detects the sync signal in the video data of the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 , and generates a clock signal based on the detected sync signal and the timing instructions received from the controller 245 .
In accordance with the clock signal, the first character memory 239 outputs the decoded sub-picture data as the first character data such that a caption and/or menu selection is displayed at a first predetermined position on a display screen. Based on the clock signal and the memory addresses, the second character memory 247 outputs the addressed reproduction information as second character data such that reproduction information is displayed at a position specified by the clock data on the display screen.
The level controller 241 amplifies the character data output from the first and second character memories 239 and 247 , and the mixer 43 mixes the amplified character data with the processed video data output from the video decoding part 21 to produce a digital video signal. Also, the bit stream output from the VBR buffer 9 is transferred-to the audio decoding part 27 .
Like the first embodiment discussed above with respect to FIG. 6, the number of processing steps is reduced such that the signal-to-noise ratio is improved. Additionally, all processing is performed in the digital domain.
It should be understood that the optical disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to use with DVDs, but can be used with any optical disc recording media.
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. | The optical disc reproducing apparatus includes an optical pick-up, a video decoder and a graphics circuit. The optical pick-up reproduces a signal from an optical disc wherein the reproduced signal includes at least video data and sub-picture data. The video decoder decodes the video data in the reproduced signal. The graphics circuit stores a plurality of text portions, and receives the reproduced signal and character control instructions. The graphics circuit generates first character data representing at least one of the plurality of text portions based on the character control instructions, and generates second character data based on the sub-picture data in the reproduced signal. A digital video signal is then generated by mixing the first and second character data and the decoded video data. | 6 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims benefit of priority under 35 USC §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-373237, filed on Oct. 31, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device having an image capture function.
2. Related Art
A liquid display device has an array substrate provided with signal lines, scanning lines and pixel thin film transistors (TFTs), and drive circuits that drive the signal lines and the scanning lines. Along with recent advancement and development of integrated circuit technology, a process technique of forming a part of the drive circuit on the array substrate is put into practical use. Based on this technique, a liquid display device can be made thin and compact in total, and is widely used as a display device for various kinds of portable instruments such as portable telephones and laptop personal computers.
A display device having image capture function is proposed, in which closely arrayed area sensors (i.e., a photoelectric transfer element) are disposed on the array substrate (see for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2001-292276 and 2001-339640).
A conventional display device having this kind of image capture function changes a charge of a capacitor connected to a photoelectric transfer element according to the amount of light received by the photoelectric transfer element, and detects voltages at both ends of the capacitor, thereby capturing an image.
Recently, a technique of forming an image TFT and a drive circuit onto the same glass substrate according to a polycrystalline silicon (i.e., polysilicon) process is developed. The photoelectric transfer element can be also formed onto each pixel easily according to the polysilicon process.
When a display element and a photoelectric transfer element are incorporated into the pixel of the display device, the number of control lines to control the display elements and the photoelectric transfer elements increases, thereby lowering an aperture ratio. When the number of control lines increases, the area of the control circuit connected to the control lines also increases, resulting in an increase in the frame area of the array substrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device of which frame can be made small without lowering an aperture ratio even when a photoelectric transfer element is incorporated into a pixel.
A display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form;
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject, and being provided one for every multiple pixels;
a scanning line drive circuit which drives the scanning lines;
a signal line drive circuit which drives the signal lines;
a pixel voltage supply control circuit which controls whether or not to supply a pixel voltage to the corresponding signal line; and
a pre-charge voltage supply control circuit which controls whether or not to supply a pre-charge voltage capable of changing voltage level for each signal line to the corresponding signal line.
Furthermore, a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form;
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject;
a first control line which control on/off of said display elements; and
a scanning line drive circuit which drives the scanning lines,
wherein each of said image capture circuits includes:
a sensor element which converts an external input into an electric signal; and
at least one of a second control line which controls operation of said sensor circuit,
wherein said scanning line drive circuit includes:
a shift register which has register circuits at a plurality of stages which shift a pulse signal with a prescribed pulse width in sync with pixel display timing; and
a supply control circuit which controls a plurality of control signal lines based on the output signals of said shift register.
Furthermore, a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form;
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject;
a level shift circuit which converts output level of said image capture circuit; and
a serial/parallel conversion circuit which converts a signal converted by said level shift circuit into a serial signal;
wherein said level shift circuit includes:
a high speed read-out part which outputs a voltage in accordance with whether or not the output voltage of said image capture circuit is high or low, as compared with a reference voltage; and
a low consumption power part which outputs the output voltage of said image capture circuit without converting level.
Furthermore, a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form; and
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject,
wherein each of said plurality of image capture circuits includes:
a photoelectric conversion element which performs photoelectric conversion;
a capacitor which accumulates electric charge obtained by photoelectric conversion by said photoelectric conversion element;
a pre-charge circuit which switches whether or not to accumulate initial electric charge to said capacitor;
an amplifier which amplifies a voltage at both ends of said capacitor; and
an output control circuit which switches whether or not to supply the output of said amplifier to the corresponding signal line,
wherein said amplifier has one inverter for reversely amplifying a voltage at both ends of said capacitor.
Furthermore, a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form;
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject; and
supplementary capacitors for accumulating image electrode connected to said display elements,
wherein each of said image capture circuit includes:
a photoelectric conversion element which conducts photoelectric conversion;
a capacitor which accumulates electric charge obtained by the photoelectric conversion by said photoelectric conversion element;
an amplifier which amplifies a voltage at both ends of said capacitor;
an output control circuit which switches whether or not to supply output of said amplifier to the corresponding signal line; and
an accumulation control circuit which controls to periodically accumulate electric charge in accordance with the output of said amplifier or an internal signal in said amplifier, to said supplementary capacitor.
Furthermore, a display device according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form;
a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject; and
wherein each of said image capture circuits includes:
a photoelectric conversion element which conducts photoelectric conversion;
a capacitor which accumulates electric charge obtained by photoelectric conversion by said photoelectric conversion element;
a pre-charge circuit which switches whether or not to accumulate initial electric charge to said capacitor; and
an amplifier which amplifies a voltage at both ends of said capacitor,
wherein output of said amplifier is supplied to a neighboring pixel.
Furthermore, a display device, comprising:
display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form; and
a plurality of image capture circuits provided one for every a plurality of pixels, each conducting photoelectric conversion;
wherein an input terminal of said image capture circuit is supplied with a prescribed voltage at a prescribed timing via the signal lines;
a ground terminal of said image capture circuit is supplied with a prescribed voltage at a prescribed timing via the signal lines; and
each of the image capture circuits outputs the signal via the signal line at a prescribed timing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one example of schematic configuration of a display device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a pixel circuit.
FIG. 3 is a layout view of a pixel circuit of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a gate line drive circuit of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a level shifter.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a signal distribution circuit.
FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of input/output signal of a signal distribution circuit of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of H switch circuit.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a signal line drive circuit of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram corresponding to that of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 11 is a timing diagram showing the order of writing signal lines by a signal line drive circuit.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between pre-charge voltages and a control terminal of an analog switch.
FIG. 13 is a layout diagram when a light-shielding layer made of the same metal is formed in a step of forming a metal layer for wiring.
FIG. 14 is an A-A′ line cross sectional view of FIG. 13 .
FIG. 15 is a diagram forming a wiring layer to a frame of array substrate.
FIG. 16 is an A-A′ line cross sectional view of FIG. 15 .
FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram corresponding to a layout diagram of FIG. 15 .
FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram of omitting an NMOS transistor from FIG. 17 .
FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram adding an NMOS transistor to a circuit of FIG. 17 .
FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram showing an example of peripheral configuration of an image capture sensor that sequentially transfers image data to a downward direction of the screen.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a serial signal output circuit of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a P/S converter.
FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a level shifter.
FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of an ENAB circuit.
FIG. 25 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of an output buffer.
FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of a latch circuit in a P/S converter.
FIG. 27 is a circuit diagram showing one example of internal configuration of an S/R circuit in a P/S converter.
FIG. 28 is an operational timing diagram of a display device of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 29 is a diagram following to FIG. 28 .
FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing a data flow and a signal flow of the display device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 31 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of a pixel circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of schematic configuration according to a display device of the present invention, indicating particularly a configuration of circuits on an array substrate. The display device shown in FIG. 1 includes a pixel array part 1 disposed with signal lines and scanning lines, and having an image capture function, a signal line drive circuit 2 that drives the signal lines, a gate line drive circuit 3 that drives the scanning lines, and a serial signal output circuit 4 that serially outputs a result of capturing an image. These circuits are formed on a glass array substrate using a polysilicon TFT, for example.
The pixel array part 1 has plural pixel circuits 5 disposed in a matrix. Each pixel circuit 5 has a pixel TFT for display, and an image capture sensor to capture an image.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the pixel circuit 5 . This circuit is provided for each pixel. The pixel circuit 5 shown in FIG. 2 includes a pixel TFT 6 that is driven by a signal from a gate line and one end of which is connected to the signal line, an auxiliary capacity Cs and a liquid crystal capacity LC that are connected to the other end of the pixel TFT 6 , a photodiode PD that captures an image, a sensor capacity C 1 that accumulates a charge corresponding to an image captured by the photodiode PD, an amplifier AMP that is connected to one end of the sensor capacity C 1 , a transistor NT 1 that is driven by a signal from a control line SFB and that switches whether to supply an output from the amplifier AMP to the signal line, and a transistor NT 2 for a pre-charger that is driven by a signal from the control line CRT.
The sensor capacity C 1 , the amplifier AMP, and the transistors NT 1 and NT 2 constitute the image capture sensor.
FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of the pixel circuit 5 shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 3 , pixels are disposed in the order of a blue pixel, a green pixel, and a red pixel. These three color pixels share one image capture sensor 7 . Alternatively, the image capture sensor 7 can be provided for each color.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the gate line drive circuit 3 shown in FIG. 1 . The gate line drive circuit 3 shown in FIG. 4 includes a shift register 11 , a NAND gate 12 connected to an output terminal of each stage of the shift register 11 , a level shifter 13 connected to an output terminal of the NAND gate 12 , an NOR gate 14 connected to an output terminal of the level shifter 13 , a signal allocate circuit (MS) 15 connected to an output terminal of the NOR gate 14 , and an H switch circuit (MUX) 16 that switches whether to set all gate lines to a high level.
The level shifter 13 converts an output voltage of the shift register 11 from 5/0V to 10/−5V. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the shift register 13 . The shift register 13 shown in FIG. 5 includes PMOS transistors Q 1 and Q 2 that are cross-connected, a PMOS transistor Q 3 and an NMOS transistor Q 4 that are connected in cascade between a drain terminal of the PMOS transistor Q 1 and a ground terminal, a PMOS transistor Q 5 and an NMOS transistor Q 6 that are connected in cascade between a drain terminal of the PMOS transistor Q 2 and a ground terminal, a PMOS transistor Q 7 and an NMOS transistor Q 8 that constitute an inverter which inverts an input signal IN, a PMOS transistor Q 9 , an NMOS transistor Q 10 , and an NMOS transistor Q 11 that are connected in cascade between two power source terminals YGVDD and YGVSS, and a PMOS transistor Q 12 , an NMOS transistor Q 13 , and an NMOS transistor Q 14 that are connected in cascade between the power source terminals YGVDD and YGVSS.
The input signal IN is input to between both gate terminals of the PMOS transistor Q 3 and the NMOS transistor Q 4 . The input signal IN is inverted by the PMOS transistor Q 7 and the NMOS transistor Q 8 . The inverted input signal IN is input to both gate terminals of the PMOS transistor Q 5 and the NMOS transistor Q 6 . A connection node A between the PMOS transistor Q 5 and the NMOS transistor Q 6 is input to a gate terminal of the PMOS transistor Q 1 . A connection node B between the PMOS transistor Q 3 and the NMOS transistor Q 4 is input to a gate terminal of the PMOS transistor Q 2 .
The signal allocate circuit 15 generates control signals GATE, CRT, and SFD within the pixel circuit 5 shown in FIG. 3 . FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the signal allocate circuit 15 . The signal allocate circuit 15 shown in FIG. 6 includes a three-input NOR gate 21 that outputs the control signal GATE, a three-input NOR gate 22 that outputs the control signal CRT, and a three-input NOR gate 23 that outputs the control signal SFB.
FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of input and output signals of the signal allocate circuit 15 shown in FIG. 6 . As shown in FIG. 7 , a signal INPUT that is output from the NOR gate 14 is output to the control signals GATE, CRT, and SFB by switching, according to a logic of external control signals MOD and SEL.
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the H switch circuit 16 . The H switch circuit 16 shown in FIG. 8 includes an NOR gate 24 and an inverter 25 . When a control signal MUX that is input to one end of the NOR gate 24 is set to a high level, all the gate lines become at a high level.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the signal line drive circuit 2 shown in FIG. 1 . The signal line drive circuit 2 shown in FIG. 9 includes a shift register 31 that outputs a shift pulse obtained by shifting a start pulse, 24 video buses 32 , including eight buses for each color, that supply an analog pixel voltage obtained by D/A converting digital data with a digital/analog converter (DAC) not shown, vide data switch control circuits 33 that switch control whether to supply analog pixel voltages on the video buses 32 to corresponding signal lines, and a pre-charge circuit 34 that controls whether to supply predetermined pre-charge voltages to corresponding signal lines.
The DAC is a circuit that converts digital pixel data into analog voltage suitable for liquid crystal drive, and this circuit can be formed onto a glass substrate according to a low-temperature polysilicon TFT technique, or can be formed as an IC chip separate from the glass substrate. According to the present embodiment, a range of voltage output from the DAC is from 0.5V to 4.5V, for example. An opposite voltage Vcom that is applied to a transparent common electrode of the opposite substrate depends on polarity, such as 0V (positive polarity) or 5V (negative polarity), for example. This opposite voltage Vcom is a standard voltage to drive a normal twisted nematic liquid crystal. The range of voltage output from the DAC is usually smaller than a range of power source voltage (Vdd, GND) supplied to the DAC by about 0.2 to 0.5V.
FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the signal line drive circuit 2 shown in FIG. 9 . An output from the video data switch control circuit 33 and an output from the corresponding pre-charge circuit 34 are wired OR. The pre-charge circuit 34 for red switch controls whether to supply a pre-charge voltage VPRC_R to a corresponding signal line. The pre-charge circuit 34 for green switch controls whether to supply a pre-charge voltage VPRC_G to a corresponding signal line. The pre-charge circuit 34 for blue switch controls whether to supply a pre-charge voltage VPRC_B to a corresponding signal line.
To supply individual pre-charge voltages for respective colors to corresponding signal lines as described above is a characteristic not found conventionally. Conventionally, a signal line pre-charge circuit of a liquid crystal display device generally supplies one common voltage to all the signal lines.
The video data switch control circuits 33 for red, green, and blue for eight pixels, respectively are all turned on simultaneously. For example, a first stage output of the shift register 31 is connected, via a buffer circuit, to control terminals of the video data switch control circuits 33 of video data including eight pixels, respectively of R 1 to R 8 , G 1 to G 8 , and B 1 to B 8 shown in FIG. 10 . These video data switch control circuits 33 are turned on or turned off simultaneously.
FIG. 11 is a timing diagram of the order of writing signal lines by the signal line drive circuit 2 . As shown in FIG. 11 , the pixel data of R 1 to R 8 , G 1 to G 8 , and B 1 to B 8 are first written into corresponding signal lines. Next, pixel data of R 9 to R 16 , G 9 to G 16 , and B 9 to B 16 are written into corresponding signal lines. Pixel data are written in this order. Lastly, pixel data of R 297 to R 320 , G 297 to G 320 , and B 290 to B 320 are written into corresponding signal lines. In other words, pixel data of each eight pixels are written into signal lines at the same timing. After this, a blank period continues. During this blank period, polarity of the common voltage is reversed. Thereafter, a similar operation is repeated.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between the pre-charge voltages VPRC_R, VPRC_G, and VPRC_B that are supplied to one end of an analog switch 35 within the pre-charge circuit 34 , and the logic of control terminals PRC_R, PRC_G, and PRC_B of the analog switch 35 .
As shown in FIG. 12 , during a normal display period p 1 , when the polarities of Vcom and Vcs are reversed, the analog switch 35 is kept on for only a short period, and all signal lines are pre-charged to an intermediate potential 2.5V. With this arrangement, at the time of the reversal of polarities, the signal line potential is prevented from being changed extremely due to a coupling with the transparent electrode of the opposite substrate. During pre-imaging display set periods p 2 and p 3 , the common electrode potential is set to 0V, and all signal lines are pre-charged to 0V. At the same time, gate lines Gates 1 to 240 of all rows are at the H level. Based on this, the whole screen is displayed white. Because the common electrode potential and the pixel electrode potential are at 0V, a voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer becomes 0V. Transmittance of white becomes higher than that for the normal display, and light utilization efficiency for imaging becomes advantageous. This shows an example in the case of using a twisted nematic liquid crystal at normally white mode. Even in the case of normally black mode and the case of using the other liquid crystal materials and display mode, if the pre-charge circuit supplies a voltage outside output range of the DAC at normal display time, higher brightness than that at ordinary display time are obtained.
During the normal display, a pixel voltage becomes 0.8V when Vcom=0V, and 0.8V is applied to the liquid crystal layer. Therefore, strictly speaking, transmission is lost to some extent. This depends on a constraint of a range of output from the DAC. From this viewpoint, it is advantageous to use the pre-charge circuit instead of the DAC for the pre-imaging display setting.
In order to read only a specific color component (red portion, for example) of an imaged subject, a pre-charge voltage to a green signal line and a blue signal line is set to 5V. Based on this, the display can be set to red. Chromaticity of red color becomes higher than that at normal display time. The reason is that brightness of red increases, and the brightness of green and blue pixels becomes low. When the voltage outside the output range of the DAC at normal display time is applied from the pre-charge circuit, red with color reproduction range broader than that at normal display time can be displayed. Among the backlight components, only the red component mainly reaches the imaged subject, and a reflection light enters an optical sensor. Other lights are shielded with a liquid crystal cell. During an imaging period (i.e., pre-charge/exposure/data output period) p 4 , the pre-charge voltages VPRC_R, VPRC_G, and VPRC_B are set to respective predetermined voltages (5V, 0V, and 4V, in the case of FIG. 4 ).
As explained above, because the pre-charge voltages VPRC_R, VPRC_G, and VPRC_B can be set separately during the imaging period, the image quality of the picked-up image improves.
Below the photodiode PD that carries out a photoelectric conversion, a light-shielding layer is provided to prevent the light of the backlight from being incident to the photodiode PD. This light-shielding layer can be formed with a resin or the like. Alternatively, the light-shielding layer can be formed using a metal layer at the stage of forming the metal layer for wiring.
FIG. 13 is a layout diagram of a circuit having a light-shielding layer 44 formed below the photodiode PD at the step of forming a metal layer for wiring, the light-shielding layer 44 being made of the same metal as that of the metal layer. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional diagram of the circuit shown in FIG. 13 cut along a line A-A′. In FIG. 14 , an array substrate 41 includes a passivation film 43 formed on a gate insulation film 42 , the light-shielding layer 44 formed on the passivation film 43 , and a transparent resin layer 45 formed on the light-shielding layer 44 . The photodiode PD is formed inside the gate insulation film 42 .
The light-shielding layer 44 is formed at the same step as that of forming the metal layer for wiring. A metal layer for wiring (hereinafter, a wiring layer) 46 is formed on a frame portion of the array substrate as shown in FIG. 15 . FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional diagram of the circuit shown in FIG. 15 cut along a line A-A′. As shown in FIG. 16 , the wiring layer 46 has a two-layer structure, of which resistance can be lowered.
When the light-shielding layer 44 is formed using the wiring layer 46 as shown in FIG. 13 , the wiring layer 46 and the light-shielding layer 44 can be formed at the same step, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.
FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing one example of the layout shown in FIG. 15 . As shown in FIG. 17 , the amplifier AMP having two-stage inverters is provided at a latter stage of the sensor capacity C 1 that accumulates a charge obtained by photoelectric conversion by the photodiode PD. An NMOS transistor 51 that constitutes a first-stage inverter within the amplifier AMP can be omitted.
FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram showing an example that the NMOS transistor 51 is omitted from the configuration shown in FIG. 17 . According to the circuit shown in FIG. 18 , a charge corresponding to a voltage of 5V, for example, is pre-charged to the sensor capacity C 1 . The photodiode PD starts capturing an image in this state. When there is little light that is incident to the photodiode PD, the charge accumulated in the sensor capacity C 1 is discharged (i.e., leaks) little. In this case, the output from the amplifier AMP consisting of the inverter becomes at a low level. Thereafter, the control voltages SFB and CRT become at a high level, the transistors NT 1 and NT 2 become conductive, and the PMOS transistor 52 is turned on. As a result, a power source voltage JVDD is applied to both ends of the sensor capacity C 1 , thereby refreshing the sensor capacity C 1 .
On the other hand, when there is much light that is incident to the photodiode PD, the sensor capacity C 1 discharges, and voltages at both ends of the sensor capacity C 1 are lowered. As a result, the output from the amplifier AMP having the inverter becomes at a high level (such as 4V, for example).
To read the accumulated charge from the sensor capacity C 1 , the transistors NT 1 and NT 3 are turned on, and signals corresponding to the accumulated charge in the sensor capacity C 1 are supplied to signal lines.
FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram having an NMOS transistor NT 5 added to the circuit shown in FIG. 17 . The NMOS transistor NT 5 is controlled according to a control signal JPOL. One end of this transistor is connected to a connection node between the pixel TFT 6 and the transistors NT 2 and NT 3 , and the other end of the transistor is connected to a connection node A between inverters IV 1 and IV 2 within the amplifier AMP.
Based on the provision of the NMOS transistor NT 5 , the amplifier AMP can be utilized to hold a pixel voltage, thereby lowering power consumption when a still image is kept displayed.
According to the circuit shown in FIG. 19 , when the voltage of the auxiliary capacity Cs is 0V (positive polarity), the output voltage of the amplifier AMP is written into the auxiliary capacity Cs by conducting the transistor NT 1 and the transistor 6 . When the voltage of the auxiliary capacity Cs is 5V (negative polarity), the output voltage of the amplifier AMP is written into the auxiliary capacity Cs by conducting the transistor NT 5 and the transistor 6 .
As explained above, based on the provision of the transistor NT 5 , voltage of reverse polarity can be written into the auxiliary capacity Cs from the amplifier AMP in a predetermined cycle. If the transistor NT 5 is not present, only data in the output polarity of the amplifier AMP can be always written. Accordingly, data in the same polarity is continuously written into the liquid crystal layer, which degrades the liquid crystal molecule and loses reliability. This problem can be avoided based on the provision of the transistor NT 5 .
The above image capture sensor 7 supplies captured image data to signal lines. However, this increases drive load of the signal lines. Further, time of writing image data to signal lines is short. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the screen size or increase the resolution. To solve these problems, instead of supplying image data to signal lines, the image data may be sequentially transferred between adjacent pixels.
FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram showing an example of peripheral configuration of the image capture sensor 7 that sequentially transfers image data to a downward direction of the screen, illustrating an example of transferring image data from bottom up. The image data transfer direction is not limited to a downward direction, and can be an upward direction or a lateral direction.
The circuit shown in FIG. 20 excludes inverters and transistors from the circuit shown in FIG. 17 . Outputs from the inverters are supplied to a connection node between transistors of adjacent pixels.
According to the circuit shown in FIG. 20 , image data is not supplied to signal lines of large load but is supplied to adjacent pixels of small load. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the amplifier AMP for each one pixel at the latter stage of the sensor capacity C 1 . Consequently, the number of transistors can be decreased. Because the load is small, the image data can be transferred at a high speed, and power consumption can be also decreased.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the serial signal output circuit 4 shown in FIG. 1 . The serial signal output circuit 4 shown in FIG. 21 includes plural P/S converters 61 , an ENAB circuit 62 that is used to detect a data position at the outside of an array substrate, and an output buffer 63 .
Each P/S converter 61 is connected with 320 signal lines, and serially outputs image data on these signal lines.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the P/S converter 61 . The P/S converter 61 shown in FIG. 22 includes a level shifter 64 , a latch circuit 65 that is connected to the output of the level shifter 64 , a switch 66 that is connected to the output of the latch circuit 65 , and a shift register 67 that is connected to a latter stage of the switch 66 .
FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the level shifter 64 . The level shifter shown in FIG. 23 includes a switch 71 , a capacitor C 2 , an inverter 72 , a switch 73 , an inverter 74 , and a switch 75 that are connected in series between an input terminal in and an output terminal out, a switch 76 that is connected to the input terminal and the output terminal, a switch 77 that is connected to the input terminal and the output terminal of the inverter 74 , a switch 78 that is connected between a connection route between the switch 71 and the capacitor C 2 and a power source terminal VTP, and a switch 79 that is connected between a connection route between the switch 73 and the inverter 74 and the ground terminal.
The level shifter 64 carries out different operations between a high-speed reading mode and a low-power-consumption reading mode. When the quantity of image data to be captured is large such as a color image, the high-speed reading mode is selected. When the quantity of image data to be captured is small such as a monochromatic image, the low-power-consumption reading mode is selected.
To carry out the high-speed reading, the control signal TPC is set to a high level, and the control signal THU is set to a low level, thereby pre-charging the capacity of the level shifter 64 to the capacitor C 2 . Next, the control signal TPC is set to a low level, and the control signal THU is set to a low level. With this arrangement, a high-level signal or a low-level signal is output, depending on whether a signal line voltage input to the level shifter 64 is higher than the power source voltage VTP (=4V). As explained above, during the high-speed reading, the level shifter 64 converts a voltage to that of large amplitude difference of 0V or 5V, even if a potential change in the signal line is small.
To carry out the low-power-consumption reading, the control signal TPC is set to a high level, and the control signal THU is set to a high level, thereby bypassing the level shifter 64 , and outputting a signal line voltage as it is. In this case, data cannot be read until when the potential of a signal line makes a relatively large change of 5V or 0V. Therefore, the data reading speed becomes relatively slow. However, because no intermediate voltage is applied to the inverters or the like, power consumption is relatively small. During the low-power-consumption reading, power supply to the inverter 72 and the inverter 74 of the level shifter is interrupted (not shown).
During the normal display, the control signal TPC is set to a high level, and the control signal THU is set to a low level. In this case, no data is output.
FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the ENAB circuit 62 within the serial signal output circuit 4 shown in FIG. 21 . The ENB circuit 62 shown in FIG. 24 includes inverters 81 and 82 that are connected in cascade, a shift register 83 , and an output buffer 84 .
FIG. 25 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of the output buffer 63 within the ENAB circuit 62 shown in FIG. 24 . The output buffer 63 shown in FIG. 25 includes plural inverters.
FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of a latch circuit within the P/S circuit 61 in the ENAB circuit 62 shown in FIG. 24 . The latch circuit shown in FIG. 26 includes a clocked inverter and an inverter.
FIG. 27 is a circuit diagram showing an example of internal configuration of an S/R circuit within the P/S circuit 61 shown in FIG. 26 . The S/R circuit shown in FIG. 27 includes a clocked inverter and an inverter.
FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 are operation timing charts of the display device shown in FIG. 1 . In FIG. 28 , a period p 1 denotes a normal display period. A period p 2 in FIG. 28 and a period p 3 in FIG. 29 dente pre-imaging display set periods, respectively. A period p 4 in FIG. 29 denotes an operation timing of an image capture period (i.e., a pre-charge/exposure/data output period). For the sake of convenience, the period p 2 in FIG. 28 and the period p 3 in FIG. 29 are the same periods.
The operation during the normal display period p 1 is explained. During the normal operation period p 1 , the control signals MUX, MOD, and SEL shown in FIG. 4 are set to L, H, and H, respectively. As a result, the shift pulse of the shift register 11 is sequentially output to gate lines Gates 1 to 240 in a row unit, and signal line potentials (0.5 to 4.5V) are sequentially accumulated for each row in the auxiliary capacity Cs.
The operation during the pre-imaging display set periods p 2 and p 3 will be explained hereinafter. During the pre-imaging display set periods p 2 and p 3 , the control signals MUX, MOD, and SEL shown in FIG. 4 are set to H, H, and H, respectively. As a result, all the gate lines are set to a high level, and signal line potentials (0V or 5V) are accumulated simultaneously for all pixels into the auxiliary capacity Cs.
The operation during the image capture period p 4 is explained. In FIG. 29 , a period from time to t 2 denotes a pre-charge period, and a period from time t 3 to t 4 denotes an exposure and image data output period. During the pre-charge period, the control signals MUX, MOD, and SEL are set to L, H, and L, respectively. As a result, the control lines CRT 1 to 240 are driven sequentially, and pre-charge voltages (5V) are written for each row into the sensor capacity C 1 . During the exposure and image data output period, the control signals MUX and MOD are set to L and L, respectively, and the control signal SEL is set to H and L alternately. When the control signal SEL is at H, the control signal SFB is set to H for each row. The amplifier AMP within the pixels is connected to signal lines, and data read from the pixels are transferred to the serial signal output circuit 4 . When the control signal SEL is at L, the signal lines are pre-charged to 5V so that the amplifier within the pixels consisting of a source follower operates normally.
FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing a data flow and a signal flow of the display device according to the present embodiment. An array substrate 90 is connected to a memory embedded application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 92 via an interface (I/F 2 ) 91 . The ASIC 92 is connected to a host personal computer (PC) 94 via an interface (I/F 1 ) 93 . The memory embedded ASIC 92 has a static random access memory (SRAM) 95 and a processing circuit 96 . The memory embedded ASIC 92 can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA).
The host PC 94 sends visual data for display and video setting rewrite commands to the memory embedded ASIC 92 . The SRAM 95 stores the display data from the host PC 94 , and the processing circuit 96 stores the video setting rewrite commands. The video data stored in the SRAM 95 is sent to the array substrate 90 via the interface 91 . The processing circuit 96 sends a display/imaging control signal to the array substrate 90 via the interface 91 . The image data picked up by the array substrate 90 is sent to the SRAM 95 via the interface 91 . The processing circuit 96 performs image processing operation for the video data and the image data stored in the SRAM 95 . The SRAM 95 sends the processed image data to the host PC 94 via the interface 93 .
The processing circuit 96 can carry out the image processing by hardware or by software. While the display device sends a large amount of image data to the memory embedded ASIC 92 , the memory embedded ASIC 92 sends only the processed image data to the host PC 94 .
As can be understood from FIG. 30 , all the various control signals, video signals, and image data are transferred between the memory embedded ASIC 92 and the array substrate 90 without passing through a central processing unit (CPU) bus. Therefore, the data transfer does not depend on congestion of the CPU bus, and the processing load of the CPU can be reduced.
Only the processed image data collection and the video setting rewrite commands are transferred via the CPU bus. Therefore, these data can be transferred slowly. Each time when one image is picked up, rearranging and addition can be carried out inside the ASIC. Therefore, the image processing time can be reduced substantially. Because the speed of the CPU bus can be slow, the cost of the total system can be reduced.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, only one shift register 11 is provided within the gate line drive circuit 33 . The three kinds of control signals GATE, CRT, and SFB to control the pixel circuit 5 are generated by the output shift pulse from this shift register. Therefore, the configuration of the gate line drive circuit 33 can be simplified, and power consumption is reduced. Further, the frame area of the array substrate can be reduced.
The pre-charge circuit 34 that pre-charges the signal lines is provided in the signal line drive circuit 2 . The pre-charge circuit 34 pre-charges respective signal lines at different pre-charge voltages depending on colors. Therefore, pre-charge voltages that are optimum to capture an image can be set.
The pixel circuit can have a configuration as shown in FIG. 31 . A JVSS line is deleted from the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2 , and, instead, a green signal line is used as a ground line for the sensor and the capacity C 1 . By such constitution, the wirings dedicated to the ground line are unnecessary, the aperture ratio becomes high, and it is possible to save power consumption. According to the circuit shown in FIG. 31 , the green signal line is pre-charged to 0V at the data output time. The above advantages can be obtained based on the provision of a pre-charge circuit for each color.
In the above embodiment, the example in which each pixel is provided with the photo sensor has been explained. However, according to the present invention, various kinds of sensors besides the photo sensor, such as capacitive sensor are available, if these sensors can convert an external input signal on the display into an electric signal.
In the above embodiment, the example in which the image pick-up subject such as document, picture and business card is put on the display to capture image has been explained. However, the present is applicable to a display device with touch panel function for detecting a location touched by finger and a display device with digitizer function for detecting a location touched by a light pen which has a light emission device on head of the pen. | A display device has display elements provided inside of pixels formed in vicinity of signal lines and scanning lines aligned in matrix form, a plurality of image capture circuits, each capturing image at a certain range of a subject, and being provided one for every multiple pixels, a scanning line drive circuit which drives the scanning lines, a signal line drive circuit which drives the signal lines, a pixel voltage supply control circuit which controls whether or not to supply a pixel voltage to the corresponding signal line, and a pre-charge voltage supply control circuit which controls whether or not to supply a pre-charge voltage capable of changing voltage level for each signal line to the corresponding signal line. | 6 |
This application is a continuation under Rule 1.60 of application Ser. No. 08/511,060, filed Aug. 3, 1995 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,793 on Feb. 18, 1997.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to telephony, and more specifically, to an improved technique for use in conferencing systems in order to prevent predetermined signal (e.g. tones) entered by conferees from being transmitted to other conferees.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conferencing systems have become popular in the telecommunications art over the past several years. Many such conferencing systems are used to implement conferences that involve entertainment types of services whereby a relatively large number of conferees may speak to one another for a fee which is set and advertised by the service provider. Common examples are dating services which are often advertised on television, whereby numerous conference conferees can telephone in and speak to one another. These conferences are implemented using a device known as a conference bridge, the purpose of which is to interconnect a plurality of conferees so that the audio signal transmitted to each conferee is effectively equal to the sum of all audio signals transmitted from the other conferees.
Other applications envisioned include remote stockholder meetings, distance learning, technical training, and any other scenario in which a plurality of conferees are interconnected.
During such conferences, the relatively large number of conferees varies as conferees enter and exit the conference call. The conference bridge includes appropriate control functions to allow conferees to enter and exit from the conference. These control functions of the conferencing bridge are typically invoked by the conferees entering Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tones in order to enter or exit various conferences, and to switch among the conferences. Unfortunately however, the entry of these tones is conveyed to the other conferees since a tone signal appears to the conference bridge just as any other audio signal. When the number of conferees is relatively large, this phenomena results in annoying tones being conveyed to the conferees on a relatively frequent basis. For example, on a commercial party line interconnecting thirty-two conferees, someone may enter or exit the conference every few minutes.
Additionally, DTMF tones can be used to control volume or any other function of the system. This fact further increases the frequency with which DTMF tones are generated by conferees.
While there exist some prior attempts at solving the above problem, these solutions give rise to other problems of their own. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,492 issued to Parola describes a system whereby a buffer is utilized to detect and block DTMF tones. However, in order for any detection algorithm to detect such tones, the buffer must have sufficient length, and therefore introduces a noticeable delay in the signal path. While the delay in and of itself is undesirable, the more noticeable problem is that the echoes normally present in such a system sound much worse to the conferees if the echo signal passes through a relatively long delay than they do if the delay is short. Thus, when a system designer seeks to minimize the effects of echo, delay should be minimized.
As is known to those skilled in the signal processing and telephony art, and as can be appreciated from the above, there are two competing interests in implementing prior art devices such as the Parola technique. First, in order to accurately detect the presence of DTMF tones, it is required that there be some signal history for processing. Hence, a buffer is introduced and the reliability of the tone detection increases with the length of the buffer. It would appear therefore, that a longer buffer is desirable. However, a countervailing interest is the minimization of the effect of echoes and the delay experienced by the signal. As the buffer length is increased, the delay and effect of the echoes increases, which results in degraded performance noticeable by all conferees.
In view of the above competing interests, a typical approach in the art is to try to trade off the two requirements so that the buffer length is both long enough to provide acceptable tone detection and tone blocking performance, while at the same time being short enough such that significant delay and the resulting negative impact upon the echo signal are avoided. It can be appreciated however, that perfect performance with respect to either of these competing requirements cannot be achieved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other problems of the prior art are overcome and a technical advance is achieved in accordance with the present invention which relates to a conferencing system which provides a variable length buffer. Specifically, a long buffer length is used if a DTMF tone is suspected, and the DTMF tone is confirmed using the long buffer length and the relatively reliable DTMF detection algorithm which requires this length. At times when the signal is determined to be voice or silence, a short buffer length is used. During silence times, the additional delay introduced by the long buffer used for DTMF detection is eliminated by stripping some of the silence typically found between speech segments so that the delay is shortened to its minimum.
In general, the invention comprises a technique to search for a known first signal which may be contained in a second signal. Buffer length is minimized until the presence of the first signal is suspected, at which time buffer length is increased to implement a relatively sophisticated algorithm to confirm the existence of the first signal. After the confirmation occurs, the buffer length is once again decreased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a buffer having a maximum length of ten;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart which can be used to implement an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 depicts a plurality of storage blocks and several exemplary audio blocks to be processed;
FIG.4 shows the state of the storage blocks as a plurality of audio blocks are read in for processing; and
FIG. 5 shows a different state of the system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
For explanation purposes, we presume that the predetermined signal desired to be blocked is a tone. Of course, the invention is applicable to any signal desired to be blocked.
FIG. 1 depicts conceptually a buffer of maximum length 10, comprising audio storage blocks 101-110. Each audio storage block 101-110 is N samples in length. An exemplary value of N is 96, but N may be chosen in accordance with numerous design parameters which are not critical to the present invention. Actual storage requirements are XN, where X is the number of bits per sample. The audio stored in each storage block is termed herein an audio block. The specific parameters chosen such as sampling rate, block length, etc. are not critical to the present invention. Acceptable values for sampling rate and other such parameters are easily calculated by those of ordinary skill in this art. It is noted that the number of audioblocks required to detect tone depends upon the particular algorithm used and the degree of reliability required by the detection. Once these parameters are specified, the system designer can readily calculate the number of audio blocks required to confirm tone. For the exemplary system described herein, we presume that one block is sufficient to suspect tone but that it takes five (5) blocks to confirm tone (i.e.; to ascertain to within a specified certainty that tone is present).
The buffer is intended to be implemented between the conferee and the conference bridge. For purposes of the present explanation, we presume that a reliable tone detection algorithm desired to be used requires five consecutive audio blocks in order to accurately analyze the data and determine that it is a tone. Such analysis cannot be completed based upon one audio block because a single audio block which appears to be tone may actually be a portion of speech or other audio signal which is simulating a tone. Thus, when a single audio block appears to be tone, the event is termed "suspected tone". When five consecutive blocks are processed and determined to be suspected tone, the system concludes that a tone is present. While reliability of the tone detection algorithm increases with buffer length, the particular tone detection algorithm chosen, as well as the percentage reliability, which is required, will dictate the length of buffers 101-110. Each of these parameters are easily chosen by the systems engineer when configuring the conferencing system.
FIG. 1 also depicts two pointers, inpointer 112 and outpointer 113, respectively, pointed at storage 100. Inpointer 112 points to the audio storage block into which the next audio block from the conferee will be written, and outpointer 113 points to the audio storage block out of which the next audio block will be read and sent to the conference. The initial state of the system is such that audio blocks are both written into and read out of audio storage block 101. Thus, a delay of one is experienced whereby delay is measured as the number of storage blocks between inpointer 112 and outpointer 113, plus one.
We presume it takes five blocks of audio history in order to accurately detect a tone. The basic idea behind the invention is described as follows, and a flow chart with related discussion is presented thereafter in order to convey a better understanding of the invention.
Each time an audio block is received from a conferee, it is written into the location pointed to by inpointer 112. The audio block is checked by a signal analysis algorithm to determine whether it is speech, silence or suspected tone. A two bit indicator is reserved within each audio block, and the two bits are set to the appropriate one of three states to indicate, either (i) voice, (ii) suspected tone, or (iii) silence. We consider first, five consecutive blocks of suspected tone.
Since the first audio block is suspected tone, the audio block is saved in storage block 101 and tagged as suspected tone. Inpointer 112 is then moved to the right so that it points to location 102. The system continues to check each audio block input, and to write the audio block into a location to the immediate right of the previous block until it either confirms tone (i.e.; five consecutive blocks of suspected tone arrive), or confirms that no such tone exists. In the present example, five blocks of suspected tone will arrive and the tone will be confirmed. The audio block written into storage block 102 is also tagged as either speech silence or suspected tone (suspected tone for the present example), and inpointer 112 is then moved to the right still another location to storage block 103.
The system will continue in a similar manner. Since the first five audio blocks are presumed to be suspected tone, eventually storage blocks 101-105 will each include an audio block with its tag set to indicate suspected tone. At that point, the system will confirm the tone, and prevent it from being transmitted to other conferees by discarding the five audio blocks in question. The software then transfers control to the particular voice processing, conferencing, or other application to execute whatever action is dictated by the tone.
It should be noted that the actual length of the tone may be much longer than five audio blocks, but subsequent audio blocks arriving after tone confirmation are simply ignored. It is only after the application program executes the action dictated by the tone that control is returned to the software managing the buffer in FIG. 1. At that point, new audio blocks begin being received as previously described.
Concerning the transmission of audio blocks to the conference, the audio blocks are read out consecutively, one per read-out period, and transmitted to the conference bridge for conveyance to the other conferees. The read out period may be readily chosen by those of ordinary skill in this art, but in any event, should preferably be sufficient to deliver real-time speech.
Outpointer 113 begins at location 101. The tag of the storage block pointed to by outpointer 113 is checked to determine whether it is speech, silence or suspected tone prior to reading out such audio block and transmitting the same to the conference. If the audio block stored in the present location indicated by outpointer 113 is silence, then outpointer 113 does not read out the present block, but instead, outpointer 113 is moved to the right by one location. The information stored in the new location is then checked and, if silence, the process repeated. Outpointer 113 continues to move to the right until it either finds speech to read out, or, it reaches the same location as inpointer 112 in which case the delay is minimized. Thus, silence is trimmed to minimize delay.
If outpointer 113 is at a location which contains suspected tone, then such suspected tone should not be read out until it is confirmed that the suspected tone, is, in fact, voice and not tone. In such a case, a filler is read out instead and outpointer 113 remains at the storage block with suspected tone until the suspected tone is determined to be either tone or voice. If tone is confirmed, the five suspected tone audio blocks are discarded and the pointers reset as previously explained. If tone is not confirmed, it means that the suspected tone is actually part of a voice signal. Thus the suspected tone, which is really voice, is read out to the conference and the outpointer 113 is moved one to the right as previously described.
In general then, the system operates by starting in the position shown in FIG. 1, and moving inpointer 112 to the right each time an audio block is written into buffer 100. Each time an audio block is read out, it is checked to see if silence exists therein, at which point the silence is trimmed by moving outpointer to the right by one location and reading out the next rightmost block during the read out period. When outpointer 113 reaches the same audio block as the inpointer 112, the delay is once again minimized and the system then begins from its initial state.
It is believed that the description of the flow chart shown in FIG. 2, as well as the example that follows that description, will help to clarify.
FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of the basic method utilized in order to implement the present invention previously described with respect to FIG. 1. The flow chart is entered at start block 201 and control is transferred to read audio block 202. At read audio block 202, the next incoming block is placed into storage block 101 of FIG. 1, since that is the initial position of inpointer 112 as shown in FIG. 1. Classification algorithm 203 may be any of a variety of well-known algorithms. While the processing contained within classification block 203 may be somewhat complex, there are a variety of well known techniques which can classify the incoming block into either speech, silence, or a suspected tone. It is noted that any one audio block can constitute only suspected tone, and not actual tone, since it is presumed herein that it requires at least five audio blocks to confirm the existence of the tone.
As indicated in FIG. 2, depending upon whether the audio block is classified as speech, silence or suspected tone, control is transferred to either operational block 204, 205, or 206, respectively, of FIG. 2.
Blocks 204, 205 and 206 set the tag to be either speech, silence or suspected tone, respectively. The tag can be implemented as two bits within the audio block, which bits are set by the software depending upon whether speech, silence or suspected tone is present. Thus, each audio block is received, classified as either speech, silence, or suspected tone, tagged appropriately, and placed into the storage block pointed to by inpointer 112.
After the tag is set, the delay is increased to L+1 at block 207, which is equivalent in FIG. 1 to moving inpointer 112 to the right by one storage block. Decision point 208 then checks to see if tone is confirmed. One simple way to do this is to have a counter incremented each time an incoming audio block is tagged with the suspected tone tag, and reset this counter each time silence or speech is detected. If the counter ever reaches 5, this constitutes a confirmation of tone. Should tone be confirmed, control is transferred to block 1209 which takes the appropriate action that is directed by the tone (e.g.; exit conference, change volume, etc.), and returns to start 201 for the next audio block.
It should also be noted when tone is confirmed, the inpointer 112 is reset by moving it to the left five positions. The outpointer 113 is moved to the left by one position. Thus, both inpointer and outpointer are moved to the audio block immediately prior to the arrival of the tone, thereby discarding the tone. Subsequently received audio blocks will over write the five stored blocks of suspected tone. In short, once tone is confirmed, the audio blocks that comprise the tone are blocked from transmission to the conference.
Returning to decision point 208, if tone is not confirmed, then the tag of the outgoing block is checked. Specifically, decision point 209 checks the tag of the audio block at the present position of outpointer 113. If the tag indicates silence, then the loop comprised of decision point 210 and operational block 211 continues to move outpointer 113 to the right until it "catches up" to inpointer 112. Each time loop 210-211 is executed, the one block of silence is discarded by moving outpointer 113 to the right by one.
It should be noted that the loop comprised of 209-211 should execute fast enough so that outpointer 113 trims all of the silence in an amount of time which is negligible compared to the amount of time comprising a read out period. In this manner, the trimming of the silence will be accomplished most efficiently.
If the tag on the audio block indicated by outpointer 113 is a suspected tone, then the tag of the inpointer is checked at 212 to determine if it is a suspected tone. If decision point 212 indicates a suspected tone, it means that there has been one or more suspected tones consecutively, but not enough consecutive suspected tones for a tone to be confirmed at decision point 208. Accordingly, should decision point 212 be reached by the flow chart of FIG. 2, it means that the system is in the process of determining whether a tone has been entered (e.g., there have been two or three suspected tones in a row). At this point, a filler is transmitted at block 213 which can either be silence or another copy of the last speech audio block transmitted. This gives the algorithm enough time to continue accepting audio blocks for tone detection while not transmitting those blocks in case they are in fact tone. The filler is a way of delaying transmission to the user until either (i) tone is confirmed and blocked, or (ii) tone is confirmed not to exist. The user will normally not notice the filler being transmitted.
After block 213, control is transferred back to read data block 202, for the next block to be written into buffer 100. It can be appreciated that the leftmost branch which invokes blocks 213 and 214 will serve to hold up the audio blocks from being transmitted when a tone is suspected, and will block that tone if confirmed, or transmit all of the suspected blocks if the tone is not confirmed, thereby indicating that the suspected tones were actually speech.
If decision point 212 determines that speech or silence is present in the present audio block being written, than that indicates that the one or more suspected tones were not actual tones. This fact can be appreciated by recalling that it takes five consecutive audio blocks of suspected tone to confirm tone. Thus, if decision point 212 indicates that the input audio block is speech or silence, a review of the flow of control will show that this implies that there is an output audio block of suspected tone and an input audio block of speech or silence, and that there is less than five consecutive blocks of suspected tone. Thus, the suspected tone was not actual tone. Accordingly, control moves to block 215 for transmission to the conference.
Returning to decision point 209, if speech is detected at the outpointer audio block, then block 215 and 216 serve to transmit the speech block and move outpointer 113 to the right by one storage block for examination of the next block. Block 217 then decreases the delay as shown therein, and control is once again transferred to block 214.
It can be appreciated from the above, that each time an audio block is suspected to be tone the system sends either silence or filler while it continues to save subsequent audio blocks until it confirms the tone by utilizing five consecutive blocks of suspected tone. Once the tone is confirmed, the entire system is reset. If, by the third or fourth block, it is determined that there is no tone, then the system transmits the audio block to the conference but proceeds to decrease the delay by discarding any silence blocks when they are available until the delay is decreased to one.
FIG. 3 shows a stream of audio blocks 301-310. The exemplary stream of FIG. 3 includes three types of blocks suspected tone (ST), speech (SP) and silence (SI). Audio blocks 306-310 comprise five consecutive audio blocks of suspected tone, and therefore, under the assumptions herein, represent an actual tone. The following sequence of events would take place in accordance with the flow chart of FIG. 2 should an arriving stream of audio be comprised of audio blocks such as those shown in FIG. 3.
During the first cycle, audio block 301 is written into storage block 101. Since this audio block is indicated to be a suspected tone, outpointer 113 remains at storage block 101 and a filler block, perhaps silence, is read out to the conference. Additionally, inpointer 112 is now moved to storage block 102. Next, suspected tone 302 is written into storage block 102, the process repeated, and suspected tone 303 written into storage block 103.
At this point, in accordance with the flow chart of FIG. 2 inpointer 112 is positioned at storage block 103, outpointer 113 remains at storage block 101, and three blocks of filler have been transmitted to the conference. The next audio block received is 304 which is analyzed by the signal processing software and classified as speech. This block is written into storage block 104. Since a speech block has been detected, it is determined that audio blocks 301-303 were not tones, but rather, were only speech simulating a tone. Accordingly, the audio blocks 301-303 which were previously stored in storage blocks 101-103 in order to determine if a tone is confirmed, must now be transmitted to the conference. Accordingly, suspected tone 301 is read out of storage block 101, and outpointer 113 is moved to the right by one block to storage block 102.
During the next cycle through the software, inpointer 112 is moved one block to the right and silence block 305 is written into storage block 105. The system is then in the state indicated by FIG. 4.
During the next cycle, suspected tone 306 is written into storage block 106, suspected tone 302 is read out from storage block 102 and transmitted to the conference, and outpointer 113 is moved to the right by one block to point to storage block 103. This process continues in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. 2 for four more loops until the state of the system is as shown in FIG. 5. At that point, tone is confirmed since there are five consecutive suspected tones stored in storage block 106-110. As previously explained, at the point when the tone is confirmed, outpointer and inpointer 113 and 112 respectively are both reset to storage block 105 so that the tone is discarded in that the next audio blocks written in will overwrite storage blocks 106-110, and the tone will never be transmitted.
It is noted that the buffer, which includes ten storage blocks, may be circular so that the pointers return to the beginning thereof as they move.
It should also be noted that the technique has applicability in systems other than audio, such as video, or mixed audio and video, etc. Additionally, the technique may be employed to implement conferences over networks other than the telephone system, such as a Local Area Network (LAN).
It can be appreciated that while the above describes the preferred embodiment of the invention, other variations and/or additions will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. | A tone blocking system and method for use preferably in conferencing systems in order to prevent control tones from being transmitted to other conferees is disclosed. The buffer length used to process the signal and detect tones is varied, being increased when a tone is suspected to allow for sophisticated tone detection algorithms, and being decreased when silence is present by trimming the silence away. The technique minimizes delay, and its degrading effect on echo, but nonetheless provides for a lengthy buffer required to do reliable tone detection. The invention is applicable to any signal other than tone as well. | 7 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure, and in particular, to an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure that replaces UV transparency processing adhesive with pressure sensitive adhesive.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Plasma TV is mainly comprised of a piece of plasma display panel (abbreviated as PDP), which applies inert gases, that is, plasma (e.g., mixture of Neon gas and Xenon gas) that is sealed between two pieces of glass plates. When electronic discharge is created from outside electric field, the ultraviolet rays converted from the energy, of inert gas, created from electronic discharge will excite fluorescent powders, of red, blue, and green colors, coated upon the glass plates to emit light through front glass and visible by human eyes, so these emitted visible lights construct the colorful pictures viewed by the user.
[0003] General speaking, when the user is watching plasma TV, in order to make him feel natural and comfortable in facing the light emitted from plasma TV and to avoid the radiation of electromagnetic wave, a piece of filter is usually arranged in front of plasma display panel disposed in the plasma TV.
[0004] Basically, this filter is mainly comprised of electromagnetic wave shielding layer (EMI), color compensating layer, anti-reflecting layer (AR), and glass layer, etc., each of which has its specific function. For example, after the light enters the filter, the metal mesh of electromagnetic wave shielding layer will remove the radiation of electromagnetic wave carried by the light, and the light will also make spectrum calibration for itself by the dye in color compensating layer. As for the glass layer, its main function is to enforce the structure of entire piece of filter. Furthermore, when outside light (ultraviolet ray) is incident upon the filter facing the user, the outside light will be reflected into the user's eyes to make him dizzy, so the anti-reflecting layer is designed to prevent this situation happening. So, when the user is facing the colorful pictures shown by the light that is emitted from the front glass of plasma TV, he will feel natural and comfortable without the threat of electromagnetic wave radiation.
[0005] Aiming at this electromagnetic wave shielding layer, the inventor proposes this invention. The prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer is very complicated, and the process for manufacturing the structure of electromagnetic wave shielding layer is divided into two parts of major body and surface layer. Please refer to FIG. 1A, which shows the structure of major body that is the first manufactured part of prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer. Since this major body structure is designed to filter out the electromagnetic wave carried by the light itself by the mesh 110 , so the mesh 110 is first pasted upon a transparent glass substrate 120 (usually made of Polyethylene Terephthalate, abbreviated as PET). However, the mesh 110 is a layer structure woven complicatedly so, in considering that, when light passes through the mesh 110 , the mesh 110 will greatly reduce the penetrating possibility of light to cause the transmittance of light to be insufficient during passing through this mesh 110 . Since the transmittance of frosted glass will be increased after the frosted glass soaks water so, by this principle, the mesh 150 is coated with a layer of UV transparency processing adhesive to expect that the transmittance will be increased when the light passes through the mesh 110 . Later on, considering the adhesion ability of UV transparency processing adhesive layer 140 and the protection of UV transparency processing adhesive 140 before its combination with the surface structure of electromagnetic wave shielding layer, a piece of transparent glass substrate 130 is pasted upon the UV transparency processing adhesive 140 .
[0006] After the major body structure 105 of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer is completed, the manufacturing process of the surface layer structure of electromagnetic wave shielding layer is started next. Except for protecting the major body structure 105 , this surface layer structure must also have the characteristic of easy removal, such that it is easy for the major body structure of electromagnetic wave shielding layer to be combined with other layers in the filter. Please refer to FIG. 1B, which shows a simple illustration for the combination between the major body structure and the surface layer structure of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer. After the major body structure 105 is completed, the arrangement of the surface layer structure 145 is that, by pressure sensitive adhesives 150 , 160 and in pressure sensitive adhesive manner, the mold-releasing films 170 , 180 are respectively pasted upon the outer surfaces 143 , 117 , of transparent glass substrates 120 , 140 in the major body structure 105 , corresponding to other layers of pasting faces, such that the major body structure 105 is protected. The match-up between the mold-releasing films 170 , 180 and the pressure sensitive adhesives 150 , 160 will make it easy to remove the mold-releasing films 170 , 180 from the major body structure 105 . At last, after the combination of major body structure 105 and surface layer structure 145 , a complete electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure 100 is constructed.
[0007] The prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure and manufacturing manner have following shortcomings:
[0008] 1. Since there are too many structural layers in the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer, so the transmittance of light to pass through the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer is poor.
[0009] 2. Since there are too many structural layers in the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer, so the electromagnetic wave shielding layer is too thick and its cost is relatively high.
[0010] 3. Since the manufacturing process for the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer is divided into two structure parts to manufacture separately, so its manufacturing efficiency is poor.
[0011] 4. Since the manufacturing process for the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer is divided into two structural parts to manufacture separately so, when the electromagnetic wave shielding layer responding to the match-up of other layers in the filter, the improvement of electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure will be involved with the manufacture of its two parts, such that it is uneasy to improve the structure of this electromagnetic wave shielding layer.
[0012] Accordingly, the invention proposes an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure and manufacturing method, which may simplify the number of structural layer, such that its cost may be lowered down and its producing efficiency will be increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The main objective of the invention is to provide an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure, which mainly includes transparent substrate and mesh. Wherein, the transparent substrate has first face and second face, and the mesh also has first face and second face. The second face of mesh is pasted with the first face of transparent substrate. Particularly, there is a pressure sensitive adhesive having an appropriate thickness upon the first face of mesh.
[0014] In the preferable embodiment according to the invention, for protecting the pressure sensitive adhesive on the surface of mesh from outside damage, a piece of mold-releasing film is disposed upon the surface of pressure sensitive adhesive layer corresponding to the pasting face between the pressure sensitive adhesive layer and the mesh.
[0015] For protecting the surface of transparent substrate corresponding to the pasting face between the transparent substrate and the mesh from scratching during transportation, a layer of mold-releasing film is also disposed upon this surface of transparent substrate. To make this surface of transparent substrate be smoothly pasted upon and removed from the mold-releasing film, a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed between this surface of transparent substrate and the mold-releasing film to press and adhere both together.
[0016] The secondary objective of the invention is to provide a manufacturing method for electromagnetic wave shielding layer. This method includes the step to paste mesh upon the surface of transparent substrate and to coat a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive having appropriate thickness upon the mesh's surface corresponding to the pasting face between the mesh and the transparent substrate.
[0017] In the preferable embodiment according to the invention, this manufacturing method for electromagnetic wave shielding layer further includes the step to paste a piece of mold-releasing film on the surface of pressure sensitive adhesive layer corresponding to the pasting face between the pressure sensitive adhesive layer and the mesh.
[0018] In the preferable embodiment according to the invention, this manufacturing method for electromagnetic wave shielding layer further includes the step to paste another piece of mold-releasing film on the surface of transparent substrate corresponding to the pasting face between the transparent substrate and the mesh.
[0019] Additionally, in the preferable embodiment according to the invention, this manufacturing method for electromagnetic wave shielding layer further includes a pasting step for another piece of mold-releasing film and the transparent substrate. The step is that a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is coated between the pasting face of another piece of mold-releasing film and transparent substrate to smoothly press and paste both together.
[0020] In summarizing aforementioned description, the invention proposes an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure and manufacturing method, wherein a pressure sensitive adhesive having an appropriate thickness is coated upon mesh to replace the prior UV transparency processing adhesive, such that the structure and manufacturing method of an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure are simplified, the manufacturing cost is lowered down, and the production efficiency is increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] In order to make your esteemed members of reviewing committee further recognize and understand the characteristics, objectives, and functions of the present invention, a detailed description in accordance with corresponding drawings are presented as follows.
[0022] [0022]FIG. 1A shows the major body structure manufactured first of prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer.
[0023] [0023]FIG. 1B shows a simple illustration for the combination between the major body structure and the surface layer structure of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer.
[0024] [0024]FIG. 2 shows a simple illustration for the major body structure of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer of the preferable embodiment according to the invention.
[0025] [0025]FIG. 3 shows a simple illustration for the complete structure of an electromagnetic wave shielding layer of the preferable embodiment according to the invention.
[0026] [0026]FIG. 4 shows a table for comparing the structures and optical properties between the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure according to the preferable embodiment of the invention and the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure according to prior arts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure has too many layers and is divided into two parts during manufacturing process, such that the prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure has many shortcomings: the thickness is increased, the transmittance is lowered down, the improvement and design are difficult, and the consuming cost is higher, etc. Therefore, the invention applies pressure sensitive adhesive to replace UV transparency processing adhesive, because the pressure sensitive adhesive itself is transparent and has same function as UV transparency processing adhesive, that is, it has the characteristic to increase the transmittance of mesh. If the pressure sensitive adhesive replaces the UV transparency process adhesive, then the structure of electromagnetic wave shielding layer is simplified, the production procedure is relatively simplified, and it is unnecessary to divide the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure into two parts to manufacture.
[0028] Accordingly, in the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure of a preferable embodiment according to the present invention, a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is directly coated upon the surface of mesh corresponding to pasting face between the mesh and the transparent substrate. Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a simple illustration for the major body structure of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer of the preferable embodiment according to the invention. In this electromagnetic wave shielding layer 200 , its major body structure is mainly comprised of: transparent substrate 210 (its made materials may be triacetate or polyethylene terephthalate; abbreviated as TAC or PET), mesh 220 positioned above the surface of transparent substrate 210 , and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 230 that has X thickness and is coated upon the surface of mesh 220 corresponding to the pasting face between the mesh 220 and the transparent substrate 215 .
[0029] To prove that the pressure sensitive adhesive 230 coated upon the surface 225 of mesh 220 may really replace the UV transparency processing adhesive applied in prior electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure, the invention makes an optical experiment on the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 200 according to a preferable embodiment of the invention. In the experiment, when the thickness X of the pressure sensitive adhesive 230 reaches a specific value, the pressure sensitive adhesive 230 has the same function as that of UV transparency processing adhesive layer and may increase the transmittance of the mesh.
[0030] Therefore, it is expected that the pressure sensitive adhesive 230 coated upon the surface 225 of the mesh 220 may indeed replace the prior UV transparency processing adhesive and may be acted as materials for improving the transmittance of the mesh 220 in the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 200 .
[0031] When the major body structure of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer is simplified as shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing procedure of the surface layer of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 200 may also be simplified. Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a simple illustration for the complete structure of an electromagnetic wave shielding layer of the preferable embodiment according to the invention. When the surface 225 of the mesh 220 is coated with pressure sensitive adhesive 230 , the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure may be formed by directly pressing a mold-releasing film 310 upon the surface 235 of the pressure sensitive adhesive 230 corresponding to the surface 225 . After coating a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 320 upon the surface 305 of the transparent substrate 210 corresponding to the pasting face 215 , the mold-releasing film 330 is pressed upon. After the mold-releasing films 310 , 330 are added to the major body structure 105 , a complete electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure 300 is formed.
[0032] If the complete electromagnetic wave shielding layer 300 structure according to the preferable embodiment of the invention is compared to the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 100 structure according to the prior arts, it may find that, under the situations of simplified structural layer and manufacturing process, the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 300 according to the preferable embodiment of the invention still has the same optical properties as and the better transmittance than those of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 100 structure according to prior arts.
[0033] Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a table for comparing the structures and optical properties between the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure according to the preferable embodiment of the invention and the electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure according to prior arts. In FIG. 4, after a layer of UV transparency processing adhesive and a layer of transparent substrate according to prior arts are removed, the optical properties of the invention is not worse than those of the prior arts, such as: the L value, a value, b value, and resistance value, etc., which are all same for both cases. As for transmittance (T %), the preferable embodiment according to the invention is better than the prior arts by 2˜3%. Therefore, under the situations of simplified structural layer and manufacturing process, the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 300 according to the preferable embodiment of the invention still has the same optical properties as and the better transmittance than those of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 100 structure according to prior arts.
[0034] The invention has following advantages:
[0035] 1. Since the invention has removed a layer of UV transparency processing adhesive and a layer of transparent substrate from the prior arts so, not only the thickness of structure itself is thinned (70˜80 micrometers thinner), but also the materials, the manufacturing steps, and the cost of these two layers are saved.
[0036] 2. The invention applies pressure sensitive adhesive to replace UV transparency processing adhesive, so those familiar with such arts should know that, because of the material characteristic of pressure sensitive adhesive itself, the pressure supporting degree of entire electromagnetic wave shielding layer is promoted.
[0037] 3. The invention is a layer of structure often used in filter so, when the invention is applied in the eye-protecting glasses of plasma TV, the thickness of plasma TV may be reduced and the cost of plasma TV may also be lowered down.
[0038] In summary, the invention proposes an electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure and manufacturing method, which coats pressure sensitive adhesive layer having an appropriate thickness upon the mesh to replace the UV transparency processing adhesive according to prior arts, such that the structure and the manufacturing method of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer is simplified, the manufacturing cost is lowered down, and the production efficiency is increased.
[0039] However, aforementioned description is only preferable embodiment according to the present invention and is not any limitation constrained upon the scope of the invention. Any equivalent variation and modification made according to the claims of the invention are still not departed from the merits of the invention, and are also within the spirit and scope of the invention, so they are all regarded as further executable situations of the invention. | An electromagnetic wave shielding layer structure is mainly comprised of transparent substrate and mesh, wherein the transparent substrate has first face and second face, and the mesh also has first face and second face, and wherein the second face of mesh is pasted upon the first face of transparent substrate; particularly, the first face of mesh has a pressure sensitive adhesive with an appropriate thickness to replace the ultraviolet (UV) transparency processing adhesive. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation of co-pending application, now abandoned, Ser. No. 07/683,435 filed on Apr. 8, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application, USSN 07/487,772 filed Mar. 2, 1990 and entitled "Steam Shower and Vacuum Apparatus and Method of Using Same", now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to papermaking and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for controlling the temperature of a web or sheet of paper as it enters the press section through the utilization of a stepping motor to open and close valve pipes in order to control the application of steam against the sheet surface and the corresponding withdrawal of the steam by a suction device through the opposite side of the sheet that contacts the forming fabric (wire).
In the forming section of a paper making machine, water is removed from the pulp to form a web. The drainage rate of the water is proportional to the viscosity and surface tension of the trapped water. Further water expression (removal) is accomplished in the press section. Increasing sheet temperature decreases the water viscosity and surface tension, hence augmenting the expression of water. As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,338, 3,945,570, 4,050,630 and 4,163,688, it is common practice to apply steam to a sheet in the forming section and prior to the sheet entering the press section so that the latent heat of the steam increases the temperature of the sheet.
It is a common practice to utilize a vacuum source beneath the web to remove water. The vacuum source can also serve to draw the steam into the web and increase steam penetration. This increased steam penetration serves to increase the operating efficiency of the steam shower and the heat transfer to the web. This vacuum source is typically run at a constant uniform vacuum level in the transverse or cross direction (CD) without any regulation of volume once the machine has stabilized.
The press section of a paper making machine is located before the dryer section. Therefore, increasing the water removal rate through the press section serves to decrease the moisture content of a sheet entering the dryer section, thereby either reducing the energy consumption required to further dry the sheet or increasing production (speed) at constant dryer section energy consumption.
Typically when steam is applied to a section of the web or sheet with excess moisture, the steam will migrate to an alternate section of the web or sheet where there is less moisture before it penetrates the web. This happens because where there is less moisture the opposing vacuum system works "better" and actually more suction gets through the web to withdraw the steam. This tends to exaggerate rather than solve the moisture problem. This invention se&s out to eliminate this "steam migration" problem by applying vacuum to the appropriate section effectively preventing the steam from travelling to a "dry spot" in the web. Water expression is also proportional to the level of vacuum applied. Thus applying higher vacuum to that portion of the web with higher moisture increases the water removal rate.
In any steam application, consumed steam should be maximized for its effective use. To maximize the effective usage, the percentage of consumed steam that condenses on and in the sheet for the purpose of raising the sheet temperature should be maximized, and the percentage of consumed steam that does not condense but instead exhausts to the atmosphere as wasted energy should be minimized.
There are certain applications where the steam application does not have to be positionally and volumetrically controlled. In other applications however, it is necessary to impart steam to the process in controlled amounts at specified positions across the machine for profiling certain sheet qualities. This controlled imparting of steam is commonly performed as part of a closed-loop control system, where the sheet quality variable in question is scanned on-line at equally spaced increments across the machine. The results obtained by the scanning device, through the use of computer analysis, are used to automatically control the steam flow applied to the sheet in accordance with the desired sheet quality criteria.
The ability of known steam shower apparatus to repeatedly apply a uniform steam flow is presently limited to the accuracy and repeatability of pneumatically actuated control valves.
For the same reasons that it is important to accurately control the steam flow to the sheet, it is also important to maintain uniform heat-transfer, over the portion of the sheet in question.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a steam shower apparatus is provided for use in controlling the temperature of a sheet by applying steam against the upper surface of the sheet. Directly beneath this steam application zone is a corresponding vacuum zone. The vacuum zone's purpose is to enhance profilability and increase the response of the steam shower itself. The vacuum zone acts as the bottom half of a steam-web-vacuum sandwich.
The controlled application of steam across the machine at equally spaced increments can be employed to control the initial and hence final moisture profile of the sheet. The controlled removal of moisture/steam at such equally spaced increments is accomplished by the use of a measurement computer system which controls a stepping motor. The stepping motor in turn controls the appropriate valves in both the vacuum and steam zones in order to send a certain amount of both vacuum and steam to the web. This process varies the amount of steam application and vacuum volume directly beneath the steam application zone. This can be accomplished because directly beneath the steam application zone is a vacuum steam removal zone of similar dimensions. When the output of steam is increased through the steam box the vacuum beneath this individual zone is increased. This combination of steam application and steam removal serves to enhance the effectiveness of the process as well as enable the operators to have better control of the web's profile. The marrying of the steam application to the vacuum source insures that the steam goes where it is intended. The vacuum could be increased without changing the steam rate to increase water removal.
Accordingly, the principal object of the apparatus is to make maximum usage of generated steam and efficiently utilize the energy required for generating steam when applying steam to a paper web.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a steam shower apparatus for a paper making machine which applies steam in such a way that the entrainment of non-condensable air into the condensation space, which severely hampers condensation heat transfer, is limited or eliminated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a steam shower apparatus for a paper making machine that allows for improved accuracy and repeatability of steam flow control, vacuum flow and level control.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a steam shower apparatus for a paper making machine that applies steam to a sheet in such a way that uniformity of heat-transfer is provided in the cross-machine direction (non-uniformity is necessary for profile correction).
Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the moisture condensation on the outermost surfaces of the apparatus to prevent dripping on the sheet traveling through the apparatus.
These and other features and objects of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the several figures in which corresponding reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portion of a paper making machine including the steam shower/vacuum apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a steam shower/vacuum apparatus of the present invention, positioned adjacent to the sheet, employing positional steam flow control and positional vacuum flow control.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the steam shower/vacuum apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in which the bottom surface of the apparatus is heated by a resistance electrical heater.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a further alternate embodiment of the steam shower/vacuum shown in FIG. 1 in which the steam supply manifold forms the bottom portion of the apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an additional embodiment of the steam shower/vacuum apparatus shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 is a simplified plan view of another embodiment of the steam shower/vacuum apparatus shown in FIG. 6 with only the steam supply manifold of the apparatus being shown.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a stepper motor with valve body positioned within both the steam and vacuum zones.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the computer control system which controls the amount of both steam and vacuum applied to the web.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the logic control panel shown in FIG. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
At the outset the present invention is described in its broadest overall aspects with a more detailed description following.
In it's broadest overall aspects the present invention is a steam profiling apparatus which includes steam showers 10, positioned at strategic locations on the paper making machine, with a device 21 for creating a vacuum 21, positioned directly beneath the steam shower. As is shown in FIG. 1, a steam shower vacuum combination is positioned on the forming section of a paper making machine with one or more additional steam shower vacuum couples positioned so that the web flows between them after it leaves the forming section of the paper making machine and before it enters the press section. In the preferred embodiment, the steam shower extends across the entire width of the paper making machine producing a line of steam in the cross machine direction. The vacuum positioned directly beneath the steam shower also has a vacuum chamber which extends beneath the steam shower so as to produce a zone of lower pressure directly beneath the zone where the steam is being applied to the web.
As shown in FIG. 2, the steam apparatus 10 includes a steam supply manifold 12 which applies steam through a feed pipe 14 to a chamber 16 leading to a combination Coanda nozzle 18 and impingement nozzle 20. The vacuum apparatus 21 includes a vacuum supply manifold 22 which through a feed-pipe 24 reduces the pressure in a chamber 26 that is positioned parallel to and directly beneath the steam zone discussed above. The Coanda nozzle 18 is arranged in the apparatus so that the steam flowing through the Coanda nozzle 18 is directed along a surface of the apparatus 10 which is positioned adjacent and parallel to a sheet 28 which is to be heated. The steam flows in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the sheet. The direction of travel of the sheet is shown by arrow 30. The main purpose of this Coanda nozzle 18 is to remove the boundary layer of entrained air traveling with the sheet 28. This layer of air normally acts as an insulator preventing the steam from penetrating the sheet 28. Additionally, the corresponding vacuum chamber 26 is located opposite the steam nozzles 18 and 20 to maximize the amount of steam drawn into the web and subsequently increase profilability.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes means for heating the outside bottom surface of the apparatus to prevent discharge steam condensing thereupon and dripping moisture on the sheet. For example, the outside bottom surface could be heated electrically, for example with an electrical resistance heater. In another variation, the steam supply manifold is located in the lower portion of the apparatus so that the bottom wall of the apparatus is also the bottom wall of the steam supply manifold. In still another variation, the apparatus is mounted above the traveling sheet so that a downstream corner of the apparatus contacts the web so that steam is back pressured between the sheet and the apparatus.
The key to this invention is the marriage of the two devices (steam shower and vacuum chamber) with both the steam and coordinate control system. The control system will adjust the vacuum section beneath the steam section as appropriate. Quite simply this system will recognize when it is necessary for it to increase or decrease steam and/or vacuum flow and react accordingly. Currently, those methods available are limited to profilable steam boxes and non-profilable vacuum boxes. The present invention is a new device (i.e. profilable vacuum system coupled to a profilable steam system) that requires the sophistication of a combined control system to operate effectively. This is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This is done by the use of a measurement computer system 40. The measurement computer system 40 measures the quality of the paper which is affected by the steam shower and vacuum apparatus. The measurement computer system 40 then electrically sends a signal to the operator's console 42. The operator's console 42 interprets the signal and sends a signal to the logic control panel 44. The logic control panel 44 receives the computer's signal and outputs instructions 52 for the stepper motor chamber to control the appropriate valves in both the vacuum zone and the steam zone 54 which will adjust the inlet orifices in both the vacuum and steam zone, and ultimately send a certain amount of both vacuum and steam to the web. In addition, the logic control panel 44 controls aspects of the steam by analyzing the pressure 46 and temperature 50 of such steam and sending a signal 48 to the steam supply before the steam enters the apparatus. If, for instance, the vacuum system was not operated in conjunction with an opposing steam shower, its effect on moisture control or web preheating would be minimal. The vacuum section serves to enhance the effectiveness of the steam shower by increasing the percentage of steam brought into the sheet at the appropriate location and limiting the migration of steam to adjacent locations.
As is stated above, the purpose of a conventional profiling steam shower is to correct moisture inconsistencies in the web. The steam shower does this by applying steam to those sections that have more moisture than desired, effectively preheating those particular sections of the web. As the web is passed through the dryer the excess moisture which has been preheated will evaporate sooner, thus actually reducing the moisture level in that section.
Without simultaneous control of the steam shower and the vacuum system, too much operator interaction would be necessary for the system to be effective. This invention's purpose is to allow the computer to tie into a closed loop measurement gauge, or to allow an operator to push a single control and have the appropriate steam valve open as well as have the opposing vacuum valve open. The complex interactions between steam, vacuum and water removal are not readily reduced by machine operators, therefore the computer based control system, shown in FIG. 8, is necessary to obtain the maximum benefit from this actuator pair. Therefore, it is essential to marry these two devices together to ensure proper operation.
The steam shower apparatus for supplying steam to a web or sheet includes an air-foil type nozzle, utilizing the Coanda effect, to impart steam in a direction roughly parallel but opposite in direction to the direction of travel of the sheet. This Coanda effect steam foil blocks the boundary layer of entrained air traveling with the sheet and subsequently serves to increase efficiency. In the interest of limiting the entrainment of non-condensible air into the condensing-space located between the apparatus and the sheet, the counter parallel-flow nature of the system insures that the exhausting steam creates a positive pressure "wall" at the incoming or downstream edge of the apparatus, thereby decreasing the volume of air which can be entrained by the moving sheet. At the outgoing or upstream edge of the apparatus, the velocity of the sheet serves to limit the volume of air entering the condensing space, close to the surface of the exiting sheet.
An additional feature of the invention is that the high velocity counter-flow running parallel to the sheet insures that even after exhausting at the upstream edge, a significant percentage of the non-condensed steam continues to flow roughly parallel to the sheet for a considerable distance, effectively preheating the sheet before it actually enters the apparatus. This non-condensed steam thereby serves to effectively utilize some of the exhaust steam which would otherwise be wasted.
In addition to the Coanda nozzle, the steam shower utilizes a unique hole pattern to impart steam into the web via impingement, thereby insuring uniformity of steam flow and heat transfer in the cross-machine direction at the desired positional location. The Coanda nozzle blocks the boundary layer of entrained air and preheats the web while the impingement nozzle applies pressurized steam into the web. This combination of the two application techniques maximize the efficiency of the steam shower itself.
Both steam and vacuum are supplied to the apparatus and conveyed across the machine width by an oversized distribution header (typically having a ten inch diameter) to insure uniform supply distribution across the machine, feed-pipes (typically having a two inch diameter) located normal to the axis of the supply manifold traverse the diameter of the supply manifold.
Any undesirable condensation in the supply manifold, being heavier than vapor, collects in the bottom of the manifold where it is bled to drain at the rear of the apparatus. The removal of condensation from the manifold insures that condensation in the nozzle exit-flow is minimized.
In a preferred embodiment, the impingement chamber 16, shown in FIG. 1, and corresponding nozzle are divided into several chambers and associated nozzles by positioning baffles around several feed pipes. Each of the these feed pipes is connected to a direct-current stepper motor. As shown in FIG. 7, a direct-current stepping motor -10 is mounted on the outboard end of a feed-pipe 112. A valve pipe 124 is located within the feed-pipe 112. A lead-screw type coupling 114 connects a stepping motor shaft 116 to a valve stem 118 which connects to a translating valve-poppet 120 located in the body of the feed-pipe in the region of an inlet orifice 122. As the stepper motor shaft 116 changes its position, it turns the coupling 114, which causes the valve stem 118 to move longitudinally toward the valve poppet 120. The valve poppet 120 is moved to open or close the orifice 122 in the valve pipe 124. This is done to either totally close the orifice 122 to prevent steam in the steam zone, and vacuum in the vacuum zone from entering the valve pipe 124 at the inlet orifice 122 or to partially close the orifice 122 to thereby adjust the volume of steam and vacuum entering the valve-pipe 124. Positioning of the stepper motor shaft angle translates the valve poppet 120 so as to increase or decrease the available open-area of the feed-pipe inlet orifice. As a result, the flow-rate of steam through the feed-pipe inlet orifice may be controlled, thereby enabling the controlled application of steam to the sheet.
The choice of a stepping-motor 110 as the preferred type of valve actuator is particularly important to the accuracy and repeatability of the control process. The small angular increments of shaft position 116 (typically 2 degrees per step), combined with the turn-down ratio of the lead-screw coupling 114 combine to provide approximately 5000 precise and repeatable available valve-poppet 120 positions over a total valve-poppet travel of one inch. The specific values cited above may be changed in accordance with specific design requirements, but this example serves to indicate the extraordinary control definition, accuracy and repeatability available with such an actuator.
In addition to the above stated features, an attractive aspect of the stepping-motor actuator is that it may be electrically coupled through actuator lines, directly to a computer control system, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. Such coupling eliminates the need for any intermediate signal conversion (i.e. from electric to pneumatic), with an attendant presumed improvement in both control, accuracy and repeatability.
The stepping-motor actuator, of course, may be replaced by any type of actuator which will operate a poppet-like device to provide the desired steam flow control.
The main body of the apparatus is insulated about the supply-manifold with suitable insulation to minimize the likelihood of condensation carry-over and to maximize the usage of the steam latent heat for the purpose intended.
The apparatus includes two separate structural chambers, the manifold/nozzle chamber 16 (which in the preferred embodiment is of fixed standardized length) and the control chamber 12 (which in the preferred embodiment is of variable length). The variable length may be chosen so as to provide the apparatus length required to aid in the attainment of the necessary steam condensing rate for each specific application. Alternatively, both lengths may be chosen as fixed values, so as to provide a fixed apparatus length deemed to be satisfactory for the attainment of successful performance over the full range of expected applications.
In certain applications, it is important that no moisture other than that resulting from film condensation at the steam-sheet interface is deposited on a sheet traveling through the apparatus. Under certain conditions in the embodiments described above, moisture condenses on the bottom surface of the apparatus and eventually drips onto the sheet. It has been found that by maintaining the temperature of the outside surface above 180 degrees Fahrenheit, no discharged steam condenses on the outside bottom surface because the surface is too hot for any condensation to occur at atmospheric conditions. As a result there is no dripping of moisture on the sheet.
Maintaining this temperature can be achieved in various ways. The bottom surface of the apparatus can be heated electrically, by means conventional to the art. For example, the bottom surface can be heated with a resistance electrical heater, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, modifications can be made in the structure of the apparatus to achieve the requisite goals.
The embodiment of the steam shower apparatus shown in FIG. 4 also eliminates this condensation. In FIG. 4, the steam supply manifold is configured so that the steam supply manifold constitutes the entire bottom surface of the apparatus. Steam within the steam supply header is either at a sufficient pressure (approximately 5-15 psig) or at a sufficient superheat temperature to insure that the temperature of the outside bottom surface 146 is above 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Steam can also escape from the downstream side of the apparatus because the sheet may carry steam as it exits the apparatus. Steam can also leak out at the upstream side of the apparatus which is much cooler than bottom surface. This condensed steam then drips on the sheet and may result in sheet irregularities. To prevent this dripping, drip shields are positioned at the downstream and upstream edges of the apparatus respectively. The shield is an extension of the bottom surface so that the temperature of this shield is approximately the same as the bottom surface. As a result any steam striking this shield will be vaporized by the shield, and any other steam that passes around the shield and condenses on the apparatus will fall into the pocket created between the shield and the apparatus. This collected water may then be drained away.
The foregoing invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments. Various alterations and modifications will, however, occur to those skilled in the art.
The "steam shower" apparatus could be constructed of a reduced cross-machine length, in any of the embodiments, to provide an apparatus whose function is to operate over only a reduced percentage of the actual paper-machine width.
These and other alterations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. | Method and system for applying steam to a paper forming web for the purpose of heating the web to improve the quality of the paper, and withdrawing steam through the use of a vacuum opposite the steam shower, by the simultaneously controlled removal of steam at equally spaced increments by the use of a computer based control system. The computer based control system includes a selectively actuable stepper motor, to effectuate the simultaneous opening of both the steam valve and opposing withdrawal means valve. The system includes a coanda nozzle to cause steam to travel between the sheet and the adjacent surface of the apparatus in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the sheet and also includes steam impingement nozzles. The apparatus includes devices for creating, housing and providing a supply of steam and a supply of vacuum. | 3 |
This application is a divisional application of Ser. No. 505,409, filed Jul. 21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,011, which in turn is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/153,406, filed Nov. 16,1993, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to immunological techniques and, more specifically to the art of enhancing the natural immune response in animals and humans by combining the injected antigens with improved adjuvant formulations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
If proteins or infectious material, called antigens, enter the humoral system of an animal or a human, an immune response occurs which culminates in the formation of antibodies. In many cases the antibody levels generated in the blood are too low for protecting animals or humans against disease, for use in the manufacture of commercial vaccines and for preparing antibodies in scientific research.
Finding methods that assist an organism to make more antibodies is therefore a field of endeavor which has been active for over a century.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Adjuvants for human use consist almost exclusively of a suspension of aluminum hydroxide, a polycationic, insoluble, protein adsorbing colloid.
Adjuvants for use with animals have frequently been developed by building on the very important contribution made by Jules Freund almost half a century ago. Jules Freund namely introduced an adjuvant formulation useful with animals consisting of a cream-like emulsion of a mineral oil (paraffin), synergistically combined with bacterial cell walls from dead mycobacteria such as M. tuberculosis. This became widely known and used as Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). It is capable of elevating the antibody concentrations in the blood by several orders of magnitude over the natural response with merely aqueous solutions of the antigen. For a comprehensive review see J. Freund, "The mode of Action of Immunologic Adjuvants" in Advances of Tuberculosis Research 7, 130-48 (1956). Freund's adjuvant is still commonly used in spite of severe drawbacks. The injected mineral oil can, namely, cause heavy and unsightly granulomas leading to the loss of animals. The bacterial material also contributes to undesirable side effects such as fever, granulomas, inflammations and arthritic symptoms [H. S. Warren & L. A. Chedid (1988) CRC Critical Reviews in Immunology 8, 83-101]. It is these effects which give rise to ethical reservations against the use of this adjuvant.
Many efforts have been made to emulate Freund's adjuvant in its efficacy and at the same time to avoid the damage evoked by this agent. In the intensive search for a replacement of the bacterial components (Mycobacterium tuberculosis or M. butyricum) it was found that low molecular weight glycopeptide subunits of the bacterial cell wall were about as effective as the native bacteria when applied in the same way as the parent mycobacteria, namely along with oil emulsions. N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDP) was the first of the compounds described. [F. Ellouz, A. Adam, R. Ciorbaru & E. Lederer (1974) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun 59, 1317-25]. More recently a glucosamine homolog of MDP, the N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (GMDP), has been isolated from Lactobacillus bulgaricus and an efficient method of synthesis has been developed which makes this compound generally accessible. [V. Ivanov & T. Andronova (1991) Sovjet Medical Reviews, D. Immunology 4, 1-63 (R. V. Petrov, ed.), Harwood Academic Publishers; USSR Pat 2,543,268; U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,399]. GMDP has found considerable interest as a tumor inhibiting substance and has undergone extensive clinical and toxicological testing for this application.
Thus the cell wall of the mycobacteria that are used in Freund's adjuvant contain glycopeptide subunits such as N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDP) and N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (GMDP). These subunits, i.e. MDP and GMDP, as well as a large number of chemically modified analogs and derivatives, have been investigated for use as adjuvants.
A study of the immunostimulating effect of MDP leads to the statement that MDP in saline does not induce DTH (delayed time hypersensitivity, an indication for immunoresponse) to antigens. [Carelli, F. M. Audibert & L. A. Chedid (1981) Infection and Immunity 33, 312-14]. Likewise, a lysozymic, cell-wall lysate containing MDP and GMDP amongst others was found to yield no significant increase in antibody count [L. A. Chedid & F. M. Audibert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,971] and it has been demonstrated that doses of 100 μm per mouse given in aqueous solution are inactive.
It has been reported that in even more elevated doses (e.g. 500 μg/mouse) MDP acts as an immune suppressor. [C. Leclerc, D. Juy, E. Bourgeois & L. Chedid (1979) Cellular Immunology 45, 199-206].
The use of lipophilic MDP analogs to augment the levels of antibody to β-human chorion gonadotropin in rabbits has been studied. Strong local lesions were reported. In doses of 250 μg per rabbit, combined with peanut oil emulsions, antibody yields were obtained 2,5-7 times higher than those achieved with antigen in water alone. Unmodified MDP was less effective. No comparison was made with Freund's adjuvant [H. A. Nash, C. C. Chang & Y. Y. Tsong, (1985) J. of Reproductive Immunology 7, 151-62].
A study of the adjuvant effect of stearoyl-MDP found that it did not significantly stimulate antibody production, but that it did prime the animals so that when they were boosted two months later, an antibody response was seen which was about 0.3 that produced by Freund's adjuvant. Underivatized MDP in water was not used. [P. Sharma et al. (1988) Technological Advances in Vaccine Development, 107, 107-16, Alan Liss Publishers].
An adjuvant formulation consisting of a threonine analog of MDP in an oil emulsion carrier has been described which is presumably more biocompatible than Freund's adjuvant formulation. [A. C. Allison & N. E. Byars (1986) Journal of Immunological Methods 95, 157-68; A. C. Allison & N. E. Byars (1988) Technological Advances in Vaccine Development, 401-9, Alan Liss publishers]. The antibody response however is considerably lower than with Freund's adjuvant [J. S. Kenney, B. W. Hughes, M. P. Masada & A. C. Allison (1989) Journal of Immunological Methods 121, 157-66].
The majority of the cited research has concentrated on the use of adjuvant formulations which are related to Freund's formula, consisting of relatively massive doses of thick oil emulsions, and containing MDP or its modifications at doses equivalent to the mycobacteria doses used in Freund's formulations.
The consensus is therefore [R. Bomford, (1992) Reviews in Medical Virology 2, 169-74] that as adjuvants they only work together with oil emulsions and in the doses which are similar to the ones which are deemed necessary for the mycobacteria in Freund's adjuvant, and that only chemical modification of the native glycopeptides will make better immunoadjuvants out of them.
FURTHER TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND NOT BELONGING TO THE PRIOR ART
My copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/130,645, corresponding to German patent number 4 231 675 describes work concerned with the use of MDP and GMPD to achieve improved immunoresponse without severe side effects. I have demonstrated that the doses of MDP and GMDP that were used in the cited research and in many other studies were, surprisingly, much too high to be optimally useful. Improved stimulation was shown to occur at doses 100 times lower. Moreover, it was discovered that at these lower doses the oil emulsion was not necessary and that simple aqueous solutions worked just as well or better. The extremely important discovery that simple aqueous solutions can be used is particularly important with regard to the avoidance of side effects.
When going to larger animals the low optimum doses of MDP and GMDP were confirmed, however the absolute antibody yields could not compete with those obtained with Freund's adjuvant, as shown in Table 2. The effect of those glycopeptides must therefore be improved by some means to be of practical use as components of an adjuvant formulation in livestock and humans.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the present invention to provide new adjuvant formulations containing MDP and/or GMDP and other components as well as new methods for the use that dramatically enhance the safety, convenience and effectiveness of the glycopeptides as immunostimulants.
A further object of the invention is to achieve a synergistic interaction of the components which rapidly yields high antibody titers without boosting by repeated injections. This object is particularly important where one single injection is most desirable such as in the vaccination of humans and pets. Another object of the invention is to provide adjuvant formulations for veterinary and human medicines which are novel and oil-free and which consist of immunostimulants of very low oral and parenteral toxicity which are applied in low doses, whereby the clinical and industrial safety data of said ingredients are already well established, thus facilitating approval of such formulations for veterinary and human use.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The invention is based on immunization experiments performed mainly with rabbits using bovine serum albumin as antigen, and it is centered on the concept of the synergism of two or three different immunomodulators with the notion that true synergism should be a potentiating and not merely an additive effect. Confirmatory tests have been run with other species and antigens in order to examine biocompatibility and to establish more efficient immunization routines.
In my researches I recognised a guideline for the search of synergists in the fact that GMDP has been found to disappear from an organism very rapidly, being completely metabolized after only eight hours. This short life span is sufficient to trigger the release of various immunostimulating factors such as interleukins and macrophage stimulating polypeptides which influence the events in the immune response. I concluded that enzymes must play a crucial role in all these processes. I decided to focus my attention on substances which could function as coenzymes.
The trace elements copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt and selenium were incorporated in this study. The most pronounced adjuvant effect was found with zinc, and a lesser effect with copper and selenium. Manganese and cobalt had negligible effects.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, the efficiency of Freund's adjuvant also depends on the cream-like oil emulsion prepared from the lipid "Bayol F" or more recently from "Marcol 52", a paraffin fraction essentially consisting of n-dodecane. By a mechanism not yet well understood the paraffin oil acts as an immunoadjuvant.
D. Gall (1966) Immunology 11, 669-86 has investigated a considerable number of lipidic substances, mostly amines with varying chain length, from primary to quaternary and has found dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDA) among the most active ones. In the following two decades DDA has found widespread interest for its potential as an immunoadjuvant and even was applied in humans (cf. Stanfield, Gall, D. & Bracke, P. M. (1973) Lancet 1973, 215-19). However DDA has the same disadvantages as Freund's paraffin oil: it is not biodegradable and therefore upon injection makes long-lasting granulomas (aking nods) and it is cumbersome to use because like paraffin oil it must be sonicated or otherwise homogenized to be distributed in the solution of the antigen. Despite this drawback I decided to first investigate DDA as a model substance and as will be explained in the following found a new way of incorporataing it which overcomes this disadvantage.
The most important result, and the actual core of the present invention, is the finding that the combination of glycopeptides with zinc in the form of an aminoacid complex and with a lipid substance under proper conditions and dosage are able to provoke antibody titers that far exceed the mere additive affect of each individual component and also that of Freund's adjuvant.
Another important aspect is the ease of use of the adjuvant formulation by presenting it as a sterile, solid substance obtained by coevaporating the components from an ethanol solution in the presence of a large excess of amino acids both soluble in ethanol and water, such as L-proline or 5-oxo-L-proline. Upon reconstitution with the aqueous antigen solution, the lipid as a homogenous mixture with the amino acids forms a submicroscopically fine dispersion which readily associates with the protein, thus circumventing the need of input of mechanical energy to form an emulsion with all its disadvantages.
Another aspect is the biocompatibility of the new adjuvant formula achieved by using only minute quantities of the individual components. In the case of Freund's adjuvant one customarily uses 0.5 ml of paraffin oil per rabbit. In the present invention one uses 20 μl lipid per rabbit, i.e. 25000 times less! Without the need to use an emulsion it is possible, with the present invention, to give intravenous adjuvanted immunizations. By frequent repetition of adjuvanted antigen injections, a technique made possible because of the good biocompatibility and the low doses required in the method according to this invention, antibody titers could be reached that were hitherto considered to be unattainable so rapidly and intensely. An analog of DDA was tested which instead of the dioctadecyl residues contained the stearoylhydroxyethyl groups attached to the quaternary nitrogen (Hoe 4243 from Farbwerke Hoechst) 2× recrystallized from ethyl acetate. This is the biodegradable analog of DDA, a so-called esterquat.
Another lipid quaternary ammonium compound was highly purified injectable grade lecithin. The overall immunostimulatory effect was lower than with DDA but is offset by the tremendous advantage that lecithin is a pharmaceutical material suitable and already licensed for parenteral use in other human applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 graphically illustrates the synergistic action according to the present invention of the individual components of three different adjuvant formulations.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the work which led to the invention described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/130,645 and in the corresponding German patent 42 331 675, it was established that the optimum dose of GMDP for a rabbit is 10 μg. It has now been found that to date the optimum immunological adjuvant formulation for one injection for a rabbit comprises the combination of 10 μg GMDP+20 μg DDA+100 μg Zn as a complex with 1,4 mg L-proline for one rabbit injection (Experiment 18 of Table 1). This has been confirmed in a large number of rabbit experiments. The optimum dose of 10 μg GMDP per rabbit has been reconfirmed regardless of the nature of the supplementing synergists. There is indication, however, that larger doses of DDA are required with antigens other than BSA and with larger species.
The zinc-L-proline complex was chosen because of the low toxicity of zinc-amino acid complexes as compared to simple salts, because of the high proline content of the new complex (apparently 8 mol proline to 1 atom zinc, but maybe ZnPro 2 solubilized in excess proline) which provides excellent dispersing action of this complex for the DDA which is virtually insoluble in water. The L-proline complex is moreover, as I have found, soluble in alcohol so that it can be coevaporated with the lipid and excess proline to form the solid body of the adjuvant formulation ready for reconstitution with aqueous antigen solution. In the case of lipids insoluble in 65% ethanol such as the Esterquat and cholesteryl stearate, the proline is replaced by 5-oxo-L-proline (pyroglutamic acid) which is well soluble in absolute ethanol. In this case the lipid can be dissolved in ethyl acetate and will not precipitate upon addition of the ethanol solution of the 5-oxoproline prior to the coevaporation.
A number of other combinations of immunostimulators have also been investigated, some with good success such as CHAPS, a steroid lipid with a strongly hydrophilic zwitterionic site that might be useful with very sparsely soluble antigens, or cholestyeryl stearate and α-tocopherol as examples for neutral immunostimulating lipids. However, the potential that becomes available by combining glycopeptides in the right proportion and composition with synergists such as claimed is nearly inexhaustible. The present invention opens the door to further progress in synergistic adjuvant combinations.
EXAMPLE 1
In extended tests with rabbits, the temporal evolution of the anti-BSA titer under the influence of immunostimulants has been investigated and part of the results are shown in Table 1.
In this Table "A relative 28" signifies the antibody titer with adjuvants divided by the antibody titer with Freund's adjuvant after 28 days. The relative antibody titers quoted show three different values for each experiment, namely the A relative 28 values after 28 days, after 42 days and after 56 days, in each case relative to the value with Freund's adjuvant after 28 days. The A ret 28data of day 42 in the experiments 1,3,6-14 and 21 are used in the drawing of FIG. 1. The progress obtained by the present invention is thus illustrated in this drawing which reflects the results shown in Table 1 below. The synergistic action of the individual components in three different adjuvant formulations is clearly demonstrated.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________The time course of the anti-BSA titer in rabbits with various adjuvantformulationsExpt Component of Adjuvant Formulation A.sub.rel 28Nr Glycopeptide Amino acid complex Adjuvant/lipid Day 28 Day 42* Day 56__________________________________________________________________________ 1* 10 μg GMDP 0.1 0.3 0.72 10 μg GMDP + 10 μg Zn + 150 μg Pro 0.5 0.9 1.1 3* 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 0.3 0.5 1.14 10 μg GMDP + 10 μg Cu + 150 μg Pro 0.4 0.9 0.85 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 10 μg Cu + 0.5 1.2 1.1 1.7 mg Pro 6* 10 μg Lecithin 0.3 0.6 0.8 7* 20 μg CHAPS 0.5 0.8 0.9 8* 20 μg DDA 0.7 1.8 0.9 9* 10 μg GMDP + 10 μg Lecithin 0.7 1.0 1.110* 10 μg GMDP + 20 μg CHAPS 0.8 0.9 1.011* 10 μg GMDP + 20 μg DDA 1.0 1.3 1.212* 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 10 μg Lecithin 0.8 3.2 3.513* 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg CHAPS 1.5 4.3 4.414* 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg DDA 1.3 5.2 4.315 10 μg MDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg DA 1.1 2.9 3.116 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg Hoe 4243 esterquat 1.0 4.4 5.217 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pgl 20 μg Cholesteryl stearate 1.1 4.3 4.818 30 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg DDA 1.3 5.4 5.819 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 20 μg α-Tocopherol 0.7 2.9 2.920 10 μg GMDP + 100 μg Zn + 1.5 mg Pro 100 μg Dextrane 40000 0.8 1.0 1.121* Freund's Complete Adjuvant 1.00 0.8 1.8__________________________________________________________________________
It is noted that the zinc proline complex used is that described in Examples 3 (or in Example 4 when using DDA as the lipid), prepared using zinc oxide of pharmaceutical quality, and that when the amino acid complex is an amino acid complex of copper the copper is used in the form of copper carbonate in the place of the zinc oxide formation of the amino acid complex.
It is now interesting to analyze the information presented in Table 1. Experiment No. 21 gives the antibody titer for rabbits injected with Freund's complete adjuvant after 28 days, 42 days and 56 days. This titer is defined as 1 at 28 days and the relative value at day 42 is found to be 0.8, i.e. a reduction relative to the value of 28 days, but after 56 days the relative antibody titer has arisen to 1.8
Experiment 1 relates to the use of the optimum dose of GMDP on its own as established from my research and as claimed in the above U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/130,645. It will be seen that with 10 μg of GMDP alone the relative antibody titer is 0.1 at day 28, 0.3 at day 42 and 0.7 at day 56. Although the 0.7 value at day 56 is still noticeably below the result obtained by Freund's complete adjuvant it is still a substantial improvement because the animals are not subjected to any particular stress and the mortality rate of the animals is substantially reduced. Experiments 2 to 5 show the results of using the same dose of CMDP with different amounts of divalent metals in the form of zinc and/or Cu together with L-proline. It will be noted that when using these adjuvant formulations better results are obtained than when using GMDP alone, with the best result being the 1.2 value of experiment 5 obtained using 10 μg of GMDP plus 100 μg of zinc plus 10 μg of copper plus 1.7 mg of L-proline. This value is already notably higher than the comparative value using Freund's adjuvant and is also particularly favorable because the mortality rate of the rabbits has significantly reduced and the rabbits are not subjected to the side effects and inherent stress which arises when using Freund's complete adjuvant.
Experiments 6, 7 and 8 show the effect of lecithin, CHAPS and DDA respectively when used alone as an adjuvant. When compared with the previous experiments these results are quite respectable, in particular the result of experiment No. 8 using 20 μg of DDA shows a favorable antibody titer of 1.8 at day 42 which compares very favorably with the value obtained with Freund's complete adjuvant.
Experiments 9, 10 and 11 show the antibody titers which are achieved when using 10 μg of GMDP in combination with lecithin CHAPS and DDA. It will be seen that the combination of GMDP with lecithin and CHAPS results in slightly improved values over the use of lecithin and CHAPS alone. The combination of GMDP and DDA leads to improvement of the relative antibody titers at days 28 and 56, when compared to lecithin alone, but the value at day 42 is not so favorable as for DDA alone.
Particularly interesting are now the values for the relative antibody titers which are achieved with the experiments 12, 13 and 14 which clearly establish the synergistic effect underlying the present invention. Thus experiment 12 shows the combination of 10 μg of GMDP as glycopeptide plus 100 μg of zinc in the form of the zinc proline complex with 1.5 μg of proline in combination with 10 μg of lecithin. It is noted that the relative antibody titers at days 26, 42 and 56 of 0.8, 3.2 and 3.5 respectively are substantially higher than with a combination of 10 μg of GMDP and 10 μg of lecithin alone, at least with respect to titers at days 42 and 56. The values of 3.2 and 3.5 for days 42 and 56 are substantially better than with Freund's complete adjuvant, are surprisingly high and are obtained without the problematic side effects associated with Freund's complete adjuvant and without any unusual increase in animal mortality.
Since the substances involved can all be considered for human use there is a reasonable prospect that the same adjuvant could be used for human beings and that a substantial boost in a immune response will be achieved here.
The same general comments apply to the combination of 10 μg of GMDP with 100 μg of zinc in the form of zinc proline with 1.5 mg of proline and 20 μg CHAPS as used in experiment 13, and also for the similar formulation used for experiment 14 with the CHAPS substituted by DDA. Here it will be noted that at day 28 there is already a very significant increase over the antibody titer obtained with Freund's complete adjuvant and the values at 42 and 56 days are massively higher than the values obtained with Freund's adjuvant. Again formulations of this kind could be entertained for human use and the commercial value of such combinations and commercial products for use with animals is beyond dispute.
Experiment 15 corresponds closely to experiment 14 but uses 10 μg of MDP instead of 10 μg of GMDP. Although the results with MDP are not quite as good as with GMDP, they are still very respectable when compared with Freund's complete adjuvant and again do not result in the unwanted side effects or increased mortality rate associated with the use of Freund's complete adjuvant.
Experiments 16 and 17 involve the use of two other lipid substances in the same dose as was used for the CHAPS and DDA of experiments 13 and 14, i.e. 20 μg. It will be noted that the results obtained with 20 μg Hoe 4243 esterquat of experiment 16 and of cholesteryl stearate of experiment 17 also result in extremely high relative antibody titers after 42 and 56 days.
Experiment 18 resembles experiment 14 but involves three times the dose of GMDP which also results in a slightly higher value at 42 and a better value at day 56; however GMDP is relatively expensive and the benefit gained by adding GMDP is outweighed by the cost consideration. Thus 10 μg GMDP is still considered to be the ideal dose for a rabbit.
Experiments 19 and 20 use two further substances in the form of α-tocopherol (which is a lipid) and dextrane (a sugar) in place of the lipid substances used in experiments 12 to 14. α-tocopherol is clearly useful but not as efficient as any of lecithin, CHAPS or DDA. Dextrane is also feasible but does not produce much improvement over Freund's complete adjuvant, although it does not have undesired side effects and higher mortality rates associated with Freund's complete adjuvant.
In any event the experiments 12 and 19 clearly show the synertistic effect of the three-part adjuvant formulation of the present invention comprising a glycopeptide, an aminoacid complex of a divalent biological trace metal and a lipid substance, and, when compared with the relevant experiments of 1 to 11, show that the three-part formulation is substantially better than the results obtained using just one or two of the components.
Thus Table 1 clearly shows that two different glycopeptides (GMDP and MDP) in combination with a proline compound of a divalent metal and any one of at least six different lipid substances leads to a synergistic effect and a substantially enhanced immune response.
Experimental
The following are the experimental conditions for determining the temporal evolution of the antibody titers with the various immunostimulants.
Animals: Rabbits inbred b+Kap Immunological Institute of the Latvian Academy of Science Wilnius. One experiment uses four animals.
Antigen: 100 μg bovine serum albumin (BSA) per injection. Adjuvanted antigen solution: The solution to be injected is prepared by injecting 1 ml of antigen solution into the vial with the dry adjuvant containing 100 μg GMDP plus the synergists in proportion and dispersing the solid in the antigen solution. The resulting liquid is turbid from finely dispersed DDA.
Injection: 100 μl of the antigen+adjuvant solution are injected into the hind flank of the rabbit at one single site by subcutaneous route.
Serum collection: Heparinized plasma was collected by ear vein bleeding. Antibody determination: Anti BSA-IgG titers were measured using a microplate sandwich ELISA assay for antibody to BSA. 96 well flat bottom microtiter plates were coated with 100 μl BSA coating solution (4 μg/ml) in a humid chamber overnight at 4° C. Plates were then washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and blocked with 200 μl PBS-gelatine blocking solution for 1 hour at 37° C. followed by three washes with PBS. Dilutions from serum 1/10-1/100 000 were added to the washed plates in 100 μg aliquots. Plates were incubated at 37° C. for two hours. Plates were washed three times and 100 μl peroxide in citrate buffer pH 5) was added for 15 minutes at room temperature. 100 μl of 2,5 M phosphoric acid stop solution was added and the light absorbance at 450 nm was read using a microplate reader. Titers were calculated from raw absorbance data within the linear range using a linear regression program present in the plate reading machine. The reciprocal dilution of serum which shows a color of 0.75 was defined at the "titer".
EXAMPLE 2
As part of the efforts to find the most efficient immunization routine, a number of immunizations were done with rabbits, mice and hens as test animals using BSA, DNP-BSA and human lambda light chain/HILC as antigens in order to check the general adjuvant effect of GMDP and synergists. A more efficient immunization routine was applied here, consisting in more frequent adjuvanted antigen injections (multiple boosting) that was possible because of the good biotolerance of the new adjuvants and which leads to significantly higher antibody yields.
TABLE 2______________________________________Relative Antibody Titer A.sub.rel 28 various Animals and Antigens Antigen A.sub.rel 28Animal BSA DNP-BSA Human LC Human IgG______________________________________Rabbit 10.8 7.6 8.9Hen 3.7 4.2 5.0 2.2Mouse 3.7 4.2 5.0Hamster 1.4Goat 0.3______________________________________
Relative Antibody titers are the titers obtained with adjuvants as described under experimental, divided by the antibody titers with Freund's adjuvant after 28 days with the same animal under the experimental conditions described below.
Table 2 thus shows the enhanced immune response achieved by the present invention is not restricted to just one antigen in the form of BSA but rather also applies to three further antigens, namely DNP-BSA, human λ light chain and human IgG.
These results thus make it clear that the method and formulation of the invention is applicable to a variety of animal species and to a variety of antigens. Experience with immune response using other adjuvant formulations permits the clear conclusion that the results presented here are strongly indicative that the same immune response will be obtained with other antigens and using other lipids and other lipids in the adjuvant formulation. Moreover, the research we have conducted indicates that proline compounds in general can be used in the adjuvant formulation in addition to the zinc L-proline and L5 oxoproline.
Experimental conditions for the results of Table 2:
Rabbits: Groups of three. BSA 100 μg, DNP-BSA 50 μg, HILC 20 μg. Adjuvant formulation 10 μg GMDP, 20 μg DDA, 100 μg Zn. Immunize/boost: day 0.7, 14, 21, bleed at day 28.
Hens: Group of five. BSA 50 μg, DNP-BSA 20 μg, HILC 10 μg. Adjuvant formulation 5 μg GMDP, 10 μg DDA, 50 μg Zn 0.7 mg proline. Immunize/boost: day 0, day 21. Pool eggs from day 26-30. Important: subcutaneous route is much superior to i/m route. The IgY contained in the yolk of the eggs was enriched for ELISA test by the method of J. Wallmann, C. Staak & E. Luge (1990) J.Vet. Med. B37, 317-20.
Mice: Group of five. BSA 20 μg, DNP-BSA 10 μg, HILC 10 μg. Adjuvant formulation 1 μg GMDP, 4 μg DDA, 10 μg Zn 150 μg proline. Immunize/boost: day 0, day 14, bleed at day 28. Blood was collected by tail vein bleeding. Animals were anaesthetized prior to blood collection using metofane.
Hamsters: Group of five. Human IgG 100 μg. Adjuvant formulation 2 μg GMDP, 4 μg DDA, 20 μg Zn 300 μg proline. Immunize/boost: day 0, 14, 28, bleed day.
Goats: Group of two. 200 μg Human IgG. Adjuvant formulation 300 μg GMDP, 3 mg zinc 450 mg proline, 20 mg ESTERQUAT Hoe 3242. Immunize/boost: day 0, 14, 28, bleed day 35.
ELISA testing as described sub Example 1. The results listed in Table 2 show that the efficiency of the new adjuvant formulation is a phenomenon that apparently is not limited to one particular animal species and to one single antigen. A further indication of this fact is that the individual components of the claimed adjuvant formulation have been observed to function as immunostimulants in a great variety of antigens, animals and experimental conditions at correspondingly lower levels.
EXAMPLE 3
Preparation of Zinc-L-Proline Stock Solution
Into a 500 ml beaker on a magnetic hot plate place magnetic stirrer, 2.07 g Zinc oxide DAB 6 and 25.36 g L-proline DAB 6 (1:9 molecular ratio) and 200 ml 65% ethanol. Heat to gentle boiling under stirring. After a few minutes the ZnO has dissolved. Allow the solution to cool, transfer into a 250 ml volumetric flask and fill to the mark with 65% ethanol. Filter into a bottle for storage. 150 μl of this stock solution contain 1 mg zinc and 16.1 mg L-proline.
EXAMPLE 4
Preparation of the Zinc-L-Proline Complex
5 ml of the Zn-L-proline stock solution is diluted with isopropanol and cooled to +4° C. Large crystals form overnight which are collected and washed with isopropanol, recrystallized from 65% EtOH-isopropanol and dried. The material is evidently zinc-L-proline salt [Cotton, F. A. & Hanson, H. P. (1959) J. Chem. Physics 28. 83-6] found; % C 42.23 H 5,76 N 9,40 Zn (as ZnO residue) 23.90. Calculated for Zn.Pro 2 ; C 10 H 16 N 2 O 2 Zn % C 45.94 H 6,17 N 10.71 Zn 24.94. The excess L-proline apparently serves to solubilize the material in ethanol.
EXAMPLE 5
Adjuvant Formulation, Standard Dose DDA
When preparing the zinc L-proline solution per Example 3, put 167 mg GMDP (produced by Peptech Ltd., Cirencester U. K. under U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,399, USSR Priority Nov. 2nd 1977) and 333 mg DDA (dimethyldioctadecylammonium chloride, GenaminSC) produced by Farbwerke Hochst AG recrystallized from acetone) into the volumetric flask before adding the zinc-proline solution.
150 μl of this stock solution contains 100 μg GMDP, 200μ DDA, 1 mg zinc and 16.1 mg L-proline. Before dispensing the solution into the individual vials it is passed through a 0.2 μm-Poretics polycarbonate membrane filter. A standard volume of this solution is 150 μl to give a solid deposit containing 100 μg GMDP. If only a few vials are required for experiments a desiccator with sulfuric acid will dry the contents within some hours. For production of larger numbers of vials a vacuum dryer with 5 mbar and 37° C. temperature is suitable. The residue is a white substance which readily dissolves in the antigen solution to a slightly turbid dispersion.
EXAMPLE 6
Adjuvant formulation with very lipophilic compound. Into the vial is first pipetted 200 μl water containing 4 mg of the water soluble zinc L-proline salt (ZnPro 2 ) and lyophilized in place. After this, a solution containing 100 μg GMDP, 15 μg L-5 oxoproline (pyroglutamic acid) in 200 μl isopropanol+20 μg cholesteryl stearate in 100 μl ethyl acetate, total 300 μl of a clear solution is pipetted into the same vial which is then placed in the vacuum dryer at 30° C. and evacuated to 5 mbar, maintained for 3 hours. The residue readily dissolves in 1 ml water to slightly turbid solution; no particles can be seen in the microscope at 1:1000.
EXAMPLE 7
Dosage of ADJUVANT
Convenient portions of solid ADJUVANT for practical use in immunizations are 100 μg GMDP or 10 μg GMDP and corresponding synergists in a serum vial suitable for 10 immunizations of rabbits or mice respectively, obtained by pipetting 100 μl of ADJUVANT solution prepared according to Example 6 into vials and drying them over sulfuric acid, experimental lots in a desiccator, production lots in a specially designed drying chamber.
EXAMPLE 8
Immunization experiments with ADJUVANT
The purpose of these experiments was to establish faster immunization routes by multiple boosting and to check the biotolerance of the ADJUVANT (10 μg GMDP, 20 μg DDA, 100 μg zinc+1,4 mg L-proline) with rabbits. The results are summarized in Table 3. The numerical data represent antibody titers expressed in reciprocal dilutions as described in Example 1.
No animal damage could be observed even with severely challenging daily doses of ADJUVANT. (cf. expt. 47). Antibody expression with very feeble antigen levels could be forced by daily immunization with antigen and ADJUVANT (expt. 43,44). Adjuvant or GMDP alone injected separately from antigen is not effective (expt. 45-49).
TABLE 3__________________________________________________________________________Efficiency and Tolerance TestsExpt. Nr. ##STR1## Purpose of Experiment__________________________________________________________________________ Comments33 ##STR2## Standard ADJUVANT check run d70: 32000, d84: 1253241 ##STR3## Biweekly ADJUVANT check basis for all tests Table 342 ##STR4## Weekly boosting 100 μg BSA body temperature, weight43 ##STR5## Weekly boosting 25 μg BSA observe body temp DTH44 ##STR6## Hyperboosting 25 μg BSA daily + ADJUVANT body temperature ok45 ##STR7## Imitation of an ADJUVANT depot compare with #4146 ##STR8## Imitation of pure GMDP depot without synergists: inhibition47 ##STR9## Tolerance test with 10-fold dose of ADJUVANT animals ok48 ##STR10## Check the effect of ADJUVANT injection 8 hours before the injection of antigen 100 μg BSA49 ##STR11## Check the effect of ADJUVANT injection 1 hour after the injection of antigen 100 μg BSA55 ##STR12## Check standard routine with Freund's adjuvant__________________________________________________________________________ Explanation of symbols for events in Table 3: A ADJUVANT reconstituted in water to 10 fold concentration (100 μg GMD + synergists) a ADJUVANT reconstituted in water standard concentration 100 μl injection I Immunize with ADJUVANT and 100 μg BSA i Immunize with ADJUVANT and 25 μg BSA a-8 Inject Adjuvant 8 hours prior to BSA of BSA a+1 Inject ADJUVANT 100 μl 1 hour after injection FCA Immunize with 100 μg BSA + 100 μl Freund's complete adjuvant | The improved method uses N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDP) or N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetyl-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (GMDP) in low dose ranges in a combination with zinc-L-proline complex and with immunostimulating lipid in doses which synergistically potentiate the effect of each single component whereby the zinc-L-proline complex contains an excess of L-proline or 5-oxo-L-proline which serves as a solubilizer and dispersing agent for the lipid component. | 0 |
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/987,651, filed on Nov. 13, 2007. The contents of that application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
SUMMARY
[0002] The present invention is directed to antibodies against TL1A, and methods of making and using such antibodies. The antibodies are expected to be particularly useful in treating inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Proteins that are structurally related to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are collectively referred to as the TNF superfamily. TL1A, a TNF superfamily member, is a TNF-like cytokine that binds to the death-domain receptor (DR)3 and provides costimulatory signals to activated lymphocytes. Through this interaction, TL1A induces secretion of IFN-gamma and may, therefore, participate in the development of T helper-1-type effector responses.
[0004] TL1A is a type II transmembrane protein and has been designated TNF superfamily member 15 (TNFSF15). TL1A is expressed predominantly by endothelial cells and monocytes, and its expression is inducible by TNF-a and IL-1a. Migone et al., Immunity, 16:479-92 (2002). TL1a is upregulated by the proinflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-1 and also by immune complexes (IC). Hsu et al., Exp. Cell Res., 292:241-51 (2004).
[0005] TL1A mediates signaling via its cognate receptor DR3, a death receptor whose activation was known to induce both death and survival factors. TL1A, like TNF, is also presumed to circulate as a homotrimeric soluble form. Kim et al., J. Immunol. Methods, 298(1-2):1-8 (March 2005).
[0006] TL1A binds with high affinity to death receptor 3 (DR3) which is a member of the death-domain containing TNF receptor family, and is also termed Wsl-1, Apo-3, TRAMP, and LARD, and now designated TNF receptor superfamily member 25 (TNFRSF25). Depending on the cell context, ligation of DR3 by TL1A can trigger one of two signaling pathways, activation of the transcription factor NF-kB or activation of caspases and apoptosis. TL1 functions in T cell costimulation and Th1 polarization. On activated T cells, TL1A functions specifically via its surface-bound receptor DR3 to promote cell survival and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. The secreted decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), a soluble protein of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily, blocks the action of TL1A. Kim et al., “Identification of naturally secreted soluble form of TL1A, a TNF-like cytokine,” J Immunol Methods, 298:1-8 (2005).
[0007] Potential Therapeutic Targets
[0008] Allergy and Asthma
[0009] Th2 polarization of CD4 T cells with elevated IgE levels and production of IL-13 by NKT cells are major cause of lung inflammation in Allergy and asthma. TL1A plays a major role in allergic lung inflammation (Fang et al J. Exp. Med. 2008). TL1A co-stimulates IL-4 and IL-13 production in NKT cells. Blocking TL1A and DR3 interaction by TL1A antibody or dominant negative TL1A mutant abolishes lung inflammation.
[0010] Lung and Colon Carcinomas
[0011] Members in the TNF and its receptor superfamilies regulate immune responses and induce apoptosis. DR3 is preferentially expressed by T lymphocytes and upregulated during T cell activation. The ligand for DR3 is TL1A. TL1A also binds decoy receptor DcR3/TR6, which is expressed in several lung and colon carcinomas and in some normal tissues. TL1A is upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-1. TL1A is a longer variant of TL1 (also called VEGI).
[0012] Atherosclerosis
[0013] In addition, TL1A has also been reported to be angiostatic and to induce metalloproteinase and IL-8 gene expression (Su et al., Exp. Cell Res., 312:266-277 (2006); Kang et al., Cytokine, 29:229-235 (2005)). Indeed, TL1A and DR3 may be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by increasing the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and decreasing plaque stability by inducing extracellular matrix-degrading enzymes (Kang et al., Cytokine, 29:229-235 (2005)).
[0014] Rheumatoid Arthritis
[0015] There is also evidence to suggest that TL1A/DR3 is involved in the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (Bossen et al., J. Biol. Chem., 281(20):13964-13971 (May 19, 2006).
[0016] Inflammatory Bowel Disease
[0017] Researchers have found an association of the expression of TL1A and inflammatory bowel disease (Prehn et al., Clin. Immunol., 112:66-77 (2004); Bamias et al., J. Immunol., 171:4868-4874 (2003)).
[0018] Th1-Mediated Intestinal Diseases, Such as Crohn's Disease
[0019] Crohn's disease is a severe inflammatory bowel disorder that strikes young adults (ages 20-30). The condition is thought to originate from predisposing genetic and environmental factors that cause an imbalance of effector (proinflammatory) and regulatory T cell responses, resulting in inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa and disease.
[0020] The TL1A/DR3 pathway plays an important role in Th1-mediated intestinal diseases, such as Crohn's disease. Konstantinos et al., The Journal of Immunology, 2005, 174: 4985-4990 (2005); Bamias et al., J. Immunol., 171:4868-74 (2003). Blockade of the TL1A/DR3 pathway may, therefore, offer therapeutic opportunities in Crohn's disease.
[0021] TL1A augments IFN-gamma production by anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 and IL-12/IL-18-stimulated peripheral blood (PB) T cells. Activation of DR3 by TL1A induced the formation of a signaling complex containing TRADD, TRAF2, and RIP and activated the NF-kB and the ERK, JNK, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Kang et al., Cytokine, 29:229-35 (2005). TL1A can be released to circulate as a homotrimeric soluble form. Wen et al., “TL1A-induced NF-kappaB activation and c-IAP2 production prevent DR3-mediated apoptosis in TF-1 cells,” J. Biol. Chem., 278:39251-8 (2003).
[0022] Death receptors and their ligands play a key role in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the physiological regulation of programmed cell death. Binding of a death ligand induces oligomerization of the receptor, recruitment of an adapter protein via a conserved cytoplasmic signaling element termed the death domain, activation of caspases, and induction of apoptosis. Young et al., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 103(22): 8303-8304 (May 30, 2006).
[0023] Although death receptors such as Fas/Apo-1/CD95, TNF-R1, TRAIL-R1, TRAIL-R2, or DR3 were initially characterized as inducers of apoptosis, there is growing evidence that these receptors also have nonapoptotic functions, including regulation of the adaptive immune response. Bamias et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 103:8441-8446 (2006), report that TL1A is expressed by lamina propia dendritic cells and that it functions by increasing the proliferation of memory cells, but not naïve CD4 + T cells, and synergizes with IL-12 and/or low-dose stimulation of the T cell receptor to strongly enhance IFN-γ gene expression. IFN-γ expression in the gut has been considered a marker of inflammation, and many strategies for treating Crohn's disease rely on broad attempts to suppress the immune-activated state. However, such approaches (steroid treatment and immunosuppressive drugs) do not focus on the gut specifically and thus have their own complications. Targeted therapies based on the use of antagonists of TNF-α were introduced with success in the 1990s, and the results reported in ref. 1 suggest that therapy directed specifically against TL1A or its receptor may provide an alternative targeted therapy for this debilitating disorder.
[0024] As reported in Bamias et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 103:8441-8446 (2006), TL1A seems to have a most profound effect when expressed in the gut during inflammation. TL1A synergizes in the induction of IFN-γ expression in human T cells when combined with IL-12/18, although increased expression can also be observed in natural killer cells (Migone et al., Immunity., 16:479-492 (2002); Papadakis et al., J. Immunol., 174:4985-4990 (2005); Papadakis et al., J. Immunol., 172:7002-7007 (2004)). Bamias et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 103:8441-8446 (2006), is the first report of a similar observation in mouse models of Crohn's disease and extends earlier data by showing that the synergy occurs when the T cell receptor is weakly stimulated or T cells are treated with IL-12. Although in Bamias et al. no synergy is observed when TL1A treatment is combined with IL-18, this result may not be surprising because both IL-18 and TL1A signal through NF-κB. Whereas the initial report by Migone et al. on TL1A demonstrated that it was a T cell costimulatory signal, Bamias et al. demonstrate that it is the memory T cell that most strongly responds, consistent with the increased capacity of this T cell population to express IFN-γ. Because this population does proliferate, it also expresses higher levels of the TL1A receptor, thus further enhancing the ability of the cells to proliferate and express IFN-γ. This finding might be considered somewhat surprising given that the only known receptor of TL1A is DR3, a death domain-containing receptor, and it might have been hypothesized that triggering this receptor would lead to cell death. (TL1A signals through DR3, its only known cell surface receptor. TL1A also binds to the soluble decoy receptor (DcR3)). However NF-κB-dependent antiapoptotic genes, such as inhibitor of apoptosis 2, have been shown to be induced by TL1A (Wen et al., J. Biol. Chem., 278:39251-39258 (2003)), and therefore triggering of apoptosis vs. proliferation may be cell-type dependent.
[0025] Current treatment options for Crohn's disease include the monoclonal antibody against TNF-α, infliximab (Remicade; Centocor, Inc., Horsham, Pa.), the monoclonal antibody Adalimumab (brand name Humira; Abbott), as well as antiinflammatories (e.g., sulfasalazine), cortisone or steroids (e.g., prednisone), immune system suppressors (e.g., 6-mercaptopurine), and antibiotics. However, infliximab is the only treatment option having a high degree of specificity; the remaining treatment options have a low specificity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A., 103(22): 8303-8304 (May 30, 2006). This means that the treatment is not targeted to the disease area. While infliximab has a high specificity and is generally well tolerated, infliximab can cause recrudescence of tuberculosis infection and worsening of heart failure, demyelinating disease, and an increased incidence of lymphoma.
[0026] Therefore, there remains a need in the art for compositions that can be used in the treatment and diagnosis of diverse inflammatory and immune diseases and disorders, such as allergy/asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes and transplant rejection. The present invention, directed to monoclonal antibodies against TL1A, satisfies this need.
SUMMARY
[0027] Disclosed are antigen-binding polypeptide molecules that bind specifically to the TNF-like cytokine TL1A (see GenBank accession no. AF520785). The polypeptides include a humanized heavy chain variable region and a humanized light chain variable region. For example, the polypeptides may include the framework (FR) regions of the light and heavy chain variable regions of a human antibody, while retaining substantially the antigen-binding specificity of a parental monoclonal antibody. The humanized heavy chain variable region and/or the humanized light chain variable region are at least about 87% humanized, at least about 90% humanized, at least about 95% humanized, at least about 98% humanized, or at least about 100% humanized, excluding the complementary-determining regions (CDRs). The antigen-binding polypeptides molecules may be derived from monoclonal antibody donors (e.g., mouse monoclonal antibody donors) and may include CDRs from the monoclonal antibodies (e.g., mouse monoclonal CDRs). The polypeptides may function as antagonists for the TL1A receptor.
[0028] Also encompassed by the invention are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the polypeptides of the invention, methods of making such polypeptides and compositions, and methods of treating subjects in need with the compositions of the invention. Exemplary conditions that may be treated with the compositions of the invention include, but are not limited to autoimmune disease (e.g., lupus), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), multiple sclerosis, transplant rejection, central nervous system injury, Th1-mediated intestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease, psoriasis, leukemia or lymphoma (e.g., chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)), atherosclerosis, and lung and colon carcinomas.
[0029] In some embodiments, the antigen-binding polypeptide binds specifically to TL1A, and includes: (a) a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region comprising: (1) a CDR-H1 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({L,S,N}Y{G,A}MN) (SEQ ID NO: 1); (2) a CDR-H2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (WINT{Y,N}TG{E,N}PTYA{D,Q} {D,G}F{K,T}G) (SEQ ID NO: 2); and (3) a CDR-H3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (D{T,Y} {A,G} {M,K} {D,Y} {Y,G} {A,D} {M,Y} {A,Y} {Y,A}MDY) (SEQ ID NO: 3); and (b) a humanized antibody light chain variable region comprising: (1) a CDR-L1 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({K,R}SSQ{N,S} {I,L}V{H,Y}S{D,N}GNTYL{E,N,D}) (SEQ ID NO: 4); (2) a CDR-L2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (KVSNR{F,D}S) (SEQ ID NO: 5); and (3) a CDR-L3 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({F,M}QG{S,T}H{V,-} {P,-} {L,-} {T,-}) (SEQ ID NO: 6).
[0030] In certain embodiments the antigen-binding polypeptide binds specifically to TL1A and includes: a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region comprising (1) the CDR-H1 comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the amino acid sequence of TSNMGVV (SEQ ID NO: 7); (2) the CDR-H2 comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the amino acid sequence of HILWDDREYSNPALKS (SEQ ID NO: 8); and (3) the CDR-H3 comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the amino acid sequence of MSRNYYGSSYVMDY (SEQ ID NO: 9).
[0031] In some embodiments, the antigen-binding polypeptide comprises a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the amino acid sequence of:
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 10)
QVTLKESGPALVKPTQTLTLTCTFSGFSLS TSNMGVV WIRQPPGKALEWL
A HILWDDREYSNPALKS RLTISKDTSKNQVVLTMTNMDPVDTATYYCAR
MSRNYYGSSYVMDY WGQGTLVTVSS.
[0032] In some embodiments of the polypeptides, (1) the CDR-H1 consists of the amino acid sequence of (LYGMN) (SEQ ID NO: 11) or (NYGMN) (SEQ ID NO: 12); (2) the CDR-H2 consists of the amino acid sequence of (WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG) (SEQ ID NO: 13); (3) the CDR-H3 consists of the amino acid sequence of (DTAMDYAMAY) (SEQ ID NO: 14) or DYGKYGDYYAMDY (SEQ ID NO: 15); (4) the CDR-L1 consists of the amino acid sequence of (KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE) (SEQ ID NO: 16) or (RSSQSIVHSNGNTYLD) (SEQ ID NO: 17); (5) the CDR-L2 consists of the amino acid sequence of (KVSNRFS) SEQ ID NO: 18); and (6) the CDR-L3 consists of the amino acid sequence of (FQGSHVPLT) (SEQ ID NO: 19).
[0033] In some embodiments, the polypeptide comprises a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 20) (Q{V,I}QLVQSG{S,P}ELKKPG{A,E}{S,T}VK{V,I}SCKASGYTF T{L,S,N}Y{G,A}MNWV{R,K}QAPG{Q,K}GL{E,K}WMGWINT {Y,N}TG{E,N}PTYA{D,Q}{D,G}F{K,T}GRF{V,A}FSL{D,E}TS {V,A}STAYLQI{S,N}{S,T}LK{A,N}ED{T,M}A{V,T}Y{Y,F}CA RD{T,Y}{A,G}{M,K}{D,Y}{Y,G}{A,D}{M,Y}{A,Y}{Y,A}MD Y)WGQGT{L,S}VTVSS).
For example, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 21)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT LYGMN WVRQAPGQGLEWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYYCAR
DTAMDYAMAY WGQGTLVTVSS)
or
(SEQ ID NO: 22)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFTLYGMNWVKQAPGKGLKWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKGRFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYFCARD
TAMDYAMAYWGQGTLVTVSS).
[0034] Alternatively, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 23)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT NYGMN WVRQAPGQGLEWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYYCAR
DYGKYGDYYAMDY WGQGTLVTVSS)
or
(SEQ ID NO: 24)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT NYGMN WVRQAPGKGLKWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYFCAR
DYGKYGDYYAMDY WGQGTLVTVSS).
[0035] In some embodiments, the polypeptide comprises a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 25) (DVVMTQ{T,S}PLSLPV{T,S}{P,L}G{E,D,Q}{P,Q}ASISC{K, R}SSQ{N,S}{I,L}V{H,Y}SDGNTYL{E,N}W{Y,F}{L,Q}Q{K, R}PGQSP{Q,K,R}{L,V,R}LIYKVSNR{F,D}SGVPDRFSGSGSGTDF TLKI{S,N}RVEAED{L,V}GVY{Y,F}C{F,M}QG{S,T}H{V,-}{P, -}{L,-}{T,-}{F,W}G{G,S,Q}GTK{V,L}EIKR).
For example, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 26) (DVVMTQTPLSLPVTPGEPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WYLQKPGQSP QLLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDLGVYYC FQGSHV PLT FGGGTKVEIKR) or (SEQ ID NO: 27) (DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WFQQRPGQSP RRLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHV PLT FGGGTKVEIKR).
In another embodiment, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 28)
(DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WFQQRPGQSP
RRLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHV
PLT FGQGTKVEIK(R).
[0036] Also disclosed are humanized antibody heavy chain variable regions. The humanized antibody heavy chain region may comprise: (1) a CDR-H1 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({L,S,N}Y{G,A}MN) (SEQ ID NO: 29); (2) a CDR-H2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (WINT{Y,N}TG{E,N}PTYA{D,Q} {D,G}F{K,T}G) (SEQ ID NO: 2); and (3) a CDR-H3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (DTAMDYAMAY) (SEQ ID NO: 14). For example, the humanized antibody heavy chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 21) (QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT LYGMN WVRQAPGQGLEWMG WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYYCAR D TAMDYAMAY WGQGTLVTVSS).
Alternatively, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 22)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT LYGMN WVKQAPGKGLKWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYFCAR D
TAMDYAMAY WGQGTLVTVSS).
[0037] In another example, a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region comprises: (I) a CDR-H1 comprising an amino acid sequence of (NYGMN) (SEQ ID NO: 12); (2) a CDR-H2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG) (SEQ ID NO: 13); and (3) a CDR-H3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (DYGKYGDYYAMDY) (SEQ ID NO: 15). For example, the humanized antibody heavy chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 23) (QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT NYGMN WVRQAPGQGLEWMG WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYYCARD YGKYGDYYAMDYWGQGTLVTVSS).
Alternatively, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 30)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFT NYGMN WVKQAPGKGLKWMG
WINTYTGEPTYADDFKG RFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQISSLKAEDTAVYFCARD
YGKYGDYYAMDYWGQGTLVTVSS).
[0038] In another example, a humanized antibody heavy chain variable region comprises: (1) a CDR-H1 comprising an amino acid sequence of (NYAMS) (SEQ ID NO: 31); (2) a CDR-H2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (TIYSGGGYTFYLDSLKG) (SEQ ID NO: 32); and (3) a CDR-H3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (HSYPMTTVITYAPYYFYY) (SEQ ID NO: 33). For example, the humanized antibody heavy chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 34)
(QVQLVQSGSELKKPGASVKVSCKASGYTFTNYAMSWVKQAPGKGLKWMG
TIYSGGGYTFYLDSLKGRFVFSLDTSVSTAYLQSSLKAEDTAVYFCARHS
YPMTTVITYAPYYFYYWGQGTLVTVSS).
[0039] Also disclosed are humanized antibody light chain variable regions. The humanized antibody light chain variable region may comprise: (1) a CDR-L1 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({K,R}SSQ{N,S} {I,L}V{H,Y}S{D,N}GNTYL{E,N,D}) (SEQ ID NO: 4); (2) a CDR-L2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (KVSNR{F,D}S) (SEQ ID NO: 5); and (3) a CDR-L3 comprising an amino acid sequence of ({F,M}QG{S,T}H{V,-} {P,-} {L,-} {T,-}) (SEQ ID NO: 6).
[0040] In other embodiments the antigen-binding polypeptide binds specifically to TL1A and includes: a humanized antibody light chain variable region comprising: (1) a CDR-L1 comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of an amino acid sequence of SASSSVNYMH (SEQ ID NO: 35); (2) a CDR-L2 comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of an amino acid sequence of STSNLAS (SEQ ID NO: 36); and (3) a CDR-L3 comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of an amino acid sequence of HQWNNYGT (SEQ ID NO: 37).
[0041] In some embodiments, the antigen-binding polypeptide comprises a humanized antibody light chain variable region comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of the amino acid sequence of:
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 38)
DIQLTQSPSFLSASVGDRVTITC SASSSVNYMH WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY ST
SNLAS GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPEDFATYYC HQWNNYGT FGQGT
KVEIKR.
[0042] For example, the humanized antibody light chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 27) DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WFQQRPGQSPR RLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHVP LT FGGGTKVEIKR).
In another embodiment, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 28) (DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WFQQRPGQSP RRLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHV PLT FGQGTKVEIKR).
Alternatively, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 39)
DVVMTQTPLSLPVTPGEPASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WYLQKPGQSPQ
LLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHVP
LT FGGGTKVEIKR
or
(SEQ ID NO: 40)
DVVMTQTPLSLPVSLGDQASISC KSSQNIVHSDGNTYLE WYLQKPGQSPK
VLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKINRVEAEDVGVYFC FQGSHVP
LT FGGGTKLEIKR.
[0043] The humanized antibody light chain region may also comprise: (1) a CDR-L1 comprising an amino acid sequence of (RSSQSIVHSNGNTYLD) (SEQ ID NO: 17); (2) a CDR-L2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (KVSNRFS) (SEQ ID NO: 18); and (3) a CDR-L3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (FQGSHVPLT) (SEQ ID NO: 19). For example, the humanized antibody light chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000] (SEQ ID NO: 41) (DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSSQSIVHSNGNTYLDWFQQRPGQSP RRLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHV PLT FGGGTKVEIKR.
Alternatively, the polypeptide may comprise a humanized antibody light chain variable region of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 42)
(DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSSQSIVHSNGNTYLDWFQQRPGQSP
RRLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGVYYC FQGSHV
PLT FGQGTKVEIKR)).
[0044] In another example, a humanized antibody light chain variable region comprises: (1) a CDR-L1 comprising an amino acid sequence of (RSSQSIVHSNGNTYLD) (SEQ ID NO: 17); (2) a CDR-L2 comprising an amino acid sequence of (KVSNRFS) (SEQ ID NO: 18); and (3) a CDR-L3 comprising an amino acid sequence of (FQGSHVPLT) (SEQ ID NO: 19). For example, the humanized antibody light chain variable region may comprise an amino acid sequence of
[0000]
(SEQ ID NO: 43))
(DVVMTQTPLSLPVTPGEPASISCRSSQSIVHSNGNTYLDWYLQKPGQSP
QLLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDLGVYYC FQGSHV
PLT FGGGTKVEIKR)
or
(SEQ ID NO: 44))
(DVVMTQTPLSLPVSLGDQASISCRSSQSIVHSNGNTYLDWYLQKPGQSP
KVLIY KVSNRFS GVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKINRVEAEDLGVYFC FQGSHV
PLT FGGGTKLEIKR).
[0045] The aforementioned humanized heavy chains and humanized light chains may be present in the antigen binding polypeptides that binds specifically to TL1A.
[0046] The antigen-binding polypeptide may be selected from the group consisting of an antibody molecule, a Fab fragment, a Fab′ fragment, a F(ab′) 2 fragment, and an scFv molecule. In some embodiments, the polypeptide is an antibody molecule. Antibody molecules may include chimeric antibodies that include a human heavy chain constant region and a human light chain constant region. For example, the antibody molecule may be an IgG molecule (e.g., a IgG1 or an IgG4 molecule), where the polypeptide includes the heavy chain and light chain constant domains of an IgG molecule. The polypeptide may be an scFv molecule. For example, the scFv may have a formula selected from the group consisting of NH 2 -L-VH—X—VK—COOH and NH 2 -L-VK—X—VH—COOH; wherein L is a leader sequence; VH is the humanized antibody heavy chain variable region; X is a linking polypeptide; and VK is the humanized antibody light chain variable region. The polypeptide may be an Fab HSA fusion molecule. For example, the Fab HSA fusion has a formula selected from the group consisting of NH 2 —VH—CH1-HSA-COOH combined with NH 2 —VK—CK—COOH; wherein the VH—CH1-HSA is the humanized antibody heavy chain variable region (VH) and human constant heavy chain domain 1 (CH1) produced as a fusion protein with human serum albumin (HSA) that then folds with its cognate humanized antibody light chain variable region (VK) and human constant kappa domain (CK) to form the Fab HSA fusion protein.
[0047] The antigen-binding polypeptide further may be conjugated or fused to a therapeutic or diagnostic agent. For example, therapeutic agents may be selected from the group consisting of a cytotoxic agent, a radioactive label, an immunomodulator, a hormone, an enzyme, an oligonucleotide, a photoactive therapeutic agent or a combination thereof. Examples of diagnostic agents may include a radioactive label, a photoactive diagnostic agent, an ultrasound-enhancing agent or a non-radioactive label.
[0048] The antigen-binding polypeptide may be an antagonist of TL1A. Typically, the polypeptide is not an agonist of TL1A.
[0049] The antigen-binding polypeptide binds to the TL1A receptor with specificity and high affinity. Typically, the polypeptide binds to TL1A with an affinity constant of at least about 10 6 M −1 (preferably at least about 10 7 M −1 , more preferably at least about 10 8 M −1 , even more preferably at least about 10 9 M −1 ).
[0050] Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the aforementioned antigen-binding polypeptides and a carrier, such as a diluent or excipient. The pharmaceutical may further comprise an additional therapeutic or diagnostic agent as disclosed herein.
[0051] Also disclosed are methods of treating or diagnosing a disease or condition that comprise administering the disclosed pharmaceutical compositions to a patient in need thereof. For example, the pharmaceutical compositions may be administered to treat or diagnose an inflammatory, immune, and/or malignant disease or condition. Examples of diseases and conditions may include autoimmune disease (e.g., lupus), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), multiple sclerosis, transplant rejection, central nervous system injury, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, lung and colon carcinomas, and leukemia or lymphoma (e.g., chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)).
[0052] Also disclosed are polynucleotides that encode the aforementioned polypeptides. The polynucleotides may be operably linked to a promoter for expressing the encoded polypeptides in a suitable host cell. As such, methods of producing the polypeptide encoded by the recombinant polynucleotide may include: a) culturing a cell transformed with the recombinant polynucleotide to express the encoded polypeptide; and b) recovering the polypeptide so expressed.
[0053] Both the foregoing general description and the following brief description of the drawings and detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. Other objects, advantages, and novel features will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0054] FIG. 1 illustrates inhibition of human TL1A (huTL1A)-induced Caspase activity on TF-1 cells by mouse and hamster anti-TL1A antibodies. Ab#1-19E06; Ab#2-12D01; Ab#3-15E09; Ab#4-16H02; Ab#5-14A03; Ab#6-04H08A; Ab#7-12F11; Ab#8-12D08.
[0055] FIG. 2 illustrates an alignment of the VH Domain of mouse anti-TL1A 16H02 (SEQ ID NO: 70) with the closest human germline gene, IGHV7-4-1-02 (SEQ ID NO: 69). The alignment was used as a template to create 2 different versions of humanized 16H02 VH, identified in the figure as New Hum 16H02 VH#1 (SEQ ID NO: 21) and VH#2 (SEQ ID NO; 22). FIG. 2 discloses the majority sequences as SEQ ID NO; 68.
[0056] FIG. 3 illustrates the number of mutations from mouse to human and percent humanization of two versions of a humanized anti-TL1A VH.
[0057] FIG. 4 illustrates an alignment of the VK domain of mouse anti-TL1A 16H02 (SEQ ID NO: 74) with the closest human germline gene, A17 (SEQ ID NO: 73). The alignment was used as a template to create 2 different versions of humanized 16H02 VH, identified in the figure as New Hum 16H02 VK#1 (SEQ ID NO: 72) and VK#2 (SEQ ID NO: 26). FIG. 4 discloses the majority sequence as SEQ ID NO: 71.
[0058] FIG. 5 illustrates the number of mutations from mouse to human and percent humanization of two versions of humanized anti-TL1A 16H02 VK.
[0059] FIG. 6 illustrates results of a transient transfection of 293F cells with human 16H02 anti-TL1A VH#1 and VH#2 and human 16H02 VK#1 and VK#2 to produce a full length humanized antibody molecule.
[0060] FIG. 7 illustrates the activity of 16H02 TL1A monoclonal antibodies after one round of humanization by showing the inhibition of TL1A-induced caspase activity in TF-1 cells by the humanized antibodies compared to mouse anti-TL1A antibody controls. 12D01=mouse anti-TL1a negative control; 16H02=mouse anti-TL1A positive control; 19E06=hamster anti-TL1A control; 3009=humanized anti TL1A 16H02 VH#1+VK#1; 3010=humanized anti TL1A 16H02 VH#2+VK#1; 3011=humanized anti TL1A 16H02 VH#1+VK#2; 3012=humanized anti TL1A 16H02 VH#2+VK#2.
[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates the final mutations required for complete humanization of 16H02 VK framework. To create a fully humanized 16H02 light chain the New Hum16H02 VK#2 (SEQ ID NO: 26) (see FIG. 4 ) starting sequence was aligned with the A17 germline sequence (SEQ ID NO: 76) and 3 distinct regions or blocks identified (solid circles) for further mutagenesis. Synthetic light chains were constructed that contained all possible combinations of either the non-mutated wild type VK#2 sequence (=W) or A17 human germline sequence (=M) within each of the 3 regions or blocks. FIG. 8 discloses the majority sequence as SEQ ID NO: 75.
[0062] FIG. 9 illustrates the transient transfection ID and LDC # for final versions of the humanized 16H02 VK. Synthetic light chains were generated that contained all possible combinations of either wild type (W) or mutant (M) sequence in 3 distinct regions or blocks of New Hum 16H02 VK#2 from FIG. 8 . The synthetic light chains were then cotransfected with New Hum 16H02 VH#1 from FIG. 2 and the resulting antibodies tested for inhibition of huTL1A-induced Caspase activity.
[0063] FIG. 10 illustrates inhibition of human TL1A (huTL1A)-induced Caspase activity on TF-1 cells by a panel of various humanized anti-TL1A antibodies from FIG. 9 . Activity of a fully humanized 16H02 TL1A antibody identifed as 3038 is compared to that of the original mouse anti-TL1A antibody 16H02.
[0064] FIG. 11 illustrates a sequence alignment of the VH Domain of five lead candidate mouse anti-TL1A antibodies: 1B4 (SEQ ID NO: 58), 25B9 (SEQ ID NO: 59), 11D8 (SEQ ID NO: 60), 27A8 (SEQ ID NO: 61), and 38D6 (SEQ ID NO: 62).
[0065] FIG. 12 illustrates a sequence alignment of the VK Domain of five lead candidate mouse anti-TL1A antibodies: 1B4 (SEQ ID NO: 49), 25B9 (SEQ ID NO: 50), 11D8 (SEQ ID NO: 52), 27A8 (SEQ ID NO: 51), and 38D6 (SEQ ID NO: 53).
[0066] FIG. 13 illustrates a sequence alignment of the humanized 1B4 VH domain (hum 1B4 VH AA) (SEQ ID NO: 77) with the original mouse VH domain (1B4 VH AA) (SEQ ID NO: 58) and the closest matching human germline VH domain (VH2-70-10) (SEQ ID NO: 78.
[0067] FIG. 14 illustrates a sequence alignment of the humanized 1B4 VK domain (hum 1B4 VK AA) (SEQ ID NO: 67) with the original mouse VK domain (1B4 VK AA) (SEQ ID NO: 49) and the closest matching human germline VK domain (VK-L8) (SEQ ID NO: 78).
[0068] FIG. 15 illustrates the inhibition of mammalian derived TL1A-induced caspase activity in TF-1 cells by humanized TL1A antibodies (1B4, 11D8, 25B9) compared to the mouse 11D8 antibody.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Definitions
[0069] An antibody, as described herein, refers to a full-length (i.e., naturally occurring or formed by normal immunoglobulin gene fragment recombinatorial processes) immunoglobulin molecule (e.g., an IgG antibody) or an immunologically active (i.e., specifically binding) portion of an immunoglobulin molecule, like an antibody fragment.
[0070] An antibody fragment is a portion of an antibody such as F(ab′) 2 , F(ab) 2 , Fab′, Fab, Fv, scFv and the like. Regardless of structure, an antibody fragment binds with the same antigen that is recognized by the intact antibody. The term “antibody fragment” includes aptamers, speigelmers, and diabodies. The term “antibody fragment” also includes any synthetic or genetically engineered protein that acts like an antibody by binding to a specific antigen to form a complex. For example, antibody fragments include isolated fragments consisting of the variable regions, such as the “Fv” fragments consisting of the variable regions of the heavy and light chains, recombinant single chain polypeptide molecules in which light and heavy variable regions are connected by a peptide linker (“scFv proteins”), Fab HSA fusion polypeptides in which the VH—CH1 are produced as a fusion to HSA, which then folds with its cognate VK—CK light chain to form a Fab, and minimal recognition units consisting of the amino acid residues that mimic the hypervariable region.
[0071] A humanized antibody is a recombinant protein in which the CDRs from an antibody from one species, e.g., a rodent antibody, are transferred from the heavy and light variable chains of the rodent antibody into human heavy and light variable domains or heavy and light variable domains that have been mutagenized to include at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of the human heavy and light variable domains (as represented by “percent humanization”). The constant domains of the antibody molecule may be derived from those of a human antibody.
[0072] As used herein, “percent humanization” is calculated by determining the number of framework amino acid differences (i.e., non-CDR difference) between the humanized domain and the germline domain, subtracting that number from the total number of amino acids, and then dividing that by the total number of amino acids and multiplying by 100.
[0073] As used herein, “CDR” means a “complementarity determining region” that is present in a variable domain of an antibody heavy chain (VH) or a variable domain of an antibody light chain (VL or VK). Each variable domain includes three CDRs which are designated CDR-H1, CDR-H2, and CDR-H3, for those present in the heavy chain variable domain, and CDR-L1, CDR-L2, and CDR-L3 for those present in the light chain variable domain. The Kabat numbering system is used herein. As such, CDR-H1 begins at approximately amino acid 31 (i.e., approximately 9 residues after the first cysteine residue), includes approximately 5-7 amino acids, and ends at the next tryptophan residue. CDR-H2 begins at the fifteenth residue after the end of CDR-H1, includes approximately 16-19 amino acids, and ends at the next arginine or lysine residue. CDR-H3 begins at approximately the thirty third amino acid residue after the end of CDR-H2; includes 3-25 amino acids; and ends at the sequence W-G-X-G, where X is any amino acid. CDR-L1 begins at approximately residue 24 (i.e., following a cysteine residue); includes approximately 10-17 residues; and ends at the next tryptophan residue. CDR-L2 begins at approximately the sixteenth residue after the end of CDR-L1 and includes approximately 7 residues. CDR-L3 begins at approximately the thirty third residue after the end of CDR-L2 (i.e., following a cysteine residue); includes approximately 7-11 residues and ends at the sequence F or W-G-X-G, where X is any amino acid.
Conjugation to a Therapeutic or Diagnostic Agent
[0074] The antigen-binding polypeptides disclosed herein may be conjugated or fused to a therapeutic agent, which may include radioactive labels, an immunomodulator, a hormone, a photoactive therapeutic agent, a cytotoxic agent, which may be a drug or a toxin, and a combination thereof. Drugs may include those drugs that possess the pharmaceutical property selected from the group consisting of antimitotic, antikinase, alkylating, antimetabolite, antibiotic, alkaloid, antiangiogenic, apoptotic agents and combinations thereof. More specifically, these drugs are selected from the group consisting of nitrogen mustards, ethylenimine derivatives, alkyl sulfonates, nitrosoureas, triazenes, folic acid analogs, COX-2 inhibitors, pyrimidine analogs, purine analogs, antibiotics, enzymes, epipodophyllotoxins, platinum coordination complexes, vinca alkaloids, substituted ureas, methyl hydrazine derivatives, adrenocortical suppressants, antagonists, endostatin, taxols, camptothecins, anthracyclines, taxanes, and their analogs, and a combination thereof. The toxins encompassed by the present invention may be selected from the group consisting of ricin, abrin, alpha toxin, saporin, ribonuclease (RNase), e.g., onconase, DNase I, Staphylococcal enterotoxin-A, pokeweed antiviral protein, gelonin, diphtherin toxin, Pseudomonas exotoxin, and Pseudomonas endotoxin.
[0075] Immunomodulators may be selected from the group consisting of a cytokine, a stem cell growth factor, a lymphotoxin, a hematopoietic factor, a colony stimulating factor (CSF), an interferon (IFN), erythropoietin, thrombopoietin and a combination thereof. Specifically useful are lymphotoxins such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), hematopoietic factors, such as interleukin (IL), colony stimulating factor, such as granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) or granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)), interferon, such as interferons-alpha, -beta, or -gamma, and stem cell growth factor, such as designated “S1 factor”. More specifically, immunomodulators may include IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-18, IL-21 interferon-gamma, TNF-alpha or a combination thereof.
[0076] The antigen-binding polypeptides disclosed herein may be conjugated or fused to a diagnostic agent. Diagnostic agents may include photoactive diagnostic agents or radiolabels having an energy between 60 and 4,000 keV, or a non-radioactive label. The radioactive label is preferably a gamma-, beta-, and positron-emitting isotope and is selected from the group consisting of 125 I, 131 I, 123 I, 124 I, 86 Y, 186 Re, 188 Re, 62 Cu, 64 Cu, 111 In, 67 Ga, 99m Tc, 94m Tc, 18 F, 11 C, 13 N, 15 O, 76 Br and combinations thereof. Diagnostic agents may include contrast agents, for example, such as manganese, iron or gadolinium.
Exemplary Method of Making Anti-TL1A Antibodies Using Hybridoma Technology
[0077] BALB/c mice can be immunized with recombinant TL1A protein (extracellular domain). In a typical procedure 10 mg of protein in 50 ml of complete Freund's adjuvant (Sigma) is injected subcutaneously. Two to four additional injections in incomplete Freund's adjuvant can be given at 2 week intervals followed by a final boost in PBS. Alternatively, injections can be given in the foot pads. Three days later mice can be sacrificed, their spleens or poplietal lymph nodes can be harvested and lymphocytes can be isolated for fusion. Lymphocytes can be fused with P3X63Ag8.653 plasmacytoma cells at 5:1 ratio using PEG/DMSO (Sigma) as a fusion agent. After fusion cells can be resuspended in selective HAT media and seeded at 10 6 cells per well in 96 well plates. The supernatants from hybridomas that survived HAT selection can be screened by direct binding ELISA for the presence of TL1A binding antibodies. Hybridomas secreting TL1A binding antibodies can be identified and their supernatants can be further screened by inhibition of binding ELISA for antibodies inhibiting binding of TL1A to its receptor DR3. The hybridomas identified as positives for inhibition of TL1A binding can then be screened for inhibition of TL1A induced caspase activity in TF-1 cells to identify TL1A antagonistic clones.
Exemplary Antibody Humanization Strategy
[0078] One goal in humanizing the anti-TL1A antibodies is to obtain 70-100% humanized VH and VK domains that retain 90-100% of original binding affinity and specificity. Site-directed mutagenesis of individual high risk positions in VH and VK can be used to further humanize the antibodies while maintaining binding affinity and specificity.
[0079] Humanization can be performed by CDR grafting and structure based analysis and variable region resurfacing. (See Jones et al., N ATURE (1986) May 29-Jun. 4; 321(6069):522-5; Roguska et al., P ROTEIN E NGINEERING, 1996, 9(10):895-904; and Studnicka et al., Humanizing Mouse Antibody Frameworks While Preserving 3-D Structure. P ROTEIN E NGINEERING, 1994, Vol. 7, pg 805). The primary antibody sequence and 3-D structure data can be utilized to identify key framework residues required to maintain the binding affinity and specificity. The “Blast for Ig sequences” website sponsored by the NCBI can be used to identify the closest match to the mouse VH and VK region used in the study. Human germline VH and VK genes can be chosen as the best matches to the mouse sequence VH and VK sequences. Alternatively, sequences from the naturally expressed human antibody repertoire can be used as a template for humanization either alone or in combination with the closest matching human germline gene.
[0080] After aligning mouse anti-TL1A VH and VK to the nearest human germline or expressed repertoire of genes, the amino acid at every position can be evaluated for potential influence on binding and immunogenicity. This information can be used to assign a low, moderate, or high risk value for mutation at each position. In one embodiment, only the low and moderate risk positions are mutated while avoiding the high risk positions. If necessary, an affinity maturation strategy can be performed by incorporating tyrosines pair wise at each position in the CDR's of VH, VK or both.
[0000] Exemplary Cloning and Sequencing of Murine Anti-TL1A VH and VK Domains from Hybridoma Cell Lines
[0081] Hybridoma cells can be pelleted, washed 3× with PBS and RNA extracted using Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, Cat. No. 15596-026) following the manufacturers protocol. Total RNA can be converted to cDNA using a 5′ RACE kit (Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, Invitrogen, Cat. No. 18374-058) following the manufacturers protocol. Briefly, RNA can be ligated to random hexamer primer, Random N6, and 1 st strand cDNA can be generated using superscript II RNAase H negative reverse transcriptase. The cDNA can be purified using a GlassMax spin cartridge provided with the kit and then reacted with TdT (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase) in the presence of dCTP to append the cDNA with C basepairs at the 5′ end. The dC-tailed cDNA can be PCR amplified using an anchor primer specific for the dC tail and a gene specific primer that hybridizes to highly conserved DNA sequence in the mouse constant heavy 1 (CH1) for VH and constant kappa (CK) for VK. The resulting PCR product can be analyzed by gel electrophoresis for correct size corresponding to intact VH or VK domain then purified and ligated into a TOPO TA vector (Invitrogen Cat. No. K4575-01) following the manufacturers protocol. After transformation into bacteria DNA can be prepared from clones containing the correct size insert and the DNA sequence can be determined using a Big Dye terminator sequencing reaction mix (Applied Biosystems, Part No. 4336699) and a 3700 ABI/Prism DNA analyzer following manufacturers protocol.
Exemplary Humanizing Murine Anti-TL1A Antibodies
[0082] Murine anti-TL1A antibodies can be identified based on binding data and sequence data generated as described above. The amino acid sequence of the VH and VK domains from these antibodies can be aligned to human germline VH and VK domains using currently available public databases (i.e., Blast for IgG at the NCBI and V-base at the MRC). At those positions in the framework where the mouse sequence differed from the human germline, an iterative process can be used to convert or mutate the mouse framework so it matches the corresponding human germline framework. In addition, or alternatively, certain CDR amino acid residues for both the VH and VK can be mutated by replacement with tyrosine (i.e., affinity matured) to potentially help compensate for any losses in affinity due to the framework residues changes. The affinity matured and humanized mouse VH and VK domains can be generated by a polymerase chain reaction process using a panel of overlapping synthetic DNA oligonucleotides. As part of the synthetic gene design process a codon optimization strategy can be used, that is to say the triplet code for each amino acid that is preferentially utilized by mammalian cells for gene expression can be incorporated at each position. The synthetic VH and VK domains can be cloned into specialized mammalian expression vectors that allow the corresponding domains to be expressed in the context of a fully human IgG1, G4 or Kappa antibody backbone. Small-scale production of the humanized antibodies can be achieved by co-transfection of an IgG1 or G4 construct with the Kappa construct into 293F cells with lipofectamine (Invitrogen) following manufactures protocol. Supernatants from the transient transfections can be passed through Protein A or G resin and the IgG can be purified to homogeneity for testing in cell based assays.
[0000] The following examples are given to illustrate the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific conditions or details described in these examples. All published and/or publicly available documents described herein are specifically incorporated by reference.
Example 1
[0083] Amino Acid Sequences of VH and VK Domains of Mouse and Hamster anti-TL1A monoclonal antibodies prepared as described herein are shown below. The CDR regions of the variable domains are underlined.
[0000]
12D08VK (SEQ ID NO: 45):
DVLMTQTPLS LPVSLGDQAS ISCRSSQSIV HSNGNTYLDW
YLQKPGQSPN LLIYKVSNRF SGVPDRFSGS GSGTDFTLKI
SRVEAEDLGV YYCFQGSHVP LTFGAGTKLE LKR
16H02 VK (SEQ ID NO: 46):
DVLMTQTPLS LPVSLGDQAS ISCKSSQNIV HSDGNTYLEW
YLQKPGQSPK LLIYKVSNRF SGVPDRFSGS GSGTDFTLKI
SRVEAEDLGV YYCFQGSHVP LTFGSGTKLE IKR
15E09 VK (SEQ ID NO: 47):
ETTVTQSPAS LSMAIGEKVT IRCITSTDID DDMNWYQQKP
GEPPKLLISE GNTLRPGVPS RFSSSGYGTD FVFTIENMLS
EDVADYYCLQ SDNLPLTFGA GTKLELKR
19E06 VK (SEQ ID NO: 48):
DIVMTQSPSS LAVSTGGTVT LTCLSSQSLF SSDTNKNYLN
WYLQKPGQSP KLLVYHASTR LTGVPDRFIG SGSGTDFTLT
INSVQAEDLG DYYCQQHFRP PFTFGRGTKL EIKR
IB4 VK AA (SEQ ID NO: 49)
QIVLTQSPAIMSASLGAEITLTC SASSSVNYMH WYQQRSGTSPKLLIY ST
SNLAS GVPSRFSGSGSGTFYSLTISSVEAEDAADYYC HQWNNYGT FGGGT
KLEIKR
25B9 VK AA (SEQ ID NO: 50)
ENVLTQSPAILAASLGQKVTMTC SASSSVSSGYLH WYQQKSGASPKPLIH
RTSNLAS GVPPRFSGSGSGTSYSLSISSVEAEDDATYYC QQWSGFPFT FG
SGTKLEIKR
27A8 VK AA (SEQ ID NO: 51)
DIVLTQSPASLTVSLGQRATISC RASQNVSTSSYSH MWSQQKPGQPPKLL
IK YASNLDS GVPARFSGSGSGTDFTLNIHPVEEEDIATYYC QHSWEIPYT
FGGGTKLEIKR
11D8 VK AA (SEQ ID NO: 52)
DIVMTQSPASLTVSLGQRATISC RASQSVSTSSYSHMH WYQQKPGQPPKL
LIR YASNLES GVPARFSGSGSGTDFTLNIHPVEEEDTAIYYC QHSWELPY
T FGGGTKLEIKR
38D6 VK AA (SEQ ID NO: 53)
DIVLTQFPASLPVSLGQRATISC RASQSVSTSSYSHMH WYQQKPGQPPKL
LIT YASNLDS GVPARISGSGSGTDFTLNIHPVEEEDTATYYC HHSWELPY
T FGGGTKLEIKR
12D08 VH (SEQ ID NO: 54):
QIQLVQSGPE LKKPGETVKI SCKASGYTFT NYGMNWVKQA
PGKGLKWMGW INTYTGEPTY ADDFKGRFAF SLETSASTAY
LQINNLKNED MATYFCAKDY GKYGDYYAMD YWGQGTSVTV SS
16H02 VH (SEQ ID NO: 55):
QIQLVQSGPE LKKPGETVKI SCKASGYTFT LYGMNWVKQA
PGKGLKWMGW INTYTGEPTY ADDFKGRFAF SLETSASTAY
LQINTLKNED MATYFCARDT AMDYAMAYWG QGTSVTVSS
15E09 VH (SEQ ID NO: 56):
EVKLVDSGGG LVQPGDSLRL SCATSGFTFS DFYMEWVRQP
PGKRLEWIAA SGNKANDYTT EYSASVKGRF IVSRDTSQSI
LYLQMNDLRA EDTAIYYCVR DAGYGYWYFD VWGAGTTVTV SS
19E06 VH (SEQ ID NO: 57):
QIQLQESGPS LVKPSQSLSL TCSVTGYSIT SDSYWNWIRQ
FPGKNLVWMG YISYRGSTNY NPSLKSRISI TRDTSRNQFF
LQLNSVTTED TATYYCARYS GYSFWYFDFW GQGTQVTVSS
1B4 VH (SEQ ID NO: 58)
a.
QVTLKESGPGILQPSQTLSLTCSFSGFSLT TSNMGVV WIRQPSGKGLEWL
L HILWDDREYSNPALKS RLTISKDPFNNQVFLKIANVDTADTATYYCAR M
SRNYYGSSYVMDY WGQGTSVTVSS
25B9 VH (SEQ ID NO: 59)
EVQLQQSGPELVKPGASVKMSCKASGYTFT SYVMH WVKQKTGQGLEWIG Y
INSNNDGTKYNEKFKG KATLTSDKSSSTAYMELSSLTSEDSAVYYCAT GD
YYGGTSYWYFDV WGAGTTVTVSS
11D8 VH (SEQ ID NO: 60)
EVQLQQSGPELEKPGASVKISCKASGYSFT GYNMN WVKQSNGKSLEWIG N
IDPYFGDTNYNQNFKG RATLTVDKSSNTAYMQLMSLTSEDSAVYYCAR EG
AARAKNYFDY WGQGTTLTVSS
27A8 VH (SEQ ID NO: 61)
EVQLQQSGPELETPGASVKISCKASGYSFT GYNMN WVKQTNGKSLEWIG N
IDPYFGDANYNRKFKG KATLTVDKSSSTAYMQLRSLTSEDSAVYYCAK EG
AARAKNYFDY WGQGTTLTVSS
38D6 VH AA (SEQ ID NO: 62)
EVQLQQSGPELEKPGASVKISCKASGYSFT GYNMN WVRQTNGKSLEWIG H
IDPYYGDATYRQKFKG KATLTVDKSSNTAYMQLKSLTSEDSAVYFCAR EG
AARARNYFDY WGQGTTLTVSS
Example 2
[0084] This example describes an assay protocol to measure inhibition of TL1A-induced caspase activity on TF-1 cells.
[0085] To determine neutralizing activity of anti-TL1A antibodies, their effects on TL1A-induced caspase activity in TF-1 cells were determined. See FIG. 1 . TF-1 cells were seeded at 75,000 cells/well in a black 96-well plate with clear bottom in RPMI medium containing 1% fetal bovine serum. Cells were treated with 10 μg/mL cyclohexamide and 100 ng/mL TL1A in the absence or presence of various concentrations of mouse or hamster parental TL1A antibodies for 6 hr at 37° C. Caspase activity was measured by Apo-One homogeneous caspase-3/7 assay kit (Promega). Equal volume of Apo-One homogeneous caspase-3/7 assay buffer containing caspase substrate, Z-DEVD-Rhodamine (SEQ ID NO: 63) was added to each well containing cells. After overnight incubation, fluorescence was measured by a Wallac Victor2 fluorescence plate reader with excitation filter 485 nm and emission filter 535 nm.
[0086] The results, shown in FIG. 1 , shows that the level of fluorescence, which correlates with caspase activity, decreases with increasing concentration of four (4) different anti-TL1A antibodies: Ab#1-19E06; Ab#3-15E09; Ab#4-16H02; and Ab#8-12D08.
[0087] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the methods and compositions of 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. | Disclosed are humanized antibodies that bind specifically to the receptor TNF superfamily member 15 (TNFSF15), also known as TL1A. Methods of making and using the anti-TL1A antibodies are also described. The humanized antibodies may be antagonists and may used to treat or diagnose conditions associated with TL1A function. | 2 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of my prior pending application Ser. No. 709,228, filed July 27, 1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,201 entitled RADIO MOUNTING BRACKET.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brackets for removably securing mobile radio units and related equipment in place on car, boat, truck or other mobile carrier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nonfactory installed radio equipment is commonly mounted by a bracket installed under the instrument panel of a vehicle. Various devices and arrangements have been utilized to secure the equipment unit to the bracket. The most common are probably machine screws or screw threaded bolts with various heads or knobs for tightening and loosening. Key-locking arrangements and burglar alarm connections have also been devised to reduce theft. Brackets for ready removal and insertion have been provided with slide tracks and a flat spring latching member. For removal, the latching member must be elevated or depressed as the case may be.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Now, in accordance with the present invention, a mobile equipment support bracket is provided that releasably secures an equipment unit in L-shaped slots. A plurality of L-shaped slots receive studs projecting from the radio unit. The studs are supported in the bracket upon passing around the corner into the "foot" of the "L". A wire spring secured at one end is positioned so that the other end blocks the "leg" of the "L". When the studs of the radio unit are pressed up into the foot of the "L", the spring is forced up and then snaps back securing the studs in place. The spring is supported in position by flaps stamped out of the bracket material. Two or more slots may be used with up to as many springs as slots. The present invention provides easy and quick in-and-out mounting of a radio unit without risk of jamming in slide tracks or the need to operate a release lever or screw device.
Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description together with the Drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a left perspective view of a bracket according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a right side elevation of the bracket of FIG. 1 supporting a radio unit.
FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the bracket of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A unit of equipment as described herein is a radio receiver, radio transmitter or transciver for mobile use in a vehicle, tape player, recorder or other related electronic equipment for mounting in a vehicle.
A common way of installing such units is by fastening a U-shaped bracket to the vehicle by screws or nuts and bolts. The unit is then secured within the bracket by various and numerous fastening means. These fastening means are usually located at the uprights of the U-shaped bracket.
Referring to FIG. 1, upright end 10 of such a bracket is depicted. Although they may be mounted in different positions, the most common way of mounting these brackets is with the uprights of the U-shape directed downward in an inverted "U" configuration. Thus, end 10 is directed downward and carries slots 11 and 12 directed upward from the bottom edge. Slots 11 and 12 each have an inverted "L" shape in which the leg 14 of the "L" is depicted vertical and foot 15 at the top of leg 14 is directed horizontally toward back 16 of bracket end 10. As depicted in FIG. 2, opposite bracket end 17 contains corresponding slots 18 and 19. FIG. 3 depicts bracket ends 10 and 17 connected in a "U" configuration to bracket 20.
Referring again to FIG. 1, spring 22 is mounted on end 10 by punched tabs 36, 37 and 38, punched from the material of bracket end 10. Spring 22 is bent in semicircle 47 and held by tab 37 above slot 11 with its two arms extending toward the front of bracket 20. Upper arm 23 of spring 22 extends horizontally to a position above and between slots 11 and 12 where end 25 of arm 23 is bent upward and backward about tab 36. Lower arm 24 of spring 22 extends in a straight line past toe 26 of foot 15 in slot 12 at which point it is bent with two reversing bends. First bend 27 is at the top of slot 12, and second bend 28 is proximate the right angle formed by leg 14 and foot 15 of slot 12. Lower arm 24 then extends substantially parallel with its original line of direction from tab 37 to extend across leg 14 of slot 12.
Tab 38 punched from bracket end 10 bears upward against spring 22 to the right of tab 37.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a unit 31 of radio equipment is depicted mounted in bracket 20. The right side end 17 of bracket 20 is shown with studs 32 and 34 of unit 31 secured in slots 18 and 19 respectively. Spring 35, similar to spring 22, bears against stud 32 securing unit 31 against easy removal. Entire bracket 20 with ends 10 and 17 and springs 22 and 35 is depicted in FIG. 3. The radio equipment to be installed is mounted between the two ends 10 and 17.
Of particular significance is the angle in bend 27 as depicted in FIG. 1. This angle affects the leverage against spring 22. In moving a stud such as 32 into slot 12, there is considerable leverage determined by the distance from tab 37 acting as a fulcrum. The greater this distance is, the easier it is to force the spring upward. However, once a stud such as stud 32 has been latched into toe 26 of slot 12, there is a different leverage for removal. This new leverage is related to the angle of bend at bend 27. As that portion of spring 22 passing around the stud approaches a right angle to the portion of spring 22 extending from tab 37, the pressure required to move the stud back out of toe 26 becomes greater and greater. In this manner insertion of a radio unit can be made relatively easy and removal relatively difficult.
In an exemplary embodiment, wire 22 was music wire having a diameter of approximately 0.18 cm and an overall length of 12 cm. The length of spring 22 between bends 27 and 28 was approximately 1.1 cm and the length from tab 37 to bend 27 was 5.0 cm. Tab 36 was positioned 3.5 cm from tab 37 and tab 37 was positioned 1.0 cm above foot 15 of slot 11. Bend 27 formed an angle of approximately 105° with the portion of spring 22 extending from Tab 37 and bend 28 bends spring 22 back with a similar angle.
In one contemplated variation, increased latching effect is achieved by curving that portion of spring 22 between bends 27 and 28. The curve would be designed to hook about the respective stud.
While the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment, obvious variations are contemplated, and it is intended to cover the invention within the scope of the appended claims. | A bracket for mounting mobile electronic equipment having L-shaped slots for receiving mounting studs attached to the equipment and wire spring elements across one or more of the slots for latching the studs into the "feet" of the L-shaped slots. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the ribbon takeup device of an inked ribbon device and to a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a ribbon takeup mechanism used in an inked ribbon device mounted on a small printer, some are known as mechanisms for taking up a ribbon such as a mechanism that uses the tensile force of a tension spring and a mechanism that uses the drive torque of a motor, are known (see Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2).
FIG. 13 is a general diagram showing a mechanism that takes up an inked ribbon by the tensile force of a tension spring.
Referring to FIG. 13 , a ribbon takeup mechanism 101 has a pair of ribbon takeup axes 104 , each with a ratchet wheel 105 , on a ribbon frame 102 . Ribbon spools 110 , on which a ribbon 116 is wound, are mounted on this pair of ribbon takeup axes 104 .
A ribbon feed plate 103 is slidably installed on the ribbon frame 102 , with a tension spring 115 between the ribbon frame 102 and the ribbon feed plate 103 . A feed claw 106 is provided on the ribbon feed plate 103 . The feed claw 106 engages the ratchet wheel 105 through the tensile force of the tension spring 115 to drive the ribbon takeup axes 104 . A motor-driven cam 109 is used to stretch the tension spring 115 , and the ribbon takeup axes 104 are driven by the tensile force of the stretched tension spring 115 that tends to restore to its original position.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing how the ribbon takeup mechanism described above drives the ribbon feed plate. Referring to FIG. 14 , the tension spring 115 always applies force to the ribbon feed plate 103 into the direction indicated by the arrow. From FIG. 14( a ) to FIG. 14( e ), the ribbon feed plate 103 moves to the left in the figure as the cam 109 rotates. During this time, the tension spring 115 is stretched. Next, from FIG. 14( f ) to FIG. 14( h ), the ribbon feed plate 103 moves to the right in the figure by the tensile force of the stretched tension spring 115 that tends to restore to its original position.
When the ribbon feed plate 103 moves to the right as shown in FIG. 14( f ) to FIG. 14( h ), the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel to rotate the ribbon takeup axes and takes up the ribbon.
FIG. 15 is a general diagram showing the motor-driven mechanism for taking up an inked ribbon.
As with the configuration shown in FIG. 13 , a ribbon takeup mechanism 111 shown in FIG. 15 has a pair of ribbon takeup axes 104 , each with the ratchet wheel 105 , on the ribbon frame 102 . The ribbon spools 110 , on which a ribbon 116 is wound, are mounted on this pair of ribbon takeup axes 104 .
A ribbon feed plate 113 is slidably installed on the ribbon frame 102 . The feed claw 106 is provided on the ribbon feed plate 113 . As the ribbon feed plate 113 moves, the feed claw 106 engages the ratchet wheel 105 to drive the ribbon takeup axes 104 .
The ribbon feed plate 113 has an arm 113 a that has a drive mechanism at its end. The drive mechanism comprises a slit 113 b formed at the end of the arm 113 a and a gear 119 having a column 119 a that slides along the opposed sliding surfaces 113 c of the slit 113 b . When the gear 119 rotates, the column 119 a slides along one of the sliding surfaces 113 c in the slit 113 b to cause the ribbon feed plate 113 to reciprocate linearly.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing how the ribbon takeup mechanism described above drives the ribbon feed plate. Referring to FIG. 16 , the ribbon feed plate 113 is driven by the motor through the gear, the column, and the sliding surfaces. As the gear is rotated by the motor, the ribbon feed plate 113 moves to the left in the figure from FIG. 16( a ) to FIG. 16( e ) and, after that, to the right from FIG. 16( f ) to FIG. 16( h ).
When the ribbon feed plate 113 moves to the right in the figure from FIG. 16( f ) to FIG. 16( h ), the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel to rotate the ribbon takeup axes and takes up the ribbon.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 01-278385
[Patent Document 2] Patent Application No. 3002780
The ribbon takeup mechanism that drives the ribbon takeup axes through a tension spring described above drives the ribbon takeup axes only through the tensile force of the tension spring, meaning that a tension spring must have the tensile force exceeding the load of the ribbon takeup axes. The problem here is that the ribbon takeup axes that have a heavy load require a greater tensile force of the tension spring.
The load of the ribbon takeup axes includes a load generated at a ribbon feed time as well as a load generated when the ribbon feed claw is switched from the ratchet wheel of one ribbon takeup axis to the ratchet wheel of the other ribbon takeup axis when the movement direction of the ribbon is reversed. When the ribbon feed claw is switched through the tensile force of the tension spring, a load heavier than the load at a ribbon feed time is generated. Therefore, a greater tensile force of the tension spring is required and a heavy load is applied to the motor. Another problem is that the motor drive efficiency becomes low because the motor drives the mechanism always under the load of the tensile force of the tension spring.
In FIG. 17( a ), the left to the broken line indicates the period of time during which the tension spring is stretched. In this period, the ribbon feed plate is moved to the position where the ribbon feed claw engages the ratchet wheel. The right to the broken line indicates the period of time during which the tension spring is restored to its original position. The ribbon is fed in this spring restoration period by causing the ribbon feed claw to engage the ratchet wheel to rotate the ribbon takeup axes.
To feed the ribbon, the spring torque T 1 exceeding the load, required for feeding the ribbon (chain double-dashed line in the figure), is required during the ribbon feed period. To switch the ribbon feed claw from one ratchet wheel to another, the spring torque T 2 exceeding the load, required for switching the ribbon feed claw (dashed line in the figure), is required during the switching period.
The above-described ribbon takeup mechanism that uses a motor to drive the ribbon takeup axes solves the problem of the load of the tension spring mechanism that uses a tension spring. However, because a heavy load must be applied to the motor when the ribbon is switched, the motor requires a large driving torque and therefore a large motor is required.
Referring to FIG. 17( b ), the left to the broken line indicates the period during which the ribbon feed plate is moved to the position where the ribbon feed claw engages the ratchet wheel, and the right to the broken line indicates the period during which the ribbon is fed. To feed the ribbon, a motor torque exceeding the load, required for ribbon feeding (chain double-dashed line in the figure), is required during the ribbon feed period. To switch the ribbon feed claw from one ratchet wheel to another, a motor torque exceeding the load, required for switching the ribbon feed claw (dashed line in the figure), is required during the switching period.
Normally, the load required for switching the ribbon feed claw is heavier than the load required for feeding the ribbon. Therefore, the peak torque required for the motor is a torque exceeding the load required for switching the ribbon feed claw (dashed line in the figure).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems in the prior art, to reduce the peak torque of the motor used for the ribbon takeup mechanism, and to make the driving motor compact and less costly.
The present invention provides a ribbon takeup device for taking up an inked ribbon comprising ribbon takeup axes for taking up the inked ribbon; a displacement member that moves to selectively rotate the ribbon takeup axes; a motor that moves the displacement member; and a spring member that accumulates energy by the displacement member moving into a direction in which the ribbon takeup axes are not rotated and that releases the accumulated energy by the displacement member moving into a direction in which the ribbon takeup axes are rotated. When the displacement member moves into a direction in which the ribbon takeup axes are rotated, the displacement member varies a ratio between a rotational driving torque by the spring member and a rotational driving torque by the motor according to a load state of the ribbon takeup axes.
Varying this rotational driving torque ratio reduces the peak torque of the motor used in the ribbon takeup mechanism.
The load state is the state of a load required for taking up the inked ribbon and the state of a load required for switching a takeup direction. When the load state is the state of a load required for switching the takeup direction, the ratio of the rotational driving torque by the motor is increased.
The displacement member applies the rotational driving torque of the motor when a load applied to the ribbon takeup axes exceeds a predetermined load, and applies only the rotational driving torque of the spring member when a load applied to the ribbon takeup axes does not exceed a predetermined load.
The predetermined load is a load calculated by subtracting the rotational driving torque by the spring member from the load required for taking up the inked ribbon or the load required for switching the takeup direction.
The ribbon takeup device according to the present invention is configured in such a way that the elastic member engages the slide member that has the ribbon feed claw for taking up a ribbon and, with force applied to the slide member into one direction by the elastic member, a motor driving force is applied to the slide member into the same direction as the direction in which the elastic member applies the force.
This configuration allows the elastic member and the motor to share the load of ribbon feeding and the load of ribbon feed claw switching, reduces the required motor torque, and makes it possible to employ a less powerful, less costly motor.
At a ribbon feeding time when the load of the ribbon takeup axes is light, only the elastic force of the elastic member, not the motor driving force, is used. At a ribbon feed claw switching time when the load of the ribbon takeup axes is heavy, the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member and the motor driving force is used. This configuration reduces the peak torque of the motor and makes it possible to employ a less powerful, less costly motor.
The ribbon takeup device according to the present invention comprises ratchet wheels provided on ribbon takeup axes; a feed claw that engages the ratchet wheels; a displacement member that is driven and displaced by a motor so that at least a linear displacement is given; a slide member that moves the feed claw, and an elastic member.
The slide member comprises a first engagement part that engages the displacement member when the feed claw moves into a direction in which the ribbon takeup axes are rotated and a second engagement part that engages the displacement member when the feed claw moves into the opposite direction of the direction described above. The elastic member applies force to the slide member into a direction in which force is applied by the engagement between the displacement member and the first engagement part.
In a period in which the slide member moves into a direction in which the elastic member applies the force, the displacement member switches the engagement of the slide member from the second engagement part to the first engagement part according to a load applied to the ribbon takeup axes.
When the load applied to the ribbon takeup axes exceeds a predetermined load, the displacement member engages the first engagement part of the slide member to apply force to the slide member into a direction into which the force is applied. The feed claw is driven by a resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member and the motor driving force.
The predetermined load is a load calculated by subtracting the elastic force of the elastic member from a load required for switching the ratchet wheel that engages the feed claw. When the load applied to the ribbon takeup axes exceeds this predetermined load, the feed claw is driven by the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member and the motor driving force to switch the engagement between the ratchet wheel of one of a pair of ribbon takeup axes and the feed claw.
The predetermined load is a load calculated by subtracting the elastic force of the elastic member from a load required by the ribbon takeup axes to take up the ribbon. When the load applied to the ribbon takeup axes exceeds this predetermined load, the feed claw is driven by the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member and the motor driving force to feed the ribbon.
When the load applied to the ribbon takeup axes does not exceed the predetermined load, the displacement member disengages the first engagement part of the slide member to release the application of force into a direction into which the force is applied to the slide member. The feed claw is driven only by the elastic force of the elastic member, and the ribbon takeup axes are driven only by the elastic force.
A printer according to the present invention has the ribbon takeup device described above.
This present invention reduces the peak torque of the motor used for the ribbon takeup mechanism and makes it possible to employ a compact, less costly motor for driving.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a general diagram showing the inked ribbon takeup mechanism of a ribbon takeup device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention drives the slide member;
FIG. 3 is a general diagram showing a driving force applied when a ribbon is fed and when the feed claw is switched;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the ribbon takeup device and a printer according to the present invention on which ribbon spools are mounted;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the ribbon takeup device and the printer according to the present invention from which ribbon spools are removed;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the ribbon takeup device and the printer according to the present invention from which ribbon spools are removed;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the ribbon takeup device the printer according to the present invention viewed from the bottom;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing only the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member of the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member of the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member of the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member of the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a general diagram showing a conventional mechanism that takes up an inked ribbon by the tensile force of a tension spring;
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing how the conventional ribbon takeup mechanism drives the ribbon feed plate;
FIG. 15 is a general diagram showing a conventional mechanism that takes up an inked ribbon by a motor driving force;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing how the conventional ribbon takeup mechanism drives the ribbon feed plate; and
FIG. 17 is a general diagram showing the driving force of the conventional ribbon takeup mechanism when a ribbon is fed and when the feed claw is switched.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A ribbon takeup device according to the present invention and a printer on which the ribbon takeup device is installed will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a general diagram showing a mechanism for taking up an inked ribbon by a ribbon takeup device according to the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1 , a ribbon takeup mechanism 1 has a pair of ribbon takeup axes 4 , each with a ratchet wheel 5 , on a ribbon frame 2 . Ribbon spools 10 , on which a ribbon 16 is wound, are mounted on this pair of ribbon takeup axes 4 .
A slide member 3 is slidably installed on the ribbon frame 2 , with an elastic member 15 such as a tension spring between the ribbon frame 2 and the slide member 3 . A feed claw 6 is provided on the slide member 3 . The feed claw 6 engages the ratchet wheel 5 to drive the ribbon takeup axes 4 . The slide member 3 is similar in operation to the ribbon feed plate, shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 , in that it drives the feed claw 6 for feeding a ribbon.
The slide member 3 according to the present invention has a first engagement part 7 and a second engagement part 8 that are not provided on the ribbon feed plate described above. One of the first engagement part 7 and the second engagement part 8 engages a displacement member 9 and linearly reciprocates according to the displacement of the displacement member 9 . The displacement member 9 can be configured, for example, by a gear and a columnar member installed eccentrically with respect to the rotation axis of the gear. The displacement member 9 moves eccentrically as the gear rotates and engages one of the first engagement part 7 and the second engagement part 8 to cause the slide member 3 to reciprocate linearly.
The elastic member 15 moves the slide member 3 so that the feed claw 6 engages the ratchet wheel 5 to move the ribbon takeup axes 4 into the ribbon takeup direction.
On the other hand, the second engagement part 8 on the slide member 3 , which engages the displacement member 9 , is driven by the motor to stretch the elastic member 15 . This causes the feed claw 6 to move to the position where it engages the ratchet wheel 5 .
The first engagement part 7 on the slide member 3 , which engages the displacement member 9 , is driven by the motor to restore the elastic member 15 back to its original position. This movement direction is the direction in which the feed claw 6 that engages the ratchet wheel 5 drives the ribbon takeup axes 4 to feed the ribbon or to switch the feed claw 6 .
At this time, the load generated by the engagement between the feed claw 6 and the ratchet wheel 5 or the load generated by the switching of the feed claw 6 is born by the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member 15 (for example, the force of a stretched spring to restore to its original position) and the motor driving force transmitted via the engagement between the displacement member 9 and the second engagement part 8 . Therefore, when the load is high, for example, when the feed claw 6 is switched, the resultant force of the elastic force and the motor driving force is used. This structure makes the elastic member small, reduces the peak torque of the motor, and makes the motor compact.
Because the load generated by the engagement between the feed claw 6 and the ratchet wheel 5 for feeding the ribbon is low, only the elastic force of the elastic member 15 may be used without using the motor driving force.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the slide member of the ribbon takeup mechanism according to the present invention is driven. Referring to FIG. 2 , the elastic member 15 always applies force to the slide member 3 into the direction indicated by the arrow.
FIGS. 2(A) to 2(H) show how the slide member is moved into the ribbon feed direction by the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member 15 and the motor driving force when the ribbon takeup axes are driven and the feed claw is switched. FIGS. 2( a ) to 2 ( h ) show how the slide member is moved into the ribbon feed direction only by the elastic force of the elastic member 15 when the ribbon takeup axes are driven.
From FIG. 2(A) to FIG. 2(E) , the displacement member 9 engages the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates and moves the slide member 3 to the left in the figure against the elastic force of the elastic member 15 . At this time, when the elastic member 15 is a tension spring, the spring is stretched. During the operation shown in FIGS. 2(A) to 2(E) , the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel to move the ribbon into the direction in which the ribbon is wound.
Next, from FIG. 2(F) to FIG. 2(G) , the slide member 3 moves to the right in the figure by the resultant force of the elastic force of the elastic member and the motor driving force. During this period, the displacement member 9 engages the first engagement part 7 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates. This engagement drives the slide member 3 by the motor driving force. The slide member 3 is also driven by the elastic force of the elastic member. When the elastic member is a tension spring, the elastic force of this elastic member is the tensile force generated by the tension spring to restore to its original position.
When the slide member 3 moves to the right in FIGS. 2(F) to 2(H) , the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel to rotate the ribbon takeup axes for taking up the ribbon or switching the feed claw.
Next, an example of the operation in FIGS. 2( a ) to 2 ( h ) will be described. Because the load on driving the ribbon takeup axes at a ribbon feed time is light, the slide member can be moved into the ribbon feed direction only by the elastic force of the elastic member 15 .
From FIG. 2( a ) to FIG. 2( e ), the displacement member 9 engages the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates and moves the slide member 3 to the left in the figure against the elastic force of the elastic member 15 , as in FIGS. 2(A) to 2(E) described above. At this time, when the elastic member 15 is a tension spring, the spring is stretched. During the operation shown in FIGS. 2( a ) to 2 ( e ), the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel to move the ribbon into the direction in which the ribbon is wound.
Next, from FIG. 2( f ) to FIG. 2( g ), the slide member 3 moves to the right in the figure only by the elastic force of the elastic member. During this period, the displacement member 9 engages the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates and does not work as a driving force to move the slide member 3 to the right in the figure. The slide member 3 is driven only by the elastic force of the elastic member. When the elastic member is a tension spring, the elastic force of this elastic member is the tensile force generated by the tension spring to restore to its original position.
FIG. 3 is a general diagram showing the driving force required for feeding a ribbon and the driving force required for switching the feed claw. In FIG. 3 , a tension spring is used as the elastic member, the spring torque in the figure indicates an elastic force, and the motor torque indicates a motor driving force. The left to the broken line in the center of the figure indicates the movement period in which the spring is stretched, while the right to the broken line indicates the movement period in which the stretched spring is restored.
FIG. 3( a ) indicates the relation between the spring torque and the motor torque when a ribbon is fed, and FIG. 3( b ) indicates the relation between the spring torque and the motor torque when the feed claw is switched.
In FIGS. 3( a ) and 3 ( b ), the movement period in which the spring is stretched (period to the left of the broken line in the figure) is a period in which the feed claw is moved to the position where it engages the ratchet wheel. In this period, the load is low because neither the ribbon is fed nor the feed claw is switched. Therefore, the motor torque B 1 required to move the slide member is only required to slightly exceed the spring torque A.
On the other hand, the movement period in which the spring is restored (period to the right of the broken line in the figure) in FIGS. 3( a ) and 3 ( b ) is a period in which the feed claw drives the ratchet wheel to rotate the ribbon takeup axes to feed a ribbon or to switch the feed claw.
FIG. 3( a ) indicates the state in which the ribbon is fed in this movement period. When the load on ribbon feeding is L 1 in the figure, the spring torque A but not the motor torque is required for driving because the spring torque A is larger than the load L 1 in the ribbon feed period. When the load on ribbon feeding is L 2 (>L 1 ) in the figure, the motor torque B 2 is added and the resultant force of the spring torque A and the motor torque B 2 is used for driving because the spring torque A is smaller than the load L 2 in the ribbon feed period.
FIG. 3( b ) indicates the state in which the feed claw is switched in the movement period described above. When the load on feed claw switching is L 3 in the figure, the motor torque B 3 is added and the resultant force of the spring torque A and the motor torque B 3 is used for driving because the spring torque A is smaller than the load L 3 in the switching period.
Therefore, the motor peak torque P required for the operation described above is the maximum torque of the motor torque B 3 required in the switching period. This peak torque P can be calculated by subtracting the spring torque A from the load L 3 required for switching, meaning that this peak torque is smaller than the peak torque required for driving the total load L 3 required for switching.
The torque becomes the peak torque P at the end of the switching period. Note that the peak torque P in FIG. 3 is shifted from the end of the switching period for convenience of description.
Next, an example of the configuration of the ribbon takeup device according to the present invention and a printer with the ribbon takeup device will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12 . FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 are the general diagrams showing a part of the printer. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the printer on which a ribbon spool is mounted, FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the printer from which a ribbon spool is removed, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the printer viewed from the bottom.
Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7 , a printer 20 comprises a platen 13 and a type unit 14 , which are opposed each other, and the ribbon takeup mechanism 1 . Those components are driven by the driving force of a motor 11 that is transmitted via the transmission mechanism such as gears 12 .
The ribbon takeup mechanism 1 has a pair of ribbon takeup axes 4 , each with the ratchet wheel 5 , on the ribbon frame 2 . The ribbon spools 10 , on which the ribbon 16 is wound, are mounted on this pair of ribbon takeup axes 4 . The ribbon takeup mechanism 1 intermittently rotates the ribbon takeup axes 4 in synchronization with the print operation by the platen 13 and the type unit 14 to feed the ribbon, wound on the ribbon spools 10 , into a predetermined direction. The ribbon feed direction is determined by which ratchet wheel 5 the feed claw 6 engages, that is, the ratchet wheel 5 of one of the ribbon takeup axes 4 of the pair of ribbon takeup axes 4 . The ribbon feed direction is reversed when the ribbon takeup axis 4 that the feed claw 6 engages is switched from one ribbon takeup axis 4 to another.
The feed claw is switched when the ribbon on one of the ribbon spools 10 is wound up onto the other ribbon spool 10 and the ribbon takeup axes 4 stop. In this case, the tensile force of the ribbon between the ribbon spools 10 shifts the support axis of the feed claw 6 to cause the feed claw 6 to be shifted into the side of the other ribbon takeup axes 4 . This shift of the support axis of the feed claw 6 generates a predetermined load.
The ribbon takeup axes 4 are rotably mounted, and the slide member 3 is slidably mounted, on the ribbon frame 2 with an elastic member (not shown) such as a tension spring between the ribbon frame 2 and the slide member 3 . The feed claw 6 is provided on the slide member 3 . The feed claw 6 engages the ratchet wheel 5 to drive the ribbon takeup axes 4 .
FIG. 6 shows a part of the slide member 3 . The slide member 3 comprises the first engagement part 7 and the second engagement part 8 . The displacement member 9 such as a cam engages one of the engagement parts to cause the slide member 3 to linearly reciprocate. In FIG. 6 , the displacement member 9 is hidden behind the gear.
The driving force of the motor 11 drives not only the platen 13 and the type unit 14 via gears 12 but also the displacement member 9 .
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing only the ribbon takeup mechanism 1 according to the present invention. The ribbon frame 2 and the slide member 3 have a groove in which they slide, with the elastic member such as a tension spring, not shown, applying force to them into one direction. Referring to FIG. 8 , the elastic member applies force to the slide member 3 into the right backward direction. This generates a driving force, required for ribbon feeding and feed claw switching, into the right backward direction with the feed claw 6 on the slide member 3 engaging the ratchet wheel 5 of the ribbon takeup axis 4 installed rotably on the ribbon frame 2 .
The first engagement part 7 on the slide member 3 engages the displacement member 9 and applies motor driving force into the same direction as that into which the elastic member applies force. This motor driving force works with the elastic force of the elastic member to give the driving force required for ribbon feeding and feed claw switching.
On the other hand, the second engagement part 8 on the slide member 3 engages the displacement member 9 and applies motor driving force into the direction opposite to that into which the elastic member applies force. This slide member movement direction is the direction in which the feed claw 6 is moved to the position where the feed claw 6 engages the ratchet wheel 5 for the next ribbon feeding that will be performed after the current ribbon feeding or feed claw switching operation is finished. In this state, because the feed claw 6 does not engage the ratchet wheel 5 , a large load is not applied to the slide member 3 . Therefore, the slide member 3 can be moved only by the elastic force of the elastic member with no need for the engagement between the first engagement part 7 and the displacement member 9 .
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12 , the following describes the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member when a ribbon is fed or the feed claw is switched.
First, with reference to FIGS. 9 , 10 , and 12 , the following describes the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member when a ribbon is fed.
FIG. 9( a ) corresponds to FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ), FIG. 9( b ) corresponds to FIGS. 2( c ) and 2 ( d ), FIG. 10( a ) corresponds to FIGS. 2( e ) and 2 ( f ), FIG. 10( b ) corresponds to FIGS. 2( g ) and 2 ( h ), and FIG. 12 corresponds to FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ).
The displacement member 9 engages the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates and moves the slide member 3 to the right in the FIG. (to the left in FIG. 2 ) against the elastic force of the elastic member 15 . At this time, the elastic member 15 is stretched if it is a tension spring, and the operation shown in FIGS. 9( a ), 9 ( b ), and 10 ( a ) moves the feed claw to the direction in which it engages the ratchet wheel. After the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel, the operation shown in FIGS. 10( a ) and 10 ( b ) is performed to feed the ribbon.
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 , 10 , and 11 , the following describes the relation between the engagement parts and the displacement member when the feed claw is switched.
FIG. 9( a ) corresponds to FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) , FIG. 9( b ) corresponds to FIGS. 2(C) and 2(D) , FIG. 10( a ) corresponds to FIG. 2(E) , FIG. 11( a ) corresponds to FIG. 2(F) , FIG. 11( b ) corresponds to FIG. 2(G) , and FIG. 12 corresponds to FIGS. 2(A) , 2 (B), and 2 (H).
The displacement member 9 engages the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 as the gear rotates and moves the slide member 3 to the right in the figure against the elastic force of the elastic member 15 . At this time, the elastic member 15 is stretched if it is a tension spring. The operation shown in FIGS. 9( a ), 9 ( b ), and 10 ( a ) moves the feed claw to the direction in which it engages the ratchet wheel.
After the feed claw engages the ratchet wheel, the operation in FIGS. 11( a ) and 11 ( b ) is performed to switch the feed claw by the resultant force of the motor driving force and the elastic force of the elastic member.
In the operation position shown in FIG. 12 , there may be a clearance between the displacement member 9 and the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 or they may be in contact with each other.
As shown in FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2(A) , the operation position shown in FIG. 12 indicates that the slide member 3 is at one end to which the slide member 3 is moved by the elastic member 15 . This position is where the position of the slide member 3 with respect to the ribbon frame 2 can be determined.
Therefore, when the displacement member 9 contacts the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 in the operation position shown in FIG. 12 , the position of the slide member 3 depends on the position of the displacement member 9 . On the other hand, when there is a clearance between the displacement member 9 and the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 and they are not in contact, the position of the slide member 3 is determined by the position of the ribbon frame 2 with no dependence on the displacement member 9 whose rotation position varies. FIG. 12 shows an example of the configuration in which a clearance is provided between the displacement member 9 and the second engagement part 8 of the slide member 3 so that the position of the slide member 3 can be determined by the positional relation with the ribbon frame 2 with no relation with the position of the displacement member 9 .
The ribbon takeup device according to the present invention is advantageously applicable to a small printer. | The present invention reduces the peak torque of a motor used in a ribbon takeup mechanism and makes the motor, used for driving, smaller and less costly. A ribbon takeup device includes ratchet wheels ( 5 ) provided on ribbon takeup axes ( 4 ), a feed claw ( 6 ) that engages the ratchet wheels, a displacement member ( 9 ) driven and displaced by a motor ( 11 ) so that at least a linear displacement is given, a slide member ( 3 ) that moves the feed claw, and an elastic member ( 15 ). The configuration is that the elastic member engages the slide member that has the ribbon feed claw for taking up a ribbon and, with force applied to the slide member into one direction by the elastic member, a motor driving force is added to the slide member into the same direction as the direction in which the elastic member applies force. This configuration allows the elastic member and the motor to share the load of ribbon feeding and the load of ribbon feed claw switching, reduces the required motor torque, and makes it possible to employ a less powerful, less costly motor. | 1 |
BACKGROUND
This invention pertains to combustion system flame sensors, and particularly to flame sensor circuits. More particularly, the invention pertains to sensor contamination.
This invention may be related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,463, filed May 12, 2005; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,465, filed May 12, 2005; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,466, filed May 12, 2005; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,467, filed May 12, 2005. These applications have the same assignee as the present application.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,463, filed May 12, 2005; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,465, filed May 12, 2005; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,466, filed May 12, 2005; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/908,467, filed May 12, 2005, are hereby incorporated by reference.
SUMMARY
This invention is an arrangement and approach for reducing a contamination rate in a flame sensor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 shows a flame detection or sensing arrangement; and
FIGS. 2 a , 2 b , 2 c and 2 d are various timing diagrams of the flame sensor, flame and valve activity.
DESCRIPTION
Flame rectification type flame sensing arrangements may be subject to continuing performance deterioration due to a build up of contaminants on a flame sensing rod and flame ground area, i.e., proximate to a burner. Over time in the field, the build up may cause intermittent operation or failure of an appliance (e.g., heating unit). Often this problem is not appropriately diagnosed, thus in some cases resulting in repeated service calls and poor customer satisfaction with a system incorporating the flame sensing arrangement.
In rectification type flame sensors, as noted here, contaminants may accumulate due to ion attraction to an electrically charged flame sensing rod and ground area. When the sensing rod is not energized, contamination rates drop dramatically as the contaminants are not as highly attracted to the rod. However, there still is a continuation of some contamination of the rod. Other flame sensors appear to continuously monitor for a flame during both the normal burner “on” and “off” cycles. Monitoring during the off cycle is considered necessary to detect a flame out of sequence (e.g., a leaky or faulty gas valve). A flame out of sequence may be a rare occurrence, but it needs to be detected when it ever occurs. Thus, various systems maintain energized flame sensing rods whenever the heating unit or appliance is powered. This invention may reduce overall flame sensing rod contamination rates in the field by cycling the flame voltage on and off during a heating off cycle. For example, if a flame voltage (in the off cycle) is imposed in one out of four seconds (i.e., 25 percent duty cycle) rather than continuously, then the rate of flame sensing rod contamination may be significantly reduced. Different duty cycle or time combinations may be used. Reduced duty cycles for flame sensing rod energization may result in a much longer field life of the flame sensor before sensing rod contamination starts to impact performance.
A flame out of sequence could occur while a burner cycle is ending (i.e., a gas valve does not close properly as expected). The present arrangement may be implemented by maintaining a normal flame sense voltage for a period of time (e.g., 30 seconds or so) after the gas valve is turned off. This approach should detect a problem due to a gas valve failure to immediately close. If no problem is detected during this time period, then a controller may move to the cycling flame voltage sequence of on and off for a reduction of flame sensing rod contamination rates during the rest of the heating off cycle.
The flame sensor may be on or off while a heating unit or appliance is on. The burner may be on or off while the unit or appliance is on. The sensor may be activated and deactivated for various periods of time while the burner is on and also while it is off. The burner may be a component of the heating unit or appliance. If the heating unit or appliance incorporating a burner is off, then the associated components may be regarded as being effectively off. The heating unit or appliance may be regarded as a part of a larger system (e.g., an HVAC).
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an illustrative example of a flame detector control arrangement 10 . Gas or other fuel may be provided through a conveyance or pipe 11 through a valve 12 to a burner 30 having a flame ground area 13 . Valve 12 may be closed to prevent the flow of gas to the burner 30 and thus extinguish the flame 14 . If the valve 12 is opened, then fuel or gas may be provided to the burner 30 . Valve 12 control may be provided by a signal along a conductor from a controller 16 having a processor 31 , driver circuit 32 and timing circuit 19 . Processor 31 may be connected to temperature and other types of sensors 20 . A power supply 21 , for providing power to the arrangement, may be connected to the processor 31 and driver circuit 32 of controller 16 . Power to the timing circuit 19 and sensors 20 may be controlled and forwarded by the processor 31 from the power supply 21 .
A spark mechanism in the burner 30 may ignite the gas to bring about the flame 14 . The spark mechanism may receive a sufficient voltage along a conductor 15 from the driver circuit 32 . The flame 14 may be detected by an energized flame sensing rod 17 . If the sensing rod 17 is not energized, it may be energized by a voltage via a conductor 18 from the driver circuit 32 . The timing circuit 19 of controller 16 may provide various patterns for turning on and off the flame sensing rod or flame sensor 17 voltage, along with controlling valve 12 .
FIGS. 2 a , 2 b , 2 c and 2 d provide several illustrative examples of timing of the flame sensor or sensing rod 17 energizing together with the timing of gas valve 12 opening and closure, and the presence of flame 14 . The timing signals are of the flame sensing rod 17 , flame 14 , and gas valve 12 , which are designated with reference numerals 27 , 24 and 22 , respectively. The existence of the flame 14 may be assumed independently of detection by the flame sensing rod 17 for illustrative purposes. The timing graphs have “H” and “L” (e.g., high and low) level indications. “H” indicates that flame sensing rod 17 is energized according to the flame sensing rod timing signal 27 . “L” indicates that flame sensing rod 17 is not energized according to the flame sensing rod timing signal 27 . Similarly, “H” and “L” indicate that the flame 14 is present and not present, respectively, according to the flame timing signal 24 . Likewise, “H” and “L” indicate that the valve 12 is open and closed, respectively, according to the valve timing signal 22 .
In FIG. 2 a , the gas valve 12 is indicated as “on” at the left portion of the valve timing signal 22 . Also, the flame sensing rod 17 is energized according to the timing signal 27 and the flame 14 is present according to timing signal 24 . One may note that the flame 14 presence may continue briefly according to signal 24 after gas valve 12 is closed at time line 23 according to signal 22 at that time. The flame presence 14 may continue for an additional period of time up to time line 25 according to timing signal 24 , possibly due to remaining gas in the pipe 11 between the valve 12 and the burner 30 , or due to a slow closure of valve 12 . The flame 14 may stay on if the valve 12 is stuck open, and likewise flame sensor 17 will remain on as long as the flame 14 is sensed by the flame sensor 17 . The flame sensor or sensing rod 17 may purposely remain energized, even if valve 12 is appropriately closed, for a period as indicated by signal 27 up to at least time line 26 . Such period of time may be 15 , 30 or more or less seconds.
After the time line 26 , which is an “burner off” cycle, assuming the flame 14 to be extinguished, the arrangement may energize the flame sensing rod 17 just periodically (rather than continually) for flame detection to reduce rod contamination. For an illustrative example, the energization signal 27 for the flame sensing rod may have a 25 percent duty cycle, i.e., the sensing rod 17 may be energized for one second, deenergized for three seconds, periodically, until the gas valve 12 is turned on as indicated by signal 22 at a time line 28 . The duty cycle may be some other percentage as appropriate for reliable monitoring of the burner 30 . The flame 14 may ignite at time line 29 .
FIG. 2 b shows another example of timing of the flame sensing rod 17 energization signal 27 relative to the flame 14 indication signal 24 and gas valve 12 activation signal 22 . A significant difference between this diagram and that of FIG. 1 a , is that during the “burner on” period up to the time line 23 , the flame sensing rod 17 energization signal 27 may have a duty cycle, such as 25 percent, where it is energized for a period of time and then deenergized for another period of time in a periodic fashion, to reduce the rate of contamination of the flame sensing rod 17 . However, as in FIG. 2 a , the sensing rod 17 energization signal 27 may remain on continually for a period of time after the gas valve 12 closure. Various other patterns of timing signals may be implemented for an arrangement or system. Also, such timing may be non-periodic.
FIGS. 2 c and 2 d show other illustrative examples of timing diagrams of flame sensing rod 17 energization signals 27 that might not have consistent, regular, or periodic patterns. The deenerization and energization of the flame sensing rod 17 may be indicated by timing circuit 19 signals via controller 16 that may provide a good timing profile of signal 27 in view of other parameters, such as those noted by sensors 20 , from or to the flame detector control arrangement 10 . The signal 27 profile may be dynamic in pattern. Also, the time lines 23 , 25 , 26 , 28 and 29 may be shifted or be dynamically shifting from time to time in accordance with signals of the controller 16 for one reason or another. There may be various combinations of timing diagrams in a sensing arrangement or system.
A need or an estimated need for flame sensing may be a basis for a timing pattern for energization of the flame sensor 17 . Such timing pattern could be but would not necessarily be regular or periodic. Controller 16 may control the energization or activation of the flame sensor 17 with approaches that indicate the times when to activate and inactivate the flame sensor 17 in order to maximize the monitoring of the burner 30 and its flame 14 , if there is a flame, and minimize the contamination rate of the sensor 17 , in conjunction with a number of variables and fixed parameters. Some of the flame sensor energization and deenergization timing techniques involving variables and parameters for controlling the flame sensor 17 , valve 12 and burner 30 , incorporated in controller 16 , may include model predictive control (MPC) and optimization, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) tuning and control, fuzzy logic control, neural network control, and the like. Examples of applications, arrangements or systems related to the control strategy of controller 16 applicable to flame sensor 17 activation and inactivation, relative to burner 30 flame 14 status, may be based on principles and concepts disclosed in U.S patent application Ser. No. 11/014,336, filed Dec. 16, 2004; U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,184, issued Sep. 27, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,599, issued Oct. 1, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,638, issued Nov. 12, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,420, issued Nov. 5, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,047, issued May 26, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,555, issued Sep. 19, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,483, issued Apr. 25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,113, issued Jun. 26, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,782, issued Apr. 1, 2003; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/323,280, filed Dec. 30, 2005; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These patents and applications are assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
In the present specification, some of the matter may be of a hypothetical or prophetic nature although stated in another manner or tense.
Although the invention has been described with respect to at least one illustrative example, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the present specification. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications. | Contamination rate reduction for a flame detection or sensor arrangement using controlled but flexible flame sensor activation. A flame sensor of the subject application is subject to contamination which reduces the lifetime of the sensor. To reduce a contamination rate of the flame sensor, the sensor may be inactivated for certain periods of time when the necessity of flame detection does not appear significant for the use at hand. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a remote instrumentation system, for use with equipment providing a three phase power supply to a motor, comprising signalling means, including a transducer, for connection between a neutral point of the motor winding circuit and the motor chassis, and sensing means for connection to the three phase power supply circuit at a point remote from said motor, said sensing means being arranged to provide a DC signal to said signalling means via said motor winding circuit and to detect a transducer measurement by monitoring the DC signal passed by said signalling means.
In the field of remote instrumentation it is often desirable to provide power to the remote instrumentation through an electrical conductor and to receive and transmit signals over the same conductor.
Such a situation arises in the oil industry, for example, where instrumentation at the bottom of an oil well is powered by, and communicates with, surface equipment. To minimize the cost of the interconnecting cable, the remote instrumentation is often powered by a DC signal on a single conductor cable and the signal is returned as an AC frequency, or pulse train, on the same conductor.
In some installations, an electrical submersible pump is positioned at the bottom of the oil well which is powered from the surface by AC current, typically at the normal mains frequency of 50 or 60 Hertz. In these cases it is most convenient to transmit any instrumentation signals from the locality of the pump to the surface via the power cable or cables, rather than by installing a separate cable for these signals.
It is known that high frequency signals can be imposed on the power lines. These frequencies can later be separated out from the mains frequency using filters to recover the signal information at the surface. However, these high frequency signals cannot pass through the motor windings of the submersible pump, and so a cable splice into the power cable above the pump is required. This is highly undesirable, as this splice (or junction) is a cause of unreliability in the aggressive environment found at the bottom of an oil well. In addition, any failure in the instrumentation can potentially cause a low impedance path for the electrical pump power, and so prevent the pump from operating.
It is also known that a variable resistance transducer (often referred to as a potentiometric transducer) may be used to communicate pressure or temperature information over the power cables of a submersible pump. Submersible pumps generally employ three-phase motors, and at the bottom of such a motor, the three phases are connected to form a "star" or neutral point. The potentiometric transducer may be connected between this star point and the motor chassis.
The surface equipment may measure the resistance of this transducer via the power cable and motor windings. The advantage of this well known system is that no high-voltage cable splices are required, and in addition, any failure of the transducer system will not prevent continued motor operation, as the star point may be shorted to chassis, or left open, with no adverse effect on motor operation. One disadvantage of this system arises from the resistance of the power cable conductors that are electrically in series with the potentiometric transducer. Any change in this power cable resistance will affect the ultimate reading. Furthermore, this technique requires the use of potentiometric transducers which are unreliable and inaccurate.
The first disadvantage may be reduced to a certain extent by using diodes to steer the measuring current through the transducer when powered from the surface using one electrical polarity, and to short out the transducer when powered using the converse polarity. In this way, the first polarity provides the sum of transducer and cable resistance, and the second polarity provides just the cable resistance. Hence the true transducer resistance may be calculated. However, the other above-mentioned disadvantages remain; and furthermore, no more than one transducer may be used in this system -- or two, if the cable resistance correction feature is not used.
It is an object of the invention to overcome, or at least reduce, at least one of the above-mentioned disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a system as initially referred to is characterized in that said signalling means comprises an active electronic circuit arranged to modulate the current drawn in response to the application of said DC signal, whereby the transducer measurement can be detected as a function of the signal current. Preferably said active electronic circuit is arranged to provide a sequence of signals, and that said sensing means is arranged to respond to said sequence of signals.
The active electronic circuit may provide transducer excitation and signal conditioning for a variety of transducers, including strain gauge and capacitive types. The signalling means returns signal information to the sensing means by modulating a substantially DC signal that may pass through the windings of the motor, which may, in the case of a downhole instrumentation system for an oil well, be the motor of an electric submersible pump. Such downhole instrumentation may modulate its own current consumption as a means of signalling to the surface. Such current modulation eliminates errors due to cable resistance, and provides good noise immunity. In such a transmission system, the surface system typically provides a substantially constant voltage, and the downhole instrumentation system sinks a precise amount of current depending on the transducer signal. Typically an offset is applied to the transducer signal, so that a zero signal from the transducer allows a specific amount of current to flow, so that current is always available for the active electronics. The DC current may be sensed by the surface system, and translated into the transducer reading.
Active electronics in the instrumentation system allow for signal conditioning of a variety of transducers, in particular strain gauge transducers may be used which are generally of superior accuracy and resolution to potentiometric transducers. A high voltage diode may be placed in series with the instrumentation system, so that the cable insulation resistance may be measured at any time with a conventional high voltage resistance meter, this resistance meter being operated so that the electrical polarity generated by the meter acts to reverse bias the high voltage diode. It should be noted that when downhole measurements are being made, the surface system provides a voltage of the correct polarity to forward bias this high voltage diode. It should be further noted that although there will be a voltage drop across the high voltage diode, this will in no way affect the accuracy of the measurement if current signalling is used, as the signal is transmitted in terms of current, not voltage.
A further aspect of this invention is the use of the active downhole electronics to time multiplex the signal to the surface allowing the use of multiple transducers. The downhole instrumentation may contain several transducers, with the signal from each transducer being sequentially transmitted to the surface for a fixed period of time. Typically each series of transmissions is preceded with a "zero" and "full-scale" signal. This enables the surface system to identify the start of a sequence, and also allows both zero offset and span calibrations to be applied. It will be appreciated that the time multiplexing technique may be used in conjunction with the DC current signalling method already disclosed, or it may be used with other signalling methods, such as using voltage signals, or variable resistance. It will be appreciated that the time multiplexing technique may be used to send signals sequentially from a wide variety of transducers, including pressure, temperature, and vibration sensors. The rotational speed of the downhole pump may also be transmitted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of one embodiment of instrumentation system according to the invention; and,
FIG. 2 is a more detailed circuit diagram corresponding to part of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows an electrical submersible pump 2, containing three motor coils 3, each coil being driven by alternating current via each of three power cables 17, from three-phase transformer 4. The lower connections of each of the coils 3 are brought together to form the star point 18. A wire from star point 18 connects to the downhole instrumentation 1, consisting of high voltage diode 9, multiplexer 10, and transducers 11, 12, 13, 14. At the surface, high voltage chokes 5 connect to the power cables 17. The low voltage side of the chokes 5 are connected together and routed to ammeter 6. A power supply 7 supplies a constant positive voltage with respect to chassis 16 to the chokes 5 via the ammeter 6. A computer 8 reads the current flowing through the ammeter 6. Multiplexer 10 has six logical states and remains in each logical stage for a fixed period of, typically, five seconds before progressing to the next state. After the last state the multiplexer 10 resets to the first state to repeat the cycle. During the first state the multiplexer sinks a current of precisely 10 mA to chassis 15. During the second state, the multiplexer 10 sinks a current of precisely 110 mA. During the third state, the multiplexer sinks a current depending on the signal from transducer 11. During the fourth, fifth and sixth states the multiplexer sinks currents depending on the signals from transducers 12, 13, 14, respectively. For each transducer, 0.00% of full scale reading corresponds to a current of 10 mA, and 100.00% of full scale reading corresponds to a current of 110 mA. For example, transducer 11 is a 10,000 psi transducer, and when 5,000 psi is applied to transducer 11, the multiplexer sinks 60 mA during the third state.
The computer system 8 contains a program to monitor the ammeter 6. It also contains calibration data for the transducers 11, 12, 13, 14. The computer system 8 synchronises with the downhole multiplexer by detecting the transition from approximately 10 mA to 110 mA between the first and second states. In this way it can correctly read the current from ammeter 6 for each of the six states. The extent to which the current during the first state deviates from 10 mA indicates a shift in the zero offset of the entire measurement system. This could be caused by electrical drift in the downhole instrumentation or current leakages from the cable. Similarly the deviation of the current during the second state from 110 mA indicates a measurement system span shift. These zero and span shifts are then used to correct the transducer current signals and to calculate the reading of the transducers. For example, if the current during the first state is denoted as IZ, the current during the second state as IS, and the current during the third state as IT, and transducer 11 is a 10,000 psi transducer, the actual reading of transducer 11 is calculated from:
Transducer 11 reading(psi)=10,000×(IT-IZ)/(IS-IZ)
Similarly the actual readings from transducers 12, 13, 14 may be calculated. Transducer 13 monitors the internal temperature of the electric submersible pump 2, while transducer 14 monitors the external temperature of the well fluids. The difference between these two temperature readings is used to indicate excessive temperature rise within the submersible pump 2 and hence warn of impending failure. The readings of pressure transducer 11 are corrected for temperature drift using the readings of temperature transducer 13. The computer system 8 stores incoming data for later analysis and retrieval.
During operation of the measurement system the current during state 1 serves as a crude indication of any cable leakage. Additionally, at any time, the ammeter 6 and power supply 7 may be disconnected, and a high voltage resistance meter (commonly called a "Megga") may be used to check cable resistance. The resistance meter is connected so as to generate a negative voltage with respect to chassis 16. In this way high voltage diode 9 is reverse biased and exhibits a very high resistance that does not affect the resistance reading.
FIG. 2 shows the circuitry of the multiplexer 10 in more detail.
The signals from transducers 11, 12, 13, 14 are routed to analogue switch 20, which is under the control of the microprocessor 19. The output of switch 20 is routed to analogue to digital converter (ADC) 21 which converts the currently selected transducer signal to a digital value, which may be read by the microprocessor 19.
Microprocessor 19 performs a pre-programmed sequence, outputting digital values to digital to analogue converter (DAC) 22. The analogue voltage from DAC 22 is routed to op-amp 27 which controls the n-channel mosfet 24.
Current flowing through high voltage diode 9 flows through DC to DC converter 23, mosfet 24 and resistor 25. The DC to DC converter 23 supplies electrical power to all electronic components and transducers.
The voltage developed across resistor 25 is amplified by instrumentation amplifier 26. This voltage is proportional to the current flowing through the resistor. This current is identical to the current flowing through the high voltage diode 9, as the DC to DC converter 23 has an isolation barrier, and negligible current flows in the gate of mosfet 24 and in the input terminals of instrumentation amplifier 26.
Instrumentation amplifier 26, operational amplifier 27 and mosfet 24 form a negative feedback loop that ensures that the current flowing in resistor 25 is proportional to the output voltage of DAC 22. In this way, microprocessor 19 may set the current consumption of the entire downhole instrumentation by setting the DAC 22 to appropriate values. | A downhole instrumentation system comprises one or more transducers coupled in a DC current circuit between the star point of an electrical submersible pump and the chassis. A sensing circuit including a DC power supply and an ammeter is arranged to monitor the current drawn. The system includes active electronic components which provide a sequence of signals that may include reference and measuring signals or multiplexed signals from the transducers. | 4 |
This is a continuation application of patent application Ser. No. 08/440,273, filed May 12, 1995 for METHOD OF MAKING PATTERNED CONDUCTIVE TEXTILES, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,736.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to textile fabrics having conductive polymer films thereon, and in particular to fabrics having a pattern formed by conductive and nonconductive areas.
Textiles, such as fibers, yarns and fabric, having a conductive polymer coating, are disclosed by Kuhn et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,096. These electrically conductive textiles have been suggested for use in the control of static electricity, attenuation of electromagnetic energy and resistance heating. For some applications, it has been found to be desirable to provide a textile fabric having anisotropic electrical conductivity. In Pittman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,727 and Gregory et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,135, textiles having a conductivity gradient were prepared by blending conductive and non-conductive yarns, or by contacting the conductive textile with a chemical reducing agent, respectively. While satisfactory for some applications, the methods used to product conductivity gradients do not readily lend themselves to the manufacture of more complex patterns.
Alternatively, patterned electrically conductive textiles, that is fabrics having a pattern of conductive and non-conductive areas, may be provided by selectively removing portions of the conductive polymer film with, for example, high velocity water jets, as in Adams, Jr. et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,573 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,830. A characteristic of the water jet process is that some, but not all of the conductive polymer film is removed from the textile fiber. Accordingly, the difference in conductivity between treated and untreated areas of the fabric may not be as distinct as desired. Further, the process requires the use of relatively sophisticated equipment, which is not readily available.
A limitation on the application of conductive polymers in general has been their lack of stability to environmental conditions resulting in a decline in conductivity with age. The influence of temperature, humidity and oxidation level on the stability of conductive polymers was discussed in Munstedt, H., "Aging of Electrically Conducting Organic Materials", Polymer, Vol. 29, page 296-302 (February 1988). It has been proposed to apply a protective film or laminate to the conductive polymer to exclude oxygen and otherwise limit environmental exposure. However, one of the advantages of conductive textile fabric is its flexibility, which may be diminished by the application of protective coatings to the fabric.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a conductive textile fabric having conductive and non-conductive areas which form a pattern. Another object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing conductive textile fabric, which may be adapted to the formation of complex patterns of conductive and non-conductive areas. Another object of the invention is to provide a patterned conductive textile with high resolution between conductive and non-conductive areas. Yet, another object of the invention is to provide a conductive textile with a protective coating over the polymer film. Another object of the invention is to protect a conductive polymer film on a textile substrate, with a minimum impact on the flexibility of the substrate.
Accordingly, a fabric having patterned conductivity is provided by depositing a conductive polymer film on the fabric; coating selected areas of the fabric with a second polymer film which is resistant to a chemical etching agent used to degrade the conductive polymer; and applying a chemical etching agent to the fabric to degrade the conductive polymer on areas of the fabric which have not been coated with the second polymer film, thereby creating areas of low conductivity adjacent the areas of high conductivity.
In addition to meeting the aforementioned objectives, the composition and method of the present invention has the advantage that only those areas of the fabric which retain the conductive polymer film are coated with the protective polymer film (second polymer), thereby maximizing the flexibility of the fabric and conserving use of the protective polymer coating. Further, the invention preferably comprises one or more of the following feature:
the tolerance for placement of areas of high conductivity and the areas of low conductivity is ±2 mm or less, preferably ±0.5 mm or less;
the areas of low conductivity are devoid of the conductive polymer film;
the areas of low conductivity are devoid of the protective polymer film coating;
the areas of high conductivity have a resistivity of 1000 Ωper square or less;
the protective polymer film is an oxygen barrier; and
the ratio of conductivity between the areas of high conductivity and the areas of low conductivity is 100 or greater.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a woven fabric having a conductive polymer film which is selectively coated with a protective film,
FIG. 2 is a woven fabric which has been treated with a chemical etching agent to remove the conductive polymer from unprotected areas.
FIG. 3 is a cross section of a woven fabric showing areas of high conductivity which have a protective film thereon, and areas of low conductivity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Without limiting the scope of the invention, the preferred embodiments and features are hereinafter set forth. Unless otherwise indicated, all parts and percentages are by weight and conditions are ambient i.e. one atmosphere of pressure and 25° C. The terms aryl and arylene are intended to be limited to single and fused double ring aromatic hydrocarbons. Unless otherwise specified, aliphatic hydrocarbons are from 1 to 12 carbon atoms in length, and cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons comprise from 3 to 8 carbon atoms.
The fabric of the present invention may have a woven, knit or non-woven construction. The fibers comprising the fabric have a conductive polymer film deposited thereon. By way of example, the conductive polymer may be selected from polypyrrole, polyaniline, polyacetylene, polythiophthene, poly-p-phenylene, poly(phenylene sulfide), poly(1,6-heptadiyne), polyazulene, poly(phenylene vinylene), and polyphthalocyanines. Preferably, the conductive polymer is selected from polypyrrole, polyaniline and polythiophthene.
As used herein, the terms polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophthene, etc. are intended to include polymers made not only from the polymerization of pyrrole, aniline, and thiophthene respectively, but also polymers made from substituted pyrrole, aniline, and thiophthene monomers, as is known to those skilled in the art. By way of example and limitation, polypyrrole may be synthesized from the following monomers or combinations thereof; pyrrole, 3- and 3,4-alkyl or aryl-substituted pyrrole, N-alkylpyrrole, and N-arylpyrrole. Similarly, by way of example, the following monomers or combinations thereof are suitable for polyaniline synthesis: aniline, 3, and 3,4-chloro, bromo, alkyl or aryl-substituted aniline.
Fabrics having an electrically conductive polymer film deposited thereon are referred to generally herein as conductive fabrics. Methods of depositing a conductive polymer film on a textile fiber are disclosed in the following patents: Kuhn et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,096; Kuhn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,646; and U.S. Pat No. 4,981,718, all of which are incorporated by reference. The fibers may be treated according to the aforementioned methods in the form of staple, continuous monofilament, spun yarn, continuous multifilament yarn or in the form of a fabric. Preferably, the textile is in the form of a woven or knit fabric constructed from continuous, multifilament yarn, when the fabric is treated to provide a conductive polymer film on the fibers.
The conductive polymer is formed on the textile material in amounts corresponding to about 0.5% to about 4%, preferably 1.0% to about 3% and most preferred about 1.5% to about 2.5%, by weight based on the weight of the textile. Thus, for example, for a fabric weighing 100 grams, a polymer film of about 2 grams may be formed on the fabric.
A wide variety of natural and synthetic fibers may be used as the textile substrate. By way of example, the following substrates may be employed: polyamide fibers, including nylon, such as nylon 6 and nylon 6,6, and aramid fibers; polyester fibers, such as polyester terephthalate (PET), polyolefin fibers, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, acrylic fibers, polyurethane fibers, cellulosic fibers, such as cotton, rayon and acetate; silk and wool fibers, and high modulus inorganic fibers, such as glass, quartz and ceramic fibers.
Electrically conductive textiles having a resistivity of 1000 Ω per square or less, preferably 500 Ω per square or less find utility in the present invention. Standard test methods are available in the textile industry and, in particular, AATCC test method 76-1982 is available and has been used for the purpose of measuring the resistivity of textile fabrics. According to this method, two parallel electrodes 2 inches long are contacted with the fabric and placed 1 inch apart. Resistivity may then be measured with a standard ohm meter capable of measuring values between 1 and 20 million ohms. Measurements must then be multiplied by 2 in order to obtain resistivity in ohms on a per square basis. While conditioning of the samples may ordinarily be required to specific relative humidity levels, it has been found that conditioning of the samples made according to the present invention is not necessary since conductivity measurements do not vary significantly at different humidity levels. The measurements reported are, however, conducted in a room which is set to a temperature of 70° F. and 50% relative humidity. Resistivity measurements are reported herein and in the examples in ohms per square (Ω/sq) and under these conditions the corresponding conductivity is one divided by resistivity.
The next step of the process is to cost selected areas of the conductive fabric with a protective film, where it is desired to maintain electrical conductivity (areas of high conductivity). The protective film is resistant to a chemical etching agent which is subsequently applied to degrade the conductive polymer film on those areas of the fabric which have not been protected (areas of low conductivity). The protective film has a second function as well, that is to serve as an oxygen and moisture barrier, thereby increasing the stability of the conductive polymer film underneath. The protective film is preferably non-conductive.
Any of a large number of compositions may be useful in coating selected areas of the conductive fabric with a protective film. By way of example, the composition may comprise compounds selected from poly(vinyl chloride), parrafin, poly(vinylidene chloride)-poly(acrylic acid) copolymer (PVdC-PAA), poly(vinylidene chloride) (PVdC), polyester and polyolefin. Preferably, the composition is a polymer.
Conventional coating techniques may be employed for providing a conductive film on the conductive fabric in a desired pattern. Examples include screen printing, transfer printing, lamination and masking. Preferably, both sides of the conductive fabric are treated as mirror images, so that areas of high conductivity are protected on both the face and back of the fabric.
The protective composition may be applied to the fabric in the form of a dispersion, emulsion, plastisol, solution, molten, fine particulate or film. The protective compositions may be cured to form a continuous film by techniques known to those in the coating, printing or lamination arts and depending on the form of the composition applied, may include one or more of the following processes: heated to remove volatile components; melted; cooled to solidify; polymerized or cross linked in situ by heating, catalyzation and/or free radical initiation. For example, emulsions of PVdC-PAA copolymer are heat-set at temperatures of between 300° and 400° F. for approximately 1 to 3 minutes to cure the resin.
Generally, the protective film add on, when cured, to those areas of high conductivity intended to be protected is from 10 to 200 wt. %, preferably 20 to 150 wt. % per side of fabric, based on the weight of the fabric, and may range from 0.01 to 0.2 mm in thickness, preferably 0.02 to 0.1 ram, per side of fabric.
Referring to FIG. 1, conductive fabric 1 having a conductive polymer film thereon is coated in selected areas 2 with a protective film. Other areas of fabric 1, designated as uncoated area 3, remain unprotected.
Next, the conductive fabric having selected areas coated with a protective film, is subjected to a chemical etching agent which degrades the conductive polymer film in the unprotected areas. The use of reducing agents to degrade a conductive polymer film is disclosed in Gregory et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,135, incorporated by reference. Examples of suitable reducing agents are zinc formaldehyde sulfoxylate, sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate, thiourea dioxide, sodium hydrosulfite, sodium borohydride, zinc, hydrazine, stannous chloride, and ammonium hydroxide. Preferably, the reducing agent contains a zinc ion. More preferably, the reducing agent is zinc formaldehyde sulfoxylate. Aqueous solutions of the reducing agent are also preferred.
Alternatively, oxidizing agents may be used as the chemical etching agent to remove the conductive polymer film from unprotected areas. By way of example, suitable oxidizing agents include sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide. Aqueous solutions of the oxidizing agent are preferred.
The fabric may be contacted with the chemical etching agent by any of a number of methods, including emersion, padding, spraying or by transfer roller. The contact time required to degrade the conductive polymer film the desired degree, depends on the reactivity, concentration, and temperatures, among other factors. For example, a 11/2% aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite will remove a polypyrrole film in 2 minutes at 25° C.
Following treatment with the chemical etching agent, the fabric may be treated with a neutralizing or deactivating solution or simply rinsed.
Referring to FIG. 2, patterned conductive fabric 4 results from application of a chemical etching agent to the conductive fabric 1 of FIG. 1. The unprotected area 5 of patterned conductive fabric for is devoid of the conductive polymer film and now represents an area of low conductivity, and is essentially non-conductive, that is the conductivity is not substantially different from the fabric substrate. Area 2, which is coated with the protective film, represents an area of high conductivity, which is substantially equivalent to the conductivity of the conductive fabric prior to a application of the chemical etching agent.
FIG. 3, is a cross section along plane A--A of FIG. 2. Yarns 6 are devoid of any coating in the area 5 of low conductivity and have conductive polymer 7 and protective film 8 in the area 2 of high conductivity.
The "tolerance" is used herein to describe the variance between the desired position of a particular area of high conductivity or low conductivity, and the position which is actually achieved by the process. For example, if the specification called for a 2 cm×2 cm square area of high conductivity, with a resolution of ±2 mm, a 1.8 cm×1.8 cm square up to a 2.2 cm×2.2 cm square would be acceptable. By employing the present invention, it is possible to achieve tolerances of ±1 mm or less, and in particular tolerances of ±0.5 mm or less.
Higher resolutions may best be achieved by employing fabrics which weigh less than 4 ounces per square yard, preferably less than 3 ounces per square yard. Additionally, fabrics made with yams having a denier of 70 to 420 are preferred for achieving the best resolutions.
An infinite number of patterns of conductive and non-conductive areas may be created by using the present invention. The ratio of conductive to non-conductive areas may range any where from 1:99 to 99:1, and is preferably between 30:70 and 70:30, respectively.
The invention may be further understood by reference to the following examples but is not intended to be unduly limited thereby.
EXAMPLE 1
A woven fabric consisting of 70 denier textured polyester yarns, weighing 2 ounces per square yard was made conductive by coating the fabric with polypyrrole according to Kuhn et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,096. A mixture consisting of 88 parts PVdC-PAA copolymer emulsion (40 wt. % solids), 2 parts guar gum thickener and 10 parts water, was applied by flat screen printing in a predetermined pattern to the fabric. A mirror image screen was affixed to the back of the fabric and the mixture was next screen printed onto the back side of the fabric also. The fabric was removed and allowed to air dry, until the PVdC-PAA polymer composition was dry to the touch (approximately 30 minutes), and then the fabric was cured at 300° F. for 10 minutes.
The fabric was them immersed in a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for 2 minutes and removed. The fabric was allowed to drip dry for approximately 2 minutes rinsed with copious amounts of water, and allowed to air dry.
EXAMPLE 2
The following example demonstrates the improved stability of the conductive polymer film on fabric, when the film has been coated with a protective polymer.
A knitted mesh fabric consisting of 150 denier, textured polyester yarn and weighing approximately 2 ounces per square yard was made conductive by coating the fabric with polypyrrole according to Kuhn et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,096. The fabric had a microwave attenuation was measured at 8-10 GHz and recorded.
The conductive fabric was cut in half and one of the halves was immersed in an aqueous dispersion of PVdC, removed and cured to provide a uniform coating, with approximately 40 wt. % solids pickup, based on the weight of the conductive fabric.
Next, both the coated and uncoated halves of the conductive fabric were placed in an accelerated aging chamber. After 200 kJ of exposure, the samples were removed and the microwave attenuation was measured. The coated fabric sample retained 72% of its initial attenuation, whereas the uncoated fabric retained less than 5% of its initial attenuation properties.
There are, of course, many alternate embodiments and modifications of the invention, which are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims. | A method of making a patterned conductive textile is provided by depositing a conductive polymer film on the fabric to provide a resistivity of 1000 ohms per square or less, coating selected areas of the fabric with a protective film, to protect the conductive polymer from a chemical etching agent, to provide an oxygen barrier and to retain areas of high conductivity, applying a chemical etching agent to the fabric thereby degrading the conductive polymer film on areas of the fabric which have not been coated with the protective film and create areas of low conductivity and rinsing the fabric to remove any residual etching agent. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a digital data processing circuit.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Recently, an FM (Frequency Modulation) transmitting circuit may be used to reproduce music data stored in a portable music reproducing device, etc., on a car stereo, for example (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-262521 or 2007-88657). FIG. 6 depicts a common configuration of a transmitting device 200 using an FM transmitting circuit 300 and a microcomputer 310 for transmitting an audio signal.
[0005] A frequency of a carrier in the FM transmitting circuit 300 is determined with consideration given to the frequency of an FM radio, etc., being used in its vicinity. Therefore, firstly, a user needs to set the frequency of the carrier in the FM transmitting circuit 300 . Specifically, the user operates a key (not shown) of a controller 220 so that the frequency of the carrier displayed on a display screen (not shown) of the controller 220 will be a desired frequency. When the frequency of the carrier has been determined, the user then operates a key (not shown) of the controller 220 so that frequency data of the carrier will be output to the microcomputer 310 . The microcomputer 310 transmits the frequency data output from the controller 220 to the FM transmitting circuit 300 as serial data SDA in synchronization with a clock signal SCL. As a result, the frequency of the carrier is set in the FM transmitting circuit 300 , and the FM transmitting circuit 300 becomes capable of transmitting audio signals RIN and LIN to be input thereto to the car stereo by way of an antenna 230 , for example.
[0006] When, in the above transmitting device 200 , environment in the vicinity changes and a reproduced sound of the car stereo is affected by the FM radio, for example, it is necessary to change the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 300 . In changing the frequency of the carrier, the audio signals RIN and LIN, which are outputs of an audio reproducing device 210 , are temporarily stopped and the controller 220 is operated in general. For this reason, the setting of the FM transmitting circuit 300 is changed in a soundless state where no reproduced sound is output from the car stereo. Even in the case where the sound signals RIN and LIN are temporarily stopped while changing the setting, however, as a matter of fact, there is a case where an influence of a harmonic, etc., of the serial data SDA appears in an audible range so that a sound of transmitting the serial data SDA is reproduced as a noise by the car stereo. When the above noise is reproduced, the user may possibly suspect that the transmitting device 200 has a trouble, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A digital data processing circuit according to an aspect of the present invention, comprises: a setting unit configured to set setting data on an audio signal processing circuit configured to generate an FM modulated signal based on the setting data, the FM modulated signal being a signal to be transmitted wirelessly to an FM radio receiver; and an output unit configured to output audio data for reproducing a predetermined audio signal while the setting unit sets the setting data on the audio signal processing circuit.
[0008] Other features of the present invention will become apparent from descriptions of this specification and of the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] For more thorough understanding of the present invention and advantages thereof, the following description should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of functional blocks to be realized by execution of a program by a CPU 63 ;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing an operation of a transmitting device 10 ;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a timing chart for describing an operation of a transmitting device 10 ;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmitting device 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and
[0015] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating one example of a common transmitting device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] At least the following details will become apparent from descriptions of this specification and of the accompanying drawings.
[0017] FIG. 1 depicts a transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting device 10 is a device for transmitting audio signals output from, for example, a music reproducing device 30 as an FM signal from an antenna 31 to be reproduced by a car stereo (not shown). The transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment is a device that is capable of setting a frequency of the FM signal by an operation of a controller 32 by a user. The transmitting device 10 includes an FM transmitting circuit 20 , a microcomputer 21 , a power amplifier 22 , and a speaker 23 .
[0018] The FM transmitting circuit 20 is a circuit that generates a carrier of a frequency based on serial data SDA from the microcomputer 21 and a stereo composite signal based on audio signals RIN and LIN from the music reproducing device 30 , and modulates the carrier with the stereo composite signal to be output as the FM signal to the antenna 31 . The FM transmitting circuit 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes an audio amplifier circuit 40 , an FM modulating IC (Integrated Circuit) 41 , and a power amplifier 42 .
[0019] The audio amplifier circuit 40 is a circuit that amplifies the audio signals RIN and LIN, and generates the stereo composite signal corresponding to the audio signals RIN and LIN, and outputs the signals to the FM modulating IC 41 .
[0020] The FM modulating IC 41 (audio signal processing circuit) is a circuit that generates the carrier of the frequency based on the serial data SDA from the microcomputer 21 to be modulated with the stereo composite signal. The modulated signal is output as the FM signal to the power amplifier 42 for wireless transmission to an FM radio receiver (not shown) of the car stereo (not shown). The FM modulating IC 41 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes an IDC (Instantaneous Deviation Control) circuit 50 , a crystal oscillator circuit 51 , a setting register 52 , and a frequency modulating circuit 53 .
[0021] The IDC circuit 50 is a circuit that limits amplitude of the stereo composite signal amplified by the audio amplifier circuit 40 and outputs the signal of limited amplitude to the frequency modulating circuit 53 .
[0022] The crystal oscillating circuit 51 is a circuit that generates a reference frequency, which serves as a reference of the FM modulating IC 51 , together with a quarts crystal (not shown) connected thereto.
[0023] The setting register 52 is a circuit that holds the serial data SDA input from the microcomputer 21 in synchronization with a clock signal SCL, to be output to the frequency modulating circuit 53 as setting data (SET). In the setting register 52 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the setting data is updated after reception of the serial data SDA is completed.
[0024] The frequency modulating circuit 53 is a circuit that generates the carrier of the frequency based on the reference frequency and the setting data, and modulates the carrier with the stereo composite signal from the IDC circuit 50 . The modulated carrier is output as an FM modulated signal to the power amplifier 42 .
[0025] The power amplifier 42 is a circuit that amplifies the FM modulated signal so as to drive the antenna 31 . An output of the power amplifier 42 is the FM signal.
[0026] The microcomputer 21 (digital data processing circuit) is a circuit that controls the FM transmitting circuit 20 and the power amplifier 22 according to an instruction from the controller 32 , which is operated by the user in order to set the frequency of the FM signal. The microcomputer 21 includes an IF (Interface) circuit 60 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 61 , a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) 62 , and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 63 .
[0027] The IF circuit 60 is a circuit for receiving and transmitting various data among the CPU 63 , the FM transmitting circuit 20 and the controller 32 . Specifically, the IF circuit 60 transmits the instruction from the controller 32 to the CPU 63 , and transmits the data from the CPU 63 to the FM transmitting circuit 20 .
[0028] The ROM 61 is a circuit that stores a program to be executed by the CPU 63 and audio data representing a beep sound which is a predetermined stereo audio signal. The ROM 61 according to an embodiment of the present invention outputs the audio data to the DAC 62 when an address in which the audio data is stored is output from the CPU 63 .
[0029] The DAC 62 (converting unit) is a circuit that converts digital audio data output from the ROM 61 into an analog audio signal, to be output to the power amplifier 22 . The DAC 62 according to a first embodiment of the present invention outputs the audio signal when converting the audio data into the audio signal. The converted audio signal has been converted from a stereo signal into a monaural signal.
[0030] The CPU 63 is a circuit that realizes various functions by executing the program stored in the ROM 61 according to the instruction from the controller 32 . FIG. 2 depicts a configuration of functional blocks to be realized by execution of the program by the CPU 63 . The CPU 63 according to a first embodiment of the present invention realizes a setting unit 70 and an output unit 71 by executing the program.
[0031] The setting unit 70 outputs frequency data for changing the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 to the IF circuit 60 in synchronization with a predetermined clock signal according to the instruction from the controller 32 . The IF circuit 60 according to a first embodiment of the present invention outputs the above frequency data and predetermined clock signal as the serial data SDA and clock signal SCL, respectively.
[0032] In accordance with the instruction from the controller 32 , the output unit 71 makes preparations for a storage address of the audio data stored in the ROM 61 , and outputs the storage address to the ROM 61 while the setting unit 70 transmits the frequency data. To be more specific, the output unit 71 outputs the storage address of the audio data to the ROM 61 in such timing that the setting unit 70 starts to transmit the frequency data. The output unit 71 stops outputting the storage address of the audio data to the ROM 61 in such timing that the setting unit 70 completes transmission of the frequency data.
[0033] The power amplifier 22 amplifies the audio signal output from the DAC 62 to drive the speaker 23 so that the audio signal of the DAC 62 is reproduced by the speaker 23 included in the transmitting device 10 . Therefore, in a first embodiment, when the audio signal converted from the audio data is input to the power amplifier 22 , the beep sound is reproduced from the speaker 23 .
[0034] An operation will now be described of the transmitting device 10 with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and a timing chart shown in FIG. 4 . Here, the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 is already set and an operation when changing the frequency will be described. When changing the frequency of the carrier, the audio signals RIN and LIN from the music reproducing device 30 are temporarily stopped and the car stereo (not shown) is in a soundless state. Firstly, the user operates the controller 32 so that the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 is changed to a desired frequency (S 100 ). As a result, the instruction corresponding to a result of the operation of the controller 32 is transmitted to the CPU 63 through the IF circuit 60 . Then, the setting unit 70 and the output unit 71 makes preparations for the frequency data and the storage address of the audio data, respectively, according to the instruction from the controller 32 (S 101 ). When the frequency data and the storage address are prepared, the setting unit 70 starts to transmit the frequency data to the IF circuit 60 at time T 1 (S 102 ). As a result, at the time T 1 , the serial data SDA is output from the IF circuit 60 in synchronization with the clock signal SCL. The output unit 71 outputs the storage address of the audio data to the ROM 61 at the time T 1 , in the same timing as that of the start of transmission of the frequency data (S 110 ). When the storage address is specified in the ROM 61 , the audio data is input to the DAC 62 , and as a result, from the time T 1 , the beep sound is reproduced from the speaker 23 (S 111 ). When the setting unit 70 has completed transmission of the frequency data at time T 2 (S 103 ), the output unit 71 stops outputting the storage address. Therefore, in a first embodiment of the present invention, while the IF circuit 60 outputs the serial data for setting the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 , the beep sound is reproduced from the speaker 23 .
[0035] FIG. 5 depicts a configuration of a transmitting device 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As is the case with the transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting device 11 is a device for transmitting the audio signal output from, for example, the music reproducing device 30 as the FM signal from the antenna 31 to be reproduced by the car stereo (not shown). The transmitting device 11 is a device that is capable of setting the frequency of the FM signal by the operation of the controller 32 by the user. The transmitting device 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes the FM transmitting circuit 20 and a microcomputer 24 . The FM transmitting circuit 20 in the transmitting device 11 is the same as the FM transmitting circuit 20 of the transmitting device 10 . The music reproducing device 30 , the antenna 31 , and the controller 32 according to a second embodiment are the same as the music reproducing device 30 , the antenna 31 , and the controller 32 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
[0036] The microcomputer 24 (digital data processing circuit) is a circuit that controls the FM transmitting circuit 20 according to the instruction from the controller 32 , which is operated by the user in order to set the frequency of the FM signal. The microcomputer 24 includes the IF circuit 60 , the ROM 61 , the CPU 63 , and a DAC 64 . The IF circuit 60 , the ROM 61 , and the CPU 63 are the same as the IF circuit 60 , the ROM 61 , and the CPU 63 in the transmitting device 10 , respectively.
[0037] The DAC 64 (converting unit) is a circuit that converts digital audio data output from the ROM 61 into stereo analog audio signals ROUT and LOUT, and outputs these converted signals to nodes to which the audio signals RIN and LIN in the audio amplifier circuit 40 is input. Therefore, when comparing between the transmitting device 10 of a first embodiment of the present invention and the transmitting device 11 of a second embodiment of the present invention, there is a difference in an output destination of the audio data stored in the ROM 61 .
[0038] An operation of the transmitting device 11 will now be described referring again to the flowchart of FIG. 3 used when describing the operation of the transmitting device 10 . Here, the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 is already set and the operation when changing the frequency will be described. When changing the frequency of the carrier in a second embodiment of the present invention, the audio signals RIN and LIN from the music reproducing device 30 are temporarily stopped and the car stereo (not shown) is in the soundless state. As described above, when comparing between the microcomputer 24 according to a second embodiment of the present invention and the microcomputer 21 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, since the IF circuit 60 , the ROM 61 , and the CPU 63 are common, the microcomputers 24 and 21 differs in only step Sill in a sequence of processing for changing the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 . To be more specific, in a second embodiment of the present invention, when the output unit 71 outputs the storage address of the audio data to the ROM 61 , the audio data of the ROM 61 is output to the DAC 64 . The DAC 64 outputs the stereo audio signals ROUT and LOUT based on the audio data. Since the audio signals ROUT and LOUT from the DAC 64 are input to the audio amplifier circuit 40 , an output of the audio amplifier circuit 40 is transmitted from the antenna 31 , through the FM modulating IC 41 and power amplifier 42 , over the carrier of the frequency based on the setting data, which is setting data before being changed, set in the setting register 52 . Therefore, in a second embodiment of the present invention, while the serial data SDA for changing the frequency of the carrier is output from the IF circuit 60 , the beep sound is reproduced from the car stereo (not shown).
[0039] In the transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention and the transmitting device 11 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, each of which has a configuration described above, while the serial data SDA is transmitted to the FM modulating IC 41 , the output unit 71 outputs the storage address of the audio data stored in the ROM 61 . As a result, even in a case where the influence of the harmonic, etc., of the serial data SDA appears in an audible range so that a sound of transmitting the serial data SDA is output from the car stereo, the beep sound, which is a predetermined audio signal, is reproduced, and therefore, it becomes possible to mask the sound of transmitting the serial data SDA. Thus, it is possible to prevent the user from suspecting a trouble of the transmitting device 10 or 11 due to the sound of transmitting the serial data SDA.
[0040] In the transmitting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, the DAC 62 converts the audio data stored in the ROM 61 , to drive the speaker 23 included in the transmitting device 10 through the power amplifier 22 . Therefore, in the transmitting device 10 , since the beep sound may be reproduced from the speaker 23 included in the transmitting device 10 , the sound of transmitting the serial data SDA may be masked.
[0041] In the transmitting device 11 of a second embodiment of the present invention, the DAC 64 converts the audio data stored in the ROM 61 , to be output to the audio amplifier circuit 40 of the FM transmitting circuit 20 . Therefore, even in a case where the speaker is not provided in the transmitting device itself unlike the transmitting device 10 , since the beep sound may be reproduced in the car stereo (not shown), the sound of transmitting the serial data SDA may be masked.
[0042] The above embodiments of the present invention are simply for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and are not in any way to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present invention may variously be changed or altered without departing from its spirit and encompass equivalents thereof.
[0043] Although, in a first and second embodiments according to the present invention, the frequency of the carrier of the FM transmitting circuit 20 may be set based on the setting data, a power amplifier capable of changing a transmission power may be used, to change the transmission power of the power amplifier based on the setting data, for example. An audio amplifier circuit capable of outputting either the stereo composite signal or the monaural signal may be used in place of the audio amplifier circuit 40 , to output either the stereo composite signal or the monaural signal based on the setting data. In the above cases as well, it is possible to mask the sound of transmitting the serial data SDA by reproducing the beep sound while the serial data SDA is transmitted.
[0044] In a first and second embodiments according to the present invention, there is employed a two-wire system in which the serial data SDA is transmitted in synchronization with the clock signal SCL when changing the setting data of the setting register 52 , however, the same effect may be obtained in the case of one-wire or three-wire data transmission as well. | A digital data processing circuit comprising: a setting unit configured to set setting data on an audio signal processing circuit configured to generate an FM modulated signal based on the setting data, the FM modulated signal being a signal to be transmitted wirelessly to an FM radio receiver; and an output unit configured to output audio data for reproducing a predetermined audio signal while the setting unit sets the setting data on the audio signal processing circuit. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an x-ray computed tomography apparatus of the type having an annular x-ray source surrounding a measuring field, the annular x-ray source having an annular anode that is scanned by an electron beam for generating a rotating x-ray beam. The geometry of such an x-ray computed tomography apparatus shall be referred to below as EBT (electron beam tomography) geometry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An especially fast scanning of an examination subject is possible with an x-ray computed tomography apparatus of the above type, so that motion unsharpness is largely suppressed. In order for the x-ray beam to enter unimpeded into the measuring field wherein the examination subject lies, the radiation detector that is likewise annularly fashioned and is composed of a row of detector elements arranged laterally next to the exit window of the x-ray beam. This permits that the x-ray beam to emerge unimpeded from this window and to be incident on the x-ray detector after leaving the measuring field. To this end, the x-ray beam is inclined at an angle relative to its rotational axis that deviates slightly from 90°.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an x-ray computed tomography apparatus of the type generally described above wherein a fast, artifact-free image reconstruction is achieved.
The above object is achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention in an x-ray computed tomography apparatus of the type generally described above which produces, for each scan, a set of measured values f(u i ,p k , l ) for each scan for each projection angle l and each position u i =z i cos φ (wherein φ is the angle which the projection plane makes relative to the x-y plane of a Cartesian coordinate system) and each position p k in a selected direction from the z axis, and wherein, in accordance with the invention, an arbitrarily selectable excerpt of a volume image of the examination subject is obtained by two-dimensionally Fourier transforming the aforementioned data set with respect to u i and p k to obtain a frequency space function, multiplying the frequency space function by an interpolation function in one dimension of the frequency space and by a convolution core function in another dimension of the frequency space to obtain an interpolated, convoluted product, multiplying the interpolated, convoluted product by a phase factor which is dependent on a location of each point of the interpolated, convoluted product relative to a reconstruction volume in a locus space and thereby obtaining a file set of frequency space points, three-dimensionally gridding the final set of frequency space points onto points of a three-dimensional Cartesian grid with grid dimensions Δρ x , Δρ y and Δρ z , freely selecting Δρ x , Δρ y and Δρ z to generate an arbitrarily selectable excerpt of the volume image, and by three-dimensionally fast Fourier transforming the arbitrary excerpt into the locus space. The excerpt transformed into the locus space is then displayed.
For generating an image in a plane x,y, which is arbitrarily oriented in space, the above-described apparatus can be modified so that no gridding takes place in the ρ z direction, and Fourier transformation is instead directly implemented for the position z=0. The gridding of the final set of frequency space points onto the Cartesian grid then takes place only on the basis of a two-dimensional gridding, with the dimensions Δρ x and Δρ y being freely selectable. The Fourier transformation into the locus space is then a two-dimensional fast Fourier transformation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an x-ray computed tomography apparatus having EBT geometry for explaining the invention.
FIGS. 2-5 are geometrical illustrations for explaining the image reconstruction in the x-ray computed tomography apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows an x-ray computed tomography apparatus having an annular x-ray source 2 surrounding a measuring field 1, a ring anode 3 being arranged in the x-ray source 2. The ring anode 3 is scanned by an electron beam 5 generated by an electron gun 6 for generating a rotating, fan-shaped x-ray beam 4. The electron gun 6 is followed by focusing coils 7. A vacuum in the x-ray source 2 is maintained by vacuum pumps 8. The electron beam 5 is deflected onto the ring anode 3 by a magnetic deflection coil 9 for generating the x-ray beam 4. The x-rays emerging after penetrating the examination subject in the measuring field 1 are acquired by an annular radiation detector 10 that is composed of a row of detector elements 10a. The output signals of the detector elements 10a are supplied to a computer 11 that calculates an image of the investigated slice of the examination subject therefrom and reproduces this image on a monitor 12. The measuring field 1 is a field in an opening 13 into which the examination subject is inserted. The x-ray beam 4 rotates on the ring anode 3 due to deflection of the electron beam 5 for irradiating the examination subject from different directions, rotating around the axis 4a.
A control unit 14 operates the deflection coil 9 such that the electron beam 5 penetrates the x-ray source 2 concentrically relative to the ring anode 3 before the beginning of a scan procedure until it reaches a radiation trap 15 of, for example, lead at the closed end. Before reaching the radiation trap 15, it is defocused by a defocusing means 16. For conducting a scan procedure, the electron beam 5 is deflected onto the ring anode 3 by the deflection coil 9 and scans the ring anode 3 from its end 17 to its end 18. Five focus positions are shown in FIG. 1. In fact, there are substantially more discrete focus positions, for example 1,000. Preferably, however, the focus should be continuously shifted by a traveling field, so that the scanning is determined by means of the detector interrogation (sampling). The x-ray beam 4 thus rotates opposite the direction of the electron beam 5 and is shown in its final position in FIG. 1. The scan procedure is ended at that point.
A renewed set-up of the annularly guided electron beam 5 subsequently ensues. A new scan procedure begins with the deflection thereof onto the end 17 of the ring anode 3.
It is also possible to scan the ring anode 3 with the electron beam 5 in the clockwise direction, i.e. from its end 18 to its end 17.
The radiation detector 10 is arranged such with respect to the ring anode 3 such that the x-ray beam 4 can pass by it before the x-ray beam 4 enters into the measuring field 1, and so that x-ray beam 4 is incident on the radiation detector 10 only after emerging from the measuring field 1.
In the exemplary embodiment, the ring anode 3 is fashioned as a partial ring, however, it can alternatively be fashioned as a full ring.
Geometry:
In EBT geometry, fan projections that are inclined by the angle φ relative to the x-y plane arise for discrete projection angles l (φ is referred to as the "gyratory angle"). If the plane in which the fan at the angle l lies has a vertical spacing u i from the coordinate origin, the intersection of this plane with the z axis is z i =u i /cos φ.
It will be assumed that a parallel projection in the same plane arises for each such fan projection as a result of re-interpolation, characterized by l , φ and u i . This re-interpolation can be implemented substantially more simply than the interpolation of parallel data for φ=0 that initially seems desirable.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate the geometry, whereby FIG. 3 shows a view onto the y-z plane.
The straight line g (n 1 direction) resides perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing, on the z axis. It proceeds through the point (0, 0, z i ) and describes the angle l with the x-z plane.
The vector r g for the line g is thus ##EQU1##
The projection plane belonging to the angle l is placed through g, this projection plane being inclined by the angle φ relative to the x-y plane. The projection plane contains the straight line g⊥, defined by the vector ##EQU2##
The vector n resides perpendicularly on the projection plane: ##EQU3##
The vectors n 1 , n 2 and n define an orthogonal coordinate system.
It is expedient to characterize an attenuation value lying in the projection plane established by l and u i in the following way:
1) By the distance u i of the projection plane from the coordinate origin:
u.sub.i =r.sub.i ·n=z.sub.i cosφ
2) By the "projection angle" l
3) By the distance p k of the measured value in n 1 direction from the z axis.
One thus has a set of measured values f(u i , p k , l ).
The scan grid in the n 1 direction is a; the scan grid in the n direction is a.sub.⊥ ; N p projections are registered per "revolution": ##EQU4## wherein a m is the alignment.
The term du( l ) takes into consideration that the data are acquired as "spiral data". During the exposure, the measured subject moves with a constant feed rate in the z direction relative to the rotating x-ray beam 4, so that the position in the n direction has changed by exactly a.sub.⊥ after one revolution (N p projections) (and changed by a.sub.⊥ /cos φ in the z direction).
The operating mode wherein the measured subject is stationary during a complete revolution and is shifted by a.sub.⊥ /cos φ in the z direction after every revolution is representable as a special case for du( l )=0.
Possible definitions of a three-dimensional reference image for the Fourier reconstruction:
When a three-dimensional image B 0 (r) is to be constructed from the line integrals f(u i , p k , l ), in order for this three-dimensional image to correctly quantitatively reproduce the subject attenuation values μ(r), the integrals f(u i , p k , l ) must linearly contribute to B 0 (r): ##EQU5##
G lik (r) must be the same for all r on straight lines parallel to the projection line (u i , p k , l ), i.e. in the n 2 direction and can therefore be dependent only on the distance of the point r from proportion line (u i , p k , l ). This distance can in turn be divided into the distance in the n direction d.sub.⊥ =r·n-u i of the point r from the projection plane characterized by u i and l and into the distance d=r·n 1 -p k between the projection of the point into the projection plane and the projection line.
Because the inclination angle φ in EBT geometry is small and because the conventional spiral scan must be contained in the representation as a special case for φ=0, the distance dependency is described by the product of two functions, each of which is respectively dependent on one of the two distance components:
G.sub.lik (r)=L.sub.lik (r·n.sub.1 -p.sub.k) h.sub.lik (r·n-u.sub.i) (6)
when all projection values f(u i , P k , l ) are identically treated, ##EQU6## arises according to a standard scaling.
This image is considered as "reference image" for the Fourier reconstruction. The goal of a Fourier reconstruction method must be to reproduce B 0 (r) in the image region under consideration.
In a conventional spiral scan (φ=0), h(u) is the interpolation function in the z direction. L 0 (p) is the normal convolution core whose Fourier transform L 0 (ρ) is related to the modulation transfer function M A (ρ) of the reconstruction in the following way: ##EQU7##
In the general case (φ≠0), ##EQU8## is valid for L 0 (ρ).
Derivation of a three-dimensional Fourier reconstruction method: reconstruction of the entire measurement volume:
Theoretical Description
Let the diameter of the measuring field in the x direction and in the y direction be D M . Let the expanse (thickness) of the measuring field in the z direction be D z .
When
L(p)=L.sub.0 (p) for |p|≦D.sub.M
L(p)=0 for |p|>D.sub.M (10)
is set (exactly as in the two-dimensional case), the projections in the n 1 direction convoluted with L(p) can be periodically continued without degrading the image in the measuring field region, when
w≦2D.sub.M
is valid for the period length w. The function h(u) will be of slight expanse in the locus space anyway (expanse on the order of magnitude of a slice width b; in the case of the spiral scan, h(u), for example, is the linear interpolation between neighboring slices).
v≦D.sub.z +b
The image B 1 (r) defined in the following way is identical to B 0 (r) in the measuring field region: ##EQU9##
The three-dimensional Fourier transform 1 (ρ) of this image reads: ##EQU10##
The integral over (r·n 2 ) is a δ function and is derived as:
∫d(r·n.sub.2)exp(-2πi(ρ·n.sub.2)(r·n.sub.2))=δ(ρ·n.sub.2) (13)
Also valid is: ##EQU11##
When ρ=ρ·n 1 is set, then, because ##EQU12## the following is valid: ##EQU13##
In the same way, one obtains ##EQU14## with Δρ.sub.⊥ =ρ·n and Δρ.sub.⊥ =1/v.
Equations (13), (16) and (17) introduced into (12) leads to the result: ##EQU15## with ρ=ρ·n 1 and ρ.sub.⊥ =ρ·n.
f(nΔρ.sub.⊥, mΔρ, l )is the two-dimensional, discrete Fourier transform of f(u i , p k , l ) with respect to u i and p k : ##EQU16## whereby Equation (4) was employed.
Equation (18) means that a continuous, three-dimensional image B 1 (r) was defined in the locus space whose three-dimensional Fourier transform 1 (ρ) in the frequency space exists only at discrete points. Therebetween, 1 (ρ) has no values.
Values on a plane ρ·n 2 =0 in the frequency space belong to each "projection angle" l . This plane is inclined relative to the ρ x -ρ z plane by the "projection angle" l and by the "gyroscopic angle" φ.
This is a generalization of a theorem referred to as the "central slice theorem" in two-dimensions. In the present context, it can be stated as follows:
The three-dimensional Fourier transform 1 (ρ) of the image B 1 (r) on a plane in the frequency space that proceeds through the origin and is inclined relative to the ρ x -ρ z plane by the "projection angle" l and by the "gyroscopic angle" φ is equal to the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the projections f(nΔρ.sub.⊥, mΔρ, l ) L(mΔρ) h(nΔρ.sub.⊥) registered for each angle l .
The values of the plane defined by and associated with the "projection angle" l are present in a Cartesian, discrete grid, having the grid dimension Δρ in the n 1 direction and Δρ.sub.⊥ in the n direction.
In order to create the basis for a three-dimensional Fourier back-transformation of the spectrum into the locus space with FFT algorithms, a new image B 2 (r) is defined, this arising from B 1 (r) by multiplication with the step function T(r):
T(r)=T.sub.1 (x)T.sub.1 (y)T.sub.2 (z)
T.sub.1 (x)=1 for |x|≦D.sub.B /2
T.sub.1 (x)=0 for |x|>D.sub.B /2
T.sub.2 (z)=1 for |z|≦D.sub.Z /2
T.sub.2 (z)=0 for |z|>D.sub.Z /2 (20)
D B ·D B is the central image excerpt of interest in the x-y plane, D Z is the length of the measuring field in z direction. The image B 2 (r) coincides with B 1 (r) in volume D B ·D B ·D Z ; outside of this volume, it is zero. The periodic repetition of the image in the locus space occurring due to the spectrum scanning in the Cartesian coordinates given the three-dimensional FFT therefore does not lead to overlap errors.
B.sub.2 (r)=B.sub.1 (r)T.sub.1 (x), T.sub.1 (y), T.sub.2 (z) (21)
is set.
The following are then valid: ##EQU17##
With ρ=ρ·n 1 , one can thus write: ##EQU18## The equality ##EQU19## was thereby used (also see (15)).
With ρ.sub.⊥ =ρ·n, one likewise obtains: ##EQU20##
Equations (25) and (27) introduced into (22) results in: ##EQU21##
1 (ρ), the three-dimensional Fourier transform of the image B 1 (r) unlimited in the locus space, is only defined at discrete points in the frequency space (see equation (18)).
2 (ρ), by contrast, the three-dimensional Fourier transform of the image B 1 (r) multiplied by the step function T 1 (x) T 1 (y) T 2 (z) has continuous values in the frequency space. 2 (ρ) arises by convolution of the discrete 1 (ρ) with the one-dimensional Fourier transform T 1 (ρ x ) T 1 (ρ y ) T 2 (ρ z ) of T 1 (x) T 1 (y) T 2 (z).
2 (ρ) is obtained at the location (ρ x , ρ y , ρ z ) by calculating the distance of the point (ρ x , ρ y , ρ z ) from every point (nΔρ.sub.⊥, mΔρ, l ) of 1 (ρ) in the ρ x direction (i.e., ρ 1 =ρ x -mΔρ cos l -nΔρ.sub.⊥ sin l sin φ) in the ρ y direction (i.e., ρ 2 =ρ y -mΔρ sin l +nΔρ.sub.⊥ cos l sin φ), and in ρ z direction (i.e., ρ 3 =ρ z -nΔρ.sub.⊥ cos φ), the value of the point (nΔρ.sub.⊥, mΔρ, φ l ) is weighted with T 1 (ρ 1 ) T 1 (ρ 2 )T 2 (ρ 3 ) and all such contributions are added.
The continuous spectrum 1 (ρ) can then be scanned in the raster points αΔρ x , βΔρ y , γΔρ z with
Δρ.sub.x ≦1/D.sub.B
Δρ.sub.y ≦1/D.sub.B
Δρ.sub.z ≦1/D.sub.Z
which are transformed into the locus space with a three-dimensional FFT without aliasing errors occurring in the periodic repetition of the image B 2 (r) following therefrom.
As in the two-dimensional case, the method can be simply expanded to arbitrary, non-central image excerpts D B ·D B in the x-y plane, as follows. Let the desired reconstruction center lie at the location
r.sub.z =(r.sub.z cos.sub.z, r.sub.z sin.sub.z, Z.sub.z) (29)
A shift of the reconstruction center in the z direction is possible but not actually meaningful because one could then just position the patient differently, or shorten the length of the scan region, in order to keep the radiation stress as low as possible.
After the ideational shift of the image B 1 (r) by the vector -r z , so that the reconstruction center again comes to lie on the coordinate origin, one multiplies with the step function T 1 (x) T 1 (y) T 2 (z) in order to obtain B 2 (r). Shift by -r z in the frequency space means multiplication with a phase factor.
With
r.sub.z ·n=r.sub.z (cos.sub.z cos.sub.l +sin.sub.z sin.sub.l)=r.sub.z cos(.sub.l -.sub.z) (30)
r.sub.z ·n=r.sub.z (cos.sub.z sin .sub.l sinφ-sin .sub.z cos.sub.l sinφ)+z.sub.z cosφ=r.sub.z sinφsin(.sub.l -.sub.z)+z.sub.z cosφ (31)
one obtains the following for three-dimensional Fourier reconstruction from EBT data: ##EQU22##
An arbitrary rotation of the illustrated image volume around the point (r z cos z , r z sin z , z z ) can also be realized without significant additional outlay, so that reformattings can be thereby replaced up to a certain degree.
Simplifications for the practical realization:
As in the two-dimensional case, of course, the image B 1 (r) in the locus space will not be limited with an ideal rectangular stop since the Fourier transform thereof is
T.sub.1 (ρ.sub.x)T.sub.1 (ρ.sub.y (T.sub.2 (ρ.sub.z)=D.sub.B.sup.2 D.sub.Z sinc(πρ.sub.x D.sub.B)sinc(πρ.sub.y D.sub.B)sinc(πρ.sub.z D.sub.z) (34)
so that every point of 1 (ρ) contributes to every point of 2 (ρ) (αΔρ x , βΔρ y , γΔρ z ). Instead, a volume D R ·D R ·D Z , is reconstructed that is larger than the desired image volume D B ·D B ·D Z , and step functions T 1 and T 2 are selected such that T 1 decreases or fades to an adequate extent along the path from D B /2 to D R -D B /2 and T 2 decreases or fades to an adequate extent along the path from D Z /2 to D Z' -D Z /2 and subsequently no longer upwardly exceeds a smallest value ε min . Suitable functions, for example, are the modified Van der Maas window, the Blackman window or a combination of the two.
In the spiral mode, the data in the z direction arise in a dense sequence for an EBT apparatus, i.e. the grid a.sub.⊥ is extremely small. When, for example, one sets a 3 mm slice and a patient feed of 3 mm per second is undertaken in z the direction, a revolution will last approximately 50 ms, with 20 revolutions per second, and thus, ##EQU23## given a gyroscopic angle of 0.5°.
Approximately 400 slices are obtained in the z direction for D z =60 mm, so that the two-dimensional Fourier transformation of the projections f(u i , p k , l ) in the n 1 direction (p k ) would, as before, have to be of the dimension 2048 or 4096 dependent on the number of detector elements, also of the dimension 512 in the direction n(u i ) (impractically large).
Since the slice thickness b (for example 3 mm), however, is significantly larger than the spacing of neighboring slices (a.sub.⊥ =0.15 mm), a number of projections that have arisen given the same projection angle l and follow one another in the n direction (u i with ascending index i) can be combined, so that an effective a.sub.⊥ of approximately half the slice thickness b arises and thus only 64 supporting points, for example, for the Fourier transmission of the projection f(u i , p k , l ) in the n direction.
The unsharpening of the image in z direction that is unavoidable in this combination can be compensated by including a steepening part in h(nΔρ.sub.⊥).
Quasi-two-Dimensional Fourier Reconstruction of Individual Slices:
The three-dimensional Fourier reconstruction of the entire measurement volume makes high demands of storage space and calculating speed.
In the example that has been mentioned (3 mm slice, length of the measurement field in the z direction D Z =60 mm), the projections f(u i , p k , l ) must first be transformed with two-dimensional FFTs of the length 2048 ·64 into the frequency space for every projection angle l (given 1024 detector elements). When, for example, 1000 projections arise per revolution, 1000 of these two-dimensional FFTs then must be implemented. The multiplication by L(mΔρ) and h(nΔρ.sub.⊥) as well as by the phase factor subsequently ensues in the frequency space. z ,1 (ρ) is thus defined. When a two-dimensional image having a 512·512 matrix is presented and when one wishes the images in approximately the spacing of half the slice thickness, i.e. approximately 40-50 images for D Z =60 mm, then--due to the properties of the step function T 1 (x) T 1 (y) T 2 (z)--the three-dimensional Fourier back-transformation into the locus space must be of the dimension 1024·1024·128, i.e. z ,2 (ρ x , ρ y , ρ z ) is required at just as many supporting points. When T 1 and T 2 are suitably selected, z ,1 (ρ) contributes to approximately 4·4·4 points of z ,1 (ρ x , ρ y , ρ z ).
It is also a disadvantage that one cannot begin with the reconstruction until all data have been registered, i.e. until after the entire scan.
For these reasons, it may be desirable to reconstruct successive two-dimensional images as before (for instance, in the spacing of half a slice thickness). Only a relatively small data set is then required for the reconstruction of the first image.
A quasi-two-dimensional Fourier construction method for EBT data shall be set forth below.
Is seen in the y-z plane, FIG. 4 shows the desired slice at z 0 as well as the region Δu in the n direction from which data contribute to the image at z 0 . When ##EQU24## is introduced, then u i must be taken into consideration for
l.sub.0 -l≦i≦l.sub.0 +l (36)
Analogous to equation (11), an image B 1 ,l.sbsb.0 (r) is now defined--although two-dimensionally--at the location r=(x, y, z 0 ), whereby the projections f(u i , p k , l ) in the n 1 direction convoluted with L(p) and h(u) are repeated as in (11) with period w=2D M , but with the period v'=Δu+B in the ndirection (b is the expanse of h(u)): ##EQU25## Because
r·n.sub.1 =xcos.sub.l +ysin.sub.l (38)
r·n=xsin.sub.l sinφ-ycos.sub.l sinφ=z.sub.0 cosφ(39)
the two-dimensional Fourier transform of this image is: ##EQU26##
Following therefrom with equations (25) and (27): ##EQU27## with Δρ'.sub.⊥ =1/v' and--as previously--Δρ=1/w.
When the substitution
j=i-l.sub.0 (42)
is implemented then based on Equation (4)
u.sub.i =U.sub.j+l.sub.0 =ja.sub.⊥ +l.sub.0 a.sub.195 +du(.sub.l)=u.sub.j +l.sub.0 a.sub.⊥ (43)
with
z.sub.0 cosφ-l.sub.0 a.sub.⊥ =dz.sub.0 cosφ (44)
the following is obtained for B 1 ,l.sbsb.0 (ρ x , ρ y , Z o ): ##EQU28##
The term f l 0 (nΔρ'.sub.⊥, mΔρ, l ) is thereby the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the projection f(u j+l 0 , p k , l ): ##EQU29##
B 1 ,l.sbsb.0 (ρ x , ρ y , Z o ) in the two-dimensional ρ x -ρ y frequency space is also defined only at discrete points, namely at the locations δ(ρ x -mΔρcos l -nΔρ'.sub.⊥ sin l sinφ) and δ(ρ y -mΔρsin l +nΔρ'.sub.⊥ cos l sinφ).
This becomes δ(ρ x -mΔρcos l )δ(ρ y -mΔρsin l ) for φ=0 (projections perpendicularly on the z axis). The points--as in the conventional, two-dimensional case--then lie on a polar grid in the ρ x -ρ y plane.
In order to make the two-dimensional image B 1 ,l.sbsb.0 (x, y, z 0 ) (z 0 is only a parameter, no longer a variable) useable for the two-dimensional Fourier reconstruction, it is multiplied by the step function T 1 (x) T 1 (y) (see (20) for definition) and B 2 ,l 0 (X, y, z 0 ), the latter coinciding with B 1 ,l.sbsb.0 (x, y, z 0 ), in an initially central image excerpt D B ·D B :
B.sub.2,l.sub.0 (x,y,z.sub.0)=B.sub.1,l.sbsb.0 (x,y,z.sub.0)T.sub.1 (x)T.sub.1 (y) (47)
The two-dimensional Fourier transform of this image is calculated as: ##EQU30##
B 2 ,l 0 (ρ x , ρ y , Z o ) is continuous and--as required for two-dimensional FFT--can be scanned in the Cartesian scan points αΔρ x ,βΔρ y , with
Δρ.sub.x ≦1/D.sub.B
Δρ.sub.y ≦1D.sub.B (49)
As in the three-dimensional case, the expansion to non-central image excerpts D B ·D B in the x-y plane is simple. With r z =(r z cos z , r z sin z , 0) for the position of the reconstruction center, one obtains: ##EQU31##
The following estimate of the outlay for the reconstruction of an individual slice at z 0 is of interest.
As in the three-dimensional reconstruction, the projections that arose given the same projection angle l can be combined for a number of successive u i , so that an effective grid a.sub.⊥ having approximately half a slice thickness arises. l≈2 is then valid, so that the projections f(u j+l 0 , p k , l ) (given 1024 detector elements) are to be transformed into the frequency space for every projection angle l having a two-dimensional FFT of the length 2048·4. After multiplication by L(mΔρ)h(nΔρ'.sub.⊥) and the corresponding phase factor, each of the supporting points contributes to approximately 4·4 supporting points of the Cartesian grid for the two-dimensional Fourier back-transformation that, as usual, ensues with 1024·1024 values.
A not unsubstantial difference compared to three-dimensional reconstruction lies in the switch to the Cartesian grid: every point therein contributes to 4·4·4 supporting points of the three-dimensional Cartesian grid, a significant advantage.
The total outlay for the production of an individual image should, according to these preliminary estimates, lie at about 3-4 times the outlay for the production of an individual image from conventional, two-dimensional parallel data.
As in the three-dimensional reconstruction, it is easily possible to rotate the two-dimensional discrete slice in space on the basis of a coordinate transformation.
Derivation of L 0 (ρ):
The relationship ##EQU32## is explained in this section (see Equation (9)).
In continuous notation, the reference image (from Equation (7)) reads: ##EQU33##
When data are obtained from a uniform circular cylinder having a diameter D and attenuation μ that has an infinite expanse in the z direction the examination as subject, then ##EQU34## is valid, and thus: ##EQU35##
With r·n 1 =x cos +y sin , the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the individual slice calculated at an arbitrary location z 0 is ##EQU36## Because
∫ dx exp (-2πix(ρ.sub.x -ρcos))=δ(ρ.sub.x -ρcos)=δ(ρ.sub.x -ρ.sub.x) (55)
∫ dy exp (-2πiy(ρ.sub.y -ρsin ))=δ(ρ.sub.y -ρsin)=δ(ρ.sub.y -ρ.sub.y) (56)
and
|ρ|dρd=dρ'.sub.x dρ'y (57)
one can thus write: ##EQU37##
With M A (ρ) as a modulation transfer function and O(ρ) as the two-dimensional Fourier transform into the ρ x -ρ y plane of the circular cylinder with infinite expanse in the z direction, the following is simultaneously valid: ##EQU38## Following therefrom, ##EQU39##
Coordinate Transformation and Derivation of the Reconstruction Equations for Arbitrarily Rotated, Individual Slices:
FIG. 5 illustrates the first step of the coordinate transformation. The starting point is the coordinate system x, y, z. The new coordinate system x', y', z' is shifted (-x z , -y z , -z z ) and is rotated by the angle δ. The x' axis is the rotational axis. Thus
x'=x+x.sub.z (61)
y'=(Y+y.sub.z)cos δ+(z+z.sub.z)sin δ (62)
z'=-(y+y.sub.z)sin δ+(z+z.sub.z cos δ (63)
The coordinate system x', y', z' is subsequently rotated by the angle γ. The y' axis is the rotational axis. The coordinate system x", y", z" is obtained with
x"=x'cosγ+z'sinγ (64)
z"=-x'sinγ+z'cosγ (65)
y"=y' (66)
The overall transformations are:
x=x"cosγ-z"sinγ-x.sub.z (67)
y=y"cosδ-x"sinγsinδ-z"cosγsinδ-y.sub.z (68)
z=x"sinγcosδ+z"cosγcosδ+y"sinδ-z.sub.z (69)
The individual slice in the coordinate system x", y", z" is observed at the location z"=0 (otherwise, x z , y z , z z could have been differently selected). Then
x=x"cosγ-x.sub.z (70)
y=y"cosδ-x"sinγsinδ-y.sub.z (71)
z=x"sinγcosδ+y"sinδ-z.sub.z (72)
The starting point for the image description is equation (37): ##EQU40##
Following therefrom with Equations (10), (11), (12): ##EQU41##
The two-dimensional Fourier transform with respect to x" and y" at the location z"=0 is ##EQU42## with the substitution
j=i-l.sub.0 (76)
u.sub.i =u.sub.j +l.sub.0 =ja.sub.⊥ +l.sub.0 a.sub.⊥ +du(.sub.i)=u.sub.j +l.sub.0 a.sub.⊥ (77)
-z.sub.z cosφ-l.sub.0 a.sub.⊥ =dz.sub.0 cosφ (78)
this becomes ##EQU43##
f l .sbsb.0 (nΔρ.sub.⊥, mΔρ l ) is the two-dimensional Fourier transform of f(u j+l .sbsb.0, p k , l ): ##EQU44##
The image B 1D ,l.sbsb.0 (x", y", 0) is multiplied by the step function T 1 (x"), T 1 (y") in the new coordinate system x", y", z" and the image B 2D ,l.sbsb.0 (x", y", 0) is obtained with the Fourier transform ##EQU45##
The sole difference compared to equation (50) is that the weighting functions T 1 (ρ x" ) T 1 (ρ y" ) are to be calculated at other locations because of the rotated coordinate system. This, however, does not involve added outlay because γ and δ are constants. Added outlay does arise, however, because individual scans must be utilized for constructing a slice under certain circumstances, i.e. l becomes larger.
When δ=0 and γ=0 is set, equation (50) is obtained.
Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventor to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of his contribution to the art. | An x-ray computed tomography apparatus is operated so that a reconstruction of arbitrarily selectable volume regions can be accomplished. A Fourier reconstruction is implemented based on parallel data in planes that are inclined by the angle φ relative to a plane perpendicular to the z axis. | 0 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. utility application Ser. No. 09/141,494, filed Aug. 27, 1998 (the '494 application), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,137, issued Sep. 26, 2000. The '494 application corresponds to and claims priority to European Application No. 97202627.2, filed Aug. 28, 1997. The '494 application and the corresponding European application are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multiple-glazed window containing an integral assembly for controlling the amount of daylight passing though the window into a room. In particular, the invention relates to a window having a peripheral frame enclosing inside and outside glass panes that are substantially parallel and define a space between them which is preferably sealed and in which the light-control assembly is mounted.
b. Background Art
Double-pane windows containing motorized venetian blinds as light-control assemblies have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,723,586 and 4,979,552. Such windows have satisfied most light-control requirements. In addition, the mere positioning of a venetian blind within the space between two glass panes in a window has long been known to reduce heat losses by radiation through the window to an extent approaching those of windows with triple panes.
Notwithstanding this, the increased use of computer monitors in office buildings has presented additional demands on windows and their associated light-control assemblies for providing protection against the glare from sunlight, without totally eliminating daylight illumination within such buildings. Blocking such glare by closing the window blinds has often diminished the level of illumination in offices below acceptable limits, but increasing the use of artificial illumination, such as electric lighting, has also been objectionable from an environmental point of view.
Anti-glare venetian blinds have also been previously described. For example, in European patent 0,303,107, an anti-glare venetian blind is provided with slats: which are upwardly concave, which have their inner longitudinal edges (facing towards the room) as high or higher than their outer longitudinal edges (facing away from the room), which are mirrored on at least their topsides and retro-reflecting on their undersides, and the spacing and position of which are so selected that the light passes through them mostly into an angular region above the horizon. In European patent application 0,606,543, an anti-glare blind is provided with slats which are: upwardly concave, mirrored on their topsides and at least partially perforated. Although these blinds appear to be able to guide light towards the ceiling of a room and avoid glare, they are not adapted to allow some sunlight to enter the rest of a room. In this regard, it would be desirable, on sunny days, to be able to block or inhibit heat and glare from entering the rest of the room, without blocking daylight illumination entirely from the rest of the room.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For this reason, there has been a continuing interest in eliminating glare and sunlight from the lower portions of office windows while redirecting light from the upper portions of office windows within offices. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved multiple-glazed window with an integral light-control assembly.
In accordance with this invention, a double-pane window is provided, containing, within a peripheral frame, a light-control assembly that includes:
i) an upper section which is adapted to redirect light entering the window through the outside pane so that the light exits the window through the inside pane; and
ii) a lower section which is adapted to reduce or eliminate light entering the window through the outside pane from exiting the window through the inside pane. Preferably, the light passing through the upper section of the window can be reflected upwardly, against a ceiling surface of the interior of a room, to provide additional illumination. In the lower section of the window, sunlight and glare from the outside, which might otherwise disturb the occupants of the room, can be substantially reduced or eliminated as desired without losing altogether the benefits of daylight illumination.
Advantageously the upper and lower sections each comprise a venetian blind assembly provided with a plurality of substantially parallel laterally-extending elongate slats, the slats of at least the lower section being pivotable about their laterally-extending axes. Such an assembly allows the use of standard components from existing double-pane windows containing enclosed venetian blinds such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,586.
Desirably, the lower section of the light-control assembly is adjustable independently of the upper section. This permits the assembly to be used to optimize light control under different conditions.
The slats of at least the upper section of the light-control assembly preferably have a highly reflective upper surface for improved control of daylight which these slats redirect through the window. For the same purpose and advantageously in combination therewith, the slats of at least the upper section can be perforated or partly translucent.
Further enhancement of light distribution with the window of the invention can be obtained by giving the slats of the upper section a cross-section, as taken transversely (i.e., from the outside to the inside of the window), that includes a concave surface facing upwardly. In certain embodiments of the invention, each of the upwardly concave slats of the upper section preferably has a mirrored top surface and a retro-reflective bottom surface. In other embodiments, the upwardly concave slats of the upper section preferably have a mirrored top surface and are wholly or partially perforated.
In addition, heat losses by radiation through the window of this invention, particularly in the winter, can be further substantially reduced by providing the surface on the inside- and/or outside-facing surfaces of preferably all of the slats with an emission coefficient lower than 0.5, and preferably lower than 0.3, for radiation with a wavelength larger than 1.5 micrometer. In this regard, advantageous are aluminium slats coated with a very thin zinc chromate layer, such as are described in British patent 1,536,600.
Although each slat of the light-control assembly in accordance with this invention can be individually suspended from pivots on laterally opposite sides of the window frame, it is preferred that the slats be tiltably suspended from laterally-spaced tilt cords. In this regard, the slats of the lower section of the light control assembly may be tiltably suspended from laterally-spaced tilt cords and the slats of the upper section be non-tiltably fixed in a position re-directing light upwardly towards the ceiling of the room.
Preferably an electric motor is used to adjust at least the slats of the lower section of the light-control assembly. A suitable electric motor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,552 and is preferably hermetically sealed in the space between the windowpanes. The use of such an electric motor is particularly advantageous when movement of the light-control assembly is to be adjusted with a microprocessor control so as to allow optimal light regulation under varying conditions without requiring the intervention of the room occupants.
In one embodiment of this invention, the top of the lower section is suspended from a laterally-extending intermediate bar, beneath the upper section. Such an arrangement allows an increased number of existing components of known double-pane windows containing venetian blinds to be used and also allows the upper and lower sections to be mounted in the window in essentially the same manner. Advantageously, the intermediate bar is suspended only at its lateral edges from laterally opposite sides of the frame, using a T-shaped connector at one lateral edge and an electric motor for the lower section as a connector at the other lateral edge.
The window of the invention is substantially vertical. Normally it will be truly vertical but it may be mounted in a slanted position in which case the plane of its light-control assembly is advantageously positioned closer to the upper glass pane of the window, as so mounted. In this regard, it is especially advantageous that the attachment of the upper and lower sections of the light-control assembly to the intermediate bar be positioned closer to the upper glass pane to compensate for any sagging of the light-control assembly within the slanted window, and it is particularly advantageous that the upper end of the upper section and the lower end of the lower section also be positioned closer to the upper glass pane to compensate for any sagging of the light-control assembly within the slanted window.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the sealed double-pane window with a light-control assembly of this invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a double-glazed window, shown partly in section, containing a light-control assembly according to the invention;
FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of a length of a slat from the upper section according to one alternative embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the window of FIG. 1, showing in more detail the light-control assembly and its mounting within the window;
FIG. 3 is a front elevation view showing an assembled peripheral frame for the window of FIG. 2 prior to fitting the light-control assembly within the frame;
FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken along line IV—IV in FIG. 3, showing one embodiment of the intermediate bar of the light-control assembly; and
FIG. 5 is partial vertical cross-sectional view, of an alternative embodiment of the window of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is one embodiment of a substantially vertical, hermetically sealed, double-pane window of this invention, generally indicated by reference A. The window A is provided with a light-control assembly, generally indicated by reference B, that is mounted in the space between the two glass panes 1 and 3 of the window. The first or outside pane of glass 1 and the second or inside pane of glass 3 are positioned on opposite sides of a rectangular peripheral, plastic or metal (e.g., aluminum) frame 5 of the window A.
The glass panes 1 and 3 and the frame 5 are adhered together by a suitable sealing compound, such as is conventional in making hermetically sealed, multiple-glazed windows.
The light-control assembly B, mounted between the glass panes 1 and 3 and within the frame 5 of the window A of FIGS. 1 and 2, has an upper section 7 and a lower section 9 . Each section 7 and 9 comprises an array of parallel elongate slats 11 and 13 respectively, that are substantially horizontal and laterally-extending and can be pivoted or tilted about their laterally-extending axes. In alternative embodiments of the assembly B, the slats 13 of the lower section 9 can be pivoted or tilted about their laterally-extending axes while the slats 11 of the upper section are non-tiltably fixed in a position allowing the light to be guided towards the ceiling. Preferably, the upper section 7 occupies less of the area of the window A than does the lower section 9 .
The slats 11 and 13 each have a curved cross-section when viewed parallel to the panes of the window A. The slats 11 in the upper section 7 have their concave surfaces facing generally upwardly, and the slats 13 in the lower section 9 have their convex surfaces facing generally upwardly. Each section 7 and 9 of the light-control assembly B is provided with its own motor drive 15 and 17 , respectively, for tilting its slats. Of course, if the slats 11 of the upper section 7 are non-tiltably installed in the window, its motor drive 15 can be omitted.
The first motor 15 for tilting the slats 11 of the upper section 7 is mounted in the peripheral frame 5 as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,552.
The second motor 17 for tilting the slats 13 of the lower section 9 is connected to a lateral edge of a substantially horizontal laterally-extending elongate intermediate bar 19 which separates the upper section 7 from the lower section 9 of the light-control assembly B of the double-pane window A.
The use of separate motors 15 and 17 , together with a suitable control for activating the motors individually, permits the slats 11 and 13 of the upper and lower sections to be tilted separately and independently. The use of a microprocessor as a control for the motors would permit the slats of the light-control assembly B to pivot automatically in response to changing light conditions in the room(s), in the walls of which the window is mounted, or in response to other parameters, such as time.
As a result of this arrangement, daylight can be reflected from the outside by the slats 11 of the upper section 7 of the window A on to a ceiling surface of a room to compensate for the light blocked out, for glare protection, by the slats 13 of the lower section 9 of the window.
A suitable proportion of light protection and light redirection can be obtained for many windows of office buildings and the like if the upper section 7 extends over roughly one-third of the height of the window A as indicated by “a” in FIG. 2 and the lower section 9 extends over roughly two-thirds thereof as indicated by “b” in FIG. 2 .
The light distribution effects of the upper section 7 of the light-control assembly B can be further improved by positioning its slats 11 with their upwardly concave surfaces 21 facing general vertically upward and additionally by providing these concave surfaces 21 , with highly reflective properties. In this regard, top surfaces of these slats can be mirrored as described in EP 0,303,107. The bottom surfaces of these slats 11 can likewise be provided with retro-reflective properties as described in EP 0,303,107 or instead, the slats 11 can be wholly or partially perforated as described in EP 0,606,543 and shown in FIG. 1 A.
As seen in FIG. 2, the upper ends of both the upper and lower blind sections 7 and 9 of the light-control assembly B of this invention are pivotally suspended from respective transversely-extending tilt bars 23 and 25 by means of parallel ladder strings 27 , the upper ends of which are attached to the transverse edges of the tilt bars. The lower end of each blind section 7 and 9 carries a transversely-extending terminal slat 29 and 30 respectively, which preferably is identical to the upper tilt bars 23 and 25 . The lower ends of the parallel ladder strings 27 are attached to the transverse edges of the terminal slats 29 and 30 . The upper tilt bar 23 and the lower terminal slat 30 are pivotally connected to conventional, horizontali upper and lower carriers or glass spacers 31 and 32 respectively, which are mounted within the frame 5 , on its top and bottom respectively. The lower tilt bar 25 and the upper terminal slat 29 are pivotally connected to the bottom and top of the intermediate bar 19 .
The tilt bars 23 and 25 and terminal slats 29 and 30 can be pivotally connected to their respective spacers 31 and 32 and intermediate bar 19 in a conventional manner. Preferably, these elements are connected in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,586, using detent grooves (not shown) in the top and bottom of the spacers 31 and 32 and the intermediate bar 19 and using hanger pivots 33 mounted in the grooves and pivotally connected to the respective tilt bars and terminal slats.
The transverse spacing “c” in FIG. 2 between the panes of glass 1 and 3 is a function of the thickness of the peripheral frame 5 , including its spacers 31 and 32 . The transverse spacing “c” must accommodate the transverse thickness “d” of the blind slats 11 and 13 and the transverse thickness of the spacers 31 and 32 as shown in FIG. 2 . In sealed glass blind units as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,552, it is not uncommon for such spacers to have a transverse width of only about 22 millimeters and for the blind slats to have a transverse width of only about 12 to 16 millimeters.
With such reduced dimensions of the slats 11 and 13 in accordance with this invention, as compared to the dimensions of conventional venetian blinds, the intermediate bar 19 should be as unobtrusive as possible, and its height “e” as shown in FIG. 2 should be about the same as the vertical spacing between adjacent slats 11 and 13 . At the same time, the intermediate bar 19 should be sturdy enough to carry the weight of the bottom section 9 of the light control assembly B.
If desired, the transverse edges of the intermediate bar 19 can be mounted on the opposed inner surfaces of the glass panes 1 and 3 in a manner similar to that used for mounting the spacers 31 and 32 on the frame 5 . The sealing compound used to bond and seal the frame 5 and glass panes 1 and 3 together could also be used for this purpose. However, it is possible that the intermediate bar 19 to be free of attachment to the inner surfaces of the glass panes 1 and 3 , and, in particular, for the intermediate bar 19 to be free-floating relative to the panes 1 and 3 . Alternatively, the intermediate bar 19 could be suspended from the terminal slat 29 of the upper section 7 of the light control assembly B, and if desired, the motor 17 for driving the slats 13 of the lower section 9 could also be free-hanging with the intermediate bar 19 within the window A of this invention.
However, it is preferred to suspend the intermediate bar 19 , as shown schematically in FIG. 3, from laterally opposite sides of the frame 5 so as not to put too much strain on the ladder cords 27 or tilt cords (not shown) or on the supporting components of the upper section 7 of the light control assembly B. To this end, laterally opposite sides of the frame 5 are provided with vertical frame members 35 , 37 , 39 and 41 , two of the frame members 35 and 37 being located above the intermediate bar 19 , the other two frame members 39 and 41 being located below the intermediate bar 19 , and an upper frame member 35 and a lower frame member 39 being located on opposite lateral sides of the frame from the other upper and lower frame members 37 and 41 respectively. The motor 15 for the upper section 7 of the light-control assembly B is connected to both the upper spacer 31 and the top of the left upper vertical frame member 35 , thereby forming the left upper corner of the frame. The other motor 17 for the lower section 9 of the light-control assembly B is connected to the bottom of the left upper vertical frame member 35 , as well as to the top of the lower left vertical frame member 39 . The remaining three corners of the frame are connected by L-shaped comer connectors 43 .
The intermediate bar 19 is connected to the right upper and lower frame members 37 and 41 by a T-shaped connector 45 which is separately shown to an enlarged scale in an insert to FIG. 3 . The T-shaped connector is adapted to be inserted into the bottom of the upper frame member 37 , into the top of the lower frame member 41 and into a lateral side of the intermediate bar 19 .
As shown in FIG. 3, the motors 15 and 17 each have a laterally-protruding, slotted shaft 47 . Each of these shafts 47 is adapted to engage a lateral edge of one of the tilt bars 23 and 25 of the upper and lower sections 7 and 9 of the light-control assembly B of the window A of this invention as shown in FIG. 2 . As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,552, electrical conduits (not shown) pass through the frame, preferably in a sealed manner, and are connected to the motors 15 and 17 to power them.
A cross-section of the intermediate bar 19 is shown in FIG. 4 . Upwardly extending, hanger attachment flanges 49 and 51 define an undercut detent groove between them on the upper side of the intermediate bar 19 . Similar detent grooves are also provided between the downwardly extending, hanger attachment flanges 53 and 55 on the lower side of the intermediate bar 19 . The pivot hangers 33 , such as are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,586, are engaged in such grooves and are connected to the tilt bars 23 and 25 and the terminal slats 29 and 30 .
If a double-pane window A as shown in FIGS. 1-4 were to be mounted in an inclined position, as is sometimes required from an architectural point of view, there would be a tendency for its slats 11 and 13 to hang against the lower pane of glass.
Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 5 .
In the following description, corresponding parts of the alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5 are referred to by reference numerals which differ by “ 100 ” from those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4.
FIG. 5 shows an inclined sealed double-pane window, generally A′, with a light-control assembly B′ of this invention having a modified intermediate bar 119 .
In the window A′ of FIG. 5, the tendency for the slats 111 and 113 to sag and, as a result, to hang against the lower pane 103 of glass is compensated for by displacing the hanger attachment flanges 149 , 151 , 153 and 155 on the top and bottom of the intermediate bar 119 toward the upper pane 101 . This results in there being unequal distances “f” and “g” in FIG. 5 between i) the pivot points of the blind sections 107 and 109 with the intermediate bar 119 and ii) the panes 101 and 103 . Preferably, the hangers (not shown in FIG. 5) on the tilt bar (also not shown in FIG. 5) at the upper end of the upper section 107 and on the terminal slat (also not shown in FIG. 5) at the lower end of the lower section 109 also are mounted on their respective upper and lower spacers closer to the upper glass pane 101 to compensate further for any sagging of the light-control assembly B′within the slanted window A′. However, the transverse spacing “h” in FIG. 5 of the intermediate bar 119 from the upper and lower panes 101 and 103 is preferably kept equal, so that the intermediate bar can be connected to the vertical frame members (not shown) in the same manner as is described in relation to FIG. 3 .
This invention is, of course, not limited to the above-described embodiments of FIGS. 1-5, which may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its advantages. In this regard, the terms in the foregoing description, such as “left”, “right”, “lateral”, “bottom”, “top”, “transverse”, “upper”and “lower”, have been used only as relative terms to describe the relationships of the various elements of the combined multiple-glazed window and light-control assembly of the invention. | A double-pane window having a light-control assembly within its peripheral frame. The light-control assembly has an upper section which is adapted to redirect light entering the window through the outside pane so that the light, exiting the window through the inside pane, is reflected upwardly against a ceiling surface of the interior of a room, on the wall of which the window is mounted; and a lower section which is adapted to inhibit light entering the window through the outside pane from exiting the window through the inside pane. The lower section and optionally the upper section can each comprise a plurality of laterally-extending slats which can be pivoted about their laterally-extending axes to inhibit or redirect light entering the window. If desired, the slats of the lower section can be pivoted independently of the slats of the upper section. The slats of at least the upper section preferably have a transverse cross-section with a concave surface facing upwardly. It is also advantageous that the upper surface of these slats be highly reflective, and these slats can also be perforated or partially translucent. | 8 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.