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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and method, such as an on-vehicle type navigation apparatus, and further relates to a computer program product for the navigation apparatus and/or method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and method improved in handling of map data used for a navigation processing, and further relates to a computer program product for performing the navigation processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Navigation apparatuses, particularly on-vehicle type navigation apparatuses, are now becoming increasingly common under rapid-paced development. A navigation apparatus displays a current position of a navigation object, for example a current position of a car on which the navigation apparatus is mounted, on a display device, such as a display screen, and provides various functions including route guidance and the like, by means of map data stored in a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. With regard to a way of obtaining the current position of the object, typically used is either one or both of (i) a stand-alone type (i.e., a built-in, self-sustained or dead-recognizing type) navigation system in which the current position of the object is measured only using information from sensors that are mounted on the navigation object to detect various parameters such as velocity, azimuth and the like and (ii) a navigation system with a navigation aid system using a GPS (Global Positioning System) in which the current position is obtained by receiving measurement data transmitted from a plurality of satellites.
On the other hand, a KIWI-format is proposed as a common format of map data used for the navigation apparatus, particularly the on-vehicle type navigation apparatus. This KIWI-format is proposed by navigation makers at home and abroad so as to provide map data independently of application software. That is, the format is constructed so as to be applied to various kinds of navigation apparatus, regarding versatility and extensibility. The KIWI-format or other format having the same idea as the KIWI-format is in widespread use among the map data used for the navigation apparatus.
On the other hand, there is proposed a technique to use map data in which the latest road data is reflected by updating the map data with difference data (e.g., as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-229369). Herein the “difference data” in the map data means a part of data (map data portion) different between a state of map data before updating and another state of map data after updating. In this technique, a state of map data that is generated at a predetermined time point is assumed to be original data, while difference data representing a change in real road conditions from the time point at which the original data is generated is independently generated. In the case that the map data is actually used, the change in the road conditions represented by the difference data is reflected into the original data. It is considered that the map data reflecting the latest road conditions can be obtained and utilized relatively efficiently by using the difference data.
Nevertheless, the difference data at present has such a data structure that it enforces, on the navigation apparatus, searching the entire difference data for appropriate difference data with respect to of the original data, and thereby using only the searched difference data. Thereby, a heavy task is imposed on the navigation apparatus to reflect the difference data, causing a technical problem of reduction in a processing speed of the navigation apparatus as a whole, or another problem of requiring an expensive processing device for a higher-speed processing.
Additionally, merging a form of data with the original data to reflect the difference data as mentioned above may cause a deviation in size, format or arrangement of data in the KIWI-format or the like. Therefore, technical problems arise, including a problem that the navigation apparatus reduces its processing speed, and a problem that the navigation apparatus fails completely or partly to recognize, as normal map data, the map data with a deviation or disorder due to the reflection of the difference data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above problems, for example. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a navigation apparatus and method by which a retrieval or searching of difference data is performed efficiently, and a navigation processing is performed properly even if the retrieved difference data is reflected into the original map data, and further to provide a computer program product to serve a computer as such a navigation apparatus.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a navigation apparatus comprising: a first storing device for storing original data for a navigation based on a predetermined format and including map data, in such a manner that an empty area exists on the predetermined format in each processing unit for a predetermined kind of navigation processing; a second storing device for storing difference update data representing a data portion for the navigation that is updated with respect to the original data as a standard; a re-writing device for generating updated data based on the format and including the original data and merge data, by re-writing the merge data at least partially into the empty area corresponding to the merge data, the merge data defining a relationship of the difference update data stored in the second storing device with respect to the original data stored in the first storing device for the each processing unit; and a processing device for (i) making access, for the each processing unit, to the original data and the merge data in the updated data, and (ii) if the accessed data is the merge data, then also making access to the difference update data, the relationship of which is defined by the merge data and which is stored in the second storing device, and (iii) performing the navigation processing on the basis of the accessed original data and the accessed difference update data.
According to the navigation apparatus of the present invention, during operation, the current position of the object is obtained from latitude and longitude of the navigation object, which are calculated, from the GPS or the like. Additionally or alternatively, for instance, the current position of the object may be obtained from a direction, velocity or acceleration of the object, which are obtained from an angular velocity sensor, velocity sensor or acceleration sensor, respectively. The current position of the object obtained as such is associated or correlated with the map data or the like stored in the first storing device to thereby indicate the current position of the object on a map. Herein the first storing device may be a read-only optical information record medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, a re-writable optical information record medium such as a CD-RAM, a DVD-RAM or a DVD-RW, or a magnetic information record medium such as a hard disk. On the other hand, the map data may be stored in accordance with a predetermined format such as the KIWI-format. A route searching device such as a microcomputer may be further used to perform a route searching for indicating a route from a point on the map to another point on the map. Furthermore, by reflecting the contents of the difference data stored in the second storing device, which indicates or represents an update condition of the original data, it is possible to perform the navigation processing based on the latest map data. Herein, the second storing device may be a read-only optical information record medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, a re-writable optical information record medium such as a CD-RAM, a DVD-RAM or a DVD-RW, a magnetic information record medium such as a hard disk, a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM, or a removal information record medium such as a memory card, a memory stick or an IC card.
Particularly in this navigation apparatus, in the original data stored in the first storing device, an empty area exists, on the predetermined format, for each processing unit (e.g., each node unit, or each link unit) for the navigation processing such as route searching. The updated data includes the original data with the merge data that is recorded into such an empty area, and is on the basis of the predetermined format as the standard. More specifically, the merge data is for defining a relationship between the original data and the difference update data stored in the second storing device for each processing unit. That is, a position at which the merge data is recorded acts per se as information to define the relationship between the original data and the difference update data. Therefore, the navigation processing can be performed efficiently, using the updated data including the merge data therein, as discussed below.
That is, specifically, the original data is stored in the first storing device, with an empty area that is disposed in the original data for each processing unit such as a node or link to designate an individual road in the route searching (i.e. in each node or each link). For instance, at least a part of the merge data (e.g. flag information part, as mentioned below in detail) corresponding to each processing unit of the original data is recorded in the empty area, by means of the re-writing device provided with a memory management task or the like. Another part of the merge data (e.g. jump address information part, as mentioned below in detail) may be further written over a predetermined position (e.g. a record area of jump address information) in the original data. Thereby, the updated data or the re-written data is newly generated independently of or instead of the original data. Incidentally, the correlation between the original data and the merge data is accomplished by attaching label information for indicating the relationship between the original data and the merge data to each of the original data and the merge data, by each processing unit or by each parcel unit including a plurality of processing units. Reference to and comparison with the label information makes it possible to select the corresponding merge data, and to record it into the original data. Furthermore, offset information as mentioned below can be used to facilitate identifying the relationship.
The merge data includes information capable of directly overwriting, on the basis of a pre-set code, a predetermined part of the original data, in which various information such as road classification information indicating road type such as a national road or prefectural road, regulation information indicating information such as one-way traffic, or signal information is recorded on the basis of the predetermined code for the map data. Alternatively, it includes information, such as text information, capable of overwriting directly a predetermined part of the original data, in which road names and the like are recorded. Alternatively, it includes information indicating an addition or deletion of a road (i.e. node or link) otherwise indicating an existence of the difference update data corresponding to the original data and capable of being recorded into the empty area in the original data.
The re-writing device may be arranged so as to write a flag information indicating whether or not a road is added, a flag information indicating whether or not a road is deleted, otherwise a flag information indicating whether or not the node or link to be accessed next by the processing device is included in the difference update data, into the predetermined empty area. Alternatively, the re-writing device may be arranged to overwrite information of the original data, in which the map data is recorded in a pre-set code or information of the original data in which predetermined road information or the like is recorded, directly with the information of the merge data.
Then, for instance, the processing device including the microprocessor or the like may make access to the updated data to read its information. Relating to this, for instance, the part of the merge data that is written over the original data directly by the re-writing device is read as it is, to perform the navigation processing. On the other hand, if the processing device reads the merge data part of the flag information that indicates the road deletion or addition and is recorded into the empty area, the road that is designated by the flag information is recognized as deleted or added to perform the navigation processing. Furthermore, the processing device also reads information indicating a relationship between the original data and the difference update data, the relationship being defined by a part of the updated data corresponding to the merge data. The information indicating the relationship may be embodied in an address or the like of the difference update data to be accessed next, in addition to or instead of the flag information indicating whether or not the node or link to be accessed next, for example, is included in the original data. As a result of reading the flag information, if the corresponding difference update data exists, the node or link for example, which is stored in a predetermined position of the difference update data, may be accessed to perform the navigation processing on the basis of the content thereof, or if the corresponding difference update data does not exist, the navigation processing is performed without the access to the difference update data.
Consequently, only in the case that the difference update data is required to be read, the processing device can access the difference update data, and thereby the access to the difference update data is improved in its efficiency. That is, the workload of the processing device can be reduced, resulting in an improvement in the processing speed of the navigation apparatus as a whole.
Furthermore, an addition of new information to the original data is allowed merely by writing the merge data into the empty area or overwriting the merge data over an already recorded area, without changing the size, format, arrangement or the like of the original data. That is, for instance, in order to change a part of information that is included in the original data, a road type may be changed, or a road name may be changed, by overwriting directly the part of information. Furthermore writing new information into the empty area allows the change or addition of the road data, avoiding an effect on the other part of the original data, i.e. without changing the size, format, arrangement or the like of the original data. Therefore, the navigation processing can be performed properly, even if the difference update data is reflected into the original data. In other words, even in the case that the difference update data is reflected into the original data, the navigation processing can be performed in the same manner before reflecting the difference update data, without changing the navigation processing itself. Incidentally, the KIWI-format mentioned above is convenience and advantageous to perform this invention, since the map data includes an empty area sufficient to accommodate (record) the merge data having the data structure as mentioned in the present invention, for each unit of node or each unit of link.
Incidentally, the merge data may be stored in the second storing device to be used, or may be acquired professing unit by processing unit in the navigation processing via the wired or wireless communication device, otherwise the merge data may be acquired in its entirety at a time. Alternatively, the merge data that is acquired via the communication device may be stored into the second storing device so that the merge data that is once stored is re-used.
Furthermore, the updated data may be generated every time when a processing, including for example the route searching in a specific area, is performed, may be used for example on the record area of a DRAM or the like, otherwise may be stored into the first storing device or other storing devices (e.g. a third storing device as mentioned below) to be re-used. Furthermore, depending on the merge data as a whole (i.e. depending on the original data as a whole), it may be generated collectively at a time, or may be generated for a parcel unit, a unit of screen or the like. Alternatively, it may be generated separately from the original data, or may be generated by directly overwriting the original data.
In an aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the re-writing device re-writes a part of the original data with at least a part of the merge data, in addition to or instead of re-writing the merge data at least partially into the empty area.
According to this aspect, at least a part of the merge data can be reflected into the original data, by recording the part of the merge data into a predetermined area occupying a part of the original data (i.e. by directly overwriting). For instance, the re-writing device can overwrite a part of the original data in which a plurality of kinds of codes are recorded, with predetermined kinds of code that are included in the merge data. Thereby, similarly to the case that a part of the merge data is recorded into the empty area, the updated data based on the predetermined format of the original data can be generated relatively readily. That is, even if the difference update data is reflected into the original data, the navigation processing can be performed in the same manner before reflecting the difference update data, without changing the navigation processing itself.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the original data includes, for the each processing unit, jump address information indicating an address of one processing unit to be accessed next to another one processing unit for the navigation processing, and the re-writing device writes flag information as a part of the merge data into the empty area, the flag information indicating whether the jump address information is included in the original data or in the difference update data.
According to this aspect, the jump address information indicating the address of the processing unit to be accessed next facilitates the description of association of the processing unit (i.e. a node unit or link unit as mentioned below). Furthermore, the re-writing device is arranged to write the flag information that is included in a part of the merge data into a predetermined empty area. The flag information may indicate whether or not the processing unit to be accessed next (i.e. jump destination) is included in the original data or included in the difference update data, for example by a binary flag. The access to the flag information by the processing device facilitates a judgement whether or not the processing unit to be accessed next is included in the original data or included in the difference update data. That is, if the flag information is not included in the original data, searching all the difference update data for the appropriate data is required, because it is not cleared whether or not the processing unit that is included in the difference update data is to be used. On the other hand, in this invention, the existence of the flag information allows the judgement whether or not the processing unit in the difference update data is to be used, and allows the processing device to access the difference update data only in the case that the processing unit that is included in the difference update data is required. Thereby, a wasteful access to the difference update data is eliminated, resulting in the efficient navigation processing.
As discussed above, in the navigation apparatus including the jump address information, the re-writing device may re-write the jump address information with at least a part of the merge data.
According to this aspect, for instance, writing a part of the merge data into a processing unit that is included in the original data, e.g. the jump address information, allows the part of the data to be reflected into the original data. For instance, by re-writing or overwriting the jump address information of the node or link included in the original data with address information that may be included in the merge data, a node or link to be accessed next to the node or link can be changed readily while the format of the original data is maintained. That is, even if the merge data is reflected into the original data, the navigation processing can be performed in the same manner before reflecting the difference update data, without changing the navigation processing itself.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the second storing device stores the merge data as well as the difference update data.
According to this aspect, it is possible to store the merge data in advance, an acquisition of the merge data for every navigation processing is not required. Moreover, even in the case that the map data is updated many times, a combination of the difference update data and the merge data is achieved readily and always maintained as appropriate. Thus, the navigation processing can be performed efficiently.
As discussed above, in the aspect of storing the merge data in the second storing device, the second storing device includes a removal type record medium, in which the difference update data and the merge data is recorded.
According to this aspect, the second storing device is provided with a removal type information record medium including a light and small removal type (i.e. portable or carriageable type) record medium such as a memory card, a memory stick or an IC card, a re-writable optical information record medium such as a flexible disk or a DVD-RAM, or a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM. Thereby, a supplier or the like of maps or navigation systems may distribute easily the removal type record medium to an owner, user or the like of the navigation apparatus via mail, courier or the like. Therefore, an environment efficient for an individual user of the navigation apparatus to access the difference update data with the merge data is readily achieved.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the navigation apparatus may be further provided with a communication device for receiving at least one of the difference update data and the merge data via a communication network, and the second storing device stores the difference update data received by the communication device.
According to this aspect, for instance, receiving the difference update data and the merge data including the latest map information is feasible owing to a data transmission with a data distribution center or the like, using for instance the communication device including transceivers or a cell phone, via for instance the communication network regardless of wired or wireless. Thereby, the supplier of maps or navigation systems can distribute easily a set of the difference update data and the merge data to the owner, user or the like of the navigation apparatus via for instance Internet or the like. Therefore, an environment efficient for an individual user of the navigation apparatus to access the difference update data with the merge data is readily achieved.
Incidentally, the reception of the difference update data or the merge data may be performed automatically at regular intervals or at irregular intervals by the communication device. Thereby, the user of the navigation apparatus can utilize the navigation apparatus with the map data in which the latest road conditions is reflected, without concern about the distribution of the difference update data and the merge data. Alternatively, in response to the distribution request that is given through an external input device such as a remote controller by the individual user of the navigation apparatus, the reception of the difference update data and the merge data may be performed. In any case, unless the supplier of the difference update data and the merge data updates the data, or unless the latest version of the difference update data and the merge data is not distributed to the navigation apparatus, the data distribution is not required regardless of the distribution request from the navigation apparatus.
Alternatively, the re-writing device may give the distribution request for the merge data only if the merge data is required to generate the updated data. Alternatively, the processing device may give the distribution request for the difference update data, only if an access to the difference update data is required after an access to the updated data already generated. In this case, if the merge data or the difference update data is not required, the navigation processing can be performed efficiently, only by making access to the original data or the updated data, without a transmission of the data distribution request or the like. Thereby, the navigation processing can be performed efficiently only by retaining an essential and minimal merge data or the difference update data in the navigation apparatus.
Additionally, owing to storing the received difference update data in the second storing device, a necessity of receiving the merge data or the difference update data common for each navigation processing is eliminated, resulting in the efficient navigation processing with the difference update data in which the latest road conditions is reflected.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the first storing device may be provided with a re-writable type storing device for storing the updated data instead of or in addition to the original data.
According to this aspect, the processing device does not access the original data but the updated data to perform the navigation processing as a matter of fact. Thereby, storing the updated data into the first storing device such as a hard disk, a DVD-RAM or a DVD-RW eliminates a necessity to generate the updated data every time when the navigation processing is performed, and thereby reduces the duty on the navigation apparatus and improves the processing speed.
Incidentally, the updated data to be stored in the first storing device may be generated or stored in a parcel unit or a unit of screen, otherwise may be generated and stored collectively to the original data as a whole.
Alternatively, the updated data that is already used for the navigation processing may be stored in the first storing device every time when the navigation processing is performed and then re-used if it is required in the following navigation processing.
Alternatively, only the updated data that is obtained by overwriting the original data itself may be stored in the first storing device. Thereby, a necessity of storing both the original data and the updated data into the first storing device is eliminated, resulting in a reduction in a required memory capacity.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the apparatus may be further provided with a re-writable type third storing device for storing the updated data, wherein the first storing device is a read-only type storing device.
According to this aspect, the original data including the map data is stored into the first storing device including the read-only type information record medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, while only the updated data is stored into the third storing device including the re-writable type information record medium such as a hard disk, separately from the original data. Thereby, the updated data can be utilized without changing the other data such as the original data.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the re-writing device generates the updated data at a time in accordance with a whole of the difference update data and the merge data.
According to this aspect, a necessity of generating the updated data for each processing unit of the original data or for each navigation processing is eliminated, generating the updated data only once by the drawing device is sufficient for the same merge data and the difference update data. Thereby, the duty on the re-writing device is reduced. That is, the duty on the navigation apparatus is reduced, resulting in an improvement in the processing speed.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the re-writing device generates the updated data partially in accordance with a part of the difference update data and the merge data corresponding to a data range to be used in the navigation processing.
According to this aspect, a capacity of the updated data can be reduced, by generating the updated data in a unit. Therefore, a processing only on the semiconductor memory such as a DRAM can be achieved. Thereby, the navigation processing is feasible at relatively high speed. For instance, during the navigation processing, the map data relating to the map to be displayed along with a run of the vehicle may be arranged in such a manner that the updated data is reproduced successively.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the map data includes node data indicating a node corresponding to a predetermined point in a pre-set road network and link data indicating a link corresponding to a part of a road between two nodes, and each processing unit is a unit divided into a node part and a link part.
According to this aspect, information consisting of the map data may be the node data to represent the “node” that is defined as a predetermined point on the map such as a traffic intersection, and the link data to represent the “link” that is defined as a line or link between two nodes (e.g. road or the like). Thereby, the navigation processing can be performed only with focusing on two processing object (i.e. node and link). That is, the operability or handling of the map data in the navigation apparatus is improved.
Particularly, with regard to a processing unit of the navigation processing, a processing unit among the nodes (i.e. a node unit) or a processing unit among the links (i.e. a link unit) is preferable to perform a route searching as a typical navigation processing. Therefore, using the merge data that is recorded in the empty area that is in turn disposed by a node unit or by a link unit facilitates to reduce an amount of data to be processed at a time in the navigation apparatus. Therefore, the duty on the navigation apparatus is reduced, resulting in an improvement in the processing speed.
Incidentally, the link data may include information about a link between nodes (i.e. road conditions including road type or regulation information), as well as information to represent the link between two nodes. Alternatively, the link data may include flag information indicating whether a node to be accessed next is included in the original data or included in the difference update data.
As mentioned above, in the aspect in which the unit for processing in the navigation processing is a unit defined within nodes or links, independently of links or nodes, respectively, the navigation processing is for making access to the original data and the difference update data to trace the link connected to the node.
According to this invention, for instance, a route between a predetermined point and another predetermined point on the map data may be designated by a combination of multiple units in which a unit may consist of a node and another node to be accessed next to the former as well as a link therebetween. Thereby, the navigation apparatus can designate the route or the road conditions notifying a fact that the predetermined point is an intersection relatively readily by making access sequentially to multiple nodes and/or links in the map data.
A format of the map data embodied in this aspect may be the KIWI-format.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the merge data includes data size information indicating data size as well as offset information indicating an offset of the difference update data corresponding to the merge data from an address of the original data.
According to this aspect, the merge data includes information to define the relationship (i.e., the correlation) between the original data and the difference update data as well as the information to update information in the original data, and further includes the size information as well as the offset information to define a position (i.e. address) in the original data at which the former two kinds of information are to be recorded. The offset information is for defining what address the merge data is to be recorded at, which may be offset from a head address of a unit for processing in the original data. The size information is for defining the size of the merge data to be merged into the original data. Thereby, it is easy to know the address of the data in the original data to be upgraded (i.e.,, updated or re-written) and the size of the data to be upgraded (i.e., updated or re-written). Thereby, the duty on the re-writing device can be reduced, resulting in an improvement in the processing speed. That is, the processing speed in the navigation apparatus can be improved.
In another aspect of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, with regard to a part of the original data which is described by a plurality of kinds of codes set in advance, said re-writing device re-writes the code directly in accordance with the merge data.
According to this aspect, because the re-writing device updates a part of data, for which a predetermined code as the map data is recorded, including road classification information to classify road type such as a national road or a prefectural road, regulation information to indicate information about one-way traffic, or signal information to indicate an existence or inexistence of a traffic signal in a intersection, directly on the basis of the merge data, road conditions, which is relatively readily updated, can be reflected into the map data. Furthermore, updating with the predetermined code that is defined on the map data allows the updated road conditions to be reflected into the map data, without changing the size, format, arrangement or the like of the original data.
Similarly, with regard to a predetermined length of data, it may be overwritten with a part of the merge data while maintaining the predetermined length. For instance, a part of data having a fixed field among the original data such as road names or the like may be overwritten with text data to designate a road name corresponding to the data length of the fixed field, and thereby the updated road conditions can be reflected into the map data, without changing the format of the original data.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a navigation method in a navigation apparatus provided with: a first storing device for storing original data for a navigation based on a predetermined format and including map data, in such a manner that an empty area exists on the predetermined format in each processing unit for a predetermined kind of navigation processing; and a second storing device for storing difference update data representing a data portion for the navigation that is updated with respect to the original data as a standard. The navigation method includes: a re-writing step of generating updated data based on the format and including the original data and merge data, by re-writing the merge data at least partially into the empty area corresponding to the merge data, the merge data defining a relationship of the difference update data stored in the second storing device with respect to the original data stored in the first storing device for the each processing unit; and a processing step of (i) making access, for the each processing unit, to the original data and the merge data in the updated data, and (ii) if the accessed data is the merge data, then also making access to the difference update data, the relationship of which is defined by the merge data and which is stored in the second storing device, and (iii) performing the navigation processing on the basis of the accessed original data and the accessed difference update data.
According to the navigation method of the present invention, similarly to the above-mentioned navigation apparatus, the navigation processing can be performed using the updated data obtained from merging the merge data including information to regulate the difference update data corresponding to the processing unit in the original data into the original data, without changing the size, format and arrangement of the original data or the like. Alternatively, the difference update data can be accessed efficiently, on the basis of the relationship between the difference update data and the original data indicated by the merge data in the updated data.
Incidentally, the navigation method of the present invention may also have various aspects, in accordance with various aspects of the navigation apparatus of the present invention.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a computer program product in a computer-readable medium for tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to make the computer function as at least a part of the above described navigation apparatus of the present invention.
According to the computer program product for the navigation processing of the present invention, the above-mentioned navigation apparatus of the present invention can be relatively readily achieved, by reading the computer program product from the record medium for storing the computer program product such as a ROM, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a hard disk or the like and running the program product, or by downloading the computer program product via a communication device into the computer and running the computer program product.
Incidentally, the computer program product of the present invention for the navigation processing can also have various aspects, in accordance with the above-mentioned various aspects of the navigation apparatus of the present invention.
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more clearly apparent from the following detailed description with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings briefly described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a fundamental construction of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2( b ) are schematic views illustrating a unit of the original data to be processed including the map data used for the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating an exemplary predetermined intersection used for the navigation processing by the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual view illustrating a data structure of an original data representing the predetermined intersection according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating another exemplary predetermined intersection used for the navigation processing by the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual view illustrating a data structure of original data and merge data representing the predetermined intersection according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual view illustrating a data structure of updated data and difference update data representing the predetermined intersection according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of the navigation processing of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating another operation of the navigation processing of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating another operation of the navigation processing of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating another operation of the navigation processing of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating another operation of the navigation processing of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The embodiments of the navigation apparatus and method according to the present invention will now be discussed, with reference to drawings.
(Fundamental Construction)
Firstly, with reference to FIG. 1 , a fundamental construction of a navigation apparatus according to the present invention will now be discussed. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a construction of the navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the navigation apparatus is provided with a sensor unit 10 , a GPS receiver unit 18 , a control unit 20 , a data bus 30 , a CD-ROM drive 31 , a DVD-ROM drive 32 , a hard disk 36 , a video output unit 40 , an audio output unit 50 , an input device 60 , a microphone 61 and a communication device 38 .
The sensor unit 10 is for obtaining information about movement of an object to be navigated (may called as a “navigation object”) and includes an acceleration sensor 11 , an angular velocity sensor 12 and an odometer 13 . The acceleration sensor 11 is for detecting acceleration of the object and capable of calculating the velocity from the detected acceleration. The angular velocity sensor 12 is for detecting the angular velocity of the object. The odometer 13 is for detecting a travel distance of the object.
The GPS receiver unit 18 is, for example with a receiver, capable of locating a current position of the navigation object by transmitting and receiving information to and from GPS satellites via a radio wave 19 .
The control unit 20 is for controlling the navigation apparatus as a whole and includes an interface 21 , a CPU 22 , a ROM 23 and a RAM 24 . The interface 21 is for transferring (transmitting and receiving) data between the sensor unit 10 and the GPS receiver unit 18 and for outputting the received data to the CPU 22 . The CPU 22 is for locating the current position of the navigation object by means of data that is inputted through the interface 21 . The CPU 22 is for controlling the navigation apparatus as a whole through a calculation processing. In this embodiment, particularly, the CPU 22 controls the CD-ROM drive 31 , the DVD-ROM drive 32 or the hard disk 36 , as described in detail below, to read map data, merge data or difference update data from a CD-ROM 33 , a DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 and store the read data into the RAM 24 . Alternatively, the map data, the merge data or the differential update data received at the communication device 38 may be stored into the RAM 24 . Then, on the basis of the data stored in the RAM 24 , updated data (i.e., re-written data) is generated to perform the navigation processing. A microprogram or the like is recorded in the ROM 23 for controlling operation of the control unit 20 . The RAM 24 is used as a record medium to record data during processing by the CPU 22 and includes volatile semiconductor memory such as a DRAM, a SDRAM or the like.
The data bus 30 is used to transfer data among the control unit 20 , the CD-ROM drive 31 , the DVD-ROM drive 32 , the hard disk 36 , the video output unit 40 , the audio output unit 50 , the input device 60 and a communication interface 37 .
The CD-ROM drive 31 or the DVD-ROM drive 32 is a device to read the CD-ROM 33 or the DVD-ROM 34 in which the original data including the map data is stored.
The hard disk 36 is for storing the map data, the merge data or the differential update data instead of storing them into the CD-ROM 33 or the DVD-ROM 34 . The hard disk 36 is also for reading the map data, the merge data or the differential update data under control of the CPU 22 .
The video output unit 40 is provided with a graphic controller 41 , a buffer memory 42 , a display controller 43 and a display 44 , for displaying road conditions, route guidance or the like in accordance with the navigation processing under control of the control unit 20 , or for displaying a screen to input an external instruction via the input device 60 . The graphic controller 41 , which may includes a microcomputer or the like, is for controlling the display processing as a whole. The buffer memory 42 , which may include a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM or the like, is for storing the video data to be processed and for inputting or outputting the video data in accordance with an I/O (input-output) instruction of the graphic controller 41 . The display controller 43 is for controlling the display 44 to perform the display processing under control of the graphic controller 41 . The display 44 , which may include an LCD, a CRT display or the like, is for displaying the video data on it.
The audio output unit 50 includes a D/A (digital-analog) converter 51 , an amplifier 52 and a speaker 53 , for outputting sound in accordance with the navigation processing under control of the control unit 20 . The D/A converter 51 is for converting a digital audio signal, which is generated in the navigation apparatus, into an analog audio signal. The amplifier 52 is for amplifying the analog audio signal, which is converted from the digital audio signal, and for controlling the output level. The speaker 53 is for outputting sound, which is converted from the analog audio signal that is amplified and outputted from the amplifier 52 .
The input device 60 , which may include a remote controller, a controller, a touch panel or the like, is for receiving an external instruction to the navigation apparatus.
The microphone 61 is for receiving an audio input directly from a user of the navigation apparatus.
The communication interface 37 is for an I/O control of data in relation to each device, the data being transmitted and received by the communication device 38 via a data transfer with a data center.
The communication device 38 , which includes a transceiver or the like capable of transferring information via a wired or wireless communication network, may perform a data transfer with the data center or the like to transfer the required information.
(Operation Principle)
Now reference is made to FIG. 2( a ) to FIG. 7 , and the operation principle of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention will be discussed, on the basis of specified embodiments. FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2( b ) illustrate a processing unit of the original data including the map data used for the navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates an operation of the navigation apparatus when processing a certain intersection made of three roads. FIG. 4 illustrates a data structure of the original data representing the intersection in FIG. 3 . FIG. 5 illustrates an intersection in which another road is added to the intersection in FIG. 3 . FIG. 6 illustrates a data structure of the original data and the merge data representing the intersection in FIG. 5 . FIG. 7 illustrates a data structure of an updated data and a difference update data representing the intersection in FIG. 5 .
As shown in FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2( b ), the original data to be used for the navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment, which includes the map data and based on a predetermined format, may include node data 110 that is representative of a “predetermined point on the map” (i.e. a node) and link data 120 that is representative of a road between two nodes. The original data includes a plenty of node data 110 and a plenty of link data 120 .
In FIG. 2( a ), the node data 110 may include a jump address 111 (i.e., a jump target address), which designates an address of a to-be-accessed node or link on the map data, a node ID (identifying) number 112 , which designates node ID information, and node information 113 , which is a substantial information part of the node. Further, the node information 113 has at least an empty area 114 (i.e., a reserved area) in a predetermined position. For example, flag information or the like to indicate whether or not the to-be-accessed node data 110 is included in the difference update data as mentioned below may be recorded into the empty area 114 , in accordance with a position of the empty area 114 on the node data 110 . That is, for example, only in the case that there is the flag information to indicate that the to-be-accessed node data 110 is included in the difference update data, a configuration that the control unit 20 accesses the difference update data may be achieved. In this case, the position itself of the empty area 114 at which the flag information or the like may be recorded is meaningful. That is, the flag information or the like that is recorded in the empty area 114 is information to designate the jump address or the like of the node data 110 having the empty area 114 in which the flag information or the like is recorded, but is not information to designate the jump address or the like of another node data 110 . Thus, there is no need to construct a jump list or table of each node data 110 separately from the original data or the node data 110 . Further, there is no need of a processing to access the jump list or the like. Therefore, it is very advantageous in reduction in data amount and processing load.
In FIG. 2( b ), the link data 120 may include, for example, a jump address 121 to designate an address of the to-be-accessed node or link on the map data, a link ID number 122 to designate link ID information, and link information 123 that is representative of link information. The link information 123 includes, for example, (i) information to classify roads, for example, into national roads, prefectural roads or the like, (ii) information about regulations such as one-way traffic, and/or (iii) other information, which is recorded in a predetermined position in accordance with a predetermined code. Alternatively, information about road names may be recorded in a predetermined position in a text format, for example. For example, the information to classify roads, for example, into national roads, prefectural roads or the like is recorded in a certain binary code or certain hexadecimal code into a road classification information area 125 . For example, from the first, a code “001” may be assigned to a national road, a code “011” may be assigned to a prefectural road, and a code “111” may be assigned to a private road, each of these code is recorded in a certain length of field to designate the road type in the link data 120 (e.g. the road classification information area 125 ). On the other hand, with regard to data to designate the road name, for example, if it is recorded in a text format into a certain length of field, the road name can be changed without changing the length or arrangement of data in the format. Further, the link information 123 includes at least one empty area 124 (i.e., a reserved area) in a predetermined position. With regard to the empty area 124 , similar to the empty area 114 of the node data 110 previously mentioned, the position itself of the empty area 124 in which information is recorded is meaningful. That is, information or the like, which is recorded into the empty area 124 , is information to designate the jump address, same as in the case of the node data 110 , and is not information to designate the jump address of another link data 120 .
Incidentally, in FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2( b ), the jump address 111 and 112 are disposed at a head of the node data 110 and the link data 120 , respectively, for convenience of explanation. Nevertheless, these addresses as logical addresses or physical addresses are not necessarily disposed at the head of each data, and may be disposed at an end of each data. Relating to this, for example, an access to the jump address 111 or 121 is performed, after reading the node data 110 or link data 120 including the jump address 111 or 121 , or after data processing with the node data or the link data. Further, with regard to the empty area 114 and 124 , they are not necessarily disposed at the position exemplified in FIG. 2( a ) and FIG. 2( b ), and may be disposed at a certain position conformed to a certain format. Further, the same thing can be said of the road classification information area 125 .
The original data, which includes a plenty of node data 110 and a plenty of link data 120 as shown in FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ), is stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 , which is shown in FIG. 1 . The original data stored as mentioned above is read by the control unit 20 , in a form of node data 110 or link data 120 , otherwise in a unit of parcel including therein a plenty of node data and a plenty of link data, and then stored into the RAM 24 .
As shown in FIG. 3 , a T-shaped intersection is designated by three links and three nodes on the map data. ID information # 1 , # 2 or # 3 as the link ID number 122 is assigned to three links, respectively. As well, ID information # 1 , # 2 or # 3 as the node ID number 112 is assigned to three nodes, respectively. Furthermore, a node to be accessed next is associated with each node. If this association forms a loop, the control unit 20 identifies that the nodes forming the loop constitute an intersection. For example, in the case of FIG. 3 , the node to be accessed next to the node # 1 is associated with the node # 2 , the node to be accessed next to the node # 2 is associated with the node # 3 , and the node to be accessed next to the node # 3 is associated with the node # 1 , and these nodes form together a loop. Therefore, the control unit 20 identifies that the node # 1 , the node # 2 and node # 3 form together an intersection.
As shown in FIG. 4 , the original data 100 , which includes the map data about the T-shaped intersection as shown in FIG. 3 , is provided with three node data 110 and three link data 120 . That is, the original data 100 is provided with node data 110 a of the node # 1 , node data 110 b of the node # 2 and node data 110 c of the node # 3 , link data 120 a of the node # 1 , link data 120 b of the node # 2 and the link data 120 c of the node # 3 . The jump address of each node data designates an address of the node to be accessed next. That is, the jump address 111 a of the node # 1 designates the node # 2 , the jump address 111 b of the node # 2 designates the node # 3 and the jump address 111 c of the node # 3 designates the node # 1 . Therefore, the control unit 20 can read the jump address and access each node sequentially as shown by arrows in FIG. 4 .
Next, as shown in FIG. 5 , assume that another road is added to the T-shaped intersection in the original data, and the road designated by the link # 2 is changed from a prefectural road to a national road. In this case, a node # 4 and link # 4 to designate the new added road is also added to form one intersection. Hereinbelow, the operation principle of the navigation apparatus in this case will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6 , merge data 200 , which includes information to indicate the addition of the node # 4 and link # 4 , may be provided with (i) road classification information 201 to indicate a new road type of the link # 2 , (ii) flag information 202 to indicate that the jump address of the node # 3 is changed to new one that is included in a difference update data 400 mentioned below, and (iii) address information 203 to indicate the new jump address of the node # 3 . The merge data 200 may be stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 . Further, each of the road classification information 201 , the flag information 202 and the address information 203 includes information to identify a corresponding unit to be processed (i.e. node or link) in the original data 100 , such as label information.
In order to read the processing unit of the original data 100 to be processed, the control unit 20 reads only the information including the label information corresponding to the ID number of the processing unit from among information in the merge data 200 (i.e. for example, the road classification information 201 , the flag information 202 or the address information 203 ) to generate an updated data (i.e., re-written data) 300 mentioned below. On the other hand, each of the road classification information 201 , the flag information 202 and the address information 203 includes, instead of or in addition to the above-mentioned label information, offset information to indicate the address, at which a writing or an updating with the merge data is started, and to indicate how far the address is from the head address of the processing unit of the original data 100 , and further includes size information to indicate a size to be recorded from the address designated by the offset information. Thereby, the control unit 20 may identify that the road type 201 is recorded into the road classification information area 125 b of the link data 120 b, for example. Similarly, the control unit 20 may recognize that the flag information 202 is to be recorded into the empty area 114 c of the node data 110 c as well as the address information 203 is to be recorded at the jump address 111 c of the node data 110 c. Thereby, the control unit 20 records information included in the merge data 200 onto a predetermined position in the original data 100 . Thus, an updated data 300 as shown in the upper section of FIG. 7 is generated and stored into the RAM 24 .
As shown in the upper section of FIG. 7 , the updated data 300 , in which information about the newly added node # 4 and link # 4 is recorded, has a structure conformed with a predetermined format same as that of the original data. That is, the updated data 300 is obtained by updating the information recorded in the road classification information area 125 of the link data 120 b with the road classification information 201 designating a national road, recording the flag information 202 into the empty area 114 c of the node data 110 c, and updating the jump address 111 c of the node data 110 c with the address information 203 designating the node # 4 , on the basis of the original data 100 .
For this reason, during the operation, the control unit 20 reads each node data 110 or link data 120 sequentially in accordance with the jump address to perform the navigation processing. Here, in order to read a link data 120 b - 1 obtained by updating the link data 120 b, the control unit 20 performs the navigation processing with the recognition that a road designated by the link # 2 is a national road, since the road classification information area 125 is updated or re-written with the road classification information 201 designating the national road. On the other hand, the control unit 20 reads the flag information 202 recorded in the empty area 114 c of the node data 110 c - 1 obtained by updating the node data 110 c, and then recognizes that data storing the node to be accessed next to the node # 3 is changed from the updated data 300 to a difference update data 400 . That is, the control unit 20 recognizes that the node to be accessed next is not in the updated data 300 , but in the difference update data 400 that may be stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 . Then, the control unit 20 reads the address information 203 , which is recorded at the jump address 111 c of the node data 110 c - 1 . The jump address (i.e., the address to be jumped) designated by the address information 203 is for designating an address of the node # 4 and for recognizing that the data storing the node to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 , through reading the above-mentioned flag information. For this reason, the control unit 20 accesses the difference update data 400 to read the node data 110 d designating the node # 4 and the link data 120 d designating the link # 4 , and store them into the RAM 24 .
As shown in the lower section of FIG. 7 , the difference update data 400 includes the node data 110 d designating the node # 4 and the link data 120 d designating the link # 4 . The jump address 401 of the node data 110 d designates the address of the node # 1 . Thereby, the control unit 20 accesses the node # 1 next to the node # 4 . Here, an association among the jump addresses of each node forms a loop, thereby the control unit 20 recognizes that the node # 1 , the node # 2 , the node # 3 and the node # 4 forms one intersection. That is, similar to the navigation processing using the original data 100 only, a normal navigation processing is possible, with using the difference update data 400 .
Incidentally, the jump address 401 of the difference update data 400 is for directing the destination to each other among multiple difference update data, by recording, into the difference update data 400 , jump data ID information, flag information or the like to indicate whether the jump address in the difference update data 400 directs the updated data 300 or another difference update data 400 .
As a result, even if the road is added or the information about the road is changed, it is possible for the navigation apparatus to perform the navigation processing using the map data in which the new information is reflected, without changing the structure of the original data 100 . Further, it is possible for the navigation apparatus to perform the navigation processing efficiently only with an access to a necessary part of the difference update data 400 , by changing the jump address 111 (or 121 ) of the original data 100 and by recording the flag information into the empty area 114 (or 124 ).
Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the merge data 200 or the difference update data 400 is stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 . Nevertheless, these data may be stored in various information record media. For example, they may be stored in a re-writable information record medium, such as a CD-RW, a DVD-RW or the like. Alternatively, they may be stored in a removable-type information record medium, such as a memory card, a memory stick or the like. Alternatively, these data may be received at the communication device 38 , for example via Internet.
On the other hand, the updated data 300 may be stored into the hard disk 36 , after the navigation processing on the RAM 24 . Alternatively, the updated data 300 may be generated altogether for the entire merge data 200 . Alternatively, the updated data 300 , which is generated for each processing unit of the navigation apparatus, may be stored into the hard disk 36 and used in the navigation processing later.
Incidentally, as in the above embodiment, by using not only the flag information to indicate that the data to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 , but also altering the computer program used for the navigation apparatus or modifying the design of the control unit 20 , it is possible to give new meaning to the empty area 114 (or 124 ) and thereby propose various additional functions.
(Specific Operations of the Navigation Apparatus)
Next, with reference to flow charts of FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 , an operation in the embodiment of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention will be discussed, on a case-by-case basis. Herein FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 are flow charts illustrating the operation of the navigation apparatus.
(1) A Case that the Merge Data and the Difference Update Data are Included in a Information Record Medium.
This case will now be discussed, with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 .
As shown in FIG. 8 , on the operation of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention, firstly, the control unit 20 (i.e. CPU 22 ) reads the original data 100 including the map data, which is stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 , in a parcel unit, in accordance with a current position, which may be determined in a GPS measurement, and store it in the RAM 24 (step S 11 ). Next, it judges whether the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data 100 already read exists or not, on the basis of the above-mentioned label information or the like (step S 12 ).
If the corresponding merge data 200 does not exist (step S 12 : NO), the navigation processing such as a route searching is proceeded under control of the CPU 22 , on the basis of the original data already read (step S 16 ). That is, using only the node data 110 and the link data 120 which are included in the original data 100 , the navigation processing is proceeded on the parcel unit of the original data 100 that is read at the step S 11 . After completion of the navigation processing on the parcel unit, the process goes to the step S 17 .
On the other hand, if the corresponding merge data 200 exists (step S 12 : YES), the control unit 20 reads a part of the merge data 200 , the part being stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 and corresponding to the original data 100 that is read at the step S 11 , and stores it into the RAM 24 (step S 13 ). After that, the control unit 20 writes the merge data 200 onto the original data 100 read at the step S 11 , so that updated data 300 is newly generated and stored into the RAM 24 (step S 14 ).
After that, as mentioned below, the navigation processing is proceeded on the basis of the updated data (step S 15 ). Then, it is judged whether or not another parcel unit of the original data 100 different from the parcel unit of the original data 100 that is read at the step S 11 is to be read (step S 17 ). If another parcel unit of the original data 100 is to be read (step S 17 : YES), the control unit 20 reads again said another parcel unit of the original data 100 (step S 11 ). If another parcel unit of the original data 100 is not to be read (step S 17 : NO), the navigation processing is terminated in its operation.
Next, with reference to a flow chart of FIG. 9 , the navigation processing to be performed on the basis of the updated data (step S 15 ) will be discussed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , the flag information, which is included in the updated data 300 generated at the step S 14 (See FIG. 8 ) and is to be recorded into the predetermined empty area 114 (or 124 ) of the original data 100 , is read for a judgement whether or not the data storing the node or link that the CPU 22 accesses next in the navigation processing is included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 ).
If the data storing the node or link that the CPU 22 accesses next is not included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 : NO), the navigation processing such as a route searching is proceeded (step S 24 ), under control of the CPU 22 , on the basis of the updated data 300 generated at the step S 14 (See FIG. 8 ). That is, only with the node data 110 or link data 120 included in the updated data 300 , the navigation processing is proceeded. Then, the process goes to the step S 25 .
On the other hand, if the data storing the node or link that the CPU accesses next is included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 : YES), among from the difference update data 400 stored in the CD-ROM 33 , the DVD-ROM 34 or the hard disk 36 , the node data 110 or link data 120 to be accessed next is read and stored into the RAM 24 (step S 22 ). Then, the navigation processing is proceeded (step S 23 ), under control of the CPU 22 , on the basis of the updated data 300 generated at the step S 14 (See FIG. 8 ) and the node data 110 or link data 120 in the difference update data 400 that is read at the step S 22 . That is, with node data 110 or link data 120 included in the updated data 300 , and node data 110 or link data 120 included in the difference update data 400 , the navigation processing is proceeded.
Then, it is judged whether or not the node or link to be accessed next in the navigation processing exists, i.e. whether or not the navigation processing such as the rout searching is to be terminated (step S 25 ). If the navigation processing is to be continued, i.e. if another node or link is to be accessed again (step S 25 : YES), it is judged again whether or not the node or link to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 , on the basis of the updated data 300 (step S 21 ). On the other hand, if the navigation processing is to be terminated, i.e. if the processing by the parcel unit of the original data 100 that is read at the step S 11 (See FIG. 8 ) is to be terminated (step S 25 : YES), the navigation processing is to be terminated, and it is judged whether or not another parcel unit of the original data 100 is to be read (step S 17 ) (See FIG. 8 ).
(2) A Case that the Merge Data and the Difference Update Data are Received Via the Communication Network.
This case will be discussed, with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 . Incidentally, in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 , the same steps as those in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 carry the same reference numerals, and the explanations thereof are omitted.
As shown in FIG. 10 , on operation of the navigation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention employing a scheme of receiving the merge data and the difference update data via the communication network, firstly, the original data 100 is read (step S 11 ). Next, it is judged whether or not the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data already read exists (step S 32 ). In this case, for example, ID information for the original data 100 already read may be transmitted to the data distribution center or the like through the communication device 38 via the communication network such as Internet, for a judgement at the data distribution center about whether or not the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data 100 exists.
If the data distribution center makes a response as a result of the judgement indicating nonexistence of the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data (step S 32 : NO), the navigation processing is proceeded on the basis of the original data 100 (step S 16 ). Then, the process goes to the step S 17 .
If the data distribution center makes a response as a result of the judgement indicating existence of the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data (step S 32 : YES), a distribution request or the like is transmitted to the data distribution center, and the merge data 200 as required is received and stored into the RAM 24 (step S 33 ), through the communication device 38 , via the communication network. Relating to this, the merge data 200 as required may be received at the same time of receiving the response from the distribution center indicating the existence of the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data 100 . Then, the received merge data 200 is recorded into the read original data 100 to generate a new updated data 300 and store it into the RAM 24 (step S 14 ). Then, as mentioned below, the navigation processing is proceeded, on the basis of the updated data generated at the step S 14 (step S 35 ).
Then, it is judged whether or not another parcel unit of the original data 100 is to be read (step S 17 ), and the parcel unit of the original data is read (step S 11 ). Alternatively, the navigation apparatus is terminated.
Next, with reference to a flow chart of FIG. 11 , the navigation processing to be performed on the basis of the updated data (step S 35 ) will be discussed.
As shown in FIG. 11 , it is judged whether or not the data storing the node or link to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 ).
If the data storing the node or link to be accessed next is not included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 : NO), the navigation processing is proceeded (step S 24 ), on the basis of the updated data 300 that is generated at the step S 14 (See FIG. 10 ). Then, the process goes to the step S 25 .
On the other hand, if the data storing the node or link to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 : YES), a distribution request may be transmitted to for example the data distribution center or the like so as to distribute for example the node data 110 or link data 120 to be accessed in the difference update data 400 , through the communication device 38 via the communication network. As a response to this, the difference update data 400 as required is received and stored into the RAM 24 (step S 42 ). Then, the navigation processing is proceeded (step S 23 ), on the basis of the node data 110 and the link data 120 in the difference update data 400 received at the step S 42 and the updated data 300 generated at the step S 14 (See FIG. 10 ).
Then, it is judged whether or not the navigation processing is to be terminated (step S 25 ). If the navigation processing is to be continued (step S 25 : YES), it is judged again whether or not the node or link to be accessed next is included in the difference update data 400 (step S 21 ). If the navigation processing is to be terminated (step S 25 : NO), the navigation processing is terminated and it is judged whether or not another parcel unit of the original data is to be read (step S 17 ) (See FIG. 10 ).
As mentioned above, owing to a construction of receiving the merge data 200 and the difference update data 400 via the communication network, the amount of data to be processed in the navigation apparatus according to the present invention can be reduced, with only receiving the merge data 200 or the difference update data 400 required for the navigation processing. That is, a navigation apparatus improved in its performance speed or its efficiency can be implemented.
Incidentally, as mentioned above, the merge data or the difference update data may be received in advance and stored into the hard disk 36 or the like, instead of receiving the merge data or the difference update data at every navigation processing. In this case, the navigation processing may be proceeded, in accordance with the exemplary operation shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 .
(3) A Case that the Updated Data Already Generated is Re-Used.
This case will be discussed, with reference to FIG. 12 . Incidentally, in FIG. 12 , the same steps as those shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 carry the same reference numerals, and the explanations thereof are omitted.
As shown in FIG. 12 , on operation of the navigation apparatus according to the present invention employing a scheme of re-using the updated data already generated, firstly, the original data 100 is read (step S 11 ). Next, it is judged whether or not the updated data 300 corresponding to the original data 100 already read exists (step S 51 ). In this case, for example, the judgement may be performed with the ID information of the original data 100 already read (e.g. a node ID number, a link ID number or the like), and the ID information of the original data included in the updated data 300 .
If the corresponding updated data 300 exists (step S 51 : YES), i.e. if the original data 100 for which the updated data 300 is already generated is read, the updated data 300 stored in the hard disk 36 is read and stored into the RAM 24 (step S 52 ). Then, the navigation processing is proceeded (step S 15 ), on the basis of the updated data 300 .
On the other hand, if the updated data 300 corresponding to the original data 100 already read at the step S 11 does not exist (step S 51 : NO), it is judged whether or not the merge data 200 corresponding to the original data 100 exists (step S 12 ).
If the corresponding merge data 200 does not exist (step S 12 : NO), the navigation processing is proceeded (step S 16 ), on the basis of the original data 100 already read at the step S 11 . Then, the process goes to the step S 17 .
On the other hand, if the corresponding merge data 200 exists (step S 12 : YES), the merge data 200 is read (step S 13 ) to generate the updated data 300 (step S 14 ). Then, the updated data 300 generated at the step S 14 is stored into the hard disk 36 for re-use in the later navigation processing (step S 54 ). Then, the navigation processing is proceeded on the basis of the updated data (step S 15 ).
After the navigation processing is terminated, it is judged whether or not another parcel unit of original data 100 is to be read (step S 17 ), and the parcel unit of original data 100 is read again (step S 11 ). Alternatively, the navigation apparatus is terminated in its operation.
As mentioned above, re-using the updated data 300 eliminates a necessity for the control unit 20 to generate the updated data 300 repeatedly. Thereby, the duty on the control unit 20 is alleviated and hence the navigation apparatus according to the present invention can be improved in its performance speed.
Furthermore, the navigation apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the on-vehicle use disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiments, but also applicable to various navigation apparatuses including a use for various mobile bodies such as aircraft, shipping, two-wheeler etc. or to a use for a pedestrian or animal equipped with a PDA, a cell phone etc.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore 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 therefore intended to be embraced therein.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-368775 filed on Dec. 19, 2002 including the specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. | A navigation apparatus is provided with: a first storing device for storing original data for a navigation based on a predetermined format and including map data, in such a manner that an empty area exists on the predetermined format in each processing unit for a predetermined kind of navigation processing; a second storing device for storing difference update data representing a data portion for the navigation that is updated with respect to the original data as a standard; and a re-writing device for generating updated data based on the format and including the original data and merge data, by re-writing the merge data at least partially into the empty area corresponding to the merge data. The merge data defines a relationship of the difference update data with respect to the original data. The navigation apparatus is also provided with a processing device performing the navigation processing on the basis of the original data and the difference update data. | 6 |
[0001] This application is a continuation of PCT/JP99/04853, filed Sep. 7, 1999, and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 10/252683, filed Sep. 7, 1998.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to molecules used in the testing and treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency, as well as methods for testing the disease.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Systemic Carnitine Deficiency (SCD) is a human genetic disease inherited through autosomal recessive inheritance, the main symptoms being skeletal or cardiac muscle disorders (NIM 212140) (Roe, C. R. and Coates, P. M., Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation disorder, The metabolic and molecular bases of inherited diseases 7th ed., edited by Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L., Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1995, 1508-1509; Karpati, G. et al., The syndrome of systemic carnitine deficiency: clinical, morphologic, biochemical, and pathophysiologic features, Neurology 1975, 25:16-24). Serum carnitine levels and intra-tissue carnitine levels are known to be extremely low in these patients compared to healthy individuals. Carnitine is an indispensable co-factor in the long-chain fatty acid metabolism. A carnitine-mediated mechanism enables intracellular fatty acids to permeate mitochondrial outer and inner membranes, and energy is produced when these fatty acids undergo β-oxidation within the mitochondria (Walter, J. H., L-Carnitine, Arch Dis Child, 1996, 74:475-478; Bremer, J., Carnitine metabolism and functions, Physiol Rev, 1983, 1420-1480). The abnormal decrease of carnitine concentration in systemic carnitine deficiency patients is thought to be the direct cause of diseases in tissues such as muscles that require a large amount of energy. Membrane physiological studies done using fibroblasts from systemic carnitine deficiency patients have shown that these cells lack the mechanism to transport carnitine from the outside of the cell to the inside. A gene that encodes a protein involved in this mechanism is presumed to be the gene responsible for this disease (Tein, I. et al., Impaired skin fibroblast carnitine uptake in primary systemic carnitine deficiency manifested by childhood carnitine-responsive cardiomyopathy, Pediatr Res, 1990, 28:247-255). However, the gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency is yet to be isolated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An objective of the present invention is to provide the gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency. Moreover, this invention aims to provide a molecule used in the testing and treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency, as well as a method for testing the disease.
[0005] The Inventors isolated several genes encoding proteins involved in the transport of organic cations. Among these, the Inventors discovered the human gene (human OCTN2 gene) having an activity to transport carnitine in a sodium ion dependent manner, and the corresponding mouse gene (mouse OCTN2 gene) (Japanese Patent Application Hei 9-260972, Japanese Patent Application Hei 10-156660). The Inventors thought that the isolated OCTN2 gene might be the gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency, and evaluated this possibility.
[0006] Specifically, the nucleotide sequence of the OCTN2 gene of the systemic carnitine deficiency mouse model and systemic carnitine deficiency patients were analyzed. As a result, the Inventors discovered the presence of various mutations in the OCTN2 gene of both the mouse model and systemic carnitine deficiency patients. In other words, for the first time in the world, the Inventors succeeded in revealing that systemic carnitine deficiency is caused by mutations in the OCTN2 gene.
[0007] Moreover, due to the close relationship of OCTN2 gene mutation and systemic carnitine deficiency, the Inventors found that this disease can be tested by examining whether or not there is a mutation in the OCTN2 gene of a patient.
[0008] It was also found that systemic carnitine deficiency could be treated by using the normal OCTN2 gene and its protein, to complete the invention.
[0009] Therefore, this invention relates to molecules used in the testing and treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency, as well as methods for testing the disease. More specifically, the present invention relates to:
[0010] (1) a DNA for testing systemic carnitine deficiency, wherein the DNA hybridizes to a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:5, or the transcription regulatory region thereof, and comprises at least 15 nucleotides;
[0011] (2) a molecule as in any one of (a) to (c) below, which is used for the treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency,
[0012] (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1,
[0013] (b) a compound that promotes the activity of the protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, or,
[0014] (c) a DNA encoding the protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1;
[0015] (3) a pharmaceutical composition for treating systemic carnitine deficiency, comprising a molecule of (2) as the active ingredient;
[0016] (4) a pharmaceutical composition for treating systemic carnitine deficiency, comprising an antibody binding to the protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 as the active ingredient;
[0017] (5) a test method for systemic carnitine deficiency comprising the detection of a mutation in the DNA encoding the protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, or the transcription regulatory region of said DNA;
[0018] (6) the test method for systemic carnitine deficiency of (5) comprising the steps of,
[0019] (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient,
[0020] (b) amplifying patient-derived DNA using the DNA of (1) as a primer,
[0021] (c) cleaving the amplified DNA,
[0022] (d) separating the DNA fragments by their size,
[0023] (e) hybridizing the DNA of (1) labeled by a detectable label as a probe to the DNA fragments separated, and,
[0024] (f) comparing the size of the DNA fragment detected with a control from a healthy individual,
[0025] (7) the test method for systemic carnitine deficiency of (5) comprising the steps of,
[0026] (a) preparing an RNA sample from a patient,
[0027] (b) separating the prepared RNA by size,
[0028] (c) hybridizing the DNA of (1) labeled by a detectable label as a probe to the RNA fragments separated, and,
[0029] (d) comparing the size of the RNA fragment detected with a control from a healthy individual,
[0030] (8) the test method for systemic carnitine deficiency of (5) comprising the steps of,
[0031] (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient,
[0032] (b) amplifying patient-derived DNA using the DNA of (1) as a primer,
[0033] (c) dissociating the amplified DNA to single-stranded DNA, (d) separating the dissociated single-stranded DNA on a non-denaturing gel, and,
[0034] (e) comparing the mobility of separated single stranded DNA on the gel with a control from a healthy individual,
[0035] (9) the test method for systemic carnitine deficiency of (5) comprising the steps of,
[0036] (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient,
[0037] (b) amplifying patient-derived DNA using the DNA of (l) as a primer,
[0038] (c) separating the amplified DNA on a gel in which the concentration of the DNA denaturant gradually increases, and,
[0039] (d) comparing the mobility of separated DNA on the gel with a control from a healthy individual.
[0040] The present invention is based on the finding by the present inventors that systemic carnitine deficiency is caused by a mutation in the gene named “OCTN2”. First and foremost, this invention relates to a molecule used in the testing and treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency, as well as a method for testing the disease.
[0041] In the present invention, the genomic DNA region (for example, SEQ ID NO:5) containing OCTN2, or an oligonucleotide (probe and primer) that hybridizes to the nucleotide sequence of the regulatory region (comprising the intron, promoter, and enhancer sequences as well) of OCTN2 is used.
[0042] This oligonucleotide preferably hybridizes specifically to the genomic DNA region containing OCTN2, or the regulatory region of OCTN2. Herein, “hybridizes specifically” indicates that cross-hybridization does not significantly occur with DNA encoding other proteins, under normal hybridizing conditions, preferably under stringent conditions (for example, the conditions in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning second edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, USA, 1989).
[0043] When using as a primer, the oligonucleotide is usually, 15 to 100 bp, preferably, 17 to 30 bp. The primer may be any, as long as it can amplify at least a part of the OCTN2 gene or the region regulating its expression. Such regions comprise, for example, the exon region of OCTN2, the intron region, the promoter region, and enhancer region.
[0044] On the other hand, the oligonucleotide used as a probe usually comprises at least 15 bp or more if it is a synthetic oligonucleotide. It is also possible to use a double stranded DNA obtained from a clone incorporated into a vector such as plasmid DNA. The probe may be any, as long as it specifically hybridizes to at least a part of the OCTN2 gene or the region regulating the expression of the gene. Regions to which the probe hybridizes include, for example, the exon region, intron region, promoter region, and enhancer region of the OCTN2 gene. When using as the probe, oligonucleotide or double stranded DNA is suitably labeled. Examples of labeling methods are, phosphorylating the 5′ end of the oligonucleotide by 32 p using T4 polynucleotide kinase, and incorporating a substrate nucleotide labeled by an isotope such as 32 p, a florescent dye, or biotin, using the random hexamer oligonucleotide as a probe and using DNA polymerase such as the Klenow enzyme (random priming technique).
[0045] In the present invention, “a test method for systemic carnitine deficiency” includes not only a test for patients showing symptoms of systemic carnitine deficiency caused by a mutation of the OCTN2 gene, but also a test for detecting a mutation of the OCTN2 gene for determining whether or not the person tested is likely to develop systemic carnitine deficiency arising from a OCTN2 gene mutation. In other words, the risk of developing systemic carnitine deficiency may greatly increase in cases where one of the OCTN2 alleles develops a mutation, even when no symptoms are visible on the outside. Therefore, tests for specifying patients (carriers) having a mutation in an OCTN2 allele are also included in the invention.
[0046] In the present invention, a test method for systemic carnitine deficiency using the above oligonucleotides comprises the detection of a mutation in the OCTN2 gene or its transcription regulatory region. One embodiment of this method of testing is the direct determination of the nucleotide sequence of the patient's OCTN2 gene. For example, using the above oligonucleotide as the primer, the whole OCTN2 gene or a part of it is amplified by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using as the template a DNA isolated from a patient suspected of having a disease caused by an OCTN2 mutation. By comparing this sequence with that of a healthy individual, it is possible to conduct a test for a disease arising from an OCTN2 gene mutation.
[0047] As the testing method of the invention, other than determining the nucleotide sequence of DNA derived directly from the patient, several other methods are also used. One such embodiment comprises the following steps of: (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient; (b) amplifying the patient-derived DNA using the primer of this invention; (c) dissociating amplified DNA into single-stranded DNA; (d) separating the dissociated single-stranded DNA on a non-denaturing gel; and, (e) comparing the mobility of separated single stranded DNA on the gel with a control from a healthy individual.
[0048] An example of such a method is the PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) method (Cloning and polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of anonymous Alu repeats on chromosome 11, Genomics, 1992 Jan. 1, 12(1):139-146; Detection of p53 gene mutations in human brain tumors by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction products, Oncogene, 1991 Aug. 1, 6(8):1313-1318; Multiple fluorescence-based PCR-SSCP analysis with postlabeling, PCR Methods Appl. 1995 Apr. 1, 4(5):275-282). This method is comparatively easy to handle, and has various advantages such as requiring only a small amount of a sample, and therefore, is suitable for screening a large number of DNA samples. The principle of this method is as follows. When a double stranded DNA fragment is disassociated into single strands, each strand forms an original high-order structure depending on its nucleotide sequence. When these dissociated DNA strands are electrophoresed within a polyacrylamide gel free of denaturants, the single stranded DNAs that are complementary and have the same length, migrate to different positions according to the difference in their high-order structure. This high order structure of the single strands change even by a single nucleotide substitution showing different mobilities in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Therefore, the presence of a mutation in a DNA fragment due to point mutation, deletion, or insertion can be detected by the change in mobility.
[0049] Specifically, first, the whole OCTN2 gene or a part of it is amplified by PCR, and such. A length of 200 to 400 bp is usually preferred amplified range. Regions amplified include all the exons and all the introns of the OCTN2 gene, as well as the promoter and enhancer of the OCTN2 gene. PCR can be done, for example, according to conditions 6 described in Example 1. When amplifying the gene fragment by PCR, a primer labeled by an isotope such as 32 P, a fluorescent dye, or biotin is used, or the DNA fragment synthesized by PCR after adding a substrate nucleotide labeled by an isotope such as 32 P, a fluorescent dye, or biotin, is labeled. Labeling can also be done by adding to the synthesized DNA fragment a substrate nucleotide labeled by an isotope such as 32 P, a fluorescent dye, or biotin, using the Klenow enzyme and such after the PCR reaction. The labeled DNA fragment thus obtained is denatured by heating and such, and electrophoresed in a polyacrylamide gel free of denaturants such as urea. Conditions for separating the DNA fragment can be improved by adding a suitable amount (about 5 to 10%) of glycerol to the polyacrylamide gel. Conditions of electrophoresis vary depending on the properties of the DNA fragment, but room temperature (from 20 to 25° C.) is usually used. When a preferable separation cannot be accomplished, the temperature that gives the optimum mobility at 4 to 30° C. is evaluated. Following electrophoresis, the mobility of the DNA fragment is detected by an autoradiography using X-ray films, a scanner that detects fluorescence, and so on, and analyzed. When a band having a difference in mobility is detected, this band is directly excised from the gel, re-amplified by PCR, and is directly sequenced to verify the presence of a mutation. Even when labeled DNA is not used, the band can be detected by staining the gel after electrophoresis with ethidium bromide, silver, and such.
[0050] Another embodiment of the test method of the present invention comprises the following steps of: (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient; (b) amplifying patient-derived DNA using the primer of this invention; (c) cleaving the amplified DNA; (d) separating the DNA fragments according to their size; (e) hybridizing the probe DNA of the invention labeled with a detectable label to the DNA fragments separated; and (f) comparing the size of the detected DNA fragment with a control from a healthy individual.
[0051] Such methods include those using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), PCR-RFLP method, and so on. Restriction enzymes are usually used to cleave DNA. Specifically, compared to a DNA fragment of a healthy individual, the size of one obtained following restriction enzyme treatment changes when a mutation exists at the recognition site of the restriction enzyme, or when nucleotides have been inserted or deleted in the DNA fragment resulting from restriction enzyme treatment. The portion containing the mutation is amplified by PCR, the amplified products are treated with each restriction enzyme and electrophoresed to detect the mutation as the difference of mobility. Alternatively, chromosomal DNA is cleaved with these restriction enzymes, and after electrophoresis, the presence or absence of a mutation can be detected by southern-blotting using the probe DNA of the invention. The restriction enzymes used can be suitably selected according to each mutation. This method can use not only genomic DNA, but also cDNA made by treating RNA prepared from patients with reverse transcriptase, cleaving this cDNA as-it-is with restriction enzymes, and then conducting southern blotting. It is also possible to examine the changes in mobility after amplifying the whole OCTN2 gene, or a part of it, by PCR using the above cDNA as the template, and cleaving the amplified products by restriction enzymes.
[0052] A similar detection is also possible using RNA prepared from patients instead of DNA. This method includes the steps of: (a) preparing an RNA sample from a patient; (b) separating the prepared RNA according to their size; (c) hybridizing the probe DNA of the invention labeled by a detectable label to the separated RNA; and (d) comparing the size of the detected RNA with a control from a healthy individual. In a specific example of this method, RNA prepared from a patient is electrophoresed, northern blotting is done using the probe of the invention to detect the mobility change.
[0053] Another embodiment of the method of the invention comprises the steps of: (a) preparing a DNA sample from a patient; (b) amplifying patient-derived DNA using the primer of this invention; (c) separating the amplified DNA on a gel in which the concentration of the DNA denaturant gradually increases; and, (d) comparing mobility of the DNA separated upon the gel with a control from a healthy individual.
[0054] An example of such a method is denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The whole OCTN2 gene or a part of it is amplified by a method such as PCR using the primer of the invention, and the amplified product is electrophoresed in a gel in which the concentration of the DNA denaturant gradually increases, and compared with a control from a healthy individual. In the case of a DNA having a mutation, the DNA fragment will become single stranded at a low denaturant concentration and the moving speed will become extremely slow. The presence or absence of a mutation can be detected by detecting the change in mobility.
[0055] Allele Specific Oligonucleotide (ASO) hybridization can be used alternatively when the aim is to detect a mutation at a specific site. When an oligonucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence thought to have a mutation is prepared and this is hybridized with sample DNA, the hybrid formation efficiency will decrease when there is a mutation. This can be detected by southern blotting and by a method using the property of special fluorescent reagents that quench when intercalated into a hybrid gap. The detection by ribonuclease A mismatch cleavage method can also be used. Specifically, the whole OCTN2 gene, or a part of it, is amplified by a method such as PCR, and the amplified product is hybridized to labeled RNA prepared from OCTN2 cDNA and such incorporated into a plasmid vector, etc. The hybrids will be single stranded in the portion where a mutation exists. This portion is cleaved by ribonuclease A and the existence of a mutation can be detected by autoradiography, and such.
[0056] The present invention also relates to a test drug for systemic carnitine deficiency that comprises an antibody binding to the OCTN2 protein as the active ingredient. An antibody binding to the OCTN2 protein can be prepared using methods well known to those skilled in the art. Polyclonal antibodies can be made by, obtaining the serum of small animals such as rabbits immunized with the OCTN2 protein (apart from the natural protein, recombinant OCTN2 proteins expressed in suitable host cells ( E. coli , yeasts, mammals, and such), such as recombinant OCTN2 protein expressed in E. coli as a fusion protein with GST) of the present invention, or a partial peptide. The serum is then purified by, for example, ammonium sulfate precipitation, protein A or protein G column chromatography, DEAE ion exchange chromatography, or an affinity chromatography using a column to which the protein of the present invention or synthetic peptide is coupled. Monoclonal antibodies can be made by immunizing small animals such as mice with the OCTN2 protein or a partial peptide thereof, excising the spleen from the mouse, homogenizing it and separating cells, fusing the cells with mouse myeloma cells using a reagent such as polyethylene glycol, and selecting clones that produce an antibody binding to the OCTN2 protein from the fused cells (hybridomas) produced. Next, the obtained hybridomas are transplanted into the abdominal cavity of a mouse, and ascites are extracted from the mouse. The obtained monoclonal antibodies can be purified by, for example, ammonium sulfate precipitation, protein A or protein G column chromatography, DEAE ion exchange chromatography, or an affinity chromatography using a column to which the OCTN2 protein or synthesized peptide is coupled. When using the antibody as a test drug, it is mixed with sterile water, physiological saline, plant oils, surfactants, lipids, solubilizers, stabilizers (BSA, gelatin, etc.), preservatives, and such, according to needs. An example of a test for systemic carnitine deficiency features the staining of tissues collected or cells isolated from a patient by the enzyme-labeled antibody method, fluorescence-labeled antibody method, and test for a deficiency, abnormal accumulation, or abnormal intracellular distribution of the OCTN2 protein. Testing can also be done by preparing a cell-extract of tissues collected or cells isolated from a systemic carnitine deficiency patient, separating the cell-extract by methods such as SDS-PAGE, transferring onto a nitrocellulose membrane, PVDF membrane, and such, and then staining this by a method (western blotting, immunoblotting, etc) using the above-described enzyme-labeled antibody method, etc.
[0057] The present invention also relates to a therapeutic drug for systemic carnitine deficiency. One such embodiment has the OCTN2 gene as the active ingredient. When using the OCTN2 gene as a therapeutic drug, it is given to the patient by oral, intravenous, topical administration and such, as the full length OCTN2 chromosomal DNA, a part of it, or by incorporating the OCTN2 DNA into a suitable vector, for example, adenovirus vector, adeno associated virus vector, retro virus vector, or plasmid DNA. The ex vivo method can also be used for administration apart from the in vivo method. The transition and absorption into tissues can be enhanced by enclosing the gene in a liposome prepared by micellization of phospholipids, or by adding a cationic lipid and forming a complex with genomic DNA. Therefore, the method of the invention can replace a patient's mutated OCTN2 gene by a normal gene, and also additionally administer the normal gene, thereby enabling the treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency.
[0058] Another embodiment of the invention relating to a therapeutic drug of systemic carnitine deficiency comprises the OCTN2 protein as the active ingredient. The amino acid sequences of human and mouse OCTN2 proteins are shown in SEQ ID NOs:1 and 3, respectively. The OCTN2 protein can be prepared as a natural protein and also as a recombinant protein. The natural protein can be prepared by a method well known to one skilled in the art, for example, by isolating the OCTN2 protein from tissues or cells that show a high level expression of the protein (e.g. fetal kidney) by affinity chromatography using an antibody against a partial peptide of the OCTN2 protein. On the other hand, a recombinant protein can be prepared by culturing cells transformed by DNA (for example, SEQ ID NO:2) encoding the OCTN2 protein. Cells used for the production of recombinant proteins include mammalian cells such as, COS cells, CHO cells, and NIH3T3 cells, insect cells such as sf9 cells, yeast cells, and E. coli cells. Vectors for expressing the recombinant proteins within cells vary according to the host used, and normally, pcDNA3 (Invitrogen), pEF-BOS (Nucleic Acids Res. 1990, 18(17), 5322) and such are used as vectors for mammalian cells, the “BAC-to-BAC baculovirus expression system” (GIBCO BRL) and such are used for insect cells, “Pichia Expression Kit” (Invitrogen) and such are used for yeast cells, pGEX-5X-1 (Pharmacia), “QIAexpress system” (Qiagen) and such are used for E. coli cells. Vectors are introduced to hosts using, for example, the calcium phosphate method, DEAE dextran method, method using cationic liposome DOTAP (Boehringer Mannheim), and Superfect (Qiagen), electroporation method, calcium chloride method, and such. The recombinant protein can be purified from the transformant obtained usually using methods described in “The Qiaexpressionist handbook, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany”.
[0059] When using the obtained OCTN2 protein as a therapeutic drug for treating systemic carnitine deficiency, the OCTN2 protein can be directly administered, or can be given after being formulated into a pharmaceutical composition by a well-known pharmaceutical manufacturing method. For example, the drug can be given after suitably combining with a generally used carrier or medium such as, sterilized water, physiological saline, plant oils, surfactants, lipids, solubilizers, stabilizers, preservatives, and such.
[0060] The dosage varies depending on factors such as the patient's body weight, age, healthiness, and method of administration, but a skilled artisan can suitably select the dosage. Usually, it is within the range from 0.01 to 1000 mg/kg. The administration can be done orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, or percutaneously. A skilled artisan can easily replace, add, or delete amino acid(s) in the amino acid sequence of the OCTN2 protein using a well-known method such as the site-specific mutation induction system using PCR (GIBCO-BRL, Gaithersburg, Maryland), site-specific mutagenesis using oligonucleotides (Kramer, W. and Fritz, H J, 1987, Methods in Enzymol, 154:350-367), the Kunkel method (Methods Enzymol., 1988, 85:2763-2766), and such.
[0061] Another embodiment of the therapeutic drug for systemic carnitine deficiency uses a compound that enhances the activity of the OCTN2 protein as the active ingredient. Such a compound can be screened as follows. For example, a plasmid expressing the OCTN2 protein is constructed, and this is introduced into HEK293 cells by the calcium phosphate method. Radiolabeled carnitine and a test compound are added to this transformant and the carnitine transporting activity into the cells is determined. A compound that can enhance the carnitine transporting activity is selected by comparing with the activity of the OCTN2 protein in the absence of the test compound. See Japanese Patent Application Hei 9-260972 and Hei 10-156660 for the detailed method.
[0062] Similar to the above-mentioned use of the OCTN2 protein as a therapeutic drug, the isolated compound can also be formulated into a pharmaceutical composition using well-known pharmaceutical manufacturing methods. The dose range is usually within 0.01 to 1 000 mg/kg.
[0063] It is also conceivable to utilize the region regulating OCTN2 gene expression or a factor that binds to this region for the treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency.
[0064] The OCTN2 gene comprising the region that regulates OCTN2 gene expression is useful in the above-mentioned gene therapy as it can express the OCTN2 gene under normal expression regulation in vivo by introducing it into patients who lack the OCTN2 gene, or who have a defect in OCTN2 gene expression.
[0065] Moreover, if the promoter site is determined from the upstream region of the OCTN2 gene, a compound that regulates OCTN2 gene expression amount can be simply screened by using a reporter gene expression vector having the above promoter site through examining the influence of various compounds on the production of reporter gene products. Such a screening method comprises the following steps of, (a) constructing a vector in which a reporter gene is ligated to the downstream of the promoter site, (b) introducing the vector into a suitable cell, and, (c) detecting the reporter gene activity by contacting or introducing a test compound to the above cell. Examples of the test compound include, proteins, peptides, synthetic compounds, natural compounds, genes, gene products, and such.
[0066] A compound regulating OCTN2 gene expression can also be screened by contacting a test sample with the promoter site, and selecting a compound (such as a protein) that binds to the promoter site. For example, a synthetic oligo DNA and such having the nucleotide sequence of the promoter site is prepared, this is bound to a suitable support such as Sepharose, and contacted with a cell-extract, and such. Then, a transcription factor and such that binds to this promoter site and regulates OCTN2 gene expression can be purified by, for example, affinity chromatography.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0067] FIG. 1 shows the direct sequencing of the mouse OCTN2 gene amplified by RT-PCR. wt/wt shows wild-type homologous mouse, and jvs/jvs shows the jvs homologous mouse. OCTN2 gene of the jvs mouse has a mutation at the nucleotide shown by the arrow.
[0068] FIG. 2 is electrophoretic images showing the mutation in the OCTN2 gene of the jvs mouse, which was detected using the PCR-RFLP method (Cfr 131 cleavage). The fragment shown by the arrow head derives from the normal gene, and the fragments shown by the arrows were due to the mutated gene.
[0069] FIG. 3 shows results of the carnitine transporting activity assay of wild-type mouse OCTN2 and the mutant mouse OCTN2. A sodium-dependent carnitine transporting activity is seen for the wild type, whereas the mutant (Jvs) shows absolutely no activity. “Mock” is when a cDNA-non-containing vector was used as the control.
[0070] FIG. 4 is an electrophoretic image showing the results of western blot analysis using anti myc antibody. It can be seen that the wild-type OCTN2 protein (wild) and the mutant OCTN2 protein (Jvs) is produced in similar amounts. “Mock” is when a cDNA-non-containing vector was used as the control.
[0071] FIG. 5 shows the results of OCTN2 gene analysis in the KR family. The pedigree chart of this family is shown on top. Squares indicate males, circles females, filled ones individuals having systemic carnitine deficiency, and crossed squares indicate deceased individuals. An electrophoretic image showing the PCR results is given below. “N” shows the results of the normal gene used as the control. The fragments shown by the arrowhead are PCR products derived from the normal gene, and the fragments shown by the arrow derived from the gene where the defect exits.
[0072] FIG. 6 shows the results of sequencing exon 1 of the OCTN2 gene. Compared to the normal OCTN2 gene (upper panel; wild-type), the OCTN2 of systemic carnitine deficiency patients (lower panel) belonging to the AK family, show an insertion of a cytosine residue at the position indicated by the arrow.
[0073] FIG. 7 shows the results of sequencing exon 2 of the OCTN2 gene. Compared to the normal OCTN2 gene (upper panel; wild-type), the OCTN2 of systemic carnitine deficiency patients (lower panel) belonging to the AK family, show a single nucleotide substitution (A has substituted G) as indicated by the arrow.
[0074] FIG. 8 is electrophoretic images showing the results of the analysis of two-types of mutations seen in the OCTN2 gene of a systemic carnitine deficiency patient belonging to the AK family using a PCR-RFLP method utilizing BcnI and NlaIV, respectively. The pedigree chart of this family is shown on top. Square indicates a male, circles females, and the filled circle indicates a systemic carnitine deficiency patient. “N” shows the results of the normal gene used as the control. The fragments shown by the arrows derived from the mutant gene.
[0075] FIG. 9 shows the results of the sequencing analysis of the intron 8/exon 9 of the OCTN2 gene. Compared to the normal gene (normal), the gene deriving from the patient belonging to the TH family (patient) has a splicing site mutation (AG to AA) in the 3′ end of intron 8. The pedigree chart of this family is shown on top. Squares indicate males, the circle a female, and filled square indicates a systemic carnitine deficiency patient.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0076] The invention shall be described in detail below, but it is not to be construed as being limited thereto.
EXAMPLE 1
Proof in Mouse and Human Showing that the Gene Responsible for Systemic Carnitine Deficiency (SCD) is OCTN2
[0077] The Inventors have previously isolated human cDNA encoding a protein having an activity to transport carnitine in a sodium-ion dependent manner, and also the corresponding mouse cDNA (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 9-260972, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-156660). The nucleotide sequences of the human and mouse OCTN2 cDNA isolated by the Inventors are shown in SEQ ID NO:2 and 4, respectively, and the amino acid sequences of the proteins encoded by these cDNAs are shown in SEQ ID NO:1 and 3, respectively.
[0078] The Inventors drew up a working hypothesis that OCTN2 might be the gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency, and conducted experiments to prove this.
[heading-0079] (1) OCTN2 Gene Analysis in Juvenile Visceral Steatosis (jvs) Mouse
[0080] The juvenile visceral steatosis (jvs) mouse was generated due to a mutation in the C3H.OH mouse. This jvs mouse shows symptoms similar to systemic carnitine deficiency patients, and shows an extremely low carnitine concentration within its blood and tissues. This phenotype is inherited by autosomal inheritance. From the above facts, the jvs mouse is considered to be a mouse model for systemic carnitine deficiency (Hashimoto, N. et al., Gene-dose effect on carnitine transport activity in embryonic fibroblasts of JVS mice as a model of human carnitine transporter deficiency, Biochem Pharmacol, 1998, 55:1729-1732). The Inventors examined the OCTN2 gene arrangement of the jvs mouse. Specifically, whole RNA was extracted from the kidney of a jvs homologous mouse, cDNA was synthesized, jvs mouse OCTN2 cDNA was amplified using this synthesized cDNA as the template by RT-PCR, and the sequence was examined by direct sequencing.
[0081] The amplification reaction by PCR was conducted as follows. For the 5′ side fragment, the primers MONB 31 (5′-gataagcttacggtgtccccttattcccatacg-3′/SEQ ID NO:22) and MONB 20 (5′-cccatgccaacaaggacaaaaagc-3′/SEQ ID NO:23) were prepared. Then, amplification was done within a reaction solution (50 μl) containing, cDNA, 5 μl of 10×KOD buffer (Toyobo), 5 μl of 2 mM dNTPs, 2 μl of 25 mM MgCl 2 , 0.5 μl of KOD DNA polymerase (Toyobo), 1 μl of 20 μM MONB 31 primer, and 1 μl of 20 μM MONB 20 primer at 94° C. for 3 min, 30 cycles of “94° C. for 30 sec, 50° C. for 30 sec, and 74° C. for 1 min”, and 72° C. for 10 min. As for the 3′ side fragment, the primers MONB 6 (5′-tgtttttcgtgggtgtgctgatgg-3′/SEQ ID NO:24) and MONB 26 (5′-acagaacagaaaagccctcagtca-3′/SEQ ID NO:25) were prepared, and amplification was done within a reaction solution (50 μl) containing cDNA, 5 μl of 10×ExTaq buffer (TaKaRa), 4 μl of 2.5 mM dNTPs, 1 μl of a mixture of ExTaq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa) and anti Taq antibody (TaqStart antibody™, CLONTECH), 1 μl of 20 μM MONB 6 primer, and 1 μl of 20 μM MONB 26 primer, at 94° C. for 2 min, 30 cycles of “94° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 30 sec, and 74° C. for 2 min”, and 72° C. for 10 min.
[0082] Sequencing revealed that the codon encoding the 352 nd leucine (CTG) was mutated to a codon encoding arginine (CGG) ( FIG. 1 ). This mutation can be detected by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) due to the presence of the Cfr13I restriction enzyme site. This method revealed that the jvs homologous mouse (jvs/jvs) had this mutation in both alleles, and that the heterologous mouse (wt/jvs) has both the mutated and wild type alleles ( FIG. 2 left). This mutation was also found in the C57BL jvs mouse in which the genetic background has been replaced with that of the C57BL/6 mouse by backcrossing 12 times or more ( FIG. 2 right). Since the C57BL jvs mouse was constructed after a series of selections using the jvs phenotype as an index, the jvs phenotype and OCTN2 mutations are considered to be very closely associated.
[0083] Next, the effect this mutation has on the carnitine transporting activity was examined. Plasmid DNA expressing wild-type mouse OCTN2, and those expressing mutated OCTN2 were separately introduced into HEK293 cells, and then, carnitine transporting ability was measured similar to the assay of human OCTN2 described in Japanese Patent Application Hei 10-156660 ( FIG. 3 ). This revealed that although wild-type mouse OCTN2 shows a carnitine transporting activity similar to human OCTN2, the mutated OCTN2 has absolutely no activity. However, both proteins were confirmed to be expressed at a similar amount by a western blotting using an antibody against the c-myc epitope sequence (NH 2 -EQKLISEEDL-COOH) added to the C terminus ( FIG. 4 ).
[0084] Thus, the jvs mouse is thought to have developed the disease due to a functional deletion mutation of the OCTN2 gene.
[heading-0085] (2) OCTN2 Gene Analysis in Human Systemic Carnitine Deficiency Patients
[0086] A database search using human OCTN2 cDNA sequence revealed that the human OCTN2 genomic DNA sequence has been decoded by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) of the United States as a part of the human genome project. However, it was only recorded as several cosmid clone sequences, therefore, the inventors determined a complete human OCTN2 genomic DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO:5) by comparing with human OCTN2 cDNA sequence and suitably combining the clone sequences. The human OCTN2 gene is an about 26 kb gene comprising ten exons and nine introns. The eight pairs of primers shown below, which can amplify all the exons as eight fragments, were prepared from this gene arrangement.
[0087] Specifically, OCN2 43 (5′-GCAGGACCAAGGCGGCGGTGTCAG-3′, SEQ ID NO:6) and OCN2 44 (5′-AGACTAGAGGAAAAACGGGATAGC-3′, SEQ ID NO:7) for exon one; OCN2 25 (5′-AGATTTTTAGGAGCAAGCGTTAGA-3′ SEQ ID NO:8) and OCN2 26 (5′-GAGGCAGACACCGTGGCACTACTA-3′, SEQ ID NO:9) for exon two; OCN2 27 (5′-TTCACACCCACTTACTGGATGGAT-3′ SEQ ID NO:10) and OCN2 50 (5′-ATTCTGTTTTGTTTTGGCTCTTTT-3′, SEQ ID NO: 1) for exons three and four; OCN2 31 (5′-AGCAGGGCCTGGGCTGACATAGAC-3′, SEQ ID NO:12) and OCN2 32 (5′-AAAGGACCTGACTCCAAGATGATA-3′, SEQ ID NO:13) for exon five; OCN2 33 (5′-TCTGACCACCTCTTCTTCCCATAC-3′, SEQ ID NO:14) and OCN2 34 (5′-GCCTCCTCAGCCACTGTCGGTAAC-3′, SEQ ID NO:15) for exon six; OCN2 35 (5′-ATGTTGTTCCTTTTGTTATCTTAT-3′, SEQ ID NO:16) and OCN2 36 (5′-CTTGTTTTCTTGTGTATCGTTATC-3′, SEQ ID NO:17) for exon seven; OCN2 37 (5′-TATGTTTGTTTTGCTCTCAATAGC-3′, SEQ ID NO:18) and OCN2 40 (5′-TCTGTGAGAGGGAGTTTGCGAGTA-3′, SEQ ID NO:19) for exon eight and nine; and, OCN2 41 (5′-TACGACCGCTTCCTGCCCTACATT-3′, SEQ ID NO:20) and OCN2 42 (5′-TCATTCTGCTCCATCTTCATTACC-3′, SEQ ID NO:21) for exon 10.
[0088] Next, human OCTN2 gene mutations in three families that have systemic carnitine deficiency patients, but no blood relationships were examined. The analysis is done by amplifying all the exons using the above primers and genomic DNA prepared from blood cells as the template, and subjecting the amplified products into direct sequencing.
[0089] The amplification reaction by PCR was done within a reaction solution (50 μl) containing 100 ng of genomic DNA, 5 μl of 10×ExTaq buffer (TaKaRa), 4 μl of 2.5 mM dNTPs, 1 μl of a mixture of ExTaq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa) and anti Taq antibody (TaqStart antibody™, CLONTECH), and 1 μl of each of the 20 μM primers. The reaction conditions were, 94° C. for 2 min, 36 cycles of “94° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 30 sec, and 74° C. for 2 min”, and 72° C. for 10 min. However, in the case of exon one and exon five amplification, a reaction solution (50 μl) containing 100 ng genomic DNA, 25 μl of 2×GC buffer 1 (TaKaRa), 8 μl of 2.5 mM dNTPs, 0.5 μl of LA Taq DNA polymerase (TaKaRa), and 1 μl of each of the 20 μM primers, was used.
[0090] In the first family (KR family), a 113 bp deletion was found in first exon of the OCTN2 gene of a systemic carnitine deficiency patient ( FIG. 5 ). This deletion affects the initiation codon and thus, a complete protein will not be produced. The next usable ATG codon present in the correct frame is at nucleotide no. 177, and in this case, it is thought that at least two transmembrane regions will be deleted. The two systemic carnitine deficiency patients in this family were found to contain this mutated OCTN2 gene in both alleles. On the other hand, the parents and the two brothers of the patient, who have not developed the disease, carry the mutation on just one allele.
[0091] In the second family (AK family), the systemic carnitine patients were found to contain two types of mutated OCTN2 genes. One mutation was a cytosine insertion just after the initiation codon, which is thought to cause a frame shift and prevent the proper protein from being produced ( FIG. 6 ). The other mutation is a single base substitution (G to A) in the codon encoding the 132 nd tryptophan (TGG). This mutation had altered the codon into a stop codon (TGA) ( FIG. 7 ). These mutations are thought to prevent the production of active OCTN2 proteins in patients. These mutations can be detected by PCR-RFLP analysis using BcnI, NlaIV restriction enzymes, respectively, which revealed that the patient's parents who have not developed the disease, had one of each of the mutations, and the patient's sisters who have not developed the disease, do not have any mutated genes ( FIG. 8 ).
[0092] In the third family (TH family), a mutation (AG to AA) was found in the splicing site in the 3′ end of the intron eight of the OCTN2 gene ( FIG. 9 ). This mutation prevents the gene from undergoing normal splicing, and thus, it is expected that the normal protein would not be produced. Sequencing analysis showed that the systemic carnitine deficiency patient belonging to this family had this mutation in both alleles. On the other hand, the patient's parents and one of the brothers who have not developed the disease had one mutated allele.
[0093] The above results revealed that systemic carnitine deficiency is a genetic disease caused by mutations in the OCTN2 gene. Thus, the present invention enables definitive diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis and such, of systemic carnitine deficiency by examining mutations in the OCTN2 gene using analyses described herein, as well as other methods. The present invention also enables treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency by treatments such as gene therapy using the OCTN2 gene.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0094] The present invention revealed that the OCTN2 gene is the gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency, thus enabling tests for the disease by detecting mutations in the OCTN2 gene and its protein. Moreover, the present invention facilitates treatment of systemic carnitine deficiency by utilizing the OCTN2 gene and its protein. | The gene responsible for systemic carnitine deficiency was found to be the OCTN2 gene involved in the transportation of organic cations. This invention enables tests for this disease by detecting whether or not the OCTN2 gene has a mutation. Furthermore, systemic carnitine deficiency can be treated using the normal OCTN2 gene and its protein. | 0 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to and the benefit of co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/437,791, filed Jan. 31, 2011, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a game call apparatus that emits sound for attracting wildlife.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Numerous devices are known in the relevant art for use by hunters and others, such as photographers, for producing game sounds intended to be heard by wild game for the purpose of attracting the wild game to the source of the game sound. Such devices are collectively known as game calls and are available in various configurations. Some game calls, for example, are actuated by air and include a reed or other sound-producing member. In order to issue a call, a user must force air into and/or through such an air-actuated game call device. One such device is The Original Can™ Estrus™ Bleat Model No. 711, available from Primos, Inc. of Flora, Miss.
In order to more effectively attract game it is desirable that game calls are configured to produce an attractive sound that will travel an increased distance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a game call apparatus including amplifier according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side plan view of a game call amplifier apparatus according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a game call amplifier apparatus including compression collar according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a side plan view of a game call amplifier apparatus including compression collar according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1-2 , a game call apparatus 1 according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown as including a game call 12 and an amplifier apparatus 2 . The game call 12 can be a cylindrically-shaped bleat-type call for attracting wild game such as deer, for example. The call 12 may include one or more apertures disposed at a bottom end (not shown) and one or more apertures 14 disposed at a top end 16 such that covering the bottom aperture(s) with a thumb or finger and turning the call 12 upside down causes a sound-producing structure to emit an attractive sound from aperture(s) 14 .
Because the one or more apertures 14 are disposed substantially in the same plane and are of substantially the same size and diameter, the call 12 is generally configured to emit a sound with a wide range but limited in distance and is thereby less effective for attracting game at far distances. The improved game call apparatus 1 of the present invention includes an amplifier apparatus 2 configured to be disposed proximate the top end of a call 12 at a first end 8 . The amplifier apparatus 2 includes a conic structure 4 with an aperture at both first and second ends 8 , 10 wherein the aperture at the second end 10 is of a wider diameter D 3 than the diameter D 2 of the aperture at the first end 8 . Accordingly, when disposed proximate the call 12 , the amplifier apparatus 2 provides for improved directionality and distance of sound emitted by the call 12 at the aperture(s) 14 .
In one exemplary embodiment, the amplifier apparatus 2 can be configured to detachably mount to the call 12 at the first end 8 such as by a collar 6 , for example. The collar 6 is an annular structure having, in one exemplary embodiment, a diameter D 2 slightly larger than the diameter D 1 of the call 12 at the top end 16 . The collar 6 can be configured to mount to the call 12 such as by press fit, adhesive, fixing member or any other means of attachment. In another exemplary embodiment, the collar 6 is formed along with the call as an integrated structure.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, an adapter 5 is optionally provided having an open first end 9 , having an inner diameter D 4 slightly larger than the diameter D 2 of the collar 6 , and an open second end 11 , having an outer diameter D 5 slightly larger than the diameter D 1 of the top end 16 of the call 12 . In this embodiment, the adapter 5 is configured to receive the amplifier apparatus at a first end 9 and the call 12 is configured to receive the adapter 5 at a top end 16 . The various components 2 , 5 , 12 can be retained, if desired, such as by press fit, adhesive, fixing member or any other means of attachment. As call 12 size and diameter D 1 vary based on type, volume, and pitch, for example, of the emitted sound, the outer diameter D 5 of the adapter 5 can vary along with diameter D 1 of the call 12 while the inner diameter D 4 of the adapter can remain the same thereby allowing various sized calls 12 to be used with the same amplifier apparatus 2 .
Referring to FIGS. 3-4 , in yet another exemplary embodiment, the amplifier apparatus 2 is configured to include a compression collar 7 disposed at a first end 8 for detachably mounting the amplifier apparatus 2 to a call 12 . The compression collar 7 is a substantially annular structure including a disjointed portion 19 disposed proximate the clamp portion 18 . The clamp portion 18 includes first and second clamp members 20 , 22 , each disposed on an opposing side of the disjointed portion 19 . In one embodiment, at least clamp member 22 includes a threaded aperture 23 for receiving a threaded fastener (not shown). The aperture 23 of claim member 22 is configured to align with an aperture portion 25 of clamp member 20 such that a fastener received by clamp member 20 can extend to and be received by the threaded aperture 23 of clamp member 22 thereby drawing the clamp portion 20 closer to clamp portion 22 so as to reduce the diameter of the collar 6 and detachably mount the collar 6 to a call 12 a top end 16 .
In one exemplary embodiment, the aperture 25 includes a first portion 27 of a smaller diameter and a second portion 29 of a larger diameter such that a fastener member having a head portion of a larger diameter and a body portion of a smaller diameter can extend the head portion below the surface of claim portion 20 and abut the first portion 29 of the aperture 25 of a smaller diameter when received by the aperture 25 . In another exemplary embodiment, the head of the fastener member abuts the surface of the claim portion 20 when received by threaded aperture 23 .
The amplifier apparatus 2 can be made from any suitable material but is preferably made of a material highly reflective of sound waves. In an embodiment including a compression collar 6 , the amplifier apparatus 2 is preferably formed of a flexible material such as a thermoplastic, for example.
While the principles of the invention have been described herein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope of the invention. Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present invention in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. | Disclosed in this specification is a game call that emits a call for attracting wild game by rotating from an upright position to an inverted position. The game call includes an amplifier having a conic structure with a narrow circular aperture and a wide circular aperture. The narrow circular aperture is connected to the cylindrical top end such that it is within a perimeter defined by the narrow circular aperture. | 0 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 07017083.2 filed on 31 Aug. 2007, and such application is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a head rail for an architectural covering, such as a roller blind or screen.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Head rails are fairly common as upper structures of retractable window coverings, such as Venetian type blinds and roll-up curtains or blinds. In known examples, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,894 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,389, provisions have been made to enable the user or the installer to select between controlling the blind from one or the other end of the head rail. In the known head rail assemblies the operating controls will alternatively exit from either a front wall or a rear wall of the head rail. Repositioning the controls from the left hand side of an architectural opening to the right hand side, or vice versa, thereby requires the entire blind to be reversed front to rear. With such head rails it is thus strictly necessary that the front and rear walls should be equally suitable to be exposed to the front and fulfill certain decorative requirements. There can however be reasons not to shape the front and rear walls of a head rail identically or to have a blind that is reversible by having identical front and rear surfaces.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a head rail assembly that enables the user or the installer to select between control ends without being limited to a reversible shape of the head rail or the blind. A further object of the invention is to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art. It is also an object of the present invention to provide alternative structures which are less cumbersome in assembly and operation and which moreover can be made relatively inexpensively. Alternatively it is an object of the invention to at least provide the public with a useful choice.
To this end, the invention provides a head rail for an architectural covering, the head rail including: an elongate front wall having left hand and right hand longitudinal ends, an elongate bottom wall having left hand and right hand longitudinal ends, a left hand end structure positioned adjacent to the left hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall; and a right hand end structure positioned adjacent to the right hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall, wherein a first slot is defined between the left hand end structure and the left hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall, wherein a second slot is defined between the right hand end structure and the right hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall, and wherein at least one of the first and second slots is closed by a removable closure. In this way the head rail has an exit for a control device on either of its longitudinal ends. It is thus not necessary to turn the head rail end for end when the control device is desired at an opposite side of the architectural covering. It is also no longer necessary to have identical front and rear walls on the head rail and the rear structure of the head rail can thereby be shaped to serve a functional purpose rather than a mere decorative purpose. Also the blind material suspended from the head rail can now be given distinct opposite surfaces in accordance with specific functional properties required at the interior side and at the exterior side of architectural openings.
Other advantageous embodiments will be apparent from the appended claims and the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in reference to one possible embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows in perspective, an interior side of a right hand end structure;
FIG. 2 shows, in perspective, an exterior side of a left hand end structure;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a partly assembled roller blind with a blind roller carried between opposite right and left hand end structures;
FIG. 4 shows one possible form of a bottom wall of the roller blind of FIG. 3 and a removable closure in a perspective explosion view prior to mounting;
FIG. 5 shows the bottom wall of FIG. 4 in assembled condition;
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 , but with the removable closure positioned for mounting to another end of the bottom wall;
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but with the removable closure assembled to the other end of the bottom wall;
FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the bottom wall of FIG. 7 over the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7 ;
FIG. 9 shows in elevation the bottom wall of FIG. 5 in position for being mounted onto the partly assembled roller blind of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 10 is an elevation similar to FIG. 9 , but with the bottom wall fully mounted onto the roller blind of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the roller blind of FIG. 10 with left and right hand end caps in position for being mounted onto the left hand and right hand end structures;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view from below showing the roller blind of FIG. 11 upon final assembly of its head rail with its bottom wall of FIG. 7 permitting an operating mechanism to be associated with a right hand end structure; and
FIG. 13 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 12 but showing the roller blind of FIG. 11 upon final assembly of its head rail with its bottom wall of FIG. 7 permitting an operating mechanism to be associated with a left hand end structure.
FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view of another embodiment of a roller blind.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a right hand end structure 1 that has a web portion 3 , a rear mounting flange 5 and a top mounting flange 7 . Also extending from the web portion 3 are a first wall engagement formation 9 and a second wall engagement formation 11 . Associated with the first engagement formation 9 is an abutment 13 for a purpose to be described herein below. Web portion 3 is also provided with a central aperture 15 for receiving either an end bearing of a roller blind roller or a control device for a driving end of such a blind roller.
The central aperture 15 in the illustrated embodiment is surrounded with an optional array of angular positioning openings 17 . The angular positioning openings 17 can be used to locate a control device in different angular positions in respect of the central aperture 15 . The right hand end structure 1 further has first and second mounting holes 19 , 21 in its web portion 3 , offering the option of mounting the end structure to a wall surface that co-extends with the web portion 3 . Mostly however the right hand end structure 1 will be mounted to rear surface using in the rear mounting flange 5 , or to an overhead surface using the top mounting flange 7 . To this end the rear mounting flange 5 is provided with first and second slotted openings 23 , 25 and the top mounting flange 7 is provided with third and fourth slotted openings 27 , 29 . FIG. 2 shows a left hand end structure 31 which is substantially a mirror image of the right hand end structure 1 of FIG. 1 . Similar parts of the left hand end structure 31 in FIG. 3 will be referred to by reference numerals that are a full thirty higher than those used in FIG. 1 . The left hand end structure 31 has a web portion 33 and a top mounting flange 37 . Similar to the right hand end bracket there is also a rear mounting flange, but which is hidden from view in the exterior perspective orientation of FIG. 2 . Again extending from the web portion 33 are a first wall engagement formation 39 and a second wall engagement formation 41 . The first wall engagement formation 39 has an abutment 43 . A central aperture 45 is provided in the web portion 33 which is surrounded by optional angular positioning openings 47 for positioning a drive unit. The web portion 33 further has first and second mounting holes 49 , 51 and the top mounting flange 37 has first and second mounting slots 57 , 59 .
FIG. 3 shows a part assembly of the right hand end structure 1 , the left hand end structure 31 and a roller blind 61 . The roller blind 61 has a control device 63 on one longitudinal end of a blind roller 65 . The control device 63 can be operated by a ball chain 67 . Windable on and from the roller 65 , by operating the ball chain 67 , is a blind fabric or screen 69 which is kept taught by a weighted bottom bar 71 .
FIGS. 4 to 7 show the respective preparatory stages of a wall element 81 for a head rail of the invention. The wall element 81 is provided with a bottom wall 83 and an integral front wall 85 . The bottom wall 83 has a right hand cut-out 87 and a left hand cut-out 89 . The right hand cut-out 87 is furnished with a right hand edge cover 91 and the left hand cut-out 89 is furnished with a corresponding left hand edge cover 93 . The right hand and left hand edge covers 91 , 93 each have protrusions 91 A, 91 B, 93 A, 93 B, which cooperate with first and second holding groove formations 95 , 97 on an inside of the bottom wall 83 . Each of the right hand and left hand edge covers 91 , 93 is also provided with a rectangular slot 99 which opens into a funnel defined by the relevant protrusion 91 B, 93 B and the inside surface of the bottom wall 83 . The rectangular slot 99 cooperates with a bifurcated flexible insertion tongue 103 of a removable closure 101 . The closure 101 also has first and second retaining hooks 105 , 107 and first and second curved guiding surfaces 109 , 111 .
The front wall 85 as more clearly visible in FIG. 8 , has a first engagement ridge 121 and a second engagement ridge 123 . The first engagement ridge 121 is designed to pivotally hook into the first wall engagement formations 9 , 39 of the right hand and left hand end structures 1 , 31 respectively. The second engagement ridge 123 is designed to snap fittingly engage behind the second wall engagement formations 11 , 41 of respectively the right hand and left hand end structure 1 , 31 .
As it is shown in FIG. 9 the wall element 81 with its first engagement ridge 121 is brought into engagement with the first wall engagement formations 9 , 39 of the right hand and left hand end structures 1 , 31 . The first engagement ridge 121 also abuts the abutment 43 . From this position the wall element 81 is moved into the direction of arrow 125 , where upon the second engagement ridge 123 engages the second wall engagement formation 41 on the left hand end structure 31 and arrive at the position illustrated in FIG. 10 . The cooperation with the right hand end structure 1 which is not visible in FIG. 9 and 10 is similar and takes place simultaneously.
In case the right hand and left hand end structure 1 , 31 remain in a visible position after mounting of the entire blind assembly to a rear or an overhead surface, right hand and left hand end caps 131 , 133 can be slid onto the end structures a shown in FIG. 11 . Such end caps are however optional.
FIG. 12 shows the blind of FIG. 11 after the end caps 131 , 133 have been attached. An enclosed head rail structure is formed by the bottom wall 83 and the front wall 85 which completely hides the roller blind mechanism from view and also protects it against contamination or damage. The closure 101 closes the relevant right hand or left hand cut-out 87 , 89 in the bottom wall 83 where there is no control mechanism and consequently no depending ball chain loop 67 that needs to exit from the head rail at the left side in FIG. 12 . This arrangement provides for a symmetrical head rail which can also be used in case the operating ball chain loop 67 is required to be positioned at the left hand side of the head rail as shown in FIG. 13 . In this case the closure 101 is attached to the right hand edge cover 91 , when for some reason the closure 101 has been omitted, the flexibility of the bifurcated tongue 103 and the curved guiding surfaces 109 , 111 (see FIGS. 4 to 7 ) will still allow retrofitting the closure 101 into a finished head rail. Similarly it would be possible when required to remove the closure 101 from an assembled heads rail.
Various modifications are in the purview of the present invention and will be easily accomplished by the skilled person. One such modification could be that the closure 101 is formed as an integral, but break-away portion of each edge cover 91 , 93 . In such a modified arrangement the closure is removed where it is not needed and left in place where it is needed. It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the described embodiment of head rail according to the invention has the strict minimum of a bottom wall and a front wall, variations having in addition a rear wall 88 and/or a top wall 86 , as shown in FIG. 14 , are possible without deviating from the scope of the invention. The right hand and left hand end structures, to this end, may be modified to provide additional engagement formations for receiving such rear and/or top walls. Where the blind is a roller blind the bottom wall is usually arranged to leave a longitudinal slot along its longitudinal rear edge to allow the blind fabric or screen material to extend from the head rail in proximity to the rear of the head rail. Occasionally it is preferred to have the blind or screen material to extend in proximity of the front wall of the head rail. In such cases the bottom wall can be formed as an integral part of a rear wall, or be separately attachable to the left hand and right hand end structures. Because the front wall of the head rail assembly can sometimes have an additional decorative function, it goes without saying that this does not strictly need to have a flat shape and can be curved or profiled according to requirement. The invention is not limited to any embodiment herein described and, within the purview of the skilled person; modifications are possible which should be considered within the scope of the appended claims. Equally all kinematic inversions are considered inherently disclosed and to be within the scope of the present invention. The term comprising when used in this description or the appended claims should not be construed in an exclusive or exhaustive sense but rather in an inclusive sense. Expressions such as: “means for . . . ” should be read as: “component configured for . . . ” or “member constructed to . . . ” and should be construed to include equivalents for the structures disclosed. The use of expressions like: “critical”, “preferred”, “especially preferred” etc. is not intended to limit the invention. Features which are not specifically or explicitly described or claimed may be additionally included in the structure according to the present invention without deviating from its scope. | A head rail or head rail assembly for an architectural closure, the head rail including an elongate front wall having left hand and right hand longitudinal ends and an elongate bottom wall having left hand and right hand longitudinal ends. A left hand end structure is positioned adjacent to the left hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall and a right hand end structure is positioned adjacent to the right hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall. A first slot is defined between the left hand end structure and the left hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall and a second slot is defined between the right hand end structure and the right hand longitudinal end of the bottom wall. At least one of the first and second slots is closed by a removable closure. | 4 |
This application is a national phase entry under 35 USC 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2013/079963 filed on 24 Jul. 2013, which was published on 12 Jun. 2014 with International Publication Number WO 2014/086153 A1, which claims priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 201210525912.1 filed on 6 Dec. 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communication technologies, and more particularly to a mobile terminal and a wireless connection method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
WIFI (Wireless Fidelity) is applied in more and more mobile terminals. As a standard component of the mobile terminals, WIFI chips can establish WIFI connection with access points (APs) for data communication. Nowadays, people are using WIFI connections more and more frequently in the daily life, study and work, so access points have been deployed in many houses and also been deployed in many public places such as cafes, airports, stations, libraries and so on. Thus, the mobile terminals can be connected to the internet via the access points.
In many circumstances, there is more than one access point. When there are a lot of access points, a conventional way to search for and access an access point is as follows: search for all available access points in the current environment, then look for an access point pre-recorded by the user from all the access points one by one, and use access information pre-stored by the user to access the access point once the pre-recorded access-point is found, thus complete the connection process. This requires it must complete the searching process and then access, thus the speed of accessing the access point is slow particularly when the number of the access points is great, and it adversely affects the users' experiences.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present disclosure is to provide a mobile terminal and a wireless connection method thereof, which can connect to an access point after each time the access point is found.
To solve the aforesaid technical problem, a technical solution adopted in the present disclosure is to provide a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal, which comprises: beginning to search for an access point in a current environment; determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time, and if a determination result thereof is yes, acquiring a current access point that is found and suspending the searching; determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point, and if a determination result thereof is yes, determining whether another access point has been accessed; determining whether the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point if the another access point has been accessed, wherein the priority level is represented by a signal strength; disconnecting the connection with the another access point and using the access information to access the current access point if the priority level of the current access point is higher than that of the another access point; saving the current access point into a list; and continuing to search for a next access point, and returning to the step of determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time.
The wireless connection method further comprises: ending the searching if the determination result of the step of determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time is no.
The wireless connection method further comprises: executing the step of saving the current access point into a list if the determination result of the step of determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point is no.
The wireless connection method further comprises: executing the step of using the access information to access the current access point if the determination result of the step of determining whether another access point has been accessed is no.
The wireless connection method further comprises: executing the step of saving the current access point into a list if the determination result of the step of determining whether the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point is no.
The wireless connection method further comprises: arranging all access points in the list in a descending order according to priority levels thereof after the searching is ended.
To solve the aforesaid technical problem, another technical solution adopted in the present disclosure is to provide a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal, which comprises: beginning to search for an access point in a current environment; determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time, and if a determination result thereof is yes, acquiring a current access point that is found and suspending the searching; determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point, and if a determination result thereof is yes, using the access information to access the current access point; saving the current access point into a list; and continuing to search for a next access point, and returning to the step of determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time.
The wireless connection method further comprises: ending the searching if the determination result of the step of determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time is no.
The wireless connection method further comprises: executing the step of saving the current access point into a list if the determination result of the step of determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point is no.
After the step of determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point and before the step of using the access information to access the current access point, the wireless connection method further comprises: determining whether another access point has been accessed if the determination result of the step of determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point is yes, and if a determination result thereof is no, executing the step of using the access information to access the current access point.
After the step of determining whether another access point has been accessed, the wireless connection method further comprises: determining whether the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point if the determination result of the step of determining whether another access point has been accessed is yes; and if a determination result thereof is yes, disconnecting connection with the another access point and executing the step of using the access information to access the current access point.
The step of determining whether the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point further comprises: saving the current access point into the list if the determination result thereof is no.
The priority level is represented by a signal strength.
The wireless connection method further comprises: arranging all access points in the list in a descending order according to priority levels thereof after the searching is ended.
To solve the aforesaid technical problem, a further technical solution adopted in the present disclosure is to provide a mobile terminal, which comprises: a WIFI chip, being configured to search for and access an access point; and a baseband-signal processing chip, being connected with the WIFI chip and comprising a control module, a first determining module, a second determining module and a storage module therein, with a list being provided in the storage module, wherein: the control module is configured to control the WIFI chip to begin to search for an access point in a current environment according to an operation of a user; the first determining module is configured to determine whether any access point is found by the WIFI chip within a predetermined time, and if a determination result thereof is yes, notify the storage module to acquire a current access point that is found and notify the control module to control the WIFI chip to suspend the searching; the second determining module is configured to determine whether access information that is pre-recorded in the storage module matches the current access point if the determination result of the first determining module is yes, and if a determining result of the second determining module is yes, notify the control module to control the WIFI chip to access the current access point by using the access information and control the WIFI chip to continue to search for a next access point, and notify the storage module to save the current access point into the list.
The baseband-signal processing chip further comprises a power-supply management module for supplying power to the WIFI chip.
The present disclosure has the following benefits: as compared with the prior art, the mobile terminal and the wireless connection method thereof of the present disclosure suspend the searching after an access point is found, determine whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the access point, and access the access point if the determination result is yes and then continue to search for a next access point. In this way, by connecting to an access point after each time the access point is found, the mobile terminal can access the access point quickly to improve the users' experiences.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure will be detailed herein below with reference to the attached drawings and the embodiments.
Refer to FIG. 1 , which shows a schematic flowchart diagram of a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless connection method comprises following steps of:
Step S 11 : beginning to search for an access point in a current environment.
When there are access points available for use in the current environment, it begins to search for the access points in the current environment according to the user's choice.
Step S 12 : determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time, and if a determination result thereof is yes, acquiring a current access point that is found and suspending the searching.
The user does not know whether any access point exists in the current environment when searching for the access points, and if the searching is continued when there is no access point in the current environment, the power consumption will be undoubtedly increased and also, the user may become puzzled. Therefore, a predetermined time is set. If no access point is found within the predetermined time (i.e., if the determination result is no), the searching is ended; and if an access point is found, the searching is suspended to execute a next step. In this way, the user can promptly find out if there is any available access point nearby, and may choose to connect to the internet in other ways when there is no available access point.
Step S 13 : determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point, and if a determination result thereof is yes, using the access information to access the current access point.
The access information is verification information for accessing an access point, and comprises the access point name, the access point type, the access password, the encryption mechanism and so on. There may be a plurality of kinds of access information, with each kind matching one access point. The access information is pre-recorded, and specifically, the access information may be acquired when the user accesses an access point before, may be inputted manually by the user before the user begins to search for an access point, or may be acquired from the outside through the near field communication connection (e.g., NFC (Near Field Communication)), and the present disclosure has no limitation on the way to acquire the access information.
If the access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point (e.g., if the user has accessed the current access point before), then the access information can be used to access the current access point. The way to determine whether the access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point is to compare the access point name and the access point type in the access information with the name and the type of the current access point. If the two names and the two types are consistent with each other respectively, it means that the matching is successful, and then the access password is input for verification according to the encryption mechanism.
Step S 14 : saving the current access point into a list.
The current access point is saved into a list after the current access point has been accessed to make it convenient for the user to view later on. In this embodiment, if the access information does not match the current access point, the current access point is also saved into a list.
Step S 15 : continuing to search for a next access point, and returning to the step of determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time.
Because there are also other access points in the current environment, the user continues to search for a next access point after the current access point has been accessed.
The wireless connection method of this embodiment suspends the searching after a current access point is found to try connecting to the current access point, and continues to search for other access points after the current access point has been accessed, and also continues to search for other access points even if the current access point fails to be accessed. As compared to the prior art which tries accessing access points one by one only after all the access points have been found, the wireless accessing method of the present disclosure connects to an access point each time the access point is found, which allows access points to be accessed quickly to improve the users' experiences.
Refer to FIG. 2 , which shows a schematic flowchart diagram of a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless connection method comprises the following steps of:
Step S 201 : beginning to search for an access point in a current environment.
Step S 202 : determining whether any access point is found within a predetermined time, and if a determination result thereof is yes, proceeding to step S 203 , and if the determination result thereof is no, proceeding to step S 211 .
When no access point is found, the searching is ended and a prompt is given to the user. This can reduce the power consumption and makes it convenient for the user to know the progress of the searching process.
Step S 203 : acquiring a current access point that is found and suspending the searching.
Step S 204 : determining whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the current access point, and if a determination result thereof is yes, proceeding to step S 205 , and if the determination result thereof is no, proceeding to step S 209 .
Step S 205 : determining whether another access point has been accessed, and if a determination result thereof is yes, proceeding to step S 206 , and if the determination result thereof is no, proceeding to step S 208 .
In real practice, the user might have already accessed an access point before moving into the current environment, and because the access point is connected wirelessly, the connection with the previous access point may be still remained after the user moved into the current environment. However, the user wants to search in the current environment again to see if there are other available access points. Therefore, after a current access point is found, whether the user has accessed any other access point is determined.
Step S 206 : determining whether the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point, and if a determination result thereof is yes, proceeding to step S 207 , and if the determination result thereof is no, proceeding to step S 209 .
After it is determined that the user has accessed an access point, the priority level also needs to be determined. After having found the current access point, the user needs to know the priority level of the current access point to decide whether to replace the access point that has already been accessed with the current access point or not. In this embodiment, the priority level is represented by the signal strength, and a higher signal strength represents a higher priority level.
Step S 207 : disconnecting the connection with the another access point.
If the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point, then the connection with the another access point is disconnected.
Step S 208 : using the access information to access the current access point.
The access information is used to access the current access point after the connection with the another accessing point is disconnected. The way to access the current access point comprises: automatically matching the access point name, inputting the access password according to the encryption mechanism and so on. The connection reliability can be enhanced by accessing the current access point.
Step S 209 : saving the current access point into a list.
No matter whether or not the current access point has been accessed, the current access point will be saved into a list all the same for the user to look up conveniently later on and for quick matching in the next searching process.
Step S 210 : continuing to search for a next access point, and returning to the step S 202 .
During the process of searching for a next access point, continue to determine whether any access point is found within a predetermined time so as to try connecting to the next access point. This step can be repeated to find all access points in the current environment.
Step S 211 : ending the searching
If no access point is found within the predetermined time, then it is determined that there is no access point in the current environment or all access points have been found. In this case, the searching is ended. In this embodiment, the predetermined time may be set to be 10 seconds.
Step S 212 : arranging all access points in the list in a descending order according to priority levels thereof.
All access points are displayed in a list after the searching is ended. In some instances, the access information is not pre-recorded by the user, but the user can manually select an access point and then input the access information to access the access point. After the user has accessed the access point, the access information of the access point will be automatically saved. The access points in the list are arranged in a descending order according to priority levels thereof; and the accessing points having high priority levels are topped to make it convenient for the user to select them first.
In the wireless connection method of this embodiment, if the user has accessed another access point when a current access point is found and the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point, then the connection with the another access point will be disconnected and the current access point will be accessed by using the access information. Thereby, it is ensured that the user can connect to the access point having the highest priority level in the process of searching for access points to get a reliable connection.
Refer to FIG. 3 , which shows a schematic structural view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mobile terminal comprises a WIFI chip 1 and a baseband-signal processing chip 2 . In this embodiment, the mobile terminal may be a mobile phone or a tablet computer.
The WIFI chip 1 is configured to search for and access an access point. In this embodiment, the WIFI chip searches for and accesses an access point via a WIFI antenna 11 .
The baseband-signal processing chip 2 is connected to the WIFI chip 1 . In this embodiment, the baseband-signal processing chip 2 is connected to the WIFI chip 1 via an SDIO bus. The SDIO bus comprises an SDC_CLK wire, an SDC_CMD wire, and an SDC_DATA wire. The SDC_CLK wire is configured to transmit a clock signal, the SDC_CMD wire is configured to transmit a control command, and the SDC_DATA is configured to transmit data. The baseband-signal processing chip 2 comprises a control module 21 , a first determining module 22 , a second determining module 23 and a storage module 24 therein. The storage module 24 is provided with a list.
The control module 21 is configured to control the WIFI chip 1 to begin to search for an access point in a current environment according to an operation of a user.
The first determining module 22 is configured to determine whether any access point is found by the WIFI chip 1 within a predetermined time, and if the determination result is yes, notify the storage module 24 to acquire the current access point that is found and notify the control module 21 to control the WIFI chip 1 to suspend the searching.
The second determining module 23 is configured to determine whether access information that is pre-recorded in the storage module 24 matches the current access point if the determination result of the first determining module is yes, and if the determination result of the second determining module is yes, notify the control module 21 to control the WIFI chip 1 to access the current access point by using the access information and control the WIFI chip 1 to continue to search for a next access point, and notify the storage module 24 to save the current access point into the list.
The first determining module 22 and the second determining module 23 execute the two determining processes respectively. However, when the baseband-signal processing chip 2 comprises only one determining module, the determining module may be set to execute both the two determining processes.
In this embodiment, the baseband-signal processing chip 2 also comprises a power-supply management module 25 for supplying power to the WIFI chip 1 .
According to the above descriptions, the mobile terminal and the wireless connection method thereof of the present disclosure suspend the searching when an access point is found, determine whether access information that is pre-recorded matches the access point, access the access point if the determination result is yes, and then continue to search for a next access point. This allows access points to be accessed quickly by connecting to an access point each time an access point is found. Furthermore, if the user has accessed other access points before accessing a current access point and the current access point has a priority level higher than that of the another access point, the connection with the another access point will be disconnected to access the current access point so that a reliable connection can be ensured.
What described above are only the embodiments of the present disclosure, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any equivalent structures or equivalent process flow modifications that are made according to the specification and the attached drawings of the present disclosure, or any direct or indirect applications of the present disclosure in other related technical fields shall all be covered within the scope of the present disclosure. | Disclosed is a wireless connection method for a mobile terminal. The method includes: starting to search for an access point in a current environment; judging whether the access point is found within a preset time, and when rise judgment result is yes, acquiring the found current access point and suspending the search; judging whether the access information recorded in advance matches the current access point, and when the judgment result is yes, accessing the current access point using the access information; storing the current access point in a list; and continuing searching for a next access point, and returning to the step of judging whether an access point is round within a preset time. Also disclosed is a mobile terminal. In this way, the mobile terminal and the wireless connection method therefor of the present invention can rapidly access an access point, improving the user experience. | 7 |
DESCRIPTION
Technical Field
This invention relates to a toroidal body winding or wrapping apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for driving an open shuttle on an open frame for winding or wrapping said body.
Background Art
Apparatus for winding and wrapping elongate material on a toroidal body using a rotating closed shuttle has been known for some time. The shuttle and support frame of the apparatus has to be manually disengaged and a segment of the shuttle and support frame has to be swung open so as to load a toroidal body in the opening therein. The segments of the shuttle and support frame are then swung shut and secured. The support frame has at least one drive sprocket engaging a gear on the outer periphery of the shuttle with idler rollers carried by the support frame engaging the periphery of the shuttle to guide the shuttle rotation about the axis of the support frame. The sprocket and gear drive has maximum rotational speed of about 100 rpm which limits the winding and wrapping speed accordingly. The idler rollers for the shuttle have eccentric shafts for radial adjustments of the shuttle relative to the support frame. Bearings were mounted in the roller portion of the idlers which make roller replacement very difficult.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
Disclosure of Invention
A high speed assembly is provided for winding and wrapping toroidal bodies at increased speeds in a semi-automatic or fully automatic manner.
The assembly has a support frame with a C-shaped configuration including a cutaway segment permitting access into the opening in the midportion thereof. A rotating shuttle having a C-shaped configuration with a cutaway segment also permits access into the opening in the midportion thereof. The shuttle is juxtaposed on the support frame with a track or groove in the periphery of the shuttle in which is seated the drive rollers of a plurality of drive roller assemblies carried by the support frame. The drive roller assemblies have pulleys which are engaged by at least one of several drive belts. A motor and brake set drives, stabilizes and brakes the drive belts, pulleys and rollers so as to drive and to brake the shuttle about the center of the support frame.
A latch gate is pneumatically operated to open or close access to the cutaway segment into the open midportion of the support frame. When the gate is open and the cutaway segment of the shuttle is aligned with the cutaway segment of the support frame, a toroidal body can be loaded or unloaded into or from the aligned openings in the midportion thereof.
The shaft for each drive roller assembly passes through a non-concentric bearing sleeve seated in an aperture in the frame and each shaft is keyed to the pulley and to the roller for control and simplified replacement of worn rollers. The non-concentric sleeves are selectively rotatable in the apertures relative to the frame so as to position the rollers in such a way as to center the shuttle relative to the support frame.
The shuttle is rotated at relatively high speeds which necessitates balancing the shuttle as close to ideal as feasible considering the changing conditions to which the shuttle is subjected. The shuttle is balanced when the spool containing the material being wrapped or wound is empty so as to have a minimum effect when completing the wrapping or winding of a body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shuttle driving assembly incorporating the invention therein;
FIG. 2 is a slightly enlarged partial perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 1 with the shuttle exploded away from the support frame;
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view, with parts broken away, of the shuttle driving assembly of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the shuttle driving assembly;
FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the shuttle driving assembly;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 6; and
FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the last roll of the support frame before the cutaway segment and the end view of the track or groove on the shuttle as it passes said last roll.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 4, the principal components of a shuttle driving mechanism or assembly 10 is illustrated and comprises a base 12 bolted to a table 14 (shown in phantom in FIG. 3) with a support frame 16 extending upwardly from the base 12 in a plane lying transverse to the plane of the base 12. A motor and brake set 18 is mounted on the base 12 and has an output 20 which either drives or stops the rotation of a shuttle 22 carried by the support frame 16. The motor and brake set 18 drives the shuttle 22 for rotation in a substantially vertical plane about a toroidal body 24 which is rotated in the mid-circumferential plane of the toroidal body 24. The mid-circumferential plane is shown substantially horizontal and is substantially perpendicular to the vertical plane of the shuttle 22 so that elongate material 26 carried on a spool 27 on the shuttle 22 is wound or wrapped on the toroidal body 24 under substantially uniform tension and in a uniform helical pattern.
The support frame 16 includes a cylindrical housing 28 having a radially, inwardly directed web 30 which has an inner wall 34 defining an article-receiving opening 32. Walls 36 define a segment cut out from the housing 28 and web 30 to define an entrance opening or passage 38 providing access into the article-receiving opening 32. The cylindrical housing 28 is supported on the base 12 with its axis lying substantially parallel to the horizontal plane of the base 12, by a triangularly-shaped support bracket 40 connected at junctions 42 to the housing 28.
A latching gate 52 is pivoted at 54 (FIG. 3) to one side of the entrance opening or passage 38 of the housing 28. Pins 56, shown in phantom in FIGS. 1 and 3, are carried by the outwardly extending end portion of the latching gate 52 and telescope into openings 57 in the flange 58 on the other side of said entrance opening or passage 38 of the housing 28 so as to close said entrance opening or passage 38 to the article-receiving opening 32 of the housing 28. An actuator 60 is supported on a platform 62 secured on the housing 28 so that a rod 64 of the actuator 60 is pivotally connected by pin 66 to a plate 68 carried by the latching gate 52. A signal from a preprogrammed computer, not shown, will activate the actuator 60 to open the latching gate 52 whereupon a toroidal body 24 may be loaded or unloaded from the article-receiving opening 32.
In FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 7, a plurality of apertures 70 are formed through the web 30 in frame 16 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). In each aperture 70 is seated a non-concentric bearing sleeve 72 having a flange 74 (FIG. 6) seated against the one face of the web 30. The bearing sleeves 72 are rotatably adjustable in the apertures 70 so as to shift the center 76 of an aperture 78 formed through said bearing sleeve 72 which aperture 78 is non-concentric with the outer surface 79 of the bearing sleeve 72. The bearing sleeves 72 are locked in position in the apertures 70 by means of a set screw (not shown). A ball bearing 80 is seated in the aperture 78 through which a shaft 82 extends. The center of the shaft 82 coincides with the center 76 of the aperture 78. One or two driving or timing pulleys 84 are keyed by keys 86 to the one end portion 88 of the shaft 82. As will be described hereinafter, some shafts will have two driving or timing pulleys 84 and other shafts will have only one driving or timing pulley 84.
The opposite end portion 90 of the shaft 82 has a drive roller 92 keyed by a key 94 to the shaft 82 with a truncated V-shaped driving surface 95 formed of a ring of material 96 secured to the outer periphery of the drive roller 92, which material 96 may be rubber-like material so as to afford a relatively positive grip with a member in which it is in contact. A screw 98 is threaded into the end of the end portion 90 of the shaft 82 and has an enlarged head overlapping the drive roller 92 so as to prevent the roller from moving axially relative to the shaft 82. The screw 98 holds the roller 92 against a shoulder 100 on the shaft 82 and is prevented from working loose by means of a set screw 102 threaded through the head of the screw 98 and bearing against one face of the roller 92. As shown in FIG. 2, eleven drive rollers 92 are provided and project beyond the face of the web 30 on one side thereof with the driving or timing pulleys 84 projecting outwardly from the opposite side of the web 30 (see FIG. 5).
The shuttle 22 is circular in configuration and has walls 104 of a segment cut out of the body portion 105 thereof to provide an entrance opening or passage 106, which communicates with an article-receiving opening 108 defined by a wall 109 on the inner periphery of the shuttle 22. The size of the article-receiving opening 108 coincides with the article-receiving opening 32 in the support frame 16 and is substantially aligned therewith so that the geometric centers of the support frame 16 and of the shuttle 22 substantially coincide. The shuttle 22 (see FIG. 1) has the circular body portion 105 which has a hollow open portion 111 extending in from one axial face thereof and has a radially, outwardly extending flange 112 around a major peripheral portion thereof. On one side of the flange 112 and in the radially, outwardly facing surface 114 of the body 105 is a truncated V-shaped groove 115, which groove 115 has axially flared side walls 117 and a radially inwardly flared bottom wall 116 defining a mouth at a location where the groove 115 joins the walls 104 of the cutout segment. As viewed in FIGS. 1 and 8, the flared walls 116,117 of the groove 115 are on the counterclockwise side of the entrance opening or passage 106 in the shuttle 22.
The taper of the material of the truncated V-shaped driving surface 95 of the drive roller 92 is slightly larger than the taper of the V-shaped groove 115 in the shuttle 22 so that the material 96 of the driving surface 95 of the drive roller 92 will be depressed slightly as the roller 92 is engaged in the groove 115. The shuttle 22 is assembled with the support frame 16, with the driving surfaces 95 of all eleven drive rollers 92 nested in the groove 115, so that as the drive rollers 92 are rotated, they will drive the shuttle 22 in a clockwise direction. Each time the groove 115 of the shuttle 22 leaves the end roller 92 on the left-hand side of the entrance opening or passage 38 of the web 30, FIG. 2, it will traverse the entrance opening or passage 38 of the frame 16 with the flared walls 116,117 of the groove 115 engaging with the first drive roller 92 on the right side of the support frame 16. The flared walls 116,117 of the groove 115 permit minor misalignment of the groove 115 with the drive roller 92 as the shuttle 22 traverses the entrance opening or passage 38 so that it will contact the driving surface 95 of the roller 92 and will immediately re-engage the roller 92 in the groove 115 and continue to drive the shuttle 22.
Forming no part of the present invention, but having a bearing on the operation of the shuttle 22, is the structure carried by the body portion 105 of the shuttle 22. That is, the spool 27 carrying a supply of elongate material 26, such as cable or the like, is removably attached to a spindle 122, which spindle is freely rotatable on a shaft projecting transverse to the plane of the body portion 105 of the shuttle 22. The elongate material 26 passes over a tensioning mechanism 124 which urges a brake against a brake disc on the spindle 122 to apply a tension to the elongate material 26 as it is drawn from the spool 27. There are a plurality of tensioning members and roller members 126 carried by the shuttle 22 and over which the elongate material 26 passes from the spool 27, with the last member 126 guiding the elongate material 26 onto the toroidal body 24. The spool 27 and members 126 are carried by the shuttle 22 and rotate with the shuttle about the toroidal body 24 as the toroidal body is moved past the plane of the shuttle 22 so that the elongate material 26 is applied in a spiral fashion about the toroidal body 24.
The shuttle 22 has weights added thereto to dynamically balance the shuttle 22 to as ideal a condition as is possible. It should be apparent that the spool 27, when fully loaded with elongate material 26, will have a different balancing affect on the shuttle 22 than it will have when it is empty. It has been found preferable to balance the shuttle 22 when the spool 27 is empty so as to minimize the affect of the imbalance that will result as the supply of elongate material 26 is depleted and the wrap on the toroidal body 24 is completed, whereupon the shuttle rotation is stopped. If the imbalance is high at the time of stopping the shuttle 22, vibrations can develop that can cause excessive wear on some parts.
The motor and brake set 18, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, is comprised of a prime mover 140, such as a motor, carried by the base 12 with the output of the motor driving a pulley 142 and being connected through a flexible coupling 144 to a dynamic magnetic stopping brake 146. A pillow block 148 carried by the base 12 has a bearing for supporting the output shaft 20 extending from the brake 146 and has a pulley 152 outboard of the pillow block 148, which pulley 152 is driven by the prime mover 140. A pillar 154 supports one end of a platform 156 upon which is mounted a running brake 158. The end of the platform 156, opposite the pillar 154, has a clevis connection 160 pivotally connected to one end of a belt tightener 162, the other end of which has a clevis connection 164 to a bracket 166 carried by the base 12. A belt 168 connects the pulley 142 on the output of the motor 140 to a pulley 170 carried by the shaft 172 of the running brake 158. The running brake 158 is tensioned by the belt tightener 162 to maintain a constant rotation of the shuttle 22. That is, the running brake 158 smooths out surges due to imbalance and tension variations in the drives. It should be understood that the system will operate with or without the running brake 158 but improved results can be obtained making use of the running brake 158.
The dynamic brake 146 is a standard article of manufacture which, in the present case, is a magnetic locking-type brake. The dynamic brake 146, when operated, will rapidly reduce the driving force to the output shaft 20 and to the shuttle 22 so as to affect relatively rapid stopping of the shuttle 22.
Referring particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, each drive roller 92 has the shaft 82 projecting through the web 30 of the support frame 16. In the illustrated embodiment, this entails eleven shafts 82 projecting toward the reader as viewed in FIG. 5. Single driving or timing pulleys 84 are carried by seven of the eleven shafts 82 and these pulleys 84 are referred to as short drive roll assemblies 85. The remaining four shafts 82 have long drive roll assemblies 87 (FIG. 6), which entail two driving or timing pulleys 84 on the shafts 82. Four spindles 180 are mounted on the web 30 of the support frame 16 and have their axes lying parallel to the shafts 82 on the same side of the web 30 as the end portions 88 of the shafts 82 are located. Two large idler rollers 182 are mounted on two of the spindles 180 and two smaller idler rollers 184 are mounted on the remaining two spindles 180. The left-hand portion of the support frame 16, as viewed in FIG. 5, has an elongate belt 186 in contact with the pulleys 84 of four of the short drive roll assemblies 85, and in driving contact with the inner pulley 84 of one of the long drive roll assemblies 87. The belt 186 contacts one large idler roller 182 as the belt 186 extends between the two extreme pulleys.
On the right-hand portion of the support frame 16, as viewed in FIG. 5, a belt 188 passes around the pulleys 84 of three short drive roll assemblies 85 and about the inner pulley 84 of one long drive roll assembly 87. The belt 188 contacts one large idler roller 182. A short drive belt 190 contacts the outer pulley 84 of one long drive roll assembly 87 of the left-hand group of pulleys 84 and passes around the edge of short idler roller 184 and around the outer pulley 84 of a second long drive roll assembly 87. Said last-named second long drive roll assembly 87 has a belt 191 passing around the inner pulley 84 thereof, and around the small idler roller 184 and around the inner pulley 84 of the second long drive roll assembly 87. A driving belt 192 passes around the pulley 152 on the output shaft 20 from the motor 140 and passes around the outer pulley 84 of the long drive roll assembly 87 and around the outer pulley 84 of the long drive roll assembly 87 associated with the belt 188 and the right-hand group of short drive roll assemblies 85. In this way, the belt 192 is driven by the motor 140 to drive the two long drive roll assemblies 87 in contact with the drive belt 192, which two long drive roll assemblies 87, in turn, drive not only the belt 188 for rotating the drive roll assemblies 85 and 87 on the right-hand portion of the web 30, but also the belts 191,190 and 188 to drive the long and short drive roll assemblies 87,85, respectively, on the bottom and left-hand portions of the web 30. The drive belt 192 directly drives two rollers 92 and, through the belts 186, 188, 190 and 191, drives the remaining nine rollers 92. In this way, positive and uniform drive is provided for all eleven drive rollers 92 so that the shuttle 22 is rotatably driven by the eleven relatively closely spaced drive rollers 92 engaging in the groove 115 about the discontinuous outer periphery of the shuttle 22.
In FIG. 5, a modification of the shuttle drive is shown in phantom and includes a bifurcated bracket 200 mounted to the underside of the latching gate 52. The bracket 200 has a pivot 202 extending between the bifurcated arms with a roller 204 rotatably received on said pivot 202. The contact surface 206 of said roller resembles generally the shape and the material of the surfaces 95 of the rollers 92. The roller 204 is positioned and oriented in line with the rollers 92 on either side of the walls 104 of the cutout segment of the shuttle 22 and is adopted to engage in the groove 115 in the shuttle 22. The roller 204 will assist in stabilizing the shuttle 22 as it traverses the unsupported entrance opening 38 of the cutout segment of the frame 16 and aids in maintaining the balance of the shuttle 22 in that the weight of the shuttle is supported substantially throughout its periphery.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The motor and brake set 18, operating through the running brake 158, will afford a uniform drive to the eleven drive rollers 92 and shuttle 22 in a smooth and continuous fashion. The belt drive and the rollers 92 will permit the shuttle 22 to be driven at speeds, for example, of up to 300 revolutions per minute which is relatively high compared to previous gear-driven shuttle rotation systems. Upon completion of the winding or wrapping of the elongate material 26 on the toroidal body 24, a signal will be transmitted through the controls to deactivate the motor 140 which will activate the magnetic brake 146 to afford rapid deceleration and stopping of the shuttle 22 relative to the frame 16. The controls include an operative system for stopping the shuttle 22 with the walls 104 of the entrance opening 106 aligned with the walls 36 of the entrance opening or passage 38 in the support frame 16. When the shuttle 22 has stopped rotating, a signal to the controls will activate the actuator 60 to open the gate 52 to permit unloading of the wrapped toroidal body 24 and insertion of an unwrapped toroidal body through the entrance openings or passages 38 and 106 in the shuttle 22 and frame 16, respectively, into the article-receiving openings 32 and 108. Upon a command, the actuator 60 will close the latching gate 52 and after appropriate steps, not involved in the present application, are performed to attach the end of the elongate material 26 to the toroidal body 24, rotation of the shuttle 22 will be started by the motor 140 whereupon the toroidal body 24 will be wrapped as aforesaid.
To center the shuttle 22 relative to the support frame 16, each non-concentric bearing sleeve 72 can be released and rotated relative to the web 30 to reposition the center 76 of the shaft 82 which will reposition the contact surfaces 95 of the drive rollers 92. By shifting several of the drive rollers 92, the shuttle 22 can be very accurately aligned relative to the support frame 16 so that the center of the shuttle 22 coincides with the center of the drive frame. Each non-concentric bearing sleeve 72 will be resecured so that the shuttle 22 can be driven as desired.
The set screw 102 and attaching arrangement through the screw 98 for holding the drive roller 92 on the shaft 82 affords a readily accessible system for replacing worn drive rollers without requiring major disassembly of the machine. In practice, to replace a roller 92, the entrance opening 106 of the shuttle 22 is rotated to align said entrance opening 106 with the drive roller 92 that is to be replaced, whereupon the set screw 102 is removed and the screw 98 is backed out. The drive roller 92 is removed and a new drive roller 92 is assembled and locked to the shaft 82 by the key 94, screw 98 and set screw 102.
The assembly 10 is capable of fully automatic loading and unloading, and has a substantially fully automated wrap cycle. A driving and braking system is provided for quickly accelerating the shuttle 22 to operating speed whereupon it is driven with a uniform rate of rotation and whereupon it can be rapidly brought to stop upon command. The running brake 158 is provided to maintain a constant load on the shuttle drive motor. This is desirable to provide for out-of-balance conditions of the shuttle 22 due, first, to its open design and, second, to the change in loading on the shuttle caused by the discharge of the elongate material 26 from the spool 27 as the toroidal body 24 is wrapped. Without the running brake 158, the motor 140 would have tendency to drag or overspeed, depending upon the shuttle weight distribution. The brake 158 is electromagnetic and programmed to the imbalanced condition of the shuttle 22 throughout the wrap cycle. The open shuttle and open frame allows for the fully automatic loading and unloading cycles and the plurality of coated drive rollers 92 allows for high speed operations whereby vibration is minimized. The drive from the drive rollers 92 is positive and the coefficient of friction between the rollers 92 and the shuttle 22 is maximized for better control and for a more uniform rate of rotation. The running brake 158 is provided to reduce running and braking surges of the shuttle 22 during the wrapping cycle.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of this invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. | A shuttle driving assembly (10) including an open shuttle (22) rotatably driven on an automatically opened support frame (16) by a plurality of drive roller assemblies (85,87) carried by the frame (16). Each drive roller assembly (85,87) has a drive roller pulley (84) and at least one with plural belts (192,191,190,188,186) driving groups of the drive roller assemblies. The drive rollers contact a groove (115) on the shuttle (22) to provide a positive and responsive power transmission therebetween. The shaft (82) of each drive roller assembly (85,87) is mounted in a non-concentric bearing in a web (30) of the support frame (16) to provide adjustment of the position of the drive rollers (92) relative to the shuttle (22) for centering the shuttle (22) relative to the frame (16). A motor and brake set (18) is provided on a base (12) for driving the shuttle (22) through the drive roller assemblies (85,87) at a constant speed of rotation, and for rapidly accelerating, decelerating and braking the rotation of the shuttle (22). An entrance guide (116,117) is provided for the groove (115) of the drive track on the shuttle (22) to facilitate tracking the traverse of the shuttle (22) across an open segment (38) of the frame (16) between the last drive roller (92) preceding the traverse and the first drive roller (92) after the traverse. | 1 |
PRIORITY CLAIM
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/478,362 filed Apr. 22, 2011, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to projection optical systems. The invention relates in particular to large-field catadioptric and catoptric projection optical systems for forming an image of an object at unit magnification.
DISCUSSION OF BACKGROUND ART
Various unit-magnification optical imaging systems are known in the patent literature. Patents related to unit-magnification optical system comprising a concave spherical mirror and a convex spherical mirror include U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,015, U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,186, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,535, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,984.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,015 describes a unit-magnification imaging catoptric system comprising a concave spherical mirror and a convex spherical mirror arranged with centers of curvature thereof coincident. There is an aperture stop at the convex mirror. The concentric mirrors are arranged to produce at least three reflections within the system. Two off-axis conjugate areas at unit magnification are coplanar in this system. The axis of this system lies normal to the coplanar object and image planes and through the common centers of curvature of the mirrors. Like most prior-art unit magnification projection systems, embodiments described in '015 patent are symmetric relative to the aperture stop, i.e., are systems consisting of two identical subsystems disposed symmetrically about the (central) aperture stop. Such a symmetric, imaging, catoptric system is intrinsically free of coma and distortion. Since the mirrors disclosed in the '015 patent are concentric, this imaging system is also free of spherical aberration. This optical system is a narrow ring-field design providing sharp imagery only over a quite narrow annular area in the focal plane. In photolithography, such a system is used with a narrow slit aperture to expose this narrow area, and to copy an object (mask) to an image surface by scanning the object and image across this aperture, in synchronism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,186 describes a unit-magnification catadioptric optical imaging system which is an improvement of the catoptric system described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,015. U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,186 discloses a system having refractive elements, in addition to reflective elements. This system has means for obtaining stigmatic imagery, in a restricted off-axis field, over an extended spectral range, by balancing the chromatic variation in focus at the center of the restricted off-axis field, due to variation of field curvature, with color by introducing axial color aberration of the opposite sense.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,535, discloses another unit-magnification, restricted off-axis, ring-field, catadioptric optical imaging system having broad spectral range and providing improvements to the catoptric system described in the '015 patent, by having optical elements arranged and constructed such that the sum of the refractive powers is nearly zero, and the sum of the reflective powers is also nearly equal to zero. This system includes convex and concave spherical mirrors, pairs of nearly concentric meniscus lens elements, and a pair of identical thick flat parallel plates located adjacent to the object and image planes. The thick flat parallel plates are used to cancel the chromatic aberrations introduced by the meniscus elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,984 discloses a substantially unit-magnification catadioptric optical imaging system, comprising at least one convex mirror, and at least one concave mirror. The mirrors are supported with their centers of curvature substantially coincident, and means are provided to define a location for an object, the image of which, after at least three reflections including at least one reflection at each of the mirrors, is a real image at a second location. This system further comprises a monocentric meniscus lens between the concave and convex mirrors, and gives overall correction of the Petzval sum for the system to produce a stigmatic image.
It is well known in the optics literature that meniscus lens elements can be used to reduce or correct spherical aberration of principal rays parallel to the optical axis. The application of meniscus lenses for correcting the spherical aberration of the principal rays was described in a book by A. Bouwer, entitled “ Achievements in Optics ,” pages 24, 25, and 39, Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc., 1946. Another publication related to the use of meniscus lens element is a paper by D. D. Maksutov, entitled “ New Catadioptric Meniscus System,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. 34(5), pp. 270-284 (1944). An additional publication describing unit magnification imaging systems with compensation meniscus lenses appears in the Soviet Journal of Optical Technology, 50(3), March 1983, p. 153.
The use of concentric optical elements is also well known in the optics literature. Publications related to the use of concentric optical elements include the paper by J. Dyson, entitled “ Unit magnification optical system without Seidel aberrations,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. 49(7), pp. 713-716 (1959) and a paper by C. G. Wynne in the articles “ A unit power telescope for projection copying,” Optical Instruments and Techniques, Oriel Press, Newcastle upon Tyne, England (1969), and “ Monocentric telescope for microlithography,” Opt. Eng. 26(4) 300-303 (1987).
The unit-magnification imaging optical systems described in the above-cited references give sharp imagery only over narrow annular area in the focal plane. While the projection lens designs described in these cited patents are quite suitable for normal photolithography applications at 404 nanometers (nm), 365 nm and 248 nm wavelengths, such lens designs have not provided adequate capabilities when the object and image surfaces are separated to more convenient accessible locations by the insertion of plane fold-mirrors, as is required for other applications such as exposure equipment using an illumination source at a laser diode wavelength, for example, 808 nm, 980 nm, or 1024 nm, and requiring large rectangular field sizes, large working distances, and compact packaging volume. The design embodiments described in these above-referenced patents are not suitable to be packaged in a compact volume enclosure for exposure systems requiring large rectangular exposure fields with lengths ranging from one-hundred to a few hundred millimeters (mm) and working distances of at least 100 mm from the system package envelope enclosure. Such distances and dimensions are required for masked laser-patterning apparatus in the manufacture of liquid crystal, LED, and OLED display panels or screens. Due to these shortcomings of the prior art, it is desirable to develop optical designs of large-field unit-magnification projection optical systems capable of imaging, in one exposure, large rectangular object fields with lengths greater than 100 mm, and having working distances greater than 100 mm to significantly increase system throughput in masked laser-patterning apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention relates to a large field, unit-magnification optical system. One preferred embodiment includes a concave and a convex mirror located on the optical axis of the system. A positive lens is spaced from the convex mirror on the opposite side of the concave mirror. The image and object planes lie on opposite sides of the system axis and preferably are equally spaced from the lens.
In one embodiment, a second positive lens and two plane mirrors are used in order to separate the image and object planes of the optical system.
In an alternate embodiment, the system includes a concave and a convex mirror. Instead of a lens, a second concave mirror is provided located between the convex mirror and the first concave mirror.
In a preferred embodiment, an aperture stop is associated with the convex mirror.
Further objects and advantages of the subject invention will become apparent from a review of the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, schematically illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment given below, serve to explain principles of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a first preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention, including coplanar object and image planes on opposite sides of a system axis and perpendicular thereto, a (singlet) plano-convex lens, a convex mirror and a concave mirror.
FIG. 1A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 2 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a second preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 but including first and second fold-mirrors and two plano-convex lenses arranged such that object and image planes are separated.
FIG. 2A is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating further detail of the system of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 3 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a third preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 but wherein the singlet plano convex lens of the first embodiment is replaced by a singlet bi-convex lens.
FIG. 3A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 4 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a fourth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3 but including first and second fold-mirrors and two bi-convex lenses arranged such that object and image planes are separated.
FIG. 4A is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating further detail of the system of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 5 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a fifth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2 but with components having different optical prescriptions.
FIG. 5A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 5 .
FIG. 5B is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating further detail of the system of FIG. 5 .
FIG. 6 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a sixth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3 but with components, exposure wavelengths, and spacings having a somewhat different specification.
FIG. 6A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 6 .
FIG. 7 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a seventh preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 6 wherein the singlet lens is replaced by an air-spaced doublet lens.
FIG. 7A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 8 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an eighth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 7 but including two fold-mirrors arranged to separate image and object planes.
FIG. 9 is an unshaded cross-section view schematically illustrating a ninth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention including a convex mirror, a first concave mirror spaced apart from the convex mirror, and a second concave mirror adjacent the first concave mirror, the system configured such that a light ray propagating from an object plane to a coplanar image plane is reflected twice from the first concave mirror, twice from the convex mirror and once from the second concave mirror.
FIG. 9A presents, in table form, an exemplary optical prescription for the system of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 10 is an unshaded cross-section view schematically illustrating a tenth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 9 but further including two fold-mirrors arranged to separate the image and object planes.
FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating further detail of the embodiment of FIG. 10 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like components are designated by like reference numerals, FIG. 1 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a first preferred embodiment 10 of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 has a longitudinal system axis 12 . Arranged along axis 12 are coplanar object and image planes, OP and IP respectively, on opposite sides of the axis and perpendicular thereto, a plano-convex lens L, a convex mirror 20 (M 2 ) and a concave mirror 30 , with the components listed in sequential order. The object and image planes are at working distances WD 1 and WD 2 respectively from the vertex of lens L. The working distances are equal when the object and image planes are coplanar.
The mirrors of system 10 are arranged to produce at least three reflections within the system, with at least one reflection from each mirror. A system aperture stop 14 is located at mirror 20 . In this embodiment, the lens, the convex mirror, and the concave mirror are air-spaced apart from each other. Object plane OP and image plane IP are in the same plane, i.e., are coplanar, and lie normal to axis 12 , intersecting the axis at a common point P. The convex surface of lens L and the concave mirror surface are preferably aspheric.
The mirrors and lens element are arranged to have centers of curvature thereof lie along axis 12 , and to have off-axis conjugate areas at points O and I. The off-axis conjugate object point O and image point I are located at opposite sides of axis 12 , each at a distance H from the axis. The object and image planes are spaced apart from lens L by working distances WD 1 and WD 2 , respectively.
Projection optical system 10 is symmetric relative to the aperture stop 14 located at mirror 20 . The system, accordingly, consists of two equal subsystems disposed symmetrically about the aperture stop, making the system initially or intrinsically corrected for coma, distortion, and lateral color aberrations. Because of this, lens L can be considered as two identical lenses L 1 and L 2 (for first and second transmissions through lens L), and mirror 30 can be considered as two identical mirrors M 1 and M 3 (for first and second reflections from mirror 30 ), with “lenses” L 1 and L 2 on opposite sides of axis 12 , and “mirrors” M 1 and M 3 on opposite sides of axis 12 . These designations are used in exemplary optical prescriptions present herein.
Remaining optical aberrations in the system, i.e., aberrations not intrinsically corrected by the symmetry, include astigmatism, Petzval curvature, spherical aberration, and axial color. These aberrations are reduced by adjusting the radii of curvature and aspheric coefficients or geometrical shapes of the lens and mirror elements and axial separations to produce well corrected aberrations, and, accordingly, a diffraction-limited system.
FIG. 1A is a table presenting an exemplary optical prescription for the optical system of FIG. 1 . Those skilled in the optical design art will be familiar with such prescription tables and will be able to match the listed surfaces with those depicted in FIG. 1 . For completeness of description, however, a brief description of how to read such tables is set forth below, and is applicable to the table of FIG. 1A and similar tables presented herein.
In the prescription tables, a positive radius indicates the center of curvature to the right of the surface, and a negative radius indicates the center of curvature to the left of the surface (referred to the drawings). The thickness is the axial distance to the next surface and all dimensions are in millimeters (mm). Further, “S#” stands for surface number, “T or S” stands for “thickness or separation,” and “STOP” stands for aperture stop 14 . Also, “CC” stands for “concave” and “CX” stands for “convex.” Further, under the heading “surface shape,” an aspheric surface is denoted by “ASP”, a flat surface by “FLT”, and a spherical surface by “SPH.” Additionally, under the heading of “material”, the glass name and optical material designation are listed. The index of refraction for fused silica material at 980 nm is 1.450671 in the optical prescription tables. In the optical prescription tables at 308 nm, fused silica has a refractive index of 1.485637 and 1.452534 for the calcium fluoride material.
An aspheric equation describing an aspherical surface is given by:
Z
=
(
CURV
)
Y
2
1
+
(
1
-
(
1
-
(
1
+
K
)
(
CURV
)
2
Y
2
)
1
/
2
+
(
A
)
Y
4
+
(
B
)
Y
6
+
(
C
)
Y
8
+
(
D
)
Y
10
+
(
E
)
Y
12
wherein “CURV” is the spherical curvature of the surface (the reciprocal of the radius of curvature of the surface); K is the conic constant; and A, B, C, D, and E are the aspheric coefficients. In the table, “e” denotes the exponential notation (powers of 10). The design wavelengths (in nanometers) represent wavelengths in the spectral band of the projection optical system, i.e., the wavelengths for which a particular system is corrected.
The optical prescription of FIG. 1A provides diffraction-limited image quality performance at numerical aperture of 0.1, over the spectrum of between 975 nm and 985 nm (980±5 nm), for object/image radial distance from axis 12 ranging from 100 mm to 121 mm, providing an annular (ring) field area with a slit width of 21 mm. This design example gives sharp imagery over this annular area in the focal plane of the system. For practical application, system 10 is normally used to expose only this annular area, as a ring-field system, and to copy an object with a field-size area that can be inscribed within this annular area to an image surface. In masked laser-patterning applications, the object field geometry (mask array geometry) to be copied is normally a narrow, rectangular, line-field, for example, 100 mm long, by 1 mm, or less, wide. The example of FIG. 1A enables a narrow rectangular exposure field-size of at least 100 mm×1 mm, for an NA≦0.10 configuration, with a large working distance of at least 200 mm.
FIG. 2 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a second preferred embodiment 10 A of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 A is essentially system 10 of FIG. 1 reconfigured by the addition of fold-mirrors FM 1 and FM 2 to provide complete separation of object plane OP and image plane IP. Here, the fold mirrors are inclined at 45° to axis 12 such the image and object planes are parallel to the axis on opposite sides thereof.
Lens L of system 10 is now actually divided into two identical, separate lenses L 1 and L 2 , which can be considered to be off-axis sections of lens L of system 10 . These lenses can be manufactured by cutting the lenses from a single complete lens corresponding to lens L. The prescription tabulated in FIG. 1A is applicable.
FIG. 2A is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating the arrangement of system 10 A of FIG. 2 . This illustrates the compact arrangement of the system that is possible. FIG. 2A also illustrates the rectangular form of image and object fields in the image and object planes. Only major components are designated by reference numerals.
FIG. 3 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a third preferred embodiment 10 B of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 B is similar system 10 of FIG. 1 with an exception that plano-convex lens L of the first embodiment is replaced by a bi-convex lens. Here, and in other drawings referenced below, functionally similar components are designated by like reference numerals to facilitate comparison. This example covers applications in masked laser-patterning apparatus utilizing diode-laser illuminated object fields for exposure at 980 nm wavelength.
An exemplary optical prescription for system 10 B is presented in table form in FIG. 3A . This provides diffraction-limited image quality performance at a numerical aperture of 0.1 over the spectrum of 980±5 nm for object/image radial distance from axis 12 of 120 mm to 140 mm. This enables an annular area with slit-width size of 20 mm. This system can be used for imaging applications with the same diffraction-limited image quality performance for exposing a rectangular field-size area that can be inscribed in an annular area with a slit-width size of 20 mm.
FIG. 4 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a fourth preferred embodiment 10 C of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 C is essentially system 10 B of FIG. 3 reconfigured, in a manner similar to that described above for system 10 A of FIG. 2 , by the addition of fold-mirrors FM 1 and FM 2 . As in system 10 A, lens L of system 10 is here actually divided into two separate lenses L 1 and L 2 , which can be considered to be off-axis sections of lens L of system 10 B. The prescription tabulated in FIG. 3A is applicable. Aperture stop 14 at mirror 20 is not shown in FIG. 4 for convenience of illustration.
FIG. 4A is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating the arrangement of system 10 C of FIG. 4 . This illustrates the compact arrangement of the system that is possible. Here again, only major components are designated by reference numeral.
FIG. 5 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a fifth preferred embodiment 10 D of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 D is similar to system 10 A of FIG. 2 but with components and spacings having a somewhat different specification. Aperture stop 14 at mirror 20 is not shown in FIG. 5 for convenience of illustration.
An exemplary prescription is presented in table form in FIG. 5A . This prescription provides a system with diffraction-limited image quality performance at a numerical aperture of 0.1 over the spectrum of 980 nm for object/image radial distance from axis 12 from 110 mm to 140 mm. This provides an annular field area with slit-width of 30 mm. Within this object/image field, radial distance range, a narrow rectangular line-field of at least 260 mm×1 mm can be inscribed within the annular area of the 30 mm slit-width field. This example can be used as a unit magnification imaging projection optical system in masked laser-patterning apparatus enabling a narrow rectangular exposure line-field size of at least 260 mm×1 mm, for the NA≦0.10 configuration, with a large working distance of at least 200 mm.
FIG. 5B is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating the arrangement of system 10 D of FIG. 5 . This illustrates the compact arrangement of the system that is possible. As in other above-referenced three-dimensional drawings, only major components are designated by reference numerals.
FIG. 6 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a sixth preferred embodiment 10 E of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 E is similar to system 10 B of FIG. 3 but with components, exposure wavelengths, and spacings having a somewhat different specification. An exemplary prescription for system 10 E is presented in table form in FIG. 6A . This example covers applications for exposure system for material annealing using light illumination from a xenon chloride (XeCl 2 ) laser source at wavelength of 308 nm. The prescription provides for diffraction-limited image quality performance at numerical aperture of 0.13, over a narrow spectrum centered at 308 nm, for object/image radial distance from axis 12 of 69 mm to 75 mm. This provides an annular field area with slit width of 6 mm, enabling a narrow, rectangular, exposure field of at least 100 mm×2 mm, with a working distance of at least 100 mm.
FIG. 7 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a seventh preferred embodiment 10 F of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 F is similar to system 10 B of FIG. 6 with an exception that lens L is now an air-spaced doublet lens consisting of a negative meniscus element L A , and a bi-convex element L B . Element L A can be represented, for calculation purposes, by two parts L 1 and L 4 , and element L B can be represented by two parts L 2 and L 3 . The parts, here, are sequentially numbered in order of transmission therethrough from object to image. Aperture stop 14 at mirror 20 is not shown in FIG. 6 for convenience of illustration.
An exemplary prescription for system 10 F is presented in table form in FIG. 7A . This prescription provides for diffraction-limited imagery at NA=0.13, over a 307-309 nm spectrum, for object/image radial distance from axis 12 of 69 mm to 75 mm. This provides an annular field area with slit-width of 6 mm, and enables a rectangular exposure field of at least 100 mm×2 mm, with a working distance of at least 100 mm.
FIG. 8 is an unshaded cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an eighth preferred embodiment 10 G of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 G is essentially system 10 F folded by fold-mirrors FM 1 and FM 2 , as in other embodiments described above, with lens-portions L 1 , L 2 , L 3 and L 4 now separate, and forming two identical air-spaced doublet lenses. The prescription of FIG. 7A is applicable in this embodiment. Aperture stop 14 at mirror 20 is not shown in FIG. 8 for convenience of illustration.
FIG. 9 is an unshaded cross-section view schematically illustrating a ninth preferred embodiment 10 H of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention. System 10 H is a catoptric system, The system includes, arranged along longitudinal axis 12 thereof, coplanar object and image planes OP and IP respectively, a first concave mirror 30 , and a smaller, second concave mirror 40 adjacent the first concave mirror. These mirrors are axially symmetric with axis 12 , and the centers of curvature of the mirrors (not shown) lie along the axis. System aperture stop 14 is located at mirror 40 . A convex mirror 20 is air-spaced apart from the concave mirrors.
The three mirrors in system 10 H are arranged to produce at least five reflections within the system for light propagating from the object plane to the image plane. At least two reflections occur from mirror 30 , at least two reflections occur from mirror 20 , and at least one reflection occurs from mirror 40 . The concave mirrors may be positioned air-spaced apart from each other. Alternatively, mirror 40 may be mounted with the back side thereof supported by the front surface of mirror 30 , as depicted in the drawing. Mirror 20 can be considered, for calculation purposes, as having two identical parts M 2 and M 4 on opposite sides of axis 12 . Mirror 30 can be considered as having two identical parts M 1 and M 5 on opposite sides of axis 12 . Mirror 40 can be designated as having only one part M 3 , centered on axis 12 . The mirror parts are numbered in order of reflection of a light ray propagating through the system from the object plane to the image plane.
As noted above, object plane OP and image plane IP are coplanar (in the same plane) and are located at distance H from axis 12 on opposite sides thereof. The object plane is spaced apart from the vertex of mirror 30 , parallel to axis 12 , by an object distance WD 1 . The image plane is spaced apart from the vertex of mirror 30 , parallel to axis 12 , by an object distance WD 2 . WD 1 and WD 2 are equal in this coplanar arrangement.
System 10 H is symmetric relative to aperture stop 14 on mirror 40 . Because of this symmetry relative to the aperture stop, the catoptric system is initially corrected for coma, and distortion aberrations. In a preferred example of system 10 H, the radii of curvature and aspheric coefficients of the mirror elements, and the separations thereof, are chosen to produce a diffraction-limited image quality at the focal plane (image/object plane), for an annular field area, with slit-width of 15 mm for object/image radial distance from the reference central axis of 230 mm to 245 mm. This example can be used as a unit-magnification imaging projection optical system in masked laser-patterning apparatus enabling a narrow rectangular exposure line-field size of at least 260 mm×1 mm, for the NA=0.10 configuration, with a large working distance. An exemplary prescription for providing this result is presented in table form in FIG. 9A .
FIG. 10 is an unshaded cross-section view schematically illustrating a tenth preferred embodiment of an imaging projection optical system in accordance with the present invention similar to the embodiment of FIG. 9 but further including two fold-mirrors arranged to separate the image and object planes. The prescription of FIG. 9A is applicable here. Aperture stop 14 at mirror 40 is not shown in FIG. 4 for convenience of illustration.
FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional view schematically illustrating further detail of the embodiment of FIG. 10 .
The present invention provides a variety of improvements on the prior-art optical systems described in the above-mentioned patents and papers. The present invention enhances the utility of these well-known systems providing design embodiments applicable not only for exposure systems for photolithography and material annealing, but also for masked laser-patterning, high-throughput systems.
Unlike the prior art, the mirror and lens surfaces of the optical elements in these design embodiments need not be concentric in order to provide an overall high level of aberration correction for the unit magnification imaging system. The centers of curvature of mirrors and lenses can readily be determined from one familiar with the optical design art from the prescription tables presented herein.
Refractive elements do not need to all be meniscus elements. Without a restriction on concentricity of optical surfaces of the mirrors and lenses, the unit-magnification projection optical system of the present invention extends its utility not only for NA≧0.1 systems, but also for large rectangular line-field and large-working-distance imaging applications.
Above-described embodiments of the present invention provide designs of unit magnification imaging optical systems for masked laser patterning with rectangular exposure fields with lengths greater that 100 mm and working distances greater than 100 mm. This provides for a system with essentially diffraction-limited imagery applicable not only to exposure equipment using light illumination at diode-laser wavelengths, for example, 808 nm, 980 nm, and 1024 nm, but also to exposure equipment using light illumination at other wavelengths, such as excimer laser wavelengths.
The present invention also provides design embodiments of large rectangular-field, unit-magnification, projection optical systems with NA≧0.1, applicable for the scanning, step-and-repeat, or step-and-scan exposure system applications. A basic optical design concept of the projection optical system of the present invention utilizes the symmetry properties of optical elements relative to the aperture stop. In an axially symmetric lens system, this consists in placing lens combinations symmetrically with reference to the center of the limiting aperture stop such that the lens elements on each side of the aperture stop are exactly similar, made to the same scale with the same material. The object and image are also of equal size, and the lenses are positioned at equal distances from the aperture stop plane. Such a symmetrical imaging system operates at unit magnification and is initially corrected for monochromatic third-order coma, distortion, and lateral color aberrations.
The compact large-field unit-magnification imaging catadioptric and catoptric projection optical system of the present invention evolved as a result of applying not only the symmetrical principle but also by the using a reflective aperture stop or an aperture stop located at or nearly at the mirror element. In the preferred embodiments the aperture stop of the system is located at a mirror element and this mirror in conjunction with other mirror elements and lens elements in the system helps to correct the remaining optical aberrations, not corrected by the symmetry. These aberrations include astigmatism, Petzval curvature, spherical aberration, and axial color. This provides for well corrected aberrations and a diffraction-limited system. For broad-spectral-band, catadioptric system applications, the chromatic aberrations and chromatic variations of the monochromatic aberrations are reduced also by choosing the dioptric power distributions of the lens elements, the lens element shape-factors or geometrical shapes, and the proper glass materials for system achromatization.
The present invention is described above with reference to preferred embodiments. The invention, however, is not restricted to the embodiments depicted herein. Rather the invention is defined by the claims appended hereto. | Ring-field, catoptric and catadioptric, unit-magnification, projection optical systems having non-concentric optical surfaces are disclosed. Each system has a system axis with object and image planes on opposite sides of the system axis. The non-concentric surfaces allow for working distances of the object and image planes in excess of 100 millimeters to be achieved, with a ring-field width sufficient to allow a rectangular object-field having a long dimension in excess of 100 mm to be projected. | 6 |
[0001] The present application claims the priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201210162303.4, entitled as “METHOD FOR REPORTING AUXILIARY INFORMATION BY UE”, filed on May 23, 2012 with Chinese State Intellectual Property Office, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication, in particular to a method for reporting auxiliary information by user equipment (UE).
BACKGROUND
[0003] In a new generation of wireless communication network, there are increasing types of communication devices, such as smartphones, laptops and embedded modems, etc. Meanwhile, wireless applications are increasingly diversified, and concurrent running of multiple types of applications is supported in many devices. Due to the great variety of communication devices and applications, numerous service types may arise. Lots of wireless applications require seamless always-on experience, and when the connection is provided in the radio access network (RAN), a compromise among power consumption of user equipment (UE), user experience, data transmission latency, network efficiency and control signaling overhead needs to be considered.
[0004] A traditional long term evolution (LTE) access network protocol is designed based on characteristic of full buffer service, without considering affection of diversified service types. To meet requirement for low power consumption of the UE, low control signaling overhead and low data transmission latency in diversified service applications, the conventional LTE access network standard must be enhanced effectively.
[0005] A LTE/LTE-Advanced system uses discontinuous reception (DRX) technology to reduce power consumption of the UE. The DRX technology is introduced mainly for non-real-time service, since for the non-real-time service, there is always a period of time in which a mobile phone does not need to continuously monitor downlink data. In DRX technology, power consumption of the UE is reduced through the discontinuous reception. To enable a base station (eNB) to reasonably configure DRX parameters to adapt to UE services with different characteristics and different moving speeds of the UE, the UE needs to provide the network with some necessary auxiliary information, since it is easier for the UE to acquire the information as compared with the network. In addition, eNB may perform state management according to the auxiliary information reported by the UE, i.e., controlling the UE to be in a connected state or an idle state, thereby saving power consumption of the UE, reducing control signaling overhead of state transition and decreasing data transition latency. Currently, extensive research on what kind of auxiliary information is needed to be provided to the eNB from the UE is carried on in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). From current research situation, possible auxiliary information includes:
[0006] (1) data/service characteristic, such as average arrival amount of packets and average arrival interval of packets, etc;
[0007] (2) movement speed/a moving state of the UE;
[0008] (3) UE preference for time latency/power consumption/DRX.
[0009] In 3GPP, after determination of the necessary information needing to be reported by the UE, a necessary management mechanism of reporting auxiliary information also needs to be defined to ensure that the UE may report necessary auxiliary information timely and accurately while avoiding unnecessary reporting from the UE and reducing signaling overhead. So far, the management mechanism of reporting auxiliary information is not researched in 3GPP.
SUMMARY
[0010] The disclosure provides a method for reporting auxiliary information by a UE, which may ensure that the UE may report the auxiliary information to an eNB timely and accurately without introducing high UE complexity and high signaling overhead.
[0011] A method for reporting auxiliary information by a UE, provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure, includes following steps:
[0012] transmitting, by a base station, a request signaling to the UE for requesting auxiliary information report; and
[0013] reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information corresponding to the request signaling for requesting auxiliary information report to the base station upon receiving the request signaling.
[0014] Preferably, the request signaling for requesting auxiliary information report corresponds to one item of the auxiliary information.
[0015] Preferably, the request signaling for requesting auxiliary information report carries a list including multiple items of the auxiliary information.
[0016] Another method for reporting auxiliary information by a UE is further provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes following steps:
[0017] configuring, by a base station, a reporting period for the UE; and
[0018] reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information to the base station at a moment satisfying the reporting period.
[0019] Preferably, the configuring, by the base station, the reporting period for the UE includes: configuring, by the base station, a periodical reporting timer, which times for a time duration, for the UE through radio resource control RRC signaling; and the reporting, by the UE, auxiliary information to the base station at the moment satisfying the reporting period includes: reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information when the periodical reporting timer expires, and resetting, by the UE, the periodical reporting timer after the auxiliary information is reported.
[0020] Preferably, each item of the auxiliary information corresponds to a separate periodical reporting timer, and/or multiple items of auxiliary information correspond to a same periodical reporting timer.
[0021] Yet another method for reporting auxiliary information by a UE is provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The method includes following steps:
[0022] determining, by the UE, whether a condition for reporting the auxiliary information is satisfied, if the condition is satisfied, reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information corresponding to the condition.
[0023] Preferably, the auxiliary information is a service characteristic, and the condition of reporting the auxiliary information is that the service characteristic changes and/or a change of the service characteristic succeeds a preset threshold, and the auxiliary information reported by the UE is the changed service characteristic.
[0024] Preferably, a first mapping table is configured for the UE in advance, the first mapping table includes at least two quantization levels, each of the quantization levels corresponds to a numerical range of a corresponding service characteristic and a quantization level index;
[0025] the condition for reporting the auxiliary information is that the quantization level corresponding to the service characteristic for the UE changes; and
[0026] the auxiliary information reported by the UE is a quantization level corresponding to the changed service characteristic or an index value corresponding to the changed service characteristic.
[0027] Preferably, the service characteristic is an average size of packets or an average arrival interval of packets.
[0028] Preferably, the condition for reporting the auxiliary information is that a moving state of the UE changes, and the reported auxiliary information is the changed moving state.
[0029] Preferably, the condition for reporting the auxiliary information is that a change in a moving speed of the UE succeeds a preset threshold, and the reported auxiliary information is a current moving speed.
[0030] Preferably, the condition for reporting the auxiliary information is that a DRX configuration of the UE changes, and the reported auxiliary information is the changed DRX configuration.
[0031] Preferably, the UE configures a reporting limit timer corresponding to the auxiliary information; and
[0032] reporting, by the UE, the auxiliary information includes: determining, by the UE, whether the reporting restricted timer corresponding to the auxiliary information to be reported expires, if the reporting restricted timer expires, reporting the auxiliary information and resetting the reporting restricted timer, and if the reporting restricted timer does not expire, abandoning the reporting of the auxiliary information.
[0033] It can be seen from above technical solutions that UE reports auxiliary information to a base station according to instructions from the base station or according to event-triggering. In addition, to avoid unnecessary information reporting, a restricted mechanism for the reporting may be considered to be introduced, in which the UE does not report a same item of the auxiliary information in a time period T since the transmission of the auxiliary information. With the solutions of the disclosure, it is ensured that the UE may report auxiliary information to the eNB timely and accurately without introducing high UE complexity and high signaling overhead.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] Drawings are provided to facilitate further understanding of the disclosure and form a part of the specification; the drawings, together with the embodiments of the disclosure, may be used to explain the disclosure, but not to limit the disclosure. In the drawings:
[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that each item of auxiliary information corresponds to a separate request signaling according to a first embodiment of the disclosure; and
[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing that a request signaling includes multiple items of auxiliary information according to the first embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] To describe technical principle, features and technical effects of the technical solutions in the disclosure more clearly, in the following the solutions of the disclosure are described in detail in conjunction with specific embodiments.
[0038] According to the first embodiment of the disclosure, a method is provided in which eNB controls user equipment (UE) to report auxiliary information. Initially, eNB transmits a request signaling to the UE for requesting auxiliary information report, and the UE reports corresponding auxiliary information to the eNB after receiving the request signaling.
[0039] The request signaling may include only one item of the auxiliary information. As shown in FIG. 1 , each item of auxiliary information corresponds to a separate request signaling. Upon receiving one request signaling, the UE reports corresponding auxiliary information to the eNB.
[0040] Alternatively, single request signaling may include multiple items of auxiliary information. As shown in FIG. 2 , the request signaling carries a list including multiple items of auxiliary information, and the UE reports relevant auxiliary information to the eNB according to content of the list. The eNB reasonably requests the UE to transmit necessary auxiliary information as desired.
[0041] According to the second embodiment of the disclosure, a method is provided in which UE automatically triggers to report auxiliary information. The UE only reports auxiliary information when necessary, and there is no need for the network to transmit requesting information. Depending on different triggering events, the automatic reporting of the UE may be categorized into periodic reporting and event-triggered reporting.
[0042] A UE may periodically trigger auxiliary information report in such a way: an eNB configures a reporting period for the UE in advance, and the UE reports the auxiliary information to the eNB at the moments satisfying the reporting period.
[0043] Specifically, the eNB configures for the UE a periodical reporting timer, which times for a certain time length, through radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the UE reports auxiliary information whenever the periodical reporting timer expires, and resets the periodical reporting timer after reporting the auxiliary information. Each item of the auxiliary information may correspond to one separate periodical reporting timer, for example, average size of packets corresponds to a timer Timer — 1, average arrival interval of packets corresponds to a timer Timer — 2, and a moving state corresponds to a timer Timer — 3. Alternatively, multiple items of auxiliary information may correspond to a same periodical reporting timer, for example, the average size of packets, the average arrival interval of packets and the moving state all correspond to a common timer. When the periodical time expires, the UE reports relevant auxiliary information. The two cases may occur at the same time, i.e., for some items of the auxiliary information, each item of the auxiliary information corresponds to one timer, and for some other items of auxiliary information, multiple items of the auxiliary information correspond to a common timer.
[0044] The UE may report auxiliary information in an event-triggered way. The so-called event-triggered reporting means that the UE reports auxiliary information only if a certain condition is satisfied. Taking the case that change of service characteristic triggers reporting as an example, in a case that characteristic (for example, average size of packets, average arrival interval of packets) of an ongoing service on the UE changes and/or the change exceeds a preset threshold, the UE reports information about the service characteristic to the network. The triggering threshold is configured for the UE by the network.
[0045] If the reporting is triggered by the change of the average size of packets, a threshold (such as 30 bytes) may be defined in advance. In a case that average size of packets during a certain time period succeeds the threshold, the UE triggers the reporting, content of which is the changed size of the packets. A mapping table may also be configured for the UE, each item in the table represents a certain size range of packets. A specific example is shown in Table 1 in which 4 quantization levels are defined. In a case that the quantization level corresponding to the average size of packets at the UE changes (for example, from a value in a range of 0-50 to a value in a range of 50-100), the UE reports to the eNB the quantization level or an index value corresponding to the average size of packets.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Quantization Table of Size of Packets
Quantization
Average size of
Index
level
packets (Byte)
00
Very low
0-50
01
Low
50-100
10
Medium
100-250
11
High
greater than 250
[0046] If the reporting is triggered by a change of an average arrival interval of packets, a threshold (such as 5 seconds) may be defined in advance. In a case that the average arrival interval of packets succeeds the threshold, the UE triggers the reporting, content of which is the changed average arrival interval of packets. A mapping table may also be defined, and each item in the table represents a certain range for the average arrival interval of packets. A specific example is shown in Table 2 in which 4 quantization levels are defined. In a case that the average arrival interval of packets at the UE changes (for example, from a value in a range of 0.1-1.0 to a value in a range of 1.0-100), the UE reports to the eNB the quantization level or an index value corresponding to the average arrival interval of packets.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Quantization Table of Average Arrival Interval of Packets
Quantization
Average arrival interval of
Index
level
packets (second)
00
Very short
0.001-0.1
01
Short
0.1-1.0
10
Medium
1.0-100
11
Long
longer than 100
[0047] Aside from being triggered by the change of service characteristic, event-triggered reporting may be triggered by other factors, such as being triggered by change of a moving state. Three moving states for the UE are defined in the LTE system: normal speed, medium speed and high speed, and the moving state of the UE is determined according to the number of times for cell reselecting/handover in a time period. Utilizing a moving state estimation mechanism in existing standard, in a case that the moving state of the UE changes, the moving state reporting is triggered. For example, in a case that the moving state of the UE changes from medium speed to high speed, the changed moving state is reported to the eNB. The event-triggered reporting may be triggered by a change of moving speed. The UE measures the moving speed of itself, and in a case that a change in the moving speed succeeds a preset threshold, the UE triggers moving speed reporting, content of which is the specific moving speed.
[0048] The event-triggered reporting may also be triggered by a change of DRX configuration. The eNB configures a combination of several available DRX parameter configurations for the UE in advance, and the UE selects one of the configurations according to a certain criterion, and reports the information to the eNB. The eNB uses the information reported by the UE as a reference, and may perform configuration according to the selection of the UE, or may configure DRX parameters different from the selection of the UE. In a case that the DRX configuration selected by the UE changes, the UE reports to the eNB. For example, assuming that currently UE uses DRX configuration Configuration — 1, in a case that the UE decides to change the DRX configuration (for example, to Configuration — 2), the UE reports to the eNB, and content of the reporting is the changed DRX configuration (for example, Configuration — 2).
[0049] The periodical reporting and the event-triggered reporting may be used separately or in combination. In a case that the periodical reporting and the event-triggered reporting are used in combination, the periodical reporting ensures that the network may always be aware of information such as characteristic of a service carried out on the UE, a moving state, etc., and the event-triggered reporting ensures that the change of auxiliary information may be timely known by the network.
[0050] To avoid unnecessary information reporting, it may be considered to introduce a restricted mechanism for the reporting, in which the UE does not report a same item of auxiliary information in a time period T since the transmission of the auxiliary information.
[0051] Specifically, a reporting restricted timer may be defined for timing a period of T. The UE resets the reporting restricted timer after transmission of the auxiliary information, and does not report the auxiliary information repeatedly before the reporting restricted timer expires. The UE resets the periodical reporting timer each time finishing the reporting of the auxiliary information. Such a scheme is based on the consideration that the auxiliary information reporting triggered in a very short time period may have same content and will cause repetitive reporting and increased signaling overhead. The restricted mechanism for reporting may be applied to each item of auxiliary information independently (corresponding to the case that one item of the auxiliary information is reported independently), or may be applied to all items of the auxiliary information (corresponding to the case that all items of the auxiliary information are reported at the same time).
[0052] The foregoing embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the disclosure, and are not intent to limit the disclosure. Any modifications, alternatives and improvements within the spirit and principle of the disclosure fall within the scope of the disclosure. | The present invention provides a method for a User Equipment UE to report auxiliary information, comprising the following steps: an eNodeB, eNB, transmits to the UE a request signaling for reporting auxiliary information; after receiving the request signaling, the UE reports to the eNB the auxiliary information corresponding to the request signaling for reporting auxiliary information. The present invention also provides some other methods for the UE to report auxiliary information. The scheme of the present invention ensures that the UE can report auxiliary information to the eNB instantly and exactly, in the case that no high complexity and signaling overhead of the UE is introduced. | 8 |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 921,646, filed 10/21/86, now abandoned.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention concerns improvements in polyester fiberfill material, commonly referred to as polyester fiberfill, and more particularly to providing polyester fiberfill in a form that is especially adapted for blending with binder fibers, to such blends as can be thermally bonded to provide useful bonded products having advantageous properties, such as bonded batts, and to the resulting bonded batts and other products incorporating the same.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Polyester fiberfill is used commercially in many garments and other articles, such as sleeping bags, cushions, comforters and pillows. A particularly useful and desirable form of polyester fiberfill has a coating of cured polysiloxane, often referred to as silicone slickener, e.g. as disclosed in Hofmann U.S. Pat. No. 3,271,189 and Mead et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,422, because certain desirable properties, such as hand, bulk-stability and fluffability are improved thereby. Despite the widespread commercial use of such silicone-slickened-polyester fiberfill, it has long been recognized that this coating has an important disadvantage, together with the desirable qualities. As reported by Pamm U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,042 and Frankosky U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,817, a silicone coating makes it almost impossible to bond the polyester fiberfill at cross-over points, especially when blends of only slickened polyester fiberfill and binder fiber are heat-treated, so as to activate the binder fiber. Any bonds are very poor and seem to be the result of bonding between residues of any binder fibers that were bicomponent fibers, whose cores remain after bonding. Thus it is not practical to use such silicone-slickened fiberfill to form a through-bonded batt or molded article that is properly bonded and durable, as is desirable in some end-uses.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a properly through-bonded batt having advantages of the type that have been obtainable previously only from unbonded slickened materials, e.g. in hand, in combination with the improved performance (especially durability) that has only been attainable previously with bonded batts from "dry" fiberfill. Another object is to improve the resilience and structure stabilization of slickened fiberfill products. Other objects will appear hereinafter.
Reference is made here to Jayne et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,260. Jayne discloses surface-modified polyester fiberfill products having improved compressional recovery and other outstanding properties (see paragraph from column 2-column 3) and to a method for providing such fiberfill products. The coating is co-crystallized on the surface of the crimped polyester staple fiber, and consists of a copolyester comprising about 20-95% by weight of poly(oxyalkylene) units and about 80-5% by weight of ester units identical to those present in the polyester staple fiber substrate. Batts of such coated fibers may be bonded or unbonded and are preferably unbonded (column 2, lines 57-59). Bonding resins may be applied to the batts to prevent any later fiber leakage and/or to prevent shifting of the batting in end-use applications, e.g. by spraying on both sides of the surface in the form of water emulsions, followed by drying and curing (column 5, lines 15-21). Jayne does not mention binder fibers, and Jayne's fiberfill has not been used commercially, so far as is known.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have found that, by replacing the existing commercial silicone slickeners with a hydrophilic coating containing poly(alkylene oxide) chains or segments on the surface of the polyester fiberfill, it is possible to attain the desired object and other advantages. Thus such coated polyester fiberfill can be bonded more effectively than silicone-slickened fiberfill, e.g. from blends with binder fiber, and has other advantages in reduced flammability and improved moisture transport, as will be mentioned hereinafter. It is believed important to ensure that the hydrophilic coating is "cured" properly onto the polyester fibers, in other words, that the poly(alkylene oxide) chains are essentially permanently affixed to the surface of the polyester fibers, i.e. so that they will not be removed by washing or by other treatments that will be encountered in normal processing or use.
Accordingly, there is provided an improved polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of, by weight, (a) from about 60 to about 95% of crimped polyester staple fiber, and (b) complementally, to total 100%, from about 5 to about 40% of crimped staple binder fiber, comprising a polymer having a binding temperature lower than the softening temperature of the said polyester staple fiber, characterized in that the said polyester staple fiber has a coating cured thereto of a slickener consisting essentially of chains of poly(alkylene oxide).
Two commercial poly(alkylene oxide) copolymers, involving two different mechanisms of "curing" are described more particularly below. One is a block copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) which, when applied to the surface of a polyester fiber containing repeat units of poly(ethylene terephthalate), and cured at about 170° C., is fixed to the fiber. The mechanism by which it is cured is not fully understood, but is suggested to be the co-crystallization of the polyester segments on the polyester fiber. Another curing mechanism is effected by cross-linking poly(alkylene oxide) chains modified with reactive groups capable of cross-linking with or without the addition of catalysts or cross-linking agents. Both these routes can be effected by using commercially available polymers with large segments of poly(ethylene oxide) and/or poly(propylene oxide), poly(ethylene oxide) being preferred.
According to one aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided a polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of, by weight, (a) from about 60 to about 95%, preferably about 80 to about 90%, of crimped polyester staple fiber and (b), complementally to total 100%, from about 5 to about 40%, preferably about 10 to about 20%, of crimped staple binder fibers, comprising a polymer having a melting point lower than that of the polyester staple fiber, wherein the polyester staple fiber is coated with a segmented copolymer of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene oxide) in amount from about 0.1 to about 1% by weight of the polyester staple fiber.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of (a) from about 60 to about 95% by weight of crimped polyester staple fiber and (b) complementally to total 100% by weight, from about 5 to about 40% by weight of crimped staple binder fibers, comprising a polymer having a melting point lower than that of the polyester staple fiber, wherein the polyester staple fiber is coated with a modified poly(alkylene oxide) grafted with functional groups to permit cross-linking, in amount from about 0.1 to about 1% by weight of the polyester staple fiber.
Use of these blends makes possible the provision of bonded fiberfill products with advantages over products that have hitherto been available commercially, as will be indicated in more detail hereinafter, but can be summarized as:
Improved performance, especially durability, as compared with "dry" (i.e. non-slickened), fiberfill that has been available commercially.
Soft hand in combination with the structure stabilization and resilience that results from good bonding.
Good moisture transport.
Lack of flammability, comparable with that resulting from "dry" fiberfill, and such as I have not obtained with prior commercial silicone-slickened fiberfill.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An important element of the present invention is the use of an appropriate coating material to provide the desired hydrophilic coating of poly(alkylene oxide) chains on the polyester fiberfill. As already indicated, some of these materials are available commercially.
Coating materials that are suitable for use according to the invention include segmented copolyesters consisting essentially of poly(ethylene terephthalate) segments and of poly(alkylene oxide) segments, derived from a poly(oxyalkylene) having a molecular weight of 300 to 6,000. Several such copolyesters and dispersions thereof are disclosed in McIntyre et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,952, 3,557,039 and 3,619,269, and in various other patent specifications disclosing like segmented copolymers containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) segments and poly(alkylene oxide) segments. Preferably the poly(alkylene oxide) will be a poly(ethylene oxide), which is also of commercial convenience. One such product is available commercially from ICI America Inc. as a textile finishing agent and is sold under the trademark "ATLAS" G-7264. This product is sold in Europe by ICI Specialty Chemicals, Brussels. Another is sold as "ZELCON" 4780, by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Other materials are disclosed in Raynolds U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,807. Other suitable materials include modified poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide) grafted with functional groups to permit cross-linking e.g. by treatment with 5% by weight of citric acid. Such a product is available commercially from Union Carbide as "UCON" 3207A. Other materials that may include particularly useful compositions are disclosed in Teijin EP No. 159882 and ICI Americas, EP No. 66944. Further discussion is given in my copending applications, No. DP-3720-B and No. DP-4185, filed simultaneously herewith.
The coating material can be applied to the polyester fiber either on the crimped staple or, preferably, on the tow, especially after drawing, in the crimping chamber. It is cured onto the fiber, by a process which is said to involve co-crystallizing or crosslinking, depending on the nature of the material. The fiberfill can then be blended with the binder and packed, or can be packed separately and be blended with the binder fiber prior to processing the product on standard batt manufacturing equipment. In any case the batt is generally processed, e.g. in an oven, to bond the binder to the fiberfill, and to achieve the special properties of the battings described herein. The coating can also be applied to the fiberfill staple at the end of the process line, after cutting and prior to packing, without curing, then be blended with the binder fiber. The blend is then processed on the standard carding equipment and the curing can take place in the oven at the same time as the bonding by the binder. These coating materials, however, generally produce better results when they are applied prior to or during crimping, as the reduced fiber to fiber friction favors the formation of smoother crimp, which can also contribute to an improved durability and increased softness, and the bonding appears to be better as a result of the earlier curing. The binder fiber blend is processed on commercial carding equipment, cross-lapped, and heat-treated in an oven to bond the fiberfill and the binder fiber.
The binders are preferably heat-activated, i.e. they melt or soften at temperatures some 50° C. or more below the melting points of the polyester fiberfill, so that the bonding does not affect the integrity of the fiberfill itself. Commercially available sheath/core 50/50 bicomponent binder fibers with a core of poly(ethylene terephthalate) homopolymer and sheath of a copolymer of poly(ethylene terephthalate/isophthalate) (60/40), modified to reduce its melting point, have been used with poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiberfill in the manufacture of the battings of the invention. Although sheath/core binder fibers are preferred, single component binders can also be used with an improvement over the controls made from the same binder and fiberfill without the coating. The denier of the binder fiber will generally be between about 3 to about 30 dtex, preferably less than about 20 dtex. Further information about binder fibers is given in my copending application No. DP-3720-B, filed simultaneously herewith and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,281,042 and 4,304,817.
The fiberfill can be of about 1 to about 30 dtex, can be solid or hollow, with single or multiple voids, and have a round or an odd cross section.
The lower deniers are used mainly in applications where the thermal insulation is an important factor, such as apparel, sleeping bags and special bedding articles for institutional applications. For these applications the blends of the invention have shown several advantages over commercially-available polyester slickened batts or binder fiber blends. The bonded batts have shown a combination of softness and good bonding with good thermal insulation. The loft and softness have been maintained after many washings, because of the resistance of the coating to washing, and the excellent tear resistance of the batts has been shown, as a result of good bonding with the binder fiber core. The performance of these bonded batts is very surprising, in view of the previous difficulty in bonding fiberfill slickened with prior art silicone slickeners. The batts combine this desirable softness with a low flammability such as is characteristic of batts from non-slickened fibers, and which also contrasts with the flammability of fibers slickened with silicones.
DESCRIPTION OF TEST METHODS
Bulk measurements were made conventionally on an Instron machine to measure the compression forces and the height of each sample pillow or cushion, which was compressed with a foot of appropriate diameter (10 or 20 cm) attached to the Instron.
Foot B (20 cm diameter) is used for lower density products (e.g. pillows) with a maximum pressure of 100N, and support bulk (SB) at 30N (representing the height in cm of the pillow under the weight of an average head). The softness, in this instance, corresponds to the difference in height (in cm) between the initial height at the beginning of the second compression cycle (IH 2 ) and the support bulk; i.e. the (absolute) softness=IH 2 -SB (height at 30N). Softness is sometimes expressed as relative softness, i.e. as a percentage of IH 2 .
Foot A (10 cm diameter) is used for higher density products (e.g. furnishing cushions, mattresses) with maximum pressure (the same as support bulk, in this instance) at 60N (corresponding to the pressure exerted by a sitting person). The softness, in this instance, corresponds to the difference in height between the initial height at the beginning of the second compression cycle (IH 2 ) and the height under 7.5N; i.e. the (absolute) softness, in this instance, =IH 2 -bulk at 7.5N. Again, softness is sometimes expressed as relative softness, relative to IH 2 . The firmness of a cushion correlates with a strong support bulk, and is inversely related to softness.
Resilience is measured as Work Recovery (WR), i.e. the ratio of the area under the whole recovery curve calculated as a percentage of that under the whole compression curve. The higher the WR, the better the resilience.
Durability--Several layers of each batting (50×50 cm) were stacked to provide a weight of about 850 g. The number of layers was adjusted to provide pillows with minimal weight differences. These were covered with a fabric and measured with foot A. The initial density of the pillows was between 12 and 15 g/l, depending on the bulk of the individual item. These lower density "pillows" were repeatedly compressed to a maximum pressure of 1,225N at a rate of 1,200 cycles/hour for 10,000 cycles. The pillows were remeasured and the bulk losses calculated.
Another series of cushions was prepared by stacking a number of layers to produce cushions with 850±15 g. The cushions were compressed using buttons to produce furnishing back cushions with a density of 25-28 g/l (depending if the measurement is done on the crown or in the vicinity of the buttons). These back cushions were submitted to a stomping test using the shape of a human bottom with an area of 37×43 cm and a pressure of 8.8 kPa. The stomping was repeated at a rate of about 1,000 cycles/hour for 10,000 cycles. The cushions were remeasured after the testing and the bulk losses calculated.
Flammability: Two tests were used:
The methanamine pill test is based on the U.S. Federal Method, Flammability Standard for Carpets DOC FF 1-70.
The 45 deg. open flame test DIN 54335.
The area destroyed was measured and recorded in both cases, and the rate of propagation of the flame also recorded in the open flame test.
Strength: The grab test DIN 53857 evaluates the strength of the bonding. (The results herein are normalized to a common basis of 200 g/sq.m.).
Laundry Tests: One layer (40×40 cm) of each batting is quilted (in apparel fabric) and sewn in the middle. The compression of two layers is measured by Instron (foot B-20 cm diameter, maximum pressure 240N). All the samples are washed together in a washing machine at 40° C. for three complete cycles. The samples were remeasured after laundry and the difference in thickness was calculated.
The invention is further illustrated in the following Examples. All parts and percentages are by weight, unless otherwise indicated. All heights are measured in cm, and are sometimes expressed as `Bulk`.
EXAMPLE 1
A commercial hollow unslickened polyester fiberfill (6.1 dtex) was coated with 0.35% by weight (solids) of a hydrophilic slickener by spraying with an aqueous solution containing 2.8% solids of "ATLAS" G-7264, obtained by diluting the commercial emulsion (14%) with 5X its weight of water, and then dried in air at room temperature. The coated staple was blended (85/15) with the above-mentioned sheath/core binder fiber of 4.4 dtex. This blend was processed to produce a 1 meter wide batt of density about 180 g/sq. m. by superposing four parallel layers without crosslapping. This batt was heat bonded in a commercial 3.5 m. wide oven at a temperature of 160° C.; this heat treatment had the dual effect of curing the coating to the polyester fiberfill and of activating the binder sheath of the binder fiber so as to bond the batt. Various properties of the bonded batt are measured and recorded in tests which clearly demonstrate the superiority of this item of the invention 2 over control item 1, which was prepared in exactly the same way from the same basic commercial fiberfill and binder fiber except that no hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide)-containing coating was applied. Both products were processed under otherwise identical conditions, and were bonded by heat-treating in parallel in the same oven at the same time.
1--The test batt 2 was much softer and more drapable, but very different from silicone-slickened products.
2--Table 1 shows the improved softness and durability over the control.
3--Bonding to the binder fiber was far better than with 0.3% silicon-slickener, being 70% of control's strength in machine direction and 50% in the transverse direction, which is not very significant as there was no cross-lapping in this Example.
4--Flammability of the test item 2 was very close to the control 1 with 1.0 second flame duration (=control) and 8.4 cm destroyed length versus 6.0 for the control, whereas silicon-slickened batting was totally destroyed with flame duration of 40 seconds.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Height (Ca) Softness Work Rec. %IH2 30 N 100 N ABSOL. (Ca) Rel. (%) %BF AF Δ BF AF Δ BF AF Δ BF AF Δ BF AF Δ BF AF Δ__________________________________________________________________________Control 1 15.4 13.9 -9.4 9.6 7.9 -17.5 5.9 4.6 -22.1 5.8 6.0 3.8 37.7 43.3 14.9 60.8 59.8 -1.7Invention 2 14.4 13.7 -5.1 7.7 6.7 -12.2 3.5 3.4 -11.5 6.8 7.0 2.8 46.9 50.7 8.2 59.9 57.1 -3.1__________________________________________________________________________ BF = before flex test AF = after flex test Δ = % loss of height due to flex test
Although this coated fiberfill had not been pre-cured (i.e. had not been heat-treated prior to the bonding treatment), the break strength of the batting was surprisingly high, being about 70% of that of the control, thereby demonstrating that good bonding of the coating to the fiberfill had occurred. The following Examples shows the improvements obtained by curing the coating, and using cross-lapped webs.
EXAMPLE 2
1. This is a control described below.
2. The same 6.1 dtex hollow dry crimped commercial polyester fiberfill staple substrate is coated with 0.35% solids following essentially the procedure described in Example 1, and the coating is then cured onto the fiber by heating the staple at 170° C. for 5 minutes. The cured coated fiberfill is then blended with the same sheath/core binder fiber as in Example 1 in the same proportions (85/15). This blend is processed on a card and cross-lapper to produce a batt of density about 190 g/sq.m., and is bonded in an oven at 160° C. at a speed of 1 m/min. The following Tables compare the properties of this bonded batt as item 2 with a control batt (item 1) prepared from the same substrate polyester fiberfill without the hydrophilic coating according to the invention, and with other batts made as follows:
3. The same basic polyester fiberfill substrate is coated with 0.35% solids by spraying with a 20% solution of UCON 3207A (with the addition of 5% of citric acid), and cured as for item 2 above.
4. This is a control, similar to item 1, but using hollow crimped polyester fiberfill of 13 dtex, with the same 4.4 dtex binder fiber.
5. This is similar to control item 4, except that the polyester fiberfill is coated with 0.35% of "ATLAS" G-7264 on the 13 dtex fiberfill, and cured as in item 2.
6. This is similar to item 2 above, except that the polyester fiberfill substrate is coated as a tow under plant conditions, by applying an 8.2% emulsion in water of "ATLAS" G-7264 to produce the same solids coating of 0.35% on the fiber. The tow was then relaxed at a temperature of 175° C. to cure the coating and set the crimp. The relaxed tow was cut blended to a cut length of 60 mm with a tow of the sheath/core binder fiber to produce a blend of 85/15 fiberfill/binder. The blend was converted into a batt, and the batt was heat bonded under essentially the same conditions described.
7. This item was produced essentially as for item 6, except that the coating was provided from UCON 3207A, as in item 3.
To summarize: Items 1 and 4 are controls, items 2, 5 and 6 are coated with ATLAS G-7264, while items 3 and 7 are coated with UCON 3207A; items 2, 3 and 5 are coated in staple form, and cured at 170° C., whereas items 6 and 7 are coated in tow form, before setting the crimp at 175° C.; items 1-3, 6 and 7 have fiberfill of dtex 6.1, whereas items 4 and 5 are of 13 dtex.
It will be noted that the weights and densities of the batts are not identical. To get proper comparisons, where indicated, the measurements have been "normalized" by calculating equivalents all at the same weight of 200 g/m 2 .
Table 2 gives the compression data for all 7 bonded batts, to show good results, i.e. good bonding occurred in every case, in contrast with silicone-slickened fiberfill that cannot be bonded in this manner.
Tables 3, 4 and 5 give flammability data. It will be noted that none of the items showed flammability, and the areas destroyed were comparable to controls 1 and 4, in which unslickened (dry) fiberfill was used, i.e. the fiberfill coatings have not significantly increased flammability over that dry fiberfill. In contrast, flammability tests were made on controls 8 and 9, to show the well-known flammability associated with silicone-slickened products. Control 8 was a batt entirely of commercial silicon-slickened fiberfill, otherwise as used in Examples 1 and 2 except for the silicone-slickener. Control 9 was from a 60/20/20 blend of 60% unslickened fiberfill, as used in Examples 1 and 2, with 20% slickened fiberfill, as used in Control 8, and 20% of the binder used in Examples 1 and 2; this shows that even the addition of a minor proportion of silicone-slickened fiberfill causes a very significant increase in flammability, which is undesirable. The flammability tests did not warrant normalization.
Table 6 shows the breaking strength measurements. The top set gives the actual measurements and the different weights of each batt, while the lower set gives calculated measurements all normalized to the same weight of 200 g/m 2 , since this is a better comparison which somewhat favors control 1 of lower weight. The significantly superior breaking strength of preferred item 6 is most impressive. The low figures of items 3 and 7 are speculated to be because of the nature of the coating, and better results would be expected from an analogous coating based on poly(ethylene oxide) chains, such as is preferred, but it is significant that when these coatings give significant bonding, in contrast to silicone-slickened fiberfill which gives products having virtually no bonding (except possibly between the residues of the bicomponent binder fibers). These strength tests are only indirectly related to durability in furnishing, but demonstrates the strong bonding, which partly explains the good support bulk figures and durability.
Table 7 shows the results of the delamination test, and again shows the strength of the bonds between the layers, especially for preferred item 6, which is much better than the control. This is a very important test, since delamination is a major cause of failure in some constructions in furnishings and mattresses, and is important also in sleeping bags and sportswear.
Table 8 contains two sets of data; bulk in condensed cushions and non-condensed "pillows". Included is a Trade Control (from an 85/15 blend of dry fiberfill/binder) i.e. otherwise like item 1. On one hand, it demonstrates the bulk advantage that is still important even in higher density 100% fiber cushions at densities of 25-28 g/l. On the other hand, it demonstrates the bulk advantage of the products of the invention. This refers to non-condensed material with 6 superposed layers (not making any corrections for the differences in weight and height between the products). The same "pillows" were used for the durability tests covered in Table 9. This will reflect what a customer, using the product for foam-wrapped cushions or for other applications with a lower pressure, will see (.e.g sportswear, sleeping bags, etc.)
These data in Table 8 call for several remarks:
Bulk is very important in furnishing and mattresses and corresponds, to real market need.
The advantage of the products of the invention, particularly item 6, is in reality much bigger than one can seen from a quick look at the data. Not only it has higher bulk than the best control known to to be available from the trade, but also has same advantage at much lower density. (Thicker batt=lower density in terms of g/l.)
The differences in batt height and weight create the same interpretation problem as with the durability data. The product which has much more height has a lower density and is therefore at disadvantage. To overcome this problem with the existing samples and to demonstrate the durability advantage, I condensed the products into cushions, with approximately the same density, and subjected them to the durability test.
Table 9 summarizes the durability data in cushions only for item 6 and for the Trade Control, but for the "pillows" of all items. It has to be studied together with the corresponding height measurements summarized in Tables 2 and 8. The durability of item 6, which is a 6,1 dtex of the invention, is almost equal to the control 13 dtex (which is close in bulk to item 6). It is equivalent to the best trade control, although this product has a much lower bulk. Therefore, the test item can be expected to perform better at an equal weight and height basis. Essentially all test items performed equal to or better than the controls, particularly taking into account the low bulk (high density) of control item 1.
Table 10 show the change in bulk after 3 home laundries at 40° C. This shows again the good performance of most products of the invention, as these have the lowest changes, although items 6 and 7 have a considerably higher bulk than the control. The only exception is item 3, which may reflect defects in the preparation of this item.
TABLE 2______________________________________Item No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7______________________________________Initial Heights:1st cycle 8.3 8.9 10.7 11.9 11.2 12.9 12.0(IH.sub.2)2nd cycle 7.7 8.4 9.2 11.6 10.0 12.0 10.92nd Cycle - Heights under indicated loads(SB)2N 7.6 8.3 9.1 11.4 9.9 11.9 10.85N 5.6 5.6 6.5 8.5 7.6 10.5 8.810N 4.6 4.7 5.2 7.1 6.3 9.3 7.630N 3.1 3.1 3.1 4.4 4.0 6.7 5.160N 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.8 2.6 4.6 3.5100N 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.8 1.8 3.2 2.4160N 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.3 2.2 1.7240N 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.6 1.3Int. Compr.Height 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.1 1.0 1.7 1.3Total Int.Height 1.6 1.7 1.6 2.0 2.0 3.3 2.6Softness:Abs. 4.6 5.3 6.1 7.2 6.0 5.3 5.8Rel. 59.7 63.1 66.3 62.1 60.0 44.2 53.2Work 63.6 70.8 59.8 55.6 62.9 67.0 61.8Recovery:Weight 190.4 234.4 205.0 203.4 239.6 221.5 199.6g/m.sup.2______________________________________
TABLE 3______________________________________FLAMMABILITY TEST @ 45° C. (DIN 54'335)SHOWING THE AREA DESTROYED(Flame Length = 4.0 cm AND Exposure time = 15 seconds)DURATION OFFLAME (IN SECONDS)WHEN EXPOSED AREAIdenti- Total DESTROYEDfication 5.0 cm 30.0 cm 55.0 cm (sec) (cm.sup.2)______________________________________Item 1 0 0 0 0 6.2Item 2 0 0 0 0 5.8Item 3 0 0 0 0 5.0Item 4 0 0 0 0 7.0Item 5 0 0 0 0 7.4Item 6 0 0 0 0 8.0Item 7 0 0 0 0 10.2Control 8 6.0 55.0 76.0 137.0 504.0Control 9 10.0 65.0 80.0 155.0 504.0______________________________________
TABLE 4______________________________________FLAMMABILITY TEST @ 45° C. (DIN 54'335)SHOWING THE FLAME VELOCITY(Flame Length = 4.0 cm AND Exposure Time = 15 seconds) VELOCITY OF FLAME IN (CM/MIN.) SPREAD FORIdentification 2.0 minutes 3.0 minutes______________________________________Item 1 0.0 0.0Item 2 0.0 0.0Item 3 0.0 0.0Item 4 0.0 0.0Item 5 0.0 0.0Item 6 0.0 0.0Item 7 0.0 0.0Control 8 54.6 72.4Control 9 41.3 46.2______________________________________
TABLE 5______________________________________FLAMMABILITY PILL (METHANAMINE) TEST SHOWINGTHE AREA DESTROYED(After 15 seconds of exposure) DESTROYED AREA IN COMBUSTION OF THE PILLIdentification (cm.sup.2) (sec.)______________________________________Item 1 12.64 Avg: 1'27Item 2 14.51 1'30Item 3 15.54 1'31Item 4 11.19 1'30Item 5 12.94 1'31Item 6 14.53 1'31Item 7 13.53 1'31Control 8 82.02 1'30Control 9 67.39 1'30______________________________________
TABLE 6______________________________________GRAB TEST IN (N)SHOWING THE TEARING STRENGTH OF THE BATTS Weight Machine Direction Cross DirectionIdentification (g/cm.sup.2) (M.D.) (X.D.)______________________________________Item 1 190.4 19.2 70.3Item 2 234.4 25.1 67.4Item 3 205.0 7.8 29.3Item 4 203.4 15.8 48.7Item 5 239.6 19.7 43.9Item 6 221.5 64.3 186.0Item 7 199.6 12.0 53.0Normalized Strengths for Weight (200 g/m.sup.2)Item 1 20.2 73.8Item 2 21.4 57.5Item 3 7.6 28.6Item 4 15.5 47.9Item 5 16.4 45.0Item 6 58.1 167.9Item 7 12.0 53.1______________________________________
TABLE 7______________________________________DELAMINATION TEST IN (N)SHOWING THE BONDING STRENGTHFROM LAYER TO LAYER Machine Direction Cross DirectionIdentification (M.D.) (X.D.)______________________________________Item 1 Avg(N): 7.1 7.7 CV (%): 2.7 11.1Item 2 Avg(N): 7.0 8.3 CV (%): 10.0 7.7Item 3 Avg(N): 2.7 3.6 CV (%): 5.8 2.1Item 4 Avg(N): 5.4 7.0 CV (%): 8.8 12.2Item 5 Avg(N): 6.1 7.2 CV (%): 7.8 4.9Item 6 Avg(N): 15.9 13.5 CV (%): 10.3 3.5Item 7 Avg(N): 4.2 4.8 CV (%): 13.2 8.0______________________________________
TABLE 8______________________________________BULK AT 7.5N DATA IN (CM) OFHIGH DENSITY (CONDENSED)CUSHIONS (25-28 g/l) &LOWER DENSITY (NON-CONDENSED)(12 g/l) (60 × 60 CM) Bulk at 7.5N (cm) Bulk atIdentification (condensed cushions) (non-condensed pillows)______________________________________Item 1 8.35 9.02Item 2 13.15 10.45Item 3 12.35 8.55Item 4 13.88 10.95Item 5 13.25 10.7Item 6 14.2 11.75Item 7 13.7 10.0Trade Control 13.53 9.45______________________________________
TABLE 9__________________________________________________________________________DURABILITY DATA SHOWING THE LOSSES IN INITIAL HEIGHT& BULK AT 7.5N BEFORE AND AFTER STOMPING (60 × 60__________________________________________________________________________CM)A. Condensed Cushions at 25-28 g/l Trade Control Item 6__________________________________________________________________________ Initial Height (cm): Before Stomping 14.8 16.3 After Stomping 13.28 15.38 Abs. Diff. (cm) 1.52 0.92 Diff. (%) -10.27 -5.64 Bulk at 7.5N (cm): Before Stomping 13.53 14.2 After Stomping 11.63 12.7 Abs. Diff. (cm) 1.9 1.5 Diff. (%) -14.04 -10.6__________________________________________________________________________B. Non-Condensed Pillows of 12 g/lItem No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Control__________________________________________________________________________Initial Height (cm):Before Stomping 13.20 15.05 13.1 14.22 14.5 17.17 15.47 12.4After Stomping 11.3 12.87 10.72 11.9 12.52 14.52 13.07 10.08Abs. Diff. (cm) 1.9 2.18 2.38 2.32 1.98 2.65 2.4 2.32Diff. (%) -14.39 -14.49 -18.17 -16.32 -13.66 -15.43 -15.51 -18.71Bulk at 7.5N (cm):Before Stomping 9.02 10.45 8.55 10.95 10.7 11.75 10.0 9.45After Stomping 7.17 8.3 6.70 8.35 8.07 8.7 7.75 7.0Abs. Diff. (cm) 1.85 2.15 1.85 2.6 2.63 3.05 2.25 2.45Diff. (%) -20.51 -20.57 -21.64 -23.74 -24.58 -25.96 -22.54 -25.93__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 10______________________________________LAUNDRY EFFECT ON BULK DURABILITY(3 HOME LAUNDRIES AT 45° C.) Initial Height Support BulkIdentification (%) (%)______________________________________Item 1 +24.32 +6.25Item 2 +9.52 0.0Item 3 +30.75 +5.88Item 4 +7.55 -11.54Item 5 0.0 0.0Item 6 +6.56 -7.69Item 7 -3.92 -5.26______________________________________ | Blends of polyester fiberfill and binder fiber, wherein the fiberfill is coated with a hydrophilic poly(alkylene oxide) type finish that cures on to the polyester fibers and so provides improved properties in the eventual bonded product, including combinations of improved durability, soft hand, good bonding, reduced flammability and improved moisture transport. | 3 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS.
This application is related to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/001,747, filed Aug. 1, 1995 for a Resealable Fluid Dispenser invented by Matthew F. Kelley and Wayne Young.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to product holding and dispensing containers, and more particularly, to sealed product containers accessible only for use.
BACKGROUND ART
With the ever-increasing addition of new products in the marketplace, substantial attention has been paid to improving product containers, in general, and fluid product holding and dispensing containers; in particular. In this regard, numerous products being sold in a wide variety of channels require the storage of fluid products in a suitable container, with the product being completely sealed within the container prior to use, while also being quickly and easily accessed by the user whenever the products needs to be dispensed.
Due to the wide variety of fluid products sold in the marketplace, numerous fluid product holding and dispensing systems have been created in an attempt to satisfy the variety of applications and needs existing in the marketplace. However, these prior art systems have been incapable of fully and completely meeting all of the requirements imposed upon a fluid product holding and dispensing container.
In particular, the industry has sought a fluid product holding and dispensing container which enables the fluid product to be completely sealed after filling of the container with the sealed container remaining intact until use of the product is desired. Furthermore, when the product is to be used, rapid access to the product is sought without requiring the user to physically rupture the seal in order to attain access to the product. In addition, it is often desired for the container to be capable of being automatically sealed and unsealed as part of the dispensing system.
Although numerous prior art systems have been developed in an attempt to meet the demands of the industry, these prior art systems have been incapable of satisfying the industry demands. In general, these prior art attempt have been incapable of providing completely dependable product holding and dispensing systems which are consistent and repeatable in their performance. Furthermore, these prior art systems generally comprise complex constructions which require numerous components or subassemblies, necessitating costly manufacturing expenses and assembly efforts. In addition, prior art systems have been unable to achieve a low-cost, easily assembled system which is automatically sealable and capable of being used for dispensing all types of fluid products, including products requiring sterilization, while also be resealable, if repeated use is desired.
Furthermore, the dispensing of sterilized fluid products represents a major portion of the industry in which holding and dispensing containers are required. However, prior art product holding and dispensing systems have been incapable of satisfying all of the requirements imposed upon systems for holding and dispensing sterilized fluid products.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system which is capable of being manufactured and shipped with the product completely sealed in a container with that seal quickly and easily ruptured or opened by the user when desired.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system having the characteristic features described above which assures the product remains sealed during shipping and storage, until use is desired.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system having the characteristic features described above which enables the user to quickly and easily activate the system by automatically rupturing or opening the seal to allow the product to be dispensed therethrough.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system having the characteristic features described above which allows all components and products to be fully and completely sterilized prior to distribution.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system having the characteristic features described above which employs a minimum number of components which are easily manufactured and assembled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid product holding and dispensing system having the characteristic features described above which is usable with virtually any desired product holding container regardless of the size or shape.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks of the prior art constructions are eliminated and an efficient, easily manufactured, dependable, fluid product holding and dispensing system is attained. By employing the present invention, any desired fluid product is packaged and is completely sealed until use of the product is desired. Once use is desired, the system is activated, causing the seal to be broken or opened, enabling the fluid product to be dispensed.
In the present invention, the fluid product holding and dispensing system is alternately movable between two separate and distinct locked positions which assures that the system is retained in either locked position, until change is desired by the user. As a result, accidental or unwanted activation of the system is completely eliminated. In addition, in one position, the container is sealed, while in the second position, the container is open and the fluid is accessible. Consequently, users are assured that the product retained in the container will remain sealed until use is desired and accidental opening of the container is completely eliminated. Furthermore, if desired, the product can be partially used and resealed by returning the dispensing system to its first position.
In order to eliminate the prior art problems which have remained unresolved until the present invention, the present invention employs two principal integrated components which cooperate to achieve a product dispensing, resealable trigger assembly. By mounting these two components to a container within which the desired product is retained, the complete fluid product holding and dispensing system is realized.
By achieving a two-component fluid, resealable product holding and dispensing trigger assembly, an easily manufactured, reasonably priced system is attained which is capable of providing all of the desired results. Furthermore, the present invention provides a construction which is easily manufactured, is cost effective, and is reliable. As a result, the present invention satisfies all of the needs which prior art constructions have been incapable of attaining.
In the preferred construction of the present invention, any desired fluid product is placed in a generally conventional bottle using generally conventional filling techniques. Although any desired bottle construction and bottle material can be employed for retaining the desired product, viscous products are preferably contained in flexible plastic bottles in order to allow the material to be easily dispensed by squeezing of the flexible bottle member.
In order to enable the fluid containing bottle to be sealed when not in use and easily accessed, whenever use is desired, the product dispensing trigger assembly of the present invention is mounted to the bottle. In the preferred embodiment, the product dispensing trigger assembly of the present invention comprises two components consisting of a cap and guide member and a head or cover member. In the preferred construction, the cap/guide member comprises a threaded portion which is threadedly engaged with the threaded collar of the bottle. This threaded collar defines the portal zone for the bottle, with the cap/guide member comprising an elongated hollow cylindrically shaped flow channel for delivering the fluid. In addition, the cylindrical portion of the cap/guide member comprises a resealable portal constructed for controlling the flow of the fluid product.
The second principal component of the product dispensing trigger assembly of the present invention comprises a head or cover portion which is constructed for telescopic, overlying, axially movable interengagement with the cap/guide member. In addition, the head or cover member incorporates lock engaging means formed therewith, positioned for cooperating locking interengagement with the cap/guide member. In this way, when the cap/guide member is telescopically interengaged with the head member, two alternate locked positions are attainable by moving the head or cover member relative to the cap member.
In addition to incorporating cooperating lock engaging means, the head member also incorporates a movable plug member integrally formed therewith. In the preferred construction, the plug member is positioned for cooperating relationship with the resealable portal of the cap/guide member. When the head or cover member is telescopically engaged with the cap/guide member in its first locked and sealed position, the plug member of the head or cover member is securely mounted in the portal of the cap/guide member, completely sealing the fluid product in the bottle and preventing the product from being dispensed. Whenever the user desires to move the head or cover member relative to the cap/guide member from its first locked and sealed position into its second locked and open position, an actuation force is applied to the cover or head member. This force causes the cover or head member to move relative to the cap/guide member, simultaneously causing the plug member of the cover or head member to move therewith, disengaging itself from the portal of the cap/guide member. As a result, the bottle is opened and the fluid product contained therein is accessible.
In addition to providing rapid, controlled opening of the sealed fluid containing bottle, the product dispensing cover assembly of the present invention is constructed to assure that the two alternate locked positions are maintained, once either position is engaged. Only by positive action of the user is movement between the first locked position and the second locked position attainable.
In the present invention, the prior art difficulties and drawbacks are overcome and an easily assembled, dependable, low-cost, resealable fluid product holding and dispensing system is achieved which is maintained in a fully sealed configuration in a first position, assuring both sterility and product securement in the associated container. In addition, the fluid product holding and dispensing system of this invention is also quickly and easily moved from its sealed position to its fully open position, enabling use of the product when desired. Furthermore, the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention is preferably constructed to allow easy return movement from the open position to the sealed position, thereby enabling the product to be tightly and securely resealed, for storage and subsequent use.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded, cross-sectional, side elevation view, depicting each of the components forming the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional side elevation views of the fully assembled fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention shown in its first locked and sealed position;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross sectional side elevation views of the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention depicted in its second open and locked position;
FIG. 6, is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the head or cover member of the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the cap/guide member of the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional side elevation view of the sealing rod of the head or cover member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In FIGS. 1-8, the preferred embodiment of the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention is fully depicted. This embodiment is presented as a representation of one construction that can be employed for attaining the benefits of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and variations thereof can be made without departing from the scope of this invention. Consequently, this preferred embodiment is provided as an example of the present invention and not as a limitation thereof.
In FIGS. 1-5, fluid product holding and dispensing system 20 is depicted comprising fluid holding bottle 22, and product dispensing trigger assembly 24. In this embodiment, product dispensing trigger assembly 24 comprises cap and guide member 25 and head or cover member 26.
As depicted, bottle 22 comprises a generally conventional, cylindrical construction incorporating an internal retaining zone 30 within which the desired fluid product is placed. Bottle 22 comprises a collar 31 which incorporates entry portal 33 for enabling the desired fluid to be inserted into retaining zone 30 as well as removed therefrom. Preferably, upstanding collar 31 also incorporates thread means 32, formed on the outer surface thereof for enabling closure and sealing means to be secured thereto.
As discussed above, bottle 22 may comprise any desired size and shape and may be formed from any desired material. For use in the present invention, bottle 22 must only be able to store the desired fluid product in zone 30 and be able to securely receive and retain cap/guide member 25 therewith.
As clearly shown in FIGS. 1-5 and 7, cap and guide member 25 comprises collar engaging portion 34 and cylindrically shaped tube portion 35. In the preferred construction, collar engaging portion 34 of cap/guide member 25 is constructed for peripherally surrounding and being securely affixed to collar 31 of bottle 22.
Typically, collar engaging portion 34 is dimensioned to correspond with the dimensions of collar 31. As depicted, collar engaging portion 34 incorporates a cylindrical shape with thread means 40 formed on the inside surface thereof, with the inside diameter of collar engaging portion 34 constructed for cooperative, overlying interengagement with collar 31 of bottle 22. In this way, cap/guide member 25 is quickly and easily securely affixed to bottle 22 by threadedly engaging thread means 40 of collar engaging portion 34 with thread means 32 of collar 31 of bottle 22. Once in this position, cap/guide member 25 is mounted to bottle 22 in overlying relationship with portal 33.
In its preferred construction, hollow cylindrical tube portion 35 of cap/guide member 25 is integrally formed with collar engaging portion 34, with the central axis of cylindrical tube portion 35 co-axially aligned with the central axis of cylindrically shaped collar engaging portion 34. In this way, cap/guide member 25 essentially defines and comprises an elongated, centrally located, open, hollow channel 41 integrally formed therein.
In the preferred embodiment, a radial flange 36 is formed at the terminating end of tube portion 35 and constructed to extend inwardly from hollow channel 41. If desired, a single, substantially continuous flange 36 may be employed or, alternatively, a plurality of flange segments may be used. As detailed below, flange 36 cooperates with head or cover member 26 to provide one of the two alternate locked positions.
The construction of cap/guide member 25 of the present invention is completed by forming a portal zone 42 at the juncture between channel 41 and the inside surface of collar engaging portion 34. In the preferred embodiment, portal 42 is formed by a substantially continuous, tapered or sloping wall member 43 which cooperates with a radially extending ledge 44 formed at the juncture of portal 42 with channel 41. The interengagement of ledge 44 with sloping wall 43 forms junction point 45.
By referring to FIGS. 1-6, the construction and cooperative operational interengagement of head or cover member 26 with cap/guide member 25 can best be understood. In the preferred construction, head/cover member 26 comprises an outer surface defining shell or housing preferably formed as a first, elongated, substantially cylindrically shaped central portion 50, a second lower, substantially cylindrically shaped, co-axially aligned portion 51 comprising a diameter greater than first cylindrical portion 50, and an intermediate, interconnecting ramp portion 52 extending from first cylindrical portion 50 and second cylindrical portion 51. In the preferred embodiment, intermediate, ramped portion 52 is constructed for interconnecting and smoothly blending the surface of first portion 50 with the surface of second portion 51.
Finally, the outer surface construction of cover or head member 26 is completed by forming an applicator mounting surface 53 to the terminating end of first cylindrical portion 50. Although the incorporation of applicator mounting surface 53 is preferred, for providing a readily usable surface to which a desired applicator can be mounted to assist in the dispensing of the fluid product contained in bottle 22, the actual construction and formation of applicator mounting surface 53 will vary depending upon the contents of bottle 22 and the manner in which the contents thereof is employed. Consequently, the overall construction depicted in FIGS. 1-6, in showing a particular applicator mounting surface 53, is merely exemplary of one particular structure, and any desired applicator surface, or dispensing element, can be formed on head or cover member 26, without departing from the scope of this invention.
Similarly, the outer surface of head or cover member 26 can be varied in construction, size, shape, or visual appearance, depending upon a particular application being employed or the particular bottle 22 with which head or cover member 26 is affixed. Although the incorporation of cylindrical portions 50 and 51 with intermediate portions 52 is preferred, for providing a highly visible surface which is easily accessed by the user for cooperatively moving head or cover member 26 relative to cap/guide member 25 as detailed below, alternate constructions can be employed for head or cover member 26 without departing from the scope of this invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1-6, first cylindrical portion 50 of head or cover member 26 defines the generally cylindrically shaped outer surface. In addition, first cylindrical portion 50 also incorporates a cylindrically shaped inside wall 55, which is formed with a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of cylindrical tube portion 35. In the preferred construction, inside wall 55 defines and establishes a central elongated channel or cavity 54 which extends through first cylindrical portion 50, as well as the interior zone of cylindrical portion 51 and intermediate portion 52. In this way, central, elongated cavity 54 is formed extending completely through head or cover member 26.
In the preferred construction, head or cover member 26 also incorporates a support plate 56 formed in channel 54 diametrically extending from inside wall 55. In the preferred construction, support plate 56 incorporates a plurality of holes or passageways 48 formed in plate 56 in order to enable the fluid product to flow completely through channel 54 whenever desired. Alternatively, plate 56 may be formed as a narrow bridge having a length substantially equivalent to the diameter of inside wall 55 so as to be affixed at its opposed ends to a portion of inside wall 55, and comprising a width which is not greater than the diameter of inside wall 55, in order to assure that elongated channel or cavity 54 extends continuously through head or cover member 26.
In addition, in the preferred construction, support plate 56 incorporates a central aperture 57 formed therein substantially at the midpoint of plate 56, with aperture 57 being defined by sloping wall member 58. Furthermore, locking clip means 59 is mounted to support plate 56, peripherally surrounding aperture 57, extending therefrom towards intermediate portion 52. In the preferred construction, locking clip means 59 incorporates a radially extending flange 49 which is formed extending towards inside wall 55. As detailed below, this construction cooperates with flange 36 of tube portion 35 to provide the desired locked engagement thereof.
The construction of head or cover member 26 is completed by forming and mounting elongated sealing rod 60 to support plate 56, enabling sealing rod 60 to extend from plate 56 a substantial length of head or cover member 26, coaxially aligned with channel 54. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 8, in its preferred construction, sealing rod 60 comprises an elongated shaft 61, with plate engaging and locking member 62 mounted at one end of shaft 61, and a tapered plug member 63 mounted at the opposed end of shaft 61.
In the preferred construction, plate engaging and locking member 62 comprises two juxtaposed, spaced, flexible fingers 64 and 65, each of which comprise a ramped or sloping surface 66 which terminates with flat surface 67 extending substantially perpendicularly from shaft 61. In addition, two radially extending flange plates 68,68 are mounted to shaft 61, positioned in juxtaposed, spaced, facing relationship to flat surfaces 67,67.
Preferably, the distance between radially extending flange plates 68,68 and flat surfaces 67,67 is substantially equivalent to the thickness of support plate 56 of head or cover member 26. In this way, as detailed below, sealing rod 60 is quickly and easily mounted and securely retained by support plate 56.
In completing the preferred construction of sealing rod 60, tapered plug member 63 is constructed by forming an enlarged, substantially circular shaped plate 70 at the terminating end of shaft 61, with plate 70 extending substantially perpendicularly to the central axis of shaft 61. In addition, a substantially circular shaped, sloping wall 71 is formed with one end thereof affixed to plate 70 and extending outwardly therefrom. In the preferred construction, the end of wall 71 affixed to plate 70 is inwardly spaced from the terminating edge of plate 70, defining therewith a radially extending lip 72 peripherally surrounding the juncture between wall 71 and plate 70.
By employing this construction for sealing rod 60, the desired, integral, repeatedly activated, reusable sealing capabilities of head or cover member 26 with cap/guide member 25 is attained. By referring to FIGS. 2-5, and the following detailed disclosure, the cooperating interengagement and secure repeatable locking construction attained by the present invention is fully understood.
In the preferred construction of head or cover member 26, the diameter of inside wall 55 of first cylindrical portion 50 is slightly greater than the outer diameter of cylindrical tube portion 35 of cap/guide member 25. In this way, first cylindrical portion 50 of head or cover member 26 peripherally surrounds tube portion 35 and is telescopically axially movable relative thereto. By employing this construction, head or cover member 26 is easily mounted to cylindrical tube portion 35 of cap/guide member 25 in order to enable head or cover member 26 to be telescopically movable relative to cylindrically shaped tube portion 35.
In the present invention, product dispensing trigger assembly 24 is quickly and easily assembled by telescopically engaging head or cover member 26 with cap/guide member 25. Then, sealing rod 60 is securely mounted to head or cover member 26 by axially advancing plate engaging and lock member 62 through portal 42 and central channel 41 of cap/guide member 25, until plate engaging and lock member 62 is securely mounted to support plate 56 of head or cover member 26. Once sealing rod 60 is affixed to support plate 56, the construction of trigger assembly 24 is complete.
The secure affixation of sealing rod 60 to support plate 56 is quickly and easily attained due to the cooperating construction of sealing rod 60 and head or cover member 26. In order to attain this secure interengagement, plate engaging and lock member 62 of sealing rod 60 is aligned with sloping wall 58 of aperture 57 of support plate 56. Due to the cooperating construction of sloping surface 66 of flexible fingers 64 and 65 with tapered wall 58 of aperture 57, sealing rod 60 need only be axially advanced into ever increasing interengagement with support plate 56 once initially aligned with aperture 57. By continuously axially advancing sealing rod 60 through aperture 57, flexible fingers 64 and 65 are forced towards each other, by the camming action of sloping surface 66, until flat surface 67 has passed through aperture 57. Once this position has been reached, flexible fingers 64 and 65 return to their original positions, with flat surface 67 effectively locking shaft 61 of sealing rod 60 in position with support plate 56.
Furthermore, flange plates 68,68, which radially extend from shaft 61 and are spaced away from surfaces 67,67 by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of plate 56, are simultaneously brought into contact with the lower surface of support plate 56 and provide further secure, locked, affixed attachment of sealing rod 60 to support plate 56. In addition, the length of shaft 61 of sealing rod is constructed for enabling sealing rod 60 to be movable between a first position wherein tapered plug member 63 is mounted in secure sealingly closed engagement with portal 42 of cap/guide member 25, and a second position wherein tapered plug member 63 is disengaged from portal 42, enabling the fluid product to flow therethrough.
The telescopic movability and axial interengagement of head or cover member 26 with cap/guide member 25 between its two alternate positions is clearly depicted in FIGS. 2-5. Furthermore, as detailed below, head or cover member 26 is repeatably movable from its sealed position to its unsealed position, as well as lockingly interengageable with cap/guide member 25 in its two alternate positions. This operational construction is also shown in FIGS. 2-5 and fully detailed below.
By referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first locked position of trigger assembly 24 of the present invention is fully depicted. As evident from FIGS. 2 and 3, when product dispensing trigger assembly 24 is in its first locked position, tapered plug member 63 is sealingly mounted in portal 42 of cap/guide member 25, providing secure, sealed closure of bottle 22. As a result, without requiring specific seal means mounted to portal 33 of bottle 22, product dispensing trigger assembly 24 provides, in its inherent structure, the desired secure sealing of bottle 22 in a manner which assures that the product contained therein is incapable of being dispensed until desired.
In order to assure product dispensing trigger assembly 24 is maintained in this first, sealed and locked position, tapered plug member 63 is constructed for cooperating, locking interengagement with portal 42 of cap/guide member 25. As detailed above, tapered plug member 63 is constructed with a flat plate 70 extending substantially perpendicularly from the axis of shaft 61, with sloping wall member 63 extending from the lower surface of plate 70. In addition, the edge of wall 71 extending from plate 70 is spaced inwardly of the outside diameter of plate 70 in order to form peripherally surrounding radial lip 72.
In order to provide the desired, secure, sealed and locked interengagement of tapered plug member 63 with portal 42, the diameter of plate 70 is constructed to be substantially equivalent to the diameter of channel 41 of cylindrical tube portion 35. In addition, the diameter and slope of wall 71 is constructed for being substantially equivalent to the diameter and slope of wall 43 forming portal 42.
By employing this construction, head or cover member 26 is quickly and easily moved into secure, locked and sealed interengagement with cap/guide member 25 by telescopically raising head or cover member 26 relative to cap/guide member 25 until plate 70 and radial lip 72 of plug member 63 is moved upwardly through portal 42. As the telescopic movement of head or cover member 26 relative to cap/guide member 25 continues, plug member 63 continues to move through portal 42 until radially extending lip 72 is forced passed tapered wall 43 of portal 42 and reaches juncture point 45 and ledge 44 of portal 42.
Once in this position, further upward movement of plug member 63 relative to portal 42 is prevented due to the secure, sealed contacting interengagement of tapered wall 71 of plug member 63 with tapered wall 43 of portal 42. With further upward movement of head or cover member 26 being prevented, the contents of bottle 22 are sealed and completely prevented from being dispensed until desired.
Furthermore, once head or cover member 26 is in this first sealed position, head or cover member 26 is also lockingly engaged with cap/guide member 25 in a manner which prevents unwanted opening of product dispensing trigger assembly 24. This secure, locked interengagement is achieved by the cooperating engagement of radially extending lip 72 of plug member 63 with ledge 44 and juncture point 45.
Since all of these components are constructed for dimensional cooperative interengagement, radially extending lip 72 is in direct contact with ledge 44, thereby resisting vertical movement of plug member 63 relative to cap/guide member 25 until an actuation force is imposed upon head or cover member 26 which is sufficient to overcome the secure, locked, frictional interengagement between plug member 63 and ledge 44. As a result of this construction, product dispensing trigger assembly 24 is maintained in a secure, locked, sealed configuration until the user desires to gain access to the product contained in bottle 22 by imparting an actuation or opening force to head or cover member 26 which is sufficient to disengage plug member 63 from locked engagement with ledge 44 and portal 42.
Whenever the user desires to employ the product contained in bottle 22, the user imparts an actuation force to head or cover member 26 of product dispensing trigger assembly 24 which is sufficient to cause head or cover member 26 to telescopically move relative to cap/guide member 25 in a manner which disengages tapered plug member 63 from portal 42.
Once this actuation force has been imparted to head or cover member 26, head or cover member 26 is moved from its first locked and sealed position, as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, to its opened, product dispensing position, as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when product dispensing trigger assembly 24 has been moved into this second position, portal 42 of cap/guide member 25 is completely opened, enabling the product contained within bottle 22 to be freely dispensed through portal 42 and cooperating flow channel 41 of cap/guide member 25, as well as channel 54 of head or cover member 26.
As detailed above, support plate 56 is constructed with either a plurality of holes formed therein or with a dimension which allows the product contained within bottle 22 to freely flow through or about plate 56. As a result, when portal 42 is opened, by the removal of plug member 63 therefrom, the fluid product in bottle 22 is capable of flowing completely through the interior of trigger assembly 24, for being dispensed in the desired manner.
In order to provide trigger assembly 24 with a locked configuration when in its second, portal open position, the telescopic, axial movement of head or cover member 26 relative to cap/guide member 25, which dislodges plug member 63 from portal 42, also simultaneously advances radially extending flange 36 of tube portion 35 towards support plate 56. As the terminating edge of tube portion 35 advances toward plate 56, radial flange 36 is brought into contact with depending clip means 59 which extends from support plate 56.
In the preferred construction, as radially extending flange 36 of cylindrical tube portion 35 advances into contact with clip means 59 and flange 49 thereof, clip means 59 and flange 49 are deflected as flange 36 advances passed flange 49. Once the terminating edge of cylindrical tube portion 35 is brought into contact with support plate 56, plug member 63 is fully dislodged from engagement with portal 42 and trigger assembly 24 is maintained in its second position in a securely locked mode.
In the preferred embodiment, this locked configuration is attained by the contact between cooperating radial flange 36 of tube portion 35 and radial flange 49 of clip means 58. Since these flanges are constructed to be maintained in locked interengagement, the second position is maintained with portal 42 remaining open until forces are applied to head or cover member 26 sufficient to disengage flange 49 from flange 36 and return trigger assembly 24 to its first sealed and locked position.
As is evident from the foregoing disclosure, the fluid product holding and dispensing system of the present invention achieves a unique construction providing an inexpensive, easily manufactured system which establishes an internally sealed construction capable of being quickly and easily employed. By employing the present invention, any bottle, when filled with the desired product, merely requires the secure attachment of product dispensing trigger assembly 24 thereto, thereby establishing a fully sealed product which can be sterilized, when desired, after any other requisite product preparation procedures are completed. Using the present invention, assurance is provided that the product contained in the bottle is completely sealed, free from adverse and unwanted exposure to ambient surroundings.
In addition, the fluid product holding and dispensing system 20 of the present invention provides a reliable, easily employed, repeatedly usable construction which enables any desired fluid product contained in bottle 22 to be dispensed therefrom whenever desired by the user, while assuring that the product is only dispensed when desired. As detailed above, all of the drawbacks found in prior art constructions have been overcome by this embodiment of the present invention and a unique, easily employed, dependable, resealable, fluid product holding and dispensing system is attained. It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. | By employing two principal integrated components which incorporate a reusable sealing member, a resealable product dispensing trigger assembly is achieved. By mounting these two components to a container within which the desired product is retained, a complete fluid product holding and dispensing system is realized. In the present invention, the fluid product holding and dispensing system is alternately repeatedly movable between two separate and distinct locked positions which assures that the system is retained in either locked position, until change is desired by the user. In one position, the container is sealed, while in the second position, the container is open and the fluid is accessible. By employing the present invention, users are assured that the product retained in the container remains sealed until use is desired and accidental opening of the container is completely eliminated. Furthermore, the product can be partially used and resealed by returning the dispensing system to its first position. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to crimped polyamide staple filament mixtures and yarns therefrom having an excellent overall combination of high bulk, high luster without undesirable sparkle and glitter, and improved resistance to soiling. These yarns are useful as carpet yarns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Yarns produced from synthetic polymers in which the filaments are multilobal in cross-section have been found to offer substantial improvements with respect to bulk, luster, and resistance to soiling. Such yarns are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,939,201; 2,939,202 and 3,691,749. These multilobal cross-section yarns possess a range of the above-mentioned properties which are useful in carpet yarns. For example, some yarns exhibit good bulk characteristics but have poor luster and/or poor soil resistance. Other yarns exhibit good luster but have poor bulk characteristics. Other yarns have too much luster and exhibit a high degree of sparkle which may be undesirable from an aesthetic point of view. A problem of non-uniform appearance in uncrimped continuous filament trilobal textile yarns is discussed and a solution is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,173.
While the prior art was aware of and concerned with bulk, luster and soil resistance, a need existed for a carpet yarn having a unique combination of these properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention resides in providing a crimped polyamide staple filament mixture comprising (a) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 1.6-1.9, and (b) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 2.2-2.5. Also provided is a crimped polyamide staple yarn having high bulk, high luster and improved resistance to soiling, comprising a blend of (a) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 1.6-1.9, and (b) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 2.2-2.5.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-identified trilobal filaments contain less than 1% of a delusterant such as polyethylene oxide.
This invention broadly involves a method for producing a crimped polyamide staple filament mixture by mixing (a) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 1.6-1.9, and (b) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 2.2-2.5. In addition, this invention involves a method for producing crimped polyamide staple yarn, having high bulk, high luster and improved resistance to soiling by a combination of steps including melt-spinning continuous polyamide filaments, drawing the filaments, crimping the filaments, cutting the crimped filaments into staple, and optionally combining with other staple, wherein the improvement resides in blending filaments comprising (a) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 1.6-1.9, and (b) 40-60% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio within the range of 2.2-2.5, said blending being performed during one or more stages in the production of staple yarn.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The single FIGURE of the drawing is a graphic representation of the amount of theoretical bulk and actual bulk exhibited by yarns having various cross-section blends.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The terms modification ratio (MR) and trilobal filaments as used herein are defined in accordance with conventional terminology, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,201.
The MR of each filament type is determined by measuring 10 filaments of the particular filament type and calculating the average. No greater than 10% of the filaments should depart more than 0.15 MR units from the average.
The term mixture as used herein means any combination or association of two or more staple filament types distributed throughout a staple mass, said mass not being a yarn.
The term blend as used herein means any combination or association of two or more staple filament types, randomly distributed throughout a staple yarn.
The unique combination of properties attributable to the yarn of this invention is due to the utilization of the particular filaments of specified trilobal cross-section (MR) and the proportions thereof. More specifically, one required group of filaments must have modification ratios within the range of 1.6-1.9. When filaments are used having modification ratios outside of this range, insufficient luster and soil resistance is produced in the ultimate yarn.
The other group of required trilobal filaments must have modification ratios within the range of 2.2-2.5. The utilization of filaments having modification ratios outside of this range produces too little bulk, or too little luster and soiling resistance.
Another critical requirement of this invention is that each of the two types of filaments in the mixture or blend be present in amounts within the range of 40-60%. The usage of amounts of either group of filaments outside of these specific ranges results in yarn not having the overall combination of desired properties. For example, the use of more than 60% of filaments having modification ratios within the range of 1.6-1.9 results in a yarn having insufficient bulk. At the other extreme, the use of more than 60% filaments having modification ratios within the range of 2.2-2.5 results in yarn having insufficient luster and poor soil resistance. However, it should be understood that minor amounts, i.e., about 5% or less, of other filaments may be present in the mixture or blend. For instance, 1% or less of bicomponent staple filaments having a concentric conductive core as described in Hull, U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,453 may be added to impart antistatic properties to the product. Such filaments have a round exterior (1.0 MR) and in small amounts have no substantial effect on the bulk or luster of the product. Alteratively, Alternatively, 5% of eccentric crimpable bicomponent staple fibers may be added as disclosed in Chamberlain & Botts, U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,387 to give added bulk. Examples of other natural and synthetic filaments includable in the mixture or blend are wool, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, and mixtures thereof.
The filaments of this invention are preferably polyamide, although other crimpable polymeric filaments such as polyester and polypropylene having about the same luster range as polyamide may be employed. Any of the generally well known polyamides may be used, including polyhexamethylene adipamide (66 nylon), polycaproamide (6 nylon) and copolymers thereof. As stated above, these filaments may also be mixed with other natural or synthetic filaments.
Optional amounts of conventional delusterants may also be present in the filaments. In general, from 0-10% by weight of a delusterant may be utilized. For example, up to 1% titanium dioxide may be used. When polyethylene oxide as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,898 is used as delusterant, it is common to use from 2-10%. However, this amount is unnecessary in the present invention. Due to the unique combination of properties produced by utilizing blends of filaments having the specified modification ratios, very small amounts of polyethylene oxide provide the desired effect. Specifically, 0.25%-1% polyethylene oxide may be used in the filaments and still provide the necessary delustering. While polyethylene oxide, e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,898, is preferred, other conventional delusterants such as titanium dioxide, polyethylene, etc. may be used alone or in combination. Particle sizes of these delusterants and method of incorporating them into the filaments are those well known in the art and not critical to this invention.
Another essential feature of this invention is that the filaments be crimped. This can be accomplished by any of the well known methods, for example, by the use of a stuffer crimper such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,311,174. Other types of crimping devices and mechanisms may also be used, such as gear crimping or jet bulking. Crimped filaments are necessary in this invention to provide the required amount of bulk in the yarn. Therefore, it is preferred that at least 6 crimps per inch be present in the individual filaments.
The staple yarn of this invention has its main utility in carpet yarn. Consequently, the denier of the individual trilobal filaments can be within the range of those commonly used for carpets, e.g., 10-20 denier per filament. It is preferred that the two major components be roughly the same denier per filament.
In the process of this invention, the novelty resides in the mixing or blending steps wherein groups of filaments having the specified modification ratios are joined to form the products of this invention. Regarding the production of yarn, the other steps for producing staple yarn are all conventional, well known in the art and not critical in sequence to the successful production of the yarn. Consequently, the steps of melt-spinning continuous polyamide filaments, drawing the filaments, crimping the filaments, cutting the crimped filaments into staple and, optionally, combining with other staple are all well known operations which need no further amplification.
As stated above, mixing or blending is the critical step in the process of this invention. This can be accomplished, for example, within the spinneret, by using alternate spinnerets, or in the formation of tow. These would be referred to as mixing during cospinning. Another way to accomplish the mixing would be to co-draw separate groups of filaments. Additionally, mixing at the staple cutter is acceptable. Alternatively, filaments could be processed through spinning, drawing and cutting as separate entities and then blended together prior to being made into yarn. Card-blending would be very acceptable for this procedure.
The invention will be illustrated by the following Examples. In the Examples and elsewhere in the specification, all parts, percentages and ratios are understood to be by weight unless specified otherwise.
EXAMPLE 1
Polyhexamethylene adipamide was prepared in the conventional manner. The polymer was melt extruded to form trilobal filaments having a relative viscosity of 68 as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,201. Filaments were quenched by passing air transversely across them and combined into a tow. The tow was drawn at a ratio of 3.75 and stuffer box crimped. The crimped tow was subsequently cut into staple having an average length of 7-1/2 inches. Staple A, prepared in this manner, was 18 denier per filament, had an average modification ratio of 1.8 and 12 crimps per inch, and contained 0.52% polyethylene oxide and 0.002% titanium dioxide. Staple B, prepared in this manner, was 18 denier per filament, had an average modification ratio of 2.3 and 13 crimps per inch, and contained 0.52% polyethylene oxide and 0.002% titanium dioxide.
Staple A and Staple B were card-blended into the yarns described below in Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________Staple A Staple B Yarn Bulk SoilYarn (1.8 MR) (2.3 MR) (cc/gm) Luster Resistance______________________________________1 100% -- 4.67 7 3.02 60% 40% 4.98 8 4.43 40% 60% 5.05 9 5.04 20% 80% 5.09 12 5.05 -- 100% 5.11 13 7.7______________________________________
YARN BULK METHOD
Yarn cylinder bulk was measured on skein dyed yarns which were conditioned for 24 hours at 70° F., 65% relative humidity. A 2 gm. weighed yarn specimen, cut into 1/2 inch lengths, is placed in a cylinder. A piston exerting 3.1 psi pressure is inserted into the cylinder. After being compressed for 100 seconds, the yarn volume is measured and the specific volume calculated.
LUSTER RANK
Skein dyed yarns were wound on luster cards and illuminated with incandescent light and ordered from lowest luster (highest number) to highest luster (lowest number).
SOIL RESISTANCE
The soil resistance was measured by placing carpet samples, 7-1/2 inches by 22 inches, in a hallway. A traffic cycle was recorded by an electric counter each time a person walked over the carpet samples. A carpet for removing excess wax and dirt from shoes was placed at each end of the testing area so that a person walking through the area would walk over the carpet before walking over the samples. The positions of the various samples were rotated periodically according to a random table and each sample was turned 180° and cleaned with a commercial vacuum cleaner daily. After 10,000 traffic cycles, the samples were removed from the floor and subjectively ranked for soil resistance by seven people. Ratings were made on a scale from 1 to 10 with a rating of 1 representing best soil resistance, and a rating of 10 representing least soiling resistance.
The drawing represents a plot of bulk versus yarn cross-section (MR) blends utilizing various percentages of Staple A and Staple B. The broken straight line represents the theoretical bulk of yarn prepared from blends of Staple A and Staple B, as the proportions of each Staple were changed from 0 to 100%.
The unexpected synergistic effect caused by the cross-section blends of this invention is exemplified by the curved line between points A and B. It is apparent that the products of this invention afford bulk greater than predicted from the additive relationships of blending Staple A and Staple B (theoretical line). Previously, it was considered that high bulk, high luster and good soil resistance could not be achieved in a single product to this extent.
EXAMPLE 2
Polyhexamethylene adipamide was prepared in the conventional manner. The polymer was melt extruded to form trilobal filaments having a relative viscosity of 68 as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,201. The polymer was extruded from two spinnerets, one which produced filaments having cross-sections of 1.8 MR and the other which produced filaments having crosssections of 2.3 MR. All of the filaments were quenched by passing air transversely across them and combined into a tow. The tow was drawn at a ratio of 3.75 and stuffer box crimped. The crimped tow was subsequently cut into staple (average length of 7-1/2 inches) to form a staple fiber mixture comprising 50% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio of 1.8 and 50% by weight of trilobal filaments having a modification ratio of 2.3. All of the filaments were 18 denier per filament and contained 0.46% polyethylene oxide and 0.003% titanium dioxide.
This crimped polyamide staple fiber mixture was then card-blended into a yarn. The resultant yarn had a bulk of 5.03 cc/gm, and other properties comparable to that of Yarns 2 and 3 of Table I. | Crimped polyamide staple filament mixtures and yarn therefrom having a high bulk, high luster free from objectionable sparkle and glitter, and improved resistance to soiling are produced. The novel yarn is a blend of trilobal polyamide filaments having different cross-sections, i.e., modification ratios, within specified ranges and specified proportions for each cross-sectional type of filament. This yarn has particular utility as carpet yarn. The method for producing the novel yarn comprises blending the above-described mixed cross-section filaments. | 3 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/922,070, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING BLEEDING ARISING FROM LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE,” filed Jun. 19, 2013, which claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/661,350, entitled “NOVEL TECHNOLOGY FOR TREATING HEMORRHAGE FROM LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE,” filed on Jun. 19, 2012, the entire contents and disclosures of each of these applications being hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses and methods for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the left atrial appendage using catheters having inflatable catheter balloons, at the pre-hemorrhage and post-hemorrhage stages.
2. Description of the Related Art
The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a small, conical, ear-shaped muscular pouch projecting from the upper anterior portion of the left atrium of the heart. Thus, the LAA lies within the pericardial cavity, and is an extension of the left atrium. The LAA functions as a decompression chamber during left ventricular systole and during periods when left atrial pressure is high. The LAA is also commonly known as the left auricular appendix, the auricular, or the left auricle. The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs by way of the pulmonary veins, and pumps the oxygenated blood into the left ventricle via the mitral valve.
Over the past 8 to 10 years, the LAA has become the target of several invasive procedures due to the high likelihood of embolic strokes arising from the LAA. During these procedures, bleeding arising from the LAA can occur. Additionally during these procedures, there can be tearing of the LAA. It is also anticipated that in the next few years, the number of invasive procedures involving the LAA is going to rise significantly. Invasive procedures of the heart targeting or involving the LAA is especially expected in patients who have atrial fibrillation (AF) and who may be at an increased risk of stroke arising from the LAA.
Bleeding arising from the LAA into the pericardial cavity is an emergent situation that requires immediate attention to stabilize the patient. If the bleeding is severe, cardiac tamponade can result and there may not be sufficient time to transfer the patient to an operating room for the proper care. Additionally, elderly patients are often not candidates for cardiac surgery due to advanced age and other comorbid issues. Thus, there is a need for novel percutaneous technologies and procedural techniques to treat hemorrhage arising from the LAA without subjecting the patient to cardiac surgery.
Additionally, there may also be a need to prevent bleeding arising from the LAA at the pre-hemorrhage stage, i.e. prior to the actual bleeding especially if the patient is to undergo a procedure involving the LAA, particularly where, as part of the procedure, the LAA may be intentionally pierced or perforated. The novel technology presented in this invention allows a puncture from the LAA onto the pericardial space or vice versa in a controlled setting without the development of hemorrhage into the pericardial cavity.
AF causes rapid randomized contractions of the atrial myocardium, resulting in an irregular and rapid ventricular rate and is currently, the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. It affects more than 3 million patients in the United States, and this number is expected to climb to 16 million by 2050. AF is the most common cause of strokes arising from the heart due a blood clot forming in the heart.
Embolic stroke interrupts blood flow to the brain, thereby causing the affected brain cells to die. When brain cells die, the abilities controlled by the dying brain cells are compromised and eventually lost. In the United States, stroke is the third leading cause of death, killing approximately 160,000 Americans each year. Additionally, stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and there are currently over four million Americans living with the effects of stroke.
AF patients have a five-fold increased risk of an embolic stroke resulting primarily from thromboembolic events. In non-rheumatic AF patients, the stroke-causing thrombus originates almost exclusively from the LAA. Typically, the thrombus formed in the LAA break away from the LAA and accumulates in other blood vessels, thereby blocking blood flow in these blood vessels, and ultimately leading to an embolic stroke. Thus, the occlusion, stapling or ligation of the LAA is believed to be an effective stroke prevention technique. Several existing medical procedures aim to prevent the migration of thrombus from the LAA.
Commonly, rheumatic and non-rheumatic AF patients are administered warfarin, which is a therapeutic drug classified as an anticoagulant that helps prevent thromboembolism. An anticoagulant drug is a drug that suppresses, delays, or nullifies blood coagulation. Warfarin has the chemical name, 4-hydroxy-3-oxo-1-phenylbutyl-2H-benzopyran-2-one, and molecular formula, C 19 H 16 O 4 . However, a major drawback of warfarin is the difficulty of maintaining its therapeutic range, and thus, warfarin-administered patients require frequent monitoring and dose adjustments.
Alternatively, in patients intolerant of warfarin, occlusion of the LAA is believed to decrease the risk of an embolic stroke in non-valvular AF patients. Occlusion of the LAA is an obstruction or a closure of the LAA. By occluding the LAA, the thrombus formed in the LAA are unable to migrate to other blood vessels, thereby reducing the risks of thromboembolism and embolic stroke. Hence, the occlusion of the LAA is believed to be an effective stroke prevention strategy in non-valvular AF patients. Indeed, this concept of occluding the LAA as a stroke prevention strategy is being increasingly tested with implantable medical devices that occlude the LAA.
For example, the WATCHMAN device developed by Atritech Inc. (Plymouth, Minn.) is an implantable medical device designed to occlude the LAA in non-valvular AF patients. In particular, the WATCHMAN device is placed distal to the ostium of the LAA, thereby occluding the LAA. The occlusion of the LAA prevents the migration of the thrombus formed in the LAA, thereby reducing the risks of thromboembolism and embolic stroke. In the WATCHMAN device's clinical trial, PROTECT-AF trial, the results showed that in AF patients who were candidates for warfarin therapy, the closure of the LAA using the WATCHMAN device was associated with a reduction in hemorrhagic stroke risk as compared to warfarin therapy. Additionally, these results showed that all-cause stroke and all-cause mortality outcomes were non-inferior to warfarin.
However, a major drawback of the WATCHMAN device is the fixation of barbs or wires engaged in the walls of the LAA, thereby causing adverse events. As shown in the PROTECT-AF trial, a major adverse event is pericardial effusion, which is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity, which can negatively affect heart function. Another adverse event is the tearing of the walls of the LAA by the barb wires, thereby necessitating emergent surgery. The tearing of the LAA may lead to bleeding, which is an emergent situation that requires quick, decisive action to stop the bleeding and stabilize the patient.
Ligation of the LAA is yet another stroke prevention technique for patients intolerant of warfarin. In particular, the LAA is ligated with a suture using a percutaneous epicardial approach, resulting in a complete closure of the LAA. However, like the WATCHMAN device, a major drawback of this approach is the risks of bleeding and tears in the LAA.
Tears and bleeding arising from the LAA is particularly concerning for elderly patients because due to their advanced age, the walls of their LAA are fragile. As a result, elderly patients are more susceptible to tears and bleeding. Additionally, elderly patients are not candidates for cardiac surgery due to their advanced age and other significant comorbid issues.
In light of the foregoing, there is a compelling need for novel technologies and procedural techniques for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA, at the pre-hemorrhage and post-hemorrhage stages, without subjecting the patient to cardiac surgery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs with apparatuses and methods for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA, at the pre-hemorrhage and post-hemorrhage stages, using catheters comprising of inflatable catheter balloons.
In an exemplary embodiment, a method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA comprises the steps of introducing a catheter into a body cavity, advancing a guide wire tip and a catheter sheath of the catheter to and through an ostium of the LAA, and into a cavity of the LAA, inflating a first inflatable catheter balloon having a first set of electromagnetic coils, wherein upon inflation of the first catheter balloon, the first set of electromagnetic coils also expand, performing a tug test on the inflated first catheter balloon to occlude the LAA ostium, inflating a second inflatable catheter balloon, and inflating a third inflatable catheter balloon having a second set of electromagnetic coils, and wherein upon inflation of the third catheter balloon, the second set of electromagnetic coils also expand. Alternatively, the third inflatable catheter balloon can be inflated before the second inflatable catheter balloon. The method further comprising the step of puncturing the LAA cavity, wherein the puncturing is in a direction from within the LAA cavity and into a pericardial cavity. The method, wherein the body cavity is a femoral vein, a jugular vein, an axillary vein, a subclavian vein, or an apex of a left ventricle.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA comprises the steps of introducing a catheter into a body cavity, advancing a guide wire tip and an inner catheter sheath of the catheter to and through an ostium of the LAA, and into a cavity of the LAA, inflating a first inflatable catheter balloon, pulling the inflated first catheter balloon, from the LAA cavity and towards the LAA ostium, to occlude the LAA ostium, advancing an outer catheter sheath of the catheter towards the guide wire tip, inflating a second inflatable catheter balloon, and pushing the inflated second catheter balloon, from the left atrium and towards the LAA ostium, to occlude the LAA ostium. The method further comprises the step of deploying means for locking in place the inflated first catheter balloon and the inflated second catheter balloon. The method further comprising the step of puncturing the LAA cavity, wherein the puncturing is in a direction from within the LAA cavity and into a pericardial cavity. The method, wherein the body cavity is a femoral vein, a jugular vein, an axillary vein, a subclavian vein, or an apex of a left ventricle.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA comprises the steps of introducing a catheter into a cavity of the LAA, advancing a guide wire tip of the catheter to and through an ostium of the LAA, and into a left atrium, advancing a catheter sheath of the catheter towards the guide wire tip, inflating a first inflatable catheter balloon having a first set of electromagnetic coils, and wherein upon inflation of the first catheter balloon, the first set of electromagnetic coils also expand, pulling the inflated first catheter balloon from the left atrium and towards the LAA ostium, and inflating a second inflatable catheter balloon having a second set of electromagnetic coils.
In another exemplary embodiment, a method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA comprises the steps of introducing a catheter into a cavity of the LAA, advancing a guide wire tip of the catheter to and through an ostium of the LAA, and into a left atrium, advancing a catheter sheath of the catheter towards the guide wire tip, inflating a first inflatable endocardial catheter balloon having a first set of electromagnetic coils, and wherein upon inflation of the first endocardial catheter balloon, the first set of electromagnetic coils also expand, pulling the inflated first endocardial catheter balloon from the left atrium and towards the LAA ostium, deploying a constricting circumferential inflatable epicardial catheter balloon, having a second set of electromagnetic coils, around a circumference of the LAA ostium epicardially, inflating the epicardial catheter balloon, wherein upon inflation of the epicardial catheter balloon, the second set of electromagnetic coils also expand, and inflating a second inflatable endocardial catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath. Alternatively, the second inflatable endocardial catheter balloon comprises a third set of electromagnetic coils, wherein upon inflation of the second endocardial catheter balloon, the third set of electromagnetic coils also expand.
The contents of this summary section are provided only as a simplified introduction to the invention, and are not intended to be used to limit the scope of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the present invention will be or will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional apparatuses, systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the appended claims. Component parts shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and may be exaggerated to better illustrate the important features of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the different views, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 100 as shown in FIGS. 1, and 6-8 .
FIG. 6 is a first perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 7 is a second perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 8 is a third perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 200 as shown in FIGS. 3, and 10-12 .
FIG. 10 is a first perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 11 is a second perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 12 is a third perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheters 400 and 1800 as shown in FIGS. 4, 10, 14, and 18A-18B .
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 18A-18B when apparatus 400 is deployed into the LAA in the endocardial layer, and when apparatus 1800 is deployed around the LAA in the epicardial layer.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 200 as shown in FIGS. 2, 16, and 17 .
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the locking means in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 18A is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 18B is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18B when deployed around the LAA ostium.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. FIG. 1 shows a stand-alone catheter 100 before it is introduced into a body cavity. Hence, FIG. 1 shows inflatable catheter balloons 102 , 103 , and 104 in their un-inflated form. Inflatable catheter balloons 102 , 103 , and 104 are affixed to catheter sheath 101 . Depending on the desired degree of compliance, inflatable catheter balloons 102 , 103 , and 104 can be made of rubber, latex, polyisoprene, silicone, polyurethane, or any combination thereof. Rubber, latex, polyisoprene, and silicone produce more compliant inflatable catheter balloons. Polyurethane produces less compliant inflatable catheter balloons. A mixture of silicone and polyurethane produces half-way compliant inflatable catheter balloons. In this exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 , inflatable catheter balloon 102 is more compliant because when inflated, its shape assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 8 . On the other hand, a semi-compliant or a non-compliant inflatable catheter balloon will likely deform and expand the wall of the LAA. It is contemplated that inflatable catheter balloons 102 , 103 , and 104 can be compliant, semi-compliant, or non-compliant, or any combination of the foregoing. Additionally, it is contemplated that catheter 100 can be made up of only one inflatable catheter balloon, two inflatable catheter balloons, or more than three inflatable catheter balloons.
Inflatable catheter balloon 102 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath openings 105 a , 105 b , and 105 c . Inflatable catheter balloon 103 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath openings 106 a , 106 b , and 106 c . Inflatable catheter balloon 104 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath opening 107 . It is contemplated that the number of catheter sheath openings can vary. For example, inflatable catheter balloon 102 can be inflated via inflation port 111 through only one catheter sheath opening, or through more than three catheter sheath openings. Inflation port 111 provides the portal for the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, by, for example, a balloon catheter inflation device.
When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 102 has a larger area than that of inflatable catheter balloon 103 , as shown in FIG. 8 . When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 103 has a larger area than inflatable catheter balloon 104 , as shown in FIG. 8 . When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 104 has a larger diameter than that of the LAA ostium, and those of inflatable catheter balloons 102 and 103 , as shown in FIG. 8 . Thus, when inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 104 has a larger circumference than that of the LAA ostium, and those of inflatable catheter balloons 102 and 103 , as shown in FIG. 8 .
Electromagnetic coils 113 are located within the proximal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 103 . Electromagnetic coils 114 are located within the distal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 104 . When inflatable catheter balloons 103 and 104 are inflated, electromagnetic coils 113 and 114 also expand, as shown in FIG. 8 . Electromagnetic coils 113 and 114 are insulated wires coiled together to form a solenoid, and thus, can be made out of copper or any other metallic wire capable of conducting electricity.
Guide wire tip 109 is a J-hooked, soft-tipped guide wire. Guide wire tip 109 is the first component of catheter 100 introduced into the body cavity. Guide wire tip 109 guides catheter 100 to the desired location.
As duly noted by elongation identifier 110 , the length of guide wire 115 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 109 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient. Similarly, as duly noted by elongation identifier 110 , the length of catheter sheath 101 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 109 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient.
Radiopaque marker bands 108 a , 108 b , 108 c , and 108 d are thin metal tubes affixed along catheter sheath 101 to provide spatial guidance under an X-ray fluoroscope. Radiopaque marker band 108 a marks the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 102 . Radiopaque marker band 108 b marks the intersection of the proximal end of inflatable catheter balloon 102 and the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 103 . Radiopaque marker band 108 c marks the intersection of the proximal end of inflatable catheter balloon 103 and the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 104 , and when catheter 100 is introduced into the body cavity, radiopaque marker band 108 c marks the mid-point of the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 8 . Radiopaque marker band 108 d marks the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 104 .
Control port 112 provides the portal for connection to catheter handling devices designed to control and navigate guide wire tip 109 and guide wire 115 to the desired location. Control port 112 also provides the portal for the insertion of additional guide wire for guide wire 115 .
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. FIG. 2 shows a stand-alone catheter 200 before it is introduced into a body cavity. Hence, FIG. 2 shows inflatable catheter balloons 202 and 204 in their un-inflated form. Inflatable catheter balloon 202 is affixed to inner catheter sheath 201 . Inflatable catheter balloon 204 is affixed to outer catheter sheath 203 . As previously articulated, depending on the desired degree of compliance, inflatable catheter balloons 202 and 204 can be made of rubber, latex, polyisoprene, silicone, polyurethane, or any combination thereof. In this exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 , inflatable catheter balloon 202 is more compliant because when inflated, its shape assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 16 . On the other hand, a semi-compliant or a non-compliant inflatable catheter balloon will likely deform and expand the wall of the LAA. It is contemplated that inflatable catheter balloons 202 and 204 can be compliant, semi-compliant, or non-compliant, or any combination of the foregoing. Additionally, it is contemplated that catheter 200 can be made up of only one inflatable catheter balloon, or more than two inflatable catheter balloons. For example, an additional inflatable catheter balloon, distal to inflatable catheter balloon 202 and radiopaque marker band 207 a on inner catheter sheath 201 , can be affixed to inner catheter sheath 201 .
Inflatable catheter balloon 202 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 212 through catheter sheath openings 205 a , 205 b , and 205 c . Similarly, inflatable catheter balloon 204 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 212 through catheter sheath openings 206 a and 206 b . It is contemplated that the number of catheter sheath openings can vary. For example, inflatable catheter balloon 202 can be inflated via inflation port 212 through only one catheter sheath opening, or through more than three catheter sheath openings. Inflation port 212 provides the portal for the input of air by, or a liquid material that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, by, for example, a balloon catheter inflation device.
When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 204 has a larger diameter than that of the LAA ostium, and that of inflatable catheter balloon 202 , as shown in FIG. 16 . Thus, when inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 204 has a larger circumference than that of the LAA ostium, and that of inflatable catheter balloon 202 , as shown in FIG. 16 .
Guide wire tip 208 is a J-hooked, soft-tipped guide wire. Guide wire tip 208 is the first component of catheter 200 introduced into the body cavity. Guide wire tip 208 guides catheter 200 to the desired location.
As duly noted by elongation identifier 211 , the length of guide wire 214 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 208 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient. Similarly, as duly noted by elongation identifier 211 , the length of inner catheter sheath 201 and outer catheter sheath 203 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 208 is introduced into the body, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient.
Radiopaque marker bands 207 a and 207 b are thin metal tubes placed along inner catheter sheath 201 to provide spatial guidance under an X-ray fluoroscope. Radiopaque marker band 207 a marks the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 202 . Radiopaque marker band 207 b marks the intersection of the proximal end of inflatable catheter balloon 202 and the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 204 , and when catheter 200 is introduced into the body cavity, radiopaque marker band 207 b marks the mid-point of the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 16 .
After inflatable catheter balloons 202 and 204 are inflated, locking means 209 is deployed, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 . Locking means 209 is shown in FIG. 17 . Locking means 209 is a spring-loaded device housed in inner catheter sheath 202 that upon deployment, it would bulge out through the corresponding slots in outer catheter sheath 203 , thereby locking in place inflatable catheter balloons 202 and 204 .
Control port 213 provides the portal for connection to catheter handling devices designed to control and navigate guide wire tip 208 and guide wire 214 to the desired location. Control port 213 also provides the portal for the insertion of additional guide wire for guide wire 214 .
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. FIG. 3 shows a stand-alone catheter 300 before it is introduced into a body cavity. Hence, FIG. 3 shows inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 in their un-inflated form. Inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 are affixed to catheter sheath 301 . As previously articulated, depending on the desired degree of compliance, inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 can be made of rubber, latex, polyisoprene, silicone, polyurethane, or any combination thereof. In this exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 , inflatable catheter balloon 303 is more compliant because when inflated, its shape assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 12 . On the other hand, a semi-compliant or a non-compliant catheter balloon will likely deform and expand the wall of the LAA. It is contemplated that inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 can be compliant, semi-compliant, or non-compliant, or any combination of the foregoing. Additionally, it is contemplated that catheter 300 can be made up of only one inflatable catheter balloon, or more than two inflatable catheter balloons. For example, an additional inflatable catheter balloon, distal to inflatable catheter balloon 303 on catheter sheath 301 , can be affixed to catheter sheath 301 .
Inflatable catheter balloon 302 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 309 through catheter sheath openings 304 a , 304 b , and 304 c . Similarly, inflatable catheter balloon 303 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, from inflation port 309 via catheter sheath openings 305 a , 305 b , and 305 c . It is contemplated that the number of catheter sheath openings can vary. For example, inflatable catheter balloon 302 can be inflated via inflation port 309 through only one catheter sheath opening, or through more than three catheter sheath openings. Inflation port 309 provides the portal for the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, by, for example, a balloon catheter inflation device.
Electromagnetic coils 311 are located within the proximal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 302 . Electromagnetic coils 312 are located within the distal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 303 . When inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 are inflated, electromagnetic coils 311 and 312 also expand, as shown in FIG. 12 . Electromagnetic coils 311 and 312 are insulated wires coiled together to form a solenoid, and thus, can be made out of copper or any other metallic wire capable of conducting electricity.
Guide wire tip 307 is a J-hooked, soft-tipped guide wire. Guide wire tip 307 is the first component of catheter 300 introduced into the body cavity. Guide wire tip 307 guides catheter 300 to the desired location.
As duly noted by elongation identifier 308 , the length of guide wire 313 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 307 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient. Similarly, as duly noted by elongation identifier 308 , the length of catheter sheath 301 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 307 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient.
Radiopaque marker band 306 is a thin metal tube placed along catheter sheath 301 to provide spatial guidance under an X-ray fluoroscope. Radiopaque marker band 306 marks the intersection of the proximal end of inflatable catheter balloon 302 and the distal end of inflatable catheter balloon 303 .
Control port 310 provides the portal for connection to catheter handling devices designed to control and navigate guide wire tip 307 and guide wire 313 to the desired location. Control port 310 also provides the portal for the insertion of additional guide wire for guide wire 313 .
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. FIG. 4 shows a stand-alone catheter 400 before it is introduced into a body cavity. Hence, FIG. 4 shows inflatable endocardial catheter balloons 402 and 403 in their un-inflated form. Inflatable endocardial catheter balloons 402 and 403 are affixed to catheter sheath 401 . Depending on the desired degree of compliance, inflatable endocardial catheter balloons 402 and 403 can be made of rubber, latex, polyisoprene, silicone, polyurethane, or any combination thereof. Rubber, latex, polyisoprene, and silicone produce more compliant inflatable catheter balloons. Polyurethane produces less compliant inflatable catheter balloons. A mixture of silicone and polyurethane produces half-way compliant inflatable catheter balloons. In this exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4 , inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 is more compliant because when inflated, its shape assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 14 . On the other hand, a semi-compliant or a non-compliant catheter balloon will likely deform and expand the wall of the LAA. It is contemplated that inflatable endocardial catheter balloons 402 and 403 can be compliant, semi-compliant, or non-compliant, or any combination of the foregoing. Additionally, it is contemplated that catheter 400 can be made up of more than two inflatable endocardial catheter balloons. For example, an additional inflatable endocardial catheter balloon, distal to inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 on catheter sheath 401 , can be affixed to catheter sheath 401 .
Inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 409 through catheter sheath openings 404 a , 404 b , and 404 c . Similarly, inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 is inflated with the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 409 through catheter sheath openings 405 a , 405 b , and 405 c . It is contemplated that the number of catheter sheath openings can vary. For example, inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 can be inflated via inflation port 409 through only one catheter sheath opening, or through more than three catheter sheath openings. Inflation port 409 provides the portal for the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, by, for example, a balloon catheter inflation device.
When inflated, the distal portions of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 has a larger diameter than that of the LAA ostium, and that of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 , as shown in FIG. 14 . Thus, when inflated, the distal portions of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 has a larger circumference than that of the LAA ostium, and that of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 , as shown in FIG. 14 .
Electromagnetic coils 411 are located within the proximal portions of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 . When inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 411 also expand, as shown in FIG. 11 . Electromagnetic coils 411 are insulated wires coiled together to form a solenoid, and thus, can be made out of copper or any other metallic wire capable of conducting electricity.
Guide wire tip 406 is a J-hooked, soft-tipped guide wire. Guide wire tip 406 is the first component of catheter 400 introduced into the body cavity. Guide wire tip 406 guides catheter 400 to the desired location.
As duly noted by elongation identifier 408 , the length of guide wire 412 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 406 is introduced into the body cavity, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient. Similarly, as duly noted by elongation identifier 408 , the length of catheter sheath 401 can vary depending on where guide wire tip 406 is introduced into the body, and the body cavity dimensions of the particular patient.
Radiopaque marker band 407 is a thin metal tube placed along catheter sheath 401 to provide spatial guidance under an X-ray fluoroscope. Radiopaque marker band 407 marks the intersection of the proximal end of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 and the distal end of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 , as shown in FIG. 14 .
Control port 410 provides the portal for connection to catheter handling devices designed to control and navigate guide wire tip 406 and guide wire 412 to the desired location. Control port 410 also provides the portal for the insertion of additional guide wire for guide wire 412 .
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 100 as shown in FIGS. 1, and 6-8 . At step 501 , catheter 100 is introduced into a body cavity. For example, catheter 100 can be introduced into a body cavity via a puncture and an insertion of guide wire tip 109 into the body. Catheter 100 can be introduced into different body cavities, such as via a femoral vein, a jugular vein, an axillary vein, or a subclavian vein. Alternatively, catheter 100 can be introduced directly into the chambers of the heart via introduction at the apex of the left ventricle.
At step 502 , guide wire tip 109 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the LAA cavity. For example, if guide wire tip 109 was introduced into the body cavity via the femoral vein, then guide wire tip 109 can be advanced transseptally to and through the LAA ostium, and into the LAA cavity using an endovascular approach.
At step 503 , catheter sheath 101 is advanced towards the direction of guide wire tip 109 . For example, if guide wire tip 109 was introduced into the body cavity via the femoral vein, then catheter sheath 101 can be advanced transseptally to and through the LAA ostium, and into the LAA cavity using an endovascular approach. As shown in FIGS. 6-8 , catheter sheath 101 is advanced until it is close to, but prior to, guide wire tip 109 . By way of example, as shown in FIGS. 6-8 , catheter sheath 101 is advanced until inflatable catheter balloon 103 advances through the LAA ostium and slightly into the LAA cavity. Radiopaque marker band 108 c can provide guidance as to when inflatable catheter balloon 103 advances through the LAA ostium and slightly into the LAA cavity.
At step 504 , inflatable catheter balloon 103 having electromagnetic coils 113 is inflated distal to the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 6 . Inflatable catheter balloon 103 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath openings 106 a , 106 b , and 106 c . When inflated, the shape of inflatable catheter balloon 103 assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity. By assuming the contours of its surroundings, inflatable catheter balloon 103 occludes the LAA ostium as well as the potential sites for tear or perforation in the LAA cavity, thereby treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. Also, when inflatable catheter balloon 103 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 113 located within the proximal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 103 also expand. Thus, when expanded, electromagnetic coils 113 are located immediately distal to the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 6 .
At step 505 , a tug test is performed to ensure that inflatable catheter balloon 103 firmly occludes the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 6 . A “tug test” is a term of art known to one skilled in the art. In this embodiment, the tug test is the pulling back of inflatable catheter balloon 103 , from the LAA cavity and towards the LAA ostium, in a manner that firmly occludes the LAA ostium.
At step 506 , inflatable catheter balloon 102 is inflated distal to inflatable catheter balloon 103 , as shown in FIG. 7 . Inflatable catheter balloon 102 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath openings 105 a , 105 b , and 105 c . When inflated, the shape of inflatable catheter balloon 102 assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 7 . By assuming the contours of its surroundings, inflatable catheter balloon 102 occludes the potential sites for tear or perforation in the LAA cavity, thereby treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
At step 507 , inflatable catheter balloon 104 having electromagnetic coils 114 is inflated proximal to the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 8 . Inflatable catheter balloon 104 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 111 through catheter sheath opening 107 . When inflatable catheter balloon 104 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 114 located within the distal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 104 also expand. Thus, when expanded, electromagnetic coils 114 are located immediately proximal to the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 8 . Thus, by way of electromagnetic forces via the interaction of electromagnetic coils 113 and 114 , inflatable catheter balloons 103 and 104 are attracted towards and adhere to each other, thereby causing these balloons to firmly occlude the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 8 . When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 104 has a diameter larger than that of the LAA ostium, and larger than that of inflatable catheter balloon 103 . Thus, when inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 104 has a circumference larger than that of the LAA ostium, and larger than that of inflatable catheter balloon 103 . This ensures that the LAA ostium is firmly occluded, as shown in FIG. 8 . By finning occluding the LAA ostium, any bleeding arising from the LAA is treated and prevented.
Finally, at step 508 , the LAA cavity is punctured in a direction from within the LAA cavity and into the pericardial cavity so that there is no risk of bleeding into the pericardial space. In particular, a tip of the LAA cavity can be punctured using catheter sheath 101 .
FIGS. 6-8 are perspective views of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 300 as shown in FIGS. 3, and 10-12 . At step 901 , catheter 300 is introduced into a body cavity via the LAA cavity. For example, guide wire tip 307 is introduced into the body cavity via a puncture and an insertion at the tip of the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 10 . As shown in FIG. 10 , a tissue grasper with soft jaws of varying width is used to hold the LAA stationary while the tip of the LAA cavity is punctured with, for example, a hollow needle. This tissue grasper also serves to maintain hemostasis. Next, the guide wire tip 307 is introduced into the body cavity via a punctured location at the tip of the LAA, and into the LAA cavity.
At step 902 , guide wire tip 307 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the left atrium, as shown in FIG. 10 .
At step 903 , catheter sheath 301 is advanced towards the direction of guide wire tip 307 , as shown in FIG. 11 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11 , catheter sheath 301 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the left atrium. As shown in FIG. 11 , catheter sheath 301 is advanced until it is close to, but prior to, guide wire tip 307 .
At step 904 , inflatable catheter balloon 302 having electromagnetic coils 311 is inflated at the tip of catheter sheath 301 , as shown in FIG. 11 . Inflatable catheter balloon 302 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 309 through catheter sheath openings 304 a , 304 b , and 304 c . When inflatable catheter balloon 302 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 311 located within the proximal portions also expand, as shown in FIG. 11 .
At step 905 , the inflated catheter balloon 302 is pulled back, from the left atrium towards the LAA ostium, to occlude the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 11 .
Finally, at step 906 , inflatable catheter balloon 303 having electromagnetic coils 312 is inflated near the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 12 . Inflatable catheter balloon 303 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 309 through catheter sheath openings 305 a , 305 b , and 305 c . When inflated, the shape of inflatable catheter balloon 303 assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 12 . By assuming the contours of its surroundings, inflatable catheter balloon 303 occludes the potential sites for tear or perforation in the LAA cavity, thereby treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. When inflatable catheter balloon 303 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 312 located within the distal portions of inflatable catheter balloon 303 also expand, as shown in FIG. 12 . By way of electromagnetic forces via the interaction of electromagnetic coils 311 and 312 , inflatable catheter balloons 302 and 303 are attracted towards and adhere to each other, thereby causing these balloons to firmly occlude the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 12 . By firming occluding the LAA ostium, any bleeding arising from the LAA is treated and prevented.
FIGS. 10-12 are perspective views of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 when deployed into the LAA.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheters 400 and 1800 as shown in FIGS. 4, 10, 14, and 18A-18B . At step 1301 , catheter 400 is introduced into a body cavity via the LAA cavity. For example, guide wire tip 406 can be introduced into the body cavity via a puncture and an insertion at the tip of the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 10 . As shown in FIG. 10 , a tissue grasper with soft jaws of varying width is used to hold the LAA stationary while the tip of the LAA cavity is punctured with, for example, a hollow needle. This tissue grasper also serves to maintain hemostasis. Next, guide wire tip 406 is introduced into the body cavity via a punctured location at the tip of the LAA, and into the LAA cavity.
At step 1302 , guide wire tip 406 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the left atrium, as previously shown in FIG. 10 .
At step 1303 , catheter sheath 401 is advanced towards the direction of guide wire tip 406 . Accordingly, catheter sheath 401 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the left atrium. Catheter sheath 401 is advanced until it is close to, but prior to, guide wire tip 406 .
At step 1304 , inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 having electromagnetic coils 411 is inflated at the tip of catheter sheath 401 . Inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 409 through catheter sheath openings 404 a , 404 b , and 404 c . When inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 411 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 411 located within the distal portions of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 also expand, as shown in FIG. 14 .
At step 1305 , inflated endocardial catheter balloon 402 is pulled back from the left atrium towards the LAA ostium, and slightly into the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 14 . As shown in FIG. 14 , when pulled back, electromagnetic coils 411 , located within the proximal portions of inflated endocardial catheter balloon 402 , align near the mid-point of the LAA ostium. Also, as shown in FIG. 14 , in inflated endocardial catheter balloon 402 , the end facing the left atrium has a larger diameter than that of the end facing the LAA cavity. Thus, as shown in FIG. 14 , in inflated endocardial catheter balloon 402 , the end facing the left atrium has a larger circumference than that of the end facing the LAA cavity.
At step 1306 , constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 having electromagnetic coils 1802 is deployed around the circumference of the LAA ostium in the epicardium layer of the heart, as shown in FIG. 18B . This deployment can be performed manually by a physician.
At step 1307 , constricting circumferential inflatable epicardial catheter balloon 1801 is inflated. Inflatable epicardial catheter balloon 1801 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 1805 through catheter sheath openings 1803 a - 1803 h . When inflated, electromagnetic coils 1802 located within constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1802 also expand, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 18B . By way of electromagnetic forces via the interaction of electromagnetic coils 411 and 1802 , inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 402 and inflatable epicardial catheter balloon 1802 are attracted towards each other, thereby forming a tight hemostatic seal, as shown in FIG. 14 . This tight hemostatic seal helps treat and prevent bleeding arising from the LAA.
Finally, at step 1308 , inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 is inflated in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 14 . Inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 409 through catheter sheath openings 405 a , 405 b , and 405 c . When inflated, the shape of inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity, as shown in FIG. 14 . By assuming the contours of its surroundings, inflatable endocardial catheter balloon 403 occludes the potential sites for tear or perforation in the LAA cavity, thereby treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 18A-18B when apparatus 400 is deployed into the LAA in the endocardial layer, and when apparatus 1800 is deployed around the LAA in the epicardial layer.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the present invention's method for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA utilizing catheter 200 as shown in FIGS. 2, 16, and 17 . At step 1501 , catheter 100 is introduced into a body cavity. For example, catheter 200 can be introduced into a body cavity via a puncture and an insertion of guide wire tip 208 into the body. Catheter 200 can be introduced into different body cavities, such as via a femoral vein, a jugular vein, an axillary vein, or a subclavian vein. Alternatively, catheter 200 can be introduced directly into the chambers of the heart via introduction at the apex of the left ventricle.
At step 1502 , guide wire tip 208 is advanced to and through the LAA ostium, and into the LAA cavity. For example, if guide wire tip 208 was introduced into the body cavity via the femoral vein, then guide wire tip 208 can be advanced transseptally to and through the LAA ostium, and into the LAA cavity using an endovascular approach.
At step 1503 , inner catheter sheath 201 is advanced towards the direction of guide wire tip 208 . As shown in FIG. 16 , inner catheter sheath 201 is advanced until it is close to, but prior to, guide wire tip 208 . For example, if guide wire tip 208 was introduced into the body cavity via the femoral vein, then inner catheter sheath 201 can be advanced until it is close to, but prior to, guide wire tip 208 .
At step 1504 , inflatable catheter balloon 202 is inflated distal to the LAA ostium, as shown in FIG. 16 . Inflatable catheter balloon 202 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 212 through catheter sheath openings 205 a , 205 b , 205 c.
At step 1505 , inflated catheter balloon 202 is pulled, from the LAA cavity and towards the LAA ostium, to occlude the LAA ostium. Also, the shape of inflated catheter balloon 202 assumes the contours of its surroundings in the LAA cavity. By assuming the contours of its surroundings, inflatable catheter balloon 202 occludes the potential sites for tear or perforation in the LAA cavity, thereby treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA.
At step 1506 , outer catheter sheath 203 is advanced towards the direction of guide wire tip 208 . However, as shown in FIG. 16 , outer catheter sheath 203 is advanced until it reaches the left atrium and prior to the LA ostium. For example, if guide wire tip 208 was introduced into the body cavity via the femoral vein, then out catheter sheath 203 can be advanced until it reaches the left atrium and prior to the LA ostium.
At step 1507 , inflatable catheter balloon 204 is inflated while it is in the left atrium. Inflatable catheter balloon 204 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 212 through catheter sheath openings 206 a and 206 b.
At step 1508 , inflated catheter balloon 204 is from the left atrium and towards the LAA ostium. When inflated, inflatable catheter balloon 204 has a diameter larger than that of the LAA ostium, and larger than that of inflatable catheter balloon 202 , as shown in FIG. 16 . Thus, when inflated, catheter balloon 204 has a circumference larger than that of the LAA ostium, and larger than that of inflatable catheter balloon 202 . This ensures that the LAA ostium is firmly occluded, as shown in FIG. 16 . By firming occluding the LAA ostium, any bleeding arising from the LAA is treated and prevented.
At step 1509 , locking means 209 is deployed to render inflated catheter balloons 202 and 204 stationary. Locking means 209 is a spring-loaded device housed in inner catheter sheath 202 that upon deployment, it would bulge out through the corresponding slots in outer catheter sheath 203 , thereby locking in place inflated catheter balloons 202 and 204 .
Finally, at step 1510 , the LAA cavity is punctured in a direction from within the LAA cavity and into the pericardial cavity so that there is no risk of bleeding into the pericardial space. In particular, a tip of the LAA cavity can be punctured using inner catheter sheath 202 .
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 when deployed into the LAA. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the locking means in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 18A is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention's apparatus for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA. FIG. 18B is a perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18B when deployed around the LAA ostium. FIG. 18A shows a stand-alone catheter 1800 before it is introduced into a body cavity. Hence, FIG. 18A shows constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 in its un-inflated form. Constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 is affixed to catheter sheath 1804 . As previously articulated, depending on the desired degree of compliance, constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 can be made of rubber, latex, polyisoprene, silicone, polyurethane, or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 can be compliant, semi-compliant, or non-compliant. Additionally, it is contemplated that catheter 1800 can be made up of more than one constricting circumferential epicardial balloon.
Constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 is inflated by the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, via inflation port 1805 through catheter sheath openings 1803 a - 1803 h . It is contemplated that the number of catheter sheath openings can vary. For example, constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 can be inflated via inflation port 1805 through only one catheter sheath opening, or through more than eight catheter sheath openings. Inflation port 1805 provides the portal for the input of air, or a liquid that is mixed with radiopaque contrast, by, for example, a balloon catheter inflation device.
Electromagnetic coils 1802 are located within constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 . When constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 is inflated, electromagnetic coils 1802 also expand, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 18B . Electromagnetic coils 1802 are insulated wires coiled together to form a solenoid, and thus, can be made out of copper or any other metallic wire capable of conducting electricity.
As duly noted by elongation identifier 1806 , the length of catheter sheath 1804 can vary depending on the circumference of the particular patient's LAA ostium. Similarly, the length of constricting circumferential epicardial balloon 1801 can also vary depending on the circumference of the particular patient's LAA ostium.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in an illustrative style. Accordingly, the terminology employed throughout should be read in a non-limiting manner. Although minor modifications to the teachings herein will occur to those well versed in the art, it shall be understood that what is intended to be circumscribed within the scope of the patent warranted hereon are all such embodiments that reasonably fall within the scope of the advancement to the art hereby contributed, and that that scope shall not be restricted, except in light of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Additional Disclosures
The following disclosures provide a summary of the invention's various apparatuses used with the appended claims. In an exemplary embodiment, a catheter for treating and preventing bleeding arising from a LAA comprises a guide wire with a guide wire tip, a catheter sheath, a first inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the first catheter balloon is proximal to the guide wire tip, a second inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the second catheter balloon is proximal to the first catheter balloon, a first set of electromagnetic coils located within the second catheter balloon, a third inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the third catheter balloon is proximal to the second catheter balloon, a second set of electromagnetic coils located within the third catheter balloon, a plurality of catheter sheath openings on the catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by one of the catheter balloons, and wherein each of the catheter balloons encloses at least one catheter sheath opening, an inflation port, and a control port. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker band affixed to the catheter sheath. The catheter wherein the first catheter balloon is more compliant than the second catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon is more compliant the third catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the third catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of an ostium of the LAA. The catheter wherein the third catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of the second catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of the first catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the first set of electromagnetic coils is located within a proximal end of the second catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the second set of electromagnetic coils is located within a distal end of the third catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the guide wire tip is J-hooked. Furthermore, the catheter sheath can be used for puncturing the LAA cavity.
In another exemplary embodiment, a catheter for treating and preventing bleeding arising from a LAA comprises a guide wire with a guide wire tip, an inner catheter sheath, an outer catheter sheath, a first inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the inner catheter sheath, wherein the first catheter balloon is proximal to the guide wire tip, at least one catheter sheath opening on the inner catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by the first catheter balloon, a second inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the outer catheter sheath, wherein the second catheter balloon is proximal to the first catheter balloon, at least one catheter sheath opening on the distal end of the outer catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by the second catheter balloon, an inflation port, and a control port. The catheter further comprises means for locking in place the inflated first and second catheter balloons. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker band affixed to the inner catheter sheath. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker band affixed to the outer catheter sheath. The catheter wherein the first catheter balloon is more compliant than the second catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of an ostium of the LAA. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of the first catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the guide wire tip is J-hooked. Furthermore, the inner catheter sheath has an additional lumen that can be used for puncturing the LAA cavity.
In another exemplary embodiment, a catheter for treating and preventing bleeding arising from a LAA comprises a guide wire with a guide wire tip, a catheter sheath, a first inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the first catheter balloon is proximal to the guide wire tip, a first set of electromagnetic coils located within the first catheter balloon, a second inflatable catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the second catheter balloon is proximal to the first catheter balloon, a plurality of catheter sheath openings on the catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by one of the catheter balloons, and wherein each of the catheter balloons encloses at least one catheter sheath opening, an inflation port, and a control port. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker band affixed to the catheter sheath. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon is more compliant than the first catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the first catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of an ostium of the LAA. The catheter wherein the first catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of the second catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the first set of electromagnetic coils is located within a proximal end of the first catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the guide wire tip is J-hooked. The catheter wherein the distal portions of the first catheter balloon have a larger diameter than that of the proximal portions of the first catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the second catheter balloon further comprises a second set of electromagnetic coils. The catheter wherein the second set of electromagnetic coils is located within a distal end of the second catheter balloon. Furthermore, the catheter sheath can be used for puncturing the LAA cavity.
In another exemplary embodiment, a catheter for treating and preventing bleeding arising from a LAA comprises a guide wire with a guide wire tip, a catheter sheath, a first inflatable endocardial catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the first endocardial catheter balloon is proximal to the guide wire tip, a first set of electromagnetic coils located within the first catheter balloon, a second inflatable endocardial catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, wherein the second endocardial catheter balloon is proximal to the first endocardial catheter balloon, a plurality of catheter sheath openings on the catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by one of the endocardial catheter balloons, and wherein each of the endocardial catheter balloons encloses at least one catheter sheath opening, an inflation port, and a control port. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker band affixed to the catheter sheath. The catheter wherein the second endocardial catheter balloon is more compliant than the first endocardial catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the first endocardial catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of an ostium of the LAA. The catheter wherein the first endocardial catheter balloon, when inflated, has a larger circumference than that of the second endocardial catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the first set of electromagnetic coils is located within a proximal end of the first endocardial catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the guide wire tip is J-hooked. The catheter wherein the distal portions of the first endocardial catheter balloon have a larger diameter than that of the proximal portions of the first endocardial catheter balloon. Furthermore, the catheter sheath can be used for puncturing the LAA cavity.
In another exemplary embodiment, a catheter for treating and preventing bleeding arising from a LAA comprises a catheter sheath, an inflatable constricting circumferential epicardial catheter balloon affixed to the catheter sheath, a set of electromagnetic coils located within the epicardial catheter balloon, a plurality of catheter sheath openings on the catheter sheath, wherein each catheter sheath opening is enclosed by the epicardial catheter balloon, and an inflation port. The catheter further comprises a control port. The catheter further comprises at least one radiopaque marker bands affixed to the catheter sheath. The catheter further comprises a guide wire with a guide wire tip. The catheter wherein the set of electromagnetic coils is located across the length of the epicardial catheter balloon. The catheter wherein the guide wire tip is J-hooked.
Finally, it is contemplated that the present invention can be used as an alternative approach to replace percutaneous aortic valves. Additionally, it is contemplated that the present invention can be used to perform a percutaneous repair of a mitral valve such as by an application of a clip to the mitral valve.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in an illustrative style. Accordingly, the terminology employed throughout should be read in a non-limiting manner. Although minor modifications to the teachings herein will occur to those well versed in the art, it shall be understood that what is intended to be circumscribed within the scope of the patent warranted hereon are all such embodiments that reasonably fall within the scope of the advancement to the art hereby contributed, and that that scope shall not be restricted. | Bleeding arising from the left atrial appendage (LAA) can have fatal consequences because it can result in cardiac tamponade. The present invention provides apparatuses and methods for treating and preventing bleeding arising from the LAA, at the pre-hemorrhage and post-hemorrhage stages. In particular, catheters having inflatable catheter balloons are advanced into the LAA and the inflatable catheter balloons are inflated in and around the LAA in a manner that occludes the LAA ostium and the LAA cavity. Additionally, electromagnetic coils are present within the inflatable catheter balloons to create electromagnetic forces that help to further occlude the LAA ostium firmly. When the catheter balloons are inflated, these electromagnetic coils also expand. Alternatively, the LAA ostium can be occluded using electromagnetic coils present in an inflated endocardial catheter balloon and electromagnetic coils present in an inflated epicardial catheter balloon deployed around the circumference of the LAA ostium epicardially. | 0 |
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/341,961 filed Dec. 19, 2001 which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to novel, substituted benzoxazine and 3,4-dihydrobenzoxazine compounds, methods of using such compounds in the treatment of estrogen receptor-associated conditions, such as bone disorders, for example osteoporosis, and to pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The estrogen hormone has a broad spectrum of effects on tissues in both females and males. Many of these biological effects are positive, including maintenance of bone density, cardiovascular protection, central nervous system (CNS) function and the protection of organ systems from the effects of aging. However, in addition to its positive effects, estrogen also is a potent growth factor in the breast and endometrium that increases the risk of cancer.
Until recently, it was assumed that estrogen binds to a single estrogen receptor (ER) in cells. However, a second estrogen receptor, ER beta (ERβ), has been identified and cloned, with the original ER being renamed ER alpha(ERα). Endocrinology 1998 139 4252–4263. ERβ and ERα share about a 50% identity in the ligand-binding domain and only 20% homology in their amino-terminal transactivation domain. The difference in the identity of the two ER subtypes accounts for the fact that small compounds may demonstrate a higher affinity to bind to one subtype over the other.
Further, ERβ and ERα are believed to have varied distributions and functions in different tissues. For example, in rats, ERβ is strongly expressed in brain, bone and vascular epithelium, but weakly expressed in uterus and breast, relative to ERα. Further, ERα knockout mice are sterile and exhibit little or no evidence of hormone responsiveness of reproductive tissues. In contrast, ERβ knockout mice are fertile and exhibit normal development and function of breast and uterine tissue. These observations suggest that selectively targeting ERβ over ERα could confer beneficial effects in several important diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases, without the liability of reproductive system side effects. Selective effects on ERβ expressing tissues over uterus and breast could be achieved by agents that selectively interact with ERβ over ERα.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop a series of novel compounds, which selectively modulate ERβ receptors and may be employed to treat a variety of estrogen-dependent pathological conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, substituted benzoxazine and 3,4-dihydrobenzoxazine derivatives are provided which have the structure of formula I
wherein
R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkylalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted arylalkyl and hydroxyalkyl, or R 2 together with R 4 may independently be cyclized to form —(CH 2 ) n — where n=1, 2, or 3; R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, OH, halo, CF 3 , CN, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkynyl and alkoxy; R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, halo, OH and alkoxy; Z is hydrogen, or Y and Z can together form a bond; Y, where Z is H, is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, COR 5 , CSR 5 , SO 2 R 5 , CONR 6 R 7 , COOR 8 and COSR 9 , or Y together with R 3 may form a six membered heterocyclic ring containing —OCH 2 CH 2 — or —OCH 2 CO—; R 5 is substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or substituted or unsubstituted aryl; R 6 and R 7 are each independently hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or substituted or unsubstituted aryl; and R 8 and R 9 are each independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or substituted or unsubstituted aryl.
The compounds of formula I above further include all pharmaceutically acceptable salts, stereoisomers and prodrug esters of formula I.
The compounds of formula I modulate the function of the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) and include compounds which are, for example, selective agonists, partial agonists, antagonists or partial antagonists of the ERβ. Consequently, the compounds of the present invention may be used in the treatment of multiple diseases or disorders associated with ERβ activity, such as the treatment of bone disorders, cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, vasomotor disorders, urogenital disorders, prostatic hypertrophy, endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. Further, the compounds of the present invention may have central nervous system (CNS) action and therefore may be useful for the treatment of multiple CNS disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases.
The present invention provides for compounds of formula I, pharmaceutical compositions employing such compounds and for methods of using such compounds. In particular, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula I, alone or in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In addition, a method is provided for preventing, inhibiting or treating the onset of pathological conditions associated with the estrogen receptor, such as defined above and hereinafter, wherein a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula I is administered to a mammalian, i.e., human, patient in need of treatment.
The compounds of the invention can be used alone, in combination with other compounds of the present invention, or in combination with one or more other agent(s).
Further, the present invention provides a method for preventing, inhibiting or treating the diseases as defined above and hereinafter, wherein a therapeutically effective amount of a combination of a compound of formula I and another compound of formula I and/or at least one other type of therapeutic agent, is administered to a mammalian, i.e., human patient in need of treatment.
Preferred are compounds of formula I having the structure Ia:
wherein R 1 is alkyl; R 2 is hydrogen; R 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or OH; and R 4 is hydrogen, alkyl, halo, OH or alkoxy.
Further embodiments include compounds formula I having the structure Ia wherein
R 1 is alkyl; R 2 is hydrogen; R 3 is alkyl or OH; and R 4 is hydrogen, alkyl, halo, OH or alkoxy.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following abbreviations are employed herein:
Ac=acetyl DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide Et=ethyl EtOAc=ethyl acetate HPLC=high performance liquid chromatography LAH=lithium aluminum hydride LC/MS=high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry Me=methyl meq=milliequivalent(s) mg=milligram(s) M+H=parent plus a proton min=minute(s) ml=milliliter(s) mmol=millimole(s) MS or Mass Spec=mass spectrometry NMR=nuclear magnetic resonance Pd/C=palladium on carbon Pr=propyl rt=room temperature THF=tetrahydrofuran TFA=trifluoroacetic acid
The following definitions apply to the terms as used throughout this specification, unless otherwise limited in specific instances.
As used herein, the term “alkyl” denotes branched or unbranched hydrocarbon chains, preferably having about 1 to about 8 carbons, such as, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, iso-propyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, iso-butyl, tert-butyl, 2-methylpentyl pentyl, hexyl, isohexyl, heptyl, 4,4-dimethyl pentyl, octyl, 2,2,4-trimethylpentyl and the like. “Substituted alkyl” includes an alkyl group optionally substituted with one or more functional groups which are attached commonly to such chains, such as, hydroxyl, bromo, fluoro, chloro, iodo, mercapto or thio, cyano, alkylthio, heterocyclyl, aryl, heteroaryl, carboxyl, carbalkoyl, alkyl, alkenyl, nitro, amino, alkoxyl, amido, and the like to form groups such as trifluoro methyl, 3-hydroxyhexyl, 2-carboxypropyl, 2-fluoroethyl, carboxymethyl, cyanobutyl and the like.
Unless otherwise indicated, the term “alkenyl” as used herein by itself or as part of another group refers to straight or branched chain radicals of 2 to 20 carbons, preferably 2 to 12 carbons, and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons in the normal chain, which include one or more double bonds in the normal chain. “Substituted alkenyl” includes an alkenyl group optionally substituted with 1 or more substituents, such as those described above for alkyl.
As used herein, the term “alkynyl” refers to straight or branched chain radicals of 2 to 20 carbons, preferably 2 to 12 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons in the normal chain, which include one or more triple bonds in the normal chain. “Substituted alkynyl” includes an alkynyl group optionally substituted with 1 or more substituents, such as those described above for alkyl.
Unless otherwise indicated, the term “aryl” or “Ar” as employed herein alone or as part of another group refers to monocyclic and bicyclic aromatic groups containing 6 to 10 carbons in the ring portion (such as phenyl or naphthyl including l-naphthyl and 2-naphthyl) and may optionally include one to three additional rings fused to a carbocyclic ring or a heterocyclic ring (such as aryl, cycloalkyl, heteroaryl or cycloheteroalkyl rings for example
“Substituted aryl” includes an aryl group optionally substituted with 1 or more functional groups, such as halo, haloalkyl, alkyl, haloalkyl, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, alkenyl, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy, alkynyl, cycloalkyl-alkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, cycloheteroalkylalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, arylalkyl, aryloxy, aryloxyalkyl, arylalkoxy, alkoxycarbonyl, arylcarbonyl, arylalkenyl, aminocarbonylaryl, arylthio, arylsulfinyl, arylazo, heteroarylalkyl, heteroarylalkenyl, heteroarylheteroaryl, heteroaryloxy, hydroxy, nitro, cyano, amino, and/or any of the alkyl substituents set out herein.
Unless otherwise indicated, the term “cycloalkyl” as employed herein alone or as part of another group includes saturated or partially unsaturated (containing 1 or more double bonds) cyclic hydrocarbon groups containing from 3 to 8 carbons. Representative examples of cycloalkyl include, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl. “Substituted cycloalkyl” includes a cycloalkyl group optionally substituted with 1 or more substituents such as those described above for alkyl and/or aryl.
The term “cycloalkylalkyl,” as used herein, refers to a cycloalkyl group appended to the parent molecular moiety through an alkyl group, as defined herein. Representative examples of cycloalkylalkyl include, but are not limited to, cyclopropylmethyl, 2-cyclobutylethyl, cyclopentylmethyl, cyclohexylmethyl and 4-cycloheptylbutyl, and the like. “Substituted cycloalkylalkyl” includes a cycloalkylalkyl group optionally substituted with 1 or more substituents such as those described above for alkyl and/or aryl.
The term “arylalkyl” as used alone or as part of another group refer to an alkyl group, as defined herein, having an aryl substituent, as defined herein. Representative examples of arylalkyl include, but are not limited to, benzyl, 2-phenylethyl, 3-phenylpropyl, and the like. “Substituted arylalkyl” includes an arylalkyl group optionally substituted with 1 or more substituents such as those described above for alkyl and/or aryl.
“Hydroxyalkyl” groups are alkyl groups that have a hydroxyl group appended thereto.
The term “alkoxy” denotes —OR, wherein R is alkyl, as defined herein.
As used herein, the term “halo” or “halogen” refers to fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine.
The term “modulator” refers to a chemical compound with capacity to either enhance (e.g., “agonist” activity) or inhibit (e.g., “antagonist” activity) a functional property of biological activity or process (e.g., enzyme activity or receptor binding); such enhancement or inhibition may be contingent on the occurrence of a specific event, such as activation of a signal transduction pathway, and/or may be manifest only in particular cell types.
The term “prodrug esters” as employed herein includes esters and carbonates formed by reacting one or more hydroxyls of compounds of formula I with alkyl, alkoxy, or aryl substituted acylating agents employing procedures known to those skilled in the art to generate acetates, pivalates, methylcarbonates, benzoates and the like.
Any compound that can be converted in vivo to provide the bioactive agent (i.e., the compound of formula I) is a prodrug within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Various forms of prodrugs are well known in the art. A comprehensive description of prodrugs and prodrug derivatives are described in:
a.) The Practice of Medicinal Chemistry, Camille G. Wermuth et al., Ch 31, (Academic Press, 1996); b.) Design of Prodrugs, edited by H. Bundgaard, (Elsevier, 1985); and c.) A Textbook of Drug Design and Development, P. Krogsgaard-Larson and H. Bundgaard, eds. Ch 5, pgs 113–191 (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1991).
Said references are incorporated herein by reference.
An administration of a therapeutic agent of the invention includes administration of a therapeutically effective amount of the agent of the invention. The term “therapeutically effective amount” as used herein refers to an amount of a therapeutic agent to treat or prevent a condition treatable by administration of a composition of the invention. That amount is the amount sufficient to exhibit a detectable therapeutic or preventative or ameliorative effect. The effect may include, for example, treatment or prevention of the conditions listed herein. The precise effective amount for a subject will depend upon the subject's size and health, the nature and extent of the condition being treated, recommendations of the treating physician, and the therapeutics or combination of therapeutics selected for administration. Thus, it is not useful to specify an exact effective amount in advance.
The compounds of formula I can be present as salts, which are also within the scope of this invention. Pharmaceutically acceptable (i.e., non-toxic, physiologically acceptable) salts are preferred. If the compounds of formula I have, for example, at least one basic center, they can form acid addition salts. These are formed, for example, with strong inorganic acids, such as mineral acids, for example sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid or a hydrohalic acid, with strong organic carboxylic acids, such as alkanecarboxylic acids of 1 to 4 carbon atoms which are unsubstituted or substituted, for example acetic acid, such as saturated or unsaturated dicarboxylic acids, for example oxalic, malonic, succinic, maleic, fumaric, phthalic or terephthalic acid, such as hydroxycarboxylic acids, for example ascorbic, glycolic, lactic, malic, tartaric or citric acid, such as amino acids, (for example aspartic or glutamic acid or lysine or arginine), or benzoic acid, or with organic sulfonic acids, such as (C 1 –C 4 ) alkyl or arylsulfonic acids which are unsubstituted or substituted, for example by halogen, for example methyl-or p-toluene-sulfonic acid. Corresponding acid addition salts can also be formed having, if desired, an additionally present basic center.
Preferred salts of the compounds of formula I which contain a basic group include monohydrochloride, hydrogensulfate, methanesulfonate, phosphate or nitrate.
Where the compounds of formula I are in acid form they may form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, such as alkali metal salts, such as lithium, sodium or potassium, alkaline earth metal salts, such as calcium or magnesium, as well as zinc or aluminum and other cations, such as ammonium, chlorine, diethanolamine, lysine (D or L) ethylenediamine, tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS), n-methyl glucosamine (NMG), triethanolamine and dehydroabietylamine.
Where the compounds of formula I are phenols, they may form a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, such as alkali metal salts, such as lithium, sodium or potassium, alkaline earth metal salts, such as calcium or magnesium, as well as zinc or aluminum and other cations.
All stereoisomers of the compounds of the instant invention are contemplated, either in admixture or in pure or substantially pure form. The compounds of the present invention can have asymmetric centers at any of the carbon atoms including any one of the R substituents. Consequently, compounds of formula I can exist in enantiomeric or diastereomeric forms or in mixtures thereof. The processes for preparation can utilize racemates, enantiomers or diastereomers as starting materials. When diastereomeric or enantiomeric products are prepared, they can be separated by conventional methods, for example, chromatographic or fractional crystallization.
The compounds of the formula I of the invention may be prepared as shown in the following reaction schemes and description thereof, as well as relevant published literature procedures that may be used by one skilled in the art. Exemplary reagents and procedures for these reactions appear hereinafter and in the working Examples.
Compounds of formula Ib, shown below, can be prepared as illustrated in Scheme 1, by treatment of compounds of formula II with excess of BBr 3 or alternatively in some cases with pyridine HCl at high temperature. Compounds of formula Ib represent compounds of formula I where Z is hydrogen
Where Y is an alkyl group, compounds of formula II can be prepared by direct alkylation of compounds of formula III with alkyl halides or alternatively, by reductive amination of compounds of formula III with aldehydes. Where Y is a COR 5 or SO 2 R 5 group, compounds of formula II can be prepared by treatment of compounds of formula III with acid chlorides or sulfonyl chlorides. Where Y is a CONR 6 R 7 , COOR 8 or COSR 9 group, compounds of formula II can be prepared by treatment of a common intermediate of formula IIIa with nucleophiles such as amines, alcohols and thiols. Compounds of formula Ib where Y is hydrogen can be prepared from the treatment of compounds of formula III with excess BBr 3 . Intermediate IIIa can be prepared by treatment of compounds of formula III with triphosgene and can be used without purification.
Compounds of formula III can be prepared by reduction of compounds of formula IV with NaH 2 PO 2 in the presence of Pd/C as the catalyst (Battistoni, P., Bruni, G. F. Synthesis, 1979, 220–221).
Compounds of formula IV can be prepared by alkylation of substituted 3-methoxy-6-nitrophenols with compounds of formula V. Substituted 3-methoxy-6-nitrophenols can be prepared by nitration of substituted dimethoxybenzenes followed by demethylation with BBr 3 ( J. C. S Perkin Trans. II 1979, 747; J. Org. Chem. 1991, 56, 1788). Compounds of formula V can be prepared by treatment of substituted acetophenones with a brominating agent, such as Br 2 in chloroform ( J. Heterocyl. Chem. 1987, 24, 1745).
Where Y is a CSR 5 group, compounds of formula Ib can be prepared as shown in Scheme 2, by treatment of compounds of formula VI with excess of BBr 3 . Compounds of formula VI can be prepared by treatment of compounds of formula II (from Scheme 1) with a sulfating agent, such as Lawesson's reagent.
Compounds of formula Id can be prepared as shown in Scheme 3 by reduction of compounds of formula 1c with a reducing agent, such as lithium aluminum hydride. Compounds of formula Id represent compounds of formula I wherein R 3 is cyclized with Y to form a six-membered heterocycle containing —OCH 2 CH 2 —.
Compounds of formula Ic can be prepared by deprotection of compounds of formula II (from Scheme 1) where Y is COCH 2 Br and R 3 is 5-OMe, via treatment with BBr 3 followed by a base, such as NaHCO 3 . Compounds of formula Ic represent compounds of formula I wherein R 3 is cyclized with Y to form a six-membered heterocycle containing —OCH 2 CO—.
Compounds of formula Ia can be prepared as shown in Scheme 4, by standard demethylation of compounds of formula VII with, for example, BBr 3 . Compounds of formula Ia represent compounds of formula I where Z together with Y form a bond.
Compounds of formula VII can be prepared by treatment of substituted 3-methoxy-6-aminophenols with compounds of formula V in the presence of a base ( J. Indian Chem. 1989, 138).
Utility & Combinations
A. Utilities
The compounds of the present invention modulate the function of the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), and include compounds which are, for example, selective agonists, partial agonists, antagonists or partial antagonists of the ERβ. Thus, the present compounds are useful in the treatment of a condition or disorder which can be treated by modulating the function or activity of an ERβ in a subject, wherein treatment comprises prevention, partial alleviation or cure of the condition or disorder. Modulation may occur locally, for example, within certain tissues of the subject, or more extensively throughout a subject being treated for such a condition or disorder.
Accordingly, the compounds of the present invention can be administered to mammals, preferably humans, for the treatment of a variety of conditions and disorders, including, but not limited to bone disorders, e.g., osteoporosis (including glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis), osteopenia, Paget's disease and peridontal disease; cardiovascular diseases (including fibroproliferative conditions); hypercholesterolemia; hypertriglyceridemia; vasomotor disorders (e.g., hot flashes); urogenital disorders (e.g., urinary incontinence); prostatic hypertrophy; endometrial hyperplasia; and cancer, including prostate cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Further, the compounds of)the present invention may have central nervous system action and therefore may be useful for the treatment of multiple CNS disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., improvement of cognitive function and the treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and short-term memory loss).
B. Combinations
The present invention includes within its scope pharmaceutical compositions comprising, as an active ingredient, a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the compounds of formula I, alone or in combination with a pharmaceutical carrier or diluent. Optionally, compounds of the present invention can be used alone, in combination with other compounds of the invention, or in combination with one or more other therapeutic agent(s) or other pharmaceutically active materials.
The compounds of the present invention may be employed in combination with other modulators of the estrogen receptor beta and/or with other suitable therapeutic agents useful in the treatment of the aforementioned disorders such as, but not limited to, anti-osteoporosis agents, cholesterol lowering agents, growth promoting agents, modulators of bone resorption and cardiovascular agents.
Examples of suitable anti-osteoporosis agents for use in combination with the compounds of the present invention include bisphosphonates (e.g., alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate and zolendrate), parathyroid hormone, PTH fragments and PTH analogues (e.g. PTH-(1–84), PTH-(1–34)) and calcitonins.
Examples of suitable cholesterol lowering agents for use in combination with the compounds of the present invention include HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (e.g., pravastatin, lovastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, NK-104 (a.k.a. itavastatin, nisvastatin or nisbastatin) and ZD-4522 (a.k.a. rosuvastatin, atavastatin or visastatin)), MTP inhibitors, fibrates (e.g., gemfibrozil) and bile acid sequestrants.
Examples of suitable growth promoting agents for use in combination with the compounds of the present invention include growth hormone secretagogues, such as GHRP-6, GHRP-1 (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,890 and publications WO 89/07110 and WO 89/07111), GHRP-2 (as described in WO 93/04081), NN703 (Novo Nordisk), LY444711 (Lilly), MK-677 (Merck), CP424391 (Pfizer) and B-HT920, or with growth hormone releasing factor and its analogs or growth hormone and its analogs or somatomedins including IGF-1 and IGF-2, or with alpha-adrenergic agonists, such as clonidine or serotinin 5-HTD agonists, such as sumatriptan, or agents which inhibit somatostatin or its release, such as physostigmine and pyridostigmine.
Examples of suitable modulators of bone resorption for use in combination with the compounds of the present invention include estrogen; selective estrogen receptor modulators (e.g., tamoxifen, lasofoxifene, TSE-424 and raloxifene); selective androgen receptor modulators, such as those disclosed in Edwards, Bio. Med. Chem. Let., 1999 9, 1003–1008 and J. Med. Chem., 1999 42, 210–212; hormone replacement therapies; vitamin D and analogues thereof (e.g., 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3); elemental calcium and calcium supplements; cathepsin K inhibitors; chloride channel inhibitors (e.g., ClC-7 inhibitors); MMP inhibitors; vitronectin receptor antagonists; Src SH 2 antagonists; Src kinase inhibitors; vacular H + -ATPase inhibitors; osteoprotegrin; Tibolone; p38 inhibitors; prostanoids; PPAR gamma antagonists or isoflavinoids (e.g., genistein and ipriflavone); androgens (e.g., testosterone and dihydrotestosterone); RANK ligand antagonists; TRAP inhibitors; AP-1 inhibitors and progesterone receptor agonists (e.g., medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA)).
Examples of suitable cardiovascular agents for use in combination with the compounds of the present invention include vasopeptidase inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, α-reductase inhibitors, muscarinic Ach antagonists, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, thrombin inhibitors, Factor Xa inhibitors, tissue plasminogen activators, streptokinase, or other thrombolytic or antithrombotic agents.
Compounds of formula I and their physiologically acceptable salts, prodrug esters or stereoisomers thereof may be formulated for administration via any suitable means, for example, orally, such as in the form of tablets, capsules, granules or powders; rectally, such as in the form of suppositories; nasally, including administration to the nasal membranes, such as by inhalation spray; topically (including buccal and sublingual); vaginal or parental (including intramuscular, sub-cutaneous, intravenous, and directly into the affected tissue) administration or in a form suitable for administration by inhalation or insufflation. The formulations may, where appropriate, be conveniently presented in discrete dosage units and may be prepared by any of the methods well known in the art of pharmacy. All methods may include the step of bringing into association the active compound with liquid carriers or finely divided solid carries, or both, and then if necessary, shaping the product into the desired formulation.
The active principle may be in the form of a solid or a liquid and can be utilized in a composition such as tablet, capsule, ointment, solution or suspension, or in other suitable carrier materials. Examples of suitable carrier materials are iontophoetic devices, rectal suppositories, transderman systems, granules, injectable preparations, or the like, prepared according to procedures known in the art. Further, the active principle comprising a pharmaceutically effective amount of at least one compound of formula I, either alone or in combination, or in combination with one or more other active agent(s) may be incorporated with excipients normally employed in therapeutic medicines, such as talc, gum arabic, lactose, starch, magnesium stearate, polyuidone, cellulose derivatives, cacao butter, semisynthetic glycerides, aqueous or non-aqueous vehicles, fats of animal or vegetable origin, glycols, various wetting agents, dispersants or emulsifiers, silicone gels, stabilizers, certain polymers or copolymers, preservatives, binders, flavorings, colors and the like, as called for by acceptable pharmaceutical practice.
Dosage of the active principle required for use in treatment may vary not only with the particular compound selected, but also with the route of administration, the nature of the condition being treated and the age and condition of the patient. In general, however, a suitable dose will be in the range of from about 0.0002 to 300 mg/kg of body weight per day, particularly from about 0.02 to 50 mg/kg of body weight per day, on a regimen of single or 2 to 4 divided daily doses. For example, for an adult with an average weight of 60 to 70 Kg, the dosage of active principle can vary between 1 and 500 mg when administered orally, in one or more daily doses, or from 0.01 to 50 mg, when administered parenterally in one or more daily dosages.
The above other therapeutic agents, when employed in combination with the compounds of the present invention, may be used, for example, in those amounts indicated in the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) or as otherwise determined by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The following working examples serve to better illustrate, but not limit some of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.
All temperatures are expressed in degrees centigrade unless otherwise indicated. Standard analytical HPLC condition: YMC S5 ODS column (4.6×50 mm), 0–100% B:A(solvent A=90% H 2 O/MeOH+0.2% H 3 PO 4 ; solvent B=90% MeOH/H 2 O+0.2% H 3 PO 4 ), linear gradient over 4 minutes at 1 ml/min, detection at 220 nM.
EXAMPLE 1
3,4-dihydro-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2H-1,4-benzoxazine-5,7-diol
Compound 1a:
A solution of 2-nitro-3,5-dimethoxyphenol (420 mg, 2.11 mmol) in acetone (6.5 ml) was treated with anhydrous K 2 CO 3 (583 mg, 4.22 mmol), followed by addition of α-bromo-4′-methoxyacetophenone (532 mg, 2.32 mmol) under an argon atmosphere. The reaction mixture turned immediately to a dark brownish color and was allowed to stir overnight at rt. The reaction mixture was then filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 33% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 400 mg (55%) of compound 1a as a yellow solid.
HPLC retention time=2.94 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.97 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.95 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.12 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 6.04 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.21 (s, 2H), 3.88 (s, 3H), 3.84 (s, 3H), 3.77 (s, 3H).
Compound 1b:
A solution of compound 1a (400 mg, 1.15 mmol) in THF/H 2 O (8 ml each) was treated with NaH 2 PO 2 (800 mg, 9.09 mmol) and degassed. Pd/C (10%, 20 mg) was added under an argon atmosphere. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir at rt overnight, then filtered and the filtrate was diluted with H 2 O(40 ml) and extracted with ether (2×40 ml). The combined ether layers were washed with brine (20 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , filtered and concentrated in vacuo to give a dark red oil. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 33% EtOAc/Hexanes) afforded 180 mg (52%) of compound 1b as a yellow solid along with 120 mg(30%) of compound 1a.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =302. HPLC retention time=3.00 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.35 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.91 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.13 (s, 2H), 4.34 (brd, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 4.25 (ddd, J=10.5, 2.6, 2.2 Hz, 1H), 4.04–3.99 (m, 2H), 3.82 (s, 3H), 3.81 (s, 3H), 3.75 (s, 3H).
Compound 1b (57 mg, 0.17 mmol) was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 (1 ml) and was treated with IN HCl in ether (0.17 ml, 0.17 mmol). The solvent was removed to give a yellow solid. To a suspension of this solid in anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 (2 ml) was added BBr 3 (319 μl, 3.38 mmol) at −15° C. The reaction mixture was warmed to 0° C. and stirred at 0° C. for three hours. The reaction was quenched by pouring the reaction mixture into a mixture of cold EtOAc/saturated NaHCO 3 (15 ml each). The aqueous layer was separated and extracted again with EtOAc 3 (25 ml). The combined EtOAc layers were washed with brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 33% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 15 mg (34%) of the title compound as a white foam.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =260. HPLC retention time=1.26 min. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.24 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 6.78 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 5.95 (d, J=2.2 Hz, 1H), 5.85 (d, J=2.2 Hz, 1H), 4.22 (dd, J=2.6, 8.8 Hz, 1H), 4.15 (dd, J=3.0, 10.6 Hz, 1H), 3.91 (dd, J=8.8, 10.6 Hz, 1H).
EXAMPLE 2
3,4-dihydro-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-(1-oxopropyl)-2H-1,4-benzoxazine-5,7-diol
Compound 2a:
To a solution of compound 1b (99 mg, 0.33 mmol) in pyridine (0.5 ml), was added propionyl chloride (43 μl, 4.22 mmol) at 0° C. under nitrogen. A white precipitate formed immediately. The reaction mixture was allowed to warm to rt and stir overnight. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (30 ml), washed with 1N HCl (2×15 ml), brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 33% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 77 mg (66%) of compound 2a as a slightly yellowish foam.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =358. HPLC retention time=3.21 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.19 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.73 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.11 (br s, 1H), 6.01 (s, 2H), 4.81 (dd, J=1.4, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 4.39 (dd, J=3.9, 11.5 Hz, 1H), 3.75 (s, 3H), 3.70 (s, 3H), 3.68 (s, 3H), 2.57 (m, 1H), 2.29 (m, 1H), 1.14 (t, J=7.5 Hz, 3H).
To a solution of compound 2a (77 mg, 0.22 mmol) in anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 (1.5 ml) was added BBr 3 (408 μl, 4.3 mmol) at −15° C. under nitrogen. The reaction mixture immediately turned a brownish color and was allowed to warm to rt and stir for 6 hours. Thereafter, the reaction was quenched by pouring the reaction mixture into a mixture of cold EtOAc/saturated NaHCO 3 (15 ml each). The aqueous layer was separated and extracted again with EtOAc (25 ml). The combined EtOAc layers were washed with brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 5% MeOH/CH 2 Cl 2 ) to afford 36 mg (53%) of the title compound as a white foam.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =316. HPLC retention time=2.00 min. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.11 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 6.63 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 5.94 (S, 1H), 5.90 (s, 1H), 5.79 (s, 1H), 4.71 (d, J=11.4 Hz, 1H), 4.33 (dd, J=4.0, 11.4 Hz, 1H), 2.71 (m, 1H), 2.40 (m, 1H), 1.11 (t, J=7.5 Hz, 3H).
EXAMPLE 3
3,4-dihydro-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyl-2H-1,4-benzoxazine-5,7-diol hydrochloride salt
Compound 3a:
To a solution of compound 1b (103 mg, 0.34 mmol) in DMF, was added sodium hydroxide (58 mg, 1.45 mmol) and methyl iodide (65 ml, 1.04 mmol). The resulting mixture was allowed to stir at rt overnight and thereafter the reaction was quenched by addition of saturated NH 4 Cl (10 ml). The reaction mixture was extracted with EtOAc. The EtOAc layer was washed with H 2 O, brine, dried over MgSO 4 , filtered and concentrated in vacuo to give a brownish oil. Purification by flash chromatography (silica gel, 20% EtOAc/Hexanes) afforded 25 mg (23%) of compound 3a as a colorless oil.
HPLC retention time=2.59 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 31 400 MHz) δ 7.24(d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.82 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.16 (d, J=2.8 Hz, 1H), 6.06 (d, J=2.8 Hz, 1H), 4.22 (m, 2H), 4.07 (d, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 3.87 (s, 3H), 3.76 (s, 3H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 2.79 (s, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 1 compound, compound 3a (33 mg, 0.094 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (12 mg, 41%) as an off-white foam.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =274. HPLC retention time=1.27 min. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.12 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.69 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.08 (d, J=2.2, 1H), 5.88 (d, J=2.2, 1H), 4.17 (m, 2H), 3.98 (m, 1H), 2.69 (s, 3H).
EXAMPLE 4
2,3-dihydro-5,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N-methyl-4H-1,4-benzoxazine-4-carboxamide
Compound 4a:
To a solution of compound 1b (67 mg, 0.22 mmol) and diisopropylethylamine (116 μl, 0.66 mmol) in anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 (1.0 ml), was added 20% phosgene in toluene (380 μl, 0.66 mmol) at rt. The reaction mixture immediately turned to light brownish color and was allowed to stir overnight at rt. Thereafter, the reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (20 ml). The resulting EtOAc mixture was washed with H2O, brine, dried over MgSO 4 , filtered and concentrated in vacuo to give a yellow solid. This solid was redissolved in THF (1 ml) and cooled to 0° C. To this solution was added diisopropylethylamine (51 μl, 0.30 mmol) followed by addition of methylamine in THF (2M, 133 μl, 0.27 mmol). A white precipitate was immediately formed. The reaction mixture was slowly warmed overnight to rt, then concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 50% to 66% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 60 mg (75%) of compound 4a as a white foam.
HPLC retention time=2.78 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.23 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.73 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.05 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 6.01 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.88 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.29 (t, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 4.84 (dd, J=1.3, 11.4 Hz, 1H), 4.40 (dd, J=3.5, 11.4 Hz, 1H), 3.81 (s, 3H), 3.71 (s, 3H), 3.68 (s, 3H), 2.85 (d, J=4.8 Hz, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 2 compound, compound 4a (55 mg, 0.153 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (33 mg, 68%) as a white foam.
HPLC retention time=1.50 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =317. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.14 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 6.62 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 2H), 5.94 (d, J=2.6, 1H), 5.76 (d, J=2.6, 1H), 5.62 (brs, 1 H), 4.77 (dd, J=11.0, 1.3 Hz, 1H), 4.24 (dd, J=11.0, 3.5 Hz, 1H), 2.80 (s, 3H).
EXAMPLE 5
3,4-dihydro-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-(1-thioxoethyl)-2H-1,4-benzoxazine-5,7-diol
Compound 5a:
Per the procedure described for the preparation of compound 2a, compound 1b (80 mg, 0.266 mmol) was acetylated with acetyl chloride (28 μl, 0.4 mmol) to provide compound 5a (91 mg, 100%) as a pale yellow foam.
LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =344. HPLC retention time=3.01 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 31 400 MHz) δ 7.19 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.74 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.11 (br s, 1H), 6.02 (m, 2H), 4.81 (d, J=10.1 Hz, 1H), 4.43 (dd, J=3.9, 10.9 Hz, 1H), 3.77 (s, 3H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 3.70 (s, 3H), 2.15 (s, 3H).
Compound 5b:
A solution of compound 5a (37 mg, 0.11 mmol) and Lawesson's reagent (65 mg, 0.16 mmol) in toluene (1 ml) was refluxed for 3 hours. Subsequently, the solution was concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 25% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 30 mg (77%) of compound 5b as a white foam.
HPLC retention time=3.53 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.32 (d, J=4.0 Hz, 1H), 7.21 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.73 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.02 (d, J=2.4 Hz, 1H), 5.96 (d, J=2.4 Hz, 1H), 4.93 (d, J=11.8 Hz, 1H), 4.55 (dd, J=4.0, 11.8 Hz, 1H), 3.73 (s, 3H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 3.70 (s, 3H), 2.69 (s, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 2 compound, compound 5b (30 mg, 0.153 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (19 mg, 72%) as a white foam.
HPLC retention time=2.48 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =318. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.06 (br d, J=3.5 Hz, 1H), 7.02 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 6.52 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 5.73 (d, J=2.6, 1H), 5.68 (d, J=2.6, 1H), 4.80 (1H), 4.32 (dd, J=14.4, 11.9 Hz, 1H), 2.60 (s, 3H).
EXAMPLE 6
2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-<1,4>oxazino<4,3,2-de>-1,4-benzoxazin-9-ol
Compound 6a:
To a solution of compound 1b (124 mg, 0.42 mmol) and triethylamine (1 ml) in anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 (2 ml), was added α-bromoacetyl bromide (60 μl, 0.69 mmol) at −20° C. under nitrogen. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 1.5 hours. Thereafter, the mixture was diluted with EtOAc (30 ml), washed with 1N HCl (15 ml), brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 25% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 97 mg (55%) of compound 6a as an off-white foam.
HPLC retention time=3.21 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =421. 1 H NMR (CDCl 31 400 MHz) δ 7.19 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 2H), 6.74 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 2H), 6.03 (m, 3H), 4.81 (d, J=11.8 Hz, 1H), 4.51 (d, J=11.8 Hz, 1H), 4.05 (ABq, J=10.5 Hz, 2H), 3.77 (s, 3H), 3.73 (s, 3H), 3.71 (s, 3H).
Compound 6b:
Compound 6a (97 mg, 0.23 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous CH 2 Cl 2 (2 ml) and treated with BBr 3 (300 μl, 3.17 mmol) at −20° C. The reaction mixture was slowly warmed overnight to rt. Thereafter, the reaction was quenched by dropwise addition of a saturated NaHCO 3 solution (15 ml). The resulting gelatinous mixture was partitioned between EtOAc/Sat. NaHCO 3 . The EtOAc layers were washed with brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 66% to 80% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 55 mg (80% for two steps) of cyclized compound 6b.
To a solution of compound 6b (55 mg, 0.18 mmol) in THF (3 ml) was added lithium aluminum hydride (1.8 ml, 1M solution in THF, 1.8 mmol) at −70° C. under argon. The resulting reaction mixture was allowed to warm to rt and stir for three days. The reaction mixture was quenched by addition of 1N HCl (1 ml) and stirred for 20 min. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was filtered through Celite® and the filtrate was partitioned between EtOAc/H 2 O. The EtOAc layers were washed with brine (15 ml), dried over MgSO 4 , concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 60% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 2.9 mg (5%) of the title compound.
HPLC retention time=2.20 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =285. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.16 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 2H), 6.79 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 2H), 5.84 (d, J=1.8 Hz, 2H), 4.11–4.24 (m, 4H), 3.77 (m, 1H), 2.91 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 2H), 2.59 (m, 2H).
EXAMPLE 7
(R,S) 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methyl-2H-1,4-benzoxazine-5,7-diol
Compound 7a:
A mixture of 2-nitro-3,5-dimethoxyphenol (212 mg, 1.06 mmol) and 10% palladium on carbon (21.2 mg) in MeOH (2 ml) was maintained under an atmosphere of hydrogen overnight. The catalyst was filtered and to the filtrate was added 1N HCl in ether (1.5 ml). Removal of solvent gave compound 7a as a slight yellowish solid (220 mg, 100%).
HPLC retention time=0.53 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =170.
Compound 7b:
To a solution of 4-methoxypropiophenone (1.64 g, 10 mmol) in chloroform (9 ml) was added dropwise a solution of bromine (556 μl, 10.8 mmol) in CHCl 3 (1.8 ml) through an addition funnel. After one hour, the reaction mixture was diluted with CH 2 Cl 2 (100 ml), washed with sat. NaHCO 3 , brine, dried over MgSO 4 and concentrated to give compound 7b (2.31 g, 95%) as a white solid which was used in the next step without further purification.
HPLC retention time=2.92 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =243.
Compound 7c:
To a suspension of compound 7a (718 mg, 3.5 mmol) in acetone (40 ml) was added cesium carbonate (3.42 g, 10.5 mmol). The resulting dark red mixture was stirred at rt for 10 min, after which compound 7b (932 mg, 3.9 mmol) was added. After one hour, the reaction mixture was filtered. The filtrate was concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 25% EtOAc/Hexanes) to afford 650 mg (60%) of compound 7c as a yellow foam.
HPLC retention time=3.37 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =314. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.91 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.94 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.17 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 6.13 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.47 (q, J=6.8 Hz, 1H), 3.94 (s, 3H), 3.86 (s, 3H), 3.81 (s, 3H), 1.38 (d, J=6.8 Hz, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 2 compound, compound 7c (51 mg, 0.163 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (34 mg, 77%) as an orange-colored foam.
HPLC retention time=2.06 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =272. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.09 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.85 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 5.98 (d, J=2.2, 1H), 5.86 (d, J=2.2, 1H), 5.50(q, J=6.6 Hz, 1H), 1.31 (d, J=6.6 Hz, 3H).
The enantiomers of the title compound were separated by chiral preparative HPLC using a CHIRALPAK® AD column (5×50 cm) with 40% of isopropanol/hexane as an eluent at a flow rate of 75 ml/min to provide enantiomer A and enantiomer B.
HPLC retention time of enantiomer A=8.4 min. (Chiralcel AD column (4.6×250 mm) with 40% of isopropanol/hexane as an eluent at a flow rate of 1 ml/min; detector wavelength=220 nm) LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =272. HPLC retention time of enantiomer B=13.7 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =272.
EXAMPLE 8
2-ethyl-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-7-ol
Compound 8a:
To a suspension of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxyaniline (1.0 g, 5.7 mmol) in acetone (10 ml) was added cesium carbonate (7 g, 21.5 mmol), thereafter forming a dark red mixture. After stirring the mixture at rt for 10 min, 2-bromo-4′-methoxybutyrophenone (1.46 g, 5.7 mmol) [prepared according to the procedure described for compound 7b] was added. After three hours, the reaction mixture was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 17% EtOAc/hexanes) to afford compound 8a as a yellow foam in quantitative yield.
HPLC retention time=3.63 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =298. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.88 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.96 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.30 (d, J 8.6 Hz, 1H), 6.55 (dd, J=8.6, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 6.49 (d, J=2.7 Hz, 1H), 5.21 (dd, J=10.2, 3.4 Hz, 1H), 3.86 (s, 3H), 3.81 (s, 3H), 1.50–1.90 (m, 2H), 1.04 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 2 compound, compound 8a (111 mg, 0.37 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (50.6 mg, 51%) as an orange-colored foam.
HPLC retention time=2.36 min. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.80 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.89 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 7.15 (d, J=8.5, 1H), 6.45 (dd, J=8.5, 2.6, 1H), 6.36(d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.30 (dd, J=10.1, 3.6 Hz, 1H), 1.72–1.81 (m, 1H), 1.52–1.58 (m, 1H), 1.03 (t, J=7.4 Hz, 3H).
The enantiomers of the title compound were separated by chiral preparative HPLC using a CHIRALPAK® AD column (5×50 cm) with 10% of isopropanol/hexane as an eluent at a flow rate of 75 ml/min to provide enantiomer A and enantiomer B.
HPLC retention time of enantiomer A=13.9 min. (Chiralcel AD column (4.6×250 mm) with 10% of isopropanol/hexane as an eluent at a flow rate of 1 ml/min; detector wavelength=220 nm) LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =270. HPLC retention time of enantiomer B=16.6 min. LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =270.
EXAMPLE 9
2-ethyl-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-methyl-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-7-ol
Compound 9a:
To a pinkish suspension of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-6-methylaniline hydrochloric acid salt (78 mg, 0.41 mmol) [prepared according to the procedure for compound 7a] in acetone (10 ml) was added cesium carbonate (424 mg, 1.3 mmol) to produce a pale yellow solution. The resulting solution was stirred at rt for 10 min, after which 2-bromo-4′-methoxybutyrophenone (106 mg, 0.41 mmol) was added. The reaction mixture was refluxed for six hours, then cooled to rt and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated and flash chromatographed (silica gel, 11% EtOAc/hexanes) to afford 103 mg of compound 9a (81%) as a yellow oil.
HPLC retention time=4.03 min. 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 7.91 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.96 (d, J=8.9 Hz, 2H), 6.43 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 6.34 (d, J=2.6 Hz, 1H), 5.18 (dd, J=10.3, 3.5 Hz, 1H), 3.87 (s, 3H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 2.51 (s, 3H), 1.50–1.90 (m, 2H), 1.04 (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H).
Per the procedure described for the preparation of the Example 2 compound, compound 9a (103 mg, 0.331 mmol) was demethylated to provide the title compound (27.5 mg, 29%) as an orange-colored foam.
HPLC retention time=2.83 min. 1 H NMR (CD 3 OD, 400 MHz) δ 7.94 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.96 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.39 (d, J=2.5, 1H), 6.29(d, J=2.56 Hz, 1H), 5.51 (dd, J=10.2, 3.5 Hz, 1H), 2.46 (s, 3H), 1.77–1.84 (m, 1H), 1.54–1.58 (m, 1H), 1.03 (t, J 7.3 Hz, 3H). LC/MS (ESI) (M+H) + =284.
EXAMPLES 10 to 36
Examples 10 to 36 set out in the following table were prepared by employing the procedures described for Examples 1 to 9 and reaction Schemes 1 to 4 above.
TABLE 1
Example
Z
Y
R 1
R 2
R 4
R 3
Method
10 a
H
Ac
H
H
H
5-OMe
Ex. 2
11
H
Ac
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
12
H
i-PrCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
13
H
n-PrCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
14
H
PhCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
15
H
EtNHCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 4
16
bond
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 7
17
H
MeOCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 4
18
H
EtOCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 4
19
H
EtCO
H
Me
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
20
H
MeSCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 4
21
H
MeCO
H
Me
H
5-OH
Ex. 2
22
bond
H
H
H
H
Ex. 7
23
H
Me 2 NCO
H
H
H
5-OH
Ex. 4
24
H
EtCO
H
H
H
H
Ex. 2
25
bond
H
Me
H
H
Ex. 7
26
H
EtCO
H
Me
H
H
Ex. 2
27
bond
H
Et
H
5-OH
Ex. 7
28 a
bond
H
Et
3′-Br
5-OH
Ex. 7
29
bond
H
—CH 2 CH 2 —
H
Ex. 7
30
bond
H
—CH 2 —
H
Ex. 7
31
bond
H
Pr
H
H
Ex. 7
32
bond
Me
Me
H
H
Ex. 7
33
bond
Me
Me
H
5-OH
Ex. 7
34
bond
H
Me
H
5-Me
Ex. 9
35
bond
H
Et
H
8-Me
Ex. 9
36
bond
H
H
H
8-Me
Ex. 9
a Indicates compounds were isolated as intermediates or side products from final demethylation reactions. | Substituted benzoxazine and 3,4-dihydrobenzoxazine derivatives possessing activity as estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) modulators are provided which have the structure of formula I
wherein the substitutents are as described herein.
In addition, a method is provided for preventing, inhibiting or treating the progression or onset of pathological conditions associated with the estrogen receptor and to pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (1) Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to the technical field of organic wastewater treatment, and more particularly to a high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane, in which continuous anaerobic fermentation reaction procedures, such as acidification, neutralization, methanation, separation and the like, are performed on the organic substance wastewater so that the sludge amount produced after treating the organic wastewater is decreased, the treated water with a good property is obtained, and the hydrogen and methane recovery are increased.
[0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] When the organic substance in an anaerobic environment at the predetermined temperature, humidity and pH value encounters the microbe's anaerobic fermentation, the biogas is produced. The main components of the biogas include 50 to 80% of methane (CH 4 ), 20 to 50% of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and a little gas, such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), hydrogen (H 2 ), oxygen (O 2 ) and nitrogen (N 2 ). Because the high concentrations of flammable gas of methane (CH 4 ) is present, the biogas may serve as the fuel. The biogas is produced from the anaerobic fermentation process of the organic wastewater. The organic substance of the produced biogas comes from the kitchen garbage, manure, organic wastewater, sludge, agricultural waste or municipal solid waste (MSW). The treatment for producing the biogas energy after the anaerobic fermentation or anaerobic removal is referred to as methanation.
[0005] In a conventional organic wastewater treatment method, as shown in FIG. 1 , a flow-type anaerobic fermentation organic wastewater treatment device mainly adopts the flow-type design for continuously feeding the organic wastewater into the fermentation tank T 1 . After a period of time, the mixed solution of the treated removal liquid and microbes is drained, and methane and carbon dioxide produced by the anaerobic fermentation reaction may be discharged and collected from the top surface. In this device, after the mixed solution of the removal liquid and the microbes are drained, the microbe concentration in the fermentation tank T 1 is decreased, and the methane production efficiency is low.
[0006] FIG. 2 shows a reflow-type anaerobic fermentation organic wastewater treatment device, which mainly improves the above-mentioned method and utilizes a precipitator T 3 to precipitate the microbe sludge that is to be drained together with the removal liquid. The, the precipitated liquid flows back to mix with the wastewater and enters the fermentation tank T 2 . In this device, by the precipitating and flowing back to the fermentation tank T 2 , the hydraulic retention time of the anaerobic microbes can be ensured so that is serves as the matrix of the anaerobic microbes and is further decomposed, thereby enhancing the removal rate and the sludge reduction rate, and increasing the methane recovery.
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a filter-type anaerobic fermentation organic wastewater treatment device, which mainly makes the wastewater enter the fermentation tank T 4 from the bottom of the fermentation tank T 4 . After passing through a filtering layer T 5 , the wastewater rises from bottom to top and then flows out. In addition to filtering the suspended substances, the filtering layer T 5 also has many microbe groups to rapidly and effectively achieve the treatment effect and produce the methane and carbon dioxide. This device mainly adopts the filtering layer T 5 to reserve the anaerobic microbes below the filtering layer T 5 , thereby enhancing the hydraulic retention time of the anaerobic microbes.
[0008] Typically, the anaerobic fermentation process of producing the methane must encounter two main stages. The first stage is the acidification stage of the acid producing phase, in which the complicated organic substances in the wastewater are transformed by the acidogenic bacteria and the facultative bacteria into the volatile organic acid (e.g., acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, alcohol or the like). The second stage is the methane fermentation stage of producing the methane, wherein the metabolic reaction using the methanogenic bacteria, produced in the acidification process, the acetic acid and the propionic acid is performed to produce methane and carbon dioxide, so that the sludge content in the removal liquid is decreased.
[0009] Among various factors of influencing the methane by way of anaerobic fermentation, the following features can be concluded.
[0010] First, the growth of the biogas microbes is slow. The anaerobic fermentation utilizes the fermentation bacteria to decompose the organic substance and sufficiently provide the nutrient for the growth of the fermentation anaerobic bacteria, so that the biometric sludge concentration in the fermentation tank can be increased to accelerate the fermentation, and compensate for the drawback of the slow growth of the methanation bacteria. Thus, the reflowing or filtering treatment of the sludge is to lengthen the time when the sludge stays in the fermentation tank.
[0011] Second, the longer treating time is needed. The methanation process must pass the first stage acidification phase, the microbe's hydraulic retention time (HRT) is about 0.5 to 2 days so that the hydrogen and the carbon dioxide can be produced. The removal liquid is the volatile organic acid, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, alcohol or the like. The second stage methane fermentation phase is about 2 to 7 days (HRT), and the microbe's hydraulic retention time (HRT) is about 2 to 7 days, so that the acetic acid and the propionic acid have the metabolic reaction to produce the methane and carbon dioxide. The time of using the single-tank to treat the first stage acidification phase and the second stage methane fermentation phase is longer, and the continuous treatment cannot be performed.
[0012] Third, the concentration of the organic substance is too high. Because the pH value of the volatile organic acid removal liquid, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, alcohol or the like, produced in the first stage acidification phase, ranges from 5.0 to 6.5, and the preferred concentration pH value in the methane fermentation phase ranges from 7.2 to 7.6, the treatment efficiency of treating the first stage acidification phase and the second stage methane fermentation phase to produce the methane is decreased.
[0013] Fourth, the nitrogen concentration of the organic wastewater is too high. The concentrated waste also tends to affect the efficiency of anaerobic fermentation. For example, in the anaerobic fermentation treatment process of the pig's dung and urine, the pig's dung and urine have to be diluted with three times of water, so that the concentration of the ammonia nitrogen is lower than 1,500 ppm. Typically, the concentration of the ammonia nitrogen ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 ppm, which functions to inhibit the anaerobic bacteria. The concentration over 3,000 ppm produces poison.
[0014] At present, in the organic anaerobic wastewater treatment process, the middle temperature fermentation tank, the high-temperature fermentation tank and the device for speeding up the decomposition of the organic substance by adding the nutrient have been used, the technology has been well developed, and the commercial operation has been performed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] In the methane fermentation procedure, the acidification phase and the methane fermentation phase have to be passed. So, the treatment device adopting the conventional single-tank fermentation design or dual-tank reflow design in FIGS. 1 to 3 is disadvantageous to the metabolic reaction of the acetic acid and propionic acid in the second stage methane fermentation phase, so that the efficiency of producing the methane cannot be increased. Therefore, the existing methane fermentation procedure is properly designed, the operations thereof are modified, and the front and rear fermentation tanks are designed according to the following reasons.
[0016] First, because microbe's hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the acidification phase is about 0.5 to 2 days, the microbe's hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the methane fermentation phase is about 2 to 7 days, so that the time of using the single-tank to treat the first stage acidification phase and the second stage methane fermentation phase is longer. Thus, in order to provide the continuous treatment, the front and rear fermentation tanks are adopted, and the rear tank preferably have multiple tanks, such as 1 tank to 3 tanks, 1 tank to 4 tanks or 1 tank to 5 tanks. This is a feasible and effective method.
[0017] Second, the pH value of the organic acid produced in the acidification phase ranges from 5.0 to 6.5, and the preferable pH value of the organic acid in the methane fermentation phase of producing the methane ranges from 7.2 to 7.6. So, when the rear tank is adopted, the pH value of the organic acid before entering the rear tank is neutralized, so that the pH value approximates to the preferred condition required by the methane fermentation phase. In this manner, the methanogenic bacteria can perform the sufficient metabolic reaction on the acetic acid and the propionic acid to produce the methane and carbon dioxide, the sludge can be decreased, ad the methane recovery can be increased.
[0018] It is therefore an object of the invention is to provide the design having front and rear fermentation tanks and a neutralization tank. The invention mainly sequentially performs the continuous anaerobic fermentation reaction procedures, such as acidification, neutralization, methanation and separation, on the organic wastewater mixed solution, so that the sludge amount produced by treating the organic wastewater is decreased, the treated water with a good property is obtained, and the hydrogen and methane recovery are increased.
[0019] The invention solves the above-identified technological problem and adopts the technological means by providing a high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane. The device comprises: a mixing tank for collecting and accommodating an organic wastewater mixed solution; a two-stage anaerobic fermentation device for transforming the mixed solution, coming from the mixing tank, into hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and a removal liquid; and a solid liquid separation tank for performing filtering and separating on the removal liquid, coming from the two-stage anaerobic fermentation device. The characteristic lies in that: the two-stage anaerobic fermentation device comprises: a first anaerobic fermentation tank, which is connected to the mixing tank through a first conveying pipe, and for transforming the mixed solution, coming from coming from the mixing tank, into a first gas and a first liquid; a neutralization tank, which his connected to the first anaerobic fermentation tank through a second conveying pipe and for performing acid-base neutralization on the first liquid generated from the first anaerobic fermentation tank; a feeding tank, which is for accommodating an alkaline liquid, is connected to the neutralization tank through a third conveying pipe, and is for feeding alkaline liquid into the neutralization tank to make the first liquid approach neutral; and a second anaerobic fermentation tank composed of anaerobic fermentation tanks disposed in parallel. The second anaerobic fermentation tank is connected to the neutralization tank through a fourth conveying pipe, and is for transforming the first liquid, coming from the neutralization tank, into a second gas and a second liquid, and the second liquid is fed to the solid liquid separation tank through a fifth conveying pipe to perform filtering and separating. Thus, the removal rate (i.e., the sludge reduction rate) is increased, and the methane recovery is increased.
[0020] The first gas comprises hydrogen (H 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The first liquid comprises volatile organic acid, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, alcohol or the like. The second gas comprises methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The second liquid comprises a biometric sludge removal liquid produced after the methanogenic bacteria performs the metabolic reaction on the acetic acid and the propionic acid.
[0021] In order to provide the better acidification reaction for the mixed solution in the first anaerobic fermentation tank, the mixing tank of the invention comprises a feeding port for providing the organic wastewater and a nutrient; a stirring unit for providing a uniform action on the mixed solution; a dilute water inlet for controlling a nitrogen concentration of the organic wastewater; and a cleaning drain port for cleaning the mixing tank.
[0022] The main technology of the invention adopts the first anaerobic fermentation tank and the second anaerobic fermentation tank arranged in the two-stage manner in conjunction with the acid-base neutralization tank, wherein the second anaerobic fermentation tank is composed of anaerobic fermentation tanks disposed in parallel, so that the invention has the following advantages in treating the organic wastewater: the produced biometric sludge amount is small; the useful energy of hydrogen (H 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) can be recycled; the one-to-many front and rear tank design can withstand the higher organic wastewater loading; the treated wastewater stability is high; no oxygen has to be provided; the parasite eggs can be killed; and the pathogens can be killed or inhibited.
[0023] In order to provide the better anaerobic fermentation reaction and produce the useful energy of hydrogen (H 2 ) methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and the like, one of the first anaerobic fermentation tank and the second anaerobic fermentation tank of the invention may be selected from one of an anaerobic filter bed, a hybrid anaerobic filter bed, a baffled reactor and an up-anaerobic sludge bed (UASB), and is preferably the up-anaerobic sludge bed (UASB).
[0024] In the anaerobic fermentation process, the anaerobe tends to flow out when the liquid flows out of the fermentation tank. This phenomenon is referred to as the wash out phenomenon so that the anaerobe concentration is decreased, thereby decreasing the efficiency of producing the hydrogen and methane. Thus, a first liquid reflow tube is disposed on the first anaerobic fermentation tank of the invention, and second liquid reflow tubes connected to the anaerobic fermentation tanks are disposed on the second anaerobic fermentation tank, wherein the second liquid reflow tubes may be disposed independently or in parallel, and are preferably disposed in parallel.
[0025] In order to provide the methane fermentation reaction in the second anaerobic fermentation tank, the invention adopts a neutralization tank between the first anaerobic fermentation tank and the second anaerobic fermentation tank to perform acid-base neutralization on the volatile organic acid, and a feeding tank for providing an alkaline liquid, wherein stirring units are disposed in the neutralization tank.
[0026] In order to provide the filtering of the biometric sludge removal liquid in the anaerobic fermentation tanks and the treated water with a good property, the solid liquid separation tank adopted in the invention is a membrane bioreactor (MBR), which may be one of a branch type and an immersed type MBR, and is preferably the immersed type MBR.
[0027] In the branch type MBR, the active sludge is pumped to the tubular or flat sheet module at the high flow rate (usually higher than 2 m/s, and sometimes higher than 4 m/s), and the relatively large pressure drop and the extremely high transmembrane are generated. Because the operation quality is determined according to the transversal flow rate, the higher energy consumption is caused and the poor influence on the sludge is caused in order to obtain the larger flux. In addition, because the film surface area provided is smaller, the investment cost and the operation cost are higher.
[0028] In the immersed type MBR, the hollow fiber or flat sheet module is immersed into the aeration tank so that the treated water passes through the film by way of vacuuming. Because the film surface area is larger, the smaller flux can achieve the required flow, so that the energy consumption is lower and the scaling problem is less serious. Thus, the immersed type MBR is preferred in this invention.
[0029] In order to collect the hydrogen (H 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), a first gas collection tube is disposed on a top surface of the first anaerobic fermentation tank in this invention; and second gas collection tubes are disposed on top surfaces of the anaerobic fermentation tanks in the second anaerobic fermentation tank.
[0030] In order to provide the combustion for the first gas, collected by the first gas collection tube, and the second gas, collected by the second gas collection tube, the invention further comprises a generator.
[0031] In order to control the device operating and monitoring of the invention, the invention further comprises a control device, wherein the control device comprises a controller and a cable coil.
[0032] In addition to the application of the fixed type wastewater treatment, the invention may also be disposed on a mobile carrier to provide the non-fixed type wastewater treatment, wherein the mobile carrier is a container truck.
[0033] Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional flow-type anaerobic fermentation organic wastewater treatment device.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a conventional reflow-type anaerobic fermentation organic wastewater treatment device.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a conventional filter-type anaerobic fermentation organic waste liquid treatment device.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the device flow of the invention.
[0038] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a device system of the invention.
[0039] FIG. 6 is a pictorially schematic view showing the invention.
[0040] FIG. 7 is a pictorially schematic view showing the invention at another angle.
[0041] FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the system of the invention connected to a generator and a control device.
[0042] FIG. 9 is a pictorially schematic view showing the invention disposed on a mobile vehicle.
[0043] FIG. 10 is a side perspective schematic view showing the invention disposed on the mobile vehicle.
[0044] FIG. 11 is a top perspective schematic view showing the invention disposed on the mobile vehicle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0045] The above and other aspects of the invention will become better understood with regard to the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiment. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition to the fixed type wastewater treatment, the invention may also be disposed on a mobile container vehicle carrier to provide the non-fixed type wastewater treatment. In addition, in the following embodiment, the first gas comprises hydrogen (H 2 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ); the first liquid is a volatile organic acid, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, alcohol or the like; the second gas comprises methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), hydrogen (H 2 ), oxygen (O 2 ) and nitrogen (N 2 ); and the second liquid is a biometric sludge removal liquid.
[0046] As show in FIG. 4 , the optimum high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane according to the invention usually comprises a mixing tank 10 , a two-stage anaerobic fermentation device 20 , a solid liquid separation tank 30 , a control device 40 and a generator 50 . The two-stage anaerobic fermentation device 20 comprises a first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 , a neutralization tank 22 , a feeding tank 23 and a second anaerobic fermentation tank 24 . The control device 40 comprises a controller 41 and a cable coil 42 .
[0047] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 , on the tank body of the mixing tank 10 are provided with: a feeding port 11 for collecting and accommodating the organic wastewater mixed solution; a dilute water inlet 12 for diluting the organic wastewater nitrogen concentration; a cleaning drain port 13 for cleaning the mixing tank 10 ; and two stirring units 14 disposed in the mixing tank 10 to provide the stirring actions.
[0048] The first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 is an up-anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) for transforming the mixed solution, coming from the mixing tank 10 , into a first gas and a first liquid. A first conveying pipe 211 below the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 is connected to the mixing tank 10 to transfer the mixed solution from the mixing tank 10 to the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 . A first gas collection tube 212 for collecting the first gas is disposed on the top surface of the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 . A first liquid reflow tube 213 connected to the first conveying pipe 211 is disposed on the tank wall of the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 , and a pump P 1 is disposed on the first conveying pipe 211 . A pump P 2 is disposed on the first liquid reflow tube 213 . The pump P 1 and the pump P 2 are electrically connected to the controller 41 in the control device 40 , as shown in FIG. 8 . The pump P 1 can transfer the mixed solution from the mixing tank 10 to the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 . The pump P 2 can transfer the liquid from the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 back to the first conveying pipe 211 , and the liquid and the mixed solution in the mixing tank 10 again enter the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 .
[0049] A second conveying pipe 221 , which is connected to the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 and for performing acid-base neutralization on the first liquid coming from the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 , is disposed on the neutralization tank 22 . In order to make the first liquid (floating liquid) naturally flow into the neutralization tank 22 , the second conveying pipe 221 is disposed slantingly. In addition, a stirring unit 222 for providing stirring actions is disposed in the neutralization tank 22 .
[0050] A third conveying pipe 231 , which is connected to the neutralization tank 22 and is for feeding the alkaline liquid into the neutralization tank 22 to perform acid-base neutralization with the first liquid so that the pH value of the first liquid approximates to the neutral value, is disposed on the feeding tank 23 . Also, a pump P 3 electrically connected to the controller 41 of the control device 40 is disposed on the third conveying pipe 231 . As shown in FIG. 8 , the pump P 3 can feed the alkaline liquid from the feeding tank 23 to the neutralization tank 22 .
[0051] The second anaerobic fermentation tank 24 is composed of five anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 and for transforming the first liquid, coming from the neutralization tank 22 , into the second gas and the second liquid, wherein each of anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 is connected to the neutralization tank 22 with a fourth conveying pipe 246 . The bottoms of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 are connected to the fourth conveying pipe 246 in parallel, so that the first liquid in the neutralization tank 22 is uniformly fed into each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 . In addition, second gas collection tubes 247 to 251 for collecting the second gas are disposed on tops of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 . A second liquid reflow tube 252 connected to the fourth conveying pipe 246 is disposed on the tank wall of each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 . Also, a pump P 4 is disposed on the fourth conveying pipe 246 , and a pump P 5 is disposed on the second liquid reflow tube 252 . The pump P 4 and the pump P 5 are electrically connected to the controller 41 of the control device 40 . As shown in FIG. 8 , the pump P 4 can uniformly feed the first liquid from the neutralization tank 22 into each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 , and the pump P 5 can feed the liquid from each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 back to the fourth conveying pipe 246 and then into the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 .
[0052] The solid liquid separation tank 30 is an immersed type membrane bioreactor (MBR), in which a filtering module 31 is disposed. A fifth conveying pipe 32 connected to the tops of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 in parallel is disposed on the bottom of the solid liquid separation tank 30 , and for feeding the second liquid (floating liquid) from each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 to the bottom of the solid liquid separation tank 30 . The filtering module 31 separates the second liquid into the biometric sludge and the wastewater that can be drained. In addition, a pump P 6 is disposed on the fifth conveying pipe 32 , a pump P 7 is disposed on the filtering module 31 , and the pump P 6 and the pump P 7 are electrically connected to the controller 41 of the control device 40 . As shown in FIG. 8 , the pump P 6 can feed the second liquid removal liquid from each of the anaerobic fermentation tanks 241 to 245 into the solid liquid separation tank 30 , and the pump P 7 can discharge the water, obtained after the second liquid (removal liquid) in the solid liquid separation tank 30 is filtered and separated.
[0053] As shown in FIGS. 4 , 5 and 8 , the invention further has a generator 50 and a control device 40 . The generator 50 generates the power after by combusting the collected first gas and second gas.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 8 , the control device 40 comprises the controller 41 and the cable coil 42 , wherein the cable coil 42 can be connected to the incoming power, and the controller 41 is electrically connected to the pumps P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , P 4 , P 5 , P 6 and P 7 and for operating and monitoring the devices of invention, so that the mixing tank 10 , the first anaerobic fermentation tank 21 , the neutralization tank 22 , the feeding tank 23 , the second anaerobic fermentation tank 24 and the solid liquid separation tank 30 can continuously operate and treat the organic wastewater.
[0055] As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 , the high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane according to the invention is disposed in a container truck 60 to further provide the non-fixed type organic wastewater treatment. FIG. 9 is a pictorially schematic view showing the invention disposed on a mobile vehicle. FIG. 10 is a side perspective schematic view showing the invention disposed on the mobile vehicle. FIG. 11 is a top perspective schematic view showing the invention disposed on the mobile vehicle.
[0056] In summary, the high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane is designed according to the above-mentioned optimum conditions and can indeed increase the removal rate and the sludge reduction rate, and increase the methane recovery. In addition, the generator for combusting the recycled gas is provided so that the invention also advantageously has the low energy consumption, can decrease organic waste contamination, and also increase the green energy production pathway.
[0057] New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed. | A high efficiency biometric device for producing hydrogen and methane mainly uses a two-stage anaerobic fermentation device to transform an organic wastewater mixed solution into hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and a removal liquid, and then uses a solid liquid separation tank to filter and separate the removal liquid to reduce the sludge and obtain the treated water with a good property. The characteristic lies in that the two-stage anaerobic fermentation device comprises a first anaerobic fermentation tank, a neutralization tank, a feeding tank and a second anaerobic fermentation tank composed of anaerobic fermentation tanks disposed in parallel. The biometric device can increase the removal rate and the methane recovery, and also has a generator for combusting the recycled gas to advantageously have the low energy consumption. Thus, the organic waste contamination is decreased, and the green energy production pathway is also increased. | 8 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT
The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/141,296 filed Oct. 21, 1993, now abandoned, by Peter E. Reed and Carol S. Greer entitled "Pitch Control in Paper Mill Systems", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the use of certain N-vinyl amide polymers for use in controlling pitch in paper mill systems.
2. Introduction
The problem of pitch control in papermaking has previously been recognized. The pitch in the fibers of wood pulps is associated with naturally occurring lignin dispersing agents. Cooking and mechanical agitation which occur during the pulping by the sulfite process liberate pitch and these natural dispersing agents. However, as a result of the mechanical work on the fibers, the natural dispersing agents liberated along with the pitch are inadequate to keep the pitch from depositing on the equipment employed in beating, hydrating, refining, bleaching, and even on the wire used for forming the sheet. Because of the tendency of the pitch to agglomerate within the pulp suspension or deposit on the surfaces of the wire or other equipment, the pitch frequently causes the formation of spots or holes in the sheet formed. Additionally, the pitch may adhere to the wire or press rolls or dryer rolls and cause tearing of the sheet. The result of the pitch contamination is the production of sheets with numerous imperfections. Among other consequences of pitch deposition are the expense of cleaning the machinery frequently either with solvents or steam, and the loss of production during cleaning and replacing operations caused by breakdown of the sheet.
Cationic water soluble polymers are used commercially in the paper mills as pitch control agents. The present invention is predicated upon the discovery that certain water soluble lower alkyl N-vinyl amide polymers give colloidal pitch particle reduction in aqueous pulps.
The Invention
The invention consists of a process for controlling pitch deposition in pulp and papermaking systems. It comprises adding to the pulp a pitch controlling amount of a water soluble polymer which contains at least 5 mole percent of a lower alkyl N-vinyl amide or hydrolyzed lower alkyl N-vinyl amides. The lower alkyl N-vinyl amide polymers and the hydrolyzed lower alkyl N-vinyl amide polymers preferred for use in the practice of the invention have average molecular weights within the range of between 5,000-1,000,000. Preferably, the range is between 10,000 and 500,000.
The Lower Alkyl N-Vinyl Amide Polymers
The polymers used in the practice of the invention contain at least 5 mole percent of the lower alkyl N-vinyl amide. In most instances, the amount of the lower alkyl N-vinyl amide present in the polymer will be greater than 25 mole percent. The lower alkyl group of the N-vinyl amide usually contains from one to three carbon atoms. Illustrative of the lower alkyl N-vinyl amides that are present in the polymers used in the practice of the invention are N-vinyl formamide, N-vinyl acetamide and N-methyl(N-vinyl acetamide).
The other monomers present in the lower alkyl N-vinyl amide polymers may be selected from such monomeric groupings as N-vinyl amine, vinyl glycine, vinyl acetate, vinyl alcohol, acrylic acid, acrylamide and N-vinyl amides having alkyl groups containing between 12-22 carbon atoms. The amount of comonomer or termonomer present in the polymers of the invention often will be controlled by the method of preparation as well as effectiveness of a particular polymer in the control of pitch in a particular papermaking system.
The preparation of this polymer is frequently accomplished by the hydrolysis of a precursor lower alkyl N-vinyl amide polymer. Depending upon the degree of hydrolysis, the resulting polymer is either a polyvinyl amine (full or complete hydrolysis), or a polyvinyl amine copolymer of the starting lower alkyl N-vinyl amide which results from partial hydrolysis. Polymers containing vinyl alcohol groups are produced by the hydrolysis of lower alkyl N-vinyl amide/vinyl acetate copolymers. This hydrolysis often results in the production of vinyl amine groups as well as vinyl alcohol groups. Many of the lower alkyl N-vinyl amide copolymers are prepared using conventional polymerization techniques. Thus, the copolymers with acrylic acid or acrylamide are prepared in this fashion. These monomers typically are present in the copolymers in amounts ranging between 5 to 95 mole percent.
It is also possible to modify the polymers using organic modifying compounds such as alkylating agents to react with the vinyl amine containing polymers to produce secondary and tertiary amino groups. Typical is the use of chloroacetic acid to insert N-vinyl glycine groups into the molecule. Further, it is possible to insert fatty amide groups into the polymers by reacting N-vinyl amine groups with fatty acid chlorides which contain from 12-22 carbon atoms. Such a compounds is oleyl chloride.
To illustrate typical polymers used in the practice of the invention, Table 1 is presented below:
TABLE 1______________________________________PolymerNo. Polymer Chemistry MW______________________________________A Hydrolyzed p(vinylacetamide/ 60,000-150,000 vinylamine) Copolymer: 80-95% vinyl acetamide 20-50% vinyl amideB A modified with chloroacetate: 60,000-150,000Mole % N-vinyl acetamide 80-95 N-vinyl amine 15-4} 20% of vinyl amine N-vinyl glycine 5-1} groups were modified with chloroacetate acidC A modified with oleyl chloride 60,000-150,000Mole % N-vinyl acetamide 80-95 N-vinyl amine 17.5-2.5 N-vinyl oleamide 2.5D Substantially hydrolyzed 1:1 10,200 p(vinyl acetate/N-methyl-N-vinyl acetamide)______________________________________
In Table I, the mole percents and the molecular weight ranges were furnished by the supplier of the N-vinyl amide or hydrolyzed N-vinyl amide.
DOSAGE
The Dosage and Utilization of the Polymers of the Invention
The polymers of the present invention can be added to the pulp at any stage of the papermaking system. They usually can be added as an aqueous solution. The effective amount of these polymers to be added depends on a number of variables, including the pH of the system, hardness, temperature, and the pitch content of the pulp. Generally, between 0.01-1 pound per ton of the composition is added based on the weight of the pulp slurry. Good results are often achieved at a dosage of between 0.05-0.5 pound per ton.
The polymers of the instant invention are effective in controlling pitch deposition in papermaking systems, such as Kraft, acid sulfite, and mechanical pulp papermaking systems. For example, pitch deposition occurring in the brown stock washer, screen room and decker systems of Kraft papermaking processes can be controlled. The term "papermaking" is meant to include all pulp processes. Generally, it is thought that the polymers can be utilized to prevent pitch deposition on all wetted surfaces from the pulp mill to the reel of the paper machine under a variety of pHs and conditions. More specifically, these polymers effectively decrease the deposition of metal soaps and other resinous pitch components. Metal surfaces and plastic and synthetic surfaces such as machine wires, felts, foils, uhle boxes and headbox components can all be protected by the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Pitch in paper mills is controlled by treating paper mill systems with a water soluble polymer which contains a lower alkyl N-vinyl amide or a hydrolyzed lower alkyl N-vinyl amide.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The inventors have discovered a process for controlling pitch deposition in pulp and papermaking systems which comprises adding to the pulp a pitch controlling amount of a water-soluble polymer of N-vinyl acetamide and a second monomer selected from the group consisting of vinyl amine, vinyl glycine, N-vinyl amide having an alkyl group of from 12 to 22 carbon atoms, vinyl acetate and vinyl alcohol.
In this process, the water-soluble polymer may be partially hydrolyzed.
Alternatively, the water-soluble polymer is completely hydrolyzed.
A process for controlling pitch deposition in pulp and papermaking systems which comprises adding to the pulp a pitch-controlling amount of a water-soluble terpolymer of N-vinyl acetamide and two monomers selected from the group consisting of vinyl amine, vinyl glycine, an N-vinyl amide having an alkyl group of from 12 to 22 carbon atoms, vinyl acetate and vinyl alcohol.
In this process, the water-soluble terpolymer may be partially hydrolyzed.
Alternatively, the water-soluble terpolymer may be completely hydrolyzed.
A process for controlling pitch deposition in pulp and papermaking systems which comprises adding to the pulp a pitch-controlling amount of a water-soluble copolymer of N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide and vinyl acetate in a 1:1 mole ratio.
In this process, the water-soluble copolymer may be partially hydrolyzed.
Alternatively, the water-soluble copolymer may be completely hydrolyzed.
EXAMPLES
The following examples are presented to describe preferred embodiments and utilities of the invention and are not meant to limit the invention unless otherwise stated in the claims appended hereto.
Pitch Deposition Test Procedure
It was found that pitch could be made to deposit from a 1.4% consistency hardwood Kraft fiber slurry containing approximately 1,650 ppm of a laboratory pitch and approximately 300 ppm calcium hardness (as CaCo 3 ) by adjusting the slurry to the desired test pH (4.5 or 6.0), adding the appropriate amount of inhibitor chemical and mixing the fiber slurry in an Osterizer blender for 4 minutes. The deposition was determined by the difference between the starting weight of a Teflon coupon suspended into the slurry during the test, and the dried weight of the coupon plus deposited pitch after completion of the test. The laboratory pitch was comprised of a mixture of primarily resin acids, fatty acids, and fatty esters.
Listed below are Tables 2 and 3 which show the polymers which were evaluated and demonstrated pitch control activity.
TABLE 2______________________________________INHIBITION OF PITCH DEPOSITIONSOFTWOOD PITCH @ pH 4.5 % Inhibition Dosage Lb/Ton Pitch Deposit of PitchPolymer.sup.1 Actives Basis Weight (MG) Deposition______________________________________Control-1 0.00 520Control-2 0.00 489Control-3 0.00 473A 0.20 340 31A 0.50 314 37A 0.80 201 59A 1.20 164 67A 1.60 114 77A 2.00 51 90C 0.20 471 5C 0.50 239 52C 0.80 189 62C 1.20 89 82D 0.20 470 5D 0.50 215 57D 1.00 138 72D 1.50 62 87Control-4 0.00 497B 0.50 524 -6B 1.20 329 33B 2.00 237 52B 3.00 180 64B 4.00 84 83Control-5 0.00 492Control-6 0.00 504______________________________________ Average Control Pitch Deposit Weight = 495.8 1 Standard Deviation = 15.7 MG (3.2%) 1 = polymer as listed in Table 1
TABLE 3______________________________________INHIBITION OF PITCH DEPOSITIONSOFTWOOD PITCH @ pH 6.0 % Inhibition Dosage Lb/Ton Pitch Deposit of PitchPolymer.sup.1 Actives Basis Weight (MG) Deposition______________________________________Control-1 0.00 610Control-2 0.00 581A 0.20 365 37A 0.50 118 80A 0.80 85 85A 1.20 22 96C 0.20 324 44C 0.50 103 82C 0.80 33 94D 0.20 270 53D 0.30 73 87D 0.50 46 92Control-3 0.00 581B 0.20 529 18B 0.50 366 37B 1.20 116 80B 1.80 77 87Control-4 0.00 544______________________________________ Average Control Pitch Deposit Weight = 579 1 Standard Deviation = 27.0 MG (4.7%) 1 = polymer as listed in Table 1
Changes can be made in the composition, operation and arrangement of the method of the present invention described herein without departing from the concept and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims: | Pitch in paper mills is controlled by treating paper mill systems with a water soluble polymer which contains a lower alkyl N-vinyl amide or a hydrolyzed lower alkyl N-vinyl amide. | 3 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/490,043 filed on May 25, 2011 and entitled “Enhanced Interactive Zone-Based Service”, contents of which are incorporated herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a method for a zone-based service, and more particularly, to a method of enhancing zone-based service in a personal network gateway.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] More and more users connect their electronic devices to small range Personal Network (PN), such as a home network, an in-car network and a body area network. Connection between the PN and other networks expands access ability of electronic devices or a Personal Network Entity (PNE) of the PN and realizes many services, such as using PNE outside of PN to access various services. For example, a personal media player connected to the Bluetooth network can receive video contents from the Internet via a cellular phone connecting to the Wide Area Network (WAN).
[0006] Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is the focal point for the development of mobile service enabler specifications, which supports the creation of interoperable end-to-end mobile services. OMA drives service enabler architectures and open enabler interfaces that are independent of the underlying wireless networks and platforms. OMA creates interoperable mobile data service enablers that work across mobile devices, service providers, networks, geography and telecommunication firms.
[0007] Furthermore, in the communication protocol of OMA, Converged Personal Network Services (CPNS) server, Personal Network Gateway and PNE form a basic architecture of the CPNS. The CPNS server is a CPNS enabler entity, which replies requests from a Personal Network Gateway (PNGW) and ensures that appropriate applications are selected and appropriate contents are provided to the PNEs.
[0008] The PNGW serves as an intermediary entity between the PNEs and other networks that forwards the requests and the responses between the PNEs and the other networks. Besides, the PNEs are connected to the PNGW and between each other, and are used for rendering the contents received from the PNGW or from each other.
[0009] Other than the PNGW, the Zone Personal Network Gateway (Zone PNGW) is used for providing better service efficiency. In the CPNS, zone means the geographic area which is related to signalings of physical carriers, service providers, or users.
[0010] Different from normal PN GW, the concept of Zone PN GW is proposed to provide better service publication and utility. Zone in CPNS is a specific geographic area depending on the signaling capacities of physical bearer used or on the intention of the service provider or users. The concept of the Zone PN GW is that the Zone PN GW searches its zone regularly (periodically) to find out if some PNE which had been located outside of PN enters in. The Zone PN GW broadcasts and/or unicasts the message advertising the existence of Zone PN GW.
[0011] Zone Based Service Flow is provided in FIG. 1 , which illustrates general flows for Zone Based Services mainly provided through the public PN GW. In FIG. 1 , a ServiceDescriptionAdvertise message is sent from the CPNS Server to the PN GW which is a presumed step for the Zone Based Service. After receiving the ServiceDescriptionAdvertise message, the PN GW stores the Service Description, and then checks if the PNE is available for the service based on PN Inventory and will deliver the ServiceDescriptionAdvertise message to the PNE based on ServiceDescriptionAdvertise message, PNE is aware of available services to consume in the Zone. However, under this circumstance, PNE can't interact with PN GW, and can't request more practical, real-time related information inside the zone, either. On the other hand, PN GW has no idea how to provide more detailed, appropriate personalized information inside the zone to each individual PNE.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It is therefore an objective to provide a method of enhancing zone-based service to provide more interactions for a personal network entity and a personal network gateway.
[0013] A method of enhancing a zone-based service for a personal network entity (PNE) is disclosed. The method comprises sending PNE related information to a personal network gateway (PN-GW); and receiving specific information from the person network gateway; wherein, the specific information is provided based on the PNE related information.
[0014] A method of enhancing a zone-based service for a personal network gateway (PN-GW) is disclosed. The method comprises receiving PNE related information from a personal network entity (PNE); and sending specific information to the person network entity based on the PNE related information.
[0015] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a message flow for a zone based service in the prior art.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary personal network.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication device.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Please refer to FIG. 2 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of a Personal Network (PN) 20 according to an example of the present disclosure. The PN 20 includes a Converged Personal Network Service (CPNS) server 220 , a Personal Network Gateway (PNGW) 240 and a location server 260 and multiple Personal Network Entities (PNEs) 200 . The CPNS server 220 provides a zone-based service. The PNGW 240 is used to transmit requests and responses between PNEs 200 and the CPNS server 220 . The PNGW 240 can be a Zone Personal Network Gateway, informing the PNEs 200 of existence of the PNGW 240 by broadcasting a message, and providing the zone-based service to a new PNE just entering into a specific zone Z. Preferably, the PNGW 240 can be a mobile device or a set-top box. The PNEs 200 can be a mobile device, a personal computer, a music player, a in-car navigation system or a set-top box. In other words, a mobile device can play as the PNEs 200 or the PNGW 240 according to the users' needs and device capabilities. The location server 260 is connected to the PNE 200 and the PNGW 240 , providing location information of the PNE 200 . The PNGW 240 can forward the location information to location server 260 .
[0021] Please refer to FIG. 3 , which illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication device 30 . The communication device 30 can be the CPNS server 220 , the PNGW 240 , the PNEs 200 . The communication device 30 can include a processing means 300 such as a microprocessor or ASIC, a memory unit 310 , and a communication interfacing unit 320 . The memory unit 310 may be any data storage device that can store program code 314 for access by the processing means 300 . Examples of the memory unit 310 include but are not limited to a subscriber identity module (SIM), read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, and optical data storage devices. According to processing results of the processing means 300 , the communication interfacing unit 320 can be a radio transceiver or a wire/logical link for communicating with the corresponding communication devices.
[0022] Please refer to FIG. 4 , which illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary process 40 . The process 40 can be used in the PN 20 to enhance a zone-based service and initiate the zone-based service. The process 40 can be complied into the program code 314 and includes the following steps:
[0023] Step 400 : Start.
[0024] Step 402 : The PNE 200 sends PNE related information to the PNGW 240 .
[0025] Step 404 : The PNGW 240 receives the PNE related information and sends specific information to the PNE 200 based on the PNE related information.
[0026] Step 406 : The PNE 200 receives the specific information from the PNGW 240 in the specific zone Z.
[0027] Step 408 : End.
[0028] According to the process 40 , the PNE 200 sends the PNE related information to the PNGW 240 . The PNE related information is sent by the PNE 200 proactively or requested by the PN-GW 240 . The PNE related information could include the location information of the PNE 200 and/or device capability of the PNE 200 . When the PNGW 240 receives the PNE related information, the PNGW 240 sends the specific information to the PNE 200 based on the PNE related information. The PNE 200 receives the specific information from the PNGW 240 in the specific zone Z. In this situation, the PNE 200 can interact with the PNGW 240 as well as request more practical, real-time related information inside the zone. With the PNE related information, PNGW 240 can provide more detailed, appropriate personalized information inside the zone Z to each individual PNE 200 . Namely, the process 40 provides more interaction for the PNE 200 and the PNGW 240 .
[0029] Preferably, the PNE 200 supports at least one of the various positioning technologies (e.g. OMA SUPL). The PNE 200 performs positioning procedures with the location server 260 (e.g. H-SLP in OMA ULP architecture) to calculate or obtain the location information, which are defined in the various location technologies. The location information can be transmitted from the PNE 200 to the PNGW 240 in a new message or anew information element (IE) (e.g. PNELocationInfo). The location information in the new message/IE includes sign of latitude, latitude, longitude, uncertainty, confidence, altitude, and velocity, but not limited herein.
[0030] When the PNGW 240 receives the location information, the PNGW 240 forwards the location information to location server 260 (e.g. H-SLP in OMA ULP architecture) to retrieve location related information if the PNGW 240 is incapable to handle the location information. The location server 260 sends the location information back to the PNGW 240 under the format that PNGW 240 can process further.
[0031] In addition, the PNE related information can be the device capabilities of the PNE 200 , such device type, video codec, etc. When the PNGW 240 receive the device capabilities of the PNE 200 , the Zone PNGW 240 can use the device capabilities of the PNE 200 to provide more specific, real-time information inside the zone.
[0032] For example, if the PNGW 240 recognizes the PNE 200 is a MP3 using the knowledge of the device type, the PNGW 240 provides updated information of album release. For another example, if PNGW 240 recognizes the PNE 200 is a GPS device using the knowledge of device type, the PNGW 240 provides real-time map, traffic information and parking information.
[0033] Thus, with the PNE related information provided by the PNE 200 proactively or requested by the PNGW 240 , the PNGW 240 can provide more specific, real-time information inside the zone Z. For example, the PNE 200 entering the zone Z is a device (such as, mobile phone) in a car. The PNGW 240 can provide useful nearest gas station, nearest restaurants, and real-time map and traffic information. For another example, when the PNE 200 enters the zone Z, which is a large shopping mall, the PNE 200 can interact with the PNGW 240 to request “Query” or “Search” operation for desirable shops or goods in the shopping mall while this information is not covered by the service description advertisement.
[0034] Please note that the abovementioned steps including suggested steps can be realized by means that could be hardware, firmware known as a combination of a hardware device and computer instructions and data that reside as read-only software on the hardware device, or an electronic system. Examples of hardware can include analog, digital and mixed circuits known as microcircuit, microchip, or silicon chip. Examples of the electronic system can include system on chip (SOC), system in package (Sip), computer on module (COM), and the communication device 20 in which the processing means 300 processes the program code 314 related to the abovementioned processes and the processed results can enhance the zone-based service in the PN 20 .
[0035] To sum up, by sending the PNE related information to the PNGW, the PNGW can send the specific information to the PNE based on the PNE related information. Thus, the PNE can interact with the PNGW as well as request more practical, real-time related information inside the zone. With the PNE related information, PNGW can provide more detailed, appropriate personalized information inside the zone to each PNE.
[0036] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims. | A method of enhancing a zone-based service for a personal network entity (PNE) is disclosed. The method comprises sending PNE related information to a personal network gateway (PN-GW); and receiving specific information from the person network gateway; wherein, the specific information is provided based on the PNE related information. | 7 |
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/803,127, filed on Mar. 8, 2001 (pending), which is specifically incorporated by this reference as if set forth herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates, generally, to the field of fruit and vegetable spread products and, in its preferred embodiments, to a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product fortified with dietary fiber, vitamins and/or minerals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A growing awareness of the link between a healthy diet and improved physical health has led to new product development in the food manufacturing business. Because busy lifestyles often prevent consumers from consistently making the healthy food choices necessary to realize improved health, manufacturers have introduced traditional foods fortified with vitamins, minerals, fiber, digestive aids such as probiotics, and other nutrients into the marketplace.
[0004] Adding nutritional supplements to food products, however, often results in certain complications such as a loss of flavor or texture of the food. Additionally, the appearance of the product may be compromised by mineral residues and grittiness which can remain on the surfaces of food packaging. These problems are especially evident when the food product contains fresh fruits and/or vegetables since consumers tend to equate the integrity of the fruits and/or vegetables with the freshness and quality of the overall product.
[0005] A further complication of processing fruits and vegetables, especially those fortified with additional nutrients, arises due to the fragile nature of the microorganisms present in these products. For fruits and vegetable spreads enhanced with nutritional supplements, a manufacturer must take a great deal of care to kill the microorganisms present in the fruit without destroying the integrity of the supplements and without compromising the taste, texture and appearance of the product.
[0006] Many individuals apply fruit or vegetable spreads, such as jams, jellies, relishes, purees and preserves, to other food products in order to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of the other food products with the taste and nutritional content of the fruit or vegetable spreads. Such fruit or vegetable spreads, generally, include a fruit or vegetable ingredient and a saccharide ingredient, but may also contain nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners, spice, acidifying agents, pectin (i.e., in an amount sufficient to compensate for natural deficiency in fruit or vegetable), buffering and antifoaming agents, preservatives, and other ingredients or agents for improving or preserving their taste, nutritional value, and quality. The saccharide ingredient in jams, jellies and preserves is typically sugar, which provides sweetening, bulk, texture, and mouth feel. The sugar also reduces the water activity level, thereby reducing pathogen growth.
[0007] Typically, the preparation of jams, jellies, purees and preserves comprises a number of steps. Initially, fruit ingredients in a pulverized form, sweeteners and water are blended together. A stabilizing solution, such as pectin, is then prepared and added to the fruit, sweetener, and water blend to produce a mixture. During subsequent cooking of the mixture in vats, unwanted water is evaporated to create a cooked mixture having a desired soluble solids content. Finally, the cooked mixture is placed in suitable receptacles, such as jars, through a hot-filling process. Unfortunately, the steps of cooking and evaporation cause the fruit spread to lose flavor intensity (i.e., through boiling-off), texture and mouth feel (i.e., through breakdown of the fruit fibers into mush), natural color (i.e., through darkening or oxidation), and nutrients (i.e., through boiling-off).
[0008] One approach to the problem of nutrient loss is to fortify the jam, jelly, fruit or vegetable spread or food product with vitamins, minerals, fiber, or other nutrients, either alone or in combination. Through fortification, a manufacturer can supplement the nutritional value of a food by adding additional nutrients.
[0009] Several fortified food products are already known in the art. For instance, confectionary foods, breakfast cereals and nutritional drinks are available which are fortified with fiber and/or calcium. However, the addition of fortifying nutrients often affects the taste and/or mouth feel of the product, imparting bitterness or grittiness to the food. Foods containing fruits and/or vegetables are especially difficult to fortify if preserving the texture and integrity of the fruit and/or vegetable is important to the final product.
[0010] Calcium is often used as a binding agent for supplemental nutrients added to fortified foods. The calcium is bulky, however, making the resulting food product gritty or otherwise texturally unsatisfactory.
[0011] Other inventors and manufacturers, in response to studies indicating that excessive amounts of sugar in food products may contribute to or exacerbate many health problems and to the resultant desire among consumers for low-sugar fruit spreads, have attempted to enhance the healthiness of food products by employing sugar substitutes to produce low-calorie, low-sugar products. However, such sugar substitutes and processes for making food products which incorporate them, tend to create products having various difficulties, including deficiencies in sensory (sweetness intensity, quality and flavor), visual (color, clarity and gloss), and textural (firmness, body, mouth feel, and spreadability) properties as compared to their naturally sweetened counterparts. Some inventors, attempting to resolve such deficiencies, incorporate a multi-component gum system to impart desirable textural properties to pectin or carrageenan gel, but use conventional heating methods of preparation and, as a result of heat breakdown of the gums, produce a food product deficient in flavor.
[0012] Still other inventors and manufacturers have attempted to produce jams, jellies and other food products with a reduced caloric content by substituting oligofructose and/or inulin in place of some of the sugar, while taking advantage of the known bulking properties of such fructans. Unfortunately, traditional food processing tends to degrade the oligofructose and/or inulin at high temperatures and low pH, and because the shelf-life of products containing oligofructose may be inadequate, these attempts have proven difficult. In an attempt to extend the shelf-life of products containing oligofructose, pasteurization processes have been used, even though it is known that the pasteurization conditions may cause the oligofructose to degrade and, hence, be detrimental to the quality of the products.
[0013] Finally, still other inventors and manufacturers have attempted to resolve the, as yet undiscussed, problem of microbiological contamination which may occur during the preparation of some food products, particularly those incorporating fresh fruit and/or vegetables. Unfortunately, because the fruit and/or vegetables must be stable against processing stress, certain varieties, especially berry varieties, of fruit cannot be used in food products made with high-heat processes. Moreover, fruit spread products made with such process have, or tend to have, a texture similar to that of gelatin desserts (e.g., JELL-O®), which are very watery and not suitable for spreading, for instance, on toast. Further, even at refrigerated temperatures, fruit spread products prepared using the heated process have an extremely short shelf-life.
[0014] Until now, there has seemingly been no attempt to resolve the difficulty of manufacturing a nutritionally fortified low-calorie food spread while maintaining the texture and mouth feel of whole fruits or vegetables. The changes in texture, taste, odor and shelf stability caused by adding vitamins and minerals to food products have been discussed, but a method to preserve the manufacturing quality of fortified food products, especially those containing fresh fruit, has not been disclosed.
[0015] Therefore, there exists in the industry, a need for a process for making a nutritionally-fortified, reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable food product with an adequate shelf-life which does not diminish the natural flavor, texture, mouth feel, color, or nutritional content of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein, and for addressing these and other related, and unrelated, problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Briefly described, the present invention comprises a nutritionally-fortified, reduced-calorie fruit and/or vegetable spread product (as defined herein) including whole, natural fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) (as defined herein) or combinations thereof and processes for making, or preparing, the same. More particularly, in its preferred embodiments, a process of the present invention comprises a pasteurization step for making a fruit and/or vegetable spread product having reduced caloric and sugar content and having increased soluble dietary fiber and increased nutritional content. The nutritionally-fortified fruit and/or vegetable spread product may, for example and not limitation, be molded into sticks, pops, patties, or frozen novelties such as is done with margarine or ice cream, and/or transferred to a container (such as a jar, tub, or tube) or wrapper for packaging and subsequent sale as a standalone product. The nutritionally-fortified fruit and/or vegetable spread product may also be used as a base for other food products such as, for example and not limitation, yogurts, drinks, beverages, smoothies, snacks, pie fillings, puddings, ice cream toppings, condiments, fruit toppings, dressings, baby food, curd, cheeses, dips and sauces. Additionally, the nutritionally-fortified fruit and/or vegetable spread product may be spread onto other foods, for example and not limitation, like a jam, jelly, preserve, puree, marmalade, dressing, topping, condiment, cheese, dip or sauce.
[0017] Importantly, the processes produce a fruit and/or vegetable spread product, as defined herein, without the discoloration and the reductions in flavor, texture, mouth feel, and nutrients that occur with fruit or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes which include a vat cooking and/or evaporation step. Additionally, the process produces a fruit and/or vegetable spread product without the gritty mouth feel and the reductions in product quality that occur with food products made with conventional process which include fortified nutrients. The fruit and/or vegetable spread products produced by the process of the present invention provide: flavor approaching that of fresh fruits (or vegetables); texture and mouth feel superior to that of traditionally-prepared jams, jellies, purees and preserves; enhanced nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and fiber; and reduced caloric content as compared to traditionally-prepared fruit or vegetable spread products.
[0018] The process of the present invention avoids the flavor, texture, mouth feel, and nutrient losses that occur during conventional processing of fruit and/or vegetable spread products by using a high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization process instead of the traditional vat cooking and evaporation processes. By combining whole fruit(s), vegetable(s), or a combination thereof with a homogenized slurry of other ingredients, including at least (i) sweetener, such as, for example and not limitation, fruit juice concentrate, invert syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrups, maltose, cane syrup, honey, polyols such as sorbitol, mannitol, glycerol, propylene glycol, fruit juices or any mixtures thereof, (ii) soluble dietary fiber such as, for example and not limitation, fructo-oligosaccharide or inulin, and pectin, and by then pasteurizing the combined mixture in, preferably, a swept-surface heat exchanger, a shelf-stable fruit and/or vegetable spread product having less sugar (and, hence, reduce caloric content) and more dietary fiber is produced, and (iii) nutrients (as defined herein) including, but not limited to, vitamins and minerals. The resulting fruit and/or vegetable spread products have good textural quality and mouth feel, intense flavor, and maintain the color and structural integrity of the whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) present therein.
[0019] The process of the present invention further avoids the flavor, texture, mouth feel, and nutrient losses that occur during conventional vat processing of fruit and/or vegetable spread products which are enhanced with supplemental nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber. The supplemental nutrients, as defined herein, are combined with a dietary fiber and added to a slurry of fruit and/or vegetables and other ingredients. Preferably, the supplemental nutrients are bound to a dietary fiber, such as inulin, rather than to a bulky binding agent such as calcium. The fortified fiber-fruit and/or vegetable slurry is then exposed to a high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization process instead of traditional vat cooking and evaporation processes. The process of present invention results in a fruit and/or vegetable spread product, as defined herein, having enhanced nutrition and improved texture, mouth feel, and flavor.
[0020] According to the preferred embodiments described herein, the process of the present invention uses less sugar than is used in traditional fruit and/or vegetable spread processing. Such reduction of the sugar content lowers the incidence of discoloration in the resulting fruit and/or vegetable spreads products (i.e., as compared to the discoloration which occurs in traditionally, or conventionally, prepared fruit and/or vegetable spread products) which occurs as a consequence of non-enzymatic browning (also referred to as “Maillard Browning”). The process' use of less sugar also results in higher water activity levels during preparation that are more amenable to pasteurization, thereby enhancing the pasteurization process.
[0021] Because the process of the present invention utilizes whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) and/or combinations thereof in lieu of fruit or vegetable juices for flavoring, the resulting fruit and/or vegetable spread products have improved taste, texture, and mouth feel when compared to fruit and/or vegetable spread products traditionally made with such fruit or vegetable juices. By preparing a premix of vitamins and minerals, and by binding the premix to a dietary fiber, the product of the inventive process achieves enhanced nutrition without degrading the appearance, flavor, texture or mouth feel of the product. Additionally, by using pasteurization for microkill instead of vat cooking as in conventional fruit and/or vegetable spread processing, the process of the present invention does not “cook down” whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) into mush and does not destroy their structural integrity, and thereby enhances the texture and mouth feel of the resulting fruit and/or vegetable spread products. Also, by using pasteurization instead of vat cooking, the vitamins and other nutrients of the whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) are not lost by the present process to the same extent that they are lost by the evaporation of vapor during the vat cooking step of conventional processing.
[0022] The process of the present invention additionally produces fruit and/or vegetable spread products that may naturally fortify a consumer's gastrointestinal tract. More particularly, the addition of dietary fiber (i.e., in the preferable form of inulin) by the process to the fruit and/or vegetable spread products produced thereby, may cause increased absorption of nutrients in the consumer's gastrointestinal tract, thus providing a natural health food. Moreover, the process of the present invention produces fruit and/or vegetable spread products that optionally contain additional vitamins and minerals, including without limitation, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A, E, and C. The additional vitamins and minerals are bound to a dietary fiber, preferably inulin, and incorporated into the fruit and/or vegetable product.
[0023] In addition to the previously described benefits of the present invention's use of high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization, such pasteurization contributes to increasing the shelf stability of the fruit and/or vegetable spread products made by the process. The shelf stability of the resulting fruit and/or vegetable spread products is further enhanced by the heating and packaging steps of the process which are conducted under substantially closed conditions to aid in eliminating the possibility of product contamination and to reduce product oxidation (and, hence, discoloration). Notably, the results of testing on fruit and/or vegetable spread products prepared by the process of the present invention seem to indicate that the shelf-life of such products is significantly longer than one year.
[0024] Further, the process of the present invention enables packaging of fruit and/or vegetable spread products made thereby, preferably, in squeezable tubes. Such packaging tends to keep the fruit and/or vegetable spread products hygienically safe and substantially free from contaminants and discoloration due to oxidation of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein (i.e., due to reduced exposure to air) during repeated use. Such packaging also eliminates the need for cutlery in order to use or consume the fruit and/or vegetable spread products and serves to make the products more portable.
[0025] It is therefore an object of the present invention to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product which suffers less reduction of the natural flavor of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein during processing than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0026] It is another object of the present invention to make a nutritionally-fortified, reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product which suffers less reduction of the natural flavor of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein during processing than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0027] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, which suffers less loss of the texture and mouth feel of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein during processing than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0028] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, which suffers less discoloration of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein during processing than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0029] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, which suffers less loss of the natural nutritional content of the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) therein during processing than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0030] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having better flavor than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0031] Still another object of the present invention is to make a natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having fewer calories than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0032] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having less sugar than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0033] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having more dietary fiber than fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes.
[0034] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, incorporating soluble dietary fiber, such as inulin, into a fruit and/or vegetable spread product without adversely affecting the texture, mouth feel, and/or color of the product.
[0035] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having better texture and mouth feel than fruit and/or vegetable spreads made with conventional processes.
[0036] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having more natural color than fruit and/or vegetable spreads made with conventional processes.
[0037] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having better natural nutritional content, or value, than fruit and/or vegetable spreads made with conventional processes.
[0038] Still another object of the present invention is to make a reduced-calorie, natural, whole-fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, having shelf stability at least comparable to that of fruit and/or vegetable spreads made with conventional processes.
[0039] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0040] The present invention comprises a reduced-calorie fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, including whole, natural fruits or vegetables, or combinations thereof and processes for manufacturing, or preparing, the same. According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention and process thereof, the process includes a plurality of steps. First, a portion of the total quantity of whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) in the spread (or a combination thereof), a substance containing soluble dietary fiber, optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, and pectin are combined and mixed to form a slurry. Then, the remaining portion of the total quantity of whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) (or a combination thereof) and liquid sweetener are combined with the slurry to form a resulting mixture, or blend, which is subsequently mixed to a substantially even consistency. Finally, the resulting mixture is pasteurized and packaged in product form.
[0041] Described in more detail, the first step of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises combining a portion of the overall amount of whole fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s), or a combination thereof, which are in the final spread product with a dietary fiber component, wherein the dietary fiber component is optionally fortified with supplemental nutrients, as defined herein, and pectin. Additional ingredients such as glycerol or propylene glycol, for example and not limitation, may optionally be added, in accordance with alternate embodiments, to the fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s), dietary fiber, and pectin. The combined ingredients are then, preferably, mixed with a mixer at high speed, as known to one of ordinary skill in the art, and at room temperature for a period of time sufficient to form a slurry or emulsion. A mixer, acceptable in accordance with the first preferred embodiment, is a high shear liquid mixer, such as that available from Breddo Likwifier (a division of American Ingredients) or from Greerco High Shear Mixers (a division of Chemineer Co.). It is understood that the scope of the present invention includes the use of other types of mixers available from other vendors and the use of other mixing methods. It is also understood that, in accordance with alternate embodiments of the process, other ingredients may, optionally, be added to the slurry to provide variations in flavor, color, texture, and/or mouth feel. Such other additional ingredients include, for example and not limitation, spices, acidifying agents, antioxidants, isoflavins, soy proteins, natural flavors and colors, buffering agents, preservatives, antifoaming agents and nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners.
[0042] Proceeding in accordance with the first preferred embodiment, the emulsified slurry is combined with the remaining whole fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof (i.e., of the total quantity of fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) of the final spread product) to impart flavor and with a liquid sweetener. The slurry, fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s), and liquid sweetener are then mixed in a mixer for a period of time appropriate to produce a mixture, or blend, having an even and desired consistency. During combination and mixing, the temperature of the mixture, or blend, is kept at or below room temperature until the blend is heated in a scraped-surface heat exchanger, as described below, to aid in preventing flavor loss and/or color degradation. Preferably, the mixer is a scraped-surface mixer such as that available from Groen (i.e., Dover Industries Co.). It is understood, however, that the scope of the present invention includes the use of other types of mixers available from the same or different vendors.
[0043] Once the mixture, or blend, has been mixed to an even consistency, the mixture is pasteurized by raising and holding the temperature of the blend, preferably, at a temperature in the range of 165° F. (74° C.) to about 225° F. (108° C.) for a period of time (i.e., “hold time”) between 10 seconds and 10 minutes, thereby killing any microbes that may be present in the blend. The required temperature and hold time are determined by the types of fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s) being used in the spread product and, for certain fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s), respective temperatures and hold times of 95° C. and 100 seconds are appropriate. Generally, higher temperatures are combined with shorter residence times to provide satisfactory pasteurization.
[0044] According to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pasteurization of the blend is performed in a swept-surface heat exchanger having one or more cylinders of a particular size by pumping, or passing, the blend therethrough. The precise number and size of the cylinders is, generally, based upon the capacity and throughput desired for the process. A swept-surface heat exchanger, acceptable in accordance with the first preferred embodiment, includes a single cylinder, six inches in diameter by six feet in length. An acceptable swept-surface heat exchanger also includes a jacket through which a heat exchange medium such as low pressure steam or hot water passes to cause heating of the blend in the cylinder. The precise length of the cylinder, or holding tube, is based on the particular spread product and the combination of temperature and associated residence time needed to effect pasteurization. Such swept-surface heat exchangers are commonly found in the food industry and are available from vendors such as APV, Cherry Burrel, and Alpha-Laval. It is understood that the scope of the present invention includes the use of other temperatures, hold times, forms of equipment, and methods for pasteurizing the blend.
[0045] After pasteurization of the blend, the resulting product, as defined herein, is then partially cooled to a temperature in the range of 45° F. to about 165° F. Preferably, the partial cooling of the blend is accomplished by pumping, or passing, the blend through a second swept-surface heat exchanger which is substantially similar to the first swept-surface heat exchanger employed, as described above, to pasteurize the blend. However, in order to cool the blend, the heat exchange medium, preferably, includes, but is not limited to, cold water, sweet water, or a refrigerant.
[0046] Once the spread product is partially cooled, or chilled, the spread product is packaged, with the packaging being sealed immediately to minimize the exposure to air and, hence, to new microbes, spores, and other forms of possible contaminants. Optionally, the spread product may be molded into sticks, pops, or patties, such as is done with margarine or ice cream, and/or transferred to a container for packaging. Optional containers include, but are not limited to, tubs, bowls, cartons, tubes, jars, or any form capable of holding a liquid, solid, or semi-solid product. Additionally, sticks and/or wrappers may be used in order to produce a lollipop or popsicle product. Preferably, the packaging includes squeezable tubes which are filled with the partially cooled blend through use of a tube filler. The containers are then further chilled to refrigeration temperatures to protect against the breakdown of the fruit spread's texture, mouth feel, flavor, and color. It is important to note that, at lower blend temperatures, the packaging, or tube filling, should be performed in clean rooms to aid in preventing post-processing contamination. It is also important to note that the scope of the present invention includes other forms of packaging through use of other types of packaging equipment.
[0047] In accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention substantially similar to the first preferred embodiment, a slurry is prepared from liquid sweetener, soluble dietary fiber and pectin. The slurry is then combined and mixed with the flavor-imparting whole fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof, to form a blend. After combination and mixing, the blend is pasteurized and packaged using a method substantially like that of the first preferred embodiment.
[0048] In accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, substantially similar to the first preferred embodiment and the second preferred embodiment, supplemental nutrients are combined with a fortified soluble dietary fiber rather than being bound to calcium. The supplemental nutrients added to the soluble dietary fiber include, without limitation, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and/or pre- or probiotics. The resulting fortified soluble dietary fiber is then combined with liquid sweetener, a portion of the whole fruits and/or vegetables, and pectin to form a slurry. The slurry containing the fortified fiber is then combined and mixed with the remainder of flavor-imparting whole fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof, to form a blend. After combination and mixing, the blend is pasteurized and packaged using a method substantially like that of the first preferred embodiment.
[0049] In accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, substantially similar to the first preferred embodiment, a slurry is prepared from liquid sweetener, a fortified soluble dietary fiber, as described in the third preferred embodiment, and pectin. The slurry is then combined and mixed with the flavor-imparting whole fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof, to form a blend. After combination and mixing, the blend is pasteurized and packaged using a method substantially like that of the first preferred embodiment.
[0050] Nutritionally-fortified whole fruit and/or vegetable spreads of the present invention are prepared by substituting the soluble dietary fiber with a nutrient-fortified soluble dietary fiber. The fortified soluble dietary fiber is prepared prior to combination with the liquid sweetener and pectin. Unfortified fiber is used to bind vitamins, minerals, prebiotics or probiotics, and other nutritional supplements to make the fortified fiber. The nutrient-fortifed fiber is then added to the sweetener and pectin in the same proportions as the unfortified dietary fiber to form the slurry described in the preferred embodiments.
[0051] The whole fruit and/or vegetable spread product of the present invention contains between 55% and 85% natural fruit and/or vegetable, almost twice as much as any other fruit and/or vegetable product. As a result, the spread product of the present invention contains less added carbohydrates than traditional spreads, while it provides more dietary fiber. Preferred products of the present invention contain less than 10 grams of total carbohydrates and at least 1.5 grams of dietary fiber per serving (serving size equals one tablespoon). More preferred products of the present invention contain between 5 and 8 grams of total carbohydrates and between 1.5 and 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving (serving size equals one tablespoon).
[0052] The fruit and/or vegetable spread product of the present invention may optionally contain starches and/or binding agents commonly known in the art. Examples of starches include, by example and not limitation, starch derived from potato, tapioca, corn, sorghum, rice, and wheat. Starch may be present in the fruit and/or vegetable product of the present invention in an amount ranging from 0.025% to 6%.
[0053] The term “sweetener,” as used herein, includes any substance capable of imparting sweetness to a product. Examples of contemplated sweeteners include, but are not limited to, fruit juice concentrate, white sugar, raw sugar, fructose, dextrose, fruit juices, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame and saccharine, stevia, licorice root, rice syrup, honey, sugar alcohols or any combination thereof. In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the amount of sweetener added during processing is between about 5 percent to about 50 percent, by weight, of the fruit and/or vegetable spread product. The amount of sweetener used, in proportion to the other ingredients, varies according to the particular fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination of fruit(s) and vegetable(s) used in the product.
[0054] As used herein, the terms “dietary fiber” and “fiber” include any carbohydrate capable of providing bulking properties to the fruit and/or vegetable spread product, including, but not limited to, inulin and other plant starches and fructo-oligosaccharides. Inulin is a term applied to a water soluble, heterogeneous blend of fructose polymers found widely distributed in nature as plant storage carbohydrates. Oligofructose is a sub-group of inulin consisting of polymers with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 10 or less. Oligofructoses, acceptable in accordance with the preferred embodiments, include, but are not limited to, the beta-2,1 type, inulin, irisin and lycorisin. Preferably, the dietary fiber is inulin. Also preferably, the fruit and/or vegetable spread product includes dietary fiber present in an amount between about 0.5 percent and about 5 percent, by weight, of the final product. The precise amount of dietary fiber used, in proportion to the other ingredients, varies according to the particular fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof which are used in the product.
[0055] As used herein, the terms “fortified dietary fiber” and “fortified fiber” include any dietary fiber, as described above, wherein the dietary fiber is used to bind additional nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and pre- or probiotics. Preferably, the fortified dietary fiber is inulin, fortified with vitamins A, C, E and D and with calcium. Also preferably, the fruit and/or vegetable spread product includes fortified dietary fiber present in an amount between about 0.025 percent and about 5 percent, by weight, of the final product. The vitamins and minerals and other nutrients are preferably present in the fortified fiber in an amount between about 10% and 100% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). More preferably, the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are present in the fortified fiber in an amount between about 25% and 50% RDA. The precise amount of fortified dietary fiber used, in proportion to the other ingredients, varies according to the particular fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof which are used in the product.
[0056] The term, “pectin”, as used herein, refers to any substance forming a colloidal solution in water which gels upon cooling. The pectin may be in powder or liquid form, naturally occurring or modified. According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the fruit spread product includes pectin in an amount between about 0.5 percent to about 3 percent, by weight, of the final product. The amount of pectin used, in proportion to the other ingredients, varies according to the particular fruit(s), vegetable(s), or combination thereof present in the product. Notably, the pectin is uncooked in the process of the present invention, thereby causing less breakdown of the pectin than would likely otherwise occur if the pectin was cooked.
[0057] As used herein, the term “fruit” includes any commonly-known fruit having a desired flavor, including, but not limited to, berries, including but not limited to apples, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, kiwis, apricots, plums, grapes, prunes, cherries, mangos, melons, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, marion berries, mulberries, and the like.
[0058] The term “vegetable”, as used herein, includes any commonly-known vegetable having a desired flavor, including, but not limited to, tomatoes, carrots, hicma, beets, beans, squash, spinach, onions, garlic, peppers (i.e., including jalapeno peppers), avocados, and herbs.
[0059] The terms “whole fruit,” “whole vegetable,” and. “whole” in relation to fruits and/or vegetables or combinations thereof, as used herein refers to fruits and/or vegetables, as defined above, which are present in solid form as opposed to puree or pulverized forms. The terms include, without limitation, chunks, slices, dices, pieces and other forms of solid fruit and/or vegetable, as well as the fruit and/or vegetable in its unprocessed form.
[0060] As used herein, the terms “fruit spread,” “fruit spread product,” “vegetable spread,” “vegetable spread product,” “fruit product,” and “vegetable product” refer to any edible product including at least the ingredients described herein. The spreads and products of the present invention may be formed into molds, such as into sticks or tubs (as is done with margarine or butter), formed into pops or frozen novelties, used as a base for other food products, such as yogurts, or spread onto other foods. The terms include, but are not limited to, jams, jellies, preserves, purees, marmalades, beverages, snacks, pie fillings, puddings, and bases for: fruit and/or vegetable-flavored drinks and/or beverages, such as “smoothies,” ice cream toppings, condiments, fruit toppings, yogurts, dressings, baby food, curd, cheeses, dips, and sauces.
[0061] As used herein, the terms “nutritional ingredients,” “nutrients” and “supplemental nutrients” includes, for example and without limitation, vitamins, minerals, fiber, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, substances such as enzymes, metabolites, and pre- and probiotics.
[0062] As used herein, the term “vitamins” includes, without limitation, any organic substance necessary to metabolize food in humans or other animals. Specifically contemplated vitamins include, but are not limited to, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , folate, and vitamin B 12 .
[0063] The term “minerals,” as used herein, includes, by example and without limitation, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, and selenium.
[0064] The term “herbs or other botanicals,” as used herein, includes processed or unprocessed plant parts (bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, and stems) as well as extracts and essential oils. They are available as teas, powders, tablets, capsules, and elixirs. Examples of herbs and botanicals include, by example and without limitation, DHEA, ginger, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, melatonin, saw palmetto, St. John's wort, milk thistle, aloe, Echinacea, and garlic, among others.
[0065] As used herein, the term “amino acids” is defined as the building blocks of proteins and the precursors of various nitrogen-containing molecules in the body. The term includes the amino acid, itself, as well as derivatives thereof. Examples of amino acids and their derivatives include, by example and without limitation, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, citrulline, cysteine, cystine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, omithine, proline, serine, taurine and tyrosine.
[0066] As used herein, the term “probiotic” is defined as any substance or micro-organism which promotes the growth of other micro-organisms in the human body and results in a beneficial effect on the body. Examples of probiotics include, as example and without limitation, bacteria strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, including Lactobacillus johnsonii (La1), Bifidobacterium lactis (BL), Sporogene, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Delbruekeii, Lactobacillus Caseii, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Lactobacillus Causasicus, Lactobacillus Fermenti, Lactobacillus-Plantarum, Lactobacillus Brevis, Lactobacillus Heleveticus, Lactobacillus Leichmannii, Lactobacillus Lactis, Lactobacillus Bifidus, Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophilus , among others.
[0067] As used herein, the term “prebiotic” is defined as any non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon to improve host health. Prebiotics include, by example and not by limitation, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, galactooligosaccharides and other digestion resistant carbohydrates or oligosaccharides, pyrodextrins, maltodextrins, soybean oligosaccharides (raffinose, stachyose), lactulose, isomalto-oligosaccharides, lactosucrose, glucooligosaccharides, palatinose, tagatose, and lactitol.
[0068] The following examples are merely illustrative of the process and resulting products of the present invention and do not serve to limit the invention thereto.
EXAMPLE 1
Strawberry Fruit Spread
[0069] In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the following ingredients, by weight, are combined and mixed together at room temperature using a Breddo Likwifier mixer and a Groen scraped-surface mixer to form a slurry:
[0070] 0.5-5% low-ester citrus pectin
[0071] 0.5-3% inulin
[0072] 12-20% white grape juice concentrate with a Brix level of 68
[0073] 10-20% organic liquid sugar with a Brix level of 72
[0074] The slurry and about 55-70% whole strawberries are mixed until the mixture, or blend, has an even consistency. The mixture is then pumped through a swept-surface heat exchanger, where the mixture is heated to and held at a temperature of between 180° F. to 225° F. for a period of about two to three minutes. Next, the mixture is passed through a second swept-surface heat exchanger to partially cool the mixture. Finally, the partially cooled mixture is packaged in squeeze tube packages.
EXAMPLE 2
Raspberry Smoothie Flavoring
[0075] The following ingredients are, according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, mixed together at room temperature using a Breddo Likwifier mixer and a Groen scraped-surface mixer to form a slurry:
[0076] 1-5% low-ester citrus pectin
[0077] 1-3% inulin
[0078] 15-35% white grape juice concentrate with a Brix level of 68
[0079] 15-35% organic liquid sugar with a Brix level of 72
[0080] 40-65% whole raspberries
[0081] Once the slurry, or emulsion, is formed, the mixture is pumped through a swept-surface heat exchanger and heated to and held at a temperature of between 180° F. to 225° F. for a period of about two to three minutes. Next, the mixture is passed through a second swept-surface heat exchanger to partially cool the mixture to a temperature of between 45° F. and 165° F. Finally, the partially cooled mixture is packaged in appropriate packaging.
EXAMPLE 3
Fortified Whole Fruit or Vegetable Jelly
[0082] In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the following ingredients, by weight, are combined and mixed together at room temperature using a Breddo Likwifier mixer and a Groen scraped-surface mixer to form a slurry:
[0083] 0.5-6% low-ester citrus pectin
[0084] 0.025-6% inulin fortified with Vitamins A, E, and C; calcium (as calcium citrate)
[0085] 10-25% white grape juice concentrate with a Brix level of around 68
[0086] 10-25% organic liquid sugar with a Brix level of 72
[0087] 0.025-6% starch
[0088] 0.05-15% water
[0089] The slurry and about 55-85% whole fruits and/or vegetables are mixed until the mixture, or blend, had an even consistency. The mixture is then pumped through a swept-surface heat exchanger, where the mixture is heated to and held at a temperature of between 180° F. to 225° F. for a period of about two to three minutes. Next, the mixture is passed through a second swept-surface heat exchanger to partially cool the mixture. Finally, the partially cooled mixture is packaged in squeeze tube packages.
EXAMPLE 4
Fortified Whole Fruit and/or Vegetable Smoothie Flavoring
[0090] The following ingredients are, according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, mixed together at room temperature using a Breddo Likwifier mixer and a Groen scraped-surface mixer to form a slurry:
[0091] 1-5% low-ester citrus pectin
[0092] 1-3% inulin fortified with Vitamins A, C and E; calcium (as calcium citrate)
[0093] 15-35% white grape juice concentrate with a Brix level of 68
[0094] 15-35% organic liquid sugar with a Brix level of 72
[0095] 40-65% whole fruit and/or vegetables
[0096] Once the slurry, or emulsion, is formed, the mixture is pumped through a swept-surface heat exchanger and heated to and held at a temperature of between 180° F. to 225° F. for a period of about two to three minutes. Next, the mixture is passed through a second swept-surface heat exchanger to partially cool the mixture to a temperature of between 45° F. and 165° F. Finally, the partially cooled mixture is packaged in appropriate packaging.
[0097] Whereas this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to its most preferred embodiments, it is understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention, as described herein before and as defined in the appended claims. The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means plus function elements, if any, in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or acts for performing the functions in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. | A reduced-calorie fruit and/or vegetable spread product, optionally fortified with additional nutrients, including whole, natural fruit(s) and/or vegetable(s), or combinations thereof, having improved flavor, texture (e.g., mouth feel), color, and nutritional value as compared to fruit and/or vegetable spread products made with conventional processes. More particularly, the present invention includes a fruit and/or vegetable spread product having reduced caloric and carbohydrate content and having increased soluble dietary fiber content, optionally fortified with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, and processes for making, or preparing, the same. | 0 |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/846,165, filed on Aug. 27, 2007, now pending, which in turn derives priority from U.S. Application No. 60/823,969, filed on Aug. 30, 2006. All the teachings of U.S. application Ser. Nos. 11/846,165 and 60/823,969 are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD
This specification relates to miter saws and more specifically to a miter saw having a fine adjustment mechanism for miter cuts.
BACKGROUND
Referring to FIG. 1 , a miter saw typically has a base assembly 10 , a table assembly 20 rotatably attached to the base assembly 10 , a support housing 30 connected to the table assembly 20 , and a saw assembly 40 pivotally connected to the support housing 30 . The saw assembly 40 may include an arm 41 pivotally connected to support housing 30 , an upper blade guard 42 connected to arm 41 , a motor (not shown) supported by arm 41 and/or upper blade guard 42 , a blade 43 driven by the motor, and a lower blade guard 44 pivotally attached to the upper blade guard.
A fence assembly 15 is typically attached to base assembly 10 . With such construction, a user can place a work piece against fence assembly 15 and table assembly 20 for cutting. The user can make a miter cut by rotating table assembly 20 relative to base assembly 10 .
If support housing 30 is pivotally attached to table assembly 20 , the user can rotate support housing 30 relative to table assembly 20 and/or base assembly 10 , tilting the blade 43 relative to the table assembly 20 , thus changing the blade's bevel angle. A cut made with the blade 43 tilted at an angle (and perpendicular to the fence assembly 15 ) is known as a “bevel cut.” A cut made with the blade 43 set to both an angle relative to the fence assembly 15 (miter angle) and an angle relative to the base assembly 10 (bevel angle) is known as a “compound cut.”
Miter saws typically include a detent system 12 that allows the table assembly 20 and the blade 43 to be preset to specific angles relative to the fence assembly 15 . A detent system 12 provides an accurate means to preset and reset the saw to make the most popular cuts. Such detent system 12 may include a detent plate 13 with detent recesses formed thereon. Alternatively, the detent recesses may be formed on base assembly 10 . Such recesses can receive a spring-biased detent, fixing the position of table assembly 20 relative to the fence assembly 15 . Persons skilled in the art are directed to US Published Application No. 2005/0284276, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference, for further information on such detent systems, operation thereof, and miter lock mechanisms.
If a user wants to preset the miter saw for an angle cut not provided by the detent system, the user would allow the spring-loaded detent to rest against the detent plate 13 and/or the base assembly 10 outside of the detent recesses and engage the miter lock mechanism. Due to the interaction between the spring-loaded detent and the detent recesses, however, the prior art arrangements do not allow for a fine adjustment that is near one of the predetermined detent positions.
Some solutions have been proposed to solve this problem. US Published Application No. 2004/0154448, for example, discloses a mechanism for adjusting the position of the detent engaging the recesses. However, such mechanism is difficult to adjust and to reset to the original position.
Similarly, US Published Application Nos. 2005/0284276, 2005/0262984 and 2006/0016310 disclose rack-and-pinion and/or worm drive mechanisms for adjusting the position of the table assembly relative to the base assembly. However such mechanisms are difficult to reset to the original position.
SUMMARY
A miter saw comprising a base assembly, a table assembly rotatably disposed on the base assembly, a support housing connected to the table assembly, a saw assembly pivotably attached to the support housing, the saw assembly being pivotable downwardly for cutting a workpiece disposed on the table assembly, a miter lock assembly including a pivotable shoe assembly connected to the table housing and movable between a first position not contacting the base assembly and a second position contacting the base assembly, the shoe assembly comprising a movable shoe for adjusting the angular position of the table assembly relative to the base assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments according to the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art miter saw.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a miter saw according to the invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the miter saw of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a partial top plan view of a shoe assembly according to the invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along line V-V of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Referring first to FIGS. 1-4 , base assembly 10 preferably supports a detent plate 13 with detent recesses 13 R. Table assembly 20 preferably carries a miter lock assembly 50 , a miter detent mechanism 60 , and a fine adjust mechanism 70 .
Miter lock assembly 50 preferably includes miter lock handle 51 pivotally attached to table assembly 20 and a miter lock shaft 52 . Miter lock shaft 52 is preferably connected to miter lock handle 51 so that it moves towards base assembly 10 when miter lock handle 51 is rotated downwardly.
A cam or eccentric 51 C may be disposed on miter lock handle 51 to contact and push miter lock shaft 52 towards the base assembly 10 . Persons skilled in the art will recognize that eccentric 51 C may be replaced with other mechanisms that can convert the rotational motion of miter lock handle 51 into a linear motion for miter lock shaft 52 .
Miter lock shaft 52 preferably pushes a shoe assembly 53 towards base assembly 10 . Shoe assembly 53 preferably includes a housing 53 H pivotally attached to table assembly 20 via pivot 53 P.
A shoe 53 S may be slidably disposed within housing 53 H. Shoe 53 S may have knurling or other textures thereon to enhance the friction contact between shoe 53 S and base assembly 10 . Shoe 53 S may have a slot 53 SS that receives a retainer 53 R attached to housing 53 H. Bolts 53 B may connect retainer 53 R to housing 53 H.
A spring 54 may be disposed between table assembly 20 and housing 53 H to bias housing 53 H (and thus shoe assembly 53 ) away from base assembly 10 .
The operation of miter lock assembly 50 will be discussed below.
The miter detent mechanism 60 preferably includes a detent member 63 which is pivotally attached to table assembly 20 . Detent member 63 preferably carries a detent 63 D that engages a recess 13 R. A spring 64 may be disposed between detent member 63 and table assembly 20 to bias detent member 63 towards detent plate 13 (and thus biasing detent 63 D towards recess 13 R). Persons skilled in the art will recognize that detent member 63 may be made of spring metal, thus combining the functions of detent member 63 and spring 64 .
Detent member 63 (and thus detent 63 D) may be lifted away from detent plate 13 and recess 13 R via a lever 62 which is preferably pivotally attached to table assembly 20 . Lever 62 may have a button 61 which extends beyond the table assembly 20 , allowing the user to push downwardly button 61 , causing detent member 63 (and thus detent 63 D) to be lifted away from detent plate 13 and recess 13 R.
Referring to FIG. 5 , button 61 and/or lever 62 may have a tongue 61 T extending therefrom. Tongue 61 T may be disposed underneath miter lock handle 51 .
The operation of miter detent assembly 60 will be discussed below.
Referring to FIGS. 2-4 , the fine adjust mechanism 70 preferably includes a fine adjust knob 71 , a fine adjust shaft 72 attached to fine adjust knob 71 , and a pinion assembly 73 .
Pinion assembly 73 may have at one end a pinion 73 P meshing with a rack 53 SR disposed on shoe 53 S. At the other end, pinion assembly 73 may have a hex ball 73 B. Fine adjust shaft 72 preferably has a hex socket 72 H disposed at one end to engage hex ball 73 B. Such connection creates a hex ball joint, which preferably allows axial movement between pinion assembly 73 and fine adjust shaft 72 , while allowing variance in the angle created between pinion assembly 73 and fine adjust shaft 72 .
A spring 73 may be attached to table assembly 20 and fine adjust shaft 72 . Spring 73 may bias fine adjust shaft 72 towards a “neutral” rotational position. Accordingly, when the fine adjust shaft 72 is rotated in either direction, spring 73 may be wound or unwound, creating such bias, so that when the torque on fine adjust shaft 72 is released, the spring 73 returns fine adjust shaft 72 to the original neutral position.
With such construction, a user can adjust the miter angle as follows: the user pushes button 61 , rotating lever 62 and lifting detent member 63 (and thus detent 63 D) off detent plate 13 , allowing the user to rotate table assembly 20 relative to base assembly 10 . When the desired miter angle is obtained, the user releases button 61 , allowing detent member 63 (and thus detent 63 D) to contact detent plate 13 and possibly engage recess 13 R.
The user then locks the miter angle by rotating miter lock handle 51 downwardly. As miter lock handle 51 is rotated, miter lock shaft 52 pushes housing 53 H towards base assembly 10 , so that shoe 53 S contacts base assembly 10 , fixing the miter angle. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that the friction developed between shoe 53 S and housing 53 H will preferably fix the angular position of the table assembly 20 relative to the base assembly 10 . In addition, as miter lock handle 51 is rotated, tongue 61 T causes lever 62 to rotate, lifting detent member 63 (and thus detent 63 D) off detent plate 13 . In other words, the detent 63 D is disengaged when the miter lock assembly 50 is engaged.
Persons skilled in the art will note that it is preferably that the shoe 53 S comes into contact with table assembly 20 before tongue 61 T comes into contact with miter lock handle 51 . In this manner, the table assembly 20 will be partially locked, and thus held in place, before the detent 53 D is lifted out of the detent recess 13 R.
If the user wants to finely adjust the miter angle without disengaging miter lock assembly 50 and readjusting the miter angle, the user can rotate the fine adjust knob 71 , which causes the fine adjust shaft 72 and pinion assembly 73 to rotate. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that the user must supply enough torque to overcome the friction force developed between shoe 53 S and housing 53 H. As pinion assembly 73 rotates, the pinion 73 P meshing with rack 53 SR causes shoe 53 S to move sideways, causing table assembly 20 to move relative to base assembly 10 , without disengaging shoe 53 S (and thus shoe assembly 53 ) from base assembly 10 .
When the user wants to change the miter angle, the user can rotate miter lock handle 51 upwards, moving miter lock shaft 52 away from base assembly 10 , allowing spring 54 to rotate shoe assembly 53 away from base assembly 10 . Persons skilled in the art will recognize that, when shoe assembly 53 is rotated away from base assembly 10 , shoe 53 S does not contact base assembly 10 . Such persons should also recognize that, because shoe 53 S does not contact base assembly 10 , rotating fine adjust knob 71 will not affect the miter angle. Persons skilled in the art should also recognize that, when the user unlocks miter lock handle 51 , and shoe 53 S does not contact base assembly 10 , spring 73 can cause fine adjust shaft 72 to rotate and return to the original neutral position.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A miter saw has a base assembly, a table assembly rotatably disposed on the base assembly, a support housing connected to the table assembly, and a saw assembly pivotably attached to the support housing. The saw assembly is pivotable downwardly for cutting a workpiece disposed on the table assembly. The saw has a miter lock assembly including a shoe assembly connected to the table housing and movable between a first position not contacting the base assembly and a second position contacting the base assembly. The shoe assembly has a movable shoe for adjusting the angular position of the table assembly relative to the base assembly. | 8 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2011/071185, filed on Nov. 28, 2011 and which claims benefit to German Patent Application No. 20 2010 016 752.3, filed on Dec. 17, 2010. The International Application was published in German on Jun. 21, 2012 as WO 2012/079966 A1 under PCT Article 21(2).
FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a drop separator system for use in flue gas desulfurization of power plants. On the one hand, this separator concept is intended to take into account the requirements of the emissions regulations in Europe and the USA and to provide the separation performance required therein. On the other hand, this concept is intended to overcome the known problem of stack rain (severe ejection of drops from a wet stack). This separator concept is also intended to minimize contamination of the components after the drop separator (in the flue gas flow direction).
BACKGROUND
[0003] Flue gases from fossil-fuelled thermal power plants are predominantly desulfurized using the wet scrubbing method. The sulfur-containing flue gas is sprayed with limestone milk (suspension solution) and the SO 2 in the flue gas is bonded in the spray drops of this suspension solution and then converted to calcium sulfite dihydrate (gypsum). The smaller of these spray drops are carried along with the gas flow.
[0004] The task of the drop separator system is to trap these drops which are carried along in the gas flow and feed them back into the scrubber circuit. A buildup of deposits in the downstream components (heat exchanger, flue gas channels, wet fan, stack etc.) and consequently corrosion and increased pressure losses otherwise occur. This results in reduced performance of the power plant (increased pressure losses cause increased inherent electricity consumption and possibly also a reduction in generation) and maintenance costs (refurbishment of corrosion points and cleaning costs for removing the built-up deposits).
[0005] New emissions regulations applicable or planned in Europe and the USA also provide for a considerable reduction in the solid material content in the flue gas (reduction of fine dust). These new limits make a massive improvement of the separation in flue gas desulfurization compulsory. In the meantime, some European countries and regions are demanding that the fine dust and solid material content be reduced to 3-6 mg/Nm 3 .
[0006] Many power plants in the USA and lately, also in Europe, are equipped with a so-called wet stack. The saturated flue gas is fed into the stack without reheating; as a result of the cooling on the way through the stack, liquid condenses and leads to a “wet” stack. The problem with many of these wet stacks is that large quantities of drops are ejected from the stack. The drops rain down in the immediate vicinity of the stack, and sometimes also at greater distances. The grounds of the power plant are thereby contaminated, other facilities and buildings nearby are soiled, and people and animals are also inconvenienced. As these drops tend to be acidic, this stack rain leads to corrosion and damage to the grounds affected, the paint on cars is damaged, soil is acidified, building facades and roofs are damaged by corrosion etc.
[0007] Experience with stack rain and the problems with fine dust emissions shows that the two-stage drop separators traditionally used are no longer adequate. The quantity of solid material (fine dusts, salts etc.) in the residual content after the drop separator is higher than the values allowed in these limits. Drop ejection (stack rain) is a considerable problem and a center of conflict with neighbors and conservationists. The buildup of deposits and blockages in the flue gas path give rise to costs and reduce electricity production.
[0008] Modern drop separators for flue gas desulfurization are today installed in the scrubber head at the top before the outlet into the flue gas channels. They are exposed to flue gas flowing vertically upwards. This configuration is the best configuration for cost as well as for operating reasons.
[0009] The drop separator system separates the drops, such as the dry solid material content, from the gas flow by deflecting the flue gas flow. In doing so, the drops and dry solid material are subjected to centrifugal forces. They are unable to follow the path of the flue gas and impinge on the flow resistances caused by the deflection of the flue gas flow. As a result, the drops are separated on these “baffles” and are thereby removed from the flue gas flow. The separated liquid then flows back down into the scrubber circuit due to gravity.
[0010] Drop separators are traditionally configured as packets of chevron/lamella/plate-like and bent deflector bodies. These lamella-like, bent and rigidly suspended deflector bodies are configured so as to form channels through which the flue gas flows. On the one hand, the object of this configuration is to bring about a severe deflection of the flue gas and, on the other, to minimize the “obstruction” of the flue gas path by flow resistances. The baffles or deflector lamellas are generally referred to as lamellas and the separators correspondingly as lamella separators or chevron-type separators. The established lamella separators from various manufacturers differ only due to their geometry, the distances between lamellas and the deflection as well as the design (roof, flat or horizontal incident flow). They are basically the same with regard to operation.
[0011] Drop separator systems are designed with at least two stages. Operational experience shows that a single-stage separator system is basically not sufficient to reliably remove the drops from the flue gas. However, even two-stage drop separators (coarse separator and fine separator) still release a considerable quantity of drops with solid materials with the flue gas, often too many for the requirements of the environmental regulations, the operating requirements, and the operation of a wet stack.
[0012] Many drop separators have in the meantime therefore built with three stages. In this configuration, the actual separation is carried out by the coarse separator and by the fine separator. The coarse separator removes the majority of drops from the flue gas and achieves separation grades of sometimes significantly more than 90%. On the one hand, the fine separator removes further drops from the flue gas, traps the drops from the washing of the coarse separator, and also traps a large part of the secondary drops which can occur when a drop impinges on the lamella of the coarse separator (reflection drops).
[0013] The third or “very fine separator” has three functions.
1. Very fine drops
The very fine separator filters further very fine drops from the flue gas which can pass through the coarse and fine separators. The amount of liquid and solid materials in these very fine drops is, however, very small. This very fine separation is therefore of lesser importance.
2. Faults
The very fine separator separates drops which pass through from the fine separator as a result of faults. The cause of such faults is either the contamination of the coarse and fine separator, which leads to carry-through, or a considerably non-uniform distribution of the flue gas flow, which leads to local velocity peaks which adversely affect the performance capability of the two first separators. However, this tends rarely to be the case in modern flue gas desulfurization systems; this function therefore also tends to be of lesser importance.
3. Fine separator washing
The very fine separator separates the washing liquid which is extracted from the fine separator when it is washed. It is known from many measurements that the washing of the fine separator leads to a considerable emission of drops. Measurements in the laboratory as well as warranty measurements in power plants have led to the result that 60% to 80% of the amount of liquid after the fine separator is emitted while the fine separator is being washed. The separation of these washing drops is the main function of the very fine separator.
[0020] The question of fine dust emissions has attracted considerable attention in recent years, and the regulations for fine dust emissions have been tightened in many countries. The aim is naturally to protect human health.
[0021] A second reason for the discussion is the planned regulations for CO 2 reduction. Many CO 2 separation techniques require a very low very fine dust content in the flue gas. These are methods which separate the CO 2 in packaging and packing material and by means of bonding agents. Solid materials from the flue gas contaminate and block the separating systems and are therefore disruptive.
[0022] Attention has finally been focused on fine dusts due to the problem of stack rain from wet stacks. The acid rain from chimney stacks leads to contamination and corrosive damage in the immediate surroundings of the stacks and to corresponding conflicts with residents.
[0023] Drop separators are naturally at the center of interest because they are responsible for the separation and therefore for the reduction of fine dust emissions. High fine dust emissions, stack rain and problems with CO 2 separation are therefore rightly ascribed to “poor” separation of drops in the flue gas desulfurization system.
[0024] Stack rain is at the same time the direct focus of attention in many power plants. Stack rain is immediately visible to staff, residents and industrial neighbors of the power plant, and the negative consequences (contamination and corrosion) can quickly be established.
[0025] This stack rain consists of large drops with significant solid material content (gypsum and limestone) and is acidic (slight acid content). The drops can immediately be seen on reflective surfaces (on an automobile). The quickly ensuing corrosion etches away the paint on vehicles and leads to damage in gardens, buildings and grounds.
[0026] In the USA, stack rain has already been the subject of many court proceedings and legal conflicts between power plant operators on the one hand and residents, conservationists and environmental authorities on the other.
[0027] The concentration on stack rain can therefore be explained both by the pure liquid volume and also by the size of the drops. Small drops, which either pass through the drop separator in normal operation (without washing) or small drops which occur in the stack due to condensation, do not attract attention as stack rain because they normally evaporate before reaching the ground. The distance from the tip of the stack to the ground is therefore sufficiently large. The quantity of drops when washing furthermore leads to stack rain being noticed. Individual drops would be ignored and not noticed.
[0028] The subject of stack rain is unknown in the older European power plants because reheating has prevented this problem. A seemingly different problem has, however, become relevant time and time again in these power plants, that being the ejection of fine dust. Power plants measure the dust content in the flue gas at the stack. Peaks in the ejected dust, which have led to conflicts with the inspecting authorities, have repeatedly occurred.
[0029] This fine dust problem can be explained in a way similar to stack rain in the older American power plants or now the latest European power plants. In older European power plants, reheating provides that all drops evaporate before they reach the tip of the stack. The majority of drops are immediately vaporized in the heat exchanger in that the drops impinge on the surfaces of the heat exchanger and evaporate. Other drops can pass through the heat exchanger, but, on the one hand, they are then greatly diminished and, on the other, they are located in gas which is no longer saturated, enabling further liquid to be absorbed by the hot flue gas and evaporate.
[0030] As a consequence of this evaporation, deposits form on the heat exchanger surfaces and must be blown away from this surface. On the one hand, this blowing process is not sufficient to keep the heat exchanger clean; the pressure loss increases and sometimes the power plant even shuts down due to the pressure loss. On the other hand, the blown-off quantities of dust are disposed of through the stack into the atmosphere. The negative effect on the environment is the same as with stack rain.
[0031] When analyzing the quantities of fine dust, stack rain has the advantage that the emissions are particularly easy to observe and the causes of the emissions are easier to analyze. Stack rain is moreover a direct problem for many power plants and their residents. Hence the concentration on this effect. Stack rain is, however, also responsible for the other kinds of fine dust emissions.
[0032] The known causes of stack rain are poor separation and condensation. Poor separation means that many drops pass through the drop separator and carry liquid over into the stack which is then emitted as stack rain. Further drops are produced by condensation, as the flue gas cools down in the stack and drops of condensation drop out of the saturated flue gas.
[0033] Poor separation performance is clearly a possible cause of stack rain. The power plants have further been able to recognize that stack rain is associated with contamination of the drop separator. Contaminated drop separators lead to heavier stack rain. This contamination was produced in turn by a number of design and operational errors. A significant non-uniform distribution of the flue gas flows can likewise lead to local contamination, such as a failure of parts of the washing system. The use of poorly designed separators is likewise known as a cause, as is an incorrect operation of the washing devices etc.
[0034] A contaminated separator only works in a very restricted manner. The buildup of deposits and contamination act as a regular “springboard” for drops. The drops which have just been separated are therefore thrown back into the flue gas and disperse further.
[0035] This knowledge has led to power plants systematically improving, overhauling and converting the “poor” separators. This has enabled these power plants to significantly reduce the problem.
[0036] In spite of the improvement in the separators, stack rain has remained a problem; it has not been fully eliminated.
[0037] Condensation of drops from the saturated flue gas has been identified as a second cause of this stack rain. The flue gas cools down on the way through the stack. Even when this cooling-down is less than 1 Kelvin, the effect is still considerable because the flue gas is almost completely saturated. In the course of an hour, and with a large volume of flue gas, even cooling-down by 1 K can produce amounts of condensation of several tons. The cause of the remaining stack rain therefore appeared to be clear and understandable.
[0038] This “assumption” must, however, be questioned. Condensation cannot be the cause of the observed stack rain effects. The short journey time in the stack is not sufficient to form large drops. It is true that, with journey times of 10-20 seconds in the stack and temperature differences of less than 1 K, very many very small condensation germs are formed, but not large drops. Stack rain, however, consists of large drops. The drops must be large so that, on the one hand, they reach the ground due to gravity (rain down) and, on the other, do not again evaporate in the ambient air. Both the cold, dry air in winter and the warm ambient air in summer are able to absorb large quantities of liquid. Small drops therefore already evaporate after 5 to 30 m.
[0039] In recognition of this fact, it was hypothesized that many drops precipitate on the stack wall and thus accumulate to form large drops. These are then extracted from the liquid film by the flue gas flow and are emitted as large drops. Such effects can in fact be observed, but they are not an adequate explanation for the large quantities of drops and solid materials which sometimes rain from chimney stacks.
[0040] An aspect here is the high solid material content of the stack rain. The drops leave large white spots behind on smooth surfaces, for example, on automobile roofs and engine hoods. These spots are clearly gypsum and limestone. The gypsum and limestone content (fine dust) in the flue gas tends to be small. Condensation can only contain a small amount of solid material because it is produced by liquid condensing out of the saturated and super-saturated flue gas. It is unlikely that the condensation drops then attract and absorb large quantities of solid material from the flue gas. There are indeed ultimately only a few solid materials in the flue gas which are not bonded in liquid, and also the solid materials bonded in very fine drops are only small amounts relative to the assumed amounts of condensation. The high solid material content of the stack rain therefore indicates that condensation is not the decisive factor.
[0041] Along with poor separation and condensation there must therefore be a third effect which drives liquid (and solid materials) into the stack and causes stack rain. The washing of the drop separator, in particular, the washing of the fine separator, has been recognized as a decisive cause of stack rain.
[0042] The connection between washing the drop separator and the emission of fine dust or stack rain was not recognized for a long time. Stack rain and fine dust emissions were recognized and combated as “poor” separation. On many occasions, this was also actually the main cause, and considerable improvements (reductions) were able to be achieved by taking measures. However, stack rain remained a problem even afterwards.
[0043] It was now possible to show in tests that the strength of the remaining stack rain depended extensively on the washing cycles of the drop separator, namely, on the washing of the last drop separator in the direction of the flue gas flow. It was possible to establish that shutting down this washing system led to the previously heavy stack rain being reduced to a hardly perceptible level.
[0044] This conclusion also agrees with measurements of the carry-through after the drop separators. Both in laboratory measurements and in warranty measurements in power plants, it was established that, during the washing of the last drop separator in the flue gas flow direction, approximately 100 times the quantity of liquid carried through compared with operation without washing.
[0045] Finally, it was established that the size of the drops during washing was considerably larger than in normal operation. Particularly large drops were carried over. The washing carry-through consisted of drops which, on the one hand, were large enough to reach the ground after ejection from the stack and, on the other, to be noticed there as large drops.
[0046] It had been assumed for a long time that the washing liquid was indeed a liquid which was clean and extensively free from solid materials. Washing therefore appeared to be ruled out as the cause of the stack drops being contaminated with solid material. However, this cleanliness is not the case. The purpose of washing is after all to loosen the deposits (solid material) in the baffle and to remove them from the baffle system. The liquid film which is produced during washing therefore contains a high and, in the case of contamination, even a very high proportion of solid material. Secondary drops which are extracted from this liquid film and transported further with the flue gas can therefore have high solid material contents; theoretically and practically, even more than the solid material content of the suspension solution.
[0047] The solid material content clearly depends on the degree of contamination of the baffle. A relatively clean baffle will emit only relatively little solid material when it is washed and a strongly contaminated baffle will emit a large amount of solid material when it is washed. The amount of solid material in the drops ejected during washing is therefore operation and system-dependent.
[0048] A series of tests in an industrial power plant has shown the effect of washing on the stack. The drop separator had been replaced in order to be certain of its function. The flue gas desulfurization system was then operated for a day without washing the drop separator. Afterwards, the stack was relatively dry and there was no further stack rain. When the washing of the drop separator was switched on again, stack rain began only approximately 60 seconds after washing had been restarted.
[0049] This knowledge has led to modern drop separator systems being built with a third drop separator (very fine separator). The task of this third separator is primarily to separate the carry-through from the washing of the fine separator.
[0050] By this means alone, the carry-through of fine dust can be more than halved. This advantage arises as the third drop separator is not washed at all or only rarely washed. Carry-over no longer occurs during washing.
[0051] This consideration was also entirely correct. As a result of the infrequent washing, it was possible to significantly reduce the quantity of liquid measured after the drop separator. Where, previously, normal limits for the separation performance of a two-stage separator were 30-50 mg/Nm 3 , levels of 10-20 mg/Nm 3 can now be assumed. It has accordingly been possible to achieve a reduction in the fine dust values by means of the three-stage separator.
[0052] Operating problems have, however, also occurred in many of these systems. It was established that the third separator could not operate without regular washing. Over several months, the separator contaminates the operating cycle quite significantly and causes a massive increase in pressure loss.
[0053] In some systems, it has even been established that the lamellas in the third separator became progressively contaminated, in spite of daily washing. Washing once a day was clearly not sufficient to remove the contamination which had built up in the course of a day from the lemallas. In individual cases, the contamination of the third drop separator was so severe that elements of the drop separator had been blown out of position by the fan or that the pressure loss had become so great, even after a few months, that the power plant was shut down for manual cleaning. In this case, “only” the third separator was contaminated.
[0054] Stack rain was of course observed. Although this stack rain was considerably less than in systems with two drop separators, it was sufficient to be noticed both in operation and by some neighbors. The cause of this stack rain was, on the one hand, the washing which was still necessary and, on the other, an inadequate functioning of the contaminated separator.
[0055] The result was therefore unsatisfactory; on the one hand, although the total emissions were reduced (advantageous), on the other, the remaining emissions were emitted in a form which necessarily led to conflicts with inspecting authorities and conservationists, as the emissions (stack rain) could be detected without measuring instruments and were perceptible to the layman. Stack rain settled on automobiles, smooth surfaces and plants, and could be detected immediately, even by the layman, on account of the white gypsum content.
[0056] The opposite of what must be in the interests of a power plant therefore occurred. Reducing the emissions was not only intended to satisfy the regulatory and environmental requirements, but to also improve the public image of the power plant. The opposite, however, occurs due to stack rain. Because of the connection with the change to the wet stack, the reduction of emissions leads to contamination which is perceptible and visible to the layman. Conflict is unavoidable.
[0057] Operational experience with three-stage separators can therefore be summarized as follows:
1. Emissions reduced
The emission of fine dust can be significantly reduced by the use of the third drop separator.
2. Contamination of the very fine separator
The very fine separator becomes contaminated with time, and pressure loss increases. Depending on the method of operation, the system cannot be guaranteed to operate without interruption for the required period of time.
3. Washing the very fine separator
Washing the very fine separator cannot always safeguard against contamination; it is, however, necessary to allow a longer period of uninterrupted operation for the system.
4. Stack rain
Stack rain occurs with wet stacks due to the unfortunately unavoidable washing of the very fine separator and the contamination. Conflicts with environmental authorities and conservationists are therefore unavoidable.
[0066] Although the concept of the three-stage separator can be seen as an improvement of the previously common separator, the actual objective has not been achieved. The aim of the three-stage separator was to completely eliminate the washing of the third separator. The two first separators were to separate so efficiently that only very small quantities of solid material would find their way to the third separator and would therefore no longer contaminate it. Because of the low level of contamination, it would then no longer be necessary to use the washing system.
[0067] This assumption has, however, been proven incorrect in operation. Either the third separator is washed frequently or severe contamination to the point of blockage occurs. Both produce stack rain.
[0068] Consideration is in the meantime therefore being given to configuring the drop separator as a four-stage separator. The fourth separator is henceforth to be operated in the mode which was previously intended for the third. The third is washed more frequently, and therefore remains clean and there is no longer a risk of contamination. The fourth separator is intended not to be washed or only washed extremely rarely. This should be possible because so much solid material is additionally removed by the third separator that, as a result, the contamination of the fourth separator proceeds so slowly that washing is only rarely required.
[0069] It is to be expected that a fourth separator stage will lead to a further improvement in the situation. The occurrence of solid material in the fourth separator will be less than in the third separator. It must, however, be assumed that contamination will still occur and increased fine dust emissions or stack rain will be caused by washing or contaminated separators.
[0070] Some concepts have been disclosed in response to the increased requirements of emission protection and operational safety.
[0071] A particularly successful concept is the so-called “tube separator”. The tube separator uses tubular segments as baffles in contrast to conventional lamealla separators which use extruded and, in particular, formed profiles.
[0072] This tube separator has been shown in operation to be particularly resistant to contamination and to the buildup of deposits and can be used in some plants even without washing systems. In spite of this, the tube separator still provides an acceptable separation performance.
[0073] The tube separator has, however, previously only been used as a coarse separator. For use as a fine separator, the lamella separator is superior with regard to separation performance, as the lamella also separates small drops efficiently.
[0074] These special characteristics (contamination-resistant even without washing system and efficient for large drops) make the tube separator interesting.
[0075] The situation with the inadequate operation of the third “very fine separator” is unsatisfactory with regard to the emissions and to the public image.
[0076] Experience shows further problems when consideration is given to the planned CO 2 separation systems which in future are to be connected to the SO 2 separator. Most of the system concepts currently undergoing trials are based on chemical-thermal processes which work with large contact surfaces. This requires a high degree of purity of flue gas, i.e., the extensive removal of fine dusts and solid material content from the flue gas. The solid materials would otherwise cover the contact surfaces in a relatively short time and at some time lead to blockage of the fixed bed.
SUMMARY
[0077] An aspect of the present invention is to provide a separator concept which fulfills the following three conditions:
1. To provide a high long-term separation performance.
No reduction in the separation performance due to progressive contamination.
2. To avoid carry-over from washing.
The carry-over from washing, which in conventional systems was responsible for 60% to 70% of the total liquid carry-over is avoided and the washing performance with regard to fine dust thereby doubled.
3. To not increase pressure loss.
Avoiding the increase in pressure loss resulting from a progressive buildup of deposits.
[0084] In an embodiment, the present invention provides a separation system for separating drops from a flue gas flow for installation in a gas scrubber of a power plant or an incineration plant which includes a front coarse separator arranged in a gas flow direction, and a rear final separator arranged in the gas flow direction. The rear final separator is provided to have a lower separation performance in comparison with an upstream separator in the gas flow direction and/or is provided as a tube separator. Importance is thereby placed on taking into account the operational requirements (accessibility and feasibility of maintenance).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0085] The present invention is described in greater detail below on the basis of embodiments and of the drawings in which:
[0086] FIG. 1 shows a three-stage separation system in the vertical gas flow;
[0087] FIG. 2 shows a four-stage separation system in the vertical gas flow;
[0088] FIG. 3 shows a three-stage separation system in the horizontal gas flow, wherein the individual separators are not shown in detail;
[0089] FIG. 4 shows a separation system with a combination of separators with vertical and horizontal incident flow; and
[0090] FIG. 5 shows a two-stage separation system in the vertical gas flow.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0091] In an embodiment of the present invention, the separator system can, for example, comprise three or four separator layers, wherein the first separator layer (coarse separator) in the flue gas direction can be designed as a tube separator or as a lamella separator.
[0092] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second separator layer (fine separator) can, for example, be designed as a plate separator in order to utilize the higher performance of a lamella separator (compared with the tube separator).
[0093] In four-stage or multi-stage systems, the third (in multi-stage systems, the further, with the exception of the last) separator stage can likewise, for example, be designed as a lamella separator in order to utilize the higher performance of a lamella separator (compared with the tube separator) for small drops.
[0094] At the same time, all separator stages (with the exception of the last separator stage) are equipped with washing devices on both sides. This is not necessary in the case of a coarse separator which has been designed as a tube separator.
[0095] According to the present invention, the last separator stage is designed as a separator with lower separator performance compared with the preceding separator stage, for example, as a tube separator.
[0096] This separator system appears paradoxical according to the prevailing teaching. It was assumed that the separating performance was increased from stage to stage. With every stage, the distance between the separator lemallas was reduced in order to filter ever smaller drops from the flue gas flow (small lamella spacing=small limiting drops).
[0097] According to the present invention, it is now proposed using a separator with lower separator performance than the preceding separator, for example, a tube separator, as very fine separator or last separating stage. Tube separators are poor separators compared with lamella separators for small drops. Its use as the last separator stage therefore contradicts the prevailing teaching, according to which the last separator must produce the best separating performance.
[0098] The present invention has recognized that the prevailing teaching, according to which the separating performance must be increased from stage to stage, leads to a dead end. The previous teaching has not recognized that, from a certain separating performance, with gases which are charged with solid materials, the unavoidable washing causes greater emissions than the increase in the separating performance reduces the emissions.
[0099] In other words, as an increase in separating performance in the last stage leads to very low distances between the separator lamellas, these separators are very prone to contamination and must be washed frequently. Massive carry-over occurs as a result of the blockage and then washing, which causes more emissions than the separator stage with the increased cleaning performance filters out of the flue gas.
[0100] The solution according to the present invention therefore takes the opposite path. It has been recognized that, from a certain separating performance of the overall system, washing causes the greater part of the emissions and contamination the other part. Particularly in the case of the wet stack, this not only leads to high emissions but also to unpleasant consequences (visible emissions as stack rain).
[0101] A first object on which the separator system according to the present invention is based is therefore to find a solution with which the last separator stage does not have to be washed. As a solution, this object can be achieved by a separator with a poorer separation performance.
[0102] A second object is to find a solution which, in spite of no washing, does not become so contaminated that the pressure loss builds up significantly and, further, the contaminated lamella produces emissions.
[0103] The tube separator is known to either remain completely clean or to be only slightly contaminated, even after lengthy operation without washing. This contamination of the tubes has virtually no effect on the separation performance. It has surprisingly been shown that, in spite of its low separation performance compared with lamella separators, it is well suited as the last separation stage before the stack or reheating process. A possible explanation for this is the following:
[0104] The main function of the last separator is to trap and separate the carried-over washing drops from the preceding separator. These washing drops tend to be large to very large drops. The tube separator separates well, particularly with large drops. Its weakness is small drops. As the last separator, the tube separator is therefore entirely suitable and effective for this purpose.
[0105] It has surprisingly been shown that the disadvantage that the small drops, which have made it through the upstream separation stages, without being separated is not important. This is because these small drops clearly form only a relatively small part of the quantity of liquid which reaches this tube separator; the volume is relatively small. Depending on the washing frequency, 90% to 99% of the quantity of liquid is carry-over from the washing process of the upstream separation stage.
[0106] The separation system according to the present invention can be built with two, three, four or more separation stages. In an embodiment of the present invention, the separation system can, for example, have three or four separation stages; however, only two or more than four stages are conceivable.
[0107] The separation system can be built for vertical as well as for horizontal gas flow, and also for a gas flow which changes direction or is angled between the separation stages. Systems exist which have a coarse separator built into the vertical gas flow (internal separator) and the fine separator built into the horizontal gas flow (external separator in separate housing).
[0108] All types of known separators can be used, for example, tube separators (horizontal or vertical incident flow), lamella separators (horizontal incident flow), roof-shaped or flat lamella separators (vertical incident flow), roof-shaped or flat tube separators (vertical incident flow) or other designs of baffle.
[0109] Some of the possible combinations of these different designs are shown by way of example in the following drawings.
[0110] The three-stage separation system shown in FIG. 1 is intended for use in a vertical gas flow, directed from bottom to top, and symbolized by the arrows 7 in FIG. 1 . Viewed in the direction of the gas flow, it comprises a coarse separator 6 in the form of a tube separator which is mounted on a supporting structure 3 . This coarse separator 6 is used particularly for separating large water drops.
[0111] A fine separator 1 in the form of a lamella separator is arranged above the coarse separator 6 , after the coarse separator 6 in the direction of the gas flow. It is supported on the same supporting structure 3 as the coarse separator 6 .
[0112] A washing device 2 , by means of which the fine separator 1 can be sprayed from below with washing liquid (usually water) is provided between the coarse separator 6 and the fine separator 1 . The washing device 2 is fixed to a crossbeam 9 . Two further washing devices 2 ′, which are used to spray the fine separator 1 from above, are arranged above the fine separator 1 .
[0113] A final separator 5 in the form of a tube separator, which has a lower separation performance compared with the fine separator 1 , is provided mounted on a further supporting structure 3 ′ above the washing device 2 ′.
[0114] In the description of the following, further exemplary embodiments of the separation system according to the present invention, parts and components whose function has already been described with reference to FIG. 1 , are assigned the same references.
[0115] The four-stage separation system shown in FIG. 2 is again located in a vertical gas flow 7 directed from bottom to top. It comprises a flat separator 8 , which can be sprayed with washing liquid with the help of washing devices 2 , 2 ′ located before and after it in the gas flow direction.
[0116] The flat separator 8 is again fixed to an intermediate structure 3 , as is a first fine separator 1 in the form of a lamella separator which is arranged above it. Washing devices 2 , 2 ′ for spraying with washing liquid are again provided in an arrangement which corresponds to that of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 .
[0117] A second fine separator 1 ′, which is likewise in the form of a lamella separator, is arranged after, i.e., above, the first fine separator 1 in the gas flow direction. Like the washing devices 2 ′″ which are provided for the cleaning thereof, it is also fitted to a further intermediate structure 3 ′.
[0118] A final separator 5 in the form of a tube separator is again provided above this fine separator 1 ′.
[0119] In the two exemplary embodiments described above, the separation system according to the present invention is located in a vertical gas flow. In the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , however, the gas flow is deflected horizontally with the help of an appropriately designed housing 10 .
[0120] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the coarse separator 6 , the fine separator 1 and the final separator 5 are located in a housing region in which a substantially horizontal gas flow prevails. As in the two exemplary embodiments described above, the coarse separator 6 can, for example, be in the form of a flat or tube separator, the fine separator can, for example, be in the form of a lamella separator, and the final separator 5 can again, for example, be in the form of a tube separator.
[0121] The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is a further variant of the separation system according to the present invention. In this system, both the coarse separator 6 and a first fine separator 1 are arranged in a region of the housing 10 in which the substantially vertical gas flow prevails.
[0122] A further fine separator 1 ′ and a final separator 5 which follow in the gas flow direction are arranged in a region of the housing 10 in which a horizontal gas flow prevails.
[0123] The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 shows a separation system according to the present invention with just two stages in the vertical gas flow 7 . It comprises a coarse separator 8 in the form of a flat separator mounted on a first supporting structure 3 . For the cleaning thereof, washing devices 2 are arranged before and after it with respect to the gas flow direction. The final separator 5 , which is again in the form of a tube separator, is arranged on a second supporting structure 3 ′ which is provided above the coarse separator 8 . Because of the absence of the fine separator in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5 , this exemplary embodiment has a lower overall separating performance than those described above.
[0124] The present invention is not limited to embodiments described herein; reference should be had to the appended claims. | A separation system for separating drops from a flue gas flow for installation in a gas scrubber of a power plant or an incineration plant includes a front coarse separator arranged in a gas flow direction, and a rear final separator arranged in the gas flow direction. The rear final separator is provided to have a lower separation performance in comparison with an upstream separator in the gas flow direction and/or is provided as a tube separator. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of programmable logic devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a merged logic element routing multiplexer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Existing programmable logic devices (PLDs) use routing multiplexers to implement programmable routing structures, such as the Stratix II family of PLDs produced by Altera Corporation. FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified representation of the architecture of a logic array block (LAB). An LAB 100 contains a number of logic elements (LEs) 102 that can perform a set of logic functions, such as a lookup table (LUT). Each LE 102 may also contain other structures such as a flip-flop (FF) or an adder. To connect the output of an LE to the input of other LEs, various routing structures are used. The routing structures are multiplexers that can be configured to select an output signal from a set of input signals, and to send the output along a routing wire. The first stage is the LE output multiplexer (LEOM) 104 , which can select from one or more of the signals from the LUT, FF, or adder. The LEOM 104 drives an output stub 106 that can connect to the input of various driver input multiplexers (DIMs) 108 . Each DIM 108 drives a routing wire of a predetermined length. A typical segment of a routing wire may span 4 LABs in the horizontal direction (either left-going or right-going) and is denoted as an H4 wire 110 . The DIM is conventionally given the name corresponding to the type of wire it drives, so that a DIM driving an H4 wire is referred to as an H4 DIM. A wire in the vertical direction, either up-going or down-going, is referred to as a V4 wire 112 . At the input side, a set of LAB input multiplexers (LIMs) 114 receive input signals from either horizontal or vertical wires. The LIMs 114 select signals between a set of routing wires and drive the selected signals onto a set of LAB lines 116 , which are internal to the LAB 100 . The set of LAB lines 116 are in turn received by an LE input multiplexer (LEIM) 118 , which drives the input of the LE 102 .
Along the length of each routing wire, connections to the inputs of other DIMs are provided, so that each DIM may select as its input another routing wire. For example, an H4 wire may connect to the input of other V4 DIMs to allow a routing connection to proceed horizontally and then vertically. At the end of each routing wire, at least one input to another DIM of the same type is provided, so that routing wires can be connected in series. This method of connecting routing wires serially is called stitching. FIG. 2 illustrates a method of stitching segments of routing wires. As shown in FIG. 2 , a first set of four LABs (only one LAB 100 a is shown) and a second set of four LABs ( 100 b , 100 c , 100 d , and 100 e ) are arranged in a row. The routing wires between the two sets of LABs are stitched together by using a first H4 DIM 108 a at LAB 100 a . Similarly, a second H4 DIM 108 b connects the H4 wire 110 to the next set of four LABs at LAB 100 e.
Both DIMs and LIMs are arranged in columns on both sides of the LEs in the LAB, and an LE may drive DIM inputs not only in its own LAB, but also in adjacent LABs. Architecture of a routing structure for a PLD is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,630,842, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
An array of LABs may be placed in a PLD in a grid of X-Y locations. The various routing wires in a given row and column of LABs form the horizontal and vertical channels. The starting points of consecutive wires within a channel are usually staggered, or offset by one LAB.
FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art implementation of a DIM in a programmable logic device. The DIM includes both multiplexing stages and driver stages of a routing structure. In particular, a regular DIM path includes a set of regular input multiplexers 302 , a level-restorer circuit 306 , and a buffer circuit 308 . A regular input multiplexer 302 is typically implemented as two levels of negative metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS) pass transistors followed by a level-restorer and a buffer. A fast DIM path includes a set of fast input multiplexers 304 , the level-restorer circuit 306 , and the buffer circuit 308 . A fast input multiplexer 304 typically uses a single pass transistor. This fast input multiplexer 304 is connected to an LE output to provide a fast routing connection for the first stage of the routing. A limited number of fast input multiplexers, typically one per DIM, are provided because they are more expensive and because a large number of fast input multiplexers may increase the load on the input of the level-restorer circuit 306 , which in turn may lower the performance of the PLD.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the shortest signal path between two LEs in two different LABs contains at least four separate logic blocks: LEOM 104 , DIM 108 , LIM 114 , and LEIM 118 . A signal travels through these four logic blocks upon leaving an LE. This is the critical path for signal transmission between the output of one LE and the input of another LE via an inter-LAB routing wire. Therefore, there is a need to improve the performance of signal transmission of the PLD. Because global routing wires are required for general paths, one such way of doing so is to reduce the delay of transmitting a signal from the LE to the routing wire.
SUMMARY
A merged LE routing multiplexer (MLRM) circuit is disclosed. The MLRM improves the performance of a PLD by substantially reducing or eliminating the delay of the first DIM and thus removing the delay associated with the first DIM and the first routing wire segment in each routing path. In one embodiment, an MLRM circuit includes one or more inputs coupled to the LE output, one or more tri-stated circuits coupled to the corresponding one or more inputs, where the tri-stated circuits are controlled by a set of programmable select signals, and an output port coupled to the inter-LAB routing wire, wherein the output port is connected to the outputs of the tri-stated circuits through a buffer circuit.
In another embodiment, a programmable logic device includes a first LE of a sender LAB, an inter-LAB routing wire connected to one or more receivers, and an MLRM that receives outputs from the first LE of the sender LAB and drives the inter-LAB routing wire connected to the one or more receivers. The one or more receivers may include other LABs, DIMs, or LIMs.
In yet another embodiment, a programmable logic device includes a first LE of a sender LAB, an inter-LAB routing wire connected to one or more receivers, and an MLRM that receives outputs from the first LE of the sender LAB and drives the inter-LAB routing wire connected to the one or more receivers. The inter-LAB routing wire is a star wire for routing signals to the plurality of LABs on four directions of the MLRM both horizontally and vertically.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The aforementioned features and advantages of the invention as well as additional features and advantages thereof will be more clearly understandable after reading detailed descriptions of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the following drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified representation of the architecture of a logic array block (LAB).
FIG. 2 illustrates a method of stitching segments of routing wires.
FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art implementation of a DIM in a programmable logic array.
FIG. 4 illustrates an implementation of a merged LE routing multiplexer (MLRM) according to an embodiment of-the present invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates another implementation of an MLRM according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates a high-level view of connecting an LE output to a fast input of the MLRM according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of signal paths according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 a illustrates a method of using horizontal and vertical routing wires for reducing the number of MLRMs in an LAB.
FIG. 8 b illustrates a method of using star routing wires for reducing the number of MLRMs in an LAB.
Like numbers are used throughout the figures.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
The following descriptions are presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Descriptions of specific embodiments and applications are provided only as examples. Various modifications and combinations of the examples described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples described and shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
FIG. 4 illustrates an implementation of a merged LE routing multiplexer (MLRM) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The MLRM 400 combines the functionalities of the LEOM 104 and DIM 108 and allows one or more inputs associated with the outputs of an LE to be merged into the MLRM 400 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the MLRM includes one or more regular input multiplexers 302 , one or more fast input multiplexers 304 , a level restorer circuit 306 , a buffer circuit 308 , a CMOS pass gate transistor 406 , and one or more tri-stated circuits 404 and 408 . One or more outputs of the LE are merged into the DIM, driving node 402 of the DIM through tri-stated circuits 404 and 408 . A tri-stated circuit may be implemented by a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) pass gate transistor. These outputs of the LE are referred to as MLRM driver inputs. The tri-stated circuits are controlled by a set of programmable select signals, which select a particular tri-stated circuit to drive the node 402 . The path from the LE to a routing wire includes one CMOS pass gate transistor and a buffer 308 , eliminating a delay approximately equivalent to that of a DIM 108 . Thus each LE output can essentially directly drive one segment of routing wire (of 4 LABs long). The other outputs of the LE still drive the DIM through the regular input multiplexer 302 and fast input multiplexer 304 . The LUT output may directly drive the DIM buffer without additional buffering because the output buffer 308 associated with the DIM 108 is typically comparable in size to the LE output driver. Note that if the LE output driver is substantially smaller than the DIM driver (buffer 308 ), additional stages of buffering may be employed to compensate the LE output driver to retain the advantages of the invention. In other embodiments, more than one output of the LE is merged into the DIM, such as an output from the FF. The FF output drives the node 402 through a CMOS pass gate transistor 408 .
In FIG. 4 , the delay of the DIM may be increased because of the delay introduced by the additional CMOS pass gate transistor 406 inserted in the signal path. This delay can be reduced by using a tri-stated level restoring circuit 502 as shown in FIG. 5 . The tri-stated level restoring circuit 502 replaces the level-restorer circuit 306 and the CMOS pass gate circuit 406 with a tri-stated circuit, using larger gating transistors placed between the tri-stated circuit, the power supply, and the circuit ground. Due to the use of larger gating transistors, the tri-stated level restoring circuit 502 causes minimal extra delay compared to the level-restorer circuit 306 . A tri-stated circuit 504 is used to receive the input signal from LUT out and drive the node 402 . Thus, the delay of the CMOS pass gate transistor 406 of FIG. 4 is substantially reduced. Note that both the tri-stated level restoring circuit 502 and the tri-stated circuit 504 may be controlled by a set of programmable select signals.
FIG. 6 illustrates a high-level view of connecting an LE output to a fast input of the MLRM. The path 602 between the LE output and the fast input of the MLRM is highlighted.
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of signal paths according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention distinguishes between a short connection path where there is only one routing wire segment (typically 4 LABs length) between two LEs and a long connection path where there is more than one routing wire segments between two LEs. As shown in FIG. 6 , the short connection path between LE 1 ( 102 ) and LE 2 ( 702 ) includes an MLRM 500 , a routing wire 110 / 112 , an LIM 114 , an LAB line 116 , and an LEIM 118 . The long connection path between LE 1 ( 102 ) and LE 3 ( 704 ) includes an MLRM 500 , one or more routing wires 110 / 112 and DIMs 108 , an LIM 114 , an LAB line 116 , and an LEIM 118 . In the long connection path, the one or more DIMs 108 are used to connect the one or more routing wire segments 110 / 112 .
In order to take advantage of the improved performance of the MLRM, it is preferable that each LUT output connects to at least one MLRM driver input in each horizontal and vertical direction (described below in association with FIG. 8 a and FIG. 8 b ). Inputs associated with LUT outputs use MLRM driver inputs, and other inputs use regular input multiplexers or fast input multiplexers. In this case, four MLRMs are required for each LUT output, corresponding to each of the up, down, left, and right routing directions.
However, within an LAB, there is a limited number of DIMs, which are used to form the MLRMs. Providing four MLRMs per LUT may make it necessary to use MLRMs for most or all of the routing wires in the LAB. For example, the Stratix II family of PLDs produced by Altera Corporation may contain 84 DIMs arranged as 52 H4 DIMs and 32 V4 DIMs, and the LAB has 16 LUT outputs. To provide one MLRM in each direction requires that each LUT output connect to 4 MLRMs, resulting in a total of 64 MLRMs, 16 MLRMs each for the H4 left-going, H4 right-going, V4 up, and V4 down directions. Thus a minimum of 64 of the total of 84 available DIMs are required to be MLRMs, while no more than 20 of the DIMs may be used for receiving inputs through the regular input multiplexers.
Note that an MLRM may be slower for DIM-to-DIM connections than a DIM, due to the extra delay introduced by the additional CMOS pass gate transistor inserted in series with the first stage DIM driver as well as the additional capacitance of the LE input. Thus, it may be desirable to avoid the need for four MLRMs per LE output and to provide a wider range of possible combinations of DIMs and MLRMs.
One approach is to have an MLRM connect to more than one LE output as shown in FIG. 4 . This approach increases the loading at node 402 and thus reduces the speed because of the extra inputs to the MLRM. For example, if two LEs each have inputs to a MLRM in each direction, then a total of four MLRMs may be shared among two LEs. In other words, only two MLRMs per LE is required.
Yet another approach that avoids increasing the number of fast inputs to the MLRM is to use different types of routing wires that have a larger set of routing directions for the MLRMs. FIG. 8 a illustrates a method of using horizontal and vertical routing wires for reducing the number of MLRMs in an LAB. As shown in FIG. 8 a , a T-wire such as a TH4 802 or a TV4 804 is driven in the center. It can connect to other LABs 100 or DIMs 108 along its length, including stitching at the end. In this case each LE needs to drive one segment of TH4 wire or one segment of TV4 wire, reducing the number of MLRMs per LE from four to two, which are shown as 806 and 808 .
In yet another approach, a star wire S4 810 , illustrated in FIG. 8 b , connects to both horizontal and vertical routing wires. In addition, the star wire S4 810 can be connected to other DIMs and LIMs along its path, and be stitched at the end of each routing wire segment to another routing wire such as an H4 wire 814 . This approach reduces the number of MLRMs from four to one, which is shown as 812 , as each MLRM can drive the routing wire in all four directions.
In other embodiments, the approaches described above may be combined, so that each MLRM may have multiple fast inputs from multiple LEs, use either T or S wires, or a combination of both. Further, the number of fast output connections may be increased beyond the one per direction by means of these approaches, instead of choosing the minimum number of MLRMs to satisfy this goal.
The present invention accomplishes faster routing between an LE output and its corresponding routing wire by merging the LE output and the DIM structure. This benefit can be illustrated by the following example. In typical PLD applications, a majority of the routing connections are relatively short. For purpose of illustration, assume that 60% of routing connections have a path that contains only one DIM and one routing wire segment, and that 40% of routing connections have more than one DIM and their corresponding routing wire segments. For simplicity, assume that the average length of connections longer than one DIM and one routing wire segment is 2.5 . That is, 60% of the connections use one DIM, and the remaining 40% of the connections use an average number of 2.5 DIMs. Thus the average connection has a length of 1.6 DIMs (60% connections*1.0 DIM+40% connections*2.5 DIMs). Of the 2.5 DIMs used by the longer connections, the first one is necessarily a connection between the LEOM and the first DIM, and the remaining 1.5 DIMs are connections between routing wires driven from one DIM to another DIM. In other words, the average routing connection has a first connection between the LEOM and the DIM plus an average of 0.6 DIM-to-DIM connection.
Since a majority of routing connections traverse only one routing wire segment (of 4 LABs long), the present invention has improved the overall performance of the PLD by making short connections fast, even at the cost of some speed degradation for longer distance connections. For example, by reducing the delay of the LE output multiplexer to DIM connection by 100 Pico seconds (ps), it may increase the delay of the DIM-to-DIM connections by 100 ps. This may still be preferable, since the average connection sees 100 ps benefit from the first connection, but only sees 60 ps (60%*100 ps) of slowdown on the remainder of the path. On average, this produces 40 ps of improvement per connection.
The following example further illustrates the advantages of the invention. Assume in FIG. 1 that the LEOM 104 has a delay of 100 ps, the DIM 108 and the routing wire 110 have a delay of 250 ps, the LIM 114 and the LAB line 116 have a delay of 200 ps, and the LEIM 118 has a delay of 100 ps. In this case the shortest possible connection has a delay of 650 ps (100+250+200+100), and the average connection has an average delay of 800 ps (100+1.6*250+200+100 ps). Now referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , suppose that the MLRM 500 has a delay from the LE to routing wire of 270 ps (increased from 250 due to the larger buffer it drives), and also increases the delay of the long path for having a DIM driving another DIM and routing wire to 280 ps (because of the extra CMOS pass gate inserted in series with the first-stage buffer in the DIM). Then the shortest possible delay between LE 1 and LE 2 becomes 570 ps (270+200+100). Since an average connection uses one LE output to routing wire connection and 0.6 DIM-to-DIM connection, it has an average delay of 738 ps (270+0.6*280+200+100), considerably less than the delay of 800 ps of FIG. 1 . Therefore, the MLRM improves the performance of a PLD by substantially eliminating the delay of the first DIM in each routing path. Note that although the delay of the DIM has been removed, the delay associated with the routing wire is still present and the delays of the other components may have increased slightly, so the delay reduction may be less than the full 250 ps associated with the DIM and routing wire.
One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that many possible modifications and combinations of the disclosed embodiments may be used, while still employing the same basic underlying mechanisms and methodologies. The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, has been written with references to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and their practical applications, and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. | A merged logic element routing multiplexer circuit includes one or more inputs coupled to the logic element (LE) output, one or more tri-stated circuits coupled to the corresponding one or more inputs, wherein the tri-stated circuits are controlled by a set of programmable select signals, and an output port coupled to the inter logic array block (LAB) routing wire, where the output port is connected to outputs of the tri-stated circuits through a buffer circuit. | 7 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/277,846, filed Jul. 20, 1994, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND
This application is related to patent application Ser. No. 08/277,847.
The present invention is directed generally toward magnetometers and specifically to miniaturized magnetometer devices of the type that can be used in position and orientation sensing applications. When used in position and orientation applications, a magnetometer device is typically attached to or located within the item whose location or orientation is of interest. There is a need for such magnetometer devices wherever magnetic fields must be sensed with a fine resolution. Examples of position and orientation sensing include medical applications for the position and orientation of endoscopes and catheters where a flexible electrical connection of considerable length is needed to provide signals from the magnetometer to external monitoring equipment. In these applications and in many other applications, the available space for a magnetometer device is extremely limited.
Thus a need exists for a miniature magnetometer having an elongated flexible connecting circuit and capable of magnetic field sensing with a high degree of resolution.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves these and other needs by providing a miniature magnetometer for use in determining the position and orientation of a device carrying the magnetometer within a magnetic field having known characteristics. The invention includes an elongated flexible circuit, a portion of which is supported by a substrate. Transducers having a direction of sensitivity in the plane of the transducer are mounted to the flexible circuit at the substrate. Signal conditioning electronics are also mounted to the flexible circuit at the substrate. Electrical connections interconnect the transducers, conditioning electronics and the flexible circuit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a miniature magnetometer having an elongated flexible electrical connection according to the present invention.
FIG. 1a is an outline drawing of a sensor device.
FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate a plan view of single film transducers.
FIGS. 3a, b, and c, illustrate plan and sectional views of a coupled film transducer.
FIG. 4 illustrates three transducers in two planes.
FIG. 5 is a schematic of three transducers combined with signal conditioning electronics in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 7a and 7b are plan views of a flexible circuit.
DESCRIPTION
A magnetometer device in accordance with the principles of the present invention is illustrated in the Figures and generally designated 10. Device 10 includes transducer die S1, S2, and S3, a flexible circuit 20, a substrate or stiffener 30 to provide rigidity to a portion of flexible circuit 20, and signal conditioning electronics 202.
As shown in FIG. 1 substrate 30 has a first portion 32 having a surface 34 lying in a plane as formed by the x-axis and the y-axis and a second portion 36 having a surface 38 lying in a plane formed by the x-axis and the z-axis. Substrate 30 has a transition portion 40 extending from first portion 32 and connecting to second portion 36 and having a surface 42. Transition portion 40 is in the form of a twist that rotates through 90 degrees. Substrate 30 is made from a formable metal material and provides a greater stiffness to a portion of flexible circuit 20. Materials that have been found to work include Aluminum or Beryllium Copper.
In order to have a magnetometer device that will fit into the size anticipated for the applications of the present invention a very small transducer die must be provided.
An outline drawing of a sensor device S having a direction of sensitivity 46 and further having a length, l, a width, w, and a diagonal measurement 44, is shown in FIG. 1a. Sensors S are preferably of magnetoresistive material.
An advantage of the embodiment of FIG. 1 is that it accomplishes the three axis mounting of sensor devices in a way that allows apparatus 10 to be inserted in a passageway or orifice having a diameter measurement, d, that is less than diagonal measurement 44 of sensor device S. That is, the arrangement of FIG. 1 accomplishes the three axis sensing without presenting face 48 of sensor device S to the orifice or passageway 50. Unlike Hall-effect sensors which require the sensed field to be perpendicular to the plane of the sensor and therefore required a cube type of mounting, the sensor of the present invention is efficient in the cross-sectional area needed for mounting.
The transducer die may be of a single layer film implementation or a coupled film implementation. Transducer die 212 as illustrated in FIG. 2a is a single layer film wherein the four bridge legs would be arranged as a wheatstone bridge (connections not shown). In the single layer implementation, the herringbone design achieves the desired range of linearity by depositing series connected strips 214 at 45 degrees with respect to crossed bias and signal fields. The bias field can be applied either by an external magnet, external coils, or on chip straps. For purposes of miniaturization, the on chip strap 216 having connection pads 218 is the preferred method. Sample dimensions are also shown.
In FIG. 2b transducer 220 shows another arrangement of single film permalloy bridge legs and a setting strap 222 with sample dimensions shown.
A coupled film transducer 230 is shown in FIG. 3a where magnetostatically coupled strips 232 are connected in series to form four legs 234 of a Wheatstone bridge (bridge connection not shown). Alternatively a two leg bridge arrangement may be used. In the coupled film implementation as shown in FIG. 3a each leg 234 consists of several strips 232, and all legs 234 have the same number of strips. Legs 234 differ in that one pair of opposite legs is magnetized in one direction along its length, whereas the remaining pair is magnetized in the opposite direction. This is done by applying an initial current pulse to strap 235 deposited on top of the strips. Once the legs are magnetized in this way, the top and bottom layers are brought to the appropriate point in the linear operation region by controlling the supply current. The bridge made up of such coupled films is sensitive to fields parallel to the length of the strips.
FIG. 3b illustrates the connection of strips 232 with interconnects 236 to form a leg 234.
FIG. 3c illustrates a top view and an end cross-section view of a coupled film strip 232 in which the magnetization M in the top layer 238 and bottom layer 240 rotate as a function of the supply current I.
Further details of the construction of a coupled film transducer using either two legs or four legs are contained in a commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/277,856, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,590, entitled "Apparatus for Sensing Magnetic Fields using a Coupled Film Magnetoresistive Transducer" and having a filing date of Jul. 20, 1994 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Either single layer film transducers or coupled film transducers can be fabricated in chip sizes which are less than 1 mm on a side. Using the transducers described herein, miniature 3-axis magnetometers can be made by placing the transducer chips on two mutually orthogonal planes as illustrated in FIG. 4. This property of the transducers is very useful for purposes of miniaturization, and the purpose of FIG. 4 is only to illustrate this concept. The purpose of FIG. 4 is to illustrate the concept of using two mutually orthogonal planes to obtain three axis sensitivity. Further details of the structure for assembling a three axis sensor on two planes is contained in a commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/277,847 entitled "Three-Axis Packaging" having a filing date of Jul. 20, 1994 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Three two-legged transducers can be combined with signal conditioning circuitry to provide a 3-axis magnetometer device as shown schematically in FIG. 5 where three die, i.e., x-axis die 250, y-axis die 251, and z-axis die 253, are physically oriented to sense magnetic field components along three orthogonal axis. Only transducer die 250 will be discussed as the circuitry for the three die is the same. Die 250 includes resistors R1 and R2 which are either single film or coupled film resistors of magnetoresistive material which are connected in series between a source of power and ground with a connection 252 between R1 and R2. Analog signal conditioning die 255 includes additional integrated components. Resistors R3 and R4 are non-magnetoresistive and are connected in series between a source of power and ground to form a voltage divider with a connection between R3 and R4. Op amp 256 senses the difference in voltage between connection 254 and connection 256 and provides an output signal 258. The operation of the Y-axis and the Z-axis is identical to the X-axis. Feedback resistor R fb and Op Amp 256 should be integrated and have matched temperature characteristics to provide stable gain. Op amp 256 should have high input impedance and low noise. Set reset strap 260 is used to set magnetic domains and to modify the transfer function. Set reset strap 260 accepts current at 261 and returns current at 263 which may be tied to ground.
A three axis magnetometer such as the present invention is capable of measuring the three components of a magnetic field in a region of interest in space. By appropriately setting or establishing the magnetic field in the region of interest, the output of a magnetometer can be used to extract orientation and position information of the magnetometer or the device to which it is attached. A uniform magnetic field in the region of interest is sufficient for sensing the orientation of a magnetometer whereas a known gradient or non-uniformity in the field is necessary for position information. By providing both a uniform field and a non-uniform field superimposed at distinct frequencies, both the position and orientation information may be extracted simultaneously.
Flexible circuit 20 includes tape 22 and conductors 24. Surface 26 of flexible circuit 20 located near end 28 does not include dielectric and conductors 24 are exposed to allow electrical connections to be made. Flexible circuit 20 is typically made using a polyimide dielectric and copper conductors. Photolithography and etching processes are used in the fabrication. The construction of the flexible tape may be varied. Planar views of one satisfactory prototype are shown in FIG. 7a and 7b, and a description of the materials and approximate dimensions is as follows:
DIELECTRIC MATERIAL=POLYIMIDE
WIDTH=0.076"
LENGTH=78.74"
POLYMIDE THICKNESS=0.002"
CONDUCTOR MATERIAL=COPPER
COPPER THICKNESS=0.0007"
EXPOSED COPPER PLATED WITH 20-40 MICROINCHES NICKEL
80 MICROINCHES WIREBONDABLE GOLD TO BE PLATED OVER NICKEL
COPPER LINE WIDTH TOP=0.005"
SPACE BETWEEN COPPER LINES ON TOP=0.005"
METALLIZATION TO EDGE CLEARANCE=0.0155"
COPPER WIDTH ON BOTTOM 2 BUSES=0.020" EACH
SPACE BETWEEN BUSES=0.005"
BOTTOM BUSES CONNECTED TO THE TOP LINES AS SHOWN WITH THRU VIAS
VIAS MAY BE FILLED WITH A CONDUCTIVE PASTE
BOTTOM SIDE TO BE COATED WITH A DIELECTRIC
TOP SIDE TO BE COATED WITH A DIELECTRIC EXCEPT FOR THE 0.600" TIP
CIRCUIT SENSOR END TO BE BONDED TO 0.006" THICK BERYLLIUM COPPER
ASSUME SENSOR CHIP SIZE 0.025"×0.035"
ALLOW 0.020" AROUND THE CHIP TO BRING OUT THE WIRE BONDS
EACH CHIP FOOTPRINT WILL THEN BE 0.065"×0.075"
OP AMP CHIP SIZE IS 0.063"×0.154"
In the prototype previously described the Beryllium Copper substrate 30 is 0.575" long before forming a 90 degree twist in substrate 30 after a portion of flexible circuit 20 is bonded to the beryllium copper.
Electrical connections between the sensor and the flexible tape and between the signal conditioning electronics may be by wirebond, tape automated bonding (TAB) or other means.
In many medical devices, of which a catheter is one example, a three-axis sensing apparatus must be extremely small to be able to be inserted into a small channel or passageway within the device.
While the invention has been described with reference to a device such as a catheter having a small passageway, there are many other applications for the miniature magnetometer. Thus Applicant's invention provides a miniature three-axis magnetometer having milli-gauss resolution.
An alternative embodiment using a multiplexing approach to reduce die area is shown in FIG. 6 in which the three die are oriented as in FIG. 5. In the alternative embodiment, connections 270, 272 and 274 from X-axis Die, Y-axis die and Z-axis die are input to analog signal conditioning die 276. The arrangement of set reset current strap 275 is the same as in FIG. 5. Analog die 276 has only one Op amp 278. Input decoder 280 on analog die 276 selects which of connections 270, 272 or 274 is input to Op Amp 278. Input decoder 280 makes a selection based on the presence or absence of control signals 282 and 284. Input decoder 280 should not add any significant noise to the system. Output signal 286 represents the magnetic field component for the specific transducer die selected by input decoder 280.
The present invention has been described with reference to three-axis sensing; however, it is recognized that the principles of the invention also apply to two-axis sensing and single-axis sensing. | Miniature magnetometer apparatus for use with external equipment in determining a position and orientation of a device located within a magnetic field includes an elongated flexible circuit for connection to external equipment, a substrate at the device with a portion of the flexible circuit secured thereto, and a planar sensor mounted on the flexible circuit at the substrate and connected to the flexible circuit. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a mobile telecommunication system, and more especially to a telecommunication system according to the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System UMTS standard.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The current state of the art for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRAN) is captured in 3GPP TS 36.300; Overall description; Stage 2. The operation of Uplink Layer 2 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, hereinafter referred to as HARQ, processing is described in 3GPP TS 36.321 Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification, and is summarised below:
[0003] The User Equipment, sometimes called mobile station and hereinafter referred to as UE, shall for each Transmission Time Interval, hereinafter referred to as TTI:
[0004] if an uplink grant for this TTI has been received on the physical downlink control channel PDCCH; or
[0005] if an uplink grant for this TTI has been received in a Random Access Response:
indicate a valid uplink grant and the associated HARQ information to the HARQ entity for this TTI;
[0007] else, if an uplink grant for this TTI has been configured and an uplink grant for this TTI has not been received on the PDCCH nor in a Random Access Response:
indicate an uplink grant, valid for new transmission, and the associated HARQ information to the HARQ entity for this TTI.
Please note that the period of configured uplink grants is expressed in TTIs.
[0009] There is one HARQ entity at the UE. A number of parallel HARQ processes are used in the UE to support the HARQ entity, allowing transmissions to take place continuously while waiting for the feedback on the successful or unsuccessful reception of previous transmissions.
[0010] At a given TTI, if an uplink grant is indicated for the TTI, the HARQ entity identifies the HARQ process for which a transmission should take place. It also routes the receiver feedback (acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement ACK/NACK information) from the E-UTRAN NodeB (i.e. the base station, hereinafter referred to as eNB), relayed by the physical layer, to the appropriate HARQ process.
[0011] At the given TTI, the HARQ entity shall:
[0012] if an uplink grant, indicating a new transmission, is indicated for this TTI:
[0013] notify the “uplink prioritisation” entity that the TTI is available for a new transmission;
[0014] if the “uplink prioritisation” entity indicates the need for a new transmission:
obtain the MAC Packet Data Unit PDU to transmit from the “Multiplexing and assembly” entity; instruct the HARQ process corresponding to this TTI to trigger the transmission of this new payload using the identified parameters.
[0017] else:
[0018] flush the HARQ buffer.
[0019] else:
[0020] if an uplink grant, indicating a re-transmission, is indicated for this TTI; or
[0021] if the HARQ buffer of the HARQ process corresponding to this TTI is not empty:
[0022] instruct the HARQ process to generate a re-transmission.
[0000] Please note that adaptive retransmissions are ‘sticky’; i.e., when parameters are modified for a retransmission, previous parameters no longer apply for subsequent retransmissions.
[0023] The UE receives feedback information (ACK/NACK) on the Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel, hereinafter referred to as PHICH. This information is relayed by the physical layer of the UE to the appropriate HARQ process and handled in combination with the PDCCH Uplink transmission-resource grant information as shown below.
[0000]
UE detects PHICH
UE detects PDCCH
indicating the
indicating the
following:
following:
UE behaviour:
1
ACK/NACK
Transmission
starts new transmission
according to PDCCH
2
ACK/NACK
Retransmission
retransmits according
to PDCCH
3
ACK
None
no retransmission keeps
data in buffer or
clear buffer (FFS)
4
NAK
None
non-adaptive
retransmission
[0024] Furthermore it has been agreed that if the UE receives ACK on the PHICH, and the UE detects PDCCH asking for retransmission, the UE behaviour gives precedence to the request for a retransmission and therefore the UE retransmits.
[0025] Typically, the UL grants transmitted on the PDCCH are protected by a Cycle Redundancy Check (CRC), and therefore the probability of erroneous decoding is negligible, although the probability that the UE fails to detect the PDCCH message may be as high as 10 −2 . The ACK/NACK transmissions on the PHICH channel are not CRC-protected and are typically transmitted with an error rate of 10 −3 to 10 −4 .
[0026] A mobile terminal can operate by decoding PDCCH then decoding PHICH, or by decoding PHICH then PDCCH if this is required.
[0027] FIG. 1 shows the UE processing of the PDCCH and PHICH where the PDCCH is decoded first.
[0028] In more detail, the UE looks for a valid PDCCH with an UL grant. If the PDCCH has been correctly decoded, then the UE looks for ACK/NACK on PHICH. If ACK or NACK is received, then the UE looks at the Incremental Redundancy Version (IRV) indicator in the PDCCH message. The UE derives from the IRV indicator whether the eNB requires a retransmission of the previous packet or a new transmission. Then, either an adaptive retransmission of the previous packet or a new transmission is carried out. Then, a valid UL grant is sent. An adaptive retransmission uses uplink transmission resources which are indicated explicitly by the PDCCH grant and are therefore not necessarily the same as for the previous transmission.
[0029] If the PDCCH failed to be decoded, then the UE looks for ACK/NACK on PHICH. If ACK is decoded, the UE assumes the previous packet was received correctly and no further UE action is carried out. If NACK is decoded, the UE assumes the need for non-adaptive retransmission (i.e. using the same uplink transmission resources as for the previous transmission). There is a possibility of collision of uplink transmissions if there is a missed PDCCH grant, as the UE would assume that the retransmission is to be non-adaptive and therefore reuse the same uplink transmission resources as for the previous transmission whereas in fact these resources might have been reassigned to a different UE. Subsequently, a valid UL grant is sent.
[0030] FIG. 2 shows the state of the art eNB processing for the UL transmissions.
[0031] In more detail, in a first step, the eNB receives an uplink packet. Then, it decodes said uplink packet.
[0032] If the decoding has been successful, the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH. Then it checks if the UE has more data. If this is the case, the eNB sends an uplink grant on the PDCCH; if not then the process is terminated.
[0033] If the decoding has failed, the eNB sends a NACK on the PHICH and decides if the retransmission shall be adaptive or non-adaptive. If the retransmission is to be adaptive, the eNB sends an uplink grant on the PDCCH. If the retransmission is non-adaptive, the eNB does not send an uplink grant on PDCCH.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0034] According to the state of the art, downlink radio resources are required to send both ACK/NACK signalling in the PHICH and signalling on the PDCCH allocating the UL resource to be used.
[0035] Currently the processing of ACK and NACK signals is not necessary if a valid PDCCH with an UL grant is received and successfully decoded.
[0036] The network may therefore wish to minimise the radio resources used by not sending ACK/NACK signalling.
[0037] An object of the present invention is to improve the flexibility with which the network can signal uplink resources by allowing the UE not to have to decode the ACK/NACK signalling if the PDCCH indicates a valid UL grant.
[0038] Another object of the present invention is to reduce the risk of collision between uplink transmissions.
[0039] Another object of the present invention is to enable fast recovery in the event of a missed uplink resource grant.
[0040] According to one aspect of the present invention, the transmission of ACK indicates the presence of an uplink resource grant if the ACK/NACK signalling is sent together with PDCCH UL grants. Therefore the reception of an ACK without a valid UL grant received on the PDCCH means that the PDCCH was missed.
[0041] In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a method is proposed for exchanging data between a first station and a second station, said data being exchanged in packets, said method comprising the steps of:
[0042] receiving a packet from the second station;
[0043] decoding said packet;
[0044] determining whether to transmit to the second station a resource allocation message on a signalling channel;
[0045] if said resource allocation message is transmitted, further transmitting to the second station a first indicator signal on an indicator channel;
[0046] if both the decoding has not been successful and the said resource allocation message is not transmitted, transmitting to the second station a second indicator signal on the indicator channel.
[0047] This invention also proposes that the network can configure the signalling to operate in different modes, whereby in one mode the UL grants are sent on the PDCCH together with the associated ACK/NACK signalling on the PHICH, while in another mode the UL grants are sent on the PDCCH without the associated ACK/NACK signalling. An advantage of the latter mode is the saving of the transmitted radio resources by not sending ACKs and NACKs when they are not needed. An advantage of the former mode is that if both the UL resource indication on the PDCCH and the ACK/NACK signalling on the PHICH are used then there will be a reduction in the collision probability in the UL. The configuration between the two modes allows the network to adapt the operation depending on the relative importance of the different advantages.
[0048] Additionally the invention allows the network to signal to the UE that it cannot use any physical resource block to transmit in, which has the advantage that unnecessary retransmissions can be avoided so that the UE saves on transmit power and the network can utilise all the radio resources for other users, which may have higher-priority data to send.
[0049] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0050] The present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0051] FIG. 1 shows the UE processing of the PDCCH and PHICH where the PDCCH is decoded first;
[0052] FIG. 2 shows the state of the art eNB processing for the UL transmissions;
[0053] FIG. 3 shows the ACK and NACK signalling on PHICH used to signal PDCCH presence/absence;
[0054] FIG. 4 shows the UE operation for the case where ACK/NACK is not read when PDCCH is sent;
[0055] FIG. 5 shows the ACK signalling sent as an indicator of PDCCH presence;
[0056] FIG. 6 shows that PHICH is not read if PDCCH grant is sent;
[0057] FIG. 7 shows that PHICH is sent only if PDCCH is not sent; and
[0058] FIG. 8 shows the UE processing for tri-state ACK/NACK processing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0059] FIG. 3 shows the ACK and NACK signalling on PHICH used to signal PDCCH presence/absence.
[0060] This first embodiment shows the eNB processing where ACK is used as indicator of PDCCH presence and NACK is used as an indicator of PDCCH absence which means that non-adaptiveness is required.
[0061] In more detail, in a first step, the eNB receives an uplink packet. Then, it decodes said uplink packet.
[0062] If the decoding has been successful, the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH. Then it checks if the UE has more data. If this is the case, the eNB may send an uplink grant on the PDCCH; if not then the process is terminated. Note that the check of whether the UE has more data to transmit may have been performed at an earlier stage in the process. Note also that the eNB may decide not to send an uplink grant even if the UE does have more data to send, for example in the case when other UEs have higher-priority data to send. Therefore the decision stage “Check if UE has more data” may in some embodiments be described as “Decide whether to grant further uplink transmission resources”.
[0063] If the decoding has failed, then the eNB decides if the retransmission is to be adaptive or non-adaptive. If the retransmission is to be adaptive, the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH together with an uplink grant on the PDCCH. If the retransmission is to be non-adaptive, the eNB sends a NACK on the PHICH and does not send an uplink grant on PDCCH.
[0064] FIG. 4 shows the corresponding UE operation for the eNB behaviour shown in FIG. 3 . In this case, the UE does not attempt to decode ACK/NACK from the PHICH if a valid uplink grant is detected on the PDCCH.
[0065] This second embodiment shows one possible processing in the UE, where the ACK/NACK channel information is processed after the PDCCH. In this case when the ACK/NACK signal is a NACK and there was no explicit UL grant then a non-adaptive re-transmission will occur. If the there is an ACK on the PHICH but no explicit uplink grant, then this is an indication that the grant may have been missed.
[0066] In more detail, the UE looks for a valid PDCCH with an UL grant. If the PDCCH has been correctly decoded, then there is no need to read ACK/NACK on PHICH and the UE looks at IRV to determine whether the eNB requires an adaptive retransmission of the previous packet or an initial transmission. The UE then concludes that it has a valid UL grant to carry out the determined transmission.
[0067] If the PDCCH failed to be decoded, then the UE looks for ACK/NACK on PHICH. If ACK, an UL grant may have been missed. If NACK, the UE determines that there is no explicit UL grant on PDCCH and that a non-adaptive retransmission of the previous packet is required and that the UE has a valid UL to carry out the determined non-adaptive retransmission.
[0068] FIG. 5 shows the ACK signalling sent as an indicator of PDCCH presence.
[0069] This third embodiment shows the eNB processing for the case when the eNB sends an
[0070] ACK as an indicator of the presence of PDCCH and a NACK as an indicator of PDCCH absence. In this case there is a new signal sent to the UE to stop the UE from transmitting in the Uplink, which effectively (by for example sending a zero grant) prevents a further uplink transmission in the next corresponding TTI.
[0071] In more detail, in a first step, the eNB receives an uplink packet. Then, it decodes said uplink packet.
[0072] If the decoding has been successful, the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH. Then it checks if the UE has more data. If this is the case, the eNB may send an uplink grant on the PDCCH; if not then the eNB sends a zero uplink grant on the PDCCH. Note that the check of whether the UE has more data to transmit may have been performed at an earlier stage in the process. Note also that the eNB may decide to send a zero uplink grant even if the UE does have more data to send, for example in the case when other UEs have higher-priority data to send. Therefore the decision stage “Check if UE has more data” may in some embodiments be described as “Decide whether to grant further uplink transmission resources”.
[0073] If the decoding has failed, then the eNB decides if the retransmission is to be adaptive or non-adaptive. If the retransmission is to be adaptive, the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH together with an uplink grant on the PDCCH. If the retransmission is to be non-adaptive, the eNB sends a NACK on the PHICH and does not send an uplink grant on PDCCH.
[0074] FIG. 6 shows the corresponding UE operation for the eNB behaviour shown in FIG. 5 .
[0075] According to this fourth embodiment, in the UE the PHICH is not read if the PDCCH grant is sent.
[0076] In more detail, the UE looks for a valid PDCCH with an UL grant. If the PDCCH has been correctly decoded, then there is no need to read ACK/NACK on PHICH and the UE looks at IRV to determine whether the eNB requires an adaptive retransmission of the previous packet or an initial transmission. The UE then concludes that it has a valid UL grant to carry out the determined transmission.
[0077] If the PDCCH failed to be decoded, then the UE looks for ACK/NACK on PHICH. If ACK, the UE concludes that an UL grant has been missed. If NACK, the UE determines that there is no explicit UL grant on PDCCH and that a non-adaptive retransmission of the previous packet is required and that the UE has a valid UL grant to carry out the determined non-adaptive retransmission.
[0078] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment wherein the ACK/NACK on PHICH is sent only if PDCCH is not sent.
[0079] According to this fifth embodiment, in the final eNB embodiment PHICH is only sent if PDCCH is present.
[0080] The advantage of this is that there is a low signalling overhead, but tri-state detection of the PHICH (to detect Discontinuous Transmission DTX) will be required.
[0081] In more detail, in a first step, the eNB receives an uplink packet. Then, it decodes said uplink packet.
[0082] If the decoding has been successful, the eNB checks if the UE has more data. If this is the case, the eNB sends DTX (i.e. no transmission) on the PHICH and an uplink grant on the PDCCH; if not then the eNB sends an ACK on the PHICH.
[0083] If the decoding has failed, then the eNB decides if the retransmission is to be adaptive or non-adaptive. If the retransmission is to be adaptive, the eNB sends DTX on the PHICH together with an uplink grant on the PDCCH. If the retransmission is to be non-adaptive, the eNB sends a NACK on the PHICH and does not send an uplink grant on PDCCH.
[0084] FIG. 8 shows the corresponding UE processing for tri-state ACK/NACK processing.
[0085] The UE processing for this sixth embodiment means that if no UL grant is received on the PDCCH and DTX is decoded on the PHICH, then a grant is assumed to have been missed, while if NACK or ACK is decoded on the PHICH a non-adaptive re-transmission or transmission will occur respectively. Note that this embodiment allows the possibility of a non-adaptive initial transmission, whereby a new packet is sent using the same uplink resources as for the previous packet transmission.
[0086] In more detail, the UE looks for a valid PDCCH with an UL grant. If the PDCCH has been correctly decoded, then there is no need to send ACK/NACK on PHICH and the UE looks at IRV to determine whether the eNB requires an adaptive retransmission of the previous packet or an initial transmission. The UE then concludes that it has a valid UL grant to carry out the determined transmission.
[0087] If the PDCCH failed to be decoded, then the UE looks for ACK/NACK on PHICH. If DTX is received from the eNB on PHICH, the UE concludes that an UL grant has been missed. If NACK, the UE determines that the eNB requires a non-adaptive retransmission of the previous packet, while if ACK, the UE determines that the eNB requires a non-adaptive first transmission of the next packet, and the UE concludes that it has a valid UL grant to carry out the determined transmission.
[0088] In cases when the UE determines that it has missed or may have missed an uplink grant, in some embodiments the UE may transmit a signal to the eNB to indicate that this has been detected. This signal may for example comprise a random access message, a buffer status message, or an indicator flag. This allows the eNB the possibility to respond quickly with a further uplink grant, rather than having to send a NACK when it fails to detect an uplink packet transmission.
[0089] The invention can be implemented in mobile phones operating according to the UMTS standard. It can be more specifically applied in improving the operation of HARQ in E-UTRAN (UMTS release 8).
[0090] The invention may be implemented by means of dedicated software. A set of instructions corresponding to this software and which is loaded into a program memory causes an integrated circuit of a mobile phone to carry out the method in accordance with the embodiments of the invention.
[0091] It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be capable of designing many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed in parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claims. The word “comprising” and “comprises”, and the like, does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim or the specification as a whole. The singular reference of an element does not exclude the plural reference of such elements and vice-versa. | The present invention relates to a method of exchanging data between a first station and a second station, said data being exchanged in packets. Said method comprises the steps of: receiving a packet from the second station; decoding said packet; —determining whether to transmit to the second station a resource allocation message on a signalling channel; if a said resource allocation message is transmitted, further transmitting to the second station a first indicator signal on an indicator channel; if both the decoding has not been successful and the said resource allocation message is not transmitted, transmitting to the second station a second indicator signal on the indicator channel. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/016,862 filed Feb. 10, 1993 which is continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/672,300 filed Mar. 20, 1991 now abandoned.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the field of biologically active peptides. Specifically, this invention relates to biologically active peptides containing the amino acid D-Tryptophan ("D-Trp").
BACKGROUND ART
It is well known that the incorporation or substitution of a D-Tryptophan residue into a biologically active peptide chain enhances the activity of that chain. Furthermore, such incorporation or substitution will prolong the biological activity. The prolonged and enhanced effectiveness of such peptides probably relates the increased resistance to degradation by peptidases.
Examples of D-Tryptophan containing peptides are the LHRH agonists as described by D. H. Coy et al., Journal of Medical Chemistry, volume 19, page 423 (1976), W. Koenig et al., Peptide Chemistry (1987), T. Shiba and S. Sakakibara (eds.), Osaka, Protein Research Foundation, Osaka (1988), page 591, B. J. A. Furr et al., Journal of Endocrinol. Invest., volume 11, page 535 (1988). Examples of D-Tryptophan containing somastostatin analogs, such as the peptides octreotide and vapreotide are disclosed by R. Deghenghi, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, volume 42, page 585 (1988). Another example of a D-Tryptophan containing peptide are the synthetic antagonists of Substance P as disclosed by D. Regoli et al., European Journal of Pharmacology, volume 99, page 193, (1984), and GHRP-6 described by C. Y. Bowers et al., Endocrinology, volume 114, page 1537, (1984).
Peptides containing Tryptophan have been subject to degradation due to the "Kynurenine pathway". In this pathway, the enzyme Tryptophan pyrrolase (i.e., indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase) degrades the pyrrole ring of Tryptophan. Kynurenine and other breakdown products are generated by this degradation. Some of the breakdown products have been shown to be toxic when present in elevated concentrations as reported by R. M. Silver et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, volume 322, page 874, (1990).
D-Tryptophan containing peptides are subject to degradation by oxygen and other reactive radicals as reported by R. Geiger and W. Koenig, "The Peptides," Academic Press, volume 3, page 82, New York (1981). The D-Tryptophan in the peptide chain may react with active or activated groups when peptides are formulated in certain controlled delivery pharmaceutical compositions, such as those based on polylactic/polyglycolic acid polymers. Such degradation is thought to be facilitated by either heat or by the presence of catalysts. It is also possible that radiolysis products formed during ionizing sterilization of these pharmaceutical compositions may facilitate the breakdown of D-Tryptophan. Clearly, the breakdown of D-Tryptophan, and the concomitant breakdown of the pharmaceutical compound containing D-Tryptophan is an undesirable effect.
Yabe et al., Synthesis and Biological Activity of LHRH Analogs Substituted by Alkyl Tryptophans at Position 3, Chem. Pharm. Bul. 27 (8) pp. 1907-1911 (1979) discloses seven analogs of LHRH in which the Tryptophan residue at position 3 was replaced by various L-methyl Tryptophans and L-ethyl Tryptophans. However, each analog tested exhibited reduced hormonal activity compared to synthetic LHRH.
What is needed is a derivative of D-Tryptophan which retains the prolonged and increased biological activity discussed above, while resisting degradation by indolamine dioxygenase, oxygen or other reactive radicals. It is of course essential that such a derivative of D-Tryptophan would maintain biological activity as compared to D-Tryptophan containing bioactive peptides.
The terms "biological effect" or "pharmacological effect" as used in the present disclosure refer to the qualitative effect that a bioactive peptide has upon living tissue. As an example, LHRH, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone, has the biological effect of causing cells of the anterior pituitary gland to release luteinizing hormone. In contrast, the term "potency" is used in its conventional sense to refer to the degree and duration of the bioactivity of a given peptide.
Utilizing these terms as defined above, what is needed is a Tryptophan containing bioactive peptide which is resistant to oxidative degradation and reactive radical attack while maintaining the same biological activity and a similar or greater potency than the presently available analogous peptides provide.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Now in accordance with the present invention, a derivative of D-Tryptophan has been discovered which imparts to a biologically active peptides incorporating that derivative improved resistance to the oxidative breakdown reaction of Tryptophan, while maintaining the biological activity and pharmacological effect exhibited by peptides incorporating unaltered D-Tryptophan.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a Tryptophan derivative, namely D-2-alkyl-Tryptophan, in which the alkyl substituent in the 2 position is a lower alkyl group, preferably one containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms. Peptides incorporating such substituted D-Tryptophans are more stable in the presence of reactive radicals or when pharmaceuticals containing such peptides are exposed to ionizing radiation.
This invention also describes a more practical synthesis of D-2-Methyl Tryptophan and the preparation of novel protected D-2-Methyl Tryptophan derivatives particularly suited for use in the synthesis of peptides.
A particularly preferred peptide containing this modified Tryptophan derivative is an analog of GHRP (Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide), His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 , which is referred to in the trade as HEXARELIN.
The invention also relates to a new method for preparing D-2-alkyl-Tryptophan which comprises treating a solution of racemic N.sup.α -acetyl-2-alkyl-Tryptophan with acylase for a sufficient time and at a sufficient temperature to form insoluble material therein, recovering and lyophilizing the insoluble fraction to form a residue, dissolving the residue in a suitable solvent, subjecting the solvent and dissolved residue to chromatography to obtain highly polar fractions and lesser polar fractions, collecting the lesser polar fractions to obtain a N.sup.α -acetyl-D-2-alkyl-Tryptophan compound and hydrolyzing the thusly obtained compound to obtain D-2-alkyl-Tryptophan.
In this method, the racemic Nα-acetyl-2-alkyl-Tryptophan is treated by dissolution in water with a base, such as potassium hydroxide, and retaining the solution for about 24 hours at about 40° C. The N.sup.α -acetyl-D-2-alkyl-Tryptophan is then hydrolyzed under an inert gas, such as nitrogen, with a base, such as KOH or NaOH, for about 24 hours at 100° F., prior to the addition of an acid, such as acetic acid, and the cooling of the solution. Also, the insoluble fraction can be obtained by filtration and the residue may be formed by lyophilizing the insoluble fraction to dryness. It is preferred for the residue to be dissolved in the upper phase of N-BaOH-AcOH-H 2 O before being introduced into the chromatography column.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graphical representation of the stability of D-Trp and D-2-methyl-Trp in an acid solution;
FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of the oxidative degradation of D-Trp and D-2-methyl-Trp in solution;
FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are graphical representations of GH release in anesthetized male rats following intravenous administration of saline, GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN;
FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are graphical representations of GH release in anesthetized male rats following subcutaneous administration of saline, GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN;
FIG. 12 is a graphical comparison of the hydrophobicity of GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN;
FIG. 13 is a graphical representation of the effect of irradiation on GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN in an acetate buffer solution;
FIGS. 14A, 14B, 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B, 17A and 17B are graphical representations of GH release in anesthetized male rats following intravenous administration of saline, GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN; and
FIGS. 18, 19 and 20 are graphical representations of the effect of HEXARELIN on growth hormone secretion in young healthy male volunteers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Biologically active peptides in accordance with the present invention include:
His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 ,
Ala-His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 ,
Pyro-Glu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH 2 ,
Pyro-Glu-His-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-NHCH 2 CH 3 ,
D-Pro-Gln-Gln-D-Trp-Phe-D-Trp-2-alkyl-Trp-Met-NH 2 ,
Arg-D-Trp-N-methyl-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Met-NH 2 ,
D-Phe-Cys-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Thr-Cys-NHCH(CH 2 OH)CHOHCH 3
and D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH 2
where alkyl designates a lower alkyl group, preferably comprising 1 to 3 carbons. The methyl group is most preferred due to simplicity of manufacture.
The first peptide, named HEXARELIN, is an analog of GHRP and is used for stimulating the release of growth hormone. The second peptide is an analog of the first and contains one additional amino acid.
The third and fourth peptides listed above are analogs of the natural peptide Pyro-Glu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH 2 (SEQ ID NO:1), which is a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH), i.e., a neurohumoral hormone produced in the hypothalamus which stimulates the secretion of the LH luteinizing hormone by the anterior pituitary gland. These peptides pertain therefore to the class of LHRH agonists and are also defined respectively as follows: [D-2-methyl-Trp 6 ]LHRH and [Des-Gly 10 -D-2-methyl-Trp 6 -Pro-ethylamide 9 ]LHRH.
The fifth and sixth peptides listed above are antagonists of substance P. Substance P is a neurotransmitter used by sensory neurons that convey responses of pain or other noxious stimuli to the central nervous system. Accordingly, these peptides have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.
The seventh and eighth peptides are analogs (agonists) of somatostatin and as such show antisecretory and antitumoral activity.
Although the aforementioned examples of the present invention disclose specific embodiments thereof, it is believed that the substitution of an D-2-alkylTryptophan in bioactive peptide containing at least one Tryptophan residue will yield bioactive peptides providing the advantages and benefits discussed above.
The incorporation of a D-2-alkylTryptophan in bioactive peptides as described above provides a method for prolonging and preserving the activity of such peptides. When analogous bioactive peptides not substituted with an D-2-alkylTryptophan are exposed to various processing conditions and substances, the activity of such peptides may be adversely effected. Sterilizing procedures used in the pharmaceutical industry may expose bioactive compounds to ionizing radiation. Such radiation may effect the formation of reactive radicals. Tryptophan containing peptides are particularly susceptible to attack by such radicals and such attack may render the peptide ineffective, or possibly toxic. Furthermore, various formulating compounds, such as polylactic-polyglycolic acid polymers may contain active, or activated groups which may also attack Tryptophan containing bioactive peptides. The present invention provides a method for protecting a tryptophan containing bioactive peptide from these manufacturing hazards while also increasing the peptides resistance to oxidative degradation after formulation is complete. It is believed that the presence of the alkyl group at the number 2 position of the Tryptophan increases the stability of the pyrrole ring wherein attack by reactive radicals and active or activated groups occurs.
2-methyl-Tryptophan is known (cf. H. N. Rydon, J. Chem. Soc. 1948, 705) and the homologous alkylated derivatives are conveniently prepared from the corresponding 2-alkyl indoles by well known methods (cf. J. P. Li et al., Synthesis (1), 73, 1988). The resolution of the racemic Tryptophan derivatives to give the D-enantiomers of the present invention can be achieved by a variety of methods (cf. Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins, Vol. 16, pages 18-20, The Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 1985). Specifically, S. Majima (Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 243, 250 (1936) describes the digestion of 2-Methyl Trp with colibacteria with isolation of the undigested D-isomer. A more practical synthesis of D-2-Methyl Trp is given in Example 1. Both the solution phase or the solid phase method of peptide synthesis can be used to make the peptides of this invention, (cf. R. Geiger et al., "The Peptides", Academic Press, New York 1981). If the solid phase method is used, peptide synthesizers such as the Applied Biosystem 430A, Bioresearch Sam 9500 or the Beckman Model 990 are preferably used.
According to this methodology, the first amino acid is linked to the benzhydrylamine resin and the remaining protected amino acids are then coupled in a step wise manner using the standard procedures recommended by the manufacturers of the synthesizers. For instance, amino acid couplings are performed by using symmetrical anhydrides in the Applied Biosystems Synthesizer and diisopropylcarbodiimide in the Bioresearch or Beckman machines. The amino acid derivatives are protected by the tertiary butoxy-carbonyl groups or by Fmoc (9-Fluorenyl methoxycarbonyl) groups on the alpha-amino function during the synthesis. The functional groups present in the amino-acid in the side chain are previously protected, e.g. by acetyl(Ac), benzoyl (Bz), t-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), benzyloxymethyl (Bom), benzyl (Bzl), benzyloxycarbonyl (Z), formyl (For), p-nitro-phenyl ester (0Np), tosyl (Tos), etc. For instance, the functional groups of Histidine are protected by benzyloxymethyl (His(Bom)), tosyl (His(Tos)), the functional groups of Tryptophan by formyl (Trp(For)), those of Serine by benzyl (Ser(Bzl)), those of Tyrosine by 2-Br-benzyloxycarbonyl (Tyr(2-Br-Z)), those of Arginine by tosyl (Arg(Tos)), those of Leucine by O-benzyl-p-tosyl (Leu(O-Bzl-p-Tos)), those of Proline by O-benzyl HCl (Pro(O-Bzl HCl)), those of Glycine by O-benzyl HCl (Gly (O-Bzl HCl)), those of Cysteine by 4-methyl-benzyl (Cys(4-Me-Bzl)), those of Lysine by benzyloxycarbonyl (Lys(Z)), those of Threonine by benzyl-OH (Thr(Bzl-OH)), those of Valine by O-benzyl-tosyl (Val(O-Bzl-p-Tos)), those of Glutamic Acid by O-benzyl (Glu(O-Bzl)), those of Methionine by P-nitrophenyl ester (Me(Onp)), and those of Alanine by O-benzyl HCl (Ala(O-Bzl HCl).
The Boc protective groups on the alpha-aminic function are removed at each stage by treatment with 60% trifluoroacetic acid ("TFA") in dichloromethane. Cleavage of Trp and Met containing peptides from the resin with simultaneous removal of all side-chain protecting groups is achieved as described by J. P. Tam et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol 105, page 6442 (1983). The crude peptides after HF cleavage are purified on a Sephadex G-50 F column in 50% acetic acid or by preparative reverse phase HPLC using gradients of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid.
EXAMPLES
The examples that follow are given for illustrative purposes only, but are not limitative of the present invention.
Example 1
Synthesis of D-2-Methyl-Tryptophan
N.sup.α -Acetyl-2-methyl-D,L-tryptophan [Y. Yabe et al. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 27(8) 1907-1911 (1979)] 1.3 g (5 mmol), was suspended in 50 ml of water and dissolved by adding concentrated ammonium hydroxide to a pH of 7.5. 5 mg of acylase (from porcine kidney, Sigma Grade III lyophilized) was added and the mixture kept at 40° C. for 24 hours. The insoluble material was separated by filtration and the filtrate was lyophilized to dryness. The residue was dissolved in the upper phase (10 ml) of n-BuOH-AcOH-H 2 O (16:1:20) and chromatographed on a 3.5×50 cm column of Sephadex G-25 (Pharmacia, Fluka) collecting 10 ml fractions. The less polar fractions (N o 16-25) were pooled to give mainly undigested N.sup.α -acetyl-2-methyl-D-tryptophan which, without purification, was hydrolized under N 2 with a solution of 1 g KOH in 25 ml of water at 100° F. for 24 hours. Acetic acid (2 ml) and water (10 ml) were added to the hot solution and placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours. The crude resulting 2-methyl-D-tryptophan was filtered, washed and dried and recrystallized from hot water (charcoal) to yield the title compound, m.p. 244°-246°,[α] D 20 +18.6, [c0.26(H 2 O)].
The enhanced stability of the 2-methyl-Tryptophan derivative is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, the stability of this derivative is compared to D-Trp for 1% solutions at a pH of 2.2 (0.2M citrate buffer with 0.02% NaN 3 added) which are maintained in the dark under helium, while FIG. 2 shows the oxidative degradation of these compounds in 1% solutions at a pH of 5.4 (0.2M acetate buffer with 0.02% NaN 3 added) under oxygen and constant light. The peak area is measured by HPLC. The results show that the substituted Trp is stable for 60 days or longer, whereas the unsubstituted Trp began to lose stability after about 20 days.
Example 1a
Synthesis of Fmoc-D-2-Methyl-Trp N.sup.α -[9 Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl]-2-methyl-D-Tryptophan (Fmoc Derivative)
To a suspension of 436 mg of 2-methyl-D-Tryptophan of Example 1 (2 mMole) in 5 ml of water, a solution of 710 mg (2.1 mMole) of Fmoc-OSu (9 FluorenylmethyloxyN-hydroxysuccinimide) in 2 ml of dioxane is added dropwise and the mixture is stirred overnight at room temperature. The mixture is extracted with ether and the ether phase discarded. The aqueous phase is adjusted to pH 1 with 6N HCl and extracted with ethylacetate. The organic phase is washed with water, dried over Na 2 SO 4 and evaporated in vacuo. The residue is dissolved in ether and hexane is added to precipitate the chrystalline product which is filtered and dried.
M.p. 196°-198° C. TLC: Rf 0.45 in CHCl 3 /MeOH/AcOH85/10/5
______________________________________ C H N______________________________________Calculated 73.62% 5.49% 6.36%Found: 73.72% 5.29% 6.27%______________________________________
Additional suitably protected 2-Methyl-D-Tryptophans have the formula: ##STR1## Where X is BZ (Benzoyl) or Z (Benzyloxycarbonyl). These can be prepared by conventional methods, starting from the 2-Methyl-D-Tryptophan.
Examples 2-9
Peptides which include the D-2-methyl Trp were made as follows:
Example 2
Pyro-Glu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH 2
The protective groups for the side chains are Tosyl (Tos) for Arginine and Histidine and Bromo-benzyloxycarbonyl (2-Br-Z) for Tyrosine. The benzhydrylamine resin (2.2 g) (Bachem®), was cross-linked at 1% with Proline and the apparatus used was a Beckman Model 990. The amino acids protected by Boc (tert-butyloxycarbonyl) are coupled with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The Boc groups are removed by trifluoroacetic acid in methylene chloride.
The synthesis yielded 4.07 g of the decapeptide-resin (98% of theoretical weight gain). Part of this resin (1.5 g) was stirred at 0° centigrade for 30 minutes with HF (24 ml) and anisole (8 ml). HF was then removed as rapidly as possible (ca. 60 min) in vacuo and EtOAc was added to the thus obtained residue. Solid material was filtered, washed with EtOAc, dried, and extracted with 2M AcOH. Lyophilization gave a white powder which was purified by gel filtration on a column (2.5×95 cm) of Sephadex G-25 (fine) by elution with 2M AcOH. The eluate portion corresponding to the major peak was then dried and eluted further on a column (2.5×95 cm) of Sephadex G-25 (fine) previously equilibrated with the lower phase followed by the upper phase of the following biphasic solvent mixture n-BuOH-AcOH-H 2 O (4:1:5). Elution with the upper phase gave a major peak and the peptide from this area was collected, concentrated to dryness, and lyophilized from dilute AcOH to give the titled peptide as a white powder. Amino acid analysis was consistent with the desired structure.
Example 3
Pyro-Glu-His-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-NHCH 2 CH 3
The peptide was assembled on a 1% cross-linked Pro-Merrifield resin (2.0 g, 1.0 mmol of Pro) using the same conditions and protecting groups employed in Example 1, with the exception that dinitrophenol group protection was used for the imidazole group of histidine. The peptide-resin obtained (3.45 g) was stirred with ethylamine (20 ml, 0° C.) for 6 hours and excess amine was removed in vacuo. The protected peptide resin was extracted with MeOH and precipitated by the addition of a large excess of EtOAc to give 1.36 g of material. The obtained product was treated and deprotected with HF-anisole and crude peptide obtained after this treatment was purified by gel filtration followed by partition chromatography to yield the homogeneous peptide cited. Amino acid analysis was consistent with the desired structure.
Examples 4-9
Using the above described methods with appropriate modifications well known to the skilled in the art particularly the use of Fmoc derivatives as protected amino acids of Example 1a for the preparation of Fmoc-D-2 Methyl Trp or other suitably protected amino acids, the following peptides are synthesized:
Example 4
His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 ("HEXARELIN"),
Example 5
Ala-His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 ,
Example 6
D-Pro-Gln-Gln-D-Trp-Phe-D-Trp-2-alkyl-Trp-Met-NH 2 ,
Example 7
Arg-D-Trp-N-methyl-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Met-NH 2 ,
Example 8
D-Phe-Cys-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Thr-Cys-NHCH(CH 2 OH)CHOHC 3 and
Example 9
D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH 2
The peptides of Examples 4 and 5 were tested as Growth Hormone releasers in rats. GH released in a series of seven 10-day old rats, injected subcutaneously with a standard dose of 160 μg/kg and sacrificed 15 minutes after the injection. Results are as follows:
______________________________________Samples GH (ng/kg)______________________________________Untreated Controls 14.64 + 21.41Example 4 201.00 + 39.55Example 5 212.00 + 48.63______________________________________
Thus, the peptides of Examples 4 and 5 (i.e., His-D-2-methyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 and Ala-His-D-2-methyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 ) were found to be very active analogs.
Example 10
The peptide of Example 4 (i.e., HEXARELIN) was compared with GHRP-6 {Bowers C. Y., Momany F. A., Reynolds G. A., and Hong A. (1984) On the in Vitro and in Vivo Activity of a New Synthetic Hexapeptide that Acts on the Pituitary to Specifically Release Growth Hormone, Endocrinology, 114: 1537-1545} both in vitro and in vivo, as follows.
Male Sprague Dawley rats (Charles River, Calco, Italy) of 2-3 months of age were used. Rats were housed at 22 +2° C., with lighting cycle of 14 h light: 10 h dark (lights on from 06.00 to 20.00 h), at least 10 days before starting the experiments. A standard dry diet and water were available ad libitum.
In Vitro Experiments: Pituitary Cell Culture
Pituitary tissue used for cell dissociation included only the anterior lobe. Briefly, pituitary glands were collected in sterile F-10 medium and after cutting into small fragments incubated twice (30 minutes each) at 37° C. in F-10 medium containing 6% fetal calf serum and collagenase (2.5 mg/ml) (Boehringer, Mannheim GmbH, Germany). Fragments were then washed in Dulbecco's PBS, Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ free medium and mechanically dissociated. Single cell suspension was planted onto 24-well (2×10 5 cells/well) culture plates. The cells were incubated in F-10 medium supplemented with 10% horse serum, 4% fetal calf serum and gentamycin (25 μg/ml), in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO 2 and 95% air at 37° C.
After 3 days, the medium was removed and the cells washed twice with serum free F-10, then incubated with 1 ml of F-10 containing 0.1% BSA only, or with added various concentrations of synthetic peptides.
After incubation for 2 h at 37° C., media were collected and stored frozen at -20° C. until assayed for measurement of GH content.
In Vivo Experiments: Experimental Procedure
Between 09.00-10.00 h rats were anesthetized with ketamine (58 mg/kg, Inoketam, VIRBAC, Milano) and xilazine (12 mg/kg, Rompun, Bayer, Milano). Thirty minutes later, a blood sample (250 μg) was withdrawn from the exposed jugular vein, peptides were injected intravenously or subcutaneously, and further blood samples were collected 10, 20 and 30 minutes later.
Medium and plasma GH was measured by radioimmunoassay using materials supplied by the NIADDK Bethesda, Md. Values were expressed in term of NIASSK-rat-GH-RP-2 standard (potency 2 IU/ml), as ng/ml of medium or plasma.
The minimum detectable value of rat was 1.0 ng/ml; intra-assay variability was 6%. To avoid inter-assay variation, samples from each experiment were assayed simultaneously. The results were as follows:
In Vitro Experiments
When pituitary cell monolayers were incubated for two hours with increasing concentrations (10 -8 to 10 -6 M) of HEXARELIN and GHRP-6, stimulation of GH secretion over basal secretion was observed. Comparison of the GH secretion levels obtained after stimulation of pituitary cell monolayers with GHRP-6 and HEXARELIN indicates that their activities were very similar, as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________GH-RELEASING ACTIVITY OF GHRP-6 AND HEXARELIN CONCENTRATION (M)TREATMENT 0 10.sup.-8 10.sup.-7 10.sup.-6__________________________________________________________________________GHRP-6 484.2 ± 11.4 544.2 ± 23.9 526.5 ± 19.0 510.0 ± 12.0HEXARELIN 471.1 ± 31.3 557.8 ± 15.9 589.1 ± 17.9 558.0 ± 19.1__________________________________________________________________________ Pool of controls 492.5 ± 12.4 GH (ng/well) Values (ng/well) are the means + S.E.M. of 6 determinations per group. Pituitary cell monolayers were incubated with peptides for 2 hours.
In Vivo Experiments
In anesthetized rats the administration of graded doses (150, 300 and 600/μg/kg) of HEXARELIN elicited significant increases of plasma GH concentrations 10 and 20 minutes after administration. Similar results were obtained after injection of the same doses of GHRP-6, as shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________COMPARISON OF THE GH-RELEASING ACTIVITY OFGHRP-6 (A) AND HEXARELIN (B) ADMINISTERED I.V. INMALE RATS ANESTHETIZED WITH KETAMINE AND XILAZINE TIME (minutes)TREATMENT 0 10 20 30__________________________________________________________________________Control 19.8 ± 5.8(8) 45.6 ± 7.5(8) 28.7 ± 4.8 32.2 ± 4.5(4)A 150 μg/kg 30.2 ± 7.8(7) 394.0 ± 31.0(7) 139.3 ± 10.2(7) 42.5 ± 4.5(4)B 150 μg/kg 15.0 ± 2.9(8) 412.7 ± 39.7(8) 132.2 ± 12.7(8) 44.0 ± 6.0(4)A 300 μg/kg 21.9 ± 4.4(8) 413.6 ± 21.5(8) 162.7 ± 22.1(8) 38.2 ± 7.7(4)B 300 μg/kg 13.5 ± 2.0(7) 438.5 ± 26.8(7) 213.8 ± 34.2(7) 48.1 ± 8.8(3)A 600 μg/kg 21.2 ± 6.1(8) 542.0 ± 38.0(8) 195.5 ± 11.0(8) 64/0 ± 11.9(4)B 600 μg/kg 18.4 ± 4.3(8) 478.3 ± 19.8(8) 164.2 ± 13.2(8) 54.5 ± 13.3(4)__________________________________________________________________________ Values (ng/ml) are means ± S.E.M. Number of rats are shown in parentheses and refer to pooled data of 2-3 experiments in which similar data were obtained.
These data are also illustrated in FIGS. 3-5.
Potency and time-course of the effects of the two peptides were almost superimposable. In anesthetized rats, subcutaneous administration of HEXARELIN (150, 300 and 600 μg/kg) elicited a significant increase in plasma GH concentrations 10, 20 and 30 minutes after treatment. A similar profile of secretion was obtained after the administration of GHRP-6 at the same dose levels, as shown in Table 3. In this instance HEXARELIN appeared more effective than GHRP-6 at all the considered times. In all, both peptides after subcutaneous administration elicited a more prolonged stimulation of GH secretion although the maximum peak levels were considerably lower than those reported after intravenous injection.
TABLE 3__________________________________________________________________________COMPARISON OF THE GH-RELEASING ACTIVITY OFGHRP-6 (A) AND HEXARELIN (B) ADMINISTERED S.C.IN MALE RATS ANESTHETIZED WITH KETAMINE AND XILAZINE TIME (minutes)TREATMENT 0 10 20 30__________________________________________________________________________Control 26.0 ± 8.0(11) 22.0 ± 3.3(8) 59.2 ± 8.1(11) 52.2 + 5.5(11)A 150 μg/kg 20.0 ± 5.0(8) 63.1 ± 11.0(8) 110.4 ± 18.0(8) 77.2 ± 14.0(8)B 150 μg/kg 12.0 ± 4.0(7) 107.1 ± 17.7(7) 156.6 ± 18.7(7) 86.0 ± 18.9(7)A 300 μg/kg 20.0 ± 6.0(8) 63.9 ± 12.8(8) 123.4 ± 14.6(8) 87.7 ± 11.8(8)B 300 μg/kg 12.0 ± 4.0(7) 80.6 ± 11.0(7) 171.7 ± 22.0(7) 102.7 ± 17.0(7)A 600 μg/kg 18.0 ± 4.0(10) 93.1 ± 22.3(7) 167.1 ± 14.7(10) 107.8 ± 9.5(10)B 600 μg/kg 23.0 ± 6.0(10) 90.7 ± 16.6(7) 187.5 ± 15.4(10) 115.3 + 19.1(10)__________________________________________________________________________ Values (ng/ml) are means ± S.E.M. Number of rats are shown in parentheses and refer to pooled data of 2-3 experiments in which similar data were obtained.
These data are also illustrated in FIGS. 6-8.
Example 11
Effect of HEXARELIN on GH Release in Pentobarbital-anesthetized Rats
Male Sprague Dawley rats weighing 225-250 g were divided in groups of five animals each. Rats were anesthetized with Nembutal injected intraperiteonally at 50 mg/kg, fifteen minutes prior to the first blood withdrawal taken over heparin by cardiac puncture (for determination of basal GH).
Subcutaneous injections of either HEXARELIN or GHRP-6 were given immediately after the first blood collection, and additional blood samples were collected 15 and 40 minutes later.
Measurement of rat GH was performed by a standard double antibody radioimmunoassay with reagents supplied by the National Pituitary Agency and the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The standards used were NIADDK-NIH-rGH-RP-2. Statistical data were obtained with the Student's t Test at a significance level of 5%. Results are shown in Table 4.
TABLE 4______________________________________COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF GHRP-6 ANDHEXARELIN ON GH RELEASE INPENTOBARBITAL-ANESTHETIZED RATSPOST-DRUG PLASMA GH (ng/ml)COMPOUND 0 min 15 min 40 min______________________________________Saline s.c. 32 ± 15 43 ± 21 128 ± 38GHRP-6*s.c.50 μg/kg 57 ± 39 262 ± 58 97 ± 4425 μg/kg 41 ± 16 222 ± 95 110 ± 47HEXARELINs.c.50 μg/kg 32 ± 16 439 ± 69** 81 ± 1325 μg/kg 56 ± 21 388 ± 99* 100 ± 5110 μg/kg 63 ± 58 95 ± 44 88 ± 29______________________________________ Student's t test: *1% P 5% **0.1% P 1% Statistical values obtained for HEXARELIN at 50 μg/kg and 25 μg/kg are compared to GHRP6 at the same concentrations.
These data are also illustrated in FIGS. 9-11. Also, FIG. 12 illustrates that HEXARELIN has greater hydrophobicity than GHRP-6.
Example 12
These two peptides were also tested for acute cardiovascular toxicity in the rat.
______________________________________HEXARELINGROUP DOSE (mg/Kg)(*) NO. OF ANIMALS______________________________________1 5 62 7.5 63 10 6GHRP-6GROUP DOSE (mg/Kg)($) NO. OF ANIMALS______________________________________4 2.5 65 5 66 7.5 6______________________________________ (*)The dose levels of HEXARELIN were established by the Sponsor on the basis of a previous toxicity study. ($)The dose levels of GHRP6 were established by the Sponsor on the basis of literature data (Macia R.A. et al., Toxicol. Appl. Pharm. 104, 403-410 1990).
Dosages were calculated on the basis of the declared peptide content in each product, as specified below:
1) HEXARELIN: peptide content 79%
2) GHRP-6: peptide content 64%
A single dose of HEXARELIN or GHRP-6 was administered to rats in different calendar dates in such a way that each group/dose should be treated in two subsequent days.
Initially 3 rats/group/compound, the first ones in numerical order, were treated.
The treatment schedule was as follows:
______________________________________DAYS: 1 2 3 4 5 6______________________________________Groups 3 and 4 3 and 4 1 and 5 1 and 5 2 and 6 2 and 6Cages 5 and 7 6 and 8 1 and 9 2 and 10 3 and 11 4 and 12______________________________________
For each compound, appropriate amounts of solutions in 0.9% NaCl for injection were prepared just before treatment at the suitable concentrations. The solutions were sterilized by filtration (Millipore filter, pore size 0.22 μm). Owing to the type of the study (acute study) in which formulates were administered just after preparation, stability checks were not performed. Concentration checks were also not performed. The volume of solution injected was maintained constant at 1 ml/Kg.
The intravenous injections were done as a single dose in one vein of the tail with an appropriately gauged sterile, disposable, plastic syringe. The injection rate was about 0.1 ml/sec.
Periodical observations were made up to 4 hours after treatment. Abnormality and mortality were recorded. Body weight was recorded once during pre-trial and on the administration day to calculate the volumes to be injected.
The mortality data obtained with the two products were:
______________________________________Dose Dead rats/Total N° of rats per group______________________________________GHRP-62.5 mg/kg 0/65.0 mg/kg 1/67.5 mg/kg 2/6HEXARELIN5.0 mg/kg 0/67.5 mg/kg 1/6 10 mg/kg 2/6______________________________________
The results indicate that HEXARELIN shows the same lethality as GHRP-6 but consistently at a higher dose, i.e., it is less toxic than GHRP-6, an unexpected finding particularly since HEXARELIN is more potent regarding its pharmacological activity.
Example 13
Stability of HEXARELIN Compared to GHRP6 after Irradiation in Solution
Solutions of Hexarelin and GHRP-6 in acetate buffer pH 5.4 (1 mg/ml w/v) were submitted to irradiation (Co 60) at doses varying from 0 to 1.6 MRad with intervals of 2 MRad.
Subsequently, the samples were analyzed by RP-HPLC using 27% Acetonitrile in water as solvent, and the area of the peptide peak was examined.
The figure shows the variation of the percentage of residual material according to the irradiation dose: ##EQU1##
Results are shown in FIG. 13.
Example 14
In this example, the neuroendocrine mechanism by which HEXARELIN and GHRP-6 mediate their actions has been compared. Although previous studies have looked at the role of somatostatin in regulating the action of GHRP-6 in culture and in stressed animals, this study observes the role of both somatostatin and GHRH in regulating the action of HEXARELIN and GHRP-6 in conscious, freely-moving, nonstressed animals.
Sixty male rats were prepared with indwelling venous catheters under ether anesthesia three days before experimentation. On the day of experimentation, all animals were given an iv heparin injection (100 IU; 0630 h). At 0700 h, animals were treated with 0.5 ml of either normal serum (control-as), somatostatin antiserum (somatostatin-as; 0.25 ml+0.25 ml saline), growth hormone-releasing hormone antiserum (GHRH-as; 0.25 ml+0.25 ml saline), or both somatostatin antiserum and growth hormone-releasing hormone antiserum (0.25 ml somatostatin-as+0.25 ml GHRH-as). Blood sampling began 60 minutes after antiserum pretreatment, with blood samples collected every 20 minutes for three hours. After the 180 minute sample (1100 h), animals were treated iv with 25 μg/kg of either Hexarelin or GHRP-6. Blood samples were then collected at 5, 10, 15, 20 30, 40, and 60 minutes after peptide treatment. All samples were centrifuged immediately and the plasma frozen until assayed. The peak GH response to Hexarelin and GHRP-6 as well as the area under the response curves (AUCs) for the thirty minutes following peptide injection were calculated. Data were subjected to repeated measures analysis of variance and are expressed as mean ±SEM.
Factorial analysis of variance identified several main treatment effects.
A. PEPTIDE EFFECTS: The pooled results obtained from treatment with either HEXARELIN or GHRP-6 suggest that, overall, HEXARELIN was more effective in eliciting a higher mean GH response as compared to GHRP-6, as shown in Table 5. GH AUC and peak GH responses were also significantly higher.
B. ANTISERA EFFECTS: Antisera pretreatment clearly demonstrated that GHRH antiserum inhibited the GH response to both Hexarelin and GHRP-6. The mean GH response was significantly inhibited in GHRH antiserum pretreated rats as compared to animals which were not pretreated (Table 6). The GH AUC and peak GH responses were significantly diminished.
TABLE 5______________________________________Main Treatment Effects Mean GH GH AUC Peak GHPeptides (ng/ml) (ng/ml/30 min) (ng/ml)______________________________________Hexarelin 235 ± 21** 7366 ± 912** 552 ± 59**GHRP-6 131 ± 13 4220 ± 665 293 ± 41Antiserum (as)control-as 241 ± 31 7716 ± 1457 514 ± 97somatostatin-as 224 ± 23 7011 ± 1003 516 ± 63GHRH-as 116 ± 18" 3771 ± 924" 288 ± 69'somatostatin-as + 98 ± 14" 3021 ± 565" 249 ± 46'GHRH-as______________________________________ **(p < 0.01) significantly higher than GHRP6 treated animals. ' (P < 0.01), " (P < 0.05) significantly lower than control and somatostatinas pretreated animals.
The responses of the individual treatment groups are also illustrated in FIGS. 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B, 17A, 17B, 18 and 19.
This Example investigated what role GHRH and somatostatin have in the neuroendocrine mechanism by which the GHRPs, HEXARELIN and GHRP-6, mediate their neuroendocrine effects. In vitro studies have suggested that the GHRPs exert an effect via a direct pituitary site of action. Here, however, the administration of HEXARELIN as well as GHRP-6 to conscious, freely-moving (non-stressed) animals, suggests that GHRH is integrally involved in the mechanism by which HEXARELIN and GHPR-6 mediate their GH-releasing effects in vivo. This corroborates an earlier study in acutely-treated, stressed animals where passive immunization of endogenous GHRH resulted in a diminished plasma GH diminished plasma GH response to GHRP-6.
It has previously been suggested that somatostatin is involved in the mechanism by which GHRP-6 mediates its neuroendocrine effects. This was an acute study, however, conducted in a fashion known to induce stress, and thus, increase somatostatin tone in rats. In contrast, the results of the present study suggest minimal somatostatin involvement. We find these results surprising, both in light of the previous study and since we have found somatostatin to be involved in most GH-releasing mechanisms previously examined. The apparent disparity in results between the two studies may be accounted for by the fact that we performed our study in non-stressed, conscious, freely-moving rats. In such non-stressed animals, somatostatin tone is variable: low during a GH peak, or high may underestimate the importance of somatostatin in this mechanism. For these reasons, we are hesitant to exclude the involvement of somatostatin at this time and feel that further analysis of somatostatin's involvement is warranted.
Example 15
The effects of HEXARELIN on growth hormone secretion in young (20-30 years old) healthy male volunteers were measured after the administration of various dosages. The results shown in FIGS. 18-20 demonstrate that the peptide is effective in vivo as well as in vitro.
Example 16
The peptide of Example 3 was formulated in a polymeric PLGA implant in the form of rods which were about 1 cm long and 1 mm in diameter. These implants contained a loading of either 20 or 25% of the peptide (an amount of 7 or 10 mg), and were inserted subcutaneously into in male Beagle dogs which weighed between 10 and 12 kg. After an initial flare-up, plasma testosterone fell below castration levels after approximately 10 days, and was maintained for approximately 180 days. The absence of response after a stimulation by i.v. administration of the peptide at day 145 indicates down-regulation of the pituitary receptors. No clinical side effects were observed during this study.
Although the aforementioned examples of the present invention disclose specific embodiments thereof, it is believed that the substitution of an D-2-alkylTryptophan in bioactive peptides which contain at least one Tryptophan residue will yield bioactive peptides providing the advantages and benefits discussed above.
The incorporation of a D-2-alkylTryptophan in bioactive peptides as described above provides a method for prolonging and preserving the activity of such peptides. When analogous bioactive peptides not substituted with an D-2-alkylTryptophan are exposed to various processing conditions and substances, the activity of such peptides may be adversely effected. Sterilizing procedures used in the pharmaceutical industry may expose bioactive compounds to ionizing radiation. Such radiation may effect the formation of reactive radicals. Tryptophan containing peptides are particularly susceptible to attack by such radicals and such attack may render the peptide ineffective, or possibly toxic.
Furthermore, various formulating compounds, such as polylactic-polyglycolic acid (PLGA) polymers may contain active, or activated groups which may also attack Tryptophan containing bioactive peptides. The present invention provides a method for protecting a tryptophan containing bioactive peptide from these manufacturing hazards while also increasing the peptides resistance to oxidative degradation after formulation is complete. It is believed that the presence of the alkyl group at the number 2 position of the Tryptophan increases the stability of the pyrrole ring wherein attack by reactive radicals and active or activated groups occurs.
While it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that numerous embodiments and modification may be devised by those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modification and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
__________________________________________________________________________SEQUENCE LISTING(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 1(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 10 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: unknown(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide(ix) FEATURE:(A) NAME/KEY: Modified-site(B) LOCATION: 1(D) OTHER INFORMATION: Xaa is pyro- glutamate(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:XaaHisTrpSerTyrTrpLeuArgProGly1510__________________________________________________________________________ | Peptides containing in its amino acid chain a D-2-alkylTryptophan residue wherein the alkyl group has between one and three carbon atoms and having pharmacological activity similar to that of analogous peptides containing natural unsubstituted D-Tryptophan residues in place of the D-2-alkylTryptophan. These new peptides are more resistant to oxidative degradation which usually takes place, for example, in the presence of reactive radicals or during high energy sterilization than unsubstituted Tryptophan containing peptides. Specific peptides include His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 , Ala-His-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH 2 , Pyro-Glu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH 2 , Pyro-Glu-His-Ser-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Arg-Pro-NHCH 2 CH 3 , D-Pro-Gln-Gln-D-Trp-Phe-D-Trp-2-alkyl-Trp-Met-NH 2 , Arg-D-Trp-N-methyl-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Leu-Met-NH 2 , D-Phe-Cys-Phe-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Thr-Cys-NHCH(CH 2 OH)CHOHCH 3 and D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-2-alkyl-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH 2 . | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a control method of controlling the air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture being supplied to an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a method of this kind which can improve the engine driveability and emission characteristics when the engine is operating in a low load operating region wherein feedback control should be interruped.
An air-fuel ratio control method for an internal combustion engine is generally known wherein the fuel quantity supplied to the engine is controlled in a feedback manner responsive to an output signal from an exahust gas sensor which detects the concentration of an exhaust gas ingredient, in order that the air-fuel ratio of the mixture supplied to the engine becomes equal to a desired ratio (e.g. the stoichiometric mixture ratio).
It is also known e.g. from Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-539 to provide mixture-leaning regions which are defined by engine operation parameters (e.g. vehicle speed, engine coolant temperature, intake pipe absolute pressure, engine rotational speed), and control the air-fuel ratio of the mixture supplied to the engine to a value larger or leaner than the stoichiometric mixture ratio while interrupting the feedback control when the engine is operating in any of the mixture-leaning regions, to thereby reduce the fuel consumption. The leaning of the mixture is effected by multiplying a basic value of fuel supply quantity determined by intake pipe absolute pressure, engine rotational speed, etc. by a mixture-leaning correction coefficient having a fixed value.
The mixture-leaning regions usually include a low-load high speed operation region. In this region, if the basic value of fuel supply quantity is multiplied by a fixed mixture-leaning coefficient as is done in the conventional method, there is a fear that the air-fuel ratio becomes excessively leaner than the desired lean value or excessively richer (about 16) than the latter when there is a deviation of the basic value of fuel supply quantity from a proper value, which results in such problems as poor driveability due to engine output shortage, or high NOx concentration in the exhaust gases.
Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 59-539 also discloses that when the engine coolant temperature as the engine temperature is lower than a predetermined value the engine operating region wherein mixture-leaning is effected is made narrower so as to avoid degradation of the emission characteristics as well as degradation of the driveability due to mixture-leaning. However, at low ambient temperature and hence at low engine intake air temperature, injected fuel is not atomized to a sufficient degree, which results in poor combustion of the mixture even if the engine coolant temperature is high, and consequent emission of large amounts of CO and HC. If the mixture is leaned under this poor combustion condition the engine output will be too low to obtain required vehicle driveability. Any conventional methods have been unable to solve these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an air-fuel ratio control method for an internal combustion engine, which is capable of accurately controlling the air-fuel ratio to a desired value to improve the engine driveability and emission characteristics when the engine is in the low-load operating region.
It is another object of the invention to provide an air-fuel ratio control method for an internal combustion engine, which is capable of controlling the mixture leaning in response to engine intake air temperature to improve the engine driveability and emission characteristics when the engine is in the low-load operating region.
The present invention provides a method of effecting control of the air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture being supplied to an internal combustion engine having an exhaust pipe and an exhaust gas ingredient concentration detecting means arranged in the exhaust pipe, by correcting a basic fuel supply quantity by the use of a correction coefficient variable in value in response to an output from the means for detecting the exhaust gas ingredient concentration, the method comprising the steps of: (1) providing a low-load operating region of the engine defined by at least one parameter representing load on the engine; (2) determining, when the engine enters the low-load operating region, a value of the correction coefficient in response to the output from the means for detecting the exhaust gas ingredient concentration and also calculating an average value of values of the correction coefficient thus determined, for a predetermined period of time after the engine enters the low-load operating region; (3) calculating a target value of the correction coefficient on the basis of the average value obtained in the step (2), the target value yielding a predetermined air-fuel ratio leaner than a stoichiometric mixture ratio; (4) varying the value of the correction coefficient after the lapse of the predetermined period of time and until it becomes equal to the target value while the engine remains in the low-load operating region; and (5) correcting the basic fuel supply quantity by the use of the value of the correction coefficient thus varied.
More preferably, in the above step (2) the air-fuel ratio is controlled in a feedback manner responsive to the value of the correction coefficient determined at the step (2) in response to the output from the means for detecting the exhaust gas ingredient concentration, and at the same time the average value of the correction coefficient is calculated.
Still more preferably, the calculation of the average value of the correction coefficient at the step (2) is started when a second predetermined period of time has elapsed since the engine enters the low-load operating region.
Further preferably, the steps (2) through (5) are executed when engine coolant temperature and engine intake air temperature are higher than respective predetermined values.
Still more preferably, the predetermined low-load operating region is a low-load high speed operating region wherein the speed of a vehicle in which the engine is installed is higher than a predetermined value.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the whole arrangement of a fuel supply control system to which is applied the air-fuel ratio control method according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal arrangement of an electronic control unit (ECU) appearing in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a graph showing a mixture-leaning operating region;
FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of manner of calculating an air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 in accordance with the method of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a program of executing the air-fuel ratio control method according to the invention;
FIG. 6 is a graph showing NOx concentration and fuel consumption plotted with respect to air-fuel ratio.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof.
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated the whole arrangement of a fuel supply control system for internal combustion engines, to which the method of the invention is applied. Reference numeral 1 designates an internal combustion engine which may be a four-cylinder type, for instance. Connected to the engine 1 is an intake pipe 2, in which is arranged a throttle valve 3, to which is coupled a throttle valve opening sensor 4 for detecting the throttle valve opening ΘTH and supplying an electrical signal indicative thereof to an electronic control unit (hereinafter called "the ECU") 5, which executes programs for controlling the air-fuel ratio, etc. as described later.
Fuel injection valves 6, one for each cylinder, are arranged in the intake pipe 2 at a location between the engine 1 and the throttle valve 3. These injection valves 6 are connected to a fuel pump, not shown, and also electrically connected to the ECU 5 in a manner having their valve opening periods or fuel injection quantities controlled by driving signals supplied from the ECU 5.
On the other hand, an intake pipe absolute pressure sensor 8 is connected to the intake pipe 2 such that it communicates through a conduit 7 with the interior of the intake pipe 2 at a location between the throttle valve 3 and the fuel injection valves 6. The absolute pressure sensor 8 is adapted to detect absolute pressure PB in the intake pipe 2 via the conduit 7 and supplies an electrical signal indicative of detected absolute pressure to the ECU 5. An intake air temperature sensor 9 for detecting intake air temperature TA is arranged in the intake pipe 2 at a location between the conduit 7 and the fuel injection valves 6, and is also electrically connected to the ECU 5 for supplying same with an electrical signal indicative of detected intake air temperature.
An engine coolant temperature sensor 10, which may be formed of a thermistor or the like, is embedded in the peripheral wall of an engine cylinder having its interior filled with cooling water, to detect engine cooling water temperature TW. An electrical output signal indicative of detected engine cooling water temperature is supplied to the ECU 5.
An engine rotational angle position sensor 11 (hereinafter called "the Ne sensor") and a cylinder-discriminating (CYL) sensor 12 are arranged in facing relation to a camshaft, not shown, of the engine 1 or a crankshaft, not shown, of same. The former 11 is adapted to generate one pulse at each of particular crank angles of the engine each time the engine crankshaft rotates through 180 degrees, as a top-dead-center position (TDC) signal, while the latter 12 is adapted to generate one pulse of a cylinder-discriminating signal at a particular crank angle of a particular engine cylinder. The above pulses generated by the sensors 11, 12 are supplied to the ECU 5.
A three-way catalyst 14 is arranged in an exhaust pipe 13 extending from the engine 1 for purifying ingredients HC, CO, and NOx contained in the exhaust gases. An O 2 sensor 15 is inserted in the exhaust pipe 13 at a location upstream of the three-way catalyst 14 for detecting the concentration of oxygen (O2) in the exhaust gases and supplying an electrical signal indicative of the detected oxygen (O2) concentration value to the ECU 5.
Further connected to the ECU 5 are other engine operation parameter sensors, e.g. a vehicle speed sensor 16, for supplying electrical signals indicative of detected values of their respective operation parameters to the ECU 5.
The ECU 5 determines operating regions wherein the engine is operating, e.g. low-load operating regions where the air-fuel mixture is to be made leaner, and calculates, in synchronism with inputting of the TDC signal to the ECU, a fuel injection period TOUT based on various engine operation parameter signals inputted to the ECU 5 as stated above, by the use of the following equation:
TOUT=Ti×KO2×KLS×K1+K2 (1)
where Ti represents a basic value of the fuel injection period of the fuel injection valves 6 which is determined as a function of engine speed Ne detected by the Ne sensor 11 and intake pipe absolute pressure PB detected by the intake pipe absolute pressure sensor 8, and KO2 an air-fuel ratio correction coefficient which is determined based on oxygen concentration detected by the O2 sensor 15 during air-fuel ratio feedback control or determined in a manner hereinafter described during air-fuel ratio open loop control. KLS is a mixture-leaning coefficient which is set to predetermined values in a manner hereinafter described when the engine is in predetermined leaning operating regions. K1 and K2 are other correction coefficients and correction variables, respectively, which are calculated as functions of engine operation parameter values detected by various sensors mentioned before, namely throttle valve opening sensor 4, intake pipe absolute pressure sensor 8, intake air temperature sensor 9, engine coolant temperature sensor 10, Ne sensor 11, cylinder discriminating sensor 12, O2 sensor 15, and vehicle speed sensor 16, by the use of respective predetermined equations to such values as to optimize various operating characteristics of the engine such as startability, emission characteristics, fuel consumption, and accelerability.
The ECU 5 supplies the fuel injection valves 6 with driving signals corresponding to the fuel injection period TOUT obtained through the equation (1), to thereby open the fuel injection valves 6 over the valve opening period.
FIG. 2 shows a circuit arrangement within the ECU 5 in FIG. 1. A TDC signal from the Ne sensor 11 in FIG. 1 is applied to a waveform shaper 501, wherein it has its pulse waveform shaped, and supplied to a central processing unit (hereinafter called "the CPU") 503, as well as to an Me counter 502. The Me counter 502 counts the interval of time between a preceding pulse of the TDC signal and a present pulse thereof, and therefore its counted value Me is proportional to the reciprocal of the actual engine speed Ne. The Me counter 502 supplies the counted value Me to the CPU 503 via a data bus 510.
The respective output signals from various sensors shown in FIG. 1, such as throttle valve opening sensor 4, intake pipe absolute pressure sensor 8, intake air temperature sensor 9, engine coolant temperature sensor 10, and O2 sensor 15 have their voltage levels shifted to a predetermined voltage level by a level shifter unit 504 and then successively applied to an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter 506 through a multiplexer 505.
The A/D converter 506 successively converts the analog output signals from the aforementioned various sensors into digital signals, and the resulting digital signals are supplied to the CPU 503 via the data bus 510.
Further connected to the CPU 503 via the data bus 510 are a read-only memory (hereinafter called "the ROM") 507, a random access memory (hereinafter called "the RAM") 508 and a driving circuit 509. The RAM 507 stores various programs to be executed within the CPU 503, a PB-Ne-Ti map from which the basic fuel injection period Ti is selected, and other various data and tables. The RAM 508 temporarily stores the results of calculations executed within the CPU 503, and other data such as ones read from the Me counter 502 and the A/D converter 506. The driving circuit 509 supplies driving signals corresponding to the fuel injection period TOUT calculated by the equation (1) to the fuel injection valves 6 to drive same.
Referring to FIG. 3, mixture-leaning regions of the engine are shown, which comprise three regions I, II, and III, divided by the engine rotational speed Ne and the intake pipe absolute pressure PB. The mixture-leaning coefficient KLS is applied as the engine enters these regions. In these mixture-leaning regions, whether or not to effect mixture-leaning is decided based on the speed V of a vehicle in which the engine is installed, the engine coolant temperature TW, and the engine intake air temperature TA. For example, the region III (low load, high speed operating region) is a region where NLS3L<Ne<NLS3H and PBLS3L<PB<PBLS3H hold, and mixture-leaning is effected only when the following conditions are satisfied: V>VLS (e.g 45 km/h), TW>TWLS (e.g. 70° C.), TA>TALS (e.g. 20° C.). The region III corresponds to the vehicle's high speed cruising.
When the engine is in the mixture-leaning region I, the mixture-leaning correction coefficient KLS is set to a predetermined value XLS1 (e.g. 0.90), and when the engine is in the mixture-leaning region II, the coefficient KLS is set to a predetermined value XLS2 (e.g. 0.85), so that the mixture is leaned to air-fuel ratios suitable to the respective regions.
In the regions I and II, the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 is set to a value KREF which is an average of values of KO2 obtained while the engine was in air-fuel ratio feedback regions (not shown) which lie outside the regions I, II, III. In the region III (the low load, high speed operating region), the mixture-leaning coefficient KLS is set to 1.0 and the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 is calculated by the following equation:
KO2=KO2AVE×XLS3=KO2LLM (2)
where KO2AVE is an average of values of the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 set in accordance with the feedback control which is effected over a predetermined time period after the engine enters the region III. XLS3 (e.g. 0.80) is a mixture-leaning coefficient. KO2 calculated by the equation (2) is applied as KO2LLM, as explained later, KO2LLM being set to such a value as to attain an optimal air-fuel ratio (e.g. 18.0) to improvement of fuel consumption and emission characteristics while the engine is in the region III.
Referring to FIG. 6, the relationship between NOx concentration and air-fuel ratio, and that between fuel consumption (S.F.C.) and air-fuel ratio will now be explained. It is seen from the figure that the NOx concentration becomes maximum when the air-fuel ratio becomes slightly leaner than 14.7 (at which the conversion efficiency of the three-way catalyst 14 in FIG. 1 becomes maximum), and as the air-fuel ratio is further leaned the NOx concentration decreases. It is clearly seen from FIG. 6 that the optimum value of air-fuel ratio that causes both NOx concentration and fuel consumption to be low and at the same time does not impair driveability is 18.0. Therefore, it is possible to improve fuel consumption without causing NOx concentration to increase during low-load high speed cruising, if the mixture-leaning coefficient XLS3 is set to such an appropriate value as to obtain a target value KO2LLM of the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 that makes the air-fuel ratio to be 18.0.
The average value KO2AVEn as of a present pulse of the TDC signal is obtained by the following equation: ##EQU1## where LREF represents an averaging variable which is set to an integer suitably selected from 1 through 256; KO2p is a value assumed by KO2 either immed-iately before or after setting of KO2 value by the proportional term (P term) control according to which the O2 feedback coefficient KO2 is increased or added by a fixed value each time the output of the O2 sensor 15 changes across a predetermined value from the rich side to the lean side or vice versa; KO2AVEn-1 represents the average value of KO2 as of the immediately preceding pulse of the TDC signal.
Incidentally, when the engine is in a feedback control region lying outside the mixture-leaning operating regions I, II, III, the air-fuel ratio of the mixture is controlled in closed loop mode, i.e. in a feedback manner responsive to the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2, which varies with the output signal from the O2 sensor 15, such that the air-fuel ratio is controlled to a stoichiometric mixture ratio. On this occasion the mixture-leaning coefficient KLS is set to 1.0.
Referring now to FIG. 4 showing variation of the coefficient KO2 and FIG. 5 showing a flow chart of a program executed in synchronism with every TDC signal pulse, the air-fuel ratio control method according to the invention will be explained.
First, steps 1 through 7 in FIG. 5 determine whether or not the engine is operating in the region III (FIG. 3). More specifically, step 1 determines whether the vehicle speed V is higher than a predetermined value VLS (e.g. 45 km/h), and step 2 whether the engine coolant temperature TW is higher than a predetermined value TWLS (e.g. 70° C.). The step 1 is intended to reduce the NOx concentration during cruising on a superhighway where the vehicle speed is normally higher than 45 km/h, by leaning the mixture at vehicle speeds above 45 km/h. Step 2 is intended to improve the engine driveability by preventing leaning of the mixture when the engine is cold (before engine warming is completed). Step 3 determines whether or not the engine intake air temperature TA is higher than a predetermined value TALS (e.g. 20° C.), for the purpose of preventing poor engine combustion caused by leaning of the mixture when the ambient temperature is low, and the resulting degraded driveability. Then, steps 4 and 5 determine whether or not the intake pipe absolute pressure PB satisfies the inequality PBLS3L< PB<PBLS3H, and steps 6 and 7 determine whether the engine rotational speed Ne satisfies the inequality NLS3L<Ne<NLS3H. If any one of the steps 1 through 7 provides a negative answer (No), the program proceeds to step 34 and its succeeding steps to effect air-fuel ratio control in the mixture-leaning regions I and II and other regions including the feedback control region, as described later. If, on the other hand, the questions of all the steps 1 through 7 are affirmatively answered, the engine is judged to be operating in the mixture-leaning region III, and then step 8 and its succeeding steps are executed to effect mixture-leaning control in the region III. More particularly, when the engine is determined to be in the region III, the program executes steps 8 through 31 as follows. The air-fuel ratio feedback control is executed for a predetermined time period TDLS (e.g. 0.5 seconds) after the engine enters the region III. And even after the elapse of the predetermined time period TDLS the feedback control is still continued until the output voltage VO2 of the O2 sensor 15 has changed across a predetermined value from the lean side to the rich side or vice versa a predetermined number of times nXLS, preferably the number of times NXLS the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient KO2 changes across 1.0 has reached the predetermined value nXLS (e.g. 10). During this feedback control following the lapse of the predetermined time period TDLS, the average value KO2AVE of the correction coefficient KO2 obtained during this feedback control is simultaneously calculated by the equation (3). Then, by placing the value of KO2AVE into the equation (2), KO2LLM is obtained, and this value KO2LLM is employed as the target value for the coefficient KO2 to reach while the engine is in the region III.
Once the coefficient KO2LLM is calculated, the value of KO2 is decreased by a predetermined value ΔLS3 each time a predetermined number nO2 of TDC signal pulses have been generated, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the value of KO2 gradually approaches the target value KO2LLM. By thus causing the KO2 value, which is set in response to the output signal of the O2 sensor 15, to gradually approach to the target value of KO2LLM instead of suddenly changing the KO2 value to the KO2LLM, it is possible to avoid a sudden change in engine torque attributable to sudden leaning of the mixture and hence to improve the driveability.
Reverting to FIG. 5, if steps 1 through 7 determine the engine to be operating in the region III, it is determined at step 8 whether or not a flag FLAGLS3 is equal to zero. If the flag FLAGLS3 is zero, it indicates that the engine is in a condition other than those indicated by other values (=2, 3) of the flag wherein the control is to be executed in the region III, as hereinafter described. If the answer to step 8 is Yes, the count value NXLS (the number of times the KO2 value has changed across the predetermined value between the lean side to the rich side) is reset to zero at step 9, and then it is determined at step 10 whether or not the immediately preceding loop was an open loop, i.e. whether or not the engine was in the mixture-leaning region I or II during the immediately preceding loop. If the answer is No, i.e. if the present loop is the first loop immediately after the engine has entered the mixture-leaning region III from the feedback control region, the program directly proceeds to step 13 whereat it is determined whether or not the predetermined time period TDLS has elapsed, i.e. whether or not the count value TDLS of the TDLS downcounter is zero. On the other hand, if the answer at step 10 is Yes, i.e. if the air-fuel ratio was controlled to be to a lean value appropriate to the region I or II during the immediately preceding loop, the product of the average value KREF of values of the coefficient KO2 assumed while the engine was in a feedback region by a mixture-enriching coefficient CR1 is employed as the initial value of the correction coefficient KO2 (step 11), and after setting the mixture-leaning coefficient KLS to 1.0 at step 12 the program proceeds to step 13.
If the answer to the question of step 13 is No, then the count value TDLS is reduced by one at step 15, and only the feedback control that is carried out immediately after the engine enters the region III is continued (step 20), and if the answer to the question of step 13 is Yes, the program proceeds to step 14, where FLAGLS3 is set to 1. FLAGLS3=1 means that the average value KO2AVE of values of the coefficient value KO2 assumed during the feedback control immediately after the engine enters the region III is being calculated. Then, at step 16 it is determined whether or not the number of times NXLS the KO2 value has changed across 1.0 has reached the predetermined value nXLS (e.g. 10). If the answer is No, it is then determined whether or not the KO2 value has changed across 1.0 (step 17). If the answer to the question of step 17 is Yes, the average value KO2AVE is calculated by the equation (3) (step 18), and after increasing the value of NXLS by one (step 19) the feedback control is continued (step 20). If the answer to the question of step 17 is No, i.e. if the KO2 value has not changed across 1.0, then only the feedback control specified by step 20 is continued without calculating KO2AVE.
In the next loop, since the flag FLAGLS3 has been set to 1 at step 14 in the immediately preceding loop, the answer to the question of step 8 will be No, and therefore the program proceeds to step 32, and than executes steps 16 through 20, wherein the average value KO2AVE is calculated at step 18. When this calculation has been conducted the predetermined number of times NXLS, i.e. the KO2 value has changed across 1.0 the predetermined number of times NXLS, then the feedback control is discontinued (step 21) (refer to FIG. 4), the KO2 value is held at the value then assumed (step 22), a predetermined TDC signal pulse count NO2 is reset to a predetermined value nO2 which is set at 4 if the control is applied to a four stroke cycle engine (step 44), and the air-fuel ratio correction value value KO2LLM is calculated by the equation (3) (step 23). At step 24 the flag FLAGLS3 is set to 2. FLAGLS3=2 means that the KO2 value is being decreased by a fixed value ΔLS3.
In order that the KO2 value is decreased by ΔLS3 each time the predetermined number nO2 of the TDC signal pulses have been generated, it is determined at step 25 whether or not the count value NO2 is zero. If the answer is No, the count value NO2 is reduced by one (step 27) and then the program is terminated. If the answer is Yes, then the KO2 value is decreased by ΔLS3 (step 26), and NO2 is reset to nO2 (step 28). It is then determined whether or not the KO2 value has been decreased to a value smaller than or equal to KO2LLM (step 29). If the answer is No, the program is terminated. Thereafter, until KO2≦KO2LLM is satisfied, the program will repeatedly execute steps 33, 25, 28, and 29. When the KO2 value has been decreased to KO2LLM, then FLAGLS3 is set to 3 to indicate that the equality KO2=KO2LLM is established (step 30), and the coefficient KO2 is set to the target value KO2LLM (step 31). Then, the target value KO2LLM is substituted for KO2 in the equation (1) to thereby calculate the fuel injection period TOUT. In this way, the air-fuel ratio is controlled to the final lean value appropriate to the region III. By virtue of the above described air-fuel ratio control in the region III, the engine can be operated in a low-load high-speed cruising condition with reduced fuel consumption and without a degration in the driveability, while controlling the air-fuel ratio to a value at which the NOX concentration is much smaller than the maximum level.
Incidentally, since the KO2 value has been set to KO2LLM at step 31 with the flag FLAGLS3 set to 3 as noted above, the step 33 in the next loop will provide a negative answer (No) whereby the equality KO2=KO2LLM is maintained.
Next, the control manner according to steps 34 through 41 will be explained, which steps are executed when the engine is determined not to be operating in the mixture-leaning region III. First, at step 34 it is determined whether or not the engine is operating in another mixture-leaning region, i.e. in the region I or II. If the answer is Yes, the program proceeds to step 35 to determine whether or not the present value of FLAGLS3 is 2 or greater, i.e. whether or not the engine was in the mixture-leaning region III and was controlled in an open loop manner during the immediately preceding loop. If the answer is Yes, the program proceeds to step 36 to set the count value TDLS of the TDLS timer to zero and then proceeds to step 37, while if the answer is No, the program directly goes to step 37 skipping step 36. At step 37 the flag FLAGLS3 is set to zero and thereafter the air-fuel ratio is leaned in an open loop manner (KLS Loop) (step 38). In the step 38 the mixture-leaning coefficient KLS is set to either one of the predetermined values XLS1 and XLS2, depending on whether the engine is operating in the mixture-leaning region I or II. If the answer at step 34 is No, it is judged that the engine is operating in a region other than the mixture-leaning regions I, II, III, and then the program executes step 39 to set FLAGLS3 to zero and execute step 40 to set the count value TDLS of the TDLS timer to the predetermined time period tDLS (e.g. 0.5 seconds). Thereafter step 41 is executed so that the air-fuel ratio is controlled to a value appropriate to the other region in which the engine is operating.
The reason for setting the count value TDLS of the TDLS timer to zero at step 36 is to prohibit at steps 13 and 15 the calculation of the average value KO2AVE for the predetermined time period TDLS after. the engine enters the region III, when the engine enters the region III from a region other than the mixture leaning regions I, II, III, e.g. the feedback operating region directly or by way of the region I or II, while the reason for resetting the value TDLS to the value tDLS is to immediately execute the calculation of the average value KO2AVE at steps 17 through 19 when if the engine temporarily enters the region I or II from the region III and then returns to the region III.
As explained above, according to the method of the present invention, when the engine enters the mixture-leaning region III (FIG. 3) which corresponds to a low-load high speed cruising condition, the air-fuel ratio is initially controlled in feedback manner alone for the predetermined time period TDLS, and after the lapse of the time period TDLS, while the feedback control is continued, the target value KO2LLM of the coefficient KO2 to be applied in the region III is obtained by multiplying the average value KO2AVE of the coefficient KO2, which is determined in response to the output signal from the O2 sensor 15, by the mixture-leaning coefficient XLS3, so that the air-fuel ratio of the mixture is accurately controlled to a desired lean value (e.g. 18.0) appropriate to the region mixture-leaning region III while the engine is in the region III, whereby the driveability and emission characteristics are improved, respectively, at transition to the low-load high speed cruising and during same. | A method of effecting feedback control of the air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture being supplied to an internal combustion engine, by correcting a basic fuel supply quantity by the use of a correction coefficient variable in response to the output of an exhaust gas ingredient concentration sensor. An engine low-load operating region is defined by at least one parameter representing load on the engine. When the engine enters the low-load operating region, a value of the correction coefficient is determined in response to an output from the above sensor and also an average value of values of the correction coefficient thus determined is calculated for a predetermined time period after the engine enters the low-load operating region. A target value of the correction coefficient is calculated on the basis of the average value obtained, the target value yielding a predetermined air-fuel ratio higher than a stoichiometric mixture ratio. The value of the correction coefficient is varied after the lapse of the predetermined time period and until it becomes equal to the target value while the engine remains in the low-load operating region. The basic fuel supply quantity is corrected by the use of the value of the correction coefficient thus varied. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a control system and method for the operation of a clothes dryer.
It is well known to provide clothes dryers with a lint filter to remove lint picked up from the articles or load being dried. If the filter becomes clogged by excessive lint, the airflow through the dryer is restricted and the necessary time to dry the load is increased.
The status of the lint filter may be monitored by means of airflow and pressure sensors that provide indication of blockage during the time air is flowing through the dryer. Typically, serious blockages of airflow result in excessive temperatures in the area of the air heater, resulting in the intermittent opening of a high limit thermostat that deactivates the heater. The sensors or thermostats can be connected to an indicator to apprise the operator of the condition. However, these methods provide an indication of air blockage only during airflow through the dryer.
It is desirable to know the degree of dryness of the load. This is useful for operator removal of the load at a given dryness or for helping the operator predict the time remaining to dry.
The dryness of the load may be monitored by such means as sensing the rapid rise in exhaust temperature when the load is nearly dry and by actual humidity sensors. Unfortunately, the monitoring of exhaust temperature does not provide entirely satisfactory results and humidity sensors represent a substantial increase in sensor costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a simple, integrated means for altering the operator that an air blockage has occurred and for indicating the degree of dryness exhibited by the load. In addition, the operator is provided with an estimated drying time, allowing convenient scheduling and planning.
The dryer control system for a dryer including a heater, an air inlet receiving air from the heater, and an air exhaust exhausting the air from the dryer comprises: a control means; an inlet temperature measuring means connected to the control means; an exhaust temperature measuring means connected to the control means; an estimated drying time display means connected to the control means; a dryness display means connected to the control means; and a blockage indicator means connected to the control means. The control means samples the inlet temperature at a first and second time, samples the exhaust temperature at a first and second time, forms a first difference between the second and first inlet temperatures, forms a second difference between the second and first exhaust temperatures, calculates the estimated drying time as a function of the first and second differences, and displays the estimated drying time on the estimated drying time display. Also, the control means monitors the inlet temperature, increments a number each time the inlet temperature exceeds a predetermined value, and activates the blockage indicator means when the number exceeds a predetermined threshold. In addition, the control means monitors the exhaust temperature, deactivates the heater when the exhaust temperature exceeds a predetermined maximum exhaust temperature, activates the dryness display means when the inlet temperature drops below a predetermined inlet temperature, and activates the heater when the exhaust temperature drops below a predetermined minimum exhaust temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a clothes dryer according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart diagram of a method according to the invention for detecting an air blockage in the dryer.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram of a method according to the invention for measuring the dryness of a load in a dryer.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram of a method according to the invention for estimating the drying time for a load in a dryer.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram of a method according to the invention for detecting an air blockage, measuring the dryness of a load in the dryer, and estimating the drying time for the load.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A clothes dryer 10 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1. A heater 12 provides heated air to a load 14 of clothes or other articles. The heater 12 may be, for example, of the resistive electric type or the combustion type.
After moving about the load 14, the air is exhausted from the dryer 10. The temperature 16 of the inlet air and the temperature 18 of the exhaust air is measured, for example, by thermistors or resistors with known temperature/resistance characteristics.
The temperatures 16, 18 are provided to a controller 20. In the preferred embodiment, the controller 20 comprises a microprocessor which is programmed to perform the functions described below. The controller 20 also includes the necessary support circuitry to activate and deactivate the heater 12 and to monitor the temperatures 16, 18.
In addition, the controller 20 controls the display of information on a time to dry display 22, a dryness display 24, and an air blockage indicator 26.
The time to dry display 22 may be, for example, a numeric display of the vacuum fluorescent type. The air blockage indicator 26 may be, for example, a simple signal light or it may be an indicia such as "CLEAN FILTER" on a vacuum fluorescent display. The dryness display 24 may be, for example, a vacuum fluorescent display capable of displaying a series of numerical or word indicia indicating dryness, or a series of lights capable of being sequentially activated, each member of the series indicating a level of dryness. Alternatively, the dryness display 24 may be, for example, a single light that simply indicates that the load 14 is dry.
FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a method for detecting an air blockage according to the invention. Initially, all variables are initialized and the heater 12 is activated. The controller 20 compares the measured inlet temperature 16 to an inlet high limit temperature T IH . This temperature may be, for example, 150° C.
If the inlet temperature 16 is greater than T IH , the variable COUNT is incremented. In the preferred embodiment, the heater 12 is also deactivated at T IH to prevent excessive temperature about the heater 12. If desired, the heater 12 could be deactivated at some higher temperature and still provide the desired protection.
If COUNT is equal or greater than a threshold N (e.g. 2), the blockage indicator 26 is activated and remains so whether air is flowing through the dryer 10 or the heater 12 is on or off.
In this way, the operator has a much better opportunity to notice the blockage indicator 26.
When the inlet temperature 16 drops below an inlet low limit temperature T IL (e.g. 100° C.) the heater 12 is reactivated and the process continues.
FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention for measuring the dryness of the load 14 in the dryer 10. Initially, all variables are initialized and the heater 12 is activated. The controller 20 compares the measured exhaust temperature 18 to an exhaust high limit temperature T EH . This temperature may be, for example, 55° C. for cotton or 40° C. for knits.
If the exhaust temperature 18 exceeds T EH , the heater 12 is deactivated. The controller 20 then compares the measured inlet temperature 16 to a threshold dryness temperature T ID . This temperature may be, for example, 55° C.
If the inlet temperature 16 drops below T ID , the dryness display 24 is incremented (e.g. either a numerical value is incremented, or a light in a sequence is illuminated) and the DRY FLAG is set. If a simpler display is desired, the dryness display 24 may simply provide the same indication after the first time it is activated until the variables are again initialized.
Whether the inlet temperature 16 drops below T ID , or not, the exhaust temperature 18 is monitored by the controller 20. If the exhaust temperature 18 drops below an exhaust temperature lower limit T EL (e.g. 30° C. for cotton or 25° C. for knits), the cycle starts over. Otherwise, if the DRY FLAG is set, the controller 20 continues to monitor the exhaust temperature 18 with respect to T EL . If the DRY FLAG is not set, the controller 20 goes back to monitoring the inlet temperature 16.
If the incrementing display is used, the dryness display 24 indicates successively dryer states of the load 14 as operation of the dryer 10 continues. This allows the operator to remove the load 14 at a given dryness, or estimate the remaining time required.
There is a correlation between the inlet and exhaust temperatures 16, 18 near the beginning of a drying cycle to the time required to dry the load 14. It has been found that a linear equation using the inlet and exhaust temperatures 16, 18 provides a good estimate of the drying time required for the load 14.
The inlet temperature 16 is measured at the start of the drying cycle to give a value T IO and a time t m to give a value T Im . The time t m may be, for example, 3 minutes into the drying cycle.
Similarly, the exhaust temperature 18 is measured at the start of the drying cycle to give a value T EO and at the time t m to give a value T Em . It would of course be possible to use a time near the beginning of the cycle other than t m .
It has been found that the following equation provides a good estimate of the required drying time D:
D=K+W.sub.I (T.sub.Im -T.sub.IO)+W.sub.E (T.sub.Em -T.sub.EO)
where K, W I , and W E are constants that depend on the type of load 14 being dried.
For example, if D is measured in seconds, the temperatures measured in Celsius degrees and t m =3 minutes, the following values may be used:
COTTON: K=3809, W I =7.19, and W E =-87.7
PERMANENT PRESS: K=2232, W I =-11.5615, W E =-108.25
FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention for estimating the drying time required for a load 14.
Initially, the inlet temperature 16 is stored to T IO and the outlet temperature 18 is stored to T EO . All steps are then bypassed until the time, t, into the drying cycle equals t m . Then the inlet and exhaust temperatures 16, 18 are measured again and the calculation described above performed to find the estimated drying time.
The calculated drying time is then displayed on the time to dry display 22. The time displayed may be the estimate itself, the estimate minus the elapsed time, or, with a time of day clock added, the estimated time of day for completion.
By having the estimated drying time, the operator can have a general idea of when the load 14 will be complete. During a cycle where the clothes may need to be removed right away to avoid wrinkling, if the cycle is completed earlier then the estimated time, the load can be periodically tumbled to balance out the remaining time.
FIG. 5 shows a flow chart combining the above-described methods into a single method according to the invention for providing a coordinated, single control system for the dryer 10. The block labeled DRY TIME ROUTINE performs the method set forth in FIG. 4.
It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited. | A control system for a clothes dryer is disclosed. A microprocessor monitors the heated inlet air temperature and the exhaust temperature. If the inlet temperature exceeds a high limit value a given number of times, an air blockage indicator is activated. Degrees of dryness are measured by the number of times the inlet temperature has dropped below a threshold value while the heater is off because the exhaust temperature has exceeded a desired value. An estimated drying time is calculated and displayed to the user based on a linear function of the inlet and exhaust temperatures measured at the beginning of the cycle and again a short time later. | 3 |
CROSS RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 453,006; filed Mar. 19, 1974 and now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rigid implantations for surgical purposes, particularly as may be partially or fully inserted in a human organism.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is known that metal prostheses are widely utilized for making rigid implantations for surgical purposes, particularly in the dental field. For example, for the support of teeth, dental bridges or complete dentures, recourse is had to rigid elements in the form of screws, wickers, needles, blades, grates and the like, which are driven into suitable seats, previously formed in the maxilla or jaw bones.
These rigid elements are normally made of expensive and difficultly machinable noble metals. However, the rigid metal implantations suffer from the serious disadvantage of being subjected, after surgical implantation thereof into a human organism, to corrosions and thus to a degradation, particularly as a consequence of attack by ions of different nature and, more generally, as a result of electric attack caused by electrochemical and piezoelectric phenomena (the latter resulting from the microcrystalline nature of the bone salt).
For example, the rigid elements (wickers, screws, blades, etc.) as required for the support of teeth are usually made of titanium, which is a metal exhibiting excellent characteristics from the standpoint of chemical and mechanical strength.
However, it is known that such rigid elements, when implanted in a patient's mouth, come into contact with the saliva, which at times may have either acid or basic properties. It is also known that titanium is attacked by a number of chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, formic acid, sulphuric acid, and particularly hydrofluoric acid. There are also dental implantations in which variations in pH are generated adjacent to the implantations.
Keeping in mind that a dental prosthesis could and should be able to remain in situ over a very large number of years, it will be understood that, over the long run, there may take place a chemical corrosion of the metal elements, particularly titanium elements, which have the teeth fastened thereto.
Furthermore, it is also known that prostheses constituted of metals other than the metal used for supporting a given tooth, may be present in a patient's mouth.
The presence of such different metals may give rise to formation of galvanic couples which may cause annoying sensations to the patient, and above all may lead to an electrochemical corrosion of the tooth supporting element. For example, it is known that titanium and alloys thereof form galvanic couples with copper and nickel alloys, and particularly with stainless steels.
While still considering titanium prosthesis, which are those most widely used due to the inherent strength and lightness thereof, and because of absence of any rejection phenomena after implantation thereof, in addition to the disadvantages of some slow chemical, electrochemical and electric corrosion taking place due to piezo-electric phenomena caused by bone salt, it has been ascertained that no epithelial adhesion (i.e. no adhesion of mouth mucosa) occurs by this metal with the collar of the rigid elements used as tooth support, while providing a good ossification all about the elements. This results in the occurrence of aesthetic problems of quite a difficult solution.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, such implantations have been provided which comprise a metal core covered with a plastics material layer which appears to perform the dual function of enabling the use of a core made of any metal, as an integral or welded element, and avoiding all of the shortcomings resulting from the presence of metals contacting organic tissues.
However, all of the plastic materials, as presently known, with or without additives of any nature, are liable to become impregnated with organic liquids which give rise to cytotoxicity within the plastic material. That type of material may be found, for example, in the disclosure of Hodosh U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,507. Discussion of plastic-coated metal implants may also be ascertained from the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Vol. 6, No. 5, September 1972 pp. 451-464, in an article by C. A. Homsey et al. "Reduction of Tissue and Bone Adhesion to Cobalt Alloy Fixation Appliances."
The only synthetic material not liable to impregnation is tetrafluoroethylene and polymers thereof, this material being commonly known under the registered trademarks TEFLON, FLUON, ALGOFLON or the like, which, as is well known, is widely used in the surgical field.
Recently, use has also been proposed of dental implantations comprising a metal core covered with tetrafluoroethylene. Such an implantation is described in Linkow et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,222. However, it should be noted that such implantations, as known in the art, are endosseous, that is the resistant structure which is to withstand the mechanical stresses (consider, for example, that in the case of mastication, the pressure exerted on a molar is in the order of 60 kg/sq. cm.) is totally embedded in the bone.
Completely juxtaosseous metal implantations are also known, which implantations have a rigid carrying structure bearing on the osseous lamina of jaws with stumps for tooth fastening. Such metal implantations have the merit of satisfactorily withstanding even high pressures, but suffer from the serious disadvantage of having poor stability and exposing the mucosa instead of being covered thereby. No description is found in literature that such implants can be covered with tetrafluoroethylene, but even in such a case, they would still have poor stability after implantation thereof.
Finally, it should be noted that endosseous implants have sharp edges or tips which appear to perform the function of facilitating the insertion into the osseous seats, but suffer from the drawback that, being covered with fibromucosa after insertion in the osseous seat, they form sources for causing suffering or discomfort, and inflammation of the mucosa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide implants for dental use having, in addition to a high mechanical strength, also a high dielectricity providing a high resistance to electrochemical and chemical attack.
This and further objects are attained by a rigid implantation for dental uses comprising a metal core totally covered with a firmly adhering layer of tetrafluoroethylene or polymers thereof, this metal core being shaped so that a portion thereof is designed to be and remain endosseous and a portion thereof is designed to be and remain juxtaosseous, the implantation having rounded edges.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a clearer understanding of the structure and features of the implantation according to the present invention, reference may now be had to various embodiments of the invention, described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 schematically shows a jaw bone to which there have been applied implantations of different types;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the endosseous blade for tooth support;
FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the blade taken along line III--III in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an implantation formed of two distinct blades rigidly interconnected by a rigid juxtaosseous structure;
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the two blades of FIG. 4 as interconnected by the rigid element;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the implantation shown in FIG. 5, taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 5; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an implantation for a tooth support, formed of a wicker and a rigid juxtaosseous structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring first to FIG. 1, a jaw bone is schematically shown as carrying three different types of implants, designated by letters A, B and C, respectively.
Implant A is shown in a perspective view in FIG. 2 and in a sectional view in FIG. 3, and comprises an endosseous blade 2 and two pairs of arms 3 projecting from either side of blade 2. These arms 3 are for the juxtaosseous bearing of the implant and are spaced apart through a stump or base 4 intended to project into the oral cavity and to operate as a tooth support.
As shown in FIG. 3, the whole implant comprises a metal core 15 which is completely covered with a firmly adhering layer 16 of tetrafluoroethylene or polymers thereof.
As shown particularly in FIG. 2, the free ends of arm 3 have enlargements performing the function of increasing the bearing surface of the arms acting on the bone. Arms 3 are of flattened shape with somewhat rounded edges, and blade 2 as well has a flattened shape with rounded edges.
The method by which the metal core is covered with a firmly adhering layer of tetrafluoroethylene is already known in the art and the thickness of the layer of the polytetrafluoroethylene film may normally be within the range of 30-50 microns.
The rigid implantation of FIGS. 2 and 3 is applied to a jaw bone by milling a bore therein and driving the endosseous blade 2 into the bore, while arms 3 bear on or slightly insert into the osseous lamina of the jaw bone, but still remaining externally thereof. When the tooth has been fastened on stump or base 4, arms 3 perform the function of withstanding compressive stresses, whereas blade 2 has the main function of ensuring the implant retention.
Because of its partially endosseous and partially juxtaosseous structure, and due to the fact that the whole implantation is covered with tetrafluoroethylene and no cutting edges or tips are provided, it has been found that such an implantation exhibits optimum stability, is free of any rejection phenomena and that the juxtaosseous arms remain covered with mucosa even a long time after implant installation.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 relating to the rigid implantation designated by letter B in FIG. 1. This type of implantation is particularly used for tooth fastening on a maxilla which is totally devoid of teeth. This implantation comprises two separate blades 5, the central upper end of which has a polygonal projection 6, wherein a threaded hole is formed, as shown in FIG. 4. The entire blade is made of a metal core which is completely covered with polytetrafluoroethylene, similarly as above set forth in connection with FIG. 2. The implantation also comprises a juxtaosseous connecting bar 7, the shape of which is considerably extended and flattened, and is provided at its ends with, respectively, two enlargements 8 and 9. A polygonal hole is formed in enlargement 8, so that projection 6 of one of the blades 5 can penetrate and be exactly accomodated therein, whereas an extended hole of substantially rectangular cross-section is formed in enlargement 9, so that one of the projections 6 can be accomodated therein, which latter projection is longitudinally movable within the hole of enlargement 9.
Further, bar 7 is made of resistant metal and completely covered with tetrafluoroethylene. In order to assemble the described implantation, two different millings or borings of the bone are provided for, such bores accomodating the endosseous blades 5. Bar 7 is positioned above the blades, so that the hole of enlargement 8 is aligned over the projection 6 of one of the two blades, whereas the other projection 6 of the other of the blades is caused to penetrate the extended hole of enlargement 9. Bar 7 is blocked on the two blades by threaded stumps 10 which are screwed down into threaded holes formed in the projections or extensions 6.
Blades 5 are for implantation retention, while bar 7 directly bearing on the osseous lamina, assures compressive strength. Obviously, bar 7 may be of different lengths depending on the implantation structure or anatomic requirement.
Referring now to FIG. 7 an implantation designated by C in FIG. 1 is shown, as being suitably accomodated within an alveolus or tooth-socket from which a tooth has just been extracted. This implantation comprises a wicker 11 of a conical spiral shape having two arms 12 and a stump 13 fast therewith, the spiral 11 being adapted for accomodation within the alveolus or tooth-socket and for being effective as the endosseous retention portion of the implantation, while arms 12 are adapted to operate as juxtaosseous portions for withstanding the compressive stresses, stump or base 13 being adapted, as is usual, to directly support or carry a tooth.
While the metal core forming part of the implantations can be constituted of any kind or nature, particularly of low cost metals, the covering of the core, as provided for by the layer of tetrafluoroethylene or polymers thereof (in case a primer layer can be interposed between the metal and tetrafluoroethylene layer), in addition to the advantage of avoiding any risk of rejection, also has the advantage of even assuring an optimum epithelial adhesion to the stump base, the latter of which is part of such implantations and surrounded by the mucosa.
Finally, the surprising novel features of the implantation according to the present invention result from the combination of an assembly of distinct features, i.e. each of the implantations comprises an endosseous portion and a juxtaosseous portion which are firmly restrained to each other, while the whole implantation comprises a metal core having a substantial rigidity and being covered with a layer of tetrafluoroethylene avoiding all of the piezoelectric drawbacks, and is resistant to chemical and electrical attacks while furthermore enabling an optimum epithelial adhesion of both the previously existing mucosa and fibromucosa to be generated about the implantation. Moreover, the implantation is rendered more easily endurable by the complete absence of cutting edges and tips.
While there has been shown what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious that modifications may be made which come within the scope of the disclosure of the specification. | Implants for dental use having, in addition to a high mechanical strength, also a high dielectricity providing a high resistance to electrochemical and chemical attack. A rigid implantation for dental uses comprises a metal core totally covered with a firmly adhering layer of tetrafluoroethylene or polymers thereof, this metal core being shaped so that a portion thereof is designed to be and remain endosseous and a portion thereof is designed to be and remain juxtaosseous, the implantation having rounded edges. | 0 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to printing ink compositions and methods using printing inks, especially lithographic printing inks. The compositions and methods of the invention employ novel vinyl resins that are prepared using polyfunctional monomers, particularly vinyl resins having low number average molecular weights and broad polydispersities.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Printing inks generally include one or more vehicles and one or more colorants as principal components. Printing ink vehicles must meet a number of performance requirements that include both requirements related to the printing process, such as suitable consistency and tack for sharp, clean images, suitable length to avoid fly or mist, or proper drying characteristics, and requirements related to the printed image, such as gloss, chemical resistance, durability, or color. In general, ink vehicles include one or more materials such as vegetable oils or fatty acids, resins, and polymers that contribute to the end product properties, and may include other components such as organic solvents, water, rheology modifiers, and so on that may affect body, tack, or drying characteristics.
Printing inks are employed in a variety of printing processes. Printing processes include letterpress printing, lithographic printing, flexographic printing, gravure and other intaglio processes, screen printing, and ink-jet digital printing. The ink composition is affected by the demands of the process used. For example, inks used in printing operations in which the ink will come into contact with rubber elements, such as the blanket of an offset lithographic press, generally include as the solvent portion of the vehicle only petroleum distillate fractions or other aliphatic solvents that will not adversely interact with rubber.
In lithographic printing, an inked printing plate contacts and transfers an inked image to a rubber blanket, and then the blanket contacts and transfers the image to the surface being printed. Lithographic plates are produced by treating the image areas of the plate with an oleophilic material and ensuring that the non-image areas are hydrophilic. In a typical lithographic printing process, the plate cylinder first comes in contact with dampening rollers that transfer an aqueous fountain solution to the hydrophilic non-image areas of the plate. The dampened plate then contacts an inking roller, accepting the ink only in the oleophilic image areas. The press operator must continually monitor the printing process to insure that the correct balance of the fountain solution and the ink is maintained so that the ink adheres to the printing areas, but only the printing areas, of the plate in order to produce a sharp, well-defined print.
The industry has long sought an offset printing process and associated materials that would not require a separate fountain solution. Waterless plates have been made by applying to the non-image area a silicone rubber, which has a very low surface energy and is not wetted by the ink. The silicone-modified plates are expensive, however, and require expensive, specially-cooled press equipment because the fountain solution of the traditional two-fluid method also serves as a coolant. Other efforts have been directed to producing a single-fluid lithographic ink, i.e., an ink that does not require a separate fountain solution, that can be used with the industry-standard presses and all-metal plates. Parkinson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,232 (the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference) describes lithographic printing and earlier efforts directed to producing a single-fluid lithographic ink and the tendency of single-fluid inks to be unstable. Parkinson notes that ink emulsions containing a solution of glycerin and salts tend to “break,” with the result that the glycerin wets the inking rollers preventing good inking. Parkinson suggests an improved single-fluid ink obtained by using an additive that includes a resin treated with a concentrated mineral acid, and, optionally, a polyhydric or monohydric alcohol. Preferred polyols are glycerin, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol. DeSanto, Jr. et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,517 (the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference) describe a printing ink that is an emulsion of an oil-based phase and a water-miscible phase. The patentees allege that an emulsion containing a significant portion of water (10% to 21%) and employing phosphoric acid as a critical component has improved stability against phase separation and can be used as a single-fluid lithographic ink. The De Santo, Jr. composition further includes as a diluent and emulsion stabilizer an oil with the properties of No. 1 and No. 2 fuel oils and a polyol emulsifier, of which glycerin and ethylene glycol are the only examples provided.
Nonetheless, due to various drawbacks of the single-fluid lithographic inks that have previously been proposed, including the limited stability and poor definition and toning already mentioned, the industry standard continues to be a dual-fluid lithographic ink that includes an ink component and a separate fountain solution component.
Applicants have now discovered that particular compositions that include a polyol phase dispersed or emulsified in a vinyl resin vehicle phase overcomes these problems in a single-fluid lithographic ink.
Yet another problem observed in printing processes, especially with high speed presses such as web-offset lithographic presses, is what has been termed “ink misting.” Ink misting commonly refers to ink droplets that become airborne during the printing process, for example at the point where the rotating inked rollers separate. When two inked rollers are in contact, as they are for the ink transfer in offset printing, ink splitting can result in the formation of ink filaments that may break to produce ink droplets. When the droplets become larger or more like threads, the problem may be termed “ink slinging.” The high speed of the presses and the modification of ink properties to print on such high speed presses exacerbate the problem of misting or slinging. While the mist can be annoying and cause contamination at low levels, higher amounts of misting can potentially create environmental and/or safety problems. The relative amounts of ink misting for particular inks can be determined by comparing the inks on an inkometer, employing standard testing procedures.
Various methods have been suggested for reducing misting or slinging in inks. For example, different additives have been proposed, including kaolin, anionic or cationic surfactants, or an additive that is an organic acid phosphate, glycerol, or propylene carbonate, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,787, expressly incorporated herein by reference. It has also been postulated that inks are more likely to produce misting when the ink is less extendible or elastic.
Applicants have discovered that printing inks employing the novel vinyl resins of the invention have surprisingly high resistance to misting and slinging on high speed presses.
A further problem that has been encountered for inks that include vinyl copolymer vehicles has been objectionable odor due to residual monomer. Ripley et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,011 (expressly incorporated herein by reference) disclose a styrene-acrylic copolymer in a low solvency hydrocarbon for a lithographic printing ink. The copolymer is a linear polymer having a weight average molecular weight of up to about 50,000 in an essentially aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent that boils in the range of 390-595° F. While the authors report “essentially complete conversion of the monomers,” it has been found that copolymers prepared according to the instructions of the Ripley patent typically had objectionable odor due to incomplete conversion of the monomers, as even low levels of residual monomers may cause odor problems. In addition, the polymers of the,Ripley patent exhibit high tacks and have unacceptable misting and slinging. While tack may be lowered with additional solvent, the additional solvent causes an unacceptable reduction in ink body that introduces other problems in printing the ink.
Applicants have discovered an improved process that may be used to obtain vinyl polymers that have substantially no residual monomer and, consequently, are free of odor associated with residual monomer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a printing ink composition that includes a branched vinyl resin. The term “vinyl resin” when used in conjunction with the present invention includes polymers prepared by chain reaction polymerization, or addition polymerization, through carbon-carbon double bonds, using vinyl monomers such as acrylic and methacrylic monomers, vinyl aromatic monomers including styrene, and monomers compatible with these. By “branched vinyl resin” it is meant that, while the vinyl polymer is branched, it nonetheless remains usefully soluble. By “soluble” it is meant that the polymer can be diluted with one or more solvents. (By contrast, polymers may be crosslinked into insoluble, three-dimensional network structures that are only be swelled by solvents.) The branched vinyl resins of the invention unexpectedly retain solubility in spite of significant branching.
The branched vinyl polymers of the invention preferably include at least about 0.008 equivalents, per 100 grams of monomer polymerized, of at least one monomer having at least two ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bonds or at least about 0.004 equivalents per 100 grams of monomer polymerized of each of two ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers having mutually reactive groups other than the polymerizable double bonds. The branched vinyl resin typically has a low number average molecular weight and a broad polydispersity. In a preferred embodiment, the branched vinyl resin of the invention has a polydispersity of at least about 15, as determined by gel permeation chromatography calibrated with polystyrene standards according to well-known methods.
The invention also provides a method of making an ink composition with the branched vinyl resin. In another aspect of the invention, the vinyl-based printing ink is modified by the addition of another vehicle resin. The invention further provides a method of polymerizing a branched vinyl resin in which substantially no monomer remains unpolymerized. The invention also provides a method of printing using the compositions of the invention.
Ink formulations including the branched vinyl vehicle of the invention have unexpectedly improved misting and slinging properties. The inks using the branched vinyl polymer have reduced tack at higher viscosities relative to comparable inks made with linear vinyl polymer vehicles. The invention reduces the amount of misting and slinging and improves the tack/body balance as compared to what would be expected for previous inks formulated with vinyl vehicles that would provide body by increasing tack or nonvolatile content or both. Incorporation of the branched vinyl vehicles of the invention into ink compositions also lends a certain amount of elastic character to the inks, which in many cases is beneficial to ink properties. News inks that include the branched vinyl polymer of the invention have improved rub-off properties.
Finally, the inks of the invention containing the branched vinyl can be formulated as single-fluid printing inks. The single-fluid printing ink of the invention is advantageously employed in lithographic printing processes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The inks of the invention include a vinyl polymer that is branched but usefully soluble. By “soluble” it is meant that the polymer can be diluted with one or more solvents. (By contrast, polymers may be crosslinked into insoluble, three-dimensional network structures that may only be swelled by solvents.) The branched vinyl polymers of the invention may be diluted by addition of solvent, as contrasted with polymers crosslinked into an insoluble, three-dimensional network that are instead swollen by solvent. The preferred polymers of the invention are significantly branched. The branching may be accomplished by at least two methods. In a first method, a monomer with two or more polymerizable double bonds is included in the polymerization reaction. In a second method, a pair of ethylenically unsaturated monomers, each of which has in addition to the polymerizable double bond at least one additional functionality reactive with the additional functionality on the other monomer, are included in the monomer mixture being polymerized. Preferably, the reaction of the additional functional groups takes place during the polymerization reaction, although this is not seen as critical in the formation of a polymer according to the invention and the reaction of the additional functional groups may be carried out partially or wholly before or after polymerization. A variety of such pairs of mutually reactive groups are possible. Illustrative examples of such pairs of reactive groups include, without limitation, epoxide and carboxyl groups, amine and carboxyl groups, epoxide and amine groups, epoxide and anhydride groups, amine and anhydride groups, hydroxyl and carboxyl or anhydride groups, amine and acid chloride groups, alkylene-imine and carboxyl groups, organoalkoxysilane and carboxyl groups, isocyanate and hydroxyl groups, cyclic carbonate and amine groups, isocyanate and amine groups, and so on. Specific examples of such monomers include, without limitation, glycidyl (meth)acrylate with (meth)acrylic acid, N-alkoxymethylated acrylamides (which react with themselves) such as N-isobutoxymethylated acrylamide, gamma-methacryloxytrialkoxysilane (which reacts with itself), and combinations thereof. In connection with the description of this invention, the term “(meth)acrylate” will be used to refer to both the acrylate and the methacrylate esters and the term “(meth)acrylic” will be used to refer to both the acrylic and the methacrylic compounds.
Preferably, the vinyl resin of the invention is polymerized using at least one monomer having two or more polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bonds, and particularly preferably from two to about four polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bonds. Illustrative examples of monomers having two or more ethylenically unsaturated moieties include, without limitation, (meth)acrylate esters of polyols such as 1,4-butanediol di(meth)acrylate, 1.6-hexanediol di(meth)acrylate, neopentyl glycol di(meth)acrylate, trimethylol propane tri(meth)acrylate, tetramethylol methane tetra(meth)acrylate, pentaeryth ritol tetra(meth)acrylate, dipentaerythritol penta(meth)acrylate, dipentaerythritol hexa(meth)acrylate, alkylene glycol di(meth)acrylates and polyalkylene glycol di(meth)acrylates, such as ethylene-glycol di(meth)acrylate, butylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, diethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, triethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate, and polyethylene glycol di(meth)acrylate; divinylbenzene, allyl methacrylate, diallyl phthalate, diallyl terephthalate, and the like, singly or in combinations of two or more. Of these, divinylbenzene, butylene glycol dimethacrylate, butanediol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, and pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate are highly preferred, and divinylbenzene is still more highly preferred.
Preferably, the branched vinyl polymer is polymerized using at least about 0.008 equivalents per 100 grams of monomer polymerized of at least one monomer having at least two ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bonds, or 0.004 equivalents per 100 grams of monomer polymerized of each of two monomers having mutually reactive groups in addition to an ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bond. Preferably, the branched vinyl polymer is polymerized using from about 0.012 to about 0.08 equivalents, and more preferably from about 0.016 to about 0.064 equivalents per 100 grams of monomer polymerized of the polyfunctional monomer or monomers having at least two ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bonds or of the pair of monomers having one polymerization bond and one additional mutually reactive group.
The polyfunctional monomer or monomers preferably have from two to four ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bonds, and more preferably two ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable bonds. In one embodiment it is preferred for the branched vinyl resin to be prepared by polymerizing a mixture of monomers that includes from about 0.5% to about 6%, more preferably from about 1.2% to about 6%, yet more preferably from about 1.2% to about 4%, and even more preferably from about 1.5% to about 3.25% divinylbenzene based on the total weight of the monomers polymerized. (Commercial grades of divinylbenzene include mono-functional and/or non-functional material. The amount of the commercial material needed to provide the indicated percentages must be calculated. For example, 5% by weight of a material that is 80% by weight divinylbenzene/20% mono-functional monomers would provide 4% by weight of the divinylbenzene fraction.)
The optimum amount of (1) divinylbenzene or other monomer having at least two polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated bond or (2) pair of monomers having polymerizable group and additional, mutually-reactive groups that are included in the polymerization mixture depends to some extent upon the particular reaction conditions, such as the rate of addition of monomers during polymerization, the solvency of the polymer being formed in the reaction medium chosen, the amount of monomers relative to the reaction medium, the half-life of the initiator chosen at the reaction temperature and the amount of initiator by weight of the monomers, and may be determined by straightforward testing.
Other monomers that may be polymerized along with the polyfunctional monomers include, without limitation, α,β-ethylenically unsaturated monocarboxylic acids containing 3 to 5 carbon atoms such as acrylic, methacrylic, and crotonic acids and the esters of those acids; α,β-ethylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acids containing 4 to 6 carbon atoms and the anhydrides, monoesters, and diesters of those acids; vinyl esters, vinyl ethers, vinyl ketones, and aromatic or heterocyclic aliphatic vinyl compounds. Representative examples of suitable esters of acrylic, methacrylic, and crotonic acids include, without limitation, those esters from reaction with saturated aliphatic and cycloaliphatic alcohols containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl, 2-ethylhexyl, lauryl, stearyl, cyclohexyl, trimethylcyclohexyl, tetrahydrofurfuryl, stearyl, sulfoethyl, and isobornyl acrylates, methacrylates, and crotonates; and polyalkylene glycol acrylates and methacrylates. Representative examples of other ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers include, without limitation, such compounds as fumaric, maleic, and itaconic anhydrides, monoesters, and diesters with alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, isobutanol, and tertbutanol. Representative examples of polymerization vinyl monomers include, without limitation, such compounds as vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl ethers such as vinyl ethyl ether, vinyl and vinylidene halides, and vinyl ethyl ketone. Representative examples of aromatic or heterocyclic aliphatic vinyl compounds include, without limitation, such compounds as styrene, α-methyl styrene, vinyl toluene, tert-butyl styrene, and 2-vinyl pyrrolidone. The selection of monomers is made on the basis of various factors commonly considered in making ink varnishes, including the desired glass transition temperature and the desired dilutability of the resulting polymer in the solvent or solvent system of the ink composition.
The preferred vinyl polymers may be prepared by using conventional techniques, preferably free radical polymerization in a semi-batch process. For instance, the monomers, initiator(s), and any chain transfer agent may be fed at a controlled rate into a suitable heated reactor charged with solvent in a semi-batch process. Typical free radical sources are organic peroxides, including dialkyl peroxides, such as di-tert-butyl peroxide and dicumyl peroxide, peroxyesters, such as tert-butyl peroxy 2-ethylhexanoate and tert-butyl peroxy pivalate; peroxy carbonates and peroxydicarbonates, such as tert-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate, di-2-ethylhexyl peroxydicarbonate and dicyclohexyl peroxydicarbonate; diacyl peroxides, such as dibenzoyl peroxide and dilauroyl peroxide; hydroperoxides, such as cumene hydroperoxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide; ketone peroxides, such as cyclohexanone peroxide and methylisobutyl ketone peroxide; and peroxyketals, such as 1,1-bis(tert-butyl peroxy)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexane and 1,1-bis(tert-butyl peroxy) cyclohexane; as well as azo compounds such as 2,2′-azobis(2-methylbutanenitrile), 2,2′-azobis(2-methyl)propionitrile, and 1,1′-azobis(cyclohexanecarbonitrile). Organic peroxides are preferred. Particularly preferred is tert-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate. Chain transfer agents may also be used in the polymerization. Typical chain transfer agents are mercaptans such as octyl mercaptan, n- or tert-dodecyl mercaptan, thiosalicylic acid, mercaptocarboxylic acids such as mercaptoacetic acid and mercaptopropionic acid and their esters, and mercaptoethanol; halogenated compounds; and dimeric alpha-methyl styrene. Preferably, no chain transfer agent is included because of odor and other known drawbacks. The particular initiator and amount of initiator used depends upon factors known to the person skilled in the art, such as the reaction temperature, the amount and type of solvent (in the case of a solution polymerization), the half-life of the initiator, and so on.
The addition polymerization is usually carried out in solution at temperatures from about 20° C. to about 300° C., preferably from about 150° C. to about 200° C., more preferably from about 160° C. to about 165° C. Preferably, the polymerization is carried out with approximately the same reaction temperature and using the same initiator(s) throughout. The initiator should be chosen so its half-life at the reaction temperature is preferably no more than about thirty minutes, particularly preferably no more than about five minutes, and yet more preferably no more than about two minutes. Particularly preferred are initiators having a half-life of less than about one minute at a temperature of from about 150° C. to about 200° C. In general, more of the branching monomer can be included when the initiator half-life is shorter and/or when more initiator is used. The vinyl polymer vehicles of the invention preferably have little or no residual (unreacted) monomer content. In particular, the vinyl vehicles are preferably substantially free of residual monomer, i.e., have less than about 0.5% residual monomer, and even more preferably less than about 0.1% residual monomer by weight, based on the total weight of the monomers being polymerized.
In a semi-batch process, the monomer and initiator is added to the polymerization reactor over a period of time, preferably at a constant rate. Typically, the add times are from about 1 to about 10 hours, and add times of from about three to about five hours are common. Longer add times typically produce lower number average molecular weights. Lower number average molecular weights may also be produced by increasing the ratio of solvent to monomer or by using a stronger solvent for the resulting polymer.
In general, the branched vinyl polymer of the invention has a low number average molecular weight and a broad polydispersity. The number average molecular weight and weight average molecular weight of a vinyl resin according to the invention can be determined by gel permeation chromatography using polystyrene standards, which are available for up to 6 million weight average molecular weight, according to well-accepted methods. Polydispersity is defined as the ratio of M w / M n . In a preferred embodiment, the vinyl polymer has a number average molecular weight (M n ) of at least about 1000, and more preferably at least about 2000. The number average molecular weight is also preferably less than about 15,000, more preferably less than about 10,000, and even more preferably less than about 8500. A preferred range for M n is from about 1000 to about 10,000, a more preferred range for M n is from about 2000 to about 8500, and an even more preferred range is from about 4000 to about 8000. The weight average molecular weight should be at least about 30,000, preferably at least about 100,000. The weight average molecular weight (M w ) is preferably up to about 60 million, based upon a GPC determination using an available standard having 6 million weight average molecular weight. A preferred range for M w is from about 30,000 to about 55 million, a more preferred range for M w is from about 100,000 to about 1 million, and a still more preferred range is from about 100,000 to about 300,000. Resins having ultra-high molecular weight shoulders (above about 45 million), which can be seen by GPC, are preferably avoided for the M w range of from about 100,000 to about 300,000. The polydispersity, or ratio of M w /M n , may be up to about 10,000, preferably up to about 1000. The polydispersity is preferably at least about 15, particularly preferably at least about 50. The polydispersity preferably falls in the range of from about 15 to about 1000, and more preferably it falls in a range of from about 50 to about 800.
The theoretical glass transition temperature can be adjusted according to methods well-known in the art through selection and apportionment of the commoners. In a preferred embodiment, the theoretical T g is above room temperature, and preferably the theoretical T g is at least about 60° C., more preferably at least about 70° C. The methods and compositions of the present invention preferably employ vinyl polymers having a T g of from about 50° C. to about 125° C., more preferably from about 60° C. to about 100° C., and even more preferably from about 70° C. to about 90° C.
In one embodiment of the invention, the branched vinyl polymer of the invention is combined with other resins in the ink composition. Examples of suitable other resins that may be combined with the branched vinyl resin include, without limitation, polyester and alkyd resins, phenolic resins, rosins, cellulosics, and derivatives of these such as rosin-modified phenolics, phenolic-modified rosins, hydrocarbon-modified rosins, maleic modified rosin, fumaric modified rosins; hydrocarbon resins, unbranched acrylic or vinyl resins, polyamide resins, and so on. Such resins or polymers may be included in amounts of up to about 6 parts by weight to about 1 part by weight of the branched vinyl polymer of the invention, based upon the nonvolatile weights of the resins.
In addition to the branched vinyl resin and any other resin components, the ink compositions of the invention preferably include one or more solvents. in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the branched vinyl resin forms a solution or apparent solution having no apparent turbidity in the solvent or solvents of the ink formulation the particular solvents and amount of solvent included is determined by the ink viscosity, body, and tack desired. In general, non-oxygenated solvents or solvents with low Kauri-butanol (KB) values are used for inks that will be in contact with rubber parts such as rubber rollers during the printing process, such as a lithographic process, to avoid affecting the rubber. Suitable solvents for lithographic inks or other inks that will contact rubber parts include, without limitation, water and aliphatic hydrocarbons such as petroleum distillate fractions and normal and iso paraffinic solvents with limited aromatic character. For example, petroleum middle distillate fractions such as those available under the tradename Magie Sol, available from Magie Bros. Oil Company, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Refining Company, Franklin Park, Ill., under the tradename ExxPrint, available from Exxon Chemical Co., Houston, Tex., and from Golden Bear Oil Specialties, Oildale, Calif., Total Petroleum Inc., Denver, Colo., and Calumet Lubricants Co., Indianapolis, Ind. may be used. While lithographic ink solvents must be compatible with the rubber parts which the ink contacts, solvents for gravure inks and flexographic inks may employ a wide range of organic solvents. In addition or alternatively, soybean oil or other vegetable oils may be included in the ink compositions.
When non-oxygenated solvents such as these are used, it is generally necessary to include a sufficient amount of at least one monomer having a substantial affinity for aliphatic solvents in order to obtain the desired solvency of the branched vinyl polymer. In general, acrylic ester monomers having at least six carbons in the alcohol portion of the ester or styrene or alkylated styrene, such as tert-butyl styrene, may be included in the polymerized monomers for this purpose. In a preferred embodiment, an ink composition with non-oxygenated solvents includes a branched vinyl resin polymerized from a monomer mixture including at least about 20%, preferably from about 20% to about 40%, and more preferably from about 20% to about 25% of a monomer that promotes aliphatic solubility such as stearyl methacrylate or tbutyl styrene, with stearyl methacrylate being a preferred such monomer. It is also preferred to include at least about 55% percent styrene, preferably from about 55% to about 80% styrene, and more preferably from about 60% to about 70% styrene. Methyl methacrylate or other monomers may also be used to reduce solvent tolerance in aliphatic solvent, if desired. All percentages are by weight, based upon the total weight of the monomer mixture polymerized. Among preferred monomer compositions for vinyl polymers for lithographic inks are those including a (meth)acrylic ester of an alcohol having 8-20 carbon atoms such as stearyl methacrylate, styrene, divinylbenzene, and (meth)acrylic acid. In a preferred embodiment, a branched vinyl for a lithographic printing ink is made with from about 15, preferably about 20, to about 30, preferably about 25, weight percent of a (meth)acrylic ester of an alcohol having 8-20 carbon atoms, especially stearyl methacrylate; from about 50, preferably about 60, to about 80, preferably about 75, weight percent of a styrenic monomer, especially styrene itself; an amount of divinylbenzene as indicated above; and from,about 0.5, preferably about 2.5, to about 5, preferably about 4, weight percent of acrylic acid or, more preferably, of methacrylic acid.
It is preferred to include an acid-functional monomer such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, or crotonic acid, or an anhydride monomer such as maleic anhydride or itaconic anhydride that may be hydrated after polymerization to generate acid groups. It is preferred for the branched vinyl polymer to have an acid number of at least about 3 mg KOH per gram nonvolatile, and preferably an acid number of from about 6 to about 30 mg KOH per gram nonvolatile, and more preferably an acid number of from about 8 to about 25 mg KOH per gram nonvolatile, based upon the nonvolatile weight of the vinyl polymer.
When used to formulate the preferred ink compositions of the invention, these varnishes or vehicles are typically clear, apparent solutions in the solvent package. The particular amount and type of solvent or mixture of solvents may depend upon the type of ink composition. For example, gravure ink compositions may employ solvents having a boiling point below about 200° C., while offset printing inks may use solvents with boiling point above about 200° C. Preferably, the solvent or solvent mixture will have a boiling point of at least about 100° C. and preferably not more than about 550° C. News inks usually are formulated with from about 20 to about 85 percent by weight of solvents such as mineral oils, vegetable oils, and high boiling petroleum distillates. For lithographic inks, typically the solvent content is up to 60%, which may include oils as part of the solvent package. Usually, at least about 35% solvent is present in lithographic ink.
Waterborne inks may also be formulated using the branched vinyl polymers of the invention by suitable techniques known in the art. The basic principles of water dispersible acrylic or vinyl resins are known and can be applied to the present branched copolymer in a straightforward manner.
The ink compositions of the invention will usually include one or more pigments. The number and kinds of pigments will depend upon the kind of ink being formulated. News ink compositions typically will include only one or only a few pigments, such as carbon black, while gravure inks may include a more complicated pigment package and may be formulated in many colors, including colors with special effects such as pearlescence or metallic effect. Lithographic printing inks are typically used in four colors—magenta, yellow, black, and cyan, and may be formulated for pearlescence or metallic effect. Any of the customary inorganic and organic pigments may be used in the ink compositions of the present invention. Alternatively, the compositions of the invention may be used as overprint lacquers or varnishes. The overprint lacquers (air drying) or varnishes (curing) are intended to be transparent, especially clear or substantially clear, and thus opaque pigments are not included. For purposes of this invention, an overprint lacquer or varnish may be considered to be a printing ink composition of the invention that has no opaque pigments.
Lithographic ink compositions according to the invention may be formulated as single-fluid inks having an oil-based continuous phase that contains the branched vinyl vehicle and a polyol discontinuous phase that contains a liquid polyol. The branched vinyl polymer phase is relatively stable toward the polyol phase. The stability is such that the two phases do not separate in the fountain. During application of the ink, however, the emulsion breaks and the polyol comes to the surface, wetting out the areas of the plate that are not to receive ink. Inks that are stable in the fountain but break quickly to separate on the plate print cleanly without toning and provide consistent transfer characteristics. Proper stability also may depend upon the particular acid-functional vinyl polymer and the particular polyol chosen. The acid number and molecular weight may be adjusted to provide the desired stability. Higher acid number vinyl resins can be used in lower amounts, but the acid number cannot be excessively high or else the vinyl polymer will not be sufficiently soluble in the hydrocarbon solvent. In general, it is believed that an increase in acid number of the acid-functional vinyl resin should be accompanied by a decrease in the amount of such resin included in the hydrophobic phase.
Polyethylene glycol oligomers such as diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, and tetraethylene glycol, as well as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and dipropylene glycol, are examples of liquid polyols that are preferred for the polyol phase of the single-fluid ink of the invention. The polyol phase may, of course, include mixtures of different liquid polyols. In general, lower acid number vinyl or acrylic polymers are used with higher molecular weight polyols. The polyol phase may include further materials. A weak acid such as citric acid, tartaric acid, or tannic acid, or a weak base such as triethanolamine, may be included in an amount of from about 0.01 weight percent up to about 2 weight percent of the ink composition. Certain salts such as magnesium nitrate may be included in amounts of from about 0.01 weight percent to about 0.5 weight percent, preferably from about 0.08 to about 1.5 weight percent, based on the weight of the ink composition, to help protect the plate and extend the life of the plate. A wetting agent, such as polyvinylpyrollidone, may be added to aid in wetting of the plate. From about 0.5 weight percent to about 1.5 weight percent of the polyvinylpyrollidone is included, based on the weight of the ink composition.
Single-fluid inks may be formulated with from about 5% to about 50%, preferably from about 10% to about 35%, and particularly preferably from about 20% to about 30% of polyol phase by weight based on the total weight of the ink composition. Unless another means for cooling is provided, there is preferably a sufficient amount of polyol in the ink composition to keep the plate at a workably cool temperature. The amount of polyol phase necessary to achieve good toning and printing results depends upon the kind of plate being used and may be determined by straightforward testing. Up to about 4 or 5% by weight of water may be included in the polyol phase mixture to aid in dissolving or homogenizing the ingredients of the polyol phase.
It will be appreciated by the skilled artisan that other additives known in the art that may be included in the ink compositions of the invention, so long as such additives do not significantly detract from the benefits of the present invention. Illustrative examples of these include, without limitation, pour point depressants, surfactants, wetting agents, waxes, emulsifying agents and dispersing agents, defoamers, antioxidants, UV absorbers, dryers (e.g., for formulations containing vegetable oils), flow agents and other rheology modifiers, gloss enhancers, and anti-settling agents. When included, additives are typically included in amounts of at least about 0.001% of the ink composition, and may be included in amount of about 7% by weight or more of the ink composition.
The vinyl vehicles of the invention are suitable for use in inks for many different types of applications, including, without limitation, heatset inks, news inks, gravure inks, sheetfed inks, and flexographic inks. Processes in which such inks are used are well-known in the art and are described in many publications.
The invention is illustrated by the following examples. The examples are merely illustrative and do not in any way limit the scope of the invention as described and claimed. All parts are parts by weight unless otherwise noted.
EXAMPLES
Example 1. Preparation of a Vinyl Varnish According to the Invention
An amount of 44.19 parts by weight of Total 220 (a petroleum middle distillate fraction available from Total Petroleum, Inc.) is charged to a glass reactor equipped with stirrer, nitrogen inlet, total reflux condenser, and monomer inlet. The solvent is heated to 160° C. with stirring under a blanket of nitrogen. A monomer mixture of 36.01 parts by weight styrene, 12.27 parts by weight stearyl methacrylate, 2.62 parts by weight divinylbenzene, 1.89 parts by weight methacrylic acid, and 2.79 parts by weight t-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate (75% solution in mineral spirits) is added to the reactor over a period of three hours. After the monomer addition is complete, 0.23 parts by weight of t-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate is added over a period of fifteen minutes. The temperature is held at 160° C. for an additional two hours to allow for complete conversion of the monomer to polymer. The measured amount of non-volatile matter (NVM) is 55%. The percent conversion, measured as NVM divided by the percent of the total weight of monomers, is 100.1. The acid number on solution is 12.0 mg KOH per gram. The viscosity is 30 Stokes (bubble tube, 54.4° C.). The solvent tolerance is 230% and the NVM at cloud point is 16.7%.
Example 2. Preparation of a Vinyl Varnish According to the Invention
An amount of 44.22 parts by weight of Golden Bear 1108 (a petroleum middle distillate fraction available from Golden Bear Oil Specialties) is charged to a reaction flask equipped with stirrer, nitrogen inlet, total reflux condenser, and monomer inlet. The solvent and heated to 145° C. with stirring. A monomer mixture of 33.86 parts by weight styrene, 12.6 parts by weight stearyl methacrylate, 3.1 parts by weight n-butyl acrylate, 1.31 parts by weight divinylbenzene HP (80% divinylbenzene), 1.89 parts by weight methacrylic acid, and 2.89 parts by weight t-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate is added to the reaction flask over a period of 3 hours. After the monomer addition is complete, 0.23 parts by weight of t-butyl peroxy isopropyl carbonate is added to the flask over a period of 15 minutes. The temperature is held at 145° C. for an additional two hours to allow for complete conversion of the monomer to polymer. The measured amount of non-volatile matter (NVM) is 56%. The percent conversion, measured as the percent of the total weight of monomers converted to non-volatile matter is 101.5. The acid number on solution is 12.0 mg KOH per gram. The viscosity is 47 Stokes (bubble tube, 54.4° C.). The solvent tolerance is greater than 1429% and the NVM at cloud point is less than 3.7% (i.e., no cloud point is observed yet at this dilution).
Example 3. Preparation of a Heatset Single Fluid Printing Ink According to the Invention
58.0 grams of the following Mixture 3A is added to 142.0 grams of the following Mixture 3B with stirring. The ink composition is mixed for 20 minutes on a dispersator, maintaining a vortex and holding the temperature under 140° F. The ink composition has a single fall time Laray of 14 to 17 seconds for 500 grams at 30° C. When used in a single-fluid heatset lithographic printing process, the ink prints without toning. Mixture 3A:
Mix in a glass beaker until clear 181.0 grams of diethylene glycol, 8.0 grams of RO water, 0.4 grams of citric acid, and 0.4 grams of magnesium nitrate. Add 191.2 grams of diethylene glycol and mix until homogenous. Mixture 3B:
Mix, using a high-speed mixer, 46.0 grams of the vinyl vehicle of Example 1, 4.0 grams of Blue Flush 12-FH-320 (available from CDR Corporation, Elizabethtown, Ky.) 1.0 gram technical grade Soy oil (available from Cargill, Chicago, Ill.) and 0.6 grams of an antioxidant. While mixing, add 34.4 grams of a hydrocarbon resin solution (60% LX-2600 in EXX-Print 283D, available from Neville), 27.0 grams of a carbon black (CSX-156 available from Cabot Corp.), and 1.0 gram of a polytetrafluoroethylene wax (Pinnacle 9500D, available from Carrol Scientific). Mix at a high speed for 30 minutes at 300° F. Slow the mixing speed and add 27.0 grams of EXX-Print 588D (available from Exxon). Mill the premix in a shot mill to a suitable grind. Mixture B has a Laray viscosity of 180 to 240 poise and a Laray yield of 800 to 1200 (according to test method ASTM D4040: Power Law—3k, 1.5k, 0.7k, 0.3k). Mixture 3B is tested on the Inkometer for one minute at 1200 rpm for a measured result of 25 to 29 units.
Example 4. Preparation of a News Ink Single Fluid Printing Ink According to the Invention
Mixture 4A:
A mixture of 87.0 grams of diethylene glycol, 12.7 grams of glycerine, 0.15 gram of citric acid monohydrate, and 0.15 grams of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate are stirred with heat (at 130-140° F.) until homogenous.
Mixture 4B:
A blend of 40.2 grams of a gilsonite varnish, 0.8 gram oronite, 17.9 grams MSO solvent (available from Calumet), and 41.1 grams of a carbon black (CSX-320 from Cabot Corp.) were mixed with shear to a 4.0 on the Hegman grind gauge, and then ground in a shot mill to a grind on a 2 mil gauge of at least 0/10. The Laray viscosity at 30° C. is measured as 296 poise for a drop with 2000 grams of added weight and as 1332 poise for a drop with 200 grams of added weight (±25% accuracy) and gives an inkometer reading at 90° F. (32° C.) for 1 minute at 400 rpm followed immediately by 1 minute at 1200 rpm of 5-10 units.
News Ink:
The news ink is prepared by mixing together 32.4 grams of the mixture B and 37.6 grams of Example 2 to obtain a Mixture 4C having an inkometer reading at 90° F. (32° C.) for 1 minute at 400 rpm followed immediately by 1 minute at 1200 rpm of 18.8 units, a Laray viscosity at 30° C. of 375 poise for a drop with 2000 grams of added weight and Of 565 poise for a drop with 200 grams of added weight (±25% accuracy), and a viscosity as measured according to ASTM D4040 (power law 2000, 1500, 1000, 500) at 2500 s −1 of 285 poise with a pseudo yield of 1709 dynes per cm 2 . To obtain the ink, 30.0 grams of Mixture 4A is added to Mixture 4C with mixing at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes. The resulting ink has a single fall time Laray at 30° C. of 21 seconds for 500 grams. The ink does not exhibit toning when using in a single-fluid lithographic printing process.
The invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It should be understood, however, that variations and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention and of the following claims. | The present invention provides compositions of and methods employing printing inks employing novel vinyl resins that are prepared using polyfunctional monomers, wherein the vinyl resins have low number average molecular weights and broad polydispersities. The printing inks of the invention have unexpectedly reduced misting and slinging in high speed press operations. | 2 |
[0001] This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10/252,884, filed Sep. 24, 2002, pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a method for improving the deposition of patterned thin films using a scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM) incorporating a collimating mask assembly for producing multilayered electronic and photonic devices, such as transistors, sublimable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), photonic band gap structures, and integrated circuits and systems.
[0003] The growth of ultra-thin organic films currently involves predominantly the use of high vacuum,[1, 2] Langmuir-Blodgett film deposition,[3-5] or self-assembled monolayers.[6-11] Typically, producing high resolution patterns in these films requires the use of lithographic techniques that enable the selective removal of portions of the deposited layers.[12, 13] Lately, soft stamping[14-18] and ink-jet printing[19-22] have permitted direct patterned depositions of polymeric semiconductors. More recently, a scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM) has been invented.[23] This process features close proximity, selective deposition of thin films in patterns suitable for fabrication of electronic, optoelectronic and photonic devices. In addition, high deposition rates and improved material economy are realized.
[0004] As a result, the definition of high fidelity patterns in deposited thin films is generally obtained through the use of a variety of photolithographic and etching techniques. Ink-jet printing technologies usually employ microwells to contain deposited microdroplets of ink and limit its spreading while drying. Direct vacuum deposition of patterned films requires the use of shadow masks that usually are in direct contact with the substrate, in which case they are termed contact masks. Contact masks typically exhibit the following limitations:
i) fine-sized features are prone to clogging due to material deposition along the edges of the openings; ii) in the contact mode, mask removal can cause scratching of the deposited pattern; iii) large area contact masks are prone to warping and distortion; iv) circular stand-alone pattern elements cannot be supported (such as the letter “P”, “O”, etc . . . ).
In the case of scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM), the above limitations are partially addressed through:
1. heating of the mask to avoid material deposition along the edges of the openings and to prevent the accompanying clogging of fine features; 2. separating the mask from the substrate by a finite distance, thus preventing scratching of the deposited pattern; 3. the use of the scanning feature in SLEM to permits use of small area shadow masks, thereby considerably reducing the warping and distortion, 4. Circular stand-alone pattern element can be implemented by either of two methods:
i) The scanning of a smaller spot to define the desired pattern
ii) Superposition of one or more patterns to construct annular elements (i.e. in the case of “P”, use of “I” and “ ⊃ ”).
[0015] As discussed above, pattern definition in the SLEM technique is greatly dependent on the mask to substrate separation. Reduction in this spacing between the mask and substrate improves the resolution. However, increased radiation adversely affects the quality of the deposited films as the spacing between substrate and heated mask decreases.
[0016] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the basic operating principle of the SLEM process as developed by Applicants and which is the subject matter of our prior application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 10/159,670, filed Jun. 3, 2002. Herein, on a cylindrical transport mechanism 1 , an array of heating elements 2 is mounted, each of which can be energized individually through appropriately placed electrodes 3 selectively powered with electrical commutators 4 at desired locations (i.e., opposite a shadow mask 7 ). A loading source 5 deposits the evaporant 6 on the heating elements 2 . Upon rotation to a position adjacent the substrate 8 , the evaporant material 6 is re-evaporated from the surface of the selected heating element 2 and passes through the shadow mask 7 . The mask generally consists of a rigid plate with openings 100 forming a pattern dictated by the structural requirements of the device under fabrication.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a magnified cross-section around the shadow mask. This includes a portion of the rotor 1 with a number of heating elements 2 between a set of electrodes 3 . The heating elements are powered by two electrical commutators 4 . The width of the commutators 4 and the angular speed of the rotor 1 defines the time of evaporation. During this time the heating element 2 between the two electrodes containing the commutators is powered to re-evaporate the evaporant 6 , which has been earlier deposited at the loading station 5 (shown in FIG. 1 ). Resistive heating of the shadow mask 7 through the electrical terminals 9 prevents the deposition of the evaporant onto the mask, thereby keeping the fine mask openings 100 free from clogging.
[0018] Because of the natural divergence of the evaporant flux, obtaining high-fidelity patterns requires close proximity of the mask to the substrate shown in FIG. 2A as opposed to the configuration of FIG. 2B , which has a larger mask to substrate separation. The configuration of FIG. 2A however, presents a number of limitations: (a) close proximity is prone to mechanical damage of the evaporant deposit film when the substrate is translated to another location; and (b) fine patterns generally become clogged due to material deposition along the edges of the openings, resulting in the gradual distortion of pattern shape and sizes. Mask clogging can be avoided by heating the mask to a temperature at which material deposition on the mask does not take place. The heating of the mask in close proximity to the substrate can however adversely affect the quality of the deposited layer.
[0019] It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel SLEM method using collimating apparatus for generation of closely controlled patterns on the substrate.
[0020] It is also an object to provide a novel collimating mask assembly for generating closely controlled patterns on a substrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] This invention describes a heated shadow mask assembly capable of producing high-resolution features in thin films deposited through the mask. The central feature of this mask assembly is the integration of multiple masks with identical patterns, aligned and spaced in a specific manner to produce well collimated streams of evaporant. In addition, this mask assembly may provide unique features including:
(i) precise control over the temperature gradient in the vicinity of both evaporating source and substrate; and (ii) angle of incidence controlled deposition to produce specific deposition profiles; and (iii) a built-in shutter mechanism to allow precise timing of deposition intervals.
[0025] The use of this mask assembly in scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM) reduces undesired substrate heating and improves film thickness uniformity, resulting in high fidelity pattern definition.
[0026] The term “alignment” as used herein includes substantially exact vertical alignment of all margins of the apertures in the masks of the stack and oblique alignment in which the apertures are offset along at least one axis to provide an oblique path for the vaporized material in offset axis.
[0027] The heated shadow mask assembly is constructed of a multiplicity of individual shadow masks, stacked one above the other, with their apertures aligned in such a way that free passage of the vapor stream therethrough is allowed. These individual masks can be constructed from electrically resistive material, to permit precise temperature control at each level of the mask assembly. In addition, proper choice of spacing of the individual mask elements eliminates diagonal passage through a periodic set of apertures.
[0028] According to the present invention, the temperature gradient throughout the multileveled, stacked mask can be tuned by a variety of means. For the same mask material, the individual mask thickness and its proximity to other masks sets its temperature for a given power input. Controlling the current flowing though each mask permits greater flexibility in designing the differential temperature profile from top to bottom. This embodiment permits the temperature of the mask closest to the substrate to be maintained at a temperature lower than that of the other masks and the evaporating source. Off axis alignment of apertures in such mask assembly permits angle of incidence controlled deposition profiles.
[0029] In another version of this invention, a multilevel collimating mask assembly includes a shutter mechanism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional illustration of the basic scanning localized evaporation methodology (SLEM) unit employed for the localized evaporation of a variety of materials from a close proximity source through a shadow mask onto a substrate;
[0031] FIGS. 2A and 2B are enlarged views of a single shadow mask element and the resulting deposition when the mask is in close proximity to the substrate ( FIG. 2A ), and when located at a substantial distance away from the substrate ( FIG. 2B );
[0032] FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic illustration of a heated collimating mask assembly comprised of a multiplicity of shadow mask elements stacked ( FIG. 3A ) equidistantly, and ( FIG. 3B ) aperiodically one above the other, with their apertures aligned in such a way that free passage of the evaporant stream is allowed;
[0033] FIG. 4A is a photograph showing a heated collimating mask assembly with six line openings produced by electric discharge machining;
[0034] FIG. 4B is a schematic cross sectional view of a heated collimating aperiodic mask assembly and evaporation geometry;
[0035] FIG. 4C is a photograph of deposited films on a Si substrate in a pattern using the heated collimating mask assembly;
[0036] FIG. 4D is a graphic representation of the thickness profile of the deposited film;
[0037] FIG. 5A is a cross sectional schematic representation of angle-of-incidence-controlled heated collimating mask assemblies along with its expected deposition profiles with a single-angle deposition;
[0038] FIG. 5B is a similar view of a collimating mask assembly with two angles of incidence simultaneously deposited on the same site;
[0039] FIG. 5C is a similar view showing sidewall build-up configuration on a previously deposited feature;
[0040] FIG. 5D is a similar view showing a two-source co-deposition configuration;
[0041] FIG. 6A is a cross sectional view of the several elements of the deposition assembly using a multilevel heated collimating mask assembly fabricated monolithically using Si shadow mask elements with glass spacers;
[0042] FIG. 6B is a similar view of a mask assembly with aperture size reduction;
[0043] FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7 C illustrate the steps in the fabrication of a two-element collimating heated mask assembly;
[0044] FIG. 7D shows the deposition assembly using the mask for deposition of the desired pattern;
[0045] FIG. 7E shows the mask functioning as a shutter mechanism activated by displacing one element with respect to the other;
[0046] FIG. 8 illustrates two shutter configurations ( 8 A and 8 C respectively) for heated collimating mask assemblies employing a displacement of one mask element with respect to the other;
[0047] FIG. 8B illustrates the closed shutter configuration of FIG. 8A ; and
[0048] FIG. 8D illustrates the closed position of the shutter in FIG. 8C .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0049] The present invention utilizes a multilevel heated collimating shadow mask assembly that resolves the problems discussed hereinbefore. FIGS. 3A and 3B show two embodiments of such an assembly, constructed of a multiplicity of individual shadow masks 11 , stacked equidistantly ( FIG. 3A ) or aperiodically ( FIG. 3B ). In both cases, the apertures or openings 100 in all of the individual shadow masks are vertically aligned with respect to each other, allowing free passage of the vapor stream from the generic evaporating heating element 10 to the substrate 8 . Moreover, each of the masks 11 is fabricated from an electrically resistive material. Passing current through the contacts 9 and 12 resistively heats this mask assembly to prevent the clogging of the mask openings 100 caused by deposition of the evaporant 6 onto the masks 11 . The heated collimating mask assembly provides the necessary collimation of the vapor stream material 6 for deposition of high definition patterns of material 6 . Moreover, the increased substrate to mask separation alleviates adverse heating that might affect the morphology of the deposited thin films.
[0050] In FIG. 3A however, the equidistant spacing between shadow masks 11 creates diagonal vapor passages at certain angles, resulting in a spurious deposit 13 . This depends on the specific geometries of mask apertures, their lateral separation and mask-spacing period. An aperiodic stacking of such heated shadow mask elements as seen in FIG. 3B eliminates the spurious diagonal deposition.
[0051] FIG. 4A is a photograph of a heated collimating mask assembly. In accordance with FIG. 4B , the electrical terminals 9 are providing current to the individual shadow masks 11 through a stack of electrically conducting elements 12 bolted to the terminals 9 . This mask assembly was constructed by stacking five tungsten-based individual shadow masks 11 , each having 25 μm thickness. The schematic of the mask assembly and the various inter-element separations are shown in FIG. 4B . With apertures or openings 100 of 125 microns on 1200 microns centers, the aperiodic design shown in FIG. 4B eliminated the diagonal spurious deposits. Other inter-element spacings can be devised to achieve similar results.
[0052] The slots or openings 100 in the masks were cut using wire Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM). Other techniques, including but not limited to, laser machining and a variety of etching techniques such as plasma, ion beam and wet chemical etching, can be used.
[0053] Based on geometric considerations using a line of sight model, the width of the deposit W through a mask assembly with an aperture width O, the separation d between the bottom of the mask assembly and the substrate and the overall mask assembly thickness D are related by equation 1 below:
W=O ·(1+2 d/D ). (1.
[0054] In this design, deposited feature widths W of 250 microns were targeted while maintaining a 3,000 micron substrate to mask separation d. Based on the 125 microns width apertures O, the overall mask assembly thickness D was 6000 microns.
[0055] FIG. 4C shows a photograph of stripes of a NPB [N,N′-Bis(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine film deposited on a silicon substrate through the heated (150 to 170° C.) collimating mask assembly described above.
[0056] FIG. 4D shows the surface profile of the evaporated pattern. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) is ˜257 microns, compared to a design goal of 250 microns.
[0057] FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic representations of a heated collimating mask assembly where the angle of incidence of the evaporant onto the substrate can be controlled by off-axis alignment of the apertures 100 to produce deposition beams arriving obliquely to the substrate. FIGS. 5A and 5B show two typical off-axis mask designs for depositing thin films at an oblique angle using the concept of aperiodically spaced individual shadow masks to ensure evaporant passage only at the designed angle. Such designs can find a number of uses in tailoring the fabrication of complex three-dimensional device structures. Here, instead of the normal incidence thin film deposition profile 6 shown in FIG. 4D , the oblique deposition results in a different deposition profile as shown at 14 and 15 in FIG. 5 .
[0058] A separate oblique deposition design is shown in FIG. 5C . An already deposited pattern having a normal incidence thin film deposition profile 6 is modified by the oblique deposition of another film 17 , which can either be the same or different material. This provides additional flexibility in lithography-free fabrication of multi-layered device structures.
[0059] Another embodiment of the use of oblique deposition is shown in FIG. 5D in which co-deposition from two sources 18 and 19 is achieved. Here, the two sources 18 and 19 are separated from each other by a baffle 20 , preventing unwanted mixing of the two evaporants prior to entering the oblique pathways through the heated mask assembly. The resulting deposition 21 is a mixture of the two materials, the stoichiometry of which is controlled by the power applied to the sources 18 and 19 respectively.
[0060] The lower size limit of mask openings made by EDM, laser drilling or focused ion beam sources in a pre-assembled stack of individual shadow mask blanks is typically a few microns depending on the required thickness of the mask assembly (equation 1). This imposes strict limits on the thickness of the assembly through which apertures may be accurately realized. For example, in the case of laser machining we need to avoid broadening of the features due to diffraction limits, local heating effects, or lack of adequate collimation. Finer features can be achieved through the use of microlithography, although limited to an individual mask element. Use of this process dictates alignment and bonding of several elements with respect to each other, in order to achieve collimation.
[0061] FIG. 6A illustrates one such embodiment in which the stack of silicon (Si) wafers 22 , is provided with electrical contacts 24 and bonded to alternating glass sheets 23 using conventional methods such as anodic bonding. Here, the glass can be a sacrificial layer and may be selectively removed through the Si openings. There are numerous examples in the MEM (micro-electro-mechanical) literature of anodic bonding of Si to glass. Advantages of such Si-on-glass structures are:
(1) to vary the doping level and/or thickness of Si wafers to provide the means for resistive heating, (2) by proper choice of glass, to eliminate warping due to thermal expansion coefficient differences, and (3) known techniques for highly selective etching of glass can be used to remove it from between mask elements at desired locations.
[0065] The minimum size of the openings that can be produced in an integrated mask assembly generally increases as its overall thickness increases. These mask openings can be simultaneously narrowed throughout all of the individual masks by a controlled build-up of suitable material 25 on the respective edges of the openings as shown schematically in FIG. 6B . This can be accomplished before or after removing the sacrificial layers 23 . Such material build-up can be performed by a number of methods such as, but not limited to, electroplating, electroless plating and self-assembly.
[0066] Equipping such a collimating mask assembly with a shutter mechanism further enhances its versatility and permits better control of the deposition cycle. FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7 C schematically represent one method for the fabrication of a two-level heated collimating mask assembly which will function as a shutter mechanism as shown in FIGS. 7D (shutter open) and 7 E (shutter closed). This type of unit may be constructed using a variety of methods. In FIGS. 7A-7C , a sacrificial substrate 27 having passages 28 and a flexible hinge 26 is first coated with an electrically conductive material 29 ( FIG. 7B ). Oblique metal deposition on the pre-patterned substrate of FIG. 7B is followed by further electroless plating to build up the thickness of the metal to be mechanically robust. Thus there is formed 3-dimensional guards 31 around each set of openings 30 and controlled aperture size reduction ( FIG. 6B ) can be achieved. Alternatively, the mask blank 27 can be realized by starting from an undoped or lightly doped pre-patterned Si slab ( FIG. 7A ). Subsequently, by ion implantation, one can adjust both top and bottom surface conductivity to spatially control the thickness and position of the electroplated metal so that the desired 3-dimensional guards are obtained. This is followed by etching of the inner pre-patterned substrate 27 to obtain a structure that is supported by the flexible hinge 26 , as shown in FIGS. 7C-7E .
[0067] Such structures can act as collimating mask assemblies when equipped with electrical contacts 32 and 9 ( FIG. 7D ). These 3-dimensional guards 31 prevent the diagonal transport of the evaporant flux 6 as shown in FIG. 7D . With the help of an actuation mechanism 33 , these 3-D guards act as shutters by blocking the line of sight path of the evaporant. The lateral displacement of the bottom part of the mask assembly with respect to the top part, acts as a controlled shutter mechanism that temporarily halts deposition without turning off the power to the evaporation source 10 and permits another deposition zone on the substrate to be presented to the heating element.
[0068] A variety of heated collimating mask assemblies outfitted with shutter mechanisms can be also produced using the technology outlined in FIGS. 6A and 6B . In particular, monolithic integration of Si/glass architectures, where one of the patterned elements incorporates a spring-hinged structure or a sliding element, can be also used to provide the means for such a shutter mechanism. A spring-hinged configuration is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B where, with the help of a thin sidewall structure 35 and actuation mechanism 37 , the lower half of the assembly is moved parallel to the top part, thus eliminating the aperture alignment and blocking the vapor stream 36 . Alternatively, a shutter mechanism can be realized by making one of the mask elements within the stack 38 movable parallel to the stack as shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D . This lateral motion of the mask element 38 can be controlled by the use of an actuator 39 and a restoring spring element (not shown) which, when the movable element is moved into the right position, blocks the vapor stream 40 .
[0069] Example of the method and apparatus of the present invention is the following specific example:
[0070] Five tungsten foils (1′×1′×0.001″) are sandwiched with three metallic spacers having a thickness of 1000 microns, 2000 microns and 1500 microns, respectively. This assembly was clamped on its sides. The five tungsten foils were bonded with a vacuum compatible insulating material (to hold them in place once the metallic spacers are removed). Following this bonding the opening in the mask set were created in all the foils stacked together using electric discharge machining (EDM). At this point the metallic spacers were removed. The two ends of the stack were clamped to copper electrodes as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B while preventing any distortion of the spacing between the tungsten foils containing openings.
[0071] The mask unit was placed between the substrate 8 and evaporation source 10 as shown in FIG. 4B with a substrate to mask assembly spacing of 3000 microns (3 mm). Current was applied to the source 10 to heat the NPB deposit thereon and effect its vaporization (c.a. 60-80 amperes), and current was simultaneously applied to the masks of the assembly 12 to heat them to a temperature of about 170° a and preclude deposition of the evaporant thereon. FIG. 4C shows the deposited NPB fil the silicon substrate. The thickness profile of the deposited film using a surface profilometer (Alphastep 200, TENCOR) is shown in FIG. 4D .
[0072] Although tungsten foil is a convenient material for making the masks, other materials may be used such as doped Si with adequate resistivity and thickness, and nichrome, molybdenum, and tantalum foils. In the case of silicon wafers (foils), various insulators (such as glass, pyrex, quartz) can be used as spacers. These spacers may be bonded using a variety of standard bonding techniques.
[0073] Mask openings can be realized by a variety of methods such as EDM, laser machining and ion beam etching. In addition, various techniques can be employed for the alignment of openings with respect to each other in individual mask foils. These techniques are useful to realize mask assemblies that enable evaporation at an oblique angle such as shown in FIG. 5 . The oblique evaporation may be used to produce desired thickness profiles of the evaporated films.
[0074] Thus, it can be seen from the foregoing detailed specification and attached drawings that the collimating apparatus and method of the present invention provide effective and controlled SLEM deposition of patterns on a substrate.
REFERENCES (INFORMATION DISCLOSURE)
[0000]
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4. R. W. Corkery: “Langmuir-Blodgett (L-B) Multilayer Films”, Langmuir, 13(14), 1997, pp. 3591-3594.
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6. D. L. Thomsen, et al.: “Zinc-bisquinoline coordination of high refractive index and film uniformity”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 120, 1998, pp. 6177-6178.
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8. P. F. Nealey, et al.: “Micro- and nanofabrication techniques based on self-assembled monolayers”, Molecular Electronics, 1997, pp. 343-367.
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12. J. M. Shaw: “Overview of Polymers for Electronic and Photonic Applications”, Polymers for Electronic and Photonic Applications, 1993, pp. 1-59.
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14. Y. Xia, et al.: “Microcontact printing with a cylindrical rolling stamp. A practical step toward automatic manufacturing of patterns with submicrometer-sized features”, Advanced Materials (Weinheim, Germany), 8(12), 1996, pp. 1015-1017.
15. Y. Xia, et al.: “Reduction in the size of features of patterned SAMs generated by microcontact printing with mechanical compression of the stamp”, Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Ger.), 7(5), 1995, pp. 471-473.
16. J. L. Wilbur, et al.: “Microfabrication by microcontact printing of self-assembled monolayers”, Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Ger.), 6(7/8), 1994, pp. 600-604.
17. T. W. Odom, et al.: “Improved pattern transfer in soft lithography using composite stamps”, Langmuir, 18(13), 2002, pp. 5314-5320.
18. W. S. Beh, et al.: “Formation of patterned microstructures of conducting polymers by soft lithography and applications in microelectronic device fabrication”, Advanced Materials (Weinheim, Germany), 11(12), 1999, pp. 1038-1041.
19. S. P. Speakman, et al.: “High performance organic semiconducting thin films: Ink jet printed polythiophene [rr-P3HT]”, Organic Electronics, 2(2), 2001, pp. 65-73.
20. S.-C. Chang, et al.: “Multicolor organic light-emitting diodes processed by hybrid inkjet printing”, Adv. Mater. (Weinheim, Ger.), 11(9), 1999, pp. 734-737.
21. Y. Yang, et al.: “Polymer light-emitting logos processed by the ink-jet printing technology”, Proc. SPIE-Int. Soc. Opt. Eng., 3279(Light-Emitting Diodes: Research, Manufacturing, and Applications II), 1998, pp. 78-86.
22. Y. Yang, et al.: “Organic/polymeric electroluminescent devices processed by hybrid ink-jet printing”, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron., 11(2), 2000, pp. 89-96.
23. F. Papadimitrakopoulos, et al.: “Single-Pass Growth of Multilayer Patterned Electronic and Photonic Devices Using a Scanning Localized Evaporation Methodology (SLEM)”, U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/159,670, filing date Jun. 3, 2002. | Scanning localized evaporation and deposition of an evaporant on a substrate utilizes a mask assembly comprised of a series of mask elements with openings thereon and spaced apart in a stack. The openings are aligned so as to direct the evaporant therethrough onto the substrate. The mask elements are heated and the stack may include a movable shutter element to block openings in adjacent mask elements. The evaporant streams are usually vertical but some may be oblique to the substrate, and they may be of different materials. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel fluorescent light fixture which may be screwed into a conventional light socket in substitution for an incandescent light bulb.
Standard incandescent light bulbs are typically rated between 40 watts and 150 watts. Each incandescent bulb includes an "Edison" base which screws into a conventional light bulb socket. The standard incandescent lamp lasts about 1000 hours. It has long been realized that fluorescent lighting consumes far less electricity to produce lighting levels which are equivalent to incandescent bulbs. In the past, fluorescent lighting has been restricted to custom fluorescent fixtures which are typically 2 feet by 4 feet and employ bulbs approximately 4 feet in length. These fluorescent lighting fixtures must be specially installed and are, thus, incompatible with the standard screw-in light socket employed by standard incandescent light bulbs.
A recent development in fluorescent lighting has resulted in the production of a PL fluorescent lamp. In general, the PL lamp is a U-shaped lamp having a starter built into the base portion thereof. Generally, the PL fluorescent lamp is measured in wattages ranging from 4 watts to 13 watts, which generally correspond to the 40-150 watt level of the standard incandescent light bulb. Also, the PL fluorescent lamp has a lamp life of about 10,000 hours compared to the 1000 hours of the standard incandescent light bulb, previously noted.
Early fluorescent light fixtures such as model 2000, 3000-9 and 3013 manufactured under the trademark Refluor and the Reflect-A-Star manufactured by Lumatech Corporation of Oakland, Calif. employed in PL lamp in a body having an external, plug-in ballast. In some cases a replaceable starter was also provided. Although the PL lamp did perform satisfactorily in producing required lighting levels, the plug-in components prevented the lamps in being used in certain lighting fixtures such as down lights, recessed lights and the like.
A fluorescent light fixture which employs a fluorescent lamp, has a slim configuration, and is capable of dissipating heat generated by an internally located ballast would be great advance in the field of lighting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention a novel and useful fluorescent light fixture which overcomes many of the disadvantages in the prior art is herein provided.
The fluorescent light fixture, or unit, of the present invention utilizes a fitting for mechanically holding the lamp. The lamp, which is a standard PL type florescent lamp, is also electrically linked to the same. An electrical ballast is positioned relative to the fitting and is, likewise, electrically linked to the same. Thus, the electrical ballast controls the fluorescent lamp being used. A base member is positioned adjacent the ballast and includes means for mechanically and electrically connecting the ballast to a standard electrical, screw-in, light socket.
A housing is also provided in the present fixture which is heat conductive and possesses interior and exterior surfaces. Means is included for transporting heat generated by the ballast to the interior surface of the housing. The heat transportation means may take the form of at least one heat conductive spacer interposed and contacting the ballast and the interior surface of the housing. If the housing interior surface is rounded, the spacer would include a rounded surface which is intended to contact the rounded interior surface of the housing. In addition, the spacer may be constructed with a flat surface to contact a flat surface of the ballast. Thus, heat may be transported from the ballast to the spacer and finally to the heat conductive housing for dissipation to the ambient environment. In this regard, the housing exterior surface may include one or more fins to aid in the dissipation of the heat conducted thereto.
The light fixture of the present application also includes a reflector to direct light originating from the fluorescent lamp to the area being lighted. The reflector includes a specular surface of curved configuration, shaped generally in the form of a "drip" curve. The sectional configuration of such a reflector is determined by projecting a first circular image of the fluorescent lamp laterally and behind the theoretical specular reflecting surface i.e. opposite to the direction of the object being illuminated. A first point is determined by an arc having a radius of a diameter of the first circular image and a pair of lines equidistant between the source and a first circular image. A series of circular images of equal diameter to the first circular image are then extended along a line perpendicular to the axis of the lamp, with each one determining the subsequent point in the specular reflecting surface. A continuous smooth curve is then drawn through the multiplicity of points so determined, which represents the curvature of the specular surface of the reflector.
It may be apparent that a novel and useful fluorescent fixture has been hereabove described.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fluorescent light fixture which is of a slim configuration and is adaptable to being fitted within a standard screw-in incandescent light socket.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fluorescent light fixture which efficiently dissipates heat generated by an internally located fluorescent ballast.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent light fixture which possesses a reflector which maximizes lighting levels along the optical access thereof and immediately adjacent to the same.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent light fixture which may be used in indoor or outdoor environments.
The invention possesses other objects and advantages especially as concerns particular characteristics and features thereof which will become apparent as the specification continues.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the fluorescent light fixture having a portion cut away.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the fluorescent light fixture having the lens portion removed.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view representing the sectional configuration of the reflector of the fluorescent light fixture of the present invention.
For a better understanding of the invention reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof which should be referenced to the hereinabove described drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Various aspects of the present invention will evolve from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which should be referenced to the hereinabove drawings.
The invention as a whole is shown in the drawings by reference character 10. The fluorescent lighting fixture or unit 10 includes as one of its element a housing 12 which is constructed of heat conductive material such as aluminum, steel, and the like. Housing 12 is generally in the shape of a truncated cone and includes a plurality of fins 14 spaced circumferentially, FIGS. 1 and 4. Fins 14 aid in the dissipation of heat from the interior of housing 12 which will be described hereinafter.
Unit 10 is intended to employ a standard PL lamp such as a twin lamp manufactured by Sylvania of Danvers, Mass. PL lamps are generally rated by wattages, varying from 5 to 14 watts, in most cases. The lamp 16, depicted in the drawings is a 5 watt PL lamp, although the invention is not deemed to be limited to the employment of a PL lamp of this wattage. Lamp 16 includes a u-shaped envelope 18 and a support 20. Light emanates from glass envelope 18 while support 20 provides the mechanical and electrical connection of lamp 16 to fitting 22. Prongs 24 and 26 of lamp 16 engage electrical contacts 28 and 30 with fitting 22, respectively. Wires 32 and 34 connect to contacts 28 and 30, respectively, and lead to ballast 36 within housing 12. Plug 38 of lamp 16 mechanically holds lamp 16 to fitting 22. Fitting 22 is itself fixed to housing 12 by screws 40 and 42.
Ballast 36 is a standard iron core ballast normally employed with PL lamp 16. Housing 22 includes the provision of a pair of spacers 44 and 46 which are integrally formed within the truncated conical portion of housing 12. It should be noted that spacers 44 and 46 may be separately formed, but position in intimate contact with the truncated conical portion of housing 12. Screws 40 and 42 threadingly engage spacers 44 and 46, respectively. Spacers 44 and 46 include flattened portions 48 and 50 and rounded portions 52 and 54, respectively. Flattened portion 48 and 50 contact the sides 56 and 58 of ballast 36. Rounded portions 52 and 54 of spacers 44 and 46 are in heat conductive relationship with the truncated section of housing 12, since they are integrally formed therewith. Spacers 44 and 46 are constructed of heat conductive material. Thus, any heat generated by ballast 36 is easily transferred by conduction to the interior surface of housing 12, through housing 12, and to the exterior surface of housing 12. Plurality of fins 14 aid in the dissipation of heat to the ambient environment which is normally air.
Ballast 36 is thus sandwiched between fitting 22 and bottom 64 of housing 12. Electrical linkage from ballast 36 extends to "Edison" base 66 which screws into a standard light socket commonly used by incandescent light bulbs.
Reflector 68 press fits into the upper portion of housing 12 by the use of a collar 70. The exterior of reflector 68 includes a plurality of fins 72 which may be aligned with a plurality of fins 14 on the exterior surface 62 of housing 12. However, plurality of fins 72 do not necessarily dissipate heat. In fact, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6, reflector 68 and fins 72 are constructed of plastic material and, thus, possesses an insulative quality. Lens 74 of transparent material press fits into the outer portion of reflector 68. Lens 74 is readily removable from reflector 68. Louver or baffle 76 may be employed to prevent the lateral distribution of light from unit 10 i.e. a glare cutoff mechanism.
Turning to FIGS. 2 and 3 it may be seen that o-rings or gaskets 76 and 78 may be placed between lens 74 and reflector 68 and housing 12, respectively. Gaskets 76 and 78 render unit 10 as a rainproof or waterproof fixture, suitable for outdoor usage.
Reflector 68 is shown in greater detail on FIGS. 5 and 6. Lamp 16 possesses tubes 80 and 82 which extend downwardly from upper connecting portion 84. Although the shape of PL lamp 16 is different than a incandescent bulb, a representation of the source of light emanating from lamp 16 may take the form of a circle 86 depicted in FIG. 6. Reflector 68 includes a specular surface 88 which possesses a concave shape close to a "drip" shaped curve, in section. That is, the curve formed by a string of uniform density fastened at both ends and pulled downwardly in the center only by the force of gravity. With reference to FIG. 6 it may be seen that lamp envelope 18 is shown on end, schematically, and rotated 90 degrees, in phantom. Also, reflector 68 and specular surface 88 are shown schematically in section.
The curvature of reflector 68 has been determined by producing an image 90 of circular configuration and having the same diameter as source representation 86. The center of image 90 is displaced laterally from optical axis 92 a distance equal to its diameter. In other words, a line 94 tangent to image 90 and source representation 86 would also be parallel to optical axis 92. Image 90 is also displaced vertically to lie tangent to the theoretical revolution 18A of envelope 18 about axis 92, depicted in phantom in FIGS. 6. First virtual image 96 is oriented relative to source representation 86 along line 94 and in a direction opposite to the intended direction of light being projected from reflector 68. A first point 98 is determined as the intersection of line 94 and line 100 connecting the centers of first circular, virtual image 96 and source representation 86. A second point 102 is determined as being the arc of a circle equal to the diameter of source representation 86 and employing point 98 as the center of the arc of the circle. Arc 104 is intersected by lines 106 and 108, which are of equal length and emanate from the centers of virtual image 96 and source representation 86. A third point 110 is determined as a arc of a circle of diameter of source representation 86 using point 102 as the center of the circle of such an arc 112. A second virtual image 114 is displaced laterally relative to lamp 16 and along a line 116 which is essentially parallel to a plane perpendicular to optical axis 92. Lines 118 and 120 of equal length connect the center of source representation 86 and second virtual image 114 and intersect arc 112. Points 122 and 124 are similarly obtained forming images 126 and 128 in conjunction with source representation 86. A smooth curve 130 is used to connect points 98, 102, 110, 122, and 124. Curve 130 represents the curvature of specular surface 88 of reflector 68, in section. It has been found that specular surface 88 delivers a highly concentrated light projection directly above the unit fixture 10 at a small radius about a point formed where axis 92 intersects the surface to be lighted. Specular surface 88 is particularly useful for recessed downlights.
In operation, unit 12 is screwed into a standard incandescent light socket employing "Edison" base 66. Light from lamp 16 will be projected downwardly or outwardly, as the case may be, by the use of reflector 68 in a "flood" configuration. Any heat generated by ballast 36 will be transferred to the exterior surface 62 of housing 12 by the use of spacers 44 and 46. Unit or fixture 10 generally possess a life which is 10 times longer than a comparable incandescent bulb. Unit 12 is depicted as using 5 watt fluorescent PL lamp and has been determined to satisfactorily replace a 40 watt incandescent bulb. Also, reflector 68 efficiently projects light from lamp 16 to the extent that a five watt fluorescent PL lamp may be substituted for a 7 watt PL lamp without reflector 68. It has also been determined that the operating cost of unit 10 is one seventh that of an incandescent bulb, and delivers equivalent lighting levels. Moreover, there is a great savings in labor cost expended in the replacement of burned out lamps.
While in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in considerable detail for the purposes of making a complete disclosure of the invention, it may be apparent to those of skill in the art that numerous changes may be made in such detail without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. | A fluorescent light fixture which employs a lamp fitting, electrical ballast, and a base which are inter linked, to mechanically and electrically, to connect to a fluorescent lamp to an electrical socket. A heat conductive housing and a spacer mechanism transport heat from the ballast to the exterior of the lighting fixture when the same is in operation. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to textile fabrics suitable for use in safety apparel. More particularly, the present invention relates to such fabrics which are flame resistant and also have an affinity for high visibility dyes meeting established standards for such.
[0002] Workers in many occupations are exposed to various personal safety hazards which can be mitigated by wearing safety apparel which provides selected properties such as flame resistance and high visibility. Such safety apparel has wide-spread applications across many varied occupations, such as in particular within the construction and manufacturing industries.
[0003] To date, governmental organizations have not promulgated defined minimum standards for such safety apparel. However, private organizations, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), have published certain standards for safety apparel. For example, ANSI in conjunction with ISEA has established a standard for the minimum conspicuity of safety apparel used in certain occupational activities so as to be deemed “high visibility”, such standard commonly designated as ANSI/ISEA-107. ASTM has similarly developed a standard for minimum flame resistant in safety apparel, designated as standard ASTM F-1506.
[0004] Until recently, the textile industry considered such standards to be essentially incompatible as the vast majority of textile fiber materials suitable for apparel fabrication which meet the ASTM F-1506 flame resistant standard are incapable of being dyed to a luminescence sufficient to meet the ANSI/ISEA-107 standard for high visibility and, visa-versa, the vast majority of textile fiber materials suitable for apparel fabrication which have a sufficient affinity for luminescent dyeing to meet the ANSI/ISEA-107 standard would not provide flame resistance properties meeting the ASTM F-1506 standard.
[0005] However, it has been discovered that modacrylic fibers have a dye affinity and flame resistance characteristics capable of satisfying both standards and, accordingly, in recent years, textile fabrics have been developed which are composed entirely or predominantly of modacrylic fibers for use in fabricating safety apparel to meet each standard. Representative examples of such fabrics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,706,650; 6,787,228; and 6,946,412, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040192134.
[0006] While such modacrylic fabrics satisfy the aforementioned flame resistance and high visibility standards, safety apparel made from such fabrics has thus far achieved only limited acceptance within the apparel industry because such fabrics are stiff, abrasive and otherwise very uncomfortable when worn, particularly when in contact with a wearer's skin. Accordingly, there is a recognized and yet unmet need within the relevant safety apparel industry for an alternative fabric providing apparel-like hand and comfort properties while still meeting the relevant flame resistance and high visibility standards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a textile fabric which provides flame resistance and high visibility properties so as to be suitable for use in safety apparel but also provides a comfortable hand suitable for direct contact with a wearer's body.
[0008] The present invention addresses this objective by forming a textile fabric of two different types of yarns integrated into the textile fabric such that one yarn having flame resistance and high visibility properties is disposed predominantly at one face of the fabric while the other yarn having a hand suitable for comfortable body contact with a user's skin is disposed predominantly at the opposite face of the fabric, whereby the fabric can be fashioned into safety apparel with the first-mentioned face disposed outwardly for flame resistance and high visibility protection and with the other face disposed inwardly towards the wearer's body to promote comfort by buffering the user's skin from the outer face of the fabric.
[0009] While many varied embodiments of the fabric utilizing differing yarns and differing fabric constructions are contemplated to be possible, it is considered advantageous that the first yarn or yarns comprise a sufficient content of modacrylic fibers to provide the outer face of the fabric with the requisite flame resistance and affinity for high visibility dyeing so as to meet the currently established standards, ANSI/ISEA-107 and ASTM F-1506, and the other yarn should have a sufficient content of conventional apparel-suitable fibers, e.g., cellulosic, animal hair, silk, polyester, polyamide, acrylic, rayon, and polyimide fibers, so as to provide a comfortable hand to the inner face of the fabric.
[0010] For example, but without limitation, it is contemplated that the first yarn appearing at the one outer face of the fabric may preferably have a content of modacrylic fibers ranging between twenty percent (20%) and one hundred percent (100%), while the second yarn appearing predominantly at the opposite inner face of the fabric may preferably have an apparel fiber content of at least about fifty percent (50%) and may also optionally include modacrylic fibers. In one particular embodiment of the present fabric, the one outer face yarn comprises approximately ninety percent (90%) modacrylic fibers and approximately ten percent (10%) polyester fibers, while the other inner face yarn comprises approximately fifty percent (50%) cotton fibers and approximately fifty percent (50%) modacrylic fibers.
[0011] The fabric may be formed of any suitable construction by which the first yarns offering flame resistance and high visibility properties are disposed predominantly at the one outer face of the fabric and the second yarns offering comfort properties are disposed predominantly at the opposite inner face of the fabric. One particularly embodiment contemplated by the present invention is a knitted fabric wherein the two yarns are formed in plated relationship, e.g., by circular knitting presenting the first yarn at one fabric face and the second yarn at the opposite fabric face. While such a plated knit fabric construction is presently preferred, the present invention also contemplates various other textile fabric construction methodologies such as a plated warp knitted fabric construction, a so-called bi-ply knitted fabric construction, a so-called spacer-type warp knitted fabric construction, a two-ply woven fabric construction or an alternative woven fabric construction of a pattern presenting warp and weft yarns predominantly at opposite faces of the fabric, such as a twill fabric construction.
[0012] Other features, characteristics and advantages of the present invention are described more fully hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 depicts diagrammatically in elevation the knitted structure of a textile fabric according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 2 depicts diagrammatically in cross-section the knitted structure of the textile fabric of FIG. 1 , as viewed along section line 2 - 2 thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring now to the accompanying drawings of FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fragmentary portion of a textile fabric according to the present invention is shown at 10 in a representative embodiment fabricated by circular knitting on a circular knitting machine which may be of any suitable type the fabrication and construction of which is commonly known within the industry and therefore need not be fully described herein.
[0016] Such knitting machines basically include a rotatable needle cylinder with axial needle slots formed at a spacing from one another about the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder. A plurality of knitting needles, typically latch-type needles each having a yarn receiving hook and a closeable latch assembly, are reciprocably disposed within the axial cylinder slots. Stationary needle-actuating cams are positioned outwardly about and adjacent to the needle cylinder. Typically, the knitting machine has multiple knitting stations at which yarn feeding fingers or other feeding instruments are positioned for yarn feeding disposition adjacent the upper end of the needle cylinder to feed yarn to the needles thereat.
[0017] For the knitting of the fabric 10 according to the present invention, the knitting machine is set up at each knitting station to deliver simultaneously two yarns 12 , 14 , described more fully hereinafter, to each needle via the yarn feeding instruments. As the needle cylinder rotates during operation, the needles are operatively manipulated within the respective slots of the cylinder by the adjacent stationary cams to receive and stitch the yarns 12 , 14 into interknitted loops extending in circumferential courses and axial wales. The knitting of the fabric 10 proceeds in this fashion for a predetermined number of successive revolutions of the knitting machine sufficient to progressively knit the yarns 12 , 14 into a continuous seamless length of tubular fabric 10 of a desired length. The simultaneous delivery of both yarns 12 , 14 to each needle at each knitting station thusly forms the yarns in plated relationship in a single jersey stitch construction throughout the entirety of the fabric 10 .
[0018] As will thus be understood, the resultant knitted structure of the fabric 10 is shown schematically in an enlarged form in the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 2 . As indicated, each yarn 12 , 14 is formed identically in plated needle loops 12 n , 14 n extending circumferentially about the fabric 10 in courses C and aligned lengthwise along the fabric 10 in perpendicular wales W. In the drawing of FIG. 1 , the plated relationship of the yarns 12 , 14 is depicted diagrammatically and schematically by showing the yarns side by side in the same plane, but those persons skilled in the art will recognize and understand that, within the three dimensional structure of the actual fabric 10 , the yarns 12 , 14 are actually formed in overlying relationship with the yarn 12 disposed predominantly at one face of the fabric 10 while the yarn 14 is disposed predominantly at the opposite face of the fabric 10 , as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 .
[0019] In accordance with the present invention, the yarns 12 , 14 incorporated into the fabrication of the textile fabric 10 are selected to achieve differing physical and chemical properties in the fabric 10 at the opposite faces of the fabric. Specifically, the yarn 12 appearing at one face of the fabric is selected to have a sufficiently high content of a flame resistant material to impart to such face of the fabric flame resistance properties which will comply with prevailing flame resistance standards observed within the textile industry, particularly standard ASTM F-1506 established by the American Society for Testing and Materials. By contrast, the yarn 14 appearing at the opposite face of the fabric is a material of the type ordinarily utilized in apparel fabric to impart to such face of the fabric 10 a satisfactory hand, e.g., non-abrasive, flexible and not stiff, and essentially soft, to be suitable for direct body contact with the skin of a person wearing safety apparel. In this manner, the fabric 10 can be fabricated into safety garments with the face of the fabric predominantly comprised of the yarn 12 as outward face of the garment and with the opposite face of the fabric predominantly comprised of the yarn 14 as the inner face of the garment.
[0020] Various yarns are deemed to be suitable for these purposes. Specifically, the yarn 12 can be selected from any fibrous material exhibiting satisfactory flame resistance or fire retardant properties. The yarns presently considered most preferable for use in safety apparel applications of the fabric 10 are yarns having a modacrylic fiber content, because modacrylic fibers are known to exhibit flame resistant properties and also to have an affinity to receive dyes which will provide high fluorescence and optimally will meet established standards for minimum high visibility conspicuity, such as standard ANSI/ISEA-107 established by the American National Standard Institute. The yarn 14 appearing at the inner face of the fabric 10 may be selected from any known apparel fiber, whether natural or synthetic in origin, and including by way of example but without limitation cotton, other natural cellulosic fibers such as flax, animal hair (wool, alpaca, cashmere, etc.), silk, polyester, polyamide (nylons), acrylic, rayon and polyimide fibers. Cotton is considered to have the most widespread potential application in the yarn 14 , as it is widely available, relatively inexpensive, and is well established to provide a soft comfortable hand pleasing to the vast majority of apparel wearers.
[0021] Importantly, the yarn 12 does not necessarily have to be formed entirely of a flame resistant fiber such as modacrylic, nor does the yarn 14 necessarily need to be formed entirely of an apparel fiber. For example, for safety apparel applications intended to meet both flame resistance and high visibility standards, it is only necessary that the total content of the fabric, including both yarns 12 and 14 , offers sufficient flame resistance to meet such criteria and that the yarn 12 have a sufficient content of fiber having an affinity for high visibility dyes so as to meet such standards. As will be understood, greater flexibility in the selection of yarns and the yarn content will be available in fabrics intended for safety apparel that is not necessarily to be used in applications requiring high visibility dyeing. By way of example, but without limitation, in fabrics wherein modacrylic fibers are utilized to impart the requisite flame resistance properties, the yarn 12 may have a modacrylic content as low as approximately twenty percent (20%) up to as high as one hundred percent (100%), while the yarn 14 may have an apparel fiber content from one hundred percent (100%) down to as low as approximately fifty percent (50%) with the other fiber content being modacrylic or an alternative fiber, including another flame resistant fiber. One particularly suitable embodiment of the present fabric 10 is fabricated of a blended staple fiber spun yarn as the yarn 12 comprised of approximately ninety percent (90%) modacrylic fibers and approximately ten percent (10%) polyester fibers (which may be a flame resistant polyester), and blended staple fiber spun yarn as the yarn 14 comprised of approximately fifty percent (50%) cotton and approximately fifty percent (50%) modacrylic fibers.
[0022] Advantageously, the present invention accordingly provides a fabric 10 having one face which will offer both a high level of flame resistance capable of meeting the ASTM F-1506 standard and also having an affinity for dyeing by high visibility fluorescent dyes capable of meeting the ANSI/ISEA-107 standard, while the yarn 12 which impart these properties are separated from the body of a wearer by the yarn 14 predominantly forming inner face of the fabric 10 which by contrast impart a hand comparable to normal apparel and avoiding the stiffness and abrasiveness of modacrylic fibers. As such, the fabric 10 of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of known safety apparel fabrics and is expected to achieve a much wider acceptance and use in the safety apparel industry.
[0023] It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of a broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes, of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiment, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof. | A knitted textile fabric for use in safety apparel, comprising a first yarn containing modacrylic fibers and a second yarn containing cellulosic fibers. The first and second yarns are intimately interknitted with one another in plated relationship with the modacrylic yarn disposed predominantly at an outer face of the fabric for imparting flame resistant properties and an affinity for high visibility dyes and with the cellulosic yarn disposed predominantly at the opposite face of the fabric for imparting a hand suitable for comfortable body contact with a user's skin. | 3 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/624,260, filed Nov. 23, 2009, which is a continuation in part of International Application Serial No. PCT/US08/064559, filed May 22, 2008, published Nov. 27, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/939,519, filed May 22, 2007, each of which is are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties herein, and to each of which priority is claimed.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides novel processes and intermediates to manufacture isofagomine, its derivatives and their salts for use as pharmaceutical compositions.
BACKGROUND
Iminosugars are potent inhibitors of glycosidases. Azasugars of the isofagomine family are inhibitors of configuration-retaining β-glycosidases due to the formation of a strong electrostatic interaction between a protonated endocyclic nitrogen at the anomeric center of the imino sugar and the catalytic nucleophile of the enzyme. The inhibitors mimic the transition state in the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond. Isofagornine, (3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidine, also known as IFG, is one glycosidase inhibitor which was synthesized in anticipation that it would be effective as a liver glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor for the treatment of diabetes (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,102 to Sierks et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,903 to Lundgren et al., both of which are herein incorporated by reference).
IFG Tartate Salt, its production and its use to treat Gaucher Disease has also been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/752,658, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
IFG and IFG Derivatives
IFG and/or N-alkylated IFG derivatives are described in the following: U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,102 to Sierks, U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,903 to Lundgren, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,214 to Kristiansen et al.; Jespersen et al., Angew. Chem., Int. ed. Engl. 1994; 33: 1778-9; Dong et al., Biochem. 1996; 35:2788; Lundgren et al., Diabetes. 1996; 45:S2 521; Schuster et al., Bioorg Med Chem. Lett. 1999; 9(4):615-8; Andersch et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2001; 7: 3744-3747; Jakobsen et al., Bioorg Med. Chem. 2001; 9: 733-44; 36:435; Pandy et al., Synthesis. 2001: 1263-1267; Zhou et al., Org Lett. 2001; 3(2):201-3; Best et al., Can. J. Chem./Rev. Can. Chim. 2002; 80(8): 857-865; Huizhen et al., J. Carbohydr Chem. 2004; 23: 223-238; Mehta et al., Tetrahedron Letters 2005; 41(30):5747-5751; Ouchi et al., J Org. Chem. 2005; 70(13):5207-14; and most recently, Meloncelli et al., Australian Journal of Chemistry. 2006; 59(11) 827-833. Synthesis of the L stereoisomer is described in Panfil et al., J. Carbohydr Chem. 2006; 25: 673-84. All of the references in this paragraph are herein incorporated by reference.
Briefly, Jespersen first described synthesis of IFG in a six step synthesis starting from 1,6: 2,3-dianhydro-4-O-benzyl-β-D-mannopyranose. This method employed introducing a hydroxymethyl group at C-7 by epoxide opening with vinyimagensium bromide, followed by ozonolysis in ethanol to give 1,6-anhydro-4-O-benzyl-β-D-glucopyranose. Hydrolysis of the anhydro bond with sulfuric acid and oxidative carbon chain cleavage provided a pentodialdose, which was cyclized by reductive amination with ammonia to produce the 4-O-benzyl derivative of IFG. The protecting group was removed by hydrogenation under acid conditions (hydrogen and palladium-on-carbon) to produce the HCl salt of IFG.
Dong et al., described synthesis of disaccharide derivatives of IFG.
Jakobsen described synthesis of IFG and N-substituted IFG derivatives from acrolein, and preparation of N-alkyl derivatives by direct alkylation of 3-O benzylated IFG. Such N-alkyl derivatives include N-methyl, butyl, allyl, propyn-3-yl, 1-dodecyl, acetyl, CH 2 CH 2 COOH, benzyl, CH 2 CH 2 Ph, NO 2 PhCH 2 CH 2 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -Ph, cyclohexylprop-3-yl, and CH 2 CH═CHPh.
Pandey described cyclization of PET-generated α-trimethylsilylmethylamine radical cation to a tethered acetylene moiety, for the generation of an aminomethyl group next to a stereocenter (1-[Benzyl(trimethylsilyl-methyl)amino]-1,4,5-trideoxy-2,3-O-(1-methylethylidene)-threo-pent-4-ynitol), starting from tartaric acid, in the synthesis of 1-N-iminosugar type glycosidase inhibitors, including isofagomine.
Andersch and Bols described IFG synthesis starting from D-arabinose by applying a C-4 oxidation method to benzyl α-D-arabino-pyranoside. Subsequent Henry reaction of the obtained aldoketose with nitromethane provided the required branched carbohydrate precursors, which resulted in IFG (17-21% overall yield).
Best et al. described synthesis of IFG from D-xylose, which converted to benzyl 2,3-O-isopropylidene-β-L-xylopyranoside via a derived imidazylate, which was then converted into a nitrile that, upon reduction and protecting-group manipulations, gave benzyl 4-C-aminomethyl-4-deoxy-α-D-arabinoside. Reductive amination with hydrogen and palladium-on-carbon resulted in isofagomine HCl.
Huizhen described synthesis of IFG analogues (3R,4R,5R)—N-(2-phosphonoethyl)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-piperidine, (3R,4R,5R)—N-(2-phosphonoethyl)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxy-triethylpiperidine, and (3R,4R,5R)—N-(10-chloro-9-anthracenemethyl)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxy-methylpiperidine by direct alkylation of the corresponding azasugar.
Ouchi et al. described synthesis of 1-azasugars including IFG starting from N-Boc-5-hydroxy-3-piperidine via stereoselective epoxidation of and intermediate tert-butyldiphenylsilylcholoride vinyl derivative, followed by oxidative cleavage of the vinyl group to an aldehyde, followed by reduction and deprotection to produce IFG.
Schuster et al. disclosed methyl- and hydroxymethyl derivatives of IFG which were generated via aldolase-catalyzed C—C bond formation.
Mehta et al. described stereoselective synthesis of isofagomine analogues from a suitably functionalized cyclopentene intermediate extracted from the norbornyl framework. Double reductive amination or inter- and intramolecular N-alkylations are the key steps in constructing the piperidine ring. Isofagomine derivatives exhibit moderate inhibitory activity in enzyme assays.
Ouchi et al. describe synthesis of IFG from chiral N-Boc-5-hydroxy-3-piperidene via stereoselective epoxidation and regioselective ring-cleavage in a highly stereo-controlled manner.
Zhou et al. describe synthesis of IFG by 1,2-reduction of substituted pyridines beginning with methyl nicotinate.
IFG for the Treatment of Diseases
Isofagomine and related compounds have been shown to be effective at increasing the activity of the lysosomal enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase (also known as GCase) See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,158,583, 6,916,839, and 7,141,582, and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/988,428, and 10/988,427, both filed Nov. 12, 2004 (all of which are herein incorporated by reference). It was unexpectedly found that specific enzyme inhibitors could bind with specificity to the enzyme during its synthesis, stabilizing protein folding in the ER, but could dissociate from the enzyme at its native location in the lysosome, thereby increasing enzyme activity by increasing the level of enzyme that is processed instead of degraded. IFG, an inhibitor of GCase, binds in the active site of both wild-type and mutant GCase and stabilizes the enzyme during synthesis and processing (Steet et al., Biochem Pharmacol. 2007; 73(9):1376-83; Lieberman et al., Nature Chem. Biol. 2007; 3(2):101-7). Because IFG can dissociate from the active site, the net effect of IFG binding is an increase in GCase processing, trafficking to the lysosome, and activity.
Importantly, IFG has been shown to restore processing, trafficking and activity to of mutant forms of GCase which are unstable due to missense mutations and become degraded. In the absence of the “pharmacological chaperone,” the mutated enzyme protein misfolds in the ER (Ishii et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 1996; 220: 812-815), is retarded in its maturation to a final product, and is subsequently degraded by the ER-associated degradation mechanism. Homozygous mutant GCase is associated with the lysosomal storage disease Gaucher disease. In vitro, IFG was shown to increase the activity of mutant GCase in fibroblasts from Gaucher patients (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,583,158, 6,916,829 and 7,141,582 all of which are herein incorporated by reference). In vivo, treatment with IFG increases GCase activity and improves the phenotype in a mouse model of Gaucher disease expressing mutations in the β-glucocerebrosidase gene (Gba) gene (unpublished data). Recently, IFG tartrate has been shown to increases the activity of human GCase in healthy volunteers up to 3.5 fold in Phase 1 clinical trials. In Phase 2 clinical trials IFG tartrate has also shown an increase in GCase activity in Gaucher patients expressing certain missense mutations that create misfolded GCase.
In addition, there is a well-established link between mutations in the gene encoding and Parkinson's disease. In one study, patients with rare, early onset, treatment-resistant parkinsonism were found to have at least one allele with a Gba missense mutation, including homozygous and heterozygous individuals for N370S, a mutation typically associated with type 1, non-neuronopathic disease (Tayebi et al., Mol. Genet. Metab. 2003; 79; 104-109). In another study, Ashkenazi Jews with idiopathic Parkinson's disease were evaluated for six Gba mutations (N370S, L444P, 84GG, V394L, and R496H) with the majority being heterozygous for known Gba mutations (Aharon-Peretz et al., New Eng. J. Med. 2004; 351: 1972-77). Parkinson's and Gaucher diseases also share some pathological features, including neuronal loss, astrogliosis, and the presence of cytotoxic Lewy-body-like α-synuelein inclusions in hippocampal neurons (the CA2-4 region) (Wong et al., Mol. Genet. Metabol. 2004; 38: 192-207).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereof, comprising protecting the anomeric hydroxyl group of D-(−)-arabinose with a protecting group to form a glycoside; protecting the 2- and 3-hydroxyl groups of said glycoside using a 1,2-dione to form a triprotected arabinose derivative; converting said arabinose derivative to a triprotected xylose derivative; converting said xylose derivative to a triprotected nitrile; converting said nitrile to a protected diol and deprotecting said diol.
In another embodiment, the invention optionally comprises a step converting said arabinose derivative to said xylose derivative through an activated system wherein the activated system is optionally isolated before conversion.
In another embodiment the invention optionally comprises a step of converting said xylose derivative to said nitrile using an activated system, wherein the activated system is optionally isolated before conversion followed by displacement by a cyano source.
In another embodiment, the invention optionally comprises a obtaining said nitrile after purifying said xylose derivative.
In another embodiment, the invention optionally comprises converting said arabinose derivative to said xylose derivative by a Mitsunobu inversion reaction to form an inverted ester derivative and saponification.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereof, comprising protecting the anomeric hydroxyl group of D-(−)-arabinose with a protecting group to form a glycoside; protecting the 2- and 3-hydroxyl groups of said glycoside using a 1,2-dione to form a triprotected arabinose derivative; converting said arabinose derivative to a triprotected xylose derivative; converting said xylose derivative to a triprotected nitrile; converting said nitrile to a protected isofagomine salt and deprotecting said isofagomine salt.
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereof, comprising protecting the anomeric hydroxyl group of D-(−)-arabinose with a protecting group to form a glycoside; protecting the 2- and 3-hydroxyl groups of said glycoside using a 1,2-dione to form a triprotected arabinose derivative; converting said arabinose derivative to a triprotected xylose derivative; converting said xylose derivative to a triprotected nitrile; reducing said nitrile to a triprotected primary amine; deprotecting said primary amine to a diol and using catalytic hydrogenation.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereat comprising protecting the anomeric hydroxyl group of D-(−)-arabinose with a protecting group to form a glycoside; further protecting by converting said protected glycoside to an acetonide using a ketal or ketone; converting said acetonide to an alkoxide and reacting with an alkylating agent to form an ether; converting said ether to a diol having protecting two protecting groups; further protecting said diol using selective etherification to form a triprotected arabinose derivative; converting said arabinose derivative to a triprotected xylose derivative using an activated system; converting said xylose derivative to a triprotected nitrite using an activated system; converting said nitrile using catalytic hydrogenation.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereof, comprising contacting L-(−)-xylose with an alcohol, an activating agent and optionally a solvent to form a protected glycoside; converting said glycoside to a triprotected xylose derivative; converting said xylose derivative to a triprotected nitrile; converting said nitrile to a protected diol and deprotecting said diol.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a compound of the formula
and a method of using this compound to make isofagomine, its derivatives, or acid salts thereof.
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing the L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine. In one embodiment a method is provided to prepare the L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine represented by the structure:
wherein n is 1 or 2. In one embodiment, n is 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Definitions
The terms and abbreviations used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of this invention and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms and abbreviations are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner in describing the methods and compositions of the invention.
“CsF” means cesium fluoride.
“DMA” means N,N-dimethylaniline.
“DMF” means N,N-dimethylformamide.
“NMP” means N-methylpyrrolidone.
“DMSO” means dimethylsulfoxide.
“LG” means Leaving Group
“MTBE” means methyl tert butyl ether.
“Pd/C” means palladium on carbon.
“Pd(OH) 2 /C” means palladium hydroxide on carbon in any of its various forms including Pearlman's catalyst or any of the manifestations called Degussa catalyst.
“PG” and “PG 2 ” means a hydroxyl protecting group.
“PtO 2 ” means platinum oxide, including hydrated forms.
“THF” means tetrahydrofuran.
“TLC” means thin-layer chromatography.
“Bn” means benzyl.
The term “hydroxyl protecting group” or “PG” or “PG 2 ” includes any common protecting group for hydroxyl known to those of ordinary skill in the art to avoid undesired reactions, such as, but not limited to, 4-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, trimethylsilyl, acetals, ketals and fused diketals. “PG” and “PG 2 ” may be the same or different.
The term “leaving group” or LG includes leaving groups known to those of ordinary skill in the art, such as, but not limited to alkyl and aryl sultanates (such as benzenesulfonate, tosylate, mesylate), halides (such as I, Br, and Cl), carboxylates (such as acetates, and trifluoroacetates) and cyanate (such as thiocyanate) groups.
The abbreviation “IFG” means isofagomine or (3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-piperidine. IFG has molecular formula C 6 H 13 NO 3 and a molecular weight of 147.17. IFG is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,102 to Sierks et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,903 to Lundgren et al., both of which are hereby incorporated by reference, and has the following structure:
IFG derivatives includes molecules that can be prepared from IFG using a general chemical reaction technology that is known to one of skill in the art at the time of the filing of this application.
As used herein, substituted alkyl refers to alkyl groups wherein one or more of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by a halogen, oxygen, hydroxy, amine (primary), amine (secondary-alkyl substituted by alkyl as above), amine (tertiary-alkyl substituted by alkyl as defined above), sulfur, —SH or phenyl),
As used herein, substituted cycloalkyl refers to cycloalkyl substituted with an alkyl group, wherein alkyl is as defined above or a group wherein one or more of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by a halogen, oxygen, hydroxy, amine (primary), amine (secondary-alkyl substituted by alkyl as above), amine (tertiary-alkyl substituted by alkyl as defined above), sulfur, —SH or phenyl,
As used herein, substituted aryl refers to an aryl ring substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, halo, alkoxy, acyloxy, amino, hydroxy, carboxy, cyano, nitro, alkylthio and thioalkyl where alkyl thio refers to the group —S-alkyl and thioalkyl refers to an alkyl group having one or more —SH groups.
Synthesis of IFG and IFG Derivatives
Synthesis of IFG Through D-Arabinose Protected with a 1,2-Dione
wherein R 1 and R 2 are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl (e.g. C 1 -C 6 alkyl), substituted or unsubstituted aryl (eg. benzyl or napthyl), or together R 1 and R 2 can form a substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl such as a cyclohexane (from cyclohexanedione starting material).
D-Arabinose can be converted to the corresponding protected glycoside (A) using an appropriate alcohol with or without solvent (neat reaction), and an activating agent. For instance the range of alcohols that can be used for the hydroxy group includes benzyl alcohol, substituted benzyl alcohols such as methoxybenzyl alcohol, chlorobenzyl alcohol, diphenylmethanol, substituted diphenylmethanols, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, cyclohexylmethyl alcohol and the like. The protection reaction may be performed with or without a solvent, such as methylene chloride, chloroform, THF, dioxane, DMF, DMA, NMP or mixtures thereof. The activating agent may include HCl, HBr, H 2 SO 4 , some other mineral acid, acetyl chloride, propionyl chloride, or another acid chloride of a carboxylic acid. The reaction can be run at temperatures ranging from about ambient temperature to about 100° C., for times ranging from about 2 to 48 h. Benzyl or substituted benzyl alcohols are preferred, and benzyl alcohol is more preferred. Preferred solvents include dioxane, THF or neat reaction, and more preferred is neat reaction. Preferred activating agents include acetyl chloride and H 2 SO 4 , and more preferred is acetyl chloride. Pure product can be readily isolated by precipitation with a non-polar solvent. The preferred solvent and temperature for this product is methyl-t-butyl ether at ambient temperature.
The glycoside (A) can be further protected as a diketal (B) by reaction with a 1,2 dione or the dialkylketal thereof in the presence of a protic acid or a Lewis acid and an alcohol that may also act as the solvent. For instance, aliphatic or aromatic diones such as 1,2-butanedione, 1,2-cyclohexanedione, 1,2-diphenylethanedione, or 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, or their corresponding ketals, can react with a vicinal diol in the presence of a protic acid such as HCl, H 2 SO 4 , camphorsulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, or a Lewis acid such as boron trifluoride etherate or titanium tetrachloride. An alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, the like, and mixtures thereof may be used as a solvent. Preferred conditions for this reaction are 1,2-butanedione or 1,2-cyclohexanedione, in methanol at ambient temperature to 35° C., with camphorsulfonic acid or boron trifluoride etherate. More preferred conditions are 1,2-butanedione in methanol at 35° C. with camphorsulfonic acid. Pure product may be readily obtained, for example, by crystallization from isopropanol, isopropanol and heptane, or ethyl acetate and heptane.
The triprotected intermediate arabinose derivative (B) can be directly converted to the corresponding xylose derivative (D) through an activated system (C) where LG represents a Leaving Group. The route involves activation of the arabinose hydroxyl to a discreet, isolable activated system (C) followed by displacement with inversion using an oxygen source as indicated below. The activated system (C) may be or may not be isolated to be converted to the xylose derivative (D). The hydroxy group of the compound B may be activated with an ester such as p-toluenesulfonate, methanesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, and the like, formed from the corresponding anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of an organic base such as pyridine, collidine, Hunig's base, triethylamine, in a non-polar solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, or toluene at temperatures from about −20° C. to about ambient temperature. Preferred conditions use p-toluenesulfonyl chloride or trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by isolation of the sulfonate ester without purification. More preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by isolation of the triflate without purification. Displacement with inversion of the configuration can be accomplished with oxygen nucleophiles, preferably alkali or earth alkali metal nitrite or tetraalkylammonium nitrite in solvents commonly used for this type of reaction, e.g., methylene chloride, acetone, THF, DMF, DMA, NMP, and the like at temperatures from about 0° C. to about 40° C. Preferred conditions for displacement of the triflate are sodium or potassium nitrite in DMF at ambient temperature, or displacement with tetramethylammonium, tetraethylammonium, tetrapropylammonium, or tetrabutylammonium nitrite in DMF, or acetone. More preferred conditions are sodium or potassium nitrite in DMF at ambient temperature or tetraethylammonium nitrite in acetone at ambient temperature. In another embodiment of this invention where the conversion is run without isolation of the activated system (C), preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by destruction of unreacted anhydride with isopropanol, dilution with acetone, and addition of tetraethylammonium or tetrabutylammonium nitrite at ambient temperature. Purified product can be readily obtained by crystallization from a two solvent system using a polar and a non-polar component. The preferred crystallization solvents for this reaction are isopropanol and heptane.
The triprotected xylose derivative of general formula (D) can be converted into the nitrite compound (F) with inversion of configuration through an activated system. Similar to the method described above, the route involves activation of the xylose hydroxyl to a discreet, isolable activated system (E) followed by displacement by a cyano source. The nitrite compound (F) may also be obtained from the xylose derivative (D) without isolation of the activated system (E). The hydroxy group of the xylose derivative may be activated with an ester such as p-toluenesulfonate, methanesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, and the like, formed from the corresponding anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a mild organic base, such as pyridine, collidine, Hunig's base, triethylamine, and the like in a non-polar solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, or toluene at temperatures from about −20° C. to about ambient temperature. Preferred conditions use p-toluenesulfonyl chloride or trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by isolation of the triflate without purification. More preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by isolation of the triflate without purification. Displacement with inversion of configuration can be accomplished preferably with reagents such as alkali or earth alkali metal cyanides, or tetraalkylammonium cyanides in polar, aprotic solvents such as THF, DMF, DMA, NMP, DMSO, and the like at temperatures from about 0° C. to about 40° C. Preferred conditions for displacement of the triflate use tetraethylammonium cyanide in THF at ambient temperature. When the conversion is conducted without isolation of the activated system (E), preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −20° C. followed by destruction of unreacted anhydride with isopropanol, dilution with THF, and addition of tetraethylammonium cyanide at ambient temperature Purified product may be obtained by extraction followed by crystallization from an alcoholic solvent with or without a non-polar solvent such as hexane, heptane, or toluene. The preferred solvent system is isopropanol and heptane
The nitrile (F) can be obtained from the arabinose derivative (B) without purification of the xylose derivative (D).
A nitrile of the general formula (F) can be converted into a dial of the general formula (G) with an acid in water or an aqueous co-solvent system. The acid may include trifluoroacetic acid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, and the like. The deprotection can be carried out in water at room temperature for about 2 to about 24 h. Trituration from a non-polar solvent can readily provide the diol. Alternatively, the product (G) can be crystallized from solvent systems such as alcohols or ethyl acetate, with or without a non-polar solvent such as hexane, heptane, or toluene. Preferred conditions for this reaction are water and trifluoroacetic acid at room temperature for 16 h followed by solvent evaporation and heptane trituration of the reaction product.
Conversion of a nitrile intermediate of the general formula (G) to isofagomine acid salt can be carried out in one step by proper choice of protecting groups (e.g. benzyl or 4-methoxybenzyl groups). Nitrile reduction, deprotection at the anomeric center, ring closure, and hydrogenation of the cyclic imine can be accomplished in a single step under hydrogenation conditions to provide isofagomine acid salt in high yield. Catalytic hydrogenation can be carried out with a variety of common catalysts used for such hydrogenation including Pd/C, Pd(OH) 2 /C, NO 2 , Pd(OAc) 2 or a combination of catalysts at loadings of 1% to 20%, under hydrogen gas pressure ranging from 14 psi to 100 psi, in protic or aprotic polar solvents, preferably an alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, with or without water co-solvent. Esters such as isopropyl acetate, ethyl acetate or methyl acetate can also be used. The hydrogenation can be carried out in the presence of a mineral acid such as HCl, HBr, HClO 4 , H 3 PO 4 , H 2 SO 4 , or a carboxylic acid such as tartaric acid or acetic acid. Note that acetic acid can serve as the solvent as well, with or without water as the en-solvent. The hydrogenation can be run for short or extended periods of time as dictated by the rate of conversion. Preferred conditions use Pd(OH) 2 /C with loadings of 5% to 20% under pressures from 40 psi to 100 psi in an alcoholic solvent and water with HCl, acetic acid, or tartaric acid. More preferred conditions are 20% loading Pd(OH) 2 /C under 80 psi hydrogen gas in isopropanol and water with L-(+)-tartaric acid. If isofagomine is formed as the hydrochloride or some other acid salt, it can be converted to the free base and then to the tartrate salt. This method also serves to purify isofagomine from any salt form, including the tartrate,
The intermediate arabinose derivative (B) can also be converted to the xylose derivative (D) by Mitsunobu inversion to the inverted ester derivative (C′) and saponification. The Mitsunobu reaction can be carried out with a variety of alkylazodicarboxylates such as diethylazodicarboxylate, the diisopropyl derivative, and the like, together with a phosphine such as triphenylphosphine, tributylphosphine, and the like, with a carboxylic acid such as a nitrobenzoic acid derivative. Mitsunobu reactions are described generally in Mitsunobu, O.; Yamada, Y. Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan 1967, 40, 2380-2382, The Use of Diethyl Azodicarboxylate and Triphenylphosphine in Synthesis and Transformation of Natural Products Mitsunobu, O. Synthesis 1981, 1-28, Castro, B. R. Org. React. 1983, 29, 1, Hughes, D. L. Org. React. 1992, 42, 335-656, Hughes, D. L. Org. Prep. 1996, 28, 127-164, (Review) each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Preferred conditions use diisopropylazodicarboxylate, triphenyl- or tributylphosphine, 4-nitrobenzoic acid or 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid or 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid. More preferred conditions use diisopropylazodicarboxylate, triphenylphosphine, and 4-nitrobenzoic acid. The preferred solvent for the reaction is THF. The temperature of the reaction can range from room temperature to reflux. The preferred temperature is mixture of the reaction components at 40° C. followed by heating to 60° C. Purification can be accomplished by crystallization of C′ from an appropriate alcohol solvent, with or without a non-polar solvent. Preferred solvents include isopropanol or ethanol with or without heptane, or methanol. More preferred conditions are crystallization from methanol. Saponification of the intermediate ester (C′) to the xylose derivative (D) can be accomplished in an alcohol solvent and a solution of an alkali metal base, at temperature ranging from room temperature reflux. Preferred conditions for this reaction are an alcohol such as methanol or isopropanol with sodium- or potassium hydroxide. More preferred conditions are methanol and sodium hydroxide at room temperature. After aqueous workup the xylose derivative (D) can be purified by crystallization from a nonpolar solvent or can be used without purification.
Conversion of a nitrile of the general formula (F) to protected isofagomine acid salt of the general formula (IFG HX) can be carried out in one step by proper choice of the protecting group at the anomeric center (e.g. benzyl or 4-methoxybenzyl). Nitrile reduction, deprotection at the anomeric center, ring closure, and hydrogenation of the cyclic imine can be accomplished in a single step under hydrogenation conditions to provide isofagomine acid salt in high yield. Catalytic hydrogenation can be carried out with a variety of catalysts including Pd/C, Pd(OH) 2 /C, PtO 2 , Pd(OAc) 2 or a combination of catalysts at loadings of about 1% to about 20%, under hydrogen gas pressure ranging from about 14 psi to about 100 psi, in protic or aprotic polar solvents, preferably an alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, with or without water co-solvent. Esters such as isopropyl acetate, ethyl acetate or methyl acetate can serve as aprotic solvents. The hydrogenation can be carried out in the presence of a mineral acid such as HCl, HBr, HClO 4 , H 3 PO 4 , H 2 SO 4 , or a carboxylic acid such as tartaric acid or acetic acid. Acetic acid can serve as the solvent as well, with or without water as the co-solvent. The diketal protecting group is usually stable to many acids, allowing hydrogenation while keeping the protecting group intact. The hydrogenation can be run for short or extended periods of time as dictated by the rate of conversion. Preferred conditions use Pd(OH) 2 /C with loadings of about 5% to about 20% under pressures from about 40 psi to about 100 psi in an alcoholic solvent and water with HCl, acetic acid, or tartaric acid. More preferred conditions are 20% loading Pd(OH) 2 /C under 80 psi hydrogen gas in isopropanol and water with HCl or acetic acid. The protected isofagomine can be purified or deprotected without purification.
The isofagomine derivative of the general formula (I) can be converted into isofagomine by the action of a protic acid in water or an aqueous co-solvent system. Acids may include trifluoroacetic acid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, and the like. The reaction may be carried out in water at room temperature for about 2 to about 24 h. Solvent removal under reduced pressure has the advantage of evaporating volatile acids and volatile diones that are removed during the deprotection step. The resulting IFG can be isolated as a free base form or an acid salt.
A compound of the general formula (F) can be reduced to the corresponding primary amine (J) by, for example, the action of hydride such as lithium aluminum hydride, selectride, borane, and the like, or by catalytic hydrogenation in the presence of an amine. Such conditions include Pd/C in the presence of triethylamine or Hunig's base.
Deprotection of (J) to the diol of general formula (K) can be accomplished using conditions previously set out in this application or known in the art.
A compound of the general formula (K) can be converted to IFG by catalytic hydrogenation using the conditions set out in this application. IFG can be further converted to IFG Tartrate, also using the conditions set out in this application for either direct conversion or purification on solid support followed by conversion to IFG Tartrate.
A compound of the general formula (K) can be accessed by reduction of the nitrile in a compound of the general formula (G). The reduction can be accomplished by hydrogenation using a metal catalyst and hydrogen in the presence of ammonia. Conditions include Raney nickel and hydrogen gas at pressures of about 14 psi to about 100 psi, in an alcohol with or without water. Preferred conditions are Raney nickel and hydrogen at 50 psi in methanol and water. The reduction can also be accomplished using a metal hydride, Conditions include reagents such as lithium aluminum hydride.
Two of the steps outlined previously can be reversed so that a compound of general formula (J) can be hydrogenated using the conditions set out in this application to provide a compound of the general formula (I). This product can be readily converted into IFG, IFG acid salt like IFG Tartrate.
Conversion to isofagomine tartrate can be accomplished via generation of the free base, purification on solid support, addition of tartaric acid, and crystallization of the product. The free base can be converted to the tartrate salt without purification on solid support. The free base can be formed by addition of a base such as a mineral base, ammonia gas or liquid, ammonium hydroxide solutions, or by exposing the salt to basic resin. Solid supports include silica gel, neutral or basic alumina at various activity grades, or a column of basic resin, Elution can be done with polar or non-polar solvents to provide the free isofagomine in a purified form. Conversion to the tartaric acid salt can be done with a range of acid to base ratios. Since tartaric acid is a diacid, the tartrate can be formed using 0.5 molar equivalents up to 1 molar equivalent of tartaric relative to isofagomine free base. Tartaric acid can be racemic (the D or -L form) or one of three stereoisomeric forms, the L-(+) form, the D-(−) form, and the meso form. Preferred conditions for making the tartrate salt use ammonium hydroxide solution to generate the free base, 9:1 ethanol/ammonium hydroxide to elute the free base on a silica gel column, evaporation of solvent and excess ammonium hydroxide, formation of the tartrate salt in water/ethanol, and crystallization from water/ethanol.
IFG and tartaric acid can be combined over a range of stoichiometries. Since tartaric acid is a diacid, molar ratios of 2:1 to 1:1 IFG/tartaric acid provide stable salts. The preferred ratio is 1:1. The stoichiometry range is applicable to all isomers of tartaric acid.
Synthesis of IFG and its Derivatives Using a Ketal Intermediate
D-Arabinose can be converted to the corresponding protected glycoside (A) using an appropriate alcohol with or without solvent (neat reaction), and an activating agent. For instance the range of alcohols can include benzyl alcohol, or substituted benzyl alcohols such as methoxybenzyl alcohol, chlorobenzyl alcohol, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, cyclohexylmethyl alcohol and the like in a solvent. Suitable solvents include, but are not limited to, methylene chloride, chloroform, THF, dioxane, DMF, DMA, or NMP, with an activating agent such as HCl, HBr, H 2 SO 4 , or some other mineral acid, or acetyl chloride, propionyl chloride, or another acid chloride of a carboxylic acid. The reaction can be run at temperatures ranging from about ambient temperature to about 100° C., for times ranging from about 2 to about 48 h. In one embodiment, the preferred alcohols are benzyl or substituted benzyl alcohols, and more preferred is benzyl alcohol. Preferred solvents include dioxane, THF or neat reaction, and more preferred is neat reaction. Preferred activating agents include acetyl chloride and H 2 SO 4 , and more preferred is acetyl chloride. Pure product can be readily isolated by precipitation with a non-polar solvent. The preferred solvent and temperature for this product is methyl-t-butyl ether at ambient temperature.
The obtained glycoside of general formula A can be further protected as an acetonide at the 3- and 4-hydroxyl groups by conversion of (A) to ketal (L) with a ketone or a dimethylketal, or enolether thereof, in the presence of an acid, with or without (neat) a polar co-solvent. For instance, aliphatic or aromatic ketones such as acetone, 2-butanone, benzophenone, cyclohexanone, or acetophenone, or their corresponding dialkylketals, can react with a vicinal diol in the presence of an acid such as H 2 SO 4 , p-toluenesulfonic acid, camphorsulfonic acid, or trimethylsilyltriflate. Co-solvents include methylene chloride, DMSO, DMF, DMA, and NMP. In some eases the ketone can also be the solvent, such as acetone. Reaction temperatures can range from about ambient temperature to about 100° C. For this reaction, the preferred conditions are acetone and 2,2-dimethoxypropane with p-toluenesulfonic acid at 40° C. Pure product can readily isolated by crystallization with a two component system including a polar and a non-polar component. Preferred conditions for this purification are ethyl acetate and heptane.
The acetonide (L) can be further protected as an ether at the 2-hydroxyl group by conversion to the corresponding alkoxide followed by subsequent reaction with an alkylating agent to provide a compound of general formula M. Previously reported protection utilized more expensive benzyl bromide and costly silver oxide. Formation of the alkoxide is readily accomplished with a strong base such as and alkali hydride in a polar aprotic solvent such as dialkyl ethers or THF, DMF, DMA, NMP, or DMSO corresponding to PG 2 . PG 2 Alkylating agents include benzyl halide or substituted benzyl halides. Reaction temperatures can range from −20° C. to 20° C. For this reaction the preferred conditions are sodium hydride in DMF to generate the alkoxide at 0° C. to 10° C., followed by alkylation by benzyl chloride. Pure product can be readily isolated by precipitation with water and a non-polar wash to remove excess water. The preferred non-polar solvent for this purification is heptane.
Removal of the acetonide in the compound of general formula (M) to provide a diol of general formula (N) is accomplished with a dilute mineral acid such as HCl, HBr, H 2 SO 4 in an alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, at ambient temperature. For this reaction, the preferred conditions are HCl in methanol at ambient temperature. Pure product (N) can be readily isolated by precipitation with water and a non-polar wash to remove excess water. The preferred non-polar solvent for this purification is heptane.
Additional protection of the diol is required for modification to the target molecule. Selective etherification to a molecule of the general formula (O) can be accomplished using a tin directed approach in a water-azeotroping solvent at reflux temperatures followed by etherification at moderate temperatures. Tin ethers can be formed using dialkyl or aryl tin(IV) oxides such as diphenyl, dimethyl, dibutyl, diisobutyl, or dioctyitin oxide in aprotic solvents such as benzene, toluene, or xylene. Subsequent alkylation can be accomplished with alkyl or alkylaryl halides such as benzyl bromide or benzyl chloride. The reaction can be accelerated through the use of agents such as CsF or tetraethylammonium chloride, and reaction temperatures can range from about ambient temperature to about 100° C. For this invention the preferred method uses dibutyltin oxide in toluene and benzyl chloride in the presence of tetrabutylammonium chloride. Purification can be readily accomplished by precipitation of the tin reagent with water. Final product can be obtained by crystallization from a two solvent system. The preferred crystallization solvents for this reaction are ethanol and heptane.
The triprotected intermediate arabinose derivative can be directly converted to the corresponding xylose derivative (Q) through an activated system (P). The involves activation of the arabinose hydroxyl to a discreet, isolable activated system (Q) followed by displacement with inversion using an inexpensive oxygen source. Activation can be with esters such as p-toluenesulfonate, methanesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, an the like, formed from the corresponding anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of an organic base such as pyridine, collidine, Hunig's base, triethylamine, in a non-polar solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, or toluene at temperatures from about −20° C. to about ambient temperature. Displacement with inversion of configuration can be accomplished with oxygen nucleophiles, preferably alkali or earth alkali metal nitrite in solvents commonly used for this type of reaction, e.g., methylene chloride, acetone, THF, DMF, DMA, NMP, and the like at temperatures from about 0° C. to about 40° C. Preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −10° C. followed by isolation of the triflate without the need for purification. Preferred conditions for displacement of the triflate are sodium or potassium nitrites in DMF at ambient temperature. Purified product can be readily obtained by crystallization from a two solvent system using a polar and a non-polar component. The preferred crystallization solvents for this reaction are isopropanol and heptane.
The triprotected xylose derivative of general formula (R) can be converted into the nitrile (S) with inversion of configuration through an activated system. Similar to the method described above, the route involves activation of the xylose hydroxyl to a discreet, isolable activated system (R) followed by displacement by a cyano source. Activation can be done again with esters of alkyl or aryl sulfonates, preferably p-toluenesulfonate, methanesulfonate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, and the like, which were formed from the corresponding anhydride or sulfonyl chloride in the presence of a mild organic base, such as pyridine, collidine, Hunig's base, triethylamine, and the like in a non-polar solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, or toluene at temperatures from about −20° C. to about ambient temperature. Displacement with inversion of configuration can be accomplished preferably with reagents such as alkali or earth alkali metal cyanides, or tetraalkylammonium cyanides in polar, aprotic solvents such as THF, DMF, DMA, NMP, DMSO, and the like at temperatures from about 0° C. to about 40° C., Preferred conditions use trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride and pyridine in methylene chloride at −10° C. Preferred conditions for displacement of the triflate are tetraethylammonium cyanide in THF at ambient temperature. Purified product can be obtained by extraction followed by crystallization from an alcoholic solvent. The preferred solvent is ethanol.
Conversion of the nitrile intermediate to isofagomine hydrochloride can be carried out in one step depending on the choice of protecting groups. Nitrile reduction, triple deprotection, ring closure, and hydrogenation of the cyclic imine can be accomplished in a single step under hydrogenation conditions to provide isofagomine in high yield. Catalytic hydrogenation can be carried out with a variety of common catalysts used for such hydrogenation including Pd/C, Pd(OH) 2 /C, PtO 2 , Pd(OAc) 2 or a combination of catalysts at loadings of 1% to 20%, under hydrogen gas pressure ranging from about 14 psi to about 100 psi, in protic or aprotic polar solvents, preferably alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, or esters, or acetic acid. The hydrogenation is carried out in the presence of an acid such as HCl, HBr, HClO 4 , H 3 PO 4 , H 2 SO 4 , acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, or tartaric acid. The hydrogenation can be run for short or extended periods of time with no risk of product decomposition. Preferred conditions are to run the reaction with a mixture of Pd/C and Pd(OH) 2 /C with loadings of about 5% to about 20% under pressures from about 40 psi to about 100 psi in an alcoholic solvent with HCl. More preferred conditions are 10% loading of Pd/C and 10% loading Pd(OH) 2 /C under 80 psi hydrogen gas in ethanol with HCl. This hydrochloride salt can be converted to the isofagomine acid salt of the present invention.
Synthesis of IFG Through L-Xylose
L-(−)-Xylose can also be used to make isofagomine. The sugar can be converted to the corresponding protected glycoside (T) using an appropriate alcohol with or without solvent (neat reaction), and an activating agent. For instance the range of alcohols can include benzyl alcohol, substituted benzyl alcohols such as methoxybenzyl alcohol, chlorobenzyl alcohol, diphenylmethanol, substituted diphenylmethanols, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, cyclohexylmethyl alcohol and the like in a solvent such as methylene chloride, chloroform, THF, dioxane, DMF, DMA, or NMP, with an activating agent such as HCl, HBr, H 2 SO 4 , or some other mineral acid, or acetyl chloride, propionyl chloride, or another acid chloride of a carboxylic acid. The reaction can be run at temperatures ranging from ambient temperature to about 100° C., for times ranging from about 2 to about 48 h. For this invention the preferred alcohols are benzyl or substituted benzyl alcohols, and more preferred is benzyl alcohol. Preferred solvents include dioxane, THF or neat reaction, and more preferred is neat reaction. Preferred activating agents include acetyl chloride and H 2 SO 4 , and more preferred is acetyl chloride. Pure product can be readily isolated by precipitation with a non-polar solvent. The preferred solvent and temperature for this product is methyl-t-butyl ether at ambient temperature.
The glycoside (T) can be taken directly to diketal (D) by reaction with a 1,2 dione or the dialkylketal thereof in the presence of a protic acid or a Lewis acid and an alcohol that may also act as the solvent. For instance, aliphatic or aromatic diones such as 1,2-butanedione, 1,2-cyclohexanedione, 1,2-diphenylethanedione, or 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, or their corresponding ketals, react with a vicinal diol in the presence of a protic acid such as HCl, H 2 SO 4 , camphorsulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, or a Lewis acid such as boron trifluoride etherate or titanium tetrachloride. Alcohols include simple aliphatic alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and the like at temperatures ranging from about 0° C. to reflux. Preferred conditions for this reaction are 1,2-butanedione or 1,2-cyclohexanedione, in methanol at ambient temperature to 35° C., with camphorsulfonic acid or boron trifluoride etherate. More preferred conditions are 1,2-butanedione in methanol at ambient temperature with camphorsulfonic acid. Pure product is readily obtained by crystallization.
Synthesis of Specific Tartrate Salts of IFG
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for preparing the L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine. In one embodiment a method is provided to prepare the L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine represented by the structure:
wherein n is 1 or 2. In one embodiment, n is 1.
L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine can be prepared using any one of the methods disclosed in the application (e.g. starting with D-(−)-arabinose or L-(−) xylose through a diketal intermediate as described supra). The L-(+) tartaric acid salt of isofagomine. wherein n=1 or 2 can then be prepared and isolated based on, for example, the disclosure set forth throughout U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,439, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, particularly Examples 1-3 from column 19, line 37-col. 24, line 10.
EXAMPLES
The present invention is further described by means of the examples, presented below. The use of such examples is illustrative only and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the invention or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the invention is not limited to any particular preferred embodiments described herein. Indeed, many modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification and can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. The invention is therefore to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled.
Example 1
Synthesis of IFG Tartrate Through Dioxane-Fused Arabinose
Step 1:
D-arabinose (250 g, 1.67 mol) and benzyl alcohol (606 mL, 5.83 mol) were stirred at 20° C. under nitrogen. Acetyl chloride (50 mL, 0.7 mol) was added at such a rate that the reaction temperature remained at 20-30° C. The reaction was heated to 50° C. for 16 h and reaction was monitored by TLC. The batch was cooled to 20° C. and diluted with MTBE (600 mL). The batch was further cooled to 0° C. for 3 h then filtered. The solid was washed with 3×300 mL MTBE and dried under vacuum. The product (1) was obtained as a white solid (349 g, 87%). 1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ): δ 7.32 (m, 5H), 4.76 (s, 1H), 4.66 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.59 (m, 3H), 4.45 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.70 (m, 4H), 3.47 (dd, J=12, 3 Hz, 1H).
Step 2:
Benzyl arabinose (1, 225 g, 0.94 mol), 2,3-butanedione (90 mL, 1.03 mol), trimethylorthoformate (338 mL, 3.09 mol), and camphor-10-sulfonic acid (β) (10.3 g, 47 mol) were mixed in methanol (1 L) under nitrogen at 20° C. The mixture was heated to 60° C. and monitored by TLC until the reaction was complete, typically 16 hours (SiO 2 plates, 5% methanol in dichloromethane for the starting material, 35% ethyl acetate in hexanes for the product). The reaction was quenched by adding triethylamine (20 mL) at 50° C. then cooling to room temperature. Solvent was evaporated and the product (2) was crystallized from isopropanol (45%). m.p. 147-148° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.32 (m, 5H), 4.95 (d, J=3 Hz, 1H), 4.75 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.68 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.16 (m, 2H), 3.93 (s, 1H), 3.81 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.70 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.27 (s, 3H), 3.22 (s, 3H), 2.62 (s, 1H), 1.33 (s, 3H), 1.31 (s, 3H).
Step 3:
(2S,3S,4aS,5R,8R,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-ol (2, 150 g, 0.423 mol) and pyridine (137 mL, 1.7 mol) were mixed in methylene chloride (1.5 L) under nitrogen at room temperature. The solution was cooled to −20° C. and trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride (114 mL, 0.68 mol) was added dropwise such that the temperature did not exceed −5° C. The mixture was stirred at −20° C. for one hour, then excess reagent was quenched with 2 N HCl (500 mL). The solution was further washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate (800 mL), water (800 mL), and brine (500 mL). N,N-Diisopropylethylamine (15 mL) was added to the organic phase. The combined organics were dried MgSO 4 , filtered, and evaporated to dryness at 20-30° C. The product (3) was used without further purification. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.33 (m, 5H), 4.99 (m, 2H), 4.72 (s, 2H), 4.25 (dd, J=12, 3 Hz, 1H), 4.08 (dd, J=11, 3 Hz, 1H), 3.91 (d, J=14 Hz, 1H), 3.79 (d, J=14 Hz, 1H), 3.26 (s, 3H), 3.22 (s, 3H), 1.32 (s, 3H), 1.27 (s, 3H).
Step 4:
(2S,3S,4aS,5R,8R,8aS)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-yltrifluoromethanesulfonate (3) from the previous step was taken up in DMF under nitrogen and cooled to 15° C. Potassium nitrite was added in one portion and the mixture was agitated at 30-35° C. The mixture was filtered, then solvent was evaporated with a solution temperature at 30-40° C. The residue was chromatographed on silica gel using 30% ethyl acetate in hexanes. The product (4) was obtained as a solid (105.6 g, 70%). m.p. 51-52° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.31 (m, 5H), 4.86 (d, J=4, 1H), 4.76 (d, J=13 Hz, 1H), 4.66 (d, J=13 Hz, 1H), 4.03 (t, J=10 Hz, 1H), 3.85 (m, 1H), 3.68 (m, 1H), 3.56 (t, J=10 Hz, 1H), 3.30 (s, 3H), 3.23 (s, 3H), 2.25 (m, 1H), 1.34 (s, 3H), 1.32 (s, 3H).
Step 5:
(2S,3S,4aS,5R,8S,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-ol (4, 105 g, 0.3 mol) and pyridine (96 mL, 1.2 mol) were mixed in methylene chloride (1 L) under nitrogen at room temperature. The solution was cooled to −20° C. and trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride (80 mL, 0.47 mol) was added dropwise such that the temperature did not exceed −5° C. The mixture was stirred at −20° C. for one hour, then excess reagent was quenched with 2 N HCl (350 mL). The solution was further washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate (500 mL), water (500 mL), and brine (500 mL). N,N-diisopropylethylamine (10 mL) was added to the organic phase. The combined organics were dried MgSO 4 , filtered, and evaporated to dryness at 20-30° C. The product (5) was used without further purification.
Step 6:
(2S,3S,4aS,5R,8S,8aS)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-yl trifluoromethanesulfonate (5) from the previous step was mixed with dry THF (700 mL) under nitrogen. Tetraethylammonium cyanide (50.1 g, 0.32 mol) was added as one portion and the mixture was heated to 35° C. for 16 h. The reaction was cooled to room temperature and diluted with ethyl acetate (700 mL). The organic phase was washed with brine (2×500 mL). The combined aqueous washes were washed with ethyl acetate (700 mL). The organic phases were combined and dried with MgSO 4 . The organic phase was filtered and evaporated to dryness. The crude mixture (121 g) was dissolved in isopropanol (450 mL) at 50° C., then cooled to room temperature with stirring. The solution was cooled to 5° C. for 16 h. Solid was filtered and washed with heptane (2×100 mL). The solid was dissolved in isopropanol (420 mL) at 60° C. and heptane (120 mL) was added slowly while the temperature was kept at 50-60° C. The solution was cooled to room temperature with stirring for 16 h. The solid (6) was obtained by filtration, washed with heptane (100 mL), and dried under vacuum (60.65 g, 62%). m.p. 121-122° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.34 (m, 5H), 4.97 (d, J=3 Hz, 1H), 4.71 (s, 2H), 4.21 (dd, J=12, 5 Hz, 1H), 4.03 (dd, J=9, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.90 (dd, J=12, 2 Hz, 1H), 3.79 (dd, J=12, 1 Hz, 1H), 3.26 (s, 3H), 3.25 (s, 3H), 2.99 (m, 1H), 1.33 (s, 3H), 1.32 (s, 3H).
Step 7:
(2S,3S,4aS,5S,8R,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxine-8-carbonitrile (6, 20 g, 0.055 mol) was mixed with 9:1 trifluoroacetic acid/water (40 mL) at 20° C. under nitrogen and stirred for 16 h. The mixture was evaporated to dryness at 30-35° C. Heptane (50 mL) was added and the mixture was evaporated. The residue was mixed with heptane (50 mL) and stirred for 3 h. The solid product (7) was isolated by filtration, washed with heptane (2×100 mL), and dried under vacuum (13.6 g, 99%). m.p. 103-104° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, D 2 O): δ 7.30 (m, 5H), 4.95 (d, J=4 Hz, 1H), 4.61 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.47 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.94 (dd, J=10, 5 Hz, 1H), 3.87 (dd, J=12, 2 Hz, 1H), 3.73 (dd, J=12, 2 Hz, 1H), 3.65 (dd, J=10, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.29 (m, 1H).
Step 8:
(3R,4R,5S,6S)-6-(benzyloxy)-4,5-dihydroxytetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-carbonitrile (7, 1.0 g, 0.004 mol) was mixed with ethanol (30 mL), heated to 35° C., stirred with charcoal, and filtered. The solution was mixed with water (8 mL), and L-(+)-tartaric acid (0.662 g, 4.4 mmol), and Degussa Type E101 NE/W (20% Pd(OH) 2 on carbon) (0.4 g). The mixture was stirred under hydrogen gas (80 psi) at 30° C. for 24 h. The mixture was diluted with water (10 mL) and filtered through diatomaceous earth. Solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in water (15 mL) and washed with dichloromethane (2×10 mL). The aqueous phase was stirred with charcoal 0.6 g), metal scavenging agent (0.3 g), alumina (0.3 g), and florisil (0.3 g) for 16 h at ambient temperature. The mixture was filtered and ethanol (75 mL) was added dropwise over 1 h. The mixture was cooled to 0° C. for 3 h and filtered. The solid was washed with ethanol (30 mL). The solid was dried under vacuum and IFG tartrate was obtained as a white solid (0.578 g, 48%).
Alternative Step 8:
Step 8a: (3R,4R,5S,6S)-6-(benzyloxy)-4,5-dihydroxytetrahydro-2′-1-pyran-3-carbonitrile (7, 1.2 g, 0.005 mol) was mixed with ethanol (80 mL), acetic acid (0.025 mL), and Degussa Type E101 NE/W (20% Pd(OH) 2 on carbon) (0.6 g), and stirred under hydrogen gas (60 psi) at 20° C. for 16 h. The mixture was filtered (diatomaceous earth) and evaporated to dryness. Chromatography on silica gel with 9:1 ethanol/29% aq NH 4 OH yielded the product as a free base. The solvent was evaporated; product was dissolved in ethanol (6 mL) and stirred. L-Tartaric acid (0.429 g) was dissolved in ethanol (11 mL) and added in one portion at 45° C. The batch was cooled to room temperature and stirred for 1 h. IFG tartrate was filtered and washed with cold ethanol, then dried under vacuum (0.348 g, 24%).
Reversal of the steps 7 and 8 also is possible:
Steps 8, then 7:
(2S,3S,4aS,5S,8R,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxine-8-carbonitrile (6, 2.0 g, 0.002 mol) was mixed with methanol (100 mL), acetic acid (0.025 mL), and Degussa Type E101 NE/W (20% Pd(OH) 2 on carbon) (0.985 g), and stirred under hydrogen gas (60 psi) at 20° C. for 72 h. The reaction was filtered (diatomaceous earth) and evaporated to dryness. The residue (IFG Acetate) was mixed with 9:1 trifluoroacetic acid/water (5 mL) at 20° C. under nitrogen and stirred for 4 h. The mixture was evaporated to dryness at 30-35° C. The residue (IFG Trifluoroacetate) was chromatographed on silica gel with 70:30:5 methylene chloride/methanol/29% aq NH 4 OH. The product was isolated by evaporation, dissolved in 1 N HCl (5 and lyophilized to yield IFG Hydrochloride. m.p. 128-129° C. The conversion to the tartrate salt is described in this application.
Alternative method from 2 to 4: (2S,3S,4aS,5R,8R,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-ol (2, 8 g, 0.023 mol), triphenylphosphine (11.84 g, 0.045 mol), and 4-nitrobenzoic acid (7.54 g, 0.045 mol) were mixed in THF (80 mL) under nitrogen and heated to 40° C. Diisopropylazodicarboxylate (9.13 g, 0.045 mol) was added dropwise, then the mixture was heated to 62° C. for 17 h. The reaction was cooled to room temperature, solvent was evaporated, and the product (8) was crystallized from methanol (86%). m.p. 170-171° C. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 8.21 (d, J=9 Hz, 2H), 8.10 (d, J=9 Hz, 2H), 7.37-7.19 (m, 5H), 5.14 (m, 1H), 4.85 (d, J=3.6 Hz, 1H), 4.71 (d, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 4.61 (d, J=12.6 Hz, 1H), 4.31 (t, J=9.9 Hz, 1H), 3.89-3.77 (m, 2H), 3.58 (t, J=10.6 Hz, 1H), 3.39 (s, 3H), 3.21 (s, 3H), 1.28 (s, 3H), 1.19 (s, 3H).
(2S,3S,4aS,5R,8S,8aR)-5-(benzyloxy)-2,3-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethylhexahydro-2H-pyrano[4,3-b][1,4]dioxin-8-yl 4-nitrobenzoate (8, 6.7 g, 0.013 mol) was suspended in isopropanol (80 mL) at 20° C. A solution of 5N NaOH (5.4 mL) was added dropwise and stirred at 20° C. for 14 h. The reaction volume was reduced by two thirds, methylene chloride was added (80 mL) and the organic phase was washed water and 10% NaCl. The solvent was evaporated and the product was obtained as a foam (quantitative). The NMR was identical to compound 4 as reported in this application.
Example 2
Synthesis of IFG and IFG Tartrate Via a Ketal Intermediate
Step 1:
D-Arabinose (50 kg, 330.04 moles) and benzyl alcohol (132.2 kg, 433 equivalents) were stirred and heated to 35° C. Acetyl chloride (10.9 kg, 0.42 equivalents) was added slowly, keeping the temperature <45° C., then stirred 50° C. overnight. The mixture was cooled to 20° C. and diluted with MTBE (600 kg). The mixture was stirred for 0.5-5 h. The solids were collected by filtration and washed with MTBE (2×40 kg). The material was dried in a filter drier. 2-Benzyl-D-arabinose (1) was obtained as an off-white solid, 70.9 kg (88.6%), 1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ): δ 7.32 (m, 5H), 4.76 (s, 1H), 4.66 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.59 (m, 3H), 4.45 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.70 (m, 4H), 3.47 (dd, J=12, 3 Hz, 1H).
Step 9:
2-Benzyl-D-arabinose (1, 73.5 kg, 305.92 moles) was mixed with acetone (522 kg). 2,2-Dimethoxypropane (26.6 kg, 1.9 equivalents) was added in one portion followed by p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (39.3 g, 0.0007 equivalents). The mixture was stirred at 40° C. for 18 hours. After the reaction was complete, triethylamine (193 mL, 0.0046 equivalents) was added. The solvents were removed at 30° C. under reduced pressure until a thick oil was obtained. The residue was co-evaporated with ethyl acetate (2×20 kg), Ethyl acetate (19.2 kg) was added to form a solution. Heptane (145.8 kg) was added in one portion to the solution and cooled to −10° C. to 0° C. over night. The solids were collected by filtration and washed with heptane (2×51.5 kg). The material was dried in a filter dryer with a nitrogen purge. The acetonide derivative (3aR,6R,7S,7aS)-6-(benzyloxy)-2,2-dimethyltetrahydro-3aH-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-c]pyran-7-ol (8) was obtained as an off-white solid, 70.4 kg (82%). m.p. 58-59° C. 1 H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.34 (m, 5H), 4.92 (d, J=4 Hz, 1H), 4.79 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.54 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.20 (m, 2H), 4.00 (dd, J=13, 3 Hz, 1H), 3.92 (dd, J=13, 2 Hz, 1H), 3.80 (m, 1H), 2.24 (d, J=7 Hz, 1H), 1.52 (s, 3H), 1.35 (s, 3H).
Step 10:
The acetonide derivative (8, 78.2 kg, 278.97 moles) was mixed with DMF (295 kg, 3.77 kg/kg starting material) and cooled to 5° C. Sodium hydride (13.4 kg, 1.2 equivalents) was added to the reactor in 3 to 4 portions, maintaining the reaction mixture below 10° C. then stirred for 1.5 hours. At a temperature of 2° C., benzyl chloride (45.9 kg, 1.3 equivalents) was added over a 1 hour period. The reaction was stirred at 10° C. to 15° C. for 12 h. After the reaction was complete, the mixture was cooled to 2° C. and water (20 kg) was added over 1 h. An additional charge of water (570 kg) was added over 4 hours. The mixture was stirred at this temperature for 10 h. The product was collected by centrifuge filtration and washed with water (2×10 kg) and heptane (2×15 kg) spun dry overnight. The dibenzyl derivative (3aR,6R,7S,7aR)-6,7-bis(benzyloxy)-2,2-dimethyltetrahydro-3aH-[1,3]-dioxolo[4,5-c]pyran (9) was obtained as a white solid, 74.0 kg (71.6%).
Step 11:
The dibenzyl derivative (9, 37.6 kg, 101.50 moles) was added to methanol, AR (259 kg, 8.7 kg/kg starting material) and the contents were cooled to 15° C. A 2.5 N HCl solution (76.2 kg, 1.8 equivalents) was added over 1 hour. Additional water (20 kg) was added and the mixture was stirred for 12 hours at 15° C. Water (1035 kg, 4× vol methanol, AR) was added to the reactor and stirred for at least 0.5 h. The product was filtered onto a centrifuge and washed with water (2×10 kg) and heptane (2×15 kg) and spun dry overnight. The diol (3R,4R,5S,6R)-5,6-bis(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4-diol (10) was obtained as a white solid, 31.5 kg (94%).
Step 12:
The diol derivative (10, 37.5 kg, 113.51 moles) was mixed with toluene (207.6 kg, 5.5 kg/kg of diol) and dibutyltinoxide (31.1 kg, 1.1 equivalents). The reactor was equipped with a Dean-Stark apparatus and the reactor contents were heated to reflux (approx. 110° C.) until water no longer collected for removal (8-12 h). The reactor contents were cooled to 35° C. and tetrabutylammonium chloride (18.3 kg, 0.5 equivalents) was added in one portion. Benzyl chloride (15.8 kg, 1.1 equivalents) was added at a rate that kept the temperature <40° C. and stirring continued at 35° C. for 12 h. The addition and 12 h stirring were repeated daily for 4 days until the reaction was complete. After the reaction was complete, the mixture was cooled to 25° C., water (150 kg) was added in one portion, and the contents were stirred overnight. The reaction mixture was filtered through a bed of Celite (1 kg/kg of dial) and the bed was rinsed with toluene (10 kg). The filtrate was allowed to settle (1 h) and the layers were separated. Water addition, stirring, filtration, and separation were repeated. The aqueous layers were combined and extracted with ethyl acetate (25 kg), and the layers were separated. The organic layers were combined and concentrated under vacuum at 45° C. to a minimum stirable volume. Heptane (102.6 kg) was added. The mixture was stirred for 20 minutes, cooled to 0° C., and stirred for 8-12 h. The solids were collected by filtration and washed with heptane (10 kg). Crude solids were dissolved in 6:1 heptane/200 pf ethanol (7 kg/kg crude solid) at 35° C., cooled to −5° C. to 0° C. and stirred overnight. The solids were collected by filtration and washed with heptane (10 kg). Typically, 2 or more re-crystallizations were required to remove the impurities. The purified tribenzyl derivative was dried in a vacuum oven at 30° C. (3R,4R,5S,6R)-4,5,6-Tris(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-ol (11) was obtained as a white solid, 17.5 kg (37%). m.p. 59-60° C. 1 H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.38 (m, 15H), 4.89 (d, J=4 Hz, 1H), 4.82 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.71 (m, 3H), 4.57 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.55 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.01 (br s, 1H), 3.95 (dd, J=10, 3 Hz, 1H), 3.83 (m, 2H), 3.71 (dd, J=12, 2 Hz, 1H), 2.56 (br s, 1H).
Step 13:
The tribenzylarabinose derivative (11, 12.0 kg, 28.54 moles) was mixed with methylene chloride (79.2 kg, 6.6 kg/kg starting material) and pyridine (11.3 kg, 5 equivalents) and cooled to −10° C. Trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride (10.1 kg, 1.25 equivalents) was added at a rate that kept the temperature below 0° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at −10° C. to 0° C. until starting material was consumed. Once complete, the reaction mixture was washed with 7.5% HCl solution (3×68 kg, 17 equivalents) and water (48 kg). During the washes, the temperature of the reaction mixture was maintained at <5° C. The mixture was adjusted to pH≧6 by washing with 7.5% NaHCO 3 solution (55.0 kg). Triethylamine (0.4 kg, 0.3 kg/kg starting material) was added and the organic phase was dried with anhydrous K 2 CO 3 (1.2 kg, 0.1 equivalents). The mixture was filtered and concentrated to dryness under vacuum at 20° C. to 35° C. to give (3S,4S,5S,6R)-4,5,6-Tris(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yltrifluoromethanesulfonate (12). The triflate was used without purification. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.31-7.16 (m, 15H), 5.12 (br s, 1H), 4.83 (d, J=4 Hz, 1H), 4.76 (d, J=11 Hz, 1H), 4.64 (m, 2H), 4.50 (d, J=9 Hz, 1H), 4.46 (d, J=8 Hz, 1H), 3.97 (dd, J=10, 3 Hz, 1H), 3.86 (d, J=14 Hz, 1H), 3.77-3.72 (m, 2H).
Step 14:
The triflate (12) was dissolved in DMF (36.2 kg, 3.02 kg/kg starting material) and cooled to 10° C. Sodium nitrite (5.9 kg, 3.0 equivalents) was added, the solution exothermed to approximately 30° C., then the reaction mixture was cooled to 15° C. to 25° C. and stirred for 12-16 h. The mixture was cooled to 5° C., and water (152 kg, 4.2 kg/kg DMF) was added at a rate that kept the temperature <15° C. The resulting mixture was agitated at 10° C. for 2 hours. The solids were filtered and washed with water (2×12 kg). The filtered solids were dissolved in ethyl acetate (21.6 kg, 1.8 kg/kg starting material). The solution was washed with brine (15.5 kg), dried with MgSO 4 (2.5 kg), filtered, and the filtrate was concentrated to dryness under vacuum at 35° C. Isopropanol (9.5 kg) was added and healed to 75° C. to dissolve the crude product. Heptane (24.6 kg) was added to the solution and the mixture cooled to 15° C. to 25° C. The mixture was further cooled to 0° C. and stirred overnight. The solids were filtered and washed with heptane (2×8.2 kg). The material was dried in a vacuum oven. (3S,4R,5S,6R)-4,5,6-Tris(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-ol (13) was obtained as a yellow solid, 5.3 kg (44%). 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.37 (m, 15H), 4.96 (d, J=11 Hz, 1H), 4.80 (m, 2H), 4.68 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.61 (m, 2H), 4.53 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.78 (m, 1H), 3.67 (m, 3H), 3.50 (dd, J=9, 3 Hz, 1H), 2.42 (br s, 1H).
Step 15:
The tribenzylxylose derivative (13, 10.4 kg, 24.73 moles) was mixed with methylene chloride (68.6 kg, 6.6 kg/kg starting material) and pyridine (9.8 kg, 5 equivalents) and cooled to −10° C. Trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride (8.7 kg, 1.25 equivalents) was added at a rate that kept the temperature below 0° C. The reaction mixture was stirred at −10° C. to 0° C. until starting material was consumed. Once complete, the reaction mixture was washed with 7.5% HCl solution (3×58.9 kg, 17 equivalents) and water (41.6 kg). During the washes, the temperature of the reaction mixture was maintained at <5° C. The mixture was adjusted to pH≧6 by washing with saturated NaHCO 3 solution (44.6 kg). Triethylamine (0.4 kg, 0.3 kg/kg starting material) was added and the organic phase was dried with anhydrous K 2 CO 3 (1.2 kg, 0.1 equivalents). The mixture was filtered and concentrated to dryness under vacuum at 20° C. to 35 T to yield (3S,4S,5S,6R)-4,5,6-tris(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yl trifluoromethanesulfonate (14).
Step 16:
The triflate (14) was dissolved in THF (29 kg, 2.8 kg/kg starting material) and cooled to 10° C. Tetraethylammonium cyanide (4.6 kg, 1.2 equivalents) was added, the solution exothermed, then the reaction mixture was cooled to 20° C. and stirred for 12 h. Ethyl acetate (21.8 kg) was added and the organic phase was washed with 10% NaCl solution (3×14.3 kg). The combined aqueous layers were extracted with ethyl acetate (21.8 kg). The organic layers were combined, dried with MgSO 4 (2 kg), filtered, and concentrated to dryness under, Ethanol (200 pf, 3.23 kg/kg starting material) was added and heated to 70° C. to dissolve the crude product. The solution was cooled to 20° C., then further cooled to 5° C. and stirred overnight. The solids were filtered and washed with heptane (2×10.4 kg). Crystallization from 200 pf ethanol (7 mL/g solids) was repeated. The solids were filtered and washed with heptane (2×10.4 kg). The material was dried in a vacuum oven. (3R,4R,5S,6S)-4,5,6-Tris(benzyloxy)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-carbonitrile (15) was obtained as a light brown solid, 6.3 kg (59%). 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): δ 7.31 (m, 15H), 4.90 (d, J=3 Hz, 1H), 4.81-4.73 (complex, 3H), 4.70 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.62 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 4.55 (d, J=12 Hz, 1H), 3.99 (dd, J=9, 5 Hz, 1H), 3.91 (dd, J=12, 3 Hz, 1H), 3.82-3.74 (overlapping signals, 2H), 3.13 m, 1H).
Step 17:
The nitrile derivative (15, 2.5 kg, 5.8 moles) was dissolved in absolute ethanol (138.1 kg) and heated at 35° C. until a clear solution was obtained, Moistened palladium on carbon was added (250 g; 10% w/w), followed by palladium hydroxide, (250 g; 20% w/w) and hydrochloric acid (0.6 L). The solution was purged twice with nitrogen and once with hydrogen. The solution was pressurized to 80 psi with hydrogen, stirred, and heated to 35° C. for 72 hours, repressurizing as necessary. The mixture was filtered and concentrated under vacuum at 30° C. to 35° C. Crude isofagomine hydrochloride was mixed with aq NH 4 OH (3 L). The solution was filtered and purified on a silica gel column (approx 20 kg) using 9:1 EtOH/aq NH4OH solvent system. The product was concentrated under vacuum at 35° C. to 40° C. The IFG free base was dissolved in absolute ethanol (7.7 mL/g residue) and filtered. L-(+)-Tartaric acid (1185 g, 1 g/g residue) was dissolved in absolute ethanol (7.7 mL/g residue), filtered, and slowly added to the solution of TFO in ethanol. This solution was stirred for 45 minutes, filtered, and washed with ethanol (2.5 L, 1 mL/g starting material). The product was dried to constant weight in a vacuum oven at 44° C. IFG tartrate was obtained as a white solid 1.2 kg. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, D 2 O): δ 4.40 (s, 2H), 3.70 (dd, J=12, 4 Hz, 1H), 3.66-3.58 (m, 2H), 3.38 (m, 3H), 2.83 (t, J=13 Hz, 1H), 2.79 (t, J=13 Hz, 1H), 1.88-1.77 (m, 1H).
Example 3
Synthesis of IFG Through Dioxane-Fused Xylose
Step 18:
L-xylose (150 g, 1 mol) and benzyl alcohol (450 mL, 4.3 mol) were stirred at 0° C. under nitrogen. Acetyl chloride (30 mL, 0.42 mol) was added at such a rate that the reaction temperature remained at 0° C. The reaction was heated to 40° C. for 16 h and reaction was complete by TLC. Excess benzyl alcohol was removed under reduced pressure. The batch was diluted with MTBE (1200 mL) and cooled to 0° C. for 16 h. The solids were filtered, washed with 350 mL MTBE, and dried under vacuum. Benzyl xylose (16) was obtained as a white solid (118 g, 49%). m.p. 120° C. 1 H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ): δ 7.40-7.28 (m, 5H), 4.93 (d, 1H, J=4.8 Hz), 4.71 (d, 1H, J=3.6 Hz), 4.82-4.78 (m, 2H), 4.65 (d, 1H, J=12.4 Hz), 4.44 (d, 1H, J=12 Hz), 3.47-3.38 (m, 2H), 3.36-3.27 (m, 3H), 3.25-3.21 (m, 1H).
Step 19:
Benzyl xylose (16, 1 g, 4.2 mol), 2,3-butanedione (0.4 mL, 4.6 mmol), trimethylorthoformate (1.5 mL, 14.7 mmol), and camphor-10-sulfonic acid (β) (0.116 g, 0.5 mmol) were mixed in methanol (10 mL) under nitrogen at 20° C. The mixture was heated to 60° C. and monitored by TLC until the reaction was complete. The reaction was cooled to room temperature. Solvent was evaporated and the product (4) was obtained by chromatography with 7% ethyl acetate in dichloromethane (427 mg, 29%), 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ): identical to the spectrum obtained from inversion of compound 3.
The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and the accompanying figures. Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
It is further to be understood that all values are approximate, and are provided for description.
Patents, patent applications, publications, product descriptions, and protocols are cited throughout this application, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes. | A method for preparing isofagomine, its derivatives, intermediates and salts thereof using novel processes to make isofagomine from D-(−)-arabinose and L-(−)-xylose. | 2 |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 115,782, filed 10/30/87, abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for removing petroleum coke deposits, and specifically, furfural coke. Coke can arise from a high temperature condensation of hydrocarbyl species, i.e. materials containing primarily hydrogen and carbon with minor amounts of heteroatoms such as nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur. Furfural coke, for purposes of this specification, means hydrogen deficient hydrocarbyl species resulting from decomposition, autoxidation, or polymerization of furfural.
2. Prior Art
On page 181 of Hydrocarbon Processing published by Gulf Publishing Company, May, 1978, an article entitled "Problems in Furfural Extraction" discusses problems of coking in lube oil plants. Coke deposits apparently arise due to decomposition, autoxidation or polymerization of furfural. Such furfural decomposition is reported to be inhibited with sodium bicarbonate or tertiary amines which apparently neutralize acids formed during decomposition. An example of a lube oil plant utilizing furfural extractions is reported in the September, 1982, issue of Hydrocarbon Processing on page 184. However, regardless of the steps to inhibit coke from furfural decomposition which are presently available, there eventually results such an accumulation of such coke that its removal from the system is required.
Current methods for removing coke have all proven to be too troublesome and time consuming. Scraping with water jets fails because furfural coke has a very high crush strength. Simply scraping or chipping is unsatisfactory because when coke is on the shell side of exchangers, only the outer rows of tubes are accessible. Other methods for cleaning out furfural coke deposits include letting the coke weather in the open for several months, then cleaning with a jet of high pressure water (Texaco's method). This works if the metallic surface is aluminum; it is not known if it will work if the surface is carbon or stainless steel.
Furfural coke deposits are particularly difficult to remove because furfural coke is much harder and clings to metal surfaces more than conventional petroleum coke.
In general, there is no rapid and economically efficient method for removing furfural coke deposits known to the prior art. Conventional methods have been found to be very difficult and inefficient in removing coke deposits. Examples of traditional methods for removing coke deposits are chipping, water jet, steam cutting, and sawing.
Though furfural, as any coke, can be burned, simply burning coke out of a metal heat exchanger is undesirable, because high temperatures from such burning can lead to warping and the introduction of strains and stresses within the metal. Even the physical properties of specially prepared metals such as stainless steel or chrome in the presence of carbon at high temperatures, such as above 800° F. (427° C.), often deteriorate so that they are no longer as corrosion resistant as they would otherwise be had they been properly treated.
The ideal situation is to have a very quick, easy and cost effective method to remove furfural coke deposits. Specifically, it would be desirable to have a method for quickly removing furfural coke from exchangers with blockage ranging from 1/8" to completely plugged. This usually represents roughly two to four years of properly buffered operation.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a method for removing furfural coke deposits, for example, from heat exchangers in a rapid and efficient manner without deteriorating any metallurgical properties of surfaces from which such coke is removed.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a furfural refining unit for preparing lube oils.
FIG. 2 is the observed heat evolution at various temperatures when heating furfural coke.
FIG. 3 includes a solid line graph of weight loss of a furfural coke sample as a function of temperature, wherein the sample is heated to increasing temperatures at a constant rate. Temperature of sample as a function of time is shown by dotted line.
Broadly, this invention provides a method for cleaning furfural coke deposits from metal surfaces by means of a unique heat treating process.
We have discovered that, unlike other forms of coke, it is possible to heat furfural coke in the presence of free oxygen at temperatures which do not lead to adverse metallurgical impacts on metallic surfaces, such as in heat exchangers, but yet will cause the character of the coke deposits to change so as to become readily and easily removable. We have discovered, surprisingly, that there exists temperatures in the range of about 400°-800° F. (204°-427° C.), preferably 500°-750° F. (260°-399° C.), and still more preferably 550°-700° F. (288°-371° C.) wherein the crush strength of furfural coke deposits change after being heated in air at a temperature in this range for in excess of at least one hour, preferably in excess of two hours, and generally for a time in the range of about four to six hours. Heating below 800° F. (427° C.) in an inert atmosphere does not result in a change, e.g. a decrease in crush strength, in coke deposits which permit ready removal.
It is possible at these temperatures to heat the coke in air without causing such an excessive amount of heat to be given off that undesirable metallurgic changes occur. When heating in air, we have discovered exotherms occur at roughly 500° F. (260° C.) and 700° F. (371° C.) but do not know precisely what process is causing these exotherms. No exotherms were observed when heating in an inert atmosphere.
Somewhat different temperatures and periods of time are appropriate when heating furfural coke, either in the presence of air at higher than atmospheric pressure or in the presence of higher concentrations of molecular oxygen than present in air to bring about a change in crush strength without giving rise to too rapid or great an evolution of heat. Somewhat lower temperatures and shorter periods of time for heating are required to bring about the same observed decrease in crush strength. Depending upon the concentration of molecular oxygen, the heat treatment can be reduced by as much as a third to a half.
To avoid pockets of furfural trapped within the coke getting out during the heating process and suddenly bursting into flame in the presence of any oxygen in an oven, it is desirable to (1) apply a jet of water under pressure to the tubes, which is ineffective for removing substantial quantities of the coke but does tend to remove most pockets of furfural, or (2) heat in the absence of air or other oxidation-promoting materials, followed by the heating required by this invention. The initial heating in the absence of air can be at any temperature sufficient to vaporize all of the furfural, which would certainly be above its boiling point at the pressures under which the material is being heated, preferably in the range of about 400°-500° F. (204°-260° C.).
Furfural coke forms predominantly in heater systems, high pressure flash distillation sections, and high pressure furfural condenser/heat exchangers. In general, any time you have condensing furfural vapors or when you are vaporizing furfural liquid, there is a tendency for furfural to polymerize and form coke deposits. Furfural coke is a unique type of coke in that it is very difficult to remove, tends not to be particularly porous, and has a very high crush strength determined in accordance with ASTM D-3313 of as much as fourteen pounds. It also contains approximately 30% Carbon and 3% Hydrogen, where the usual petroleum coke contains approximately 80% Carbon and 8% Hydrogen. It is highly resistant to the usual methods of coke removal such as high pressure steam and chipping, cutting or other direct physical methods.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1 a furfural refining unit is disclosed in which a waxy distillate is extracted with furfural to yield a refined oil product or raffinate. The elements in FIG. 1 are a deaerator (2), heat exchangers (4), a counter-current extractor (5), pumps (6), three extract flash towers in series (8), a furfural accumulator vessel (9), an extract stripper (10), an extract vacuum flash tower (11), a raffinate stripper (12), a raffinate vacuum flash tower (13), a furfural tower (14), and a water tower (15).
The heat exchangers most prone to have furfural derived carbonaceous (coke) deposits are: those exchangers (4) between lines (52) and (54), (54) and (56), (56) and (58), (60) and (62), (73) and (74), (91) and (92), and hp zone of vessel (8) and line (65) 51, 59, 61, 64, 68, 70, 71, 72, 78, 79, 81, 82, 88, and 90 are all conduits or lines for transferring material.
Briefly, the operation of this system is as follows. An oil charge comprising, for example, 100 neutral or 330 neutral waxy distillate is introduced through conduit (40) and heated by means of a heat exchanger (4) or other heating element and transferred through line (42) to a deaerator (2) to remove any air. Such step is not necessary if the material is previously deaerated and kept under an inert gas such as a nitrogen blanket. The material after being deaerated is transferred from line (44) by pump (6) through line (46) into heating element (4) or a heat exchanger (4) and then through line (48) into a counter-current extractor (5). Through line (51) is introduced substantially pure or recovered furfural. A reflux emptying tray (7) is circulated through lines (99) and (100) by means of a heat exchanger (4) and a pump (6) to improve furfural extraction efficiency in yielding a desirable raffinate product. The raffinate and furfural leave the top of counter-current extractor (5) through line (50), whereas heavier aeromatic material not suitable or desirable for forming lubricating oils leaves through line (52) as an extract mix.
The extract mix goes through a series of process steps to recover the furfural for reintroduction into counter-current extractor (5). The first step of this series involves heating the extract through one or more heat exchangers (4). The heated extract is introduced into the low pressure (lp) zone of flash tower (8), wherein a series of flashes occurs. The lowest pressure is at the lowest temperature and the highest pressure at the highest temperature.
Each flash tower overhead consisting primarily of furfural is removed and sent through different heat exchangers (4).
Bottoms through conduit (60) from the low pressure zone of flash tower (8), comprising furfural and extract, are heated by an exchanger (4) followed by fired heater (7) and transferred through conduit (63) to a high pressure (hp) flash zone of flash tower (8).
Bottoms from high pressure zone are transferred through heat exchanger (4) and conduit (65) to median pressure (mp) zone of flash tower (8).
Bottoms from median pressure zone of flash tower (8) are transferred through line (66) to vacuum flash tower (10).
The overheads (primarily furfural) from the median pressure (mp) flash zone move through line (67) then through exchanger (4) and line (69) to furfural extractor and accumulator (9).
The overheads from the vacuum flash tower (10), comprising primarily furfural, are transferred through line (73) to heat exchanger (4) and then through line (74) to vessel (9) for reuse in the counter-current extractor (5). Bottoms from extract vacuum flash zone (10) are transferred through conduit (85) to the extract stripping zone (11).
Into stripping zone (11) steam is introduced to strip out furfural from the extract which leaves vessel (11) through a pump (6), a heat exchanger (4), and line (41) to an appropriate storage zone not shown.
Stripped material from vessel (11) exits through line (84) for further stripping in a two tower azeotrope stripping section, which consists of an accumulator (14), a furfural tower (9) and water tower (15).
The stripped material from vessel (11) enters the accumulator (14). A furfural rich stream is drawn through line (79) to the furfural tower (9) where it is stripped with furfural vapors. The overhead of the furfural tower is a furfural--water azeotrope and exits through line (76) where it combines with the overhead of the water tower (also a furfural--water azeotrape). The combined stream flows through exchanger (4) back to accumulator (14). Substantially pure furfural exits through the bottom of the furfural tower (9), where it is recirculated back to the contactor (5). A second stream (water rich) is drawn from the accumulator (14) through line (80) into the water tower where it is stream stripped. The overhead being a furfural-water azeotrope combines with the overhead of the furfural tower as was stated earlier. Substantially pure water exits through conduit (83) for reuse or discard.
The raffinate and furfural in line (50) first exchanges heat in a heat exchanger (4) with furfural overhead in line (92) from raffinate vacuum flash tower (13). The overhead in line (50) after heat exchange is further heated in fired heater (7) prior to transfer in line (95) to raffinate vacuum flash tower (13), where most of the furfural is flashed overhead through conduit (92). Bottoms are routed through conduit (87) to the raffinate stripper (12). In stripper (12), steam is used to strip out any remaining furfural from the raffinate. The overhead conduit (86) combines with that of the extract stripper (11) and enters azeotrope stripping section (14). The bottoms (refined oil) is cooled then sent to storage for further processing.
EXAMPLE
Furfural-derived coke found in certain heat exchangers discussed herein before, were heated at increasing temperatures in the presence of air. In FIG. 2, a graph of heat evolution versus temperature reveals two exotherms at roughly 560° F. (239° C.) and 750° F. (399° C.).
In FIG. 3, the solid line shows a rapid weight loss in a sample of furfural coke, beginning at around 452° F. and ending at around 660° F. This occurred while heating the sample at a constant rate (see broken line).
The furfural coke tested had an initial crush strength of fourteen pounds as determined in accordance with ASTM D-3313. The final crush strength after heat treating was so low it did not register on our instruments, i.e. less than one pound.
A water jet typically emits water at a pressure of four to five thousand pounds per square inch (4,000 to 5,000 psi). We have found that prior to heat treatment of furfural derived coke in accordance with this invention, a water jet of five thousand pounds per square inch was insufficient to remove such coke deposits. Even water jets as high as thirty thousand pounds per square inch could not completely remove coke deposits.
However, after heat treating in accordance with this invention, a water jet of 5,000 psi easily removed all coke deposits. A water jet of as little as 1,000 psi worked. In fact, the nature of the coke had so changed that small vibrations such as from transporting a heat exchanger in a truck resulted in removal of most of the coke deposits. The crush strength had decreased from fourteen pounds to less than one pound, as measured in accordance with ASTM D-3313.
Examples of commercially available water jets that can be used in this invention are: a Partek® Liqua-Blaster model 610 DST and Jetpac™, model 1003, sold by Adnrac, Inc. of Washington.
Specific compositions, methods, or embodiments discussed herein are intended to be only illustrative of the invention disclosed by this Specification. Variations on these compositions, methods, or embodiments, such as combinations of features from various embodiments, are readily apparent to a person of skill in the art based upon the teachings of this Specification and are therefore intended to be included as part of the inventions disclosed herein. Any reference to literature articles or patents made in the Specification is intended to result in such articles and patents being expressly incorporated herein by reference including any articles or patents or other literature references cited within such articles or patents. | A method for removing furfural-derived coke from metallic surfaces by heating in an oxygen-containing gas, such as air, for a time and at a temperature sufficient to change the crush strength of the furfural coke to a point which will permit easy removal of such coke, without such an evolution of heat that the metallurgical properties of said metal surfaces are undesirably changed. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved arrangement containing a controlled deflection roll and a related regulation arrangement or regulator system.
In the commonly assigned copending U.S. application Ser. No. 223,238, filed Jan. 8, 1981, entitled "Controlled Deflection Roll", and since issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,743 on Nov. 1, 1983 there is disclosed a controlled deflection roll which constitutes part of a calender arrangement. This arrangement comprises a controlled deflection roll having a roll shell which is supported by means of support or pressure elements against a roll support or beam, and further contains a regulation arrangement for regulating the position of the roll shell. The position of the roll shell, at least at its two ends, is detected by means of position feelers or sensors and deviations from a set or reference value are processed into two adjustment or positioning magnitudes which act upon and influence the support or pressure elements.
With the arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned patent the roll body is constituted by a hollow cylinder in the interior of which there is arranged the roll support or beam. As the counter element there are used further solid rolls of the calender. However, it is to be specifically understood the present invention is not limited to such type of arrangements. For instance, the roll support or beam can be disposed externally of the roll body which, in turn, can be constructed as a solid or hollow cylinder. Also, there can be provided a plurality of roll supports located in appropriate radial planes, which in each case serve to support or brace pressure or support elements. Equally, the counter rolls can be located in one or a number of planes. As the counter elements there also can be provided bands or also a stationary or movable plane possessing plastic or elastic properties and so forth. In all of these cases which are here mentioned only by way of example and not limitation, it is possible to advantageously employ the teachings of the present invention.
With the heretofore known arrangement there are contemplated different possibilities for inputting the adjustment or positioning signals to the individual support or pressure elements or their controls, as the case may be. Thus, for instance there has been disclosed controlling only a portion of the support elements located near the marginal edge or end of the controlled deflection roll by the signal of the next closest situated position feeler or sensor, whereas the support elements at the central or intermediate zone of the controlled deflection roll are influenced in accordance with the working or operating conditions of the calender.
However, during the operation of a calender arrangement containing such a controlled deflection roll further influencing factors are of significance, as will be explained hereinafter:
If, as in this example, the controlled deflection roll is arranged beneath one or a number of coacting counter rolls which, in turn, are mounted in the calender stand or framework in vertically movable bearings, then the roll shell of the controlled deflection roll initially must take-up the load caused by the force of gravity. Depending upon the construction of the system such can already cause an irregular distribution of the supporting force of the individual support or pressure elements. Furthermore, the support or supporting force of the support or pressure elements must be capable of being adjusted in accordance with the desired base load or mean line force prevailing at the roll nip. Additionally, it is desirable if the machine operator can locally correct the pressing or contact force, since it is possible to thus compensate irregularities of the material which is processed at the calender and which irregularities were possibly caused by upstream located equipment or machines. Finally, there also prevails the possibility that, because of irregular friction conditions present in the machine structure, the position of the roll shell detected by the position feelers or sensors at the one side of the roll shell does not coincide with the position of the roll shell at its other side, and this situation likewise must be compensated for by means of the support or pressure elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, with the foregoing in mind it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of the character described which is constructed such that all of the aforementioned aspects can be effectively taken into account, notwithstanding that there need be formed only a single adjustment or positioning element for each support or pressure element or even for a plurality of support elements.
Now in order to implement these and still further objects of the invention, which will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, the arrangement of the present development is manifested by the features that both of the adjustment or positioning magnitudes are formed while taking into account a possible difference between both of the deviations of the respective actual values from their related reference values and thereafter weighted and grouped together with further adjustment or positioning magnitudes and input to the support or pressure elements.
It will be understood that initially both of the position signals delivered by the position sensors or feelers are infed as inputs of separate regulators which, however, have applied thereto, generally, the same reference or set value, and in the normal case upon a change in the reference or set value, starting from the adjusted or regulated operating condition, both position signals would possess the same magnitude. Since, however, both regulators operate independently of one another there can arise a varying deviation of the actual values from the reference values at both sides or ends of the roll shell. This situation is extremely disadvantageous for the operation of the calender, so that it must be handled differently than the normal or standard regulation operation. While the last-mentioned normal or standard regulation operation must transpire with a sufficiently long time-constant, in order to preclude the occurrence of regulation oscillations or fluctuations because of the high inertia of the system, it is to be appreciated that in the event of such type of "irregular" regulation at both sides or ends of the roll shell it is necessary to switch the time-constant, or to introduce a differential lead or rate action, or to ensure in some other conventional manner that this position error is more rapidly eliminated. Only following both of these linked regulation circuits are there provided weighting devices in order to convert the generated regulation signal into adjustment or positioning magnitudes for the support or pressure elements, which will be of different magnitude depending upon the spacing of the support or pressure elements from the related end of the roll shell. There can be added to the weighted adjustment or positioning magnitudes further signals, which are predicated upon manual or automatically predetermined manipulations.
Since the aforementioned irregular level adjustment of the roll shell indicates a disturbance in the mechanical equipment, the corresponding signal is advantageously rendered discernible in the form of a warning or alarm signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above, will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawing wherein the single FIGURE of the drawing schematically illustrates a calender arrangement containing a controlled deflection roll and depicts in block circuit diagram the related regulation arrangement or circuity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Describing now the drawing, there will be recognized a calender arrangement containing a roll support or beam 1 upon which there is supported the roll shell 2 of a controlled deflection roll by means of suitable force-applying sources or support or pressure elements 3. In the exemplary embodiment under discussion the support or pressure elements 3 are constituted by conventional hydrostatic support bearings, the support or supporting force of which is individually controllable by means of pressure adjustment valves 4 or equivalent structure. The supply of the system with a suitable pressurized fluid medium, typically oil, at a constant high pressure is accomplished by means of the infeed line or conduit 8 as is well known in this technology.
The actual position of the roll shell 2 in relation to a reference position, for instance in the embodiment under discussion in relation to the roll support or beam 1, is detected at both ends or sides of the controlled deflection roll by means of appropriate position sensors or feelers 5 which generate corresponding position signals F1 and F2, for instance in the form of an electrical potential or voltage. These position signals F1 and F2 are transmitted, as shown, by means of the lines or conductors 7 to a regulation arrangement which will be discussed more fully hereinafter. In the exemplary embodiment under discussion the position measurement is directly undertaken at the roll shell 2, but such of course is not absolutely crucial for practicing the invention. Furthermore, it is to be here remarked that the expression "roll shell" as used herein in the context of this disclosure designates a body, here for instance a hollow cylinder; however, in the case of a solid cylinder serving as the controlled deflection roll this terminology is to be understood in a broader and, specifically, geometric sense as constituting the jacket or outer surface of such cylinder.
At the roll stand or framework 10 of the calender arrangement there is mounted a counter roll 11 above which there can be located at least one further roll 12. The roll journals 11' of the counter roll 11, and the further rolls of the calender arrangement, located above the counter roll 11, are housed in suitable bearing blocks 13 or equivalent mounting facilities which are movably guided in the roll stand or framework 10.
The pressure adjustment valves 4, serving as control valves, have inputted thereto the adjustment or positioning signals by means of the lines or conductors 6. By way of example there has been illustrated that, as to the eight depicted support or pressure elements 3, the two outermost ones of such support elements form a respective "zone" Z1 and Z5, both of the next innermost support elements likewise form a respective "zone" Z2 and Z4, and the four innermost support elements 3 conjointly form an intermediate "zone" Z3; this means that each of these zones is individually controllable as concerns its correspondingly applied supporting force.
The adjustment or positioning signals appearing at the lines 6 are generated as follows:
The actual value-signals F1 and F2 are applied to the actual value-inputs 50 and 60 of related regulation amplifiers or regulators R1 and R2, respectively, at whose respective reference value-inputs 55 and 65 there is applied the set or reference value appearing at the line or conductor 14 and which can be altered manually or in accordance with a predetermined program. In the presence of a deviation between the actual value and the reference or set value each of the regulation amplifiers R1 and R2 generates a sign-correct output signal which appears at the related regulator output line 15-1 and 15-2, respectively, and which is then transmitted to a related converter network N1 and N2, respectively, as shown. The converter networks N1 and N2 convert the corresponding adjustment or positioning signal into five summands which, depending upon the distance to the zone which is to be adjusted from the related sensor or feeler 5, can be large or small, i.e. are weighted in relation to such distance and for the zone situated closest to the related feeler or sensor 5 there is generally formed a larger summand, whereas for the zones situated further away such form correspondingly smaller summands. As shown, these magnitudes are then input in each case to a summation element or adder SZ1, SZ2 . . . SZ5, and each converter network N1 and N2 delivers a respective summand to each summation element. As a third summand there can be additionally impressed upon the summation elements SZ1, SZ2 . . . SZ5 a respective correction signal by means of the correction signal lines KZ1 . . . KZ5, by means of which the machine operator is capable of correcting errors which, for instance, are caused at the material which is calendered by upstream located machines, this error correction being possible by individually adjusting or setting the individual zone pressing or contact forces. These correction signals, of course, also could be delivered by the regulators upon which there is impressed as the actual value any suitable magnitude measured at the material behind the related zone.
If, starting from the regulated or adjusted operation there arises a disturbance, then initially both of the position sensors or feelers 5 report the prior position as an actual value to the regulators R1 and R2. This means that both of the signals F1 and F2 generally possess the same absolute value and the same sign. Both regulators R1 and R2 thus operate in the same sense in order to regulate-out or eliminate the disturbance. The regulation time-constant, which defines a delay in the time of response of the regulators is sufficiently long so that, notwithstanding the appreciable inertia of the system, there cannot arise any regulation oscillations or fluctuations.
Because of mechanical disturbances, for instance in the guide arrangement of the counter roll 11 in the roll stand 10, it can however happen that the signals F1 and F2 assume different values, which means that the roll shell 2 is positioned "obliquely" or at an inclination. This undesirable condition must be eliminated as quickly as possible. It is for this reason that there is beneficially provided a comparator 16, at the inputs 70 and 75 of which there are respectively applied the signals F1 and F2, and which comparator 16 generates at the output-side line or conductor 17 an output signal when there is present the condition F1≠F2. This signal is used to act upon the corresponding inputs 58 and 68 of the regulators R1 and R2, respectively, with the result that their regulation time-constant is appreciably shortened. In the exemplary embodiment under discussion there has only been illustrated a single line or conductor 17; however it should be understood that depending upon which end of the roll shell so-to-speak "trails"--which can be recognized by the greater absolute value of the difference between the set or reference value appearing at the line 14 and the position signal F1 or F2--, either the regulator R1 or the regulator R2 can be caused to operate "more rapidly".
It is also useful for the machine operator to know that such type of mechanical disturbance is even present. Therefore, the relevant signal "F2 larger than F1" or "F1 larger than F2" can be beneficially used for, for instance, illuminating a respective control lamp 18 which is operatively correlated to the related position feeler or sensor 5.
It is to be remarked that the position sensors or feelers 5 need not absolutely detect the position of the roll shell 2 relative to the roll support or beam 1. It is also possible that they stationarily or movably detect the position of the roll shell 2 relative to the counter roll 12 or to some other component or part of the system.
Additionally, it is to be mentioned that the summation elements SZ1, SZ2 . . . SZ5 can contain a converter which, as a function of the momentarily desired pressing or contact force (reference or set value appearing at the reference or set line 14) for each individual zone, modifies the formed sum, for instance in accordance with a linear characteristic having a separately determined or fixed slope for each zone.
While there are shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, | An arrangement containing a controlled deflection roll which is supported by means of support or pressure elements against a roll support or beam. There is also provided a regulation arrangement for regulating the position of the roll shell, wherein the position of the roll shell at least at both of its opposed ends is detected by position sensors or feelers and deviations from a set or reference value are processed into two adjustment or positioning magnitudes which act upon the support or pressure elements. Both of the adjustment magnitudes are formed while taking into account a possible difference between both of the reference value-actual value differences and thereafter weighted and grouped together with further adjustment magnitudes and inputted to the support or pressure elements. | 3 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing units, information processing methods, and to provision media therewith, and in particular, relates to an information processing unit and method for outputting operation commands to different types of electronic devices, and to a medium containing the method for the information processing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case where a video cassette recorder (VCR) is connected to a television (TV) receiver, a remote controller dedicated to the VCR and a remote controller dedicated to the TV receiver are used. When there are different remote controller for electronic devices, as described above, a user may be confused by forgetting the correspondence between the remote controllers and the electronic devices. In addition, for controlling a series of processes by a plurality of electronic devices as in the case where a satellite-broadcasted program, received by a set top box (STB), is recorded by a VCR while being monitored by a TV receiver, different remote controllers for the electronic devices must be used.
Accordingly, a multifunctional remote controller has been developed that can operate a plurality of electronic devices by using recorded operation commands for the electronic devices.
Although the multifunctional remote controller can control electronic devices recorded in the remote controller, it cannot control a newly acquired electronic device, i.e., an electronic device for which controller information has not yet been recorded. To solve this problem, a remote controller provided with a learning function, by which an operable electronic device can be additionally recorded in the remote controller, has been further developed.
In the case where the remote controller uses its learning function to learn operation commands for the added electronic device, one of the existing buttons of the remote controller must be assigned to the added electronic device. This causes a problem in that confusion may occur because the original markings for the button of the remote controller do not correspond to the added electronic device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing unit and method that output operation commands to a plurality of electronic devices without confusing user operations by displaying graphical user interfaces (GUIs) supplied from the electronic devices in the form of hypertext markup language (HTML), and to provide a medium providing the information processing method for the information processing unit.
To this end, according to an aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of an information processing unit for controlling a plurality of electronic devices. The information processing unit includes a storage unit for storing input graphical-user-interface data for the electronic devices, a display unit for displaying graphical user interfaces corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data stored in the storage unit, a detecting unit for detecting user operations corresponding to the graphical user interfaces displayed on the display unit, and a transmitting unit for transmitting control signals controlling the electronic devices in accordance with the results of detection by the detecting unit.
Preferably, the graphical-user-interface data are described in the form of hypertext markup language. The shapes and arrangement of symbols on each graphical user interface may be similar to those of operation buttons of a remote controller dedicated to the corresponding electronic device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of a remote controller for controlling a plurality of electronic devices. The remote controller includes a storage unit for storing externally input graphical-user-interface data on the electronic devices, the graphical-user-interface data being described in the form of hypertext markup language, a display for displaying graphical user interfaces corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data stored in the storage unit, a detector for detecting user operations corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data displayed on the display, and a transmitter for transmitting control signals controlling each electronic device in response to the result of detection by the detector.
Preferably, the graphical-user-interface data include command codes for controlling the electronic devices, and the command codes correspond to control buttons displayed as the graphical user interfaces, and command data are read from the storage unit by operating each control button so that each electronic device is controlled.
The graphical-user-interface data may be stored in the electronic devices, and the graphical-user-interface data may be supplied from the electronic devices to the storage unit.
The electronic devices may store addresses at which the graphical-user-interface data are stored, and the graphical-user-interface data may be supplied from an information processing unit corresponding to each address to the storage unit.
The graphical-user-interface data may be stored in a storage medium provided separately from the electronic devices, and the graphical-user-interface data may be supplied from the storage medium to the storage unit.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of an information processing method for controlling a plurality of electronic devices. The information processing method includes a storage step for storing input graphical-user-interface data on the electronic devices, a display step for displaying graphical user interfaces corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data stored in the storage step, a detection step for detecting user operations corresponding to the graphical user interfaces displayed in the display step, and a transmission step for transmitting control signals controlling the electronic devices in accordance with the results of detection performed in the detection step.
Preferably, the information processing method further includes a selection step for selecting one electronic device for supplying the graphical-user-interface data, and a record step for instructing the transmission of the graphical-user-interface data from the selected electronic device.
The information processing method may further include a selection step for selecting one electronic device for supplying the graphical-user-interface data, and a download step for downloading the graphical-user-interface data, based on the address of a graphical-user-interface-data storage server at which the graphical user interface data are stored. The address of the graphical-user-interface-data storage server is output from the selected electronic device.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of a provision medium for providing a computer-readable program to an information processing unit for controlling a plurality of electronic devices. The computer-readable program controls the information processing unit to execute a process including a storage step for storing input graphical-user-interface data on the electronic devices, a display step for displaying graphical user interfaces corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data stored in the storage step, a detection step for detecting user operations corresponding to the graphical user interfaces displayed in the display step, and a transmission step for transmitting control signals controlling the electronic devices in accordance with the results of detection performed in the detection step.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of an electronic device control method for controlling an electronic device controlled by an information processing unit. In the electronic device control method, when the electronic device receives from the information processing unit a request for transmitting graphical-user-interface data, and the graphical-user-interface data are stored in the electronic device or a storage medium belonging thereto, the method controls the electronic device to transmit the graphical-user-interface data to the information processing unit, and in the electronic device control method, when the graphical-user-interface data are not stored in the electronic device or the storage medium, the method controls the electronic device to output an address stored in the electronic device, which represents a server storing the graphical-user-interface data, and the method controls the electronic device downloads, from the server corresponding to the address via a network, and supplies the graphical-user-interface data to the information processing unit.
Preferably, the graphical-user-interface data are described in the form of hypertext markup language, and the address is an Internet protocol address.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the link of a remote controller 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention to other electronic devices;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the exterior of the remote controller 11 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the remote controller 11 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for registering an added electronic device in the remote controller 11 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an example of an initial screen displayed on the display panel 22 shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an example of a screen picture shown on the display panel 22 shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a drawing showing another example of the initial screen shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process for controlling an electronic device by using the remote controller 11 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a drawing showing an example of a control screen displayed when the TV receiver shown in FIG. 1 is controlled;
FIG. 10 is a drawing showing the shapes and arrangement of operation buttons of a remote controller dedicated to a TV receiver; and
FIG. 11 is a drawing showing an example of a GUI displayed on the display panel 22 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows an example of the connection between a remote controller 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention and other electronic devices. An STB 2 , a VCR 3 , a digital versatile disk (DVD) player 4 , a TV receiver 5 , an amplifier 6 , a MiniDisk (MD) player 7 , a compact disk (CD) player 8 , and a personal computer (PC) 9 are connected to the remote controller 11 via a bus 1 .
Each of the STB 2 to the PC 9 stores GUI data described in its HTML or the Internet protocol (IP) address of a server (on a network) at which GUI data described in its HTML are stored. In response to a request from the remote controller 11 , each of the STB 2 to the PC 9 supplies the remote controller 11 with the stored HTML-form GUI data, or supplies the PC 9 with the IP address of the server.
The HTML-form GUI data include control codes controlling electronic devices.
The PC 9 is connected to a display 10 , and also to a network (not shown) such as the Internet.
The type of the bus 1 may include an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 cable or another type of cable, an infrared link, and a radio link. By using one of these or a plurality of types of links among these, all the electronic devices may be connected. In the following description, the remote controller 11 is connected to the other electronic devices by using the infrared link. In addition, in the case where an IEEE 1394 cable is used to exchange various data such as HTML data or GUI data (described below), by embedding the data in a known IP packet processed by a PC, and embedding the IP packet (e.g., asynchronous packet) in a packet defined in the IEEE 1394, data exchange can be performed. Definitely, also in the case where not only the IEEE 1394 but also another type of data transfer format is used, data exchange can be performed such that a packet defined in the format is used, and each device performing data exchange embeds the desired data in the packet when transmitting the packet and extracts the desired data included in the received packet when receiving the packet.
FIG. 2 shows the exterior of the remote controller 11 . An infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 receives HTML-form GUI data supplied as an infrared signal from one of the STB 2 to the CD player 8 . The infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 also transmits an operation command for operating one of the STB 2 to the CD player 8 in the form of an infrared signal. The display panel 22 is a dot-matrix display for displaying a GUI, and a touch panel 23 is integrated with the display panel 22 . The touch panel 23 is composed of a transparent member through which an image displayed on the display panel 22 , which is lower, can be observed. The touch panel 23 detects a position touched by the user, as a pair of coordinates.
A switching button 24 is operated for switching on and off the power supply of the display panel 22 . A jog dial 25 is used to perform frame-forwarding reproduction. Cursor keys 26 - 1 to 26 - 4 are used to move a cursor 43 for selecting one of selective items displayed on the display panel 22 . A confirming button 27 is operated for confirming the selected item.
FIG. 3 shows an internal structure of the remote controller 11 . An operation unit 31 detects operations by the user via the touch panel 23 , the switching button 24 , the jog dial 25 , the cursor keys 26 - 1 to 26 - 4 , and the confirming button 27 , and outputs the operation information to a CPU 33 . An HTML storage unit 32 is comprised of a memory, and stores HTML-form GUI data to be displayed on the display panel 22 and other types of display data. The HTML storage unit 32 also stores software required for displaying the HTML-form GUI data, such as an operating system and a browser. The CPU 33 controls the above-described units in accordance with the software. The above-described units are connected by a bus 34 .
The HTML-form GUI data stored in the HTML storage unit 32 include data directly supplied from the electronic devices (the STB 2 to the CD player 8 ) and data supplied from the PC 9 to the remote controller 11 after being downloaded from the server on the Internet to the PC 9 .
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the operation of the remote controller 11 is described below. In this description, the VCR 3 , the DVD player 4 , the amplifier 6 , the MD player 7 , and the CD player 8 have already been recorded in the remote controller 11 , and the TV receiver 5 is additionally recorded.
In step S 1 , when the switching button 24 of the remote controller 11 is operated by the user, the CPU 33 displays an initial screen read from the HTML storage unit 32 . An example of the displayed initial screen is shown in FIG. 5 . Each of the device operation buttons 41 - 1 to 41 - 5 is operated to select an electronic device to be controlled. Each displayed device operation button corresponds to one electronic device (recorded electronic device) whose HTML-form GUI data are stored in the HTML storage unit 32 . In the example shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with the amplifier 6 , the CD player 8 , the MD player 7 , the DVD player 4 , and the VCR 3 that have already been recorded in the remote controller 11 , the corresponding device operation buttons 41 - 1 to 41 - 5 are displayed.
A recording button 42 is operated to record information for a new electronic device in the remote controller 11 .
Each button is selected by moving the cursor 43 with the cursor keys 26 - 1 to 26 - 4 , and is confirmed by operating the confirming button 27 . Also, each button is selected and confirmed by operating the jog dial 25 and the touch panel 23 .
When the recording button 42 is operated by the user in step S 2 , the CPU 33 proceeds to step S 3 , and the CPU 33 displays the recording screen shown in FIG. 6 on the display panel 22 . On the display panel 22 , the “RECORD FROM DEVICE” button 51 - 1 and the “RECORD FROM NETWORK” button 51 - 2 are displayed as command buttons. The “RECORD FROM DEVICE” button 51 - 1 is operated for reading HTML-form GUI data stored in an electronic device to be additionally recorded. The “RECORD FROM NETWORK” button 51 - 2 is operated for downloading GUI data from the server on the network by the PC 9 regardless of whether the electronic device to be additionally recorded stores HTML-form GUI data.
In step S 4 , the CPU 33 in the remote controller 11 determines whether the “RECORD FROM DEVICE” button 51 - 1 or the “RECORD FROM NETWORK” button 51 - 2 has been operated. The CPU 33 in the remote controller 11 waits for either button 51 - 1 or 51 - 2 to be operated. If the CPU 33 has determined that the “RECORD FROM DEVICE” button 51 - 1 has been operated, it proceeds to step S 5 . At this time, the user must operate either button 51 - 1 or 51 - 2 while aiming the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 of the remote controller 11 at the TV receiver 5 (the electronic device to be additionally recorded).
In step S 5 , the CPU 33 controls the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 to output a command for requesting HTML-form GUI data. When the TV receiver 5 receives the request command, it sends stored HTML-form GUI data by infrared transmission. The remote controller 11 uses the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 to receive the transmitted HTML-form GUI data.
In step S 6 , the HTML-form GUI data received as described above are stored in the HTML storage unit 32 .
If the CPU 33 has determined in step S 4 that the “RECORD FROM NETWORK” button 51 - 2 has been operated, it proceeds to step S 7 . In step S 7 , the CPU 33 controls the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 to output a command for requesting the IP address of the server at which the HTML-form GUI data are stored. When the TV receiver 5 receives the request command, it supplies the PC 9 with the stored IP address of the server.
The PC 9 accesses, via the network, the server corresponding to the IP address supplied from the TV receiver 5 , and downloads the stored HTML-form GUI data. In step S 8 , the downloaded HTML-form GUI data are sent to the remote controller 11 by infrared transmission, and the transmitted HTML-form GUI data are received by the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 . In step S 9 , the received HTML-form GUI data are stored in the HTML storage unit 32 .
After the received HTML-form GUI data of the TV receiver 5 are stored in the HTML storage unit 32 , as described above, the CPU 33 proceeds to step S 10 , and a device operation button corresponding to the TV receiver 5 is added in the initial screen (displayed in step S 1 and shown in FIG. 5 ). In other words, a command button 41 - 6 , indicated as “TV”, is additionally displayed as shown in FIG. 7 .
If it is found in step S 5 that the TV receiver 5 has no HTML-form GUI data of the TV receiver 5 , the TV receiver 5 supplies the PC 9 with the IP address of the server at which the HTML-form GUI data of the TV receiver 5 are stored. Subsequently, processing from step S 7 is similarly performed.
The HTML-form GUI data of the device (TV receiver 5 ) to be additionally recorded may be distributed to the user by using a storage medium such as a magnetic disk, and from the storage medium, the HTML-form GUI data may be provided to the remote controller 11 .
With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, a process for controlling an electronic device by using the remote controller 11 is described below.
In step S 21 , an initial screen is displayed on the display panel 22 . In this process, the initial screen shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display panel 22 .
In step S 22 , among the device operation buttons 41 - 1 to 41 - 6 , one device operation button is selected and confirmed by the user. For example, when the device operation button 41 - 6 is selected and operated, a GUI for controlling the TV receiver 5 is displayed on the display panel 22 in step S 23 . In other words, if the CPU 33 has determined that the device operation button 41 - 6 has been operated, it reads the HTML-form GUI data of the TV receiver 5 stored in the HTML storage unit 32 , and displays the read data on the display panel 22 . An example of the GUI corresponding to the TV receiver 5 is shown in FIG. 9 .
In the example shown in FIG. 9, a minus button 61 - 1 and a plus button 61 - 2 are operated for changing channels. A minus button 62 - 1 and a plus button 62 - 2 are operated for changing the volume. A command button 63 is operated for returning to the initial screen (shown in FIG. 7 ).
After the GUI is displayed on the display panel 22 , a user operation is accepted. For example, when the minus button 62 - 1 is operated, the operation is detected by the operation unit 31 , and the detection signal is output to the CPU 33 . The CPU 33 reads a command code (included in the GUI data) corresponding to the minus button 62 - 1 from the HTML storage unit 32 , and uses the infrared transmitting/receiving unit 21 to transmit the read code. The TV receiver 5 reduces the volume in response to the transmitted code.
By designing GUI symbols (operation buttons) to be similar to the shapes and arrangement (shown in, e.g., FIG. 10) of operation buttons of a remote controller dedicated to the TV receiver 5 , that is, as in the example shown in FIG. 11, no confusion occurs in user operations. In addition, the GUI may be designed to be similar to the shapes of operation buttons provided in an electronic device itself.
In addition, only by preparing and storing, in the remote controller 11 , HTML-form GUI data including command codes for an electronic device, an electronic device capable of being controlled by the remote controller 11 can be added without addition and modifications in hardware.
By describing GUI data in the HTML, an electronic device can be controlled by using a device (e.g., personal computer) capable of treating HTML-form data, in other words, the electronic device can be remote-controlled.
A computer program for performing the foregoing processing may be provided to the user not only on an information recording medium such as a magnetic disk or a compact-disk read-only memory but also by a network provision medium such as the Internet or digital satellite link. | An information processing unit controls a plurality of electronic devices. The information processing unit includes a storage unit for storing input graphical-user-interface data on the electronic devices, a display unit for displaying graphical user interfaces corresponding to the graphical-user-interface data stored in the storage unit, a detecting unit for detecting user operations corresponding to the graphical user interfaces displayed on the display unit, and a transmitting unit for transmitting control signals controlling the electronic devices in accordance with the results of detection by the detecting unit. | 7 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to tin or tin alloys, in which the α (alpha) dose has been reduced, for use in the production of semiconductors, etc., and a method for producing the same.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Generally, tin is a material used in the production of semiconductors, and is particularly a main raw material for solder materials. In the production of semiconductors, when a semiconductor chip and a substrate are bonded, and an Si chip, such as IC or LSI, is bonded to or sealed in a lead frame or a ceramics package, solder is used to form bumps during TAB (tape automated bonding) or during the manufacture of flip chips, and is used as a semiconductor wiring material.
[0003] Since recent semiconductor devices are highly densified and of low operation voltage and cell capacity, there is an increasing risk of soft errors caused by the influence of α rays emitted from materials in the vicinity of semiconductor chips. For this reason, there are demands for high purification of the aforementioned solder materials and tin, and demands for materials with lower α rays.
[0004] There are several disclosures relating to techniques for reducing α rays from tin. These techniques are described below. Document 1 discloses a method for producing low α-dose tin by alloying tin and lead having an α dose of 10 cph/cm 2 or less, and then removing the lead from the tin by refining. This technique is intended to reduce the α dose by diluting 210 Pb in the tin through the addition of high-purity Pb.
[0005] However, this method requires a complex process of removing Pb after being added to tin. Furthermore, the refined tin showed a significantly lower α dose in three years after refining; however, it can also be interpreted that the tin with a lower α dose cannot be used until three years later. Accordingly, this method is not considered to be industrially efficient.
[0006] Document 2 indicates that when 10 to 5,000 ppm of a material selected from Na, Sr, K, Cr, Nb, Mn, V, Ta, Si, Zr and Ba is added to Sn—Pb alloy solder, the radiation α particle count can be reduced to 0.5 cph/cm 2 or less.
[0007] However, even with the addition of such materials, the radiation α particle count could be reduced only to a level of 0.015 cph/cm 2 , which does not reach the level expected for current semiconductor device materials.
[0008] Another problem is that alkali metal elements, transition metal elements, heavy metal elements, and other elements that are undesirably mixed in semiconductors are used as the materials to be added. Therefore, it would have to be said that this is a low level material for assembling semiconductor devices.
[0009] Document 3 describes reducing the count of radiation α particles emitted from solder ultra fine wires to 0.5 cph/cm 2 or less, and using the same as the connection wiring of semiconductor devices. However, this level of count of radiation α particles does not reach the level expected for current semiconductor device materials.
[0010] Document 4 describes using highly-refined sulfuric acid, such as top-grade sulfuric acid, and highly-refined hydrochloric acid, such as top-grade hydrochloric acid, to form an electrolyte, and using high-purity tin as the anode to perform electrolysis, thereby obtaining high-purity tin having a low lead concentration and a lead α-ray count of 0.005 cph/cm 2 or less. It is natural that high-purity materials can be obtained by using high-purity raw materials (reagents) without regard to cost. Nevertheless, the lowest α-ray count of the deposited tin shown in an Example of Document 4 is 0.002 cph/cm 2 , which does not reach the expected level, despite the high cost.
[0011] Document 5 discloses a method for obtaining metallic tin of 5N or higher by adding nitric acid to a heated aqueous solution containing crude metallic tin to precipitate metastannic acid, followed by filtration and washing, then dissolving the metastannic acid, which was subject to washing, in hydrochloric acid or hydrofluoric acid, and performing electrowinning using the dissolution as an electrolyte. Document 5 vaguely states that this technique can be applied to semiconductor devices, but does not refer to limitation of radioactive elements or limitation of the radiation α particle count. Thus, Document 5 lacks interest in these limitations.
[0012] Document 6 shows a technique of reducing the amount of Pb contained in Sn, which constitutes a solder alloy, and using Bi, Sb, Ag or Zn as an alloy material. In this case, however, even though the amount of Pb is reduced as much as possible, no means are provided to fundamentally solve the problem of the radiation α particle count caused by the Pb being inevitably incorporated.
[0013] Document 7 discloses tin having a grade of 99.99% or higher and a radiation α particle count of 0.03 cph/cm 2 or less, produced by electrolysis using a top-grade sulfuric acid reagent. In this case, it is also natural that high-purity materials can be obtained by using high-purity raw materials (reagents) without regard to cost. Nevertheless, the lowest α-ray count of the deposited tin shown in an Example of Document 7 is 0.003 cph/cm 2 , which does not reach the expected level, despite the high cost.
[0014] Document 8 discloses lead as a brazing filler metal for use in semiconductor devices, which has a grade of 4N or higher, a radioisotope of less than 50 ppm, and a radiation α particle count of 0.5 cph/cm 2 or less. In addition, Document 9 discloses tin as a brazing filler metal for use in semiconductor devices, which has a grade of 99.95% or higher, a radioisotope of less than 30 ppm, and a radiation α particle count of 0.2 cph/cm 2 or less.
[0015] In Document 8 and Document 9, allowable values concerning the radiation α particle count are respectively lenient, and there is a problem in that the techniques of these documents do not reach the level expected for current semiconductor device materials.
[0016] In light of the above, the present applicant has proposed, as shown in Document 10, high-purity tin wherein the purity is 5N or higher (excluding gas components O, C, N, H, S, and P), especially the respective contents of U and Th as radioactive elements are 5 ppb or less, and the respective contents of Pb and Bi that emit radiation α particles are 1 ppm or less, in order to eliminate the influence of α rays on semiconductor chips as much as possible. In this case, the high-purity tin is produced by being finally melted and cast, and optionally being rolled and cut. Document 10 relates to a technique for realizing that the α-ray count of the high-purity tin is 0.001 cph/cm 2 or less.
[0017] When Sn is refined, Po, which is highly sublimable, sublimates upon heating in the production process, such as melting and casting process. If polonium isotope 210 Po is removed in the early stages of production, it is naturally considered that disintegration of polonium isotope 210 Po to lead isotope 206 Pb does not occur, and α rays are not generated.
[0018] This is because the generation of α rays in the production process presumably occurs during the disintegration of 210 Po to lead isotope 206 Pb. In fact, however, the generation of α rays was subsequently observed, although it was considered that Po was almost eliminated during production. Therefore, simply reducing the α-ray count of high-purity tin in the early stages of production was not a fundamental solution to the problem.
Patent Document 1: JP 3528532 B Patent Document 2: JP 3227851 B Patent Document 3: JP 2913908 B Patent Document 4: JP 2754030 B Patent Document 5: JP H11-343590 A Patent Document 6: JP H09-260427 A Patent Document 7: JP H01-283398 A Patent Document 8: JP S62-047955 B Patent Document 9: JP S62-001478 B Patent Document 10: WO 2007/004394
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0029] Since recent semiconductor devices are highly densified and of low operation voltage and cell capacity, there is an increasing risk of soft errors caused by the influence of α rays emitted from materials in the vicinity of semiconductor chips. In particular, there are strong demands for high purification of solder materials or tin for use in the vicinity of semiconductor devices, and demands for materials with lower α rays. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to clarify the phenomenon of the generation of α (alpha) rays in tin and tin alloys, and to obtain high-purity tin, in which the α dose has been reduced, suitable for the required materials, as well as a method for producing the same.
Solution to Problem
[0030] The following invention is provided to solve the above problem.
[0000] 1) Tin characterized in that a sample of the tin after melting and casting has an α dose of less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 .
2) Tin characterized in that the respective α doses of a sample of the tin measured one week, three weeks, one month, two months, six months, and thirty months after melting and casting are less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 .
[0031] 3) Tin characterized in that the first measured α dose of a sample of the tin is less than 0.0002 cph/cm 2 , and the difference between the first measured α dose and the α dose measured after the elapse of five months from the first measurement is less than 0.0003 cph/cm 2 .
[0000] 4) The tin according to 1) or 2), characterized in that the first measured α dose of the sample is less than 0.0002 cph/cm 2 , and the difference between the first measured α dose and the α dose measured after the elapse of five months from the first measurement is less than 0.0003 cph/cm 2 .
5) The tin according to any one of 1) to 4), characterized in that the Pb content is 0.1 ppm or less.
6) The tin according to any one of 1) to 3), characterized in that the respective contents of U and Th are 5 ppb or less.
7) A tin alloy comprising 40% or more of the tin according to any one of 1) to 6).
8) A method for producing the tin according to any one of 1) to 6), characterized in that raw material tin having a purity level of 3N is leached in hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, and then electrolytic refining is performed using the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 or less and an Sn concentration of 200 g/L or less as an electrolyte.
9) The method for producing tin according to 8), characterized in that the electrolysis is performed at an Sn concentration of 30 to 180 g/L.
10) The method for producing tin according to 8) or 9), characterized in that the raw material tin, in which the amount of lead isotope 210 Pb is 30 Bq/kg or less, is used.
Effects of Invention
[0032] Since recent semiconductor devices are highly densified and of low operation voltage and cell capacity, there is an increasing risk of soft errors caused by the influence of α rays emitted from materials in the vicinity of semiconductor chips. However, the present invention has an excellent effect of providing tin and a tin alloy suitable for materials with low α rays. The occurrence of soft errors in semiconductor devices caused by the influence of α rays can be thereby significantly reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 This shows the disintegration chain of uranium (U) disintegrating into 206 Pb (uranium-radium disintegration series).
[0034] FIG. 2 This shows the amounts of α rays emitted during the reconstruction of the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb in a state where there is almost no polonium isotope 210 Po.
[0035] FIG. 3 This shows the relationship between the Pb content and the α dose in Sn.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0036] There are many radioactive elements that generate α rays; however, most of them have very long or very short half-lives, and therefore do not actually cause problems. Actual problems are α (alpha) rays generated during the disintegration of polonium isotope 210 Po to lead isotope 206 Pb in the U disintegration chain (see FIG. 1 ).
[0037] As Pb-free solder materials for semiconductors, Sn—Ag—Cu, Sn—Ag, Sn—Cu, Sn—Zn, etc., have been developed, and there is a demand for low α tin materials. However, it is very difficult to completely remove trace lead contained in tin. Tin materials for semiconductors generally contain lead at a level of 10 ppm or more.
[0038] As described above, Po is highly sublimable and sublimates upon heating in the production process, such as melting and casting process. When polonium isotope 210 Po is removed during the production process, it is considered that disintegration of polonium isotope 210 Po to lead isotope 206 Pb does not occur, and α rays are not generated (see the “U disintegration chain” of FIG. 1 ).
[0039] However, in a state where there is almost no polonium isotope 210 Po, disintegration of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb occurs. It was also found that about 27 months (a little more than two years) were required for the disintegration chain to be brought into a state of equilibrium (see FIG. 2 ).
[0040] More specifically, when the material contains lead isotope 210 Pb (half-life: 22 years), disintegration of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi (half-life: 5 days)→ 210 Po (half-life: 138 days) ( FIG. 1 ) proceeds over time, and the disintegration chain is reconstructed to produce 210 Po. Thus, α rays are generated by the disintegration of polonium isotope 210 Po to lead isotope 206 Pb.
[0041] For this reason, the problem cannot be solved even if the α dose is low immediately after the production of products. The α dose gradually increases over time, causing a problem of increasing the risk of developing soft errors. The aforementioned period of 27 months (a little more than two years) is not short at all.
[0042] The problem that the α dose gradually increases over time in spite of the low α dose immediately after the production of products is attributable to the fact that the material contains lead isotope 210 Pb of the U disintegration chain shown in FIG. 1 . It can be said that the above problem cannot be solved unless the content of lead isotope 210 Pb is reduced as much as possible.
[0043] FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the Pb content and the α dose. It was found that the straight line shown in FIG. 3 shifted up and down depending on the proportion of lead isotopes 214 Pb, 210 Pb, 209 Pb, 208 Pb, 207 Pb, 206 Pb, and 204 Pb, and that the line shifted upwards as the proportion of lead isotope 210 Pb became high. That is, when the amount of lead isotope 210 Pb exceeds 30 Bq/kg, the straight line shown in FIG. 3 moves upwards.
(Analytical Method of 210 Pb and Minimum Determination Limit)
[0044] An analysis sample is dissolved in an acid mixture (nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), and then lead and a calcium carrier are added. A hydroxide precipitate is formed by using an ammonia solution, and tin is removed. An ammonia solution and sodium carbonate are placed in the supernatant to form a carbonate precipitate. The precipitate is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and passed through an Sr resin column. Nitric acid is added to the eluate to form a sulfate precipitate, and the sulfate precipitate is mounted to obtain a measurement sample. The measurement sample is covered with an aluminum plate (27 mg/cm 2 ), and is allowed to stand for two weeks or more. Thereafter, β (beta) rays of 210 Bi produced from 210 Pb are measured for 6,000 seconds by a low-background β-ray measuring device. The net counting rate of the measurement sample is determined, and correction of counting efficiency, chemical recovery rate, etc., is performed, thereby calculating the radioactive concentration of 210 Pb. The measuring devices used were low-background β-ray measuring devices LBC-471Q and LBC-4201 (produced by Aloka Co., Ltd.). The minimum detection limit of the radioactive concentration of 210 Pb is set as “the minimum radioactive value that can be reliably detected” for the nuclide targeted for analysis when analytical and measuring conditions (the amount of measurement sample, chemical recovery rate, measurement time, counting efficiency, etc.) are determined.
[0045] From the above, it is important to reduce the proportion of lead isotope 210 Pb in tin. Since the reduction of Pb to 0.1 ppm or less consequently results in the reduction of lead isotope 210 Pb, the α dose does not increase over time.
[0046] Furthermore, the lower abundance ratio of lead isotope 206 Pb implies that the ratio of U disintegration chain shown in FIG. 1 is relatively low. It is considered that lead isotope 210 Pb belonging to this system also decreases.
[0047] Thereby, the melted and cast tin can achieve an α (alpha) dose of less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 . This level of α dose forms the basis of the present invention. None of the prior art documents suggests or indicates that the above level of a dose is achieved with such recognition.
[0048] Specifically, the present invention provides tin in which the respective a doses measured one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb si brought into a state of equilibrium when there is no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb, are less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 .
[0049] Additionally, the present invention can make the difference between the measured α dose of a sample of the melted and cast tin and the α dose of the sample after five months to be less than 0.0003 cph/cm 2 . To reduce the above α dose, the abundance ratio of lead isotope 206 Pb is desirably less than 25% in the raw material tin. The abundance ratio of lead isotope 206 Pb as used herein refers to the proportion of 206 Pb among four stable lead isotopes 208 Pb, 207 Pb, 206 Pb, and 204 Pb.
[0050] In this case, the initial (first) measurement of α dose of a tin sample does not only refer to the measurement of α dose of a tin sample immediately after melting and casting. More specifically, the difference between the measured α dose, regardless of when the α dose of the tin sample is measured, and the α dose measured five months later is less than 0.0003 cph/cm 2 . Needless to say, it will be easily understood that it is not denied that the initial measurement of the α dose includes the measurement of the α dose of the tin sample immediately after melting and casting.
[0051] Furthermore, the measurement of α dose may require attention to α rays emitted from the α-ray measuring device (equipment) (hereafter, the term “background (BG) α rays” is used, as necessary). The above α dose in the present invention is a substantial amount of α rays excluding α rays emitted from the α-ray measuring device. The term “α dose” described in this specification is used in this sense.
[0052] While the above describes the α dose generated from tin, tin-containing alloys are also strongly affected by the α dose. The influence of the α dose may be relieved by components (other than tin) that have a less α dose or hardly produce α rays. However, in the case of a tin alloy comprising at least 40% or more of tin in the alloy contents, it is desirable to use the tin of the present invention, which has a low α dose.
[0053] Generally, refining of tin is carried out by a distillation method or an electrolytic method. In the distillation method, however, it is necessary to repeat distillation over and over. Further, when there is an azeotrope, it is difficult to perform isolation and refining, and lead cannot be reduced to a level of 1 ppm or less.
[0054] Moreover, the electrolytic method uses an electrolyte prepared by mixing hexafluorosilicate and acid, and adding additives, such as glue, thereto. However, it is difficult to separate tin and lead because their normal electrode potentials are very close to each other (tin: −0.14 V, lead: −0.13 V). Further, the hexafluorosilicate, glue, and other additives may cause lead contamination, and there is a limitation to reduction of lead only to a level of several 10 ppm.
[0055] The present invention allows removal of lead to a level of 0.1 ppm by controlling the pH (pH range of strong acid) and the tin concentration in an electrolyte comprising only acid and being free from hexafluorosilicate and additives.
[0056] The high-purity tin of the present invention obtained in this manner has an excellent effect of significantly reducing the occurrence of soft errors in the semiconductor device caused by the influence of α rays.
[0057] When tin is produced by the above electrolysis, the Sn concentration of the electrolyte is desirably 30 to 200 g/L. When the Sn concentration is less than 30 g/L, the impurity concentration becomes high; whereas when the Sn concentration is higher than 200 g/L, Sn oxide tends to precipitate. Therefore, the Sn concentration is desirably within the above-mentioned range. The upper limit of the Sn concentration is more preferably 180 g/L or less. It is further desirable to use raw material tin in which the amount of lead isotope 210 Pb is 30 Bq/kg or less. Although raw material tin containing lead isotope 210 Pb in an amount more than this range can also be used, it is desirable to enhance the refining effect to reduce the amount of lead isotope 210 Pb as much as possible.
Examples
[0058] Next, Examples of the present invention are described. The following Examples are merely illustrative, and the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, embodiments other than the Examples or modifications are all included within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.
[0059] The raw material tins shown in Table 1 were used in the following Examples and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the type of raw material tin and the amount of lead isotope 210 Pb contained in each of the raw materials A to E (unit: Bq/kg).
[0000]
TABLE 1
Amount of Lead Isotope 210 Pb
Type of Raw Material Tin
(Bq/kg)
Raw Material A
14
Raw Material B
15
Raw Material C
48 ± 6.2
Raw Material D
60 ± 7.2
Raw Material E
24
Example 1
[0060] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte. Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 7 A/dm 2 .
[0061] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0062] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0063] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0064] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 14 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material A) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 1.81 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 24.86%. The abundance ratio of lead isotope 206 Pb as used herein indicates that the proportion of 206 Pb among four lead isotopes 208 Pb, 207 Pb, 206 Pb, and 204 Pb. The same applies to the following Examples.
[0065] The α-ray measuring device used was an ORDELA Model 8600 A-LB gas flow proportional counter. The gases used were 90% argon and 10% methane. The measurement time for both the background and sample was 104 hours. The initial four hours were regarded as the time required for purging the measurement chamber, and the data between 5 to 104 hours after the start of measurement was used for the calculation of the α dose.
[0066] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0067] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention. As described above, the measured α dose was a substantial amount of α rays excluding α rays emitted from the α-ray measuring device. The same applies to the following Examples.
[0068] In this Example, the leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte; however, almost similar results were obtained when electrolytic refining was performed under different electrolyte conditions (Sn concentration) using a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 30 g/L or a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 180 g/L.
Example 2
[0069] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte. Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 1 A/dm 2 .
[0070] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0071] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0072] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.07 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0073] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 14 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material A, same as the raw material of Example 1) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 1.81 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 24.86%.
[0074] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb, the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0075] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0076] In this Example, the leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte; however, almost similar results were obtained when electrolytic refining was performed under different electrolyte conditions (Sn concentration) using a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 30 g/L or a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 180 g/L.
Example 3
[0077] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte.
[0078] Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 1 A/dm 2 .
[0079] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0080] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0081] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.05 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0082] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 15 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material B) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 3.8 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 24.74%.
[0083] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0002 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0084] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0085] In this Example, the leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte; however, almost similar results were obtained when electrolytic refining was performed under different electrolyte conditions (Sn concentration) using a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 30 g/L or a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 180 g/L.
Example 4
[0086] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte. Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out twice under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 7 A/dm 2 . That is, this process is to perform electrolysis again (second electrolysis) using, as the anode, a tin plate obtained by subjecting the electrodeposited tin, which was collected by the first electrolysis, to melting and casting.
[0087] In the above electrolysis process, when the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0088] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0089] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0090] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 48±6.2 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material C) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 11.55 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 25.97%.
[0091] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0092] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0002 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention. In this Example, the leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte; however, almost similar results were obtained when electrolytic refining was performed under different electrolyte conditions (Sn concentration) using a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 30 g/L or a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 180 g/L.
Example 5
[0093] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte. Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 7 A/dm 2 .
[0094] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0095] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0096] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0097] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 24 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material E) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 4.5 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 266 Pb was 22.22%.
[0098] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0005 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0099] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0002 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0100] In this Example, the leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte; however, almost similar results were obtained when electrolytic refining was performed under different electrolyte conditions (Sn concentration) using a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 30 g/L or a leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 180 g/L.
Comparative Example 1
[0101] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte.
[0102] Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 7 A/dm 2 .
[0103] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0104] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0105] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.07 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0106] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 60±7.2 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material D) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 12.77 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 25.06%.
[0107] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background (BG) α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.02 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0108] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the purification effect was not sufficient, the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
[0109] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.007 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
Comparative Example 2
[0110] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and the resulting leachate having a pH of 1.0 and an Sn concentration of 80 g/L was used as an electrolyte.
[0111] Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 30° C., and the current density was 7 A/dm 2 .
[0112] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated. The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot.
[0113] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0114] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.09 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0115] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 48±6.2 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material C, same as the raw material of Example 4) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 11.55 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 25.97%.
[0116] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background (BG) α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.01 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0117] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the purification effect was not sufficient, the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
[0118] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.007 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
Comparative Example 3
[0119] Tin containing 4 ppm of Pb was melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot. The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0120] In this sample, the Pb content was 4 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0121] Moreover, in the raw material tin (material obtained by mixing the raw material B used in Example 3 and the tin produced in Example 3) used herein, the total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 3.9 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 25%.
[0122] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background (BG) α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.0008 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0123] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the purification effect was not sufficient, the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
[0124] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0004 cph/cm 2 , which also did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
Comparative Example 4
[0125] Raw material tin with a purity level of 3N was leached in hydrochloric acid (or sulfuric acid), and mixed with hexafluorosilicate and acid. The resulting leachate having an Sn concentration of 50 g/L was used as an electrolyte.
[0126] Using a tin plate obtained by casting raw material tin as the anode, and a titanium plate as the cathode, electrolysis was carried out under conditions where the electrolysis temperature was 20° C., and the current density was 1 A/dm 2 .
[0127] When the thickness of the tin electrodeposited on the cathode reached about 2 mm, the electrolysis was halted, and the cathode was taken out from the electrolytic cell. The electrodeposited tin was collected by being removed from the cathode. After the collection, the cathode was returned to the electrolytic cell, and the electrolysis was started again. This operation was repeated.
[0128] The collected electrodeposited tin was washed and dried, and melted and cast at a temperature of 260° C. to obtain a tin ingot. The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0129] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.7 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0130] Moreover, the amount of unstable lead isotope 210 Pb was 14 Bq/kg in the raw material tin (raw material A, same as the raw material of Example 1) used herein. The total amount of four stable lead isotopes was 1.81 ppm, and the abundance ratio of stable lead isotope 206 Pb was 24.86%.
[0131] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background (BG) α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0132] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the purification effect was not sufficient, the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb)) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
[0133] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which also did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
Example 5
Tin Alloy Comprising 0.5% Cu, 3% Ag, and Balance Sn
[0134] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive elements of the tin alloy of this Example were 6N—Ag and 6N—Cu, which were prepared by highly purifying the commercially available silver and copper by electrolysis. These elements were added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 260° C., thereby producing an Sn—Cu—Ag alloy ingot comprising 0.5% Cu, 3% Ag, and the balance Sn.
[0135] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0136] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0137] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
[0138] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
Example 6
Tin Alloy Comprising 3.5% Ag and Balance Sn
[0139] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive element of the tin alloy of this Example was high-purity silver, which was prepared by dissolving the commercially available Ag with nitric acid, adding HCl thereto to precipitate AgCl, and further subjecting the precipitated AgCl to hydrogen reduction, thereby obtaining high-purity Ag (5N—Ag). This element was added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 260° C., thereby producing an Sn—Ag alloy ingot comprising 3.5% Ag and the balance Sn.
[0140] The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays.
[0141] In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0142] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 206 Pb; the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention. Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
Example 7
Tin Alloy Comprising 9% Zn and Balance Sn
[0143] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive element of the tin alloy of this Example was 6N—Zn, which was prepared by highly purifying the commercially available zinc by electrolysis. This element was added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 240° C., thereby producing an Sn—Zn alloy ingot comprising 9% Zn and the balance Sn. The tin ingot was subject to rolling to a thickness of about 1.5 mm, and cut into a square (310 mm×310 mm). Its surface area was 961 cm 2 . This was used as a sample for measurement of α rays. In this sample, the Pb content was 0.06 ppm, the U content was less than 5 ppb, and the Th content was less than 5 ppb.
[0144] As a result of measuring the α dose of the above sample one week, three weeks, one month, two months, and six months after melting and casting, and thirty months being beyond 27 months in which the disintegration chain of 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb was brought into a state of equilibrium when there was no polonium isotope 210 Po producing α rays by the disintegration to lead isotope 266 Pb, the α dose was at a maximum of 0.0003 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention. Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.0001 cph/cm 2 , which satisfied the requirements of the present invention.
Comparative Example 5
Tin Alloy Comprising 0.5% Cu, 3% Ag, and Balance Sn
[0145] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive elements of the tin alloy of this Comparative Example were the commercially available 3N-level silver and copper. These elements were added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 260° C., thereby producing an Sn—Cu—Ag alloy ingot comprising 0.5% Cu, 3% Ag, and the balance Sn. In this sample, the Pb content was 7.1 ppm, the U content was 10 ppb, and the Th content was 10 ppb.
[0146] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.1 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0147] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.005 cph/cm 2 , which also did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0148] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
Comparative Example 6
Tin Alloy Comprising 3.5% Ag and Balance Sn
[0149] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive element of the tin alloy of this Comparative Example was the commercially available 3N-level Ag. This element was added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 260° C., thereby producing an Sn—Ag alloy ingot comprising 3.5% Ag and the balance Sn.
[0150] In this sample, the Pb content was 5.3 ppm, the U content was 7 ppb, and the Th content was 6 ppb.
[0151] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background α dose. However, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased, and the α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.03 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0152] Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.002 cph/cm 2 , which also did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0153] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
Comparative Example 7
Tin Alloy Comprising 9% Zn and Balance Sn
[0154] The tin produced in Example 1 was prepared. The additive element of the tin alloy of this Comparative Example was the commercially available 3N-level zinc. This element was added to the above tin, and melted and cast at 240° C., thereby producing an Sn—Zn alloy ingot comprising 9% Zn and the balance Sn.
[0155] In this sample, the Pb content was 15.1 ppm, the U content was 12 ppb, and the Th content was 10 ppb.
[0156] The α dose of the above sample three weeks after melting and casting was the same level as the background α dose; however, the α dose six months after melting and casting clearly increased. The α dose of the sample (the difference from the background α dose) was 0.5 cph/cm 2 , which did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention. Moreover, when α dose changes of the same sample in five months (between the first month and the sixth month) were observed, the difference in α dose of the sample was 0.01 cph/cm 2 , which also did not satisfy the requirements of the present invention.
[0157] The reason for this is considered to be that: the α dose was temporarily reduced because of sublimation of Po during the melting and casting process; but the Pb content was high, and the 210 Pb content was consequently also high; and therefore the disintegration chain ( 210 Pb→ 210 Bi→ 210 Po→ 206 Pb) was reconstructed to increase the α dose.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0158] As described above, since the present invention has an excellent effect of providing tin and a tin alloy suitable for materials with low α rays, the influence of α rays on semiconductor chips can be eliminated as much as possible. Accordingly, the present invention can significantly reduce the occurrence of soft errors in semiconductor devices caused by the influence of α rays, and is thus useful as a material to be used in an area where tin is used as a solder material or the like. | Disclosed is tin characterized in that a sample of the tin after melting and casting has an α dose of less than 0.0005 cph/cm 2 . Since recent semiconductor devices are highly densified and of high capacity, there is an increasing risk of soft errors caused by the influence of α rays emitted from materials in the vicinity of semiconductor chips. In particular, there are strong demands for high purification of solder materials and tin for use in the vicinity of semiconductor devices, and demands for materials with lower α rays. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to clarify the phenomenon of the generation of α rays in tin and tin alloys, and to obtain high-purity tin, in which the α dose has been reduced, suitable for the required materials, as well as a method for producing the same. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to and is a division of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/087,507, filed on Nov. 22, 2013, which claims priority to and is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/EP2012/058990 filed May 15, 2012, which claims priority to Great Britain Application No. 1108616.2 filed May 23, 2011, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This patent specification relates to fossil-fuelled power plants with integrated carbon capture facilities. In particular, there is disclosed a system and method of operation in which a fossil-fuelled open- or combined-cycle gas turbine plant is integrated with a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) arrangement.
BACKGROUND
MCFCs are under development for natural gas and coal-based power plants. MCFCs operate at temperatures in excess of 600 deg. C., using an electrolyte comprising molten carbonate salts in a permeable, chemically inert ceramic matrix, such as beta-alumina. They are more efficient at power conversion than some other fuel cells—with capture and use of waste heat, overall fuel efficiencies of MCFCs can reach 85 percent. A further advantage is that because of their high operating temperatures, they can reform fuels such as natural gas to hydrogen internally, thereby potentially eliminating the need for an external reformer. Moreover, MCFCs are resistant to poisoning by carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide, so facilitating their integration with fossil fuel power plants. In particular, MCFCs can be used to
increase the efficiency of fossil fuel power plants by reacting exhaust gases to generate electricity, and reduce environmental impact by separating out carbon dioxide from the exhaust gases.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,396,603 B2 discloses a fossil fuel power plant arranged in tandem with a MCFC, in which flue gases containing about 10% CO 2 together with 19% water and 9% oxygen are fed directly to the cathode side of the MCFC. At the same time, fuel such as natural gas is input to the anode side, where it is reformed to liberate hydrogen. Electrochemical reactions in the MCFC effectively result in a major proportion of the CO2 in the flue gas being transferred from the cathode side to the anode side. The CO 2 -enriched gas is then exhausted from the anode side for subsequent processing, including separation and sequestration of the CO 2 .
Published European patent application EP 0 418 864 A2 discloses a broadly similar method and apparatus.
The present patent specification discloses a fossil fuel power plant having improved integration with an MCFC arrangement for CO2 separation, and a method of operating the power plant.
SUMMARY
A first aspect provides an operating method for a fossil fuel power plant comprising a gas turbine arrangement coupled to a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) arrangement, the method including the steps of:
(i) partially expanding combustion gases in the gas turbine arrangement to a predetermined temperature and pressure substantially greater than ambient pressure and temperature and compatible with reaction in a cathode side of the MCFC arrangement; and (ii) exhausting the partially expanded combustion gases at the predetermined temperature and pressure to the cathode side of the MCFC arrangement for reaction therein.
Partial expansion of the combustion gases may be achieved by:
reducing the number of turbine stages in a gas turbine relative to the number of stages that would be present if the gas turbine was intended to expand the combustion gases down to ambient pressure, and/or expanding the combustion gases through an exhaust duct of the gas turbine whose length and profile is adapted to achieve the required partial expansion.
By only partially expanding the combustion gases in a gas turbine, instead of fully expanding the gases down to ambient pressure, the temperature and pressure of the combustion gases can be at least approximately matched to reaction conditions in the cathode side of an MCFC, thus eliminating the need to insert additional equipment such as heat exchangers, pumps or compressors between the gas turbine and the MCFC to adjust the temperature and pressure of the combustion gases to a suitable level for reaction in MCFC's. The operating method enables the provision of a less complex integrated fossil fuel power plant with fewer components and at the same time allows more effective operation of MCFC's.
Step (i) typically comprises partially expanding the combustion gases to a predetermined optimum pressure, greater than ambient pressure, at which the temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases is optimised for reaction in the cathode side of an MCFC. The temperature of the exhaust gases at the predetermined optimum pressure may be equal, or substantially equal, to the optimal cathode inlet temperature of the cathode side. Partial expansion of the combustion gases to a pressure greater than ambient pressure enables efficient operation of MCFC's under pressurised conditions.
The method may include recirculating a proportion of the cathode exhaust gases from an outlet of the cathode side of an MCFC to an inlet of the cathode side for reaction therein. Such partial recirculation is intended to improve the efficiency of the integrated fossil fuel power plant. The method may include mixing the recirculated cathode exhaust gases with the partially expanded temperature-optimised combustion gases provided by step (i) and feeding the mixture to the cathode side for reaction therein. This may enable the temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases provided by step (i) to be further adjusted for reaction in the cathode side.
The method may further include expanding through a gas expander the cathode exhaust gases that are not recirculated to the cathode inlet. This is possible because the combustion gases are only partially expanded, and not fully expanded to atmospheric pressure, prior to being fed to the cathode side of the carbonate fuel cell. Further useful work can, thus, be extracted from the non-recirculated proportion of the cathode exhaust gases by expanding them in a gas expander.
In enable the desired electrochemical reaction in the MCFC arrangement, the method includes feeding fuel gas to the anode side of the MCFC arrangement.
The method may further include recirculating a proportion of the anode exhaust gases from an outlet to an inlet of the anode side for reaction therein. Again, this partial recirculation is intended to improve the efficiency of the integrated fossil fuel power plant. The method may include mixing the recirculated anode exhaust gases with the fuel gas and feeding the mixture to the anode side of the MCFC arrangement.
The method may also include expanding through a gas expander the anode exhaust gases that have not been recirculated to the anode inlet. Again, this allows further useful work to be extracted from the non-recirculated proportion of the anode exhaust gases, thus further improving the efficiency of the integrated fossil fuel power plant.
A second aspect provides a fossil fuel power plant comprising a gas turbine arrangement and a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) arrangement, the gas turbine arrangement in use being coupled to the MCFC arrangement to exhaust its combustion gases to a cathode side thereof, the gas turbine arrangement being configured to partially expand combustion gases produced by combustion of a carbon-containing fossil fuel to a predetermined pressure and temperature above ambient and compatible with reaction in the cathode side of the MCFC arrangement.
To enable the desired electrochemical reaction to proceed in the MCFC arrangement, the anode side thereof is coupled to a source of fuel gas when in use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The sole drawing is a schematic representation of an integrated fossil fuel power plant in accordance with the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawing.
The integrated fossil fuel power plant 10 includes a fuel processor 12 operable to desulphurise fossil fuel such as natural gas (NG). The power plant further includes a steam reformer 14 , a gas turbine 15 , a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) 16 and small gas turbines 18 , 20 , otherwise known as gas expanders. The fuel cell 16 has an anode side 16 a , a cathode side 16 c and an electrolyte 16 b.
The integrated fossil fuel power plant 10 is operated on natural gas (NG) by initially desulphurising it in the fuel processor 12 . Of course, if the fuel fed to the power plant 10 were sufficiently pure, the fuel processor 12 would not be required. A first proportion of the desulphurised natural gas is then fed to the external natural gas steam reformer 14 . As known, this creates fuel gas (FG), which is fed to the anode side 16 a of the MCFC 16 . A second proportion of the desulphurised natural gas is fed to a combustion section 15 a of the gas turbine engine 15 , which, as known, also comprises a compressor section 15 b , and a turbine section 15 c . The compressor operates to pressurize ambient air and pass it to the combustor 15 a where it is mixed and burnt with the natural gas to produce combustion gases (CG), which are expanded through the turbine 15 c . Shaft power produced by the turbine is used to drive an electrical generator (not shown) to generate electricity. The expanded combustion gases from the gas turbine 15 are fed to the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 , where they are reacted.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the combustion gases (CG) are partially expanded in the gas turbine engine 15 to a predetermined optimum pressure greater than ambient pressure, the expansion ratio of the turbine 15 c being selected so that the partially expanded combustion gases (CG) exhausted from the gas turbine 15 are at the predetermined optimum pressure. The temperature of the combustion gases varies with their pressure, according to the amount of expansion undergone in the turbine, and the predetermined optimum pressure is determined based on the optimal operating temperature of the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 . More particularly, the temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases (CG) at the predetermined optimum pressure is equal or substantially equal to the optimal cathode inlet temperature of the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 .
The electrochemical reaction that takes place inside the MCFC 16 causes carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) contained within the partially expanded combustion gases to be transferred from the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 through the electrolyte 16 b to the anode side 16 a . The electrochemical reaction produces electricity and the transfer of carbon dioxide to the anode side 16 a produces anode exhaust gases (AEG) that are rich in carbon dioxide.
The temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases increases in the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 as a result of the electrochemical reaction. It can, therefore, be advantageous to recirculate a proportion of the cathode exhaust gases (CEG) back to the inlet of the cathode side 16 c via a recirculation line 22 , as this may enable the temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases to be further optimised for reaction in the cathode side 16 c . In the illustrated embodiment, the recirculated cathode exhaust gases are mixed with the partially expanded combustion gases (CG) from the gas turbine 15 before the resulting mixture is then fed to the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 .
The cathode exhaust gases that are not recirculated to the inlet of the cathode 16 c are fed via a feed line 24 to the gas expander 18 for further expansion to generate electricity. This further expansion is possible due to the fact that the combustion gases (CG) are not fully expanded to ambient pressure in the gas turbine 15 . However, in the illustrated embodiment, some of the non-recirculated cathode exhaust gases are bled off upstream of the gas expander. Firstly, some of the cathode exhaust gases (CEG) are used to raise steam in a specific heat recovery steam generator 25 , before being fed back into line 24 . The steam thus raised from water input 23 is fed to the external reformer 14 on feed line 27 for use in the natural gas steam reforming process. Secondly, some of the cathode exhaust gases may be bled off via a feed line 26 and passed through heat exchange passages of the reformer 14 to raise the temperature of the reactants before the cathode exhaust gases are returned to the gas expander via a feed line 28 . The efficiency of the power plant 10 may be further improved by extracting further useful work from the hot gas stream exhausted from the gas expander 18 , for example by passing the exhaust gases through a heat recovery steam generator 29 to produce process steam. Hence, heat requirements for the natural gas steam reforming process, and for steam generation, are both satisfied by cooling down the cathodic outlet gas. Note that a variation of the illustrated layout could comprise combining units 25 and 29 in a single heat recovery steam generator.
The power plant 10 also includes a recirculation line 30 for recirculating a proportion of the anode exhaust gases (AEG) from the anode side 16 a of the MCFC 16 to the inlet of the anode side 16 a . The recirculated anode exhaust gases are mixed with the fuel gas (FG) before the mixture is fed to the anode side 16 a of the MCFC 16 . The anode exhaust gases that are not recirculated are fed, via a feed line 32 , to the gas expander 20 where they are expanded to generate electricity.
After expansion in the gas expander 20 , water is removed from the anode exhaust gases in a condenser 33 . The expanded anode exhaust gases are rich in carbon dioxide and hence downstream of condenser 33 can be either passed direct to CO 2 compression and subsequent sequestration, or the concentration of CO2 can be further increased by utilising known means such as oxy-combustion, in which the anode gases are burnt with pure oxygen, or CO2 chemical capture processes in which the gases are treated with CO2 solvents such as amines. The use of the MCFC 16 in the power plant 10 thus advantageously facilitates carbon capture and storage whilst at the same time maximising the operating efficiency of the power plant 10 .
It should be understood that various modifications could be made to the embodiments described above within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the carbonate fuel cell 16 could be an internally reforming MCFC, in which case the external steam reformer 14 could be omitted. Recirculation of the exhaust gases from the anode side 16 a and/or the cathode side 16 c of the MCFC 16 could also be omitted. | As integrated fossil fuel power plant and a method of operating the power plant is provided. The integrated fossil fuel power plant includes a gas turbine arrangement and a carbonate fuel cell having an anode side and a cathode side. The operating method for the integrated fossil fuel power plant includes partially expanding combustion gases in the gas turbine arrangement so that the temperature of the partially expanded combustion gases is optimized for reaction in the cathode side of the carbonate fuel cell, and feeding the partially expanded combustion gases at the optimized temperature to the cathode side of the carbonate fuel cell for reaction in the cathode side of the carbonate fuel cell. | 8 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a thermoelement and a thermovalve incorporating a thermoelement, and more specifically, relates to a thermoelement and a thermovalve incorporating the thermoelement, in which a displacement means advances and retracts along with contractive and expansive actions of a thermosensitive medium.
BACKGROUND ART
Heretofore, a thermoelement for displacing a displacement means such as a shaft and a thermovalve in which the thermoelement is incorporated has been proposed, in which attention is focused on an expansive action of a thermosensitive fluid caused by a rise in the ambient temperature.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-006675, an invention referred to as an “ampblock system wax type thermostat” is disclosed. According to the disclosure of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-006675, a structure is revealed in which a wax 2 , which is enclosed in a temperature sensing part 1 , expands accompanying a rise in the ambient temperature, whereby a diaphragm 3 flexes and rises upwardly. As a result, solid particulate matter 18 , which is housed in an amp space 16 , rises and is displaced to thereby displace a piston 5 .
An invention referred to as a “thermo-actuator” is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 09-089153. According to such a “thermo-actuator,” a wax 11 fills a space between a rubber seal spool 5 and a thermosensitive cylinder 9 . In a state in which the thermosensitive cylinder 9 is cooled, the wax 11 shrinks upon solidification thereof, and since the area occupied by the wax 11 is reduced, a rubber seal straight pipe 3 is pressed under a spring load and is compressed in a bellows-like shape, whereby a rod 2 is pressed deeply into the rubber seal spool 5 to occupy an initial position. When the thermosensitive cylinder 9 reaches a predetermined temperature accompanying a rise in the ambient temperature, the wax 11 inside the thermosensitive cylinder 9 expands and the pressure thereof increases, so that as the seal spool 5 becomes flattened, the rod 2 is squeezed upwardly, and thus the bellows 3 rises and is restored to the form of a straight pipe.
An invention referred to as a “thermovalve” is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-180461. According to this invention, a thermovalve 4 is inserted and arranged along an axial direction of a lubricating oil inlet 1 . When the lubricating oil that flows through the lubricating oil inlet 1 rises to a predetermined temperature, a thermally actuated member 6 a inside a thermoelement 6 that makes up the thermovalve 4 expands, whereby a rod 6 b is pushed out and presses down a valve plug 7 , and the lubricating oil is allowed to flow into an oil cooler from a lubricating oil outlet 2 .
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Incidentally, the ampblock system wax type thermostat disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-006675 is of a configuration in which a piston 5 is made to project from a piston retainer 10 by expansion of the wax 2 . Further, in the thermo-actuator of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 09-089153 as well, when the temperature of the wax 11 that is accommodated inside the thermosensitive cylinder 9 rises to a predetermined temperature, the rod 2 is made to project out from the thermosensitive cylinder 9 .
Furthermore, the thermovalve of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-180461 is of a configuration in which, when the thermally actuated member 6 a constituting the thermoelement 6 detects a predetermined temperature, the rod 6 b becomes elongated and extends from the thermoelement 6 .
More specifically, in any of the inventions of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-006675, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 09-089153, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-180461, by using the fact that the fluid is thermally expanded accompanying a rise in the ambient temperature, a rod or a shaft is made to project outwardly to thereby accomplish a desired function.
However, as is clear from the above actions, the aforementioned thermoelements are of a press-out type, and more specifically, of a type in which a rod or a shaft is pressed outwardly accompanying a rise in the ambient temperature. Consequently, by assembling this type of thermoelement on another apparatus, although it is possible to carry out a desired operation accompanying an advancing action of the rod or the shaft, on the other hand, there is a drawback in that the presence of the advanced rod or the like produces an adverse effect.
For example, when this type of thermoelement is assembled on a valve apparatus that faces toward a fluid passage, the structure in the interior of the valve apparatus becomes complex, and by the advancing operation of the rod, since the end of the rod projects into the fluid passage, an inconvenience occurs in that the pass-through area of the fluid that flows through the fluid passage is narrowed, and smooth flow of the fluid is impeded.
Furthermore, since the end of the rod or the like penetrates into the interior of the flowing fluid, biting-in of foreign matter takes place, whereas the valve structure has to be made more robust and it is inevitable that the size thereof is made larger in scale. Along therewith, a rise in manufacturing costs is unavoidable.
The present invention has been devised with the aim of overcoming the various drawbacks mentioned above, and has the object of providing a thermoelement and a thermovalve in which such a thermoelement is incorporated, in which a pulling operation is performed on a rod or a shaft that constitutes part of the thermoelement by expansion of a thermosensitive fluid having reached a predetermined temperature, whereby the internal structure of the thermoelement can be simplified and reduced in size while also enhancing durability.
The present invention includes a casing, a mount formed integrally with the casing and which is attached to an object, a shaft arranged displaceably in an interior of the casing with one end thereof being exposed to an exterior from the mount, a thermosensitive medium enclosed in the interior of the casing and which expands and contracts responsive to a change in ambient temperature surrounding the casing, and a seal member that pulls the shaft toward a side of the casing upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium.
According to the present invention, when the ambient temperature reaches the predetermined value, the thermosensitive medium expands, and the shaft is pulled or drawn in via the seal member toward the side of the casing. Consequently, a control for transporting workpieces or for interrupting the flow of a fluid can easily be performed.
Further, according to the present invention, the seal member preferably engages with another end of the shaft, and the shaft is pulled into the casing by flexure of the seal member in response to expansion of the thermosensitive medium.
Thus, with a simple configuration, an advancing and retracting operation of the shaft can be carried out assuredly.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, a tapered surface, which expands in diameter toward the other end, preferably is formed on a side of the other end of the shaft. Further, a portion of the seal member may be in contact with the tapered surface, such that upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium, the portion of the seal member preferably is pressed against the tapered surface of the shaft, whereby the shaft is displaced toward the other end side.
Thus, at the time that the thermosensitive medium undergoes expansion, the tapered surface, which is provided on the other end side of the shaft, can reliably cause the shaft to be displaced by the seal member.
The present invention further is characterized by a thermovalve, which is made up from a thermoelement and a valve main body in which the thermoelement is incorporated. In this case, the thermoelement includes a casing, a mount formed integrally with the casing and which is attached to an object, a shaft arranged displaceably in an interior of the casing with one end thereof being exposed to an exterior from the mount, a thermosensitive medium enclosed in the interior of the casing and which expands and contracts responsive to a change in ambient temperature surrounding the casing, and a seal member that pulls the shaft toward a side of the casing upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium. On the other hand, the valve main body includes a body formed with an inlet port into which a fluid is introduced and an outlet port through which the fluid is led out, a seat member disposed between the inlet port and the outlet port, and a valve plug that presses against and separates away from the seat member. One end of the shaft constituting the thermoelement is connected to the valve plug, such that upon expansion of the thermosensitive medium, the seal member pulls the shaft, whereby the valve plug is made to separate away from the seat member and allow communication between the inlet port and the outlet port.
When the thermosensitive fluid undergoes expansion, the shaft of the thermoelement is pulled inward, whereby the valve plug, which normally is closed, separates away from the seat member. Therefore, in a state in which no obstacle is present, i.e., in which the fluid passage area is not reduced, the fluid can pass freely between the inlet port and the outlet port, and biting-in of foreign matter does not occur. Consequently, without increasing the size of the valve itself, flow blockage of a required amount of the fluid can be carried out.
As a matter of course, the aforementioned thermovalve may be either a direct-acting type or a pilot type of thermovalve.
With the thermoelement according to the present invention, by the ambient temperature reaching the predetermined value, the thermosensitive medium expands and the shaft is pulled or drawn in toward the side of the casing. Consequently, a control for transporting workpieces or a flow-through control for a fluid can easily and reliably be carried out responsive to a change in temperature.
Further, with the thermovalve in which a thermoelement is incorporated according to the present invention, by expansion and contraction of the thermosensitive medium, advancing and retracting operations of the shaft of the thermoelement are performed, and along therewith, the valve plug opens and closes the fluid passage. In particular, since an operation to pull in the shaft is produced by expansion of the thermosensitive medium, the fluid can be made to flow without a decrease in area of the flow passage, and biting-in of foreign matter does not occur. Consequently, an effect is obtained in that, without increasing the size of the valve itself, flow blockage of a required amount of the fluid can be carried out.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an extended state of a shaft of a thermoelement according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a contracted state of the shaft;
FIG. 2A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an extended state of a shaft of a thermoelement according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a contracted state of the shaft;
FIG. 3A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an extended state of a shaft of a thermoelement according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a contracted state of the shaft;
FIG. 4A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an extended state of a shaft of a thermoelement according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a contracted state of the shaft;
FIG. 5A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an extended state of a shaft of a thermoelement according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5B is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a contracted state of the shaft;
FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a thermovalve in which a thermoelement according to the present invention is incorporated, and in which a valve plug thereof is in a closed state;
FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the valve plug of the thermovalve shown in FIG. 6 is opened;
FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of a thermovalve in which a thermoelement according to the present invention is incorporated, and in which a valve plug thereof is in a closed state; and
FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the valve plug of the thermovalve shown in FIG. 8 is opened.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
A preferred embodiment in relation to a thermoelement according to the present invention, and a thermovalve in which the thermoelement is incorporated, will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
At first, various embodiments will be presented and described in detail in relation to basic structures of the thermoelement.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the thermoelement according to the present invention. In the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are used to designate elements having the same structure or that carry out similar functions, with English letters a-e being appended to such numerals for each of the respective embodiments. Accordingly, across all of the embodiments, structural elements thereof designated by the same reference numerals are assumed to carry out the same functions, and detailed description of such features will not be described anew.
In FIGS. 1A and 1B , reference character 10 a indicates a thermoelement according to the present invention. The thermoelement 10 a includes a mount 12 a made of metal and which is mounted on an object (not shown), and a casing 14 a made of metal, a lower end of which is crimped and fastened to the mount 12 a , and which is rich in thermosensitivity. Male threads 16 a are engraved around the mount 12 a , and a through hole 18 a is formed in the mount 12 a along the axis thereof. The through hole 18 a expands in diameter on an upper end side, with an annular groove 20 a being formed therein. As shown in the drawing, the upper end above the male threads 16 a is expanded in diameter, thereby forming a flange 22 a . A guide member 24 a for ensuring smooth operation of a later-described shaft is fitted into the annular groove 20 a.
The casing 14 a is made up from a cylindrical body, and as illustrated, is thin-walled on the lower end thereof, which is fitted over and attached by crimping onto the flange 22 a of the mount 12 a from an outer side. An annular groove 28 a is formed in the vicinity of the lower end of the casing 14 a , and another annular groove 30 a is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of the casing 14 a . A further annular groove 32 a , which connects to the upper part of the annular groove 30 a and is slightly larger in diameter than the annular groove 30 a , is provided in the casing 14 a.
As understood from FIGS. 1A and 1B , a first seal member 40 a , in which a through hole is formed in the center thereof, is installed in the annular groove 28 a . A second seal member 42 a , in which a through hole is formed in the center thereof, is installed in the annular groove 30 a . The first seal member 40 a and the second seal member 42 a are made from a flexible material such as synthetic rubber or the like. A shaft 44 a is inserted through the casing 14 a in connection with the first seal member 40 a and the second seal member 42 a . As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B , the lower end of the shaft 44 a is inserted into the through hole 18 a , and the first seal member 40 a is fitted into an annular groove 46 a disposed under a central region of the shaft 44 a using the through hole thereof. Further, the second seal member 42 a is fitted into an annular groove 48 a disposed on an upper end side of the shaft 44 a using the through hole thereof. Furthermore, a metallic ring-shaped stopper 52 a is fitted into an annular groove 50 a provided on the shaft 44 a at a location above the annular groove 48 a.
In FIGS. 1A and 1B , reference character 54 a indicates a flange that prevents the second seal member 42 a and the stopper 52 a from coming away from the shaft 44 a.
Next, a cap 60 a , which is made of metal, is fitted into the annular groove 32 a . As can be understood from FIGS. 1A and 1B , the cap 60 a contacts the outer circumferential surface of the stopper 52 a , while also pressing down on the upper surface of the second seal member 42 a that is seated in the annular groove 30 a . The flange 54 a is arranged inside the space formed by the cap 60 a and the stopper 52 a . An upper end of the casing 14 a is crimped inwardly in surrounding relation to a tapered surface 62 a , which is formed on an upper corner of the cap 60 a , to thereby firmly retain the cap 60 a.
In such a structure, prior to mounting the second seal member 42 a in the annular groove 30 a , a fluid, for example a wax 70 a , which is made of a thermosensitive material and is capable of expanding and contracting due to a rise in the ambient temperature, fills or charges an annular or torus-shaped space that is formed by the casing 14 a and the shaft 44 a . In particular, the wax 70 a preferably is a thermosensitive material that exhibits thermal expansion abundantly upon heating.
The thermoelement 10 a according to the first embodiment of the present invention is constructed basically as described above. Next, operations and effects of the thermoelement 10 a will be described.
First, in FIG. 1A , a condition is shown in which, under normal temperature, a distal end 72 a of the shaft 44 a is exposed to the exterior from the lower end of the through hole 18 a , and a central portion of the first seal member 40 a is flexed downwardly. On the other hand, the second seal member 42 a remains in a flat state. In such an initial state, a workpiece 74 a , which is transported from a non-illustrated conveyor in the direction of the arrow, abuts against the distal end 72 a . Thus, the distal end 72 a of the shaft 44 a prevents further movement of the workpiece 74 a.
When the ambient temperature rises above a predetermined value, the wax 70 a , which is made of a thermosensitive material, expands, and ultimately, the second seal member 42 a is pressed upwardly by the wax 70 a . Along therewith, the shaft 44 a with which the second seal member 42 a is engaged rises upwardly along the guide member 24 a , so that ultimately, the flange 54 a reaches the ceiling surface of the cap 60 a , and further upward movement thereof is inhibited. Accompanying the upward movement of the shaft 44 a , the first seal member 40 a and the second seal member 42 a are flexed upwardly as shown in FIG. 1B . At this time, the distal end 72 a of the shaft 44 a naturally releases from engagement with the workpiece 74 a , and assuming that the conveying operation of the non-illustrated conveyor continues, the displacement operation of the workpiece 74 a in the direction of the arrow is carried out.
Consequently, the male threads 16 a of the mount 12 a are engaged beforehand with the object, i.e., in screw grooves of a non-illustrated apparatus, whereby the thermoelement 10 a is fixed thereon, and assuming that the thermoelement 10 a is disposed in the vicinity of a non-illustrated conveyor, a control can be carried out with respect to advancing movements, stoppage, and restored movements of the workpiece 74 a accompanying a change in temperature. For example, under ordinary temperature, the conveying operation of the workpiece 74 a is prevented, whereas when the predetermined temperature is reached, an advancing movement of the workpiece 74 a can be performed. Such an operation can be implemented by a so-called pulling operation to pull the shaft 44 a that makes up the thermoelement 10 a into the interior of the element.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show a second embodiment of the thermoelement according to the present invention.
According to the second embodiment, a casing 14 b that makes up a thermoelement 10 b is constituted in the form of a bottomed cylinder made of metal. A mount 12 b includes an annular projection 80 b positioned along the axial direction, which is crimped onto a lower end of the casing 14 b . A guide member 24 b is installed on an upper end of the mount 12 b , and the outer circumferential surface of the annular projection 80 b of the mount 12 b is formed in a tapered shape. A seal member 82 b is disposed between the outer circumferential surface of the tapered portion of the annular projection 80 b and the inner circumferential surface of the casing 14 b . A tapered surface 84 b is formed on an upper portion of a shaft 44 b , and a flange 86 b is formed at a position on the rear end of the tapered surface 84 b . The top surface of the flange 86 b is disposed in facing relation to the upper bottomed surface of the casing 14 b . An expandable/contractible seal member 82 b made of synthetic rubber or the like is installed in the interior of the casing 14 b , using the side wall of the casing 14 b which is constructed in the foregoing manner, the tapered surface 84 b , the tapered surface of the annular projection 80 b , and the outer periphery of the guide member 24 b . A wax 70 b , which undergoes expansion at or above a predetermined temperature, is enclosed in an interior space that is formed as a result of folding the cylindrical seal member 82 b in two overlapping layers.
The thermoelement 10 b according to the second embodiment is constructed basically as described above. First, when the thermoelement 10 b is assembled, the flange 86 b side thereof is inserted into the casing 14 b , and next, the seal member 82 b is inserted so that a substantially central portion thereof comes into contact with the bottom surface of the flange 86 b . Thereafter, the guide member 24 b is inserted into a substantial center of the seal member 82 b . Then, the mount 12 b is inserted into the casing 14 b , such that both ends of the seal member 82 b become sandwiched between the tapered surface of the annular projection 80 b and the annular circumferential wall of the casing 14 b , and are seated on an annular stepped part of the mount 12 b.
Lastly, the bottom part of the casing 14 b is crimped with respect to the mount 12 b to thereby complete fabrication of the thermoelement 10 b.
When the thermoelement 10 b , which is obtained in the foregoing manner, is put to use, at first, male threads 16 b of the mount 12 b are screw-inserted into a non-illustrated apparatus. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, a distal end 72 b of the shaft 44 b extends outwardly from the lower end of the mount 12 b . In such an outwardly extended state, a non-illustrated conveyor is energized and a workpiece 74 b is displaced in the direction of the arrow. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, the workpiece 74 b comes into abutment against the distal end 72 b , and further displacement of the workpiece 74 b is prevented. When the ambient temperature changes, whereby the wax 70 b reaches the predetermined temperature and is thermally expanded, the wax 70 b imposes an applied pressure with respect to the seal member 82 b . Therefore, the inner wall surface of the seal member 82 b presses on the tapered surface 84 b of the shaft 44 b , and using the tapered surface 84 b , the shaft 44 b is pressed upwardly. The flange 86 b ultimately reaches the inner wall surface of the casing 14 b , whereby further upward displacement thereof is prevented. At this time, the lower end of the shaft 44 b undergoes an upwardly rising retreating motion. Consequently, since movement of the workpiece 74 b , which was prevented by the distal end 72 b of the shaft 44 b , is allowed again, the workpiece 74 b can be moved to a next step by the non-illustrated conveyor.
FIGS. 3A and 3B show a third embodiment of the thermoelement according to the present invention.
With the third embodiment, a casing 14 c , which is assembled together integrally with a mount 12 c , is made up from a ring-shaped body, including a large diameter portion 90 c , which is crimped onto and fixed to the mount 12 c at a lower end of the casing 14 c , and a small diameter portion 92 c on the upper end thereof. A shaft 44 c , which advances and retracts with respect to the mount 12 c , is a metal rod that includes a tapered surface 84 c on the upper end thereof.
An annular groove 87 c is disposed on the upper end of the mount 12 c . The lower end of a seal member 82 c is seated on the top surface of the mount 12 c between the large diameter portion 90 c and the mount 12 c . The upper end of the seal member 82 c is seated on a stepped part that makes up the small diameter portion 92 c of the casing 14 c . A cap 60 c is inserted into an upper open part of the small diameter portion 92 c , and a top part of the small diameter portion 92 c is crimped, whereby the cap 60 c is retained between the crimped top part and the upper end of the seal member 82 c . The middle portion of the seal member 82 c is constructed to surround and contact the tapered surface 84 c that is formed midway along the shaft 44 c . A thermosensitive wax 70 c is enclosed as a fluid between the seal member 82 c and a trunk portion 94 c of the casing 14 c.
In FIGS. 3A and 3B , reference character 24 c indicates a guide member that is seated in the annular groove 87 c provided in the mount 12 c.
As easily understood from FIG. 3A , under ordinary temperature, a distal end 72 c of the shaft 44 c projects downward by a predetermined distance from the lower end of the mount 12 c . Accordingly, similar to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, a workpiece 74 c can be stopped and positioned by the distal end 72 c.
On the other hand, when the ambient temperature rises and the wax 70 c expands, the volume of the wax 70 c displaces the shaft 44 c through the seal member 82 c toward the side of the cap 60 c . More specifically, since the expanded wax 70 c presses the tapered surface 84 c of the shaft 44 c through the seal member 82 c , the shaft 44 c rises to the position shown in FIG. 3B , and the top of the shaft 44 c arrives at the inner wall of the cap 60 c . As a result, since a retreating operation of the shaft 44 c as a whole is carried out with respect to the casing 14 c , the workpiece 74 c that engages with the distal end 72 c of the shaft 44 c can be displaced again to a next position by the non-illustrated conveyor.
FIGS. 4A and 4B show a fourth embodiment of the thermoelement according to the present invention.
In the fourth embodiment, a shaft 44 d , which can be displaced along a through hole 18 d disposed on the axis of a mount 12 d constituting a thermoelement 10 d , is of the same diameter from the bottom end to the upper end thereof, and a flange 54 d is disposed on the upper end thereof. A seal member 42 d is disposed in contact with the flange 54 d . More specifically, the outer circumferential end of the seal member 42 d , which is sandwiched between a casing 14 d and a cap 60 d that is crimped and fixed to the casing 14 d , is of a disk shape. The outer circumferential end of the seal member 42 d is retained by the cap 60 d and the upper end of the casing 14 d , and the shaft 44 d is inserted through a hole provided in the center of the seal member 42 d.
A partition wall 98 d through which the shaft 44 d is inserted is disposed at a midway location of the casing 14 d , and an annular groove 100 d with an open upper end is disposed in the mount 12 d . A guide member 24 d and a seal member 40 d are stacked and arranged between the annular groove 100 d , the shaft 44 d , and the lower surface of the partition wall 98 d . In FIGS. 4A and 4B , reference character 70 d indicates a fluid, for example, a thermally expansive wax.
In the fourth embodiment, similar to the first through third embodiments, the wax 70 d expands due to a rise in the ambient temperature, whereby the seal member 42 d is pressed upwardly in FIGS. 4A and 4B , and the shaft 44 d undergoes movement until the top surface of the flange 54 d comes into abutment against the inner wall of the cap 60 d . Such an abutting condition is shown in FIG. 4B . According to the thermoelement 10 d of the fourth embodiment, the same effects and advantages as those of the thermoelements 10 a to 10 c according to the first through third embodiments can be obtained.
FIGS. 5A and 5B show a fifth embodiment of the thermoelement according to the present invention.
In the fifth embodiment, a mount 12 e is accommodated in the interior of a bottomed cylindrical casing 14 e , and the casing 14 e and the mount 12 e are integrated together by crimping the lower end of the casing 14 e . A guide member 24 e and a seal member 40 e are stacked and arranged in the interior of the mount 12 e . A shaft 44 e includes a tapered surface 84 e , and at a position where the tapered surface 84 e terminates, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , annular projections 102 e , 104 e are separated mutually and formed integrally at upper and lower locations. A seal member 42 e is accommodated between the annular projections 102 e , 104 e . A wax 70 e is enclosed in a chamber defined between the casing 14 e and the shaft 44 e including the tapered surface 84 e.
In such a structure, the wax 70 e undergoes expansion when a predetermined temperature is reached due to a change in the ambient temperature. By the expanded volume thereof, the annular projection 102 e serves as a pressure receiving surface, and since the tapered surface 84 e is of a shape that expands in diameter upwardly, the shaft 44 e is displaced upwardly in the drawing, and ultimately, the top surface of the annular projection 104 e arrives at the inner wall surface of the casing 14 e . Consequently, in this way, since a distal end 72 e of the shaft 44 e undergoes a retracting operation, as shown in FIG. 5B , is pulled into the interior of the casing 14 e , the same actions and effects as those of the first through fourth embodiments are carried out.
Next, thermovalves, in which thermoelements 10 a to 10 e constructed in the foregoing manner are incorporated, will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 6 and subsequent drawings.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a direct-acting type two port thermovalve 200 a . The thermovalve 200 a includes a body 202 a . On one end of the body 202 a , an inlet port 204 a is formed through which a pressure fluid is introduced, and on the other end of the body 202 a , an outlet port 206 a is formed. A seat member 208 a is formed in an upstanding manner from the bottom of the body 202 a in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis extending between the inlet port 204 a and the outlet port 206 a . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , using a top stepped part 209 a of the body 202 a , a cylindrical cover 210 a is erected on the body 202 a . A seal member 212 a made up from an O-ring is interposed between the body 202 a and the cover 210 a . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , through another seal member 214 a made up from an O-ring, a bonnet 216 a is fixed on an upper end of the cover 210 a.
The bonnet 216 a includes a projection 218 a that projects on a side of the body 202 a at a central location in the axial direction thereof. A hole 220 a is disposed at the bottom of the projection 218 a . A shaft 338 a , which constitutes part of a thermoelement 300 a , penetrates through the hole 220 a . The thermoelement 300 a is constructed substantially the same or similar to the thermoelements 10 a to 10 e shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1A to 5B , and performs substantially the same or similar functions. In relation to the thermoelement 300 a , using an upper stepped part 222 a of the projection 218 a , a seal member 224 a is seated on an upper end where the hole 220 a terminates. Screw grooves 226 a are disposed on an inner circumferential surface of a hole that is provided along the axis of the bonnet 216 a . The thermoelement 300 a is attached using the screw grooves 226 a.
More specifically, a mount 302 a that makes up part of the thermoelement 300 a is included, and screw grooves 304 a are disposed on a portion of the outer circumferential wall of the mount 302 a . The screw grooves 304 a are screw-engaged with the screw grooves 226 a of the bonnet 216 a . A recess 303 a is formed in the center of a lower end of the mount 302 a , and a stepped part 306 a is provided on an upper end side thereof.
The stepped part 306 a extends therearound in an annular shape and is formed with an outwardly projecting flange 308 a . A casing 310 a is fixed by crimping a bottom portion thereof over the flange 308 a.
As understood from FIGS. 6 and 7 , the casing 310 a is cylindrical in shape, and a cap 320 a is fitted on a top portion thereof. The cap 320 a is positioned and fixed by crimping an upper end part of the casing 310 a inwardly over the cap 320 a . The cap 320 a includes an annular recess 322 a that opens in an axial direction on the bottom of the cap 320 a , and the bottom of the cap 320 a presses firmly on a seal member 324 a . A guide member 326 a is fitted in the stepped part 306 a of the mount 302 a , and a seal member 328 a is fixed to an upper portion of the guide member 326 a , so as to press against an inside stepped part provided on the casing 310 a.
Accordingly, an annular space 330 a is formed between the seal member 328 a and the seal member 324 a , and a wax 500 a , for example, which undergoes expansion due to a rise in the ambient temperature, is enclosed in the interior of the annular space 330 a.
As understood from FIGS. 6 and 7 , the shaft 338 a , which passes from below the cap 320 a and through the hole 220 a and is directed toward the seat member 208 a , extends so as to penetrate through the annular space 330 a that encloses the wax 500 a . An annular groove 340 a in which the seal member 224 a is fitted, an annular groove 342 a in which the seal member 328 a is fitted, and an annular groove 344 a in which the seal member 324 a is fitted, are formed respectively along the shaft 338 a while being separated mutually by predetermined distances.
A retaining member 350 a is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 338 a . More specifically, the retaining member 350 a includes a ring-shaped body 354 a , with which screw threads 352 a provided on the lower end of the shaft 338 a are screw-engaged. A valve plug 358 a made of synthetic rubber or the like is sandwiched between the ring-shaped body 354 a and the retaining member 350 a.
As will be described later, the valve plug 358 a is displaceable and is capable of pressing against the top surface of the seat member 208 a . A disk 362 a , in which plural holes 360 a are formed concentrically, is fixed to the retaining member 350 a . A coil spring 364 a is disposed between the bonnet 216 a and the disk 362 a in surrounding relation to the projection 218 a , the shaft 338 a , and the retaining member 350 a . The coil spring 364 a applies a pressing force to elastically press the disk 362 a in a downward direction, and as a result, the valve plug 358 a , which is held in the retaining member 350 a , is pressed normally against the seat member 208 a.
The body 202 a , the seat member 208 a , and the valve plug 358 a collectively constitute a valve main body 700 a.
The thermovalve 200 a according to the present invention is constructed basically as described above. Next, operations and effects of the thermovalve 200 a will be described.
Under ordinary temperature, for example, in the case that the surrounding ambient temperature is 25° C., the wax 500 a enclosed in the annular space 330 a does not yet undergo expansion. Consequently, only by the elastic force of the coil spring 364 a , the retaining member 350 a is pressed downwardly in FIGS. 6 and 7 , and the valve plug 358 a is pressed against the seat member 208 a . Therefore, since the seat member 208 a is in a stopped condition in cooperation with the valve plug 358 a , the fluid introduced from the inlet port 204 a is not led out to the outlet port 206 a.
As the ambient temperature gradually rises and the wax 500 a begins to expand, the expansive force thereof causes the seal member 324 a to flex upwardly. As a result, the shaft 338 a also rises, accompanied by the seal member 224 a , which is mounted on the annular groove 340 a , and the seal member 328 a , which is mounted on the annular groove 342 a , also being flexed in an upward direction. Such a feature implies that the valve plug 358 a rises upwardly from the seat member 208 a in opposition to the elastic force of the coil spring 364 a . As a result, the inlet port 204 a and the outlet port 206 a are placed in communication, and the fluid that was introduced from the inlet port 204 a passes between the seat member 208 a and the valve plug 358 a , and is led out to the outlet port 206 a.
On the other hand, by the ambient temperature returning to the normal temperature, the wax 500 a undergoes contraction, whereupon the shaft 338 a descends in the drawing, and in the thermovalve 200 a , the valve plug 358 a becomes seated again on the seat member 208 a . As a result, communication between the inlet port 204 a and the outlet port 206 a is blocked.
The thermovalve 200 a of the present embodiment focuses attention on the expanding and contracting function of the wax 500 a responsive to changes in the ambient temperature, so that, in particular, the shaft 338 a is displaced upwardly when a thermally expansive medium, preferably the wax 500 a , undergoes expansion accompanying a rise in the ambient temperature. More specifically, the shaft 338 a is pulled inwardly toward the side of the thermoelement 300 a , and consequently, an opening operation can be performed without impeding progress in the flow of the fluid that flows from the inlet port 204 a to the outlet port 206 a . Further, since an operation of pulling the shaft 338 a inwardly is carried out, even if foreign matter intrudes into the fluid passage, biting-in of such foreign matter does not occur.
FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the thermovalve according to the present invention.
With the thermovalve according to the second embodiment, several constituent elements thereof, which are the same as those of the thermovalve 200 a according to the first embodiment, are designated using the same reference numerals, by appending trailing lower case English letters to the reference numerals as they are, and detailed description of such features is omitted.
A thermovalve 200 b according to the second embodiment is a pilot type two-port thermovalve. The pilot type two-port thermovalve 200 b includes a diaphragm 600 b disposed between a cover 210 b and a body 202 b . More specifically, the diaphragm 600 b is sandwiched and gripped between the cover 210 b and the body 202 b . A bulging portion 601 b is formed substantially in the center on a lower surface of the diaphragm 600 b , and a hole 602 b is provided therein between the bulging portion 601 b and a circumferential edge portion of the diaphragm 600 b . A disk 604 b , a peripheral region of which is bent upwardly, is disposed concentrically with the diaphragm 600 b . A hole 606 b provided in the disk 604 b is of the same diameter as the hole 602 b of the diaphragm 600 b and communicates mutually therewith. The diaphragm 600 b and the disk 604 b are sandwiched and held together integrally at the axis thereof by a gripping member 610 b . More specifically, the gripping member 610 b includes screw threads 612 b on a lower end thereof, and by screw-engagement of a nut 614 b onto the threads 612 b , the diaphragm 600 b and the disk 604 b are firmly clamped between the nut 614 b and a main body 616 b of the gripping member 610 b . An orifice 618 b is provided in the form of a through hole that penetrates through the axis of the gripping member 610 b . The diameter of the orifice 618 b is slightly greater in diameter than the holes 602 b , 606 b . An upper distal end of the orifice 618 b is capable of abutting against a valve plug 358 b , which is disposed on a lower portion in the center of a retaining member 350 b.
The retaining member 350 b will now be described. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the retaining member 350 b is installed on a lower end of a shaft 338 b , which is formed with steps along the longitudinal direction thereof. The retaining member 350 b includes stepped parts 650 b , 652 b , 654 b , and 656 b having different diameters respectively along the axial direction. The valve plug 358 b is installed centrally in the lower surface of the retaining member 350 b . The valve plug 358 b is formed by an elastic body made of synthetic rubber. A coil spring 364 b is interposed between a bonnet 216 b and the largest diameter stepped part 650 b . By the elastic force of the coil spring 364 b , the valve plug 358 b acts to close the upper end of the orifice 618 b of the gripping member 610 b . The retaining member 350 b and the disk 604 b , etc., are disposed in the interior of a chamber 630 b.
The body 202 b , a seat member 208 b , and the valve plug 358 b collectively constitute a valve main body 700 b.
In FIGS. 8 and 9 , reference character 300 b indicates a thermoelement in which the valve main body 700 b is incorporated, reference character 302 b indicates a mount, and reference character 310 b indicates a casing.
The thermovalve 200 b according to the second embodiment of the present invention is constructed as described above. Next, operations and effects of the thermovalve 200 b will be described.
Under ordinary temperature, for example, in the case that the ambient temperature is 25° C., a wax 500 b does not undergo expansion. Consequently, the elastic force of the coil spring 364 b presses the retaining member 350 b downward, and the valve plug 358 b closes the orifice 618 b of the gripping member 610 b . As a result, a state is brought about in which flow of the fluid between an inlet port 204 b and an outlet port 206 b is blocked. More specifically, a condition is provided in which the bulging portion 601 b of the diaphragm 600 b is pressed against the seat member 208 b.
At this time, although the fluid from the inlet port 204 b enters into the chamber 630 b from the holes 602 b , 606 b , since the chamber 630 b is at the same pressure as the inlet port 204 b , the diaphragm 600 b is not displaced.
Due to a rise in the ambient temperature, the wax 500 b undergoes expansion. Consequently, a seal member 324 b is flexed upwardly, and as a result, the shaft 338 b rises, and ultimately, the retaining member 350 b that is connected to the shaft 338 b is raised upwardly. Thus, the valve plug 358 b that closes the orifice 618 b of the gripping member 610 b separates away from the upper end of the orifice 618 b . By the aforementioned actions, communication is established mutually between the inlet port 204 b , the chamber 630 b , and the outlet port 206 b . As a result, the fluid that is introduced from the inlet port 204 a passes through the holes 602 b , 606 b , and further, from the orifice 618 b , the fluid arrives at the outlet port 206 b and is led out to the exterior. During this time, since the opening diameter of the orifice 618 b is of a larger diameter than the holes 602 b , 606 b , the fluid can easily be led out to the outlet port 206 b.
If the ambient temperature decreases, the wax 500 b undergoes contraction, whereupon the shaft 338 b descends, and the valve plug 358 b once again closes the orifice 618 b . As a result, the state of communication between the inlet port 204 b and the outlet port 206 b is blocked.
With the thermoelement according to the present invention, when the ambient temperature reaches a predetermined value, the wax expands and the shaft is pulled or drawn in toward the side of the casing. On the other hand, in the case that the ambient temperature is less than the predetermined temperature, the wax contracts and the shaft extends. Consequently, a control for transporting workpieces or a flow-through control for a fluid can be carried out accurately responsive to a change in temperature. Further, with the thermovalve according to the present invention, responsive to changes in the ambient temperature, advancing and retracting operations of the shaft that is connected to the thermoelement are performed, and opening and closing operations of the valve plug are carried out. In particular, when the ambient temperature becomes greater than or equal to the predetermined temperature, expansion of the wax causes the valve plug that faces toward the fluid passage to retract, and the fluid passage opens as large as possible. Accordingly, the fluid is allowed to flow sufficiently. Further, even if foreign matter infiltrates into the interior of the fluid passage, damage to the valve plug, etc., does not occur. Stated otherwise, an effect is obtained in that biting-in of such foreign matter can be prevented.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention. | A thermoelement and a thermovalve incorporating the same, in which reliable operation is achieved with a simple internal structure, and there is no risk of contaminant jamming. The thermoelement includes a casing, a mounting portion, a shaft, a heat-sensitive medium, and a seal member for drawing the shaft into the casing when the heat-sensitive medium expands. The thermovalve includes a body including a valve body linked to a shaft of a thermoelement, and a seating part on/from which the valve body can be seated/separated. | 5 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/477,826, filed Apr. 21, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The plastics manufacturing industry is typically required to compound one to five percent of a pelletized additives package into bulk polymer resin to fabricate plastic parts because of the poor mixing capability of single screw extrusion (SSE) and injection molding (IM) machines. The additives package is a pre-compounded concentrate of functional particles, such as a pigment, and base polymer resin that aids in mixing functional particles within the bulk resin. Pigment additive packages are more commonly known as a color masterbatch. Although the additives package is the minor component, it is typically more costly than the bulk resin.
[0003] The base polymer in an additives package is often a low molecular weight polymer with poor mechanical properties. In addition, the base polymer is subject to two shear and heat histories, once during the pre-compounding step, as in extrusion, and secondly during the part fabrication step, as in IM. Subjecting the polymer to multiple processing steps has its disadvantages. For example, every time a polymer is subject to heat and shear forces there is potential for degradation, chemical or otherwise. Multiple processing steps have been found to coarsen the morphology of a previously well mixed system. Mechanical properties are dependent upon morphology; and particles may tend to agglomerate during extrusion. Additionally, multiple processing steps increase manufacturing costs and time.
[0004] With injection molding, granular plastic is fed by gravity from a hopper into a heated barrel. The granules are slowly moved forward by a screw-type plunger, i.e., the plastication screw, by which the plastic is forced into a heated chamber, where it is melted. As the plastication screw advances, the melted plastic is forced through a nozzle for delivery to the mold.
[0005] Dispersing and distributing pigment, modifiers, filler, particles, reinforcing agents, and other various compounds within a polymer matrix for injection molding are difficult. In most cases, twin screw extrusion (TSE) is commonly used for pre-compounding in order to achieve good mixing. However, single screw extrusion (SSE) offers several advantages, including lower cost, rugged machinery more resistant to abuse, easy and inexpensive part replacement, widely available new or used equipment, easy operation, lower back pressures, and the ability to combine compounding and final product extrusion as a single operation.
[0006] Industrial SSE use has lagged because extruders with single screw flights have lacked the multiple elongational flow fields of multi-screw extruders (MSE), which provide simple upstream axial mixing and the ability to degas during mixing. To achieve good dispersion, surface treatments are employed with SSE to promote wetting by the polymer but have not been fully successful nor duplicated the effect of mixing alone achieved with multi-screw extruders. Controlled feeding/melting mechanisms are used with SSE to decrease agglomerate formation and reduce the dispersion necessary for good mixing. To enhance distributive mixing, starve feeding may be used, if the polymer is not subject to degradation. SSE is intrinsically limited in dispersive and distributive mixing but good dispersion can often be achieved by using specialized additives, whereas distributive mixing can equal any MSE compounder with retro-fitted mixing devices. The function of SSE has changed from only plasticating to both plasticating and mixing, achievable by adding a mixing element to the screw.
[0007] There are several types of mixing elements suitable for SSE, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. For homogeneity, a combination of both dispersive and distributive mixing is optimal, specifically dispersion followed by distribution. There are no standardized ways to evaluate the compounding ability of a mixer because this will vary with the additives being compounded. For example, it is difficult to quantitatively measure dispersion of filler particles in heavily filled thermoplastics. Comparative studies have been performed in which different types of mixing elements are investigated to improve mixing of hybrid materials systems in SSE. And, there have been attempts to reduce manufacturing costs by improving the compounding role of SSE used in final product manufacture, specifically examining powders in polyolefins and typical liquid additives in various polymers. However SSE is still considered generally unsuitable for dispersive mixing of powders and liquids into polymers, particularly during the plastication step of an injection molding cycle. There remains a need for an SSE capable of achieving distributive mixing of powder and liquid additives in a polymer melt during the plastication step of an injection molding cycle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] This need is met by the present invention. It has now been discovered that axial fluted extensional mixing elements can be incorporated into the plastication screw of an injection molding machine in order to compound and fabricate articles in a one-step, novel injection molding process.
[0009] Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, a plastication unit for an injection molding machine is provided having a heated plastication barrel with an entrance port and an exit port on opposing ends of the barrel; a hopper positioned to deliver ingredients to be compounded for injection molding to the entrance port of the barrel; and a helical plastication screw rotatably carried within the barrel and running the length of the barrel between the entrance and exit ports, which is operable to rotate and transmit the ingredients along the length of said barrel; wherein the plastication screw has at least one axial fluted extensional mixing element segment and the ingredients include at least one polymer for injection molding.
[0010] Embodiments are provided in which the plastication screw contains a plurality of elements for mixing and conveying the ingredients to be compounded and injection molded. In one embodiment, the plastication screw includes a conveyor segment positioned to receive the ingredients to be compounded from the hopper and to convey the ingredients to the mixing element segment. In another embodiment, the plastication screw further includes a second conveyor segment positioned to receive the compounded ingredients from the mixing element segment and to convey the compounded ingredients along the barrel in the direction of the exit port. In another embodiment, the plastication screw further includes a second axial fluted extensional mixing element segment positioned between the second conveyor segment and the exit port to receive the compounded ingredients for further mixing. In yet another embodiment, the plastication screw further includes a third conveyor segment positioned to receive compounded ingredients from the second mixing element segment and to convey the compounded ingredients to the exit port. The plurality of elements in the foregoing embodiments are configured on a single plastication screw driven by a single drive motor.
[0011] The present invention further incorporates the discovery that ingredients to be compounded for injection molding can be thoroughly mixed by an axial fluted extensional mixing element with a short length to diameter ratio, making it possible to configure the plastication unit of an injection molding system with a mixing element to mix together an injection molding composition as part of the injection molding process. According to one embodiment, the mixing element segment has a length to diameter ratio of less than 30:1. In a more specific embodiment, the mixing element segment has a length to diameter ratio between about 12:1 and about 30:1.
[0012] Configuring the plastication screw with multiple mixing element segments makes it possible to deliver the ingredients to be compounded in stages, According to one embodiment, the barrel of the plastication unit further includes an intermediate port positioned to deliver additional ingredients to be compounded either to a second conveyor segment for delivery to a second mixing element segment, or directly to a second mixing element segment. In another embodiment, a second hopper is positioned to deliver additional ingredients to the intermediate port.
[0013] The plastication unit of the present invention can be retrofitted to existing injection molding systems. According to another aspect of the present invention, new and retrofitted injection molding machines are provided, incorporating the plastication unit of the present invention.
[0014] The plastication unit of the present invention makes possible the compounding of injection molding compositions just before the injection molding of the composition. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention, injection molding methods are provided that include the steps of:
feeding a blend of ingredient to be compounded for injection molding containing at least one polymer to the entrance port of the plastication unit of the present invention, wherein the barrel of the unit is heated above the compounding temperature of the blend; and transmitting the blend along the length of the heated barrel with the plastication screw of the plastication unit, so that the ingredients are heated to a flowable state for injection molding and mixed by a mixing element segment of the plastication screw to form a uniform homogenous flowable mass of a composition for injection molding.
[0017] According to one embodiment, the flowable mass is directly delivered from the exit port of the barrel of the plastication unit into a mold cavity and a molded article is formed.
[0018] The blend of ingredients that is compounded and promptly injected into a mold cavity are known injection molding polymers and additives. In one embodiment, the blend of ingredients includes a thermoplastic polymer. In another embodiment, the blend of ingredients includes a blend of two or more polymers. In another multi-polymer embodiment, two or more polymers are immiscible. In yet another embodiment, the blend of ingredients includes at least one polymer for injection molding and one or more compounding additives. According to a more specific embodiment, the compounding additives are independently selected from pigments, colorants, modifiers, fillers, particles and reinforcing agents. In an even more specific embodiment, the reinforcing agents are reinforcing fibers. Most specifically, the reinforcing fibers are glass fibers.
[0019] By combining compounding and injection molding into a single step, the heat and shear history experienced by the molded polymer is reduced, which results in a molded polymer with improved mechanical properties. Therefore, according to another aspect of the present invention, a molded plastic article is provided, formed by the method of the present invention.
[0020] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many other intended advantages can be readily obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the invention and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a plot of shear rate versus viscosity for polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) at temperature (T)=240, 260, 280, and 300° C.;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a tensile modulus comparison of fiberglass (FG)-PTT processed by prior art (Standard) and two-step (2-Step) methods and the method of the present invention (Novel);
[0023] FIG. 3 is an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) comparison of FG-PTT processed by prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a percent strain at fracture comparison of FG-PTT processed by prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 5 is an energy absorption comparison of FG-PTT processed by prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 is an Izod impact energy comparison of FG-PTT processed by prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention; and
[0027] FIG. 7 is a peak load during impact comparison of FG-PTT processed by prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The present invention utilizes a compounding mixer for use with SSE, termed an axial fluted extensional mixing element (AFEM). A preferred AFEM is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,431 to Luker, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The present invention incorporates at least one AFEM into the plastication screw of an IM machine in order to compound and fabricate parts in a one-step, novel IM process. The AFEM promotes multiple elongational flow fields, upstream axial mixing, and thin film degassing. The open flutes in the AFEM do not require high pressure and allow material flow to leave the mixing element to continue down the length of the screw or to re-enter another flute and “recirculate” within the mixing element again. This design feature has a profound influence on shear flow, degree of distributive mixing, and resulting mixed-ness and morphology. These attributes result in enhanced mixing of a variety of materials systems, including polymer blends and polymer-based composite materials, which are then fed through an IM machine.
[0029] The enhanced mixing is obtained even with axial fluted extensional mixing elements with short length to diameter ratios, making it possible to configure the plastication unit of an injection molding system with a mixing element to mix together an injection molding composition as part of the injection molding process. Mixing element segments with length to diameter ratios of less than 30:1 can be used. Mixing element segment of plastication screws according to the present invention typically have length to diameter ratios between about 12:1 and about 30:1.
[0030] Any single polymer or polymer blend (e.g. two or more polymers) suitable for use in an injection molding machine can be used in the present invention. Suitable polymers include thermoplastic polymers (i.e. polymers that soften or liquefy upon heating and solidify when cooled and can be repeatedly softened/liquefied upon exposure to heat) and thermoset polymers (i.e. polymers formed from softened or liquefied prepolymers that irreversibly cure to form thermoset polymers upon exposure to heat and/or radiation).
[0031] Blends of thermoplastic or thermoset polymers can also be used in the present invention. Exemplary polymeric starting materials and amounts for use in the methods of the present invention include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,298,214 and 6,191,228 for blends of a high-density polyolefin and polystyrene, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,789,477 and 5,916,932 for blends of a high-density polyolefin and thermo-plastic-coated fiber materials, U.S. Publication No. 2005/0192403 for blends of high-density polyolefin (e.g. high density polyethylene) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and/or polycarbonate, International Publication No. WO 06/125111 for blends of a high-density polyolefin and poly(methyl methacrylate) and No. WO 09/117,509 for blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA). The disclosures of all seven patents and applications are incorporated herein by reference. Additional polymeric starting materials include poly(tri-methylene terephthalate) and poly(methylmethacrylate), polycarbonate and poly(tri-methylene terephthalate), and polystyrene and poly(trimethylene terephthalate).
[0032] Additional polymeric starting materials useful in the present invention include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,663,388; 5,030,662; 5,212,223; 5,615,158 and 6,828,372. The contents of all five patents are incorporated herein by reference.
[0033] Conventional compounding additives can be combined with the polymer(s) prior to extrusion. Suitable additives for the polymers or polymer-based composite materials include pigments, colorants, modifiers, fillers, particles, reinforcing agents (e.g. fiberglass), and the like.
[0034] Output from the IM machine can be used to fabricate polymer components or added to neat polymer in a standard IM machine. For example, colorant or pigment can be combined with one or more polymers using the method of the present invention to prepare a masterbatch that is later added to neat polymer prior to injection molding with the neat polymer.
[0035] The following non-limiting examples set forth herein below illustrate certain aspects of the invention.
EXAMPLES
Starting Materials
[0036] Two components were used for the experimental mixing study, including fiberglass (FG) and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). The FG is typical micron-sized E Glass (d=20 microns, L=4 mm) PTT is a unique thermoplastic polymer, manufactured by DuPont, based on 1,3-propanediol. It contains 20-37 wt. % renewably sourced material. Its beneficial properties, similar to high-performance poly-butylene terephthalate, are derived from a unique, semi-crystalline molecular structure featuring a pronounced “kink.” PTT has a melting temperature between 226-233° C. and a specific gravity of 1.3-1.5.18)
[0037] Viscosity-shear rate for PTT resin is shown in FIG. 1 as a function of temperature. A frequency sweep from 100-0.01 Hz at 3.5% strain and temperatures of 240, 260, 280 and 300° C. was performed using a TA Instruments AR 2000. Viscosity-shear rate data was generated by performing a Cox-Merz transformation of the frequency sweep data at each temperature.
Processing Methods
[0038] Three processing methods for producing a FG-PTT composite were compared and termed “prior art,” “two-step” and the “method of the present invention.” For each method, 0, 10, 15, 20, and 30% FG in PTT were blended using a Negri Bossi V55-200 IM machine operated between 240-250° C. The prior art method involved dry-blending FG and PTT in the selected composition ratios followed by melt blending using a standard IM screw in the IM machine. The two-step method involved pre-compounding FG and PTT using a Randcastle Microtruder SSE fit with three AFEM elements, pelletizing, and a second processing step to achieve part fabrication using a standard IM screw in the IM machine. For the method of the present invention, the FG-PTT components were dry-blended followed by IM using a screw fit with one AFEM. The inventive method is a one-step processing method, in which compounding and part fabrication occurs in one processing step.
[0039] The FG-PTT composites produced by the three processing methods were characterized by mechanical and impact properties. Tensile mechanical properties were determined using a MTS QTest/25 Elite Controller with a 5 kN load cell and extensometer, according to ASTM D638. Modulus, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), load at UTS, percent strain at UTS, percent strain at fracture, and modulus were calculated. Izod impact properties were determined using an instrumented Instron Dynatup POE 2000 Impact Tester, according to ASTM D256.
Results
[0040] Tensile mechanical properties were determined and compared for the FG-PTT composite samples prepared by three different processing methods. The tensile modulus, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), % strain at fracture and total energy absorbed are presented graphically as a function of % FG in PTT in FIGS. 2-5 , respectively. The prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention are represented by blue diamonds, red squares and green triangles, respectively. The error bars indicate the standard deviation per sample. The 0% FG samples did not fracture for all three processing methods therefore, the percent strain at fracture is not shown in FIG. 4 . The total energy absorbed in FIG. 5 corresponds to the energy absorbed up to the UTS.
[0041] Izod impact properties were determined and compared for the FG-PTT com-posites prepared by three different processing methods. The impact energy and peak load as a function of % FG are shown graphically in FIGS. 6 and 7 , respectively. The prior art and two-step methods and the method of the present invention are represented by blue diamonds, red squares and green triangles, respectively. Error bars indicate standard deviation per sample.
[0042] For all three processing methods, the tensile modulus increases with % FG in PTT from about 2.3 to 11 GPa ( FIG. 2 ). The prior art method produced a composite with the highest modulus for all compositions, followed by the inventive and two-step methods. However, the differences at each % FG are not significant when noticing the standard deviation indicated by the error bars. The UTS increases with % FG in PTT for both the inventive (43-126 MPa) and two-step (45-95 MPa) methods but only increases up to 15% FG for the prior method (44-89 MPa) as shown in FIG. 3 .
[0043] The % strain at fracture decreases with % FG in PTT for both the prior art and two-step methods ( FIG. 4 ). However for the inventive method, the % strain at fracture increases with % FG up to 20% FG, remains above the 0% FG value at 30% FG, and is greater at all compositions than the % strain at fracture of the prior art and two-step methods. The total energy absorbed increases slightly up to 15% FG (740-1020 Nmm) for the prior art method and is below the 0% FG value at 20 and 30% FG ( FIG. 5 ). For the two-step method, the energy absorbed is relatively constant from 0 to 20% FG (averaging at 750 Nmm) and actually increases at 30% FG (1090 Nmm). For the inventive method, the energy absorbed increases with % FG (665-2110 Nmm).
[0044] The inventive processing method produces a FG-PTT composite with enhanced ductility and toughness, as compared to the prior art and two-step methods. Ductility is directly proportional to the percent strain at fracture and toughness is related to the energy absorbed. Ductility and toughness are dependent upon the morphology and resulting mixed-ness. A fine morphology and good mixed-ness produces a composite with high ductility and toughness, while a coarse morphology or poor mixed-ness results in smaller percent strain at fracture and less energy absorbed. This also applies to immiscible polymer blends when using the AFEM element.
[0045] The AFEM incorporated into the IM screw according to the present invention produces very good dispersive and distributive mixing to impart enhanced mixed-ness. As molten polymer enters the AFEM, the material is under little to no axial pressure. Material that enters the flute of the AFEM is elongated across the flute tip where it experiences almost completely pure shear with elongational flow, analogous to laminar plane flow. Uniform shear produces uniform distributive mixing and high levels of mixed-ness. Once material exits the outlet flute it may move axially downstream along the length of the screw or upstream and re-enter the AFEM for additional mixing.
[0046] The impact energy and peak load at impact increases with % FG for all three processing methods ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ). The inventive method (31-130 J/m) incurs the most significant increase in impact energy, followed by the prior art method (21-104 J/m), and lastly, the two-step method (27-60 J/m). The peak load at impact follows the same trend between all three processing methods, with the increase being most significant for the inventive, prior art and then two-step method. Upon observation of fracture surfaces, it is evident the fibers in the prior art samples de-bonded from the PTT matrix while the fibers in the two-step and inventive samples sheared along with the PTT matrix.
[0047] Accordingly, a successful one-step processing method was developed and achieved a well mixed FG-PTT composite with enhanced ductility and toughness without sacrificing modulus and UTS. This method may be translated to polymer blends and other polymer-based composites to aid the polymer manufacturing Industry to save costs and energy associated with traditional two-step pre-compounding followed by part fabrication manufacturing methods.
[0048] The foregoing examples and description of the preferred embodiment should be taken as illustrating, rather than as limiting, the present invention as defined by the claims. As will be readily appreciated, numerous variations and combinations of the features set forth above can be utilized without departing from the present invention as set forth in the claims. Such variations are not regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such variations are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. | A plastication unit for an injection molding machine, combining a heated plastication barrel with an entrance port and an exit port on opposing ends of the barrel; a hopper positioned to deliver ingredients to be compounded for injection molding to the entrance port of the barrel; and a helical plastication screw rotatably carried within the barrel and running the length of the barrel between the entrance and exit ports, which is operable to rotate and transmit the ingredients along the length of the barrel; wherein the plastication screw has at least one axial fluted extensional mixing element segment and the ingredients include at least one polymer for injection molding. Methods for injection molding with the plastication unit of the present invention and articles formed by the inventive methods are also disclosed. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor, such as tantalum capacitor or aluminum capacitor, which comprises a resin package from which a pair of leads projects out for electrical connection to a circuit pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
A package-type solid electrolytic capacitor is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-220922 for example. The capacitor disclosed in this Japanese document comprises a capacitor element which includes a capacitor chip and an anode wire projecting from the chip. The anode wire is electrically connected to an anode lead, whereas the chip is electrically connected to a cathode lead.
The capacitor further includes a resin package enclosing the capacitor element together with part of the anode and cathode leads. The projecting portions of the respective leads are bent toward the underside of the resin package for conveniently mounting to a surface of a circuit board (not shown).
The prior art capacitor is a polar component, so that some measure must be taken to ensure that the capacitor is mounted with a correct polarity relative to the circuit pattern of the circuit board. As a result, the mounting of the capacitor becomes troublesome particularly if the capacitor has a symmetric configuration. Further, if the capacitor is mounted with a reverse polarity, it generates a lot of heat, thereby critically damaging the capacitor and/or the circuit in which the capacitor is incorporated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor which can be mounted without paying any attention to the polarity.
The present invention also seeks to provide an additional function of maintaining safety for such a capacitor.
According to the present invention, there is provided a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor comprising: a first capacitor element having a cathode-side member and an anode-side member; a second capacitor element also having a cathode-side member and an anode-side member; a conductor means for electrically connecting between the respective anode-side members of the first and second capacitor elements; a first lead electrically connected to the cathode-side member of the first capacitor element; a second lead electrically connected to the cathode-side member of the second capacitor element; a first diode interposed between the cathode-side and anode-side members of the first capacitor element for passing a current only in a direction from the cathode-side member to anode-side member of the first capacitor element; a second diode interposed between the cathode-side and anode-side members of the second capacitor element for passing a current only in a direction from the cathode-side member to anode-side member of the second capacitor element; and a resin package enclosing the respective capacitor elements, the conductor means, part of the respective leads, and the respective diodes.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the first and second diodes has a negative pole electrically connected to the conductor means through a metal wire, whereas said each of the first and second diodes also has a positive pole electrically connected to the cathode-side member of a corresponding one of the first and second capacitor elements through another metal wire.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, each of the first and second diodes has a P-type substrate electrically connected wirelessly to the cathode-side member of a corresponding one of the first and second capacitor elements, said each of the first and second diodes also having a N-type surface portion formed in the P-type substrate and electrically connected to the conductor means through a metal wire.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, each of the first and second diodes has a N-type substrate electrically connected wirelessly to the conductor means, said each of the first and second diodes also having a P-type surface portion formed in the N-type substrate and electrically connected to the cathode-side member of a corresponding one of the first and second capacitor elements through a metal wire.
In either of the above embodiments, the cathode-side member of each of the first and second capacitor elements may be electrically connected to a corresponding one of the first and second leads through a safety fuse. The incorporation of such a safety fuse is preferred for protecting the capacitor against an overheat and/or overcurrent.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description given with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front view, in vertical section, showing a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a section taken along lines II--II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the same capacitor;
FIG. 4 is a view showing equivalent circuit corresponding to the same capacitor;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5a is a sectional view showing a diode chip incorporated in the capacitor of FIG. 5;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6a is a sectional view showing a diode chip incorporated in the capacitor of FIG. 6;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is a view showing an equivalent circuit corresponding to the capacitor of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 3 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The capacitor may be a tantalum capacitor or an aluminum capacitor for example.
The capacitor of the first embodiment comprises a first capacitor element 1 and a second capacitor element 2. The first capacitor element 1 includes a capacitor chip 1a (a cathode-side member) and an anode wire 1b (an anode-side member) projecting from the capacitor chip 1a toward the second capacitor element 2. Similarly, the second capacitor element 2 includes a capacitor chip 2a and an anode wire 2b projecting from the capacitor chip 2a toward the first capacitor element 1.
Each of the chips 1a, 2a may be a compacted and sintered mass of tantalum powder for example, in which case each of the anode wires 1b, 2b is also made of tantalum.
The anode wires 1b, 2b of the respective capacitor elements are electrically connected commonly to a metallic intermediate connector plate 3 by welding for example. Further, the chip 1a of the first capacitor element 1 is electrically connected directly to a first lead 4, whereas the chip 2a of the second capacitor element 2 is electrically connected directly to a second lead 5.
A first diode chip 6 having a PN diode circuit is mounted to the capacitor chip 1a of the first capacitor element 1 via an insulating layer 8. The diode circuit of the first diode chip 6 has a negative pole (N-pole) electrically connected to the intermediate connector plate 3 through a metal wire 10, and a positive pole (P-pole) electrically connected to the capacitor chip 1a through another metal wire 12.
Similarly, a second diode chip 7 having a PN diode circuit is mounted to the capacitor chip 2a of the second capacitor element 2 via an insulating layer 9. The diode circuit of the second diode chip 7 has a negative pole (N pole) electrically connected to the intermediate connector plate 3 through a metal wire 11, and a positive pole (P pole) electrically connected to the capacitor chip 2a through another metal wire 13.
A package 14 of a synthetic resin encloses the above-mentioned components with the respective leads 4, 5 partially projecting therefrom. The projecting portions of the respective leads 4, 5 are bent toward the underside of the package 14 for conveniently mounting to a surface of a printed circuit board (not shown).
FIG. 4 shows an equivalent circuit corresponding to the capacitor illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.
In mounting the capacitor to the unillustrated circuit board, the first lead 4 may be connected to a positive electrode of the circuit pattern of the circuit board with the second lead 5 connected to a negative electrode. In such a mounting condition, a current from the positive electrode (namely, the first lead 4) bypasses the first capacitor element 1 through the first diode 6 for charging the second capacitor element 2.
Alternatively, the first lead 4 may be connected to the negative electrode of the circuit pattern of the circuit board with the second lead 5 connected to the positive electrode. In such a mounting condition, a current from the positive electrode (namely, the second lead 5) bypasses the second capacitor element 2 through the second diode 7 for charging the first capacitor element 1.
As described above, the first and second leads 4, 5 of the capacitor are exchangeably connectable to the positive and negative electrodes of the circuit pattern, so that the capacitor can be regarded non-polar. In either state of mounting, the first or second capacitor element 1, 2 is prevented from being subjected to a reverse voltage, thereby avoiding a critical damage which might be caused by heat generation due to the reverse mounting. Thus, it is unnecessary to find out and replace the capacitor which would be otherwise damaged by such reverse mounting.
FIGS. 5 and 5a show a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The capacitor of this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment but differs therefrom in that a first and a second diode chips 6', 7' are mounted on the respective capacitor chips 1a, 2a via respective conductive layers 8', 9' which may be made of a conductive paste or adheseive.
As shown in FIG. 5a, each of the diode chips 6', 7' includes a P-type substrate 6a', 7a' in which is formed an N-type surface portion 6b', 7b'. The N-type surface portion 6b', 7b' is connected to a conductor pad 6c', 7c' which is separated from the P-type substrate 6b', 7b' by an insulating layer 6d', 7d'.
The N-type surface portions 6b', 7b' (namely, the conductor pad 6c', 7c') of the respective diode chips 6', 7' are electrically connected to the metallic intermediate connector plate 3 through respective metal wires 10', 11'. Conversely, the P-type substrates 6a', 7a' of the respective diode chips 6', 7' are electrically connected to the respective capacitor chips 1a, 2a wirelessly via the respective conductive layers 8', 9'.
The second embodiment is advantageous in that the number of wire bonding steps can be reduced, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. Obviously, the capacitor of the second embodiment operates substantially in the same manner as that of the first embodiment.
FIGS. 6 and 6a show a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The capacitor of this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment but differs therefrom in that a first and a second diode chips 6", 7" are mounted commonly on the metallic intermediate connector plate 3 via respective conductive layers (not shown) which may be made of a conductive paste or adheseive.
As shown in FIG. 6a, each of the diode chips 6", 7" includes an N-type substrate 6a", 7a" in which is formed a P-type surface portion 6b", 7b". The P-type surface portion 6b", 7b" is connected to a conductor pad 6c", 7c" which is separated from the N-type substrate 6b", 7b" by an insulating layer 6d", 7d".
The P-type surface portions 6b", 7b" (namely, the conductor pad 6c", 7c") of the respective diode chips 6", 7" are electrically connected to the respective capacitor chips 1a, 2a through respective metal wires 12", 13". Conversely, the N-type substrates 6a", 7a" of the respective diode chips 6", 7" are electrically connected to the intermediate connector plate 3 wirelessly via the unillustrated conductive layers.
Like the second embodiment, the third embodiment is advantageous in that the number of wire bonding steps can be reduced, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. Further, since the respective diode chips 6", 7" are mounted on the intermediate connector plate 3 instead of the respective capacitor chips 1a, 2a, the height of the diode chips 6", 7" is not additional to the size of the resin package 14, thereby enabling a size and weight reduction.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a package-type solid electrolytic capacitor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The capacitor of this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment but differs therefrom only in that the first capacitor chip 1a is connected to the first lead 4 via a first safety fuse 15, whereas the second capacitor chip 2a is connected to the second lead 5 via a second safety fuse 5. Each of the first and second safety fuses 15, 16 may be a temperature fuse or an overcurrent, or works dually as a temperature fuse and an overcurrent fuse.
The third embodiment is advantageous in that the capacitor elements 1, 2 are protected against damages which might be caused by an overheat or overcurrent.
The present invention being thus described, it is obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. For instance, the safety fuses 15, 16 shown for the fourth embodiment may also be incorporated into the capacitors of the second and third embodiments. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. | A package-type solid electrolytic capacitor is provided which comprises a pair of capacitor elements, a pair of diodes associated with the capacitor elements, a pair of leads associated with the capacitor elements and the diodes, and a resin package enclosing the capacitor elements, the diodes and part of the leads. The leads may be exchangeably connectable to a positive and a negative electrodes of a circuit pattern. In one state of lead connection, one of the diodes passes a current only for one of the capacitor elements. In the other state of lead connection, the other diode passes a current only for the other capacitor element. Thus, the capacitor is non-polar and therefore can be mounted without paying any attention to the polarity. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/GB2008/000851, entitled “Toy Apparatus and Method of Use Thereof,” filed Mar. 11, 2008, which was published as International Publication No. WO 2008/113976 A1 on Sep. 25, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, which claims priority to British Patent Application No. GB 0705049.5, entitled “Toy Apparatus and Method of Use Thereof,” filed Mar. 16, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to toy apparatus and a method of use thereof.
[0003] It is known to provide toy apparatus including a playbase with a toy member movable across the playbase using a control mechanism. An example of such toy apparatus is disclosed in GB2315423. The toy apparatus includes a playbase with control means provided under the playbase surface. The control means includes a magnet which is movable relative to the underside surface of the playbase and this magnet is attracted to a magnet provided in a toy character located on the upper surface of the playbase. Thus, movement of the control means under the playbase causes corresponding movement of the toy character on the upper surface of the playbase due to magnetic attraction, thereby providing the appearance that the toy character is moving on its own. This increases the realism of the toy a user, such as a child.
[0004] A problem with the abovementioned toy apparatus is that movement of the toy character is limited to sliding movement across the playbase surface, thereby limiting the range of movement and thus the application of the toy character with respect to the playbase. GB2328623 discloses toy apparatus including articulated control means which allows a toy character to be slid between different heights of a playbase but once again movement of the toy character is limited by the requirement for the toy character to be in contact with the surface of the playbase at all times.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide toy apparatus which allows a greater range of movement or different movements of a toy member with respect to a playbase.
[0006] It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a method of using toy apparatus.
[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided toy apparatus, said toy apparatus including a playbase and at least a first toy member movable relative to said playbase between at least first and second positions via movement means, and wherein said movement means are arranged so as to separate the at least first toy member a spaced distance apart from a surface of the playbase in moving said toy member between said at least first and second positions.
[0008] Thus, in one aspect of the present invention, the toy member is not required to be in contact with a surface of the playbase at all times during movement from a first position to a second position. In one example, a base of the toy member is a spaced distance apart from an upper surface of the playbase during movement between the first and second positions. This allows a greater range of movements of the toy member and increases the realism of the toy to a user.
[0009] The movement means is preferably a mechanical and/or electrical mechanism which does not require direct user interaction with the toy member to move said toy member between said positions. Thus, operation of the toy member is actuated remotely therefrom.
[0010] Preferably the at least first toy member is engaged directly or indirectly with a surface or surfaces of the playbase in each of the at least first and second positions. The movement means disengages the toy member from said surface in moving said toy member between said first and second positions.
[0011] The at least first and second positions are preferably at spaced apart locations on one or more surfaces of the playbase. Further preferably the first and second positions are substantially horizontally or laterally spaced from each other.
[0012] Preferably the movement means physically separates the first toy member from a surface of the playbase, such as for example by lifting, in moving the toy member between the first and second positions.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment the at least first toy member is brought into engagement with at least a second toy member in moving from a first to a second position. Preferably the first toy member is in the form of a human character, such as a horse rider and the second toy member is in the form of an animal, such as a horse. The horse rider can be moved into engagement onto the back of the horse, as if the horse rider had mounted the horse.
[0014] Preferably the at least second toy member is movable with respect to the playbase surface. The second toy member can be moved with respect to the playbase surface with or without the first toy member engaged thereto. Movement of the at least second toy member can be independent of the movement of the at least first toy member.
[0015] The at least second toy member can be moved, at least in part, via the movement means. Alternatively, further movement means can be provided to allow movement of the at least second toy member.
[0016] Preferably actuation of the movement means for a first pre-determined time period or for a pre-determined distance allows movement of the at least first toy member between the first and second positions, and continued actuation of the movement means beyond said first pre-determined time or distance allows movement of the at least second toy member.
[0017] Reverse movement of the first and/or second toy members can be achieved by moving the movement means in a reverse direction in one example.
[0018] Preferably the movement means engages, directly or indirectly, via engagement means with the at least first and/or second toy members to move said toy member between the first and second positions.
[0019] The engagement means can include any suitable engagement means, such as one or more clips, ties, inter-engaging members, friction fit and/or the like. In a preferred embodiment the engagement means includes magnetic means.
[0020] Preferably the engagement means are such that engagement and/or release of the movement means with the toy member requires no direct manual actuation, thereby giving the appearance that the toy member is moving on its own accord.
[0021] In one embodiment magnetic means can be associated with the movement means and magnetic means of an opposite polarity can be associated with the at least first toy member, thereby allowing releasable engagement between the magnetic means of the movement means and the toy member.
[0022] Preferably the same or further magnetic means are associated with the at least first toy member, the same or further magnetic means releasably engaging with magnetic means associated with the at least second toy member. The same or further magnetic means of the first toy member are typically of opposite polarity to the magnetic means of the second toy member to allow magnetic attraction therebetween.
[0023] Preferably the magnetic attraction between the first and at least second toy member is substantially greater than the magnetic attraction between the first toy member and the movement means. As such, once the first toy member is moved within a pre-determined distance of the second toy member via the movement means (i.e. when the toy members are sufficiently close so that the magnetic field/attraction of the second toy member is greater on the first toy member than the magnetic field/attraction on the first toy member), the first toy member moves into engagement with the second toy member and releases engagement with the movement means.
[0024] The first and further magnetic means provided in the at least first toy member are typically a spaced distance apart.
[0025] In one embodiment the movement means moves the at least first toy member substantially through at least part of an arc of a circle in moving said member between said at least first and second positions.
[0026] Preferably guide means are provided on the playbase and at least part of the movement means are movable in or with respect to the guide means to guide the movement of the movement means with respect to the playbase (i.e. through one or more pre determined movement paths).
[0027] Preferably the guide means is in the form of a slot and part of the movement means is movable in said slot.
[0028] Preferably the guide means is shaped in the form of at least part of an arc of a circle.
[0029] Preferably the guide means are associated with a side wall of the playbase.
[0030] Preferably the movement means includes at least one arm member which is pivotably or rotatably mounted on or adjacent the playbase or pivotably or rotatably movable relative to said playbase.
[0031] In one embodiment the arm member is pivotably or rotatably mounted to or adjacent the playbase via a cog or gear mechanism. A cog or gear mechanism provided on the arm member typically movingly engages with a cog or gear mechanism provided on the playbase. Teeth provided on the cog or gear mechanism on the arm member can engage with complementary teeth provided on the cog or gear mechanism on the playbase.
[0032] Preferably the movement means further includes a movable belt and movement of said belt causes movement of the cog or gear mechanism on the playbase and/or the arm member.
[0033] The movable belt is typically a substantially continuous belt which rotates in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.
[0034] Preferably rack means provided on the movable belt engages with a cog or gear mechanism associated with the arm member. Movement of the belt causes movement of the rack means which in turn causes movement of the cog or gear mechanism and the arm member.
[0035] Movement of the movable belt and/or movement means can be powered using electrical means, such as via mains power supply, battery supply and/or the like. Alternatively, or in addition, movement of the movable belt and/or movement means can be driven via mechanical means or manually.
[0036] Preferably actuation of the movement means is at least partially caused by movement of the playbase across a surface. One or more wheels, rollers and/or ball bearings can be associated with a lower surface of the playbase and movement of said wheels, rollers and/or ball bearings across the surface can drive movement of the movement means. For example, a shaft can be associated with one or more of the wheel members and rotation of the shaft can drive rotation of the one or more cog or gear mechanisms.
[0037] Preferably user actuation means are provided to allow user selection for actuation of the movement means, thereby allowing user control for determining whether the first toy member is moved between the first and second positions.
[0038] The user actuation means typically moves the cog or gear mechanism of one or more of the arm member, movable belt and/or wheel members between engaged and disengaged positions with the other of the arm member, movable belt and/or wheel members. In the engaged position, two or more elements of the movement means are connected to allow actuation of the movement means. In the disengaged position, two or more elements of the movement means are disconnected, thereby preventing actuation of the movement means.
[0039] The user actuation means are preferably resiliently biased to a disengaged position. The resilient biasing means can include a spring, spring material and/or the like.
[0040] In a preferred embodiment the user actuation means is in the form of a depressable button. Depression of the button by a user moves a cog mechanism driving the movable belt into engagement with the shaft of the wheel members, such that rotation of the wheel member rotates the cog mechanism, thereby driving the movable belt.
[0041] The arm member is preferably pivotably mounted at a first end thereof and the engagement means, such as the magnetic means for example, are located at or adjacent a second or opposite end thereof. In one embodiment support means are provided at the second end of the arm member and the support means protrudes through the slot forming the guide means. Magnetic means associated with the support means can engage with the at least first toy member provided on the playbase.
[0042] A second cog or gear mechanism can be associated with the aim member to allow movement of the toy member between two or more different orientations relative to the arm member or playbase during engagement of the toy member with the movement means. Preferably movement of the toy member between the two or more different orientations takes place on moving the toy member between the first and second spaced apart positions on the playbase. For example, in the different orientations, a front surface of the toy can face different directions.
[0043] A further cog or gear mechanism can be associated with the playbase to allow inter-engagement between the second cog or gear mechanism of the arm member. The second cog or gear mechanism of the playbase is typically located at one or more pre-determined positions with respect to the guide means to allow change of orientation of the toy member as the arm member moves relative to the guide means.
[0044] In one embodiment positioning means a e provided on the playbase to position the first and/or second toy members in a correct position to allow movement of the members on the playbase.
[0045] The positioning means are preferably provided at a first position to position at least part of the first toy member in a required orientation to allow engagement with a second toy member in the second position. For example, in the embodiment where the first toy member is a horse rider, the positioning means positions the legs of the rider so that they can engage in a required orientation with the back of a second toy member in the form of a horse in the second position.
[0046] Preferably the at least first and/or second toy members can include one or more articulated parts.
[0047] In one embodiment a housing can be associated with the playbase. The housing can include a top, one or more side walls and/or end walls. The housing can be arranged so that actuation of the movement means causes at least part of one or more walls of the housing to move. A catch mechanism can be provided to move said walls. Thus, for example, the catch mechanism can be actuated to move said walls when at least part of the movement means is brought into engagement with the catch mechanism (i.e. release of the catch mechanism upon actuation of the same causes one or more of the walls of the housing to move).
[0048] In one embodiment a rotatable element is provided on the playbase to allow the first toy member or a further toy member to be rotated on said playbase. The rotatable element can be caused to rotate on movement of said movement means.
[0049] In one embodiment the first and/or second toy member includes one or more articulated parts and movement of said one or more articulated parts causes movement of a further part of the first and/or second toy members. Movement of the one or more articulated parts can be associated with movement of the movement means in one embodiment.
[0050] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using toy apparatus, said toy apparatus including a playbase and at least a first toy member, said method including the steps of actuating movement means for moving the at least first toy member between at least first and second positions relative to said playbase, and wherein said movement means are arranged so as to separate the at least first toy member a spaced distance apart from a surface of the playbase in moving said toy member between said at least first and second positions.
[0051] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided toy apparatus, said toy apparatus including a playbase and at least a first toy member is movable relative to said playbase between at least first and second spaced apart positions via movement means, and wherein said movement means are arranged such that on movement of the toy member between said first and second positions, the orientation of the toy member is moved between or through at least first and second different orientations.
[0052] According to a yet further aspect of the present invention there is provided toy apparatus, said toy apparatus including a playbase and at least a first toy member movable relative to said playbase between at least first and second positions via movement means, and wherein at least a second toy member is provided on said playbase and said movement means are arranged to move the at least first toy member into engagement with the at least second toy member.
[0053] According to a yet further aspect of the present invention there is provided toy apparatus, said toy apparatus including a playbase and at least a first toy member movable relative to said playbase between at least first and second positions via movement means, and wherein at least a second toy member is provided on said playbase and said movement means also moves said second toy member between at least first and second positions.
[0054] According to further independent aspects of the present invention there is provided a method for using the toy apparatus in any manner described herein.
[0055] The movement means can move the second toy member substantially simultaneously to movement of the at least first toy member or the second toy member can be moved on substantially continuing movement of the movement means after movement of the first toy member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0056] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein:
[0057] FIGS. 1 a and 1 b illustrate a rear view and front view respectively of toy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0058] FIG. 2 illustrates a more simplified rear view of the toy apparatus in FIG. 1 a;
[0059] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate a more simplified front view of the toy apparatus in FIG. 1 b in a first position and an intermediate position respectively;
[0060] FIG. 4 shows the internal mechanism for a horse shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b ; and
[0061] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate a perspective view of a housing associated with the playbase in closed and open positions respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0062] Referring to the figures, there is illustrated a toy apparatus in the form of a horse box 2 . The outer cover or housing 3 of the horse box in FIGS. 1-3 b has been removed to reveal a playbase having a base 4 , rear wall 6 and front wall 8 . The base 4 protrudes outwardly of front wall 8 to form at least part of the interior of the horse box in use. Wheels 10 are located on the front and rear sides 12 , 14 of base 4 to add to the realism of the appearance of the horse box 2 .
[0063] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate the housing 3 located with the playbase. The housing includes a top wall 5 , side walls 7 , 9 , a front wall 11 and a rear wall 13 . Top wall 5 , side wall 7 and rear wall 13 are movable between closed and open positions to allow access to the playbase provided within the housing. The mechanism via which the walls can be moved between closed and open positions will be described in more detail below.
[0064] A first toy member in the form of a human doll 16 is used with the horse box 2 and is moved in accordance with the present invention from a first seated position, as shown in FIGS. 1 a and 3 a, wherein doll 16 is located adjacent a front 18 of the playbase as if the doll is driving the horse box 2 , to a second seated position, as shown in FIG. 5 b , wherein the doll 16 is mounted on a second toy member in the form of a horse 20 located on base 4 towards a rear 22 of playbase.
[0065] The doll 16 includes a body portion 24 , legs 26 , arms 28 and a head 30 . The legs 26 , arms 28 and head 30 typically are provided with movable joints, thereby allowing the same to move relative to the body portion 24 . This increases the realism of the doll to the user.
[0066] Movement means 32 are provided on the playbase to move doll 16 from the first seated position to the second horse back position. The movement means 32 does this by actually lifting and moving doll 16 from the first position, the movement having both lateral and vertical elements, thereby separating the doll 16 from the playbase, and relocating doll 16 in the second position. In the first position, the legs 26 of doll 16 are engaged either side of a seat 34 . The seat 34 has a recess 36 on the top and sides in which the bottom of body portion 24 and legs 26 are located respectively.
[0067] The movement means 32 is located largely behind rear wall 6 and base 4 , thereby hiding the same from a user playing with the toy apparatus. The movement means 32 includes an elongate arm member 38 having a first end 40 and a second end 42 . A cog 44 having teeth 46 around a peripheral edge thereof is provided at second end 42 and is mounted on a rack 50 provided on a movable belt 48 . Rack 50 has a plurality of teeth 56 located on an upper surface thereof. The teeth 56 engage with complementary teeth 46 on cog 44 . Movement of movable belt 48 causes movement of rack 50 which in turn drives the movement of arm member 38 .
[0068] More particularly, belt 48 is a substantially continuous elongate member which is rotated about a substantially horizontal axis in use via a gear mechanism. In the illustrated example, the gear mechanism comprises a wheel 10 connected to a rotatable shaft 49 and rotation of wheel 10 , caused by a user pushing the horse box 2 across a surface, rotates shaft 49 . Teeth 51 provided around a peripheral surface of shaft 49 can engage with complementary teeth 53 provided on an intermediate cog 55 associated with user actuation means. The teeth 53 in turn can engage with complementary teeth provided on a further cog 57 associated with belt 48 . With shaft 49 , cog 55 and further cog 57 in engagement, rotation of shaft 49 causes rotation of cogs 55 , 57 , thereby causing rotation of belt 48 . Teeth provided on the inner surface of belt 48 engage with the teeth on further cog 57 . The cogs are arranged such that rotation of wheels 10 in a forwardly direction causes belt 48 to be driven in an anti-clockwise direction 54 and rotation of wheels 10 in a rearwardly direction causes belt to be driven in a clockwise direction.
[0069] In order for the user to have the option of selectively actuating the movement means when moving horse box 2 , user actuation means are provided. The user actuation means are in the form of an elongate lever 108 having a first end 110 protruding from an outer surface of the housing of the horse box to allow user actuation thereof and a second end 112 provided with intermediate cog 55 . Application of a depressive force by a user on end 110 of lever 108 causes cog 55 to move into engagement with shaft 49 and cog 57 , thereby transferring rotation of shaft 49 to belt 48 . Release of force on lever 108 moves the cog 55 out of engagement with shaft 59 and cog 57 , thereby preventing movement of belt 48 . Resilient biasing means in the form of a spring 114 is associated with lever 108 to bias lever 108 to the disengaged position. A user is required to overcome the bias of spring 114 in order to engage cog 55 with the adjacent cogs.
[0070] It will be appreciated that belt 48 could be driven by powered means if required.
[0071] Guide means in the form of a curved slot 58 is defined in rear wall 6 and guides movement of arm member 38 in use. Slot 58 has a first end 74 adjacent the front 18 of the playbase and a second end 76 adjacent the rear 22 of the playbase and defines an arc of a circle, thereby causing arm member 38 to move through an arc of a circle in use.
[0072] Doll 16 engages with the movement means in the first position via magnetic attraction provided by magnets located in both the doll and with the movement means. More particularly, a magnet 70 is provided on support means 60 joined to arm member 38 and magnet 70 engages with a magnet 72 located in the back of body portion 24 of doll 16 .
[0073] Support means 60 is in the form of an elongate post having a first end 62 , protruding through slot 58 from front wall 8 and movable therein, and a second end 64 joined to arm member 38 . Support means 60 is mounted substantially perpendicular to first end 40 of arm member 38 . Magnet 70 is provided on first end 62 of the support means.
[0074] First and second magnets 70 , 72 engage with each other when moved into close proximity, thereby engaging doll 16 to support means 60 . As arm member 38 is pivotally moved relative to rear wall 6 by belt 48 , support means 60 slides in slot 58 and causes doll 16 to be moved through an arc of a circle from the first position to the second position. The first position of doll 16 typically corresponds to support means 60 being at first end 74 of slot 58 and the second position of doll 16 typically corresponds to the support means 60 being adjacent the second end 76 of slot 58 .
[0075] In order for doll 16 to be in a correct orientation when brought into engagement with horse 20 , a further gear mechanism is provided to change the orientation of doll 16 during movement between the first and second positions. The further gear mechanism includes further gear racks 78 and 80 located adjacent second end 76 above and below guide slot 58 and a cog 68 located on a rear side of arm member 38 . Upper gear rack 78 has a plurality of teeth 82 on a lower surface thereof and lower gear rack 80 has a plurality of teeth 82 provided on an upper surface thereof. As arm member 38 is moved towards second end 76 , the teeth 84 on cog 68 engage with the complementary teeth 82 on the upper and lower gear racks 78 , 80 , thereby causing doll 16 to be rotated through approximately 90 degrees. This causes doll 16 to be moved from a substantially horizontal orientation, as shown in FIG. 3 b , to a substantially vertical orientation, wherein the doll 16 can be seated in an upright position on horse 20 facing front 18 of the playbase and the head 86 of horse 20 .
[0076] A magnet 88 is provided adjacent an upper surface of body portion 90 of horse 20 at the location where doll 16 is to be brought into engagement in the second position. Magnet 88 typically has a stronger magnetic attraction to doll magnet 92 , located in the bottom of body portion 24 , than the magnetic attraction between movement means and doll magnets 70 and 72 . As such, once doll 16 is moved into the vicinity of horse 20 in the correct orientation, the stronger magnetic attraction between magnets 92 and 88 , moves doll 16 into engagement with body portion 90 of horse 20 and releases engagement between magnets 70 , 72 of the support means and doll.
[0077] Positioning means in the form of pegs 94 and recess 95 are provided on upper surface of base 4 which allow the hooves 96 of horse 20 to be moved into the required second position for doll 16 to be moved into engagement with horse 20 . Pegs 94 are associated with the rear hooves of the horse and recess 95 is associated with the front hooves of the horse.
[0078] At least an upper surface 116 of base 4 is movable relative to a remaining part of the playbase. Upper surface 116 can be connected to belt 48 via connection 118 adjacent rear wall 6 . As such, rotation of belt 48 in a clockwise direction slidably moves upper surface 116 towards rear 22 such that surface 116 eventually protrudes beyond rear 22 . Rotation of belt 48 in an anti-clockwise direction slidably moves surface 116 towards front 18 .
[0079] Movement of upper surface 116 can be used to actuate movement of one or more walls of the housing 3 between closed and open positions. A catch mechanism can be provided at rear 22 of the playbase and includes an arm member 120 pivotably mounted to rear wall 6 via pivot 122 . Arm member 120 includes a first lower end 124 protruding towards front 18 and a second upper end 126 protruding towards rear 22 . As connection 118 is moved towards rear end 22 via belt 48 and thus upper surface 116 is moved towards rear 22 , an angled edge 128 of the connection 118 engages with lower end 124 of the pivot arm 120 , causing lower end 124 to pivot in an upwardly direction and causing upper end 126 of the arm 120 to pivot towards rear 22 . Movement of upper end 126 towards rear 22 releases a catch 130 which releases one or more the walls of the housing to move the same from a closed position to an open position. The movement of upper end 126 is guided by a slot 134 defined therein movable with respect to a protruding arm 136 . Arm member 120 is resiliently biased to lower the lower end 124 via a spring 132 when connection 118 is moved out of engagement with lower end 124 .
[0080] A rotatable element 98 is also provided on upper surface 116 of base 4 to allow horse 20 to rotate to a required orientation once doll 16 has been positioned on horse 20 . Rotatable element 98 can be caused to rotate via any means, such as via electrical means, mechanical means, manually and/or the like. However, in the illustrated embodiment, element 98 rotates on movement of upper surface 116 with respect to base 4 .
[0081] The horse 20 is further provided with a tail 100 which is connected to the rear of body portion 90 , rear legs 102 and front legs 104 . The legs 102 , 104 are articulated with respect to body portion 90 via joints 106 . Connection means in the form of a connection arm 108 connects head 86 and front legs 104 to rear legs 102 and tail 100 . With the rear legs 102 located on pegs 94 to maintain the position of the same, pushing tail 100 towards body portion 90 causes front legs 104 and head 86 to lift relative to rear legs 102 , thereby allowing horse 20 to be rotated through approximately 180 degrees. Rotation of horse 20 takes place using rotatable element 98 . As such, the horse 20 can be moved from a position where the head 86 of the horse faces the front 18 of the horse box to a position where the head 86 faces the rear 22 of the horse box.
[0082] Thus, in use, doll 16 can be moved from a position where it appears the doll 16 is driving the horsebox, to a position where doll is mounted on a horse within the horsebox and for the horse to move out of the rear of the horse box. All this takes place on movement of the toy across a floor surface without direct user intervention, thereby increasing the realism of the toy to the user.
[0083] In order to reset the mechanism, a user depresses lever 108 and moves the horse box in a backwards direction, thereby rotating wheels 10 and causing belt 48 to be moved in a clockwise direction which resets the movement means.
[0084] The apparatus can be formed form any suitable material in any suitable design and/or size, such as plastic, wood, metal and/or the like.
[0085] The dimensions of the housing located around the horse box are such that doll 16 can be moved relative thereto with the housing in place without obstruction being caused by the housing.
[0086] Other items can be provided with the toy apparatus to increase the realism of the apparatus to a user, such as for example, a grooming kit, saddle, reins, rosettes, horse food and/or the like. | Toy apparatus is provided including a playbase ( 22 ) and at least a first toy member ( 16 ) movable relative to said playbase between at least first ( 36 ) and second ( 90 ) positions via movement means. The movement means are arranged so as to separate the at least first toy member a spaced distance apart from a surface of the playbase in moving said toy member between the at least first and second positions | 0 |
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to optical projectors for producing color images on screens in response to tri-color pixel image data. More particularly, the invention concerns an optic engine architecture, a polarization technique and an overall configuration for such optical projectors that represent significant improvements in image quality, durability and portability.
Conventional optical projectors have a horizontal form factor that produces a relatively large footprint or horizontal outline on the stand, table or support surface. The image is projected from such prior art projectors from a height that is very few inches above the support surface, whereas the screen or display surface is at a substantially higher elevation so that it is easily viewable by persons in a conference room or lecture hall. Such upward image projection systems suffer from a well-known phenomenon called Keystone distortion. Conventional projectors tend to be bulky and barely portable, by which is meant they typically are transported on a wheeled cart because they cannot be comfortably handcarried by the average person. Finally, conventional projectors require a fair amount of preventive and corrective maintenance of their optics engines, or modules, because of their relative fragility and tendency to be jarred out of alignment from normal use.
The invented optics engine uses a prismatic cube for color separation or beam splitting, with the prismatic elements within the cube being secured within a durable frame that mounts three monochrome light valves, e.g. twisted nematic liquid crystal display (LCD)-type shutters, in a predefined position and orientation relative to the prismatic cube. In order to improve image quality and brightness, especially of the notoriously difficult-to-reproduce green color, red and blue beams are S-polarized, as is conventional, but the green beam is P-polarized. Edge jitter in all three colored beam paths is minimized preferably or eliminated by guard banding thereagainst by polarizer design, e.g. by selection of polarizer plane and bandpass characteristics.
The invented optical projector preferably includes a frame having a footing portion for resting on a support surface, a light source high above the footing portion, optical convolution structure downstream from the light source for reverse-bending downwardly flowing light from the source, light modulation structure near the reverse bend region for infusing the light with image information and for propelling modulated light upwardly in a projectable, image-containing stream of light, and outward-projection directing structure high on the frame for receiving and outwardly directing such stream of light. This optical projector structure, in its preferred embodiment, has a tower-like configuration, with a small footprint, and a very lightweight, yet durable, construction having high image quality including brightness.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description of the preferred embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the invented optical projector made in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram, corresponding to the isometric view of FIG. 1, of the projector's optical beam paths.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating in a top-down view of the projector the polarization of the red and blue beam paths.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating in a front elevational view of the projector the polarization of the green beam path.
FIG. 5 is a graphic representation of the transmissivity effect of polarization of red, green and blue light bands within the invented projector.
FIG. 6 is a somewhat simplified isometric view of the optical module of the invented projector, showing its major optical components.
FIG. 7 is a detailed isometric exploded assembly drawing of the prismatic cube frame that forms a part of the invented projector.
FIG. 8 is a view corresponding generally to FIG. 7 but showing the prismatic cube frame fully assembled.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram in side elevation of the projector's exit image beam path.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring first and collectively to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, invented optical projector 10 is shown in an isometric, front/right side view. Projector 10 may be seen to include, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, a frame 12 having a footing portion 14 restable on an external support structure 16 such as a table or lectern. Projector 10 also may be seen preferably to include a light source lamp/reflector assembly 18 mounted on frame 12, high thereon in relation to footing portion 14. Lamp/reflector assembly 18 forms part of a light source 19 in projector 10 (as will be explained), which source is designed to direct a beam of so-called white light L in a flow downwardly from source 19 toward footing portion 14, as perhaps best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6. It may be seen therefrom that, in accordance with the preferred embodiment, the mentioned light source further includes a planar ultraviolet/infrared filter 20 and a planar folding or turning mirror 22, although it will be appreciated that folding mirror 22 forms no necessary part of the invention, inasmuch as light source 19 might direct light L directly downwardly instead of first forwardly and then downwardly by reflection from folding mirror 22. Indicated only fragmentarily and somewhat schematically, for the sake of clarity, in FIG. 6, is a preferred embodiment feature by which the downstream surface of filter 20 is configured with a pillow-type integrator lens for spreading image brightness and minimizing so-called hot spots. A similar pillow-type integrator lens preferably is situated downstream from turning mirror 22 and (also not shown) immediately upstream from the upper beam entry face of X-cube optical splitter 42.
Projector 10 further includes optical convolution structure 24 communicatively associated with, and located optically downstream from, light source 19. Convolution structure 24 may be seen from FIG. 6 to include optical-path-folding reflector structure 26, or componentry, such as one or more folding mirrors, which, effectively, causes light which is downwardly flowing from source 19 to flow through a reverse-bend region 28 defined by the componentry. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of invented projector 10, such componentry includes three pairs of folding mirrors, one for each of the colors red (R), green (G) and blue (B). These folding mirrors are visible in FIG. 6 at 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and are depicted schematically in FIGS. 3 and 4 to be discussed. It may be seen from FIG. 2 that, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, reverse-bend region 28 is characterized by three reverse-bend paths P R , P G , P B . The two paths P R and P B may be seen from FIG. 2 to be substantially co-planar and the third path P G may be seen to lie in a plane which is substantially orthogonal to the common plane of the first-mentioned two reverse-bend paths P R , P B .
Preferably, optical convolution structure 24 includes a beam splitter, or X-cube optical splitter, 42, and a beam recombiner, or X-cube optical combiner, 44, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. X-cube optical splitter 42 preferably is in the form of a right cube, and will be understood to have interior, 45° planar surfaces that are coated or otherwise treated selectively to reflect lights of different colors so that white light entering a top surface of the cube produces differentiatedly pure red, green and blue light beams, with the red beam exiting a first face of the cube toward turning mirror 30, with the blue beam exiting an opposite face of the cube toward turning mirror 38 in the same horizontal plane as that of the red beam, and with the green beam exiting the bottom face of the cube toward turning mirror 34. It will be understood that turning mirror pairs 30 and 32, 34 and 36, 38 and 40 are preferably 45° inclined planar mirrors that, by their pair-wise positional and orientational configuration direct the R, G and B beams into X-cube optical combiner 44. It will also be understood that the red and blue beams, within the spirit and scope of the invention, may be swapped front-to-back.
Optical X-cube beam combiner 44 preferably also is in the form of a right cube, and will be understood also to have interior, 45° planar surfaces that are coated or otherwise treated to reflect the R, G and B beams entering its three faces upwardly into a white beam of light representing the combination of the R, G and B beams. It will be understood that, in accordance with the invention, the R, G and B beams that enter the faces of beam combiner 44 are modulated to produce an image-containing stream of light L', as next will be described.
Projector 10 also preferably includes light-modulation structure 46 disposed adjacent reverse-bend region 28 designed to interact with light traveling through reversebend region 28, thereby to modulate the same light so as to infuse it with projectable image information, with optical convolution structure 24 propelling such modulated light upwardly on the optical downstream side of reverse-bend region 28 in a projectable, image-containing stream of light L'. Light-modulation structure 46 may be seen by reference to FIG. 6 preferably to include pixelating light-valve structure 48, which will be described in more detail by reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, projector 10 preferably includes outward-projection directing structure 50 mounted, and located high, on frame 12 in relation to footing portion 14 thereof for receiving and outwardly directing modulated, image-containing stream of light L'.
As can be seen from a study of FIG. 2, streams of light L, L' flow along upright paths which lie in an upright plane that is substantially the same as the plane containing reverse-bend path P G . Were the organization depicted in FIG. 2 to be viewed from either lateral side of the projector, one would note that the just-mentioned upright plane, and the common plane containing paths P R and P n , cross one another in a fashion creating the spacial organization of what might be thought of as a the inverted letter T. It may also be seen from FIG. 2 that the respective paths along which light flows (1) downwardly in projector 10 from light source 19, as indicated by light stream L, and (2) upwardly from the downstream side of reverse-bend region 28, as indicated by light stream L', are laterally spaced from one another in the projector.
Referring briefly and collectively now to FIGS. 2, 6 and 9, projector 10 may be seen preferably to include, immediately upstream optically relative to outward-projecting directing structure 50, an optical lens stack 52 having a long axis A 1 , with optical convolution structure 24 including X-cube optical combiner 44 positioned adjacent the optically upstream end of lens stack 52, and with optical combiner 44 including a projection axis A 2 which substantially parallels, and which is laterally offset relative to, long axis A 1 of lens stack 52. This offset, indicated as D in FIG. 9, provides an important advantage. By so offsetting axes A 1 and A 2 , light emerging from the lens stack interacts with directing structure 50 in such a fashion as to produce outward project/on/direction as indicated by dash-dot arrows A 3 , A 4 in FIG. 9. The entire vertical content of each projected image is contained between these two arrows, and one can see that lower arrow A 3 indicates that the lower edge of a projected image travels outwardly substantially horizontally, and that the upper edge of each image travels outwardly at an upwardly inclined angle as represented by upper arrow A 4 . Offsetting of axes A 1 and A 2 results in the entire vertical content of each image emerging from the lens stacks immediately to the left side only of axis A 1 as pictured in FIG. 9. The whole result of this situation is that, quite apart from the preferred tower characteristic of the projector minimizing Keystone distortion, emergent projection in the manner just described further minimizes Keystoning problems.
It now may be appreciated, especially by viewing FIG. 1, that projector 10 has a long axis which, with the projector in an operative condition, extends substantially vertically from footing portion 14. Thus, when projector 10 is viewed downwardly along such long axis, the projector may be seen to have a footprint with orthogonal, transverse dimensions each of which is smaller than the height of the projector measured along such long axis. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, projector 10 is approximately 13 and 1/2 inches high (H) (representing its long axis), approximately 6 and 1/2 inches wide (W) (representing one of its footprint's orthogonal, transverse dimensions) and approximately 9 inches deep (LN) (representing the other of its footprint's orthogonal, transverse dimensions). Those of skill in the art will appreciate that, within the spirit and scope of the invention, other relatively smaller footprints and other relatively larger vertical dimensions of the projector may be envisioned that would produce many if not all of the advantages of the invention.
Considering now FIGS. 3 and 4, the detailed operation of the optical mechanism of projector 10 may be understood. Initially, it is noted that P- and S-polarization, as discussed herein, are relative to the reflective coating surfaces within X-cube optical combiner 44, i.e. P-polarization is in the plane of the reflective surfaces and S-polarization is normal thereto.
FIG. 3 is a front-to-rear, oriented, top-down schematic illustration of the projector's optical layout, and may be seen to depict the R and B beam flows and polarization in their common, preferably substantially horizontal plane. The red (R) beam exits a face of optical splitter 42 and passes through a rotator 54 that transforms S-polarization to P-polarization and P-polarization to S-polarization. Rotator 54 preferably is implemented as a rotator film affixed to a plate of glass, as shown in FIG. 6. The polarized red beam is reverse-bent via turning mirrors 30, 32 and is purified as it passes through a red color purity filter 56, also depicted in FIG. 6. It will be appreciated that color purity filter 56 in accordance with the preferred embodiment has affixed thereto a polarizer film that blocks S-polarization. This feature is illustrated schematically as being separate from color purity filter 56, although it will be understood in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 6, that filter and polarizer are closely adjacent. The P-polarized red beam next passes through a twisted nematic LCD light valve 58 that forms a part of pixelating light-valve structure 48. It will be understood that twisted nematic LCD 58 rotates the polarization of light passing therethrough by 90°, thereby transforming P-polarization to S-polarization as indicated in FIG. 3. A laminar analyzing polarizer adhered to a face of optical combiner 44 provides the final polarization step that insures that only S-polarized red light enters optical combiner 44.
The blue (B) beam of light exiting a face of optical splitter 42 goes through a complementary set of optical elements that are symmetric with, but oppositely directed from that through which the red beam of light passes. Briefly, the blue beam of light passes through a rotator 62, is reverse-bent through turning mirrors 38, 40, passes through a blue color purity filter 64 having a laminar polarizer that blocks S-polarization, passes through a twisted nematic LCD 66 that transforms P-polarization to S-polarization and finally passes through an analyzing polarizer 68 preferably adhered to the opposite face of optical combiner 44, thus insuring that only S-polarized blue light enters optical combiner 44.
Turning now to FIG. 4, the flow and polarization of the green (G) beam of light will be described. It will be understood that FIG. 4 is a rearward view from the front of projector 10. White light enters a face of optical splitter 42, as from light source 19. Green light exiting the opposite face of optical splitter 42 passes through a rotator 70 that introduces a 90° rotation of the polarization, transforming P-polarization to S-polarization and S-polarization to P-polarization. It will be appreciate that, similar to the red and green beams of light, rotator 70 may be implemented preferably as a rotator film adhered to a plate of glass, as indicated in FIG. 6. Polarization-rotated green light exiting rotator 70 is reverse-bent via turning mirrors 34, 36, and passes through a green color purity filter 72 preferably having adhered thereto a polarizer film that blocks P-polarization. S-polarized green light passes through a twisted nematic LCD 74 that rotates the polarization by 90° transforming S-polarization into P-polarization, as indicated in FIG. 4.
Finally, an analyzing polarizer 76 preferably adhered to the bottom face of optical combiner 44 insures that green light entering optical combiner 44 is P polarized. Thus, one aspect of the invention may be understood to involve an improved color polarization method for use in any multichrome projector wherein white light is split into plural color beams of light for modulation and recombination thereof to produce a pixelated color image for display. The improved method can be thought of as including the steps of: (1) first polarizing at least one of the plural color beams of light, e.g., red or blue, in a first orientation, e.g., S-polarization; and (2) second polarizing at least one other of the plural color beams of light, e.g., green, in a second orientation, e.g., P-polarization, that is different from the first orientation. It is this differentiated polarization of light in a multichrome projector that results in improved image quality by virtue of the fact that green light has been discovered to be better P-polarized whereas red and blue light are better S-polarized.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the second orientation, for example, in which green light is P-polarized, is substantially perpendicular to the first orientation in which, for example, red and blue are S-polarized. By polarizing at least one of the plural color beams of light, e.g., red and blue, in the S-plane and by polarizing at least one other of the plural color beams of light, e.g., green in the P-plane, improved image quality is realized.
Referring now briefly to FIG. 5, the improved polarization method will be better understood by reference to a graphic illustration of the transmissivity characteristics of projector 10 made in accordance with this preferred embodiment. With S-polarization of red and green beams of light, it may be seen from the graph that nearly complete transmission thereof is achieved. The upper trace on the graph of FIG. 5 represents the measured transmission of S-polarized red (R) and blue (B) light through the optical subsystem described above by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The lower trace, which represents P-polarization, may be seen to be centered on the nominal center of the green (G) passband, which renders P-polarization more effective in such an optical subsystem for the color green than would S-polarization.
From FIG. 5, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the use of P-polarization for the green beam of light and S-polarization for the red and blue beams of light, as well as the design of the polarizers themselves, produces another important contribution to image quality. Light entering the surface of an optical element, though nominally normal thereto, usually has some divergent or convergent character, i.e. light entering the face is not exactly at right angles to the plane of the face. Even slight fluctuations in the angle of incidence of a beam of light upon the surface of an optical element having preferable polarization such as a prism or polarizer face results in what is known as edge jitter in the color band pass.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, such edge jitter is guard-banded against by the selection of the type of polarization, e.g. S-polarization versus P-polarization, and of the color splitting coating material themselves, to better match the prismatic beam splitter transmission characteristics with that of the light entering its faces. Referring briefly again to FIG. 5, it may be seen that, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, there is a wide wavelength band or distance between adjacent vertically sloping aspects of the curves. Edge jitter, i.e., plus and minus 6% (of the wavelength) or even greater, in the color bands entering the prismatic cube, e.g. X-cube prismatic combiner 44, does not translate into image color jitter or distortion because it occurs outside of the bandpass of the color purity filters that form part of the optical subassembly.
These color bandpasses are represented in FIG. 5 by the labeled bands blue, green and red, which are separated by vertical lines in the graph. It is noted that the vertical lines, which represent the nominal congruent edge boundaries of adjacent colors, are intermediate the vertical slopes that represent the S-polarization and the P-polarization transmission curve edges. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the minimum lateral distance between these vertical lines and laterally adjacent sloped curved lines representing the actual transmission characteristics of the prismatic cube is described herein as a guard-band that represents substantial protection against the possibility that fluctuations in the angle of incidence translate within projector 10 into color edge jitter in the projected image.
Thus, the improved color polarization method may be seen in the alternative to involve the step of polarizing at least one of the plural color beams of light in a multichrome projector in such a manner that the wavelengths of light passed through a color-combining or color-splitting optical surface are outside of a predefined band of wavelengths over which bandpass edge jitter might otherwise result from such fluctuation in the angle of incidence of the beams of light upon a surface of an optical element. Most preferably, of course, all such plural beams of light, e.g. the red, green and blue beams, are so polarized to greatly reduce, or most preferably to eliminate, visible color edge jitter, or its adverse effects, in a projected color image. Those of skill will appreciate that either or both of the independent improved methods disclosed herein find broad utility in any color projector.
Turning finally to FIGS. 7 and 8, and viewing them collectively, the invented frame that mounts optical combiner 44 within projector 10 will be described in some detail by reference to the exploded assembly drawing of FIG. 7 and the assembly drawing of FIG. 8. This aspect of the invention involves a prismatic cube-mounting frame indicated generally at 78 for use in an optical projector such as projector 10. Frame 78 preferably includes first and second opposing frame members 80, 82 extending around a first and opposing face of the prismatic cube such a X-cube combiner 44, as indicated. Preferably, each of first and second frame members 80, 82 includes a lip region, such as lip regions 80a, 82a, extending beyond the edges of the first and second opposing faces of the cube a predetermined distance, lip regions 80a, 82a defining corresponding opposing edges of first and second frame members 80, 82. At least third and fourth frame members, and preferably also fifth frame members, 84, 86, 88 representing R, G, B beams of light, extend between first and second opposing frame members 80, 82, as shown better in the assembled view of FIG. 8.
It may be seen from FIGS. 7 and 8 that third and fourth frame members 84, 86 bear optical elements thereon through which light beams may be directed into and out of the prismatic cube. Preferably, third and fourth frame members 84, 86 (and most preferably also fifth frame member 88) are adhered to the edges of lip regions 80a, 82a of first and second frame members 80, 82 to position and align the optical elements borne thereby with the prismatic cube. This position and alignment may be better seen from FIG. 8 to insure proper position and orientation of twisted nematic R, G, B LCDs 58, 74, 66 relative to optical combiner 44, which position and alignment are important to producing a high quality image from projector 10.
Thus, one optical element that is mountable in accordance with this aspect of the invention Within frame 78 is the light valve that, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, is implemented as a twisted nematic LCD shutter. Such light valves will be understood by those skilled in the art to control a light beam directed into and out of the corresponding face of the prismatic cube with which the light valve-bearing third and fourth frame members 84, 86 are positioned and aligned at a predetermined distance (Z) therefrom at a predetermined (X) and (Y) position relative thereto, and in a predetermined orientation θ relative thereto. While those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of invented projector 10, only optical combiner 44 is equipped with such an invented frame 78, it also is possible within the spirit and scope of the invention to mount optical splitter 42 in such an invented frame with the positional and orientational advantages attending thereto.
With first, second, third, fourth and fifth frame members 80, 82, 84, 86, 88 fully assembled, with the proper positioning and orientation determined at the time of assembly by conventional calibration methods, a unitary optical combiner subassembly is produced that is readily mountable within projector 10 without any required repositioning or realignment or recalibration of the light valves relative to the prismatic cube. Such mounting may be made to frame 12 of projector 10, as by the use of a post or other suitable mounting means extending through structure 90 formed within first and second frame members 80, 82. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, structure 90, as may be seen best perhaps from FIG. 7, includes four apertured tabs of which only three such tabs, 92, 94, 96 are depicted, located at corresponding corners thereof by any suitable mounting means, not shown, such as molded plastic posts that form a part of a molded outsert, insert or clamshell assembly of the projector's chassis. Also not shown in FIGS. 6, 7 or 8 for the sake of clarity is means for controlling light valves 58, 66, 74. Such may be conventional, for example, by the use of flex circuits connected to a power-supplied electronic controller for signalling the LCD shutters to produce the desired pixelated modulation of the R, G and B beams to produce the desired multichrome projected image.
Referring in more detail now to FIG. 8, it may be seen that each of third, fourth and fifth frame members 84, 86 and 88 is equipped on its four corners with tabs, or ears, that extend in the horizontal plane relative to frame 12 of projector 10. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these tabs are useful in aligning and positioning the frame members relative to first and second frame members 80, 82 and provide an edge-confronting surface of third, fourth and fifth frame members 84, 86, 88 for adhering these frame members to first and second frame members 80, 82. First and second frame members 80, 82 may be seen to have complementary notches in their four corners that form part of the edges of their respective lip regions that facilitate positioning and orientation of third, fourth and fifth frame members 84, 86, 88 relative to first and second frame members 80, 82.
It also may be seen perhaps better from FIG. 8 that each of frame members 84, 86, 88 has a laminar structure in which optical elements illustrated as what may be thought of as a window pane within a window frame are sandwiched between laminar halves. The triangular cut-out within each of first and second frame members 80, 82 will be understood to provide for the precise alignment of first and second frame members 80, 82 with optical combiner 44, and permit the extension through the triangular openings of a corresponding triangular feature that is machined or otherwise suitably formed into either end of cube 44. Finally, it may be seen from FIG. 8 that one edge of each of frame members 84, 86, 88 and preferably edge members that share a common plane of the prismatic cube subassembly provide for connection with the ribbon cables described above for purposes of light valve control signalling. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invented X-cube mounting frame is useful in a variety of optical projectors including that of the preferred embodiment.
Accordingly, while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein, and preferred methods associated therewith, it is appreciated that modifications are possible that are within the scope of the invention. | An optical projector is described that orients its optics engine preferably vertically within an enclosure that is higher than it is wide or deep. The invented optics engine uses a prismatic cube for color separation or beam splitting, with the prismatic elements within the cube being secured within a durable frame that mounts the three color light valves, e.g. twisted nematic liquid crystal display (LCD)-type shutters, in a predefined position and orientation relative to the prismatic cube. In order to improve image quality and brightness, especially of the notoriously difficult-to-reproduce green color, red ahd blue beams are S polarized, as is conventional, but the green beam is P-polarized. The invented optical projector preferably includes a frame having a footing portion for resting on a support surface, a light source high above the footing portion, optical convolution structure downstream from the light source for reverse-bending downwardly flowing light from the source, light modulation structure near the reverse bend region for infusing the light with image information and for directing modulated light upwardly in a projectable, imagecontaining stream of light and outward-projection directing structure high on the frame for receiving and outwardly directing such stream of light. | 6 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation of PCT application No. PCT/EP2013/003432, entitled “COMPACT SYSTEM WITH HIGH HOMOGENEITY OF THE RADIATION FIELD”, filed Nov. 14, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a compact system with high homogeneity of the radiation field, compared with arrangements that are known in the state of the art.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] It is known to use radiation, in particular UV- or IR-radiation for the treatment of water, gasses, in particular air, or surfaces. Particularly known is disinfection with UV-radiation. Relatively wide spread is drinking water treatment with UV-radiation, whereby the bacterial count in the water, subject to the dosage can be reliably and significantly reduced. Microorganisms, such as pathogens, in particular bacteria or viruses, are inactivated through UV-radiation.
[0006] The level of efficiency of a treatment system is determined to a large extent by the homogeneity of the created radiation field in which the medium that is to be treated, for example water, is located. In particular in systems with few light sources, achievement of sufficient homogeneity is difficult and usually associated with high efficiency losses. For treatment efficiency it is therefore preferred to provide an as homogeneous distribution of the radiation intensity as possible. A local increase of the radiation intensity is thereby not harmful. However, a locally strongly reduced intensity may result in insufficient treatment. In the case of disinfection by means of UV-radiation, for example germs that flow through these regions during passage through a UV-reactor are not sufficiently deactivated.
[0007] Moreover, a compact design of the treatment system is important for applications in areas where there is a significant lack of space, without however entering into compromises in regard to system efficiency. In addition, due to spatial issues and often also due to aspects of cost the number of radiation sources must be reduced as far as possible.
[0008] Two conceptual approaches for UV-disinfection are known from the current state of the art:
[0009] In the first concept, high compactness of the arrangement is achieved, whereby however at the same time the radiation homogeneity suffers. A typical example of such an arrangement is the coaxial geometry. FIG. 1 a illustrates an exemplary embodiment of such a system, as is known from the current state of the art. FIG. 1 a shows a top view of a tubular shaped UV-light source 1 that extends perpendicular to the drawing plane, is arranged inside a tube 7 and is surrounded by a medium such as water. UV-light source 1 is thereby protected from the water by a UV-transparent encasement tube 5 . Due to the quadratic decrease of the radiation intensity of the UV-light source with the distance, and the additional weakening due to absorption in the medium, an inhomogeneous radiation field results in FIG. 1 a.
[0010] To clarify the inhomogeneous radiation field from FIG. 1 a, the type of the radiation field which results for an arrangement according to FIG. 1 a is illustrated in detail in FIG. 1 b on the basis of the so-called ray tracing method. In the ray tracing method ray paths originating from the radiation source are calculated, whereby the optical parameter of the penetrated materials, in particular absorption and reflection coefficients are considered. By calculating a high number of statistically produced output rays, the resulting radiation field is mapped. This method is known to the expert from the current state of the art and therefore requires no further explanation.
[0011] In FIG. 1 b it is shown how the radiation field in the arrangement of FIG. 1 a portrays itself, whereby the individual UV light source 1 is arranged in the center, inside tube 7 . The two diagrams on the bottom and the right edge in FIG. 1 b are sectionals respectively showing the progression of the radiation density. The bottom diagram shows the radiation intensity in a horizontal section through the center of the drawing (z millimeter) and the right diagram shows the radiation intensity in a vertical section through the center of the drawing (y millimeter). Regions through which no medium is conducted are masked out in the drawing. The diagrams therefore illustrate the radiation intensity along the selected sectional planes. A perfectly homogeneous radiation field would result in a flat horizontal line (so-called “hat profile”). A strongly inhomogeneous radiation field results in a strong deviation of the values along the selected section. It can therefore be seen in FIG. 1 b that the radiation intensity is at a maximum near the UV- light source and drops off markedly toward the outer edge of the tube. For the arrangement in FIG. 1 a a standard deviation of 43% from the mean value of the radiation intensity was calculated according to FIG. 1 b . Such a high value proves poor radiation homogeneity of the system. The arrangement according to FIG. 1 a therefore is very compact, has however a very inhomogeneous radiation field. A strongly inhomogeneous radiation field means in this case however, that there are regions in which existing germs which flow through these regions during passage through tube 7 are not sufficiently radiated to be rendered inactive, due to the low radiation intensity. The disinfection efficiency is therefore insufficient.
[0012] The following are additional exemplary devices for disinfection from the current state of the art which are also designed relatively compact but command insufficient radiation homogeneity:
[0013] US 2007/0272877 A1 relates to a radiation device, in particular a UV disinfection device, including at least one reactor for treatment of fluids by way of light radiation, whereby the reactor includes a tube or respectively a channel or a container consisting of a transparent material and surrounded by air. The radiation device includes a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and at least one opening or a window which is adapted for the transmission of light into the tube or respectively the channel. Outside the tube or channel a light source is located, having a light generator and a reflector in order to reflect the light that is produced by the light generator in the direction of the window in a predefined angle region. In particular, a cylindrical reactor is provided for this, which can be designed at least partially so that light, in particular UV light impinging on the walls is reflected back into the medium.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,483 B1 relates to a germicidal UV chamber for use with air, whereby the UV chamber itself can be in the embodiment of a reflector and preferably has the shape of a ellipsoid cut off at both ends.
[0015] The disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,011 B1 relates to a method for disinfection and cleaning of liquids and gasses wherein a special reactor design is applied, wherein the reflective side walls contribute to the concentration of the UV radiation during disinfection of liquids and gasses
[0016] US 2010/0264329 A1 moreover relates to a disinfection device for liquids with the assistance of light, whereby the device includes: a substantially light-transparent tube to disinfect liquid flowing through it; a substantially light-transparent encasement having outside dimensions which are smaller than the inside dimensions of the tube, whereby the encasement in the tube is arranged substantially perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the tube; as well as a light source which is arranged inside the encasement. A quartz glass tube preferably serves as the reactor and is located inside reflective walls of a reflector.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,251 A describes a disinfection and drying device for hands and forearms, whereby UV light is used in a working chamber in order to disinfect pre-heated air from a second chamber that is connected with the working chamber, to then thereby disinfect and dry the hands or arms in a closed chamber. The disinfected medium is utilized in the form of air to disinfect and dry the hands, whereby disinfection therefore occurs in a more or less enclosed space.
[0018] In the second conceptual approach according to the current state of the art UV disinfection systems are provided, that indeed produce a relatively homogeneous radiation field, but require an extraordinarily large space for this and are therefore not designed sufficiently compact:
[0019] GB 2 334 873 A for example, describes a sterilization device including a multitude of elliptical reflectors. In FIG. 1 of GB 2 334 873 A an elliptical double reflector 1 is arranged around a test tube 2, whereby the test tube is arranged at the common focal point of the reflector. Two mercury lamps 3 are positioned at the other two focal points of the elliptical double reflector 1.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,178 A moreover discloses a device for treatment of a fluid by means of radiation of a thin film of the fluid with concentrated light of high intensity. An annular fluid passageway 102 is provided for radiation so that a thin film of the fluid to be radiated is available. On the interior the annular passageway 102 is defined by a shaft 103 whose surface is reflective. Externally the annular passageway 102 is surrounded by a transparent tube 104. An elliptical reflective cylinder 101 is provided, whereby the radiation source is arranged at or near the first focal point of the elliptical cylinder and the medium that is to be radiated is arranged at or near the second focal point, as seen in detail in FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,178 A.
[0021] According to the teachings of GB 2 334 873 A, as well as of U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,178 A the UV light sources are therefore arranged outside the UV reactor. Through the arrangement of externally positioned reflectors the UV radiation is coupled as uniformly as possible through the UV-transparent reactor wall into the medium. Currently known systems use reflectors for this purpose whose reflective surfaces are generally separated from the UV-transparent reactor wall. The UV-light is distributed outside the medium-conducting UV reactor such that an as homogeneous as possible radiation field inside the UV-reactor results.
[0022] From the current state of the art according to DE 38 24 647 A1 a device for radiating media by means of UV light is also known, consisting of a tubular body through which media flows and which consists of an UV-permeable material, and at least two UV light sources with reflectors, arranged axially parallel on the outside, whereby the light sources are flat UV emitters having an elongated, flat-oval cross section with wide and narrow side, whereby the primary axis of the UV light sources are always directed upon the center point of the tubular body's cross section. The UV light sources are arranged annularly and axially parallel around the tubular body through which media flows. According to one design variation the flat emitters fit closely against the tubular body with the narrow side that is facing toward the tubular body. In this configuration, the UV reactor is not in the embodiment of a reflector. The reflectors are exclusively assigned to the UV light sources and do not form any part of the UV reactor itself through which the medium that is to be disinfected flows. The arrangement according to DE 38 24 647 A1 moreover requires a large space due to the UV light sources being positioned on the outside.
[0023] Arrangements of this type facilitate a relatively homogeneous radiation field inside the medium that is to be disinfected. However, the large space that is required for radiation distribution is detrimental with these arrangements. Systems according to the second conceptual approach are therefore not suitable for applications with space restrictions.
[0024] Systems known from the current state of the art are therefore either compact, but offer insufficient radiation homogeneity; or systems known from the current state of the art achieve indeed high radiation homogeneity, but require a large space for this which rules out applications in confined installation locations.
[0025] What is needed in the art is a system wherein the disadvantages of the current state of the art are avoided, in other words a system which provides sufficiently high radiation homogeneity and at the same time has a very compact design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0026] The present invention provides a system for treatment of gasses and/or liquids with radiation or for detecting radiation in gasses and/or liquids, including at least one optical system and a reactor. The reactor is designed in the form of a cylindrical hollow body that includes lateral surfaces, a first part or end part connecting the lateral surfaces, possibly an additional part or inlet part connecting the lateral surfaces, as well as an interior chamber which is open toward the front and rear ends and through which the medium flows or in which the medium is present. The reactor may be a flow-through reactor designed at least partially in the embodiment of a reflector (subsequently also referred to as “first reflector) which reflects radiation emitted by or for the optical system into the interior chamber of the reactor. The reactor is divided into two functional regions: a first functional region F 1 which is located most closely to the at least one optical system, and a second functional region F 2 which is arranged further removed from the at least one optical system than the first function region F 1 . In the operational state of the system, radiation in the first functional region can spread substantially unimpeded and in the second functional region in essence overlays of the radiation occur. According to a first variation of the invention, in the first functional region F 1 of the reactor, the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system, providing no recesses and/or indentations in the reactor.
[0027] According to a second variation of the invention, the reactor may be divided into two functional regions: a first functional region F 1 which is located most closely to the at least one optical system, and a second functional region F 2 which is arranged further removed from the at least one optical system, whereby radiation can spread substantially unimpeded in the first functional region and whereby in the second functional region in essence overlays of the radiation occur. The reactor has at least two second functional regions, whereby in the second functional region F 2 the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another decreases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system.
[0028] According to another embodiment of the invention, the reactor through which the medium is conducted assumes at the same time the function of a reflector. The homogenization of the radiation field thereby occurs through reflection from the walls of the reactor, and not, as is typical in the current state of the art, outside of same. Due to the fact that the reactor itself functions at least partially as a reflector, the homogeneity of the radiation which is emitted by the optical system or emitted to it, was unexpectedly improved so that a clearly more efficient system is provided.
[0029] According to another embodiment of the invention, the optical system may be a light source, especially a UV light source or an IR light source, or an optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor. A combination of different light sources and optical measuring devices, in particular optical sensors is possible but not absolutely necessary for the improved functionality of the system.
[0030] Depending on the optical system that is selected, a system having different functionality is obtained. For example, if the optical system features one (or more) UV light sources, then the system according to that embodiment of the invention is arranged as a UV disinfection system. If the optical system features one (or more) IR light sources, then the system according to that embodiment of the invention is arranged as a heating system. If the optical system features one (or more) optical measuring devices, then the system according to the embodiment of the invention is arranged as a system that is used for example in spectroscopy.
[0031] The following explanations apply regardless of which optical system has been selected, provided nothing else is specified. It must be noted that, if the optical system consists of an optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor, the radiation is emitted from the interior chamber of the reactor from where it spreads and eventually impinges on the optical measuring device. The paths of the individual light rays and thereby the functionality of the invention are, however, independent of the direction of propagation of the rays. For the sake of clarity, the functional principle is described below, predominantly with reference to an optical system consisting of one light source.
[0032] Within the scope of the current invention “reactor” is understood to be a chamber not necessarily defined on all sides and which is designed so that under defined conditions treatment of a medium that is to be treated, such as UV disinfection of a medium, for example of water, or the targeted heating of a medium by means of IR radiation, or the capture of radiation through a medium, such as in through-flow spectroscopy takes place. Furthermore, recesses and/or indentations in the reactor, as in DE 10 2011 112 994 A1, in which the optical system is disposed in order to radiate the medium flowing in the interior chamber is avoided.
[0033] The number and arrangement of the optical systems are not particularly limited. Possibly only one optical system is provided. However, two or more optical systems may also be provided. Exemplary embodiments include 1 to 8 optical systems, preferably 1 to 6 optical systems, in particular 1 to 5 optical systems, especially preferably 1 to 4 or 1 to 3 optical systems. In the case that UV- or IR-LEDs are utilized as optical systems, clearly more optical systems may be provided according to the invention, for example 100 or more UV- or IR-LEDs. Several optical systems can advantageously be arranged side by side. In addition to the number, size, shape, and function of the optical systems, the selection of a suitable arrangement of the optical systems depends also on the selected shape and size of the reactor, as well as the selected function which is to be fulfilled by the system.
[0034] According to an alternative embodiment, the system can be provided with an optical system or systems outside or inside of the reactor. “Outside of the reactor” means that the optical system or systems are not located in the interior chamber of the reactor through which the medium flows. “Inside the reactor” means that the optical system or systems are located in the interior chamber of the reactor where the medium flows.
[0035] According to an embodiment of the invention, the reactor is not a unit that is closed off to the outside. Rather, it describes a cylindrical hollow body which is open on both opposite ends which are described herein as the front end and back end of the reactor. On the front end, the medium flows into the reactor and on the back end, the medium flows out. The reactor may therefore be a flow-through reactor. The cylindrical hollow body has two lateral surfaces located opposite one another and having a defined wall thickness and which are closed off in a first part and respectively in an additional part, and which surround an internal chamber. The reactor is thus a hollow cylinder in the form of a straight or tilted generic cylinder. A cylinder with base area and cover area originates from displacement of a flat surface or curve along a straight line which is not disposed in this plane. When the straight lines are perpendicular to the base area and cover area, this describes a straight cylinder. The reactor in the embodiment of a hollow cylinder is not limited on both ends by a base area and cover area as in the case of a generic cylinder, but is designed open. The material that is to be used or treated flows for example in the front end (the omitted base area of a generic cylinder) into the reactor and flows out the back end (the omitted base area of a generic cylinder) out of the reactor. During passage through the reactor in the embodiment of the cylindrical hollow body, the medium can be treated or respectively disinfected or heated.
[0036] According to one embodiment of the invention, the hollow cylinder may be derived from a straight generic cylinder. The hollow space in the hollow cylinder that is open toward the front and the back forms the interior chamber of the reactor. The form and size of the reactor can initially be arbitrarily selected within the scope of the current invention, provided that the structural conditions for the intended use permit this. Limits arise only based on the technical viability and handling characteristics.
[0037] A part respectively connecting the lateral surfaces, for example an inlet part and an end part connect directly to the lateral surfaces of the reactor, thus forming the reactor. Based on this chosen geometry of the reactor, such overlays of the ray paths occur, that a weakening of the radiation is compensated for by contributions of rays reflected from the walls. The cumulative radiation intensity therefore remains substantially unchanged across the entire reactor. An especially high radiation homogeneity results therefrom over the entire interior chamber of the reactor, thereby achieving improved treatment, or detection efficiency. Such a system is moreover characterized by high compactness.
[0038] According to the first variation the invention, the medium conducting component in the embodiment of the reactor is divided into two functional regions. The reactor is arranged such that it consists of a first functional region F 1 which is located most closely to the at least one optical system, and a second functional region F 2 which is arranged further removed from the at least one optical system. In the first functional region, the radiation which is emitted by the optical system or emitted to it can spread substantially unimpeded. In the second functional region in essence overlay of the radiation occurs. In the first functional region F 1 of the reactor, the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. According to this embodiment of the invention it became evident that in order to achieve especially homogeneous radiation intensity, an enlargement of the interior chamber of the reactor in the direction toward the connecting part is provided.
[0039] According to an additional embodiment, the reactor is arranged so that the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor that are located opposite one another in the second functional region F 2 decreases, possibly continuously with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. According to this embodiment of the invention it became also evident that, in order to achieve especially homogeneous radiation intensity it is advantageous if in the second functional region tapering of the interior chamber in the direction of the connecting part is provided. According to this design variation the at least one optical system can be provided outside or inside the reactor.
[0040] According to an additional embodiment, the reactor is arranged so that the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor that are located opposite one another in the first functional region F 1 increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system and that the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another in the second function region F 2 decreases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. According to this embodiment the at least one optical system can again be provided outside or inside the reactor.
[0041] First functional region (F 1 ) may or may not be located in the interior chamber and thus in the medium-conducting region of the reactor. In the first functional region the radiation, viewed from a radiation source, for example in the form of an optical system can spread unimpeded. In this region, functional region 1 , the intensity of the radiation decreases with increasing distance from the radiation source, due to the spatial expansion as well as due to a possible absorption by the flowing medium. After a travel distance that is predefined by the geometry of the reactor the radiation then impinges on the reflecting lateral surfaces and is reflected back at an angle. This angle is defined by the geometry of the reactor in such a way that an overlay of the path of the rays occurs. The weakening of the radiation is thereby compensated for by contributions of rays being reflected from the walls, so that the cumulative radiation intensity remains substantially unchanged over the entire second functional region.
[0042] Consequently the second functional region (F 2 ), besides the first functional region, is the remaining region in the reactor where, viewed from a radiation source, the interior chamber of the reactor preferably tapers in the direction of the end part. This may occur for example through tilting of the lateral surfaces toward the inside, in other words in opposite direction, by always an appropriate angle of less than 90° from a horizontal plane through the reactor.
[0043] The exact form of the medium conducting component in the embodiment of the reactor depends, therefore, on the strength of the radiation absorption of the medium, the reflective characteristics of the lateral surfaces, the minimum radiation density and possible spatial restrictions. The first function region F 1 is selected so that the reactor progressively expands with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. In other words, the distance of the lateral surfaces increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. “Continuously” in this context means that there is no interruption of the lateral surfaces.
[0044] According to the variations explained above, the functional regions can therefore be arranged differently.
[0045] According to another embodiment of the invention, the distance between the lateral surfaces in the first functional region increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system, and decreases, possibly continuously, in the second functional region with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. The first functional region can then connect to the second functional region, for example through the provision of a structural transition. This transition may for example be an angular shape, such as a corner or edge as provided in both lateral surfaces, or may also be a round shape.
[0046] The parts connecting the lateral surfaces, in particular in the embodiment of an inlet part and end part of the reactor, can be selected relatively arbitrarily in regard to shape and size. They only serve to close off the radiation chamber of the reactor to the outside, in other words to connect the lateral surfaces with each other, resulting preferably in a self-contained surface area of the hollow cylinder. The end part of the reactor may be in the embodiment of a reflector, and thereby contribute in addition also to the homogeneity of the radiation field.
[0047] The principle according to the invention, according to which the radiation initially spreads in a first functional region in the reactor and wherein then an overlay of the ray paths occurs in the second functional region can be used for systems with exterior or interior optical systems, such as UV light sources, IR light sources or optical measuring devices, in particular optical sensors, wherein in the case of optical measuring devices, in particular optical sensors the radiation spread according to the invention occurs in opposite direction.
[0048] If the optical system or systems are located outside the reactor, a predefined radiation-transparent region in the embodiment of a radiation-transparent window in the reactor is preferably provided. This radiation-transparent window may be provided in the inlet part of the reactor, or form the inlet part of the reactor. Through this radiation-transparent window the radiation travels from either one or a plurality of optical systems in the form of one or a plurality of light sources, for example UV or IR light sources, which are arranged on the outside of the reactor into the interior chamber of the reactor which is divided into a first and a second functional region. Alternatively, the radiation travels from the interior chamber of the reactor through this radiation-transparent window to one or a plurality of optical systems in the form of optical measuring devices, in particular optical sensors. The radiation-transparent widow may therefore connect the two lateral surfaces of the reactor in the inlet part, or as the inlet part.
[0049] If the optical system or systems are located in the center of the reactor, then the first functional region F 1 is located in this case in the interior region of the medium conducting reactor where the radiation can freely spread. The second functional region F 2 starts where the first functional region transitions into one or more connecting tapering regions. According to this embodiment of the invention the tapering of the second functional region F 2 in the reactor therefore contributes significantly to the homogenization of the existing radiation.
[0050] According to the second variation of the invention, the reactor can have at least two second functional regions, wherein in the second functional region F 2 the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another decreases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. According to this embodiment of the invention, it also became evident that in order to achieve an especially high homogeneous radiation intensity in the systems of the current invention it is advantageous if several second functional regions are available and if in the second functional region always a tapering of the interior chamber of the reactor in the direction toward to the end part is provided. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more second functional regions may for example be provided in the reactor.
[0051] The high radiation homogeneity achieved with the inventive systems in the embodiments of the first variation or the second variation can be quantified with the already described ray tracing method. The standard deviation from the mean value of the radiation density in the reactor is according to the invention at <30%, preferably <25%, more preferably <20%, even more preferably <15%, in particular ? 13%, particularly preferably ? 10%. According to these embodiments of the invention values in the range of 10 to 20% are generally achieved. With round shapes for the reactor somewhat higher values are achieved which, however, due to the high compactness and simple production procedure still provide satisfactory results. In contrast, the arrangements from the current state of the art provide in part values of above 40%, so that the inventive systems are superior to these arrangements in regard to homogeneity.
[0052] Moreover, especially compact systems are provided according to these embodiments of the invention. This may for example be expressed through the volume share of the medium that is to be used or treated, relative to the total volume of the system. The share of the medium present in the reactor, or to be treated is generally consistent with the interior volume of the reactor. There are however also design variations where this is not so, for example if a part of the interior chamber is not filled with media or media is not flowing through same. In these embodiments of the invention the volume share of the medium of the overall volume is very large. In other words, there is hardly any additional and therefore superfluous space available in the system besides the volume of the medium in the reactor that is used or is to be treated. As a general rule it can be said that the share of volume of media to be used or to be treated, or the share of the volume of interior space of the overall volume of the system according to these embodiments the invention is preferably at least approximately 60%, more preferably at least approximately 70%, particularly at least approximately 80%, even more preferably approximately 90%. The previously explained arrangements from the current state of the art on the other hand offer a share of volume of the medium to be used or treated of the overall volume of the system which is in the range of 10 to 20%, as can be seen from FIG. 1 of GB 2 334 873 A and FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,178 A.
[0053] For the embodiment of the reactor that is set up with first and second functional regions, round as well as angular cross sections can be used for the overall design. Possible cross sections are round shapes such as circular, elliptical, egg-shaped, pear-shaped or polygonal shapes with rounded corners and deviations thereof. With angular shapes, polygons such as regular or irregular polygons are possible which can be varied in many aspects. From a production engineering point of view rounded geometries can be advantageous for the reflector and thereby the reactor. Although they produce a less homogeneous radiation field to some extent, they can be manufactured in a simple manner and can achieve homogeneity of the radiation distribution that is completely sufficient for many practical applications. The round shapes offer an especially compact design and therefore have significant advantages.
[0054] According to one embodiment a combination of several reactors can be provided in the system of the current invention. For example 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 reactors can be combined. Together, they can complete one aggregate reactor or they can represent individual reactors which are structurally connected. The combined reactors together possibly form one common interior chamber. The reactors that are combined with each other can also provide separate interior chambers in which treatment of the medium for example occurs separately.
[0055] According to another embodiment of the invention, the wall thickness of the reactor can initially be adjusted discretionarily. Restrictions exist only in regard to the intended application purpose, the desired shape and size, as well as the desired mechanical strength requirement.
[0056] For UV disinfection, that the medium that is to be disinfected, in particular water, is frequently under pressure. For example, in the household sector exterior connection pressures are 4 to 8 bar which can, however clearly drop off subsequently to <1 bar, for example during running a water faucet. In commercial water treatment, the pressures are often substantially higher, so that the reactor, depending on the application purpose and application location, should be designed for specified pressures. A suitable wall thickness for a reactor for the specific application field can readily be selected.
[0057] The precise geometry of the reactor, in particular dimensions, angles and the like can therefore be determined and selected depending upon the number, arrangement, and form of the optical systems, the radiation absorption coefficient and the type of medium that is being used, the reflection losses on the reflective surface of the reflector, as well as other loss mechanisms. These factors are therefore to be adapted to the specific application. The shape and size of the reactor is therefore determined, at least in part by the shape and size of the reflector, depending on the design variation. The design of the reactor, at least in part as a reflector, can be provided in a number of different ways:
[0058] In one embodiment the entire surface area of the reactor itself, which is the two lateral surfaces, the inlet part, and the end part of the reactor, or parts thereof, can be designed as the reflector. Possibly only one surface or partial surface of the reactor is not designed as the reflector. According to this embodiment of the invention it is preferred if the reactor except for the inlet part is designed as the reflector.
[0059] According to another embodiment of the invention, a predefined radiation-transparent region or a radiation-transparent window may be provided in the reactor so that radiation from one or more optical systems, for example in the embodiment of one or more light sources, for example UV or IR light sources, can pass through. The shape and size of the radiation-transparent region or window can be selected and adapted depending on number, size, and shape of the utilized optical systems, so that an appropriately sized “opening angle” is available for the optical system or systems. It is also possible that several radiation-transparent regions or windows are provided in the reactor. Possibly, there is only 1 radiation-transparent window. Possibly one radiation-transparent region is provided respectively in the reactor for each optical system or for a group of optical systems.
[0060] A radiation-transparent window may also be provided in the inlet part of the reactor, or form the inlet part, so that the interior chamber of the reactor is separated from the at least one optical system and from a possibly present reflector. The radiation-transparent window is intended to allow radiation to pass from one or more optical systems which are arranged outside the reactor into the interior chamber of the reactor, or radiation from the interior chamber of the reactor to one or more optical systems. If optical systems are provided only inside the reactor, then the entire reactor, that is the lateral surfaces, the end part and possibly present inlet part, can be designed as a continuous reflector. In this case a radiation-transparent region can be provided which surrounds the optical system or systems and which is for example in the embodiment of a radiation-transparent tube in order to protect the optical system or systems from the medium that is being used. For each interior optical system, such a radiation-transparent region is provided in the embodiment of an encasement or a tube.
[0061] The material of which the reflector consists is not particularly restricted. Any material or any combination of materials can be used, which is known in the art as being used for a reflector. The reflector can be constructed for example of a flexible or rigid, or solid material. Depending on the specific design, the wall of the reactor can consist partially or completely of a material or a material combination which reflects the light of the selected light source. One example of a material is aluminum.
[0062] According to an additional embodiment, the reflector can be applied onto the wall of the reactor in the form of a radiation-reflecting, for example UV- or IR-reflecting, exterior or interior layer or coating. A radiation-reflecting layer or coating can for example be applied to the inside of the reactor wall. In this case the reflector is applied directly onto the inside wall of the reactor or coated on the inside. The material of which the reactor consists is not restricted provided that it is suitable for the application purpose. The radiation reflecting layer or coating can be selected from a multitude of materials or material combinations. For example, a multi-layer system may also be utilized. The reflector may for example be manufactured from a cost-effective metal or a cost-effective metal-alloy. Other materials are also possible. The advantage of a radiation-reflecting inner layer or internal coating is that the reflected light is not weakened by the passage through the wall to the reflector due to residual absorption as is the case with an exterior layer or coating.
[0063] The radiation-reflecting inner layer or coating can in addition be protected from the medium that is to be disinfected, by a protective layer. This is however not necessary in each case. If, for example water is the medium that is used, then a water resistant material that, for example is UV- or IR-transparent can be used as protective layer or coating.
[0064] The reflector may also constitute a radiation reflecting layer or coating on the outside of the reactor. In this case, the reflector is applied directly onto the outside wall of the reactor or is coated onto the outside. Through the provision of an exterior layer or coating, the reactor itself is composed of radiation-transparent material, for example UV- or IR-transparent glass. Such a radiation reflecting layer or coating can consist of a material or a material combination. Multilayer systems may also be used.
[0065] The term “radiation-transparent” means that the material that is used according to the invention has a high transmission for certain radiation which means that a transmission of at least 75% exists at an appropriate wavelength of the used radiation, for example a wavelength of 254 nm with UV-radiation, or an appropriate wave length range and a layer thickness of the material of 1 nm.
[0066] According to an preferred embodiment, provided that UV-radiation is used, the material at a layer thickness of 1 mm displays a transmission in the UV-range which is around 200 nm<5% and at 254 nm>75%. Even more preferred is a transmission at a layer thickness of 1 mm in the UV-range at 200 nm<1% and at 254 nm>80%. Especially preferred UV-transparent material is for example UV-transparent glass, for example quartz glass.
[0067] According to another preferred embodiment, provided that IR-radiation is used, the material displays a transmission at a layer thickness of 1 mm in the IR-range which is higher than 780 nm>75%, and below the range <5%. Especially preferred IR-transparent material is for example quartz glass.
[0068] The material of the inventive system is selected according to the selected optical system, for example according to the radiation wave length of the used light source or sources in order to let the appropriate radiation pass through or to reflect it, according to the design form, so that it is not damaged or altered by the radiation. As is known, the material selection when using IR-light sources is much less restrictive than when using UV-light sources. The respectively suitable materials are known from the current state of the art.
[0069] In addition to the reactor which is at least partially designed as a reflector, one or more individual reflectors may be provided which are arranged behind the existing optical systems. Hereafter, these additional reflectors are also referred to as lamp reflectors or second reflectors. This embodiment is used especially when the optical system or systems are arranged outside the reactor. Preferably one reflector is assigned to each optical system or to each group of optical systems in order to provide an as high as possible radiation energy for the medium that is streaming or flowing or is present in the reactor. In particular, in the case of an undirected optical system, the provision of one or more reflectors is preferred. The reflector behind the optical system fulfills the function of reflecting light which was emitted in the wrong direction, into the reactor.
[0070] The individual reflectors assigned to the respective optical systems may be selected in any discretionary shape. A wide variety of reflector geometries are hereby suitable. Optical radiation homogeneity is achieved if the first and second reflectors are coordinated with each other. The reactor assigned to the optical system may have a round shape, such as a concave mirror in the shape of a spherical sector, or an angular shape. Preferably, the reactor assigned to each optical system envelopes said system in such a way that the radiation emitted from the optical system, for example in the form of a light source, is radiated only in the direction of the reactor. The reflectors may therefore be selected in any discretionary shape, whereby they are arranged open on one side, so that the light from the optical system can be radiated in a substantially preferable direction.
[0071] According to an additional design variation, the reactor which is in part in the embodiment of a first reflector, and the second reflector that is assigned to an optical system can be designed and arranged such that they are in contact with each other, or overlap each other in such a way that a kind of aggregate reflector with a common radiation chamber is created. It is to be noted herein that this radiation chamber in an actual sense does not represent an enclosed space, but that it is open on both ends, so that the existing medium can flow in and out. Based on this design according to this embodiment of the invention, a particularly high homogeneity of the radiation distribution can be achieved and in addition, a particularly high compactness of the inventive system is obtained. The second reflector may be in contact with the reactor that is at least partially in the embodiment of the first reflector. The second reflector thus additionally discharges heat due to direct contact with the reactor.
[0072] Another embodiment of the system of the invention is represented by the so-called “modified inlet cone”. In this embodiment, only one optical system may be provided. However, several optical systems may also be present. The optical system is arranged outside the reactor. The lateral surfaces and the end part of the reactor are in the embodiment of a first reflector. The inlet part of the reactor is embodied by a radiation-transparent window which connects the two lateral surfaces with each other. In one design variation the optical system is a light source, such as a UV- or IR-light source and emits its light through this radiation-transparent window into the interior chamber of the reactor. In another design variation the optical system is an optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor that captures the light of one or several light sources which are located inside the reactor and whose light passes through the radiation-transparent window that, for example is permeable for IR-radiation or UV-radiation. The end part of the reactor may be formed by an angular shape that connects the two lateral surfaces with each other. In another design the reactor tapers in the end part.
[0073] The optical system may additionally be surrounded by a lamp reflector or second reflector in such a manner that, for example light emitted into the wrong direction is reflected into the reactor. The first and the second reflector may be designed so that they form an aggregate reflector. This may occur for example in that the first reflector and the second reflector are in contact with each other or are arranged to overlap.
[0074] The reactor is arranged such that it consists of a first functional region F 1 which is located most closely to the at least one optical system, and a second functional region F 2 which is arranged further removed from the at least one optical system, whereby the radiation emitted from or to the optical system region can spread substantially unimpeded in the first function region and whereby in the second functional region in essence overlay of the radiation occurs. According to the first variation of the invention, the first function system is arranged so that the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. The second functional region may be arranged so that the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another decreases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system. A structural transition may exist, wherein the first functional region transitions directly into the second functional region. This is represented by a corner or respectively an edge, always on both lateral surfaces, whose tip is always directed outward. There may however also be a continuous transition between the first and second functional region.
[0075] In the aforementioned modified inlet cone there are two functional regions in the interior chamber of the reactor, so that the entire interior chamber of the reactor is subject to an extraordinarily homogeneous radiation density. There are no local heavily reduced radiation intensities which could lead to insufficient distribution of the radiation efficiency.
[0076] Another embodiment of the invention uses a round radiation-transparent glass tube, for example a UV-transparent quartz glass for the reactor which can be produced especially cost effectively. A first reflector is then applied to the inside or the outside of the glass tube wall. Preferably this would be a radiation-reflecting layer or coating which can be composed of one or several materials. According to another embodiment a second reflector is provided which is assigned to the optical system. This second reflector can be arranged so that it is in contact with the first reflector or connects directly to it. An aggregate reflector is therefore created from the two reflectors. Obviously, more than one optical system may also be provided, whereby, if required, also the corresponding number of reflectors can be added which, together with the reactor can form an aggregate reflector.
[0077] If the optical system or systems are selected in the form of light sources, then basically any light sources can be used. For example any type of UV- or IR-light source or also light sources in the visible range can be used. In UV-radiation a wavelength of 253.7 nm is normally utilized. This represents the primary emission wavelength of low pressure UV-lamps and a substantive radiation maximum of other UV-lamps. Therefore, medium pressure, high pressure or low pressure UV-lamps, possibly mercury-vapor medium pressure, high pressure or low pressure lamps are therefore used for example as UV-light sources which emit radiation at a wavelength of around 254 nm. Low pressure UV-lamps, in particular low pressure mercury-vapor lamps are preferred. According to an additional embodiment of the invention, UV-light sources in the form of CCL (cold cathode lamp) may be used. These are based on the proven CCFL-technology (cold cathode fluorescent lamp), whereby the fluorescent coating is foregone; these can be purchased currently on the open market. According to the invention UV-LEDs can also be used. If using UV-LEDs a higher wavelength in the range of 270 nm may be selected, whereby on the one hand the disinfection effect is greater; on the other hand typical UV-transparent glasses have a higher transmission at these wavelengths, which increases the efficiency further.
[0078] Any light source that sends out IR-radiation can be considered as an IR-light source. Broadband IR-light sources are thermal radiators, for example light bulbs or radiant heaters. Specifically IR-light sources are for example Nernst-needles and IR-LEDs.
[0079] For the optical system light sources may also be used whose radiation is emitted preferably inside a defined emission angle, such as UV- or IR-LEDs which may be arranged for example outside the reactor. The emission angle then determines essentially the selection of the size of the region of the reactor which will be designed to be radiation-transparent. For example, a radiation-transparent window of appropriate width and length may be provided. According to one embodiment, the optical systems in the form of light sources can also be secured on a common support plate or printed circuit board, so that the illumination unit can be produced cost effectively, easily assembled, and replaced. A separate assembly of numerous individual optical systems, for example in the form of light sources for the reactor can therefore be omitted.
[0080] If relatively intensely radiant light sources, such as common UV- or IR-flashlights are used as optical systems, it is preferred for cost reasons to use an as small number as possible of optical systems or respectively light sources, possibly 1, to a maximum of 3. If relatively weak light sources such as UV- or IR-LEDs are used as the optical systems, then according to the invention a clearly greater number of light sources, for example 100 LEDs or more, may be used. In each case it is advantageous not to fall below pre-defined minimum radiation intensity in order to guarantee sufficient radiation. This however depends on the particular application.
[0081] The optical system or the optical systems may be arranged inside or outside the reactor, parallel to the direction of flow of the medium that is to be used. For example, a UV-tubular lamp as the only UV-light source can be used as the optical system which is arranged inside the reactor or outside the reactor, possibly parallel to the direction of flow of the medium that is to be disinfected, such as water.
[0082] If in the inventive system a radiation-transparent material is used, the material may be radiation-transparent glass. The usable radiation-transparent glass is not particularly limited within the scope of the invention. Any glass known to the expert that is accordingly transparent for the utilized radiation may be used. UV-transparent glasses that may be used according to the invention are for example quartz glasses, silica glasses, preferably borosilicate glass or sodium-potassium-barium-silica glasses, especially preferably quartz glasses and borosilicate glasses. Especially preferred glasses are described in DE 10 2011 112 994 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety into the current description. IR-transparent glasses that may be used according to the invention are for example borosilicate glassed, preferably quartz glasses.
[0083] The medium that is to be used is not particularly limited according to the invention. Any liquid or any gas or also a mixture of several liquids or gasses, or a liquid or gaseous solution, dispersion or similar, also a mixture of two or more components can be used in the inventive system. An example medium is water. According to one embodiment, gas can also be disinfected; it can be advantageous if this is not air. If particularly aggressive gasses or liquids are to be used an appropriate selection can be made from suitable material compositions.
[0084] The present invention may be used as a UV-disinfection system, wherein the optical systems includes at least one UV-light source, in particular for disinfection of liquids and/or gasses in a stationary or flowing state, in particular for drinking water treatment and disinfection, disinfection of ultrapure water, waste water, liquids from the pharmaceutical sector and food sector, or for disinfection of gasses such as air or industrial gasses. The present invention may further be used as a heating system, in particular as a continuous flow heater, wherein the optical system comprises at least one IR-light source, in particular for heating of liquids and/or gasses in stationary or flowing state. The present invention may also be used in through-flow spectroscopy, wherein the optical system includes at least one optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor.
[0085] In through-flow spectroscopy light emitting materials are guided through a reactor. The emitted radiation is then detected. A possible field of application is detection of biomarkers or tracers, for example in connection with fluorescein or uranine The stimulating light source of a specific wavelength generally used additionally for the spectroscopy can easily be integrated into the inventive system. In the case of uranine for example use of a UV-light source and an optical measuring device, in particular optical sensors for green light.
[0086] The advantages of the invention are extraordinarily multi-facetted. According to one embodiment of the invention, a system is provided for treatment of gasses and/or liquids with radiation, or for detection of radiation in gasses and/or liquids, wherein the reactor is designed at least in part in the embodiment of a reflector that reflects the radiation provided by one or more systems or for one or more systems into the interior chamber of the reactor. The medium-conducting component in the embodiment of the reactor therefore assumes the function of the reflector at the same time. The compactness of the provided system is thereby improved, since spatially demanding reflector geometries can be omitted. Only additional second reflectors that are assigned to the optical system or systems may be used.
[0087] By dividing the interior chamber of the reactor into a first and a second functional region, as described previously, it can be achieved that the weakening in the radiation with increasing distance from an optical system can be compensated for by rays reflected by the walls, so that the cumulative radiation intensity remains substantially unchanged over the entire functional region F 1 and F 2 , thereby again achieving an especially high radiation homogeneity over the entire reactor. Due to the design of the reactor wherein in functional region F 1 the distance between the lateral surfaces of the reactor located opposite one another increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the at least one optical system, particularly high radiation homogeneity can be achieved over the entire interior chamber. Also, the additional provision of tapering in the direction toward the end part of the reactor in one or several second functional regions contributes to a large extent to homogeneity of the radiation, for example UV- or IR-radiation.
[0088] According to another embodiment of the invention it can be determined with the ray tracing method that the standard deviation from the mean value of the radiation density according to the invention is <30%, preferably <25%, more preferably <20%, even more preferably <15%, and is in particular <13%, especially preferably <10%. Arrangements from the current state of the art clearly show greater and thereby poorer values in the range of 40% or higher.
[0089] Moreover, especially compact systems are provided according to the invention. The share of volume of the medium that is used or treated, for example disinfected or heated, or the share of volume of the interior chamber relative to the overall volume of the system according to the invention is preferably at least approximately 60%, preferably at least approximately 70%, in particular preferably at least 80%, more especially preferred at least approximately 90%. Arrangements with high radiation homogeneity from the current state of the art in comparison offer a share of volume in the region of 10 to 20% of used or treated medium relative to the total medium of the system. The inventive system therefore makes possible a more homogeneous radiation field within the used medium, whereby in contrast to the current state of the art there is no large space requirement for radiation distribution. The inventive system is nevertheless designed relatively simply and avoids unnecessary space. The combination of high homogeneity of the radiation and greater compactness of the system leads to effective results in the current invention, such as a higher disinfectant effectiveness when using UV-radiation or quicker and better homogeneous heating when using IR-radiation or better detection when using optical measuring devices.
[0090] The inventive system is moreover extremely selectively variable. The optical systems can be located inside or outside the reactor. The system can be adapted in a targeted manner to a specific application. Due to the fact that the reactor functions at least partially as a reflector and, together with the reflector or reflectors for each optical system can potentially form an aggregate reflector, the provided radiation is put to optimum use.
[0091] The functionality of the inventive system can be selected depending on the selected optical system or systems. If UV-light sources are selected as the optical systems, then a UV-disinfection system is obtained that, due to the homogeneity of the produced radiation field has an especially high efficiency level and due to the compact design can be used also in spatially restricted applications. If IR-light sources are selected for the optical systems instead of UV-light sources, the inventive system operates as a heating system, possibly as a continuous flow heater. According to this embodiment, water can for example be heated very efficiently in this manner in a compact space. One advantage of this embodiment according to the invention is in particular the uniform heating in the reactor, in other words over the entire interior chamber, based on the homogeneity of the radiation achieved by the current invention. Subsequent intermixing can therefore be omitted. This may be advantageous in particular if the medium that is to be heated represents a mixture, for example one or several non-organic or organic compounds which are present in a dissolved state or are distributed in a liquid, for example water. In the case of a continuous flow heater the medium flowing through it is radiated with equivalent IR-radiation during its passage, so that uniform and fast heating can be performed.
[0092] The materials used are adapted to and selected in consideration of the respectively selected radiation, so that the respective radiation can pass through or be reflected, depending on the design variation and the used material is not damaged or altered by the radiation.
[0093] If the selected optical systems are optical measuring devices, in particular optical sensors, the inventive system is suited for example for spectroscopy. The special geometry of the inventive system provides that the same amount of radiation from light-emitting objects, for example fluorescent or phosphorescent materials which are located inside the reactor impinges upon an optical measuring device, regardless of the precise location in the reactor. This provides a measuring signal or respectively sensor signal that is independent from the location of the light-emitting objects, thereby for example making a more precise determination of the number of light-emitting objects possible. This allows for example provision of systems for through-flow spectroscopy.
[0094] It is also very advantageous that the inventive system can operate without external influence. The inventive system can be accommodated in a compact housing. The system can be utilized without problems in larger units, for example with flowing medium in a pipe system or also with inactive medium, for example in a tank or similar units. The system can be utilized stationary, permanently installed as part of a larger system or flexibly, or can be a handheld device.
[0095] The device according to the invention thereby achieves an as high as possible level of efficiency with relatively low cost expenditure in manufacture. The device according to the invention is also suitable for very specialized applications. For example as a UV-disinfection system in the production of ultrapure water which is used in particular in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and semiconductor industries, as a heating system for quick and homogeneous heating, or in spectroscopy. The system of the current invention demonstrates its advantages also with smaller systems with high compactness.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0096] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of (an) embodiment(s) of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing(s), wherein:
[0097] FIG. 1 a shows a section view of an embodiment according to the current state of the art, based on coaxial geometry;
[0098] FIG. 1 b shows the radiation field of the prior art arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1 a;
[0099] FIG. 2 a shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the current invention;
[0100] FIG. 2 b shows a section view of the embodiment of the current invention illustrated in FIG. 2 a;
[0101] FIG. 2 c shows a schematic depiction of a ray path of the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2 a;
[0102] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b each show a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention;
[0103] FIGS. 4 a and 4 b each show a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention;
[0104] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b each show a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention;
[0105] FIGS. 6 a and 6 b each show section view additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention;
[0106] FIG. 6 c shows a schematic depiction of the radiation field of the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 6 b ; and
[0107] FIG. 7 shows a section view of an additional exemplary embodiment of the system according to the current invention.
[0108] The various elements illustrated in the drawings are only representative and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Certain sections thereof may be exaggerated, whereas others may be minimized. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0109] FIGS. 1 a and 1 b were already discussed in the description of the related art.
[0110] FIG. 2 a illustrates a three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of the current invention for visualization of the spatial geometry. The illustrated embodiment of the current invention shows the so-called “modified inlet cone”. Illustrated reactor 30 shown in the example is a flow-through reactor. The utilized material flows from the front end to the rear end of reactor 30 , through interior chamber 60 which is open on both ends. Arrow 35 symbolizes the direction of flow inside reactor 30 . The medium may for example be water. However, other media is also possible. Lateral surfaces 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b as well as connecting part 40 of reactor 30 are always designed as a reflector. This can be implemented either through proper selection of the wall material or through application of a radiation-reflecting layer or coating onto the inside or outside of lateral walls 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b and connecting part 40 of reactor 30 . If an outside layer or coating is provided, the wall material is selected from a radiation-transparent material, for example radiation-transparent glass. According to the invention, reactor 30 is thus realized as a reflector, with the exception of one region in inlet part 50 of reactor 30 .
[0111] In FIG. 2 a connecting part 40 is located on top of reactor 30 and inlet part 50 is located at the bottom of reactor 30 ; this however is not absolutely necessary. Other arrangements are also possible. Inlet part 50 describes the component connecting lateral surfaces 32 b and 34 b of reactor 30 that is arranged more closely to the at least one optical system 10 , in other words is located at a lesser distance from optical system 10 than connecting part 40 . Connecting part 40 describes the component connecting lateral surfaces 32 a and 34 a of reactor 30 that is arranged further away from the at least one optical system 10 , in other words is located at a greater distance from optical system 10 than inlet part 50 .
[0112] The modified inlet cone in FIG. 2 a shows the medium conducting component in the embodiment of reactor 30 that is divided into two functional regions F 1 and F 2 . Reactor 30 is hereby designed so that it consists of a first functional region F 1 which located most closely to the at least one optical system 10 , and a second functional region F 2 which is arranged further removed from the at least one optical system, for example in the embodiment of a UV- or IR-light source 10 . First functional region F 1 is hereby characterized in that the radiation spreads substantially unimpeded and second functional region F 2 is characterized in that essentially overlays of the radiation occur.
[0113] In the illustrated embodiment according to the current invention the first functional region F 1 is designed so that the distance between lateral surfaces 32 b and 34 b of reactor 30 located opposite one another increases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the optical system, for example in the form of a light source 10 (distance B 2 >distance B 1 , see FIG. 2 b ). The second functional region F 2 is designed so that the distance between lateral surfaces 32 a and 34 a of reactor 30 located opposite one another decreases, possibly continuously, with increasing distance to the optical system, for example a light source 10 (distance A 1 >distance A 2 , see FIG. 2 b ).
[0114] In the illustrated embodiment a structural transition 55 is provided, wherein the first functional region transitions into the second functional region. In this case this always represents a corner or respectively an edge 55 . 1 and 55 . 2 that respectively divide the lateral surfaces into 32 a and 32 b or respectively 34 a and 34 b.
[0115] In the illustrated embodiment, inlet part 50 of reactor 30 forms a radiation-transparent region in the embodiment of a radiation-transparent window 20 that connects the two lateral surfaces 32 b and 34 b with each other and closes off reactor 30 . Through this radiation-transparent window 20 , optical system 10 can radiate light into interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 , if the optical system is a light source, or receive and detect, if the optical system is an optical measuring device, such as an optical sensor. Other than the illustrated geometries, shapes and dimensional conditions of the window are possible. Optical system 10 is herein located outside reactor 30 . Obviously, several optical systems could also be provided which, in the current example would preferably be arranged adjacent beside one another. Optical system 10 in the current example is a UV-light source. The inventive system in this case is therefore a UV-disinfection system. A reflector, lamp reflector or second reflector 70 is assigned to the optical system in the form of UV-light source 10 , so that light that is emitted in the wrong direction is reflected into reactor 30 .
[0116] In the illustrated embodiment reflector 70 could also be omitted. One or several directed UV-light sources 10 could then be advantageously utilized. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, optical system 10 is shown as a UV- tubular lamp which is arranged parallel to the direction of flow, arrow 35 , outside reactor 30 . The UV-tubular lamp extends hereby over the entire length L of UV-reactor 30 . Other construction methods are possible. The number and arrangement of the UV-light sources is discretionarily variable. Optical system 10 could also be an IR-light source or an optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor.
[0117] UV-transparent region 20 in the current design example is provided between light source 10 and interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 in the embodiment of a UV-transparent window 20 . The UV-transparent material can for example be glass. UV-transparent window 20 protects light source 10 from the medium that is to be treated and that flows through interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 . The dimensions of the window can be coordinated with the dimensions and the shape of reactor 30 and the utilized optical system 10 can be adapted to them. The UV-transparent region or UV-transparent window 20 in the illustrated example extends over the entire length L of reactor 30 . This is however not necessary in all cases. Other geometries are also conceivable.
[0118] The dimensions and the shape of the UV-transparent region of window 20 are selected in such a manner that the radiation emitted from light source 10 can enter in the greatest possible extent into interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 . Light source 10 in the illustrated example is a UV-tubular lamp in other words an undirected light source. For this case it is preferred to provide a lamp reflector 70 . Obviously more than one UV-light source can be used according to the invention. Other lamp types are also possible. For example, instead of the UV-tubular lamp, UV-LEDs could be used. These are directed light sources, so that a lamp reflector could be omitted in this case without jeopardizing the desired homogenous radiation distribution.
[0119] In the illustrated embodiment of the current invention the first reflector which consists of lateral surfaces 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b and end part 40 is in direct contact with second reflector 70 . In other words, it connects directly to it so that from the two an aggregate reflector is created through which the medium that is to be disinfected flows through interior chamber 60 . This results in contact cooling of second reflector 70 .
[0120] FIG. 2 b is a section of the exemplary embodiment of a UV-disinfection system illustrated in FIG. 2 a according to the current invention in the shape of an inlet cone as has already been described in detail for FIG. 2 a.
[0121] FIG. 2 c is a schematic illustration of the ray path of radiation being emitted from an optical system, for example in the embodiment of a UV-light source 10 , according to FIG. 2 a or 2 b . In the region directly behind inlet window 20 the occurring radiation spreads initially. In this region, first functional region F 1 , the intensity decreases with increasing distance from radiation source 10 , due to the spatial spread as well as due to a possible absorption by the existing medium. After a travel path that is defined by the geometry of reactor 30 , the radiation impinges then onto reflecting side walls 32 a and 34 a and is reflected back at an angle. This angle is defined by the geometry of reactor 30 in such a way that in second functional region F 2 essentially an overlay of the ray paths occurs. The weakening of the radiation is thereby compensated for by contributions of rays being reflected from the walls, so that the cumulative radiation intensity remains substantially unchanged over the entire second functional region. The illustrated corner or respectively edge, always in the lateral surface represents the transition from the first into the second functional region.
[0122] The UV-lamp shown in FIGS. 2 a to 2 C can be exchanged with an IR-light source. In this case, an inventive heating system would result. If the UV-light source would be replaced by an optical measuring device in particular an optical sensor, then the resulting inventive system could be utilized in spectroscopy, wherein one or several light sources would be located inside the reactor.
[0123] On the basis of a simulation with the so-called ray tracing method, ray paths originating from the optical system in the embodiment of a radiation source 10 are calculated for FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , whereby the optical parameters of the permeated materials, in particular the absorption and reflection coefficients are considered. By calculating a high number of statically created output rays the resulting radiation field is mapped. From FIG. 2 c it is therefore seen that the radiation intensity provides high homogeneity of the radiation intensity over the entire interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 . In order to quantify this, a standard deviation of 10% from the mean value of the radiation density was calculated for the second functional region for the arrangement of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b . Such a low value substantiates especially high radiation homogeneity of the system in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b . The radiation near the light source in the first functional region is very strong, so that the required radiation value is achieved in each case for an appropriate application.
[0124] As can also be seen from FIG. 2 a the share of the volume of medium that is to be disinfected, in the current case the volume of interior chamber 60 relative to the overall volume of the system is very large and amounts to more than 80%. Consequently, this embodiment of the current invention in the form of a UV-disinfection system, based on the shape of the modified inlet cone according to FIG. 2 a or 2 b , provides high radiation homogeneity as well as great compactness of the system, resulting in an improved and thereby an extraordinary high overall efficiency of the system.
[0125] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b each illustrate a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention. The modified inlet cone is illustrated, whereby lateral surfaces 32 a, 32 b, 34 a, 34 b and connecting part 40 can be designed as reflector in different variations. In FIG. 3 a , a radiation-reflecting interior layer or coating 65 , and in FIG. 3 b , a radiation-reflecting outside layer or coating 67 is provided. Optical system 10 can be a light source, in particular a UV- or IR-light source, or an optical measuring device, in particular an optical sensor.
[0126] FIGS. 4 a and 4 b each illustrate a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention, whereby the shape of reflector 70 was varied. In FIG. 4 a reflector 70 has a round shape. The example is of a concave mirror in the shape of a spherical sector. In FIG. 4 b reflector 70 has an angular shape. Other cross sections and geometries with a number of optical systems other than that shown are of course also possible.
[0127] FIGS. 5 a and 5 b each illustrate a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention, whereby the shape of reactor 30 was modified. In FIG. 5 a reactor 30 is pear-shaped. In Fig, 5 b the reactor is egg-shaped. Other cross sections and geometries with a number of optical systems other than that shown are of course also possible.
[0128] FIGS. 6 a and 6 b each illustrate a section view of additional exemplary embodiments of the system according to the current invention. FIG. 6 a is a section view of an exemplary embodiment of the system according to the current invention, whereby optical system 10 , rather than in the previously shown embodiments, is arranged in interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 , preferably in its center. The illustrated design variation is therefore very compact. The illustrated shape is derived from the basic shape of the modified inlet cone according to FIG. 2 b , whereby several reactors are combined. In the illustrated example 4 reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 , 30 . 4 which are grouped around optical system 10 are combined into one reactor 30 . Other combinations with less or more than 4 reactors and other geometries are also conceivable. Optical system 10 that is arranged preferably in the center of interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 is surrounded by a radiation-transparent region 20 which, for example is composed of glass that permits the appropriate radiation to pass through. Lateral sides 32 . 1 , 32 . 2 , 32 . 3 , 32 . 4 and 34 . 1 , 34 . 2 , 34 . 3 , 34 . 4 as well as connecting parts 40 . 1 , 40 . 2 , 40 . 3 , 40 . 4 are designed as reflectors in known and already discussed variations.
[0129] In the illustrated embodiment aggregate-reactor 30 is preferably arranged so that 4 reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 are provided whereby each is composed of a first functional region F 1 , which is located most closely to the at least one optical system, and a second functional region F 2 which is located further removed from the at least one optical system. Hereby each of the reactors is arranged so that the distance between lateral surfaces ( 32 . 1 and 34 . 1 ; 32 . 2 and 34 . 2 ; 32 . 3 and 34 . 3 ; 32 . 4 and 34 . 4 ) of the reactor respectively located opposite one another decreases with increasing distance from the at least one optical system in second functional region F 2 . Thus, first functional region F 1 in FIG. 6 a is situated in interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 through which the medium flows perpendicular to the drawing plane, wherein the radiation can spread freely. Second functional region F 2 starts where the primary chamber divides into several connecting tapering regions F 2 . 1 , F 2 . 2 , F 2 . 3 and F 2 . 4 .
[0130] FIG. 6 b is a section view of an additional exemplary embodiment of the system according to the current invention, whereby optical system 10 is arranged in interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 , preferably in the center. Rather than is the case in FIG. 6 a , in FIG. 6 b transparent region 20 is not arranged directly around optical system 10 , but instead at a distance thereof which was selected large enough that it encompasses first functional region F 1 . Individual reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 are thereby separated from each other and are not combined into an aggregate-reactor. The utilized medium does not flow through the first functional region, but instead only in reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 . The space between optical system 10 and radiation-transparent region 20 is therefore empty. This can contain a vacuum or a gas, or air having preferably low radiation absorption. Interior chambers 60 . 1 , 60 . 2 , 60 . 3 ad 60 . 4 of reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 each have a second functional region wherein the overlay of the ray paths occurs. These arrangements are similar to the modified inlet cone according to FIG. 2 a whereby radiation-transparent window 20 for each reactor 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 is in the shape of a section of a circular hollow cylinder that in the aggregate complete a circular hollow cylinder. However, the lateral surfaces each exhibit a decreasing distance in direction of respective connecting part 40 . 1 to 40 . 4 . The illustrated arrangement offers high radiation homogeneity, whereby losses at a reactor behind the optical system are generally eliminated.
[0131] FIG. 6 c is a schematic illustration of the radiation field of the arrangement in FIG. 6 b by use of a simulation with the so-called ray tracing method. The two diagrams at the bottom and right edge in FIG. 6 b respectively show the progression of the radiation intensity along the horizontal section through the center of the drawing (lower diagram, z millimeter) and in a vertical section through the center of the drawing (right diagram, y millimeter). Non-medium conducting regions are masked out in the illustration. The diagrams illustrate the radiation intensity along the selected sectional plane. A perfect homogenous radiation field would result in a flat horizontal line (“hat profile”). A strongly inhomogeneous radiation field results in a strong deviation of the values along the selected section. FIG. 6 c demonstrates therefore that the radiation intensity provides high homogeneity of the radiation intensity over all interior chambers 60 . 1 , 60 . 2 , 60 . 3 and 60 . 4 of the 4 reactors 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 and 30 . 4 . In order to quantify this, the standard deviation from the mean value of the radiation density was calculated with 13% for the arrangement in FIG. 6 a according to FIG. 6 b . Such a low value substantiates especially high radiation homogeneity of the system.
[0132] As is seen in FIG. 6 b the share of volume of the medium that is used or treated in the current case the volume of interior chambers 60 . 1 , 60 . 2 , 60 . 3 and 60 . 4 , relative to the overall volume of the system is relatively large and is greater than 60%. Accordingly, the 4-times combination based on the shape of the modified inlet cone according to the current invention possesses high radiation homogeneity as well as also high compactness of the system, thus resulting in improved overall efficiency of the system.
[0133] FIG. 7 is a section view of an additional exemplary embodiment of the system according to the current invention. Illustrated reactor 30 in the current example is in the embodiment of a radiation-transparent circular tube, for example a radiation-transparent glass tube. The utilized medium flows through the glass tube in a perpendicular direction relative to the drawing plane. The medium may for example be water. However, other media are also conceivable. In the illustrated example a radiation-reflecting layer or coating 67 is applied onto the wall of reactor 30 . This coating 67 constitutes the first reflector. In the illustrated example, optical system 10 is shown in the embodiment of an IR-light source that is arranged parallel to the direction of flow, outside reactor 30 . The IR-lamp extends preferably along the entire length L of reactor 30 . Other construction methods are possible. The number, arrangement as well as the type of optical systems are discretionarily variable. Optical system 10 is surrounded by a second reflector 70 , which in this case constitutes the so-called lamp reflector. In the illustrated embodiment, second reflector 70 is in the form of a concave mirror. Other forms are of course also possible.
[0134] Between optical system 10 and interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 , a radiation-transparent region, in the current example an IR-transparent region 20 , is provided that, in the current example represents a part of the wall of reactor 30 in the embodiment of an IR-transparent glass tube. IR-light source 10 is protected by IR-transparent region 20 from the medium that is to be heated and which flows through interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 . In the illustrated example, IR-transparent region 20 extends along the entire length L of reactor 30 . Because of this, the IR-radiation emitted from IR-light source 10 can enter interior chamber 60 of reactor 30 at the highest level possible. Optical system 10 in the illustrated embodiment is an IR-lamp, in other words an undirected light source. For this case it is especially preferred to provide a lamp reflector 70 . According to the invention more than one IR-light source may of course be utilized. Other types of lamp are also possible. If, for example IR-LEDs are used, these would be directed light sources, so that a lamp reflector in this case could be omitted without jeopardizing the desired high homogeneity of the radiation distribution. In the illustrated example, the first reflector in the form of IR-reflecting coating 67 is in direct contact with second reflector 70 , so that an aggregate reactor is created from both. In the current embodiment the reactor is also divided into 2 functional regions F 1 and F 2 . In this particular embodiment, functional region F 2 begins where reflector 67 begins.
[0135] The systems according to the current invention therefore, unexpectedly show a radiation distribution which, at no point in the medium-conducting interior chamber in the reactor exhibit depletion zones. Relatively high radiation values can be achieved over the entire reactor cross section. Moreover, an especially high compactness of the system is provided.
[0136] While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
COMPONENT IDENTIFICATION LIST
[0000]
1 UV-light source from current state of the art
5 encasement tube from current state of the art
7 tube or UV-reactor from current state of the art
10 optical system
20 Bradiation-transparent region or radiation-transparent window
30 , 30 . 1 , 30 . 2 , 30 . 3 , 30 . 4 reactor
32 , 32 a, 32 b, 32 . 1 , 32 . 2 , 32 . 3 , 32 . 4 lateral surfaces
34 , 34 a, 34 b, 34 . 1 , 34 . 2 , 34 . 3 , 34 . 4 lateral surfaces
35 arrow for direction of flow
40 , 40 . 1 , 40 . 2 , 40 . 3 , 40 . 4 part, connecting the lateral surfaces or connecting part
50 part, connecting the lateral surfaces or inlet part
55 structural transition, corner
55 . 1 , 55 . 2 corner
60 , 60 . 1 , 60 . 2 , 60 . 3 , 60 . 4 interior chamber
65 radiation-reflecting inside layer or radiation-reflecting inside coating
67 radiation-reflecting outside layer or radiation-reflecting outside coating
70 reflector (second or lamp reflector)
A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , . . . distance in functional region F 2
B 1 , B 2 , . . . distance in functional region F 1
F 1 first functional region
F 2 , F 2 . 1 , F 2 . 2 , F 2 . 3 ,F 2 . 4 second functional region | The invention relates to a system for treating gases and/or liquids with radiation or for detecting radiation in gases and/or liquids, including at least one optical system and a reactor. The reactor has a hollow body shape which includes lateral surfaces, connecting parts, and an inner chamber which may be open to the front and rear sides, through which a medium flows or in which the medium is present. The reactor is designed, at least partially, in the form of a radiation reflector and is divided into first and second functional areas. This enables a particularly homogeneous radiation distribution in the inner chamber of the reactor, which increases the efficiency of the treatment or detection. Also, due to this arrangement, the system is more compact. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for thermally processing flowable materials while utilizing a radiant heater system. The invention relates particularly to a unique system which is well suited for thermally processing powders, pellets, wet filter cakes, slurries and sludges which exhibit poor infrared absorptivity and which cannot be thermally treated efficiently when exposed directly to sources of infrared radiation.
The invention comprises a system which may be implemented utilizing components of an apparatus of the type generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,282. This apparatus consists of an elongated housing having an axially mounted rotatable shaft disposed therein. A plurality of paddles or vanes are mounted on the rotatable shaft and these extend outwardly from the periphery of the shaft. In accordance with known practices, the paddles are set at an angle whereby rotation of the shaft operates to continuously move material from the inlet end of the unit toward the outlet end. As described in the aforementioned patent, the apparatus is provided with spaced apart infrared radiant heaters which are mounted over the openings in the top wall of the housing. By introducing flowable material at one end of the vessel, treatment of the material is achieved by means of radiant energy of electric or gas operated radiant heaters or by means of electromagnetic waves of the electromagnetic spectrum which produces heat upon being absorbed by the material being processed.
As further described in the aforementioned patent, the radiant heater system has certain distinct advantages over prior art arrangements. By relying primarily on radiant heating rather than on conductive or convective heating, dependence on the intervening medium such as heated air to achieve a desired temperature is avoided. Due to direct heat transfer to the particles by means of radiant energy, the material temperature can be maintained efficiently at an optimal level. The heat transfer rate with infrared radiation is much higher than with convective systems (such as a fluid bed) or with a conductive system (such as jacketed indirect heat supply thermal processors). As illustrated in the patent, with such higher heat transfer rates, more thermoprocessing can be accomplished in less space. The infrared radiant heaters have low thermal mass (inertia) and can, therefore, respond almost instantaneously to modulating controls. Accordingly, the temperature of material being processed can be maintained precisely.
A system of the type contemplated is especially suited for high temperature thermal treatment of flowable materials when other known methods of heat supply, such as one based, for example, on circulation of hot liquid medium through a jacketed processor, are unusable due to their temperature limit. It is recognized that the temperature limit for liquid heating media available in the industry is 700-750° F. while the infrared radiant heaters (for instance, the high density infrared heater of a type manufactured by Research Inc., Model 5208) can heat material being processed up to 2,500° F.
It has, however, also been recognized that available infrared heating processors are inefficient when treating some materials such as fine powders, white or light-colored materials with low radiative absorptivity, and difficult to handle heavy viscous materials (filter cakes, slurries and sludges) which exhibit thixotropic characteristics when subjected to agitation and shear forces. Fine powders, being mechanically fluidized in an agitated processor, tend to generate an airborn aerosol which reduces the heat transfer efficiency of the radiative flux and which can cause an undesirable deposition of dust particles on the emitting surfaces of the radiant heater, resulting in failure of the processor. White and light-colored flowable materials tend to reflect the radiation received (their absorptivity is very low), thereby increasing the required capital equipment cost and operating expenses.
There has been a long-recognized difficulty in utilization of the prior art infrared systems for thermal processing of shear-sensitive viscous materials. When shear force is applied during thermal processing and conveying, these materials, due to their thixotropic characteristics, revert from a free flowing cake or sludge to a heavy, viscous hard-to-handle paste. In drying applications, the viscosity of such material is constantly increasing as water (or solvent) are evaporated, and the infrared processor then gradually becomes less efficient or incapacitated.
It has also been recognized that available infrared heater systems cannot be used for processing some flammable materials (containing, for example, flammable solvents), as well as for treatment of some heat-sensitive organic materials and chemicals which can decompose or change their quality (color, for example) when being exposed to direct infrared radiation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides an improved radiant heater system for thermally processing flowable materials by utilization of an intermediate particulate heat transfer medium which is compatible with the material being processed and which possesses a high radiant absorptivity and easy-to-handle characteristics.
In particular, the system of this invention provides for the thermal processing of materials in a housing having an inlet for receipt of the materials and an outlet for the discharge of the material after thermal treatment. The heating of the materials is accomplished, at least in part, by contact of the materials with a particulate medium which has been preheated in a separate heating operation employing infrared radiant heaters.
In a preferred form of the invention, the housing includes a heating zone separate from the zone used for thermal processing of the materials with the separate heating zone including the infrared radiant heaters. The particulate medium is introduced to the heating zone and brought to a carefully controlled temperature. The medium is then conveyed to the processing zone where it is admixed with the materials being thermally processed.
The preferred system also includes a "shrouded" zone located intermediate the thermal processing and particulate medium heating zones. This zone comprises a section of reduced clearance thereby providing a gas and dust lock between the processing and heating zones. The conveyor means used for transporting the particular medium from the heating zone to the thermal processing zone may comprise a single shaft supporting agitating and conveying paddles in the processing and heating zones and a screw conveyor in the intermediate shrouded zone.
The term "particulate medium" is intended to cover any one of a variety of discrete pieces adapted to achieve the thermal processing purposes of the invention. Dark colored balls or beads made of attrition-resistant material comprise the preferred materials since these are available in a free flowable form, with a high degree of looseness, and are easy to handle. Such particles can be provided in a form chemically and technologically compatible with the material being processed and are available with high radiant absorptivity and high heat capacity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing consists of a schematic illustration of the system of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention comprises a system which may be implemented utilizing components of an apparatus of the type generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,634,282 and 5,711,089. As shown in the drawing, an apparatus of this type consists of an elongated housing 10 having an axially mounted rotatable shaft 12 disposed therein. A plurality of paddles or vanes 14 are mounted on the rotatable shaft and these extend outwardly form the periphery of the shaft. In accordance with known practices, the paddles are set at an angle whereby rotation of the shaft operates to continuously move material from the inlet end of the unit toward the outlet end. As described in the aforementioned patents, the apparatus is provided with spaced-apart infrared radiant heaters 16 mounted over openings in the top wall of the housing. By introducing flowable material at one end of the vessel, treatment of the material is achieved b means of radiant energy of electric or gas operated radiant heaters or by means of electromagnetic waves of the electromagnetic spectrum which produces heat upon being absorbed by the material being processed.
The particular housing 10 shown in the drawing consists of a processing zone at the left hand side including, an inlet 18 for introduction of materials to be thermally processed. An intermediate shrouded zone 20 separates the processing zone from a particulate medium heating zone. This latter zone includes an inlet 22 for introduction of the medium. The pair of radiant heaters 16 are positioned over openings in housing 1 in this heating zone whereby medium introduced to this zone will be exposed to the radiant energy.
The housing 10 is jacketed to permit circulation of hot liquid or steam through fittings 26 and between the inner and outer walls of the housing. In addition, gas inlet 28 and gas outlet 30 are provided so that hot gases can be circulated through the interior of the housing processing zone.
In operation, particulate medium, for example in the form of beads 32, is introduced through inlet 22 and exposed to radiant energy for heating of the medium to a desired temperature. Rotation of shaft 12 with paddles 14 results in uniform heating of the discrete beads while at the same time conveying the beads toward the end of this heating zone.
The shrouded zone 20 is a confined area which, as illustrated, will restrict the passage of gases and dust out of the heating zone. The shaft 12 preferably supports a screw conveyor 34 in this shrouded zone which will most effectively convey the medium while at the same time enhancing the gas and dust lock function of the zone.
Material introduced through inlet 18 will encounter the medium entering from the shrouded zone for admixture therewith particularly in view of the agitating function of the paddles 14. This mixing takes place while the paddles are also serving to convey the mixture toward outlet 19 of the housing.
The radiant heater system has certain distinct advantages over prior art arrangements when thermal processing in accordance with this invention. By relying primarily on the heat transfer achieved with the particulate medium, and on the heating thereof by radiant heating, rather than on conductive or convective heating, dependence on an intervening medium such as heated air to achieve a desired temperature is avoided. Due to direct heat transfer to the particulate medium by means of radiant energy, the material temperature can be maintained efficiently at an optimal level. The heat transfer rate with the infrared radiation and particulate medium combination of the invention is much higher than with convective systems (such as a fluid bed) or a conductive system (such as jacketed indirect heat supply thermal processors). With such higher heat transfer rates, more thermoprocessing can be accomplished in less space. The infrared radiant heaters have low thermal mass (inertia) and can, therefore, respond almost instantaneously to modulating controls. Accordingly the temperature of the particulate medium and consequently of the material being processed can be maintained precisely.
A system of the type contemplated is especially suited for high temperature thermal treatment of flowable materials when other known methods of heat supply based, for example, on circulation of heating liquid medium through a jacketed processor, are unusable due to their temperature limit. It is recognized that the temperature limit for liquid heating media available in the industry is 700-750° F. while the infrared radiant heaters (for instance, the high density infrared heater of a type manufactured by Research Inc., Model 5208) can heat the particulate medium and the material being processed up to 2,500° F.
The intermediate particulate heat transfer medium utilized in the practice of the invention should meet the following requirements:
1) medium should have free flowability, high looseness and be easy-to-handle.
2) medium should be chemically and technologically compatible with the material being processed in the system; and,
3) medium should be made of material with high radiant absorptivity (preferably, dark-colored material) and high heat capacity.
The individual particles of the intermediate particulate heat transfer medium should have regular (preferably spherical) shape with a smooth surface in order to provide a better system handling performance and an efficient separation of the material being processed from the medium particles downstream of the processor. Dark colored balls or beads made of attrition-resistant materials such as flintstone, aluminum-oxide, steatite, hard porcelain, metals or glass can be used for this application. Food-graded polymer beads (made for example from teflon or polyster) can be utilized as the medium for processing some edible products such as eggs, fruit and vegetable pastes, dairy and soy products, ground meat and fish paste.
Where spherical, a diameter of from 1/16" up to 1/2" is preferred. These figures are applicable to other shapes in the sense of maximum and minimum dimensions. For example, the length and diameter of cylindrically shaped pellets would preferably be in the order of 1/4".
In the heating zone of the system equipped with spaced-apart infrared radiant heaters, the action of the rotating agitator continually exposes the surface area of the heat transfer medium particles to the radiant energy emitted by the radiant heater(s) for efficient absorption of heat energy at a high rate. As noted, the paddles are set at an angle whereby rotation of the agitator operates to continually move the medium from the inlet end of the zone to the outlet end and then further into the transitional shrouded zone 20.
The illustrated arrangement for the zone 20 provides the features of a tubular screw auger with a reduced clearance between the housing wall and agitator in order to obtain the desired dust and/or gas lock between the medium heating zone and the material processing zone.
In the material processing zone which consists of an elongated preferably U-shaped (or tubular) section of the housing, the agitating action results in intimate contact between the flowable material being introduced into the processing zone with preheated particles of the intermediate heat transfer medium, and the material thereby absorbs heat energy by means of conductive heat transfer. Due to a relatively high heat transfer surface area between the flowable material being processed and the particulate heat transfer medium, and owing to a vigorous interaction of these particles in the rapidly mixed and mechanically fluidized agitated bed, a rapid and efficient thermal processing of different materials in general (and particularly, difficult-to-handle heavy viscous paste-like products) can be provided in the processor.
Processing conditions will vary, of course, depending on the material to be heated. Generally, however, the heat flow from the infrared preheated intermediate heat transfer medium to the material being processed, as well as the heating kinetics and the processing temperature of this material in the processor, depends upon the following factors:
1) the temperature of the preheated medium which is introduced into the material processing zone;
2) the heat and material balance characteristics of the heat transfer medium and material being processed, including the flow rates ratio, specific heats, water equivalents, etc.; and,
3) the heat and mass transfer properties and variables for the agitated bed of particular diameters, intensity of agitation, drying or reaction rate, viscosity of material being processed, etc.
In the thermal processing system of the invention, the heat flux to the material being processed can be easily controlled by changing the mass flow rates ratio of the heat exchanging streams. This provides certain distinct advantages over prior art arrangements. Thus, since the temperature of the intermediate heat transfer medium in the infrared heating zone can be maintained precisely, and inasmuch as the material being processed is not exposed directly to the high temperature heat emitters but instead absorbs heat energy by a conductive heat transfer with the medium, the resultant temperature of a heat-sensitive product in the processor can be maintained efficiently at an optimal level.
With the system of this invention, the process temperature control can be provided by adjusting the intermediate heat transfer medium temperature and/or its flow rate through the processor. The latter can be achieved by adjusting the re-circulation rate of the medium through the system and the rotational speed of the conveying agitator can be controlled accordingly. Temperature control in the infrared preheating zone is discussed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,282.
Product recovery (or separation of the product being processed from the re-circulated medium) can be provided by means of mechanical or aerodynamical separators such as oscillating sieve/screen separators, air separators, etc. as shown at 38. Therefore the particle size of the intermediate heat transfer medium has to be larger than the processed product particles. Provided the separators and the medium handing system are well insulated, the intermediate heat transfer medium can be recycled back into the infrared heating zone at about the same temperature at which the product and the medium are discharged from the processor, thereby improving the overall thermal efficiency of the processing system proposed. An additional cleaning device 42, for instance of a water-spray-screen-belt-conveyor type, can be provided for a thorough separation of the medium particles from any trace of the product fines remaining after the upstream separation step.
As noted, the housing 10 of the thermal processor may be provided with jacketed sidewalls and liquid heat transfer medium or steam may be introduced to the jacketed wall to enhance heat transfer to the material being processed. Also as shown, a gas inlet and outlet are provided for the processing zone and these may be equipped with a means for purging of hot gas through the housing. This hot gas can be used as a supplementary heat source to control and maintain the material temperature at the optimum level. The rapid exposure of the material particles achieved by the rotating agitator and vigorous interaction between material and the particulate medium in the processing zone, improves the convective heat and mass transfer. This combination of preheated intermediate particulate heat transfer medium and hot gas as heat sources for thermal processors can provide improved and efficient thermal processing and drying for difficult-to-dry and difficult to handle materials.
Of particular interest is the application of the processor for thermally processing and/or drying viscous, paste-like material. Such kinds of material, when coming in contact with an agitated bed of the particulate medium, will coat the hot surface of the solid particles in a form of a thin layer of film. The relatively high conductive heat transfer rate between the particulate medium hot surface and material provides rapid heating of the material and enhances the diffusion of the liquid molecules across the film to its surface. The temperature of the thin layer of material will remain constant (at the liquid's wet bulb temperature) as moisture evaporates. This evaporative effect enables the efficient and rapid drying of heat sensitive materials such as, for example, paste-like food products.
It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the system of the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention particularly as described in the following claims. | A system for the thermal processing of material in a housing having an inlet for receipt of the materials and an outlet for the discharge of the material after thermal treatment. The heating of the materials is accomplished, at least in part, by contact of the materials with a particulate medium which has been preheated in a separate heating operation employing infrared radiant heaters. The housing includes a heating zone separate from the zone used for thermal processing of the materials with the separate heating zone including the infrared radiant heaters. The particulate medium is introduced to the heating zone and brought to a controlled temperature. The medium is then conveyed to the processing zone where it is admixed with the materials being thermally processed. A shrouded zone is located intermediate the processing and particulate medium heating zones. This zone comprises a section of reduced clearance thereby providing a gas and dust lock between the processing and heating zones. The conveyor system may comprise a single shaft supporting agitating and conveying paddles in the processing and heating zones and a screw conveyor in the intermediate shrouded zone. | 5 |
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/039,069 filed Aug. 19, 2014 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Embodiments of the invention are related generally to an application for systematically managing events and floral arrangements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Current systems of managing events and floral arrangements for event designers and florists do not provide the flexibility needed to address the individual needs of a vast array of customers. Small event and floral arrangement providers in this $35 billion industry are experiencing increased pressure from larger businesses, such as supermarkets and online retailers. While small businesses make up the greatest component of the industry, consolidation is resulting in rising numbers of large-scale producers. Competition and cost pressures are forcing smaller production farms to close as the industry moves toward large-scale production. These increases in competition are forcing smaller entities to look for better ways to organize and provide services to their clients.
[0004] Further, despite improvements in the economy, the rising value of imports will continue to hamper industry growth. For instance, South American countries will remain the largest source of imported flowers, causing overall demand for domestic plants to suffer and increase competition. The floral industry requires a low capital investment, relying more significantly on human labor than on physical assets. In the past several years, the industry has generally increased its level of capital expenditure, mainly through the use of Point of Sale (“POS”) systems.
[0005] To combat this increase in competition, industry operators have adopted barcode scanning technology to computerize the inventory tracking and sales in their shops. Prior to this, technology sales were recorded manually or on cash registers. The introduction of POS systems is expected to simplify labor tasks and minimize the potential for employee mistakes. Further, interfacing the POS devices with a suite of flower and event management software applications should allow local owners to better keep track of their inventory and provide services more easily.
[0006] Solutions to the competitive floral and event management industry in the United States should be easy to implement and will have broad-ranging capabilities. These solutions should allow florists and event managers to quickly and easily navigate their inventory on a user friendly interface and to create events and arrangements that will satisfy their customers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to software and/or software applications, systems and methods for managing events. In particular, embodiments of the invention are directed towards an event management software platform for local florists and event managers that handle all floral designs and recipes, custom contract templates, inventory management, expense projections and an extensive flower catalog. The platform may also allow florists and event managers to sell their own products at their own prices. The event management software platform may perform a variety of business functions, such as, for example, tracking clients, managing orders, storing digital and printed contracts, setting and tracking deadlines, storing company preferences, storing custom presentations, and managing budget and expense reports. Although the event management software platform discussed below relates to the floral industry, it may also be applied to several other industries with similar requirements (e.g., general contracting, architecture, interior design, etc.).
[0008] The proposed system and method for improving the ease of creating and managing events and floral arrangements will allow event managers and local florists to compete with supermarkets and large online retailers. Further, it will allow them to manage their own business without paying any commissions to wire services, etc. The present invention allows owners to create custom contracts for their customers, design floral arrangements and recipes and manage shop inventory. The system also organizes flowers and/or “blooms” by color, price, season and country.
[0009] According to an embodiment, the invention is directed towards allowing local florists to create a website that users can efficiently navigate. The user may sign up and log into the website through a portal. The website may provide relevant and user-friendly information for customers and/or users to create their own floral arrangement or event. The website may price out each element in a bouquet (“recipe”) for flowers or events and include all the floral design and recipes, custom contract templates, inventory management, expense projections and an extensive flower catalog.
[0010] According to an embodiment of the invention, the system may enable the florist to organize his or her arrangements while viewing pictures and/or photographs of the flowers. Further, it may update the florist's inventory and keeps track of past arrangements, some of which may be proprietary or “signature.” The florist may use the Flower Catalog which organizes blooms by color, price, season and country. Further, the florist may work directly with the growers and manufacturers to ensure maximum freshness and minimize waste through the online interface. These aspects of the platform may be limited in their availability based on the level of user access granted, and may be tiered according to the organization functionality of the platform, the sharing and inspiration from other platform users, and the connecting with growers and florists.
[0011] According to an aspect of the invention, the platform may enable users to collaborate with other users of the platform. Users may be able to share their creations and recipes, along with portfolios of events to garner feedback and gather new ideas. Further, it may allow users to unite with farms, manufacturers and suppliers to deliver answers to questions about the products, opportunities to forecast orders and to create alliances to lower costs. In embodiments of the invention, the system may allow for multiple users of the system to collaborate, allowing, e.g., a florist, to communicate directly with e.g., a supplier of flowers, such as a farm or cooperative. This may allow the joint users to have direct and immediate access to cost information, as well as any other information that might be relevant to their business relationship. The user may also be able to interface with social media sites (e.g., Facebook™, Twitter™, Pinterest™, etc.) to collaborate on designs and share them with a wider audience.
[0012] According to an aspect of the invention, the platform contains accounting tools to send invoices, collect deposits, pay vendors, track pricing and even connect to existing systems like QuickBooks or banking statements. Users can coordinate multiple orders, set up routine deliveries, track pricing, request quotes, make notes regarding staff or service, and maintain an online address book for every vendor. Contracts for each vendor and customer can be made through customizable contract templates by selecting the necessary terms and the platform will create the document. Digital copies of the signed documents can be saved as well for future reference.
[0013] According to an aspect of the invention, there is an inventory manager allowing real time access. The user can even verify signatures and calculate necessary quantities for future orders. This capability may be combined with a flower resource guide for specifying, for instance, which blooms are in seasons, and what suitable alternatives exist based on live pricing from vendors. Terms from linen providers can also be included to know what's in production, where it is being shipped and trends that are in the future. The platform also provides access to daily floral auctions, and allows the user to name the price and quantity and see what growers respond to the need. The user can also partner up with other platform users to service clients through a large nationwide network of floral professionals.
[0014] According to an aspect of the invention, a user can create a blog through a blog creation functionl. The blog can link to arrangements and events and a customized template is provided to the user.
[0015] According to an embodiment of the invention, users can set up an event with a “one-touch” event setup. This feature fills in all the dates related to a single event, including reminders, deliveries, deposit dates, and other milestones based on a customizable timeline and preference. The software platform also allows users to create thorough checklists and manage recipes from prior events by entering criteria such as type of event, bloom, color, and theme.
[0016] According to an embodiment of the invention, the platform has a Contract Designer and Sales Guide that give step-by-step instructions for users to create events. Images are available for reference with description of items used for each event. Contracts may include terms, percentages and delivery charges. Data and preferences may also be saved for each user. Also, checklists and scheduling can be automated and can be kept monitored from any place where there is a secure internet connection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings figures, wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0024] FIG. 6A is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0025] FIG. 6B is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0026] FIG. 7 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0028] FIG. 9 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0029] FIG. 10A is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0030] FIG. 10B is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0031] FIG. 10C is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0032] FIG. 11 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0033] FIG. 12A is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0034] FIG. 12B is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0035] FIG. 13 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0036] FIG. 14 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0037] FIG. 15 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0038] FIG. 16 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
[0039] FIG. 17 is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0040] FIGS. 18A-G is an exemplary contract document generated by the Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0041] FIGS. 19A-I is an exemplary recipes document generated by Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0042] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in FIG. 1A . FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The Event Management System 100 is connected through a communications medium over a Network 30 , such as the internet, an intranet, a local-area-network (LAN), a wide-area-network (WAN), etc., to one or more User Devices 20 . The User Devices 20 may allow a user to enter information regarding one or more events (and related data) and also to access available information relating to events. The Event Management System 100 includes a Data Store 40 , a Prospects Engine 60 , a Recipes Engine 65 , a Resources Engine 70 , and a Search Engine 75 . In an embodiment of the invention, the Data Store 40 may be a database that is local to the Event Management System 100 and that stores data to be used by the Event Management System 100 to perform event management.
[0043] A user may access the Event Management System 100 using a web browser. In an embodiment of the invention, a user is prompted to provide authentication information before access to the Event Management System 100 is granted. Examples of authentication information include, but are not limited to, username, user id, password, biometrics, etc. Once a user is authenticated, he/she may be able to perform several actions using the Web Dashboard(s) 50 . For example, a user may be able to create a new prospect and/or client using the information entered by the user. Examples of prospects include, but are not limited to, an individual, a corporation, a charity foundation, etc. A Web Dashboard for managing prospect and/or client information is described in greater detail in reference to FIG. 2 . The user may also be able to add one or more events associated with a prospect, and manage event details, such as event estimate, design worksheet(s), miscellaneous fees, costs, payment(s), contract for the event, and recipes used for the event. For example, a user may be able to add a wedding event for a prospective bride. Examples of Web Dashboards for managing events and event details are described in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 3-9 . After receiving information about prospects and their events, the Prospects Engine 60 may use the information to generate one or more contracts associated with the event(s).
[0044] A user may be able to search for and/or create one or more recipes for an item. For example, a user may be able to create a particular flower bouquet that is comprised of selected flowers of certain colors, fragrance, shapes, etc. A user may be able to create a recipe for a particular dish, such as a cake, cookie, etc. In an embodiment of the invention, a user may be able to create a recipe for a layout of a room, such as the layout of a dining room, by specifying various furniture and furnishing pieces and their locations. The user may associate a new recipe with a name, description, category, ingredients, etc. A recipe is a broad term to encompass a collection of objects that are related to a topic of interest to the user. A user may be able to search for one or more saved recipes using search criteria. Examples of Web Dashboards for managing recipes are described in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 10A-11 . After receiving information about an event, the Recipes Engine 65 may use the information to search for and/or generate one or more events.
[0045] A user may be able to manage one or more resources that are required for an event. For example, a user may be able to manage the inventory of blooms and greenery that may be used to create bouquets, flower arrangements, boutonnieres, etc. for a wedding. The user may be able to specify the furniture required for a party. Other examples of resources include, but are not limited to, chairs, chargers, linens, table numbers, vases and rental, and other miscellaneous resources. A user may be able to create a new resource to add to the inventory. Examples of Web Dashboards for managing resources are described in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 12A-13 . After receiving information about a resource, the Resources Engine 70 may use the information to search for and/or generate one or more resources.
[0046] In an embodiment of the invention, a user may be able to perform simple and/or complex searches on the data saved in the data store using the Search Engine 75 . For example, the user may be able to search for all recipes that use a certain resource (e.g., search for all bouquets that contain a red rose). In an embodiment of the invention, a user may be able to search not just the data stored in the Data Store 40 , but also information available on the Internet and one or more social media websites. For example, a user may be able to search for all bouquets with a red rose that have been discussed and/or posted by people in the user's social network (e.g., by searching the user's Facebook™, Twitter™ and Pinterest™ accounts).
[0047] FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an operating environment for an Event Management System 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with various computer system configurations, including hand-held wireless devices such as mobile phones, smart phones or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) 150 , multiprocessor systems 155 , microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics 160 , minicomputers 165 , mainframe computers 170 , Tablets (iPad™, Samsung Galaxy™, etc.) 175 , and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network 30 . In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
[0048] Generally, it should be noted that the components depicted and described herein above may be, or include, a computer or multiple computers. Although the components are shown as discrete units, all components may be interconnected or combined. The components may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
[0049] FIG. 2 is a is a user interface illustrating a Web Dashboard of an Event Management System in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates a Web Dashboard 200 for viewing a prospect and information associated with the prospect. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, once the user signs up through a portal with a user name and password, the user is directed to the client/prospect management dashboard illustrated in FIG. 2 . In an embodiment of the invention, prior to arriving at the Web Dashboard illustrated in FIG. 2 , a user may be able to search for and select a prospect. Upon selecting the prospect, the user may be presented with the Web Dashboard illustrated in FIG. 2 that lists the name of the prospect 200 and a contact log 205 that displays the date 206 , time 207 , description 208 and status 209 of one or more contact events with the prospect. For example, the contact log 205 may display that the prospect Samantha Jones was contacted on Jun. 12, 2015 at 8:10 AM via email by Corrine. A user may be able to add new entries to the contact log 205 by selecting the button 212 . A user may be able to delete entries from the contact log 205 by selecting a delete button 210 . Web Dashboard 200 may also display information about the prospect including one or more people to contact. The user may be able to denote, using field 214 , that the contact is a client or a prospect. For example, once a contract is signed between the user and the contact, he/she may become a client. The user may then denote the contact as a client, using field 214 , and save the change using button 216 . The user may be able to view and/or modify details about the contact, including, first name 220 , last name 222 , address 224 , city 226 , state 228 , zip 230 , phone number one 232 , type of phone number 234 (e.g., home, cell, work, etc.), day of contact 236 , phone number two 238 , type of phone number 240 (e.g., home, cell, work, etc.), and email 242 . The user may be able to add a new contact to the prospect by selecting button 244 . The user may save the changes using the button 246 .
[0050] The user may be able to view one or more events associated with a prospect using, for example, the Web Dashboard illustrated in FIG. 3 . The Events Dashboard 305 may display the date of the event 310 , the location of the event 315 and the number of guests 320 . The user may be able to delete an event by selecting button 325 . The user may be able to add an event by selecting button 330 . Upon selecting button 330 to add an event, the user may be directed to a Web Dashboard illustrated in FIG. 4 . Specifically, FIG. 4 , illustrates an Events Dashboard 400 that comprises an Event Details dashboard 404 that may enable a user to add/edit details about an event. A user may be able to add the following details about an event: event name 404 a , event date 404 b , event type 404 c and number of guests 404 d . The user may also specify details for one or more sub-events that may comprise a larger event. For example, the user may be able to specify the following details about the sub-events associated with a wedding: ceremony start time 404 e , ceremony location 404 f , cocktails start time 404 g , cocktails location 404 h , reception start time 404 i and reception location 404 k . The user may also specify further attributes of the events, such as whether the reception is plated or buffet style ( 404 j ). The user may specify the setup time availability 4041 , the company arrival time 404 m , bouquet delivery time 404 n , photographer start time 404 o , event end time 404 p , strike begin time 404 q , and strike conclude time 404 r . The user may also specify one or more details about the vendor team(s) who will be involved in the event using the Vendor Details dashboard 410 . Specifically, the user may view and/or edit the vendor type and the vendor name. For example, the user may specify details of the following vendors associated with a wedding: band 410 a , cake bakery 410 b , dessert 410 c , disc jockey 410 d , gown store 410 e , hair/makeup 410 f , photographer 410 g , videographer 410 h , and wedding planner 410 i . The user may be able to add a new vendor team by selecting button 415 , or delete an existing vendor team.
[0051] The user may be able to specify additional details associated with an event ( 402 ) by selecting one or more dashboards, such as event estimate 402 a , design worksheet 402 b , miscellaneous fees 402 c , costs 402 d , payments 402 e , contract pdf 402 f and recipes pdf 402 g . Upon selecting contract pdf 402 f , the user may be presented with a contract that illustrates the various attributes and selections for the event(s). FIGS. 18A-G describe an example of a contract document. The user may be able to transmit the contract to one or more users (e.g., the contacts associated with the prospect). The user may be able to publish the contract to a website and share it with one or more users (e.g., via email, social media, etc.). Upon selecting recipes pdf 402 f , the user may be presented with a summary of the recipes used at the event(s). FIGS. 19A-I describe an example of a recipes document. The user may be able to transmit the recipe pdf to one or more users (e.g., the contacts associated with the prospect). The user may be able to publish the recipe pdf to a website and share it with one or more users (e.g., via email, social media, etc.).
[0052] When a user selects the events estimate button 402 a , he/she may be directed to an Event Estimate Dashboard 500 as illustrated in FIG. 5 . The Event Estimate dashboard 500 may comprise a section on event estimate 505 . It may display the name of the prospect 505 a , the estimated number of guests at the event 505 b , and the estimated grand total for the event 505 c . The user may be able to modify the estimated number of guests 505 b . The user may be able to specify the components of the event that may impact the estimated grand total. For example, for a wedding event, the user may specify the number of maids of honor 510 a , bridesmaids 510 b , junior bridesmaids 510 c , flower girls 510 d , groomsmen 510 e , ring bearers 510 f , mothers 510 g , fathers 510 h , grandmothers 510 i , and grandfathers 510 j . The user may also specify the seating plan 515 by indicating the number of people seated at the head table 515 a and the sweetheart table 515 c , the number of guests per table 515 b and the number of guest tables needed 515 d . The user may also specify the number of floral pieces required for the ceremony 520 . For example, the user may specify the number of floral pieces for the following: focal structures 520 a , altar pieces 520 b , aisle décor 520 c , rose petal art 520 d , cocktail tables (low) 520 e , cocktail tables (high) 520 f , escort card table 520 g , buffet pieces 520 h , sweetheart table 520 i , head table 520 j , tall pieces 520 k , short pieces 5201 , the cake 520 m and dessert table 520 n . The user may view the data entered for the event estimate and modify it. In an embodiment of the invention, when the user modifies the data associated with any of the fields discussed above (e.g., in seating plan 515 ), the estimated grand total value 505 c may be updated to reflect the change in the event estimate based on the modification made by the user. In an embodiment of the invention, one or more values displayed on the Event Estimate Dashboard 500 may be default values that may be retrieved from the Data Store 40 (shown in FIG. 1 ).
[0053] When a user selects the design worksheet button 402 b , he/she may be directed to a Design Worksheet dashboard 600 as illustrated in FIG. 6 . The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may comprise a section on the background information of the event 605 . It may display the name of the prospect 605 a , the estimated number of guests at the event 605 b , and the estimated grand total for the event 605 c . The user may be able to modify the estimated number of guests 605 b . The user may be able to specify one or more details of the design for the event using the Design Worksheet dashboard 600 . The details of the design of the event may be illustrated based on one or more groups. For example, for a wedding event, the details of the event may be illustrated using the following grouping: flowers for women 610 , flowers for men 615 , corsages 620 , ceremony designs 625 , cocktail hour 630, reception flowers 635 , and rentals 640 . Each grouping may further display one or more items associated with the group, including the item name 610 a , item image 610 e , quantity 610 b , estimated price 610 c and the total price for the item 610 d . The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may also display the subtotal for each group 610 h . For example, the group flowers for women 610 may display the following items: the bride, toss bouquet, maid of honor, bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids and flower girls. The user may be able to modify the attributes of each item using the Design Worksheet dashboard 600 . For instance, the user may be able to specify a bouquet for the bride by clicking on the image associated with the bride item ( 610 e ). Upon clicking the image 610 e for the bride, the user may specify the recipe for the bouquet. In an embodiment of the invention, the recipe for the bride bouquet is a default value. In an embodiment of the invention, the user can search for the recipe for the bride bouquet and select one or more alternate options. The user can view the various attributes of the selected bouquet, such as, the price, the ingredients in the recipe, the category of the item, description, cost, etc. In an embodiment of the invention, the user can select one or more recipes from the prospects design board 670 (discussed below). The user may be able to add a recipe for an item using button 610 g . The user may be able to delete an item using button 610 f.
[0054] The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may also display the details of the event staff 650 . For example, the Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may display the position of the event staff 650 a (e.g., event supervisor, event staff, setup team, strike crew), number of staff members 650 b , number of hours of work for the staff members 650 c and the total cost of the staff member(s) 650 d . The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may also display the subtotal for the cost of the event staff 650 e . In an embodiment of the invention, when the user modifies the data associated with any of the fields discussed above (e.g., for group flowers for women 610 ), the estimated grand total value 660 may be updated to reflect the change in the event estimate based on the modification made by the user.
[0055] The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may further display a design board 670 associated with the prospect. Although the design board 670 is shown in FIG. 6 , it may be available (and visible) to the user on the other event related dashboard (e.g., the event details dashboard and the event estimate dashboard discussed above). The design board 670 may display one or more items associated with the prospect. The items may be arranged based on one or more categories. For example, for a wedding event, the design board 670 may comprise of a category for Blooms and Greenery 670 a , Vases and Rentals 670 b , and Recipes 670 c . Each category may further comprise of one or more items that have been previously associated with the prospect. FIGS. 12A-12B below illustrate associating one or more items (and categories) with a prospect. A user may be able to associate one or more items in the design board 670 with an item on the design worksheet. For example, the user can associate a recipe for a bouquet (from section 670 c ) with the toss bouquet item on the design worksheet (section 610 ).
[0056] FIG. 6B is another example of the Design Worksheet dashboard 600 . The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may comprise a section on the background information of the event 605 . It may display the name of the prospect 605 a , the estimated number of guests at the event 605 b , and the estimated grand total for the event 605 c . The user may be able to modify the estimated number of guests 605 b . The user may be able to specify one or more details of the design for the event using the Design Worksheet dashboard 600 . The details of the design of the event may be illustrated based on one or more groups. For instance, the rentals grouping 640 may display the item name 640 a , quantity 640 b , estimated price 640 c and total amount 640 d . The user may edit any of these fields. The user may add an item using the field 640 e . The sub-total of the group may be displayed at field 640 f . The subtotal for the group 640 f may be updated when the user modifies an item in the group. The Design Worksheet dashboard 600 may also display the details of the event staff 650 . In an embodiment of the invention, when the user modifies the data associated with any of the fields discussed above (e.g., for group flowers for women 610 ), the estimated grand total value 660 may be updated to reflect the change in the event estimate based on the modification made by the user.
[0057] The user may also specify one or more miscellaneous fee items associated with an event using, for example, the miscellaneous fees dashboard 700 described in FIG. 7 . The user may specify a value for one or more of the following miscellaneous fees 705 items: fuel surcharge 705 a , chair delivery fee 705 b , charger delivery fee 705 c and linen delivery fee 705 . The user may be able to add one or more items to the list of miscellaneous fees 705 items. The user may also be able to record any past and future payments made for an event, using for example, the payments dashboard described in FIG. 8 . The user may specify a value for one or more of the following payments items 805 : retainer due date 805 a , amount due on that date 805 d , second payment due date 805 b , amount due on that date 805 e , final payment due date 805 c and amount due on that date 805 f . The user may be able to add one or more dates and due amounts to the payment schedule. In an embodiment of the invention, when the user modifies one or more values associated with the due dates and amounts, the final payment due date and amount may be adjusted automatically. The user may also view the list of payments made by the customer (section 810 ). The user may be able to view the date of the payment 810 a , amount 810 b , description 810 c and whether the payment was made via a credit card 810 d . The user may be able to edit the values for the payments made. The user may be able to delete an entry in the payment made log using field 810 e . The user may be able to add an entry to the payment made log using button 815 . The payments dashboard 800 may display the total amount paid by the customer 820 and the outstanding balance 825 .
[0058] A user may wish to specify the costs associated with items that are offered to the customer. For example, a wedding planner may wish to specify the cost for the flowers used in various floral arrangements (e.g., bouquets, table pieces, corsages, etc.), the vases used for the arrangements, etc. A user may be able to specify the costs using the costs dashboard described in FIG. 9 . FIG. 9 describes a costs dashboard 900 for a prospect. The costs dashboard 900 may display the background information 905 for the customer, including the client name 905 a , date of the event 905 b , projected expenses 905 c , actual costs 905 d and the difference between the expenses and the costs 905 e . The costs dashboard 900 may further allow a user to view and edit the costs for one or more groups of items. For example, for a wedding planner, the costs dashboard may arrange the items into the following groups: flowers 910 and rentals 915 . The user may view the item name ( 910 a and 915 a ), quantity ( 910 b and 915 b ), the cost per item 910 c , the amount of items in the inventory 915 c and the estimate cost for the item ( 910 d and 915 d ). The user may be able to specify the supplier ( 910 e and 915 e ) who may supply the item. The value of the supplier ( 910 e and 915 e ) may be the last supplier who supplied this item. In an embodiment of the invention, the supplier ( 910 e and 915 e ) may be one of the following: the supplier who can provide the item at the lowest cost, or by a certain date, or the most favorite supplier, etc. In an embodiment of the invention, the user may be able to click on the supplier ( 910 e and 915 e ) and view one or more selection criteria for selecting the supplier (e.g., lowest cost, fastest delivery, favorite supplier, ranking, peer reviews, etc.). The user may also be able to view the quantity of item ordered ( 910 f and 915 f ), the cost of each item ( 910 g and 915 g ), the total cost for the item ( 910 h and 915 h ), the names of the salesperson ( 910 i and 915 i ), the date by which the item is needed ( 910 j and 915 j ) and an indication of whether the item was received ( 910 k and 915 k ). The user may also view the estimated subtotal for each group of items ( 910 l and 915 l ), actual subtotal for each group of items ( 910 m and 915 m ) and the difference between those amounts ( 910 n and 915 n ). The user may also view the actual total cost for the event 920 .
[0059] In an embodiment of the invention, upon selecting the indicator of receipt of an item ( 910 k and 915 k ), the Event Management System may store one or more attributes relating to the item. For example, the Event Management System may store the cost ( 910 g ) of the item upon receipt. The Event Management System may then maintain a log of the costs of one or more items. The Event Management System may store a historical view of the attributes of the item upon receipt. For example, the Event Management System may store the historical records of the costs for a particular item. In an embodiment of the invention, the user may search and/or view one or more attributes values (including historical values) for an item.
[0060] In addition to providing and viewing information about prospects/clients and related events, a user may also organize and maintain recipes for items that may be used in an event. For example, a user may be able to specify recipes for a particular dish, such as a cake, cookie, etc. In an embodiment of the invention, a user may be able to create a recipe for a layout of a room, such as the layout of a dining room, by specifying various furniture and furnishing pieces and their locations. In an embodiment of the invention, the user may create a recipe for a flower bouquet. The user may be able to maintain and manage recipes using, for example, the recipes dashboard 100 described in FIGS. 10A-10B . The user may be able to view one or more recipes in the recipes section 1015 . The recipes may be viewed from various angles (e.g., “flat view,” “top view,” “side view,” etc.) showing a thumbnail image of the recipe 1015 a , along with the name 1015 b , cost 1015 c , markup 1015 d , price 1015 e and rating 1015 f . The user may be able to switch between the various views using button 1011 . The user may also navigate from viewing the recipes to a view which contains a larger image of the arrangement and its name (if designated). The user can also delete the recipe using field 1015 g . The recipe dashboard 1000 may also include a filter, which allows the user to filter through recipes based on recipe name 1012 , ingredient name 1013 , colors 1005 , categories 1007 , styles 1008 and months 1006 . When the user selects a filter, one or more filter criteria may be displayed (as shown in FIG. 10C ). A user may be able to clear the filter(s) using button 1009 .
[0061] A user may be able to add a new recipe by selecting button 1010 . The user may then be directed to a screen to add a new recipe, for example, as described in FIG. 11 . The new recipe dashboard 1100 may allow a user to create a new recipe by providing a recipe name 1105 . A user may be able to browse for an existing recipe using field 1110 . For example, the user may be able to browse files stored at a file location. The user may be able to browse for previously stored recipes in the Data Store 40 ( FIG. 1 ). The user may be able to specify the ingredients in the recipe by providing their quantity 1115 and their name 1120 . The user may be able to browse for one or more ingredient. In an embodiment of the invention, the user may type in the name of the ingredient in field 1120 . Field 1120 may use an auto-complete feature to suggest ingredient values based on what has been typed by the user. The user may be able to add ingredients to the recipe using button 1125 . The user may be able to provide a description for the recipe using field 1130 and also specify one or more categories for the recipe. Examples of categories include, but are not limited to, bouquets, cakes, chairs, chargers, etc. The user may be able to add a new custom category. In an embodiment of the invention, the user may add one or more tags to the recipe. For example, a cake may be tagged with the following tags: wedding, roses, pink, four-tier, etc. The user may be able to associate one or more styles 1140 with the recipe. Examples of styles include, but are not limited to: beach, birthday, holiday, edgy, elegant, etc. The user may be able to save the recipe using button 1145 .
[0062] Furthermore, the user may be able to manage one or more resources using, for example, the resources dashboards described in FIGS. 12A-12B . Examples of resource categories include, but are not limited to: blooms & greenery, chairs, chargers, furniture, linens, miscellaneous, table numbers and vases & rentals. A user may be able to view the name of the resource ( 1205 and 1220 ). The resources dashboard 1200 may display a list of resources ( 1215 and 1230 ) in a resource category which may be viewed from various angles (e.g., “flat view,” “top view,” “side view,” etc.) showing a thumbnail image of each resource ( 1215 e and 1230 f ), along with the name ( 1215 d and 1230 d ), cost ( 1215 b and 1230 c ), inventory ( 1230 b ) and rating ( 1215 c and 1230 d ). The user may be able to switch between the various views using buttons 1205 c and 1220 c . The resource dashboard 1200 may also include a filter, which allows the user to filter through resources based on item name ( 1210 and 1225 ), colors ( 1205 a and 1220 a ) and months ( 1205 b and 1220 b ). When the user selects a filter, one or more filter criteria may be displayed. A user may be able to clear the filter(s) using buttons 1205 c and 1220 c . The user may be able to delete one or more resources from a resource category using fields 1215 d and 1230 e.
[0063] A user may be able to add a new resource by selecting buttons 1205 d and 1220 d . The user may then be directed to a screen to add a new resource, for example, as described in FIG. 13 . The new resource dashboard 1300 may allow a user to create a new resource by providing a resource name 1310 and a resource image 1315 . A user may be able to browse for an existing resource using field 1320 . For example, the user may be able to browse files stored at a file location. The user may be able to browse for previously stored recipes in the Data Store 40 ( FIG. 1 ). The user may be able to provide a description for the resource using field 1325 and also specify one or more attributes for the resource (e.g., color) using one or more fields. For example, a user may specify the colors for a resource using field 1330 . The user may be able to add attributes to the resource using field 1335 . In an embodiment of the invention, the user may add one or more tags to the resource. For example, a resource may be tagged with the following tags: blooms & greenery, miscellaneous, vases & rentals. The user may also specify the number of items in inventory 1340 . The user may be able to save the recipe using button 1145 .
[0064] The Event Management System may allow a user to specify one or more attributes about their company. These attributes may be used, for example, when drafting a contract for a client, in determining the cost/markup for an event, etc. FIG. 14 describes a company details dashboard 1400 that allows a user to view and/or edit their company name 1405 and company logo(s) 1410 . The user may specify one or more logos for his/her company ( 1410 a and 1410 b ). The user may also specify their website 1415 and contact information 1420 (phone number 1420 a and email address 1420 b ). The user may specify defaults for their payment strategy 1425 . For example, the user may specify the amount of the retainer 1425 a , when it is due 1425 b , amount of the second payment 1425 c , when it is due 1425 d , amount of final payment 1425 e and when it is due 1425 f . The amount due may be specified in terms of percentage or dollars. The user may further specify the default sales tax 1425 g and convenience fees to charge a client 1425 h . The user may also specify the payee 1430 to which any payment checks may be addressed to. Additional payment address information 1435 may be provided by the user.
[0065] The Event Management System may allow a user to specify one or more items for their contracts. FIG. 15 describes a contract checklist dashboard 1500 that allows the user to view and/or edit a contract checklist 1505 . The user may add one or more checklist items for the following categories: deposits and payments 1505 a , convenience fee 1505 b , guest counts 1505 c , customer cancellation 1505 d , substitutions 1505 e and artistic license 1505 f . The checklist items may be added as terms of the final contract between the company and a prospect/client. The user may add a new checklist item using button 1520 .
[0066] The Event Management System may allow a user to manage the categories for one or more designs and markups for items in a design. FIG. 16 describes a categories and markups dashboard 1600 that allows a user to manage categories and markups. For example, the user may be able to view and/or edit the details about a group 1605 including the group name 1605 . The user may be able to view one or more item categories 1610 under a group. For example, for the group flowers for women, the categories and markup dashboard 1600 may display the category item bouquets 1610 . The user may be able to view and/or modify the category of the item 1610 a , the group that the item belongs to 1610 b and the default markup value for the item 1610 c . The user may further view and/or modify one or more list item defaults 1610 . The list item defaults section 1610 may display one or more items that are associated with the category, including the following information about the items: name 1610 e , estimated price 1610 f , category 1610 g and markup value 1610 h . The user may be able to delete one or more associated items using field 1610 i . The user may add a new item to the category using button 1615 . The user may also add a new category using button 1620 .
[0067] The Event Management System may allow a user to manage the privileges and roles for one or more users who may access the Event Management System. FIG. 17 describes an authorized users dashboard 1700 that lists the users who may have access to the Event Management System. A user may modify one or more attributes for the users including, but not limited to, first name 1705 , last name 1710 , email address 1715 , user name 1720 and role 1725 . The role for the user may be, for example, owner, employee, manager, client and prospect. The user may be able to add a new authorized user using button 1730 by using the first name 1730 a , last name 1730 b , email address 1730 c , user name 1730 d , password 1730 e and confirm password 1730 f fields. The user may then save a new user using button 1740 .
[0068] The user may also enter a “Supplies” view in embodiments of the invention which provides for miscellaneous supplies for the event including candles, balloons, baskets, bowls, etc. There may also be, e.g., a “Vases” dropdown menu in the supplies category and this contains vases, shells and other centerpieces which are all displayed similar to the miscellaneous and the rentals pieces.
[0069] Further dropdown menus may also list, e.g., suppliers, colors, categories, styles, item types and contact phone numbers. When the user selects a suppliers option, for instance, a list of the name, user rating and average rating are displayed. The user can also edit the different clients listed and add another client. When the user selects a name, the user rating, the average rating and the cost rating appear. These dropdown menus may also include a “Colors” view or page. In this view, a user may view a list of the current colors for blooms or recipes, along with a description. Colors preferences can be added and modified as well (e.g., “More yellow,” “No pink”). The dropdown menu may further include a “Categories” view which contains various categories for each of the different ingredients in the recipe/event. In embodiments of the invention, there may be a description of each category along with markup and the ability to delete and add a new category.
[0070] In embodiments of the invention, a “Personnel/Team” function allows the user to view the team assigned to the event and what each team member has completed in a log. The complete order form may include a list of everything ordered and the price information, along with the company it was ordered from, and an estimate and actual cost. The recipe function allows different recipes to be added to the event and the search includes a filter involving the name, type month and category of the recipe.
[0071] Further embodiments of a web-site operated in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may also include a Client Management Dashboard (“CMD”). The CMD may include, for instance, a main dashboard which appears showing a list of the clients and their projects. The CMD may also include a calendar, along with information relating to the client name, location and number of guests for each event. The CMD may also include a “Prospects” view with information related to potential clients, as well as information related to venues and professionals, portfolios with past events, a recipe index and resource guide. Further, if a user selects the name of the client via the CMD, the system may also display a list of the client detail information, event details information, VIP information for specified guests and/or other event vendors.
[0072] The individual client information may include client-designed recipes, a listing of their complete order with a vendor, the personnel and team assigned to their event, the contract or event design agreement associated with the order, a summary of the order, and a room diagram. The room diagram can be customized based on table arrangements and floral arrangements within the event management platform. The platform may also include a calendar indicating what events have occurred in the chain leading up to the actual events, such as when the final deposit is due and if/when a rehearsal is needed. The screen indicates a total amount, the deposit, the projected floral expenses and the actual floral expenses along with sales tax and profit for the employees and the items. An “Agreement” view may show the agreement with the parties, the dates, the event schedule and the cost information for the event, as well as the number of hours for each person working the event, a cost break down and a payment schedule. Payment terms included in the agreement, relating to deposit, credit card fees, guest attendance, guest counts, customer cancellations, substitutions, artistic license and photographic and permitted uses may also be shown, which can be customized based on the event.
[0073] As described above, embodiments of the system of the invention and various processes of embodiments are described. The system of the invention or portions of the system of the invention may be in the form of a “processing machine,” i.e. a tangibly embodied machine, such as a general purpose computer or a special purpose computer, for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” is to be understood to include at least one processor that uses at least one memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. The instructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in the memory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order to process data. The set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as any of the processing as described herein. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software program, or simply software.
[0074] As noted above, the processing machine, which may be constituted, for example, by the particular system and/or systems described above, executes the instructions that are stored in the memory or memories to process data. This processing of data may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processing machine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request by another processing machine and/or any other input, for example.
[0075] As noted above, the processing machine used to implement the invention may be a general purpose computer. However, the processing machine described above may also utilize (or be in the form of) any of a wide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer, a computer system including a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe for example, a programmed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) a peripheral integrated circuit element, a CSIC (Consumer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, a logic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device such as a such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA (Programmable Logic Array), RFID processor, smart chip, or any other device or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes of the invention.
[0076] The processing machine used to implement the invention may utilize a suitable operating system. Thus, embodiments of the invention may include a processing machine running the Microsoft Windows™ Vista™ operating system, the Microsoft Windows™ XP™ operating system, the Microsoft Windows™ NT™ operating system, the Windows™ 2000 operating system, the Unix operating system, the Linux operating system, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™ operating system, the Hewlett-Packard UX™ operating system, the Novell Netware™ operating system, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operating system, the OS/2™ operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, the Macintosh operating system, the Apache operating system, an OpenStep™ operating system or another operating system or platform.
[0077] It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the invention as described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or the memories of the processing machine be physically located in the same geographical place. That is, each of the processors and the memories used by the processing machine may be located in geographically distinct locations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or the memory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single piece of equipment in one location and that the memory be another single piece of equipment in another location. That is, it is contemplated that the processor may be two pieces of equipment in two different physical locations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in any suitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations.
[0078] To explain further, processing as described above is performed by various components and various memories. However, it is appreciated that the processing performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the processing performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performed by two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single memory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinct memory portion as described above may be performed by two memory portions.
[0079] Further, various technologies may be used to provide communication between the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow the processors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with any other entity; i.e., so as to obtain further instructions or to access and use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used to provide such communication might include a network, the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, LAN, an Ethernet, or any client server system that provides communication, for example. Such communications technologies may use any suitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example.
[0080] Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments of the invention, including a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, wireless personal area network (PAN) and other types of networks. When used in a LAN networking environment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a network interface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment, computers typically include a modem or other communication mechanism. Modems may be internal or external, and may be connected to the system bus via the user-input interface, or other appropriate mechanism.
[0081] Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet, Ethernet, or any other system that provides communications. Some suitable communication protocols may include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example. For wireless communications, communication protocols may include Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDa, Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, Ultra-Wideband and Long Term Evolution (LTE) or other suitable protocols. The wireless communication protocol may also include short-range communication devices and protocols, such as RFID, or Near-Field Communication radio transmissions. Furthermore, components of the system may communicate through a combination of wired or wireless paths.
[0082] Although many other internal components of the computer are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the interconnections are well known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the computer need not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.
[0083] As described above, a set of instructions is used in the processing of the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of a program or software. The software may be in the form of system software or application software, for example. The software might also be in the form of a collection of separate programs, a program module within a larger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. The software used might also include modular programming in the form of object oriented programming. The software tells the processing machine what to do with the data being processed.
[0084] Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructions used in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in a suitable form such that the processing machine may read the instructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may be in the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, are converted to machine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machine language is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to a particular type of processing machine, i.e., to a particular type of computer, for example. The computer understands the machine language.
[0085] Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programming language used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instructions or single programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.
[0086] Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the invention may utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module, for example.
[0087] As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in the form of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system, for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciated that the set of instructions, i.e., the software for example, that enables the computer operating system to perform the operations described above may be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium, as desired. Further, the data that is processed by the set of instructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of media or medium. That is, the particular medium, i.e., the memory in the processing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or the data used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physical forms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may be in the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, an integrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, a EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber, communications channel, a satellite transmissions or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium or source of data that may be read by the processors of the invention.
[0088] Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine that implements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms to allow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as is desired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to hold data. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as a flat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example.
[0089] The memory will include at least one set of instructions that is either permanently or temporarily stored. The processor executes the instructions that are stored in order to process data. The set of instructions may include various instructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as those shown in the appended flowchart. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task may be characterized as a program, software program, software, engine, module, component, mechanism, or tool. The computer may include a plurality of software processing modules stored in a memory as described above and executed on a processor in the manner described herein. The program modules may be in the form of any suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions.
[0090] The computing environment may also include other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard disk drive may read or write to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media. A magnetic disk drive may read from or write to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from or write to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The storage media is typically connected to the system bus through a removable or non-removable memory interface.
[0091] To explain further, processing as described above is performed by various components and various memories. However, it is appreciated that the processing performed by two distinct components as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single component. Further, the processing performed by one distinct component as described above may be performed by two distinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performed by two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a single memory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinct memory portion as described above may be performed by two memory portions.
[0092] In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “user interfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with the processing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention. A user may enter commands and information into the computer through a user interface. The user interface may include any hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software used by the processing machine that allows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interface may be in the form of a dialogue screen for example. A user interface may also include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, voice reader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, a pushbutton or other device that allows a user to receive information regarding the operation of the processing machine as it processes a set of instructions and/or provide the processing machine with information. Accordingly, the user interface is any device that provides communication between a user and a processing machine. The information provided by the user to the processing machine through the user interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or some other input, for example.
[0093] As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processing machine that performs a set of instructions such that the processing machine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically used by the processing machine for interacting with a user either to convey information or receive information from the user. However, it should be appreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actually interact with a user interface used by the processing machine of the invention. Rather, it is also contemplated that the user interface of the invention might interact, i.e., convey and receive information, with another processing machine, rather than a human user. Further, it is contemplated that a user interface utilized in the invention may interact partially with another processing machine or processing machines, while also interacting partially with a human user.
[0094] One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to the system bus via an interface. In addition to display devices, computers may also include other peripheral output devices, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface. The computers implementing the invention may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, the remote computers typically including many or all of the elements described above.
[0095] As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processing machine that performs a set of instructions such that the processing machine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically used by the processing machine for interacting with a user either to convey information or receive information from the user. However, it should be appreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system and method of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actually interact with a user interface used by the processing machine of the invention. Rather, it is also contemplated that the user interface of the invention might interact, i.e., convey and receive information, with another processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, the other processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, it is contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and method of the invention may interact partially with another processing machine or processing machines, while also interacting partially with a human user.
[0096] Further, the embodiments of the invention described herein may be applied to a mobile or portable device. Mobile devices or portable devices can take various forms. In one approach, the mobile device may be a personal device that the customer owns, such as a personal smartphone or tablet, and brings into the physical store. As described in more detail below, mobile devices may include mobile personal computers, such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets (e.g., iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.7, Google Nexus 10, mini-iPad, Samsung Galaxy 7.7, Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire etc.), PDAs (personal digital assistants), smart phones (e.g., the iPhone, Samsung S3, Samsung S4, Samsung Note 2, etc.), and other forms of portable computer devices. Mobile devices that can support wireless communications such as NFC or RFID can communicate using those capabilities
[0097] The mobile device may be programmed with a software application that enables the mobile device to communicate to the vendor. In one embodiment, the software application may be a mobile app developed by the vendor, and distributed to customers through an app store such as Apple iTunes, or Google Play. In other embodiments of the invention, the software application may be a third-party application, such as a mobile browser, connected to a web app hosted by the vendor. For example, the software application may be a mobile browser such as the Safari Mobile Browser, connected to a website. In other embodiments, the software application may also be specialized native software designed for use on mobile devices. In these embodiments, the software applications may be installed and maintained privately, without being distributed through a public third party app distributor, such as Apple iTunes, or Google Play.
[0098] Generally, it should be noted that the components depicted and described herein above may be, or include, a computer or multiple computers. Although the components are shown as discrete units, all components may be interconnected or combined. The components may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, applications, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
[0099] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with various computer system configurations, including hand-held wireless devices such as mobile phones, tablets or PDAs, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
[0100] It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the invention.
[0101] Accordingly, while the present invention has been described here in detail in relation to its exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made to provide an enabling disclosure of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed or to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any other such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements. | Embodiments of the present invention are directed to software for managing events and flower arrangements. The system may be implemented on a website, and in conjunction with databases related to vendor information and flower inventory. The invention enables locally owned flower shops to manage their inventory for customized events and arrangements through an easy to use computer interface. Features of the invention include creation and management of floral designs and recipes, custom contract templates, inventory management, expense projections and an extensive flower and resource catalog. | 6 |
[0001] This application is based on the application No. 2001-195126 filed in Japan, the content of which is thereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an object detecting apparatus for determining a main object to be shot with emphasis, from within the shooting field.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, a camera has been widely known that has a microcomputer and automatically adjusts focus and exposure in order that shooting can be performed with an object constituting part of the shooting field as the reference. This camera generally has a structure as shown in FIG. 13. The camera 80 which has a photometer 81 detecting the brightness of the object and a pair of image detectors 82 calculates the distance to the object and the brightness of the object by a microcomputer 83 based on the signals from the photometer 81 and the image detectors 82 , and adjusts a taking lens 84 based on the result of the calculation so that an image of the object is formed on imaging means 85 .
[0006] A distance measurement frame indicating the distance measurement range is provided in the finder of this camera, and the user performs shooting while framing the picture so that the main object is captured in the frame. In order that the distance to the object captured in the distance measurement frame can be measured by the image detectors 82 , distance measurement points normally disposed so as to be invisible are provided, and shooting can be performed with focus and exposure adjusted with respect to the object overlapping a distance measurement point.
[0007] However, when the distance measurement range of the camera is small, it sometimes occurs that an object behind the object to be shot is in focus. That is, when a picture is taken with the main object 88 not overlapping any of the distance measurement points 87 as shown in FIG. 14, the main object 88 is not in focus, so that a picture intended by the user cannot be taken.
[0008] To solve this problem, it has been proposed to perform focus lock by half depressing the release button as shown in FIG. 15. When the release button is half depressed with the main object 88 overlapping the distance measurement frame 89 , since the main object 88 is present on a distance measurement point in the distance measurement frame 89 , a condition where the main object 88 is in focus is fixed. Then, to obtain the composition intended by the user, the frame is moved with the half-depressed condition of the release button maintained, and then, the release button is fully depressed.
[0009] However, according to the focus lock, when a moving object such as a running child or a person participating in a sport is shot, it is difficult to determine when to half depress the release button. Moreover, the obtained picture is out of focus when the distance to the object which is once captured and on which focus is locked changes before the determination of the composition and shooting are actually performed.
[0010] On the other hand, an improvement has been made that distance measurement points are disposed in a wide range to increase the distance measurement range. This enables shooting to be performed with the main object as the reference even when the composition is such that the main object is not situated in the center. However, since it is difficult to select a main object in a wide distance measurement range, there are cases where an object not desired by the user is in focus.
[0011] Accordingly, to solve these problems, the present invention provides an object detecting apparatus capable of performing shooting with a main object desired by the user as the reference even when the object moves.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] To attain the above-mentioned object, an object detecting apparatus according to the present invention has: an image sensor for capturing a plurality of object images in time sequence; a first detection start signal generator for generating a signal to start detection of an object, included in a first area, of the object images captured by the image sensor; a first detector for detecting a characteristic of the object included in the first area in response to the signal from the first detection start signal generator; a second detector for detecting an object similar to the characteristic detected by the first detector, within a second area larger than the first area; a second detection start signal generator for generating a signal to start detection by the second detector; a detection end signal generator for generating a signal to end the detection by the second detector; and a controller for performing focusing for the object detected by the second detector in response to the signal from the detection end signal generator.
[0013] According to this structure, since the main object is first selected from the smaller first area, the control to select the optimum object can be easily performed, so that misdetection can be reduced. Moreover, after the main object is once selected, for the succeeding object image, a similar object is selected from the larger second area, and the following of the main object is performed. Consequently, even when a moving object is shot, the user can take a picture intended by him only by determining the composition so that the main object is roughly followed.
[0014] In the following description, like parts are designated by like reference members throughout the several drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] [0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of a distance measurement portion of the camera of FIG. 1;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 3 is a view showing the structure of an eye sensor of the camera of FIG. 1;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a display provided in a finder of the camera of FIG. 1;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a positional relationship between a distance measurement frame and a first area of the camera of FIG. 1;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of distance measurement points in the shooting field;
[0021] [0021]FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a positional relationship between the first area and the distance measurement points of the camera of FIG. 1;
[0022] [0022]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the shooting processing in a target mode;
[0023] [0023]FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a display provided in the finder when shooting is started;
[0024] [0024]FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a distance image;
[0025] [0025]FIG. 11 is a view explaining the processing to divide an object image and select a main object;
[0026] [0026]FIG. 12 is a view showing a succeeding object image;
[0027] [0027]FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the structure of the conventional camera;
[0028] [0028]FIG. 14 is a view showing the composition in which the object does not overlap any of the distance measurement points; and
[0029] [0029]FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of an operation example of the focus lock.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0030] A camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, the camera 10 has: a taking lens 12 ; a finder 14 including a display 19 ; a photometry portion 15 measuring the brightness of the object; a distance measurement portion 16 measuring the distance to the object for each of a plurality of divisional areas by use of an image sensing apparatus outputting image information in time sequence at regular intervals; a release button 17 ; an eye sensor 18 ; and a selector 13 . The release button 17 and the eye sensor 18 are used also as signal transmitting means for detecting and following the main object in the present embodiment. While the distance measurement portion 16 has a pair of two-dimensional sensors (area sensors) 16 a and 16 b as shown in FIG. 2, it may have a pair of line sensors. Moreover, one element may be used both as the photometry portion 15 and the distance measurement portion 16 . The selector 13 is used for selecting a shooting mode as described later.
[0032] [0032]FIG. 3 is a view showing the concrete structure of the eye sensor 18 . The eye sensor 18 detects whether or not the user is assuming a posture of shooting and is looking through the finder 14 . The eye sensor 18 comprises an LED light emitting portion 18 a and a light receiving sensor 18 b disposed side by side below the finder 14 . When the user brings his head close to the finder to look through the finder, light emitted from the LED light emitting portion 18 a at predetermined intervals is reflected at the user's face to be incident on the light receiving sensor 18 b , so that it is detected that the user is preparing for shooting. In the present embodiment, the signal from the eye sensor 18 is used as a signal to start the detection of the main object.
[0033] A CPU 20 has a distance measurement information calculator 21 , a photometry information calculator 22 , an image processor 23 , a taking lens controller 24 , a display controller 25 , and a memory 26 . The distance measurement information calculator 21 processes the output from the distance measurement portion 16 , and outputs distance measurement information with respect to each of the divisional distance measurement areas to the taking lens controller 24 and the display controller 25 . The photometry information calculator 22 processes the outputs from the photometry portion 15 and the distance measurement portion 16 , and transmits photometry information to the taking lens controller 24 and the memory 26 . The image processor 23 processes the output from the distance measurement portion 16 at the timing when the signals from the release button 17 and the eye sensor 18 are received. Further, the image processor 23 detects a main following area from a predetermined area based on the result of the processing as described later, and transits the information to the display controller 25 and the memory 26 . The taking lens controller 24 controls the taking lens 12 based on the information from the distance measurement information calculator 21 and the photometry information calculator 22 . The display controller 25 controls the display 19 of the finder 14 based on the information from the distance measurement information calculator 21 and the image processor 23 to display an in-focus indicator mark within the field frame. The memory 26 stores the information from the photometry information calculator 22 , the image calculator 23 and the taking lens controller 24 .
[0034] On the display 19 of the finder 14 , the field frame is displayed as shown in FIG. 4. That is, in the finder, the in-focus indicator mark 40 is displayed outside the field frame, and distance measurement frames 30 to 34 which are arranged in five lines are selectively displayed as appropriate within the field frame 41 . Appropriate combinations of distance measurement frames 30 to 34 enable distance measurement frames of various sizes to be displayed in given positions within a finder field 14 a . The distance measurement frames 30 to 34 are arranged so as to overlap a first area 51 as an object detection area as shown in FIG. 5. The first area 51 is not necessarily displayed within the field. The distance measurement frames 30 to 34 are displayed by a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, and the in-focus indicator mark 40 is displayed by a light emitting diode (LED). While a distance measurement frame of a predetermined shape is selected as appropriate and displayed in a predetermined position on the display 19 in the present embodiment, as a modification, for example, a mark of a given shape may be displayed in a given position by use of a dot-matrix liquid crystal display panel.
[0035] In the first area 51 as the object detection area, a plurality of distance measurement points 42 is provided as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the distances to objects 61 and 62 displayed so as to overlap the first area 51 can be measured for each of the distance measurement points. A second area 52 is provided in a central part of the first area 51 . While the second area 52 may be variable in size, it is desirable that it be an area comprising a combination of a plurality of distance measurement points 42 and distance measurement can be performed for all the positions in the area. It is desirable for the second area 52 to be displayed within the field frame so that the range thereof is clearly shown to the user. In the present embodiment, the second area 52 is shown with distance frames 32 d and 32 g in normal times.
[0036] Next, the flow of the shooting processing of the camera according to the present embodiment will be described. The camera according to the present embodiment has three shooting modes, and is capable of switching among these modes as required. One of the modes that is for selecting and following a main object and will be described below will be called a target mode. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the shooting processing in the target mode. In the target mode, the CPU 20 determines the condition of a switch S0 (not shown) for determining whether the user is looking through the finder 14 or not by the eye sensor 18 at predetermined intervals (step 81 ). When the user is not looking through the finder 14 , that is, when the switch S0 is not on, the condition of the switch S0 is continuously determined at predetermined intervals. When the user is looking through the finder 14 , that is, when the switch S0 is on, the process shifts to capture of the data of the shot image.
[0037] When the switch S0 becomes on, the data of the shot image is captured by the area sensors provided in the distance measurement portion 16 . Now, for convenience of explanation, a case will be described where a subject including the objects 61 and 62 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in the field frame. When the user looks through the finder, a display as shown in FIG. 9 is provided in the field frame 14 a of the finder. That is, the distance measurement frames 32 d and 32 g are displayed in the field frame 14 a , and the user can recognize the second area 52 as described above. The range of the first area 51 is not indicated in the field frame 14 a.
[0038] Returning to FIG. 8, at step 82 , the incident object light is integrated by the area sensors, and an image signal is captured from each of the pair of area sensors. The partial areas extracted from the image signals from the pair of area sensors 16 a and 16 b correspond to each other. The distance to the object can be calculated for each partial area (distance measurement point 42 ) based on the principle of the triangulation by use of the image signals of the corresponding partial areas of the area sensors 16 a and 16 b (AF calculation). The object distance distribution (hereinafter, referred to as distance image) is detected from the object distance information obtained for each of the distance measurement points. An example of the distance image is shown in FIG. 10. The distance image comprises the distances to the objects 61 and 62 in the field 14 a arranged for each partial area (distance measurement point 42 ). In FIG. 10, it is apparent that the objects 61 and 62 are at shorter distances than the background and the object 62 is closer to the camera than the object 61 . While the partial areas (distance measurement points 42 ) do not overlap each other in FIGS. 6 and 7, they may overlap each other. Moreover, it may be performed to calculate a distance measurement value for each of areas smaller than the partial areas by use of the distance measurement value obtained for each partial area and obtain the distance image from the distance information obtained for each of the smaller areas.
[0039] Then, the image processor 23 divides the image information into a plurality of areas by use of the distance image. In the above-described example, as shown in FIG. 11, the image information is divided into areas 53 , 54 and 55 corresponding to the background, the object 61 and the object 62 , respectively, by use of the distance image shown in FIG. 10.
[0040] Then, at step 83 , a target object as the main object is selected from the divisional areas. Of the areas 53 , 54 and 55 obtained by the division at the previous step, an area at least part of which is present in the second area 52 , that is, the area 54 corresponding to the object 61 is selected as the target object. When a plurality of divisional areas is present in the second area 52 , for example, the area corresponding to the object at the shortest distance is selected as the target object. The target object may be selected based on the color information, the size and the shape of the divisional areas as well as the distance. Hereinafter, the explanation will be continued on the assumption that the object 61 is selected as the target object as the main object.
[0041] When the target object is selected, photometry calculation is performed for the target object, and which object is the target object is indicated in the finder. The indication is provided by the display controller 25 controlling the display 19 so that distance measurement frames are displayed. When these processings are finished for the target object as the main object, the CPU 20 stores characteristics of the main object into the memory 26 . The characteristics of the main object include the distance to the object, the width of the object, the brightness of the object, and the position of the object on the screen for the divisional area 54 .
[0042] Then, at step 85 , it is determined whether the switch S1 is off or not. In the present embodiment, the switch S1 is turned on when the release button 17 is half depressed. When the release button 17 is not half depressed (the switch S1 is off), the process returns to step 81 to repeat the above-described loop for the image information on the object captured in time sequence.
[0043] When the release button 17 is half depressed, the process shifts to step 86 to perform the processing to follow the main object selected in the previous preprocessing. Assuming now that the object 61 moves leftward while the processing from step 86 is being performed, a case will be considered where the captured succeeding object image information is as shown in FIG. 12. A processing similar to that at step 82 of the main object selecting processing is performed on the succeeding object image information captured in time sequence, and the object image is divided based on the created distance image (step 86 ).
[0044] The CPU 20 selects an object to be followed which is the most appropriate object from the image divided at step 86 (step 87 ). In the present embodiment, the selection is made by making a comparison between the previously detected image of the area of the main object and the object image captured this time for each of the divisional areas. The succeeding object image information to be compared is information within the range of the first area 51 . An area similar to the area 54 corresponding to the object 61 as the target object stored in the memory 26 is selected from among the divisional areas 53 a , 54 a and 55 a . In the selection, the previously captured information on the area 54 stored in the memory 26 as described above is compared, for example, with the distance to the object, the width of the object, the brightness of the object and the position of the object on the screen in the succeeding divisional areas 53 a , 54 a and 55 a . For example, the area 54 a corresponding to the object 61 is selected as a result.
[0045] When the object to be followed is selected from the first area, the display controller 25 displays distance measurement frames 33 b and 33 c so that the object to be followed is surrounded by the frames 33 b and 33 c , and displays the object to be followed so that it is visually recognized by the user with ease (step 88 ). Then, the information on the object to be followed which is the main object is stored into the memory 26 . The characteristics of the main object include, like the previously captured information on the area 54 , the distance to the object, the width of the object, the brightness of the object and the position of the object on the screen with respect to the divisional area 54 a . Moreover, a characteristic newly serving as a reference such as the direction of movement of the object 61 as the main object may be obtained based on the previously captured information on the area 54 .
[0046] Then, the CPU 20 determines whether a switch S2 is off or not (step 89 ). The switch S2 is for determining whether the release button 17 is fully depressed or not. When the switch S2 is not off, that is, when the release button 17 is fully depressed, the CPU 20 stops the selection of the object to be followed, and performs shooting.
[0047] When the switch S2 is off, that is, when the release button 17 is not fully depressed, the process shifts to step 90 to determine whether the switch S1 is off or not. When the switch S1 is not off, that is, when the release button is kept half depressed, the process shifts to step 86 to continue the detection of the object to be followed by performing a processing similar to the above-described one based on the previously captured object image information. When the switch S1 is off, that is, when the release button 17 is released from the half-depressed condition, the process returns to step 81 to perform the target object selection processing from the beginning.
[0048] In the camera according to the present embodiment, the signals from the distance measurement information calculator 21 and the photometry information calculator 22 are transmitted to the taking lens controller 24 at regular intervals. Every time an object to be followed is selected while the release button 17 is half depressed, focus and exposure of the taking lens are adjusted in accordance with the object to be followed. The adjustment may be performed only at the time of shooting instead of every time an object to be followed is selected. In the case of digital cameras and movie cameras having a liquid crystal display, when the preview function and the moving image shooting are considered, it is desirable to perform the adjustment of the taking lens every time an object to be followed is selected.
[0049] The camera according to the present embodiment has a wide mode and a spot mode as well as the above-described target mode, and is capable of switching among the three shooting modes by the selector 13 . In the wide mode, the main object is selected from the image information included in the first area 51 in response to a half depression of the release button 17 , and the lens adjustment is performed with the selected main object as the reference. That is, after the main object is selected, the following of the main object is not performed. In this mode, the focus lock to determine the focus and the aperture with the selected object as the reference is performed in the comparatively large range of the first area.
[0050] In the spot mode, in response to a half depression of the release button 17 , the main object is selected with the image information included in the second area being divided into a plurality of areas, and the lens adjustment is performed with the selected main object as the reference. That is, after the main object is selected, the following of the main object is not performed. In this mode, the focus lock to determine the focus and the aperture with the selected object as the reference is performed in the small range of the second area. This mode ensures the selection of the main object, and reduces the misdetection that an object not desired by the user is in focus.
[0051] As described above, according to the present embodiment, after a main object is selected in a small area, the camera follows the main object by capturing it in a large area, and focus adjustment can be performed with the object as the reference. Consequently, the out-of-focus condition caused when a moving object is shot with the focus lock and the misdetection of the object when the object is not present in the center can be prevented.
[0052] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be embodied in various forms. For example, the present invention is also applicable to digital cameras and movie cameras.
[0053] Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various change and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being including therein. | An object detecting apparatus according to the present invention has: an image sensor capturing a plurality of object images in time sequence; a first detection start signal generator generating a signal to start detection of an object, included in a first area, of the object images captured by the image sensor; a first detector detecting a characteristic of the object included in the first area in response to the signal from the first detection start signal generator; and a second detector detecting an object similar to the characteristic detected by the first detector, within a second area larger than the first area. Consequently, even when a moving object is shot, the user can take a picture intended by him only by determining the composition so that the main object is roughly followed. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Key holders in many configurations are known in the prior art. While most of the prior art key holders are useful in varying degrees, there is a recognized need for a better and more convenient pocket key holder which will enable the orderly carrying of a fairly large number of keys in one's pocket without bulkiness, excessive weight, and without annoying noise due to constant jingling of keys and hardware.
Among the objects of the invention is to provide a pocket key holder of minimum bulk and maximum key carrying capacity, where the holder is constructed from soft pliable materials substantially entirely, without the usual metal hardware.
Another object is to provide a pocket key holder in which the keys are contained in an orderly fashion in separated flat pockets, and wherein the keys are readily identifiable by sight or by feel, in the dark and even by blind users of the key holder.
Yet another object is to provide a key holder of the above-mentioned type which an be constructed in various sizes to accommodate a greater or fewer number of keys, the larger size carriers being foldable for placement in a pocket of clothing in a very compact form.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pocket key holder according to one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the key holder.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an end elevation of the key holder in a partly open state.
FIG. 6 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, of a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a similar view showing a third embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is an end elevation of the key holder shown in FIG. 7 in a folded state.
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a pocket key holder according to the invention formed from layers of heat sealable material, connected by a zigzag heat sealed line.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like parts and referring first to FIGS. 1 through 5 showing a preferred embodiment, a pocket key holder having the capacity to hold a dozen keys is illustrated. As shown, the key holder is substantially square, thin and flat when in a normal closed state. It is constructed essentially from two outer layers or sections 10 of thin pliable material, such as soft leather, intervened by a third rectangular layer 11 preferably of the same material, the rectangular layer 11 being narrower than the layers 10 in one direction only so that its edges 12 terminate well inwardly of the corresponding parallel edges 13 of the two outer layers 10, which latter edges form closure flaps on opposite ends of the pocket key holder.
The three layers 10, 11, 10 are joined in permanently assembled superposed relationship by a zigzag line of stitching 14 penetrating the three layers as best shown in FIG. 4. Such stitching spans the width of the key holder and extends between the two edges 12 of middle layer 11 to form in the key holder twelve separated tapered key pockets 15 for diverse keys 16.
On each side of the intermediate layer 11 and between it and the two outer layers 10 are six separated pockets 15. The pockets on opposite sides of the layer 11 taper oppositely, FIG. 3, so that they and the keys therein interfit in a most compact manner. The outer ends of the pockets 15 facing the opposite edges 13 are open to receive the keys and allowing their ready withdrawal. The entire structure is thin, soft and pliable. The keys are arranged and held in an orderly manner without being bunched together and without direct contact causing rattling or jingling of keys as in many prior art devices. The structure is substantially without metal hardware.
A very simplified flexible and convenient closure for the opposite parallel edges 13 and for the mouths of the opposing pockets 15 is provided in the form of a coacting pair of narrow VELCRO-type strips 17 having a multitude of coacting minute hooks and pile loops, attached conventionally to the opposing interior faces of the two outer layers 10 outwardly of the two edges 12 of the middle layer 11 and between them and the two edges 13, as best shown in FIG. 3. The strips 17 span transversely the mouths of all twelve key pockets 15.
To open either end of the pocket key holder, the edges 13 of outer layers 10 are grasped and pulled apart with sufficient force to separate the two closure strips 17 adjacent to one pair of key pockets 15, FIG. 5, or several pairs as need dictates. To close the holder, it is merely necessary to press the closure strips 17 together, and a very secure closure is formed. The closure means, as well as the body of the key holder, is soft and pliable for comfort in the pocket and maximum compactness.
Preferably, a corner projecting tab 18 having an eyelet 19 is formed on the center layer 11. This tab extends beyond one side edge of the holder and forms a ready means of anchoring the holder to a body-attached chain or the like. The tab 18 also forms a convenient indicator enabling the user to locate any particular key even in the dark. The tab 18 will assist a blind user of the device. Particular keys 16 are placed in particular pockets of the holder and the user references these keys by sight or feel to the indicator tab 18. For example, in the dark, the user may place the front door key in the third pocket away from the tab 18 on one side of the holder, or in any other chosen pocket. The tab 18 is simply located by feel and the pockets can be counted with relation to the tab in order to quickly find any given key. In addition, labels may be placed on or near the pockets as an optional means of identification of keys.
FIG. 6 shows a modified smaller key holder 20 for four keys constructed substantially in the same manner described for the device in FIGS. 1-5. Size is the only significant difference. In lieu of the tab 18, which is preferred, a metal eyelet 21 may be placed through one corner of the key holder as shown in FIG. 6 to serve as an anchor as well as an indicator.
FIGS. 7 and 8 depict a modified pocket key holder 22 having a twenty-four key capacity and being foldable in half due to its flexible nature, FIG. 8, for ready placement in the pocket. The basic construction remains as described in the first embodiment, FIGS. 1-5, and need not be repeated for a proper understanding of the invention. The key holder 22 is elongated and rectangular instead of square as in FIG. 1. The corner eyelet 21 or the projecting tab 18 can be utilized. It should now be apparent that the key holder can be made in a range of sizes as deemed necessary and practical.
As shown in FIG. 7 only, keys 16, if desired, can be tethered by chains 23 or the like to the holder. The chain or other material is attached at each end by quick-release snaps 25 to one of two keys which lie on either side of the middle layer 11. The chain is run through small eyelets 24 placed along the opposite edges of the middle layer 11. The chains are a further security means preventing loss of keys, and locating particular keys with relation to particular pockets.
The diverse utility, convenience and economy of manufacturing of the device, its compactness and other discussed advantages should now be apparent to those skilled in the art.
In lieu of zigzag stitching line 14 and in lieu of leather for the layers or sections 10 and 11, such layers or sections can be formed of heat sealable material connected by a zigzag heat sealed line 14' as shown in FIG. 9 of the drawings.
It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims. | A pocket key holder constructed essentially from three layers of thin flexible material eliminates bulkiness, expensive hardware and noise caused by continual contact of unrestrained loose keys. Ready identification of multiple keys in separated pockets of the holder by sight or by touch is enabled. Convenience of use and compactness are maximized in a soft yielding structure suitable for carrying in any apparel pocket. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an internal combustion engine and more particularly to an improved induction system for such an engine having improve performance particularly at low and mid range speeds without adversely affecting high speed performance.
It is well known that the induction system for an engine is a compromise between the obtaining of maximum performance and good running and fuel consumption at low speeds. It has also been proposed to provide an induction system induces turbulence in the combustion chamber in the form of swirl or tumble to improve low speed running and particularly to permit lean combustion. Examples of this are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,712 and Japanese Published Application 05-026135.
In the noted the United States Patent, the induction system includes a control valve which controls the flow of air to three intake valves provided for each combustion chamber. At low speeds, the control valve is operated so that the flow is directed through a restricted passageway toward one of the side intake valves. This also directs the flow into the combustion chamber in a direction of the to improve tumble and/or swirl. However, the flow also tends to go toward the other intake valves and diminishes the overall effect.
In the Japanese publication, on the other hand, the intake system cooperates with two intake valves and is designed so as to promote an increased flow to one of the intake valves by restricting the flow area. This will generate some turbulence. However, the arrangement restricts the overall ability of the engine to breath and thus reduces high speed performance.
In addition to the noted problems, in each approach in addition to the higher velocity flow through the restricted passage there is still a slower flow through the remainder of the valve opening through which the restricted opening passes. Thus even this added turbulence is reduced.
It is therefor a principal object to this invention to provide an induction system for an engine that will produce turbulence when desired and the desired flow directions without restricting maximum power output. In addition when the turbulence is generated this is done in such a way as to maintain the air flow in the direction or directions desired in the combustion chamber without dissipation of the effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A feature of this invention is adapted to be embodied in an internal combustion engine comprised of a pair of relatively moveable components defining a combustion chamber that varies in volume cyclically as the components move. A pair of intake passages supply of at least an air charge to the combustion chamber through respective valved openings communicating with the combustion chamber. A throttle valve is positioned in a common inlet to the intake passages for controlling the air flow thereto. A branch passage is formed in each of the intake passages and has an upstream inlet opening in communication with the common inlet and a discharge opening communicating directly with the valved opening of the respective intake passage in a direction to induce a swirling motion in the air delivered to the combustion chamber from the respective branch passage. A control valve precludes the flow through one of the branch passages when in a first position and permits flow through both of the branch passages in a second position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a partial cross sectional view take through a single cylinder of an internal combustion engine constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along a plane perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 looking from below and shows the configuration the induction system and its relation to an associated combustion chamber
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view, in part similar to FIG. 1 , and shows a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross section of view, in part similar to FIG. 2 , and shows the construction of the embodiment of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring and now in detail to the drawing and initially to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 , these show a portion of an internal combustion engine constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment and the other embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 to be describes shortly, only a portion of the engine, identified generally by the reference numeral 11 , is illustrated. The portion of the engine that is shown is the combustion chamber and the induction and exhaust systems associated with it. The complete engine is not shown in as much as those skilled in the art will readily understand from the following description how the invention can be practiced with engines having any desired number of cylinders and cylinder configuration.
The engine 11 is comprised of the a cylinder block 12 that forms one or more cylinder bores 13 in which pistons (not shown) are supported for reciprocation. As is well known in the art, these pistons are connected to a crankshaft by means of connecting rods (none of which are shown). The cylinder bores 13 are closed at their upper ends by means of one or more cylinder head assemblies 14 , depending upon the configuration of the engine. That is, if the engine is of the V or opposed type, there will be provided a cylinder head 14 for each bank of the cylinder block 12 .
The surface of the cylinder head 14 that closes the cylinder bore 13 is formed with a recess 15 . These recesses 15 . the cylinder bores 13 and the head of the pistons each form a combustion chamber, indicated at 16 , of volume that varies cyclically as the engine crankshaft rotates. The combustion chamber is supplied with an air charge of by an induction system indicated generally at 17 . This induction system includes an air inlet device 18 that communicates with the atmosphere through an air intake opening in which a butterfly type operator control throttle valve 19 is positional. The induction device 18 may include tuning and silencing arrangements and so on of any desired types.
Since a single combustion chamber 16 is shown it should be understood the induction device 18 may form a part of an intake manifold that has branch sections or runners that communicate with the individual combustion chambers 16 . As illustrated these branch selections or runners have portions, indicated generally by the reference numeral 21 that sealingly engaged with the outer surface of the cylinder head 14 .
The manifold runner 21 as a generally open passageway, indicated generally by the reference numeral 22 , terminating in a large discharge opening 23 that communicates with a common inlet opening, indicated generally at 24 , of a cylinder head intake passage. The cylinder head intake passage is Siamesed and a pair of branch passages 25 and 26 , separated by a wall 27 extend from the common inlet 24 .
Each intake passage branch 25 and 26 terminates at a respective valve seat 28 and 29 , respectively, formed in the cylinder head recess 15 . Poppet type intake valves 31 and 32 are slidably supported in any desired manner by the cylinder head 14 and control the opening and closing of the these valve seats 28 and 29 . These intake valves 31 and 32 are operated by an overhead mounted cam shaft 33 journalled in the cylinder head 14 . Any suitable operating mechanism may be provided such as the rocker follower type of arrangement shown in the figures and indicated by the reference numeral 34 .
The charge which is formed in the combustion chambers 16 , in a manner to be described, is fired by means of a pair of spark plugs 35 and 36 . The spark plug 35 is mounted centrally in the combustion chamber 16 while the spark plug 36 is mounted adjacent the valved seat 29 adjacent the periphery of the cylinder bore 13 .
The burn charge is discharged from the combustion chamber 16 through a pair of a Siamese exhaust passage 37 which originates from exhaust valve seats 38 and 41 and is discharged to the atmosphere through a suitable exhaust system (not shown). Like the intake valves 31 and 32 , poppet type exhaust valves 39 and 41 are slidably supported in the cylinder head 14 in a suitable manner and are operated by means of an exhaust cam shaft 42 , suitably journalled in the cylinder head 14 , through a suitable mechanism such as rocker followers 43 .
Each intake valve seat 28 and 29 is served by a respective branch passage 44 and 45 . These branch passages 44 and 45 have respective inlet openings 46 and 47 that are formed in a curved surfaces 48 at the outlet end of the manifold runner end 21 . The curved surface 48 is complementary in shape to the peripheral edge of a butterfly type control valve 49 that is journalled on a control valve shaft 51 that extends transversely across the manifold runner end 21 .
The branch passages 44 and 45 extend also through the cylinder head 14 and terminate in respective discharge openings 52 and 53 that are directed transversely across the valve seats 28 and 29 and directed toward the opposite side thereof.
This embodiment employs direct cylinder fuel injection. To this end, a fuel injector 54 is mounted in the cylinder head 14 in the area adjacent the dividing wall 27 and below it. This fuel injector 54 has a spray pattern indicated by the broken lines F in the figures. The fuel sprayed from the fuel injector 54 will pass from one side of the cylinder bore 14 toward the opposite side and in proximity to the intake valve seats 28 and 29 .
The operation of this embodiment will now be described. It should be noted that regardless of the position of the flow control valve 49 , the A inlet opening 46 of the passage branch passage 44 will always be open. Thus, when the engine is operating at idle, all of the air flow will pass into the combustion chamber through the passageway 44 and specifically its opening 52 . As may be seen from FIG. 2 , this is in direct registry with part of the discharge of fuel from the injector 54 . Also as has been noted, the discharge of opening 52 is directed toward the side of the of valve seat 29 closer to the axes of the cylinder bore 14 . Thus, this fuel will be subjected to a high velocity swirling motion around the axes of a cylinder bore 14 and ignition least by the spark plug 36 will be insured even though there is only a small amount of fuel in the combustion chamber 16 .
It should be understood back the flow control valve 49 may be operated either through a sequence through a linkage system with the operator control throttle valved 14 or maybe operated by means of a sensor of engine conditions such as engines speed/and or load. The condition described in the previous paragraph is the condition when operating at idle.
As the operator demands greater power by opening the throttle valved 19 , the flow control valve 49 is open progressively as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1 from the position indicated in solid lines, toward the position indicated at A. When this position is reached, inlet opening 47 of the branch passage 46 associated with the intake valve 32 will be opened. As a result of this, there will be a high velocity air flows through both of the branch passages 45 and 46 and these flows will cause a tumble operation to occur in the combustion chamber 16 . In addition, the fuel be well mixed and can be ignited by either or both of the spark plugs 35 and 36 . Thus, even in mid range performance, lean operation is possible to improve fuel economy and good exhaust emission control.
In the embodiment as thus far described, the fuel injector 54 has been positioned to inject directly into the combustion chamber 16 resulting in what is referred to as “direct injection”. However, the invention also may be employed in conjunction with manifold type fuel injection and such an embodiment is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . In this embodiment, the only difference from the previously described the embodiment is in conjunction with the location of the fuel injector 54 . Therefore, where components are the same as those in the previously described embodiment they have been identified by the same reference numerals and will be described again only in so far as is necessary to understand the construction and operation of this embodiment.
Referring now specifically to this embodiment it will be seen that the fuel injector 54 is mounted in the upper portion of the cylinder head 14 above the intake passages 25 and 26 . Actually, the actually the injector 54 is positioned upstream of the dividing wall 27 so that it's spray, I indicated by the arrows F., will be directed toward discharge openings 52 and 53 of the branch passages 25 and 26 . The discharge is, however, downstream of the branch passage openings 52 and 53 so that these same motion will be generated in the combustion chamber 16 . That is, when operating at idle, fuel will be discharged into the combustion chamber 16 due to the opening of both of the intake valves 31 and 32 and all of the air will introduced through both of the branch passage discharge openings 52 and 53 to provide the same form of motions in combustion chamber 16 has already described.
Also, the operation at part throttle and full throttle will also will be as previously described. Thus it is not believed necessary to repeat this description again. Of course, it should be understood that the foregoing description is that of some specific embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will, however, understand readily than the spirit and scope and invention is not limited to specific environments described and that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. | An induction system for a multi valve engine that facilitates operation in a lean burn mode over a large range of speeds and loads by employing a smaller cross sectional branch passages in several induction passages serving a common combustion chamber and a valve arrangement that progressively opens flow first through the branch passages and finally through both the main and branch passages so that maximum power can also be obtained. | 5 |
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a miter box, and, more particularly, to a compound miter box wherein the saw guides are pivotable about a vertical and a horizontal axis.
Miter boxes are well known and well developed in the prior art. The prior art discloses constructions which range from the very simple, including a true slotted box construction from which the name derives, to the very complex including sophisticated locating, alignment and clamping devices.
One problem associated with the use of a miter box is properly positioning a saw at an acute, vertical angle from the horizontal miter box table when it is desired to make compound miter cut of a board positioned on the table. For example, when making a 45° mitered saw cut in pieces of cove molding to be joined in the corner of a room, the saw must be positioned at the same angle with respect to the horizontal table and the vertical back stop that the molding will assume when fixed to the wall and ceiling. If properly positioned and cut, a miter joint in a piece of ornamentally complex cove molding is much simpler to make than a contoured cut with a coping saw.
It is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a compound miter box wherein the saw guides are pivotable about a vertical and a horizontal axis.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a compound miter box wherein the saw guides are easily rotatable to a predetermined angle with respect to the work supporting surface of the miter box.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide a compound miter box which is simple to utilize and inexpensive to manufacture.
In accordance with the present invention, a compound miter box is provided. The miter box includes a saw bench having an upper, work supporting surface, and an underside. A saw supporting arm is mounted to the underside of the saw bench and is pivotable about a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the work supporting surface of the saw bench.
First and second saw supports are also provided. Each saw support includes a pair of special parallel saw guide rods extending from a retaining mount. The retaining mount includes a concave bearing surface defining a locating tab thereon.
A receiving mount is mounted to each end of the saw supporting arm. Each receiving mount includes a plurality of tab receiving depressions. Each tab receiving depression corresponds to a predetermined angle between the saw guide rods, and the work supporting surface of the bench. Further, each tab receiving depression is dimensioned for receiving the tab depending from the retaining mount therein.
Means are provided for securing the tab of the remaining mount in a user selected tab receiving depression in the receiving mount which, in turn, secures the saw guides at a predetermined angle to the work supporting surface of the bench.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawings furnished herewith illustrate a preferring construction of the present invention in which the above advantages and features are clearly disclosed as well as others which will be readily understood from the following description of the illustrated embodiment.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the compound miter box of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows an enlarged, front elevational view of a portion of the compound miter box of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of a portion of the compound miter box of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the compound miter box of the present invention taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged, front elevational view showing a portion of the compound miter box of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 6 is another enlarged, front elevational view showing a portion of the compound miter box of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, the compound miter box of the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. Miter box 10 includes a bench 12, and an arm 16 pivotally mounted to the underside 17 of bench 12.
Bench 12 includes a generally rectangular platform 20 having first 22 and second 24 ends interconnected by a semi-circular disc 21. Each end 22, 24 includes a first, rearward leg 26 and a second forward leg 28 depending therefrom.
Bench 12 further includes a vertical sidewall 30 extending from longitudinal edge of platform 20 at an angle perpendicular to the top surface 32 of platform 20. Sidewall 30 includes a V-shaped notch 34 centered therein in order to accommodate saw blade 36, as shown in FIG. 1, and allow horizontal reciprocal movement thereof, as well as vertical downward movement of blade 36 through a board or other workpiece being cut. The foregoing construction is typical of most miter boxes in common use today.
Referring to FIG. 4, arm 16 is pivotally mounted to platform 20 by a bolt 38 which extends downwardly through an aperture 40 in disc 21, and into threaded hole 42 in arm 16. Arm 16 is supported by bolt head 39 of bolt 38 which rides on a shoulder 41 formed in the interior of aperture 40 in disc 21. Aperture 40 in disc 21 is located centrally in bench 12 and is centered in the V-shaped notch 34 on a vertical line through which saw blade 36 passes in making a cut at any horizontal angle.
A plate 44 is sandwiched between arm 16 and the bottom surface 18 of disc 21 in order to secure plate 44 therebetween. Plate 44 includes a pair of upwardly extending pins 46, 48 received within guide slots 50 and 52, respectively, which extend upwardly from the bottom surface 18 or disc 21 toward the top surface 54 of disc 21. Pins 46 and 48 in guide slots 50 and 52, respectively, guide rotational movement of arm 16 about bolt 38 as hereinafter described.
A lever 56 is pivotally secured to the underside 58 of arm 16 by a leaf spring 60. Leaf spring 60 is interconnected to arm 16 by a bolt 62 which is threaded into a threaded hole 64 in arm 16 such that a first end 66 of leaf spring 60 is sandwiched between bolt head 68 of bolt 62 and the underside 58 of arm 16. Lever 56 is pivotable about a pin 70 which extends from lever 56 and is received within a corresponding concave recess 72 in the underside 58 of arm 16. Lever 56 further includes a flanged end 74 which includes a flange 76 which extends through an opening 80 in arm 16 and is biased by leaf spring 60 into a user selected retaining groove 82 in the bottom of disc 21 so as to prevent rotational movement of arm 16 about bolt 38.
Arm 16 further includes an indicator assembly 77 mounted thereto for indicating the angle between arm 16 and vertical sidewall 30. Indicator assembly 77 includes an angle indicator 79 which is mounted by a mounting screw 81 to arm 16 just radially outwardly of a shoulder 83 on the outer periphery of disc 21. Shoulder 83 is defined by a planar annular horizontally disposed surface 85 and an annular cylindrical vertically disposed surface 87.
Angle indicator 79 includes an upper flange 93 having a diameter large enough to overlay the planar annular horizontally disposed surface 85 on the radially outer edge of disc 21. A protractor (not shown) may be provided on the outer edge of disc 21 to indicate the angle to vertical sidewall 30. A pointer 95, FIG. 3, is placed on the upper surface of upper flange 93 thereby allowing the user to align pointer 95 with a user selected angle along the protractor on disc 21 in order to set the angle between arm 16 and vertical sidewall 30.
In order to prevent rotational movement of angle indicator 79 about mounting screw 81, a peg 97, depending from angle indicator 79, is received within an opening 99 in arm 16 which, in turn, accurately aligns pointer 95 to the protractor on the outer edge of disc 21.
In operation, free end 84 of leaf spring 60 biases flanged end 74 of lever 56 upwardly so as to urge flange 76 into a retaining groove 82 and maintain arm 16 at a predetermined angle with respect to vertical sidewall 30. Second end 86 of lever 56 may be pushed upward to pivot lever 56 on pin 70, thereby removing the flange 74 from retaining groove 82 against the bias of leaf spring 60. Once flange 76 of lever 56 is removed from retaining groove 82, arm 16 may rotate with bolt 38 as pins 46 and 48 of plate 44 follow guide slots 50 and 52 in disc 21. This allows the user to align pointer 95 with a selected angle on the protractor about the outer edge of disc 21 so as to position arm 16 with respect to sidewall 30. When arm 16 is positioned so as to form a user selected angle with respect to sidewall 30, second end 86 of lever 56 may be released such that leaf spring 60 urges flanged end 74 of lever 56 upwardly. A plurality of retaining grooves in the underside of plate 21 are provided to receive flange 76 therein to retain arm 16 at various, user selected angles to sidewall 30.
Each end 88 and 90 of arm 16 includes a pair of parallel, downwardly extending tubular recesses 89 and 91. Each recess 89, 91 is adapted for receiving a tubular support leg 92 and 94, respectively, depending from the lower surface 96 of a receiving mount 98a, 98b. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each receiving mount 98a, 98b is secured to arm 16 by a pair of bolts 100 which extend through apertures 101, 103 in each end 88, 90, respectively, of arm 16, and into threaded aperture 102 in tubular support leg 92 and into threaded aperture 104 in tubular support leg 94, respectively.
Referring to FIG. 1, saw 106 includes saw blade 36 which is guided by first 108 and second 110 pairs of spaced, parallel guide rods 112. Each guide rod 112 is retained in a retaining mount 114, FIG. 2. Each retaining mount 114 includes a first arcuate surface 116 which slides along a corresponding concave arcuate surface 118 in each receiving mount 98a, 98b. Each retaining mount 114 further includes a second arcuate surface 120 which forms a plurality of tabs 122. Tabs 122 engage and form a mating relationship with concave tab receiving depressions 124 formed in a second concave arcuate surface 126 on each receiving mount 98a, 98b.
In order to position the pairs 108, 110 of guide rods 112 at a user selected angle to bench 12, each tab 122 of each retaining mount 114 is aligned with a corresponding concave tab receiving depression 124 in each receiving mount 98a, 98b. The angle of the guide rods 112 to bench 12 is determined by turning each retaining mount 114 to a user's selected angle with respect to platform 20, and thereafter locking each retaining mount 114 to its corresponding receiving mount 98a, 98b.
As illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, each retaining mount 114 is locked on its corresponding receiving mount 98a, 98b by means of a bolt 128 which extends through a locating hole 130a-130e in each retaining mount 114 and is threaded into a threaded hole 132 in each receiving mount 98a, 98b. Each retaining mount 114 must be locked in its corresponding receiving mount 98a, 98b through the comparable locating hole 130a -130e in each receiving mount 98a, 98b. By way of example, with respect to mount 98a, FIG. 5, receiving bolt 128 extends through locating hole 130c in retaining mount 114, and into threaded hole 132 of receiving mount 98a, and, with respect to receiving mount 98b, bolt 128 must also extend through locating hole 130c in retaining mount 114, and into threaded hole 132 of receiving mount 98b in order for the guide rods 112 to be perpendicular to bench 12.
In order to change the angle formed between the pairs 108, 110 of guide rods 112 and bench 12, each bolt 128 is unthreaded from threaded hole 132 in each receiving mount 98a, 98b so as to allow each bolt 128 to be removed from the selected locating hole in each retaining mount 114. This, in turn, allows each retaining mount 114 to be turned to a predetermined angle, as previously described, and locked to its respective receiving mounts 98a and 98b.
Referring to FIG. 6, for example, each bolt 128 is inserted through hole 130a in each retaining mount 114, and thereafter threaded into threaded hole 132 in each receiving mount 98a, 98b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, support rods 112 deflect along with retaining mounts 114 to the left to form with bench 12 an angle of 45°.
Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention. | A compound miter box is provided wherein the saw guides are pivotable about a vertical and a horizontal axis. Each saw guide includes a retaining mount having a concave bearing surface defining a locating tab thereon. A saw supporting arm is pivotally mounted to the underside of the saw bench. The arm includes a plurality of tab receiving depressions therein. Each tab receiving depression corresponds to a predetermined angle between the saw guides and the saw bench. A user may then select and secure the locating tab in a tab receiving depression corresponding to the desired predetermined angle between the saw guides and the work supporting surface of the bench. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
Methods and arrangements for recovering a rare-earth phosphor from the sediment in the drain channels of a color-television tube screen-coating room.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The viewing screen of a color-picture tube is comprised of a plurality of regularly arranged groups of three round or line-like phosphor dots which, depending on the type of phosphor used, emit green, blue or red light, respectively, when bombarded by electrons. Each color is excited by one out of three electron guns contained in the picture tube.
In the most widely used method of making such color picture screens, the phosphors are applied to the screen photochemically. An aqueous suspension containing the phosphor to be applied and, as a photosensitive material, polyvinyl alcohol with ammonium bichromate, for example, is applied to the screen. A thin coating settles down, excess solution being removed by decanting and collected. From this solution, the phosphor is recovered by means of a centrifuge. The applied coating is dried and then exposed to light through a shadow mask having circular holes or an "aperture grille". In the exposed places, the polyvinyl alcohol becomes insoluble in water and binds the embedded phosphor at the surface of the screen. In the unexposed places, the coating is removed by rinsing, and the rinsing water with suspension dissolved therein is collected. This is done for each of the three colors. The phosphors are usually applied in the order green-blue-red, mostly using copper-activated zinc-cadmium sulfide for green, silver-activated zinc sulfide for blue, and an europium- or samarium-activated rare-earth oxysulfide, such as europium-activated yttrium oxysulfide, for red. In former years, use was also made of zinc selenides and zinc-cadmium selenides and of rare-earth oxides and vanadates.
Only a small portion of a phosphor is mounted on the screen by the exposure to light, while the greater portion is subsequently rinsed out again, so considerable amounts of phosphor are left as residues. As the ratio of the prices per kilogramme of the phosphors green, blue and red is approximately 1:0.5:10, there is a special interest in recovering at least the red phosphor. Since the red phosphor is deposited last, the rinsed-out red phosphor from the unexposed portion of the screen unavoidably includes portions of the previously deposited phosphors. To recover this red phosphor, a number of methods are known, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,040 and German Published Patent Application (DT-OS) No. 2,126,893.
Both in the centrifuge and with any of the above-mentioned methods of recovery, a certain percentage is lost by being carried off in the sewers. To this must be added the phosphor which is washed out from scrap faceplates and scrap envelopes. At the current production rates of color-picture tubes, therefore, so much sediment including red phosphor accumulates in the drain channels of a screen-coating room that, in view of the high price per kilogramme of the red phosphor, recovery from this sediment would be of great advantage. To our knowledge, this has never been done before.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the object of this invention is to prepare the sediment in the drain channels of a screen-coating room so as to allow the red phosphor to be recovered from the resulting final product by any of the known methods, such as that disclosed in DT-OS No. 2,126,893. The red rare-earth phosphor, unmixed or mixed with phosphor straight from the factory, is to be suitable for use in the manufacture of screens without incurring any loss of quality.
This object is achieved by the means set forth in the claims.
A feature of the present invention is the provision of a method of separating a red rare-earth phosphor of a color-television picture tube from the sediment in the drain channels of a screen-coating room, which sediment contains, in addition to various impurities, zinc-sulfide-base and zinc-cadmium-sulfide-base green and blue phosphors, characterized by the following steps: (a) removing coarse foreign matter by sieving; (b) washing out constituents soluble in water, such as polyvinyl alcohol, ammonium bichromate, etc.; (c) heating to approximately 450° C., thus volatilizing further organic constituents; (d) cooling down and pulverizing; (e) stirring into an aqueous ammonium-halide solution; (f) electrolysis during passage between graphite electrodes; (g) filtering off sulphur and cathode deposit; (h) collecting in a tank, allowing solid constituents to deposit, and decanting the liquid; (i) optionally repeating the steps c to h; and (k) carrying out one of the known methods of regenerating only slightly contaminated rare-earth phosphors.
In addition, the electrodes and the electrolyte are cooled during the electrolysis; the cooling takes place countercurrently; inactivation of the electrodes by deposition of phosphor, sulphur and cathode deposit is prevented by blowing air or nitrogen into the mixture of phosphor and ammonium-halide solution; and the air or the nitrogen is blown in countercurrently to the electrolyte; the ammonium halide is ammonium chloride;
A further feature of the present invention is an arrangement for separating a red rare-earth phosphor of a color television picture tube from sediment in the drain channels of a screen-coating room including electrolysis means comprising a longitudinally divided graphite tube incorporating material between the two tube halves, the tube halves serving as electrodes.
In addition, the longitudinally divided graphite tube is surrounded with cooling coils or a cooling jacket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. The single FIGURE of the drawing shows schematically one stage of the flow-electrolysis apparatus used in the method according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The washing, filtering, drying, and pulverizing equipment is of conventional design and its construction and operation is generally known, so it need not be shown and described here.
To remove any coarse foreign matter, the sediment from the drain channels of a screen-coating room is first passed through a sieve whose apertures are approximately 100 μm in diameter. Residues of ammonium bichromate, polyvinyl alcohol and other substances soluble in water are washed out, and the settling solid constituents are heated to approximately 450° C. in order to burn any organic constituents that may be left. After cooling, pulverization takes place, and the powder is mixed with an aqueous ammonium-halide solution. For example, 1 kg ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) is dissolved in 13 l of demineralized water, and 1 kg of the powder is mixed with this solution in a mixing vessel 1 by means of a stirrer 2.
This mixture then flows through an electrolysis apparatus. The chief component of this apparatus is a longitudinally divided graphite tube 3 whose halves 31 and 32, which are mechanically joined together again by means of insulating layers but are electrically isolated from each other, serve as electrodes. Instead of using a round, longitudinally divided graphite tube 3 of circular section, two graphite plates 31 and 32 may be joined together by means of insulating parts 33 to form a tube of rectangular section. A valve 4, e.g. a hose clamp, disposed behind the tube 3 allows the rate of flow through the tube 3 to be regulated. This flow rate is adjusted so that the above mixture flows through the electrolytic arrangement in about 4.5 hours at an electrode current of 9 to 14A, for example.
The graphite tube is surrounded by a cooling facility 5 which may be a cooling coil as shown in the figure, but also a cooling jacket, and is traversed by the cooling liquid, e.g. cooling water, countercurrently to the mixture in the tube 3. By means of a blow-in pipe 6, air or nitrogen is blown into the tube 3, also countercurrently to the mixture, to prevent the tube halves 31 and 32, which serve as electrodes, from becoming inactivated due to deposition of phosphor particles, sulphur, and cathode deposit.
After flowing through the valve 4, the electrolytic products pass through a sieve 7 whose apertures are about 30 μm in diameter and which separates the sulphur and the cathode deposit from the electrolytic products. The residue is collected in a collecting tank 8, the solid constituents 9 sinking to the bottom and being separable by decanting the supernatant liquid. The liquid 10 can be used for one or two additional, like electrolytic processes, while the solid constituents are washed, reheated to about 450° C., cooled down, and pulverized. The powder is then mixed again with an aqueous ammonium-halide solution according to the same recipe and subjected to an electrolytic process of the same kind. Either the same electrolysis arrangement may be passed through again, or a second, like arrangement may follow the first. After decanting, the ammonium-halide solution used in the second electrolysis may be reused, too.
The powder obtained after washing and drying is an almost pure red rare-earth phosphor whose impurity level is not higher than that of the red phosphor to be regenerated by known regenerating methods, such as the method disclosed in DT-OS No. 2,126,893, so that it can be processed by such a method and reused in the manufacture of screens, this being possible with and without addition of phosphor straight from the factory, without any deterioration in the quality of the screens. With the method according to the invention, approximately 95% of the red rare-earth phosphor contained in the sediment of the drain channels of a screen-coating room can be recovered.
Although the method according to the invention is much more expensive than the prior art methods of regenerating only slightly contaminated rare-earth phosphors, in view of the high price of such phosphors, their recovery from the sediment in the drain channels of a screen-coating room is economically worthwhile.
While certain specified steps and apparatus have been described above by way of specific embodiments, it would be appreciated that modifications can be made to that specifically disclosed and illustrated without departing from the scope of the appended claims. | A method and an arrangement for separating a red rare-earth phosphor of a color-television picture tube from the sediment in the drain channels of a screen-coating room, which sediment contains, in addition to various impurities, zinc-sulfide-base and zinc-cadmium-base green and blue phosphors. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to lubrication techniques, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for enhancing lubrication properties of an oil or grease containing chamber of the type suitable for supplying lubricant to bearings or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The need for providing continuous lubrication to bearings and other parts subject to frictional engagement with moving parts has long been recognized. Such need is particularly acute in those applications wherein the bearing is directly exposed to severe environments which cause rapid deterioration or wear to the bearing if not continuously lubricated.
Providing proper lubrication to a bearing can in many instances be achieved by simply packing the bearing with grease or oil, and providing one or more seals between the bearing and the external environment. This technique is generally adequate where the structure is not directly exposed to severe external or pressurized environments. However, in applications wherein a bearing seal is exposed to variable pressures such that the external environment pressure may exceed that of the internal lubricant chamber which supplies lubricant to the bearing, the probability of seal failure and consequent bearing damage significantly increases. Also, in applications wherein the protective bearing seal members are directly exposed to chemically abrasive environments, seal deterioration and consequent bearing failure is significantly accelerated.
In such applications, it is desirable to maintain a positive pressure differential between the inside of the lubricant containing chamber for the bearing and the external environment such that the lubricant pressure provides support for the bearing's protective seal against changing environmental back-pressures. Creating such a positive pressure differential across the protective seal also provides self-lubrication of the seal as lubricant seeps past the seal into the external environment, thus protectively coating the seal and shielding it from chemically abrasive external environments.
Various methods for implementing continuous-lubrication structures for addressing the above-described concerns are known in the art. However, in general, such prior art techniques have either been labor-intensive so as to require virtually continuous operator monitoring, or have been fairly complex and expensive and/or have required apparatus designed specifically for one particular lubrication application. For example, one way of providing a continuous positive pressure head to a lubrication chamber is to continuously add lubricant under pressure to the chamber during operative use. Such technique either requires continuous operator presence or automated lubricant-injection apparatus for injecting grease or other lubricant into the lubrication chamber. The problems associated with this approach are further complicated by the fact that the lubricant must often be pumped through small tubes over significant distances before reaching the remotely located lubricant reservoir. In cold weather the lubricant becomes stiff and unmanageable to accurately control.
Another technique for providing a lubrication with a positive pressure head has been to design self-lubricating chambers, generally configured to include a piston or spring-loaded biasing means associated with the chamber such that continuous or preprogrammed pressure is applied to the lubricant within the chamber so as to provide a positive pressure differential across the protective outer seal. Such structures, while performing the desired function, generally require designs that are specifically dedicated to the shape and configuration of each particular lubrication chamber and often require maintenance and lower the reliability of the entire structure. Besides, such structures are generally not practical for accurately maintaining pressure heads through long narrow tubes to remotely located reservoirs.
The present invention provides a simple and highly effective method and apparatus for maintaining a positive lubricant pressure head to a bearing or other structure requiring constant lubrication and to its associated protective seals. The present invention is applicable to lubrication chambers having varied types of lubricants (i.e., oil, grease, etc.), to lubrication chambers of virtually any shape, and can be readily adapted to existing lubrication chambers without costly retrofit expenses for parts or labor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for enhancing lubrication of parts subjected to potential exposure to severe environmental conditions. The present invention provides a simple, cost-effective and reliable method for maintaining a positive pressure lubricant supply to bearings and the like. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of pressurizing a sealed lubricant-containing reservoir comprising the steps of:
A. at least partially filling the reservoir with compressible memory retentive material;
B. adding lubricant to the reservoir; and
C. pressurizing the reservoir to a reservoir pressure so as to compress the memory retentive material, whereby as the reservoir pressure tends to decrease over time, the material expands to maintain the reservoir pressure. The step of pressurizing the reservoir may be performed by adding lubricant to the reservoir. According to one aspect of the invention, the memory retentive material comprises closed-celled foam material. The memory retentive material may assume various configurations ranging from a lining of the lubricant reservoir to randomly configured filling pieces such as spherical balls or the like.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of providing lubrication to a bearing apparatus of the type having a sealable lubricant reservoir operatively connected to provide lubrication to a bearing surface and at least one seal member for sealing the reservoir and protecting the bearing surface from an external environment, comprising the steps of:
A. at least partially filling the reservoir with closed-cell foam material;
B. adding lubricant to the reservoir; and
C. pressurizing the reservoir to a positive pressure relative to that of the external environment, wherein the lubricant is urged toward the bearing surface as the foam material expands.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a dynamically pressurized lubricant-providing apparatus comprising:
A. a lubricant-containing reservoir containing a pressurized internal chamber having an inlet port for accepting lubricant to the chamber and an outlet port arranged and configured to deliver lubricant from the chamber;
B. means for selectively sealing the inlet port;
C. seal means operatively connected at the outlet port for sealably closing the internal chamber to an external environment; and
D. compressible memory retentive material at least partially filling the internal chamber, wherein the foam material is compressible by lubricant within the chamber such that the material when compressed provides biasing pressure to lubricant within the chamber for maintaining a positive pressure differential across the seal means as measured from the inside of the internal chamber to the external environment.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a dynamically pressurized lubricating bearing apparatus for supporting a rotating shaft about a shaft axis, comprising:
A. a lubricant reservoir having an outer shell defining an enclosed internal cavity wherein the shell has a first port arranged and configured to enable a rotatable shaft to pass therethrough so as to extend from the internal cavity and through the first port to an external environment, and also an inlet port suitable for receiving lubricant into the internal cavity;
B. bearing means cooperatively mounted relative to the first port for rotatably supporting a shaft for rotation about its axis through the first port;
C. seal means operatively mounted at said first port and in cooperative engagement with the shaft for sealably closing the internal cavity about the shaft from the external environment and for protecting the bearing means from the external environment; and
D. compressible closed-cell foam means operatively disposed within the internal cavity for maintaining when compressed, pressure on lubricant within the internal cavity so as to create a positive pressure differential across the seal means as measured between the internal cavity and the external environment.
While the present invention will be described with respect to lubrication chambers of particular shapes and configurations, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to such chamber shapes. Similarly, while the invention will be described with respect to several preferred embodiments of compressible foam configurations, the invention is not to be limited to such preferred embodiments or even to the use of closed-celled foam material for the compressible memory retentive material. In like manner, while the invention will be described with respect to the use of grease or oil lubricants, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the principles of the invention are not limited to such lubricants but apply to lubricants in general. Further, while the invention is described herein with regard to its use with specific bearing members and for its use in association with rotatably supporting drive shafts, it will be appreciated that the principles of the invention are not confined to such applications. These and other modifications and applications of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the following description of preferred embodiments of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Referring to the Drawing, wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several views.
FIG. 1 is an exploded diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment of a bearing lubrication structure illustrating the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lubricating (structure of FIG. 1, generally taken along the Line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an exploded diagrammatic perspective view of a second embodiment of a bearing lubrication structure illustrating the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lubricating structure of FIG. 3, generally taken along the Line 4--4 of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmented view of a lubricant-containing chamber such as that of the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrating use of circularly shaped foam material pieces within the chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of a dynamically pressurized lubricant-providing apparatus is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The illustrated embodiment provides continual lubrication for a bearing member that supports a rotatable shaft. Such lubrication apparatus is used for example in waste pit or slurry pump and agitation apparatus wherein the lubrication unit is remotely located from the drive unit and is directly submerged within the acidic waste material. In such applications, the drive end of a shaft is typically enclosed within a protective housing and is protected from the external environment; however, the bearing structure located closest to the work-producing end of the shaft is generally directly exposed to the external environment. In operative use, such waste material can be highly corrosive and damaging to the seal and bearing portions of such apparatus, if not properly and continually lubricated during operative use. An example of apparatus that could employ the lubrication apparatus as disclosed in the preferred embodiments of this invention, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,687. To the extent that the general disclosures of such patent are applicable to a better understanding of an end use application for the present invention, such disclosures are herein incorporated by reference.
With reference to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, that portion of the apparatus located to the left of the figures will for convenience be referred to as the "front" portion of the assembly; whereas that portion of the apparatus located to the right of the figure will be disclosed as the "back" portion of the assembly. The front portion of the assembly is operatively connected to the primary drive means (not illustrated) which provides the rotative motive force for the drive shaft 10. A lubricant storage reservoir 12 is, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, configured to define a rectangular inner chamber or cavity 14 extending between a forward flange mounting plate 12a and a rear flange mounting plate 12b. A forward bearing plate 16 is configured for cooperative sealing mounting to the forward flange mounting plate 12a by appropriate securing means (not illustrated), and a rear bearing plate 18 is configured for sealing mounting engagement to the rear flange mounting plate 12b by appropriate securing means (not illustrated).
The forward and rear bearing plates 16 and 18 have circular apertures 16a and 18a respectively formed therein and coaxially aligned with one another along the longitudinal axis of the storage reservoir 12 so as to cooperatively accept the drive shaft 10 therethrough for rotatable motion, as hereinafter described in more detail.
The drive shaft 10 is rotatably supported by the forward bearing plate 16 by means of a forward bearing 20. The bearing 20 is directly mounted to the forward bearing plate 16 and is coaxially aligned with the circular aperture 16a of the forward bearing plate. In the preferred embodiment, a spacer collar member 22 is coaxially mounted to the shaft 10, forward of the bearing 20. In the preferred embodiment, an elongated tubular sealing enclosure (not illustrated) is secured to the forward bearing plate 16, protecting the bearing 20 and other elements located forward thereof along the drive shaft 10, from the external environment. Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment, the forward bearing 20 is not directly exposed to harmful external environments, and can be of a type which is permanently lubricated and has lifetime seals cooperatively engaging the drive shaft 10. Such bearings are well known in the art and need not be described in further detail herein. In the preferred embodiment, bearing 20 is of a type F3Y228E3 flanged bearing manufactured by Rexnord Corporation. The internal lip seals of the forward bearing 20 provide sealing closure for the forward end of the lubricant storage reservoir 12.
The rear end of the lubricant storage reservoir 12 is typically directly exposed to the external environment. In the applications in which the lubrication apparatus of the preferred embodiment are generally used, such external environments are abrasive and potentially damaging to bearing and seal members located at the rear end of the reservoir. The drive shaft 10 is supported at the rear end of the storage reservoir 12 by means of a rear bearing 24 that is directly mounted to the rear bearing plate 18 in coaxial alignment with the circular aperture 18a in the bearing plate. Such mounting axially places the entire bearing assembly within the inner cavity 14 of the lubricant storage reservoir 12 and enables direct lubrication of the bearing 24 by lubricant stored within the storage reservoir 12. When connected to the rear bearing plate 18, the axial aperture of the rear bearing 24 in cooperation with the circular aperture 18a of the rear bearing plate 18 cooperatively define an exit port from the inner cavity 14 through which the drive shaft 10 passes. In the preferred embodiment, the rear bearing 24 has a plurality of roller bearing members, generally illustrated at 24a which collectively define a bearing surface for rotatably supporting the shaft 10. The bearing 24 also has one or more one-way lip flanges, generally illustrated at 24b which cooperatively engage the outer surface of the drive shaft 10 and which yieldably retain lubricant within the storage reservoir 12. Both the roller bearing members 24a and the lip seals 24b are directly lubricated by lubricant within the lubricant storage reservoir 12. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the rear bearing 24 is a type FB22428H bearing manufactured by Rexnord Corporation. In the preferred embodiment, the rear bearing 24 has an additional grease fitting aperture (generally designated at 24c) formed through its outer housing for providing additional lubrication to the internal roller bearing surfaces.
Sealing of the rear portion of the lubricant storage reservoir 12 is completed by a pair of lip seal members 26 and 28 which are secured to a sleeve member 30 which is fixedly secured to the shaft 10. The lip seals 26 and 28 are slidably mounted on the sleeve 30 and are held in place by means of a seal retainer band 32. The entire outrigger seal assembly (26, 28, 30 and 32) is coaxially secured against the rear bearing plate 18 by means of an outer plate retainer 34, by appropriate securing fasteners (not illustrated). The lip retainer seals 26 and 28 provide the rearmost seal between the inner cavity 14 and the external environment.
Lubricant is introduced into the inner cavity 14 of the lubricant storage reservoir 12 through a lubricant input port 14a to which is connected a grease tube, generally designated at 15. The grease tube is in practice operatively connected to an appropriate source of grease or other lubricant (not illustrated) which can be selectively pumped into the inner cavity 14 when desired, to fill the cavity 14 with lubricant. Such grease or lubricant supply sources are well known in the art and will not be detailed herein.
Heretofore, in order to provide a continual positive lubricant pressure, relative to the external environment, within the inner cavity 14 of the storage reservoir 12, it was necessary to provide continual pressurized injection of grease or other lubricant into the inner cavity 14 by means of the lubricant supply line 15. Such action required continuous operator monitoring of the lubricant pressure within the inner cavity 14. Further, overlubrication of the internal cavity 14 could result in blown seals, thereby reducing the pressure within the internal cavity 14 to that of the external environment. In order to directly address this problem, the present invention provides for introducing a self-biasing memory retentive material directly within the internal cavity 14 of the lubricant storage reservoir 12. Such material is illustrated at 40 in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the biasing material is sized and configured from a plurality of rectangular pieces which cooperatively define an inner lining of the inner cavity of the lubricant storage reservoir 12. The material selected for the self-biasing feature is preferably a closed-celled foam material capable of being compressed when subjected to compressive force, but having a flexibility which restores the material to its original shape as the compressive force is reduced. In essence, the closed-celled foam material acts as a sheet spring to provide a biasing force back to the lubricant along its entire surface when compressed. Such biasing material could be, for example, elastomeric material falling within the general classification of a closed-celled foam material having the property of resilient compressibility such that release of compressive force applied to the foam material enables the material to re-expand to its original configuration. Obviously, proper selection of the particular foam material to be used in any application would depend upon the type of lubricant being used such that the foam material is chemically compatible with the lubricant and would not be subject to deterioration when exposed to such lubricant. Typical examples of such closed-celled foam materials that could be used are polystyrene and polyethylene.
In the preferred embodiment, a foam material is employed which compresses approximately 30% under an applied pressure of approximately 40 pounds per square inch. The typical desired pressure for the lubricant within the lubricant chamber 14 is in the range of 10 to 60 pounds. In a typical pumping or mixing application to which the reservoir assembly may be subjected, the back-pressure applied by the external environment would typically fall within the 6 to 12 pound range. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that these numbers are specific to the preferred embodiment being described, and that the invention is not to be limited by such ranges.
Similarly, the extent to which the inner cavity is filled by the foam material can significantly vary. For example, it may be desirable to fill the internal cavity from anywhere to 10% to 80% of the reservoir's capacity. Those skilled in the art will readily conceive of various combinations of lubricant pressure, percentage of cavity fill and density and types of foam materials that provide the optimum combination of parameters for the particular lubrication application at hand.
The principles of this invention are applicable to lubrication chambers of varied sizes and configurations, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. An example of a cylindrical such lubrication chamber with an accompanying cylindrically shaped reservoir closed-celled foam material liner is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Parts of comparable function in the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 3 and 4 are labeled by comparable numbers as their counterparts in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the addition of a prime designation. In comparing the structure of FIGS. 1, 2 with that of FIGS. 3, 4 it will be noted that the equivalent of the rear bearing plate 18 is not necessary in the FIGS. 3, 4 embodiment since the mounting flange of the rear bearing 24' directly performs the closure function for closing the open end of the cylindrical internal chamber 14'.
It will be appreciated, that the compressive material need not be limited to configurations which define liner members for the inner cavity of the lubrication reservoir. Such filler materials for the lubricant storage reservoir could assume any configuration and shape and could represent any number of pieces. As an example, FIG. 5 illustrates a lubricant storage reservoir generally of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the foam lining material 40 has been replaced by a plurality of spherical foam members which randomly fill the volume of the inner cavity 14 to the desired degree.
With reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the solid peripheral outline of the variously configured foam members 40, 40', and 50 respectively represents the shape that the foam member would assume in its compressed form when under pressure by lubricant within the inner cavity 14. The dashed lines peripherally located adjacent the solid lines of the foam filler material represent the shape that such foam components would assume when lubricant pressure is removed therefrom. Obviously, as lubricant leaves the inner cavity 14 by reason of seepage through the lip seals of the rear bearing 24 and through the outrigger seal members 26 and 28, the foam material will gradually expand back to its original shape, and in the process apply uniform compressive force to the lubricant within the inner cavity 14 so as to maintain a positive pressure differential between the inner cavity and the external environment. Such uniform positive pressure differential ensures protection of the bearing surfaces of the rear bearing 24 and helps to maintain the integrity of the seals within the rear bearing 24 and the outrigger lip seals. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the amount of foam material to be used within the inner cavity and the type thereof will be designed so as to maximize the interval between recharging of the inner cavity by lubricant through the lubricant supply tube, since such interval frees an operator of the apparatus who would otherwise be required to continually monitor the application of lubricant to the lubricant storage reservoir.
Other modifications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing descriptions. These descriptions are intended to provide specific examples of embodiments which clearly disclose the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the described embodiments or to the use of specific elements, dimensions, materials or configurations contained therein. All alternative modifications and variations of the present invention which fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims are covered. | A method and apparatus for applying continuous uniform pressure to lubricant within a lubricant reservoir are disclosed. Memory retentive material, when inserted within a lubricant reservoir, compresses when initially subjected to lubricant pressure and later expands back to its original shape as lubricant seeps from the reservoir, thereby applying pressure to the lubricant to maintain constant lubricant pressure within the reservoir. | 5 |
[0001] This application claims benefit of Serial No. TO 2010 A 000436, filed 25 May 2010 in Italy and which application is incorporated herein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention finds itself in the field of equipments for the realization of bored piles realized through a battery of telescopic rods, known in the field as kelly, with related excavation and handling tool through a drilling rotary table.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention originates from the study of drilling equipments which are designed for a use in low spaces (under bridges, under buildings and existing structures and so on) where there is the need of reaching elevated excavation depths keeping the height encumbrances limited.
[0004] Patent DE19626223 describes a drilling system with telescopic kelly rod containing retaining devices which lock the rod when moving radially. This movement is due to the axial translation and can be unlocked rising in closure the kelly rod.
[0005] Patent EP0947664 describes method and equipment related to a weight measuring system of the kelly for the control of the correct opening sequence of the removals of the various elements of which the kelly is constituted. During the ascent steps, when the rods in lifting are withdrawn, it is possible that two or more rod elements can get caught and this can cause the falling of the not retained elements.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,964A describes a ground mixing equipment provided with variable articulation which permits to orient of the drilling battery along the two main planes. The battery is constituted by a tool and a rod, in particular the rod can be of telescopic type, that is a kelly which is moved by a traction winch and a thrust device, still of winch type which permits the driving of the tool in the ground.
[0007] A characteristic which combines the equipments of the above mentioned three patents consists in the fact that the respective rotary table have an inner passage through which pass all the elements of which the kelly is constituted.
[0008] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,964A, in particular, once lifted, the rod occupies all the space over the rotary table and the tower mast of the crane must be opportunely sized in length, for limiting this encumbrance.
[0009] It is now described the method of use of these equipments, which represents the prior art.
[0010] As shown in FIG. 1 , a rotary table 1 , sliding along a tower 2 mounted on an operating machine 3 generally tracked, puts into rotation a telescopic rod with many removals 4 , commonly known as kelly, to which is fixed the excavation tool, which is normally a bucket or a drill 5 .
[0011] The rotary table itself is also moved along the drilling mast by suitable elements, such as hydraulic jacks 6 or rope winches (not shown in figure) which exert the extraction traction and the penetration thrust on the batteries.
[0012] A rod guiding head 31 , sliding on the guides of the drilling mast, generally the same which guide the rotary carriage, keeps the kelly in position on the excavation axis being fixed to the most outer rod. An interface bearing (not shown) between guiding head 31 and the outer rod permits to the kelly to freely rotate and to transfer to the guiding head the movements exerted through the rotary table.
[0013] Therefore, the rotary table transmits to the kelly both a rotational and a vertical translation movement. Under the action of the rotary table, the excavation tool, initially leaned against the field-plane, penetrates into the ground and loads the excavated ground. When the tool is full of ground, the operating machine stops the rotation and impresses to the rods and to the tool an upward movement such as to disengage the tool from the hole just realized.
[0014] Once the tool is again outside of the hole, through the rotation of the turret, the machine arranges it in a zone away from the excavation for discharging it of the excavated and accumulated ground. The discharge of the ground from the tool occurs with different modalities according to the use of a bucket or a drill.
[0015] When the bucket is used, a spring striker strikes against a suitable flange and opens the base or the walls of the bucket. The ground excavated and accumulated inside the bucket is instantly released on the ground. With the drill, on the other hand, the machine sets a strong and the most possible speedy counter-rotation to the tool through the rotary table forcing the excavated material, which has been accumulated between the spires, to a sudden outward centrifugation. In both the cases, the element which connects the rotary and the excavation tool is the same telescopic kelly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The detailed functioning of a telescopic rod of the mechanic locking type of known type is shown in the following figures:
[0017] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of a known telescopic rod in extended/open condition;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a partial section of a displaceable element of a known telescopic rod;
[0019] FIG. 4 is the section according to the section IV-IV of the displaceable element of FIG. 3 ;
[0020] FIG. 5 is the section according to section V-V of the displaceable element of FIG. 3 ;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a lateral view partially sectioned of a inner rod element of a telescopic kelly of known type;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a lateral view of the mounting of a known kelly on the drilling mast.
[0023] The equipment according to some of the embodiments of the present invention is shown in the following figures:
[0024] FIG. 8 is a partially sectioned lateral view of a kelly according to the invention in a first f embodiment wherein the kelly is partially passing inside the rotary;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a lateral view of the equipment of FIG. 8 in configuration of minimum encumbrance;
[0026] FIG. 10 is a lateral view of a traditional kelly in configuration completely extended/open;
[0027] FIG. 11 is a lateral view of a kelly according to the invention in configuration completely extended/open;
[0028] FIG. 12 is a lateral view of a first variant of the equipment of FIG. 8 ;
[0029] FIG. 13 is a lateral view of a second variant of the equipment of FIG. 8 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] Telescopic rod (kelly) 7 of known type appears as a series of coaxial tubes (generally from 2 to 6 ). Each one is provided with means, called strips 26 , adapted for the transmission of the torque between two adjacent tubes for mechanic striking between the element which transmits the movement and the one that receives it.
[0031] The most outer tube 7 a, the one with higher diameter and conventionally called “outer rod”, is directly inserted in grooved sleeve 8 of rotary table from which it receives torque and thrust through strips 26 and related mechanical joints 24 A and 24 B. In cascade, the outer rod transmits torque and thrust to the most inner rods 7 b - 7 c up to reach the rod with the smallest diameter called “inner rod” 9 under which it is fixed drilling tool 5 .
[0032] With reference to FIG. 3 strips 26 of each rod raised with respect to the shaft, receive the torque from the rod with higher diameter whereas a grooved terminal 22 of limited length, generally less than a meter, transmits the torque to the rod of lower diameter, with the same jointing modality. On the outer diameter exist also joint zones 23 wherein it is locked the terminal of the upper rod in such a way as to transmit to the whole battery the thrust and the traction of designed elements 6 which connect rotary table 1 to tower 2 .
[0033] With reference to FIG. 6 extraction rope 10 is connected to inner rod 9 through a rotating joint positioned for preventing the rope to wind on itself during the rotation, of the battery of kelly rods. The rope then passes through all the rods during their related movement, when the telescopic kelly is wide open.
[0034] A circular flange 12 of size similar to the diameter of the outer rod is connected to the lower part of inner rod 9 , right over the tool joint. This flange has the function of closing again the battery of telescopic rods. By operating the main lifting winch 30 (see FIG. 1 ), rope 10 pulls upwards inner rod 9 which through flange 12 drags with it all the other rods 7 a / 7 b which progressively meets during the ascent. The flange 12 can be provided with a damping system 13 for dampening the solicitations due to the contact with the rods.
[0035] With reference to FIG. 7 rotary table 1 within which passes outer rod 7 a, has traction/thrust elements 6 which, independently from the position and the removal condition of the rod itself, lift or drive the battery. Pulling on rope 10 , fixed to rotating element 11 on the top of inner rod 9 , the rods pack one into the other up to reach the minimal encumbrance m. By releasing the rope itself, owing to the weight of the displaceable elements, the rods displace inside the hole up to reach their maximum extension, coincident with the maximum depth of the hole.
[0036] It has been described the functioning of a “mechanical locking” kelly wherein the transmission of the thrust between rotary and kelly and between one rod and the other occurs for mechanical striking. There are also kelly so-called “friction kelly” wherein the strips are smooth and do not have mechanical joints ( 24 A and 24 B) and whose displaceable elements transmit the thrust by means of the friction which generates between the strips in contact. The present invention can be used indistinctly in both the solutions.
[0037] It is known that the maximum length which the battery can assume in all displaceable condition is given approximately by the length of the battery closed for the number of rods (or removals) which compose it, to which nearly 0.8 meters of minimum superimposition must be detracted between a rod and another (terminal 22 FIG. 3 ). For example a battery of 10 m formed by five rods will have a maximum extension of:
[0038] Max. depth=(10 m×5)−(0.8 m×(5−1))=46.9 m
[0039] The excavation depth limit is therefore determined by the length of the battery, directly proportional to the height of the tower and by the number of removals, also depending on two factors, apparently inconsistent. The outer rod must have the smallest diameter possible, for passing inside the grooved rotary tubes of sizes generally limited, whereas the inner rod should have the biggest diameter possible for ensuring a considerable torque transmission which otherwise should be limited.
[0040] Practically, the sum of these factors presently limits the field of application of telescopic rods at a maximum depth of nearly 100 m (obtained with 5 removals), with torques limited to 500 kNm. However, this solution for encumbrances, performances and weights is certainly “exaggerated” and finds few possibilities of application, apart from machines with high weight and sizes.
[0041] As from the above mentioned patents, all the solutions shown as prior art show a kelly passing through the rotary table. For increasing the depth of the excavation on solutions of this type, once the inner saturation is reached (having inserted as many removals as possible) and the maximum compromise acceptable on the inner size of the rod which cannot be smaller than a determined value is obtained (otherwise it could not transmit the necessary excavation forces: torque and thrust), the only possibility left is the one of increasing the sizes of the inner passage of the rotary table.
[0042] This approach produces a double problem: the first relates to the dimensions of the rotary table which are increased and consequently, other than the higher encumbrances, an increase of expenses and weights will be caused. The second aspect is that the rotary table itself must necessarily be different losing then the economic and logistic advantages of the standardization.
[0043] These problems, in case of height limited encumbrances, are again exasperated because the lengths of the displaceable elements must necessarily be reduced for entering again in the required sizes. The direct effect of this reduction is a depth loss (as results from the previously shown formula) and can be at least partially retrieved with the increase of the number of removals.
[0044] This causes an increase of the inner sizes of the rotary table, even higher than the preceding case.
[0045] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome these depth limits which characterize the battery of traditional telescopic rods with the possibility of using standard rotary table, without using rotary table with an increased passage, and without applying modifications on the drilling mast of the drilling machine.
[0046] For reaching these and other purposes which will be better understood in the followings, the invention proposes to realize a half-passing excavation equipment for the realization of piles.
[0047] The object of the present invention provides for using a kelly called half-passing composed by two batteries of rods (see first of all FIG. 8 ); to a common battery of traditional telescopic rods 7 , is added a second battery of telescopic rods 19 concentric to the preceding one and having a radial encumbrance higher than the inner passage of rotary table 1 .
[0048] Inner rod 21 , through its strips 26 of “locking” or “friction” type previously seen with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 , transmits the torque and the thrust to outer rod 7 a of the battery of traditional rods 7 .
[0049] Outer rod 7 a of the traditional kelly can be without striking flange 18 in its top the (see FIG. 2 ) provided in turn with a suitable elastic element (rubber or spring pad).
[0050] The traditional kelly can be also used removing the most outer rod 7 a and leaving the other inner elements as parts mounted in the claimed solution, when for example striking flange 18 is not of a type that can be disassembled from the most outer rod.
[0051] The outer rod of bigger diameter 20 of battery 19 is fixed to the rotary table through a “screws-socket” mechanical coupling 17 to a “dragger” 16 having shape of flanged body which contains outer rod and is fixed or welded directly on the bottom portion of rod dragging tube 8 a, which receives the movement from the gears of rotary table 1 and can be preferably cylindrical (that is smooth, free from strips).
[0052] If the tube were of the strip standard type, there would still be a problem of insertion of the most outer rod 7 a of the traditional kelly, during the reentering operation (closing of the kelly).
[0053] As a matter of fact, for obtaining the alignment between the strips of tube 8 a and the ones between rods 21 and 7 a in the pin, it would be necessary to rotate the kelly for helping the entering.
[0054] The modification of the interface could then be limited to the right conformation to give to tube 8 a.
[0055] Outer rod 20 of battery 19 in proximity of its lowest portion, can be shaped with a bigger diameter 20 in such a way as to have a lower plane face to be used as striking element to the pusher 34 which controls the opening of bucket 38 (or 5 ).
[0056] In short, this innovation gives the opportunity to add to a traditional telescopic rod, another telescopic rod of bigger diameter sizes, slightly shorter because flanged under the rotary table 1 , but such that as to considerably increase the number of removals of the traditional one. With reference to FIG. 9 rope 10 of lifting/closing battery lies fixed to rotating element 11 of inner rod 9 , which brings as usually a “collecting” flange 12 a of diameter similar to the one of outer rod 20 thus permitting the dragging of all the rods when the rope of winch 30 is wounded. Encumbrance height m with lifted/closed battery (see FIG. 9 ) is not sensibly different from the one of a traditional kelly (height m of FIG. 7 ) and can even be advantageously reduced according to added displacement elements 19 which compensate for the length for reaching the same depths.
[0057] With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 , it can be noticed that the half-passing kelly, being able to rely on a higher number of removals, permits to the tool to realize a hole with a depth considerably higher than the one that can be realized with the traditional kelly having the same closing length m.
[0058] With reference to FIG. 10 , height P 1 represents the maximum depth that can be realized with traditional telescopic rod 7 removed, measured under rotary table 1 .
[0059] With reference to FIG. 11 height Q 1 represents the increase of the height due to the presence of added telescopic rod 19 under glass 16 of rotary table 1 . For quantifying this value, if we define as t the length of each removal of the “half-passing” kelly and as N the number of removals (three are the ones shown in FIG. 11 ), we can state that:
[0060] Q 1 =(t×N)−(0.8 m×(N−1))
[0061] In the object of the present invention, the limit within which removals can be added, is shown, further than by the lifting and stability capabilities of the operating machine, uniquely by the diameter of the outer rod 20 which should have a diameter smaller than the excavation tool because this rod is adapted for penetrating for some meters into the excavation realized once the depth comes near to the maximum reachable one.
[0062] Alternatively, it is however possible to realize a so called “telescopic” drilling where the first part of the hole has a higher diameter and with the depth, at successive steps, it is reduced the excavation size up to the required one, thus permitting to operate with rod diameters 20 even higher.
[0063] On the contrary, the outer rod could be provided with excavation means and/or wear-resistant plates for penetrating into the ground for all the necessary length.
[0064] With reference to FIG. 12 it is shown a first variant wherein it is added a lower guide 32 which permits to keep aligned the kelly on the excavation axis. Guide 32 can slide along drilling mast 2 on guides 33 and coupled to the outer element of rod 20 presents itself as a sleeve provided then with a smooth cylindrical hole.
[0065] This guide can be fixed or variable in height and movable by the kelly rod or by an outer positioning system constrained to it, with striking on drilling mast 2 , not shown.
[0066] The guide can also be of traditional type openable on the front side for permitting the mounting of the battery.
[0067] The guide is preferably mounted on the lower side because for all the drilling the kelly remains guided. If the guide was mounted upperly (as in the solution shown in FIG. 1 ) the kelly would be guided only for a minimum part of the excavation, the one related to the very first drilling meters, with a huge drawback.
[0068] With reference to FIG. 13 , it is shown a second variant wherein it is added a predisposition for the tubing flange. In some drillings it can be required the insertion of a foreshaft (tube of diameter sizes higher than the ones of the tool and of length very reduced 4-6 m) or the tubing for more elevated depths. Traditionally, the tubing flange is directly connected to tube 8 a and has a cylindrical tract, called “glass” which has a length of 1 or 2 m. According to this invention, on the other hand, if the tubing flange were directly dragged by tube 8 a, it could have considerably high glass sizes because the length of rod 19 implies another encumbrance which there is not in the traditional solution. This would have an impact on weights and expenses.
[0069] However, taking advantage of the presence and the wide sizes of the most outer rod 20 , it is now possible to drag the tube to be driven, connecting directly to the lowest ending zone, near projection 20 A.
[0070] In this way, it can be used an outer rod which permits the transfer of the maximum torque and thrust present (differently from a solution on inner rod which has certainly limitations due to the lower sizes) and also, considering the higher sizes of outer tube 20 with respect to standard one 7 a, to increase the torque with a suitable gear state positioned between the rotary table and the outer kelly, which permits then to drive the tube at a higher height.
[0071] As indicated in FIG. 13 , in the projecting zone wherein there is flange 20 a there are obtained cylindrical seats 37 which opportunely ribbed and angularly distributed, represent the striking seats for the dragging of tube 35 to be driven.
[0072] Pin systems 36 or mechanical equivalents, manually or automatically operated, can be inserted for the temporary fastening between the tube and dragging element 20 .
[0073] The mechanical dragging systems between rotary table and kelly and the ones between kelly and the tube to be driven, can be conformed in an equivalent way and with shapes known in the field.
[0074] In particular, the transmission of the movements between “dragger” 16 and the element of outer rod 20 can be realized with devices such as the ones indicated in the above mentioned patents EP208567A1, EP1860275A1, EP1849956A1 or with direct hooking systems with thread, hexagon and all the equivalent ones.
[0075] The control of insertion of striking element 17 can be of manual type or remotely commanded.
[0076] The remote actuation can be of hydraulic, electric or pneumatic type.
[0077] In particular, the last one has the advantage of a simple installation because on rotating part 16 can find a housing a rechargeable compressed air storage tank, which through a suitable control can be operated for generating the forces necessary to the fastening system.
[0078] During the assembly steps, the rotary table is positioned in the highest reachable point of the drilling mast (which coincides with the top in case of winch traction/thrust of the rotary table) and at least additional telescopic kelly 19 can be mounted from the bottom. In this case, the introduction of the kelly with respect to the “dragger” could automatically trigger the leverages which permit the introduction of the locking devices between the two elements (as stated by the patent DE19626223).
[0079] Alternatively, the kelly, moving axially (during the introduction in “dragger” 16 ) presses on a device which actuates the power plant (for example the previously described pneumatic one) which inserts the striking and fastening elements between element 16 and most outer rod 20 .
[0080] As additional variant, it is also possible to realize an at least temporary coupling of “bayonet” type which hooks the “dragger” to outer rod 20 and with low rotary, the final fastening shall be eventually done with elements manually insertable.
[0081] It is clear that further modifications that can be applied to the described device do not alter the innovative characteristic of the invention. It is for example possible to disassemble all kelly rods 7 and add the only battery 19 wholly outwards, connecting most inner rod 21 to lifting rope 10 , thus permitting a reduction of height encumbrances still higher.
[0082] Another possible variant can be represented by a length modification of passing kelly 7 , which could be reduced and lies all under the rotary table too. In this case the depth reduction, if required, could be retrieved by increasing the outer removals of battery 19 .
[0083] The innovation proposed permits to increase the depth reachable with existing drilling machines, without extending the drilling mast, without changing the rotary table nor other main systems.
[0084] The innovation proposes itself as reversible modification, which does not affect, in a successive step, the return to the traditional structure.
[0085] Given the same encumbrance length it permits to increase the depth as required in the low drillings.
[0086] The transmission of the torque to the tube to be driven is simplified and improved in terms of performances. | A kelly for the realization of bored piles, has a battery of rods ( 7, 19 ) displaceably inserted the one into the other and wherein the most inner one ( 9 ) supports an excavation tool ( 5 ); a rotary table ( 1 ), vertically sliding along the drilling mast ( 2 ) of the operating machine ( 3 ) which bears the kelly, is provided with a rotator ( 8 a) adapted for putting into rotation the battery of rods ( 7, 19 ) around its longitudinal axis; a device ( 10 ) adapted for displacing and recompacting the rods of the battery and a motor( 6 ) adapted for exerting a traction and a thrust on the rods during the excavation are also provided At least part of the rods ( 19 ) of the battery is entirely positioned under the rotary table ( 1 ) by which it is put in rotation. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a selector device for a character-carrying element of printing machines, in particular for typewriters, comprising a selector motor for rotating the charactercarrying element in two directions.
In one known selector device, the selector motor is coaxial with the strobe disc and with the character-carrying disc. That arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that it requires a selector motor which is accurate and capable of producing a high drive torque. The motor is therefore cumbersome and of rather substantial cost.
Also known are portable printing machines or typewriters which use a character-carrying element of the daisywheel type and in which the movement of the selector motor is transmitted to the daisywheel by means of a coupling arrangement as between a pinion and two toothed wheels which are disposed in side-by-side and coaxial relationship, of the type referred to as `play-free`. The absence of play or clearance is achieved by the effect of a spring which is interposed between the two toothed wheels which are engaged with the teeth of the pinion. A coupling arrangement of that type is rather noisy and is not suitable for transmitting movement to the character-carrying element of the medium-spaced printing machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a selector device which is simple, compact and economical and which also permits quick and silent positioning of the character-carrying element.
The object is met by the selector device according to the invention, which comprises a pinion-gear coupling arrangement between the selector motor and the character-carrying element and a device for taking up the radial clearances of the pinion and the gear of the coupling arrangement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
A preferred embodiment of the invention is set forth in the following description which is given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal view of part of a printing machine on which the selector device according to the invention is mounted,
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal view of part of the device shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a view of part of the device of FIG. 2,
FIG. 4 shows a partly sectional longitudinal view of the FIG. 2 structure,
FIG. 5 is a logic block diagram of a control unit for controlling the machine shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 6 shows a detail on an enlarged scale of the device shown in FIG. 2, and
FIG. 7 shows an element for comparison in respect of the detail shown in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, a selector device according to the invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 and is applied to a printing machine comprising a platen roller 11, a carriage 12 which is movable on a cylindrical guide 13 parallel to the platen roller 11, and a print hammer or striker 16. The carriage 12 comprises two side members 20 and 21 which are parallel to each other and orthogonal to the axis of the guide 13. The translatory movement of the carriage 12 in front of the platen roller 11 is controlled by a motor (not shown in the drawing), by means of a belt 18 which is connected to the side members 20 and 21 of the carriage.
A frame 22 which is disposed between the side members 20 and 21 of the carriage 12 is of such a configuration as to provide two side members 25 and a plate 27 wihch is parallel to the platen roller 11 and on which the printing hammer 16 and the selector device 10 are mounted. The side members 25 of the frame 22 are fixed to two bushes 28 mounted coaxially with the cylindrical guide 13 within the side members 20 and 21 of the carriage 12. In that way the frame 22 is pivoted with respect to the guide 13 and follows the movements of the carriage 12 in front of the platen roller 11. Only one bush 28 and one side member 25 can be seen in the drawing.
The plate 27 of the frame 22 is provided with two side limbs 30 (only one can be seen in the drawing) which each co-operate with a shoulder 33 provided on each side member 20 and 21 of the carriage 12. The shoulders 33, by co-operating with the limbs 30, limit to about 16° the rotary movement that the frame 22 can perform with respect to the cylindrical guide 13.
A mechanism 40 comprises a manually actuable bridge lever 41 and is capable of controlling the inclination of the frame 22. In particular the lever 41 comprises two side arms 42 (only one can be seen in the drawing) which are parallel to the side members 20 and 21 and a transverse portion 44 which is of such a configuration as to define a recess 45 in which the operator can press with the fingers of the hand to move the lever 41 towards the platen roller 11 or to pull it away therefrom. The two arms 42 of the lever 41 are each pivoted on a pin 46 fixed to the side member 20, 21 of the carriage 12 and each arm 42 has a slot 48 with which a peg 51 on the frame 22 co-operates. Each slot 48 is of such a configuration that a clockwise rotary movement of the lever 41 produces a similar clockwise rotary movement of the frame 22.
A tray 60 of plastics material is disposed substantially vertically between the frame 22 and the platen roller 11. The tray 60 is of a substantially parallelepipedic shape and has a top opening 61 through which a character-carrying `daisywheel` disc 70 of known type can be fitted, being for example of the type described in published European patent application No. EP 0 118 277.
In particular, the disc comprises a central hub 71 and a plurality of radial flexible spokes 77 at the end of each of which is disposed a raised print character 78. Provided in a cylindrical portion 72 of the hub 71 are coupling means 73 which are capable of coupling with corresponding coupling means 74 provided on the front of a flange 75 which is fixed on a shaft 76 of the selector device 10. A handle or gripping means 80 having a front wall portion 81 is fixed on a front surface 82 of the central hub 71.
The tray 60 is provided at its bottom at the sides thereof with two projections 84, only one of which can be seen in the drawing. The projections 84 are each pivoted on a pin 86 on the frame 22. Also provided in the two side portions 88 of the tray 60 are two slots 90 (only one of which can be seen in the drawing), with which two pins 92 (only one can be seen in the drawing) on the carriage 12 co-operate. The slots 90 are of such a configuration that, corresponding to a clockwise rotary movement of the frame 22 is a substantially vertical lift movement of the tray 60, combined with a slight rotary movement in the clockwise direction of the tray 60. The tray 60 is further provided on a rear wall portion 95 thereof with a semicyclindrical recess 96 against which the character-carrying disc 70 can bear by means of the cylindrical portion 72 thereof during the insertion phase. A lever 103 is pivoted on a lower lug 101 on the tray 60 and at its upper end 104 carries an element 105 capable of co-operating with the wall portion 81 of the gripping means 80 of the charactercarrying disc 70.
The lever 103 is urged constantly towards a wall portion 98 of the tray 60 by a spring 106 formed by a steel rod whose ends are hooked on to two vertical lugs 108, only one of which is visible but which are disposed at the sides of the horizontal rib 100. The lever 103 is provided with two guide lugs 110 and 111 which co-operate with the rib 100 on the front wall portion 98 of the tray 60.
The mode of operation of the above-described arrangement is substantially the same as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,868 assigned to Ing. C. Olivetti & C., S.p.A.
and which therefore has been partially described and illustrated in the drawing in order more clearly to set forth the aims of the selector device 10 according to the invention.
The selector device 10 (see FIG. 2) comprises a casing 121 housing the shaft 76, a stroke or synchronisation disc 122 and a gear 123. The casing 121 is fixed to the plate 27 in known manner, for example by means of screws which are not shown in the drawing.
The shaft 76 is rotatable on two spherical bushes 124 and 126, one of which is mounted in a seat or opening 127 in a sleeve member 128 of a cover 129 of the casing 121 while the second is mounted in a seat or opening 131 of the casing 121.
The end of the shaft 76 which projects from the bush 126 at the opposite end with respect to the region in which it is fixed to the flange 75 normally bears against a ball 132 received in a conical seat 133 in the casing 121. The ball 132 is to perform a thrust bearing function to compensate for the force of the spring 106 (see FIG. 1) which, by means of the lever 103 and the element 105, presses against the flange 75 fixed to the end of the shaft 76 when the arrangement is assembled as shown in FIG. 1.
The gear 123 (see FIG. 2) is mounted fixedly on a sleeve 134 on the strobe disc 122, which in turn is fixed on the shaft 76. Therefore the shaft 76 is fixed in respect of rotary movement to the flange 75, the strobe disc 122 and the gear 123.
A d.c. selector motor 136 has a rotor with a shaft 142 on which is fixed a pinion 143 which is arranged to be engaged with the teeth of the gear 123, and a stator which is mounted in such a way that it can swing on the casing 121 by means of two pins 137 (see FIG. 3) and 138. The pin 137 is fixed on a support 139 of the casing 121 while the pin 138 is adjustable and rotatable on a support 141 of the casing 121 for adjusting the position of the motor 136 on the casing 121, the motor 136 being rotatable about the pins 137 and 138.
A spring 144 which is fitted between a lug 146 on the motor 136 and a lug 147 (see FIG. 2) on the plate 27 causes the motor 136 to tilt in the anticlockwise direction and therefore holds the pinion 143 always in engagement and in mesh with the gear 123, without radial clearances or play between the two gears.
The teeth of the gear 123 and the pinion 143 have been designed with a particular arrangement such as to permit the clearances or play between the teeth of the two gears always to be taken up by virtue of the action of the spring 144, even in the event of wear on the teeth themselves.
As is known, in standardised tooth configurations (see FIG. 7), a tooth of a height H comprises an addendum, that is to say the part which is between the pitch circle and the tip of the tooth, which is equal to m, and a dedendum, that is to say the part between the base of the tooth and the pitch circle, which is equal to 7/6 m. The complete height is thus: H=m+7/6m, that is to say the sum of the modulus plus seven sixths of the modulus, wherein the modulus `m` denotes the ratio between the pitch circle diameter represented by the dash-dotted line in FIG. 7, and the number z of teeth of the gear, that is to say: m=dp/z.
In the case of the teeth on the pinion 143 (see FIG. 6) and the gear 123, the addendum according to the invention is in this case a fraction of the modulus and is always smaller by about 1/10 than the value of the modulus, while the dedendum retains its value which is equal to seven sixths of the modulus. Therefore the value of H is reduced by at least 1/10 m with respect to the standardised value. In addition, between the tip of a tooth 163 and the base between two opposite teeth 164 and 165 there is always a gap which is greater than that prescribed in meshing between standardised teeth. That ensures that the teeth of the two gears 123 and 143 will always operate with the side of the teeth and there will no longer be engagement between the tip of the tooth and the base of the tooth, even with a substantial degree of water. The foregoing can be clearly seen from FIG. 6 in which, with the addendum reduced in both of the gears, there is a clearly visible gap between the tip and the base of the meshing teeth.
The strobe disc 122 (see FIG. 4) has a series of holes or slots 151 which are disposed adjacent to the circumference and co-operates with an optical transducer 152 comprising a lighting means 153 and a photodetector 154 which are disposed on opposite sides with respect to the path of movement of the slots 151. during the rotary movement of the shaft 76 and thus the strobe disc 122, the optical transducer 152 signals the clockwise and anticlockwise rotary movements of the strobe disc 122 to an input-output unit 156.
The input-output unit 156 (see FIG. 5) is connected to a central unit 157 which can receive information and data from keyboards 158, from various memories 159 comprising for example ROM and RAM, and from processors 161. The central unit 157 processes the data and by means of the information from the optical transducer 152 controls clockwise or anticlockwise rotary movements of the d.c. motor 136 which, by rotating in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, positions the selected character 78 (see FIG. 1) in front of the point of printing 162 on the platen roller 11.
It will be apparent that, in the selector device 10 for the character-carrying element 70 according to the invention, the spring 144 is operable to cause the motor unit 136 together with the pinion 143 to rotate, to take up and thus eliminate radial play or clearance between the pinion 143 and the gear 123. That structure makes it possible to achieve positioning with a high degree of accuracy and in a repetitive manner of the characters 78 in front of the point of printing 162, even at high speed and after a long period of use. The transmission ratio as between the pinion 143 and the gear 123 is 23/80, thus permitting the use of a d.c. motor 136 of reduced power and thus of small dimensions and weight, with the movement being transmitted in a very silent fashion, even at high speed.
In addition, the reduced size and weight of the motor 136 facilitate balanced rotation of the frame 22, as described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,868. | The selector device for a character-carrying element of a printing machine comprises a d.c. electric motor whose rotor is capable of selectively rotating in both rotational directions a coupling arrangement comprising a pinion on the motor shaft and a gear on the shaft which carries the hub for mounting a daisywheel printing element and a strobe disc which provides the position signals used to control character selection. A device for taking up clearances minimizes the radial clearances between the pinion and the gear. Thus the motor is mounted on trunnions and urged by a spring to tilt in the sense urging the pinion into the gear. | 1 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Serial No. 60/238,458, filed Oct. 10, 2000, and is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to automatic injectors for delivering medicament to an injection site. In particular, the present invention is directed to an automatic injector assembly for quickly combining a liquid material with a dry material to form a liquid medicament for delivering the medicament to an injection site. In accordance with the present invention, the automatic injector assembly includes a separation filter assembly that keeps the liquid material separated from the dry material until the automatic injector assembly is activated.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] An automatic injector is a device for enabling an individual to self-administer a dosage of medicament into his or her flesh. The medicament is usually stored in liquid form. The advantage of automatic injectors is that they contain a measured dosage of a liquid medicament in a sealed sterile cartridge and can be utilized for delivering the medicament into the flesh during emergency situations. Another advantage of automatic injectors is that the self-administration of the medicament is accomplished without the user initially seeing the hypodermic needle through which the medicament is delivered and without having the user to manually force the needle into his or her own flesh.
[0004] There are drawbacks associated with the storage of medicament in liquid form. Some medicaments are not stable in liquid form. Furthermore, some liquid medicaments typically have a shorter shelf life than their solid counterparts. Others have developed automatic injectors that store the medicament in solid form and a liquid injection solution. These injectors, disclosed for example in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 35,986, entitled “Multiple Chamber Automatic Injector,” (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein specifically by reference), however, require the user of the injector to expedite dissolution of the solid component by manually shaking the liquid component and the solid component immediately prior to injection. This increases the time needed to administer a dose of medicament. Furthermore, the improper mixing of the medicament with the liquid injection solution may release an insufficient dose of medicament. There is a need for an automatic injector that stores medicament in solid form that does not require manual premixing by the user. Furthermore, rapid delivery of the medicament is needed for emergency medical situations (e.g. nerve gas and chemical agent poisoning).
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automatic injector device that stores medicament in a solid form for increased shelf life.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic injector device that automatically mixes a solid medicament with a liquid injection solution upon activation.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic injector device having a separation filter assembly that separates the solid medicament from the liquid injection solution until the injector is activated.
[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic injector device having a filter assembly that provides for a more laminar flow of the liquid injection solution into the dry medicament to assist in the dissolution of the dry medicament into the liquid injection solution.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a wet/dry automatic injector device with a solid medicament support within the device to prevent the passage of undissolved solid medicament to the needle assembly of the injector assembly thereby preventing blockage of the needle.
[0010] Additional objects and advantages of the invention are set forth, in part, in the description which follows, and, in part, will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the description and/or practice of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In response to the foregoing challenges, applicants have developed an innovative automatic injection device having both wet and dry storage compartments. The present invention is directed to an automatic injection device containing a pre-loaded charge of medicament for automatically self-administering the medicament upon actuation thereof. The automatic injection device includes a housing assembly having an interior chamber, a filter assembly, an activation assembly and a needle assembly. In accordance with the present invention, the interior chamber may include a dry compartment for storing a predetermined dry charge of dry medicament therein, and a wet compartment for storing a predetermined amount of liquid injection solution therein.
[0012] The filter assembly is positioned between the dry compartment from the wet compartment. The filter assembly creates a laminar fluid flow of liquid injection solution as the solution passes from the wet compartment to the dry compartment. This improves dissolution of the dry medicament in the liquid injection solution.
[0013] The automatic injector in accordance with the present invention includes a plunger assembly positioned adjacent the filter assembly. The plunger assembly is adapted to prevent the transfer of the liquid injection solution from the wet compartment to the dry compartment prior to pressurization of the liquid injection solution within the wet compartment. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the plunger assembly may include a passageway for transferring the liquid injection solution from the wet compartment to the dry compartment and a membrane assembly for preventing the transfer of the liquid injection solution from the wet compartment to the dry compartment prior to the pressurization of the liquid injection solution within the wet compartment. The membrane is designed to rupture upon pressurization of the wet compartment. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the plunger assembly is adapted to moves from a first position to a second position during the pressurization of the liquid injection solution within the wet compartment. This movement opens a fluid passageway between the plunger assembly and the interior chamber to permit the passage of the liquid injection fluid from the wet compartment to the dry compartment.
[0014] The activation assembly pressurizes the liquid injection solution in the wet compartment, which causes the liquid injection solution in the wet compartment to be transferred to the dry compartment. The dry medicament dissolves in the liquid injection solution as the liquid injection solution passes through the dry compartment. It is contemplated that at least a portion of a plunger assembly of the activation assembly may contact the plunger assembly adjacent the filter assembly, which moves the filter and plunger assembly towards the needle assembly to force the remaining liquid injection solution and the dry medicament through the needle assembly.
[0015] The automatic injection device may further include a dry medicament support structure located within the interior chamber. The support structure prevents undissolved dry medicament from entering the needle assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawing in which like reference numerals designate like elements and wherein:
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a wet/dry automatic injector assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional side view of a wet/dry automatic injector assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the by-pass plunger is in a closed position blocking the flow of the liquid injection solution; and
[0019] [0019]FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional side view of the wet/dry automatic injector assembly of FIG. 2, wherein the by-pass plunger is in an open position permitting the flow of the liquid injection solution.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Referring now, more particularly to the figures, there is shown in FIG. 1 an automatic injector assembly 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is described in connection with a push button type auto injector, whereby the user removes an end cap assembly and presses a button to trigger the injection process. The present invention, however, is not limited to push button type automatic injectors; rather, it is contemplated that the present invention may be incorporated into a nose activated auto injector, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,259. The disclosures of which are hereby specifically incorporated herein by reference. It is further contemplated that the present invention may be incorporated into a syringe assembly.
[0021] The automatic injector assembly 10 includes a generally hollow housing 110 . The housing 110 includes an injection insertion end 111 and an activation end 112 , as shown in FIG. 1. An actuator assembly 120 extends from an opening 113 in the activation end 112 of the housing 110 . The actuator assembly 120 is slidably received within the housing 110 . A removable end cap assembly 130 is releasably secured to the actuator assembly 120 . When the end cap assembly is secured to the actuator assembly 120 , a side portion 130 of the end cap assembly is adapted to abut the housing 110 to prevent movement of the actuator assembly 120 and unintentional injection of the medicament.
[0022] The actuator assembly 120 includes a push button actuator assembly 121 having a hollow interior. The end cap assembly engages the push button actuator assembly 121 . A collet 122 is located within the hollow interior of the push button actuator assembly 121 . An inner tube 123 is also located within the hollow interior of the push button actuator assembly 121 . The inner tube 123 is adapted to contact the collet 122 , as shown in FIG. 1. An opposite end of the inner tube 123 may include an engagement rib 1231 that is adapted to be received within a complementary recess 1211 within the push button actuator assembly 121 . A drive assembly 124 is positioned within a space formed between the collet 122 and the inner tube 123 . A pin 132 extends from the end cap assembly 130 and is received within the collet 122 to prevent or block the collet 122 from collapsing prior to activation.
[0023] The user removes the end cap assembly 130 . The pin 132 no longer prevents movement of the collet 122 . Upon depression of the actuator assembly 121 , the drive assembly 124 provides the necessary force when activated to operate the injector 10 to inject the user with a necessary dosage of medicament. It is contemplated that the drive assembly 124 may be a spring assembly, a compressed gas assembly or any other suitable energy storing device. When activated, the drive assembly 124 causes the collet 122 to move such that a needle assembly 140 extends from an opening in the injection end 111 of the housing 110 . Movement of the collet 122 also causes mixing of the dry medicament with the liquid injection solution, described in greater detail below.
[0024] Located within the interior of the housing 110 is a chamber 150 for housing both the liquid injection solution and the dry medicament. The liquid injection solution is located within a wet portion 151 of the chamber 150 . The dry medicament is located within a dry portion 152 of the chamber 150 . It is contemplated that the dry medicament may be in either powder or freeze-dried form. A separation filter assembly 160 separates the dry portion 152 from the wet portion 151 . The separation filter assembly 160 provides a seal to prevent seepage of the liquid injection solution into the dry portion 152 prior to activation of the injector assembly. The separation filter assembly 160 includes at least one sealing assembly 161 located around the perimeter of the filter assembly 160 . Each sealing assembly 161 engages the wall of the chamber 150 .
[0025] The separation filter assembly 160 may include an optional membrane assembly 162 . The membrane assembly 162 is designed to burst in response to build up of pressure within the wet portion 151 of the chamber 150 in response to movement of the collet 122 . The liquid injection solution enters an interior cavity 163 within the separation filter assembly 160 and passes through a filter 164 . The liquid injection solution then enters the dry portion 152 of the chamber 150 where it mixes with and dissolves the dry medicament. The material forming the filter 164 produces the laminar flow of the liquid injection solution. The filter 164 may include a series of channels and ribs to uniformly distribute the liquid injection solution into the dry portion 152 for mixing the dry medicament.
[0026] One end of the collet 122 extends into the wet portion 151 of the chamber 150 within the housing 110 . A plunger assembly 170 is secured to the end of the collet 122 , as shown in FIG. 1. The plunger assembly 170 is adapted to engage the side wall of the wet portion 151 to prevent leakage of the contents (e.g. liquid injection solution) of the wet portion 151 from the activation end 112 of the housing 110 . The plunger assembly 170 is preferably formed from a material having low frictional properties such that the collet 122 and plunger assembly 170 may easily slide within the wet portion 151 when operated. Alternatively, the plunger assembly 170 may be lubricated with silicon or other suitable non reactive lubricant. The movement of the collet 122 and the plunger assembly 170 pressurizes the liquid injection solution located within the wet portion 151 .
[0027] Upon activation of the push button actuator assembly 121 , the collet 122 and plunger assembly 170 advance within the wet portion 151 of the chamber 150 toward the separation filter assembly 160 . In response to a sufficient amount of pressure within the wet portion 151 , the membrane assembly 162 ruptures and the liquid injection solution travels through the separation filter assembly 160 into the dry portion 152 to mix with the dry medicament, as described above. The mixture of the liquid injection solution and the dry medicament then exits the dry portion 152 through the injection needle 141 of the needle assembly 140 .
[0028] The high pressure developed within the wet portion 151 in response to movement of the collet 122 and the plunger assembly 170 forces the liquid injection solution through the separation filter assembly 160 dissolving the drug into a solution which will continue to be forced out through the needle assembly 140 . The collet 122 and plunger assembly 170 will eventually contact the separation filter assembly 160 , which causes the separation filter 160 to move in the direction of the needle assembly 140 . This action causes the remaining solution within the wet portion 151 and the dry portion 152 to be dispersed through the needle assembly 140 , which reduces the amount of residual dry medicament remaining within the chamber 150 . A filter assembly or powder support assembly 180 may be located adjacent the needle assembly 140 to prevent any undissolved medicament from entering the needle assembly 140 .
[0029] As discussed above, the movement of the collet 122 and drive assembly 124 causes the injection needle 141 of the injection assembly 140 to advance and protrude through the housing 110 . The injection of the medicament can be performed with a simple operation. The user simply removes the end cap assembly, locates the injection end of the housing 110 adjacent the injection site and presses the push button actuator assembly 121 . This operation automatically triggers the operation of the drive assembly 124 to advance the collet 122 causing the liquid injection solution located within the wet portion 151 to enter the dry portion 152 through the separation filter assembly 160 . The dissolved medicament is then transmitted through the injection needle 141 to provide the user with the necessary dose of medicament. The automatic injector 10 in accordance with the present invention reduces the amount of time required to administer medicament compared to other wet/dry injectors. The present invention eliminates the need for mixing by the user.
[0030] An automatic injector assembly 20 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention will now be described in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. The automatic injector assembly 20 includes a by-pass plunger assembly. The injector assembly 20 has substantially the same construction as the injector assembly 10 with the exception of the provision of a by-pass plunger assembly 210 and movable filter assembly 220 . The movable filter assembly 220 includes at least one sealing assembly 221 , which engages the wall of the dry portion 152 of the chamber 150 . The by-pass plunger assembly 210 is positioned adjacent one end of the wet portion 151 of the chamber 150 . A filter assembly 220 is positioned adjacent the plunger assembly 210 in the dry portion 152 of the chamber 150 , as shown in FIG. 2. In accordance with this embodiment of the present invention, the dry portion 152 has a larger diameter than the wet portion 151 . During operation, as the plunger 170 is moved toward the needle assembly 140 , the by-pass plunger assembly 210 is moved into the dry portion 152 of the chamber, which opens a fluid passageway 230 between the wet and dry portions of the chamber 150 , as shown in FIG. 3. The liquid injection solution flows through the filter assembly 220 . Like the filter assembly 164 , the filter assembly 220 creates a laminar flow of the injection solution as it flows through the filter. This enhances the dissolution of the dry medicament in the liquid injection solution.
[0031] It is contemplated that the fluid passageway 230 may be formed by a series of by-pass slots, ribs on the container that distort the second plunger assembly or any other assembly that is capable of permitting the flow of liquid injection solution around the by-pass plunger assembly 210 .
[0032] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, it is contemplated that a cover assembly, described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,965 (the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference) may be secured to the injection end of the housing 110 after deployment of the medicament. Furthermore, the automatic injector may further include a nipple plunger assembly, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,727 (the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference). Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of the invention, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. | The present invention is directed to an automatic injection device containing a pre-loaded charge of medicament for automatically self-administering the medicament upon actuation thereof. The automatic injection device includes a housing assembly having an interior chamber, a filter assembly, an activation assembly and a needle assembly. In accordance with the present invention, the interior chamber may include a dry compartment for storing a predetermined dry charge of dry medicament therein, and a wet compartment for storing a predetermined amount of liquid injection solution therein. The filter assembly enhances the laminar flow of fluid between the wet compartment to the dry compartment prior to the pressurization of the liquid injection solution within the wet compartment. | 0 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of international application No. PCT/CN2015/077938, filed on Apr. 30, 2015, and titled “Short-Process Method for Preparing Sintered NdFeB Magnets with High Magnetic Properties Recycling from NdFeB Sludge”, which in turn claims the priority benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201510101336.1, filed on Mar. 8, 2015, the contents of the above identified applications are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This present disclosure relates to a recycling technology field of NdFeB sludge, and more particularly to short process preparation technology of sintered NdFeB magnets from NdFeB sludge.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Compared to other magnetic materials, NdFeB magnetic materials have excellent magnetic and mechanical properties. Therefore, they have been applied in many fields, such as electronic information, household appliances, medical treatment, aerospace, and especially in the new green energy fields of energy conservation vehicles and wind power. These wide application fields also bring the rapid increase in annual output of NdFeB magnets. Consequently, the NdFeB wastes, including the scraps and sludge that are generated during the manufacture processes, are about 30 wt. % of the as-sintered materials. China, for example, as the largest manufacturer of NdFeB magnets, had an annual output of about 94 thousand tons in 2013, which accounted for 91% of the global output. At the same time, about 20-30 thousand tons of NdFeB raw materials were formed into sludge during the production process. With the development of global environmental legislation, as well as the requirement of resources protection and sustainable development, the recycling of waste NdFeB materials has become very important. As the price of rare-earth metals and the fabrication costs have increased over the years, the green and efficient recycling of waste NdFeB materials could not only protect the environment and save resources, but also bring substantial economic and social benefits.
[0004] At the present time, possible routes to recycle scraps of sintered NdFeB magnets are: (1) Hydrogen decrepitation to get powders, followed by coating with rare earth rich powders, alignment, and bonding or hot pressing into bulk magnets; (2) Hydrogenation, disproportionation, desorption, recombination (HDDR) process to obtain high coercivity powders for bonding or hot pressing; (3) Milling, alignment, and vacuum sintering into bulk magnets; (4) The powders could be blended with other fresh powders and processed by one of the ways above, but the magnetic properties would drop accordingly.
[0005] On the other hand, the recycle technology of NdFeB rare earth permanent magnet sludge waste is currently a hydrometallurgical process. These processes are comprised of the following: acid dissolution-precipitation process, complex salt conversion process, hydrochloric acid dissolved superior process, and full extraction processes. Various methods are briefly compared as follows: (1) Acid dissolution-precipitation process: This process belongs to relatively primitive methods. Main procedures include oxidizing roasting, acid decomposition, precipitation, burning to achieve rare earth oxides, subsequently electrolyzing rare earth fluoride to prepare pure metal. The recovery rate of rare earth oxides in batch production is low. (2) Hydrochloric acid dissolved superior process: This process is divided into oxide roasting, decomposition and purification, extraction and separation, and sedimentation burning. The recovery rate of rare earth is more than 95%, the purity of Dy 2 O 3 is 99%, and the purity of Pr 2 O 3 is 98% by this method. Furthermore, the raffinate can achieve precipitate of rare earth carbonate polymorphs which can meet customers' demands. (3) Sulfuric acid complex salt precipitation process: This process typically includes the following steps: sulfuric acid dissolution, complex salt precipitation of rare earths, alkali conversion, hydrochloric acid dissolution, extraction and separation, precipitation, and burning to obtain rare earth oxides. Complex salt conversion process could separate Nd 2 O 3 and non-rare earth (Fe, Al, etc.). By this method, the purity of rare earth oxides could reach 93%. The recovery rate of Nd 2 O 3 in final product is high (up to 85.53%), and the purity of Nd 2 O 3 and Dy 2 O 3 is 99%. Therefore, this process is widely used in the industry nowadays. (4) Full extraction process. Full solvent extraction processes of NdFeB waste are: extraction of iron by N 503 , extraction of rare earth by P 507 , separation of neodymium and dysprosium, further purification of cobalt. After 60 levels segment extraction test, Nd 2 O 3 with 99% purity, Dy 2 O 3 with 98% purity, and cobalt carbonate product with 99% purity are achieved. However, this process needs more steps and a longer production cycle. The final products of above process are rare earth oxide or metal, and the above-mentioned processes have common disadvantages of long flow, generation of a large amount of waste acid that pollutes the environment.
[0006] To solve these problems, China patent (Application No. 201410101544.7) disclosed a method for preparing the recycled NdFeB magnetic powders form NdFeB sludge. By this method, NdFeB powders could be obtained from the NdFeB sludge, but the resultant magnetic powders did not have the desired magnetic properties and cannot be directly used in applications.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention overcomes the disadvantages in the existing technology and fabricates sintered NdFeB magnets with good magnetic properties by optimizing and adjusting the process. Waste NdFeB sludge was chosen as the raw materials. After the organic impurities were removed by distillation and ultrasonic cleaning, the recycled NdFeB powders were prepared by calcium reduction-diffusion reaction followed by rinsing. During the rinsing process, calcium oxide and non-magnetic materials were effectively separated by ultrasonic treatment in a magnetic field. The reduction process can also be improved by using CaH 2 . Doping with Nd 2 O 3 powders was beneficial in obtaining NdFeB powders with high performance. The recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm could significantly reduce energy consumption during the ball milling powders. The maximum magnetic energy product of recycled sintered NdFeB magnets by rare earth hydride nanoparticles doping was 35.26 MGOe, similar to those of current sintered NdFeB products. The invention has innovations of short process (NdFeB sludge as raw materials is directly fabricated into NdFeB powders and sintered magnets), high efficiency (the recycled magnets have good magnetic properties), environmental protection (preparation process does not produce waste acid, waste liquid and waste gas).
[0008] The present invention comprises the following steps: water bath distillation of sludge, ultrasonic cleaning, calcium reduction and diffusion, ultrasonic rinsing in the magnetic field, drying, powders mixing and sintering:
[0009] (1) Water bath distillation of sludge: Distilled water was added into the sludge with an optimized volume ratio of 1:15 between sludge and distilled water and stirred. Subsequently, water bath distillation with stepwise increasing temperature in vacuum was carried out to obtain the powders. The optimized procedure started from 30° C. to 80° C. with increments of 5° C. in the intervals of 5-10 min until the internal liquid had evaporated. The operation was repeated for 3 times.
[0010] (2) Ultrasonic cleaning for sludge: The distillation powders after the step (1) were washed for 3 times by acetone in an ultrasonic vessel, followed by ultrasonic cleaning in ethanol. After removal of the liquid, the wet powders were dried (e.g. under vacuum conditions at 50° C.) to obtain the pretreatment powders. The optimized ratio of powders, acetone and ethanol was 5 g, 10 ml and 10 ml, respectively.
[0011] (3) Calcium reduction-diffusion: The pretreatment powders after the step (2), with an appropriate amount of Nd 2 O 3 , FeB, and CaH 2 as the reactant, as well as CaO as a dispersant, were carried out using the calcium reduction diffusion reaction.
[0012] The pretreatment powders after step (2) were analyzed by x-ray fluorescence (XRF). Based on XRF results and calculation in accordance with RE 2 Fe 14 B stoichiometric ratio, Nd 2 O 3 , FeB, CaH 2 and CaO powders should be added before reaction. Nd 2 O 3 was added to make sure that the amount of rare earth was 40 wt. % of in mixed powders of pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 , and FeB; FeB was added to make sure that the amount of B in mixed powders of pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 , and FeB was in excess 0-10 wt. % of that in RE 2 Fe 14 B compound (i.e., the amount of B in the mixed powders of pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 , and FeB was in excess 0-10 wt. % of that in RE 2 Fe 14 B compound. For example, the weight percentage of B in RE 2 Fe 14 B was x wt. %, the weight percentage of B in mixed powders of pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 , and FeB was x−(x+10) wt. %); The quantity of CaH 2 was 1.2-1.3 times as large as in the mixed powders; The quantity of CaO was 50 wt. % of CaH 2 . Reduction diffusion reaction was carried out in 1160-1240° C. for 60-150 min in inert gas.
[0013] (4) Rinsing and drying: The reducing product after the step (3) was grinded, ultrasonically rinsed in a glass container in a magnetic field, and then dried. The reducing product was preferably ultrasonically rinsed for 3 times with 15% glycerol aqueous solution in magnetic field of 0.1-0.5 T, then rinsed with water until the pH value of the supernatant reached 8-10, and finally was washed by ethanol and ether for 15 min, respectively. After rinsing, the product was dried in a vacuum of 10 −3 Pa at 400° C. for 120 min to obtain the recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm. The optimized for each rinsing time was 15 min.
[0014] (5) Mixing powders and sintering: The resulting recycled NdFeB powders after the step (4) were milled to 3-5 μm, doped by rare earth hydride nanoparticles of 10-20 wt. %, and mixed; subsequently pressed and aligned in a magnetic field to get the green compact. The green compact was first dehydrogenated at 900-1000° C. for 30-180 min, and then sintered at 1050-1150° C. for 120-240 min, finally annealed at 850-950° C. for 60-180 min and 450-550° C. for 60-180 min, respectively. Thus the recycled sintered magnets were obtained.
[0015] The above-mentioned hydrides in step (5) were hydrogenated neodymium, hydrogenated praseodymium, hydrogenated dysprosium, or hydrogenated terbium.
[0016] The present invention chose NdFeB sludge as raw materials, and realized the recycling of NdFeB sludge. The preparation process did not produce waste acid, waste liquid and waste gas. The efficient and environmentally friendly process was short, therefore significantly reducing the fabrication cost of NdFeB magnets. The pretreatment sludge was directly prepared into NdFeB powders. The process took advantage of all valuable elements in the NdFeB sludge, and avoided the secondary waste during the recycling of sludge. After removing the calcium oxide by using magnetic ultrasonic rinse, the obtained NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm facilitated the subsequent processing, which significantly reduced the energy consumption during the ball milling process. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 35.26 MGOe.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 shows the x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the pretreatment sludge powders.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows the XRD pattern of the recycled NdFeB powders.
[0019] FIG. 3 shows the demagnetization curve of the recycled sintered NdFeB magnets.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The following examples describe this disclosure, but do not limit the coverage of the disclosure.
Example 1
[0021] A NdFeB sludge of 30 ml with distilled water of 450 ml in a flask was distilled by rotary evaporator placed in a water bath under vacuum conditions. The procedure started from 30° C. to 80° C. with increments of 5° C. in the intervals of 5 min until the internal liquid had evaporated. The operation was repeated for 3 times. As a result, 26.42 g of distilled powders were obtained. The distillation powders were washed for 3 times by 52 ml of acetone in an ultrasonic vessel, and then were cleaned twice by ethanol in the ultrasonic vessel for 10 min. After removing the liquid, the wet powders were dried in vacuum at 50° C. to obtain the pretreatment powders. The XRD pattern and XRF results of the pretreatment powders are shown in FIG. 1 and TAB. 1, respectively. It was concluded that the pretreatment powders were mainly composed of Fe 3 O 4 , Nd(CO 3 )(OH) 4 .xH 2 O, Fe 2 Nd and Fe 2 B.
[0022] Based on the elemental content, shown in TAB. 1, and calculations in accordance with RE 2 Fe 14 B stoichiometric ratio, Nd 2 O 3 was added to make sure that the amount of rare earth was 40 wt. % of mixed powders including pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 and FeB; FeB was added to make sure that the amount of B in the mixed powders was same as that in the RE 2 Fe 14 B compound; The quantity of CaH 2 was 1.2 times as large as the mixed powders; The quantity of CaO was 50 wt. % of CaH 2 . The mixed powders were grinded homogeneously, wrapped in tantalum foil, and placed in a tube furnace. Reduction diffusion reaction was carried out at 1160° C. for 150 min in inert gas. After cooling to room temperature, the reducing product was grinded, ultrasonically rinsed for 3 times with 15% glycerol aqueous solution in a magnetic field of 0.5 T, then rinsed with water until the pH value of the supernatant reached 9.3, and finally was washed by ethanol and ether for 15 min, respectively. After rinsing, the product was dried in vacuum of 10 −3 Pa at 400° C. for 120 min to obtain the recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm. The XRD patterns of the recycled NdFeB powders are shown in FIG. 2 . The recycled NdFeB powders were mainly composed of Nd 2 Fe 14 B and a small amount of NdFe 4 B 4 phase. The resulting recycled NdFeB powders were milled to about 5 μm, doped by hydrogenated neodymium nanoparticles of 15 wt. %, and mixed evenly; subsequently pressed and aligned in a magnetic field to obtain the compact. The green compact was first dehydrogenated at 900° C. for 120 min, and then sintered at 1100° C. for 180 min, finally annealed at 900° C. for 180 min and 480° C. for 120 min, respectively. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good magnetic properties with the remanence (B r ) of 12.36 kGs, the coercivity (H ci ) of 13.12 kOe, and maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 35.26 MGOe, as shown in FIG. 3 .
Example 2
[0023] A NdFeB sludge of 30 ml with distilled water of 450 ml in a flask was distilled by rotary evaporator placed in a water bath under vacuum conditions. The procedure started from 30° C. to 80° C. with increments of 5° C. in intervals of 8 min until the internal liquid had evaporated. The operation was repeated for 2 times. As a result, 25.64 g of distilled powders were obtained. The distillation powders were washed for 3 times by 51 ml of acetone in an ultrasonic vessel, and then were cleaned for 1 time by ethanol in the ultrasonic vessel for 12 min. After removing the liquid, the wet powders were dried in vacuum at 50° C. to obtain the pretreatment powders. The XRF results of the pretreatment powders are shown in TAB. 2.
[0024] Based on the elemental content, shown in TAB. 2, and calculations in accordance with RE 2 Fe 14 B stoichiometric ratio, Nd 2 O 3 was added to make sure that the amount of rare earth was 40 wt. % of mixed powders including the pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 and FeB; FeB was added to make sure that the amount of B in mixed powders was in excess of 5 wt. % of that in the RE 2 Fe 14 B compound; The quantity of CaH 2 was 1.25 times as large as the mixed powders; The quantity of CaO was 50 wt. % of CaH 2 . The mixed powders were grinded homogeneously, wrapped in tantalum foil, and placed in a tube furnace. Reduction diffusion reaction was carried out at 1180° C. for 110 min in inert gas. After cooling to room temperature, the reducing product was grinded, ultrasonically rinsed for 3 times with 15% glycerol aqueous solution in a magnetic field of 0.3 T, then rinsed with water until the pH value of the supernatant reached 10, and finally was washed by ethanol and ether for 15 min, respectively. After rinsing, the product was dried in vacuum of 10 −3 Pa at 400° C. for 120 min to obtain the recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm. The resulting recycled NdFeB powders were milled down to about 3 μm, doped by hydrogenated praseodymium nanoparticles of 10 wt. %, and mixed evenly; subsequently pressed and aligned in a magnetic field to obtain the compact. The green compact was first dehydrogenated at 950° C. for 100 min, and then sintered at 1050° C. for 240 min, finally annealed at 850° C. for 120 min and 450° C. for 180 min, respectively. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good magnetic properties with remanence (B r ) of 12.32 kGs, coercivity (H ci ) of 12.08 kOe, and maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 35.45 MGOe.
Example 3
[0025] A NdFeB sludge of 30 ml with distilled water of 450 ml in a flask was distilled by rotary evaporator placed in a water bath under vacuum conditions. The procedure started from 30° C. to 80° C. with increments of 5° C. in intervals of 10 min until the internal liquid had evaporated. The operation was repeated for 3 times. As a result, 25.26 g of distilled powders were obtained. The distillation powders were washed 3 times by 50.5 ml of acetone in an ultrasonic vessel, and then were cleaned for 2 times by ethanol in the ultrasonic vessel for 15 min. After removing the liquid, the wet powders were dried in vacuum at 50° C. to obtain the pretreatment powders. The XRF results of the pretreatment powders were shown in TAB. 3.
[0026] Based on the elemental content, shown in TAB. 3, and calculations in accordance with RE 2 Fe 14 B stoichiometric ratio, Nd 2 O 3 was added to make sure that the amount of rare earth was 40 wt. % of the mixed powders including the pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 and FeB; FeB was added to make sure that the amount of B in mixed powders was in excess of 8 wt. % of that in the RE 2 Fe 14 B compound; The quantity of CaH 2 was 1.3 times as large as in the mixed powders; The quantity of CaO was 50 wt. % of CaH 2 . The mixed powders were grinded homogeneously, wrapped in tantalum foil, and placed in a tube furnace. Reduction diffusion reaction was carried out at 1240° C. for 60 min in inert gas. After cooling to room temperature, the reducing product was grinded, ultrasonically rinsed for 3 times in a 15% glycerol aqueous solution in a magnetic field of 0.1 T, then rinsed with water until the pH value of supernatant reached 8, and finally was washed by ethanol and ether for 15 min, respectively. After rinsing, the product was dried in a vacuum of 10 −3 Pa at 400° C. for 120 min to obtain the recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm. The resulting recycled NdFeB powders were milled down to 4 μm, doped by hydrogenated dysprosium nanoparticles of 20 wt. %, and mixed evenly; subsequently pressed and aligned in a magnetic field to obtain the compact. The green compact was first dehydrogenated at 1000° C. for 30 min, then sintered 1150° C. for 120 min, and finally annealed at 950° C. for 60 min and 550° C. for 60 min, respectively. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good magnetic properties with remanence (B r ) of 11.15 kGs, coercivity (H ci ) of 18.36 kOe, and maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 31.66 MGOe.
Example 4
[0027] A NdFeB sludge of 30 ml with distilled water of 450 ml in a flask was distilled by rotary evaporator in water bath under vacuum conditions. The procedure started from 30° C. to 80° C. with increments of 5° C. in intervals of 10 min until the internal liquid had evaporated. The operation was repeated for 2 times. As a result, 25.64 g of distilled powders were obtained. The distilled powders were washed for 4 times by 51 ml of acetone in an ultrasonic vessel, and then cleaned for 2 times by ethanol in the ultrasonic vessel for 15 min. After removing the liquid, the wet powders were dried in vacuum at 50° C. to obtain the pretreatment powders. The XRF results of the pretreatment powders are shown in TAB. 4.
[0028] Based on the elemental content, shown in TAB. 4, and calculations in accordance with RE 2 Fe 14 B stoichiometric ratio, Nd 2 O 3 was added to make sure that the amount of rare earth was 40 wt. % of the mixed powders including the pretreatment powders, Nd 2 O 3 and FeB; FeB was added to make sure that the amount of B in mixed powders was in excess of 10 wt. % of that in the RE 2 Fe 14 B compound; The quantity of CaH 2 was 1.2 times as large as the mixed powders; The quantity of CaO was 50 wt. % of CaH 2 . The mixed powders were grinded homogeneously, wrapped in tantalum foil, and placed in a tube furnace. Reduction diffusion reaction was carried out at 1200° C. for 100 min in inert gas. After cooling to room temperature, the reducing product was grinded, ultrasonically rinsed for 3 times with 15% glycerol aqueous solution in a magnetic field of 0.1 T, then rinsed with water until the pH value of supernatant reached 9, and finally was washed by ethanol and ether for 15 min, respectively. After rinsing, the product was dried in a vacuum of 10 −3 Pa at 400° C. for 120 min to obtain the recycled NdFeB powders with particle sizes of about 10 μm. The resulting recycled NdFeB powders were milled down to 4 μm, doped by hydrogenated terbium nanoparticles of 10 wt. %, and mixed evenly; subsequently pressed and aligned in a magnetic field to get the compact. The green compact was first dehydrogenated at 1000° C. for 60 min, and then sintered at 1100° C. for 180 min, and finally annealed at 900° C. for 180 min and 480° C. for 120 min, respectively. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good magnetic properties with remanence (B r ) of 11.68 kGs, coercivity (H ci ) of 20.65 kOe, and maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 32.25 MGOe.
[0000]
TABLE 1
XRF results of the pretreatment powders (Example 1)
Element
Content (wt. %)
Fe
67.3135
Nd
20.6406
Pr
6.4564
Dy
2.5889
Co
1.1343
Na
0.3221
Ho
0.2905
Cu
0.2837
Al
0.2339
Si
0.2044
Nb
0.1916
Ga
0.1667
S
0.0656
Zr
0.0531
Ca
0.053
W
0.0018
[0000]
TABLE 2
XRF results of the pretreatment powders (Example 2)
Element
Content (wt. %)
Fe
67.7794
Nd
20.5665
Pr
6.5391
Dy
2.4912
Co
1.1563
Cu
0.3022
Ho
0.2975
Al
0.2209
Nb
0.1953
Ga
0.1781
Si
0.1389
Ca
0.0609
Zr
0.0441
S
0.0296
[0000]
TABLE 3
XRF results of the pretreatment powders (Example 3)
Element
Content (wt. %)
Fe
66.9291
Nd
20.6427
Pr
6.5183
Dy
2.4626
Co
1.1642
Tb
0.7997
Ho
0.2820
Cu
0.2702
Al
0.2381
Si
0.2093
Nb
0.1873
Ga
0.1598
Ca
0.0567
Zr
0.0544
S
0.0256
[0000]
TABLE 4
XRF results of the pretreatment powders (Example 4)
Element
Content (wt. %)
Fe
66.3840
Nd
20.9083
Pr
6.6052
Dy
2.5265
Co
1.1398
Tb
0.8582
Cu
0.3107
Ho
0.2898
Si
0.2554
Al
0.2425
Nb
0.1867
Ga
0.1781
Ca
0.0611
Zr
0.0538 | The present invention discloses a short process preparation technology of sintered NdFeB magnets from the NdFeB sludge, which relates to a field of recycle technology of NdFeB sludge. The present invention comprises the following steps: water bath distillation of organics in sludge, ultrasonic cleaning, calcium reduction and diffusion, ultrasonic rinsing in a magnetic field and drying, powders mixing and sintering. NdFeB sludge as raw materials was directly prepared from recycled sintered magnets with high magnetic properties. Most of the organics in the sludge could be removed by a vacuum distillation process with stepwise heating. The ultrasonic rinsing process in a magnetic field could effectively remove the remaining organics. The recycled sintered magnets exhibited good maximum energy product [(BH) max ] of 35.26 MGOe. The present invention has important features, such as the short processing time, efficient environmental protection, high recycling rate and effective utilization rate of rare earth metals. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to the geometric shape and/or configuration of the fluid flow channels and overall assembly of a disk and/or bracket assembly or assemblies on the rotor(s) of bladeless (disk) turbine(s), bladeless (disk) compressor(s) and/or bladeless (disk) pump(s). This invention offers improvements in the fluid flow channel design as well as improvements to geometry created by groups of disks and/or brackets in a single assembly to increase the efficiency of energy extraction or infusion between the working mechanical components and the working fluid or vice versa whether the working fluid be compressible, incompressible, Newtonian or non-Newtonian in nature.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Microturbines are gas turbines generally implemented for electrical power generation applications. Relatively small in comparison to standard power plants, they can be located on sites with space limitations for power production. Microturbines are composed of a compressor, combustor, turbine, alternator, possibly a reheater or recuperator, and generator assembled in any number or order on one, two or three spools. Waste heat recovery can be used in combined heat and power systems to achieve energy efficiency levels greater than 80 percent. Such combinations include but are not limited to combined power and water heating cycles or combined power, heating-ventilation-air-conditioning and water heating systems. In addition to stationary and portable electrical power generation, microturbines offer an efficient and clean solution to direct mechanical drive markets such as compression, machine tools and air conditioning.
[0003] In the commercial and government electrical power markets, independence from the power grid is being sought to lessen the production burden on central power companies and traditional power sources. This move will begin to decentralize the power sources and assure service to all areas under United States sovereignty. Such decentralization protects the power supply from failure by providing for individual consumers such as homes and businesses. Furthermore, power service is commonly affected by storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters which interrupt power service to thousands of individuals in surrounding areas. Terrorist activities, nuclear meltdowns, acts of God or the public enemy; fires; floods; riots; strikes; shortage of labor, inability to secure fuel and/or material supplies, affect power supply and account for shortages thereof as well. Existing and future laws or acts of the Federal or of any State or Territorial Government (including specifically but not exclusively any orders, rules or regulations issued by any official agency or such government) or other unpredictable occurrences also provide service barriers creating situations prone to a lack of power and inappropriate service for consumers. Beyond the discomfort of the power loss, some residents find themselves in desperate circumstances fighting extreme cold or heat.
[0004] The benefits of microturbines are to provide power to individual consumers through individual micro power plants at a reasonable cost with a reasonable payback period of the consumer's investment over the life of the product. Eight benefits of microturbines as reported by the World Watch Institute (“Micropower: The next electrical era”, Worldwatch Paper 151, July 2000) are given as:
1. Modularity—By adding or removing units, micropower system size can be adjusted to match demand. 2. Short Lead Time—Small-scale power can be planned, sited and built more quickly than larger systems, reducing the risks of overshooting demand, longer construction periods and technological obsolescence. 3. Fuel Diversity and reduced volatility—Micropower's more diverse, renewables-based mix of energy sources lessens exposure to fossil fuel price fluctuations. 4. “Load-growth insurance” and load matching—Some types of small-scale power, such as cogeneration and end-use efficiency, expand with growing loads; the flow of other resources, like solar and wind, can correlate closely with electricity demand. 5. Reliability and resilience—Small plants are unlikely to all fail simultaneously; they have shorter outages, are easier to repair, and are more geographically dispersed. 6. Avoided plant and grid construction and losses—Small-scale power can displace construction of new plants, reduce grid loss, and delay or avoid adding new grid capacity or connections. 7. Local and community choice control—Micropower provides local choice and control and the option of relying on local fuels and spurring community economic development. 8. Avoid emissions and other environmental impacts—Small-scale power generally emits lower amounts of particulates, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, heavy metals, and carbon dioxide, and has a lower cumulative environmental impact on land and water supply and quality.
[0013] Technology trends as witnessed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,828 (Willis et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,712 (Sniegowski et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,313 (Epstein et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,757 (MacKay); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,537 (Olsen) demonstrate the implementation of conventional radial compressors and turbines in creating microturbines to power the electrical generation system currently on the market and in development. In particular, Olsen demonstrates a method for a rotor assembly with conventional turbine allowing interchangeability.
[0014] A bladeless turbine design was first patented by Nikola Tesla (U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206) in 1913 for use as a steam turbine to extract energy from a working fluid. This original patent included the grouping of a series of disks and blades with identical passage holes symmetrically grouped around the rotor. The working fluid was introduced at pressure and temperature through a form of nozzle at an angle on the outer perimeter of the disks. With only the passage holes in the disks as an outlet for the working fluid, it was forced across the disks radially and angularly inward to exit through an axially located outlet which path resulted in reduction of pressure and temperature of the working fluid and the consequent rotation of the rotor assembly. This configuration is known as a Tesla, bladeless and/or disk turbine, compressor and/or pump. The general concept has been widely implemented as a pump, witnessed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,051 (Shapiro); U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,393 (Von Rauch); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,225 (Durant) and a turbine, witnessed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206 (Tesla); U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,834 (Brown et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,225 (Durant); U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,464 (Negulescu et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,232 (Letourneau); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,443 (Collins et al.). In form without brackets between the disks, the bladeless turbine is referred to as a Prandtl Layer turbine as witnessed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,127 (Conrad et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,641 (Conrad et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,177 (Conrad et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,052 (Conrad et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,527 (Conrad et al.)
[0015] Standard practice among individual researchers and hobbyists is to combine multiple disks each of identical outer radius and chamber size in the same turbine, compressor or pump assembly. This method is referred to as a constant-geometry disk assembly and is witnessed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206 (Tesla); U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,051 (Shapiro); U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,393 (Von Rauch); U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,225 (Durant); U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,512 (Marynowski et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,795 (Schmoll, III); U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,442 (Letourneau); U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,443 (Collins et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,964 (Dial).
[0016] It has been found by others that variations in the disk shape, referred to here as disk bending, gap differentiation, variation in outer diameters of disks within a single assembly and variation in diameter of flow chambers from one disk to the next alter the performances of the disk assembly. Those are listed as follows:
(1) Disk bending—U.S. Pat. No. 1,445,310 (Hall); U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,834 (Brown et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,584 (Glass); U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,207 (Brown et al.) (2) Gap differentiation—U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,834 (Brown et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,647 (Effenberger) (3) Outer diameter variation—U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,679 (Gaunt et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,052 (Conrad et al.) (4) Flow chamber diameter variation—U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,135 (Serner); U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,865 (White); U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,119 (Boivin et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,641 (Conrad et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,177 (Conrad et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,052 (Conrad et al.)
[0021] The variations in the assemblies just described pertain to the disks in the assembly only. Only in U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,135 (Serner); U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,647 (Effenberger); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,119 (Boivin et al.) are the spacers, hereto referred as brackets, and gaps between the disks approached in design. Serner takes the bridge of the disk and bends it to induce higher efficiency in energy translation from the fluid to the rotor or vice versa. Effenberger tapers the disks to achieve a desired effect on the gap, but shows no interest in deviating from standard practice in bracket design or outer diameter variation. Boivin et al. include one spacer with a knife-shaped deformable portion to compensate for adjustments when combining a turbomolecular bladeless pump with a stator.
[0022] Most of the above methods are implemented for incompressible fluids or steam. In the instance a bladeless configuration is implemented with ideal or near-ideal gases, such as air, the kinematic viscosity effect is considerably lessened. Furthermore, variations in fluid flow design through the disks and brackets do not geometrically coincide with standard assembly designs.
[0023] The variations in the assemblies just described are shown to be linear variations with no apparent scientific method for choosing said variations or combining any of the methods. It appears they were accomplished at random or through empirical methods. Furthermore, all of the variations described above remain linear in appearance proving to have a constant rate of increase or decrease from one disk to another when they are not retained at constant geometric values. No coordinates or variables are firmly established upon which to base the above variations or any others which may occur in the future. Furthermore, all of the above mentioned efforts focus on the mechanical devices, whereas the optimization of the fluid flow and its characteristics are largely ignored.
[0024] It is these issues which have brought about the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0025] A bladeless turbine, compressor or pump working with a compressible or incompressible fluid relies on the viscosity and impingement of the fluid to propel the disk assembly through the extraction of energy or vice versa from the rotor to the fluid. Likewise, when energy is added into the working fluid from the disk assembly, it is through impingement and viscosity of the fluid the energy is transferred. Thus, as a working fluid with lower kinematic viscosity is implemented, the ability of the disks to extract or infuse energy into or from the fluid system is proportionally decreased whether this variational relationship be constant, linear or non-linear in nature.
[0026] Individual researchers and hobbyists will reduce the distance between disks in a given assembly to increase the likelihood of energy exchange between the mechanical and fluid systems as the viscosity decreases. When the working fluid is compressible rather than incompressible the viscosity changes by several factors. For example, the kinematic viscosity of an incompressible fluid could be on the order of 1 e−1 while the kinematic viscosity of a compressible fluid could be on the order of 1 e−6. The inability to reduce the distance between disks by such a great factor—assuming a linear relationship between the effects—as the kinematic viscosity is reduced leads to the conclusion that the mechanical system must work harder to increase the pressure and temperature gradients to obtain similar mass flow rates as with incompressible fluids.
[0027] The most common implementation of bladeless turbines, compressors and pumps is with incompressible fluids for this very reason. One can gain satisfactory performance with an incompressible fluid running the bladeless device in a range from 0-25,000 RPM. When implementing a compressible fluid, this range of rotational speed accomplishes very little compression and mass flow comparatively. To obtain the design point of bladeless devices with compressible flow, they must be run at speeds up to 100,000 RPM and beyond.
[0028] Running a rotational device at high RPM as just described brings the outer diameter of the rotor near to stalling speed by approaching, reaching or surpassing the speed of sound under its operating conditions. For this reason, only smaller bladeless turbines, compressors and pumps ranging in size from 1 nanometer to around 150 centimeters in diameter are suited for working at high rotational speeds.
[0029] A disk working at such high rotational speeds with a compressible fluid inherently causes the bridge, holding the hub of the disk to the working surface of the disk and creating the flow chamber, to become an object with which the fluid will collide. Said collision is another method, perhaps the primary method at such high speeds, through which energy is exchanged from the working fluid to the mechanical system or vice versa. The low kinematic viscosity of the compressible working fluid at high RPM having a lesser effect on energy transfer. The importance of these phenomena is reversed in incompressible working fluids running with a bladeless rotor at low RPM.
[0030] An object of this invention is to define the reference system and the variables necessary to produce variation in rotor assembly and fluid flow channel design beyond those standardly used in prior art.
[0031] An object of the invention is to improve rotor performance at high rotational speeds through implementing the variation in outer diameter of the disk assembly in any given configuration on a rotor.
[0032] An object of the invention is to improve rotor performance at high rotational speeds through implementing the variation in outer and/or inner diameter of the fluid flow channels in any given configuration on a rotor.
[0033] A further object of the invention is to provide improved flow channel and assembly geometry combinations to maximize efficiency and improve performance at high RPM with a compressible fluid through the constant, linear and/or non-linear assembly geometry combinations maximizing energy extraction or infusion to and/or from the working fluid.
[0034] Further, an object of the invention is to provide a variation in gap widths between disks of the rotor assembly which, based on the implementation of the bladeless turbine, compressor or disk, will maximize the efficiency of energy transfer within various performance parameters.
[0035] Finally, an object of the invention is to provide several alternate rotor configuration geometries capable of improving the disk performances at high RPM.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] FIGS. 1 a , 1 b, 1 c , 1 d, & 1 e : Prior art in outer diameter and flow channel geometry;
[0037] FIGS. 2 a , 2 b & 2 c : Descending outer diameter with various fluid flow channel geometries;
[0038] FIG. 3 a , 3 b : Ascending outer diameter with various fluid flow channel geometries;
[0039] FIG. 4 : Variation in gap/bracket width;
[0040] FIGS. 5 a , 5 b & 5 c : Converging/Diverging concave fluid flow channels;
[0041] FIGS. 6 a , 6 b & 6 c : Converging/Diverging convex fluid flow channels;
[0042] FIGS. 7 a & 7 b : Convex/Concave non-linear outer diameter geometries;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0043] All figures discussed and shown below assume cylindrical coordinates, (x, r, θ) as a point of reference and axisymmetry in the shaft and disk assemblies. Thus the origin of the x-axis is assumed to represent a shaft of any given diameter. The r-axis demonstrates the radial direction of a rotor and assembly. As the inner or outer diameter of any component is discussed, “diameter” being a colloquial term, these consequently appear as radii in each of the diagrams. The angular direction of the θ-axis is not shown due to the assumed general axisymmetry of the assemblies. However, general axisymmetry of a round disk does not limit in any fashion the scope of this invention regarding possible variations of the geometric properties of single components, the rotor and/or the assembly on the θ-axis as discussed in this document. It is only intended by the statements in this paragraph to note the given figures of this document sufficiently describe the desired parameters of variation beyond the prior art and do not limit the possible embodiments in any fashion.
[0044] FIG. 1 establishes a datum of prior art along with the following definitions necessary in discussion of the present invention:
Definition List 1 Term Definition Gap Distance between disks in a rotor assembly whether spaced by a bracket, spacer or disk placement on a shaft. Hub The material filling the distance between the axis and inner diameter of the fluid flow chambers, nominal in value with constant, linear or non-linear behavior in relation to each other and/or a central axis while grouped with and similar to the diameter of the shaft in order of magnitude. n Number of open disks with fluid flow chambers. Generally equal to m. m Number of brackets, spacers and/or location distance(s) separating the disks in a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump rotor assembly. Generally equal to n. R IDChannel Inner diameter of the fluid flow channel physically defined by the hub(s) of the disk assembly. R ODChannel Outer diameter of the fluid flow channel physically defined by the inner most diameter of the working surface(s) of the disk assembly. R ODDisk Outer diameter of the disk assembly physically defined by the outer diameter(s) of the disks in the assembly. ∇ First-order multi-dimensional differential representing the first-order variation in a variable as a function of each of the standard Cartesian, spherical or cylindrical coordinates. ∇ 2 Second-order multi-dimensional differential representing the second- order variation in a variable as a function of each of the standard Cartesian, spherical or cylindrical coordinates.
[0045] FIG. 1 a demonstrates Tesla's original bladeless turbine concept (U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206) with the flow direction running from the periphery, outer diameter [ 6 ], of the blades to the center of the assembly parallel to the axis [ 1 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 8 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 4 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 5 ] at the opposite end. A rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 1 ], any number of open disks [ 2 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 3 ], m, on the shaft [ 1 ]. In this prior art, the outer diameter [ 6 ] of the assembly of disks is constant described as ∇R ODDisk =∇ 2 R ODDisk =0, as well as the inner [ 1 ] and outer [ 7 ] diameters of the flow channel ∇R ODChannel =∇ 2 R ODChannel =∇R IDChannel =∇ 2 R IDChannel =0. For purposes of clarity, the figures in this document assume the distance between the axis and inner diameter of the fluid flow chambers to be nominal in value with constant, linear or non-linear behavior in relation to each other and/or a central axis—the material between the two is referred to as the Hub of the disk, bracket or assembly group—while grouped with and similar to the diameter of the shaft [ 1 ] in order of magnitude. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,142 Tesla shows the standard design of FIG. 1 a can be used to propel fluid through having it flow from the center to the periphery, opposite the direction shown in FIG. 1 a . Flow from the center to the periphery is further demonstrated by Serner (U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,135).
[0046] FIGS. 1 b and 1 c demonstrate variations from Tesla's original design used in prior art primarily by Serner (U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,135) and White (U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,865) with the flow direction running from the periphery, outer diameter [ 16 ] & [ 26 ] of the blades to the center of the assembly parallel to the axis [ 11 ] & [ 21 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 18 ] & [ 28 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 14 ] & [ 24 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 15 ] & [ 25 ] at the opposite end. FIG. 1 d demonstrates a flow direction opposite that of FIG. 1 b with the flow direction running parallel to the axis [ 31 ] through fluid flow chambers beginning with an open end disk [ 34 ] with the working fluid [ 38 ] exiting at the periphery, outer diameter [ 36 ] of the blades as forced by a closed end disk [ 35 ]. FIGS. 1 b , 1 c and 1 d demonstrate a rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 11 ], [ 21 ] & [ 31 ] which does not extend into the assembly, any number of open disks [ 12 ], [ 22 ] & [ 32 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 13 ], [ 23 ] & [ 33 ], m, on the shaft [ 11 ], [ 21 ] & [ 31 ]. In this prior art, the outer diameter [ 16 ], [ 26 ] & [ 36 ] of the assembly of disks is constant described as ∇R ODDisk =∇ 2 R ODDisk =0, as well as the inner [ 11 ], [ 21 ] & [ 31 ] diameters of the flow channel ∇R IDChannel =∇ 2 R IDChannel =0. The variation from Tesla's original design lies in the outer diameter [ 17 ], [ 27 ] & [ 37 ] described as being linear in its variation gradually decreasing as the working fluid flow progresses along the axis. In this document, such geometry will be defined as a constant negative axial gradient, −∂R ODChannel /∂x=constant, ∂R ODChannel /∂r=0, ∂R ODChannel /∂θ=0 and ∇ 2 R ODChannel =0 assuming cylindrical coordinates, or linear variation in the axial direction.
[0047] FIG. 1 e demonstrates Gaunt et al.'s variation in outer diameter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,679) with the flow direction running parallel to the axis [ 41 ] through fluid flow chambers beginning with an open end disk [ 44 ] with the working fluid [ 48 ] exiting at the periphery, outer diameter [ 46 ] of the blades as forced by a closed end disk [ 45 ]. A rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 41 ] which does not extend into the disk assembly, any number of open disks [ 42 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly sized and spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 43 ], m, on the shaft [ 41 ]. In this prior art, the outer diameter [ 46 ] of the assembly of disks varies, increasing in size as the fluid flow progresses, described as being linear in its variation. In this document, such geometry will be defined as a constant positive axial gradient, ∂R ODDisk /∂x=constant, ∂R ODDisk /∂r=0, ∂R ODDisk /∂θ=0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0 assuming cylindrical coordinates, or linear variation in the axial direction. Furthermore, the variation in inner or outer diameter of the fluid flow chambers are given as zero such that ∇R ODChannel =∇ 2 R ODChannel =∇R IDChannel =∇ 2 R IDChannel =0.
[0048] According to the present invention, the following variations in disk assembly and fluid flow channel geometry are defined as prior art for bladeless turbines, compressors and pumps:
Definition List 2 Term Definition ∇R ODDisk =∇ 2 R ODDisk =0 Constant outer diameter of the disk assembly, from disk to disk. ∇R ODChannel =∇ 2 R ODChannel =0 Constant outer diameter of the flow channel. ∇R IDChannel =∇ 2 R IDChannel =0 Constant inner diameter of the flow channel. ∂R ODDisk /∂x= constant Linearly increasing outer diameter of the disk assembly, from disk to disk, along the flow direction of the axis. −∂R ODChannel /∂x= constant Linearly decreasing outer diameter of the fluid flow channel along the flow direction of the axis.
[0049] According to the present invention, the following variations in disk assembly and fluid flow channel geometry are defined as capable of improving the performances of bladeless turbines, compressors and pumps:
Definition List 3 Term Definition ∇R ODDisk ≠0, Non-constant outer diameter of the disk ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0 assembly, from disk to disk, varying linearly or non-linearly with a positive or negative gradient on any one, two or three of the standard cylindrical axes. Excluding the one possibility of ∂R ODDisk /∂x= constant. ∇R ODChannel ≠0, Non-constant outer diameter of the fluid ∇ 2 R ODChannel ≠0 flow channel in the disk assembly, through the disk and/or disk-bracket- disk, varying linearly or non-linearly with a positive or negative gradient on any one, two or three of the standard cylindrical axes. Excluding the one possibility of −∂R ODChannle /∂x= constant channel. ∇R IDChannel ≠0, Non-constant inner diameter of the fluid ∇ 2 R IDChannel ≠0 flow channel in the disk assembly, through the disk and/or disk-bracket- disk, varying linearly or non-linearly with a positive or negative gradient on any one, two or three of the standard cylindrical axes. ∂R ODDisk /∂x<0 Linearly decreasing outer diameter of the disk assembly, from disk to disk, along the flow direction of the axis. ∂R ODChannel /∂x>0 Linearly increasing outer diameter of the fluid flow channel along the flow direction of the axis.
[0050] FIGS. 2 a , 2 b & 2 c demonstrate a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 58 ], [ 68 ] & [ 78 ] is shown running from the axis [ 51 ], [ 61 ] & [ 71 ] through the open-end disk [ 54 ], [ 64 ] & [ 74 ] and the assembly of disks [ 52 ], [ 62 ] & [ 72 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 56 ], [ 66 ] & [ 76 ] of the disk assembly. The geometry shown in FIGS. 2 a , 2 b & 2 c is also valid for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 56 ], [ 66 ] & [ 76 ], of the blade assembly [ 52 ], [ 62 ] & [ 72 ] to the center of the assembly parallel to the axis [ 51 ], [ 61 ] & [ 71 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 58 ], [ 68 ] & [ 78 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 54 ], [ 64 ] & [ 74 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 55 ], [ 65 ] & [ 75 ] at the opposite end insomuch as the geometry does not represent prior art. A rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 51 ], [ 61 ] & [ 71 ], any number of open disks [ 52 ], [ 62 ] & [ 72 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 53 ], [ 63 ] & [ 73 ], m, on the shaft [ 51 ], [ 61 ] & [ 71 ]. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 56 ], [ 66 ] & [ 76 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0. This is valid for all possibilities of constant, linear and/or non-linear variations with the single exception of ∂R ODDisk /∂x=constant but including ∂R ODDisk /∂x<0 as demonstrated in FIGS. 2 a , 2 b & 2 c . FIG. 2 a demonstrates the outer diameter [ 66 ] variation on the disks decreasing towards the closed end disk along with inner [ 61 ] and outer [ 67 ] diameters of the flow channels at ∇R ODChannel =∇ 2 R ODChannel =∇R IDChannel =∇ 2 R IDChannel =0. FIGS. 2 b & 2 c demonstrate a combination of geometries where the outer diameter of the disk assembly [ 66 ] & [ 76 ] varies decreasingly toward the closed end disk along with variation in the inner [ 61 ] & [ 71 ] and/or outer [ 67 ] & [ 77 ] diameters of the flow channels at ∇R ODChannel ≠0 and/or ∇R IDChannel ≠0 where the second differential of each, ∇ 2 R ODChannel and ∇ 2 R IDChannel , may have a negative, positive or zero value. Furthermore, FIGS. 2 a , 2 b & 2 c represent the option of varying geometry through combining second order variations in geometry while the first order variations are zero such that ∇R ODChannel =0, ∇ 2 R ODChannel ≠0, ∇R IDChannel =0, ∇ 2 R IDChannel ≠0, ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0 with any combination of these components possible in the embodiment of this invention.
[0051] FIGS. 3 a & 3 b demonstrate a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 88 ] & [ 98 ] is shown running from the axis [ 81 ] & [ 91 ] through the open-end disk [ 84 ] & [ 94 ] and the assembly of disks [ 82 ] & [ 92 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 86 ] & [ 96 ] of the disk assembly. The geometry shown in FIGS. 3 a & 3 b is also valid for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 86 ] & [ 96 ], of the blade assembly [ 82 ] & [ 92 ] to the center of the assembly parallel to the axis [ 81 ] & [ 91 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 88 ] & [ 98 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 84 ] & [ 94 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 85 ] & [ 95 ] at the opposite end insomuch as the geometry does not represent prior art. A rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 81 ] & [ 91 ], any number of open disks [ 82 ] & [ 92 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 83 ] & [ 93 ], m, on the shaft [ 81 ] & [ 91 ]. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 86 ] & [ 96 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0. This is valid for all possibilities of constant, linear and/or non-linear variations with the single exception of ∂R ODDisk /∂x=constant but including ∂R ODDisk /∂x<0 as demonstrated in FIGS. 3 a & 3 b . FIGS. 3 a & 3 b demonstrate a combination of geometries where the outer diameter of the disk assembly [ 86 ] & [ 96 ] varies increasingly towards the end disk of the assembly along with variation in the inner [ 81 ] & [ 91 ] and/or outer [ 87 ] & [ 97 ] diameters of the flow channels at ∇R ODChannel ≠0 and/or ∇R IDChannel ≠0 where the second differential of each, ∇ 2 R ODChannel and ∇ 2 R IDChannel , may have a negative, positive or zero value. Furthermore, FIGS. 3 a & 3 b represent the option of varying geometry through combining second order variations in geometry while the first order variations are zero such that ∇R ODChannel =0, ∇ 2 R ODChannel ≠0, ∇R IDChannel =0, ∇ 2 R IDChannel ≠0, ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0 with any combination of these components possible in the embodiment of this invention.
[0052] FIG. 4 demonstrates a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 108 ] is shown running from the axis [ 101 ] through the open-end disk [ 104 ] and the assembly of disks [ 1 02 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 1 06 ] of the disk assembly. The geometry shown in FIG. 4 is also valid for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 1 06 ], of the blade assembly [ 1 02 ] to the center of the assembly parallel to the axis [ 101 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 1 08 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 1 04 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 1 05 ] at the opposite end insomuch as the geometry does not represent prior art. For purposes of clarity, a rotor assembly consisting of a shaft [ 1 01 ], any number of open disks [ 1 02 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 1 03 ], m, on the shaft [ 101 ] are shown at constant geometry to demonstrate the gap width variation, ∂Gap 1 /∂x . . . ∂Gap m /∂x. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 1 06 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0. This is valid for a combination of gap width variation, ∂Gap m /∂x, with all possibilities of random, constant, linear and/or non-linear variations. Gap width variation as outlined in FIG. 4 is possible with a combination of geometries including but not limited to a constant geometry as depicted, all gradients except gap width are zero, and/or where the outer diameter of the disk assembly [ 1 06 ] varies with or without variation in the inner [ 101 ] and/or outer [ 1 07 ] diameters of the flow channels at ∇R ODChannel ≠0 and/or ∇R IDChannel ≠0 where the second differential of each, ∇ 2 R ODChannel and ∇ 2 R IDChannel , may have a negative, positive or zero value. Furthermore, FIG. 4 represent the option of varying geometry through combining second order variations in geometry while the first order variations are zero such that ∇R ODChannel =0, ∇ 2 R ODChannel ≠0, ∇R IDChannel =0, ∇ 2 R IDChannel ≠0, ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0 with any combination of these components possible in the embodiment of this invention.
[0053] FIGS. 5 a & 5 b demonstrate a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 118 ] & [ 128 ] is shown running from the axis [ 111 ] & [ 121 ] through the open-end disk [ 114 ] & [ 124 ] and the assembly of disks [ 112 ] & [ 122 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 116 ] & [ 126 ] of the disk assembly due to impingement on a closed end disk [ 115 ] & [ 125 ]. The geometry shown in FIG. 5 a is also valid and demonstrated by FIG. 5 c for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 116 ] & [ 136 ], of the blade assembly [ 112 ] & [ 132 ] to the center of the assembly turning parallel to the axis [ 111 ] & [ 131 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 118 ] & [ 138 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 114 ] & [ 134 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 115 ] & [ 135 ] at the opposite end. FIGS. 5 a , 5 b & 5 c consist of a rotor assembly including but not limited to a shaft [ 111 ], [ 121 ] & [ 131 ], any number of open disks [ 112 ], [ 122 ] & [ 132 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 113 ], [ 123 ] & [ 133 ], m, on the shaft [ 111 ], [ 121 ] & [ 131 ]. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 116 ], [ 126 ] & [ 136 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0, ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0 or ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0. In another embodiment, the outer diameter [ 116 ], [ 126 ] & [ 136 ] of the assembly of disks is constant as shown in the figures described as ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0. This is valid for all possibilities of constant, linear and/or non-linear and/or random variations. FIGS. 5 a , 5 b & 5 c demonstrate a combination of geometries where the outer diameter of the fluid flow channel [ 117 ], [ 127 ] & [ 137 ] varies in a concave, nonlinear fashion referenced to the x-axis this may be coupled with variation in the inner diameter [ 111 ], [ 121 ] & [ 131 ] of the flow channel whether ∇R IDChannel ≠0 or ∇R IDChannel ≠0 where the second differential in any combination, ∇ 2 R IDChannel , may have a negative, positive or zero value. This description is not considered limiting in any fashion as to the possible combinations in embodiment of variations in geometry between the inner [ 111 ], [ 121 ] & [ 131 ] and/or outer [ 117 ], [ 127 ] & [ 137 ] diameters of the fluid flow channel geometries and/or the outer assembly diameter [ 116 ], [ 126 ] & [ 136 ].
[0054] FIGS. 6 a & 6 b demonstrate a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 148 ] & [ 158 ] is shown running from the axis [ 141 ] & [ 151 ] through the open-end disk [ 144 ] & [ 154 ] and the assembly of disks [ 142 ] & [ 152 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 146 ] & [ 156 ] of the disk assembly due to impingement on a closed end disk [ 145 ] & [ 155 ]. The geometry shown in FIG. 6 a is also valid and demonstrated by FIG. 6 c for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 146 ] & [ 166 ], of the blade assembly [ 142 ] & [ 162 ] to the center of the assembly turning parallel to the axis [ 141 ] & [ 161 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 148 ] & [ 168 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 144 ] & [ 164 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 145 ] & [ 165 ] at the opposite end. FIGS. 6 a , 6 b & 6 c consist of a rotor assembly including but not limited to a shaft [ 141 ], [ 151 ] & [ 161 ], any number of open disks [ 142 ], [ 152 ] & [ 162 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 143 ], [ 153 ] & [ 163 ], m, on the shaft [ 141 ], [ 151 ] & [ 161 ]. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 146 ], [ 156 ] & [ 166 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0, ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0 or ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0. In another embodiment, the outer diameter [ 146 ], [ 156 ] & [ 166 ] of the assembly of disks is constant as shown in the figures described as ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0. This is valid for all possibilities of constant, linear and/or non-linear and/or random variations. FIGS. 6 a , 6 b & 6 c demonstrate a combination of geometries where the outer diameter of the fluid flow channel [ 147 ], [ 157 ] & [ 167 ] varies in a convex, nonlinear fashion referenced to the x-axis this may be coupled with variation in the inner diameter [ 141 ], [ 151 ] & [ 161 ] of the flow channel whether ∇R IDChannel =0 or ∇R IDChannel ≠0 where the second differential in any combination, ∇ 2 R IDChannel , may have a negative, positive or zero value. This description is not considered limiting in any fashion as to the possible combinations in embodiment of variations in geometry between the inner [ 141 ], [ 151 ] & [ 161 ] and/or outer [ 147 ], [ 157 ] & [ 167 ] diameters of the fluid flow channel geometries and/or the outer assembly diameter [ 146 ], [ 156 ] & [ 166 ].
[0055] FIGS. 7 a & 7 b demonstrate a bladeless turbine, compressor or pump whose flow direction [ 178 ] & [ 188 ] is shown running from the axis [ 171 ] & [ 181 ] through the open-end disk [ 174 ] & [ 184 ] and the assembly of disks [ 172 ] & [ 182 ] and expelling along the periphery, outer diameter [ 176 ] & [ 186 ] of the disk assembly due to impingement on a closed end disk [ 175 ] & [ 185 ]. The geometry shown in FIGS. 7 a & 7 b is also valid for flow beginning at the periphery, outer diameter [ 176 ] & [ 186 ], of the blade assembly [ 172 ] & [ 182 ] to the center of the assembly turning parallel to the axis [ 171 ] & [ 181 ] through fluid flow chambers with the working fluid [ 178 ] & [ 188 ] exiting through an open end disk [ 174 ] & [ 184 ] and blocked by a closed end disk [ 175 ] & [ 185 ] at the opposite end. FIGS. 7 a & 7 b consist of a rotor assembly including but not limited to a shaft [ 171 ] & [ 181 ], any number of open disks [ 172 ] & [ 182 ], n, with a nominal amount of fluid flow chambers evenly spaced by any number of brackets, spacers or disk location(s) [ 173 ] & [ 183 ], m, on the shaft [ 171 ] & [ 181 ]. In one embodiment, the outer diameter [ 176 ] & [ 186 ] of the assembly of disks is variable described as ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0, ∇R ODDisk ≠0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk =0 or ∇R ODDisk =0 and ∇ 2 R ODDisk ≠0 where FIG. 7 a demonstrates a possible convex non-linear geometry and FIG. 7 b demonstrates a possible concave non-linear geometry. The embodiments in FIG. 7 a or 7 b are not considered limiting in any fashion as to the possible combinations in preferred embodiment of variations in geometry between the inner [ 171 ] & [ 181 ] and/or outer [ 177 ] & [ 187 ] diameters of the fluid flow channel geometries and/or the outer assembly diameter [ 176 ] & [ 186 ].
[0056] The above figures depict, but do not limit in concept the intention of the invention, possible flow optimizations through the combination of design and variation of individual fluid flow channel or disk outer diameter geometries for a given disk assembly of a bladeless compressor, pump or turbine. Geometries of individual fluid channels and outer diameter(s) with combinations thereof are recommended in this invention, but not limited as to possible designs or configurations of the fluid channels and outer diameter(s), to be maximized for energy infusion or extraction purposes between the working fluid and the mechanical components. These designs may be oriented on the rotor in any fashion to maximize the efficiency of energy addition or extraction to the compressible or incompressible working fluid. | Two or more disks of single or multiple materials of any given diameter and thickness whether homogeneous, tapered or contoured in a constant, linear or non-linear fashion in the axial direction with one or more openings in the disk(s) to create a fluid flow channel from the periphery of the disk(s) to the center near the shaft or vice versa and spaced a distance apart by a bracket, spacer or location along the shaft, used to comprise a disk assembly of a bladeless compressor, pump or turbine. Embodiments of this invention include the non-constant treatment of the assembly outer diameter, fluid flow channel inner and/or outer diameters as well as the differentiation in gap size between disks of the assembly. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A variety of flavorants have been developed and proposed for incorporation into tobacco products. Illustrative of such tobacco flavorants are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,580,259; 3,625,224; 3,722,516; 3,750,674; 3,879,425; 3,881,025; 3,884,247; 3,890,981; 3,903,900; 3,914,451; 3,915,175; 3,920,027; 3,924,644; 3,937,228; 3,943,943; 3,586,387; 4,379,754; and the like.
The use of carboxylic acid flavorants for tobacco products has received acceptance because of the desirable aroma and flavor characteristics which they impart to the smoke (J. C. Leffingwell, H. J. Young, and E. Bernasek, "Tobacco Flavoring for Smoking Products," R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, 1972). Specifically, acetic acid is commonly used as an ingredient of a Latakia tobacco flavoring formulation (J. Merory, "Food Flavorings," AVI Publishing Company, Incorporated, Westport, Conn., page 420, 1968). Isovaleric acid and 3-methylvaleric acid are major ingredients in a Turkish tobacco flavor formulation described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,340. Desirable flavors have been imparted to cigarette smoke by the addition of 4-ketoacids to tobacco in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,307.
Numerous methods of adding flavorants to tobacco smoke are known. Typically the known methods suffer from one or more disadvantages, particularly when the flavorant is a low molecular weight carboxylic acid. Specifically, some of these acids are highly volatile and possess objectionably strong odors that render them difficult to use in bulk amounts required for manufacturing purposes. In addition, some of the volatile acids may impart an undesirable pack aroma.
In an attempt to alleviate some of these problems, carboxylic acids have been incorporated in tobacco as part of a compound (i.e., an organic acid release agent) in such form that upon burning of the tobacco the compound will liberate one or more organic acids imparting a selected and desired flavor and aroma to the smoke. While considerably more satisfactory than earlier attempts, even this technique has evidenced certain drawbacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,145 through U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,150 describe a variety of methods for treating tobacco with compounds that release carboxylic acids on pyrolysis. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,145 patent describes esters of monohydric and polyhydric compounds. The hydroxy compounds may be aliphatic or aromatic in nature.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,146 patent describes esters of a sugar acid selected from aldonic acids and uronic acids. U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,150 describes nonvolatile synthetic polymers or condensation products, preferably those related to polyvinyl alcohol and vinyl alcohol-type condensation products. On pyrolysis, the carboxylic acid is liberated to flavor the smoke. These polymers have a distinct disadvantage in that they generally have high molecular weights and are more difficult to solubilize for application on tobacco.
Other patent references which disclose tobacco flavorant compositions that release carboxylic acids on pyrolysis include U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,237 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,702.
There is continuing research effort to develop improved low delivery smoking compositions which generate mainstream smoke with flavorant-enhanced taste and character under smoking conditions.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide smoking compositions having incorporated therein a flavorant component which is characterized by lack of mobility and/or volatility at ambient temperature.
It is another object of this invention to provide smoking tobacco compositions having incorporated therein a flavorant-release composition which under normal smoking conditions imparts improved flavor to mainstream smoke and improved aroma to sidestream smoke.
It is a further object of this invention to provide novel dioxane diester compositions which are adapted to be incorporated into tobacco compositions, and which under normal smoking conditions release a carboxylic acid type of volatile flavorant into cigarette smoke.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the following description and examples.
This patent application is related in subject matter to copending patent application Ser. No. 603,035, filed Apr. 23, 1984.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
One or more objects of the present invention are accomplished by the provision of a smoking composition comprising an admixture of (1) combustible filler selected from natural tobacco, reconstituted tobacco and tobacco substitutes, and (2) between about 0.0001 and 2 weight percent, based on the total weight of filler, of a dioxane diester flavorant-release additive corresponding to the formula: ##STR2## where R is a substituent selected from aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic radicals.
In the ester formula represented above, the R substituent is one containing between about 1-12 carbon atoms, preferably between about 3-10 carbon atoms, such as propyl, methoxyethyl, butyl, isobutyl, pentyl, 2-hexyl, 5-hexenyl, cyclohexyl, cyclohexenyl, furfuryl, phenyl, tolyl, ethylphenyl, methoxyphenyl, ethoxyphenyl, hydroxyphenyl, naphthyl, and the like. In addition to carbon and hydrogen, the R substituent can contain heteroatoms such as oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur.
When a present invention smoking composition is subjected to normal smoking conditions such as with cigarettes, the dioxane ester additive decomposes to release a volatile pyrolysis carboxylic acid component (RCO 2 H) which contributes flavor-enhancing properties to the mainstream smoke, such as for example: ##STR3## where R 1 is a substituent selected from hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, and alkoxy groups containing between about 1-4 carbon atoms.
Because of the diester structure, a high yield of carboxylic acid component is released from an invention dioxane diester under pyrolysis conditions. As noted previously, carboxylic acids are a known class of tobacco flavorants.
The present invention dioxane diesters are easily prepared and purified, and are soluble in organic solvents. They are uniquely stable and odorless compounds at ambient temperatures. In addition, the dioxane diesters decompose at a relatively low pyrolysis temperature (e.g., 200°-300° C.) to release a high yield of desirable flavor-enhancing components in mainstream smoke. The dioxane diesters are particularly effective for the efficient release of alkanoic acid flavorants such as butyric acid and isovaleric acid.
Preparation Of Dioxane Diesters
The dioxane diesters of the present invention can be prepared by reacting equivalent weights of a selected acyl halide compound with glycolaldehyde in the presence of a basic reagent such as pyridine or trimethylamine. The reaction may be visualized as proceeding via an in situ formed 2,5-dihydroxydioxane intermediate: ##STR4##
Details of synthesis methods for the preparation of substituted dioxanes are elaborated in prior art references. The synthesis of 2,5-diacetoxy-1,4-dioxane by the treatment of glycolaldehyde with acetic anhydride and pyridine is described in Berichte, 60, 1704(1927). The synthesis of 2,5-diacetoxy-1,4-dioxane by the reaction of 2,5-dichloro-1,4-dioxane with sodium acetate is disclosed in German Pat. No. 2,521,703 (Nov. 20, 1975).
The present invention dioxane diesters are readily amenable to crystallization and chromatographic purification procedures, as illustrated in the examples.
Preparation Of Tobacco Compositions
In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method of preparing a smoking composition which is adapted to impart improved taste and character to mainstream smoke under smoking conditions, which method comprises incorporating into natural tobacco and/or reconstituted tobacco and/or tobacco substitute between about 0.0001 and 2 weight percent, based on composition weight, of a dioxane diester flavorant-release additive corresponding to the formula: ##STR5## where R is a substituent selected from aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic radicals containing between about 3-10 carbon atoms.
The invention dioxane diester flavorant-release additive can be incorporated into the tobacco in accordance with methods known and used in the art. Preferably the flavorant-release additive is dissolved in a solvent such as alcohol or aqueous alcohol and then sprayed or injected into the tobacco and/or tobacco substitute matrix. Such method ensures an even distribution of the flavorant additive throughout the filler, and thereby facilitates the production of a more uniform smoking composition. Alternatively, the flavorant may be incorporated as part of a concentrated tobacco extract which is applied to a fibrous tobacco web as in the manufacture of reconstituted tobacco. Another suitable procedure is to incorporate the flavorant in tobacco or tobacco substitute filler in a concentration between about 0.5-5 weight percent, based on the weight of filler, and then subsequently to blend the treated filler with filler which does not contain flavorant additive.
The term "tobacco substitute" is meant to include non-tobacco smoking filler materials such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,703,177; 3,796,222; 4,019,521; 4,079,742; and references cited therein, incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,177 describes a process for preparing a non-tobacco smoking product from sugar beet pulp, which process involves the acid hydrolysis of the beet pulp to release beet pectins, and at least an alkaline earth treatment thereafter to cause crosslinking of the pectins and the formation of a binding agent for the exhausted beet matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,222 describes a smoking product derived from coffee bean hulls. The hulls are treated with reagents that attack the alkaline earth metal crosslinks causing the release of the coffee pectins. The pectins act as a binding agent and together with the treated hulls may be handled and used similarly to a tobacco product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,521 discloses a process for forming a smoking material which involves heating a cellulosic or carbohydrate material at a temperature of 150°-750° C. in an inert atmosphere for a period of time sufficient to effect a weight loss of at least 60 percent but not more than 90 percent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,742 discloses a process for the manufacture of a synthetic smoking product from a cellulosic material, which process involves a pyrolysis step and a basic extraction step to yield a resultant matrix which has a tobacco-like brown color and has improved smoking characteristics.
The following Examples are further illustrative of the present invention. The specific ingredients and processing parameters are presented as being typical, and various modifications can be derived in view of the foregoing disclosure within the scope of the invention.
Examples I-IV illustrate the preparation of dioxane diester compounds in accordance with the present invention. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses are utilized to confirm the structure of each compound.
As shown in Example VI, when a present invention dioxane diester is incorporated into low delivery filtered cigarette tobacco filler, there is a detectable enhancement of flavor and body in the mainstream smoke as compared to control cigarettes not containing a dioxane diester flavorant-release additive.
EXAMPLE 1
2,5-Bis(3-methylvaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane ##STR6##
To a solution of 2.5 ml of pyridine in 50 ml of methylene chloride is added with stirring 1.0 g (0.0167 mole) of glycolaldehyde. The resulting suspension is chilled in an ice bath. A solution of 2.25 g (0.0167 mole) of 3-methylvaleryl chloride in 10 ml of methylene chloride is added dropwise. Stirring is continued for approximately 15 minutes while maintaining the temperature at 0° C., then 18-24 hours at room temperature. The reaction mixture is washed with water, and then with aqueous saturated sodium bicarbonate. The organic layer is dried over sodium sulfate.
Evaporation of the solvent under reduced pressure yields a residue, to which toluene is added and removed by evaporation under reduced pressure. The semi-solid obtained is purified by preparative thin layer chromatography on silica gel using chloroform as the eluent, yielding 1.8 g of the pure product, m.p. 71°-72° C.
NMR and IR data confirm the above structure.
Anal. calc. for C 16 H 28 O 6 : C,60.74; H,8.92. Found: C,60.89; H,8.85.
EXAMPLE II
2,5-Bis(isovaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane ##STR7##
The synthesis of 2,5-bis(isovaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane is conducted on a 0.0167 mole scale with the appropriate acyl chloride and employing the same conditions as described in Example I, except that the semi-solid is purified by recrystallization from hexane. A 1.6 g yield of the pure product is obtained, m.p. 104°-105° C.
NMR and IR data confirm the above structure.
Anal. calc. for C 14 H 24 O 6 : C,58.32; H,8.39. Found: C,58.53; H,8.30.
EXAMPLE III
2,5-Bis(cyclohexylcarbonyloxy)-1,4-dioxane ##STR8##
The synthesis of 2,5-bis(cyclohexylcarbonyloxy)-1,4-dioxane is conducted on a 0.0167 mole scale with the appropriate acyl chloride and employing the same conditions as described in Example I, except that the semi-solid is purified by recrystallization from hexane. A 1.1 g yield of the pure product is obtained, m.p. 156°-158° C.
NMR and IR data confirm the above structure.
Anal. calc. for C 18 H 28 O 6 : C,63.51; H,8.29. Found: C,63.76; H,8.49.
EXAMPLE IV
2,5-Bis(benzoyloxy)-1,4-dioxane ##STR9##
The synthesis of 2,5-bis(benzoyloxy)-1,4-dioxane is conducted on a 0.0167 mole scale with the appropriate acyl chloride and employing the same conditions as described in Example I, except that the semi-solid is purified by recrystallization from chloroform/hexane. A 0.5 g yield of the pure product is obtained, m.p. 187°-189° C.
NMR and IR data confirm the above structure.
Anal. calc. for C 18 H 16 O 6 : C,65.85; H,4.91. Found: C,65.67; H,4.93.
EXAMPLE V
This Example illustrates the pyrolysis of present invention diesters of 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-dioxane to yield carboxylic acid flavorants.
A 50 mg sample of each of 2,5-bis(3-methylvaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane(I) and 2,5-bis(isovaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane(II) are pyrolyzed in a tube at 250° C. for 10 minutes. The yield of the released carboxylic acid component in each case is determined by GC.
______________________________________Compound Flavorant Yield %______________________________________I 3-methylvaleric acid 50II isovaleric acid 50______________________________________
In a similar manner, under pyrolysis conditions 2,5-bis(cyclohexylcarbonyloxy)-1,4-dioxane releases cyclohexanecarboxylic acid and 2,5-bis(benzoyloxy)-1,4-dioxane releases benzoic acid.
EXAMPLE VI
An ethanolic solution of 2,5-bis(3-methylvaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane is sprayed on tobacco filler to provide a final concentration of 0.2% by weight of the tobacco. Cigarettes are fabricated employing both treated and untreated filler (control). The cigarettes are equipped with conventional cellulose acetate fillers, and are designed to deliver approximately 5-6 mg TPM (tar).
The control and treated cigarettes are smoked by a panel of experienced smokers. The diester treated cigarettes are found to have a sweeter, increased sour-solvating response as compared to the untreated controls. | This invention provides smoking compositions which contain a dioxane diester compound as a flavorant additive.
In one of its embodiments, this invention provides tobacco compositions which contain a dioxane diester flavorant additive such as 2,5-bis(3-methylvaleryloxy)-1,4-dioxane: ##STR1## Under cigarette smoking conditions the above illustrated dioxane diester pyrolyzes into 3-methylvaleric acid and other products which enhance the flavor of the mainstream smoke and the aroma of sidestream smoke. | 2 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for controlling liquid flow through nanoscale capillary tubing and channels, by freezing the liquid or thawing the frozen liquid in a segment of the tube or channel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The management of the flow of liquids within small diameter channels presents challenges as the scale of the channels and volumes of the liquids are reduced. One significant constraint is the configuration of traditional valve technology. Nanoliter volume-scale fluid management is severely negatively affected by poorly-swept or “dead” volume that is inherent within traditional valving methods. The method of using a fluid within these nanoscale capillaries and channels to act as its own on/off valve by freezing and thawing that liquid is known in the art, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,159,744 and 5,795,788. It has been found that the flow of liquids can be diverted to a further channel or chamber by merely freezing and thawing the liquid contained within a segment of tubing or channel. This flow-switching device, that is commonly referred to as “freeze thaw valving”, requires no moving parts and most importantly contributes substantially no dead volume within the analytical system.
[0003] Prior art freeze thaw valves rely on the resistance to shearing motion that is obtained between a resulting frozen plug and the channel wall to restrict fluid flow during the valve closed state. While this method of fluid management has been successful in analytical systems involving low pressure, experience with these valves at high pressures (e.g. greater than 20,000 p.s.i) reveals that the frozen plug can be displaced from the valving segment resulting in low-level flow or leakage. As the frozen plug is extruded out of the valving segment, new fluid entering the valving segment is solidified maintaining an incomplete valve closure. Unfortunately, this low-level leakage is unacceptable when these freeze thaw valves are used for capillary chromatography and other nanoscale analytical systems where fluid flow rates as low as a few nanoliters per minute and high delivery pressures are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention provides methods and devices for the management of fluid flow within high pressure nanoscale analytical systems. The device comprises freeze thaw valves implemented by fluid conduits having differing geometries to restrain the motion of frozen plugs. The freeze thaw valve contemplated by the invention is directed to use in high-pressure analytical systems. The geometry of a fluid conduit within a freeze thaw segment of the valve is configured to cause constriction of at least a portion of a freeze plug, when a hydraulic load is applied to the upstream side of the plug. This geometry is used in the flow path of the freeze thaw valve segment to prevent movement of the frozen plug at high pressures to substantially avoid leakage. The configuration of the freeze thaw segment can be a variety of geometries that cause the constriction of the freeze plug when a hydraulic load is applied.
[0005] The fluid conduits contemplated within the invention have transverse dimensions (normal to the flow axis) on the order of approximately 2 μm to 500 μm, and more typically 25-100 μm. The pressures within the analytical systems utilizing the freeze thaw segments contemplated within the invention are on the order of approximately 20,000 PSIG or greater.
[0006] Means for freezing the liquid phase within the freeze thaw segment, in an illustrative embodiment, is a finely directed jet of cooling gas. The cooling gas can be provided from a liquefied source of gas under pressure, such as liquid carbon dioxide. Alternative means for freezing the liquid phase, within the freeze thaw segment, include the use of a cryogenic liquid such as liquid nitrogen, or a thermoelectric method such as a Peltier-based heat pump. It is contemplated within the invention, that a warming means for thawing the frozen plug, within the freeze thaw segment, can be a directed jet of warm air or other gas, an electrical resistance heating element, or the ambient air within the analytical environment. The temperature of the freeze thaw segment may be monitored by conventional means known to those skilled in the art such as a thermocouple incorporated into the freeze thaw segment. Further, the cooling means may be applied continuously during the time required to maintain the limiting frozen plug and interrupted by alternative heating means when fluid flow is desired.
[0007] Advantages of the invention include provision of a simple and low cost mechanism for implementing freeze thaw valving in high pressure contexts. Migration of the frozen plug and leakage are substantially avoided. The present invention provides methods and apparatus for the management of fluid flow within a nanoscale high pressure analytical system while avoiding introduction of poorly-swept or dead volumes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0008] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the exemplary embodiments of the method and apparatus for freeze thaw valving of the present invention.
[0009] [0009]FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1 C depict prior art freeze thaw valving;
[0010] [0010]FIGS. 2A and 2B depict configurations used to constrict a freeze plug;
[0011] [0011]FIG. 3 depicts a porous frit bonded to a capillary wall to constrict a freeze plug;
[0012] [0012]FIG. 4 depicts capillaries having different diameter to constrict a freeze plug;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 5 depicts chemical modification of capillary walls to impart surface roughness; and
[0014] [0014]FIG. 6 depicts a bend in a capillary tube used to constrict a freeze plug.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] In typical freeze thaw valves a resistance to shearing motion exists between the frozen liquid plug and capillary walls; that resistance is sufficient to restrict fluid flow. However, this method of valving has been found to be problematic as pressures are increased, such as within a high pressure analytical system. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a typical freeze thaw valve is depicted. In the typical freeze thaw valve a solid plug 101 is formed within a segment of capillary tubing 104 by directing a refrigerant 103 such as carbon dioxide to a selected segment 102 of capillary tubing 104 or channel. As shown in FIG. 1B, the frozen plug 101 is formed causing fluid flow within the selected segment 102 to cease. Turning to FIG. 1C, a high pressure analytical system (e.g. 20,000 p.s.i or greater) is depicted. Within this high pressure analytical system, fluid pressure within the capillary tubing 104 or channel produces an axial force on the frozen plug, which creates a shear stress at the interface between the formed frozen plug 101 and capillary wall 105 . A sufficiently high applied fluid pressure will cause the frozen plug 101 to move. The movement of the frozen plug 101 results in valve leakage. While a subsequent frozen plug 106 is formed, the movement of the original frozen plug 101 can be problematic for the downstream analysis.
[0016] Turning to FIG. 2A, the interior geometry of a capillary tubing is changed to provide a freeze thaw valve that not only relies on the resistance to shearing motion obtained between a frozen plug 202 and the corresponding capillary walls, but also uses a region of convergent geometry within the fluid channel to prevent the frozen plug from moving and causing leakage. A taper 201 is formed within the interior of the capillary to allow constriction of the frozen plug 202 in the presence of an applied hydraulic load, preventing failure and migration of the freeze thaw plug in analytical systems that involve fluid pressures in excess of 20,000 p.s.i. The altered geometry of the freeze thaw segment is formed by tapering the internal dimensions of the capillary tubing or channel to form a convergent region. For example, the capillary internal diameter can be tapered inwardly approximately one-half the normal capillary interior diameter over a length of approximately one times the normal capillary interior diameter (e.g. for a 100 μm capillary a taper to 50 μm over a length of 100 μm) in order to facilitate the constriction feature or mechanism.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 2B, an illustrative alternative embodiment has a freeze thaw segment 301 having an interior channel 302 with a geometry that is bulbous in configuration, including a divergent region followed by a convergent region. As in the above inventive freeze thaw valves, the geometry of this embodiment imparts, in addition to the resistance to shearing motion utilized in prior art valves, constriction forces that allow its use in high pressure analytical systems. In this embodiment the capillary interior diameter is increased to approximately one and one-half times the normal capillary interior diameter over a length of three times the normal capillary interior diameter to form the constriction mechanism.
[0018] Turning to FIG. 3, a further illustrative alternative embodiment is shown. In this alternative embodiment, a porous frit 401 is bonded to a capillary wall 402 forming a freeze thaw valve segment 403 . As in the above inventive freeze thaw valves, the configuration of this embodiment provides a frozen plug 404 within the freeze thaw segment with not only a resistance to shearing motion between the plug and the capillary wall, but also constriction forces that allow the use of this embodiment in high pressure analytical systems. In this illustrative embodiment the frit 401 is formed by polymerizing sodium silicate in situ over a length of approximately two times the capillary interior diameter. The frit 401 prepared in this way forms covalent linkages to the capillary wall thereby maintaining a stationary position. The frit 401 has a pore size of approximately 0.5 μm. Within this porous frit 401 , the fluid pathways or interstitial spaces include repeated instances where convergent geometry is obtained.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, an additional illustrative alternative embodiment has a freeze thaw segment 501 that has a proximal capillary 502 having a first interior diameter 504 and a distal capillary 503 having a second interior diameter 505 . The proximal capillary 502 is joined with the distal capillary 503 forming the freeze thaw segment 501 . The first interior diameter 504 is larger than the second interior diameter 505 . The difference in the diameter of the first interior and the second interior diameters imparts to the freeze thaw segment 501 a configuration that allows a frozen plug 506 to be held in place by not only the resistance to shearing motion obtained at the interface between the plug and the capillary wall, but constrictive forces that are caused by the differing diameters.
[0020] As illustrated in FIG. 5, a further alternative embodiment provides a freeze thaw segment having changes to its interior capillary walls 601 . Chemical modifications of the interior capillary wall, by methods known to those skilled in the art, such as filling a capillary with IN NaOH for approximately 24 hours at 25° C., produces a capillary wall that is rough in texture. This rough surface allows a frozen plug 602 to be held in place by not only resistance to shearing motion obtained at the interface between the plug and the capillary wall, but also constrictive forces that are created where regions of divergent geometry are followed by regions of convergent geometry.
[0021] In FIG. 6, yet a further alternative embodiment having a freeze thaw segment 703 containing a bend 701 in a capillary tubing 702 or channel. This bend 701 , within the freeze thaw segment 703 , imparts constrictive forces that allow a frozen plug to be held in place by not only resistance to shearing motion obtained between the plug and the capillary wall, but also constrictive forces that are caused by the non-linear shape of the freeze thaw segment 703 .
[0022] The freeze thaw valves according to the invention can be manufactured by methods known to those skilled in the art. Capillary or channel composition will be a function of structural requirements, manufacturing processes, and reagent compatibility/chemical resistance properties. The choice of materials will depend on a number of factors such as ease in manufacturing and inertness to fluids that will flow through the nanoscale channels or capillary tubing, as is known to those skilled in the art. Specifically, capillary tubing and channels are provided that are made from inorganic crystalline or amorphous materials, e.g. silicon, silica, quartz, inert metals, or from organic materials such as plastics, for example, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), acetonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyolefins, polypropylene, polyphenylene sulphide (PPS), PEEK, and metallocene. Capillary tubing and channels according to the invention can be fabricated from thermoplastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, methylmethacrylates, polycarbonates, and certain Teflons, among others, due to their ease of molding, stamping and milling. Alternatively, capillary tubing and channels can be made of silica, glass, quartz or inert metal.
[0023] Although the present disclosure is described in detail with respect to chromatographic applications and specifically capillary chromatography where flow rates as low as 5 nanoliters per minute are used, it is contemplated that embodiments of the present invention can also be directed to industrial and process control applications as well.
[0024] Although the inventive freeze thaw valve is discussed in terms of nanoscale applications, it should be appreciated that the configurations disclosed herein can be adapted to much larger scale channels or tubes where liquids under high pressure are used. Although specific geometries have been set forth in the above illustrative embodiments, it should be appreciated that the configurations disclosed herein are not an exhaustive illustration of geometries or configurations that can be used. It should be further appreciated that any of various configuration that impart compressive or constrictive forces to a freeze plug within a freeze thaw segment, in the presence of an applied hydraulic load, can be utilized.
[0025] Various other changes, omissions and additions in the form and detail of the present invention may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplification of the various embodiments. | Methods and devices for the management of fluid flow within nanoscale analytical systems, comprising a freeze thaw valve having differing geomentries to constrict a frozen plug within the freeze thaw segment. The freeze thaw valve is directed to use in high-pressure analytical systems. The geometry of an inner diameter of a channel or tube within a freeze thaw segment is configured to cause constriction of a freeze plug when axial force is applied. The constriction is used in the flow-path of a freeze thaw valve to prevent movement of the frozen plug at high pressures to avoid valve leakage. | 8 |
CROSS-REFERENCE
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/430,504, filed Jan. 6, 2011. The entire contents of the above application are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
The invention relates generally to a multiple speed transmission having a plurality of planetary gear sets and a plurality of torque transmitting devices and more particularly to a multiple speed transmission having four planetary gear sets and a plurality of torque transmitting devices.
BACKGROUND
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
A typical multiple speed transmission uses a combination of friction clutches or brakes, planetary gear arrangements and fixed interconnections to achieve a plurality of gear ratios. The number and physical arrangement of the planetary gear sets, generally, are dictated by packaging, cost and desired speed ratios.
While current transmissions achieve their intended purpose, the need for new and improved transmission configurations which exhibit improved performance, especially from the standpoints of efficiency, responsiveness and smoothness and improved packaging, primarily reduced size and weight, is essentially constant. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved, cost-effective, compact multiple speed transmission.
SUMMARY
A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, four planetary gear sets, a plurality of coupling members and a plurality of torque transmitting devices. Each of the planetary gear sets includes first, second and third members. The torque transmitting devices are for example clutches and brakes.
In one example, the transmission includes an input member, an output member, a first and a second planetary gear set each having a first, a second, and a third member, wherein each of the first, second, and third members is included in one of a first rotary member, a second rotary member, a third rotary member, and a fourth rotary member, and wherein two of the members of the first planetary gear set are directly separately connected with two of the members of the second planetary gear set to form the first and the second rotary members and wherein the fourth rotary member is directly connected to the input member.
The transmission also includes a third and a fourth planetary gear set each having a first, a second, and a third member, wherein each of the first, second, and third members is included in one of a fifth rotary member, a sixth rotary member, a seventh rotary member, and an eighth rotary member, and wherein two of the members of the third planetary gear set are directly separately connected with two of the members of the fourth planetary gear set to form the fifth and sixth rotary members and wherein the sixth rotary member is directly connected to the output member. An interconnecting member continuously connected to the first rotary member and the seventh rotary member.
Six torque transmitting devices are each selectively engageable to connect at least one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth rotary members with at least one other of a stationary member and the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth rotary members. The torque transmitting devices are selectively engageable in combinations of at least two to establish multiple forward speed ratios and at least one reverse speed ratio between the input member and the output member.
Further features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and appended drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to the same component, element or feature.
DRAWINGS
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
FIG. 1 is a lever diagram of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a truth table presenting the state of engagement of the various torque transmitting elements in each of the available forward and reverse speeds or gear ratios of the transmission illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a truth table presenting the state of engagement of the various torque transmitting elements in each of the available forward and reverse speeds or gear ratios of the transmission illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4 ;
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a truth table presenting the state of engagement of the various torque transmitting elements in each of the available forward and reverse speeds or gear ratios of the transmission illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6 ;
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a truth table presenting the state of engagement of the various torque transmitting elements in each of the available forward and reverse speeds or gear ratios of the transmission illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8 ;
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission according to the present invention; and
FIG. 11 is a truth table presenting the state of engagement of the various torque transmitting elements in each of the available forward and reverse speeds or gear ratios of the transmission illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 10 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Referring now to FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a multiple speed transmission 10 is illustrated in a lever diagram format. A lever diagram is a schematic representation of the components of a mechanical device such as an automatic transmission. Each individual lever represents a planetary gear set wherein the three basic mechanical components of the planetary gear set are each represented by a node. Therefore, a single lever contains three nodes: one for the sun gear, one for the planet gear carrier, and one for the ring gear. The relative length between the nodes of each lever can be used to represent the ring-to-sun ratio of each respective gear set. These lever ratios, in turn, are used to vary the gear ratios of the transmission in order to achieve appropriate ratios and ratio progression. Mechanical couplings or interconnections between the nodes of the various planetary gear sets are illustrated by thin, horizontal lines and torque transmitting devices such as clutches and brakes are presented as interleaved fingers. If the device is a brake, one set of the fingers is grounded. Further explanation of the format, purpose and use of lever diagrams can be found in SAE Paper 810102, “The Lever Analogy: A New Tool in Transmission Analysis” by Benford and Leising which is hereby fully incorporated by reference.
The transmission 10 includes an input shaft or member 12 , a first planetary gear set 14 having three nodes: a first node 14 A, a second node 14 B and a third node 14 C, a second planetary gear set 16 having three nodes: a first node 16 A, a second node 16 B and a third node 16 C, a third planetary gear set 18 having three nodes: a first node 18 A, a second node 18 B and a third node 18 C, a fourth planetary gear set 20 having three nodes: a first node 20 A, a second node 20 B and a third node 20 C and an output shaft or member 22 .
The input member 12 is coupled to the first node 16 A of the second planetary gear set 16 . The output member 22 is coupled to the second node 18 B of the third planetary gear set 18 and the second node 20 B of the fourth planetary gear set 20 . The second node 14 B of the first planetary gear set 14 is coupled to the second node 16 B of the second planetary gear set 16 . The third node 14 C of the first planetary gear set 14 is coupled to the third node 16 C of the second planetary gear set 16 and the first node 18 A of the third planetary gear set 18 . The second node 18 B of the third planetary gear set 18 is coupled to the second node 20 B of the fourth planetary gear set 20 . The third node 18 C of the third planetary gear set 18 is coupled to the third node 20 C of the fourth planetary gear set 20 .
A first clutch 26 selectively connects the first node 16 A of the second planetary gear set 16 and the input member 12 with the third node 18 C of the third planetary gear set 18 and the third node 20 C of the fourth planetary gear set 20 . A second clutch 28 selectively connects the first node 16 A of the second planetary gear set 16 and the input member 12 with the first node 20 A of the fourth planetary gear set 20 . A first brake 30 selectively connects the first node 14 A of the first planetary gear set 14 to a stationary member or a transmission housing 40 . A second brake 32 selectively connects the second node 14 B of the first planetary gear set 14 and the second node 16 B of the second planetary gear set 16 to a stationary member or transmission housing 40 . A third brake 34 selectively connects the third node 14 C of the first planetary gear set, the third node 16 C of the second planetary gear set 16 , and the first node 18 A of the third planetary gear set 18 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 . A fourth brake 36 selectively connects the third node 18 C of the third planetary gear set 18 and the third node 20 C of the fourth planetary gear set 20 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 .
Referring now to FIG. 2 , a stick diagram presents a schematic layout of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 10 according to the present invention. In FIG. 2 , the numbering from the lever diagram of FIG. 1 is carried over. The clutches, brakes, and couplings are correspondingly presented whereas the nodes of the planetary gear sets now appear as components of planetary gear sets such as sun gears, ring gears, planet gears and planet gear carriers.
For example, the first planetary gear set 14 includes a sun gear member 14 A, a planet gear carrier member 14 C and a ring gear member 14 B. The sun gear member 14 A is connected for common rotation with a first shaft or interconnecting member 42 . The ring gear member 14 B is connected for common rotation with a second shaft or interconnecting member 44 . The planet gear carrier member 14 C rotatably supports a set of planet gears 14 D (only one of which is shown) and is connected for common rotation with a third shaft or interconnecting member 46 and a fourth shaft or interconnecting member 48 . The planet gears 14 D are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 14 A and the ring gear member 14 B.
The second planetary gear set 16 includes a sun gear member 16 A, a planet carrier member 16 C that rotatably supports a set of planet gears 16 D and 16 E, and a ring gear member 16 B. The sun gear member 16 A is connected for common rotation with the input member 12 . The ring gear member 16 B is connected for common rotation with the second shaft or interconnecting member 44 . The planet carrier member 16 C is connected for common rotation with the fourth shaft or interconnecting member 48 and a fifth shaft or interconnecting member 50 . The planet gears 16 D are each configured to intermesh with both the ring gear member 16 B and the planet gears 16 E. The planet gears 16 E are each configured to intermesh with both the planet gears 16 D and the sun gear 16 A.
The third planetary gear set 18 includes a sun gear member 18 A, a ring gear member 18 B and a planet carrier member 18 C that rotatably supports a set of planet gears 18 D. The sun gear member 18 A is connected for common rotation with the fifth interconnecting member 50 . The ring gear member 18 B is connected for common rotation with a sixth shaft or interconnecting member 52 . The planet carrier member 18 C is connected for common rotation with a seventh shaft or interconnecting member 54 and with an eighth shaft or interconnecting member 56 . The planet gears 18 D are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 18 A and the ring gear member 18 B.
The fourth planetary gear set 20 includes a sun gear member 20 A, a ring gear member 20 C and a planet carrier member 20 B that rotatably supports a set of planet gears 20 D. The sun gear member 20 A is connected for common rotation with a ninth shaft or interconnecting member 58 . The ring gear member 20 C is connected for common rotation with the seventh interconnecting member 54 . The planet carrier member 20 B is connected for common rotation with the sixth interconnecting member 52 and with the output member 22 . The planet gears 20 D are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 20 A and the ring gear member 20 C.
The input shaft or member 12 is preferably continuously connected to an engine (not shown) or to a turbine of a torque converter (not shown). The output shaft or member 22 is preferably continuously connected with the final drive unit or transfer case (not shown).
The torque-transmitting mechanisms or clutches 26 , 28 and brakes 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 allow for selective interconnection of the shafts or interconnecting members, members of the planetary gear sets and the housing. For example, the first clutch 26 is selectively engageable to connect the eighth interconnecting member 56 with the input member 12 . The second clutch 28 is selectively engageable to connect the ninth interconnecting member 58 with the input member 12 . The first brake 30 is selectively engageable to connect the first interconnecting member 42 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the sun gear member 14 A of the first planetary gear set 14 from rotating relative to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 . The second brake 32 is selectively engageable to connect the second interconnecting member 44 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the ring gear member 14 B of the first planetary gear set 14 and the ring gear member 16 B of the second planetary gear set 16 from rotating relative to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 . The third brake 34 is selectively engageable to connect the third interconnecting member 46 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the planet carrier member 14 C of the first planetary gear set 14 , the planet carrier member 16 C of the second planetary gear set 16 , and the sun gear 18 A of the third planetary gear set 18 from rotating relative to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 . The fourth brake 36 is selectively engageable to connect the seventh interconnecting member 54 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the planet carrier member 18 C of the third planetary gear set 18 and the ring gear member 20 C of the fourth planetary gear set 20 from rotating relative to the stationary element or transmission housing 40 .
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the operation of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 10 will be described. It will be appreciated that the transmission 10 is capable of transmitting torque from the input shaft or member 12 to the output shaft or member 22 in at least nine forward speed or torque ratios and at least one reverse speed or torque ratio. Each forward and reverse speed or torque ratio is attained by engagement of one or more of the torque-transmitting mechanisms (i.e. first clutch 26 , second clutch 28 , first brake 30 , second brake 32 , third brake 34 , and fourth brake 36 ), as will be explained below. FIG. 3 is a truth table presenting the various combinations of torque transmitting mechanisms that are activated or engaged to achieve the various gear states. Actual numerical gear ratios of the various gear states are also presented although it should be appreciated that these numerical values are exemplary only and that they may be adjusted over significant ranges to accommodate various applications and operational criteria of the transmission 10 . An example of the gear ratios that may be obtained using the embodiments of the present invention are also shown in FIG. 3 . Of course, other gear ratios are achievable depending on the gear diameter, gear teeth count and gear configuration selected.
To establish reverse gear, the first brake 30 and the fourth brake 36 are engaged or activated. The first brake 30 connects the first interconnecting member 42 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the sun gear member 14 A of the first planetary gear set 14 from rotating relative to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 . The fourth brake 36 connects the seventh interconnecting member 54 to the stationary member or transmission housing 40 in order to restrict the planet carrier member 18 C of the third planetary gear set 18 and the ring gear member 20 C of the fourth planetary gear set 20 from rotating relative to the stationary element or transmission housing 40 . Likewise, the nine forward ratios are achieved through different combinations of clutch and brake engagement, as shown in FIG. 3 .
Turning to FIG. 4 , a stick diagram presents a schematic layout of another embodiment of a multiple speed transmission 100 based on the transmission 10 according to the present invention. In FIG. 4 , the components of planetary gear sets such as sun gears, ring gears, planet gears and planet gear carriers, clutches, brakes, and couplings are correspondingly presented in the transmission 100 . Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 , the operation of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 100 will be described. It will be appreciated that the transmission 100 is capable of transmitting torque from the input shaft or member 12 to the output shaft or member 22 in at least nine forward speed or torque ratios and at least one reverse speed or torque ratio. Each forward and reverse speed or torque ratio is attained by engagement of one or more of the torque-transmitting mechanisms (i.e. first clutch 26 , second clutch 28 , first brake 30 , second brake 32 , third brake 34 , and fourth brake 36 ). FIG. 5 is a truth table presenting the various combinations of torque transmitting mechanisms that are activated or engaged to achieve the various gear states. Actual numerical gear ratios of the various gear states are also presented although it should be appreciated that these numerical values are exemplary only and that they may be adjusted over significant ranges to accommodate various applications and operational criteria of the transmission 100 . An example of the gear ratios that may be obtained using the embodiments of the present invention are also shown in FIG. 5 . Of course, other gear ratios are achievable depending on the gear diameter, gear teeth count and gear configuration selected.
Turning to FIG. 6 , a stick diagram presents a schematic layout of another embodiment of a multiple speed transmission 200 based on the transmission 10 according to the present invention. In FIG. 6 , the components of planetary gear sets such as sun gears, ring gears, planet gears and planet gear carriers, clutches, brakes, and couplings are correspondingly presented in the transmission 200 . Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the operation of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 200 will be described. It will be appreciated that the transmission 200 is capable of transmitting torque from the input shaft or member 12 to the output shaft or member 22 in at least nine forward speed or torque ratios and at least one reverse speed or torque ratio. Each forward and reverse speed or torque ratio is attained by engagement of one or more of the torque-transmitting mechanisms (i.e. first clutch 26 , second clutch 28 , first brake 30 , second brake 32 , third brake 34 , and fourth brake 36 ). FIG. 7 is a truth table presenting the various combinations of torque transmitting mechanisms that are activated or engaged to achieve the various gear states. Actual numerical gear ratios of the various gear states are also presented although it should be appreciated that these numerical values are exemplary only and that they may be adjusted over significant ranges to accommodate various applications and operational criteria of the transmission 200 . An example of the gear ratios that may be obtained using the embodiments of the present invention are also shown in FIG. 7 . Of course, other gear ratios are achievable depending on the gear diameter, gear teeth count and gear configuration selected.
Turning to FIG. 8 , a stick diagram presents a schematic layout of another embodiment of a multiple speed transmission 300 based on the transmission 10 according to the present invention. In FIG. 8 , the components of planetary gear sets such as sun gears, ring gears, planet gears and planet gear carriers, clutches, brakes, and couplings are correspondingly presented in the transmission 300 . In transmission 300 , planetary gear sets 18 and 20 (shown in the lever diagram of FIG. 1 ) are combined to form a planetary gear set assembly 17 . Planetary gear set assembly 17 includes sun gear members 18 A and 20 A, a ring gear member 18 B/ 20 B and a planet gear carrier member 18 C/ 20 C that rotatably supports a first set of planet gears 19 (only one of which is shown) and a second set of planet gears 21 (only one of which is shown). The planet gears 19 are long pinion gears that have a first end 19 a and a second end 19 b . The planet gears 19 are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 18 A at the first end 19 a and intermesh with the ring gear member 18 B/ 20 B and the second set of planet gears 21 at the second end 19 b . The second set of planet gears 21 are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 20 A and the first set of planet gears 19 . The sun gear member 18 A is interconnected with the ring gear 16 C of the second planetary gear set 16 . The ring gear member 18 B/ 20 B is connected for common rotation with the output shaft 22 . The planet carrier member 18 C/ 20 C is connected for common rotation with the brake 36 and clutch 26 . Sun gear member 20 A is connected for common rotation with clutch 28 .
Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9 , the operation of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 300 will be described. It will be appreciated that the transmission 300 is capable of transmitting torque from the input shaft or member 12 to the output shaft or member 22 in at least nine forward speed or torque ratios and at least one reverse speed or torque ratio. Each forward and reverse speed or torque ratio is attained by engagement of one or more of the torque-transmitting mechanisms (i.e. first clutch 26 , second clutch 28 , first brake 30 , second brake 32 , third brake 34 , and fourth brake 36 ). FIG. 9 is a truth table presenting the various combinations of torque transmitting mechanisms that are activated or engaged to achieve the various gear states. Actual numerical gear ratios of the various gear states are also presented although it should be appreciated that these numerical values are exemplary only and that they may be adjusted over significant ranges to accommodate various applications and operational criteria of the transmission 300 . An example of the gear ratios that may be obtained using the embodiments of the present invention are also shown in FIG. 9 . Of course, other gear ratios are achievable depending on the gear diameter, gear teeth count and gear configuration selected.
Turning to FIG. 10 , a stick diagram presents a schematic layout of another embodiment of a multiple speed transmission 400 based on the transmission 10 according to the present invention. In FIG. 10 , the components of planetary gear sets such as sun gears, ring gears, planet gears and planet gear carriers, clutches, brakes, and couplings are correspondingly presented in the transmission 400 . In transmission 400 , planetary gear sets 14 and 16 (shown in the lever diagram of FIG. 1 ) are combined to form a planetary gear set assembly 27 . Planetary gear set assembly 27 includes sun gear members 14 A and 16 A, a ring gear member 14 B/ 16 B and a planet gear carrier member 14 C/ 16 C that rotatably supports a first set of planet gears 29 (only one of which is shown) and a second set of planet gears 31 (only one of which is shown). The planet gears 29 are long pinion gears that have a first end 29 a and a second end 29 b . The planet gears 29 are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 14 A at the first end 29 a and intermesh with the ring gear member 14 B/ 16 B and the second set of planet gears 31 at the second end 29 b . The second set of planet gears 31 are each configured to intermesh with both the sun gear member 16 A and the first set of planet gears 29 . The sun gear member 14 A is interconnected with brake 30 . The ring gear member 14 B/ 16 B is interconnected with brake 32 . The planet carrier member 14 C/ 16 C is connected with the brake 34 and the sun gear 18 A of the third planetary gear set 18 . Sun gear member 16 A is connected for common rotation with clutches 26 and 28 and input shaft 12 .
Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11 , the operation of the embodiment of the multiple speed transmission 400 will be described. It will be appreciated that the transmission 400 is capable of transmitting torque from the input shaft or member 12 to the output shaft or member 22 in at least nine forward speed or torque ratios and at least one reverse speed or torque ratio. Each forward and reverse speed or torque ratio is attained by engagement of one or more of the torque-transmitting mechanisms (i.e. first clutch 26 , second clutch 28 , first brake 30 , second brake 32 , third brake 34 , and fourth brake 36 ). FIG. 11 is a truth table presenting the various combinations of torque transmitting mechanisms that are activated or engaged to achieve the various gear states. Actual numerical gear ratios of the various gear states are also presented although it should be appreciated that these numerical values are exemplary only and that they may be adjusted over significant ranges to accommodate various applications and operational criteria of the transmission 400 . An example of the gear ratios that may be obtained using the embodiments of the present invention are also shown in FIG. 11 . Of course, other gear ratios are achievable depending on the gear diameter, gear teeth count and gear configuration selected.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and 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. | A transmission is provided having an input member, an output member, four planetary gear sets, a plurality of coupling members and six torque transmitting devices. Each of the planetary gear sets includes first, second and third members. The torque transmitting devices may include clutches and brakes. | 5 |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 1,101 filed on Jan. 4, 1979.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to laser beam focussing devices and more particularly to an apparatus adapted for focussing and time averaging the intensity distribution of a beam of radiation on a workpiece at high frequency.
Material processing applications typically require rapid, controlled scanning of a focussed beam of high power radiation over a surface of a workpiece. The rapid, controlled scanning of the radiation is required to reduce the average intensity of the beam energy input onto the workpiece while maintaining a high instantaneous intensity of radiation at the interaction zone to promote effective coupling of the radiation with the workpiece. In a typical example utilizing high power radiation from a carbon dioxide laser for welding aluminum, an incident power density of approximately 5×10 6 watts per square centimeter is required to overcome the initially high surface reflectivity of the aluminum material and to establish a deep penetration welding condition therein. Once the deep penetration welding condition has been established, however, the efficiency of energy coupling increases dramatically. The increased energy absorption together with the relatively modest energy requirements for fusing aluminum (due to low density and melting point) lead to substantial overheating of the weld zone. In addition to causing sporadic vaporization and material expulsion, the high molten material temperature promotes hydrogen solubility and resultant weld porosity.
Davis et al. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 209,940 filed Nov. 2, 1980, a continuation of Ser. No. 1,038, now abandoned, and held with the present application by a common assignee, discloses a mechanical rotating apparatus adapted for rotating a beam of radiation about its propagation axis to effectively time average the azimuthal intensity distribution of the radiation incident on a workpiece. The beam undergoes multiple reflections within the apparatus such that the beam rotates at twice the rotation frequency of the apparatus. Displacing the beam exiting the rotating apparatus from the rotation axis effectively time averages the azimuthal and radial intensity distribution. This unit, however, does not adapt to moving the focussed spot and is limited to the frequencies reasonably attainable by mechanical rotation.
Another method of time averaging the intensity distribution of a high power beam of radiation is to oscillate the beam across the beam-radiation interaction zone. This method has been clearly demonstrated in electron beam technology wherein electron beams due to their electric charge can be readily scanned at high frequency over an interaction zone with electric or magnetic means. Electrooptical and mechanical scanning means are available for low frequency oscillation of a beam of laser radiation having low power. However, low frequency oscillation of the beam to obtain time averaging of the intensity distribution is inadequate for most laser welding applications since the interaction time of the material is more rapid than the time required to scan the beam across a weld zone. Under such conditions a narrow, spiral weld bead will be formed rather than the desirable broadened, linear bead.
To obtain effective time averaging of the intensity distribution for welding purposes, the beam must be oscillated across the weld zone in a time short compared to the characteristic thermal conduction time of molten metal such that the reaction of the material with the radiation is characterized by the interaction of a beam having an intensity averaged distribution with the material. For aluminum material this typically requires oscillating the beam at a frequency in excess of one thousand hertz.
Prior art techniques of oscillating a beam of high power radiation at high frequencies are not suitable. Laser mirrors adapted for focussing high power radiation typically have substantial bulk and/or require cooling. Direct mechanical oscillation of these optical elements at frequencies of one thousand hertz or greater requires prohibitive driving forces. The present invention discloses an apparatus obviating this difficulty.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a focussed beam of radiation having a reduced time average intensity distribution incident on a workpiece while maintaining the high instantaneous intensity essential for effective coupling with a workpiece.
In accordance with the present invention a method for providing a focussed beam of radiation having a time average intensity distribution includes use of a compound beam adapted for vibration about a centerline axis having a shaft longitudinally disposed about the centerline axis, a first end member fixedly attached to one end of the shaft, and a second end member fixedly attached to the other end of the shaft, wherein the second end member is adapted for receiving energy to induce and sustain vibratory motion of the compound beam, means disposed proximate the second end for inducing vibratory motion in the compound beam, and means attached to the first end member for focussing a beam of radiation.
A primary feature of the present invention is scanning of a reflective surface adapted for focussing a beam of radiation incident thereon to a focus zone wherein the reflective surface is attached to one end of the compound beam.
The vibratory motion of the first end member in the first direction results in the focus zone oscillating in a first line scan while vibratory motion in the second direction results in the focus zone oscillating in a second line scan wherein the first line scan is orthogonal to the second line scan. Additionally the two pairs of electromagnetic drivers are capable of operation in phase quadrature to produce a circular scan of the focus zone. Varying the amplitude and time phase of the signals on the two pairs of electromagnetic drivers allows the creation of an elliptical scan of the focus zone in any orientation and eccentricity.
A primary advantage of the present invention is the high frequency oscillation of the focus zone of laser radiation for time averaging the intensity distribution of radiation incident onto a workpiece. Additionally, since the compound beam is vibrated at a natural frequency, the amount of energy required to induce the compound beam to vibrate at a high frequency is minimized. Also, the unitary construction of the preferred embodiment eliminates energy losses at the component interfaces. A compound beam formed with discrete elements can be configured to achieve a low mass of the compound beam to obtain a high frequency fundamental vibratory mode while utilizing high strength shaft material for mechanical integrity (in particular fatique endurance). The compound beam is capable of being vibrated at a frequency sufficiently high such that the focus zone of the radiation oscillates at a frequency greater than the characteristic thermal response time of the material of a workpiece.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the light of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof as discussed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a representative compound beam utilized in the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the compound beam shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a simplified perspective view of one end of the present invention showing the means for inducing vibratory motion into a compound beam;
FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the present invention vibrating in a fundamental mode;
FIG. 5 is a simplified schematic of the motion of a focus zone of the radiation when the component of FIG. 1 is vibrated as shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a simplified cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIGS. 7A and B are simplified views of two possible vibration modes of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1 which shows a simplified perspective view of a compound beam 10 adapted for time averaging a focussed beam of radiation in accordance with the present invention. The compound beam includes a shaft 12 longitudinally disposed about a centerline axis 14, a first disk 16 having a first side 18 fixedly attached to a first end 20 of the shaft and a second disk 22 having a first side 24 fixedly attached to the second end 26 of the shaft. The first and second disks and the shaft are all symmetrically disposed about the centerline axis. The first disk 16 has a reflective surface 28 having a radius of curvature R adapted for focussing a beam of radiation incident thereon to a focal zone as hereinafter described. In the preferred embodiment the compound beam 10 has a unitary structure formed from a single piece of material thereby eliminating energy losses at the material interfaces. The width W of the first and second disks 16, 22 are substantially the same for balancing the compound beam around the centerline axis 14 and a vertical axis 30 through the shaft substantially in the center between the first and second disks.
Referring now to FIG. 2 which shows a simplified cross-sectional view of the present invention wherein the compound beam 10 is supported by bearings 32, such as air bearings, disposed about the shaft 12 proximate the first side 18 of the first disk 16 and proximate the first side 24 of the second disk 22. The bearings are positioned within planes 34 perpendicularly disposed to the centerline axis 14 and passing through nodal positions 36 as more fully described hereinafter. A first pair of noncontacting electromagnetic drivers 38 positioned symmetrically about the centerline axis in a spaced apart relation with the second disk is adapted for providing electromagnetic energy to a first pair of drive plates 40 formed from high magnetic permeability material such as μ metal and fixedly attached to a second side 42 of the second disk. The first pair of drive plates is diametrically positioned on the second disk as more fully shown in FIG. 3 in a spaced apart relation with the first pair of electromagnetic drivers 38 and in alignment therewith. A second pair of non-contacting electromagnetic drivers 44 positioned symmetrically about the centerline axis in a spaced apart relationship with the second disk and in an orthogonal relationship to the first pair of electromagnetic drivers is adapted for providing electromagnetic energy to a second pair of drive plates 46 fixedly attached to the second disk. The second drive plates are diametrically positioned on the second disk, in an orthogonal relationship to the first pair of drive plates, in a spaced apart relation with the second pair of electromagnetic drivers and in alignment therewith. The drive plates are preferably small plates having high magnetic permeability which are fixedly attached to the second surface of the second disk. It is to be recognized that the first and second pair of drive plates may be replaced with a ring of high magnetic permeability material. It is also to be recognized that the entire second disk may be made of material having high magnetic permeability.
Referring again to FIG. 2, the first disk 16 includes a second end 50 which has been configured to have a radius of curvature R adapted for focussing a beam of radiation incident thereon to a focus zone and is optically polished to form the reflective surface 28. In the preferred embodiment the reflective surface is formed integral with the first disk. It is to be recognized that a mirror having the desired radius of curvature may be fixedly attached to the first disk to form the reflective surface.
In the preferred embodiment the compound beam 10 is dimensioned to vibrate in the lowerst order fundamental mode to minimize the excitation energy required to initiate and sustain the vibration. The approximate dimensions of the compound beam i.e., the thickness and length of the shaft, the thickness and diameter of the first and second disks and the material of the disks required to provide a desired fundamental lateral vibration frequency, are initially determined from known relationships for vibrating beams and appropriate adjustment in the size or mass is made by successive iterations by the removal or addition of material to obtain an exact value. The compound disk 10 and the bearings 32 are preferably tuned to be symmetrical in a circular sense such that the compound beam has no preferred direction of vibration and is adapted for vibrating substantially equally in any lateral direction at the same natural frequency. The bearings 32 are positioned along the longitudinal length of the shaft 12 at the nodal positions 36 corresponding to the lowest order fundamental mode of vibration and are adapted for inhibiting lateral, axial and rotary motion of the compound beam. The bearings apply restraining forces to both the shaft and the first surfaces of the first and second disk respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 4 wherein the compound beam is schematically shown vibrating in the lowest order fundamental mode having nodal points 36 along the centerline axis 14. In the fundamental mode of oscillation the first and second disks move in one direction while the shaft 12 moves in the opposite direction. Thus vibrational momentum is balanced and the vibrating system is nearly energy conservative. In operation, vibratory signals, typically frequency tuned to the fundamental vibratory mode of the compound beam, are applied to the first pair of electromagnetic drivers 38, in opposite phase to one another as push-pull signals to induce the compound beam to vibrate in the fundamental mode. The extremes of the vibratory motion are shown by the lines A and A' in FIG. 4. It is to be recognized that the separation between the extremes has been exaggerated in FIG. 4 for illustrative purposes. The push-pull signals induce lateral vibration motion of the compound beam in a first direction as shown by the arrows 52. During this vibration both end disks rotate through an angle α having a center of rotation at the nodal positions 36. In the preferred embodiment the compound beam is dimensioned to have nodal positions close to the first and second disks to minimize lateral movement of said disks during vibration.
It is to be recognized that applying vibratory signals at the frequency tuned to the fundamental mode to the second pair of electromagnetic drivers 44, as shown in FIG. 3 when operating in the push-pull mode will result in vibratory motion of the compound beam in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction wherein the first and second directions are essentially orthogonal to the centerline axis 14.
Referring now to FIG. 5 wherein a beam or radiation 54 from a source (not shown) is directed to the reflective surface 28 on the first disk 16 and is focussed to a focus zone 56. For the vibratory oscillation as shown pictorially in FIG. 4, the reflective surface 28 rotates through the angle α thereby moving the position of the focus zone in a first direction, as shown by the arrows 58 in FIG. 5, producing a substantially line motion of the focus zone. It is to be recognized that if the vibratory motion of the compound beam is induced by the second pair of electromagnetic drivers 44 as shown in FIG. 3, the focus zone 56 as shown in FIG. 5 will move in a second direction producing a substantially line motion of the focus zone wherein the first direction is orthogonal on the second direction. If signals of equal strength are applied to both pairs of electromagnetic drivers and the signals are at ninety degree time phase, then the two vibratory oscillations of the compound beam will be put into phase quadrature and a beam of radiation reflected from the end mirror and brought to a focus will then trace out a circle. Varying the amplitude and time phase of the two signals allows creation of an elliptical path to the focus zone of any orientation and eccentricity.
Since the drive energy input from the first or second pair of electromagnetic drivers is matched to the natural vibrating frequency of the system, damping losses are minimized and large amplitude mirror oscillations are possible with relatively low energy inputs. In a typical application a compound beam operating at one thousand six hundred eighty hertz can provide peak-to-peak amplitude excursions on the order of ten millimeters at the focal zone of the reflective surface having a one-half meter focal length with an oscillatory power input of the order of ten watts.
It is to be recognized that since high frequency oscillation of the reflective surface is desirable, the general design guidelines of the compound beam are such that the shaft have a high shaft stiffness, i.e., a large shaft diameter and a short shaft length and that the first and second disks have a low mass. If the compound beam is constructed from discrete elements, a combination of materials can be used to advantage to achieve the desired characteristics, for example, having a shaft of steel alloy material and the first and second disks formed with aluminum material.
Referring now to FIG. 6 which shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the compound beam has a cruciform shaft 60 with the first disk 16 and the second disk 22 as hereinbefore described fixedly attached to the first legs 62 symmetrically disposed about a first axis 64 and joined together at the center portion 66 of the cruciform shaft, a third disk 68 and a fourth disk 70, both substantially identical to the second disk, fixedly attached at opposite ends of second legs 72 symmetrically disposed about a second axis 74 joined together at the central portion 66 of the cruciform shaft in an orthogonal relationship to the first legs. The first and second legs lie in a plane passing through the first and second axis 64, 74 respectively. The central portion of the cruciform shaft is fixedly attached to a rigid support (not shown) for restraining the compound beam from lateral, axial and rotary motion. This embodiment eliminates the requirement of the bearing 32 as shown in FIG. 2. The first and second pair of electromagnetic drivers 38, 44 and the first and second pair of drive plates may be positioned on the second disk as shown in FIG. 3 or may be positioned on the third and fourth disks in like manner. It is to be noted that the first pair of electromagnetic drivers may be positioned proximate the second disk and the second pair of electromagnetic drivers may be positioned proximate the third or fourth disk.
A fundamental vibratory mode of the cruciform shaft is shown in FIG. 7A wherein the center of the cruciform shaft remains stationary and the first and second disks vibrate substantially out of phase with the third and fourth disks resulting in zero angular momentum of the cruciform shaft. As shown in FIG. 7A, as the first and second disks vibrate in the negative direction as shown by the arrow 76 the third and fourth disk move in the positive direction as shown by the arrow 78.
A second fundamental mode is shown in FIG. 7B wherein the cruciform shaft vibrates substantially in a plane passing through the first and second axis 64, 74 respectively as shown in FIG. 6 wherein as the separation between the first and fourth disk (16, 68 as shown in FIG. 6), as shown by the arrows 80 decreases, the separation between the second and third disk also decreases. The cruciform shaft is adapted for providing line scans and curvilinear scans of the focus zone in a manner similar to the scans produced by the compound beam 10 as hereinbefore described. It is to be recognized that the configuration of the compound beam is not limited to the embodiments as shown and described but may have any configuration adapted for vibrating a reflective surface to provide oscillatory motion of a focussed beam on a workpiece.
In operation, the oscillatory motion of the focus zone results in broadening of the interaction zone with a radiation-material interaction characteristic of a reduced incident average power intensity while maintaining a high local intensity incident on the workpiece which is essential to the establishment of effective radiation-material coupling of the incident radiation. The reduced effective intensity is capable of providing a broader weld zone thereby decreasing seam tracking requirements. Additionally the reduced effective intensity results in a reduced molten zone temperature with a corresponding reduction in weld defects and permits the welding operation to be conducted with a higher energy input per unit weld length resulting in a decrease in the weld cooling rate which is desirable for welding some alloy steels and permits the utilization of greater additions of filler material for bridging larger gaps. Also the oscillation of the focussed spot promotes weld pool stirring which provides a more effective means for expulsion of evolved gases in the molten material and the generation of higher quality weldments. It is to be recognized that the oscillation frequency of the focus zone over the interaction area of the workpiece must be greater than the characteristic time of the interaction process to obtain a useful time averaging of the intensity distribution.
Although the preferred embodiment utilizes a non-contacting electromagnetic means for inducing the compound beam to vibrate, it is to be recognized that contacting means may also be employed to induce the compound beam to vibrate such that at least the reflective undergoes vibratory motion suitable for sweeping the focus zone of the radiation across the interaction area of a workpiece.
Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and omissions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A mechanical scanning apparatus adapted for oscillating the focus zone of a beam of radiation having high power to modify and control the nature and extent of the interaction zone on a workpiece is disclosed. The apparatus includes a compound beam adapted for being vibrated in a vibratory mode resulting in oscillatory motion of at least a first end of the compound beam; a reflective surface attached to the first end of the compound beam and adapted for focussing radiation incident thereon to a focus zone, and means for vibrating the compound beam to induce oscillatory motion of the reflective surface resulting in oscillatory motion of the focus zone. For vibration frequencies greater than the characteristic thermal response time of the workpiece material, the effect is a broadening of the interaction zone with a beam-material interaction characteristic of a reduced incident average power intensity while maintaining a high local intensity essential to the establishment of effective radiation-material coupling. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
At present, the oil industry faces several technical incapacities to respond to the increasingly higher worldwide demands. One of the biggest shortcomings is the fact that practically all of the world oil resources are of a heavy or ultra heavy nature, wherein asphaltene and/or asphaltene-like macromolecules are present in large amounts. Other important oil sources are oil-containing tar sands, shales or clays which present a similar problem.
The high content of asphaltene, together with the presence of sulphur and metals, makes oil recovery difficult both by affecting the rheological properties of the material from the oil well or by increasing environmental pollution hazards. Without a doubt, the oil industry must solve these problems taking into account the nature of almost all the huge oil reserves so far unexploited, mainly in Venezuela.
Oil recovery from the above mentioned type of deposits is difficult and costly since the steps of recovering, transporting, and refining are inefficient, making their exploitation quite laborious and unattractive. Another fact adversely affecting this matter is the potential environmental pollution risks produced by the metals and the sulphur contained in such oil deposits. No method has been developed so far which allows the obtention of a saleable oil-product, from deposits having unfavorable rheological properties and chemical composition throughout the entire industrial process.
Heavy oil and ultra-heavy oil recovery is performed at present mainly by injection of pressurized and overheated water vapor and also by mixing the oil with lighter organic solvents. Inorganic acids, e.g., hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, have also been used to acidize wells to improve the flow of the oil from the earth matrix. All of these methods do facilitate the oil management, but only up to its cooling and/or solvent separation after which the rheological difficulties reappear. Even though in Venezuela the method of the oil emulsion has been successfully applied to the transportation of crude oil, its use is not fully recommended since the value of that oil as combustible is markedly reduced.
Recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,120, Martucci described a method of using a low pH mixture of acids wherein the availability of hydronium ions in the mixture itself remains highly controllable, while the mixture itself remains non-corrosive to metals and innocuous to skin and other organic materials. These mixtures include several acids using two strong acids and two weak acids, preferably hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, phosphoric acid, and citric acid. This patent describes the use of such acid mixtures for acidizing wells surrounded by clay or silicate formation and/or surrounded by calcareous formation. One Example in this patent describes the use of oleic acid and a mixture of hydrochloric, phosphoric, oxalic and citric acids for the recovery of oil from oil-containing sands.
The method of the present invention relates to the recovery of oil, under appropriate forms, from heavy and ultra-heavy oil deposits and from oil-containing sands. The inventive method is based on the cracking properties, at room temperature and normal pressure over the asphaltene macromolecules present in the crude oil, of a cracking-active mixture containing an inorganic acid and a liquid fatty acid, preferably hydrochloric acid and oleic acid. The method can also easily be applied to oil recovery from oil-containing tar sands. The chemical reactions occurring between the acid mixture and the heavy oil material are not yet fully understood, but the fact is that an improvement of the rheological properties of crude oil is attained by this convenient process which also facilitates the cleaning of sulphur and metals from the crude oil. It has also been found that the inorganic acid-fatty acid treatment of crude oils reduces the water content of the crude oil, probably due to the consumption of water molecules as proton sources during the depolymerization processes occurring at the asphaltene level wherein carbon ion might be involved.
It has been found that a binary mixture of an inorganic acid component and a liquid fatty acid component, e.g., hydrochloric and oleic acids, both in the form of a solution and in the form of a suspension, works much better than the poly-acid mixtures proposed in U.S. Patent No. 4,675,120. This is probably related to the consumption of water produced during the depolymerization process conducted with the binary mixture, which does not occur when using poly-acid mixtures. Along with water consumption, molecular oxygen is released producing a clear bubbling as the gas evolves off the oil sample, while hydrogen is likely being incorporated to some double linkages naturally occurring in the unsaturated hydrocarbon chains of asphaltene compounds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The process of the present invention makes possible the elimination of the highly polymerized hydrocarbon molecules, i.e., asphaltenes, which are responsible for the poor rheological properties of heavy and ultra-heavy crude oils. Lighter, shorter hydrocarbon chains, asphaltene-free, are thus formed and consequently the viscosity of the crude oil is reduced appreciably thereby facilitating the crude oil liquefaction. Sulfur and metal extractability by water from the crude oil is simultaneously attained.
In accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention, an inorganic acid component is mixed with a liquid fatty acid component in the presence of a light organic solvent such as kerosene, optionally in the presence of a suitable emulsifying agent. Preferably, the inorganic acid is hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid and the fatty acid is oleic acid, linoleic acid or linolenic acid. This cold-cracking solution or emulsion is mixed with the crude oil material to be treated and stirred at room temperature for about 1 to 5 minutes. Improvement of the rheological properties of the crude oil by diminishing its viscosity is attained. On the other hand, the cold cracking of asphaltene molecules releases metals and sulphur from the crude oil, which metals and sulphur can be further easily extracted by washing with water. The method of the invention is also suitable for treating sandy, shale and clay oil deposits, and for acidizing wells.
Once the reaction between the asphaltene-constituents of the heavy oil and the cracking solution occurs, both phases mix together forming a continuous phase without separating from each other and with no emulsion formation. This constitutes a great advantage of the method since no additional separation processes are required. Furthermore, the chemicals of the cracking solution incorporated in the oil will not affect further refining or distillation operations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a process for the elimination of asphaltene macromolecules, by means of cold cracking, from heavy and ultra-heavy crude oils and from oil-containing tar sands thereby improving their rheological properties and facilitating the subsequent removal of sulphur and metals.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for reclaiming crude oil from deep wells, thereby improving the efficiency of further distillation and/or purification processes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for facilitating the removal of sulphur and metals from crude oils.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process to open an oil well which has been sealed or clogged by asphaltene layers.
A further object of the present invention is to reduce the water content of crude oil thereby reducing the subsequent undesirable formation of emulsions.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method which can be practiced on oil tanks, pipelines and other oil-handling equipment to remove aged black products and oil residues.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The method of the present invention comprises contacting an asphaltene-containing oil material with a cold cracking solution or emulsion (hereinafter "cold cracking composition"). The cold cracking composition contains two acid components, i.e., an inorganic acid component and a liquid fatty acid component; at least one light organic solvent; and, optionally, an emulsifying agent. Preferably, the inorganic acid is a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid or dilute sulfuric acid. Of these inorganic acids, hydrochloric acid is the most preferred inorganic acid.
The liquid fatty acid is preferably oleic acid, linolenic acid or linoleic acid, with oleic acid being most preferred.
The light organic solvent may be any suitable light organic solvent, such as kerosene, gasoline, diesel oil, benzin, or mixtures thereof. The most preferred light inorganic solvent is kerosene. Optionally a high molecular weight compound derived from petroleum such as gas oil, light lubricant oil, heavy lubricant oil or mixtures thereof can be used by mixing it with the organic solvent. The most preferred petroleum-derived high molecular weight compound is gas oil, a fraction of petroleum which distills at 150° C. to 250° C.
The optional emulsifying agent may be any suitable emulsifying agent, such as propylene glycol monolaurate (Atlas G-917), sorbitan monopalmitate (Span 40), Methocel 15, triethanolamine oleate, polyoxyethylene castor oil (Atlas G-1794), sodium laurylsulfate and Petrolite H-4455.
The weight ratio of the inorganic acid to the liquid fatty acid in the cold cracking composition is between 0.1:100 and 30:100. Preferably, the weight ratio of inorganic acid to fatty acid in the cold cracking composition is between 0.5:100 and 10:100.
The inorganic acid comprises between 0.1 and 15 percent by weight of the cold cracking composition, preferably between 0.5 and 6 percent. The fatty acid comprises between 20 and 80 percent of the cold cracking composition, preferably between 30 and 50 percent. The light organic solvent comprises between 30 and 80 percent by weight of the cold cracking composition, and preferably comprises between 35 and 60 percent by weight of the cold cracking composition. The petroleum-derived high molecular weight compound, e.g., gas oil, when used, comprises between 5 and 15 percent by weight of the cracking composition, preferably between 7 and 12 percent. If an optional emulsifying agent is included in the cold cracking composition, the emulsifying agent (or surfactant) may comprise up to 5 percent by weight of the cold cracking solution.
To prepare the cold cracking composition useful in the method of the present invention, the liquid fatty acid and light organic solvent and optional emulsifying agent and optional petroleum-derived high molecular weight compound are mixed, and then the inorganic acid is slowly added to the liquid fatty acid/light organic solvent mixture while stirring vigorously.
In accordance with the inventive method, the thus produced cold cracking composition is mixed with an asphaltene-containing oil material and the resulting mixture is vigorously stirred or otherwise agitated at a temperature between room temperature and 80° C. Preferably, this stirring or vigorous agitation of the mixture of the cracking solution and the asphaltene-containing oil material is carried out for about 1 to 10 minutes.
The method of the present invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.
EXAMPLE 1
250 ml of an asphaltene-containing Venezuelan crude oil was placed in each of eight 600 ml beakers. A solution of the present invention having the composition shown in Table I below was added to four of these beakers in a volume amount sufficient to provide a final concentration of 5, 10, 15 and 20% by weight of the cold cracking solution in the resultant mixture. To the other four beakers, a comparative solution described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,120 (oleic acid plus the solution of Table II) were added in a similar manner to produce final mixtures having a concentration of 5, 10, 15 and 20% by weight. The exact composition of this comparative solution was: 25 parts of oleic acid; 25 parts of a mixture composed by hydrochloric acid 7.5%, phosphoric acid 7.5% oxalic acid 3%, citric acid 3% and water 79% (expressed by weight); and 50 parts of kerosene. The resulting mixtures were stirred with a glass rod for 2 minutes. The compositions of the initial Venezuelan crude oil and of the mixtures after the inventive and comparative treatments are shown in Table II below.
TABLE I______________________________________COMPOSTION BY WEIGHT OFCOLD CRACKING SOLUTION______________________________________Hydrochloric acid (HCl, d = 1.19 g/ml) 1.0%Oleic acid 40.0%Kerosene 47.0%Gas-oil 10.0%Emulsificant (Petrolite H-4455) 2.0%______________________________________
Linolenic and linoleic acids have been also used instead of oleic acid, but with lower reduction on asphaltene contents.
TABLE II______________________________________COMPOSITION OF OIL SAMPLES As- phal- Wa- Sul- Total tene ter Pour Viscos- phur.sup.4 Metals.sup.4°API.sup.1 (%.sup.2) (%.sup.2) Point ity.sup.3 (%.sup.2) (%.sup.2)______________________________________Crude oil before treatment12.2 20.0 18.0 -3.0 68.400 3.2 1.8After inventive treatment5.0% 13.8 10.0 2.0 -3.0 18.700 2.8 1.210.0% 16.4 0.0 10.0 -15.0 8.570 1.9 1.115.0% 17.6 0.0 12.0 -24.0 4.380 1.4 1.0820.0% 18.1 0.0 8.0 -27.0 1.700 1.0 0.80After comparative U.S. Pat. No. 4.675,120 treatment5.0 13.4 15.0 5.0 -3.0 24.460 3.0 1.6010.0 15.8 10.0 12.0 -12.0 12.800 2.4 1.4015.0 16.2 8.0 14.2 -18.0 9.900 1.8 1.2520.0 17.3 6.0 9.4 -21.0 4.320 1.6 1.10______________________________________ .sup.1 API grade means American Petroleum Institute grade. It is defined as °API = 141.5/relative density of oil 131.5. Therefore, as °API increases the specific weight of the oil sample decreases. .sup.2 By weight, based on the weight of the crude oil sample. .sup.3 Expressed in centipoise. .sup.4 Remaining in the crude oil sample after asphaltene reduction and after extraction with 100 ml of water.
EXAMPLE 2
The procedure of Example 1 was repeated using 300 grams of an oil-containing tar shale instead of the Venezuelan crude oil. The results obtained show that up to 91% of the total oil content is extracted by using 20% of the inventive Table I solution, whereas only 82extraction is obtained by using 20% of the comparative U.S. Patent No. 4,675,120 solution.
EXAMPLE 3
The procedure of Example 1 was repeated using 2 liters of Boscan crude oil, adding 10% by weight of the inventive Table I cold cracking solution and stirring for 10 minutes. The result is shown in Table III below.
TABLE III______________________________________COMPOSITION OF BOSCAN CRUDE OIL Viscosity °API Asphaltene H.sub.2 O at 140° F. at 60° F. (%.sup.1) (%.sup.1) (centipoise)______________________________________Before treatment 10.0 36.6 18.0 3.600After treatment 17.6 4.1 7.2 114______________________________________ .sup.1 By weight, based on the weight of the crude oil.
In view of the foregoing teachings of the present invention, it is possible to improve the methodology applied to the recovery of oil from heavy oil and ultra-heavy crude oil deposits and from sand, shale or clay oil deposits.
This is made possible by using inexpensive and common reagents, one of which, oleic acid, is at present a by-product in oil industry of a low value. The main objective of the invention is to drastically reduce the asphaltene content of crude oil, which produces a beneficial improvement of its rheological properties. Variations in the parameters disclosed, however, are well within the skill of those in the art in view of the simple but very operative teachings of the present invention.
Thus, the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and non-restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing descriptions, and all changes which come within the meaning of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. | A process for reducing asphaltene content of crude oil and oil-containing materials to improve rheological properties of crude oils enhancing the water-extractabilities of sulphur and metals contained in them. The process employs the cold cracking effect of a binary acid solution containing, preferably, hydrochloric acid and oleic acid. The process is particularly applicable to the exploitation of heavy and ultra-heavy oil deposits, to oil recovery from oil-containing tar sand, shale or clay and to the cleaning of oil tanks, garments and clogged oil-pipelines. | 8 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-210239, which was filed on Sep. 11, 2009.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The present invention relates to a housing device and an image-forming apparatus.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Some housings are provided with a guide member for guiding an object being inserted into the housing along a direction of insertion. In a case where each end of the guide member is fixed to a corresponding frame of the housing and where the housing and the guide member are made of respective materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion, a change in temperature can cause deformation of the housing or the guide member.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing device including: a housing that has an opening and defines a containment space for containing an object inserted through the opening; a guide member that has a longitudinal direction aligned with a direction of insertion of the object with respect to the housing and guides the object when the object is inserted into the containment space; a support structure that supports the guide member to be moveable with respect to the housing in the longitudinal direction; and a cover that opens and closes the opening, wherein when the cover closes the opening, the cover supports the object such that the object is spaced apart from the guide member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following figures, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image-forming apparatus using a housing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a configuration of the image-forming apparatus;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the housing device;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where an outer cover and an inner cover are opened;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where image-forming units are removed from the state shown in FIG. 4 ;
[0013] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a guide member shown in FIG. 5 ;
[0014] FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views taken along line VIIa-VIIa and line VIIb-VIIb, respectively, in FIG. 6 ;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an essential part of FIG. 6 viewed in a different direction;
[0016] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an image-forming unit and guide pins;
[0017] FIG. 10 is a view showing a relationship between an image-forming unit and a guide member in a state where the image-forming unit has been inserted into a housing;
[0018] FIGS. 11A and 11B are cross-sectional views showing a relationship between a guide member and a frame in modified embodiments; and
[0019] FIGS. 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views showing a relationship between a guide member and a frame in modified embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
1. Exemplary Embodiment
[0020] An image-forming apparatus, such as a printer or a copy machine, is provided with a cover on a front or a lateral side of a housing, for example, in such a manner that the cover can be opened and closed to facilitate maintenance or replacement of a component part, or removal of a jammed sheet. In the following, taking such an image-forming apparatus as an example, explanation will be made of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of an image-forming apparatus including a housing device according to the exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 2 schematically shows a configuration inside a housing of the image-forming apparatus.
<Configuration of Image-Forming Apparatus>
[0021] As shown in FIG. 1 , an outer shape of image-forming apparatus 1 is formed by box-shaped housing device 50 , and outer cover 52 is provided on a front of housing 51 , which serves as a base of housing device 50 , such that outer cover 52 can be opened and closed. When outer cover 52 is opened, front frame 53 , which is provided with inner cover 60 that can be opened and closed and serves as a cover of opening 65 A, is exposed to an outside.
[0022] In the following description, when image-forming apparatus 1 is viewed from its front by a user, the horizontal direction is denoted as the X-axis direction, the front-back direction is denoted as the Y-axis direction, and the vertical direction is denoted as the Z-axis direction. Also, “left” and “right” are indicated from the user's perspective.
[0023] Now, with reference to FIG. 2 , explanation will be made of an example of an inner configuration and an operation of image-forming apparatus 1 . Image-forming apparatus 1 is adapted to constitute a full-color printer of a tandem type, and contains an image-processing unit (not shown in the drawings) that performs image-processing on image data received from a device such as a scanner or a personal computer (not shown in the drawings), or received via a telephone line (not shown in the drawings), etc. Provided inside image-forming apparatus 1 are four image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. Image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K are arranged generally in the horizontal direction so as to be spaced apart from each other and to extend in parallel, and vertical positions of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K are respectively lower in this order (thus, the vertical position of image-forming unit 2 Y is higher than that of image-forming unit 2 K), whereby a plane in which image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K are arranged is inclined at a certain angle (e.g., 10 degrees) with respect to the horizontal direction. By this arrangement of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K in a plane inclined at a certain angle with respect to the horizontal direction, the horizontal dimension is reduced in comparison with a case where image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K are arranged in a horizontal plane.
[0024] Each of the four image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K has basically the same structure, and contains photosensitive drum 3 that is driven to rotate at a certain speed by a drive unit (not shown in the drawings) and that serves as an image-holding member, primary charging roll 4 that charges a surface of photosensitive drum 3 , developer unit 6 that develops, with toner, an electrostatic latent image formed on photosensitive drum 3 as a result of image exposure performed by image exposure unit 5 (described later), and cleaning unit 7 that cleans the surface of photosensitive drum 3 . Photosensitive drum 3 is constituted, for example, of an organic photosensitive member having a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 30 mm, and having an overcoat layer on its surface. Photosensitive drum 3 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown in the drawings). Charging roll 4 is, for example, a roll-shaped charger constituted of a core bar coated with a conductive layer made of a synthetic resin or rubber and having an adjusted electric resistance, and a charging bias is applied to the core bar of charging roll 4 . Further, cleaning roll 4 a for removing foreign matter such as toner adhering to a surface of charging unit 4 is arranged to contact the surface of charging roll 4 .
[0025] In the following description, where it is not necessary to distinguish between image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, the image-forming units will be simply referred to as image-forming unit(s) 2 .
[0026] Below image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, exposure unit 5 is provided. Exposure unit 5 has four semiconductor laser units (not shown in the drawings) for emitting laser beams modulated in accordance with image data. The four laser beams emitted from these semiconductor laser units are deflected by a polygon mirror for scanning, and are irradiated onto photosensitive drum 3 of each image-forming unit 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K via optical elements such as a lens and a mirror (not shown in the drawings).
[0027] In this exemplary embodiment, exposure unit 5 extends along an underside of the four image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, which are arranged in a plane inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. Thus, a length of a light path of the laser beam irradiated onto photosensitive drum 3 is the same for each of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, and 2 K.
[0028] Image exposure unit 5 , which is provided in common to each image-forming unit 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, receives image data of respective colors sequentially from the image-processing unit. The laser beam emitted from image exposure unit 5 in accordance with the image data is irradiated onto a surface of corresponding photosensitive drum 3 to form an electrostatic latent image thereon. The electrostatic latent images formed on photosensitive drums 3 are developed by developer units 6 Y, 6 M, 6 C, 6 K to form toner images of respective colors. The toner images of respective colors formed sequentially on photosensitive drums 3 of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K are transferred one on top of another by primary transfer rolls 11 to intermediate transfer belt 10 , which is arranged obliquely over the top of each image-forming unit 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, and serves as an intermediate transfer member.
[0029] Intermediate transfer belt 10 is an endless belt-shaped member tension-supported by multiple rolls. Specifically, intermediate transfer belt 10 is wound around tension roll 12 , drive roll 13 , backup roll 14 , first idler roll 15 , and second idler roll 16 , such that intermediate transfer belt 10 is circulatingly moved in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2 by drive roll 13 , which is rotated by a dedicated drive motor (not shown in the drawings) capable of maintaining a constant rotation speed. Intermediate transfer belt 10 has an upper moving section and a lower moving section, and the lower moving section is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, with a downstream end of the lower moving section positioned lower than an upstream end of the same with respect to the direction of movement of the lower moving section. As intermediate transfer belt 10 , a flexible film made of a synthetic resin, such as polyimide, may be used, where the ends of the synthetic resin film are connected by means of welding or the like to form an endless belt member. Intermediate transfer belt 10 is arranged such that the lower moving section is in contact with photosensitive drums 3 Y, 3 M, 3 C, 3 K of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K.
[0030] It is to be noted that intermediate transfer belt 10 , primary transfer rolls 11 , tension roll 12 , drive roll 13 , backup roll 14 , first idler roll 15 , second idler roll 16 , etc., are integrated into a single unit referred to as intermediate transfer unit 9 .
[0031] At a position that is opposed to drive roll 13 across intermediate transfer belt 10 is provided secondary transfer roll 17 , which is urged against intermediate transfer belt 10 . Secondary transfer roll 17 functions to secondarily-transfer the toner images, which have been primarily-transferred onto intermediate transfer belt 10 , onto recording sheet 18 . When recording sheet 18 moves between secondary transfer roll 17 and intermediate transfer belt 10 , secondary transfer roll 17 presses recording sheet 18 against intermediate transfer belt 10 , whereby the toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), which have been overlappingly transferred onto intermediate transfer belt 10 , are transferred onto recording sheet 18 owing to pressure and electrostatic force. Recording sheet 18 , on which the toner images of respective colors have been transferred, is conveyed to fixing unit 19 positioned above.
[0032] Fixing unit 19 applies heat and pressure to recording sheet 18 to fix the toner images on recording sheet 18 . Thereafter, recording sheet 18 passes through exit roll 20 of fixing unit 19 and sheet discharge path 21 , and is discharged by discharge roll 22 onto sheet-receiving tray 23 provided at an upper portion of image-forming apparatus 1 .
[0033] Recording sheets 18 , having a prescribed size and being made of a prescribed material, and serving as recording media, are contained in sheet container 24 disposed inside image-forming apparatus 1 . Recording sheets 18 are conveyed from sheet container 24 , one sheet at a time, by means of sheet supply roll 25 and a pair of rolls 26 for sheet separation and conveyance to registration roll 28 , and are temporarily stopped there. Then, recording sheet 18 is further conveyed to a secondary transfer position of intermediate transfer belt 10 by registration roll 28 , which is rotated at a predetermined timing.
[0034] Arranged between sheet-receiving tray 23 and intermediate transfer belt 10 are toner cartridges 29 Y, 29 M, 29 C, 29 K. Toner cartridges 29 Y, 29 M, 29 C, and 29 K supply toner to developer units 6 Y, 6 M, 6 C, and 6 K, respectively. Toner cartridge 29 K containing toner of black (K) is larger than the toner cartridges of the other colors because black toner is used more frequently than any other toner.
<Configuration of Housing Device>
[0035] Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 , and 3 - 5 , explanation will be made of a configuration of housing device 50 .
[0036] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of housing device 50 , FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the outer cover and the inner cover are opened, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where image-forming units are removed from the state shown in FIG. 4 .
[0037] As shown in FIG. 1 , when outer cover 52 on the front of housing 51 is opened, front frame 53 is exposed. Toner cartridges 29 Y, 29 M, 29 C, and 29 K, intermediate transfer unit 9 , etc. are detachably attached to front frame 53 . Front frame 53 is also provided with inner cover 60 that can be opened and closed.
[0038] FIG. 3 shows a state where exterior members covering housing device 50 have been removed. On a right side of housing 51 is provided a side cover 100 that can be opened and closed. Second transfer roll 17 is provided on an inner side of side cover 100 such that when side cover 100 is closed, second transfer roll 17 is elastically pressed against drive roll 13 via intermediate transfer belt 10 therebetween.
[0039] Back frame 54 is disposed on a back side of housing 51 so as to be opposed to front frame 53 . Between front frame 53 and back frame 54 is defined a space in which intermediate transfer unit 9 , image-forming units 2 , toner cartridges 29 , etc. are arranged.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 3 , formed on an inner side of inner cover 60 are four shaft-supporting parts 61 Y, 61 M, 61 C, and 61 K for supporting ends of rotation shafts of photosensitive drums 3 included in image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, and 2 K, respectively, and roll-supporting part 62 for supporting an end of drive roll 13 of intermediate transfer unit 9 .
[0041] Further, on an inner side of back frame 54 are formed four shaft-supporting parts 55 Y, 55 M, 55 C, and 55 K for supporting the other ends of the rotation shafts of respective photosensitive drums 3 , and roll-supporting part 56 for supporting the other end of drive roll 13 of intermediate transfer unit 9 .
[0042] It is to be noted here that in housing 51 , a direction from the front side (a first side) to the back side (a second side opposed to the first side) along the Y-axis is a direction of insertion of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K, toner cartridges 29 Y, 29 M, 29 C, 29 K, intermediate transfer unit 9 , etc.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 4 , when inner cover 60 is opened, image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K contained in containment space 65 are exposed. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 , when image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, 2 K and intermediate transfer unit 9 are removed, containment space 65 , which has opening 65 A, and guide members 70 Y, 70 M, 70 C, 70 K provided in containment space 65 are exposed.
[0044] Containment space 65 and its opening 65 A have a rectangular shape elongated generally in the horizontal direction, and a bottom side thereof is inclined such that a right portion is lower than a left portion, in conformity with an inclination of an upper side of image exposure unit 5 . Guide members 70 Y, 70 M, 70 C, and 70 K for containment of image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 C, and 2 K, respectively, are provided at the bottom of containment space 65 so as to be positioned respectively lower in this order in a step-like manner.
[0045] In the following description, where it is not necessary to distinguish between guide members 70 Y, 70 M, 70 C, 70 K, the guide members will be simply referred to as guide member(s) 70 .
<Configuration of Guide Member>
[0046] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6-10 , a configuration of guide member 70 will be explained. FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a guide member shown in FIG. 5 , FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views taken along line VIIa-VIIa and line VIIb-VIIb respectively shown in FIG. 6 , FIG. 8 is a perspective view concretely showing an essential part of FIG. 7 , FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an image-forming unit and guide pins, and FIG. 10 is a view showing a relationship between an image-forming unit and a guide member in a state where the image-forming unit has been inserted into the housing.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 6 , rectangular plate member 71 extending along the direction of insertion constitutes a main portion of guide member 70 , and a longer side of plate member 71 on the right is bent downward to form rib 72 extending in the longitudinal direction, while a longer side of plate member 71 on the left is curved upward to form raised portion 73 extending in the longitudinal direction and having an arcuate cross-section. Also, window 74 through which the laser beam emitted from image exposure unit 5 passes is formed along the longitudinal direction of plate member 71 .
[0048] In a back end portion of plate member 71 , to securely engage with back frame 54 , engagement groove 75 extending along the X-axis direction and opening in the leftward direction and bent portion 76 that is bent downward (see FIG. 7B ) are formed. On the other hand, in a front end portion of plate member 71 , bent portion 77 having screw insertion hole 77 A in its central part is formed. This bent portion 77 extends to an outer side of front frame 53 to engage with front frame 53 . Screw N inserted into screw insertion hole 77 A of bent portion 77 is screwed into screw hole 53 A formed in front frame 53 . Screw insertion hole 77 A and screw hole 53 A are formed to extend along the direction of insertion. Screw N has shaft portion N 2 formed with male threads, and head portion N 1 provided at one end of shaft portion N 2 and having a larger diameter than shaft portion N 2 .
[0049] As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A , engagement groove 75 of guide member 70 engages with plate-shaped engagement portion 58 , which is formed in back frame 54 to extend in the X-axis direction. In this exemplary embodiment, bent portion 76 engaging with back frame 54 constitutes an attachment member, and a back portion of guide member 70 is attached to back frame 54 such that its movement is restricted in the X, Y, and Z-axis directions.
[0050] On the other hand, bent portion 77 provided to guide member 70 on a side close to opening 65 A (i.e., on a front side in FIG. 6 ) is constituted of one end portion of plate member 71 in a longitudinal direction that is bent to extend in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction. Bent portion 77 has screw insertion hole 77 A into which shaft portion N 2 of screw N is inserted. As shown in FIG. 7A , bent portion 77 is attached to front frame 53 by screw N inserted into screw insertion hole 77 A. Thus, guide member 70 is attached to housing 51 at three positions; two in the back portion and one in the front portion. It is also to be noted that an operation for tightening screw N on the front side in a state that inner cover 60 is opened can be carried out more easily compared to an operation for tightening a screw on any other side.
[0051] In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 8 , shaft portion N 2 of screw N is inserted into screw insertion hole 77 A and screw hole 53 A in this order, with bent portion 77 being aligned with front frame 53 , and is screwed into screw hole 53 A such that head portion N 1 is spaced apart from bent portion 77 by distance d. Thus, a support structure in this exemplary embodiment is configured such that screw N is fixed with head portion N 1 being spaced apart from bent portion 77 by distance d.
[0052] Further, guide member 70 is formed with round holes 78 adjacent to window 74 , and guide pins 79 protrude through these round holes 78 . The plural (three in this exemplary embodiment) guide pins 79 are arranged along the direction of insertion (in the Y-axis direction), and a distance between first guide pin 79 (from the front side) and second guide pin 79 is shorter than a distance between second guide pin 79 and third guide pine 79 .
[0053] As shown in FIG. 9 , bottom member 40 of image-forming unit 2 is provided with concave guide groove 41 extending in a direction of installment/removal of image-forming unit 2 (in the Y-axis direction). When image-forming unit 2 is installed, guide groove 41 is guided by guide pins 79 provided to housing 51 , whereby image-forming unit 2 can be installed and removed with respect to housing device 50 along the Y-axis. In a back end portion of guide groove 41 , diverging portions 42 , 42 are formed to easily receive guide pins 79 when image-forming unit 2 is installed into housing device 50 .
[0054] When image-forming unit 2 is inserted along the direction of insertion, bottom member 40 of image-forming unit 2 is moved along raised portion 73 of guide member 70 such that diverging portions 42 , 42 of guide groove 41 receive guide pins 79 sequentially and guide groove 41 slidably engages with guide pins 79 . In this way, image-forming unit 2 is installed into containment space 65 .
[0055] After the insertion of image-forming unit 2 into containment space 65 , when inner cover 60 is closed, one end of photosensitive drum 3 of image-forming unit 2 is supported by shaft-supporting part 61 of inner cover 60 and the other end of the same is supported by shaft-supporting part 55 of back frame 54 , such that image-forming unit 2 is supported to be spaced apart from guide member 70 by clearance S, as shown in FIG. 10 .
[0056] The reason for the provision of clearance S is that if guide member 70 were in contact with image-forming unit 2 , a pressing force resulting from the contact could cause a casing or a shaft of image-forming unit 2 to be deformed. If varying deformations are caused to image-forming units 2 Y, 2 M, 2 M, and 2 K, misalignment of toner images transferred onto intermediate transfer belt 10 can result. Thus, clearance S contributes to avoiding problems that may occur as a result of contact between guide member 70 and image-forming unit 2 .
Operation of the Exemplary Embodiment
[0057] In image-forming apparatus 1 according to the exemplary embodiment, when image-forming apparatus 1 is placed on a non-horizontal surface, deformation may be caused to housing device 50 such that distance L between front frame 53 and back frame 54 is decreased. Also, when deformation is caused to housing device 50 due to an external impact or vibration, distance L between front frame 53 and back frame 54 can decrease. In such cases, if the ends of the guide member were fixed to frames 53 and 54 by means of screws or the like, the guide member could warp inwardly to contact image-forming unit 2 .
[0058] To avoid such a problem, in the present exemplary embodiment, distance d is provided between head portion N 1 of screw N and bent portion 77 as shown in FIG. 7A . Therefore, even if distance L between frames 53 , 54 decreases and front frame 53 moves in a direction indicated by arrow C, shaft portion N 2 slides in screw insertion hole 77 A to absorb the effect of deformation of housing 51 , thereby preventing warp of guide member 70 . Thus, problems such as misalignment of toner images caused by contact between guide member 70 and image-forming unit 2 are less likely to occur.
Modified Embodiments
[0059] The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned exemplary embodiment, and support structures as described in the following modified embodiments may be utilized.
[0000] <2-1>
[0060] In the exemplary embodiment, head portion N 1 of screw N is spaced apart from bent portion 77 to create distance d. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and configurations as shown in FIGS. 11A , 11 B, 12 A, and 12 B may be used.
[0061] In a support structure shown in FIG. 11A , boss portion 53 B is formed to protrude outwardly from a portion of front frame 53 surrounding screw hole 53 A, and boss insertion hole 77 B is formed in bent portion 77 of guide member 70 . These boss portion 53 B and boss insertion hole 77 B are formed to extend along the direction of insertion.
[0062] In a support structure shown in FIG. 11B , screw hole 53 C having a bottom is formed in front frame 53 , and screw insertion hole 77 A is formed in bent portion 77 of guide member 70 . This screw hole 53 C and screw insertion hole 77 A are formed along the direction of insertion.
[0063] The support structures shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B operate in a similar manner and exert similar effects to those of the support structure shown in the exemplary embodiment. Further, screw N is fixed with head portion N 1 being in contact with an end of boss portion 53 B in the support structure shown in FIG. 11A , and screw N is fixed with an end of shaft portion N 2 being in contact with a bottom of screw hole 53 C in the support structure shown in FIG. 11B , and thus loosening of screw N is less likely to occur than in the exemplary embodiment.
[0064] In a support structure shown in FIG. 12A , insertion hole 53 D extending along the direction of insertion is formed in front frame 53 , and engagement protrusion 77 B extending along the direction of insertion and inserted into insertion hole 53 D is formed at an end of bent portion 77 of guide member 70 .
[0065] In a support structure shown in FIG. 12B , engagement protrusion 53 E extending outwardly along the direction of insertion is formed on front frame 53 , and insertion hole 77 C extending along the direction of insertion to receive engagement protrusion 53 E is formed in bent portion 77 of guide member 70 .
[0066] In the support structures shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B , when distance L between frames 53 and 54 decreases and front frame 53 moves in the direction indicated by arrow C, the influence is absorbed by the support structures and thus warp of guide member 70 is prevented. Further, because screw N is not used, unlike the support structure shown in the exemplary embodiment or shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B , a number of components included is less than the number used in the exemplary embodiment.
[0067] Any other support structure having a different configuration from those described in the foregoing may be adopted, so long as the support structure can prevent an influence of a decrease in the distance between frames 53 and 54 and movement of front frame 53 in the direction indicated by arrow C from being transmitted to guide member 70 .
[0000] <2-2>
[0068] In the exemplary embodiment, image-forming unit 2 is illustrated as an object. However, the object may be another unit.
[0000] <2-3>
[0069] In the exemplary embodiment, housing device 50 is used to constitute image-forming apparatus 1 . However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and may be applied to any other apparatus.
[0070] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. | A housing device includes: a housing that has an opening and defines a containment space for containing an object inserted through the opening; a guide member that has a longitudinal direction aligned with a direction of insertion of the object with respect to the housing and guides the object when the object is inserted into the containment space; a support structure that supports the guide member to be moveable with respect to the housing in the longitudinal direction; and a cover that opens and closes the opening, wherein when the cover closes the opening, the cover supports the object such that the object is spaced apart from the guide member. | 6 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-139474 filed on Jun. 18, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fuel-pressure waveform detector which detects a fuel-pressure waveform indicative of a variation in fuel pressure, which is caused due to a fuel injection through a fuel injector of an internal combustion engine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is important to detect a fuel injection condition, such as a fuel-injection-start timing, a fuel injection quantity and the like in order to accurately control an output torque and emission of an internal combustion engine. JP-2010-3004A (US-2009/0319157A1) and JP-2009-57924A (US-2009/0063013A1) describe that a fuel pressure sensor detects a variation in fuel pressure, which is caused in a fuel supply passage due to a fuel injection, whereby an actual fuel injection condition is detected.
For example, an actual fuel-injection-start timing is detected by detecting a timing at which the fuel pressure in the fuel injection system starts to be decreased due to the fuel injection. An actual fuel-injection-quantity is detected by detecting a decrease in fuel pressure due to the fuel injection. As above, if the actual fuel injection condition is detected, the fuel injection condition can be accurately controlled based on the detected fuel injection condition.
In a case that a multi-stage injection is performed during one combustion cycle, following matters should be noted. FIG. 5B shows a waveform (multi-stage injection waveform) “W” detected by a fuel pressure sensor while the multi-stage injection is performed. In this waveform “W”, a part of the waveform corresponding to the n-th fuel injection (refer to a portion enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 5B ) is overlapped with an aftereffect of the waveform corresponding to the m-th (m=n−1) fuel injection (refer to a portion enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 5D ).
In JP-2010-3004A, a model waveform “CALn−1” corresponding to only the m-th fuel injection is previously computed and stored as shown in FIG. 5D . Then, as shown in FIG. 5E , the model waveform “CALn−1” is subtracted from the detected waveform “W” to obtain a waveform “Wn” corresponding to only the n-th fuel injection. FIG. 5F shows this waveform “Wn”.
However, according to the present inventors' experiments, even if the model waveform “CALn−1” is simply subtracted from the detected waveform “W”, the waveform “Wn” is not obtained with high accuracy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in view of the above matters, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel-pressure waveform detector which is able to extract a waveform due to a second or succeeding fuel injection from a fuel-pressure waveform due to a multi-stage injection with high accuracy.
The fuel-pressure waveform detector is applied to a fuel injection system which includes a fuel injector injecting a fuel into an internal combustion engine through a fuel injection hole, and a fuel-pressure sensor detecting a variation in the fuel pressure in a fuel-supply passage due to a fuel injection by the fuel injector.
The detector has a detect-waveform obtaining means for obtaining a multi-stage injection pressure waveform by means of the fuel-pressure sensor while performing a multi-stage fuel injection during one combustion cycle of the internal combustion engine. The detector further includes a model waveform store means for storing a reference model pressure waveform of when a previous fuel injection is performed before a subject fuel injection is performed. The detector still further includes a waveform extracting means for extracting a pressure waveform due to the subject fuel injection by subtracting the reference model pressure waveform from the multi-stage injection pressure waveform; and a correction means for correcting the reference model pressure waveform in such a manner that its attenuation degree becomes larger as a fuel injection period of the subject fuel injection is longer.
The present inventors has performed following experiments No. 1 and No. 2 to confirm an accuracy of an extracted waveform “Wn” which is obtained by subtracting a model pressure waveform “CALn−1” from the detected pressure waveform “W” shown in FIGS. 5A to 5F .
In the experiment No. 1, the detected pressure waveform “W” in a case of multi-stage fuel injection is obtained (refer to FIG. 9B ). Then, only the n-th fuel injection is performed to obtain the detected waveform “W 0 n ” (refer to FIG. 9C ). The detected pressure waveform “W 0 n ” is subtracted from the detected waveform “W” to extract the waveform “W 0 n −1” shown in FIG. 9D .
However, according to the inventors' study, as shown in FIG. 9E , it has become apparent that the pressure waveform “W 0 n −1” is different from the model pressure waveform “CALn−1” representing the (n−1)-th fuel injection in the following point. That is, an amplitude “A 1 ” of the pressure waveform “W 0 n −1” corresponding to the n-th and successive fuel injection is smaller than the amplitude “A 2 ” of the model pressure waveform “CALn−1”.
Furthermore, according to the experiment No. 2, it has become apparent that the amplitude “A 1 ” of the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” becomes smaller as the fuel injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection is longer,
FIG. 10 is a graph showing an experiment result of the experiment No. 2. In this graph, solid lines respectively represent fuel pressure 200 MPa, 140 MPa, 80 MPa, 40 MPa.
As shown in FIG. 10 , without respect to the supply fuel pressure, the amplitude “A 1 ” of the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” becomes smaller as the fuel injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection is longer. If the fuel injection period of the n-th fuel injection is zero, the amplitude ratio A 1 /A 2 is 1.0. In other word, due to the n-th fuel injection, the amplitude “A 1 ” of the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” becomes smaller.
According to the present inventors' study, the above phenomenon occurs as follows. The fuel pressure wave transmits in the fuel supply passage toward the fuel injection hole of the fuel injector. A part of the transmitting fuel pressure wave is reflected at a place around the fuel injection hole and is transmitted toward the fuel pressure sensor. Due to the reflected fuel pressure wave, an aftereffect is generated in the fuel pressure waveform detected by the fuel pressure sensor. This aftereffect of the fuel pressure waveform is represented by asymptotic lines “k 1 ” and “k 2 ” in FIGS. 6C and 6D . When the fuel injection hole is closed by a valve body to stop the fuel injection, a reflection degree of the fuel around the injection hole is increased and the amplitude of the fuel pressure wave is increased.
Meanwhile, when the fuel injection hole is opened by the valve body to inject the fuel, the reflection degree of the fuel is decreased. Thus, the amplitude of the fuel pressure wave is decreased. As the valve opening period is longer, the reflection quantity of the fuel is more decreased and the amplitude of the pressure wave is more decreased.
The present invention is made based on the above experiments No. 1 and No. 2 and the inventors' study. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5F , the waveform extracting means extracts a pressure waveform “Wn” due to the subject fuel injection (n-th fuel injection) by subtracting the reference model pressure waveform “CALn−1” corresponding to the (n−1)-th fuel injection from the multi-stage injection pressure waveform “W”. An attenuation coefficient “k” of the model waveform “CALn−1” is corrected according to the fuel-injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection. As the fuel-injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection is longer, the attenuation coefficient “k” is made larger.
Therefore, since the model waveform “CALn−1” can be brought close to the actually detected waveform “W 0 n −1” which is obtained by subtracting the waveform “W 0 n ” from the multi-stage injection pressure waveform “W”, the pressure waveform “Wn” due to the n-th fuel injection can be extracted from the detected multi-stage injection pressure waveform “W” with high accuracy.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numbers and in which:
FIG. 1 is a construction diagram showing a fuel injection system to which a fuel pressure detector is applied according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a fuel injection control according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for detecting a fuel injection condition based on a detection pressure detected by a fuel pressure sensor according to the first embodiment;
FIGS. 4A to 4C are time charts showing a relationship between a pressure waveform detected by the fuel pressure senor and a waveform of injection rate in a case of a single-stage injection;
FIGS. 5A to 5F are time charts for explaining a pressure wave compensation process in step S 23 of FIG. 3 ;
FIGS. 6A to 6E are time charts for explaining a pressure wave compensation process in step S 23 of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a pressure wave compensation process in step S 23 of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 8 is a graph showing a relationship between a correction value “c” of an attenuation coefficient “k” and a fuel injection period “Tq”;
FIGS. 9A to 9E are time charts showing a result of an experiment No. 1 which the present inventors conducted; and
FIG. 10 is a graph showing a result of an experiment No. 2 which the present inventors conducted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Hereafter, an embodiment of a fuel-pressure waveform detector according to the present invention will be described, hereinafter. A fuel-pressure waveform detector is applied to an internal combustion engine (diesel engine) having four cylinders # 1 -# 4 .
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a fuel injector 10 , a fuel-pressure sensor 20 , an electronic control unit (ECU) 30 and the like. In a fuel injection system including the fuel injector 10 , a fuel contained in a fuel tank 40 is pumped up by a high-pressure pump 41 and is accumulated in a common-rail 42 to be supplied to the fuel injector 10 through a high-pressure pipe 43 .
The fuel injector 10 is comprised of a body 11 , a needle (valve body) 12 , an electromagnetic solenoid (actuator) 13 and the like. The body 11 has a high-pressure passage 11 a therein. The fuel supplied from the common-rail 42 flows through the high-pressure passage 11 a and is injected into a combustion chamber (not shown) through an injection hole 11 b . A part of the fuel flowing through the high-pressure passage 11 a is introduced into a back-pressure chamber 11 c formed in the body 11 . A leak port lid of the back-pressure chamber 11 c is opened/closed by a control valve 14 which is driven by the electromagnetic solenoid 13 . The needle 12 receives biasing force from a spring 15 and a fuel pressure in the back-pressure chamber 11 c in a direction of closing the injection hole 11 b . Also, the needle 12 receives biasing force from the fuel accumulated in a sac portion 11 f in a direction of opening the injection hole 11 b.
A fuel-pressure sensor 20 detecting fuel pressure is provided in a fuel supply passage between the common-rail 42 and the injection hole 11 b , for example, in the high-pressure pipe 43 or the high-pressure passage 11 a . In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the fuel-pressure sensor 20 is provided to a connecting portion between the high-pressure pipe 43 and the body 11 . Alternatively, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1 , the fuel-pressure sensor 20 can be provided to the body 11 . The fuel pressure sensor 20 is provided to each of the # 1 -# 4 fuel injectors 10 .
An operation of the fuel injector 10 will be described hereinafter. While the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is not energized, the control valve 14 is biased by the spring 16 to close the leak port 11 d . Thereby, the fuel pressure in the back-pressure chamber 11 c is increased, so that the needle 12 closes the injection hole 11 b . Meanwhile, when the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is energized, the control valve 14 opens the leak port 11 d against the spring 16 . Then, the fuel pressure in the back-pressure chamber 11 c is decreased to open the injection hole 11 b , so that the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber from the injection hole 11 b.
It should be noted that while the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is energized and fuel injection is performed, the fuel introduced into the back-pressure chamber 11 c from the high-pressure passage 11 a is discharged into a low-pressure passage 11 e through the leak port 11 d . That is, during the fuel injection, the fuel in the high-pressure passage 11 a is always discharged into the low-pressure passage 11 e through the back-pressure chamber 11 c.
The ECU 30 controls the electromagnetic solenoid 13 to drive the needle 12 . For example, the ECU 30 computes a target fuel injection condition including a fuel-injection-start timing, a fuel-injection-end timing and a fuel-injection quantity and the like. Then, the ECU 30 drives the electromagnetic solenoid 13 to obtain the target fuel injection condition.
Referring to a flowchart shown in FIG. 2 , a control processing for driving the electromagnetic solenoid 13 will be described hereinafter.
In step S 11 , the ECU 30 reads specified parameters indicative of the engine driving condition, such as engine speed, engine load, fuel pressure supplied to the fuel injector 10 and the like.
In step S 12 , the ECU 30 sets the injection pattern based on the parameters which are read in step S 11 . For example, optimum fuel-injection patterns are previously stored as an injection control map with respect to the parameters. Based on the parameters read in step S 11 , the optimum target fuel-injection pattern is established. It should be noted that the target fuel-injection pattern is determined based on the parameters such as a number of fuel injection per one combustion cycle, a fuel-injection-start timing and fuel-injection period (fuel-injection quantity) of each fuel injection. The injection control map indicates a relationship between the parameters and the optimum injection pattern.
In step S 13 , the ECU 30 outputs a fuel-injection command signal to the electromagnetic solenoid 13 based on the target fuel-injection pattern determined in step S 12 . Thereby, the fuel-injection is performed in the optimum pattern according to the parameters obtained in step S 11 .
However, it is likely that the actual fuel-injection pattern may deviate from the target fuel-injection pattern due to a deterioration with age of the fuel injector 10 or an individual difference of the fuel injector 10 . In order to avoid such a deviation, the actual fuel-injection pattern (actual fuel-injection condition) is detected based on the detection value of the fuel-pressure sensor 20 . Further, the fuel-injection command signal is corrected in such a manner that the detected actual fuel-injection pattern agrees with the target fuel-injection pattern. This correction is learned to be utilized for computing the successive fuel injection command signal.
Referring to FIG. 3 , a processing for detecting (computing) an actual fuel injection condition based on the detection value of the fuel-pressure sensor 20 will be described.
The processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed at a specified cycle (for example, a computation cycle of the CPU) or at every specified crank angle. In step S 21 (detected waveform obtaining means), an output value (detection pressure) of the fuel pressure sensor 20 is read. This process is executed with respect to each fuel-pressure sensor 20 . It is preferable that the output value is filtered to remove high-frequency noises therefrom.
Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5C , the processing in step S 21 will be described in detail.
FIG. 4A shows the injection command signal which the fuel injector 10 receives from the ECU 300 in step S 13 . When the injection command signal is supplied to the injector 10 , the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is energized to open the injection hole 11 b . That is, the ECU 30 commands the fuel injector 10 to start the fuel injection at a fuel-injection-start command timing “Is”, and the ECU 30 commands the fuel injector 10 to stop the fuel injection at a fuel-injection-end command timing “Ie”. During a time period “Tq” from the timing “Is” to the timing “Ie”, the injection port lib is opened. By controlling the time period “Tq”, the fuel injection quantity “Q” is controlled. FIG. 4B shows a variation in fuel injection rate, and FIG. 4C shows a variation in detection pressure detected by the fuel pressure sensor 20 . It should be noted that FIGS. 5A to 5C show a case in which the injection hole 11 b is opened and close only once.
The ECU 30 detects the output value of the fuel pressure sensor 20 by a sub-routine (not shown). In this sub-routine, the output value of the fuel pressure sensor 20 is detected at a short interval so that a pressure waveform can be drawn as shown in FIG. 4C . Specifically, the sensor output is successively acquired at an interval shorter than 50 microsec (desirably 20 microsec). Such sensor output is read in step S 21 .
Since the fuel-pressure waveform detected by the fuel pressure sensor 20 and the variation in the injection rate have a relationship described below, a waveform of the injection rate can be estimated based on the detected fuel-pressure waveform.
After the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is energized at the fuel-injection-start command timing “Is” to start the fuel injection from the injection hole 11 b , the injection rate starts to increase at a changing point “R 3 ” as shown in FIG. 4B . That is, an actual fuel injection is started. Then, the injection rate reaches the maximum injection rate at a changing point “R 4 ”. In other wards, the needle valve 20 c starts to be lifted up at the changing point “R 3 ” and the lift-up amount of the needle valve 20 c becomes maximum at the changing point “R 4 ”.
It should be noted that the “changing point” is defined as follows in the present application. That is, a second order differential of the injection rate (or a second order differential of the detection pressure detected by the fuel pressure sensor 20 a ) is computed. The changing point corresponds to an extreme value in a waveform representing a variation in the second order differential. That is, the changing point of the injection rate (detection pressure) corresponds to an inflection point in a waveform representing the second order differential of the injection rate (detection pressure).
Then, after the electromagnetic solenoid 13 is deenergized at the fuel-injection-end command timing “Ie”, the injection rate starts to decrease at a changing point “R 7 ”. Then, the injection rate becomes zero at a changing point “R 8 ” and the actual fuel injection is terminated. In other wards, the needle valve 20 c starts to be lifted down at the changing point “R 7 ” and the injection hole 11 b is sealed by the needle valve 20 c at the changing point “R 8 ”.
FIG. 4C shows a variation in fuel-pressure detected by the fuel-pressure sensor 20 . Before the fuel-injection-start command timing “Is”, the detection pressure is denoted by “P 0 ”. After the driving current is applied to the electromagnetic solenoid 13 , the detection pressure starts to decrease at a changing point “P 1 ” before the injection rate start to increase at the changing point “R 3 ”. This is because the control valve 14 opens the leak port 11 d and the pressure in the backpressure chamber 11 c is decreased at the changing point “P 1 ”. When the pressure in the backpressure chamber 11 c is decreased enough, the detection pressure drop is stopped at a changing point “P 2 ”. It is due to that the leak port 11 d is fully opened and the leak quantity becomes constant, depending on an inner diameter of the leak port 11 d.
Then, when the injection rate starts to increase at the changing point “R 3 ”, the detection pressure starts to decrease at a changing point “P 3 ”. When the injection rate reaches the maximum injection rate at a changing point “R 4 ”, the detection pressure drop is stopped at a changing point “P 4 ”. It should be noted that the pressure drop amount from the changing point “P 3 ” to the changing point “P 4 ” is greater than that from the changing point “P 1 ” to the changing point “P 2 ”.
Then, the detection pressure starts to increase at a changing point “P 5 ”. It is due to that the control valve 14 seals the leak port 11 d and the pressure in the backpressure chamber 11 c is increased at the point “P 5 ”. When the pressure in the backpressure chamber 11 c is increased enough, an increase in the detection pressure is stopped at a changing point “P 6 ”.
When the injection rate starts to decrease at a changing point “R 7 ”, the detection pressure starts to increase at a changing point “P 7 ”. Then, when the injection rate becomes zero and the actual fuel injection is terminated at a changing point “R 8 ”, the increase in the detection pressure is stopped at a changing point “P 8 ”. It should be noted that the pressure increase amount from the changing point “P 7 ” to the changing point “P 8 ” is greater than that from the changing point “P 5 ” to the changing point “P 6 ”. After the changing point “P 8 ”, the detection pressure is attenuated at a specified period T 10 .
As described above, by detecting the changing points “P 3 ”, “P 4 ”, “P 7 ” and “P 8 ” in the detection pressure, the starting point “R 3 ” of the injection rate increase (an actual fuel-injection-start timing), the maximum injection rate point “R 4 ”, the starting point “R 7 ” of the injection rate decrease, and the ending point “R 8 ” of the injection rate decrease (the actual fuel-injection-end timing) can be estimated. Based on a relationship between the variation in the detection pressure and the variation in the fuel injection rate, which will be described below, the variation in the fuel injection rate can be estimated from the variation in the detection pressure.
That is, a decreasing rate “Pα” of the detection pressure from the changing point “P 3 ” to the changing point “P 4 ” has a correlation with an increasing rate “Rα” of the injection rate from the changing point “R 3 ” to the changing point “R 4 ”. An increasing rate “Pγ” of the detection pressure from the changing point “P 7 ” to the changing point “P 8 ” has a correlation with a decreasing rate “Rγ” of the injection rate from the changing point “R 7 ” to the point “R 8 ”. A decreasing amount “Pβ” of the detection pressure from the changing point “P 3 ” to the changing point “P 4 ” (maximum pressure drop amount “Pβ”) has a correlation with a increasing amount “Rβ” of the injection rate from the changing point “R 3 ” to the changing point “R 4 ” (maximum injection rate “Rβ”). Therefore, the increasing rate “Rα” of the injection rate, the decreasing rate “Rγ” of the injection rate, and the maximum injection rate “Rβ” can be estimated by detecting the decreasing rate “Pα” of the detection pressure, the increasing rate “Pγ” of the detection pressure, and the maximum pressure drop amount “Pβ” of the detection pressure. As above, the variation in the injection rate (variation waveform) shown in FIG. 4B can be estimated by estimating the changing points “R 3 ”, “R 4 ”, “R 7 ”, “R 8 ”, the increasing rate “Rα” of the injection rate, the maximum injection rate “Rβ” and the decreasing rate “Rγ” of the injection rate.
Furthermore, a value of integral “S” of the injection rate from the actual fuel-injection start-timing to the actual fuel-injection-end timing (shaded area in FIG. 4B ) is equivalent to the injection quantity “Q”. A value of integral of the detection pressure from the actual fuel-injection-start timing to the actual fuel-injection-end timing has a correlation with the value of integral “S” of the injection rate. Thus, the value of integral “S” of the injection rate, which corresponds to the injection quantity “Q”, can be estimated by computing the value of integral of detection pressure detected by the fuel pressure sensor 20 . As described above, the fuel pressure senor 20 can be operated as an injection condition sensor which detects a physical quantity relating to the fuel injection condition of the fuel supplied to the fuel injector 10 .
Referring back to FIG. 3 , in step S 22 , the computer determines whether the current fuel injection is the second or the successive fuel injection. When the answer is Yes in step S 22 , the procedure proceeds to step S 23 in which a pressure wave compensation process is performed with respect to the waveform of detection pressure obtained in step S 21 . The pressure wave compensation process will be described hereinafter.
FIG. 5A is a time chart showing a driving-current supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid 13 when the ECU 30 outputs the fuel-injection command signal so as to inject the fuel twice. FIG. 5B is a chart showing a detected fuel-pressure waveform “W” in a case that the driving-current shown in FIG. 5A is supplied. FIG. 5C is a time chart showing a driving-current supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid 13 when the ECU 30 outputs the fuel-injection command signal so as to inject the fuel only once. FIG. 5D is a chart showing a detected fuel-pressure waveform “CALn−1” in a case that the driving-current shown in FIG. 5 C is supplied.
In the waveform “W” shown in FIG. 5B , a part of the waveform corresponding to the n-th fuel injection (refer to a portion enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 5B ) is overlapped with an aftereffect of the waveform corresponding to the previous fuel injections ((n−1)-th fuel injection, (n−2)-th fuel injection, (n−3)-th fuel injection, . . . ). FIG. 5D shows an aftereffect of the waveform corresponding to (n−1)-th fuel injection. After the (n−1)-th fuel injection is terminated, the fuel-pressure waveform is attenuated at a specified period T 10 (refer to a portion enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 5D ). This aftereffect of the waveform overlaps the waveform corresponding to the n-th fuel injection (refer to a portion enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 5B ). Thus, if the variation in fuel injection rate due to the n-th fuel injection is estimated from the waveform “W”, it estimation error becomes large.
In the pressure wave compensation process of step S 23 , the aftereffect of the waveform due to the previous fuel injection is subtracted from the fuel-pressure waveform “W” to obtain the fuel-pressure waveform “Wn” due to the n-th fuel injection as shown in FIG. 5F . Specifically, a various types of single fuel injection are previously experimentally performed to obtain its aftereffect of the waveform. In each single fuel injection, the fuel-injection-start fuel-pressure (supply fuel pressure) corresponding to “P 0 ” and the fuel-injection quantity corresponding to the time period “Tq” are varied. The aftereffect of the waveform obtained by experiments or the aftereffect of the waveform expressed by a mathematical formula corresponds to a model waveform. The model waveforms are previously stored in a memory of the ECU 30 (model waveform store means).
In the present embodiment, the aftereffect of the waveform expressed by the following formula (1) is stored as the model waveform. In the formula (1), “p” represents a reference pressure of the model waveform detected by the fuel-pressure sensor 20 . “A”, “k”, “ω” and “θ” are parameters which respectively indicate amplitude of attenuated vibration, attenuation coefficient, frequency and phase. An elapsed time is denoted by “t”. These parameters “A”, “k”, “ω” and “θ” are established according to the fuel injection condition, such as fuel-injection-start pressure, a fuel-injection quantity and the like.
p=A exp(− kt )sin(ω t +θ) (1)
In a case that a model waveform of the aftereffect waveform corresponding to (n−1)-th fuel injection will be obtained, an optimum model waveform is selected from the model waveforms stored in the memory according to the injection condition of the (n−1)-th fuel injection. The selected model wave is defined as the reference model waveform “CALn−1” representing an aftereffect of (n−1)-th fuel injection. In FIG. 5E , a dashed line represents the model waveform “CALn−1” and a solid line represents the detected waveform “W”. The model waveform “CALn−1” is subtracted from the detected waveform “W” to extract the waveform “Wn” shown in FIG. 5F . The extracted waveform “Wn” has a high correlation with the variation in fuel-injection rate due to the n-th fuel injection.
In FIGS. 5E and 5F , only the model waveform “CALn−1” is subtracted from the detected waveform “W”. Alternatively, the aftereffects of the waveform due to the (n−2)-th or proceeding fuel injection may be subtracted from the detected waveform “W”. In FIGS. 6A to 6E , the model waveforms “CALn−1” and “CALn−2” are subtracted from the detected waveform “W”.
According to the present inventors' study, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , an amplitude “A 1 ” of the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” becomes smaller as the fuel injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection is longer. Thus, the model waveforms “CALn−1” and “CALn−2” are corrected in such a manner that the degree of attenuation becomes larger as the fuel injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection. This “degree of attenuation” corresponds to the attenuation coefficient “k” in the formula (1).
In FIGS. 6C and 6D , the model waveforms “CALn−1” and “CALn−2” indicated by solid lines are corrected waveforms in such a manner that the degree of attenuation becomes greater. Dashed lines “k 1 ” represent asymptotic lines along peak values of the corrected model waveform. Long dashed short dashed lines “k 2 ” represent asymptotic lines along peak values of uncorrected mode waveform. When the attenuation coefficient “k” in the formula (1) is varied, the slopes of the asymptotic lines “k 1 ” and “k 2 ” are also varied. That is, as the attenuation coefficient “k” is set larger to increase the “degree of attenuation”, the slope of the asymptotic line “k 2 ” is also made greater.
Referring back to FIG. 3 , when the answer is NO in step S 22 , the procedure proceeds to step S 24 in which the detection pressure (pressure waveform) is differentiated to obtain a waveform of differential value of the detection pressure. When the answer is YES in step S 22 , the compensated detection pressure (pressure waveform) is differentiated in step S 24 .
In steps S 25 to S 28 , the various injection condition values shown in FIG. 4B are computed based on the differential value of the detection pressure obtained in step S 24 . That is, a fuel-injection-start timing “R 3 ” is computed in step S 25 , a fuel-injection-end timing “R 8 ” is computed in step S 26 , a maximum-injection-rate-reach timing “R 4 ” and an injection-rate-decrease-start timing “R 7 ” are computed in step S 27 , and the maximum injection rate “Rβ” is computed in step S 28 . In a case that the fuel injection quantity is small, the maximum-injection-rate-reach timing “R 4 ” may agree with the injection-rate-decrease-start timing “R 7 ”.
In step S 29 , the computer computes the value of integral “S” of the injection rate from the actual fuel-injection-start timing to the actual fuel-injection-end timing based on the above injection condition values “R 3 ”, “R 8 ”, “Rβ”, “R 4 ”, “R 7 ”. The value of integral “S” is defined as the fuel injection quantity “Q”. It should be noted that the value of integral “S” (fuel injection quantity “Q”) may be computed based on the increasing rate “Rα” of the injection rate and the decreasing rate “Rγ” of the injection rate in addition to the above injection condition values “R 3 ”, “R 8 ”, “Rβ”, “R 4 ”, “R 7 ”.
Referring to a flowchart shown in FIG. 7 , the pressure wave compensation process in step S 23 will be described. This processing is a subroutine of step S 23 . In step S 31 , a fuel-injection-start pressure “P 0 m ” and the fuel injection quantity “Qm” of the m-th fuel injection are obtained. The fuel injection quantity computed in step S 29 may be used as the fuel injection quantity “Qm”. Alternatively, the fuel injection quantity estimated from the time period “Tqm” can be used as the fuel injection quantity “Qm”.
In step S 32 , the optimum model waveform “CALm” is selected from the various model waveforms stored in the memory based on the fuel pressure “P 0 m ” and the fuel injection quantity “Qm” obtained in step S 31 . In step S 33 , based on the fuel injection command signal of the n-th injection, the fuel injection period “Tqn” is obtained for the n-th fuel injection. In step S 34 (correction means), based on the fuel injection period “Tqn”, the attenuation coefficient “k” of the model waveform “CALm” is corrected.
FIG. 8 is a map showing a relationship between a correction value “c” of the attenuation coefficient “k” and the fuel injection period “Tq”. This map is previously obtained based on the experiment and is stored in the memory of the ECU 30 . Based on the fuel injection period “Tqn” obtained in step S 33 , the correction value “c” is determined according to the map shown in FIG. 8 . Then, the attenuation coefficient “k” in the formula (1) is corrected into “k*c” and the model waveform “CALn−1” is corrected. In the map shown in FIG. 8 , as the fuel injection period “Tq” is longer, the attenuation coefficient “k” is made larger and an increasing rate of the coefficient “k” is made smaller.
When the model waveform “CALn−2” of the (n−2)-th fuel injection is subtracted from the detected waveform “W” in order to obtain the pressure waveform “Wn” of the n-th fuel injection, the correction value “c” is determined with respect to the attenuation coefficient “k” of the model waveform “CALn−2” according to the map shown in FIG. 8 .
In step S 35 (waveform extracting means), the model waveform “CALm” corrected in step S 34 is subtracted from the detected waveform “W” obtained in step S 21 . Thereby, the pressure waveform “Wn” of the n-th fuel injection is obtained as shown in FIG. 5F and FIG. 6E .
According to the present embodiment, based on the inventors' study that an amplitude “A 1 ” of the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” becomes smaller as the fuel injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection is longer, the attenuation coefficient “k” of the model waveform “CALn−1” is corrected according to the fuel-injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection in order to extract the pressure waveform “Wn” of the n-th fuel injection. Further, the attenuation coefficient “k” of the model wave “CALn−2” is corrected according to the fuel-injection period “Tqn” of the n-th fuel injection and the fuel-injection period “Tqn−1” of the (n−1)-th fuel injection. Therefore, since the model waveform “CALn−1” can be brought close to the detected waveform “W 0 n −1” shown in FIG. 9D , the pressure waveform “Wn” due to the n-th fuel injection can be extracted from the detected waveform “W” with high accuracy. The actual fuel injection condition “R 3 ”, “R 8 ”, “Rβ”, “R 4 ”, “R 7 ” and “Q” can be detected with high accuracy, and the engine output torque and the emission can be accurately controlled.
OTHER EMBODIMENT
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but may be performed, for example, in the following manner. Further, the characteristic configuration of each embodiment can be combined.
In the above embodiments, the model waveform “CAL” is expressed by the formula (1) and the reference pressure “p” is computed from the formula (1). Alternatively, the reference pressure “p” may be stored in a map, and this map may be used as the model waveform.
The control valve 14 may be a three-way valve. Even in a fuel injection period, the fuel in the back-pressure chamber 11 c may not be leaked. | A fuel-pressure waveform detector has a detect-waveform obtaining unit for obtaining a multi-stage injection pressure waveform by means of a fuel-pressure sensor while performing a multi-stage fuel injection during one combustion cycle. A model waveform memory stores a reference model pressure waveform of when a single fuel injection is performed. A waveform extracting unit extracts a pressure waveform due to the subject fuel injection by subtracting the reference model pressure waveform from the multi-stage injection pressure waveform. A correction unit corrects the reference model pressure waveform in such a manner that its attenuation degree becomes larger as a fuel injection period of the subject fuel injection is longer. | 5 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2014 008 094.3, entitled “Method for Controlling the Orientation of a Crane Load and a Boom Crane” filed on Jun. 2, 2014, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling the orientation of a crane load, wherein a manipulator for manipulating the load is connected by a rotator unit to a hook suspended on ropes and the skew angle of the load is controlled by a control unit of the crane.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
In small and midsize harbours, boom cranes are used for multiple applications. These include bulk cargo handling and container transloading. An example for a boom crane used in small and midsize harbours with mixed freight types is depicted in FIG. 1 . Currently, the level of process automation is comparatively low and container transloading is done manually by crane operators. However, the general trend of logistic automation in harbours requires higher container handling rates, which can be achieved by increasing the level of process automation.
On boom cranes, containers are mounted to the crane hook using spreaders (manipulators), see FIG. 2 . Spreaders can only be locked to containers after they have been precisely landed on them. This means that the position and the orientation of the spreader have to be adapted to the container for successfully grabbing the container with the spreader. The spreader orientation, which is also defined as the skew angle, is controlled using a hook-mounted rotator motor.
Since wind, impact, and uneven load distribution can cause skew vibrations, an active skew control is desirable for facilitating crane operation, improving positioning accuracy, and increasing turnover. Positioning the spreader requires damping the pendulum oscillations, which can be done either manually by the operator or automatically using anti-sway systems. Adapting the spreader orientation requires damping the torsional oscillations (“rotational vibrations” or “skewing vibrations”) using a rotational actuator, which is regularly done manually.
A few technical solutions for a skew control are known from the state of the art and which are mostly designed for a gantry crane. Due to specific properties of such cranes these implementations of skew controls are mostly not compliant with differing crane designs. In particular boom cranes comprise a longer rope length and a much smaller rope distance which yields to lower torsional stiffness compared to gantry cranes. This increases the relevance of constraints and also results in lower eigenfrequencies. Second, arbitrary skew angles are possible on boom cranes, while gantry cranes can only reach skew angles of a few degrees. Third, the well-established visual load tracking mechanism of gantry cranes using cameras and markers cannot be applied to boom cranes.
For instance, a solution for a skew control system is known from EP 1 334 945 A2 performing optical position measurements (e.g. camera based) for detecting the skew angle. However, such system may become unavailable during night or during bad weather conditions.
Another method for controlling the orientation of the crane load is known from DE 100 29 579 and DE 10 2006 033 277 A1. There, the hook suspended on ropes has a rotator unit containing a hydraulic drive, such that the manipulator for grabbing containers can be rotated around a vertical axis. Thereby, it is possible to vary the orientation of the crane loads. If the crane operator or the automatic control gives a signal to rotate the manipulator and thereby the load around the vertical axis, the hydraulic motors of the rotator unit are activated and a resulting flow rate causes a torque. As the hook is suspended on ropes, the torque would result in a torsional oscillation of the manipulator and the load. To position the load at a specific angle, this torsional oscillation has to be compensated. However, the solutions known from DE 100 29 579 and DE 10 2006 033 277 A1 use linear models for describing the skew motion. Such linear models are only valid in a small neighborhood around the steady state, i.e. only small deflection angles can be used. Further, the systems known from DE 100 29 579 and DE 10 2006 033 277 A1 employ a state observer which needs the second derivative of a position measurement. Such a double differentiation is disadvantageous due to noise amplification. Furthermore, both systems known from DE 100 29 579 and DE 10 2006 033 277 A1 require knowledge of the load inertia which varies heavily with the load mass. Especially in DE 10 2006 033 277 A1, a time-consuming calculation method is used for estimating the load inertia.
It is the objection of the present disclosure to provide an improved method for controlling the skew angle of a crane, in particular of a boom crane.
The aforementioned object is solved by a method performed on a control unit of a crane comprising a manipulator for manipulating the orientation of a load connected by a rotator unit to a hook suspended on ropes. For improvement of the operating of the crane the skew angle of the load is controlled by a control unit of the crane.
In the following, a rotation of the manipulator (spreader) and/or crane load (e.g. container) around the vertical axis is described as skew motion. The heading or yaw of a load is called skew angle and rotation oscillations of the skew angle are called skew dynamics.
The expression hook defines the entire load handling devic excluding the spreader.
A control of the skew angle normally requires a feedback signal which is usually based on a measurement of the current system status. However, implementation of a skew control according to the present disclosure requires states of the boom crane which cannot be measured or which are too disturbed to be used as feedback signals.
Therefore, the present disclosure recommends that one or more required states are estimated on the basis of a model describing the skewing dynamics during the crane operation. Further, a nonlinear model is used for describing the skew dynamics of the crane during operation instead of a linear model as currently applied by known skew controls. Implementation of a non-linear model enables consideration of the non-linear behaviour of the skew dynamics over a wider range or the full range of the possible skewing angle of the load. Since boom cranes permit a significantly larger skewing angle than gantry cranes the present disclosure essentially improves the performance and stability of the skew control applied to boom cranes.
According to the present disclosure a non-linear model is used which allows using larger deflection angles (up to90°). Larger deflection angles yield larger reactive torques and therefore faster motion.
Further, the present disclosure does not require any optical sensors to improve the system availability and system reliability. No optical position measurement has to be performed for detecting the skew angle as known from the state of the art.
In the method for controlling the orientation of a crane load of the present disclosure, torsional oscillations are avoided by an anti-torsional oscillation unit using the data calculated by the dynamic non-linear model. This anti-torsional oscillation unit uses the data calculated by the dynamic non-linear model to control the rotator unit such that oscillations of the load are avoided. The anti-torsional oscillation unit can generate control signals that counteract possible oscillations of the load predicted by the dynamical model. The rotator unit includes an electric and/or hydraulic drive. The anti-torsional oscillation unit can generate signals for activating the rotator motor, thereby applying torque generated by a hydraulic flow rate or electric current.
In particular, the non-linearity included in the model describing the skew dynamics refers to the non-linear behaviour of the resulting reactive torque caused by torsion of the load, i.e. the ropes. For instance, the reactive torque increases until a certain skew angle of the load is reached, for instance of about 90 degrees. By excessing said certain skew angle the reactive torque decreases due to twisting of the ropes. The skew dynamic model optionally includes one or more non-linear terms or expressions representing the non-linear behaviour as described before.
Former controller architectures as described before require the mass of the load and most importantly, the moment of inertia of the load as an input parameter. However, the distribution of mass inside the load, e.g. a container, is unknown and therefore the moment of inertia of the load is not known, either. Therefore, known prior art control architectures estimate the moment of inertia of the load on the basis of a complex and computationally intensive process. According to an example aspect of the present disclosure the implemented non-linear model for estimation of the system state is independent on the load mass and/or the moment of inertia of the load mass. Consequently, the performance of the skew control significantly increases while reducing the processor load and usage of the control unit.
In particular, the method according to a further preferable aspect does not require a Kalman filter for estimation of the system state.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure the estimated system state includes the estimated skew angle and/or the velocity of the skew angle and/or one or more parasitic oscillations of the skew system. A possible parasitic oscillation which influences the skew dynamics may be caused by the slackness of the hook, for instance. Further, system state may further include besides the estimates parameters several parameters which are directly or indirectly measured by measurement means of the crane.
The control unit may be based on a two-degree of freedom control (2-DOF) comprising a state observer for estimation of the system state, a reference trajectory generator for generation of a reference trajectory in response to a user input and a feedback control law for stabilization of the nonlinear skew dynamic model.
This means that a control signal for controlling the rotator drive of the rotator unit and/or a slewing gear and/or any other drive of the crane comprises a feedforward signal from the reference trajectory generator and a feedback signal to stabilize the system and reject disturbances. The feedforward control signal is generated by the reference trajectory generator and designed in such a way that it drives the system along a reference trajectory under nominal conditions (nominal input trajectory). Deviation from a nominal state (nominal state trajectory) defined by the reference trajectory generator are determined by using the estimated state determined by the state observer on the basis of the non-linear model for skew dynamics. Any deviation is compensated by a feedback signal determined from the nominal and estimated state using a feedback gain vector. The resulting compensated signal is used as the feedback signal for generation of the control signal.
For estimation of the system state considering the skew dynamics the state observer optionally receives measurement data comprising at least the drive position of the rotator unit and/or the inertial skewing rate and/or the slewing angle of the crane. These parameters may be measured by certain means installed at the crane structure. For instance, the drive position of the rotator may be measured by an incremental encoder. Since the incremental encoder gives a reliable measurement signal the drive speed may be calculated by discrete differentiation of the drive position. Further, a gyroscope may be installed at the hook, in particular the hook housing, for measuring the inertial skewing rate of the hook. Said gyroscope measurement may be disturbed by a signal bias and a sensor noise. The slewing angle of the crane may be measured by another sensor, for instance an incremental encoder installed at the slewing gear.
Furthermore, the rope length may be measured precisely and a spreader length used for grabbing a container may be derived from a spreader actuation signal. It may be possible to calculate the radius of gyration from the spreader length.
A good quality for estimation of the system state is achieved by using a state observer of a Luenberger-type. However, any other type of a state observer may be applicable.
The state observer may be implemented without the use of a Kalman filter since the model for characterizing the skew dynamic is independent of the load mass and/or the moment of inertia of the load mass.
As described before, the systems known from DE 100 29 579 and DE 10 2006 033 277 A1 employ a state observer which needs the second derivative of a position measurement. Such a double differentiation is disadvantageous due to noise amplification. According to an example aspect of the present disclosure the used coordinate system for describing the state of the system has been changed to an extent that the present disclosure does not require double differentiation.
It is advantageous when the reference trajectory generator calculates a nominal state trajectory and/or a nominal input trajectory which is/are consistent with the crane dynamics, i.e. skew dynamics and/or rotator drive dynamics and/or measured crane tower motion. Consistency with skew dynamics means that the reference trajectory fulfills the differential equation of the skew dynamics and does not violate skew deflection constraints. Consistency with drive dynamics means that the reference trajectory fulfills the differential equation of the drive dynamics and violates neither drive velocity constraints nor drive torque constraints.
A generation of the nominal state and input trajectory is optionally performed by using the non-linear model for the skew dynamics. That is to say that a simulation of the non-linear skew dynamic model and/or a simulation of the rotator unit model is/are implemented at the reference trajectory generator for calculation of a nominal state trajectory and/or a nominal input trajectory consistent with the aforementioned crane dynamics.
Further, a disturbance decoupling block of the reference trajectory generator decouples the skewing dynamics from the crane's slewing dynamics. That is to say that the slewing gear can still be manually controlled by the crane operator during an active skew control. The same may apply to the dynamics of the luffing gear. Consequently, the control of the skewing angle may be decoupled from the slewing gear and/or the luffing gear of the crane.
In a particular embodiment of the present disclosure the reference trajectory generator enables an operator triggered semi-automatic rotation of the load of a predefined angle, in particular of about 90° and/or 180°. That is to say the control unit offers certain operator input options which will proceed an semi-automatically rotation/skew of the attached load for a certain angle, ideally 90° and/or 180° in a clockwise and/or counter-clockwise direction. The operator may simply push a predefined button on a control stick to trigger an automatic rotation/skew of the load wherein the active skew control of the skew unit avoid torsional oscillations during skew movements.
The present disclosure is further directed to a skew control system for controlling the orientation of a crane load using any one of the methods described above. Such a skew control unit may include a 2-DOF control for the skew angle. The skew control system may include a reference trajectory generator and/or a state observer and/or a control unit for controlling the control signal of a rotator unit and/or slewing gear and/or luffing gear.
The present disclosure further comprises a boom crane, especially a mobile harbour crane, comprising a skew control unit for controlling the rotation of a crane load using any of the methods described above. Such a crane comprises a hook suspended on ropes, a rotator unit and a manipulator.
Advantageously, the crane will also comprise an anti-sway-control system that interacts with the system for controlling the rotation of a crane. The crane may also comprise a boom that can be pivoted up and down around a horizontal axis and rotated around a vertical axis by a tower. Additionally, the length of the rope can be varied.
Further advantages and properties of the present disclosure are described on the basis of embodiments shown in the figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows a side view and a top view of a mobile harbour crane.
FIG. 2 shows a front view of the crane ropes, load rotator device, spreader and container.
FIGS. 3A-C show an overview of the different operating modes for rotator control during container transloading, including a first mode in FIG. 3A , a second mode in FIG. 3B , and a third mode in FIG. 3C .
FIG. 4 shows a side view of a joystick with hand lever buttons for skew control.
FIG. 5 shows a top view of the geometry and variables of the skew dynamics model.
FIG. 6 shows an illustration of the cuboid model of the load.
FIG. 7 shows a sketch of the boom tip, ropes and hook in a deflected situation.
FIG. 8 shows a side view of a crane hook with installed components.
FIG. 9 shows a schematic for the two-degree of freedom control for the skew angle.
FIG. 10 shows a diagram disclosing the closed-loop stability region.
FIG. 11 shows a signal flow chart for determining the target speed.
FIG. 12 shows measurement result of a slewing gear rotation of 90°.
FIG. 13A shows measurement results to demonstrate the usage of the semi-automatic container turning function.
FIG. 13B shows measurement results to demonstrate the usage of the semi-automatic container turning function
FIG. 13C shows measurement results to demonstrate the usage of the semi-automatic container turning function.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Boom cranes are often used to handle cargo transshipment processes in harbours. Such a mobile harbour crane is shown in FIG. 1 . The crane has a load capacity of up to 124 t and a rope length of up to 80 m. However, the present disclosure is not restricted to a crane structure with the mentioned properties. The crane comprises a boom 1 that can be pivoted up and down around a horizontal axis formed by the hinge axis 2 with which it is attached to a tower 3 . The tower 3 can be rotated around a vertical axis, thereby also rotating the boom 1 with it. The tower 3 is mounted on a base 6 mounted on wheels 7 . The length of the rope 8 can be varied by winches. The load 10 can be grabbed by a manipulator or spreader 20 , that can be rotated by a rotator unit 15 mounted in a hook suspended on the rope 8 . The load 10 is rotated either by rotating the tower and thereby the whole crane, or by using the rotator unit 15 . In practice, both rotations will have to be used simultaneously to orient the load in a desired position.
A control system 81 may be provided, for example positioned in or on or at the crane, reading information from various sensors 75 and/or estimates of parameters based on sensor and other data (including those sensors described herein), and adjusting actuators 65 in response thereto (including those actuators, such as motors, described herein). The control system may include an electronic analog and/or digital control unit for example including a physical processor and physical memory 98 with instructions stored therein for carrying out the various actions, including operating the controllers described herein.
FIG. 2 discloses a detailed side view of a container 10 grabbed by the spreader 20 . The spreader 20 is attached to the hook 30 by means of hinge 31 which is rotatable relative to the hook 30 . The hook 30 is attached to the ropes 8 of the crane. A detailed view of the hook 30 is depicted in FIG. 8 . The rotator unit effecting a rotational movement of the attached spreader relative to the hook 30 comprises a drive including rotator motor 32 and transmission unit 33 . A power line 37 connects the motor 32 to the power supply of the crane. The hook 30 further comprises an inertial skew rate sensor 34 (gyroscope) and a drive position sensor 35 (incremental encoders). A spreader can be connected to the attaching means 38 . In one example, the attaching means may include a connector having an interior opening and/or hole.
For simplicity, only the rotation of a load suspended on an otherwise stationary crane will be discussed here. However, the control concept of the present disclosure can be easily integrated in a control concept for the whole crane.
The present disclosure presents the skew dynamics on a boom crane along with an actuator model and a sensor configuration. Subsequently a two-degrees of freedom control concept is derived which comprises a state observer for the skew dynamics, a reference trajectory generator, and a feedback control law. The control system is implemented on a Liebherr mobile harbour crane and its effectiveness is validated with multiple test drives.
The novelties of this publication include the application of a nonlinear skew dynamics model in a 2-DOF control system on boom cranes, the real-time reference trajectory calculation method which supports operating modes such as perpendicular transfer of containers, and the experimental validation on a harbour cranes with a load capacity of 124 t.
2 Rotator Operation Modes
In this section, typical operating modes for container rotation during container transloading are discussed.
In most harbours, containers 10 are moved from a container vessel 40 to shore 50 without rotation. This is commonly called parallel transfer; see FIG. 3( a ) . On thin piers 51 (“finger piers”) however, containers 10 need to be rotated by 90° to allow further transport using reach stackers. Such a perpendicular transfer is depicted in FIG. 3( b ) . When containers 10 are transferred to trucks or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) (reference number 41 ), the crane must precisely adjust the container skew angle to the truck orientation. Since container doors 11 must be at the rear end of a truck 41 , containers 10 are sometimes turned by 180°. These processes are shown in FIG. 3( c ) .
FIG. 4 shows one of the hand levers of the crane operator. Two hand lever buttons 60 , 61 are used for adapting the spreader orientation in either clockwise direction by pushing button 60 or counterclockwise direction by pushing button 61 . The state of the art is that pushing one of these buttons induces a relative motion between the hook and the spreader in the desired direction. When no button is pressed, either the relative velocity between hook and spreader is forced to zero, or the actuator is set to zero-torque. In both cases the load motion will not stop when the operator releases the hand lever buttons, but either an undamped residual oscillation of the spreader will remain, or the spreader will remain in constant rotation. In both cases the operator has to compensate disturbances due to wind, crane slewing motion, friction forces, etc. himself.
When automatic skew control is enabled on a crane, the same user interface shall be used. This means that the operator shall control the spreader motion using only the two hand lever buttons. When there is no operator input, the skew angle shall be kept constant to allow parallel transfer of containers. This means that both known disturbances (e. g. slewing motion) and unknown disturbances (e. g. wind force) need to be compensated. Short-time button pushes shall yield small orientation changes to allow precise positioning. When a button is kept pushed for longer periods, the container is accelerated to a constant target speed, and it is decelerated again once the button is released. The target speed is chosen such that the braking distance is sufficiently small to ensure safe working conditions (the braking distance shall not exceed 45°). To simplify perpendicular transfer of containers or 180° container rotation, the skewing motion shall automatically stop at a given angle (90° or 180°) even if the operator keeps the button pressed.
3 Crane Rotator Model
According to the present disclosure a dynamic model for the skew angle is derived. As shown in FIG. 5 , the skew angle of the load in inertial coordinates is referred to as η L . The load can be an empty spreader 20 or a spreader 20 with a container 10 hooked onto it. The slewing angle of the crane is denoted as φ D , and the relative angle between the rotator device and the load is φ C . The directions of the angles are defined as shown in FIG. 5 . Subsection 3.1 introduces a dynamic model of the skew dynamics, i. e. a differential equation for the skew angle σ L . A drive model for the rotator angle φ C is given in Subsection 3.2. Finally, the available sensor signals are presented in Subsection 3.3.
3.1 Load Rotation Dynamics
In this section, a model for the oscillation dynamics of the inertial skew angle η L is derived. The FIGS. 2, 5 and 6 visualize the angles and lengths appearing in the derivation.
The spreader (with or without a container) is assumed to be a uniform cuboid of dimensions k 1 ×k 2 ×k 3 with the mass m L (see FIG. 6 ). The cuboid's inertia tensor is then
I
=
1
12
m
L
[
k
2
2
+
k
3
2
0
0
0
k
1
2
+
k
3
2
0
0
0
k
1
2
+
k
2
2
]
.
(
1
)
With the vertical position h L , the horizontal position x L , y L and the rotation rates {dot over (β)}, {dot over (γ)}, {dot over (δ)}, and the gravitational acceleration g, the potential energy and the kinetic energy of the container are:
??
=
m
L
gh
L
,
(
2
)
??
=
1
2
m
L
[
h
.
L
2
+
x
.
L
2
+
y
.
L
2
]
+
1
2
[
β
.
γ
.
δ
.
]
I
[
β
.
γ
.
δ
.
]
=
1
2
m
L
[
h
.
L
2
+
x
.
L
2
+
y
.
L
2
]
+
1
24
m
L
[
(
k
2
2
+
k
3
2
)
β
.
2
+
(
k
1
2
+
k
3
2
)
γ
.
2
+
(
k
1
2
+
k
2
2
)
δ
.
2
]
.
(
3
)
Both (2) and (3) are combined to the Lagrangian = − . In order to apply the Euler-Lagrange equation
ⅆ ⅆ t ∂ ∂ η . L = ∂ ∂ η L , ( 4 )
it must be identified which terms in (2) and (3) depend on either the skew angle η L or its derivative {dot over (η)} L :
The vertical load position h L depends on η L : When the container rotates around the vertical axis, it is slightly lifted upwards due to the cable suspension. The exact dependency is derived in the following. Since a rotation of the load does not move the center of gravity of the load horizontally, the horizontal load position coordinates x L and y L do not depend on η L . In typical crane operating conditions, the load angles γ and δ are very small. This means that the angle β coincides with the container orientation η L . Since γ and δ are orthogonal to β, they do not depend on η L .
The Lagrangian can therefore be represented as:
ℒ
=
1
2
m
L
h
.
L
2
+
1
24
m
L
(
k
2
2
+
k
3
2
)
︸
k
L
2
η
.
L
2
-
m
L
g
h
L
.
(
5
)
In order to apply (4) to (5), the relative load height h L needs to be written as a function of the rotator deflection (i. e. the twist angle ⋄=η L −φ C −φ D ). FIG. 7 shows the rotator in a deflected state. The cosine formula for the triangle A is:
s
x
2
=
(
s
a
2
)
2
+
(
s
b
2
)
2
-
2
s
a
2
s
b
2
cos
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
.
(
6
)
With s x known, geometric considerations in triangle B reveal
− h L =√{square root over ( L 2 −s x 2 )}, (7)
which yields:
h
L
=
-
L
2
-
s
a
2
4
-
s
b
2
4
+
s
a
s
b
2
cos
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
.
(
8
)
Using (5) and (8), the Euler-Lagrange formalism (4) yields the differential equation (9) which describes the skew dynamics.
k
L
2
m
L
η
¨
L
+
m
L
s
a
2
s
b
2
ξ
2
2
4
ξ
1
(
η
¨
L
-
φ
¨
C
-
φ
¨
D
)
=
-
m
L
s
a
2
s
b
2
ξ
2
ξ
4
2
4
ξ
1
︸
★
(
s
a
s
b
ξ
2
2
ξ
1
+
ξ
3
)
-
m
L
g
s
a
s
b
ξ
2
2
ξ
1
︸
•
(
9
a
)
with
ξ
1
=
4
L
2
-
s
a
2
-
s
b
2
+
2
s
a
s
b
ξ
3
(
9
b
)
ξ
2
=
sin
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
(
9
c
)
ξ
3
=
cos
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
(
9
d
)
ξ
4
=
φ
.
C
+
φ
.
D
-
η
.
L
(
9
e
)
The following assumptions are used to simplify equation (9):
The rope distances are significantly smaller than the rope length: s a L, s b L. The term marked as * can be neglected when being compared with the term marked as ▪: Even for short rope lengths (L min ≈5 m) and high rotational rates
(
ξ
4
ma
x
≈
0.8
rad
s
)
,
s
a
s
b
L
ξ
4
2
≤
s
a
s
b
L
m
i
n
ξ
4
ma
x
2
≈
0.5
m
/
s
2
g
holds
.
Due to the rotational inertia which is represented by the radius of gyration k L which was defined in (5), the translational inertia is negligible:
1
16
m
L
s
a
2
s
b
2
L
2
m
L
k
L
2
.
With these assumptions, the skew dynamics (9) can be denoted as
m
L
k
L
2
η
¨
L
=
-
m
l
g
L
s
a
s
b
4
sin
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
︸
T
.
(
10
)
The right-hand side of (10) is the torque T exerted on the load. The product of the halve rope distances is abbreviated as
A = s a s b 4 ( 11 )
which is a parameter that is known from the crane geometry. Combining (10) and (11) yields the skew dynamics model
η
¨
L
=
-
g
L
A
k
L
2
sin
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
.
(
12
)
Equation (12) illustrates that the eigenfrequency of the skew dynamics is independent of the load mass, i. e. only depends on the geometry and on the gravitational acceleration. Also, (12) illustrates that it is not reasonable to leave the deflection range
- π 2 ≤ η L - φ C - φ D ≤ π 2 ( 13 )
since larger deflections do not yield higher torques.
3.2 Actuator Model
The skewing device rotates the spreader with respect to the hook (see FIG. 8 ). The relative angle is denoted as φ C . If the rotator is hydraulically actuated the control signal u (sent to an actuator) can be a valve position which is proportional to the rotator speed. If the rotator is electrically actuated the control signal u can be a rotation rate set-point. Assuming first-order lag dynamics with a time constant T S , the actuator dynamics can be denoted as:
T S{umlaut over (φ)}C +{dot over (φ)} C =u. (14)
The actuator system is subject to two contraints. First, the control signal u cannot exceed given limits:
u min ≦u≦u max . (15)
Second, the drive system is limited in torque and/or pressure and/or current, therefore only a certain skew torque T max can be applied by the actuators. Considering (10), the skew torque constraint is:
m
L
g
L
A
sin
(
η
L
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
≤
T
ma
x
.
(
16
)
This constraint is important for trajectory generation since the system will inevitably deviate from the reference trajectory if the constraint is violated.
3.3 Sensor Models
There are two sensors installed in the hook housing (see FIG. 8 ). An incremental encoder is used for measuring the drive position
y 1 =φ C . (17)
Since the incremental encoder gives a reliable measurement signal, the drive speed {dot over (φ)} C is found by discrete differentiation of the drive position. For measuring the skew dynamics, a gyroscope is installed in the hook housing, which measures its inertial skewing rate. The gyroscope measurement is disturbed by a signal bias and sensor noise:
y 2 ={dot over (η)}−{tilde over (φ)} C +ν offset +ν noise . (18)
The slewing angle of the crane is also measured by an incremental encoder (see FIG. 5 ):
y 3 =φ D . (19)
Furthermore the rope length L of the crane is measured precisely, and the spreader length l apr is known from the spreader actuation signal (see FIG. 2 ). From the spreader length, the radius of gyration k L can be calculated. For calculating the radius of gyration, the following parts have to be taken into account:
the crane hook, which however gives very little rotational inertia, the empty spreader, which has a length-dependent mass distribution that is known from the spreader manufacturer, if attached, the steel container, whose (length-dependent) mass distribution is known from identification experiments, if present, the load inside the container, which is simply assumed to be equally distributed over the (length-dependent) container floor space.
The crane's load measurement is only used to decide if the container has to be taken into account for the calculation of the radius of gyration k L .
4 Control Concept
For the skew control, two-degree of freedom control is used as shown in FIG. 9 . This means that the control signal u comprises a feedforward signal ũ from a reference trajectory generator, and a feedback signal Δu to stabilize the system and reject disturbances:
u=ũ+Δu. (20)
The feedforward control signals is designed in such a way that it drives the system along a reference trajectory {tilde over (x)} under nominal conditions. Any deviation of the estimated system state {tilde over (x)} to the reference state {tilde over (x)} is compensated by the feedback signal Δu using the feedback gain vector k T :
Δ u=k T ( {tilde over (x)}−{circumflex over (x)} ). (21)
The system state x comprises the rotator angle φ C , rotator angular rate {dot over (φ)} C , the skew angle η L and the skew angular rate {dot over (η)} L :
x
=
[
φ
C
φ
.
C
η
L
η
.
L
]
.
(
22
)
In Section 4.1, a state observer is presented which finds the state estimate {circumflex over (x)} for the real system state x using the measurement signals. The design of the feedback gain k T is discussed in Section 4.2. Finally, the reference trajectory generator which calculates ũ and {tilde over (x)} is shown in Section 4.3.
4.1 State Observer
The aim of the state observer is to estimate those states of the state vector (22) which cannot be measured or whose measurements are too disturbed to be used as feedback signals. Both states of the actuator dynamics are measured using an incremental encoder. This means that φ C and {dot over (φ)} C are known and do not need to be estimated. The two states of the skew dynamics, the skew angle η L and its angular velocity {dot over (η)} L , are not directly measurable. They are estimated using a Luenberger-type state observer. The gyroscope measurement (18) is used as feedback signal for the observer. Since the gyroscope measurement carries a signal offset ν offset , an augmented observer model is introduced for observer design, i. e. the observer state vector z spiel comprises the skew angle η L , the skew rate {dot over (η)} L and the signal offset ν offset and the skewing rate ν spiel caused by the slackness of the hook and the time derivative {circumflex over (ν)} spiel thereof:
z
s
=
[
z
1
z
2
z
3
z
4
z
5
]
=
[
η
L
η
.
L
v
offset
v
spiel
v
.
spiel
]
.
(
23
)
The nominal dynamics of z s are found by combining (12) with a random-walk offset model:
z
.
s
=
[
z
2
-
g
L
A
k
L
2
sin
(
z
1
-
φ
C
-
φ
D
)
0
z
5
-
(
2
Π
1
s
)
2
z
4
]
,
(
24
a
)
y
2
=
z
2
-
φ
.
C
+
z
3
+
z
4
.
(
24
b
)
The observer is found by adding a Luenberger term to (24). The estimates state vector is denoted as {circumflex over (z)} s . The signals φ C , φ D , and {dot over (φ)} C are taken from the measurements (17) and (19):
z
^
.
s
=
[
z
^
2
-
g
L
A
k
L
2
sin
(
z
1
-
y
1
-
y
3
)
0
z
^
5
-
(
2
Π
1
s
)
2
z
^
4
]
+
[
l
1
l
2
l
3
l
4
l
5
]
(
y
2
-
y
^
2
)
,
(
25
a
)
y
^
2
=
z
^
2
-
y
.
1
+
z
^
3
+
z
^
4
.
(
25
b
)
The feedback gains l 1 , l 2 , l 3 , l 4 and l 5 and are found by pole placement to ensure required convergence times after situations with model mismatch. A typical example for model mismatch is a collision with a stationary obstacle (e. g. another container). For the pole placement procedure, a set-point linearization of the observer model is used.
From the estimated state vector {circumflex over (z)} s , the estimated skew angle and the skew rate are forwarded to the 2-DOF control, along with the actuator state measurements. The estimated gyroscope offset is not considered further:
x
^
=
[
y
1
y
.
1
z
^
1
z
^
2
]
.
(
26
)
4.2 Stabilization
Since both the skew dynamics (12) and the actuator dynamics (14) have open loop poles on the imaginary axis, any disturbance (e. g. wind) or error in the initial state estimate will cause non-vanishing deviations in between the reference trajectory {tilde over (x)} and the system trajectory x. Feedback control is added to ensure that the system converges to the reference trajectory (see FIG. 9 ). The feedback control is accomplished by calculating the control error
e={tilde over (x)}−x (27)
and designing the feedback gain k with
k T =┌k 1 k 2 k 3 k 4 ┐ (28)
for eq. (21) such that the control error is asymptotically stable. For the feedback design, a set-point linearization is considered. Afterwards it is verified that the feedback law stabilizes the nonlinear system model.
Assuming both the reference trajectory and the plant dynamics fulfill the model equations (12) and (14), the error dynamics can be found by differentiating (27) and plugging-in the model equations:
e
.
=
x
~
.
-
x
.
=
[
x
~
2
-
1
T
S
(
x
~
2
-
u
~
)
x
~
4
-
gA
Lk
L
2
sin
(
x
~
3
-
x
~
1
)
]
-
[
x
1
-
1
T
S
(
x
2
-
u
)
x
4
-
gA
Lk
L
2
sin
(
x
3
-
x
1
)
]
.
(
29
)
Together with the control equations (20), (21), and (28), and assuming the state estimation works sufficiently well ({circumflex over (x)}−x), the set-point linearization of (29) is
e
.
=
[
0
1
0
0
-
k
1
T
S
-
1
+
k
2
T
S
-
k
3
T
S
-
k
4
T
S
0
0
0
1
g
L
A
k
L
2
0
-
g
L
A
k
L
2
0
]
︸
Φ
e
.
(
30
)
With the abbreviation
θ = g L A k L 2 ,
the characteristic polynomial of the dynamic matrix Φ is:
det
(
λ
I
-
Φ
)
=
(
k
1
+
k
3
)
θ
+
(
k
2
+
k
4
+
1
)
θ
λ
+
(
k
1
+
T
S
θ
)
λ
2
+
(
k
2
+
1
)
λ
3
+
T
S
λ
4
T
S
(
31
)
For any parameters θ and T S , the feedback gains k 1 , . . . k 4 can be chosen in such a way that (31) is a Hurwitz polynomial. The final feedback gains can be chosen by various methods. A graphical tool are stability plots. For example, the stability region for k 2 =k 3 =0 is depicted in FIG. 10 , which shows the constraints on the choice for the remaining coefficients k 1 and k 4 for this case.
4.3 Reference Trajectory Generation
As shown in FIG. 9 , the reference trajectory generator needs to calculate a nominal state trajectory {tilde over (x)} as well as a nominal input trajectory ũ which is consistent with the plant dynamics. Since the skew system is operator-controlled, the reference trajectory needs to be planned online in real-time.
The general structure is known which uses a plant simulation to generate a reference state trajectory and an arbitrary control law for generating a control input for the plant simulation. The control input for the simulated plant is then used as a nominal control signal for the real system. In order to adapt this approach to the skew control problem, simulations of the actuator model and the skew model are implemented for generating a reference state trajectory from a reference input signal. In this design, the combined angle
{tilde over (φ)} CD =φ C +φ D (36)
is used instead of the actuator angle φ C and the slewing gear angle φ D at first. The two variables are later decoupled as discussed in Section 4.3.3. The remainder of this section discusses the control law which is used to stabilize the plant simulation.
Since the cut-off frequency of the actuator dynamics is significantly faster than the eigenfrequency of the skew dynamics, cascade control is applied inside the reference trajectory planner. This means that a skew reference controller is set up for stabilizing the simulated skew dynamics, and an underlying actuator reference controller is used for stabilizing the simulated actuator dynamics. The target value of the skew control loop is the target velocity {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target from the operator, and the target value of the underlying actuator control loop comes from the skew control loop. A disturbance decoupling block is added to decouple the skewing dynamics from the crane's slewing dynamics, i. e. reverting (36). Finally, the automatic deceleration at position constraints after 90° or 180° of motion are enforced by modification of the target velocity for the whole reference control loop.
The skew reference control loop is explained in Subsection 4.3.1, followed by the actuator reference control loop in Subsection 4.3.2. Subsequently, the decoupling of the slewing gear motion is shown in Subsection 4.3.3. Finally, the determination of the target velocity is discussed in Subsection 4.3.4.
4.3.1 Skew Reference Controller
The aim of the skew reference controller is to stabilize the skew dynamics simulation
η ~ ¨ L = - gA Lk L 2 sin ( η ~ L - φ ^ CD ) ( 37 )
and to ensure that it tracks the target velocity {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target , For this purpose the control law
{tilde over (φ)} CD,target ={tilde over (η)} L +sat η ( K η ·({tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target −{tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L (38)
is introduced with the saturation function
sat
η
(
x
)
=
sign
(
x
)
·
min
(
Δ
η
ma
x
,
arcsin
(
LT
ma
x
gAm
L
)
,
x
)
.
(
39
)
The saturation function ensures that the target rope deflection neither exceeds the deflection which corresponds to maximum actuator torque as in (16), nor the maximum deflection angle Δη max . The maximum deflection Δη max <
Δη max < π 2
ensures that the reference trajectory does not deflect the hook beyond the maximum torque angle as in (13), and that there is a reasonable safety margin in case of control deviation.
Assuming {tilde over (φ)} CD ≈{tilde over (φ)} CD,target , get the skew dynamics (37) with the control law (38) breaks down to
η
~
¨
L
=
gA
Lk
L
2
sin
(
sat
η
(
K
η
·
(
η
~
.
L
,
target
-
η
~
.
L
)
)
)
(
40
)
A stability analysis of (40) reveals that for any positive K η the load skew rate {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L converges to any constant target velocity {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target . The feedback gain K η is chosen by gain scheduling in dependence of the skew eigenfrequency. It ensures quick convergence with minimum overshoot.
4.3.2 Actuator Reference Controller
The underlying control loop consists of the plant
φ ~ ¨ CD = u ~ CD - φ ~ . CD T S ( 41 )
and the actuator reference controller which is designed using the following model predictive control approach. The actuator reference controller is designed such that the cost function
min u ~ CD ( t ) q φ ( φ ~ CD - φ ~ CD , target ) 2 + q u ~ u ~ CD 2 + q s s 2 ⅆ t ( 42 )
is minimized. Here, s≧0 is a high-weighted slack variable which is introduced to ensure that the following set of input and state constraints is always feasible:
ũ CD ( t )≦ u max , (43)
− ũ CD ( t )≦− u min , (44)
{tilde over (φ)} CD ( t )− s ( t )≦{tilde over (η)} L +sat η (∞), (45)
−{tilde over (φ)} CD ( t )− s ( t )≦−{tilde over (η)} L +sat η (∞). (46)
The input constraints (43)-(44) ensure that the valve limitations (15) are not violated. The state constraints (45)-(46) are used to prevent remaining overshot with respect to the hook deflection constraint (39).
The optimal control problem (42)-(46) is discretized and solved using an interior point method.
4.3.3 Disturbance Decoupling
So far, reference values for the combined angle {tilde over (φ)} CD were calculated. As defined in (36), {tilde over (φ)} CD comprises the rotator angle and the slewing gear angle. However, the reference trajectory planner needs to calculate a nominal trajectory for the rotator angle {tilde over (φ)} C only. Since the crane's slewing gear motion is known to the crane control system, it can be easily decoupled using the following formulas:
{tilde over (φ)} C ={tilde over (φ)} CD −φ D , (47a)
{tilde over ({dot over (η)})}={tilde over ({dot over (η)})} CD −{dot over (φ)} D , (47b)
{tilde over (μ)}={tilde over (μ)} CD −({dot over (φ)} D +T s {umlaut over (φ)} D ). (47c)
Equation (47a) directly reverts (36). Equation (47b) is found by differentiating (47a), and (47c) is found by further differentiation, and applying the actuator model (14) as well as (41).
4.3.4 Determination of the Target Velocity
The operator can only push joystick buttons in an on/off manner to operate the skewing system, i. e. the hand lever signal is
ωε{−1,0,+1}. (48)
The target velocity {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target for the skew reference controller is found by multiplying the joystick button signal with a reasonable maximum speed:
{tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target ={tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,max ·ω. (49)
When the operator keeps a joystick button pressed permanently, the target velocity {tilde over ({dot over (η)})} L,target is overwritten with 0 at some point to stop the skewing motion. The time instant of starting to overwrite the joystick button with 0 is chosen such that the systems comes to rest exactly at the desired stopping angle {tilde over (η)} stop . The stopping angle {tilde over (η)} stop is chosen application dependently. For turning a container frontside back, η stop is chosen 180° after the starting point. To identify the right point in time for overwriting the hand lever signal with 0, a forward simulation of the trajectory generator dynamics is conducted in every sampling interval with a target velocity of 0, yielding a stopping angle prediction {tilde over (η)} pred . When this prediction reaches the desired stopping angle {tilde over (η)} stop , further motion is inhibited in this direction, i.e. (49) is replaced by:
η
~
.
L
,
target
=
{
0
if
ω
>
0
⋀
η
~
pred
≥
η
~
stop
0
if
ω
<
0
⋀
η
~
pred
≤
η
~
stop
η
~
.
L
,
ma
x
·
ω
else
.
(
50
)
For the sake of clarity, the full target speed determination signal flow is shown in FIG. 11 .
5 Experimental Validation
To validate the practical implementation of the presented skew control system, two experiments are presented in this section. These experiments were chosen to reflect typical operating conditions as discussed in Section 2. The experiments were conducted on a Liebherr LHM 420 boom crane.
5.1 Compensation of Crane Slewing Motion
When the containers can be moved from ship to shore at a constant skew angle, the most important feature of the presented control system is the decoupling of the skew dynamics from the slewing gear. FIG. 12 shows a measurement of a slewing gear rotation of 90°. It can be seen that the rotator device φc moves inversely to the slewing gear φ D , yielding a constant container orientation η L . The control deviation is small all the time. The control deviation plot especially shows that the residual sway converges to amplitudes 1° when the system comes to rest.
5.2 Large Angular Rotation
To demonstrate the usage of the semi-automatic container turning function, another test drive is shown in FIG. 13 . The container orientation is shown in FIG. 13 a , the angular rate is shown in FIG. 13 b and the control deviation is plotted in FIG. 13 c . When the operator presses the rotation button at the situation marked as (α), the rotator starts moving and twists the ropes. During the motion, the rotator speed equals the load speed. In the situation marked as (β), the rotator moves in inverse direction and decelerates the load. The system comes to rest after 180° rotation, which corresponds to the choice of the stopping angle {tilde over (η)} stop during this test drive. The deceleration at (β) is initialized automatically even though the operator does not release the rotation button. At (γ) and (δ), the same motion occurs in opposite direction.
6 Conclusion
A nonlinear model for the skew dynamics of a container rotator of a boom crane and a suitable control system for the skew dynamics have been presented. The control system is implemented in a two-degrees of freedom structure which ensures stabilization of the skew angle, decoupling of slewing gear motions and simplifies operator control. A linear control law is shown to stabilize the system by use of the circle criterion. The system state is reconstructed from a skew rate measurement using a Luenberger-type state observer. The reference trajectory for the control system is calculated from the operator input in real-time using a simulation of the plant model. The simulation comprises appropriate control laws which ensure that the reference trajectory tracks the operator signal and maintains system constraints. The performance of the control system is validated with test drives on a full-size mobile harbour boom crane. | The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling the orientation of a crane load, wherein a manipulator for manipulating the load is connected by a rotator unit to a hook suspended on ropes and the skew angle ηL of the load is controlled by a control unit of the crane, characterized in that the control unit is an adaptive control unit wherein an estimated system state of the crane system is determined by use of a nonlinear model describing the skew dynamics during operation. | 1 |
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. MDA972-03-3-0004 awarded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to microelectronic packaging of semiconductor chips and, more specifically, apparatus and methods for constructing balanced semiconductor chip package structures that minimize or prevent bowing, in-plain expansion and/or other thermally induced mechanical strains that can cause structural damage to chip package structures.
BACKGROUND
Advances in semiconductor chip fabrication and packaging technologies has enabled development of highly integrated semiconductor chip devices and compact chip package structures (or electronic modules). As chip geometries are scaled down and operating speeds are increased and chip packages become more compact, however, power densities are increased resulting in more heat generation per unit area. Indeed, heat is primarily generated from wiring resistance and active device switching. The ability to implement electronic modules with increased chip densities and system performance is limited primarily by the ability to effectively remove heat from such electronic modules as resulting increased heat densities makes packaging more problematic. Indeed, substantial stresses and strains may be generated in a package structure caused by thermal cycling during chip operation, leading to device failure and structural defects.
More specifically, by way of example, an electronic module may comprise one or more semiconductor chips that are electrically and mechanically coupled to a substrate (or chip carrier) by soldering conductive contacts on the chip (e.g., C4 (Controlled Collapse Chip Connection) solder balls) to the top surface of the substrate. Moreover, an electronic module may comprise two or more levels of substrates that enable different levels of space transformation of an electrical interface to the chips. When the chips and substrates are formed from different materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), the chip and substrate tend to expand and contract by different amounts during thermal cycling, which is a phenomenon known as “CTE mismatch”. The CTE represents the ratio of change in dimensions to original dimensions per degree rise in temperature, expressed in ppm/° C. CTE mismatch denotes the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansions of two materials or components joined together, which produces strains and stresses at joining interfaces or in attachment surfaces.
During thermal cycling, relative displacement between components due to differences in CTE between such components can cause bowing or bending of substrates and generate significant stresses and strains in the electrical contacts and interface between the components. For instance, relative displacement between a chip and a carrier substrate and/or between two substrates (e.g., carrier and printed wiring board (PWB) or printed circuit board PCB) due to thermal cycling can deform the electrical interconnections between the components. These stresses are applied repeatedly with repeated operation of the device, and can cause fatigue of the electrical interconnections, especially C4s.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side-view of a conventional chip package ( 100 ). The package ( 100 ) comprises a semiconductor IC chip ( 101 ) mounted on a carrier substrate ( 102 ). The IC chip ( 101 ) is shown flip-chip bonded to bond sites on the carrier substrate ( 102 ) using an array of fine pitch solder balls ( 103 ) such as micro C4 (Controlled Collapsed Chip Connect) solder balls, which provide electrical connections between I/O pads on the active surface of the chip ( 101 ) and a footprint of corresponding pads on the surface of the chip carrier ( 102 ). The chip ( 101 ) may be formed on silicon and the carrier substrate ( 102 ) formed of ceramic or silicon. The interconnect between chip ( 101 ) and carrier substrate ( 102 ) may be strengthened with the addition of an underfill.
The chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) is electrically coupled to an organic substrate ( 104 ) using an array of larger pitch solder balls ( 105 ) (e.g., C4s), which provide electrical connections between I/O pads on the bottom surface of the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) and a footprint of corresponding pads on the surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ). In FIG. 1 , the organic substrate ( 104 ) may comprise a PCB or PWB having other chips and electronic components mounted thereon, or it may be an organic carrier that may ultimately be mounted to a PWB. The chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) comprises electrical wiring patterns on the surfaces thereof which are connected by electrical through via contacts to thereby provide a space transformation of the electrical interface between the I/O pads on the chip ( 101 ) to the organic substrate ( 104 ).
Moreover, chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) is mechanically coupled to the organic substrate ( 104 ) using an underfill material ( 106 ) disposed between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and the organic substrate ( 104 ). The underfill material ( 106 ) (e.g., epoxy) is flowed into the interface between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and substrate ( 104 ) after formation of connections ( 105 ) and then cured to form a rigid material. The underfill material ( 106 ) acts to redistribute mechanical stresses in the interface between the carrier ( 102 ) and substrate ( 104 ) caused by relative displacement between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and organic substrate ( 104 ) due to CTE mismatch, to thereby minimize stress applied to the C4 connections ( 105 ). Underfilling ensures minimum load on the interconnects and becomes the primary load bearing member between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and the substrate ( 104 ) during thermal or power cycling. Thermoset type materials are commonly used in the industry as underfill material.
With the exemplary package structure ( 100 ) of FIG. 1 , CTE mismatches between the chip ( 101 ), chip carrier ( 102 ) and organic substrate ( 104 ) can cause various types of defects over time as a result of thermal cycling, e.g., during temperature excursions, such as cool-down from underfill cure temperatures (150 C and higher) or normal power-on/off cycles. The most common defects include delaminations, fractures or severed electrical connections, and the probability that such defects will occur increases as the size of the package increases. FIG. 1 depicts a dotted line representing a “neutral stress point”, NSP, which is assumed to at the center of the chip package ( 100 ). The relative displacement due to the differences in thermal expansion between the chip ( 101 ), carrier substrate ( 102 ) and substrate ( 104 ) will be very small at the NSP, but will increase in accordance with the distance D (in all directions) from the NPS.
In the package structure of FIG. 1 , when the chip and chip carrier are made of the same or similar materials such as silicon/silicon (Si CTE=2.8 ppm/C) or silicon/ceramic (ceramic CTE=˜9 ppm/C chip), there may be little stress in the interface between the chip ( 101 ) and the carrier ( 102 ) due to in-plane expansion. However, a significantly greater CTE mismatch between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and the organic substrate ( 104 ) (laminate CTE=12-18 ppm/C) and the high Young's modulus (>1 Mpsi) of the underfill ( 106 ) can combine to cause bending in the chip-laminate structure as well as large in-plane expansion of the carrier substrate ( 102 ) relative to the substrate ( 104 ).
Although the underfill material ( 106 ) compensates for the CTE mismatch between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and the substrate ( 104 ) and minimizes stress on the C4 connections ( 105 ), the underfill material ( 106 ) must be relatively rigid to bear much of the load. As a result the chip carrier ( 102 ) and substrate ( 104 ) are strongly coupled such that differential thermal expansion causes substantial bending or flexing upward or downward of the organic substrate ( 104 ) and chip carrier ( 102 ). In extreme cases, the bending can cause cracking of the chip carrier ( 102 ) or substrate, and delamination and contact damage in the interface between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and organic substrate ( 104 ). In addition, the bending of the chip carrier ( 102 ) can cause undue stresses and strains between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and chip ( 101 ) leading to defects and structural damage, etc.
In other conventional methods, a uniform stiffener can be attached to the organic substrate, where the CTE of the stiffener is chosen to match that of the substrate in order to eliminate bending. In particular, FIG. 2 is a schematic side-view illustration of another conventional package structure ( 200 ). The package ( 200 ) is similar to the package ( 100 ) discussed above, except that a high-CTE stiffener substrate ( 201 ) is attached to the bottom surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ). The stiffener substrate ( 201 ) significantly reduces the bending of the package structure ( 200 ) (as compared to the package structure ( 100 ) of FIG. 1 ), but does not offset (in fact, it enforces) a large in-plane expansion between the organic substrate ( 104 ) relative to the chip carrier ( 102 ). Consequently, excessive shear stresses can be applied to the C4s connections ( 105 ) between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and the organic substrate ( 104 ), as well as some local bending near the outer peripheral regions of the chip carrier ( 102 ).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Exemplary embodiments of the invention generally include apparatus and methods for constructing balanced semiconductor chip package structures that minimize bowing, in-plain strain and/or other thermally induced mechanical strains that may arise during thermal cycling, to thus prevent structural damage to chip package structures.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, an electronic package apparatus includes a first substrate having first and second surfaces, an IC (integrated circuit) chip mounted to the first surface of the first substrate and a second substrate having first and second surfaces, wherein the second surface of the first substrate is mounted to the first surface of the second substrate. The package further comprises a first stiffener plate having first and second surfaces, wherein the first stiffener plate has an aperture region formed between the first and second surfaces of the first stiffener plate, and wherein the first stiffener plate is bonded to the second substrate such that the first substrate is aligned with the aperture region, and a second stiffener plate bonded to the second surface of the second substrate such that the second stiffener plate is aligned to the first substrate and the aperture region.
In one exemplary embodiment, the first stiffener plate is formed with a material and dimensioned to provide mechanical stability and planarity to the second substrate. The second stiffener plate is formed with a material and dimensioned to provide a mechanically balanced stacked structure above and below the region of the second substrate in the footprint areas where the IC chip to first carrier substrate assembly is attached to the second substrate.
For instance, in one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first substrate and second stiffener plate are formed of silicon and the second substrate is an organic substrate (e.g., PCB, PWB). The package structure provides a balanced structure such that the organic substrate is in a neutral plane (i.e., there is no local bending in the organic substrate or in a SOP structure (Si chip on silicon carrier), and such that the in-plane expansion of the organic substrate is constrained so as to reduce shear strain in the interface between the organic substrate and chip carrier. For instance, a balanced structure can be obtained by selecting the material and dimensions of the second stiffener plate such that the second stiffener plate is formed of a material having a CTE similar to the chip carrier substrate and such that the second stiffener plate has a thickness that is matched to the effective stiffness of the SOP structure.
These and other exemplary embodiments, features and advantages of the present invention will be described or become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic side-view of a conventional chip package structure.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side-view of another conventional chip package structure.
FIGS. 3A-3B are schematic side-views of a chip package structure according to exemplary embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 3A-3B are schematic side-view illustrations of a package structure according to exemplary embodiments of the invention. In general, FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate a package structure ( 300 ) comprising a semiconductor IC chip ( 101 ), a carrier substrate ( 102 ), C4 connections ( 103 ), an organic substrate ( 104 ), C4 connections ( 105 ), and underfill material ( 106 ), similar to that discussed above with reference to FIG. 1 . In the following discussion, the structure comprising chip ( 101 ), connections ( 103 ) and chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) is referred to as a system-on-package structure (SOP) ( 110 ).
In addition, the exemplary package structure ( 300 ) comprises a first stiffener plate ( 301 ) bonded to a surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ). In contrast to the package structure of FIG. 2 , the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) comprises a cutout region ( 301 a ) (or aperture region). Moreover, the package structure ( 300 ) comprises a second stiffener plate ( 302 ) that is bonded to the organic substrate ( 104 ) using an adhesive material ( 303 ). As depicted in FIG. 3A , the SOP structure ( 110 ) and second stiffener plate ( 302 ) are mounted in alignment to each other on opposing surfaces of the organic substrate ( 104 ). Moreover, the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) is mounted to the organic substrate ( 104 ) such that the aperture region ( 301 a ) is aligned to the SOP structure ( 110 ) and the second stiffener plate ( 302 ).
In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3A , although the first and second stiffener plates ( 301 ) and ( 302 ) are shown being bonded to the same surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ) wherein the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) is disposed within the aperture region ( 301 a ), the package ( 300 ) may be constructed with the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) and SOP structure ( 110 ) bonded to the same surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ) wherein the SOP structure ( 110 ) is disposed within the aperture region ( 301 a ) as shown in FIG. 3B . Moreover, although only one SOP structure ( 110 ) is depicted, multiple SOP structures can be bonded to other regions of the organic substrate ( 104 ) in which case the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) would have a plurality of aperture regions aligned to corresponding SOP footprint regions.
In general, the exemplary package structure ( 300 ) provides a balanced package structure in which the various components are formed with materials and dimensions to minimize or eliminate bowing or flexing of the package substrates and shear stresses in the interfaces between the chip ( 101 ) and substrate ( 102 ) and between the chip carrier ( 102 ) and organic substrate ( 104 ).
As will be explained below, the package structure ( 300 ) provided a balanced structure such that the organic substrate ( 104 ) is in a neutral plane (i.e., there is no local bending in the organic substrate ( 104 ) or in the SOP structure ( 110 )), and such that the in-plane expansion of the organic substrate ( 104 ) is constrained so as to reduce shear strain in the interface between the organic substrate ( 104 ) and chip carrier ( 102 ), to thereby reduce strain on the C4 connections ( 105 ). For instance, as will be explained below, a balanced structure can be obtained by selecting an adhesive material ( 303 ) to have properties (Young's modulus, CTE and Tg) that are similar to the underfill material ( 106 ) between the SOP ( 110 ) and the organic substrate ( 104 ), and by selecting the material and dimensions of the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) such that the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) is formed of a material having a CTE similar to the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) and such that the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) has a thickness that is matched to the effective stiffness of the SOP structure ( 110 ).
The exemplary package structure ( 300 ) provides a balanced structure that: (i) minimizes that the overall (global) bending of the package structure ( 300 ); (ii) minimizes local bending along the region of the SOP structure ( 110 ); and that (iii) minimizes in-plane expansion of the organic substrate ( 104 ) relative to the chip carrier ( 102 ).
More specifically, in one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) is attached to the organic substrate ( 104 ) as a means for reducing the overall global bending of the package substrates. In general, the thickness and modulus of the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) are chosen to provide a required stiffness. For example, the bending can be eliminated by matching the CTE of the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) to the CTE of the organic substrate ( 104 ). In certain application where some degree of bending is tolerable, the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) can be formed of a material that has a CTE which is between the CTE of the organic substrate and the CTE of the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ). This helps to straddle the CTE mismatch between the organic substrate ( 104 ) and the chip carrier ( 102 ), thus helping minimize the local bending along the region of the SOP ( 110 ), as well as the in-plane expansion of the organic substrate ( 104 ) relative to the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ).
Furthermore, second stiffener plate ( 302 ) attached to the surface of the organic substrate ( 104 ) opposite, and aligned to, the SOP structure provides a means for minimizing the local bending along the region of the SOP ( 110 ). In one exemplary embodiment, the material and thickness of the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) is selected so that the “neutral axis” of the stacked structure (which includes the second stiffener plate ( 302 ), the organic substrate ( 104 ), and the SOP ( 110 )) falls along or near the mid-plane, MP, of the organic substrate ( 104 ) (as depicted in FIG. 3A ). Designing the package structure ( 300 ) to have a neutral axis that extends along or near the midplane, MP, of the organic substrate ( 104 ) provides a balanced design where the stiffness of the structure is balanced to reduce or eliminate local bending in the SOP footprint region of package structure ( 300 ).
Moreover, the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) provides a means for minimizing or preventing in-plane expansion of the organic substrate ( 104 ) relative to the chip carrier ( 102 ). In one exemplary embodiment, the materials of the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) and second stiffener plate ( 302 ) are chosen to have the same or similar CTE. For instance, in one exemplary embodiment, the carrier substrate ( 102 ) and second stiffener plate ( 302 ) are formed of silicon. By sandwiching the organic substrate ( 104 ) between the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) and second stiffener plate ( 302 ) having the same or similar CTEs constrains the in-plane strains in the interface between the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ) and organic substrate ( 104 ).
In another exemplary embodiment, the adhesive ( 303 ) which bonds the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) to the organic substrate ( 104 ) is formed of any suitable material having material properties that are matched to the material properties of underfill ( 106 ). Moreover, the adhesive ( 303 ) is selected to have a modulus that is sufficiently high to allow the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) to be sufficiently coupled to the organic substrate ( 104 ).
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the package structure ( 300 ) can be constructed based on the following materials and parameters. The first stiffener plate ( 301 ) can be formed using a metallic material such as 430 stainless steel (E=200 GPa, CTE=11 ppm/C) having a thickness of 4 mm. The organic substrate ( 104 ) is formed with a material with properties of E=1.2 GPa and CTE=18 ppm/C. With this exemplary embodiment, the CTE of the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) is chosen to be lower than the CTE of the organic substrate ( 104 ), but greater than the CTE of the silicon-based SOP structure ( 110 ), which reduces some of the global bending induced between the substrate ( 104 ) and the SOP ( 110 ).
The second stiffener plate ( 302 ) and chip carrier ( 102 ) are formed of silicon and the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) is formed to have planar dimensions (length and width) which are the same or substantially the same as the planar dimensions of the chip carrier substrate ( 102 ). AS noted above, the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) and chip carrier ( 102 ) are mounted in alignment on opposing surfaces of the organic substrate ( 104 ).
Moreover, in another exemplary embodiment, the aperture region ( 301 a ) is dimensioned to have a width and length that are about 1 mm to about 3 mm larger than the planar dimensions of the substrates ( 102 ), ( 104 ) aligned thereto. The organic substrate ( 104 ) in the region between the SOP ( 110 ) and the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) is in a neutral response zone to bending. Thus, the C4 interconnects ( 103 ) and underfill between the chip ( 101 ) and chip carrier ( 102 ) are not stressed even if the organic substrate ( 104 ) bends outside this balanced, “neutral zone”.
The formation of a monolithic structure around the portion of the organic substrate ( 104 ) between the SOP ( 110 ) and the second (Si) stiffener plate ( 302 ) creates such neutral zone. A balanced structure is achieved by selecting materials of the underfill ( 106 ) between the SOP and the substrate ( 104 ) and the adhesive ( 303 ) which bonds the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) to the substrate ( 104 ) that have similar cured properties. Moreover, in the space (e.g., 0.5 mm) between the ends of the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) and the first stiffener plate ( 301 ), the bonding adhesive ( 303 ) preferably forms a climbing fillet ( 303 a ) to the vertical rise of both the second stiffener ( 302 ) and the 430 SS stiffener ( 301 ). The fillet ( 303 a ) is a smooth, concave junction where the two surfaces meet. The quality of a fillet determines the strength of the bonding joint.
Moreover, other preferable material properties of the bonding adhesive ( 303 ) provide resistance to delamination (interfacial fracture toughness >100 J/m2), crack initiation and crack propagation (bulk fracture toughness >1 MPa m 0.5 ). Stress concentrations that may develop in the space between the first stiffener plate ( 301 ) and the second stiffener plate ( 302 ) are managed via the bonding adhesive fillet ( 303 a ), whereby the organic substrate ( 104 ) is protected from these stress concentrations.
Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | Apparatus and methods are provided for constructing balanced semiconductor chip package structures that minimize bowing, in-plane strain and/or other thermally induced mechanical strains that may arise during thermal cycling, to thus prevent structural damage to chip package structures. | 7 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS
This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2012/064199, filed on Jul. 19, 2012 and which claims benefit to German Patent Application No. 10 2011 052 429.0, filed on Aug. 5, 2011. The International Application was published in German on Feb. 14, 2013 as WO 2013/020788 Al under PCT Article 21(2).
FIELD
The present invention relates to a device for removing sea bed having a conveying line operated according to the airlift method, or using feed pumps, which is at least partially surrounded by sea water, and by which removed sea bed can be transported in the conveying direction to the surface.
BACKGROUND
The “airlift method” is understood as the method for transporting removed sea bed. The airlift method provides a supply of compressed air into the bottom area of the conveying line. The air bubbles that rise on the inside of the conveying line create the effect of an upward flow on the inside of the drilling line that transports removed sea bed to a marine unit above the water line.
When such a conveying apparatus is employed for transporting mineral raw materials, such as, for example, manganese nodules from a water depth of approximately 5,000 m, the volume portion of the material transported inside the conveying line can constitute up to 10% of the internal volume of the conveying line. The conveying line can, for example, have an inside diameter of 40 cm.
It is regularly possible to generate a stronger upward flow if feed pumps are used. The volume fraction of the conveyed material is then greater, however, the method tends to be even more susceptible to clogging.
If the conveying operation of removed sea bed comes to a standstill (irrespective of the reason therefor), the sea bed material that is inside the conveying line sinks very quickly to the bottom because it has a considerably higher density than sea water. Assuming a water depth of 5,000 m and a volume fraction of removed sea bed of 10%, the result is a 500 m long plug clogging the line. Freeing the conveying line of the plug by regular means is then either impossible, or only possible with great difficulty. Similarly, it is no longer possible to salvage the conveying line due to the large mass of the plug, which can be as much as 1,500 to 2,000 τ in the given example. In a worst case scenario, this means that the conveying line may need to be abandoned following such an interruption of the conveying operation.
A reason for such an interruption can be, for example, a failure of a transport of flow inside of the conveying line. Such a failure can be caused by deposits of removed sea bed on the interior lining of the conveying line which gradually increase until they create a blockage of the complete internal cross-section or of the conveying line. Another conceivable reason for a blockage is an energy supply failure or a compressor failure which results in the compressed air necessary for the operation of the airlift process no longer blowing into the conveying line. If the sea bed is first pumped via solid-material pumps from a clearing vehicle to an interim station, which is also referred to as a “buffer,” and transported from there via the conveying line to the marine unit above the water line, defects on the submarine unit can also result in a failure of flow transport. Extreme environmental events having a propensity of causing an interruption in flow transport are moreover conceivable.
DE 2008384 A describes a dual pipe conveying facility that has an annular pipe line with pipes that are routed as a sink pipe from the ocean surface down to the ocean floor and as a lift pipe for the transported material back up to the ocean surface. Pressurized water preferably circulates inside this annular pipe line as a transport fluid, wherein the pressurized water is circulated by pumps. The conveyed material is fed into the annular pipe line via a pressure lock on the ocean floor. The pressure of the pressurized fluid is dimensioned such that the conveyed material fed into the annular line is raised inside the lift pipe all the way to the water surface.
SUMMARY
An aspect of the present invention is to improve a device, as was described in the introduction above, where the clogging risk by the formation of a plug, accompanied by an interruption of operations or a failure of the transport of flow, is substantially reduced.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a device for removing sea bed which includes a conveying line at least partially surrounded by sea water and an emergency emptying device arranged in the conveying line. The conveying line is configured to have a sea bed be removed therethrough so that a removed sea bed is transportable to a surface in a conveying direction. The emergency emptying device is configured so that the removed sea bed moving in a direction counter to the conveying direction in the conveying line is dischargeable from the conveying line into the sea water.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is described in greater detail below on the basis of embodiments and of the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a view of a region of the conveying line around an emergency emptying opening, as seen in a partial longitudinal section; and
FIG. 2 shows a representation of the hydraulic diagram of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The conveying line of the device according to the present invention comprise an emergency emptying means by which removed sea bed, which is transported counter to the conveying direction, can be discharged from the conveying line and into the sea water. This measure prevents the removed sea bed, which is present inside the conveying line at the time of the interruption or the failure of the transport flow, from forming a plug of the kind described above that becomes deposited in the line and clogs the bottom end of the conveying line.
In embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the emergency emptying means can, for example, comprise at least one emergency emptying means that can be opened and closed, and through which removed sea bed material moving against the direction of transport can be discharged into the surrounding sea water.
To further accelerate such a discharge in order to further reduce down-times and any residual clogging risk, a plurality of emergency emptying openings can, for example, be provided and, for example, disposed approximately at regular intervals over the length of the conveying line.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the openings can, for example, be spaced every 200 m to 700 m, for example, at 400 m and 500 m intervals. Assuming that the removed sea bed inside the conveying line typically sinks at 0.5 m/s following such a disruption of flow, the emergency emptying openings would have to remain open, for example, for 13 to 17 minutes to provide an almost complete evacuation of removed sea bed from the inside of the conveying line.
In an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, an emergency emptying door can, for example, be provided on each emergency emptying opening. The emergency emptying door can be displaced into the interior of the conveying line so that any removed sea bed moving counter to the conveying direction can be discharged by the action of the emergency emptying door through the emergency emptying opening and into the sea water.
A piston/cylinder apparatus that can be operated by water-hydraulic means can, for example, be provided for actuating the displacement of the emergency emptying door between the open and the closed positions. An advantage of a water-hydraulic actuation is that it is environmentally safe. If leaks occur, no hydraulic oil can escape which could damage the environment. It is moreover possible to omit a closed system for circulating hydraulic fluid altogether, because, when pressure is to be relieved, the water is simply discharged into the environment and any return by way of a separate return line into the pressure reservoir can be omitted. The water-hydraulically operated apparatus can therefore be conceived as having only a single, central hydraulic supply for the totality of all piston/cylinder devices.
To avoid having to apply a continuous pressure to the water-hydraulically actuated piston/cylinder devices during the conveying operation, the piston/cylinder devices are spring loaded so that the emergency emptying doors move to their closed positions when no water-hydraulic pressure is in effect. This means that only one pressure application to the piston/cylinder devices is necessary when the transport of flow inside the conveying line comes to a halt due to a malfunction.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the hydraulic line can, for example, be connected to a water reservoir that supplies the water-hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic line can also include a closed water tank that is filled with compressed air above the water level. It is possible to connect the tank to a compressor that maintains the internal pressure inside the tank at a preset value.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the hydraulic line connected to a water reservoir can, for example, includes a free end that is closed by a check valve. The check valve is disposed so that it opens against the pressure that is present inside the hydraulic line. Using this hydraulic line, the piston/cylinder devices are connected for the purpose of actuating them against the spring force.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a switching valve can, for example, be disposed between the water reservoir and the hydraulic line that is able to execute the following switching positions:
Separation of the water reservoir from the hydraulic line by means of a check valve that opens against the water-hydraulic pressure provided by the water reservoir. This is the switching position of the switching valve during a normal operation of the device; i.e., when the desired conveyed flow is present inside the conveying line. Connection of the water reservoir to the hydraulic line. This switching position can be manually actuated and, provided the corresponding sensors are present, can automatically be actuated in the event of a failure. In this switching position, the pressure applied by the water reservoir to the water in the hydraulic line actuates the piston/cylinder devices against the spring pressure so that the emergency emptying doors are displaced to the inside of the conveying line for the purpose of discharging removed sea bed to the outside. Separation of the water reservoir from the hydraulic line and simultaneous closing of the water reservoir as well as opening of the hydraulic line to the environment. The switching valve is brought in this position when the conveying operation must be restarted after a disruption in the conveying operation has been remedied, and/or after the material that is inside the conveying line was discharged into the surrounding sea water by opening the emergency emptying openings.
The present invention will be described in further detail below based on the drawings.
The embodiment of a device according to the present invention, as depicted in the drawing, comprises a conveying line 1 , a section of which is shown in FIG. 1 . The conveying line 1 is approximately pipe-like with an inside diameter 2 of 2 to 40 cm. The conveying line 1 serves to transport removed sea bed to the surface using the so-called “airlift method.” Mineral raw materials are in particular conceivable as removable sea bed, such as, for example, manganese nodules that are mined at an underwater depth of approximately 5,000 m. The length of the conveying line 1 is therefore approximately 5,000 m.
Using the airlift method, an upward fluid flow is created on the interior 3 of the conveying line 1 , as symbolically indicated by the arrow S.
To avoid large quantities of removed sea bed becoming impacted at the lower end of the conveying line 1 and forming a plug if the operation is interrupted due to a failure in the transport of flow, emergency emptying means 4 are provided, respectively spaced at 500 m intervals.
The functionality of these emergency emptying means 4 shall be described in further detail below in reference to FIG. 1 , which depicts said emergency emptying means 4 in the activated state.
In section B, which is where the emergency emptying opening 5 is located, the conveying line 1 has an approximately oval cross-section. Below the emergency emptying opening 5 , a bearing means 7 is provided on the outside of the wall 6 of the conveying line 1 , where an emergency emptying door 8 of the emergency emptying means 4 is connected in an articulated manner and can be pivoted about a hinge axis T that is arranged transversely relative to the longitudinal extension L of the conveying line 1 . The emergency emptying door 8 can be pivoted from a closed position, in which the emergency emptying opening 5 is completely closed and the emergency emptying door 8 is substantially flush with the wall 6 of the conveying line 1 , to an open position, as depicted in FIG. 1 , in which the emergency emptying door 8 rests by the remote edge 9 thereof relative to the hinge axis T internally against the wall 6 on the side that is opposite the emergency emptying opening 5 , therein forming an opening angle a of approximately 30° with an opening plane.
A water-hydraulically powered piston/cylinder apparatus 10 is provided for the pivot actuation between the closed and the opened positions. The piston/cylinder apparatus 10 engages via a piston rod 12 via a lever 11 , which protrudes approximately perpendicularly from the surface of the emergency emptying door 8 . A cylinder-side end of the piston/cylinder apparatus 10 is fastened to a bearing projection 13 , again on the exterior of the wall 6 .
A compression spring 15 is disposed in the annular space between the piston rod 12 and a cylinder space 14 . The compression spring 15 causes the piston rod 12 to be supported in a retracted position when the emergency emptying door 8 is flush with the wall 6 so as to seal the emergency emptying opening 5 when no pressurized water is applied to the cylinder space.
In the position of the emergency emptying door 8 as depicted in FIG. 1 , removed sea bed is guided in the form of solid material particles 16 , which are symbolized by the circles as presently shown in FIG. 1 , while sinking as a result of a malfunction or interruption of the transport of flow within the meaning of the arrows P, and discharged toward the outside into the surrounding environment of the conveying line 1 . Due to the fact that a typical sink rate of the removed sea bed (as previously described) is approximately 0.5 m/sec, an accumulation of the sunken sea bed material in the ambient area surrounding the bottom end of the conveying line 1 can be precluded because even small ocean currents that are in effect outside of the conveying line 1 will cause the material to be distributed over a large terrain.
The apparatus that is provided for the water-hydraulic actuation of the piston/cylinder apparatus 10 and the emergency emptying door 8 shall be described in further detail below in reference to FIG. 2 .
In FIG. 2 , O designates the sea water surface. For actuation purposes, the cylinder chambers 14 of the piston/cylinder devices 10 are connected to a hydraulic line 18 via the supply lines 17 . As can be seen in the schematic sectional representation in FIG. 2 of the piston/cylinder devices 10 , the compression spring 15 operates in an embodiment according to FIG. 2 with an effect on the floor of the piston on a side that is opposite of the piston rod 12 . The cylinder volumes are correspondingly formed by the annular space that surrounds the piston rod 12 . This configuration, that is reversed in relation to the embodiment according to FIG. 1 , has the advantage of a lesser cylinder volume filled with hydraulic fluid, such that, due to the return displacement of the pistons that is effected by the compression springs 15 as well as for the displacement of the pistons due to the water-pneumatic pressure, only smaller amounts of water must be transported, whereby it is possible to reduce the actuation times.
The hydraulic line 18 is hydraulically connected to a water reservoir 20 by way of a switching valve 19 . A measurement means 21 is disposed between the switching valve 19 and the water reservoir 20 which measures the amount of the flow-through and the pressure that the water is subject to within the hydraulic line 18 .
The water reservoir 20 comprises a pressure tank 22 . The pressure tank 22 is filled with water to a filling level 23 . A freely movable piston 38 is disposed above the filling level 23 , and a compressed air cushion is in effect acting upon the same, whereby the air cushion is generated with the aid of a high-pressure piston compressor 24 that is connected via a high-pressure air accumulator 25 to the pressure tank 22 , which is also referred to as the “piston accumulator.” A pressure measurement instrument 26 and a pressure relief valve 27 are activated in the supply line to the pressure tank 22 . The pressure line that runs between the high-pressure piston compressor and the high-pressure air accumulators is also provided with corresponding means 28 .
The water reservoir 20 further comprises a fresh water tank 29 from which, via a line, which is protected with the aid of a check valve 30 against reflux, a high-pressure water pump 31 pumps pressurized water into the pressure tank 22 to achieve and/or maintain the desired filling level 23 . A bypass 32 is switched between the high-pressure water pump 31 and the hydraulic line 18 that leads to the fresh water tank 29 , which is connected to the line via a stop cock 33 and a pressure relief valve 34 .
If a malfunction or interruption of the transport of flow is detected in the conveying line 1 , triggering an emergency switch 35 that engages the switching valve 19 , which is actuated manually or via suitable sensors (which are not shown in the present drawings), and which measures the transported flow inside the conveying line 1 , results in the switching valve 19 being moved into the switching position III. In this switching position, the hydraulic line 18 is connected to the pressure tank 22 . Due to the pressure increase, water flows into the cylinder chambers 14 of the piston/cylinder apparatuses 10 which are thereby actuated against the effect of the compression springs 15 , thus causing the emergency emptying doors 8 to open. Sinking solid material particles 16 are deflected laterally through the emergency emptying openings 5 to the outside, as described above.
To close the emergency emptying openings 5 , employing suitable means, the switching valve 19 is moved into switching position II. In this position, the supply line from the pressure tank 22 is closed by the hydraulic line 18 . The hydraulic line 18 is open toward the environment and/or a fresh water reservoir, which can be a fresh water tank 29 . Due to the retractive forces generated by the compression springs 15 , the emergency emptying doors 8 are moved to the closed position with the aid of the piston rods 12 . After reaching said position, the switching valve 19 is moved into the resting position I as depicted in FIG. 2 , when the hydraulic line 18 is connected by a check valve 38 that opens against the water-hydraulic pressure as provided by the water reservoir 20 with a fresh water reservoir 29 .
The hydraulic line 18 includes an end 36 that is free relative to the environment. It is closed via a check valve 37 that must be opened against the pressure that is present inside the hydraulic line 18 .
The present invention is not limited to embodiments described herein; reference should be had to the appended claims.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
1 Conveying line
2 Inside diameter
3 Interior
4 Emergency emptying means
5 Emergency emptying opening
6 Wall
7 Bearing means
8 Emergency emptying door
9 Edge
10 Piston/cylinder apparatus
11 Lever
12 Piston rod
13 Bearing projection
14 Cylinder chamber
15 Compression spring
16 Solid particle materials
17 Supply lines
18 Hydraulic line
19 Switching valve
20 Water reservoir
21 Measurement means
22 Pressure tank
23 Filling level
24 High-pressure piston compressor
25 High-pressure air accumulator
26 Pressure measurement instrument
27 Pressure relief valve
28 Means
29 Fresh water tank
30 Check valve
31 High-pressure water pump
32 Bypass
33 Stop cock
34 Pressure relief valve
35 Emergency switch
36 End
37 Check valve
38 Check valve
α Opening angle
B Section
F Direction of transport
L Longitudinal extension
O Sea water surface
P Arrows
S Arrow
T Hinge axis | A device for removing sea bed includes a conveying line at least partially surrounded by sea water and an emergency emptying device arranged in the conveying line. The conveying line is configured to have a sea bed be removed therethrough so that a removed sea bed is transportable to a surface in a conveying direction. The emergency emptying device is configured so that the removed sea bed moving in a direction counter to the conveying direction in the conveying line is dischargeable from the conveying line into the sea water. | 4 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns improvements in weft feeders for fluid jet looms. More precisely, the object of the invention is to automatically restore in such feeders the continuity of the weft yarn from the spool to the loom, in case of yarn breakage or interruption.
As known to the skilled in the art, in a fluid jet loom (particularly an air loom) the arrangement usually adopted for weft yarn feeding is that shown in the diagram of FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The weft yarn 4 is drawn from a stationary spool or reel 1--through one or more guide eyelets--by the weft feeder 2. It is also known that said feeder essentially comprises an electric motor 5, which causes the rotation of a winding arm 6, and a drum 8, held stationary, onto which the arm 6 winds up the yarn into even turns, forming a certain amount of weft yarn reserve detected by sensors 7. The main loom nozzle 3, provided to launch the weft yarn into the warp shed, draws from the drum 8 of the feeder 2 the weft yarn length required for each weft insertion, which length is measured by the feeder counting the number of unwound turns, for instance by means of photoelectric cells 9. One or more electromagnetic stopping devices 19 block in known manner the yarn 4 on the drum of the weft feeder 2, stopping loom feed, as soon as the weft yarn let out from the weft feeder and launched into the shed has reached the predetermined length.
The absence of weft yarn, due to running out of the spool or reel 1, or to yarn breakage somewhere along its path, is detected and signalled by suitably positioned sensors, as 7 and 9.
Weft yarn interruption generally requires the intervention of an operator, so that the yarn may be recovered from the reel 1 and introduced by hand into the various guide members, as far as the main loom nozzle 3; it is a rather long and tiresome operation, having to be carried out while the loom is not working, with consequences from the productive point of view which need not be illustrated. It is therefore evident that loom users are highly interested in disposing of systems allowing the automatic insertion and/or re-insertion of the weft yarn in loom feeding.
The designers of weft feeders have long been faced with this problem, which is at present most felt.
It should be said that there are already known to be various methods and devices allowing to reach this object by using mechanical or pneumatic means (those described in EP-0 216 220 are cited as a general example), but all such devices are quite complicated, fairly bulky and subject to the risk of faults.
Systems have also been proposed, which provide for a change of the reel and for the use of a knotter, as in EP-0 269 140; but this system is able to repair the interruption only if it occurs upstream of the weft feeder, or as the yarn reaches the weft feeder drum; furthermore, due to the difficulty in finding the broken yarn end and pulling it correctly to the side of the new yarn end, the knot sometimes fails to tie or often does not turn out well, which can cause further faults in the fabric being woven on the loom. It is thus evident that the problem needs to be solved with simpler and far safer means, which should moreover be integrated as far as possible with the feeder itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention supplies a solution of this type, in that it concerns a weft feeder for fluid jet looms having a main nozzle and secondary nozzles for weft insertion, particularly air looms, of the type also measuring the weft yarn lengths being fed (measuring weft feeder) and comprising a drum held stationary, onto which a winding arm winds up a weft yarn reserve, and means to automatically restore the continuity of the yarn from the feed spool or reel to the main nozzle of the loom, characterized in that, said means consist of at least two compressed air devices acting on the weft yarn, the first of which--positioned at the inlet of the weft feeder, to withdraw therefrom the broken yarn and introduce therein new yarn fed by the spool or reel--comprises a first duct connected to the inlet of the weft feeder, along which duct there are positioned clamping means, nozzle means and cutting means, and a second duct branching off from the first, close to its outlet into the weft feeder, which also has nozzle means, while the second device--positioned adjacent to the weft feeder drum, to receive the new yarn fed by the first device and by the winding arm and send it to a fixed point for feeding the main nozzle of the loom--comprises a curved profiled duct, which is either open or adapted to open longitudinally towards the drum and has aerodynamic guide means for the yarn.
The weft feeder preferably comprises a third compressed air device acting on the weft yarn sent from the second device--positioned upstream of the main nozzle of the loom being fed and suitably aligned therewith, so as to feed the yarn into said nozzle--which comprises a duct wherein act nozzle means, followed by air outlet means. The third device can eventually also be equipped with clamping means.
Furthermore, the first duct of the first device of the weft feeder suitably forks into two branches to allow feeding the weft feeder from two spools or reels.
The duct of the second device of the weft feeder preferably opens towards the drum and comprises aerodynamic guide means for the yarn. Furthermore, nozzle means can be associated with said duct, for yarn guiding and drawing purposes.
A pre-nozzle can moreover be provided between the third compressed air device and the main nozzle of the loom to be fed.
The invention also concerns the method--carried out with the weft feeder specified heretofore--to automatically restore the continuity of the weft yarn fed from the spool or reel to the main nozzle of a fluid jet loom, through a measuring weft feeder. The method is essentially characterized by the following steps: after having detected weft yarn breakage by means of sensors and stopped the loom, the broker yarn is totally removed by means of a first compressed air device positioned upstream of the weft feeder; a new weft yarn is then inserted in the weft feeder; the new yarn is launched by means of a second compressed air device to a fixed point from which the main nozzle of the loom is fed; the new weft yarn is blocked on the weft feeder and is wound on the drum, forming again a reserve; the weft yarn is then inserted into the main nozzle and the loom is started again.
According to a different important embodiment of the method, the main nozzle of the loom is fed with the new yarn launched by said second device through a third compressed air device, positioned downstream of the weft feeder, in which the yarn is received, is cut to size and its new end is launched to the main nozzle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is now described in further detail, with reference to some preferred embodiments thereof, illustrated on the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows, as already explained, an elevational view of the general feeding arrangement of an air loom;
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional top plan view of the first compressed air device applied to the weft feeder for the objects of the invention;
FIG. 3 shows an elevational view of the weft feeder according to the invention, to which there is applied the compressed air device of FIG. 2 and the second compressed air device of the invention;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross section views of a first embodiment of the duct forming said second device, of which
FIGS. 6 and 7 show cross sections of an alternative embodiment;
FIGS. 8 and 9 are, respectively, a longitudinal and a cross section view of an open embodiment of the above duct;
FIGS. 10 to 14 show views similar to those of FIGS. 8 and 9, of other embodiments of the second device applied to the weft feeder;
FIGS. 15 to 17 show in cross section three embodiments of the third compressed air device to be eventually associated to the weft feeder according to the invention;
FIG. 18 shows a particularly complete plan view of a currently preferred embodiment of the whole arrangement according to the invention; and
FIGS. 19 to 22 are diagrams similar to FIG. 18, showing the working of the weft feeder according to the invention, in order to restore the continuity of the weft yarn to be fed to the loom.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to the accompanying drawings, it should first of all be premised that, in the arrangement of FIG. 1, the lack of yarn due to running out of the reel 1, is equivalent to a breakage of yarn 4 at the inlet into the weft feeder 2. On the other hand, breakages can take place upstream of, along, or downstream of the weft feeder 2: more generally, the interruption occurs on the weft feeder drum, leaving apart two distinct yarn ends, a first end connected to the reel 1 and the other end connected to the nozzle 3.
According to the invention:
the first yarn end, still wound around the drum, is removed by being sucked back and unwound from the drum by reverse rotation of the winding arm;
the second yarn end is removed by blowing away, through the main loom nozzle, the yarn turns left on the drum at its outlet towards the loom;
new yarn is then inserted into the weft feeder, starting from the same spool or reel, or from a spare reel.
To carry out this method, the invention provides to equip the feeder with two or three compressed air (or pneumatic) devices. Thus, the pneumatic device 20--shown in FIG. 2--is first of all applied at the inlet of the feeder 2: this is a body crossed by two convergent ducts 10 and 10A, into which are inserted weft yarns 4 and 4A, fed respectively by the reels 1 and 1A. The two convergent ducts 10 and 10A join into a single duct 18 of the body 20, which is positioned in correspondence of the cavity 6A of the winding arm 6 of the weft feeder 2.
Along ducts 10 and 10A there are positioned, starting from the inlet hole:
grippers 11, 11A, to clamp the weft yarns 4 and respectively 4A, controlled by electromechanical or electropneumatic actuators 12 and respectively 12A;
pneumatic nozzles 13, 13A, fed with compressed air through pipes 14, 14A, thanks to the action of solenoid valves 15, 15A, so as to launch the weft yarn towards the inlet of the weft feeder, in correspondence of the cavity 6A of the winding arm 6;
shears or cutters 16, 16A, to cut the yarns, controlled by actuators 17 and respectively 17A.
Furthermore, a duct 21 branches off from the duct 18. The duct 21 communicates with the exterior and ends with a nozzle 24, into which compressed air can be let from a duct 22 by opening a solenoid valve 23, so as to produce a suction pressure and suck the weft yarn out of the duct 18, removing it.
According to the invention, a second pneumatic device 30 is applied on the weft feeder to the side of its yarn reserve winding drum. The device--of which FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section view--comprises a fixed duct 25, positioned along the projection 2A of the weft feeder 2: this is a curved and suitably profiled duct, meant to guide the yarn 4 coming from the inner cavity of the winding arm 6 towards a fixed point from which the main nozzle of the loom is fed. In FIG. 3, the fixed point is the yarn guide eyelet 31, positioned outwardly along the axis of the weft feeder; the eyelet 31 could also be the inlet of the main nozzle 3 of the loom, or the inlet to a third (auxiliary) pneumatic device 40, described hereinafter.
The outlet 26 of the inner cavity of the winding arm 6 (FIG. 3) should face the inlet of the fixed duct 25, so that air and yarn may be sent into this latter with practically no pressure and speed losses; means are hence provided to stop the winding arm 6 in the exact corresponding angular position: these can consist of a permanent magnet 29, positioned on the winding arm, and of an induction switch 28.
Compressed air can be blown into the duct 25 of the device 30 (FIG. 3) from a nozzle 27 controlled by a solenoid valve 32, and emerging along the intrados of the outer wall 53 of the duct 25, in order to draw the yarn 4 (thereby increasing the pressure on the yarn, help it to reach the eyelet 31).
Once the yarn 4 is inserted into the duct 25, it should be left free to wind around the surface of the drum 8: the duct should hence be open or adapted to open downwards. By way of example, FIGS. 4 and 5 show the cross section of a device 30 with the duct 25 in a closed and, respectively, open position; the duct is divided in two halves, mutually connected by a hinge 33 and adapted to open apart, like two jaws, under the action of levers 34 controlled by a pneumatic or electromechanical actuator 35. Alternatively, FIGS. 6 and 7 show the cross section of a duct 25 of the device 30, the walls of which can be provided with a movable bottom 36, which can be removed by an actuator 37 by means of arms 38.
Whereas, FIGS. 8 and 9 are a longitudinal and, respectively, a cross section view of a device 30 with an open duct 25, which has a longitudinal groove 39 opening towards the weft feeder drum 8.
In the devices of FIGS. 3 to 8, the compressed air jet blown from the nozzle 27 must be suitably guided towards the outlet end of the duct 25.
As shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11, the duct 25 of the device 30 can also be without the nozzle 27; this is possible when the air jet blown from the inlet nozzle 13 is sufficient to allow the yarn 4 to reach the eyelet 31 (FIG. 10). The duct 25 of the device 30 shown in FIG. 10 is of the open type, that is, having an opening 39 from which the yarn 4 can come out (as shown in the cross section view of FIG. 11).
Other embodiments of the device 30 with an open duct 25 and without the auxiliary nozzle, are shown in FIGS. 12 to 14. In FIGS. 12 and 13 (a longitudinal and a cross section view of the duct 25), one or more vents 51 are formed on the outer wall 53 of the duct 25, so as to keep the yarn adherent to said wall 53; while in FIG. 14, a protuberance 52, followed by one or more vents 51, is formed inside the outer wall 53 of the duct 25, having the effect to create a depression adapted to push the yarn 4--with the help of the centrifugal force--against said wall 53, during launching thereof. Thus, the curved profiled duct 25 opens longitudinally toward the drum, and aerodynamic guide means in the duct are provided by protuberance 52 formed in the intrados of the outer wall of the duct, formed by vent 51 in the same wall.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the object of the aforedescribed device 30--whether it essentially performs guiding functions, or whether these are combined with yarn drawing functions--is to insert the yarn 4 into the yarnguide eyelet 31.
If the suction power at the inlet of the main loom nozzle 3 is sufficient to pick the yarn, this latter can reach the nozzle 3 directly from the duct 25, so that the continuity of the weft yarn is restored when the feeding line is in the condition shown in continuous lines in FIG. 1.
When, viceversa, the suction power at the inlet of the nozzle 3 is scarce or inexistent, the arrangement according to the invention has to be completed by providing, upstream of the nozzle 3 and suitably aligned therewith, an auxiliary device 40 (shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 and--in dashed lines--in FIG. 1) adapted to receive the yarn sent from the duct 25 of the device 30 and to insert it into the main nozzle 3.
This third pneumatic device is similar to the device 20, with only one inlet, shown in FIG. 3; it comprises--in the simpler embodiment of FIG. 15--a duct 41 with inlet 41A, along which a nozzle 42 fed with compressed air from a solenoid valve 43 produces a depression sufficient to suck the yarn 4 sent from the duct 25 and launch it directly into the main loom nozzle 3, crossing a tube 44 which connects the device 40 to said nozzle 3. The tube 44 has radial holes allowing to gradually reduce the jet of air by blowing it outwardly.
The use of a device as that shown in FIG. 15 presupposes the loom to be equipped with means for removing the superfluous yarn launched through the warp shed by the nozzle 3, with the loom at a stop, in the final step of restoring yarn continuity in the weft feeding line.
If, on the contrary, the loom is not prearranged for this operation, the device 40 has to be equipped with a lateral duct to remove the yarn in excess, before the loom is fed.
The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16 includes this duct, indicated by reference 45. In said duct operates a cutter or shear 47 which, besides cutting the yarn 4 in excess, also has the function to open and close the duct 45. This duct also comprises a nozzle 46, fed with compressed air from a solenoid valve 48.
FIG. 17 shows a device 40 similar to that of FIG. 16, but completed with yarn clamping means 54 controlled by an actuator 55.
A particularly complete and currently preferred embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention is shown in FIG. 18, which illustrates the feeder 2 fed by reels 1, 1A, and equipped with compressed air devices 20, 30 and 40, according to the invention. The device 40, instead of being associated directly to the main loom nozzle, is associated to a pre-nozzle 56 which guides the yarn 4 into the main nozzle 3 of the loom being fed.
The working of the weft feeder according to the invention shall now be described, considering first of all the case of weft yarn breakage on the weft feeder drum 8. After a sensor has detected yarn breakage, causing the stopping of the loom and of the weft feeder, the following operations take place in succession:
the gripper 11 of the device 20 (FIG. 2) closes, clamping and blocking the weft yarn 4 fed from the reel 1;
the nozzle 24, is operated by letting in air through the duct 22, to remove the weft yarn, whereby the yarn 4 downstream of the gripper 11 is sucked into the duct 21, while the winding arm 6, rotating counterclockwise, unwinds the yarn turns from the drum 8;
once the yarn has been removed, under control of a sensor 7--or simply, after an appropriate number of counterclockwise rotations of the winding arm 6, exceeding the maximum number of turns which can be wound on the drum 8--the shears 16 cut the yarn, thereby causing its full removal through the duct 21;
at this point, the nozzle 13 is actuated and the gripper 11 is simultaneously opened, so as to launch and re-insert the weft yarn 4 into the cavity 6A of the winding arm 6.
Viceversa, if yarn breakage has occurred on the reel 1, the yarn 4 no longer reaches the duct 10, nor the cavity of the winding arm 6. The sensor 7 detects that the breakage has occurred on the reel, in that the drum 8 is no longer fed with yarn.
In this case, the re-insertion is done with the yarn 4A fed from the reel 1A, provided that the yarn end on the reel 1A has been previously inserted into the duct 10A and blocked in position by the gripper 11A.
The operation of the pneumatic nozzle 13A and the simultaneous opening of the gripper 11A cause the yarn 4A to be launched and inserted into the cavity of the winding arm 6.
In this way, the constant feeding of weft yarn is obtained by switching onto a new reel, without any protracted stops of the loom, nor any interventions of the operator.
The previously described device 20 (FIG. 2), at the inlet of the weft feeder, can be simplified by being formed with a single duct for weft yarn insertion. The working of this simplified device is similar to that described for the device with two ducts (10, 10A); nevertheless, in this case, there is no possibility of automatic re-insertion in the event of yarn breakage on the reel.
Of course, each feeding reel 1, 1A, can be connected to a supplementary reel by the known "nose-to-tail" system, which provides the advantage of yarn continuity when the first reels run out of yarn.
Thanks to the action of the aforedescribed device 20, the free end of the yarn 4, which has been re-inserted, emerges from the cavity of the winding arm 6 of the weft feeder and is drawn by the device 30 (FIG. 3).
The re-inserted yarn then moves forward into the fixed duct 25 of said device 30--thanks to the air blown by the nozzle 27 and/or to the different means provided therein and already described--and is launched towards the eyelet 31. If this latter coincides with the inlet to the main loom nozzle, the re-insertion takes place and the loom is started again.
If, viceversa, use is made of an auxiliary device 40 upstream of the main loom nozzle (FIGS. 15 to 17), the yarn launched by the device 30 reaches the inlet 41A of the duct 41 of said device and is drawn and launched towards the main nozzle 3 by actuating the solenoid valve 43. In the arrangement of FIG. 16, the duct 45 where the cutter 47 is positioned, is initially open; the nozzle 46 is fed with compressed air from the solenoid valve 48, producing in the duct 41 the suction required to draw the yarn sent from the weft feeder and remove it through the outlet of the duct 45.
The cutter 47 is then operated, cutting the yarn and simultaneously closing the duct 45. The nozzle 42 acts on the duct 41 by actuating the solenoid valve 43 and the yarn, already inserted into 41A, is launched through a perforated connection tube 44 and is inserted into the main nozzle 3 of the loom.
The device 40 of FIG. 17, equipped with clamping means 54, allows to exactly measure the weft yarn length which has to be launched into the main loom nozzle before starting the loom, so that the free end of the weft yarn having to be inserted into the shed may reach exactly the inlet of the shed itself.
In fact, in this embodiment of the device 40, the clamping means 54 block the weft yarn soon after it has been launched into the duct 45, after which the yarn is cut by the cutter 47.
In this condition, the winding arm 6 of the weft feeder 2 can be caused to perform a rotation such as to wind on the drum 8 a yarn length equal to the distance between the yarn end which has just been cut and the inlet of the loom shed.
After having stopped the winding arm 6 and operated the clamping means 11, 11A, of the device 20, one disconnects the electromagnetic stopping device 19 of the weft feeder 2 and opens the clamping means 54 of the device 40, and the nozzle 42 of said device 40 is then actuated through 43 thereby obtaining the feeding of the desired weft yarn length as far as the inlet of the loom shed.
At this point, the clamping means 54 are again operated, the clamping means 11, 11A are caused to open, and the usual yarn reserve is wound on the drum 8 to restore the normal working conditions.
The arrangement shown in FIG. 18 works in a similar way, if equipped with the device 40 of FIG. 17. It should be noted that, in this case, the weft yarn length to be measured has to take account of the presence of the pre-nozzle 56 and, thus, of the increased distance between the feeder 2 and the main loom nozzle 3.
With reference to FIGS. 19 to 22, the method according to the invention for restoring the continuity of the weft yarn from the reel to the loom--in the more general case of weft yarn breakage being detected by the sensors 7 on the weft feeder drum--can be summed up in the following steps:
1--With the loom at a stop, the yarn 4 upstream of the breakage point X (FIG. 19) is unwound by reversing the rotation of the winding arm 6, and the yarn is removed through 21 by means of the device 20 positioned at the inlet of the weft feeder 2;
2--The yarn 4 downstream of the breakage point X is unwound by operating the nozzle 3 and blowing said yarn beyond the warp shed; in this way, the yarn 4 is totally removed from the weft feeder 2, which finds itself in the condition illustrated in FIG. 20;
3--The yarn 2 is cut with the cutter 16 and the cut end is blown towards the outlet of 21;
4--After opening the gripper 11, the yarn 4 fed by the reel 1 is blown by the nozzle 13 through the cavity of the winding arm 6 and into the duct 25 of the device 30; from this latter, the yarn 4 is blown into the auxiliary device 40, which sends it in turn into the lateral outlet duct 45: the situation is as illustrated in FIG. 21;
5--The yarn 4, kept stretched by the device 40, is lowered from the duct 25 onto the surface of the weft feeder drum 8 and is blocked by the electromagnetic stopping device 19;
6--The winding arm 6 starts to work, winding the yarn 4 on the drum 8 and forming again the reserve;
7--The yarn is finally recovered from the outlet duct 45 and deviated in the direction of the main nozzle 3, wherein the yarn end is inserted by the device 40.
The situation shown in FIG. 22 is thus reached, whereby the continuity of the weft yarn is restored and the weft feeding line is ready for the loom to start working again.
This method includes modifications provided in particular cases, among which the important one of yarn breakage downstream of the weft feeder and the equally important one of yarn breakage upstream of the weft feeder.
In the first case, the whole yarn reserve is still wound on the drum 8, while, in correspondence of loom inlet, the yarn has usually already emerged from the device 40 and from the nozzle 3.
All the yarn turns are unwound and removed, as said, then proceeding in the same manner (operation 1).
In the second case, the sensors 7 detect that yarn is not emerging from the cavity of the winding arm 6 and signal the interruption, stopping the weft feeder 2; the loom can also be left working for a few beatings up, corresponding to the whole lengths of weft yarn still wound on the drum.
After stopping of the loom, the yarn left on the drum is unwound by means of the loom nozzle 3, as described heretofore (operation 2).
The outlet duct 21 need not be used (operation 1 and 3), but it is necessary to change the yarn--through the device 20--by switching over from the feeding reel 1 (yarn 4) to the spare feeding reel 1A (yarn 4A): this is obtained by opening the gripper 12A and actuating the nozzle 13A.
The yarn 4A is then launched (operation 4), while operations 5, 6 and 7 remain unvaried.
It is to be understood that other variants and modifications are possible according to the invention, both for what concerns the devices applied on the weft feeder and for what concerns the methods adopted for re-inserting the weft yarn; for instance, the duct 18 of the device 20 can be forked into more than two convergent ducts or branches, for feeding yarn from more than two reels. All such variants and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention. | In a measuring weft feeder for fluid jet looms, the continuity of the weft yarn from the feed spool or reel to the main nozzle of the loom is automatically restored by two compressed air devices acting on the weft yarn, the first of which--positioned at the inlet of the weft feeder, to withdraw therefrom the broken yarn and introduce therein new yarn fed by the spool or reel--comprises a first duct connected to the inlet of the weft feeder, along which duct there are positioned a clamp, a nozzle and a cutter. A second duct branches off from the first, close to its outlet into the weft feeder, which also comprises a nozzle, while the second device--positioned adjacent to the weft feeder drum, to receive the new yarn fed by the first device and by the winding arm and send it to a fixed point for feeding the main nozzle of the loom--comprises a curved profiled duct, which is either open or adapted to open longitudinally towards the drum and has an aerodynamic guide for the yarn. A third compressed air device can also be provided, to act on the weft yarn is sent from the second device so as to facilitate its feeding into the main loom nozzle, this third device also comprising a duct wherein acts a nozzle as well as an air outlet. | 3 |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/562,037, filed on 13 Apr. 2004, entitled “Stacked Chips and Proximity Communication,” by inventor Robert J. Drost.
GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS
This invention was made with United States Government support under Contract No. NBCH020055 awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration. The United States Government has certain rights in the invention.
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for communicating between integrated circuits. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for using capacitively coupled communication techniques to communicate between stacked assemblies of laminated integrated circuit (IC) chips.
2. Related Art
Advances in semiconductor technology have made it possible to fabricate a single IC (Integrated Circuit) chip that contains hundreds of millions of transistors. One of the advantages of integrating systems onto a single IC chip is that it increases the operating speed of the overall system. This is because in a multiple chip solution, the signals between system components have to cross chip boundaries, which typically reduces the system's operating speed due to the lengthy chip-to-chip propagation delays and limited chip-to-chip wires. In contrast, in a single chip solution, the signals between system components no longer have to cross chip boundaries, resulting in a significant increase in the overall system speed. Moreover, integrating systems onto a single IC chip significantly reduces overall costs, because fewer chips are required to perform a given computational task.
However, some systems cannot be integrated into a single chip due to their high complexity and large size. Note that IC chips are typically integrated onto a printed circuit board that contains multiple layers of signal lines for inter-chip communication. Furthermore, signal lines on an IC chip are about 100 times more densely packed than signal lines on a printed circuit board. Consequently, only a tiny fraction of the signal lines on a chip can be routed across the printed circuit board to other chips. Because of this reason, in such systems, inter-chip communication becomes the bottleneck for increasing the operating speed. Moreover, increases in IC integration densities are expected to exacerbate this bottleneck.
To overcome this inter-chip communication bottleneck, researchers have recently developed an alternate technique, known as “Proximity Communication,” for communicating between semiconductor chips. Proximity Communication involves integrating arrays of capacitive transmitters and receivers onto active surfaces of IC chips to facilitate inter-chip communication. If a first chip is situated face-to-face with a second chip so that transmitter regions on the first chip are capacitively coupled with receiver regions on the second chip, it is possible to transmit signals directly from the first chip to the second chip without having to route the signal through intervening signal lines within a printed circuit board.
Unfortunately, because proximity communication requires chips to be face-to-face it is not possible to stack more than two chips on top of each other. Hence, in order to couple a large number of chips together, it is necessary to arrange the chips so that they partially overlap in a pattern that alternates face-up and face-down chip orientations. This interconnection constraint can make it very hard to effectively combine such chips into a three-dimensional structure to save space and to reduce propagation delays between chips.
In addition to proximity communication techniques, a number of methods exist to laminate or permanently attach chips together and to create electrically conductive connections between the laminated chips. These laminated chip assemblies offer higher performance and faster communication, but suffer from the known-good-die problem.
The known-good-die problem arises from the fact that it is not possible to fully test a die at the wafer level or bare-die level. During wafer-level testing, faulty IC chips can be identified, but this technique is error prone, because chips must be assembled to be fully tested. Furthermore, since a single faulty chip can ruin an entire multi-chip assembly, the yield for a multi-chip assembly can be intolerably low for assemblies consisting of more than a few chips. For example, if a die lot has an actual yield of 80% (or 0.8), the cumulative yield for an assembly of three laminated dies is 0.8 3 ≈0.5, while the cumulative yield for an assembly often laminated dies is 0.8 10 ≈0.11. A low yield can result in a prohibitively high per-chip cost.
Hence what is needed is a high-bandwidth, low-latency inter-chip communication method that does not suffer from the abovementioned drawbacks.
SUMMARY
One embodiment of the present invention provides a technique for assembling semiconductor chips. First, multiple semiconductor chips are permanently laminated together into a plurality of laminated chip assemblies, wherein the semiconductor chips within the laminated chip assembly communicate with each other through electrically conductive connections. Next, laminated chip assemblies are stacked together to form a stack of semiconductor chips without permanently bonding the laminated chip assemblies together, wherein the laminated chip assemblies communicate with each other using capacitive coupling.
Note that using this technique to stack (but not permanently bond) laminated chip assemblies together to form the stack of semiconductor chips reduces the yield problem that exists for large stacks of permanently bonded semiconductor chips. Furthermore, using electrically conductive connections for inter-chip communication within the laminated chip assembly reduces the interconnection constraints that are imposed due to the face-to-face chip orientation requirements of purely capacitive coupling techniques.
In a variation of this embodiment, power is provided to the stack of semiconductor chips while avoiding the permanent attachment of a power supply to the stack of semiconductor chips.
In a further variation, providing power to the stack of semiconductor chips involves using one or more of the following: capacitive coupling; inductive coupling; springs; fuzzbuttons; and anisotropic sheets.
In a variation of this embodiment, creating the electrically conductive connections between semiconductor chips in a laminated chip assembly involves using through-chip vias.
In a variation of this embodiment, the semiconductor chips in a laminated chip assembly can be different sizes and have different thicknesses.
In a variation of this embodiment, assembling the stack of semiconductor chips involves placing the laminated chip assemblies in an array, particularly a two-dimensional array. The two-dimensional array is arranged such that the capacitive communication regions are alternately oriented face-up and face-down on overlapping edges of the laminated chip assemblies.
In a further variation, assembling the stack of semiconductor chips involves stacking laminated chip assemblies to form a three-dimensional array.
In a variation of this embodiment, the laminated chip assembly can include a carrier chip, which is laminated to one or more semiconductor chips. Note that the carrier chip is used to transfer signals from one laminated chip assembly to another laminated chip assembly.
In a variation of this embodiment, a laminated chip assembly is removed from the stack of semiconductor chips and replaced when one of the semiconductor chips in the laminated chip assembly is malfunctioning.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 illustrates semiconductor chips which use proximity communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a stack of semiconductor chips which uses proximity communication between laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates through-chip vias in a laminated chip assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates a tiled (two-dimensional) array of laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates a three-dimensional structure composed of layers of two-dimensional arrays of laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
Inter-Chip Communication Using Proximity Communication
FIG. 1 illustrates semiconductor chips which use proximity communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , IC chip 110 contains transmitter circuitry 111 , which feeds a signal into a capacitive transmitter region 112 in IC chip 110 . This signal is capacitively transmitted to capacitive receiver region 122 , and then passes into receiver circuitry 121 in IC chip 120 . Note that when the transmitter and receiver regions are properly aligned, there is no direct physical contact between the transmitter and receiver regions, and signals are communicated between transmitter and receiver regions through capacitive coupling.
Proximity Communication Between Laminated Chip Assemblies
FIG. 2 illustrates a stack of semiconductor chips 205 which uses proximity communication between laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Laminated chip assemblies 200 and 201 are multi-chip assemblies wherein the constituent IC chips have been permanently laminated together using one of a number of known bonding techniques. Within laminated chip assemblies 200 and 201 , communication occurs through direct electrically conductive connections. In other words, when chip 202 sends a signal to chip 203 , the signal passes through a conductor directly from chip 202 to chip 203 . Note that these conductors can possibly include through-chip vias.
In contrast, laminated chip assembly 200 and laminated chip assembly 201 communicate with each other not through direct electrical connections, but instead through proximity communication (across proximity communication regions 204 ).
Since there is no physical wiring between laminated chip assembly 200 and laminated chip assembly 201 , no mechanical attachment is required. Hence, either laminated chip assembly 200 or laminated chip assembly 201 can be removed and replaced with an equivalent laminated chip assembly. Because either laminated chip assembly can be replaced, the failure of a single chip does not require the replacement of the entire stack of semiconductor chips 205 , only the replacement of a single laminated chip assembly. Hence, the stack of semiconductor chips 205 has the connectivity advantages of laminated chip assemblies with respect to bandwidth, latency, and packing size while maintaining acceptable yields.
Through-Chip Vias
FIG. 3 illustrates through-chip vias in a laminated chip assembly 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Laminated chip assembly 300 includes proximity communication region 302 and through-chip via 301 .
Proximity communication normally takes place on the top surface of an IC chip within a laminated chip assembly, by utilizing the top layer or layers of the IC chip to facilitate capacitive coupling. However, proximity communication may utilize the bottom surface of the IC chip (through the silicon or insulator substrate material) using through-chip vias and metallization to construct proximity communication regions. Note that through-chip vias may already be used to conductively interconnect the laminated stack of chips, but through-chip vias can also be used to connect circuits within the non-interface IC chips of a laminated chip assembly (such as chip A and chip B in FIG. 3 ) to a proximity communication region.
Before being assembled, through-chip vias in each IC chip in laminated chip assembly 300 are etched and filled with metal. During assembly, an electrically conductive connection is made for the through-chip via 301 between chip A, chip B and chip C. Once electrically connected, the signal source in chip A can communicate with IC chips outside laminated chip assembly 300 through proximity communication region 302 located in chip C.
Two-Dimensional Tiled Arrays of Laminated Chip Assemblies
FIG. 4 illustrates a tiled (two-dimensional) array of laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This two-dimensional array includes laminated chip assembly 401 and proximity communication regions 400 . Laminated chip assembly 401 communicates to other laminated chip assemblies in the two-dimensional array via proximity communication regions 400 .
Note that laminated chip assembly 401 is composed of IC chips of various sizes. The laminated chip assemblies can communicate with each other as long as their proximity communication regions align; there is no requirement that the constituent IC chips of the laminated assemblies have the same physical dimensions.
Note also that the IC chip that includes the proximity communication region can be a carrier. This only transfers signals and does not contain any active circuits. In this type of system, a signal may travel across several laminated chip assemblies before arriving at the laminated chip assembly where the signal is actually used.
Three-dimensional Matrices of Laminated Chip Assemblies
FIG. 5 illustrates a three-dimensional structure composed of layers of two-dimensional arrays of laminated chip assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned with respect to FIG. 3 , laminated chip assemblies can have proximity communication regions on both the top and bottom faces. For example, proximity communication regions 501 include a proximity communication region on both the top and bottom faces of laminated chip assembly 500 . When laminated chip assemblies have proximity communication regions on both top and bottom faces, layers of two-dimensional tiled arrays assembled from these laminated chip assemblies can be stacked into a three-dimensional matrix.
Power Connections to Laminated Chip Assemblies
Power can be supplied to the stack of semiconductor chips by a number of mechanisms. To avoid permanent attachment, power can be capacitively coupled, inductively coupled, or coupled by a combination of these two techniques. Also, to avoid permanent attachment, power can be conductively coupled through springs, micro-springs, fuzz buttons, or anisotropic sheets. Furthermore, semi-permanent attachment methods can bring in power conductively, thereby permitting limited re-work during assembly to replace defective laminated chip assemblies in stacks of semiconductor chips.
The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description only. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. | One embodiment of the present invention provides a technique for assembling semiconductor chips. First, multiple semiconductor chips are permanently laminated together into a plurality of laminated chip assemblies, wherein the semiconductor chips within the laminated chip assembly communicate with each other through electrically conductive connections. Next, laminated chip assemblies are stacked together to form a stack of semiconductor chips without permanently bonding the laminated chip assemblies together, wherein the laminated chip assemblies communicate with each other using capacitive coupling. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the chemical synthesis of certain novel nucleotide sequences and novel synthetic peptides and, more particularly, to their use in diagnostic tests for M. tuberculosis and their immunoprophylactic value.
Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease which affects 30 million people worldwide, especially in the developing countries (World Health Organization, Bull. WHO, 61, 779, 1983).
The diagnosis of tuberculosis relies on the observation of acid-fast bacilli in clinical specimens and on PPD (Purified Protein Derivative), a delayed type cutaneous hypersensitivity test (DCH). However, very often the number of bacterial cells in the sample is insufficient to make a successful diagnosis of the disease. On the other hand, the utility of PPD is limited both by its lack of specificity and by its inability to distinguish between an active disease state, previous sensitization by contact with M. tuberculosis, or cross-sensitization to other mycobacteria. The use of peptides as tools in the diagnosis of mycobacterial diseases was discussed recently in the First Vaccilep Workshop on the Immunology of Leprosy. (Immunology today. 10: 218-221, 1989.) The application of this strategy to tuberculosis would enable the production of highly specific and very stable reagents, at low cost, which could be used in immunoassays of excellent reproducibility. This type of easy-to-perform test would be useful in both seroepidemiological and clinical studies, looking to tuberculosis control and prevention. Besides, much attention has been focused on the use of nucleic acid probes to specifically detect a mycobacterial infection.
BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) has been the most widely used vaccine around the world. However, it has not been possible to clearly demonstrate its protective value in all the immunization trials carried out to date.
The knowledge of individual antigens of M. tuberculosis is very important in the search for immunoprophylactic molecules and in the detection of specific molecules, i.e., antigens, exclusively present in M. tuberculosis. Such type molecules could be used in the design of reagents to accurately diagnose a tuberculosis infection, both at the DNA and the protein level, thus circumventing the cross-reactivity problems associated with the current diagnostic tests, and also they could serve as potential vaccines against this threatening disease.
The application of recombinant DNA techniques to the study of M. tuberculosis genes, has provided the complete nucleotide sequences which encode proteins of 71, 65, 38, 32 and 19. Despite the fact that many of these genes encode for M. tuberculosis antigens which belong to the group of ubiquitous Heat Shock Proteins, immunological studies have demonstrated the presence of some epitopes of these molecules, most of which are capable of eliciting cellular responses "in vitro".
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention contemplates the description of a nucleotide sequence. Within this sequence there is a gene, 402 bp long, which encodes for a M. tuberculosis protein. The encoding nucleotide sequence is written from left-to-right, following the 5' to 3' direction of the encoding string of the gene in Formula I below. The meanings of the abbreviations employed in Formula I are: A: Adenine, C:Cytosine, G:Guanine, T:Thymine. ##STR1##
Oligonucleotide sequences derived from this sequence can be used as probes in hybridization on PCR assays, in order to accurately detect M. tuberculosis bacilli in clinical samples, such as, blood, serum and plasma, where their presence is suspected.
Synthetic oligonucleotides derived from this nucleotide sequence or from its complementary strand (A per T, T per A, G per C and C per G) may be used as primers to amplify the entire gene or any of its fragments and thus to detect even a few bacilli in a clinical sample. The use of the nucleotide sequences represented by Formula II and Formula III (see below), as well as any other sequence derived from Formula I or its complementary strings (A per T, T per A, G per C and C per G), for "in vitro" DNA amplification tests, as occurs in PCR, are also to be considered as an embodiment of the present invention. ##STR2##
The gene found in this region encodes for a specific M. tuberculosis protein, called MTP40, whose amino acid sequence is set forth in Formula IV. (The amino acids in Formula IV and also in Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX which follow are named according to the letter codes which are defined hereinafter). ##STR3##
The present invention contemplates the entire protein encoded in Formula I, which means the amino acid sequence shown in Formula IV, or fragments thereof, produced as recombinant proteins in any type of expression vector, or as chemically synthesized peptides, which may be useful in immunoprophylactic or immunodiagnostic assays. Therefore, the synthetic peptides derived from the amino-acid sequence under Formula IV are also contemplated as an embodiment of this invention. The polypeptides contain about 16 to about 21 amino acid residues, including the amino acid residue sequence, written from left-to-right and in the direction of the amino-terminus to the carboxy-terminus, represented by the Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX as set forth below. ##STR4##
The peptides represented by formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX were tested in serological and lymphocyte proliferation assays. From the results obtained, the peptides of Formulas V and VI showed promise as antigens in the development of an accurate diagnostic method, and the peptides of Formulas VI, VII, VIII and IX each showed promise as a synthetic tuberculosis vaccine. It is to be understood that the use of any of these peptides, or any peptide derived from Formulas IV-IX, inclusive, in any type of diagnostic or immunoprophylactic tests, or in the design of a molecule with immunoprophylactic value as a vaccine against tuberculosis, is also comprehended as being embodied by the present invention.
These peptides are capable, when injected in an effective amount into a mammalian host, of inducing production of antibodies that immunoreact to an antigen of M. tuberculosis.
This invention also comprehends and includes the antigenically related variants of the polypeptides, for example, those polypeptides which include cysteine (Cys) or glycine (Gly) residues at their amino-terminus, or their carboxy-terminus, or both termini, or synthetic multimers containing a plurality of joined synthetic polypeptides wherein at least one of the repeating units is one of the polypeptides described above. The repeating units may be joined in a head-to-tail manner by amide bonds, or they may form polymeric multimers by the use of intra or intermolecular cysteine disulfide bonds.
These peptides are able to raise antibodies in immunization schedules using animal experimental models. Therefore, specific antibodies against them can be produced from these animals. These antibodies constitute another embodiment of this invention. They can be used in diagnosis to identify the native protein, either as part of a protein extract, or in the whole tuberculosis bacillus, and they may be included in a therapeutic schedule.
Naturally induced human antibodies, elicited against M. tuberculosis proteins, may also be able to react with any peptide fragment derived from Formula IV. Further contemplated is a diagnostic system for assaying the presence of antibody molecules to an antigen to a tuberculous mycobacterium in a body component such as body fluids or body tissues. Such a system comprises a solid support on a solid matrix to which the peptides are affixed.
Peptides corresponding to formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX have been shown to be able to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation of human peripheral blood cells in vitro. This indicates that these peptides may be used as tools to develop a skin test based on host cellular immune response, and probably a synthetic vaccine against M. tuberculosis.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Applicant has established and determined the novel nucleotide sequence of an M. tuberculosis gene which encodes for the MPT protein, and is found to be present exclusively in M. tuberculosis bacilli. The nucleotide sequence of Formula I, its derived Formulas II and III, the 134 amino-acid protein of Formula IV, and its derived sequences, namely, Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX, represent preferred embodiments of the present invention.
NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE
By screening a genomic expression library of M. tuberculosis, with a rabbit polyclonal serum raised against a M. tuberculosis protein, the gene for a species specific antigen was identified and termed MTP40. The coding portion of the gene consists of 402 base pairs ordered according to Formula I. Nucleotide sequences within the MTP40 gene were not found in genomic DNAs from related mycobacteria (M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. fortuitum, M. phlei, M. vaccae, M. flavecens, M. smegmatis and M. leprae, S. epidermis, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, P. vulgaris or from Staphylococcus spp.) by either hybridization studies or by Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR). Certain oligonucleotide segments from the gene, namely, Formulas II and III, have been used in PCR experiments to prove the absence of the gene in other mycobacterial species. The PCR technique has also been used with Formulas II and III, or their complementary formulas (the substitution of A for T, T for A, G for C, and C for G) to evaluate the presence of M. tuberculosis bacilli in different body components, e.g., tissues and fluids, indicated by the amplification of the MTP40 protein gene. Different oligonucleotides corresponding to random segments of the sequence over the entire gene have been assayed in hybridization studies with the same goal. These indicate that segments of the gene produced either by chemical synthesis, for example, by the phosphoramidite method, or by enzymatic methods, e.g., nick translation or random priming, can be used to specifically detect the original gene and, thus, since it is exclusively present in M. tuberculosis genome, the M. tuberculosis bacilli in samples where its presence is suspected. The use of such types of oligonucleotide probes, as well as the variations introduced therein, e.g., new restriction sites, linkers or base redundancies, in order to detect the MTP40 gene, or the whole M. tuberculosis bacillus for diagnostic purposes are contemplated as being embodied in this invention.
The use of formulas I, II, or III, or their complementary sequences, as radioactive or non-radioactive probes for PCR or hybridization assays for diagnostic purposes is also contemplated as being embodied in this invention.
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
The nucleotide sequence of Formula I encodes a polypeptide having 134 amino acids, that has been termed MTP40 protein (Formula IV). The molecular weight of the protein is estimated to be 13.8 kDa (kiloDaltons). Restriction segments of the protein gene have been cloned into phage and plasmid vectors in order to produce fragments of the MTP40 protein as fusion proteins. These recombinant proteins have been proven to react with antibodies elicited against the native protein, as well as with human antibodies produced by tuberculosis patients against the whole bacilli, thus indicating that the entire molecule or its segments can be expressed as foreign products in heterologous systems without disturbing their capacity to react with specific antibodies. It is contemplated that the use of the expressed products of the MTP40 gene, or any derived segment, to produce antibodies against the native protein or to detect the presence of such antibodies as part of any diagnostic method, is deemed to be embodied in the present invention.
SYNTHETIC PEPTIDES
A number of synthetic peptides, based on the amino acid sequence of the MTP40 protein, have been chemically synthesized according to the multiple solid phase system (MSPS), or by other standard methods. They have been used in a series of immunological studies as either antigens or as immunogens. These studies have led to the conclusion that the protein possesses various immunodominant B cell and T cell epitopes. Analyses by ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) and Lymphocyte proliferation assay of synthetic peptides antigens from M. tuberculosis MTP40 protein have demonstrated that the MTP40 protein has immunodominant B cell and T cell epitopes, respectively, which correspond to different peptides that also represent a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Certain of these peptides, corresponding to Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX were recognized to a significant extent by sera from tuberculosis patients, or were able to stimulate in vitro cellular proliferation of T lymphocytes obtained from tuberculosis patients. It is contemplated that when reference is made hereafter to these five (5) peptides, Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX, it shall be understood to also include any other peptide derived from the MTP40 protein, i.e., any of its analogues.
The properties of the novel peptide compounds of the present invention make them suitable candidates for the early immunodiagnosis and detection of tuberculosis, as well as for determining the evolution of tuberculosis in patients. In the same manner, there are several of them which are promising synthetic antigens for a tuberculosis vaccine. When employed as antigens in ELISA testing, the testing is done in the following manner.
Overlapping peptides were synthesized from MTP40 protein using the multiple solid phase synthesis method, described by R. Houghten (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:5131-5135, 1985). These peptides were used as antigens in ELISA testing, as well as in Lymphocyte proliferation assays.
Whole blood from twenty seven (27) individuals, clinically and bacteriologically diagnosed by positive sputum (B+) as being active pulmonary tuberculosis patients was obtained at the Santa Clara Lung Hospital in Bogota, Colombia. Also, seventeen (17) whole blood samples from active tuberculosis patients, who had B(+) sputum at the time of diagnosis, but whose sputum had become B(-), were obtained at the same hospital. Whole blood samples from twenty-five (25) healthy individuals were collected from among the families of the active tuberculosis patients. As normal controls, whole blood from nineteen (19) normal donors, which were without tuberculine test, was collected, among healthy student volunteers. Mononuclear cells were isolated from all samples in order to be used in lymphocyte proliferation assay and sera were maintained at 4° C. until its use in the ELISA test.
When employed coated in an ELISA microtiter plaque, at a level of 3 micrograms per well, the peptides corresponding to Formula V (S700), Formula VI (S702), Formula VII (S698) and Formula VIII (S708) provide significant data which make them viable candidates for the design of a method for the early detection by ELISA of infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as for the prognosis of the disease. In the ELISA test, the recognition of the peptides by both active tuberculosis patients having B(+) and B(-) sputum and healthy individuals from tubercular households, demonstrate that the peptides are able to react with sera from individuals that have been in contact with the tuberculosis bacillus.
In general, the sera from active B(+) patients was recognized by each of peptides studied, namely, Formulas V, VI, VII and VIII. The most widely recognized was S700 (corresponding to the Formula V), which reacted with 54.8% of sera from these patients, while it was only recognized by 2.9% of sera from normal donors. Also, the other peptides S702, S698 and S708 (corresponding to the Formulas VI, VII and VIII, respectively) were tested with the same groups of individuals. The peptide called S702 was recognized by 28% of the B(+) patients; S698 was recognized by 20.8% of them and S708 reacted positively with 16% of the patients of the same group. On the other hand, the peptides' reaction with sera from normal donors was negligible. Some peptides were recognized by less than 5% of normal individuals, while other peptides were not recognized by anyone.
Sera of active tuberculosis patients having B(-) sputum exhibited the maximum reactivity with the antigen from the synthetic peptides of the present invention. The most widely recognized was the S702 peptide, which was recognized by 52.6% of these patients. The other three peptides showed a percentage recognition of not less than 36.8%, with sera of the same group.
From all serological data it can be concluded that the presence of MTP40 indicates infection by M. tuberculosis. Thus, the peptides can be used both as a reagent for monitoring the effects of chemotherapy (prognosis) and also for the early detection of infection by designing a suitable immunodiagnostic method.
With respect to Lymphocyte proliferation assay testing, 5 to 25 micrograms (μg) of the peptides of Formulas V, VI, VII, VIII and IX were employed. This T-cell recognition test provided important data which raises the distinct possibility of their candidacy for eventual use in a tuberculosis vaccine.
Overlapping peptides were synthesized from MTP40 protein in order to be tested with T-cells from groups of different individuals. In the Lymphocyte proliferation test, all the peptides were recognized by the groups studied, thus indicating that the synthetic peptides are able to induce reactivity in active tuberculosis patients and also in those individuals who have experienced long-term exposure to the mycobacterium bacillus. However, each group studied reacted in a different manner with these peptides. Healthy households were the strongest responders to all the peptides. The most widely recognized was the S708 (corresponding to Formula VIII), which reacted with 60% of the T-cells from healthy individuals from tubercular households, while it was only recognized by 11% of active tuberculosis patients having B(+) sputum and 0% of normal donors. The other three peptides S700, S702 and S704 (corresponding to the Formulas V, VI and IX, respectively) were also tested with the same groups: S700 was recognized by 44% of healthy individuals from households where tuberculosis was present, 3.4% of active tuberculosis patients and 0% of normal donors; the S702 was recognized by 44% of healthy individuals from tubercular households, 3.4% of active patients and 0% of normal donors; the S704 peptide was recognized by 40% of individuals from tubercular households, by 0% of active patients having B(+) sputum and by 0% of normal donors.
These data show that there is a significant correlation between an increased recognition of these peptides and the healthy individuals in tuberculosis-containing households, thus indicating that these peptides, and specifically the S708 peptide (Formula VIII), could well play a fundamental and significant role in the acquired cellular resistance to mycobacterium infection, which would make this peptide a suitable candidate to be a subunit in a eventual synthetic vaccine against tuberculosis.
As employed herein, the following abbreviations shall be deemed to have the following meanings:
______________________________________Boc-tertiary = butoxycarbonylBut-tertiary = butyl (as ether forming group)DCC = dicyclohexylcarbodiimideDIPCD = diisopropylcarbodiimideDCM = dichloromethaneDMF = dimethylformamideDIEA = diisopropylethylamideTFA = trifluoroacetic acidHF = hydrogen fluorideAla = alanineArg = arginineAsn = asparagineCys = cysteineGly = glycineGlu = glutamic acidPhe = phenylalanineLeu = leucineVal = valineTyr = tyrosineThr = threonineMet = methionineHis = histidineLys = lysinePro = prolineSer = serineIle = isoleucineAsp = aspartic acidGln = glutamineTrp = tryptophan______________________________________
EXAMPLE 1
General Procedure for the Amplification of MTP40 Gene by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Technique
The M. tuberculosis DNA is purified from the bacilli by enzymatic digestion with lysozyme (Sigma Chem. Co.) and Proteinase K (Sigma Chem. Co.). Thereafter, an extraction with phenol-chloroform is carried out and the DNA is obtained by alcohol precipitation. The PCR is done by adding 20 mM of primers PT1 (Formula II) and PT2 (Formula III) to the purified M. tuberculosis DNA in different concentrations (1 μg-10 fg). Denaturing is carried out at a temperature of 94° C. for one minute; the annealing and extension reactions are carried out at 74° C. for 2 minutes; and the cycle is repeated thirty (30) times. Buffers, deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTP) and Polymerase enzyme (TAQ polymerase) are obtained by Cetus Corporation and used pursuant to their instructions.
The amplified product is visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis stained with Ethidium Bromide (Sigma Chem. Co.) and subsequently hybridized with a radioactive probe derived from the nucleotide sequence of MTP40 gene.
EXAMPLE 2
General Procedure for the Solid Phase Synthesis of the Peptide Compounds of the Present Invention
Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) is employed according to the method originally described in 1963 by M. B. Merrifield, as modified by R. A. Houghten, using propylene bags simultaneously. The method involves the coupling of amino acids from the carboxy-terminal end to the N-terminal end of the peptide, once the amino acid is attached to an insoluble solid support.
The polystyrene resin solid support employed is a copolymer of styrene with about 1% to 2% by weight of divinyl benzene as a cross-linking agent, which causes the polystyrene polymer to be completely insoluble in most organic solvents and which causes it to swell extensively in DCM and DMF. This allows the penetration and free transit of solvents and reagents, thus permitting the various chemical reactions to proceed.
The solid support is made functional by the introduction of the insoluble P-methylbenzhydramine. HCL(P-MBHA) resin having free amino groups (0.4 to 0.6 miliequivalents per gram of resin). The resin is swollen by three washes of ten minutes each with DCM with constant stirring. The acidic groups are neutralized with 5% DIEA in DCM to permit attachment of the first amino acid.
The attachment is accomplished by dissolving a tenfold excess of Boc-amino acid in 10 milliliters of DCM, or in a mixture of DCM: DMF (2:1), and activated with ten equivalents of DIPCD in four milliliters of DCM. This mixture is employed to couple the first amino acid via its carboxyl groups to the activated resin. To assure complete coupling, it is checked by the picrate reaction.
After the first amino acid has been attached, an amino acyl resin has been formed which is used to add the other Boc-amino acids in the desired sequence via a series of steps which results in elongation of the peptide chain.
The steps are as follows:
1. Acid deprotection of the N-terminal group of the attached Boc-acid. Selective removal of the Boc-group is accomplished with 55% TFA in DCM for 30 minutes.
2. Neutralization of excess acid with 5% DIEA in DCM.
3. Activation and coupling of next Boc-amino acid. A Boc-amino acid which was previously activated with DIPCD is coupled to the amino acyl resin to form the peptide bond. The excess of coupled amino acid is then removed by filtration and the amount of coupled Boc-amino acid is determined by the picrate reaction. Then the cycle is commenced once again.
EXAMPLE 3
Lymphocyte Proliferation Assay
The following method was employed in conducting the Lymphocyte Proliferation Assay
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from heparinized whole blood by Ficoll-Hypaque 1077 (SIGMA poole, England), centrifuged and suspended in growth medium (RPMI 1640: Flow Labs) containing 10% of calf fetal serum (CFS), 2 mM L-glutamine, 25 mM Hepes, 100 IU penicillin per ml., and 40 micrograms (μg) of streptomycine per ml. Then 1.5×10 5 cells per well were cultured with antigen in a 96-well-flat-bottomed microtiter plates (NUNC. Denmark) for 5 to 6 days at 37° C. in humidified air with 5% CO 2 . The cells were then pulsed (0.8 uci-well) with (methyl-3H) thymidine (Amersham Inter. U.K.) After approximately 16 hours, they were harvested onto glass fiber filter strips and the quantity of (3H) thymidine incorporated was measured by a liquid scintillation counter in a Beckmann L-9000. All antigen-containing cultures were performed in triplicate and converted to stimulation indices (SI) in relation to the medium control culture. Values are expressed as mean cpm +/- standard deviation (SD).
Lymphocyte proliferation to the antigen was considered positive when the stimulation indices values were more than 3 SD above mean values obtained in the 22 normal donors.
The functional viability of the lymphocytes, following isolation of a Fycoll-Hypaque density gradient, was evaluated by Con-A responsiveness. Background proliferation in cpm were between 300 to 5500 and all lymphocyte samples were tested with two antigen doses, namely, 5 and 25 μg/ml. The results at each concentration demonstrated that the peptides need an adequate dose to be recognized.
EXAMPLE 4
The ELISA testing was performed in accordance with the following method.
Four 96 microwell plates were coated with each of the four peptides, namely, Formulas V, VI, VII and VIII, prepared in accordance with Example 2. 150 μl per well of a solution of 10 μg/ml of each peptide in coating buffer (NaHCO 3 -Na 2 CO 3 0.1M, pH 9.2) was left 1 hour at 37° C., then for 48 hours at 40° C. and, finally, 1 hour at 37° C. in high binding capacity microwell modules (NUNC ref: 4-69914). Also, for each plate, control wells were coated in the same manner.
After washing the plates 2 times with PBS plus 0.05% Tween 20 (PBST), 100 μl per well of each serum were added in 1:20 dilution in PBST with 1% goat serum as a blocking agent (PBST-GS). The sera were incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. Then the plates were washed 5 times with PBST, and after adding 100 μl per well of anti-human IgG (Immunoglobulin G) peroxidase conjugate (SIGMA A-8785), diluted 1:1000 (v/v) in PBST-GS, were incubated for 1 hour at 37° C. The plates were then washed 5 times with PBST, and 100 μl of substrate solution (25 mg of O-phenylenediamine and 30 μl of H 2 O 2 per 10 ml of citrate phosphate buffer at pH 5.0) were added.
The reaction was performed at room temperature in darkness for 5 minutes and was then stopped by adding 50 μl per well of 2N sulfuric acid.
Equal number of sera from each group of individuals were placed on the plate. 100 μl per well of sera from each group of individuals in the appropriate dilution, were placed in duplicate on the plate were added on every peptide coated well. The following steps were made according to the method described above.
By employing the method described above, it has been determined that the peptide compounds corresponding to the Formulas: ##STR5## when tested by ELISA, can be used successfully as a means of monitoring the reagents of chemotherapy (prognosis) and for the early detection of infection (as suitable candidates for the design of a diagnostic method).
The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents or features shown and described or any portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as claimed. | The present invention relates to novel chemically synthesized nucleotides and novel chemically synthesized peptides which have been found to be effective in assaying for the presence of M. tuberculosis. | 8 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/283,745 filed Nov. 22, 2005, which is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/460,154 filed Jun. 13, 2003, which is a Continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/780,492 filed Feb. 12, 2001. Priority is claimed based on U.S. application Ser. No. 11/283,745 filed Nov. 22, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/460,154 filed Jun. 13, 2003, which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/780,492 filed Feb. 12, 2001, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-047164 filed on Feb. 24, 2000, all of which is incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a level converter circuit and a liquid crystal display device employing the level converter circuit, and in particular to a level converter circuit formed by polysilicon transistors.
[0003] Liquid crystal display modules of the STN (Super Twisted Nematic) type or the TFT (Thin Film Transistor) type are widely used as a display device for a notebook personal computer and the like. Some driver circuits for driving such liquid crystal display panels need a level converter circuit external to the liquid crystal display panel. Such a level converter circuit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 6-204,850 (laid-open on Jul. 22, 1994), for example.
[0004] FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of an example of a prior art level converter circuit. The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 13 is formed by MOS transistors using single crystal silicon for their semiconductor layers, and is of the same circuit configuration as that shown in FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 6-204,850.
[0005] The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 13 has a CMOS inverter INV 1 to which a low-voltage input signal ø 1 is supplied and a CMOS inverter INV 2 to which an output signal ø 2 from the CMOS inverter INV 1 is supplied.
[0006] The CMOS inverter INV 1 is formed by a p-channel MOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as a PMOS) M 5 and an n-channel MOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as an NMOS) M 6 which are connected in series between a low voltage VCC and a reference voltage (or ground potential) VSS.
[0007] The CMOS inverter INV 2 is formed by a PMOS M 7 and an NMOS M 8 which are connected in series between the low voltage VCC and the reference voltage (or ground potential) VSS.
[0008] Further, the level converter circuit includes a series combination of a PMOS M 9 and an NMOS M 11 and a series combination of a PMOS M 10 and an NMOS M 12 , which are connected between a high voltage VDD and the reference voltage VSS.
[0009] An output signal ø 3 from the CMOS inverter INV 2 is supplied to a gate electrode of the NMOS M 11 , and an output signal ø 2 from the CMOS inverter INV 1 is supplied to a gate electrode of the NMOS M 12 . A gate electrode of the PMOS M 9 is connected to a drain electrode of the PMOS M 10 , and a gate electrode of the PMOS M 10 is connected to a drain electrode of the PMOS M 9 .
[0010] The input signal ø 1 supplied via an input terminal VIN has an amplitude between the low voltage VCC and the reference voltage VSS, and is converted into the low voltage outputs ø 2 and ø 3 each having amplitudes between the low voltage VCC and the reference voltage VSS.
[0011] The low voltage output signals ø 2 and ø 3 are supplied to gate electrodes of the NMOS M 11 and the NMOS M 12 , respectively, and outputs from output terminals VOUT 1 and VOUT 2 are two level-converted signals, that is, two complementary output signals ø 4 and ø 5 having amplitudes between the high supply voltage VDD and ground potential VSS, respectively.
[0012] For example, suppose that the low voltage output signal ø 2 is at a high level (hereafter referred to merely as an H level) and the low voltage output signal ø 3 is at a low level (hereafter referred to merely as an L level). Then the NMOS M 12 is ON, PMOS M 9 is ON, NMOS M 11 is OFF, and PMOS M 10 is OFF, and therefore the output terminal VOUT 2 outputs the ground potential VSS and the output terminal VOUT 1 outputs the high voltage VDD.
[0013] Next, suppose that the low voltage output signal ø 2 is at the L level and the low voltage output signal ø 3 is at the H level. Then the NMOS M 12 is OFF, the PMOS M 9 is OFF, the NMOS M 11 is ON, and the PMOS M 10 is ON, and therefore the output terminal VOUT 2 outputs the high supply voltage VDD and the output terminal VOUT 1 outputs the ground potential VSS.
[0014] FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of another example of a prior art level converter circuit. The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 14 is also formed by MOS transistors using single crystal silicon for their semiconductor layers, and is of the same circuit configuration as that shown in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 6-204,850.
[0015] The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 14 differs from that shown in FIG. 13 , in that the CMOS inverter INV 2 is omitted, the output signal ø 2 from the CMOS inverter INV 1 is supplied to the source electrode of the NMOS M 11 , and the gate of which is supplied with the low voltage VCC.
[0016] In the level converter circuit shown in FIG. 13 , when the level-converted output signals ø 4 , ø 5 from the output terminals VOUT 1 , VOUT 2 change from the H level to the L level, or from the L level to the H level, all of the PMOS M 5 , the NMOS M 11 , the PMOS M 10 and the NMOS M 12 are turned ON simultaneously, and consequently, currents flow through a series combination of the PMOS M 9 and the NMOS M 11 and a series combination of the PMOS M 10 and the NMOS M 12 , respectively. The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 14 is configured so as to prevent such currents from flowing through the series combination of the PMOS M 9 and the NMOS M 11 and the series combination of the PMOS M 10 and the NMOS M 12 .
[0017] The level converter circuit shown in FIG. 13 needs a total of eight MOS transistors comprising four MOS transistors M 5 to M 8 in the low-voltage circuit and four MOS transistors M 9 to M 12 in the high-voltage circuit, the level converter circuit shown in FIG. 14 needs six MOS transistors, and therefore the prior art level converter circuits had the problem in that many MOS transistors are needed.
[0018] It is known that mobility in MOS transistors using as their semiconductor layers, single crystal silicon, polysilicon and amorphous silicon are 1,000 to 2,000 cm.sup.2/(Vs), 10 to 100 cm.sup.2/(V6), and 0.1 to 10 cm.sup.2/(Vs), respectively. MOS transistors using as their semiconductor layers, polysilicon and amorphous silicon are capable of being fabricated on a transparent insulating substrate made of quartz glass or glass having a softening temperature not higher than 800.degree. C., and therefore electronic circuits can be fabricated directly on a display device such as a liquid crystal display device.
[0019] FIG. 15 is a graph showing an example of switching characteristics of an n-channel MOS transistor having a semiconductor made of single crystal silicon, and FIG. 16 is a graph showing an example of switching characteristics of an n-channel MOS transistor having a semiconductor layer made of polysilicon.
[0020] In FIGS. 15 and 16 , curves A represent characteristics for a standard threshold VTH, curves B represent characteristics for a threshold voltage VTH shifted by −1 V from the standard threshold voltage, and curves C represent characteristics for a threshold voltage VTH shifted by +1 V from the standard threshold voltage.
[0021] As is understood from FIGS. 15 and 16 , in the case of the polysilicon MOS transistor (a polysilicon thin film transistor, for example) using as a semiconductor layer a polysilicon obtained by a solid phase epitaxy method crystallizing at a temperature of 500.degree. C. to 1,100.degree. C., or a polysilicon obtained by crystallizing by laser-annealing amorphous silicon produced by a CVD method, when a gate-source voltage VGS is small (5 V or less), drain currents ID of the polysilicon MOS transistor is smaller than those of the MOS transistor having the semiconductor layer of single crystal silicon, and drain currents ID of the polysilicon MOS transistor vary greatly with variations of the threshold voltages VTH.
[0022] As a result, when the level converter circuits shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are formed by MOS transistors having semiconductor layers made of single crystal silicon, satisfactory operation can be guaranteed, but when the level converter circuits shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are formed by polysilicon MOS transistors having semiconductor layers made of polysilicon, there was a disadvantage that sufficient driving capability could not be obtained in a case where the supply voltage is the low voltage VCC.
[0023] FIG. 17 is a graph showing DC transfer characteristics of a CMOS inverter.
[0024] In general, in a CMOS inverter, threshold voltages VTH are determined in the p-channel MOS transistors and the N-channel MOS transistors forming the CMOS inverter such that, when an input signal exceeds the middle between the H level and the L level of the input signals, the p-channel and N-channel MOS transistors forming the CMOS inverter change from ON to OFF, or from OFF to ON. Curve A in FIG. 17 represent the DC transfer characteristic in this state.
[0025] Curve B in FIG. 17 represents a DC transfer characteristic in a case where the threshold voltages VTH of the p-channel and N-channel MOS transistors forming the CMOS inverter is shifted to the left of the curve A, and curve C in FIG. 17 represents a DC transfer characteristic in a case where the threshold voltages VTH of the p-channel and N-channel MOS transistors forming the CMOS inverter is shifted to the right of the curve A.
[0026] FIGS. 18A to 18D are schematic illustrations for explaining input and output waveforms of the CMOS inverter.
[0027] FIG. 18A represents a waveform of an input signal to the CMOS inverter, FIGS. 18B to 18D represent waveforms of output signals from the CMOS inverters having DC transfer characteristics corresponding to the curves A to C of FIG. 17 , respectively.
[0028] If the DC transfer characteristic of the CMOS inverter is represented by the curve A of FIG. 17 , the output signal starts to fall delayed by a time tDA from the time the input signal starts to rise, but a duration LHA of the H level and a duration LLA of the L level of the output signal are the same as durations of the H and L levels of the input signal, respectively, as shown in FIG. 18B .
[0029] But, if the DC transfer characteristic of the CMOS inverter is represented by the curve B of FIG. 17 , the output signal starts to fall delayed by a time tDB which is shorter than the time tDA, from the time the input signal starts to rise, a duration LHB of the H level of the output signal is shorter than the duration of the H level of the input signal and a duration LLB of the L level of the output signal is longer than the duration of the L level of the input signal, as shown in FIG. 18C .
[0030] And, if the DC transfer characteristic of the CMOS inverter is represented by the curve C of FIG. 17 , the output signal starts to fall delayed by a time tDC which is longer than the time tDA, from the time the input signal starts to rise, and a duration LHC of the H level of the output signal is longer than the duration of the H level of the input signal and a duration LLC of the L level of the output signal is shorter than the duration of the L level of the input signal, as shown in FIG. 18D .
[0031] In general, threshold voltages VTH of polysilicon MOS transistors vary more greatly than those of MOS transistors having single crystal silicon layer, and as is apparent from FIG. 16 , drain currents ID vary greatly with variations of threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors.
[0032] As a result, if the prior art level converter circuit is formed by polysilicon MOS transistors, the DC transfer characteristics of the CMOS inverters INV 1 , INV 2 (see FIG. 13 ) vary greatly mainly due to the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors of the CMOS inverters INV 1 , INV 2 , and consequently, there was a problem in that a delay time (or a phase difference) of the output signal with respect to the input signal and a variation of a duration of the H or L level of the output signal increase.
[0033] For example, FIG. 19 shows waveforms of input and output signals of the level converter circuit of FIG. 13 formed by n-channel MOS transistors using polysilicon having mobility of about 80 cm.sup.2/(Vs) and p-channel MOS transistors using polysilicon having mobility of about 60 cm.sup.2/(Vs).
[0034] In FIG. 19 , curve ø 5 represents an output of the level converter circuit having standard threshold voltages VTH, curve ø 5 - 1 represents an output of the level converter circuit in a case where threshold voltages VTH of the NMOS and PMOS transistors shift by −1 V, and curve ø 5 - 2 represents an output of the level converter circuit in a case where threshold voltages VTH of the NMOS and PMOS transistors shift by +1 V.
[0035] As is apparent from FIG. 19 , the delay time of the output signal with respect to the input signal and a variation of a duration of the H level of the output signal vary greatly with the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the MOS transistors.
[0036] In a liquid crystal display module of the analog-sampling active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors, such variations of the delay time of the output signal from the level converter circuit and the duration of the H level of the output signal cause a degradation in picture quality such as a picture defect in the form of a vertical line, when a half tone picture is displayed.
[0037] FIG. 20 is an illustration for explaining a principle of displaying by the liquid crystal display module of the active matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors.
[0038] In the liquid crystal display module of the active matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors, during one horizontal scanning period, a gate electrode line G 1 , for example, is selected by a scanning circuit and during this period analog video signals øsig are sampled and supplied to, . . . an (n−1)st drain electrode line, an nth drain electrode line, an (n+1)st drain electrode line, . . . , sequentially by shift scanning of shift registers SR of a horizontal scanning circuit, and this horizontal scanning is repeated the number of times equal to the number of the gate electrode lines to form a picture.
[0039] The operation of sampling the analog video signals øsig for the (n−1)st, nth and (n+1)st drain electrode lines will be explained by referring to time charts in FIG. 21 .
[0040] First, voltage levels of complementary clock input signals øPL and øNL are level-converted by level converter circuits LV 1 and LV 2 , respectively, to produce level-converted mutually complementary signals øNH and øPH.
[0041] The signal øPH and an output from one shift register SR are supplied to a NAND circuit NA 1 to produce a sampling pulse øN, and the signal øNH and an output from another shift register SR are supplied to a NAND circuit NA 2 to produce a sampling pulse øN+1.
[0042] The inverted pulses /øN and /øN+1 (A slant “/” is used instead of the bar “ ” to indicate an inverted signal.) of the sampling pulses øN and øN+1 drive sample-and-hold circuits SH 1 and SH 2 to sample time-varying analog video signals øsig sequentially and supply video signal voltages øm−1, øm and øm+1 to the (n−1)st, nth and (n+1)st drain electrode lines.
[0043] As a result, if the threshold voltages VTH of the MOS transistors of the level converter circuits LV 1 and LV 2 vary, the phases and the durations of the H level of the complementary signals øNH and øPH level-converted by the level converter circuits LV 1 and LV 2 vary, and consequently, the phases and the durations of the H level of the sampling pulses øN and øN+1 vary.
[0044] The variations of the phases and the durations of the H level of the sampling pulses øN and øN+1 cause shortening of the sampling time, sampling of a portion of the analog video signal øsig different from a portion of the analog video signal øsig intended to be sampled, or overlapping of the sampling times of the two sampling pulses øN and øN+1. These produce a ghost in an image displayed on a liquid crystal display panel, and therefore deteriorate display quality of the displayed image extremely.
[0045] In a digital-signal-input type liquid crystal display module of the active matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors, if such level converter circuits are employed before a digital-analog converter (a D/A converter), variations of delay times occur in level converter circuits corresponding to respective data bits and consequently, a false picture is produced because some data bits are digital-to-analog converted in a state where they are inverted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0046] The present invention is made so as to solve the above problems with the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of operating a level converter circuit at a high speed and stably irrespective of variations of threshold voltages of transistors.
[0047] It is another object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of improving the quality of displayed images by a liquid crystal display device by using the above level converter circuit.
[0048] The above-mentioned and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be made apparent by the following description and accompanying drawings.
[0049] The following explains the representative ones of the present inventions briefly.
[0050] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a level converter circuit comprising: an input terminal adapted to be supplied with a signal swinging from a first voltage to a second voltage lower than the first voltage; a first transistor having a gate electrode connected to the input terminal, and a source electrode connected to ground potential; a second transistor having a gate electrode connected to a drain electrode of the first transistor, a source electrode connected to a supply voltage, and a drain electrode connected to an output terminal; a load circuit connected between the gate electrode of the second transistor and the supply voltage; a third transistor having a source electrode connected to the input terminal, a drain electrode connected to the output terminal, and a gate electrode supplied with a DC voltage higher than the second voltage and lower than the first voltage, wherein the level converter circuit outputs a third voltage higher than the second voltage when the input terminal is supplied with the first voltage, and the level converter circuit outputs the second voltage when the input terminal is supplied with the second voltage.
[0051] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a level converter circuit comprising: an input terminal adapted to be supplied with a digital signal swinging from a first voltage to a second voltage lower than the first voltage; a first transistor having a gate electrode connected to the input terminal, and a source electrode connected to ground potential; a second transistor having a gate electrode connected to a drain electrode of the first transistor, a source electrode connected to a supply voltage, and a drain electrode connected to an output terminal; a load circuit connected between the gate electrode of the second transistor and the supply voltage; a third transistor having a source electrode connected to the input terminal, a drain electrode connected to the output terminal, and a gate electrode supplied with a DC voltage higher than the second voltage and lower than the first voltage, wherein (a) when the input terminal is supplied with the first voltage, the first transistor and the second transistor are ON, and the level converter circuit outputs a third voltage higher than the first voltage; and (b) when the input terminal is supplied with the second voltage, the first transistor and the second transistor are OFF and the level converter circuit outputs the second voltage via the third transistor.
[0052] In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device including a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, a plurality of pixels formed between the pair of substrates and a driver circuit for driving the plurality of pixels, the driver circuit being provided with a level converter circuit, the level converter circuit comprising: an input terminal adapted to be supplied with a digital signal swinging from a first voltage to a second voltage lower than the first voltage; a first transistor of an n-channel type having a gate electrode connected to the input terminal, and a source electrode connected to ground potential; a second transistor of a p-channel type having a gate electrode connected to a drain electrode of the first transistor, a source electrode connected to a supply voltage, and a drain electrode connected to an output terminal; a load circuit connected between the gate electrode of the second transistor and the supply voltage; a third transistor having a source electrode connected to the input terminal, a drain electrode connected to the output terminal, and a gate electrode supplied with a DC voltage, the DC voltage being such that, (a) when the source electrode of the third transistor is supplied with the second voltage, the third transistor is ON, and (b) when the source electrode of the third transistor is supplied with the first voltage, the third transistor is OFF, wherein (i) when the input terminal is supplied with the first voltage, the first transistor and the second transistor are ON, and the level converter circuit outputs a third voltage higher than the first voltage; and (ii) when the input terminal is supplied with the second voltage, the first transistor and the second transistor are OFF and the level converter circuit outputs the second voltage via the third transistor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0053] In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate similar components throughout the figures, and in which:
[0054] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0055] FIG. 2 is an illustration of examples of input and output signal waveforms of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0056] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a modification of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0057] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of another modification of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0058] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of still another modification of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0059] FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of still another modification of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0060] FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of still another modification of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0061] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0062] FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0063] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0064] FIG. 11 is a block diagram representing a configuration of a display panel of an active-matrix type liquid crystal display module of the analog-sampling type using polysilicon MOS transistors in accordance with Embodiment 5 of the present invention;
[0065] FIG. 12 is a block diagram representing a configuration of a display panel of a liquid crystal display module of the digital-signal-input active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors in accordance with Embodiment 5 of the present invention;
[0066] FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of an example of a prior art level converter circuit;
[0067] FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of another example of a prior art level converter circuit;
[0068] FIG. 15 is a graph showing an example of switching characteristics of a n-channel MOS transistor having a semiconductor made of single crystal silicon;
[0069] FIG. 16 is a graph showing an example of switching characteristics of a MOS transistor having a semiconductor layer made of polysilicon;
[0070] FIG. 17 is a graph showing DC transfer characteristics of a CMOS inverter;
[0071] FIG. 18A is an illustration of a waveform of an input signal to a CMOS inverter, and FIGS. 18B to 18D are illustrations of waveforms of output signals from the CMOS inverter;
[0072] FIG. 19 is an illustration of an example of waveforms of input and output signals of the level converter circuit of FIG. 13 . formed by polysil icon n-channel MOS transistors and polysil icon p-channel MOS transistors;
[0073] FIG. 20 is an illustration for explaining a principle of displaying by a liquid crystal display module of the active matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors;
[0074] FIG. 21 is timing charts for explaining the operation of sampling analog video signals øsig to be supplied to a drain electrode line in FIG. 20 ; and
[0075] FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram of a prior art buffer circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0076] The embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail by reference to the drawings. All the drawings for the embodiments use the same reference numerals to identify parts performing the same functions, which are not repeatedly described in the specification.
Embodiment 1
[0077] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram representing a level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0078] As shown in FIG. 1 , the level converter circuit of this embodiment is formed by a total of transistors including two enhancement-mode p-channel polysilicon MOS transistors and two enhancement-mode n-channel polysilicon MOS transistors, and the level converter circuit has a first stage formed by PMOS M 1 and NMOS M 3 and a second stage formed by PMOS M 2 and NMOS M 4 .
[0079] A source electrode of NMOS M 3 of the first stage is connected to the reference voltage VSS (ground potential) and a gate electrode of NMOS M 3 is supplied with an input signal ø 6 from a input terminal VIN.
[0080] The input signal ø 6 has an amplitude of VCC, or varies from a voltage higher than VCC to ground potential VSS.
[0081] A drain electrode of PMOS M 1 is connected to a drain electrode of NMOS M 3 , and a source electrode and a gate electrode of PMOS M 1 are connected to the high voltage VDD and its drain electrode, respectively.
[0082] A source electrode of NMOS M 4 of the second stage is supplied with the input signal ø 6 and a gate electrode of NMOS M 4 is connected to a low voltage VCC.
[0083] A drain electrode of PMOS M 2 is connected to a drain electrode of NMOS M 4 , and a source electrode and a gate electrode of PMOS M 2 are connected to the high voltage VDD and the drain electrode of PMOS M 1 , respectively. Namely, PMOS M 1 forms an active load.
[0084] A level-converted output signal ø 8 is output from the drain electrode of PMOS M 2 of the second stage.
[0085] In the level converter circuit of this embodiment, among electrodes of NMOS M 3 and M 4 of the first and second stages, all the electrodes (i.e., the source and gate electrodes of NMOS M 3 and the source and gate electrodes of NMOS M 4 ) except for electrodes connected to an output terminal or a next stage are supplied with the input signal ø 6 or a direct-current voltage (the low voltage VCC or ground potential VSS).
[0086] Next, the operation of the level converter circuit of this embodiment will be explained.
[0087] When the input signal ø 6 from the input terminal VIN is at the H level, NMOS M 3 is ON, PMOS M 1 is ON, NMOS M 4 is OFF, PMOS M 2 is ON, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the high voltage VDD. When the input signal ø 6 is at the L level, NMOS M 3 is OFF, PMOS M 1 is OFF, NMOS M 4 is ON, PMOS M 2 is OFF, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the input signal ø 6 which is at the L level.
[0088] FIG. 2 is illustrations of examples of waveforms of the input and output signals of the level converter circuit of this embodiment.
[0089] FIG. 2 illustrates the waveforms of the input and output signals in a case where polysilicon n-channel MOS transistors having mobility of about 80 cm.sup.2/(Vs) are used as NMOS M 3 and M 4 , and polysilicon p-channel MOS transistors having mobility of about 60 cm.sup.2e(Vs) are used as PMOS M 1 and M 2 .
[0090] In FIG. 2 , curve ø 8 represents a waveform of an output in a case where NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 have standard threshold voltages VTH, curve ø 8 - 1 represents a waveform of an output in a case where NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 have threshold voltages changed by −1 V, and curve ø 8 - 2 represents a waveform of an output in a case where NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 have threshold voltages changed by +1 V.
[0091] As is apparent from FIG. 2 , the level converter circuit of this embodiment provides comparatively stable input and output characteristics irrespective of the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 , compared with the waveforms of the input and output characteristics shown in FIG. 19 .
[0092] As described above, the threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors vary greatly, and as shown in FIG. 16 , when the supply voltage is low, the drain currents ID vary greatly with the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the MOS transistors.
[0093] However, in the level converter circuit of this embodiment, the external signal ø 6 is applied to the gate electrode of NMOS M 3 and the source electrode of NMOS M 4 directly from the input terminal VIN, and as a result, even if the threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors vary, the drain currents ID do not vary much.
[0094] Consequently, the level converter circuit of this embodiment can prevent the delay time of the output signal and the duration of the H level of the output signal from varying greatly with the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the transistors NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 forming the level converter circuit.
[0095] Incidentally, the advantages of this embodiment are obtained in a level converter circuit using transistors having single-crystal semiconductor layers. However, as shown in FIG. 15 , the threshold voltages VTH of the MOS transistors having a single-crystal semiconductor layer do not vary much, and a large amount of the drain currents can be obtained, and consequently, it is common sense to use a conventional circuit shown in FIG. 13 for the purpose of low power consumption. Therefore no one has thought of the level converter circuit of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , because there is a disadvantage of increase of power consumption.
[0096] FIGS. 3 to 7 are circuit diagrams for illustrating modifications of the level converter circuit of the embodiment of the present invention.
[0097] A level converter circuit shown in FIG. 3 uses a resistor element as a load of its first stage. In the level converter circuit of FIG. 3 , the same polysilicon film and wiring electrodes as those of the thin film transistors (TFTS) can be used for the resistor element, and as a result, the level converter circuit can be fabricated simply and manufactured easily.
[0098] A level converter circuit shown in FIG. 4 uses as a load of its first stage a polysilicon PMOS M 1 a gate electrode of which is supplied with a specified bias supply voltage Vbb. In the level converter circuit of FIG. 4 , a current flowing through NMOS M 3 is limited by PMOS M 1 , and consequently, its power consumption is suppressed. The limit of the current is determined by the bias supply voltage Vbb.
[0099] A level converter circuit shown in FIG. 5 uses as a load of its first stage an active load formed by a polysilicon NMOS M 20 . In the level converter circuit of FIG. 5 , an input stage is formed only by MOS transistors of NMOS M 3 and M 20 , and the NMOS transistors have higher mobility than PMOS transistors and therefore the level converter circuit operates with greater speed.
[0100] A level converter circuit shown in FIG. 6 uses as a load of its first stage an active load formed by a depletion-mode polysilicon NMOS M 21 . In the level converter circuit of FIG. 6 , NMOS M 21 is a depletion-mode MOS transistor, and it can flow a current therethrough at all times and therefore the level converter circuit operates with greater speed, but the power consumption is increased accordingly.
[0101] A level converter circuit shown in FIG. 7 uses a diode D as a load of its first stage. The diode D is fabricated by doping the same polysilicon film as that of the thin film transistors (TFT) with impurities for forming a p-type region and an n-type region, respectively, and therefore the level converter circuit of FIG. 7 facilitates its manufacturing process.
[0102] The level converter circuits shown in FIGS. 3 to 7 are capable of providing the advantages similar to those provided by the level converter circuit of FIG. 1 .
Embodiment 2
[0103] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[0104] As shown in FIG. 8 , the level converter circuit of this embodiment also uses a total of four enhancement-mode transistors including two p-channel polysilicon MOS transistors and two n-channel polysilicon MOS transistors, and has the first stage formed by PMOS M 1 and NMOS M 3 and the second stage formed by PMOS M 2 and NMOS M 4 .
[0105] The level converter circuit of this embodiment differs from that of Embodiment 1, in that a source electrode of NMOS M 3 of the first stage is supplied with the input signal ø 6 , a gate electrode of NMOS M 3 is connected to the low voltage VCC, a source electrode of NMOS M 4 of the second stage is connected to the reference voltage VSS and a gate electrode of NMOS M 4 is supplied with the input signal ø 6 from the input terminal VIN.
[0106] In the level converter circuit of this embodiment, when the input signal ø 6 from the input terminal VIN is at the H level, NMOS M 3 is OFF, PMOS M 1 is OFF, NMOS M 4 is ON, PMOS M 2 is OFF, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs ground potential VSS.
[0107] Next, when the input signal ø 6 is at the L level, NMOS M 3 is ON, PMOS M 1 is ON, NMOS M 4 is OFF, PMOS M 2 is ON, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the high voltage VDD.
[0108] While, in the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1, the level-converted output signal ø 8 is in the same phase with the input signal ø 6 , the level-converted output signal ø 8 of the level converter circuit of this embodiment is in the phase opposite from the input signal ø 6 .
[0109] The level converter circuit of this embodiment also provides the advantages similar to those provided by the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1, and the level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 may use one of the loads represented in FIGS. 3 to 7 , as the load of the first stage which is formed by PMOS M 1 .
[0110] A buffer circuit similar to the level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 7-7414 (laid-open on Jan. 10, 1995). FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram of the buffer circuit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 7-7414.
[0111] Only the voltage VDD and the reference voltage VSS are supplied to the buffer circuit of FIG. 22 including PMOS Q 1 and NMOS Q 2 so as to perform a function of the buffer circuit. NMOS Q 2 is supplied with a signal having an amplitude varying between the voltage VDD and ground potential VSS, and consequentially, a depletion-mode n-channel MOS transistor is used as NMOS Q 2 .
[0112] In the first place, the buffer circuit of FIG. 22 is not a level converter circuit for shifting a voltage level of an input signal, and it differs from the level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 in that the depletion-mode n-channel MOS transistor, NMOS Q 2 , is used.
[0113] Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 7-7414 does not disclose a technique for preventing the delay time of the output signal and the duration of the H level of the output signal from varying greatly with variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the transistors NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 2 shown in FIG. 8 .
Embodiment 3
[0114] FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
[0115] As shown in FIG. 9 , the level converter circuit of this embodiment also uses a total of four enhancement-mode transistors including two p-channel polysilicon-MOS transistors and two n-channel polysilicon MOS transistors, and has the first stage formed by PMOS M 1 and NMOS M 3 and the second stage formed by PMOS M 2 and NMOS M 4 .
[0116] The level converter circuit of this embodiment differs from that of Embodiment 1, in that a gate electrode of PMOS M 1 of the first stage is connected to a drain electrode (i.e., the output terminal VOUT) of PMOS N 2 of the second stage.
[0117] In the level converter circuit of this embodiment, when the input signal ø 6 from the input terminal VIN is at the H level, NMOS M 3 is ON, PMOS M 1 is OFF, NMOS M 4 is OFF, PMOS M 2 is ON, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the high voltage VDD.
[0118] Next, when the input signal ø 6 is at the L level, NMOS M 3 is OFF, PMOS M 1 is ON, NMOS M 4 is ON, PMOS M 2 is OFF, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the input signal ø 6 which is the low voltage.
[0119] In this way, in the level converter circuit of this embodiment, the level-converted output signal ø 8 is in the same phase with the input signal ø 6 as in the case of Embodiment 1.
[0120] The level converter circuit of this embodiment also provides the advantages similar to those provided by the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1.
[0121] In the level converter circuit of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9 , both NMOS M 3 and PMOS M 1 are not ON at the same time, both NMOS M 4 and PMOS M 2 are not ON at the same time, and consequently any currents do not flow except for switching times in the first and second stages and power consumption is reduced.
[0122] However, the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 has an advantage of higher speed operation than this embodiment.
[0123] The level converter circuit of this embodiment differs from the level converter circuit of FIG. 14 , in that the external signal ø 6 from the external terminal VIN is applied directly to the gate electrode of NMOS M 3 and the source electrode of NMOS M 4 .
[0124] As described above, threshold voltages VTH of polysilicon MOS transistors vary greatly, and if the supply voltage is low, drain currents ID vary greatly with the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the MOS transistors. Therefore, if the level converter circuit of FIG. 14 is formed by polysilicon MOS transistors, there has been a problem in that the variations of a delay time (or a phase difference) of the output signal with respect to the input signal and a duration of the H level (or a duration of the L level) become great mainly due to the threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon. MOS transistors forming the CMOS inverter INV 1 .
[0125] On the other hand, in the level converter circuit of this embodiment, the gate electrode of NMOS M 3 and the source electrode of NMOS M 4 have the external signal ø 6 applied directly from the external terminal VIN, and consequently, a delay time of the output signal and a duration of the H level of the output signal are prevented from varying greatly with the variations of the threshold voltages VTH of the transistors, NMOS M 3 , M 4 and PMOS M 1 , M 2 , forming the level converter circuit.
Embodiment 4
[0126] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a level converter circuit of Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
[0127] As shown in FIG. 10 , the level converter circuit of this embodiment also uses a total of four enhancement-mode transistors including two p-channel polysilicon MOS transistors and two n-channel polysilicon MOS transistors, and has the first stage formed by PMOS M 1 and NMOS M 3 and the second stage formed by PMOS M 2 and NMOS M 4 .
[0128] The level converter circuit of this embodiment differs from that of Embodiment 2, in that a gate electrode of NMOS M 1 of the first stage is connected to a drain electrode (i.e., the output terminal VOUT) of PMOS M 2 of the second stage.
[0129] In the level converter circuit of this embodiment, when the input signal ø 6 from the input terminal VIN is at the H level, NMOS M 3 is OFF, PMOS M 1 is ON, NMOS M 4 is ON, PMOS M 2 is OFF, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs ground potential VSS.
[0130] Next, when the input signal ø 6 is at the L level, NMOS M 3 is ON, PMOS M 1 is OFF, NMOS M 4 is OFF, PMOS M 2 is ON, and therefore the output terminal VOUT outputs the high voltage VDD.
[0131] In this way, in the level converter circuit of this embodiment, the level-converted output signal ø 8 is in the phase opposite from the input signal ø 6 , as in the case of Embodiment 2.
[0132] As in the case of the level converter circuit of Embodiment 3, in the level converter circuit of this embodiment also, currents flow in the circuits of the first and second stages only during switching times, and power consumption is reduced.
[0133] However, the level converter circuit of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 has an advantage of higher speed operation than this embodiment.
Embodiment 5
[0134] FIG. 11 is a block diagram representing a configuration of a display panel of an active-matrix type liquid crystal display module of the analog sampling type using polysilicon MOS transistors in accordance with Embodiment 5 of the present invention.
[0135] In FIG. 11 , reference character SUB 1 denotes a transparent insulating substrate made of glass having a softening temperature not higher than 800.degree. C. or quartz glass, reference numeral 3 denotes a display area having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix fashion and each pixel is provided with a polysilicon thin film transistor (TFT).
[0136] Each pixel is disposed in an area surrounded by two adjacent drain electrode lines D and two adjacent gate electrode lines G.
[0137] Each pixel has a thin film transistor TFT, a source electrode of which is connected to a pixel electrode (not shown). A liquid crystal layer is disposed between each pixel electrode and a common electrode (not shown) opposing all the pixel electrodes, and therefore a capacitor CLC formed by the liquid crystal layer is connected between the source electrode of the thin film transistor TFT and the common electrode in an electrical equivalent circuit.
[0138] An additional capacitance CADD is connected between the source electrode of the thin film transistor TFT and an immediately preceding gate electrode line G.
[0139] All the gate electrodes of thin film transistors TFT in the same row among the thin film transistors TFT arranged in a matrix fashion are connected to one of the gate electrode lines G, and each of the gate electrode lines G is connected to vertical scanning circuits 5 disposed on opposite sides of the display area 3 .
[0140] All the drain electrodes of thin film transistors TFT in the same column among the thin film transistors TET arranged in the matrix fashion are connected to one of the drain electrode lines D, and each of the drain electrode lines D is connected to a horizontal scanning circuit 4 disposed below the display area 3 . Each of the drain electrode lines D is also connected to a precharge circuit 6 disposed above the display area 3 .
[0141] Voltage levels of control signals input via control signal input terminals 9 , 10 are level-shifted by level converter circuits 7 in accordance with one of the above embodiments, and are supplied to the horizontal scanning circuit 4 , the vertical scanning circuit 5 and the precharge circuit 6 . In this embodiment, the polysilicon MOS transistors forming the level converter circuits 7 are fabricated on the transparent insulating substrate SUB 1 simultaneously with the thin film transistors TFT of the pixels.
[0142] In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel has incorporated therein the level converter circuits for converting signals (generally 0 to 5 V, 0 to 3.5 V or 0 to 3 V) input from an external circuit into signals of amplitudes (generally high voltages) sufficient to drive the liquid crystal display panel and the circuits formed by polysilicon MOS transistors. Therefore, the present embodiment makes it possible to drive the liquid crystal display panel with output signals from standard logic ICs.
[0143] In the liquid crystal display module using polysilicon MOS transistors, of this Embodiment also, the first gate electrode line G 1 , for example, is selected by the vertical scanning circuit 5 during one horizontal scanning period, and during this period the horizontal scanning circuit 4 outputs sampling pulses to drive a sample-and-hold circuit SH (not shown) such that analog video signals supplied from video signal input terminals 8 are supplied to each of the drain electrode lines D.
[0144] In this embodiment, the analog video signals whose frequencies are divided by 12 are supplied from the video signal input terminals 8 , and therefore with one sampling pulse, analog video signals are supplied to twelve drain electrode lines D, respectively.
[0145] Further, within a retrace time of one horizontal scanning period, the precharge circuit 6 supplies a precharge voltage input from a precharge voltage input terminal 11 to each of the drain electrode lines D.
[0146] In this embodiment, one of the level converter circuits of the embodiments of the present invention is used as the level converter circuit 7 , and therefore this circuit reduces variations of phases of the sampling pulses and durations of the H level supplied from the horizontal scanning circuit 4 , even if variations occur in the threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors forming the level converter circuit.
[0147] Consequently, this embodiment prevent occurrence of a ghost in an image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel, and improves the quality of the displayed image compared with that obtained by the prior art.
[0148] The present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal display module of the analog-sampling active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors, but is also applicable to a liquid crystal display module of the digital-signal-input active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors shown in FIG. 12 .
[0149] The liquid crystal display module of the digital-signal-input active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors shown in FIG. 12 is the same as the liquid crystal display module of the analog-sampling active-matrix type using polysilicon MOS transistors shown in FIG. 11 , except that the liquid crystal display module of the digital-signal-input active-matrix type is provided with a D/A converter DAC connected to the video signal input terminals 8 .
[0150] The D/A converter DAC of the liquid crystal display module of FIG. 12 is also comprised of polysilicon thin film transistors fabricated simultaneously with the thin film transistors TFT forming pixels, and therefore digital video signals can be input directly into the liquid crystal display panel.
[0151] Further, level converter circuits 7 in accordance with one of the above-described embodiments are provided between the D/A converter DAC and the video signal input terminals 8 , and therefore output signals from standard logic ICs can be input directly to the video signal input terminals 8 .
[0152] In the level converter circuit 7 formed by polysilicon thin film transistors in accordance with one of the above-described embodiments, delay times vary little with the variations of threshold voltages VTH of the polysilicon MOS transistors, and a portion of data is not inverted in the D/A converter DAC and therefore defective displays do not occur.
[0153] The inventions made by the present inventors have been explained concretely based upon the above embodiments, but the present inventions are not limited to the above embodiments and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present inventions. For example, the active-matrix display panel shown in FIG. 11 can be used for an electroluminescent (EL) display device.
[0154] The following explains briefly advantages obtained by representative ones of the inventions disclosed in this specification.
[0155] (1) The level converter circuits of the present invention can reduce the total number of transistors required for the level converter circuit.
[0156] (2) The level converter circuits of the present invention can reduce influences due to variations of threshold voltages of transistors forming the level converter circuit.
[0157] (3) The liquid crystal display device of the present invention can improve the quality of images displayed on its display panel. | A display device includes a pixel driver circuit. Each of level converter circuits in the pixel driver circuit has an input terminal supplied with a signal swinging between a first voltage and a second voltage lower than the first voltage; a first first-conductivity-type transistor having a gate electrode coupled to the input terminal, and a source region coupled to a reference voltage; a second second-conductivity-type transistor having a gate electrode coupled to a drain region of the first transistor, a source region-coupled to a power supply, and a drain region coupled to an output terminal; one circuit element among a diode, a resistor and a fourth second-conductivity-type transistor, coupled between the gate electrode of the second transistor and the power supply; a third first-conductivity-type transistor having a source region coupled to the input terminal, a drain region coupled to the output terminal, and a gate electrode supplied with a do voltage. | 6 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to eating utensils, and specifically to a utensil having functions relating both to a spoon and a straw.
Certain foods, such as ice cream, crushed ice beverages, and the like, are most suitably consumed with a utensil that combines the functions of a spoon, for transporting solid portions of the food product, and of a straw, for consuming the melt, or liquid portion of the food. Previous inventions integrate these functions by incorporating various combinations of a spoon and a straw. These inventions, however, suffer various disadvantages resulting from this integration. The present device overcomes these disadvantages by permitting the user to adopt commercially available straws properly suited to the particular container and the food being consumed.
BACKGROUND
U.S. Pat. No. 674,446 to Marx is called a “Spoon.” U.S. Pat. No. DES 259,533 to Frodsham is called a “Spoon straw.” These references illustrate a spoon/straw combination having a fluid intake orifice of a straw interposed within a bowl of the spoon section. A disadvantage of such a design is the inability to separate spooning and aspirating functions. Thus, fluid may enter the straw section while spooning, and inadvertently pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid. Furthermore, neither the Marx nor Frodsham structures permit aspiration of fluid unless the fluid is capable of being scooped into the bowl of the spoon section.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,606,039 called a “Combined Straw and Spoon Construction” and U.S. Pat. No. 1,666,106 called a “Spoon,” both to Norman are spoons with a holder mechanism for a straw. The Norman '039 and '106 references suffer from the disadvantage that a straw with a length longer than the length of the spoon is necessary for use of this feature. Also, as the holding mechanism of each reference is a clip mechanism, the straw is not firmly secured by the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,321 to Lewis is called a “Utensil with Both Spoon and Straw Functions.” The Lewis '321 reference is a straw with a concave attachment serving as a spoon on the upper side, and a tubular extension terminating downwards on the inferior side of the concavity as the straw extension. The Lewis '321 reference suffers from the disadvantage that although the spoon is broad, it is not deep. It cannot hold an amount similar to a regular spoon, yet the spoon is wide and prevents the straw from reaching the base of narrow containers. Also, as the spoon extension is detachable, the user risks the spoon slipping off, and burying itself into the food stuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,807 to Crane, et. al. is called a “Novelty Spoon.” The Crane '807 reference is a two-piece straw with a spoon integrally attached above the intake orifice of the straw. A decorative novelty lies on the top of the upper portion of the straw. The intake orifice end of the straw lies flush with the curvature of the underside of the spoon. A disadvantage of such a design is the inability to separate spooning and aspirating functions. Thus, fluid will enter the straw section while spooning, and may pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,662 to Coscia, et al. is called a “Spoon and Straw Combination Device.” The Coscia '662 reference is a one-piece straw and spoon with the intake orifice of the straw facing upwards from a reservoir under the concavity of the spoon. The '662 reference suffers from the disadvantage that the fixed angle of the spoon and straw, in combination with the superior angle of the straw intake orifice and width of the spoon body prevent the straw from withdrawing fluids from the container bottom. This disadvantage occurs because the user cannot place the intake point of the straw against the bottom of container except to point the handle completely sideways, at which point the intake orifice is still at some angle upwards more than 90 degrees from the bottom of the container, and draws in air.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 290,328 to Imotani is called a “Straw with a bowl-like head.” The '328 Imotani reference illustrates a spoon cavity attached to a straw member by means of two extension arms from the spoon cavity section. The straw intake orifice is situated above and proximate to the spoon cavity with no barrier to prevent fluid communication between the two operable sections. The device disclosed in the Imotani '328 reference provides fluid communication between a bowl of the spoon section and an intake orifice of the straw section. Thus, there is no separation of the spooning and aspirating functions. The device disclosed in the '328 Imotani reference has a further disadvantage that the straw intake orifice is necessarily elevated above the bottom of a comestible containing vessel by the height of the spoon cavity section. This prevents the straw intake orifice from effectively communicating with the bottom of the vessel, inhibiting the user of the device from drawing fluid from the bottom portion of the vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 316,503 to O'Grady is called a “Combined Spoon and Straw Holder.” The O'Grady '503 reference is a spoon with semi-circular clips on the handle for holding a separate straw. The concavity of the spoon faces upwards to the handle at an oblique angle, similar to a ladle. The O'Grady '503 reference suffers from the disadvantage that the straw may only extend only into the concavity of the spoon, and because of the spoon's width and height, the spoon is unable to withdraw fluids from the bottom of most containers.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 330,481 to Green is a called a “Spoon Straw.” The Green '481 reference is a one-piece hollow handle spoon with the intake orifice end of the straw running under spoon, and the intake orifice of the straw facing the same angle as the superior face of the distal end of the spoon. The Green '481 reference suffers from two disadvantages. First, the intake orifice of the straw cannot face downward flat against any usual beverage or dessert container. (It may work in that configuration if held with the spoon facing downwards into a broad and long container, such as a ‘boat’ tray.) Next, the ‘straw’ is only as long as the handle, thus requiring the user to place the users mouth very close to the container, which is difficult to do with flexible ice cream boats and yet not place the user's face into the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 370,587 to Lynch is called a “Spoon-Straw.” The Lynch '587 reference is a hollow spoon with the handle serving as a straw to the user's mouth. The spoon is a dual shell body with four triangular holes in the outer shell. These holes serve as the mouth of the straw. The Lynch '587 reference suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, fluid may enter the straw section while spooning, and inadvertently pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid. Second, as the four holes are located circumferentially about the face of the spoon, the entrance holes cannot all simultaneously be at the bottom of the beverage container, so suction is lost when the fluid level reaches the higher of holes. Additionally, the width of the spoon prevents the straw from withdrawing fluids near the bottom of containers narrower than the width of the spoon.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 440,810 to Olson is called a “Combined Drink Straw with Integral Spoon.” The Olsen '810 reference is a single piece of straight tubing terminating in a shovel-like spoon, The Olsen '810 reference is similar to the popular “Slurpee”® straw. The Olsen '810 reference suffers from several disadvantages: (1) if the straw is made of inflexible material, the straw opening cannot reach the bottom of containers narrower than the spoon; (2) if the straw is made of flexible material, the spoon cannot scoop firm semi-solid foods; and (3) if the straw is made of flexible material, the spoon cannot support the weight of semi-solid foods of other than much less than bite-size amounts.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 458,809 to Richardson, et al., is called a “Combination Spoon and Straw.” The Richardson '809 reference is a spoon with a straw integrally formed under the handle. The intake orifice end of the straw follows the contour of the underside of the spoon and terminates in an oblique entry point. The aspiration end of the straw incorporates a flexible accordion-fold terminal end to allow both extending and bending of the straw. The Richardson '809 reference suffers from the disadvantages that (1) the width of the spoon prevents the intake orifice from reaching containers narrower than the width of the spoon; (2) the straw diameter is fixed at one-size, and the invention does not permit the use of other commercially available straws with the invention; and (3) the invention is limited to a single use because its length and the accordion-fold are difficult to clean.
SUMMARY
The present device permits the consumer of foods, such as ice cream, crushed ice beverages, and the like to consume the solid portion the food, with the spoon capacity of an inflexible spoon, and to reach and consume the liquid, i.e., melt portion of the food, and the semi-liquid portion, including such portions as ‘trapped’ in a semi-solid state, too stiff to flow, and yet too deep to recover with a spoon.
The present device allows the user to insert and withdraw for use, a commercially available straw, either at full length, or where the user has cut the straw to a particular length, with the handle of the device serving in either case to hold the straw for the user. The user may use the straw either subsequent to the spoon function, or in alternate use of the straw to the spoon by retracting in the straw into the handle. This is a benefit over the references described above, as the straw does not interfere with the spoon.
Commercially available straws are generally made of soft plastic, and may be cut to a desired length by common cutting utensils. While cutting the straw to a shorter length is not required, the present device makes use of this advantage.
The present device overcomes disadvantages of the prior art by (1) allowing the use of almost any commercially available straw which straw (2) is easily cut to proper length by the user, and which straw (3) is held in position by the hollow handle (4) to reach at a downward facing angle, (5) even in the deepest or narrowest of beverage or dessert containers.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a spoon and straw combination formed as the present device has the advantage that the functions of spooning and sucking are distinct. A user of the utensil may spoon a food product without the risk of the fluid portion inadvertently entering the straw and leaking out the aspiration end. The user of the utensil may also alternate use of the spoon with the straw without the straw interfering with the spoon.
The present device overcomes other disadvantages of earlier devices because the spoon may be formed of (1) flexible material for lightweight use, or (2) of inflexible material to both (a) scoop semi-solid foods, and (b) support those foods for delivery to the user. In either case, common injection molding techniques allow inexpensive, mass-quantity production of the device, which overcomes the cost factor of steel tubular straw and spoon combinations.
The present device also overcomes the disadvantages of earlier devices since the present device is reusable because the lumen is short enough to wash and rinse.
The present device also overcomes the detachable spoon disadvantage of these devices, as the spoon is integral with the handle. While the straw extension of the present device is removable, it is light and long, and is less susceptible to bury itself into the food should the user drop the straw.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the utensil formed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of a utensil formed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows a bottom plan view of a utensil formed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a utensil formed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 a shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 shows a side view showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8 shows a side view showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10 shows a view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in communication with a typical comestible container;
FIG. 11 shows a view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in communication with a typical comestible container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the utensil of the present invention with the straw extended into the spoon cavity. The utensil includes a hollow handle 102 . Attached at the distal end of the hollow handle is a spoon cavity 104 . Within the hollow 106 of the handle 102 is a flexible and extendable straw 108 . The user extends the straw to place the suction end 110 of the straw in the foodstuff for aspiration. The user then draws on the opposing end 112 of the handle 102 to consume the foodstuff.
The spoon cavity 104 is formed from a continuous wall having a concave interior surface 114 and an exterior convex surface 116 . The spoon cavity 104 is affixed to the hollow handle 102 by a junction 118 . The junction 118 may take on several forms, as will be discussed in further detail, from simple bonding to a molded chamber. However, the junction 118 is always formed such that the suction end 110 of the straw is isolated from the interior surface 114 of the spoon cavity 104 . This prevents inadvertent fluid flow from the spoon cavity 104 into the hollow handle 102 , thereby providing for distinct functions of spooning and suction of the foodstuff.
FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of a utensil formed in accordance with the present device, showing the straw extension 108 placed into the spoon cavity. In this position, the straw allows the user to suck up liquid or semi-liquid food from the spoon cavity.
FIG. 3 shows a bottom plan view of a utensil formed in accordance with the present device, showing the straw extension 108 placed into the spoon cavity. In this position, the straw allows the user to suck up liquid or semi-liquid food from the spoon cavity.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view showing the straw extension 108 drawn within the hollow handle 102 for use of the device as a spoon. In this position, the straw does not interfere with using the spoon cavity to scoop up foods.
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the hollow handle 102 and narrowing of the interior 502 of the hollow handle 102 for holding different sizes of straws by friction with the interior handle walls.
FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the hollow handle 102 with a large lumen 602 for use with large diameter straws, and increasing gradients of interior detents 604 up the length of the lumen for holding different sizes of straws. The interior detents provide the geometric restriction for the straw.
FIG. 6 a shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the hollow handle 102 with a large lumen 602 for use with large diameter straws, and increasing gradients of interior detents 604 up the length of the lumen for holding different sizes of straws. The interior detents are distributed radially along the straw to increase the contact area of the geometric restriction for the straw.
FIG. 7 shows a side view showing an alternative embodiment of the device with a round exterior 702 of the hollow handle 102 having a roughened surface 704 for holding of the device by persons with lessened dexterity.
FIG. 8 shows a side view showing an alternative embodiment of the device with the mouthpiece 802 at the aspiration end of the handle bent into a natural position for use by reclined persons.
FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of the device showing the upwardly concave dish as changeable in the present device. Thus the user can exchange one style of spoon cavity (e.g., ice cream) for a different style of spoon cavity (e.g., soup). Here junction 118 serves to hold the spoon to the hollow handle. A small flexible clip molded in the wall of the junction may serve as the securing method of the junction. Other equivalent securing methods, such as rotating nubs, and friction-fit walls that are previously known and used in the art are suitable here.
FIG. 10 shows a view of a preferred embodiment of the present device in use with a typical foodstuff container and semi-liquid foodstuff.
FIG. 11 shows a view of a preferred embodiment of the present device in use with a typical foodstuff container and semi-liquid foodstuff.
FIGS. 1 and 2 also show that when the concave dish interior 104 faces upwardly, the elongated member 102 and the hollow portion 106 are on the same side of concave dish interior 104 as is the proximal edge of the concave dish 118 with respect to the exterior of the dish 116 . This positioning allows the flexible tube to extend from the hollow portion above the concave dish without entering the concave dish, as shown in FIG. 7 . This is advantageous over the prior art for two reasons. First, the straw may be used to consume foodstuff from the container without the spoon entering the foodstuff, similar to as shown in FIG. 8 . Second, the spoon may be used to withdraw foodstuff from the container without the foodstuff spilling out the hollow portion, as is possible with the prior art. | An eating utensil for consumption of liquid, semi-liquid, semi-solid, and solid foodstuffs through the use of a combination spoon and straw. | 0 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention addresses an apparatus and a method which enable smoothly covering a surface of a substrate with a liquid or a substance dissolved in a liquid, and in particular a concept which enables uniformly applying a chemical coating to a substrate. In particular, one-sided coating, etching, cleaning, drying of flat objects such as, for example, plate-shaped panes of glass or flexible materials is made possible.
[0002] Applications wherein carrier substrates may be covered with a thin layer of an additional material are manifold. In this context, the additionally applied layer may be active, for example, i.e. exhibit, e.g., an optical or electrical function. Examples of this are application of a photosensitive layer in the production of solar cells or application of a thin phosphorus layer onto a CCD so as to provide same with a conversion layer, so that the CCD in combination with the conversion layer will also be sensitive to X-radiation. In the event of smooth coating with thin layers performing no active functions, the coating frequently serves as a mechanical protection, as is the case, for example, with audio CDs. Here, after production of the CD, a protective layer of a transparent synthetic resin is applied to the optically readable side of the CCD so as to protect same against damage. In this context, the layer thickness of the protective layer may be applied as smoothly as possible over the entire blank CD so as not to influence, in dependence on the position, the optical properties with regard to, e.g., absorption and reflection behavior of a CCD.
[0003] When applying optically or electrically active layers, too, the smoothness of the application, or adherence to a specific desired layer thickness is a major objective, since the layer thickness or its homogeneity has an immediate influence on, e.g., the optical or electrical parameters of a component produced by means of coating.
[0004] In lithographic methods which include processing a semiconductor surface by means of etching, it is essential that the semiconductor surface may be covered in a controlled manner with an etchant at a uniform thickness and, so that progression of the etching is effected at the same speed over the entire surface area of the semiconductor to be processed.
[0005] Conventionally, one has known various methods of achieving smooth coating of a surface. With CDs, for example, the surface to be coated is made to rotate fast, a material used for the coating then being applied in the vicinity of the axis of rotation, so that the material is automatically distributed, by the centrifugal forces, on the surface of the disk, to which it adheres in a uniform layer thickness on account of adhesive forces. Further methods known are, for example, electroplating, i.e. electrochemical deposition of ions which are dissolved in a liquid onto a surface as well as spraying a surface or dipping surfaces to be coated into a bath of the material used for coating.
[0006] With chemical methods based on that at least two reagents, which may form, by chemical reaction, the material used for coating, are applied to the surface of a substrate so that, because of the chemical reaction, the material will deposit on the surface, a number of further basic conditions are to be observed. For one thing, the chemical reaction forming the coating material does not take place on the surface only, but also within the volume of liquid formed of the reagents mixed. Depending on the reaction rate, it is therefore at least inconvenient or even impossible to keep a large stock of premixed reagents so as to perform, for example, a dipping process since, within the large volume of liquid kept on stock, the reagents will consume themselves, as it were, by reacting. In this manner, valuable reagents will be wasted, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, future coating processes using the consumed mixture of reagents will no longer be possible. The time limit for processing additionally suggests economic use of the mixture of reagents during application to the surface to be coated since it will be difficult to reuse the mixture of reagents for further processing once it flows off or is removed from the surface. Methods wherein a mixture of reagents is distributed on the surface by means of rotation, for example, are therefore disadvantageous since most of the mixture of reagents is removed from or centrifuged off the surface.
[0007] A method of achieving accelerated reaction of the reagents not before they reach the surface of the substrate to be coated is described by the international patent publication WO 03/021648 A1, which describes a chemical surface-coating process for forming an ultra-thin semiconducting film of group IIB-VIA components on a substrate. In this context, a premixed liquid composition containing group IIB and group VIA components is disposed on a heated substrate, so that, on account of the heat of the substrate, a heterogeneous reaction between the different group elements of the liquid coating is enabled. The reaction on the surface of the substrate is accelerated by supplying thermal energy.
SUMMARY
[0008] According to an embodiment, an apparatus for smoothly covering a surface of a substrate with a liquid may have: a holder for the substrate, which is implemented to fix the substrate such that a process volume is formed by the surface of the substrate and the holder; a wetter implemented to introduce the liquid into the process volume onto the surface of the substrate; and a swayer implemented to tilt the holder including the substrate relative to first and second axes, the first and second axes being arranged in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate and forming a predetermined angle relative to each other so as to thereby distribute the liquid on the surface of the substrate.
[0009] According to another embodiment, a method of smoothly covering a surface of a substrate with a liquid may have the steps of: fixing the substrate, so that a process volume is formed by the surface of the substrate and a holder; introducing the liquid into the process volume onto the surface of the substrate; and tilting the holder and the substrate relative to first and second axes, the first and second axes being arranged in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate and forming a predetermined angle relative to each other so as to thereby distribute the liquid on the surface of the substrate.
[0010] In this context, the present invention is based on the finding that the surface of a substrate may be smoothly covered with a liquid when the substrate is fixed in a holding means which forms, together with the surface of the substrate, a process volume into which the liquid may be applied to the surface of the substrate by means of a wetting means, and when, in addition, the holding means including the substrate is set in a swaying motion by means of a swaying means, so that the liquid will smoothly spread on the surface of the substrate. By the swaying motion, concentration of the volume of liquid at a specific location of the substrate surface is prevented, since the direction of motion of the liquid changes constantly. In addition, the consumption of reagents or liquids for coating may be reduced to a large extent since, due to the constantly changing direction of motion of the liquid on the surface of the substrate, the surface is smoothly covered without a large amount of liquid being lost at the edges of the substrate by flowing off the substrate surface.
[0011] Thus, coating, etching, cleaning and drying of flat objects, such as plate-shaped panes of glass or flexible materials, in a one-sided manner is enabled in accordance with the invention. Flat objects, i.e. objects having small thicknesses in a direction perpendicular to an extensive main surface shall be referred to below in summary as substrates. These may be, for example, panes of glass, semiconductor surfaces or similar objects, which may also be flexible.
[0012] In accordance with the invention, such a substrate may be treated, for example, with CdS made of the reagents ammonia, water, cadmium sulphate or acetate, and thiourea. Treatment with additional components such as alternative reagents, e.g. with Zn acetate, is also possible.
[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention a substrate to be covered is fixed in a holding means, the substrate being pressed, from the bottom of the substrate, against a process chamber of the holding means by means of a support frame, said holding means forming a process volume along with the surface of the substrate. The process chamber is configured such that it provides sealants at the edges adjoining the surface of the substrate, so that a liquid applied to the surface of the substrate by means of a wetting means cannot flow off the surface. The holding means is moved, along with the substrate fixed by it, in a swaying manner by a swaying means, i.e. the angle of inclination of the surface of the substrate relative to a starting position parallel to the surface is continually changed in a controlled manner, the liquid located on the surface of the substrate flowing in constantly changing directions on account of the influence of gravity. Swaying of the surface may be caused such that the surface is tilted relative to two axes located in a plane which extends in parallel with the substrate surface. To enable swaying in all directions, the two axes may have an angle relative to each other which may amount to 90°, for example. The axes in relation to which the plane is tilted may also be variable in time. A swaying motion, i.e. tilting of the plane, may be caused, for example, by supporting the substrate at 3 points (which define a plane), it being possible to independently move the 3 supporting points in a direction horizontal to the substrate surface.
[0014] Because of the constant swaying motion, which may be effected as early as at the start of wetting by the wetting means, the liquid introduced into the process volume is smoothly distributed so that, with chemical coating of the surface, a surface coating having a uniform thickness distribution will result. Edge effects, which would arise on the walls of the process volume because of adhesive forces if the surface is only sprayed with the liquid in a uniformly thin manner, are also avoided, in particular, by the swaying. Such edge effects would result in that at the edges of the substrate, where the surface of the substrate adjoins the holding means, a thicker layer of liquid would be present on the surface of the substrate than in the central areas of the substrate, so that a coating resulting therefrom would no longer be homogenous in terms of thickness. This may be avoided in a simple and efficient manner by the swaying motion.
[0015] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the wetting means enables simultaneous introduction of different liquids into the process volume, so that, with chemical coating, mixing of the reagents forming the coating is not effected until the very moment that the surface of the substrate is being wetted, so that no reduction in efficiency or wasting of the reagents results, as it is the case when they are already previously mixed and are kept on stock in a mixed state.
[0016] To further reduce the mixing time and thus to further increase efficiency, the wetting means in one further embodiment of the present invention comprises a mixing means into which different liquids (for example reagents of a chemical coating) flow prior to application to the surface of the substrate, so that faster and smoother mixing may be achieved.
[0017] In other words, metering of the reagents applied to the substrate may be performed in different ways. With individual metering onto the substrate, the chemicals are supplied to the process chamber or to the process volume individually. Depending on the process requirements, the order of the metering and the duration of the metering (the metering time) may be specified. With mixing-tank metering, various chemicals may be premixed in a mixing tank and supplied to the substrate or the process volume.
[0018] In a further embodiment of the present invention, combined metering is possible wherein some of the chemicals are premixed in a mixing tank or a mixing pipe so as to be supplied to the process chamber in a premixed state. Further reagents may be directly applied to the substrate or supplied to the process chamber without being premixed with other reagents. In this context, the order of the supply and the respective metering-in time may be freely chosen and/or varied.
[0019] In addition, it is possible in accordance with the invention to perform metering with the swaying motion switched on, so as to efficiently utilize, all in all, the time taken for metering or supplying the chemicals.
[0020] A multitude of sensors or aggregates may be used for metering, i.e. for determining the volume or amount supplied (weight or similar), such as, for example, a weighing cell, a float switch, a vane flow meter, or a metering pump.
[0021] In a further embodiment of the present invention it is possible, in addition, to bring the reagents to be supplied to a temperature different from the substrate temperature. This means, consequently, that the reagents may be applied to the substrate in a cooled state, at room temperature or in a heated state. Therefore, depending on the specific process requirements, all or some metering techniques used may optionally be equipped with stirrers, heaters or coolers.
[0022] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the process volume formed by the holding means may be sealed in a gas-tight manner, so that there is no danger of any negative effects on the environment even when using gassing reagents which are dangerous to health.
[0023] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the holding means is implemented such that the component of the holding means which limits the process volume exhibits, when being placed onto the substrate, a spatial overlap with the substrate which does not exceed 5% of the surface of the substrate, so that, in accordance with the invention, only a small fraction of the available substrate surface is made inaccessible for further process steps by the sealing off.
[0024] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the holding means is implemented such that in an open state it allows unimpeded access to the substrate from at least one side of the holding means, so that in the open state of the holding means the substrate may both be moved into and out of the area of the holding means.
[0025] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the inventive apparatus additionally comprises a heating means implemented to heat the substrate to a predetermined heating temperature so that, because of the thermal energy supplied, a chemical process which may produce a material to be coated is accelerated mainly on the surface of the substrate. In this context, the swaying ensures that the concentration of the reagents is the same, on average, at every location of the surface, so that the reaction rate of the reagents on the surface of the substrate may be increased without obtaining a locally increased layer thickness, for example at the location where the chemicals are fed in. In this manner, inevitable losses due to reagents which do not react on the surface of the substrate may be further reduced.
[0026] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is heated to a higher temperature along with the chemical supplied. This means that the substrate is press-fitted onto the heater. The reagents are added. The heating temperature is still below the starting temperature for the chemical reaction. In particular, this also means that at the beginning the temperature of the substrate is lower than or equal to the temperature of the chemical. During the swaying motion, the heating temperature is slowly increased to the desired value. In this manner, a slow start of the reaction and smooth coating takes place. This is possible, in particular, since the temperature of the substrate at the moment of feeding in the chemical is still below the reaction temperature of the chemical, i.e. also below the temperature of the chemical, so that the coating process is not started as early as at the first contact of the chemical being fed in.
[0027] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the holding device is implemented such that, in the open state, a substrate, for example a glass plate, may be transported into the holding device or out from same from one side of the holding device by means of conventional handling equipment, i.e. using a common transport means, so that the inventive apparatus may readily be integrated into existing production plants.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Embodiments of the present invention will be detailed subsequently referring to the appended drawings, in which:
[0029] FIGS. 1 a - c show an embodiment of an inventive holding device with a direction of motion of the swaying motion;
[0030] FIG. 2 shows a side view of an embodiment of a inventive apparatus for smoothly coating a surface; and
[0031] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of an embodiment of an inventive apparatus for smoothly coating a surface of a substrate;
[0032] FIG. 4 shows a further sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 6 shows a top view of an embodiment of the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of an inventive swaying means; and
[0036] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] FIGS. 1 a to 1 c show a schematic representation of the mode of operation of the inventive apparatus for smoothly wetting a surface of a substrate.
[0038] In a side view and a perspective view, FIGS. 1 a to 1 c show the substrate 10 and the holding means consisting of an upper part 12 a and a lower part 12 b.
[0039] FIG. 1 a shows the open state of the holding means, and FIGS. 1 b and 1 c show its closed state.
[0040] As is shown in FIG. 1 a , the upper part 12 a and the lower part 12 b of the holding means are initially spatially separate, the substrate 10 being located between the upper part 12 a and the lower part 12 b , it being possible, in industrial application, for said substrate 10 to be transported there by means of conventional substrate handling equipment.
[0041] In the closed state of the holding means the substrate 10 is pressed against the upper part 12 a by the lower part 12 b , so that the surface of the substrate 10 which is to be coated (top) forms, together with the upper part 12 a of the holding means, a process volume into which chemicals may be introduced into the process volume onto the surface of the substrate through an opening 14 .
[0042] In accordance with the invention, the holding means including the substrate 10 is fixed on a swaying means which may tilt the holding means including the substrate relative to at least two non-parallel axes, so that the entire arrangement is set in a swaying motion. The swaying motion is characterized in that the arrangement does not undergo, as averaged over time, either any rotation or any translation, but that the plane formed by the surface of the substrate is tilted in continually changing orientations relative to its starting position. As an example of potential axes by which the tilting for producing the swaying motion may be effected, mutually orthogonal tilting directions 16 a and 16 b are only given as an example in FIG. 1 b . The swaying mechanism may be realized, for example, by means of three hydraulic supports which are controllable separately from one another, as is depicted in FIG. 1 c.
[0043] FIG. 1 c shows, as the swaying means, three individually controllable hydraulic cylinders 18 a to 18 c on which the underside 12 b of the holding means is borne. The plane defined by the bearing points of the hydraulic cylinders 18 a to 18 c , which is parallel to the surface of the substrate 10 , may now be tilted into any orientation desired by independently moving the individual hydraulic cylinders, which may cause, in accordance with the invention, a swaying motion of the holding means.
[0044] What is advantageous in this context is that chemicals used for coating the substrate may also be placed into the opening 14 as late as during the swaying motion, so as not to start a chemical reaction until directly at the start of the coating process. This is advantageous, for example, in increasing the efficiency of coating glass plates with CdS made of the reagents ammonia water, cadmium sulphate or cadmium acetate, thiourea, deionized water.
[0045] A major advantage of the holding means further consists in that substrates of various thicknesses may be fixed by means of the clamping mechanism since the fixing is defined via the pressure applied. Adjustment of a clearance corresponding to the thickness of the substrate is therefore not necessary, which enables flexible utilization even with different successive substrates.
[0046] FIG. 2 shows a side view of an embodiment of an inventive apparatus for smoothly covering a surface of a substrate. What is shown is an upper part 20 a and a lower part 20 b of a holding means, the upper part 20 a forming, along with the substrate, the process chamber. What is also depicted is a glass plate 22 representing the substrate to be coated, hydraulic cylinders 24 a , 24 b and 24 c (cylinders for lifting/lowering and press-fitting the process chamber) as well as auxiliary hydraulic cylinders 26 a and 26 b (cylinders for glass-pane centering device). In addition, guide bars 28 a and 28 b are shown which ensure that a motion of the upper part 20 a of the holding device relative to the lower part 20 b may take place only in the vertical direction along a precisely defined axis.
[0047] The hydraulic cylinders 24 a, b and c are connected to the ground via the pistons, a compensating element 27 a being located at the end of the dynamic travel, i.e. at the end of the hydraulic pistons. The auxiliary hydraulic cylinders 26 a and 26 b are stabilized by means of two guide bars 27 b and 27 c extending within a guide bearing 27 d which enables them to be made to travel in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate (a direction of motion 32 ). The auxiliary hydraulic cylinders 26 a and 26 b are connected to the two guide bars via a fork head 27 e.
[0048] FIG. 2 shows the inventive apparatus for smoothly covering a surface of a substrate in an open position, into which the substrate 22 or the pane of glass may be transported, in a feed direction 30 , into or out of the apparatus by means of commercial substrate handling equipment. A direction of motion 32 , along which the upper part 20 a may move relative to the lower part 20 b of the holding device, is specified essentially by the guide bars 28 a and 28 b . On one side, the guide bars 28 a and 28 b are fixedly anchored with the ground by means of a guide lock 27 f . On the other side, the guide bars are held by means of a guide bearing 27 g fixed relative to the upper part 20 a . The guide bearing enables the upper part 20 a to be moved in the direction of motion 32 , it being possible to precisely define the direction of motion by the guide bearings and the guide bars 28 a and 28 b , so that the hydraulic cylinders 24 a , 24 b and 24 c now only have to produce the force that may be employed for movement, however without having to precisely define the direction of the motion itself. The glass plate 22 may be fixed in the holding means in that it is clamped between the upper part 20 a and the lower part 20 b of the holding means. Therefore, plastic boards are mounted on the lower part 20 b on the side facing the glass plate 22 , so as to prevent the glass plate from being damaged. In addition, a seal is provided on the underside of the upper part 20 a , so that, when the glass plate 22 is pressed against the upper surface 20 a of the holding means, it will define, along with the upper part 20 a of the holding means, a process volume from which a liquid introduced into the process volume cannot flow out.
[0049] For closing the holding device, the glass plate 22 is initially lifted by means of the auxiliary cylinders 26 a and 26 b and claws 34 a and 34 b arranged on the auxiliary cylinders 26 a and 26 b , and is pressed against the upper part 20 a of the holding means. The pressure need not be strong enough for achieving complete sealing off, since this process only serves to prevent the glass plate 22 from slipping out of place during subsequent lowering of the upper part 20 a with the glass plate 22 pressed against the upper part. Complete closure is then achieved by means of the hydraulic cylinders 24 a to 24 c which lower the upper part 20 a until it makes contact with the lower part 20 b , so that the glass plate is clamped in between the upper part 20 a and the lower part 20 b , the fitting pressure having to be metered by the hydraulic cylinders 24 a to 24 c such that sealing off is achieved between the upper part 20 a and the glass plate 22 . After lowering the upper part 20 a , a configuration is thus achieved wherein a substrate 22 or a glass plate is fixed, by means of the holding means, such that a process volume is formed by the surface of the substrate and the holding device. As was already mentioned, the glass plate 22 comes to rest on the plastic boards 27 h , which are arranged on a support frame 27 i bearing the mechanical load. Venting slots 27 j are further arranged in the plastic boards so as to enable air trapped between the glass plate and the plastic boards when the glass plate 22 is press-fitted to escape. In addition, recesses for centering fingers 27 k are provided in the plastic boards and in the support frame, so that centering fingers which are fixedly arranged relative to the upper part 20 a may ensure that the upper part 20 a and the lower part 20 b will be press-fitted in a fixed, predetermined position relative to each other. A liquid or a mixture of chemicals may now be placed into the process chamber onto the surface of the substrate by means of a wetting means or a feed opening 36 so as to perform a coating process.
[0050] In accordance with the invention, the holding means depicted in FIG. 2 is secured to a swaying means which sets the entire arrangement in a swaying motion so as to enable smoothly covering the surface of the pane of glass 22 .
[0051] For supplying or removing a substrate or a glass plate 22 , the substrate may be removed from or transported into the inventive apparatus at a suitable point of transfer or by means of suitable measures (along the disk feed direction 30 ) by means of conventional substrate handling equipment. In this context, the point of transfer or the handling equipment may be a commercial roller track, a belt drive or the like. Advantageously, the go end (that side of the glass plate which is to be coated), which is the upper side, is not mechanically contacted either with the handling equipment or within the inventive apparatus, since this glass plate may be pretreated, for example its state may be wet, moist or completely dry.
[0052] As may be seen in FIG. 2 , handling equipment may introduce the substrate into the open process arrangement through a front opening (right-hand side). In this context, the substrate is initially lowered down onto a holding and centering device to a position between the open upper part 20 a and the support frame or the lower part 20 b . In one embodiment of the present invention, the centering device initially moves the glass plate upward and presses it against a circumferential seal (edge exclusion). In this manner, it may be prevented that the substrate 20 is displaced relative to the chamber when the chamber is lowered and press-fitted. Subsequently, the process chamber or the upper part 20 a may be lowered and press-fitted, on one side, with the substrate 20 , so that the substrate 20 is pressed between the upper part 20 a and the support frame or lower part 20 b , and is sealed off against the upper part 20 a by means of a circumferential seal.
[0053] In addition, the pane of glass may be heated from the bottom by means of the substrate heating, the one-side thorough warming of the substrate from below being realized by means of a heating mat, an infrared emitter, a recirculation air heater, a water bath or a heat exchanger plate, by which channels introducing heat into the system using hot water or oil of a tempering device are realized.
[0054] During the process taking place in the process volume, the process chamber is moved by means of a swaying motion so that the chemical is smoothly mixed and is smoothly distributed on the surface of the substrate up to the edge exclusion. The chemical, which is introduced in a metered manner into the process chamber from the top end via a static mixer, may also be metered and introduced into the process volume during the swaying motion which is to smoothly distribute the chemical on the surface.
[0055] In one embodiment of the present invention, opening and closing the process chamber, i.e. moving the upper part 20 a and/or the lower part 20 b is performed pneumatically. In this context, the structural arrangement of the lift cylinders provides a front opening which extends along the longitudinal side and through which a substrate may be introduced into the process chamber (along the disk feed direction 30 ). This feeding-in may be performed by means of commercial glass-plate handling equipment.
[0056] To enable precise press-fitting, the substrate is placed onto centering pins, for example, by the handling equipment, it being possible for the centering pins to be positioned at an exact transfer height relative to the handling equipment by means of pneumatic cylinders.
[0057] In this context, the handling equipment is advantageously implemented such that it will move outward from the area of the process chamber after placing the substrate onto the centering pins, so that the substrate may be moved upward against the circumferential seal and readily press-fitted by the cylinder pins by means of a pneumatic drive. As has already been mentioned, this prevents the substrate or the glass plate 20 from slipping out of place when the upper part 20 a of the process chamber is lowered. When the process chamber lid 20 a is lowered, the substrate or the pane of glass 20 is pressed against a support frame or against the lower part 20 b . The support frame has grooves milled into it, for example, so as to embed the cylinder pins guiding the substrate. In addition, the support frame is provided with a plastic board, for example, which equalizes the fitting pressure, the plastic frame advantageously also having slots arranged therein which allow the air cushion below the substrate to escape.
[0058] The cylinders enabling pressing the glass plate against an object or lifting the glass plate may be operated pneumatically, hydraulically or even by means of a spindle drive. In addition, other linear drives are also feasible. Should the pressing cylinder be operated hydraulically or pneumatically, the fitting pressure may be monitored and signaled via an analog pressure sensor, for example. It is thus possible, in accordance with the invention, to press and seal off different substrate thicknesses.
[0059] As has already been mentioned, the substrate may be lifted at the “untreated side” prior to and after a process, and in doing so the coated side may not be contacted. Depending on the type of heater used, different lifting and centering devices are advantageously used in this context. One possible implementation is a static finger, for example, which is cranked around the support frame or the lower part 20 b . When the process chamber is lifted, the disk is automatically also lifted from below so that the disk may be engaged from below. Equivalent lifting may also be performed by means of cylinders.
[0060] Lifting may also be realized by a cylinder integrated with a spring and a take-up ram in the support frame or lower part 20 b . Preferably, the ram is made from a turned part, for example, so that twisting the cylinder cannot have any influence on the lifting of the disk.
[0061] In the case of substrate heating by means of a heating plate, a cylinder may be mounted, for example, below the heating plate at at least three locations, said cylinder being able to extend upward through the heating plate which at these locations is provided with a bore, so as to lift the disk.
[0062] What is also possible is the implementation by means of a double-lift cylinder mounted outside the process chamber. When the process chamber is opened, the double-lift cylinder is actuated, for example, such that it may laterally swivel small saddles/cantilevers into the free space below the seal of the lower part 20 b via four levers. The substrate may be lowered down onto saddles which are swiveled into place in such a manner, the substrate being transferred on spring seats and thereby being centered while the chamber is lowered down. Press-fitting of the disk is enabled, for example, in that the saddles swivel outward prior to press-fitting.
[0063] FIG. 3 shows a sectional image of a view of the inventive apparatus of FIG. 2 , the section extending in a plane perpendicular to the view in FIG. 2 , and the sectional plane extending between the hydraulic cylinder 24 a and the hydraulic cylinder 24 b , the sectional view additionally being represented such that the line of vision is in the direction of the hydraulic cylinder 24 b.
[0064] The process chamber limited by the upper part of the holding device 20 a is shown in a closed state, i.e. the glass plate 22 is clamped in between the upper part 20 a and the lower part 20 b of the holding means. In addition, a hydraulic cylinder 24 a is shown which can already be seen in the side view of FIG. 2 , and, in addition, a hydraulic cylinder 24 d which is opposite the hydraulic cylinder 24 a on the opposite side of the upper part 20 a and which cannot be seen there because of the perspective of the view of FIG. 2 . The arrangement of the hydraulic cylinders is symmetric, in particular, so that all in all six hydraulic cylinders are used for lowering and lifting the upper part 20 a , as may be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3 .
[0065] In addition, an example is represented of an inventive wetting means 50 comprising inlet valves 50 a and a mixer 50 b (static mixer). A plurality of different reagents or chemicals may be introduced into the process volume by means of the inlet valves 50 a or valve technology, the wetting means additionally comprising, in the depicted embodiment of the present invention, a mixing means 50 b (static mixer) to facilitate and accelerate thorough mixing of the liquids introduced into the mixing means 50 b by means of the valves 50 a . The effectiveness of a coating process is increased in that a mixture which is already homogenous is applied to the surface of the glass plate 22 , and in doing so, the time from the beginning of the process of mixing the various chemicals to the beginning of the chemical reaction on the surface of the substrate, i.e. the desired coating process, is kept as short as possible, in addition, in an advantageous manner in accordance with the invention.
[0066] Moreover, FIG. 3 shows first and second mechanical cantilevers 52 a and 52 b , the cantilevers 52 a and 52 b serving as mechanical engagement points of a swaying means in order to enable swaying of the entire arrangement shown in FIG. 3 , and being arranged offset to each other in relation to a direction perpendicular to the sectional direction, so that swaying may be achieved by means of three mechanical cantilevers arranged offset to one another, as will be explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 .
[0067] Various metering techniques are possible for the mixing means or the wetting means 50 , depending on the process requirement. In principle, any potential metering techniques may optionally be equipped with stirrers or heaters, for which purpose commercial sensors and aggregates are used, for example, for metering, such as weighing cells, float switches, vane flow meters and metering pumps.
[0068] A concept for individual metering may be followed wherein the chemicals of the process chamber are supplied to the process chamber individually, where they may be mixed by means of the static mixer 50 b within the process chamber prior to hitting the substrate.
[0069] Also, mixing-tank metering is possible, in which case the chemical is at least partly premixed in a mixing tank and supplied to the process chamber. In this context, additional individual chemicals may be added to the mixture by means of the static mixer 50 b below the chemicals inflow neck. All mixer methods may additionally also take place with the swaying motion already switched on.
[0070] In summary, the present invention thus is an apparatus and a method for coating, etching, cleaning, drying flat objects such as plate-shaped panes of glass, for example. The inventive concept is suitable, for example, for enabling glass plates comprising CdS made of the reagents of ammonia water, cadmium sulphate or cadmium acetate, thiourea, deionized water and potential additional components. Flat object such as glass plates shall be generally referred to as substrates below.
[0071] The present invention allows performing one-sided coatings with a small amount of edge exclusion in a low-cost and environmentally sound manner, it being possible, in addition, to process a large variety of substrate thicknesses without having to perform costly mechanical adaptation to the various substrate thicknesses.
[0072] FIG. 4 shows a further sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention which is depicted in FIG. 3 , the section in the view depicted in FIG. 4 running in a sectional plane perpendicular to the plane of the view of FIG. 3 , and the section being made centrally through the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 , the line of vision being selected such that it points from the hydraulic cylinder 24 b to the direction of the hydraulic cylinder 24 e . Elements already shown in FIG. 3 which are equal in structure are provided with the same reference numerals. Thus, the descriptions of the individual components of FIGS. 3 and 4 are also mutually applicable.
[0073] In addition to the components shown in FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 shows a hydraulic cylinder 24 d and an auxiliary hydraulic cylinder 26 c which, for reasons of perspective, are not visible in FIGS. 2 and 3 , but which have the same functionality as the hydraulic cylinders 24 a to c and 26 a and b , respectively, which were already described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . In addition, FIG. 4 shows a drain valve 54 which may be used for removing the chemicals introduced into the process volume when a process module 60 as is depicted with reference to FIG. 4 is tilted relative to an axis extending perpendicular to the surface of the sectional view. As soon as the tilting angle exceeds 90° in a tilting operation to the left, the mixture of chemicals present within the process volume may flow off through the drain valve 54 . In one embodiment of the present invention, which shall be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 , a tilting mechanism is therefore provided which enables tilting of the process arrangement 60 .
[0074] Once the end of the process is reached, i.e. once coating or etching is terminated, the process arrangement 60 may also be drained by swiveling by >90°. Said swiveling may also enable, for example, servicing from the rear side of the process arrangement, i.e. from the underside 20 b . In addition, rinsing and pre-drying of the chamber may be provided after draining, for which purpose nozzles pointing into the process volume may be mounted which will introduce a rinsing agent into the chamber, for example in the state where the chamber is tilted to be emptied. After the rinsing process, the chamber is then flipped back. The centering device may subsequently move downward with the lower part 20 b and release the glass plate 22 for a handling system. When being taken out of the process arrangement 60 , the substrate may additionally be pulled through an air knife, for example, and be pre-dried in the process, care having to be taken that the go end of the substrate (top) may not be contacted by components of the handling equipment.
[0075] Rinsing the process chamber may be performed, for example, by means of a rinsing valve fixedly mounted on the lid. In addition, spray nozzles integrated in the lid of the process chamber are also possible, said spray nozzles being mounted at different locations on the underside of the upper part 20 a , so that smooth rinsing is ensured.
[0076] FIG. 5 shows a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of the present invention which was already described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 . Identical components are designated by the same reference numerals, so that the descriptions of the respective components of FIGS. 2 to 5 are mutually applicable. Only a short description shall be given below, in particular, of those components which have not yet been described by FIGS. 2 to 4 .
[0077] The three-dimensional view depicts both a hydraulic cylinder 24 f and an auxiliary hydraulic cylinder 26 d which were covered in FIGS. 2 to 4 by other components because of the perspective used in said figures.
[0078] In addition, FIG. 5 shows three mechanical cantilevers 52 a , 52 b and 52 c serving as the mechanical take-up of the process arrangement 60 so as to enable swaying. The plane defined by the three mechanical cantilevers 52 is parallel to the plane of the substrate or glass plate 22 , so that the swaying motion of the process arrangement 60 may be caused in that the process arrangement 60 is held and/or supported at the mechanical cantilevers, it being possible to independently move the process arrangement to and fro at the three points, so that the swaying motion of the process arrangement 60 results from the overlay of the motions.
[0079] A process arrangement 60 as is depicted with reference to FIG. 5 thus essentially consists of a static mixer 50 b , of pneumatic and electrical systems for controlling and/or movement, a drain valve 54 , metering valves 50 a , a circumferential seal, venting valves as well as a possibility of supplying chemicals. In addition, the support frame already described in FIG. 2 is depicted which has the substrate placed thereon, or with which the substrate is press-fitted. The pneumatic and electrical systems as well as the static mixer are not visible in the 3-dimensional view of FIG. 5 , since they are located within a self-contained volume closed off by lids.
[0080] The chemicals may be metered from metering tanks by means of the metering valves 50 a . In the embodiments described, the metering valves 50 a are arranged above the static mixer 50 b , so that the chemical may be metered onto the substrate or glass plate 22 under the influence of gravity, following the free downward slope with the process chamber closed. In this context it is advantageous, in particular, that the system is a closed one wherein no chemical vapors may get out. In addition, in the inventive embodiment, the swaying motion may be started during metering already.
[0081] The metering valves 50 a may also be implemented as 4-way valves, for example. For example after every chemical metering process, one may rinse with N2 to prevent a cross-reaction in the chemicals inlet to the mixer. A third connection of the 4-way valve may be used, for example, for rinsing with deionized water while the process chamber or the process arrangement 60 is tilted. Thus, the entire supply or chemicals supply may be rinsed clear of chemicals residues.
[0082] An advantage of the inventive process arrangement 60 is that the static mixer 50 b mixes the chemicals with one another before they hit the substrate surface, which avoids stains on the substrate surface. The chemicals may be led from metering tanks to the process arrangement by means of flexible tubes, for example, it being possible for the metering tanks to be arranged externally. In addition, controlled venting of the system by means of a venting valve may be ensured, and the metering valves may be installed into a housing for safety reasons, as is depicted in FIGS. 3 to 5 . Even though smooth wetting may be achieved on the substrate surface with a very low consumption of chemicals due to the swaying motion, excess chemicals will remain within the process volume once the process is completed. These may be removed from the chamber through the drain valve 54 , for example, when the process arrangement 60 is tilted by an angle of >90°. In addition, spray nozzles for rinsing the chamber clear of the chemical may be arranged in the upper part 20 a or in the lid of the process chamber.
[0083] In one embodiment of the present invention, a circumferential seal is incorporated into the upper part 20 a of the chamber at the interface between the substrate and the upper part. Said seal seals off the chemical, which is splashing around, against the outside, which is also true, at the same time, for the rinsing liquid to be used. For pneumatic control and electrical control, a pneumatic/electrical systems cabinet may be mounted in the immediate vicinity next to the valves and the cylinders of the hydraulic system. Short signal paths then guarantee uniform control of the cylinders and valves.
[0084] The process chamber housing itself, i.e. that part of the housing which forms the process volume, may then consist, for example, of a base frame consisting of stainless steel and comprising an attached press-fitting mechanism. The process chamber housing may be coated with plastic or Halar, for example, depending on the chemicals and the temperatures to be used. In this context, a seal which is advantageously mounted on the underside of the upper part 20 a may be milled into the process chamber housing, the seal advantageously being milled in the stainless-steel frame and advantageously being coated when high processing temperatures are used. At relatively low temperatures, it may also be milled into or attached to a plastic frame, the plastic frame being welded or screwed together with the interior lining. The stiffening braces which may be used to enhance mechanical stability of the process chamber housing may either consist of stainless steel or, for example, of stainless steel coated with plastic or Halar. A window or a viewing lid which is screwed onto the frame by means of a seal from above may additionally be mounted for monitoring the process. The support frame or the lower part 20 a may also be made of a stainless steel profile, for example, in one embodiment the stainless steel profile comprising ventilation slots so as to prevent any pressure differences which may occur upon closure of the process arrangement 60 . In addition, the support frame may be provided with a seal arranged, for example, within millings. Such seals which consist of PP or rubber, for example, serve, for one thing, to protect the rear side of the substrate, and may additionally be configured such that they allow air to escape.
[0085] To illustrate in more detail the mode of operation of the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c which may be employed for achieving an inventive swaying motion, FIG. 6 depicts a top view of an example of an inventive support frame, or lower part, 20 b . The top view shows the lower part, or support frame, 20 b , on which the substrate or the glass pane 20 comes to lie. The three mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c are mounted on the support frame 20 b on different sides of the support frame 20 .
[0086] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 of an inventive support frame 20 b , plastic boards are additionally mounted on the upper side of the support frame 20 b so as to protect the substrate which is placed on the support frame 20 b from being damaged. In addition, venting slots 62 which prevent an overpressure from being formed between the substrate and the support frame 20 b while the substrate is lowered down are provided between the plastic boards.
[0087] Because of the geometric arrangement of the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c (cantilevers for tilting mechanism and wobbling), they define, at three points, a plane parallel to the plane of the substrate. In accordance with the invention, the point of support of each of the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c may have an individually controllable device mounted thereat which has a direction of motion perpendicular to the plane of the view of FIG. 6 , so that at the three points defined by the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c the plane and, along with it, the substrate may be moved or tilted, as a result of which a swaying motion of any orientation is achieved. Moreover, FIG. 6 shows some implementation details, such as the venting slots 62 already described, in a top view, and screw holes or screws for securing the plastic board or boards.
[0088] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the swaying motion may be achieved by means of a base rack 100 which may have an inventive process arrangement 60 , for example, attached to it by means of the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c.
[0089] The base rack 100 comprises a tilting axis 102 as well as three locking means 104 a to 104 c which correspond with the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c and are suitable for connecting the base rack 100 to an inventive process arrangement 60 . The base rack 100 may be connected to the process arrangement 60 in a mechanically rigid manner when the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c are arranged on the locking means 104 a to 104 c (tilt-locking of the process chamber). With a mechanically rigid connection, a tilting motor 106 (motor for tilting the chamber >90°) serves to cause the tilting axis 102 (tilting arm) to rotate, and thus serves to tilt the entire process arrangement 60 , which is secured at the locking means 104 a to 104 c , from the horizontal to the vertical and beyond. In this manner, draining of the process volume via the drain valve 54 may be achieved, in accordance with the invention, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the entire process arrangement 60 may be rotated by 180° to the horizontal so that it becomes accessible from the underside for potential servicing work.
[0090] Moreover, the base rack 100 serves to cause the swaying motion of the process arrangement 60 located within the base rack. To cause the swaying, the mechanically rigid connection between the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c and the locking means 104 a and 104 c is released, so that the process arrangement is loosely supported on the base rack 100 , as it were. As was already described above, the swaying is achieved in that at the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c an independent movement perpendicular to the surface of the substrate or of the plane formed by the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c is performed in each case. In the embodiment of the present invention, this is achieved in that the base rack 100 has a motor 110 a to 110 c (wobbling drive) mounted to it underneath each locking, an eccentric disk (eccentric disk wobbling) being attached to the motor axis of said motor. Similar to the connecting rod in the internal combustion motor of a car, an advance ram is attached at the radius of the eccentric disk so that, on account of the eccentric movement, the advance ram performs a periodic movement perpendicular to the substrate surface, or perpendicular to the plane formed by the mechanical cantilevers 52 a to 52 c . Thus, for example, a uniform wobbling or swaying motion may be caused if the eccentric disk is mounted on the motors 110 a to 110 c in such a manner that each push rod achieves the maximum stroke at a different point in time.
[0091] Thus, the base rack 100 serves to take up the tilting mechanism and to cause the swaying motion. In this context, the base rack may additionally be mounted into a plastic housing so as to impede discharge of chemicals. As may be seen in FIG. 7 , the base rack additionally is equipped with adjustment feet which enable complete horizontal alignment of the unit. The swaying motion is realized with three motors 110 a to 110 c which make the process chamber or the process arrangement 60 sway by means of one eccentric disk in each case. Because of their geometric configuration, the eccentric disks perform a sine movement, wherein the stroke of the movement may be continuously adjustable by varying the eccentric disks or by suitably setting same, so that the absolute amount of swaying of the inventive process arrangement 60 may be set. The tilting motor 106 for tilting the process chamber may tilt the process arrangement by up to 180°, for example. At a tilting angle >90°, the process chamber is drained, at 180° the process chamber may be serviced from the rear side or from below, i.e. seals may be replaced, and the process chamber may be cleaned. The drive of the tilting device may additionally be configured in a pneumatic or hydraulic manner, for example.
[0092] The locking means 104 a to 104 c serve to mechanically lock and unlock the process arrangement 60 . During the swaying motion, a sledge is open, and the process chamber or process arrangement 60 is loosely supported on three rams of the eccentric process movement. This ensures a smooth swaying motion, it also being possible to monitor the position of the eccentric disks and/or of the guide or push rods by means of sensors.
[0093] Once the swaying motion has ended, the process chamber may be moved to a zero position, i.e. to a horizontal position, and be locked with the three locking means 104 a to 104 c , it also being possible to monitor successful locking and/or unlocking by means of sensors.
[0094] FIG. 8 shows an inventive process arrangement 60 in a state in which it is mounted into the base rack 100 , so as to illustrate how the process arrangement may be tilted as a whole by means of the tilting motor 106 , and how, in addition, the swaying motion may be caused by means of the motors 110 a to 110 c which act upon eccentric disks.
[0095] Moreover, it is possible, by means of the inventive concept, to realize, on the basis of the arrangement shown in FIG. 8 , a modular installation concept consisting of so-called process modules which comprise the arrangement shown in FIG. 8 . Each module may be used as an independent process module and may be arranged, for example, at any location within a storehouse. Each such process module then has to be supplied with substrate plates or glass plates by means of commercial substrate handling equipment, which is possibly additionally adapted to the process requirements. The handling equipment transfers the glass plates within the arrangement depicted in FIG. 8 and, after a process has ended, it removes a glass plate from said arrangement. The choice of material both of the handling equipment and of the components of the process arrangement 60 which contact the substrate may be adapted to the process requirements. Materials that may be used are, e.g., stainless steel, plastic as well as plastic-coated stainless steel parts which may form dripping troughs or casings, for example.
[0096] A modular principle has the advantage that individual process modules may be put out of service while others are still in production mode. In particular because of the tilting device, servicing of individual modules is possible without impeding further modules which are possibly still being produced. Increased flexibility in this context results from that individual modules may be built in any order and number, the cycle time being determined by, among other things, the number of the modules used. Metering stations, i.e. stations which supply the chemicals, may either be independent units which serve several modules at the same time or are integrated into the individual modules.
[0097] Even with a modular structure, loading and unloading of the process chambers with substrates may be effected by means of commercial handling systems. Multi-axis linear axes, robots, roller tracks, belt conveyors, revolving transfer machines and vacuum wands, for example, may be employed in this context.
[0098] Even though the mode of operation of the inventive concept was described above mainly with reference to the example of a pane of glass, any substrates, for example PCBs, may be advantageously coated by means of the inventive concept.
[0099] In particular, the type of substrate handling equipment, i.e. the manner in which substrates to be coated may be positioned within the inventive apparatus, is irrelevant for successful application of the inventive concept. The chemicals mentioned in the descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are to be seen as examples. The inventive concept is also suitable, in particular, for etching surfaces, smooth application of an etching liquid also being relevant for successfully performing a smooth etching process over a substrate having a large surface area.
[0100] Generation of a swaying motion was realized, with reference to the embodiments described, by three hydraulic cylinders which are individually controllable, or by means of eccentric disks driven by motors. Of course, any other possibilities of generating a swaying motion are also suited to successfully put the inventive concept into practice.
[0101] The hydraulic cylinders, which in the embodiments of the present invention described serve to lift the substrates or to close the holding device, may be replaced by any other mechanical mechanisms enabling pressing or lifting of a substrate.
[0102] Even though in the above-discussed embodiments the entire holding means including the substrate fixed within the holding means was set in a swaying motion relative to the surface of the earth (horizontal), it is alternatively also possible to only set the substrate in a swaying motion, it then being possible to ensure additionally, by suitable measures, that the liquid present on the surface of the substrate cannot flow off the surface. For example, sealing-off by means of flexible bellows made of rubber would be feasible, so that the upper part of the holding means may remain essentially rigid, and that only the lower part, on which the bellows and the substrate are attached, performs the swaying motion.
[0103] Moreover, complete sealing off of the process volume is not absolutely necessary.
[0104] While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. | The surface of a substrate may be smoothly covered with a liquid when the substrate is fixed in a holder which together with forms, together with the surface of the substrate, a process volume into which the liquid may be introduced onto the surface of the substrate by means of a wetter, and when the holder including the substrate is set in a swaying motion by means of a swayer, so that the liquid will smoothly spread on the surface of the substrate. By the swaying motion, concentration of the volume of liquid at a specific location of the substrate surface is prevented, since the direction of motion of the liquid changes constantly. | 1 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a vinyl group-containing diarylethene monomer expressed by formula (1) and a polymer thereof having optical properties. More particularly, it relates to a vinyl group-containing diarylethene monomer of formula (1), suitable for controlled polymerization and a polymer thereof having excellent optical properties such as control characteristics of optical signal, photochromic characteristics, and control characteristics of optical reflectivity by introducing the diarylethene monomer of formula (1) into the polymer chain,
[0002] wherein Z 1 and Z 2 are independently cyano group or attached form of 4-6-membered ring optionally substituted with one or more fluoro atoms; and
[0003] Ar 1 and Ar 2 are independently
[0004] where X and Y are 0, S, NH or N—CH 3 ; R 2 and R 5 are optionally substituted C 1 -C 3 alkyl; R 3 is H, F or optionally substituted C 1 -C 3 alkyl; and R 4 and R 6 are independently H, CH 3 , C(═O)CH 3 , isoxazole, vinyl, C(═O)—Ar 3 —CH═CH 2 , C(=O)-Ar 4 , or N(Ar 5 ) 2 , where R 4 or R 6 of either Ar 1 and Ar 2 should be vinyl or C(═O)—Ar 3 —CH═CH 2 and Ar 3 , Ar 4 or Ar 5 should be optionally substituted benzene or thiophene.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Demand in photochromic lenses, high density photochromic recordings, high speed optical communications, and large scale integrated circuits has been dramatically increased with development of technologies in shielding of sun light, optical signal processing, optical transfer, optical filter and the like. The optical devices contain photochromic and photorefractive materials which change color and transparency with light irradiation and are capable of signal recording and/or reproducing with laser irradiation. Among organic photochromic materials, diarylethene compounds have excellent thermal stability and repetitive durability, thus leading to proposals for their use in optical applications such as optical devices, optical recordings and the like.
[0006] It has been reported that diarylethene compounds have high thermal stability and photochromism so that they are useful for functioning in a polymer film [Refractive index changes in photochromic diarylethene derivatives in polymethylmethacrylate films, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, Volume 95, Issue 3, May 10, 1996, Pages 265-270, Takashi Yoshida, Koichi Arishima, Fumihiro Ebisawa, Mitsutoshi Hoshino, Ken Sukegawa, Atsushi Ishikawa, Tatsuya Kobayashi, Makoto Hanazawa and Yukio Horikawa]. However, when the diarylethene compounds are used for preparing polymer films, it is difficult to obtain homogeneous thin film due to insufficient compatibility of diarylethene compounds with polymer resin and sufficient photochromic effect due to the agglomeration among photochromic materials. In addition, when a large amount of diarylethene compound is used to enhance the efficiency, the obtained film is not clear and phase separation may occur with storing for a long period time because the diarylethene compound is dissolved out or forms microcrystals. Therefore, it is unreliable and lack of storage stability for long term use.
[0007] In order to be free of these defects, Japan Patent Publication No. 6-240242 discloses polymeric photochromic composition comprising a polymer having methacryl-base diarylethene groups bonded to a polymer chain. However, the methacryl-base diarylethene compounds have low reactivity during the polymerization and do not bond efficiently to the polymer chain because it is difficult to control the blocks, thus being inappropriate in the preparation of the polymer having hyper-branches.
[0008] Accordingly, the necessity of developing monomers having high reactivity and polymers using thereof is keenly demanded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a diarylethene monomer of formula (1) capable for the preparation of a polymer having excellent optical properties through anionic polymerization, cationic polymerization or radical polymerization.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a polymer having excellent optical properties such as control characteristics of optical signal, photochromic characteristics, and control characteristics of optical refractivity as well as transparence without phase separation.
[0011] Further object of the present invention is to provide a composition comprising 0.01-99.8 weight % of a diarylethene monomer of formula (1), 0-99.8 weight % of a comonomer, and 0.19-5 weight % of a polymerization initiator, thus capable for thin layer-coating on the various structure of substrates.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:
[0013] [0013]FIG. 1 represents the peak shift in the angle spectra for VMBTF6-styrene block copolymer film upon excitation with UV/Vis light.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The present invention provides a diarylethene monomer of the following formula (1),
[0015] wherein Z 1 , Z 2 , Ar 1 and Ar 2 are as previously defined.
[0016] Especially preferred compounds of the formula (1) include:
[0017] These diarylethene monomers of the formula (1) may be prepared from known diarylethene compound. For example, 1-(6′-vinyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (VMBTF6) is prepared by reacting 1-(6′-formyl-2′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (FMBTF6), methyltriphenylphophonium iodide and n-butyllithium through the known method disclosed in Irie, M., Miyata, O., Uchida, K., Eriguchi, T., JACS, 9894(1994) in 85%.
[0018] A polymer having optical properties of the present invention is prepared by using a composition comprising 0.01-99.8 weight % of a diarylethene monomer of formula (1), 0-99.8 weight % of a comonomer and 0.19-5 weight % of a polymerization initiator. Examples of the polymer having optical properties include diarylethene polymers, diarylethene random copolymers, and diarylethene block copolymers. Examples of the known comonomer include styrene or its derivatives, hydrocarbons substituted with vinyl, acryl, or methacryl group, and fluorinated compounds substituted with vinyl, acryl, or methacryl group. Examples of the polymerization initiator include alkyl lithium, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperdinyloxy nitroxide (TEMPO) or its derivatives represented as CR 1 R 2 R 3 COR 4 , (wherein R 1 is a persistent radical but cleaved from carbon atom at 100-160° C. so that it can have the same function as TEMPO; R 2 is a hydrogen atom; R 3 a hydrogen atom, methyl, phenyl or p-nitrophenyl; R 4 is an ethoxy, 4-benzyl-2-oxazolidone-3-yl, aryloxy, or 2-oxazolidone-3-yl), radical initiators such as 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), benzoyl peroxide (BPO), camphorquinone [2,3-bornanedione; 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo(2,2,1)heptane-2,3-dione], 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-phenyl-(2-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)ketone, cationic initiators such as metal halide (e.g., TiCl 4 and SnCl 4 ) and mixtures thereof. Since among these initiators, alkyl lithium, TEMPO or its derivative, or a cationic initiator such as metal halide is useful for the preparation of polymers requiring controls in the length of blocks, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution, it is applicable to prepare photoactive polymers having controlled length of photochromic block and molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution in the polymer prepared from the diarylethene monomer of formula (1). Other additives, used by one having ordinary skilled in the art, such as a photosensitizer and molecular weight distribution controller may be arbitrarily incorporated.
[0019] For example, VBMBTF6 (1 equivalent) of formula (1b) and styrene (3 equivalent) are dissolved in toluene and ethyl α-tempo-phenyl acetate is added thereto. The mixture is reacted at 150° C. for 48 hours and then cooled down to room temperature, and methanol was added to the mixture, to provide a random copolymer having VBMBTF6 and styrene (a mole ratio of 1:3). The resulted random copolymer has a glass transition temperature of 120° C., a weight average molecular weight (M w ) of 11,500, a narrow molecular weight distribution of 1.21, excellent solubility in an organic solvent, and excellent photochromism.
[0020] A diarylethene monomer of formula (1) and an initiator are reacted to provide living polymer anions or living polymer radicals, which are further reacted with a comonomer having unsaturated functional groups, to produce a block copolymer having an appropriate length of diaryethene block and comonomer block. For example, VBMBTF6 (1 equivalent) of formula (1b) is dissolved in toluene. Ethyl α-tempo-phenylacetate as an initiator is added thereto and the mixture is reacted at 150° C. for 12 hours, followed by cooling down to a room temperature. Styrene (3 equivalents) is added to the reaction mixture and further reacted at 150° C. for 64 hours. After the reaction mixture is cooled down, and methanol was added to the mixture, to separate a block copolymer of formula (2) having VBMBTF6 and styrene (a mole ratio of 1:3). The resultant block copolymer has a weight average molecular weight (M w ) of 11,700, a molecular weight distribution of 1.25, and excellent solubility in organic solvents, thus capable of being used for photochromic materials,
[0021] wherein x:y=1:3; R 7 and R 8 are derived from each initiator, R 9 S, R 10 O or H, where R 9 and R 10 are optionally substituted C 1 -C 20 alkyl or alkylbenzene.
[0022] In the preparation of the block copolymer, the length of diarylethene blocks may be easily adjusted by controlling the mole ratio of a comonomer. Since the block copolymer has different photochromic characteristics such as photochromic efficiency, refractive index changes with light, etc. from the random copolymer, it is possible to prepare polymers having excellent optical properties by controlling the length of blocks and structure of comonomers.
[0023] The random copolymer may be also prepared by using a comonomer having unsaturated functional groups with a diarylethene monomer of formula (1). Examples of the comonomer having unsaturated functional groups include cyclopentadiene, styrene or its derivative, butyl methacrylate, norbornene, isobutene, indene, N-vinylcarbazole, pyrene, 4-vinylphenylalkyl sulfate [Akira Hirao, Hideki Shione, Takashi Ishizone, and Seiichi Nakahama, Macromolecules, 30 (13), 3728-3731, 1997].
[0024] The diarylethene monomer of formula (1) is used to provide a transparent photochromic thin film by polymerizing to diarylethene polymer or copolymer, dissolving the result polymer in solvent, coating on the surface of substrate such as glass, quartz, or silicon wafer, and drying. As an example, a transparent thin film having excellent adhesion and photochromic property is prepared by dissolving a block copolymer of formula (2) in cyclohexanone, reacting at room temperature for 1 hour, spin-coating on the surface of quartz and drying in the oven at 50° C. for 12 hours. When light having 300 nm of wavelength or higher is irradiated, color of the film has been changed to red and maintained the red color in a darkroom. When this process is repeated, no phase separation is occurred and a refractive index change was 0.005 with the light irradiation of 365 nm and He—Ne laser. The refractive index change is useful information to apply in refractive index changing elements, display materials and optical recordings.
[0025] In addition, a thin film is obtained by mixing a diarylethene monomer, a comonomer having unsaturated functional group and an initiator, irradiating with heat or light, and coating on the surface of substance such as glass, quartz, and silicon wafer. The initiator to be used in the present invention is chosen from 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), benzoyl peroxide (BPO), diisopropyl peroxydicarbonate (IPP), t-butylhydroperoxide (TBPO), heat-curing initiators, and light-curing initiators such as camphorquinone (Aldrich), 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-phenyl-(2-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)ketone (Irgacure 2959, Ciba-Geigy) and mixtures thereof. A photosensitizer may be arbitrarily incorporated. Examples of the comonomers include styrene or its derivatives, butylmethacrylate, di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, tetra(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, butanediol dimethacrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), hexamethylene dimethacrylate, perfluoroalkyl acrylate, acrylamide, bisphenol A dimethacrylate, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloyloxyethoxy-3,5-dibromophenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloyloxyethoxyphenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloyloxydiethoxyphenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloyloxytriethoxyphenyl)propane, 2,2-bis(4-methacryloyloxypentaethoxyphenyl)propane, methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate, bis-4-vinylbenzyl ether, bis-4-vinylbenzyl sulfide, 1,2-(p-vinylbenzyloxy)ethane, 1,2-(p-vinylbenzylthio)ethane, bis-(p-vinylbenzyloxylethyl)sulfide,
[0026] (where X is a hydrogen atom, —S—, —SO 2 —, —C(═O)— or —C(R 1 ) m (R 3 ) 2m —; R 1 is a hydrogen atom or methyl; R 2 is —[C(R 1 ) m (R 3 ) 2-m —-C(R 1 ) m (R 3 ) 2-m —Z] n —; R 3 is the same as R 1 or alkyl substituted with F, Cl, or Br; R 4 is the same as R 1 , —C(═CH 2 )—CH 3 ; l is an integer of 1 to 2, m is an integer of 0 to 2, n is an integer of 0 to 20; Y is —C(═O)—O—, —O—C(═O)—O—, —SO 2 , —S—, —C(═O)—, —C(═O)—NH—C(R 1 ) m (R 3 ) 2-m — or a bond; Z is —C(R 1 ) m (R 3 ) 2-m —, —S—, or —O—), norbornene, isobutene, indene,. Further comonomers include CH 2 ═CH—CH 2 (CF 2 ) n CH 2 CH═CH 2 , CH 2 ═CH—CH 2 (CF 2 ) n R (where, n is an integer of 1 to 50, R is C 1 -C 20 alkyl substituted with F or H).
[0027] Further, the present invention provides a polymeric composition comprising 0.01-99.8 weight % of a diarylethene monomer of formula (1), 0-99.8 weight % of at least one comonomer having unsaturated functional group chosen from styrene, vinyl, methacry and acryl compound and 0.19-5 weight % of a polymerization initiator. The polymeric composition of the present invention is useful to produce optical lens, film, coating layer, and the like through heat or light curing. These compounds may be commercialized by Aldrich or other companies or prepared by known methods.
[0028] Other additives such as aliphatic unsaturated compound, binder resin, and organic solvent may be incorporated to control the thickness and/or viscosity of thin films. And further, catalyst to activate the polymerization or UV absorber, or coloring resistant may be arbitrarily incorporated.
[0029] The obtained composition can be coated on the substrate such as glass, ITO, silicon wafer and the like or molded in various materials through light or thermal curing. The thermal curing is employed for 3-48 hours depends on the amount of composition and initiator. For example, if benzolyperoxide (BPO) is used, the curing condition is preferred to irradiate with UV lamp, UV irradiator or Xenon lamp at −20 to 120° C. for 30 seconds to 2 hours.
[0030] For example, a composition comprising diarylethene monomer (10 weight %) of formula (1b), fluoro dimethacrylate (88 weight %) and Irgacure 184 (2 weight %) is polymerized with UV light at room temperature for 5 minutes to provide a thin film having a thickness of 25 μm, a refractive index of 1.58 and a pencil hardness of 8H. The obtained thin film has photochromism and refractive index change of 0.002 with UV/visible light irradiation and is also not decomposed for a year at room temperature.
[0031] Other known photochromic compounds such as azobenzenes, spiro benzopyranes, nitrooxazines, cromenes and the like may be added in the range of from 0.5 to 50 weight % to the thin film composition.
[0032] The photochromic thin film of the present invention has excellent transparency, photochromism, refractive index changes with light, and high color contrast. Consequently, the photochromic products prepared from the photochromic thin film also have excellent transparence, photochromism, refractive index changes, hardness, thermal stability, and durability, thus effectively suitable for optical applications such as optical lenses, optical filters, imaging devices, large scale integrated devices, optical switches, optical disks and optical recording mediums.
[0033] The photochromic thin film of the present invention changes color with UV/visible light radiation and maintains its photochromism without decomposing when it is kept at room temperature for a year. Thus, the photochromic products prepared from the photochromic thin film such as plastic lenses, photochromic films, photochromic imaging films change its color to red with UV irradiation and to colorless with visible irradiation. Especially, when it is exposed to sun light, it is colored to be suitable for shielding glasses for sun light, automotive windows, UV sensors and the like.
[0034] For photochromic imaging, which is direct recording on the photochromic plates by using light, diarylethene-containing composition is coated on the surface of substrate such as wafer, transparent plastic plate, glass and the plate coated with ITO or metal layer, by using UV/VIS light. For example, when the photochromic thin film covered with a patterned mask is irradiated by He—Cd laser (wavelength in the UVe region) the mask pattern is transferred on the thin film. Or after the photochromic film is colored with UV light irradiation, it is further recorded by direct or near-field method using a He—Ne laser (wavelength in the visible region). This recording characteristics is readable by eye or using a microscope, an optical microscope, a fluorescence microscope, a confocal microscope, AFM, or IR light. The records can be completely erased and reproduced with UV or VIS light and it stays for 1 year or longer.
[0035] The following Preparation Examples and Examples are intended to further illustrate the present invention without limiting its scope. Testing methods employed in measuring properties in the Examples are as follows.
[0036] [Method]
[0037] (1) Thickness: measured by α-Step 200
[0038] (2) Photochromism: measured by UV/VIS spectrophotometer
[0039] (3) Refractive index and photo induced refractive index change: determined using a prism coupler with 830 nm laser
PREPARATION EXAMPLE 1
Preparation of Ethyl α-tempo-phenylacetate Initiator
[0040] [0040]
[0041] Ethyl phenylacetate (200 mg, 1.218 mmol) was added in dry THF (10 ml) in 100 ml round-bottom flask and the temperature was kept at −78° C. Lithium bis(trimethylsiliyl)amide (Aldrich, LHMDS; 1M solution in THF, 1.5 ml, 1.462 mmol) was added slowly to the reaction mixture. The reaction mixure was stirred at −78° C. for 3.5 hours and then at room temperature for 2 hours. The reaction was ceased by adding methanol. Solvent and volatile components were evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using hexane and ethyl acetate to obtain the desired product (244.4 mg, yield 76%).
[0042] In TLC, R f was 0.66 (hexane/ethyl acetate =5/1);
[0043] [0043] 1 H NMR(CDCl 3, 200 MHz) δ7.38-7.19(5H, m), 5.11(1H, s), 4.06-4.00(2H, m), 1.41-0.64(21H, m)
PREPARATION EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of Diarylethene Monomer (FMBTF6)
[0044] [0044]
[0045] 1,2-Bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene(BTF6; 4 g, 8.5 mmol) was dissolved in CH 2 Cl 2 (50 mL) and cooled to 0° C. under N 2 . TiCl 4 (25.6 mL, 25 mmol) and Cl 2 CHOCH 3 (1.2 mL, 12.807 mmol) were added to the reaction mixture and stirred at 0° C. for 10 min and then at room temperature for 5 hours. The reaction was ceased by adding ice-water. The reaction mixture was extracted with water and CH 2 Cl 2 and organic layer was dried over MgSO 4 and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was purified with flash column chromatography on silica gel to obtain 1-(6′-formyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (FMBTFP; yield 80%).
EXAMPLE 1
Preparation of 1-(6′-vinyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene(VMBTF6 of Formula 1a)
[0046] Methyltriphenyl phosphonium iodide (3.9 g) was dissolved in THF (70 mL) and the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at −78° C. n-Butyl lithium (4.6 mL) was added to the reaction mixture and stirred for 30 min and then at room temperature for 30 min. After the reaction mixture was again cooled to −78° C., 1-(6′-formyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (FMBTF6) (4.36 g) prepared by the known method [Irie, M., Miyata, O., Uchida, K., Eriguchi, T., JACS, 9894(1994)] was added and stirred for 10 min. And then the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. After the reaction was ceased by adding ice-water, it was extracted with water and ethyl acetate. The organic layer was dried over MgSO 4 and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was purified with flash column chromatography on silica gel to obtain VMBTF6(3.51 g, yield 90%).
[0047] [0047] 1 H-NMR(CDCl 3 , 200 MHz) δ2.20(s, 1H), 2.47(s, 1H), 5.25(d, 1H, J=11.02), 5.75(d, 1H, J=17.38), 6.62(dd, 1H, J=10.96, 17.54), 7.20-7.70(m, 7H)
EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of 1-[6′-(hydroxystyl)methyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl]-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene
[0048] 4-Bromostyrene (0.2 g) was added to Mg(0.027 g) in THF(3 mL) and the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours. 1-(6′-Formyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl)-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (FMBTF6, 0.27 g) prepared by the known method [Irie, M., Miyata, O., Uchida, K., Eriguchi, T., JACS, 9894(1994)] was added and stirred at room temperature for 4 hours. The reaction was ceased by adding 1N HCl and organic parts were extracted with methylene chloride. The organic layer was dried over MgSO 4 and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was purified with flash column chromatography on silica gel to obtain 1-[6′-(hydroxystyl)methyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl]-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (0.304 g, yield 92%).
[0049] [0049] 1 H-NMR(CDCl 3 , 200 MHz) δ 2.18(s, 1H), 2.39(s, 1H), 5.24(d, 1H, J=10.82) 5.69-5.80(br. m, 2H), 6.70(dd, 1H, J=10.82, 11.06), 7.15-7.38(m, 7H), 7.50-7.73(m, 4H)
EXAMPLE 3
Preparation of 1-[6′-(4″′-vinylbenzoyl)-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl]-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (VBMBTF6 of Formula 1b)
[0050] 1-[6′-(Hydroxystyl)methyl-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl]-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (1.2 g) obtained in Example 2 was dissolved in toluene (10 mL) and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ, 1.13 g) was added and stirred under refluxing condition for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and volatile parts were evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was purified with flash chromatography on silica gel to obtain 1-[6′-(4″′-vinylbenzoyl)-2′-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3′-yl]-2-(2″-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3″-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (0.81 g, yield 78%).
[0051] [0051] 1 H-NMR(CDCl 3 , 200 MHz) δ2.27(s, 1H), 2.55(s, 1H), 5.42(d, 1H, J=10.86), 5.91(d, 1H, J=17.58), 6.79(dd, 1H, J=11.06, 14.64), 7.17-7.41(m, 3H), 7.46-8.14(m, 8H)
EXAMPLES 4-6
[0052] Other diarylethene monomers in Table 1 were prepared according to Examples 1-3.
TABLE 1 Reaction condition Yield Category Starting material solvent/time/temp. (%) 1 H-NMR Example 4 1) FBTCN, Mg, 1) THF/5 h/30° C. 82 2.41(3H), 2.67(3H), (formula 1c) 4-bomostyrene 2) toluene/3 h/ 5.18(1H), 5.70(1H), 2) DDQ 100° C. 6.62(1H), 7.38-7.5(4H), 7.76-7.9(4H), 8.1-8.2(2H), 8.3(1H) Example 5 1) FNTF6, Mg, 1) THF/4 h/25 ° C. 80 2.52(3H), 2.54(3H), (formula 1g) 4-bromostyrene 2) toluene/4 h/ 3.67(3H), 5.16(1H), 2) DDQ 90° C. 5.70(1H), 6.62(1H), 7.9-7.4(4H), 7.5-7.6(2H), 7.7-7.9(3H), 7.96(2H) Example 6 FBTCN, Same as Example 1 92 2.4(3H), 2.6(3H), (formula 1j) methyltriphenyl 5.15(1H), 5.60(1H), phosphonium 6.6(1H), 7.38- iodide, n-butyl 7.5(4H), 8.1- lithium 8.29(3H) FBTCN: FNTF6:
EXAMPLE 7
Preparation of VMBTF6-styrene Random Copolymer
[0053] Diarylethene monomer (formula 1a, VMBTF6; 0.950 g) obtained in Example 1 and styrene (0.6 g) were dissolved in toluene (3 mL). Ethyl α-tempo-phenylacetate (0.02 g) as an initiator was added and the reaction mixture was stirred at 150° C. for 48 hours. After the reaction temperature was cooled to room temperature, methanol was added into the reaction mixture. White solid obtained was collected, dried (1.15 g) and identified as a random copolymer having VMBTF6 and styrene (1:3, molar) component. The obtained copolymer has a glass transition temperature of 98° C., a weight average molecular weight of 16000 and a molecular weight distribution of 1.4 and further has excellent solubility in organic solvent so that it was suitable for photochromic elements.
EXAMPLE 8
Preparation of VMBTF6-styrene Block Copolymer
[0054] VMBTF6 (0.905 g) prepared in Example 1 was dissolved in toluene (3 mL) and an initiator, ethyl a-tempo-phenylacetate (0.02 g) was added thereto. The reaction mixture was stirred at 150° C. for 48 hours. After cooling to room temperature, styrene (0.381 g) was added to the reaction mixture and reacted at 150° C. for 48 hours. After cooling to room temperature, the reaction mixture was poured into methanol to yield desired block copolymer having VMBTF6 and styrene (1:3) (0.755 g). The obtained block copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 8000, a molecular weight distribution of 1.3, and excellent solubility in organic solvents, thus being useful for photochromic devices.
EXAMPLE 9
Preparation of VBMBTF6-styrene Random Copolymer
[0055] VBMBTF6-styrene random copolymer having VBMBTF6 and styrene (1:3) was prepared according to Example 7 using the diarylethene monomer (VBMBTF6) obtained in Example 3 instead of the diarylethene monomer (VMBTF6) obtained in Example 1. The obtained VBMBTF6-styrene random copolymer has a glass transition temperature of 128° C., a weight average molecular weight of 11,500, a molecular weight distribution of 1.3, and excellent solubility in organic solvents, and thus being useful for photochromic devices.
EXAMPLE 10
Preparation of VBMBTF6-styrene Block Copolymer
[0056] The diarylethene monomer (VBMBTF6; 1 g) obtained in Example 3 was dissolved in THF and the reaction flask was cooled to −78° C. to add n-butyl lithium. The reaction mixture was stirred for 4 hours and additional 1 hour at room temperature. Styrene (3 g) was added and stirred for 4 hours. Methanol was added to obtain white solids. The white solids were filtered and dried to produce desired block copolymer having VBMBTF6 and styrene (1:3) (3.1 g). The obtained block copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 35,700, a molecular weight distribution of 1.2, and excellent solubility in organic solvents, thus being useful for photochromic devices.
[0057] Other polymers were prepared by using diarylethene monomers, comonomers, and initiators under the polymerization conditions listed in Table 2 and the properties thereof are summarized in Table 3.
TABLE 2 Reaction condition Composition (weight %) Reaction Temp. Diarylethene Comonomer Initiator Solvent time (h) (° C.) Ex. 11 VBMBTF6 — α-tempo- Toluene 72 130 (98) phenylacetate (2) Ex. 12 VBMBTF6 Styrene (88) α-tempo- Toluene 76 150 (10) phenylacetate (2) Ex. 13 VBMBTF6 Styrene (85) n-butyl THF Same as Ex. 10 (10) lithium (5) 4 h/−70° C./4 h/r.t. 4 h Ex. 14 VMBTF6 (10) Cyclopentadiene SnCl 4 + n- CH 2 Cl 2 10 −78 (85) Bu 4 NCl (5) Ex. 15 VMBTF6 (50) Styrene (20) AIBN (2) THF 5 90 Butylmethacrylate (28)
[0058] [0058] TABLE 3 Weight average Category molecular weight Length of block (%)* Distribution Example 11 5200 100 1.4 Example 12 15700 10 1.25 Example 13 34000 10 1.1 Example 14 7500 25 1.3 Example 15 13500 random 1.26
EXAMPLES 16-19
Preparation of Photochromic Thin Film
Example 16
[0059] VMBTF6-styrene random copolymer (0.1 g) obtained in Example 7 was dissolved in cyclohexanone (0.3 g) and stirred at room temperature for 1 hour. The mixture solution was filtered through a syringe having 0.45 μm filter and spin-coated on the surface of quartz, followed by drying in the oven at 50° C. under reduced pressure for 12 hours. The obtained thin film has excellent adhesion and high transmittance over 90%. When the thin film was irradiated with light having longer wavelength than 300 nm, it changed color to red and maintained red color when kept in a dark room. When the red colored film was irradiated with light having longer wavelength than 400 nm, it changed colorless and maintained colorless state when kept under room light. When this process was repeated, there was no phase separation. FIG. 1 shows the peak shift in the angle spectra of prism coupler upon excitation with UV and light of 633 nm for polymer film. The photo induced refractive index change was determined as 0.0030.
Example 17
[0060] A photochromic thin film having excellent adhesion and high transmittance over 90% was prepared by using diarylethene copolymer obtained in Example 8 according to the procedure of Example 16. When the obtained thin film was irradiated with light >300 nm, it changed color to red and maintained red color when kept in a dark room. When the red colored film was irradiated with light having longer wavelength than 400 nm, it changed colorless and maintained colorless state when kept under room light. When this process was repeated, there was no phase separation. The photo induced refractive index change of the film was 0.0050.
Example 18
[0061] A photochromic thin film having excellent adhesion and a transmittance of higher than 90% was prepared by using diarylethene copolymer obtained in Example 9 according to the procedure of Example 16. When the obtained thin film was irradiated with light of 300 nm, it changed color to red and kept in the dark room to maintain red color. When this process was repeated, there was no phase separation.
Example 19
[0062] A photochromic thin film having excellent adhesion and a transmittance of higher than 93% was prepared by using diarylethene copolymer obtained in Example 10 according to the procedure of Example 16. When the obtained thin film was irradiated with light of 300 nm, it changed color to red and kept in the dark room to maintain red color. When this process was repeated, there was no phase separation.
[0063] Preparation of Thin Film by Radiation Curing and Thermosetting Method
EXAMPLE 20
[0064] The compound obtained in Example 3 (10 weight %), 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-2,4-butylacrylated (88 weight %), and Irgacure 184 (2 weight %) were charged in a reactor and stirred at room temperature for 1 hour. The mixture was coated on the surface of quartz coated with 25 μm spacer by a bar-coating method and cured with UV light for 5 min to produce a photochromic thin film having a surface hardness of 6H or higher. A transparence of the thin film was 92% and a refractive index change was 0.0009 with UV/VIS irradiation.
EXAMPLE 21
[0065] A reaction mixture was prepared according to the procedure of Example 20 with additional adding of BPO as an initiator, coated on the surface of glass and cured in the oven at 90° C. for 5 hours to produce a photochromic film having a surface hardness of 6H or higher and a thickness of 22 μm. A transmittance of the thin film was 93% and a refractive index change was 0.0012 with UV/VIS irradiation.
EXAMPLES 22-24
[0066] Photochromic thin films were prepared by performing under the condition listed in Table 4 and the properties thereof were summarized.
TABLE 4 Composition of thin film Refractive Diarylethen Curing index monomer Comonomer Initiator condition change Ex. 22 VBMBTF6 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-2,4- Irgacure 184 UV 0.0015 (20) butyldiacrylate (78) (2) rt/5 min Ex. 23 VBMBTF6 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-2,4- Irgacure 784 UV 0.0013 (10) butyldiacrylate (58) (2) rt/5 min 2,2,3,3,3-2,3,3,3- pentafluoropropylacrylate (30) Ex. 24 1 g (Ex. 5) (10) 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-2,4- AIBN (2) 100° C./8 0.0013 butyldiacrylate (58) hrs 2,2,3,3,3- pentafluoropropylacrylate (30)
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
[0067] 1,2-Bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (BTF6, 0.04 g) prepared by known method and polystyrene having a weight average molecular weight of 19300 (0.05 g) were dissolved in a mixture solution of cyclohexanone (0.3 g) and THF (0.1 g). The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour, filtered through a syringe having 0.45 μm filter and spin-coated on the surface of quartz, followed by drying in the oven at 50° C. under the pressure for 12 hours. The obtained film has low transmittance (85%) and a photo induced refractive index change of 0.0004.
[0068] Effect of the Invention
[0069] As described above, the diarylethene monomer of formula (1) of the present invention provides advantages as follows:
[0070] 1) useful for the preparation of photochromic copolymers by employing anionic initiator, cationic initiator, or radical initiator;
[0071] 2) useful for the preparation of polymers having optical properties such as a narrow distribution of molecular weight (Mw/Mn<1.5) with controlling the length of blocks;
[0072] 3) useful for the preparation of photochromic compositions to be used for photochromic thin films by performing thermosetting or photo irradiation; and
[0073] 4) useful for the preparation of photochromic thin films having a refractive index change of 0.005 with light irradiation. Particularly, the diarylethene monomer of formula (1) can be used for the preparation of styrene base copolymers, block copolymers, hyper branched copolymers or graft copolymers. Further, optical properties such as refractive index can be controlled by adjusting the amount of each component within appropriated range depending the purpose and required property of the product.
[0074] Still further, the diarylethene monomer is applicable for optical applications such as optical lenses, filter, imaging, large scale integrated devices, optical switches, optical disk and optical recording mediums. The photochromic products prepared by using diarylethene compounds have excellent transparence, refractive index, hardness, scratch resistance, heat stability and repetitive durability and especially direct image recording-erasing by light irradiation with excellent storage stability. | Vinyl group-containing diarylethene monomers and photochromic polymers made there from. The diarylethene monomers may be suitable for controlled polyermerization. Polymers formed from the diarylethene monomers may have optical properties such as, for example, optical signal control properties, photochromic properties, and/or optical reflectivity properties. | 2 |
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a novel β-lactamase inhibitor of the formula ##STR2## and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.
The pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula I are prepared from the free acid by methods well-known in the art, for example, by treating the free acid in solution with a suitable base or salt. Examples of basic substances capable of forming such pharmaceutically acceptable salts for the purpose of the present invention include alkali metal bases, such as, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide and the like; alkaline earth metal bases, such as, calcium or magnesium hydroxide and the like and ammonium hydroxide. Alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts suitable for forming pharmaceutically acceptable salts can include anions, such as, carbonate and bicarbonate. Preferred for use in this invention are salts formed from alkali metal bases.
The following schemes set forth various steps to synthesize the compound of formula I. ##STR3## wherein R 1 is chloro, bromo or iodo and R 2 is H or a conventional carboxy protecting group.
The identity of the carboxy protecting group is not critical, as long as conditions for its subsequent removal are compatible with the β-lactam ring system. Among the preferred carboxy protecting groups are, for example, C 1 to C 7 alkyl groups, unsubstituted and substituted benzyl groups, e.g., nitrobenzyl or a benzhydryl group and the 2,2,2-trichloroethyl group. ##STR4## wherein R 1 and R 2 are as above.
II→III
The compounds of formula II are known, having been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,607 to Kamiya et al. (1975).
The compound of formula II is reacted in aqueous solution with a nitrosating agent, such as, an alkali metal nitrite, e.g., sodium nitrite in conjunction with an inorganic acid, e.g., sulfuric acid followed by reaction with a source of halide ions, such as, an alkali metal halide, e.g., sodium chloride, bromide or iodide. Alternatively, hydrochloric, hydrobromic or hydroiodic acid can be used directly with sodium nitrite. This part of the reaction is run at between -10° to 5° C. with about -5° C. to 0° C. as preferred.
Thereafter, for the purpose of facilitating purification by chromatographic means, the compound of formula III (if R 2 =H) is esterified by standard means, preferably utilizing diazomethane or an alkyl, dialkyl, aryl or diaryl diazomethane, which are well-known in the art. This esterification reaction is carried out in an inert solvent, preferably in a halogenated hydrocarbon, such as, methylene chloride or in an ether, such as, diethyl ether or dioxane. The reaction is run at 0° C. to 40° C., with room temperature preferred. Alternately the compound of formula III (where R 2 =H) is converted to the 2,2,2-trichloroethyl ester utilizing trichloroethyl chloroformate in the presence of pyridine as a base with an inert co-solvent. Acetone is an example of an inert co-solvent. This esterification is carried out at -5° C. to 35° C., with room temperature being preferred.
III→IV
After purification by standard chromatographic means, the compound of formula III (where R 2 is a carboxy protecting group as defined above) is subjected to ester cleaving conditions, which will be dictated by the nature of the carboxy protecting group. For example, standard base or acid mediated hydrolysis is preferred when R 2 is a simple alkyl. When R 2 is a diarylmethyl group, e.g., benzhydryl, removal of the ester group is achieved by reaction with a strong acid in a polar, anhydrous solvent. A preferred strong acid, which also serves as solvent is trifluoroacetic acid. An alternative strong acid is e.g., hydrogen chloride, when used in a polar solvent (e.g., nitromethane or sulfolane). It is advantageous to carry out the removal of the diarylmethyl ester group in the presence of a cation scavenger, e.g., anisole. The reaction temperature in these processes may vary between about -15° C. to room temperature, with about 0° C. preferred.
IV→V
The compound of formula IV is reductively dehalogenated by catalytic hydrogenation or by dissolving metal reduction. If dehalogenation is achieved by catalytic hydrogenation, a transition metal catalyst, such as palladium on carbon, is used. Pressure of hydrogen can vary between atmospheric pressure and approximately 100 psi. Solvents used in this hydrogenation can include water, lower alkanols, ethyl acetate or other polar solvents, such as, acetonitrile. It may be advantageous to carry out the hydrogenation in a mixture of the above solvents. The hydrogenation is carried out in the presence of an acid scavenger, such as, alkali metal bicarbonate, e.g., NaHCO 3 or an alkaline earth metal carbonate. The reaction temperature may vary from about 0° C. to 50° C. with about room temperature as preferred. If dehalogenation is achieved by dissolving metal reduction, a preferred mode utilizes reaction with zinc in acetic acid. The temperature used for this reaction may vary from 0° C. to 50° C., with room temperature preferred.
III→V
Alternatively, if R 2 in formula III is benzyl, substituted benzyl, dialkylmethyl or trichloroethyl, the conversion of formula III to formula V may be accomplished directly, i.e., removal of the carboxy protecting group R 2 and the halogen R 1 are achieved in a single reduction step. Thus, if R 2 is benzyl, substituted benzyl or dialkylmethyl, the catalytic hydrogenation, specified above, (IV→V), will effect direct conversion of formula III to formula V. If R 2 is trichloroethyl, reaction of formula III with zinc in acetic acid as above will directly afford formula V. The reaction conditions are as set forth in step IV→V. It should be noted that a non-isolated intermediate compound wherein R 1 is removed but R 2 remains may be formed but will eventually be converted to the compound of formula V under continuing reductive conditions.
V→I
The compound of formula V is converted to the compound of formula I by oxidation with potassium permanganate. The reaction is carried out in aqueous acetic acid at a temperature between -5° C. and 30° C., with about 0° C. preferred. Alternately, the oxidation of the compound of formula V to the compound of formula I can be achieved with peroxy acids, such as, for example, m-chloroperbenzoic acid, peracetic acid, pertrifluoroacetic acid, 2,4-dinitroperbenzoic acid. The reaction of V with peroxy acids is conveniently carried out in an inert organic solvent, such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons, e.g., chloroform, methylene chloride, at a temperature of -10° C. to 50° C. with room temperature preferred.
VI→VII
The compound of formula VI is a known compound, the esters of which are disclosed in U.K. patent application No. 2000138A along with the methods to produce the compounds. For the conversion to a compound of formula VII the compound of formula VI is reacted with a heteroaromatic thiol, such as, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. Suitable reaction solvents include aromatic hydrocarbons, such as, toluene, xylene or benzene. The reaction temperature may be varied from about 50° C. to 150° C. with reflux temperature of the selected solvent as preferred.
VII→VIII
The compound of formula VII is thereafter converted to a compound of formula VIII by reaction with bromine, chlorine or iodine in an inert solvent, such as the halogenated hydrocarbon, e.g., methylene chloride or chloroform in the presence of an acid scavenger, e.g., calcium oxide or polymeric vinyl pyridine or propylene oxide. The reaction temperature may be varied between about -20° C. to room temperature with about -10° C. as preferred.
VIII→IX; VIII→XII; IX→XII
The compound of formula VIII is thereafter oxidized to a compound of formula IX utilizing peracids, such as, m-chloroperbenzoic acid, peracetic acid, pertrifluoroacetic acid, or 2,4-dinitroperbenzoic acid. Suitable reaction solvents for this reaction include aromatic hydrocarbons, e.g., benzene or toluene or a halogenated hydrocarbon, such as, methylene chloride or chloroform. The reaction temprature may be varied from about -10° C. to 50° C. with about 0° C. preferred. Alternatively, the oxidation of formula VIII to a compound of formula IX can be accomplished with sodium periodate or potassium periodate. In this case the reaction is carried out in a mixed solvent consisting of water and a lower alcohol, e.g., methanol or ethanol, at a temperature of 0° C. to 50° C., with room temperature preferred.
If an excess of the oxidant is employed, the compound of formula VIII is converted via a compound of formula IX to a compound of formula XII.
IX→X; XII→XI
The compounds of formulas IX or XII are converted to compounds of formula X or XI by reaction with a base, such as, an organic amine base, e.g., a tertiary amine base, such as, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane or 1,5-diazabicyclo[5.4.0[nonane in a polar organic solvent, such as, dimethylformamide, dioxane or tetrahydrofuran. The reaction temperature may be varied from about -50 ° C. to 0° C. with about -30° C. as preferred.
X→XI
The compound of formula X is oxidized to a compound of formula XI utilizing peroxy acids such as m-chloroperbenzoic acid, peracetic acid, pertrifluoroacetic acid, 2,4-dinitroperbenzoic acid. The reaction of formula X with peroxy acids is conveniently carried out in an inert organic solvent such as the chlorinated hydrocarbons, e.g., chloroform, methylene chloride at a temperature of -10° C. to 50° C., with room temperature preferred.
XI→I
Conditions described for the conversion of a compound of formula III to a compound of formula IV and formula III to formula V are utilized for the analogous conversions of compounds of formula XI to compounds of formula I.
The utility of the compound of formula I is indicated by the β-lactamase inhibition activity as observed in the cell-free enzyme assay below.
Cell-Free Enzyme Assay
The test compound is preincubated with enzyme for 20 min. at 30° C. and pH 7. Chromogenic cephalosporin substrate, nitrocefin, is added and its initial rate of hydrolysis is recorded spectrophotometrically. Three enzyme preparations were employed:
(a) the inducible penicillinase from Staphylococcus aureus 1059B,
(b) the constitutive broad-spectrum TEM type beta-lactamase mediated by the resistance transfer factor R1 in Escherichia coli 1263B, and
(c) the type Ia cephalosporinase from Enterobacter cloacae purchased from Miles Laboratories.
Included for comparison purposes were the antibiotics cloxacillin and dicloxacillin. I 50 (μM) is calculated as the concentration necessary to inhibit the rate of nitrocefin hydrolysis by 50%.
______________________________________ I.sub.50 (μM) Staphy- Entero- lococcus Escherichia bacter aureus coli R1 cloacae______________________________________Dicloxacillin 96 32 0.0014Cloxacillin 365 68 0.00152S-(2α,4α,6α)-4-Methyl- 6.7 1.1 698-oxo-5-thial-1-azatricyclo-/4.2.0.0/2/4/octane-2-carboxylic acid 5,5-dioxide(the compound of formula I)______________________________________
The compound of formula I also exhibits utility as a compound to potentiate the activity of penicillins and cephalosporins which are known in the art. This activity is illustrated by the test and results below:
The efficacy of putative β-lactamase inhibitors is assessed by determining the effect of the test compounds on the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of β-lactamase-sensitive antibiotics against bacterial strains known to produce β-lactamases.
The antibacterial activity of the β-lactamase inhibitor against the test strains is determined by a standard agar dilution method. Serial two-fold dilutions of the β-lactamase inhibitor are prepared in water to give concentrations 10 times the final desired concentrations. The aqueous dilutions are then further diluted 1:10 in Mueller-Hinton (MH) agar. These agar mixtures are poured into petri plates and allowed to harden. Each plate, including a drug-free control plate, is inoculated by means of a Steers replicator with 0.05 mL of 10 -4 dilutions of the test organisms. The 10 '4 dilutions of the organisms are prepared in MH broth from overnight TS broth cultures. The plates are examined for growth after overnight incubation at 37° C. The lowest drug concentration at which three or fewer colonies are observed is considered to be the MIC.
The β-lactamase inhibitor is then tested for potentiation of the antibiotic mecillinam. Aqueous solutions are prepared containing serial two-fold dilutions of mecillinam in the presence of the β-lactamase inhibitor at a constant concentration 2-4 fold less than its MIC for the most sensitive of the test organisms. The same procedure as above is then followed. Controls include a drug-free plate and a plate containing the β-lactamase inhibitor at the concentration used in the test. The MIC of mecillinam as a single agent is also determined at the same time.
______________________________________In Vitro Evaluation of β-Lactamase Inhibitors (MIC:μg/mL).sup.1 Compound of Mecillianam plus Compound of Formula I Formula I Mecillinam (8 μg/mL)______________________________________E. Cloacae P99 Inert 0.03 <0.008E. Coli 7289 Inert 32 0.5E. Coli K12R1 Inert 1 0.06E. Coli ST 323 Inert 4 0.06S. Marcescens S5 Inert 4 2P. Aeruginosa 5700 Inert >128 >128______________________________________
As used throughout the specification the penicillin carboxy protecting group denominated as R 2 can be any carboxy protecting group conventionally used in the penicillin art to protect carboxy groups at the 3-position. The protecting group must be stable during reaction steps, such as, oxidations which the intermediate compounds undergo but must be removable from the immediate precursor of the compund of formula I using conditions under which the β-lactam ring remains substantially intact.
As utilized in the present specification, the term "lower alkyl" or "alkyl" refers to both straight and branched chain C 1 to C 7 carbon-hydrogen radicals, preferably C 1 to C 4 carbon-hydrogen radicals, such as, methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl and the like.
As utilized herein the terms, "halogen" or "halo" stand for the chlorine, bromine or iodine members of the class.
As utilized in the present specification the term "aryl" refers to an organic radical derived from a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon by the removal of one atom, e.g., benzyl, nitrobenzyl or chlorobenzyl.
The following examples are illustrative, but not limitative of this invention. All temperatures given are in degrees centigrade, unless indicated otherwise.
EXAMPLE 1
[2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-Bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester
A solution consisting of 1.74 g (8.1 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7β)]-7-amino-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid 1 , 4.56 g (44.3 mmol) of sodium bromide and 22 mL of 2 N sulfuric acid was cooled to -5°. To this was added dropwise 0.954 g (13.8 mmol) of sodium nitrite in 5 mL of water. The reaction was stirred at 0° for 30 min, allowed to warm to 15°, and extracted with two 30 mL portions of methylene chloride. The combined methylene chloride extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and the filtrate treated with a slight excess of freshly prepared diphenyl diazomethane in methylene chloride. After stirring for 15 minutes, the reaction was concentrated on the rotary evaporator to yield an amber foam.
The foam was chromatographed on silica gel 60 (70-230 mesh) using ethyl acetate (1)/cyclohexane(9) to elute. The appropriate fractions were combined and concentrated to yield [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester as a yellow foam.
EXAMPLE 2
[2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-Bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo-[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid
A solution consisting of 0.86 g (1.94 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 [octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester and 4.2 mL of anisole was cooled to 0° and 22 mL of trifluoroacetic acid was added at once. The resultant solution was stirred at 0° for 1 hr. The then dark amber solution was concentrated in vacuo and the residue chromatographed on silica gel 60 (70-230 mesh). The column was eluted with ethyl acetate (25)/EAW-632 is a solution consisting of ethyl acetate (6)/acetic acid (3)/water (2). The appropriate fractions were combined and concentrated in vacuo to yield [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid as a light amber oil.
EXAMPLE 3
[2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]- 4-Methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]-octane-2-carboxylic acid
A mixture consisting of 0.494 g (1.78 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-7-bromo-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]-octane-2-carboxylic acid, 0.75 g (8.9 mmol) of sodium bicarbonate, 0.5 g of 10% Pd/charcoal and 50 mL of water was stirred under hydrogen at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure for 2 hrs. The mixture was filtered and the pH of the filtrate adjusted to 2.0 with 2 N hydrochloric acid. The aqueous solution was extracted two times with 60 mL of ethyl acetate. The extracts were combined, washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and concentrated in vacuo to yield a white solid. Recrystallization from methanol/ether/petroleum ether gave pure [2S-(2α,4α,6α,7α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid mp 153°-157°.
EXAMPLE 4
[2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-Methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid 5,5-dioxide
A solution consisting of 0.158 g (1 mmol) of acetic acid, and 3 mL of water was cooled to 0°. To the cooled, stirred mixture was added dropwise at a rate to maintain the temperature between 0° and 5° a solution consisting of 0.1 g (0.5 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thiatricyclo[4.2.0.0.sup.2,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid, 0.042 g (0.5 mmol) of sodium bicarbonate and 2 mL of water. The reaction mixture was stirred at 5° for 20 minutes after addition was complete. Excess permanganate was destroyed by the addition of sodium bisulfite. The mixture was then filtered through Celite, and the pH of the filtrate was adjusted to 2 with 2 N hydrochloric acid. The aqueous solution was extracted two times with 25 mL portions of ethyl acetate. The combined extracts were washed with brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to yield a white solid. Recrystallization from methanol/ether/petroleum ether gave [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid 5,5-dioxide: mp 177°-179°.
EXAMPLE 5
[2S-(2α,5α,6α)]-6-Bromo-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid
A round-bottom flask equipped with magnetic stirrer and internal thermometer was charged with 34.56 g (0.153 mol) of 6-β-aminopenicillanic acid, 400 mL of 2.5 N sulfuric acid, and 83.2 g (0.808 mol) of sodium bromide. To the stirred, cooled (internal temperature 0°) solution was added dropwise over a period of approximately 15 minutes a solution consisting of 17.0 g (0.246 mol) of sodium nitrite and 80 mL of water (internal temperature less than 5° C.). Nitrogen evolution caused considerable foaming which was controlled by the addition of 25 mL of ether. The reaction was stirred at 0° for 1 h, allowed to warm to 15° and extracted with two 250 mL portions of ether and two 250 mL portions of chloroform. The organic extracts were combined and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solution was filtered and the filtrate treated with activated charcoal. The resulting mixture was filtered through Celite, and the filtrate concentrated on a rotary evaporator. The residue was dried in vacuo to yield [2S-(2α,5α,6α)]-bromo-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid as a light yellow foam.
EXAMPLE 6
[2S-(2α,5α0]-3,3-Dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]-heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester
Two 500 mL Parr bottles were each charged with 10 g (35.7 mmol) of [2S-(2α,5α,6α)]-6-bromo-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid, 200 mL of water, 12.0 g (0.142 mol) of sodium bicarbonate, and 2.5 g of 10% Pd/C. The mixture was hydrogenated on the Parr shaker at 20 lbs. pressure for 11/2 hrs. The catalyst was removed by filtration and the filtrates from each Parr shaker were combined. The pH was adjusted to 2.0 with conc. HCl and the aqueous phase was extracted with two 250 mL portions of methylene chloride. Each extract was washed with the same 500 mL of brine. The combined methylene chloride extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, and the mixture filtered.
To the filtrate was added a freshly prepared solution of diphenyl diazomethane in methylene chloride until the rose color of the diazo compound persisted. The solution was stirred for 15 minutes and 1 mL of glacial acetic acid was added to discharge the remaining diphenyl diazomethane. The resulting solution was concentrated on a rotary evaporator followed by drying under high vacuum to yield crude diphenylmethyl penicillinate as a yellow gum. This material could be used directly in the next example, or alternatively it could be purified by chromatography on silica gel 60 (70-230 mesh) using ethyl acetate (1)/cyclohexane (4) as eluent. Combining the appropriate fractions, followed by concentration in vacuo yielded [2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester.
EXAMPLE 7
[2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-Dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide
Method A.
A round-bottom flask was charged with 22.4 g (0.061 mol) of [2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester, and 200 mL of methanol. To the resultant solution was added dropwise over a period of 10-15 minutes, a solution consisting of 180 mL of 0.5 M sodium metaperiodate and 100 mL of methanol. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 15 hrs. During this time, a white precipitate was deposited.
The methanol was removed on a rotary evaporator (Temp <35°) and the remaining mixture was partitioned between 1 L of brine and 1 L of ethyl acetate. The layers were separated and the aqueous layer was extracted again with 1 L of ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate extracts were washed with the same 1 L of brine, combined, and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. The mixture was filtered and the filtrate concentrated on a rotary evaporator until the sulfoxide began to crystallize. The solution was then removed from the rotary evaporator and warmed to dissolve the solids. Addition of ether/petroleum ether caused crystallization to begin. After cooling the mixture in the refrigerator, the solids were collected by filtration. Air drying yielded [2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo-[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide: mp 158°-160° C.
Method B.
A solution consisting of 96.5 g (0.26 mol) [2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester and 1.2 L methylene chloride was cooled to -5° C. m-Chloroperbenzoic acid was added portionwise at a rate such that the reaction temperature was less than 0° C. The mixture was allowed to warm to 20° C. and was partitioned between ethyl acetate and water. The organic solutions were washed with brine, dried and concentrated to a volume of 600 mL. The resultant suspension was warmed to effect solution, treated with a small volume of petroleum ether to initiate crystallization, cooled and filtered to yield the title product. The NMR spectrum of this material was the same as the spectrum of the material isolated in Method A.
EXAMPLE 8
[R-(R*)]-2-[(2-Benzothiazolyl)dithio]-α-(1-methylethenyl)-4-oxo-1-azetidineacetic acid diphenylmethyl ester
A round-bottom flask equipped with reflux condenser and Dean-Stark water separator was charged with 19.2 g (50 mmol) of [2S-(2α,5α)]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide, 8.55 g (51 mmol) of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and 250 mL of toluene. The reaction mixture was heated at reflux temperature for 2 h. The solution was then cooled and concentrated in vacuo to yield [R-(R*)]-2-[2(-benzothiazolyl)dithio]-α-(1-azetidineacetic acid diphenylmethyl ester as an amber oil.
EXAMPLE 9
[2S-(2α,3β,5α)]-3-(Bromomethyl)-3-methyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo-[3.2.0]heptane-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide (both isomers)
A round-bottom flask was charged with 28.4 g (53.4 mmol) of [R-(R*)]-2-[(2-benzothiazolyl)dithio]-α-(1-methylethenyl)-4-oxo-1-azetidineacetic acid diphenylmethyl ester, 5.7 g (101.6 mmol) of calcium oxide and 350 mL of dry methylene chloride. The mixture was cooled to -10° with stirring and 125 mL of a solution consisting of 2.0 mL of bromine in 200 mL of methylene chloride was added dropwise. The reaction mixture turned light yellow and was stirred for 10 minutes at -10°. Cyclohexane (300 mL), ether (150 mL) and petroleum ether (150 mL) were added to the reaction and the stirring was continued at 0° for 5 minutes. The solids were removed from the reaction mixture by filtration through celite, and to the filtrate was added a solution consisting of 10.4 g m-chloroperbenzoic acid in 150 mL chloroform. The resulting solution was stirred at 0° C. for 30 min, washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate and with brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo to yield a yellow foam. The foam was chromatographed on silica gel (ethyl acetate/hexane; 2:3). The two possible sulfoxide isomers of [2S-(2α,3β,5α)]-3-(bromomethyl)-3-methyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide were obtained. The sulfoxide eluted first, isomer A, was obtained as a white crystalline solid: mp 129°-132° C. dec. The sulfoxide isomer eluted second was obtained as a yellow foam.
EXAMPLE 10
[2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-Methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5-oxide
A round-bottom flask equipped with an argon bubbler was charged with 5.3 g (11.5 mmol) of [2S-(2α,3β,5α)]-3-(bromomethyl)-3-methyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azatricyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4-oxide, and 15 mL of dry N,N-dimethylformamide. The solution was cooled to -30° and a solution consisting of 1.82 g (11.9 mmol) of 1,5-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-5-ene(DBU) and 15 mL of dry N,N-dimethylformamide was added dropwise. After addition was complete, the reaction mixture was stirred at -30° for 3 h, and poured into 250 mL of ethyl acetate. The resultant mixture was filtered through a cotton plug. The filtrate was washed two times with 0.2 N hydrochloric acid, two times with saturated sodium bicarbonate, and two times with brine/water (1:1). Each aqueous phase was backwashed with the same portion of ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate solutions were combined, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, treated with activated charcoal, filtered and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo to yield a solid residue. The solid was triturated with ethyl acetate (1)/cyclohexane (1) to yield [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5-oxide: mp 195°-7° dec.
EXAMPLE 11
[2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-Methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5,5-dioxide
Method A.
A round-bottom flask was charged with 1.64 g (4.3 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5-oxide and 40 mL of chloroform. The resultant solution was cooled to 0° with stirring and a solution consisting of 1.02 g of m-chloroperbenzoic acid (80-90% pure) in 25 mL of chloroform was added dropwise. The reaction mixture was allowed to warm to and stir at room temperature. After 5 h, it was washed once with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate and once with brine. The organic phase was separated, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo. Crystallization of the residue from ethyl acetate/ether/petroleum ether gave [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azetricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5,5-dioxide as a white solid: mp 203°-6° dec.
Method B.
A flask was charged with 0.478 g (1 mmol) of [2S-(2,α,3β,5α)]-3-bromomethyl-3-methyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4,4-dioxide and 4 mL of dry N,N-dimethylformamide. The resultant solution was cooled to -30° C. and a solution of 0.159 g 1,5-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-5-ene in 3 mL N,N-dimethylformamide was added dropwise. The reaction was stirred for 3 hr at -30° C. and then processed in the same manner as the reaction mixture of Example 10. Crystallization of the product from ethyl acetate/ether/petroleum ether gave material identical to that obtained in Example 11, Method A.
EXAMPLE 12
[2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-Methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid 5,5-dioxide
Method A.
A 500 mL Parr bottle was charged with 0.958 g (2.4 mmol) of [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 5,5-dioxide, 100 mL of ethyl acetate and 1.0 g of 10% Pd/C. The mixture was shaken under 40 lbs. of hydrogen pressure for 11/2 hrs, filtered to remove the catalyst and the filtrate extracted two times with 25 mL portions of 5% aqueous sodium bicarbonate. The aqueous phase was separated and adjusted to pH 2 with conc. hydrochloric acid. It was extracted two times with 50 mL portions of ethyl acetate. The extracts were combined, dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated to yield [2S-(2α,4α,6α)]-4-methyl-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azatricyclo[4.2.0.0 2 ,4 ]octane-2-carboxylic acid 5,5-dioxide as a white solid. Trituration with ether gave material which was identical to the sulfone carboxylic acid isolated in Example 4.
Method B.
A round-bottom flask equipped with argon bubbler was charged with 0.769 g (1.94 mmol) of sulfone starting material and 4.0 mL of anisole. The resultant solution was cooled to 0° and 20 mL of previously cooled trifluoroacetic acid was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at 0° for 1 hour, concentrated in vacuo and the residue partitioned between 50 mL of ethyl acetate. The aqueous phase was extracted once with 50 mL of ethyl acetate and the organic phases were combined. The resultant ethyl acetate solution was washed two times with 25 mL portions of 5% aqueous sodium bicarbonate. The combined bicarbonate extracts were adjusted to pH 2 with 2 N hydrochloric acid and extracted with two 50 mL portions of ethyl acetate. The combined organic extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo to yield a light yellow semi-solid. Subjecting the semi-solid to a repetition of the bicarbonate extraction sequence gave a solid which on crystallization from methanol/ether/petroleum ether gave a sulfone carboxylic acid as white crystals. This material was identical to the sulfone carboxylic acid isolated in Example 4.
EXAMPLE 13
[2S-(2α,3β,5α)]-3-Bromomethyl-3-methyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid diphenylmethyl ester 4,4-dioxide
Method A.
To a solution consisting of 4.62 g (10 mmol) of sulfoxide A (described in Example 9) and 50 mL of chloroform was added a solution consisting of 4.2 g m-chloroperbenzoic acid and 50 mL of chloroform. The reaction mixture was then heated at 55° C. for 11/2 hr, allowed to cool, washed with saturated bicarbonate and with brine/water (1:1). The organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated to yield a yellow foam. Chromatography of the foam on silica gel (ethyl acetate/hexane; 1:2) yielded the title compound as a white foam.
Method B.
To a solution consisting of 2.1 g (4.5 mmol) of sulfoxide B (described in Example 9) and 15 mL of chloroform was added a solution consisting of 1.01 g m-chloroperbenzoic acid and 15 mL chloroform. The solution was stirred at ambient temperature for 15 hr and then subjected to a work-up similar to that used in Method A. Chromatography on silica gel (ethyl acetate/hexane; 1:2) yielded the title compound as a white foam. | A β-lactamase inhibitor of the formula ##STR1## and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are presented. Also presented are intermediates and synthetic processes for the manufacture of the formula I compound.
The compound inhibits the activity of enzymes which inactivate certain βlactam antibiotics. | 2 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Apparatuses are known in the prior art for the purpose of crimping textile material and some examples of the prior art are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,156,723; 3,241,195 and 3,241,213. The objective of the present invention is to improve on the prior art by providing a more efficient and reliable textile crimping apparatus which completely handles or processes the textile stock from delivery by a carding machine or garnett to the gentle coiling of the crimped stock in a slowly rotating can or receptacle beneath the discharge end of an elevating conveyor.
A further object is to provide a crimping apparatus having improved means for delivering a loose web of short staple textile stock into the mouth of a flared trumpet immediately in advance of stock feeding and compression rolls which are power driven in synchronism while subjected to controlled compression.
Another object of the invention is to provide in such an apparatus an essentially one piece trouble-free crimping or stuffing box which will require no adjustment following initial installation.
A further and more general object of the invention is to provide a textile crimping apparatus which is rugged and durable, requires minimum maintenance, is simplified, and is entirely practical and relatively economical to manufacture.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a textile crimping apparatus embodying the invention.
FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken through the crimping or stuffing box and associated components of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a partly diagrammatic cross sectional view taken through the stuffing box and adjacent stock feeding rolls and showing the continuous formation of crimps in the stock as it passes through the apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the apparatus illustrating its mode of operation.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a trumpet and its mounting.
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view, partly broken away, showing a rotating stock coiling can and its drive means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals designate like parts, the crimping apparatus according to the invention comprises a main horizontal elevated support beam 20, preferably in the form of a rigid box member, supported at its opposite ends by sturdy leg frames 21, suitably secured thereto.
A pair of outrigger support arms 22 attached rigidly to the beam 20 near its opposite ends extend forwardly thereof and serve as the support for the opposite corners of a textile stock or web infeed tray 23 whose flat bottom wall slopes downwardly toward the beam 20 and toward the rear of the apparatus as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The tray 23 has bracket means 24 for attaching it to the support arms 22 and the details of this bracket means are unimportant to the invention. The tray has converging side walls 25 which converge toward the rear of the apparatus and these side walls serve to funnel the textile web toward a centrally located trumpet 26 which is fixedly mounted to the top wall of the support beam 20 by a bracket 27 attached to the beam as at 28, FIG. 7. The rearwardly tapering end of the infeed tray 23 is suitably supported on the center portion of the beam 20. The forward wide end of the tray is entirely open to receive the textile stock from a doffer type roll of a carding machine, garnett or the like, not shown.
A pair of inclined and converging air nozzles 29 mounted on the arms 22 and overlying the forward corners of the tray 23 serve to gather the loosely defined textile web toward the center of the tray and to lift the stock from the tray or pan for directing it into the mouth of the trumpet 26 which further concentrates or compacts the stock.
Immediately rearwardly of the trumpet 26 are upper and lower stock feed and compression rolls 30 and 31, the lower one of which is secured to a horizontal transverse drive shaft 32 held in bearings 33 on the beam 20. The shaft 32 carries a driving sprocket gear 34 adapted to be driven by conventional power means, not shown.
The upper roll 30 is mounted on a shaft 35 carrying a gear 36 at one end thereof, in mesh with a gear 37 on the corresponding end of drive shaft 32 and driven thereby.
The upper roll 30, through its shaft 35, is urged downwardly into compressive engagement with the lower roll 31 by a pair of spaced vertical air cylinders 38 whose extensible and retractable rods 39 are coupled as at 40 to bearing collars 41 in which the shaft 35 is journaled. Cushion springs 42 on the rods 39 cushion the retraction of the rods. The air cylinders 38 are under control of a manual valve 43, FIG. 3, mounted on top of a frame structure 44 on which the cylinders 38 and associated parts are mounted. The vertical legs 45 of this frame structure are securely based on the beam 20. A safety housing 46 mounted on the beam 20 encloses the two gears 36 and 37, as shown.
Immediately rearwardly of the feed and compression rolls 30 and 31 in close fitting relation with the nip of these rolls is the tapered mouth 47 of an inclined crimping or stuffing box 48 which is essentially of one piece rigid construction, and rectangular in cross section, having a flat bottom wall 49, foreshortened top wall 50 and a pair of side walls 51, all integrally joined. The stuffing box 48 is essentially open at its forward and rear ends to allow passage of the textile stock 52 therethrough during the continuous crimping operation, which will be further described.
The crimping or stuffing box 48 includes a flat vertically swingable cover plate 53 having its forward end hinged at 54 to the slide plates 51, so that the cover plate may move downwardly between the two side walls and form with the fixed bottom wall 49 a rearwardly tapering constricted crimping passage 55. The rearward end of the plate 53 is freely disposed relative to the one piece body of the stuffing box so that a variable restricted outlet for the crimped stock is formed at the rear end of the stuffing box, FIGS. 4 and 6.
An air cylinder 56 carried by a bracket 57 rigidly attached to the stuffing box side walls has a depending plunger 58, whose rounded lower end 59 bears on the top of the cover plate 53 near the rear end of the latter and forces the same downwardly into controlled compressive contact with the textile stock being subjected to crimping in the wedge-shaped chamber 55. The plate 53 will be urged downwardly by a predetermined desirable pressure in the cylinder 56, such as 30 p.s.i., approximately. When the compressive force on the crimped stock in the chamber 55 exceeds this level, the plunger 58 will yield so that the plate 53 may rise somewhat and allow the continued passage of the textile stock through the apparatus. The arrangement maintains a relatively constant compressive force on the stock while passing through the tapering chamber 55. By comparison, the two air cylinders 38 are preferably pressurized to approximately 150 p.s.i. during the operation of the apparatus so as to exert the desired compressive force on the upper roll 30. These pressures are not extremely critical and may be varied.
The one piece stuffing box 48 has a pair of threaded spaced mounting studs 60 depending therefrom, adjustably engaged with a mounting bracket 61, FIG. 1, having a depending plate portion 62 which is preferably adjustably secured to the rear side of the beam 20. Through slots in the mounting bracket 61, not shown, the bracket itself and the stuffing box 48 may be initially properly adjusted relative to the rolls 31 and rigidly locked in place so that no further adjustment of the stuffing box will be required. The bracket 61 is stabilized by a leg support element 63 rigidly attached thereto rearwardly of the beam 20. The bracket 57 on the stuffing box is stabilized by a turnbuckle 64 or the like secured to another bracket 65 rigid with the top of cylinder support frame 44, FIG. 1. These elements of support are omitted in the other views of the drawings for the sake of clarity and simplicity of illustration and to avoid obscuring more vital elements.
As shown in FIG. 4, a perforated steam pipe 66 delivers upwardly directed live steam jets 67 through the bottom wall of the stuffing box 48 near the inlet or mouth thereof and which jets impinge on the bottom of the textile stock 52 passing continuously through the stuffing box. The pipe 66 is supplied with steam from a line 68 having a valve 69 connected therein. The line or pipe 68, as shown in FIG. 3, may be stabilized and supported by a lateral extension 70 of the bracket 57.
Rearwardly of the discharge end of crimping or stuffing box 48 is an inclined slatted conveyor or elevator 71 which receives the crimped stock and carries it upwardly and rearwardly from the stuffing box for delivery into a slowly rotating stock coiling and storage can 72 mounted on a turntable 73 in offset or eccentric relation to the rear discharge end of the conveyor 71.
The upper end of the slatted conveyor 71 is powered by a horizontal transverse shaft 74, coupled with and driven by enclosed inclined gearing 75, in turn driven at its lower end by the drive shaft 32. The frame of conveyor 71 may be supported by a side bracket arm 76 secured to the housing 77 for gearing 75.
Similarly, gearing 78, such as a chain drive coupled with the drive shaft 32 and driven thereby, extends rearwardly through a floor based housing 79 and is operatively engaged with a sprocket gear 80, FIG. 8, on a horizontal shaft 81 held in bearings 82. The shaft 81, through additional gearing 83 and 84, drives a turntable gear 85 which produces rotation of the aforementioned turntable 73 on which the rotating can 72 is positioned for receiving and coiling the crimped stock gently and without tensioning it.
OPERATION
While the operation of the apparatus should be generally clear from the foregoing detailed description, nevertheless it may be summarized as follows.
A loosely defined textile web is taken from a carding machine or garnett and led onto the pan 23, where the action of the air nozzles 29 concentrates the web at the center of the pan and boosts it into the trumpet 26, from which the feed and compression rolls 30 and 31 deliver the compacted and now well defined web into the mouth of stuffing box 48, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the stuffing box, the continued feeding of the web or stock by the rolls 30 and 31 coupled with the retarding action of the pressurized top plate 53 and the dampening action of the steam jets 67 cause the web to be continually uniformly crimped in a zigzig pattern, as illustrated. The crimping of the material will be permanent due to mechanical stressing of the fibers in the continuous crimping process. The material is useful as batting or padding for sleeping bags, mattresses, quilts, jackets and other well known applications.
Following its discharge from the stuffing box in a uniformly and permanently crimped state, the product is neatly delivered into the rotating can 72 in a coiled state and without stretching the material, as described.
The apparatus is efficient and simplified and accomplishes the complete handling or processing of the textile material from the time it is discharged from a card or the like onto the pan 23 until its delivery as a crimped product into the can 72. The advantages of the invention over the prior art should be apparent to those skilled in the art.
It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims. | Textile stock, natural or synthetic, is taken from a carding machine or garnett and delivered to a sloping web infeed pan. Jets of air from air nozzles direct and boost the textile web into a trumpet immediately in advance of pressurized web compressing and feed rolls. Such rolls deliver the web directly into the mouth of a steam injected one piece crimping or stuffing box having a pressurized hinged cover plate to regulate the crimp in the material. The crimped web, after discharging from the stuffing box, is elevated by a slatted conveyor for delivery to a slowly turning crimped stock receptacle into which the stock is coiled without stretching it. | 3 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to application “Transistor with High-K Dielectric Sidewall Spacer,” Ser. No. ______, now ______, and application “Metal High Dielectric Constant Transistor with Reverse-T Gate,” Ser. No. ______, now ______, which were filed on the same day as the present application and commonly assigned therewith to International Business Machines Corporation. These related applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductors, and more particularly relates to metal high dielectric constant transistors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Metal high dielectric constant (high-k) transistors, or “MHK transistors”, are experiencing extremely active development in the industry. One observed problem with such transistors relates to the presence of an elevated outer fringe capacitance Cof, on the order of 40-80 aF/μm. This elevated capacitance Cof occurs because the gate sidewall of an MHK transistor no longer depletes as in a transistor with a conventional polysilicon gate. The elevated value of outer fringe capacitance Cof is of concern because it at least impairs high frequency operation of the MHK transistor. The elevated value of this capacitance Cof has a performance impact of approximately 1.25% per 10 aF, resulting in a 5%-10% decrease in AC performance. Current technologies do not provide a reduction in the parasitic Miller capacitance when metal-like materials (such as TiN) are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for fabricating a transistor. According to the method, a silicon layer is provided, and a first layer is formed on the silicon layer. A second layer is formed on the first layer, and a third layer is formed on the second layer. The first layer comprises a high dielectric constant material, the second layer includes a metal or metal alloy, and the third layer includes silicon or polysilicon. The first, second, and third layers are etched so as to form a gate stack, and ions are implanted so as to form source and drain regions in the silicon layer on opposite sides of the gate stack. A source silicide contact area is formed in the source region, a drain silicide contact area is formed in the drain region, and a gate silicide contact area is formed in the third layer of the gate stack. After forming the source, drain, and gate silicide contact areas, the third layer of the gate stack is etched without etching the first and second layers of the gate stack, so as to substantially reduce the width of the third layer of the gate stack.
[0005] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration only and various modifications may naturally be performed without deviating from the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional metal high dielectric constant transistor;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a metal high dielectric constant transistor having a reverse-T gate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0008] FIGS. 3-8 are cross-sectional views of a process for fabricating a metal high dielectric constant transistor having a reverse-T gate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention provide metal high dielectric constant (high-k) transistors (“MHK transistors”) with a reverse-T gate. The reverse-T gate includes a polysilicon layer with a substantially reduced width, which results in an increase in the distance between the polysilicon layer and the contact stud. Therefore, parasitic capacitance between the polysilicon gate layer and the contact stud is reduced.
[0010] FIG. 1 shows a conventional MHK transistor, and FIG. 2 shows an MHK transistor having a reverse-T gate in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. With respect to the conventional MHK transistor 100 , a parasitic gate-to-contact capacitance is made up of a capacitance 104 between the metal gate layer 106 and the contact stud 108 , and a capacitance 110 between the polysilicon gate layer 112 and the contact stud 108 .
[0011] The MHK transistor 200 of FIG. 2 also has such a parasitic capacitance. However, in embodiments of the present invention, the polysilicon gate layer width is less than the width of the metal gate layer. For example, in this embodiment, the width of the polysilicon gate layer 212 is between about ⅓ and ½ of the width of the metal gate layer. Because the width of the polysilicon gate layer 212 is substantially reduced, the distance between the polysilicon gate layer 212 and the contact stud 208 is increased. Therefore, the capacitance between the polysilicon gate layer 212 and the contact stud 208 is reduced, which results in a parasitic gate-to-contact capacitance that is lower than in the conventional MHK transistor. As pitch scaling continues, this reduction in parasitic capacitance becomes more substantial.
[0012] FIGS. 3-8 show one embodiment of a process for fabricating an MHK transistor with a reverse-T gate. The process begins with a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer that has, formed on a silicon substrate, an overlying oxide layer (“BOX”) 314 (e.g., of 3 μm), and overlying silicon layer 316 . A conventional high-k dielectric layer 318 and a metal layer 320 are deposited on the silicon layer 316 . In this embodiment, the high-k layer 318 has an exemplary thickness in the range of about 1-3 nm, and comprises a material having a dielectric constant (k) in the range of about 20-25 (as compared to 3.9 for SiO 2 ), such as hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ). The metal (or metal-like) layer 320 comprises a metal or metal alloy such as titanium nitride (TiN), and has a thickness of about 10 nm. These two layers 318 and 320 form the (as yet unpatterned) MHK gate stack layers. This initial structure represents a conventional SOI CMOS with an MHK gate stack. A polysilicon (or amorphous silicon) layer 312 is then deposited on top of the metal layer 320 , with a thickness in the range of about 30-100 nm.
[0013] FIG. 3 shows the transistor formation process after a conventional gate stack etch has been performed (without showing the underlying silicon substrate for simplicity). In this embodiment, the gate stack etch stops at the silicon layer 316 . After the gate stack is etched, a disposable spacer 424 is formed on sidewalls of the gate stack, as shown in FIG. 4 .
[0014] The disposable spacer 424 of this embodiment is a nitride spacer that is formed by depositing a 5-50 nm thick nitride layer (e.g., using RTCVD or PECVD) and then performing a reactive ion etch (RIE) that stops on an underlying oxide liner so as not to consume any of the underlying silicon. Photolithography and ion implantation are then used to define source/drain extension. For an NFET the implant is performed using an n-type species, and for a PFET the implant is performed using a p-type species. Thus, source/drain extensions 426 are formed.
[0015] The disposable spacer 424 that was used to offset the ion implantation from the gate edge is then removed, such as through a hot phosphoric acid etch, other wet dip process, or through a highly selective RIE etch. As shown in FIG. 5 , an oxide and/or nitride diffusion spacer 630 is formed by depositing and etching one or more layers of nitride and/or oxide (for example, using PECVD). The diffusion spacer 630 of this embodiment has an exemplary thickness of about 2-10 nm. Source and drain regions are then implanted. The source/drain implant is performed using a p-type species for an NFET (for example, As or P) or using an n-type species for a PFET (for example, B or BF 2 ). A subsequent rapid thermal anneal (RTA) is performed (e.g., millisecond laser anneal or flash anneal) to provide relatively deep diffusions for the source and drain regions 632 , which are separated by the gate region.
[0016] Conventional processing is then used to silicide the gate, source, and drain (typically with Ni or Co) of the transistor, as shown in FIG. 6 . The silicide contact areas 734 and 736 are formed using the diffusion spacer 630 for alignment. In particular, a portion for the contact area is removed (e.g., through a wet etch using HF), a metal is deposited, an anneal is performed to form silicide, and then the metal is selectively removed so as to leave the silicide (e.g., through an aqua regia wet etch). In this exemplary embodiment, the metal is nickel, cobalt, titanium, or platinum.
[0017] After the silicide contact areas 734 and 736 have been formed, the diffusion spacer 630 is removed, such as through RIE. This exposes the sides of the polysilicon layer 312 of the gate stack. The polysilicon layer 312 is then etched using a process that is selective between the polysilicon and the other exposed materials, such as a wet or dry etching. This etching substantially reduces the width of the polysilicon layer 312 of the gate stack. In this exemplary embodiment, the width of the polysilicon layer 312 is reduced to between about ⅓ and ½ of the width of the metal layer 320 . This creates the “reverse-T gate 202 , as shown in FIG. 7 . That is, a lateral extent (width) of the high-k and metal layers 318 and 320 is substantially greater than a lateral extent (width) of the polysilicon layer 312 of the gate stack. As explained above, this substantial reduction in the width of the polysilicon layer 312 results in a reduction in the parasitic capacitance between the polysilicon layer and the adjacent contact stud.
[0018] Further, in this embodiment, this etch is selective with respect to the gate silicide contact area 734 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 , the lateral extent (width) of the gate silicide contact area 734 is also substantially greater than the lateral extent (width) of the polysilicon layer 312 of the gate stack. In another embodiment, this etch is not selective with respect to the gate silicide contact area 734 , so after etching the lateral extent (width) of the gate suicide contact area 734 is substantially equal to the lateral extent (width) of the polysilicon layer 312 of the gate stack.
[0019] Then, conventional fabrication processes are used to complete the transistor. For example, in this embodiment an oxide and/or nitride spacer 830 is formed by depositing and etching one or more layers of nitride and/or oxide (for example, using PECVD). As shown in FIG. 8 , the spacer 830 of this embodiment has an exemplary thickness of about 2-10 nm.
[0020] Accordingly, the present invention provides metal high-k dielectric (MHK) transistors with a reverse-T gate. This reverse-T gate is a gate stack having a polysilicon layer with a substantially reduced width, which increases the distance between the polysilicon layer of the gate stack and the adjacent contact stud. Therefore, the parasitic capacitance between the polysilicon layer and the contact stud is reduced.
[0021] The embodiments of the present invention described above are meant to be illustrative of the principles of the present invention. These MHK device fabrication processes are compatible with CMOS semiconductor fabrication methodology, and thus various modifications and adaptations can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art. All such modifications still fall within the scope of the present invention.
[0022] For example, while the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described above relate to gate structures that use hafnium dioxide for the high-k layer and titanium nitride for the metal layer, further embodiments can use other compatible materials, such as ZrO 2 or HfSi x O y , which both exhibit the high dielectric constant (e.g., k of approximately 20-25) needed to provide a larger equivalent oxide thickness. Similarly, other metal oxide-based materials may be used, such as a uniform or a composite layer comprised of one or more of Ta 2 O 5 , TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 and La 2 O 5 . The metal-containing layer 114 could also be formed of another material, such as one or more of Ta, TaN, TaCN, TaSiN, TaSi, AlN, W and Mo. Additionally, the upper layer 312 of the gate stack can be comprised of any material that is able to be etched, remain conductive, and withstand high temperatures. Similarly, while the embodiments described above relate to a transistor on an SOI wafer, the transistors and fabrication methods of the present invention are also applicable to bulk technologies. Likewise, the various layer thicknesses, material types, deposition techniques, and the like discussed above are not meant to be limiting.
[0023] Furthermore, some of the features of the examples of the present invention may be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features. As such, the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings, examples and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and not in limitation thereof.
[0024] It should be understood that these embodiments are only examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In general, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in the plural and vice versa with no loss of generality.
[0025] The circuit as described above is part of the design for an integrated circuit chip. The chip design is created in a graphical computer programming language, and stored in a computer storage medium (such as a disk, tape, physical hard drive, or virtual hard drive such as in a storage access network). If the designer does not fabricate chips or the photolithographic masks used to fabricate chips, the designer transmits the resulting design by physical means (e.g., by providing a copy of the storage medium storing the design) or electronically (e.g., through the Internet) to such entities, directly or indirectly. The stored design is then converted into the appropriate format (e.g., GDSII) for the fabrication of photolithographic masks, which typically include multiple copies of the chip design in question that are to be formed on a wafer. The photolithographic masks are utilized to define areas of the wafer (and/or the layers thereon) to be etched or otherwise processed.
[0026] The method as described above is used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips.
[0027] The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare chip, or in a packaged form. In the latter case, the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case, the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard, or other input device, and a central processor. | A method is provided for fabricating a transistor. A silicon layer is provided, and a first layer comprising a high dielectric constant material is formed on the silicon layer. A second layer including a metal or metal alloy is formed on the first layer, and a third layer including silicon or polysilicon is formed on the second layer. The first, second, and third layers are etched so as to form a gate stack, and ions are implanted to form source and drain regions in the silicon layer. Source and drain silicide contact areas are formed in the source and drain regions, and a gate silicide contact area is formed in the third layer. After forming these silicide contact areas, the third layer is etched without etching the first and second layers, so as to substantially reduce the width of the third layer. | 7 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This subject matter is related generally to managing in-transit assets and shipments in real-time.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A wireless monitoring device (Tag), which can use various technologies such as GPS, RFID, and GPRS, can be used to track movements of an asset (e.g., a shipping container) on which the Tag is mounted. However, until an association is made between the Tag and the asset systematically, a tracking application cannot intelligently track the asset's journey through the supply chain.
[0003] Dedicated hand-held devices are often used to associate Tags to assets. The use of a dedicated hand-held device for commissioning can be challenging because the hand-held device needs to be pre-positioned along with the Tag. Also, the initial investment, maintenance and training costs associated with dedicated hand-held devices can be prohibitively expensive.
SUMMARY
[0004] Multi-mode commissioning/decommissioning of Tags for managing assets is disclosed. Users can request commissioning and decommissioning of Tags using multiple modes of communication. The users are authenticated by an information service that receives the requests. Responsive to a successful authentication of a user, the information service receives a Tag identifier and an asset identifier from the user. A tracking application associates the Tag identifier and the asset identifier. After the Tag is associated with the asset, the tracking application can successfully track the geographic location and status data of the asset via the Tag. The location data can be used by the tracking application to track assets in real-time. The status data and location data can be used by the tracking application to detect and verify tamper conditions, including tamper alerts triggered by geo-fences, authorized inspection of the asset, and environmental exceptions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example Zero Client Commissioning system.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process performed by the Tag of FIG. 1 .
[0007] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process performed by the location/status server of FIG. 1 .
[0008] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process performed by a tracking application implementing business logic.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Example ZCC System
[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example Zero Client Commissioning (ZCC) system 100 . ZCC is the association of a Tag to an asset (e.g., a shipping container) without using a dedicated device. The system 100 commissions (associates) Tags to assets, decommissions (disassociates) Tags from assets, provides notification of authorized openings of assets (e.g., opening by a customs agent), clears tamper states, and clears various environmental exceptions (e.g., the exceeding of temperature or humidity thresholds).
[0010] In some implementations, the system 100 can include one or more ZCC input devices 102 , an information service 104 , one or more end user systems 106 , a Tag Logistics System (TLS) 108 , one or more assets 110 , one or more Tags 111 affixed or coupled to the one or more assets 110 , a location/status server 112 , a location/status database 113 , a Tag Pool Management System (TPMS) 114 , a tag database 116 , a message server 118 , an Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system 120 , a transaction (TXN) server 124 , and a failed transaction database 126 .
[0011] The ZCC input devices 102 can be any suitable communication device, including but not limited to mobile phones, land phones, email devices, portable computers, etc. The ZCC input devices 102 communicate with the information service 104 using a variety of communication modes, including but not limited to: IVR, Short Message Service (SMS), email, hand-held application, Web interface, and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or any other form of electronic message sharing. The ZCC input devices 102 can be operated by various actors having various roles in the supply chain, including but not limited to: dock workers, longshoreman, logistics service providers, freight forwarders, field agents, customs agents and any other personnel involved in the tracking of an asset.
[0012] The information service 104 allows end user systems 106 to track the status of assets 110 in real-time. The transaction server 124 runs a tracking application that receives location/status transaction messages or reports from the location/status server 112 and applies business logic 122 to the transactions for validating and maintaining associations between Tag identifiers and asset identifiers. Successful transactions are posted against assets and Tags. Failed transactions and reason codes are written to an exception queue in the failed transaction database 126 .
[0013] The information service 104 can include a Web server (not shown) for providing Web forms to end user systems 106 (e.g., a browser on a PC or mobile device). The Web forms provide an input mechanism for a user to commission or decommission Tags and to receive real-time tracking and status information regarding assets. An example information service 104 is SaviTrak™ provided by Savi Networks, LLC (Mt. View, Calif.).
[0014] The Tag 111 can be, for example, a GPS/GPRS electronic device that can be affixed or coupled to an asset 110 to be tracked, such as an international shipping container. The Tag 111 wakes up periodically to initiate communication with the location/status server 112 and to send location/status transaction messages to the location/status server 112 . The location and status information can be stored in the location/status database 113 . In some implementations, the Tag 111 processes commands (e.g., Over-the-Air (OTA) commands) received from the location/status server 112 . The Tag 111 reports various tamper states. For example, the Tag 111 can report when a vertical or horizontal bolt securing the Tag 111 to a container is cut. Other types of tampers can also be detected (e.g., shock intrusion). Tags 111 can also monitor environmental variables (e.g., temperature, humidity) and report on exceptions to the location/status server 112 . An example Tag 111 is the Savi Networks SN-LSE-01, which is a GPS-based Location+Security+Environmental Tag.
[0015] The location/status server 112 periodically receives reports from the Tag 111 . The reports include location and status information. The location/status server 112 also constructs and sends commands to the Tag 111 . Some transaction management functions performed by the location/status server 112 include but are not limited to: checking incoming transactions for syntax errors and population of mandatory fields, sorting or sequencing reports logically before forwarding the reports to the information service 104 , and constructing output transactions that comply with processing logic.
[0016] In some implementations, the TPMS 114 maintains an inventory of Tags 111 in the tag database 116 . The TPMS 114 also maintains the association of the asset identifier (ID) and Tag ID and the logical state or status of the Tag 111 , such as ‘In Use,’ ‘Available,’ ‘Begin Journey’, ‘End Journey’, etc. The TPMS 114 also maintains the allocation and availability of Tags 111 for logistics and pre-positioning purposes.
[0017] In some implementations, the TPMS 114 allows personnel operating the TLS 108 to perform housekeeping functions, such as Tag forecasts, ordering new Tags, detecting lost Tags, billing management, salvage and environmental disposal of failed Tags, inventory tracking, customer help desk and financial accounting. The TPMS 114 allows personnel operating the TLS 108 to monitor the state of a Tag 111 ‘in journey’, and trouble shoot causes for failure in communicating with the location/status server 112 and locate lost Tags. The TPMS 114 provides analytic tools to monitor Tag network performance (e.g., GPS/GPRS coverage/roaming area for trade lanes).
[0018] The ZCC system 100 is one example infrastructure for implementing ZCC functions. Other infrastructures are also possible which contain more or fewer subsystems or components than shown in FIG. 1 . For example, one or more of the servers or databases shown in FIG. 1 can be combined into a single server or database.
Example Process Performed by Tag
[0019] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 performed by a Tag (e.g., Tag 111 ) operating in a ZCC system 100 . The steps of process 200 need not occur sequentially or in the order described below.
[0020] In some implementations, the process 200 begins when the Tag obtains a position fix ( 202 ). The position fix can be, for example, a GPS or GPRS position fix. The position fix can be obtained periodically based on a schedule (e.g., every 30 minutes) or in response to a trigger event (e.g., a security or environmental alert).
[0021] The Tag periodically wakes up and initiates communication with a location/status server and sends a report to the location/status server ( 204 ). The report can include the current location and status of the Tag. For example, the Tag can identify and report a first wakeup to indicate a ‘Begin Journey’ status.
[0022] In some implementations, the Tag detects and reports tamper conditions ( 206 ). An example tamper condition can be if a vertical or horizontal bolt securing the container is cut. Other tamper conditions can also be monitored (e.g., presence of ambient light).
[0023] In some implementations, the Tag monitors environmental variables and reports on exceptions ( 208 ). An example exception can be a temperature or humidity reading exceeding a predefined threshold value. The Tag can include various sensors (e.g., temperature, acceleration (shock) and humidity sensors) for detecting environmental exceptions.
[0024] The Tag processes OTA commands, if any, received from the location/status server ( 210 ).
Example Process Performed by Location/Status Server
[0025] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process 300 performed by the location/status server (e.g., the location/status server 112 of FIG. 1 ). The steps of process 300 need not occur sequentially or in the order described below.
[0026] In some implementations, the process 300 begins when the location/status server receives a report from a Tag ( 302 ). The location/status server validates that mandatory fields in the report are populated. The location/status server interfaces with the tag pool management system (e.g., the TPMS 114 ) to authenticate the Tag ( 304 ). The location/status server writes the current status of the Tag to the tag database (e.g., tag database 116 ), which is accessible by the tag pool management system ( 306 ). The tag pool management system acts as a registry of Tags. In addition to storing the current state of each Tag, the tag pool management system can use the tag database to keep records of Tag allocations to customers.
[0027] The location/status server sorts or sequences reports received from Tags and forwards them to a tracking application operated by an information service ( 308 ). The location/status server can also format the reports to comply with processing logic of the tracking application. If a ‘Tag to Container’ association transaction message is received by the location/ status server, the location/ status server resends to the tracking application all transaction messages for the tag ID that were earlier sent without a container ID ( 310 ). In some implementations, these earlier transaction messages can be sent in sorted, chronological order.
Example Process Performed by Information Service
[0028] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process 400 performed by a tracking application implementing business logic. The steps of process 400 need not occur sequentially or in the order described below.
[0029] In some implementations, the process 400 begins when the tracking application (e.g., running on transaction server 124 ) receives incoming Tag transaction messages from the location/status server ( 402 ). The tracking application validates the Tag by interfacing with the tag pool management system ( 404 ). The tracking application also verifies the validity of the incoming Tag transaction messages. The tracking application verifies if a reported tamper state is authorized or has occurred in a valid, geo-fenced location indicating authorized opening of the container ( 406 ). A geo-fence is a virtual fence for any location (e.g., city, port, terminal) that is defined in the tracking application. The tracking application commissions or decommissions Tags and assets ( 408 ). The associated Tag ID and container ID resulting from commissioning are stored in the tag database.
[0030] The system 100 and processes 200 , 300 and 400 described above can be used to implement various use cases, some examples of which are described below.
Use Case No. 1—Commissioning Using IVR System
[0031] In all the commission use cases described below, a user wants to systematically associate a Tag to the asset/shipping container on which it is mounted, to facilitate tracking in a tracking application. The user can be a dock worker who mounts the Tag to the container or any other individual in the supply chain that is responsible for the asset (e.g., logistics service provider).
[0032] In some implementations, an IVR system (e.g., IVR system 120 ) is integrated with a tracking application that interacts with a user through a mobile or land phone and converts user responses (e.g., voice and/or key input) into messages that can be processed and stored in the tracking application to commission or decommission a Tag. The user mounts the Tag to the container, then calls a dedicated phone number. The IVR system authenticates the user and provides a selection menu (e.g., audio or visual menu). In some implementations the IVR system includes multi-lingual capability. User authentication can be accomplished by the user entering a password (e.g., an employee ID). The user selects a menu option to commission the Tag. The user enters a Tag identifier ID and a container ID. The IVR system confirms the data entry with the user and converts the IDs into a transaction message.
[0033] The incoming transaction message is processed and stored in the tracking application. The tag is associated to the container in the tracking application. An example transaction message is an Extensible Mark up Language (XML) message. The tracking application can apply one or more business rules to the transaction, such as verifying “check digits” of the container ID against International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container IDs. A “check digit” is defined in the ISO standard to consist of one (Arabic) numeric digit providing a means of validating the recording and transmission accuracies of the owner code and serial number. In some implementations, if the tag ID is invalid, the failed message is added to an exception queue (e.g., a queue in failed transaction database 126 ) with a reason code to be reviewed by the process owner.
Use Case No. 2—Commissioning Using SMS
[0034] In some implementations, SMS messages sent via cell phone are integrated into a tracking application. In this case, the user sends an SMS message using his cell phone (or other device with messaging capability) to a predefined destination with information to identify the desired action. The SMS message can be constructed in a predefined format to identify the action as ‘Commissioning’. For example, the letter ‘C’ can be used to designate Commissioning. The SMS message can also include a predefined format for indicating the Tag ID and associated container ID, such as <Container Number’-‘Tag ID’>.
[0035] The user can be authenticated by 2-way SMS. For example, the user sends an SMS message via cell phone. The message reaches the tracking application successfully and the tracking application, in turn, sends a ‘request for authentication’ message back to the user. The user responds back with a designated password. The tracking application confirms the password and proceeds to process the original SMS message. In some implementations, the tracking application can process SMS messages from both Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile (GSM) networks.
[0036] In some implementations, the SMS message sent by the user can be converted into an XML message and sent to the tracking application. The incoming message is processed and stored in the tracking application. An ‘association was successful’ message can be sent back to the call ID that initiated the SMS message. The Tag ID is associated with the container ID in the tracking application.
[0037] A failed transaction message can be added to an exception queue with a reason code, to be reviewed by the process owner. An error message can be sent back to the caller ID that initiated the message. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 3—Commissioning Using Email
[0038] In some implementations, email (SMTP) messages are used to relay association information to the tracking application. In this case, the user sends an email message using a computer or other email capable device to a predefined mailbox with a predefined format to identify the action desired, such as ‘C’ for Commissioning. A predefined format for the Tag and the associated container can be, for example, <Container Name’-‘Tag ID’>. The email is processed and stored in the tracking application. A success email message is sent back to the initiating email address. The Tag is associated to the container in the tracking application.
[0039] Failed messages can be sent to an exception queue with a reason code, to be reviewed by the process owner. An error email message can be sent to the same email address from which the email originated. User authentication can be accomplished by employing Sender Policy Framework (SPF) in an email server (e.g., message server 118 ). One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 4—Commissioning Using Hand-Held Application
[0040] In some implementations, a light-weight, mobile application can be downloaded to a hand-held computer/device to enable commissioning of a Tag. In this case, the user launches the application on a hand-held computer or device. The user selects an option to commission a Tag to a container and enters the Tag ID and the container ID. The mobile application communicates with the tracking application and uploads the information to the tracking application. The message is processed and stored in the tracking application. An ‘association was successful’ message is sent back to the mobile application. The Tag is associated to the Container in the tracking application.
[0041] User authentication can be accomplished by a user ID and password to download the mobile application on the hand-held device initially. During the download process, the authentication information can be stored on the hand-held device (e.g., as a cookie). One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 5—Commissioning Using Web Interface
[0042] In some implementations, a web form can be provided by a Web server that enables a user to commission or decommission containers to Tags. In this case, the user logs into the tracking application and launches the ‘ZCC Activity’ page. The user enters the Tag ID and the container ID to be associated and marks them to be commissioned. The tracking application processes and stores the information. A success/failure message can be presented to the user. The Tag is associated to the container in the tracking application. A WAP (wireless application protocol)-version of the web interface can also be presented in the mobile browser of a mobile device (e.g., Safari™ on the iPhone™).
[0043] In some implementations, the user has multiple Tags and containers to be commissioned. The user can keep tab of the multiple Tags and the containers to be associated, in a spreadsheet on the user's desktop. The user copies the table of multiple Tags and associated containers from the spreadsheet and pastes the table into the web form, then presses <enter>. The tracking application processes and stores the information. Success/failure messages can be presented to the user for every Tag ID/Container ID association.
[0044] User authentication can be accomplished by successfully logging into the tracking application with a valid user ID and password. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 6—Commissioning Using EDI 304 (Shipping Instructions)
[0045] In some implementations, the tag-to-container association is sent as part of a shipping instruction via an EDI 304 message. In this use case, the shipper or a logistics service provider sends the tag-to-container association as part of the shipping instructions (part of an EDI 304 message), and a copy of the shipping instructions is received by the tracking application. The tracking application receives the shipping instructions successfully and optionally sends a functional acknowledgement (e.g., an EDI 997 message) back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the shipping instructions. The Tag ID is associated to the Container ID in the tracking application.
[0046] Failed EDI messages can be added to an exception queue with a reason code, to be reviewed by the process owner. Authentication can be accomplished by establishing valid sender and receiver IDs in the EDI messages. In case of multiple containers, the Tag information for each container can be accommodated within the same EDI 304 transaction message. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 7—Commissioning Using EDI 310 (Bill of Lading)
[0047] In some implementations, tag-to-container association is sent as part of the Bill of Lading via an EDI 310 message. In this case, the carrier (e.g., ocean carrier) relays the tag-to-container association that was sent to the carrier via the EDI 304 message. A copy of the EDI 310 message is received into the tracking application. The tracking application receives the EDI 310 message successfully and optionally sends an EDI 997 message back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the EDI 310 message. The Tag ID is associated to the Container ID in the tracking application.
[0048] Failed EDI messages can be added to an exception queue with a reason code to be reviewed by the process owner. Authentication can be accomplished by establishing valid sender and receiver IDs in the EDI messages. In case of multiple containers, the Tag information for each container can be accommodated within the same EDI 310 transaction message. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 8—Commissioning Using EDI 315 (Ocean Status Update Message)
[0049] In some implementations, tag-to-container association is sent as part of the ocean status update transaction via an EDI 315 message. In this case, the carrier (e.g., ocean carrier) sends the tag-to-container association as part of the EDI 315 ocean status update message and a copy of the EDI 315 message is received into the tracking application. The tracking application receives the EDI 315 message successfully and optionally sends an EDI 997 message back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the EDI 315 message. The Tag ID is associated to the Container ID in the tracking application.
[0050] Failed EDI messages can be added to an exception queue with a reason code to be reviewed by the process owner. Authentication can be accomplished by establishing valid sender and receiver IDs in the EDI messages. In case of multiple containers, the Tag information for each container can be accommodated within the same EDI 315 transaction message. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 9—Commissioning Using EDI 214 (Truck Status Update Message)
[0051] In some implementations, tag-to-container association is sent as part of the truck status update transaction via an EDI 214 message. In this case, the carrier (e.g., truck carrier) sends the tag-to-container association as part of the EDI 214 ocean status update message and a copy of the EDI 214 message is received into the tracking application. The tracking application receives the EDI 214 message successfully and optionally sends an EDI 997 message back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the EDI 214 message. The Tag ID is associated to the Container ID in the tracking application.
[0052] Failed EDI messages can be added to an exception queue with a reason code to be reviewed by the process owner. Authentication can be accomplished by establishing valid sender and receiver IDs in the EDI messages. In case of multiple containers, the Tag information for each container can be accommodated within the same EDI 214 transaction message. One or more business rules can be applied to the transaction, such as verifying check digits to validate container IDs.
Use Case No. 10—Commissioning Using EDI 301 (Booking Confirmation)
[0053] In some implementations, tag-to-container association is sent as part of the Booking confirmation via an EDI 301 message. The carrier transmits the EDI 301 (Booking confirmation) message. A copy of the EDI 301 message is received into the tracking application. The tracking application receives the EDI 301 message successfully and optionally sends an EDI 997 back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the EDI 301 message. The Tag ID is associated to the Container ID in the tracking application.
[0054] In some implementations, the shipper requests containers as part of their booking request (e.g., via EDI 300 message or via fax, phone, etc.). In this case, the carrier acts as forward-positioning agent; the Tags are already affixed to the containers before the containers are sent to the shipper for stuffing/loading. The carrier transmits the tag-to-container association as part of the EDI 301 (Booking confirmation) message. A copy of the EDI 301 message is received into the tracking application. The tracking application receives the EDI 301 message successfully and optionally sends an EDI 997 message back to the sender. The tracking application processes and stores the EDI 301 message in the tracking application. The user is now able to track the exact location of the container in the tracking application.
Tag-To-Container Decommissioning
[0055] The same modes of communications used for Tag-To-Container commissioning can be used for decommissioning. In these cases, the user wants to systematically disassociate a Tag that is mounted onto a container to stop tracking the container in the tracking application. For IVR, SMS, email, hand-held applications and Web interface modes of communication, decommissioning is performed in a similar manner as commissioning except that appropriate decommission options are selected by the user. For example, a decommissioning action can be identified in an SMS message by ‘D’ for Decommissioning.
Use Case—Infer ‘End Journey’ & Automatic Decommissioning
[0056] In some implementations, the tracking application can logically infer an ‘End of Journey’ state ‘X’ days after the actual arrival at the final destination. The actual arrival can be determined by a position fix at the final destination location sent by the Tag. In this case, the tracking application wants to disassociate a Tag that is mounted onto a container to stop tracking the container in the tracking application. The tracking application checks periodically for all Tags that are still associated to containers ‘X’ days after actual arrival at the final destination and automatically decommissions those Tags from their associated containers.
Use Case—Geo-Fence Validation
[0057] In some implementations, the tracking application logically infers ‘End of Journey’ state if a tamper alert is received for the Tag at a valid, geo-fenced final destination location. In this case, the tracking application receives a GPRS report for the Tag with the current location and tamper state (e.g., a ‘Door Open’ alert). If the Tag registers a tamper alert at a valid, geo-fenced final destination location, the tracking application decommissions the Tag from the Container.
Use Case—Authorized (Customs) Inspection
[0058] In some implementations, several zero-client options can be used for notification of an authorized inspection of a container to the tracking application. The inspection could be performed by customs agents or other agents of the “parties to the transaction (shipment)” who are authorized to perform inspections and/or clear tamper or environmental exception states. The notification of an authorized opening of the container can be issued without the involvement of any dedicated device.
[0059] In this case, the customs inspector or other agent calls a dedicated phone number using a cell phone or land phone before unmounting the Tag and opening the container. An IVR system verifies/authenticates the user and provides a selection menu. The user selects an option to notify customs inspection. The user enters the container ID. The IVR system confirms the data entry with the user. The IVR system converts the information into a message (e.g., an XML message) and sends the message to the tracking application. The incoming message is processed and stored by the tracking system. The tracking system reconciles the tamper alert that it receives from the Tag (after the inspector unmounts the Tag) as an authorized customs inspection. In some implementations, the customs inspector can notify the tracking application as described above after opening the container. In this use case, the tracking application reconciles the tamper alert that the tracking application previously received from the Tag as an authorized customs inspection.
[0060] Other modes of communication (e.g., SMS, email, hand-held application, Web interface, EDI) can be used for this use case. For each communication mode, the tracking system reconciles the tamper alert that it receives from the Tag as an authorized customs inspection only if the tamper alert is received after the inspector unmounts the Tag from the container. In some implementations, the custom inspector notifies the tracking application after opening the container. In this use case, the tracking application reconciles the tamper alert that it previously received from the Tag as an authorized customs inspection.
Use Case—Geo-Fence Validation
[0061] In some implementations, the tracking application logically infers ‘Authorized Customs Inspection’, if a tamper alert is received for the Tag at a designated customs area that has been geo-fenced. In this case, a notification of the authorized opening of a container for customs inspection is communicated to the tracking application. The tracking application receives a GPRS report from the Tag with the current location and tamper state. The tracking application reconciles the tamper alert that it received from the designated, geo-fenced customs area, as an authorized customs inspection. If the container is in a designated customs area that has not been geo-fenced, the tracking application fails to identify the new location as a valid customs area and reports an unauthorized opening of the container.
[0062] The features described can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. The features can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a composition of matter capable of effecting a propagated signal, for execution by a programmable processor; and method steps can be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions of the described implementations by operating on input data and generating output.
[0063] The described features can be implemented advantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. A computer program is a set of instructions that can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result. A computer program can be written in any form of programming language (e.g., Objective-C, Java), including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.
[0064] Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors or cores, of any kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to communicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing data files; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).
[0065] To provide for interaction with a user, the features can be implemented on a computer having a display device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball by which the user can provide input to the computer.
[0066] The features can be implemented in a computer system that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, such as an application server or an Internet server, or that includes a front-end component, such as a client computer having a graphical user interface or an Internet browser, or any combination of them. The components of the system can be connected by any form or medium of digital data communication such as a communication network. Examples of communication networks include, e.g., a LAN, a WAN, and the computers and networks forming the Internet.
[0067] The computer system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.
[0068] A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, elements of one or more implementations may be combined, deleted, modified, or supplemented to form further implementations. As yet another example, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. | Multi-mode commissioning/decommissioning of a wireless monitoring device (Tag) for managing assets and shipments is disclosed. Users can request commissioning, status resets and decommissioning of Tags using multiple modes of communication. The users are authenticated by an information service that receives the requests. Responsive to a successful authentication of a user, the information service receives a tag identifier and an asset identifier from the user. A tracking application associates the Tag identifier and the asset identifier. After the Tag is associated with the asset, the tracking application can successfully track the geographic location and status data of the asset from the Tag. The location data can be used by the tracking application to track assets in real-time. The status data and location data can be used by the tracking application to detect and verify tamper conditions, including tamper alerts triggered by geo-fences, authorized inspection of the asset, and environmental exceptions. | 7 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Priority to the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/342,198 filed on Dec. 19, 2001 is hereby claimed.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] The invention disclosed herein was supported by NASA Grant No. NAGV-1192 through the Center for Space Power and Advanced Electronics of the Auburn University Space Power Institute. The U.S. Government has certain rights in the invention.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] This invention relates generally to power semiconductor devices and more specifically to power semiconductor devices in which graded junction termination extensions (GJT) are formed to increase the breakdown voltage of the device, and to processes for fabricating same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Junction termination extensions (JTEs) and graded junction termination extensions (GJTEs) have been utilized as a device edge passivation technique in high voltage simiconductor devices such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, MCTs, bipolar transistors, thyristors, and diodes. In such devices, the maximum reverse voltage that the device can withstand is limited by the breakdown voltage of the reverse-blocking junction. However, the actual breakdown voltage of the junction normally falls short of the breakdown voltage that might ideally be achieved because of the development of excessively high field strengths at the termination of the junction between the P region and the N region, usually at a location slightly above the metallurgical junction along a region of curvature at the junction termination. The formation of JTEs that overlap and extend laterally from such junctions act to spread the high field strengths over wider areas and thereby increase the voltage at which avalanche breakdown occurs.
[0005] Various techniques, generally employing well known masking, doping, and diffusion processes, have been developed for forming JTEs and GJTEs in semiconductor devices, such as diodes, that are formed on silicon substrates. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,927,772 of Arthur et al., 4,648,174 of Temple et al., and 6,215,168 of Brush et al. all disclose and discuss examples of such techniques and the disclosures of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference. Traditional masking, doping and diffusion techniques work well with semiconductor devices fabricated on silicon because dopants applied to the silicon diffuse into the silicon with relative ease at reasonable temperatures. As a result, the formation of JTEs and GJTEs in silicon-based semiconductor devices has become standard practice, particularly in higher voltage devices.
[0006] Materials other than silicon have been demonstrated to exhibit characteristics superior to silicon as a substrate in high power semiconductor devices. One such material is silicon carbide (SiC). An attractive property of SiC is that its critical field strength is over ten times that of silicon. For a given voltage rating, this high field strength translates to a two to three order of magnitude reduction in the specific on-resistance of the drill region of an SiC power device. Unfortunately, just as in silicon devices, ideal blocking voltage is difficult to achieve due to effects at the device edge. For planar devices, field line crowding causes the electric field to be higher at the perimeter than in the bulk of the device. This field crowding can cause increased leakage current and ultimately premature breakdown of the device. Field line crowding can be reduced with etched mesa isolation; however, damage from etching can also cause leakage and premature breakdown at the device edges.
[0007] Many techniques have been employed to remedy this periphery problem. Guard rings, field plates, argon implantation, and junction termination extensions (JTEs) have been used for planar SiC devices. Beveled sidewalls and multiple step etching, as well as JTEs, have been used for mesa-isolated devices. These methods have been successful for the most part, but each method has its particular drawbacks. Guard rings are often difficult to fabricate; field plates are limited by the strength of the dielectric used; argon implantation can increase reverse leakage current; beveled etching is less effective with abrupt, one-sided negative junctions, and multiple step etching complicates the beveling process with additional fabrication steps. Junction termination extensions have been widely used, but JTEs are difficult to optimize and implement with a SiC substrate and GJTEs, which require multiple zones of decreasing implant dose in order to achieve ideal breakdown for a junction, are even more difficult to implement. These difficulties are due in large measure to the fact dopants do not diffuse into the SiC substrate material as they do into silicon, except at extremely high temperatures that tend to destroy the SiC material itself. More specifically, the combination of implantation/diffusion is not feasible for SiC because almost all atoms have extremely low diffusion coefficients in SiC at temperatures below 2,000° C., which is very nearly the bulk growth temperature of SiC itself. Thus, traditional masking, implantation, and diffusion techniques typically used to create JTEs and GJTEs in silicon-based semiconductor devices simply are not available for use in SiC-based semiconductor devices.
[0008] Accordingly, a need exists for reliable techniques and methodologies for forming JTEs and GJTEs in semiconductor devices utilizing materials other than silicon, such as SiC, in order to take full advantage of the superior performance of such materials in high voltage semiconductor devices. It is to the provision of such techniques that the present invention is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The properties of silicon carbide as compared to silicon makes silicon carbide an ideal semiconductor material for high power devices. In comparing the suitability of a silicon or a silicon carbide device having the same geometries and size, the silicon carbide device should be able to handle much higher power levels. The power level is basically the product of the voltage that the device experiences and the current that the device carries. Thus, for example, a single SiC transistor may handle the same current at a particular voltage as four or five large silicon transistors. Basic properties of SiC materials, such as band gap, thermal conductivity, saturated electronic drift velocity, and critical breakdown field, also favor silicon carbide over silicon. Silicon carbide also is a much more robust material when dealing with high voltages and high currents that produces substantial heat in a device that must be dissipated. The heat can be dissipated away from the silicon carbide device much quicker than a silicon device because of the silicon carbide device's thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the band gap in silicon carbide is approximately three times that of the band gap in silicon. Thus, the silicon carbide device will maintain its semiconductor characteristics up to much higher temperatures. Junction breakdown voltage decreases as doping level increases. Breakdown voltage is also a function of the radius of curvature of the junction space-charge region. For high power devices, whether made of silicon or silicon carbide, a junction termination extension is needed to prevent breakdown due to field line crowding at the periphery of the active area of the device.
[0010] The present invention provides a graded junction termination extension (GJTE) that is self-aligning to simplify the ion implementation process during fabrication, thereby reducing production costs for electronic devices such as power semiconductor devices. The novel graded junction termination extension and method of fabrication produces an implanted dopant distribution that varies in concentration moving away from the edge of the active area of a device.
[0011] Briefly described, the present invention, in a preferred embodiment thereof, is directed to graded junction termination extensions that are very effective in increasing the breakdown voltage of implanted silicon carbide (SiC) junction diodes. This technique can easily be used to terminate other devices such as Schottky diodes, bipolar junction transistors, or thyristors. The key to making a GJTE is the fabrication of a graded photoresist mask that is used to create a carbon implant mask, or as an etch mask for making an oxide implant mask. Of the methods described here, the defocused lithography pattern is the preferred method for grading photoresist masks. Exposing the photoresist with a sufficient gap between the lithography mask and the photoresist is only one way to blur the pattern. If a wafer stepper is available for patterning, the pattern can simply be defocused before exposing the photoresist in order to create the same edge blurring effect. In addition, a gray-scale lithography mask can be used to bevel the edge of the photoresist. With this mask, a light intensity gradient is designed into the mask itself. Once the process is established for a given application and fabrication process, the GJTE is a very effective, cost-efficient method for power device termination.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The invention is better understood by reading the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a thickness profile for a graded carbon implant mask measured with a stylus profilometer.
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a TRIM implant profile simulation showing dopant concentrations of the anode region and the GJTE region at the perimeter of the anode.
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a breakdown voltages for p-n diodes as measured in Florinert.
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a reverse current density versus applied voltage for implanted SiC p-n diodes with and without GJTE termination.
[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates forward current-voltage characteristics of an 1800 V SiC p-n diode fabricated with a graded junction termination extension.
[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates thickness profiles for SiO 2 films etched with four different photoresist etch masks.
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-section of a compound photoresist mask used for reactive ion etching of an SiO 2 implantation mask.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention in its best, currently known embodiment. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that many changes can be made to the embodiment described, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and may even be desirable in certain circumstances, and are a part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof, since the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims.
[0021] Junction termination extension (JTE) is one of several passivation techniques used with power semiconductor devices to prevent breakdown due to field line crowding at the periphery of the active area of the device. All semiconductor power devices have passivation of some kind. Device performance (e.g., higher breakdown voltage) can be significantly improved using proper JTE procedures, and the fabrication of junction termination extensions that have graded implant concentrations as one moves away from the active region of a semiconductor device. By graded, it is meant that the concentration of implanted dopant atoms (i.e., the number of atoms/cm 3 ) decreases with distance from the periphery of the active region. This grading is produced by using a mask set for implantation that has patterns of different shape and size according to the distance from the edge of the device active area. All of the remaining device area adjacent to the active area is not implanted, rather only selected portions of the remaining area that are exposed by the openings in the mask set. Implantation is carried out at several different energies with one or more doses at each energy; however, all of the open patterns in the mask set are implanted identically. A graded concentration is then achieved by heating the sample, usually silicon, to diffuse the implanted species. The combination of diffusion and the pattern of the open areas in the mask set determines the spatial variation of the implanted dopants as one moves away from the edge of the active area of the device.
[0022] The present invention describes a graded junction termination extension (GJTE) process usable with SiC semiconductor devices that is effective and self-aligned to simplify the ion implantation process during fabrication so as to potentially reduce production costs for electronic devices such as power semiconductor devices. The new type graded junction termination extension and method of fabrication disclosed herein produces implanted dopant distributions that vary in concentration and depth as one moves away from the edge of the active area of the device. The effectiveness of this new graded junction termination extension has been demonstrated in the fabrication of implanted p-n junction diodes where the application of the GJTE improves breakdown voltage by more than a factor of two compared to diodes that were not terminated. Details of the GJTE fabrication process and the preliminary results achieved are described in more detail below.
[0023] The material used in GJTE experiments is available from Cree, Inc., and includes an n + 4H—SiC substrate with a 10 μm n − epitaxial layer doped at 4.6×1015 cm −3 . A carbon mask for implanting the anodes and the diodes was fabricated as follows. An AZ® 5214-E positive photoresist manufactured by Clariant was spun onto a 5 mm by 5 mm square piece of material at 400 rpm for 30 sec. The sample was then baked in an oven at 90° C. for 90 min. The photoresist was exposed through a dark field mask having a window diameter of 312 μm for 45 sec to ultraviolet (UV) light from a 160 W mercury (Hg) lamp. Exposure was performed with the photoresist surface separated from the mask by a few millimeters. This was accomplished by setting the stage on a Karl Suss MJB3 photo mask aligner to its lowest position before exposure. The sample was then developed for 2 min. in Microposit H 2 0:351 (3:1) developer available from Shipley Company, Inc. Exposing the sample with the mask away from the surface of the photoresist causes the light at the perimeter of each circular window to be out of focus. For a positive photoresist, the rate at which the photoresist is dissolved in the developing solution is proportional to the amount of light absorbed during exposure. Therefore, instead of the usual well-defined vertical step, the edges of the photoresist are gently sloped.
[0024] After another bake in the 90° C. oven for about an hour, the photoresist pattern had a thickness of about 6.9 μm away from the sloped edges. The spin speed and baking procedures provided herein are far different from those recommended by the manufacturer since the photoresist used in this experiment is designed for much thinner applications and was used simply because of availability. Other, thicker photoresists can be used to produce a similar mask pattern with much less difficulty. A carbon strip furnace was then used to anneal the sample in flowing argon (Ar). During the anneal, the temperature was increased at an average rate of about 60° C./mm to 1000° C. where it was then held for 10 min. This anneal converted the photoresist into a carbon film with a thickness averaging about 1.2 μm. Annealing vacuum instead of argon was found to produce similar, but slightly thinner carbon films. A profile of the carbon film taken at the edge of a circular window is shown in FIG. 1 . The ordinate (y-axis) is carbon layer thickness. The abscissa (x-axis) is distance from the edge of the circular window that defines the active area of the device.
[0025] In order to simulate implant profiles using the software package TRIM, the density of the carbon film had to be determined. This was accomplished using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) techniques. A density of 1.475 gm/cm 3 was determined by adjusting the density used in the simulation until the carbon thickness derived from the RBS data matched the thickness obtained using a stylus profilometer. Once the density has been determined for a particular carbon film fabrication process, the RBS analysis need not be repeated.
[0026] Because of difficulty producing low energy ions with the accelerator used for implantation, a 90 nm molybdenum (Mo) layer was sputtered over the entire sample to bring the minimum energy ions to the surface of the SiC. Aluminum (Al) ions were implanted at 700° C. with multiple energies ranging from 170 to 525 keV to produce a box profile anode region with a maximum concentration of 2×10 19 cm 3 . Along the perimeter of the anodes, however, the implant took on a profile similar to that of the carbon implant mask. FIG. 2 depicts a TRIM implant profile simulation showing dopant concentrations of the anode region and the GJTE region at the perimeter of the anode. Spatially, the depth of the implanted region tapered off to zero around 100 μm from the edge of the anode region. Also, note in FIG. 2 that the concentration in the extension region also decreases gradually as the extension extends laterally from the edge of the anode region.
[0027] After ion implantation, the Al ions were activated by annealing at 1700° C. for 30 min. in flowing argon at slightly above atmospheric pressure. The sample was annealed in a SiC box that contained a small amount of Si to prevent preferential sublimation of Si from the SiC surface. Before annealing, the Mo implant mask layer was chemically etched away. The carbon mask layer was removed using an oxygen plasma. For samples annealed with the carbon mask layer in place, it was discovered that high temperature annealing in the presence of silicon grows SiC on the surface of the carbon film, making removal very difficult. Following activation, anode and cathode contacts were fabricated from Al 90 Ti 10 and Ni 93 V 7 alloys, respectively. Both contacts were annealed with one three minute, 1000° C. anneal in a vacuum. The anode contact area was 7.26×10 −4 cm 2 . Another sample with a vertical wall Mo implant mask was processed with the GJTE sample as a control reference. Neither sample had a thermal or deposited oxide for passivation.
[0028] Reverse breakdown measurements were first taken at room temperature in Florinert, an inert organic liquid, using a Tektronix 371A curve tracer. Out of the thirty-five devices fabricated on each 5 mm×5 mm sample, the GJTE and the control samples yielded twenty-six and twenty-four working devices, respectively. For the GJTE sample, breakdown voltages ranged from 630 V to 1770 V and averaged 1380 V. Breakdown voltages for the control samples ranged from 360 V to 624 V and averaged 537 V. FIG. 3 shows the distribution of breakdown voltages for p-n diodes as measured in Florinert for both samples. Each column represents the breakdown voltage of one diode. After testing the devices on the curve tracer, one of the best devices from each of the two die was then tested with a system that stepped the reverse voltage in ten-volt increments until breakdown was observed. Testing in this manner produced somewhat higher breakdown voltages than were obtained with the curve-tracer, where the voltage was swept continuously. The maximum breakdown voltage increased from 1770 V to 1830 V for the GJTE device and from 624 V to 939 V for the control device. Numerical simulations made with MEDICI device simulator software from Avanti predicted a breakdown voltage of 1900 V for an ideal planar device with a 9 μm drift layer of the same concentration. Reverse current-voltage measurements for the two devices are shown in FIG. 4 . The lack of data points at lower voltages for the GJTE device indicates that currents at these voltages were below the measurement threshold of the system. Forward current-voltage characteristics revealed no distinct differences between the GJTE sample and the control sample. As illustrated in FIG. 5 , forward current-voltage (I-V) measurements for a typical GJTE device showed a turn-on voltage of approximately 2.8 V and an ideality factor of 1.3 in the range from about 1×10 −3 to 2 A/cm 2 .
[0029] Breakdown voltages for the GJTE devices approach ideal (as determined by numerical simulation) with an average breakdown voltage over 2.5 times the average of the control devices. Thus, it appears that the graded junction termination extensions are very effective in preventing premature edge breakdown. With conventional JTEs, detailed calculations based on an accurate knowledge of the activated dopant concentration are normally required. No such calculations were performed in the design of the GJTE diodes described herein. Calculations were required only to ensure that the carbon layer was thick enough (i.e., maximum thickness) to block all of the implanted ions. This flexibility is the result of the implant depth contour and the implant concentration gradient shown in FIG. 2 .
[0030] Other methods for fabricating a GJTE were explored in addition to the carbon mask. Techniques for making a graded SiO 2 implant mask were developed first. In fact, using SiO 2 probably is preferred over carbon since processes for readily depositing SiO 2 films are already in widespread use in the semiconductor industry.
[0031] The basic approach for making an SiO 2 GJTE mask starts with deposition of a thick oxide layer that blocks the highest energy ions used during implantation. A graded photoresist layer is then deposited and used as a mask for etching the SiO 2 . During reactive ion etching of the oxide film, the graded portion of the photoresist is gradually etched away. As more oxide surface is exposed to the ionized etching gas, the profile of the SiO 2 begins to resemble that of the photoresist. FIG. 6 shows the profiles of four different SiO 2 films etched with different photoresist masks. The sample represented by curve (a) was etched with an AZ5214 mask that was prepared using procedures that were described previously for the carbon film mask. However, the photoresist was spun on at 1000 rpm instead of 400 rpm, after which the sample was baked on a 114° C. hot plate for 2.5 min. The same exposure conditions were used, and the developed sample was baked in a 90° C. oven for 2 hours. At this point, the photoresist had a maximum thickness of around 3.5 μm. All four of the samples in FIG. 6 were exposed a short time prior to etching in an oxygen plasma in order to remove any residue left on the exposed SiO 2 after developing. Etching was carried out at 13.6 MHz in flowing NF 3 at approximately 65 mTorr. The RF power supply was set at 18 W, giving a power density of about 0.5 W/cm 2 . The RF electrode was cooled with chilled water (˜10° C.). These conditions produced an SiO 2 etch rate of about 70 nm/min, and a photoresist rate of around 250-260 nm/min. Other etch gas chemistries can be used to etch the SiO 2 . Pure NF 3 was used here simply because it was available. Oxygen could be added to the etch gas to speed the photoresist etch rate steeper etch profiles. The profile can also be adjusted by changing the speed at which the photoresist is spun on. This is illustrated by curve (b) in FIG. 6 . Sample (b) had an AZ5214 photoresist spun on at 4000 rpm and was exposed for 30 sec with the same mask/substrate spacing used to produce curve (a). The photoresist thickness for these conditions was around 1.6 μm.
[0032] Beveled implant masks were also produced without exposing the photoresist with the mask/substrate gap mentioned above. The nearly linear profile represented by curve (c) in FIG. 6 was obtained with a sample etched with a mask of Microposit STR®1045 photoresist. The STR 1045 photoresist is much thicker and softer than the AZ5214 photoresist. The photoresist was spun on at 4000 rpm for 30 sec and baked for 1.5 min at 100° C. The sample was exposed for 30 sec at 160 W with the mask in contact with the photoresist surface. A H 2 0:351 (4:1) solution was used for developing. The sample was transferred to a 2 ″ silicon wafer on a hot plate (˜200° C.) and then baked for about 10 min. on the hot plate at 100° C. The post-develop bake caused the STR1045 photoresist to flow and thus create a beveled profile at the edges. The photoresist at this point was about 5.5 μm thick. Etching for sample (c) was conducted with the same parameters used for samples (a) and (b).
[0033] Another graded photoresist etch mask was developed by inverting a method developed previously for etching beveled SiC mesas. A thick (˜7 μm) layer of Nano™ XP SU-8 25 negative photoresist was applied and patterned with 450 μm diameter holes. SU-8 is a thick negative photoresist that is very durable when cured. Subsequently, AZ5412 was spun on at 3000 rpm over the SU-8 and baked on a hot plate at 115° C. for 2 min. Smaller diameter holes were then opened inside the 450 μm openings in the SU-8. The exposure for this sample was conducted with the lithography mask in contact with the sample. After developing, this etch mask was used to create the SiO 2 profile represented by curve (d) in FIG. 6 . Exposing with a gap between the lithography mask and the substrate, as was the case for curve (a) and curve (b), would have smoothed out the steep shoulder seen within the first 10 μm of the profile. Surface tension between the SU-8 and the thinner, positive photoresist causes the thinner photoresist to creep up the SU-8 wall, thus producing a graded profile as illustrated in FIG. 7 . A slower spin speed for the AZ5214 or possibly using a thicker photoresist such as the STR1045 would have made this effect more pronounced. However, the profiles produced with this method were not as uniform as those produced with the other methods disclosed.
[0034] All of the techniques described herein can also be used to make a graded ion implantation mask from materials other than SiO 2 . Polycrystalline silicon would likewise be a good material to use since procedures for depositing and reactive ion etching with this material are also well established.
[0035] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of any mean plus function elements in any claims are intended to include any structure, material or acts for performing the function in combination with the other claimed elements as specifically claimed.
[0036] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | A graded junction termination extension in a silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor device and method of its fabrication using ion implementation techniques is provided for high power devices. The properties of silicon carbide (SiC) make this wide band gap semiconductor a promising material for high power devices. This potential is demonstrated in various devices such as p-n diodes, Schottky diodes, bipolar junction transistors, thyristors, etc. These devices require adequate and affordable termination techniques to reduce leakage current and increase breakdown voltage in order to maximize power handling capabilities. The graded junction termination extension disclosed is effective, self-aligned, and simplifies the implementation process. | 8 |
To provide a water-tight roof for a building, it is necessary to provide a water-impervious flashing or filling around each and every object that passes upwardly through that roof. In those instances where such an object is of substantially constant cross-section and has its upper end free, it is possible to telescope a skirted flashing member over that object and then seal the skirt of that flashing member to the surface of the roof. However, where such an object does not have a substantially constant cross-section or where it is connected to a piece of equipment that will prevent the telescoping of a skirted flashing member over that object's upper end, it is customary to provide a plural-section pitch pan which can be disposed adjacent that object to define a filler-receiving recess. Some plural-section pitch pans are formed from four L-shaped sections which are capable of being interfitted to define the four corners and four walls of a filler-receiving recess. The walls and skirts of the adjacent L-shaped sections of those pitch pans lap each other whenever those sections are assembled on the roof to define a filler-receiving recess; and, where a portion of the skirt of each of those L-shaped sections is relieved to accomodate a portion of the skirt of an adjacent L-shaped section, relatively-large gaps can result beneath the relieved portions of the skirts of two or more of the L-shaped portions whenever those L-shaped portions are not in fully-lapped engagement. Also, the use of a four-section pitch pan requires the use of at least four fasteners to secure that pitch pan to the roof, requires a number of adjustments in the relative positions of those four sections to make sure that those sections provide a filling-receiving recess of the desired size and shape, and can require the use of four or more fasteners to fix the relative adjusted positions of the four sections. It would be desirable to provide a pitch pan which had fewer than four sections, and which did not require any portions of the skirts of adjacent sections to overlap each other. The present invention provides such a pitch pan by utilizing just two J-shaped sections. The long leg of one J-shaped section is aligned with the short leg of the other J-shaped section, and vice versa, and the legs of the two J-shaped sections are provided with positioning surfaces which will permit the long and short legs of the J-shaped sections to be shifted relative to each other to define adjustable-length walls at opposite sides of a filler-receiving recess. In using the two-section pitch pan of the present invention, an installer need only align the short and long legs of one section with the long and short legs, respectively, of the other section, and then secure those sections to each other and to the roof. As a result, that two-section pitch pan is easier to handle and to install, and it also can be sturdier, than a four-section pitch pan. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a pitch pan that has two J-shaped sections with positioning surfaces on the long and short legs thereof which enable that pitch pan to have adjustable-length walls at the opposite sides of a filler-receiving recess.
In providing a water-tight roof, it is desirable to completely cover that roof with a substantially constant-thickness, waterproof membrane or layer, and to effectively cement or seal all joints in that membrane or layer. As a result, where objects pass upwardly through a roof, it is customary to provide skirted flashings or pitch pans which can surround those objects. Those pitch pans will be suitably secured to the roof; and they should be covered with a material that is the same as, or is similar to, the material of the membrane or layer--so a fully compatible, completely sealed membrane or layer is provided for the roof. However, installers of roofs have experienced considerable difficulty in covering pitch pans with materials which are the same as, or are similar to, the materials that are used to cover the roofs. For example, the work of covering those pitch pans must be done at roof level, and hence requires the workmen to do the covering work while in kneeling or stooping positions. In addition, the workmen have to move around the pitch pans to be able to cover all four corners and sides; and, frequently, immediately-adjacent large pieces of equipment force the workmen to work in cramped quarters. Also, because the covering has to fit down inside of each wall of each pitch pan, the pitch pans must be made oversize to provide working room for the workmen's fingers between each wall and the object surrounded by each pitch pan. Additionally, the materials which are used to cover the pitch pans must be heated and stretched in more than one direction at each corner of each pitch pan. Further, the conditions of temperature, humidity and wind are beyond the control of the workmen. Moreover, the covered pitch pans cannot be picked up and examined to see if they are free from the cuts, tears or perforations that frequently are created during the covering of pitch pans on a roof. Furthermore, the materials which are used to cover the pitch pans are usually cut on the job, and hence can be cut inaccurately or ineptly. The overall result is that the practice of securing pitch pans to a roof and of then covering them with a material which is the same as, or similar to, the material used in covering the roof is objectionable. The present invention obviates that practice by providing a two-section pitch pan which is covered with water-impervious skirting before it is delivered to the job site. All an installer need do is to align the two sections of that pitch pan, secure them to each other and to the roof with fasteners, use a cement or adhesive to seal the skirting of those sections to the roof, use a cement or adhesive to seal an overskirt in position at each of the two sides of the pitch pan where the skirtings of the two sections confront each other, and then fill the filler-receiving recess defined by that pitch pan. Such a pitch pan can be installed quickly, easily and with complete certainty that it is free from the cuts, tears and perforations which have been noted in prior installations wherein the pitch pans were secured to the roofs and then subsequently covered. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a two-section pitch pan which is covered with water-impervious skirting before it is delivered to the job site.
Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from an examination of the drawing and accompanying description.
In the drawing and accompanying description, two preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown and described; but it is to be understood that the drawing and accompanying description are for the purpose of illustration only and do not limit the invention and that the invention will be defined by the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale, of one section of a two-section pitch pan which is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, which is taken along a plane indicated by the line 2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, on the scale of FIG. 2, which is taken along a plane indicated by the line 3--3 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view, on the scale of FIG. 1, of part of the other section of the pitch pan after two underskirts have been conformed and adhered to that section;
FIG. 5 is a further perspective view of part of the section shown in FIG. 4 after the skirt for that section has been conformed and adhered to that section;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view, the scale of FIG. 1, of the pitch pan sections of FIGS. 1 and 4 after each of those sections has had two underskirts conformed and adhered thereto and also has had a skirt conformed and adhered thereto, after those sections have had the side walls thereof secured together, after those sections have been secured to a roof, and after overskirts have been secured to those sections. Those sections are shown surrounding an object which extends upwardly through the roof part of the filler which will be confined by those sections is shown, and part of one of the overskirts is shown by dotted lines;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view, on the scale of FIG. 2, which is taken along a plane indicated by the line 7--7 in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view, on a scale which is slightly smaller than that used in FIG. 1, of one section of a second preferred embodiment of pitch pan which is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a portion of one corner of the section shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, which is taken along a plane indicated by the line 10--10 in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view, on the scale of FIG. 8, of the pitch pan section of FIG. 8 and of a complementary pitch pan section after those sections have been secured together and an overskirt has been adhered to those pitch pan sections; and it shows one corner of the skirting of the complementary pitch pan section raised to expose one of the securing tabs of that pitch pan section; and
FIG. 12 is a sectional view, on the scale of FIG. 10, which is taken along a plane indicated by the line 12--12 in FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring particularly to FIGS. 1-7, the numeral 20 generally denotes one section of a two-section flash pan which is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention. That section has a long side wall 22 which has an inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 24. Three small holes 26 are formed in that side wall adjacent the free end of that side wall. An outwardly bent flange 28 is provided at the bottom of the side wall 22; and that flange has a small hole, not shown, adjacent the left-hand end thereof.
The numeral 30 denotes the end wall of the section 20, and that end wall has an inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 32. A flange 34 extends outwardly from the bottom of the end wall 32; and that flange has a small hole, not shown, adjacent each end thereof.
The numeral 36 denotes a short side wall for the section 20; and that short wall has an inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 38 which defines an elongated recess 40 at the lower face thereof. A small hole 42 is provided in the wall 36 adjacent the free end of that wall; and that hole is spaced from the bottom of that wall the same distance by which the holes 26 are spaced from the bottom of the wall 22. A flange 44 projects outwardly from the bottom of the wall 36, and that flange has a hole, not shown, adjacent the left-hand end thereof. The long side wall 22, the end wall 30, and the short side wall 36 provide a generally J-shaped configuration for the pitch pan section 20.
The numeral 46 denotes a corner plate which has a side that can parallel the outer edge of the flange 28, and which has another side that can parallel the outer edge of the flange 34. The adjacent edges of those sides are connected by an inclined edge; and a small hole 48 is provided in the plate 46 adjacent that inclined edge. A fourth side of the plate 46 is parallel to that inclined edge; and fifth and sixth sides of that plate are parallel, respectively, to the first two sides. That corner plate has small holes, not shown, which can be disposed in register with the holes in the left-hand end of flange 28 and with the small hole in the adjacent end of flange 34. Rivets 50 are shown fixedly and tightly securing that corner plate to those flanges. A further corner plate, not shown, will be riveted to the opposite end of flange 34 and to the adjacent end of flange 44. That further corner plate will be a mirror image of the corner plate 46; and it will be fixedly and tightly secured to those flanges.
The pitch pan section 20 can be formed from metal by metal punching and folding operations; and, where so formed, it should be made of a gauge of metal which will make that section stiff and resistant to accidental bending. If desired, that pitch pan section could be molded from plastic, rubber or other suitable material. Where that section was molded, the corner plates 46 would be molded integrally with the rest of that section; and they would lie in the same planes in which the flanges 28, 34 and 44 lie. Also, where the section 20 was molded, the walls 22, 30 and 36 would be made thick enough, or would be suitably reinforced, to make that section stiff and resistant to accidental bending.
The numeral 54 generally denotes a pitch pan section which is complementary to the section 20 shown by FIGS. 1-3. That section has a short side wall 56 which is shown in FIG. 7; and that wall has an inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 58 which defines an elongated recess indicated by FIG. 7. A small hole 60 is provided in that wall close to the free end of that wall; and that hole is spaced from the bottom of that wall the same distance by which the holes 26 are spaced from the bottom of wall 22 of section 20, as shown in FIG. 7. A flange 62 projects outwardly from the bottom of the wall 56; and that flange has a small hole, not shown, adjacent the right-hand end thereof. The side wall 56 is dimensioned so the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 58 thereof can telescope over, and closely confine, the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 24 on side wall 22 of section 20.
The numeral 64 denotes the end wall for pitch pan section 54; and that end wall has an inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 66. A flange 68 extends outwardly from the lower edge of end wall 64; and a small hole, not shown, is provided adjacent each end of that flange.
The numeral 70 denotes a long side wall for section 54; and the end wall 64 is dimensioned to dispose that long side wall in lapping relation with the side wall 36 of pitch pan section 20 whenever the side wall 56 of section 54 is in lapping relation with side wall 22 of section 20. An inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 72 is provided for the wall 70; and three small holes 74 are provided in that wall adjacent the free end of that wall. Those holes are spaced from the bottom of wall 70 the same distance by which the hole 42 is spaced from the bottom of wall 36 of section 20. A flange 76 extends outwardly from the lower edge of wall 70; and that flange has a small hole, not shown, in the right-hand end thereof.
The section 54 is shown as being, and preferably will be, identical to the section 20. Where that is done, both sections can be made with just one set of tools, dies and fixtures, and hence can be made economically.
The numeral 78 denotes a corner plate which is substantially identical to the corner plate 46. That plate has a small hole 80 therein which is comparable to the hole 48 in the plate 46. The numeral 82 denotes a further corner plate which also is substantially identical to the plate 46; and it has a small hole 84 therein which is comparable to the hole 48. Rivets 86 fixedly and tightly secure the corner plate 78 to the flanges 62 and 68 of the section 54; and rivets 88 secure the corner plate 82 to the flanges 68 and 76 of that section. The section 54, like the section 20, can be formed from metal, plastic, rubber or other suitable material.
The section 54, like the section 20, will have a generally J-shaped configuration. The long side wall 70 of section 54 can be telescoped into partial lapping engagement with the short side wall 36 of section 20; and the short side wall 56 of section 54 can be telescoped into partially lapping engagement with the long side wall 22 of section 20. When those side walls are lapped, the elongated recess 40 defined by edge 38 on wall 36 will telescope down over and confine, and be confined by, the edge 72 on wall 70; and the elongated recess defined by the edge 58 on wall 56 will telescope down over and confine, and be confined by, edge 24 on wall 22. As a result, when the side walls of the sections 20 and 54 are lapped, the folded upper edges of those walls will serve as positioning surfaces which will cause those sections to define a rectangle.
The numeral 90 denotes an underskirt of resilient material, which preferably will be the same material that is used to cover the roof. In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1-7, that underskirt is made from synthetic rubber such as neoprene. That underskirt is initially made so it is rectangular in form; and one side edge thereof is aligned with the left-hand edge of flange 62 on pitch pan section 54 while the other side edge thereof is aligned with the outer edge of flange 68, as shown particularly by FIG. 4. The portion of underskirt 90 which overlies the flange 62 will be caused to fixedly adhere to that flange by a strong, quick-setting cement or adhesive. Once that portion of that underskirt has been solidly and tightly secured to that flange, a portion 92 of that underskirt will be adhered to the outer face of the short side wall 56--with the end edge of that underskirt close to the upper edge 58 of that wall. The right-hand end of the portion 92 will initially project outwardly beyond the end wall 64; and that right-hand end will be heated until it becomes readily extensible. The required heat will preferably be provided by a flow of hot air from a suitable air-heating device which can raise the temperature of the right-hand end of portion 92 to about one hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit. Such a temperature will make that right-hand end sufficiently extensible and flexible to enable it to be stretched and bent into a portion 94 which can be adhered to wall 64 and also into a portion 96 which can be adhered to the flange 68, as shown particularly by FIG. 4. Although each corner of the underskirt 90 is initially rectangular, the portion 96 will have a generally arcuate periphery, and the free edge of portion 94 may be somewhat irregular in configuration--and may be inclined to the vertical. While the portions 94 and 96 are still heated, they will be tightly and firmly adhered to end wall 64 and to flange 68 by a strong, quick-setting cement or adhesive. After the underskirt 90 has been secured to side wall 56, to end wall 64, and to flanges 62 and 68, a small hole 98 will be formed in the portion 92 in register with the opening 60 in that side wall. It should be noted that the underskirt 90 will not be adhered to the corner plate 78. This can be accomplished by applying a piece of masking tape to the upper surface of that corner plate before the underskirt is adhered to the section 54, or by applying the cement or adhesive to that underskirt and to that section so none of that cement or adhesive reaches corner plate 78.
The numeral 100 denotes an underskirt which preferably is identical to the underskirt 90; and that underskirt is secured to the flange 76 so a portion 102 thereof abuts part of the outer surface of the long side wall 70. The side edges of that underskirt will be aligned with the edge of flange 68 and with the left-hand end of flange 76. After the underskirt 100 has been fixedly and tightly adhered to flange 76 and to wall 70, the right-hand end of portion 102 will project outwardly beyond end wall 76; and that right-hand end will be heated until it is readily extensible and bendable. That right-hand end will then be stretched and bent until a portion 104 thereof engages end wall 64 and a portion 106 thereof engages flange 68. While the portions 104 and 106 are still heated, they will be fixedly and intimately adhered to that end wall and to that flange. As the various portions of underskirt 100 are secured to flanges 68 and 76, to end wall 64 and to side wall 70, care will be taken to keep that underskirt from adhering to the corner plate 82. This can be done by applying masking tape to the upper surface of that corner plate before that underskirt is adhered to section 54, or can be done by carefully keeping cement or adhesive from reaching that corner plate.
The stretching and bending of the right-hand end of portion 92 to form the portions 94 and 96 of underskirt 90, and the stretching and bending of the right-hand end of portion 102 to form the portions 104 and 106 of underskirt 100, will reduce the thicknesses of portions 94, 96, 104 and 106 to about one-half of the initial thickness of the corresponding underskirt. However, even such reduced thicknesses will enable those portions to constitute positive and complete barriers to the passage of water, moisture or other materials. The stretching and bending of portions 92 and 102 to form portions 94, 96, 104 and 106 will be done under controlled conditions in a manufacturing facility; and tools, fixtures and jigs will be used which will enable the workman to have full visual and tactile access to section 54 and to underskirts 90 and 100. As a result, no cuts, tears or perforations will develop or form in any portion of the underskirts 90 and 100. The only hole in underskirt 90 will be the small hole 98 shown in FIG. 4; and the underskirt 100 will be devoid of holes. The underskirt 90 will yield slightly upwardly as it conforms to the upper surfaces of rivets 86; and similarly, the underskirt 100 will yield slightly upwardly as it conforms to the upper surfaces of rivets 88.
The numeral 108 denotes a skirt of generally T-shaped configuration; and that skirt, like the underskirts 90 and 100, will be made from a resilient material which preferably will be the same material that is used to cover the roof. The cross or arm portion of skirt 100 will overlie, and be adhered to, the central portion of flange 68, the portion 96 and the right-hand side of underskirt 90, and the portion 106 and right-hand side of underskirt 100. In addition, that cross or arm portion will project laterally outwardly beyond the right-hand edges of that flange and of those underskirts, as shown particularly by FIG. 5. The "stem" portion 110 of the skirt 108 is dimensioned to engage the central portion of end wall 64, the portion 94 of underskirt 90, and the portion 104 of underskirt 100, to extend upwardly beyond the upper edge 66 of that end wall, and also to extend outwardly beyond the ends of end wall 64. Cement or adhesive will be used to fixedly and tightly secure that "stem" portion to that central portion of end wall 64 and to portions 94 and 104, respectively, of the underskirts 90 and 100. Thereafter, the parts of the "stem" portion 110, which project outwardly beyond the ends of end wall 64, will be heated until they are readily extensible and bendable. Those parts will then be stretched and bent to form a portion 112 which laps parts of side wall 56 and of underskirt portion 92, a portion 113 which laps parts of flange 62 and of underskirt 90, a portion 114 which laps parts of side wall 70 and of portion 102 of underskirt 100, and a portion 115 which laps parts of flange 76 and of underskirt 100. While the portions 112, 113, 114 and 115 of skirt 108 are still readily extensible and bendable, they will be securely and tightly adhered to portion 92, underskirt 90, portion 102 and underskirt 100. Also, the upper edges of portions 110, 112 and 114 will be bent inwardly and downwardly over, and then tightly and fixedly adhered to, the upper edges of end wall 64, of portions 94 and 104, of portions 92 and 102, and of side walls 56 and 70.
As the sides of the "stem" portion 110 of skirt 108 are heated, stretched and bent to form the portions 112, 113, 114 and 115, no cuts, tears or perforations will develop or form in any portions of that skirt. Further, that skirt will be caused to have a water-tight seal between itself and underskirt 90 and underskirt 100, as well as between itself and end wall 64, flange 68 and the inwardly and downwardly bent edges 58, 66 and 72. Consequently, that skirt will coact with the underskirts 90 and 100 to provide a water-impervious cover which extends from the periphery of that skirt to the inner surfaces of the downwardly and inwardly folded upper edges 58, 66 and 72, respectively, of walls 56, 64 and 70. As the portions 112, 113, 114 and 115 are formed, the thicknesses thereof will be reduced to about one-half of the initial thickness of skirt 108. However, those stretched and bent portions will coact with the underlying portions of the underskirts 90 and 100 to provide a protective covering with a total thickness that is at least as great as the initial thickness of skirt 108.
As shown particularly by FIG. 6, the pitch pan section 20 will be provided with an underskirt 118 which will be a mirror image of the underskirt 90; and that section also will be provided with an underskirt, not shown, which will be a mirror image of the underskirt 100. After those underskirts have been fixedly and tightly adhered to that pitch pan section, a skirt 120, which will be a mirror image of the skirt 108, will be secured to that section. As shown particularly by FIG. 6, the upper edge of the "stem" section of that skirt will be folded inwardly and downwardly over the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edges 24, 32 and 38, respectively, of side wall 22, end wall 30, and side 36 of section 20. That skirt will coact with the underskirt 118 and with the underskirt, not shown, that is a mirror image of underskirt 100, to provide a water-impervious cover which extends from the periphery of that skirt to the inner surfaces of the downwardly and inwardly folded upper edges 24, 32 and 38.
The forming of pitch pan sections 20 and 54 will be done under controlled fabricating conditions; and hence those sections can be made with closely-held manufacturing tolerances. Similarly, the cutting of underskirts 90, 100, 118 and of the fourth underskirt, and the cutting of the skirts 108 and 120 will be done under controlled fabricating conditions; and hence all portions of the overall pitch pan skirting--constituted by those underskirts and skirts--can be made with closely-held manufacturing tolerances. In addition, the adhering of the underskirts and skirts to the pitch pan sections and to each other will be accomplished under controlled fabricating conditions; and hence those underskirts and skirts will be adhered to those pitch pan sections with precisely controlled relative positionings and with closely-held tolerances. Moreover, after those underskirts and skirts have been adhered to those pitch pan sections and to each other, those sections will be stored for a time and then given a final inspection before they are shipped. That storing and that final inspection are important in making certain that if the restorative forces developed in any of the stretched and bent portions of those skirts or underskirts were to pull loose, they could be tightly and fixedly adhered back in position before the pitch pan sections were finally shipped. All of this means that the pitch pan sections provided by the present invention are made with factory-controlled tolerances, are completely free of cuts, tears and perforations, and have time-tested bonds which permanently hold the underskirts and skirts in assembled relation with those sections.
When the pitch pan sections 20 and 54 are to be installed at a job site, the portion of the roof-covering membrane on which those sections are to be set will be carefully cleaned. Thereupon, those sections will be inverted so the bottoms of the underskirts and skirts are readily accessible; and then a strong adhesive or cement, of the type customarily used in the roofing trade to adhere a flashing to a roof-covering, will be applied to the undersurfaces of those underskirts and skirts, to the bottoms of flanges 28, 34, 44, 62, 68 and 76, and to the bottoms of the four corner plates. A temporary sheet-like spacer, which may be made as a split, open-center rectangle or as two U-shaped members, will be laid on the roof-covering in the area which will be subsequently occupied by the two pitch pan sections 20 and 54. That spacer will have a waxy or other non-adhering upper surface to which the adhesive or cement on the bottoms of the two sections will not readily adhere; and then those sections will be set atop that spacer so they surround an object which extends upwardly through the roof. One such object is shown in FIG. 6 and is denoted by the numeral 140.
At this time, the elongated recess 40 which is defined by the inwardly and downwardly bent upper edge 38 of side wall 36 of section 20 will be positioned over the inwardly and downwardly bent upper edge 72 of side wall 70 of section 54; and the elongated recess which is defined by the inwardly and downwardly bent upper edge 58 of side wall 56 of section 54 will be positioned over the inwardly and downwardly bent upper edge 24 of side wall 22 of section 20. The hole 60 in side wall 56, which is shown in FIG. 7, will be moved into register with one of the three holes 26 in side wall 22; and, simultaneously, the hole 42 in side wall 36 will be moved into register with a corresponding one of the holes 74 in side wall 70. Thereupon a fastener 124, which preferably will be a self-tapping metal screw, will be seated in the hole 60 and in the corresponding hole 26, while a further fastener 124 will be seated in the hole 42 and in the corresponding hole 74. Those fasteners will coact with the positioning surfaces constituted by the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edges 38 and 72 and by the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edges 24 and 58, and with the lapped side walls 22 and 56 and 36 and 70, to cause the pitch pan sections 20 and 54 to constitute an open-center, sturdy, filler-confining pitch pan which surrounds the object 140.
While the temporary spacer is in position beneath the pitch pan and its skirting, at least one corner of the skirt 120 will be raised, as shown by FIG. 6. Thereupon, a fastener 126 will be passed downwardly through the opening 48 in corner plate 36 and seated in the roof. Also, at least one corner of the skirt 108 will be raised upwardly to permit a similar fastener to be passed downwardly through opening 80 or opening 84 in corner plate 78 or 82, respectively, and seated in the roof. Those fasteners preferably will be wood screws; and those wood screws will solidly secure the pitch pan in position on the roof. At such time, the temporary spacer will be torn away from its position beneath that pitch pan and its skirting to cause the adhesive or cement on the undersurfaces of that pitch pan and skirting to engage the roof covering. A suitable roller or other pressure device will then be used to effect tight adhesion of that skirting to that roof covering, and to provide a water-tight engagement therebetween.
A generally rectangular skirt closure 128, which is shown by solid lines in FIG. 7 and by dotted lines in FIG. 6, will be used to overlie and adhere to the portions of the roof covering between the confronting edges of the underskirts 90 and 118; and also to overlie and adhere to the upper surfaces of those underskirts and the adjacent portions of skirts 108 and 120, as indicated particularly by FIG. 6. The inner end of that skirt closure will overlie, and be adhered to, the exposed part of the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 24 of side wall 22, and also to parts of the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edges of skirts 108 and 120. A similar skirt closure 130 will overlie and be adhered to the portions of the roof covering between the confronting edges of the underskirt 100 and of its counterpart on pitch pan section 20, will overlie and be adhered to the upper surfaces of those underskirts and the adjacent portions of skirts 108 and 120, and also will overlie and be adhered to the exposed part of the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edge 72 of side wall 70 and to parts of the inwardly and downwardly folded upper edges of skirts 108 and 120. As a result, those skirt closures will coact with underskirts 90, 100 and 118 and the underskirt on flange 44, and also with the skirts 108 and 120 to provide a continuous water-tight, corrosion-resistant, protective skirting from the peripheries of those underskirts, skirts and skirt closures to the inner faces of the folded upper edges of the walls of the pitch pan, as indicated by FIGS. 6 and 7.
The numeral 134 in FIG. 6 denotes the roof covering; and that roof covering can be a synthetic rubber membrane such as a neoprene membrane, can be a built-up roofing, or can be a modified bitumen roofing system. As a result, it should be clear that the pitch pan provided by the present invention can be used with substantially any kind of roof covering as long as that roof covering has a substantially planar surface on which the sections 20 and 54 and the skirtings thereon can be placed and then sealed in position. As indicated particularly by FIG. 7, the roof covering 134 can have an underlayer 136 beneath it which will rest upon the roof 138. The showing in FIG. 7 is merely intended to indicate one roofing arrangement with which the pitch pan is used, and that showing is not intended to indicate that the pitch pan is to be restricted to use with any specific kind of roofing system.
The numeral 142 in FIG. 6 denotes part of the filling material which will be introduced into the filler-confining recess that is formed by the sections 20 and 54. That filler material will provide a water-impervious seal with object 140, with walls 22, 30, 36, 56, 64 and 70, with the inwardly and downwardly folded edges 24, 32, 38, 58, 66 and 72 on those walls, with the inwardly and downwardly folded edges of skirts 108 and 120, and with the inwardly and downwardly folded edges of skirt closures 128 and 130. As a result, a completely water-tight enclosure surrounds and protects the joint where the object 140 passes upwardly through the roof covering 134.
Referring particularly to FIGS. 8-12, the numeral 150 generally denotes one section of a second preferred embodiment of plural-section pitch pan which is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention. That section has a long side wall 152 with a stiffening rib 154 at the upper edge thereof. Three small holes 156 are provided in the side wall 152 adjacent the free end of that side wall. A flange 158 projects horizontally outwardly from the lower edge of side wall 152; and the outer portion of that flange is denoted by the numeral 160. That outer portion is much thinner than the stiff inner portion of that flange; and hence that outer portion is readily flexible and is comparable to underskirt 118 and to the corresponding part of skirt 120 in FIG. 6. A securing tab 162 is provided at the corner of flange 158, and that securing tab has, or can have, a small hole 164 formed in it.
The numeral 166 denotes the end wall for the section 150; and that end wall has a reinforcing rib 168 at the upper edge thereof. A flange projects horizontally outwardly from the bottom of that end wall; and that flange has the same cross sections which the flange 158 and its outer portion 160 have.
The numeral 170 denotes a short side wall for the section 150; and that side wall has an inverted U-shaped upper edge 172 which defines an elongated recess 174 at its under surface. A small hole 176 is formed in that side wall adjacent the free end of that wall. That side wall has a flange projecting horizontally outwardly from the bottom thereof; and that flange has the same cross sections which the flange 158 and its outer portion 160 have. As a result, the section 150 has a continuous flange which projects horizontally outwardly from the bottoms of side wall 152, of end wall 166, and of side wall 170; and that flange and its outer portion 160 will coact with those side walls and that end wall to provide the continous waterproof protection which the underskirts and skirt of pitch pan section 20 provide.
The flange 158 has a further securing tab, not shown, adjacent the other corner thereof; and that securing tab can have a small hole therein. As shown particularly by FIG. 10, the securing tab 162 and the other securing tab, not shown, can be formed by providing a cleavage line between each such tab and the overlying portion of flange 158. The outer edges of those securing tabs will taper toward the lower surface of the flange 158. The pitch pan section 150 preferably is made by a molding process; and that section can be made from an artificial rubber, such as neoprene, from an elastomeric plastic which can withstand sun, rain and exposure to the elements, or from any other weater-resistant material which can be made stiff or readily flexible by changing its thickness. The securing tab 162 and its counterpart can be formed by providing the molding die with thin, triangular, forming plates; or they can be formed by subsequent cutting operations. If desired, the walls 152, 166 and 170 and the inner portion of flange 158 could be made quite stiff by providing them with sufficient thicknesses or by incorporating into them a reinforcing core of wire, fabric, plastic or the like. The outer portion 160 of flange 158 will be readily flexible, and hence can readily conform to a roof, in the same manner in which the skirt 120 of the section 20 of FIGS. 1-7 can readily conform to a roof.
The numeral 180 generally denotes the other section of the plural-section pitch pan of FIGS. 8-12. That section has a short side wall 182 with a small hole 183 adjacent the free end of that wall. That wall has an inverted U-shaped upper edge 184 which defines an elongated recess 186 that is indicated by FIG. 12. A flange 188 projects horizontally outwardly from the bottom of side wall 182; and the outer portion of that flange is of reduced thickness and is denoted by the numeral 190. A securing tab 192 is provided at the corner of the flange 188; and that securing tab has a hole 194 therein.
The numeral 200 denotes an end wall for the section 180; and that end wall has a reinforcing rib 202 at the upper edge thereof. Also, that end wall has a flange which projects horizontally outwardly from the bottom thereof; and that flange has the same cross section which the flange 158 and its outer portion 160 have. A securing tab 196 is formed at one corner of the portion of the flange which extends along the end wall 200, as shown by FIG. 11. A small hole 198 is provided in that securing tab.
The numeral 204 denotes a long side wall for section 180 which has three small holes 208 adjacent the free end of that wall. A reinforcing rib 206 is provided at the upper edge of that wall; and a flange projects horizontally outwardly from the bottom of that wall. That flange has the same cross section which the flange 158 and its outer portion 160 have. The sections 150 and 180 are shown as being, and preferably will be, identical. Where that is done, both of those sections can be made in the same mold.
The reinforcing rib 206 on the upper edge of long side wall 204 of section 180 is dimensioned to fit within, and to be positioned by, the elongated recess defined by the inverted U-shaped upper edge 172 on the wall 170 of section 150. Similarly, the reinforcing rib 154 on the upper edge of wall 152 of section 150 is dimensioned to fit within, and to be positioned by, the inverted U-shaped upper edge 184 on side wall 182 of section 180. Whenever the two sections 150 and 180 are assembled, the wall 152 will lap the wall 182, and the wall 170 will lap the wall 204. As a result, the two sections will provide a generally rectangular, sturdy, filler-confining recess around an object, not shown, which can extend upwardly through the roof. Those sections will be maintained with their walls in lapping arrangement by a fastener 210 which passes through the small holes 156 and 183, respectively, in the walls 152 and 182; and also by the fastener 212 which passes through the small holes 176 and 208. Those fasteners could have different forms; but they are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 as being nut and bolt combinations.
Prior to the assembling of the sections 150 and 180, the bottom surfaces of the skirtings, constituted by flange 158 and its outer portion 160 and by flange 188 and its outer portion 190, will be coated with a suitable cement or adhesive. Thereafter, a temporary, sheet-like spacer, which has a waxy or other non-adhering upper surface to which that cement or adhesive will not readily adhere, will be placed on the roof on the area where the sections 150 and 180 are to be positioned. Thereupon, those sections can be set in position atop that spacer to surround the object which extends upwardly through the roof, the sides 152 and 182 can be lapped, the sides 170 and 204 can be lapped at the same time, and then the fasteners 210 and 212 can be used to secure those sections in assembled relation.
One of the corners of the reduced-thickness flange 160 can be raised upwardly so a fastener can be passed downwardly through the hole 164 in the securing tab 162 or through the corresponding hole in the other securing tab on that flange. Also, a corner of the reduced-thickness portion 190 of flange 188 can be raised, as shown in FIG. 11, to provide access to the opening 198 in the securing tab 196; and then a suitable fastener will be passed downwardly through that opening to help secure the plural-section pitch pan to the roof. If desired, fasteners could be passed downwardly through the holes in all four of the securing tabs; but it is usually sufficient to use fasteners in just two of those holes. Thereafter, the temporary spacer will be torn away; and a roller or other suitable pressure device will be used to force the adhesive or cement on the undersides of the flanges 158 and 188 and on their outer portions 160 and 190 into water-tight engagement with the roof covering.
At the completion of the rolling or pressing operation, the pitch pan will provide a recess which will confine filling material; and it will have skirtings which almost completely surround that recess. Each of the sections 150 and 180 has a mold-smooth outer surface which is continuous, uninterrupted, corrosion-resistant and water-impervious; and that surface extends from the outer periphery of that section to the inner walls of that section.
A skirt closure 214 will be adhered in position over the confronting edges of the portions of the skirtings in register with the side walls 152 and 182. Also, a further skirt closure, not shown, will be adhered in position over the confronting edges of the portions of the skirtings in register with the side walls 170 and 204. At such time, the sections 150 and 180, the skirtings thereof, and the skirt closures therefor will provide a continuous, water-impervious, corrosion-resistant surface which completely surrounds the object which extends upwardly through the roof. Also, that continuous, water-impervious, corrosion-resistant surface extends from the peripheries of those skirtings and skirt closures to the inner walls of the pitch pan. When the recess defined by the sections 150 and 180 is filled with a suitable filler, that filler will coact with that continuous water-proof surface to provide a completely water-tight joint where the object passes upwardly through the roof.
Whether the pitch pan sections of the present invention are made of metal or other material and then provided with skirtings as shown by FIGS. 1-7, or are molded with integrally-formed skirtings, the resulting pitch pan will provide a continuous, corrosion-resistant, and water-impervious surface which extends all the way from the outer peripheries of the skirtings and skirt closures to the inner surfaces of the recess defined by those sections. As a result, the present invention provides a plural-section pitch pan with skirtings therein which can be moved into position adjacent an object with precision and in a minimum amount of time. Further, the skirtings on those sections will be free of cuts, tears and perforations; and those skirtings will not come loose prior to, during, or after the introduction of filler material into the recess defined by those sections.
Whereas the drawing and accompanying description have shown and described two preferred embodiments of the present invention it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof. | The present invention provides a pitch pan with just two J-shaped sections. The long leg of one J-shaped section is aligned with the short leg of the other J-shaped section, and vice versa; and the legs of the two J-shaped sections are provided with positioning surfaces which permit the long and short legs of the J-shaped sections to be shifted relative to each other to define adjustable-length walls at opposite sides of a filler-receiving recess. That two-section pitch pan is covered with water-impervious skirting before it is delivered to the job site. All an installer need do is to align the two sections of that pitch pan, secure them to each other and to the roof with fasteners, use a cement or adhesive to seal the skirting of those sections to the roof, use a cement or adhesive to seal an overskirt in position at each of the two sides of the pitch pan where the skirtings of the two sections confront each other, and then fill the filler-receiving recess defined by that pitch pan. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuing non-provisional application of co-pending U.S. provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/712,306, entitled Ropelite Runners and filed on Aug. 30, 2005, by Russell D. Taylor, now expired, the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to mountings for lighting and more specifically to a mounting system adapted to mount a string array of lighting.
[0003] Most people are familiar with various attempts to arrange and mount various configurations of string array lighting, which are commonly and customarily displayed in connection with Christmas and winter solstice celebration displays and the like. The string array lighting is, thus, commonly known as Christmas lights. A more recent development in string array lighting includes a rope configuration, including encasing so called Christmas lights in a clear tubular hose or rope, and various ensuing developments thereof.
[0004] Regardless of the string array lighting configuration, typical mounting attempts include: simply laying the light strings upon a structure without attachment; tying the lighting with string, wire ties, and the like; stapling the lighting to a supporting structure; and using screw hooks and the like to secure the lighting n place. Other attempts at mounting string array lighting include construction of specific substructures along the nature of forming holes in lengths of wood strips or plastic conduits with the holes adapted for placement of individual lamps of the lighting string in the holes. The string array lighting is thus or otherwise mounted to the substructure and the substructure is positioned and secured as desired. People seldom pursue the relatively great effort of building such substructures, however.
[0005] Regardless, the difficulties or challenges of mounting string array lighting are commonly and well known. Thus, a need for convenient and effective string array lighting mounting is readily understood.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, a string array lighting mount of the invention is adapted to conveniently and effectively arrange and secure string array lighting. The mount may commonly have an elongated body with a light shade that at least partially blocks light emission from the string array lighting and a series of at least translucent light emitting lenses. The lenses, a plurality of hangers, and a plurality of lighting supports are disposed along the body length. The supports are adapted to support string array lighting.
[0007] In various aspects of the invention, the body may be generally tubular and may further define an open sided channel with a first channel leg and a second channel leg. The elongated body may include an elongated wall with at least one lens defined by an aperture through the wall. At least a portion of the wall may define the shade. A flange may extend from the body and defines a hanger and may extend along the body and defines the plurality of hangers.
[0008] In other aspects of the invention, the elongated body may include a series of cross ties extending across the open side of the open sided channel. The cross ties may be spaced along the length of the body. The cross tie may define a hanger or may define at least a portion of the shade. A lens may be defined between a first one of the ties and a second one of the ties. At least one of the cross ties may have an end that releasably couples with the second channel leg. Further, at least one of the cross ties may have a first end that releasably couples with the first channel leg and a second end that releasably couples with the second channel leg.
[0009] These and other features, objectives, and benefits of the invention will be recognized by one having ordinary skill in the art and by those who practice the invention, from this disclosure, including the specification, the claims, and the drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0010] FIG. 1 is an upper, left end perspective view of a first embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention, shown upon a generally vertical surface, such as a length of deck;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an upper, left end perspective view of a modular length thereof with an elongated body;
[0012] FIG. 3 is the view of FIG. 2 in partial fragment, showing a plurality of lighting supports that are spaced along the body length;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a front elevation view thereof;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view thereof in partial fragment, showing the plurality of lighting supports spaced along the body length;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a lower right fragmentary perspective view of two modular lengths thereof; showing the two lengths spaced near one another in an uncoupled condition;
[0016] FIG. 7 is the view of FIG. 6 , showing the two lengths in a coupled condition;
[0017] FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail of a right end of a modular length thereof, showing a self flange thereof;
[0018] FIG. 9 is an upper perspective view of an outside corner connector with two modular lengths thereof;
[0019] FIG. 10 is an upper perspective view of the outside corner connector;
[0020] FIG. 11 is an upper perspective view of the outside corner connector in partial fragmentary view, showing a plurality of lighting supports;
[0021] FIG. 12 is an upper perspective view of an inside corner connector with two modular lengths thereof;
[0022] FIG. 13 is an upper perspective view of the inside corner connector;
[0023] FIG. 14 is an upper perspective view of the inside corner connector in partial fragmentary view, showing a plurality of lighting supports; and
[0024] FIG. 15 is a right end perspective view of a modular length thereof, showing the plurality of lighting supports that are spaced along the body length and showing an optional additional shade cover;
[0025] FIG. 16 is a left end perspective view of a second embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention, shown upon a generally vertical surface, such as a length of deck or railing, showing a length of string array lighting supported thereby; FIG. 17 is an upper, left end perspective view in partial fragment, of a modular length thereof with an elongated body, showing a plurality of lighting supports spaced along the body length; and
[0026] FIG. 18 is an upper, left end perspective view of two modular lengths thereof;
[0027] FIG. 19 is an exploded view of an upper and right end perspective of a third embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention, showing a length of string array lighting supported thereby;
[0028] FIG. 20 is an upper and right end perspective view thereof, shown upon a generally vertical surface, such as a length of deck or railing;
[0029] FIG. 21 is a fragmentary upper and right end perspective view thereof, showing mounting positioning of hangers thereof;
[0030] FIG. 22 is an upper and right perspective view of a hanger thereof;
[0031] FIG. 23 is a right side elevation of the third embodiment of string array lighting mount assembly;
[0032] FIG. 24 is a right end schematic view thereof, showing a partially assembled condition relative to a generally vertical surface, showing a length of string array lighting supported thereby; and
[0033] FIG. 25 is the view of FIG. 24 in a final installed condition;
[0034] FIG. 26 is an exploded view of an upper and right end perspective of a fourth embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention, showing a length of string array lighting supported thereby;
[0035] FIG. 27 is a right end schematic view thereof, showing a first partially assembled condition relative to a generally vertical surface;
[0036] FIG. 28 is the view of FIG. 27 in a second partially installed condition;
[0037] FIG. 29 is the view of FIG. 27 in a third partially installed condition;
[0038] FIG. 30 is the view of FIG. 27 in a final installed condition;
[0039] FIG. 31 is front right perspective view of the fourth embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention in the second partially installed condition of FIG. 28 , shown upon a generally vertical surface, such as a length of deck or railing;
[0040] FIG. 32 is an upper right end perspective schematic view thereof, showing mounting positioning of a base plate thereof;
[0041] FIG. 33 is the view of FIG. 32 , showing hanger ties positioned upon the base plate thereof;
[0042] FIG. 34 is the view of FIG. 33 , showing a channel portion thereof positioned relative to the hanger ties and the base plate thereof;
[0043] FIG. 35 is an upper right end perspective view of the fourth embodiment of string array lighting mount assembly, showing a length of string array lighting supported thereby;
[0044] FIG. 36 is an upper and right perspective view of a hanger thereof, and
[0045] FIG. 37 is a right side elevation of the fourth embodiment of string array lighting mount assembly;
[0046] FIG. 38 is an upper perspective view of a fifth embodiment of string array lighting mount of the invention in a landscape perimeter installation, showing a portion of the string array lighting mount in exploded view;
[0047] FIG. 39 is an enlarged detail of the exploded portion thereof;
[0048] FIG. 40 is a cross section view thereof, showing use of the fifth embodiment of string array lighting mount in combination with a known landscape edging and the like;
[0049] FIG. 41 is a fragmentary perspective view thereof, showing placement along a surface of a walk or a deck and the like;
[0050] FIG. 42 is a cross section view thereof, showing the lighting mount optionally oriented with its lenses directing light toward the surface as opposed to the shade portion directing light away from the surface;
[0051] FIG. 43 is a front elevation view of a modular length of the fifth embodiment of string array lighting mount;
[0052] FIG. 44 is a left end perspective view thereof;
[0053] FIG. 45 is a fragmentary front elevation of two abutting lengths thereof;
[0054] FIG. 46 is an end perspective view of a coupler thereof; and
[0055] FIG. 47 is the view of FIG. 45 , showing the coupler installed;
[0056] FIG. 48 is fragmentary left front perspective view of a sixth embodiment of string array lighting mount; and
[0057] FIG. 49 is the view of FIG. 48 , showing installation with landscape stakes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0058] Several preferred and merely exemplary embodiments of a string array lighting mount according to the invention are generally shown in the drawing figures and discussed below. Common to each embodiment are foundational elements of the inventive string array lighting mount, including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions. These reference numerals shall be used across the several variations of the invention discussed below.
[0059] A string array lighting mount according to the invention may be useful in various lighting environments, including exterior installations like decks, landscaping, pools, and pathways, and interior installations. The unique design of the invention provides for directing and casting of string array lighting as desired for a particular installation, depending upon various embodiment factors, including width, length, and orientation of the lenses 106 . Some sample installation settings may include: placement about a perimeter of a deck to cast light down onto landscape areas ( FIG. 1 ); placement under a railing cap to cast light onto spindles and walk or deck surfaces ( FIGS. 16 and 20 ); placement along landscape area edgings ( FIG. 38 ); placement along walking paths ( FIG. 41 ); placement on a wall near a ceiling to cast light onto the ceiling; and placement on a wall spaced from a floor to illuminate an entertainment area. Many additional indoor and outdoor installations of string array lighting with a mount according to the invention will occur to one having ordinary skill in the art and to those who use the invention.
[0060] Further, the several preferred embodiments of a string array lighting mount according to the invention and additional variations, as will occur to one having ordinary skill in the art from the teaching of this invention, may be constructed of any suitable material, including plastics, metals, woods, their combinations, and their variations. Any fabrication process may also be used as may be appropriate for the material selected.
[0061] A first preferred embodiment 200 of a string array lighting mount 100 according to the invention is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 1-15 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. While the deck perimeter installation noted above is specifically shown in FIG. 1 , this is not a limitation of the invention, which may be installed upon any suitable foundational structure, either vertical or horizontal and either indoor or outdoor.
[0062] In the first embodiment 200 , the invention is shown configured in modular length sections 201 of a generally tubular or open-sided channel geometry. The hanger 108 is formed as a flange that extends generally radially outward from and lengthwise along an elongated body. A series of fastening holes may be provided in the flange to accommodate commonly known screw or nail fastening and the like of each length of modular section of the embodiment 200 to a supporting structure.
[0063] The support is defined by way of a series of fingers 202 that extend from a first leg 204 and across an open side toward a second leg 206 . This leaves a gap as shown between the first and the second legs, so that string array lighting may be easily laid into the mount and upon the support fingers 202 .
[0064] Adjacent lengths of modular sections of the embodiment 200 may be conveniently coupled by provision of a self-coupling 212 on one end of the sections as is commonly known in closed tubular plastic electrical conduit and the like. More specifically, each modular length has an uniform end profile at a first end 214 . The self-coupling 212 has an interior configuration that corresponds to the uniform end profile at a first end. The self-coupling is also formed on an opposite second end of each modular length. Thus, adjacent modular sections may merely “plug” together, so a first end of an adjacent second modular section may slide into and mate with the self-coupler of an adjacent first modular section ( FIGS. 6-8 ).
[0065] To facilitate assembling several lengths of modular sections of the embodiment 200 around various structures, angle fittings may be provided and may include exterior corner fittings 222 and interior corner 224 fittings ( FIGS. 9-14 ), among others as desired. Each fitting provided may include the features of the modular lengths 201 , including the hanger 108 , the support 110 with fingers 202 , and the self-coupling 212 structure portions.
[0066] An additional decorative shade 250 may desirably be added ( FIG. 15 ).
[0067] A second preferred embodiment 300 of a string array lighting mount according to the invention is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 16-18 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. The embodiment 300 is similar to the embodiment 200 and differs significantly in that the fingers 302 of embodiment 300 extend from a first leg of an open sided channel body and across an open side toward a second leg, and further extend farther to actually extend between and connect with each leg.
[0068] As with the embodiment 200 , the embodiment 300 may also incorporate a self-coupling 312 on one end of each section, so adjacent lengths of modular sections may be conveniently coupled. Also, various angle fittings may be provided to facilitate assembling several lengths of modular sections around various structures, including exterior corner fittings and interior corner 224 , among others as desired.
[0069] A third preferred embodiment 400 of a string array lighting mount according to the invention is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 19-25 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. The embodiment 400 is also similar to the embodiment 200 and differs significantly in that the fingers of embodiment 300 may be separate members that define hangers 108 and incorporate supports 110 .
[0070] The hangers 108 are generally J-shaped members that have a short leg 402 and a long leg 404 extending in the same general direction from a bight portion that defines the support 110 ( FIG. 22 ). The long leg terminates at a shade hanger upper edge 406 and includes at least one fastening hole 408 to accommodate commonly known screw or nail fastening and the like as discussed above. The short leg curls upward from the bight portion 110 and is spaced from the long leg so that string array lighting may be easily laid into the hanger and upon the support with the short leg substantially capturing and cradling the lighting in a preselected location. A shade latch 412 may be formed on the short leg in the form of a barb flange or recess or the like.
[0071] The body 102 in embodiment 400 is formed as an open-sided channel with a first leg 422 and a second leg 424 ( FIG. 23 ). A portion of the body, including portions of each of the legs 422 and 424 , define the shade 104 . A flange 414 is provided at a terminal end of the first leg 422 and cooperates with the top edge 406 to hang the body or shade on the hanger 108 . The flange may further be configured as a groove as shown, into which the hanger edge 406 is seated. A flange is provided on the second leg 424 to define a shade catch 416 that cooperates with the shade latch 412 .
[0072] In use, a series of hangers 108 may be secured to a supporting structure by screw fastening, adhesive fastening, or other desired method, for example, and are preferably disposed along a straight line. A desired string lighting 60 is placed between the hanger legs 402 and 404 to rest on the support 110 . A length of the string array lighting mount body 102 is secured to at least a portion of the series of hangers by mating the flange 414 with respective ones of the hanger top edges 406 and slightly pivoting the body downward to engage the shade latch 412 with the shade catch 416 , and snap fasten the respective hangers with the body.
[0073] Whence so assembled, the body 104 , more specifically the shade portion 104 of the body, the supporting structure, and the hangers 108 , perhaps more specifically the support 110 portion of the hangers, define an open space or lens 1 . 06 there between, through which light from the lighting 60 is cast and by which the light is directed.
[0074] Each length of the body 104 in this embodiment 400 may preferably be provided with a self-coupling 412 in the manner discussed above relative to the prior embodiments. Thus, adjacent modular sections may merely “plug” together, so a first end of an adjacent second modular section may slide into and mate with the self-coupler of an adjacent first modular section.
[0075] A fourth preferred embodiment 500 of a string array lighting mount according to the invention is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 26-37 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. The embodiment 500 is substantially similar to the embodiment 400 and differs significantly by addition of a quick mount backing plate 550 that may also define at least a portion of the shade.
[0076] The plate 550 is an elongated member that may be generally configured as a rectangular solid as shown. A series of mounting holes 552 that are adapted for screw or nail fastening, for example, may preferably be provided along a length of the plate. A hanger alignment device, which is shown as a groove 554 , may preferably be defined along the plate as is discussed further below. A shade hanger flange 556 may also preferably be provided along a top edge of the plate.
[0077] The hangers 108 are generally J-shaped members that have a short leg 502 and a long leg 504 extending in the same general direction from a bight portion that defines the support 110 ( FIG. 36 ). The long leg includes at least one fastening hole 508 to accommodate commonly known screw or nail fastening and the like as discussed above and in the summary. An alignment barb 506 that correspond to and is adapted to cooperate with the alignment device 554 may be provided along the long leg 504 .
[0078] The short leg 502 of the hangers 108 curls upward from the bight portion 110 and is spaced from the long leg 504 so that string array lighting may be easily laid into the hanger and upon the support 110 with the short leg substantially capturing and cradling the lighting in a preselected location. A shade latch 512 may be formed on the short leg in the form of a barb flange or recess or the like.
[0079] The body 102 in embodiment 500 is formed as an open-sided channel with a first leg 522 and a second leg 524 ( FIG. 23 ). A portion of the body, including portions of each of the legs 522 and 524 , define the shade 104 . A flange 514 is provided at a terminal end of the first leg 522 and cooperates with the shade hanger flange 556 of the mount backing plate 550 . The flange may further be configured as a groove as shown, into which the hanger flange 556 is seated. A flange is provided on the second leg 524 to define a shade catch 516 that cooperates with the shade latch 512 of the hanger short leg 502 .
[0080] In use, the mount backing plate 550 may be secured to a supporting structure by screw fastening, adhesive fastening, or other desired method, for example. A series of hangers 108 may be selectively disposed along the plate 550 with the alignment barb 506 cooperatingly engaging the hanger alignment device groove 554 . Each hanger may be secured in its place upon the plate 550 by screw fastening, adhesive fastening, or other desired method, for example.
[0081] A desired string lighting 60 is placed between the hanger legs 502 and 504 to rest on the support 110 . A length of the string array lighting mount body 102 is secured to at least a portion of the series of hangers by mating the flange 514 with the shade hanger flange 556 along a top edge of the plate 550 , slightly pivoting the body downward to engage the shade latch 512 with the shade catch 516 , and snap fasten the respective hangers with the body.
[0082] Each length of the body 104 in this embodiment 500 may preferably be provided with a self-coupling 512 in the manner discussed above relative to the prior embodiments. Thus, adjacent modular sections may merely “plug” together, so a first end of an adjacent second modular section may slide into and mate with the self-coupler of the adjacent first modular section.
[0083] While the above discussed embodiments of a string array lighting mount of the invention are conspicuously useful in both indoor and outdoor environments where a supporting or foundational structure may be available, a fifth preferred embodiment 600 of a string array lighting mount according to the invention that lends itself to more freeform placement is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 38-47 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. The embodiment 600 is similar to the embodiment 300 . While the second embodiment 300 is configured to accommodate a hanging orientation, the fifth embodiment is configured to accommodate a standing orientation.
[0084] As shown, the hanger is defined as a flange that extends along the length of body and extends generally radially out from the body. A plurality of lenses are formed along the body to preferably generally cast light other than toward the hanger.
[0085] A sixth preferred embodiment 700 of a string array lighting mount according to the invention is generally shown in the drawing FIGS. 48 and 49 in which common elements including a body 102 with shade 104 , lens 106 , hanger 108 , and support 110 structure portions are identified. The embodiment 700 is similar to each of the second embodiment 300 and the fifth embodiment 600 and is principally differentiated insofar as it is configured to generally lay upon a surface. Thus, the hanger may be defined as a series of tabs that extend generally radially outward from the body and are disposed along the length of the body. A plurality of lenses are formed along the body to cast light generally toward or away from the hanger.
[0086] One having ordinary skill in the art and those who practice the invention will understand from this disclosure that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosed inventive concept. One will also understand that various relational terms, including left, right, front, back, top, and bottom, for example, are used in the detailed description of the invention and in the claims only to convey relative positioning of various elements of the claimed invention. | String array lighting is mounted with an elongated assembly that comprises a light shade that at least partially blocks light emission from the lighting. A series of at least translucent light emitting lenses, a plurality of hangers, and a plurality of lighting supports are disposed along the body length. The elongated assembly may define an open sided channel with first and second channel legs and a series of cross ties that are spaced along the body length and that extend across the open side from the first channel leg toward the second channel leg. | 5 |
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0001] The present invention relates generally to wireless communication networks and more particularly to excessive operations attacks in a wireless communication network.
BACKGROUND
[0002] At present, communications networks are being exposed to various forms of attack, seeking to block access to, or bring down, particular nodes, entities, or sites in the communication network. These are commonly known as Excessive Operations attacks in either wired (Internet) or wireless networks, wherein a large number of short, concurrent messages are sent to a particular network node. Consequently, the node is hit with a flood of messages within a very short time period. However, the node is unable to process or respond to all these messages in this short time period causing a denial-of-service (DoS). As a result, communications with the node may collapse completely, i.e. the node crashes, stops beaconing, dis-adopts from its network switch, or at the very least the flood of unauthorized messages serves to block legitimate users from accessing the node.
[0003] One solution to these attacks is to “blacklist” the Stations that are causing these excessive operations. However, memory capacity is an obvious issue here. In addition, this solution is not scalable since an offender can create millions of Authentication requests very quickly by rotating source Media Access Control (MAC) addresses using the whole range of available MAC addresses.
[0004] Accordingly, there is a need to mitigate the detrimental effects of the above described Excessive Operations attacks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0005] The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system, in accordance with the present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method, in accordance with the present invention.
[0008] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
[0009] The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] The present invention mitigates the effect of Excessive Operations attacks. In particular, the present invention provides a technique to selectively acknowledge messages to an access node when an Excessive Operations attack is detected. Further, the present invention, can also mitigate spoofed de-authentication and association packets, and can also validate a (re)association spoof in a IEEE 802.11w network, while also preventing a wireless network switch from sending SA queries unnecessarily.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depiction of a wireless communication network, such as a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) or other IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system. However, it should be recognized that the present invention is also applicable to other wireless communication systems. At present, standards bodies such as OMA (Open Mobile Alliance), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), 3GPP2 (3rd Generation Partnership Project 2) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802 are developing standards specifications for such wireless telecommunications systems. The communication system represents a system operable in a network that may be based on different wireless technologies. For example, the description that follows can apply to an access network that is IEEE 802.xx-based, employing wireless technologies such as IEEE's 802.11, 802.16, or 802.20, modified to implement embodiments of the present invention.
[0012] Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a block diagram of an access node (AN) 100 adapted to support the inventive concepts of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that FIG. 1 does not depict all of the network equipment necessary for system to operate but only those system components and logical entities particularly relevant to the description of embodiments herein. For example, an access node, eNodeB, or base station can be connected with or comprise one or more devices such as wireless area network stations (which include access points (APs), Media Access Controllers (MAC), AP controllers, and/or switches), base transceiver stations (BTSs), base site controllers (BSCs), packet control functions (PCFs), packet control units (PCUs), and/or radio network controllers (RNCs). However, none of these other devices are specifically shown in FIG. 1 .
[0013] AN 100 is depicted in FIG. 1 as comprising a processor 104 coupled to a transceiver 102 and memory 106 . In general, components such as processors, memories, and transceivers are well-known. For example, AN processing units are known to comprise basic components such as, but not limited to, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory cache, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or logic circuitry. Such components are typically adapted to implement algorithms and/or protocols that have been expressed using high-level design languages or descriptions, expressed using computer instructions, expressed using messaging logic flow diagrams.
[0014] Thus, given an algorithm, a logic flow, a messaging/signaling flow, and/or a protocol specification, those skilled in the art are aware of the many design and development techniques available to implement an AN processor that performs the given logic. Therefore, AN 100 represents a known apparatus that has been adapted, in accordance with the description herein, to implement various embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that aspects of the present invention may be implemented in and across various physical components and none are necessarily limited to single platform implementations. For example, the AN aspect of the present invention may be implemented in any of the devices listed above or distributed across such components. It is within the contemplation of the invention that the operating requirements of the present invention can be implemented in software, firmware or hardware, with the function being implemented in a software processor (or a digital signal processor) being merely a preferred option.
[0015] The AN 100 uses a wireless interface for communication with multiple user equipment or user stations (Station 1 . . . . Station n) 108 - 110 . The wireless interface correspond to a forward link and a reverse link used in the implementation of various embodiments of the present invention. Stations or remote unit platforms are known to refer to a wide variety of consumer electronic platforms such as mobile stations, mobile units, mobile nodes, user equipment, subscriber equipment, subscriber stations, access terminals, remote terminals, terminal equipment, gaming devices, personal computers, and personal digital assistants, and the like, all referred to herein as Stations. In particular, each Station 108 - 110 comprises a processor that can be coupled to a transceiver, antenna, a keypad, a speaker, a microphone, and a display, as are known in the art and therefore not shown.
[0016] Stations are known to comprise basic components such as, but not limited to, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontrollers, memory devices, application-specific integrated circuits, and/or logic circuitry. Such Stations are typically adapted to implement algorithms and/or protocols that have been expressed using high-level design languages or descriptions, expressed using computer instructions, expressed using messaging/signaling flow diagrams, and/or expressed using logic flow diagrams. Thus, given an algorithm, a logic flow, a messaging/signaling flow, a call flow, and/or a protocol specification, those skilled in the art are aware of the many design and development techniques available to implement user equipment that performs the given logic.
[0017] Referring back to FIG. 1 , the processor 104 of the Access Node (AN) 100 receives requests 112 via its transceiver 102 from a plurality of Stations 108 - 110 . In an Excessive Operations attack, the great majority of these requests 112 are from unassociated or unauthorized stations, e.g. Station 2 through n 110 . However, even normal communications from authorized and associated stations, such as Station 1 108 , can be sending requests 112 to the AN 110 , thereby further contributing to the traffic. These requests 112 are messages that typically include one or more packets in a management frame that indicate requests for any one or more of; probes, authorizations, de-authorizations, association requests, dissociation frames, and the like.
[0018] The AN processor 104 detects whether the AN is experiencing an excessive operation attack from all the station requests 112 and enters a selective acknowledgement mode, as will be details below. In particular, the AN processor 104 determines whether the number of requests received within a particular excessive operations detection window (i.e. the rate of requests) exceeds a threshold. Preferably, the threshold can be changed dynamically dependent on network conditions. For example, the AN processor 104 can change the length of the excessive operations (ex-op) detection window and/or change the number of requests that trigger the selective acknowledgement condition. If the AN processor 104 determines that it is not experiencing an attack, it will process the requests normally, by sending an acknowledgement (ACK) 114 and processing the received management frames as is known in the art.
[0019] If the AN processor 104 detects an attack, it will check to see if a received request 112 is the first request (i.e. an initial) received from a particular station. This can be done by checking a retry bit of the request, i.e. a bit reserved in a header of a valid management frame of the request message that indicates if this request to the AN 100 is being “retried” after sending a previous identical request. If the retry bit is not set, the AN processor 104 will simply ignore this first request (by not sending an acknowledgement). However, the AN processor 104 will still record information about the request 112 in its memory 106 , including one or more of; the source MAC address in a header of the management frame of the request (indicating the identity of the request source), the particular type of request (e.g. probe, authorizations, de-authorizations, association requests, dissociation frames, etc.) of a management packet of the management frame, a time stamp in the management frame, and a sequence number in a header of the request that identifies the frame correctly.
[0020] If the retry bit is set, indicating that request 112 has been tried once before. The AN processor 104 confirms that this retry request is actually the same request as before. This is done by the AN processor 104 reading the MAC address of the retry request 112 and comparing it to the previously-stored record in memory 106 from the first request 112 from this same MAC address. The AN processor 104 will compare the retry request parameters against the record in memory 106 to see if they meet matching conditions. These matching conditions include; the source MAC address of the retry request and of the record being the same, the particular type of retry request matching the type of the recorded first request, a time stamp of the retry request being within a pre-determined excessive operations (ex-op) time interval of the time stamp of the first request, and a sequence number of the retry request and recorded first request being the same. It should be noted that the ex-op time interval (e.g. ten microseconds) can be dynamically changed in response to network conditions.
[0021] If the matching conditions are met, then the record is removed from memory 106 , and the retry request 112 is process normally, by the processor 104 directing the transceiver 102 to send an acknowledgement (ACK) 114 , and further processing as is known in the art. However, if there is no record in memory 106 (i.e. the retry source never made a previous request) or if all the matching conditions are not met, the record is removed from memory 106 , and the request 112 is ignored. Optionally, the AN processor 104 can check its record in memory 106 , and if any records have a time stamp that is older than the ex-op time interval, that record can be removed from memory 106 .
[0022] In operation, the present invention detects whether a wireless management frame is received from a valid Station or from a un-authorized client or fake client. Fake clients are not valid, physical Stations. This type of client can be created in thousands using known spoofing tools. However, these tools typically do not or can not retry the wireless management frame if an ACK is not received for the frame that it has already sent. This failure allows the operation of the present invention. Valid clients are actual Stations that are physically present. Valid clients are the ones that would retry a wireless management frame if an ACK is not received for a valid frame that it had already sent, in accordance with network protocols.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method to mitigate Excessive operations attacks in a wireless communication network by selective acknowledgement, in accordance with the present invention.
[0024] The method starts by the AN receiving 200 message requests from stations. In an Excessive Operations attack, the great majority of these requests are from unassociated or unauthorized stations. However, even normal communications from authorized and associated stations can be sending requests to the AN, thereby further contributing to the traffic. These requests are messages that typically include one or more packets in a management frame that indicate requests for any one or more of; probes, authorizations, de-authorizations, association requests, dissociation frames, and the like.
[0025] The AN proceeds by detecting 202 whether the AN is experiencing an excessive operation attack from all the station requests. In particular, the AN determines whether the number of requests received within a particular excessive operations detection window (i.e. the rate of requests) exceeds a threshold. Preferably, the threshold can be changed dynamically dependent on network conditions. For example, the AN can change the length of the excessive operations (ex-op) detection window and/or change the number of requests that trigger the selective acknowledgement condition. If the AN determines that it is not experiencing an attack, it will process 204 the requests normally, by sending an acknowledgement (ACK), and further processing as is known in the art.
[0026] If the AN detects an attack, the AN will check 206 to see if a received request is the first request received from a particular station. This can be done by checking a retry bit of the request, i.e. a bit reserved in a header of a valid management frame of the request message that indicates if this request to the AN is being “retried” after sending a previous identical request. If the answer is Yes (this is a first request), the AN will simply ignore 208 this first request. However, the AN will still record 208 information about the request, including one or more of; the source MAC address in a header of the management frame of the request (indicating the identity of the request source), the particular type of request (e.g. probe, authorizations, de-authorizations, association requests, dissociation frames, etc.) of a management packet of the management frame, a time stamp in the management frame, and a sequence number in a header of the request that identifies the frame correctly.
[0027] If the retry bit is set, indicating that request has been tried once before. The AN confirms 210 that this retry request is actually the same request as before. This is done by the AN reading the MAC address of the retry request and comparing it to the previously-stored record from the first request from this same MAC address. The AN will compare the retry request parameters against the record to see if they meet matching conditions. These matching conditions include; the source MAC address of the retry request and of the record being the same, the particular type of retry request matching the type of the recorded first request, a time stamp of the retry request being within the ex-op time interval of the time stamp of the first request, and a sequence number of the retry request and recorded first request being the same. It should be noted that the ex-op time interval can be dynamically changed in response to network conditions.
[0028] If the matching conditions are met, then the record is removed 212 , and the retry request is process 204 normally, by sending an acknowledgement (ACK), and further processing as is known in the art. However, if there is no record (i.e. the retry source never made a previous request) or if all the matching conditions are not met, the record is removed 212 and the request is ignored. Optionally, the AN can check its records, and if any records have a time stamp that is older than the ex-op time interval, that record can be removed 212 .
[0029] Advantageously, the present invention mitigates the effect of an Excessive Operations attack on an access node by providing a novel selective acknowledgement technique when an Excessive Operations attack is detected. This technique reduces messaging overhead, and reduces required memory over the previous solution. Further, the same technique of present invention mitigates spoofed de-authentication and association packets, and can also validate a (re)association spoof in a IEEE 802.11w network, while also preventing a wireless network switch from sending spoof attack queries unnecessarily.
[0030] 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.
[0031] 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.
[0032] 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, and in one non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” 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.
[0033] It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be comprised of one or more generic or specialized processors (or “processing devices”) such as microprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored program instructions (including both software and firmware) that control the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of the method and/or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or all functions could be implemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certain of the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, a combination of the two approaches could be used.
[0034] Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform a method as described and claimed herein. Examples of such computer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flash memory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.
[0035] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter. | A technique for mitigating excessive operations attacks in a wireless communication network includes receiving message requests from stations, detecting an excessive operation attack, checking if a received request is a first request or a retry request, and ignoring any first requests. The method can also include saving information about the first request, and wherein if checking reveals that the received request is a retry request, the method further confirms that the retry request and the saved information about the first request meet matching conditions, whereupon the retry request is further processed as normal. Since attacks rarely utilize retry requests, this technique effectively ignores attack messages. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is related to media supply cassette handling, and more specifically to installation and removal of large format media supply cassettes used in imagesetters.
Imagesetters typically have a supply roll of photosensitive media in a light-safe supply cassette, a recording support surface, and an image scanning system for scanning an image onto the media. The media passes from the supply roll supported in the supply cassette, to the recording support surface where the photosensitive media is exposed by the image scanning system. The exposed media is transported in web form into a take-up cassette for storage in a light-safe environment. Otherwise, the media is transported by a conveyor directly from the imagesetter to a processor for developing. When the supply roll runs out or when the operator requires a different media type for imaging, the supply cassette is removed by the operator and reloaded with a new supply roll, or replaced by another media supply cassette containing the different media type.
Large format media supply cassettes are relatively bulky and heavy for manual manipulation, as typically they can accommodate supply rolls 36 inches in width, for example. A fully loaded supply cassette can range in weight from approximately 30 to 60 pounds, depending on the width of the media and the construction material of the supply cassette. Manual loading and installation of the large format media into an imagesetter usually requires two operators due to the bulk and weight of the loaded supply cassette. It is desirable to assist a single operator so as to easily manipulate such large format supply cassettes during installation and removal to increase productivity.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to assist an imagesetter operator with large format media supply cassette reloading, installation and removal.
It is another object of the invention to allow a single operator to install, remove and reload a media supply cassette without requiring any lifting of the supply cassette by the operator.
It is yet another object of the invention to facilitate reloading or removal of a supply cassette from an imagesetter while another supply cassette is in use by the imagesetter.
It is a specific object of the invention to provide an assist mechanism to pivot a large format media supply cassette from an upper docked position to a lower access position and to counterbalance the assist mechanism that performs the pivoting of the supply cassette between the docked position to the access position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an apparatus and method for installation, removal and reloading of a media supply cassette in an imagesetter. The media supply cassette contains a media supply roll and the media supply cassette is supported by a movable support in the imagesetter. The movable support has two functional positions, an operational position in which the media supply cassette supplies media to the imagesetter, and an access position in which the media supply cassette is easily accessible for reloading the media supply cassette with a media supply roll. The access position is also for installing and removing the media supply cassette to and from the movable support. Loading a media supply cassette into the imagesetter involves first installing a media supply cassette onto the movable support in the imagesetter while the movable support is in the access position; automatically securing the media supply cassette to the movable support with a locking mechanism; positioning the movable support from the access position to the operational position with the media supply cassette secured to the movable support, and supplying media from the media supply roll contained in the media supply cassette to the imagesetter.
A supply cassette positioning apparatus positions a first supply cassette containing a first roll of web material and a second supply cassette containing a second roll of web material. A first movable support for supporting the first supply cassette is movable between a first position and a second position. The first position supports the first supply cassette in an operational position in which the material is drawn from the first roll of web material, and the second position supports the first supply cassette in an access position in which the first supply cassette can be reloaded with a new roll of web material while the first supply cassette is supported by the first movable support and in which the first supply cassette can be removed from the first movable support. A second movable support for supporting the second supply cassette is movable between a first position and a second position. The first position supports the second supply cassette in an operating position in which the material is drawn from the second roll of web material, and the second position supports the second supply cassette in an access position in which the second supply cassette can be reloaded with a new roll of web material while the second supply cassette is supported by the second movable support and in which the second supply cassette can be removed from the second movable support.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features and objects of the invention will become apparent in the following description taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustrative side view of an imagesetter employing a media supply cassette positioning system according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustrative side view of the imagesetter in FIG. 1 showing a lower supply cassette positioned in an access position by means of the media supply cassette positioning system according to the invention.
FIG. 3 is an illustrative side view of a media supply cassette secured to a support tray of the media supply cassette positioning system by a locking mechanism.
FIG. 4 is an illustrative side view of the media supply in FIG. 3 rotated to an intermediate position with respect to the support tray and secured by the locking mechanism.
FIG. 5 is an illustrative side view of a pivotable support arm of the media supply cassette positioning system positioning an upper supply cassette according to the invention.
FIG. 6 is an illustrative side view of the support arm in FIG. 5 positioning the upper supply cassette into an access position and a counterbalancing mechanism according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A supply cassette positioning system shown in FIG. 1 is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The system 10 is mounted within an imagesetter 12 and is shown supporting two media supply cassettes 14a, 14b which contain rolls of photographic media 16 or other image recording material such as paper, lithographic plate, etc. in web form. The media supply cassettes 14a, 14b are supported by an upper support tray 18 and a lower support tray 20, respectively. The imagesetter 12 has two media supply docking locations to allow the imagesetter operator to select from either supply cassette 14a, 14b which can contain the same types of media, different types of media, or different widths or thicknesses of media. A scanning support surface 22 is provided, in this embodiment as an internal drum, for supporting the media 16 drawn out from one of the supply cassettes supported in the docking locations. An image scanning apparatus 24 is located above the drum 22 for scanning an image with a modulated energy source (not shown) onto the media 16 supported by the drum 22.
Referring to FIG. 2, the supply cassette positioning system is shown having the upper support tray 18 and cassette 14a in the docked, operational position and the lower support tray 20 and supply cassette 14b in a non-operational, access position. The upper support tray 18 in the operational position has the supply cassette positioned at the feed rollers 26a, 26b. The feed rollers 26a, 26c are driven by conventional means to advance and lead the media 16 from the supply cassette to the scanning support surface 22. The middle feed roller 26b is movable between the driven rollers 26a, 26c to cooperate with the driven roller 26a adjacent to the media supply cassette in use 14a.
Support plates 30 are perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the supply cassettes 14a, 14b and of the feed rollers 26a,b,c and are located at the ends thereof to support the feed rollers 26a,b,c for rotation. Positioning guides 32a, 32b are provided in the support plates 30 to mount the supply cassettes 14a, 14b into their respective docked locations at the feed rollers 26a,b,c. Each supply roll 34a, 34b contained in the supply cassettes 14a, 14b is supported by a spindle 36a, 36b which is inserted through the core of the supply roll. The ends of the spindles 36a, 36b extend through the ends of the supply cassette 14a, 14b and are received by the guides 32a, 32b, respectively, of the support plates 30 to guide the cassettes 14a, 14b into position at the feed rollers 26a,b,c.
The lower support tray 20 is fixed to two laterally spaced rods 40 (one shown) which slide linearly with respect to the positioning guides 32b. Each rod 40 is slideably supported by at least one linear bearing 42, allowing the lower support tray 20 to be pulled out manually by the operator from the operational position at the feed rollers 26a,b,c, to the access position shown in FIG. 2 in which the cassette 14b can be opened and reloaded with another supply roll of media or the cassette 14b can be removed from the support tray 20 and the imagesetter. The imagesetter has covers 44 which open allowing the operator to access the media supply area of the imagesetter.
Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen the supply cassette has a lid 46 which can be opened about hinge 47 to access the media supply. The lid and lower portion of the supply cassette have a bore formed therein to accommodate the spindle such that the lid can open and closed around the spindle ends. A locking mechanism, generally indicated by reference numeral 50, is located at each end of the support tray 20 to secure the cassette 14b in several different orientations with respect to the support tray 20. The locking mechanism 50 is mounted to the end bracket 52 secured to the end of the support tray 20. A sliding member 54 is supported by the bracket 52 between the end of the supply cassette and the bracket 52. The sliding member 54 has two pins 56, 58 cooperating with a slot 60 provided in the bracket 52 to guide the movement of the sliding member 54. The pins 56, 58 pass through the bracket slot 60 to the opposite side of the bracket 52 where a spring 62 is attached to the pin 58 on the sliding member 54 and to another pin 64 on the bracket 52. The spring 62 urges the sliding member 54 into engagement with a locking pin 66 to lock the supply cassette 14b into the support tray 20. A rotatable shaft 68 mounted through a bore 70 in the front of the support tray 20 extends past the end bracket 52. A lever 72 is attached on each end of the shaft 68 to enable the operator to actuate the locking mechanism 50 from either end of the support tray 20. The lever 72 has a slot 74 which the pin 56 on the sliding member 54 also passes through. Upon pivoting the lever 72 and the rotatable shaft 68, the sliding member 54 is pulled downward and forward by engagement of the pin 56 in the lever slot 74 and the bracket slot 60. When the sliding member 54 is retracted by the lever 72, the locking pin 66 becomes disengaged from the sliding member 54 and the supply cassette 14b is free to be lifted or rotated out of the support tray 20. The bottom of the supply cassette 14b is fully supported within the support tray 20 and the locking pin 66 is engaged with the locking mechanism 50. A handle 76 is provided on the top of the supply cassette 14b to facilitate removal of the cassette 14b from the support tray 20. With the support tray 20 in the access position, the cassette 14b can be removed from the support tray by lifting the cassette 14b vertically. It is not necessary to actuate the lever 72 to retract the sliding member 54 because the locking pin 66 overcomes the sliding member 54 by a slight forward movement of the cassette (to the fight in FIG. 3) while lifting in a generally vertical direction. Replacement of the cassette 14b into the support tray 20 in a downward vertical direction also does not require the lever 72 to be actuated for the locking pin 66 to engage the locking mechanism 50 and secure the cassette for docking.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking mechanism 50 on the lower support tray 20 is provided with an intermediate position which supports the supply cassette 14b in a rotated position relative to the support tray 20, to facilitate supply roll replacement. The sliding member 54 has a recess 80 for receiving the locking pin 66 when the cassette 14b is rotated approximately forty degrees from the horizontal position to the intermediate position. The cassette bottom has a semi-cylindrical, longitudinal recess 82 which receives the front lip 84 of the lower support tray 20. The front lip 84 has a rounded shape which cooperates with the recess 82 of the cassette bottom, acting as a detachable hinge and allowing for supported rotation of the cassette with respect to the support tray. A substantial amount of the weight of the supply cassette bears against the front lip 84 of the support tray during rotation, enabling easily manipulation by an operator. The rounded front lip 84 further prevents the cassette 14b from sliding horizontally off the support tray 20.
To support the supply cassette for roll replacement, the lever 72 is rotated downward about the axis of the bore 70 (counterclockwise in FIG. 4), the sliding member 54 is retracted against the force of the spring 62 by engagement of the pin 56 in the lever slot 74. The cassette 14b is manually rotated about the front lip 84 of the support tray 20 causing the locking pin 66 to pass around the edge of the retracted sliding member 54. When the locking pin 66 is aligned with the recess 80, the lever 72 is released and the sliding member 54 is pulled back by the spring 62, securing the locking pin 66 in the recess 80 and locking the cassette 14b into the intermediate position. With the angled intermediate position, an operator can open the lid 46 of the supply cassette 14b for easy supply roll replacement while the supply cassette 14b remains secured to the lower support tray 20.
To remove the supply cassette 14b from the lower support tray 20 without requiring an operator to manually lift the supply cassette downward to an be pivoted downward to retract the sliding member 54 and release the locking pin 66 from the sliding member 54. The cassette is then manually rotated with the weight of the cassette 14b bearing on the front lip 84 of the lower support tray 20 approximately ninety degrees from the horizontal docking position, or approximately fifty degrees from the intermediate position described above, at which point the locking pin 66 clears the sliding member 54 and the cassette is disengaged from the locking mechanism 50 completely. The lever 72 is then released, and the cassette 14b is rolled onto its backside onto a roll-up table or other suitable support means (not shown).
To return the cassette from the table to the lower support tray 20, the grooved portion 82 on the bottom of the cassette 14b is positioned against the front lip 84 of the lower support tray 20 by manual maneuvering of the roll-up table. The lever 72 is pulled downward to retract the sliding member 54 while the cassette 14b is rotated approximately ninety degrees into the lower support tray 20 from the table. The lever 72 is then released by the operator, actuating the locking mechanism 50 by engaging the locking pin 66 with the sliding member 54, thereby securing the cassette 14b within the support tray 20. The tray 20 can then be returned to the operational position as shown in FIG. 1, by sliding the lower support tray into the docking location. Engagement of the spindle ends 36b (FIG. 2) in the positioning guides 32b aligns the supply cassette 14b with respect to the feed rollers 26b, 26c.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper support tray 18 and cassette 14a are shown in the docked position. The docked position has the supply cassette 14a positioned at the feed rollers 26a, 26b for extracting the media from the supply cassette and advancing it onto the scanning support surface. The ends of the spindle 36a protrude from the supply cassette 14a and cooperate with and are received in the positioning guides 32a to position the cassette 14a with respect to the feed rollers 26a, 26b. The upper support tray 18 and cassette 14a are angled downward when in the docked position relative to the horizontal docking position of the lower support tray 20 and cassette 14b. The upper support tray 18 is fixed to a support arm 90 which is pivotable about a pivot pin 92. When the upper support tray 18 is in the docked position, the pivotable support arm 90 is generally vertical and the upper support tray 18 is angled downward toward the feed rollers 26a, 26b. The supply cassette 14a is secured to the upper tray by a locking mechanism as described with reference to the lower support tray and cassette.
When the support arm 90 is pivoted approximately ninety degrees about pivot pin 92, as in FIG. 6, the upper tray 18 and supply cassette 14a are in the access position. The upper tray 18 is lowered considerably to about the same position as the lower support tray 20 when pulled out to the access position. The upper support tray 18 and cassette 14a are already positioned for reloading without the need for rotation of the cassette 14a relative to the support tray 18. The cassette 14a is angled upward about forty degrees from the horizontal position, which is generally the same orientation as the supply cassette 14b located in the lower support tray 20 when rotated to the intermediate position of the locking mechanism 50. The support arm 90 facilitates reloading of the supply roll of media while the cassette 14a remains secured to the support tray 18 via the locking mechanism, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, as previously described with regard to the lower supply cassette. It should be noted that since the supply cassette 14a is already positioned for reloading when the support arm 90 is horizontal, the locking mechanism on the upper support tray does not require the intermediate position as described with respect to the lower support tray.
The pivotable support arm 90 for the upper support tray 18 has a counterbalancing mechanism 100 to assist the operator with positioning the supply cassette 14a between the upper docking location and the access position. A pivotable rod 102 mounted inside of the support arm 90 pivots about pivot pin 104 as the support arm 90 pivots about pivot pin 92. The pivot pins 92, 104 are fixed to the imagesetter frame 106 and the rod 102 is allowed to pivot inside the arm 90 to effect a change in the relative distance between the pivot point 104 and a flange 108 fixed to the inside of the arm 90. The distance between the pivot pin 104 and the flange 108 is largest when the support arm 90 is horizontal. A compression spring 110 is coiled around the rod 102 and is compressed between the flange 108 and a stop 112 on the end of the rod 102. Upon pivotal movement of the support arm 90 about pivot pin 92 from the vertical position toward the horizontal position, the distance between the pivot pin 104 and the flange 108 increases, thereby increasing the compression of the spring 110 and creating a force F in the direction of the pivot pin 104 that counterbalances the moment M around pivot pin 92 caused by the weight of the supply cassette 14a. The supply cassette can have a weight ranging from approximately 15 pounds when empty and constructed of structural foam plus the spindle, to about 60 pounds when full of large format media 36" wide and constructed of cast aluminum plus the spindle, for example. Consequently, the compression spring 110 has a relatively large spring constant, k, to create a force, F, large enough to counterbalance the heaviest supply cassette supported by the pivoting support arm 90. The force F created by the spring 110 during pivoting of the arm 90 from the vertical position to the horizontal position is directly proportional to the amount the spring is compressed along the rod 102. Therefore, regardless of the weight supported by the support arm 90, the counterbalance force is determined by the position of the support arm. As a result, for fighter loads the counterbalancing mechanism force can pull the support arm back to the upright position undesirably.
The preferred embodiment of the invention includes a damping mechanism such as a hydraulic damper 120 mounted on each end of the support arm 90. The damper viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6 is attached to the support plate 30 at pivot pin 122 and to the support arm at pivot pin 124. The damper 120 has a plunger rod 126 mounted telescopically relative to a cylinder 128 which is filled with a damping fluid. The plunger rod 126 moves telescopically within the cylinder 128 during pivotal movement of the support arm 90. The damper 120 resists the counterbalance force when light loads are being supported on the upper support tray 18 and prevents the support arm 90 from swinging back up to the vertical position. For heavy loads, the damper 120 prevents the support arm 90 from pivoting too quickly from the vertical position to the horizontal position under the weight of the supply cassette 14a. It will be appreciated that other suitable damping mechanisms may be substituted for the hydraulic damper.
To remove the supply cassette from the upper support tray without manually lifting the supply cassette, the locking mechanism is released and the cassette is rotated by the imagesetter operator with the weight of the supply cassette bearing on the front lip of the supply tray. The rotation of the cassette with respect to the support tray is supported by the front lip and is manipulated with little effort by the operator. The cassette is rotated approximately fifty degrees until the cassette separates from the supply tray at the detachable hinge, as described previously for the lower support tray and supply cassette. The cassette can be released onto a roll-up table or another suitable support means.
While this invention has been described in terms of various preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, substitutions, omissions and changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited solely by the scope of the following claims, including equivalents thereof. | A cassette handling mechanism is used to remove, reload and reinstall a media supply cassette into a media transport unit. The cassette is supported by a sliding support tray in a horizontal docking position. A locking device on the support tray engages the bottom of the cassette allowing the cassette to be pivoted into several different orientations. The support tray slides out horizontally from the media transport unit, allowing the operator to either lift the cassette vertically without releasing the lock, to actuate the lock thereby pivoting the cassette to an intermediate detent position in which the media can be reloaded, or to pivot the cassette to a 90 degree detent position releasing the cassette on its side onto an optional shelf or roll-up table. The locking mechanism 50 is used on a second support tray which is supported by a counterbalanced pivotable arm, to extract a second cassette docked in a non-horizontal position within the media transport unit. The arms rotate the cassette into the intermediate position without use of the locking device allowing reloading of the media. Actuating the lock pivots the cassette to the 90 degree position where the cassette may be placed onto the optional shelf or roll-up table. | 6 |
This application is a continuation of application No. 09/200,399, filed Nov. 24, 1998, now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to agricultural compositions for delivering metals to plants and for controlling microbial diseases in plants. Specifically, the present invention relates to metals chelated with a particular carbohydrate-derived composition and to methods for its use in delivering metals to agricultural crops and in controlling microbial damage to agricultural crops.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Historically, microbiological infestations have caused significant losses to agricultural crops and have been the cause of large scale famines and economic displacements. Fungal infections can cause pre-harvest damage to crops by killing them outright or by weakening them so as to decrease yields and render the plants susceptible to other infections. Post-harvest, fungal infections can also result in significant loss of agricultural products during storage, processing, and handling. The need for the control of microbial infections of agricultural products is well established and a number of chemical agents have been developed for this purpose, however, to date, no fully satisfactory chemical agents have been found. Oftentimes, fungal control agents are highly toxic to crops and/or animals; consequently, restrictions are placed on their handling and use. Also, many presently available fungal control agents are of restricted utility; that is to say, a particular agent may be effective only against several types of fungus. As a result, a number of separate materials must often be employed in a particular agricultural setting in order to accommodate different types of fungi or other microbial pathogens. Also, as is common with anti-microbial agents, a number of fungal species have developed resistance to commonly employed fungicides.
Clearly, there is a need for an anti-microbial control agent which can be utilized for both bacterial and fungal agents in plants which has broad activity against a variety of fungi and bacteria including those strains resistant to presently employed fungicides. Ideally, the material should be of low toxicity to crops and to animals, stable in composition, easy to employ, and preferably low in cost.
It is well known that the cell walls of fungi are comprised of chitin, which is a natural, carbohydrate-based biopolymer. Chitin is an analog of cellulose in which the OH group at the C-2 position has been replaced by an acetamido group. Chitin is also abundantly found in a number of natural sources, including the shells of arthropods such as shrimp. Previous research has suggested that chitin, or lower molecular weight fractions produced by its degradation, can in some instances, elicit antifungal responses in some plants, see for example, M. G. Hahn et al. in Mechanisms of Plant Defense Responses ; B. Fritig and M. Legrand, Kluwer Academic Publishers (Netherlands 1993, pp. 99-116).
Chitosan is a semi-synthetic derivative of chitin produced by the deacetylation of the nitrogen thereof so as to produce the ammonium salt. Chitosan itself has been shown to have some mild antifungal activity with regard to certain particular fungal species in some particular plants, see for example, L. A. Hadwiger, J. M. Beckman; Plant Physiol ., 66, 205-211 (1980); A. El Gharouth et al., Phytopathology , 84, 313-320 (1994); A. El Gharouth et al., Phytopathology , 82, 398-402 (1992); C. R. Allan et al., Experimental Mycology , 3:285-287 (1979); and P. Stossel et al., Phytopathology Z ., 111:82-90 (1984). Specific hydrozylates of chitosan have also been described as having some antifungal activity. See for example, Kendra et al., Experimental Mycology , 8:276-281 (1984). U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,627 discloses the use of a composition of high molecular weight chitosan hydrozylate (M.W. 10,000-50,000) and acetic acid for controlling fungus in certain crops. Japanese Patent Application 62-198604 describes the use of very low molecular weight chitosan hydrozylates (M. W. ≦3,000) for the control of Alternaria alternata fungus in pears. It is further noted that this material is not effective, in pears, against other fungi such as Botrytis.
The ability of chitosan to form complexes with metal ions, particularly of the transition metals and post transition metal ions, is well known in the literature, see generally George A.F. Roberts, Chitin Chemistry , Macmillan (1992). Most of the work described in this publication was done with the insoluble form of the chitosan metal complexes dealing with different ion interactions and the type of complex formation. Almost none of the work dealt with the soluble complex formation and no suggestion was made for the use of chitosan metal complexes for use in agriculture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,181 to Coughlin also discloses the use of chitosan for removing heavy metal ions from aqueous solution.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,643,971 and 5,541,233 both to Roenigk disclose the use of chitosan as a chelating polymer capable of forming coordinate bonds with transition metals. These metal complexes were utilized in a water-absorbing porous article, such as a sponge, in order to impart anti-microbial activity. Neither of the patents to Roenigk disclose the use of chitosan metal chelates for agricultural uses including the delivery of metal ions to plants and the use of chitosan metal chelates as anti-microbial agents against plant diseases. Accordingly, the present invention, as will be described in detail below, is directed to anti-microbial agents and/or metal delivery agents derived from chitin and/or chitosan and their methods of use in agriculture. This invention has identified particular chitosan metal chelate combinations which are particularly effective anti-microbial agents at very low doses. The material of the present invention is derived from natural sources and has extremely low toxicity to animals and agricultural crops. In addition, the material is stable, easy to handle, and low in cost. These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the discussion, description, and examples which follow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is disclosed herein a method for delivering metal to plants. The method comprises combining a metal ion with chitosan to form a metal chelate complex and applying the metal chelate complex to a plant in order to deliver the metal to the plant.
There is also disclosed a chitosan metal complex comprising a chitosan chelating polymer and at least one different metal ions chelated to the chitosan chelating polymer. In a preferred embodiment, copper, zinc, and aluminum are all chelated to the chitosan chelating polymer.
Also disclosed are compositions containing chitosan metal complexes which include both a water soluble chitosan metal ion chelate and a water insoluble chitosan metal ion chelate.
Also included within the scope of the present invention are methods for treating microbial disease in plants which comprise applying the compositions of the present invention to plants either pre-harvest or post-harvest.
Also disclosed herein are soluble chitosan metal compositions suitable for hydration and application to plants.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that particular oligomeric and/or polymeric materials derived from chitin or chitosan, having a molecular weight in the range of 4,000 to 500,000 daltons and comprised of linked, beta-glucosamine repeat units, is a highly effective chelating agent for transition metals thereby forming a highly effective agent for the control of a broad range of microbial diseases including bacterial and fungal diseases in a variety of plants.
Two different molecular weight chitosan polymer fractions can be utilized in the present invention. A first chitosan polymer fraction having a molecular weight ranging from approximately 10,000 daltons to approximately 500,000 daltons is combined with a second chitosan polymer fraction having a molecular weight ranging from approximately 4,000 daltons to approximately 10,000 daltons. It was found that for use as an anti-bacterial agent, that only chitosan polymers with a molecular weight ranging from 4,000-10,000 daltons was effective.
The material is prepared by the hydrolysis of chitin or chitosan, typically by acidic or enzymatic cleavage of the polymeric material, through the oxygen linkages thereof.
The degree of acetylation of the chitosan material can range from approximately 0-40%. The chitosan material or polymer can be reacted with transition metals and post-transition metal ions. Preferably, the chitosan polymer is reacted with metals including copper, zinc, aluminum, and manganese. Each metal alone and/or combinations of the metals are present in a concentration ranging from approximately 10-1000 ppm. More preferably, the chitosan polymer is reacted with one or more metals, for example Cu, Zn, Mn, yielding a complex which has improved anti-microbial activity and even further reduced toxicity.
The formation of the chitosan metal complex is achieved by reacting the chitosan (preferably at room temperature) with the desired metal or metals. The chitosan and the metal or metals are preferably incubated for between 1-24 hours. Both water soluble and water insoluble complexes are formed during the incubation period and the ratio of the free metals, the soluble complexes, and the insoluble complexes change as a function of time and the type of metal and the anion. Both the water soluble and the water insoluble complexes are effective anti-microbial agents. The amount of metal chelated by the chitosan can be determined by atomic absorption analysis.
The chitosan metal complexes of the present invention are particularly effective as the chitosan acts to not only bind the composition to the plant, but also appears to allow for the sustained release of metals over a longer period of time. The ability to form both soluble and insoluble complexes with the chitosan, provides the ability to bind the chitosan metal complexes to the leaves of plants thereby preventing the complexes from being washed away from the plants while also binding the metals to the complex yields a safe composition which prevents the washing of the metals from the leaves and provides a sustainable slow release mechanism. That is, the chitosan binds or sticks the metals to the plant while at the same time also retaining the metals therein. Chitosan is used both for its ability to chelate metals and its ability to attach or bind the metals to an object such as a plant. Also, since the phytotoxicity of the transition metals in their complexed state is significantly reduced, the complexes can be used in neutral pH conditions. Additionally, the chitosan binder provides a buffer between the metals and the plants to prevent direct contact between the metal and the plants thus further avoiding the inherent phytotoxicity of the metals.
The chitosan metal complexes of the present invention can also be provided as a dry mixture comprising a dry water soluble form of chitosan (Natural Polymer, Inc., Raymond, Wash.) which is supplied with a dry metal compound. The dry mixture can then be added to a farmer's tank in the field and mixed with water to completely solubilized the dry mixture which can then be applied to plants by various techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art including spraying.
The interaction between the dry, water soluble chitosan and the metals has been found to be dependent on the anion compounded with the metal. A preferred anion has been found to be a gluconate salt which appears to have lower toxicity than other anions and which has a higher affinity to the chitosan as compared to nitrates, chlorides and acetates. The gluconate salts have also been shown to have minimum side effects when applied to plants both with and without chitosan.
The utility of the compositions and methods according to the present invention are shown below in the Examples section.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
A chitosan metal complex of the present invention was sprayed onto the leaves of a cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (CV) plant grown in plastic pots in a commercial greenhouse (Hishtil, Afula, Israel). Whole plants with two true leaves were sprayed with 0.1%-0.13% of the chitosan metal complex material. Control plants were sprayed with water. After 24 hours, plants were inoculated with the fungi or the bacteria (10 5 ). Inoculated plants were placed in a greenhouse at 100% humidity at 25° C. The plants were incubated for 96 hours at which point, the percent diseased leaf area was visually estimated and the disease severity was calculated as a disease index for the whole plant.
The control of the angular leaf spot disease caused by Pseudomonas lacrimans in cucumber leaves utilizing 0.1% chitosan and CuNO 3 , ZnNO 3 and AINO 3 utilizing 15, 40, and 60 ppm each, in a ratio of 1:1:1 was utilized. As shown in Table I, plants treated with a chitosan metal complex controlled disease in an amount greater than the chitosan alone. Plants treated with multiple metals complexed with the chitosan displayed the most marked percentage of disease control.
TABLE I
Percent
Treatments
Control Disease
Cucumber + water
0
Cucumber + hydrolysed chitosan (HC)
52
Cucumber + HC + 15-60 ppm Cu
75
Cucumber + HC + 15-60 ppm Zn
72
Cucumber + HC + 15-60 ppm Al
62
Cucumber + HC + 45 ppm Cu + Zn + Al
56
Cucumber + HC + 120 ppm Cu + Zn + Al
83
Cucumber + HC + 180 ppm Cu + Zn + Al
95
Cucumber + HC + 250 ppm streptomycin
95
Example 2
Controlling the Phytophtora infestans disease in potato plants was demonstrated using 0.1% chitosan and CuNO 3 (100-200 ppm). As shown in Table II, the chitosan metal complexes were shown to be highly effective in controlling the Phytophtora infestans organism. Furthermore, the chitosan chelated copper complex was shown to be much less toxic than the copper compound applied directly to the potato leaves.
TABLE II
Percent
Treatments
Control Disease
Potato leaves + water
0
Potato leaves + chitosan
75
Potato leaves + chitosan + 100 ppm metals
85
Potato leaves + chitosan + 150 ppm metals
95
Potato leaves + chitosan + 200 ppm metals
85
Potato leaves + CuNO 3 + 25 ppm metals
toxic
Potato leaves + CuNO 3 + 50 ppm metals
toxic
Potato leaves + CuNO 3 + 75 ppm metals
toxic
Example 3
Controlling Downy mildew disease caused by Pseudoperonospera cubensis in cucumber plants was demonstrated utilizing 0.1% chitosan and CuNO 3 (100-200 ppm).
As shown in Table III, the chitosan copper complex controlled the Downy mildew diseased caused by Pseudoperonospera cubensis in cucumber plants. Furthermore, the chitosan copper complex was shown to be much less toxic to the cucumber plants as opposed to the direct application of the copper nitrate itself.
TABLE III
Percent
Treatments
Control Disease
Cucumber + water
0
Cucumber + chitosan
65
Cucumber + chitosan + 100 ppm metals
80
Cucumber + chitosan + 150 ppm metals
90
Cucumber + chitosan + 200 ppm metals
85
Cucumber + CuNO 3 + 25 ppm metals
toxic
Cucumber + CuNO 3 + 50 ppm metals
toxic
Cucumber + CuNO 3 + 75 ppm metals
toxic
Example 4
Controlling the bacterial spot disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris in tomato plant leaves utilizing various metals.
As shown in Table IV, the chitosan metal complexes of the present invention controlled the bacterial spot disease caused by Xanthomonas lacrimans in tomato plants to a greater degree than did chitosan alone.
TABLE IV
Percent
Control
Treatments
Disease
Tomato leaves + water
0
Tomato leaves + 0.1% chitosan
10
Tomato leaves + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu
70
Tomato leaves + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu + 100 ppm ZN
70
Tomato leaves + chitosan + 100 ppm ZN
65
Tomato leaves + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu + 100 ppm Mn
45
Example 5
Controlling the Gray mold disease caused by Botrytis cinerea in cucumber plants utilizing 0.1% chitosan and metal complexes.
Referring to Table V, the chitosan metal complexes were shown to be at least as effective in the control of Gray mold disease as was chitosan alone. Furthermore, the chitosan metal complexes were shown to be non-toxic as compared with the application of the metal (copper nitrate) itself.
TABLE V
Percent
Treatments
Control Disease
Cucumber + water
0
Cucumber + 0.1% Hydrolysed chitosan (HC)
84
Cucumber + HC + 100 ppm Cu
84
Cucumber + HC + 100 ppm Zn
83
Cucumber + HC + Mn
84
Cucumber + CuNO 3 + 35 ppm metals
toxic
Cucumber + CuNO 3 + 50 ppm metals
toxic
Example 6
Comparing the control of Xanthomonas campestris in tomato plant leaves using a complex of chitosan, copper and different anions (nitrate, acetate, and gluconate).
Referring to Table VI, the chitosan metal complexes of the present invention were shown to be effective in controlling Xanthomonas campestris in tomato plants. It is important to note that the gluconate salt was more effective at controlling disease than both the acetate and nitrate salts.
TABLE VI
Percent
Treatments
Control Disease
Tomato + water
0
Tomato + 0.1% chitosan
10
Tomato + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu acetate
60
Tomato + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu nitrate
70
Tomato + chitosan + 100 ppm Cu gluconate
88
While the foregoing has been described with reference to some specific species, it is to be understood that the general principles presented hereinabove are applicable to the protection of a wide variety of agricultural crops from a broad spectrum of microbial agents. Also, while certain synthetic procedures for preparing the chitosan metal complexes of the present invention have been described, it is to be understood that a material may be prepared by many other routes which will be apparent to one of skill in the art. For example, other sources of chitosan or chitin may be employed for the preparation of the metal complexes, and such sources include cell walls of fungi, exoskeletons of various marine invertebrates, as well as exoskeletons of terrestrial arthropods. Likewise, the chitosan matrix may be obtained from various sources. In view thereof, it is to be understood that the foregoing discussion, description, and examples are illustrative of particular embodiments of the present invention, and are not meant to be limitations upon the practice thereof. It is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the scope of the invention. | A method for controlling bacterial and fungal diseases in plants which includes applying a chitosan metal chelate complex having at least two metal ion species to the plant. Chitosan metal complexes for application to control bacterial and fingal diseases in plants are also disclosed. | 2 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/700,269, filed Jul. 18, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to control of medical devices in a subject body, and more particularly to estimation of contact force of a medical device against a tissue surface within the subject body.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Interventional medicine is the collection of medical procedures in which access to the site of treatment is made through one of the patient's blood vessels, body cavities or lumens. For example, electro-physiology mapping of the heart is most often performed using a catheter which may be inserted into a patient's arterial system through a puncture of the femoral artery in the groin area. Other interventional medical procedures include assessment and treatment of tissues on the inner surfaces of the heart (endocardial surfaces) accessed via peripheral veins or arteries, treatment of vascular defects such as cerebral aneurysms, removal of embolic clots and debris from vessels, treatment of tumors via vascular access, endoscopy of the intestinal tract, etc.
[0004] Interventional medicine technologies have been applied to manipulation of instruments which contact tissues during surgical procedures, making these procedures more precise, repeatable and less dependent of the device manipulation skills of the physician. Some presently available interventional medical systems for directing and manipulating the distal tip of a medical device by actuation of the distal portion of the device use computer assisted navigation and an imaging system for providing imaging of the device and blood vessels and tissues. Such systems can control the navigation of a medical device, such as a catheter, to a target destination in an operating region using a computer to orient and guide the distal tip through blood vessels and tissue. In some cases, when the computed direction for reaching the target destination is determined and the medical device is extended, it is desired to establish sufficient contact of the medical device with the intended target location on the three dimensional tissue surface. Adequate contact with the tissue surface within the subject body is important, for instance, in the analysis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. A method is therefore desired for controlling movement of a medical device that will establish adequate contact with the target tissue surface, estimate such contact force and will allow for treatment of the targeted area.
SUMMARY
[0005] The method and apparatus of the present invention facilitates the placement of the distal end of a medical device, such as a catheter or micro-catheter, against a target location on a three-dimensional curved surface within a subject body. Generally, the present invention provides a method for estimating the contact force of a medical device against a surface within a subject body, comprising obtaining three dimensional geometry information for the distal portion of the medical device, constructing a curve representative of the distal portion of the medical device from the pivot point to the tip of the known medical device, estimating the local rotation rate of the flexible portion of the distal portion of the medical device, and, estimating the contact force based on this data and the (known) bending stiffness and the total torque applied to the flexible portion of the medical device.
[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, a three-dimensional surface geometry is suitably rendered in an image model and registered with a known location within the subject body. A virtual model may be used in the estimation of the contact force of the medical device against the tissue surface, and in predicting a magnetic field to be applied to the medical device to establish a desired contact force against a target surface within the subject body. From the geometry of the medical device, a net bending moment may be estimated for the distal portion of the medical device. The estimated contact force may then be determined based on the net bending moment and the estimated torque applied to the medical device. The method may further provide the feature of determining an external magnetic field to be applied to the medical device for providing a desired estimated contact force against the tissue surface within the subject body. These and other features and advantages will be in part apparent, and in part pointed out hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a curved three dimensional tissue surface and a medical device held in contact with the surface through the over-torque method in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for establishing and estimating the contact force of the tip of a medical device against a tissue surface within a subject body is provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention. In one embodiment, the method provides for estimating the contact force of a medical device with a tissue surface such as the heart, through the suitable estimation of the torque applied to the medical device via a magnetic field. While this embodiment is operable with magnetically navigable medical devices, other embodiments of a method in accordance with the present invention may be used with medical devices that are guided without magnetic navigation but instead use other control methods for remote navigation such as mechanical actuation, electrostrictive actuation, or hydraulic actuation. The method for estimating the contact force of a medical device against a surface within a subject body comprises obtaining three dimensional geometry information for the distal portion of the medical device, constructing a curve representative of the distal portion of the medical device from the pivot point to the tip of the known medical device, estimating the local rotation rate of the flexible portion of the distal portion of the medical device, determining a net bending moment for the distal portion of the medical device, estimating the contact force based on the (known) bending stiffness, the bending moment and the torque applied to the flexible portion of the medical device, and determining an external magnetic field to be applied to the medical device for providing a desired estimated contact force against the tissue surface within the subject body.
[0009] A medical device such as a catheter may be navigated to the interior of a subject body of a patient by various means, including but not limited to magnetic navigation. Once the medical device has been navigated to a target surface of the body, such as a heart wall, the tip of the medical device, the pivot point of the medical device, and at least two intermediate points may be defined in at least two X-ray projections by user-marking to construct (computationally, by interpolation) a three dimensional curve of the medical device as shown in FIG. 1 . This curve may be written in the form of {right arrow over (x)}(s) where sε=[0,1]. Let s=0 correspond to the distal end of the medical device, and s=1 correspond to the pivot point. The interval [0,1] is then divided computationally into a predetermined number of increments so that ({right arrow over (x)} l , . . . {right arrow over (x)} n ), are a set of points from the distal tip of the medical device to the pivot point. The lengths of each individual segment between the points may be written as l i =|{right arrow over (x)} i+1 −{right arrow over (x)}x i | until the pivot point is reached. Each segment position that is near a magnet is preferably marked. We can let {right arrow over (x)} k be the approximate location of a magnet on the medical device, and let:
u -> 1 = ( x ⇀ k - 1 - x ⇀ k ) x ⇀ k + 1 - x ⇀ k ≡ ( x ⇀ k - 1 - x ⇀ k ) l 1 ′ , and
u -> 2 = ( x ⇀ k - x ⇀ k + 1 ) x ⇀ k - x ⇀ k + 1 ≡ ( x ⇀ k - x ⇀ k + 1 ) l 2 ′
to define the segments nearest the magnet at {right arrow over (x)} k
[0010] As an alternative to user-marking of the device on 2 X-ray projections, image processing could be employed to identify the distal portion of the medical device in each projection and thence to determine computationally the three dimensional curve corresponding to the distal portion of the medical device.
[0011] Defining the vector {right arrow over (V)}′ at the magnet location {right arrow over (x)} k as shown below, we can define the unit vector {right arrow over (V)} k that gives the orientation of the magnet at location {right arrow over (x)} k as follows:
{right arrow over (V)} ′=( l 2 ′{right arrow over (u)} 1 +l 1 ′{right arrow over (u)} 2 ) (1)
V ⇀ k = V ⇀ ′ V ⇀ ′ ( 2 )
[0012] Let m k be the known magnetic moment of the magnet at location {right arrow over (x)} k , which may be any of the first, second, or n-th magnet from the distal tip of the given medical device. The torque resulting from the magnet at {right arrow over (x)} k having an orientation {right arrow over (V)} k may be written as the product shown below, where {right arrow over (B)} is the applied external magnetic field.
{right arrow over (τ)} k =m k ( {right arrow over (V)} k ×{right arrow over (B)} ) (3)
[0013] Let the total magnetic torque acting on the medical device due to all of the magnets be:
{right arrow over (τ)} magnet =Σ magnets 1 {right arrow over (τ)} k (4)
[0014] Let (n+1) index the pivot point (n=50 in the present example). Let:
V ⇀ n + 1 = ( x ⇀ n - x ⇀ n + 1 ) x ⇀ n - x ⇀ n + 1 , and
V ⇀ n - 1 = ( x ⇀ n - 1 - x ⇀ n ) x ⇀ n - 1 - x ⇀ n , then let
Δθ = cos - 1 ( V ⇀ n + 1 · V ⇀ n - 1 ) , and let ( 5 )
Δ l=|{right arrow over (x)} n −{right arrow over (x)} n+1 |+|{right arrow over (x)} n−1 −{right arrow over (x)} n | (6)
to yield the local estimated rotation rate ω k =Δθ/Δl
[0016] If index (n+1) or {right arrow over (x)} n+1 corresponds to a magnet location of the catheter, use instead a nearest point {right arrow over (x)} m on the medical device such that {right arrow over (x)} m is on a flexible or non-magnet segment. Let EI be the bending stiffness of the flexible segment of the medical device corresponding to {right arrow over (x)} n+1 , or the bending stiffness of the flexible segment nearest to the magnet. Let the vector from {right arrow over (x)} n+1 to the distal tip of the medical device at {right arrow over (x)} 1 be
{right arrow over (r)} =( {right arrow over (x)} 1 {right arrow over (x)} n+1 ) and (7)
r=|{right arrow over (r)}| . Then (8)
[0017] The estimated magnitude of the medical device contact force at the distal tip is given below (assuming no other forces in a direction perpendicular to {right arrow over (r)}):
f = 1 r ( τ ⇀ magnet - EI ω ) ( 9 )
[0018] The second term in equation (9) above represents the net bending moment of the distal portion of the device. Referring to FIG. 1 , the tissue surface of a three dimensional object in a subject body is represented by curve 20 having an interior surface normal vector {right arrow over (n)} at a target point indicated at 22 . The local surface geometry of the surface may be obtained from a three-dimensional pre-operative image of the anatomy, or from geometric mapping and anatomical 3D reconstruction that may be performed by reconstructing an interpolated anatomical surface based on endocardial surface locations that have been visited with a catheter device and a localization system that is suitably registered with the computer-controlled navigation system. Since the three-dimensional data of the surface is available, the interior surface normal vector {right arrow over (n)} at the target location may be determined from this data. The tip of the actual medical device {right arrow over (x)} 1 , or a virtual medical device where localization data is available, is positioned against the tissue surface 20 near the target location 22 . Assuming there is no tangential contact force at the tip, let F be the normal contact force. Defining r′=−r/|r|, and θ=cos −1 ({right arrow over (r)}′•{right arrow over (n)}), then the normal contact force F is:
F =f /sin θ (10)
[0019] Where a magnetically navigable medical device is used, an applied external field {right arrow over (B)} can also be determined for providing an over-torque of the medical device against the tissue surface at a desired estimated contact force F, within certain physically feasible bounds. This may be accomplished by applying a magnetic moment in a direction that provides the over torque (i.e., leads the orientation of the catheter tip by an angle of approximately 90° as measured about an axis that is normal to the plane defined by the catheter tip orientation and the local surface normal), where a suitable torque τ magnet can be determined from equations (10) and (9).
[0020] The rotation rate of the flexible portion of the medical device resulting from the applied torque may also be determined using a virtual medical device within a computational model. In the case where the device actuation system is magnetic, this estimation of the rotation rate of the distal portion of the medical device may be used to estimate the contact force based on a computed magnetic torque applied to the tip of the medical device, based on the model. A subsequent navigational movement of the medical device may be determined to obtain a desired estimated contact force for improved electro-physiology electrical readings, or to apply improved ablation treatment. A suitable magnetic field for producing a desired force for the medical device can be estimated using the local surface geometry of the target location within the body. Likewise, a virtual representation of the medical device may be suitably rendered in a three-dimensional model of the surface geometry. Such virtual modeling of the medical device may be used to predict the rotation of the medical device prior to movement of the actual medical device. In the above example, we describe the particular case where magnetic field actuation is used to remotely navigate the medical device, as a non-limiting example of an actuation method. Other actuation techniques could be employed as would be familiar to persons skilled in the art of remote surgical navigation, for example a mechanically actuated system where the actuation is based on a system of pull-wires and electronically controlled servo motors. In such a case where this type of mechanical actuation is used, for example equation (9) above would be replaced by a similar equation involving mechanically applied bending torque.
[0021] In use, the medical device may be moved in incremental steps towards the target location at an increment of about 1-5 millimeters. The incremental step is made in association with a three-dimensional image model of the surface geometry, which may determine whether the incremental step results in an image threshold crossing. The above distances are suitable for applications of determining the curvature of certain surfaces such as the interior of a heart. It should be noted that the above distances and increments are exemplary in nature, and may be varied for a variety of applications. The magnet system is controlled to apply a magnetic field in a direction that causes the tip or distal portion of the medical device to be rotated to provide the torque for establishing a desired contact force with the tissue surface. Once the tip has established a desired estimated contact against the tissue surface, the lag between the field vector {right arrow over (B)} 0 and the actual orientation of the tip 24 can provide an indication that the tip of the medical device is in firm contact with the surface at 24 . Likewise, where an imaging system is used, the prolapse or buckling in the distal portion of the medical device 24 that can be seen in the acquired images, or the observation that the device tip has not changed position may also indicate that the tip has established the desired contact with the surface 20 . The method of estimating the contact force can be used to predict and drive navigation controls. Additionally the estimated contact force could be displayed to inform the user.
[0022] The advantages of the above described embodiment and improvements for estimating contact force, enabling over-torque of a medical device and thereby enhancing device-tissue contact against a three dimensional surface within a subject body, when the device is controlled by a remote navigation system, should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art,. The actual controls used by the remote navigation system could comprise actuation schemes employing any one or more of magnetic, mechanical, electrostrictive, hydraulic or other actuation means familiar to those skilled in the art. Additional design considerations may be incorporated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited by the particular embodiment or form described above, but by the appended claims. | A method is provided for establishing contact of a medical device against a tissue surface within a subject body, the method comprising determination of the geometrical configuration of the distal portion of the medical device, and using this together with known control variable information to determine and control the contact force of the distal tip of the medical device against the tissue surface. | 0 |
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0001] The disclosure of the following priority application is herein incorporated by reference: Japanese Patent Application No. 8-213493.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an information processing device, and relates in particular to an information processing device such as, for example, an electronic camera having a memory that is divided into plural regions and that can be linked to an external device such as, for example, a personal computer.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] In conjunction with the progress that has been made in information processing technology, electronic cameras have been developed that photograph objects utilizing a photo-electric conversion element such as, e.g., a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and the like. Some of these electronic cameras are provided with a serial interface, such as an RS232C interface, for example, that can be connected to a serial port of a personal computer (PC) through a prescribed cable.
[0006] When the electronic camera is connected to a PC through this type of interface, photographed image data can be transmitted to the personal computer from the electronic camera.
[0007] However, a problem can arise when a PC that is operating irregularly is connected to the electronic camera. For example, an unexpected (and undesirable) operation may be performed by the PC relative to the electronic camera that causes the electronic camera to not function properly. For example, the PC may change (or erase) operating parameters for the electronic camera, which are stored in the electronic camera's memory.
[0008] Another problem that can exist with the electronic cameras arises due to the fact that they are provided with multiple connection terminals that can be connected to multiple external devices and that receive electric power from these external devices. In particular, if electric power is simultaneously supplied from multiple external devices (through the different connectors), then an abnormal (excessive) electrical current is generated within the electronic camera. This can damage the internal circuitry of the electronic camera.
[0009] Even when the multiple external devices are supposed to supply electric power at the same fixed voltage, e.g., 5 volts, variations in the voltage of the electric power source of each external device, even to the extent of +/−0.1 volts, raises the possibility that differences will occur in the supplied electrical voltage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] According to one aspect of the invention, an information processing device such as, for example, an electronic camera prevents external devices from accessing a first storage region of a memory, while allowing the external device to access a second storage region of the memory. Accordingly, even when the external device operates irregularly, information stored in the first storage region cannot be erased or corrupted.
[0011] In particular, an information processing device incorporating this aspect of the invention includes a controller coupled to a connector and to a memory, the controller preventing external devices connected to the connector from accessing a first storage region of the memory. The memory includes a first storage region and a second storage region. The connector enables the information processing device to be connected to an external device (such as, for example, a personal computer) that is separate from the information processing device.
[0012] When the information processing device is an electronic camera, it includes a lens and a photoelectric converter upon which the lens focuses an image of the object so that the photoelectric converter generates electronic image data. The lens and the photoelectric converter can be located in a housing of the electronic camera and the controller can be coupled to the photoelectric converter to control the storage of the electronic image data in the memory. Specifically, the controller can store the electronic image data generated by the photoelectric converter in the second region of the memory. The controller can enable external devices connected to the connector to access the second region of the memory.
[0013] According to a second aspect of the invention, two connectors that are provided on an image processing device such as, for example, an electronic camera, so that the camera can be attached to different external devices are arranged on the outer housing of the camera so that when the first connector is connected to an external device, the second connector is covered. Conversely, when the second connector is connected to an external device, the first connector is covered. This prevents both connectors from being simultaneously connected to two different external devices. Therefore, the possibility of causing an excessive voltage within the camera is lessened.
[0014] An information processing device incorporating this aspect of the invention includes a first connector by which the information processing device is connectable to a first external device that supplies power to the information processing device through the first connector and a second connector by which the information processing device is connectable to a second external device that supplies power to the information processing device through the second connector. The first connector and the second connector are arranged relative to each other on a surface of the information processing device such that when the first connector is connected to the first external device, the second connector is prevented from being connected to the second external device, and when the second connector is connected to the second external device, the first connector is prevented from being connected to the first external device.
[0015] The information processing device can also include a lens and a photoelectric converter upon which the lens focuses an image of an object to be photographed so that the photoelectric converter generates electronic image data. A processor located in the information processing device processes the electronic image data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements and wherein:
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective external view of an electronic camera, which is one type of information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the FIG. 1 electronic camera connected to a personal computer;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the internal construction of the FIG. 1 electronic camera;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one example of the components of the FIG. 1 electronic camera; and
[0021] [0021]FIG. 5 illustrates the storage regions of the flash memory of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Embodiments of the present invention are described hereafter with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic camera 1 performs photography of a photographic object when it is connected to a holder 61 (a first external device). The holder 61 includes a release button 82 , which is operated at the time of photography, and a power source comprised of a plurality of batteries 83 , which provides electric power to each electronic circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, electronic camera 1 also can be connected to a designated expansion slot of a personal computer 101 (a second external device). When connected to the PC 101 , the camera 1 receives a signal based on operations performed by the personal computer 101 , and then accomplishes processing corresponding to the signal.
[0023] A surface X of the electronic camera 1 , which faces the photographic object at the time of photography, includes a viewfinder 2 , a photographic lens 3 and a strobe 4 . The viewfinder 2 presents the photographic scope of the photographic object to the user. The photographic lens 3 obtains the optical image of the photographic object. The strobe 4 flashes a light to illuminate the photographic object.
[0024] An LCD 6 and operation keys 7 are provided on an upper surface Z 1 of the electronic camera 1 . LCD 6 displays the photographed image. Operation keys 7 are operated by the user to perform a number of functions.
[0025] A first connector 26 is arranged on the surface Z 2 , which is the lower surface of the electronic camera 1 . When the distal end of the electronic camera 1 is inserted into an opening 84 of the holder 61 , i.e., when the holder 61 is mounted to the electronic camera 1 , connector 26 is electrically connected to a first connector 81 of the holder 61 . Signals corresponding to the electric power of the battery 83 and to the operation of the release button 82 (i.e., control signals and a power signal) are supplied to the electronic camera 1 from the holder 61 through the first connector 26 and the first connector 81 .
[0026] A second connector 27 is arranged on the distal end of the electronic camera 1 . Second connector 27 includes, for example, a connection terminal of the standard PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) type, and is designed so as to be connectable to the connection terminal (i.e. the bus) of the personal computer 101 via an expansion slot of the personal computer. Electric power for the internal electronic circuitry of the electronic camera 1 (which requires one of multiple types of voltage (for example 5 volts and 12 volts)) and a signal corresponding to a specified process (i.e., a control signal) are supplied to the electronic camera 1 from the personal computer 101 through second connector 27 .
[0027] As is known, the personal computer 101 can be connected to an alternating current source. By means of an internally housed AC/DC converter (not shown), the personal computer 101 converts the alternating electric power from the alternating current source to direct current electric power, and supplies the direct current electric power to the electronic camera 1 via connector 27 .
[0028] When the electronic camera 1 is connected to the holder 61 (via first connectors 26 and 81 ), the second connector 27 is located within the opening 84 of the holder 61 . In such a condition, the second connector 27 is not electrically connected to anything, not even to the holder 61 . Thus, due to the arrangement of connectors 26 and 27 on the housing of the camera 1 , when connector 26 is connected (to connector 81 ), connector 27 is prevented from being electrically connected to other external devices (i.e., it is electrically isolated).
[0029] When the electronic camera 1 is connected to the personal computer 101 (via second connector 27 and the PC expansion slot), the first connector 26 makes contact with the side surface of the personal computer 101 . In such a condition, the first connector 26 is not electrically connected to anything, not even to the personal computer 101 . Thus, due to the arrangement (i.e., the relative locations) of connectors 26 and 27 on the housing of the electronic camera 1 , when connector 27 is connected (to the PC bus via the PC expansion slot), connector 26 is prevented from being electrically connected to other external devices (i.e., it is electrically isolated).
[0030] In this manner, since only the first connector 26 or the second connector 27 can be connected to the holder 61 or to the personal computer 101 , respectively, there is no simultaneous supply of electric power from the holder 61 and the personal computer 101 .
[0031] It is possible to implement this aspect of the invention by alternative means. For example, the connectors 26 and 27 could include covers that are selectively locked in a closed position. In such an example, when one of the connectors is attached to an external device, the cover of the other connector is locked. The connectors 26 and 27 could also be selectively disabled so that when one connector is connected to an external device, the other connector is disabled.
[0032] Next, referring to FIG. 3, one possible construction of the internal parts of the electronic camera 1 is described. A CCD 20 is provided behind the photographic lens 3 so that the light image of the photographic object focused by the photographic lens 3 is photo-electrically converted into an electric signal. Photoelectric conversion devices other than a CCD can be used with the invention.
[0033] Located vertically below the viewfinder 2 , the photographic lens 3 and the strobe 4 is a condenser (or capacitor) 22 . Condenser 22 accumulates electric charge for outputting a flash of the light by the strobe 4 .
[0034] Various control circuits for controlling each part of the electronic camera 1 are formed on a circuit board 23 . A flash memory 24 (explained hereafter) is provided on the circuit board 23 . The data of the photographed picture image and various parameters are stored in the flash memory 24 .
[0035] Next, one possible electrical construction of the components of the electronic camera 1 of the present embodiment is explained with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 4. The CCD 20 , which includes a plurality of pixels, photo-electrically converts the light images focused onto each pixel into image signals. A digital signal processor (referred to hereafter as DSP) 33 supplies a CCD horizontal drive pulse to the CCD 20 . DSP 33 also controls the CCD drive circuit 39 and supplies a CCD vertical drive pulse to the CCD 20 .
[0036] An image processor 31 is controlled by a CPU 36 , and samples in a prescribed timing the image signals photo-electrically converted by the CCD 20 . An analogto-digital converter (referred to hereafter as the A/D converter) 32 digitizes the image signals sampled by the image processor 31 , and supplies the digitized signals to the DSP 33 .
[0037] The DSP 33 controls the data bus connected to the buffer memory 35 and the flash memory 24 . In particular, after the image data supplied from the A/D converter 32 is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 35 , the image data stored in the buffer memory 35 is read out and then recorded in the flash memory 24 .
[0038] The DSP 33 also can store the picture image data supplied from the A/D converter 32 in the frame memory 47 , whereupon the image data is displayed on the LCD 6 . The image data stored in flash memory 24 is read out by the DSP 33 , and the image data is then stored into frame memory 47 , to be displayed on LCD 6 .
[0039] The buffer memory 35 is used to harmonize any differences between the input/output speed of the data relative to the flash memory 24 , and the processing speed of the CPU 36 and the DSP 33 .
[0040] The flash memory 24 includes non-volatile memory elements. FIG. 5 shows an example of the manner in which data is allocated to the storage regions of the flash memory 24 . In the first region (address 0000H address A) of the flash memory 24 is stored the parameter data essential to the control of the electronic camera 1 . In the second region (address A - address B) is stored image data of the photographed image and data that is handled by the personal computer 101 .
[0041] Data that can be stored in the first region of the flash memory 24 includes, for example, the date and time data (8 bit data which identifies the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second), which is generated by the timer 45 , data corresponding to the quantization table used to perform compression processing by the JPEG (Joint Photography Experts Group) format, and data relating to the operation of the strobe 4 (automatic flash, flash prevention, forced flash, and the presence or lack thereof of a red eye reduction lamp). Additional data that can be stored in the first region includes, for example, the total number of frames of photographed picture images (number of frames of picture images recorded in the second region of the flash memory 24 ) data relating to the electronic camera 1 such as the serial number of the electronic camera 1 , and the manufacturing lot number, and data such as the correction data of the output level of each color value (RGB) of the CCD 20 .
[0042] It would also be appropriate to store the diaphragm value in the case when the established value of the shutter speed is provided, as well as when the diaphragm mechanism is situated between the photographic lens 3 and the CCD 20 , along with correction data used at the time of establishing these values, in the first region of the flash memory 24 .
[0043] The CPU 36 is programmed or set-up so as to write any signals supplied from the personal computer 101 through the second connector 27 and the interface I/F 50 only to the second region of the flash memory 24 . In other words, the CPU 36 does not write any signals supplied from the personal computer 101 to the first region.
[0044] The CPU 36 also can be programmed or set-up so as to output the picture image data recorded in the second region of the flash memory 24 to the personal computer 101 , through the I/F 50 and through the second connector 27 .
[0045] By controlling the CPU 36 in this manner, even when the personal computer 101 is operating irregularly, the signal supplied from the personal computer 101 is only read into the second region of flash memory 24 . Accordingly, there is no erasure or overwriting of the parameters essential to the operation of the electronic camera 1 , which are recorded in the first region of the flash memory 24 .
[0046] In addition to controlling the strobe drive circuit 41 , which causes the appropriate amount of light to be flashed by the strobe 4 , CPU 36 also controls the lens drive circuit 30 to perform an autofocus operation by moving the photographic lens 3 .
[0047] The CPU 36 also retrieves signals from the operations keys 7 , which can include, for example, a power source switch, and processes these signals in an appropriate manner.
[0048] The timer 45 internally houses a back-up battery, and outputs data corresponding to the current time to the CPU 36 .
[0049] When the electronic camera 1 is connected to the holder 61 , an interface (I/F) 48 outputs signals from the release button 82 , which are supplied through the first connector 26 from the holder 61 to the CPU 36 .
[0050] When the electronic camera 1 is connected to the holder 61 , a DC/DC converter 49 converts the voltage supplied from the batteries 83 connected through the first connector 26 to the appropriate operating voltage for each circuit provided in the electronic camera 1 , and supplies that voltage to each circuit.
[0051] When the electronic camera 1 is connected to the personal computer 101 , the I/F 50 outputs signals supplied from the personal computer 101 through the second connector 27 to the CPU 36 . Additionally, when the electronic camera 1 is connected to the personal computer 101 , the second connector 27 supplies electric power from the personal computer 101 to each circuit.
[0052] Next, an explanation is provided with respect to various operations of the electronic camera 1 according to the present embodiment. First, an explanation is provided with regard to the photography operation of the electronic camera 1 .
[0053] Initially, after the distal end of the electronic camera 1 is inserted into the opening 84 of the holder 61 to connect the electronic camera 1 to the holder 61 , the power source switch, which is one of the operation keys 7 , is operated to supply power to the electronic camera 1 . In other words, the camera is turned ON. The photographic object is confirmed by means of the view-finder 2 , and when the release button 82 of the holder 61 is depressed, the photographic processing of the image commences.
[0054] The light image of the photographic object observed through the viewfinder 2 is focused by means of the photographic lens 3 onto the CCD 20 , which includes a plurality of pixels. The light image of the photographic object formed on the CCD 20 is photo-electrically converted to image signals by each pixel, and sampling is accomplished by the image processor 31 . The image signals sampled by the image processor 31 are supplied to the A/D converter 32 , and are then output to the DSP 33 in digitized form.
[0055] The DSP 33 , after outputting the image data to the buffer memory 35 where it is temporarily stored, reads out the image data from the buffer memory 35 , and stores the image data in the flash memory 24 . At this time, the DSP 33 preferably compresses the image data in accordance with the JPEG format, which combines discrete cosine transformation, quantization and Huffman encoding. Thus, compressed image signals are stored in the flash memory 24 . Other compression techniques could be used.
[0056] When the release button 82 is continuously depressed, the DSP 33 outputs the image data obtained during that time to the frame memory 47 , and the photographed image is displayed on the LCD 6 .
[0057] In addition, as necessary, the strobe 4 is operated, permitting illumination of the photographic object.
[0058] When the electronic camera is connected to the personal computer 101 , it is also possible to perform photography by operating the personal computer 101 .
[0059] Next, an explanation is provided with regard to the operation of the electronic camera 1 in the case when access to the flash memory 24 is accomplished by the personal computer 101 .
[0060] Initially, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end (including the second connector 27 ) of the electronic camera 1 is inserted into the expansion slot of the personal computer 101 so that the personal computer 101 is electrically connected to the electronic camera 1 . When a designated operation in the personal computer 101 is performed by the user, a signal (i.e., commands) is output to the electronic camera 1 via the bus within the personal computer 101 and the expansion slot.
[0061] The electronic camera 1 retrieves the signal via the I/F 50 and the second connector 27 . The I/F 50 also outputs this signal to the CPU 36 . When the signal includes a write command, the CPU 36 determines whether the address that is the subject of the write command is within the second region of the flash memory 24 . If the address is determined to be an address within the second region, then the data included in the command is written to the address by the CPU 36 .
[0062] Conversely, when the CPU 36 determines that the address is within the first region (and not within the second region), then the write command is not executed by the CPU 36 .
[0063] When the supplied command is a read command, then the CPU 36 determines whether the read-out address is within the second region. If the address is determined to be an address within the second region, then the address is accessed, and the data at that address is read-out by the CPU 36 and output to the personal computer 101 through the I/F 50 and the second connector 27 .
[0064] Conversely, if the CPU 36 determines that the address is within the first region (not within the second region) then the read command is not executed bv the CPU 36 .
[0065] In this manner, the CPU 36 determines whether or not the address which is the subject of the command received from the personal computer 101 is within the second region. When it is determined that the address is in other than the second region (in other words in the first region) then access by the personal computer 101 relative to the first region is prevented.
[0066] In the above embodiment, by inserting the end of the electronic camera 1 into the personal computer 101 , both units are connected. However, the connection methodology is not restricted to this single embodiment.
[0067] While this invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. | An image processing device such as an electronic camera prevents external devices from writing to a first storage region of a memory, while allowing the external device to write to a second storage region of the memory. Accordingly, even when the external device operates irregularly, information stored in the first storage region cannot be erased or corrupted. According to a second aspect of the invention, two connectors provided on the electronic camera so that the camera can be attached to different external devices are arranged on the outer housing of the camera so that when the first connector is connected to an external device, the second connector is covered. Conversely, when the second connector is connected to an external device, the first connector is covered. This prevents both connectors from being simultaneously connected to two different external devices. Therefore, the possibility of causing an excessive voltage within the camera is lessened. | 7 |
CROSS-RELATED APPLICATIONS
This patent application claims priority from United States Provisional Application Serial No. 60/055,702, filed on Aug. 14, 1997, by Babkes et al., the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus used in the collection of sputum directly from a patient in a respiratory support system and more particularly to a sputum trap manifold that provides a convenient storage site for storing caps used to seal the connectors of the manifold. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sputum trap manifold that forms a nest adapted to conveniently store the caps prior to detachment of the sputum trap manifold from the respiratory support system.
2. Prior Art
Respiratory support systems used for the ventilation of critically ill patients are now commonly used in medical facilities. Typically, a prior art respiratory support system includes a tracheal tube positioned either directly, or through the nose or mouth, into the trachea of a patient, a manifold connected to the tracheal tube at one port positioned thereof, and a source of breathable gas connected at a second port thereof. The purpose of the respiratory support system is to assist the patient in maintaining adequate blood oxygenation levels without overtaxing the patients's heart and lungs.
While a patient is attached to the respiratory support system, it is periodically necessary to aspirate fluid from the patient's trachea or lungs. In the past, in order to accomplish aspiration, it has been necessary to disassemble part of the respiratory support system, either by removing the ventilator manifold therefrom or by opening a port of the manifold and inserting a small diameter suction tube down the tracheal tube and into the patient's trachea and lungs. However, there has been no solutions to the problem of sputum sample collection during aspiration, which also avoids the problem of respiratory support interruption.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,195 to Kee is generally exemplary of the prior art sputum sample collection during the aspiration of a patient's trachea and lungs without loss of respiratory support to the patient. The Kee device relates to an in-line sputum trap for a respiratory support system having a collection vial for receiving and storing a sputum specimen and a manifold that connects the sputum trap in fluid flow communication to a suction catheter used to aspirate a patient's trachea and lungs and a suction control valve which controls the flow of vacuum to the suction catheter. The sputum trap is designed for quick connect and disconnect with the suction catheter device and the suction control valve after having been used to collect a sputum sample from a patient. After collection of a sputum sample, the sputum trap is disconnected from the respiratory support system and the manifold is detached from the collection vial so that the collection vial can be sealed with a suitable cap for transportation. Unfortunately, a clinician removing the manifold from the collection vial may be inadvertently exposed to contaminates until the collection vial can be safely resealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,860 to Nakao et al. is generally exemplary of a sputum trap device that includes a pair of tethered caps used for sealing the inlet and outlet of the sputum trap's manifold after disconnection from the respiratory support system, thereby removing the need to detach the manifold from the collection vial. However, the Nakao et al. device suffers from drawbacks. One drawback is that the sputum trap has no convenient storage site to store the tethered caps so that the caps do not interfere with the operation of the suction catheter during aspiration of a patient's trachea and lungs. Another drawback is that there is no sanitary means provided in the Nakeo et al. device for preventing inadvertent contamination of the tethered caps by a clinician's hands during the aspiration procedure since the caps are permitted to freely dangle until used to seal the manifold's connectors.
As of yet, nothing in the prior art has addressed the problem of developing a nest or storage site on the body of the sputum trap manifold for conveniently storing in a sanitary environment a pair of tethered caps used to seal the inlet and outlet connectors of the sputum trap manifold. Moreover nothing in the prior art has addressed the need for developing a nest or storage site for nesting a pair of tethered caps so that the tethered caps do not interfere with the collection of a sputum specimen during aspiration of a patient's trachea and lungs.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The principle object of the present invention is to provide a sputum trap manifold having a storage site for conveniently nesting end caps that are used to seal the connectors of the manifold after the collection of sputum from the patient.
Another object of the present invention is to provide sealing end caps that are specifically adapted for nesting one cap on top of the other in the storage site formed on the sputum trap manifold.
A further object of the present invention is to provide end caps that are adapted for nested storage as well as for sealing engagement to the connectors of the sputum trap manifold.
A further important object of the present invention is to provide an improved sputum trap manifold with sealing end caps which does not require the removal of the manifold in order to seal off the collection vial after use.
Another principle object of the present invention is to provide a safe and sanitary means of sealing off the sputum trap manifold after the collection of sputum from the patient.
Another further principle object of the present invention is to provide a method for nesting end caps on the body of the manifold.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a method of capping the manifold connectors which minimizes the opportunity for contamination to the clinician by the manifold's connectors during the capping procedure.
These and other objects of the present invention are realized in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, described by way of example and not by way of limitation. The preferred embodiment provides for a sputum trap manifold having an integral nesting site for storing end caps used to seal the connectors of the manifold after the collection of sputum from the patient. The sputum trap manifold comprises a manifold body having two end connectors adapted for connection to a source of suction and a suction catheter, respectively, as well as an outlet for attachment to a collection vial. The manifold body serves to diverst and trap sputum being suctioned from the lungs of a patient and into the collection vial attached to the manifold. A nest is formed at the top portion of the manifold body for nesting two tethered end caps during sputum collection. Once aspiration of a patient's lungs is completed, the manifold is detached from the respiratory support system and the end caps are removed from the nest and sealably attached to the manifold's end connectors, thereby preventing the user from having to remove the manifold in order to reseal the collection vial and lessen exposure to contaminants from the collected sputum.
Finally, the present invention further includes a method for storing the end caps in the nest formed on the manifold and sealing the end connectors of a sputum trap manifold with the end caps without having to remove the manifold body from the collection vial. The method of nesting and sealing the end connectors of the sputum trap manifold comprises the steps of nesting one end cap over the other end cap in the nesting site after manufacturing, detaching the manifold's end connectors from the source of suction and suction catheter after the aspiration procedure has been completed, and removing the end caps from the manifold's nesting site. Once the end caps are removed, each end cap is sealingly attached to a respective end connector, thereby preventing the exposure of contaminants from collected sputum through the end connectors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sputum trap manifold showing the end caps in sealing engagement with the end connectors of the manifold body according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tethered end caps according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the sputum trap manifold showing the end caps in sealing engagement with the end connectors of the manifold body according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the sputum trap manifold showing the end caps nested in the manifold's nest according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the manifold body along lines A—A showing the end caps nested in the manifold's nest according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the manifold body along lines B—B showing the end caps nested in the manifold's nest according to the present invention; and
FIG. 7 is an end view of the manifold body according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the sputum trap with nested end caps of the present invention is illustrated and generally indicated as 10 in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 1, the sputum trap 10 comprises a manifold body 12 that includes a female connector 14 that is opposed by a male connector 16 and an outlet 17 interposed therebetween that is adapted for attachment to a collection vial 11 for the collection of sputum from a patient. The manifold body 12 further includes a nest 18 formed on the top portion of the body 12 for storing a male end cap 22 on top of a female end cap 20 in a nested configuration therein. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the female and male connector end caps 20 and 22 are adapted to seal off female and male connectors 14 and 16 , respectively, as well as to be stored inside the nest 18 prior to sealing off the connectors 14 and 16 .
FIG. 2 shows the female and male connector end caps 20 and 22 in greater detail. Both the female connector end cap 20 and the male connector end cap 22 are held together by a tether 24 at an attachment member 26 which is attachable to the manifold body 12 by an L-shaped attachment opening 28 formed through the body of the attachment member 26 . Preferably, the attachment opening 28 is adapted for snap-fit connection to a similarly L-shaped attachment portion 27 formed on the manifold body 12 , although the attachment member 26 may also be integrally formed with the manifold body 12 .
Male connector end cap 22 comprises a cap body that forms a bottom portion 42 , a mid portion 44 and a top portion 46 which are all in co-axial alignment with one another. Opposed L-shaped first bayonet slots 50 are formed on the bottom portion 42 of male connector end cap 22 and serve to securely engage the male connector end cap 22 to either the female connector end cap 20 during nesting or the male connector 16 when sealing the manifold body from fluid flow communication. Formed on the outside surface of the mid and top portions 44 and 46 of male connector end cap 22 are opposing grips 48 adapted for gripping between a user's thumb and forefinger when the user is either engaging the male connector end cap 22 to the female connector end cap 20 when nesting the two end caps 20 and 22 together or when sealing off the male connector 16 after the collection of sputum.
Female connector end cap 22 comprises a lower portion 36 and an upper portion 34 . Upper portion 34 is a frustoconical shaped body having a head section 38 and a conical section 40 that are adapted for engagement to either the nest 18 when nesting the two end caps 20 and 22 together or when sealing off the female connector 14 after the manifold body 12 is detached from the suction catheter and suction control valve (not shown). The lower portion 36 has an open interior cavity 31 having a tubular cross-section with opposed handles 32 formed on the surface thereof. Preferably, opposing handles 32 are bar-shaped and provide a convenient gripping surface for handling the female connector end cap 22 between the user's thumb and forefinger and, as shall be discussed in greater detail below, an integral component for nesting the female connector end cap 20 to the male connector end cap 22 in the nest 18 without contaminating the interior portion of either end cap 20 or 22 with the clinician's hands. Interposed between the upper portion 34 and the lower portion 36 are opposed securing members 30 which form radially extending protrusions adapted for securing the female connector end cap 20 to the nest 18 as well as assist in engaging and sealing off the female connector 14 of the manifold body 12 . In securing the female connector end cap 20 to the female connector 14 , the opposed securing members 30 engage opposed L-shaped second bayonet slots 52 by aligning and inserting each of the securing members 30 with a respective slot 52 until securely engaged thereto.
Referring to FIG. 3, a top view of nest 18 is illustrated. Nest 18 comprises a nest cavity 56 that forms a nest opening 57 at the top portion of cavity 56 and a plurality of opposed guide members 54 integrally formed along the interior wall at the bottom portion thereof. The bottom portion of nest cavity 56 also includes a bowl-shaped depression 25 that is adapted to receive the head section 38 of the female connector end cap 20 once the end cap 20 has been inserted and guided into position inside the nest 18 . Preferably, the guide members 54 form equally spaced posts around the periphery of the nest cavity's 56 bottom portion in order to guide the upper portion 34 of the female connector end cap 20 into the nest cavity 56 as the end cap 22 is inserted into the nest 18 . However, any number of guide members 56 positioned along the periphery of the nest cavity's 56 bottom portion in a manner suitable for guiding and receiving the female connector end cap's 20 upper portion 34 is felt to fall with the scope of the present invention. The nest opening 57 also includes opposed slots 58 formed on the lip thereto that are adapted to receive respective securing members 30 when inserting the female connector end cap 22 into the nest 18 .
Referring to FIG. 4, a more detailed description of the female and male connectors 14 and 16 will be discussed. Male connector 16 has a generally conical shape comprising a top section 60 , a mid section 62 and a bottom section 64 with a first opening 19 that is in fluid flow communication with a manifold chamber 74 (see FIG. 5) of manifold body 12 and forms the free end of connector 16 . In order to engage the first bayonet slots 50 of the male connector end cap 22 and seal the male connector 16 from fluid flow therethrough, opposed connecting members 51 that form protruding arms are provided on connector 16 . These protruding arms of the connecting members 51 are adapted for insertion into the L-shaped slots 50 and rotated therein so as to establish a firm connection between the male connector 16 and the male connector end cap 22 .
Female connector 14 has a frustoconical shape with a second opening 21 formed along the edge of connector 14 that is in fluid flow communication with the manifold chamber 74 and a neck 23 that is integrally formed to the manifold body 12 . An opposed L-shaped second bayonet slots 52 are formed on the body of female connector 14 that extends from the connector's 14 free end. In order to engage the second bayonet slots 52 of female connector 14 , the securing members 30 of the female connector end cap 20 are inserted into the L-shaped slots 52 and rotated therein so as to establish a firm connection between the connector 14 and the end cap 20 .
Referring to FIG. 5, the interior of the manifold body 12 will be discussed in greater detail. As noted above, the manifold body 12 comprises an manifold cavity 74 that is in fluid flow communication with the male connector's 16 first opening 19 and the manifold cavity 74 through a first channel 70 interposed therebetween. Fluid flow communication is also established between a second opening 21 of female connector 14 and the manifold cavity 74 through a second channel 72 interposed therebetween. A splash guard 68 is provided at one end of the manifold cavity 74 facing the entrance to the first channel 70 for diverting aspirated sputum from the patient downward through the outlet 17 and into the collection vial 11 attached thereto. Thus, a first fluid pathway is established through the first channel 70 , a second fluid pathway is established through the second channel 72 , and a third fluid pathway is established between the first and second channels 70 and 72 through the collection vial. A seal 80 may also be provided along a portion of the interior surface of the female connector 14 for establishing and maintaining a secure hermetic seal around the female connector end cap 20 when the end cap 20 is engaged thereto. Preferably, the seal 80 is made from a flexible plastic or rubber material, for example polyurethane, that is suitable for creating a hermetic seal. Finally, a plurality of strengthening members 66 are provided around the lower periphery of the manifold cavity 74 for reinforcing and strengthening the manifold body 12 .
Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4, the method for nesting the female and male connector end caps 20 and 22 in the nest 18 will now be discussed in greater detail. After manufacturing and prior to engaging the sputum trap 10 to the suction catheter and suction control valve the female and male connector end caps 20 and 22 are stored in the nest 18 so that neither end caps 20 and 22 nor the tether 24 interfere with the operation of the closed system suction catheter. To nest female and male connector end caps 20 and 22 , the head section 38 of female connector end cap 22 is first inserted into the nest 18 so that the opposed securing members 30 engage respective opposed slots 58 . When the head section 38 enters the nest 18 it is guided by the guiding members 54 so that the section 38 comes in contact with the bowl-shaped depression 25 located at the bottom portion of nest 18 . Once the female connector end cap 20 is fully inserted into the nest 18 , the user grips the outer surface of the male connector end cap 22 and orients the cavity 25 of end cap 22 over the open bottom portion of the female connector end cap 20 already seated in the nest 18 as illustrated in FIG. 6 . When placing the male connector end cap 22 over the female connector end cap 20 the user orients the first bayonet slots 50 of the male connector end cap 22 over the handles 32 of the female connector end cap 20 in such a manner that minimal rotation of the end cap 20 around the other end cap 22 is possible as shown in FIG. 7 .
Once the patient has been sufficiently aspirated and sputum collected in the collection vial 11 , the female and male connectors 14 and 16 of sputum trap 10 are disengaged from the suction catheter and suction control valve, respectively. After the sputum trap 10 is disengaged, the male connector end cap 22 is removed from its nested position on the female connector end cap 20 and attached in sealing engagement to the male connector 16 by aligning and engaging the first slots 50 of the end cap 22 with the connecting members 51 of the connector 16 . Similarly, once the male connector end cap 22 is nested, the female connector end cap 20 is removed from the nest 18 and the upper portion 34 thereof inserted in sealing engagement with the female connector 14 in such a manner that the securing members 30 of the end cap 20 fully engage the L-shaped second bayonet slots 52 of female connector 14 . In this sealed state the collection vial 11 and its attached sealed manifold can be safely stored and transported without fear of exposing a user to contaminants.
It should be understood from the foregoing that, while particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not intended that the invention be limited by the specification; instead, the scope of the present invention is intended to be limited only by the appended claims. | The present invention relates to a sputum trap for an aspiration and respiratory support system which includes a manifold attachable to a specimen collection vial that is interposed between, and attached to, a suction control device and suction catheter device. The sputum trap allows for the collection of sputum directly from a patient through a suction catheter without causing a loss of Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) in the respiratory support system. The manifold includes a manifold body that has a first connector and a second connector for attachment to the suction control device and suction catheter, respectively, and an open port for secure attachment to the specimen collection vial. The manifold body further includes tethered first and second caps adapted for sealing the first and second connectors respectively from fluid flow communication once sufficient sputum has been collected in the specimen collection vial. A nest is formed on the top portion of the manifold body for conveniently storing the first and second caps during the collection of sputum without interfering with the operation of device. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to apparatus for facilitating the transport of containers from place to place.
The increasing interest in having commercially-treated water available for use in both home and office dispensers has resulted in the expansion of delivery services for large water containers. Typically, large trucks are designed to accommodate a multiplicity of glass five or ten gallon water containers. The delivery man is required to transport these filled containers to the dispenser sites. The containers themselves are typically not provided with means to grasp them for transport. To facilitate transport of the containers, several different types of carriers have been proposed. One such carrier utilizes U-shaped prongs and is placed around the neck of the container. When raised, the prongs engage the lip or flange of the container opener. This carrier requires substantial strength on the part of the user to maintain the attitude of the carrier such that it remains about the neck of the article being transported. Failure to do so results in a dropping of the container due to the reliance upon an open-ended pair of prongs.
Alternative types of carriers have been used with lighter, smaller containers. These carriers typically employ interconnected wire segments which are placed about the neck of the container by hand. The user is required to orient these different wire segments prior to lifting the container. While the wire holders have insufficient strength to support relatively large water containers, more importantly the placement of the segmented carriers requires a number of steps to manipulate and place the segments properly prior to transport. As a result, both hands of the user are occupied with the task at the beginning and end of container transportation. This process is time-consuming, cumbersome and greatly increases the delivery time when more than one container is involved.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a durable carrier for transporting large containers which encircles a portion of the article being transported so that inadvertent movement out of the hold of the carrier is prevented. Furthermore, the present invention provides a simplified securing mechanism relying on the weight of the container to insure a positive grasping thereof. Further, a quick release is provided as the article is placed upon a support surface. Consequently, the carrier is capable of being used in either hand and does not require the user to utilize a second hand to free the container. Another objective is to provide a carrier which is capable of transporting relatively heavy water containers of the type now being utilized for processed water deliveries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a carrier for transporting a container and includes first and second arcuate encircling means for removably contacting a region of the container when drawn together. In use, the encircling means when so drawn together grasp the neck of the container below the flanges adjacent the opening.
An extension means is mounted on the ends of one of the encircling means with guide means being mounted on the other of the encircling means. The extension means are slidably received in the guide means so that the first and second encircling means can be drawn together and moved apart while still remaining substantially coplanar.
A handle is rotatably coupled to the first arcuate encircling means along with a supporting means also rotatably coupled to the handle and extending outwardly therefrom. The supporting means has first and second ends with the first end being attached to the handle. Further, means are provided for coupling the second end of the supporting means and the second encircling means so that movement of the handle results in a relative movement between the first and second encircling means. As a result the encircling means grasp the container in response to movement of the handle and provide the engagement and disengagement operations of the carrier without requiring the use of the users second or free hand. Further features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the carrier in position to transport a container.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the carrier to be in the disengaging position.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 when viewed along lines 4--4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, the embodiment of the carrier for containers is shown in the position utilized to transport a container. The side view of FIG. 2 shows the carrier in position on a typical container. The portions of the carrier which contact and support the container during transport are the inner peripheral portions of first and second arcuate encircling means 11 and 12 respectively. When drawn together, the encircling means bound a circular aperture therebetween which surrounds the container below its necked opening.
The first encircling means 11 includes extension means 14 provided at the ends of the arc. The extension means are linear in that they extend outwardly from the arc in a tangential manner. The second encircling means is provided with guide means 15 in the form of sleeves located at the ends of the arc formed thereby. The sleeves slidably receive the linear extensions 14 to permit supported and controlled relative movement therebetween. In operation, each of the guide means travels along the corresponding linear extension means so that the circle formed by the encircling means 14 and 15 expands and contracts as desired.
A handle 17 including hand-grippable portion 16 fastened thereto by threaded fastener 18 is attached to the outer center peripheral portion of the first encircling means 11 by means of flanges 24 and fastening means 22. The fastening means 22 extends through the inner base of the handle 17 and defines a first axis of rotation between the handle and the first encircling means 11. A supporting means 20 extends between the handle 17 and the outer peripheral portion of the second encircling means 12. The first end of the supporting means 20 is attached to the opposing or rear surface of handle 17 by fastener 21 and securing plate 25. The securing plate is fastened to the handle by threaded fasteners or in the case of a metal handle assembly, by welding. The fastener 21 defines a second axis of rotation governing relative movement between supporting means 20 and handle 17. The second end of the supporting means is attached to the outer peripheral portion of second encircling means 12 by placement over threaded extension 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second end of the supporting means is provided with a downwardly extending flange 27 through which threaded member 30 extends.
Turning to FIG. 2, the flange 27 at the second end of supporting means 20 is bounded by washers 26 and 28 on either side thereof. A threaded fastener 29 is rotated in position on threaded extension 30. It should be noted that second end 27 is loosely fitted to threaded extension 30. This is highlighted by the gaps on either side of washer 26, as shown, along with the use of a hole in the flange which is larger in diameter than the diameter of extension 30. FIG. 2 shows the carrier in position to transport a water container with the first and second encircling means forming a circle about the neck of the container below its flanged opening 32.
The top view of FIG. 4 taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 2 shows the circle formed by the first and second encircling means 11 and 12 respectively when the linear extension means 14 are urged through the guides 15 to draw the encircling means together. As shown, the inner peripheral portions of the encircling means 11 and 12 define a circle. This circle is of lesser diameter than the outer diameter of the flanges about the opening of the container 31 of FIG. 2. The carrier can accommodate containers of different neck size which are larger in diameter than the minimum diameter of the encircling means when drawn together. Also, it is to be noted that the rotational axes 21 and 22 are shown laterally spaced in the cross sectional view of the handle 17 in the preferred embodiment.
The transport position of the carrier is shown in position on container 31 in FIG. 2. The upward force on the hand-grippable portion of 16 of handle 17 is translated into forces urging the guides 15 to the inner limits of extensions 14 thereby urging the encircling means to define the smallest circumference opening. The weight of the container during transport insures that a positive force continues to urge the encircling means together and thereby prevent inadvertent dislodging of the container from the carrier.
As the container is delivered to its position at the point of final placement, the user lowers the carrier and container therein so that the container contacts and rests upon the surface thereby reducing the forces urging the encircling means closed. The exertion of a small amount of downward pressure on the hand-grippable portion 17 results in the relative movement of the handle supporting arm and encircling means as shown in FIG. 3. Considering the axis of rotation 22 between the handle and the first encircling means 11 to be the reference axis, the movement of the handle 17 results in the movement of the second axis of rotation on the handle by a distance shown as A in FIG. 3. The force generated by the movement of handle 17 is translated into a movement of the second end of the supporting arm 20 by a distance A'. This distance A' represents the outward movement of the second encircling means 12 in relation to the first encircling means 11. Consequently, the extension 14 is shown in a constant position but the sleeve of guide means 15 travels thereon by a distance shown as A". This results in an opening of the area bounded by the first and second encirling means to permit rapid single-handed removal of the carrier from the container being transported.
The ability to rapidly, and with relatively little force, decouple the carrier from a container permits a delivery man to simultaneously utilize a carrier in each hand. The engagement and disengagement of the carrier from the container does not require the placement or orientation of parts of the carrier upon the container with one hand while exerting forces with the second hand. The entire operation of each of these carriers can be conducted by the hand grasping only the hand-grippable portion 16 of the carrier. Although the handle 17 of the embodiment shown comprises several pieces, it is convenient in certain circumstances to make an integral handle thereby omitting fastening means 18 and providing second axis 21 within the handle itself. This embodiment eliminates the securing plate 25 but does not alter the operation of the carrier.
As previously mentioned, the second end of the supporting means 20 makes a loose fit with the threaded extension 30 attached to the outer peripheral portion of the second encircling means 12. The loose fit permits the relative movement of the supporting arm without creating undue strain on the combination of extension means and guide means. This aspect of the invention can be noted from FIG. 3 wherein the movement of the second axes 21 with respect to its former position, shown by the phantom lines, is in a slightly arcuate or curved path as opposed to a straight line movement parallel to the plane containing the first and second encircling means 11 and 12. The departure from straight line movement of the second axis of rotation can also be accommodated by providing resilient means between threaded fastener 29 and the outer peripheral portion of the second encircling means 12. However, it has been found that for increased durability the use of an all-metal embodiment with a loose fit is preferred.
While the foregoing description has referred to a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be recognized that many variations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. | A hand-held carrier for containers which encircles a portion of the container and is maintained in place by the weight of the container. The handle is rotatably affixed to the encircling means to provide ready engagement and disengagement of the carrier. | 1 |
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 519,403, filed Oct. 31, 1974, now abandoned, which is in turn a continuation of Ser. No. 367,113, filed June 5, 1973, now abandoned, which is in turn a continuation of Ser. No. 159,295, filed July 2, 1971, also abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to paneling for insulated enclosures. In instances where it is desired to provide a refrigerated enclosure such as, for example, food processing rooms, cold rooms, milking parlors, butcher shops, slaughterhouses, and the like, a layer of insulating material is normally applied to the walls of the enclosure and then a washable liner superimposed thereover. Such construction invariably results in seams on the enclosure walls which not only provide crevices that are difficult to clean but also permit heat leakage from a relatively warmer environment into the chilled enclosure.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide insulated paneling which obviates the heretofore encountered shortcomings and which greatly facilitates the construction of an insulated enclosure. It is a further object to provide insulated paneling that can be held in place by means of hidden fasteners. Still other objects will readily present themselves to one skilled in the art upon reference to the ensuing specification, the drawings, and the claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention contemplates a prefabricated panel of substantially uniform width and thickness which is adapted to interlock with an adjacent abutting panel of the same type. The panel comprises a foamed core slab of an insulating material and a rigid facing sheet bonded to the slab. An integral, planar flange member is provided along one edge of the facing sheet and extends beyond an underlying end of the slab. A debossed flange member, also integral with the facing sheet, is provided along another edge thereof and substantially parallel to the planar flange member, and extends beyond an underlying end of the slab. A chamfer is provided in the foamed core slab at the end thereof and under the planar flange member, and is adapted to receive the debossed flange member of an adjacent panel of the same type, and the planar flange member is adapted to overlap a debossed flange member of an adjacent panel of the same type.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention the foamed core slab is lined with a heat-reflective material on the side opposite that bonded to the rigid facing sheet. In another preferred embodiment a rigid facing sheet is bonded to both sides of the slab. Optionally, the debossed flange member can be provided with a series of spaced openings adapted to receive fasteners such as nails, screws, or the like, therethrough.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings,
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view showing the joint of two abutting insulated panels of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an insulated panel of this invention;
FIG. 3 is a top sectional view showing the joint of two abutting panels of this invention anchored to a stud by means of a hidden fastener;
FIG. 4 is a top sectional view showing the use of a spline means; and
FIG. 5 is a top sectional view showing an embodiment of this invention wherein a rigid facing sheet is provided on both sides of an insulated panel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, abutting insulated panels 10 and 20 are made up of foamed cores 11 and 21 to which are bonded rigid facing sheets 12 and 22, respectively. An integral planar flange member 13 is provided along one edge of facing sheet 12, extends beyond underlying end 14 of slab 11, and overlaps debossed flange member 15 of facing sheet 22. Flange member 15 is integral with facing sheet 22 and about half of it extends beyond underlying end 16 of slab 21. Chamfer 17 is provided in slab 11 under planar flange member 13 and receives debossed flange member 15.
Optionally, liners 18 and 19 made of a layer of heat-reflective material are bonded to slabs 11 and 21, respectively, and serve to provide an additional barrier for heat transmission through the insulated panels. Preferably liners 18 and 19 at least partially cover also abutting ends 14 and 16, respectively, of slabs 11 and 21.
Referring to FIG. 2, insulated panel 23 is provided with integral planar flange member 24 along one lateral edge of facing sheet 25 and with integral debossed flange member 26 along another lateral edge of facing sheet 25 substantially parallel to planar flange member 24. A series of spaced openings 27 through 34 can be provided in debossed flange member 26 to facilitate affixation of panel 23 to an underlying stud or similar structural support member by means of nails, screws, or the like.
The foamed core slab is preferably made of halogenated hydrocarbon-blown rigid polyurethane foam which provides a K-factor of about 0.15 upon aging. However, the particular type of material that can be used is chiefly determined by the desired insulating properties of the panel. Other suitable materials are closed-cell foamed polystyrene (K-factor equals 0.20), foam rubber, ceramic foam, and the like.
The rigid facing sheet is preferably fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin sheet; however, any other type of plastic sheet material or the like capable of withstanding the contemplated use is suitable. Other typical materials are vinyl sheets, fiberglass-reinforced vinyl sheets, and the like.
A preferred heat-reflective material for the back side of the foamed core slab is aluminum foil. If the core slab is foamed with an integral skin, the skin itself can be painted with an aluminum paint or the like, if desired.
The insulated enclosure utilizing the panels of this invention can be erected in any convenient manner. For example, a supporting frame can be erected and the panels affixed thereto with the flanges of adjacent panels interlocking as hereinabove set forth. Alternatively, the panels can be affixed as a liner to an existing wall or partition, thereby providing the requisite insulation together with a readily washable and easily maintainable wall and ceiling surface.
Affixation of the insulated panels to the supporting structure or wall can be achieved by gluing or by fasteners such as nails, screws, or the like, passing through openings such as 27 through 34 and being subsequently covered by an overlapping flange of an adjacent panel. Any remaining seam at the juncture of the overlapping flanges of two adjacent panels can be readily filled and smoothed out with a suitable caulking compound such as a silicone rubber caulking compound or the like. Also, if desired, spline means extending substantially the entire length of the panel joint can be inserted in the foamed core slabs between adjacent panels to serve as a thermal block, i.e., as a barrier to heat conduction across the panel joint.
A preferred joint formed by a combination of two abutting, interlocking panels of this invention is shown in FIG. 3. Abutting panels 40 and 50 are arranged so that planar flange member 43, integral with rigid facing sheet 42 of panel 40, overlaps debossed flange member 55 integral with rigid facing sheet 52 of panel 50. About one half of the debossed flange member 55 is supported by foamed core slab 51 and the other half extends beyond the end of the foamed core slab 51 and is received in chamfer 47 of foamed core slab 41. Liners 48 and 49 made of aluminum foil provide a heat transmission barrier, are bonded to core slabs 41 and 51, respectively, and partially overlap abutting ends 44 and 46 thereof. Fastener means such as nail 45 penetrates debossed flange member 55, core slab 51 and liner 49, and anchors panel 50 to stud 53. Panel 40 interlocks with panel 50 by receiving debossed flange member 55 in chamfer 47 and planar flange member 43 covers nail 45. The minor seam remaining at the juncture of overlapping flange members 43 and 55 is filled by laying down bead 54 of a suitable, preferably elastic, caulking compound.
If it is desired to provide an additional thermal block at the juncture of two adjacent panels, the joint arrangement shown in FIG. 3 can be modified as shown in FIG. 4 by providing spline means 56 which is embedded in abutting ends 44 and 46 of the respective foamed core slabs 41 and 51. Spline means 56 extends for substantially the entire length of the abutting panel edges and can be made of wood or any other material having a relatively low thermal conductivity such as a rigid foamed plastic strip or the like.
A further embodiment of this invention, suitable for insulated partition walls or the like, is shown in FIG. 5. In this particular embodiment a rigid facing sheet is bonded to both sides of a foamed core slab. More specifically, in the joint arrangement shown panel 60 comprises foamed core slab 61 and rigid facing sheets 62 and 63 which are bonded to core slab 61 and which terminate in planar flange members 64 and 65, respectively. Chamfer 66 is provided in core slab 61 under planar flange member 64 and chamfer 67 is provided under planar flange member 65. Similarly, panel 70 comprises foamed core slab 71 and rigid facing sheets 72 and 73 which are bonded to core slab 71 and which terminate in debossed flange members 74 and 75, respectively. When panels 60 and 70 are brought together in an abutting relationship as shown in FIG. 5, debossed flange members 74 and 75 are received in chamfers 66 and 67 and are overlapped by planar flange members 64 and 65. The seam at the juncture of the overlapping flange members 64 and 74 as well as 65 and 75 is filled or smoothed out by laying down a bead of an elastic sealant or caulking compound such as beads 68 and 69. In addition, spline means 76 is imbedded in foamed core slabs 61 and 71 to provide a barrier to thermal conduction at the juncture.
The foregoing discussion and the drawings are intended as illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Still other variations within the spirit and scope of the present invention will readily present themselves to one skilled in the art. | A prefabricated panel of substantially uniform width and thickness and having an interlocking feature comprises a foamed core slab, a rigid facing sheet bonded to the foamed core slab, and flange members integral with the facing sheet which interlock adjacent panels of the same type. Optionally, a heat-reflective liner is provided on the back side of the core slab. | 4 |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0011761, filed on Feb. 5, 2007, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to methods of storage and separation of gases using microporous metal formates, and more particularly, to a method of selectively separating acetylene, oxygen or others from a mixture of gases using microporous metal formates with 1D zig-zag channels and a method of storing acetylene, oxygen or others using microporous metal formates.
2. Description of the Related Art
Microporous metal formates are cheap, easily prepared porous metal-organic materials that contain one-dimensional zigzag channels with a narrow pore opening. Depending on metal ions, the aperture of metal formate is diverse but sufficient for passage of small gas molecules. Microporous metal formates can selectively adsorb gas molecules or small organic molecules according to window size and chemical conditions of the cavities thereof, and can be used for catalyst activity, storage of gases, ion exchange, and separation of mixtures.
Metal formates are well-known porous materials, and extensive research is currently being conducted to obtain materials having better characteristics than conventional zeolite by changing chemical environments of cavities of porous materials through a simple synthesis process. Porous materials having a large surface area and thermal stability can be prepared using an organic molecule that stably binds to many metallic ions at the same time (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,508). Such an organic molecule can be a carboxylic salt (RCOO − ) that can stably bind to two or more metallic ions at the same time. Such porous materials synthesized from metallic ions and organic molecules can be used as materials that can adsorb and store a large amount of hydrogen and methane. Currently, more research is being conducted to increase gas storage capacity to a practical level and to develop porous materials that selectively adsorbs a specific gas.
SUMMARY
The disclosed embodiments provide a method of storage of acetylene using microporous metal formates.
The disclosed embodiments also provide a method of selectively separating acetylene from a mixture of gases containing the acetylene using microporous metal formates.
The disclosed embodiments also provide a method of separation and storage oxygen using microporous metal formates.
According to an aspect of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a method of storing acetylene, comprising contacting acetylene or an acetylene-containing gaseous mixture with microporous metal formates represented by Formula 1 so as to adsorb acetylene to microporous metal formates:
where each formate ion is bound to three metallic ions Ms, each metallic ion M is bound to six formate ions, a composition ratio of the metallic ion M to the formate ion is 1:2, and the metal is Mg, Mn, Co, Zn, Ni or Fe.
According to another aspect of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a method of separation of acetylene from an acetylene-containing gaseous mixture with microporous metal formates. The gaseous mixture may be contacted with microporous metal formates at a temperature of from 196K to 325K.
According to another aspect of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a method of storage of oxygen from a gaseous mixture of nitrogen and oxygen with microporous metal formates so as to adsorb oxygen onto the microporous metal formates.
According to another aspect of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a method of separating oxygen from a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen with microporous metal formates so as to selectively adsorb oxygen onto microporous metal formates.
The gaseous mixture containing oxygen may be contacted with the microporous metal formates at a temperature of from 77K to 325K.
According to the method of storing acetylene or oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments, gas molecules was adsorbed in cavities of microporous metal formates and thus, stably exist in a solid phase, and a great amount of gas can be stably stored. According to the method of separating acetylene or oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments, acetylene or oxygen can be selectively adsorbed out of the gaseous mixture and thus, high purity of acetylene, nitrogen or oxygen can be obtained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a photographic image showing a three-dimensional crystal structure of microporous metal formates which contain acetylene, obtained using an X-ray crystal structure analysis method;
FIG. 2 is a graph showing adsorption acetylene isotherms of microporous metal formates at 196K and 298K;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are graphs showing adsorption isotherms of various gases at 275K and 298K using microporous Mg formate;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are graphs showing adsorption isotherms of various gases at 275K and 298K using microporous Mn formate;
FIG. 5 is a graph showing adsorption isotherms using microporous Mn formate prepared according to Example 2 for a gaseous mixture of acetylene and nitrogen in which “∘” denotes results of detachment;
FIG. 6 is a graph showing adsorption isotherms of microporous Mn formate with respect to a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen at 77K; and
FIG. 7 is a graph showing adsorption isotherms of a microporous Mn-formate prepared according to Example 3 with respect to a gaseous mixture of acetylene and nitrogen.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The disclosed embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosed embodiments are shown.
Microporous metal formates used in the disclosed embodiments are represented by Formula 1 and has a three-dimensional structure including cavities having predetermined sizes, wherein the cavities can selectively store acetylene or oxygen:
where each formate ion is bound to three metallic ions Ms, each metallic ion M is bound to six formate ions, a composition ratio of the metallic ion M to the formate ion is 1:2, and the metal is Mg, Mn, Co, Zn, Ni, or Fe.
The microporous metal formates represented by Formula 1 and a method of preparing the same are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Pub. No. 2005-0052929, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIG. 1 is a photographic image showing a three-dimensional crystal structure of a microporous metal formate containing acetylene, obtained using an X-ray crystal structure analysis method. Referring to FIG. 1 , a) shows a plan view of the three-dimensional crystal structure, and b) shows a side view of the three-dimensional crystal structure. In the three-dimensional crystal structure, quadangular pyramids represent metals such as Mn, Mg or other metal ions, and small balls and sticks connected to each other represent formate ions. Referring to FIG. 1 , cavities surrounded by metal and formate are regularly arranged, and acetylene molecules represented by large balls indicated by A and B are contained therein. b) Only metal ions and acetylene molecules are presented for clarity.
The surface area of microporous metal formates was determined using a BET method. The surface area of microporous Mn formate is approximately 284 m 2 /g and the surface area of microporous Mg formate is approximately 297 m 2 /g. The dead volume of a microporous metal formate was measured using high-purity gaseous He. The pore volume (V p ) of a Mg-formate is 0.14 cm 3 g −1 and the pore volume (V p ) of Mn-formate is 0.13 cm 3 g −1 . Therefore, microporous metal formates store large amount of acetylene gases.
The X-ray crystal structure of a microporous Mn-formate which contains acetylene has characteristics such as: monoclinic, P2 1 /n, a=11.624(1)□, b=10.165(1)□, c=14.738(1)□, β=91.402 (1)°, V=1740.9(3)□ 3 , Z=12, T=90 K, d(calculated value)=1.759 g/cm 3 , R 1 =0.0321, wR 2 =0.0961, and GOF=1.069.
The X-ray crystal structure of a microporous Mg-formate which contains acetylene has characteristics such as: monoclinic, P2 1 /n, a=11.315(1)□, b=9.853(1)□, c=14.400(1)□, β=91.320 (1)°, V=1605.0(2)□ 3 , Z=12, T=90 K, d(calculated value)=1.527 g/cm 3 , R 1 =0.0374, wR 2 =0.1084, and GOF=1.041.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing adsorption isotherms of a microporous metal formate onto which acetylene is adsorbed at temperatures of 196K and 298K. In FIG. 2 , ▪, □, ▴ and ● represent data with respect to acetylene adsorption, and □, □ □ and ∘ represent data with respect to acetylene desorption. Amounts of acetylene adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1
Microporous
Adsorption Amount of Acetylene
metal
cm 3 /g −1 (cm 3 /cm −3 )
formate
196 K
275 K
298 K
Mg-formate
72.5 (101)
69.4 (96.5)
65.7 (91.3)
Mn-formate
68.2 (112)
57.7 (95.2)
51.2 (84.5)
Referring to FIG. 2 , the Mn-formate adsorbed 51 cm 3 /g of acetylene at 1 bar (760 torr), and the microporous Mg-formate can adsorb 66 cm 3 /g of acetylene at room temperature. Such results show that the Mn-formate and the Mg-formate have better adsorption capacities than a known microporous organometallic material, [Cu 2 (pzdc) 2 (pyz)] which can adsorb 42 cm 3 /g of acetylene at 1 bar.
Referring to FIG. 2 , Mn-formate and Mg-formate show hysteresis at 196K, and at low pressure, which means acetylene can be stored at low temperature and low pressure. In addition, microporous Mn formate and microporous Mg formate can adsorb a large amount of acetylene even at 295K or 298K and can stably contain gas molecules that are explosive at high pressure.
Acetylene can be stored safely using the storage method according to the disclosed embodiments, as described above here below, due to a containment state of acetylene contained in the microporous metal formate. In general, acetylene is stored in an organic solvent such as acetone or DMF. In a solution state, acetylene molecules collide with each other at high temperature at high pressure and thus explode. In the storage method according to the disclosed embodiments, a single acetylene molecule, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , occupies a single metal-formate cavity and thus, acetylene molecules can be separated from each other. Therefore, the storage method according to the disclosed embodiments can minimize the risk of explosion occurring due to contact of acetylene molecules.
Therefore, in the method of storing acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments, an acetylene-containing gas can be trapped in microporous metal formates represented by Formula 1. The acetylene gas adsorbed onto the microporous metal formates can be recollected by, for example, increasing the temperature to 298K or more or decreasing the ambivalent pressure.
Meanwhile, in the method of storing acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments, referring to FIG. 2 , acetylene is incompletely desorbed from the microporous metal formates even when the pressure is 0.1 bar (76 torr) or less (refer to results denoted by “□”), and thus acetylene can be stored even at a pressure of 0.1 bar or less. In addition, even at a pressure of 1 bar or more, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , acetylene can be safely stored without explosion because acetylene is contained in cavities of the microporous metal formate. The inventors of the disclosed embodiments found that acetylene can be stored even at a pressure of 10 −5 bar in a predetermined temperature range, and also even at a pressure of 3 bar, acetylene can be stably stored without explosion.
In the method of storing acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments, acetylene can be stored at a temperature of 298K or more, such as 325K. Comparing FIG. 3B with FIG. 3A and FIG. 4B with FIG. 4A , the amount of acetylene adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate is not decreased even at 298K with respect to that at 275K.
A method of separating acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments is derived from selective adsorption properties of microporous metal formates in which acetylene is adsorbed.
FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 4 A, and 4 B show adsorption isotherms of various gases using microporous metal formates. In the drawings,
□, □, ∘, □ and □ show data obtained with regard to desorption of acetylene, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane and hydrogen. Referring to FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 4 A, and 4 B, it can be seen that microporous metal formates adsorb acetylene the most.
Therefore, in the method of separating acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments, a microporous metal formate represented by Formula 1 contact with a gaseous mixture including acetylene, and acetylene is selectively adsorbed onto the porous crystalline material. The microporous metal formates have excellent adsorbing properties with respect to acetylene compared to those with respect to hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, acetylene, monoxide, SF 6 , NO, N 2 O, NO 2 , H 2 S, SO 2 , Cl 2 , krypton, neon, zenon, and helium. Therefore, even when acetylene is mixed with those gases, acetylene can be selectively adsorbed and separated.
Meanwhile, the separating process of the acetylene may be performed in a temperature range from 196K to 325K. In general, acetylene is liquidized at a low temperature, but can be maintained in its gaseous state by reducing a pressure. In this state, acetylene can be separated from other gases using the separation method according to the disclosed embodiments. In the method of separating acetylene from other gases, acetylene can be more easily separated when a temperature increases. Referring to FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 4 A, and 4 B, the amount of acetylene adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate at 298K is almost the same as the amount of acetylene adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate at 275K. On the other hand, the amount of other gases, such as CO 2 and methane, adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate at 298K is substantially less than the amount of other gases, such as CO 2 and methane, adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate at 275K. Meanwhile, although acetylene can be more easily separated as the temperature increases from 275K to 375K, the separation temperature may be 325K or less in consideration of the risk of explosion.
The separation and storage method of oxygen is derived from higher selective adsorption properties of microporous metal formates with respect to oxygen than those with respect to nitrogen at low temperature.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing adsorption isotherms of a microporous metal-formate with respect to a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen at 77K. Referring to FIG. 6 , it can be seen that the microporous metal formate adsorbs a much greater amount of oxygen compared to nitrogen.
Therefore, the separation and storage method of oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments includes contacting oxygen, or a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen with the microporous metal formate represented by Formula 1 so as to selectively adsorb oxygen.
In methods of separating and storing oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments, the microporous metal formate can be contacted to oxygen at a temperature range from 77K to 150K. In general, oxygen can be liquidified when the temperature is less than 77K. However, even at 77K, the liquidfication can be prevented by maintaining a pressure of, for example, 156 torr or less. Meanwhile, when the temperature is higher than 150 K, a Van der Waals force between nitrogen and oxygen and the microporous metal formate is decreased, the adsorption properties of the microporous metal formate may be decreased, and thus, the separating properties of the microporous metal formate is decreased.
As described above, the methods of storing and separating acetylene or oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments are suitable for preparation and storage of high-purity gas because the microporous metal formate of Formula 1 selectively adsorbs a large amount of gas at low temperature or room temperature and enables the storage and separation of the gas.
The disclosed embodiments will be described in further detail with reference to the following examples. These examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed embodiments.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Storage of Acetylene Using Microporous Metal Formate
Microporous Mn-formate and Mg-formate were synthesized with reference to Example 1 of Korean Patent Application Pub. No. 2005-0052929. The microporous metal formates were vacuum-dried at 200 □ for 2 days to remove 1,4-dioxane existing as a guest molecule. An adsorption device of acetylene was Autosorp-1-MP of Quantachrome. A saturated vapor was initially fixed at 763 torr and the pressure of acetylene was increased from 10 −5 atm to 1 atm.
When the pressure was not changed by 0.0008 atm or more for the equilibrium time of 3 minutes, the pressure was measured so as to calculate the volume of acetylene adsorbed onto microporous metal formates with respect to each adsorption or desorption data point.
A dry ice/acetone mixture was used to maintain the temperature at 196 K. A temperature of 275K was maintained using ice water, and a temperature of 298K was maintained using water bath.
The amount of acetylene contained in the microporous metal formate is illustrated in FIG. 2 in the form of an adsorption isotherm.
Referring to FIG. 2 , the microporous metal formate adsorbs a maximum of 72.5 cm 3 /g of acetylene. Therefore, it can be seen that the microporous metal formate has excellent storage properties of acetylene.
Example 2
Separation of Acetylene Using Microporous Metal Formates
(1) Adsorption isotherms of various gases using microporous metal formates. A graph of adsorption isotherms in which various gases were adsorbed was obtained using the same manner as in Example 1 described above. In this experiment, the purity of acetylene, oxygen and methane was 99.9995%, and the purity of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide was 99.9999%. The obtained results are shown in the adsorption isotherms illustrated in FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 4 A, and 4 B.
Referring to FIGS. 3A , 3 B, 4 A, and 4 B, at 760 torr at 0□ or room temperature, the amounts of the hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, and oxygen adsorbed onto the microporous metal formates were small, but the amount of the acetylene adsorbed onto the microporous metal formates was large. Therefore, it can be identified that acetylene can be selectively adsorbed and separated from a gaseous mixture.
(2) Separation of Acetylene Using Microporous Mn-Formate
A gaseous mixture including nitrogen and acetylene in a volume ratio of 50:50 was adsorbed onto a microporous Mn-formate in the same manner as in Example 1 at 196K while the pressure was slowly increased from 10 −5 bar to 1 bar. When the temperature was not changed by 0.0008 atm or more for the equilibrium time of 5 minutes, the pressure was measured to calculate the volume of gaseous mixture adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate with respect to each adsorption or desorption data point. The obtained results are shown in the adsorption isotherm illustrated in FIG. 5 .
The adsorbed gas was analyzed using a carbon analyzer(Baseline-MOCON, Model: 8800TCA, minimum detection amount: 0.1 ppm or more). As a result, no nitrogen was detected and only acetylene was detected.
Example 3
Storage and Separation of Oxygen Using Microporous Mn-Formate
(1) Adsorption Isotherms of Microporous Mn-Formate in which Oxygen and Nitrogen were Adsorbed
Nitrogen and oxygen were adsorbed onto the same manner as in Example 1 at 77K using 250 g of microporous Mn-formate. To prevent condensation of oxygen at 77K, saturated vapors of oxygen and nitrogen were maintained at pressures of 156 torr or less and 760 torr or less, respectively. When the pressure was not changed by 0.008 atm or more for the equilibrium time of 5 minutes, the pressure was measured to calculate the volume of gaseous mixture adsorbed onto the microporous metal formate with respect to each adsorption or desorption data point. The obtained adsorption isotherm results are shown in FIG. 6 .
Referring to FIG. 6 , at low temperature, the microporous Mn formate adsorbs a much greater amount of oxygen compared to nitrogen. Therefore, it can be seen that oxygen can be selectively separated from a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen.
(2) Separation of Oxygen Using Microporous Mn-Formate
A gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen in a volume ratio of 50:50 was adsorbed onto a microporous Mn-formate at 87K. The obtained adsorption isotherm is shown in FIG. 7 .
The adsorbed gas was analyzed using an oxygen analyzer (Model: Oxy-100, degree of precision: ±0.5%). As a result, the purity of the adsorbed oxygen was 99.5%.
According to a method of storage of acetylene according to the disclosed embodiments, a large amount of acetylene can be stably stored at room temperature or lower. In addition, the method of storing acetylene does not use a solvent such as acetone or DMF as a storage medium, and thus, inclusion of the solvent as an impurity in the recollecting process of acetylene can be prevented.
According to the method of separating acetylene of the disclosed embodiments, a microporous metal formate selectively adsorbs acetylene included in a gaseous mixture. Therefore, acetylene that is necessarily used to synthesize 1,4-butanediol which is necessarily used to obtain polyurethane and polyester plastics can be obtained in a high degree of purity.
Also, according to methods of separating and storing oxygen according to the disclosed embodiments, microporous metal formates adsorb a much greater amount of oxygen compared to nitrogen, and thus, oxygen can be selectively separated from a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and stored.
While the disclosed embodiments have been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments as defined by the following claims. | Provided are methods of storing and separating acetylene or oxygen using microporous metal formates having a three-dimensional structure of metal and formate ion (HCOO − ). Microporous metal formates used in the method selectively and stably adsorb a large amount of a specific gas within its structure. Therefore, those methods can be used in industrial appliances related to, for example, synthesis and transportation of high-purity gas. | 1 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a connecting arrangement for a heating boiler, in whose water-bearing sheet-steel housing is arranged an installation casting consisting of a combustion chamber and fuel-gas ducts.
A heating boiler is known from GB-PS 1,448,670, in which the flame-bearing and gas-bearing parts represent a self-contained installation unit which is to be introduced into a water-bearing outer housing and which is made from cast material with cast-on flange rings and is screwed in a sealed manner to adjacent flanges, although this results in a very expensive connection which may also be liable to leakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the invention is based on the problem of eliminating these disadvantages, i.e., it is the object of the invention to provide a connecting arrangement for a heating boiler of the above-mentioned type, which, on the one hand, meets tightness requirements and, on the other hand, can be manufactured with the lowest production expenditure possible.
This problem is solved according to the invention with a connecting arrangement according to the invention by the fact that the front and rear walls of the sheet-steel housing are provided with an access opening and the opening edges thereof are bent in the form of a collar, the inside diameter of the collar being rather smaller than the outside diameter of the seating face of the installation casting and the front and rear walls being connected to the seating faces by a press fit.
Advantageous developments consist in that the seating faces of the installation casting are made stripped smooth and in that between the seating faces and the opening edges there is provided a lubricant and packing agent, such as heat-resistant and liquid-resistant cement or the like.
The connecting arrangement can also be made in such a way that the seating faces are provided on the end sides of the installation casting with, on the one hand, stop collars and, on the other hand, annular grooves, the opening edges of the front and rear walls being engaged into the annular grooves.
Due to the solution according to the invention, therefore, welding or soldering of the parts of different materials can be omitted completely and yet a tight, form-locking and force-locking connection is obtained, which is much less expensive than a welded, soldered or even flanged connection, although in this special case the latter could be manufactured with present means only at high cost and with considerable labour and would, nevertheless, not be sufficiently secure to prevent the seams from possible rupture owing to thermal stresses.
The detailed internal design of the installation casting is of no importance; it is substantial only that the installation casting represents a self-contained structure onto which the connecting walls are pressed from outside and can then be completed into an enclosed sheet-steel housing, which can, again be carried out with conventional welding measures. Tests have shown that the connecting arrangement according to the invention also satisfies at once the pressure condition to be taken into account in heating boilers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the invention the connecting arrangement according to the invention and further forms a construction, as derived from the sub-claims, are explained in detail hereinafter by reference to drawings of embodiments, installation casting clamped on both sides into connecting walls of sheet-steel being taken as a basis, although the use of the connecting arrangement with clamping of the installation casting on one side only is not excluded.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a heating boiler with the connecting arrangement;
FIG. 2 is a section through the connecting arrangement at the outlet end of the installation casting in a special form of construction;
FIG. 3 is a section through the connecting arrangement at the burner end of a heating boiler in a special form of construction;
FIG. 4 is a front view of an installation casting having an oval cross section;
FIG. 5 is a partial section along the line V--V in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a partial section through a special form of construction and
FIG. 7 is a full view of the installation casting according to FIG. 6 from the front.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the Figures there are arranged in the front wall 1 and in the rear wall 2 of a sheet-steel housing 3 bent, collarshaped opening edges 4 with collar inside diameters 5, in which is installed a flame-bearing and fuel-gas-bearing installation casting 6 with front and rear seating faces 7 for pressing on the front and rear walls 1,2.
The seating faces 7 are stripped to be smooth and cylindrical and the front and rear walls 1,2 can be pressed onto the installation casting by means of a lubricant and packing agent 8.
Advantageously, front and rear stop collars 9,9' can be cast on the installation casting 6 to form gussets for the packing agent 8, but also to define an exact seat for the front and rear walls 1,2.
In the embodiment shown the installation casting 6 is made somewhat in the form of a truncated cone, the diameter ratios being selected so that the front wall 1 can be pushed with its opening edge 4 over the rear stop collar 9' and pressed onto the front seating face 7. Due to this design it is possible that the front and rear walls 1,2 can be pressed on from the same side in the same direction.
As already mentioned, the detailed design of the installation casting 6 is not to be considered limiting for the connecting arrangement. Thus, for example, the casting can be cylindrical or according to FIGS. 4,5 also oval in cross section and the outlet end 12 could terminate smooth in the same way as the burner end shown, as cover plate, necessary at the front, then having to be provided also at the rear. There could be introduced loosely on the inside of the installation casting, for example, a pot-like combination chamber 10 carried by cast-on ribs 11. The burner end and the outlet end 12 both protrude beyond their respective walls 1, 2.
FIG. 2 shows a preferred form of construction of the connecting arrangement, whereby the bent opening edge 4 is kept cylindrical and, likewise, the seating face 7, in front of which is arranged a small annular groove 13 into which engages the conically drawn-in opening edge 4' in the pressing-on operation, so that the connecting arrangement is safeguarded against internal pressure. A clamping ring 16 locked in a groove 14 holds the opening edge 4' in the annular groove 13 with the interposition of a packing ring 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the same principle of this connecting arrangement is realized correspondingly also at the burner end of the installation casting 6.
The opening edge 4' engaged into the small annular groove 13 can be fixed with a clamping ring 16 when the boiler is manufactured or, if leaks occur, with the inclusion and pressing of a packing ring 15. If, as shown in FIG. 3, a special cover ring 17 is provided for attaching the heating boiler cover (not shown), the said cover ring can be used to fix and press the clamping ring 16.
If heating boilers of this type are to be designed for larger capacities, the installation casting must be made oval in cross section, which can be realised at once from the point of view of casting, but raises difficulties in two respects regarding the use of the above-described connecting arrangement: on the one hand, oval seating faces are difficult to machine and, on the other hand, the contact pressure of the drawn-on front and rear walls on the sides is substantially smaller than at the top and bottom. Consequently, the installation casting 6' according to FIGS. 4,5 which is oval in cross section is provided with circular discs 18 on which the seating faces 7 with annular grooves 13 can be arranged and the front and rear walls 1,2 drawn on with a contact pressure equal all round.
The above-described connecting arrangement in which a liquid-tight and heat-resistant adhesive is preferably introduced between the seating faces completely satisfies tightness requirements under normal pressure conditions such as those occurring in heating systems or heating boilers.
Such adhesives are, however, sensitive to shearing, shock or impact stresses which can arise during manufacture, when, for example, the almost finished heating boilers are transported, suspended closely next to one another, on transfer lines to the next production point, whereby it is virtually impossible to prevent the heating boilers from striking one another. However, also in the pressure testing of installed heating systems which also include, of course, the heating boiler itself there occasionally occur sudden high pressure stresses in contrast to the normal operating pressures expected. Such loads which can be transmitted from the sheet-steel boiler walls into the connecting arrangement can prejudice the adhesive connection and a shift of 1 hundredth of a millimeter is enough to damage the adhesive connection and, consequently, the connecting arrangement and its tightness.
This can be counteracted according to FIGS. 6,7 in a simple way by providing at least three screw connections 19 distributed over the periphery of the connecting arrangement.
This screw connection has nothing to do with a screwed flanged connection in the conventional sense, since such a connection could not satisfy with only a few screws the requisite conditions for joining the installation casting 6 to the sheet-steel housing. The screws 22 can be relatively small in the present case, since they do not have any actual connecting and sealing function.
If stop collars 9,9' are provided behind the seating faces 7 on the installation casting 6 and if they are large enough, the threaded holes 20 for the small screws 22 can be tapped directly in them. If, however, such stop collars are not present or are too small, they are advantageously cast on the installation casting 6 at corresponding points eyelets 21 which are also reworked when the seating faces 7 are stripped, so that the pressed-on front and rear walls 1,2 of the sheet-steel housing can rest closely on these eyelets 21 and can be fixed with the screws 22.
Three or four screws 22 are sufficient, as a rule, depending on the size of the installation casting 6.
This additional union also has the advantage that the heating boiler can be removed from its production apparatus before the adhesive has set and this apparatus is free again immediately.
In FIG. 6, 19 designates the special and preferred embodiment of the connecting arrangement between the front and rear walls 1,2 of sheet-steel and the installation casting 6. If the stop collars 9,9' are kept large enough, they have arranged in them the bores 20 which are aligned with corresponding bores 20' in the front and rear walls 1,2, so that these walls, if they are drawn onto the seating face 7 of the installation casting 6 with their bent opening edges 4, can be fixed immovably by means of screws 22. Instead of the collars 9,9' or on these (see FIG. 7) there can also be provided eyelets 21 which are distributed uniformly over the periphery of the connecting arrangement and in which the bores 20 are then disposed. | Connecting arrangement for a heating boiler, in whose water-bearing sheet-steel housing is arranged an installation casting consisting of a combustion chamber and fuel-gas ducts.
For having a good and simple connection between the sheet-steel housing and the installation casting the improvement consists in that the front and rear wall of the sheet-steel housing are provided with an access opening and the opening edges are bent in the form of a collar, the inside diameter of the collar being rather smaller than the outside diameter of the seating faces of the installation casting and the front and rear wall being connected to the seating faces by a press fit. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a special call fee charging method, and in particular, to a special call fee charging method that allows both a call origination subscriber and a call termination subscriber to have their advantages.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] As market competitions are becoming severe, individual competitors are seeking various their survival measures. In particular, those companies are intensively attempting to get their customers. Examples of means for getting customers are direct mail, hanging advertisement in buses and trains, commercial message in TV and radio, and so forth. Among them, a sales telephone call is especially effective to explain a particular product to a prospect and to stimulate his or her purchase desire.
[0005] However, before a sales person of a company or the like as a call origination subscriber performs a sales talk to a prospect, the prospect mostly tends to disconnect the call. Thus, to get a customer, the sales person should make many telephone calls. However, even if the prospects disconnect the telephone calls before the sales person explains the sales product to them, the sales person as a call origination subscriber is charged for the telephone calls.
[0006] On the other hand, although the prospects as call termination subscribers are not charged for the telephone calls, they spend their valuable time. Thus, the prospects may ask the sales person for compensation for their valuable time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is made from the above-described point of view. An object of the present invention is to provide a special call fee charging method that allows a call origination subscriber and a call termination subscriber to have their advantages.
[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a special call fee charging method, comprising the steps of: (a) causing an exchange device to receive a call origination signal from a call origination subscriber terminal unit; (b) causing the exchange device to inquire of a special charging server whether or not the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a specially charged subscriber terminal unit; (c) causing the special charging server to reply to the exchange device whether or not the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a specially charged subscriber terminal unit; and (d) if the call origination terminal unit is a specially charged call terminal unit as the result at step (c), causing the exchange device to notify a general charging server that the call origination subscriber terminal unit is charged a special call fee.
[0009] The method according to the first aspect may further comprise the steps of: causing the exchange device to inquire of the special charging server about a charging period; causing the special charging server to notify the exchange device of the charging period; and causing the exchange device to send a charging request to the general charging server whenever the charging period elapses in a talk.
[0010] The method according to the first aspect may further comprise the step of: causing the special charging server to register a telephone number of a subscriber terminal unit as a non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit with a table, wherein if the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit has not been registered with the table, the special charging server determines that the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a specially charged subscriber terminal unit.
[0011] The method according to the first aspect may further comprise the step of: paying a part or all of the margin between the special call fee and a regular call fee to a call receiver.
[0012] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a special call fee charging method, comprising the steps of: (a) causing an exchange device to receive a call origination signal from a call origination subscriber terminal unit, the call origination signal containing a special charging request; (b) causing the exchange device to notify a charging server that the call origination subscriber terminal unit is charged a special call fee; (c) causing the exchange device to inquire of the charging server about a charging period; (d) causing the charging server to notify the exchange device of the charging period; and (e) causing the exchange device to send a charging request to the charging server whenever the charging period elapses in a talk.
[0013] The method according to the second aspect may further comprise the step of: paying a part or all of the margin between the special call fee and a regular call fee to a call receiver.
[0014] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of a best mode embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0015] [0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the structure of a call fee charging system according to the present invention;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a non-specially charged subscriber table stored in a special charging server shown in FIG. 1;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining a registration operation and a deletion operation for a non-specially charged subscriber;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining a registration operation and a deletion operation for a non-specially charged subscriber;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 5 is a sequence chart for explaining the operation of the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 1;
[0020] [0020]FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining a call fee charging system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and
[0021] [0021]FIG. 7 is a sequence chart for explaining the operation of the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(First Embodiment)
[0022] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a special call fee charging method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the call fee charging system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] In the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 1, information is exchanged between a call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and a call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 through an exchange device 30 . The call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the exchange device 30 may be connected wirelessly or through a cable. Likewise, the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 and the exchange device 30 may be connected wirelessly or through a cable. The call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 are for example mobile portable terminal units (so-called portable telephone units).
[0024] The exchange device 30 is connected to a charging server 40 and a special charging server 50 . The exchange device 30 exchanges charging information about call fees with the charging server 40 . On the other hand, the exchange device 30 exchanges charging information about special call fees with the special charging server 50 . The special charging server 50 is a means for determining whether the current call is a regular fee call or a special fee call. The charging server 40 and the special charging server 50 may be structured as a single structural portion.
[0025] Next, the operation of the call fee charging system according to the first embodiment will be described. A call termination subscriber should register the telephone number of a non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit (namely, a regularly charged subscriber terminal unit). The specially charged subscriber terminal unit is charged a higher call fee than a regular call fee. For example, when a regular call fee is ¥10 every three minutes, a special call fee is for example ¥30 every three minutes. The telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit is registered with a non-specially charged subscriber table stored in the special charging server 50 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of such a non-specially charged subscriber table.
[0026] The telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit can be registered with the non-specially charged subscriber table any time (before a call is terminated, when a call is terminated, while a talk is being performed, or after a talk is over). Likewise, the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit can be deleted from the non-specially charged subscriber table any time. Next, the registration operation and the deletion operation of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit will be described.
[0027] First of all, the registration operation and the deletion operation that are performed before a call is terminated will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the registration operation and the deletion operation that are performed before a call is terminated. To send a registration request, the call termination subscriber dials a predetermined telephone number (for example, OΔO) on the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . At that point, the exchange device 30 determines that the registration request for the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit has been received (at step S 300 ).
[0028] When the registration request has been received (namely, the determined result at step S 300 is Yes), the exchange device 30 sends an audio guidance such as “Please input the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit. . . . ” to the call termination subscriber through the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 (at step S 301 ). Alternatively, the exchange device 30 may causes such an audio guidance to be displayed on a display panel or the like of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . Thereafter, the call termination subscriber performs a dial operation for the telephone number (for example, O3-OOΔΔ-OOXX)) of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit on the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0029] Thereafter, the exchange device 30 determines whether or not the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit has been input (at step S 302 ). When the telephone number has not been input (namely, the determined result at step S 302 is No), the exchange device 30 waits until the telephone number has been input. In contrast, when the telephone number has been input (namely, the determined result at step S 302 is Yes), the exchange device 30 registers the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit with the non-specially charged subscriber table (at step S 303 ).
[0030] When the exchange device 30 has recognized that the registration request has been received (namely, the determined result at step S 300 is No), the exchange device 30 determines whether or not a deletion request for the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit has been received (at step S 310 ). Likewise, to send the deletion request, the call termination subscriber performs a dial operation for a predetermined number (for example, XXO) on the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . When the exchange device 30 has received the deletion request, the exchange device 30 sends a predetermined audio guidance to the call termination subscriber through the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 in the same manner as the registration operation (at step S 311 ).
[0031] Thereafter, the exchange device 30 determines whether or not the telephone number (to be deleted) of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit has been input (at step S 312 ). When the telephone number has not been input (namely, the determined result at step S 312 is No), the exchange device 30 waits until the telephone number has been input (at step S 312 ). When the telephone number has been input (namely, the determined result at step S 312 is Yes), the exchange device 30 deletes the telephone number of the non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit from the non-specially charged subscriber table (at step S 313 ).
[0032] Next, the registration operation and the deletion operation that are performed when a call is terminated, while a talk is being performed, or after a talk is over will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the registration operation and the deletion operation that are performed when a call is terminated, while a talk is being performed, or after a talk is over.
[0033] When a call is terminated, while a talk is being performed, or after a talk is over, the call termination subscriber performs a predetermined button operation on the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . When the call termination subscriber registers the telephone number, he or she dials for example #AA. When the call termination subscriber deletes the telephone number, he or she dials for example #DD. The exchange device 30 determines whether or not a registration request has been received (at step S 400 ). When the exchange device 30 has received the registration request (namely, the determined result at step S 400 is Yes), the exchange device 30 registers the telephone number of the call origination subscriber with the non-specially charged subscriber table (at step S 401 ). At that point, since the exchange device 30 has recognized the telephone number of the call origination subscriber when the call had been terminated to the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 , the exchange device 30 does not need to prompt the call termination subscriber to input the telephone number of the call origination subscriber.
[0034] When the exchange device 30 has not received the registration request (namely, the determined result at step S 400 is No), the exchange device 30 determines whether or not a deletion request has been received (at step S 410 ). When the exchange device 30 has received the deletion request (namely, the determined result at step S 410 is Yes), the exchange device 30 deletes the telephone number of the call origination subscriber from the non-specially charged subscriber table (at step S 411 ).
[0035] Next, the charging operation of the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence chart for explaining the charging operation of the call fee charging system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] The call origination subscriber originates a call to the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 with a predetermined dial operation or the like on the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 . At that point, the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 sends a call origination signal to the exchange device 30 . The call origination signal contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the telephone number of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0037] The exchange device 30 sends a charging information request to the charging server 40 so as to obtain information necessary for charging the call origination subscriber for the call. The charging information request contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the telephone number of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . The information necessary for charging the call origination subscriber for the call is period (charging period) of a signal to be sent to the charging server 40 .
[0038] The charging server 40 decides the charging period corresponding to the charging information request message. When the area code of the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 is the same as the area code of the telephone number of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 and the local call fee is ¥10 every three minutes, the charging period is three minutes. The charging server 40 sends the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the obtained charging period as a charging information response to the exchange device 30 .
[0039] The exchange device 30 sends a special charging check request to the special charging server 50 so as to check whether or not the current call is a specially charged call. The special charging check request contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the telephone number of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0040] The special charging server 50 references the non-specially charged subscriber table to determine whether or not the call origination subscriber is a non-specially charged subscriber. In this example, it is assumed that the call origination subscriber is a specially charged subscriber. The special charging server 50 sends the determined result (representing that the call origination subscriber is a specially charged subscriber) as a special charging check response to the exchange device 30 .
[0041] The exchange device 30 sends information representing that the current call is a specially charged call as a call termination notification to the call termination subscriber through the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . The call termination notification contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and information representing that the current call is a specially charged call. An example of the message sent to the call termination subscriber is an audio guidance “You will get money in compensation for the call. . . . ”. Alternatively, such a message may be displayed on the display panel of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0042] The exchange device 30 sends information representing that the current call is a specially charged call as a special charging notification to the charging server 40 . With the special charging notification, the charging server 40 recognizes that the current call is a specially charged call. When the special call fee is ¥30 every three minutes, the charging server 40 charges the call origination subscriber by ¥30 whenever the special charging notification message is received corresponding to the charging period.
[0043] The call termination subscriber receives the above-described call termination notification. At that time, the call termination subscriber performs a predetermined dial operation on the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 to send a call termination response to the exchange device 30 through the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0044] The exchange device 30 sends information representing that the current call is a specially charged call as a call origination subscriber response to the call origination subscriber through the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 . An example of the call origination subscriber response message is an audio guidance “This call is a specially charged call. . . . ”. Alternatively, the call origination subscriber response message may be displayed on the display panel of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 . Thereafter, a talk is performed between the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0045] While the talk is being performed, the exchange device 30 sends a charging request to the charging server 40 at the decided charging period. The charging request message contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber. When the charging server 40 receives the charging request message, the charging server 40 charges the call origination subscriber for the specially charged call. Part or all of the margin between the special call fee and the regular call fee may be paid to the call termination subscriber. Thus, the call termination subscriber may get money for a specially charged call with the call origination subscriber. Alternatively, the telephone company or the like may collect a more expensive call fee than a regular call fee from the call origination subscriber for a specially charged call.
[0046] For example, when the regular call fee is ¥10 every three minutes and the special call fee is ¥30 every three minutes, the margin is ¥20. The margin may be equally shared by the telephone company (or the like) and the call termination subscriber. In this case, the payment for the specially charged call to the call termination subscriber may be a discount of the telephone fee billed at the end of the month or the like. Alternatively, the telephone company may directly pay the money for the specially charged call to the call termination subscriber.
[0047] Before starting to talk to the call origination subscriber, the call termination subscriber may check the telephone number of the call origination subscriber and request the exchange device 30 not to charge a special fee on the call. In addition, after starting to talk to the call origination subscriber, the call termination subscriber may check the telephone number of the call origination subscriber and request the exchange device 30 to cancel the special fee on the call. In the latter case, the call termination subscriber selects the start point of canceling the special fee from “at beginning of call” or “at the time of request for cancel”. The specially charged call cancellation operation may be the same as the registration operation or deletion operation for the telephone number of the specially charged call.
[0048] As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the call termination subscriber can get money for a specially charged call. Specially, in the case of sales call, the call termination subscriber may get money (sales fee) for the sales call in compensation for his or her valuable time from the company providing the sales call. On the other hand, since the call termination subscriber gets money for listening to a sales call from the call termination subscriber, the call termination subscriber accepts to carefully listen to the sales talk. Thus, with specially charged calls, the call origination subscriber can more easily get customers than regularly charged calls. In other words, with specially charged calls, the call origination subscriber does not need to make many calls to people who tend to quickly disconnect.
[0049] In addition, a specially charged subscriber can be designated, and from a view of a call termination subscriber, unnecessary sales calls are easily excluded. This is because a call origination subscriber who is not registered as a non-specially charged subscriber tends to hold back from calling subscribers at the cost of special fee.
[0050] Since a specially charged subscriber can be designated, the call termination subscriber can easily refuse unnecessary sales calls. Since a call origination subscriber has not been designated as a non-specially charged subscriber, the call origination subscriber should pay a more expensive call fee than a regular call fee for a talk with a call termination subscriber. Thus, the call origination subscriber side tends to reduce calls to such call termination subscribers.
[0051] In addition, the call fee charging system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is effective to prevent spam calls. When a call origination subscriber who has not been designated as a nonspecially charged subscriber talks to a call termination subscriber, the call origination subscriber must pay such an extra call fee. Thus, when the call origination subscriber makes a spam call, he or she will immediately disconnect a call.
(Second Embodiment)
[0052] Next, a special call fee charging method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining the structure of a call fee charging system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 6, the special charging server 50 is omitted from the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 1.
[0053] According to the first embodiment, a call termination subscriber designates the telephone number of a non-specially charged subscriber terminal unit. In contrast, according to the second embodiment, the call origination subscriber sends a notification representing that he or she is a specially charged subscriber to an exchange device 30 . The notification may be sent when a call is originated or while a talk is being performed. First of all, the notification operation will be described.
[0054] In the case that the notification is sent when a call is originated, the call origination subscriber presses special buttons (for example, #GG). At that point, the exchange device 30 recognizes that the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a target of a special charge. This operation applies to the case that the notification is sent while a talk is being performed.
[0055] Next, the charging operation of the call fee charging system shown in FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 7 is a sequence chart for explaining the operation of the call fee charging system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] Like the first embodiment, a call origination subscriber terminal unit sends a call origination signal to the exchange device 30 . At that point, the call origination signal contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 and the telephone number of a call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 .
[0057] The exchange device 30 sends a charging information request to the charging server 40 so as to obtain charging information (charging period). The charging information request message contains the telephone number of the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 , the telephone number of the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 , and information representing that the current call is a specially charged call. This is because the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 has notified the exchange device 30 that the current call is a specially charged call.
[0058] When a charging server 40 receives the charging information request, the charging server 40 recognizes that the current call is a specially charged call and decides a charging period. Thereafter, the charging server 40 sends the decided charging period to the exchange device 30 . In this case, like the first embodiment, the charging server 40 designates a charging period so that the special call fee is ¥30 every three minutes in contrast to that the regular call fee is ¥10 every three minutes. In this case, the charging server 40 sends a charging information response that represents that the charging period is three minutes to the exchange device 30 .
[0059] Like the first embodiment, the exchange device 30 sends a call termination notification to the call termination subscriber terminal unit 20 . At that point, the call termination notification contains information that represents that the current call is a specially charged call. Thereafter, the same operation as the first embodiment is performed.
[0060] As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the exchange device 30 can recognize that the current call is a specially charged call with the notification message received from the call origination subscriber terminal unit 10 , the special charging server 50 that determines whether or not the current call is a specially charged call can be omitted. Thus, the fabrication cost can be reduced.
[0061] According to the present invention, when the current call is a specially charged call, the charging means collects a special call fee from the call origination subscriber and pays part or all of the margin between the special call fee and the regular call fee to the call termination subscriber. Thus, the call termination subscriber can get money for the call from the call origination subscriber. Alternatively, the telephone company or the like can collect a more expensive call fee from the call origination subscriber than a regular call fee.
[0062] In particular, the call termination subscriber may get money for a sales call in compensation for his or her valuable time. On the other hand, since the call origination subscriber pays money for a sales call to the call termination subscriber, the call origination subscriber can request the call termination subscriber to carefully listen to the sales talk. Thus, with specially charged calls, the call origination subscriber can more easily get customers than regularly charged calls. In other words, with specially charged calls, the call origination subscriber does not need to make many calls to people who tend to quickly disconnect. Thus, both the customer (call termination subscriber) and the sales side will have large advantages with the present invention.
[0063] In addition, since the exchange device can recognize that the current call is a specially charged call with a notification received from the call origination subscriber terminal unit, the structure of the conventional call fee charging system can be used. By changing only a desired function (control program), the present invention can be accomplished. Thus, the fabrication cost can be reduced.
[0064] Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to the best mode embodiment thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions, and additions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. | A special call fee charging method is disclosed, that comprises the steps of (a) causing an exchange device to receive a call origination signal from a call origination subscriber terminal unit; (b) causing the exchange device to inquire of a special charging server whether or not the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a specially charged subscriber terminal unit; (c) causing the special charging server to reply to the exchange device whether or not the call origination subscriber terminal unit is a specially charged subscriber terminal unit; and (d) if the call origination terminal unit is a specially charged call terminal unit as the result at step (c), causing the exchange device to notify a general charging server that the call origination subscriber terminal unit is charged a special call fee. | 7 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus allowing for the automatic production by percolation of alimentary liquids and particularly hot drinks such as coffee obtained by passing water at an appropriate temperature across a bed of infusible products in the pulverized state such as ground coffee.
2. Description and Background Information and Relevant Material
The invention has as an aim to allow for the manufacture, under entirely automatic conditions, and without human intervention by a waiter or user, other than the transmission of an initial control signal, of a hot drink such as an "expresso" type coffee, i.e., delivered and made available to the consumer immediately and directly after the percolation phase.
In apparatus of this type, it is known that the infusible substance which may be in the form of a powder will have a granulometry, dryness, etc. which may vary from day to day. As a result, when using apparatus which has been preprogrammed to provide an infusion liquid at a fixed temperature, for a fixed period of time, in a fixed amount, the quality of the final product may vary considerably.
This effect is further increased since in those systems wherein the infusible charge is compressed by a given amount, the extent of compression will result in a different quality of product again depending upon the compressibility of a given charge of material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for infusing an infusible substance which comprises:
(a) first means for containing the infusible substance during infusion;
(b) second means for containing the infusible substance between it and the first means during the infusion; and
(c) activation means for raising and lowering the first and second means.
The activation means preferably comprises:
(i) first rack means for lowering the first means;
(ii) second rack means for raising the second means; and
(iii) single drive means for activating the first and second rack means.
By using the apparatus of the invention it is possible to provide an infused product whose quality is relatively unaffected by the particular characteristics of the charge being infused, even when based upon uniform parameters which have been pre-set.
Although its most obvious application is in connection with the percolation of coffee, particularly "expresso" coffee, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any one particular infusible substance and extends to include all infusible substances such as tea, herbs, etc.
The first and second means are positioned to move within a percolation chamber positioned in an intermediate element. The first and second means are adapted to allow for entry and departure of infusion fluid passing through the percolation chamber.
Guide means are provided for guiding movement of the first and second means. The guide means comprises at least one shaft extending through the first and second means and the intermediate element.
The intermediate element further comprises axial passages for the first and second rack means.
A pinion simultaneously drives the first and second rack means in opposite directions to bring together and separate the first and second means.
De-activation means arrest movement of the first means relative to the second means as a function of the relative spacing of the first and second means. The de-activation means comprises an interrupter mounted between the first rack means and the first rack. The first rack means is secured to the first means through elastic means whereby upon movement of the first rack means beyond the point at which the first means can move, the first rack means continues to move independently of the first means to de-activate the deactivation means.
Pinion reversal means reverse the direction of movement of the pinion as desired.
The second means comprises an orifice therein for removably receiving the first rack means therein. The orifice of the second means comprises spring biased spurs, and the first rack means is provided with a narrowed portion and a first bevelled surface configured to pass through the spurs whereby the first rack means is held by the spurs around the narrowed portion such that the first rack means and the second means move upwardly together, thereby raising the second means relative to the intermediate element.
The second means further comprises an infusible bottom positioned to move upwardly through the percolation chamber to raise and expose infused material for removal from the percolation chamber as the first rack means and the second means move upwardly together.
The narrowed portion ends in a bevelled portion, and the second rack means is dimensioned to oppose further simultaneous upward movement of the first rack means and the second means beyond a predetermined extent whereby subsequently the second rack means pushes down the second means and separates the second means from the first rack means.
Means may be provided for removing the infused substance. Such means may include a sweeper operated by the pinion to sweep the infusible bottom of infused material after it has been raised above the level of the percolation chamber.
According to another aspect of the invention steam supply means are provided as part of the apparatus for supplying steam to the infusible substance between the first and second means.
According to one preferred embodiment the steam supply means comprises a water reservoir with a curtain of wicking material partially submerged in the water reservoir. The curtain is energizable to vaporize and supply steam to the infusible substance.
According to yet another aspect of the invention means are provided for automatically supplying the infusible substance between the first and second means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .
The invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings given by way of non-limiting example only in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a vertical cross-sectional view of an apparatus according to the invention, the blocking piston being in the lifted disengaged position and the filtration bottom being in the rest position in the bottom of the percolation chamber;
FIG. 2 illustrates a vertical cross-sectional view along line II--II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates a horizontal cross-sectional view along line III--III of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed view of the drive means for the sweeping rake;
FIG. 5 illustrates a vertical cross-sectional of the apparatus, identical to FIG. 1 but illustrating the blocking piston in the lowered position during the percolation phase;
FIG. 6 illustrates the vertical cross-sectional view identical to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the piston being brought into the disengaged position and the bottom being in the raised position for ejection of the cake;
FIG. 7 illustrates a detailed planar view of the lower socket end of the engaging apparatus on the rack;
FIG. 8 illustrates schematically the principle of operation of the retractable pouring spout for the filling of the percolation chamber with a coffee charge; and
FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic view of a vapor source associated with the apparatus according to the invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention is directed to an apparatus for the automatic and instantaneous percolation of alimentary liquids for dispensing quantities corresponding to a unit of consumption or a multiple of this unit.
The apparatus comprises a percolation chamber open on one side, a reserve of infusible percolation products and discharge means for discharging the products in the chamber. A blocking piston is adapted to block the open face of the chamber while compressing the unitary charge of percolation products contained in the chamber being adapted to receive a source of liquid, particularly water at an appropriate temperature. The chamber comprises a filtration bed provided with openings for the passage of the percolated liquid towards a drain. A bottom of the chamber is moveably mounted and connected, for this purpose, to drive means for the blocking piston of the chamber on the one hand, and the moveable bottom on the other hand. The two elements are displaced along co-linear axes which are co-linear to one another and co-linear with the axis of the chamber, the blocking piston and the moveable bottom being driven during at least one part of their movement, by a single manipulation element common to the piston and to the moveable bottom. The moveable bottom is integrally mounted with a socket adapted to be vertically displaced the length of the guidance elements integrally affixed to the frame. The socket is adapted to be coupled by integration means having automatic engagement to the common displacement element over a limited extent of travel corresponding to the displacement of the bottom in the chamber from its rest position towards the open surface of the chamber for ejection of the filtration cake.
As may be seen in the attached Figures the apparatus is constituted by a fixed frame formed, for example, of a body constructed of two platens, respectively an upper platen 1 and a lower platen 2 between which are mounted vertical columns forming guidance columns 3 and 4.
Upper socket 5 and lower socket 6 are moveably mounted on the frame.
The two sockets mounted for vertical displacement are guided by columns 3 and 4 which are respectively engaged in openings which may, for example, be provided with a non-stick polytetrafluoroethylene coating, on each of the sockets.
Intermediate block 7 is fixedly mounted in the substantially median position on the columns. Intermediate block 7 is integral with the columns and supports motor block 8 which may, for example, be formed of an electric motor having a reversible movement and whose output shaft 9 drives pinion gear 10. Although as illustrated in the drawings the motor is shown to be exterior to the apparatus (see FIG. 3, for example), it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular positioning of the motor which may likewise be positioned within the apparatus itself.
A percolation chamber is constituted by a central opening 11 in the front portion of intermediate block 7.
Intermediate block element 7 likewise supports means for feeding and discharging the solid infusible products to and from the percolation chamber, i.e., feeding of the powder or ground coffee at the beginning of the cycle, as well as the evacuation of the filtration cake at the end of the cycle.
The feeding means comprises a a pouring spout funnel 12 receiving the coffee in powder form from a storage area (described below) by means of a charging apparatus.
Socket 7 likewise supports rake 13 which makes it possible, by virtue of its lateral sweeping movement, to evacuate the filtration cake at the end of the cycle, after it has been raised by elevation of the filtration bottom as will be explained below.
Rake 13 is driven in a lateral angular sweeping movement from a fixed journal axis constituted by column 4, such that during an initial phase rake 13 sweeps the top of the percolation chamber 11 to laterally evacuate the preceeding filtration cake. Rake 13 is driven by the toothed rack 13a which is itself activated by pinion 10. The assembly is adjusted such that the sweeping by the rake occurs when bottom 24 is in the raised position to allow for extraction of the filtration cake. When toothed rake 13a returns to the rear, the rake is returned to the initial position (in dashed lines in FIG. 3) which is laterally retracted with respect to percolation chamber 11, by return spring 13b.
The invention has been described with reference to an embodiment in which the apparatus is vertically mounted such that specific means must be provided for sweeping away material which has previously been infused. However, it is likewise possible to mount the entire apparatus horizontally such that as the infused material is ejected out of the percolation chamber it falls of its own weight. In this embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 10, it is likewise possible to provide the top portion of the percolation chamber with a generally cylindrical cap 81 having an opening 82 in its wall through which the charge can be fed. The cylinder holds the charge until it is compressed into the percolation chamber. When the charge is to be removed, it need only be pushed beyond the upper rim of the cylinder for the charge to fall away of its own weight. Although a rake system such as that of the invention may be used in this instance as well, it may prove unnecessary since gravity may suffice to do all that is required.
The filling funnel (or funnel segment) 12, as seen in FIG. 8, is freely pivotable on charging apparatus 12a and it is placed in the active discharge position by the rising action of upper socket 5 on lever arm 12b. During return of socket 5 (and of piston 16-18) to the lowered position the pouring spout is returned to its retracted position (as shown in dotted lines in the drawing) by simple gravity.
Although the invention has been illustrated in the instant application in connection with a funnel system which supplies the infusible material, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not limited to the particular means used to supply the infusible material. Thus, the infusible substance may be supplied in the form of cartridges, discs, or packaged charges of any shape or form which may be manually or automatically inserted into the percolation chamber.
Intermediate block element 7 is bored with a horizontal bore to accommodated pinion 10. This block is likewise bored with two vertical bores to allow for the passage and displacement of two symmetrical drive elements, i.e., a principle drive element constituted by a first rack 14, and a second drive element constituted by a rack 15 which is symmetrical with the proceeding rack. The two racks are mounted on two diametrically opposed sides of pinion 10 such that in a predetermined drive movement of the pinion the two racks move in opposite directions along their respective paths.
Upper moveable socket 5 which is adapted to slide, as previously explained, on the two guidance columns respectively 3 and 4 is integrally mounted on the upper portion of first rack 14.
Upper socket 5 comprises, integrally mounted on the front portion of the socket, a blocking piston 16 formed of a shaft 17 integral with socket 5 and a horizontal plate 18 whose circumference is adapted to allow for its engagement, with a slight play, with the interior of the upper portion of percolation chamber 11.
In a known fashion the wall of plate 18 is in fluid communication with one or more supply openings 22" which provide hot water from a hot water source at a suitable desired temperature through one or more openings 22, 22'.
Lower socket 6 is positioned at the lower portion of the apparatus. Shaft 23 is integrally secured to the front portion of lower socket 6, and is integral with filtration bottom 24 which is movably mounted relative to the the interior of percolation chamber 11.
The horizontal wall constituting filtration bottom 24 is thus moveable upon vertical displacement of moveable socket 6 under conditions which will be described below.
At its lower portion the percolation chamber is blocked by bottom 25 which forms collector 26 for the percolation liquid which has traversed the filtration bottom. The liquid is evacuated to the exterior by a draining spout from passage 26'. A central opening in the lower blocking wall 25 allows for the passage and movement of shaft 23 for raising or lowering filtration bottom 24.
OPERATION
The operation of the apparatus assembly can be described as follows, beginning with the motor means constituted by electric motor 8 and central pinion 10.
In the rest position which is shown in FIG. 1, the two sockets are in the disengaged position at the opposite ends of the apparatus. Upper socket 5 is in the raised position while lower socket 6 is in the lowered position.
In this position the percolation chamber 11 is at rest and is waiting to be filled. The pouring spout 12 is itself in the waiting position above chamber 11. Programming means (not shown) are provided for sequencing the various phases of the cycle which will be described below. Either conventional analog sequencing means such as timers and sensors may be used, or a microprocessor chip may be used for this purpose.
The cycle commences with the pouring of the powder by the spout followed by the retraction of the spout towards a lateral position, as soon as socket 5 begins its descent as explained below.
The rotation of pinion 9 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 causes the movement of the racks, i.e., first rack 14 and second rack 15 in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1.
In this movement upper socket 5 drops until plate 18 reaches the surface of the ground coffee waiting in percolation chamber 11.
When plate 18 meets the coffee surface, the approach of the two planes of 21 and 21' which form plate 18 results in toric joint 19 becoming compressed to seal the contact of plate 18 of piston 16 and block percolation chamber 11. Piston 16 is thus in the fixed stop position, having come into abutment against the coffee charge contained in the percolation chamber 11.
However, the motor continues to turn and to drive rack 14 downwardly along the direction of the arrow of FIG. 1 while blocking piston 16 is in abutment or braked by the charge of coffee which it has met in the percolation chamber. During this relative movement rack 14 is displaced with respect to socket 5 (integral with piston 16) by compressing intermediate spring 46 until the de-activation of an interrupter switch which shuts off the feed of the motor and stops the movement of rack 14.
The interrupter switch is formed, for example, by a contact 35 integral with socket 5 which is positioned to contact abutment 36 integral with the top of rack 14 when spring 26 is in the relaxed position (see FIG. 2, the position of socket 5 in the raised position). As soon as piston 16-18 abuts against the coffee charge in chamber 11, socket 5 is blocked while rack 14 continues to move further to a limited extent while compressing spring 46. During this relative movement contact 35 is disengaged from its rest position on abutment 36 which opens the feed circuit of the motor and interrupts the movement of rack 14.
Spring 46 also serves a safety role by allowing for a limited movement of piston assembly 16-18 under the effect, for example, of the vapor pressure in chamber 11 during the percolation phase, without transmitting this movement to the motor. The motor is thus not stopped in a blocked position.
It is seen that by virtue of the configuration of the apparatus of the invention, the positioning of piston 16 and more particularly plate 18 assures the piling and the compression of powder in chamber 11 to occur automatically, independently of any pre-programming, as a function of the level of the powder in the chamber.
After the liquid has percolated and gone through the bed of solid products it is received in collector chamber 26 in bottom 25 and then drained towards the exterior where it can be channelled in a known fashion by a pouring spout into a cup or any appropriate recipient.
The programmed cycle continues with disengagement of piston 16 and the evacuation of the filtration cake corresponding to the pressed coffee in percolation chamber 11.
As may be seen in FIG. 1, the motor having been placed in operation in a movement reverse to that which has preceeded, will drive pinion 10 turn in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6, and the first rack 14 and second rack 15 are driven in a reverse movement to the preceeding, i.e., first rack 14 rises while second rack 15 drops back.
During this phase of movement first rack 14 will drive lower socket 6 downwardly. To accomplish this, at the base of first rack 14, the rack ends in a bevelled edge 27. A hollowed interior bevelled shoulder 28 is provided to cooperate with spurs forming ratchets 29 and 29' which project to the interior of opening 30 situated directly above the base of bevelled head 27 of first rack 14, on lower socket 6.
When first rack 14 reaches its lower position, head 27 engages opening 30, while the bevelled walls 29 push the exterior of ratchets 29 and 29' until shoulder 28 reaches the level of the ratchets making it possible for the ratchets to elastically return to their extended position towards the interior of opening 30.
After engagement of ratchets 29 in shoulder 28 first rack 14 continues its movement over a limited extent while moving socket 6 together therewith. The rack is stopped by de-energization of the drive means as previously explained when plate 18 contacts the the powdered product in the percolation chamber, and encounters a resistance to further movement.
In any case, elastically compressible shock absorption abutment 31 serves as a safety by preventing possible contact between upper socket 5 with intermediate fixed block 7.
After the piston has blocked the percolation chamber, and the coffee charge has percolated for the desired length of time, the drive means is reversed such that the pinion now rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6.
As the pinion is rotated first rack 14 is raised. As a result shoulder 28 comes to rest against ratchets 29. Further lifting by rack 14 raises lower socket 6 while it is guided by columns 3 and 4. As socket 6 rises it lifts shaft 23 along with it, thereby raising moveable filtration bottom 24 up through the interior of chamber 11.
The rising movement continues until socket 6 abuts against the lower base of fixed central block 7 which the interposition of an adjustable grommet 6'. The resistance and blockage which result overcomes the resistance of ratchets 29 and 29', and causes the retraction of ratchets 29 and 29' the length of the bevelled wall of shoulder 28 thereby disengaging socket 6 from the movement of the first rack 14. Preferably the contact of socket 6 with central block 7 is cushioned by a shock absorption abutment 37 whose height position is adjustable.
The uncoupling is adjusted in a fashion so as to occur when the moveable filtration bottom 24 has arrived in the raised position, i.e., substantially at the upper level of filtration chamber 11, a movement which exposes the filtration cake constituted by the earlier percolation marcs.
In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the ratchet-spur system can be replaced by a magnetic system which holds the rack in place until the rack separates these from upon the lower socket encountering sufficient resistance.
Once exposure of the marc has occurred, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the lateral translational movement of rake 13 which then may occur to laterally disengage the filtration cake. Rack 13a is reciprocated by pinion 10 to sweep rake 13 over raised filtration bottom 24, against the bias of spring 13b. The cake may then be removed to a recovery container. Socket 6 remains in the raised position during this time.
After this operation has been completed, the pinion continues to drive the two racks in the direction shown in FIG. 6.
Rack 15 continues its descent until it comes into contact, at its base 32, with adjustable abutment 33 integrally mounted with socket 6 and in its descending movement the second rack 15 pushes towards the bottom socket 6 until the socket is in the lower or bottom position (such as shown in FIG. 1). As socket 6 drops, it lowers shaft 23, and together with it filtration bottom 24 which thus comes to rest at the bottom of percolation chamber 11.
FLUID SOURCE
Preferably, the apparatus can be coupled to a high temperature alimentary fluid source, particularly steam.
According to one embodiment (illustrated in FIG. 9) steam may be provided by an apparatus constituted by a chamber 61 fed with water by an electro-valve 64. The chamber comprises a sensor 63 controlling electro-valve 64 so as to assure a water reserve 62 at a constant level. The chamber further comprises an outlet 72 to evacuate the steam produced. A power supply source 69 energizes terminals 65 and 66 electrify interposed curtain 71 made of an absorbent material such as fiberglass whose base is submerged in reservoir 62. An outlet 74 provided with safety valve 75 is provided to bleed any excess pressure in the chamber.
The passage of current in the absorption and water-impregnated environment 71 causes the instantaneous vaporization of the water and the steam escapes through conduit 72. A timer 69 makes it possible to time the production of steam and adjust it to the time required. A variable resistance 70 makes it possible to adjust the characteristics of the current and thus the rapidity of vaporization as required.
Although the invention has been described with reference of particular means, materials and embodiments it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particulars disclosed and extends to all equivalents within the scope of the claims. | Apparatus for infusing an infusible substance which comprises:
(a) first means for containing the infusible substance during infusion;
(b) second means for containing the infusible substance between it and the first means during the infusion; and
(c) activation means for raising and lowering the first and second means.
The activation means preferably comprises:
(i) first rack means for lowering the first means;
(ii) second rack means for raising the second means; and
(iii) single drive means for activating the first and second rack means. | 5 |
The invention relates to assemblies which may be used in construction and repair. More particularly the invention relates to bracing, alignment or scaffolding assemblies which permit adjustment under load conditions.
Upright structures may be fences, walls, sides of buildings, etc. They may also be structures such as foam block walls or concrete wall forms for pouring concrete foundation walls or they may be vertical members in scaffold assemblies, such as walkway assemblies. When working on such structures or using such assemblies it is sometimes necessary to adjust the vertical orientation.
For example, when making concrete wall foundations, a walkway assembly is needed to provide a platform from which workers may pour in cement into the forms for the foundation. The forms may be plywood structures or hollow interlocking foam blocks. Such a walkway assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,663 herein incorporated by reference. After pouring the cement, there may be changes in the vertical orientation of the block structure defining the wall giving rise to a need for adjustment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,663, it is suggested to adjust the vertical orientation of the wall by means of clamps which join two lengths of lumber which together form a brace. However, in the realities of the construction site, for example in inclement weather, such adjustment is not easy. The clamp may jam because of spilled cement or dirt or because of the cold weather. Fine adjustment is difficult with such clamps. Further, the adjustment normally requires two workers, one worker to make the adjustment, and another to check the plumb line for vertical orientation.
Similar problems are encountered in other situations in which the vertical orientation of an upright structure needs adjustment.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved bracing assembly which can be adjusted under load conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a bracing assembly for controlling the vertical orientation of an upright structure, the assembly comprising:
an angle brace having first and second ends, the first end for attachment to a fixed point adjacent to the structure;
and an adjustable connector for connecting the angle brace to the structure;
the adjustable connector including a mounting member for attachment to the structure, a brace mount for attachment to the second end of the angle brace, and a means for movably connecting the mounting member with the brace mount and selectively adjusting the position of the brace mount under load conditions and in a substantially vertical plane.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a walkway assembly for use with a foam-block wall or a wall form and capable of providing support to the wall or wall form, a side of the wall or wall form comprising a workface, said assembly comprising:
(1) a plurality of vertical support posts for placing adjacent to the workface;
(2) a walkway support bracket mounted on each post, each bracket having a horizontal walkway lumber support bar upon which walkway lumber may be placed to span the space between adjacent brackets;
(3) at least one angle brace for each of said vertical support posts, the angle brace having a first end for attachment to a fixed point adjacent the workface and a second end; and
(4) an adjustable connector for each of said angle braces for connecting the angle brace to a support post, wherein the adjustable connector includes a mounting member for attachment to the support post, a brace mount for attachment to the second end of the angle brace, and a means for movably connecting the mounting member with the brace mount and selectively adjusting the position of the brace mount under load conditions and in a substantially vertical plane.
The brace assembly usually provides support to the upright structure, as well as adjustment of the vertical orientation. At the first end, the angle brace would be attached to the ground or other suitable fixed surface. For this purpose, the angle brace may conveniently be provided with flanges rotatably mounted at the first end to secure the brace to the ground whilst allowing angular movement of the brace. The first end of the angle brace would normally be secured to the ground, however, it is only necessary that the first end of the brace is secured in such a way that angular variation in the position of the brace by raising or lowering the height of the second end, adjusts the vertical orientation of the upright structure. It will be seen that the angle brace thus represents one side of an imaginary triangle of which the other two sides may be considered to be formed by the upright structure and the ground. Thus when the adjustable connector changes the angle made by the angle brace to the ground, the vertical orientation of the upright structure is also changed. The angle brace may also be used in an orientation in which the first end is attached to the workface and the adjustable connector is attached to the ground so that adjustment of the means for movably connecting the mounting member with the brace mount in a substantially horizontal plane adjusts the vertical orientation of the workface.
The angle braces are preferably provided with a telescopic or adjustable length. For example, preferably the brace is formed of three cooperating parts including two outside parts which are slidable within a sheath-like middle part so that the length may be roughly adjusted before attachment to the upright structure. Such length adjustment allows flexibility of placement at the work site.
The brace assembly may be positioned at any angle which permits adjustment of the vertical orientation. When the first end is attached to the ground, usually angles of from 30° to the horizontal to 60° to the horizontal, would be suitable and angles of about 45° to the horizontal would normally be most suitable.
In a preferred embodiment the brace assembly is part of a walkway assembly such as the assembly described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,663 which is suitable for accessing different wall heights and pouring concrete walls. In that assembly vertical support posts are provided by two-by-four lumber pieces which are notched on one side (the side adjacent the workface), with a shallow notch which is intended to receive a fastening ring. This ring may be rectangular and dimensioned to just slide down the vertical posts. At the notch, one side of the ring is dropped in, allowing a space to develop on the other side of the ring. In that assembly, walkway brackets are provided with an engaging leg that fits between the post and the ring. The brackets also have a horizontal bar (to serve as a walkway lumber support), a downwardly angled brace, and a post-contacting thrusting flange at the lower end of the brace. By hooking the walkway bracket engaging leg onto the fastening ring and placing the thrusting flange against the support post beneath this connection, a sturdy support bar is formed that can carry walkway lumber to form a walkway. The brace assembly according to the invention can then be attached to the workface of the wall forms, or preferably attached directly to the vertical support posts to provide-the vertical support posts with lateral support. As long as the vertical support posts are in contact with the workface, adjusting the vertical orientation of the posts will also adjust the vertical orientation of the workface.
The vertical support posts may also be of any suitable material strong enough to provide support such as metal (steel or aluminum for example), plastic or a composite material, so that they can be more conveniently transported from site to site and more readily re-used.
In the case of metal vertical support posts, the posts may have regularly spaced holes for connection of the brackets by pins or bolts and for convenient adjustment of the working height of the brackets. The posts may also have flanges at the bottom with holes so that the posts may be secured to the ground, such as by nailing. The posts may be stackable or they may be a combination of pieces which may be assembled to increase the height of the walkway. The posts may be provided with slots along a side thereof intended to be in contact with the workface. Such slots would then permit the posts to be attached to the workface while allowing vertical movement of the workface in relation to the posts (such as during settling, or vertical compression, of a foam-form wall as it is filled with concrete in formation of a foundation wall).
It is preferred that “hat-shaped” wall brackets are placed around the vertical support posts. Flanges formed on the wall brackets may then be fastened to the workface or wall to provide additional vertical support. Since these brackets are not fastened to the posts they allow the wall to subside, or compress vertically (a common occurrence with foam-form walls), without impairing the integrity of the support.
In the case of foam-form walls, the wall brackets may be fastened to steel reinforcement or other solid stiffeners that are incorporated into the wall. This may be done by using nails, self-tapping screws etc.
Normally the walkway assembly would have at least two brace assemblies to cooperate with at least two corresponding vertical support posts. If greater height is required, then two or more brace assemblies may be used for each vertical support post.
The adjustable connector includes means for movably connecting the mounting member with the brace mount. This movable connecting means may be a hydraulically operated system or a motorized system. In a preferred embodiment, the adjustable connector comprises a mounting member having two flanges perpendicular to its length. A bolt passes between a hole in each of the two flanges. The bolt is freely rotatable in the holes of the flanges and has a threaded portion at least encompassing a portion of the bolt which lies between the two flanges. The brace mount would be pivotally connected to the second end of the angle brace. The brace mount has a thread to receive and cooperate with the threaded portion of the bolt thus providing means for movably connecting the mounting member and the brace mount. Rotation of the bolt causes the brace mount to travel along the threaded portion, thus changing the vertical orientation of the upright structure. Thus the vertical movement of the brace mount causes the second end to move in an arc centred on the point of attachment of the first end. The arcuate movement of the second end means that the angle of intersection of the second end with the axis of the bolt varies with the movement of the brace mount. In this preferred embodiment, the threaded portion of the bolt provides for continuous adjustment to any desired position between a maximum and a minimum represented by the extremities of the threaded portion between the flanges.
Preferably the bolt will extend considerably beyond the flanges, at least at one end thereof, to allow convenient rotation. For example, it is preferred that the bolt extends above the level of the walkway so that a workman may easily rotate the bolt from the walkway by means such as a cordless drill. If the bolt also extends downwardly beyond the other flange, the bolt could conveniently be rotated from below the walkway. It will be seen that in this arrangement, it is possible for a single workman to adjust the vertical orientation of the workface. Further, since the working portion of the means of adjustment, the threaded portion of the bolt, is below the walkway, it has protection from dirt and accidental spills which may descend from the walkway. The flanges at either end of the mounting member may also be shaped and sized to give added protection to the threaded portion of the bolt reducing the risk of the bolt device becoming jammed.
The mounting member is preferably provided with a slot along its length to receive the body of a pin or bolt attached to the brace mount. The pin or bolt may be provided with a nut to further secure the brace mount to the mounting member and provide additional strength. The brace mount may be conveniently formed by welding a nut, or a pair of nuts, to a suitable joint which may be pivotally connected to the second end of the angle brace by a pin or bolt.
The mounting member may be mounted directly onto the posts by means of pins or bolts passing through holes corresponding to holes in the posts. The posts may then have slots or channels to accommodate any bolt or pin which extends from the brace mount beyond the slot of the mounting member. The mounting member may also be integral with the post, such as by welding.
The brace assembly thus permits adjustment of the vertical orientation of the upright structure. In cases where the mounting member is attached directly to the workface, the vertical orientation of the workface may be adjusted during work on the workface. In the case where the upright structure is the vertical support post of a walkway assembly, it adjusts the vertical orientation of the posts after the walkway assembly has been erected and during use of the walkway. Also it permits adjustment without need to interrupt the workflow, that is, a workman using the walkway may make adjustments on his own and without needing to get off the walkway.
SUMMARY OF THE FIGURES
The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred walkway assembly embodiment placed against a concrete wall form;
FIG. 2 is a more detailed side view of a part of the assembly shown in the FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are side, front and rear views respectively of a preferred adjustable connector; and
FIG. 6 is a face view of a foam form wall based on IntegraSpec™ type blocks, suitable for use with a walkway, against which a vertical support post has been fastened by a bracket.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a workface 1 which is part of a form 2 . A walkway assembly comprises units indicated by numerals 3 and 4 and is placed against or adjacent the workface 1 . Walkway lumber 5 , when placed in position, then provides a walking surface.
Each unit 3 or 4 comprises: a walkway bracket 6 , to support the walkway lumber 5 ; a vertical support post 7 to support bracket 6 ; an angle brace 8 to support the post 7 ; adjustable connector 9 for adjustable connection of brace 8 to post 7 ; and preferably a hat-shaped bracket 10 .
The workface 1 may be part of a form 2 for a concrete wall. The form would then provide a hollow space into which the cement or concrete may be poured to form the wall. The form material may be any suitable material such as lumber, or conveniently it may be interlocking foam blocks. The workface may also be some other structure which may require adjustment of its vertical orientation during operation.
The walkway assembly comprises a plurality of structures such as those indicated as 3 and 4 . At least two such structures would normally be needed to support the lumber 5 to provide a walking surface.
FIG. 2 shows a unit such as unit 3 in more detail. Vertical support post 7 may be of any suitable structural material but is conveniently made of metal such as steel, or preferably aluminum, for easy transportation and re-use. It may also be formed from lumber such as two-by-four lumber which may be available on a work site. Preferably, the post 7 has regularly spaced holes such as 11 and 12 for easy adjustment of the height of the walkway when the assembly is erected.
The walkway bracket 6 has a lumber support bar 14 which is preferably strengthened by brace elements 15 and 16 . Bar 14 supports the walkway lumber or other material, such as aluminum, suitable for a walkway. Preferably, lumber support bar 14 allows for at least two scaffold grade planks 5 . Brace elements 15 and 16 are to provide strength to support bar 14 . Other structural variations are possible.
Angle brace 8 provides support for vertical support post 7 . Angle brace 8 is preferably of a telescopic design to permit adjustment of its length during on-site assembly. A preferred design includes two members 17 and 18 slidable within a sheath member 19 . Each of the members 17 , 18 and 19 may have regularly spaced corresponding holes 20 , 21 and 22 which can accept a pin or bolt to lock them in place. One end, a first end, of the angle brace 8 is for attachment to a fixed point and therefore would usually be a ground-engaging end and preferably has a ground-engaging member 23 pivotally attached by way of a pin or bolt 24 to the lower member 18 of the angle brace. Ground-engaging member 23 preferably has flanges (not shown) with holes for easy securing to the ground, such as by nails or spikes. The first end may also be affixed by any other suitable means. It will be understood that the first end of angle brace 8 may be secured to any suitable surface which provides a base adjacent the workface provided it is sufficient to allow angle brace 8 to support the relevant upright structure such as vertical support post 7 .
The other end 25 of angle-brace 8 is a second end or workface end. End 25 is adjustably connected to the vertical support post 7 . The end 25 is mounted so as to permit movement in a substantially vertical plane, preferably upward and downward movement with respect to the ground and support post 7 . Since the first end of the angle brace is secured, up and down movement of the second end, assisted by the pivotal attachment of the ground-engaging member 23 , adjusts the vertical orientation of the post 7 , and thus the workface, with which it is in contact.
The preferred adjustable connector 9 comprises a mounting member 26 which has two flanges 27 and 28 perpendicular to the length of the member 26 . A bolt 29 , having a threaded portion 30 is rotatably mounted to the mounting member 26 by means of holes in flanges 27 and 28 . The bolt is held in position by nuts 31 and 32 so that it is free to rotate but does not move up or down. The threaded portion 30 of the bolt 29 engages a threaded portion of brace mount 33 which is pivotally attached at 34 to the second end of angle brace 8 . Thus rotation of the bolt 29 forces the brace mount 33 to move up or down the length of the bolt, which in turn causes the second end 25 of angle brace 8 to move up and down, thus adjusting the vertical orientation of the vertical support post 7 , to which end 25 is connected. Thus the threaded portion of bolt 29 in cooperation with the threaded portion of brace mount 33 provides means for movably connecting the mounting member 26 with brace mount 33 .
Preferably the ends of the bolt 29 extend well beyond the flanges 27 and 28 for easy adjustment. For example, the top of the bolt 29 may extend above any lumber used for the walkway so that the bolt is easily accessed by a workman on the walkway by means of a power drill, wrench etc. Similarly, the bottom of bolt 29 may extend downwardly, for easy access by a workman below the walkway.
Flanges 27 and 28 may also be shaped to improve protection of the threaded portion of the bolt from dirt and spills.
It is not necessary that bolt 29 is threaded along its entire length, only that there is a threaded portion between the flanges 27 and 28 to allow adjustment of the angle brace 8 . However, bolt 29 may also be threaded along its entire length and, since any threaded portions lying outside flanges 27 and 28 are not needed, they do not have to be protected. This is an advantage on a work site where equipment is subject to rough usage. Further, other moving parts such as brace mount 33 may be protected by being below the lumber of the walkway. Thus the working parts of the mechanism, the adjustable connector, may be protected.
In the preferred walkway assembly embodiment, the mounting member 26 is preferably adapted to be directly attached to the vertical support posts, for example by bolts or pins through holes 35 and 36 which are spaced to match the spacing of the holes of the vertical support post. The mounting member may also be connected to the walkway bracket 6 or be integral therewith to form conveniently a single component.
The walkway bracket 6 may have a fitted socket or rail support means 37 to receive and support a removable guard rail post 38 .
Any of the pins which may be used for connection, such as for the holes in the post, the angle brace components, the mounting member and the pivots may have spring mechanisms. That is, they may have mechanisms which effectively snap-lock them in position when placed, until they are released. This facilitates assembly and disassembly of the walkway.
FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show the preferred adjustable connector in more detail. Mounting member 26 has flanges 27 and 28 adjacent either end. Bolt 29 , which passes though holes in flanges 27 and 28 , is freely rotatable and is kept in place by nuts 31 and 32 . The threaded portion 30 of bolt 29 engages the threaded brace mount 33 so that rotation of bolt 29 causes brace mount 33 to move along the length of threaded portion 30 . The thread in brace mount 33 may be provided by nuts 37 and 38 , integral therewith.
For added stability, as shown in FIG. 5, a bolt 39 may be connected to the brace mount 33 (not shown in FIG. 5) by way of a slot 40 in the mounting member 26 .
When a foam-form wall 41 as shown in FIG. 6 is being constructed, the posts 7 may be retained in a vertical position against the wall by hat-shaped brackets 42 . These brackets 42 should be fastened, as by self-tapping screws 43 , to reinforcing (not shown) within the foam-form wall 41 .
An example of a wall 41 particularly suited to this invention is the IntegraSpec™ wall produced by Phil-Insul Corporation of 2743 Dunning Rd., Sarsfield (Ottawa), Ontario, Canada. The block 44 provided by this company has flanges such as flange 45 imbedded within the foam, into which the screws 43 may engage. Other products may provide a flange attached to a rail that is laid between each course of blocks, or some equivalent structure.
Because the brackets 42 have a sliding fit around the posts 7 , as the foam-form wall 41 is filled with concrete, it is free to settle. While the brackets 42 subside with the wall, they merely slide along the posts 7 , continuing to provide lateral support.
The invention allows a kit comprising walkway brackets 6 incorporating adjustable connector 9 , vertical support posts 7 , angle braces 8 and optionally hat-shaped brackets 42 .
From this a walkway can be temporarily constructed that can easily be disassembled for re-use of all its components.
The foregoing has constituted a description of specific embodiments showing how the invention may be applied and put into use. These embodiments are only exemplary. The invention in its broadest, and more specific aspects, is further described and defined in the claims which now follow.
These claims, and the language used therein, are to be understood in terms of the variants of the invention which have been described. They are not to be restricted to such variants, but are to be read as covering the full scope of the invention as is implicit within the invention and the disclosure that has been provided herein as follows. | A bracing assembly for controlling the vertical orientation of an upright structure, the assembly comprising: an angle brace having first and second ends, the first end for attachment to a fixed point adjacent to the structure; and an adjustable connector for connecting the angle brace to the structure; the adjustable connector including a mounting member for attachment to the structure, a brace mount for attachment to the second end of the angle brace, and a mechanism for movably connecting the mounting member with the brace mount and selectively adjusting the position of the brace mount under load conditions and in a substantially vertical plane. The bracing assembly may form part of a walkway assembly to provide a vertically adjustable walkway from which cement may be poured into forms for making a concrete wall foundation. | 4 |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to portable exercise devices and more particularly to orthopedic devices having retaining harnesses and handgrips threaded through pulley assemblies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,636 which is owned by the same assignees (Anthony J. and John F. Vallone Sr.) as this invention, discloses a portable exercise orthopedic device which allows prescribed rehabilitative physical therapy regimes to be safely applied and controlled by the patient (user) at home and/or by qualified physical therapists and technicians in a treatment facility.
Weakened muscles attributed to injuries, debilitating illnesses and surgical procedures require rehabilitative isometric as well as progressive and constant isotonic exercise regimens to help restore strength. In the past and currently, the prescribed exercise regimens have been applied using weights, elasticized bands, serial pulley configurations and a variety of other high and low tech devices and exercises to restore strength and an acceptable degree of flexibility and/or range of motion to affected muscles and orthopedic joints..
Currently, no device is known, which may be used conveniently and effectively at home or at a treatment facility by either the patient, the physical therapist or qualified technician for applying a range of predefined measured and controlled isometric and isotonic resistance to afflicted muscles.
PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,636 to Vallone et al., provides the portability and adaptability to standard home furnishings/environments, ease of use either in the home or treatment facility, measurement of stresses encountered during isometric and progressive isotonic muscle strengthening exercise regimes and is also applicable to regimes for stretching orthopedic joints.
The basic system disclosed in the '636 patent, however, provided distinct improvements in terms of portability, flexibility and adaptability to the physical therapy rehabilitation processes, as defined in Prior Art in '636 and below, over previous devices which lacked these prime characteristics.
The present invention was designed to satisfy the requirement for an adaptable portable exercise device to facilitate muscle strengthening. The present design allows for inclusion of an adjustable resistance control spooler assembly device to provide repetitive exercise regimens for overloading to strengthen muscles.
Such devices as defined within U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,881 to Djerdjerian employing cables, pulleys and weights, requires a complex door frame assembly to host the exercise device which has primary application to muscle building and toning regimens with little to no defined applications to measurable and controlled orthopedic rehabilitation therapies. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,205 to McFall et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,670 to Zinik primarily focus on muscle building and toning regimens employ elasticized cords to apply stresses required for effective exercise routines. A major drawback to elasticized bands is the variable stresses encountered through a singular cycle of exercise in that as the band is stretched the resistive stresses increase. As such, neither of these two devices have any apparent application to prescribed measurable and controlled resistive isometric and isotonic exercise regimens.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,716 to Mason et al., provides a viable platform for passive suspension and passive range of motion exercises for the hip and knee. However, as such, the device is restrictive to the hip and knee and does not provide the capabilities for predefined and preset measured and controlled application of stress forces on the afflicted leg and/or leg joints, and in the classical sense of portability is not readily adaptable to standard home furnishings/environments.
Other patented devices which were evaluated, and found deficient in terms of portability, adaptability to the physical therapy rehabilitation exercise routines, and in satisfying the predefined and preset measurable and controllable stresses criteria include:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,741 to Hermanson
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,511 to Francis
U.S. Pat. No. 655,671 to Crooker and McDonald
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The principal objective of this invention is to provide a complementary device, fully compatible with components of patent '636 to Vallone et al., to apply iterative cycles of predefined and preset measured and controlled constant stress levels for constant isotonic resistance exercise regimens that involve overloading the muscles to build strength. This invention, however, does not negate the applications of the Portable Exercise Device equipage and employment for exercise regimens programs, as defined within '636.
It is also the objective of this invention to provide an exercise device which is fully portable, is readily adaptable to standard home furnishings as well as treatment facility platforms, is easy to use by lay persons as well as trained therapy technicians, and which can be manufactured and constructed economically.
Accordingly, the present invention includes use of a adjustable resistance control spooler (here-in-after referred to as the ARC spooler) assembly, an harness assembly and clamping devices to provide high degree of adaptability in detachably affixing the device(s) to home and office furnishings as well as treatment facilities exercise platforms. These assemblies augmented by clamps, a pilot pulley, a flexible cord assembly and a plurality of hand grips comprise the embodiment of a portable exercise device which provides a wide spectrum of isometric as well as constant and progressive isotonic exercise regimens. In this respect, the design constraints of the ARC spooler assembly and the channeled ‘U’—clamp are such as to ensure interchangeable mountings of the ARC spooler and/or the pilot pulley assemblies to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or the ‘O’ clamp assemblies.
In '636, the portable exercise device allows multiple angle isometric strengthening for weakend muscles resulting from post operative surgery. The adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device, as defined within this patent, provides for iterative progressive or constant isotonic resistive physical therapy exercise cycles for prescribed rehabilitation therapeutic exercise regimens which involve overloading muscles to build strength.
In either configuration, employment of the precision straight scale allows accurate and consistent measurement and progression, or lack thereof, of muscle strength to verify progress towards established rehabilitation goals. Measurable baseline and verifiable progress of rehabilitative regimens are important not only to the physical therapist in establishing successive exercise goals, but have major ramifications in the insurance aspects of rehabilitative care.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an oblique projection view of the ARC spooler assembly mounted to a channeled ‘U’ clamp assembly.
FIG. 2 is an oblique projection view of the ARC spooler assembly mounted to an ‘O’ clamp assembly.
FIG. 3 is the top view of the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device (mounted to channeled ‘U’ clamps).
FIG. 4 is the side view of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the ARC spooler assembly.
FIG. 6A-D provides an orthographic view, with pertinent cross-sectional representations, of the ARC spooler assembly.
FIGS. 7A and 7B provides an isometric and exploded view of the Channeled ‘U’ Clamp assembly.
FIG. 8 depicts the ‘O’ Clamp.
FIG. 9 is the isometric view of the Pilot Pulley assembly.
FIG. 10 depicts the Precision Straight Scale, with integrated hand grip.
FIG. 11 depicts the Exercise cord with a fixed bayonet clip on one end and a detachably affixed and adjustable bayonet clip on the other.
FIG. 12 depicts a hand grip, used as an accessory item to the invention
FIG. 13 depicts a multi-purpose harness—adjustable for adaptation to limbs, head and torso
FIG. 14 depicts a door anchor used as an accessory item to this patent.
FIG. 15 provides a representation of the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device for isolating intraspinatus and teres minor routines.
FIG. 16 provides a representation of the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device for active/resistive hip flexor exercises.
FIG. 17 provides a representation of the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device for military press-up exercises.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As depicted in drawings (FIGS. 1 through 16) the preferred embodiment of the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device, in accordance with this invention includes the ARC spooler assembly 1 . Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the ARC spooler assembly is comprised of baseplate 1 - 1 which is configured with two non-threaded holes 1 - 2 spaced apart to accommodate two carriage bolts 1 - 3 for detachably affixing the ARC spooler assembly to the channeled ‘U’ clamp 2 and ‘O’ Clamps 3 . Threaded hole 1 - 4 is centered on the baseplate between ports 1 - 2 . Four non-threaded holes 1 - 5 are spaced at 90° intervals, through which four machine screws 1 - 6 screwed into four threaded holes 1 - 7 secure the main assembly mounting ring 1 - 8 to the baseplate.
The main assembly mounting ring has an inside diameter to accommodate the spooler sleeve 1 - 9 . The mounting ring has a collar (boss) 1 - 10 to accommodate the spooler's exterior casing and cord guide 1 - 11 and a drilled hole 1 - 12 to position and secure the spooler's compression spring 1 - 13 .
The spooler sleeve has an index line 1 - 14 inscribed lengthwise along the top outer surface to provide the reference point for incrementally presetting the spooler's resistance windings around the spooler sleeve. The spooler sleeve is inserted through the mounting ring and backed-up flush against the ARC spooler base plate.
Compression spring 1 - 13 fits over the spooler sleeve and is anchored in mounting ring hole 1 - 12 . The compression spring pressure plate 1 - 15 fits over the spooler sleeve against the end of, and interacts with, the compression spring to maintain a sufficient pressure to keep exercise cord A- 3 . 1 windings properly aligned linearly along the ARC spooler sleeve.
The ARC spooler assembly exterior casing and cord guide 1 - 11 , encloses the spooler sleeve, compression spring and pressure plate and is positioned over the mounting ring boss 1 - 10 . The casing has a machined cord guide slot 1 - 17 and a chamfered inside circumference 1 - 16 to fit the chamfered outside circumference of the ARC indexed face plate 1 - 18 .
The index face plate 1 - 18 is configured with a chamfered inner edge to mate with and apply locking pressure upon the exterior casing and cord guide 1 - 16 . A circular dado 1 - 19 is machined into the inner facing of the index plate to host and secure the ARC spooler sleeve. A port 1 - 20 is provided to accommodate screw 1 - 21 to secure the main assembly to the ARC baseplate through the baseplate threaded hole 1 - 4 . Port 1 - 22 , for feeding the exercise cord into the ARC spooler assembly, is machined into the indexed face plate at an angle of 30° (degrees) from the horizontal plane to minimize binding of the exercise cord 4 as it feeds through the indexed face plate to the ARC spooler sleeve.
Index markers 1 - 23 are inscribed into the outer facing of the face plate at 45 degree intervals from port 1 - 22 centerline (top dead center) to align with ARC spooler sleeve index marker 1 - 14 to permit cord windings ranging from ⅛th turn on the ARC spooler sleeve up to four (4) complete windings around the sleeve at ⅛th winding per increment.
Referring now to FIG. 7, the channeled ‘U’ clamp 2 preferred embodiment includes backplate 2 - 1 having two threaded holes 2 - 2 , spaced apart to accommodate two carriage bolts 1 - 3 to detachably affix the ARC spooler assembly and/or the pilot pulley assembly 4 to the clamp(s). Non-threaded port 2 - 3 , centered between the two threaded holes 2 - 2 accommodates the pilot pulley's roller axle 4 - 4 .
A dadoed groove 2 - 4 and three threaded holes 2 - 5 are alined horizontally along the lower portion of the backplate to accommodate the channeled ‘U’ clamp baseplate 2 - 6 . The lengthwise top edges 2 - 7 of the baseplate are tenoned to fit the backplate dado and three non-threaded holes 2 - 8 are drilled through the baseplate to aline with backplate's three threaded holes 2 - 5 .
The frontal plate 2 - 9 , similar to the backplate, is dadoed and has three non-threaded holes 2 - 10 to align coincident with the holes through the baseplate and the threaded holes in the backplate. Threaded hole 2 - 11 is centered horizontally and vertically (in respect to the operational depth of the clamp) on the frontal plate to host clamp screw 2 - 12 which consists of a handle 2 - 13 (which is secured to the clamp screw by dowel 2 - 14 ). Pressure plate 2 - 15 non threaded hole 2 - 16 is counterbored to accept hex nut 2 - 17 to secure the pressure plate to the clamp screw assembly.
The channeled ‘U’ clamp is assembled by three machine screws 2 - 18 which pass through non threaded holes 2 - 10 in the frontal plate, non threaded holes 2 - 8 in the baseplate and screwed into threaded holes 2 - 5 in the backplate.
An optional plurality of alternate base plates 2 - 19 provide for expanding/decreasing the operational width of the channeled ‘U’ clamp. Each additional baseplate requires three machine screws 2 - 18 of appropriate length to accommodate assembly.
While the channeled ‘U’ clamp is designed for attachment to flat surfaces such as cross members, table leafs, side boards and doors, the ‘O’ clamp 3 is designed for attachment to furniture legs, poles and posts. Referring to FIG. 8, the ‘O’ clamp preferred embodiment includes a threaded hole 3 - 1 centered on a pinioned hatch 3 - 2 to accommodate clamp screw assembly 3 - 3 , identical to and interchangeable with clamp screw assembly components for the channeled ‘U’ clamp. Pinioned hatch 3 - 2 is rotatably affixed to the ‘O’ clamp main frame 3 - 6 by fixed dowel 3 - 4 . Removable dowel 3 - 5 allows the pinioned hatch to be rotated (opened) to permit detachably affixing the clamp to designated exercise platform legs, poles or shafts and then replaced to lock the pinion hatch in place. Two threaded holes 3 - 7 spaced apart to accommodate two carriage bolts 1 - 3 to detachably affix the adjustable resistance spooler assembly 1 and/or the pilot pulley assembly 4 to the clamp. Non-threaded hole 3 - 8 , centered between tow threaded holes 3 - 7 , accommodates the pilot pulley roller axle 4 - 4 .
As depicted in FIG. 9, the pilot pulley assembly 4 construction is comprised of a single roller 4 - 1 and two spacers 4 - 2 sandwiched between two pulley side panels 4 - 3 . The single roller is mated to the pulley by dowel 4 - 4 . Dowel 4 - 4 inserted through the pulley side panels, the roller and into non-threaded hole 2 - 3 (channeled ‘U’ clamp) and/or non-threaded hole 3 - 3 (‘O’ clamp) functions as the roller axle and alines the roller with its respective mounting clamp.
The ARC spooler assembly mounted to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp 2 (as depicted in FIG. 1, ‘O’ clamp 3 (as depicted in FIG. 2) or otherwise directly detachably affixed to the physical therapy/exercise platform and employing the pilot pulley assembly 4 , to maintain a tangential travel profile of the ARC spooler exercise cord assembly A- 3 , provides the mechanism for performing repetitive exercise regimens at predetermined and preset resistive force levels. Referring now to FIG. 11, the exercise cord A- 3 . 1 and bayonet clips A- 3 . 4 (bayonet clips designator used here to signify any swivel based spring/snap clip device). The cord crimper A- 3 . 2 is designed to crimp the cord end to form a fixed loop to secure one bayonet clip. The other end of the cord is threaded through a cord lock A- 3 . 3 , forming a slip knot loop to adjustably secure the other bayonet clip to the cord assembly. The slip knot allows adjustments to the operational length of the cord for individual exercise regimens.
The precision straight scale A- 2 , as shown in FIG. 10, is employed to determine the patient's strength threshold, this threshold is employed to establish the starting resistance stress levels for the prescribed exercise regime. The precision straight scale is also used to calibrate the resistive force settings on the ARC spooler and to verify progress of the rehabilitation regimen. The precision straight scale is configured with a eyelet A- 2 . 1 (loop or hook) to attach to the exercise cord and has both a hand grip A- 4 and a D-ring A- 2 - 2 to permit pulling the scale through its measurable resistance levels.
One of two hand grips A- 4 is attached to cord A- 3 on the ARC spooler end of the assembly to provide the means to retract the cord for repetitive exercise cycles. The second hand grip is attached at the pilot pulley end of cord A- 3 to provide the manual means for the patient to pull the cord A- 3 through the prescribed exercise regimen. Alternatively, the multi-purpose harness A- 5 may be attached to the roller puller end of cord A- 3 to attach to limbs (or other body parts—e.g.; forehead for neck exercises) as dictated by the prescribed exercise regimen.
Referring to FIG. 13, the multi-purpose harness A- 5 is constructed from standard off-the shelf components. The harness consists of a polyester web belting A- 5 . 1 , D-ring A- 5 . 2 , and connector assembly A- 5 . 3 . The D-ring is permanently affixed to the body of the web belting for detachably connecting the harness to cord A- 3 to the precision scale for use with the patented Portable Exercise Device, the ARC spooler assembly and/or other exercise/physical therapy devices. The male element of the connector is permanently attached to one end of the web belting. The female element of the connector assembly is detachably affixed to the web belting to permit adjustment of the diameter of the looped multi-purpose harness.
Door anchor A- 1 , as shown in FIG. 14, is constructed from standard off-the-shelf components. The body A- 1 . 1 consists of a polyester web belting. D-ring A- 1 . 2 is permanently affixed to one end of the web belt and the opposite end is sewn into a loop to host locking dowel A- 1 . 3 .
The preferred assemblage of this invention, the adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device assembly is formed by the adjustable resistance control (ARC) spooler assembly, the channeled ‘U’ clamp and/or ‘O’ clamp, and the pilot pulley assembly. Preferably the ARC spooler assembly and the pilot pulley assembly are mated to a clamping device to allow securing the device's components to a chair, desk, bedsteads and/or work or therapy platforms as appropriate. The selection of clamping devices, of necessity, is based on the configuration of the furniture/platform to which the device shall be attached. The ‘O’ clamp is best suited for application to furniture legs, posts and/or spindle type configurations. The channeled ‘U’ clamp is more ideally suited for attachment to flat board surfaces such as found in physical therapy plinths, tables, desks and exercise/work bench configurations.
Alternatively, the pilot pulley assembly and/or ARC spooler assembly may be bolted directly to the exercise furniture/platform as a quasi permanent installation negating the need for either the ‘O’ or channeled ‘U’ clamp. However, this type installation requires drilling holes in the furniture/platform which may not be acceptable for most home and office furnishings.
Both the ‘O’ and channel ‘U’ clamp assemblies are designed and constructed to accommodate both the pilot pulley assembly and the ARC spooler assembly. The critical design constraint for the clamps, the ARC spooler assembly and the pilot pulley is the centerline distance between the two threaded mounting holes per each device.
The ARC, mounted to either the ‘O’ or channeled ‘U’ clamp or direct mounted to the exercise furniture/platform, is comprised of a baseplate, assembly mounting ring, spooler sleeve, indexed face plate, extension spring, pressure plate and exterior casing to host and adjust tension (calibrated resistance) on the exercise cord. The exercise cord is inserted through the face plate port and exited through the exterior casing slotted port. Tension/resistance is increased or decreased by rotating the exterior casing which causes the exercise cord to wind around (clockwise rotation of the exterior casing) or unwind from the spooler sleeve (counterclockwise rotation of the exterior casing). Coincidental tension/resistance adjustments may be made by rotation of the indexed face plate in directions opposed to rotation of the exterior casing (clockwise—decreases and counterclockwise—increases resistance).
An ARC spooler sleeve, with 1.25 inches (3.18 cm) usable length, can accept four (4) full winding of the 0.250 inch (0.635 cm) exercise cord. The eight inscribed indexed markers on the face plate then allow for 32 discrete resistance settings. The resistance levels are derived from friction generated by pulling the exercise cord over the spooler sleeve wherein the greater the amount of cord wrapped around the sleeve the greater the resistance. Employing a 1.625 inch (4.1275 cm) diameter spooler sleeve the resistance levels range from ˜0.5 lbs (0.2268 kg) to ˜50 lbs (22.68 kg). The resistance spectrum, a factor of the usable length and diameter of a spooler sleeve, can be further adjusted to greater levels by increasing either the length or diameter of the spooler sleeve or both.
The ARC spooler assembly, clamps assemblies and pilot pulley assembly may be effectively constructed of polycarbonate plastics, ferrous or no-ferrous metals. However, the exterior casing and cord guide component should be constructed of transparent (clear) polycarbonate plastics to permit viewing the spooler sleeve index line and cord windings for adjusting required resistance levels. Uni-frame molding or machining of the channeled ‘U’ clamp frame, the ARC spooler base plate and mounting ring, and the pilot pulley assembly is feasible and practical and would eliminate the need for assembling individual parts to form each unit as shown in FIGS. 1 through 9, and as defined in the above detailed descriptions.
The compact construction and aesthetics of the devices are such that when attached to furniture, benches, platforms, and etc., the devices do not attract attention. Further, their compact design and operational configuration ensure that the devices do not protrude beyond the edges of furniture/work platforms, thereby ensuring against individuals knocking/tripping against the device, dislodging it or causing personal injury.
While the ‘O’ clamp and the channeled ‘U’ clamp, as defined herein, are designed and configured to be used with the ARC spooler assembly, they both may be effectively employed as stand-alone clamping devices for hobbyists, modelers, workshops and light industry.
The pilot pulley assembly is mounted to the furniture/platform at a distance which provides a tangential profile for the cord passing from the spooler sleeve through the exterior casing's slotted port and to the pilot pulley roller. The tangential profile is essential to negate, or minimize resistance levels which may accrue through friction of the cord rubbing against the exterior casing's slotted port during the exercise routine. Negligible resistance accrued through employment of the pilot pulley roller to establish and maintain the tangential profile and may be ignored as insignificant. When mounted on a common horizontal ARC and pilot roller centerline and the exterior casing slotted port is positioned at either 45° or 315°, the vertical centerline distance is approximately 18.5 inches (47 cm) to establish the tangential profile for the cord. Where horizontal centerline commonality is not a factor, other tangential profiles may be established wherein the exterior casing slotted port may be positioned at any axial setting from 0° through 180°. These profiles are readily established employing legs and adjacent horizontal members of exercise furniture/platforms.
The simplicity of operation, of this device, allows the patient to perform prescribed physical therapy regimens within the established stress levels, independently. This in effect reduces the requirements for therapists hands-on full time supervision, thereby reducing overall costs of rehabilitation therapy sessions. The inherent adaptability of the device to multiple environmental scenarios/facilities negates the requirement for regularly scheduled visits to therapy facilities since the prescribed regimens may be conducted at home, in the office or other occupational environments.
Application of this invention to the physical therapy regimes include, but are not limited to the following examples:
a. Isolating intraspinatus and teres minor (refer to FIG. 15 ):
The adjustable resistance control device is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The pilot pulley is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The exercise cord is threaded through the adjustable resistance control device and to the pilot pulley with the fixed bayonet clip end of the cord on the pilot pulley end of the assembly and the detachably affixed bayonet clip on the adjustable resistance control device end of the assembly and the proper level of resistance is preset into the adjustable resistance control device.
Hand grips are attached to each bayonet clip.
The patient laying on the exercise platform, using the afflicted arm, pulls the exercise cord through the assembly.
The patient, having pulled the cord through the assembly, using the other hand grip (to the rear of the adjustable resistance control device) retracts the cord for the next repetition(s).
b. Active/Resistant Hip Flexor (Refer to FIG. 16 ):
The adjustable resistance control device is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The pilot pulley is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The exercise cord is threaded through the adjustable resistance control device and to the pilot pulley with the fixed bayonet clip end of the cord on the pilot pulley end of the assembly and the detachably affixed bayonet clip on the adjustable resistance control device end of the assembly and the proper level of resistance is preset into the adjustable resistance control device.
A hand grip is connected to the detachably affixed bayonet clip on the adjustable resistance control device end of the cord. The fixed bayonet clip, on the pilot pulley end of the cord is connected to the multi-purpose harness attached to the patients leg.
The patient sitting on the exercise platform (chair) lifts his/her leg pulling the exercise cord through the assembly, then using the hand grip retracts the cord for the next repetition(s).
c. Military Press-up (refer to FIG. 17 ):
The adjustable resistance control device is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The pilot pulley is detachably affixed to either the channeled ‘U’ clamp or ‘O’ clamp (depending on exercise platform configuration).
The exercise cord is threaded through the adjustable resistance control device and to the pilot pulley with the fixed bayonet clip end of the cord on the pilot pulley end of the assembly and the detachably affixed bayonet clip on the adjustable resistance control device end of the assembly and the proper level of resistance is preset into the adjustable resistance control device.
Hand grips are connected to bayonet clips at both ends of the exercise cord.
The patient sitting on the exercise platform, using the afflicted arm, pulls the exercise cord through the assembly.
The patient, having pulled the cord through the assembly, using the other hand grip (to the rear of the adjustable resistance control device) retracts the cord for the next repetition(s). | A adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device for use by individuals without supervision to follow prescribed or desired iterative cycles of therapeutic exercise regimens is provided. The adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device preferably includes a pilot pulley assembly and a adjustable resistance control spooler assembly, mounted and secured to individual ‘O’ clamp and/or channeled ‘U’ clamp assemblies, interconnected by a flexible cord, with bayonet clips secured at both ends of the cord, and supplemented with hand grips, precision straight scale, multi-purpose harness assembly and anchoring device. The ‘O’ clamp and channeled ‘U’ clamp screw assemblies may be disassembled and employed in either of two ‘O’ clamp screw holes and also are interchangeable between the ‘O’ and Channeled ‘U’ clamps. The pilot pulley assembly is configured with a single grooved roller and performs the primary function of establishing and maintaining a tangential path for the flexible cord travel from the adjustable resistance control spooler assembly to the pilot pulley roller to minimize friction and resultant added exercise forces. The adjustable resistance rehabilitation exercise device accessories include hand grip(s) and a precision, spring style, straight scale for calibrating and verifying prescribed and preset exercise forces for individual therapeutic regimens. | 8 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention broadly concerns a form useful as a promotional or gaming device which includes a detachable element which is initially integral with the form. The form is constructed and printed to be tamper-evident and folded to initially obscure a hidden message which is revealed when the element is detached.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various promotional and gaming pieces have been developed which employ a paper backing and a hidden message. For example, game pieces have been developed which are adhesively attached to beverage cups and food containers and which may be removed and an adhesive cover pulled away to reveal the contents, as well as paper tickets and the like which have an opaque coating which may be removed by scratching with a coin or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,219 shows a lottery ticket or game piece which includes a base sheet on which information is printed and a two-ply cover which is adhesively adhered to the base sheet. Tearing away the intermediate sheet of the cover also tears the cover sheet to reveal a number printed on the front of the base sheet.
The promotional and gaming pieces of the prior art require specialized equipment to print, seal, apply coatings and adhesive, and apply to a substrate surface. There has developed a need for a promotional item made primarily of a paper material and which may be readily printed. There has developed a further need for a promotional item which may be printed on-demand and remains tamper-evident.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects have largely been met by the promotional form with detachable element of the present invention. That is to say, the promotional form of the present invention is readily printable in a conventional desktop printer such as a laser printer or ink-jet printer, can be printed on-demand, and includes a detachable element which includes tamper-evident features to indicate whether information intended to be hidden until removal of the detachable element has been prematurely revealed. Furthermore, the promotional form hereof may include either one or a plurality of detachable elements, so that the information which is initially hidden is revealed contingent upon which of the elements is removed.
Broadly speaking, the present invention includes a base sheet having a first side and a second side and at least one transverse fold line dividing the base sheet into at least first and second sections. A line of weakness is provided in at least a part of one of the first and second sections to define a detachable element. In preferred embodiments, a transparent film window is adhered to the second side in covering relationship to the detachable element and preferably surrounding relationship to the line of weakness. Indicia is printed on the first side of the base sheet and on at least a portion of the second side of the base sheet. The base sheet is folded along the one transverse fold line whereby the first side of each of the first and second sections are opposed and then adhesively connected to one another. When so folded, the first side of the detachable element is exposed, whereas the second side of the indicia is hidden, as is the portion of the other of the first and second sections opposite the detachable element. Preferably, indicia in the form of an instruction, question, answer, prize information, or other information is revealed when the detachable element is removed, but is hidden from viewing prior to such detachment; tampering to reveal such indicia being evident in the event that the adhesion between the first and second sections is broken or when more than one of a plurality of detachable elements is removed.
The base sheet can be provided with a plurality of transverse fold lines to create third, fourth or additional sections. The added fold lines permit segregation of different elements or portions of the promotional form to be detached along the fold lines. Indicia printed on the base sheet can be arranged so that a question, answer or prize information is sequentially revealed, or revealed on either the detachable element or on the portion of the base sheet opposing the detachable element and visible upon removal of the detachable element. The indicia may be preprinted indicia, meaning tha that the indicia is printed at the time the form is die cut for the detachable element and mass produced, and may also include variable indicia, which as used herein means indicia printed on demand from information stored in a computer database which is particularlized to a single one of the forms, such as the name and address of an individual recipient and a question or award printed to be particular to an individual based on computer selection from either random number generation or criteria to be applied from information stored in the computer database. In particularly preferred embodiments, the transparent film window may be provided as a pen writable film whereby the issuer could readily write on the film to indicate receipt or validation of any prize awarded. Further, in particularly preferred embodiments the film window may be provided having two laminated plys wherein one ply remains with the detachable element after removal. The base sheet may be imprinted with indicia to provide an initial question, a plurality of possible answers, and a prize notification if the correct answer is selected. Such an arrangement is especially suited for gaming pieces and in particular educational games. Masking indicia may be printed on the first or second side of the sections as appropriate in order to provide additional resistance to premature discovery of the hidden indicia.
It is particularly advantageous if the adhesive used for bonding the first section to the second section is employs a co-operative cohesive which bonds when the cohesive is mated in facing relationship to itself under the application of pressure. The use of cohesive is advantageous in permitting ready handling of the base sheet without premature adhesion while providing good bonding and evidence of tampering. Furthermore, the use of a cohesive to bond the first and second sections permits the use of conventional folder-printer units to process the forms on demand. Advantageously, the cohesive can be applied in various patterns for security to surround the detachable element, or to provide pockets defined by the connected sections.
The form hereof is remarkably easy to print, seal and use. The base sheet may be preprinted with information such as the name of the sponsor, promotional information, addresses and telephone numbers. In fact, all of the information can be preprinted. The film element may be adhered and the line of weakness provided by scoring, die cutting or similar means. When the film element is a laminate of two plies, the die cutting may extend into one but not the other ply of the film element whereby one ply of the film adheres to the detachable element upon removal while the other remains with the surrounding portion of the base sheet. The base sheet is then folded into sections when folded along the transverse fold line or lines, and then may be adhered so that the second side of the detachable element and the portion of the other section facing it is hidden from view.
However, it is often desired that the promotional form include customized or variable information. For example, it may be desired that a prize be awarded on a random generation basis determined by a computer random generator having access to a plurality of different prizes in its database which prize is awardable when printed onto the form. It may also be desirable that a promotional award be dependent upon the identity of the recipient, whereby certain preferred customers obtain a prize of greater value than others. In this instance, a common base sheet may be provided having common preprinted information and then, at the time of issuance, be printed with the variable indicia by a printer and introduced into a folder/sealer and then issued to the customer. The form emerges from the printer and is introduced into a folder/sealer so that the form can be delivered in a finished condition after local printing and finishing. In the event the form is torn or the bond is separated, the prize may be deemed void.
Thus, an inexpensive, tamper-evident and easy-to-use promotional piece is provided by the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the advantages of the present invention with reference to the detailed description and drawings which follow, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a first embodiment of my promotional form showing both preprinted and customized information printed on the first side of the base sheet;
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof, showing the adhesive pattern and the arrows indicating the mating edges after folding of the form along the fold lines;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the first embodiment of the promotional form entering a folder/sealer machine and emerging therefrom in a finished condition;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the first embodiment of the form in a finished condition as presented to the recipient, with the bonded areas corresponding to the cohesive which are present on the opposite side of the form shown in dashed lines;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the form wherein the thicknesses are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and showing the die cut forming the detachable element and the laminated film window;
FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of my promotional form showing a plurality of fold lines dividing the form into four sections and lines of weakness forming four adjacent detachable elements;
FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of the form shown in FIG. 6 , showing four discrete indicia segments corresponding to respective detachable elements and printed on one of the sections which, when the form is folded along the fold lines so that the edges of the respective sections mate as indicated by the arrows, align in registry with their respective detachable elements;
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the promotional form of FIG. 6 entering a folder/sealer machine and in a finished condition leaving the folder/sealer machine;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the form shown in FIG. 6 in a finished condition with a first detachable element partially removed to reveal an indicia segment corresponding thereto; and
FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the form wherein the thicknesses are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and showing the die cuts forming the detachable elements and the laminated film window.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a promotional form 20 in accordance with the present invention broadly includes a base sheet 22 of paper or other material adapted for retaining printing thereon and having a detachable element 24 unitary with the base sheet 22 prior to detachment. The form 20 is provided with adhesive 26 provided in a pattern 28 on the base sheet. A film window 30 is adhered by a permanent adhesive 32 to one side of the promotional form in covering relationship to the detachable element. Indicia 34 is printed on the base sheet 22 in particular positions as will be described hereinafter prior to folding of the promotional form into the final configuration thereof shown in FIG. 5 .
In greater detail, the base sheet 22 has a first side 36 and a second side 38 , a surrounding margin 40 , and at least one and preferably a plurality of transverse fold lines 42 , 44 which may be provided by perforations or other lines of weakness. The transverse fold lines (which may include perforation lines, as shown) divide the base sheet 22 into respective first section 46 , second section 48 and third section 50 , whereby the fold lines may facilitate separation of the sections 46 , 48 and/or 50 from one another if desired.
The detachable element 24 is defined by a line of weakness 52 which is preferably entirely discrete from and interior of the surrounding margin 40 . The line of weakness 52 may be provided by die-cutting and preferably is a score line or a perforation line so that premature removal of the detachable element 24 from the surrounding remainder of the base sheet 22 may be readily detected.
The adhesive 26 is applied in pattern 28 which preferably is positioned in surrounding relationship to the detachable element as shown in FIG. 2 . As used herein, the adhesive 26 may be any type of adhesive including thermoplastic adhesive and remoistenable adhesive. However, the preferred adhesive 26 for use in the pattern 28 is a contact adhesive, also known as a co-hesive, which bonds when mated to a surface provided with the same or a compatible contact adhesive, usually under at least nominal pressure. One such contact adhesive or cohesive is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,128, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Examples of the use of contact adhesive in folded and sealed paper articles are set forth and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,918,128, 4,928,875, 5,201,464 5,253,798, 5,314,110, and 5,941,451, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. As shown in FIG. 2 , the pattern 28 includes two pattern segments 54 and 56 , each on a respective section of the base sheet and on the same side (in this case the second side 38 ) of the base sheet, each of the pattern segments 54 and 56 being a mirror image of the other. The pattern segments 54 and 56 as shown in FIG. 2 are particularly configured to both provide a square box framing the detachable element 24 and the film window 30 and having upright legs extending in substantially spaced-apart parallel orientation so as to provide a pocket between respective form sections 48 and 50 when the base sheet 22 is folded along fold line 44 and the pattern segments 54 and 56 are in registry and pressed together.
The window 30 is preferably included with the form 20 to provide a more finished appearance and to provide support for the detachable element 24 . The window is preferably provided of synthetic resin transparent film, which may be a pen writable film which accepts and retains ink. Most preferably, the film is provided as a laminate as shown in FIG. 2 having a top ply 58 which lies adjacent the detachable element 24 , a release coating 60 , and a bottom ply 62 . A thin layer of permanent adhesive 32 bonds the top ply 58 to both the detachable element 24 as well as the surrounding portion of the section from which the detachable element is provided. As shown in FIG. 5 , the line of weakness 52 preferably extends through the top ply 58 and the layer of release coating 60 but not through the bottom ply 62 .
The indicia 34 as shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 illustrate the use of the form as a promotional piece for a hotel and casino, but it is to be understood that such printing is by way of example only. The indicia 34 includes preprinted indicia 62 which may be provided at the point of manufacture prior to application of variable indicia 64 which may be provided at the time of issuance when the form 20 is folded and sealed. Thus, in the embodiment of the form 20 shown in FIGS. 1-5 , the issuer's name and address, blank lines for receiving guest's name, arrival date and room number, advertising slogans, map information, instructions for redemption positioned on the detachable element 24 facing the window 30 , and winner's congratulation may be preprinted indicia 62 which is common to all forms 20 retained by the issuer. In addition, the preprinted indicia may include masking indicia 66 printed However, the issuer may also choose to customize the form 20 with variable indicia. Such variable indicia may be selected at random, or by selecting the indicia to be printed on the form 20 for particular recipients who are, for example, customer's deserving of varying levels of incentives. In the example shown in FIGS. 1-5 , entry of the guest's name into the issuer's computer 68 may have resulted in the computer database identifying Mr. Richard Gambler as having no previous gambling record or only a modest gambling record with the casino and thus entitled to a moderate incentive as a part of the variable indicia 64 —here a $20 prize. The computer 68 is connected, and thus communicates the variable information, to a suitable printer 70 . One typical printer 70 useful in this application would be, for example, a Hewlett Packard 4100 available from Hewlett Packard, Inc. of Boise, Id. However, if the computer database identified Mr. Richard Gambler as someone who routinely gambled large amounts of money, software within the computer 68 might instruct the printer 70 to print a prize figure substantially larger than $20 based on preselected criteria. It may be appreciated that similar criteria may be applied to provide preferential treatment to frequent customers or the computer 68 may invoke a random number generator to instruct the printer 70 to print larger or smaller prize figures as a part of the variable indicia 64 at random.
In use, after the variable indicia 64 is printed by printer 70 , the issuer folds the form along the fold lines 42 , 44 so that the pattern segments 54 and 56 are pressed together and the sections 48 and 50 bond together along the pattern. While this may be done manually, for automated and volume production of the form, the issuer introduces the form into a folder/sealer 72 . Although many folder/sealers are useful in connection with the present invention depending on the type and nature of adhesive 26 used, one folder/sealer useful with low-pressure contact adhesives is a Formax 2052 available from Bescorp, Inc. of New Hampshire. The form 20 then includes a pocket 74 formed between the sections 48 and 50 and defined by the adhesive pattern 28 as shown in FIG. 4 , the pocket being useful for receiving a hotel key card or the like.
When the recipient receives the form 20 from the issuer, he or she is advised of the possibility of winning a prize by removing the detachable element 24 . It may be appreciated that the creation of a gaming atmosphere by immediately providing the guest at a hotel/casino with a possibility of winning is a desirable promotional strategy to promote the gaming industry. Moreover, this atmosphere is enhanced when the form 20 is used as a promotional item wherein all guests receive some prize incentive printed as part of the variable indicia 64 . It should be noted that the indicia on the second side of the form 20 is correlated in meaning to the indicia appearing on the first side of the form. The recipient separates the detachable element along the line of weakening and removes the detachable element to see the congratulatory message and to read the redemption instructions. The use of a two-ply laminate as window thirty permits the top ply to remain with the detachable element and the issuer may validate or verify redemption of the prize by writing on the pen-writable film of the window 30 .
While the form 20 shown in FIGS. 1-5 is particularly suitable for use as a promotional piece, a second embodiment of the form 20 A as shown in FIGS. 6-10 provides additional possibilities for use as an educational or gaming piece. Form 20 A broadly includes a base sheet 80 of paper or other printable substrate material, which base sheet 80 includes a plurality of detachable elements 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 integrally formed with the base sheet 80 . The detachable elements are defined by corresponding lines of weakness 90 , 92 , 94 and 96 which in the embodiment of the form 20 A shown herein, lie in adjacency or at least close proximity. It may be appreciated that the number of detachable elements is not limited to four in order to provide greater variety, chance and options to the form 20 A. A window 98 may be adhered by a permanent adhesive 100 to the base sheet in covering relationship to the detachable elements 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 as shown in FIG. 7 . In addition, adhesive 102 is provided in a pattern 104 which preferably surrounds the detachable elements on at least one side of the base sheet 80 as shown in FIG. 7 .
The form 20 A shares many features in common with form 20 . For example, the base sheet 80 includes a plurality of transverse fold lines 106 , 108 and 110 which divide the base sheet 80 into form sections 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 . The base sheet 80 has a first side 120 and a second side 122 and a surrounding margin 124 . The fold lines 106 , 108 and 110 together with the surrounding margin 124 define the edges of the respective form sections 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 , the edges of the sections mating when folded as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 7 so that the form assumes the configuration shown in FIG. 10 .
The detachable elements 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 are shown as positioned on the same form section 114 , although it may be appreciated that the detachable elements could be positioned on different form sections. As shown in FIGS. 6-10 , the second side 122 of the form section 114 is provided with a pattern segment 126 of adhesive 102 , which is preferably a contact adhesive, which substantially surrounds all of the detachable elements 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 . When a contact adhesive 102 is used, the second side of adjacent form section 116 is also provided with a pattern segment 128 of adhesive 102 , pattern segment 128 being a mirror image of pattern segment 126 whereby, when base sheet 80 is folded along fold line 108 , the pattern segment 126 on form section 114 lies in registry and mates with pattern segment 128 of form section 116 to substantially surround and seal the form 20 A around the edges of the second sides of both form section 114 and 116 shown in FIGS. 8 , 9 and 10 . If the adhesive pattern is broken or disturbed along a portion thereof, tampering is evident.
The window 98 of form 20 A is similar to that of form 20 in that it is optional but included in the preferred embodiment. When window 98 is included, it is of a material and construction as described with regard to window 30 in that it is preferably a pen writable, two ply, transparent synthetic resin laminate having adhesive 100 bonding the top ply 130 to the second side of the form section 114 and also to each of the detachable elements. A layer of release coating 132 is located intermediate the top ply 130 and a bottom ply 134 . Lines of weakness 90 , 92 , 94 and 96 , which may be discrete as shown or contiguous, preferably extend through the base sheet 80 and the top ply 130 as shown in FIG. 10 so that the top ply 130 remains with any of the detachable elements which have been torn away.
The form 20 A is also provided with indicia 136 printed on each side thereof. The indicia may be preprinted to be the same on each form 20 A or different for each form 20 A in a set of such forms, or may be printed on demand. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the form 20 A is especially useful as an educational or promotional piece when the indicia printed in correspondence to each detachable element is interrelated. The indicia 136 may be printed on both the first side 120 and the second side 122 of the base sheet 80 , and arranged with regard to the detachable elements so that the indicia 136 appearing on or adjacent the first side of the detachable elements is correlated in meaning to the indicia printed on the second side of the form section 116 which is in registry with the corresponding detachable element and revealed for viewing when the covering detachable element is at least partially torn away. In preferred embodiments, the indicia 136 printed on or adjacent the first side 120 of detachable element 82 includes question or selection identifying indicia 138 . Question or selection indicia 140 is printed on second side 122 of form section 116 in registry with the detachable element 82 after folding and sealing and presents a query or selection instruction to proceed to a next sequential step, so as to be viewable upon complete or at least partial removal of the detachable element 82 . Alternatively, the question or selection indicia 140 could be printed on the second side 122 of the detachable element 82 . Preferably, discrete and alternate first and second choice indicia 142 and 144 is respectively printed on or adjacent the first side 120 of each of a plurality of the detachable elements, such as shown with regard to detachable elements 84 and 86 . As shown, first and second choice indicia 142 and 144 are answer indicia which correspond to the question or selection indicia 140 as plausible choices. Result indicia 146 is printed on the second side 122 of form section 116 in registry with the detachable element 84 after form 20 A is folded and sealed, while result indicia 148 is printed on the second side 122 of form section 116 in registry with the detachable element 86 after form 20 A is folded and sealed. First result indicia 146 corresponds to first choice indicia 142 and detachable element 82 , while second result indicia 148 corresponds to second choice indicia 144 , first result indicia 146 and second result indicia 148 desirably being quite different and distinguishable and at least one of the result indicia identifying a correct answer or more favorable outcome while a second or other result indicia identify that the choice indicia selected was incorrect and indicate a corrective or less favorable outcome. Detachable element 86 is provided with indicia such as outcome indicator indicia 150 printed on or adjacent the first side 120 of the detachable element 86 . Outcome indicia 152 is printed on the second side of form section 116 in registry with the detachable element 88 so as to be viewable only after partial or complete removal of the detachable element 88 . Outcome indicia 152 is preferably conceptionally sequentially related to the more favorable one of first result and second result indicia, so that tearing of the detachable element 84 or 86 corresponding to the more favorable outcome, such as a correct answer results in the user being instructed to tear away the detachable element 88 to reveal a favorable outcome indicia 152 . Thus, in the preferred embodiment of the form 20 A, the user is presented with a question revealed by tearing away of detachable element 82 , sequentially invited to select one of a plurality of choices—only one of which is correct—by tearing away only one of a plurality of detachable elements 84 and 86 , and, if the result indicia is favorable, invited by the result indicia 146 or 148 which corresponds to the preferred or correct choice to tear away detachable element 88 which reveals a favorable outcome such as a congratulatory note, a prize indication redeemable for value, or some other benefit. Masking indicia 154 may be printed on either the first side 120 , the second side 122 , or both the first and second side of the form 20 A, such as on form section 116 as shown in the drawings, to help mask the various outcomes from premature disclosure.
The form 20 A is produced similar to form 20 , in that it is initially printed either by preprinting or on demand by variable printing, then folded and sealed either manually or by a conventional folder/sealer 72 . As completed, the form 20 A assumes a folded configuration as shown in FIG. 10 .
Both forms 20 and 20 A afford tamper evident features which are available using conventional, on-demand desktop printing and sealing equipment which are normally available only through greatly more sophisticated and expensive techniques and equipment. Whether preprinted or printed on demand, the forms 20 and 20 A can be immediately folded and sealed. When contact adhesive is used, separation of the adhesive in the mated the form sections reveals tampering. Removal of any part of the detachable elements is immediately visible, so that if multiple detachable elements corresponding to more than one choice indicia are even partially torn away, the form may be voided. Because conventional paper can be used for the form, the use of the window with the laminated plys, one of which separates with each detachable element, aids in deterring counterfeiting. The use of pen writable laminate helps to ensure that prizes which are awarded are not improperly duplicated when the issuer signs the laminate to show that the prize corresponding to that detachable element has been awarded. The use of masking indicia helps to deter interrogation of the form by light to reveal which of the forms contains more favorable outcomes so as to deter improper preferential pre-selection by the issuer's employees. When variable information is printed locally by a desktop printer, the computer database may randomly generate outcomes and vary the queries and instructions if desired to create a form which is more dynamic in use, or will match awards to recipients by criteria determined by the issuer. The computer will retain data corresponding to the variably printed information so as to reveal which awards are issued to which recipients, thus providing a further check on improper issuance of forms having improper preferred outcomes.
Although preferred forms of the invention have been described above, it is to be recognized that such disclosure is by way of illustration only, and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope of the present invention. Obvious modifications to the exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
The inventor hereby states his intent to rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of his invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set out in the following claims. | A promotional form is provided which includes a detachable element received within the surrounding margin of a base sheet, the base sheet being folded and sealed around one side of the detachable element to initially conceal a message, question or other indicia hidden until the detachable element is at least partially removed. The promotional form may include a plurality of detachable elements having correlated indicia printed on an exposed side and either on the concealed side of the element or in a portion of the opposing form section in registry with the detachable element. A game or educational piece may be inexpensively provided by correlating different indicia messages corresponding to respective detachable elements, so that in response to an initial query or instruction, a plurality of possible results may be revealed, leading in turn to an outcome revealed by removal of a further detachable element. Tampering with the form is revealed when multiple detachable elements corresponding to alternate results are removed, or the adhesive bonding the facing form sections is disturbed. | 8 |
FIELD
The present disclosure relates to ceramic structures. The disclosure has particular utility in connection with ceramic structures for high temperature applications such as in engines, in particular engine exhaust nozzles, and will be described in connection with such utility, although other utilities are contemplated.
BACKGROUND
Recent advances in ceramic matrix composite (CMC) technology is opening up new applications. Traditionally, these materials have been very costly to produce and had exhibited relatively low strength and toughness. Recent advances have reduced manufacturing costs and improved the strength and toughness of these material systems. These improvements along with the ability of CMCs to perform at elevated temperatures makes the use of CMCs viable for use in aircraft engines and other high temperature applications. CMCs offer the potential for lower weight components and the use of higher operating temperatures than can be achieved with traditional metallic components.
CMC and metallic components that make up an airplane may be subjected to extreme thermal conditions, wherein the structure must be capable of withstanding relatively high thermal loads in a variety of conditions. Parts of the engines, in particular, may be subjected to temperatures in excess of 1300° F. Due to its strength-to-weight ratio and its resistance to thermal stresses CMC materials are increasingly used in such parts. The joining of CMC and metallic components presents a problem, however, as CMCs in general have a much lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than metals. This results in thermal stresses at joints between the CMC and metallic components, which in turn could lead failure of the CMC component.
One component that is of particular concern is the engine exhaust nozzle. Generally, airplane engine exhaust nozzles have a fixed exit area. In the past the exhaust nozzle has been made of metal, but in the continuing effort to shed excess weight and enable higher gas temperatures, engine exhaust nozzles using CMC materials are now being investigated. Implementing a CMC nozzle faces several challenges. Nozzles are generally made in a single piece. As the engine temperature increases, the metallic engine interface expands at a greater rate than the CMC exhaust nozzle, resulting in thermal stresses that can cause failure of the CMC component. Thermal gradients through the wall thickness also induce high stresses in a continuous hoop (or ring) structure (as an exhaust nozzle) limiting the structural capability. Finally, although CMCs are more resistant to cracking than monolithic ceramics, they are still much more prone to damage than metallic structures.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a combined CMC/metallic nozzle structure that generally comprises a plurality of CMC staves attached to one or more metal support rings arranged axially. This structure will expand readily to minimize thermal stresses due to the differences in CTE between the CMC and metallic components and due to thermal gradients through the wall thickness. The nozzle structure of the present disclosure can easily be repaired if damaged. As applied to an engine exhaust nozzle such as for a jet engine, the support rings provide a load path between the staves as well as a base for attaching the exhaust nozzle to the metallic engine. The staves are fixed to the support rings with a small gap between adjacent staves to accommodate relative movement due to the difference in the CTE of the CMC and metallic components or due to thermal gradients through the wall. A seal is required between staves to substantially eliminate gas flow between staves. This may be accomplished by overlapping the staves, by applying a compliant seal material at the interface, or by a combination of these methods. The resulting nozzle structure is both more viable and less costly to manufacture when compared to a comparably sized single-piece, CMC structure.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an engine exhaust nozzle comprising a plurality of staves formed of a ceramic matrix composite material. One end of each of the plurality of staves is attached to the engine, and the plurality of staves are supported in the shape of a nozzle by at least one support ring spaced from the engine end of the staves. For very short staves, a single support ring may be sufficient.
The present disclosure also provides a method of ducting exhaust gases from an engine by attaching to an engine exhaust a plurality of nozzle staves having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) substantially lower than the engine exhaust, in the form of an exhaust duct, such that the exhaust duct has a plurality of ceramic staves having an upper and lower side by side such that the upper lip and lower lip overlap the surface of a adjacent stave, and forms a seal whereby to substantially eliminate aerodynamic flow between adjacent staves.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings wherein like numerals depict like parts, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of an engine exhaust nozzle according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is an illustration showing the engine exhaust nozzle of FIG. 1 in greater detail;
FIG. 3 is an illustration showing an alternative embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an illustration showing an individual stave according to one embodiment;
FIG. 5 is an illustration showing an individual stave according to an alternative embodiment;
FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a typical metallic engine exhaust nozzle on an engine mounted on an aircraft; and
FIG. 7 is an illustration showing yet another embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, various embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 1 , the engine exhaust nozzle 10 generally comprises a plurality of staves 20 , each individual stave being connected to two support rings, a forward support ring 30 and a second support ring 40 , positioned in parallel. The second support ring is shown in the middle, but it could be located anywhere, including at the aft end of the duct. For shorter staves, the second support ring may be omitted. The staves are formed of a fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material in either a solid laminate, sandwich structure or combination of solid laminate and sandwich structure. The rings support the staves and maintain the shape of the nozzle.
Referring to FIG. 2 , forward support ring 30 includes a fastener assembly 32 for attaching the nozzle to the engine, such as an outwardly extending flange 35 . The support rings are spaced from one another at a distance to maximize the structural support to the individual staves. The forward support ring should be made of a material that has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) similar to the material at the engine interface, which in most airplanes is metallic. A preferred material for the support rings is INCONEL®, due to its resilience at high temperatures.
At engine operating temperatures, the thermal expansion of the support rings and the engine interface creates a gap between each stave. The diameter of the engine nozzle, the exhaust temperature, and the materials used are factors on the size of the gap between each stave. For example, an engine having a 60 inch diameter nozzle, wherein the support rings are comprised of INCONEL® and the nozzle is comprised of 28 staves, a rise in temperature from 70° F. to 1300° F. causes thermal expansion of the support rings resulting in a gap of 0.040 inches between each stave. The number of staves should be chosen to balance the overall aerodynamic effect of these gaps, the ability of the seal to prevent leakage between the staves, the structural distribution of loads, and feasibility of manufacturing the individual staves.
FIG. 2 illustrates the exhaust nozzle of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with a stave omitted for illustrating a detailed view of the connection between the staves 20 and the support rings 30 , 40 . In this embodiment, the staves are attached to the outside of forward support ring 30 by one fixed fastener assembly 32 and one slotted fastener assembly 33 . The slotted fastener assembly 33 allows the stave to shift its position circumferentially relative to forward support ring 30 as the support ring expands. Forward support ring 30 further includes a fastener assembly for attaching the nozzle to the engine, such as an outwardly extending flange 35 having individual holes 36 which match corresponding holes on the engine body. The attachment may further be facilitated using bolts or other fastener assemblies capable of withstanding large loads at high temperatures. Outwardly extending flange 35 includes several notches 37 to reduce the overall weight of the nozzle.
Alternatively, the fastener assembly of the forward support ring may provided by an inwardly extending rim with holes corresponding to holes on the engine body. Other alternative configurations may exist, including but not limited to fastening the nozzle to the engine body by using fixed fastener assemblies 32 .
Second support ring 40 is fastened to the plurality of staves 20 using fixed fastener assemblies 42 . The second support ring is positioned parallel to forward support ring 30 at a distance selected to provide maximum structural support for the nozzle. To further increase the amount of stiffness provided by second support ring 40 , an outwardly extending rib 45 may be included. Where additional stiffness is necessary, the forward or second support ring may include multiple ribs or be constructed with a cross-section having a “C”, “I”, “J”, “U”, or “Z” shape.
Other arrangements of the support rings are also possible. For example, FIG. 3 shows an alternate configuration wherein the staves 120 are fastened to the outside of second support ring 140 . Second support ring 140 is attached by fastener assembly 142 and may include a rib to provide added stability. There may be applications where only one ring is needed, e.g. nozzles that are lightly loaded or relatively short.
FIG. 4 shows a detailed view of an individual stave. The individual staves making up a nozzle may be identical in geometry (as shown) or of two distinct geometries (male & female) that are alternated circumferentially. The individual staves have a circumferential curvature that matches shape of the support rings and, in turn, the engine body. The individual staves are also curved in the axial direction to form the desired aerodynamic shape of the nozzle. The staves may be manufactured as solid laminates, as a sandwich construction, or as a combination of solid laminate and sandwich construction to best optimize the structural stiffness and strength relative to the weight and provide acoustic attenuation where needed.
Where the support ring is located on an aerodynamic surface, the stave should include a slot in which the ring may be embedded. The slot width 24 should be wider than the support ring to prevent load transfer to the sides of the slot. Conversely, where aerodynamics is not affected the ring may be located against the stave without a slot.
As the support rings undergo thermal expansion, the staves will move relative to the slotted fastener assemblies 33 . The direction of movement will be about the circumference as shown by arrow 50 . To prevent further stresses on the staves due to thermal expansion, turbulence, or other phenomenon, the nozzle may be configured to allow slight rotation about fixed fastener assembly 42 .
FIG. 5 shows an individual stave according to an alternative embodiment, wherein multiple slotted fastener assemblies 133 are included to attach to the forward ring. This configuration may be useful in providing stability for wider staves. Each of the slotted fastener assemblies 133 allow some movement in a direction about the circumference as indicated by arrow 150 .
FIG. 6 illustrates a typical metallic engine exhaust nozzle assembled on a jet engine 200 on an airplane 202 .
The use of the stave and ring concept has several advantages over both metallic nozzle structures and monolithic ceramic structures. For example, if a single stave begins to crack, that crack will not propagate beyond the single stave. Further, if an individual stave is damaged for any reason, that individual stave can be replaced rather than the entire exhaust nozzle. Moreover, the use of individual staves instead of a single-piece construction CMC exhaust nozzle allows the individual staves to be prepared in smaller ovens than a CMC exhaust nozzle formed as a single piece, thus reducing the overall cost of the CMC component.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present device and process, particularly, and “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations and merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many different embodiments of the stave and ring CMC nozzle described herein may be designed and/or fabricated without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, one end 220 the staves 222 could be affixed directly to an engine component 224 , e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 7 , and supported in the shape of a nozzle by one or more rings 226 spaced from the engine ends of the staves. Also, additional rings may be included in the configuration to provide additional support. In addition, the stave and ring concept disclosed herein may be utilized for purposes other than airplane engines, such as for example, the exhaust nozzles of fixed turbines or other types of propulsion devices including land vehicles including trains, ships as well as rockets and other aerospace propulsion devices. All these and other such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. Therefore the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited except as indicated in the appended claims. | An engine exhaust nozzle comprises a plurality of CMC staves attached to one or more support rings arranged axially. The support rings provide a circumferential load path between the staves and for attaching the exhaust nozzle to the metallic engine components. The staves are fixed to the support rings with a spacing intended to accommodate for relative movement due to the difference in CTE for the CMC and metallic components and due to thermal gradients through the wall thickness. The resulting apparatus is lightweight, relieves the nozzle of thermal stresses, and is easier to manufacture and repair. | 5 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water structures for damming water courses, the controlling of water flow and the like, and, in particular, provides a low cost and easily constructed sleeve arrangement for linking and connecting together sections of water structure tubular sections into dams, breakwaters, and for sectioning off water containing areas for de-watering.
2. Prior Art
There is clearly a need for easily installable dam structures, particularly structures that are relatively inexpensive, non-permanent, reuseable and are durable. Such are also particularly desirable for controlling pollution problems resulting from oil or chemical spills, for flood control, and the like. Such dam structures are also useful, for example, for temporary damming operations such as may be involved in farming operations for de-watering fields, for use as temporary breakwaters, and the like.
It has been recognized in the past that fluid filled flexible dams and barriers can be used for retention of water or control of water flow and wave action. A number of U.S. patents that show various configurations of dams and barriers that can generally be considered temporary structures have been issued serving these and like functions. Such arrangements are shown generally, for example, in certain U.S. Patents to: Mesnager, U.S. Pat. No. 2,609,666; Mesnheger, U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,474; Imbertson, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,851; Renfro, U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,530; Tabor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,167; Hornbostel, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,568; Hepworth, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,098; Suga, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,540; Muramatsu, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,514; Tsuiji, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,774; Clem, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,788; Paoluccio, U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,201; Holmberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,585; Stevens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,520; and Brodersen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,821. The above show various dam and barrier configurations ranging from permanent to portable structures, including as shown in Stevens and Brodersen, a structure for encircling a chemical or oil spill. Additionally, a Swiss patent No. CH657,884 to Fure also shows a dam structure. A breakwater structure is shown in a U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,691, that includes a plurality of sand filled bags that are contained within an outer sleeve for serving as a barrier in an erosion control system.
Additional to the above cited art, the present inventor has applied for a U.S. patent in a "Method and Apparatus for Constructing Hydraulic Dams and the Like", filed Mar. 9, 1987, Ser. No. 07/023,693, that is still in prosecution, that teaches water structures for arrangement as dams and the like. The connecting sleeve of the present invention is intended for use with these water structures Neither the earlier invention of the present inventor nor the other cited patents that involve dam structures provide, as does the present invention, a connecting sleeve arrangement for joining water structure sections together end-to-end and in angled relationships to one another.
A number of the above cited patents involve inflatable envelopes as taught by the earlier application of the present inventor in a "Method and Apparatus for Construction of Hydraulic Dams and the Like", and some even provide anchor structures therewith. Such structures are suitable for a number of uses but they are restricted as they either require anchors or must be permanently installed Most require extensive site preparation and a number even require a concrete bottom and sidewalls in order to provide for support of the barrier, diminishing their use as temporary structures.
Distinct from the above cited art, both the dam structure of the earlier patent application of the present inventor and the connecting arrangement of the present invention for joining water structure sections together provide a low cost, easily constructed barrier that may be used with little or no site preparation that can function as a dam breakwater, water course, for use in field de-watering, and/or for many other purposes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a system and its use for joining of water filled structure sections in end-to-end or intersecting relationships for forming dams, breakwaters, and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connecting sleeve and plug arrangement for joining water structure sections that will, when a potentially damaging hydraulic force is applied, tend to break at that juncture releasing the hydraulic force before damage to the water structure sections can occur.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connecting sleeve that includes a water filled plug independent of the water structure sections.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a connecting sleeve arrangement for joining water structure sections whose height can be set to below the level of the water structure sections for providing a spillway, or the like, to pass a water flow thereover.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a connecting sleeve arrangement that is also useful for joining tubular water structure sections at an angle into another structure formed from other water structure sections.
Still another object of the present invention is t provide a connecting sleeve arrangement for joining water filled tubular water structure sections to one another, that is easy to both install and maintain, and can be installed with minimum to no site preparation.
The present invention is in connecting sleeve arrangements for joining tubular water structure sections into a dam, or like water containing structure. The tubular water structure sections are each at least a plurality of closed and water filled sleeves or bags contained within an outer bag or sleeve. The water filled bags once filed interacting to prohibit rolling or other displacing movement responsive to application of a hydraulic force thereagainst. So arranged, a dam made up of the water filled water structure sections is useful for providing a barrier to contain water.
The present invention is in a connecting sleeve arrangement for joining tubular water structure sections end-to-end into a dam, or to join them at intersecting angles to separate areas for de-watering, or the like. Each water structure section is an arrangement of a plurality of water filled sleeves that are closed at their ends and are themselves contained within an outer sleeve or envelope. The connecting sleeve of the present invention is for joining the water structure sections end-to-end or at angles into one another. Each connecting sleeve arrangement consists of an open sleeve with a water filled plug contained therein. The plug is either an arrangement of a single water filled close sleeve or bag or is plurality of closed water filled sleeves or bags that are contained in the open sleeve. The water weight of the plug and the abutting water structure sections holding the assembly in place. Which connecting open sleeve may be appropriately laterally center scored to provide for its breaking when a hydraulic force is applied thereto, as could be sufficient to damage the water structure sections The connecting sleeve plug can be filled with liquid to a level that is below the level of the adjacent water structure sections, presenting a lower profile. So arranged, the connecting sleeve arrangement will function as an overflow or spillway. Further, the connecting sleeve can be utilized to connect water structure sections at angles to one another, the one abutting and sealing against the other as for separating an area for de-watering.
The preferred connecting sleeve arrangement is an open sleeve that is formed from a material like that used to form the water structure sections. In practice a flexible polyethylene plastic tube manufactured by Armin Plastics, that has a range of wall thickness of four (4) to ten (10) millimeters has been used successfully for this application. The open sleeve may or may not be centrally laterally scored for providing breakaway and is preferably filled with one or more water filled closed sleeves or bags. The connecting sleeve arrangement of the present invention allows water structure sections to be joined together into longer sections than would be practical if only single water structure sections were used due to a potential for breakage or puncture of such single long structure. The connecting sleeve arrangement provides for ease of repair of an existing dam structure on a breach thereof, and allows for the construction of long dam or other water directing or containing structures.
The present invention is also directed to a method whereby a ground area is prepared to receive connected water structure sections that, prior to filling with water, are fitted through open ends of a connecting sleeve arrangement that contains a plug that will also be filled with water. The individual inner sleeves within the water structure sections are then filled, as is the connecting sleeve plug, the weight of the water in the water structure sections and plug resting on the bottom surface of which connecting sleeve anchoring it in place, with the water structure section ends abutting against the connecting sleeve plug, forming, essentially, a continuous section. Further, the method of the present invention involves a use of the connecting sleeve arrangement to join one end of a water structure section into the side of another water structure section. This arrangement involves fitting one end of the empty connecting sleeve containing a plug over an empty water structure section end and laying another empty water structure section across the other connecting sleeve arrangement end and then filling with water the respective water structure sections and the connecting sleeve plug. A number of such structures, spaced apart appropriately, each intersecting the first water structure section can be used for separating an area into segments for dewatering. The method of the present invention teaches the arranging of the water structure sections with connecting sleeves that are then water filled to erect an appropriate water containing structure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings which illustrate that which is presently regarded as the best mode for carrying out the invention:
FIG. 1 is a frontal elevation view of a dam formed from water structure sections connected end-to-end across a flow channel;
FIG. 2 is a frontal elevation view showing the flow channel of FIG. 1, as including a double layer of water filled water structure sections arranged thereacross as a dam;
FIG. 3 is an end sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an end sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a frontal elevation view of the water structure sections joined end-to-end by a connecting sleeve arrangement of the present invention, the structure arranged across a flow channel;
FIG. 6 is a view like that of FIG. 5, except that the connecting sleeve arrangement that joins the ends of the water structure sections is shown to be filled to a lesser height than the adjacent water structure sections leaving a center flow channel thereacross;
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a section portion of the dam of FIG. 5, with the connecting sleeve shown as including a central lateral scoring therearound for functioning as a breakaway collar and includes, as shown, in broken lines, a pair of internal plugs abutting against ends of water filled inner sleeves of the water structure sections;
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the connecting sleeve of FIG. 7, showing the water structure sections inner sleeves formed by folding the ends thereof under each inner sleeve, with the connecting sleeve shown as being stretched, illustrating the water structure sections as having spread apart due to a hydraulic force applied thereto;
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the connecting sleeve arrangement of FIGS. 5 through 8, showing one sleeve end as having received the end of an abutting water structure section fitted therein, the connecting sleeve arrangement shown as including two water filled plugs that have been filled through filler spouts, another water structure section shown resting on the connecting sleeve other end, the respective water structure sections forming right angles to one another;
FIG. 10 is a view of two abutting water structure sections of FIG. 9, arranged as parallel individual water barriers with a level of water shown held therebetween as for separating a flooded area for de-watering;
FIG. 11 shows a top plan view of the connecting sleeve arrangement coupling ends of water structure sections, which connecting sleeve, in this embodiment, includes as a plug, a single closed sleeve or bag that is water filled to butt against the ends of the filled water structure sections inner sleeves, and includes a center filler spout for passing water into that plug; and
FIG. 12 shows a side elevation view of the connecting sleeve arrangement of FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2 show water structure sections 10 that are arranged as dams 11 across a water flow channel 12. The water structure section 10 forming the dam 11 of FIG. 1, involves a single outer sleeve 13 that is shown in cross-section in FIG. 3, as containing, in side-by-side relationship inner sleeves 14 and 15. The inner sleeves 14 and 15 are each shown as filled with a liquid that should be understood to be water. The dam 11 is shown as holding back a head of water 16. In FIG. 1, the water structure section 10 is anchored at its ends 17a and 17b to the water flow channel sides, which ends are shown as filler spouts. While a water structure consisting of an outer sleeve 13 containing only two water filled inner sleeves 14 and 15 is shown, it should be understood that more than two inner sleeves, each water filled, and stacked, as for example into a pyramid shape, may be arranged within the single outer sleeve as a water structure section 10.
FIG. 2 shows separate water structure sections 10 arranged in side-by-side and in layers as a two tiered dam 11. The dam 11 of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 4, holding back the head of water 16. A top water structure section 10 of the dam 11 of FIG. 4, is shown as having had the sleeve ends folded thereunder, the inner sleeves to be filled with water through filler spout 18.
FIG. 4 shows a side elevation sectional view of the water structure sections 10 of the dam 11 of FIG. 2, as including a pair of inner sleeves 14 and 15, respectively, that are each filled with water and are contained in side-by-side relationship, within an outer sleeve 13. Though, of course, more than two such water filled inner sleeves can be utilized contained within the outer sleeve 13, that can be single, double or even triple layered, can be arranged as a water structure section 10 within the scope of this disclosure. The liquid movement within the respective filled inner sleeves 14 and 15 tends to fill the available space, the weight of the filled inner sleeves preventing rolling or other movement even when a hydraulic force is applied thereagainst, as illustrated as water levels 16 in FIGS. 3 and 5. The water structure section 10 inner sleeves 14 and 15 may also be double or triple layered and are preferably formed by folding sleeve ends under themselves, on one or both ends, closing the sleeve before water is introduced therein. Which water introduction expands the inner sleeves 14 and 15 into a tight filling engagement with the inside wall of the outer sleeve 13.
Essentially the water structure section 10, as described above, is set out in the aforementioned earlier patent application Ser. No. 07/023,693, filed Mar. 9, 1987, of the present inventor. Which water structure section 10 can be used to form a number of liquid containing structures additional to the dams 11 of FIGS. 1 through 4. The present invention recognizes the versatility of the water structure section for creating barriers and is directed to providing sleeve coupling arrangements for joining water structure sections together into different water containing structures.
FIGS. 5 and 6, show a first embodiment of a connecting sleeve arrangement 21 shown joining water structure sections 20 in end-to-end relationship. FIG. 5 shows two water structure sections 20 arranged across the same flow channel 12, that was illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Which water structure sections 20 are preferably like those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It should, however, be understood that the water structure sections 20 may further include, in addition to the side-by-side arrangement of filled inner sleeves 14 and 15, additional filled sleeves stacked within the single outer sleeve 13. For purposes of this discussion, however, the water structure sections are shown as a pair of water filled inner sleeves having closed ends and contained within and essentially filling outer sleeve 13. In practice, a sleeve or tube manufactured from a flexible polyethylene plastic material, manufactured by Armin Plastics, having a range of wall thickness of four (4) to ten (10) millimeters, of appropriate diameter has been utilized for forming the inner and outer sleeves, and the connecting sleeve and plug of the invention as described herein below, which tube or sleeve may be doubled or tripled, one tube or sleeve fitted within the other, effectively doubling or tripling wall thickness, within the scope of this disclosure.
FIG. 5 shows a dam formed of water structure sections 20 that are joined end-to-end utilizing connecting sleeve 21. The water structure section ends 20a, are shown in broken lines, abutting against a plug arranged within which connecting sleeve. Also, shown are filler spouts 22 that extend through the sleeve 21 for filling the inner sleeves of water structures 20. While not shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it should be understood, that the connecting sleeve 21 preferably includes one or more water filled plugs, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 12, that are filled through filler spouts, as set out hereinbelow.
FIG. 6 shows the dam arrangement of FIG. 5 except that the connecting sleeve 21 is shown as having been underfilled leaving a depression at 21a for acting as a spillway, or the like, allowing a water flow thereover.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show an enlarged sectional view of the water structure sections 20 coupled at their ends 20a by connecting sleeve 21. It should be understood that connecting sleeve 21 is preferably a sleeve formed of a material like that of the outer sleeve 13 of the water structure sections, and also may be double or triple layered. The water structure section ends each contact ends of a pair of water filled plugs 24 and 25 that are contained within the connecting sleeve 21. Water structure sections 20 of this embodiment are preferably like the water structure section 10 shown in FIG. 3, each consisting of side-by-side inner sleeves 14 and 15 contained within an outer sleeve 13, which inner sleeves 14 and 15 include filler spouts 22 that, as shown in FIGS. 5 through 8, extend through the sleeve 21 for filling with water. Also, filler spouts 26 and 27 are shown fitted through the connecting sleeve 21 for filling plugs 24 and 25 with water. It should be obvious, that the filler spouts 22 can be located along the inner sleeves or at the opposite inner sleeve ends within the scope of this disclosure.
The connecting sleeve 21, is shown as having been laterally scored at 23, this scoring indicates that the sleeve has been weakened thereat to separate when a hydraulic pressure is applied thereto of sufficient force to damage the water structure sections 20. Such hydraulic force would break or tear the connecting sleeve 21, releasing the plug or plugs therefrom opening the water containing structure. Such splitting would be in lieu of damage to the water structure sections. Accordingly, the connecting sleeve 21, additional to functioning as a coupling, acts as a safety release arrangement should a potentially damaging hydraulic force be applied thereto.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show another application of water structure sections and connecting sleeve 21 of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 9, a water structure section 31 is connected at its end 31a into abutting engagement, with another water structure section 30. To provide this interconnection, one end of the connecting sleeve 21, prior to filling, receives the water structure section end 31a therein, with the other connecting sleeve end arranged beneath the water structure section 30. So arranged, on filling of the respective water structures 30 and 31 and connecting sleeve plugs, the connecting sleeve 21 will be locked in place under water structure section 30. The water structure section 31 end 31a is thereby maintained in abutting relationship to the side of water structure section 30. Shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a right angle is formed between the respective water structure sections 30 and 31, though it should be understood, the angle of intersection could be other than a right angle within the scope of this disclosure.
Similar to the water structure section connection, as described hereinabove with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8, the connecting sleeve 21 fitted to the end of water structure section 31, includes the described individual sleeves 14 and 15 that are filled through the filler spouts 22, that are then tied off or otherwise secured to retain water. Should a hydraulic force be applied against the water structure sections 30 or 31, as could damage one or both, the connecting sleeve 21 is preferably scored as described, or otherwise arranged to shear before damage occurs to the water structure sections FIG. 10 shows an example of a configuration of a water structure section 30, with spaced apart parallel water structure sections 31 intersecting the sides thereof. This configuration is useful for isolating a water filled area, holding back water on either side thereof for dewatering, or the like.
While the pair of plugs 24 and 25 are preferably included within connecting sleeve 21, as set out above, the connecting sleeve could consist in some applications, of the open sleeve only with the ends of the individual water structure sections expanding therein against one another. However, to provide a dam structure that exhibits essentially a uniform water retaining capability thereacross, with individual water structure sections joined in end-to-end relationship, it is required that a plug of at least one water filled closed sleeve or bag be included within the connecting sleeve 21.
Hereinabove, the connecting sleeve 21 is shown as including a pair of plugs 24 and 25 each filled through filler spouts 26 and 27, respectively. FIGS. 11 and 12 show another plug arrangement. FIG. 11 shows two water structure sections 40, each having ends 40a, that are connected by connecting sleeve 21. Which connecting sleeve 21, includes, as a plug, a single closed compartment 45 that is filled with water through a filler spout 46. With the water structure section ends 40a fitted within the connecting sleeve 21, both of the water structure section internal sleeves 14 and 15, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, can be filled through the respective filler spouts 22, with the connecting sleeve 21 plug 45 filled through filler spout 46. All of which filler spouts are shown as extended through the connecting sleeve 21, illustrated best in FIG. 11. In practice, to form the plug 45 the ends 45a of an open sleeve can be folded thereunder, forming a closed compartment, as shown in FIG. 12. With the arrangement of the plug ends 45a, respectively folded under the sleeve body, and by then filling that sleeve with water, through the filler spout 46, the weight of that water will seal off the sleeve ends 45a forming the plug 45.
The arrangement of the present invention is, as set out in the above described, in a connecting sleeve and plug or plugs, for connecting water structure sections to form water containing structure. As described, the connecting sleeve 21 open sleeve can be centrally scored or otherwise weakened, as described to split on application of hydraulic force of sufficient magnitude as could damage the water structure sections.
Hereinabove been set out preferred configurations of water structure sections 10 and connecting sleeves 21 for joining the described water structure sections together. To form the water structure sections, an open tube or sleeve that is to become the outer sleeve 13, is rolled out and receives the pair of inner sleeves 14 and 15 all of which may be double or triple layered for strength, as required The inner sleeves 14 and 15 are initially opened therethrough and their ends are either closed by folding them underneath the sleeve, prior to water being introduced therein, or one or both of the sleeve ends are bunched together into filler spouts. Accordingly, the water structure sections can be conveniently formed in the field by selecting tubes or sleeves of appropriate diameter to serve as the respective outer sleeve 13 and inner sleeves 14 and 15 and forming the inner sleeves into the closed sleeves 14 and 15. Thereafter, the inner sleeves are filled with water and expand into close fitting engagement with the inside of which outer sleeve 13. Which filling can be through a bunched sleeve end or through a separately installed filler spout like that shown at 22 in FIGS. 7 and 8. In the laying out for end-to-end coupling of the water structure sections, the water structure section ends are individually fitted into ends of the connecting sleeves 21. Which connecting sleeves can be formed of the same material as are the water structure sections inner and outer sleeves 14, 15 and 13, respectively. Plugs are preferably arranged in the connecting sleeves to separate the water structure end as by folding ends of an open sleeve into a bag for filling with water when the water structure sections inner sleeves are filled. The connecting sleeve 21 as described, either includes a double sleeve 24 and 25, as the plug or is a single sleeve plug 45. The water structure section inner sleeves and the connecting sleeve plug, when filled with water, both expand against the inner wall of the outer sleeve 13 and connecting sleeve 21, respectively and against one another, providing a continuous water filled barrier.
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations are possible within the scope of this disclosure without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims and reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention. | A coupling sleeve arrangement and method for joining or interconnecting water structure sections into a dam or other water or liquid containing barrier where each water structure section consists of at least two closed water filled inner sleeves or bags that are contained within an outer sleeve. A coupling sleeve of the invention is for joining the water structure sections together and is an open outer sleeve that contains a water filled plug. The coupling sleeve, in one configuration and prior to water filling, receives ends of water structure sections that are fitted therein, abutting the connecting sleeve plug, which inner sleeves and plug are then filled with water through filler spouts that are then closed. Alternatively, to intersect one water structure section with another, prior to filling, a water structure section end is fitted into an end of the coupling sleeve abutting the plug, and a another empty water structure section is laid over the other coupling sleeve end and the respective inner sleeves and plugs are water filled and expand the inner sleeves and the plug, the end of the connecting sleeve plug fitting tightly against the side of the other water structure section. | 4 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 61/672,694 filed Jul. 17, 2012, the contents all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is in the field of plugs, and in particular, in the field of configurable plugs to stop or slow the flow of a fluid or gas or flowable material either inward or outward through an opening.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Aspects of the present invention are directed to a tapered (and additional shapes as later described) plug. The plug has a bottom base having a geometrical shape. In some embodiments the base has a well-defined geometrical shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, and the like. In other embodiments, the shape of the base is not a regular, well-defined shape. In some embodiments, the plug comes to a point at the top, with a shape analogous to a cone or an Egyptian pyramid, while in other embodiments, the top of the plug is flat, with a shape analogous to a Mayan pyramid. In some embodiments, the plug has a smooth or nearly smooth surface, made of an easily compressible or semi-compressible material. It is for use in stopping or slowing the flow of a fluid or gas or other flowable material (such as but not limited to a powder) through an opening (either coming in or going out, for example, with reference to an interior of a vessel, through an opening as the case may be) that the plug is inserted into.
[0004] In some embodiments the plug is made of a compressible material such as foam (either open or closed cell) of a certain density and compressibility and slow to fast rebound rate, or a pliable material such as a plastic (or multi-layered plastic filled with a softer material or fluid) or a semi-compressible material such as rubber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0005] FIG. 1 : Shows the 3-segmented plug, side and top view. The cone defining the plug's outer shape in some embodiments has an apex angle of 90 degrees, in other embodiments as little as 1 degree, and between these two extremes (as shown in this FIG. 1 ) in still other embodiments. The plug in some embodiments is pointed and in other embodiments is truncated and in still other embodiments is blunt-tipped despite how it is depicted in this and other figures. Note that in some embodiments the apex of the cone is narrow and the base angle (angle of the side compared to the plane of the base) approaches 90 degrees and the degree of truncation such that the truncated top of the plug is very close to the same diameter as the base of the plug. Though this and other figures show an embodiment of a right circular cone (where right means that the axis passes through the centre of the base suitably defined at right angles to its plane, and circular means that the base is a circle) with a circular cross-section, other embodiments utilize an ellipse, a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, and the like as their cross-sections, and still other embodiments use an oblique cone (in which the axis does not pass perpendicularly through the centre of the base) and other embodiments have sides that are not straight but are curved outward when viewed in cross-section and curved inward in still other embodiments. Other embodiments of the plug are wedge-shaped with an edge rather than a point at the top similar to an axe head. The top edge is sharp in some embodiments and flat or rounded in other embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 2 : Shows the plug comprising multiple ridges most of them being somewhat concentric.
[0007] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b: Cross-sectional views of the stepped rings or ridges of the plug. The rings or ridges have angular well-defined edges (such as a single edge, and also a flat edge presented by square, rectangular, and polygonal cross-section ridges) in some embodiments as shown in these figures and in other embodiments have rounded edges (such as circular, elliptical, and parabolic ridges, and the like.) Similarly the intervening valleys/channels have angular bottoms (such as a v-shaped bottom, and also a flat bottom presented by a square, rectangular, and polygonal in cross-section valley/channel) in some embodiments as shown in this figure and have rounded bottoms (such as circular, elliptical, parabolic, and the like) in other embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 4 : Cross-sectional view, magnified of the plug. Plug in some embodiments is pointed and in other embodiments is truncated and in still other embodiments is blunt-tipped despite how it is drawn here.
[0009] FIG. 5 : Side view of broken and/or alternated ridges of the plug.
[0010] FIG. 6 : Side and top view of the surface of the plug with a spiked or bumped design.
[0011] FIG. 7 : Cross-sectional view of the plug indicating a punt or depression added to the bottom.
[0012] FIG. 8 : Cross-sectional view of the plug with the addition of an optional base flange.
[0013] FIG. 9 : View of the plug with a lanyard in the center of the base. The addition of a base flange is optional.
[0014] FIG. 10 : Side view of the plug the an elliptical cylinder where the sides are parallel and the top and bottom edge diameters are square and in another embodiment are rounded. A cylinder is simply a cone whose apex is at infinity. Intuitively, if one keeps the base fixed and takes the limit as the apex goes to infinity, one obtains a cylinder, the angle of the side increasing, in the limit forming a right angle. In some embodiments the base has a well-defined geometrical shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, and the like despite how it is depicted in this and other figures. In other embodiments, the shape of the base is not a regular, well-defined shape.
[0015] FIG. 11 : Side and top view of the plug with a widened and flattened head that is compressed or folded, either by hand or with the aid of a tool and inserted into or through an opening. Figure is not necessarily proportional and head portion in some embodiments is limited to a narrow height and in other embodiments is expanded to encompass a majority of the height of the entire plug.
[0016] FIG. 12 : Side and top view of the plug with a conical hollow head that is compressed or folded when needed and inserted into or through an opening. Figure is not necessarily proportional and head portion in some embodiments is limited to a narrow height and in other embodiments is expanded to encompass a majority of the height of the entire plug.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] The basic material and manufacturing method of some embodiments of the plug disclosed herein are very similar to those described in the U.S. patent application entitled “Emergency Repair Plug To Slow Down Water Inflow Through An Opening” (US Patent Application No: 2010/0132,605, the relevant sections of which, directed to the manufacture and materials, are incorporated by reference herein. However there are substantial differences disclosed below including sectioning elements, configurability, surface geometry, surface coating, different geometries for the base, different geometries for the tip or head of the plug, different sizes, and different materials.
[0018] The plug is segmented longitudinally (parallel to the central axis) into two to eight sections or more (in some ways similar to an orange or a banana.) See FIG. 1 . Although the figure shows a 3-segmented plug, the skilled artisan will know that the plug can have many different segments and that the disclosure is not limited to the single embodiment shown in the figure. The skilled artisan will also know that the plug can be of considerably different sizes ranging from under six inches (6″) in height and under one inch (1″) in base diameter to over three feet (3′) in height and over two feet (2′) in base diameter and that the disclosure is not limited to a specific size.
[0019] The segmentation is achieved by sectioning elements including grooves or channels (molded into the plug as it is created), slices (either continuous or in a broken series, cut in after molding), or a series of perforations (molded in or cut in). In some embodiments the grooves or channels are produced by raised elements such as fins or vanes protruding into the interior surface of the plug molds. As the plug material sets within the mold these elements leave behind an impression on the plug surface and deeper into the interior of the molded plug equal to the dimensions of these fins or vanes. In other embodiments slices are cut on the surface and as deep into the plug as desired after the plug is removed from the mold. These slices are in continuous or in broken series, and are cut in after molding by means of a conventional knife under pressure, rotary blades, or stamping blades entering the plug either longitudinally or laterally from the side. In some embodiments the sectioning elements are single or a series of perforations. These are molded in by means of pins or posts protruding into the interior surface of the plug molds. In other embodiments the perforations are punched into the surface and as deep into the plug as desired after the plug is removed from the mold. These perforations are in continuous or broken series, and are punched in after molding by means of needles or teeth under pressure, rotary drills, or multiple small blades entering the plug either longitudinally or laterally from the side. The skilled artisan will know that there are many different methods to producing these sectioning elements and that the disclosure is not limited to the several embodiments explained above. In some embodiments, the plug is first manufactured in the form of the slices, but then the slices are attached together by means of a fastening device, such as glue, pins, etc., to form the plug.
[0020] These sectioning elements create intentional weak points in the plug material that facilitate separation and tearing along selected dimensions. In some embodiments, a tear is started at a single point of a sectioning element and then further separation and tearing is directed by the groove/channel/cut/perforation. In other embodiments, a tear is started at one end of the plug by pulling in opposite directions across the end of the sectioning element. In still other embodiments, a tear is started at the midpoint or at any point along the groove/channel/cut/perforation by forcing a finger or tool into the sectioning element, and even by pulling in opposite directions across the midpoint, and then continuing this tear in the direction facilitated by the groove/channel/cut/perforation. In some embodiments these sectioning elements are grooves or channels, from 1/16″ deep from the outer surface of the plug to the entire depth of the material as measured from the surface to the central axis, and all the way past the central axis in the case of perforations. In addition to directing the tearing and separation at the outer surface of the plug, these grooves/channels also allow this to occur in three dimensions within the outer surface of the plug, conceptually similar to how the structure of an orange allows it to be segmented in half or in thirds or into many sections. This segmentation allows easier, faster, and more precise tearing of the plug(s) without tools into sections and allows the user to fashion the plug(s) into better shapes for stopping the flow through the particular opening they encounter. For example the shape of a single plug is readily altered by removing section(s) and thereby reducing the plug's girth or diameter and allowing it to fit better into an opening. In some embodiments, a removed section is also used by itself to better fill an opening, such as a longer or narrower opening or crack. In further embodiments, several removed sections are combined to fill a larger opening, such as laying one plug or section against the other for one configuration and reversing one section end-for-end with other sections for another configuration. Multiple plugs are also readily combinable in whole or in part, such as an entire plug plus section(s) of another used together in an even larger opening.
[0021] Due to the sectioning elements (groove, slice, or perforation) a wide variety of shapes are created from single or multiple plugs, by hand without tools. This enables separating or tearing plug(s) more precisely and more easily and faster than products currently on the market such as TruPlug (US Patent Application No: 2010/0132,605) that do not have sectioning, and this in turn enables the user to produce a better fit for a variety of opening shapes and sizes including round or irregular openings and also for fitting the ends of or breaches in pipes and round-to-oval lines. This sectioning ability also allows for better and easier insertion than currently available products into the opening to be blocked, and greater holding power against the liquid or gas or flowable material.
[0022] Independent of the sectioning, in some embodiments the smooth to nearly smooth surface of the plug is modified to be rough or irregular, such as a sharkskin or sandpaper-like surface, achieved by texturizing the interior of the mold or selecting a coating material that crinkles or puckers on its own after the plug is demolded or post molding processing such as sand/bead blasting or applying a reactive component that reacts with the first coating. In other embodiments a post molding coating consisting of a texturizer (such as sand or plastic granules) and a binder (such as polyurethane or vinyl) is applied (by brush or spray or dipping) to provide the desired texture. Also in some embodiments higher-relief shapes are added, such as embedded cubes or gravel-like texture, and such additions are molded-in (created by the design of the mold cavity) and in other embodiments achieved by adding in separate material(s) at the surface while molding or by adding separate materials into the base plug material that migrate to the plug outer surface during the molding process and in other embodiments by adhering or embedding the separate material to the outside of the plug after molding by applying an adhesive coating to the plug and then dusting on or rolling the plug in a bed of the separate material (like sand on sandpaper.) The skilled artisan will also know that there are many different methods for modifying molded surfaces and that the disclosure is not limited to a specific method.
[0023] In some embodiments the plug is made of an impermeable (such as solid rubber and closed cell foam) or permeable (such as open cell foam) material. Permeability is defined with respect to the particular use of the plug. For example, a particular material may be impermeable to liquids but permeable to gases. In general, an “impermeable” material is a material that cuts down the flow of a fluid (whether gas or liquid, depending on the use) by 95% as compared to when the material is not present. Suitable open cell and closed cell foams include Polyurethane (from reaction between a diisocyanate, either aromatic or aliphatic types, and a polyol, typically a polypropylene glycol or polyester polyol, in the presence of catalysts and materials for controlling the cell structure), polyester (by simultaneously cross-linking an unsaturated polyester resin and generating carbon dioxide as a blowing agent), polyether, polyvinyl, polystyrene, Ethafoam, and memory foam (viscoelastic), Suitable solid synthetic rubber and synthetic rubber foams include polyisoprene, polychloroprene/neoprene, polybutadiene/buna, chloro isobutylene isoprene/butyl, chlorosulphonated polyethylene/hypalon, polysiloxane/silicone rubber. Suitable soft plastics include plastisol, alumisol, highly plasticized PVC with phthalates. The foregoing are examples of materials for various embodiments and do not limit the scope of the invention.
[0024] When made of a permeable material the sectioning also allows for better (compared to existing products referenced above), faster, and more reliable infiltration of the fluid or gas into the interior of the plug. This is achieved because the sectioning elements penetrate the outer surface of the plug and increases the speed and extent of absorption and permeation into the interior of the plug. This in turn accelerates the equalization of the internal pressure of the foam to the external pressure of the fluid or gas and thereby allowing greater and/or faster expansion of the plug material itself and producing increased holding power and sealing efficiency of the plug inhibiting flow through the opening.
[0025] Independent of the sectioning or material, in some embodiments the plug described above also has a surface with a ringed or ridged design. See FIG. 2 . This comprises multiple ridges most of them being somewhat concentric. The spacing of these ridges is variable and generally close together from approximately 1/16″ to over ¾″ ridge-to-ridge for a plug of approximately 9″ height. For larger plugs the lower spacing limit stays the same and the upper limit scales proportionally to the plug height.
[0026] Independent of size and location of the ridges, in some embodiments the ridges are stepped or toothed or barbed depending on the degree of undercut (below each ridge as the plug stands on its base) or rounded, square, rectangular or polygonal. See FIGS. 3 a and 3 b. The stepped surface is where the ridge has a vertical to slanted-inward orientation (12:00 to 1:00 in a clock dial or more) or where the angle “B” is equal to or less than the slope of the taper angle “A” and there is no undercut. See FIG. 4 . The toothed surface is where the ridge has a vertical to slanted-outward orientation (12:00 to 9:00) or where the angle “B” is greater than the angle “A” but less than or equal to Angle “A” plus 90 degrees and there still is no undercut. A barbed surface is where the ridge has horizontal orientation or undercut at the bottom edge (9:00 to 7:00) or where angle “B” is greater than angle “A” plus 90 degrees.
[0027] In some embodiments the ridges are broken or alternated or random around the plug circumference. See FIG. 5 . The ridges in some embodiments are placed in a more random pattern and in other embodiments are narrowed laterally to become more like individual teeth than ridges.
[0028] Independent of the sectioning or material of the plug described above, some embodiments have a surface with a spiked or bumped design. See FIG. 6 . This comprises a design of many such bumps or spikes in a pattern on the plug surface to allow each to contact the edge or interior of an opening, depending on the opening's shape and size. The height of the spikes/bumps varies from less than 0.020 (or shark skin like) to over 0.375 and diameter of less than 0.010″ to over 0.375″ for a plug of approximately 9″ height. For larger plugs the lower measurement limit stays the same and the upper limit scales proportionally to the plug height. The ends of the spikes or bumps in various embodiments are rounded or pointed or flat.
[0029] Independent of shape or surface design, the surface of the above plugs certain embodiments are coated with sticky/high coefficient of friction material such as soft vinyl. Such material tends to adhere to the edges or interior surface of the opening to be plugged and thereby provides increased holding power in the opening, and particularly in an opening with smooth sides where the sticky plug surface coating adheres such as a pipe. Other embodiments are uncoated meaning that the core of the plug is directly exposed to the fluid/gas/flowable material. This direct exposure increases the speed and extent of absorption and permeation into the interior of the plug. This in turn accelerates equalizing the internal pressure of the foam to the external pressure of the fluid or gas and thereby allowing greater and/or faster expansion of the plug material itself and producing increased holding power and sealing efficiency of the plug inhibiting flow through the opening.
[0030] Independent of plug design and surface and material, in some embodiments a punt or depression is added to the bottom. See FIG. 7 . In various embodiments this depression is of any shape such as conical, rounded, and a more geometric shape. See FIG. 8 . This punt has multiple purposes and provides multiple benefits such as facilitating tearing, making it easier to handle and insert, and enabling maximum base sizes to plug effectively. The punt facilitates tearing the plug by hand without tools by enabling the user to grasp the edges at the base from both sides (i.e. outside surface and inside surface) more firmly and to focus their effort on a specific groove/channel/cut/perforation in that area and then continue that tearing along segment lines or otherwise. The inclusion of a punt also allows the user to firmly grasp the base edge by allowing simultaneous gripping/pinching of the outside surface and inside surface with one hand (as compared to having to span the entire width of the base when there is no punt) which in turn makes it easier to manipulate and control the plug while inserting it or removing it from an opening. The punt also allows the base of the plug to be more easily compressed or collapsed or folded because compressible material is absent and the base is somewhat hollow. This in turn facilitates inserting a larger base of maximum diameter than would otherwise be possible into an opening or pipe.
[0031] Because the material absent from a punt allows the user to make the base smaller than would otherwise be possible, this type of collapsible or easily compressible base also facilitates inserting the plug base-first into or through a given size opening and thereafter allowing the base to expand and flare out either within or on the opposite side of an opening from where it is inserted. For example this is useful in stopping or slowing the flow coming from the opposite side of an opening, such as a hole in a tank when applied from outside the tank. In some embodiments the depth of the punt or depression is shallow, while in other embodiments the punt or depression is deep. In some embodiments, the punt or depression comprises a hollow center that extends almost up to the top or tip of the plug. The punt or depression in these embodiments is independent of, or is combined with, a flange at the base. See FIG. 8 .
[0032] Independent of plug design, material, and surface, in some embodiments the plug comprises a lanyard. See FIG. 9 . Though the figure shows the lanyard in the center of the base, in various embodiments it is usefully installed at the edge of the base, on the side, or at the tip of the plug. The purpose of the lanyard is to facilitate storage of the plug at a chosen location and to also ensure that a lanyard is available to tie the plug in place if necessary when inserted into an opening. The lanyard is made of any material. In some embodiments, the lanyard is molded into the plug, while in other embodiments it is inserted with a means to keep it in place, such as an anchoring barb. The strength of the installation in various embodiments is adjusted to facilitate storage and allow pull-out when the plug is taken for emergency use, or more securely ensure the lanyard is still attached for securing it in the opening when used.
[0033] Another embodiment of the plug is a round and another embodiment is an elliptical cylinder where the sides are parallel and the top and bottom edge diameters are square and in another embodiment are rounded. See FIG. 10 . The surface treatment of the plug and the material it is made of and the segmentation are as described above.
[0034] Another embodiment of the plug is with a widened and flattened head that is compressed or folded, either by hand or with the aid of a tool and inserted into or through an opening. See FIG. 11 . The flattened head is rounded with a flat underside (as in sample drawing) in one embodiment, or with a faceted top or an oblate conical top and a flat underside, or with a flat top and a rounded or faceted or oblate conical underside. The head is compressed or folded when needed and, when inserted into the opening, deploys/expands on the other side of the opening where the flow is coming from or within a lengthier opening such as inside a pipe of any shape. This gives the head of the plug increased holding power through increased friction in the opening and through an overlap or lock with the inside edge of the opening, thereby resisting the flowing material and pressure attempting to bypass or expel the plug. In some embodiments the head portion is limited to a narrow height and in other embodiments is expanded to encompass a majority of the height of the entire plug. The plug is inserted into the opening either base first or head first. In some embodiments the plug design uses a base identical or similar to the head described in this paragraph above. Although the figure shows a flattened head of a given proportion, the skilled artisan will know that the plug head can have different dimensions and that the disclosure is not limited to the single embodiment shown in the figure.
[0035] Another embodiment of the plug is with a conical hollow head that is compressed or folded when needed and inserted into or through an opening. See FIG. 12 . This functions similarly to the flattened head embodiment above. In some embodiments the conical head uses a punt/depression in the head, and in other embodiments a hollow center making the head conceptually similar to a coffee cup-type or flower pot-type shape. In some embodiments the head portion is limited to a narrow height and in other embodiments is expanded to encompass a majority if the height of the entire plug. The plug is inserted into the opening either base first or head first. In some embodiments the plug uses a base identical or similar to the head described in this paragraph above. Although the figure shows a conical hollow head of a given proportion, the skilled artisan will know that the plug head can have different dimensions and that the disclosure is not limited to the single embodiment shown in the figure.
[0036] Independent of sectioning elements, configurability, surface geometry, surface coating, different geometries for the base, different geometries for the tip or head of the plug, and different sizes, in some embodiments the plug utilizes different materials. Those described in the U.S. patent application entitled “Emergency Repair Plug To Slow Down Water Inflow Through An Opening” (US Patent Application No: 2010/0132,605) are limited to polyether and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate or MDI. Some embodiments of the plug disclosed herein use aromatic isocyanates such as but not limited to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and other embodiments use aliphatic isocyanates such as hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) or isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI). Separate from the different isocyanates, various embodiments of the plug disclosed herein use a class of polyethers, such as but not limited to phenyl ether polymers, that contain aromatic cycles in their main chain, one such embodiment using polyphenyl ether (PPE) and another embodiment using poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). To create a foam, blowing agents such as but not limited to water is used in one embodiment and certain halocarbons such as HFC-245fa (1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane) in other embodiments, and hydrocarbons such as n-pentane is incorporated into still other embodiments. In some embodiments the foam cell structure is controlled by addition of surfactants to modify the characteristics of the polymer during the foaming process. In other embodiments temperature of the mold is used to control the foam cell structure. The skilled artisan will also know that the plug can be of considerably different formulations and that the disclosure is not limited to a specific formulation.
[0037] In the embodiments where the plug is made of a compressible material such as foam the density of this foam is controlled to produce the desired characteristics. Light density is defined to fall in the range of 1 to 4 pounds per cubic foot (Lb/CuFt) range, medium density in the greater than 4 to 12 Lb/CuFt range, and high density in the greater than 12 Lb/CuFt range. Compressible material, (such as but not limited to foams) is defined as that which can be compressed by 10% up to 90% of its initial volume by hand without tools and semi-compressible material, (such as but not limited to solid or near-solid rubber, is defined as that which can be compressed by less than 10% of its initial volume by hand without tools. The skilled artisan will also know that the plug can be of considerably different densities and compressibilities and that the disclosure is not limited to a specific density or compressibility. | Aspects of the present invention are directed to a tapered plug. The plug has a bottom base having a geometrical shape. In some embodiments the base has a well-defined geometrical shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a square, a rectangle, a rhombus, and the like. In other embodiments, the shape of the base is not a regular, well-defined shape. In some embodiments, the plug comes to a point at the top, with a shape analogous to a cone, while in other embodiments, the top of the plug is flat. In some embodiments, the plug has a smooth or nearly smooth surface, made of an easily compressible or semi-compressible material. It is for use in stopping or slowing the flow of a fluid or gas or other flowable material through an opening that the plug is inserted into. | 1 |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to portable supports for supporting persons or objects above the ground, a floor, a stage or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable riser that can be moved and re-shaped quickly, quietly and conveniently into a variety of configurations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Collapsible or portable staging is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,766 (Burkinshaw) discloses a collapsible staging or raised platform for presenting various types of entertainment. The staging is formed by staging modules having first and second end frames at either end and side frames between the end frames, and may include collapsible stairs that have different widths, as well as different heights. The side frames each comprise hingedly connected sub-frames whereby the entire module may fold inwardly in "concertina fashion". Though connected, the platforms and flames are distinct elements and a platform to frame and frame to frame locking or engaging means is required.
Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,831 (Mackintosh) discloses a folding stage wherein floor slabs or panels are collapsibly supported by leg frames and guide braces. The panels are hinged so they may be collapsed "zig-zag fashion".
Although well suited for their intended purpose, the stages disclosed in the Burkinshaw and Mackintosh patents require a frame mechanism or structure that is discrete from the platform or panels that form the platform. Additionally, the manipulation of the stages disclosed in Burkinshaw and Mackintosh will create substantial noise.
U.S. Pat. No. 310,226 (Rice et al.) is directed to providing foldable or folding steps. The Rice et al. patent discloses folding steps consisting of a box or platform "A" provided with a series of preferably triangular steps "B" hinged or pivoted therein by a vertical bolt or rod "a". The steps may be pivoted relative to each other as at "b", and are adapted to be drawn out of or entirely folded within the box. One end of each step is provided with a casing to hide the space beneath the steps. There are several problems the Rice et al. steps do not solve. Because of the space beneath the steps, moving and folding the steps will create noise. The triangular step shape is not as safe for supporting persons as a rectangular shape because of the small horizontal support surface at the apex area of each triangular step. There is no disclosure of a way to join and secure more than one set of the folding steps to each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,035,671 (Sicherman) is directed to providing portable folding steps for use in an exercise test. The steps consist of two folding steps nine inches wide and nine inches high hingedly mounted on opposite sides of a central step nine inches wide and eighteen inches from the floor. The two steps are supported by pivotally collapsible braces and are movable from a storage position wherein they are folded over the top of the central step to an unfolded, extended position. A tubular framework is required, and only two arrangements or configurations are possible: a storage configuration and a use configuration. In use, the steps can be unfolded only to a shape wherein they have equal top upper surface areas. The hinges connecting the steps are exposed and have raised areas, therefore presenting an uneven surface. Tubular leg braces and spring clips are required and, if the clips or braces are not fully locked or deployed, the steps could be unstable.
Step-like display stands, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,514,055 (Lawson), are also known. The Lawson stand includes treads, risers and upright side support plates, all connected by rule joint hinges. The stand may be collapsed by folding the upright sides, treads and risers into close parallel relation. There is no disclosure of a way to join and secure together more than one set of the step-like display units, and they will be noisy during deployment and collapse.
It is clear that with current collapsible staging and portable risers, safety, cost efficient fabrication, convenient, quiet rapid setup and movement, and the capacity for achieving multiple configurations are not provided to an optimum degree. Accordingly, there is a need for a strong, efficient, easily moved and re-shaped, safe and quiet portable riser for supporting persons or objects above the ground, a stage, a floor or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a portable riser unit for supporting persons or objects above the ground, a floor, a stage or the like is provided. The riser broadly comprises a base, generally rectangular step members, and hinge means for pivotally, hingedly connecting the step members to the base. By manipulating the step members, the riser may be re-shaped into a variety of operable configurations, including a storage shape. The base has a generally hollow single-piece body formed by a substantially continuous relatively thin wall or skin and an integral convoluted interior or internal support and baffle wall structure, and may be substantially filled with an appropriate low density, high volume material. Each step member also may be of this construction; however, the step members may or may not have an internal support wall. Each step member is operably coupled to the base by at least one double or twin axis hinge, including a hinge block received in complementary hinge wells in the base and step members. The hinges are self-leveling to present a substantially smooth, level riser support surface in every possible configuration. The riser may be rotationally molded of a plastic material and includes integral hand grips to facilitate moving the individual step members or the riser as a whole. Two or more adjacent risers may be used to form a riser assembly, and the invention encompasses a connector key for connecting adjacent risers.
An object of the present invention is to provide an articulated portable riser unit strong enough to support people safely, yet light enough to move quickly and easily.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable riser adapted for quick and easy re-shaping into a variety of configurations, whereby the riser facilitates supporting persons or objects above the ground, a floor, a stage or the like in a variety of heights and arrangements. Advantageously, the configurations include at least a platform configuration, wherein the riser presents a single, generally flat, raised uppermost support surface, a seated riser configuration wherein two parallel support surfaces having unequal surface areas are provided, and a standing riser configuration presenting a stair-like shape with three support surfaces, each in a different plane and having a substantially equal area.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a portable, reconfigurable riser unit or assembly that is suitably durable and rigid, yet does not require a discrete support frame mechanism. Further, no special tools, nor an extended period of time, are required to assemble, reshape or move the riser. The portable riser of the present invention may be used for many purposes in institutions, including elementary and secondary schools, day care facilities, and churches. It is particularly useful in the performing arts wherein rapid, quiet redeployment or rearrangement of scenery or persons is required during the course of a performance.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a portable riser to support persons or objects above the ground, a floor, a stage or the like, wherein the riser presents substantially smooth, uniformly finished and level visible horizontal and vertical surfaces.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a riser that is quiet to use, move and reshape. The riser has at least one integral, convoluted support and baffle interior wall structure and the remainder of the substantially hollow base and step members may or may not be filled with an expanded material. Whether filled or not, another advantage of the riser of the present invention is that it tends to minimize noise, both the hollow "booming" noise generated as people step on prior art risers and the noise caused by moving or folding prior art risers, yet it remains light enough to be moved easily.
Other advantages of the riser of the present invention are that it provides for efficient use of labor by minimizing the number of persons required to move and reconfigure it. Additionally, the base, and each step member, are molded as a single integral piece, thus eliminating the need for separate folding support or frame structures and other components.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent and understood with reference to the following specification and to the appended drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable hinged riser unit of the present invention, arranged in a three step shape.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention in a two step, seated riser configuration.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the riser of the present invention in a stage or platform configuration.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the larger high step member of the riser of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the high step member.
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken along line 6--6 in FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken along line 8--8 in FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the base member of the portable riser assembly of the present invention, and includes a fragmentary view of a second riser shown in phantom.
FIG. 9A is a fragmentary section detail taken along line 9A--9A in FIG. 9.
FIG. 10 is a sectional elevation taken along line 10--10 in FIG. 9.
FIG. 11 is a sectional elevation taken along line 11--11 in FIG. 9.
FIG. 12 is a fragmentary detailed section taken along line 12--12 in FIG. 9.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of two of the riser units of the present invention joined to form a two-unit riser assembly.
FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 14--14 in FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a fragmentary top plan detailed view depicting two adjacent hingedly connected members of the hinged riser of the present invention, with portions cut away.
FIG. 16 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the area encircled at 16 in FIG. 15.
FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a hinge block for use with the riser of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a sectional elevation taken along line 18--18 in FIG. 17.
FIG. 19 is a sectional elevation taken along line 19--19 in FIG. 17.
FIG. 19A is a sectional elevation depicting another embodiment of the hinge block for use with the riser of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is a perspective view depicting a key connector for use in connecting together the risers of the present invention to form a riser assembly.
FIG. 21 is a sectional elevation taken along line 21--21 in FIG. 20.
FIG. 22 is a fragmentary sectional detail depicting the hinged connection between two members of the riser of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a view similar to that in FIG. 22, but depicting the hinged connection when the members of the riser are in another position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The portable hinged riser unit 30 in accordance with the present invention broadly includes a base 32, at least two step members 34 and a plurality of connecting hinge joints 36. In FIGS. 1-3 and 13 the riser 30 is depicted resting generally horizontally on the ground, a floor, a stage or the like.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9, the base 32 has a substantially closed, polygonal, plane figure body with two opposed generally parallel side walls 38, a front wall 40, a rear wall 42 parallel to the front wall 40, a generally flat top support surface 44, and a bottom 45. A plurality of ground, stage or floor contacting feet 47 are connected to the bottom 45. The feet 47 may be threadably coupled to the base 32, but other connective methods may be employed as well. The top surface 44 includes a lower level 46 and an upper level 48 in different, but parallel planes. A front facing midwall 50 extends generally perpendicularly between and connects the lower and upper levels 46, 48. All of the aforementioned walls, surfaces and levels are in substantially parallel or perpendicular relationship with respect to each other and those joined together are continuously and rigidly joined along straight intersecting edges.
At least two spaced, integrally formed lift handles 54 are formed in the lower regions of each side wall 38 and in the rear wall 42 of the base 32. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, each hand receiving lift handle 54 includes an opening 56 with rounded edges 58. An angled continuous inside wall 60 tapers generally outwardly, at approximately five degrees, from bottom to top in the direction of the surface of the upper level 48 of the base 32. A finger receiving relieved area 62 is provided at the uppermost portion of each lift handle 54.
Referring to FIG. 9, a first pair of hinge wells 64, 66 is adjacent the edge formed by the intersection of the outside surface of the upper level 48 and the rear wall 42 of the base. Each hinge well 64, 66 is above, and substantially in-line with, one of the lift handles 54. A second pair of hinge wells 68, 70 is adjacent the edge formed by the intersection of the midwall 50 and the outside surface of the upper level 48 of the base 32. Referring to FIG. 12, each hinge well 64, 66, 68, 70 in the base 32 has opposed, parallel hinge well end walls 72, 74 and a smoothly curved or arcuate hinge well wall 76. A hinge pin bore 78 is formed in each hinge well end wall 72, 74.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the step members 34 include at least a first, low step member 80 and a second, high step member 82 (depicted in FIG. 4). The two step members 80, 82 are polygonal, generally rectangular, having end walls 84, 86, front and rear side walls 88, 90, respectively, and interchangeable, reversible top and bottom walls 92, 94, respectively. All references to front and rear and top and bottom, particularly as to the walls of the step members 80, 82, are made with reference to the position and orientation of the members 80, 82 depicted in FIG. 3. All of the walls of the step members 80, 82 are arranged in generally parallel or perpendicular relationship with respect to one another, and the junction of the walls are generally straight, continuous edges. The step members 80, 82 are substantially similar, but the high step member 82 is relatively larger than the low step 80. Both step members 80, 82 have an equal length between their end walls 84, 86, also equal to the length of the base 32 between the side walls 38. Additionally, the width of the step members 80, 82 between their front and rear walls 88, 90 is substantially equal. The volume of the high step member 82 is larger than the volume of the low step member 80 because the height or thickness of the high step 82 between the top and bottom walls 92, 94 is greater than that of the low step 80.
At least one handhold 98 is set in each end wall 84, 86 of the step members 34. FIGS. 5, 7 and 8 depict one of the handholds 98, particularly the handhold 98 in the end wall 86 of the high step 82. Each of the plurality of handholds 98 is substantially identical, being a shallow, handhold well 100 integrally formed in the end walls 84, 86 of the step members 80, 82 and having rounded edges 102.
Referring back to FIG. 3, a first pair of spaced hinge wells 104, 106 is adjacent the edge formed by the intersection of the rear side wall 90 and the top wall 92 of the low step member 80. The low step member hinge wells 104, 106 compliment the hinge wells 68, 70 of the base 32. Similarly, a second pair of spaced hinge wells 108, 110 is adjacent the edge formed by the intersection of the front side wall 88 and the top wall 92 of the high step 82. The second pair of hinge wells 108, 110 compliment the hinge wells 64, 66 at the edge of the base 32 formed by the intersection of the upper surface of the upper level 48 and the rear wall 42.
The connecting hinge joints 36 include the base hinge wells 64, 66, 68, 70, the complimentary step member hinge wells 104, 106, 108, 110, and a plurality of hinge blocks 112. FIGS. 4, 6, and 12 depict additional details of the plurality of substantially identical hinge wells, using hinge well 108 of the high step member 82 as representative of all the hinge wells. Each hinge well includes parallel, opposed hinge well end walls 72, 74 and a curved, generally rear hinge well wall 76. In-line hinge pin bores 78 are adjacent each end wall 72, 74. More specifically, each bore 78 is located through a hinge pin mount 114 integrally associated with each end wall 72, 74. A raised bead 116, 118 is immediately adjacent the outermost region of the curved hinge well wall 76. The parallel raised beads 116, 118 extend from end wall to end wall 72, 74.
All of the hinge wells receive, or partially receive, substantially identical hinge blocks 112, depicted in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19. Each hinge block 112 is a generally rectangular body having a pair of voids 122, a bottom wall 124, a top wall 126, side walls 127, and end walls 128. Each side wall 127 has a linear, longitudinally extending rib stop 130 that runs the length of the wall 127. Each hinge block 112 includes four hinge pin holes 132, 134 and 136, 138, a pair of the holes 132, 134 and 136, 138 being preformed in each end wall 128. As depicted in FIGS. 18 and 15, the hinge pin holes 132, 134, 136, 138 are drilled to form two parallel hinge pin bores 140, 142 for receiving hinge pins 144. The hinge pins 144 are parallel with respect to each other and extend continuously through the hinge pin bores 140, 142 and into hinge pin bore mounts 114 formed in the base 32 and in the step members 80, 82.
Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, intended to be representative of all the hinge joints 36, one of the hinge blocks 112 is depicted connecting the low step member 80 to the base 32. The end wall 84 of the lower step 80 and the end wall 38 of the base 32 include integral hinge pin receiving shoulders 148 and apertures 150. The apertures 150 may be formed during the molding process, drilled, punched or formed in other suitable ways, and are in line with the hinge pin mounting bores 140, 142 through the hinge block 112. A button head plug 152 is received in each aperture 150 after the pins 144 are inserted into the block 112.
Referring to FIGS. 9, 9A, 10 and 11, the base 32 of the riser 30 includes a convoluted, integrally formed interior support and baffle wall structure 154 comprising a pair of wavy, ribbon-like continuous web structures 156, 158. The interior webs 156, 158 extend continuously at a slight angle from vertical between the bottom wall 45 and top surface 44 of the base 32 to define a generally "FIG. 8" shaped, substantially hollow, closed tubular body for the base 32. Each web structure 156, 158 is integrally formed with the walls or skin forming the remainder of the base 32, and includes two opposed parallel longer sides 160, 162 parallel to the front and rear sides 40, 42, respectively, of the base 32, and two opposed parallel shorter sides 164, 166 parallel to the side walls 38 of the base 32. Each interior web 156, 158 is formed to include a plurality of alternating trapezoidal buttress support panels 168. Adjacent panels 168 of the longer sides 160, 162 lie in parallel planes, as do the panels 168 of the shorter sides 164, 166.
The two open central areas 170, 172 of the "FIG. 8" shaped base 32 are formed by the webs 156, 158. The areas 170, 172 have an open lower region adjacent to the bottom 45 of the base 32 and are closed by a flat subfloor wall 174 closely adjacent and parallel to the underside of the upper surface 44 of the base 32. The subfloor wall 174 is connected to the webs 156, 158 to form two closed cell subfloor voids 176, 178. The void 176 closest to the front wall 40 of the base 32 partially underlies the lower level 46 of the base 32 and is generally "L-shaped". The volume of the voids 176, 178 is substantially less than the volume of the tubular base 32.
Referring to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, base fill holes 184 are formed in the rear walls 76 of the base hinge wells 64, 66, 68, 70. Base vent holes 185 are formed in the lift handles 54. Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, step fill holes 186 are formed in the step member hinge wells 104, 106, 108, 110 and step member vent holes 187 are formed any selected handhold 98.
The hinged riser units 30 of the present invention may be connected to one another to form a riser assembly 188, depicted in FIGS. 13 and 14. A connector key 190 for connecting individual risers 30 is depicted in FIGS. 20 and 21. Each key 190 has inclined side walls 192 that match the draft angle of the walls 60 defining the lift handles 54 formed in the side walls 38 and rear wall 42 of the base 32. Key end walls 194 closely compliment the end walls of the lift handles 54. Opposite the key base 196, each key 190 has a crown area 198 comprising an inwardly curved cusp 200 between a pair of parallel rounded ridges 202, 204. The key connectors 190 have a hollow interior 206.
One of the hinge joints 36 connecting the step members 80, 82 to the base 32 is depicted in FIGS. 22 and 23. The joint 36 depicted is between the high step member 82 and the base 32, but is typical of all the connecting hinge joints 36 of the present invention. The joint 36 includes the base hinge well 64, step hinge well 108, and a hinge block 112. Two parallel hinge pins 144, each providing an axis for rotation and movement of the hinge block 112 within the hinge wells 64, 108, extend through the hinge block 112. Referring specifically to FIG. 22, the upper surface 207 of the hinge block 112 is substantially level with the surfaces of the base 32 and the step 82, whereby the overall support surface 210 is substantially smooth and level.
If the high step 82 is raised or lowered slightly relative to the base 32, the hinge block 112 will float about the two axes provided by the hinge pins 144 until one or the other of the ribs 130 comes in contact with one of the beads 116, 118 of the hinge wells 64, 108. Thus, without requiring the raised portions typical of piano or rule joint hinge structures, the hinge joint 36 compensates for unevenness of the surface upon which the riser is resting without damaging the joint 36. Additionally, even if the base 32 and steps 80, 82 are misaligned with respect to one another, the hinge 36, and specifically the hinge block 112, always presents a substantially smooth and continuous visible surface.
FIG. 23 depicts the hinge joint 36 of FIG. 22 in another position and illustrates the control function of the ribs 130 and hinge well beads 116, 118. Because the hinge block 112 is free to move within the limits provided by the beads 116, 118 and ribs 130, the step 82 is easy to move relative to the base 32, any misalignment between the base 32 and the step 82 will be compensated for, and a smooth visible surface is provided.
Referring to FIG. 19A, the hinge joint 36 of the present invention may include another embodiment or form of hinge blocks 208 and split hinge pins 210. This hinge block 208 is substantially similar in size and exterior features as the hinge block 112 described above (and depicted in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19), and includes similar internal voids and pin bores. The hinge block 208 includes two parallel pre-formed hinge-pin bores 212, each with a lining sleeve 214. The sleeve 214 may be formed of suitable material including various metals or plastics. The pin 210 includes first and second pivot rods 216, 218, each having chamfered ends 220, 221. A compression spring 222 is between the rods 216, 218. Although not depicted, the ends 224 of the spring 222 may be partially received in or connected to the rod ends 221.
The riser base 32 and step members 80, 82 are rotationally or centrifugally molded from a suitable plastic material. After formation, the substantially hollow base 32 and step members 80, 82 are filled with an expanded material using the fill holes 184 and 186, which then may be closed. The hinge blocks 112, specifically the bores 140, 142, are drilled and placed in the aligned, complimentary base and step hinge wells (base wells 64, 66, 68, 70 and step wells 104, 106, 108, 110) and the hinge pins 144 are inserted through the drilled apertures 150 in the shoulders 148, the drilled bores 140, 142 in hinge block 112 and the drilled bores 78 in mounts 114. The plug 152 is counter sunk in the aperture 150 and the riser 30 is ready for use.
If the second form of the hinge block 208 and pins 210 is used, the shoulders 148 and apertures 150 in the base 32 and step members 80, 82 may be eliminated. The bores 78 are not drilled through the mounts 114, but have a closed bottom end in the mounts 114. To use the hinge block 208 and pins 210, the rods 216, 218 and a spring 222 are axially aligned end-to-end with the spring 222 in the middle and are placed in the bores 212 in the hinge block 208, as depicted in FIG. 19A. The rods 216, 218 are urged toward each other in the bores 212 against the bias of the spring 222. The block 208 is placed in aligned base and hinge step wells and the rods 216, 218 are released and snap into the bores 78.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3 and 13, the hinged riser 30, and riser assemblies 188, of the present invention may be shaped and reshaped into various alternative shapes. A completely deployed, open stage or platform configuration is depicted in FIG. 3. The stage configuration presents a smooth, flat, substantially continuous, horizontal top supporting surface 228.
A seated riser configuration is depicted in FIG. 2. To achieve the seated riser configuration, the high step 82 has been pivotally lifted in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 until the top surface 92 of the step 82 is closely adjacent and parallel to or in contact with the surface of the upper level 48 of the base 32. The handholds 98 in either the end wall 86 of the high step 82 may be used conveniently to lift and rotate the high step 82 into the position depicted in FIG. 2. A lower foot surface 230 and an elevated seat surface 232 are formed. The seat surface 232 has a smaller surface area than the foot surface 230.
FIG. 1 depicts the riser 30 arranged in a standing riser configuration. The high step 82 remains in the position depicted in FIG. 2. The low step 80 has been pivotally raised or moved, using the handholds 98, in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 2) until the outer surface of the top wall 92 is closely parallel to or touching the outside surface of the upper level 48 of the base 32. Three uppermost step support surfaces 234a, 234b, and 234c, each with a substantially equal surface area, are thus formed. The vertical rise between the lowest step surface 234a and the surface beneath the base bottom 45, and between each successive step surface 234b and 234cis equal.
For moving the entire riser 30 and for storing it, the riser 30 may be lifted by the lift handles 54 and carried to the place of storage where it may be placed or stacked in any convenient configuration.
A number of variations of the present invention can be made. For example, although a riser 30 having a polygonal plane figure shape is described, other suitable shapes, such as circular or oval risers are possible. The described base 32 has two interior webs 156, 158, but any member of the webs may be used. Additionally, although the webs 156, 158 form generally polygonal (specifically rectangular) open central areas 170, 172, the areas may be oval or circular. The risers 30, including the base 32 and the step members 80, 82, and riser assemblies 188, could be provided in various sizes to accommodate various institutional, staging or presentation needs. The riser 30, and the component members thereof, are formed advantageously by rotational molding, but other conventional fabrication and assembly methods might be used as well. The low density filler material used to fill the substantially hollow base 32 and the hollow step members 80, 82 may be an expanded s tyrene, but other low density materials may be used as well. The locations of the fill and vent holes 184, 186 providing access to the hollow interior of the base 32 and steps 80, 82 may be varied. The hinge blocks 112 (or 208) and pins 144 (or 210) may be formed from any suitable materials, but it would be advantageous to select a material that maintains the light weight and overall uniform appearance of the riser 30. The exterior of the riser 30, and riser assemblies 188, may be coated with appropriate substances to impart desirable characteristics such as a particular color or a non-slip feel. Although foot pads 47 are described, the riser 30 may be equipped with other ground or floor contacting devices including casters or wheels. An appropriate lock mechanism such as hook/eye, friction or snap, interlocking fabric, or pin/aperture arrangements may be used to hold the step members 80, 82 in their various positions relative to the base 32. Such lock mechanisms may be used in conjunction with the hinge joints 36 or may also be used as the functional equivalents of the hinge joints 36 to couple the step members 80, 82 and the base 32.
It should be understood that the steps 80, 82 may be easily separated or disassembled from the riser base 32 by removing the button plugs 152, then pulling the hinge pins 144 (or compressing the alternative pins 210). Thus, the purchaser has the option of how to purchase the riser 30; it may be purchased fully assembled with the steps 80, 82 connected to the base 32, or as separate component pieces. Additionally, bases 32 and step members 80, 82 may be interchanged easily.
Although a description of the preferred embodiment has been presented, it is contemplated that various changes, including those mentioned above, could be made without deviating from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefor desired that the described embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative, not restrictive, and that reference be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention. | In accordance with the present disclosure, a portable riser unit for supporting persons or objects above the ground, a floor, a stage or the like is provided. The riser broadly comprises a base, generally rectangular step members, and hinge joints for pivotally, hingedly connecting the step members to the base. The base has an integrally formed, convoluted internal or interior support and baffle wall structure and may be filled with an appropriate low density, high volume material. Each step member also may be of this construction; however, the step members may or may not have an internal support wall. The step members are operably coupled to the base by double axis hinges including hinge blocks received in complementary hinge wells in the base and step members. The hinges are self-leveling to present a substantially smooth, level riser support surface in every possible configuration. The riser may be molded of a plastic material and includes integral hand grips to facilitate moving step members or the entire riser. By manipulating the step members, the riser may be re-shaped into a variety of operable configurations. The invention also encompasses connector keys for connecting two or more risers into a riser assembly. | 4 |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/886,887, filed Jan. 26, 2007, entitled “Devices and Methods for Minimizing the Hemorrhage from and Minimizing Infection of a Divided Sternum During Cardiac Surgery,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to methods and devices associated with cardiac and surgery and, more particularly, to methods and devices for minimizing the loss of blood from and minimizing risk of infection of a severed sternum during cardiac surgical procedures.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A full median sternotomy is the most common procedure currently performed for providing surgical access to the heart and coronary arteries. A sternotomy, however, is highly invasive. The patient's skin is incised at the midline overlying the chest and the patient's sternum is cut, usually using a pneumatically or electrically powered surgical saw, typically along its entire length. In cardiac valve surgery the cut edges of the sternum are then spread with metal retractors, exposing a large cavity to allow surgery to be performed on the heart. Representive retractors are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,583 and 6,206,828. Generally, such retractors use two substantially parallel retractor blades that remain generally at the same height in the operative position. However, in coronary bypass surgery, following the sternotomy, the left portion of the severed sternum is lifted and laterally retracted to gain access to the left internal mammary artery (IMA), which is commonly the principle bypass graft of choice. Several types of retractors are available for IMA exposure. Commonly two “rake” shaped retraction members are used such as are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,053. Some surgeons use the right IMA in addition to the left IMA.
[0004] Sternotomy typically results in hemorrhage from the cut sternal edges where the bone marrow is exposed. This loss of blood is unacceptable for at least two reasons. First it may obstruct or obliterate the view of the surgical team when performing the surgical procedure such as taking down the Internal Mammary Artery (IMA) during coronary artery bypass surgery. Second, the lost blood must be replaced, either by transfusion or by returning it to the cardiotomy reservoir of the heart-lung machine via a sucker (that unfortunately traumatizes the blood). Thus, hemostatis is required before the operation may proceed. Even more important is that hemorrhage has to be arrested before a systemic anticoagulant (e.g. heparin) is administered just prior to the onset of cardiopulmonary bypass.
[0005] To minimize hemorrhage from the severed sternum, sternal waxes, powders and the like have been developed to be applied to the bleeding surfaces of the sternum halves following the splitting of the sternum, usually in association with the use of electo-cautery to quell the larger bleeding sites. These substances and techniques help to inhibit and/or otherwise reduce the hemorrhage, but may contribute to the incidence of mediastinal infection and may inhibit healing and bone reunification.
[0006] It would thus be beneficial if these substances and electro-cautery could be eliminated from the sternum halves during the surgical procedure. However, the current state of the art is lacking in this regard. Currently these substances are left in the sternum (i.e., between the sternal halves) following the surgical procedure. The residues can cause contamination of the blood cells that may lead to additional post operative procedures and treatments. Also, these substances have proven to be less than effective in performing their intended function, i.e., controlling hemorrhage.
[0007] In an attempt to address the problem LiDonnici, U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,628, describes a device intended to stanch the effusion of blood from the exposed ends of the sternal halves of an incised sternum. The LiDonnici devices comprises a substantially U-shaped cross-section cap intended to cap or cover the severed sternum halves. When the sternum is slit using a free-hand reciprocating saw with a narrow blade (much like jigsaw) the cut edge tends to be wavy rather than absolutely straight, and the cut may not be at right angles to the anterior surface of the sternum. The LiDonnici device is ineffective at forming a tight seal between a sternal device and the undulating cut edges of the sternum.
[0008] Sternotomy occasionally results in a post operative mediastinal infection. The incidence of mediastinal infection is 0.4-5%. Mediastinal infection is a feared complication of cardiac operations as patients with mediastinal infections face a protracted hospital stay at best and have a mortality rate as high as 20%-40% (Marggraf, et al. (2003) European Journal of Surgery 16, S9:12-16). It is believed that some sternal infections are caused by contamination (airborne or otherwise) of the exposed bone marrow.
[0009] Accordingly, a continuing need exists for improved methods and devices for minimizing the hemorrhage from a severed sternum during cardiac surgical procedures and further protecting the exposed edge of the sternum to prevent mediastinal infection.
SUMMARY
[0010] One aspect is a device for capping a severed sternum. The device comprises an end wall configured to extend along a length of severed sternum. A gasket is attached to the end wall configured to abut at least part of the length of a severed sternum when deployed thereon. In one embodiment the device further comprises anchoring means for attaching the end wall to the sternum with the gasket engaging at least a part of the length of the sternum. The anchoring means preferably provides sufficient pressure on the severed sternum to stanch blood flow. The anchoring means may comprise at least one of a nylon cable tie or stainless steel wire. Embodiments of the device may comprise means for stiffening the end wall. The device may further comprise at least one of a top and a bottom wall extending lengthwise of the end wall adjacent to the gasket.
[0011] Another aspect is a method of capping the exposed medial sides of a sternal half of a longitudinally divided sternum. The method comprises providing a pair of elongate end walls having a gasket attached to a surface thereof and placing the gaskets under lateral pressure against each exposed sternal half. In one embodiment the method further comprises harvesting an internal mammary artery (IMA) from a patient's chest. The method may further comprise providing a sternal retractor, applying blades of the sternal retractor to the elongate end wall opposite the gasket and applying pressure to the blades to separate the sternum halves. In one embodiment the method further comprises securing each elongate end wall under a blood stanching pressure to each sternal half. The securing step may be performed using at least one of a nylon cable tie or a stainless steel wire.
[0012] The device and method disclosed and claimed herein provides a secure and reliable means for stanching blood flow from an incised sternum and for minimizing the risk of mediastinal infection to a patient. The device can be easily and inexpensively manufactured, thus making the many advantages available at minimal cost.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, for covering an exposed end of a sternal half of a longitudinally divided sternum;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a device of FIG. 1 ;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a front elevation view the device of FIG. 1 .
[0016] FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1
[0017] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3 .
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view the device and the sternum with the device tightly attached to the sternum with stainless wire to form a blood-tight seal between the sternum by means of a stainless steel surgical suture.
[0019] FIG. 7 shows a cross sectional view the device and the sternum with the device tightly attached to the sternum with a cable tie to form a blood-tight seal between the sternum by means of a cable tie.
[0020] FIG. 8 shows a isometric view the device and the sternum with the device tightly attached to the sternum with stainless steel wire to form a blood-tight seal between the sternum by means of a stainless steel surgical suture.
[0021] FIG. 9 shows a isometric view the device and the sternum with the device tightly attached to the sternum with a cable tie to form a blood-tight seal between the sternum by means of a tensioned cable tie.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] A device 10 for minimizing hemorrhage from an exposed sternal half of a sternum formed during a sternotomy is illustrated in FIG. 1 . The device includes an elongate end wall 12 having a gasket 14 . As illustrated, the end wall may be curved as desired to fit a sternum half. The end wall and gasket have a size and a dimension to cover or least partially cover an exposed end of a sternal half, wherein suitable pressure is applied between the gasket of the device and the cut edge of the sternum the of the device to form a hydrostatic seal that the stanches effusion of blood from the exposed end of the sternal half, and obstructs the ingress of bio-contaminants.
[0023] The device may further include an upper wall 16 which may be integrally formed with and extend orthogonally from an upper edge of the end wall 12 ; and a lower wall 18 which may also be integrally formed with and extend orthogonally from a lower edge of the end wall. The upper wall and the lower wall may extend along the first and second ends of the end wall. The upper wall and the lower wall serve to stiffen the device and minimize distortion when pressure is applied. Alternatively, the upper and lower walls maybe be omitted and only the end wall 12 and gasket 14 comprise the device. Such an embodiment may include stiffeners such as rearwardly projecting supports or the end wall may be made of rigid material such as stainless steel of gauge sufficient to prevent bending. Alternatively, guides or posts may extend from the end wall in place of and in the same direction of the continuous walls 16 , 18 .
[0024] The device may include anchoring means proximal to the axial ends of each device extending laterally from the end wall and wrapping around the lateral portions of a sternum, or intra-costal spaces, with the device engaging the sternum. For example, the anchoring structure may be a stainless steel wire 20 , similar to that generally used to re-approximate and firmly hold the sternum 22 at the conclusion of the surgery. Size 5 wire (0.032″ diameter) is preferred by many surgeons. The wire maintains pressure between the cut edge of the sternum 22 and the gasket thus providing a substantially hemostatic seal. The anchoring structures 20 may be removably connected to the end wall as illustrated, in FIGS. 6-9 , by engaging notches 23 near the ends of the device (See FIG. 1 ). As in a sternal closure, the opposing ends of the anchoring sutures are pulled tightly together and the free ends twisted together at 24 as shown in FIG. 6 . Sufficient pressure is applied to stanch blood flow. Alternatively, a suitable medical grade Nylon or other suitable material cable tie 25 (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,247) may be used to maintain sufficient force between the device and the cut edge of the sternum to form a haemostatic seal, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9 . The thin tongue of the cable tie is passed through the body 26 , tensioned and excess tongue cut off to leave a small protruding end 27 . In either case the restraining members (wires or cable ties) will be cut and removed with the sternal protection device immediately prior to sternal closure.
[0025] The end wall may be fabricated from at least one of a biocompatible plastic, hard elastomer or metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, or other suitable metal. The gasket should be made of a resilient deformable material suitable for minimizing the flow of fluid from the severed sternum. For example, the flexible gasket may be of a biocompatible polyethylene closed cell foam of about 3 mm-6 mm or more in thickness. Other suitable gasket materials include a soft biocompatible low durometer silicon elastomer or synthetic rubber.
[0026] The device may have a “U-shaped” transverse cross-sectional profile, wherein the gasket surface contacting the exposed end of the sternal half is substantially flat. The shape and dimensions of the end wall desirably are determined by studying sagittal plane computer tomographic (CT) images for male and female patients of various sizes. See Maddern, et al. (1993) Radiology 186:665-670. Alternatively magnetic resonance imaging could be used to determine device sizes and shapes. See Aslam, et al. (2002) British Journal of Radiology 75:627-634. In one embodiment, several adult and pediatric sized devices would be provided, so that the surgeon could use a device appropriate to the patient. The upper and lower walls may have a thickness of about 2.5 mm. The end wall may have a thickness of about 3 mm, and the flexible gasket may have a thickness of about 6 mm. The device may be fabricated from the same materials discussed above.
[0027] Desirably, the distance between the upper and lower walls of the device is about 20 mm. In an alternative embodiment the maximum distance between the upper and lower walls of the device intended to be placed at the upper end of the sternum (the manubrium) is about 20 mm with a distance of about 12 mm at the lower end (the xyfoid).
[0028] In use, a pair of devices having flexible gaskets for minimizing hemorrhage from the exposed medial sides of the sternal halves are placed with the gaskets abutting the sternal halves. The device is placed under lateral pressure against each exposed end of each sternal half sufficient to stanch blood flow. Following the harvesting of an IMA vessel(s), blades of the sternal retractor apply pressure to the devices.
[0029] The method of use may further include the step of imaging or estimating the size of the sternum to determine the size of the device required for the surgical procedure. The method may further include the steps of placing the blades of a surgical retractor, when in an approximated position, between the devices placed over the exposed ends of the sternal halves and manipulating the retractor to separate the blades of the surgical retractor and spread the sternal halves apart.
[0030] In a sternotomy wherein the sternum of a patient has been longitudinally incised along at least a portion thereof, thereby exposing and allowing two opposing sternal halves to be separated laterally, the improvement includes the step of providing a pair of caps for minimizing hemorrhage from the exposed sternal halves of the sternum. The improvement further includes placing a cap on each exposed sternal half such that the sternal half is abutted by the flexible gasket of the cap.
[0031] Each cap includes an end wall interconnecting the upper and lower walls, the end wall having a flexible gasket. An upper wall and a lower wall may combine with end wall to bound a space. In such an embodiment the upper wall and the lower wall define an opening through which the sternal half is receivable into the space of the cap.
[0032] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a number of embodiments, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in the form and details may be made to the various embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and that the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to act as limitations on the scope of the claims. All references cited herein are incorporated in their entirety by reference. | A device for capping a severed sternum. The device comprises an end wall configured to extend along a length of severed sternum. A gasket is attached to the end wall configured to abut at least part of the length of a severed sternum when deployed thereon. | 0 |
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/275,703, filed Jan. 25, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/647,270, filed Jan. 26, 2005.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/043,366, filed Jan. 26, 2005.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,854, filed Mar. 10, 2006;
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/778,770, filed Mar. 3, 2006.
The government may have rights in the present invention.
BACKGROUND
Related applications may include U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/979,129, filed Nov. 3, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/655,124, filed Sep. 5, 2003, which are hereby incorporated by reference, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/382,373, filed May 9, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/275,703, filed Jan. 25, 2006, is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/647,270, filed Jan. 26, 2005, is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/043,366, filed Jan. 26, 2005, is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,854, filed Mar. 10, 2006, is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/778,770, filed Mar. 3, 2006, is hereby incorporated by reference.
SUMMARY
The invention is an approach and apparatus for localizing eyes of a human in a digital image to be processed for iris recognition.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 a is a diagram of an overall illustrative structure of an eye finding system;
FIG. 1 b is a diagram with a group structure of the eye finding system;
FIG. 2 a is a diagram of an approach for determining a profile of an eye as provided by a measure of profile metrics;
FIG. 2 b is a diagram of a structure of a profiler;
FIGS. 3 a , 3 b and 3 c show an image of a selected eye, a pupil image 42 and a binary image 43 of a pupil, respectively;
FIG. 4 is a diagram of an overall iris recognition system;
FIG. 5 shows a diagram of a kernel having a box representing the diameter of a pupil and a box representing a pupil reflection;
FIG. 6 shows a box representing a region of interest having areas which are relatively light, dark and lighter than the relatively light area situated in the dark area representing a pupil model;
FIG. 7 is a histogram of the contrast or intensity values of areas of FIG. 6 ;
FIG. 8 is like FIG. 6 but does not have a lighter (modeling a typical reflection) than the relatively light area situated in the dark area representing a pupil;
FIG. 9 is a scale of marks representing pixels of a region of interest ranked according to lightness and darkness; and
FIGS. 10 a and 10 b relate to eye finding using reflection and/or non-reflection measures.
DESCRIPTION
Eye detection may be the first step toward building a reliable automated iris recognition system in a natural context. Some iris recognition systems rely heavily on predetermined eye locations to properly zoom on the input eye prior to iris segmentation. In addition to biometrics, eye detection (also known as eye finding or eye localization) may support other new technology areas such as eye tracking and human computer interaction or driver drowsiness monitoring systems. Eye detection may serve social learning to identify eye directions like pointing gesture using eye directions.
The present approach and apparatus may be used for finding eyes within a digital image. A local contrast change profiling may be in eye finding. Instead of extracting multiple local features and search globally in the image as many COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) facial recognition packages are based on, the present approach may be based on a system engineering approach to construct the illumination scheme during eye image acquisition to shine the surface of the pupil surface and result into a high reflection point preferably within the pupil of the eye image or close to the pupil of the eye image. This specular reflection point may be used as a reference for an eye search in the digital image. Thus, during the image analysis, the search may be limited to a simplified localization scheme of the highest value pixels associated with these specular reflection pixels and analyze the very local features surrounding these hot spots to confirm an eye profile. To meet the requirements of a real-time system, the eye finding approach may be implemented as a cascade process that divides the local features of an eye into a primary feature of contrast profile associated with high pixel values, depict only potential eye pairs within a specified range, and then test the resulting valid pairs against a feature vector of two or more variables that includes a predefined regular shape fitting with multiple curve fitting measures.
The present approach may be for quickly and robustly localizing the eyes of a human eye in close-up or face images. The approach is based on sensing reflection points within the pupil region as a precursor to the analysis. The approach is formulated to work for cases where reflection is not present within the pupil. The technical approach locates eyes whether there is or there is no reflection. However, in case of the reflection, The detection may hence be simplified to search for these specific reflection points surrounded with dark contrast that represent the pupil. Then the region of interest centered at these potential locations may be processed to find an eye profile. Two valid eyes may be extracted that are within an expected range of eye positioning. The approach for finding eyes decomposes into the following steps. There may be a contrast filter to detect specular reflection pixels. There may be results prioritization to extract valid eye pair with maximum local contrast change. The eye pair may be defined as a valid pair if the two potential eyes are spaced within a predefined range. An adaptive threshold may be applied to detect a central blob. There may be curve fitting of the blob boundaries into a shape. Curve fitness and shape area coverage of the blob surface may be measured for validation. The approach described here may be part of a preprocessing technique used to locate the eyes of a human in a digital image to be processed for iris recognition.
Eye detection may be the first stage for any automated iris recognition analysis system and may be critical for consistent iris segmentation. Several eye detection algorithms may be developed as a basis for face detection. Eye finding approaches may be classified into several categories based upon knowledge based approaches, template matching, and eye socket corner detection. The present approach may address real-time operational requirements. One solution may be to cascade localized features of the eye to speed up the process.
Appearance based approaches using Eigenspace supervised classification technique that is based on learning from a set of training images may be used to capture the most representative variability of eye appearance. Template matching can be regarded as a brute force approach which may include constructing a kernel that is representative of a typical eye socket and convolve the image with the kernel template to identify the highest values of the convolution indicating a match of the eye the identified locations.
Knowledge based approaches may be based on specific rules that are captured by an expert that discriminate the eye local features from any other features. These sets of rules may then be tested against virtually all possible combination to identify the eye locations.
The present approach may provide for quickly and robustly localizing the eyes of a human eye in close-up or face images. The approach may be based on sensing reflection points within the pupil region as a precursor to the analysis. The approach may be also based on sensing the pupil profile in case of no reflection. If reflection is present, the detection may then be simplified to search for these specific reflection points surrounded with dark contrast that represent the pupil. The region of interest centered at these potential locations may then be processed to find an eye profile. Two valid pairs may be extracted that are within an expected range of eye positioning.
The present approach for finding eyes may decompose into the following. To start, the eye may be illuminated to generate a reflection reference point on the pupil surface. The captured wide-field image may be filtered using reflection detection contrast changes to find potential eye locations. For each potential eye location, the local contrast change between the central point and its surrounding pixels may be computed and results may be prioritized to extract valid eye pair with maximum local contrast change. The eye pair may be defined as a valid pair if the two potential eyes are spaced within a predefined range. For each eye of valid eye pair, an adaptive threshold may be executed on a cropped image of the central region of the potential eye to extract a blob of the pupil. Just a single blob may be depicted based on size, its distance to the central point of the cropped image, and how good it fits to a predefined fitting model (e.g., circular shape). With a predefined model shape, such as a circle or an ellipse, the blob edges may be fitted into the pupil fitting model. Curve fitness and model shape area coverage of the blob surface may be measured for validation.
A preprocessing technique may locate the eyes of a human in a digital image to be processed for iris recognition. An overall illustrative structure of an eye finding system 10 is shown in FIG. 1 a . The system engineering for eye illumination is not necessarily shown in this system. A digital camera may be used for acquiring 9 images of candidates. The image may be put through a contrast filter 11 to detect relevant high contrast areas of the image. There may a prioritization (i.e., ranking) of the significant spots in the image in block 12 . Of these, N candidates may be extracted in block 13 . A candidate may have a coordinate c 1 (x, y). An output of block 13 may go to block 14 where a new first eye may be selected from the candidate list. From block 14 , the eye image candidate may go to a block 15 for a measurement of profile metrics. A profile of the eye may go to a diamond 17 where a determination of the validity of the profile is made. If the profile is not valid, then that first eye may be deleted from the list at block 17 . Then at a diamond 18 , a count is checked to note whether it is greater than zero. If not, the then this approach is stopped at place 19 . If so, then a new first eye may be selected at block 14 from the list from block 13 . The profile metrics of this new first eye may be measured at block 15 and passed on to diamond 16 to determine the validity of the profile. If the profile is valid, then the selected first eye may go to place 20 , and a second eye is selected at block 21 from the list of candidates from block 13 having a coordinate c 2 (x, y). The spacing of the first and second eyes may be determined at block 22 as D(c 1 (x, y), c 2 (x, y)). The spacing may be checked to see whether it is within an appropriate range at a diamond 23 . If not, then the second eye may be deleted from the list at block 24 . If so, then metrics of the profile of the second eye may be measured at block 25 . The profile metric may be forwarded to a diamond 26 for a determination of the validity of the profile. If the profile is not valid, then the second eye may be deleted from the list at block 24 and at diamond 27 , a question of whether the count is greater than zero. If so, then another second eye may be selected from the list at block 21 , and the approach via the blocks 21 , 23 and 25 , and diamonds 23 , 26 and 27 may be repeated. If not, then the approach for the second eye may end at place 19 . If the profile is valid at diamond 26 , then the selected second eye may go to place 20 .
A higher level approach to system 10 in FIG. 1 a may include an output of the contrast filtering 11 going a select candidate block 111 . An output from block 111 may go to a validate profile block 112 . Outputs from block 112 may go to a select candidate block 114 and a result block 20 , or eliminate candidate block 113 . An output of block 113 may go to the select candidate block 111 and/or to the stop place 19 . An output from block 114 may go to a validate pair block 115 . Block 115 may provide an output to a validate profile block 116 . Outputs from block 116 may go to an eliminate candidate 117 and/or to the result block 20 . Outputs of block 117 may go the select candidate 114 and the stop place 19 . The processing in system 10 may be digital, although it may be analog, or it may be partially digital and analog.
FIG. 1 b is a diagram with a group structure of the eye finding system 10 . The corresponding components (according to reference numbers) of FIG. 1 a may have additional description. The candidates noted herein may refer to various images of eyes. A camera 9 may be connected to the contrast filter 11 . An output of the filter 11 may go to a ranking mechanism 12 , which in turn is connected to the candidates extractor 13 . The output of extractor 13 may go to a candidate determiner 14 for selecting a new first candidate. Mechanism 12 , extractor 13 and determiner 14 constitute a candidate selector 111 .
An output of determiner 14 may go to a metric profiler 15 which in turn has an output connected to a profile evaluator 16 . Profiler 15 and evaluator 16 may constitute profile validator 112 . Outputs of evaluator 16 may go to candidate determiner 21 , resulter 20 and candidate remover 17 . Remover may have an output that goes to a counter 18 . Candidate remover 17 and counter 18 may constitute a candidate eliminator 113 . If counter 18 has a count of greater than zero, an output may go to the candidate determiner 14 for selection of a new candidate. If the output is not greater than zero, then an output may go to the stopper 19 .
A candidate determiner 21 for selecting a 2nd candidate may have an output to a space measurer 22 . The candidate Space measurer 22 may have an output to the range indicator 23 which may indicate whether the two candidates are at an appropriate distance from each other for validation. Measure 22 and indicator 23 may constitute a pair validator 115 . Candidate determiner 21 and previously noted ranking mechanism 12 and candidates extractor 13 may constitute a candidate selector 114 . If the pair of candidates is valid then an output from validator 115 may go to a profiler 25 , or if the pair is not valid then an output from validator 115 may go to a candidate remover 24 . An output of profiler 25 may go to a profile evaluator 26 which may determine whether the profile of the second candidate is valid or not. If valid, then an output of evaluator 26 may provide second candidate information to the resulter 20 . If invalid, then an output of evaluator 26 may provide a signal to the candidate remover 24 . Profiler 25 and profiler evaluator 26 may constitute a profile validator 116 . An output of candidate remover may go to a counter 27 . If the counter 27 indicates a value greater than zero then an output may go to the candidate determiner 21 for selecting a second candidate. If the counter 27 indicates a value not greater than zero, then an output may go to a stopper 19 . The candidate remover 24 and counter 27 may constitute a candidate eliminator 117 .
FIG. 2 a shows the approach for determining a profile of an eye as provided by a measure profile metrics or eye profiling block 15 , 25 . An image 41 of a selected eye ( FIG. 3 a ) may go to an extract pupil region block 31 . The block dimension is determined based on the maximum expected value of the pupil diameter. A maximum pupil input 44 may be provided to block 31 . An output from block may be a pupil image 42 ( FIG. 3 b ) which goes to an adaptive thresholding block 32 . A percent input 45 may be provided to block 32 . The pixel distribution to compute the intensity histogram may be provided to block 32 . An output of block 32 may be a binary image 43 ( FIG. 3 c ) of the pupil which effectively covers a region of interest. The output of block 32 may go to a find contours block 33 . The found contours of image 43 may go to a select n (two or more) most centralized contours block 34 . The selected most centralized contours may go to a curve fitting block 35 to curve fit the boundary of the pupil blob to a circle, ellipse or the like. The circle may be adequate for virtually all cases. The output of the curve fitting block may go to a diamond 36 to indicate the level of curve fitness and its' adequacy. The approach is to loop through the n depicted contours to pick the contour that fits the most or best to the model based on the perimeter and coverage fitting. An output 46 from diamond 36 may provide pupil information such as the curve fitting, whether the item is an eye, based upon the fitness measures, the percent of pixels within the curve that fit well the model, the radius and center of the pupil model, and the proportion of the blob that is contained within the pupil model.
FIG. 2 b is a structural version of FIG. 2 a . A pupil region extractor 31 of profiler 15 , 25 may be connected to an output of the candidate selector 111 or 114 of FIG. 1 b . An image 41 and a maximum pupil signal 44 may be input to extractor 31 . An output of the extractor 31 may be connected to an adaptive thresholder 32 . A percent input 45 may be provided to the thresholder 32 . The output 43 (e.g., binary image) may go to a contours finder 33 . An input to a most centralized contour picker 34 may be from contours finder 33 . An output of the picker 34 may go to a curve fitter 35 . An input to the selector of the best curve to fit the model diamond 36 may be from the curve fitter 35 . An output 46 may provide pupil information 46 to a profile evaluator 16 or 26 .
For the thresholding of block 32 , the threshold may be adaptively set based upon the histogram distribution of the intensities of the pixel within the region of interest. A minimum threshold is based upon the coverage of the object of interest (pupil) in pixels with respect to the size of the ROI image (i.e., region of interest). The percentage of the blob size with respect to the ROI is assumed to be at least the ratio of the minimum expected size of a pupil blob (i.e., pupil surface) with respect to the ROI surface (chosen to be the same size of the maximum expected pupil diameter). Hence, the percentage ratio, λ, may be computed with the following equation.
λ min = E [ S p ] S ROI ≥ π R m 2 4 R M 2 = .7854 ( R m R M ) 2 ( 1 )
Where R m and R M represent the minimum and maximum possible values of expected radius of the pupil, S p is the minimum surface of the pupil, S ROI is a surface that is a region of interest, and E[ ] is an expected value operator.
Fitness metrics may be used within the eye profiling procedure. At least two metrics can be detected to measure how good the estimated regular shape fits the detected curve at the boundary of the pupil blob. The first curve fitting metric may incorporate the following formula.
η
1
=
1
N
∮
Blob
u
(
F
(
x
,
y
)
-
f
(
x
,
y
)
F
(
x
,
y
)
-
F
c
(
x
,
y
)
-
ɛ
)
ⅆ
x
ⅆ
y
In the above equation, the curve f(x, y) represents the boundary of the blob, F(x, y) is the border curve of estimated fitting shape, and F c (x, y) is the moment center of the model shape. N in the above equation represents the length of the curve f(x, y) the operator u( ) is the step function and ε<<1 is a tolerance factor.
Another consideration may be given to measuring the proportion of the blob within the estimated model curve. A fitting metrics may be basically the ratio of the estimated shape surface coverage or intersection of the surface of the model and the blob over the blob surface.
η 2 = Surface ( blob ⋂ F ( x , y ) ) S blob ,
where S blob is the surface of the blob.
A rectilinear image rotation angle may be noted. An iris image capture system that captures both eyes simultaneously may provide a way to measure a head tilt angle. By detecting pupil regions of both eyes during an eye finding procedure, one may calculate the angle of the line passing through both pupil center masses and the horizontal axis of the camera. The eye finder system 10 may then extract both eye images at the estimated orientation axis of the eyes. A misalignment in line detection may be further addressed using the nature of the matching approach which accounts for any non-significant eye orientation. The advantage of the present preprocessing approach is that one may reduce the amount of shifting of bits during the matching process to a few bits thus yielding to faster time response of the system. If rotation correction is not performed, the matching uncertainty may be set to maximum and thus the barcode bit shifting is set to its maximum. On the other hand, if such correction is performed, the matching process may be limited to just a few bits shifted to account for any misalignments of eyes with images in the database.
FIG. 2 b is a diagram of a structure of a profiler.
The overall eye detection system is shown in FIG. 4 . It shows a camera 61 that may provide an image with a face in it to the eye finder 10 as noted herein. The eyefinder 10 , 62 may provide an image of one or two eyes that go to the iris segmentation block 63 . A polar segmentation (POSE) system in block 63 may be used to perform the segmentation. POSE may be based on the assumption that image (e.g., 320×240 pixels) has a visible pupil where iris can be partially visible. There may be pupil segmentation at the inner border between the iris and pupil and segmentation at the outer border between the iris and the sclera and iris and eyelids. An output having a segmented image may go to a block 64 for mapping/normalization and feature extraction. An output from block 64 may go to an encoding block 65 which may provide an output, such as a barcode of the images to block put in terms of ones and zeros. The coding of the images may provide a basis for storage in block 66 of the eye information which may be used for enrolling, indexing, matching, and so on, at block 67 , of the eye information, such as that of the iris and pupil, related to the eye.
FIG. 5 shows a diagram of a kernel 70 of a candidate which may be one of several candidates. Box 71 may be selected to fit within a circular shape that would represent the minimum possible diameter of the pupil. Box 72 may be selected to fit within a circular shape that might represent the maximum size of the reflection. The actual circular shapes in FIG. 5 may be used instead of the boxes 70 and 71 ; however, the circular shape requires much computation and the square shape or box may be regarded as being an adequate approximation. This mechanism may be used to locate pupil location candidates.
A blob suspected of being a pupil may be profiled with a fitness curve on its outer portion. If the curve fits a predefined model like a circle, then one may give it a score of a certain percent of fitness. A second part of the fitness check is to determine what percentage of the pixels of the pupil is contained within the model curve. If the fitness percentages are significant enough to a predefined level, then one might assume that the object scrutinized is a pupil. If so, then the object is checked relative to a range of distance between two eyes.
A threshold level, λ, may be adaptive based on contrast, illumination, and other information. The threshold may be determined with the equation noted herein for λ min . FIG. 6 shows a box 73 which may be a region of interest. An area 74 may be of a first color which is relatively light. An area 75 may be of a second color that is dark. An area 76 may be of a third color that is lighter than the first color. A histogram may be taken of the contents of box or region 73 . The histogram may look like the graph of FIG. 7 . The ordinate axis represents the number of pixels having a contrast or intensity (i.e., lightness/darkness) value of the values represented on the abscissa axis, which range from 0 to 255, i.e., from dark to light, respectively. The result is two peaks 78 and 79 with a middle point 77 which may be associated with the λ min . The plot 81 appears normal. Other plots having one peak, a flat peak or peaks, peaks having a large separation, or other appearance that appear abnormal relative to plot generally indicate an unacceptable situation. One may note that the present approach utilizes adaptive thresholding which has a threshold that is not fixed or arbitrary. The depicted threshold is limited with the minimum value of that defined by equation (1).
There may be a situation where there is no reflection to be found on a pupil. FIG. 8 is like FIG. 6 which has an area 76 of reflection on pupil 75 which FIG. 8 does not have. However, an area 86 of reflection may be assumed for the pupil 85 in FIG. 8 . The pixels of a region of interest or kernel 87 may be ranked according to lightness and darkness as represented by marks on a scale 95 of diagram 90 as shown in FIG. 9 . An arrow 96 represents a direction of increasingly lighter pixels. An arrow 97 represents a direction of increasingly darker pixels. For illustrative purposes, each mark may represent a pixel; although each mark could represent any number of pixels or a fraction of a pixel or pixels. The kernel 87 size may be N pixels. N pixels may be represented by a group 93 of marks on a scale 95 . The reflection 86 may be represented by “N rfc ”. “N rfc ” may refer to the reflection 86 pixels. The “N rfc ” pixels may be represented by a group 91 of marks on scale 95 . “N-N rfc ” may represent the dark area 85 . The “N-N rfc ” pixels may be represented by a group 92 of marks on scale 95 .
In cases where we have reflections on the pupil, the measure may be defined as the argument of the maximum difference between the reflection pixel measure (local maxima) within the reflection spot and the average mean of the dark pixels that represent the pupil profile. Hence,
C
pupil
(
x
,
y
)
=
arg
max
(
x
,
y
)
(
v
max
-
μ
o
)
The vector {right arrow over (v)}(n) is the kernel elements sorted in a descending order based on the intensity values as shown in FIG. 9 . An average value of intensity may be calculated for each group of pixels.
For the “N rfc ” group 91 , one may have the local maxima of the reflection spot v max estimated as the average mean of only the first K elements of the reflection pixels. K may be selected to be such as K<<N rfc . For the “N-N rfc ” group 92 , one may have “μ o ”,
μ
o
=
1
N
krn
∑
N
rfc
<
n
<
N
krn
v
->
(
n
)
FIGS. 10 a and 10 b relate to eye finding using reflection and/or non-reflection measures relative to eyes 101 and 104 , respectively. For a situation of no actual reflection on the pupil, then there may be a representative value of the dark pixels in the bottom scale that maximize the argument 1/μ o . This may be true for either condition whether there is reflection or no reflection. Hence, the formulas may be combined into one to work for both situations as indicated by the following equation,
C
pupil
(
x
,
y
)
=
arg
max
(
x
,
y
)
(
(
ϑ
max
-
μ
o
)
μ
o
(
x
,
y
)
)
.
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. | A system for finding and providing images of eyes acceptable for review, recordation, analysis, segmentation, mapping, normalization, feature extraction, encoding, storage, enrollment, indexing, matching, and/or the like. The system may acquire images of the candidates run them through a contrast filter. The images may be ranked and a number of candidates may be extracted for a list from where a candidate may be selected. Metrics of the eyes may be measured and their profiles evaluated. Also, the spacing between a pair of eyes may be evaluated to confirm the pair's validity. Eye images that do not measure up to certain standards may be discarded and new ones may be selected. | 6 |
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